- Judy Henske -- vocals, guitar (1969)

- Jerry Yester -- vocals, bass, guitar (1969)
 

- American Flyer (Jerry Yester)

- Judy Henske (solo efforts)

- The Lovin' Spoonful (Jerry Yester)

- Modern Folk Quartet (Jerry Yester)

- Rosebud (Judy Henske and Jerry Yester)

- The Turtles (Jerry Yester)

- Velvet Underground (Jerry Yester)

- Jerry Yester (solo efforts)

Genre: psych

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Farewell Aldebaran

Company: Straight

Catalog: STS 1052

Year: 1969

Country: USA

Grade (cover/record): VG / VG

Comments: original Straight release; small cutout hole top right corner; gatefold sleeve

Available: 1

GEMM catalog number: 4457

Price: $150.00

Cost: $71.00

Here's one that easily qualifies as a cult classic and (to the best of our knowledge), still hasn't seen a legitimate CD release (the Italian Radioactive released a boot copy in 2005)..

By the mid-1960s Judy Henske had carved out a reputation as a well known and rather successful folk artist.  She'd also married former Lovin' Spoonful bassist Jerry Yester, with whom she soon had a baby girl.  For his part, with the demise of the Spoonful, and a couple of solo singles, Yester originally turned his attention to production, working with the likes of The Association and The Turtles.  He also began writing material with Henske.  

Signed to Frank Zappa's newly formed Straight Records (Henske's manager Herb Cohen was also Zappa's manager), the two brought in former Spoonful cohort Zal Yanowsky to co-produce 1969's "Farewell Aldebaran".  With Henske handling the lyrics and Yester furnishing the music, the resulting album was highly eclectic.  Showcasing Henske's surprisingly versatile voice (anyone expecting fragile folk or top-40 pop was in for a major surprise), the LP found the duo effortlessly bouncing across musical genres.  While folk ("Lullaby") and pop ("Horses on a Stick") weren't entirely abandoned, the emphasis was on psych (check out the nifty country-cum-psych "Raider") and hard rock ("Snowblind") sounds.  Not everything worked; the couple occasionally sounding like they're simply trying too hard, but roughly half of the selections were worth hearing a couple of times.  In spite of strong reviews, the album sold few copies; a fact no doubt aided by Straight's minimal promotional support.  (The album was originally released with a gatefold sleeve.)

"Farewell Aldebaran" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) Snowblind   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester - Zal Yanovsky) - 3:07

2.) Horses on a Stick   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 2:10 

3.) Lullaby   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 2:55

4.) St. Nicholas Hall   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester)  - 3:35

5.) Three Ravens   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 3:30

(side 2)

1.) Raider   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 5:12

2.) Mrs. Conner   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 2:17 

3.) Rapture   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 4:09

4.) Charity   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 3:17

5.) Farewell Aldebaran   (Judy Henske - Jerry Yester) - 4:21

Two years later Henske and Yester released a follow on as members of the band Rosebud.

Another piece of totally useless trivia - the gatefold center spread shows Herbie Cohen and his wife, Chip Douglas, his then-girlfriend, and Jerry and Judy.  It was taken on holiday in Tijuana, after the Modern Folk Quartet had filmed a performance of 'Night Time Girl' on "Where the Action Is."

Here's the other side of the LP: