Lighthouse - Lighthouse (1969 canada, superb psych brass rock, 2012 extra tracks edition)

Recognized as one of the best performing acts of their time, they toured 300 days a year including sold out performances at Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore East, Fillmore West, Expo ‘70 in Japan and the Isle of Wight Festival in England where they were the only act besides Jimi Hendrix asked to perform twice among acts that included The Doors, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, The Who and Chicago. Back home, their free concerts at Toronto’s Nathan Philips Square attracted one hundred thousand people.  Indeed, it’s hard to find a person who lived in Canada through the 1970s who didn’t see the group live.  They were Canada’s band.

Free-wheeling, high-spirited – the music of Lighthouse mirrored the times. Their story is interwoven with the history of late twentieth century Canada. Their rise to fame coincided with a new awareness of Canadian culture, encouraged by the government of Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The emergence of Cancon (Canadian  content regulations) influenced by Skip Prokop’s historic appearance before Parliament, allowed the music of Canadians to be heard across the country. Riding the wave, Lighthouse originated the cross-Canada rock tour, playing every major and minor venue across the country. Devoted audiences from province to province took pride in seeing one of their own make it to the top.

On the advice of friend, folk legend Richie Havens, they took the demo to MGM Records in New York City. Twenty minutes later they had a record deal and a thirty thousand dollar advance. Two days later they had a manager – Vinnie Fusco from Albert Grossman’s office. Prokop and Hoffert were in heaven. Now all they had to do was put together a performing band.

Lighthouse made its live debut at Toronto’s Rock Pile on May 14, 1969, introduced by none other than Duke Ellington. They were an instant smash. Manager Vinnie Fusco brought them to New York to record their first album at the fabled Electric Ladyland Studios. They were in the middle of one of their sessions when Fusco cheerily popped in to announce that he had just signed the band to a hot deal with RCA records for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

This was a bit of a shock to Prokop and Hoffert who had already signed with MGM. Fusco didn’t break a sweat as he brokered a backroom deal between the two companies. This was the sixties after all: stuff happened! 

Lighthouse-official

Tracks
1. Mountain Man (Ralph Cole, Peggy Devereux, Skip Prokop) - 4:29
2. If There Ever Was A Time (Skip Prokop) - 5:05
3. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (Richie Havens) - 3:09
4. Never Say Goodbye (Brenda Hoffert, Paul Hoffert) - 3:28
5. Follow The Stars (Skip Prokop) - 4:18
6. Whatever Forever (Paul Hoffert, Skip Prokop) - 5:06
7. Eight Miles High (Gene Clark, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn) - 5:16
8. Marsha, Marsha (Skip Prokop) - 3:28
9. Ah I Can Feel It (Skip Prokop) - 4:54
10.Life Can Be So Simple (Peggy Devereux, Skip Prokop) - 4:03
11.If There Ever Was A Time (Single Version) (Skip Prokop) - 2:56
12.Eight Miles High (Single Version) (Gene Clark, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn) - 3:25

Lighthouse
*Skip Prokop - Leader, Drums, Vocals
*Paul Hoffert - Keyboards, Vibes
*Ralph Cole - Guitar, Vocals
*Grant Fullerton - Bass, Vocals
*Pinky Dauvin - Percussion, Vocals
*Ian Guenther - Violin
*Don DiNovo - Violin, Viola
*Don Whitton - Cello
*Leslie Schneider - Cello
*Freddy Stone - Trumpet, Fluge
*Arnie Chycoski - Trumpet, Flugel
*Howard Shore - Alto Sax
*Russ Little - Trombone

Lighthouse
1971  One Fine Morning
1972  Sunny Days (2008 RDI issue)
1973  Can You Feel It?  (2008 RDI issue)
Related Acts
1967  The Paupers - Magic People
1968  The Paupers · Ellis Island  (2008 remaster)
1969  The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper
1969  Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites & Friends - Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West (2009 remaster and expanded) 

This post is dedicated to Kobilica, one of the blog's best  friends.

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Sons of Champlin - The Sons (1969 us, fabulous psych jazz rock, japan issue)

The Sons of Champlin's sprawling, double-LP debut album, Loosen Up Naturally, had its launch marred by the discovery of an obscenity in the cover art that resulted in a mass recall and ruined its commercial chances. 

They were also beset by internal strife, and when the time came to release their second album only six months later, they chose to de-emphasize the primacy of lead singer and main songwriter Bill Champlin by shortening their name to "the Sons" and also giving that name to the record. But their music remained essentially the same, a mixture of Champlin's thoughtful lyrics and gritty singing with Terry Haggerty's inventive lead guitar work and the two-man horn section of Tim Caine and Geoffrey Palmer. 

As usual, there was almost too much going on in the arrangements, which gave the songs touches of folk, rock, jazz, and psychedelia, often in the same song, as a couple of the tunes extended beyond ten minutes in length, changing tempo and feel in mid-flight. Clearly, this was a band that was accustomed to using its songs as frameworks for free playing in concert, but the bandmembers still hadn't quite figured out how that worked in the studio, and their arguments about musical direction could be heard in the music itself. 

Champlin remained the strongest presence in the band, but his songs (all of which were credited to the Sons communally) took a backseat to the group that was playing them any way it wanted to. The results could be exhilarating, if in a somewhat anarchic way.

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks
1. Love Of A Woman - 7:54
2. Terry's Tune - 3:47
3. Boomp Boomp Chop - 10:08
4. Why Do People Run From The Rain - 3:29
5. It's Time - 3:57
6. Country Girl - 1:49
7. You Can Fly - 11:33
All compositions by The Sons of Champlin

The Sons of Champlin
*Jim Beem  - Trumpet
*Bill Bowen  - Drums
*Tim Caine  - Saxophone
*Bill Champlin  - Guitar, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals
*Terry Haggerty  - Guitar, Vocals
*Geoffrey Palmer  - Bass, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals
*Al Strong  - Bass

1969  The Sons Of Champlin - Loosen Up Naturally

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Dirty Martha - This Is It!! (1969 us, awesome heavy blues psych brass rock, 2010 issue)

Two people inspired me to write these liners: 1) my best friend Tony Papa, who is the best recording engineer in L. A.,and was the drummer in all my bands of the 60's and 70's-an era I refer to as the "renaissance" of rock n roll, and 2) my younger and only brother, Tom (who after Leon, Billy and Elton is the best piano player I've ever known and who continues to inspire me to this day to become a better piano player. Tom also played with me in all our rock bands of that era).

Dirty Martha or its full original name Dirty Martha's Music Company was the culmination of a number of events. In 1968 Tony told me about a new group playing at the Trauma in center city Philly. That band was B.S.&T. with new lead singer David Clayton Thomas taking over for the band's originator and writer, Al Kooper (album- 'Child is Father to the Man'}. 

It was the second show on a warm summer night and Tony and I laid across benches to listen to the first horn, rock n roll band I ever heard in my life. While I was in college, Tony and Tom were playing with an originals band called "Nickels n Dimes", an outgrowth of a high school band we formed called the Savoys. I had just graduated college where for 3 years I gave up gigging when Tony called me to go see B.S.&T. Tony and Tom (who was about to enter a music college where he earned a Masters in music performance) were playing frat house parties & clubs at the New Jersey shore. 

After I saw the concert I "forced" my way into their band as bass player. About 6 months later, brother Tom became friends with an awesome lead singer and songwriter, Lou De Meis, while at Combs College of Music and, as they say, "the rest is history". We started Dirty Martha as a horn band with 8 pieces and began writing original material we recorded in a studio (MSI Recording Studios) we set up and owned at the time in riot torn Camden City, New Jersey, above a Spanish food market.

These recordings are saved for posterity thanks to Tony Papa, who believed in our music despite countless rejections after our many trips to the Brill Building in NYC and his avocation for the music business in his 40 years, the last 30 which he has spent in Los Angeles, recording and producing.

After 40 years, Dirty Martha the album,sees the light of day. God, how we wish for those days again. I hope you enjoy the music as much as we enjoyed being a part of an awesome time in the music business. Check out Tony's web site at www.tonypapa.net for more information on the band.

by Duke D'Anastasio

Tracks
1. This Is It (Tom D'Anastasio) - 4:55
2. Away From Here (Lou De Meis) - 3:34
3. She's Not There (Rod Argent) - 3:54
4. Direction (The Band) - 3:23
5. Why Can't I? (Murray Goodman, Terry Wade) - 4:35
6. Children's Song (The Band) - 5:27
7. Gimme' Some Lov'm'(S.Davis, M.Winwood, S.Winwood) - 4:01
8. Lovely Day (Lou De Meis) - 4:43
9. Martha's Ragjam (The Band) - 4:24
10.Mornings (Lou De Meis) - 4:04
11.My Reasons (Terry Wade) - 2:36
12.Song To Sing (John Burgo) - 2:29
13.The Quest (Tom D'Anastasio) - 4:33
14.Things I'll Never Know (Lou De Meis) - 2:13
15.Where Are U Going (Lou De Meis) - 7:18
16.Children's Song (Live)  (The Band) - 6:09
17.This Is It! (Live)  (Tom D'Anastasio) - 4:46

Dirty Martha
*Tom D' Anastasio - Keyboards, Flute
*Duke D' Anastasio - Bass, Vocals
*Terry Wade - Guitar, Vocals
*Tony Papa - Drums
*Phil Ryan -Trumpet, Percussion
*Murray Goldman -Trombone, Percussion
*John Burgo - Saxes, Percussion
*Lou De Meis - Lead Vocals, Keyboards

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Small Faces - The Immediate Years (1965-69 uk, superb classic mod psych freakbeat, four discs box, 1st edition)

The box opens up modestly enough with Steve Marriott's old band, the Moments, covering the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and doing one other song, "Money Money." A few of the band's Decca tracks that seem to float between Decca and Immediate follow, and then we plunge into the group's Immediate history. 

Andrew "Loog" Oldham's independent label wasn't much more organized than the typical blues label from Chicago in the 1950s, and the Small Faces' tape library is a mess. But the producers have included everything -- every stereo and mono version of each song (where a different mix exists), the five official live tracks, the unfinished backing tracks, every known outtake. 

Anyone who thinks this is overkill doesn't know the Small Faces -- they weren't much less prolific than the Rolling Stones, and were better than the Stones as both a soul band and a psychedelic band (the Stones never really made the jump into drug songs too comfortably); and based on the evidence, they could have cut the Who to shreds most nights. 

The sound varies, although it's all been nicely cleaned up (mildly CEDAR-ized, actually), and while three versions of "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me" may seem like overkill, it's all fascinating stuff, watching certain songs change and evolve. This is where it ends for the serious fan.

by Bruce Eder

Tracks

Disc 1

1. (The Moments) - You Really Got Me (Ray Davies) - 2:24

2  (The Moments) - Money , Money (Ray Charles) - 2:18

3. Watcha Gonna Do About (Samewll, Potter) - 1:58

4. Sha La La La Lee (Shuman, Lynch) - 2:56

5. Hey Girl - 2:18

6. My Mind's Eye (Original Single Mix) - 1:57

7. My Mind's Eye (Album Mix) - 2:04

8. All Or Nothing - 3:05

9. Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow - 1:55

10.I Can't Make It (Mono Version) - 2:12

11.Just Passing (Mono Version) - 1:14

12.Here Comes The Nice (Mono Version) - 2:58

13.Talk To You (Mono Version) - 2:08

14.Itchycoo Park (Mono Version) - 2:49

15.I'm Only Dreaming (Mono Version) - 2:25

16.Tin Soldier (Mono Version) - 3:22

17.I Feel Much Better (Mono Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 3:58

18.Lazy Sunday (Mono Version) - 3:06

19.Rollin' Over (Mono Version) - 2:13

20.The Universal (Mono Version) - 2:46

21.Donkey Rides , A Penny , A Glass (Mono Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:51

22.Afterglow (Of Your Love)  (Mono Single Edit) - 3:26

23.Wham, Bam, Thank You Mam (Mono Version) - 3:18

Disc 2

1. I Can't Make It (Stereo Version) - 2:12

2. Just Passing (Stereo Version) - 1:16

3. Here Comes The Nice (Stereo Version) - 3:04

4. Itchycoo Park (Stereo Version) - 2:51

5. I'm Only Dreaming (Stereo Version) - 2:26

6. Tin Soldier (Stereo Version) - 3:24

7. I Feel Much Better (Stereo Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 3:58

8. The Universal (Stereo Version) - 2:42

9. Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass (Stereo Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:54

10.Wham Bam, Thank You Mam (Stereo Version) - 3:19

11.(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me (Version 2) - 2:15

12.Something I Want To Tell You - 2:10

13.Feeling Lonely - 1:35

14.Happy Boys Happy - 1:37

15.Things Are Going To Get Better - 2:40

16.My Way Of Giving (Version 2) - 2:00

17.Green Circles (Version 1) (Mariott, Lane, O'Sullivan) - 2:48

18.Become Like You - 1:58

19.Get Yourself Together - 2:16

10.All Our Yesterdays - 1:53

21.Talk To You - 2:09

22.Show Me The Way - 2:09

23.Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire - 2:06

24.Eddie's Dreaming (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:53

Disc 3

1. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (Mariott, Lane, McLagan, Jones) - 2:29

2. Afterglow (Of Your Love) - 3:32

3. Long Agos And Worlds Apart (McLagan) - 2:34  

4. Rene - 4:31

5. Song Of A Baker - 3:16

6. Lazy Sunday - 3:07

7. Happiness Stan - 2:36

8. Rollin' Over - 2:49  

9. The Hungry Intruder (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:14

10.The Journey (Mariott, Lane, McLagan, Jones) - 4:09

11.Mad John - 2:50

12.Happydaystoytown - 4:21  

13.Rollin' Over (Live Version) - 2:31

14.If I Were A Carpenter (Live Version) (Tim Hardin) - 2:33

15.Every Little Bit Hurts (Live Version) (Ed Cobb) - 6:22

16.All Or Nothing (Live Version) - 3:43

17.Tin Soldier (Live Version) - 3:22

Disc 4
1. Call It Something Nice - 2:06
2. The Autumn Stone (Marriott) - 4:00  
3. Every Little Bit Hurts (Studio Version) (Ed Cobb) - 3:56
4. Collibosher - 3:13
5. Red Balloon (Tim Hardin) - 4:13
6. Don't Burst My Bubble - 2:24
7. (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me (Version 3) - 2:06  
8. Green Circles (Version 2) (Mariott, Lane, O'Sullivan) - 2:35
9. Picaninny - 3:04  
10.The Pig Trotters - 2:47
11.The War Of The Worlds - 3:15
12.Wide-Eyed Girl On The Wall - 2:48
13.Tin Soldier (Instrumental Version) - 3:03
14.Green Circles (USA Mix) (Mariott, Lane, O'Sullivan) - 2:52
15.Wham Bam, Thank You Mam (Guide Vocal) - 3:22
16.Collibosher (Alternate Mix) - 3:35
17.Donkey Rides, A Penny, A Glass (Alternate Mix With Experimental Brass Overdub) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 3:08  
18.The Hungry Intruder (Instrumental Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:04
19.Red Balloon (Alternate Mix) (Tim Hardin) -  4:21
20.Tin Soldier (Half Instrumental, Half Vocal Mix) - 3:24
21.The Autum Stone (Alternate Mix) - 4:00
22.Wide-Eyed Girl On The Wall (Alternate Mix) - 2:58
All songs by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane except where noted

Small Faces
*Steve Marriott - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*Ronnie Lane - Lead Vocals, Bass
*Ian McLagan - Keyboards, Vocals
*Kenny Jones - Drums, Percussion

1967  Small Faces - Green Circles / First Immediate Album 

1968  The Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (3 discs set)

Related Act 
1969  Humble Pie - As Safe As Yesterday Is (Japan edition)
1969  Humble Pie - Town and Country (2007 remaster and expanded)
1970  Humble Pie (Japan edition)
1971  Humble Pie - Rock On
1971  Humble Pie - Performance, Rockin’ The Fillmore (2013 issue, 4 discs set)
1972  Humble Pie - Smoikin' (Japan edition)
1973  Humble Pie - Eat It (Japan edition)
1973  Humble Pie - In Concert / King Biscuit Flower Hour

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Twink - Think Pink (1970 uk, essential heavy acid psych rock, 2013 remaster and expanded)

“Think Pink” is one trippy, hobbity mindfuck of the highest water. It’s a complex and varied album where no two songs are the same, but seem to be examples of sub-genres entire ALBUMS could be fashioned from. Come to think of it, it’s probably the last high-water mark of old-school psychedelia the moment before it gave up the ghost. And Twink had steadily worked his way through a succession of bands that by the time he was in The Pretty Things, making many musical acquaintances via The Pretties’ management, the Bryan Morrison Agency, who also handled The Deviants and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Soon enough they had performed enough gigs together to force Morrison to circulate a letter to these three bands requesting that they refrain from ever showing up at each other’s gigs ever again. Because if there was havoc to be caused, it WAS caused, and if there was none to be found, it would be located immediately. 

When Twink left The Pretties, he assembled a virtual roll call of London underground musicians: Viv Prince, Wally Waller, John Povey, Victor Unitt, The Deviants, Quiver bassist Honk, John “Junior” Wood (ex-Tomorrow) and Steve “Peregrine” Took. This album owes a grand debt to Paul “Black George” Rudolph for his uncredited arrangements and outstandingly effortless yet complex Stratocaster noise guitar burn-outs (which populate “Think Pink” in sheer and blissful abundance) are huge, soaringly hard and were barely hinted at on the third Deviants album. And the sessions yielded all things loose, crazy and hardened post-psychedelic. There is even a surprisingly manic funk out rare for even white dopers at the time as well as acoustic numbers that don’t sound the least bit obligatory, raga-based chants and group sing-alongs. Along with Rudolph, the other main inspiration for “Think Pink” was undoubtedly Twink’s pretty, blonde and Kohl-eyed girlfriend Silver, who appears on both the back cover and the album with an unforgettable vocal interlude.

The album opens with “The Coming Of The Other One,” a vocal incantation as screeching backwards sitars, further vocal mantras and randomly hit percussion float through the air and clang in a dark, incense-filled basement from “Performance” with Steve Took emitting fear-inducing animal noises in a dark corner. It fades as sitars race back in time, and the air clears and gets brighter with the remake of Twink’s minnow-psych pop A-side for The Aquarian Age, “Ten Thousand Words In A Cardboard Box.” A celebration of “a thousand colourful shadows dancing around my head/Rejoicing to the waking of the dead...” over heavily recorded drums as Rudolph covers the drums and telephonically-phased vocals with underpinning streams of pink cirrus clouds at daybreak noise/guitar. But Rudolph winds up shanghai-ing the piece into a soaringly free-noise hurricane as he peels riff after riff out of his bottomless Strat. 

“Standing Tiptoe On The Highest Hill” is a chilly, overcast autumn morning with swelling mellotron, muted guitar and somber drums, bursting your heart when the grim (yet sung angelically-echoed) lines come in and it dawns on you that this is the acoustic grandfather of Joy Division’s “Decades.” Backward noise/guitar streaks by Rudolph transform the whole piece into a coiled and curling jam out that cuts out to let the song descend quietly back into the sand and it’s seaweed-strewn grave. “Fluid” ends the album side, an instrumental stripped bare of everything but genitals. Slow bass, guitar and drums crack out an undulating and repeating rhythm as Twink and Silver coo to each other, barely touching and letting their vocal vibrations do the work of a thousand fingers. It’s Joy Division again, only a decade earlier and this time it’s “I Remember Nothing.” This is just side one, but side two is just as fantastically charged up and out there, reaching its apex with the Took-damaged, “The Sparrow Is A Sign.” 

by The Seth Man

Tracks
1. The Coming Of The One - 3:42
2. Ten Thousand Words In A Cardboard Box (Twink, John Junior) - 4:28
3. Dawn Of Majic - 1:45
4. Tiptoe On The Highest Hill - 5:18
5. Fluid - 4:05
6. Mexican Grass War - 5:28
7. Rock And Roll The Joint - 2:26
8. Suicide - 4:22
9. Three Little Piggies (Steve Took, Twink) - 3:12
10.The Sparrow Is A Sign (Steve Took, Twink) - 2:23
11. 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box (Twink, John Junior) - 3:25
12. Good Wizard Meets Naughty Wizard (Twink, John Junior) - 4:40
13. 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box (Twink, John Junior) - 4:54
14. Dawn Of Magic - 3:24
15. Fluid - 3:40
16. Fluid - 4:19
17. Rock An’ Roll The Joint - 2:15
18. Suicide - 3:10
All titles by Twink except where indicated
Bonus tracks 11-18

Musicians
*Twink – Drums, Tablas, Vocals
*Paul Rudolph – Guitar, Bass, Vocals
*John "Junior" Wood – Bass
*Wally Allen – Piano
*John Povey – Sitar, Mellotron
*Steve Peregrin Took – Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
*Viv Prince – Drums
*Vic Unite - Guitar
*John Lodge - Bass
*Silver Darling - Vocals
*Mick Farren - Spoken Words

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Thomas And Richard Frost - Visualize (1969-70 us, wondrous sunny folk psych)

The unreleased album Visualize by Thomas & Richard Frost, taken with its attendant singles "Hello Stranger" and "Open Up Your Heart", is a sparkling and heartwarming gem of late 1960s pop, but the project was merely yet another chapter in the remarkable career of these two brothers, from San Mateo on the San Francisco Peninsula. Rich and Tom Martin had been performing together since the beginning of the decade, with the ensuing litany of bands mirroring all the variegates of American grass roots rock 'n' roll in the 1960s: instrumental surf and greasy R&B in the Impressions; jangly folk-rock with The Newcastle Five; the fuzz-tinged garage rock of The Art Collection. And last but not least, the thundering mod sound of the Martins power trio Powder; whose own LP, recorded while the group was based in Los Angeles and employed as Sonny & Cher's road band, remained frustratingly unissued, and indeed acted as a precursor to the creation of the masterpiece you hold in your hands. 

For after the Powder debacle, the Martins returned to northern California to lick their wounds and demo some more introspective material. Though they were enamored of artists like Donovan and Simon & Garfunkel, the Martins innate - and very much Anglophilic – pop sensibility lingered in new compositions like "Bluey Blues Blue" (later to be recorded as "Where Did Yesterday Go?"), "Would You Laugh" and "She's Got Love". It was to be the latter tune that caught the ear of promo man John Antoon, who signed the Martins to his Tons Of Fun publishing imprint, assumed managerial duties and got the duo signed to Imperial Records under the nom de disque Thomas & Richard Frost. As a single, the simple, catchy "She's Got Love" was to achieve a modicum of success as a turntable hit, reaching only the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1969, but with strong regional airplay across the country, upon the back of which the Frosts were able to tour. 

Back in LA, Rich and Tom made the scene with their pals Rodney Bingenheimer and Frank Zinn, enjoying a brief but eye-opening spell as bona fide pop stars. Plans were big for the Frosts, with a full, lavishly orchestrated, album release, but it was all to fall apart as the follow-up singles stiffed and parent label Liberty/UA decided to wind down Imperial. In 1971, Rich and Tom signed a new deal with Uni and finally got an album, eponymously-titled and singer/songwriter-orientated, released the following year. In their press interviews the Frosts did for that Uni album, they disparaged the bubblegum of their Imperial period, but the state-of-the art production pop of Visualize has clearly stood the test of time and sounds better now, than it probably ever has. 

The proceedings are imbued with the Zeitgeist of Los Angeles in its last throes of pop innocence, and the Martins heart-on-their-sleeve Anglophilic sensitivity is less derivative then remarkably refreshing, with superbly recorded arrangements that any late 1960s pop fan will cherish. Listening to tracks like "Open Up Your Heart", "Where Did Yesterday Go?" or "Hello Stranger" recalls the simple joys of commercial pop at the dawn of the 1970s. Uncomplicated, fun, yet eminently memorable. Tony Macauley would be proud.

by Alec Palao, El Cerrito, California

Tracks
1. Prelude/Shes Got Love - 2:55
2. Where Did Yesterday Go - 2:39
3. December Rain April Laughter - 2:54
4. Woodstock - 2:43
5. Gotta Find A New Place To Stay - 2:29
6. With Me My Love - 2:18
7. Where Are We - 2:25
8. Come Clap Your Hands - 2:30
9. The City - 2:33
10.The World Is Love - 2:41
11.On Our Way Home - 2:48
12.If I Cant Be Your Lover (Vic Dana, Ted Glasser) - 5:44
13.Hello Stranger - 2:42
14.Fairy Tale Affair - 2:49
15.Open Up Your Heart (John Worsley) - 2:51
16.Everyday Judy - 4:14
All songs by Thomas and Richard Frost, except where noted.

Musicians
*Richard Martin - Guitar, Vocals
*Tom Martin - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
*Mars Bonfire - Guitar
*Earl Palmer - Drums
*Michael O'Martian - Piano
*Ben Benay - Guitar
*Barney Kessel - Guitar
*David T. Walker - Guitar
*Jim Horn - Saxophone
*Jay Migliori - Flute
*Doug Feiger - Bass
*Tony Sales - Bass
*Max Bennett - Bass
*Red Rhodes - Pedal Seel Guitar
*The Blossoms - Vocals
*Joe Osborne - Bass

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Happy the Man - Crafty Hands (1979 us, smart symphonic progressive rock, japan remaster)

Though never a major success story by any means, legendary US progressive rock band Happy the Man have long been one of the most beloved acts in the hearts of true prog fans for many years. Their debut self-titled album in 1977 for Arista Records should have been the start of a great and lengthy career, but the band split in 1979 not long after the release of their second album Crafty Hands.

Crafty Hands, and really any of the output from Happy the Man, is one part progressive rock and one part jazz-fusion. As the band were basically an instrumental outfit, their style was built on soaring melodies, tight but complex rhythms, and dazzling interplay between the instruments. The line-up for this album was Stanley Whitaker (guitars, vocals), Frank Wyatt (keyboards, sax, flute), Kit Watkins (keyboards, recorder), Rick Kennell (bass), and Ron Riddle (drums). Though you can hear the influence of Genesis, Gentle Giant, Yes, and Return to Forever in the music of Happy the Man, they took those influences and created something fresh and unique with them. Tunes like "Service With a Smile" and "Ibby It Is" have bright, breezy melodies that soar over the top of some challenging arrangements, with Watkins & Wyatt really creating some sensational keyboard tapestries. 

Those who love the complex interplay of Gentle Giant will totally get into "Steaming Pipes", and "Morning Sun" is a just a gorgeous slice of keyboard drenched prog rock. "Wind Up Doll Day Wind" would feature the vocals of Whitaker, and though a nice little Genesis styled number, kind of sticks out like a sore thumb here. Much more ambitious are the dramatic "Open Book". complete with some tasty acoustic picking from Whitaker and some lovely flute & recorder from Wyatt & Watkins. "I Forgot to Push It" is an upbeat prog/fusion track filled with intricate guitar/keyboard exchanges, and the album closes with the melodic & atmospheric "The Moon I Sing (Nosurri)", a track just dripping with gorgeous keyboard textures and melodies.

As far as US prog goes, it doesn't get much better than this folks. Crafty Hands is classy stuff all the way, and if by chance you haven't yet stumbled upon either this or Happy the Man's debut previously, then you owe it to yourself to discover them at this very moment.

by Pete Pardo

Tracks
1. Service With A Smile (Ron Riddle, Hawkes) - 2:44
2. Morning Sun (Kit Watkins) - 4:05
3. Ibby It Is (Frank Wyatt) - 7:50
4. Steaming Pipes (Stanley Whitaker) - 5:30
5. Wind Up Doll Day Wind (K. Watkins, S. Whitaker, F. Wyatt) - 7:06
6. Open Book (F. Wyatt) - 4:53
7. I Forgot To Push It (K.Watkins) - 3:08
8. The Moon, I Sing (Nossuri) (K.Watkins) - 6:16

Happy The Man
*Stanley Whitaker - Six And Twelve String Guitars, Vocals
*Frank Wyatt - Pianos, Harpsichord, Saxes, Flute, Words
*Kit Watkins - Pianos, Harpsichord, Moog, Fake Strings, Clavinet, 33, Recorder
*Rick Kennell - Bass
*Ron Riddle - Drums, Percussion

1977  Happy The Man (Japan remaster)

Free Text