Plain and Fancy: 11/14/26

Saturday, November 14, 2026

rep>>> The Fugs - Electromagnetic Steamboat (1967-70 us, superb freak folk psych experimental rock, 2001 three disc box set)

Electromagnetic Steamboat: The Reprise Recordings gathers "every unique master recording of the Fugs that was delivered to and survives in the Reprise [Records] archives." This includes not only the four long-players: Tenderness Junction, It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest, The Belle of Avenue A, and Golden Filth, but also an additional 40 minutes of material that never made it onto a standard commercial release.

The Fugs first gained notoriety with their cerebral marriage of Lower East Side beatnik philosophies to electric folk music in 1964. This culminated in a series of definitive underground recordings on the New York City based ESP label. It was after a somewhat acrimonious split that the Fugs signed with the decidedly West Coast Reprise Records. The band's revolving door personnel features a few familiar session musicians during this era.

Among the more notable names are Danny Kortchmar (guitar), Charles Larkey (bass), Bob Mason (drums), Richard Tee (organ), jazz legend Julius Watkins (French horn), and Ken Pine (guitar). Remaining at the inventive center of the Fugs are Tuli Kupferberg (vocals), Ed Saunders (vocals), and Ken Weaver (vocals/drums). Even with the lack of stability in the lineup, the nature of the band remained pure. In light of the political and social situations that the world faced in the late '60s, The Fugs' single-minded resonance of a Dionysian reality seemed practically surreal.

The multi-dimensional "War Song" -- originally issued on Tenderness Junction -- acknowledges the duality of base gratification during wartime. Golden Filth is conspicuous as the only live album in the lot. Recorded at Bill Graham's Fillmore East, the set includes "I Want to Know," in addition to tracks from their ESP days -- including "Coca Cola Douche," which is titled "CCD" for obvious legal reasons. The original album art from Cal Schenkel is also reproduced within the memorabilia-laden liner notes.

The bonus material includes a monophonic mix of "Tenderness Junction," as well as a unique edit of the "Divine Toe" medley, which was previously available on The 1969 Warner/Reprise Songbook -- a mail order-only promotional album offered from the record label. Additionally there is the "promo album version" of "Crystal Liaison" that was issued exclusively on the Some of Our Best Friends Are disc. Finally, the infamous five-track demo reel delivered -- but never issued -- to Atlantic Records is released here for the first time in its entirety. Electromagnetic Steamboat: The Reprise Recordings is limited to an edition of 5,000 and available exclusively through the Rhino HandMade.

by Lindsay Planer

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Turn On / Tune In / Drop Out (Timothy Leary, Ken Weaver) - 4:39

2. Knock Knock - 4:15

3. The Garden Is Open (Tuli Kupferberg) - 6:02

4. Wet Dream - 3:16

5. Hare Krishna (Zeus, Allen Ginsberg) - 3:19

6. Exorcising The Evil Spirits From The Pentagon October 21, 1967 - 3:13

7. War Song (Ken Pine, Ken Weaver) - 5:18

8. Dover Beach (Tuli Kupferberg, Matthew Arnold) - 3:56

9. Fingers Of The Sun (Warren Smith) - 2:18

10.Aphrodite Mass (In 5 Sections) (Gary Elton, Sapho) - 8:20

.I...Litany Of The Street Grope

.II..Genuflection At The Temple Of Squack

.III.Petals In The Sea

.IV..Sappho's Hymn To Aphrodite

.V...Homage To Throb Thrills

11.Crystal Liaison (Ed Sanders, Ken Pine, Ken Weaver) - 3:07

12.Ramses II Is Dead, My Love - 2:45

13.Burial Waltz (Ed Sanders, Warren Smith) - 2:24

14.Wide Wide River (Tuli Kupferberg, Lionel Lewis Goldbart) - 2:47

15.Life Is Strange (Tuli Kupferberg) - 2:32

16.Johnny Pissoff Meets The Red Angel - 4:32

17.Marijuana (Bob Dorough, Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg) - 1:38

18.Leprechaun (Ken Weaver) - 0:10

19.When The Mode Of Music Changes (Tuli Kupferberg) - 3:51

20.Whimpers From The Jello - 0:20

21.The Divine Toe (Part I) - 0:38

22.We're Both Dead Now, Alice (Ed Sanders, Ken Weaver) - 0:16

23.Life Is Funny (Tuli Kupferberg) - 0:14

24.Grope Need (Part I) - 0:18

25.Tuli, Visited By The Ghost Of Plontinus / More Grope Need (Grope Need-Part II) - 0:18

26.Robinson Crusoe (Ken Weaver) - 0:17

27.Claude Pelieu And J.J. Lebel Discuss The Early Verlaine Bread Crust Fragments - 4:30

28.The National Haiku Contest (Ed Sanders, Ken Weaver) - 0:25

29.The Divine Toe (Part II) - 0:46

30.Irene - 1:10

All songs written by

except where indicated.

Tracks 1-10 from 1967 LP "Tenderness Junction"

Tracks 11-30 from 1968 LP "It Crawled into My Hand, Honest"

Disc 2

1. The Divine Toe (Parts I-II) - 3:02

2. Bum's Song (Tuli Kupferberg) - 3:02

3. Dust Devil - 3:15

4. Chicago - 2:11

5. Four Minutes To Twelve - 5:37

6. Mr. Mack - 3:49

7. The Belle Of Avenue A - 5:40

8. Queen Of The Nile - 2:44

9. Flower Children (Tuli Kupferberg) - 4:22

10.Yodeling Yippie - 2:16

11.Children Of The Dream (Tuli Kupferberg) - 5:55

12.Slum Goddess (Ken Weaver) - 3:11

13.CCD (Tuli Kupferberg) - 2:53

14.How Sweet I Roamed (Lyrics William Blake) - 3:24

15.I Couldn't Get High (Ken Weaver) - 4:09

16.Saran Wrap - 3:46

17.I Want To Know (Olson, Ed Sanders) - 2:37

18.Homemade - 5:18

19.Nothing (Tuli Kupferberg) - 4:55

20.Supergirl (Tuli Kupferberg) - 2:43

All songs written by Ed Sanders except where noted.

Track 1 taken from the 1969 promotional LP "The Warner/Reprise Songbook"

Tracks 2-11 from 1969 LP "The Belle Of Avenue A"

Tracks 12-20 from 1970 LP "Golden Filth"

Disc 3

1. Knock Knock - 4:41

2. Wet Dream - 15:06

3. Carpe Diem (Tuli Kupferberg) - 4:00

4. Nameless Voices Crying For Kindness - 2:58

5. Aphrodite Mass (In 5 Sections) (Gary Elton, Sapho) - 9:52

.I...Litany Of The Street Grope

.II..Genuflection At The Temple Of Squack

.III.Petals In The Sea

.IV..Sappho's Hymn To Aphrodite

.V...Homage To Throb Thrills

6. Turn On / Tune In / Drop Out (Timothy Leary, Ken Weaver) - 4:39

7. Knock Knock - 4:15

8. The Garden Is Open (Tuli Kupferberg) - 6:02

9. Wet Dream - 3:16

10.Hare Krishna (Zeus, Allen Ginsberg) - 3:19

11.Exorcising The Evil Spirits From The Pentagon October 21, 1967 - 3:13

12.War Song (Ken Pine, Ken Weaver) - 5:18

13.Dover Beach (Tuli Kupferberg, Matthew Arnold) - 3:56

14.Fingers Of The Sun (Warren Smith) - 2:18

15.Crystal Liaison (Ed Sanders, Ken Pine, Ken Weaver) - 3:34

All songs written by Ed Sanders except where stated

Tracks 1-8 from assembled but nerer released, untitled Atlantic album

Tracks 6-14 from 1967 Mono version LP "Tenderness Junction"

Track 15 from promotional 1968 LP "Some Of Our Best Friends Are"

The Fugs
*Tuli Kupferberg - Vocals
*Ed Sanders - Vocals
*Ken Weaver - Drums, Vocals
*Ken Pine - Guitar, Vocals
*Danny Kootch - Guitar, Violin
*Charles Larkey - Bass

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rep>>> Joy Of Cooking - Joy Of Cooking (1971 us, gorgeous folk blues psych rock, 2003 remaster)

Formed in Berkeley, California, USA in 1967 as Gourmet’s Delight, this individual quintet originally consisted of Terry Garthwaite (b. 11 July 1938, Berkeley, California, USA; guitar/vocals), brother David Garthwaite (bass), Toni Brown (b. 16 November 1938, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; keyboards/guitar/vocals), Ron Wilson (b. 5 February 1933, San Diego, California, USA; percussion) and Fritz Kasten (b. Des Moines, Iowa, USA; drums). David Garthwaite was replaced by Jeff Neighbor (b. 19 March 1942, Grand Coulee, Washington, USA), prior to recording.

The group’s self-titled debut album was released late in 1970 and yielded a minor hit single in ‘Brownsville’. Their easy style, which drew its inspiration from folk, blues and jazz, offered a refreshing spontaneity, although subsequent releases lacked the verve of this first collection. Joy Of Cooking’s direction was determined by Brown and Garthwaite and the group was thus a focal point for the Bay Area’s women’s movement. Toni and Terry carried this support when the group broke up in 1973. They recorded Cross Country together before embarking on separate solo careers, but despite excellent releases, were unable to make a significant breakthrough. The two singers released the widely acclaimed album The Joy in 1977, but resumed their independent work when the session failed to generate sufficient commercial interest. Toni Brown died on Aug. 8, 2022 at her home in Woodacre, CA.

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