Lost Gem: Oar

Oar – Alexander “Skip” Spence
Best Song: War In Peace

This is the greatest album ever made by a mad, and I mean MAD, man. Skip Spence was a former drummer of Jefferson Airplane and one of the brains behind the ambitious Moby Grape. Spence wrote this album while being held at a mental institution and recorded all the parts himself (he was in after attempting to kill two of his former Moby Grape band mates to “save them from themselves”), and you can tell that this is a man who isn’t all together.

Oar it with out a doubt the greatest psych folk album ever released. The entire atmosphere fills you with images of Skip sitting in his bed in the madhouse, a guitar in his hands, rocking back and forth as if he is by some river in a rocking chair (which is where he probably thinks he actually is). It is a very difficult listen and very few people would chose to put this on for the joy of listening to this music (I myself am an exception).

As far as tracks that should stand out to the listener there are five major ones. The opening “Little Hands” is a great almost upbeat poppy number. Then there are two rambling dark folk numbers. “Cripple Creek” would not have felt out of place on Leonard Cohen’s debut and “Diana” is a song so out of focus that it is beautiful. Another track not to miss is the manic (compared to the rest of the album) “Lawrence of Euphoria” which I would guess Spence wrote after taking some meds.

The song that is the absolute master piece of the album is the lo-tech psycho anthem “War In Peace”. While other psychedelic bands were searching for new technology to advance their sound Skip manages to out do them all with a very basic pattern and minimalist solo. (and a great distortion of the famous “Sunshine of Your Love” riff).

Oar has truly been lost to many listeners. While other “mad albums” such as Madcap Laughs and Third/Sister Lovers have managed to gain cult followings Oar, which I will say with out a doubt is better then both Madcap and Third, has been thrown to the wayside. If you can track this down you should pick it up, a true lost classic.

Lost Gem: Rough Mix

Rough Mix - Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane

Best Song: Annie

Ronnie Lane is one of those artists who will never be a household name, a writer of solid folk rock songs that never pushed any envelopes. Pete Townshend on the other hand is considered one of the most important innovators in rock music, but experiments don’t always work and though he is responsible for some of the greatest and most powerful music ever produced he also has a lot of crappy songs attached to his name. This album can’t claim any innovation but it can claim to be enjoyable from start to finish.

Rough Mix is a competition. There is only one song that is actually a collaboration and that is the title track. Every other one either belongs to Lane of Townshend (except for the closing track). The best song belongs to Lane. Annie is often considered the best song that he ever wrote and it isn’t hard to see why. It is a song you will feel like you already should have known with its traditional form and heart felt singing.

Townshend takes his highlight in the delightful and chugging Misunderstood. This song would not have looked out of place on a record by The Who. One thing this album shows is that, especially later in the bands career, The Who really needed a second major creative force (John Entwistle was great but never a major songwriter). Townshend had burnt himself out after the grandiosity of Quadrophenia and this album helped revitalize him long enough to pump out one more timeless album (Who Are You).

Now every other track on here is also highly enjoyable which is why I am not mentioning them individually. The closer is a great cover of ‘til The Water All Runs Dry. It is a great way to close a folk influenced album, with a cover of a strait up country song. This is a great album that should be considered a classic. So find it, get it, and spread the word.