Sagittarius (2) – Present Tense

This is a fantastic CD and well worth a listen. If you are a fan of Curt Boettcher and/or Gary Usher, you need to get this CD. Since I purchased it, I have listened to it well over fifty times. Sixties music at its best!

Don't be put off by the 'soft rock' style listed above, for this is far from it. Rather, 1968's "Present Tense", the first of two LP's by the studio project Sagittarius, is an excellent psychedelic pop / baroque pop album, with beautiful orchestrations and excellent (almost angelic) harmonies. The brainchild of Gary Usher (famed surf-turned Columbia in-house producer) and Curt Boettcher (whom Usher brought on board after the "My World Fell Down" 45 was recorded - that 45 features Glen Campbell on lead vocals), the album did fairly well at the time, although not nearly as well in sales as the "My World Fell Down" 45 did when it was released in 1967.

The LP is a mix of newly-recorded studio tracks, and some leftovers from another Boettcher project, the Ballroom (who issued a lone 45 on Warner Bros. in 1967). The Ballroom consisted of several members, including Boettcher and Sandy Salisbury (who also was involved in another Boettcher production, the self-titled LP by the Millennium on Columbia), and all members of the Ballroom (and some members of the Millennium) provide backing vocals and other assistance on the album.

Sundazed did a top-notch job with this reissue, including not only the "My World Fell Down" & "Hotel Indiscreet" 45's (both 45's, which were issued before the LP, are different edits - Columbia made Usher take out portions of each song for the LP), but a smattering of unreleased tracks, some of which are truly great. "Get The Message" is an excellent tune, albeit one that missed the cut. "Mass #586" is an interesting song that featured multi-tracked vocals of Usher (one of few songs on this CD where you can only hear him - Boettcher did much of the vocals on the LP) and a member of the Firesign Theater (who Usher discovered, and managed to use in several of his Columbia projects/productions). And perhaps my favorite bonus track, "Lonely Girl" features vocals by Salisbury, and is a perfect song.

The liner notes are most detailed, and features segments of an interview with Usher, and comments from Boettcher, both of whom unfortunately passed away in the late 1980's and early 1990's, before their projects gained as much of a following as they have now. This reissue would have done both of them proud.

One final thing - the only tracks not included on this CD are the B-Sides to both Sagittarius Columbia 45's - they were just lifted from an LP that Usher put together for Columbia, titled "The Astrology Album", and were not a part of the Sagittarius project (hence their non-inclusion).