Howdy friends,
There are presently 11 shiny Omni offerings in a good record shop near you, or through our brand-spankin' mail order service - just click on the cover art of any Omni title below to order a copy. If you'd like to order multiple items and get a postage discount, or if you'd like to pay in a currency other than US dollars, please email bestxmiles(at)optusnet.com.au and we'll hook you up with a Paypal invoice. Adios!
Omni 112: Malvina Reynolds: Malvina Reynolds (Remastered with extra tracks)
The Groovey Grandma of Folk! With The Byrds and The Dillards!!!
"...the most unique songwriter in the United States, perhaps the world. She refuses to give up on the human race." -- Pete Seeger
Best known for the renditions of her fabulous songs that became big hits for other artists - Little Boxes (Pete Seeger), Morningtown Ride (The Seekers), Turnaround (Harry Belafonte), amongst others - Malvina Reynolds was the grooviest grandma to ever strut across the folk singer stage! At the ripe age of 70 (in 1970) she joined forces with members of The Byrds, The Dillards, The Sunshine Company, producer Alex Hassilev (of fabulous folkies The Limeliters) and others to cut her self-titled psyche-protest opus! With a heart of gold and an acid tongue Malvina wraps her creaking, aching voice around paeans to the Black Panther Party (Daddy's In The Jail), the approaching eco-apocalypse and humanity's de-evolution (There'll Come A Time), an imaginary army made up of bankers and diplomats (We Hate To See Them Go), LSD, DDT and other hot topics at the close of the tumultuous 1960s.
Rounding out the collection are a handful of extremely rare 45 only cuts, alternate versions and six astounding previously unreleased tracks. Lovingly remastered from the original tapes, all selections make their first appearance on CD here!
Omni 111: Norma Jean: I Guess That Comes From Being Poor / Body And Mind (Remastered with extra tracks)
Country-concept genius from the proto- Dolly Parton!
If talent and sincerity automatically brought fame then everyone would know her name... Instead today Norma Jean is unjustly considered little more than a footnote in country music history. The fine recordings on offer here tell of a much greater story.
Best known for her on and off stage association with Porter Wagoner and a string of moderate hit singles during the mid 1960s, by 1972 the spotlight had waned for Norma Jean. But 1972 is also the year that Norma recorded her greatest album, the country-concept opus: I Guess That Comes From Being Poor. Derided by some as a Dolly Parton clone, few understood that Norma was doing "Dolly" before Dolly was, not only as Porter's singing and touring partner but also in the style and content of her fine recordings. Lovingly remastered from the original RCA Victor tapes and presented here for the first time on CD is the whole genius of the I Guess That Comes From Being Poor album and also highlights from the excellent Body And Mind and Another Man Loved Me Last Night LPs. Singing from the heart about her own humble beginnings and at times troubled life, Norma Jean delivered stinging tales in a soaring voice and a sugar coating!
Omni 109: The Stonemans: In All Honesty (28 track CD Anthology)
A "Bluegrass Carter Family" with beads and incense!
With a recorded legacy that predates the Carter Family and a uniqueness that is still unequalled, The Stonemans are both a curiosity and a phenomenon. Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman appeared out of obscurity in 1924 to release "The Sinking of the Titanic" a disc (78rpm) reputed to have sold over a million copies at the time and certainly the most popular "Hillbilly" record of its era. With a prosperous recording and live performance career throughout the late 1920s "Pop" was to see it all wiped out by The Great Depression and spent the next decades in dire poverty. In the 1960s "Pop" joined with five of his twenty-three (?!?) children to form The Stonemans and they had notable success together until "Pop's" death in 1968. 1969-1970 saw the Stoneman offspring re-group after their great loss and record three fine but much overlooked albums for RCA Victor.
Was it Bluegrass, or was it Country Pop or was it Hippie Folk-Rock? Who cares? What matters most is that it was great, great music! From the melancholy ode to mortality "According To the Plan", to the rollicking race to the gallows "Turner's Turnpike", to the exuberant "Let's Get Together" and numerous other highlights, The Stonemans were never dull and often a gas man!!
OMNI 108: Gil Trythall - Country Moog: Switched on Nashville
Ever wondered what would have happened if Hillbillies and Hayseeds put down their fiddles and banjos and got their hands on some Space-Age technology?
Wonder no more.
In 1971 academic and experimental music composer Gil Trythall was commissioned by Athena Records and Studio boss Rick Powell to record a Switched On Bach for "country folk". Trythall dutifully ran country and bluegrass standards, and the hits of the day, through the valves and circuits of a battery of Moog synthesizers and related hardware. The resulting 1972 album, Country Moog (Switched On Nashville) is certainly unlike anything ever heard before (or since, for that matter). Equal parts virtuosic musicianship, bizarre musique-concrete effects and just plain entertaining, the original album was popular enough to spawn a sequel, 1973's Nashville Gold (Switched On Moog). Cited by Bob Moog as one of his favourite "Moog" recordings, both albums are included here for their first appearance on CD with a number of rare or previously unreleased tracks, exclusive liner notes, historical photos and recollections from Gil Trythall himself!
OMNI 107: Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan - Weird Scenes Inside the Birdhouse
Lysergic hayseed melancholy and cowpoke philosophy - for the first time on CD!
Jack & Misty's second OMNI Records anthology CD, "Weird Scenes Inside the Birdhouse", takes a look at the kooky couple's music from 1973 to 1976. This is a warmer and wiser Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan, still producing fabulous oddball flourishes like "The Cockroach Stomp" and "Cows", but with added majesty and grandeur. Witness the astounding, lush string arrangements on "Carolina Sundown Red", "Something on your Mind" and "Just One More Song". And what universe, exactly, did "Molasses in the Moonlight" rocket in from?
Lovingly remastered, with five previously unreleased demo recordings (circa 1975), this is a deluxe collectors edition with an extensive 16 page full colour booklet featuring unpublished photos and commentaries from Jack Blanchard himself.
Nobody but nobody, has ever sounded like Jack and Misty!
OMNI 106: Bobby Bare - A Bird Named Yesterday / Talk Me Some Sense (Remastered with extra tracks)
36 Track Cd Anthology: Smooth Countrypolitan Pop with substance!
Two of his most impressive country-concept albums are presented here, lovingly restored and remastered from the original RCA Victor master tapes, with a number of rare and poignant extra tracks. "A Bird Named Yesterday" was originally issued in 1967 and is, quite simply, stunning. Through humour, stark portraiture and heartfelt ballads Bobby Bare places himself in direct opposition to the ill winds of the modern world. Smooth as silk... but with the dark heart of a Hillbilly Anarchist Provocateur!!! A mighty and compelling collection.
OMNI 105: The Open Mind of John D Loudermilk
27 Track Cd Anthology: Nashville Psyche-Pop from legendary songwriter!
Best known as a stellar songwriter (Tobacco Road, Indian Reservation, This Little Bird, Break My Mind etc etc, ad infinitum!!!) John D. Loudermilk was also an accomplished, inspiring singer-songwriter before the term even existed. The Open Mind of John D. Loudermilk is his 1969 psychedelic Nashville opus! Sitars blaze and otherworldly voices rail on the opening cut Goin' To Hell On A Sled, but this is no mere wigged-out cash-in record. With a palette ranging from the gentle organ tones of Laura, to the striking relevance of The Jones' and Peace of Heart, few records of such wit, compassion and intelligence have ever been committed to tape. Remastered and restored with love and care this album is presented here for the first time on CD.
OMNI 104: Jimmy Driftwood - Voice of the People
28 Track Cd Anthology: His original 1960's recordings for the Monument Label!
The "Hillbilly Alan Lomax!" covered by Johnny Cash and many, many others. Lovingly remastered and presented here for the first time on CD. Hear the "Hillbilly Alan Lomax" chronicle ritual dismemberment, limbs that communicate from beyond the grave and other charming facets of Arkansas mountain life. An engaging stew of backwoods philosophy, cryptic observations, progressive candour, homespun spirituality and the stirring desire for a better life, these timeless recordings will make you tap your feet as they gently mess with your mind. You have been warned.
OMNI 103: Porter Wagoner - The Rubber Room ** selling fast! get 'em while they're HOTT!
29 Track Cd Anthology: The Haunting, Poetic Songs of Porter Wagoner 1966-1977
Psychotronic, dark, heartfelt country... with a touch of showbiz! First time on CD!
Deluxe collectors 16 page package featuring original LP artwork and exclusive liner notes. All tracks are remastered 2006 from the original master tapes! Features a stunning, spine tingling duet with Dolly Parton!
Porter Wagoner reviewed by Jeff Glorfeld
OMNI 102: Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan - Life and Death (and almost everything else)
29 Track CD Anthology: All Original recordings 1967-1973
Kinda like Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood on acid! Includes two previously unreleased tracks direct from the vault! First time on Cd! Deluxe collectors package featuring rare photos, exclusive liner notes and philosophical writings from Jack Blanchard! All tracks are in stereo and remastered 2005! Quite simply, you have never heard how far country music can go, until you have heard Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan!
OMNI 101: Henson Cargill (R.I.P.) - A Very Well Travelled Man
27 Track Cd Anthology: The Best of the Monument Years 1967-1970
Stellar songs, heartfelt performances, the finest Nashville players and the greatest set of tonsils to ever wrap themselves around activist country-pop! Here are the almost forgotten masterpieces of Henson Cargill, sourced directly from the Monument Records vault and presented for the first time on CD. Hear Henson's smooth baritone lambast apathy ("None of My Business"), chide neglectful parenting ("Skip a Rope"), ponder the complexities of love ("Four Shades of Love"), dismiss the space race ("Going Backwards") and name-check Adolph Eichmann and Cecil B. DeMille in one song ("What's my Name?"). If "Wildflower" doesn't move you or "Reprints" make you stop and consider then you are surely made of stone. Zen country music anyone?
Henson Cargill reviewed by Jo Roberts
Coming Soon From Omni:
Omni 110: Bruce Haack: The Electric Lucifer (Remastered with extra tracks)
Part two of the new Omni series "Moog Masterpieces", Bruce Haack's "The Electric Lucifer" is rightly considered one of the masterworks of 20th century electronic music. Originally recorded in 1968 and 1969 (and released in 1970) it is an album both unique in conception and superb in realization. An eminently listenable work where Pop-psychedelia and Moog/musique-concrete sounds coalesce around Haack's central metaphysical concept of "Powerlove", a force so powerful that it could end war and unify humankind. Acclaimed upon its original release (one of Rolling Stone's favourite albums of 1970 amongst many citations) yet unavailable for over three decades, "The Electric Lucifer" is presented here for the first time on CD! Remastered and restored from the original master tapes recently discovered in the Columbia vault (and featuring two previously unreleased bonus tracks), with hitherto unpublished photos from the original recording sessions and exclusive liner notes and recollections. "The Electric Lucifer" is your gateway to the profound yet playful universe of Bruce Haack, a "far-out" place where flower-power and inner-space electronics collide!
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