H. P. Lovecraft is the debut album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft. It was released in October 1967 by Philips Records. Background The album blended psychedelic and folk rock influences and was marked by the haunting, eerie ambiance of the band's music, which itself was often inspired by the literary works of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, after whom the band had named themselves. Although most of the album comprises interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk songs, it also features the self-penned compositions "That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)", "The Time Machine", and arguably the band's best known song, "The White Ship". The traditional song "Wayfaring Stranger" was released as a single just ahead of the album in September 1967 and "The White Ship" was issued shortly after the album appeared, although neither single reached the charts. Like its attendant singles, H. P. Lovecraft was also somewhat commercially unsuccessful and failed to reach the Billboard Top LPs chart or the UK Albums Chart, although it did sell reasonably well over time. Recording and contents Recording sessions for the album took place in mid-1967 at Universal Recording in Chicago, with the band's manager George Badonsky Record producer and Jerry DeClerk engineering. Progress on the album was very rapid, with the band recording many of the songs virtually live in the studio, although horns, woodwind instruments, and a nine-piece orchestra were overdubbed onto the tracks after completion of the initial sessions. The album is highlighted by the vaguely sinister ambiance of the band's music and by the oddly striking harmonies that resulted from the juxtoposition of guitarist and ex-folk singer George Edwards' folk-influenced singing and keyboardist Dave Michaels' classically trained, operatic phrasing. The ten songs included on H. P. Lovecraft exhibit a wide range of styles, encompassing elements of jazz on "That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)", folk music on "Wayfaring Stranger", Gregorian chant on "Gloria Patria", vaudeville psychedelia on "The Time Machine", and contemporary singer-songwriter material on "The Drifter", "Let's Get Together", "That's The Bag I'm In", and "Country Boy & Bleeker Street". In addition, the laid-back, druggy ambiance of the cover of Randy Newman's "I've Been Wrong Before" serves to give an indication of the musical direction that the band would follow on their second album, H. P. Lovecraft II. The album's centerpiece is the song "The White