Customer Reviews

Two Classic Albums from HP Lovecraft: H.P. Lovecraft/ H.P. Lovecraft II

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

these 2 albums aren't perfect, or even truly great- but there is a lot of very good music on this disc. some of the greatest harmony singing of the era can be heard here, especially on tracks such as the white ship, their fine version of high flying bird (also done by the airplane and the boston group ill wind, among others) and spin, spin, spin. most of the songs on the first album are covers of the likes of dino valente, randy newman, and fred neil (to name the best known writers) ,and largely in a folk rock style. swirling organ and fine drumming ( especially on the 2nd lp's songs called at the mountains of madness and keeper of the keys) are probably the most notable features of the band instrumentally speaking. this outfit had connections with the shadows of knight, they originated in chicago, but are often thought of as a san francisco band, as they later moved there. the 2nd album is more overtly psychedelic, and i disagree with Richie Unterberger, the writer of the liner notes- i think that , overall, the 2nd album, is somewhat better than the eponymous debut-though i do agree that the white ship is the greatest thing this bunch ever recorded. it's a wonderful track that will, in places, remind listeners of such bands as the jefferson airplane ( who hp lovecraft are probably most like), it's a beautiful day, the doors, and early pink floyd. another stellar cut is the trippy and addictive at the mountains of madness with superb vocals from the talented pair of vocalists that the band was blessed with. allegedly, this 2nd album was the first one where everyone involved was on acid- its quite different from the debut's more restrained, sometimes conventional but quite good folk rock with mere dashes of psychedelia. the drummer michael tegza later reformed the band as simply lovecraft, after being part of a frankly tedious and unimaginative vanilla fudge type band known as bangor flying circus, which i do not recommend. this cd, however, is certainly a gem, that fans of the era should definitely look into.

It's about time! Sure there was a psuedo official release by some import label a couple of years ago, but the sound quality was suspect at best. (some of the songs were remastered from acetates) Edsel, the fine U.K. label, did release H.P.Lovecraft/H.P. Lovecraft II back in the late 80's, but I believe it has been long since deleted.

O.K. you psychedelic fans out there, if you don't own either of these records, you can now own both of H.P. Lovecraft's releases from 1967 and 1968 respectively! Wonderful vocal harmonies combine with very original arrangements which make this "two-fer" disc a must own! The first LP features the very haunting "White Ship" and the equally dreamy "I've Been Wrong Before." The first release features a more prominent folk influence along with the "psych" flourishes. HP Lovecraft II is more explicitly trippy with songs like "Electrollentando" and "At the Mountains of Madness," but the splended duel lead vocals of George Edwards and David Michaels is still a very prominent feature.

The sound quality of this Collector's Choice release is fantastic and it contains exellent liner notes by Richie Unterberger. If you can imagine "Surrealistic Pillow" period Jefferson Airplane combined with "Saucerful of Secrets" era Pink Floyd, with a folk twist, you can get a general "touchstone" for these two albums. That said, H.P. Lovecraft sadly fell through most rock fans "musical cracks" back in 1967 and 1968. Do your self a huge favor, if you like great first generation psychedelic music, get this CD and pay tribute to a horribly overlooked and underrated band.

Although others cite "Forever Changes" by LOVE as the quintessential psychedelic album, these two offerings by HP Lovecraft are in many ways better. The music is more carefully crafted, and the singing is as good as you will get from this era. In any event, LOVE was an LA band, while HP was San Francisco, and those two scenes were indeed different.

HP Lovecraft gives a nice picture of the San Francisco scene in the late 1960s, despite the fact that they had been transplanted to the area from Chicago. The group had an ex-folkie, George Edwards, as did Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Country Joe and the Fish. Listen to "Wayfaring Stranger" and you will understand that psychedelic music had its roots in folk. San Francisco, a hotbed of folk music in the early 1960s, was an obvious place for it to happen. The hippie part of the picture is provided by the surrealistic lyrics of "The White Ship" and "At the Mountains of Madness," while "Electrollentando" and "Moebius Trip" are dreamy flights of drug fantasy. The rather silly "Time Machine" recalls San Francisco's fascination with the victorian and post-victorian eras. But most importantly, the albums, taken together, show the ecclecticism of the era. HP Lovecraft never found a single sound (perhaps part of their demise), but preferred to advance several sounds.

The style of play also recalls San Francisco in 1968. The organ often sounds as if it were stolen from Country Joe's band, the harmonies of Edwards and David Michaels, if flatter, could easily be the Airplane (who, in turn, stole their harmonies from the USF folk group We Five), and the guitar would be at home in the Quicksilver Messenger Service.

It is irredeemably sixties, but it is done by some good musicians.

I bought this to replace the "pseudo-legal" European version that came out a few years ago but was immediately struck by the inferior sound: tinny with very audible hiss. I'm holding onto the bootleg until these wonderful albums can be properly re-mastered.

Another one of those fabulous 2 lp's-on-1 CD releases.This Collector's Choice pressing combines the two lp's that the band had ever put out,their self-titled debut('67) and it's full-hearted follow-up 'H.P.Lovecraft II'('68) plus two bonus cuts,bringing the duration of the disc to over seventy minutes.I would best describe H.P.Lovecraft as complex psych with some elements of folk,pop and jazz clearly intact.Heard they opened for Pink Floyd once at the Fillmore East.I mean,how cool is that?Might appeal to fans of the Seeds,Tomorrow,Chocolate Watchband,13th Floor Elevators and the Electric Prunes.Nice to pull out from time to time to give the CD a spin.

Hey I am a 60's boomer but somehow never heard H.P. Lovecraft's second album until now!!! 2006! Bummer! I say "bummer" because I missed out on this music for 30+ years! It is among the best of 60's psychedelia and stands up very very well today. The fact that H.P. Lovecraft in this guise got very little play is astounding, but once again proves that great music can be pearls before swine. Will the human race - at least those capable of reason - ever wake up to the peril that is staring us right in the face, ie our own collective insanity....? - listen to this album and find out!! Groovy man!

HP LOVECRAFT named after the classic neo-gothic writer, was comprised of a central quintet George Edwards, Dave Michaels and Tony Cavallari. Although the group never reached permanent superstar status, they became something of a cult favorite of the folk-rock psychedelic milieu (with an emphasis on psychedelic.) Their male duets were exceptional and their music demonstrated crosscurrents with The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Some of their tunes are uncannily remind the listener of today's Radio Head. The selection is a double CD on one and the song The White Ship inspired by the original H.P. Lovecraft's use of opium is well worth the discounted price of the CD. The White Ship is on a counter-culture pare with White Rabbit and a brilliant piece of musical construction.

Surrealistic Pillow

If you like the original Jefferson Airplane, check out Lovecraft. A very similar musical style, but a very different lyrical style based more on gothic literature than drug-culture references.

I bought this to replace the "pseudo-legal" European version that came out a few years ago but was immediately struck by the inferior sound: tinny with very audible hiss. I'm holding onto the bootleg until these wonderful albums can be properly re-mastered.

They dont sound much like Jefferson airplane to me. They sound unique even when they are doing cover songs. I think they are almost as good at cover songs as Vanilla Fudge. Those two singers are absolutly fantastic. I guess I would call the band Psychedelic, but much more than that, it is simply very unique well done music meant for mature musical tastes. Other than White ship, I can see why they never had a hit, but they are still awesome. The best pysch song is propably "electrollentando", then "the white ship".