Today is Only Yesterday's Tomorrow

I stopped by Sonic Boom a few weeks ago. What a great record store. How great? They had two (not one, but two) cds I was looking for in the racks. It's not everyday that one can find releases by The Poppy Family and Lothar & the Hand People in a retail setting. Go check.

I've written about both bands in the past, so I won't repeat myself. But I will tell you something about the cds. First up The Poppy Family's A Good Thing Lost 1968-1973 [What Are Records? 60017-2]. It's a good place to start as it covers most of the bands high points: "Free From the City", "Which Way You Goin', Billy?", "There's No Blood in Bone" and "Where Evil Grows" with track by track notes by Terry Jacks. But it is Susan Jacks voice that makes the countryesque- lite-psych tunes so effective.

Everything that Lothar & the Hand People released is available as Space Hymn: The Complete Capitol Recordings [Acadia ACAD 8058]. Nice that I could finally upgrade my battered vinyl copy of their second LP Space Hymn. What I like about the theremin named Lothar and his pals was how eclectic the group truly was: catchy folk pop, electronic experimentation, and that particular 60's whimsy. I would like to say that "Machines" was steampunk before anyone knew what that was. What can I say, Lothar & the Hand People are engaging, likable and weird. It's what you want in a pop group.

While I'm here I'd like to say that I'm looking forward to the nationwide release of Mono In VCF's debut. They cover The Poppy Family's "There's No Blood in Bone" and Terry Jacks' guests. How cool is that?