Ozric Tentacles: Erpsongs (2LP, single sleeve) [MADFISH]

Why you'll love it

Madfish remastered it and pressed it in Germany on two 180g LPs. Erpsongs is where the Ozrics' recorded story begins, for a band that has gone on to sell more than a million albums worldwide on its own terms, outside the major labels.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 180g vinyl
• Remastered
• Pressed in Germany

About the album

Ozric Tentacles got their name at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983. After a six-hour jam somebody asked who they were, and Ed Wynne offered one of the made-up breakfast cereal names the band had been tossing about. Ed, his brother Roly, Joie Hinton on keyboards and a rotating cast of friends soon became fixtures of the English free festival circuit, often playing until sunrise.

Erpsongs gathers music recorded over three years and became their first official cassette, sold at gigs and through a fan club; the track titles came later. The early lineup was fluid, and shows often featured whoever was free that night, which gives the music its loose, jammed-out feel. It's all instrumental, a swirl of synthesizers, glissando guitar, dub bass and spacey grooves, from "Velmwend" and "Spiral Mind" to "Dharma Reggae," "Synth On A Plinth" and the long, loose "Five Jam."

The band became closely tied to Glastonbury and are credited with helping bring the UK festival scene back to life. Breakfast cereal keeps turning up in their album titles and artwork too, a level of brand loyalty most cereal companies would envy.

Also at Kops: more Ozric Tentacles on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Madfish (cat# SMALP1039), a reissue of the 1985 album.