American Blues - Is Here (1968 Dallas, TX) | Texas Psych | Full Vinyl Rip

Is Here is the debut and only album from American Blues, released 1968 on Karma Records, catalog KLP 1001. This copy is the UK unofficial pressing on Microdot, catalog AB1 - the back cover states "recorded in Texas / the crackles are intentional - please do not adjust your set." Dallas-Fort Worth band working the Texas club circuit hard through 1966 to 1968 - The Cellar in Dallas, The Walrus on Mockingbird Lane, Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine in Houston. The lineup is Rocky Hill on guitar, Dusty Hill on bass, Michael Davis on keyboards, and Frank Beard on drums. Yes - that Dusty Hill and Frank Beard. Two thirds of ZZ Top before ZZ Top existed, and you'd never know it from listening to this record. Nothing here sounds anything like what they'd go on to do. Rocky Hill - Dusty's brother - wanted to go deeper into straight blues while Dusty wanted to rock harder, and that creative tension is all over the album. It runs the range from hard psych to blues rock to soft pop and back again, sometimes within the same track. The opening take on "If I Were A Carpenter" starts relatively straight and goes completely sideways by the middle. The back cover note about the crackles isn't a joke - they leaned into it. Short record, under 30 minutes, but it covers a lot of ground. 🎧 This is a full vinyl rip from my UK Microdot pressing. 🔥 Standout tracks include: If I Were A Carpenter, All I Saw Was You, and Fugue For Lady Cheriff. 🎸 Sounds like: 13th Floor Elevators, Grateful Dead, Captain Beefheart, Canned Heat 🎧 Vinyl Finds Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9oSXuMGglp1N8SlbZUEtCJ7 🎧 Full Vinyl Rips Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9pEOi1yCUyAZikNmWVdz8Hn 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinyl_piper/ I sell my doubles and extras here: https://vinylpipershop.com/ 💿 Tracklist 00:00 If I Were A Carpenter 05:24 All I Saw Was You 09:13 She'll Be Mine 11:05 Fugue For Lady Cheriff 13:17 It's Gone 15:17 Keep My Heart In A Rage 17:58 Mercury Blues 22:13 Melted Like Snow 25:30 Mellow #AmericanBlues #TexasPsych #ZZTop #BluesRock #VinylRip #VinylCommunity #VinylPiper