H. P. Lovecraft - H. P. Lovecraft (1967)

H. P. Lovecraft - H. P. Lovecraft (1967)

Tracklist front / back album covers

Side 1

"Wayfaring Stranger" (traditional, arranged by George Edwards) – 2:35

"Let's Get Together" (Chet Powers) – 4:35

"I've Been Wrong Before" (Randy Newman) – 2:46

"The Drifter" (Travis Edmonson) – 4:11

"That's The Bag I'm In" (Fred Neil) – 1:46

Side 2

"The White Ship" (George Edwards, Dave Michaels, Tony Cavallari) – 6:33

"Country Boy & Bleeker Street" (Fred Neil) – 2:35

"The Time Machine" (George Edwards, Dave Michaels) – 2:05

"That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)" (George Edwards, Dave Michaels, Tony Cavallari) – 3:55

"Gloria Patria" (traditional, arranged by George Edwards, Dave Michaels) – 0:27

H. P. Lovecraft Band Members / Musicians

George Edwards – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, guitarrón, bass

Dave Michaels – vocals, organ, piano, harpsichord, clarinet, recorder

Jerry McGeorge – bass, vocals

Tony Cavallari – lead guitar, vocals

Michael Tegza – drums, percussion, timpani, vocals

Bill Traut – bells, percussion

Len Druss – piccolo flute, English horn, saxophones

Jack Henningbaum, Paul Tervelt – French horn

Bill Traub – reeds

Herb Weiss, Ralph Craig – trombone

Clyde Bachand – tuba

Eddie Higgins – vibraphone, horn arrangements

 

George Badonsky – record producer

Jerry DeClerk – engineer

John Cabalka – design

Mike Stone – photography

H. P. Lovecraft is the debut album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft. It was released in October 1967 by Philips Records.

The album blended psychedelic and folk rock influences and was marked by the haunting, eerie ambiance of the band's music, which itself was often inspired by the literary works of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, after whom the band had named themselves. Although most of the album comprises interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk songs, it also features the self-penned compositions "That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)", "The Time Machine", and arguably the band's best known song, "The White Ship". The traditional song "Wayfaring Stranger" was released as a single just ahead of the album in September 1967 and "The White Ship" was issued shortly after the album appeared, although neither single reached the charts. Like its attendant singles, H. P. Lovecraft was also somewhat commercially unsuccessful and failed to reach the Billboard Top LPs chart or the UK Albums Chart, although it did sell reasonably well over time.

Although the H. P. Lovecraft album was largely overlooked at the time of its release and had gone out of print by the early 1970s, its reputation has continued to grow over the years. A revival in interest in the band and their music began in the late 1980s, with Edsel Records reissuing the album and its follow-up together on the At the Mountains of Madness compilation in 1988. In 1997 both albums were re-released by Britonic Records as 'This is HP Lovecraft / HP Lovecraft II'. The album was again reissued in 2000, along with its follow-up H. P. Lovecraft II, on the Collectors' Choice Music CD Two Classic Albums from H. P. Lovecraft: H. P. Lovecraft/H. P. Lovecraft II. In addition, all ten songs that make up the H. P. Lovecraft album were included on the Rev-Ola Records compilation Dreams in the Witch House: The Complete Philips Recordings.

Side 1

"Wayfaring Stranger" (traditional, arranged by George Edwards) – 2:35

"Let's Get Together" (Chet Powers) – 4:35

"I've Been Wrong Before" (Randy Newman) – 2:46

"The Drifter" (Travis Edmonson) – 4:11

"That's The Bag I'm In" (Fred Neil) – 1:46

Side 2

"The White Ship" (George Edwards, Dave Michaels, Tony Cavallari) – 6:33

"Country Boy & Bleeker Street" (Fred Neil) – 2:35

"The Time Machine" (George Edwards, Dave Michaels) – 2:05

"That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)" (George Edwards, Dave Michaels, Tony Cavallari) – 3:55

"Gloria Patria" (traditional, arranged by George Edwards, Dave Michaels) – 0:27

H. P. Lovecraft Band Members / Musicians

George Edwards – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, guitarrón, bass

Dave Michaels – vocals, organ, piano, harpsichord, clarinet, recorder

Jerry McGeorge – bass, vocals

Tony Cavallari – lead guitar, vocals

Michael Tegza – drums, percussion, timpani, vocals

Bill Traut – bells, percussion

Len Druss – piccolo flute, English horn, saxophones

Jack Henningbaum, Paul Tervelt – French horn

Bill Traub – reeds

Herb Weiss, Ralph Craig – trombone

Clyde Bachand – tuba

Eddie Higgins – vibraphone, horn arrangements

George Badonsky – record producer

Jerry DeClerk – engineer

John Cabalka – design

Mike Stone – photography