{"title":"East Of Underground","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"east-of-underground","title":"East Of Underground","description":"\u003cp\u003eWonderful and highly sought-after album, born from a promotional campaign by the U.S. Army to encourage recruitment. The recording perfectly captures the spirit of young America through songs written by Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, and Burt Bacharach (via Isaac Hayes, of course). High-level soul and funk performed by brilliant anonymous musicians. Virtually impossible to find in its original edition, Vampisoul are now reissuing it once again thanks to a collaboration with Now Again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOften, the most prized records by collectors hold unexpected stories. When they also feature incredibly high musical quality and only a few original copies are available, they become the holy grails of collecting. This is the case with this album, recorded by American soldiers stationed in Germany in the early 70s. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army organized a band competition among its soldiers. The winners would record a promotional album that would be distributed for free to encourage enlistment during such a turbulent time. The result was a double LP shared between the bands SOAP and East of Underground. Although East of Underground's repertoire consists of covers of soul and funk hits, the quality is surprisingly high: raw guitars, crushing drums, brilliant vocal harmonies... The result perfectly captures the spirit of young America through songs written by Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, and Burt Bacharach (via Isaac Hayes, of course).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHigh-level soul and funk performed by anonymous musicians whose final fate has yet to be confirmed. When the label Now Again tried to reconstruct the story of East of Underground, they only managed to contact one of its members after digging through documents in the New York Library and collaborating with the U.S. Army. We are now pleased to present this wonderful and highly sought-after album once again, a surprising case where the covers rival the originals, creating a unique recording that justifies its immense appeal among collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vampisoul","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":50418997264715,"sku":"2172045","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/EOU-3000px.webp?v=1744204927"},{"product_id":"hell-below","title":"Hell Below","description":"\u003cp\u003eunited states army soldiers made the music contained in this three album box-set during the politically turbulent early 70s, towards the end of the vietnam war. east of underground, the black seeds and the sound trek were bands comprised of soldiers stationed in bases across western germany. while little is known about the bands, the players, and the milieu they came from - other than what can be pieced together from a handful of photos and documents found in a box in the new york public library, and the vague recollections of some of those involved - now-again records have worked diligently with the united states army and researchers the country over to present this important document - and some damn good soul and funk music. only one former band member has come forward during the assembly of this anthology, which has lead now again to question: where did these talented performers land after their winning performances in army-sponsored battle of the bands contests afforded them (musical) tours across european army bases? perhaps some are still around somewhere: perhaps some are still involved in music; perhaps some were killed in action; perhaps some passed on after returning to the states. now again assembled vestiges - a show band contest entry form, a list of names, a couple of photographs, a playlist - to embellish this sonic time capsule, a capsule that functions as a snapshot of american culture during this politically charged era. each of the two double-billed albums contained in this box-set is presented as an exact reproduction of the original united states army issue. the extensive, full-colour booklet features essays, annotation and a collection of army ephemera from the creation of these albums. also included is a full-colour, exact reproduction of east of underground's 1971 tour poster.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD | x3","offer_id":50491423818059,"sku":"344243","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/3b79f661-64e7-4582-8aac-4e98f34fc78e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727686412"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/east-of-underground.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}