Hi Sin Agog, Yahowha 13 are my favorite American band, for me they are the highpoint of US psychedelia. Lots and lots of great mindblowing, spiritually uplifting stuff. Most is improvised.
Original Captain Trip Box Set: Father Yod and the Spirit of '76 - Kohoutek, Contraction, Expansion - Father with his largest band - 2 guitarists, bass, drums, 1 or 2 keyboards, 3 or more female backing singers. Contraction is the best of the three, a royal mindfuck, and has been reissued separately.
All or nothing at all - primitive hippie folk with real songs. Father doesn't appear. On first listens I hated it, but the "authentic coffee shop" feel tied in with the spiritual message gives it considerable charm and now I love it.
Savage Sons of Yahowha - real songs recorded with a variety of lineups, but without father. Has a nice acid rock vibe to it. The best tracks are those which feature Electron Aquarian, who sounds like he could be Malcolm Mooney's long-lost cousin!
Yahowa 13 - Father with a stripped-down lineup of bass, drums, and guitar, but not that great. Again, the band seems to be playing real songs. There is a desolate, rural vibe to some of the tracks which gives it an "outsider" status. Works as a Father Yod solo album but not a Yahowha 13 album.
Penetration - My favorite album of all time. Improvised instrumental tracks, guitar, bass, drum, kettle drum, gong, and whistling. Doesn't work as background music, though. But when listened to in the right circumstances, Penetration delivers the psychedelic motherload. Has been reissued many times, though I like the Captain Trip version best, sound-wise.
I'm Gonna Take you Home; To The Principles, for the Children - More improvised greatness, up there with Penetration, but with more use of Father's voice, which can be unsettling at first (though great once you get into it.) Have been reissued. If you don't want to explore the entire Yahowha 13 discography, Penetration, I'm Gonna Take You Home and To the Principles should be the ones you get.
Golden Sunrise - Features Sky Saxon on some tracks, and mostly very good. No Father. The final track, "Celebration" is an eleven minute dirge-like hippie trip to the (inner) cosmos.
Yodship - With Sky Saxon. Sounds like a less-structured version of Paridieswarts Duul. I consider it to be an unrecognized masterpiece of acid folk. No father.
Unreleased materials - some unreleased tracks and alternate versions. Sky Saxon appears on a few. Also has interesting field recordings of the family chanting variations of Yahowha. No father
Related Singles - Mostly Sky Saxon tracks, and one track by another Yahowha family member. The Sky Saxon tracks are all recorded outside of his time with the family and are only "related" in the sense that he yells out "Yahowha!" on a few of them. Still, top-tier wasted garage rock.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post!
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