Pip Proud [ A Fraying Space ] LP [EM1121LP]

Imagine being a punk rocker before there were any others, or a hippie whose message of peace was infused with a sardonic whimsy. That’s what it must have been like to be Pip Proud, in Sydney in the late 1960s, railing against the media and its hypocrisies, making a music that cut through all lies. — David Nichols

Pip Proud, sui generis, could be considered an Australian outsider, with his untutored and uninhibited singing style, his primal guitar playing, his resolutely personal vision captured on recordings from 1967 to the early 70s - except that, unlike most outsiders, he was loved and accepted, with two of his three album releases on a major label, with frequent television appearances and coverage in music magazines. Heralded in his native land though he was, he maintained a low profile from the early 70s, never made an impact overseas, and his recordings have been difficult to access.

This collection has been selected by Proud's biographer David Nichols and will engender a new appreciation of Proud's music. Considered by some as a sort of Antipodean Syd Barrett, listeners will hear that Pip was clearing his own private and primal path, more poet than pop star, despite the media attention. Other than one Velvets-style band track, all songs here feature Pip solo, some with appealingly primitive overdubs. Fans of ramshackle oddball weirdo portastudio lofi bedroom pop of the 80s, 90s and beyond, whether of the NZ, UK or US varieties, will find a precursor here.

Available on both 12-inch vinyl and CD with three bonus tracks, "A Fraying Space" also features liner notes by David Nichols as well as Proud's lyrics.

CD version:
Standard jewel case. 20p booklet including liner notes
written by David Nichols. Lyrics. English & Japanese text.

LP version:
Full-color inner sleeve incl. liner notes and lyrics.

TRACKS:
1. Adreneline and Richard (3:11)+
2. De Da De Dum (2:45)+
3. Latin Version (2:14)+
4. A Fraying Space (4:46)
5. The Sun was Yellow (4:01)+
6. Purple Boy Gang (2:21)
7. A Bird in the Engine (3:07)
A/B split for vinyl version
8. They Took Us All So Kindly (4:32)
9. French Girls (2:24)
10. An Old Servant (6:35)
11. Laughter and Laughter (2:15)+
12. Eagle-wise (1:41)
13. She Dwindles Her Fingers (4:03)
14. Adreneline and Richard (2:27)

CD bonus tracks:
15. Jumped in My Rowboat (2:49)
16. Starship (3:28) + *
17. Don't Push Me Off (3:01)

+ First time re-issue
* Previously unissued