Cold Sun from Austin, Texas was recorded in 1970 in the legendary Sonobeat studios, where the Mariani and Johnny Winter first LPs were produced. The Cold Sun band are considered contemporaries of Velvet Underground and The Fugs, often listed as being in a similar vein but inspirations for this unique piece actually go back to the desperated, haunted Joe Meek.
All songs lyrically express dark, mystic poetry with the true 60s psychedelic floating/distorted fuzz spirit presented in short compact mini-epics along with several mind blowing long tunes, such as "Ra-Ma" (11 min), "Here In The Year" (9 min) and "Fall" (7 min). Discovered by Rockadelic Records of Dallas, Texas in 1991, the Dark Shadows album saw the light of day the next year as a limited LP version, to become today one of the most important and revered US psychedelic underground albums from the early 70s.
(Rockadelic heard it in the form of an old scratchy acetate that one of the Cold Sun band members had made in order to be able to play the recording at friends` parties on their turntables. The acetate only contained 2/3 of the songs but so greatly impressed them that Rockadelic managed together with bandleader Bill Miller to release the complete sessions from mastertape.)--- Autoharp wizard Miller eventually spearheaded Roky Erickson`s international debut as the Cold Sun band joined forces with Roky in 1974 and became BliebAlien, later evolved into The Aliens and backed Roky on his famous albums and historical concerts.
Carefully remastered from the mastertapes, this album will bring new rewarding listening experiences in expanded fidelity, plus 2 unreleased non-album songs, authentic Live/Concert recordings of "Live Again"(10 min) and "Mind Aura"(7 min). The fidelity of these reel to reel Live recordings is also remarkable. The CD and Vinyl issues will both have an extended booklet with liner notes by Jello Biafra plus rare photos and other surprises. The Vinyl issue is packaged in a luxury foldout cardboard cover as Dragonwyck, Phantasia or Mystic Siva and contains an extra 10" bonus record.
1. South Texas - 5:17
2. Twisted Flower - 3:04
3. Here In The Year - 8:50
4. For Ever - 4:35
5. See What You Cause - 3:40
6. Fall (Billy Miller, Herman M. Nelson, Winston Taylor) - 7:20
7. Ra-Ma (Billy Miller, Tom McGarrigle) - 11:20
8. Live Again - 10:20
9. Mind Aura (Tom McGarrigle) - 7:38
Music and Lyrics by Billy Miller except ehere noted.
Cold Sun
*Billy Miller - Autoharp, Voices
*Mike Waugh - Bass
*Tom McGarrigle - Guitar
*Hugh Patton - Drums
*Mike Ritchey - Bass
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This unreleased in the era (and revived after 20 years by Rockadelic) album is considered to be an absolute masterpiece of heavy, psychedelic rock. Never seeing an actual release until 1989, Cold Sun is a devastating slab of Texas psych and the of lost gems.
ReplyDeleteThe record is sometimes referred to as just Cold Sun; years later the band was unofficially renamed Dark Shadows which was printed on the sleeve as a pseudo album title. Interestingly, both names are derived from the same mythology that inspired the band Mu. Many of the details to the Cold Sun story have been lost in the cracks but Patrick the Lama’s (Acid Archives) essay is a noble piece of research and comes highly recommended for those interested in the history of this band.
http://www.lysergia.com/LamaWorkshop/lamaColdSun.htm
The long awaited reissue from World In Sound in 2008,sheds some light ,finally we have 2 bonuses "live"of 1972 which shows the band live to their full potential that put you on the edge of madness so good they sound.
Definitely an album worth having in your collection.
Thank you for enlightening me about this stellar recording (and so many others!!). I can't tell you how many wonderfully obscure LPs to which you've opened my ears. Your generosity and wonderful blog are very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteyour blog made my day. thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Marios for another wonderful hidden gem! Great blog you have, with an unbelieveble wealth of obscure but fantastic music!
ReplyDeleteTHIS ALBUM BLEW ME AWAY !!! THANKS A LOT FOR POSTING IT.I'M GOING TO LOOK FOR IT AND BUY THE ORIGINAL.GREETINGS FROM TEZIUTLÁN,PUEBLA,MÉXICO.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, always very fast.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely great!
ReplyDeleteLinks are like cold sun - dead, could You reup ? :)
ReplyDeleteAdam Ostrogoth, "Cold Sun - Dark Shadows 1970/72", reposted
DeleteThanks !
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