MrDave Sparks One Up Dept.

Readers young enough [MrDave screeds - Ed.] to remember my last appearance on the prestigious IoF "Last Resort Cantina" stage (featuring Joe Frank on vocals) no doubt harbor a bitter and deep-seated resentment towards me for trying to con them into some spoken-word nonsense they didn't ask for and didn't want (47 hours worth!).

Older readers who may be able to remember as far back as last week and have nothing better to do than follow blog comments, are also likely to hold a lingering grudge against me (rightfully so!) for promising rare and priceless gems that turned out to be lackluster and forgetable bandcamp freebies. The smooth-jazz-fusion I recently posted can't have helped my credibility either; especially in its stark juxtaposition to Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Anthony Braxton, and the rest.

Fool you once, twice shy; fooled again, something something ... shame on you! How can you trust me again? You probably can't. But 100 AllMusic users can't be wrong, can they?!? So let's hand the mic over to one of them for a minute since my cred is dead.

Opines AllMusic User Murray Winship on this band's self-titled debut LP from the turn of the century: "This is really a very special album if you've (sic) in the know about boomer music modernized in this day and age. If ever a band sounded like the sunbaked children of a partnership between the trippy psychedelic dreamers of the paisley underground and the lonesome cowboys of the late-'60s Laurel Canyon cosmic country, Beachwood Sparks are it. ..."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Murray (except you plagiarized most of your review from Tim Sendra's official review you scoundrel!) Honestly, this is great music that is in complete alignment with the Isle of Foam psychedelic country-rock fan base. Beautiful "cosmic american music" that was 30 years too late and 20 years too early yet completely on time as well. Comparisons to The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers are deserved but the Beachwood Sparks are in no way derivative; they take those tasty country-psych flavors and make something wonderful and new with it. I find it deeply affecting and it's some of the only music I have actually shelled out cash to acquire in the past 20 years of napster, soul-seek, WinMX, private FTP sites, torrents and blogs.  

Countless bands seem to be making similar music now (see the Aquarium Drunkard blog) but in the early 2000s there was really nothing else like it and it has stood the test of time. There's lots of good players out there making fine country-folk-psych flavored music now but few acts capable of creating lasting collections of memorable songs like these. I'm sharing everything you already have plus some stuff you probably don't (some live shows, EPs, and recently released rarities).

PLUS, if you act now, I'm throwing in the wonderful 2004 album "Spirit Stereo Frequency" by Beachwood Sparks spin-off All Night Radio. Passing the mic to official AllMusic editor Tim Sendra now since, like Murray, I can't describe this stuff better than he already has:
 

"Take two guys from the Beachwood Sparks, add half the drugs in L.A., mix it all up and spread it out thick like layers of stars and waves…that’s what the only All Night Radio album is like. Featuring songs that resonate like half remembered Laurel Canyon lullabies, the record seeps into your brain right away and settles in like a calm summer twilight and sticks around. Too bad they never made another."
 
So, yeah, you want this despite my poor track record! (BTW, if anyone has a rip of the Beachwood Sparks 20th Anniversary Vinyl Edition from last year, I want it! That appears to have some material unavailable in any other format and my B&O turntable doesn't even work anymore.)