It Crawled into My Hand, Honest
| It Crawled into My Hand, Honest | ||||
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| Studio album by The Fugs | ||||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Rock, proto-punk, psychedelic rock, folk rock | |||
| Label |
Reprise (US) Transatlantic (UK) |
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| Producer | Ed Sanders, Richard Alderson | |||
| The Fugs chronology | ||||
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It Crawled into My Hand, Honest is the second 1968 studio album by The Fugs, a band composed of anti-war poets. It was released in the USA by record company Reprise. As of March 2009, the album is not currently available as a stand-alone CD, but the tracks appear in the 2006 3-CD box set, Electromagnetic Steamboat.
When poet and publisher Ed Sanders established a bookstore next to the apartment of beat poet and publisher Tuli Kupferberg in 1964, the two decided to form a band, The Fugs, writing 50-60 songs between them prior to asking Ken Weaver to join. In subsequent years, this core trio worked with a number of musicians as they produced a series of albums in quick succession. It crawled... was their fifth studio album.
The band built up a cult following, gaining admiration from counter-culture figures such as William S. Burroughs and Abbie Hoffman. They were known especially for their pro-drugs, anti-war stance, use of poetry in their music, and large number of sexual references in their songs.
Due to their overt sexual content, The Fugs were at risk of censorship. However, while on Reprise Records, the company president Mo Ostin showed a willingness to release Fugs material uncensored. This era of freedom began with the release of the album Tenderness Junction, released in early 1968. Work on It crawled.. began straight after.
The album was The Fugs' most expensive, costing around $25,000. The working title was Rapture of the Deep; this along with Tenderness Junction, and "It Crawled..." demonstrate The Fugs' enjoyment of including thinly-veiled sexual references in their work.
In 1968, The Fugs' sound had developed considerably from their early works such as The Fugs First Album, with several complex and interesting compositions. This was partly due to personnel; Bill Wolf was added to the band, a talented bassist with a good harmony voice, along with Ken Pine, a skilled guitarist. Session musicians also added to the depth of the work; Band leader Sanders later stated:
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