Ouba – Freak Out Total
Back in the sweltering summer of 1968, a gaggle of Montreal rock musicians gathered in a local recording studio for a grand total of a half hour to lay down some tracks. Although that was surely a common occurrence back in those days, what ended up going down during this particular outing was merely one of the most loose and spirited improvised rock jams of the decade. Over a wildly slashing guitar, bobbing keyboards, and peppy, percolating drums and percussion, everyone involved speaks, shouts, and screams the word “Ouba” over and over in myriad ways, unintentionally bestowing a name upon the ephemeral outfit. Then they stop on a dime–maybe even a penny–and effortlessly ascend through a swirling, dissonant cloud, only to swing back into the goodtime jam without warning.
Around the halfway point, the drummer cuts loose with a long, loose yet rocking solo as the other band members yell and egg him on. Then it’s back to the jam, as the Muppets chime in and mutter “Ouba” in various comical ways until the music finally shudders to a close. Fortunately captured for posterity, this is the sound of four guys who simply got together and had a really good time playing music. Imagine that! No live shows, no tours, no nothing. Psych collector status: Since only a handful of copies of the original LP are known to still exist, rest assured it’s impossibly rare. For your listening pleasure, a CD reissue appeared on Gear Fab in 2001, appropriately enough accompanied by the most rambling, scrambled liner notes ever printed inside a booklet, followed by an LP reissue on Out-Sider in 2014.
Label: A1 Catalog Number: A1/LJ-33-213 Format: LP Packaging: LP jacket Tracks: 2 Total Time: 27:49 Country: Canada Released: 1968 More: Discogs
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