Jerry Yester & Judy Henske - Farewell Aldebaran

[Christopher J]

Just showed up in my inbox:
Farewell Aldebaran
Jerry Yester & Judy Henske
(originally released on Straight STS-1052, reissued as Radioactive Records RR 133CD)

"Never readily available on CD before now, then husband and wife duo Judy Henske and Jerry Yester's 1969 folk-psych-rock-cabaret masterpiece Farewell Aldebaran has become a near mythical totem-like object over the years. Profiled in Richie Unterberger's seminal Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll, included in Mojo's list of positively essential and undeservedly obscure albums, and a major touchstone to folks like the No Neck Blues Band, who roped Yester into producing their classic Revenant release Sticks and Stones largely on the basis of this album.

Both had been heavily ensconced in the West Coast folk rock scene; Yester as a member of the Lovin' Spoonful and producer for L.A. songwriters like Tim Buckley, and Henske as a solo performer and recording artist, who was championed by the likes of Jack Nitzsche. Their first collaborative release, Farewell Aldebaran, was hugely ambitious and varied, with Yester providing the towering arrangements to Henske's breathtaking vocalese and intensely lyrical writing."

So now Radioactive Records has reissued this on CD. They're best known in these parts for their recent reissue of the second C.O.B. album, Moyshe McStiff &The Tartan Lancers Of The Sacred Heart, and I'm hoping this reissue is as well done.

[rob68]

Would love to hear that album.......but good luck with the sound......I have Radioactive CDs 049 and 104 (Jake Holmes)...music's great, but they're fairly bad needle drops.

[Christopher J]

Originally Posted by rob68

Would love to hear that album.......but good luck with the sound......I have Radioactive CDs 049 and 104 (Jake Holmes)...music's great, but they're fairly bad needle drops.

Yeah, Radioactive varies wildly in terms of quality(and legitimacy). Here's hoping this is one of their better executed releases.

[sharedon]

Legit? I mentioned Radioactive here once and got Gorted. I hope this one's above board... I've been wanting to hear it for ages.

[citizenkeith]

I love this album (in fact, I started a thread about this one today, not thinking that anybody else would bother!).

I have two copies, one which I bought sealed on eBay for $50. That was a few years ago, before the prices went up. I don't even think I've seen a sealed copy on eBay since then.

So here's what I said in the thread I started today (for those who have never heard the music):

Henske, one of the coolest folk singers of the early 60s (who used to open for Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen) was encouraged by Zappa to use her poetry as lyrics. She has an incredible voice... one of the few "folk singers" of that era that could shatter glass. Combine that with Yester's psychedelic instrumentation (and early use of synthesizers) and you get a feast for the ears.

I wasn't familiar with Radioactive, so I'm bummed that the quality may not be so great. I made a needledrop a few years ago, and it sort of went into "circulation" among the Henske fans. That would be hilarious if they released my "version" of it.

By the way, I run the officially-endorsed Judy Henske Fan site:
http://www.judyhenskefan.com

Not much going on there right now, but hopefully I'll have some new updates and information soon.

[citizenkeith]

CD Universe has it in stock now:
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinf...k_citizenkeith

Also, Judy will be selling it on her website soon:
http://www.judyhenske.com

[John DeAngelis]

I'd love to see this lp officially issued on CD, but this ain't it. From what I read at Jerry Yester's site, this is an unsanctioned needle drop. My understanding is that the rights to this album are owned by Herb Cohen's family and they won't give anyone permission to reissue it.

[citizenkeith]

Originally Posted by John DeAngelis

I'd love to see this lp officially issued on CD, but this ain't it. From what I read at Jerry Yester's site, this is an unsanctioned needle drop. My understanding is that the rights to this album are owned by Herb Cohen's family and they won't give anyone permission to reissue it.

I spoke to Judy's husband, Craig, and he says that Judy and Herb (and I assume Jerry) were looking into this matter. But that's not stopping Judy from selling it on her website!

[reechie]

A related head's up for fans, there's a nice Judy Henske article in the current issue of "Discoveries" magazine (Brewer & Shipley on the cover).