THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (REISSUES AND ANTHOLOGIES) By Michael McDowell

 CD AND LP REISSUES / ANTHOLOGIES (PLUS BOOKS)

(REVIEWS ARE POSTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY ARTIST)

YES, THAT'S WHAT I'M GONNA DO: Has the well run dry given the extensive archiving and chronicling afforded first generation garage rock over the past half century? The Teen Beat Mayhem: Slipped Thru The Cracks anthology on Roger Maglio's Gear Fab label would suggest otherwise. Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell discusses the ongoing merits of blowing up K-Mart amplifiers below (Click on above imaege to enlarge). 

EXPERIMENT IN METAPHYSICS,

PART TWO -

Perry Leopold 

(Gear Fab)

Jordan Christopher knew when to say no.

In the 1966 motion picture, The Fat Spy, the late composer, vocalist, actor, Wild Ones co-founder and Youngstown, Ohio native cautioned of the dangers of materialism in the opening number, People Sure Act Funny. Accompanied by some ambitous, Leadbelly-inspired twelve-string guitar from Chuck Alden, that track has long been hailed as a forerunner of the solo acoustic movement that increasingly availed itself in the folk genre at the time. 

Unlike Christopher, the Philadelphia-based composer and vocalist Perry Leopold threw lyrical caution to the wind in his like minded endeavors. In spite of the red flags borne of experience, as articulated by Abraham Sofaer as the Swami in the Monkees' 1968 motion picture, Head (and underscored decisively by his concluding observation, "Or should I speak, since I know nothing?"; a caveat that doubtlessly escaped Leopold's attention), Leopold plunged head first into the abyss.

Buoyed in part by the cavalier perspective indigenous to the so-called underground rumblings of the day, Leopold released his first such collection in 1970 as Experiment In Metaphysics. The fact that such an approach left unchecked could avail itself in close to the edge manner was evidenced by his Christian Lucifer project nearly three years hence. 

In keeping with his acclaimed academic / optimistic mission statement as curator, Gear Fab CEO Roger Maglio herein presents this final Leopold outing as an integral component of the overall legacy of the genre. Leopold (who passed away in 2024) had preserved the session tapes (recorded in a shoe repair shop in 1970), with with the intent of their being an adjunct to his earlier release.

The material speaks for itself. Using ambiguous lyrical imagery as a distraction of sorts, the titles of several of the numbers nonetheless pretty much articulate intent: White Clouds Of Embers, The Prophesy, View From Within, Lookin' For Another World, etc. 

Hank Williams once sang of traveling down the Lost Highway. In turn, the Hollies lamented their journey down a Long Dark Road. But unlike those tales of wisdom, Leopold's journey was one that left unchecked could lead to a dead end. Proceed with caution.

LIVE FROM THE

LOS ANGELES SPORTS ARENA -

Pink Floyd (Columbia)

"The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of the man in his prime".

So noted Pink Floyd in Free Four, a most encouraging return to form cut from their 1972 Obscured By Clouds album for the Harvest label. A return to form in that the album followed several relatively challenging years in terms of songwriting in the wake of the departure of guitarist and primary composer Syd Barrett from their ranks. That move towards reinvigoration ultimately served them well, as Pink Floyd soon found themselves in the upper echelons of mainstream acclaim, where they remained for the next several decades. 

As of this writing, four of the band's six members remain active in various  capacities. Original guitarist Rado "Bob" Klose has long enjoyed a successful career in photography. Primary lead guitarist Dave Gilmour (who succeeded Barrett in that capacity in 1968) and bassist Roger Waters have both flourished as solo artists, while drummer Nick Mason has toured in recent years with the like minded A Saucerful Of Secrets (sadly, Barrett and keyboard man Ric Wright are both deceased). Nonetheless, there has been no new Pink Floyd studio project since The Endless River for Columbia Records in 2014.

Hence the memories of the deeds of the men in their prime. To that effect, a pair of  archival live albums have surfaced in recent years: 2021's Live In Venice and 2023's The Dark Side Of The Moon Live At Wembley.

Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena is the latest in that series. Released on both vinyl and CD in tandem with the Record Store Day 2026 celebration, the album was recorded on the 26th of April 1975. The material therein had previously been issued in 1993 as an extracurricular release of sorts under the title Dogs And Sheeps.

To be certain, the venue itself was the ideal setting for the so-called arena rock that the band epitomized in 1975. To that effect, their 1973 The Dark Side Of The Moon album was in the second year of its extraordinary nineteen year consecutive run on the so-called national charts. Faithfully executed material from that album comprises the second half of this live set. 

For openers, the band took a relatively upbeat approach that in part served to acknowledge Barrett's contributions in light of his well publicized health concerns. The opening numbers Raving And Drooling and You've Got To Be Crazy did so with remarkable candor, as did the well-received Have A Cigar and Shine On You Crazy Diamond from their forthcoming Wish You Were Here album (released in September of that year).

Although the band's hardcore faithful numbers are still legion, there are no plans for another Pink Floyd studio collaboration. But given the resolve with which Gilmour, Waters and Mason have pursued their individual interests, in the words of some of the band's post-Barrett transitional releases, it would perhaps be in the best interests of the rank and file to not Meddle in such matters, instead giving them the option to sidestep The Narrow Way and open the door to the possibility of a new Dramatic Theme.

TEEN BEAT MAYHEM:

SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS -

Various Artists

(Gear Fab)

"The well has run dry for worthwhile '60s garage tracks. Why buy comps anymore? The best stuff has already been reissued."

So said author Mike Markesich in the sleeve notes of this latest of many such collections from Roger Maglio's Gear Fab label. Markesich was citing arguments often voiced within musicoogist and record collector circles, and offered an impassioned defense in response. 

But in reality, does the subjectivity of passion hold its own against the hard evidence?

Since the reissue movement began in earnest with the release of Elektra's Nuggets LP in 1972, countless projects of similar intent have surfaced. Many indeed got the job done. 

Conversely, many such collections border on the pedestrian. They are often underscored by seemingly endless retreads of I'm A Man, Hey Joe and other such over-covered standards. 

For the past three decades, Gear Fab has taken an unwaveringly academic approach in such endeavors. The results (including a number of geographically-themed collections) speak for themselves, making the label one of the industry's leading lights in that respect. 

To that effect, the twenty-eight tracks herein draw from some of the most obscure indie labels, including Afton, Ramco, Orlyn, Mondo and Rank. As a byproduct, budgetary concerns kept production to a minimum, meaning that it was largely incumbent upon the artists to rise to the challenge and deliver.

And deliver they did. Drawing primarily from original material, the bands used their relative lack of studio polish to showcase their raw talents. Their efforts were not in vain, as highlighted by such standouts as Patrick And The Shamrocks' Yes That's What I'm Gonna Do, the Night People's Ain't Gonna Happen, the Decompressed Impossibility's Blues For An Impossibility, the Egyptians' Walkin' Shoes and Tinsel Mecca's 1968 gem, Things That Do Exist.

In the closing scenes of the 2014 motion picture, The Monuments Men, a team of academically-inclined soldiers rescued a treasure of stolen, centuries-old art during the final months of World War II. The question is asked as to whether their efforts would be remembered three decades after the fact. If the results of the like minded Teen Beat Mayhem: Slipped Thru The Cracks are any indication, the answer remains a most resounding yes more than six decades hence.