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Plain and Fancy

Music gives soul to universe, wings to mind, flight to imagination, charm to sadness, and life to everything.

Plato

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Cozy Powell - The Bedlam Years (1968-1999 uk, great classic rock, hard rock, 2009 remaster edition, 3 disc box set)



Bedlam (originally known as Beast when it formed in 1972) was a British hard rock band featuring singer Frank Aiello (from Truth), guitarist Dave Ball (from Procol Harum), bassist Dennis Ball (formerly with Long John Baldry), and drummer Cozy Powell (formerly with Jeff Beck) They did a self-titled album produced by Felix Pappalardi (producer of Cream member of Mountain) in 1973 before breaking up in 1974

This band should have just as big as Led Zeppelin The signs were where all moody and magnificent blues rock guitarist of the highest caliber in the form of Dave Ball (from Procol Harum) a rock steady thundering bassist - Dennis Ball (formerly with Long John Baldry) - vocals from a Cockney banshee Frank Aiello (from the truth tablen) and drummer Mr. Cozy Powell from 1973 debut "Bedlam" album remains a classic

Considered one of England's best drummers and a lot of demand for rock and pop Cozy Powell was almost legendary for a heavy hit style that could be done to work with many types of rock music, whether for the thundering pop productions helmed by Mickie Most Black Sabbath Emerson Lake & Powell or even his own solo work (notably "Dance with the Devil" which was a major English hit in 1973)

Powell began his professional music career in 1965 with sorcerers eventually decommissioning work with Jeff Beck after Beck left the Yardbirds in 1971, Powell formed Bedlam, but eventually abandoned this project to produce singles such as "Dance with the Devil" He later imageas Cozy Powell's Hammer, which broke up in 1975 after a brief sabbatical, he joined Rainbow helps to give the band a section thunderous rhythm before exiting after four years and four albums in 1980, always in demand for the drum seat, he alternated between session work and working in different bands, including the Michael Schenker Group, Whitesnake and Black Sabbath never staying in one band for very long

In 1996, he worked with former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green on his long-awaited comeback tour at the time of his death on April 5, 1998 he was recovering from a foot injury which had sidelined him from touring work with guitarist Yngvie Malmsteen He was driving on the M4 towards Bristol when he apparently lost control of his car (due toto bad weather) slamming into the center divider of the highway, he died some hours later in hospital 


Tracks
Disc-1 Bedlam 1973
1. Believe In You - 4:02
2. Hot Lips - 4:37
3. Sarah - 3:48
4. Sweet Sister Mary - 2:52
5. Seven Long Years - 3:47
6. The Beast - 5:30
7. Whisky And Wine - 2:35
8. Looking Through Love's Eyes - 2:58
9. Putting On The Flesh - 3:55
10.Set Me Free - 4:22

Disc-2: The Studio CD 1968-99
1.1812 Thrashed - 1:36
2. Swlabr - 2:48
3. Hideaway - 3:11
4. For Your Love - 5:41
5. Stepping Out - 2:22
6. Funky Woman - 3:06
7. Ring Of Fire - 3:41
8. Munich City - 4:22
9. Hot Lips - 4:35
10.At The Gateway -3:15
11.Candy(Rainbow Over New York) - 4:21
12.Share With You - 3:36
13.Dave's Ditty For Cozy - 1:52

Disc-3: The Live CD  New York 5th March 1974
1. I Believe In You - 4:11
2. The Beast - 5:43
3. The Great Game - 4:06
4. Set Me Free - 6:29
5. Interview - 5:31
6. The Fool - 21:28

Bedlam
*Francesco Aiello - Vocals
*Dave Ball - Guitar
*Dennis Ball- Bass, Vocals, Guitar
*Cozy Powell - Drums
Guest Musicians
*Ace Kefford - Vocals
*David McTavish - Vocals
*Pete Ball - Organ
*Ed Welch - Mellotron
*Felix Pappalardi - Keyboards

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Blackwood Apology - The House of Leather (1969 us, magnificent concept psych garage rock opera, 2011 edition and 2023 remaster)



The first time I heard House Of Leather, at first I was not very impressed by it. The vocals sounded too “pop”; like something the Association would have recorded, and the recurring themes and overtures sounded like space fillers. But I could not deny even then that the electric guitar playing was arresting, and the organ playing weaved its way expertly through the various arrangements, providing a distinctive connecting strand. The Blackwood Apology definitely had their own sound. 

For greater atmosphere, they also throw in instruments like acoustic guitar and even pipe organ. The arrangements on the album are complex, and it is cleverly structured so that by the end of the record, the piece has returned to its starting point, meaning that you can put the album on shuffle play and listen to it as an endless loop on your MP3 player should you so choose.

I am not so dedicated as to want to do that, but I did find myself coming back to this album again and again over the 20 years that have elapsed since I bought it. In addition to the advanced musicianship, my main focus was the lyrics. Even with the full text provided on the inside cover (along with an elliptical explanatory note on the instrumental depiction that the album provides of the American Civil War), the words are perplexing. 

As someone on the Internet wondered; is the House of Leather a cathouse? The images on the cover suggest it is a house of ill-repute of some sort. And why is it the house “Of Leather”? Was it some sort of kinky B&D joint where moustachioed gents went to get their jollies in unorthodox ways?

Finally, after 20 years of scratching my head, I sat down and listened to the lyrics, and not just once but several times, in an attempt to get to the bottom of what this perplexing album is about.

The story starts “down along the Swanee River”, where we are introduced to a young lady named Sarah Jane who has “got love to send you… straight to heaven where she comes from”. We move on to a reminiscence of the House of Leather, where “the pretty young things all got together” to dance, among other things. 

We are then introduced to one Mrs Grim, who appears to be the matronly figure in charge of the House of Leather, and the narrator reminds her of Donny Brooks, a farmer who she used to know in one capacity or another, and obliquely makes mention of the town’s mayor, a man by the name of Ramsey. 

A little bit further on, we find out that the House of Leather is a school of some sort, and Sarah Jane appears to be a teacher there (teaching what exactly? – again, we don’t know), who both Donny Brooks and Ramsey have fallen in love with. The outcome of this love triangle is that Sarah Jane ends up with Donny Brooks the farmer, and they settle down on his farm, where she ends up bearing him a child.

Then along comes the US Civil War, in which her husband and child (a boy) are both killed. After the war, Sarah Jane stays on at the farm, which Ramsey, the mayor, now owns. The album concludes with the words “Sarah’s on her knees… building dreams… begging for love”, and “if you’re ever…. way down along the Swanee River… you’re not far from the House of Leather… where I was born….”

Well, that’s all perfectly clear, isn’t it? So the narrator is the offspring of Sarah Jane and Ramsey… or is he? And if he was their child, why was he born in the House of Leather and not down on the farm? Was she kicked off the farm and ended up having to work for a living? But working in what capacity? And exactly what sort of education is offered by an institution that ventures to call itself the “House of Leather”? 

The brainchild of 23 year-old writer / guitarist Dale Menten, The House Of Leather is a rock opera set in a bordello during the US Civil War. It was originally released in December 1968, shortly before it was staged as a sell-out rock opera in Minnesota. A fine mixture of acid-tinged pop-rock and ballads, it makes its long-overdue CD debut here – together with liner notes that tell the story of the production’s ill-fated move to New York in 1970.


Tracks
1. Medley: Swanee River Overture / House Of Leather Theme - 2:06
2. Do You Recall The House Of Leather? - 2:47
3. Recess With Mrs. Grim - 1:03
4. Graduates Of Mrs. Grim’s Learning - 3:10
5. There Is Love In The Country (On The Donny Brooks Farm) - 2:03
6. Here I Am - 4:27
7. She Lives With Me - 1:07
8. There’s Love In The Country (On The Donny Brooks Farm)  Reprise - 2:05
9. Time Marches On - 5:23
10. Dixie And The War - 3:21
11. Death And Reality - 2:52
12. Sarah’s On Her Knees - 2:46
13. Theme From House Of Leather (Epilogue In Suede) - 2:45
All compositions by Dale Menten

Blackwood Apology
*Ron Beckman - Bass,
*Dennis Caswell - Drums, Vocals
*Tom Hustin - Guitar, Vocals
*Dennis Libby - Piano, Vocals
*Greg Maland - Keyboards, Pipe Organ
*Dale Menten - Guitar, Vocals
*Bruce Pedalty - Organ, Vocals

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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Ill Wind - Flashes (1966-68 us, west coast inspired, trippy psychedelic masterpiece, 2009 Sunbeam double disc expanded set)



In the 1960s a new era of creativity began. The post-WWII values of the 1940s and 50s had begun to show cracks and a new generation, dissatisfied with rigid social boundaries, the Vietnam war and what they perceived as shallow materialism, created a new counter-culture. This change was ripe with opportunities for young musicians, allowing them the freedom to explore new, creative possibilities. 

Ill Wind was a result of that perfect storm. The seeds of III Wind took root in 1965 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when Ken Frankel, a biophysics graduate student, met Carey Mann, a math graduate student, and they decided to start a rock band. Multiinstrumentalist Ken, although only 23 at the time, had been playing professionally for 7 years, first in high school in L.A. (as lead guitarist in a successful rock band), and then at U.C. Berkeley on banjo, mandolin, and guitar. 

Ken had played in bluegrass and oldtime bands in the San Francisco Bay Area with people such as Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, Richard Greene, Sandy Rothman and Rick Shubb, as well as lead guitar in a college rock band that played bars and fraternity parties. Carey Mann was also a young but experienced musician. In high school in Pennsylvania he'd played piano in a Dixieland band, and at MIT he won awards as the guitarist in the school's highly respected jazz band. 

After wonderful experience  with Dick Weissman as a very hands-  on producer, the band  was shocked at Wilson's unexplained lack of focus in the studio. They were  inexperienced and wanted  a strong producer, but he  spent most of the time reading  the newspaper or talking on the  telephone. Following the hasty atmosphere of the recording, he excluded them from the mixing sessions, which were not done to the band's taste or satisfaction. 

The band had a wonderful cover proposal by a local artist, but ABC insisted that they needed a cover photo in one week, because they wanted to release the album right away. ABC arranged for an uninspired studio photo, and then didn't release the album for six months. When the first run of 10,000 discs appeared in August 1968, there was a mistake in the pressing process, meaning that 'High Flying Bird' had a skip where an ending phrase repeated three times (this was corrected on a subsequent pressing of 2000 copies). 

The photos on the back cover were accidentally printed so dark that you couldn't tell what they were, and ABC didn't print enough albums to meet demand, so many stores couldn't obtain them, despite putting in multiple orders.  Nonetheless, despite a lack of promotional activity or reviews, and the backlash caused by the 'Bosstown hype’, ‘Flashes’  was fairly well-received. Three singles were taken ('Walking and Singing' b/w 'High Flying Bird', 'Dark World' / b/w 'Walking and Singing  and / finally 'Dark World' b/w 'High "lying Bird'), though most copies were promos. 

The album was played often on the radio, especially in New England, the band was paid well for performances, albeit in amounts that (in today's dollars) would shock contemporary musicians. Ill Wind performed with many well-known acts, including The Who, Fleetwood Mac, The Byrds, Moby Grape, Van Morrison, The Rascals, The Buckingnams and Mitch Ryder. They continued to gig regularly at The Boston Tea Party and started a free music-in the-park series in Cambridge. 

They became important leaders of the New England rock scene, and were even recognized on the street. In mid-1968, III Wind was poised to take the next step (whatever that might have been), when Carey announced he was leaving. This was quite a blow, since he was one of the band's founders. They replaced him with bass player / vocalist Michael Walsh. At the same time, Ken put together a 4-track recording studio in the basement of one of the dormitories where the band was living, consisting of two cheap Sony 2-track reel-to-reel recorders with heads switched around, and some $10 Radio Shack stereo mixers. 

The purpose was to make demos of new songs without having to pay for studio time, and perhaps regain control of the band's destiny from ABC records and Tom Wilson. In 1968, with Michael on bass and vocals, III Wind recorded 5 songs on this makeshift equipment ('the Wel Tesley Basement Recordings'), but no further record contract resulted. The band broke up following year, when Ken Frankel (who'd married the band's original singer, Judy Bradbury) moved to Marin County in Northern California, which his friend Jerry Garcia had convinced him was 'the place to be' for musicians. 

In 1970 the band reformed with all original members except Ken, with Carey rejoining on lead guitar and organ in place of Ken, Conny on vocals, Richard on rhythm guitar, Dave on drums, Michael on bass, and Berred acting as road manager for larger venues. After a few months, Carey quit again and was eventually replaced by Walter Bjorkman. In this form the band carried on doing mostly covers for nearly a year. Richard left in 1971, to be replaced eventually with Bryant Thayer on piano. 

In this configuration, with Conny and Dave as the only remaining members from the ABC album, and with Michael still on bass, the band probably played more performances than ever before, but finally dissolved for good in 1973. The surviving members of III Wind remain in touch with each other, and all but Ken still live in New England. He became a successful real estate entrepreneur in Northern California, and owned and ran a major music venue, The Cotati Cabaret, in the 1980s, when he also formed the classical group The Electric Guitar Quartet. Ken received his Ph.D in Psychology, and is currently undertaking psychology research. He continues to perform professionally in Marin County, California.  

Carey Mann recorded an album with Dirty Johns Hot Dog Stand in 1970, and played in a variety of bands on the club circuit through 1975. He had always modified his instruments, but is most proud of completely rebuilding his Hammond organ into a different configuration, even adding semi synthesizer stops. After he quit playing music full-time, he developed a successful career in computer technology and still lives in Massachusetts, where ne continues to play rock professionally. 

Conny Devanney owned and ran the well known booking agency CoCo (for 'Conny Company') for many years. She has never stopped singing professionally, and has been the lead singer with a Dixieland band and  in various bands doing jazz standards, including an 18-piece big band, and her own 7-piece band, with whom she still performs. 

After the final version of III Wind broke up, David Kinsman played with John Lincoln Wright & The Sourmash Boys in 1974, but left the music business in 1975 and moved to Maine. There he raised a family and started the successful bicycle parts company Downeast Bicycle, which he ran for 20 years, before selling the company and retiring^ Richard (Zvonar) Griggs received his Ph.D. in composition and music technology in 1982, and worked extensively both as a musician and intermedia artist, before his death in 2005. 

He created the III Wind website, www.lll-Wind.com, and was the driving force behind the creation of this CD. Michael Walsh continued to be involved in music for over 30 years, working mostly out of Boston, but also Nashville and California. He played with many notable performers, including Jonathan Edwards, Tom Rush, Livingston Taylor, Vassar Clements, James Montgomery, John Pousette-Dart, Andy Pratt, Robin Lane, Mark Spoelstra, Bill Stains and David Mallet. He currently lives in Vermont. 

Judy (Bradbury) Frankel embarked on  a successful solo singing career after an amicable divorce from Ken in 1989. She was internationally known as a singer and collector of Jewish Sephardic music. Judy lived in San Francisco for 30 years prior to her death in 2008. To learn more, visit www.JudyFrankel.org. 

Berred Ouellette became a successful recording engineer. He has worked on productions in England, France, Venezuela, and 49 of the 50 United States. He has toured with and / or recorded many famous performers, including Livingston Taylor, Tony Williams, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Aerosmith, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, The J. Geils Sana, JethroTull, The Beach Bovs, Linda Ronstadt, America and dozens of national jazz acts, and continues to do so. He currently lives in Massachusetts.
by Susan Nielsen, June 2009


Tracks
Disc One
1. Walkin' And Singin' (Tom Frankel) - 3:11
2. People Of The Night (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 7:44
3. Little Man (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 4:31
4. Dark World (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 3:45
5. L.A.P.D. (Richard Criggs) - 5:05
6. High Flying Bird (Billy Ed Wheeler) - 4:58
7. Hung Up Chick (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 5:52
8. Sleep (Ken Frankel) - 2:38
9. Full Cycle (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 6:10
All Tracks Recorded In New York, 1968 Produced By Tom Wilson



Disc Two
1. Ill Wind (Ken Frankel) - 2:56
2. All Over Love Is One (Ken Frankel) - 2:26
3. I Can See You (Carey Mann) - 2:55
4. I Tell You I Know (Ken Franke) - 2:51
5. Tomorrow You'll Come Back (Ken Frankel) - 2:39
6. You're All I See Now (Carey Mann,  Sandy Darlington) - 2:19
7. Are You Right? (Ken Frankel) - 2:25
8. People Of The Night (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 2:25
9. It's Your Life (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 2:20
10. Flashes (Richard Griggs) - 3:28
11. The Water Is Wide (Traditional) - 3:35
12. Mauti (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 5:30
13. Waking In The Water (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 3:11
14. 1 And 100 (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 4:31
15. Frosted Summer Drink (Ken, Tom Frankel) - 3:21
Tracks 1-4 are demos made in Terry Hanley's Studio, Boston, in 1966
Tracks 5-9 are demos made at Capitol Records, NY, in 1967, produced by Dick Weissman
Track 10 is a live recording made at Westborough High School, MA, in 1967
Tracks 11-15 are basement recordings made in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 1968 

Ill Wind
*Conny Devanney - Vocals
*Ken Frankel - Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica
*Richard (Zvonar) Criggs - Guitar, Vocals
*Carey Mann - Bass, Vocals
*David Kinsman - Drums
With 
*Michael Walsh – Bass, Vocal (Disc 2, Tracks 11-15)

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Sundance - Sundance (1971 us, excellent west coast rural psych, Fallout release)



This classy slice of  Northern Californian (Chico) rural psych was originally released in 1971 and makes its CD debut with this release. A winning combination of melodic pop and heavier jamming that will appeal to fans of the Grateful Dead and the Allman Bros., it features strong songs and memorable guitar interplay, but had the misfortune to appear just as its label was going under and thus undeservedly sank without trace.


Tracks
1. Train Time (Reaves) - 6:25
2. Jeweled Scene Stealer (Reaves) - 4:49
3. Strange New Time (Reaves) - 3:55
4. Chico Women (Cooley) - 3:20
5. Changes (Campbell) - 1:35
6. People Changin’ (Reaves, Webb) - 5:23
7. Blue Water (Reaves, Riggs) - 3:36
8. Movie (Reaves) 0 3:10
9. Hollywood Dancers (Reaves) - 4:57

Sundance
*Randy Reaves - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar
*Tom Webb - Vocals
*Fred Campbell - Guitar, Acoustic, Electric, Classical Guitar, Flute
*Steve Cooley - Acoustic, Electric Guitar
*Loren Fauchier - Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
Guest Musician
*Eddy Abner – Steel Guitar

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Monday, June 4, 2012

Sum Pear - Sum Pear (1971 us, extremely psychedelic rock with progressive extension leads)



A Long Island New York-based (?) duo consisting of guitarist/keyboard player Sonny Hahn and singer/keyboard player Doug Miller, this is an outfit I don't know much about, nor have I ever been able to dig up much on the pair. 

Released by the small Euphoria label (apparently a short lived Jubilee offshoot), their sole release 1971's "Sum Pear" was well worth looking for (though it's relative rare and increasingly costly - I've seen two original copies in twenty years). Produced by Bob Gallo, the set offered up a great mix of psych-influenced rockers ('Better Get Down'), straight ahead rock ('Bring Me Home America'), and more conventional folk rock ('I Can See').  

Miller had a nifty voice and Hahn's penchant for feedback drenched guitar (check out the blazing 'Got Me Tragedy'), were both strong selling points.  Some interesting lyrics (yes I actually occasionally actually listen to the words) and the presence of a full backing band with a kick ass rhythm section in the form of bass player Bob Dorsa and drummer John Scaduto certainly didn't hurt the proceedings.  

With the pair writing virtually all of the material (a killer cover of Mickey Newbury's 'Down On Saturday' being the lone non-original), highlights included 'Hey Sun', the wah-wah guitar propelled 'What's So Bad About Feelin' Good', the hyper-speed 'I Need Lovin'"' and the horn-propelled 'Thoughts of Slumber'. 


Tracks
1. What's So Bad About Feelin' Good - 4:56
2. Better Get Down - 3:10
3. Save the Children - 3:31
4. Hey Sun - 3:35
5. Thoughts of Slumber  (Doug Miller) - 3:31
6. Bring Me Home America - 3:18
7. I Need Lovin' - 2:17
8. Down On Saturday   (Mickey Newbury) - 4:17
9. I Can See - 3:32
10.Got Me Tragedy - 3:08
11.On My Way/Forget Yesterday Medley - 6:46
All songs by Doug Miller and Sonny Hahn except where indicated

Sum Pear
*Sonny Hahn - Guitar, Keyboards
*Doug Miller - Vocals, Keyboards
Backing Musicians
*Kathy Alison - Backing Vocals
*Tommy Castagnaro - Drums
*John Cavalea - Trombone
*Richie Cruz - Trumpet
*Bob Dorsa - Bass
*Steve Harber - Sax
*Randy Ragano - Guitar
*Billy Resvanis - Drums
*John Scaduto - Drums
*Mike Segall - Backing Vocals
*Barry Taylor - Keyboards

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Sunday, June 3, 2012

P.J. Proby - Three Weeks Hero (1969 us, quadrophrenic orchestrated psychedelic sunshine country folk blues rock)



It was a cruel joke. P.J.Proby had his run of hits and had wrecked his career by ripping his velvet trousers, perhaps deliberately, on stage. By 1969, he was reaching the end of his fiveyear contract with Liberty Records and the new album was called 'Three Week Hero'. It opens with a blues riff, rather like Chris Smither now, and then P.J. in a cod country voice sings, "I'm a three week hero, I started with a zero, And I sold a million records on my own." Surprisingly, no-one has written a book on P.J.Proby although his colourful life could make a best-selling book, a play and a film. 

He was born James Marcus Smith in Houston, Texas on 6th November 1938 and he attributes his wild behaviour as a reaction to the discipline he endured in a military school. He moved to Hollywood and hung out with Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson and Eddie Cochran. He cut scores of demos and wrote 'Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya', which was the lead track on a hit EP by the Searchers, and 'Clown Shoes' for Johnny Burnette. He had had problems with the police and the Revenue in the US and he was gratified when Jack Good offered him a guest spot in his UK TV spectacular, 'Around The Beatles', which was screened in May 1964. Eddie Cochran's fiancee, Sharon Sheeley, gave him a new name for the show - P.J.Proby, but apart from that, "I created P.J.Proby totally alone. 

The  ponytail, the buckle shoes, the big-sleeved shirts were all me and if I'd had good management, I'd have taken out copyright on them." The TV special drew 8 millions viewers and “Hold Me” wich Proby had cut in the UK with noted sessionman Jimmy Page on lead Guitar , soared to N.3. Page played a distinctive Guitar solo on his follow-up hit, “Together” and he can be heard on several other Proby recordings – “Zing!  Went The Strings Of My Heart', 'Stagger Lee’, 'Linda Lu', 'Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu', 'Let The Water Run Down' and 'Hanging From Your Loving Tree'. 

Proby's Billy Eckstine-inspired but mickey-taking 'Somewhere' was another Top 10 hit and then came the problems with his skin-tight trousers. Proby says that the campaign against him was spearheaded by Mary Whitehouse and that showbusiness moguls _ wanted him deported as he was an American earning good English money. P.J.Proby's conspiracy theories are second only to those following Kennedy's assassination. 

Whatever, he continued to have hits and what could be more appropriate than 'I Apologise'? 'Maria', from Back Side Story (?), made the Top 10 but his sales tailed off because he recorded a tuneless Ben E.King B side, 'Let The Water Run Down', a lacklustre Lennon and McCartney song 'That Means A Lot' and some middle-of-the-road schlock, 'It's Your Day Today'. 'Niki Hoeky', a fabulous slice of cajun rock'n'roll, was too strange for the UK market. It became his only Top 30 hit in America. Tom Jones, who took much from Proby, was becoming a millionaire superstar and Proby was drinking hard to alleviate the boredom of performing on the chicken-in-a-basket circuit. 

In 1967 he was declared a bankrupt in America and in February 1968 he was a UK bankrupt with liabilities of £84,309 against assets of 12 shillings. Jimmy Page cut down on his session work to become a Yardbird and he befriended bassist John Paul Jones. By October 1968, the Yardbirds were in disarray but Page and Jones wanted to continue together and invited vocalist Terry Reid to join them. 

He couldn't escape from a contract but he recommended Robert Plant who was singing with Alexis Korner's blues band. B.J.Wilson wanted to continue as a drummer with Procol Harum and so they accepted Plant's recommendation of John Bonham. This was the personnel of Led Zeppelin: the name came when Keith Moon joked they would go down like a lead Zeppelin. Steve Rowland was an actor, singer and producer, having hits with Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich and the Herd. He formed a group with session singers and musicians including Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood and called them the Family Dogg. 

They had a Top 10 hit in 1969 with 'A Way Of Life'. Rowland, an American in England like Proby, became friendly with him and agreed to produce his next album, a daunting task as his albums had veered from straight rock'n'roll to standards. He asked the Family Dogg to be backing vocalists (excellent on the gospel-slanted 'Won't Be Long' and 'I Have A Dream') and two members of the group, Hammond and Hazelwood, wrote 'Empty Bottles' and 'New Directions'. Steve Rowland recruited Jimmy Page (lead guitar), John Paul Jones (bass, piano, organ) and their new friends, Robert Plant (harmonica) and John Bonham (drums, congas) to accompany him. 

Sometimes though the drums are played by Clem Cattini of the Tornados. John Paul Jones wrote most of the arrangements. Although the album is now regarded as P.J.Proby backed by Led Zeppelin, the only track on which they really sound like that is 'Jim's Blues'.  'Three Week Hero' is a schizophrenic, even quadrophrenic, album. It has no idea of its market, which is what makes it so interesting. One minute Jim is singing about a dead dog ('Little Friend'), the next he's lamenting the death of a soldier (Today I Killed A Man') and what did anyone in 1969 make of 'It's So Hard To Be A Nigger'? (Proby has since recorded 'I Was Born A Poor White Boy In Niggertown' and 'Elvis Was Not The White Nigger - I Was', but I don't know whether he is intending to shock or whether this is a product of his Southern upbringing.) 

The best song on the album is Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway's Today I Killed A Man'. Although it is ostensibly about the Civil War, the implication is that it is really about Vietnam. It was issued as a single with 'It's Too Good To Last'. 'Empty Bottles' was used as B-side of another single, while 'The Day That Lorraine Came Down' was tried as a single. The B-side of that single was an informal studio jam, 'Mery Hopkins Never Had Days Like This', which parodied the Bonzo Dog Band's 'The Intro And The Outro' and included namechecks for Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. 

Three Week Hero' was released in October 1969 and sold miserably. So much so that original copies now pass hands at £60. Led Zeppelin became the heavy metal band of the 70s, which Proby takes credit for: "I told them to go to the hippies in America and that's what they did." In 1970 P.J.Proby was featured in Jack Good's West End production of 'Othello', now called 'Catch My Soul', but it wasn't long before the gremlins got to work and he was sacked from the production. 

The 70s and 80s are a long, drunken haze with occasional highlights, such as another West End show, 'Elvis', in 1977. In recent years, he has given up drinking, had success in further West End musicals and recorded with Marc Almond. When I met P.J.Proby in 1994. I asked him to sign a copy of Three Week Hero'. He looked at the title and wrote across it, 'Wanta bet'. There's still a place for Jim somewhere.
by Spencer Leigh, Presenter, BBC Radio Merseyside


Tracks
1. Three Week Hero (John Stewart) - 2:56
2. The Day That Lorraine Came Down (Young) - 3:15
3. Little Friend (Robin Gair, Peter Mason) - 4:01
4. Empty Bottles (Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood) - 2:53
5. Reflections (Of Your Face) (Amory Kane) - 5:14
6. Won't Be Long (J. Leslie McFarland) - 3:41
7. Sugar Mama (Woodley, Young) - 2:50
8. I Have A Dream (Terry Hensley, Alec Wilder) - 4:45
9. It's Too Good To Last (Baker, Stephens) - 3:14
10.New Directions (Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood) - 3:46
11.Today I Killed A Man (Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway) - 3:24
12.Medley: It's So Hard To Be A Nigger/Jim's Blues/George Wallace Is Rollin' In This Mornin' (Hillery/Traditional) - 7:38

Musicians
*P.J. Proby - Vocals
*John Paul Jones - Bass, Piano, Organ
*Jimmy Page - Electric Guitar
*Clem Cattini - Drums
*Alan  'The Hawk' Hawkshaw - Piano, Organ
*Alan Parker - Guitars
*Robert Plant - Harmonica
*Dennis Lopez,  Stan Barrett - Various Percussion
*John Bonham - Drums, Congas
*Amory Kane - Acoustic Guitar, Strings
*The Family Dogg & Bob Henry Alias The Jericho - Backing Vocal

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The Id - Inner Sounds Of The Id (1967 us, acid garage psych, 2005 issue)



Οn hand for the Pet Sounds sessions was Jerry Cole, an exceptional guitar talent who paid the rent working for Phil Spector and did his own thing as the leader of Jerry Cole and His Spacemen. Between 1963 and 1964, Cole abused his whammy bar throughout several surf albums on Capitol that merged hot-rod abandon with ultrapro chops. One of the best players in this genre, Cole punched in solos for Carl Wilson on early Beach Boys’ records.

A quick study, Cole also scored a prominent place in the development of rock, performing on The Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” when the band proved too inexperienced to make their own rock and roll history. Shortly after, Cole was playing on Pet Sounds. An ambitious man with a sixth sense for pop music trends, he pulled together some L.A. session colleagues and cut his own album: the result was The Inner Sounds of the Id, by The Id.

Recorded between 1965 and ‘66 (according to drummer Don Dexter), a massive collection of tracks was paired down to ten cuts and released by RCA in January 1967, the same month as that other Oedipal manifesto, The Doors. The album is a cornucopia of posthypnotic poetry, sitar obliggatos and, best of all, Yardbirds guitar flash blasting across a Booker T and the MGs groove with a dash of the visionary in its unexpected, deftly executed key and time changes. Cole sings in a murmuring drawl, and his riffs and solos are ear candy a go-go.

The Inner Sounds of the Id features fret board excursions that are too sweaty for sit-ins or be-ins. Freaky as Cole’s runs are, the album never strays far from the spirit of tube amps and last calls from which it was spawned. From Syd Barrett’s “Bike” to Grace Slick’s “Lather,” psychedelic is pampered and inorganic; to Cole’s credit, the Id trips in real time.
by Barry Stoller


Tracks
1. The Rake - 2:01
2. Wild Times - 3:06
3. Don't Think Twice - 2:46
4. Stone And Steel - 3:40
5. Baby Eyes - 2:51
6. Boil The Kettle, Mother - 3:01
7. Butterfly Kiss - 2:34
8. Short Circut - 3:01
9. Just Who - 2:44
10.The Inner Sound Of The Id - 10:29
11.Wild Times - 2:17
12.Don't Think Twice - 2:52
13.Kimeaa - 2:50
14.Our Man Hendrix - 3:10
15.Tune Out Of That Place - 2:26
16.Give Me Some Lovin' (S. Winwood, S. Davies) - 2:33
17.Boil The Kettle (Instr.) - 3:08
18.What Else? - 2:18
19.Uh Uh Uh - 3:16
20.I Can't Stand It Baby - 2:24
All songs by The Id except where noted.

The Id
*Jerry Cole - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals, Sitar
*Glenn Cass - Bass
*Don Dexter - Drums
*Norman Cass - Rhythm Guitar

Other Jerry Cole Releases
1967-68  With The Animated Egg - Guitar Freakout

Salem Mass - Witch Burning (1971 us, heavy prog rock, Gear Fab edition)



Salem Mass spanned the 70's from 71 till 77 playing mainly in the Northwest and Canada. During this time the band went through numerous members and techs. All of which I shall remember as "The Kind" or the best of the best. One of our first breaks was meeting Doug Brown, now of GMA, in Sun Valley Idaho. He later booked us into the best cljbs the Big Sky country had to offer. 

On three occasions Salem Mass, sometimes a five piece, lived in Portland. The first time was because we had just signed an exclusive contract with Headwater Rooking Agency, which promptly went beily up like a rotting carp in Lake Lowell. Fortunately we landed in the capable hands of Andy Gilbert with a new booking agency in the Pacific Northwest called Pacific Talent. Thanks to Andy, Salem Mass played everything that was happening in Portland and surrounding area clubs and grand openings. 

The Treasure Valley, in southwest Idaho was where we paid our dues It was where most of us grew up, where we wrote, played, partied and evolved, and it was worth every cent. Thanks Freddy, Can I have a draw? The album was recorded in a beer bar in Caldwell Idaho called The Red Barn, under the watchful eye of it's owner Steve Moore and was engineered by Lance Parker a mutual friend and Caldwell High alumni of Steve, Mike, and myself. And of course there was the special kind of help that could only be offered by the Big Three. 

Original band member Steve Towcry, stiil resides in Caidwell, Idaho and can be found at the family business Printcraft. Matt Wilson is teaching and producing from his home studio in Nampa, Idaho. Mike Snead is in Brookings Oregon playing with various lounge lizards and doing some studio work with me at Madfingers Music.
by Jim Klahr


Tracks
1 Witch Burning - 10:26
2 My Sweet Jane - 4:35
3 Why - 2:44
4 You Can't Run My Life - 3:50
5 You're Just a Dream - 3:42
6 Bare Tree - 6:53
7 The Drifter - 3:14
All compositions by Jim Klahr, Mike Snead, Steve Towery and Matt Wilson.

Salem Mass
*Jim Klahr - Keyboards
*Mike Snead - Guitar, Vocals
*Steve Towery - Drums, Vocals
*Matt Wilson - Bass, Vocals

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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Smith - Minus-Plus (1970 us, fabulous psych rock, 2007 digi pak remaster)




By the time of Smith's second album, Minus-Plus, Carter and Cliburn had left, replaced by guitarist singer Alan Parker and bassist Judd Huss. "With the second album” says McCormick, "the band's music became a little more melodic; the first band had been gutsier in many ways, There was more guitar on the second album, and the producers found a softer side of me” The first single from the album, ironically, was a Carter-Cliburn original, Take a Look Around, left over from the sessions from a group called...Smith and featuring the by-then departed Clibum on lead vocal. It peaked at No. 43, though the new group never performed it live.

The next single, Carole King and Toni Stern's What Am I Gonna Do, was recorded by the second line-up and reached No. 73. McCormick was getting restless. "I didn't want to be affiliated with a group any more. As time had gone by with Smith, there were too many personalities involved and all of the initial thrust was lost. I left, Larry and Bob left, and the rest continued for a while as Smith with a new girl singer/'

McCormick recorded three solo albums: Gayh McCormick for Dunhill, followed by 1972's Flesh and Blood for MCA and One Afore Hour for Fantasy in 1974. But the thrill was, for all practical purposes, gone. "My husband and I were separated by our work while I was on a two-week promotional tour to New York. I came back to Los Angeles to be with him, and stopped making music professionally." By 1976, she and her husband of four years were divorced; before long, Gayle had moved back to St. Louis, where she remains today, outside the music business except for occasional weekend visits to karaoke bars.

Likewise, the other original members of Smith have scattered: Larry Moss owns a construction firm in Oklahoma; Bob Evans has a company in Southern California that specializes in masonry; Alan Parker is a business administrator in St. Louis; Judd Huss moved to France, where he became a well-known painter. Carter was last spotted in West Virginia; Cliburn, in Oregon. "Going from the highs of the Ed Sullivan Show back to the nightclubs was hard; that was a scene that I'd never really been part of' McCormick says today, likely speaking for all the others and with hardly a sign of regret as she looks back at her moments in the spotlight from the safety and security of home.
by Todd Everett


Tracks
1. You Don't Love Me (Yes I Know) (W. Cobbs) - 3:20 
2. Born In Boston (A. Parker, J. Huss, L. Moss) - 2:42 
3. Comin' Back To Me (A. Parker) - 2:56 
4. Feel The Magic (A. Parker) - 2:37 
5. Jason (J. Huss) - 3:24 
6. What Am I Gonna Do (C. King, T. Stern) - 2:51 
7. Take A Look Around ( J. Cliburn. J. Carter)- 2:50 
8. Since You've Been Gone - 3:46 
9. Circle Man - 2:27 
10.Minus-Plus - 4:03

Smith
*Gayle McCormick - Vocals
*Alan Parker - Guitars, Vocals
*Jud Huss - Bass, Vocals
*Larry Moss - Keyboards
*Bob Evans - Drums

Debut Album

Friday, June 1, 2012

Fire And Ice Ltd - The Happening (1966 us, experimental psychedelic set, beyond rock, jazz and folk, 2012 Kismet release)



Spontaneously, in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and many other parts of the nation young musicians are assembling to create for themselves and their friends a new kind of sound. As Lewis Carroll's Alice stepped through the drawing room mirror into a world of rich imagining, so these gifted young experimentalists are determinedly breaking through the limitations of the old familiar forms - rock, and jazz, and folk, and blues, etcetera - freeing themselves to create a sound that encompasses all the as-yet unexplored possibilities of music. 

These get-togethers are called musical happenings. The sounds they produce are called by some spontaneous music, and by others free-form music. Some also call it 'mind-manifesting music'. And as one of the performers in this album half humorously stated, it might with equal aptness and equal imprecision be called 'ethnic psychedelic Afro-Cuban folk rock'. It is an exhilarating, exciting, galvanizing symphony of musical moods, an exploration into a kind of completely unchained sound that has never happened before. But it's happening now! In the forefront of the musical organizations creating spontaneous music today is Fire and Ice, Ltd. Fire and Ice is the brainchild of two brilliant young men of many talents. 

Pianist and organist Tony Scott was a child prodigy who gave early concerts in his native city of London. A strikingly handsome six-footer, he has been seen as an actor in leading roles in a multiplicity of feature films and television dramas in England, Italy, and America. Flutist and vocalist Paris Sheppard first sought artistic expression as a San Francisco poet amid comrades who included Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Leonard the Locomotive, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. 

So great was the demand for Paris s readings in Bay Area coffee houses that he found he could not write enough material to appease his audiences appetite for them. "So," he says, "I just began going on the stage cold and creating prose poems on the spot with no previous preparation." The spontaneous facility with words that this experience gave him is reflected in the strangely beautiful lyrics he sings in this album. These also were created by him spontaneously before the microphones as a direct inspiration of the music.


Tracks
1. I Just Thought Of The Moon – 6:12
2. The House Of Saturn  - 7:07
3. Star In Flight – 2:59
4. Summertime – 5:56
5. The Happening - 9:35

Fire And Ice Ltd
*Tony Scott - Piano, Organ
*Paris Sheppard – Flute, Guitar
*John Green - Bass
*Joseph Connoly - Guitar
*Roy Durkee - Drums
*Barbara Jackson - Arabian Drums
*Dorothy Erwin, Daniel Westen and Mildred Richard - The Chorus Of Voices

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Mandala - Soul Crusade (1968 canada, psych, prog experimental funk rock, 2010 issue)



Originally formed as The Rogues and consolidated its local standing by landing some important support slots, most notably opening for Wilson Pickett at the Gogue Inn on 25 May, and The McCoys at the North Toronto Memorial Arena on 9 August. In September 1966, however, the band decided to reinvent itself and emerged with a new name and image – Mandala. 

Mandala is a symbol (a circle within a circle within a circle) used by Buddhist monks as an aid to contemplation and was chosen by the band’s manager, Rafael Markowitz (aka Randy Martin). After the success of their top-ten corker 'Opportunity', the Mandala seemed destined for opportunities of their own. Their manager had early on hooked the band up with top U.S. booking agents William Morris, leading to gigs at L.A.'s Whiskey a Go-Go and Hullabaloo clubs - with the latter drawing capacity crowds of 1,400 fawning fans - as well as some extended jaunts in the Big Apple in early 1967. They returned to Toronto that summer as the unofficial flag-bearers of the "Toronto Sound", a gutsy amalgam of r'n'b and soul that was filling the clubs up and down the Yonge Street strip that year. 

It was at this point, however, that their luck started to lose steam. First, internal bickering caused them to shelve the initial tapes to their first and only LP Soul Crusade, and then singer George Olliver succumbed to the stresses of constant performing and left. By the spring of 1968, with the band spinning their wheels big time, Atlantic Records bossman Ahmet Ertugan bought out their contract from Decca records, and Soul Crusade was finally given widespread release. 

Much of Soul Crusade is longer on chops than on actual songwriting, with Henry Babraj's industrial-strength Hammond organ and Domenic Troiano's blistering guitar beefing up the rock end of this rock/soul stew. New singer Ray Kenner's powerful pipes allowed him to take the helms with relative ease and lead single 'Love-itis', while hardly another 'Opportunity', was soul-stomping enough to climb to number nine on Toronto's CHUM-AM charts. Especially cool is the lazy 'Stop Crying on My Shoulder', where the band take a bit of a breather to naively explore some Chicago-style northern soul. 

However, though buoyed by generally positive reviews, the band had to scrap a planned tour across Canada after bassist Don Elliot was involved in a car accident. A final single, 'You Got Me', showed that the band still had the goods, but its dismal sales would spell the end, with Troiano taking his considerable guitar skills to form the funky blues/rock outfit Bush in 1970.
by Michael Panontin


Tracks
1. World Of Love (Don Troiano) - 2:45
2. One Short Year (Don Troiano) - 3:06
3. Love-It Is (Harvey Scales, Albert Vancel) - 2:42
4. Come On Home (Don Troiano) - 5:56
5. Every Single Day (Don Troiano, Keith Mckie) - 3:45
6. Mellow Carmello Palumbo (Don Troiano, Whitey Glan, Don Eliot) - 3:41
7. Can't Hold Out (Don Troiano) - 2:36
8. Don't Make Me Cry (Don Troiano) - 3:08
9. Stop Cryin' On My Shoulder (Don Troiano) - 2:31
10.Faith (Don Troiano) - 5:59

Mandala
 *Don Troiano - Lead Guitar
 *Don Elliot - Bass
 *Whitey Glan - Percussion
 *Roy Kenner - Vocal
 *Hugh Sullivan - Organ, Vibes

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Blues Project - Live At Town Hall (1967 us, substantial wide influenced psych blues rock, 2013 japan SHM remaster)



The Blues Project came together in NYC's Greenwich Village in 1965. The original quintet was guitarists Danny Kalb and Steve Katz, bass and flautist Andy Kulberg, drummer Roy Blumenfeld and vocalist Tommy Flanders. Session musician Al Kooper joined after the band failed a COLUMBIA audition. Although his keyboard skills were limited, Kooper contributed respectable vocals and good original songs.

In 1966, they recorded “Live At Cafe Au Go Go” and “Projections” for the Verve Forecast label. By early '67 when work began on “The Blues Project Live At Town Hall” (FT/FTS 3025), Kooper had left the group (Katz followed him later in the year).

There's only one cut here actually recorded at Town Hall. The balance is other "live" a performances at  Stony Brook College, plus studio tracks with added applause. Kooper's "No Time Like the Right Time," the group's only charting single, is a studio take augmented with applause that's reminiscent of the Animals. "Mean Old Southern" rolls as fast as an express train at full throttle. The extended "Flute Thing" opens with organ and flute playing in unison.

"I Can't Keep From Crying" is a fairly standard rocker. "Love Will Endure" features Katz's baritone vocal. It's another simulated "live" recording. "Where There's Smoke" is a decent Kooper leftover. The album closing "Wake Me, Shake Me" nicely illustrates how Blues Project sounded in-concert: tight, intense and improvisational.
by Annie Van Auken


Tracks
1. Introduction / Electric Flute Thing (Al Kooper) - 11:19
2. I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes (B.W. Johnson, Arr. by Al Kooper) - 6:00
3. Mean Old Southern (Unknown) - 2:50
4. No Time Like The Right Time (Al Kooper) - 3:06
5. Love Will Endure (Patrick Lynch, Patrick Sky) - 2:37
6. Where There's Smoke, There's Fire (A. Kooper, I. Levine, B. Brass) - 2:45
7. Whake Me Shake Me (Arr. by Al Kooper) - 9:19
8. Electric Flute Thing (Al Kooper) - 10:28
9. Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes (B.W. Johnson, Arr. by Al Kooper) - 5:34
10.Mean Old Southern (Unknown) - 2:39
11.No Time Like The Right Time (Al Kooper) - 2:50
12.Love Will Endure (Patrick Lynch, Patrick Sky) - 2:24
13.Where There's Smoke, There's Fire (A. Kooper, I. Levine, B. Brass) - 2:31
14.Whake Me Shake Me (Arr. by Al Kooper) - 8:36
15.Lost In The Shuffle (John McDuffy, Joel I'Brien) - 2:55
16.Gentle Dreams (Steve Katz, Andy Kulberg) - 2:39
Tracks 8-16 Mono versions

The Blues Project
*Danny Kalb - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Al Kooper - Organ, Vocals
*Steve Katz - Rhythm Guitar
*Roy Blumenfeld - Drums
*Andy Kulberg - Bass

Other Blues Projects
1966  Live At The Cafe Au Go Go
1966  Projections
1968  Planned Obsolescence
1973  Reunion in Central Park

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Zoot Money - Transition (1968 uk, organ drivin' sunny psychedelic soulful jazz rock, 2009 Righteous Psalm reissue)



Bournemouth isnt particularly well known for its music. A renowned retirement zone where Tolkein used to holiday and eventually, er, retired to, it's cavernous NIC venue plays host to major tours but the sleepy coastal town has more in common with bath chairs and bowls than wild psychedelia and mod grooves. 

However, back in the '60s, it was 'swinging' and at the centre of the local scene was Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, a jazz, R&B and blues-inspired combo powered by the eccentric behaviour and tuneful keyboards of Zoot Money who'd, by 1964, drafted in future Police guitarist Andy Summers. Zoot, was a local scenester whose move to London became legendary through his tight trousers which occasionally split in a pre-PJ Proby moment. 

Zoot Money was already an enigma. Later, through the '70s, Money would go on to play with The Majik Mijits featuring Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriot, The Electric Blues Company, various incarnations of The Animals, Grimms, jazz rock fusionists Centipede as well as alongside Geno Washington, Spencer Davis, one time Stones' guitarist Mick Taylor, Kevin Ayers and a host of others. But In the mid-'6Os the whole world was turning upside down and Zoot was similarly rotating. The early Big Roll Band albums had provided some groovy blue-eyed soul and a few Ray Charles-like sounds before, in 1966, Zoot embarked on a solo project which would become “Transition”. 

Featuring the same players who were in the  Big Roll Band, he began recording this unique set which touched on soulful ballads, uptempo mod material and included a track called 'Soma' which was written by Andy Summers and featured him on sitar. An exciting mix of sounds, “Transition” route to the record shoo was truncated to say the least. 'Soma' had inspired Summers and Money to new tangents of music. It pushed the boundaries and encouraged Hie band to wig out further and, in a state of psyche-pop bliss, they decided they were so far uut of the Big Roll Band sound that they should change their name to Dantalian's Chariot and don the patchouli oil of the day. 

They would eventually play shows with the likes of Pink Floyd and their sole album 'Chariot Rising' featured a couple of the tracks from Transition in stranger incarnations and became a cult classic in the process, as it failed to ignite and turned their existing mod following off. After the Dantalion hiatus, 'Transition' was finally released on the Direction label and, by that time, the mods had embraced the psychedelic bug and the album slipped into obscurity and indeed became one of those buried treasures that is  talked of but seldom actually even seen. Finally, this lost gem has belatedly made K to CD. 

Remastered from the original quarter inch tapes, with all of Its glorious sweeping sounds, aching vocals and  groovy upbeat tunes intact, it's the epitome of cool. A year after its initial vinyl release, Zoot's 'Welcome To My Head' proved to be another out there experience that again gained cult status for its inventiveness but failed to garner sales – the right music at the wrong time again. Zoot Money is one of the great heroes of long lost eccentric English music. 'Transition'- from the bizarre sleeve down - is one of his finest moments
by Dave Henderson


Tracks
1. Let the Music Make You Happy (G. Money, Andy Summers) - 2:37
2. River's Invitation (P. Mayfield) - 3:55
3. Soma (Andy Summers) - 6:23
4. What Cha Gonna Do? Bout It (Doris Payne, Gregory Carrroll, Rex Garvin) - 3:35
5. Stop the Wedding (G. Money, Andy Summers) - 3:57
6. Deadline (P. Mayfield) - 3:15
7. Recapture the Thrill of Yesterday (Tony Colton, Raymond Smith) - 3:53
8. Problem Child (T. Wine, C. Bayer) - 2:23
9. Just a Passing Phase (Tony Colton, Raymond Smith) - 3:00
10.Coffee Song (Raymond Smith, Tony Colton) - 2:49

Musicians
*Zoot Money - Organ, Vocals
*Andy Summers - Guitar
*Paul Williams - Bass Guitar
*Nick Newell - Saxophone
*Johnny Almond - Saxophone
*Colin Allen - Drums

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Various Artists - A-Square Of Course The Story Of Michigan's Legendary A-Square Records (1967-70 us, rough garage psych pearls)



Jeep Holland’s Ann Arbor label and agency A-Square was the flashpoint for the late 1960s Detroit rock revolution. “A-Square (Of Course)” features historic recordings by luminaries MC5, Thyme, Scot Richard Case and Frost, plus the rarely-heard Prime Movers, with a young Iggy Pop on lead vocals.

From Del Shannon through Mitch Ryder and Motown and its many offshoots and imitators, Michigan’s rock’n’roll past is tremendously rich – but without a doubt, it is the “high energy” Grande Ballroom era of the MC5 and Stooges that has captures the imagination of the rock fan. Detroit’s rock scene of the late 60s was part of the grass roots rock milieu, clustered in towns like Flint, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, East Lansing and, significantly, the college town of Ann Arbor, forty miles west of Detroit. This was the place that music fanatic Hugh “Jeep” Holland established his set up. Jeep traditionally does not get the credit he deserves in his stewardship of Detroit 60s rock’n’roll between 1965-70 but to a large extent, he was the region’s first tastemaker.

Jeep’s passion for music began early. It was inevitable that after moving to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan, he began to help local musicians first in management, and then by recording them on A-Square. The Rationals were his first and the most significant band and he helped them to transform into the accomplished and soulful hitmakers of Respect. Holland was a control freak, mentoring his acts with an almost Svengali-like zeal. But while groups like the Rationals and the Thyme acquiesced, others like the Scot Richard Case and the Prime Movers openly baulked at being manipulated in such fashion. 

Like any maverick, Jeep’s motives were misunderstood, his efforts taken for granted. As the Detroit scene began to explode in 1968 and 1969, with the crowds swelling and the gate receipts ever more lucrative, Jeep struggled to maintain control over his business activities. Lacking the cut-throat acumen mandatory for survival A-Square inevitably crumbled. By 1971 he had fled to Boston, departing in a welter of bounced cheques and bad debts.

I first contacted Jeep about reissuing the A-Square material in late 1997, and he was enthusiastic. Jeep wanted to work with Ace – he told me, “you guys do our music better than we do”. My Ace project at that time was the Zombies box set “Zombie Heaven”. True to form, when I mentioned them his instantant response was “ah, Chris White!”, the hallmark of an music expert. Sadly, Jeep died shortly afterwards and his estate passed to his brother Frank, who valiantly sorted through a houseful of papers, comics and assorted junk. When I eventually had the opportunity to survey the material, I was amazed at the sheer quantity of Michigan-related rock’n’roll memorabilia: Jeep had saved everything.

“A-Square (Of Course)” is thus a long overdue tribute to Holland’s stewardship of Michigan rock. It features most of the single sides issued on the label, plus unreleased productions and tracks by acts that Jeep managed or booked. These include the double-whammy firebrand of the MC5’s Looking At You / Borderline (released on A-Square without Jeep’s knowledge); rare cuts by the Frost, Up and Scot Richard Case, the latter the mod-ified early incarnation of SRC; and last but not least, a live I’m A Man by the Prime Movers, sung by a youthful Iggy Pop. The packed booklet depicts just a small fraction of the mountains of memorabilia in the Holland collection. Wherever you are Jeep, I hope it makes you proud.
By Alec Palao 


Tracks - Artists
1.I'm So Glad - Scot Richard Case - 2:52
2.Looking at You - MC5 - 2:50
3.Somehow - Thyme - 2:50
4.Stranded in the Jungle - Apostles - 3:13
5.Get the Picture - Scot Richard Case - 2:14
6.No Opportunity Necessary, NoExperience Needed - Thyme - 2:58
7.She Is a Friend - Rain - 3:10
8.Easy Way Out - Bossmen - 2:13
9.Time of the Season - Thyme - 2:44
10.Midnight to Six Man - Scot Richard Case - 2:18
11.Tired of Waiting for You - Apostles - 3:03
12.Borderline - MC5 - 3:19
13.I Found You - Thyme - 3:00
14.Who Is That Girl - Scot Richard Case - 2:52
15.Get Down - Half-Life - 2:32
16.I'm a Man - Prime Movers - 3:54
17.Love to Love - Thyme - 2:12
18.Just Like an Aborigine - Up - 4:18
19.I Cannot Stop You - Bossmen - 2:43
20.Very Last Day - Thyme - 3:10
21.Cobwebs and Strange - Scot Richard Case - 2:36
22.Listen My Girl - Bossmen - 2:28
23.Window Song - Thyme - 3:09
24.Mystery Man - Frost, Wagner - 3:36
25.I Found a Love - Thyme - 2:54

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