Description
This Our Sacrifice of Praise is the sole album by the British folk group 11.59, released in the UK on Dovetail Records in 1974. The album and recorded by Don Feltham and Helmut Kaufmann at Echo Studios in Eastbourne, England; with Bobbie Graham producing. Mixed by Kaufmann and Graham. Arranged by the group.
Seven-person British male/female progressive folk outfit scoring one of the top releases for the Dovetail label (as well as UK folk in general). Very dreamy, moody production replete with seagull sounds, babbling brooks, soaring mellotron, flute, auto-harp, soft organ, electric guitar – all against a beautiful landscape of acoustic guitar work and haunting ethereal femme vocals. Stirring titles like «The Earth Is The Lord’s», «To Thy Holy Name», «The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us», «Let Us Thank The Lord», «The Shepherd» and «By The Waters Of Babylon», all with lyrics inspired by the book of Psalms. A couple of cuts are more up-tempo, such as «Hallelujah Jesus» (midway through the song the music stops for an elderly British woman to state: “It’s a noisy hymn. I only hope it will get over to the non-believers”). «Praise The Lord!» is the other example, a superb high-energy electric folk-rock track. For the most part, though, it’s the ballads that are the winners here. Housed in a lovely snowflake cover. Turn the lights out, crank it up, and sail away. See also Live At Spree Album and Yesterday Today Forever. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]
Odd that this English Christian acid folk band, named after the time on the “Doomsday Clock” (how close we as earthlings are/were to self-destruction), produced as their only recorded legacy such a wonderful, pastoral, non-judgmental record. This early 1970’s album (released on Dovetail Records c. 1974) has dreamy, moody production values, with special effects (nature sounds like sea gulls and babbling brooks) set against a beautiful landscape of acoustic guitar, soaring Mellotron, flute, autoharp and male/female vocal harmonies. A couple of up-tempo songs act as a change of pace, but the ballads are the reason to be thankful for this record. There is a flood of mellotron on the rich and atmospheric first track, which is clean and dreamy sounding at the same time, with trippy guitar. All in all, a really brilliant British pop folk album. The booklet contains lyrics — of course, how can you go wrong as a Christian folk band with actual Psalms as your lyrics? As Ken Scott’s “Vintage Vinyl Jesus Music” guide says, “turn the lights out, crank it up, and sail away.”
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Earth Is The Loud” (Psalm 24) – 7:03
A2. “To Thy Holy Name” (Psalm 115) – 3:57
A3. “The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us” (Psalm 126) – 3:37
A4. “Hallelujah Jesus” (Psalm 100) – 3:22
Side Two
B1. “Let Us Thank The Lord” (Psalm 107) – 4:44
B2. “Praise The Lord” (Psalm 150) – 3:17
B3. “By The Waters Of Babylon” (Psalm 137) – 4:01
B4. “The Musical Box Song” – 3:01
B5. “Trust In The Lord” (Psalm 37) – 4:15
B6. “Shepherd” (Psalm 23) – 4:12
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[youtube_sc url=”FAo4Gw2Y9WA” title=”11.59 – By the Waters of Babylon” autohide=”1″ rel=”0″] A 2003 remix of “By the waters of Babylon” featuring 8mm film of the 11.59 group
In the early seventies, Christian music was in its infancy. I was in my first “group” Signpost, when John and Ross Harding moved into our area. They had great ideas, and Ross had the voice of an Angel, so Alastair and myself decided to join them in forming 11.59. Our music was very much folk based, but with my love for the sound of the mellotron, we decided to add the instrument to our line-up, and I began a love affair with it which still persists to this day! 11.59 were one of the first groups to take the fledgling Christian music genre seriously, combining our new found sound with our trade mark interpretations of the Psalms. Strong melodies with rich harmonies added extra textures to the overall sound, and we all soon became very close friends.
Unfortunately, no footage with audio exists of the group. So, dear viewer, I offer this blurry 8mm film of us circa 1971. The soundtrack I’ve chosen is the song “By the waters of Babylon” which I remixed back in 2003, and very few people will have heard. It’s a very haunting song which suits Ross’s voice beautifully, and has always been one of my personal favourites. Sadly, we lost Ross a few years back, and we all still miss her. [Andy Kinch of Kracked Earth, original member of 11.59 and Manasseh]
CREDITS. Produced by Bobbie Graham. Recorded at Echo Studios, Eastbourne, UK. Arranged by the band. Engineered by Don Feltham and Helmut Kaufmann. Mixed by Bobbie Graham and Helmut Kaufmann. Cutting Engineer: Denis Blackham.
Musicians: Rose Harding (Vocals, Tambourine), Peter Richmond (Vocals), John Harding (Guitar, Vocals), Roger Shrimpton (Autoharp), Peter Poyser (Lead Guitar, Glockenspiel, Organ, Piano), Andy Kinch (Mellotron, Organ, Glockenspiel, Twelve-String Guitar, Vocals), Roger Shrimpton (Bass), Alastair Macqueen (Drums, Gong).
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