Gandalf - Golden Earings - Never Too Far

Here's one of my favorite 45's from one of my all time favorite albums. One day I will own an original LP but for now I am very happy with my original 45. Enjoy these two great trippy and psychedelic cult gems to help get you through the weekend....

Dedicated to my great lady friend over at Eye Eat Music:

Gandalf's self-titled album is an attractive baroque-psychedelia with a spacey air, slightly experimental feel and slightly weird and spacey production and nice balance of melody and quasi-classical keyboards on the cusp between pop, progressive rock and psychedelia. It was produced by Koppelman and Rubin, who are best known for their production work for The Lovin' Spoonful and The Sopwith Camel.

Until recently next to nothing was known about the group apart from their line-up:

Peter Sando (Guitar)
Bob Muller (Bass)
Frank Hubach (Keyboards)
Dave Bauer (Drums)

Peter Sando tells us that Gandalf had their roots in Thunderbirds, an outfit formed by Bob Muller, which were based in Greenwood Lake, New York. They soon transformed into The Rahgoos and went on to play the bar circuit in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., the Jersey Shore, and various New York City clubs and coffee houses, such as The Phone Booth, Murray The K's World, Electric Circus and legendary Night Owl Cafe, in Greenwich Village.

Bing Crosby's 1948 hit 'Golden Earrings' is given a graceful and ghostly treatment with echoed vocals, powerful crescendos and a psychedelic moan that transforms the composition completely.

Tim Hardin's "Never Too Far" commences dreamily and breaks into some heavily distorted guitar riffing that has a strong lysergic edge.

Gandalf - Golden Earings

Gandalf - Never Too Far