Goat - Stonegoat/Dreambuilding 7" single

2013, Rocket Recordings, LAUNCH058

A: Stonegoat
AA: Dreambuilding

I've been meaning to write about Goat, the Swedish tribal voodoo hippie world funk collective, since the conception of this blog. Their album World Music released in 2012 has to be one of the most original records I've encountered in many years, whilst an album's worth of remixes of "Run For Your Mama" spread over two 12" Record Store Day 2013 releases are also worthy of their own blog item. However, for this particular blog post, I am going to focus on Goat's brand new, hot-off-the-press, double A-side single Stonegoat/Dreambuilding. For the serious collector there are actually three distinct pressings of this single, as it has already been released by Stranded Records in Sweden on 12" white vinyl, and by Sub-Pop Records in the USA on 7" black vinyl. The releases also differ in that the Swedish and USA editions both have "Dreambuilding" on Side 1 and "Stonegoat" on side 2, but the UK release has reversed this.

My copy is the UK release from Rocket Recordings (distributed by Cargo Records), and is a 7" single on green vinyl... which was weird because the press releases I've seen for this record said it was going to be pressed onto purple vinyl (which would have been a better match for the sleeve artwork). I couldn't tell you whether this was a last minute colour change, or if purple vinyl copies also exist. [EDIT: according to the Rocket Recordings blog, there were 200 copies pressed on white vinyl and 800 on purple vinyl. No mention is made of green vinyl.]

But never mind the packaging, what's the music like? Those familiar with World Music would have some idea what to expect. Plenty of tribal-style percussion and drumming, frenzied half-chanted/half-sung female vocals, and some glorious fuzz guitar. "Stonegoat" is a slice of tribal psychedelia informed by Led Zeppelin, with a 1960s fuzztone rhythm guitar overlaid with with an insistent guitar/bass riff before Goat's priestesses chime in with a semi-deranged vocal delivery. And - as if all that fuzz guitar wasn't already enough - in kicks a seriously fuzzed-out guitar solo, and with that it's all over and done and the stylus hits the run-out grooves at the centre of the record.

"Dreambuilding" is swiftly propelled along by an urgent harmonised wah-wahed guitar riff over an articulate fuzz bass, punctuated by the priestesses' almost-childlike vocals and a myriad of crazed percussion. The whole thing feels like a highly agitated voodoo ritual ceremony, the culmination of which is another blissed-out guitar solo. Once again the song is over far too quickly, with the listener being left feeling they are the survivor of a unexpected hurricane which has just passed overhead, and clinging to the wreckage of their auditory senses.

Currently available from Cargo Records. The other editions I mentioned may still be available.

The Cars picture disc singles

The Cars - My Best Friend's Girl b/w Moving In Stereo
1978, Elektra Records, K 12301

As above - removed from PVC sleeve - notice the discolouration
to the parts of the record which were exposed to the light

As above - the B-side of the record and a rather uninspired image, basically an oversized record label

The Cars - Just What I Needed b/w I'm In Touch With Your World
1979, Elektra Records, K 12312

The Cars - Let's Go b/w That's It
1979, Elektra Records, K 12371 P

The Cars - Double Life b/w Got A Lot On My Head
1979, Elektra Records, K 12385(P)

The Cars - Shake It Up b/w Cruiser
1982, Elektra Records, K12583P (1st version)

The Cars - Shake It Up b/w Cruiser
1982, Elektra Records, K12583P (2nd version)

My first ever picture disc record purchase was "Just What I Needed" by The Cars (the blue one), purchased in 1979. A friend at school talked me into buying his copy of their first single, "My Best Friend's Girl" which was also on a picture disc featuring the same design in a different colour scheme. The way he explained it to me was that they'd be more valuable as a pair. Of course, after that I had to buy subsequent Cars picture disc singles as they became available, just to complete the set.

The final two picture discs - those featuring the orange and pink cars - are actually the same single released in 1982. For some reason Elektra records had decided to release it in two colour versions. Probably so people like me who'd been trying to collect them all would have to buy two copies of the same record. The content of the records - and the catalogue number - are identical.

The whole set of 7" Cars picture discs ... I think...

I always quite liked the simplicity of the design. It was quite clever how a letter "A" was incorporated into the car's design to denote the A-side of the record, and also that the exhaust output was the record's centre hole. However, I always thought they copped-out on the flip-side of the disc as it could have had another image but Elektra Records just opted for a giant label on the b-side of each record in the series. One thing I've only just tonight noticed is that the sides of each record are referred to not as A-side/B-side or Side 1/Side 2 but as the "off side" and "near side" - a motoring metaphor that I'd not picked up on before.

However, to get finally to the reason I've compiled this blog post, what I'd like to know is: Do I have a complete set of these Cars picture disc singles or were there other releases also featuring this design?

The Cars - Since You're Gone b/w Best Friend's Girl / Let's Go - 12" single
1982, Elektra Records, K 13177PT (side A)

The Cars - Since You're Gone b/w Best Friend's Girl / Let's Go - 12" single
1982, Elektra Records, K 13177PT (side B)

I do also have a 12" picture disc single by The Cars, "Since You're Gone" backed with previous singles "Best Friend's Girl" and "Let's Go", but this release departs from the car design as seen on the 7" singles.

Note that the first single, "My Best Friend's Girl" has suffered from some discolouration over the years, and that the PVC sleeves haven't always survived too well.

If anyone has any further info, please leave a comment below.

Themes For Action

2013, Network, 7954006

A1: Man In A Suitcase
A2: The Saint (1966 main title)
A3: The Prisoner
B1: The Saint (1968 main title)
B2: Danger Man (1960 main title)
B3: Danger Man (1964 main title)

Here's a Record Store Day find that I didn't have written down on my list before the event, but I saw this in the shop and just had to grab a copy. It's a 7" record playing at 45rpm recorded in mono and with six tracks on it. Some would call it an EP, but these tracks are so short that the combined length of the record is less than most singles. That is to say, there's nothing "extended" about it.

The record contains the themes for 1960s ITC produced cult classic TV shows, Man In A Suitcase, The Saint, Danger Man and The Prisoner from legendary composers Ron Grainer and Edwin Astley. The first two tracks on each side of the record are quite short at about 20 seconds a piece, with the third title on each side being a longer piece and all the more satisfying for the listener. Quite frankly, the music for Patrick McGoohan's masterpiece The Prisoner is worth the record price alone.



Fantastic stuff!

Permanent Clear Light - Higher Than The Sun

2012, Regal Crabomophone/Fruits De Mer Records, Winkle 7

A: Higher Than The Sun
B: Afterwards

If you're one of the few vinyl junkies that does not already know about Fruits De Mer Records may I suggest that you check them out soonest? FdM specialise in psychedelia, progressive rock, krautrock, R&B, acid-rock, spacerock - and - more importantly they make these releases available exclusively on limited edition vinyl. Many fans of the label are subscribers and buy every release. Nearly all releases sell out quickly, with earlier records from the label sometimes turning up on eBay and changing hands for quite staggering prices.

Most FdM releases are cover versions, that is to say reinterpreations of classic songs by modern artists and a few other legendary and semi-legendary acts such as The Pretty Things and The Bevis Frond. However, a handful of original songs have been released on FDM's Regal Crabomophone imprint.

Released in the latter part of 2012, "Higher Than The Sun" is an original song from Finland's finest psychedelic three-piece, Permanent Clear Light. The song lives up to its title and delivers magnificently to lift the listener higher than the sun as best it can without assistance from substances. It is the perfect psyche record, laid back and dreamy with swirling synths and a cosmic guitar solo. On the B-side of the disc the band tackle Van Der Graff Generator's "Afterwards" and manage to put their own stamp on the song quite nicely.

I also should mention the sumptuous packaging of this single, which goes to illustrate the care and attention to detail that FdM put into its releases. The record sleeve is like a mini-album cover rather than the usual single "bag" (as the industry refer to them). It is printed on high quality board stock, and even has a spine printed with the artist, title and record label details, just like you'd expect on an LP record. The artwork on the cover in this instance is a 3D image of the sun courtesy of NASA and a pair of red/blue lensed 3D glasses is included with the record inside the sleeve, along with a fold out poster of the 3D cover art. The record itself sits in an inner sleeve (nice to have one of those on a single!) and is pressed on coloured vinyl. My copy is a bright yellow/orange colour, but I know that a translucent lilac was also available. I think I prefer the colour of the copy that I have; it fits in better with the artwork and theme of the record's title track. But whatever... I told you it was a sumptuous package.

I believe that FdM quite remarkably still have a few copies left of this single. If you like psyche music, I can't recommend it heartily enough, so get yourself over to the FdM website and order yourself a copy.

Permanent Clear Light, by the way, have just released their debut album, "Beyond These Things". At the moment it is available on CD and as a download, but I am holding out on buying a copy so far as I have heard whispers from PCL guitarist Markku Helin that a vinyl edition may be in the pipeline. The album includes a version of the song on the single reviewed here, the album version being titled "Higher than the Sun - Astral Travel" so I'm hoping it's an extended version with added psychedlic elements!