John Braheny - Some Kind Of Change LP

John Braheny’s rare Some Kind Of Change LP, issued on the small Pete label out of Los Angeles in 1968, exists like a psychedelic skeleton in Braheny's closet -- he never made another record and Some Kind Of Change is still largely under the radar even for long-time deep-divers of buried treasure from the vintage ‘60s era. 

One of the remarkable things about the LP is that Braheny also produced it, indicating no compromise in getting what was in his head captured on tape the way he wanted it. His arrangements are elaborate, bursting with creativity without losing focus, the songs are warm and human at the core with his innovative use of electronics and effects taking them to uncanny places. He’s a proto singer-songwriter foreshadowing the emergence of that LA scene via a side trip through the Twilight Zone. Familiar and mysterious simultaneously.

Known around the biz as “the songwriter’s best friend”, Braheny  became quite famous behind-the-scenes in the songwriting and music biz as a top dog LA songwriting coach for people like Lindsay Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Warren Zevon, Janis Ian, Stephen Bishop, and countless others including one of the most successful hit songwriters of all time, Diane Warren (for whom he critiqued 150 songs when she was 15 years old). In 1988 he wrote a book which is considered the songwriter’s bible, The Craft And Business Of Songwriting, for which he is best known. (It's still in print.)

The players on the album include Rick Cunha on guitar and help with production. Lisa Kindred on backing vocals came out of the folk scene and is best known for the LP she made with notorious cult leader Mel Lyman in 1969 on Reprise Records. Bass, drums, trombone, trumpet are provided by session musicians with backgrounds in West Coast jazz. Don Waldron on tuba is an unusual credit for a psychedelic LP but he also appears on albums by Frank Zappa, Dr. John, and It’s A Beautiful Day. One of the two bassists is Colin Cameron, who also appears on the psychedelic Richard Twice LP on Philips Records. John Braheny plays guitar, violin, does the lead vocals and the way-out experimental electronics that kick this record into a higher key.

The arc is long but this arrow flies higher than ever 56 years on! 

Track List:

1. Grey Day
2. December Dream
3. Don't Cry for Me
4. Tour Line Ladies
5. Some Kind of Change
6. Long Way Home
7. Warm
8. Reason for Leaving
9. Free Fall
10. Silver Cord