Above All (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  Oldies  »  '60s
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: March 3, 1998
• Label: Gear Fab
• UPC: 645270011129
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106474904
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #145793 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #2031 in Oldies (See Top 100 Oldies Bestsellers)
• #515 in '60s (See Top 100 '60s Bestsellers)

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Personnel: Bill Sheppard (vocals); Rick Gould (guitar); Bob Ellis (drums).

Liner Note Author: Rick Gould.

Don't let the murky sound quality, almost certainly a result of imperfect source tapes, fool you; Above All is an above-average slab of snotty garage psychedelia. The cloudy sound actually enhances the album in certain ways. The stab at "Da Blues" gives the song not exactly an authenticity but a grittiness that gives the performance the sound and texture of a live recording. The psychedelic cuts, on the other hand, have an enveloping claustrophobic sound that traps the listener beneath the music. While probably meant to be experienced under the influence of certain chemical enhancers, the music is trippy enough on its own to send the listener on a trip of sorts. That wouldn't matter, of course, if the songs were not strong or were less than fully formed, but that is not the case. The album opens with a fuzzed-up version of Lieber and Stoller's "Poison Ivy," but the rest of the album is given over to standout originals by Stack, with lead guitarist Rick Gould penning five of the nine cuts. "Only Forever" is a power pop/psychedelic hybrid with some nice fuzz guitar by Gould, and Bob Ellis' vigorous, potent drumming is perhaps the band's secret weapon. Buddy Clark's robust bass, too, is terrific and helps songs such as "Cars," "Everyday," and "Valleys" get completely inside the listener with uncommon force. On top of the psychedelic cacophony, Bill Sheppard's vocals simply wail. Stack was obviously skilled, as their resum‚ bears out, and it is apparent through the subpar sound that the band could be quite powerful. Gear Fab's CD is well worth hearing for fans of garage and psychedelia and may even qualify for the top echelon of unearthed psychedelic obscurities. ~ Stanton Swihart

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