California psychedelic singer/songwriter Damon's privately pressed and much sought after 1968 album
Song of a Gypsy has seen several incarnations since vinyl collectors became obsessed with its scarcity, and many were bootlegs. No previous version, however, including the original, has ever been presented properly. This expanded reissue package by Now-Again ups the ante considerably. Not only has David Del Conte's lone album on his own Ankh label been completely remastered, but its pitch has been corrected! The original issue's master contained only one song -- the title track -- at correct speed and pitch as cut from the lacquer. For some mysterious reason, the rest was cut to lacquer at a higher speed and therefore at a higher pitch. This version marks the first time that the album has ever been heard as intended. Since there were no master tapes available, three vinyl and acetate sources were used with Damon's ears as the guide. Now-Again boss Eothen "Egon" Alapatt produced, researched, and supervised the project from start to finish. Included in this double-disc encased in a hardbound book sleeve is
Song of a Gypsy, in its single and demo versions, along with the demo of "Poor Poor Genie" on disc one. The second disc contains 16 bonus tracks that range from his very first single, "The Lonely Surfer," recorded for the independent Merri Records in 1960 with the Castaways (who later became
the Turtles), and his unintentionally surreal tribute to early Vietnam-era soldiers, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (as dramatic as
Elvis' but with a far lower budget). There are also well-recorded demos of varying musical quality from the early to mid-'60s that include the easy grooving, exotic pop of "The Little White Cloud That Cried," influenced in equal parts by
the Beach Boys and the emergent pop sounds of
Herb Alpert's A&M, as well as the jangling,
Byrds-esque "I Wonder Why." While many of these sides are uneven in terms of his performance, some of the backing players include
Dr. John, Earl Palmer, and
Plas Johnson! As an album,
Song of a Gypsy was overrated by record-collecting fanatics who claimed it was a psych masterpiece whose songs eclipsed the recordings that influenced it. That said, heard properly, its period innocence, naiveté, and ambition -- not to mention Charlie Carey's killer guitar playing -- are more clearly articulated; it is indeed well worth seeking out. The package also includes a 64-page booklet with an extensive essay by Alapatt, a 2008 interview with Damon, pictures of all the 45s,
Song of a Gypsy, personal photos, and studio notes. This is a superb package that presents a re-evaluation of a near-mythic album in proper context. ~ Thom Jurek