Rockasteria

Monday, May 14, 2012

Keef Hartley Band - The Battle Of North West Six (1969 uk, amazing blues rock with jazzy mood, 2008 Esoteric remaster)

In the late sixties, record companies such as Decca, EMI and Pye were all controlled by very old men. They had a combined age of 493 and were used to producing very unrock & roll artists like Norrie Paramor, Max Bygraves and Geoff Love (Manuel and his Music of the Mountains)! And Dick Rowe bless him, well enough said! The only one around with any great sense of vision was George Martin - he brought us the Goons – a great big breath of life in a growing schoolboy and, of course, that famous Liverpool quartet!

Most of the traditional record companies were losing the plot; technology was going faster than their afterdinner brandies in the boardroom. I'd been working with several different producers and engineers in different studios as a session man. Regardless of what these major companies thought they were doing, it had become obvious to me that studio technology had left them behind and their pedigree, based on the fact that they had been around since the beginning of time, was not enough to convince anyone wanting more out of a recording studio than Max Bygraves! So enter the likes of Chris Blackwell and Terry Ellis and they realised, hang on a minute, we'll not only form our own label but we'll also invest in the latest studio technology.

Between 1966 and 1970 I worked sessions in those studios and realised that their technology far outstripped that in the studios of Decca, Pye, EMI etc. Why should I bother with Decca who had no imagination - at the moment, at any rate, they couldn't see beyond Mantovani. Due to the impact of Halfbreed that contractually was only supposed to be a one off, Decca thought we'd better tie this guy up for more. I was offered an eight album deal but I said, look if you want that kind of commitment from me, I need better facilities, in other words I would like to use outside studios. George Martin had done it with Air Studios; Chrysalis had done it with their own studios so I didn't want to settle for less.

Decca's 'new' studio was equipped with WWII surplus electronic equipment salvaged from Lancaster bombers or at-least it seemed that way to me! But, unfortunately and reluctantly I was forced to record the second album at Dacca's No.1 Studio but, as luck would have it, recording up in No.2 Studio was John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers with Mike Vernon as producer and Gus Dudgeon as engineer! We spent more time running up and down those stairs during the recording of The Battle of North West Six than we did recording the album as I had to take advice from Gus on the engineering problems we were having downstairs and he would say to our engineer Derek Varnels, "Listen Derek, throw away the book and the training manual - forget Mantovani - that way of recording doesn't exist anymore.

I couldn't get round Decca's edict regarding the studio operations but I worked around it by taking matters into my own hands and saying, "Sod the vu meters and the levels", I just wanted to use my ears to get the balance right. I was using brass players who were involved in the track just as much as drums or guitar and it was important to hear them at the appropriate times. So we got on with the work of producing the second album after the success of Halfbreed, but this time without the same restraints and the battle commenced. The all round fight was just about the lack of technology with Decca and not about the music.

The album title was born from that fight (Decca studios being based at West Hampstead, London NW6) and "The Battle of North West Six" it was to be! Looking at the song writing credits, the name of 'Hewitson' appears on most tracks along with many others in the band. This was a Miller Anderson pseudonym, or to be more accurate, an allonym used for contractual reasons at the time, Hewitson being his wife's maiden name! The song writing was approached in several ways but ended up being by committee in most cases.

More often than not Miller would come up with an idea or a sequence and Henry, Ian, Gary and myself would toss around ideas and fine tune them to the extent that Henry could then arrange the horn parts for the rest of the brass section. So everything was done within the band without the need to farm out the arranging to a third party. At the time of making this album I was sharing a flat with Bluesbreaker and band mate, Mick Taylor. He popped along to the studio whilst we were putting down the track 'Waiting Around' and he picked up a guitar and the track developed into a marathon as Henry Lowther and Harry Beckett went along for the ride at the end of the track; just pure inspiration. Another player on the album was Barbara Thompson, wife of Jon Hiseman; she was a great flautist (listen to Hickory).

Lyn Dobson was a really versatile player – he could fit in to a section wonderfully and yet his soloing was just amazing - the two don't always go hand in hand in a band. In fact I was blessed with great players on all my albums and with the calibre of musicians such as Chris Mercer, Jim Jewell and Mick Weaver, how could you go wrong? Ian Cruickshank's guitar intro on the track 'Poor Mabel (You're Just Like Me)' is a great example of his inventiveness and a looped sample of this riff appears from time to time on TV programmes like 'Flog It' and adverts! As far as drums were concerned I was just the catalyst, driving the rhythm section along with Gary Thain. Gary had a great talent and died at far too young an age.

The reason we recorded the only cover on the album, Albert King's 'Me and My Woman' was to feature Gary's bass line which drove the track along beautifully. With fourteen musicians to organise and all of the technical toing and froing it's amazing to think that the whole album was recorded in just a two-week period!

by Keef Hartley, March 2008

Tracks
1. The Dansette Kid / Hartley Jam for Bread (Hewitson, James, Hartley, Thain) - 3:59
2. Don't Give Up (Hewitson, James, Hartley, Thain) - 4:07
3. Me And My Woman (Barge) - 4:24
4. Hickory (Hewitson, James, Hartley, Thain) - 2:45
5. Don't Be Afraid (Hewitson, James, Hartley, Dines, Thain) - 4:25
6. Not Foolish, Not Wise (Hewitson, James, Hartley, Thain) - 3:56
7. Waiting Around (Hewitson, Hartley, Thain) - 2:29

8. Tadpole (Hewitson, Hartley, Thain) - 7:00
9. Poor Mabel (You're Just Like Me) (Hewitson, James, Hartley, Thain) - 3:08
10.Believe In You (Hewitson, Hartley, Thain) - 5:23

Keef Hartley Band
*Keef Hartley - Drums, Percussion
*Miller Anderson - Vocal, Guitars
*Henry Lowther - Trumpet, Fluegelhorn, Violin
*Jim Jewell - Tenor Saxophone
*Gary Thain - Bass Guitar
Additional Musicians
*Mike Davis - Trumpet
*Harry Beckett - Trumpet, Fluegelhorn
*Lynn Dobson - Tenor Saxophone, Flute
*Chris Mercer - Tenor Saxophone
*Barbara Thompson - Baritone Saxophone, Flute
*Spit James - Guitar
*Ray Warleigh - Flute
*Mick Weaver - Organ, Piano, Percussions
*Mick Taylor - Guitar

Keef Hartley's brands
1968-72 Not Foolish Not Wis
1969 Halfbreed (2008 Esoteric)
1970 Overdog (2005 Eclectic)
1971 Little Big Band
1972 Lancashire Hustler (2008 Esoteric)

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Estes Brothers - Transitions (1971 us, stunning underground hard psych blues rock, 2002 bonus tracks remaster)

A long time in coming, but well worth the wait. This album contains the first efforts of a group that has endured all the changes of the fast changing music scene. I personally feel they have made all the necessary transitions. Not only does the album contain beautiful slow type ballads, but it moves easily into hard rock in grand fashion.

Each member of the "Estes Brothers" puts forth fantastic energy and drive into each number and everyone gets his own style across in the last cut of side two. Lead guitarist, John Estes, and drummer, Joe Estes, have been together for as long as two brothers can be. Don Smith and Bill Marren have both paid their dues in different groups. We hope you take the album, relax, and get right into the music.

Share it with a friend! I feel this is only the beginning of some great music that we'll be hearing from the "Estes Brothers." Anyone lucky enough to have heard the group perform will notice a definite change in their live music. This is an indication of the varied talents each member possesses. In this, their first album, each of them has one of his own original numbers included.

This is advantageous as they do not depend solely upon one member for their material. Is it any wonder,with this type of attutide and talent, fame is predicted for the "Estes Brothers!"

by Milan R. Relic

The Estes Brothers are from a family of 7 brothers and 5 sisters. The beginning of Estes Bros, was late Bro. Bill on vocals and harmonica. Jerry keyboards, John guitar and late Bro. Joe on drums with Richard managing the band in 1966.

From 1966 till present there has been 38 different members and numerous styles of music, but always leading back to Blues and Rock. At present, the band line up is Jerry as original member on keyboards and bass. John also original member on guitar. Jerry's son Brian, on drums and vocals, and our great friend and guitarist Dennis Caldweall. When the album was done Jerry was in the army from 1969-71, but recorded on Tomorrows Sunlight/ Yesterdays Blues. Joe was 14. Jerry 15 and John 18, Fred Hanker played bass - the recording took 3 hrs! We wrote the songs on the way to the studio.

The album cost 500 Dollars to record and we only had 1 song written plus at that time Bill Marren had about 3 songs. It took 8 hrs of Jamming and partying. Only one song "Wooden Thoughts" was rehearsed, and 100 demo copies were made.

Tracks
1. Never Coming Down (Bill Marren) - 3:34
2. This Morning (Bill Marren) - 9:22
3. Wooden Thoughts (Don Smith) - 4:54
4. Do What Is Real (Joe Estes) - 5:19
5. Let Me Live My Own Life (Bill Marren) - 6:10
6. Gary's Thought (John Estes) - 6:02
7. Tomorrow's Sunlight (Joe Estes) - 2:14
8. On The Wings Of A Butterfly - 3:45
9. Love Is All I Need - 4:04
10.Tomorrow's Sunlight - 2:46
11.Wooden Thoughts (Don Smith) - 4:54

12.All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan) - 6:39
13.Blue Skies - 4:05
14.Woman - 6:22

Tracks 1-6 were recorded at Edcom Productions, Cleveland, 1971

Tracks 8-11 were recorded live

Tracks 12-14 were recorded at home

Estes Brothers
*Don Smith - Bass Guitar
*Bill Marren - Piano, Vocals
*John Estes - Lead Guitar
*Joe Estes - Drums. Vocals

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Deep Feeling - Pretty Colours (1966-68 uk, marvelous psychedelic mod beat with Jim Capaldi, Luther Grosvenor, Poli Palmer and Gordon Jackson)

Formed from the ashes of beat band The Hellions in 1966, the short-lived Deep Feeling were one of most adventurous bands of their time. Featuring Jim Capaldi (Traffic), Luther Grosvenor (Spooky Tooth, Mott the Hoople) Poli Palmer (Blossom Toes, Family), Gordon Jackson (later to make a classic solo LP) and Dave Meredith they wowed London audiences with their audacious brand of exotic proto-psychedelia, even backing Jimi Hendrix at his first UK gig. Tragically however, Capaldi departed to form Traffic during the sessions for their debut album (produced by former Yardbirds and Rolling Stones manager Giorgio Gomelsky) and the tapes were shelved.....until now.

The remarkable tracks make their first-ever appearance here together with demos made by Poli palmer and Gordon Jackson in 1967 and a song featuring the duo backed by The Blossom Toes. The CD which is available from www.sunbeamrecords.com/ comes with a 12 page packed booklet with detailed reminiscences from Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson and Giorgio Gomelsky amongst others together with rare photographs.

Gordon Jackson said:
“Hi, it is so nice to eventually put this album out, though it seems so long ago. I had kept copies on two track tapes of these songs in a cardboard box for 40 years. They survived a flood, storage in a shed and some had been over recorded on a quarter track machine when tape was needed for other songs. Poli Palmer did miracles getting the quality we have, which is not brilliant, but the atmosphere is preserved.

The original masters were dumped when Marmalade folded and I had taken home rough mix copies of the unfinished recordings. The originals were of course recorded by Giorgio Gomelsky. On the Sunbeam re-release Poli and I selected what was in any way useable and Poli worked on the quality. He had to deal with stretched tape, had to edit and chop to fill gaps which were faded or missing. ‘Spell on you’ was from two different recordings, one from the Hellions with Dave Mason on guitar, and the other with Deep Feeling and Luther.

The five studio tracks were all recorded in a couple of sessions at Rymuse in London with Giorgio Gomelsky producing. Listening afresh again we are pleased with them. I think the band was hot at that time, we had been in France for five weeks playing every night. The songs are good and were ground breaking then, very Gothic and progressive. Jim's vocals were great and Luther has some shining moments. Poli's love for Dubussy and jazz, together with his skill on vibes and flute is obvious. My part was in the writing. I wrote the lyrics, and Poli, Jim and I put the songs together.

We all sang harmonies. We were all devastated when Jim announced he was leaving and we decided not to go on with Deep Feeling. Luther joined the VIP's then Spooky Tooth and later Stealers Wheel, Widowmaker, and Mott the Hoople. Poli and me did some song writing for a year before going our separate ways, he to Ecclection and Family, while I did my solo album 'Thinking Back'. We have included some demo's of a few songs on this album. Also a couple of live tracks - one recorded on my dads old reel to reel off an old radio when we did a session on Radio Free Europe, the other by someone at the Elbow Room in Birmingham.UK. Goodness knows on what, probably a reel to reel domestic tape recorder. I kept close contact with Jim right up to his death. I miss him greatly.”

Tracks
1. Pretty Colours (Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:03
2. The Ruin (Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:31
3. Chicken George (Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 2:36
4. The Necessitarian (Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:14
5. Or Something (Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:36
6. I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) - 2:30
7. Coming Home Baby (Ben Tucker, Bob Dorough) - 3:13
8. I Don't Know Her Too Well (Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:22
9. On The Circle Of Life (Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 4:05
10.To A Lady In Black (Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:41
11.Imaginations Of Alice (Gordon Jackson, John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:22
12.Blues For Witley (John "Poli" Palmer) - 3:48

Deep Feeling
*Jim Capaldi - Vocals, Drums
*Luther Grosvenor - Guitar, Vocals
*Gordon Jackson - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals,
*Dave Meredith - Bass
*John "Poli" Palmer - Drums, Flute, Vibes

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Friday, May 11, 2012

The Rare Breed - The Super K Kollection (1966-67 us, splendid garage beat psych)

When Jeffrey Katz and Jerry Kasenetz discovered The Rare Breed in a New York City club playing cover versions of other artists' hit records under the name "The Conquests", they were impressed enough with their tightness and versatility to take the aspiring stars into a recording studio to see if they cut the mustard on tape.

These earliest sessions yielded seven or eight tracks, including "Mickey's Monkey", a Smokey Robinson & The Miracles song, which was a popular staple in the repertoires of Brooklyn/Long Island "white soul bands" such as The Young Rascals, The Rationals and dozens of others. Many of these groups remain unknown to the public at large and are largely forgotten by record collectors in general.

The Rare Breed, though, were given a shot at success by Kasenetz and Katz, two extremely energetic young producers who already had a relative hit with Crazy Elephant's "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin" and an acknowledged smash with The Music Explosion's "Little Bit 0' Soul". The "Super K" team, who would spend days (and nights) at Southern Music and other publishers looking for the right song and the next potential hit, presented The Rare Breed with "Beg, Borrow And Steal".

The record was clearly and humorously a knock-off ol "Louie, Louie", but it worked as a new record and Kasenetz and Katz, who released the single on their Attack label, felt they had a hit. There was a hitch: getting airplay in New York is tough. The two producers discovered that it was far easier to break a record in the midwest and their success with The Music Explosion (from Mansfield, Ohio) bore that out. The Brooklyn-based Rare Breed were now presented as an Ohio band, at least to the radio programmers in Dayton. Jeff and Jerry were correct in assuming a predisposition of radio stations to play songs by local artists.

After Jeff ( Katz ) and Jerry ( Kasenetz ) took the master, they found other people to make the tour). As evidenced by these archival tracks, the band was a sublime amalgam of The Beatles, The Seeds, The Zombies and The Ventures. Throw in a little Tony Orlando and Duprees schmaltz and you have it. This record sounds better now than it did in '67. It's interesting to note that "Beg, Borrow And Steal" was later released in a different version by a group Super K dubbed "The Ohio Express". (No one who made the original Rare Breed "Beg Borrow and Steal" played on any Ohio Express album).

Their version of this record received far more attention and it is that version that most people are familiar with. Locating original copies of Rare Breed recordings is almost impossible. Most discographies do not document them, and even hardcore collectors didn't realize that this album existed-indeed a Rare Breed!

by Stephen Kaplan

Tracks
1. Beg, Borrow And Steal - 2:30
2. Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice - 2:40
3. Lonely Nights - 2:24
4. I Won't Be There - 2:00
5. Where Are You Going To - 2:38
6. All Alone - 2:02
7. Bad Girl - 2:22
8. City Girl - 2:14
9. Dark Nights And Mornings - 2:05
10.Mickey's Monkey - 2:19

The Rare Breed
*Barry Stolnick - Keyboards
*John Freno - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Alexander (Botts) Norbett - Bass
*Joel Feigenbaum - Rhythm Guitar
*Tony Cambria - Drums
*Jim Pfayler - Organ

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Julie Felix - Flowers (1967 us, beautiful vocal sunshine folk rock, Vinyl release)

Julie Felix isn't too well-known in her native United States, but since 1964 she's been a major British folk music star and has been compared over there with Joan Baez. Felix was born in California, of mixed Mexican and Native American ancestry.

A natural singer by inclination, she was drawn to folk music at an early age but was unable to get a career started in America, even amid the folk revival of the early '60s. In 1964, she decided to go hitchhiking across Europe, and instead of heading home at the end of her travels she made England her destination. She arrived there just in time to catch a fresh wave of enthusiasm for American folk music, fostered by Bob Dylan's emergence internationally as a singer and songwriter.

American folk musicians had always found a welcome among England's folk enthusiasts, but just then, thanks to Dylan, the sheer number of folk listeners had ballooned to massive proportions. Felix also found a natural audience for her work -- she had an engaging voice and manner, a distinctive Mexican guitar (a gift from her father), and her combined Mexican and Native American backgrounds, which made her stand out from other of her compatriots, who were white and male. And suddenly, Felix had a major career -- the same year that she arrived in England, she became the first solo folk performer signed to a major British label when she got a contract from English Decca.

Felix debuted with a self-titled album and a single of Ian Tyson's, "Someday Soon," and she also scored a hit on television, on The Eammon Andrews Show. By 1965, she was a headlining performer, referred to in The London Times as Britain's First Lady of Folk. She cut two more LPs for Decca over the next two years, including an album of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie songs, and was also one of the biggest exponents of the work of Leonard Cohen before he'd established himself beyond a small cult of listeners in England. She also began getting recognized for her commitment to charitable causes, and not only raised money for hunger relief but visited several of the more troubled countries in the Third World.

By the end of 1965, she'd filled Royal Albert Hall for one of her concerts, reportedly the first folksinger based in England to accomplish that feat. In 1966, she moved to the Fontana label, for which she cut three albums -- her 1966 album, Changes, is regarded as one of her best, mixing traditional and contemporary material and utilizing the support of Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick; meanwhile, on-stage, she came under the wing of Brian Epstein, who booked her and Georgie Fame together at the Saville Theatre, with a then-unknown Cat Stevens appearing as the opening act.

By 1967, she was well enough established to be a featured weekly guest on David Frost's television series, and by 1968 had earned her own television variety series, with guests that included Dusty Springfield, Leonard Cohen, Donovan, and Richard Harris. Her late-'60s recordings included Going to the Zoo, a delightful collection of children's songs on Fontana, and in 1969 she was one of the artists featured at the Isle of Wight Festival. Finally, in 1970, Felix had her first pop hit when she reached the British Top 20 with her version of "El Condor Pasa," recorded under the auspices of producer Mickie Most -- indeed, Felix was the first artist on Most's newly formed RAK label to have a hit record, and she later recorded the album Clotho's Web (1972) for RAK.

She also made her long-delayed debut on American television, courtesy of her longtime friend David Frost, who booked her on his Metromedia-produced talk show. Felix scored a second hit for Most with her cover of "Heaven Is Here" before moving to EMI in 1974.

The mid-'70s marked a period of extreme change for Felix, who was an unapologetic 1960s liberal with a strong commitment to social issues. She became disillusioned with the direction of the world as the '70s wore on, with their more hedonistic orientation. Finding northern Europe a more agreeable place to live and work, she moved to Norway and subsequently enjoyed hit records both there and in Sweden.

Felix returned to California late in the decade and used the time to recharge her social conscience -- by the early '80s, she was heavily involved in the human rights campaign in Latin America. She returned to England and resumed her career, writing songs for the first time and directing her activities toward new age philosophy and interests, in addition to political issues. In the mid-'90s, Felix released her first new album in a decade, Bright Shadows, on her own label, Remarkable Records.

At the outset of the 21st century, she continues to enjoy a full schedule of performances in England and attention from old listeners who remember her from the 1960s and newer audiences who know Felix for her 1990s music. Her new music has received mixed critical and popular reception, but her 1960s repertory still elicits serious enthusiasm from her audience.

by Bruce Eder

Tracks
1. The Flower Lady (P. Ochs) - 4:33
2. Mexico (Sand And Foam) (Donovan) - 2:10
3. Dialogue (I Want To Be Alone) (Jackson C. Frank) - 3:15
4. Soldat (Wolf Bierman) - 1:53
5. Somewhere There’s Gotta Be Me (Clint Ballard Jr) - 2:11
6. The Gates Of Eden (B. Dylan) - 5:07
7. San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) (J. Phillips) - 3:02
8. The Great Brain Robbery (Julie Felix, J. Melon) - 1:48
9. Saturday Night (Donovan) - 2:34
10.Don’t Make Promises (T. Hardin) - 2:34
11.Berlin (Julie Felix) - 2:09
12.Chimes of Freedom (B. Dylan) - 6:03

Julie Felix - Vocals, Guitar

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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Legend - Moonshine (1972 uk, third album, superb boogie rock, Repertoire extra tracks limited issue)

Originally released in 1972 (on the Vertigo label) Legend's third album, Moonshine, gets out into the sun again (via the Repertoire imprint) as a 2500-copy limited edition. The band represented here was the "Mark III" version, consisting of John Bobin, Mo Witham, Bob Clouter and the legendary Mickey Jupp.

The sound is fairly raw throughout, with the kind of loose, relaxed musicianship that comes from pro cats getting down and having fun. Rock, blues, country and a touch of traditional balladeering inform each of the disc's 13 tracks and find the group right at home with those stylistic touchstones.

Whether they're stripped-down and rockin' (as on the rousing "Moonshine" and "Captain Cool") or dramatic and string-filled (the plaintive "Another Guy" and "The Writer of Songs") there's an element of toughness that keeps the band from ever sounding stuffy, and it's that same barroom machismo that makes this record stand out as a near-classic example of down-home, '70s British rock done correctly -- with fun and chutzpah in equal amounts.

by J. Scott McClintock

Tracks
1. Moonshine (Jupp, Legend) - 3:49
2. Another Guy - 3:30
3. Mother of My Child - 3:25
4. Captain Cool (Jupp, Legend) - 1:43
5. Ausfahrt - 0:56
6. Eingang - 0:41
7. Shine on My Shoes (Jupp, Legend) - 2:50
8. The Writer of Songs - 4:57
9. Local Folk'ol - 3:04
10.At the Shop - 2:52
11.Just Because - 3:51
12.Don't You Never - 2:58
13.Someday - 2:16
All songs by Mickey Jupp unless otherwise written.

Legend
*John Bobin - Lead Guitar, Bass, Spanish Guitar, Vocals
*Bob Clouter - Drums
*Mickey Jupp - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Piano
*Mo Witham - Lead Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm Guitar, Spanish Guitar, Vocals

more Legend
1971 Legend (Red Boot)

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Rain - Live Christmas Night (1971 us, powerful classic rock with hard blues shades, Radioactive release)

Rain formed in New York City, somewhere round 1970. Guitarist Helmut Getto and singer Bard Morse where mates in a previous band called The Invisible Sideshow, together with John Castronova, and Kit Nelson who where members also for N.Y. Rochsester's band called The Quirks, between 1964 to 1967.

Rain recorded and self-released this Live album from a concert Christmas night at the Mariner Hotel. The album did well and soon after their released the single "No Money", and went on to a studio to prepare their full lenght album, but i suppose it has been forgotten and lost in some drawer.

Their sound is classic rock mixed with smokey blues rock, featuring knock-out rockers like “Billy Goat” and Chuck Berry’s “Tulane.” The band toured regionally, and opened for bigger acts at the time like Nazareth and The Amboy Dukes.

Tracks
1. Tulane - 3:42
2. Billy Goat - 4:31
3. Boogie With Me Mama - 5:28
4. C. C. Rider - 8:11
5. Movin' On - 7:00
6. Tater Pie - 4:03
7. Built For Comfort - 7:22

Rain
*Brad Morse - Vocals
*Helmut Getto - Guitar
*Ted Paris - Bass
*Mich Guerin - Drums
*Gary Culotta - Piano

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Grapes Of Wrath - Grapes Of Wrath (1964-73 us, fine garage beat psych, Gear Fab issue)

The sixties were a very exciting time in history, and musically, a very magical time. When people think of the sixties, mod clothing, protest marches, long hair (though by today's standards hair was comparably short) and the British rock and roll invasion all come to mind.

As a result of that invasion, rock and roll groups sprang up on every corner of every city large and small across the nation, and Phoenix was no exception. I remember it fondly, as I was one of the thousands of young boys who combed his hair forward in an effort to emulate John Lennon and Paul McCartney. So were Steve and Michael Whitehurst, Stuart Wood and Brent Burns.

Collectively, we were the Grapes of Wrath, one of about a dozen of the more popular rock groups around Phoenix between 1964 and 1973. The material on this album is a very good representation of our direction as writers and sound as a unit. The Grapes were unique because of those Phoenix bands that were lucky enough to find themselves in a recording studio, we were one of the few that recorded primarily original material.

We also had the advantage of regular access to professional recording gear at live performances, which we made use of frequently. As a result, there is a considerable collection of live and studio tapes available on the Grapes, some of which are represented on this album.

by John Hesterman

Tracks
1. If Anyone Should Ask (Steve Whitehurst, Tony Bacak) - 2:35
2. Not A Man (Steve Whitehurst , Stuart Wood) - 2:46
3. Irene (Steve Whitehurst) - 2:13
4. Life's Not For Me (Only For You) (Steve Whitehurst, Stuart Wood) - 4:06
5. Have A Good Time On Me (Steve Whitehurst) - 2:34
6. Bawm Diddy (Wipe Out) (The Safaris, S. Whitehurst, M. Whitehurst, J. Hesterman, S. Wood) - 2:44
7. Makin' It Through ’71 (Steve Whitehurst) - 2:30
8. If You Leave Me (Steve Whitehurst, Brian Allan Black) - 2:51
9. I'm In Love With You (Brian Allan Black, Steve Whitehurst, Sheldon Skinkle) - 2:14
10.The Party's Over (Steve Whitehurst, John Hesterman) - 2:49
11.For Awhile (Steve Whitehurst, Brian Allan Black, John Hesterman) - 2:32
12.Shades Of Lillian White (Steve Whitehurst) - 2:47
13.If She Leaves Me (Steve Whitehurst, John Hesterman) - 4:25
14.Suicide (Steve Whitehurst) - 3:30

Grapes Of Wrath
*Steve Whitehurst - Drums, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Michael Whitehurst - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Stuart Wood - Bass, Vocals
*John Hesterman - Organ, Drums, Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Vocals
*Brent Burns - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

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Legend - Legend (Red Boot) (1971 uk , roots rock, pub rock, Repertoire bonus tracks edition)

In some circles, Mickey Jupp is something of a minor legend, a roots rocker with excellent taste and a cutting wit, best heard on the songs "Switchboard Susan" and "You'll Never Get Me Up in One of Those," both covered by Nick Lowe.

Basher's endorsement is a clear indication that Jupp is a pub rocker, a guy who specializes in laid-back good times, so it shouldn't come as a great surprise that his first band, Legend, was proto-pub, an unabashed celebration of old-time rock & roll, filled with three-chord Chuck Berry rockers and doo wop backing vocals. Nevertheless, listening to their 1970 LP is a bit of a shock, as it's completely disassociated with anything that was happening in 1970, even with Tony Visconti enlisted as their producer.

Legend's sensibility is ahead of its time in its retro thinking, pointing the way to the rock & roll revival of the late '70s and not even that similar to the country-rock of Eggs Over Easy or Bees Make Honey, as this has little of the rustic feel of the Band: it's just straight-up oldies rock, a trait emphasized by those incessant doo wop harmonies that are on almost every cut on this LP (but do disappear on the bonus live cuts on the Repertoire reissue, possibly because they were too busy playing to harmonize).

Those harmonies and the light, almost goofy, touch of Jupp's writing here distinguish Legend and also illustrate why they made no waves in 1970; it's hard to see the counterculture getting roused over the verse "If you were an apple you'd be/Good good eating/If you were a book you'd be/Good good reading."

These slightly silly flourishes do have a lot in common with the wry humor of Nick Lowe, who at this time was denying this mischievous streak as he attempted to sound like Crosby, Stills & Nash, but at this point, Jupp was largely on his own doing this light, good-time pub rock. That may be why it sank without a trace at the time, but heard apart from its era, Legend is a minor delight, one of the first flowerings of the pub rock sensibility.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracks
1. Cross Country - 3:28
2. Cheque Book - 3:22
3. Lorraine, Pt. 1 - 2:58
4. Nothing Wrong with Me - 2:06
5. Somebody in Love - 2:42
6. Goin' To - 2:37
7. Anything You Do - 3:08
8. My Typewriter - 2:57
9. Five Years - 3:00
10. Hole in My Pocket - 2:09
11. Lorraine, Pt. 2 - 3:34
12. I Feel Like Sleeping - 3:16
13. Life - 3:02
14. Late Last Night (Single B-Side) - 3:54
15. Don't You Never - 2:56
16. Someday (Single B-Side) - 2:16
All songs by Mickey Jupp

Legend
*John Bobin - Bass, Vocals
*Bill Fifield - Drums
*Mickey Jupp - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Mo Witham - Guitar, Vocals

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Monday, May 7, 2012

Flat Earth Society - Waleeco And The Lost / Space Kids (1967-68 us, fantastic bosstown psychedelic rock including an audio fairy tale)

It's strange how sometimes art is created when you least suspect it. Take for example two innovative Sixties rock bands from Boston, Massachusetts, namely the Lost and The Flat Earth Society. Both groups were hired by prominent New England organizations to produce original music for commercial products. Specifically candy bars and cereal.

In the winter of 1968, the Boston advertising firm Quinn and Johnson contracted a young rock group from Lynn to produce both an album and a jingle for their client, the F. B. Washburn Candy Company. Inside each Waleeco candy bar that year was a mail order coupon that advertised the Flat Earth Society's "Stereo LP Record Album"for $1.50 and six candy bar wrappers.

This premium was marketed by Fleetwood Recording Studio in Revere and was released on their own custom label. Although it's unknown how many units actually sold it's an inevitable fact that in 1974 Fleetwood threw out scores of 25-count boxes of the LP in the dumpster. Luckily the mastertapes have survived and film that the agency shot of the band during a recording session still exist. The"Waleeco" jingle that graced the radio waves back then seems to have gone the way of the pterodactyl but fans should note that it was a sixty-second adaptation of Four & Twenty Miles.

Now for the first time, the "tru-fidelity" stereo mixes can be heard as they were originally intended. When the album was mastered back in 1968, the engineer destroyed the magnificient stereo imaging by blending the two sides together into a mono sound. As you'll immediately hear in this new digital transfer taken directly from the original 1 /4-inch mastertapes, many songs have the basic instrumental tracks on the left while the right channel has the music sent through the "infamous" Fleetwood plate reverb.

A dramatic use of stereo occurs halfway through the opening track Feelin' Much Better, in which a mysterious psychedelic whoosh (actually an aerosal can sprayed into a bucket) slowly pans from right to left and then back again. For better or worse, imperfections in the crude equipment become obvious with the digital CD format. Overmodulated piano chords show up in the loud moments of Dark Street Downtown. In Satori, the dirt in the faders becomes alarmingly apparent while it was mostly masked by the limitations of the vinyl format (being the last track on a side which is known for having less-than-perfect sound also worked in their favor).

Dated hype on the album jacket notwithstanding, the Flat Earth Society masterfully present a truly eclectic body of work nothing short of brilliant. Devoid of the pitfalls and bad reputation that the "Bosstown Sound" earned through the passage of time, Waleeco is the perfect period piece capturing a society in transition.

While Barry and the Remains were considering New England’s answer to the Beatles the Lost followed their footsteps of The Rolling Stones. Through never quite achieving sainthood as their friendly rivals did with help of Father Time, the Lost did manage to release three excellent singles for Capitol plus some startling unreleased material that will someday hopefully see the light of day.

Similiarily in 1967, Pat Hall, founder of Children's World Productions hired WGBH-TVs award winning director Fred Barzyk and national program director Ken Manley and commissioned the Lost to promostly to produce the theme song as well as incidental music for Space Kids, a thirty-minute audio fairy tale. The band booked time at Triple A Studio in Dorchester and recorded songs, stingers, mood pieces and experimental sounds which were later incorporated into the final mix.

For the first time ever, we present the entire half-hour production along with the cornplete music track composed by the Lost. Originally conceived as a full length LP, this project was created on spec and intended to be sold as a premium on the back of cereal boxes. After shopping the idea around, the agency unfortunately had no takers. Thus the project was permanently shelved. Or at least until now.

In the decades that have passed, Space Kids seems to have more in common with Buck Rogers than NASA. The story may seem a little campy, but hey, don't Star Trek space suits smack of H. G. Wells? When you get right down to it, good fairytales are basically the same old recycled plot in which good inevitably triumphs over evil. So get ready to "unlock anchor device, reset anchor locking, prime atomic fired rockets, set timing, adjust instruments, automatic navigator prime, radar and tracking cameras checked, set firing rockets, prepare for countdown, begin countdown, 10-9-8-7-6- 5-4-3-2-1-ignition, blast off..."

Tracks
Flat Earth Society "Waleeco"
1 Feelin' Much Better (Kerivan, Dubuque) - 2:27
2 Midnight Hour (Picketty, Cropper) - 3:38
3 I'm So Happy (Kerivan, Dubuque) - 1:57
4 When You're There (Kerivan, Dubuque) - 1:58
5 Four & Twenty Miles (Kerivan, Dubuque) - 1:56
6 Prelude For The Town Monk (Kerivan) - 3:10
7 Shadows (Kerivan) - 1:54
8 Dark Street Downtown (Kerivan) - 3:45
9 Portrait In Grey (Kerivan, Doyle) - 5:05
10 In My Window (Kerivan, Doyle) - 2:11
11 Satori (Kerivan, Doyle) - 3:30
Space Kids
12 Space Kids - Part 1 – 15:06
13 Space Kids - Part 2 - 15:19
The Lost
14-29 The Lost-Incidental Music To'Space Kids - 15.00

The Flat Earth Society
*Jack Kerivan - Piano, Organ, Vocal
*Phil Dubuque - Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocal
*Rick Doyle - Lead Guitar, Tambourine, Vocal
*Curt Girard - Drums
*Paul Carter - Bass, Vocal

The Lost
*Ted Myers - Guitar, Vocal
*Kyle Garrahan - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Willie Alexander - Keyboards, Vocals
*Walter Powers - Bass, Organ, Vocals
*Lee Mason - Drums, Percussion

Space Kids Voices
*Fred Barzyk - Zem
*Ken Manley - Captain Brown
*Pat Hall - Ground Base Control
*Two Unknown Child Actors - Chris/Tim

Space Kids
*Produced By Pat Hall For Children's World Productions
*Directed By Fred Barzyk
*Written By Michael Leech
Recorded At Triole A Studio, Dorchester, Ma

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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Alex Chilton - Free Again: The 1970 Sessions (1970 us, remarkable guitar rock, enriched with the finest flavors, 2012 Big Beat release)

As a fan of The Box Tops and Big Star, I know a decent amount about Alex Chilton's history with the two bands. But what about the period in between?

Free Again: The 1970 Sessions (Omnivore Recordings) explores a time when the singer/songwriter had grown tired of the, well, box The Box Tops had placed him in. Within a year the group had released three albums and a handful of Top 40 singles. The one they're best known for is the first song Chilton ever recorded, The Letter.

What always astounds me is that Chilton was just 16 when he sang that tune. By 18, he was ready to move beyond the soulful singles that had made him famous. The result serves as a bridge between his two acclaimed bands. On The 1970 Sessions, you can hear Chilton experimenting with his vocal range and offering more personal lyrics. One of the best tunes on it, Free Again, could even be referring to his reclaimed independence from The Box Tops.

It's a pleasure to hear Chilton sounding so happy and at ease on this album, which also includes demos and the original mono mixes. The singer even tests the waters with a couple covers: an enjoyable interpretation of the Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash and a free-wheeling/possibly drunken take on The Archies' Sugar, Sugar and James Brown's I Got the Feelin'. (It may seem cliche to mention this, but I can't help but liken some of these to boisterous Replacements outtakes recorded almost 20 years later.)

Chilton was a big fan of the Beatles and Brian Wilson, and I do enjoy him most on well-crafted pop tunes. Another favorite of mine, the catchy and country-tinged I Wish I Could Meet Elvis, expresses a desire that would've been awesome had it come to fruition:

Chilton released a few solo albums after Big Star dissolved, but I find this one particularly fascinating because of its time period and emotional range. Few 18-year-olds had experienced the rock 'n' roll lifestyle Chilton had by that age, and even fewer possessed the skill to transform it into a lifelong career.

While the release is a welcome one, it also reminds us of the talent lost in 2010, when Chilton died at 59. Listening to The 1970 Sessions, I can't help but wish a few more "hidden" recordings are tucked away somewhere for our future enjoyment.

by Whitney Matheson

Tracks
1. Free Again (Original Mono Mix) - 2:38
2. Come On Honey - 3:34
3. Something Deep Inside - 2:41
4. I Can Dig It - 3:49
5. The EMI Song (Smile for Me) (Chilton, Manning) - 4:02
6. All I Really Want Is Money - 4:56
7. The Happy Song - 2:05
8. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Jagger, Richards) - 4:07
9. Every Day as We Grow Closer/Funky National (Chilton, Manning, Rosebrough) - 3:16
10.I Wish I Could Meet Elvis - 3:16
11.Just to See You - 3:50
12.All We Ever Got from Them Was Pain - 3:23
13.Sugar, Sugar/I Got the Feelin' (Barry, Brown, Kim) - 6:20
14.Free Again (Stereo Remix withAlternate Vocal) - 2:58
15.Every Day as We Grow Closer (Original Mono Mix) - 2:27
16.Come On Honey (Original MonoMix) - 3:34
17.The EMI Song (Smile for Me) (Original Mono Mix) - 3:58
18.All I Really Want Is Money (Original Mono Mix) - 4:44
19.If You Would Marry Me Babe (Demo) - 1:49
20.It Isn't Always That Easy (Demo) (Chilton, Talley) - 2:32
All compositions by Alex Chilton except where noted.

Musicians
*Alex Chilton - Lead, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*Terry Manning - Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals
*Jeff Newman - Banjo, Steel Guitar
*Richard Rosebrough - Drums
*Paul Cannon - Guitar

Related Act
1967-70 The Best Of Box Tops

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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Keef Hartley Band - Halfbreed (1969 uk, classic blues rock, 2008 esoteric remaster with bonus track)

Keef Hartley is a British-born musician from Preston, Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. Hartley's career started when he was a replacement for Ringo Starr as a drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, which was a very popular Liverpool band at the time. Hartley then played and recorded with The Artwoods and various configurations of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers before forming his own band, The Keef Hartley Band.

With Hartley's own band he released a total of nine albums, the most famous of all being the first album, Halfbreed, hence the title of this book. Hartley studied Native American culture and that was reflected in his album artwork and for his wardrobe on his albums, as well as in this newly published book. Amazingly Hartley's group played at the original Woodstock Festival in 1969, which was just one of the interesting facts I learned from this fine book. So the story goes that Keef's manager did not want to sign the necessary paperwork for his band performance to be part of the Woodstock movie and the multipleWoodstock recordings, which is truly a shame. Interestingly, Hartley's biggest influence was the legendary drummer Buddy Rich, which probably accounts for why Hartley was such a good fit for Mayall's Jazz Blues Fusion and Moving On, albums, which featured outstanding Jazz players like Blue Mitchell, Red Holloway, Clifford Solomon, and the magnificent Soul/Blues/Jazz guitarist Freddy Robinson.

Halfbreed is Hartley's autobiography, which sheds light on the star-studded first decade of his career and the walk down the U.K.'s historical Blues scene that fascinates the reader with stories about fabled musicians like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor(who was Hartley's roommate), the Beatles, John Mayall, Graham Bond, Jimmy Page, Brian Auger, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Champion Jack Dupree, and Willie Dixon, plus brief encounters with actor Peter O'Toole and actress-turned-Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly.

My only issues with Halfbreed is that it took a while to get going, as a fair amount of pages were scribed about his youth and lesser-known bands. Additionally I was looking forward to a segment on Keef's time with the later day versions of the aforementionedJazz Blues Fusion album band which always fascinated me. But towards the end of this book Keef makes mention that there might be a follow-up book titled Bye Bye Blues, where Hartley states, "If you pester the publisher, I'd love to tell you more." Cheers to that!

by Bob Putignano

Tracks

1. Sacked (Introducing Hearts and Flowers) (Arranged Keef Hartley) - 0:40

.a. Confusion Theme (Ian Cruickshank, Keef Hartley) - 1:05

.b. The Halfbreed (Ian Cruickshank, Keef Hartley, Peter Dines) - 6:07

2. Born to Die (Fiona Hewitson, Gary Thain, Keef Hartley, Peter Dines) - 9:58

3. Sinnin' For You (Fiona Hewitson, Keef Hartley, Owen Finnegan, Peter Dines) - 5:51

4. Leavin' Trunk (Sleepy John Estes) - 5:55

5. Just to Cry (Henry Lowther, Owen Finnegan) - 6:20

6. Too Much Thinking (Gary Thain, Owen Finnegan, Peter Dines) - 5:30

7. Think it Over" (B.B. King) - 4:59

.a.Too Much to Take - 0:32

8. Leave It 'Till The Morning (Fiona Hewitson, Gary Thain, Keef Hartley, Spit James) - 3:27

Bonus Track 8

Keef Hartley Band
*Miller Anderson - Vocals, Guitar
*Peter Dines - Organ, Harpsichord
*Spit James - Guitar
*Gary Thain - Bass Guitar
*Keef Hartley - Drums
*Henry Lowther - Trumpet, Violin, Brass arrangements
*Harry Beckett - Trumpet
*Lynn Dobson - Tenor Sax, Flute
*Chris Mercer - Tenor Sax
*John Mayall - voice on "Sacked" and "Too Much to Take"

Keef Hartley Band
1968-72 Not Foolish Not Wise
1970 Overdog (2005 eclectic)
1971 Little Big Band
1972 Lancashire Hustler (2008 esoteric)

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The Spencer Davis Group - The Second Album (1966 uk, brilliant swinging soulful beat rock, 2006 japan bonus tracks edition)

"Get a bigger amplifier, you're not loud enough!" a famous pop star once told the Spencer Davis Group. It was a remark meant as a friendly tip on how best to combat the acoustics of a northern cinema. But it also reflects the pop situation where sheer noise is often regarded as the most important consideration, over and above the quality of the music.

For years this has been true of beat groups who, apart from creating a sort of token barrage of noise, seeking to amplify as loudly as possible their lack of talent, have placed most faith in the tightness of their trousers ensuring lasting popular success. it would be an insult to call the Spencer Davis Group a "beat group," unless one qualified it by calling them the "thinking man's beat group." But musicians hate to be categorised anyway.

And if you accuse the Spencer boys of playing R ‘n’ B they will shift uncomfortably while Spencer quietly explains they prefer the term "coloured pop music". Steve Winwood is likely to grin and groan: "We: hate the word R ‘n’ B ". So what do the Spencer Davis Group play? Their music is an adult, sophisticated culmination of the mindless beatery of yesteryear and the raw emotionalism of early British R ‘n’ B. It's got jazz, it's got beat and it's got blues.

It swings and shouts and most of all, and more than most, it's got heart. A lot of soulless people talk about soul playing, but the Spencer Davis Group don't have to talk. When they are playing on a stage or in a club, they are not thinking how easy it is to con money from the screamers. They are worrying if people are enjoying what they arc enjoying. It means much to them that an audience reacts to a slow ballad like "Georgia On My Mind," as much as a hit record like "Strong Love". But they don't need to worry, as in the few short months of forming, they have become one of the most highly regarded and respected organisations playing today.

On this album you can hear all facets of Spencer music from country blues and folk to hard punching R ‘n’ B. Their swing is a quality stemming from their strong feeling for jazz. Drummer Peter York's favourite musician is Buddy Rich, bassist Muff Winwood digs Ray Charles, while brother Steve and Spencer love Duke Ellington's compositions. Spencer in fact veers nearer to the country blues of singers like Lead Belly and began his musical career singing folk.

Stave Winwood has quite the most extraordinary talent on the scene. Aged 17 he has probably the most natural and convincing blues voice of all soul singers this side of the Atlantic and quite a few on the other side. Steve's Ray Charles/Horace Silver piano, gutty guitar and humming harmonica arc all featured here, with Spencer's warm vocals and tolling 12-string guitar. Driving Spencer arid Stevie along are Muff's grooving bass lines, and Pete's crisp, facile drumming.

You will be completely satisfied with this package. New listeners will be surprised and rewarded. It's strong, loving music. Don't scream. Iisten.

by Chris Welch

Tracks
1.Look Away (Norman Meade, Bert Russell) - 2:45
2.Keep On Running (Jackie Edwards) - 2:51
3.This Hammer (Muff Winwood, Steve Winwood, Pete York, Spencer Davis) - 2:19
4.Georgia On My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) - 4:44
5.Please Do Something (Don Covay) - 2:27
6.Let Me Down Easy (Jim Glaser, Tompall Glaser) - 3:06
7.Strong Love (Deadric Malone, Edward Silvers, Mary M. Brown) - 2:18
8.I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water (Joe Babcock) - 2:38
9.Since I Met You Baby (Ivory Joe Hunter) - 3:30
10.You Must Believe Me (Curtis Mayfield) - 2:49
11.Hey Darling (Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood) - 4:49
12.Watch Your Step (Bobby Parker) - 2:57
13.Stevie's Blues (Steve Winwood) - 3:49
14.Trampoline (Steve Winwood) - 2:28
15.Back Into My Life Again (Jimmy Miller, Jackie Edwards) - 2:26
16.Kansas City (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 3:52
17.Oh! Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison, Bill Dees) - 3:22
18.Det War In Schoneberg (Walter Kollo) - 2:42
19.Stevie's Groove (Steve Winwood) - 2:46
20.Stevie's Blues (Steve Winwood) - 3:49

Bonus Tracks 13-20

Spencer Davis Group
*Steve Winwood - Guitar, Organ, Vocals
*Muff Winwood - Bass Guitar
*Spencer Davis - Guitar
*Pete York - Percussion

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Friday, May 4, 2012

The Seeds - Future (1967 us, splendid psychedelic garage rock, GNP Crescendo Vinyl issue)

Based actually upon the commercial success of their only national Top 40 hit "Pushin' Too Hard", here they attempt to give a more complete picture, -I would say- a more concept work, divided into separate parts, grafted by wildness and roughness, these psychedelic landscapes filled sometimes by garage drops here and there.

The myth says that Sky Saxon painted himself the front cover of "Future", as he painted the content. Titles such as “Travel With Your Mind”, will take you high in a long trip where you meet the “Flower Lady and Her Assistant” in a reflection of “A Thousand Shadows”.

As the years go by, their sound takes the value it deserves, adding them to the rightful place, as was left by the great legacy of the 60's.

Thank you Mr. Sky “Sunlight” Saxon

Tracks
1. Introduction (Sky Saxon) - 1:03
... March Of The Flower Children (Hooper, Saxon) - 1:45
2. Travel With Your Mind (Hooper, Savage, Saxon) - 3:00
3. Out Of The Question (Saxon, Serpent) - 3:02
4. Painted Doll (Saxon) - 3:20
5. Flower Lady And Her Assistant (Saxon) - 3:15
6. Now A Man (Hooper, Savage, Saxon) - 3:20
7. A Thousand Shadows (Hooper, Savage, Saxon) - 2:25
8. Two Fingers Pointing On You (Sky Saxon) - 3:10
9. Where Is the Entrance Way toPlay? (Saxon) - 2:55
10.Six Dreams (Saxon) - 3:05
11.Fallin' (Hooper, Saxon) - 7:40

The Seeds
*Sky Saxon - Lead Vocal, Bass
*Daryl Hooper - Piano, Organ, Sitar & Vocals
*Jan Savage - Guitar, Gong & Vocals
*Rick Andridge - Drums
*Harvey Sharpe - Bass
*Tjay Cantrelli - Woodwinds
*Catharine Gotthoffer - Harp

Sky Saxon and The Seeds trip..
1965-93 The Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard
1986 Sky "Sunlight" Saxon And Firewall - Destiny's Children

1967 The Seeds - Future (2013 Double disc)

Thursday, May 3, 2012

The 31st Of February - The 31st Of February (1968 us, wonderful baroque folk psychedelia)

The 31st of February consisted of Charles Scott Boyer (vocals, 12-string guitar, songwriter), David Brown (bass guitar, tenor saxaphone, songwriter) and Butch Trucks, Jr. (drums, songwriter). Recorded at Henry Stone's studio in 1968 and produced by Steve Alaimo and Brad Shapiro. They first recorded at Henry Stone's original upstairs eight-track studio.

The 31st of February album, yielded one of Florida's greatest rock gems, "Sandcastles." "Sandcastles" was an incredible, haunting masterpiece filled with the sound of seagulls, surf and a hypnotic organ riff. During the sessions, the trio utilized the great talents of south Florida musicians Benny Latimore and Bobby Puccetti on organ.

Butch Trucks, Jr. became the drummer for the legendary Allman Brothers Band. Charles Scott Boyer formed the band Cowboy. David Brown went on to join Boz Scaggs.

Tracks
1. Sand Castles (Moman, Oldham, Penn) - 2:44
2. Porcelain Mirrors (Boyer) - 2:55
3. Broken Day (Brown) - 2:56
4. Wrong (Brown) - 2:11
5. The Greener Isle (DeShannon) - 2:45
6. Codeine (Sainte-Marie) - 6:17
7. A Different Kind of Head (Brown) - 2:46
8. Pedestals (Boyer) - 2:25
9. Free (Boyer) - 2:29
10. A Nickel's Worth of Benny's Help (Boyer) - 4:22
11. Pick a Gripe (Boyer, Trucks) - 2:06
12. Cries of Treason (Boyer) - 3:09

The 31st of February
*Scott Boyer - Guitar, Vocals
*David Brown - Bass, Sax
*Butch Trucks - Drums
Additional musicians
*Benny Latimore - Organ
*Bobby Puccetti - Organ

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Keef Hartley - Lancashire Hustler (1972 uk, blues rock with jazz and funky vibes, 2009 esoteric remaster)

R.I.P. Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)

If the last Keef Hartley Band album, 1972's Seventy Second Brave, had seen some changes in musical direction, then the following year's Lancashire Hustler saw a greater shift away from the blues rock origins of the band. After the last KHB album, Hartley had rejoined John Mayall for a European tour and when he returned to the UK, became involved in a number of different musical projects, including playing on a few tracks by Vinegar Joe.

Not having the time to run and organise the band, the group had drifted apart with main musical foil, bassist Gary Thain, heading off into new musical territories by joining heavy rockers Uriah Heep. Decca, Hartley's label, were hustling for a new album which was owed to the label under the drummer's contract so the only option was to get together a studio band comprised of friends and colleagues purely to record the album. Hence, the sole attribute to Keef Hartley. And what a combination of friends and colleagues Hartley was able to call on! Junior Kerr (guitar, vocal) and Mick Weaver (organ, Moog) were recalled from the last incarnation of the KHB and a suitable replacement for Thain was found in Philip Chen, who John Burns, the album's producer, had come across at a Rod Stewart session. Jim Mullen, the jazz-rock guitarist, was also enticed along through some mutual contacts. However, it was in the vocal department that Hartley really hit big time.

Having long admired Jess Roden, who Hartley had known since the time he was a member of The Artwoods (one of the earliest bands to feature Deep Purple's Jon Lord) and Roden had sang with The Alan Bown Set, a quick phone call and an initial get together to run through some ideas, secured Roden's commitment to the album. Then, in return for playing on the Vinegar Joe albums, both Robert Palmer and Elkie Brooks agreed to provide backing vocals and brought with them pianist Jean Rouselle.

The Vinegar Joe connection didn't end with having Brooks and Palmer adding their magnificent voices to the album, but went further with the opening track, Circles, being a fine cover of the Palmer-penned song from the debut VJ album. Jess Roden steals the show on this fabulous, gospel tinged version that is a real 'feel good' track. Throughout the whole album Brook and Palmer make a significant contribution adding tremendous power to tracks like Circles and You & Me.

Shovel A Minor was based on a jam with Mullen providing some tasty guitar licks before a terrifically funky brass middle section takes over which Hartley rightly opines "could be from an American cop show"! Australian Lady, as with the two previous tracks, were composed by Hartley, although John Mayall gets a co-credit on the antipodean female song as Hartley had stolen the main riff from Mayall during a tour of Australia where the titular female was encountered (so maybe Mayall should also be credited for putting Hartley in a position where he could meet the lady that became the muse!). The song is quite beautiful but is raised to something a bit special by the trombone playing of Don Lusher and Derek Wadsworth.

Action and Know Something were both written by John Burns, presumably the producer and engineer of the album, but that is not confirmed in the reissue. Both tracks fit in well with the rest of the album with fine band performances. Chen proves that he was an apt replacement for Thain providing a fine rhythm section along with Hartley, particularly on the instrumental section of Action, and Kerr gets to flex his fingers throughout Know Something.

Jennie's Father is rather unique for Hartley as it is the only song that he decided to add a string accompaniment to. Arranged by Pete Gage, husband of Elkie Brooks and guitarist in Vinegar Joe, the string section is not overpowering but simply adds a lot of colour to the track, particularly the use of pizzicato. Again, it is a lovely song, exceedingly well played and sung.

The big surprise is the cover of the Sly And The Family Stone's big hit Dance To The Music. It's a real tour de force, with Weaver having a field day on organ and Moog, Miller Anderson making a welcome return to the fold, Brooks providing the perfect vocal foil to Roden's lead, some over the top brass and Mullen enjoying himself so much wailing away on his six string that at the end of the song you can hear him say "Got any tape left? I'll carry on"!

I was pleasantly surprised by this album as it is completely different from any of the albums that were released by the Keef Hartley Band. There is an immense feeling of the musicians having great fun and really enjoying the sessions and playing music for music's sake. I suppose as the album was a contractual obligation and there were no plans, or need, to go out and tour to promote the release that took a lot of pressure off.

What is ironic is that a further album was recorded with essentially the same players pretty soon after Lancashire Hustler. However, Hartley went off on another tour with Mayall shortly after recording was complete and by the time he returned the album had been forgotten about.

What is a great pity, and symptomatic of the attitude of some record companies, is that despite intensive searching, the album has been completely lost with the master tapes in all probability having been erased. Easily the most enjoyable of the Hartley albums and a great re-release, recommended album for when you want to dance to the music!!

by Mark Hughes