Firesides and Guitars

Audio Remasterer: Javier Roldón.
Liner Note Author: Steve Epley.
Firesides and Guitars is the sole output of mysterious folk group Logos, a trio of three siblings from Kansas that produced this instantly vanishing private pressing of their gentle, home-recorded folk tunes in 1974. Logos were one of thousands of aspiring artists pressing small editions of their songs in the early '70s. Most of these acts faded into the ether, but some benefited from being just strange enough, tuneful enough, or somehow ahead of their time to be rediscovered by future generations. Firesides and Guitars presents 12 tunes of soft, semi-hip folk sung effusively by 16-year-old songwriter Steve Epley with help from Chris and Cindy Williams. Hippie sentiments come through on the anti-war ruminations of "If I Wanted To," and post-Beatles melodies show up on strong, optimistic tunes like "Slow Down" and the breezy, CSNY-like "What We Say (Everyday)." The album, absent of drums and probably recorded in a family den on a dusty reel-to-reel machine, glows with warmth and sincerity. The sound is decidedly private press, but Firesides and Guitars ranks among other obscure acid folk gems of its era like Deep Night by the Sixth Station or Linda Perhacs' classic psych folk wonder Parallelograms. ~ Fred Thomas