rep>>> White Cloud - White Cloud (1972 us, splendind country folk funky blues rock, 2018 korean remaster)

Although energy and effort to please, are not the only requirements of quality in a group of musicians, they certainly make the package more pleasurable. White Cloud seven people from different parts of USA, uses this energy to put together an act that varies from a country blues tune like “Hoe Bus” to a soulful number “Qualified” to some decidedly Joplinesque efforts by their lead female Joanne Vent.

Kenny Kosek fiddle some nice riffs and Don Payne is consistent on bass, while Richard Crooks maintains a steady heavy beat on the drums. Charlie Brown is the sun behind the cloud, definitely the shinning member of the group, emitting strong rays of good music from his electric guitar. White Cloud also backed John Hammond and Loudon Wainwright.

by Abigail Lewis

Tracks
1. All Cried Out (Mann Curtis, Michel Deborah) - 3:39
2. Hound Dog (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 3:20
3. Hoe Bus (Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 4:44
4. Is That Somebody You (Joanne Vent, Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 3:07
5. Rocky Roads To Clear (Joanne Vent, Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 2:49
6. Qualified (Mack Rebenack, Jesse Hill) - 3:55
7. Colleection Box (Joanne Vent, Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 4:03
8. Funky Bottom Congregation (Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 4:24
9. Thanks For Nothin' (Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 3:56
10.The Sun Don't Shine The Same (I. Vent, Joanne Vent, Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 2:54

The White Cloud
*Charlie Brown - Guitar
*Richard Crooks - Percussion
*Thomas Jefferson Kaye - Guitar, Vocals
*Kenny Kosek - Violin, Vocals
*Don Payne - Bass
*Joanne Vent - Vocals
*Eric Weissberg - Banjo, Steel Guitar
*Teddy Wender - Keyboards, Vocals

Related Act

1969  Joanne Vent - The Black And White Of It Is Blues (2015 japan SHM remaster)   

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Universe - Universe (1977 us, stellar prog acid space rock, 2025 remaster)

The world of prog is full of surprises. In my search for obscure prog bands I stumbled across Universe. Although not quite as profound or mysterious as the universe we inhabit, the band is by far one of the best in American prog. Mixing the sounds of Hawkwind and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Universe successfully created their own acid rock sound.  Formed in the mid 1970s in California by Gary Paul Van and Dennis Lee Askew, Universe released one eponymous album in 1977, and what an album it was.  Before you listen to the music, you should dedicate some time to appreciate the album cover in all of its psychedelic beauty.

Notice the dove and the crosses on the cover.  There are religious overtones on this album: “Rock in the Sky” and “Light from Above”, for example, refer to God. But they lyrics are far from preachy, and Van’s ethereal vocals only emphasize the brilliant cosmic vibe. Keys, synthesizer, and guitar dominate, and all are performed with equal dexterity.  Some highlights:

Touchdown features fine acoustic and electric guitar work.  It is the longest song on the album (about 10 minutes) and reminds me of the Yes masterpiece Awaken.

Dream is the “spaciest” song on the album and may remind some listeners of The Beatles’ psychedelic classic Tomorrow Never Knows.

Remember the Stars opens with a bang and transitions with cosmic delight to Light From Above; it is one of the best American acid rock songs I’ve ever heard and my favorite piece on the album.

This is another one of those albums that does not receive the attention it deserves.  Although Universe will appeal mostly to fans of acid and space rock, anyone who enjoys prog will appreciate at least some of the songs here.

by Connor Mullin, January 19, 2014

Tracks

1. Rock In The Sky - 5:47

2. If - 1:00

3. Touchdown - 10:16

4. Dream - 3:18

5. Oceans - 4:28

6. Remember The Stars - 3:57

7. Light From Above - 3:50

Songs 2,4-7 Music and all Lyrics written by Dennis Lee Askew

Songs 1,3 Music written by Gary Paul Van

Universe

*Dennis Lee Askew - Harmony Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Percussion

*Gary Paul Van - Lead Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Keyboards

With

*John Sterling - Guitar

*Adam Shandel - Percussion (Tracks 4-6)

*Walfredo Reyes - Percussion (Tracks 1-3,7)

*Maritta Boyle - Backing Vocals (Track 7)

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rep>>> Love Affair - New Day (1970 uk, superb melt of mod beat psych and prog rock, 2008 bonus tracks remaster)

During the summer of 1970 Love Affair began recording the tracks destined for "New Day". The music here is something of a revelation and stills up after forty or so years ago. The album open with the tittle track, written by Mick Jackson, which sets the tone with bold progressive themes. Menacing chords from the keyboards help build up the tnesion befoe the drums come in and Gus Eadon sings with passionate clarity.

In May 1970 the group appeared on BBC TV's Top of the Pops to promote their single version of "Speak Of Peace, Sing Of Joy" looking very determined and serious as they played the four minute number "Live".

But it was an uphill battle to play down their old pop image. The LA name was quietly drop the group reverted back to Love Affair. By the end of the year, August 'Gus' Eadon had left the band. In 1973 he released a solo single Times Are Hard Now, Aint They?' / 'Ladybird' on the Dawn label. In 1974 he joined jazz rock group Zzebra, billed as 'Gus Yeadon' and played piano, guitar, flute clavinet. The band also included Terry Smith (guitar), Dave Quincy (sax) from If and John McCoy (bass) who later worked with Ian Gillan. Zzebra released an album on Polydor and a single, 'Zardoz', used to promote the film 'Zardoz' starring Sean Connery. Gus left Zzebra after a year and joined the Darryl Read Band in1979

After the failure of LA, Morgan Fisher and Maurice Bacon formed a duo called Morgan and released an album 'Nova Soils'. Morgan later joined Mott The Hoople and also worked with Queen. He played in short lived British Lions before moving to Japan in the 1980s, where he lives, studies meditation rarks as a prolific recording artist.

Love Affair's original vocalist Steve Ellis formed his own band Ellis in 1972. This subsequently Ellis Group, with Zoot Money on keyboards. They released the album  “Crest Of A Slump', which was produced by The Who's Roger Daltrey. In 1974 Stever joined the heavy rock outfit Widowmaker. They toured America supporting The Who without much success.

Steve Ellis signed as a solo artist with Arista in 1979 and recorded 'The Last Angry Man', an album destined to be shelved for some years. In 1980, he quit the music business and took up a job as a dockworker. Sadly he was involved in a serious accident when a forklift truck cut his feet and left him incapacitated. He spent the next eight years in and out of hospitals. Steve eventually learned to walk again and took up singing once more in 1991. In December 2001 he joined old friend Paul Weller on stage at a concert in Croydon for a heart-warming acoustic version of “Everlasting Love”.

In final twist to the saga “Love Affair” without Steve or Gus, but with three original members Morgan Fisher, Mo Bacon and Michael Jackson - were reunited in 1999. They appeared in a TV documentary and wrote a new song together called 'Love Affair By Love Affair', which encouraged them to reform the band once more in 2000.

by Chris Welch, London England, December 2007

Tracks
1. New Day (Mick Jackson) - 4:29
2. Walking Down The Road (August "Gus" Eadon, Rex Brayley) - 3:13
3. Ge's Whiz (Morgan Fisher, Rex Brayley) - 4:41
4. Gypsy (Morgan Fisher, August "Gus" Eadon) - 5:04
5. Goodbye Brother Farewell Friend (August "Gus" Eadon) - 3:39
6. Hurt By Love (August "Gus" Eadon) - 5:52
7. Bad Girl (August "Gus" Eadon, Rex Brayley) - 4:15
8. Nine To Five (August "Gus" Eadon) - 5:04
9. Thank You Bean (Morgan Fisher, Mick Jackson) - 3:44
10.Speak Of Peace, Sing Of Joy (August "Gus" Eadon, Mick Jackson) - 4:08
11.Baby I Know (Phillip Goodhand Tait, John Cokell) - 3:41
12.Accept Me For What I Am (Rex Brayley, Maurice Bacon, Mick Jackson, Steve Ellis, Morgan Fisher) - 3:25
13.Lincoln Country (Phillip Goodhand Tait) - 2:57
14.Sea Of Tranquility (Rex Brayley, Maurice Bacon, Mick Jackson, Steve Ellis, Morgan Fisher, August "Gus" Eadon) - 4:11
15.Brings My Whole World Tumbling Down (Mick Jackson) - 3:33
16.Wake Me I Am Dreaming (Lucio Batisti, Giulio Rapetti "Mogol", Tommy Scott) - 3:14
17.That's My Home (August "Gus" Eadon, Rex Brayley) - 3:20
18.Help (Get Me Some Help) (Nelly Byl, Daniel Vangrade) - 3:24
19.Long Way Home (August "Gus" Eadon, Rex Brayley) - 3:22
20.Io Senza Te (Daniele Pace, Buzz Carson, Mac Gayden) - 3:55

The Love Affair
*Rex Brayley - Guitar (1967-71)
*Maurice Bacon - Drums (1967-71)
*Mick Jackson - Bass (1967-71)
*Steve Ellis - Vocals (1967-70)
*Lynton Guest - Keyboards (1967-68)
*Morgan Fisher - Keyboards (1968-71)
*August "Gus" Eadon - Flute (1970)

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Garrett Lund - Almost Grown (1975 us, excellent west coast psycedelia, 2001 release)

Since over 25 years the Garrett Lund album is one of the most legendary West Coast pieces for collectors, truly a rare one! Originally recorded in 1975 at AM studios this is one of the finest productions for this genre. It amazingly reflects the blend of the early San Francisco groups such as, Tripsicord Music Box, Quick Silver, Kak O Kala etc, emotional singing and songwriting combined with great arrangements it reaches a unique feeling, cosmic and free! The cover artwork by Garrett himself rounds off this artistic statement perfectly. In the early ‘70’s he was singer in the L.A. group “The Caretakers”. 

This reissue is from the original mastertapes and contains 5 unreleased bonus tracks (acoustic free-jam outtakes from a never made second album. Garrett Lund was and still is a mysterious person. From what is known, he was born in the early ‘50’s. His father deserted Garrett and his mother -before he was born- and in his teens his beloved mother died. Garrett’s audition and acceptance as a member of The Caretakers, was a step up from his first local band to evolved into “Trane”, and became an instant success, playing the southwest of the US.  Trane appeared at numerous rock festivals and large clubs, opening for Led Zeppelin, Cream, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Jefferson Airplane and The Who. Almost immediately Trane was headlining their own –sold out- shows. What happened then is unclear, except that Garrett began a solo career and three years after Trane completed “Almost Grown” which was promptly rejected by 22 record labels. 

Convinced that the album could and should be an artistic and commercial success, Garrett’s manager/producer, along with friends and family, set out to independently release “almost Grown” with the help of record promoter, John Holcomb, succeeded in achieving rotation on nine radio stations and selling 2.000 units in less than two weeks. Armed with the independently released success, the record companies were once again given the chance to sign Garrett and once again they passed. Since then, there’s virtually no information on “Almost Grown” or Garrett Lund until 2001.

World In Sound 2001

Tracks

1. The Only Turnaround - 4:49

2. Serene - 3:37

3. Silver Sails - 7:16

4. One More Reason (Garrett Lund, Jimmy Jerviss) - 4:20

5. Think Of The Children - 4:31

6. Country Livin' (Bob Adkins, Garrett Lund) - 2:53

7. Stop The World - 4:43

8. (It's All Over Now) Baby Blue (Bob Dylan) - 5:47

9. Serene - 3:47 

10.Never Gonna Take It Slow - 1:24

11.Over And Under - 4:05

12.Reflections On Earth - 2:08

13.Bonny - 2:36

All songs by Garrett Lund except where indicated

Musicians

*Garrett Lund - Vocals

*Jimmy Jerviss - Guitar

*David Lauser - Drums Percussion

*Donnie Ferro - Bass

*Glen Ross Cambell - Guitar

*Pete Thompson - Saxophone

*Marion McCrary - Trumpet

*Hank Quinn - Congas

*Bill Overturf - Acoustic Guitar

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rep>>> The Deirdre Wilson Tabac - The Deirdre Wilson Tabac (1969 us, beautiful funky rocking soul with jazz blends, 2011 edition)

In April 1969 Billboard announced that RCA had signed a 'progressive blues-rock band called The Deirdre Wilson Tabac This was a misleading description of the group, who in fact played a funky brand of jazzy pop, akin to the Rotary Connection. From Philadelphia, they were in fact a trio discovered, managed and produced by Sonny Casella, who'd earlier managed garage band The Magic Mushrooms. 

The Tabac featured Deirdre Wilson. Stu Freeman (formerly of The Magic Mushrooms) and Barbara Payne (formerly with the James Brown Revue), backed by session players including jazz guitarist Chuck Anderson (who played the solos), bassist Hugh McDonald (currently with Bon Jovi) and keyboardist Roy Bittan (who went on to be a long-term Bruce Springsteen sideman). The Tabac's first single coupled two fine Casella compositions, Other Side Of This Life and Look In My Face. 

Billboard wrote on April 26 that a driving funky blues beat backs a powerhouse vocal workout that is loaded with top 40. underground and sales potential. Good Sound. The disc picked enough airplay to merit an album, which duly appeared early the following year, but received barely any press. 

Sales where low and the trio didn’t last long, though in May 1971 Casella launched a 45 in Canada’s Dafodil label credited to Tabac, Pairing Turn Around” and “Children Behave” which unfortunately is not included (rather because of some technical oversight I presume).

Tracks
1. The Other Side of Life - 3:00
2. (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding, Steve Cropper) - 2:51
3. Let's All Join Together - 2:38
4. Get Back (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:26
5. Angel Baby - 2:51
6. The Last Thing On His Mind - 3:05
7. I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes (Al Kooper) - 3:22
8. Look in My Face - 2:57
9. Magic One - 3:02
10.I Got You - 3:03
11.Turn Around - 0:26
All song by Sonny Casella except where indicated
Track 11 is incomplete.

Musicians
*Barbara - Vocals
*Chuck Anderson - Jazz Guitar
*Steve Rundel - Blues Guitar
*Huey McDonald - Bass
*Sony Casella - Drums, Vocals
*Stu Freeman - Keyboard, Vocals
*Mike Natale - Trumpet
*Gary Miller - Trumpet
*Vince Trompeta - Sax
*Peter Cioschi - Bass Trombone

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Thundertree - Thundertree (1970 us, magnificent groovy psych prog rock, 2013 korean rare bonus tracks remaster)

The Good Idea , a Christian Rock influenced band, was formed in St. Paul, MN in the late '60s. Original members included John Miesen on electric piano and organ and vocals (Emulating the late Ray Manzarek, John played bass lines with one hand or via foot pedals.), David Linder on guitar and vocals and Bob Blank, lead vocalist and saxophone. In need of a drummer/vocalist, they placed an ad in a local publication. After passing an audition, Rick LiaBraaten of Minneapolis joined The Good Idea. Rick had recently been a member of The Other Guys and The Transgressors with long time friend Billy Hallquist, who signed on to roadie and run a modest light show designed and built by John Miesen.

The Good Idea played the local and regional club circuit, performing covers of popular artists of the day including; The Beatles, The Doors, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Hollies ..... In addition, they wrote and produced a single containing original material ("Patterns in Logic"/"Inside Outside"). The songs were recorded in Chicago at the legendary Checker/Chess/Cadet Studios with engineer Ron Malo. While playing in the band and working as a hospital orderly, John also attended Hamline University in St. Paul. As a project for his Composition course, he began to compose music for a long form piece. Influenced by his association with the Church, John chose the Christmas Story as his theme. Bob Blank contributed lyrics and melodies while David and Rick offered their unique perspectives to the final result. Recording took place over a period of several weeks at UA Studios in Minneapolis with Bob Schultz at the controls. It was given the title "12/25".

"12/25" was performed live only once or twice. Its individual movements did not translate particularly well as stand alone pop songs ala "Pinball Wizard" or "I'm Free" from "Tommy". Nonetheless, "12/25" was an extremely ambitious and well executed project deserving of the recognition it has earned. Shortly after completion of the project, Linder decided to quit music in order to concentrate on his College career at The University of Minnesota. Billy Hallquist stepped in to his position and assumed guitar and vocal duties. Soon, however, Blank elected not to continue and Good Idea came to an end.

Liner Notes

Tracks

1. Head Embers - 3:31

2. At the Top of the Stairs - 3:24

3. Summertime Children (John Meisen) - 4:18

4. In the Morning - 2:45

5. Dusty Road - 4:10

6. Alone I Am - 2:52

7. Softly- 3:31

8. I Travel Alone - 3:23

9. Not Well Liked - 1:52

10.With a Tailored Image - 1:59

11.The Sun Is Shinin' for Me - 3:10

12.16 Tons - 4:47

13.Pepper Palace - 5:19

All Music by Bill Hallquist, Dervin Wallin, Rick LiaBraaten, Terry Tilley, John Meisen except track #3

Songs 1-5 Lyrics by John Meisen

Songs 6-11 Lyrics by Bob Blank

Thundertree

*Bill Hallquist - Vocals, Guitar

*Rick LiaBraaten - Drums

*John Meisen - Keyboards

*Terry Tilley - Bass

*Dervin Wallin - Vocals

*David Linder - Guitar, Vocals (Tracks 6-11)

*Bob Blank - Vocals (Tracks 6-11)

*Steve Grams - Bass (Track 13)

*Glen Olson - Drums (Track 13) 

Related Act
1972-73  Billy Hallquist - Persephone (2009 korean remaster)

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Darius - Darius II (1967-71 us, beautiful bluesy psych acid folk, 2002 release)

Second unreleased Darius album - it continues the story of the famous Chartmaker record. On the electric tunes Darius is again backed by the legendary “Goldenrod“ guys, and several other interesting LA guest musicians! This album includes Darius´ only 45 rpm (Hello Stranger/ I Don´t Mind) and cuts from acetates to become a 15 track collection of sunny psychedelic Westcoast emotions – ranging from beautiful folk over to 2 min. fuzz Rock´n´Roll tunes, psychedelic jams and perfectly arranged orchestrated stuff.

Tracks

1. Don't You Get The Feeling (Part 1) - 2:33

2. New Start - 1:45

3. I Don't Mind - 2:26

4. Summer Is Over - 2:36

5. Soul Proud - 4:44

6. 44th Floor (Bobby Jameson) - 3:39

7. Beauty - 2:05

8. I Just Don't Understand - 3:01

9. No One Like You - 2:53

10.Hello Stranger (Barbara Lewis) - 2:54

11.Best Girl - 2:11

12.For Now I Love You - 2:41

13.Warm - 2:43

14.Quiet Morning - 3:13

15.Don't You Get The Feeling (Part 2) - 7:06

All songs written by Robert Joseph Ott "Darius" except where stated

Musicians

*Robert Joseph Ott "Darius" - Vocals, Guitar

*Jerry Scheff - Bass 

*Joe Osbourne - Bass

*Ed Green - Drums 

*Toxey French - Drums 

*Ben Benay - Guitar

*John Rhys - Guitar 

*Mike Deasy - Guitar

*Michael Henderson - Horn 

*Roy Catron - Horn 

*Ollie Mitchell - Horn  

*Larry Knectel - Horn 

*Armand Kaproff - Strings 

*Bill Krudsch - Strings 

*Bobby Bruce - Strings 

*Harold Dickrow - Strings 

*Israel Baker - Strings 

*Jesse Ehrlich - Strings 

*Leonard Malarsky - Strings 

*Nathan Gershman - Strings 

*Ray Kelley - Strings 

*Sid Sharp - Strings 

*Tibor Zelig - Strings

1969  Darius - Darius (2001 release)  

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Spiny Normen - Spiny Normen (1978-79 us, robust jagged prog acid rock, 2018 release)

Incredible mid-70’s Houston hard rock, progressive, psychedelic rock band (yes, all that and more) that featured mellotron, vox jaguar, crunchy, heavy guitars, flute with echo effects, and lots more. A totally lost relic this album is, recorded at the community college and never released. This band has a very English, dark, mysterious and proggy but very acid drenched feeling to it.

Circa 1976, Gerry and I would skip class, smoke whatever scrap of contraband we could scrape together and meet in the high school auditorium where there was a piano and bang out crunchy rhythms…. At home I shoved a mic into the family upright piano and overdrove a cheap recorder and home made echo-plex to get an impressive cacophony. Gerry was playing guitar, listening to Alice Cooper, hair down to his back and about the only Mexican American in a white bread school. He was cool! So when he said one day, “Hey man we should jam some time!”… I was stoked. We did, man it was fun! I was soon on the look out for a keyboard to become legit with. I found the already ancient Vox Jaguar in the Houston paper that had belonged to Fever Tree, one of the original psychedelic bands of the late 60s. I didn’t know how famous they were at the time but I bought it for $160 and a Kustom blue sparkle vinyl amp with a speaker that I blew out just right, that made the most beautiful distortion, accompanied by a beloved phase shifter.

We began torturing our parents in various suburb garages and bedrooms after adding Norman Davis on drums and Steve Koch on bass. Back then it was a Black Sabbath sounding, blues based crunch. Songs like Carry Your Water and Space Age Flyer were early comps.

We made a 4-track recording in a local studio around then that our drummer didn’t show up to the session for. All of us being Monty python fans, and the Norman-no-show gave us the name Spiny Normen (with an E) which two more bands have since taken.

Over the next three years we began to experiment, waaaay off into the beaten path, spending months penning intense, bizarre, surreal and mind affecting pieces influenced by King Crimson, Pink Floyd, film soundtracks, Vandergraaf Generator, and the like along with some bad bad acid trips on my part. I was collecting keyboards …a melotron (hell yes!) a single key play moog. Gerry was adding echo’s, early guitar synth and fuck tons of pedals. I learned the flute. New bass player Bruce Salmon and a try at another vocalist Bob Riley and various drummers my favorite being Robert Winters were in and out. In we went with a hired stand up bass player and a little Gerry Diaz engineering knowledge to the Alvin community college 8 track recording studio and just played like psychedelic Mozart’s. Timpani, live effects, sound effect records, backward echo, violin bow on guitar and plenty of echo. Gerry and I on vocals now. What came out was still, to this day, in my humble opinion, some very complex, untouched territory, holy-what-the? stuff. We were all about 19.

It didn’t last long and we were way behind and way ahead of our time at that time. I’m so ffffn thrilled though at 54 to see what this world of open-ended listeners will think of Spiny Normen now. The 19 year old Steve is getting his dream fulfilled. Gerry and I still experiment here and again with guitar and theremin in an effort called Psylobison. Just as touched, but its not going to give you such bad dreams.

by Steve Brudniak, September 2015 

Tracks

1. Arrowhead - 3:12

2. Wrecko Wild Man Ride - 4:50

3. Carry Your Water - 5:34

4. The Monkeyweasel - 6:15

5. To Meet The Mad Hatter - 6:59

6. The Bell Park Loon - 3:57

7. In The Darkness Of Night - 3:39

8. The Sound Of Younger Times - 8:04

Lyrics by Steve Brudniak, Music by Gerry Diaz, Steve Brudniak

Spiny Normen

*Gerry Diaz - Bass, Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer

*Steve Brudniak - Mellotron, Vocals, Timpani, Keyboards, Percussion, Flute

With

*Terry Farley - Percussion (Tracks 1,3)

*Robert Winters - Percussion (Tracks 2,8)

*Kirk Ayton - Guitar Synthesizer, Guitar (Track 5)

*Randall "Rantone" Haake - Double Bass (Track 8)

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rep>>> Roger Morris - First Album (1972 us, amazing country folk, slight rock, 2008 korean remaster with extra tracks)

Roger Morris’ First Album, released by Emi/Regal Zonophone in 1972, stakes a claim as one of the most American sounding British-folk albums of the seventies. Along with the painfully obscure solo album by Ernie Graham, First Album is one of a handful of rustic singer-songwriter lps of the era that landed unjustly under the radar. 

Owing much to the back-to-the-roots sound and vibe of The Band, Bobby Charles, and Hungry Chuck, and falling somewhere in between the British folk of the late 60s, the British country-rock of the early 70s, and the pub rock renaissance that would follow several years later, this album features contributions from a host of talented British musicians, including: the popular De Lisle Harper; Glen Campbell of Juicy Lucy and The Misunderstood; Family’s John Weider; Rod Coombes of Strawbs and later, Stealer’s Wheel; Chris Mercer; Terry Stannard of Kokomo; and Bruce Rowlands of the Greaseband. Obviously, the playing on this album is top notch. Furthermore, Morris comes across as a surprisingly accomplished songwriter.

On album opener “Taken for Granted” Morris mourns the loss of past loves to the tune of a folky country-rock number that calls to mind the early work of Help Yourself, as well as Ian Matthews. “Golightly’s Almanac” has a funky Bearsville ragtime feel, complete with a Tuba holding down the low end and a catchy horn part, sounding very similar to The Band’s “Rag Mama Rag” or Hungry Chuck’s “Hats Off America.” Morris’ vocals, which can sometimes be hit or miss, really excel on “Showdown”, one of the standout tracks of the set.  “Northern Star” features some tasty pedal steel and fiddle riffing courtesy of talented multi-instrumentalist John Weider, while “Livin’ On Memories” sounds similar to “Orange Juice Blues” off of The Basement Tapes, with Morris taking a cue from Richard Manuel’s vocal phrasing.

Morris’ account of one man’s experience in the years after the Civil War ,“All My Riches,” is his equivalent to The Band’s epic “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Morris’ tune, while not a total failure, never comes close to reaching the heights of The Band’s legendary song. If there’s any complaint to be made about First Album, it would be that Morris’ influences are worn right on his sleeves. However, this was in fact his first album, so you’ve gotta give the guy a break for letting his influences show a little bit.

Needless to say, First Album is essential listening for fans of the rustic Americana The Band perfected on their first three records, as well as fans of Silver Pistol era Brinsley Schwarz, early McGuiness Flint and Help Yourself, and Matthews Southern Comfort. Simply one of the best obscure British folk/Americana flavored singer-songwriter lps of the era, this one is worth tracking down. 

Although this, his first lp, was virtually ignored upon its initial release, Roger would later find his audience when he went on to achieve international recognition as the guitarist in The Psychedelic Furs. In 2009 Bella Terra Presents released a tastefully remastered limited edition cd reissue featuring four previously unreleased bonus tracks that were recorded just a year after First Album, as well the original album artwork and a lyric sheet insert.

by D.A. Glasebrook

Tracks
1. Taken For Granted - 2:59
2. The Vigil -  4:10
3. Golightly's Almanac - 3:11
4. Showdown - 3:11
5. All My Riches - 3:14
6. The Trail Of Tears - 3:08
7. Northern Star - 3:13
8. Livin' On Memories - 2:43
9. Poor Lucy - 4:53
10.First Snow - 2:42
11.Let The Four Winds Blow - 3:58
12.Idaho -  4:39
13.Mississippi Story - 4:10
14.Down The Meadow - 3:27
15.The Number I Need - 3:11
16.Copenhagen Moon - 4:15
Words and Music by Roger Morris

Musicians
*Roger Morris - Piano, Guitars, Vocals
*Lisle Harper - Bass
*Bruce Rowlands, Terry Stannard, Rod Coombes - Drums
*Tommy Eyre - Piano, Organ, Piano Accordion
*Keith West - Guitar, Vocal Harmonies
*Glen Campbell - Pedal Steel Guitar
*Johnny Almond, Chris Mercer - Saxes
*John Weider - Guitar, Fiddle
*John Tuck - Vocal Harmonies

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