STRANGELY NORMAL BUT ODDLY LATE
Kerry Leimer | Makawao, Hawaii United States | 05/18/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"With nothing on but a crackling LP to CD transfer of "Heavy Petting" I found I had been waiting without knowing I was waiting (30 years or so) for "Alternative Medicine, The Difficult Third Album" which may now need to be retitled because, occurring somewhere between "Kip" and "Petting" but following "Medicine" in order of release, is this charming little gem, expertly restored and fully documented.
"Halcyon Days" strikes me as the weakest of the suddenly burgeoning 4-disc catalog, a sort of gently rambling affair of traditional- and pop-inflected tunes and fragments that don't quite hang together as an album. I have had this release since it came out -- maybe a year ago by now -- and must confess that I'm not really that drawn to spinning it very often. But still, for completists and those who appreciate the distinctive turns taken by folk artists coming out of the late 1960s "Halcyon Days" sheds some light and offers a better sense of dimension to the extant releases. And while I haven't found any pieces that strike me as being as memorable as "Darksome Burn", "Ballad of the Wasps", "Strings in the Earth and Air" or "Frosty Mornings" or the smoothly reassuring whistle / e-guitar duet that comprised the instrumental stretch of "Sign on My Mind", this is still nice to have around. Especially considering that the care given this release of "Halcyon Days" matches the excellent and also overdue restoration of the recently reissued "Kip of the Serenes".
Which simply leaves me to ask that any further restoration or release of previously released or unreleased work be accomplished in under thirty years. I might easily live that much longer, but I doubt my hearing will be worth much by then."
Never Knew It Was Missing
Robert Carlberg | Seattle | 04/18/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"What to make of this? It is a lost Dr. Strangely Strange album from 1969-1970 which was not even rumored to exist. Professionally recorded, fully completed, lavishly illustrated with a 32-page booklet of contemporary notes and vintage photos (including the faded cover outtake from the Kip of the Serenes photo shoot).... Sounds like nirvana right?
Well it is but frankly the music isn't quite as strong as Kip or Heavy Petting. There's nothing really wrong with these tracks -- they'd fit naturally as bonus tracks for the above -- but on their own they seem, I don't know, somewhat lost, uninspired, anachronistic, out of place, spiritless even. Like they were set aside for a reason perhaps? Instead of bonus tracks what we have here should be considered a 'bonus album' - an asterisk to their recorded legacy.
It was odd when DSS reunited in 1997 to record Alternative Medicine, their "difficult third album" - after a 25-year layoff. It is even stranger (but oddly normal?) to have an entirely unexpected new album released 37 years after it was recorded.
"
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1