C.A. Quintet

Trip Thru Hell - 2-LP Set

LP | $32.98

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Coalescing in Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1966, the C.A. Quintet began as a fairly typical pop group. They made their vinyl debut with a cover of the Miracles’ “Mickey’s Monkey,” an enjoyable slice of rocked-up Motown. Nothing on this single or any of their other earlier work would’ve prepared the listener for the intense musical juggernaut of Trip Thru Hell. Their only studio LP, it was a concept album of sorts, with Hell as a theme. Think of it as Dante’s Psychedelic Inferno.

An arresting album from beginning to end, Trip Thru Hell showcases the band’s many talents. Their harmony vocals are extremely strong, no doubt having been honed during their tenure as a gigging pop band. Lead vocalist Ken Erwin is a commanding presence and, as the group’s principal songwriter, was the chief architect of the album’s dark, brooding sound. Erwin also played trumpet on several tracks, adding another mournful, yearning voice to the mix. The group’s other instrumentalists acquit themselves admirably, creating a swirling mix of eerie, quavering organ, galloping bass, fuzzed-out backwards/forwards guitars and dominant drumming. Dynamics shift from a whisper to a scream and everywhere in between. Be assured, during the recording of Trip Thru Hell, no stops were left unpulled!

The album was released on Candy Floss, a Minneapolis indie label with no national distribution. Thus, what should’ve been chart-topping album sold less than a thousand copies and the group disbanded in 1971. Yet, word-of-mouth kept the album alive in the collector world, sparking demand well beyond its miniscule initial pressing. Original copies changed hands for prince(of darkness)-ly sums, triggering a flow of inferior bootlegs into the international market. But the music enthusiast need not despair, for it’s Sundazed to the rescue! Working from the original analog master tapes, Sundazed proudly resurrects this elusive album, capturing every nuance of the original sessions. Not only that, there is a full second LP with 12 bonus tracks! You’ll hear their first single, unreleased songs and alternate versions of the album cuts. It allows a fascinating look at the band’s evolution and gives hints at how they might have evolved had the breakup been forestalled. Climb aboard for an amazing audio trip!



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