Barbara, The Gray Witch

DEA Records 1969/70

01 Modern Witchcraft

02 Witchcraft Facts

03 Witchcraft Surprises

04 Childhood Questions

05 Adult Questions

06 Witchcraft Tests

07 Contacting Spirits

08 Doe-Dee

09 Be Cool

10 Black Witchcraft

11 Me-O-Me

12 Black Necessities

13 Demayo-Demío

14 Black Occult

15 Domé

16 White Witchcraft

17 Shamoo-Ra

18 Gray Witchcraft

19 Witch's Love Song

20 Gray Responsibilities

Occultism, wicca, black magic and the like had a bit of a renaissance in the late sixties. As Westerners looked in darker corners for soul satisfaction, spiritual guidance or new highs, a flood of witchcraft products came through.

Barabara, The Gray Witch was one of several albums released by a witch or other occultist. The difference is that this one is pretty good.

There is only a couple of musical moments on here; this is a spoken word instructional album. Barbara gives us a potted history and a bit of guidance, all interesting stuff.

'Witch's Love Song' is the only 'song' here. A simple repeated rhyme with some electronic backing.

If you have interest in this area, you will be interested in this.

It's also worth noting, this L.P. is as rare as hen's teeth!

Mystery Spring - Forever Is Too Long

TOR068. 2019.

01 Currents
02 Pale Blue
03 Brian
04 Everybody is a Stranger These Days

The next release from Treehouse Orchestra Recordings:

"Over the last year or so I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad. More so than normal, I’m not really sure why. Brian (as my mum and others called him) or dad as I called him, passed away after a long illness in 2004. 

It feels a very long time since we were together, and my memories of those times grow fainter and seem less reliable with every passing year. I feel like he’s a ghost now, and I’m just left with a strong sense of love and gratitude for the way he brought me up and the opportunity’s he gave me. We were always very close, and would spend a lot of time together chatting, reading the papers, arguing and laughing. He was kind, good company, very funny, a bit of a show off and had a strong moral compass. 

I thought I would try to write a song for my dad, and a song for me. ‘Brian’ the third track on this EP is that song. I wanted it to evoke the mystery of people you love disappearing but never leaving you. How the pictures in your head are jumbled and sometimes eerie, but the broad feeling of love remains.

 The four verses of the song were cut down from 12 verses, each one representing a memory of time me and my dad spent together. I realised as i wrote these verses that I am not always a reliable narrator of my own history!! The four verses left in the song are the ones i can remember best and that’s why I left them in. 

All the songs on this EP are love songs of a sort, love either for people who are close, those who have gone, or those who are distant. 

Huge thanks to all involved in this EP, we couldn’t do it without you." - Marc.

Various Artists - October 2019:Helen Mirren On Acid

01 Barbara, The Gray Witch - Excerpt from 'Modern Witchcraft'
02 D. Patucchi - La Dimostrazione
03 The Electric Prunes - Holy Are You
04 The Ceyleib People - Changes
05 Sandra Kerr & John Faulkner - Opening
06 Barbara, The Gray Witch - Witch's Love Song
07 Song Sung - I'm Not In Love
08 The Orb - Other Blue Worlds
09 The Creation - How Does It Feel To Feel (US Version)
10 Six Organs of Admittance - Saint Cloud
11 Mellow Candle - Silversong
12 Duster - The Queen of Hearts
13 Paper Dollhouse - Nuclear Alignment
14 Barbara, The Gray Witch - Excerpt from 'Gray Responsibilities'

New mixtape. As always, just in time for Halloween.

Note: Yes, that really is Helen Mirren on acid on the cover.