SUPER RARE 1971 LOCAL FIRST PRESS
HARD ROCK GUITAR DOMINATED

Thee Original 1971 extremely-rare small printing…nearly impossible to find.

SHORT CROSS:
In 1965 Velpo Robertson was invited by his friend Duddley Bird Sharp to play in a group. The first thing he did was to lower the tuning of his stella acoustic guitar by one octave producing “a weird but beautiful sound”. With the help of drummer, Gray McCalley, they started playing original tunes calling themselves Short Cross. They recorded this album in 1971, inaugurating the Alpha studios, with the following line-up: Dudley Bird Sharp – bass, backing vocals / Velpo Robertson – lead, bottleneck and acoustic guitars / Butch Owens – organ, piano and moog / Gray McCalley – drums, percussions and backing vocals.

Unfortunately the record didn’t sell enough, mostly because of a bad distribution (virtually no one knew the album existed! Yet now communications have spread the word, so now original copies change hands for $300 + if found MINTY CLEAN … here’s such rarity (see condition below = original 1971 print!

The only album by USA (Virginia) band SHORT CROSS plays a highly energetic and appealing style of hard rock with killer lead guitar and heavy organ, beautifully produced and executed. Furthermore features self-penned material, strong vocals and great jamming – especially their guitar. Although obscure, the SHORT CROSS album is as good as anything recorded at the time and is wholeheartedly recommended!

From Sandston, Virginia,SHORT CROSS evolved out of the Hustlers, whose members included, ex-Reactors Steve Hicks and ex-Outlaws Butch Owens alongside core members Velpo Robertson, Gray McCalley and Ben Luck. The latter left to join the Barracudas, of A Plane View LP fame.The SHORT CROSS super-rare album can best be described as heavy psychedelic blues, at its purest on their track ” Suicide Blues.”

There’s plenty of good guitar work throughout, “Wastin’ Time,” “Just Don’t Care,” “Till We Reach The Sun” and “Hobo Love Song” all have their share, whilst “Ellen” is a slow bluesy ballad. If this musical genre is where you’re at you shouldn’t be disappointed!

* Gray McCalley (drums, percussion, vocals),
* Butch Owens (organ, piano, Moog, Hammond, vocals),
* Velpo Robertson (vocals, lead guitar, piano),
* Steve Hicks (bass),
* Dudley “Byrd” Sharp (bass, backing vocals)

A
Nothin’ but a Woman 4:45
Wastin Time 3:42
Suicide Blues 6:59
B:
Just Don’t Care 4:25
On My Own 4:45
‘Till We Reach the Sun 4:49
Ellen 6:50
Hobo Love Song 4:45