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5.0 out of 5 stars
Treasure trove of mid-60s Sacramento garage sides, April 25, 2009
This review is from: The Ikon Records Story (Audio CD)
This two-CD set catalogs 58 obscure garage-rock sides waxed at Sacramento's Ikon Studio in the mid `60s. Ikon was one of Sacramento's top professional recording studios, and in addition to commercial work, they operated the custom Ikon label. Local groups, including many Battle-of-the-Band winners visited Ikon to imortalize themselves on a hundred copies of a 7" single. The low production runs kept Ikon a secret from even many ardent garage rock collectors, and poorly mastered third-party vinyl (by Modern in Los Angeles) often failed to convey the high quality of the original recordings.
Compilation co-producer Alec Palao dug up a reel of original masters, and as the project rolled along, additional masters were recovered. The resulting snapshot of mid-60s young Sacramento is rendered in sound quality often better than the original singles. As a studio-for-hire, Ikon recorded all kinds of music, but Palao and co-producer Joey D keep a bead on garage rock (including snotty punk, folk rock, surf, frat stompers and organ rave-ups), some quite polished and some lovingly inept. This set is a gem, offering top-notch sound quality, good tunes, and plenty of spirited performances. Palao's extensive band notes fill out a booklet thick with photos and reproductions of period ephemera. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]
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