''Orgasm'' (later reissued as ''Cave Rock'') is the only

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

band Cromagnon, released in 1969 by the

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

record label.

Background and recording

''Orgasm'' was recorded at A-1 Sound Studio in the

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in 1969.

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

technique, of which producer Brian Elliot was a fan, heavily influenced the album's sound. During recording, band members brought in random people from the street and asked them to contribute to the album. On the album's conception, band member Sal Salgado recalled:

Musical style

Critics have noted how ''Orgasm'' anticipated the rise of

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and no wave genres that came into existence in the following decades.Kelly, Jennife
"Cromagnon – Cave Rock"
. ''Dusted Reviews'', 29 June 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2011. Alex Henderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the track "Caledonia" as sounding "like it could be a

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Revolting Cocks Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American-Belgian industrial rock band, and sometimes supergroup, that began as a musical side project for Richard23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. History 1984: Origin ...

recording from 1989 rather than a psychedelic recording from 1969." Another critic, describing the album, said:

Release and legacy

''Orgasm'' was originally released in 1969. The album was released onto CD in 1993 and was re-released three more times, in 2000, 2005 and 2009. Music author Jason Weiss wrote that the album "eventually developed a minor

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

and was hailed as a pioneer in

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throug ...

experiments". AllMusic's Alex Henderson writes of the album: "Depending on one's point of view, ''Cave Rock'' is either a ridiculously self-indulgent artifact of the '60s counterculture or an underground gem that was way ahead of its time – and it's probably a little bit of both." Jennifer Kelly of ''Dusted Reviews'' agrees with Henderson, writing "There’s a palpable fog of self-indulgence hanging over the whole enterprise, a sense of weirdness for weirdness’ sake and lack of discipline or structure. Still, there’s no question that Cromagnon achieved something remarkable in its strange concoction of noise, spoken word, folk, electronics and field recordings."

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

ranked the song "Caledonia" at number 163 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". In 2007, the Japanese band

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

covered the track "Caledonia" for their album '' In Stormy Nights''.

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Orgasm'':Cromagnon – Cave Rock.
ESP-Disk

Band

*Austin Grasmere (lead vocals, music) *Brian Elliot (lead vocals, music) Connecticut Tribe: *Peter Bennett (bass guitar) *Jimmy Bennett (guitar, bagpipes) *Vinnie Howley (guitar) *Sal Salgado (percussion) *Nelle Tresselt (honorary tribe member) *Mark Payuk (vocals) *Gary Leslie (vocals, multi-sound effects)

References

External links

Interview with members of Cromagnon on the making of ''Cave Rock''
{{Authority control 1969 albums ESP-Disk albums Cromagnon (band) albums Outsider music albums Sound collage albums Noise music albums by American artists