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Annees Barclay Essential [Import]
American New Roots V.1: Blue Organic Jam [Import]
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When the Red Crayola visited the Berkeley Folk Music Festival in July 1967, the San Francisco Bay area was hippie central. But judging from the surly reviews reproduced on the tray card of this two- disc live set, the trio did not go over with the people who wore flowers in their hair. Instead of the trippy but well-structured pop songs of their debut album, The Parable of Arable Land, the Crayola played lengthy feedback assaults that terrorized the audience. Nowadays such abrasive sounds aren't just the province of the underground--consider Sonic Youth's Silver Session and Neil Young's Weld. The approach has been perfected by ensembles such as the Dead C and Rain, who have all wielded the materials employed here to greater effect. But this is a historical document that Crayola fanatics won't want to miss. --Bill Meyer