Description

Compiles the 1970s LPs Spilt Milk and The Colorado Kid
Available on CD & Digital for the first time

Newly remastered from the analog tapes with 36 tracks in a Deluxe 2 CD set—includes 13 bonus tracks of alternate takes, demos, and unreleased songs! 

Laurie Styvers may be amongst the lesser-known names within the milieu of 1970s cult singer-songwriters, but anyone who experiences the bewitching innocence on display within her two deeply moving solo albums, Spilt Milk (1971) and The Colorado Kid (1973), will surely fall in love with this enigmatic figure. Born in Texas, Styvers was a student at the American School in London when she joined the legendary 1960s psych-folk outfit Justine, guesting on their eponymous 1970 debut LP before heading back to the US to attend college in Colorado. She soon returned to the UK, embarking upon a solo career after signing with Hush Productions, founded by legendary producers Shel Talmy (The Kinks, The Who,  David Bowie) and Hugh Murphy.

Produced by Hugh Murphy (known for his landmark work with Gerry Rafferty, Richard and Linda Thompson, Van Morrison, and more), Styvers’ Hush recordings revealed her as an exceptional songstress with a  captivating vocal presence. The sumptuous musical backgrounds – arranged by Tom Parker (Apollo 100, New London Chorale) and David Whitaker (Nico, Marianne Faithfull), and featuring the cream of UK session personnel as accompaniment – expertly elevate Styvers’ intimate, haunting songcraft, heightening songs like her iconic debut single, “Beat The Reaper,” with the baroque flavors of early 1970s British pop.

Gemini Girl: The Complete Hush Recordings is the exhaustive document Laurie Styvers’ remarkable body of work has so long demanded. Drawn from original tapes and session reels, the 36-track, newly remastered anthology includes Spilt Milk and The Colorado Kid – both available for the first time in five decades – alongside a full album’s worth of unreleased material, including demos, alternate versions, and previously unheard songs. The 48-page booklet includes painstaking liner notes by compilation producer Alec Palao that delve deep into Styvers’ heartbreaking legend, based upon the recollections of those who knew or worked with her, all extensively illustrated with never-before-seen photos, rare memorabilia, and more. Discretely moving, intensely melancholic, and rich with Styvers’ unique gift for graceful melodies, Gemini Girl: The Complete Hush Recordings now stands as the last word on the intangible magic of this fascinating and mysterious artist.

“Although Laurie’s modern echoes are an undeniable delight, it is her reverberations in the music of the early ’70s that proves uncanny. Gemini Girl sets out to broaden Laurie’s fanbase and right her wrongful obfuscation.” —Shindig! Magazine

Disk 1 – Spilt Milk

1. Beat The Reaper
2. Imagine That The Lights Have Gone Out
3. All I Ever Had
4. Five Leaves Left
5. Gemini Girl
6. Pigeons
7. Leo Loves You
8. Seasonal Blues
9. You Keep Coming Home In The Mornings
10. Inside You
11. Eat Your Cornflakes
12. Open Your Window
13. Let Me Comfort You (previously unreleased)
14. God Knows The Reason (previously unreleased)
15. Gemini Girl (alternate version)
16. Eat Your Cornflakes (alternate version)
17. All I Ever Had (demo version)
18. White Flowers (alternate version)

Disk 2 – Colorado Girl

1. You Are My Inspiration
2. All American Long Haired Denimed Songwriting Guitar Man
3. Take Me In Your Arms Again
4. Heavenly Band
5. You Can Fly Me To The Moon
6. White Flowers
7. You Be The Tide, I’ll Be The Bay
8. There’s Still Time (Follow Your Heart)
9. Oh Colorado
10. Gather The Grain
11. Take Good Care
12. The Way It Should Stay (previously unreleased)
13. Now That The Rain Has Stopped (previously unreleased)
14. Part Time Lover (previously unreleased)
15. Crazy Rainy Spring (previously unreleased)
16. If You Don’t Write Me Soon (previously unreleased)
17. Oh Colorado (alternate version)
18. You Be The Tide, I’ll Be The Bay (alternate mix)