Garage rock / psychedelic rock band, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, active in between the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. Reunited again in the 1990s. Released a "Holy Grail" album of psych rock music in 1969 with Trip Thru Hell.
The C.A. Quintet, from Minnesota, USA, was a psychedelic rock band active in the late 1960s. They failed to gain national attention during their heyday (all their records were locally produced in Minneapolis and none had national distribution).
Their only LP released during the band's existence, Trip Thru Hell, sold fewer than 1000 copies and was virtually unheard of outside of their home town. Despite its minuscule initial distribution, the record slowly gained worldwide popularity over the next twenty years among fans, collectors and musicians.
Due to increasing demand, it was re-released in the early 1980s on poor quality unauthorized copies which were illegally sold by several bootleg companies.
Then the original album was released on an authorized CD in 1994 on the Sundazed record label which included their singles and some unreleased material.
A live album was released in 1986 of their last performance as a group, re-released in 2006 with additional material .… An original 1969 Candy Floss release of this album sold in 2014 for $5655. They now have an Artist Channel on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/CAQuintet
There's not much to compare this album to, even in the weird musical climate of 1968 -- there are echoes of Country Joe & The Fish and the Doors, perhaps, in the mysterioso organ and morbid imagery. Not that Ken Erwin was in the same league as Jim Morrison, or even Country Joe, as a songwriter.
But (with the exception of the brassy good-time cut "Underground Music"), psychedelia was very rarely this dementedly gloomy.
Occasional pealing bells and curdling screams (to say nothing of the Boschlike cover art) add to the foggy underworld menace. Reissued without authorization in Europe in the 1980s, the 1995 domestic CD is a first-class job: the 12 bonus cuts gather some rare non-LP singles, alternate takes, and previously unreleased songs, and the liner notes feature extensive interviews with Ken Erwin and engineer Steve Longman.
C. A. Quintet – Trip Thru Hell
Label: Sundazed Music – SC 11021, Sundazed Music – SUNDAZED SC 11021
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1995
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Trip Thru Hell (Part 1) 9:09
(Drums [Solo] – Rick Patron/Written-By – D. Reynolds, K. Erwin)
02. Colorado Mourning 2:31
03. Cold Spider 4:41
04. Underground Music 4:43
05. Sleepy Hollow Lane 2:04
06. Smooth As Silk 2:12
(Drums – Paul Samuels)
07. Trip Thru Hell (Part 2) 3:40
Bonus Tracks
08. Dr. Of Philosophy 2:09
09. Blow To My Soul 1:59
10. Ain't No Doubt About It 2:31
11. Mickey's Monkey 2:26
(Written-By – Holland-Dozier-Holland)
12. I Put A Spell On You 2:47
(Written-By – J. Hawkins)
13. I Shot The King 2:22
14. Fortune Teller's Lie 2:09
15. Sadie Lavone 2:49
16. Bury Me In A Marijuana Field 2:11
17. Colorado Mourning 2:13
18. Underground Music 2:08
19a. Smooth As Silk 2:12
19b. C. A. Quintet & Stillroven Radio Ad [Hidden Track] 1:08
CREDITS
Artwork [Original] – Rod Eaton
Artwork [Package Design] – Jeff Smith (
Backing Vocals – Toni Crocket (tracks: 1 to 7)
Bass, Vocals – Jim Erwin (tracks: 1 to 7)
Drums – Rick Johnson (tracks: 1 to 5, 7)
Engineer – Darrell "Arv" Arvidson (tracks: 8 to 19)
Engineer [Original Recording] – Steve Longman (tracks: 1 to 7)
Guitar – Tom Pohling (tracks: 1 to 7)
Interviewer [Interview Conductor] – Jim Oldsberg
Keyboards, Vocals – Doug Reynolds (tracks: 1 to 7)
Liner Notes – Steve Longman
Mastered By – Bob Irwin, Vic Anesini
Other [Masters And Acetates Provided By] – Clark Besch, Dave Dean, Ken Erwin, Steve Longman
Reissue Producer – Bob Irwin
Trumpet, Lead Vocals, Producer [Original Album] – Ken Erwin (tracks: 1 to 7)
Written-By – D. S. Sandler (tracks: 9), K. Erwin (tracks: 2 to 8, 10, 13 to 19)
The Scans are from the original CD, not from Discogs.
MP3 @ 320 Size: 161 MB
Flac Size: 265 MB