Release date: 19-01-2000 (originally released in 1968)

2000 US 12-track LP pressed on 180gram Virgin Vinyl, solo album from the Moby Grape/Jefferson Airplane man recorded in Nashville in 1968 immediately after being released from New York's Bellevue Hospital, a raw and fragile masterpiece, visionary solo work, source from original columbia tapes, presented in replica sleeve with original track listng, liner notes and photos - sealed

Tracks:
01. Little Hands
02. Cripple Creek
03. Diana
04. Margaret - Tiger Rug
05. Weighted Down
06. War In Peace
07. Broken Heart
08. All Come To Meet Her
09. Books Of Moses
10. Dixie Peach Promenade
11. Lawrence Of Euphoria
12. Grey / Afro

No one except psychedelic Renaissance man Alexander "Skippy" Spence could have created an album such as Oar. Alternately heralded as a "soundtrack to schizophrenia" and a "visionary solo effort," Oar became delegated to cut out and bargain bins shortly after its release in the spring of 1969. However those who did hear it were instantly drawn into Spence's inimitable sonic surrealism. As his illustrious past in the Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Moby Grape would suggest, this album is a pastiche of folk and rock. In reality, however, while these original compositions may draw from those genres, each song has the individuality of a fingerprint. As a solo recording, Oar is paramount as Spence performed and produced every sound on the album himself at Columbia Records studios in Nashville in the space of less than two weeks. This burst of creativity was directly preceded by a six month incarceration in New York City's Bellevue Hospital after chopping down a door at the Albert Hotel en route to do the same to fellow Moby Grape members Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson. A common motif to this album is the presence of saints and demons. Even the straightforward narratives such as the love ballad "Broken Heart" or "Cripple Creek" -- which feature vocal treatments reminiscent of folkie Fred Neil -- are bathed in unusual chord sequences and lyrical double-entendre. The majority of the sounds on this long-player remain teetering near the precipice of sanity. Primary examples include "War in Peace," the epic "Grey/Afro," and the sound effect-laden "Books of Moses." Comparisons have been made to Syd Barrett, John Lennon, and Frank Zappa -- the latter especially for the intense sonic collage techniques displayed on albums such as Lumpy Gravy and Civilization Phase III. In 1999, Sundazed Music issued what is considered the final word on Oar, which has been remastered and boasts over 20 minutes of additional material prepared by Spence. - All Music