The Patron Saints - Fohhoh Bohob (Reissue) (1969/2007)

A classic example of a private release gaining a reputation far outside its initial impact, Fohhoh Bohob was recorded in enthusiastic amateur fashion by the three teenagers in the Patron Saints during early summer 1969 at member Paul D'Alton's house while the rest of his family was on vacation. As explained by de facto bandleader Eric Bergman in the liner notes to the 2007 reissue on Time-Lag, the goal of the Patron Saints was to get something out on their own, even though the trio could only afford a quick pressing of 100 copies. Nearly 40 years on, the perfect charm of Fohhoh Bohob -- a phrase the original liner notes claims means "greetings of the mouth" -- remains immediate and intact. Combining enough technical skill and good enough equipment to result in a reasonable if low-key recording plus a jaunty sense of humor and young but not sloppy instrumental skills on the part of the band, the album is an immediate, gentle pleasure, perhaps one of the first rural psychedelic albums as such. The trio's love for any number of groups of the time is perfectly apparent -- Bergman mentions such logical names as the Beatles, Hendrix, and Paul Butterfield -- but it's the reference to Moby Grape that makes the most sense, since this is almost the more upbeat, full-band equivalent to Skip Spence's near simultaneously recorded Oar. The rave-ups on "Flower" and "Relax" and the jaunty vaudevillian kick of "Do You Think About Me?" are merry treats, while the low-key, gentle singing from the deeper-voiced Bergman and the slightly higher-pitched Jon Tuttle is alternately warmly inviting and hesitantly melancholy from both singers, depending on the song. ("White Light," Bergman's dreamy high point at the center of the album, handles both emotions quite well.) Clever, unexpected song structures help to give the album an even stronger mark -- while not avant-garde per se, a number of the songs eschew standard verse/chorus/verse structures for more complicated lyrical arrangements and musical tempos, all the more remarkable given the age of the performers. [The 2007 CD reissue includes seven bonus songs, up from three from an earlier mid-'90s reissue: a well-received live version of "Do You Think About Me?" as well as an alternate studio mix; two 1975 era songs, "Reflections on a Warm Day" and "Nostalgia Trip"; an alternate mix of "The Goodnight Song"; and two otherwise unreleased songs from the original recording dates, "Shine on Heart" and "Do It Together."]