'Michael Oosten is a breath of fresh air, his music is real, from the heart, and tells of those everyday experiences we all find ourselves in at different stages of our lives....' Roger Maglio, Gear Fab Records 'I dropped the needle on a random point of this album [original 1973/74 vinyl] for all of about 2 seconds before taking it off the toy turntable at Flipville Records and throwing the LP into my keeper sack. From the hand-screened cover to the hand-drawn back, visually this is exactly the kind of record I look for. Musically speaking, I could hear instantly that something intriguing was going on. Back home, hearing this record in its' entirety for the first time on a dark late winter afternoon, it was the drone-ish guitars and austere backing vocals of 'Garden' that first struck me. They weave an amazing atmosphere through Michael's strangely cadenced melodies, reminiscent of Syd Barrett, but with a distinctly rural Midwestern sense of pacing. The second side of the LP ['Hungry Horse Montana' and 'Wavefaring Boy' for the vinyl impaired] further cemented a 'style' or 'sound' entirely unique to Michael. I decided to try and find this fellow Wisconsinite the same afternoon, hoping that he hadn't gone the way of the Crazy Diamond! To this end, I was really shocked to find a well, 'normal' sounding guy on the other end of the phone. Speaking to him about the trials and tribulations of making this record, I couldn't help but think how viable and vibrant art can come from the most unlikely of locales [Cazenovia, WI anyone?] and in many cases age more gracefully than it's well financed and cosmopolitan counterparts. Here is one such example! Thanks Michael, Andy Noble Kings Go Forth August 10th, 2010 One of the most hypnotic folk albums we've ever heard – far from any sort of conventional folk of the 60s, and more in a moody style of 70s singer-songwriter material from the underground – yet graced with these acoustic guitar lines that ebb and flow wonderfully – creating a circular feel alongside the vocals, with the same sort of energy we might find in the work of Sandy Bull! Michael Oosten's music is more lyric-based, but even his smart words know the right points to give way to the guitar – and let its elliptical lines flow forth and really bring the tunes home. The original album's a real Midwestern obscurity – but it's the sort that also should have gotten much wider circulation at the time, due to the quality of the music. Titles include "Hey Babe", "Garden", "Sunny Day", "Wave Faring Boy", and "Hungry Horse Montana". (Limited to 500 – with a heavy cover and great booklet too. Hand silk-screened jackets, using the original screens!) © 1996-2013, Dusty Groove, Inc. Customer Reviews Wicked Good Stuff! by Robinmixmasters This absolutely ROCKS! Oost"takes you far away and entertains with his ability at the same time. Folk,ClassicAlternative Rock,Blues,with some Punkness mixed in and even Zappa The guitar is on fire! Keep smokin! Thanks,Mike. From Permanent Records: GREAT record and one we hadn't heard before! Oosten's got a woozy, yet deliberate delivery that reminds us of the poetic and abstract, lysergic coffeehouse strummings of Rodriguez ruminated in the delivery of Michael Chapman circa "Fully Qualified Survivor" - hazy, righteous and a liiiiiiiiiiil' bit stoned. It's mostly Oosten's show, just him and a guitar with accompaniment on one or two tracks from piano, upright bass and a guest vocalist. Raw, engaging and f**kin' RARE. Originally issued by Oosten himself in an edition of 500 copies (which according to Oosten in the liners, many of which were of varying degrees of play-ability) and housed in hand-screened covers by Oosten and a buddy. Believe it or not, but the ORIGINAL SCREENS were used once again for this Lion edition! Crazy! Pressed up on heavy-duty 180gm vinyl and remastered from the source this puppy looks and sounds BETTER than the OG, we'd reckon! If you like a lil' folk in your face, you could do a lot worse! RECOMMENDED fer sure, but don't snooze - it's supes limited to 500 copies! FOLK'in A!