Oar (1969)

Oar is the only studio album by American singer-songwriter Alexander "Skip" Spence, released on May 19, 1969, by Columbia Records. It was recorded over seven days in December 1968 in Nashville, and features Spence on all of the instruments.

Background

Described as "one of the most harrowing documents of pain and confusion ever made", the album was recorded after Spence had spent six months in Bellevue Hospital. Spence had been committed to Bellevue following a delusion-driven attempt to attack Moby Grape bandmates Don Stevenson and Jerry Miller with a fire axe.

At the time of Spence's release from hospital, he had written a number of songs that he wanted to record. Producer David Rubinson suggested that Spence record at the Columbia Studios in Nashville, where there was a particularly patient recording engineer, Mike Figlio. Rubinson instructed Figlio to keep the tapes running at all times, to record everything that Spence did. The majority of the tracks were recorded using a three-track recorder. Rubinson chose to stay away from the studio, concerned that Spence's recording activities would be distracted by the presence of a producer.

According to Spence, the Nashville sessions were intended by him to only be a demo, which he gave to Rubinson with the intent that the songs would be fleshed out with full production for the actual album. Instead, Rubinson had the demo recordings released by Columbia.

Release and reception

When first released, Oar was not promoted by Columbia Records, despite pleadings from Rubinson. It was at the time the lowest-selling album in Columbia Records history and was deleted from the Columbia catalogue within a year of its release.

In June of 1968, Alexander "Skip" Spence was admitted into the Psychiatric Ward of New York's Bellevue Hospital in lower Manhattan, putting an end to a highly creative period of his life. Oddly, it also signalled the beginning of his most prolific writing cycle. Unbeknownst to everyone involved with his career at that point, Bellevue provided Spence the safety he needed and the time to create what was to become his best-known work.

As described by critic Ross Bennett:

Combining the ramblings of a man on the brink of mental collapse with some real moments of flippancy and laughter, Oar is a genuinely strange record. Unsurprisingly, the journey from "Little Hands"' Grape-esque guitar grooves to "Grey / Afro"'s terrifying nine minutes of mantric drone, isn't an easy one. Even when Spence builds his songs around a familiar sound (primarily minimalist country-folk) unsettling oddities and ominous modulations creep in.

The album is viewed by critic Lindsay Planer as follows:

A common motif to this album is the presence of saints and demons. Even the straightforward narratives such as the love ballad "Broken Heart" or "Cripple Creek" — which feature vocal treatments reminiscent of folkie Fred Neil — are bathed in unusual chord sequences and lyrical double-entendre. The majority of the sounds on this long-player remain teetering near the precipice of sanity.

The album is viewed by critic John Reed in the Boston Globe:

When former Moby Grape guitarist/singer Alexander "Skip" Spence died in April, it was another sad footnote in the unfruitful saga of one of rock's most multi-talented, but terminally inauspicious, bands. Spence's lone solo disc, Oar, is a quickly recorded document of songs he penned during a 6-month stay at Bellevue Hospital. The dour tone of that time in Spence's life may explain the album's large amount of nondiscernible lyrics. He seems at times to purposely muffle them, making him a pioneer of unintelligible vocal chic long before R.E.M. And Spence's guitar—once unbridled during Moby Grape sessions—is understated, yet ethereal enough to echo the pained state of his soul. "Weighted Down (The Prison Song)" is a seemingly distant cousin of "Hey Joe," with Spence jealously asking a mate, "Whose socks were you darning, darling, while I've been gone so long?" A generous 10 bonus tracks have been added to the original 12. Chronic health issues kept Spence from being creatively active as a solo artist, but overall, Oar is a radiant endeavor.

Subsequent reissues have added ten more songs, in different stages of completion, to the original dozen. The original release ended with a fade out of "Grey / Afro". The 1999 Sony / Sundazed reissue appends "This Time He Has Come" to a fade-less "Grey / Afro", which reflects how the two songs appeared on the master tapes.

The first CD reissue of Oar was released by Sony Special Products in 1991 and was totally remixed from the multitrack masters. This was the first release of the fadeless "Grey / Afro" along with four outtakes from the sessions. The newer Sundazed reissue uses the original 1968 mix master tapes for the first time and added a further six unreleased tracks.