C.A. Quintet was a psychedelic rock band from Minnesota in the late 1960s. The group never really caught much attention while they were around outside of their hometown, and split up in 1971 after a run of about 5 years that started in 1966. The only studio album they made became somewhat of a collectors item throughout the years, and according to Wikipedia, an original release of one sold for over $5000 back in 2014. I’m pretty excited to give this one a listen, so with that said I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Trip Thru Hell, Pt. 1” starts out with a relatively strange and dark soundscape, created by the strange sliding guitars and the somewhat ominous organs while the bass and drums gently come into the track. Oh wow, this tune has already evolved a lot. There’s a ton of interesting flavor coming from the near divine chorus vocals that seem to fade in and out of the soundscape. Oh wow, the bass and drums really create an interesting rhythm section. This tune has a bunch of different movements already, which all gently play off one another and become a wholesome evolution of the strangeness in the tune. Oh wow, a trumpet comes on to further add to the strangeness in the tune. The only vocals so far are the chorus vocals, which come on during a really melodious part of the tune in a really tasty way. Oh wow, the drums become nearly primal as the other instruments drop out – super sweet. Oh wow, the drums almost take on an engine-like quality as they travel from one side of the soundscape to the other. Holy smokes, this drum break is super sweet. There’s almost like the distant rumbling of thunder in the background of the drums, just before the rest of the instrumentation comes back into the soundscape at the melodious part with the gospel-like chorus vocals. Holy smokes, there’s some super sweet guitar that comes on with some sweet distortion that almost has a sort of sinister sound to it – I really dig it. Wow, this tune has progressed so much, and each time it gets back to the melodious part it sounds even sweeter. Absolutely epic introductory tune, I’m excited for the rest of the album.
“Colorado Mourning” has a super sweet sound to it that almost sounds like some sort of dark, psychedelic mariachi rock between the dark sounding trumpets, the quick, at times choppy movements with the guitar, and the sort of ominous organs. There are some vocals in this one that sound like they’re sung from a distance across a hall of some sort. I really dig this tune. Oh wow, at the end of this tune, it returns to the melodious part from the first song – absolutely awesome.
“Cold Spider” starts out with gentle pulsating bass and some dark sounding organs from the background and even some strange synths at the side. Oh wow, this sort of dropped into a bit of dark cowboy-esque psychedelic garage rock tune. The drums have a super great beat that sort of gallops and stutters around the song. Oh wow, I dig the scream from the vocals a lot. Holy smokes, the main guitar parts have come on in a super ominous and bright way with the super clear, distorted tone, and they bring the song pretty far out there, especially with the organs/keyboards sort of washing the song around from underneath. The bass, rhythm guitar, and drums have the center of the soundscape holding super steady with a great rhythm. The outro to the tune sort of brings things back out there again. Really sweet tune.
“Underground Music” starts out with some really strong trumpets that introduce this pretty ominous, strange soundscape. Oh wow, this wah-wah guitar combined with the bare drums and the ominous organs is absolutely awesome. This tune feels like it’s really digging super far into the earth, and will have you delivered to its core before you even realize it as the instrumentation mesmerizes you. Holy smokes, this instrumental break is absolutely awesome. The main electric guitar sounds like it’s verging on bringing the tune out of this proverbial dark soundscape, almost like there’s some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Great tune.
“Sleepy Hollow Lane” starts out with some sort of hypnotic electric organ that gently swirls with the bass guitar and sparse drums as the vocals seem to lead the song forward. Oh wow, I really dig the guitar parts as they come in, and nearly have a sort of cleansingly clean tone to them, especially in conjunction with the electric organs. This tune is pretty sweet. Oh wow, the melodious part of the intro track comes back on again, almost hypnotically. Great tune.
“Smooth as Silk” comes on with some really bright and pretty clean tones compared to some of the previous songs on this album. There’s definitely a bit of a positive sound to this one as well, like you’re getting to some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a really groovy rhythm section to this one. Oh wow, I really dig the main chorus in this one. The trumpets bring a really sweet, nearly desperado through the desert vibe to the soundscape. Really sweet tune.
“Trip Thru Hell, Pt. 2” starts out with a bit of a marching sound from the drums and bass, before the trumpets come on in a sort of declamatory fashion, which introduces the main vocals. Oh wow, I really dig the combination of the male and female singer’s vocal performance, which actually sing particular lyrics instead of a gospel-like melody. The guitar line is pretty similar to the intro tune as well, though there are some brighter moments at times from what I can remember. Oh wow, the tune returned to that melodious line from the intro track again – super awesome. Now the tune has dropped into a bit of a bopping, nearly psychedelic pop line for a moment, before returning to the darkness prevalent throughout the album with a whole bunch of strange, far out effects. Oh wow, the chaos at the end of the song is absolutely awesome – the screaming from a distance is incredibly interesting, almost like you’ve made it through hell to some extent as you hear cries from others. Super dark, incredibly sweet.
Wow, this album was absolutely awesome and wicked. The darkness throughout the album can’t be understated, though it takes a strange and different form at various points throughout the album. If you enjoy dark psychedelic rock, you might want to consider checking this one out. I can understand how it would be a collector’s item among enthusiasts, and I’m going to look into trying to get one of the various reissues that have been released throughout the years. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the experience at least as much as I did.
-A