''Fugs 4, Rounders Score'' is a 1975
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
of material by
The Fugs
The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...
and
The Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music revival ...
, including seven previously unreleased performances from the Fugs' first recording session (April 1965), when the Rounders (
Peter Stampfel
Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter.
Stampfel is best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with ...
and
Steve Weber
Steven P. Weber (June 22, 1943 – February 7, 2020) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Weber is best known as member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with Pete ...
) were members of the Fugs' band. The title is both a reference to Abraham Lincoln's
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech that President of the United States, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, Soldiers' National Cemetery, ...
("Four score and seven years ago...), and the fact that this is the fourth album of Fugs material released on ESP, as well as a pun on "score" as drug slang. Although all recordings were made under the umbrella of the Fugs, the 6 lead vocals by Stampfel and Weber on Side A allow the album to function as a Rounders compilation as well. There is a notable and unusual lack of lead vocalizing by Ed Sanders, the most prominent vocalist on all other Fugs albums.
The LP was released on ESP Disc (ESP 2018), probably without the foreknowledge or permission of the musicians.
One of the previously unreleased tracks ("Defeated") was later re-released as a bonus track on the CD version of
The Village Fugs.
Track listing
Side one
#"Boobs a Lot" (
Steve Weber
Steven P. Weber (June 22, 1943 – February 7, 2020) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Weber is best known as member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with Pete ...
) – 2:13
#"Romping Through The Swamp" (
Peter Stampfel
Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter.
Stampfel is best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with ...
) – 2:32
#"Defeated" (Kupferberg) – 2:30
#"Crowley Waltz" (Traditional) – 1:42
#"Fiddler a Dram" (Traditional) – 2:32
#"
Fishing Blues
"Fishing Blues" (also "Fishin' Blues") is a blues song written in 1911 by Chris Smith, who is best known for "Ballin' the Jack". "Fishing Blues" was first recorded in 1928 by "Ragtime Texas" Henry Thomas on vocals and guitar with the intr ...
" (Traditional) – 1:56
#"New Amphetamine Shriek (Stampfel) – 2:24
#"Jackoff Blues" (Kupferberg) – 1:52
Side two
#"I Couldn't Get High" (
Ken Weaver) – 2:01
#"Slum Goddess" (Weaver) – 1:55
#"Caca Rocka" (Kupferberg) – 1:30
#"CIA Man" (Kupferberg) – 2:48
#"Kill for Peace" (
Tuli Kupferberg
Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, cartoonist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs.
Biography
Naphtali Kupferberg was born into a Jewish, Yi ...
) – 2:07
#"Morning, Morning" (Kupferberg) – 2:07
#"Virgin Forest Excerpt" (Alderson, Crabtree, Sanders) – 5:23
Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 on side A: recorded April 1965, and previously unreleased.
Tracks 1 on side A and track 1, 2 on side B from ''
The Fugs First Album
''The Fugs First Album'' is the 1965 debut album by American rock band the Fugs, described in their AllMusic profile as "arguably the first underground rock group of all time". In 1965, the album charted #142 on Billboard's " Top Pop Albums" cha ...
''.
Tracks 3 and 4 on side B from ''
Virgin Fugs''. (Note: Cover notes notwithstanding, it is an alternate take of A7 that appears on ''Virgin Fugs.'')
Tracks 5, 6, 7, side B From ''
The Fugs
The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...
''.
Tracks 2, 4, 5 and 6 on side A feature only Stampfel and Weber.
Track 1 and 7 on side A feature lead vocals by Weber and/or Stampfel, making them arguably
Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music revival ...
recordings as well as
Fugs
The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...
recordings.
Personnel
Performance
*
Ed Sanders
Edward Sanders (born August 17, 1939) is an American poet, singer, activist, author, publisher and longtime member of the rock band the Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and hippie generations. Sanders is considered to have bee ...
– vocals
*
Tuli Kupferberg
Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, cartoonist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs.
Biography
Naphtali Kupferberg was born into a Jewish, Yi ...
–
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
, vocals
*
Ken Weaver –
conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
,
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, vocals
*
Steve Weber
Steven P. Weber (June 22, 1943 – February 7, 2020) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Weber is best known as member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with Pete ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Peter Stampfel
Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter.
Stampfel is best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with ...
–
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
,
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
, vocals
*Vinny Leary – bass,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, vocals
*John Anderson –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*Lee Crabtree –
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
celeste,
bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
s
*Pete Kearney –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
*Betsy Klein (?) – vocals
Production
*
Ed Sanders
Edward Sanders (born August 17, 1939) is an American poet, singer, activist, author, publisher and longtime member of the rock band the Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and hippie generations. Sanders is considered to have bee ...
– producer,
*
Harry Smith – producer
*Richard Alderson, Engineer
Additional sources
The Fugs Store: The Fugs First Album
References
{{Authority control
The Fugs albums
1975 albums
ESP-Disk albums
Albums produced by Ed Sanders
The Holy Modal Rounders albums
Collaborative albums