Oar

Interesting stuff that seems like a forerunner of some of the lofi singer songwriters I like today. That said, I didn’t really like the songs much. Glad I listened to this but won’t revisit.

May be a 4 if it wasn’t as long as it was.

Sind ein paar gute Psychedelic Rock-Songs dabei, allerdings jetzt auch nix unglaublich Wegweisendes, was andere nicht zur gleichen Zeit auch spannender hin hätten. Und sobald es experimenteller wird, verliert die Platte mich komplett.

Intéressant mais foutraque.

I had to rewrite my thoughts after reading up a bit more on the album. It didn't change my total stars (3), but shifted from low to high in that range. Hearing this as an insight into a man descending into schizophrenia brought something new to the compositions. Also I think it just took time for me to warm up to it all. A strange psych rock/jam folk journey.

I think this is another album where the story behind it is more interesting than the music itself. It's also worth mentioning that the album should end at track 12, as everything beyond this is a "bonus" of questionable merit. Definitely unsettling, with a few places where it sounded like something was going to start up that might go somewhere, but ultimately it kind of didn't. The faux country noodles brought to mind "Country Teasers", who have the same rather unsettling edge to their music. Quite a bit sounded very much like this was a demo tape, which it basically was I guess. I'm going with three stars, as I quite enjoyed it once, it had some parts that were great, but I doubt I'll ever listen to it again.

A strange one this! There’s sounds of Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen and even a bit of Syd Barrett. I wonder if they’d all listened to this album ? Never heard of the guy and was intrigued by his story. This list does occasionally throw up done interesting oddities!

An interesting curio compared to the Moby Grape album I had a few weeks ago. Reminded me a bit of Syd Barrett’s solo stuff after he left Pink Floyd, or some of Nick Drake’s work. This album is way too long though and outstayed its welcome about half way through. As his sole solo album I get he maybe just wanted to get it all out there at once though.

Hyggelig album, men ikke det mest spennende. Svak 3'er

Very much self made. There are some really interesting songs here. I liked it. Favorite songs were Little Hands, Weighted Down, War In Peace, and Broken Heart.

Some really familiar sounds here. I enjoyed this and listened through a second time for a good portion of it. A 3.5 on the 3 side.

This album kind of reminds me of the Sid Barrett albums where the story behind the album is far more interesting than the album itself. If I had to say that with the biggest drawback of this album it would have to be his asthmatic Grandpa vocal delivery. But some of the instrumentation just feels like too strung out to play his instrument. The songs themselves weren't all that bad but I just felt the delivery left me wanting more quite frankly a lot more. 5.8 ★★½ (three on the app)

Quite good bluesy album, but doesn't totally grab me. 3.5 stars

3.5

I dont usually read the synopsis on albums before I listen to them but im glad I did. This isn't a great listen but its context changes everything. Its sad but very interesting how this album came to us. Its also a man who had his work exploited. I wont revisit this but I will recommend it to others. This isn't a great album but it is one you should listen to before you die.

Interesting album, though not something I would seek out to listen to again. I had a coworker whose daughter was schizophrenic and would draw and paint as part of her therapy; this album is an audio version similar to those images.

Huh, so very lo-fi psych country/folk rock. I'm still not sure how to feel about this, but it's kind of really cool in a scattered, schizophrenic sort of way.

It is surely interesting record especially in terms of its creation and the author's faith. We can talk a lot on what this record can represents besides the music. However, some songs (Little Hands, Weighted Down and War in Peace) I find really good. But let's be honest the most other part of the album is raw demo-tapes. So I just can't put an above 3-stars rate.

Feels like a less interesting Roy harper. Not terrible but not that exciting

Ok, so this guy tried to attack his band mates with an axe, was locked up for 6 months, then made this album. Honestly, I don’t know what to think. The tone of the album certainly reflects his state of mind.

7.5/10 Izgubio me je pomalo na kraju, ovi eksperimenti su korisni, ali ne nužno prijatni za uši u pojedinim trenucima. Doživela sam krizu identiteta na pola albuma kada sam skontala da mi se mozda i svidja country, ali kako spotify kaže ovo nije samo country, tako da mi je sada malo lakše. Ima nekih jako dobrih pesama, doduše ne znam da li bih se svojevoljno vratila da ih slušam jer se ne pronalazim u celom tom “hodam po mračnoj i maglovitoj šumi, daleko od kuće” vajbu (možda čak ni ne pričam o ovom albumu jer mi je spotify izmedju puštao i neke druge pesme pa sam tako umesto jednog slusala 1.5 album i morala nakon svake pesme da gasim reklamu i vraćam na ovaj album, definitivno mi treba premium, ovo više nije smešno).

Some tunes on this are just off. Like listening to this I want to make sure dude is alright. After reading up on him when I was done with this listen he was not alright. It's haunted and his voice and lyrics bring it out. It's not an album I will put on to listen to normally but I can see a time I want to listen to this. Parts of this were written in a mental ward in the 60's and it was recorded to be a demo. The label said no thanks and did nothing with it. This album is the closest thing to cursed as I can find short of someone getting murdered and set to tape.

Sehr interessant, aber mir zu depro

Started kind of interesting, but then became awful/concerning. Wasn't expecting to hear a mental breakdown.

Floaty, folky, dragged at points but overall pleasant

3.0

One of the better sides of these "1001 albums to hear"... type of lists, is that you get to hear artists like Alexander Spence. A singer songwriter from late 60's that i've never heard of, but definitely should have. Spence sounds like America's own Syd Barrett and i'm sure his battle with mental illness has lot to do with the uniqueness of his music. The songs on this album seem to be more production of subconsciousness than actual song writing. Bit like jazz actually. Really interesting 'out of this world' album that feels totally fresh in this age of over production, songwriting camps and AI etc.

Gute Unterhaltung, nicht mehr und nicht weniger.

"Skip Spence" sounds like the old-time money cost of something. The album itself was okay. It did drag a bit.

Hight 2/low 3, fine enough but didn't do anything for me

A Canadian/American singer songwriter I had not heard of, though he is a founder of Moby Grape. Many of the songs embody lo-fi sensibilities, others psychedelia, and it seems ahead of its time in terms of style. No one song stood out to me so while great album, three stars.

Interesting.

really interesting listen, and a sad life. Obvs parallels with Syd Barrett and Roky Erikson. But some solid songwriting, albeit here in a fragile and unfinished state - these were demos and had they had the full studio production take this might have been one of the great late sixties albums. As it is 3 stars.

idk habs nicht mega gefühlt lel

Mixed feelings on this one. Many of the tracks have the kind of slow, deep-voiced, melancholy sound that always wins me over, but others are pretty generic 60s folk/psychedelic fare. It’s better than some of its peers, but not outstanding. I really like his voice on “Cripple Creek.” Actually, as it goes, it’s more interesting and complex than I initially gave it credit for. (Currently at Grey/Afro, which is a pretty cool, if meandering, song). I’d be more enthusiastic about this if it weren’t so long. Meh, now it’s pretty boring again. Okay, yeah, that was all over the place (much like this stream-of-consciousness review…). Bit of a strange mess. Favorites: Weighted Down, War In Peace 3?

that was not the worst thing i have ever heard.

Interesting quirky album with a mix of styles. That mix led to some inconsistencies in quality though. Favorites: Cripple Creek, War in Peace Least Favorites: It's The Best Thing for You

An interesting listen. Didn't love it, but it wasn't terrible. I liked that it didn't sound like the other albums we've listened to, and the writing was good, but didn't care for many of his vocals.

Odd, haunting, strange, raw and honest, compelling in its unevenness, but an album that ultimately leaves you yearning for a cohesion that never quite arrives.

Ok. Vocals were a bit garbled at times and psychedelic rock can get repetitive when the artist doesn’t do much special with it. 3 stars

Very Raw. Original drummer from Jefferson Airplane

Good album, interesting mix of folk, psychedelic and some more country aspects. Nothing revelatory, but probably was ahead of its time.

Sparse shambling psych folk with a real outsider artist feel to it, an auteur album that's also a document of a hallucinogenic breakdown. Sparse instrumentation with droning guitars, trance like bass parts, and skittering percussion.

far too long but lovely lovely voice

It's OK, a good musician doing weird music.

This guy sounds sleepy but the vibe is pretty chill. 😎

*1969 - Canadian-American singer-songwriter. *Sounded like Crosby, Stills, Nash meets Bob Dylan vocals. *Not bad, but not mind-blowing. RATING - 6.5/10

Kind of weird, but also interesting at some parts.

most of the songs were ok, but that first song was awful.

Got half way thru. Why is this here. I didn’t hate it but…..why is this here?

This is such a gentle surprise. It's soothing in the looseness. Just a simple, beautiful record that feels like a small gift. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions: - Little Hands - Cripple Creek - War In Peace

Cool if too long album. As it goes on you can hear how it might have influenced groups like Of Montreal. A 3 for me right now, but bears further listens.

Very spacey and airy. Wide soundstage. A little psychedelic. Interesting post production sound effects for a 1969 album. Sometimes leans a little too far towards Johnny Cash though

I had no idea what to expect based on the description and was surprised this was so pretty and chill. He seems to have lived a tragic life plagued by addiction and mental illness, and I'm happy he was able to leave his mark on the world and create beautiful music despite his troubles. I thought this was a cool album.

You would think, given that I have dedicated my professional life to working with people at the absolute nadir of their mental health, that this album would speak to me more. Skip Spence wrote almost everything here while he was institutionalized after having some psychotic delusions about his bandmates in Moby Grape, and while that story is fascinating, the songs themselves are, as you might expect, a little hit-and-miss.

Some good songs but doesn’t stand out compared to the greats of the generation

Some gud sum bad

Clearly didn't hate it as much as everyone else...

His story makes me sad. I do find the music enjoyable but for whatever I can't take it very "seriously", whatever that means for myself. It is rough and ready which has a kind of appeal, but a more polished version of the same songs would be more appealing to me.

Personally, I am not a fan of folky music. It doesn't satisfy my ear in the way other genres do. However, getting to know more about the backstory for this album really increased my enjoyment of it. I'd like to think the album was a step into his consciousness or his existence up until that point. There are songs that are so lively and full of energy, and others that feel unsettling. All this being said, this album isn't something that will stick with me too much musically. The story stands out more than the music!

I had never heard of Skip Spence! I generally like the mildly psychedelic vibe, but I wish there was a bit more variety. His voice was pleasant enough. I would probably have to sit with these lyrics for a long, long, long time to . . . relate to them.

pretty good but samey and i really didn’t like the last song

Nice bit of acoustic guitar

Bay Area Barrett

Decent album. Seems like he had a hard time of it. Weighted Down and Books of Moses were the stand-outs. Psychedelic folk sounds a lot like classic rock to me.

Not my thing.

This is an interesting one. Very much outsider music, really interesting back story, very sad. But it sounds like the love child of Bob Dylan and Tom Waites.

Ah it's fine. I appreciate the variety, but none of it was too inspiring.

Hits and misses all over the place.

He sounds like an interesting guy hit this album didn’t have enough to keep me interested - some cool ideas though.

'Skip' is a bit of an unfortunate nickname in the era of online streaming. Thankfully, this record is better than that. At first this was putting me in mind of Roy Harper, albeit decidedly more lo-fi. Though once I started to tune into the lyrics and recording a little more, it's a lot more idiosyncratic. Pretty amazing rush of manic energy to bash this out solo, even if quite a lot of it is fairly 'demo level'. Well worth a listen.

Interesting in places if pretty disjointed

When I first opened today's selection, I was afraid we'd be listening to some lame-ass-Dave Matthews-wannabe-Jam-Pop-Adult-Alternative music from O.A.R. What we actually got was a somewhat interesting album from an artist with mental health problems that sounds a lot like other artists with mental health problems (i.e. Nick Drake, Daniel Johnston, Gram Parsons, etc.) My initial reaction is that I'll probably never listen to this again. But there is a tribute album, "More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album", that has more refined versions of these songs by Alejanro Escovedo, Beck, Mark Lanegan, Greg Dulli, and others. It's not on Spotify, but most of it is on YouTube.

Listened Before? N Interesting story, and fairly tragic. The music is very creative. A tortured artist story. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Little Hands

Poor man's Sid Barrett, blah, blah, blah. So we're saying too much acid is bad for the artist but good for the art? And would we be listening to this if he hadn't done a Bellevue stint? Still, it's not bad, if excessively DIY (like to the point of being outsider/primitive/folk art of a kind). The groany/warbly/talky vocals don't work any more than half the time. "War in Peace" is probably best cut, though "Grey / Afro" is interestingly offbeat. No surprise, really, that this never took off and remains an obscurity for cultists only. Safe to say it's also too long by more than a little.

Like a strange cross of Leonard Cohen, Syd Barrett, Vic Chestnut and Moondog. It was better than I thought it was going to be.

Not a huge fan of psychedelic. this was fine for background music

more like bore. has its moments tho

a perfectly fine but forgettable album

It grew on me and I quite enjoyed it but I can’t imagine I’d ever feel the urge to listen to it again

This falls outside my xonfort zone for sure, in fact I despise the singer/songwriter genre and the more famous the worse. This is refreshing however. Haunting and eerie at times while being quite accessible. Very interesting to say the least

The story of this album is more interesting than the album itself. The sheer amount of material is impressive for someone who spent 6 months in a psych ward but a lot of that is just not that good.

I have never heard of Skip Spence before getting this record. It was interesting that he was an original member of both Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape (I've never listened to Moby Grape before). This album is interesting and definitely deserves another listen. It is sad that he suffered from mental illness, but good that he was able to channel that into music.

This is pretty good. I had never heard of Alexander Spence before, but I’m glad I was introduced to this album. Is good, but weird… I get psychedelic Nick Drake vibes. Reading the backstory of this album is quite depressing

There wasn't anything very standout about this album. A bit too much country and some just ok vocals.

I did not listen to this in one sitting. It's way too long! And I got bored! But otherwise, it's pleasant on the first have. It slowly devolves into barely coherent rambling on the second half--like those prog rock bands with insanely indulgent solos that go on forever, except these aren't musically interesting either. Was gonna give 3 stars but the last 15 minutes cost it the third.

Ok, I can get behind the story of this guy. One album, supposedly fucked on acid, rambling his way through a full albums worth of acoustic driven tracks. Sometimes it doesn’t sound like him but apparently it is. There I am listening with one ear phone on and all I’m hearing are drums. I’m thinking, who’s more fucked up here, this guy or his music producer for just putting a track on the album of just drums. Then I happened to put my other earphone on and realized the song was recorded on separate tracks. Well, that’s how I describe it. I do like it when artists do that, I just like to know ahead of time. This guy looks like Garth from Wayne’s World in his album cover photo. This is more tolerable than Syd Barrett’s music but not as trippy. They both serve a purpose in this world of rockdom. Oddly enough, I like this but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, like if I was asked to suggest an obscure album for a person to listen to, this would not come to mind. At least I don’t think so. Honestly, this album checks the boxes of almost all that I hate when it comes to a good album. The vocals aren’t great, the songs don’t make sense, there’s no real stand out track and the guy doesn’t look like a singer. But somehow this works. I do pray I remember who he is the next time I have a deep musical conversation. He deserves more of my attention, just not more than once a month. Choice cut: cripple creek

Has some boring stuff but some of it was pretty interesting Will I listen to again: 6%

Very authentic, raw album. Unfortunately I don't think a lot stands out from it, but Alexander Spence is clearly a talented musician considering this is a solo work. There's a charm to it I can't shake.

I wasn't especially impressed by the A-side, but starting at the 6-minute track and on, I found more to enjoy than not. Definitely a very ramshackle record.

On first listen, this was pretty horrible. The music is messy and the singing sounds like rambling. It was once I read up on the album's context that I saw it in a new light. A close friend of mine was once admitted under very similar circumstances to Spence's. He's better now, but visiting him on those days he was unlike himself in ways that I see reflected here, on tracks like Weighted Down, Broken Heart, and Grey/Afro. Isolation, confusion and spirituality are prevalent throughout. Of course, I can't possibly claim to truly know what they were going through. I did however end up approaching and reflecting upon the album in a way I didn't expect.

It’s funny how few albums stand out on a list this long — I’m about halfway through and am continually baffled that so many picks feel generic and samey. This, however, is not one of them. This is an odd album and I doubt I’ll ever listen to it again so I’m giving it a 3. But it’s so blessedly DIFFERENT to most of the stuff on this list that it’s more like a 3.5. It’s probably one of the few albums on this challenge I’ll remember. Even if it’s not my personal taste in music.

After reading few articles about Spence you would think that he was the biggest musical genius in the history of rock and adjacent genres. After listening to his album, Oar, you would think he is a raw Frank Zappa without any of his guitar abilities, and honestly not confident enough. Truth is probably somewhere in the middle, I reckon, so without more unnecessary pages of text, a rating to reflect that.

-this was interesting. sort of rough around the edges.. it’s not bad but I can def understand why it sold so poorly with Columbia Records -I think most of the appeal for me with this one is the atmosphere. very haunting and lonely which I guess makes sense considering the life story of the guy who made it. i like it -Favorites are Margaret-Tiger Rug and War In Peace

Not sure I'd put it on the necessary list, but I'm entranced by the out-of-nowhere ethos that pervades the quirk. The production seems perfectly attuned to the oddness. Stark, spare, sorrowful.

This really is an eclectic melange. I hesitate to say ‘mess’ because I think it has some through-line of pain and mania, culminating in 9 minutes of repetitive strain therapy. The original was only 12 songs so don’t be fooled by the 22 it offers. One man and his pain went to mow a meadow and created a wildflower oasis. It is mad but deserves some merit - I just wish that cover didn’t make him look like a Bay City Roller.

I bought a copy of this back when I discovered "outsider art." It didn't speak to me at the time, but this time around, I kind of got it. It's often hauntingly beautiful. It also feels very exploitative. Clearly Spence was unwell and we're listening to his mental demise here. Having said that, this album inspired a slew of people, including Robert Plant and Tom Waits, and it gave Spence a legacy beyond just being one of the band members of Moby Grape. As an album, it's a bit much. But it's a great source for mixtape material. (Fun side note, it's the only album I've ever heard of that was recorded on 3-track.)

Started strong but I quickly lost interest.

Folkish music. Not bad, but not really memorable either.

Chill and somber. Very easy listening from an artist I had not heard of before. Melancholic in nature, but not depressing. This has a nice vibe to it and I'll be happy to revisit it again.

Some of it is enjoyable in the right mood. A bit too much of it though. I do enjoy hearing some rough and in process works here and there on an album or as bonus tracks. But that was like this whole album.

Song: little hands This song sounds really good but i never heard of it and its not that good because it is a little wonky but it gets better Song: cripple creek this song is weird i dont really like it because his voice is too deep but the first one was good but it gets better at the end the first part was like a demon saying it Song: broken heart this song is okay but i would not listen to this but it is really good but it needs to be faster not slower because it actually very slow

Weird album. Produktion, singer, history, ...

I feel the same way about this album as I did with John Frusciante's solo work. There are flashes of genius amid the drugs and pain, but sometimes you'll have to search for them.

Listened once, found it fairly dull. Read the background: fascinating. The guy was genuinely mentally ill and completely wild. So they locked him in an institution and he wrote this. Then when he was released, he got on a motorcycle in his pyjamas* and rode straight to Nashville to record it, and his producer/manager just basically sent it out as is to be released. (*this part is apparently urban myth but I like it so I’m keeping it) Wow. That deserves a relisten or two with a bit more of my attention. A couple of relistens later, yeah it’s still fairly dull unfortunately. There are some interesting moments but he never sustains it for an entire song, let alone a full double album. It’s also horrendously mixed, with this awful huffy bass guitar drowning out his ‘vocals’ a lot of the time. Not to mention that said ‘vocals’ rarely equate to more than the mumblings of a literal madman. Poor guy. I’m glad he lived to come out the other side and hope he found peace later in life. It’s an interesting legacy but not one I can see myself listening to again very regularly.

it had a weird spooky jazzy sound to it, idt i would listen again

Great instrumentation, some interesting songs but also some creative writing

This was just okay. I didn't hate it but I didn't really care for it, either. None of the songs stood out to me. It just seemed like general folk/classic rock.

Ok this album feels 'cool' on a way I can't quite identify. I want to get a beer with skip. Not quite my style, but probably better than the 3 stars I'm giving it. Favorite track was books of moses

Standout tracks: none. Listens: 2 No particularly noteworthy songs, but on the second listen-through, the music did click a bit more than the first time. I can understand why the album is on the 1001 albums list. Some of the tracks get pretty psychedelic. I do always appreciate when the listener gets those "behind-the-scenes" bits of dialog or noise or chatter before, during or after the song has concluded; they bring the process to life. It's a person recording these songs, talking with the sound engineer. Talking with their bandmates, figuring out what song to play next -- that they've run out of tape, etc. The "why" behind the album and the context leading up to the album being recorded were interesting, to say the least. There is a certain melancholy-ness to the music, and an exhausted nature to the artist. There's nothing upbeat about any of the tracks.

I really liked some of the songs on this one. His voice sounds so different in every song…I prefer the ones where he sings in a lower register like Cripple Creek or Weighted Down. Things got weird after first 10 songs or so. My rating is for the first half of the songs as originally released.

listened to this again before reviewing because i forgot all about it and it’s better than i remembered from yesterday. it’s giving nick drake who i am sort of ambivalent about. but at its best it’s better than that and pretty interesting. at its worst it’s just bland. maybe closer to 2.5 on another day but what the hecj

Surprisingly comprehensive album of 60s music. A bit of everything. Psychedelia, folk, country, etc. i like how many voices he’s doing

So I was listening to this album and thought it was pretty mid like most of the folk I've heard on here, but I was intrigued by the story of Skip Spence and I was listening to this album at work and the song "Keep Everything Under your Hat" and at this point I wasn't really paying attention and then my coworker said hey did you hear that? I said what he said blister in the sun, and this is how I found out the Violent Femmes came up with blister in the sun! It about knocked me down! Lol overall though this was a pretty boring album, but I was pretty flabbergasted when I heard that little bit of what sounded like the blister in the sun overall an ok album with an interesting backstory!

So this was a demo that the artist didn't plan on releasing? Figures. I wonder what this album could have been with some serious editing.

Moby Grape were a pretty decent psychedelic 60’s band This has some interesting moments But there’s a lot of druggy noodling between them

Didn't really have high hopes for this one tbh, but it was pretty good! Sort of a weird and haunting country rock album, it's cool. 3.5/5

Fine, interesting in parts. The description had me thinking that's was going to be incredible but it was just fairly standard 60s psych rock

2.8 2x catch up 2/19

Inoffensive

This was pretty weird but ok

3.5

I'm not sure they allow people in this frame of mind into recording studios these days, and I am not sure I would play this again, but I am kind of pleased that it exists. I felt prurient and uncomfortable at times listening in on someone's clearly-fragile mental state committed to tape, but I admire that it is strange, unsettling and a little unfathomable. Pop it is not.

This is a proper "losing your mind" album. The Syd Barrett one is just rambling, but this is musical while still maintaining the dark undertones of insanity.

Interesting. 3/5

On the one hand this is an oddity, a mess and hard to place. On the other, it's a wonder to listen to and one of the reasons for being here. I don't know whether this is influential, well known or just "hey, listen to this - it's very off beam".

Interesting. But not my vibe.

Never heard of this album before. Quite an interesting context and story. Quite a sampling of songs of varying direction, execution and approach. It makes for interesting listening. I'm glad it's on this list as I'd have never heard it otherwise, and I'm glad to have heard the album and know the story.

The most depressing country Ive ever heard. Sad saggy slow but you can feel the dudes voice doing it difere tly than regular country and I kind of dig it.

Y'know, I was really not expecting to struggle writing about this album as much as I did. Like, I didn't think this would be an easy job, but I didn't go into this thinking I'd end up starting over this review over as many times as I did. Look, I just needa get this roadblock out of the way. Before I even heard a second of this album, I was reading about how it was made following Alexander's stay in a mental hospital, and about how it was apparently "one of the most harrowing depictions of pain and confusion ever documented." From all that, I knew I had to be respectful of this guy and his struggles. After all, I'm not an ass. But, like, here's the issue: you know Syd Barrett and THE MADCAP LAUGHS? This album's backstory reminded me a lot of that one's, even down to the fact that this was the last thing Alexander released before largely disappearing from the music industry (Barrett released one more album after THE MADCAP LAUGHS, but still). I know THE MADCAP LAUGHS is gonna be a hard review for me to write, given everything I know about him, his problems, and what he means to Pink Floyd. But then, that's the thing: I know a lot about Syd Barrett. It's hard to be a fan of Pink Floyd without knowing about him, given all he ended up inspiring. Alexander, meanwhile, was a member of Moby Grape, a group I hadn't heard of until the Randomizer gave us one of their albums, and one I haven't thought about since that day. And I didn't even know Alexander was a member of Moby Grape until **today**. Like, as respectful as I wanna be — and of course I would be towards someone like this, regardless of circumstances — it's not exactly easy to write about someone I have so little connection to. Which just makes it all the worse that, on top of all that, I don't really have anything to say about the album itself. I can't remember the last time an album passed me by as badly as this one did. In one ear, out the other, I couldn't remember what it sounded like even seconds after the album ended. Which, sure, I could probably blame that on the fact that I got up late today and wasn't working at 100% mental capacity — that could legit be the reason. At the same time, though, there was just barely anything going on musically for me to latch on to. 'Cuz there's the other issue there: me being melody-first. I don't come to music to analyze poetry, so that's probably why I'm missing out on how "harrowing" this album is. But at the same time, you take another artist I'm wont to write about seriously 'cuz of their story, Nick Drake. I didn't really pay attention to his lyrics either, but goodness, he's at least he's such a beautiful guitar player that I can latch on to that. Alexander, meanwhile, didn't exactly give me anything to get engaged with except some of the most egregious 60's stereo panning I've heard in a long time. Seriously, whose idea was it to have songs where the drums were in one ear, and **literally everything else** was in the other? Not since the German-language Beatles songs. None of this is terrible, or even bad, but between Alexander's acoustic plonking and low-voiced mumble, if I didn't know any better, I would've assumed he was just some kinda jerk who was trying **way too hard** to be a Serious Artist™. Like... Y'know, at the end of the day, I was conflating not liking this album with being disrespectful of the man who made it. I mean, as far as I heard, he was essentially baring his soul and singing about his world. Who the hell am I to look at this and go, "It's a bit shit, innit?" But, look, that's not true at all. I mean, if I can like a fair bit of Kanye West's music despite not being respectful towards that man at all, why can't the opposite be true? Alexander's story, from all I've read, is tragic, and I don't mean any ill will towards him. But his music simply isn't for me. Like, I'll be generous and keep this album at a 3, but I was honestly considering a 2. As I say, that's just how it is sometimes. Alexander, Skip... Well, I can only hope you're resting in peace.

This album made me want to sit around and smoke a bunch of weed. I don’t think I fully appreciate it, but I do love that I can see it as an influence for some of the music in later years that I enjoy. I really love Skip Spence’s voice and how he can go from sounding very sultry, to tired—exhausted and grungy. I definitely am happy to have found Weighted Down through listening to this album.

A little bit of a twangy feel good rock. Fine but didn't move the needle for me.

3/5

It's kind of a psychedelic folk-rock thing. If you're into that sort of sound, definitely check it out.

It is an interesting and touching story, but the album is just another one in the pile of psychedelic rock from the 60s/70s.

Not good

Very good, often dreamy and kinda haunted sounded. But not in a scary way, more like a sad way. Relaxing

Better to “skip” this album. It was okay. A folk singer-songwriter kinda vibe to it, which was alright. Some songs were good, but overall the album runs too long. The last couple of songs are less than a minute and blend into each other. Cool for that. Standouts: Little Hands, Margaret-Tiger Rug, Dixie Peach Promenade, and This Time He Has Come.

Reading this guys bio was pretty interesting, but I didn't have many opinions on the album

First thought was 'oh no, another half-baked psychedelic folk album' and that's true in parts but a couple of tracks in I inexplicably started to like it. Glad I have heard this, would never have found it without this list.

Interesting record. I wasn't totally into it, though I love Skip's voice. Background of this album is nuts, and the recording very much captures how tortured of a soul he was. Might be something I come back to someday, but not often.

The write-up says that these are effectively glorified demos, and that definitely feels like it's the case. There's some good songs in here with interesting melodies and guitar-work, but there's also a lot of meandering and mumbling as well. Some songs on here are so weak and not formed at all, and perhaps if this was a more traditional process those songs would either be scrapped or punched up a bit. There's enough promise to warrant a halfway decent score, but it's a shame we didn't get to hear a proper fleshed out album with full production.

Some decent stuff. A lot of forgettable droning.

Leuk maar wel oud

An odd collection of songs here, but there is enough for 3 stars or C for a rating.

great vibe. solid album. 6/10

++: Little Hands, Diana, Weighted Down (The Prison Song), War in Peace, Books of Moses, Grey/Afro +: Cripple Creek, Lawrence of Euphoria +-: Margaret/Tiger Rug, Broken Heart, All Come to Meet Her, Dixie Peach Promenade (Yin for Yang) 7,7/10

Z tych wszystkich smętnych balladopisarzy był całkiem niezły. Takie 3/5, ale żadna piosenka do zapisania.

I liked the more psychedelic stuff but overall it was a bit boring

Almost a 2.

some really cool tracks, but others that just dont feel needed, i think i may have accidentally listened to the super extended version though

Curious, slowburning, mix of country, blues and psychedelia, sometimes whimsical, sometimes dark. It grows on you after a time, but material on original album stronger than subsequent additions

76% Best: Little Hands; War In Peace; Broken Heart; Books of Moses; Grey/Afro Must-Hear? Not quite

This is a curious album. I'm not sure what it is about some of these songs: they can be slow and repetitive on the surface, but some special resonance in the guitar, or maybe the vocal style, makes them engaging in a meditative way. It's a very creative interpretation of the Folk-Rock style with some Psychedelic sound mixed in. I don't know what happened in the second half of the album, though; it's all weird minute-long tracks.

I’m torn. I found my self singing along while also thinking shut the fuck uuuuuup.

Spannende Geschichte hinter dem Album und hörenswerter Sound, sehr verschieden

shame he never made a second album called moar

I'm pretty sure I've heard this guy busking on a corner in Asheville, NC. Pretty standard 60's folk album.

Pretty and morose. Need to revisit it later for a fuller opinion. Definitely seems like a grower.

Another interesting album I had not previously heard of.

Album 536 of 1001 Alexander 'Skip' Spence - Oar (1969) Rating : 3 / 5 Interesting listen. Not necessarily "good"...but interesting. There is a story behind it.: The producer released the demo. Oar is the only solo studio album by American rock musician Skip Spence, released on May 19, 1969 by Columbia Records. It was recorded over seven days in December 1968 in Nashville, and features Spence on all of the instruments. Described as "one of the most harrowing documents of pain and confusion ever made", the album was recorded after Spence had spent six months in Bellevue Hospital. Spence had been committed to Bellevue following a delusion-driven attempt to attack Moby Grape bandmates Don Stevenson and Jerry Miller with a fire axe. At the time of Spence's release from hospital, he had written a number of songs that he wanted to record. Producer David Rubinson suggested that Spence record at the Columbia studios in Nashville, where there was a particularly patient recording engineer, Mike Figlio. Rubinson instructed Figlio to keep the tapes running at all times, to record everything that Spence did. The majority of the tracks were recorded using a three-track recorder. Rubinson chose to stay away from the studio, concerned that Spence's recording activities would be distracted by the presence of a producer. According to Spence, the Nashville sessions were intended by him to only be a demo, which he gave to Rubinson with the intent that the songs would be fleshed out with full production for the actual album. Instead, Rubinson had the demo recordings released by Columbia. When first released, Oar was not promoted by Columbia Records, despite pleadings from Rubinson. It was at the time the lowest-selling album in Columbia Records history and was deleted from the Columbia catalogue within a year of its release.

Very average. Near psychedelic sound, but nothing special

It was ok

2.75

Begs the question: should this be judged (and is on this list) based on the potential of the unfinished product, or by what got pressed onto vinyl? As the former, I'm inclined to be more receptive - plenty of here to catch my attention, and the kernels of some good songs. Musicianship is good, nice psychedelic and bluesy vibes. But that's about as far as it goes. Without the context of Spence's mental illness or the circumstances of the album's creation, I'd have to say "what the fuck?" Three stars, probably not one I'm inclined to revisit, even on the darkest nights of my soul. But still miles ahead of slogging through 4 Tim Buckley records.

Good background studying noise I guess. 2.5/5 stars

Not amazing but it does have some really original ideas. All in all this is a decent psychedelic folk album.

Was expecting much more from a psychedelic folk album. Nothing bad nonetheless, but the country songs clearly weighs it down (pun intended).

Interessantes, aber chaotisches Konzeptalbum, das stark von Country-Musik geprägt ist. Das Album bietet eine interessante Mischung aus verschiedenen Stilen, was es spannend, aber auch verwirrend und manchmal anstrengend macht. Besonders hervorzuheben ist der Song “Cripple Creek”, der positiv heraussticht. “Margret-Tiger-Rug” wirkt eher skurril, während “Books is Moses” völlig abgedreht und schwer nachvollziehbar ist. Insgesamt spiegelt das Album die schwierige Zeit wider, die Spence in einer Nervenheilanstalt verbrachte, und ist stark von seinem Drogen- und Psychopharmakakonsum geprägt. Vielleicht mal mit viel Zeit reinhören aber nicht sehr dringend. Hast du einen Lieblingssong auf dem Album?

Cool concept for an album. Album cover is appropriately creepy. I could not really understand the majority of the lyrics, and felt like I would appreciate it more if I had those in hand.

tem umas músicas legais, mas nada que chama atenção. muitas músicas pequenas

Ok

Siistiä alt country tai jotain sellaista akustista. War In Peacessa aika Muse/Radiohead vibat. Vähän jotain outoja jazz fiilikaiä lopussa myös. Parhaat: War In Peace, Little Handa

Un poco rollo.

This was a really interesting one, never heard of it before, but enjoyed it way more than I expected to given how bland I found Moby Grape. Some really dark and experimental songs on here, a few are quite forgettable though. Not something I'd listen to often, but glad to have given it a couple goes.

"Oar" is the only studio album by American singer-songwriter Alexander "Skip" Spence. Pyschedelic folk, folk rock and pyschedelic rock are the listed genres. They all fit. The album was recorded after Spence had spent six months in Bellevue hospital for attacking Moby Grape bandmates Don Stevenson and Jerry Miller with a fire axe. Spence sings, plays all the instruments and self-produced the album. One critic described the album as "one of the most harrowing documents of pain and confusion ever made." "Little Hands" opens with an acoustic and electric guitar. A very slow pace and a clapping beat. Spence's vocals are muffled as he compares children clapping to peace. Spence gets his falsetto out in "War in Peace." This is pyschedelic rock with some great guitar. One of the better songs on the album. "Book of Moses" has a gritty, country blues vibe. The percussion sounds like he's pounding a hammer. The nine-minute "Grey/Afro" closes the album. An eerie electric guitar. Spence is whispering. A really weird drum beat. There's nary a melody; it's all beats and hypnotic. This is a slow, stark and somewhat minimalist album. Layered guitars. Spence's voice goes from normal to deep to falsetto. He also mumbles a lot. Most of the songs are very short with minimal lyrics. I have to be honest; I didn't really try after awhile to understand what he was singing about. I didn't dislike this album but can't say I really liked it either. It is a compelling listen for its background. If you're up somewhat of a challenging listen, this album is for you.

Far out man

Wierdly enjoyable

3.5

I don't really know what to make of this one. At times it felt like outsider art because of how unpolished it was. It reminded me a bit of when I used to go on message boards and share songs I recorded in my bedroom with people around the world. There was a moment when I was worried that I accidentally listened to the demo versions or something. I feel like there's a story behind it. But musically I don't think it grabbed me

Ok 🤷🏻‍♀️

3-

Actually ngl

An interesting album, I enjoyed Little Hands, Cripple Creek, Weighted Down and Broken Heart.

It was fine.

OMG! Little Hands by Flaming Lips is a cover! I had no idea! Why did Wayne hum the melody and not sing the lyrics, particularly when they're so on point for late 90s F'lips? A mystery. Given familiarity with that cover, I'm predisposed to like the opening track here, and the rest of the album follows in a similar arty singer songwriter vein. It gets a bit slow in places and also a bit weird in places. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Little Hands Date listened: 10/07/24

þetta var nokkuð skrítið en skemmtilegt. aðra umferð. 3,5.

its quiet and introspective, and even though its a little over an hour it seems longer. not really my thing, but overall it was okay.

Eh I didn’t mind it but it got pretty boring and weird after a while

Guitar, c'était agréable, mais sans plus.

Some Hades game ost vibes

Unless you're trying to go to sleep, this album isn't worth it. That is with two exceptions which use electric guitar as that's just going to wake you up. 3/5

Bounced between a 2 and a 3. Just another one of those feels like it's trying too hard and missing the target.

Tavallaan kiinnostava (ja kiinnostava on syntytarinakin), mut ehkä vähän pitkä. Varmaan jos kuuntelis tekstejä tarkemmin niin vois arvostaa enemmän. Menee listalle "kiva kuunnella uudestaan joskus myöhemmin".

The singing and playing weren't all that great and this sounds more like a demo than an album but it sort of worked for me and I kind of enjoyed it.

Cool

Was not familiar with him but I liked the sound

3.5 stars. At times psychedelic, at times cowboy folk songs, always with tongue-in-cheek. I actually liked this album a lot. It has the hallmarks of some of my faves, like Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, but the unedited, unpolished feel sometimes overstays its welcome as Skip pauses every few lines to laugh. These are the kinds of weird albums I really like getting recommended tbh.

Found it boring. Read the back story after the fact.

Sounded nice and made me sleepy

Sounds like another generic folk but it actually has some pretty interesting instrumental bits. It made the entire listen fun.q

The first half of this album is really interesting folk, but then it rapidly declines.

All over the place. There are moments of greatness like “War In Peace” but the ideas are too disjoint and opaque even for me.

shi was kinda good, I really like folk records, but it was not aaaaallll that, enjoyed it tho !! . 5/10.

Eh. Syd Barrett was better.

I appreciate the barebones nature of it and how it reflects his dark mental state at the time. Ultimately it doesn't do a lot to grip me because of that though. I enjoyed it but not something I will likely come back to a ton.

Never heard this before. There are some cool songs on here.

I'd never heard of this artist or album before. After the first listen through I was left intrigued. Reading up about it bought the album into focus, which I was lacking before. Now I'm left with an interesting conundrum - I don't know how to rate this. This deserves it's place in rock history, but I doubt it had much impact on future musicians. The demo quality gives it a certain charm, but I can't help wondering what it would have sounded like done properly. I'm glad I listened to it, but I wouldn't seek it out again. I'm torn with this one.

An ok album - most tracks sounded alike

boring doors velvet underground wannabe

The album ending with songs getting shorter and the very last one ending because he ran out of tape is a lost art

Ever since that first Saturday date I showed up 13 hours late.

not really my cup of tea but it was nice :)

Nice and folky but kinda wanted to ‘Skip’ some of the songs lol

This album makes SOOO much more sense after reading Skippy’s Wikipedia page. He recorded this almost immediately after being released from a mental institution and allegedly it was intended to only be a demo recording, but his producer just released it as is?? It’s difficult to understand what he’s saying most of the time and the music feels disjointed, but there are moments of goodness. Probably won’t listen again though.

Fine psychedelic rock album. The story behind it is better than the album itself.

Crazy how "Guy has a mental breakdown after abusing drugs and proceeds to record a really fucking weird folk album" is a whole subgenre that exists, because this is like the fifth album with the exact same backstory that I've heard. Not as enchanting as Syd Barrett's Madcap, not as completely batshit as John Frusciante's Niandra. Just kind of weird. I wish the rest of this album sounded like "Grey/Afro", because that one made me actually feel like I was going insane, and that's exactly what I signed up for today.

It can’t possibly live up to the back story but it wasn’t bad.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Little hands, If I’m good

It was a bit of a snooze

Kinda boring. May sound better at a bar.

I think drugs may have been involved. Despite, or maybe because of that, it’s certainly a rather curious beast: my first thought was that Beck had travelled back in time, maybe accompanied by Nick Cave, to record it. But that wouldn’t fully explain the quirkiness, the weirdness, the pain. “Grey/Afro”, meanwhile, is a mind-fuck of epic proportions. Trippy, man. And worth returning to, I feel.

Not terrible, but not something that's easy for me to enjoy. There are some psychedelic aspects that I like, but most of the album under delivers.

Cool album - raw production , somewhat lazy in some tracks… enjoyed war in peace…. Glad I got to listen to this…

Dark stuff but entrancing

Folksy, trippy, enjoyable listen (for most tracks)

quite slow

Wild ride

Was okay, but not very psychedelic.

Hm. Manchmal ziemlich cool, manchmal nervig, manchmal komisch. Insgesamt irgendwie witzig, weil anders. 2,7.

Oof, cheer up Skip. This goes on about 25 mins and 11 songs too long. Weirdly I found myself humming along to a bunch of them that I've never heard before because they sort of sound familiar already. So that was quite clever. But blimey, cheer up Skip.

joa passt scho - 3 Sterne. Eigentlich nicht so ganz meine Musik

Interesting stuff. Relisten.

Didn’t mind this at all. The sounds varied between folk and psychedelic. A little long but I’m putting it into my 1001 albums playlist!

3.8 - Dispatches from the backwaters of insanity, somewhat in the vein of “Rock Bottom” by Robert Wyatt, but dwelling in its own rarefied atmosphere. Unlike any other record, a curiosity definitely worth a revisit at some point. Standouts: “War in Peace”, “Grey/Afro.”

It's fine. Even after listening to the bonus tracks there's not much here. 3/5. Favorite Track: Diana

It makes me wonder what the world would be like if we could opt out of our normal minds from time to time. What would we see? How would we feel differently? Would we consider ourselves or others differently? I'm glad to see some music here from someone who is not in a neurotypical frame of mind.

What the heck is this? Stoner, prog, psychedelic, flower power, revival, roots, psychotic, blues, dissociative identity, delusion, diphenhydramine, proto-karmakoma, post-pop, pre-paramorphism? Without diving into wikipedia I'll bet this record is included for complicated reasons. I'll just take a break now and go back to reading Naked Lunch or something.

This is one that I'm not as familiar with. Created on the brink of or in the throes of a breakdown seemed to bring a unique perspective to the writing. Overall, Spence's story is a sad one, but the music remains.

It's okay. Just okay.

Overall -recorded after 6 months in Bellevue for attacking Jefferson Airplane with a fire axe and played every single instrument, never heard of anything more iconic -he reminds me of Bon Iver meets Johnny Cash in a way -I love how messy/not sharp the electric is, he’s def hanging out on the pick ups, a fender? Maybe Stratocaster?? -it’s giving the art Van Gogh painted while in the insane asylum energy Little Hands -I like how the electric sounds “messy” -Something that could play in an elevated Starbucks Cripple Creek -the vocal range ??? -reminds me of a folky song I can’t place Diana -It’s giving Johnny Cash Hurt -Is that a sitar ????? War in Peace -His voice is so folky -bro how many guitar tracks did he lay -ooooo the tempo pick up Weighted Down -so he’s a country singer now then ??? -vocal is noticeably louder -it sounds like repentance All Come to Meet Her -who do we think the “her” is? Maybe a higher power? Margaret-Tiger Rug -ladies and gentlemen, her -he hitting those pick ups hard -cowbell?? Broken Heart -finishing out with some more country -again, different vocal sound -this is what my notes app look like after I write shit when I’m blackout -A HONEY DRIPPING SPINSTER WHOSE BEE CANNOT BE BOPPED -oh he’s reformed

Not an album I’d probably ever listen to again, but after reading the history and listening with context, it was a worthwhile listen. This kind of stuff is exactly why I love this project.

Kinda blah all around, musically and lyrically. "Grey/Afro" has a nice sound, at least. "Keep Everything Under Your Hat," I think -- one of those around there -- has some silly-sex energy.

Interesting but extremely hard to categorize. Felt more like a personal demo take ofunfinighed songs for the majority of the listen.

I think I agree that this album has to be enjoyed in a specific setting. Although I don't feel like it's my taste specifically, I still appreciate the album.

No está mal para escuchar de fondo mientras trabajas

Oar is a collection of dark songs that Skip Spence wrote while he was confined in a mental hospital. Spence had been a member of the band Moby Grape. During a drug induced melt-down, he tried to attack member of the band with an axe. While committed, he wrote the songs that appeared Oar. The songs were recorded soon after his release. Spence played all of the instruments on the album. The album attracted little notice at its release, neither critically or commercially. In the decades following, the album has collected attention - and romanticized - as the work of a talented, but deeply troubled musician.

As a note: the spotify release does not make it very clear, but I think it's most fair to judge this album as the original release -- the 12 tracks from \"Little Hands\" to \"Grey / Afro.\" Everything after that are bonus tracks from the recording session. Overall, I feel like I want to spend more time with this album, it is not immediately striking me but I feel like there's a lot beneath the surface. I'm going to give it a strong 3 stars for now, and might regret that later if I return to it.

Interesting back story and a lot of wondering what could have been. I just couldn't quite get into this album though. The highlights for me were Little Hands, War In Peace, Grey/Afro.

I got turned on to this album a few years ago because it was fairly foundational to a sub genre of dreamy psychedelic folk I'm in to. (Check out Brightblack Morning Light's self titled album for a great example of that.) Oar understandably doesn't have the polish that later artists bring to this kind of thing, but it still has its moments. The backstory around it is fascinating too! Fave track - "Weighted Down (The Prison Song)"

“ Described as "one of the most harrowing documents of pain and confusion ever made", the album was recorded after Spence had spent six months in Bellevue Hospital. Spence had been committed to Bellevue following a delusion-driven attempt to attack Moby Grape bandmates Don Stevenson and Jerry Miller with a fire axe.” Sounds like an album I need to listen to… Having read a bit more about Skip I do pitty him, drummer of Jefferson airplane and co-founder of Moby Grape he had the world at his feet but the quote by his biographer really sums it up. “neither died young nor had a chance to find his way out." As expected the album itself is pretty miserable, it is full of haunting and melancholic moments, such as the opening track “Little Hands”, where Spence sings “I feel like a little old man” over a sparse guitar, or the eerie “Weighted Down (The Prison Song)”, where he laments “I’m weighted down by sorrow/I’m weighted down by fear”. Some songs are more upbeat and catchy, such as the country-tinged “Cripple Creek” or the bluesy “Diana”, but they still have a sense of sadness and loneliness underneath. The album ends with the haunting “Grey/Afro”, a 10-minute instrumental that features Spence playing a distorted guitar over a drum machine, creating a hypnotic and unsettling soundscape, this song feels so ahead of its time and is the highlight of the album. Overall the album is just a bit too country for my tastes. But still intriguing. One of those I’m glad Iv taken the time to listen, but won’t be a regular, so 3/5.

Really sad to hear all the turmoil he went through with the drug use and mental health issues. Tragic that this was his last musical effort. It makes this a little hard to listen to. Some of the songs are very beautiful, but the album goes downhill toward the end. It's the CD reissue bonus tracks that are the main offenders though, as usual.

I like a good acid-casualty/tortured genius getting back in the studio as much as the next guy, but as Skip himself said, these are really just demos. I feel like it was a pretty cowardly move by the producer to put it out this way. At least Syd Barrett had his old mates come in and back him up on his solo albums, and Roky Erickson got a whole new band. You can see the potential here, but it's so skeletal. For a good example of what can be done with the underlying songs, listen to Beck's cover of "Halo of Gold" from the "More Oar" Tribute album: https://youtu.be/lwU75geuI3o?si=FasVkOC260z93hC1 These tracks are nice for slipping on a mix or a playlist to break things up, but a whole album of it kinda drags.

What a weird and interesting album. I can say a lot of it sounds demo-ish... which apparently it was. It's got some ideas but definitely not ready for prime-time in it's genre. It's more interesting as a musician to hear the raw ideas and think "ok I see what he was going for here...". Overall though, best listened for historical purposes and musically I didn't find it very enjoyable to be quite honest.

Je tiens à me féliciter d'avoir mené ma demi-heure de course à pied à bien pendant que ce marchand de sable essayait de m'endormir à chaque seconde.

Have to check the rest, but I vibed with the first 2.

This is a disjointed rambling mess of an album. I'll admit it was an interesting listen. Sounds like this guy is coming apart at the seams which is a pretty captivating. The music's pretty bad though. 6/10.

If Leonard Cohen and Ween had a baby, it would grow up and listen to this and miss its parents. I can't say I was fully taken in by this. I think I need a quieter time to give this a listen. It's interesting but just didn't grab me.

A perfectly serviceable acid folk record. Loses me in spots. The vocals can be a little too quiet at times. Favorite tracks: "War In Peace", "Little Hands"

I was about to give this a 4 but around halfway through the album it REALLY started to drag and became really uninteresting. First half of the album is a 4, second half is a 2. 3 overall.

I’m not sure about this. Calling it neutral. There’s some good work here. But it’s a little hard to listen to. A little too mumbly and meandering for me, but I can see the influence it had on music. It’s fine. It’s probably a lot better with a head full of acid.

How in the world did this end up on this list? I can understand how some artists might find this influential or inspiring because of its raw nature. There is talent there for sure, and such a sad story of mental illness… I’ll probably have to listen to it again to know how I really feel about it.

having been obsessed with moby grape's first album in college, and looking online to find more of their stuff, I saw how widely acclaimed this one was, and this was my next venture into the moby grape-verse. that was over a decade ago and I was really disappointed by this album then. no more was the frenetic energy, the harmonies. I didn't get it. now a decade later, my second listen. I think I appreciate the sound of this one a little bit more than back then but I still find it pretty disappointing. every once in a while you get a glimpse of what I love about moby grape's debut, but it's few and far between. maybe I should be listening to it more like it's outsider art or something but I can't help to still be a bit let down by this one.

Really interesting arrangements and different styles in this album. Seems almost experimental. Really interesting to listen to as a whole rather than individual tracks. Probably not something I'd choose to listen too usually but this was an enjoyable journey. Doors and Johnny Cash vibes from some tracks. The drumming instrumentals were coo l, although a bit long

this is what haters of psych folk think what psych folk sounds like. These experiments sound kind of lazy and not really well thought out :/ uhhh 6.0/10

Now I see why Beck covered Halo Of Gold. That was my introduction to Skip Spence. Beck has a similar voice and musical styles.

Like Bob Dylan but boring

I recommend reading about this album, the story is fascinating and heartbreaking. The album itself is...unique. It's quite experimental in some places, especially the songs on the back half of the remastered/extended version. Some songs hold up wonderfully, some are painfully anachronistic, and some are just, well, bad. Overall, It's a decent album for what it is. Using my star rating system of very bad/bad/good/very good/epic, I'll say it's a firm 3 stars

Really hasn't aged at all

Kind of proto folk. That was cool enough I guess.

I tried, after the 6th song with the drums panned to the right and everything else to the left I gave up

Some interesting songs on here, I don't mind the unfinishedness/lo-fi feeling of it. The backstory behind it seems really interesting, with Columbia deleting it from its catalogue. Yet the songs didn't stick with me, maybe I'll have to listen to it again. + Margaret-Tiger Rug + Weighted Down (The Prison Song) + It's The Best Thing for You

The first track reminded me of Blind Faith or Faces, but maybe it's just his hair. I never heard of this guy before. Not bad for an utterly solo album, but for that, I prefer Paul McCartney.

Interesting mix of blues and more avant garde rock, feels like this influenced Radiohead (1968.) But lots of filler, not obvious why the album is on this list. Back half of album and “War Peace “ are the highlights.

Note to Self: original album ends at Gray/Afro with a 44 minute runtime. Singer songwriter, doing singer-songwriter things. Arrangements are generally sparse with guitar and minimal drum accompaniment. Most impressive is the range over which Spence casts his voice; across the first three songs we see three different shades from harmonized "Little Hands" to super deep "Cripple Creek," and scratchy croon of "Diana." Of these, I find Diana to be the most effective complete song -- love the guitar work throughout. Really enjoy Weighted Down as a slogging blues song. War In Peace is an instrumental standout that is interestingly loose in its construction. Very bright guitar tone counterpointed by ominous vocal delivery and an elastic tempo throughout -- glad I came for this song. This was an interesting listen start to finish. Spence taps into a lot of different sounds given the sparse arrangements. Many were farily forgettable, but I never minded them being there. A few standouts make this a worthwhile listen. I'm a 3.5 / 5 here.

Read his Wikipedia and he has a crazy backstory where he wrote and recorded this album in 7 days after being released from a mental hospital for a "delusional-driven" attempt to attack his band members. The album cover art certainly makes him look like he has some psychological problems. Skip played every instrument on this album. Starts off sounded like a typical southern rock kind of album, but then got really trippy at War in Peace. But after that went back to what it started out as, just a bit darker. Grey/Afro made me really uncomfortable which is probably the point. The strange drum beats and low singing voice was just straight spooky. What a way to end this incredibly dark album. I wish it was more of the War on Peace style. I cannot get over how uncomfortably weird this album was. I have never heard of Skip Spence and I probably won't listen to anything of his again. But I did enjoy this enough for a 3.

Soulful and tortured we can hear the impending doom in Skip's lyrics and vocals. This seems like something Beck or Morrisey or maybe Ian Curtis listened to in their youth. Do those times match up? I don't know I'm too stoned to care.

I liked the amount of experimentation going on. It was kind of a downer of an album, a few tracks just felt bleh.

some neat ideas in here. shame he never got to flesh it out.

Grand

Interesting blend of various genres.

A rather weird and rambling concoction. Once I read the tragic story of Spence, this one-of-a-kind solo album took on a new shade of meaning. The last gasps of a fading genius?

Chill acoustic music. Harmless.

Had a few good songs but then also again others that are just a bit too unorthodox

Musically sounds like Bob Dylan but you don't need a strong painkiller to put up with his singing. His story sounds like many from the 60's and is probably more interesting than the album.

5/10

It sounds very familiar, but I’d not heard of him or this album before. Interesting but sad story behind it.

Sad and kinda folkey. It's good to listen to but overshadowed by Skip's downfall.

weird and interesting. 3 stars.

As for me, this album looks like Damon Albarn's experiments. Quite interesting but rather monotonous.

You ever so worked up after trying to murder your band mates with a fire axe that you hit the studio and knock out a full hour of demos, 40 minutes or so of which are actually pretty great for live takes, that your label then releases without your permission?

Good but couldn’t get through it. Just a huge bummer of an album.

Good folk. A bit weird at times.

This was an interesting one. Reading a bit of the back story changes the listening experience. I really enjoyed a lot of this.

3-4 3

Very curious album. I can understand why someone would put it on this list but as I was listening, I found myself skipping most of the songs. That is, until I reached Grey/Afro, a 9 minute bender of a song. I listened to this album during a crazy storm last night that kept me up and that was the only song that stuck with me after it was done. Also crazy he went to the hospital for trying to kill some guys with a fire axe. Wild story behind this one.

After reading the intriguing backstory about the making of this album and the life of Skip Spence, I was curious to listen to this record. It starts out promising with a hint of Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed in his voice and the songs are strong and credible. Eventually, the songs slowly deteriorate and they come across as demos, fragments and unfinished, not fully realized pieces. Towards the end, the songs sound like, "running the tapes at all times to record everything that Spence did". Does troubled minds + mental illness = creative genius? Sometimes, producer David Rubinson saw something in Spence that was promising and the fact an album was released from these recording sessions is fascinating. Interesting, but not essential...though I would love to come across an original vinyl pressing of the album!

Helt okej.

It’s a bit Johnny Cash, a bit Kris Kristofferson, a bit Cat Stevens, a bit The Kinks - and yet not. And lots of taking clothes off.

I'm not a big folk guy, but this album is really cool, both in terms of its content and in terms of its story. The production on the album also works really well with the music. The sound quality dips at certain points in the album, but it still always sounds good. Very intimate folk album that has some surprising elements to it 3/5