Indian War Whoop

by The Holy Modal Rounders

Overview

Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber obviously loved American folk music as much as any of the kids who had their head turned around by Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music in the 1950s, but unlike the many musicians who paid tribute to America's musical past by trying to re-create it as closely as possible, as The Holy Modal Rounders Stampfel and Weber opted to drag the music into the present, shrieking and giggling all the way. Even by the standards of The Holy Modal Rounders' first two albums, 1967's Indian War Whoop is a thoroughly bizarre listening experience; loosely structured around the between-song adventures of two seedy vagabonds named Jimmy and Crash, side one veers back and forth between neo-psychedelic fiddle-and-guitar freakouts and free-form (and often radically altered) interpretations of traditional folk tunes such as "Soldier's Joy" and "Sweet Apple Cider," while side two is devoted to like minded originals (including a couple songs from their friend Michael Hurley, who would later join the group). Most certainly a product of its time, Indian War Whoop sounds rather dated today, but its buoyant good humor and chemically-altered enthusiasm remains effective, even when the Rounders' reckless pursuit of inner space sounds like it was more fun to create than to observe on record. [The Calibre CD reissue features expanded liner notes, and while no bonus tracks have been added, the digital remastering sounds terrific.] ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	03/03/2023
Label:	Don Giovanni / Hello Records
UPC:	0634457069855
Rank:	104381

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Holy Modal Rounders   Primary Artist
Barbara   Vocals
Wendy   Vocals
Steve Weber   Guitar,Vocals
Peter Stampfel   Banjo,Fiddle,Violin,Vocals,Electric Fiddle
Lee Crabtree   Organ,Piano
Sam Shepard   Drums
Ken Crabtree   Keyboards
Antonia   Vocals
Sam Shephard   Drums
Theda Barbara   Vocals

Technical Credits

Hoyt "Floyd" Ming   Composer
Steve Weber   Arranger,Composer
Luke Jordan   Composer
Peter Stampfel   Arranger,Composer,Liner Notes
Howard "Howie" Bernstein   Artwork,Cover Art,Cover Design
Traditional   Composer
Antonia Duren   Composer
Richard Alderson   Engineer
Michael Hurley   Composer
Bernard Stollman   Liner Notes
Tom Abbs   Production Coordination
Douglas McGregor   Digital Remastering
Miles Bachman   Design,Layout Design
Urban Gwerder   Liner Notes
David Gahr   Photography
Michael Sanzone   Design,Layout Design