H.P. LOVECRAFT

A major leap in quality from the debut release, H.P. LOVECRAFT evolved more as a band unit on its 1968 sophomore release simply titled II and eschewed the series of sessions musicians and focused more on tightening up its unique mix of folk rock with 60s psychedelic rock. The increase on the psychedelic features (including the eye-catching album cover) has been accompanied by the legendary claim that H.P. LOVECRAFT II was the very first major label release to have been recorded by musicians who were completely under the influence of LSD. And that's not so hard to believe really, because in June 1968 when the band finally had a chance to go to the studio to begin recording it's second album the members were lacking enough finished material to bring to the worktable which means that a great chunk of of H.P. LOVECRAFT II was totally improvised in the studio and the results were that the album is clearly much more psychedelic than its predecessor as was it more based on the more pacifying sounds of folk music.

The band also lost Jerry McGeorge and was replaced by former Saturday's Children bassist Jeffrey Boyan. The album sounded a lot more in line with the subject matter of its moniker this time around with a trippy lysergic delivery system and lyrics in some tracks such as "At The Mountains of Madness" which thematically narrated the works LOVECRAFT, this particular track focusing on the 1931 novella of the same name. H.P. LOVECRAFT II is also chock filled with psychedelic sound effects and odd drifting into trance-like states. The track "Electrallentando" for example displays a very drugged out display of psychedelic folk that culminates into a hypnotizing period of total escapism and freaky sound effects with only a tribal drum operating as a life to any sort of musical "normalcy." It's moments like this why it's clear H.P. LOVECRAFT were deemed the perfect opening act for Pink Floyd of that era. Even the opening track "Spin Spin Spin" displays a more detached and less commercial sound in relation to the mainstream psych rock that was dominating the charts of the era. Don't get me wrong, the track features an instantly lovable hook however the atmospheres are more on the dark side and the serious tones offer more of an introspective melancholy than any other act of the day.

"It's About Time" is probably the closest thing to what could be called straight forward psychedelic rock on the album starting in a bluesy rock sort of way but then doesn't take too long to melt down into a strangely timed slice of psychedelia with oscillating keyboard effects in the backdrop and a weird time signature that slowly resurrects with a piano and bass groove accompanied by a military march drumbeat until the track finds its footing back to where it becomes a hi-brow classically orchestrated chamber pop number! It then returns back to the blues rock number that soar due to the harmonic excellence team of George Edwards and Dave Michaels. A wild ride for a mere 5 minutes and 20 seconds and it's only the second song! The band's reputation of delivering a spooky and mysterious vibe was probably too much for anyone having a bad trip in the day! This was obviously music for the big boys and girls who could keep their crap together and enjoy the wild and uninhibited explorative nature of H.P. LOVECRAFT's brilliance.

The album only gets trippier as it progresses with the thematically on target "At The Mountains Of Madness" showcasing the band's propensity of delivering strong rock beats while saturating the guitar, bass and drums in extremely eerie atmospheres and this point even the vocal harmonies have gotten stranger. With strange pitch bends and keyboard tricks, H.P. LOVECRAFT simply mastered the art of making a musical representation of its author namesake. The use of studio techniques such as back masking echoed reverse tape effects, swirling keyboard techniques and chaotic acrobatic vocal interplay conspired to make some of the freakiest music the entire 60s could conjure up. The short "Mobius Trip" exists more on in the world of simple folk music but fortified with psychedelic echoes, vocal production reverb and abstruse contemplative lyrics. "High Flying Bird" is perhaps the most uplifting track on board and although heavily dipped in LSD and provides a lyrical optimism of anything is possible if you set your mind to it. It was an early folk rock classic recorded by Judy Henske and Jefferson Airplane. "Naughty Boy" offers a 40 second spoken word narrative with nothing but processed vocals as a backdrop repeating "zero, zero, zero, zero?" The closing "Keeper Of The Keys' offered one last mind melting experience with a stentorian pseudo-operatic vocal performance and a cover of Brewer & Shipley's song.

H.P. LOVECRAFT was as equally revered as a live act as it was for its amazing studio albums. With a repertoire that included aspects of pop, rock, jazz, folk, classical all dipped into the largest cauldron of psychedelia the late 60s had to offer, H.P. LOVECRAFT saw the band peak in its creative prowess making this album one of the absolute unabashed masterpieces of the entire psychedelic era. Light years beyond the mere psychedelic pop of many of its contemporaries unfortunately the band was a bit too far ahead of its time and soon found the band collapsing due to diminishing returns and members pursuing other academic endeavors. Although George Edwards and Michael Tegza tried to resurrect the band under the name Lovecraft, this version would have zero resemblance to these wild and unrestricted psychedelic days and primarily focused on watered down country rock and little interest for true fans of the brilliant early albums. I'm always surprised in how i've heard about a band all my life and think yeah that's interesting and never get to them but when i finally do i'm blown away by the artistic ingenuity around every corner. H.P. LOVECRAFT was one of those band's that really delivered on all front's and this second album H.P. LOVECRAFT II was as good as it got leaving it as the band's legacy.

One of the more interesting psychedelic rock band of the 1960s, H.P. LOVECRAFT initially formed in Chicago before heading to San Francisco and releasing two albums before going through a series of lineup changes and band name shifts. Somewhat inspired musically by Jefferson Airplane and Spirit, H.P. LOVECRAFT was unlike many bands of the time by naming itself after the horror writer and crafted a music that as eerie, haunting and macabre all within the confines of the world of psychedelic rock. The band's sound was rather unique by combining elements of psychedelia with folk rock, jazz and made all the more dynamic by classically trained pianist Dave Michaels.

By using lead ex-folk singer George Edwards' unique vocal style as the focal point along with multi-octave singer Dave Michaels as a harmonic counterpoint, H.P. LOVECRAFT showcased a more intelligent approach to lyrical delivery as well as a more competent display of instrumental mastery especially heard on the organ playing of keyboardist Dave Michaeis who also offered piano, harpsichord, clarinet and recorder. Early on the band had a larger instrumentation than most so called psych bands of the day as well with George Edwards not only providing lead vocals but also guitars and bass, Jerry McGeorge on bass, Tony Cavallari on lead guitar and Michael Tegza on drums and timpani. The band was signed to Philips Records in 1967 and released it's first single "Anyway That You want Me" before this first album was released (and it wasn't included). Once relocated to San Francisco, H.P. LOVECRAFT became a regular at various venues including The Fillmore and the Hinterland Ballroom.

The band released its debut self-release in 1967 and featured even more sounds from guest musicians that included bells, piccolo flute, English horn, saxophone, reeds, trombone, tuba, vibraphone and horn arrangement which is why H.P. LOVECRAFT has been deemed one of the early proto-progressive bands for its ambitious songwriting and intricate instrumentation. The self-titled debut was a bit different having emerged in October 1967 in the fact that was typical of many 60s releases in featuring a fair number of covers rather than originally penned material. In the case of H.P. LOVECRAFT's debut many were interpretations of traditional or contemporary folk songs with some being a bit more obscure and the most obvious being the Chet Powers song "Let's Get Together" which would become a top 5 hit for The Youngbloods in 1969. The album was preceded by the opening "Wayfaring Stranger" which provided the first single which displays perfectly the band's unique energy and stylistic potpourri under the guise of 60s psychedelic rock.

Despite the covers, the debut album actually flows quite well with H.P. LOVECRAFT making it all its own. The band delivered a tight competent 60s rock sound with an extra kudos going to the excellent keyboard playing sometimes taking on a Baroque classical scope of virtuosity. The album's most famous cut was also its longer, the 6 1/2 minute "The White Ship" and although not hitting any pop charts set the tone of the band's mysterious demeanor and musical competency. The harmonies between George Edwards and Dave Michaels are outstanding as well as the brooding rhythmic flow. "The Time Machine" is a strange oddity as it starts off as a ragtime Vaudville style foot tapper but then drifts into a strange psychedelic haze before heading back to Vaudville. "That's How Much I Love, Baby (More Or Less)" showcases the band's easy in adding jazzy elements to its repertoire. The album surprisingly ends with a short 33 second liturgical chant "Gloria Patria."

Despite quite a few covers of traditionals and contemporary songs on the debut album, this band was clearly unlike any other and proved to remain a little outside the accessibility for the drugged out hippies who weren't looking for intellectual stimulation but rather the next form of escapism. A unique intelligent band that expressed itself within the psychedelic scene, H.P. LOVECRAFT's debut may not be as great as its follower but it's utterly amazing how well these guys pulled off an album's worth of originals mixed with covers. Personally i like this one a lot. Had i been around back then i certainly would've gravitated to these guys over Jefferson Airplane anyway!

3.5 stars. I have such a hard time with Proto-Prog albums and giving this 3.5 stars is a compliment for sure. I am very impressed with the vocals on this album for the most part and that they do get experimental at times instrumentally. Not so impressed with all the folky stuff or that they cover several songs here even though that was a "thing" back in the day. There's two tracks on here that I'm very glad I got to spend some time with and the fact this their second record was released in 1968 makes those two songs even more incredible. I'll get to those later.

A five piece out of Chicago with all five singing. They would eventually move down to California where all the action was and proceeded to burn themselves out with all the live shows. All five were big H.P. Lovecraft fans and they asked his estate for permission to use his name. Most of the music here just isn't my thing but "Electrallentando" is different with the creative sounds, and the vocals make this even better. And fairly long at 6 1/2 minutes, in fact the longest on the album.

And while the intro and outro for "At The Mountains Of Madness" shine bright the rest of the song is not my thing mostly because of the vocals this time. My other favourite though is "High Flying Bird" a song I liked right from the start. The lyrics and vocals and it's catchy. Not big on "Mobius Trip" just too folky for my tastes with harmonies. The closer might be my third favourite because of the passionate vocals. The 40 second track before it is funny, very psychedelic. Not into "Blue Jack Of Diamonds" again for being too folky and ballad-like. The opener "Spin, Spin, Spin" is very dated and the followup "It's About Time" has these expressive vocals that I like.

Hugues gave this 4.5 stars so keep that in mind, this just isn't my scene.

The sophomore studio album release from these creative proto-proggers. Rumor has it that the busy band, fresh off of an extensive touring spell to promote their acclaimed debut album, came into the studio with little or no prepared material and thus had to improvise the foundations for most of the music here. Also, the legend goes that much of this studio time was performed by the whole band while using LSD. (This would definitely help account for the very different, very trippy songs created for this album.) Obviously, multi-track recording techniques used enabled the band and producers to doctor up the songs with plenty of embellishing sounds and effects--all equally representative of the psychedelic path the band was attracted and adhering to. Also, the record label's employment of British-born audio engineer Chris Huston brought in the creativity to embellish all of the songs with the extraordinary psychedelic sound effects. The band actually give Chris great credit for the album even happening saying that they were too fried from touring to get their creative juices going. The result, however, was not commercially successful with no hits or album sales reaching Billboard's charts, but the band's reputation on the "psychedelic tour" continued to grow.

1. "Spin, Spin, Spin" (3:26) one of two songs that the band used that came from George Edwards' friend folk singer Terry Callier, it's a simple yet engaging song with a very catchy chorus and excellent use of piano, harmony vocals, Mellotron and strings! The pairing of the two very-different voices of lead singer George Edwards with the background/harmony vocals of Dave Michaels is quite striking but works! (9/10)

2. "It's About Time" (5:20) opens a little too Americana-like (it's the other song borrowed from folk singer Terry Callier) but then it launches into a great train ride of Southern rock after the 45-second mark. But then, less than 25 seconds later, everything comes to a halt: a spacious field of simple and singular offerings populates the music from bass, drums, organ, piano, percussion as the train moves slowly along. At the three minute mark the iron horse picks back up its speed until the strings turn our attention back to the interior of the train, then releasing in a powerful vocal and a "Long Train Running"-like motif. (In fact, I would not be surprised to hear that The Doobie Brother's Tom Johnston got his inspiration for the aforementioned song from this one here.) This song also sees more use of the effective-yet-peculiar pairing of George and Dave's voices. There are definitely loads of proggy elements, sounds and effects integrated creatively into this song. Too bad it's a little too disjointed. (9/10)

3. "Blue Jack of Diamonds" (2:55) though this opens with some oddly-effected reverse piano chords, it soon becomes a nice acoustic guitar-based song with a very pleasant lead vocal and beautiful clarinet support. (8.875/10)

4. "Electrallentando" (6:27) percussion wind chimes start out this song before odd organ, bass drum, and guitar picking join in. It makes for such an ethereal, feathery musical listening experience. For me, it's a real pleasure for to listen to. (I would think it would be for all prog lovers.) (9/10)

5. "At the Mountains of Madness" (4:48) a song that seems to bridge the worlds of JEFFERSON STARSHIP, THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS, and the wildest of the psychedelic movement. (9/10)

6. "Mobius Trip "(2:46) a very cool song that feels like the birth of the mid-1980s version of XTC. Definitely my favorite song on the album. (9.75/10)

7. "High Flying Bird" (3:15) funk?! With George's great DAVID CLAYON THOMAS-like vocal performance supported by some interesting organ play and unusual choral vocal arrangements. Rated up for the lead vocal performance: it's amazing! (9/10)

8. "Nothing's Boy" (0:40) creepy heavily-effected voice speaking "zero-zero-zero" into infinity while other cult voices and spoken poetry by commanding voice of guest Ken Nordine over the top.

9. "Keeper of the Keys" (3:06) a near-operatic vocal performance (from Dave Michaels?) over piano, bass and drums. One of the more straightforward pieces that is, of course, enriched by bowed bass and effects throughout and especially at the end. Sounds a bit like something by Puddles' Pitty Party. (8.875/10)

Total Time: 32:43

A-/five stars; an album that, thanks to studio engineer Chris Hutson, definitely meets all of the requirements of being cited for being one of the first representatives of the new progressive rock music movement. For the best album by this band I'd recommend their live album from 1968.

This review is for the CD containing the first two albums. I give it 4 stars for prog-loving fans of H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stories, the rating would be lower if you were expecting something else!

When I first encountered the band, I was already a long-time fan of the author H. P. Lovecraft. I think i was lucky that I was already my early-30s when I discovered the band. I knew not to get my hopes up! So, going in cautiously, I was able to learn to love these two albums and this band. As mentioned in another review, don't expect the Cthulhu Mythos-aspect ' the main song from the first album with a direct Lovecraft connection is 'The White Ship' which is from his 'Dream Cycle,' a different set of stories that are more fantasy than horror oriented. Don't despair though, it's a great song, and the stories are great too.

The organ sound dates the recordings somewhat ' these albums are definitely from 1967-1968! Overall the sound is folk rock meets psychedelia. The vocal sound reminds me of Jefferson Airplane - some of the vocals seem melodramatic at first, but stick with it, realizing that vocalist Dave Michaels had a classical background, and the combination of Michaels and George Edwards is actually pretty magical. There are definitely a nice range of songs, from uptempo stuff like The Drifter and The Bag I'm In to ballads like That's How Much I Love You (More or Less), along with weirder stuff like Mobius Trip and Keeper of the Keys.

The song High Flying Bird is interesting ' it's got a nice medium tempo groove. Is the bird of the title a reference to the bird of fate in the story 'The White Ship?' I guess I'll have to listen to the lyrics more! But that's part of the fun of this band ' chasing down the references in my Lovecraft collection! I have read and re-read all of his stories ever since I discovered him at the age of 12. Thirty-five years later I find myself going back to HPL less and less, so it was nice to dig in to these albums again which led me to dig in to the stories again. For me this collection is worth it because you get The White Ship (best song on the first album) and At The Mountains Of Madness from the second - everything else is icing on the cake, and delicious icing it is!

I've been aware of H.P. Lovecraft since 1995, ever since I bought a copy of the Goldmine Price Guide to Collectible Record Albums (1994 edition) (too bad the book fell apart since). Ironically I knew this group before I knew the horror author/poet the band took their name from. This book obviously focused on American pressings only, so don't expect to find entries for Museo Rosenbach or Il Balletto di Bronzo, for example (if you want to see such, check Hans Pokora's Record Collector Dreams series of books). Everything from well known acts like the Beatles, Stones, Dylan and Elvis, to hyper rare and expensive like the New Tweedy Brothers. Groups like the Ultimate Spinach and H.P. Lovecraft are included. They gave a list of two prices, what each title was worth, near mint, and in good condition, in 1994 (some have really shot through the roof since then, others have stayed much the same). It's only recent that I finally acquired the first two H.P. Lovecraft LPs. Never regretted my purchases, although I realize later versions of the band (as Lovecraft and Love Craft) with only drummer Michael Tegza in common, are apparently to be avoided. When I heard the band was frequently compared to Jefferson Airplane, I simply assumed they'd have a female vocalist (like Curved Air, Earth & Fire, Fifty Foot Hose, and even Coven), but there wasn't a single girl in the band, all men here, handling vocals. Without a doubt their second album, H.P. Lovecraft II is clearly the best album. On their debut it's obvious their origins as a folk rock group, as they take on "Motherless Child" (they also took on "High Flying Bird" on their second album that Judy Henske is most famous for). Think of the debut as a bit in the league of Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, more folk rock, less psych, although the psychedelic elements are still there, this album was released in the fall of 1967, after Sgt. Pepper. How many version of Dino Valienti's (Chet Powers) "Let's Get Together" exist? H.P. Lovecraft did a version. The Airplane did one on Takes Off, and most notably the Youngbloods, who had the biggest hit with their version of it. The Kingston Trio recorded the earliest version of it in 1964. "I've Been Wrong Before" shows a bit of a Byrds influence. What surprised me was Randy Newman wrote this. I was never a fan of his or his style, not to mention his voice, but I love how Lovecraft turned it into a wonderful piece of '60s psych. "That's the Bag I'm In" reeks "'60s groovy", right down to the dated lingo. I really get a kick off this song. Despite I was born in 1972, I never related to the Gen-X lingo, never mind the current Millenial, although I always refrained from using the word "groovy" for the reason of embarrassment. "The White Ship" seems to be most liked, there's a bolero beat, almost as if the band had "White Rabbit" in mind and tried a similar approach. I'll be up front, and I'm not alone on this: "Time Machine" was a mistake. What's up with all this ragtime and vaudeville? There's one short organ break that I really like because, but that's it. Luckily I really love the lounge jazz of "That's How Much I Love You, Baby". The last piece is them doing a Gregorian chant. To me, with the exception of "Time Machine", this is a very good album, but I always felt their next one is better, but you still want their debut because it's still worth getting.

When I was young I had a poster. It was the poster of a concert of Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart and H.P. Lovecraft. Being a fan of the writer I've always been curious about this band, too early for me to hear them on vinyl, so about two years ago I have found this compilation as nice price in a supermarket (incredible, isn't it?) and this is still all I have of this band.

I was expecting something more "horrorific" than this early psychedelia, but I like psych so I'm not disappointed at all. In terms of horrorific music, I think that Arzachel's Azatoth and mainly Shub Niggurath's "Yog Sototh" are more in line with the novels and the characters of the Providence's night owl.

The presence of a brass section is the link to the American R&B of the 60s. "Wayfaring Stranger" is enough to understand where we are. This song has an early psychedelic flavor deeply dated in its time and a bit of Grateful Dead influence.

I''ve been surprised by "Let's Get Together" because it's a song I already knew without knowing who the author was. The flute was an unusual instrument but it's not used in a very "progressive" way as Moody Blues started doing followed by Jethro Tull.

"I've Been Wrong Before" is the first song which deserves the attribute of proto-prog. It's possible that Roger Waters has been influenced by this song for Julia Dream. Or possibly it's just the flute which is very similar.

The following song "The Drifter" it's a typical west coast psych song with the brasses adding a touch of R&B. The bass line and the keyboard, however are remarkable. The first reminds to Pink Floyd again: a line that seems taken from a spy movie like on Lucifer Sam and a keyboard with a vibrato which sounds like Rick Wright on The Piper.

"That's The Bag I'm in" is a psych song less than two minutes long. Not bad.

"The White Ship" is another highlight. When a band of this kind writes a song longer than 3 minutes, and this scores above six, they have surely something interesting to put into it. Basing on this track only we may think to a full prog category. It's a song that could stay on the Renaissance's debut album. Between Yardbirds and prog folk with the keyboard playing a bolero tempo like the "It's A beautiful Day" on "Salaam Bombay".

"Country Boy and Bleeker Street" has a bit of funk and a very good guitar plus a very acid keyboard. Nice song between Jerry Garcia and the Doobie Brothers.

"The Time Machine" is a kind of a joke. A piano ragtime with the voice filtered by a megaphone which becomes a swing in New Orleans style. Arlo Guthrie was a master with this kind of things.

Another full prog song: "That's How Much I Love You Baby". A jazzy thing full of blues on which the band plays an excellent vocal performance. The guitar is as clean as a jazz guitar should be.

A short "gregorian chant" for 30 seconds, then "Spin Spin Spin". This is another song which would deserve a full prog category: prog folk. If anybody knows the very unfortunate band "Chimera", this song reminds to me the excellent works of Lisa Bankoff and Francesca Garnett but also Linda Perhacs. A pity the piano coda faded out.

"It's About Time" is another (relatively) long song of over 5 minutes. An acid song with semi- operatic vocals. I mean that it could stay in a musical soundtrack, I think to Hair. However it has the first very "psychedelic as we know it" instrumental part. In case Pink Floyd will decide to reunite, this Dave Michaels could be a perfect replacement for our beloved Rick Wright.

"Blue Jack Of Diamonds" is another excellent acid folk song. This second album is surely of more interest for proggers. Also the following "Electrollentando" deserves a mention. Somebody can call me mad, but this sounds quite Krautrock to me.

The first real reference to the writer to whom the band is inspired comes with "At The Mountains of Madness" that's also the title of one of the HPL novels. Effectively the high pitched organ and the discordant sounds give the idea. Loops, reversed tapes, this song is not at the level of the Arzachel's Azatoth but is good enough.

"Moebius Trip" is another good early psych song made of acoustic guitar and choir supported by a piano. Son of its times.

"High Flying Bird" has a different instrumentation but looks like the follow-up to the previous song. I'm imagining how Chappo Chapman's voice could have sounded with this band. They are not much far from Family in this second album of the compilation.

45 seconds of psych in Hawkwind style: a bass voice repeats zero while a narrator speaks about "Nothing's Boy".

"Keeper Of The Keys" is another title referring to HPL (the writer) and the song reminds to the Family more than anything else on this compilation.

Two bonus tracks complete the compilation: "Anyway That You Want Me" and "It's All Over For You". Listening to those two songs I have the impression that they may have been a single published before the two albums. The first is a song of a kind the 60s were full of. The second could be early Rolling Stones or the Animals (in particular their cover of Bob Dylan's "It's all over now Baby Blue").

Some songs are very good, but even with some songs which could seem seminal I think this compilation fits well in the "good but non essential" definition, but if you like the genre it's an album which can deserve some bucks with no regrets. I have personally enjoyed it a lot.

Named after the famed horror author, H. P. Lovecraft were an overlooked outfit hailing from the outskirts of Chicago who produced a couple of affable cosmic pop albums during the late-sixties without garnering to much commercial-or-critical success. This live revue from 1968 finds the group reeling off what is to all extents and purposes a greatest hits set, recorded at that bastion of West Coast rock, San Francisco's legendary Fillmore West. And what a set it is. Kicking off with a powerful, ten-minute version of the folk-inspired piece 'Wayfaring Stranger', this live release thankfully captures H. P Lovecraft at their very best. It also showcases the group at their mos adventurous, with many of the tracks taken from their first two albums extended and augmented by a battery of trippy effects, glistening keyboards and gloriously harmonised vocals. In essence, this album is probably the closest many people will ever come to experiencing a full-blown gig from the 1960's counter- culture's peak, with H. P. Lovecraft plotting a much more psychedelic rock course than is evident on their softer-sounding studio efforts. Apart from the awesome - and very trippy - 'Wayfaring Stranger', other highlights include the group's spooky signature tune 'The White Ship', which is also given a muscular re-working, whilst the funk-clipped 'The Bag I'm In' positively drips with hip-shaking menace. With the double-tracked vocals of co-lead singers David Michaels and George Edwards and the ethereal, shimmering keyboards - also by Michaels - creating a highly atmospheric vibe, 'Live 1968' must surely rank as the finest evocation yet of this criminally-ignored group, showcasing both their deft songwriting touch and genuine instrumental talents to, at times, scintillating effect. A highly-impressive release, fans of all things cosmic should definitely seek this out.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

H.P. Lovecraft: The man, the myth, the legend, the psychedelic rock band. As a first album in 1967, the band was immediately ambitious with their approach with its vast array of styles and instruments. The production was quite good for its time as well, and the musicians were tight in their playing; there's really not a sloppy moment to be found here. As a band though, going for a mellower approach to the psychedelic scene that was in full swing resulted in them not being so well remembered years later. As excellent as the band was performance-wise, they hardly showed off their skills with solos & such, thus I would have to say that their defining aspect would have to be their vocal harmonies, which ring similar to bands like Jefferson Airplane and even The Moody Blues. These guys can sing!

This debut has a fair share of covers, with the most familiar being hippie anthem Let's Get Together, which actually isn't so bad at all. A little strange though, almost like a mash up of the original song and the theme from "Friends", but not as horrifying as that description might imply. Some of these songs are catchier than others, and some of the songs are just oddball, especially towards the end of the album, when the band really starts bouncing around stylistically. You have a silly ragtime song with an even sillier 'acid trip' moment tossed into the middle of it, plus there's the Dean Martin on acid lounge of That's How Much I Love You, Baby..., and the last track is like some brief (but well done) Gregorian chant, which probably wasn't heard all that often in the rock scene back in 1967. But overall, there's nothing really captivating about this album to make it memorable or stick out in any way from the slew of other bands releases during that era...

Except for one thing...The White Ship. Pretty much the album's centerpiece and the longest track, this song is flat out greatness. Personally, I find it no surprise that the standout track by a band called H.P. Lovecraft would be the only song on the album that is based on the author's work, but regardless, this song is fantastic. Starting off with some chimes and a slow trippy pace, The White Ship possesses some stellar vocal work, Richard Wright style keyboards and some overall beautiful and haunting atmospheric passages. It's some great space rock (not proto-anything really) and if the band released a few more songs with that level of inspiration, they might have left a much better remembered legacy. Maybe more Lovecraft inspired tunes...a colour out of space, a whisperer in darkness, hanging out with an Innsmouth chick, anything related to the dude might have helped (they did go for the Mountains of Madness on their next effort), but at least we got The White Ship.

When most people think about psychedelic rock from the sixties, it's a pretty good bet that H. P. Lovecraft is not one of the first names they come up with. Despite having a relatively successful couple of years, and two pretty solid albums, the band has largely been forgotten in the annals of rock history. That's a shame because, although their records don't exactly qualify as lost masterpieces, there is a lot to enjoy in their music. Luckily, those of us who wish to seek it out, can pick up this two-fer (can you tell I like these?) containing both of their studio records and a couple of singles.

The style of the band is basically psychedelic folk, but with a more complex instrumental palette than other similar groups. Rather than the standard folk dominated by acoustic guitars, H. P. Lovecraft employ many orchestral instruments as well as organ, piano and harpsichord. The sound is, however, not nearly so dark as their name implies. In fact many of the songs are (unfortunately) rather standard interpretations of popular folk songs. I find these a bit tedious, and the insipid peace-and-love lyrics of these hippies drives me nuts, but that's not the whole story.

Where the band really shine is on their original compositions, most notably the six and a half minute "The White Ship." The atmosphere of this track is one of mystical gloom, with french horns and ships bells droning on somberly. It's a really nice mood piece and the vocal harmonies are quite lovely. There's also an a capella rendition of the Gloria Patria prayer at the ned of the album which is pretty cool. Finally, the faux-twenties pastiche "Time Machine" is usually derided, but I find it quite fun, although strangely out of place on the record.

Thankfully, the second album shows the band in a more adventurous mood. After wading through a bit of folk nonsense at the beginning, we are treated to some real psychedelia. "Ellectrolentando," "At The Mountains of Madness," and "Mobius Trip" deliver a three-in-a-row punch of trippy atmospherics and gloomy dirges. There's also a forty second sound collage/recitation called "Nothing's Boy" that reminds me a lot of "In The Beginning" from the Moody Blues' "On The Threshold of a Dream." Actually, this group could be compared to the Moodies in a lot of ways, now that I think of it.

Folk is not a style of music that it is very easy for me to enjoy, and I find a lot of it dated and silly. Nevertheless, H. P. Lovecraft's expansion of the genre with inventive arrangements and progressive song structures is worth hearing, whether you are a fan of the genre or simply interested in the history of Psychedelia and Progressive rock.