H.P. Lovecraft was a short-lived psychedelic rock band that was formed in Chicago in 1967. Though the original incarnation broke up in 1969, other incarnations of the band under the name Love Craft released more music up until 1975. From what I can tell based on a quick search of the internet, the band’s style had a sort of dark, eerie, haunting sound in their combination of psychedelia and folk rock that was reminiscent of the band’s namesake, writer H.P. Lovecraft. This album, H.P. Lovecraft I (1967), was the first of two albums from this incarnation of the group. I’m pretty excited to give this one a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Wayfaring Stranger” starts out with some staccato’d electric guitar chords that have a sound reminiscent of psychedelic garage rock of the time mid-to-late 1960s. I really dig the dark and relatively mellow nature of the other instrumentation that comes into the track. The vocals remind me a bit of Iron Butterfly, and when combined with the rattling percussion in the track almost has a sort of haunting sound. Super sweet track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Let’s Get Together” begins with a smooth bass line that is soon accompanied by some light, jangling, folksy instrumentation with the tambourine and flute that introduces a nice contrast from the previous track. The right side of the soundscape has a sort of classic upbeat psychedelic feel with the swirling keys, sturdy drums, and groovy bass line, while the left side of the soundscape churns the song about with the electric guitar chords and the light flavors of the flute and tambourine. I didn’t realize that I’d heard other versions of this track before, as it was originally by Chet Powers (also known as Dino Valente). This is a super groovy version of the track, and really evokes the classic summer of love feeling of 1967. Great tune.
“I’ve Been Wrong Before” is a song originally by Randy Newman, and this version almost immediately engulfs the listener with a smooth, mysterious rolling fog of sound created by the mystique of the flute and the somewhat dark march of the bass guitar and drums. The guitar seems to invite that musical fog to continue moving about the soundscape, while the organs provide an interesting psychedelic accentuation to the track, which I’m digging a ton at the moment. Great track.
“The Drifter” gets grooving with a groovy bass line that seems to somehow walk the line between 1965 folk rock and 1967 psychedelic rock, which is blurred even more with the swirling organs on one side and the foghorn sound on the other side of the soundscape. The vocals have a very folksy feel to lyricism, but they’re delivered in a really groovy, psychedelic rock style. I really dig the distorted licks from the electric guitar, which again have a great balance between folk rock and psychedelic rock. The tune seems to gradually become more psychedelic as the music continues, though that could be all in my head as I’m continually pulled further into the music. Oh wow, this jam at the end of the track brings the music into a bit of exploratory territory, and is ripe with psychedelic sounds. Great track.
“That’s the Bag I’m In” starts out with some psychedelic organs, but gets into a groove that again feels like it’s walking the line between folk rock and psychedelic rock. This tune is originally by Fred Neil, one of my favorite folk artists during the 1960s, and the vocals are sung in a register that nearly matches the depth of Neil’s voice. Oh wow, the continuous movements of the bass guitar and swirls from the organs bring a groovy psychedelic sound to the track. Super groovy track.
Oh wow, “The White Ship” begins with a sort of mysterious psychedelic marching feel from the drums and bass, while organs, guitars, and vocals seem to invite in another wave of mysterious musical fog that they conjured up earlier in the listening experience of the album. Oh wow, there’s almost sounds to be some exotic horns of some sort that adds a certain worldliness to the track that I’m really digging. Holy smokes, the harpsichord comes in and seems to transport you hundreds of years in the past to some sort of psychedelic baroque period in western Europe, while a woodwind of sort brings in some eastern, possibly raga-inflected sounds soon after. Oh wow, the tune marches back to the mysterious fog for one final chorus before returning to the harpsichord for the final measure. Wow, great track.
“Country Boy and Bleecker Street” gets grooving with a super strong drum beat and a really grooving bass line on the right side of the soundscape, while an electric guitar and some organs add in some psychedelia to this groovy version of the track by Fred Neil. Oh wow, this track is super groovy. The psychedelia from the guitar, organs, and different vocal approach (compared to Neil’s) all blend really nicely with the rhythm section that seems reminds me of the original song from Neil (“Bleecker & MacDougal”) in terms of timbre. Wow, awesome track.
Holy smokes, “The Time Machine” begins with a super interesting ragtime feel with the parlor piano and the tinny vocals, which then suddenly segues into a spacey, somewhat dark psychedelic interlude of some sort. I really dig the percussion in this track, which have a really groovy swing with a strong backbeat. Great track.
Oh wow, “That’s How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)” begins with some mellow, warm bass playing accompanied by a gentle swing that almost feels like it’s plucked out of some sort of hazy-aired, smooth jazz club late at night. Oh wow, the keyboards add some great accentuations for a moment that remind me of Jimmy Smith a bit. I really dig the easy-going licks from the electric guitar that seem to meld with this smooth tune that almost has a mix of soft psych and bluesy jazz flavors that I’m really digging. Super sweet tune.
“Gloria Patra” begins with a lone singer, singing something in possibly Latin in a Gregorian chanting style, and is soon joined by a chorus of other vocalists to harmonize together and put a mysterious capstone on the listening experience of the album. Super sweet track, and a great way to finish the album.
Wow, I’ll definitely be checking out H.P. Lovecraft’s second album, H.P. Lovecraft II (1968), very soon. The group blends a mysterious sound with folk rock and psychedelic rock in a way that really catches my ear. The two covers of Fred Neil songs were performed in a way that, as a fan of Neil’s work, felt as though they were honoring the originals while being served up in a unique manner that was cohesive with the rest of the album. I’m actually looking at prices of the album on Discogs right now, and they don’t seem necessarily unreasonable for a VG+ copy. If you’re into psychedelic rock and folk rock from the mid-to-late 1960s, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A