The Index

I got a burn of their 1st 2 LPs. These are legendary to the garageistes out there. An original of of the second album is in the neighborhood of US$3000, I think.

Listening to the 1st track, on LP #1, (pictured above in ragged glory) all I can say is that they are not The Bachs.

The second track, I Can't See Nobody, is a thin moody track with multiple vocal parts. "My eyes can only look at you," they say. Quite an improvement over the lead track.

Now their sloppy, reverb drenched version of the nugget Spoonful, is bordering on genius. The outro of Spoonful repeated over and over is too much.

Then they dig into a version of 8 Miles High that sounds more in tune with the Ventures in Space as opposed to the folk stylings of Mssr. McGuinn, Crosby et Clark. The hook, is driven through reverb abuse. I detect Fender Pro Reverb on overdrive. Doesn't better the original, but their chiming vocals help to make it work. Set the controls for warp, gents.

Side two starts with a track called New York Mine Disaster.

The energy level goes way up as does the tempo with Paradise Beach. The guitar is an acoustic this time. The guitar break with an acoustic, with nary a folk feel is cool. Bring it on.

Break Out is a freak out jam that kicks back into electrical territory and features more overdriven tones, this time bordering on feedback. The bass sits and percolates in the pocket and the drums are beating a propulsive pattern.

The Index comes back to earth with another acoustic number, I Love You. Here the cymbals provide accent and a response to the repeating guitar loop. The break here once again is acoustic and not annoying. Dare I say it, it seems that they are providing Mood here.

Rainy Starless Nights closes the set. Vocalist John Ford sounds like he means what he sings. The loud reverb crash at the end must be positioned to give the listener a bad trip.

This LP will surely grow on me. I may have to take back that Bachs comment above. My burned copy is sourced from a rough copy of the original disc. I would love to hear a better copy.