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Darius  ?– Darius

Label: Breeder ?– 005-C2-565, Breeder ?– RPR 005-2C-565 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Unofficial Release 
Country: Austria Released:   Genre: Pop, Rock Style: Blues Rock, Pop Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Tracklist?

A1 Shades Of Blue 2:10 A2 Dawn 2:18 A3 Mist Veiled Garden 2:58 A4 I'm The Man 2:37 A5 I Feel The Need To Carry On 2:39 B1 Dirty, Funky Situation 2:59 B2 Blow My Mind 2:31 B3 Sweet Mama 2:32 B4 Ancient Paths 2:26 B5 Hear What I Say 2:38

Credits?

• Arranged By – Ben Benay
• Engineer – Fred Borkgren, Roy Durkee
• Producer – Butch Parker, Pat Glasser
• Written-By – Darius (3)

Notes?

Unofficial Repress around 1986/87. 
Originally released in late 1968 on Chartmaker 1102.

1st cat# from cover, 2nd from labels. 
Rare Psychedelic Records is mentioned for the RPR prefix.

Barcode and Other Identifiers?

• Matrix / Runout (stamped): 5 2C 565 A I S1
• Matrix / Runout (stamped): 5 2C 565 B I S1

review

by Richie Unterberger

"I feel so bad," sings Darius with an air of resigned desperation near the end of the opening cut, "Shades of Blue," before closing the song with a truly memorable larynx-shredding scream. That sets the tone for this weird little mini-gem, a kind of downbeat psychedelic anomaly that nevertheless boasts some nifty melodic hooks and tight, exuberant playing. Darius delivers his trippy but anxious tunes with a powerful, fetching grit, bolstered by pungent organ and piano arrangements. There's a curious air of mystical disorientation on this obscurity, which deserves a wider hearing.

Rateyourmusic.com reviews:

eskeshuus Apr 11 2012
  

Vinyl 


[Rating44492173] Lovely lp with stunningly deep vocals and stellar backing by cult psychers 'Goldenrod' for a refreshingly palette of psych pastiche. Blues, ballads, folky & poppy: 'Darius' contains it all, and a real grower it is as well. Never touched an original; mine's an old boot on 'Breeder'.

RDTEN1 May 23 2009
 

Vinyl 


[Rating22743816] I original bought a reissue copy of this and have to admit that I just didn't get it.  In spite of playing the album several times, it just didn't make much of an impression on me.  I figured I'd been had by dealer hype one more time.  Jump ahead several years and I found an original copy at a give away price and figured I'd buy it simply to resell it.  It subsequently sat in my 'to sell' pile for a year waiting to be cleaned and play graded.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered my original impressions were dead wrong! 

So what can I tell you about this guy?  Well his given name was Robert Joe Ott and he was apparently originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but in the mid-1960s relocated to Los Angeles where he attracted the attention of the Hollywood-based Chartmaker label.  Released in late 1968 "Darius" was co-produced by Pat Glasser and Butch Parker.  Personally I don't hear the Jim Morrison comparisons that some reviewers allude to, but Darius had a voice that was quite commercial and was well suited to material like the should've-been-hits 'Dawn' and 'I'm the Man''.  Featuring ten original efforts, songs like 'Shades of Blue', 'Ancient Paths' and 'Hear What I Say'  offered up a great blend of dark pop and psych moves.  Interestingly, while there was nothing wrong with Darius 'I'm hurt' and 'love is unfair' lyrics, the key ingredient in making the album so good was the support he got from his un-credited backing band - fellow Chartmaster recording act Goldenrod.  Lead guitarist Ben Benay, drummer Toxey French and bassist Jerry Scheff may have been studio professionals who were best known for their work with Elvis Presley, but on this album they cut loose, decorating tracks like 'Mist-Veiled Garden' and 'Blow My Mind' with some amazing fuzz guitar, sitar, and other period accompaniment.  Killer !!!  (Always loved the egomaniacal back cover photo...  You can tell that Darius was sure he was about to become a major star!) 

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Darius was based in Hollywood, California and was backed by Goldenrod and Mike Deasy. The album is all originals and the music very melodic with upfront vocals and a style veering towards progressivism. Particularly stunning are Mist-Veiled Garden and I Feel The Need To Carry On. Funk and blues influences are more evident on Side two of the album.

Producer Pat Glasser went on to work with Three Dog Night.

Darius went on to record a 45 for Metromedia as Bobby Joe Ott, Flint River Inn, but the company was bought out by Bell, and the track sank in the changeover.

He then returned to his home town of Cleveland, Ohio and under the name of Darius James played the club circuit. In 1974 a bad automobile accident put his musical plans on hold and he spent the next six years having re-constructive surgery. In 1980 he put a band called The Earthlings together and went back to Hollywood to play the Showcase Club Circuit and despite many recordings, no deal was forthcoming.

In 1990 Darius went back to Cleveland and met Barbara McFaul aka: Honeygirl. He then concentrated his efforts on recording and producing Honeygirl, also producing/directing three music videos with her.

In 2000 he started singing/writing and recording again along with Honeygirl and The Earthlings...

(Vernon Joynson/Miguel Rodriguez)

                                                              J   J J   J  

Shades Of Blue by Darius

by ZosimsTreasures•3 months ago•8 views

1968 , Artist : Darius , Album : Darius , Country : USA .

                                                        J   J   DISC (VINYL) GRADES   SS  Sealed at factory and never opened. Disc is assumed to be undamaged and mint, but this cannot be proven until the album is actually opened and the disc examined. (STILL SEALED) M  Perfection, no flaws, defects, marks or otherwise indications of being handled or played. Any scuffs, hairline scratches or other marks disqualify discs from this category.  (MINT) NM or M-  The vinyl is virtually flawless, bright and shiny. A very minor, barely visible scuff or two may be permitted, but no scratches. The disc should play with no audible noise. The label is bright, clean and unmarked. (NEAR MINT or MINT MINUS)  EX or VG++  Disc plays near perfectly, but may have minor paper scuffs that do not interfere with the sound quality. There can possibly be a hairline scratch or two but nothing that is obvious or affects play. Vinyl is bright and shiny; label is clean and unmarked. (EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD ++) VG+  Some visible surface wear, very minor scratches and scuffs, but minimal impact on the sound quality. Vinyl will still have good luster; labels may have minor imperfections (small labels or initials, etc.) but otherwise clean. (VERY GOOD PLUS) VG  Vinyl will have noticeable scratches or scuffs that cause minor surface noise, but do not overpower the music. There will be no skips. Vinyl may appear somewhat dull and grayish. Labels may have small tears, tape marks, writing, etc.   (VERY GOOD) G  Well-played, dull, grayish vinyl with deeper scratches and wear causing distracting surface noise (hisses, pops, cracks and other nasties). The record will still play through without any skips. Labels may be significantly defaced or damaged. (GOOD) F and P  Unless the record is particularly rare, I would not try to sell a record in this condition. There will be major noise, surface damage, deep scratches, and skips. Attempting to listen to these discs will be painful. These discs are basically trash unless a collector desires one to fill a space in a collection until a better one comes along. (FAIR) (POOR)   ALBUM COVER GRADES   SS  Album is still in the factory-applied shrink-wrapping. (STILL SEALED) M  Absolutely perfect; no corner dings, marks, tears, dents, impressions from the disc, or other flaws. Cover should appear as if a record has never been inside. (MINT) NM or M-  Very minor signs of wear or cover impressions. Artwork is as close to perfection as possible. (NEAR MINT or MINT MINUS)  EX or VG++  Minor disc impression or slight corner creases, no wrinkles, puckers, seam splits or writing on the cover. Artwork is clean and unworn and there is no ink wear. (EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD ++) VG+  Cover is clean but may have minor writing or marks and may show slight wear. There may be just the start of ring wear, where the disc has created a raised area on the cover that resulted in the ink wearing off the paper. There may be slight discoloration or staining, minor seam wear, but no splits or tears. Corners may have small creases or fraying. (VERY GOOD PLUS) VG  Covers are worn and used. Seams may be starting to split or may have been unobtrusively repaired with clear tape. There is moderate ringwear, but the artwork is still attractive. There may be yellowing or discoloration and there may be larger writing, labels, or marks. Corners may have damage or creases and there may be scratches or gouges that otherwise damage the artwork. (VERY GOOD) G  Several (but not all of the following flaws will apply: Seam splits, large marker writing, major seam splits, significant ring wear, damaged corners, tears, cuts, gouges, masking or duct tape seam repairs, or other flaws and damage. Again, probably only useful to fill a collection niche until something better can be found. (GOOD) F and P  Trash, useable only to keep the record off the floor. (FAIR) (POOR)

 

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