If Leonard Cohen barged into an Electric Prunes recording after obliterating his mind in an all-night glue-sniffing binge it might have sounded something like this.
With song titles as preposterous as “A Musical Tribute to the Oscar Meyer Weiner Wagon,” who knows what the famed RnB label Chess Records was thinking when they decided to sign Milwaukee’s The Baroques in 1967. They did manage to stir up a little controversy with their anti-drug (so they claimed) song, “Mary Jane,” but besides that it looks like Chess was stuck with a very strange, unmarketable record. And don’t expect an onslaught of spacey sound effects and weird noises a la the early Pink Floyd, this is a less overt type of psychosis that slowly but surely embeds itself under your skin.
The Baroques had a fuzz-guitar/keyboard-damaged sound that retained much of the garage intensity of ’66 while plunging into the experimentation that marked the latter part of the decade. Sure, there are traces of the Byrds and the Zombies, but by the time the Baroques have had their way with a pop song, it’s like the deformed bastard child of those bands hobbling around on one leg. As on “Rose Colored Glasses,” where Jay Berkenhagen’s odd, deep vocals bounce along with awkward (yet insanely catchy) riffs until settling into a gorgeous, harmony-laden chorus. “Nothing To Do But Cry” is an exceptional folk-rocker that’s dirtied up with some nice distorted jangling and raw power-chording. At times they veer into chaotic fits of noise that wouldn’t sound too out of place on a Scientists album (“Iowa, A Girl’s Name” “Musical Tribute…”). But what really sets them apart from other similarly-minded bands is the excessively glum atmosphere which pervades most of the album. The sludge-folk of “Purple Day” and “Seasons” may come off too monotonous for some, but there is something absolutely hypnotizing lurking in the uncommonly dark textures of these songs.
Part of the whole Chicago late-60s psych scene alongside their similarly well-produced Dunwich stablemates H.P. Lovecraft, The Troll released a few near-hit singles before this album. Originally released on Mercury's Smash sublabel, this got not a whole lot of attention in its day...and that's sad, because there was a goodly bit of psychedelia that probably shouldn't have made it to the surface before this. It's quality, although one definitely can tell it's a 'period piece'. Still, if it's a fine 60s flashback you need, just drop this one on...
...and you're greeted with fine fuzz and ticktocking percussion from the start of side one, with "Satin City News". Now, it should be noted that the lyrics here tend toward a political and cynical bent...which is about par for much of the album. In amongst the psychedelia, there's a certain darkness on "Animated Music", although nothing that would tend to bum one out.
That same acerbic political tack continues on "Mr. Abernathy", with its classic trem-guitar and poppy horns. While the tale on this track is certainly one of American political scandal, etc, the sound...in fact, the sound throughout the album...is very British. It's not the sound you'd associate with Chicago at all, really...but something more Abbey Road-ish, with tinges of early Floyd here, a dash of Moodies there, and lots of tape spooling around ala Sir George Martin's production methods circa "Sgt. Pepper". by Lugia
Tracks
1. Satin City News - 2:41
2. Mr.Abernathy - 3:28
3. Fritz Und Sweeney - 4:36
4. Everybody's Child - 2:54
5. Solitude - 0:31
6. I've Only Myself To Blame - 3:45
7. Professor Pott's Pornographic Projector - 2:59
8. Have You Seen The Queen - 2:21
9. Mourning Of The Day - 5:10
10.A Winter's Song - 4:00
11.Werewolf And Witchbreath - 5:18
The Troll
*Richard Clark - Organ, Vocals
*Richard Gallagher - Guitar, Vocals
*Max Jordan, Jr. - Bass, Vocals
*Ken Cortese (aka Ken Apples) - Drums Guest Musician
*Skeep Bushor - Horns, Strings Arragment
The R'n'B craze that swept Britain in the mid-'60s changed the face of pop music forever. This legendary compilation -- unavailable for over a decade -- gathers together no fewer than 27 of its finest examples, culled from some of the rarest 45s of all time.
Originally released in 1964 and 1965 and featuring future legends including Ron Wood (The Rolling Stones), Ian McLagan (The Small Faces) and Twink (The Pink Fairies), the music is just as fast, heavy and exciting as the day it was recorded. The package comes complete with a detailed booklet offering histories and discographies of the acts involved, as well as rare pictures.
Artists include: The Frays, The Beat Merchants, The Sons Of Fred, The Fairies, The Primitives, The Wheels, The Others, The Groundhogs, The Bo Street Runners, The Muleskinners, The Sneekers, The Chasers, The Wranglers, The Stylos, David John & The Mood, The Betterdays, The Deejays, Nix Nomads, The Brand, The Sheffields, The Birds, The Toggery Five, and The T-Bones.
Bands - Songs
1. The Frays - Keep Me Covered - 2:37
2. The Beat Merchants - Pretty Face - 1:56
3. The Sons Of Fred - Ill Be There - 2:46
4. The Fairies - Ill Dance - 2:07
5. The Primitives - Help Me - 3:40
6. The Wheels - Gloria - 2:42
7. The Others - Oh Yeah - 2:54
8. The Groundhogs - Shake It - 2:05
9. The Bo Street Runners - Bo Street Runner - 2:14
10.The Muleskinners - Back Door Man - 3:49
11.The Sneekers - Bald Headed Woman - 2:31
12.The Chasers - Hey Little Girl - 2:08
13.The Wranglers - Liza Jane - 1:56
14.The Stylos - Head Over Heels - 2:24
15.David John And The Mood - Pretty Thing - 2:18
16.The Betterdays - Dont Want That - 2:16
17.The Primitives - You Said - 2:20
18.The Deejays - Black-Eyed Woman - 2:39
19.The Fairies - Anytime At All - 2:19
20.Nix Nomads - Shell Be Sweeter Than You - 2:44
21.David John And The Mood - To Catch That Man - 2:10
22.The Brand - Im A Lover Not A Fighter - 2:03
23.The Sheffields - I Got My Mojo Working - 2:36
24.The Wheels - Bad Little Woman - 2:50
25.The Birds - You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care) - 2:05
26.The Toggery Five - Bye Bye Bird - 2:31
27.The T-Bones - Hamishs Express Relief - 3:16
In the 1960s, Jerry Cole was one of America's most prolific guitarists, turning his hand to surf music, rock, country, jazz and blues and playing on sessions for Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. He would replace less proficient group members at recordings, making the acts sound better than they were.
He was born Jerald Kolbrack in 1939 in Wisconsin and was raised in Chicago, which had a thriving blues scene. As Jerry Cole he joined the Champs, who recorded the million-selling instrumental "Tequila" (1958). A few years later, he and another Champ, Glen Campbell, decided to try their luck as session guitarists in Los Angeles.
Bobby Darin recommended Cole to Capitol Records and he made a succession of instrumental albums as Jerry Cole and His Spacemen, starting with Outer Limits (1963), a combination of surf and space-age music. Capitol tried Cole as a vocalist but it was decided his voice was not strong enough.
With such big names as Hal Blaine (drums) and Larry Knechtel (keyboards), Cole was part of the Wrecking Crew, Phil Spector's session band, and is featured on the Ronettes' "Be My Baby". He is heard on the familiar records of the Byrds ("Mr Tambourine Man"), the Dixie Cups ("Chapel of Love"), Them ("Here Comes The Night") and Paul Revere and the Raiders ("Kicks"). The producer Lee Hazlewood also used him for several Nancy Sinatra sessions, including "These Boots are Made for Walkin'".
As a studio guitarist, Cole had residencies in numerous television series including Shindig!, Hullabaloo, The Sonny and Cher Show and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. He made a score of low-budget, but still technically proficient, instrumental LPs which were sold in supermarkets under a variety of names. Cole worked on the road for Andy Williams for three years and Roger Miller for five.
In 1966, Brian Wilson recorded the backing tracks for Pet Sounds while the other Beach Boys were on tour, and Cole played on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Sloop John B". He was also used on the Beach Boys album 15 Big Ones (1976), which was around the time he was working with Phil Spector on Dion's mesmerising Born To Be With You.
When psychedelia was coming in, he recorded several albums in this style including The Animated Egg (1966). He played on the blues album Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and the Aloha From Hawaii television special with Elvis Presley, both in 1973, and worked as a studio musician with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
In 2006, Cole returned to surf music with the album Back to the Boards. Last year, he was recording again with Brian Wilson.
by Spencer Leigh
In January 2008 Jerry Cole heard The Animated Egg for the first time since he recorded it in Los Angels some forty years earlier " we made a damned good record" he said. Five months later on May 28th 2008, he passed away, went on the big trip to meet again with his buddies in heaven's Great Band.
Tracks
1. A Love Built On Sand - 3:04
2. Inside Looking Out - 3:01
3. I Said, She Said, Ah Cid - 2:14
4. "T"omorrow - 2:33
5. Sure Listic - 1:49
6. Sippin' And Trippin' - 2:10
7. Dark - 1:54
8. Down, Down And Gone - 2:22
9. Sock It My Way - 3:26
10. That's How It Is - 3:28
11. Fool's Luck (with The Generation Gap) - 3:17
12. What's Your Bag? (with T. Swift & The Electric Bag) - 2:09
13. Boil The Kettle (with The Projection Company) - 3:07
14. Light Show (with The Stone Canyon Rock Group) - 2:52
15. Expo In Sound (with T. Swift & The Electric Bag) - 4:35
16. Free Form In 6 (with T. Swift & The Electric Bag) - 2:08
17. Our Man Hendrix (with The Projection Company) - 3:09
18. Red Eyes (with T. Swift & The Electric Bag) - 2:58
19. Hard Times (with The Generation Gap) - 2:44
20. Tune Out Of Place (with The Projection Company) - 2:25
Super political, rocking, anti-establishment communal band (c. 1970) put together as a result of the Kent State Massacre. As the Euphoria Blimpworks Band, fronted by Howard Berkman from morose garage punksters the Knaves, they played demonstrations and student strikes when they weren’t opening for blues royalty—or being the first band to play the yard at Cook County Jail.
They were inter-racial, anti-war, Stop the Bomb, free love hippies, the wildest of the wild kids. And this is the quintessential anarcho-hippie record, a surprisingly well-engineered indie effort which came inside home-made silk-screened jackets, with twisted, poetic lyrics (Dylan or Arthur Lee and Love? you decide), and funky, rocking bones—political, sociological, ecological, reflective and free-love sexy.
The Karma Dusters really cook on the up-tempo tracks, sounding at times like a cross between The Blues Project and Dylan’s band circa 1966, augmented by some dazzling violin. This excellent sounding master-tape reissue has two bonus tracks; it also has two booklets—one is for the outrageous and explicit Gonzo history of the band and their urban commune; the other is a wrap-around booklet for lyrics, all served up together in a Mylar plastic sleeve. You just know the FBI has a huge file on these punks. But do they have the album?
Tracks
1. Don't Kill The Babies - 2:09
2. Like To Make It Back To Peurto Rico - 3:24
3. Kathleen - 3:33
4. Revolution - 3:10
5. C.T.A. - 2:43
6. I Want To Talk To You - 2:49
7. Reflections - 3:21
8. Snow Bitch - 3:07
9. Wouldn't It Be Funny - 4:02
10.Evolution - 2:38
11.Hello Big City - 4:24
All songs written by Howard Berkman
Yama And The Karma Dusters
*Jack Sullivan - Bass (Tracks 1, 9) ,
*Neal Pollack - Bass
*Marion L. Favors - Congas, Percussion
*Al Goldberg - Drums, Percussion
*Howard Berkman - Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals,
*Dick Larson - Piano
*Karen Manter - Organ (Track 10), Piano (Track 3)
A veteran of the New York coffee house circuit who went on to record with Jimi Hendrix, Buzz Linhart recorded this classic debut in London in 1968. Featuring backing from Welsh psychedelic favourites the Eyes Of Blue, it’s a superb collection of acid-influenced folk and pop, including the epic, sitar-tinged raga Sing Joy, and is sure to appeal to all fans of hippie singer-songwriting.
“Buzz Linhart came out of the legendary Greenwich Village coffee-house period of the early to middle 60s, when Tim Hardin, Fred Neil and John Sebastian (amongst many others) were finding themselves, influencing others, and being influenced (as often as not by each other). It was a period of hanging out, of song-writing, of soaking in everything from folk to blues to rock.
Like Fred Neil, who taught him a lot, Linhart has a strong, gritty, emotional voice. Like Hardin, his life has been racked with almost insurmountable personal problems, and his voice and lyrics reflect it. In 1968, after a long absence and with many of the personal problems apparently solved, he made some brief appearances in New York, where critical reaction was consistently favourable. He’s also much sought after as a sidesman on vibes” - Lillian Roxon’s Rock Encyclopedia, 1969
Buzzy Linhart was born to musical parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 3rd 1943. He was already a multi-instrumentalist by the time he left high school, and after an unproductive stint in the US Navy, he gravitated towards Florida in 1962 (where he hooked up with Fred Neil), and then to New York. In Greenwich Village he roomed with John Sebastian and played in the same clubs as future luminaries such as Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin and David Crosby.
As well as playing folk, however, Linhart also developed an interest in Indian music well before it entered the mainstream, honing his raga skills in late-night jam sessions at legendary venues including the Night Owl and the Cafe Wha? After a quartet he’d formed, the Seventh Sons, didn’t work out (though they recorded a superb, visionary LP for ESP), he impressed hitmaker Mitch Ryder sufficiently to be invited to travel to Europe as his opening act. In London he hooked up with producer Lou Reizner (for whom he’d recorded some demos in New York, and who was now Mercury’s UK A&R chief) and soon arranged to cut his debut LP.
Buzzy was recorded in October 1968, with backing from Welsh psych-rockers the Eyes of Blue. As 16 magazine put it that November: ‘It’s finally beginning to happen for super-talented singer-composer Buzz Linhart. By the time you read this, he will have played (along with Mitch Ryder) the Royal Palace in Portugal, have done a tour of England, and starred for two weeks at Revolution, the Beatles’ new disco in London.’
Nonetheless, the album – a classy mixture of acid-tinged singer-songwriter fare and raga - did not fare well on its February 1969 release, prompting Linhart to return to the US. There he released a string of further LPs, as well as contributing to recordings by Jimi Hendrix, Carly Simon, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler and others, and is still playing as much as ever today.
Tracks
1. Yellow Cab (Tim Hardin) - 4:33
2. Willie Jean (Buzz Linhart) - 9:49
3. Step Into My Wildest Dreams (Buzz Linhart) - 5:44
4. Wish I Could Find (Buzz Linhart) - 3:23
5. Sing Joy (Dona Calles / Buzz Linhart) - 19:00
6. End Song (Buzz Linhart) - 3:10
Musicians
*Buzz Linhart - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*‘Big’ Jim Sullivan - Sitar
*Keshav Sathe - Tabla
*Raymond ‘Taff’ Williams - Lead Guitar
*Ritchie Francis - Bass
*Phil Ryan - Organ, Mellotron
*John Weathers - Drums, Timpani
The Time: October 1974; The Place: Festival Hall, West Melbourne; The Scene: I was 15 years old and had taken my first girlfriend to see Hush, the La De Das and Stevie Wright in concert. Four guys ambled on stage unannounced and plugged in. The bass player had an enormous walrus moustache. I recognised him and lead singer Mike Rudd from Spectrum, and this was their new band Ariel. I already knew and loved their hit from 1973 'Jamaican Farewell'.
They proceeded to play a set of dynamic hard rock, all nimble riffs and adroit time shifts framed by a series of loud and biting yet fluid lead guitar solos from Harvey James, and the intensity of it all made my head spin with excitement. I can't remember the actual songs they played, but the experience was such that I became an instant convert. When the Rock & Roll Scars album appeared in April 1975 I thought the title had a decadent ring to it and I bought it immediately.
Hard edged yet melodic songs like 'Keep on Dancing (With Me)', 'We Are Indelible", 'Men in Grey Raincoats' and 'I am the Laughing Man' gave me many hours of listening pleasure. I was always intrigued by the album's sub-title, almost inconspicuously noted on the bottom of the front cover: Before the Mutant.
Many years later Mike Rudd was to explain to me the significance behind that, and thus was revealed one of the great mysteries of Australian rock'n'roll. When Harvey James and John Lee had replaced original Ariel lead guitarist Tim Gaze and original drummer Nigel Macara respectively in early 1974, Rudd had begun rehearsing the band for album number two.
The new record was to have been an ambitious science fiction concept album called The Jellabad Mutant. Ariel demoed the new material but the EMI executives rejected the concept out of hand. Abbey Road Studios in London was already booked, but here was the band left without any songs! All of which is why the new album consisted mostly of re-recorded versions of old Spectrum and Ariel material, with only three new songs thrown in for good measure.
The EMI suits should have let the visionary Mike Rudd play out his grand concept and record the album he had wanted. But then again, we would never have had the Rock & Roll Scars album, would we? I'll leave you with that little slice of irony. Now, just turn the music up real loud and enjoy! by Ian McFarlane (Ian McFarlane is the author of The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop)
Tracks
1. Keep on Dancing (With Me - 2:54
2. I'll Be Going / I'll Be Gone - 4:19
3. Rock And Roll Scars - 3:44
4. Real Meanie - 4:08
5. Men In Grey Raincoats - 3:22
6. Launching Place Part II - 2:24
7. We Are Indelible - 2:42
8. What The World Needs (Is A New Pair of Socks) - 3:16
9. Red Hot Momma - 2:36
10.Some Good Advice - 5:45
11.I Am The Laughing Man - 2:45
12.Yeah Tonight (Bonus Track) - 3:09
13.I Am The Laughing Man (Bonus Track, Alt. Version) - 2:57
All compositions by Mike Rudd
Ariel
*Mike Rudd - Lead Vocals, Guitars, Harmonica
*Bill Putt - Bass
*Glyn Mason - Guitars, Vocals
*Harvey James - Guitars
*John Lee - Drums
Federal Duck was the band I belonged to when I was a student at Haverford College back in the '60s. We were originally called the Stomp Jackson Quintet, and then the Guides (don't ask), but we came up with our new and final name one night when we were lying on the bank of the Haverford campus duck pond, and some ducks started waddling toward us in what looked like a purposeful manner, and as we watched them with increasing alarm -- an oncoming duck squadron in the moonlight -- the thought struck us that these ducks might be working for the government. And if you are wondering why that particular thought would have struck us, you did not experience the '60s.
We were one of many college bands formed in that era by young men with a sincere artistic desire to attract women of the opposite sex. We pretty much failed at that, but we did get hired a lot, because of a distinctive quality we had, which I would describe as "a low price." For as little as $100, or sometimes even less, you could have the Federal Duck perform at your dance, dorm mixer, fraternity party, pagan tree-worship ceremony, livestock neutering, whatever.
We would play anywhere, and we would play all night long, or until the police arrived, which happened sometimes, especially at the frat parties, where there tended to be a lot of spirited hijinks during that magical 45-minute interlude between the time the first keg was tapped and the time the last frat brother passed out in a puddle of his own bodily fluids.
The Federal Duck could play through pretty much anything, because we had a bulletproof repertoire consisting of songs containing three or fewer chords, one of which was always "E." If something distracting happened during a song -- say, a group of frat brothers suddenly appeared on the dance floor physically carrying a Volkswagen -- and you lost your place, you could always play an "E" chord, and the odds were good that this was also what the rest of the band was playing.
We did that for four years, and, although I am not proud of this fact, the Federal Duck was the single most memorable part of my college experience. I was an English major, and I studied some of the greatest works of literature the human mind has ever produced, and today I can remember virtually nothing about any of them, but I still know all the words to "Louie Louie."
by Dave Barry (David Barry is A Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary)
Tracks
1. Knowing That I Loved You So - 2:18
2. Easy Virtue Blues (Jack Bowers) - 2:44
3. Tomorrow Waits for Today - 3:04
4. Just Like the Snow (David Koteen) - 4:22
5. Bird (George Stavis, Jack Bowers, Ken Stover) - 5:56
6. Hello - 0:17
7. While You're Away - 2:01
8. Peace in My Mind - 2:57
9. Just a Band - 0:34
10.Friday Morning - 3:09
11.Dawn Comes Slow (Jack Bowers, George Stavis) - 3:05
12.Ain't Gonna Be Nobody to Sing the Blues (Jack Bowers) - 2:11
13.Circus in the Sea - 3:33
All songs by George Stavis except where indicated
Federal Duck
*Ken Stover - Piano, Organ, Tuba
*Jack Bowers - Guitars, Dulcimer. Recorder
*George Stavis - Lead Guitars, (Vocal, on Ain't Gonna Be Nobody to Sing the Blues)
*Huck White - Guitars, French Horn, Recorder
*Timmy Ackerman - Drums, Conga, Percussion
*Bob Stern - Bass, (Vocal, on Bird)
*Tony Shaftel - Vocal, Bass
Stone Country was a Hollywood, CA-based psychedelic country-rock outfit led by gifted singer/songwriter and guitarist Steve Young. Young, who grew up in the south, moved to New York City in the early '60s, where he became affiliated with the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk music scene. He later moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and began working with Van Dyke Parks and Stephen Stills while still working his day job as a mailman.
He formed Stone Country in 1967 and soon thereafter the band was signed to RCA Records. After releasing several singles, RCA issued the group's only album, Stone Country, in March 1968, produced by Rick Jarrard, who also produced Jefferson Airplane and Harry Nilsson's Pandemonium Shadow Show. (Incidentally, Stone Country appeared as themselves in Otto Preminger's 1968 film Skidoo, which features a score by Nilsson).
The group disbanded when, in 1969, Young signed as a solo artist with A&M Records. His album Rock Salt & Nails featured cameo performances by James Burton, Gene Clark, Gram Parsons, and Chris Hillman. In 1971, Young signed to Reprise, and eventually recorded a series of critically acclaimed albums in the country-rock style, his most well-known song being "Seven Bridges Road," recorded by Rita Coolidge, Joan Baez, and the Eagles.
Clark a member of the New Christy Minstrels and the Good Time Singers before joining this band went solo and recorded for Imperial and Republic Records. Don Beck went on to join Dillard & Clark, while Denny Conway became a session drummer.
Tracks
1. Love Pslam (Hildebrand, Lottermoser) - 2:31
2. 'Lizbeth Peach (Byrne, Ferrell) - 2:25
3. Magnolias (Young) - 4:19
4. Mantra (Hildebrand, Lottermoser) - 2:21
5. Everywhere I Turn (Dunn, Lottermoser) - 2:15
6. Woman Don't You Weep (Young) - 3:35
7. Time Isn't There Anymore (Brooks, Lottermoser) - 2:55
8. Life Stands Daring Me (Beck) - 2:25
9. The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde (Brooks, Lottermoser, McCashen) - 3:04
10.The Love You Save (May Be Your Own) (Tex) - 3:19
11.Why Baby Why (Edwards, Jones) - 1:54
12.Angelica (Mann, Weill) - 3:08
13.This Wheels on Fire (Danko, Dylan) - 2:56
14.Million Dollar Bash (Dylan) - 2:18
Stone Country
*Dann Barry - Bass, Vocals
*Steve Young - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Don Beck - 12 String Guitar, Banjo
*Dennis Conway - Drums, Percussions
*Richard Lockmiller - Rhythm Guitar
*Doug Brooks - Rhythm Guitar
Folly's Pool was formed in 1974 by Doug Carlson (Guitar and Lead Vocals)and Steve Ono (Bass and Vocals). The original band also included Jeff Carlson (Guitar and Vocals) and Jim Arhelger (Drums). Ono and Arhelger left in 1975 and were replaced by Jim Reap on Bass and Jeff McCutchen on Drums. The first Album was recorded over 4 months at Kenjo Studios in Fresno. The first two tracks recorded were Just a Memory and Fallen Poney. These were released and got airplay on KFIG and a few other Central Valley Radio Stations.
The rest of the album was recorded with Jeff Bryon replacing Jeff McCutchen on Drums. The band toured throughout California, mostly in College towns until 1982. in 1986, a second album was produced; Bathing Caps Required. The band dispersed for several years and reunited in 2003 and began playing occasionally and created an new album called Road To Independence released in 2008. After several successful live performances, Doug, Jeff, and Jeff are back recoding again with a large circle of musician friends adding parts. You can find more at the web site follyspool.com
by Warren Lewis (Folly's Pool Engineer)
Tracks
1. Folly's Pool (Doug Carlson, Steven Ono) - 4:55
2. Fallen Pony (Doug Carlson) - 7:00
3. Just A Memory (Doug Carlson, Steven Ono) - 4:43
4. Jig In A (Doug Carlson, Steven Ono) - 4:25
5. Before The Gates Of Elessaar (Doug Carlson) - 6:55
6. Kathleen (Doug Carlson) - 5:10
7. West Of The Skies (Doug Carlson, Steven Ono) - 7:15
Folly's Pool
*Doug Carlson - Electric, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
*Jeff Carlson - Acoustic 12string Guitar, Vocals, Percussions
*Jeff Bryon - Drums, Percussions
*Jim Reap - Bass, Vocals
*Larry Ohl - Lead Guitar
*Danny Jordan - Flute
*Jeff McCutchen - Drums on "Fallen Pony" & "Just a Memory"
Legendary Swiss heavy psychedelic/progressive band with their sole album originally released in 1972 on Splendid Records. First official reissue on Long Hair limited to 500 units. Touches of Procol Harum and obviously inspired by the U.S. westcoast sound, this album is a real killer.
Val-De-Travers lies in the French speaking Swiss canton of Neuchatel. Thus began the story of Pacific Sound. Four friends, Chris Meyer (vocals), Mark Treuthardt (guitar, bass), Diego Lecci (drums) and Roger Page (keyboards) were practising there for their next gig at the Ballroom in their birthplace of Motiers.
Yves Dubois, a friend and fan of the band, was urging the band to "stop playing ballrooms, start writing your own songs, form a pop band!!" The band decided he was right as they were fed up with playing covers of international hits and began to work on their own ideas. Yves started to look after the band's organisational matters and became a sort of a manager.
On Roger's suggestion, the band called themselves Pacific Sound and within a few months began to take shape with a set of almost all original compositions. After playing gigs in their own region the band gained confidence and played nearby France.
The next step on the ladder of success was to release a record. Yves invited Rare Records (from La-Chaux-De-Fonds) producer J. P. Louvin to a gig. Louvin was impressed and offered the band to record a single for his label.
At the end of 1970, the band recorded "The Drug Just Told Me" and "The Green Eyed Girl" at the Stephan Sulke Studio in Biel. The single was a success. Pacific Sound were on a roll and a couple of weeks later they went back to the same studio and producer to record "Ballad To Jimi" and "Thick Fog" for release next year on Splendid Records.
Fans and critics applauded the single, the band's originality and creativity was praised. The single won the first prize at the 1971 European Pop Jury in Cannes and was Pacific Sound's breakthrough. It was also released in 18 countries on 8 different labels including Decca, Phillips, CBS and RCA.
Following the release of the prize-winning single "Ballad To Jimi", the popularity of the band increased dramatically and they were showered with gig offers. The band toured successfully throughout Switzerland. Louvin suggested the band record an LP. Early in 1972, they went back to the Sulke Studio and recorded 7 new songs which, in addition to "Thick Fog", made up the LP "Forget Your Dream!", which was released in 1972 on Splendid Records.
The LP was well received and a European tour was arranged with gigs in Belgium, England, Holland, Germany and France. The band needed to upgrade their equipment for larger gigs, so Roger took out a bank loan, but just as the tour was about to start, the rest of the band, including manager Yves, left Roger in the lurch. Louvin suggested to Roger to look for replacement musicians and a new line-up was created
However, it never recaptured the old Pacific Sound spirit. The new line-up didn't gel musically and Roger was left with his debts which were paid with the money made on the tour. And that is the end of a wonderful story. Nowadays Roger lives in a small village near Neuchatel and is a professional musician
by Roger Page
A truly spectacular heavy psychedelic album and pure classic of it's time. Flying acid leads, roaring keyboards, strange vocals. This CD issue has 3 bonus tracks from 1971, extensive liner notes and lots of nice pictures of the band.
Tracks
1. Forget Your Dream - 2:27
2. Erotic Blues - 8:00
3. Drive My Car - 2:35
4. Thick Fog (Roger Page, Chris Meyer) - 2:34
5. Gily Gily - 2:26
6. Ceremony for a Dead - 5:22
7. If Your Soul Is Uncultivated - 3:37
8. Gates of Hell - 5:45
9. The Drug Just Told Me (Roger Page, Chris Meyer) - 2:51
10.The Green Eyed Girl (Roger Page, Chris Meyer) - 2:44
11.Ballad to Jimi (Roger Page, Chris Meyer) - 2:00
All songs by Roger Page, Mark Treuthardt, Chris Meyer except where indicated.
This Santa Cruz-based outfit formed in the mid-1970s, featuring Frank Gummersal, bassist Jon Hicks, drummer Carl Holland, Larry Ross, and pedal steel guitarist Doug Osburn. Looking like your standard early-1970s stoner band hey enjoyed some success on San Francisco's club circuit, even opening for nationally known outfits such as Kingfish and The Sons of Champlin. They also managed to score a contract with the small California-based Renegade label and released "Hellbound Highway" in 1975, a rural rock album in the style of Dead meets the Eagles variety.
The opening title track has a beautiful psychy lead guitar hook and great melody throughout.This is mellow country rock with great steel guitars and the appropriate tuneful vocals,with the occasional fuzz guitar putting in a welcome appearance. Back in 1975, a bunch of dudes from Boulder Creek, California, found themselves in a recording studio and decided to make a rural rock album of a sort of Dead-meets-Eagles variety. The result, Hellbound Highway, an obscure private pressing made its appearance on Renegade Records the same year, but as only about 100 copies were pressed, very few have experienced the delights of this laidback recording.
Some of the songs are terrific, particularly the opener and title track, with its psychy lead guitar hook, a clever twist in the chorus and a great melody, and the side-closers are both outstanding. In between, we're treated to some mellow country rock of the Outlaws variety, with some excellent steel guitar and some highly appropriate and surprisingly tuneful vocals, and the occasional fuzz guitar putting in a welcome appearance."
Tracks
1. Hellbound Highway - 4.42
2. Tantra Queen - 3.42
3. Pass The Bottle' - 3.46
4. Just One Quart - 3.58
5. Nobody On The Streets - 4.39
6. Stoned Cold Turkey - 3.58
7. Fallen Angel - 4.05
8. Tom Haley - 2.48
9. If I Had The Trength - 3.23
10.Hell In The Hills - 6.19
All Song byLarry Ross, Jon Hicks, Carl Holland, Doug Osburn, Frank Gummersal, Frank Andrick
Timbercreek
*Larry Ross - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Frank Gummersal - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Doug Osburn - Pedal Steel Guitar
*Carl Holland - Vocals, Drums, Clarinet
*Jon Hicks - Vocals, Bass
The story of Tymepiece encompasses a musical transition that commenced with mid-60's garage punk and ended seven years later in the realms of full blown progressive rock. Tymepiece's collectable 1971 album 'Sweet Release' is a prime example of where psychedelic pop, folk and country elements combined with a progressive edge to create a unique blend. The album is a fine example of early seventies 'head' music. Tymepiece originated in the Blue Mountains area around Lithgow (NSW), and comprised an incredibly accomplished bunch of musicians.
They began life in 1965 as The Black Diamonds, one of the most ferocious garage/punk outfits Australia ever produced. Witness the bands 'I Want, Need, Love You' on the Ugly Things 60's punk compilation. The Black Diamonds line-up featured Glenn Bland (vocals, harmonica), Allan 'Olly' Oloman (guitar, vocals), Brian 'Felix' Wilkinson (organ, piano), Alan Keogh (bass) and Colin McAuley (Drums). They issued two singles on Festival during 1967 and were equally adept at producing both jubilant pop and tough punk on either side of the one disc. In 1968 Darcy Rosser replaced Keogh on bass, the band changed its name to Tymepiece and made the permanent move to Sydney.
At that point producer Pat Aulton approached the musicians to record under the name of Love Machine. Their version of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' was a hit, but the band members soon tired of playing under two different names doing entirely divergent sets. Tymepiece moved on, issuing two flower-pop singles. The third Festival single was a taster for the forthcoming album. Issued on Festival's progressive subsidiary label Infinity, 'Sweet Release' (February 1971) was an ambitious album of contrasting moods and styles, ranging from hard-psych 'Why?', 'Nuts' , folk 'Reflections', 'Home Song' , wild R'n'B 'I Love, You Love' and country flavoured 'Sweet Release' , 'Take Me Back' to the heavy progressive-blues sound of 'Shake Off'.
As the albums centrepiece, 'Shake Off' is an incredible eight minutes of rumbling bass, pounding drums, wildly demented fuzzed-out blues riffing, wailing harp and heavy, pulsating organ soloing. It's all quite left field, but impeccably played nonetheless. After such an astonishing debut album Tymepiece should have progressed to the next level, but inexplicably broke up before the year was out. All that remains are a few choice tracks, an albums worth of listening pleasure and the memory of a great band.
Tracks
1. Why - 2:20
2. I Love, You Love (Alan "Olly" Oloman, Chris Kristopher, Colin McAuley, Darcy Rosser, Felix Wilkinson) - 5:04
3. Sweet Release - 2:57
4. Nuts - 3:18
5. Won't you Try (Alan "Olly" Oloman, Chris Kristopher) - 2:40
6. Reflections - 2:59
7. Shake Off - 8:11
8. Take Me Back (Alan "Olly" Oloman, Chris Kristopher, Darcy Rosser) - 4:34
9. Joseph Straite (Alan "Olly" Oloman, Chris Kristopher) - 1:49
10.Home Song - 3:36
11.Bird In The Tree - 3:18
12.I Gotta Know What You're Like (Tymepiece) - 3:16
13.Become Like You (Steve Marriott,Ronnie Lane)- 3:05
14.Give A Little More - 2:23
15.Down And Out - 3:29
All songs by Alan "Olly" Oloman except where stated
The Ashes were a folk-rock group formed in 1965 that included John Merrill (guitar/ vocals), Alan Brackett (bass/ vocals), Barbara Robison (vocals), Spencer Dryden (drums) and Jim Cherniss (guitar/ vocals). Before they were known as the Ashes, the group called themselves the Young Swingers and released two long lost 45s under that name: "Love Her Every Day" b/w "Or Else You'll Cry" (Courtney 746) and "Let's Take Our Love" b/w "The Winds Up High" (Portafino 901) .
From the summer of 1965 up until May of 1966, the Ashes served as the house band at a club in Santa Monica called the Waleback. They released their first single under their new moniker in 1966: "Is There Anything I Can Do?" b/w "Every Little Prayer" (Vault 924). The a-side was written by Jackie DeShannon and featured a fine lead vocal from Barbara Robison. This 45, along with its follow-up "Dark on You Now" b/w "Roses Gone" (Vault 936), also appeared on the 1967 compilation WEST COAST LOVE-IN (Vault 7980). Around the time of the first Ashes single, Spencer Dryden left to replace Skip Spence in Jefferson Airplane. Jim Cherniss also exited the group at this time.
With the addition of two new members, the band was transformed into the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, who of course recorded two albums for Columbia in 1967. John Merrill resurrected Ashes in late 1968, around the same time that Alan Brackett was working on the tracks that would ultimately constitute the PBC's FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES album. The new Ashes recorded their debut LP for Vault Records that year; it stands today as a staple of the collector's market, routinely fetching $50 or more on eBay. The album also featured singer Pat Taylor standing in for Barbara Robison (who could not appear on the record due to contractual obligations). The LP's release was delayed until 1970, while two songs from the record-- "Homeward Bound" b/w "Sleeping Serenade" (Vault 975)-- were issued as a 45 in 1971.
by Jason Penick
Tracks
1. Gone To Sorrow (Jackson Browne) - 3:07
2. Sleeping Serenade (John Merrill) - 2:48
3. Homeward Bound (Paul Simon) - 2:34
4. Sands of Love (John Merrill) - 2:18
5. My Life Has Changed (John Merrill) - 3:14
6. Return Home (Alan Brackett) - 2:23
7. Her Invention (John Merrill) - 2:14
8. Look Around Rock (Penny Nichols) - 2:34
9. The Now (John Merrill) - 2:52
10.Rainbows (John Merrill) - 2:17
11.Simple Complexities (John Merrill) - 2:06
The Feminine Complex formed 1966 while the girls were attending Maplewood High School in Nashville, Tennessee. They released two singles and one album, "Livin' Love". There was even a rumour that they were a fictional band, and the material had been recorded quite recently by various American indie luminaries! This despite the original 1969 Athena Records album undoubtedly existing, and fetching astronomical figures
In fact, The Feminine Complex were an all-girl garage band, a rarity in Nashville, to be sure. They were even heavily featured on various TV shows including the nationally-syndicated "Showcase '68" and the local "Nashville Now". The Feminine Complex made one of the few genuine girls-in-the-garage albums (all original songs too!) in a time when the 45 was king (queen?), and an extraordinary album it is too, as extraordinary indeed as the story of the band.
Livin' Love is a breathtaking album of raw passion and energy. Astonishingly, it contains all original Feminine Complex songs, penned mostly by Mindy Dalton. Recorded in 1968, there is a strong sense of mind-altering musing displayed throughout Dalton's prose, which she denied carried with it any drug connotations. Even though the record is a polished outing, due mainly to the experienced backing-band brought in, there is no question that Dalton's songs demonstrated a considerable emerging talent, deserving of an "A-list" ranking in the league table of late-sixties' female rock stars. Sadly, Livin' Love came and went unnoticed; the original all-girl roster of the Feminine Complex disbanded amicably, and that was that.
Collecting valuable collector's points over the years by reaching a 'very-rare' status, Livin' Love has finally been re-released on compact disc by saviours-of-all-reissues Rev-Ola, and they have bestowed upon us a fabulous package that expertly extends the Feminine Complex appreciation.
The original album featured eleven songs, and yet this reissue contains a further eleven bonus tracks which greatly extend Livin' Love's charm. The album's opening three numbers are delicately alluring, with a brooding seductiveness that betrays Livin' Love's punch on later numbers. Now I Need You is a swirling cry of desperation, whilst the refraining Are You Lonesome Like Me? possesses a startling songwriting maturity from Dalton; the song could feature on any of Dusty Springfield's better albums and you'd believe it were penned by Lieber & Stoller.
I Won't Run powers up the tempo scales with dashing freneticism and powerful rhythm chords. Exemplary throughout the album are the backing vocals - drenched in reverb, which add a very welcome leftfield edge. Run That Through Your Mind, I Don't Want Another Man and the powerhouse I've Been Working On You signal the very best late-sixties Aretha, suggesting the band’s versatility. It's Magic has a psychedelic ambiance that is ripped apart by a delicious chorus, complete with off-kilter vocal backing. Only the Jean Williams songForgetting shows its age, with too much twee emphasis.
The Feminine Complex would have been better advised to replace Forgetting with another Williams song, Love Love Love, which was more fitting to the musical tones of the album and has thankfully been included as a bonus track on this reissue. Time Slips By is certainly the most experimental song on the original album lineup, and yet the overt panning of shimmering sound effects and the rhythmic borrowings of Love’s The Daily Planet form an especially interesting closer to Livin’ Love.
The original eleven songs on Livin’ Love do enough to justify high praise, and yet this expanded Rev-Ola package pushes the boundaries even further. The eleven bonus tracks comprise of unreleased songs by the Complex and some worthy stripped-down demos. Many of them deserve a place on the original Livin’ Love, particularly Hold My Hand. The stark two-track demos, featuring vocals on one channel and a sole electric guitar on the other, are simplistic, unrefined beauty and demonstrate a splendid raw talent that sadly was not given the chance to develop.
At least the album is “out there” again, back in the public awareness section where it undoubtably belongs. From late-sixties bands such as Jefferson Airplane to modern bands across the Atlantic such as Electrelane, there are traces of The Feminine Complex’s sound. Whilst they never were allowed to be influential, they certainly showed that they were one of the most innovative. Livin’ Love is easily one of the best reissues we have yet to see from Rev-Ola.
by Raphael Pour-Hashemi
Tracks
1. Hide And Seek - 3:46
2. Now I Need You - 3:36
3. Are You Lonesome Like Me? - 2:59
4. I Won't Run - 3:24
5. Six O'Clock In The Morning - 3:28
6. Run That Through Your Mind - 2:35
7. It's Magic - 2:40
8. I Don't Want Another Man - 2:34
9. Forgetting (Jean Williams) - 2:17
10. I've Been Workin' on You - 2:40
11. Time Slips By - 4:25 Bonus Tracks
12. Hold My Hand - 3:45
13. Love Love Love (Jean Williams) - 2:32
14. I've Been Workin' on You (Demo) - 2:52
15. Hold Me (Demo) - 3:38
16. Now I Care - 3:06
17. Summer Morning - 2:37
18. Warmth of Your Smile - 2:02
19. Are You Lonesome Like Me? (Demo) - 2:38
20. Time Slips By (Demo) - 2:26
21. Is This a Dream? - 2:57
22. Movin' - 2:08
All Songs Written byMindy Dalton, except where indicated.
Another private pressing from the 70s, this time a charming chunk of rural rock from the sunshine state. Originally released on No Label Recordings, this four-piece from Florida (named after the hip American 70s singin'n'guitar-playin' cartoon character, Sugar Bear) have managed to produce an album of high originality which defies categorization.
In terms of musical styles, the ''rural rock'' probably covers just about everything, from rock'n'roll to the blues and plain ol' country rock in the style of The Outlaws or Pure Prairie League, of course there are some psychedelic touches, think a cross line betwwen Jefferson Airplain and Byrds with drops of Santana.
Today’s “Sugarbear” consists of Ivan Bailey on bass, John McLaughlin on lead guitar, and Eric Chick on drums. Ivan and John have been together about 44 years. Started out in Miami as “The Goldtones”, later changed to “The Roustabouts”. Moved to the Ocala area and became “The Merger” and in 1972 changed the name to “Sugarbear”.
Tracks
1. Playing Music (John McLaughlin) - 2:14
2. Honey Love (Ivan Bailey) - 4:34
3. Moccasin Mona (H.C. Perryman) - 5:03
4. Sweetest One Around (H.C. Perryman) - 3:31
5. Play Me a Song (John McLaughlin) - 3:18
6. Let It Roll (John McLaughlin) - 3:12
7. Seasons for Love (John McLaughlin) - 4:39
8. Garden (John McLaughlin) - 3:19
9. Move out in the Country (John McLaughlin) - 4:06
10. Hip! Hip! Hooray for Today (John McLaughlin) - 1:58
The Jacksons Garden formed as The Candy Boys in Odense Denmark round 1965, September 1967 changed their name to Jackson's Garden. Their style was a mix of Soul, R & B, Beat & Roll, they had also many of self-composed songs. Jacksons Garden quickly became very popular with the burgeoning on underground audience that had enjoyed their share of the traditional 60's music and was hungry for something new.
Jacksons Garden played in the beginning mainly on Funen and Jutland, but in October 1967 the band took part in Hit House Beat Grand Ppix won the competition (1st from 41 bands - primarily from Copenhagen and Zealand) and got away with the prize £ 1750 in cash and a record contract. A Copenhagen journalist wrote: " Jacksons Garden is so great that without blushing can place them in the same class as their American same act bands." The victory sparked - in addition to a cash prize - including a recording contract with the Jutland record label "STOA". The resulting was a LP "How do I get into Jacksons Garden?".
Jacksons Garden also got the pleasure to play as support band for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown "in Hit House. They where also the opening band in Fyens Forum, for many foreign top names. Until February 1969 - when Jacksons Garden disbanded- they were full speed and always on the highways for gigs.
Tracks
1. Jump The Fence (Eric Werner) - 0:20
2. Turn On Your Lovelight (Deadric Malone, Joseph Wade Scott) - 3:34
3. Coloured Birds (Eric Werner) - 2:28
4. Close To The Earth, But .. (Jacksons Garden) - 7:53
5. Paddington Station (Eric Werner) - 4:05
6. Morning After (Per Stan) - 2:33
7. Nobody (Eric Werner) - 4:06
8. Work Song (Nat Adderley, Oscar Brown Jr) - 4:13
9. Tales From A Nervous Wreck (Eric Werner) - 4:14
10.Goodmorning Blues (Bent Hangaard, Eric Werner, Per Stan, Erling Andersen, H.P. Sondergard) - 6:02
11.Fever (John Davenport, Eddie Cooley) - 4:38
12.Harlem City Blues (Eric Werner) - 3:07
13.Pretty Woman (A.C. "Moolah" Williams) - 2:32
14.Love Me Two Times (Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger) - 3:22
15.John Wesley Harding (Bob Dylan) - 2:50
16.Help Me Baby (Sonny Boy Williamson) - 3:19
17.Bummer In The Summer (Arthur Lee) - 3:44
18.All Night Long (Eric Werner, Per Stan) - 5:09
19.Butterfly Fly (Eric Werner, Per Stan) - 10:35
Tracks 1-12 from the original 1968 album "How do I get into Jacksons Garden"
Tracks 13-19 Bonus Live recordings at "Blomsterpistolen" 1968
The Jacksons Garden
*Bent Hangaard - Lead Guitar
*Eric Werner - Vocals Harmonica
*Per Stan - Drums
*Erling Andersen - Bass, Vocals
*H.P. Sondergard - Piano, Organ, Flute
In March and April 1974 the band spend most of the time in the studio for their forthcoming album and in July, "Mirror Image" is released. A song called,"Tell Me That I'm Wrong" is released as a single but only reaches #83. The album flops at #149. Jerry LaCroix didn't feel comfortable within the band, and he couldn't' handle Bobby Colomby.
Basically he didn't care for Blood, Sweat and Tears style and he did not like to share lead vocal duties. He was more interested in his solo album "The Second Coming", that he recently had recorded. He once said that one of the reasons for him to join was that they ware going on a world tour and he hadn't seen the world. While they were in Australia he decided to quit.
When they came back, he left the group after a gig in Central Park. Luther Kent, a blues singer from New Orleans was recruited as a new leadsinger, together with Jerry Fisher. Luther Kent had been singing with The Greek Fountains, a busy, popular band in demand regionally, then criss-crossed America with his own, 9-piece r&b band, "Blues, Inc". His voice could be described as powerful, rough and whiskey-drenched. Blood, Sweat and Tears never did any recordings with Luther Kent, who eventually quit to form "Trick Bag" with guitarist Charlie Brent.
Mirror Image is a pleasant album with catchy jazzy tunes, a late night friend who will give you generously, few moments to escape...
Tracks
1. Tell Me That I'm Wrong (Patricia Crosby) - 2:27
2. Look Up To The Sky (Anthony Klatka, Jerry LaCroix, Julian LaCroix) - 4:39
3. Love Looks Good On You (You're Candy Sweet) (Sharon Brown, Patricia Cosby) - 3:19
4. Hold On To Me (Dave Bargeron) - 4:10
5. Thinking Of You (Anthony Klatka, Jerry LaCroix) - 4:25
6. Are You Satisfied (Dave Bargeron, Jerry Fisher, Jerry Lacroix, George Wadenius) - 4:01
7. Mirror Image (Larry Willis, Ron McClure, Anthony Klatka, Dave Bargeron, Jerry Lacroix, George Wadenius)- 11:14
8. She's Coming Home (Jerry Fisher, George Wadenius) - 3:11
Blood Sweat and Tears
*Jerry Fisher -Vocals
*Jerry LaCroix - Vocals, Tenor Sax
*Bobby Colomby - Drums, Percussion
*Dave Bargeron - Trombone, Tuba
*Larry Willis - Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Organ
*Geroge Wadenius - Guitar, Vocals
*Tony Klatka - Trumpet, Piccolo Trumpet, Fleugelhorn
*Bill Tillman - Alto, Tenor, and Bari-Sax, flute
*Ron McClure - Fender Bass, Acoustic Bass
*Arnold Lawrence - Alto Sax on "She's Coming Home", Soprano Sax on "Thinking of You."
By the end of the 1960s, the psychedelic-rock revolution was peaking. Dream-laced lyrics and trippy effects, including distortion, tape-loops, echoes, delays and phase shifting, were rampant. Adventurous musicians were busy employing a new array of instruments to conjure up kaleidoscopic sounds. The Beatles, leaders in the new music, had already introduced the sitar on Sgt. Pepper’s and the Mellotron on “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The year 1969 saw numerous bands tripping out with delightfully freaky albums, including Skip Spence’s Oar, Jefferson Airplane’s Volunteers and The Moody Blues’ On the Threshold of a Dream.
During the winter of ’68, the members of Toronto’s Kensington Market were dreaming up their next psych-rock move. The band had already garnered praise for its debut album, Avenue Road, both at home and in America and Japan, where a picture sleeve of “I Would Be the One” had been issued. And several of its songs featured sitar. But now the group was looking to expand its horizons with new songs by singer-guitarists Keith McKie and Luke Gibson and guitarist-keyboardist Gene Martynec. Help would come from a close encounter with a Moog Synthesizer, a futuristic piece of equipment that had made its debut appearance that year on a classical album called Switched-On Bach, by electronic composer Wendy Carlos.
The Market’s members were introduced to the land of Moog and its strange and wondrous sounds by their road manager, Bart Schoales, who was an enthusiastic fan of Intersystems. An experimental, mixed-media Toronto group, Intersystems was comprised of sculptor Michael Hayden, architect Dick Zander, poet Blake Parker and musician John Mills-Cockell, whose instrument of choice was the Moog. Excited by the prospect of adding a synthesizer to its next album, the Market—including bassist Alex Darou and drummer Jimmy Watson—invited Mills-Cockell to join them in the studio. The marriage of the Moog’s alien sounds with the group’s latest songs would prove to be a freakishly fruitful partnership.
Avenue Road had been recorded in New York’s Century Studio, which suited producer Felix Pappalardi at the time. The New York-based Pappalardi had just finished recording Cream’s best-selling Disraeli Gears and had quickly become one of America’s hottest producers. But for the Market’s next album, Pappalardi liked the idea of setting up shop at Toronto’s Eastern Sound studio, right in the heart of the Yorkville hippie district. “For Felix, it was a real adventure,” recalls Bernie Finkelstein, the Market’s manager. “Everyone in the band was living around the village, just a few hundred yards from the studio. And we could record a little, walk down the street, drop in at a coffee house, have a drink, talk to friends and just hang out. Felix loved the whole neighborhood vibe of it.”
Sessions for the new album at Eastern began in earnest. All three of the Market’s principal songwriters brought forward strong new material. McKie had several fully formed songs, including “Is It Love,” “Think About the Times” and “Half Closed Eyes,” a Renaissance-style ballad with imagistic lyrics about a winter’s day. McKie, Martynec and Gibson all co-wrote songs, either with each other or with Pappalardi, who was bringing his skills as an arranger and multi-instrumentalist to the sessions. And even Finkelstein got in on the act, co-writing the technicolor feel-good number “Cartoon” with Martynec. Experimentalism—not to mention the group’s hallucinogenic diet—fuelled everything. “It may sound arrogant today,” says Martynec, “but at the time we felt we were pursuing art rather than trying to fixate on making hits. The music world was a bit more experimental then and you really could try new things.”
A distinctive Sgt. Pepper influence showed up on several tracks, including the psychedelically-enhanced “Side I Am.” For the song, an epiphany about a stoned-out chess game, Pappalardi added some distinctly Pepper–ish trumpets to Martynec’s piercing guitar and the mellifluous harmonies of Gibson and McKie. Martynec, meanwhile, created a medieval mood on “If It is Love,” by conjuring up a harpsichord-like sound on his keyboard. And “Said I Could Be Happy,” with its skipping, ? beat, is a gentle daytime reverie with Beatle-esque lyrics: “She’s all free fall lately on the moon,” sings McKie, “Sunshine on my mind above the afternoon.”
The recording sessions took their most adventurous turns on tracks featuring the Moog. Mills-Cockell extracted a slow, unearthly groan from the instrument to compliment Gibson’s plaintive cry on “Help Me.” The oscillating synthesizer creates an almost vertigo-inducing thrum on the track, as Gibson sings about climbing and slipping and needing a helping hand. And it added a haunting swirl of sound on “Half Closed Eyes.” Some of its most other-worldly sounds showed up on “Cartoon,” where Mills-Cockell crafted a mind-boggling assortment of spacey effects.
Having the analog Moog in Eastern Sound Studios was like having a proverbial elephant in the room. “It’s not like today, where equipment is digitized and small and you just have to push a button and there’s sound automatically,” explains McKie. “The Moog was this huge monstrosity, with large, modular components and all kinds of plug-ins. It looked like one of those old telephone switchboards. And John would plug in various jacks and eventually he’d draw out the most extraordinary sounds.” Added McKie: “Sometimes the sounds were absolutely gorgeous and almost impossible to describe—like angels dancing on a skating rink.”
Mills-Cockell’s $18,000 Moog made its historic live debut on March 22, 1969 at Toronto’s Rockpile, where the Market premiered the newly recorded songs from its forthcoming album, Aardvark. Opening for the band was Leather, a Yorkville group that featured the Market’s roadie Schoales. More than 900 people gathered in the former Masonic Temple to hear the Market perform both familiar songs and its latest material. Unfortunately, the sound mixing at the Rockpile failed to capture the Market’s thrilling new sound with the Moog. “Much of its effect was lost in poor sound balance,” wrote Globe and Mail reviewer Ritchie Yorke, who noted that some people in the audience, baffled by the new electronics, left before the concert ended.
The Market had greater success when it returned to the Rockpile two months later, in May, to coincide with Aardvark’s release. Appearing with Edward Bear in between dates by supergroup Rhinoceros and just two days before The Who made its Rockpile debut, the Market thrilled its audience with a triumphant showcase. The band played the Rockpile once more that month, appearing with Grand Funk Railroad, along with Milkwood and Leather. Then, in June, the Market performed before the largest audience of its career in June at the city’s Varsity Stadium, in front of over 50,000 people at the Toronto Pop Festival, joining a lineup that included Steppenwolf, The Band, The Byrds, Tiny Tim and Blood Sweat & Tears.
All of these appearances with the band’s secret weapon, Mills-Cockell’s dazzling Moog, helped to promote the group’s daring new album, which featured the avant-garde work of celebrated graphic artist Bruce Meek. Why did the band choose to call it Aardvark? “We liked the fact that the word was high up in the alphabet,” chuckles Martynec. “Avenue Road got listed near the top of the Warner Bros. catalogue. We thought with Aardvark it’d be right at the pinnacle.”
Ultimately, the Market’s heavy use of hallucinogens, LSD and MDA in particular, took its toll. Another attempted tour of the U.S. ballrooms proved a disaster. “It’s all a bit of a blur now,” admits Gibson. “Everyone was pretty stoned in those days and we didn’t live anywhere. We were just in hotels and on airplanes constantly, so that was hard. But, mostly, people were just doing a lot of drugs and that causes a lot of confusion.” Finkelstein agrees. “I think the drug culture got the best of the band,” he says, “and it got the best of me to some degree as well.” Within a year of Aardvark’s release, the band was disintegrating.
Finkelstein and Gibson left Yorkville and moved out to the country to live on a commune in Killaloe, Ont., 200 kilometers north of Toronto. McKie carried on performing as a solo artist. Martynec, who’d been inspired by Pappalardi’s musicianship and studio skills, set his sights on production work. Watson and Darou disappeared from the music scene altogether, with the former going AWOL while the latter met a tragic end. Darou retreated to his Yorkville crash pad, plunged into an apparent deep depression and never came out. He was later found dead of starvation.
The Killaloe dropouts eventually returned to Toronto. Finkelstein formed True North Records and launched the recording careers of Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLauchlan and Gibson, who reunited his band Luke & the Apostles briefly, before releasing a fine solo album, 1972’s Another Perfect Day. Martynec went on to become one of Canada’s most successful record producers, working on albums by Cockburn, McLauchlan and others. Mills-Cockell formed the electronic rock band Syrinx and released two groundbreaking records on True North and scored a cult hit with “Here Come the Seventies.” Schoales, meanwhile, became an award-winning designer of True North album covers.
Kensington Market made its mark as Canada’s quintessential psych-rock group, a band of hippie musicians from Yorkville with lysergic dreams of greatness. Born during the Summer of Love in 1967, the Market released two classic albums before dissolving as the Sixties gave way to the Seventies. Aardvark, one of the first rock recordings to embrace the sonic possibilities of the Moog, is the sound of a band venturing deep into pop music’s outer limits. It’s a significant legacy to have left behind: an album that takes the listener on a journey to the far-off corners of the mind, a place as wild and wonderful as any fantasy novel or Fellini film. So sit back, slip on the headphones and roll ’em if you got ’em. The Aardvark adventure is about to begin.
by Nicholas Jennings
Tracks
1. Help Me (Gene Martynec, Felix Pappalardi) - 2:48
2. If It Is Love (Keith McKie) - 2:42
3. I Know You (Gene Martynec, Keith McKie) - 1:58
4. The Thinker (Gene Martynec, Luke Gibson) - 2:29
5. Half Closed Eyes (Keith McKie) - 2:29
6. Said I Could Be Happy (Gene Martynec, Luke Gibson) - 2:20
7. Ciao (Gene Martynec, Luke Gibson) - 1:14
8. Ow-Ing Man (Gene Martynec, Keith McKie) - 2:37
9. Side I Am (Keith McKie, Gene Martynec) - 3:18
10. Think About the Times (Keith McKie) - 2:53
11. Have You Come to See (Keith McKie, Gene Martynec) - 3:02
12. Cartoon (Gene Martynec, Bernie Finkelstein) - 2:31
13. Dorian (Luke Gibson, Felix Pappalardi) - 6:51
