Earth Opera

Earth Opera was an American psychedelic rock group, active between 1967 and 1969 and featuring Peter Rowan and David Grisman. Both Rowan and Grisman were virtuoso folk and bluegrass performers in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, clubs, who became caught up in the changes in the music scene in the mid-1960s. They formed Earth Opera in 1967 in Boston, and were joined by John Nagy on bass, Paul Dillon on drums, and Bill Stevenson on keyboards and vibraphone.
The group was signed by Jac Holzman to Elektra Records. Their self-titled debut album, produced by Grisman's ex-bandmate Peter Siegel, and including veteran drummer (and Mothers of Invention alumnus) Billy Mundi, was a mixture of folk and psychedelic influences. The group frequently opened for The Doors, who were also on Elektra Records.
Although the first album never charted, Elektra was willing to record a second LP, The Great American Eagle Tragedy. By this time, Stevenson had left. The second album featured an array of eminent guests including John Cale (viola) and Bill Keith (pedal steel). The Great American Eagle Tragedy managed to reach the lower end of the national charts, the cover featuring a parody of the U.S. presidential seal with a superimposed death skull and what looks like blood stains. However, the band's relative lack of success caused Earth Opera to break up in 1969. (Read more at Wikipedia)
== Links to Peel ==
As Elektra artists, Earth Opera were assured of some attention from Peel due to his admiration for the label and the fact that his manager Clive Selwood ran its UK office. But when he played a track by them on the show of 11 August 1968 he apologised for not doing so earlier, saying that lack of needle time meant that he couldn't play all the records he wanted to. They came from Boston, a city which Peel disliked, and which in 1967-8 was promoted by some US record companies as the "new San Francisco". JP, like most critics, was unimpressed by most of the new "Bosstown" groups but made an exception for Earth Opera.
The DJ continued to play Earth Opera's tracks during their short lifetime - and revisited their albums in the early 1970s, on the show of 21 June 1973 noting that listener response to them had been positive and observing that the band may have been "before their time".
The most successful ex-member of Earth Opera was Peter Rowan, who gained a little Peel airplay with the bands Old & In The Way and the Rowans. He later recorded with Art Of Noise and appeared in the playlists of Andy Kershaw's shows. Kershaw played a track by him when sitting in for Peel on 29 May 1985.
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*None
== Sessions ==
*None
== Shows Played ==
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;1960s
*14 July 1968: Close Your Eyes And Shut The Door (LP: Earth Opera) Elektra
*11 August 1968: The Red Sox Are Winning (LP - Earth Opera) Elektra EKS 74016
*02 February 1969: The American Eagle Tragedy (single) Elektra EKSN 45049
*23 March 1969: Sanctuary From The Law (LP - The Great American Eagle Tragedy) Elektra
*22 June 1969: Sanctuary From The Law (album - The Great American Eagle Tragedy) Elektra EKS 74038 (JP: “if you find any, write and tell me, and maybe we’ll publish a newspaper….”)
;1970s
*10 May 1973: All Winter Long (LP – The Great American Eagle Tragedy) Elektra
*17 May 1973: Home Of The Brave (LP – Earth Opera) Elektra
*21 June 1973: Time And Again (LP - Earth Opera) Elektra
== See Also ==
*Record Collection: E
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Earth Opera - Bosstown Sound
*Discogs
Category:Artists