Index - Black Album / Red Album / Yesterday & Today Mp3

There was a reason this band was paid little attention during the heyday of psychedelic music, with the reason being … they weren’t that original, so derivative in fact that they attempted to channel yet another derivative band, Vanilla Fudge, even finding the presence of mind to venture their own take on the Vanilla Fudge cover of “You Keep Me Hanging On” along with “Eight Miles High” by The Byrds, “Spoonful,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Yesterday and Today,” “Morning Dew” along many others, including The the sappy “New York Mining Disaster” by Bee Gees, and this is all from a band who had but two formal albums released in 1967 and 1968.So why has this band suddenly garnished such attention and praise [?], because of record collectors of course. If there’s money to be made from a passed over band whose records were scarcely distributed, due to the fact that the band self published and the records were seldom saved, then that’s what happens, and in so doing, record companies take note, and in so noting, decide to create a compilation on compact disc for later generations to look back on all wide-eyed and full of wonder. Yet I assure you, that while Index may have had fan base around Detroit, Michigan, that base was severely limited, and any of today’s fans are certainly unwilling to shell out $100US for a sketchy low graded vinyl copy of either of their albums. And if anyone is willing to divest themselves of that amount of money on a record they’re never gonna play, you must understand that it’s all about the bragging rights, the having, and not the music.Sonically, Index sounds smitten with Jimi Hendrix, lacing their work with his signature influences of reverb and fuzz, yet adding touches of surf and drone into the background to set them apart from so many others. With bit of silliness, initially flying under the banner of Chicken Every Sunday (the title of a 1949 romantic comedy) there was no way they were ever going to be taken seriously until they changed that name, though it seems that even that didn’t help. Laying down two albums using the same album title, which are now referred to as The Black Album and The Red Album, (limited to 200 copies each) and if they weren’t derivative enough to begin with, their second release contained differing versions of songs from their first outing.Index were attempting to embrace garage psych, and perhaps in that manner they were successful with loud rhythms, songs drenched in feedback along with fuzzed out guitars suggesting drugged overtones, along with mild political and social stances that came off more as a fashion statement of the times than resounding with an important truth. Yes, there are those who will attempt to walk the cat backwards and suggest that Index were nearly single handedly responsible for the likes of Joy Division and The Fall, yet the sincere truth of the matter is, Index were just doing what they were doing in 1968 and with a mere 400 records pressed, mostly given to friends, no one was hearing these sounds, the music was lost to the wind, while bands with true talent like Joy Division and The Fall, made a name for themselves without every knowing that Index had once walked the planet.Please … in all seriousness, rare records are simply rare, they are not necessarily good, rare record collectors collect rare records, not good rare music.*** The Fun Facts: Those characters featured on the front of the first album jacket, those gents are Orpheus and Bacus, the founding members of the Yale singing club John Ford (guitarist) had joined while attending the school.The DC Record label is in homage to Dwight Conger, who was responsible for helping Index press their records.Review by Jenell Kesler

If we're on the subject of Punk before it's time, then the Michael Yonkers album, Microminiature Love, which was recorded in 1969, is another interesting reference point. This is a really demanding listen, but it has a great integrity, even if not great likeability. The recordings made by Index are worthwhile additions to our knowledge of the era and their intensity is not in question; but that, I believe, is as far as it goes. I don't think we do them justice by burdening them (and others like them) with a level of retrospective criticism which credits their efforts with an artistic capability and ambition that was never present or intended. Their main value is historical rather than musical - and that's worth just as much in its own way.

Good dose of reality. If you grew up on Index, then maybe you love their music as much as Mom's cooking. If you're coming to them fresh in 2020, then unless this is your first time hearing 60's psych, don't expect your world to change. At the time, the use of wah would have been new to many, and their drummer was more Ginger Baker than Ringo. That's the extent of what's interesting here. The songs are recorded live off the floor and you can imagine Index sounded great live. Originals like Shock Wave and Turquoise Feline stand out, dripping in wah and driving beats. The covers are there because many 60's bands identified their sound by association, but these neither add to the originals nor stand tall as their own unique thing. So what you have is the classic band that was appreciated locally, but didn't have the song writing, chops or charisma to break much wider. The Remains make a good contrast. They leaned even heavier on covers, but had the skill and sound to make them their own. They used effects but that wasn't the only trick in the bag. The vocals were stronger and all around, they were a tighter band. And yet, even with a slot opening for the Beatles' American tour, it didn't take long to fade from popular memory. In the long run they're remembered as a band that had the opportunity to be America's version of The Stones, but didn't follow through. Index never even earned the opportunity. It's great they're still appreciated, but that memory will fade. Unless you buy the argument that their version of "atonal rock" makes them a one-off example of post-punk a decade before punk emerged, which doesn't explain their later restyling as folk influenced by the harmonies of the Bee Gees and CSNY. In the end the best advice is to give them a listen before deciding if they're worth the bucks. They deserve a footnote for breaking some ground, but 50+ years on it's okay to realize they were merely good players with new toys who had a lot of fun and then moved on to university and day jobs.

One star? that's ridiculous. You're entitled to your opinion, of course. Still, I do find it surprising that you exert this much energy debunking what you see as a false mythology, while at the same time not bothering to do any factual contextualizing to your claim that "bands with true talent like Joy Division and The Fall, made a name for themselves without every knowing that Index had once walked the planet." I'm also surprised that you know so much about the listening and record buying habits of the members of those two groups. The existence of a Voxx label bootleg of Index material is perhaps unknown to you. That record was certainly available at a time when members of those bands were cutting their teeth on the sounds which propelled them forwards in their own groups. Factually, that Voxx LP was widely available in the UK at the time in question.Index have not "suddenly" gained anything. They have been of interest to musicians and music lovers for as long as I can remember—certainly since the 1980's, when many psychedelic era bands were rediscovered. There are few copies of Index originals, yes, and they go for thousands of dollars. So what? I fail to see how "record collectors" could create large demand and an over-large sense of importance for the music on the two original Index albums. That might have been possible twenty years ago, when even hearing a track of a rare record was difficult. But in the internet age, one can sample virtually any music ever recorded, and for free. This has resulted in many once-lauded bands hitting the scrap-heap of history. In the case of other bands, Index included—or albums, such as the Morgen album on Probe, or Linda Perhacs on Kapp—the greater accessibility to their sounds has raised the stature of one-time obscurities to heights which apparently cause you discomfort. But I for one don't share your queasiness. Index made music which was edgy and unusual for the time in which it was made. It was not radio music, therefore not "popular" music, in the vein of the artists they admired (Jimi Hendrix, the Byrds). That seems immaterial to me. It jives with the thought that they fit more comfortably in a world of post-punk bands who were better informed about the use of noise and feedback and dissonance than were most bands of the 1960's. Index have some fierce tracks. Their compositions are unusual. Their excellence can be decided by others; the ultimate arbiter is time. So far, time and history say that index were an important, overlooked (because obscure) band. They were droning, murky and introspective; and they explored the atonal side of late 1960's rock that would leave the most lasting impression on those who would eventually become punk, post-punk and indie rock. Terrific stuff.I felt compelled to reply to your post because your opinion being the only one expressed here gave it undue weight, and a false sense of authority it doesn't deserve. As I said, I respect your right to your own opinion. But if you're going to post those opinions, it seems best to be rigorous and accurate... and fair-minded.