A Cid Symphony - A Cid Symphony FLAC

A Cid Symphony, which of course is another way of saying Acid Symphony, in praise of the lysergic that so much was being washed with in one form or another during the mid 60’s, yet with founder Dustin Miller firmly insisting that ‘Cid’ meant ‘King’ referring the King or Creator of the Universe, though all of the early members admit to having been graduates of the initial Acid Tests. All of this, at the time where perhaps A Cid Symphony was the first low-fi group of its day, though if asked by anyone who was there then, as the band crashed the Monterey Folk Festival, playing on the grounds for free, most people would have heard an eclectic collection of music strung together, a mixture of drifting light acoustic hippy folk-rock mellowness, with a bit of weirdness around the edges to keep people from drifting off and holding their attention. Without question, the band’s style was an ethnic blend of acid folk with raga like mild droning that was designed to induce a flowing effect that included instruments such as guitar, the dulcimer, tamboura, bells, and yes, even yodeling.

Being reissued as a two disc set on the Gearfab label (Catalog Number GF-135), the group seemed to be heavily influenced by John Fahey and others who created more atmospheric music that was based around the simplification of sound, moving to present things on a more elemental basis, with a gentleness that spoke to their communal flower-child outlook and way of living. The band’s members came from odd backgrounds, with founding member Dustin Miller rising out of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and had a degree in Library Science, Deborah Cleall, like Grace Slick of The Jefferson Airplane, had been a model, while Denise Kaufman was one of the original (on the bus) Merry Pranksters, who founded the Thermal Flash Record label, and it was Max Weiss of Fantasy Records who was responsible for the band finding their way to Fantasy Studios where they released this triple vinyl monstrosity, with each record being a different colour, and sold rather haphazardly on the streets, at shows, from the backs of magazines like Rolling Stone, and in head shops across the Bay area. By no means should A Cid Symphony be considered without formal talent, because both Charles Ewing (Flamenco guitar) and Ernie Fischback (the Sarod) studied and had musical degrees in Hindustani music from Ali Akbar College in San Francisco, though whether that’s all about the music or a philosophy as well, is difficult to discern.

It’s hard to tell if this was music for the sake of music, or if this album was released in order to support the communal nature of the band, though perhaps it’s better to describe them as a collective family, where they would feed everyone who attended their often free events, embracing the core elements of the Digger lifestyle through the idea of “All You Need Is Love” generosity. An interesting side note is that after the band dissolved, the members continued to live together as an extended communal family.

This was a release very much in and of its time, it was an immersion, an experience, and with that in mind, hearing it as part of a compact disc compilation will not do the experience justice. Yes, the vinyl currently sells for about $500US, and while it’s not music you’re going to dive headlong into time and time again, to that end I would certainly invite anyone to sit comfortably as I spin the vinyl for you.

*** The Fun Facts: The original issue contained three LP's on colored vinyl with separate printed inner sleeves on which photos of the group appeared. The cardboard front cover was mostly pink, and printed on heavy poster-board with rounded corners, along with rounded and a gold card attached through a hole at the top for hanging. The colored front cover was done by Les Chipnuck, a crazed 60's psychedelic artist. The back cover featured a photo of an Afghan turban cap, often described as "The Mandala Cover". Some copies also included concert flyers. The record labels were painted by friend Marston Schultz, who was a filmmaker and amateur architect. A mere 1000 copies were printed.

This 1967 108 minute classic triple LP recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley came in yellow, purple, and green vinyl, was packaged in an open-top polyethylene bag. Other versions of this collection cut the album down to a mere 82 minutes in length.

Review by Jenell Kesler