Nirvana / Songlife 1967-1972 limited edition 6LP vinyl box set

The output of late Sixties pop-rock band Nirvana is collected in Songlife 1967-1972, a highly limited 6LP vinyl box set that comes with a print SIGNED by the band.

Nirvana were essentially the duo of Irishman Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Greek Alex Spyropoulos – who, following a chance meeting in London during the summer of 1966, took a long, strange trip together. The pair would bring in musicians to play on album sessions including the likes of Herbie Flowers, Billy Bremner and members of Spooky Tooth.
Best known for the psychedelic pop of ‘Rainbow Chaser’ (from 1968’s All of Us) they released five long-players between 1967 and 1972 which featured a supporting cast that included The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Traffic, Chris Blackwell, Salvador Dali, Francoise Hardy, Tony Visconti, and many more.

The albums in this box set are : The Story Of Simon Simopath (1967), All Of Us (1968), Dedicated To Markos III aka Black Flower (1970), Local Anaesthetic (1971), Songs Of Love And Praise (1972) and the never before released 1972 LP Secrets. The first two records were issued on Island (produced by Blackwell) before Nirvana moved to Pye/Vertigo/Phillips.
The Secrets album – which was only recently unearthed in its entirety – has its origins in a musical score that Nirvana had planned on bringing to London’s theatres and stages in the early Seventies.

Four of the original albums have been remastered from their original quarter-inch tapes and the box itself comes with a 52-page large format book featuring liner notes from author Peter Doggett, interviews with Patrick & Alex from Nirvana, full discography, rare newspaper clippings, previously unseen photos, posters and sleeves, and an exclusive Gered Mankowitz print signed individually by the band (Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons).
In fact, Alex and Patrick are not only still both alive, they are still good friends, with both of them residing in Greece. Says Patrick Campbell-Lyons, “Now, as young elderly men, I can say with pride and joy that our friendship is as strong as it was fifty years ago. We see each other often, here in Athens, and respect each other’s creative space. And once in a while we write and record a new song together. Those moments are special, like our friendship.”
Songlife 1967-1972 is limited to 1000 units and will be released on 26 February 2021 on the Madfish label through Snapper Music.
You can order a copy via the SDE shop using this link or the button below (for those in the EU, please be aware that goods are now are subject to import VAT when they arrive from the UK).

THE STORY OF SIMON SIMOPATH
Side A / Act 1

1. Wings Of Love
2. Lonely Boy
3. We Can Help You
4. Satellite Jockey
5. In The Courtyard Of The Stars

Side B / Act II

1. You Are Just The One
2. Pentecost Hotel I Never Had A Love Like This Before
3. Take This Hand
4. 1999

ALL OF US
Side A

1. Rainbow Chaser
2. Tiny Goddess
3. The Touchables (All Of Us)
4. Melanie Blue
5. Trapeze
6. The Show Must Go On

Side B

1. Girl In The Park
2. Miami Masquerade
3. Frankie The Great
4. You Can Try It
5. Everybody Loves The Clown
6. St. John’s Wood Affair

DEDICATED TO MARKOS III / BLACK FLOWER
Side A

1. The World Is Cold Without You
2. Excerpt From “The Blind & The Beautiful”
3. I Talk To My Room
4. Christopher Lucifer
5. Aline Cherie

Side B

1. Tres, Tres Bien
2. It Happened Two Sundays Ago
3. Black Flower
4. Love Suite
5. Illinois

LOCAL ANAESTHETIC
Side A

1. Modus Operandi (Method Of Work)

Side B

1. Home
   – Salutation
   – Construction
   – Destruction
   – Re-Construction
   – Fanfare

SONGS OF LOVE AND PRAISE
Side A

1. Rainbow Chaser
2. Please Believe Me
3. Lord Up Above
4. She’s Lost It
5. Nova Sketch

Side B

1. Pentecost Hotel
2. I Need Your Love Tonight
3. Will There Be Me
4. Stadium

SECRETS
Side A

1. Secrets (Intro)
2. I Don’t Care
3. Someone Stole My Mona Lisa
4. Bingo Boy
5. Living In A Blind Spot
6. It’s Good To Have A Heart
7. In The Shadow Of That Old Love Affair

Side B

1. I Want To Touch / The Big Fight
2. Two Of A Kind
3. Why Don’t You Like Me
4. Secrets (Reprise)
5. What You Do You Are
6. Freedom Chaser