Sam Gopal – Escalator

Really interesting reissue of a psych classic. Sam Gopal redubbed his tabla throughout and added reverb to the original tracks to make it meld better(you can tell the tabla tracks he added). Interesting how it’s branded unofficial despite band involvement…wonder if the Lemmy estate or Morgan Blue Town (who has reissued it) were the reason why.

Overall a good reissue/remix, probably the best sonically you’ll come across. Recommended for sure. If you look past the redubbed tabla and added reverb, this might be the best sounding reissue you'll find (the Get Back and MBT reissues have heavy digital noise reduction, the 80s boots are decent). My only complaint is it’s a bit noisy, perhaps not pressed on the best vinyl (though it’s my understanding the original Stable release doesn’t sound incredible either).

Word of warning though: copies don’t crop up often, I waited about a year for one to be listed here before I could snag a copy.

This reissue was licensed by Sam Gopal himself (who was the tabla player, the band was only his backing group). Obviously, he felt that his instrument was buried in the mix on the original release, which it somewhat is. The tablas are much more prominent here than on the original pressings but the sound is thinner and much less brutal (the guitar is much less dominant) than on my UK original. Nevertheless, this is as good as it gets at the moment if you are looking for a reissue of this monster.