Most of you know who Syd Barrett is, but in case you don’t, he is the founding member of Pink Floyd who lost his mind and recorded two solo albums before disappearing from the music industry. Well, most of you don’t know who Skip Spence is, so in case you’re interested, he is the co-founder of Moby Grape who lost his mind and released one solo album before withdrawing from the music industry. Barrett’s “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett” are way better-known than Spence’s “Oar” from 1969, because of the worldwide popularity of Pink Floyd. But in the sense of quality, “Oar” is equally creative, diverse, and intimate, as Barrett’s solo records. The obscurity of Spence’s album lies in the fact that it was not promoted by Columbia Records, despite pleadings from the producer David Rubinson. It was the lowest-selling album in the company’s history at the time and was deleted from the Columbia catalog within a year of its release. “Oar” was recorded after Spence had spent six months in Bellevue Hospital and it was described as "one of the most harrowing documents of pain and confusion ever made." The material was recorded in 1969, in a Nashville studio, with Skip playing all the instruments. There was a particularly patient recording engineer, Mike Figlio, which Rubinson instructed to keep the tapes running at all times and record everything that Spence did. Rubinson chose to stay away from the studio, concerned that Spence's recording activities would be distracted by the presence of a producer. Although he intended for the recordings to be a demo version before entering the full-production phase, Rubinson liked the songs so much that he gave them to Columbia as the final product. After the release of the album, Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence drifted from reality, more and more. Mental illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism prevented him from sustaining a career in the music industry. Much of his life was spent in third party care, as a ward of the State of California, and either homeless or in temporary accommodations in his later years.
In 1999, the Birdman label of Burbank, California released a tribute album titled “More Oar: A Tribute To The Skip Spence Album.” It featured covers of the original record's tracks by Robert Plant, Robyn Hitchcock, Tom Waits, Greg Dulli, Mark Lanegan, Beck, Diesel Park West, Mudhoney, and others.
