Genre: psych
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: The Cosmic Sounds of the Zodiac
Company: Elektra
Catalog: EKS 74009
Year: 1967
Country/State: USA
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: minor ring wear; small crease in lower right corner; original inner sleeve; neatly taped top seam
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4
Price: $20.00
Cost: $66.00
Geez, this is a weird one. It's not exactly psych, or even progressive, but is odd enough that it might well appeal to fans of either genre, especially those who are into exploito efforts such as The Animated Egg.
Produced by Alex Hassilev, 1967's "The Cosmic Sounds of the Zodiac" was a concept piece built on the twelve signs of the zodiac. The idea was apparently the brainchild of Elektra President Jac Holzman, with Mort Garson and Jacques Wilson responsible for penning all twelve tracks (Garson wrote the music and Wilson furnished the lyrics). Modern Folk Quartet vocalist Cyrus Faryar was brought in to handle the spoken word segments. You've probably already figured out the concept - twelve selection with each correlating to an astrological sign. In an overly serious manner Faryar breathlessly intoned some of the traits associated with the sign - "Venus contemplates a serene flower the color of an hour of love". I'm a Taurus and had to laugh at "Taurus - The Voluptuary". While the album deserved a negative five rating for sporting some of dumbest lyrics you'll ever hear, some of the music was actually quite good. "Cancer - The Moon Child" sported a nifty fuzz guitar segment, "Leo - The Lord of the Lights" featured a neat mix of sitar and beach guitar, while keyboardist Paul Beaver kicked in some early Moog synthesizer moves. Today the whole thing sounds kind of goofy and pompous (geez, it probably did back then), but there's a quaint and somewhat naive charm to much of the album.
"The Cosmic Sounds of the Zodiac" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Aries - The Fire Fighter - (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 3:17
2.) Taurus - The Voluptuary (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 3:38
3.) Gemini - The Cool Eye (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson)- 2:20
4.) Cancer - The Moon Child (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson)- 3:27]
5.) Leo - The Lord of the Lights (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 2:30
6.) Virgo - The Perpetual Perfectionist( Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 3:02
(side 2)
1.) Libra - The Flower Child (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 3:28
2.) Scorpio - The Passionate Hero (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 2:31
3.) Sagittarius - The versatile Daredevil (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 2:06
4.) Capricorn - The Uncapricious Climber (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson)- 3:30
5.) Aquarius - The Lover of Life (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 3:48
6.) Pisces - The Peace Piper (Mort Garson - Jacques Wilson) - 3:19
Garson and Wilson apparently recorded a series of twelve follow-on LPs for A&M - one for each astrological sign. Anyone ever heard them?