Legend City: Ferocious Mid '60s Gems from the vaults of Phoenix's Viv-Debra Recording Studios 65-67

The second volume of Legend City is slated for release sometime in 2023!  Here are my 2001 impressions of the inaugural volume:

Recently, I bought the long-awaited Legend City: Ferocious Mid '60s Gems from the vaults of Phoenix's Viv-Debra Recording Studios 65-67 which was released (on vinyl and CD) by Dionysus/Bacchus Archives back in February.  For me, it was a catch-up lesson in local history and sound. (Whenever I drive by Tempe High School, I will now think of the Hearsemen (who are featured on the front cover) and who later "updated" their name to the Hobbit in '66.) Dan Nowicki contributed some deeply researched, informative, and well written liner notes to this collection.  All of these recordings were produced in Viv-Debra studio which was the "budget" studio that was founded by Lee Hazlewood. (The other competing Phoenix studio at the time was Audio Recorders-where Phil & the Frantics recorded.)

In particular, two songs from the Solid Ground really stand out to me on this disc.  The Solid Ground hailed from the (now) "edge city" sprawl of Mesa. Their "Sad Now" starts off down a nicely shaded palm & citrus tree-lined folk-pop verse/la-la chorus street and then quickly crosses a stucco scorching yellow-to-red guitar freakout intersection. Then the song continues through a tinted cool shady side street neighborhood until burning some cheap Arco gasoline while punching across another wide intersection filled with the tire popping shards of a raved-up & out guitar. The contrasts in this song work like rain cleaning up the brown smoggy skies. With now completely clear skies de azul, the mountains have re-appeared on the wide horizon while the intro-jangle of their "She Played With Love" rings out. Their following song features a sound like '66 Chad & Jeremy singing for the '65 Byrds. This one is a real lush sunburst sparkler from the desert dry cactus lands of Arid-zona. 

Overall, a commendable regional compilation of originals from an area & era that has never been covered before.  I'm looking forward to possible future volumes of Legend City (and also a re-issue of the Think of the Goodtimes:1960s Tucson Sound). Believe me, you're not going to find these records in a Valley of the Sun Goodwill or St. Vincent dePaul.

Destiny’s Children- Coronado High, Scottsdale, AZ-1966