Gallery - The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Reissue) (1972/2003)

The duo of Raymond M. George and Edward S. Balian recorded this album in 1977 without the help from any publishers or labels to help with distribution. What they did have was a wide array of influences, an incredible amount of skill and the tools to record at home. What resulted is an extraordinary mixture of lo-fi psychedelia, pure pop, and some intangible moments fleshed out with synthesizers and other ambient effects. The song "You Without Me" sounds like it could have come off one of Love's late '60s masterworks while "I See Your Smile" is a jangling, sweetly voiced power-pop stunner. Tracks like "Magnetic Variation" and "Planets and Stars" drift off into more fragmented, spacier territory. Hard to place, just as hard to forget, 38:38 is a reminder of the vast network of possibilities to the those working off the grid.