Monday, March 2, 2020

Opal - Early Recordings, Volume 2


Another sad loss to the alternative music world: David Roback, guitarist and founding member of Mazzy Star, died last week in Los Angeles. Here's his obituary in the New York Times.

I was living in New Zealand in 1994, where there was plenty of great local alternative music being played on the country's stations, so I really didn't begin to hear Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" until more than a year after it came out, when I returned to the States for grad school.


It took me forever to find out who the song was by, as it seemed that every time I heard it during that time, it wasn't identified by artist. I heard the tune on rare occasions playing softly in the background of urban hubbub in cities like Boston and Washington D.C., or would catch the tail end of it once in a while on obscure radio stations with unknown call signs, while walking the streets of other towns I was in in the mid/late '90s... and every time I was too slow to find out any information on this haunting but annoyingly obscure song. Mind you, this was long before the days of song-IDing apps like Shazam, so if you missed the radio DJ providing you with the details, or weren't around enough cool in-the-know people to clue you in, you were pretty much on your own.  But it was maddening.

Finally, while hearing the song while strolling near, of all places,
Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while on a visit there in the late 1990s, someone I accosted on the street told me it was a Mazzy Star tune. I immediately ran across town to Amoeba Music near Golden Gate Park and grabbed their album So Tonight That I May See. Amoeba also had the band's full discography there in the stacks under the "Mazzy Star" card; not only the albums that came
before (1990's She Hangs Brightly) and after (1996's Among My Swan) the one I went there for, but also music from bands related to the group. When I saw a copy of Opal's Early Recordings amongst the discs, it was then I knew why "Fade Into You" sounded so familiar; it was through my brief encounter with that band many years earlier that I had first become aware of the genius and songcraft of David Roback.

As per the NYT article:
"David Edward Roback was born in Los Angeles on April 4, 1958, to George and Rosemary (Hunter) Roback...  He studied art at the University of California, Berkeley, and [in 1981] formed the band Rain Parade, which included his brother, Steven.  Rain Parade was one of several bands in what became known as the Paisley Underground, a revival of psychedelic rock in California in the early 1980s. Mr. Roback left the group after it released its first album, Emergency Third Rail Power Trip (1983).

In the mid-1980s he founded the group Opal with Kendra Smith, the bassist from Dream Syndicate, and the drummer Keith Mitchell. Opal, which featured Ms. Smith as lead singer and expanded on the Paisley Underground sound, released the album Happy Nightmare Baby in 1987."
Opal evolved from Clay Allison, the band Roback formed in the immediate aftermath of his departure from Rain Parade. Clay Allison played a handful of obscure gigs across the U.S., but by the time they determined they were ready to record, the name change had already occurred (the new moniker was reportedly derived from ex-Pink Floyd Syd Barrett's 1969 song "Opel"). Opal was together for just three years; in addition to their sole 1987 LP, the group also released a pair of "psych-folk-leaning" late-80s
EPs (Fell From The Sun and Northern Line) that were later collected on the Early Recordings compilation, released on the U.S. incarnation of Britain’s Rough Trade label, which went under in 1990. Neither the album nor the EPs sold very well, which was of absolutely no concern to Roback and his reclusive band mates.  “It doesn’t matter how well our records do,” he told The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1990. “None of that matters, because we’re completely free.”

However, Rough Trade had enough faith and confidence in Opal to utilize some of its remaining limited resources to finance the recording of a simple black-and-white music video for the song "Empty Box Blues", featuring Smith and Roback enjoying a quiet day together in the countryside and on the beach:  As fate would have it, MTV VJ Dave Kendall deigned to air this video on the station's 120 Minutes program (dedicated to alternative music) sometime in mid 1990... and luckily, I happened to be watching the show that night.  Here's what I saw, and fell in love with:


I thought that "Empty Box Blues" was a damn-near perfect song: whimsical, melancholy, and filled with an undefinable sadness and nostalgic yearning. When I ran up to DC later that month (I was living in southeastern Virginia at the time), I found and purchased a cassette copy of Early Recordings containing this song at the old GWU Tower Records. It went with me on my six-month Navy deployment to South America later that year, and I got the opportunity to absorb the group's other wistful tunes, like "Strange Delight", "Northern Line" and my other fave, "My Only Friend".

What I was unaware of was that by the time I got into Opal, the group had already long ceased to exist. The band went out on the road in the fall of 1987 supporting their sole album Happy Nightmare Baby; a final gig that December in England at the Hammersmith Odeon ended with Smith hurling her guitar to the stage and abruptly announcing she was leaving the group.  Roback quickly promoted Opal backup singer Hope Sandoval to lead vocalist and reconstituted the group as Mazzy Star. After producing the three albums I referenced above, Mazzy Star went on a long hiatus beginning in 1997 before reuniting, with an album (Seasons Of Your Day) in 2013 and occasional live concerts over the past three years... right up to Roback's death last week.

Pat Thomas, current manager of Roback's former band mate Kendra Smith (even with all the turmoil surrounding the dissolution of Opal, the two remained good friends), wrote an excellent tribute/remembrance of him in this week's Variety; here it is.

Thomas's article contains the following paragraph:
At the time of his passing, Roback was working with Smith on finalizing the re-release of the [Opal] albums, which will be available digitally and physically via Ingrooves Music Group, Thomas tells Variety. The group’s 1987 opus, Happy Nightmare Baby, will not include any bonus tracks, but a 1989 compilation of earlier material called, naturally enough, Early Recordings, will include five extra songs: “Hear the Wind Blow,” “I Called Erin,” “Don’t Stop the Train,” “Sailing Boats” and an alternate version of “Empty Bottles.” (Some of these songs appeared on a bootleg compilation called Early Recordings Volume 2.)
I've owned this Volume 2 bootleg for years; these recordings are from the early days of Opal, same time frame as the previous compilation, 1983 - 1987. They were never released on any official Opal project.

Here's the complete lineup:
1. My Canyon Memory (5:00)
2. Sisters Of Mercy (4:21)
3. Sailing Boats (6:02)
4. Vespers (0:42)
5. Lisa's Funeral (6:51)
6. This Town (6:02)
7. Freight Train (1:59)
8. Wintertime (3:15)
9. Little Bit Of Rain (2:30)
10. What You've Done (3:37)
11. Cherry Jam (8:27)
12. Indian Summer (3:09)
The sound quality is less than perfect, having been taken from various tape sources, but this set contains some great tracks, songs like "Sailing Boats" (referenced above), and Kendra's take on the Leonard Cohen song "Sisters of Mercy" - a must-hear.  As such, I can't figure out why, in the wake of Roback's death, they just don't release the entire damn thing, instead of onesy-twoseys from the boot.  Therefore, I'm taking it upon myself to release this fine disc from its self-imposed shackles.

So here, for your listening pleasure and in memory of the great David Roback, are the following:
  • Opal - Early Recordings, Volume 2:  A fan-assembled compilation of unreleased band tunes (of various audio quality) put out sometime around 2006; they somehow managed to dig up even more songs for the Early Recordings period, with these previously-unheard songs mixing the acoustic bits with swirling, black-light clouds of Happy Nightmare Baby style jams; and 
  • Clay Allison - King Kong Club, College Park, MD (5-14-1984):  A rare live taping of the proto-Opal group on tour in the spring of 1984 (can't remember where I managed to track this down... but no matter).  Again, somewhat sketchy quality, but this set includes great early versions of songs that ended up on subsequent band recordings.
Enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think. RIP David, and thanks for the music.

I'll close out this tribute with one of my all-time favorite Roback compositions, "Look On Down From The Bridge" from Among My Swan:


Please use the email link below to contact me, and I will reply with the download link(s) ASAP:

Opal - Early Recordings, Volume 2: Send Email
Clay Allison - King Kong Club, College Park, MD (5-14-1984): Send Email



34 comments:

  1. Many thanks for alerting me to music of which I would otherwise be aware. It's not really the kind of stuff you'd have on in the background - you'd really need to clear the decks, sit down and consciously listen in all its wistful, lo-fi glory. Not on my bucket-list but I'm glad to have made its acquaintance. RIP Mr Roback. 61 is no age nowadays.

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  2. thank you - shame that sometimes you only discover music after the artist has gone -0 in this case DR passed away far too soon but his music will live long in the memory of all that hear it. TX so much for the fast d/l reply. Now need to find the 1st volume :-)

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  3. hello, very pleased to get these two posts. i have a set policy of ALWAYS getting anything by this group of musicians. truly unique and always special - thank you david, kendra, keith, hope, william. r. keith noble

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  4. thank you for sharing! your generosity is truly appreciated.

    looking forward to exploring more of your archive. the shear volume of material is a bit daunting, but that is not a bad thing.

    excited to explore! take care...

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  5. David Roback will be missed. Thank you for this post! Hopefully this early work will get the careful remastering and rereleases it deserves.

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  6. R.I.P. David.
    I've been a fan of Roback and his many projects over the years, but Opal always stood out to me as the best stuff. Thanks for sharing the rare recordings! Their historical value far outshines any audio imperfections. Informative essay as well. Going to have to dig thru your archives! Thanks again!

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  7. Right on friend—way to spread the love. & RIP to Roback, who was too good.

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  8. Loved Opal. I moved to College Park for school in 1988. I guess King Kong Cafe was gone by then. Maybe a Slickee Boys post soon?

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  9. Thank you very much! I've loved Opal for a long time now and somehow managed to forget about this album.

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  10. Gorgeous, spare, sublime, dreamy. Such a treasure. Thank you for sharing it into the world!

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  11. So glad to find this, I was patiently waiting for Opal reissues that never came to pass. Terrific article.

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  12. What a collection of songs. Thank you, again! Love you blog.

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  13. I've obviously discovered Opal through Mazzy Star and Mazzy Star from the popular little song Fade Into You. The fan made compilation album has plenty of great songs. Thanks for the bit of history

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  14. Thanks for the Clay Allison upload. Very rare to find stuff from that era.

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  15. From Richard Poulson:

    “ Many, many thanks for sharing this material!

    My experience of Opal starts with the Rain Parade and the Dream Syndicate. I had found out about ‘Third Rail…’ somehow or other and was an instant convert and later saw both the RP and the DS play in London, but after David Roback and Kendra Smith had moved on!

    That they had gone onto form a group leaked out and I can remember picking up ‘Grains of Sand’ and ‘Northern Line’ in English Weather, a once great independent and very alternative record shop in Crouch End, London. The songs collected here add another perspective, and while the sound may be ‘lo-fi’ – this doesn’t really matter as the quality of performance and composition are always apparent.

    The album which followed the two EPs, ‘Happy Nightmare Baby’, did as I recall, receive a luke-warm reception – and I would say it had a darker, heavier feel to it, than much that was around at the time of its release…and then there is ‘Five Ways of Disappearing’ another musical journey!”

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  16. Thanks for all you have done for Opal! I recently received my vinyl copy of "Early Recordings," a perfect LP. I can't believe 37 years passed without me knowing anything about this SUPERB group. I have also become a huge Kendra Smith fan. Your work to help promote their songs is inestimable for fans and posterity. -- Russell Hoke

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  17. During the one, Mazzy Star & Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions continued to be special.
    It is said that Mazzy Star had a concert in Japan someday.
    I'm sorry
    I don't listen to Rain Parade’1st album. Guitarist and composer David Roback is here.
    (The first rain parade will be on LP for the Japanese edition.)
    From the time of getting off, we will be in touch with the existence of Rainy Day and Opal, but we can also make music in Japan.
    When I finally got my hands on it, "Happy Nightmare Baby" was already peeled off, and I was wondering what I wanted to hear.
    A collection of sound sources, so to speak, the site's copyrighted work "Early Recordings".
    I was worried about the freshness.
    Eyes understood David Roback's life as a special musician.

    "Happy Nightmare Baby" and "Early Recordings" were remastered in 2019.

    It's hard to reach Japan because the number of production continues, but I will do my best.

    Still, this, something, anything,
    Is there an opal shield?
    Completed the net and released the "Early Recordings Vol.2" album compilation
    Similar to being present.

    Inflection, P. P. I'm writing a memorandum for Mr. Heckhall, who is soaked.
    Then share the page "Early Recordings Vol.2".
    Don't get it, Zhang, I want to hear this music right now.
    I'm sorry.
    Great gratitude now, read this now

    Approve MP3 downloads from Google's system.
    (I had a hard time burning it on my computer, but I was able to burn it to a CD-R because it wasn't in iTunes.)

    Because here I can.

    Thank you P.P. Soaked Heckhall.
    Thanks to David Roback for the talented marriage reform setting.
    I asked him someday.


    necoyamada Ittetsu

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  18. Thank you PP Soaked Heckhall I really appreciate Opal and Mazzy Star's Muisc. I did not have Early Recordings Volume 2 :)

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  19. Wonderful information about this oft-overlooked group. Thanks for VOl 2 and the live gig. Listening to Vol 2 as I type this. I like both Early Recordings collections even more than HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY.

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  20. Thanks for sharing! Nice to get some new sounds since the re-issues of the opal albums were canceled after David's passing!

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  21. Many thanks for sharing - awesome!

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  22. Thanks so much for sharing! Been on a Opal listening jag since coming across this on YouTube https://youtu.be/beWzdU33gBw

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  23. Hi Thankyou for sharring. Luv the early recordings. Sailing boats is a stand out

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  24. Thanks for these! They're especially welcome since the reissue of Early Recordings was scrapped. –DG

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  25. Thanks for sending me the links! Vol 2 is really chill, and it's great to hear the Leonard Cohen cover. The Clay Allison bootleg is also worth checking out. The quality is what you might expect from a small club recording in the early 80's, but it does give you that fly-on-the-wall feel, definitely worth checking out. -bdogger

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  26. Many thanks for sharing these - always great to get anything I don't have that involves David Roback!

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  27. Thanks for sharing. Rain Parade are touring in the UK and "What You've Done" is in their set. Nice to hear the original.

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  28. Many thanks for sharing this. Have got Early Recordings 1. But never had this. And, after seeing Rain Parade this week (& they played a track from this), decided to research this album.
    Thanks again.

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  29. Amazing post, thanks so much!

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  30. Thank you so much!

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  31. From Link Lally, Baltimore:

    “Opal's "Early Recordings" is among my top 10 favorite albums of all time, right up there with Pet Sounds, the Zombies O&O, and half a dozen Kinks albums. Thank you so much for making these awesome and hella-rare songs available again! This (and the live stuff) is just fantastic!”

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  32. Ahhh, another Holy Grail found! Thank you!

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  33. From Chris Wissmann: “These recordings sound divine. Thank you so much for making them available. The world deserves to hear them.”

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  34. Thank you so much for the file links - very much appreciated - seeing The Rain Parade in a couple of months so have been looking for paisley underground related music - Martin

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