This week, we have Part 2 of 2 Noble Records Exclusives shows. Noble Records is my local record store and they do monthly exclusives of private press album releases from lost gems of the past. The exclusive part is the colored vinyl that is exclusive to his store. We have psych rock, funk, hard rock, southern rock and some really obscure stuff at times. Check it out as there is some really cool stuff such as Back Jack, Fraction, Mammoth, Doc Rockit, Tennessee River Crooks and so much more.
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, May 19, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
This week, we have Part 1 of 2 Noble Records Exclusives shows. Noble Records is my local record store and they do monthly exclusives of private press album releases from lost gems of the past. The exclusive part is the colored vinyl that is exclusive to his store. We have psych rock, funk, hard rock, southern rock and some really obscure stuff at times. Check it out as there is some really cool stuff such as Orang-Utan, Poobah, Farm, Randy Holden and so much more.
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, May 12, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
One of the more popular Noble Record Exclusives they’ve released, ‘Farm’ by the band Farm, has been re-issued 4 times by Noble and all with a different color vinyl. My copy is the Gold Edition and was limited to around 300 copies. I am not someone who will buy different color variants so this is the only one of the four re-issues I have. If for some reason I have a bunch of money laying around wanting to be spent, I’ll get the other colors, but don’t hold your breath. Don’t get me wrong, the album is great, just don’t need four copies of the same album unless you give me a different song or an entirely different cover. But enough of that stuff, let us talk about Farm.
Farm is a band out of southern Illinois that recorded one album way back in 1971. Southern Illinois in 1971 was not exactly a mecca of famous bands, heck, I don’t think they have ever been. As a result, this band went mostly unheard of from the average music fan. However, the cult level fans knew about them and loved them and is the reason why there have been a ton of re-issues of this album. If you have around $2,000, you can pick up an original vinyl…but no point since these are way cheaper.
If you like dual guitar bands, then this band is for you. The band consists of Del Herbert on one guitar and Gary Gordon on the other. They are joined by Jim Elwyn on bass, Steve Evanchik on percussion, Roger Greenwalt on organ and Mike Young on drums. Together, they make up Farm and they are a southern rock, bluesy boogie band with elements of progressive rock thrown in for good measure. If you like Quicksilver and The Allman Brothers, these guys will be right up your alley. A short album with only 5 songs, but those songs leave quite the impression.
Here we have another review of one of Noble Records Exclusive offerings. This time around we go Down Under to Sydney, Australia with a band named McPhee. The album was originally released in 1971 and has been lost and forgotten through the sands of time. Well, not really as it has been a highly sought after piece in the collecting world and an original LP will cost you well over $2,000 to obtain it. Don’t fret, these reissues by labels such as Guerssen Records help keep these lost gems in the public eye and we are luckier for it.
Guerssen always does such a fine job recreating the original artwork and they use only the best, high quality material. It is reproduced on a stunning green and black splatter vinyl which you will see below. On top of that you get an essay on the band by Ian McFarlane which gives you all the details needed to know about this band.
And speaking of the band, you get Jim Deverell on Organ, piano and vocals; Faye Lewis on vocals and percussion; Terry Popple on drums; Tony Joyce on guitar; and last but certainly not least, Benny Kaika on bass. It is a stellar line-up full of people that now how to use their instruments as you will hear if you check this out, which you should. The album is mostly full of covers but there are 2 original songs out of the 7 on the album. Musically, this is some killer acid rock, psychedelia, prog and pure rock. But enough jibber-jabber, lets get to the music.
One thing I’ve been having fun with is collecting the Exclusive vinyls offered at my local Record Store, Noble Records. Each month he generally has one or two releases that are exclusive to his store. Usually that means a colored variant of archival release. It has allowed me to branch out and listen to things I would normally never ever hear or get the chance to hear. And I will say, 90% of his releases I have found to be quite enjoyable and made me really appreciate a lot of these cult bands that seemed to fall by the wayside or discarded from this rock & roll business. I have reviewed two of these before and I thought, it is time to start diving in to more of this and do a review. So, here we are with one of those exclusives.
For this review, we are going to look at a band that had one album and was done. A One And Done band called Elias Hulk. The album was released in the UK sometime back in 1970. The band was originally called Alias the Hulk due to their love for Marvel Comics and The Incredible Hulk. Eventually the name was shorted to Elias Hulk. The band consisted of members James Haines (Bass), Bernard James (Drums), Neil Tatum (Lead Guitar), Granville Frazer (Rhythm Guitar) and Peter Thorpe (Lead Singer). And as far as sound, they are a cross between a heavy bluesy rock with some psychedelic hard rock mixed and some Eastern elements that add a cool uniqueness to their sound. And if that wasn’t enough, it is a little proggy as well. I would say that it is a pretty accurate as we definitely have some heavy moments and then some not quite so heavy, but all sounds are still rock and still kick ass.