HOLLANDER, DAVID

Starbody is a cultural overview, discography, and full-color visual archive of rare LP cover art, photos, and ephemera documenting the explosion of consciousness that sprang from the psychedelic counterculture of the late '60s and early '70s.

Starbody explores a spectrum of belief as deep and wide as the cosmos itself—from records produced by the best-known mystical and occult groups of the day to instructional "chakra-balancing" LPs to the manifestations of obscure visionaries, such as a UFO love cult and a sect of Southside Chicago "Black Hebrews" who expatriated to Israel. The common thread shared by these groups and individuals is their determination—sometimes ferocious, sometimes gentle—to actualize enlightenment through the use of meditation, psychedelics, rituals, metaphysical technology, psycho-calisthenics, and, of course, music.

Along with the album art, most of which has never been seen outside fringe and collector circles, this book contains background on the musicians and groups who produced the LPs, as well as full color reproductions of LP sleeves, 45 sleeves, and cassette j-cards. A digital download code for a free MP3 sampler of some of the best music from the records featured in the book is provided to book buyers.