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LP
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TDP 54048LP
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2022 repress. Trading Places present a reissue of July's The Second of July, demos for their debut album recorded in 1968. The obscure west London psychedelic rock act, July, arose from the ashes of rhythm and blues group The Tomcats, who had some success in Spain in the mid-60s after absorbing members of fellow musical travelers, Second Thoughts. Back in London in 1968, co-founder Tom Newman, later known for his engineering and production work on Tubular Bells, shifted the group into psychedelic mode with his guitar friend, Pete Cook, writing material that would draw the guitarist/bandleader Spencer Davis in a management role, leading to a contract with Major Minor records for their self-titled debut LP, which failed to chart, but the inclusion of songs such as "My Clown", "Dandelion Seeds", and "The Way" on various compilations have assured a strong underground following. The rare demos that make up The Second of July date from before the debut album was recorded and reveal the group in all their evolving experimental glory, the sound not only blending psychedelic rock and pop with lush harmonies, intricate lead guitar, and scintillating keyboards, but also including Indian elements such as sitar and tabla (and Indian-derived chord sequences), plus trippy tape loops and phasing. Licensed by Cherry Red.
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6CD BOX
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QCRSEGBOX 070CD
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"Released by the Major Minor label in 1968, the self-titled July album has long been acknowledged by genre enthusiasts as one of the classic UK psychedelic one-shots, mixing the ambition and experimentation of Sgt. Pepper with a lo-fi charm and endearing garage band artlessness. It is also one of the most hotly-pursued artefacts of the British psychedelic era, with an original UK copy (only graded at VG++) recently selling on eBay for around £3700. Our definitive 6-CD overview of the band's activities includes newly-remastered versions of the album in both mono and stereo formats (the latter only previously available on the original 1968 American release) as well as the various single issues, including a completely different recording of album nugget 'The Way'. Disc Three contains The Second Of July, a collection of pre-album demos that appeared in the mid-Nineties to capitalise on the band's growing reputation as original copies of their LP began to sell for increasingly large sums of money. The remainder of the boxed set consists of more recent July recordings following their triumphant return to live work a few years ago. Disc Four is the aborted album Temporal Anomaly, which was recorded circa 2010 but which gains a first-ever release, while Disc 5 is the appropriately-titled Resurrection, which received a limited release in 2013. Disc Six comprises the latest July magnum opus, The Wight Album, which has been pieced together over the last few years by Tom Newman and Peter Cook at Tom's recording studio on the Isle of Wight. Now finally completed, The Wight Album -- described by Tom as 'the greatest July album' -- brings the July story bang up to date. Housed in a clamshell box, and with a 40-page booklet containing a 7000-word essay on the band featuring new quotes and some priceless period photos, The Complete Recordings is an epic look at the studio activities of one of the biggest cults to emerge from the original British psychedelic scene."
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