LUNA SEA
Luna Sea
LSR 976
1976
First Pressing
ONLY COPY ON EBAY AS OF 8-9-16.
One of the rarest US 70s prog LPs ever made. The band was from Blair, Nebraska
DO NOT be fooled if there is ever a CD release. The sound of the original analog recordings is the way that Luna Sea wanted you to hear it. Step right up.
I found this copy in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop in 1983. One look at the cover sold me though I didn t know much about the LP. I got it back to Boulder, Colorado, put it on the turntable and it was kicked back Eagles-style country rock crap. Yawn. I almost didn t turn it over but I guess I was looking for some kind of redemption for making the purchase and man, was I redeemed. I had to look at the cover because I thought it was a totally different band. This was major prog joy. Sounds and music. The last track was a stunner Rousing The Ghost . I burned a copy years ago because I hardly ever played it at all to keep the value. It s in marvelous shape. You like wildly obscure 70s private label prog? Luna Sea is your ticket. Play the A-side when your hayseed cousin comes for a visit. Play the B-side when you feel like tripping. See below for a nice bio of the band I found on the net.
Stored vertically in a smoke free environment for over 35 years.
From the rateyourmusic web site: Well, this really is lunacy. About as dramatic a difference in A-side, B-side as the Eik - Speglun album. This is a newly discovered rarity out of Nebraska, that s just starting to make the rounds. Interesting to note that Queen used the exact painting on their 1991 Innuendo album, except in color.
This is another rarity sent in from The Alaskan Connection. I thought he did a magnificent job at describing the album, so take it away AC: It s the lone private press LP by an almost totally unknown US band named Luna Sea. They were from Blair, Nebraska of all places, but the album was recorded in Iowa. The first side is going to really test your willpower, as it s just straight radio-rock a la the Eagles, so you ll just have to man-up and slog through it. There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, though, because side 2 is totally different. Suddenly the synths appear, and things start getting a lot more interesting. It starts out in a still fairly accessible style, but things get proggier literally by the minute, until the last track Rousing The Ghost , which is a fantastic piece of instrumental symphonic prog with great guitar, keys, and even a little flute. Oh, and be sure to stay tuned for the unlisted and totally stupid outro A completely schizophrenic album, but even the band seemed to know this as they named the first side the Light Side and the second side the Dark Side Hard to tell what they were really trying to accomplish here. But, such is the nature of the US underground. One part confusion and one part inspiration. I guess that s kind of the charm In any case, this thing is seriously rare. It only first emerged onto the collector scene within the last year or two, and since it was first discovered only like two or three copies have popped up.
So true on the question what are they trying to do here? . It was very typical for bands in the 1970 s to try for a radio hit while mixing in their progressive rock ambitions. That strategy never did work. This is one of those bands you just hope has more on tape somewhere, to make for a truly great album. The last track is brilliant but Side 1 is indeed dreadful...
So ends the web site critique. I left it all in so you could get the gist of how odd this slab o vinyl really is and how rare.
PS - You did get the joke in the name, right? Just checkin on ya.
