John Strang .The Masterpeace.

Released: 2020
Label: Seelie Court

“..delve under the surface and its one of the most lyrically dark lps ever produced pre 75. the title itself refers to a supreme peace after nuclear apocalypse, that peace being the TOTAL DEATH of all life. no, this isnt vashti bunyan... the recurring track "the crab" questions the nature of reality, or even the validity of the senses, virtually solipsistic, references to hiroshima and nagasaki abound, 'little fat man'. .. Fat Man was the name of an atomic bomb... "shadows" = nagasaki and hiroshima victims, the lp frequently confronts Death, of a swallow, of a child, of horses, the singer becomes the sole "Victor" striding across a landscape of armageddon, fields of the dead...and this was all written tail end of 1967, and released when Strang was 17.

theres a vague parallel with marc brierleys 'welcome to the citadel', an lp that also has multilayered meanings and an easily misinterpreted title, eg brierleys citadel being the mind under lsd. but Strang is more proto Peter Hammil.

its thought 25 were made, not 50. Strang picked them up from the studio, put them in a rucksack, and walked several miles with them to his home. Try that with 50. they just dont fit. the covers are hand glued from two seperate bits of card, front glossy, back matt. some with flaps outside, others inside. possibly only 15 or so have survived. transatlantic records offered a deal in 1970 for a concept lp about mental illness (yes..pure vashti bunyan..), but the artist decided to pursue a different career. that unissued lp will be released early 2021, at time of writing its being reconstructed from fragments of tapes.” Black-Shuck

Credits

Martin Farquharson on bass, Electric Organ, Spanish Guitar.
Valentine Lewis Lloyd on backing vocals, guitar.
Recorded April 1968. Recording by Randolph Glanville.

Tracklisting

A1: Village School

A2: Seagull No.3

A3: Late In The Day

A4: Dreams

A5: Madame Bartholemew

A6: Acid Albatross

A7: Little Fat Man

A8: Butterfly

A9: Ge-Bomb

B1: Masterpeace 1

B2: Twisted Tree

B3: Swallow No.7

B4: He Was Only A Child

B5: Blistered Blades Of Grass

B6: No Money To Pay

B7: Love Grew In The Night

B8: Little Anna

B9: Masterpeace 2