Just when you thought every obscure private pressing from the late sixties had been uncovered by crate-diggers and catapulted into the limelight, the good folks at Drag City announce another lost and found gem.
In their own words: A new/old challenger lurks in the murky depths of 1969 – and rural Maine! Next to Skip Spence, Dave Bixby and Perry Leopold, make room for the lonesome sound of Bill Stone. Wistful, airy psych on par with the mysterious Mark Fry; earthy, magic-hour folk melancholy worthy of Leonard Cohen and Tom Rapp. A remastered happy-sad, psychedelicate, song-cycle obscurity!
Bill Stone started out playing in a few small folk ensembles and stepping out with occasional solo gigs, which led to the 1969 recording of Stone on a 2-track Panasonic tape recorder in a pottery studio in Boothbay, Maine.
Titled simply Stone, Bill’s mysterious album was pressed in the micro-est of quantities, covering wistful, airy psychedelia on par with the UK’s Mark Fry’s classic Dreaming of Alice, while still evoking the earthy, evening-hour melancholy of Leonard Cohen or Tom Rapp. Stone was also especially influenced by one Donny P. Leitch, one Robby Zimmerman, and much trad folk, while growing up in his hometown of Old Town, Maine.
Two songs have been shared to date from Stone which is set for release on vinyl once more this February 12th. The latest single “Purple” has been described as sounding like something from lo-fi loner Mark Fry, or Pearls Before Swine in their more contemplative moments. Minimal folk from the psychedelic era, beamed straight into your 21st-century device!
Bill Stone Online:
Drag City-https://www.dragcity.com/artists/bill-stone
Pre Order-https://www.dragcity.com/products/stone
Stream “Purple“–https://ffm.to/billstone