Philip John Lewin - Diamond Love and Other Realities (1976)

..The a-side here is late-nite loungey 70s SSW fare with a jazzy/funky flare done to perfection. in some strange time-space filter it comes out sounding vividly real vs. dated/cheesy. He lets the tracks really drift... i haven't heard alot of stuff like this. Side 2 is a bit folkier - A Friend of Mine / Hanging Around Waiting are both shorter songs in a Dylan-ish angry folk mold and kinda of break the spell you're under after the stoney looseness that leads up to it. He gets back to it on "Other Realities" and "Drummers Lament" and over-all its a pretty spooky record. The guy is definitely a head, and definitely a weird cat and I really dig where he took this ethereal midnight spaced lounge jazz stuff. Like Justen O'Brien + Jake it quickly becomes a much heavier record than you had initially imagined... Toni, the gal vocalist is fabulously cool and lets notes go flat and plays it stoned natural realness. Like tripping with your middle aged neighbor after he's been through a divorce. Mature and sensitive but still pretty weird....Most unusual and relaxed but twilight zone mix of smooth but not slick lounge jazzy sounds with off key at times vocal, female voice weaving through, cool organ that gets mystical, the opening track "Fear Of Flying: is particularly eerie. Like a soak in a surreal hot tub. Private pressing on Gargoyle records from Canada. Mentioned in Acid Archives.

Credits:
* Acoustic Guitar – Phil Lewin (tracks: 04)
* Artwork By [Cever Concept], Photography – John Brokaw
* Artwork By [Cover Design, Lettering], Photography [Manny Miller] – Rob MacIntyre
* Bass – Wyatt MacDonald
* Composed By, Lyrics By, Piano, Organ, Vocals – Phil Lewin
* Drums – Manny Miller (tracks: A1 to B1, B3 to B4), Ray Mizzoni (tracks: B2)
* Engineer – Barry McVicker (tracks: A1 to B1, B3, B5), Nick Schefter (tracks: B1, B2, B4)
* Guitar [Lead] – Brian Gauci
* Vocals – Toni Hoyland

Track List:
01. Fear Of Flying
02. Don't Ever Tell Me To Leave
03. Diamond Love
04. A Friend Of Mine
05. I Ain't No Fool
06. Hanging Around And Waiting
07. Other Realities
08. Drummer's Lament

ACÁ