Damon - Song Of A Gypsy (Poor Poor Genie) US Psychedelia 1968

Damon - Song Of A Gypsy (Poor Poor Genie) 1968

The Damon recordings are amongst the most sought-after and widely-loved of the late-sixties underground scene. Simply put, they convey emotion and power in a very concise and believable way. Song Of A Gypsy is is an excellent psychedelic album and both gatefold/non-gatefold versions are monster rarities. There's lots of fuzz guitar and a mystical feel about tracks like Do You and The Night. I Feel Your Love which has a sleepy, stoned atmosphere sounding rather similar to The Deep. Another track, Birds Fly So High, has 'snake charming' music, again creating a sort of Eastern mystical feel.
Based in Los Angeles, David Del Conte and Charlie Carey had already pursued careers in popular music for many years before deciding to embrace the underground rock movement. Del Conte released a considerable number of 45s; it is possible that as much as half of his discography will be found to be too early to fall within the time-frame of this book. The last recordings he made pre-Damon (aside from a handful of acetates never made available to the public) may be of interest to readers. As Damon Lane, he issued at least three singles on the Del Con label - these possess a unique Byrdsy jangle over which his trademark authoritative voice presides.
The first Damon single has a non-album 'B' side and a different lead vocal than the album version of the 'A' side. (It is, by all accounts, significantly rarer than the album and fortunately these tracks are included as one side of a 7" EP of bonus material with the reissue on the Little Indians label.) The record set the tone of the band's campaign which ran the course of 1968 - the message of love and self-expression coupled with an almost arrogant disregard for the establishment:

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Damon
• Song Of A Gypsy
• Psychedelia
• 1960's.