Stephen David Heitkotter

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

5...according to our Brett on Fri 19 Mar, 2010.

This is pretty mint. You should probably read the press release because it does a better job of selling this than I'll ever do. A highly sought-after reissue of some primo outsider weirdness produced in '71 by a the twisted brain-wrong of one-off man mental, this sounds sort of like someone attempting to do some soully, funky blues-rock ballads despite the fact that they can't quite remember what soul, funk, blues or rock actually sound like. Or how they got there or why they've got odd shoes on or why they're crying. Yeah, so at times this feels more than a little uncomfortable to listen to but y'know.. If no-one listened then he'd have gone to the trouble of recording this for nothing I guess. Which'd be a shame 'cos it's totally gnarly, so big thanks to Time Lag, who've chucked it onto 180g vinyl in a nice, thick sleeve and added some very informative liner-notes into the bargain.

fully licensed legit deluxe reissue of this completely unique slab of outsider private press psychedelia. long whispered about by the most inner circle of obsessive psych collectors, but up till now heard only by a lucky few. a true legend for sure, and rightfully so, as the bizarre story surrounding the lp is nearly as twisted as the music itself. ex-road runners drummer stephen david heitkotter recorded and pressed the lp in california sometime before 1971 as a demo only edition of no more then two dozen copies in blank white covers, then distributed it only to a handful of local san joaquin radio stations before the pressing plant destroyed the masters due to non-payment. within months of his failed attempt at radio stardom stephen was committed to the state mental ward, and that was that… but what an album he left behind… deeply damaged outsider/real people westcoast basement loner acid-garage-blues from a genuinely insane person, recorded at the very edge of oblivion. the sound of a last gasp at the teetering edge of the darkest void. a murky disjointed trip wobbling between acid-scorched un-reality and pure all-encompasing blankness… full electric band setting, but whether this was a purely solo endeavor or an actual band recording will remain a mystery forever. those close to stephen at the time swear he was already too far gone to assemble even a jam session, so the solo theory seems likely, making the musical deconstruction meltdown that much more disturbing. semi-tight playing disintegrates into meandering sonic smear at every turn, then somehow resolidifies and churns onward while bent deadpan vocals funnel garbled surrealisms from nowhere to nowhere. the scarily hyper-real yet ultra-weird otherworldly presence is as thick as it comes, and only enhanced by the raw/crude/muffled recording fidelity… not recommended for the weak of heart… co-released with earmonger records. mastered from the best possible original copy and pressed on 180gm audiophile vinyl. exact reproduction labels, including some wild hand embellishment from the man himself. heavy blank white 60s style art paper covers with hand stamped title. heavy insert with extensive liner notes. one time vinyl only limited edition of 1000 copies. no cd, no repress.

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