It’s a gospel pork chop party for your Sunday consideration (but do be mindful of flying limbs).

“Let’s go down by the river,” sings this Oregon loner folkie, over and over again. “And together we can have liberty.” He’s drenched in echo and minor chords and while you listen you find yourself wanting to scream out “don’t do it!!” to whoever he’s singing to. And at the end, when it’s clear that it’s actually baptism he’s singing about, you’re no less concerned.

Bob Desper – “Liberty”

As you listen to this ultra-rare acoustic guitar/vocal LP which has been making the rounds on record-freak websites lately, you’ll at first feel touched by the enigmatic Bixby’s childlike, confessional lyrics and guileless delivery. He was once enslaved by drugs, he sings in the opener, but now Jesus has set him free. He should have listened to his mother, Bixby later tells us. She had tried to teach him about Jesus while he laughed at her, but she died before she could see him turn his life around and at once thank her for her efforts. But halfway through the record, your feelings of fondness morph into a certain kind of pity as its childlike qualities start to ring like submissiveness. And after you’ve listened to the whole thing straight through, having been hopelessly hypnotized by it, you’ll feel mostly unsettled. Then you’ll google him and discover that the record was likely midwifed by an intense Jesus cult he was involved in and you’ll start feeling outright scared of (and for) the guy.

The record has no year on it and no one seems to know for certain what it is. I’m guessing 1971, the year after the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album helped ease such earthy, nakedly confessional sounds into the pop music vernacular. (By the time the record’s lonely reverb and tape delay sink into your system, in fact, the JL/POB comparison is inescapable, as are thoughts of early Elvis sides like “Blue Moon.”) The year 1971 would also place it squarely in the middle of the all-pervasive Jesus-pop trend. Whatever the year, it’s a treasure in my book. (Absolutely no clue what the title’s misleading reference to Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god, is all about.)

[See this update for more info on Bixby and the album: Ode to Quetzalcoatl redux.]

Dave Bixby – “666”

posted by Stanislav

I hope nobody minds seeing a Sunday service post by Rev. Religious Dodo, ie, myself. Never been to church (except as a tourist), never prayed, not even as a child, not too familiar with the concept of god or God, simply never really cared… but some weird energy creeps through when I listen to the Mercy Seat, an 80s album by Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes and his super hot girlfriend Zena Von Heppinstall. The whole album is filled with religious topics. Some songs are pensive and reflective but most are fanatical baptist-style gospel stomps. I can totally see myself in a religious trance in some Southern church without air-conditioning, my sweat pouring in heavy drops as the church rolls on and on. If the Mercy Seat is the ticket then Lord let me ride!

The Mercy Seat – “Let The Church Roll On / I Won’t Be Back”

“This album of sacred and secular songs comes to you … as an expression of appreciation to our clients, their patients, and our friends everywhere who, with us, are dedicated to the ideals of providing humanity with relief from pain and suffering. When United Medical Laboratories was established sixteen years ago [in Portland, Oregon], its founders recognized the vital role scientific data could play in improving the health-care of mankind. The handful of people who made up its original staff endured every sacrifice to achieve scientific excellence in their commitment to this ideal.” (liner notes)

I’m big on scientific methods too, and here’s how I deduced the probable year of this record: I took a close look at the middle picture on the back, which looked like Che Fong’s forensics team from Hawaii Five-0 episodes of the late 1960s. Hence the year I’ve chosen: 1969.

United Medical Laboratories, Inc. Concert Chorale – “The Lord’s Prayer”

Merrill Womach is a longtime fundamentalist favorite of those of us who are compelled to shove our closets full of unusual vinyl. In a nutshell: He was a Spokane undertaker who survived an early 60’s plane crash on Thanksgiving Day. It disfigured his face, but not his spirit or voice. He became a musical Christian minister, pumping out albums that evidently sold by the score (they’re all over the place, it seems) and he also starred in a short 1975 film called He Restoreth My Soul. On top of all this, he runs a robust funeral music business and he could probably beat any one of us silly record geeks senseless.

Update: Merrill Womach RIP, December 28, 2014

Merrill Womach – “Happy Again”

The Jo Kurzweg ensemble is like a German Living Strings/Andre Kostalanetz Orchestra for the polka party set. Each track is a medley of at least four different tunes sung by booming ghost choirs over electric guitars and alternating rock and polka beats. Here’s the first portion of one of these medleys. It features a Mendelssohn piece which some may recognize as the revamped American church hymn “O God the Eternal Father.” As for the cover, is this really the group? No clue, but I like to think so.

Jo Kurzweg – “O Täler Weit, O Höhen” medley

Today’s Sunday service takes place in Carnegie, Oklahoma thirty-five years ago. The Indian House label in Taos, New Mexico, by the way, is still in full swing.

Kiowa Indian Pentacostal Church – “All you humans…”