BLUE VINYL RARE ACID ARCHIVES PRIVATE "SEEDS" SKY SAXON HEAVENLY EARTH psych

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  SKY SAXON...and the new SEEDS

             New Heavenly Earth

                    USA - SUNBOW RECORDS - 001

FINAL COLLECTION COPY

Original Los Angeles California LOCAL-1977-PRIVATE PRESS...not distributed, and 40 years later is quite hard to find, we haven't had a copy for many years...

PRESSED ON TRANSPARENT *BLUE* VINYL

All inserts included including a mini poster for the performance

The 1977 album Heavenly Earth – Fruitarians Vegitarians captures a live performance given by Sky Saxon with The New Seeds. The show was recorded September 9, 1977 at the Orpheum Theater in Hollywood, California and issued only locally, mail order availability was very limited as well.

Privately pressed on “Sunbow Records” (surely this is the only LP ever with that imprint), Heavenly Earth, with its black and white jacket, was very much a "do-it-yourself" affair. Apparently, one thousand copies were pressed; and although Sky mentions that the band is playing songs from their studio album, it is unclear what album he is referring to as nothing was released around this time featuring new songs on this album.

The songs on Heavenly Earth mix Seeds classics with new originals. The musicians — Sky Sunlight Saxon on vocals and tambourine, Rainbow Neal on electric guitar, The mysterian on electric piano, and a drummer credited only as “Ed” — but known to be Ed Cassidy from Spirit eventually find a good balance as the record progresses, and coalesce for some really great moments.

The keyboards tend to dominate Side 1 of Heavenly Earth because it’s too high in the mix. Interviewed a few years later, Sky commented the keyboardist had a "turd on his lip" and produced the recording in such a way by means to promote his own primitive talent. However, the overall effect is that no matter how punchy and punky Rainbow’s (strictly rhythm) guitar gets, the music has a slow, dark, spooky feel overall. Imagine Ray Charles’ electric piano from “I Believe To My Soul” laid incongruously over the top of The Rolling Stones’ “Respectable” to get an idea of the sound here.

On Side 2, the organ is mixed lower, and is strongly reminiscent of Daryl Hooper’s keyboards on Seeds records from the 1960s: it helps push the rhythm along rather than act as a lead instrument. Though Ed’s drums are simple throughout the album, all three musicians have an excellent sense of timing and they often achieve a great, funky groove, over which Sky does his cosmic thing.

It must have been surprising for the audiences who remembered The Seeds to see Sky’s new band in 1977; one member of the crowd keeps yelling at Sky throughout the performance to play old Seeds songs (which he does) and, most infamously, to cut his beard off, prompting a retort from Sky who was so pleased that he decided to include it on the album as a separate track — “God Rap”, in which he advises against anyone cutting their hair since being hirsute is a natural gift from God ...so groovy.

Seeds covers

Of the three Seeds songs on Heavenly Earth, two are heavily rewritten. "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" follows the original closely enough, despite the downer electric piano, but “Pushin’ Too Hard” has been reworked as “Pushin’ Too Fast”; at times Sky seems to be free-forming new lyrics, then suddenly reverting to what he can remember of the originals when his inspiration fails him. “Nobody Spoil My Fun” is a rather loose version of the 1966 song, with audible mistakes by the band and completely new lyrics by Sky (the title phrase isn’t sung once).

This is the first evidence of Sky’s subsequent habit of recording and renaming Seeds classics. Later albums sometimes consisted entirely of reworked and renamed classics.

New original songs

The original songs on Heavenly Earth are generally very good. The first, “Spirit Of America”, is not too interesting, but acts as a kind of intro for the show, announcing that Sky and his friends have come to free everyone. The song is made of a simple one-chord riff and that spidery electric piano. Drums only crop up toward the end, as does Sky’s tambourine. This is the performance that prompts the would-be barber in the audience to complain that this music isn’t going to cut it as far as he’s concerned.

“Paradise Power” is a great, Seeds-like punk song. Rainbow Neal spits out a thrashy two-chord guitar figure and Sky preaches enthusiastically — “can you feel it?!” The last two songs on the album are “Wake Up” and “Star Jewels”. Sky’s intro to “Wake Up” mentions that it originated in the World Peace Band, and that it was bootlegged in Europe and is selling for $6 each. At any rate, it is a fairly adventurous song, with a trickier-than-usual vocal melody that Sky nails and a peaceful, reassuringly comfy groove. With its blissful, pastoral feel and frequent references to dogs, it comes across as a conventional rock version of the music from the outré "Lovers Cosmic Voyage" album.

“Star Jewels” is the trippiest track on Heavenly Earth, and is a genuine moment of magic. A laid-back two-chord guitar riff with a repeating electric piano part drive it along. Sky’s lyrics center on precious stones — diamonds, topaz, amethyst, etc — and his hallucinatory calls for the “boys and girls” to accompany him to Venus on his “spacecraft”. “Star Jewels” grinds to a halt in a false ending, but Sky isn’t done — he keeps up his bleary Venusian rant while the band sneak gingerly back into the picture, with some gorgeous organ work elevating the song up through the ionosphere.

Heavenly Earth is not a Source Family project, and was not included on the 1998 Ya Ho Wha 13 box set God And Hair. The only place to find it would be an original vinyl copy, like this one. This inspired is a historic performance.

1.      Mysterian - keys
   
2.     Drums – Ed Cassady (of "Spirit")
       Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar – Rainbow Neal
       Vocals, Tambourine – Sky "Sunlight" Saxon
   

Sunlight's Introduction    1:05
Spirit Of America    7:15
God Rap    1:20
Can't Seem To Make You Mine    3:05
Paradise Power    2:30
Pushin' Too Hard    3:05
Nobody Spoil My Fun    3:25
Wake Up    5:10
Star Jewels    7:30

CONDITION: The cover: rated: M-  a TOP COPY preserved exactly as first released. There are no delete marks, no split seams, no bends, and no writing  ... VERY collection worthy ...

The vinyl: Rated : M- pressed on dazzling BLUE VINYL  Contains very enjoyable CLEAN audio  ...play back should be exactly as first released, no wear, no abuse ...  both private labels are clean

      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