stalk forrest group / blue oyster cult

...now this is a very nice artifact of days gone by, the unreleased '69 album from early b.o.c when they were known to no one as the stalk forrest group...its a rocking blast which comes complete with some nice quicksilver style guitar but on a much more consise and economical tip, not extended ballroom jams, this is compact, never meandering from its true path...the arrangements give off a mild air of pete townshend meets west-coast acid rock (with a bit of country rockthrown in, though thats more than likely a temporal thing, a couple years on and that wouldn't be there)...why elektra failed to release this debut gem is a strange puzzler as this is right up there with other highly unknown top draw combos (clear light/love/quill/wackers) making the label the heppest of hep...this coaster comes complete with demos and mono 45 arthur comics, very very cool and chipper...
...arthur...

...as we know these cats were the stalk forrest group scoring a contract with elektra records it seemed a though things were starting to look up for them but as luck would have it the deal fell through leaving one of the tributaries of rock, (a tributary that could lead the sixties adventurers into the new decade), to cast around for new ideas and deals...looking back its easy to see that elektra didn't like the look of the forrest and having had their hands burnt over the MC5/Hudson record store fiasco they weren't about to get mixed up with ideas they couldn't control, besides the laurel canyon wimpers were ascending in 'hipness' at certain colleges with liberal earth shoe tendencies so that was an easy option, the cosy singers would kick up no fuss (just snort up mega doses of coke)...a good lead into this wax from a slightly different perspective, a perspective called steppenwolfs 'at your birthday party' which although not sounding like each other theres a definite certain something that links these disks...the main thrust of this first effort under the cult name sees the earlier decades ballroom psych explosions economically brought down in size to three minute grooves of driving acid rock still informed by the blues but much more forward looking without being avant garde or quirky, this is where the reefered denizens of low rent beer joints go to the 'readin' room' and drop a tab to journey to the dream spheres...the second side is more psychy, bringing the more serious exponents of altered state rocking into line with the new decades travels, dig track 6 being the '66 elevators without even thinking about it, theres no setting out to recreate a sound, just morphing the vibes and riding with the flow...a great start to their new venture and name, a start that would be followed by 3 more magnificent efforts, working in the focal point of obscurity getting mentions in the square and undeground press by such heavy hitting culture journos as richard meltzer/lester bangs but ignored most places like the radio but getting small localized followings from stoners looking for the new thrill...up until 1975 there was really no need to explain their tunes but when they had top 40 hit around the world with the 'reaper' it all started to get codified and they became more conscious of certain sounds and themes that became formula with fading currency but gaining massive popularity with the squares...
...cultishness...