Jun 25, 2008

CRIPPLED PILGRIMS head down hand out (US, fountain of youth, 1984)


Circa 1983-84 was a blooming time for America` s 60`s garage psych folk revival movement and all the consequenced arguing about the necessity and authenticity of it. HEAD DOWN HAND OUT , the amazing debut mini LP of Washington DC `s CRIPPLED PILGRIMS arrived then just in time to obscure both questions & answers, and make any conversation about a vanity!
Jay Moglia, genious composer of the band (the rest personel was Scott Wingo, Mitch Parker -bass, Dan Joseph - drums), draws the perfect balance between yesterday and today(1984), between post punk impetus and folk mysticism, between sound delirium and melancholic forces tight and controlled to last for a lifetime.


Head Down Hand Out is an album you get addicted to listen again and again, as if behind the near and there layers there are always new spaces you can never reach. If our brain has recepting departments for ecstasy the music brings, i can not tell how many of those mind cells this album has burnt inside mine.



Unfortunately CRIPPLED PILGRIMS was a very short lived band. By 1985 they had already disbanded. They left behind one more (inferior than this) LP "Under Water" (1985, Fountain of Youth).

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok I was addicted by this when it came out and now you please bring it back to me. Why this requires special request? Is an unknown diamond it's worth to share it.
DIMITRIS

Max said...

Thanks for what looks like a great post (I haven't listened yet). I'd contact you personally, as requested, but I don't see an email on your blogger profile and am loathe to leave my email address on the blog. Thanks, also, for a great blog in general.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing. My e-mail is demetris60@yahoo.gr.
DIMITRIS

sukoto said...

Two of the guys in Crippled Pilgrims (Jay Moglia and Scott Wingo) are currently in a band called Rambling Shadows! They are excellent. A bit harder rocking than Crippled Pilgrims but still excellent. They just released a CD called "The Tools and the Stuff" Here are some web pages:
Rambling Shadows Home Page
Rambling Shadows Myspace Page

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Anonymous said...

I happen to own the BLUE vinyl Under Water LP from 1985 and I love it!
I'm going to find out soon if this first album by the CPs is as good as that one.
Fingers crossed!

paramo said...

we have a blue vinyl copy of "Under Water", too.
The first mini LP though, is far the best, we think.

Anonymous said...

i have their second album,'black and white',and is one of my top 5 of all time.they are super!.i remember i had order the lp to the guy on the recordstore,and then i was waiting for months till he was going personally to america and bring back the orders we had made.when i brought it back at home i was smelling it and touching the papers for 10 mins before i play it.Were other times!And consider that i am from greece.how strange for them to have funs so far away!

paramo said...

my best pre-listening smelling records record is only nine minutes. It seems you have won!

Anonymous said...

There's never been a better band!!

Anonymous said...

It is obvious that the entire world is ignorant about this GREAT band, with the exception of a few folks in their home area, Maryland and Wash. DC, and a few more in Greece, them probably because all six tracks of their debut where aired by Chris D. The rest of humanity must have bumped upon those ironic and terrible reviews written by the usual established idiots.

thewog

paramo said...

Crippled Pilgrims "Head Down Hand Out" is now reuped!

sukoto said...

I was the guitarist in Crippled Pilgrims. I appreciate all the "Head Down, Hand Out" accolades, but from my perspective, "Under Water" is the better disc. It was much closer to what we were really about. "Head Down" is nice (especially side 2), but "Under Water" is more true.