LITTLE HANDS

Listen to LITTLE HANDS by Skip Spence.

Skip Spence nudges a little higher up the obscurity scale, often being called the "American Syd Barrett" or maybe the "Bay Area Roky Erickson." I kid! Still, he certainly fits the template of the sixties seeker who burned out and faded away.

"Oar," Spence's solo album after leaving Moby Grape (who were super-famous for a period of time, now only among the cognoscenti) is a touchstone for many. Little Hands is the opening track, and it's in that folkie singalong anthem style I'm known to prefer.

Little Hands is one of those songs where, if you like it on the first listen, be careful because it's not actually a Hey Jude-style crowdpleaser, but if you don't like it immediately, give it a few more spins because there's a lot more going on than the simple arrangement would have you believe.

Photo: In repose (2).