Stone Harbour-Emerges (1974 US Acid Folk Progressive)

QUE BELA BANDA!! QUE BOM VENENO!! SOM AS VEZES ÁCIDO E "SUJO" COM GUITARRAS DISTORCIDAS, ORA CALMO E VIAJANTE!! PSYCH ROCK PROGRESSIVE DIFERENTE E ALUCINANTE!! RECOMENDADO!!

Check this weird album..Psychedelia, acid folk and some progressive chords..Early Byrds like album, everyone that dont know this should try it and tell me..Nice guitar solos, though the music quality is not the best!Just two guys stoned to the bone playing psych in a basement, private press..

First off, anyone looking for a well-played collection of technically sophisticated and mind altering music is likely to be appalled by 1974's "Emerges". That said, this is one of those rarities where the hype is actually well deserved and probably doesn't really do the record justice. To be blunt, this album is so bad that it is actually good !!!

Based in Youngstown, Ohio, multi-instrumentalist Ric Ballas and singer/drummer Dave McCarty comprised the Stone Harbour line-up. I've got no idea what their backgrounds were, let alone how the pair came together, but judging by their album, the results of their collaboration were pretty wild. Released on their own Stone Harbor label, the album was apparently a vanity project with Ballas and McCarty producing, engineering, arranging, writing all ten tracks and handling all of the vocals and instrumentation.
Musically material like 'Grains of Sand' (complete with end of song aural meltdown), 'Summer Magic Is Gone' and the instrumental 'Thanitos' (sounding like a surf band on a truly nasty acid trip) offered up a pure, unadulterated set of low-fi mid-1970s psych. Thoroughly toasted, tracks like 'You'll Be a Star', 'Rock & Roll Puzzle' and 'Still Like That Rock & Roll' offered up heavy doses of acid soaked lyrics, sprinkled with barely in-tune vocals, oddball time signatures, screeching guitar, some of the lamest synthesizers you've ever heard and a weird array of sound and production effects. That probably didn't sound like the makings of a classic album, but the duo's sense of enthusiasm and commitment somehow pulled it all together overcoming the host of technical and performance limitations that should have killed this beast.
While their performances never matched that enthusiasm (on much of the album it sounded like the pair were playing different songs at the same time), that goofy, low-tech approach certainly added to the album's under-achieving charm. ON a personal note, anyone got a clue why the pair thanked Uriah Heep's Ken Hensley in the liner notes "we made it" ? Extraordinary basement psych with two multi-instrumentalists creating a melancholic dreamlike state with songs fading in and out of the speakers, cavemen drums, primitive electronics and murky fuzz lurking in the background. The best tracks go into places no other albums reach. Actually closer to the heart of psychedelia than most other records listed here. The two hard rocking tracks that have been comp'd are not representative of the album as a whole, and add an unwanted "roots" feeling that disturb the trip somewhat. Still, one of the Ohio classics, with unparalleled artwork on the sleeve. Beware of an earlier "reissue" on Void (#20) titled "Re-emerges", which is new recordings of the 1974 material.

1. You'll Be a Star (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 4:30
2. Rock & Roll Puzzle (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 3:06
3. Grains of Sand (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 5:04
4. Summer Magic Is Gone (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 3:08
5. Stones Throw (instrumental) (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 1:20
6. Thanitos (instrumental) (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 1:59
7. Still Like That Rock & Roll (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 5:13
8. Ride (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty)- 4:30
9. Dying To Love You (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 3:33
10. Workin for the Queen (Ric Ballas - Dave McCarty) - 3:00

http://rapidshare.com/files/204107274/Emerges_Venenos.rar