History
When poet and publisher Ed Sanders established a bookstore next to the apartment of beat poet and publisher Tuli Kupferberg in 1963, the two decided to form a band, The Fugs, writing 50-60 songs between them prior to asking Ken Weaver to join. The trio invited Steve Weber and Peter Stampfel of the band Holy Modal Rounders to perform with them at the 1963 grand opening of Sanders' bookstore. Sanders describes the event as heavily attended, with William S. Burroughs, George Plimpton and James Michener among the luminaries in attendance. Harry Everett Smith, producer of the famous Anthology of American Folk Music, persuaded Folkways Records to issue the Fugs' first album. Following recording sessions between November and February 1963-4, the album The Village Fugs—Ballads and Songs of Contemporary Protest, Points of View and General Dissatisfaction was released (Broadside BR 304; also listed with a related Folkways serial number, FW 05304, though it is unclear whether this is a separate pressing/edition). Following a nationwide tour, The Fugs signed a contract with ESP-Disk, who re-released the album in 1966 (ESP-1018), in both mono and stereo, with some changed edits and one substituted take (see below).
A large number of additional performances were captured in the sessions for this album. Eleven of them first appeared on a 1967 ESP album entitled "Virgin Fugs" (ESP-1038), and an additional 7 performances (five led by the Holy Modal Rounders) first appeared on the mid-1970s compilation "Fugs 4, Rounders Score" (ESP-2018) The Fugs claim that both of these albums were unauthorized bootlegs. Three additional performances and some studio chatter appear on the Fugs' 4-CD box set "Don't Stop! Don't Stop!"
The currently available CD contains the later ESP stereo version of the album. It also includes, among its 11 bonus tracks, 6 outtakes from the sessions, including 5 from the above two ESP bootlegs. The other 11 tracks, the alternate performance of "Swineburne Stomp" from the Broadside album, and the other Broadside edit variations, remain unreleased in the CD era.
The recent Fugs box set "Don't Stop! Don't Stop!" contains an additional three performances from these recording sessions.
Read more about this topic: The Fugs First Album
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