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Topic: Country Rock psyche outfit..help! |
Jason Odd
From:
Stawell, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 2 Apr 2001 12:10 am |
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Well, here it is... my annual question about the impossibly rare group known as Euphoria from the late 1960s.
Euphoria, who in reality were a duo; a couple of guys who may or may have not been from Texas, but have ties with Texas and CA.
They are William Lincon and Hamilton Wesley Watt (aka Wesley Watt), the duo might originally be from California, where they had earlier recorded with a group called the Word, they somehow evolved into a duo called Euphoria and travelled to Houston around 1967 and settled there recording for the
Mainstream label. (Awesome crazed eclectic label).
They returned to California to record an album for Capitol Records, which ranged from country rock to psychedelia, and is a pretty cool mix of total Texas garage psyche and a blend of Burritos meets Dillard & Clark style country rock. There's some orchestrated parts as well.
The album is titled "A Gift From Euphoria" (Capitol SKAO 363) 1969.
I've got the CD reissue and I love it.
The story is that it was recorded in Hollywood and Nashville, while the orchestration may have been added in London!
There is a David Briggs credited on the sleeve, but whether it's the Nashville piano player, or the other Briggs, a Hollywood producer (Neil Young, etc.)..is anyone's guess.
It's been almost impossible to dig up anything on these guys, they were both invloved in an late 1960s solo album by a guy called Bernie Schwartz who had sung with a group called Comfortable Chair.
Despite the fact that Bernie's solo album had invlovement from some of the original Stone Poneys, and that his group Comfortable Chair included Gene Garfin (later with Andrew Gold and Linda Ronstadt), Greg Leroy (later worked with Neil Young and Crazy Horse), and the fact that some of the Doors were invloved in the Comfortable Chair's self titled 1969 album, this little
bunch has remained fairly obscure.
I'd kind of given up on these guys, but after digging up some rare material on a few different groups, I'm determined to find out more on this mysterious duo. Who else goes from sweet vocals and banjo workouts to total screaming fuzz guitar in the same song?
Crazy!
Regards
Jason |
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Jason Odd
From:
Stawell, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 7 Apr 2001 7:27 am
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These guys are just too obscure aren't they?... bumping the topic just this once.
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The future ain't what it used to be |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 8 Apr 2001 3:20 pm
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| I'd never heard of them before now, and I thought I knew country rock pretty well. |
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Jason Odd
From:
Stawell, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 8 Apr 2001 3:46 pm
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b0b, they are what I like to call country-psyche; some of the better known examples of this style are the Everly Brothers 'Root's album, and the Byrd's 'Notorious Byrd Brothers' albums from 1968.
There's a small group of albums by various outfits from 1968-1969 which fit into this loose sort of style, basically West Coast pop, country, folk-rock and psyche.
The two albums I mentioned are probably the est examples of being close to country-rock, another one of import in Gene Clark's 1967 album with the Gosdin Brothers.
Some people have called it the first country-rock album, but I'd dispute that as few of the songs really could be described as belonging to that style.
The Euphoria album only has three songs that are totally country-rock are the rest are a real mix of Texas styled psyche guitar workouts, a few ballads and even one orchestrated album.
I sawthe CD reissue in asecond hand store a couple of years ago and boughtit on a whim.
An aquired taste, but someone has got to know these guys. Of course they could have changed their name, joined a cult done anything.
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 9 Apr 2001 10:47 pm
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Jason, a named popped out of your post that caught me: guitarist Greg Leroy. If this is the same guy, I worked with him in the 60s in LA doing frat parties and stuff. Any idea on how to track him down? We had some times ....
Chris
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from the oasis ....
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Jason Odd
From:
Stawell, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 9 Apr 2001 11:01 pm
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All I know is that he was part of the 1970s Crazy Horse, having played on the albums they cut without Neil. He was basically the replacement for Danny Whitten.
I don't think he was with the 1990s version at all.
I'll see if I can foind out more.
Jason |
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