KAREN BETH The Joys Of Life Rare Orig US 1969 Decca Singer Folk Rock Psych
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Description
Karen Beth
The Joys of Life
Very Rare original US LP released on Decca Records in 1969. 1st US pressing.
Karen Beth's first album, The Joys of Life, is probably one of the most obscure LPs to make the Billboard Top 200 (where it peaked at number 171) in the late 1960s. In retrospect, it's a little surprising that the record even got that high, not because of any flaws in the music itself, but because the record's not too commercial or radio-friendly, even as it reflected late-'60s trends in folk-rock, the emerging singer/songwriting movement, and psychedelia. Her voice, to start with, is pretty odd, sounding a little like a pinched, more folk-country-influenced, slightly robotic Grace Slick who's deliberately holding back and not opening her mouth or throat too widely. Karen Dalton is a more cult-ish reference point, though the vocals here are more pop/rock-friendly, and the material based in contemporary folk-rock, not traditional folk. It'll be an acquired taste for some listeners, but most of the songs do have an interesting, fairly attractive sad, haunting quality, if kind of detached and observational in tone. In addition to the acoustic guitars common to many folk-rock-based singer/songwriters of the era, there are ghostly tinkles, drones, strings, and electric guitar shimmers in the arrangements, somewhat in the manner of some Elektra Records folk-rock productions of the time (though this came out on Decca, not Elektra). And in the middle of this comes a wholly a cappella performance, "Song to a Shepherd," that's as spooky as anything else on the record, sounding as if it's being sung from an isolated cave. While the record's not up to the best such obscure albums of its style in the era, at times it achieves some genuine downbeat eerieness, and is more interesting than some other neglected records of its type that have gotten much more attention from collectors.
Tracks Are :-
Side One
1 It's All Over Now
2 In The Morning
3 I Know That You Know
4 The Joys Of Life
5 Something To Believe In
6 April Rain
Side Two
1 White Dakota Hill
2 Come December
3 Song To A Shepherd
4 Nothing Lasts
5 Tomorrow's A New Day
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Released on Decca Records in 1969
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Catalogue Number DL 75148
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Record is in Ex + condition (light surface mark on side one)
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Sleeve is in Ex ++ condition (drill hole in top left corner)
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