The Indianapolis soul album that should-have-been – The Hamilton Movement’s complete recordings, presented in album form and a bundle including Bernie Grundman’s all-analog lacquered 7″ of their legendary single “She’s Gone” while stock lasts!
AVAILABLE ONLY ON THE NOW-AGAIN BANDCAMP» The Hamilton Movement – She’s Gone – The Complete Works
You’d be hard pressed to name a song with the driving, emotional intensity and raw energy of the Hamilton Movement’s anthemic ode to heartbreak, “She’s Gone.” Issued as the B-side of the band’s 1976 single “We’re Gonna Party,” and distributed in and around Indianapolis, there is no evidence the song garnered significant attention upon release — yet over the past fifty years it has amassed a cult of devotees across the globe.
But while interest in the group’s music remains strong, little information has surfaced about the Hamilton Movement’s history, and until now, there have been no official reissues of their work. This collection presents the band’s discography, alongside previously unreleased music discovered on tape.
The keys to the Hamilton Movement’s mystery can be found in central Indiana, where promoter Dick Melvin has lived the past few decades, in a rural suburb of Indianapolis, amidst forests and cornfields. Melvin served as the group’s manager throughout their entire existence, but his involvement extended far beyond typical managerial duties. He co-wrote and co-arranged the band’s music; he produced and released their recordings on his Look Out label.
Dick Melvin is also the Hamilton Movement’s archivist. His home is filled with boxes of demo sessions, live tapes, contracts, posters, and promotional photos documenting his work with the Hamilton Movement. He entrusted his archive to Now-Again’s care and we assembled this album under his watch. Dicks’s story, and the story of his band, are presented in an extensive, oversized booklet with Dick’s rarely-seen photos and ephemera and words by Now-Again’s Egon and Naptown historian Kyle Long.
We pulled out all the stops in the reproduction of this record – which in its original, super-rare form sells for upwards of $10,000. The 7″s all-analog lacquer was cut by Bernie Grundman in Hollywood, CA direct from Dick Melvin’s recently discovered master tapes. The B-side presents a never-issued alternate mix of the song, sans overdubbed horns and with punchier drums and bass.
This record was pressed in a numbered edition of 350 – and 50 promo – copies at one of the world’s most lauded plants – Optimal in Germany. Printed jacket with printed insert. You simply cannot and will not get better than this definitive issue of this amazing, uplifting song.