Azitis ‎– Help (Reissue) (1971/2000)

Azitis (Pronounced “As it is”) is one very few Christian-themed albums that is solidly psychedelic in sound from beginning to end. Every song from this four-man Sacramento band’s custom lp is a winner, saturated through and through with psychy swirling organ sounds. Add to that strong melodies, gentle vocals, fuzz, phasing, reverb, wah-wah, flute and you’ve got a virtual time machine to the flower power era. The responsible parties are Dennis Sullivan (organ, piano), Michael Welch (guitar, flute), Steve Nelson (percussion) and Donald Lower (bass guitar). ‘(Creation) Lord I Saw You Cry’ starts things off with dissonant organ crescendo, chanting and wah-wah guitar, followed by the melodic ’60s pop/psych of ‘There Is An Answer’ and ‘Who Will Be’, the later propelled by heavily fuzzed bass guitar. ‘The Prophet’ is one of the album’s most powerful tracks, reaching intense fuzz/organ peaks as it deals with Revelation themes. ‘Time Has Passed’, trips out with moody surreal passages that sound like they were lifted from the middle of ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’, followed by ‘From This Place’, another killer track that builds to climaxes of thunderous drums, discordant guitar strums and surging frenzied organ. ‘Hope To Save’ brings in piano and acoustic guitar for a lyrical ballad. That leaves the apocalyptic ‘Judgement Day’ with its varied guitar effects and eerie echoed proclamations to close the album. Exceptional cover art of a gold cross emerging from planet earth. Mega rare, too. I can’t emphasize enough how cool this album is. It’s a true five-star monster if ever there was one. Re-issued on both vinyl and CD. The band also had a couple 45’s with non-lp tracks. (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).