Monday, July 4, 2022

Headstone - Still Looking (1974 us, excellent heavy fuzz psych with hard garage shades, 2009 bonus tracks remaster)



Headstone consisted of three Fiynn brothers and a friend Torn Applegate who recorded this, their sole album at the Rome Recording Studios in Columbus Ohio in 1974. Interestingly the Rome Studios, which still exist today, was run by jack Casey and provided studio facilities to primarily Christian bands at the time although there is no evidence that Headstone were a Xian band. Ohio was full of obscure hard rock bands in the 70s and many of their self-released albums have stood the test of time.

This album is of a consistent high quality throughout and has been described as psychedelic and there are certainly some psych tinges but what we are talking about here is good old-fashioned hard rock of the BOC, Steppenwolf or ZZ Top variety mixed with a couple of potentially commercial and catchy hard rock pop tracks like "Peace of Mind*" and "Springtime" with vocals that would compete for the AOR FM plays if it weren't for the roughness of the production.

But this is a good thing in the same way as say the Morgan album. OK Morgen is more psychedelic hue that's more to do with the time gap of 1969 to this album’s 1974 and the Headstone vocals are more Styx than the punky snarl of Morgan but both albums have the same raw energy and pounding drumming high up in the mix making it part of the music rather than simply a rhythm section.

This album is full of fuzz and extended guitar solos and most of the tracks are well constructed with lots of tempo changes and well played with super swirling Hammond, hard drumming, hard riffing and lots of guitar effects. Headstones sole album is presented here with 6 extra tracks consisting of both sides of their non-album 45s.
Tracks
1. Still Looking (David Flynn, Bruce Flynn, Barry Flynn, Tom Applegate) - 8:29
2. I Like It (David Flynn) - 7:47
3. Misery (David Flynn, Barry Flynn) - 4:09
4. Those Days - 5:45
5. Peace Of Mind (Barry Flynn) - 5:01
6. Springtime (Barry Flynn, Tom Applegate) - 4:08
7. I Love You - 5:03
8. Buying Time (Barry Flynn) - 2:34
9. Snake Dance (David Flynn, Bruce Flynn, Barry Flynn, Tom Applegate) - 2:20
10.What People Say (Bruce Flynn) - 3:14
11.Carry Me On - 3:20
12.Hey Boy - 3:15
13.Ragin' River - 4:42
All tracks by David Flynn, Bruce Flynn, Barry Flynn except where noted

Headstone
*David Flynn - Drums, Vocals
*Bruce Flynn - Guitars
*Barry Flynn - Bass, Vocals
*Tom Applegate - Keyboards

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6 comments:

  1. Tracks 8 - 13 are bonus tracks
    Bonuses:
    08. Buying Time (Single B-Side, 1975) — 2:32
    09. Snake Dance (Single A-Side, 1975) — 2:17
    10. What People Say (Single A-Side, 1975) — 3:12
    11. Carry Me On (Single B-Side, 1975) — 3:17
    12. Hey Boy (Single A-Side, 1975) — 3:12
    13. Ragin’ River (Single B-Side, 1975) — 4:42

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  2. Thank you for this hard 'n heavy rock gem, Marios!
    Is there an alternative way to request albums since the chat box isn't active anymore?
    I am looking forward to hear from you.
    All the best to you, Schlabbeduddel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Anonymous, with your comment, you can leave your request...

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    2. Hi Marios, Thank you for your reply. I am looking for 3 albums in CD FLAC quality:
      1) Doctor Downtrip – Doctor Down Trip (1973),
      2) Brown Acid: The Thirteenth Trip (2021),
      3) Triumph (2) – Triumph (1976).
      I copied the album names from Discogs.com.
      Thank you for your time and all the best!

      Delete
    3. Hi Marios,
      I just saw that you have up'ed two of my requested albums and I want to say 'thanks' to you and all the great work you are doing with your blogs. Rock on!

      Delete
  3. Great late heavy psych record that certainly sounds earlier than '74, as it is full of fuzzed out guitars and the psychedelic ingredient that makes them closer to a typical american 70-71 heavy psych band than to the typical mid 70's hard rock that became the norm to follow for 80's hair bands.

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