Gospelfolk - Prodigal (1969)

I bought this for £2.50 up in Glasgow and it's apparently worth about 50 times that, so GERRITUPYE! Chilled Xian psych from Scotland with a bit of organ and fuzz, and some folky moments, but mainly in a solid 67-68 Byrdsy vein. Allegedly only 99 copies pressed, but I've heard that might be false. Some (presumably unintentional) Velvetsy vibes on this, and typical naive Christian hippy lyrics. Sorry for the crackle on my copy, but I think I'm the first to rip this so quit complaining.

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Stanford Folk - Presenting Stanford Folk (1977)

Custom (?) 7" of square xian folk courtesy of two married couples. "Put Your Hand in the Hand" is a tad twee, but endearing, and as much as I enjoy the performance of "I Don't Know How To Love Him", I could do without having "Rice/Webber" credited on any record I own. However, the middle 2 songs, "Sing Halleluya" and "Babylon" are gorgeous slices of earnest christfolk, with the pure female vocals being a particular treat, especially on the latter. This was worth the 50p I paid for it.

PEACE BE WITH YOU

Sonlight - Sonlight (1975)

This would have been a vinyl rip but I found the mp3s on slsk so I saved a lot of time and effort. This is a pleasant Christian light pop LP with some cool jazzy bits and nice organ work. No trace of fuzz or psych, but I still love this record. Cool cover too.

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Feral Gospel

Little comp I put together of raw gospel, both known and obscure. Usual religious disclaimers apply.

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Earthen Vessel - Hard Rock/Life Everlasting (1970)

That rarest of rarities, a Christian rock record that actually sounds like it comes from the same spiritual source as the music of Messiaen, Albert Ayler and Blind Willie Johnson. Blinding fuzzy hard rock with whiteboy/girl gospel vibes and an all-round sense of ecstatic joy (tempered with anguish and eventual redemption on "Who Can"). Sharon Keel kinda sounds like Grace Slick if she swapped the pharmacopia for Communion wine. Competently played throughout, but still with that hint of ramshackle enthusiasm that makes the post-hippie private press such a goldmine of compelling music. Unreservedly recommended to humans with ears

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