United States of America - S/T (Sundazed)

In preparing my undergrad class on psychedelia this summer, I had the pleasure to revisit this Sundazed reissue of 2004, replete with bonus tracks and sporting better sound than any other version I’ve heard. For those who don’t know the disc, composer, teacher and American music historian Joseph Byrd’s vision of what a guitarless group could be, shame on you! I think this is one of the best things to come from the West Coast of 1968, although Byrd had also spent considerable time steeping himself in New York’s Avant-Garde.

I still find “The American Metaphysical Circus” delightfully disturbing, complete with Ivesian allusions and constructions, and I still chuckle at the sadistic absurdity of “I Won’t Leave my Wooden Wife for You, Sugar.” Now though, more than ever, I’m amazed at what must have been considerable compositional chutzpah, the Byrd arrangements effectively diverse and consistently interesting. Even a somewhat dated tableau like “Stranded in Time” really isn’t, thanks to the fine string writing and rapid-fire environmental juxtapositions, one sonic world swapped for another with speed and precision.

Yet, the disc would be nothing without the superb vocals of Dorothy Moskowitz—seductive, clinical and haunting by turn; on the ethereal and reverb-drenched “Osamu’s Birthday,” she’s obviously learned to sing her vocal part backwards, and when reversed, the effect is stunning, perfectly in tune with the track’s disembodied Orientalism.

USA can rock, glide, rumble and crash with any of the best groups from an extremely fertile period in American music, and Sundazed has given them the royal reissue treatment. The bonus tracks range from interesting to revelatory, a personal favorite being an alternate version of “Circus,” where “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” is right up front in the mix. This disc is worth hearing even for those familiar with the album, and for those uninitiated, what are you waiting for?

~ Marc Medwin