GODZ DISCOGRAPHY, PART ONE:
ALBUMS AND SINGLES

CONTACT HIGH WITH THE GODZ ESP 1037, 1966 FONTANA STL-5500 (Europe), 1967 1. Come On Girl, Turn On (Kessler, McCarthy) 2. White Cat Heat (Dillon, Kessler, McCarthy) 3. Na Na Naa (McCarthy) 4. Elevem (Dillon) 5. 1 + 1 = ? (McCarthy) 6. Lay in the Sun (McCarthy) 7. Squeak (Kessler) 8. Godz (Dillon) 9. May You Never Be Alone (Hank Williams) JAY DILLON -- Psaltery (autoharp), vocals LARRY KESSLER -- Bass, violin, vocals JIM McCARTHY -- Guitar, plastic flute, harmonica, vocals PAUL THORNTON -- Drums, maracas, guitar, vocals The Dutch pressing of this album combines the front cover of Dillon's design with the back cover of McCarthy's design. Mono pressings of this album with the Dillon cover design list the version of Hank Williams' "May You Never Be Alone" as "Words For the Birds," while stereo copies with Dillon's design mislabel the song as "May You Be Alone." Some copies of Dillon's design also list the first track simply as "Turn On," some have the initials of band members next to the tracks as songwriting credits, some eliminate Marc Crawford's liner notes and put an ad for ESP in their place... confused yet? There was also an 8-track release of this album! "Lay in the Sun" b/w "I Want A Word With You" ESP 4503 (single), 1966 "I Want A Word With You" is a rather peculiar Jay Dillon composition which seems at first like a non-LP track -- but this piece later became part of "Crusade" on Godz 2. In any case, it appears in a rare mono mix here. GODZ 2 ESP 1047, 1967 FONTANA STL-5512 (Europe), 1967 1. Radar Eyes (Dillon, McCarthy, Kessler) 2. Riffin' (Thornton, McCarthy) 3. Where (McCarthy) 4. New Song (McCarthy) 5. Squeek (Kessler) 6. Soon the Moon (Dillon, Kessler, McCarthy) 7. Crusade (Dillon, Kessler, McCarthy, Thornton) 8. You Won't See Me (Lennon, McCartney) 9. Travelin' Salesman (Kessler, McCarthy) 10. Permanent Green Light (McCarthy) JIM McCARTHY -- Guitar, vocals LARRY KESSLER -- Bass, viola, vocals JAY DILLON -- Organ, piano, autoharp PAUL THORNTON -- Drums, vocals Jim McCarthy's favorite Godz album and the favorite of many fans as well. As with the first album, this was also available on 8-track cartridge! The entire cover, including the "Say Clyde, have you heard the Godz?" cartoon on the back, was designed and photographed by Michael Soldan and Judy Parker of the legendary late 60s pop culture magazine EYE. Some copies of this release have brown and white labels while others have black and white labels -- these two pressings seem to also have distinct differences in the materials used for the printing of the covers. "Wiffenpoof Song" b/w "Travelin' Salesman" ESP 4547 (single), 1967 Rare mono mixes of these two selections appear on this hard-to-find 45. The mix of "Wiffenpoof Song" is about 45 seconds shorter than the stereo mix which appeared on GODZUNDHEIT six years later (where it was retitled "Whiffenspoof Song" and is said to have been included at the insistence of the band's most noted booster, rock critic Lester Bangs). The mix of "Travelin' Salesman" here includes overdubbed teenybopper crowd hysteria for added effect. THE THIRD TESTAMENT ESP 1077, 1968 1. Ruby Red (McCarthy) 2. Eeh Ooh (The Multitude) 3. Down By the River (McCarthy) 4. The First Multitude (The Multitude) 5. ABC (The Multitude) 6. Walking Guitar Blues (Thornton) 7. Neet Street (McCarthy) 8. Womban (Kessler) 9. KLM (The Dogz) 10. Like A Sparrow (McCarthy) 11. Quack (I'm a Quack) (The Dogz) THE GODZ: Paul Thornton, Larry Kessler, Jim McCarthy THE MULTITUDE: Mike Berardi, Joan Berardi, Marty Topp, Krishner, Howie Levy, Howie's Cousin, Phreee, Linwood Dixon, Carol Miller, Nick, Mark Whitecage, Pudgy, Ramona McCarthy, Paul, Larry, Jim THE DOGZ: Ray Rouch, Herb Abramson, Morty Kalb, Paul, Larry, Jim Larry Kessler's favorite Godz album. Its cover was co-designed by Kathe Graham, his girlfriend at the time. Midway through side two, there is the presence of a mysterious, short, uncredited track between "KLM" and "Like a Sparrow." This track was never credited on the original pressing, but is listed under the title "In My Shadow" on the early 90s CD reissue of this album on the German ZYX label, and was improvised by Jim. A good friend of this site's producer has an original copy of this album bearing the wonderful inscription (in blue ball-point pen), "Happy Rushes, Paul Thornton" -- possibly an autograph from the time of the album's release. GODZUNDHEIT ESP 2017, 1973 IMAGE ILP-736 (Australia), 1974 1. Take the Time (Kessler) 2. Dirty Windows (McCarthy) 3. Give a Damn (Thornton) 4. Women of the World (Thornton, Kessler) 5. Weary Blues (Hank Williams) 6. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Jagger, Richards) 7. Whiffenspoof Song (Thornton, Kessler, McCarthy) 8. Wisdom of a Fool (Thornton) JIM McCARTHY -- Vocals, acoustic guitar LARRY KESSLER -- Vocals, acoustic and electric guitars PAUL THORNTON -- Vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, drums JAY DILLON -- Electric organ & vocals on "Whiffenspoof Song" ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS: Charles Cazalet, Smokey Head, Jimmy Norwood, Leslie Fradkin, George Cameron, Bob "Bingo" Gallagher, U.E. Glass, Robert Friedman, Giovanni Rosario, Pattie Thornton, "The Great Pahene," Bob Unger, Billy Paine. This album was released in Australia on Image Records, who in exchange licensed an album of one of their artists to ESP, the Australian jug band Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band (Pipe Dreams, ESP-3009). ABOVE: Band photo from the back cover of Godzundheit, 1973. Top row, left to right: Jim McCarthy, Pattie Thornton (Paul's ex-wife), Paul Thornton, Bob Unger. Bottom row, left to right: Larry Kessler, Bob "Bingo" Gallagher, Leslie Fradkin, Smokey Head.

CONTINUE TO PART TWO:
POST GODZ SOLO PROJECTS

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