The Serpent Power: The Serpent Power 1967 + Tina & David Meltzer 1969

Ιn 1966, San Francisco-based poet David Meltzer and his wife Tina, who was a singer, recruited local musicians Clark Coolidge (drummer, also composer), Denny Ellis (lead guitarist), John Payne (keyboardist), Jean-Paul Pickens (banjo player) and David Stensen (bassist), and started playing gigs at clubs and events in the Bay area, such as the North Beach's Coffee Gallery, Gino & Carlo's, and others. Ellis and Stensen were already experienced musicians, having previously played on tracks of the Lovin' Spoonful. Ed Denton, the manager of Country Joe and the Fish, caught one of their shows and brought them to Joe's label, Vanguard Records, where they were signed as The Serpent Power, releasing their debut, eponymous album in 1967.
                             

The LP was considered by Forced Exposure magazine to be a "true representation of the San Francisco area sound in the psychedelic era," with "great male/female vocal harmonies, interesting but unusual lyrics and excellent guitar work." It was one of the first rock albums to introduce the influence of Middle-Eastern music, establishing the genre of raga-rock. Rolling Stone magazine included The Serpent Power in its list of the 50 best albums of 1967. Robert Christgau suggested the group was "the Bay Area's version of the Velvet Underground. Their music was described as "minimalist folk-rock with noise," while "all but a few" songs were said to be "graced by excellent tunes."
                                    

After the break-up of the band, David and Tina Meltzer formed a duo act and in 1969 released the album Poet Song. The following year they recorded a second LP, titled Green Morning, but Capitol Records did not release it until 1998. In 1984, Tina Meltzer composed and recorded on her own a children's album, titled Faces (New Songs for Kids).
             

Tina died in 1995 from ovarian cancer. In September 2011, David Meltzer married poet Julie Rogers. He died at his home in Oakland after suffering a stroke, on December 31, 2016.
                                      

[DAVID MELTZER, the prolific poet and musician who merged his two passions, creating work that goes back to the Beat generation and San Francisco Renaissance of the 1950s and ’60s, has died. He was 79. Fellow Bay Area Beat poet Diane di Prima called Mr. Meltzer “one of the secret

treasures on our planet. Great poet, musician, comic; mystic unsurpassed, performer with few peers.” Mr. Meltzer wrote more than 40 volumes of poetry, among them “Arrows: Selected Poetry 1957-1992,” “Name: Selected Poetry, 1973-1983” and “Beat Thing” (2004). His nonfiction work includes “Reading Jazz” (1993), “Writing Jazz” (1999), “When I Was a Poet” (2011) and “Two-Way Mirror: A Poetry Notebook,” a collection of anecdotes and quotations published by Oyez Press in 1977 and rereleased by City Lights Publishers in 2015.]

The Serpent Power - The Serpent Power + Tina & David Meltzer – Poet Song
Label: Akarma – AK 053/54
Format: CD, Compilation 2005
Country: Italy
Released: 1967 - 1969
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Blues Rock, Folk, Poetry

THE SERPENT POWER - THE SERPENT POWER 1967   

                            

  
01. The Serpent Power – Don't You Listen To Her    2:20
02. The Serpent Power – Gently, Gently    2:36
03. The Serpent Power – Open House    3:31
04. The Serpent Power – Flying Away    4:26
05. The Serpent Power – Nobody Blues    3:49
06. The Serpent Power – Up And Down    3:37
07. The Serpent Power – Sky Baby    2:31
08. The Serpent Power – Forget    3:34
09. The Serpent Power – Dope Again    0:47
10. The Serpent Power – Endless Tunnel   13:13

MUSICIANS

Bass – David Stenson
Drums – Clark Coolidge
Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals – David Meltzer
Organ – John Payne
Rhythm Guitar – Denny Ellis
Vocals – Tina Meltzer
Banjo [Electrified 5-string Banjo] – J. P. Pickens
Producer – Samuel Charters

MP3 @ 320 Size: 102 MB
Flac  Size: 262 MB

TINA AND DAVID MELTZER - POET SONG 1969       

                          

  
01. I'm The Early Morning Racer (Poem)    1:39
02. I'll Forget You    3:44
03. The Bath (Poem)    0:33
04. I'm A Lover    2:51
05. Ravel Blues    4:38
06. The Blackest Rose (Poem)    0:55
07. It Is For You    1:50
08. Lullaby    2:54
09. I'm So Willing    4:15
10. Lamentation For Hank Williams (Poem)    1:09
11. Hymn To Love    3:18
12. Confessin' (Poem)    2:27
13. Pure White Place    4:34
14. Poem For My Wife (Poem)    1:01
15. For Tina    2:28

MUSICIANS

                         

Cello – Sally Kell
Clarinet, Saxophone – Don O'Brien
Flute – Ivan Cunningham
French Horn – Earl Saxaton, Krehe Ritter
Guitar – Don Irving  
Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals – David Meltzer
Producer – Samuel Charters
Snare – Jim Meyers
Viola – Tom Heimberg
Violin – Nathan Rubin
Violin, Viola, Guitar, Bass – Ed Bogas
Vocals – Tina Meltzer

MP3 @ 320 Size: 97 MB
Flac  Size: 211 MB