Egon at Stones Throw has unearthed yet another amazing rarity, this one being down right mythical. During the late-'60s, Stark Reality was an ensemble

Egon at Stones Throw has unearthed yet another amazing rarity, this one being down right mythical. During the late-'60s, Stark Reality was an ensemble led by vibe player Monty Stark. Stark was a musical contributor at Boston's PBS television affiliate WGBH, where he met Hoagy Bix Carmichael, an ex-stock broker who was now volunteering as a producer at the same station. Carmichael was also the son of famed music composer Hoagy Carmichael and always looking for new ways to keep his father's music alive. He approached Stark with the idea of reinterpreting his father's children's songs in an educational program meant to introduce kids to music concepts, but the result was mind-blowing and to this day almost indescribable. There's a heavy psychedelic fuzz present that creates a magical tension between four amazing players who perform with a sort of Canterbury feel mixed with heavy funk and free jazz rhythms -- kind of Soft Machine meets Funkadelic. Stark played through a series of fuzz tones and pedals, his super-distorted vibe melodies, wah guitars and slippery bass lines gives the feel of an LSD trip in Toyland. Together, Stark Reality created music that cannot be duplicated, but has since become a very important source of sounds to the hip hop world, their songs being sampled by the likes of Pete Rock, J-Live, Madlib, and Large Professor. These days the original album can fetch upwards of $500 on e-Bay. "Now" contains additional outtakes and is absolutely one of if not this year's best re-issue. If you haven't already heard this classic, you'll want to check it out. [GH/DH] (May 7, 2003)