Yodship

During the closing years of the 1970s an enigmatic privately pressed LP appeared whose plain jacket displayed nothing but the title Yodship. Hardcore collectors have long been drawn to the record because of its evident link to roughly a dozen earlier privately issued discs produced by followers of Father Yod and released under the group names Father Yod & the Spirit of '76, Yahowa 13, and Fire, Water, Air. The same loose circle of devotees almost certainly created Yodship, and several of the musicians who had appeared on those prior releases may well participate once more. Whereas the earlier Father Yod-related ensembles specialized in expansive, anachronistic late-period psychedelia, the music on Yodship is noticeably quieter. Predominant are acoustic guitars and flute, supporting gentle, occasionally keening voices that deliver stream-of-consciousness, semi-mystical verses sometimes praising Yahowa—another name for Father Yod—while female backing singers appear on certain passages. The album later resurfaced as a single disc inside the 13-CD box set God and Hair: Yahowha Collection. At roughly the same time another privately pressed one-sided LP titled In Praise of Our Father appeared on Venus Music; although the inner label credits Father Yod, the recording was clearly made by the identical musicians during the identical session. Its sole track, “Suite 3,” continues directly from the two-part suite that occupies Yodship. Despite this connection, In Praise of Our Father was omitted from the God and Hair: Yahowha Collection.