John Bayley Minstrel of the Morning... Lifetime Records 1976

John Bayley Minstrel of the Morning... Lifetime Records 1976 CAT# 2001

When I first found this I sent a photo to a friend who stated, "That cover is a constant source of conversation and inspiration." The same LP sits among some other framed LPs my friend has displayed. Looking at it, how could it not want to start a conversation? There's just so much going on in this cover. Where to even start? Is that a living room? Where'd you get that sweet tiger? What's up with the white lady and her kid? Is that John Bayley's girlfriend/wife? And dude, where did you score the killer threads?

The backside notes indicate Bayley was heavily influenced by the Jesus Music scene of the 70s, or trying to fit into it. However, the tunes are fairly secular, unless you group songs about "love" into a religious setting. Even when Bayley tries to be religious, it's a bit off. The song "It's Good To See You," states, "I've laid a thousand women, but come back to see you." So he tries to find the Jesus scene, but you can tell, the dude just likes to write tunes.

And, his tunes are a bit all over the place. If it had to be labeled, outsider folk would be the best term. However, there's elements of Indian music, jazz, singer/songwriter, rock, and a lot of reggae floating throughout. It's an interesting work and far better than most "outsider folk" private albums you'd come across. There's a fair amount of experimentation throughout the LP. Also clever, Bayley filled out the sound remarkably well with only a few players. He plays a host of guitars and does his own lead and background vocals. There's limited synth, but he found some guys to do some violins and wind instruments in addition to recording with a drummer.

The LP was also recorded in the Cavern in Independence, Missouri. Lifetime Records (Bayley's private label) shows an Independence as well, but could just as easily be a Kansas City guy. If you YouTube him, you'll find he's channeling George Clinton's fashion sense and playing experimental gospel music over in Colorado now-a-days.

Going Home Alone

Gene Clark White Light A&M 1971

Gene Clark White Light A&M 1971 CAT# SP4292

The Bonner Springs graduate, Gene Clark, put out this, which is simply, one of the best American singer/songwriter efforts ever put out.

If Clark was only architect of the Byrds' sound and quit after creating highly influential country rock with Missouri natives, the Dillards, he'd have a pretty substantial legacy. But, White Light's blend of sparse country and cosmic folk put him into place. Masterwork type stuff.

The album jacket and the actual record never state that the album is called White Light, but it was released under the title. It's fitting as the album sold poorly and is rather hard to track down now, the title just kind of screams that it should be obscure. It was recorded while Clark was still trying to find himself in L.A. almost 5 years after he left the Byrds. There is an impressive list of players featured on the LP, all of which play as if they shared Clark's vision, the album should have been a bigger deal upon it's original release.

White Light