Skipping Through the Night

For some unfathomable reason I like this album. It's hard to believe that something from the late 60's has lain dormant in the vaults for so many years. Yes, it's definitely a product of it's time. And yes, some songs are better than others-a closer "star" rating would be 3-3 1/2 "stars", with an extra 1/2 "star" for being truly psychedelic and not posers. The drumming is a basic backbeat to keep everyone in time, the Farfisa organ is suitably cheesy sounding (think COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH), the slight echo in the guitar has a vague S.F. /Bay Area ring to it, (the band was from Storrs, Connecticut), the lyrics were suitably weird and trippy, and the vocals were enthusiastic but not the greatest-even by garage band standards. But this band deserved something better than to be forgotten, or at best a footnote remembered by a few locals who happened to hear the band during their hey-day.The six member band played a wide array of instruments between them. Dave Bliss-electric piano/vocals, Minty Collins-electric flute/harmonica, Bob de Voss-drums/vocals, Chas Mirsky-guitar/vocals, Danny Shank-bass/vocals, and Steve Starger-Farfisa organ. Together they had a flowing, slightly trippy sound (which the lyrics only helped) that conjures up images of the late 60's, with "heads" sitting around rolling a "fatty", or letting a piece of "paper" dissolve on the tongue-you get the idea.The monophonic sound on these audition tapes (for Mercury Records) is good if slightly flat-but it does have that period sound-so that's okay. There's no ridiculous cross-fading (thank you mono recorders) or any dreaded compression to "beef up" the sound in any way.The band is remembered (barely) for a lone 45 Single (both sides here) they released, "Going Home" b/w "Skipping Through the Night". As far as the band's sound, you'll hear snatches of COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH (instrumentally and lyrically), THE BEATLES (ever so slightly), and any number of garage bands (especially from the Bay Area/Oakland region) from the period. There's also a sound (and feel) that might be what SOFT MACHINE would've sounded like, if they had gone (early on) far into a more twisted pop sound with Robert Wyatt at the helm. Even the band's name is (truly) cosmic.The combination of the twisted lyrics (courtesy of LSD), and the acid/rock/pop sound of the band (again-LSD) give this set of songs an identity that places the band just inside the psychedelic/"what's he singing about?" category-and that's a good thing. So, if you're into late 60's, obscure bands (like I am), this is something you should check out.The phrase "long lost classic of the psychedelic age" is used extensively to sell some (usually) obscure band that went nowhere-and oftentimes their music should stay forgotten. Is this a thrilling long lost treasure that you'll play over and over again? No. But their sound had a certain, allusive "something" that some bands (for whatever reason) had, that put them ahead of other (justifiably or not) obscure bands from the era. Maybe it's the vantage point of hearing their music all these years (decades!) later. But for whatever reason, they're worth hearing now.

Hearing this album was an absolute revelation for me. I would not have believed there could ever be a complete album's worth of unreleased studio recordings of such outstanding quality from '67 still to be discovered. Shame on Mercury records for not releasing this at the time! Had they done so it would surely be now universally revered as one of that year's timeless classics, and spoken of in the same breath with the likes of "Sergeant Pepper's...", "Piper at the Gates....", "Absolutely Free", "Velvets & Nico" and "Electric Music for the Mind and Body". Indeed, if any comparison is to be made, the closest would have to be that peerless debut from Country Joe and the Fish. The lyrics certainly have a similar lysergic flavour to those Joe McDonald was putting down at the time, but it is the use of the organ that is so reminiscent of David Cohen's work with the Fish. When you combine that with lead guitar that also sounds a lot like Cohen (as against Barry Melton) and some harmonica - well, have a listen to "Forever Gone" and you'll see what I mean. However, it's worth remembering that "Electric Music" was itself barely off the presses when NGC was laying down these tracks, so the influence must have come from live performances by the Fish and their Rag Baby EP from the previous year. There's certainly a bit of the Mothers in there as well. Some of the band's influences may be fairly obvious but don't get the idea that their product is derivative. Far from it - NGC4594 very definitely have have their own unique identity and sound. The opening track "Colors" immediately reminded me of a couple of tracks on the first Bevis Frond album "Miasma". Since that wasn't released until twenty years later one wonders if Nick Saloman had access to Mercury Records' vaults at some point. Probably not - it's no doubt merely that the Cosmos works in weird and wonderful ways. In addition to the lost album, this CD features both sides of the one single (on the Smash label) that actually was released. Both sides are superb, with "Going Home" even having something of the Velvets in their quieter more reflective moments - at least in the melody and song construction if not so much the lyrics - just top quality stuff.

Buried within the "name" bands and tunes of the psychedelic era are a few rare treasures. Always True to the streams of thought dashed on rocks and streams behind Leary, Alpert, and Bliss lie certain truths uncovered by NGC 4594, the Band. The Intensity of the ride on "Nova Express", coupled with the lost hope and faith in the question "Where are you comn' from?" ended in a spiral of song as bloody waters spun down the drain in "Skippin"... with a bag of Roses in your hand. Blood-curdeling screams of joy for NGC as they let out all that hot air in one giant WHOOOOSH

I love this cd very nostalgic and nice i'm down with this band. plus the company I bought the cd from is number one the mp3 was all on point.

Lost sixties band named after a black hole in space fell into one themselves. Excellent psychedelic band who should have been on collectors lists for decades but got burned by the music industry. Somebody really dropped the ball with this band. Now a CD captures their one and only released single and all their album demos which are better than their single. Considering how the barrels been scraped for rarities here’s an actual great band. If you like the San Francisco sound, love, lighter Doors tunes, Strawberry Alarmclock, HP Lovecraft etc you will like this band. I would give these guys five stars for the music but for the low fidelity of the demos I have to be fair to those reading my review who may require perfect sound.

It's not tendentious to use new term" 3C"(Canterbury,Cambridge and only in this case Connecticut)..They were outstanding band,a great players which deserved the best reviews.Their music is the catapult of an original stellar and musical ideas like their contemporaries in the same time on the another side of Atlantic.When I heard first 20 seconds before two days,I knew quickly,they are very,very interesting,unique...could be add to only superlatives.Simply,they were incredibly psychedelic jazz rock band from Storrs,Connecticut and this breathtaking and a long-awaiting collection from Tune In is one more pearl.Worth to track down and add to your discography if you like something strange from 1967.Line-up:David Bliss-piano,vocals,Minty Collins-flute,harmonica,Bob De Vos-drums,vocals,Chas Minsky-guitar,vocals,Danny Shanok-bass,vocals and Steve Starger-Farfisa organ.Some of them later appeared on Cave Rock,an experimental album by Cro Magnon(or Cromagnon),in 1969,Starger would later go on to play with Starship,a space jazz rock band who took their name from the title of an album by John Coltrane.

I thought I'd throw in another 5 star review here, as this is an album that deserves to be heard by more. Like the other reviewers I think, I have most of the acknowledged classics from 1968, and I assumed that this would be another second-rate obscurity only worth listening to for those desperate for new music. So it was a pleasant surprise to find a great album comparable to the best albums of that year. If it had been released and promoted well it could very well have been a big seller. Nevermind, at least it's seen the light of day now, and although I'm sure the band members received very little financial compensation for their efforts, they can at least be satisfied that they made a great contribution to the music of that era. The lyrics are mystical, spiritual, and drug-related, very much of the era.

great album

Arrivato in tempi record è un regalo di Natale tutto perfetto come sempre.