While it's not unusual for a new band to form from the ashes of other collapsing, simpatico groups, it's rare for one to emerge from the funeral pyres of two distinctly different musical units, but thus was begotten Ilmo Smokehouse. Freddie Tieken and the Rockers was the more established of Ilmo's parents, a smoking R'n'B band that had been burning up Midwestern stages since the late '50s.
With an obvious penchant for bluesy rock and soul, the band boasted one of the best horn sections in the region. In contrast, Gonn came on the scene in 1966, dragging behind them their British beat influences, following the herd into psychedelia and even space rock a few years later. Smokehouse had a ferocious live reputation, but this set did that little justice, with only "Johnny B. Good" and "Pine Needle Bed" hinting at their stage potential.
What the record does do, however, is showcase precisely why this band was born to die. The nearly seven-minute long "Have You Ever Had the Blues" is a flawless example of talking blues, a sound Freddie Tieken had perfected years before. Elsewhere, jazz and prog rock collide on "Are You Happy," while jazz, soul, and rock smack straight into each other on "Movement 1 and 13," while "Pine Needle Bed" pulls in so many directions, you expect the whole tree to splinter apart. And splinter the band quickly did, in the end, becoming three different bands. There was just too much experience and quality musicianship in the ranks, all pushing too hard for their own preferred style. For some bands, eclecticism is a badge of honor, for Ilmo it sounds more like a bone of contention.
by Jo-Ann Greene
Authors of only one album produced in 1971, Ilmo Smokehouse made a name for themselves during the early seventies thanks to their incessant gigging, often sharing the stage with names like MC5, Big Brother & The Holding Company, The Amboy Dukes.
Tracks
1. Devil Take My Grandma (K. Rand, R. Weghoff) - 3:30
2. Are You Happy (C. Parker, F. Tieken, K. Rand) - 5:40
3. Movement 1 And 13 (R. Philips, C. Moore, K. Rand, F. Tieken) - 9:50
4. Johnny B. Good (C. Berry) - 3:31
5. Meyer Gold (K. Rand, F. Tieken) - 4:55
6. Have You Ever Had The Blues (F. Tieken) - 6:59
7. Pine Needle Bed (C. Moore, K. Rand, F. Tieken) - 2:53
8. Watch Jimmy Crash (Ilmo Smokehouse) - 2:36
9. Key To The Highway (Bonus Track) (Big Bill Bronzy) - 2:45
10.Pine Needle Bed (Bonus Track) (C. Moore, K. Rand, F. Tieken) - 3:33
11.Ozone (Bonus Track, Instrumental) (Gerry Gabel) - 3:24
12.Outskirts Of Town (Bonus Track) (Andy Razxaf, Fats Waller) - 2:58
13.Calm Myself Down (Bonus Track) (Craig Moore) - 4:32
14.Every Day (Bonus Track, Instrumental) (Memphis Slim) - 5:01
15.Columbia Jam (Bonus Track) (Ilmo Smokehouse) - 5:37
One of the finest bands signed to the Charisma label during its early-'70s heyday, Scotland's String Driven Thing originally formed as a trio in 1969, led by the husband-and-wife team of Chris and Pauline Adams, plus percussionist John Mannion. Locally popular at the tail end of the 1960s, the band faded from view shortly after releasing a self-titled debut album in 1970. They continued playing, however, with the lineup expanding to include bassist Colin Wilson
In early 1972, Chris Adams journeyed to London, hoping to interest the Strawbs' management with a three-song demo. Finding himself with some free time, he was flicking through the record labels section of the Yellow Pages when he spotted Stratton Smith Enterprises. He called and found himself in conversation with the head of Charisma chief Tony Stratton Smith's publishing company, Mooncrest Music. Within a week, Stratton Smith himself was in Glasgow, for a String Driven Thing showcase at the Burns' Howff pub; a week after that, the band signed with his label.
Shedding Mannion around the same time, the group returned to Glasgow with a princely retainer of 20 pounds per week, to rehearse. A month later, they went back south for their first ever live shows as a "signed" band: a community hall in the town of Tunbridge Wells, where Strat had his country retreat, and the 1972 Reading Festival. It was an audacious entry, but it worked and the group quickly set to work on its first Charisma album, to be titled — like its independent predecessor — String Driven Thing.
Recorded in two weeks in August 1972 with producer Shel Talmy, the album landed rave reviews across the music press, with Melody Maker in particular leaping onto the group's side. (Amusingly, it later transpired that the album's distinctive gatefold sleeve, designed by Po of Hipgnosis, cost more than the actual recording sessions!)
The band continued pushing forward. Visiting France, they stopped by the renowned Chateau D'Heuroville studios (the Honky Chateau of Elton John fame), where they were filmed recording some songs with a French producer, who later claimed he'd done a better job than Shel Talmy ("he had a point," mused Adams); December 1972, meanwhile, saw the band fly to New York to support Genesis at that band's first ever American show, at the Philharmonic Hall.
When Chris and Pauline Adams left String Driven Thing after the release of "The Machine that cried", the heart of the band essentially went with them. To his credit, Grahame Smith rebuilt String Driven Thing from scratch, but the truth was that this was a completely different band using the same name (per Fleetwood Mac). The new line up recorded two albums together;this is the first of the two.
Vocal duties were taken on by Kim Beacon (here referred to as Kimberley) who was the principal vocalist on Tony Banks' first solo album. Beacon's vocals represented a fundamental change from those of Chris and Pauline Adams, implying an immediately apparent change of sound for the band. This, combined with a general move towards a more orthodox pop rock direction alienated many of SDT's original fans. Things start off brightly enough with "Overdrive" a mid-paced pop song with a fine harmonic chorus.. Songs such as "Without you" try to be more adventurous, with Smith's violin and viola contributions moving the songs on. Vocalist the late Kim Beacon was one of the finest rock singers of his day, his voice being a cross between Paul Rogers and Rod Stewart. Standout tracks are "Overdrive", and the instrumental "Timpani for the devil" .
This instrumental piece draws in brief classical influences as Grahame Smith gets loose on his violin while drummer Colin Fairley expresses himself...
SpaceRitual
Tracks 1974 Please Mind your Head
1. Overdrive - 3:10
2. Without You - 4:00
3. Josephine - 4:10
4. Mrs. O'Reilly - 3:40
5. Man of Means - 2:46
6. Black Eyed Queen - 4:43
7. Keep on Moving - 3:38
8. Timpani for the Devil - 4:15
9. To Know You Is to Love You - 6:25 1972 String Driven Thing
10.Circus - 4:48
11.Fairground - 3:22
12.Hooked on the Road - 2:56
13.Easy to Be Free - 3:06
14.Jack Diamond - 5:20
15.Let Me Down - 4:03
16.Very Last Blue - 3:56
17.Yodell - 3:56
18.My Real Hero - 3:56
19.Regent St. Incident - 3:54
The self-titled Procol Harum marked the album debut of the band then consisting of Gary Brooker (vocals/piano), Robin Trower (guitar), Matthew Fisher (organ), David Knights (bass) and B.J. Wilson (drums). (Brooker, Trower and Wilson had all previously played in The Paramounts, the group that scored a minor U.K. hit in 1964 with Leiber and Stoller’s “Poison Ivy.”) With all but the closing track, Fisher’s “Repent Walpurgis,” penned by the team of composer Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid, Procol Harum heralded bold new voices in the British rock scene with its progressive blend of psychedelia, classical and blues idioms.
The LP, produced by Denny Cordell and released on Regal Zonophone, had been preceded by two single releases. May 1967’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” reached No. 1 in the U.K. in June and stayed in that position for six weeks. (Guitarist Ray Royer, whose tenure in the group was short-lived, played on “Whiter Shade.”) “Homburg” then followed in October, making No. 6 on the pop chart. Surprisingly by today’s standards, neither song was included on Procol Harum in the U.K., but “Whiter Shade” was added to the LP for its U.S. release. It replaced “Good Captain Clack” in a reshuffled sequence. “Whiter Shade” would make No. 5 in the U.S., with “Homburg” performing less impressively at No. 34.
Esoteric has Procol Harum, remastered from the original mono tapes (no stereo version exists), available in both 1-CD and 2-CD iterations. The single disc has the original 10-track U.K. album plus four bonus tracks – the singles “A Whiter Shade of Pale” b/w “Lime Street Blues,” and “Homburg” b/w “Good Captain Clack.” This edition is seven tracks short of Salvo’s 2009 version of this LP. However, Esoteric also has the album in a 2-CD deluxe edition with 15 bonus tracks – seven of which are previously unreleased and two of which are making their CD debuts.
The seven previously unreleased cuts encompass the band’s 1967 BBC performances for Top Gear and Easybeat. The other bonuses include B-sides, alternate takes and stereo mixes. Henry Scott-Irvine provides the new liner notes, and the 2-CD set also includes a facsimile promotional shop poster made for the release of the album in January 1968.
by Joe Marchese
You might make the mistake of thinking 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' is the only good song on the album, just because it's that notorious. Don't. Contrary to rumour, the album isn't packed with filler at all - even if they did have to rush to the studio and record it as quickly as possible on the heels of their sudden success. Of course, the song is outstanding: the way they intertwine Bach's 'Air On A G String' with blues patterns and Reid's mystical lyrics is simply incredible. Perhaps the tune doesn't sound as terrific now as it did way back in the summer of 1967 - after all, it was probably the first major venture into the world of art rock. But I still hold a soft spot in my heart for it as one of the best representatives of the magnificent sound of Procol Harum. The only thing it lacks is a guitar - Robin Trower hadn't yet joined at this point; but even without the guitar it still manages to convey that feeling of measured majesty which makes Procol captivating.
Yeah, but this is not the only high point. They might have recorded individual songs of higher quality in the future, but it's on here that they really burst out with an innovative, totally groundbreaking set of numbers. I'm perfectly aware that most of them are built on the same musical principle - that is, combining classical elements, primarily Bach, with slow, moody Ray Charles-ish soul and Brooker's high, unrestrained vocals; but that doesn't make the music less fascinating, because they didn't forget to provide most of their material with clever, catchy hooks. Not to mention the lyrics - some of the best rock poetry on here, no doubt.
You wanna some proof? Okay, here we go. 'Conquistador' might be the second best song on here, based on Reid's brilliant allegory of the vanity of victory. And, as much as I'm not a fan of the Brooker tone, I must confess that he pulls off the song just fine, clearly getting Reid's message. The best moment, of course, comes in the chorus, with the scary descending guitar riff over the confused lines 'And though I hoped for something to find/I could see no maze to unwind'! BOO! Sounds almost like 'Boris The Spider' to me, only the dark humour vibe is replaced by the really frightening one.
Yet another spooky tune is 'Outside The Gates Of Cerdes' (what's Cerdes, may I ask, and what's its relations with Hades?) Ever seen a painting of the Final Judgement by Bosch? That's what the lyrics seem to be all about, and the keyboards and the dark bass line create a mood that's simply perfect. Finally, if you're not yet scared out of your pants, you get a gloomy account of Brooker always running into his own tombstone in 'Something Following Me'. Need I add that both songs are highlighted by Trower's vicious Hendrix-inspired solos and Fisher's beautiful organ?
There's also some romantic ballads on here - like the silly 'She Wandered Through The Garden Fence', or the groovy 'Salad Days (Are Here Again)', and a couple of songs might seem throwaways, like the repetitive 'Kaleidoscope' or the short good-time ditty 'Good Captain Clack'. But even then, they're still listenable, and you won't regret buying the album while listening to such monsters as their greatest Ray Charles rip-off ('A Christmas Camel', with maybe the funniest lyrics on the entire album), or the closing instrumental 'Repent Walpurgis' which sounds close to 'Shade Of Pale', yet is different. IMHO, it's one of the most gorgeous classical-style rock compositions ever, standing right there, together with Jethro Tull's 'Bouree'.
Funny how all the gorgeous classical-style rock compositions are based on Bach, isn't it? In fact, if I might allow myself a little digression, it's interesting that Bach seems to be the primary influence for all 'serious' bands, and not only art rock ones: even Jack Bruce admitted Bach's influence in his work. I still have no idea why. Sure, Bach is a great composer, but there are so many more... why does nobody ever quote Mozart as an influence? Too lightweight? Too bad, I say!
All right, I was talking about 'Repent Walpurgis'. It's a great instrumental, with the pounding organ and Trower's guitar building up to shattering climaxes. Hell, I caught myself on using as many 'greatest', 'shattering' and 'gorgeous' epithets in this here review as I'd probably never use on a whole page devoted to lots of other bands. Well, you gotta excuse me: this record is truly like nothing else (except for later Procol Harum records, of course). I'd bet its primary uniqueness of course, lies in a definite differentiation between the piano (courtesy of Brooker) and the organ (courtesy of Fisher).
This results in a very rich layer of keyboard sound which neither Yes nor ELP, the two greatest keyboard prog rock bands of all time, could afford. Another distinction is that it manages to sound intelligent and serious without sounding at all pretentious - courtesy of Keith Reid and the goaty singing of Mr Brooker. And even if you think that it's pretentious, just listen to the ridiculous fun on 'Mabel', the track that should really and truly belong to a drunken cabaret party... nah. It's as great as everything else on here.
Oh! And don't forget the bonus tracks! The B-side of 'Shade Of Pale' is actually a jumpy R'n'B number ('Lime Street Blues') that denotes their Paramounts past. Then there's 'Homburg', their classic second single which is a carbon, but certainly not a dull, copy of 'Shade Of Pale', except that the piano is featured more prominently than the organ, giving the song a complaintive rather than majestic feel.
'Monseigneur Armand' is a throwaway, but 'Seem To Have The Blues All Of The Time' is top-notch, built on a grumbling, almost heavy metal riff (I wonder how much innovatory the song was for its time? There were no Led Zeppelin back then, remember that!) In all, the record is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... geez, I'm gonna go put it on one more time now. Go get it.
by George Starostin
Tracks
1. A Whiter Shade Of Pale - 4:06
2. Conquistador - 2:38
3. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence - 3:24
4. Something Following Me - 3:37
5. Mabel - 1:53
6. Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of) - 5:03
7. A Christmas Camel - 4:49
8. Kaleidoscope - 2:53
9. Salad Days (Are Here Again) - 3:38
10.Good Captain Clack - 1:30
11.Repent Walpurgis - 5:02
12.Lime Street Blues - 2:59
13.Homburg - 3:55
14.Monseigneur Armand - 2:23
15.Seem To Have The Blues All The Time - 2:46
All Songs by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker except track 11 by Matthew Fisher
Esoteric (2015 Double Disc)
Disc One - Original Album Released as Regal Zonophone LRZ 1001 in January 1968
1. Conquistador - 2:33
2. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence - 3:21
3. Something Following Me - 3:33
4. Mabel - 1:50
5. Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of) - 4:59
6. A Christmas Camel - 4:42
7. Kaleidoscope - 2:49
8. Salad Days (Are Here Again) - 3:33
9. Good Captain Clack - 1:25
10.Repent Walpurgis (Matthew Fisher) - 4:04
11.A Whiter Shade Of Pale(Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, Keith Reid) - 4:04
12.Lime Street Blues - 2:50
13.Homburg- 3:52
14.Good Captain Clack - 1:28
15.Alpha - 3:50
16.Salad Days (Are Here Again) - 4:12
17.Understandably Blue - 3:29
18.Pandora's Box - 3:05
19.Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of) - 4:45
20.Something Following Me- 3:38
All Songs by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker except where noted
Bonus Tracks 11-20
Disc Two
1. A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, Keith Reid) - 6:04
2. Homburg - 5:33
3. Repent Walpurgis (Matthew Fisher) - 7:27
4. Conquistador - 2:39
5. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence - 3:27
6. Something Following Me - 3:47
7. Mabel - 1:55
8. Kaleidoscope- 3:08
9. Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of) - 5:23
10.Homburg - 3:56
11.Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson) - 3:11
12.A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, Keith Reid) - 5:12
13.Mabel - 1:37
14.Homburg - 3:50
15.Good Captain Clack - 1:17
16.She Wandered Through The Garden Fence - 3:12
17.Kaleidoscope - 2:27
All Songs by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker except where stated
Tracks 11-13 BBC "Easybeat" Session, June 1967
Tracks 14-17 BBC "Top Gear" Session, September 1967
Victor Japan Hqcd 2012 Edition
1. Conquistador - 2:35
2. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence - 3:22
3. Something Polliwog Me - 3:34
4. Mabel - 1:51
5. Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of) - 5:00
6. A Christmas Camel - 4:43
7. Kaleidoscope – 2:49
8. Salad Days (Are Here Again) - 3:34
9. Good Captain Clack - 1:26
10.Repent Walpurgis (Matthew Fisher) - 4:55
11.A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, Keith Reid) - 4:06
12.Lime Street Blues - 2:51
13.Homburg - 3:53
14.Good Captain Clack - 1:29
15.Il Tuo Diamante - 3:23
16.Understandably Blue - 3:30
17.Pandora's Box - 3:43
18.Alpha - 3:48
19.Conquistador - 2:38
20.She Wandered Through The Garden Fence - 3:25
21.Homburg - 3:54
All Songs by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker except where indicated
Procol Harum *Matthew Fisher - Organ *Dave Knights - Bass *B.J. Wilson - Drums *Robin Trower - Guitar *Gary Brooker - Piano and Vocals *Keith Reid - Lyrics On "A Whiter Shade of Pale" only *Ray Royer (in place of Trower) - Guitar *Bill Eyden (in place of Wilson) - Drums
Early rehearsals by nascent band and occasional gigs in clubs in Athens circa 1981-.82 Made their first official gig at Rodeo (Cult) as The Last Drive, on December 1983, the line-up was : Alex K (vocals, bass), Chris B. I. (drums), Nick ‘Pop Mind’ (guitar) and P.E.P. (guitar), two months later they made another live appearance in Saloniki at Basement Club, but P.E.P. has already left the band.
On March 1984, The Last Drive recorded their first demo, including the originals songs ‘Race to Hell’, ‘Train of Pain’ and ‘Graveyard Cat’ and a version of ‘Lonesome Train’ by Johnny Burnette. Late 1984 George, a.k.a. ‘Be George Bop’, Be Bop Jungle guitarist, joins the band. The Last Drive become a quartet again and at December 30 play at the legendary club Pegasus, in Exarchia, in the midst of the Greek underground mid-80’s explosion.
Again in the studio but this time for official recordings (first EP Includes ‘Poison’, ‘Midnite Hop’ and ‘Right by My Side’, all originals). They played Live at Kyttaro Club. ‘Calhoun Surf’ and ‘Blue Girl’ included in cassette-compilation by Di-Di Music. Two more live shows one in Giannena (Chevrolet Club) and the other in Salonici at the famous Berlin Club. During the summer of 1985 the single ‘Midnite Hop’ released on independent Art Nouveau, distributed by Polygram.
The following year after explosive gigs, the band signs with new independent label Hitch-Hyke, entering the studio to record the first Long Play ‘Underworld Shakedown’, the sessions completed after two months and the result was eight originals – ‘Me ’n’ my Wings’, ‘Valley of Death’, ‘Poison’, ‘This Fire Inside’, ‘Sidewalk Stroll’, ‘The Shade of Fever’, ‘Repulsion’ – and four representative covers: ‘Misirlou’ (by Roubanis), ‘Every Night’ (Human Expression), ‘Night of the Phantom’ (Larry and the Blue Notes) and the classic ‘Blue Moon’.
The band plays with The Watermelon Men from Sweden at Kyttaro, while Mick Blood (lead singer with The Lime Spiders from Australia) joins them on stage for ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’, ‘Five Years Ahead of My Time’, ‘Have Love Will Travel’, and an attempt at ‘Creature of My Dreams’ – Mick’s version of ‘Sidewalk Stroll’. The audience takes over the stage and the Swedes appear reluctant to follow!
Their debut album ‘Underworld Shakedown’ released on June 1986 by Hitch-Hyke Records and was dedicated to James Cagney (‘Top of the world, ma!’). The album causes a stir, receiving rave reviews in Greece and abroad. The Last Drive shows in Athens continue to be a unique experience, while more and more provincial towns witness their live power. Touring abroad comes next.
Tracks
1. Me 'N' My Wings - 2:54
2. Valley Of Death - 3:39
3. Poison - 2:38
4. Misirlou (Nicholas Roubanis) - 2:31
5. This Fire Inside - 2:26
6. Blue Moon (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 7:25
7. Sidewalk Stroll - 3:20
8. The Shade Of Fever - 3:42
9. Every Night (Armand Poulin, Jim Foster, Jim Quarles, Martin Eshelman, Tom Hamilton) - 4:14
10.The Night Of The Phantom (Larry Roquemore, Larry Slater) - 3:24
11.Repulsion - 6:56
All songs by Alex K., B.George Bop, Chris B.I., Nick "Pop Mind" except where noted:
Another fine example of Australian's underground scene. The secod half (mostly) of the '80's covered here with some very known and other lesser known bands and artists, such as The Hitmen, The Sreaming Triebsmen, Damien Lovelock (from Celibate Rifles), Klondike (aka Chris Masuak -former member of Radio Bridman-). A musical puzzle with rough and jagged garage surf beat sounds, through neo psychedelia and funky vibes. The compilation was released through Rykodisc in 1990.
Tracks - Aritists
1.Left in the Dark - Screaming Tribesmen - 3:34
2.Story of My Life - Voodoo Lust - 3:08
3.Harper's Bazaar - Lovelock - 3:15
4.Cyclone Sally - Tall Tales & True - 5:00
5.Oh No - Hitmen - 2:52
6.Lost Cause - Cosmic Psychos - 3:34
7.Hung Up - Blood - 3:42
8.Pizmo Beach - Psychotic Turnbuckles - 1:56
9.Gossip - Voodoo Lust - 2:53
10.You Won't Understand - Klondike - 3:37
11.Virginia - Faith - 4:26
12.Ghostown - Lovelock - 3:28
13.Mess With You - Screaming Tribesmen - 4:20
14.I Don't Mind - Hitmen - 2:46
15.Hit - Ya Ya Choral - 2:32
16.Jezebel - Voodoo Lust - 3:05
17.Cool It - Psychotic Turnbuckles - 2:06
18.Casualty of Love - Screaming Tribesmen - 3:41
19.Tell Tale Heart - Hitmen - 3:37
20.7 + 7 Is - Tall Tales & True - 2:03
21.Small Town Refugee - Klondike - 3:12
22.Stardom Ain't Easy - Teen - 3:07
The mid-'70s onset of Radio Birdman and the Saints is an event that has (rightly) attained legendary status. I won't play my usual game of rating Birdman well ahead of the Brisbanites - let's face it: they both mattered - but the early '80s is when the floodgates truly opened. The likes of the Lipstick Killers, the Hitmen, the Scientists, the (sadly unrecorded) Other Side and the Visitors were all playing within half-a-dozen blocks of each other in their central Sydney playground. (Sydney was The Place, and those bands were The Shit.) In their wake (or interstate) were Died Pretty, the Screaming Tribesmen, the Lime Spiders, the Stems and The Eastern Dark to name a few. They were the leading edge of the second wave of home-grown, garage-inspired rock that became a tidal wave, the impact of which was felt as far afield as Scandinavia, lower Europe, the USA and South America.
"Punk" might be the label most of these bands wore back in the day, but this is more of a "Rock" compilation. The unbridled energy is there, but most of these groups were more musically adept than the two-chord thrash artists that briefly burned at places like the White Horse and the Grand Hotel. For the most part, the bands on these discs had roots that ran all the way back to the Music Machine, the Remains, the Sonics or the 13th Floor Elevators (to name a few.) It's the similar bloodlines that make comparisons to Lennie Kaye's "Nuggets" valid, and should ensure a place in CD racks overseas.
Compiler Dave Laing hasn't missed too many essentials. You could quibble about the absence of the full version of Died Pretty's "Mirror Blues" or the lack of a Wet Taxis, X or Beasts of Bourbon cut. Others might also bemoan the absence of the Thought Criminals (who didn't sound anything like any of the bands here anyway.) Some - not me - will question the total absence of the Birthday Party (or any Victorian bands, for that matter - before you e-mail me, the Philisteins were from Tasmania, though did finish up in Melbourne. The likes of Bored! and God will, no doubt, be covered in depth on the forthcoming "Best of Dog Meat" compilation.) It could be argued that girl groups are sorely under-represented with only the Passengers rating a place of the trio of female-fronted acts that occupied similar turf in Sydney in the early '80s (the Flaming Hands and the Shy Imposters being the omissions.)
None of the tracks are staggeringly rare either, though you will struggle to find copies of the Victims' "Television Addict", the Scientists' "Last Night" and the New Christs' terrifically sullen "Face a New God", at least in official digital form. It's great to see Dave went for the earliest versions of some of the better-known songs. Birdman's "New Race" and the Sunnyboys' "Alone With You" are the original Trafalgar black album and Phantom single versions, respectively. The Saints' wonderful "Simple Love" is also the "Paralytic Tonight" EP take (which craps all over the one on the "Monkey Puzzle" long player.) The jungle-drumming 45, "Leilani", was re-recorded but never bettered on the Hoodoo Gurus' first album, so it's great to hear it here in all its primal glory. Good to see so-described court jesters of the Sydney scene, the Psychotic Turnbuckles, also present with the thunderous "Groove to the Eye" from their Rob Younger-produced debut mini-album.
The Headstones are a surprise - but worthy - inclusion ("When You're Down" has always been a fave around these parts.) Was "Igloo" never going to be the Screaming Tribesmen's representation? Two decades later, it still sounds great and otherworldly. Good to hear the underrated "Ice" also weighing in (Chris Masuak's sustain guitar spray being a highlight.) The early Hard Ons hit "Girl in The Sweater" still sounds like a sublime piece of Ramonish pop. "Don't Look Down" is the best thing Decline of the Reptiles recorded. "Johnny and Dee Dee" wasn't the best thing The Eastern Dark put on tape - that honour goes to "Walking" - but both are inclusions. You want to know the roots of grunge? Listen no further than the (late period) Scientists' track "Atom Bomb Baby".
Three Hitmen songs "Didn't Tell the Man", "I Don't Mind" and "Bwana Devil" (the alternative, revisited mix) all sit well. Their presence also underlines that, in spite of their critics who saw them as too commercial/too cover reliant/not trendy, the Hitmen influenced a helluva lot of contemporaries. Zeus himself gets a guernsey (with Radio Birdman, sans Dr Tek and plus Charlie Georgees) on "King of the Surf" (which Dave Laing's now defunct Dog Meat label released as a 45 a decade or so back.)
The Lime Spiders, Celibate Rifles, Stems and New Christs all command strong representation (though I would have plumped for "Born Out of Time" ahead of "I Swear", though rival label Raven seems to have covered that base on their release of Oz '80s stuff, being reviewed else where here soon.)
Added bonus: The voluminous liner notes and unpublished pix in the accompanying 28-page booklet, mostly a Laing effort but supplemented by Steven Danno.
Put this album on now, slip into your old winklepickers and most comfortable leather jacket, flip the lid on a can of KB (remember cold gold?), ease back into your rocking chair and turn up the volume. Some of us still remember. And if you're too young to remember, this collection will be the ideal starting point. It's indispensable. The Barman
Artists - Tracks Disc 1 Orange
1.The Saints - (I'm) Stranded - 3:31
2.Radio Birdman - New Race (Original Version) - 4:28
3.The Psycho Surgeons - Wild Weekend - 1:51
4.The Saints - One Way Street - 2:58
5.The Victims - Television Addict - 2:56
6.Radio Birdman - Aloha Steve & Danno - 3:56
7.Johnny Kannis - King of the Surf - 2:16
8.Radio Birdman - Crying Sun - 2:54
9.Hitmen - Didn't Tell the Man - 2:56
10.Lipstick Killers - Hindu Gods of Love - 3:19
11.The Visitors - Living World - 2:54
12.The Passengers - Face With No Name - 2:54
13.The Saints - Simple Love (Original Version) - 3:40
14.The Scientists - Last Night - 2:39
15.Fun Things - Savage - 2:40
16.Sunnyboys - Alone With You (Original Version) - 3:14
17.The New Christs - Face a New God - 4:22
18.New Race - Alone in the Endzone - 2:10
19.Hitmen - I Don't Mind - 2:42
20.The Celibate Rifles - 24 Hours (SOS) - 2:04
21.Sunnyboys - Happy Man - 3:03
22.Lipstick Killers - Driving the Special Dead - 3:42
23.Le Hoodoo Gurus - Leilani (Original Version) - 4:54
24.Hitmen - Bwana Devil - 3:50
25.Minuteman - Voodoo Slaves - 2:28
Disc 2 Blue
1.The Scientists - Swampland - 4:10
2.Lime Spiders - 25th Hour - 3:10
3.The Screaming Tribesmen - Igloo - 4:00
4.Hoodoo Gurus - Be My Guru - 2:38
5.Lime Spiders - Slave Girl - 2:51
6.The New Christs - Like a Curse - 3:19
7.Died Pretty - Mirror Blues Pt. 1 - 4:33
8.The Screaming Tribesmen - Ice - 3:39
9.Decline of the Reptiles - Don't Look Down - 4:13
10.The Eastern Dark - Johnny & Dee Dee - 3:01
11.Exploding White Mice - Burning Red - 2:48
12.Hard-Ons - Bye Bye Girl - 2:01
13.The Psychotic Turnbuckles - Groove to the Eye - 3:28
14.Lime Spiders - Out of Control - 3:14
15.The Scientists - Atom Bomb Baby - 3:00
16.The Stems - Can't Resist - 2:34
17.Died Pretty - Stoneage Cinderella - 3:15
18.The Someloves - Don't Talk About Us - 2:35
19.Hard-Ons - Girl in the Sweater - 2:44
20.The Eastern Dark - Walking - 3:31
21.The Celibate Rifles - Back in the Red - 2:44
22.The Philisteins - Early Morning Memory - 2:12
23.The Headstones - When You're Down - 2:24
24.The Stems - At First Sight - 4:04
25.The New Christs - I Swear - 3:09
By July 1974, John Perry had moved off to play with Quantum Jump, to be replaced by Mike Wedgewood who had played previously in Curved Air. With Dave Sinclair firmly re-established in the band, an album was put together. This was originally to have been titled 'Toys in the Attic', but they were beaten to it by Aerosmith and had to make do with 'Cunning Stunts', which featured Dave Sinclair's songwriting far more heavily.
The opening "Show Of Our Lives" was (still is) one of my favorite Caravan tracks, along with few others which were part of a somekind a best of record by Caravan, that i bought back there in the second half of the seventies. Their songwritting goes more easily with Pye's "Stuck In A Hole" a funky groovy three minute heavenly song.
Lover is nice melodic Mike's composition with the use of an orchestra, which comes as no surprise after Caravan's 'The New Symphonia' record. 'No Backstage Pass' (another Pye's song) flows from 'Lover' with a string introduction, and takes it good with a guitar solo. The next step comes again with a funky groovy little piece, this time the songwritting part goes to Mike. "The Dabsong Conshirtoe" is an 18 minute composition by John Murphy and Dave Sinclair, split in five parts, a long trip, with many turns, that gives to members the opportunity, to show their high perfoming level.
This japanese remaster release comes with extra bonus tracks, the single version of "Stuck In A Hole", an unissued take of "Keeping Back My Love" which would ultimately be reworked three years later on Better by Far (1977), and "For Richard" recorded at Fairfield Hall in Croydon, England. Also there's a 12page booklet with liner notes from Mark Powell.
Tracks
1. The Show of Our Lives (David Sinclair, John Murphy) - 5:47
2. Stuck in a Hole (Pye Hastings) - 3:09
3. Lover (Mike Wedgwood) - 5:08
4. No Backstage Pass (Pye Hastings) - 4:35
5. Welcome the Day (Mike Wedgwood) - 4:03
6. Dabsong Conshirto - Pt. 1 the Mad Dabsong... (David Sinclair, John Murphy) - 18:01
7. The Fear and Loathing in Tollington Park (Geoff Richardson) - 1:09
8. Stuck In A Hole (Pye Hastings) - 3:10
9. Keeping Back My Love (Pye Hastings) - 5:14
10.For Richard (Richard Coughlan, Pye Hastings, Richard Sinclair, David Sinclair) - 18:34
Grapefruit were one of the better Beatlesque late-'60s British pop-rock bands. In 1968 they seemed on the way to stardom, with a couple of small hit British singles and, more importantly, some help from the Beatles themselves. Led by George Alexander, brother of the Easybeats' George Young, the group were at the outset cheerful harmony pop/rockers with similarities to the Easybeats, Bee Gees, and some Paul McCartney-penned tunes from the Beatles' own psych-pop era.
Not quite as incessantly chipper as the Easybeats, not as melodramatic as the Bee Gees, and certainly not as inventive as the Beatles, they were nonetheless similarly skilled at blending melodic pop with sophisticated arrangements that employed baroque/psychedelic touches of strings, orchestration, and several varieties of keyboards. A disappointing second album, however, helped sink them out of sight, and the Beatles couldn't be of help as they were preoccupied with their own imminent dissolution.
George Alexander (born Alexander Young), who wrote most of the songs for Grapefruit, was the older brother of George Young and had stayed behind in the U.K. when the rest of his family emigrated to Australia. He was signed to Apple Music Publishing in 1967 by Terry Doran, who had been affiliated with Brian Epstein and the Beatles' organization for some time. Doran also managed the band, which was completed by several members of the light harmony pop-rock group Tony Rivers and the Castaways (who were managed by Brian Epstein's NEMS Enterprises).
Guitarist and lead singer John Perry has remembered that the idea behind Grapefruit would be to play music in the mold of the Beatles' earlier pop image, filling a gap left empty by the Beatles' growth into psychedelia and more sophisticated territory. The Beatles also got behind the group to some extent, as John Lennon named the band (after Yoko Ono's book with the same title) and went to press receptions introducing the band to the media.
Members of the Beatles pitched in ideas for Grapefruit arrangements and recording sessions, and Paul McCartney even directed a promotional video for their single, "Elevator." Grapefruit, despite all the Beatles associations, were not on Apple Records, which might have seemed their logical home. There was a pragmatic reason for this: Although Grapefruit began releasing discs in early 1968, Apple Records was not officially launched until quite a few months later.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Deep Water - 2:14
2. Can't Find Me - 2:07
3. Thunder And Lightning - 3:04
4. Lady Goodiva - 3:16
5. The Right Direction - 2:54
6. L.A. And Back (Bobby Ware) - 1:48
7. Come Down To The Station (Bobby Ware) - 3:03
8. A Dizzy Day - 2:49
9. Blues In Your Head (Bobby Ware) - 4:47
10.Time To Leave - 3:14
11.Deep Water (Mono Single Mix) - 2:13
12.Come Down To Station (Mono Single Mix) (Bobby Ware) - 3:02
13.Thunder And Lightning (Single Mix) - 3:04
14.Blues In Your Head (Single Edit) - 4:01
15.Sha-Sha (Single A- Side) (Moni James) - 3:32
16.Universal Party (Single A- Side) - 2:59
All compositions by George Alexander except where noted.
Grapefruit
*George Alexander - Rhytm Guitar
*Mike Fowler - Piano, Organ, Guitar
*John Perry - Bass
*Geoff Swettenham - Percussion
*Bobby Ware - Vocals, Lead Guitar And Harmonica
Black Pearl was a Boston band. Well, ultimately San Francisco-based, but originally from Boston and their backstory is one of those classic gems you love to uncover when doing musico-archeology. Black Pearl was Bernie “B.B” Fieldings (vocals), Oak O’Connor (drums), Tom Mulcahy (guitar), Geoffrey Morris (bass), and Jerry Causi (guitar) and Bruce Benson (guitar). Morris, Causi and Benson had been members of the Barbarians, a mid-‘60s garage band from Cape Cod noted for a couple of reasons.
They had longer hair than most bands at the time (which was still a big deal in the mid-‘60s), and their drummer, Victor “Moulty” Moulton, played with prosthetic hook, having lost his left arm in an explosion at the age of 14. He actually held one of his drumsticks with the hook!
And, not only that, the Barbarians wrote and performed a rather melodramatic (albeit slightly humorous) song chronicling the drummer’s life and loss But the Barbarians were perhaps best known for their appearance in one of the first rock concert movies, The T.A.M.I. Show, with such big-timers as James Brown, Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones, as well as their chart hit “Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?”
Black Pearl was formed in 1967 after Moulty refused to travel to Boulder, Colorado for a two week engagement, and Morris, Causi and Benson recruited a new drummer (O’Connor), plus Mulcahy and Fieldings. Initially based in Boston, they relocated to San Francisco shortly after forming.
They released two albums, Black Pearl in 1969 and Black Pearl – Live! in 1970. Lester Bangs doesn’t have as high an opinion of the second album, but here are all the tracks from their self-titled 1969 debut and it’s pretty much exactly as Bangs described. In a word, awesome!
by Ed Murray
Tracks
1. Crazy Chicken (B. Fieldings, T. Mulcahy, J. Causi, O. O'Connor, B. Benson, Les Kiefer) - 3:00
2. Thinkin' 'Bout the Good Times (B. Fieldings) - 4:11
3. White Devil (B. Fieldings, J. Causi, O. O'Connor) - 4:55
4. Mr. Soul Satisfaction (Traditional arr. by B. Fieldings, T. Mulcahy, J. Causi, O. O'Connor, B. Benson, G. Morris) - 3:35
5. Forget It (Teddy Van, Calvin White) - 3:41
6. Climbing Up the Walls (B. Fieldings, T. Mulcahy, G. Morris) - 3:51
7. Bent Over (B. Fieldings, G. Morris) - 2:55
8. Endless Journey (B. Fieldings, J. Causi) - 3:49
9. Reach Up (B. Fieldings) - 4:03
Black Pearl
*Bernie "B.B" Fieldings - Vocals
*Bruce Benson - Guitar, Bass
*Tom Mulcahy - Guitar
*Jerry Causi - Drums
*Jeff Mackay Morris - Lead Guitar
*Oak O'Connor - Drums
Fort Mudge Memorial Dump was a band from Walpole, Massachusetts, that started playing by 1969, gathering a good number of fans. They got filed into the “Boston Sound”, among the Ultimate Spinach, the Beacon Street Union, Orpheus, Tangerine Zoo, ecc.
With good technique and better ideas, they recorded a very sought-after LP in which the voice of Caroline Stratton stands out to some Jefferson Airplane affinity. Guitarist Dan Keady, with his jazzy effects, leads the band.
Tracks
1. Mr. Man (C. Stratton, D. Keady) - 2:39
2. Crystal Forms (C. Stratton, D. Keady, J. Deptula, D. Amaral) - 5:45
3. Actions Of A Man (Richard Clerici) - 3:21
4. Blue's Tune (D. Keady) - 3:15
5. The Seventh Is Death (Richard Clerici) - 5:29
6. What Good Is Spring (C. Stratton) - 4:02
7. Tomorrow (Richard Clerici) - 3:07
8. Know Today (C. Stratton, D. Keady) - 2:08
9. Questionable Answer (C. Stratton) - 3:23
10. The Singer (R. Clerici, D. Keady) - 7:41
The Fort Mudge Memorial Dump
*Caroline Stratton - Vocals
*Dan Keady - Guitar
*James - Drums
*Dave Amaral - Bass
*Richard Clerici - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Launching in 1968 from the wreckage of the Remo 4, keyboard player Tony Ashton and drummer Roy Dyke linked with former Birds and Creation bassist Kim Gardner when those bands split to form Ashton, Gardner & Dyke in emulation of the Nice's then-revolutionary keyboards and rhythm lineup. Signing with Polydor, Ashton, Gardner & Dyke debuted with the aptly named single "Maiden Voyage," swiftly following through with an eponymous album -- highlights of the set included an absolute reworking of "In the First Place," now titled "As It Was in the First Place." The album did little, however, even after the band toured with Delaney & Bonnie, and by 1970 the band signed to Capitol.
Let It Roll is taken from a concert in Belgium in 1971, this captures the offbeat British group when it was at the peak of its popularity. The nine principal tracks are drawn from all three of the band's albums. Included, as most anyone interested in a release like this will be relieved to know, is the trio's big hit, "Resurrection Shuffle," the one Ashton, Gardner & Dyke song that most rock fans will know. That track has enough pizzazz to endure. Tony Ashton's vocals can tend toward the grating, like a hoarse Joe Cocker. A twisting brass section really pushes "It's a Drag, I'm a Drag" along, but some of the songs do drag, particularly the 14-minute "Falling Song."
"I'm Dying for You" is distinguished from the studio version by an arrangement that highlights flute rather than fiddle. Drawn from a roadie's soundboard recording, the fidelity is listenable but flawed, marking it as one for the fans and collectors. Three of the 12 songs are "bonus live tracks" that present different recordings of three numbers also heard in the main 1971 Belgium portion: "Billy and His Piano With," "Rolling Home," and, what better for an encore, "Resurrection Shuffle." There's a good history of the band in the 12-page booklet, though.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. It's Gonna Be High Tonight - 3:55
2. Let It Roll - 5:01
3. Mister Freako - 6:03
4. It's a Drag, I'm a Drag - 6:08
5. I'm Dying for You - 2:53
6. Resurrection Shuffle - 7:01
7. Falling Song - 14:15
8. Rolling Home - 15:05
9. Billy & His Piano With - 4:18
10.Billy & His Piano With (as Three Piece Live 1970) - 3:54
11.Rolling Home - 3:29
12.Resurrection Shuffle (Live January 1971) - 3:58
McGuire is of course well known for scoring with an international no.1 hit, Eve Of Destruction. Prior to this, his grounding had been as a member of the New Christy Minstrels since they began in 1962, a vocal/instrumental ensemble whose line up at times included Gene Clark and Kim Carnes. McGuire sang lead on their US hits ‘Green Green’ and ‘Saturday Night’.
The recordings on this album were made for the Horizon label in 1963. A short-lived American Folk label whose most prominent artist at the time was Hoyt Axton. McGuire recorded a number of tracks for the label in the company of Karen Gunderson , Art Podell, Paul Potash, Barry Kane, all also members of the New Christy Minstrels. These were collected together as Star Folk volumes 1 and 2 . (A further two volumes were released later but featured different singers.) The material is for the most part originals by McGuire and his contemporaries such as Hoyt Axton, Art Podell, Rod McKuen.
As the LPs became old news in the American catalogues, they were given a new lease of life by Ember Records in the UK in 1965 ; not coincidentally at the time that McGuire hit big with Eve of Destruction. Ember even released a single, McGuire's raw vocal version of the Kingston Trio hit Greenback Dollar. However these classic American Folk recordings have not been available since, and they include standouts such as Greenback Dollar (Axton/Ramsey) , Oh Miss Mary (Stewart / Phillips), Another Country (McGuire/McKuen) ,So Long, Stay Well (McKuen).
Cherry-Red
Tracks
1. Greenback Dollar (Axton, Ramsey) - 2:29
2. Doo Dah (McGuire, McKuen) - 2:12
3. Jelly Coal (Man Freeman, Roberts) - 2:04
4. Old Paint 2:23
5. Love Song (Williams) - 2:35
6. Good Times Is All Done Now (McGuire, McKuen) - 3:13
7. The Banjo Song (Ross) - 2:01
8. Town and Country (McKuen, Podell) - 2:01
9. So Long, Stay Well (McKuen) - 1:46
10.Midnight Train (Helma, Scherr) - 2:29
11.Gold Wedding Ring (Lee, Sukman) - 2:19
12.One by One (McKuen) - 2:23
13.Oh, Miss Mary (Phillips, Stewart) - 2:37
14.Another Country (McGuire, McKuen) - 1:58
15.You Know My Name (Podell, Scherr) - 2:56
16.The Way You Are (McKuen) - 2:23
17.The First Time (McColl) - 3:49
18.Hush a Bye 2:23
19.Fireball Mail (Kene, McGuire) - 1:25
20.Another Man 1:48
21.Jump Down, Turn Around 2:54
22.Little Boy (Settle) - 2:19
23.Far Side of the Hill (Arnold) - 3:42
24.Puff the Magic Dragon (Yarrow) - 2:46
Tim Hardin was a scary guy. At least he was when I met him a few years before his death.
One innocuous introductory question about his Nine album invoked a stream of consciousness rant that continued without pause for 45 minutes covering every topic imaginable from President Ford and the scars of Nixon and Watergate to Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, dodgy hotel suites and lots about not being a junkie.
At one point he whipped his shirt off and challenged me to find any track marks. "Can you see any track marks? Can YOU?" he bellowed at me. "I'm clean, man!" I'd only asked if he was pleased with the album.
He died — of a drug overdose — in 1980 and there was much wailing and lamenting that one of the most talented writers and singers of his generation had so comprehensively failed to fulfill his potential. But it's a harsh epitaph.
In the space of a single year — 1967 — Hardin produced a string of songs that must now rank as all-time classics ...Ifl Were A Carpenter, Lady Came From Baltimore, Red Balloon,Reason To Believe, Misty Roses, Black Sheep Boy . . . all took on a life and celebrity that far outstripped that of their author.
His immediate failure to follow that extraordinary burst of melancholy creativity with anything remotely comparable in 1968 — or indeed 1969 — led to the general assumption that he'd burned out.
Grisly stories of a debilitating habit supposedly provided the answers why. Hardin's reply came in 1970 when he re-emerged with an extraordinary concept album, full of painful beauty and disquieting intrigue.
Susan Moore, the lady who came from Baltimore and all she wore was lace, had already been immortalised in a Hardin song (""I was there to steal her money, take her rings and run Bur I fell in love with the lady, got away with none.") Susan Moore became his wife and the simple answer is that the Suite in her name is effectively a sequel to Lady Came From Baltimore.
But developed such complex sub-plots and conflicting: emotions it grew and grew into a bizarre concept album that must now surely rank as Hardin's life masterpiece.
Concept albums were still pretty thin on the ground in those days and Suite For Susan Moore And Damion - a heartfelt paeon to his wife and young son was a desperately ambitious, even visionary work for a singer-songwriter who still tended to find himself in the racks marked folk'.
After this they didn't know WHERE to rack him. Overnight he was unclassifiable and we knew then he was a particular^ wayward talent and there'd be a price to pay.
His free-form vocal phrasing assumed many of the characteristics of j a z z and blues — much like Van Morrison later — and musically he'd entered uncharted waters of texture, arrangement and range, even touching the realms of classical music at some points.
This isn't so much a conventional album of songs as elaborate variations on a theme, grouped together and subdivided under the "Implications" heading which, in tandem with the rambling mood of self-examination, adds to an intensity and intrigue that's further mystified by Hardin's occasional poetry recitals.
In fact Susan Moore wasn't from Baltimore at all and h»-real name was Susan Moore, an actress from Vermont who met Hardin in LA when she was appearing in a TV show called The Young Marrieds under her stage name Susan Yardley.
But the rest of the story is true enough. Hardin, already on heroin when he met her, fell deeply in love and Susan became not merely his soul mate but his muse.
Yet the Suite was an agonisingly difficult album to make . . . and it got harder and harder when the muse left. Plagued not only by drug addiction, stage fright and general paranoia, there were increasingly regular periods when Hardin simply dried up and couldn't write.
In the end he installed recording equipment in every room of his house in Woodstock, NY and when inspiration struck he sent urgently for a recording engineer to capture the moment, whatever hour of the day or night that moment may have occurred.
Backing tracks were added later and Tim rarely saw the other musicians on the album, let alone worked with them in the studio at the same time. It was all too much for Susan Moore, who took Damion and decamped to LA in the middle of it.
The curiously compelling yet heartbreaking result was that while Suite was both a passionate autobiography, it also revealed an artist performing out of sheer despair and longing.
The pain of love has seldom been more eloquently illustrated than on Suite For Susan Moore And Damion. They were themes pursued with even more disturbing intensity the following year on Bird On A Wire, with a whole welter of brilliant musicians (Paul Hornsby, Joe Zawinul, Bill Keith, Tony Levin, Ralph Towner, etc) to divert him into a more mainstream area and give a populist kick to the soulsearching.
In the circumstances it was a remarkable album. Surprisingly upbeat and powerful.
While his familiar writing problems meant that there were only six original Hardin songs on the album, the bluesy covers were astutely chosen for their empathy with his erratic state of mind.
Leonard Cohen's title song, Hoagy Carmichaers classic Georgia On My Mind, John Lee Hooker's Hoboin9 - each could have been written with Hardin in mind and he responded brilliantly to the challenge, proving what an explosive and expressive singer he was when he put his mind to it.
Joe Zawinul "s superb jazz arrangement of Georgia On My Mind proves Hardin's worth as a deeply emotive interpreter; and in Andre Johray he wrote one of the most telling songs of his career, revealingly confessing his own instabilities in an original mix of song and poem.
Later he moved to London and other albums followed but he hit an anguished peak with these two albums and it was effectively downwards from here on until his inevitable demise from a combination of heroin and morphine six days after his 39th birthday.
The end, like much of his life, was desperately sad. A major rediscovery of Tim Hardin s wayward, unpredictable, disturbing, beautiful music is long overdue.
by Colin Invin
Tracks 1969 Suite For Susan Moore
1. First Love Song - 4:26
2. Everything Good Become More True - 3:51
3. Question Of Birth - 3:33
4. Once-Touched By Flame - 2:54
5. Last Sweet Moments - 6:12
6. Magician - 3:40
7. Loneliness She Knows - 3:14
8. The Country I'm Living In - 4:11
9. One One The Perfect Sum - 9:55
10. Susan - 0:40
1970 Bird On The Wire
11. Bird On The Wire - 5:29
12. Moonshiner - 3:15
13. Southern Butterfly - 2:56
14. A Satisfied Mind - 2:07
15. Soft Summer Breeze - 2:59
16. Hoboin' - 3:28
17. Georgia On My Mind - 4:33
18. Andre Johray - 2:50
19. If I Knew - 3:55
20. Love Hymn - 4:38
Musicians 1969 Suite for Susan Moore
* Tim Hardin – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
* Warren Bernhardt – Keyboards
* Buzz – Keyboards
* David – Saxophone
* Monte Dunn – Guitar
* Keith – Trumpet
* Gary Klain – Keyboards
* Donald Mcdonald – Drums
1970 Bird on a Wire
* Tim Hardin – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
* Joe Zawinul – Keyboards
* Warren Bernhardt – Keyboards
* Sam T. Brown – Guitar
* Bill Chelf – Keyboards
* Ed Freeman – Guitar, String And Horn Arrangements
* Monte Dunn – Guitar
* Steve Haas – Drums, Percussion
* Paul Hornsby – Keyboards
* Bill Keith – Pedal Steel Guitar
* Tony Levin – Bass
* Glenn Moore – Bass
* Richard Bock – Cello
* George Ricci – Cello
* Margaret Ross – Harp
* Ralph Macdonald – Drums, Percussion
* Natoga – Drums, Percussion
* Alphonse Mouzon – Drums, Percussion
* Mike Mainieri – Vibraphone, Background Vocals
* Canby Singers – Background Vocals
* Robert Popwell – Bass
* Rob Rothstein – Bass
* Joe Rudd – Guitar
* Bill Stewart – Drums, Percussion
* Ralph Towner – Guitar
* Miroslav Vitous – Bass
* Collin Walcott – Vibraphone, Background Vocals
When Mott the Hoople went into the recording studio to record this, their second album, it was known as Sticky Fingers. The front sleeve was already complete and featured an outsize Frankenstein's monster driving a dragster through the night. But Mott had reckoned without their producer Guy Stevens getting friendly with the Rolling Stones, who were next door mixing their new album for impending release. Hearing the title of Mott's new album, Mick'n'Keef promptly nicked it off them. And so it was that Mott's second LP had to be retitled Mad Shadows, a title originally chosen for the projected Steve Winwood solo album which was soon to become Traffic's come-back LP John Barleycorn Must Die. Confused? Well, you always would be when Guy Stevens was involved. And Mott could hardly complain, especially as Guy had got Mott together in the first place.
In 1969, Stevens had been looking for a cross between the Stones and the Band with an English Bob Dylan at the helm. So he took a young going-nowhere Hereford band called Silence and lumbered them with a new front man - a pianist/vocalist called Ian Hunter, a guy in his 30s who'd played bass in the New Yardbirds and had been a staff songwriter in London's tin pan alley. The first album had been cobbled together in late 1969, without Stevens knowing that Ian Hunter had never really been a pianist at all and could only play the chords G, C and D; all in a hugely kack-handed fashion. So, by the time of recording this second LP, Hunter's place in the group was in no way secure, and their guitarist Mick Ralphs was being pushed by Guy Stevens as the possible replacement frontman.
Side one of the first Mott LP had been a mish-mash of styles and experiments, but side two had produced just what Guy Stevens was looking for. It was a classic rock'n'roll work which ran from the uber-Stones riffing of "Rock and Roll Queen" to the Dylan overload of the eleven-minute "Half Moon Bay", with medleys of simple but blazing emotion linking each statement together. It was gorgeous in an emotional slegdehammer-y kind of way.
But this second LP, Mad Shadows, was to be Mott's greatest statement of all and a true cry from the heart for Ian Hunter. His wife had taken his children and returned to Shrewsbury, telling him that she would not accept his new longhair and new lifestyle, and the whole album resounds with Hunter's wailing and fist-pounding as the ghosts of his still recent former life spill over into every song. The sledgehammer attitude of the first album is, if anything, overtaken by the brutality of musical execution of Mad Shadows.
Indeed, what makes Mad Shadows so powerful is the brazen way in which the other much younger musicians interpret Hunter's work. Simple to the point of repetition because of his ultra-limited piano playing, Hunter's songs actually gain from this flash, virtually punk energy which the rest of the band bring, and his desperate cry from the heart of a dissolving 30-something marriage is gloriously mis-translated by rampant musical interpreters barely out of their teens. Throughout the LP, Overend Watts' bass is far more reminiscent of Bill Wyman's storming work on "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby", than Rick Danko of the Band or any equivalently subtle American musician. Buffin's drums are proto-flash to the point of bluster, and were thoroughly ripped off by Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos to later drive a far more brash kind of music.
Verden Allen's overdriven Hammond organ cranks out the same old riff song after song, even resorting to that dreadful Bar Mitzvah lick from "Like a Rolling Stone", but never does Guy Stevens scream 'Enough!' He just lets them get on and on with it, and often on songs of six and seven minutes in length. It is this suffocatingly, axe-wieldingly sentimental glue which fixes the entire album together, and the freedom was given to the band by Guy Stevens. Crediting himself with 'spiritual percussion and psychic piano', Guy Stevens is an awesome presence on Mad Shadows - not for what he contributes but for the space he allows them all to fill. Mott the Hoople may have made their name with a David Bowie song, but it was Stevens who created them, and he who created this LP. For Mad Shadows is their masterpiece.
This huge emotional reverberator drop kicks into life with the frantic five minutes of "Thunderbuck Ram", in which Mick Ralphs' raucous guitar riffs ring out across a Cheddar Gorge of chasmic reverb. The proto-Paranoid riff propells them all into the chorus with such venom that Guy Stevens' record-this-live-at-all-costs mode is immediately confronted and challenged head-on by huge glaring errors, as minors and majors clash and buzz. Yet the song thunders on relentlessly, until the tail-out becomes a huge one chord burn-out and the first of Ian Hunter's Velvets-meets-Jerry Lee Lewis high velocity piano attacks kicks in like cooking amphetamines into a hot curry.
Verden Allen's monolithic Hammond organ introduces the massive six minutes of "No Wheels to Ride", as Ian Hunter grinds his teeth and pounds the piano in grief, the memories of his children so recently taken from his life manifesting in a gargantuan emotional haemorrhage, as the band behind him try desperately to upstage him. "Can't get enough, can't get enough, can't get enough of your love," he howls over and over and over until even Mick Ralphs jots down the hookline (for later use). Then it's off into another huge and simple three chord emotional Hammond organ and pounding piano blow-out, like some kind of Spectorized proto-punk gross out. It's fair to remind ourselves at this moment that Guy Stevens once claimed: "There are only two Phil Spectors … and I'm one of them!" Indeed, In-fucking-deedio!
Following close behind on the coattails of "No Wheels to Ride", "You are one of us" is virtually the same song with the same frantic emotion and the same 'Hang on Sloopy" chord sequence, while Hunter screams about how he 'wants to thank everyone' and the band return to their single-minded intention of upstaging each other. Apparently, Hunter wants to THANK the band for letting him stay IN the band, while they accompany him as though they think he's already left.
And when they finish side one with "Walking with a Mountain", Mott is a Foden truck with the intentions of a Cadillac. Brutal, brash and totally without finesse, the bass and piano threaten to drive the whole tune into a lake at any moment, while Buffin's totally overachieving ideas of drumming are matched only by his inability to achieve any of it. Startling upstart rock'n'roll this is indeed and their producer Guy Stevens would have made the worst politician ever. He can't even be bothered to do a cover-up of thee most glaring errors. No wonder Mott's labelmates Traffic would later disparagingly allude to Mott's flash and bluster in their album title The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.
But subtlety was the last thing Stevens was searching for here, which is good because he would have been more than disappointed. Instead, he opted for huge Viking emotions and Neanderthal gestures. Side two begins with the sentimental and monumentally real seven-minute last-waltz of "I Can Feel". I say 'real' because it is both dopey and refreshing at the same time. The most mawkish female singers this side of Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help From my Friends" coo and placate Hunter as he stands knee deep in pain and self-pity. Huge descending piano and organ chords swoop gratuitously as lumpen melody bass and ernie-ernie guitars squeeze out huge obvious solos from their wrung-necks. Only opera dares to be more brutal than Mott the Hoople when describing sad emotions.
Then it's off to the rodeo for "Threads of Iron" with its C&W rhythm and good time melody and cliched lyrics, until Mick Ralphs reminds us all that 'You are what you are' and the whole group bludgeon some poor old blues riff until it becomes subsumed into their standard two-chord thrash out, and we're off again into pounding and huge Albert Hall-sized Jerry Lee Lewis piano and that fucking merciless punk rock bass that wants to be a lead guitar played on telegraph wires. Of course, the whole thing disintegrates into utter painful chaos. Crash, bash, wallop. Oh, and then some more wallop.
Then we're down and down and downer still … to the very last song on the album. Legend has it that Guy Stevens switched the tape on for "When My Mind's Gone" without letting Ian Hunter write lyrics, telling him that whatever he sung would be the last track on the LP, so he'd better make it good. Stevens told the press that he'd hypnotised Hunter and sat at the other end of the piano staring the song into Hunter's eyes. If it's the truth, then Ian Hunter was a human sponge for emotion and instant song-writing. If, as Hunter later claimed, he was touching cloth and made it all up at the drop of a hat, then he's still a genius. Whatever, for "When My Mind's Gone", the standard three chords got wheeled out by Hunter, who proceeded to hammer his muse for all it was worth.
"What once was true is now untrue … what once was clean is now unclean … what once was safe is now … unsafe." Does it cut it, damn right it does. It is magnificent and tragic and funny and the best thing on the LP. Only Verden Allen dares play along with any confidence, while the rest of the band hesitate and splutter in the background for the whole six and a half minutes. And Mott prove themselves with their one great album; an album so flawed that it makes the Faces look tight and cover versions of Vanilla Fudge seem subtle.
Mad Shadows takes its name from a poem by Baudelaire, which Guy Stevens reproduced on the back of the gatefold sleeve. It includes such lines as: "Descend the way that leads to hell infernal, Plunge in a deep gulf where crime's inevitable." So we must presume from this evidence that, if Ian Hunter was really Pinocchio to Guy Stevens' Gepetto at this time, Mad Shadows is a brilliantly unhinged example of an albeit briefly, but nevertheless perfectly balanced rock'n'roll symbiosis.
