Gandalf – Gandalf (Clear Vinyl)

Gandalf's Gandalf is the lone album by this New York City group, a 1969 psych-pop outlier that has gradually earned cult status for its baroque arrangements and shadowy atmosphere. Working with producer Brooks Arthur at Century Sound in Manhattan, the band built much of the record in the studio, shaping an unusually fluid sound that sits somewhere between late-Sixties sunshine pop, chamber pop and psychedelia.

What makes the album memorable is how specific its palette is: haunting vocals, B3 organ, harpsichord, vibes, sitar and drifting bass lines, all used to create a dreamy, slightly uncanny mood. Peter Sando's writing gives the record its own identity, while the covers help place it in a wider pop tradition, from Tim Hardin's "Hang On To A Dream" to Eden Ahbez's "Nature Boy." If you like the ornate edge of The Left Banke or the more spectral side of The Zombies, this is an easy one to understand.

This edition also matters because it marks the first official vinyl pressing since the original era release. Jackpot worked from the original analog master tape with lacquers cut AAA by Kevin Gray, and the package adds liner notes and photos by Peter Sando, giving a little more context to an album that was overlooked for far too long and now sounds like a fascinating late-Sixties one-off.

Features

• Clear Vinyl, Limited Edition
• Lacquers cut AAA from the original analog master tape by Kevin Gray
• Includes liner notes and photos by Peter Sando
• First official vinyl pressing since 1969

Reviews

• some attractive baroque-psychedelia with a spacey air - AllMusic.com