Space Opera - Space Opera (Ripped From Vinyl) Full Album

The classic debut album from Texas Based Space Opera.
1. Country Max
2. Holy River
3. Outlines
4. Guitar Suite
5. My Telephone Artist
6. Riddle
7. Prelude No. 4
8. Lookout
9. Blue Ridge Mountains
10. Over and Over
Space Opera
One of the true cult classic albums of the '70s! After woodshedding in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area during the '60s (and recording with high school buddy T-Bone Burnett), Scott Fraser, David Bullock, Phil White and Brett Wilson landed as Space Opera in New York, where the already-legendary Clive Davis offered to sign them on Columbia. Much to the music biz's amazement, they turned him down, opting for more creative control by signing with Epic's Canadian arm, for whom they recorded this excellent but little-promoted album in 1972.
An inspired blend of Frank Zappa, the Band, Steely Dan and especially the Byrds, this record is still talked about in hushed tones by 12-string guitarists, as Scott Fraser's unique tuning technique (each string-pair is tuned to 5ths instead of octaves) resulted in a truly monumental sound. Add to that their ample harmonies, and you can hear why Space Opera is considered by some to be the Byrds' natural heirs, or at least their prog-rock cousins!
- Collector's Choice
An obscurity from day one, Space Opera is an overlooked classic-rock wonder. Three of the four members of Space Opera (Philip White, Scott Fraser, David Bullock) had previously recorded a stellar country-folk gem in Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit, and Greenhill. As good as that record was, they were still green compared to the fully developed band (adding drummer Brett Wilson) they would become by 1972.
From Forth Worth, Texas, but recorded in Canada, Space Opera forged a familiar rock sound in an unheard context, combining blissful three part harmonies with searing guitar leads and righteous, intricate jams. The reissue is appropriately billed as “12 string prog rock” and while references to the Byrds and Zappa abound in other reviews, it behooves me to agree. Though it is a must; Space Opera combines these musical forces like nothing I have ever heard before. Still, if you have ever hankered for the sounds of local FM radio rock, this is an album you won’t believe didn’t hit the airwaves.
Songs are well developed and near classical in form, developing into finely tuned suites. “Country Max” leads off as the clear “hit” record, remarkably recognizable, it’s the kind of record you feel like you’ve heard a million times. Moodier numbers like “Holy River” and “Riddle” jangle their way into your head with good craftsmanship and memorable refrains. “Guitar Suite” is the album’s instrumental centerpiece that successfully merges prog and country rock during every moment of sound; gnarly double-tracked harmonica and tape effects stealing the show. The recordings are so warm it’s as if the master tapes were filtered through a rainbow of vintage tape machines, and the flutes on “Outlines” even sound suspiciously mellotron-esque. Some of the beauty to this record must be owed to the warmth and grit that you just can’t get with modern digital technology.
More than pleased to discover one like this. Beautiful songs that are truly unheard classics. These fellas clearly understood how to create rock music in a way more advanced than many better known contemporaries and are still awaiting their recognition.
Available from It’s About Music as a digital download or Collectors Choice CD. The liner notes are actually halfway decent for a CC release, including a scan of the original 16-track channel assignments, revealing all sorts of uncredited instrument parts and the lyrics.

[@mikemcintyre3961]

Been saying it for decades. As an audiophile and record collector for over 35 years, This is one of the BEST albums I have ever heard in my life. It is up there with overlooked artists such as Big Star and Emmitt Rhodes. Stellar Album.

[@unclekrampus7103]

Big Star was my first thought when hearing this.

[@travisdunlap3758]

I was fortunate enough to have Scott Fraser, the guitarist, as my guitar teacher in Fort Worth. He was very kind to me and I learned a lot from him.

[@jamesdibley7722]

Country Max 0:00 My Telephone Artist (Has Come and Gone) 3:20 Holy River 7:08 Riddle 12:36 Outlines 15:46 Prelude No. 4 19:54 Guitar Suite 23:53 Lookout 31:36 Blue Ridge Mountains 34:28 Over and Over 36:42

[@emmacache7967]

@william mcintyre me t

[@emmacache7967]

Me too

[@Bucknorris]

Thank you. Was Looking for this... My Journey to where I am at in this very Moment at 8:49pm and Monday June 16 2024 has been a wild one and even How I'm here now listening to this Album in THIS moment is very Wild. Thank you Fernando (I'm actually a Rapper/Hip-Hop Muscian) but all around Music Junky. And Dang, For NEVER knowing about these guys but knowing of and even knowing so many other's.. I can hear Queen, Gun's & Rosea and so many more who came after these guys. As it stands they have gotten the short straw... but sometimes along comes a strange but talented individual that has some pretty crazy ideas. Ex: BinkTheHumble Monster, Sypooda , BeatBuctcha, DJ Premier, 9th Wonda, illmind, Pete Rock.. Just need to take action and make it happen. Thank You again. Hope we get to meet sooner than later.

[@user-hd4re2mz2w]

One of my all time favorite albums. Great music when high, or not.

[@user-hd4re2mz2w]

All songs are great. My favorite has always been Over and Over.

[@michaelemmanuel9191]

Remember hours listening to Space Opera with headphones on in the basement during some pretty rough times in high school. often stoned shutting out the world. nice to hear this again!

[@jacicrimmccrary]

Thanks for posting this full album, Fernando! I haven't listened to my original Space Opera album for many years and this is a great reminder of how talented they really are (and were). It's amazing that they were never recognized by the major record labels those days, and promoted to a wider audience on the radio. That's what all of us thought would happen back then. They were obviously ahead of their time! I met them all in person back in the 70's. I worked at The Hop and I rented a house on Hurley Street next door to David's grandmother. I used to listen to him practicing his guitar through one of the open bedroom windows. I need to go listen to his new cd now!

[@shuffleslunuffle]

Scratch me again! Like being in the basement with the stereo cranked! Smoking some hash and Mom coming to the stair door..." Allen what's that smell? Me.."new incense Mom and it keeps the fly's out.!" Mom.."okay Dear". I loved (and still do) the 70's! Onward!

[@andym28]

Wow I was searching an actual space opera. This is beautiful.

[@peterhughes614]

Same here!

[@andym28]

@@peterhughes614 This album made me feel so at home even though I'm Scottish. Great album.

[@dancomiskey2101]

I was 12 years old in Ft. Worth, 1970 , listening to KFAD (Cleburne/ Arlington) when I first heard this, turned me into a Flying Burrito Band fan, and was very dismayed to learn that "Underground Radio" disappeared 4 years later. No more Albatross before the news broadcast.

[@juamachin]

¡Discazo mítico!

[@friardave2580]

This is great stuff. I found this through Dangerous Minds. A great newsletter.

[@pathfinder1295]

That's what brought me here too

[@robertklouse3868]

thanks sharing the tip✍️

[@BillOdyssey]

Holy cack! this is the stuff

[@jackkearns8015]

I knew David back in the 80's .. Never realized how good this band was. If you're out there David; I'm a big fan

[@fperdomo]

David is the last man standing in the band.. but he carries the torch for the band's incredible legacy.. he just put out a great record called.. "Waking World"

[@mojorising0071950]

how is it that you are familiar with this band, they weren't very well known

[@juanm4_gz]

holy river & over and over are two unbelievable songs, so great

[@bekah812]

This album is FANTASTIC - I cannot believe how few views this has gotten. Needs to be shared far and wide! Great stuff.

[@Hoeness56]

This is my personal musical discovery of the year. Fantastic!!

[@mannyruiz1954]

And thru the magic of electricity, and KZbin we get to hear this obscurity that is an absolute masterpiece. Wonderful.

[@violetfemme411]

I can't believe this. I was telling someone about you guys recently and decided to look you up. Now brace yourself but wayyyy back in the day (I think I was in diapers 😉) I never missed your shows at the Panther Hall Ballroom in Ft Worth! I walked around singing "I'm high, high high.. and my parents sat me down for the " talk" about the danger of drugs lol. I straightened them out, so to speak. Thank you so much for the glorious memories.. 💋♥️💜

[@shamrockit5136]

Scott Fraser student here paying thanks and praise

[@RaisedOnBlues]

One of my favorite albums from the early 70s, and I had forgotten about it! Thank you for sharing this :)

[@shuffleslunuffle]

love the vinyl click. love this band. they caught me, at that time. carry on 12 string Boys.

[@rickzar9631]

Inspirational,what an incredible record...

[@reinaldohoracio2389]

Magnificent.A real cosmic journey.

[@edcase6480]

😁😘👍😊 it's been 40 years since I last heard this wonderful album, thank you.

[@dicklane1]

Holy Cow....I've heard about this forever. IT is legendary in the DFW area. I had never heard this before and I've got to say it was so different than what I imagined and so much better.

[@rcobb5081]

They came to Waxahachie, TX and played for a dance on November 15, 1969. They did alot of Beatles covers and I was young but I totally recall that they were very very good. Space Opera's first major appearance was at the legendary Texas International Pop Festival which was a music festival held at Lewisville, Texas, on Labor Day weekend, August 30 to September 1, 1969. It occurred two weeks after Woodstock.

[@snausage22]

great lost classic album ! special stuff

[@altarofkubrickfloyd]

A wonderful band. It’s a shame they weren’t more successful.

[@Garspawnish]

Used to see them live all the time here in Fort Worth. They would play Strawberry Fields live and blow everybody away. Many nights at the Greek Letter club. Such a great band, good times. (They opened for Jefferson Airplane and were SO much better than J.A. 😁

[@artinheaven4572]

I bought this when I was 15, (1975), and it was reduced to 50 pence, (about 80cents US), and I had never heard of them before. I lost my vinyl version years ago but I bought the CD version a couple of years ago for £12. 24 times the original price, (not even taking into account inflation), but it was worth every penny.

[@riffdigger2133]

Just saw the Link on Terry Tuft’s Facebook Timeline. Something different and refreshing to hear. Superb musicianship.

[@ajahndallas]

Great album and band. Sad that we lost so many of them 😞

[@robertklouse3868]

yes brother

[@craigwinn]

This is incredible stuff. I lived in Ft. Worth in the mid-80s and was a record shop hound but never heard of these guys. I played this all the way thru and then put the needle back at the beginning (er, scrolled back) to listen again. Thanks for posting

[@vernixx]

I'm still listening in 2023...

[@FOURJUANTWO]

Wow great! Spoke to the guitarist today good man! Good album 8.5 out of 10

[@JohnSmith-de9br]

I bought this album on vinyl (in '73?) after hearing the track 'Over and Over' on John Peel's show. Even through the crappy transistor radio, I could hear this was something different. Great to see they are still remembered & that David Bullock is still making music. What can I say? They shoulda been bigger! Thank you Fernando!

[@jackkearns8015]

I just ordered it on eBay. Thanks for the heads up

[@friardave2580]

TY Fernando for posting this.

[@netamartinez4796]

Brilliant 💜 The boys were way, way, way ahead of their time;)

[@mannyruiz1954]

Wow. Just wow.

[@howlindonster6131]

Great 70's Texas Band out of Fort Worth- Space Opera..

[@nickmoran1]

Makes me think of Beefheart in spots, particularly 'guitar suite'.Wonderful stuff.

[@mojorising0071950]

I remember this band from Ft Worth, had thought of them from time to time and wonder what became of them

[@forgettable8300]

Trailer park boys brought me here but i stayed for the sweet music

[@kevinreinberg]

I bought the album after hearing "My Telephone Artist" on KEXL.

[@Itsnotbrettreddell]

Love this album I need a new vinyl mine has water damage cover bad

[@robertklouse3868]

They Sound a pleasant-bit ,like Poco😊 Have you heard "Cowboy-Cowboy"?

[@CarlSeegerHenry]

So great to hear this again, thanks. My Band, Dusty Road, performed in Central Connecticut in the early 70s. We did Eagles, Byrds, Poco, CSNY, etc. We discovered this album and thought “Blue Ridge Mountains” was the best Byrds song we never heard! So, we covered it live at many shows. I performed several Byrds songs in my career. Here’s my Irish duet doing a live “Wild Mountain Thyme”: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoPMimyKfbhrfrc

[@michaelalderete9622]

(7:08) Holy River

[@nickmoran1]

My fave.

[@leetorry]

Holy shit, this is Fleet Foxes before Fleet Foxes

[@hopelessstrlstfan181]

This is such a great album by a band so right for its time (at least my perception of that time from 2019). Lots of country soul and experimentation at a time where both were an integral part of the music business and Rock music in particular. But the band never made it big. Among the reasons for why they never made it, one certainly could be the name of the band. Space Opera???? WTF???? To my ears that doesn't fit at all with the music. A reference to pyschadelica? I guess. It is experimental at times, but the countrified rock doesn't seem to fit that sort of thing in the same way the music of the Dead does/did. My biggest concern about the name is that most people in the early 70's really didn't see "space operas" as a good thing. This is pre-Star Wars and space operas were those cheesy B-movies they put on late late TV slots. In fact, I heard a story from Mark Hammil about how when he saw an trailer for the original Star Wars movie (now more commonly known as Episode IV) in which the announcer said "A movie one million years in the making," someone in the audience yelled out "and three months before appearing on late night TV." People generally just didn't like the cheesey spacey stuff back them. I just wonder if the band chose a different name, they might have built up a bigger following. I found the record in the 80's back when we still had record stores. It was in the used pile and I said "What the hell is this? I might as well buy it just to hear what a band with that name would sound like." Two things: First, it was cheap and I wouldn't have paid full price for it. Second, I like those cheesy space operas whereas I realize most people did/do not. That is true even today after Sci Fi has become more mainstream. Many fans of the Battlestar Reboot would barf if they were forced to watch those old-time-y pre-Star Wars crappy movies and odd TV show. In fact, my KZbin tag is homage to a perfect example of the cheese-arama old style sci-fi that was out in the old days. Just watch one of the episdoes of "The Starlost" which has been up-loaded onto KZbin if you don't believe how awful that junk was back then. I am a fan, but not because that stuff was good. Thus, the name begins with "Hopeless..."

[@hopelessstrlstfan181]

@Peters Isman , nope. Didn't live in a box. Was a fan of that stuff when it was unpopular. Even Captain Kirk/William Shattner (spelling) spoke about how he was always a little embarrassed by playing the role until he saw how seriously Patrick Stewart who played Captain Picard approached the role and took it seriously. Don't confuse the moon landing enthusiast (which was nearly everyone) with a fan of pre-star wars sci fi. As good as many of the episodes of Star Trek were, they couldn't keep it on the air. Also, in the minds of most people Science Fiction was the cheesy stuff like "Lost in Space" and the "Star Lost" which I invite you to watch on KZbin. Try the episode called "Frehley's Comet" or the "Implant People" to get an idea. Or maybe just watch any episode of the second season of Space 1999 to get an idea of how cheesy Sci Fi was before Star Wars opened up the way for big budget Sci Fi. I was a fan growing up back b4 Star Wars and I know how my peers felt about how dumb it was. So yes, I think "Space Opera" might have been a name that held back a really good 70's band.

[@hopelessstrlstfan181]

@Peters Isman yeah. Space Opera is an American Band and I was referring to it's success or lack of it in an American context. They had no real chance of success abroad w not 1st succeeding in America. So maybe your box is not understanding that the term Space Opera was an American term used by the dominant US culture to ridicule low budget cheesy sci fi. Try Googleing "space opera." It is a play on the term "soap opera."

[@hopelessstrlstfan181]

@Peters Isman , so names of bands have no bearing on generating interest in the public? Hmm? 😒? Weird bc all of the bands I played in spent a lot of time deciding on getting the correct name bc we were thinking it would have an effect. I guess all of the musicians I played w were delusional. Thanks. Btw, I never said it was the sole determining factor or even primary.

[@georgenash1593]

@@hopelessstrlstfan181 You,re an Idiot! A perfect Example of Stupidity. Check Your Watch, it's Medication time at the Nut House!

[@georgenash1593]

@Peters Isman Like I said, You,re an Idiot!

[@notredo]

Thanks to Jack Van Zandt for getting me here. Safe travels

[@melgray-thompson6701]

A friend bought the lip from a bargain bin in the mid 70’s for 50 cents l recal. We listened and loved it , played to other people. It’s embedded in my teenage mind. What happened after this?

[@melgray-thompson6701]

It was in Geelong Australia.

[@JohnSmith-de9br]

Just ordered David Bullock's album/ep/whatever 'In the Waking World' from: store.cdbaby.com/cd/davidbullock2 It sounds pretty groovy!

[@rafaelbraga2751]

GREAT ALBUM ! MEMBERS ?

[@lostuser1094]

Inb4 this is used in guardians 3

[@iflaifla]

I bought this, back in the day. Always liked it and still do. Have they ever released anything else?

[@shuffleslunuffle]

Scratchy Mc Scratchersons ....., however, as it moves on.... Clean & Clear. Nice job! Love these guys. Lost in the musical movement...damn shame!

[@usmuse]

The music biz is such a crapshoot. I was pretty musically aware in the 70's but KZbin keeps surprising me with "unknowns".

[@culturefan]

The album doesn't go with the music, but sounds pretty good.

[@finaldestination5847]

I thought they were canadian...

[@mwmann]

Me and a friend saw these guys in Dallas at the Agora Ballroom back in the 70s. I can't remember the exact year, but they weren't very good and the show was extremely boring.

[@georgenash7679]

IT,S EVIDENT YOU DON,T KNOW SHIT ABOUT MUSIC! IF YOU'RE A MUSICIAN, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOUR TALENT, I HAVEN'T HAD A GOOD LAUGH IN A WHILE. LMAO. GET A LIFE ASSHOLE!