Bob Ross Takes Th' Foam© Challenge!

Bob poses with his portrait of Wayne Newton

In what promises to be a regular Foam Feature©, we'll be challenging A-list celebrities to present albums so obscure that not even Farquhar Throckmorton III has heard of them!


Now our first guest needs no introduction, so you can skip this bit, for fuck's sake. Bob Ross is perhaps America's Greatest Living Dead Artist. But did you know he was also an avid collector of obscure pop n' rock albums? He dropped by Th' House O' Foam© when in Vegas for the Wayne Newton show. We relaxed in Th' Conversation Pit O' Sound© while Cody served Hostess Cheez n' Sour Prune Twinkies©.

FMF© So, how was Wayne? Big fan of his work!
BR I'm painting his portrait!
[takes canvas from bag, poses for photograph] [above left - Ed.]
FMF© Wow. Has he seen it?
BR Uh-uh. Gonna be a big surprise!
FMF© Ri-ight. Did you bring the albums? The challenge is, show me an album I never heard of! Are you ready to play?
BR You bet! I'm quite the collector, you know! This was a happy find - The Nova Local. Isn't that a great cover? You heard of this band? I wager not!

FMF© The Nova Local was a psychedelic pop band formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1964, initially under the name The Shadows. It was composed of singer Randy Winburn, guitarists Joe Mendyk and Phil Lambeth, bassist Jim Opton, keyboardist Cam Schinhan and drummer Bill Levasseur. Their single "If You Only Had the Time", released in 1967, was a minor hit in North Carolina.^[1] They recorded one album, Nova 1 (released on Decca Records in 1968 in the United States), shortly before disbanding.^[2] The album was also released in Canada and in the United Kingdom. According to Opton, the album was the first ever recorded using the Dolby NR system [citation needed]. 
BR Wow! You beat me!
FMF© [shrugs modestly] What else you got for us, Bob?

BR Well, there's sort of a theme here, because this one's called Hypnotic 1. That one's called Nova 1. This one-
FMF© [testily] Yes, yes.
BR Sorry. The group's called Bit 'A-Sweet, and it's dollars to donuts the Bobster has you stumped this time!
FMF© [clears throat] Bit 'A Sweet promises to be a chart regular with the bright and creative spark branded into 2086, If 1 Needed Someone and How Can 1 Make You See? They blend all the pop ingredients - strong vocals, rich production and instrumentation, and a special trick with a tune. This LP may well serve as the group's musical calling card, and with their fresh originality and breezy psychedelics, Bit 'A Sweet will top the charts. Billboard, 29/6/68.

BR  Gee. I was sure I'd-

FMF© [cutting in] Formerly known as The Satisfactions, this hard-hitting Long Island club act were veterans of the local scene when producer-arranger Steve Duboff (who also worked with The Cowsills, The Monkees, The Insect Trust and others) signed to MGM, the band debuted with the 1967 single 'Out of Sight Out of Mind' b/w 'Is It On - Is It Off?' (MGM catalog number K-13695). Their sole album was released that May. A likeable blend of psychedelic pop and early synthesizer sounds, it’s presented complete with both sides of their rare 1967 debut 45 (as performed in the movie Blonde On A Bum Trip).

BR  Wow. I ... I ... how do you know this stuff?

FMF© It's my job, Bob. Listen - will you ask Wayne to drop by and take Th' Foam© Challenge? But ask him before you show him your ... painting, okay?