DESCRIPTION:
Saint Steven - Gladacadova

1969

Saint Steven is actually Steve Cataldo, who had previously been the guitarist and singer/songwriter for the minor late-'60s Boston psychedelic band Front Page Review. His 1969 album, also called Saint Steven, was similarly period psychedelia, not as underground as some, more pop-oriented than some others, and at the end of the day not too distinguished. Pop/rock and folk-rock sensibilities were sprinkled with bits of odd sound effects (animal roars, 1968 Republican Convention soundbites, etc.) on two pseudo side-long suites, never to either terrible or good results

The brainchild of original Ultimate Spinach member Steven Cataldo, the album is a fine example of the "Boston" Sound of 1969 and was conceived and recorded against the backdrop of social and political unrest of america in the Late 1960's.

This was one of those records that came out of nowhere, was played on FM radio a bit and then disappeared without a trace.

It was ABC/Probe Records, the same label as Soft Machine's first album in 1969.

No musicians were listed inside, just the producer, engineer and cover design folks. The lyrics were included and are quite poetic with the feeling of dread buried beneath some of the warmer imagery.

With master tapes thought to have been lost, an exhaustive search by Eclectic Discs has resulted in the discovery of the master in an archive in England.

Each side of the album was a suite, "Over the Hills" on side one and "The Bastich" on side two. The songs balances the innocent with the darker forces that we all must confront.

The cover features "Saint Steven" hugging his guitar floating up in the clouds as the sun radiates around him with a drawing of a sea monster slithering down at the edge of the ocean.



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