R.J. Fox - Retrospective Dreams

RJ FOX "RETROSPECTIVE DREAMS" 2CD SET (BLACK BAMBOO BBCD-211)
RJ Fox were a folk-inflected Northern California hippie rock band who would've taken the world by storm if not for a falling out with Atlantic Records. This superb, 34 track 2 CD set combines a complete, unreleased Atlantic LP from '71 with tracks from the legendary mid-'70s LP they released under the name Oasis, plus a host of out-takes. The overall vibe is reminiscent of Crosby's solo stoner masterpiece, adding female vocals that sometimes recall Joni Mitchell. Beautifully produced by Stephen Barncard (who did American Beauty & hundreds more), with percussion help from the Dead's Bill Kreutzman and the Airplane's Spencer Dryden, tabla by Zakir Hussein, and some vocals by a very young Valerie Carter, Retrospective Dreams is an essential, long-lost piece of California's smoke-rock puzzle.

PRODUCER'S NOTES (The legendary Stephen Barncard speaks!)
The first time I met the group RJ Fox, I was working with David Crosby, finishing up the mixes on his first solo record. I was late for the session and was about to apologize when I noticed that there was a group of people singing and playing in the studio while a grinning Crosby looked on. I was used to all kinds of interesting people hanging out with the Croz and I thought they were someone else he had brought in, but it was only later that I learned that RJFox had talked the studio guard into believing that Crosby was expecting them, and Crosby thought that I had brought the band in to meet him.. Nothing else mattered after I heard the music. A vocal blend as strong and unique as Crosby, Stills and Nash but very different than anything I had heard before. An acoustic and electric guitar salad of 31 flavors, with a range of incredible modal changes and deep lyrics. Their performance in person was a sight and sound to behold, and on tape, a producer's dream. R was for Richard Hovey, J was for Joel Siegel, and Fox was for Sherry Fox. And never have I heard since then a combination of talent that comes even close.
This collection presents remixed and remastered individual and collaborative recordings by this unique group of people for the years 1971-1978. It includes the legendary 1971 LP for Atlantic (the first 8 cuts on this set), several cuts from the limited release "Oasis" and many other songs from the years that followed, culled from various demos and experimental sessions. The recordings were made under conditions that can be described from primitive to the sublime, but what drove me to get as much of it as possible on tape was the power of the songs, and almost everything you hear on this set has been carefully remixed to bring the sound into the present. Many songs have never been released in any form... until now.

To check out more of Stephen Barncard's current projects, follow this link...

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