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These recordings from the Kansas City threesome, JPT Scare Band, from 1973-75, have been
bootlegged for eons at pricey sums. Finally, Monster Records delivers the prime cut of
psychedelic hard rock to you, the people, and hopefully the band members will finally get to
see some cash flow out of their work.
If the band had a signed record contract back in the early ’70s, there is no doubt they
would be up there with Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Black Sabbath for guitar overload
damage. Unfortunately, these recordings never really made it out of the inner circles of hard psych heads. Of course, Sleeping Sickness isn’t a copy of those bands or their styles,
but the main focus here is very long (often 10 minute plus) jams that concentrate on the guitar playing of Terry Swope. Swope takes a riff and destroys it over and over, until you aren’t sure what came before the moment you are in. A perfect example of this is the Hendrix-y opener and title song, "Sleeping Sickness." After a funky opening, a tight riff starts to dominate the song. After the verse-chorus part, Swope takes flight with about 10 minutes of pure guitar damage. Solos twine in and out of each other, with excellent use of feedback and fuzz pedals, while drummer Jeff Littrell and bassist Paul Grigsby seem almost telepathic and tapped into wherever Swope is taking his guitar.
Perhaps what makes Sleeping Sickness stand out more than anything is that it doesn’t sound
dated at all. I am sure there were bands all over America at that time, gathering in basements and playing for hours and hours under a variety of conditions. The JPT Scare Band
recorded most of this stuff in the basement of their party house in Kansas City. While it does date from the mid-’70s, Sleeping Sickness definitely has a "’60s" feel about it, in terms of the freedom of the players and how well they play together, as opposed to the bass and drums sitting back while the guitar player gets all the glory. Of course, the guitar is the star of this show, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near as entertaining if the other musicians didn’t keep their collective feet on the ground, at least a little bit.
While the sonic fidelity on this isn’t exactly up to Pink Floyd standards, that isn’t what
you are getting this for anyway. This is a classic snapshot into the basement of a true American Rock Band doing what they do best. It is easy to imagine all their friends freaking freely to their brand of tripped-out, space-vibe rock. Interesting liner and production notes round out this great package (lots of photos, lyrics, etc.) and proves that, in the mid-’70s, not all of American rock was asleep or staring at its navel. [www.jptscareband.com/jpt-reviews.]

Not since Hendrix, Cream, Steppenwolf, or The Doors has a group put it together so well. The music seduces you, takes you to a level of ecstacy, explodes into a frenzy of electric pulsations and leaves you panting for more. If you're a virgin on the real rock scene, I suggest you lose it with these guys. They're definitely the masters.

A great re-issue from Monster Records The name JPT is based around the first letter in the members first names drummer Jeff Lintrell, Paul Grigsby bass,vocals and Tony Swope vocals/guitar. The recordings of this album dates back to 1973 when the band was formed compiled from two previous releases on Monster, Acid Acetate Excurison and Rape of Titan´s Sirens. There is also recordings on this album recorded originally from 1974-1976. There is not too much info on what this great band out of Kansas Missouri went but I guess they played pretty much on the local club circuit and local out door fests back then but they wasnt signed, not what I know anyway, I know from collectors that the vinyls that have come out with this band is very expensive and very rare. Thanks to Monster its available on cd format for a fairly cheap price cause this is great collectors item if you are fan of early 70s heavyrock. The main attraction is guitarist Terry Swope whose sound is similar to Hendrix, Iommi, Louis Dambra(Sir Lord Baltimore) and Jim McCarty(Cactus) a fantastic guitarist with a very inspirational and influential sound. The backing of Grigsby and Littrell forms a heavy pumping rhythm section. 7 seven tracks is in here classic original vintage heavyrock anthems all of them, similarities with Jimi Hendrix Experience, Freedom, Sir Lord Baltimore, Tempest and Banchee is very obvious, along with Led Zeppelin and Cream. Sleeping Sickness is a powerhouse record and worth every penny.[Wikipedia]