11-02-07 - 18-02-07
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Perry Leopold - 1973 - Christian Lucifer
Perry Leopold - 1973 - Christian Lucifer
@256
Track List :
01. Sunday Afternoon in the Garden of Delights
02. Windwill
03. Starewell
04. Serpentine Lane
05. Annunciation
06. Journey
07. Vespers
Perry Leopold - Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
Jon Gillaspie - Clavinet, Bassoon, Recorders
Jefferson Caine - Electric Guitar
Mike McCarthy - Electric Bass, String Bass
Stephanie McCarthy - French Horn
Rich Amoroso - Cello
David Goldblatt - Cello
Bill Zino - String Bass
Stan Slotter - Flute
John Bartlett - Oboe
Charles Cohen - MiniMoog
Lenny Tabla - Tabla
Rick Kivinick - Tympani, Percussion
Sam Rudin - Tof, Bongos, Percussion
Long lost LP from the father of Acid Folk. '...a masterpiece ... one of the most artistic, intellectually mature, and haunting albums of its era.' -- All Music Guide
Review :
Although his incredibly rare first album, Experiment in Metaphysics, was a sensational and dynamic slice of progressive acid folk, Perry Leopold took a phenomenal leap forward on the follow-up, 1973's Christian Lucifer. (It is a small miracle that the recording ever saw the light of day, since the studio at which it was recorded was sold and then closed, and all the master tapes from the sessions were erased and used again, leaving only a few mixdown copies.) The songs on the first album, while all strong individually, didn't quite hold together, but Christian Lucifer is conceptually a whole, impossible to imagine as anything other than what it is. Leopold's melodies again shine like slowly uncovered gems. Complex melodic lines and protracted vocal melodies stretch and build ominously, like the sight of a wise, enigmatic monk concealed beneath a woolen cloak. The religious reference is not an empty simile. If the songs on his first album came across as parables or ancient narrative tales, then Christian Lucifer is a collection of hymns, prayers, and litanies conflicted with the dualities of life, full of metaphysical depth. Whereas the first album stuck to the folk basics, this second album was stunningly produced. Gorgeous layers of acoustic guitars, bass, clavinets, bassoons, recorders, oboes, cellos, tabla, MiniMoog, and explosive timpani and bells gave the album a rococo-styled grace and wispy beauty, invoking everything from medieval madrigals to Bach and Vivaldi to Middle Eastern musics to psychedelia and the Doors. And yet, it is none of those things. There are imprecise similarities to Nick Drake's oppressive but beautiful fragility, the theatrical majesty and scope of David Bowie (who is quoted at the beginning of "Serpentine Lane," a dystopian reply of sorts to "Space Oddity," with Leopold's deep voice infusing the music with the same alien quality), and the visionary mystical musings of Merrell Fankhauser and Jeff Cotton's cult band Mu. The foreboding keyboards of "The Windmill" are pulled directly from "Riders on the Storm," but the album is an entirely unique and novel amalgam. There is a Renaissance Fair feel, particularly in songs such as "Sunday Afternoon in the Garden of Delights" and "The Starewell," harsh and pretty at once, and intriguingly arcane. Leopold was, in fact, a troubadour in the truest sense of the word, singing his music for whoever would listen. Ultimately, the album is a very individual struggle with the duality that lies at its heart and is the crux of everything humanity is and does. Christian Lucifer is both terrestrial and ethereal, both tangible and transcendent. It is unquestionably Leopold's masterpiece, and one of the most artistic, intellectually mature, and haunting albums -- released or not -- of its era.
~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide
Labels: L, Lost In Tyme, P 
Julian's Treatment - 1970 - A Time Before This
A true rock opera, great organ work. Fantastic esoteric psych rock
with great female singer.
A cosmic progressive rock concept album originally released on Decca in 1971, multi-instrumentalist Julian Jay Saravin was poet and novelist of note who had made one solo album prior on the Birth label in 1969. With the spoken and sung vocals of Cathy Pruden this album is a cosmic trip through the mind of a warped genius and in parts recalls United States of America style keyboard freak out. Will appeal to fans of the exotic side of prog and psychedelia.
Personnel:
John Dover – Bass
Jack Drummond – Drums
Julian Jay Savarin – Keyboards
Cathy Pruden - Vocals
Del Watkins - Guitar, Flute
Julian's Treatment is yet another forgotten and obscure gem of progressive and psychedelic rock. Julian Jay Savarin is author who involved himself in music. Savarin played the organ and he had an Australian named Cathy Pruden to handle the vocals. A Time Before This, released in 1970, was the one and only album by this band (Savarin released an album under his own name called Waiters on the Dance, which varying sources say was released in 1969, 1971, or 1973). Unsurprising, the album is a sci-fi concept album, a bit difficult for me to follow when a lyric sheet wasn't even included, but it seems to involve the destuction of the Earth in which a Terran ends up on a planet inhabited by strange, blue-skinned people, and an evil megalomaniac. Musically, it's late '60s sounding psychedelic with progressive rock with great spacy organ and a cosmic feel to the whole album. Great female vocals as well with the occasional spoken dialog. Highlights include "Phantom City", "The Black Tower", "Altarra, Princess of the Blue Women", "Twin Suns of Centauri", "Alkon, Planet of Centauri", "The Terran", "Fourth From the Sun", and "Strange Things". All the music sounds like it should belong on some campy sci-fi film from the late 1960s, but that should not come as any surprise. One band that Julian's Treatment gets compared to is The United States of America, the American band that released an self-entitled album in 1968 that featured Joe Byrd and Dorothy Moskowitz. Also comparisons to such prog rock bands lead by female vocalists like Analogy, Sandrose, and Holland's Earth & Fire are pretty common as well. Which is safe to say, if you're a fan of any of these groups, chances are you'll like Julian's Treatment, a great lost gem that sure to grow on you. The original LP (released in Britain by Young Blood and in the U.S. on Decca) isn't exactly easy to come by, but regardless, this album is another excellent obscure gem to add to your collection
The Dominican-born science fiction and technothriller writer Julian Jay Savarin first tried his narrative hand on this science fiction concept album, based on an elaborate storyline that he would later turn into a trilogy of novels. A Time Before This is psychedelic proto-progressive typical of the time, led by Savarin's Hammond, and accompanied by a rather subdued fuzz guitar, drums, bass and a bit of flute and vibraphone. Like with many of these contenders, Savarin's musical pack is a motley collection of blues, late-60s pop melodies, a little jazz and some modal soloing over thumping bass/drums ostinati, but also dark, almost gothic touches of quasi-classical organ interludes and melodies. The ace in Savarin's hand is the Australian vocalist Cathy Pruden who can handle both the mellow pop cooing of "Altarra, Princess of the Blue Women", the melodramatic spoken interludes, and the Valkyrian wailing of "Alda, Dark Lady of the Outer Worlds" and "The Black Tower" with implacable authority. These last two songs and the title track form the progressive core of this album, achieving the best balance between dark keyboard melodies, Pruden's vocal dramatics and all kinds of rhythmic and harmonic detours. The others tend to be somewhat more pedestrian in either melodic writing or structural development. Like them the overall picture of this album is that it is nice and has certain charm, but that it has not aged terribly well. Savarin's original plan called for a trilogy of albums to tell his whole storyline, but the band dissolved soon after the release of A Time Before This, and it was only in 1973 that he released the follow-up Waiters on the Dance under his own name.
Download Links :
julian_s_treatment_a_time_before_this..._plus__the_trilogy_.rar
Julian_s_Treatment_Bonus.rar
Friday, February 16, 2007
Jack London & The Sparrows - 1965 - Jack London & The Sparrows
Steppenwolf's biker anthem "Born To Be Wild" remains a rock classic and an epitome of the late '60s West Coast rock scene. With its images of freedom, liberty and sexual awakening, few could have known that the roots of the band lay in a Mersey-inspired beat group from Toronto called Jack London & The Sparrows, founded by the song's author, Dennis Edmonton, aka Mars Bonfire.
CD re-issue of this legendary piece of jangly garage beat rock from the mid '60s. Originally released in 1965 on the Capitol label, this legendary Canadian band has bone fide pre-Steppenwolf connections! The group was originally based in Toronto and enjoyed success with a handful of Mersey beat singles and this eponymous album. Wanting other things Jack London (not his real name, we venture!!) left and in came John Kay who hooked up with the rest of the band and became The Sparrows, although Kay was soon to depart for Los Angeles to find fame and fortune as a founding member of Steppenwolf. The album contains a number of stand-out tracks, with If You Don't Want My Love and Its Been One of Those Days being particularly memorable sounding very much like US '60's frat band The Rising Storm. Jack London and the Sparrows is one of the rarest and most collectable of the Canadian Capitol albums!
V.A. - Bay State Rock vol.1_The Sixties (Star-Rhythm, 1980)
"AN ANTHOLOGY OF MASSACHUSETTS ROCK'N'ROLL"
Side 1
1 The Vikings - Blue Feeling
2 The Vikings - Hitch Hike
3 The Vikings - I Ain't Got You
4 The Vikings - Have Mercy
5 The Vikings - You Can't Do That
6 Teddy & The Pandas - The Lovelight
7 Teddy & The Pandas - Once Upon A Time
8 The Chessmen - Sweet Little 16
Side 2
1 The Reveliers - Patch
2 The Reveliers - Hangin' Five
3 The Improper Bostonians - How Many Tears
4 The Improper Bostonians - I Still Love You
5 The Improper Bostonians - Set You Free This..
6 The Rockin' Ramrods - Bright Lit Blue Skies
7 The Rockin' Ramrods - Mr. Wind
8 The Rockin' Ramrods - I Wanna Be Your Man
Labels: caveman78, Various Artists
Shelagh McDonald - Stargazer (1971)
This record could well represent the closest anyone has ever come to crossing circa-1970 Joni Mitchell with circa-1970 Sandy Denny. As a composer, McDonald leans toward the Mitchell half of that equation, with a similarly angular melodic sense, and a phrasing that often shifts register quickly and substantially. It would be mighty surprising if she didn't ingest songs like Mitchell's "Marcie" thoroughly before coming up with narratives in the same style like "Liz's Song." The parallels come out most in the songs in which McDonald emphasizes her piano rather than her guitar. As a singer, her tonal quality is more similar to Denny's. The result is a double-edged sword. The album can be unequivocally recommended to fans of Mitchell and Denny who have run out of things to buy by those two singers, and want something that's for the most part undiscovered, but with a similar vibe. At the same time, McDonald inevitably comes up short in the unavoidable comparisons with those role models, as she puts far less of her own personality into her work than either Mitchell or Denny did. Dogmatic criticism aside, it's a pleasant album with subdued folk-rock arrangements, and the piano ballad "Lonely King" is haunting enough to make one forget the obvious likenesses to Mitchell's own piano outings for the moment. Occasionally, there are effective slight departures from the standard production of folk-rock albums from the period, as with the sad strings and operatic backup vocals on the title track, and the extremely Garth Hudson-esque organ of "Good Times." The CD reissue adds five bonus tracks from other 1971 sessions, three of which were previously unreleased, and two of which only appeared on compilation LPs in the early 1970s. Unfortunately, the liner notes do not make it clear which two of the other twelve songs were the ones used on compilations, rather than on the Stargazer LP itself, allmusic guide.
Jimi Hendrix - Acoustic Jams
Jimi Hendrix - Acoustic Jams
Disc 1
1 Long Hot Summer Night I
2 Long Hot Summer Night II
3 Long Hot Summer Night III
4 1983....
5 1983...
6 Angel
7 Cherokee Mist
8 Astro Man
9 Money
10 Voodoo Child
11 Come On
12 Hear My Train
13 Voodoo Chile/Gypsy Eyes
14 Gypsy Eyes
15 Beginnings
Disc 2
1 Little Miss Strange
2 Instrumental
3 Three Little Bears
4 Gypsy Eyes
5 1983....
6 Jam
7 Drifting I
8 Drifting II
9 Look Over Yonder
10 Send My Love, To You (Linda)
11 Drifting
12 Belly Button Widow
13 Freedom
14 Valley of Neptune
15 Cherokee Mist
16 Acoustic Jam
Acoustic Jams
(Drake Hotel Demos, New York City, NY apr.1968 / Electric Demos 1968 / Outtakes 1967-70 plus The Apartment Jams, Jimi's House, Shokan, NY july-aug.1969 [The so-called "Taj Mahal Jams"])
notes:
- Some sources list the recording date and location for the Apartment Jams [aka. the so-called "Taj Mahal Jams"] as Jimi's Apartment, New York City, NY 21.01.70, but it's more likely the recordings were made around the same time as the Woodstock Rehearsals at Jimi's House, Shokan, NY july-aug.1969.
Disc 1
1 Long Hot Summer Night I
2 Long Hot Summer Night II
3 Long Hot Summer Night III
4 1983....
5 1983...
6 Angel
7 Cherokee Mist
8 Astro Man
9 Money
10 Voodoo Child
11 Come On
12 Hear My Train
13 Voodoo Chile/Gypsy Eyes
14 Gypsy Eyes
15 Beginnings
Disc 2
1 Little Miss Strange
2 Instrumental
3 Three Little Bears
4 Gypsy Eyes
5 1983....
6 Jam
7 Drifting I
8 Drifting II
9 Look Over Yonder
10 Send My Love, To You (Linda)
11 Drifting
12 Belly Button Widow
13 Freedom
14 Valley of Neptune
15 Cherokee Mist
16 Acoustic Jam
Acoustic Jams
(Drake Hotel Demos, New York City, NY apr.1968 / Electric Demos 1968 / Outtakes 1967-70 plus The Apartment Jams, Jimi's House, Shokan, NY july-aug.1969 [The so-called "Taj Mahal Jams"])
notes:
- Some sources list the recording date and location for the Apartment Jams [aka. the so-called "Taj Mahal Jams"] as Jimi's Apartment, New York City, NY 21.01.70, but it's more likely the recordings were made around the same time as the Woodstock Rehearsals at Jimi's House, Shokan, NY july-aug.1969.
Labels: H, J, Lost In Tyme
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Embrooks - 2000 - Our New Day
1. Standing Upside Down 2. Say Those Magic Words
3. Helen
4. No Matter What You Say
5. Seeing Her
6. I'm Still Trying
7. Bad Flight
8. (For) Another Man
9. Springtime
10. You've Been Unfair
11. Not A Priority
12. Eyes Of Love
Formed at the tail end of '96 from the ashes of The Lyds, THE EMBROOKS are the hottest Freakbeat trio the UK has to offer!!
The Embrooks biff, bang and pow their merry way through 12 head bobbing ditties that retrace the early steps of The Creation, The Who, and to a lesser extent, The Move, The Small Faces, and the popper, Jeff Beck-era sounds of the Yardbirds.
The most dazzling thing about this disc is that although The Embrooks have captured the essence of 1966 British rock, they rarely venture into the common (though not always unpleasant in any retro style) practice of merely rewriting an old favorite, in a manner reminiscent of doing a 6th grade report by using synonyms for the words you found in the World Book Encyclopedia. The Embrooks rate up there with groups like The Kaisers and The Insomniacs in their ability to inject their own wrinkles into a well-established style, creating instant classics in the process.
The Embrooks biff, bang and pow their merry way through 12 head bobbing ditties that retrace the early steps of The Creation, The Who, and to a lesser extent, The Move, The Small Faces, and the popper, Jeff Beck-era sounds of the Yardbirds.
The most dazzling thing about this disc is that although The Embrooks have captured the essence of 1966 British rock, they rarely venture into the common (though not always unpleasant in any retro style) practice of merely rewriting an old favorite, in a manner reminiscent of doing a 6th grade report by using synonyms for the words you found in the World Book Encyclopedia. The Embrooks rate up there with groups like The Kaisers and The Insomniacs in their ability to inject their own wrinkles into a well-established style, creating instant classics in the process.
"I'm Still Trying" is a compelling example of this principle. The song sits on the cusp of blues-based rock and roll, with it's chugging chord progression, and melodic pop, particularly on its pleading bridge. Still need convincing? Check out how "(For) Another Man" combines a verse that is oh-so-"Pictures Of Lily" with a chorus that comes right out of the Yardbirds' playbook.
The execution equals, if not betters, the songs themselves. Drummer Lois keeps a solid beat and fills the sonic space with cool splashes on the cymbals. In classic Entwhistle fashion, bassist Mole manages to carry his share of the rhythm duties while dexterously adding a critical melodic element. And Al makes a fat, warm sound with his guitar, pulling out a dozen nifty recipes from his rock cookbook . This is all tied up by extremely live sounding production - not one milliliter of excitement has been lost in capturing these sounds in the studio.
--Mike Bennett
The execution equals, if not betters, the songs themselves. Drummer Lois keeps a solid beat and fills the sonic space with cool splashes on the cymbals. In classic Entwhistle fashion, bassist Mole manages to carry his share of the rhythm duties while dexterously adding a critical melodic element. And Al makes a fat, warm sound with his guitar, pulling out a dozen nifty recipes from his rock cookbook . This is all tied up by extremely live sounding production - not one milliliter of excitement has been lost in capturing these sounds in the studio.
--Mike Bennett
Labels: E, innocent76, T
Gloria Scott - 1974 - What Am I Gonna Do
A Legentary Soul Album by a lady with a velvet voice.
Another classic from the rare groove days, with originals changing hands for over £100. Produced by Barry White with Tom Brock and Vance Wilson, it includes the soul weekender special Too Much Lovemakin and much sought after title track.
Tracks
1. What Am I Gonna Do 3.41
2. It's Better To Have No Love 3.16
3. I Think Of You 4.40
4. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me Or Leave Me, Leave Me Leave Me 4.19
5. I Just Couldn't Take A Goodbye 4.31
6. That's What You Say (Everytime You're Near Me) 3.18
7. (A Case Of) Too Much Lovemakin' 3.51
8. Help Me Get Off This Merry-Go-Round 3.45
2. It's Better To Have No Love 3.16
3. I Think Of You 4.40
4. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me Or Leave Me, Leave Me Leave Me 4.19
5. I Just Couldn't Take A Goodbye 4.31
6. That's What You Say (Everytime You're Near Me) 3.18
7. (A Case Of) Too Much Lovemakin' 3.51
8. Help Me Get Off This Merry-Go-Round 3.45
The Reviews
1
Possibly the hottest of the bunch is this gorgeous modern soul affair from Casablanca Records in 1974. Born in Texas Gloria became a member of Ike & Tina Turners backing group The Ikettes, and this release couldn't be further from that sound. After moving to Holywood her then manager introduced her to Barry White who at that time was just breaking big himself via his own solo career, as well as producing the aforementioned Love Unlimited. White took over the production on Gloria on this album, plus another later in 1974 which have become major collectors items. The opening track which made it to a 45 did very little at the time and one now looks back in total amazement at a missed opportunity for a hit record. The northern soul fraternity always looking for new tunes picked up on her 'Too Much Lovemakin' for their modern scene where this is still very much in demand. A fabulous orchestrated uptempo affair displaying Gloria's vocal talents to the max, and a song to truly sell this set. The song 'Help Me Get Off This Merry-Go-Round' remains a song I keep returning to which is pure soul that today's artist can only look to in admiration. A truly exceptional singer - and a truly exceptional CD - Rating 11/10
2
One of the greatest soul records of all time and an album that we'd never part with! Gloria Scott only ever recorded this one full LP but that's more than enough, as the whole thing's a masterpiece produced by Barry White with the best of his 70s approach, and featuring songs written by lesser known White protege, Tom Brock! Nearly every single cut's a classic a mixture of deep soul, mellow soul, and slight traces of funk all gliding effortlessly together with White's stone cold production, and Gloria's instantly captivating vocals. Titles include "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me, or Leave Me, Leave Me, Leave Me", "I Think Of You", "That's What You Say", and "Too Much Lovemakin" -- and the whole thing's great!
Downloand Link
David Bowie - 1991 - Early On (1964-1966)
Is there something to be said ? Covers said it all. It's early Bowie guys as David Jones with the King Bees , the Manish Boys , tle Lower Third and the Buzz.
Len Bright Combo - Reissue
Len Bright Combo - Reissue (100 mb)
1. You're Gonna Screw My Head Off
2. Selina Through The Windshield
3. Young, Upwardly Mobile and Stupid
4. Someone Must've Nailed Us Together
5. Sophie
6. The Golden Hour Of Harry Secombe
7. Lureland
8. Shirt Without A Heart
9. Comedy Time
10. Pleasant Valley Wednesday
11. The Tide Of Reason
12. Cut Off My Head
13. The House Burned Down
14. The Awakening Of Edmund Hirondelle Barnes
15. Phasers On Stun
16. All Charm
17. Club 18-30
18. Ticking In My Corner
Ahh, the Len Bright Combo.. LBC were a medway garage rock band featuring guitarist/ vocalist Eric Goulden (also known as Wreckless Eric), teamed up with drummer Bruce Brand, and bassist Russ Wilkins (both also played for Billy Childish's Thee Milkshakes). This is the reissue from 2004, if my memory serves me right. Great garage music, a little more rock oriented than anything Russ and Bruce ever done before. Highly recommended!!!!
Review:
Released at a time when "low-fi" still meant the Mary Chain, and garage rock was largely ill-defined Cramps copyists, the Artist Formerly Known As Wreckless Eric bounced back from five years of more-or-less obscurity with an album that still defies easy categorization. No matter that most of the lessons taught by the Len Bright Combo have long since been absorbed into the mainstream, nor that everyone from Mudhoney and Sonic Youth to whichever unrepentant noisemakers are most hip this week, owes the Combo a massive stylistic debt. Still, The Len Bright Combo Present the Len Bright Combo by the Len Bright Combo represents the peerless merging of pristine pop songwriting and deathless aural terrorism, the most impressive album of that ilk since the Velvet Underground first sent the recording level unstoppably into the red -- and the last to do it so gracefully. There is nothing contrived or awkward about this album. Its sonic credentials may be primitive mono, but that's because the songs, not the style, demanded it. From the maniacal Euro-bop of "Someone Must Have Nailed Us Together," a song so singalong that even confirmed hermits love it, to the shattered punk of "The Golden Hour of Harry Secombe," the album has that timeless aura that could have been composed and cut any time in the past 50 years -- yes, the entire history of rock & roll is here and, if the bellicose savagery of "Young, Upwardly Mobile...and Stupid" is dated by the then-(mid-'80s) faddishness of its title, then the deceptively acoustic "Lureland" catapults the listener back to 1950s England, where family vacations to the seaside were transformed in the child's imagination to assault courses of sand castles, rock pools, and demented old men cracking skulls with their walking sticks. Seek out The Len Bright Combo Present the Len Bright Combo by the Len Bright Combo in Wreckless Eric's discography, and it's just one album among many, and there's not a hit single in sight. Experience it in person, however, cranked up loud with your mind's eye wide open, and it's records like this that make music worth hearing. And nothing else will sound so great for days (So true - SDS) . ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
1. You're Gonna Screw My Head Off
2. Selina Through The Windshield
3. Young, Upwardly Mobile and Stupid
4. Someone Must've Nailed Us Together
5. Sophie
6. The Golden Hour Of Harry Secombe
7. Lureland
8. Shirt Without A Heart
9. Comedy Time
10. Pleasant Valley Wednesday
11. The Tide Of Reason
12. Cut Off My Head
13. The House Burned Down
14. The Awakening Of Edmund Hirondelle Barnes
15. Phasers On Stun
16. All Charm
17. Club 18-30
18. Ticking In My Corner
Ahh, the Len Bright Combo.. LBC were a medway garage rock band featuring guitarist/ vocalist Eric Goulden (also known as Wreckless Eric), teamed up with drummer Bruce Brand, and bassist Russ Wilkins (both also played for Billy Childish's Thee Milkshakes). This is the reissue from 2004, if my memory serves me right. Great garage music, a little more rock oriented than anything Russ and Bruce ever done before. Highly recommended!!!!
Review:
Released at a time when "low-fi" still meant the Mary Chain, and garage rock was largely ill-defined Cramps copyists, the Artist Formerly Known As Wreckless Eric bounced back from five years of more-or-less obscurity with an album that still defies easy categorization. No matter that most of the lessons taught by the Len Bright Combo have long since been absorbed into the mainstream, nor that everyone from Mudhoney and Sonic Youth to whichever unrepentant noisemakers are most hip this week, owes the Combo a massive stylistic debt. Still, The Len Bright Combo Present the Len Bright Combo by the Len Bright Combo represents the peerless merging of pristine pop songwriting and deathless aural terrorism, the most impressive album of that ilk since the Velvet Underground first sent the recording level unstoppably into the red -- and the last to do it so gracefully. There is nothing contrived or awkward about this album. Its sonic credentials may be primitive mono, but that's because the songs, not the style, demanded it. From the maniacal Euro-bop of "Someone Must Have Nailed Us Together," a song so singalong that even confirmed hermits love it, to the shattered punk of "The Golden Hour of Harry Secombe," the album has that timeless aura that could have been composed and cut any time in the past 50 years -- yes, the entire history of rock & roll is here and, if the bellicose savagery of "Young, Upwardly Mobile...and Stupid" is dated by the then-(mid-'80s) faddishness of its title, then the deceptively acoustic "Lureland" catapults the listener back to 1950s England, where family vacations to the seaside were transformed in the child's imagination to assault courses of sand castles, rock pools, and demented old men cracking skulls with their walking sticks. Seek out The Len Bright Combo Present the Len Bright Combo by the Len Bright Combo in Wreckless Eric's discography, and it's just one album among many, and there's not a hit single in sight. Experience it in person, however, cranked up loud with your mind's eye wide open, and it's records like this that make music worth hearing. And nothing else will sound so great for days (So true - SDS) . ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
Labels: L, sonicdeathsound
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Incredible String Band - 1970 - Be Glad For the Song Has No Ending
Track Listing :
1. Come With Me
2. All Writ Down
3. Veshangro
4. See All The People
5. Waiting For You
6. The Song has No Ending
This Incredible String Band record from 1970 features principals Robin Williamson and Mike Heron with Rose Simpson and Licorice McKechnie.
Be Glad for the Song Has No Ending, was issued in March of that year, but contained music from 1968 and 1969. It was also the last ISB recording produced by Joe Boyd. Boyd assembled this collection of leftover tracks from between the Wee Tam and I Looked Up offerings, with the intention of just getting the music out there.
In fact, two cuts from the first half and all of the second half of the album were a soundtrack to Peter Neal's ISB documentary film of the same name -- the picture saw release in 1970, but was then shelved until its "rediscovery" in the mid-'90s and subsequent video release. The second half of Be Glad is all instrumental, composed no doubt as "incidental" or "serial" music.
It's not the ISB's best efforts, but it does showcase the increased participation of Simpson and McKechnie and is pleasant, if quaint. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Be Glad for the Song has No Ending
Titled from Robin's "Head" poem, Be Glad for Song Has No Ending was the soundtrack for their John Marshall-directed film. The instrumental side of the album serves as the background music for the mime "fable" part of the movie, filmed on location in Wales and called "The Pirate and the Crystal Ball."
The rest of the film is a semi-documentary of the band at the time and includes them performing "All Writ Down" and "Mercy I Cry City," and Robin reading "The Head." It also includes great footage of a very straight Newsweek reporter trying to interview a decidedly weird ISB answering his questions with such thought provoking quotes as "the opposite is true."
This was originally destined to be shown on BBC's Omnibus programme but it was never broadcast. It contains footage from the band on stage and in the studio as well as interviews at home. The second part of the video has the fantasy tale The Pirate featuring Stone Monkey.
Labels: I, Lost In Tyme
The Moving Sidewalks - 1968 - Flash (256@ + covers)
A superb US psych album
Hendrix like guitar work, rippling keyboards, trippy spacey effects great songs and more.
This is one of the most wanted albums to come out of the Texas psychedelic scene. Originally released in 1968 on Tantara Records, this is the only album done by this great band led by guitarist Billy Gibbons (later ZZTop)
The Band
Bill Gibbons vocals, guitar, harmonica
Don Summers bass
Tom Moore organ, piano
Tom Moore organ, piano
Dan Michell drams
The Reviews
1
When this album first came out I was taking guitar lessons from Billy at the Brook Mayes Music store in Houston. After this album, MS broke up and ZZTop released one single 'Salt Lick' on the Scat Label. Their first show as ZZTop was at the Houston Music Theater opening for Grand Funk Railroad. I was biased but I thought ZZTop smoked GFR. One night on the Johnny Carson Show, Jimi Hendrix, when asked about other guitarists who he respected, mentioned Billy Gibbons whose band Moving Sidewalks had been opening for him on his current tour.
The album 'Flash' is pure 1960's garage psychedelia complete with sound effects. One song 'Joe Blues' offers some pretty decent Gibbons blues guitar work (even though there is an air conditioner or tape machine squeeking in the background.) Songs on 'Flash' were written by Gibbons or Gibbons and band with one song by producer Steve Ames, another by Al Anderson, two by Tom Moore and the last two of four co-written by Gibbons and Steve Ames. I still keep the original vinyl recording put away. Highly recommended for fans of 60's blues/garage rock
The album 'Flash' is pure 1960's garage psychedelia complete with sound effects. One song 'Joe Blues' offers some pretty decent Gibbons blues guitar work (even though there is an air conditioner or tape machine squeeking in the background.) Songs on 'Flash' were written by Gibbons or Gibbons and band with one song by producer Steve Ames, another by Al Anderson, two by Tom Moore and the last two of four co-written by Gibbons and Steve Ames. I still keep the original vinyl recording put away. Highly recommended for fans of 60's blues/garage rock
2
Yes, this is the band that Billy Gibbons rose to local fame with, a band that opened and/or played with such legendary acts as The 13th Floor Elevators, The Golden Dawn, Fever Tree, Shiva's Headband, Bubble Puppy, Doug Sahm, and the Winter brothers, just to name a few. They've probably become over-rated by enthusiastic ZZ Top fans, and over-stated by justly proud native Texans lucky enough to have had them play at their local clubs, bars and youth centers back in the day. But the basis of those over-ratings and over-statments was real: they were a fine combo who could cook with the best of the bands previously named.
This LP features a nascent Billy Gibbons in his youth, already with many of the chops and licks he'd bring to ZZ Top a short while later. It's puro homegrown Texas Psychedelic Blues, specifically the genuine South Coast Sound of Galveston, (home of the Bali Room) and that muggy Baghdad on the Bayou, Houston Texas.
Granted, it sounds a little dated most Psychedelic bands of the 60's and 70's do. Granted, you'll only catch a studio portion of the live act that made them such legends, not unlike the 13th Floor Elevators in that respect locals who saw them still rave about their shows to this day "you should have been there". But until such a time as some live Sidewalks CDs surface, those of us unfortunate enough as to have missed these cats in their heyday will just have to make do with this.
3
This is typical psych-rock for the year in which it was released, 1968. It was originally released on Tantara Records, now it's remastered with several bonus tracks thanks to Akarma Records. This is a really nice top quality digipack, made to emulate the LP. With all of that conceptual jargon aside, this is a vast collection of songs. "You Don't Know The Life" is plea to someone who doesn't understand what it's like to wear the singer's shoes, while "Joe Blues" is a taste of the direction Gibbons was headed. It's a real down and dirty electric blues song. Gibbons is really able to stretch out and strut his stuff mightily on this track. He sounds as if he was restrained at several junctures playing with this band. It's due to the type of music he was playing I am sure. You can really notice the difference when you listen to "Joe Blues", as the real Billy Gibbons shows his true and brightest colors. "99THFloor" is psych-garage nugget, and it gave them some notoriety while becoming their trademark showstopper. With the bonus tracks there are a few surprises. The one that really floored me was the Beatles tune "I Want To Hold Your Hand." You talk about a complete departure, wow! The song is given a whole new life, and it really rocks. It's startling just how good it is considering how they put their own spin on it. Each song features Gibbon's dominating guitar. It's a wonder how a group can come together and make one great album then end it all. I am sure if they continued they would have evolved into something really special. As history shows, Billy Gibbons did.
Download Link:
moving_sidewalks_-_1968_-_flash.rar
Captain Beyond - 1972 - Captain Beyond
Here's one I've been listening to a lot these days...it's essential! An awesome fusion of various styles, and good use of odd timing structure make this album stand out in my books.
1 Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air)
2 Armworth
3 Myopic Void
4 Mesmerization Eclipse
5 Raging River of Fear
6 Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro)
7 Frozen Over
8 Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone)
9 I Can't Feel Nothin', Pt. 1
10 As the Moon Speaks (To the Waves of the Sea)
11 Astral Lady
12 As the Moon Speaks (Return)
13 I Can't Feel Nothin', Pt. 2
11 Astral Lady
12 As the Moon Speaks (Return)
13 I Can't Feel Nothin', Pt. 2
Allmusic review:
Captain Beyond is a one-of-a-kind progressive album with rock, heavy metal, and jazz influences with a "space rock" lyrical bend. Formed by former members of Deep Purple (Rod Evans, vocals), Iron Butterfly (Rhino, lead guitar, and Lee Dorman, bass), and Johnny Winter (Bobby Caldwell, drums) Captain Beyond is an album that flows from riff to riff, drumbeat to drumbeat, often with various time signatures within the same song. Taking a tip from the Moody Blues, songs flow directly into each other without benefit of any lag time between selections. Taken as a whole, the album is kind of a rush, as quick, riff-laden guitar lines predominate for a few songs before slowing down temporarily into a lull until the next takeoff. Lyrically, the album differentiates itself by exploring themes of the outer world and meanings of existence, often with references to the moon, sea, sun, and so on. Listeners may get the feeling of taking a journey to space in a rocket ship headed for destination unknown. Musically, the album is superior in all aspects. Rod Evans has a strong rock voice, Rhino plays an enormous amount of hook-laden guitar lines, and Lee Dorman plays complex basslines (for example, at the end of "As the Moon Speaks-Return") that lead to typically rhythmic, nimble Bobby Caldwell drumming. The tightness between musicians is enormous, never lets up for long, and leaves the listener feeling like the ride should continue for the indefinite future.
Labels: C, Lanchester
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Thin White Rope
Thin White Rope - 1990 - Sack Full Of Silver1 Hidden Lands (3:04)
2 Sack Full of Silver (2:13)
3 Yoo Doo Right (6:04)
4 Napkin Song (1:31)
5 Americana/The Ghost (4:34)
6 Whirling Dervish (3:43)
7 Triangle (5:39)
8 Diesel Man (4:42)
9 On the Floe (3:43)
10 On the Floe (4:51)
Sack Full of Silver is, in many ways, one of Thin White Rope's most fully realized sets, blending the group's early alt-psychedelic influences and a growing taste for dusty Americana flavors. Having completed a 16-date tour of the Soviet Union, the group collected covers of Marty Robbins, Lee Hazlewood, and others for the Red Sun EP, followed shortly by this batch of originals penned during the trip overseas. Like all Thin White Rope releases, Sack Full of Silver is defined by the voice of Guy Kyser: the aural equivalent of the flat, parched, endless landscape his characters seem to inhabit. Sobering realizations, like dead ends, await them around every corner. In an environment where failure, desperation, and hopelessness are common currency, adding up one's losses and moving on feels like a great victory. It's clearly no easy task. "The Ghost" catches its subject in the moment before that turning point, looking ahead as a life of loss begins to flood in.
Emerging out of the final chords of "Americana" and "Desert Rock" it rises from the sound of wind-swept sand to a triumphant anthem in the mold of an old folk song. Revealing that they are working within a wider frame of reference, the group adapt Can's "Yoo Doo Right," distilling the original's 20 minutes into a compact, bursting rock number. Though the gray area in between these two styles produces less memorable results, Thin White Rope's brand of American roots has aged more gracefully than the work of some of their contemporaries. Sack Full of Silver remains as fine an introduction to Kyser's vision as any. ~ Nathan Bush, All Music Guide
Download
Thin White Rope - 1985 - Exploring The Axis
1. Down In The Desert
2. Disney Girl
3. Soundtrack
4. Lithium
5. Dead Grammas On A Train
6. Three Song, The
7. Eleven
8. Atomic Imagery
9. Real West, The
10. Exploring The Axis
11. Macy's Window
12. Rocket USA - (live)
13. Roger's Tongue
Review by Nathan Bush
Hailing from the northern California town of Davis, Thin White Rope was initially pegged as a proponent of the paisley underground movement. Such labeling, however, tells half the story at best. The list of bands the group went on to cover over the course of their ten-year career is actually more revealing. Songs by Suicide, the Stooges, Lee Hazlewood, Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, Can, and a James Bond theme have all been rendered by the band in the studio and on-stage. That list goes a long way in explaining the mixture of raw, angular riffs, southern twang, and icy psychedelia that characterizes Exploring the Axis, the group's 1985 debut. What it does not convey, perhaps, is the relative bleakness of Thin White Rope's music.
Frontman Guy Kyser, guitarist Roger Kunkel, bassist Stephen Tesluk, and drummer Jozef Becker outline a series of barren landscapes, their instruments kicking up clouds of dust from the parched earth like a rollicking, rickety ghost-train headed south. At times Jeff Eyrich's productions approach the wintry heir of Martin Hannett's work with Joy Division. This climate is ideal for Kyser, who delivers tales of isolation, allusion, and death; his voice a perpetually unsteady quake.
Download
2 Sack Full of Silver (2:13)
3 Yoo Doo Right (6:04)
4 Napkin Song (1:31)
5 Americana/The Ghost (4:34)
6 Whirling Dervish (3:43)
7 Triangle (5:39)
8 Diesel Man (4:42)
9 On the Floe (3:43)
10 On the Floe (4:51)
Sack Full of Silver is, in many ways, one of Thin White Rope's most fully realized sets, blending the group's early alt-psychedelic influences and a growing taste for dusty Americana flavors. Having completed a 16-date tour of the Soviet Union, the group collected covers of Marty Robbins, Lee Hazlewood, and others for the Red Sun EP, followed shortly by this batch of originals penned during the trip overseas. Like all Thin White Rope releases, Sack Full of Silver is defined by the voice of Guy Kyser: the aural equivalent of the flat, parched, endless landscape his characters seem to inhabit. Sobering realizations, like dead ends, await them around every corner. In an environment where failure, desperation, and hopelessness are common currency, adding up one's losses and moving on feels like a great victory. It's clearly no easy task. "The Ghost" catches its subject in the moment before that turning point, looking ahead as a life of loss begins to flood in.
Emerging out of the final chords of "Americana" and "Desert Rock" it rises from the sound of wind-swept sand to a triumphant anthem in the mold of an old folk song. Revealing that they are working within a wider frame of reference, the group adapt Can's "Yoo Doo Right," distilling the original's 20 minutes into a compact, bursting rock number. Though the gray area in between these two styles produces less memorable results, Thin White Rope's brand of American roots has aged more gracefully than the work of some of their contemporaries. Sack Full of Silver remains as fine an introduction to Kyser's vision as any. ~ Nathan Bush, All Music Guide
Download
Thin White Rope - 1985 - Exploring The Axis1. Down In The Desert
2. Disney Girl
3. Soundtrack
4. Lithium
5. Dead Grammas On A Train
6. Three Song, The
7. Eleven
8. Atomic Imagery
9. Real West, The
10. Exploring The Axis
11. Macy's Window
12. Rocket USA - (live)
13. Roger's Tongue
Review by Nathan Bush
Hailing from the northern California town of Davis, Thin White Rope was initially pegged as a proponent of the paisley underground movement. Such labeling, however, tells half the story at best. The list of bands the group went on to cover over the course of their ten-year career is actually more revealing. Songs by Suicide, the Stooges, Lee Hazlewood, Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, Can, and a James Bond theme have all been rendered by the band in the studio and on-stage. That list goes a long way in explaining the mixture of raw, angular riffs, southern twang, and icy psychedelia that characterizes Exploring the Axis, the group's 1985 debut. What it does not convey, perhaps, is the relative bleakness of Thin White Rope's music.
Frontman Guy Kyser, guitarist Roger Kunkel, bassist Stephen Tesluk, and drummer Jozef Becker outline a series of barren landscapes, their instruments kicking up clouds of dust from the parched earth like a rollicking, rickety ghost-train headed south. At times Jeff Eyrich's productions approach the wintry heir of Martin Hannett's work with Joy Division. This climate is ideal for Kyser, who delivers tales of isolation, allusion, and death; his voice a perpetually unsteady quake.
Download
Labels: innocent76, T
Quarteto 1111 - Cantamos Pessoas Vivas (1975)
Quarteto 1111 was founded in 1967 in Estoril and is one of the most influential prog/rockbands in Portugal.Originally formed by Miguel Artur da Silveira (Drums), José Cid (Vocals and Keyboard), António Moniz Pereira (Guitar) and Jorge Moniz Pereira (Bass).Conjunto Mistério, later called Quarteto 1111 took their name by the telephone number where the rehearsals occurred.
Onde Quando Como Porquê Cantamos Pessoas Vivas (often known simply as Cantamos Pessoas Vivas) was Portuguese outfit Quarteto 1111's last albumand it's effectively a late-period psych/prog album.
Talking about Jose Cid (the mind of Quarteto 1111) after he gave us the SUPERB Cantamos Pessoas Vivas with Quarteto and the also exchellent 10000 Anos Depois Entre Venus E Marte (1978) on his solo career he decide to be a pop star and represent portugal in Eurovision with a awfull song (at 1981 i think) what a decadence ... whatever... we thank him for this exchellent album !!
Actually i sweat my ass to find this vinyl and rip it , was the best i can find ,(sorry), but raise the volume a bit it's worth it.!
Onde Quando Como Porquê Cantamos Pessoas Vivas (often known simply as Cantamos Pessoas Vivas) was Portuguese outfit Quarteto 1111's last albumand it's effectively a late-period psych/prog album.
Talking about Jose Cid (the mind of Quarteto 1111) after he gave us the SUPERB Cantamos Pessoas Vivas with Quarteto and the also exchellent 10000 Anos Depois Entre Venus E Marte (1978) on his solo career he decide to be a pop star and represent portugal in Eurovision with a awfull song (at 1981 i think) what a decadence ... whatever... we thank him for this exchellent album !!
Actually i sweat my ass to find this vinyl and rip it , was the best i can find ,(sorry), but raise the volume a bit it's worth it.!
Download Link
Labels: Q, WeBuilTArks
Salem Mass - 1971 - Witch Burning
Salem Mass - 1971 - Witch Burning
@320
Track Listing:
Side One: Witch Burning / My Sweet Jane / Why
Side Two: You Can't Run My Life / You're Just A Dream / Bare Tree / The Drifter
Musicians:
Jim Klahr - keyboards
Mike Snead - lead guitar and vocals
Steve Towery - drums and vocals
Matt Wilson - bass and vocals
You would assume the group Salem Mass is from Massachusetts right? Wrong.
In 1971 four young men from Sun Valley Idaho; Jim Klahr (keyboards), Mike Snead (lead guitar and vocals), Steve Towery (drums and vocals), and Matt Wilson (bass and vocals) decided that would be a good name for a group. I was attracted to them because of their name. I am from Massachusetts and I have a fascination with the time period in history when the persecution of innocent victims took place. I also happen to really enjoy most music that was made in the seventies. Psychedelic rock wasn't one genre I really knew anything about, as my time for really listening to music of my own choice was around 1972, when there was a shift to heavy metal and psychedelic rock was becoming a memory. All of this wonderful music has been a revelation of discovery for me every time I sit and listen to another group.
The album starts off with the title track "Witch Burning." The lead vocals are high pitched and irritating, yet the music is powerful and subsequently sweeps that negative factor right under the table. I am not sure who handles vocals on what track because it's not indicated on the album liner notes or cover. That is the only song that lacks vocally, the rest of the album has strong vocals to match the far-reaching and authoritative music. "My Sweet Jane" follows and it put any doubt that I was feeling to rest quickly. I found it to be the best track on the entire album. This music sounds fresh even today.Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Labels: Lost In Tyme, S
Monday, February 12, 2007
Wool - Wool (1969)
Wool/Ed Wool and The Nomads
Personnel:
ED BARRELLA bs A
TOM HASKELL gtr, vcls A
PETER LULIS drms A
CLAUDIA WOOL vcls A
ED WOOL ld gtr, vcls A
ALBUM: 1(A) WOOL (ABC ABCS-676) 1969
45s: 1 Please, Please (Don't Go)/I Need Somebody (RCA Victor 47-8940) 1966
2 The Boy With The Green Eyes/Combinations Of The Two (ABC Paramount 11167) 1969
3 Love Love Love Love Love/If They Let Us Alone Now (ABC Paramount 11190) 1969
4 Listen To The Sound/Witch (Columbia 4-45278) 1970
5 It's Alright/Take Me To The Pilot (Columbia 4-45452) 1971
NB: (1) as Ed Wool & The Nomads.
NB: (1) as Ed Wool & The Nomads.
Syracuse, New York was the stomping ground for this R'n'B/blues-influenced combo dominated by vocalist Ed Wool, whose strong raucous style could be compared to Eric Burdon, especially on numbers like the cover of Brown-Terry's Please Please (Don't Go). The LP is bluesy rock-pop, if that's your bag, whose highlight is undoubtedly Love Love Love Love Love, another vocal tour-de-force, by Tom Haskell.
Nowadays Wool resides in Albany, N.Y. and continues to record and tour with The Ed Wool Band, playing jazz-rock and big band dance music. Tom Haskell is now a freelance photographer.
Compilation appearances include: I Need Somebody on Mind Blowers (LP).
(Max Waller)
This is a review of Max Waller, my opinion is that Wool are very near to Big Brother and the Holding Co. Maybe that's why I like this band.
I would like to read your opinion.
Enjoy !!!!
Labels: stavros666999, W
Ohio Players - 1975 - Honey (256@ + Covers)
A classic Funk - Soul Album of the 70's.
Legendary pioneers of street funk, the Ohio Players went platinum with this hot 1975 release that includes the chart-topping disco/funk classic "Love Rollercoaster". Sexy, horn-driven grooves, hypnotic rhythms, and bottom-heavy jams take us on a fresh and funky new dimension.
Tracks
1 Honey (5:17)
2 Fopp (3:52)
3 Let's Do It (5:12)
4 Ain't Givin' up No Ground (1:42)
5 Sweet Sticky Thing (6:12)
6 Love Rollercoaster (4:48)
7 Alone (4:38)
There is an urban legend about the song Love Rollercoaster. About two minutes into the song, a faint scream is heard. the urban legend states that the scream is that of the model on the cover of the album. Allegedly, the model was kneeling on fiberglass and pouring honey onto herself. The honey bonded her to the glass, and her skin was ripped off in the effort to unstick her. She confronted the manager during the recording of the song, who then proceeded to stab her to death,
This myth is false, however. The scream was made by keyboardist Billy Beck. A local DJ made up the rumor, and the band kept with it to boost sales of the album.
The Review
By the time of 1975's HONEY, the Players had streamlined their album covers from HUSTLER-ish to PLAYBOY-ish, while keeping their music still delightfully funky & sexy beyond description. 1974's FIRE contained their first #1 pop hit with the title track, and the music was definitely what its title stated: blazing! While HONEY hints at something a little more, well, smooth, it's still a fantastic album with enough grit to rock the dance floors before putting on the slower stuff when you get back home.
"Love Rollercoaster" was the Player's 2nd #1 pop hit, and is probably their most famous song thanks to cover versions like that from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While the Peppers' version was a good White-boy version of it, the Players' one is still the funky king, one to get you up & moving no matter how many times it's been played at parties, sporting events or oldies radio.
"Fopp" is another chaotic funky delight with the opening drum line indeed sounding reminiscent of the opening to Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City". Maybe Axl Rose needs to pay some restitution to the Players, who knows?
As has been proven time & time again, ballads were always the Players' secret weapon, and they remain underrated with all the loud, screaming funk that was their trademark. "Sweet Sticky Thing" was lucky to be released for it is indeed much smoother-edged than what the Players were known for at the time. The fact this jazz-grooved tune (man, that saxophone!) did so well really says something.
The opening title track was a brave way to start out the album, especially after just having a massive #1 hit with "Fire". I can easily imagine this song coming from Earth, Wind & Fire, who were probably the only other group the Players could really compete with in the funk sweepstakes (Parliament/Funkadelic were already the kings, so they were out of the running).
"Let's Do It" is another romantic jam to melt your lover's heart with, and hopefully you won't find yourself singing the closing ballad "Alone" before long. The man singing this song is all-too-obviously heartbroken and, as my good friend Nathan says, it definitely is a forgotten treasure of '70s R&B balladry with Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner's lead vocal just tear-inducing. Even the spare musical back-up on the song heightens its emotional nakedness.
HONEY was produced, written & performed by the Players themselves, so you know the album is exactly how they would have wanted it. Even those ever-present covers were their brainchild, with HONEY's being the undoubtedly the most famous of all (the inner photo is a true "how could they do it?" affair).
While the Players have been sampled like mad by hip-hop artists for years, and are still adored by R&B lovers today, they have been sort of overlooked in the overall pantheon of popular music. Earth, Wind & Fire have been inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as has Parliament/Funkadelic, so why not the Players? Until that day comes, we can be sure that an album as fantastic & funky as HONEY will be one of the things that gets them in there.
Download Link
The Punks - 2005 - The Punks
The Punks - The Punks (80 MB)
Rave-Up Records
2005
1. My Time's Coming
2. Chains Of Madness
3. Darker Side
4. Drop Dead
5. Rocks Funeral
6. No Mercy
7. Drug Fueled Accident
8. Sinister Boy
9. Quick One
The Punks!!!! Ahhh, another long forgotten badass 1970's RnR band, this time from Detroit, Michigan. Heavily influenced by artists such as Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, & Blue Cheer. This is the 2005 reissue version put out by Italian label Rave-Up Records, (currently sold out and out of print) possibly the finest label still releasing records by relatively obscure and classic RnR/Garage/Punk/Glam bands.
Singer Frantic of The Punks
This is what Matt Gimmick had to say in October 2001 about The Punks, featured on the Motor City Music website (they also issued a Punks CD a few years ago, titled The Most Powerful Music On Earth, which more or less contains the same songs on this release, plus a few live versions):
"This Volume I collection of songs was recorded between 1975 and 1977. These tracks aren't from some slick dressed commercial over-rehearsed band of rock star wanna-be's. They were culled from a live performance, rehearsals and low buck studio recordings. It's High Energy - and best described by the word "raunch." If it were to be categorized, this CD should be filed under the Listen Loud section.
To witness The Punks doing it live was like a preparation for a major hangover the next morning. There was no enthusiastic jumping around by guitarists Steve Rockey, Alan Webber or bassist Rod McMahon. Lead singer "Frantic", a/k/a William Kuchon, took care of the craziness. Frantic had more energy than a kid on speed, and enjoyed working it out while drummer Craigstone J. Webshire III was content to shred drumsticks the size of logs in the pursuit of annihilating his drum kit. It was loud and aggressive music, fast and rockin', at times slow and heavy with nontraditional guitar interactions of feedback/wah wah/distortion mixed with driving bass runs and an atomic bomb relentless backbeat. Add Frantic's stage presence - a smiling defiant singer with a dislike of the wimpy mainstream acts of the day coupled with a stance on stage that projected a "Hey! Let's get crazy, let's go over the top because there ain't no rules" attitude. Frantic believed he was just a voice cryin' in the wilderness, and he stood proud with an obnoxious-repetitious-ear splitting band of brothers behind him that loved to crank it up. It was destruction volume and energy - not so clean, nice or politically correct in any way, shape, form or fashion. At the time there was no media-coined "punk rock." There were no safety-pinned spike-haired, hey-look-at-me-I'm-tougher-than-you fashion hounds. There was just this band called The Punks, who had no delusional ideas of who they were or what they were trying to accomplish. So sit back, crank it up, and enjoy."
You heard what the man said; Sit back, crank it up, and enjoy!
Rave-Up Records
2005
1. My Time's Coming
2. Chains Of Madness
3. Darker Side
4. Drop Dead
5. Rocks Funeral
6. No Mercy
7. Drug Fueled Accident
8. Sinister Boy
9. Quick One
The Punks!!!! Ahhh, another long forgotten badass 1970's RnR band, this time from Detroit, Michigan. Heavily influenced by artists such as Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, & Blue Cheer. This is the 2005 reissue version put out by Italian label Rave-Up Records, (currently sold out and out of print) possibly the finest label still releasing records by relatively obscure and classic RnR/Garage/Punk/Glam bands.
Singer Frantic of The PunksThis is what Matt Gimmick had to say in October 2001 about The Punks, featured on the Motor City Music website (they also issued a Punks CD a few years ago, titled The Most Powerful Music On Earth, which more or less contains the same songs on this release, plus a few live versions):
"This Volume I collection of songs was recorded between 1975 and 1977. These tracks aren't from some slick dressed commercial over-rehearsed band of rock star wanna-be's. They were culled from a live performance, rehearsals and low buck studio recordings. It's High Energy - and best described by the word "raunch." If it were to be categorized, this CD should be filed under the Listen Loud section.
There were bands The Punks enjoyed listening to and seeing; groups such as The Underdogs, Unrelated Segments, Velvet Underground, MC5, The Stooges, SRC, early Alice Cooper, and Blue Cheer - the list goes on and on. This CD represents their answer and contribution to the demise of the late great 60's era, especially in and around the Metro Detroit area. After 1970 or so, the Detroit scene died, so the punks geared up and decided to make their own noise.
The studio tracks were preparation recordings for an anticipated recording contract with a major label that didn't materialize. "My Time's Comin', "Drop Dead" (a song about feeling good) and "Sinister Bly" were recorded at The Punks' Saline headquarters in Waterford, Michigan. "Chains of Madness," a song about being possessed, and "Drug Related Incident" were recorded at League G studios, utilizing old Motown Records recording equipment. Includes as well "Darker Side," "Rocks Funeral," and "No Mercy (For The Damned)" - a title and song for a follow-up to the Dirty Dozen movie, and "Quick One," about... well, you know! The two live cuts were from the infamous IAC Club in Pontiac, Michigan. These shows were crazy. The audiences were usually drunk, drugged up and rowdy as hell. The late great Lester Bangs of CREEM Magazine would show up with friends to rejuvenate his senses and fill his need for some loud train-wreck type rock'n'roll. "On The Bum," a tune about being a poor rock musician during the disco period, and "Always Had This Problem," - not really an upbeat outlook on life - are two cuts from a show in 1976. Plans are to release more live material on a second volume in the near future.To witness The Punks doing it live was like a preparation for a major hangover the next morning. There was no enthusiastic jumping around by guitarists Steve Rockey, Alan Webber or bassist Rod McMahon. Lead singer "Frantic", a/k/a William Kuchon, took care of the craziness. Frantic had more energy than a kid on speed, and enjoyed working it out while drummer Craigstone J. Webshire III was content to shred drumsticks the size of logs in the pursuit of annihilating his drum kit. It was loud and aggressive music, fast and rockin', at times slow and heavy with nontraditional guitar interactions of feedback/wah wah/distortion mixed with driving bass runs and an atomic bomb relentless backbeat. Add Frantic's stage presence - a smiling defiant singer with a dislike of the wimpy mainstream acts of the day coupled with a stance on stage that projected a "Hey! Let's get crazy, let's go over the top because there ain't no rules" attitude. Frantic believed he was just a voice cryin' in the wilderness, and he stood proud with an obnoxious-repetitious-ear splitting band of brothers behind him that loved to crank it up. It was destruction volume and energy - not so clean, nice or politically correct in any way, shape, form or fashion. At the time there was no media-coined "punk rock." There were no safety-pinned spike-haired, hey-look-at-me-I'm-tougher-than-you fashion hounds. There was just this band called The Punks, who had no delusional ideas of who they were or what they were trying to accomplish. So sit back, crank it up, and enjoy."
You heard what the man said; Sit back, crank it up, and enjoy!
Labels: P, sonicdeathsound
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Neil Young - Bernstein Tapes
I ve been away for a long time. Still on the road. Here is one of the many Neil Young's bootlegs that I carry with me where ever I go. A classic.
Enjoy!!!
Labels: N, stavros666999, Y
The Vaselines - The Way of The Vaselines , A Complete History (1992)
The Vaselines were an indie rock band from bellshill, Scotland. Formed in 1986, the band was originally made up of only Eugene Kelly and Frances Mc Kcee, but later added James Seenan and Charly Kelly.
The band released two singles, "Son of a Gun" and "Dying for It", prior to releasing an album. In 1989 they released their only album, Dum Dum, on the record label Rough trade. Following the closing of the record label 53rd and 3rd, which they had originally signed to, the band broke up in 1990. However, they reunited later that year to open for Nirvana when they played in Edinburgh.
Though they were not widely known when the band existed, covers of their songs by Nirvana and Kurt Cobain's tendency to mention them as an influence brought exposure to the band. With their songs "Son of a Gun" and "Molly's Lips" covered on Nirvana's album Incesticide and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" covered as "jeses doesn't want me for a sunbeam" onMTV unplugged in New York, the band gained a new audience from people who wanted to discover the bands that influenced Cobain (a similar situation happened to the band The Meat Puppets). Due to this new exposure, in 1992 Sub Pop released The way Of The Vaselines: A Complete History, a compilation that contained The Vaselines' entire body of work on one album.
No longer together, members of the band moved on to new bands. Kelly went on to found the band Captain America (later renamed Eugenius). He currently performs solo. McKee founded the band Suckle and released her first solo album, Sunny Moon, in 2006. (Text: The vaselines/Wikipedia)
The band released two singles, "Son of a Gun" and "Dying for It", prior to releasing an album. In 1989 they released their only album, Dum Dum, on the record label Rough trade. Following the closing of the record label 53rd and 3rd, which they had originally signed to, the band broke up in 1990. However, they reunited later that year to open for Nirvana when they played in Edinburgh.
Though they were not widely known when the band existed, covers of their songs by Nirvana and Kurt Cobain's tendency to mention them as an influence brought exposure to the band. With their songs "Son of a Gun" and "Molly's Lips" covered on Nirvana's album Incesticide and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" covered as "jeses doesn't want me for a sunbeam" onMTV unplugged in New York, the band gained a new audience from people who wanted to discover the bands that influenced Cobain (a similar situation happened to the band The Meat Puppets). Due to this new exposure, in 1992 Sub Pop released The way Of The Vaselines: A Complete History, a compilation that contained The Vaselines' entire body of work on one album.
No longer together, members of the band moved on to new bands. Kelly went on to found the band Captain America (later renamed Eugenius). He currently performs solo. McKee founded the band Suckle and released her first solo album, Sunny Moon, in 2006. (Text: The vaselines/Wikipedia)
The Shirelles - 1962 - Baby It's You
1 Baby It's You
2 Things I Want to Hear (Pretty Words)
3 Big John
4 Same Old Story
5 Voice of Experience
6 Irresistible You
7 Soldier Boy
8 Thing of the Past
9 Twenty-One
10 Make the Night a Little Longer
11 Twisting in the U.S.A.
12 Putty (In Your Hands)
The Shirelles were the first major female vocal group of the rock era, defining the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence. Their music was a blend of pop/rock and R&B — especially doo wop and smooth uptown soul — that appealed to listeners across the board, before Motown ever became a crossover phenomenon with white audiences. Even if the Shirelles were not technically the first of their kind, their success was unprecedented, paving the way for legions of imitators; their inviting musical blueprint had an enduring influence not just on their immediate followers, but on future generations of female pop singers, who often updated the style with a more modern sensibility. What was more, they provided some of the earliest hits for important Brill Building songwriters like Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, and Van McCoy.
The Shirelles were originally formed in 1958 in Passaic, NJ, by four high school friends: Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris, Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston), and Beverly Lee. Christening themselves the Poquellos, the girls wrote a song called "I Met Him on a Sunday" and entered their school talent show with it. A school friend had them audition for her mother, Florence Greenberg, who ran a small record label; she was impressed enough to become the group's manager, and changed their name to the Shirelles by combining frequent lead singer Owens' first name with doo woppers the Chantels. The Shirelles' recording of "I Met Him on a Sunday" was licensed by Decca and climbed into the national Top 50 in 1958. Two more singles flopped, however, and Decca passed on further releases. Greenberg instead signed them to her new label, Scepter Records, and brought in producer Luther Dixon, whose imaginative, sometimes string-heavy arrangements would help shape the group's signature sound.
"Dedicated to the One I Love" (1959) and "Tonight's the Night" (1960) both failed to make much of an impact on the pop charts, although the latter was a Top 20 R&B hit. However, they broke big time with the Goffin-King composition "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"; released in late 1960, it went all the way to number one pop, making them the first all-female group of the rock era to accomplish that feat; it also peaked at number two R&B. Its success helped send a re-release of "Dedicated to the One I Love" into the Top Five on both the pop and R&B charts in 1961, and "Mama Said" did the same; a more R&B-flavored outing, "Big John," also went to number two that year. 1962 continued their run of success, most notably with "Soldier Boy," a Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg tune that became their second pop number one; they also had a Top Ten pop and R&B hit with "Baby It's You." Unfortunately, Dixon subsequently left the label; the Shirelles managed to score one more pop/R&B Top Ten with 1963's "Foolish Little Girl," but found it difficult to maintain their previous level of success.
The group went on to record material for the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, headlined the first integrated concert show in Alabama, and helped a young Dionne Warwick get some of her first exposure (subbing for Owens and Coley when each took a leave of absence to get married). A money dispute with Scepter tied up their recording schedule for a while in 1964, and although it was eventually settled, the Shirelles were still bound to a label where their run was essentially over. Of course, this was also because of the British Invasion, whose bands were among the first to cover their songs; not only their hits, but lesser-known items like "Boys" (the Beatles) and "Sha La La" (a hit for Manfred Mann). The Shirelles scraped the lower reaches of the charts a few more times, making their last appearance, ironically, with 1967's "Last Minute Miracle." Doris Kenner left the group the following year to concentrate on raising her family, and the remaining Shirelles continued as a trio, cutting singles for Bell, United Artists, and RCA through 1971. The group continued to tour the oldies circuit, however, and appeared in the 1973 documentary Let the Good Times Roll. Shirley Alston left for a solo career in 1975, upon which point Doris Kenner-Jackson returned. Micki Harris died of a heart attack during a performance in Atlanta on June 10, 1982, upon which point the group went into what turned out to be a temporary retirement; the three remaining charter members recorded together for the last time on a 1983 Dionne Warwick record. Different Shirelles lineups toured the oldies circuit in the '90s, though Beverly Lee eventually secured the official trademark. They were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Doris Kenner-Jackson passed away after a bout with breast cancer in Sacramento on February 4, 2000.
The Shirelles were originally formed in 1958 in Passaic, NJ, by four high school friends: Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris, Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston), and Beverly Lee. Christening themselves the Poquellos, the girls wrote a song called "I Met Him on a Sunday" and entered their school talent show with it. A school friend had them audition for her mother, Florence Greenberg, who ran a small record label; she was impressed enough to become the group's manager, and changed their name to the Shirelles by combining frequent lead singer Owens' first name with doo woppers the Chantels. The Shirelles' recording of "I Met Him on a Sunday" was licensed by Decca and climbed into the national Top 50 in 1958. Two more singles flopped, however, and Decca passed on further releases. Greenberg instead signed them to her new label, Scepter Records, and brought in producer Luther Dixon, whose imaginative, sometimes string-heavy arrangements would help shape the group's signature sound.
"Dedicated to the One I Love" (1959) and "Tonight's the Night" (1960) both failed to make much of an impact on the pop charts, although the latter was a Top 20 R&B hit. However, they broke big time with the Goffin-King composition "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"; released in late 1960, it went all the way to number one pop, making them the first all-female group of the rock era to accomplish that feat; it also peaked at number two R&B. Its success helped send a re-release of "Dedicated to the One I Love" into the Top Five on both the pop and R&B charts in 1961, and "Mama Said" did the same; a more R&B-flavored outing, "Big John," also went to number two that year. 1962 continued their run of success, most notably with "Soldier Boy," a Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg tune that became their second pop number one; they also had a Top Ten pop and R&B hit with "Baby It's You." Unfortunately, Dixon subsequently left the label; the Shirelles managed to score one more pop/R&B Top Ten with 1963's "Foolish Little Girl," but found it difficult to maintain their previous level of success.
The group went on to record material for the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, headlined the first integrated concert show in Alabama, and helped a young Dionne Warwick get some of her first exposure (subbing for Owens and Coley when each took a leave of absence to get married). A money dispute with Scepter tied up their recording schedule for a while in 1964, and although it was eventually settled, the Shirelles were still bound to a label where their run was essentially over. Of course, this was also because of the British Invasion, whose bands were among the first to cover their songs; not only their hits, but lesser-known items like "Boys" (the Beatles) and "Sha La La" (a hit for Manfred Mann). The Shirelles scraped the lower reaches of the charts a few more times, making their last appearance, ironically, with 1967's "Last Minute Miracle." Doris Kenner left the group the following year to concentrate on raising her family, and the remaining Shirelles continued as a trio, cutting singles for Bell, United Artists, and RCA through 1971. The group continued to tour the oldies circuit, however, and appeared in the 1973 documentary Let the Good Times Roll. Shirley Alston left for a solo career in 1975, upon which point Doris Kenner-Jackson returned. Micki Harris died of a heart attack during a performance in Atlanta on June 10, 1982, upon which point the group went into what turned out to be a temporary retirement; the three remaining charter members recorded together for the last time on a 1983 Dionne Warwick record. Different Shirelles lineups toured the oldies circuit in the '90s, though Beverly Lee eventually secured the official trademark. They were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Doris Kenner-Jackson passed away after a bout with breast cancer in Sacramento on February 4, 2000.
[info: allmusic.com]
