Alexander "Skip" Spence-- Oar

OK, so is this album loved and respected because the artist is "crazy" or despite it?

I recently bought the remastered version with 10 bonus tracks on Sundazed. For the un-initiated, this is a much-lauded solo effort from one of the principals of Moby Grape. Basically, he went insane and recorded an album of his insanity. He is the sole musician on these tracks, it's all him, very minimal he was restricted to 3 tracks. The tracks are so basically played and recorded, it throws down the gauntlet for you. It asks you essentially what is artistry? Is it inspiration, vs. execution? Is this record pure art, or just a car-crash caught on tape? Do you have to be crazy to be great? Does it help? Is there a relationship between madness and creativity?

I don't have the answers to these questions, but I must admit that after multiple spinnings (and it takes that long to "get" this album) I've ended up a "Skip" Spence fan. Anyone else have any feelings about this disc?

 

I have it and think it's great. Weird but great. Coincidentally it's the most warped record I ever bought that was still playable. It looked like it had sat in the back window of Grant's car for a few days in August. Still played though. By the time I got around to thinking about getting a new copy it was out of print. I'm glad the CD with the bonus tracks came out.

 

Sundazed put out a vinyl edition along with the CD. I had an original and it was in purty good shape, but a little crackly. Got rid of it when I got the vinyl and Cd reissue. (hey I had to!)

 

Edit: Regarding the album itself, it's been on my want list for a long while. I'm really intrigued by it.

 

Well, depending on what your criteria is for a "great album" this one certainly qualifies....It's way way out there, no doubt about it. So far out there it's automatically a "classic" or just a weird curiosity. You have the choice...

 

Weren't there two CD reissues of this album, the one on Sundazed, and another, early '90s, on Columbia Special Products? Or am I thinking of another CD reissue?

Kwad

 

The original early-90's CD had remixes, if I recall correctly. By the way, great liner notes by David Fricke on the Sundazed (1999) reissue.

Jim W.

 

I love Oar.
I think there's a magical quality to the songs, so I would put it in the "great in spite of being crazy" category. I've heard some crazy music in my lifetime that just doesn't do a darn thing for me, but Oar ain't it.

Tim

 

Dammit, 2Take, I'm gonna buy the This Is The Sea remaster, and it's all your fault!!! OK, I can't wait to hear it.

 

I have both the Ken Robertson mastered CD from '91 and the Sundazed reissue from '99. They are substantially different listening experiences, and I imagine anyone who gets deep into the album will find the two mixes illuminate very different corners of Skip's shadowy soundscapes. In terms of the tracks that the two discs share, the '91 CD ends up sounding like it could have come out as a contemporary album on the Drag City label or the like. 13 years ago, that made Oar seem that much more amazing, but in light of the wide release of the "vintage Columbia album mix" eight years later, the '91 mix seems flat in comparison. You can crawl into the space between sounds on the Sundazed disc, and no such luxury is afforded to the listener on the Collector's Series CD. There's a quote from No Depression magazine on the Sundazed site that describes it this way:

“Sundazed Music boss Bob Irwin...returned to the original two-track masters and restored them to the mix that graced the original vinyl. The sonic improvement is startling; there’s a clarity and depth to the new Sundazed version of Oar, giving Spence’s singing and playing a finer degree of intimacy. Not only does Spence now sound like he’s sitting right in front of you, but his guitar has a dry twangy crispness...it’s clear that Spence genuinely was aiming for the kind of raw immediacy of vintage blues and folk recordings.”

Personally, I keep both CDs around and listen to either one depending on my mood. The Collector's Series disc has a "live grenade tossed over the backyard fence" feel to the more outside aspects of Spence's playing, while the Sundazed CD is like a eerily intimate letter slipped under your front door. OK, there's my weird similie for today.

 

At first I thought you were being metaphorical....either way you're right!

 

I have both the LP and Cd from sundazed. My fav song is Lawrence of Euphoria. man its just too bad that Skip's life ended in a halfway house in the Bay area broke and very ill. What a talent!!

 

I first heard Oar via the Sundazed CD, original mix. A couple years later I snagged the 1991 remix CD. This is one of those cases of an album that is impossible to remix. The original mix is my all-time favorite album of all-time. The remix sounds disjointed, awkward, wrong. All the life is sucked out of it somehow. Some of the songs run longer on the remix though, which makes it worth hearing. But man, what a dramatic difference, and an object lesson in not trying to remix a classic album.

 

I have the Sundazed LP and it's still sealed. It's been in my basement staring at me for months. Every once in a while I cop something and just can't bear to listen to it. Zevon's The Wind is another example. I finally did crack that one and, of course I love it. And I am sure that I will dig Oar as well but it's not coming easy for me...

Peace-
Norm

 

This album is one that gives you the creeps... in a good way. I love it! Spence was sooooo far out there that he couldn't even look back and see the edge. Truly awesome.

Cheers,
Chris

 

Anyone A/B the Sundazed LP with an original Columbia LP?

 

Yes and they sound very similar. You're not missing much and the original was cut real low so any clicks show up purty easily. I liked what Irwin did with the reissue. It has the magic.

 

Kwad,

You are actually right in your "wrongness"...huh?!

The Sundazed CD was issued as a Sundazed label with SONY Music Special Products. I guess they distributed it for Sundazed. That is the one I have.

 

Did he engineer the album himself? Dumb question I know, but reading your post I'm left with that idea ('Skip dumped tracks onto another tape.. ').

 

YES!! I finally got OAR!!

Man those Sundazed CDs are great value.. two more pages in that booklet and it wouldn't have fit the case!

 

Say, OAR fans.. a couple questions here:

1) Why does the track listing make a distinction between 'Extra Oar' and 'Unissued Oar' regarding the bonus tracks?

2) Is there any point in trying to get a copy of the original mix? Edit: I meant the alternate mix.. the one that was done for CD in the early '90s .

3) Does anyone else think the Sundazed CD is TOP NOTCH? Both in packaging and sound, it's worth every penny and then some.

 

I agree Damian, the Sundazed CD is great, as well as their LP reissue. Having been a longtime Moby Grape fan, I still have my Columbia '360' LP pressing of Oar that I got when it was first released.

 

Not a dumb question. My statement was misleading. He didn't engineer it.