Genre: psych
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: The Visit
Company: Kent
Catalog: KST-551
Year: 1970
Country/State: California
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: double LP; gatefold sleeve; minor ring wear on back cover; no poster
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4273
Price: $200.00
Cost: $66.00
Wish I knew more about this guy, if only due to the fact his 1970 LP stands as one of our favorite finds of 2004 - certainly my favorite double LP over the last couple of years. That said, I'll readily admit initially being a little skeptical of this one. Most of the online reviews I've seen were rather lukewarm and for goodness sake it's a double LP ... c'mon, when's the last time you were knocked over by a double LP?
The internet is an amazing communication vehicle. My original comments on this album indicated I wanted to know more about the band. Lo and behold, I got an email from bassist John Latini.
"My early background included touring and played bass with an R&B singer by the name Johnny Daye. Daye recorded for Stax and was considered by some to be one of the greatest blue-eyed soul singers. Supporting Daye I did concerts opening for The Staple Singers, Alex Chilton and The Box Tops, etc. With a 30 minute rehearsal, I even got a chance to back up The Marvelettes at a concert.
Starting in early 1969 Bob Smith, James Curtis, Mike Degreve and I hung out together for about a year and half. At the time Mike [ Degreve] and I were recording "The Visit" we were in actually in another group. That group was called Truth, and it included a husband and wife from New York who were singers and actors. The vocals sounded similar to The Mama & Papas. We had an album on James Brown's People label, which was run by former Motown Vice President Mickey Stevenson who was dabbling in "hippie" (for lack of a better word), type music, after he moved to LA. We did a promo concert at the Palladium in Hollywood, with Blue Cheer and Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids. Unfortunately, the husband and wife split from each other and that group went by the wayside. That's an album you might want to look for. I'm sure it's hard to find. It had a lot of Eastern Religion ideas combined with 60's social stuff, mixed with oddball songs and even a touch of Southern Gospel.
Although "The Visit" liner notes only show him as playing hand drums (congas), James Curtis was the original drummer, along with Bob Smith on vocals, and guitar and myself on bass. The three of us developed a lot of the basic arrangements for most of the album's songs like 'Can You Jump Rope', 'Of She of Things', 'Don't Tell Lady Tonight' and others. We played clubs in Hollywood like The Experience (where Hendrix frequently jammed) and met a bunch of acts including Alice Cooper when they were just a local act playing the Whiskey on the Strip. We almost got sign with ATCO Records and actually met in the 9000 building to discuss a record deal which would have put along side such acts as Iron Butterfly. At the time we had a lead singer with an operatic styled voice. After the ATCO deal fell apart Bob decided to do his album, asking me to play bass.
A couple of other recording tidbits. A few days before we started recording my 1963 Fender Precision bass was stolen from my apartment in Hollywood. I rushed out and rented and eight string bass which had a warped neck and was extremely hard to play.
Darryl Dragon played keyboards under the name 'Captain Keyboard' Dragon later became the Captain of 'Captain & Tennille fame. We rehearsed for "The Visit: at Darryl's home in the San Fernando Valley right after he returned from an Australian tour backing The Beach Boys (he was he keyboardist who made that eerie sound on the Beach Boys song 'Good Vibrations').
Don Preston used a Mellotron on many of the songs.
The much sought after poster was done by an artist named John Kress. Kress was known for doing these amazing collage artworks and sold his works like paintings around LA. back in those days.
I still play bass part time around the Southern California area and work on musical projects here and there."
John Latini (April 2005)
Although 1970's "The Visit" featured support from eight musicians (including Darryl Dragon (credited as Captain Keyboard) and Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston), the focus was clearly on namesake Bob Smith. In addition to handling all of the vocals and lead guitar, Smith wrote all 14 tracks, arranged, directed, and along with Mark Taylor co-produced the album. Musically the set was quite diverse, taking credible stabs at pop, blues ('Source You Blues'), hard rock, psych, jazz ('Ocean Song') and even occasional detours into outright experimentation. Luckily aural experiments such as the instrumental 'Indian Summer' were far and few between, leaving most of the set with a surprisingly commercial sheen. Exemplified by tracks like the harpsichord-propelled 'Please' and 'The Wishing Song' Smith had one of those flexible and likable voices that allowed him to find a nice balance between commercial and non-commercial moves. Material like 'Constructive Critique' and 'Source Your Blues' also demonstrated Smith was quite an accomplished guitarist. Personal favorites included the opener 'Please, 'Don't Tell Lady Tonight' and the scorching rocker 'Can You Jump Rope'. (Anyone seen the John Kress poster insert that came with the album? It's supposedly quite cool.) Bottom line; this one's a keeper that should be in every psych collector's stash.
"The Visit" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Please (Bob Smith) - 2:08
2.) Don't Tell Lady Tonight (Bob Smith) - 3:10
3.) Constructive Critique (Bob Smith) - 4:40
4.) Ocean Song (Bob Smith) - 4:50
(side 2)
1.) The Wishing Song (Bob Smith) - 5:04
2.) Can You Jump Rope (Bob Smith) - 5:48
3.) Latter Days Matter (Bob Smith) - 3:29
(side 3)
1.) Indian Summer (instrumental) (Bob Smith) - 7:55
2.) Source You Blues (Bob Smith) - 6:02
3.) Sunlight Sweet (Bob Smith) - 3:04
(side 4)
1.) Of She, Of Things (Bob Smith) - 3:16
2.) Mobeda Dandelion (Bob Smith) - 3:13
3.) The Path Does Have Force (Bob Smith) - 5:23
4.) Try, Try To Understand Yourself (Bob Smith) - 4:14
There's also a 1990s Swiss CD reissue (on Virgo Records), though it
apparently suffers from crappy sound quality.
The Swiss RD label jumped in with a three LP boxed set "Stop for a Visit Down Electric Avenue" (RD catalog RD6). Recorded from the master tapes, the compilation included the original double LP, plus a third album of material drawn from two subsequent, never-released LPs and a copy of the poster original found in "The Visit".
ry.