Churchill Downs Unreleased 1968 LP

[gregk25]

Personally I'm not a huge fan of these Shadocks sleeves. They have them done at a plant that's not used to doing LP sleeves and it shows. Am I the only one thinking "Why shell out $45 for a reissue where you cant even shove the LP into the sleeve properly?" Also the high gloss printing makes it look like the Italian Vogue, but not like a decent psych record. Let alone some of their self-designed sleeves the are borderline cases (to put it diplomatically). Thanks though for the Contents Are RE - fab album!

 

[Clear Light]

Shadoks is releasing a Gary Paxton-produced, unreleased 1968 LP by little known Sunset Strip/Hollywood group Churchill Downs. The YouTube sample sounds pretty damn good to my ears.

Looks like this is going to be a must buy, what a cool Sunset Strip sound!

 

[Stampy]

Looks like I need to listen to it too. :oops:

 

[depravedskippy66]

Got this in the mail yesterday and after giving it a listen, I have to say that I really wanted it to be better than it turned out to be.

Here's what you get: 16 tracks, a 50/50 split between self penned material and covers. Given the time frame in which this was recorded ('67/'68) their influences are pretty obvious: The Beatles, chiefly, but the heavier sounds of Cream and Hendrix rear their heads on a few tracks. They are good musicians and songwriters and the material does take in a diversity of styles, which had to have given them a leg up over other bands when it came to securing club work. What I don't hear is anything particularly original or unique and much of the material really does not have any spark to speak of; it kinda just lays there.

Of the original material, "Don't Turn The Light Off" kicks the LP off in most promising fashion. The most blatantly Beatlesque thing here, it may very well be the album's high point. "The Amazing Three" reminds me of Paul Revere and The Raiders circa '68/'69: that bubblegummy, yet with still something of a hard edge, sound, and is another good one. Then there's "Dreams Do Come True" which had me thinking Left Banke on downers, with its baroque keyboards and odd harmonies.

The covers can only be described as a very mixed bag. The version of Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man" certainly would not given Steve Winwood any sleepless nights had it come out back in the day. The real lowpoint is a cover of, of all things, "Alfie!" "Little By Little" (not the Stones track, writing credit is given to one Gordon Mills) is a pretty successful excursion into heavier territory but, overall, the covers have something a lounge band vibe to them that is at odds with their original material.

Having said all of that, this is not a terrible album by any stretch; indeed, it might even be something of a grower and in six month's time I could be raving about it. Still, given the high price tag of Shadoks' vinyl releases, this is one you can wait for to come out on CD. Compared to similar archival digs of theirs (Beauregard Ajax, Contents Are, Instant Orange, to name a few) this is several notches below in terms of overall quality.

 

[pfft]

Thanks for this great and useful review, Scott.

 

[Mr.Segment]

Great review Scott.

I think I'll pick up Beauregard and Contents Are before this release will be considered.

And to comment on a an older quote from Greg:

Am I the only one thinking "Why shell out $45 for a reissue where you cant even shove the LP into the sleeve properly?"

Yes, it is quite annoying. I have one that I've simply given up ever shoving the vinyl back in again. Strange they continue undersizing the sleeve..

 

[depravedskippy66]

Great review Scott.

I think I'll pick up Beauregard and Contents Are before this release will be considered.

And to comment on a an older quote from Greg:

Yes, it is quite annoying. I have one that I've simply given up ever shoving the vinyl back in again. Strange they continue undersizing the sleeve..

Good call Thomas, as Beauregard Ajax and Contents Are truly deliver the goods and are well worth the money spent. Churchill Downs might be a worthy purchase when it comes out on CD.

Where Shadoks sleeves are concerned, it's not just the undersizing of the sleeve, it's also the stiff cardboard they use. Getting the vinyl back in is enough of a hassle but god forbid there's also an insert; try getting it back in the sleeve without it getting wrinkled.

 

[EXPO67]

Having said all of that, this is not a terrible album by any stretch; indeed, it might even be something of a grower and in six month's time I could be raving about it. Still, given the high price tag of Shadoks' vinyl releases, this is one you can wait for to come out on CD. Compared to similar archival digs of theirs (Beauregard Ajax, Contents Are, Instant Orange, to name a few) this is several notches below in terms of overall quality.

I bought this the other day, paying £32 for it which is very costly for a non vintage LP.

Overall I dig the selections on Side One in particular the opener 'Don't Turn The Light Off'. This is a real find and reminds me of Strawberry Alarm Clock. The Cream influenced recordings are not gonna be a big hit with most G45 members but the inclusion of fuzz guitar pleases me.

Most of Side Two was recorded in mid 1968 and is no great shakes. 'Alfie' is terrible and I get the impression The Churchill Downs were moving towards a more psych soulful sound which is and will never be my scene. Too bad they changed direction. Their version of 'Ostrich People' can't compete with The Chocolate Tunnel either.

The sound quality is fantastic by the way as is the thick card sleeve.

 

[greenfuzz]

I bought this the other day, paying £32 for it which is very costly for a non vintage LP.

Overall I dig the selections on Side One in particular the opener 'Don't Turn The Light Off'. This is a real find and reminds me of Strawberry Alarm Clock. The Cream influenced recordings are not gonna be a big hit with most G45 members but the inclusion of fuzz guitar pleases me.

Most of Side Two was recorded in mid 1968 and is no great shakes. 'Alfie' is terrible and I get the impression The Churchill Downs were moving towards a more psych soulful sound which is and will never be my scene. Too bad they changed direction. Their version of 'Ostrich People' can't compete with The Chocolate Tunnel either.

The sound quality is fantastic by the way as is the thick card sleeve.

I was completely disappointed on first listen but started to warm up to the LP upon second listen. 'Don't Turn Off The Light' is the highlight, and most of side one is solid. It's probably going to grow on me overall with repeated listenings...

 

[Patrick the Lama]

I read between the lines on the Shadoks hype sheet for the Churchill Downs and came up with "2nd tier LA studio pop of no particular interest". I ran this by a record dealer and he agreed!

In general for Shadoks the deal is: if the reissue is from tapes, it will sound good. If it's from vinyl, it will be Cedar-filtered to death and sound dull, grey and nothing like the original. Unfortunately, most of the LPs reissued by Shadoks are so rare that people haven't heard the original, and have no idea what they're missing. I can however point to several cases where these $45-50 reissues lose almost all the magic of the original, but are also clearly inferior to earlier bootleg repros (such as the Mexican Kaleidoscope).

If you've only heard a rare LP in the Shadoks format, you probably haven't really heard it at all. Sad to say. But each case must be approached individually.

That said, I'm amazed any member of this forum would go out and buy the SUCK album from South Africa. Shit, not even '70s collectors like that one.

 

[Mr.Segment]

That said, I'm amazed any member of this forum would go out and buy the SUCK album from South Africa. Shit, not even '70s collectors like that one.

Curiosity got the better part of me! Good thing the Rayne lp was in the same package and saved the day, though in hindsight I might just as well have sprung for an original as it isn´t that impossible to find.