This one is an absolute monster of a record. Copies of this private press record have sold for as much as $2,300 at auction, and are exceedingly rare. I’ve heard rumors of a reissue but who the fuck knows!
Released on an unknown label (catalog number D-24 700320) somewhere between 1969 and 1972, Ode To Quetzalcoatl is a cold and tormented folk record with some fringe-psychedelic qualities. After plodding through the folk and garage scene in Michigan for a while, Bixby started playing writing songs for acoustic guitar. Then he started experimenting with LSD. Bixby lost control of his life, and eventually found God in the hopes of reversing the pattern of destruction and regaining his grasp on his sanity. The songs on this record are all post-relgious conversion, but lofty Christian ideals do not dominate this record. Bixby’s frantic guitar strumming and unperfected but emotional voice propel this recording. No matter how much Bixby tries to fixate on his awakening, he still sounds completely lost and alone. “I’m no longer a person, I can’t even feel” he sings on the opening track, the un-fucking-believably good “Drug Song”. Later he laments “Gonna start all over again / Gonna see it through / Gonna make this dream of mine really come true,” perhaps hinting that no amount of praying and wishing can reverse the effects of the mess he made for himself.
Adding to the loner vibe is the fact that this is almost entirely a solo effort, save for assistance from second guitarist Brian MacInness on the acid-drenched “Open Doors,” and “666”. There’s also one harmonica part, and one flute part.
The reference to the Mesoamerican deity Quetzacoatl is never explained, but he was known as the inventor of books and the calendar, and a symbol of death and resurrection. This would seemingly coincide with Bixby’s resurrection from a life of substance abuse, but the liner notes on the back of the album and lyrical content never address this.
Start to finish, Ode to Quetzacoatl is a stunning record, a masterpiece of the “loner folk” genre that is pretty much impossible to find.
Dave Bixby
Ode To Quetzalcoatl
MegaUpload DL Link
Tracklist:
01. Drug Song
02. Free Indeed
03. I Have Seen Him
04. Mother
05. Morning Sun
06. Prayer
07. Lonely Faces
08. Open Doors
09. 666
10. Waiting For The Rains
11. Secret Forest
12. Peace
