683. High Tide

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Episode 683 of the “opus project” is HIGH TIDE. Among the bands that adopted a heavy sound in the late 1960s that came to be seen as influences on metal, you can’t do much better than the UK’s High Tide, or at least their first album Sea Shanties. It’s a quality experience, not unlike if Jim Morrison were the lead singer of Iron Butterfly. But they didn’t last long. Their second album was proto-prog aided by a violin as a main instrument. There was a synth-heavy recording in the 1980s and several releases of live performances of extended jams, none of which is interesting.

Favourite album: Sea Shanties

Favourite song: Futilist’s Lament

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: Sea Shanties is the only good thing

682. The Peanut Butter Conspiracy

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(September 2025) Episode 682 is THE PEANUT BUTTER CONSPIRACY. Sometimes I think about repurposing the Project into a completist obsession to listen to every recording released between 1965-69. Doing an episode on The Peanut Butter Conspiracy serves that goal as well. They were a short-lived group from the L.A. scene that gets labelled psychedelic, although in the hippy/groovy California sense. I might call it sunshine pop with a fuzz guitar edge. With male and female vocal leads, they have a Mamas and the Papas sound, with a bit of Jefferson Airplane too. Their first two albums are perfect period pieces, as is having a three-word nonsense name.* Their third album, reflecting both personnel changes and 1968’s big shift in musical attitudes, is forgettable.

Favorite album: The Great Conspiracy

Favorite song: Living, Loving Life

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: The first two albums are an enjoyable dip into what’s-happenin’-now groovy tunes.

* Quicksilver Messenger Service, Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Chocolate Watchband, 13th Floor Elevators, etc.

681. Los Bravos

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(September 2025) Episode 680 is LOS BRAVOS, one of the few beat groups from a non-English speaking country to have a hit in the U.S.  You’ll recognize “Black is Black” from the radio repertoire of mid-1960s pop songs. They were from Spain, but their lead singer was from Germany and sang largely in English. Their peppy “Going Nowhere” made the Nuggets II box set. At this attenuated stage of the Project, I resort to B-and C-tier acts from the 60s, as Los Bravos shows. The fact that they were from Spain is the most salient feature.

Favorite album: Los chicos con las chicas

Favorite song: Black is Black

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: Attention deserved only for completists of 1960s pop and rock music.

680. Andrés Segovia

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(September 2025) Episode 680 is ANDRÉS SEGOVIA. He was far from the first, but he contributed more than anyone to popularizing classical guitar as a lead instrument in its own right, due to his touring and recording in the mid-20th Century. And he was self-taught! While he did compose some (mostly small) pieces on his own, he made a mark as interpreter of works written for other instruments, most prominently of J.S. Bach. The other big area was contemporary works written specifically for him, the most notable (to me) is Joaquín Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un Gentilhombre, a collaboration that delightfully evokes a pastoral Spanish landscape.

Favorite piece: Fantasia para un Gentilhombre

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: Segovia plays Bach is a good one-album length of material. There are a couple collections (of four and nine volumes) that capture a wider scope of work.

679. WITCH

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Episode 679 is WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc). TIL there is a thing called Zamrock. WITCH emerged as one of the most popular bands in post-independence Zambia, playing varieties of psychedelic and rock songs. This form reached its peak with 1975’s Lazy Bones. Their second phase was a couple disco albums in the early 1980s, not so good. After a long gap and being rediscovered by crate diggers, their frontman reformed the band and put out two albums in 2023 and 2025 which are really good: a mix of their old sound on the funky side and with African rhythms.

Favorite album: Lazy Bones!

Favorite song: Lazy Bones.  Or Look Out, I can’t decide.

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: Lazy Bones!, Zango and Sogolo are good albums.

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678. Hermano

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(September 2025) Episode 678 is HERMANO. This stoner rock band was more a side project of John Garcia of Kyuss, but it’s worth knowing their 3.5 albums of material. The “stoner” label comes from the guitar tone. Applied with groove and tempo, you get Hermano and bands like Fu Manchu – as distinct from stoner metal with its slower if not drone pace and backgrounded vocals (the apex of which is Sleep). The latter is my preference, although I enjoyed Hermano. I also included the sole album Garcia recorded as UNIDA.

Favorite album: Dare I say…

Favorite song: The Bottle

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The first two albums are the best.

677. Ma Rainey

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Episode 677 of the “opus project” is MA RAINEY. Known as the “Mother of the Blues” for her popularity in the early decades of the 20th century. She had a tough, powerful voice that carried over jazz-instrumented blues songs. It’s “old-timey.” Gertrude “Ma” Rainey recorded over only six years of her career, but that leaves us plenty of songs.

Favorite song: Booze and Blues

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: Her work is handily compiled into a 4-volume package.

676. Gojira

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(September 2025) Episode 676 is GOJIRA. A big part of the enjoyment of this metal act from France is that they don’t confine themselves to one style; it’s a mix of thrash, death, nu, groove, prog and math metal, both within and across songs (not unlike Sepultura). This French stew has made them a national icon – they were the first metal band to play at an Olympic opening ceremony (Paris 2024) – and international status. Environmentalism is a recurring lyrical theme. Joe Duplantier’s pick scrape technique is a nice distinctive touch.

Favorite album: From Mars to Sirius

Favorite song: Flying Whales

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: I think From Mars to Sirius, The Way of All Flesh and L’Enfant Sauvage are their best albums; Magma is their most acclaimed but my least favorite.

675. Scott Walker

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(September 2025) Episode 675 is SCOTT WALKER. I did this episode because I knew he gained a cult following for avant-garde music later in his career. What I didn’t realize was the slog it would take to get there. I have never understood the popularity or appeal of The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” Well, the Walker Brothers (not their real names) sound just like that, a deep baritone voice over grandiose string-laden arrangements. Not my cup of tea. Scott largely continued that style when he went solo. But he started to move in an unorthodox direction in the 1980s, and by the 1990s was releasing full avant-garde recordings. It is interesting stuff, if nothing else than for being eccentric. But by the time I got there, I was so tired of his distinctive voice that it didn’t work for me.

Favorite album: Bish Bosch

Favorite song: SDSS1416+13B (Zercon, A Flagpole Sitter)

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: I can’t, really, although I acknowledge his cult following.

674. Odetta

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(September 2025) Episode 674 is ODETTA. She was an influential figure in the American folk revival in the 1950s and 1960s. Her biographies are full of famous names crediting her as an inspiration. She also contributed her voice and music to the civil rights movement. Odetta’s voice is distinctive for being deeper and lower in the register than similar singers, especially early in her career. While the bulk of the songs are folk, her music did touch on blues, jazz and spirituals.

Favorite song: It’s a Mighty World

Favorite song: Deportee

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The albums from 1962’s Odetta and the Blues and 1965’s Odetta Signs Dylan are her best work.