- Bill Barth (RIP 2000) -- guitar (1967-70)
- Luke Faust -- vocals, guitar, fiddle (1967-70)
- Trevor Koehler (RIP) -- reeds (1967-70)
- Nancy Jeffries -- vocals, keyboards (1967-70)
- Robert Palmer (RIP 1997) -- sax, clarinet, reeds

- The Holy Modal Rounders (Luke Faust)
- Octopus (Trevor Koehler)

Genre: psych

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Title:  The Insect Trust

Company: Capitol

Catalog: 

Year: 1968

Country/State: US

Grade (cover/record): VG-/VG

Comments: rough edges and corners; bullet hole; gatefold sleeve

Available: 1

GEMM Catalog ID: not yet listed

Price: $50.00

As The Insect Trust, guitarists Bill Barth and Luke Faust, reed players Trevor Koelhler and Robert Palmer and vocalist/keyboard player Nancy Jeffries were among the most eclectic of late-1960s bands. Even though they were one of the era's weirder outfits and attracted little attention (and even fewer sales), their out-and-out experimentation had a substantial impact on music and if you're willing to make the investment of time and energy, getting into their short catalog can be a rewarding experience. 

Having previously played in The Solip Singers (along with Holy Modal Rounder Pete Stampfel), by 1968 Barth and Jeffries had moved on to form The Insect Trust (the name reportedly inspired by Bill Lebvy's poetry journal The Insect Trust Gazette).  In the process they somehow scored a contract with Capitol Records (legend has it that while at a party, hearing a particularly crappy piece of music on the stereo Barth told a fellow guest he hated the song - the fellow guest happened to be Steve Duboff who had produced it). 

Produced by Duboff, the band's self-titled 1968 debut offered up an impossible to describe aural grab bag of influences. With all five members contributing material "The Insect Trust" somehow managed to incorporate influences ranging from 1920s-era anti-war tracts ('World War I Song'), bluegrass ('Foggy River Bridge Fly'), C&W, jazz, discordant avant garde (the second half of 'The Skin Game'), blues (the blazing 'Special Rider Blues') and what would even pass as a precursor to today's world music genre ('Going Home'). Propelled by Jeffries' crystalline voice and the band's penchant for unusual instrumentation and bizarre arrangements (often within the same song), to my ears the results were simply fascinating. Personal favorites; the mesmerizing 'Miss Fun City' and the sweet ballad 'Been Here and Gone So Soon'. Clearly too unusual for radio (to say nothing of the rank and file listening public), the album instantly landed in cutout bins.

"The Insect Trust" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) The Skin Game (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries - Robert Palmer - Trevor Koehler) - 4:07
2.) Miss Fun City (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries - Robert Palmer) - 5:04
3.) World War I Song (J. Callicott) - 3:18
4.) Special Rider Blues (J. Nehemiah) - 7:45
5.) Foggy River Bridge Fly (instrumental) (Trevor Koehler) - 1:07
6.) Been Here and Gone So Soon (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries - Robert Palmer) - 3:29

(side 2)

1.) Declaration of Independence (Robert Palmer) - 2:30
2.) Walking On Nails
3.) Brighter Than Day (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries - Robert Palmer - Trevor Koehler) - 2:31
4.) Mountain Song (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries - Robert Palmer - Trevor Koehler - Luke Faust) - 2:49
5.) Going Home (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries) - 5:10

Genre: psych

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Title:  Hoboken Saturday Night

Company: ATCO

Catalog: SD 33-313

Year: 1969

Country/State: US

Grade (cover/record): G/VG

Comments: ring wear; CO notch on side; stained cover

Available: 1

GEMM Catalog ID: not yet listed

Price: $60.00

Two years later the group reappeared on Atlantic's ATCO subsidiary. Still unique among performers the Steve Duboff produced "Hoboken Saturday Night" found the band continuing their earlier experiments in merging diverse musical styles. Stylistically all over the map the album found the band taking stabs at everything imaginable including bizarro folk-rock ('Trip To Me'), Stax-styled instrumentals !!! ('Ducks'), bouncy country-rock ('Reciprocity') and free form jazz-rock fusion. While she wasn't the world's greatest singer, Jeffries again displayed a light and surprisingly attractive voice, while the rest of the band displayed a consistent sense of taste and style; wish BS&T and Chicago had as much imagination and restraint when it came to horn charts ('Ragtime Millionaire'). Reading back over this the results don't sound particularly inspired or impressive, but the set exhibited a hard to describe charm that makes it a lost classic. Elsewhere, 'The Eyes of a New York Woman' featured lyrics written by novelist Thomas Pynchon.  Made aware of the LP, Pynchon threatened a lawsuit, demanding the album be withdrawn. In the end he settled with the band withdrawing the lawsuit in return for the band's commitment not to perform that song live. (In case you cared, the band was supported by a number of all-star sessions players, including guitarist Hugh McCracken and drummer Bernie Purdie.)

"Hoboken Saturday Night" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Be a Hobo (Louis Hardin) - 0:35
2.) Hoboken Saturday Night (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries - Robert Palmer) - 3:00
3.) The Eyes of a New York Woman (Thomas Pynchon - Jeff Ogden) - 3:08
4.) Ragtime Millionaire (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries) - 3:20
5.) Somedays (Trevor Koehler) - 2:47
6.) Our Sister the Sun (William Folwell - Arloha Folwell) - 7:20
7.) Reciprocity (Luke Faust) - 3:23

(side 2)

1.) Trip On Me (Bill Barth - Nancy Jeffries - Robert Palmer) - 2:45
2.) Now The Sweet Man (Trevor Koehler) - 
3.) Mr. Garfield (traditional arranged Lujke Faust) - 3:07
4.) Reincarnations (Trevor Koehler) - 3:15
5.) Glade Song (Trevor Koehler - Luke Faust) - 3:00
6.) Ducks (Trevor Koehler - Warren Gardner) - 5:40

Like the debut, the sophomore album vanished without a trace. Barth and Jeffries subsequently ended their personal relationship, Barth reportedly handed his walking papers. The band quickly collapsed in the wake of his departure. Jeffries reappeared on the business side of the industry working for years as a talent scout. Palmer went on to become a respected rock critic (one of the genre's more articulate and engaging members). Sadly, in need of a kidney transplant, he died in 1997. Koehler reappeared in the band Octopus before committing suicide. Barth relocated to Amsterdam in the mid-1980s (though he found time to buy a small blues club in Mississippi). He died from a sudden heart attack in July 2000.