The Sacred Mushroom

August 3, 2015 by Bill Hart

Any album that starts with a track entitled “I Don’t Like You” is bound to be interesting. This is a collectible piece of early blues-pysch from Cincinnati, featuring the talents of the Goshorn brothers. If you didn’t know that Larry Goshorn went on to Pure Prairie League, you might not hear the slight twang in his playing. Overall, the “‘Shroom” sounds more like a rust-belt version of The Cream. It’s a cool record, and as far as I know, a one and done for this band. It was originally released on the Parallax label, which was distributed by the (old) Audio Fidelity.[1] Original pressings are expensive, and though you see them listed occasionally, finding one in top playing condition may be a challenge.

So, I’m going to bend the rules here, and recommend a reissue; one that, to the best of my knowledge, was taken from a digital re-master. It was released by Shake It Records, an enterprise in Cincinnati that operates a retail record store as well as a small label (with a series that promotes Ohio-based acts of yore).

I gather that the album has been released “unofficially” over the years, but believe that the Shake It reissue was done with appropriate licensing, which means that the rights owners get paid. This is a bit of a “garage band” sounding album anyway, so I’m not going to be too fussy about the sonics, particularly because you can buy the reissue cheaply (though it was a limited issue and as far as I know, is no longer in print). This one’s a classic and the price of entry for the Shake It reissue makes it worth pursuing. Of course, an original pressing in minty condition would be nice.[2] But, in the meantime, ….

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[1] The “old” Audio Fidelity was an early “audiophile” type independent label that capitalized on the emerging market for stereophonic in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Its catalog contained some great records that we may get around to in time. There is also a “new” Audio Fidelity label that currently reissues audiophile quality recordings. More about that later too.

[2] If I locate a quiet original pressing, I’ll supplement this piece with a comparison to the Shake It reissue.

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