East Of Underground

BIS => 2025 10 17
1LP - VAMPISOUL
1971 => 2025

We are pleased to present again this wonderful 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, we are now reissuing it once again thanks to a collaboration with Now Again. Pressed on 180g vinyl.

TRACKLIST
Side A
1. I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER
2. SMILING FACES SOMETIMES
3. (DON’T WORRY) IF THERE’S A HELL BELOW, WE’RE ALL GOING TO GO
4. PEOPLE GET READY
5. GETTING OVER

Side B
1. I’LL BET YOU / CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
2. POP CORN / OYE COMO VA
3. I LOVE YOU FOR ALL SEASONS
4. EAST OF JAVA
5. WALK ON BY

DESCRIPTION
Often, 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). High-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.