In the last few months, Real Gone Music has announced a number of welcome reissues of soundtracks on LP.  Next up in the series are two soundtracks to hard-to-find films, due out February 1:  one by a countercultural hero and voice of experimentation, the other by a pair of Faces who explore a rural blend of folk-rock.

Timothy Leary remains one of the legends of the sixties counterculture scene.  He cashed in on the hippies’ sense of adventure and experimentation to become a spokesperson for LSD, in particular.  In 1967, Leary, his partner Rosemary, and his fellow adventurer Ralph Metzner created a film called Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out.  The film presumably documents an LSD trip undertaken by Metzner, although the film rarely, if ever, showed in theaters so the jury’s out on the content.  Nevertheless, Mercury Records released a soundtrack, also entitled Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out. Not to be confused with the spoken word album of the same name that arrived on the ESP-Disk label in 1966, the Mercury title is more than just Leary’s raps.  The soundtrack also features groovy, “East-meets-West” accompaniment with a blend of guitar, the Indian tabla and veena, as well as sound effects and musique concrete elements.  Over the course of the 10 tracks, Leary guides Metzner through the steps of a trip, reflecting on the body, memory, and his cellular evolutionary origins.  Rosemary Leary, meanwhile, acts as a “divine connection,” echoing Leary’s sentiments.  Real Gone’s version of the far-out album will be pressed on “kaleidoscope” red, blue, and green vinyl and is limited to 1,600 copies.

On the same day, Real Gone will release the soundtrack to the film Mahoney’s Last Stand, featuring a soundtrack by The Faces’ Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane.  Though the film and its soundtrack were produced in 1972–Wood and Lane cut the tracks in between sessions for Ooh La La–neither production saw the light of day until 1976.  The low-budget film, entitled Mahoney’s Estate in the U.S., starred Alexis Kanner, Sam Wasterson, and Maud Adams and tracked the life of Mahoney (Kanner) as he “went back to the land,” retiring from his urban life to one of self-sufficient farming in the Canadian countryside.

Though the film was a flop and apparently only screened once, the soundtrack LP has remained something of a cult release, due in part to the immense talent that performed on it.  The 1972 sessions were produced by Glyn Johns and feature Pete Townshend, session bassist/ex-Blind Faith member Ric Grech, fellow Faces Ian MacLagan and Kenney Jones, as well as Rolling Stones friends Ian Stewart, Bobby Keys, and Jim Price.  The result was a collection of songs that are at times rocking and funky and at others distinctly rural.

While this missing piece in Wood and Lane’s careers has appeared a few times on CD over the years (including from Real Gone), this version marks its first-ever U.S. vinyl reissue.  The title will be limited to 700 copies and will be pressed on green vinyl.

You can get your copy of Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out and Mahoney’s Last Stand on February 1.  So check out the track list and pre-order with the links below!

Timothy Leary, Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (originally Mercury LP SR 61131, 1967 — reissued Real Gone Music, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side One

1. Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
2. Trip: The Turn On
3. Trip: The Tune In
4. Trip: The Beginning of the Voyage (Heart Chakra)
5. Trip: Root Chakra
6. Trip: All Girls Are Yours
7. Trip: Freak Out

Side Two

1. Trip: Freak Out (Continued) / Genetic Memory
2. Trip: Re-Entry (Nirvana)
3. Trip: Epilogue (Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out)

Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane, Mahoney’s Last Stand (originally Atco LP SD 36-126, 1976 — reissued Real Gone Music, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side One

1. Tonight’s Number
2. From the Late to the Early
3. Chicken Wire
4. Chicken Wired
5. I’ll Fly Away
6. Title One
7. Just for a Moment (Instrumental)

1. “Mona” The Blues
2. Car Radio
3. Hay Tumble
4. Woody’s Thing
5. Rooster Funeral
6. Just for a Moment