Sunday, November 25, 2012

Khazad Doom - Encore! (1968-70 us, impressive heavy psych melted with early prog, private press numbered edition)



Throughout the sixties and early seventies, a rock 'n' roll band from suburban Morton Grove, Illinois performed in and around Chicago. Even though they remained together about the same time as the Beatles dominated American pop charts, Khazad Doom (pronounced Kah' zud doom) never made it in the traditional sense. But artistically, over nine years, they forged a kind of music now called Progressive Rock.

After their split in 1972, during the eighties, the band achieved cult status when their promo album LEVEL 6 1/2 was reissued and distributed throughout Europe. Just one copy of the original LEVEL 6 1/2 vinyl rides the top of collectors' wish-lists and has traded for as much as $1,500 a copy!

In 1995, the limited edition retrospective CD called ENCORE! was burnt from Khazad Doom’s original tapes. It includes much of the band’s decade of output.

Like many so-called basement bands of the sixties, Khazad Doom employed various configurations, engaged in band battles, and sought the help of agents and recording gurus. Unlike other bands, Khazad Doom, influenced by the Beatles and other classically-based groups of the time, recorded frequently and included many original songs and rearrangements in its repertoire, hoping that would somehow help them progress along their path to stardom.

After the band performed around Chicagoland for several years, playing all original material and rearrangements, they pioneered writing and performing a decidedly non-rock genre when they introduced Stanley's Visit To Kerkle Morff, a moralistic fantasy that sounded right for Broadway, a full length feature cartoon, or a musical, more than a rock operetta. 

On a primitive recording set-up that shouldn't have worked, they recorded Stanley and a variety of other songs that still represent Khazad Doom at its best. Twenty-six years later that remastered recording makes up most of the ENCORE! limited edition CD, now sold out but still circulating among fans and collectors worldwide. The CD includes the best cuts from the LEVEL 6 1/2 project--The Hunters, "In this World," and "Narcissus."
Tracks
1. Cherry Town (As The Laymen) (Jack Eadon) - 3:12
2.  Love Wich We Share Among Us (As The Laymen) (Steve Yates) - 2:11
3.  The Prelude (Jack Eadon) - 12:18
4.  In The Den (Jack Eadon) - 4:32
5.  The Golden Yellow Meadow (Jack Eadon) - 6:56
6.  Narcsissus (Eadon, Sievers, Yates, Hilkin) - 5:05
7.  In This World (Steve Yates) - 2:42
8.  Nothing To Fear (Yates, Eadon, Dixon) - 2:44
9.  Excerpt From Uncle Gillroy/s Crazy Son (Jack Eadon) - 2:57  
10.Stanley/s Visit To Kerkle Morrf (Jack Eadon) - 12:26
11.Can/t Find Love Alone (Jack Eadon) - 2:50
12.Dirt (Jack Eadon) - 1:50
13.Paper Bus (Steve Yates) - 4:02
14.Frozen Faces (Steve Yates) - 3:38
15.Come With Me (1978) (Eadon, Sievers, Yates) - 4:14

Khazad Doom
*Jack Eadon - Guitar, Vocals
*Tom Sievers - Bass, Vocals
*Steve “Al” Yates - Organ, Vocals
*Steve “Crow” Hilkin - Percussion

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9 comments:

  1. Hi Marios, thank you very much for this rare issue!

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  2. "Marios" you are hard working man,more and more fantastic albums.Many thanks...

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  3. Marios:Thanks for yet another, an obscure prog rock group Khazad Doom, they definitely was ahead of its time.

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  4. This album did not appeal to me, in fact I dislike it so much, I deleted it from my catalog. Poor songwriting in my opinion.
    Thanks anyways for uploading it, someone else might like it.

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  5. very Nice! Steve Z drummer in Cali. I want to listen to more tracks!

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  6. hi Marios, any chance of a re up please of khazad doom?

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    Replies
    1. Odinson, "Khazad Doom - Encore!:, fixed....

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  7. excellent, thanx 4 share Marios :)

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