STOOGES (The) - s/t, 1969 (hard-garage-punk, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) (Elektra EKS 74051)

1. 1969
Chanson brûlante avec la guitare de Ron Asheton qui dévaste tout sur son passage, à grands coups de fuzz et de pédale wah-wah. Iggy est ici dans un exercice vocal qui met tout le monde d'accord : sa voix est transcendantale.

2. I Wanna be your Dog
Ces mecs viennent d'ailleurs. Ils ont dû lire en profondeur le marquis de Sade ou Anne Rice...le titre est sans équivoque. Un brûlot, oserais-je dire presque gothique, un lancinant riff de guitare, et sur la fin la fuzz envoie la sauce.

3. We Will Fall
La drogue commence à faire son effet pour ce morceau de plus de 10 minutes ! On est plongé en plein dans les abymes du trip halluciné ici. "We Will Fall" (littéralement "on tombera"), le titre parle de lui-même..

Les comparses ont dû mettre le paquet côté champignons et la marie-jeanne parce qu'on peut sentir les effluves de la fumée parvenir jusqu'à nous !

4. No Fun
On est en 1969 et cette chanson sonne comme les groupes garage du milieu des 60s, à la manière des Kinks. Toujours un son de guitare distordu, bien entendu. Commme cela pourrait-il en être autrement ?

5. Real Cool Time
La Terre commence à s'embraser lorsque la guitare entame la chanson avec des effets en veux tu en voilà, l'explosion est imminente.

6. Ann
Posée, un peu de douceur dans cette ambiance de malade mental.

7. Not Right
Son qui n'a pas la puissance d'un 1969 ou d'un I Wanna be your Dog, mais qui envoie des flêches empoisonnées aux tympans de l'auditeur téméraire.

8. Little Doll
"Little Doll" ou comment terminer un album incendiaire en beauté !

Après avoir écouté ce premier opus des Stooges, j'ai encore les oreilles qui sifflent !

Caravan's third album

CARAVAN - In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971 (prog rock, Canterbury, UK) (Deram SDL-R 1)

One side composed of four songs and the second side consisting of one track containing eight different sections but conceived as an entity. To describe the music would take up far more space than is available here but those of you who have heard Caravan live and on their previous records, will know the quality to expect although you may not have heard all the numbers before. Those of you who haven't heard the group before are in for a very enjoyable initiation.







Personnel :

Richard Sinclair - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
David Sinclair - organ, piano, mellotron, harmony vocals
Pye Hastings - electric guitars, acoustic guitar, vocals
Jimmy Hastings - flute, tenor sax, piccolo
Richard Coughlan - drums, percussion
David Grinsted - cannon, bell and wind

Tracklisting :

A1 Golf Girl 5:01
A2 Winter Wine 7:36
A3 Love to Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) 3:04
A4 In the Land of Grey and Pink 5:00

B Nine Feet Underground 22:44
a. Nigel Blows a Tune
b. Love's a Friend
c. Make It 76
d. Dance of the Seven Paper Hankies
e. Hold Grandad by the Nose
f. Honest I Did !
g. Disassociation
h. 100% Proof

- Their Story -

The years 1966 and '67 were very active and creative on the Canterbury semi-pro group scene. Several of the groups and musicians who started their musical careers in those years are now nationally known. It was at the end of this period that Caravan was formed by Pye, Richard, David and Richard, all of whom had played together previously in various bands but primarily in the Wilde Flowers. They started their professional careers in the glamorous world of show business with a six month sojourn in a house at Whitstable, close to their home town of Canterbury ; six months which they spent writing, rehearsing and trying to find out where their next meal was going to come from. In june of '68 they had to leave their Whitstable home and they spent the summer living in tents at Graveney and rehearsing in the church hall. By this time they had come to the attention of a record company executive and in october '68 they made their first album for MGM Verve. When the weather became too cold for them to continue their spartan way of life at Graveney, they moved up to London, staying with friends, but after only six weeks they decided to return to the more relaxed and healthier atmosphere of Canterbury, where they still live.

Their record company had introduced them to a leading London management company at the beginning of 1969 and this led to their getting regular work at last. Thanks to their year of virtually nothing but practice, they were one of the most musically proficient and original bands in the country, playing their own distinctive form of British rock ; a rarity in those days in the land of a thousand blues bands. After 10 months of gigging up and down the country building up a reputation they signed a new recording contract with Decca (after parting from MGM Verve when that company curtailed its operation in the U.K.) and their second album, released in September 1970, was enthusiastically received by all, both here and abroad, and was in the charts for 6 weeks. At last, they were getting the acclaim that they deserved so well and worked so hard for.

LUCIFER'S FRIEND - Toxic Shadow (taken from "Lucifer's Friend" LP, 1970)

THUNDER & ROSES - King of the Black Sunrise, 1969 (USA, Philadelphia, PA., heavy psych blues)(United Artists UAS 6709)

Ce trio basique du rock (guitare, basse, batterie) est dominé par la personnalité de Chris Bond et se situe dans la lignée des Cream et du Jimi Hendrix Experience. D'ailleurs dans cet album, la seule composition qui ne soit pas due à la plume de leur guitariste/chanteur, Chris Bond, est "Red House" et elle est bien sûr empruntée au répertoire de Jimi Hendrix. Comme on peut s'en douter, pédale wah-wah, distorsion et autres effets de guitare sont les mots-clés de ce 33 tours au rythme enlevé. "White Lace and Strange", une composition en tout point digne des Cream, offre une ouverture dynamique à souhait, avec un son énorme et une belle montée d'adrénaline en perspective pour l'auditeur. Le ton est donné et on ne décèle aucun baisse d'intensité tout au long des plages suivantes, jusqu'au long blues final, "Open Up your Eyes", qui sonne encore une fois très Cream. L'album des Thunder and Roses est donc hautement recommandable.

Personnel :
Chris Bond - guitars, vocals
Tom Schaffer - bass, vocals
George Emme - drums

Tracklisting :
A1 White Lace and Strange 3:15
A2 I Loved a Woman 4:37
A3 Country Life 2:43
A4 Red House 5:37
B1 Moon Child 4:10
B2 Dear Dream Maker 3:28
B3 King of the Black Sunrise 3:47
B4 Open Up Your Eyes 7:18

LINK (no pass)

LADIES W.C. - s/t, 1969 (VENEZUELA, Caracas, heavy psych) (Souvenir SLP-13-50)

This late-’60s Venezuelan band is another fine discovery from Shadoks, who seem to be unearthing an endless stream of worthy, neglected psychedelic albums. The liner notes leave many questions unanswered, but the story appears to begin with Venezuelan-born American Steve Scott. A bassist and singer, he found two Venezuelan brothers, Mario and Jaime Seijas, and they then completed a foursome with Adib Casta. Inspired by the times, they recorded one album and became quite popular, playing regularly to large crowds. There’s no information, though, about where the strange name came from, or what happened to the group. In any case, drummer Mario Seijas and Scott lay down a strong, solid rhythm section, with the bass more prominent than usual on records of this time. Jaime Seijas’ rhythm guitar generally lies low and lets lead guitarist Casta wah and wail his way around the songs. That turns out to be a good idea, because Casta can really shine, whether playing clear melodic lines, warbly wah-wah, or intense fuzz leads. The 10 songs here represent, for the most part, prime acid rock. Recorded in 1969 , it feels like it, with wah and fuzz represented in spades. Scott’s vocals are strong and clear, with that high-end wail you can hear in so many Nuggets-era bands. Showing some of their blues heritage, they pull out the harmonica for emphasis on a number of songs, with "Put That In Your Pipe and Smoke It" a particularly good example of Scott’s skill there. The 34 minutes range from "I Can’t See Straight" and its harmonica and guitar lead to the vocal harmonies of "And Everywhere I See The Shadow of That Life," with a break featuring some truly blazing psych lead guitar. In general, actually, this album belongs to Casta’s lead guitar displays. From brittle, high-end twangs to watery wah and, best of all, totally space-bound fiery fuzz, he makes me wish the band had recorded more albums. A few of the songs veer from the blues-centered rock. "To Walk On Water" is really a pop song, slow and more orchestrated than most of the others here. The vocals are more in a crooner style than the usual rock feel, but it still works. "The Time Of Hope Is Gone" feels somewhat more calculated, very much of its time. With organ and ending with a portentous spoken-word section, it’s a reasonable attempt at overtly mystical psychedelia. The studio work throughout the album contains a number of nice touches, as they toss in sound effects to liven things up. From the opening toilet flush to a baby crying, they were clearly having fun with it.

Personnel :
Steve Scott - bass, vocals
Mario Seijas - drums
Jaime Seijas - guitar, vocals
Adid Casta - guitar, vocals

Tracklisting :
1. People 2:40
2. I Can't See Straight 3:21
3. To Talk on Water 3:21
4. Heaven's Coing Up 4:19
5. And Everywhere I See the Shadow of That Life 3:18
6. Searching for a Meeting Place 2:45
7. Put That in your Pipe ans Smoke It 3:01
8. The Time of Hope is Gone 2:34
9. W.C. Blues 2:49
10. I'm Gonna Be 5:48

LINK (no pass)

MAJORITY ONE - s/t, 1971 (ENGLAND, Kingston upon Hull, psych pop) (Pink Elephant PE 888 010)

Originally known as The Mustangs they went in 1965 to London and changed their name to The Majority. They released eight singles from 1965 to 1968 and also backing Barry Ryan on his international chartbuster "Eloise". They toured France in early 1969 and as the trip turned out to be very successful they finally moved over there and never played in England again. They got a contract deal with Pink Elephant and changed their name to Majority One. They did two 45's for their new label and especially their first single "Because I Love You" became a hit. This song was also included on their only album that was finally released in 1971 . There are a few throwaway cuts on it like the totally schmaltzy "I Nearly Died" or the nasty "Glass Image" but most of the material is pretty good late sixties Pop and Psychedelic with a strong Bee Gee's influence sometimes. The re-issue on Synton (Synton OL 5682 / 2005 ) gives no further information but is an exact repro with one bonus cut. There's also an eighteen track compilation from RPM-Records called "Rainbow Rockin' Chair".

Personnel :
Robert Long
Peter Mizen
Ian Sutherland
Barry Wigley
Walter Andrews

Tracklisting :
1. Feedback 3:28
2. Rainbow Rockin' Chair 2:25
3. A Cigarette, A Cup of Tea 2:50
4. I Nearly Died 3:34
5. Looks Like Rain 2:51
6. Glass Image 2:45
7. Because I Love 2:11
8. Love Came Today 2:41
9. Depths of my Mind 2:17
10. I Don't Mind the Rain 3:32
11. I See Her Everywhere
12. Roger La Frite 5:46
13. Revelation 0:40
14. Get Back Home 2:45 (bonus track)

LINK  (no pass)

MARIANI - Perpetuum Mobile, 1970 (USA, Austin, TX., heavy psych blues ultra rare LP) (Sonobeat HEC 411)

Eric Johnson, né le 17 août 1954, fait ses débuts au sein de The Id. Il enregistre en 1975 un LP sur le label Discreet de Frank Zappa avec le groupe Electromagnets (1000 copies). La découverte de Jimi Hendrix et Jeff Beck sera décisive. "Perpetuum Mobile" pressé à seulement 100 exemplaires (!) met en scène le jeune prodige texan âgé alors de 16 ans (!). Le disque est l'un des plus grands albums de hard-blues-psychédélique de l'époque avec des titres surboostés comme Re-Birth Day, Things are Changing, Euphoria, véritables monuments de technicité et de génie guitaristique. Akarma a réédité l'album en format digipack avec deux titres additionnels (Re-Birth Day, Things are Changing) en 2000.
Ce groupe est particulièrement difficile à suivre dans ses pérégrinations discographiques. Les enregistrements étant parus sur un label texan à faible rayon d'action, il est bien sûr plus facile de se procurer des rééditions (même à tirage très limité) que des originaux quasi-invisibles où les informations y fugurant demeurent pour le moins succintes. Cette formation d'Austin semble avoir à son actif au moins un simple "Memories" / "Re-Birth Day" (Sonobeat 118), publié en 1970. Eric Johnson, guitariste, compositeur et chanteur, en est la figure centrale et y fait une demonstration éblouissante de ses qualités. Profondément influencé par le Blues ("Baby, I Want to Sing the Blues...And Get Free") et par Jimi Hendrix, il nous régale de solos extraordinaires de maîtrise technique, de virulence, de feeling et d'inventivité ("Searching for a New Dimension", la suite "The Unknown Path / Euphoria", "First Song", "Third Song", "Pulsar" sur le 33 tours. Les morceaux, habilement composés, sont longs pour permettre un développement maximal des parties instrumentales ("Boots"). A noter que la réimpression de Perpetuum Mobile n'aurait pas dépassé 150 exemplaires, tous numérotés, ce qui en fait déjà un collector en soi.

Personnel :
Eric Johnson - guitar, vocals
Vince Mariani - drums, vocals
Jay Podolnick - bass, vocals

Tracklisting :
1. Searchin' for a New Dimension 5:40
2. Re-Birth Day 5:52
3. Thing are Changing 4:42
4. Lord, I Just Can't Help myself 2:55
5. The Unknown Path 5:59
6. Euphoria 11:24
7. Windy Planet 2:19

Bonus Tracks :
8. Re-Birth Day 3:06
9. Thing are Changing 2:08

LINK (no pass)

McCully Workshop Inc. - s/t, 1969 (SOUTH AFRICA, Cape Town, pop psych folk) (Trutone STO 727)

Original sleeve notes from album back cover :

An angel must have been passing overhead. In McCully Workshop the silence was deafening. While it lasted Bill Forrest said, "Could happen."

It did happen. It's still happening and we hope it will go on happening for a long time to come as more addicts become 'hooked' on McCully Workshop sound.

Producing it wasn't all that simple.

"Tully, put the cans on," comes through the speaker in Billy's dulcet tones. Everybody puts the cans on. What they hear is Tully telling them with a good deal of candid soul-searching why he couldn't do that particular number. General collapse and recording adjourned for some canned compensation.

Rich embellishes the interval with a few ninths and diminished chords while Tully murmurs, "That won't fit," or Mm, maybe," or suddenly "Hell, that's great. Do it again." Ian is heard muttering that in America the brass section has it scored for them and promptly scores a big nil by tripping over the nearest mike.

"Could happen," says Billy.

"How about this before the lead comes in?" says Mike and the peace is shattered by a furiously intricate four bar roll. "Lousy!" comes back the chorus in four party harmony with a vulgar noise from the trumpet. Billy leaps to his feet and smashes another globe in the ceiling.

"Ridiculous. Man, it's a gas. We'll use it."

Personnel :
Tully McCullagh - Vocals, bass, guitar
Mike McCullagh - Vocals, drums
Richard Hyam - Rhythm and acoustic guitars, vocals
Glenda Wassman - Organ, vocals
Ian Smith - Trumpet, flute, flugelhorn

Tracklisting :
1. Why Can't It Rain 4:12
2. Hardcase Woman 2:34
3. Ice Lover 3:05
4. Four Walls 2:40
5. Stargazer 2:48
6. Rush Hour at Midnight 3:42
7. Jackin' Around 2:04
8. Head for the Moon 4:00
9. The Circus 4:00
10. Years of my Life 3:19
11. Fast Car 3:41
12. Séance 3:05

LINK (no pass) 

MOTHER TUCKERS YELLOW DUCK - Home Grown Stuff, 1969 (CANADA, Vancouver, psych blues rock)(Capitol ST 6304)

Formed in Vancouver in 1968 , their first 45 has become their most sought-after item. Described on their second album as a "happy mixture of psychedelic rock, blues-rock, jazz-rock with an overall country flavour" their material is an enjoyable and diverse mixture of styles. The first album is the stronger of the two, being the less country-influenced and more psychedelic. Crammed with excellent guitar-work throughout and fine harmony vocal arrangements, the highlights include the uptempo "Times are Changing", the great country-rocker "One Glass for Wine", the dynamic lick-laden "One Ring Jane", the sublime melancholy of "Funny Feeling" and the climatic slow-burning finale of "Somebody Think", which can also be appreciated on Echoes in Time, Vol. 1. Recommended - an album to savour. The group was slated for inclusion on the Cool-Aid Benefit album but either Capitol or their management put the nix on it ! This album was re-issued on CD in 2000.

Line-up

John Patrick Caldwell - vocals, harp
Charles Faulkner - bass
Les Law - guitar
Roger Law -guitar
Hugh Lockhead - drums
Donnie McDougall - guitar, vocal



Tracklisting

1. Times are Changing 2:43

2. No One in Particular 3:46

3. Little Pony 2:14

4. One Glass for Wine 3:14

5. Elevated Platform 2:39

6. Walk Your Head Around 4:36

7. One Ring Jane 4:22

8. Pot of Gold 3:27

9. Intermission Poetry 3:10

10. Funny Feeling 3:38

11. Blue Dye 2:43

12. Someone Think 3:55

NAZARETH - s/t, 1971 (SCOTLAND, Dunfermline, hard-rock)(Pegasus PEG 10)

The hard rocker "Witchdoctor Woman" is a devastating opener, full of killer fuzz guitar and McCafferty's overwhelming vocal power (especially at the end). The solo part is awesome too, listen to the way the guitar scorches while the bass is thumping away like a mastodon. Obviously, they had been listening to what Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep did the previous year."Dear John" is pure piano boogie rock. Awesome song. "Empty Arms, Empty Heart" has a phenomenal riff that should definitely be on any list of greatest guitar riffs. But few people know about this album so I guess that will never happen."I Had A Dream" is beautiful. Dan McCafferty can adapt his voice to practically any style of music, and this proves it. Listen to this song and you'll be thinking "this can't be the same guy who sang 'Hair Of The Dog' and 'Razamanaz'". But it is! What a lovely vocal melody and soothing harmonium. "Red Light Lady" is interesting. Starts out simple enough as a kick-ass rock tune, then slows down and goes into a weird orchestral part. Unique, definitely.Speaking of unique, how about "Fat Man" ? Killer riff with some weird, distorted vocals. Man, these guys just had a plethora of ideas. Chronicling a day in the life of an unpopular fat guy."Country Girl" is a marvelous country ballad with great slide guitar from Manny. Dan sings beautifully. "Morning Dew" is THE masterpiece on this album, and in my book, one of the top 5 greatest songs the band ever did. Yeah, you can keep your radio tunes and hit singles, but this song is Nazareth's Mona Lisa. Definitely the best version of this song ever made, it even blows away the Jeff Beck Group's version. The intro is priceless, with a pounding bass line being driven into your brain, before some brilliant, spooky guitar effects come into play (love the way Manny uses echo here). And here's Dan adapting his voice once again, starting out peaceful and smooth before exploding into full-fledged rock 'n roll as the rest of the band explodes with him. Simply priceless. "The King Is Dead" is a chilling tale of anarchy, complete with string accompaniment. This one can really haunt you to death, with Dan's whispery vocals and Manny's beautiful acoustic guitar. The b-side "Friends" is included here and it's a real treat. Yet another country-styled acoustic ballad that really is wonderful. This is about as far from 'Hair Of The Dog' as you can get! Anyway, it's a nice, relaxing little ditty about relaxation. Has funny lyrics too ("Roll yourself a joint, friend...Empty your head, friend"). Great stuff. The alternate versions of the original songs are pretty pointless, but they take nothing away from the musical mastery of this great, forgotten album.

Line-up

Dan McCafferty (vocals)
Pete Agnew (bass, vocals)
Darrell Sweet (drums, percussion, vocals, 1968-99)
Manny Charlton (guitar, banjo, synthesizer, vocals, 1968-90)
Zal Cleminson (guitar, synthesizer, 1978-80)
Billy Rankin (guitar, keyboards, 1980-83, 1990-94)
John Locke (keyboards, 1980-82)
Jimmy Murrison (guitar, 1994-present)
Ronnie Leahy (keyboards, 1994-2002)
Lee Agnew (drums, 1999-present)


Tracklisting

01. Witchdoctor Woman 4:06

02. Dear John 3:45

03. Empty Arms, Empty Heart 3:17

04. I Had a Dream 3:22

05. Red Light Lady 5:56

06. Fat Man 3:23

07. Country Girl 4:03

08. Morning Dew 7:05

09. The King is Dead 5:42

10. Friends (B Side)* 3:25

11. Dear John (Single Edit)* 2:44

12. Morning Dew (Alternate Edited Version)* 4:51

13. Friends (Alternate of B Side)* 3:25

14. Morning Dew (Extended Single Version)*

15. Witchdoctor Woman (Previously Unreleased)*

* Bonus Tracks

NEW YARDBIRDS - London Blues, 2005 (live performances, 1968) (Led Zeppelin)(ENGLAND, hard rock blues)

While founding members Relf and McCarty wanted nothing more to do with the Yardbirds name, Jimmy Page felt otherwise. With a touring commitment slated for the fall in Scandinavia, the lead guitarist saw the break-up as an opportunity to put a new lineup together, a heavier band that would feature Page as producer and Grant as manager. Procol Harum's B.J. Wilson, Paul Francis, and noted session man Clem Cattini, who'd guested on more than a few Yardbirds tracks under Most's supervision, were considered for the vacant drummer's throne. Young vocalist and composer Terry Reid was asked to replace Relf, but he turned down the offer because of a new recording contract with Most. He did, however, enthusiastically recommend to Page and Grant a then-unknown singer from the Midlands by the name of Robert Plant.Plant, in turn, recommended his childhood friend John Bonham on drums.Dreja bowed out to pursue a career as a rock photographer; enter bassist/keyboardist/arranger John Paul Jones, who, like Cattini, had worked with Page on countless sessions, including several with the Yardbirds. Rehearsals began in August; in early September, Page's revised Yardbirds hit the road. Fans at the Scandinavian shows were confused by new members, expecting to see Relf up front, but the band quickly found themselves clicking. After this brief tour, Page and his new bandmates returned to England to produce, in a very short time, a landmark debut album. Interestingly, what was to become Led Zeppelin was still being billed as "Yard Birds" or "The Yardbirds Featuring Jimmy Page" as late as October 1968 ; indeed, some early studio tapes from the Led Zeppelin album sessions were originally marked as being performed by "The Yardbirds." One song from the album, "Communication Breakdown", was a re-tooled version of a Yardbirds song, "Nervous Breakdown". However, a very different band was soon working under a very different identity — a change reportedly hastened, in part, by a cease-and-desist order from Dreja, who claimed that he still maintained legal rights to the "Yardbirds" name. The moniker 'Led Zeppelin' was an old inside joke among Page and his closest musical friends, several of whom would later take credit for the idea. Coined as early as 1966 , "Lead Zeppelin" was The Who's Keith Moon's tongue-in-cheek description of the prospective "supergroup" that would have comprised himself, John Entwistle, Steve Marriott, Beck and Page, because he felt they would go over "like a lead balloon." Once the idea was revived, the band elected to change the spelling of "lead" so that the name wouldn't be mispronounced, effectively closing the books on the Yardbirds for the rest of the century.

Line-up

Robert Plant - vocals, tambourin
Jimmy Page - guitar
John Bonham - drums
John-Paul Jones - bass


Tracklisting

1. I Can’t Quit You
2. I Gotta Move
3. Communication Breakdown
4. I Can’t Quit You
5. Killing Floor
6. Fought My Way Out Of The Darkness – Hush Little Baby
7. She Wants You – London Blues
8. Dazed And Confused
9. White Summer / Black Mountain Side

Tracks 1-2 : Tivoli Gardens, Stockholm, September 20, 1968
Tracks 3-9 : The Marquee, London, October 16, 1968

ORANGE BICYCLE - Let's Take a Trip on an Orange Bicycle, 1988 (compilation 1967-1968)(ENGLAND, London, psych)(Morgan Blue Town MBT 5003)

This rather lightweight vocal harmony outfit, evolved out of Robb Storme and The Whispers. They started playing quasi-psychedelic pop music in 1967 . They had a No 1 in France with their debut single Hyacinth Threads although their future singles including a cover of The Rolling Stones' Sing This All Together did not happen at home. Their album was produced by John Peel and was largely comprised of cover versions of Elton John/Bernie Taupin material such as Take Me To The Pilot, which was also released as a single. It also included Dylan's Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You and Denny Laine's Say You Don't Mind. A revitalised Morgan Bluetown label produced an album, Let's Take A Trip On... (Morgan Blue Town MBT 50003) in 1988. Containing 16 tracks in all, it includes all the Columbia 'A' and 'B' sides (except the third), but none of the later Parlophone ones. Sadly there are no sleevenotes at all to suggest where the other tracks originate from. Wilson Malone recorded a self-titled solo album as Wil Malone in 1970 for Fontana and was also in Motherlight.

Line-up

John Bachini - bass

Bernie Lee - guitar

Wilson Malone - keyboards, vocals

RJ Scales - vocals


Tracklisting

1.1 Hyacinth Threads 2:55
1.2 Dropping Out 2:45
1.3 Renaissance Fair 3:02
1.4 Sing this song all Together 2:40
1.5 Amy Peate 2:07
1.6 So long Marrianne 4:11
1.7 Jenskadajka 3:32
1.8 Soft Winds 2:50

2.1 Laura's Garden 3:16
2.2 Trip on an Orange Bicycle 3:32
2.3 Competition 2:40
2.4 L.A. 3:09
2.5 Nicely 2:59
2.6 Sister Sharon 2:23
2.7 Box 49 2:16
2.8 Lavender Girl 2:20

ORIENTAL SUNSHINE - Dedicated to the Bird we Love, 1969 (NORWAY, Bergen, folk psych very rare LP)(Philips 6317 002)

Something of an oddity, this an extremely rare psychedelic selection from the Norwegian duo of Nina Johansen on vocals and guitar, and Runa Walle on sitar, guitar and vocals, with support from their Indian friend Satnam Singh on flute and tablas plus some local jazz and rock musicians rounding out the rhythm section. Originally released in 1970 in Norway only, and selling in ridiculously small numbers, this has been something of a legendary cut for lovers of all things psychedelic, just waiting for the right time for a re-release. Now, with the neo-psych-folk revival in full swing, that time seems to have finally arrived. Still, this sure ain’t Six Organs of Admittance. What we have here is a gentle, billowing confection of sugary, delicate psychedelia that is absolutely awash in the supremely of-it’s-time sound of the rock-crossover sitar—not too dissimilar to the raga-pop cover versions of tunes by The Doors and The Rolling Stones being attempted by Ananda Shankar at around the same time. There are other obvious comparisons to be made here too, with Johansen’s honeyed vocals calling to mind certain female vocal-led psych bands of the era, such as The United States of America or Fifty Foot Hose. But perhaps the most accurate point of reference is to the Brazilian Tropicalia pioneers Os Mutantes, with their intoxicating mixture of laid-back bossa rhythms, exotic instrumentation, male and female vocals and the strange detachment of lyrics sung in English by someone who is not a native speaker of the language. Nevertheless, despite the comparisons, there is some interesting and idiosyncratic musicianship at work here. The strongest tune is undoubtedly the opener "Across Your Life", which starts out jazzy and sitar-drenched with a lazy rhythm before breaking into a heavy Latin freak-out in the final minute. The other clear stand-out track is "Can Anybody Tell ?" with its bluesy Hammond organ, groovy tabla shuffle, soaring flute and funky sitar breaks. Much of the rest of the album, however, tends to float by in an indistinguishable haze, with one track sounding very much like the last—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing provided you’re able to dig the gently wafting presence of ineffectual psychedelic sentiment. In fact, your enjoyment of this record is probably going to depend quite heavily on your tolerance of naive, pastoral psychedelic lyrics that occasionally stray dangerously close to self parody. Consider the following gem : "See the flowers kissing the sun / See the trees unfolding their beauty / Albatross floating in the air". Or how about: "Look at the flowers / Look at the grass grow". Or even : "Send me back to mother earth / Let it be my golden birth". You probably get the idea. Moreover, when the male and female vocals start to duet, there can be an uncomfortably fey “Peter-Paul-and-Mary"-ness to the proceedings. On the few occasions that Satnam Singh provides the vocals, his performance almost certainly benefits from being sung in Indian, with the meaning not readily available to the average English-speaking listener and a genuine sense of ‘otherness’ lifting his contributions out of the slightly limp regions inhabited by the others. Nonetheless, this is a genuinely pleasant record, strongly evocative of time and place and sopping with well-meant naivety. You’d probably be hard pushed to find it offensive in any way and, even if you did, it’s all over in half an hour : just sit tight and you can soon get back to your Black Metal.

Line-up

Nina Johansen - vocals, guitar

Rune Walle - guitar, vocals

Helge Grøslie - keyboards

Satnam Singh - sarod, flute

Sture Janson - bass


Tracklisting

1. Across Your Life 3:31

2. Mother Nature 3:01

3. Look at Me 1:41

4. Unless 2:51

5. Land of Wisdom 1:47

6. Let It be my Birth 2:10

7. Can Anybody Tell ? 5:48

8. Visions 2:46

9. My Way to Be Hurt 3:04

10. Where You Went 2:50

11. I'm Going 0:57

PARAMOUNTS (The) - Whiter Shades of R&B, 1983(compilation 1963-1965)(Edsel ED 112)

The Paramounts were formed back in 1959 whilst Brooker, Copping and Trower were still at secondary school in Southend. With the addition of Brownlee and Scott they developed a good local reputation as a covers band gigging in local youth clubs. Eventually Scott dropped out and Brooker took over the vocal duties. When they left school in 1962 they became semi-professional, acquired a manager Peter Martin and began to specialise in black American R&B covers of songs by artists like James Brown and Ray Charles. They also gained a residency at the Shades club in Southend. At the start of 1963 Brownlee was replaced by Wilson and later that year Copping left to go to Leicester University with Diz Derrick joining in his place. They were signed by Parlophone the same year and one of their demos, a cover of The Coasters' Poison Ivy was put out as a 45. It had a lot of commercial appeal and sold pretty well. They were further boosted when The Rolling Stones, who'd they'd worked with on the 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' pop show, described The Paramounts as "the best R&B group in England". Although their follow-up 45, a revival of Thurston Harris' Little Bitty Pretty One, was plugged quite hard it failed to sell, as did their subsequent releases. In 1964 they were featured on a Duffy Power flip side, Tired, Broke and Busted. By late 1965 they were clearly in decline (reduced to backing Sandie Shaw and Chris Andrews on European tours) and they split in September 1966 . Trower and Wilson remained on the R&B circuit whilst Brooker concentrated on songwriting, linking up with lyricist Keith Reid. By Spring 1967 they'd written quite a few songs and needed a band to play them. After advertising in 'Melody Maker' Procol Harum was formed. Over the subsequent years all the old Paramounts (apart from Diz Derrick who left the music business) were recruited to its ranks. Robin Trower later embarked on a solo career. The Edsel compilation (Edsel ED 112 / 1983 ) includes all the band's recordings plus four previously unissued cuts including a very lively cover of The Sorrows' You've Got What I Want and a barnstorming rendition of Charlie Mingus's black liberation anthem Freedom. (taken from "Tapestry Of Delights") My personal faves are their previously unreleased killer version of "Turn On Your Lovelight" and their cool cover of "A Certain Girl". R&B/Beat enthusiasts will love that platter, Procol Harum fans should give them a listen for historical reasons.

Line-up

Gary Brooker (keyboards, vocals)
Robin Trower (guitar)
Chris Copping (bass, 1959-62)
Bob Scott (vocals, 1959-61)
Mick Brownlee (drums, 1959-62)
Graham "Diz" Derrick (bass, 1962-66)
B.J. Wilson (drums, 1962-66)


Tracklisting

1. Poison Ivy

2. I Feel Good All Over

3. Little Bitty Pretty One

4. A Certain Girl

5. I'm The One Who Loves You

6. It Won't Be Long - Bad Blood

7. Do I

8. Blues Ribbons

9. Cuttin' In

10. You Never Had It So Good

11. Don't Ya Like My Love

12. Draw Me Closer

13. Turn On Your Lovelight

14. You've Got What I Want

15. Freedom

PLEASE - Seeing Stars, 1969 (ENGLAND/GERMANY, psych prog)(Acme Records ADLP 1028)

Please were formed by Peter Dunton and Bernie Jinks in late 1967. They had just returned to Britain from Germany where they had played with Neon Pearl, which also included their third member Jurgen Ermisch. The fourth original member Adrian Gurvitz later co-founded Gun. Unfortunately this line-up left no vinyl legacy or unreleased recordings that have been located behind it. They disbanded in May 1968 when Peter Dunton joined The Flies for whom he wrote both sides of their Magic Train 45. When The Flies split up at the end of 1968 , Dunton reformed the band (line-up 'B'). Rob Hunt had also been in The Flies. They recorded all the cuts compiled on this album. Please split again in April 1969 when Peter Dunton joined Gun. The remaining members recruited a new drummer and renamed themselves Bulldog Breed. They later cut the "Made In England" album. In the Autumn of 1969 , Peter Dunton quit Gun to reform Please with Bernie Jinks and Nick Spenser (ex-Neon Pearl). This incarnation was relatively short-lived as they had difficulty recruiting a suitable keyboard player. In early 1970 Dunton, Jinks and a later Bulldog Breed member Keith Cross joined forces to form T2, who were responsible for the excellent "It'll All Work Out In Boomland" album. One of T2's tracks, "No More White Horses" also crops up in a radically different form on Please's 1968/69 retrospective. The keyboards are a bit too much in front at times on this album full of dreamy psychedelic music where "Before" is the track that catches the ear. This is their second release of unreleased material on Acme (Acme Deluxe ADLP 1028 / 2000 ).

Line-up

Peter Dunton - keyboards, vocals, drums

Bernie Jinks - bass, backing vocals

Nick Spenser - drums


Tracklisting

A1 Seeing Stars 3:10
A2 Words to Say 3:15
A3 Before 3:14
A4 Time Goes By 4:24
A5 The Road 5:20

B1 Rise & Shine 3:45
B2 Still Dreaming 3:20
B3 Secrets 3:07
B4 Who you Know 3:28
B5 But 2:50
B6 Steal your Dreams 2:56

RAINBOW FFOLLY - Sallies Fforth, 1968 (ENGLAND, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, popsike)(Parlophone PMC 7050 / PCS 7050)

The world of '60s psychedelia is filled with rediscoveries that might better have been left buried in the mists of time, except as artifacts - it's possible to have shelves filled with the work of no-talent bands and of acts that weren't even psychedelic (what one wag at Bleecker Bob's in New York refers to as "lounge acts that dressed real cool"). Rainbow Ffolly wasn't one of those - indeed, they're one of the bands and one of the records that is worth finding as a CD reissue (their original LP could run several hundred), and that goes double for anyone with a taste for British psychedelia. Jonathan Dunsterville and his brother Richard Dunsterville of Farnham Common were inclined toward music and performing at an early age, and during the early '60s, formed a band called the Force Four, specializing in Everly Brothers-style harmony material. Jon was at college when he met Stewart Osborn, a drummer, who in turn knew a bassist named Roger Newell. Out of this a new group, the Rainbow Ffolly, was formed; they had a light, fun touch, very much in the spirit of early 1967 ; a close, cohesive sound in which all four members sang, with Jon Dunsterville serving as songwriter. By early 1967, they acquired a manager, John Sparrowhawk, and decided to try for a recording contract. They booked time at the Jackson Recording Studio, owned by Malcolm and John Jackson, the sons of disc jockey Jack Jackson, and put a demo tape together. Their first five songs were so accomplished that they were persuaded by the Jackson brothers to come up with seven more songs, all ostensibly for a full-length demo reel. The group didn't think as much of the seven additional numbers, but assembled a dozen tracks they were comfortable with as a sample of their basic sound. The Jackson brothers then took the tape to EMI, which was sufficiently impressed to ask for the rights to the tape exactly as delivered. Most fledgeling acts would've been complimented, even thrilled at the idea that EMI's Parlophone Records was interested in the first piece of full-length recorded music they'd ever put on tape, but the Rainbow Folly were aghast. They'd hardly intended the music on that tape as a finished work, just a dozen songs that showed directions they might go in if given a chance, not a place where they'd settle with their music. The group cringed at the notion of some of the material that they'd come up with in the lighter moments of writing songs, a few based on the singalong numbers and children's songs, and some of the only partly thought-out arrangements. They might've stopped it, but given that most bands in England were scrambling around for the chance to record a single for anyone, and here was the biggest recording organization in England asking to release the Rainbow Ffolly's demo, they went along. The Jackson brothers had gotten the group to put them in an order that made it sound coherent, with an introductory section that eerily matched (or perhaps anticipated) the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. The record compared favorably not only with the Beatles' work, but also with the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow album. With its melodic yet spare instrumentation and harmony vocals, the Rainbow Ffolly's album sounded like S.F. Sorrow, the way that record might have if the Pretty Things had roots closer to the Beatles than the Rolling Stones. Jon Dunsterville and his wife Jane came up with the most ornate cover art (and some of the cleverest of the decade) that they could in keeping with the "rainbow" in the band's name, and Sallies Fforth (as it was christened) was released. It turned out not only not to be bad, but pretty good, although the group wished, long after its release, that they'd been allowed to go back in and complete some tracks. The guitar parts were what bothered them the most, on tracks like "Come On Go," where they never did the overdubs that they'd intended. The group played concerts in support of the record and even did a tour of Germany, making their first overseas appearance at the Star Club in Hamburg in a month-long engagement. The Rainbow Ffolly also performed at the Playboy Club in London, which was then a new recreational institution and always attracted a lot of attention. The group took chances, and some of them paid off, at least musically. They were able to bridge the gap between the lighter weight but elegant harmony groups, such as the Bystanders and the Montanas, and what have since come to be called the freakbeat bands (the Troggs, etc.), with their more heavyweight sounds. In a sense, they were like the Beatles in that respect, although based on Sallies Fforth, they didn't have as easy a time generating the heavier instrumental sound needed to compete with the hard rocking psychedelic outfits of the era. The album became a Record of the Week on the BBC's Saturday Club, and it looked like Sallies Fforth might see some serious sales action. This never came to pass, however, and the group found those high visibility gigs generated press, but not enough sales to make the album a success or chart their singles. In an ideal world, there might've been a second album, one that the group would have finished the way it wanted, but for the fact that they weren't earning enough money from live performances to survive on. The quartet had all decided to get regular jobs and give up on music by 1968.

Line-up

Johnathon Dunsterville - vocals, guitar
Richard K. Dunsterville - vocals, guitar
Roger Newell - bass
Stewart Osborn - drums


Tracklisting

A1 She's Alright 3:42
A2 I'm So Happy 2:33
A3 Montgolfier 2:37
A4 Drive My Car 2:14
A5 Goodbye 3:54
A6 Hey You 2:05
A7 Sun Sing 3:57

B1 Sun and Sand 4:02
B2 Labour Exchange 1:55
B3 They'm 1:55
B4 No 2:58
B5 Sighing Game 3:06
B6 Game on Go 2:57

RED KRAYOLA - The Parable of Arable Land, 1967 (USA, Houston, TX., psych weird freak out)(International Artists I.A. 2)

On peut également écrire Red Crayola sous cette orthographe qu'ils ont utilisée à partir de leur deuxième album. Il s'agit ici de l'un des groupes visités par l'ange du bizarre et dévoués à la folie des sons. Ce trio est le digne pendant texan des Godz new-yorkais. Formé à Houston, Texas, en septembre 1966, Red Krayola est repéré par Lelan Rogers, le patron d'International Artists (IA), lors d'une prestation très libre dans les allées piétonnières d'un centre commercial. Celui-ci est très impréssionné par la manière dont les jeunes spectateurs reçoivent cette musique informelle, destructurée et pour tout dire pratiquée par des non-musiciens à l'aide d'instruments divers. Peu après le trio se retrouve dans les studios d'IA où il improvise ce qui va devenir le deuxième LP publié par le label, bénéficiant de l'apport momentané de musiciens de passage dont Roky Erickson des 13th Floor Elevators sur les deux premiers titres, par exemple. De plus, Mayo Thompson, Steve Cunningham et Rick Barthelme font appel à un sous-ensemble concomitant, à la composition fluctuante, Familiar Ugly, chargé d'élaborer des free form freak-out entre chacun des six morceaux originaux de leur premier LP "The Parable of Arable Land", paru début 1967. Quelques phrases extraites des notes de pochette, rédigées par le groupe lui-même, définissent fort bien leur projet :

The liberty of feeling, distinct from intent, affirms the musical process

Limited definitions define limit and one can go just so far...Here we go

Pour ceux qui aiment aller jusqu'aux limites des limites, ce disque est pour vous. Pour les autres, qu'ils ne soient pas trop rapidement rebutés et qu'ils jettent une oreille attentive à "Hurricane Fighter Plane", "War Sucks" ou "Parable of Arable Land", exemples de free form psychedelism. Le tout illustré d'une superbe pochette en couleurs. D'après Lelan Rogers, l'album se serait quand même vendu entre 30 et 40000 exemplaires dont 22000 dans la seule ville de New York.
Red Krayola ne s'est pourtant pratiquement jamais produit sur scène après la parution de leur LP et quand exceptionnellement il le faisait, on le priait rapidement de s'arrêter. Aussi, après un nouvel échec au Berkeley Folk Festival de 1967, le trio se sépare. Mais dès l'année suivante, sous l'impulsion de Mayo Thompson de retour au Texas, Red krayola se reforme. Steve Cunningham répond présent mais Rick Barthelme est remplacé aux percussions par Tommy Smith.


Line-up

Mayo Thompson - guitar, vocals

Steve Cunningham - guitar, vocals

Rick Barthelme - drums


Tracklisting

1. Hurricane Fighter Plane 3:33
2. Transparent Radiation 2:32
3. War Sucks 3:38
4. Pink Stainless Tail 3:16
5. Parable of Arable Land 3:06
6. Former Reflections Enduring Doubt 4:57

REIGN GHOST - s/t, 1969 (CANADA, Oshawa, ON., psych rock)(Allied AL 12)

Drummer Bob Bryden and singer Lynda Squires were members of The Christopher Columbus Discovery of New Lands Band in Oshawa, Ontario during 1967 . As is the fate with most bands, the unit split up in 1968 . Columbus' direct competition in town was an act called Reign Ghost and with an eye to find something new to do, Bryden and Squires infiltrated the rival band as guitarist and singer respectively. Soon the bassist left and Bryden snuck in former Columbus bassist Joe Gallant. Following the usual 'creative differences' excuse, Gallant quit and then came Columbus' Jerry Dufek. This line-up hooked up with Jack Boswell's Allied Records who threw them into a recording studio for the self-titled 'Reign Ghost' album in late 1968 . The album was released in January 1969. However, the band fraught with internal conflicts once more and destroyed the band. Bryden and Squires moved on once again and hooked up with drummer Rich Richter and bassist Russ Erman who reclaimed the name Reign Ghost with the new comrades more than willing to become the New Reign Ghost. Allied was happy to have their name band back and offered to release the follow-up album 'Reign Ghost Featuring Lynda Squires', but before the album could be released, the band split up again. Bryden went on to join Christmas (aka Spirit of Christmas) and their first album, coincidentally was released by Paragon in July 1970 on the exact same day as they decided to release the 2nd Reign Ghost album. Lynda Squires went on to join the Canadian cast of 'Hair' and married Francis W. Davies (president of Daffodil Records and The Music Publisher). In early 1991, Ken Golden of Laser's Edge in New Jersey decided to re-issue the two albums on one CD to rescue these two obscure, and collectible, albums from oblivion.


Line-up

Bob Bryden (guitar)

Lynda Squires (vocals)

Joe Gallant (bass)

Jerry Dufek (bass; replaced Gallant 1968 )

Dave Hair (keyboards; 1968)

Jim Stright (guitar; 1968)

Bob Stright (drums; 1968)

Helge 'Rich' Richter (drums; replaced Bob Stright 1969)

Russ Erman (bass; replaced Dufek)


Tracklisting

1. Travels of Blue Paradox 4:55

2. A Long Day Journey 3:08

3. Standing Room Only, Mr. Mars 3:45

4. Eyes Knows, So Does Ears and Carolina 9:01

5. Curio Shop 3:22

6. Black Ode 3:28

7. Gum Wrapper Song 1:50

8. Southern Hemisphere Blues Legacy 4:10

9. Reaching 9:02

SAINTE ANTHONY'S FYRE - s/t, 1969 (USA, Trenton, NJ., heavy psych rock)(Zonk ZP 001, 1000 copies)

In 1969 Sainte Anthony's Fyre was the ultimate hard rock power trio from Trenton, New Jersey. Band leader, guitar and vocalist Greg Ohm was heavy into music since childhood, having played classical music in elementary and high school (1st violin Trenton High’s Orchestra). He also took some music classes in college and ended up with the group Peter's Precious Soul, who were very popular locally. But Greg grew tired of playing Top 40 cover songs and decided to start his own band. While cleaning his grandmother's attic one day in 1967 he found an old newspaper with the headline, "Ste. Anthony's Fyre Strikes French Town." A wheat crop had developed ergot, which is a fungus disease that affects rye and other plants, and was contaminated. The wheat was used to make bread and sent the whole town on an LSD-like trip that lasted nearly three weeks. This was the perfect name for the group Greg had in mind and thus Sainte Anthony's Fyre was born. Greg recruited two skilled local musicians, and friends of his; Tom Nardi (previously in the bubblegum band Marshmallow Way) on bass and vocals and Bobb Sharples on drums. In 1968 they started rehearsing in the cellar of a boutique in downtown Trenton called the Hip-Pocket. Greg was extremely innovative and played weird positions, inverted chords, and off-key tuning on his customized Gibson Firebird guitar. He would only use Marshall’s, three 100 watts heads with six cabinets. Greg also considered himself a fashion plate and always wore a grey felt cowboy hat, a scarf tied around his left knee, and bedroom slippers when he played. Tom used a Sunn 2000 S with four 15" JBLs, four Sunn 412 S cabinets with two Sunn Sorado heads, one Sorado head with a 610 cabinet, and one 15" cabinet, to blow eardrums left and right. He also sported a cartridge belt around his waist. Bobbie always had a double bass drum set. This was a real power trio. One of the owners of the Hip-Pocket and his business partner decided to manage the band and used the profit from the clothing store to promote them. They started Zonk Productions and managed to get Sainte Anthony’s Fyre booked as an opening act for bands like MC5, Wishbone Ash, Grass Roots, Rare Earth, Fleetwood Mac, and Joe Cocker. About this time they met a black promoter named Dickie Diamond who wanted to bankroll them. He said he knew everyone and would take care of everything. He was putting on shows with black acts and had the band opening for them. They also had to fill in as backup players for an impressive rooster of artists like James Brown, Jackie Wilson, the Coasters, the Drifters, the Four Tops, Kool and the Gang and others! As Sainte Anthony’s Fyre’s fan base grew Zonk Productions decided it was time to put out an album. It was recorded around the end of 1969 in a studio in Pennsauken, New Jersey which was run by the bass player from the Lovin' Spoonful. Unfortunately he had no idea how to record this loud bunch. They refused to go directly into the board or use small amps so the sound board kept blowing up. Then finally they just set the amps up facing the back wall and hung two microphones on the far wall. They did some overdubbing at Nise Studios in Philadelphia and after mixing, the tapes were sent to Motown for pressing, who according to the band totally screwed it up. United Artists then pressed about 1000 copies of the Zonk Productions label release. Because the record was an independent release no radio stations would play it. In the meantime Dickie had some crazy schemes going. He wanted to put them on tour as Led Zeppelin (he called them "Zefflin"), he said no one would figure it out because Zeppelin was from England and nobody knew what they looked like. He also started booking shows, selling the tickets, and then canceling the shows. Nobody knew what they were doing but Dickie said he would make it up to the band. So he got some time at Electric Lady Studio in New York to re-record the album in January 1971. Ultimate wasted slimy speed freak vortex of polluted psychedelic hard rock from the greasy wasteland of inner city Jersey. The most wicked manic garage power trio to end them all. Raw gnarly drugged guitar, cavernous bass, drums beat to a pulp and psychotic vocals. Beyond early Blue Cheer, this record is so wasted, toxic and heavy! One look at the pictures will tell you how they sound. A highly sought after collector piece.

Line-up

Tomm Nardi - vocals, bass

Greg Ohm - vocals, guitar

Bob Sharples - drum


Tracklisting

1. Love Over You 4:53
2. Get Off 3:09
3. Summer Fun 3:40
4. Starlight 5:37
5. Lone Soul Road 4:43
6. With Your Beau 3:07
7. Chance of Fate 4:09
8. Wet Back 3:04

St. JOHN GREEN - s/t, 1968 (USA, Los Angeles, CA., psych)(Flick-Disc FLS 45001)

"Strange Kim Fowley produced psychedelic opus with a sanctified hippie vibe - 'canyon music' as this Los Angeles area group might have described it; strange songs about the fires of hell and spacemen from Venus alternate with some anti 'flower power' songs and stoned sounding jams that show why they were touted by Fowley as the next 'in-thing' - they weren't, of course, but a strong album all the same." “[‘St. John Green’ is] one of the great lost records...Somebody will reissue it someday and people will start crying and jacking off and smoking dope to it. It’s a great record. There’s only a handful of records that I’ve made that are great.” -Kim Fowley to Mike Stax (“Ugly Things” magazine issue #19, 2001). Through mutual associations in Topanga Canyon, St. John Green connected with Fowley sometime in 1968, and he in turn spurred them on to outdo or to die all over what would be their sole album. They wound up doing both. “St. John Green” is by turns frightening, dark, funny and stupid as it reeks of bad trip freak outs in matte black painted rooms with no furniture lit only by a single red bulb and burning cigarette ends. What emanates forth immediately from this darkness are the mystic incantations of vocalist/bassist Ed Bissot who is mean, moody, magnificent AND for his sins is stuck in a garage of sick creep psychedelia for all eternity. His delivery is so full of promises and not threats you begin to feel that this guy exists precariously balanced over a yawning chasm between Jim Morrison and Arthur Brown without trying at all really MEANS IT. And he is shored up all the way by a fine-tuned band in total sync with his visions of the four D’s --death, doom, damnation and dread -- in a weirdly accomplished album that runs a gamut of styles from supernatural ruminations to the cheapest of goofball novelties. Bissot’s massive intonations open the apocalyptic “7th Generation Mutation,” where his early death god in a garage vibe bears more than a passing resemblance to Robert Calvert’s space age narratives that threaded Hawkwind’s “Space Ritual.” A total lack of drums makes his hypnotic bass line the only percussion as it sways pendulum-like above the restrained and gagged music which has already cut out from one speaker and lurks behind his initial intonation of “In the darkness of my empty cage, a being from Venus speaks to me” which then switches to a massively echoed snotty sneer: “I have seen your planet suffer seven nuclear wars... I’ve seen your civilization rise from its ruin only to crumble once more to ash. Noah’s Ark was a period of time, and not a boat. It is through such misconceptions Your beliefs are weakened and your faith lost... WHY CAN YOU NOT SEE...? Earth is born of molten lava Torn from the breast of a violent star. Man is created And rises from the dust-fringed edges of the cooling mud To love...To conquer...To kill... AND HE WILL!” Tape speed wind chases this insistently freaky track into the fading gloom and late night Booker T & The MG’s outtake from “Gris-Gris” vibe of the Fowley-penned “Canyon Women,” a place where sexually rhythmically percussion hangs in the background like swamp gas silhouetting the band as they respond to Bissot’s vocals with low, bullfrog refraining as over-recorded organ and casual grunts pass by in the shadows. “Devil And The Sea” is the psychic link between The Doors’ “When The Music’s Over” and Alice Cooper’s “Black Juju” as those familiar prominent organ swells cut in, out and all around Bissot’s vocals of truly beacon-in-the-wilderness qualities. “Do You Believe” is all corn-fed and howling harp as Bissot starts vocally delivering in down home, religious revival tones against distinctly Fraternity of Man/Holy Modal Rounders backing. “Go!” commands Fowley from behind the glass for the next gross-out, “Help Me Close The Door” signaling commencement of a somber Bissot narration painting a portrait of a broken man with the paint roller. It’s cheap pathos galore over a lullaby piano rock-a-bye-ing as several species of small furry animals chirp continually along with little girls’ persistent calls of “Daddy?” Tears well up until the surprise final set up line of “If you have any heart at all...You’ll help me close the door!” that causes all studio denizens to erupt in cackling glee at the egg on your face. “Messages From The Dead” follows with a mid-tempo “Mystic Eyes” beat and prominent 2-fingered bass. Bissot has just hooked himself a one-way ticket onto that down bound train to Sheol with ol’ Satan hisself, and with each passing level the flames shoot higher and higher: here represented by hugely recorded organ smears all up and down the keyboard against a backwards hi-hat pattern. After seven levels of Hell have been traversed, Bissot’s finally had enough of those flames licking up his body so he’s now down on his knees pleading right before the organ-led coda, “No, God....don’t burn me down in hea-uh! Please don’t burn me down, God!” So they burn down the track instead: in a way Fowley would later describe as “Vanilla Fudge minus the fucking bubblegum.” Side two is just as diverse, great and fucked up. “Goddess of Death” is a sleep-walking creep-out supreme with all the eeriness of “You’re Lost Little Girl” by The Doors. Descending organ quietly curls like smoke in the background as electric guitar piano-type notes are plucked as Bissot intones from a waking dream: “And we walked into the endless valley...Looking back in tears while the echoes of life faded from our ears...We walked into the cold silence...being careful not to step on those who had passed out there in previous times...and I ask: ‘Why are we here? Why are we here? Why are we here?’” The band responds only with the swaying chant, “Why? Why? Why? Why?” Neither are graced with an answer. Spookeh! Leave it to Fowley to compose St. John Green’s own signature tune, entitled (naturally) “St. John Green” and of course sounds like nothing else on the album. Bissot’s vocals now switch to Dylanesque overtones as they spread over a dum-dum re-vamp of “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” filling the background with a clutch of piano, tuba-tone bass and heavily sustained organ that clump around great lyrics like: “Just because we’re so young and deadly/Why did we have to lose our light?” Next up is the quicker paces of “Spirit Of Now” that is akin to the later basement psychedelia of The C.A. Quintet. Here, guitarist Bill Kirkland is finally allowed a solo for the first time on the record and it’s fantastic; followed by a sprinting organ solo by Mike Baxter, whose arrangements throughout are strong, fine-tuned and as consistently weird as his neatly-placed organ fills. “Love Of Hate” is an elegiac vocal (what else ?) intonation accompanied by organ alone, with Bissot channeling words from and about the world beyond the grave. The Fowley-penned “One Room Cemetery” is the terrifying highlight of side two as elements of free form freak outs scatter behind Bissot’s intonations from a dark and lonely place as tom-tom rolls, solidly plucked bass lines and random, skittering guitar all conspire to creep you out. Over ominously building drums, Bissot hurls out echoed grunts, calls for bo-weevils to meet him in his one room cemetery and calmly free associating all over the place with “We’re playing with the world... We’re playing with the world...When a love song has gone wrong...where does a sad girl go? Where does the sad girl go when her love song is over? We’re playing with the world...We’re playing with the world...” right before all fades to black with a single, jerked musical curtain pull. But as weirdly dark and epic that “St. John Green” well and truly is, where can it go but sign off with “Shivers Of Pleasure,” a bouncy showbiz coda all jaunty piano, lounge hi-hats and vocal A-Z alphabetical dedications like: “F is for Fowley: is he putting us on?”, “T is for Teenage girls” (accented by a non-too subtle pelvic thrust grunt, “Uuhhh!”) and so on; cracking sophomoric jokes in a manner altogether out of context with the rest of the album. It’s kinda disconcerting in its clean cut kid delivery, but then again, it may be an intentional move in case if too many people got the wrong idea whilst hanging onto each of Bissot’s every word, taking them too far upon the album’s termination by offing themselves outright. For maximum effect, play in absolute darkness.

Line-up

Bill Kirkland - guitar
Mike Baxter - organ, keyboards, vocals
Shelly Scott - drums
Ed Bissot - bass guitar, vocals
Vic Sabino - harmonica, vocals


Tracklisting

A1 7th Generation Mutation 3:21
A2 Canyon Women 2:57
A3 Devil and the Sea 2:14
A4 Do you Believe ? 2:10
A5 Help Me Close the Door 0:57
A6 Messages From the Dead 4:04

B1 Goddess of Death 2:22
B2 St. John Green 3:02
B3 Spirit of Now 2:30
B4 Love of Hate 2:10
B5 One Room Cemetery 3:42
B6 Shivers of Pleasure 3:21

SYN - Original Syn, 2005 (compilation 1967-1969)(England, Wembley, prog rock)(Acme ADLP 1042)

The Syn set out as a mid-sixties pop group, but soon became wrapped in the trappings of flower-power, recording two excellent singles for Deram. Their roots lie in a Wembley band called The Selfs. Their debut 45 Created By Clive was also recorded by The Attack. Both versions are well worth a spin, but the flip Grounded, was a powerful slice of psychedelic R&B. Their follow-up, 14-Hour Technicolour Dream was written to commemorate the multi-media event held at Alexander Palace on April 29-30 , 1967 . Again, both sides are worth a listen. When the group split Peter Banks and Chris Squire became members of Mabel Greer's Toyshop and, of course, they were later both in Yes. They also both recorded solo albums. (taken from "Tapestry Of Delights") Original Syn (Acme ADLP 1042) was a limited edition pressing of 500 . I would imagine that most of you know their famous two Deram singles. So what about the unreleased material? "The Last Performance Of The Royal Regimental Very Victorious And Valiant Band" and "Mr. White's White Flying Machine" were two '69 recordings the band did with two guest vocalists after lead singer Steve Nardelli's departure. The first is a nice orchestrated psych-pop period piece sung by a certain Denny Ward but only Andrew Jackman's plays on the track, the latter is a strange jazzy big-band tune with the mysterious Ayshea on lead vocals. The b-side starts with a demo version of "Flowerman" that wasn't far from the official release. The three demo recordings by The Selfs, the first band of bass player Chris Squire and keyboardist Andrew Jackman, suffers from tough sound but with the exception of a weak version of "I Can't Explain" the other two tracks are pretty jaunty mod songs. "Gangster Opera" was taken from a rehearsal tape and was recorded by the same lineup that played on the singles. Apart from the lo-fi production it's a wild and raunchy Freakbeat number. The remaining two tracks are demos from 1968 with only Steve Nardelli on vocals accompanied by guitar and piano.


Line-up

Chris Squire (bass, vocals, 1965-68, 2005-09)
Chris Slater (vocals, 1965)
Steve Nardelli (vocals)
Martyn Adelman (drums, 1965-2004)
John Wheatley (guitar, 1965)
John Painter (guitar, 1965-67)
Andrew Pryce Jackman (keyboards, 1965-68)
Peter Banks (guitar, vocals, 1967-2004)
Gunnar Jökull (drums, 1967-68)
Gerard Johnson (keyboards, 2004-09)
Steve Gee (bass, 2004)
Paul Stacey (guitar, 2005-09)
Jeremy Stacey (drums, 2005-09)
Francis Dunnery (vocals, guitar, 2009-present)
Tom Brislin (keyboards, 2009-present)

Tracklist


- Grounded

- 14 Hour Technicolour Dream

- Created by Clive

- Flowerman

- The Last Performance of The Royal Regimental Very Victorious and Valiant Band

- Mr. White's White Flying Machine

- Flowerman (demo)

- Merry-Go-Round (by The Selfs)

- I Can't Explain (by The Selfs)

- Love You (by The Selfs)

- Gangster Opera

- Sunset Boulevard Lament

- Cadillac Dreams

BEEFEATERS - s/t, 1967 (DENMARK, Copenhagen, soul blues jazz)(Sonet SLPS 1242)

A precursor to this band was formed in Copenhagen in early 1964, but their strong orientation towards blues-rock began only with the arrival of Peter Thorup in 1966. In 1967, The Beefeaters played as support band for Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall and Pink Floyd during their concerts in Denmark. Both albums were top-notch "real" blues-rock efforts to file along albums by John Mayall, early Fleetwood Mac and even Cuby & The Blizzards. The first album was, along with Steppeulvene, the most important Danish album of 1967. The Beefeaters weren't entirely blues purists either, they also displayed beat and soul influences. The sound (very well developed for 1967) was largely based on Thorup's talents as vocalist and guitarist, but Kjærumsgård's Farfisa organ (sometimes replaced by piano) obviously augmented the group’s sound. Burnin' Red Ivanhoe was one of many groups who later copied this distinctive organ sound. In 1969, Povl Dissing left the group, which continued for a while longer with Ole Fick (from Burnin' Red Ivanhoe) as their lead singer. The post-Dissing group recorded the soundtrack to "Smil Emil", but no further vinyl output emerged.
"Meet You There", 1967 (Sonet SLPS 1509) is their second and last LP.
Both albums are available on one CD (BGO).

Line-up

Peter Thorup - guitar, vocals
Morten Kjærumsgård - organ, piano
Keith Volkersen - bass
Max Nhuthzhi - drums
Alexis Korner - guitar, vocals (only on 2nd LP)


Tracklisting

A1 It Ain't Necessarily So 4:54
A2 Crossroads 2:27
A3 My Babe 3:31
A4 I Want You 3:35
A5 Hey Little Girl 2:16

B1 Papa's Got a Brand New Bag 3:27
B2 Let Me Down Easy 4:37
B3 Shankin' Fingerpop 2:45
B4 Night Flight 3:15
B5 Summer Scene 4:25

CHARLATANS (The) - s/t, 1969 (USA, San Francisco, CA., psych) (Philips PHS 600 309)

The Charlatans were the very first San Francisco underground rock band. At the start the group played Chuck Berry numbers and R&B standards like "Got My Mojo Working" and "My Babe" but gradually they evolved the folk rock repertoire for which they had become famous. Eventually the group were offered a residency at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada. Here The Charlatans acted as a magnet for the whole hippy scene. News of them soon got around and acid heads came from Reno, 'Frisco and as far afield as Seattle and Los Angeles to hear them play. The Red Dog Saloon predated any of the San Francisco venues, and at the time it was the only place on the West Coast where you could hear the new music. But things began to go wrong. Despite being packed almost every night, the saloon made a loss because no admission charge was levied so profits could only be made from beer and wine sales. The owner had left his 22 year old son in charge and was not pleased when he found, on returning to discover the reasons for this loss, that everyone was having a ball at his expense. To make matters worse his visit coincided with two members of the group getting busted on the way back from San Francisco with more drug supplies for the group. Eventually the band headed back to San Francisco for good, taking with them a reputation on a par with anybody. Before long, record companies began to take an interest in them and they eventually signed with the Lovin' Spoonful's label, Kama Sutra. In retrospect, they would have done better to wait for a company to offer them the sort of advance RCA had offered The Jefferson Airplane. The group cut a nine-track album for Kama Sutra which included the Buffy St.Marie song Codine (later recorded by many other 'Frisco bands), amazing versions of traditional songs like Alabama Bound and 32-20 Blues, and the old Coasters' song The Shadow Knows and two songs featuring Lynne Hughes, who worked as a barmaid at the Red Dog Saloon (and later sang with Tongue and Groove and Stoneground) on vocals - Side Track and I'd Rather Be The Devil. The Charlatans had wanted Codine backed by 32-20 released as a single, but the record company got cold feet because of the mention of 'drugs' in Codine and cut off all contact with the band. This was disasterous for The Charlatans and ironic when one considers that the song was condemning drugs rather than advocating their use. At this point, Mike Ferguson left the group to join Tongue and Groove with Lynne Hughes, to be replaced by Patrick Bogerty, and Dan Hicks gave up the drums to concentrate on the rhythm guitar. So Terry Wilson, who had been playing with David LaFlamme and Jaime Leapold in a group called The Orkustra came in on the drums. But they struggled to get work and Hicks, Bogerty and Hunter left the group for good. Hicks to set up Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. The remaining three (Wilhelm, Olsen and Wilson) recruited a keyboard player Darryl De Vore and were determined to have a final fling. The tragic story of The Charlatans, probably one of San Francisco's most talented bands, that of a group taken for a ride by its record company, was sadly typical of this era. (taken from "Fuzz, Acid & Flowers") Their album was a bit disappointing if you compare it with their earlier works but it's not a "mediocre affair" as it described in "Fuzz, Acid & Flowers". They did a competent version of Van Dyke Park's "High Coin" and "Time To Get Straight" is a fine folk rocker. Also notable is the last song "When The Movies Are Over", which is a weird and trippy number.

Personnel :
George Hunter (vocals, 1964-68)
Richard Olsen (bass, vocals, 1964-69)
Darell De Vore (keyboards, vocals, 1968-69)
Michael "Mike" Wilhelm (lead guitar, vocals, 1964-69)
Terry Wilson (drums, 1967-69)
Mike Ferguson (piano, keyboards, 1964-67)
Sam Linde (drums, 1964)
Dan Hicks (drums, guitar, 1965-68)
Lynne Hughes (vocals, 1965)
Patrick Bogerty (keyboards, 1967-68)


Tracklisting :
1. High Coin 3:07
2. Easy When I'm Dead 2:38
3. Ain't Got the Time 2:47
4. Folsom Prison Blues 2:47
5. The Blues Ain't Nothin' 4:44
6. Time to Get Straight 3:53
7. When I Go Sailin' By 2:46
8. Doubtful Waltz 3:24
9. Wabash Cannonball 4:04
10. Alabama Bound 6:53
11. When the Movies are Over 3:04

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