Both long-out-of print studio albums from one of the best psychedelic bands of the '60's. This reissue features their first two albums for Phillips, complete with original artwork, extra liner notes and two bonus tracks, '... more »Anyway That You Want Me', & 'It's All Over For You'. Standard jewel case. 2000 release.« less
Both long-out-of print studio albums from one of the best psychedelic bands of the '60's. This reissue features their first two albums for Phillips, complete with original artwork, extra liner notes and two bonus tracks, 'Anyway That You Want Me', & 'It's All Over For You'. Standard jewel case. 2000 release.
CD Reviews
Very good psychedelic rock
Stephen F Mulcahy | United States | 03/28/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"these 2 albums aren't perfect, or even truly great- but there is a lot of very good music on this disc. some of the greatest harmony singing of the era can be heard here, especially on tracks such as the white ship, their fine version of high flying bird (also done by the airplane and the boston group ill wind, among others) and spin, spin, spin. most of the songs on the first album are covers of the likes of dino valente, randy newman, and fred neil (to name the best known writers) ,and largely in a folk rock style. swirling organ and fine drumming ( especially on the 2nd lp's songs called at the mountains of madness and keeper of the keys) are probably the most notable features of the band instrumentally speaking. this outfit had connections with the shadows of knight, they originated in chicago, but are often thought of as a san francisco band, as they later moved there. the 2nd album is more overtly psychedelic, and i disagree with Richie Unterberger, the writer of the liner notes- i think that , overall, the 2nd album, is somewhat better than the eponymous debut-though i do agree that the white ship is the greatest thing this bunch ever recorded. it's a wonderful track that will, in places, remind listeners of such bands as the jefferson airplane ( who hp lovecraft are probably most like), it's a beautiful day, the doors, and early pink floyd. another stellar cut is the trippy and addictive at the mountains of madness with superb vocals from the talented pair of vocalists that the band was blessed with. allegedly, this 2nd album was the first one where everyone involved was on acid- its quite different from the debut's more restrained, sometimes conventional but quite good folk rock with mere dashes of psychedelia. the drummer michael tegza later reformed the band as simply lovecraft, after being part of a frankly tedious and unimaginative vanilla fudge type band known as bangor flying circus, which i do not recommend. this cd, however, is certainly a gem, that fans of the era should definitely look into."
H.P. Lovecraft/H.P. Lovecraft II H.P. Lovecraft
Bruce D. Metzger | Lakewood, Washington USA | 11/15/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's about time! Sure there was a psuedo official release by some import label a couple of years ago, but the sound quality was suspect at best. (some of the songs were remastered from acetates) Edsel, the fine U.K. label, did release H.P.Lovecraft/H.P. Lovecraft II back in the late 80's, but I believe it has been long since deleted.O.K. you psychedelic fans out there, if you don't own either of these records, you can now own both of H.P. Lovecraft's releases from 1967 and 1968 respectively! Wonderful vocal harmonies combine with very original arrangements which make this "two-fer" disc a must own! The first LP features the very haunting "White Ship" and the equally dreamy "I've Been Wrong Before." The first release features a more prominent folk influence along with the "psych" flourishes. HP Lovecraft II is more explicitly trippy with songs like "Electrollentando" and "At the Mountains of Madness," but the splended duel lead vocals of George Edwards and David Michaels is still a very prominent feature.The sound quality of this Collector's Choice release is fantastic and it contains exellent liner notes by Richie Unterberger. If you can imagine "Surrealistic Pillow" period Jefferson Airplane combined with "Saucerful of Secrets" era Pink Floyd, with a folk twist, you can get a general "touchstone" for these two albums. That said, H.P. Lovecraft sadly fell through most rock fans "musical cracks" back in 1967 and 1968. Do your self a huge favor, if you like great first generation psychedelic music, get this CD and pay tribute to a horribly overlooked and underrated band."
Good Music, Poor Sound
Steven Moore | Ann Arbor, MI USA | 03/13/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this to replace the "pseudo-legal" European version that came out a few years ago but was immediately struck by the inferior sound: tinny with very audible hiss. I'm holding onto the bootleg until these wonderful albums can be properly re-mastered."
Perfectly frozen in time
Rodger Govea | Brecksville, OH United States | 12/27/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Although others cite "Forever Changes" by LOVE as the quintessential psychedelic album, these two offerings by HP Lovecraft are in many ways better. The music is more carefully crafted, and the singing is as good as you will get from this era. In any event, LOVE was an LA band, while HP was San Francisco, and those two scenes were indeed different.HP Lovecraft gives a nice picture of the San Francisco scene in the late 1960s, despite the fact that they had been transplanted to the area from Chicago. The group had an ex-folkie, George Edwards, as did Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Country Joe and the Fish. Listen to "Wayfaring Stranger" and you will understand that psychedelic music had its roots in folk. San Francisco, a hotbed of folk music in the early 1960s, was an obvious place for it to happen. The hippie part of the picture is provided by the surrealistic lyrics of "The White Ship" and "At the Mountains of Madness," while "Electrollentando" and "Moebius Trip" are dreamy flights of drug fantasy. The rather silly "Time Machine" recalls San Francisco's fascination with the victorian and post-victorian eras. But most importantly, the albums, taken together, show the ecclecticism of the era. HP Lovecraft never found a single sound (perhaps part of their demise), but preferred to advance several sounds. The style of play also recalls San Francisco in 1968. The organ often sounds as if it were stolen from Country Joe's band, the harmonies of Edwards and David Michaels, if flatter, could easily be the Airplane (who, in turn, stole their harmonies from the USF folk group We Five), and the guitar would be at home in the Quicksilver Messenger Service.It is irredeemably sixties, but it is done by some good musicians."
"Another one of those fabulous 2 lp's-on-1 CD releases.This Collector's Choice pressing combines the two lp's that the band had ever put out,their self-titled debut('67) and it's full-hearted follow-up 'H.P.Lovecraft II'('68) plus two bonus cuts,bringing the duration of the disc to over seventy minutes.I would best describe H.P.Lovecraft as complex psych with some elements of folk,pop and jazz clearly intact.Heard they opened for Pink Floyd once at the Fillmore East.I mean,how cool is that?Might appeal to fans of the Seeds,Tomorrow,Chocolate Watchband,13th Floor Elevators and the Electric Prunes.Nice to pull out from time to time to give the CD a spin."
Track Listings (21) - Disc #1