M- 1967 LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION Buffalo Byrds Psych a+

$

25

    1967 RARE STEREO ~ ORIGINAL WEST COAST ROCK/PSYCH

 THE LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION

        Earth Air Fire & Water

                       ...USA - COLGEMS - COS 105 - MONO

RARE STEREO 1967 first pressing original vinyl... West Coast hippie rock along the lines of Buffalo Springfield but with also clearly their own 'cool' sound...an on the old sixties Colgems label, home of The Monkees, but be certain, this is no Monkees band...highlighted with the killer psychedelic nugget "BLUE REVELATION" ...and that's just the tip of this great '67 Lp....

Quite an interesting rarity, this Lewis & Clarke Expedition's sole album. Why it has never released on CD is a mystery, since it certainly deserves to be raised from oblivion. One of the most varied collection of songs heard from the 60's, stretching from styles of Buffalo Springfield, Byrds,to psychedelia. Single "Destination Unknown" is like Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" with a rougher edge, "(I Call Them) Lies" brings to mind "Spanish Harlem". One can also find early version of John D. Loudermilk's "The Cherokee Reservation Indian" here, as a part of suite which closes the album.

Having enjoyed mammoth profits with their pre-packaged Beatles-clones The Monkees, it only made sense that Colgems (co-owned by RCA and Columbia) would attempt to manufacture a second corporate super group. That said, how many of you remember The Lewis and Clarke Expedition?  Probably few of you. That's unfortunate since the band's sole album, 1967's "Earth, Air, Fire & Water" is nothing short of wonderful. 

1966 found Travis Lewis (aka Michael Martin Murphey) and Boomer Clarke (aka Owen Castleman) paying their bills as songwriters for Screen Gems. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Lewis/Murphey was a passing acquaintance of Mike Nesmith. The connection helped the pair place one of their compositions 'Hangin' Round' with the Monkees, in the process bringing them to the attention of Colgems which quickly recognized their potential and signed them to a recording contract. Produced by Jack Keller and built around the talent of Lewis and Clarke (the line up rounded out by multi-instrumentalist Ken Bloom, guitarist John London and drummer Johnny Raines) actually debuted with an instantly obscure 1966 single for the small Chartmaster label. While parallels to The Monkees were apparent,there were also some major difference; notably the fact the band were all capable musicians and namesakes Lewis and Clarke were responsible for the majority of material. That said, their debut was easily as good as anything in The Monkees catalog. Musically varied, the set included stabs at shimmering top-40 poprock grooves ('I Feel Good (I Feel Bad)'), Byrdsy folk-rock ('This Town Ain't the Same Anymore'), vaudeville ('Everybody Loves a Fire'), raga psych ('House of My Sorrow'), ecological messages ('Chain of Flowers') and awesome psychedelics ('Blue Revelation'). Rounded out by strong melodies and tight harmonies, mid-1960s poprock simply didn't get much better. Highlights included 'Spirit of Argyle High' and the extended suite 'Memorial To the American Indian' which included one of the first covers of J.D. Loudermilk's '(The Lament of) The Cherokee Reservation Indian' (coming a full three years before The Raiders' hit). Unfortunately, with Colgems devoting most of it's energy to marketing The Monkees, neither the band nor the LP or much in the way of promotional support. Needless to say, it failed to chart. 

This is not the most typical rock release of its day, and its ecclectiveness doesn't make it easy to categorize this music in any way. But it makes it somehow quite fascinating

(side 1)
1.) Windy Day (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 3:00
2.) Freedom Bird (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 2:50
3.) Spirit of Argyle High (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 3:15
4.) This Town Ain't the Same Anymore (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 2:40
5.) Everybody Loves a Fire (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 2:30
6.) House of My Sorrow (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 4:24

(side 2)
1.) I Feel Good (I Feel Bad) (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 2:26
2.) (I Call Them) Lies (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 2:44
3.) Destination Unknown (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke - Jefferson) - 2:51
4.) Chain Around the Flowers (Vandiver) - 2:53
5.) Blue Revelation (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke - Hilderbrand) - 2:16
6.) Memorial To the American Indian
     Legend of the Creation (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) -1:45
     Send Me Rain (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 1:09
     Red Cloud's Farewell To His Tribe (Travis Lewis - Boomer Clarke) - 1:45
     (The Lament of) The Cherokee Reservation Indian (J.D. Loudermilk) - 2:35

CONDITION: The cover: solid and stiff all over with no problems, "EX" (excellent) the seams are tight, no bends and no writing...

The vinyl: completely clean and glossy cleark, M- ...the lucky winner will surely love it!

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record