Dave Mattson - August Reunion 1975 (no label) ... Great and Unknown DIY Loner Folk Rock '75

Update: sold the dave mattson finally, mainly out of curiousity to see what it would get. As you know I think its a really awesome and very underrated piece, theres still virtually no info out there on it, except that i did discover that mr. mattson went on to record an album on Word out of waco in the early 80s, a few of the tracks from here are on the lp but they are reworked in a most horendous manner. The record is in vg- condition and the cover was a vg+, so it wasnt in the best shape but it did sound pretty damn good still amazingly, I feel like after I cleaned it the sound got better so I will reupolad this at some point cause this one is a litttle grainy. Anyway in its condition it sold for 155 dollars, which aint bad considering, and the fact that it has no following really makes it surprising, but after selling it on ebay and getting it out there plus my blog hopefully people will become more aware and start looking for it. Its not as dark as some people like their private folk rock to be, but it makes up for that in lyrics and song structure. I think if it was in excellent shape and was in the hands of a guy like Show and Tell, itd have fetched 300 without too much trouble. Thats the way it goes though. Im atleast finally starting to get a reputation on ebay and get some frequent re-buyers and browsers, even though i only have a measly 175 sales. Keep the train rolin.








DAVID MATTSON and SAILOR : August Reunion 1975 (no label) Dallas TX

Musicians:
Dave Mattson: Vocals & Guitar
Frank Whitney: Bass
Terry Rosen: Second Guitar
Sailor: Drums, Vibes, Electric Piano, Guitar

Produced By:
Randy Gill and David Mattson

I will say this, this LP has been listened to many times by the previous owner, so it sounds a bit worn. Also it is unfindable x10 in every way I have tried, a true obscurity. And it is a grower for sure, I mean at first I thought it was kinda average private folk that was a bit too John Denverish, but I am telling you there are certain tracks on here that I have listened to over and over again in my car and I'm really impressed with how much this album has grown on me. A very personal effort here by Dave and Sailor, at times sounding like Simon and Garfunkel, at times sounding like John Denver, and sometimes sounding like Elliot Smith and lots of new era folksy things but more 70s nature-y ethereal stuff. But some of the tracks are a bit soft and snoozy, so I really recommend / A2: Vancouver Bay A4: Holly Lake A5: Sail Me Away B2: As Long as I Do / for a quick listen, but the whole album is really good to listen to. And I think 'Sail Me Away' is my favorite track.
Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but there is something special about finding a record in a pile of junk somewhere, thinking it might have potential, putting it on and liking it, then discovering its basically unknown to all but maybe 50 people on earth. So I'm probably biased somewhat in that, but if it were rubbish I'd throw it in the growing pile of all the unknown but utter shite in my closet.

~Get Folky~

FIND OF THE MONTH: MINT - THE MINT b/w SKYWALKING

Truly one hell of a find here, a devastating 12" single with 2 sides that are incredibly different in style yet obviously done by the same band, and both are incredibly good, which is rare on an obscure weirdo like this one. When I first heard that intro bass riff, and then the slammin almost no wave style synth blasts I was thinking my god, how could this not be all over the place. And then I flipped to skywalking and the homedun DIY sweet soul disco lounge modern soul skywalking only served to accentuate the question: How the fuck is this under the radar? Or am I just crazy? No popsike entry, no collector's frenzy entry, no Groovecollector entry, no discogs entry, no ebay for sale, no Gemm, no cdandlp, no musicstack, I mean occasionaly I will happen upon a 7" like Sugarbear that practically no one knows exists except a murmur among the most meticulous collectors of its possible existence, but this 12" just doesnt seem like that kind of thing to me. I know the group has atleast 2 other releases, both of which are known, one which is somewhat sought after. But they are both much later than this one, and this one blows them away by a mile. The DIY quirky uniqueness of this is at maximum level. And the skywalking side will really grow on you, while the mint at very loud volume makes for one hell of a ride. Enjoy this beautiful gem, this is what Digging for Diamonds is all about. And while I'm on that topic, I'd just like to say I didn;t give nough credit to the Alan Fitzmorris 7" I posted a while back, the guy on the kansas city rangers, I have still yet to find a TRACE of info on that release, and it is STILL one of my favorite finds of all time, truly great songcraft and a very unique dark acid folk meets hash rock. So if you havent got that one yet, go back and check it out, I'm also very astonished of that one too.

MINT - THE MINT / SKYWALKING ( exceptional quality records) date unknown. 1980-82?