Ask the Unicorn is an album that will be high on the list of many crate diggers out there who know they’re as rare as hen’s teeth. Ed Askew was only 27 when he released the album in 1968 on the infamous and historic ESP-Disk catalogue (Pearls Before Swine, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler). Whilst the album has been near impossible to find a copy of the man has certainly not drifted into obscurity, if anything he is arguably more well known now helped by re-issues on Drag City and tours with Bill Callahan and the Black Swans. Also, in 2013 Tin Angel released For the World, it was produced by Jerry David DeCicca and featured contributions from Sharon van Etten, Marc Ribot, and Mary Lattimore.
The good news is that Tin Angel are to re-issue the album on the white vinyl Askew originally requested. The cover for the UK release (main image) is the positive of the US edition. It is a photo of the protests in Stamford following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It was remastered from the original pressing by Jessica Thompson (Awesome Tapes from Africa, Tompkins Square) at the Magic Shop in NYC so that it sounds better than ever — clearer, deeper, and louder. The insert features an original poster made Askew for one of this shows in New Haven, CT; and liner notes by Clifford Allen (Tiny Mix Tapes), an ESPDisk scholar and friend of the band, who interviewed Askew over the course of several months.
It seemed only fitting that we select a track from the album as our Song of the Day, here is Fancy That:
Pre-order via: Bandcamp | ProperMusic