High Moon Records announces Gemini Girl: The Complete Hush Recordings, the first anthology from singer-songwriter Laurie Styvers. Arriving on 2XCD and digital download on February 17, all formats will feature optimum fidelity as well as an exclusive 48-page booklet featuring liner notes from GRAMMY-nominated producer Alec Palao. The exhaustive document also features artwork, never-before-seen photos, and memorabilia.
Gemini Girl… is heralded by today’s remastered premiere of the 1972 debut single, “Beat the Reaper.” The animated visualizer was created by musician/visual artist Martin Carr (The Boo Radleys, bravecaptain).
Laurie Styvers may be amongst the more recondite names of 1970s singer-songwriters. Born in Texas, she was a student at the American School in London when she joined the 1960s psych-folk band Justine, appearing on their eponymous 1970 debut LP before heading back to the US to attend college in Colorado. She soon returned to the UK and set out on a solo career after signing with Hush Productions, founded by producers Shel Talmy (The Kinks, The Who, David Bowie) and Hugh Murphy.
Produced by Murphy (best known for his work with Gerry Rafferty, Richard and Linda Thompson, Van Morrison, and more), Styvers’ Hush recordings revealed her work in its best light, and showed the true quality of her vocal style. She commuted between London and Colorado while making solo albums Spilt Milk (1971) and The Colorado Kid (1973), but the commercial failure of both albums caused her to fade into the background and she spent her final years shifting her focus to caring for animals.
“The best part of Laurie Styvers is her sweet and humble voice,” Palao shares, “and the fine music that surrounds it, and no statute of limitations exists for such things. They reference an era long passed, when a genuine innocent could put words on paper, voice to tape, lay some simple, heartfelt cards on the table, and share it all with the world — with none of the irony and cynicism that now engulf popular music. Laurie’s gift is in a better place for that.”
