This lost classic finally makes its CD debut here. Led by the aptlynamed Angel, the band only recorded one album, which has become one of the best-loved folk-rock albums of its era. Recorded in New York and produced by longtime Wendy Carlos collaborator Rachel Elkind, it's a haunting collection of autoharp-led pop songs, boasting strong melodies and powerful electric guitar, but sold poorly on release in 1971, causing the band to splinter.
Delicate and melodic baroque soft-rock with a mellow hippie aura. Vocally not unlike the softer moments of the Peanut Butter Conspiracy or Comfortable Chair. Where they came from is unknown, though some of the credits hint at it being recorded in New York City. To be taken in the drawing-room with perfumed tea.
Little's known about this group, even though their sole album, 1971's One Voice Many, came out on a major label, Columbia. Sounding more like a record from the late '60s than the early '70s, its folk-rock-psychedelic blend was unusual for prominently featuring the autoharp of Angel Autoharp (as she's billed on the record), which sometimes functioned much as a lead guitar or organ would within a rock lineup. Autoharp also wrote the material on the LP, which presented both instrumentals (on which the autoharp took its strongest role) and vocal numbers with male-female vocal blends/alternations, all the while maintaining a slightly haunting yet cheery flavor consistent with the sound of many Californian bands of the era.
Personnel:
ANGEL autoharp, vcls
STEVE BOHN gtr, vcls
ROBERT GORMAN bs, vcls
MICHAEL JOHN HACKETT drms
ALBUM:
1. ONE VOICE MANY (Columbia C 30686) 1971
45s:
1. 300 Watt Music Box/Half A Tap (Columbia 4-45328) 1971
2. West/It's Crying Outside (Columbia 4-45459) 1971
Album tracklist:
01. West
02. Come To Me
03. This Bird
04. Son (We've Kept The Room Just The Way You Left It)
05. Medley
06. It's Crying Outside
07. 300 Watt Music Box
08. Okay
09. Half A Top
10. One Voice Many
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