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Bethlehem Asylum's only two albums, combined into this CD, provide an insight into the future of fusion and prog rock artists that will follow. The first album ("Commit Yourself") offers a more jazzy instrumentation and superb work on piano, sax and flute. The eponymous second album has more harmonizing but the psychedelic sounds of the late 60s are on full display, with rock and jazz fused and then veering into more spacey prog rock They originated from the St. Petersburg/Tampa area in Florida. Although they toured extensively all around the South, had a respectable reputation as a live band and were often double billed with The Allman Brothers.

Track Listing

Sales Points

• For fans of progressive rock bands-Sprit, Sea Train, Wishbone Ash and Leviathan
• Bethlehem Asylum aka Bedlam, is a psychiatric facility in London, founded in 1247, that inspired a number of horror based books, films and TV series.
• Charlie DeChant (vocals, saxophone, flute), played with Atlanta Rhythm Section and Hall & Oates, backed Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley
• Russell Buddy Helm (drums) played with Frank Zappa and Tim Buckley, worked with Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Mike Bloomfield, Big Joe Turner, Sting and Kanye West
• The release is a combination of their only two albums, never before on CD and digital
• They toured the south extensively and were well-known for their live performances
• They were often double billed with the Allman Brothers, opened for Sly and the Family Stone, ensuring a lot of people were exposed to their music
• The band was based out of the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida area
• Recorded at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia
• 2 albums originally released in 1970 and 1971 haven't ever been available in any re-released format since

Press Quotes

What remains, however, is a time-capsule glimpse into the sounds (to quote Don McLean) of 'a long, long time ago,' and as he also said, 'when the music used to make me smile.' Well, smiles should be all around, because these two Bethlehem Asylum LPs are a really nice treasure from the purity of all those long ago and way back rocking 'n' rolling years.

     —Bill Golembeski, Something Else!