Hard blues rock band from California formed and lead by Dennis Rodrigues. They also released another one as Growl (Discreet 2209) 1974. The master tapes were shared with Bob Smith during recording of The Visit album which confirms that Utopia's album was released during 1969 - 70.
from Fuzz Acid and Flowers
Tracks
1. I Just Want To Make Love To You (Willie Dixon) - 4:06
2. Me 6:08
3. Young And Crazy 2:19
4. Who's This Man 3:24
5. Walking Blues (Traditional) - 7:11
6. Working Man 4:36
7. On My Feet Again 4:01
8. Ain't No Reason 4:33
9. Hound Dog (J. Leiber, M. Stoller) - 4:04
10.I Wonder 3:29
11.Back Stabbin' Woman 2:12
All songs by Dennis Rodrigues except where noted.
The first album by Boston's most exciting trio, getting rare now as an original, and unavailable to many, it failed to sell after its release despite a good welcome by critics. After more than 40 years the album stands the weight of time and provides nine robust songs with all the fuzz you can ask for, a constant pounding drum beat and even some Eastern influences. The record is probably worth it alone for the great guitar playing of Richard Schamack 'Sham' and its cool psychedelic cover.
Follow up to their seminal 1968 debut, this brings you another example of what the Eden's Children are known for, and why they are openly (even back then) acclaimed as the best Boston band. Led by Richard 'Sham' Schamach's fine guitar playing and backed by the tight rhythm section of bassist Larry Kiley and drummer Jimmy Sturman, the children unload in this album another twelve songs of fuzzy psychedelic sounds. Some people argue this to be even better than their first, but we'll let the listener judge.
Tracks Eden's Children
1. Knocked Out - 3:16
2. Goodbye Girl - 3:20
3. If She’s Right - 2:34
4. I Wonder Why - 3:29
5. Stone Fox - 3:05
6. My Bad Habit - 2:22
7. Just Let Go - 7:43
8. Out Where The Light Fish Live - 5:05
9. Don’t Tell Me - 4:48 Sure Looks Real
10.Sure Looks Real - 4:29
11.Toasted (Larry Kiley) - 2:05
12.Spirit Call - 2:44
13.Come When I Call - 3:44
14.Awakening - 2:08
15.The Clock’s Imagination - 2:54
16.Things Gone Wrong - 4:06
17.Wings (Larry Kiley) - 2:40
18.Call It Design - 3:20
19.Invitation - 3:36
20.Echoes - 2:20
All songs written by Richard 'Sham' Schamach, except where noted.
If any band personified the epic musical voyage of the '60s it was Sir Winston and The Commons from (where else?) Indianapolis, Indiana. Born in 1963 as a surf combo called the Suspicions, Ron Matelic, Don Basore, Herb Crawford, Joe Stout and John Medvescek rode each subsequent pop culture tsunami as it swept across America: from the English Invasion and jangly folk-rock to snotty garage and sitar-laced psychedelia.
Changing their name to Sir Winston & The Commons in 1964 at the urging of Bob Kelly, their booking agent, the boys adopted fake English accents for a brief period while playing weekly fraternity keggers at Indiana and Purdue Universities. "Some could do the accent and some couldn't," chuckles Matelic. "We told people we were from different parts of England. But then we'd run into guys we went to high school with, so we said, 'Forget this.'" Matelic relied on the late night radio signal of WBZ out of- Boston to pick up on the hottest new tunes weeks before his peers, insuring Sir Winston continuous bookings at teenclubs sprouting up all over "Naptown," like the Whiteland Barn, the Flame Club, the House Of Sound and the Westlake Beach Club (with an indoor swimming pool and a detachable roof). "There was a club in every corner of town," recalls Matelic. whose band competed for gigs with the Boys Next Door, the Idle Few, Sounds Unlimited and the Dawn Five.
Sir Winston's new booker, Sonny Hobbs, convinced them to concentrate on original material, which soon garnered a single on Soma Records out of Minneapolis. "We never actually met the Soma people," insists Matelic. "They sent us to Columbia Studios in Chicago to record that single. Herb and I both had fuzz-boxes, so 'We're Gonna Love' was inspired by 'Satisfaction.' The other side, 'Come Back,' we tried to make sound like the Beatles' 'Things We Said Today.'" The crowning achievement of Sir Winston's career must have been "Not The Spirit Of India," a subtle yet peppery ragout from 1967, released on their own label, Nauseating Butterfly! "Herb thought of the label name," smiles Matelic, "the Frisco thing had hit: combine any adjective with any noun." Recording aside, Matelic alleges the most fun the group ever had was on periodic incursions into Chicago.
"We'd charter two buses to take all our family and friends down there to see us play at The Cellar." The band's ultimate kudo may also have come from that Chitown nitery, considering it was frequented by the Shadows Of Knight and Saturday's Children. "Everybody there thought we were really weird," says Matelic, still proud of the backhanded compliment.
by Prof. Jud Cost
Tracks
1.We're Gonna Love (Don Basore) - 2:38
2.Come Back Again (Ronald Matelic) - 2:02
3.Not the Spirit of India (Ronald Matelic, Herb Crawford) 2:15
4.One Last Chance (Don Basore) - 2:39
Sir Winston And The Commons
*Joe Stout - Saxophone
*Herb Crawford - Guitar
*John Medvescek - Drums
*Ron Matelic - Guitar
*Don Basore - Bass
Michael Lloyd clearly recalls the day he decided to be in a band. Aged 12, he was surfing in Hawaii in the summer of '62 with schoolfriend and fellow pianist Jimmy Greenspoon. "We were far out from the shore and we heard music coming from the beach. It sounded great. So we paddled in and there were these local guys playing Ventures songs - they were very good - and that started us thinking, We've got to have a band!" Michael took up guitar and thus were born The New Dimensions, a barely pubescent surf combo. When the British invasion turned the local band scene on its ear a couple of years later, Lloyd and his chums became The Alley Kats and then The Rogues.
Lloyd's musical obsession meant he wasn't giving school his full attention, so, in the autumn of 1964, he left Beverly Hills High School and started at the more relaxed Hollywood Professional School. When he deigned to attend classes, he met the Harris brothers, Shaun and Danny, sons of celebrated American classical composer Ray Harris. The trio quickly recognised their common enthusiasm for pop, and, inspired by seeing Jeff Beck and The Yardbirds at a Hollywood party, began recording songs in Michael's bedroom.
The party's host, an older guy named Bob Markley, offered to fund recordings in a 2-track studio. In return he asked to join the band as a tambourine player, because it would help him attract girls. Their rudimentary recordings, mostly cover versions, were released locally on an album (recently reissued) as The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Volume 1. Lloyd left and the group subsequently signed to Reprise, creating three excellent albums that also deserve to be more widely heard. (They later reunited with Lloyd for an album entitled Bob Markley - A Group... It's a long story.)
In the meantime, Michael was introduced to young executive Mike Curb by ubiquitous LA scenester and producer Kim Fowley. Curb handed the precocious producer a number of projects for Tower under names such as The Laughing Wind and The Rubber Band. Epic Records then offered Lloyd the chance to produce a folk group who came to be called October Country. One afternoon in late 1967 the band assembled at Columbia Records Studios on Sunset. "That was my first time in a real studio. It was an 8-track and one of those union places where you couldn't touch a thing.
The first thing that happened was that the drummer was so nervous he threw up and ran out! So I ended up playing the drums and then, after everyone left, I replaced all the instruments, overdubbed the strings and sang with the girl in the group." Although it flopped, the October Country album gave Lloyd a taste of what he could achieve with such facilities at his disposal. 'I promoted the fact that I could do it all. Mike Curb had this great studio called Hollywood Boulevard and he let me spend about six months there making an album. It was just me and those two guys. No engineers, no anything.' Thus was born The Smoke.
Michael song lead vocals, played bass and keyboards while "those two guys" were Stan Ayeroff, who co-wrote three of the songs and played guitar, and Steve Baim who played drums. (Jimmy Greenspoon, by this time part of Three Dog Night, appeared in the shots on the sleeve although he didn't play on it.) Lloyd poured everything he'd learnt into the album. It opens with the organ-driven Cowboys And Indians, a song with parallels to Brian Wilson's Heroes And Villains. 'I met Bruce Johnston and he took me to a couple of sessions while Brian was recording Good Vibrations," recalls Lloyd. "it was a great experience.
Obviously The Beatles and The Beach Boys were a prime motivation. I think I've always been trying to catch up with them." There are overt Beatles references throughout the record, the chorus of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds is even quoted in the fade to Fogbound. The song's influence is also clear in Gold Is The Colour Of Thought. Elsewhere, the lush arrangements feature Pepperesque bursts of trumpet, strings, harpsichord and lashings of sweet singing. Including all the foregoing, October Country, the song, makes a spirited reappearance and there are further great pop moments in Umbrella and Odyssey. As a final nod to Lloyd's heroes, the album is dedicated to Stuart Sutcliffe.
As records by Beatle-obsessed youths of the '60s go, it all remains remarkably fresh, and should certainly delight fans of post-Pet Sounds psych-pop, say Millennium or Sagittarius. Perhaps only Stan's tricksy guitar shop-window, The Hobbit Symphony breaks the mood. Despite encouragement from Tower and a wide release, the album flopped. "I don't know if anybody really knew what to make of it," sighs Lloyd. "We never went on to play live as The Smoke as I'd planned.' Luckily, Lloyd had plenty of youthful confidence in reserve and didn't let failure faze him. "By the time I was 19, I'd already recorded over 10 albums with different bands and different labels, all unsuccessful! But after that my life changed a great deal."
At the tender age of 20, Lloyd was appointed vice-president of MGM by Mike Curb and his first production job, Lou Rawls's Natural Man, won a Grammy. After that he turned out hits for teen sensations like The Osmonds and Shaun Cassidy, later producing Belinda Carlisle, Barry Manilow and, most lucratively, the multi-million selling soundtrack to Dirty Dancing.
He worked on Pat Boone's recent, bizarre and surprisingly controversial album of orchestrated versions of heavy metal classics, and is in the studio with the Harris brothers hoping to resurrect the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
But of all the things he's recorded it's clear Michael Lloyd's very fond of his forgotten classic created almost 30 years ago and is delighted that it's still finding fans. "It was great fun and gave me the opportunity to learn a little something. I'm very grateful for that."
Jim lrvin and Tim Forster, MOJO, January 1998
Tracks
1. Cowboys And Indians - 2:48
2. Looking Thru The Mirror - 1:43
3. Self-Analysis - 2:54
4. Gold Is The Colour Of Thought - 3:05
5. The Hobbit Symphony - 3:58
6. The Daisy - Intermission - 0:28
7. Fogbound - 2:22
8. Song Thru Perception - 1:46
9. Philosophy - 0:45
10.Umbrella - 2:27
11.Ritual Gypsy Music Opus 1 - 0:14
12.October Country - 2:46
13.Odyssey - 3:44
Keen Followers of the 1960s Rock scene have become used to tales of long lost tapes and unissued recordings that have seemingly disappeared forever. Every so often, however, a cache of "lost" recordings does surface.
In subsequent years, the finally crafted pop-psych of "Sycamore Sid" helped earn the group a reputation for being one of the more intriguing- and most elusive- UK bands of the sixties. Yet nothing more was heard from Focal Point until 2002, when two previously unreleased tracks recorded at the same session as their Deram single appeared on the compilation CD 94 BAKER STREET which features artists who were signed to The Beatles' Apple Music Publishing company. Both, "Never Never" and "Girl on the corner" confirmed that "Sycamore Sid" was no fluke and that FOcal Point were perharps one of the great lost English pop groups of the 60's.
Since then, Paul Tennant, Dave Slater and Tim Wells of Focal Point have scoured lofts and basements across England in an effort to uncover tracks that were recorded during Focal Point's 1967-1968 heyday but were misplaced during ensuing decades. FIRST BITE OR THE APPLE represents the fruit of their labours. In addition to the four songs recorded for Deram in early 1968, FIRST BITE OF THE APPLE includes a number of tracks that were recorded independently at an 8-track studio in Manchester in late 1968.
by Stefan Granados
Tracks
1. Miss Sinclair - 2:29
2. Sycamore Sid - 2:39
3. Hassle Castle - 3:39
4. Never Never - 3:27
5. Lonely Woman - 3:31
6. Far Away From Forever - 3:42
7. Love You Forever - 2:56
8. Tales From The GPO Files - 2:19
9. McKinnley Morgan The Deep Sea Diver - 3:10
10.Falling Out Of Friends (Paul Tennant, Dave Slater, Tim Wells) - 3:29
11.Girl On The Corner - 2:22
12.Goodbye Forever (Dave Slater, Paul Tennant, Tim Wells) - 2:29
13.This Time She's Leaving (Dave Slater, Paul Tennant, Tim Wells) - 3:22
14.'Cept Me - 2:28
15.Miss Sinclair (Demo) - 2:38
16.Miss Sinclair (Alternate Version) - 2:57
17.Hassle Castle (Demo) - 3:02
18.Never Never (Alternate Version) - 3:04
19.Reflections (Demo) - 2:54
20.Reflections - 2:59
All songs by Paul Tennant and Dave Rhodes except where noted.
By the middle of 1971, I had five albums in the can, taken the band on endless tours and played at major festivals including the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969. I suppose after all that I was getting ready for a change. At the end of 1971 it started to become clear that myself and Gary Thain were following a different musical direction to that of Miller Anderson, but all in a positive way.
Miller decided to pursue his solo career which, although it was a blow, left me the freedom to get together fresh musicians and essentially make a new start. I set about the task of searching for a great bunch of very different but nevertheless, musically like minded individuals. The gathering together of Junior Kerr on Guitar, Pete Wingfield on Keyboards, Chris Mercer on Sax (who was also a dynamite arranger) and Nick Newell on Sax was the result of that search.
The respect I had for Gary Thain was immense and to the extent that I made the one and only concession in my recording career. Gary wrote "You Say You're Together Now" and he was insistent that he should sing that number himself. I agreed that he could and, although I honoured that agreement, it wasn't the right decision musically. Saying it was a mistake makes it sound like I'm bitter about that decision which I'm not, but I always wanted the music to come first.
Pete Wingfield was the most tight fisted person I'd ever met! Whilst sailing to Oslo, we all bought and took seasick pills and we all threw up except for Pete who said "I've paid for it so I'm keeping it". Some months later he released a successful single on the Blue Horizon label called "18 with a Bullet" and every time I bumped into him at a session after that I used to sing "I'm 18 with a wallet - I can't get in there, you won't allow it." It was all in good humour.
Pete wrote "Hard Pill to Swallow" for the album that also showed off Chris Mercer's horn arrangements, which were both subtle and deep. Junior Kerr was an extremely mellow guy but as a performer he always wanted to be Jimi Hendrix; the ultimate alter ego chameleon. He contributed two songs for the album "Heartbreakin' Woman" and "Don't You Be Long". I'd always loved Chris Mercer's playing when he was in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Chris was in the band at the same time as I was so we knew each other and it was great that he agreed to join my brand new 1972 band.
To get an idea of Chris's talented playing, listen to Roxy Music's "Let's Work Together" - the sax solo in that was Chris Mercer at his very best – he blows it to kingdom come! I knew Nick Newell through Zoot Money's Big Roll Band and one day he approached me and asked if I'd got any work, so I said "Yes, how do you fancy working with Chris Mercer?" and he said "Yeah, I'd love to". Those two got on like a house on fire and some of the brass arrangements were perfected by the two of them huddled together in a corner trying out different voicings for the parts.
As we all became familiar with what we were doing I got really excited about getting in the studio with this bunch of really talented guys. I couldn't wait! The album title was conceived as usual during the time frame of recording the album and as the year was very soon going to be 1972 and I wanted to keep the Native American theme alive, I came up with "Seventy Second Brave" in a moment of inspiration one evening on the way home from the studio. The album owes as much to John Burns the coproducer as it does to any of the players that were involved. I first met up with John Burns in the editing suite when he worked as an engineer whilst making our previous album "Little Big Band".
After that he decided to go into producing and had produced one or possibly two Genesis albums before I asked him if he would co-produce and engineer "Seventy Second Brave". On one track, (I'll leave you to decide which it is), we had Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins on backing vocals. You won't find them credited on the album as it was just a case of them strolling into the studio with John Burns and joining in for fun. A nice moment was when Phil Collins took me to one side and said to me "Do you remember the Mayall gig at Wellington Town Hall?" And I said "No" "Well", he said, "we came to see you and loved it because you took the piss out of your own drum solo." You see I was expected to do drum solos and the crowd loved them but I never liked them musically.
Anyway, the time was approaching when we were going to make the album so we all met up at John Burns' flat and brainstormed the songs making sure that each and every musician had a chance to input their ideas. We had at least half a dozen sessions like this. Not only was this good preparation for working on the album, it was a great insight into how we would work as a live band. We had two and a half weeks of studio time booked (excluded mixing). We played everything live but still used overdubs to enhance the performances. By now most other bands were starting to work in a different way, building up songs one instrument at a time.
This was all very well but often lost the interplay that you get when musicians are playing together in the same room. We all went in well rehearsed for the recording sessions but when we started gigging it was a different matter - we often had to adapt arrangements to suit the live performances until we were happy with them. Each session was around 10 hours each day over the two and a half weeks. We would possibly abandon a track when we were getting stale and rather than call it a day we would start on another, only to find the juices would start to flow again and reactivate the session with everyone queuing up to do their particular overdub.
Island Records studio was in Notting Hill Gate and we'd start sessions at around six o' clock in the evening until three in the morning and during the sessions we'd obviously get hungry. We'd give our minder and companion Dell Roll our order for a takeaway and he'd go out in the early hours into an area that, at the time, was problematic with black / white violence. As the only white man walking the streets for miles around; he used to be scared to death! After he got to know the guys in the Caribbean takeaways and they knew what he was doing he could relax a little more. Dell always used to take Blue, my Alsatian dog at the time, with him on these nightly vigils. Blue used to accompany me down to the studio and fall asleep, often in front of the monitor speakers.
No matter how loud they got (and John Burns would have them falling off the brackets at times) Blue stayed asleep throughout it all. "Seventy Second Brave" was released right at the beginning of 1972 and we toured almost immediately. That took care of the first part of 1972. I then took up the offer from John Mayall to join him on a European tour. I needed a rest and this seemed like an ideal opportunity - a busman's holiday. I've just listened to the album for the first time in a very long time and I must admit that on first listening I thought it was tight even by today's standards and still stands up today musically.
It reminded me of John Burns getting paranoid whilst miking up my bass drum and I could hear the perfect marriage of Gary Thain's bass and my bass drum that came about from this. We used to get everyone in the control room often after each take so we could all criticise the take and make suggestions so we could improve things with the next take. It reminded me why I enjoyed the music business so much - I got to work with so many talented people.
by Keef Hartley, December 2008
Tracks
1. Heartbreakin' Woman (J. Kerr) - 4:21
2. Marin County (C. Mercer) - 3:58
3. Hard Pill To Swallow (P. Wingfieid) - 5:43
4. Don't You Be Long (J. Kerr) - 5:16
5. Noctums (C. Crowe) - 2:04
6. Don't Sign It (C. Mercer) - 4:28
7. Always Thinkin' Of You (C. Crowe) - 4:39
8.You Say You're Together Now (G. Thain) - 3:43
9.What It Is (C. Crowe) - 1:18
Having worked with George Martin on their self titled debut, Edward's Hand began recording at Morgan Studios in 1970, attempting to create a harder and more progressive sound than before. There where no nervous second album vibes here! The album is comprised of evocative and intelligent progressive pop songs immaculately produced featuring Edward's and Hand's distinctive harmonies to the fore.
The second half of the album is effectively a concept of alienation and isolation, covered in the seven minute title track and the twelve minute epic Death Of A Man. which includes an incredible "orchestra duelling-with-moogs" mid section followed by a beautifully majestic and Beatles like coda. Stranded marks its reissue here on CD with the inclusion of the original artwork by Revolver cover artist and long term Beatle friend Klaus Voorman.
The line drawing of a Southern Sheriff, ties in with the lyrics of Sheriff Myras Lincoln - a song about an American racist policeman - and was subsequently banned and replaced with different artwork by RCA in the US. Clearly more confident and adventurous lyrically on this album, Edward's Hand also had more time with George Martin during the pre-production stages. This preparation time, an intelligent lyric writing team and Georges complex yet concise orchestral arrangements give their second LP a much worldlier and unique feel.
Edwards Hand were the first group that George Martin arranged and produced after The Beatles. This is the band's second album and was originally released in 1970. It features some stunning string arrangements by George Martin from the first sessions to be mixed at his then new Air Studios.
The cover art is a controversial caricature of a US Sheriff by "Revolver" Beatles artist / friend Klaus Voorman. This artwork was banned by the US label and was subsequently replaced with different artwork on the original US pressing of the album. It is re-instated on this release. Edwards Hand were formally the short-lived Picadilly Line who released the ultra rare album The Huge World of Emily Small, whilst Rod Edwards was also a key member of legendary UK folk band Jade.
Stranded features John Wetton's first guest appearance on an album, just before he joined Family and Jimmy Litherland of Colosseum. The band is virtually the same grouping that backed Marianne Segal and Dave Waite on the legendary Fly On Strange Wings album by Jade.
This preparation time, an intelligent lyric writing team and George's complex yet concise orchestral arrangements give their second LP a much worldlier and unique feel.
Tracks
1. US Flag - 4:51
2. Sheriff Myras Lincola - 6:01
3. Revolution's Death Man! - 4:04
4. Encounter - 2:39
5. Hello America - 2:37
6. Stranded - 7:07
7. Winter - 1:40
8. Death of a Man - 12:11
....i. Die When You Must Die
....ii. The Strife Is O'ef the Battle Done
....iii. He Is Gone
....iv. This May Sound Strange
....v. The Sentence Is Life
All songs written by Rod Edwards and Roger Hand
Edwards Hand
*Rod Edwards - Keyboards, Vocals
*Roger Hand - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
*James Litherland - Electric Guitar
*John Wetton - Bass
*Clem Cattini - Drums
Blossom Toes were the twee-est band of all time-- twice as twee as the Dukes of Stratosphear covering "(Listen to the) Flower People" in front of an audience of animated chipmunks, thrice as twee as a Keane painting magically brought to life by a sprinkling of fairy dust and singing the Fluff Fluff Fluff Fluff and Cuddleyness catalogue. Originally the Ingoes, one of ten million British blues bands who desperately wanted to be the Yardbirds, they hooked up with their idols' manager Giorgio Gomelsky; just as flower power was taking off, they were directed to become psychedelicists and change their name, for reasons having less to do with LSD than pounds-shillings-pence.
The Toes claim their songs were all written by the time somebody played them an acetate of Sgt. Pepper's in the studio. If so, "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" seems to have hit them like an acid bomb, because virtually every song here can trace its DNA to the Beatles' psychedelic moment, from the harmonies to Kevin Westlake's Ringofied drumming to the quick-changing orchestrations accompanying the chime of their twelve-string guitars to their general sense of persistently tuneful music-hall whimsy as the corridor behind the doors of perception.
They don't waste time getting around to it, either: The opening track begins with a backwards-guitar fade-in before singer/guitarist Brian Godding exclaims "Look at me I'm you! Look at me I'm you!" Godding was the band's main songwriter, although guitarist Jim Cregan also gets in a couple of good ones, especially "When the Alarm Clock Rings" (later recycled as the closing track of the Nuggets II compilation), and Westlake contributes a song called "The Remarkable Saga of the Frozen Dog", which is as look-at-me-I'm-high as you'd guess.
And virtually everything on the original album works beautifully-- they'd spent years streamlining their attack on stage, including a stint backing up Sonny Boy Williamson, so the spaced-out playfulness of their lyrics and singing is balanced out by fine, tough musicianship. "Hurry up, sleep, take me/Or I'll be late for tea," they croon, but even as an overdubbed French horn paraphrases the "Penny Lane" coda, Westlake and bassist Brian Belshaw are playing crushingly hard.
The bonus tracks appended here mostly just demonstrate how quickly the bloom came off the blossom: a few demos and live tracks meant to suggest what the "real" Toes sounded like without the album's ludicrous overdubs (not nearly as much fun), and a forced-sounding cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" from a 1968 A-side. Two years later, they made a heavy, dull second and final album, If Only for a Moment, which has also just been reissued; the new edition includes the single "Postcard", the only trace of whimsy that remained in them after Clean.
The summer of 1967 produced lots of phenomena, and the historical condition for the Blossom Toes to be not just twee but wonderful might have been one of them. The only reasonable response in 2007 to hearing them chirp "I will bring you plastic flowers/You can play with them for hours" in druggy harmony is to conclude that they're a brilliant put-on. But they were for real-- or at least not wholly fictional-- and, for a few gorgeous, candy-colored months, they kicked ass up and down the Royal Parks.
by Douglas Wolk
Tracks
1. Look at Me I'm You (Brian Godding,Giorgio Gomelsky) - 3:55
2. I'll Be Late for Tea (Brian Godding) - 2:42
3. The Remarkable Saga of the Frozen Dog (Kevin Westlake) - 3:02
4. Telegram Tuesday (Brian Godding) - 2:37
5. Love Is (Brian Godding) - 2:41
6. What's It For? (Jim Cregan) - 3:03
7. People of the Royal Parks (Kevin Westlake) - 2:20
8. What on Earth (Brian Godding) - 2:52
9 .Mrs. Murphy's Budgerigar (Jim Cregan, Kevin Westlake) - 2:38
10.I Will Bring You This and That (Brian Godding) - 2:55
A French Canadian band from Montreal, Quebec, whose album features some tasty guitar work, all the lyrics are sung in French. The band saw Dominique Sciscente playing in a dusty little club and was excited, he managed a contract and studio recording for RCA. Their influence was a magma of classic and hard blues rock.
Tracks
1. Pas Besom De Personne - 3:56
2. Un Employe - 3:41
3. Mei Je Crois En Toi - 3:52
4. Tout Cela Pour Nous - 3:40
5. Tu M'as Eu - 3:32
6. Elle Ne Veut Plus De Moi - 2:43
7. J'ai Pas Le Temps - 3:45
8. Comprendre - 5:42
9. Fais-Moi Sourire - 3:28
10. Le Vieux Du Coin - 4:50
11. Faut Pas Lacher - 2:31
All compositions by Vezina, Barbier, Sciortlno, Verrlllo
In 1972 the Human Instinct saw a single on the Zodiac label called 'Down The Hall On Saturday Night'/'Simple Man' and then in 1975 the final single on Family 'Tropical Paradise'/'Dixie Holiday'.
Between 1972 and 1982 there were many combinations of the group. Others to have had a stint with the band were Paul Whitehead, Steve McDonald, Peter Cuddihy, Andrew Kaye, Chris Gunn, John Parker, Malcolm Weatherall, Len Whittle, Kevin Fury, Steve Hubbard, Murray Hancox, Stuart Pearce and Peter Woods. Around 1982, the Human Instinct was formally disbanded by Maurice Greer. After his time with the band, Billy TK went on to form Powerhouse.
In late 1975, when the line-up consisted of Greer on drums, Whitehead on guitar, Mikkelson on bass, and McDonald on keyboards, a recording session for an impending album was done. The group at that time had been playing together for around 18 months at the Shantytown nightclub under Auckland's Civic Theatre. Several months passed before a rough mix-down of the tapes were performed. By the time the sessions were finished, the Human Instinct had moved on to a new residency at Crofts and there style of music had changed, along with new members in the band. The project was subsequently shelved.
This completely restored and re-mastered recording was thought to have been lost forever until it was discovered in mid-2001 hidden away in the dusty shelves of the Stebbing Recording Studios Ponsonby warehouse. The search to resurrect the album began after band founder Maurice Greer, armed with a rough cassette copy of the 1975 sessions, began making inquiries about what happened to the master. Studios boss Eldred Stebbing, who was present at the sessions 27-years ago was surprised to hear how well the sound had stood the test of time and began the search for the 16-track master.
In 1974-75 the sessions featured a tight unit that had worked solidly together during an 18 month residency at the Shantytown nightclub under Auckland's Civic Theatre. Maurice Greer was still playing his modified stand-up drum kit and singing, Phil Whitehead was on guitars, Steve McDonald on keyboards and vocals and Glenn Mikkelson on bass and vocals. According to Greer, by the time the sessions were completed the band and the style of music had completely changed.
He didn't feel that releasing the album would be fair on new members or the expectations of club-goers. It was several months after the old line up went its way that Peg Leg was mixed. There was a fall out with the original engineer and a young Phil Yule, later to record such greats as Herbs, took over the desk. His rough mix, which was misplaced shortly after is what impressed Eldred Stebbing to pick up the project again.
Tracks
1. Freebird (A. Collins, R. Van Zant) - 9:17
2. All Time Loser (Zaine Griff) - 4:32
3. Find Your Heart (Steve McDonald, Phil Whitehead) - 7:39
4. Peg Leg (Maurice Greer) - 3:05
5. For a Friend Pt.1 (Steve McDonald, Phil Whitehead) - 5:25
6. For a Friend Pt.2 (Steve McDonald, Phil Whitehead) - 3:41
7. Fallen Star (Zaine Griff) - 5:09
8. Hey You (Phil Whitehead) - 4:11
9. Tight Rope Lover (Zaine Griff) - 4:46
10.Instinct (M. Greer, Z. Griff, S. McDonald, P. Whitehead) - 2:22
Human Instinct
*Steve McDonald - Keyboard, Vocals
*Phil Whitehead - Lead Guitar
*Maurice Greer - Lead Vocals, Drums
*Zaine Griff - Bass Guitar
In 1965, Barry Seidel formed a music company called Traydel Productions. The first band Seidel signed was The Mad Hatters from Washington DC. In the course of one year the band released three stunningly great singles- “I Need Love”, “Go Find A Love” and “I’ll Come Running”, all with Dylanesque-PF Sloan sounding folk-rock songs as the b-sides.
Mad Hatter live shows were legendary as well, as is exemplified by the explosion of the amps during their electrifying medley of “Since You’ve Been Gone>I’m All Right>The Mad Hatter Theme” and their rocking version of “I Need Love”, both included on this album along with all their singles, making this the most complete collection of Mad Hatters’ material ever released.
The Mad Hatters were originally from Annapolis, Maryland and had been around for almost a year before Barry Seidel saw them one Monday night in September 1965. He went to The Roundtable (Riley Carter's Club) on M Street in Georgetown. The band did an original song written by lead guitarist, Tom Curley, called "I Need Love".
The Fallen Angels were the second band Seidel signed and they are represented by a six song set of singles and unreleased recordings from 1966. These are the earliest recordings by the band and range from folk-rock (Pebble In My Sand, Hello Girl, I Have Found) to “Love”(Arthur Lee) type ballads (Have You Ever Lost A Love, Every Time I Fall In Love) and garage (Who Do You Love). In addition to all this excitement are two previously unreleased 1966 folk-rock Byrds sounding gems from The Loved Ones, plus a 1967 version of “I Need Love” by The Time Stoppers. Rare photos and radio promos make this a complete trip back to 1966, when The Mad Hatters and The Fallen Angels were the two hottest bands in Washington DC and “I Need Love” mania swept the airwaves.
Tracks The Mad Hatters
1. I Need Love (Curley) - 2:33
2. Go Find A Love (Curley) - 2:46
3. I'll Come Running - 2:22
4. Hello Girl - 2:06 The Fallen Angels
5. Have You Ever Lost A Love - 2:56
6. I Have Found - 2:45 The Loved Ones
7. Where You Gonna Run To - 3:02
8. Being Here With You - 3:39 The Mad Hatters
9. This Is How It's Gonna Be (Curley) - 2:36
10.Blowin' In The Wind (Dylan) - 2:55 The Fallen Angels
11.A Pebble In My Sand (Jones) - 3:04
12.Hello Girl - 2:10
13.Every Time I Fall In Love - 2:44
14.Who Do You Love (McDaniel) - 2:36 The Time Stoppers
15.I Need Love (Curley) - 2:54 The Mad Hatters
16.The Mad Hatters Theme (Set 1) - 1:48
17.I Need Love - 3:26
18.Since You've Been Gone - I'm All Right - The Mad Hatters Theme (End Of Live Set) (Curley, McDaniel) - 8:40
19.I Need Love - Weam Pick Hit ToGo Go Go Go !!! - 0:40
The Mad Hatters (1965 – 1966)
*Dave Vittek - Lead Vocals
*Tom Curley - Lead Guitar, Harmonica
*Alan Folwer - Bass
*Richard Kumer - Drums
The Fallen Angels
*Charlie Jones C.J..- Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Jack Bryant - Lead Vocals, Bass
*Wally Cook - Rhythm Guitar
*Ned Davis - Drums
*Rocky Isaac - Drums
Killer West Coast psychedelic monster that took many years to be completed!!! West Coast Natural Gas began life in 1965 in Seattle. In early 1967 they went to San Francisco to work for a local music manager named Matthew Katz.
Katz was the original manager for Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and later It’s a Beautiful Day. He talked West Coast Natural Gas into signing a contract with him but they didn’t realize at the time, being young and stupid. That basically they signed over everything to him. They went to the studio and recorded some original tunes: A Favor, Go Run and Play, The Jumping Frog, Hashish, Water or Wine, Beyond This Place, and Two’s A Pair.
In early 1968 the band broke up and went back to Seattle. Katz released a single – Go Run and Play / A Favor on his S.F. Sound label under the name West Coast Natural Gas. Later he released a compilation album - the first San Francisco Sound sampler - called “Fifth Pipe Dream”. The four songs mentioned before, Water or Wine, Hashish, Beyond This Place and Two’s A Pair were the ones recorded by WCNG and relabeled by Katz as Indian Puddin’ and Pipe.
This superb release includes all the above mentioned songs, plus others from acetates. As a big surprise another four never before heard songs recorded 1966 in a local Seattle Recording Studio before they went to San Francisco are included.
Tracks
1. Go Run And Play (Kris Larsen) - 2:33
2. A Favor (Steve Mack) - 3:41
3. A Favor Version 2 (Steve Mack) - 3:44
4. The Jumping Frog (Pat Craig) - 3:33
5. Two's A Pair (Steve Mack) - 4:15
6. Beyond This Place (Pat Craig) - 2:32
7. Hashish (Kris Larsen) - 3:03
8. Water Or Wine (Steve Mack) - 3:40
9. The West Coast Natural Gas White Levis Commercial 'Never Break' (Pat Craig) - 0:46
10.Radio Promo from the Galaxy Club ca. 1968 - 0:37
11.Mr. You're A Better Man Than I (M. Hugg, B. Hugg) - 2:56
12.Younger Girl (J. Sebastian) - 2:11
13.You Make Me Feel So Good (C. White) - 2:12
14.He Was A Friend Of Mine (Traditional, lyrics by J. McGuinn) - 2:38
Welcome to Country Weather, "a chaos that once in a while generated perfection and on ocassions intense frustration”. The band came out of the suburbs of San Francisco in Walnut Creek. Like the English bands, when they went on stage it was a "battle of the bands". It was in an era when actual "battle of the bands" were being staged and the audience actually voted.
Nothing probably motivated Country Weather more than when they felt they were being short changed, not appreciated or underestimated. I think I enjoyed them the most when they had that little extra motivation along with a nice touch of anger. In those moments something incredible could crawl out and would amaze, who? Themselves! That was the simple magic of it all. For my money (which is extremely prejudiced) they rank as one of the greatest live on stage bands of their era (and they never got the proper credit.) I often said that if you could see them 10 nights in a row you could then begin to grasp just how far out on the wire they could walk.
They could jam and improvise with the very best. Many of their classic songs "Carry a Spare", "Fly to New York" and the Blues Project's "Wake me, Shake Me" were just mini stages to launch wonderful improvised jams. Everything being equal I can't name a bay area band that could compete with them. Their set lists, like their influences and personal tastes knew no musical boundaries or definitions, it was everything from Country to Blues to Psychedelic to Rock and everything else in between.
I will never forget the first time 1 saw them and they played a perfect absolutely beautiful, rendition of The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Nobody really touched "Beatle Music" then, nobody!! You could close your eyes and you swear it was actually the Beatles playing. They had so much respect and feel for them. Country Weather were an amazing coincidence coming from Walnut Creek staring up at the alter of the San Francisco music scene and wanting to be a part of it and later becoming part of it. When it came down to challenging themselves to be the very best, there was no band in the bay area to compare.
They were haunted by such high standards, which so rarely achieved, created immense inferiority at times that I think it probably held them back sonic. As the Who said, Country Weather could "see for miles and miles and miles" and were hardly ever satisfied with their playing and when they played they would go all-out to outdo their previous performance and that is what made them such a great band. I believed in these four people more then they can ever know.
I viewed the "Whole" and communicated my vision while they sat on the inside and communicated theirs, it was a perfect match. They got no easy breaks. At the Fillmore they played with the very best. 1 remember when they played with Jeff Beck, holding our own, sitting in the dressing room knowing, very simply, this was a "Battle of the Bands" (Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Mickey Waller) versus Country Weather, nothing more, nothing less.
For me it was scary and unacceptable to hear Bill Graham respond (after I got Country Weather on a week-end long Jeff Beck Group show)"Beck is a cunt". I remember Greg Douglass had just brought over the "Truth" album to hear "Beck's Bolero". Yeah right, Bill, "he is a cunt". Graham my mentor I don't think so. At that point, believe it or not. 1 realized Bill had no clue about real rock music. Me even hated The Rolling Stones then, his roots were Latin and blues and ho lacked any feel for "in your face rock", period! I don't know if I made mistakes (shot too high) but I do know this.
Till this day 1 will never forget when suddenly the beast would awake and take you to a place not imagined. They could never predict it, but just like me; once in a while they were the best they could be. Can anyone ever ask for more man that? I want to end with this. I really like the album cover it's very cool, very pretty, but, maybe a little too peaceful though because, Country Weather always had the threat of a thunderstorm or even a tornado lurking somewhere. As I told Mike Somavilla from day one I just want a collection of music that the band and I can be proud of. I don't think that it is really possible from everything I have listened to.
The Church Tapes certainly, the Sierra Sound Labs recordings? Those were never meant to be released; I only made those up to get them some gigs. "Fly To New York" was just in its infancy then and it was pretty much the same with "Carry A Spare" too, but is something from "this magnificent ghost" better then nothing, you bet! Can everyone agree to what's in and what's out? Probably not but, that is Country Weather.
by Bob Strand
Tracks 1969 Studio Recordings
1. Over And Over (Steve Derr) - 4:35
2. Boy With Out A Home (Steve Derr) - 3:50
3. Out On The Trail (Steve Derr) - 3:11
4. Yes That's Right (Steve Derr) - 3:40 1971 Recorded at The Church, San Anselmo, CA.
5. Why Time Is Leaving Me Behind (Greg Douglass, Steve Derr) - 2:23
6. New York City Blues"(Keith Relf, Chris Dreja) - 4:27
7. Carry A Spare (Greg Douglass) - 4:56
8. Fly To New York (Words by Steve Derr, Music by Country Weather) - 6:38
9. Black Mountain Rag (Traditional, arranged by Greg Douglass) - 1:23 1970 Live recordings at the Walnut Creek Civic Center July 31 and August 1
10.I Don't Know (Steve Derr) - 3:56
11. lack Mountain Rag (Traditional, arranged by Greg Douglass) - 7:00
12.Pakistan (Ring Around The Moon) (Steve Derr) - 2:42
13.Fly To New York (Words by Steve Derr, Music by Country Weather) - 9:03
14.New York City Blues (Keith Relf, Chris Dreja) - 4:20
15.Yes That's Right (Steve Derr) - 3:14
16.Wake Me Shake Me (traditional, arranged by Country Weather) - 14:38
Country Weather
*Dave Carter - Bass Guitar, Vocals
*Steve Deit - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*Greg Douglass - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Bill Baron - Drums
The history books will tell you all you need to know about the great recording centres of the past such as Nashville, New Orleans, Memphis and Chicago, as well as the hit factories of New York and Detroit. By contrast, there are parts of America that hardly figure at all in the annals of rock‘n’roll, and the farming state of Wisconsin in the upper mid-West is one of them. It is the state rock‘n’roll forgot, more famous for the breweries of Milwaukee and for its dairy produce.
Amid this oasis of indifference, Jim Kirchstein set up a small studio-cum-label-cum-workshop which came to dominate the South Wisconsin scene for a decade without the benefit of publicity or even very many hits. Several hundred singles ranging in style from rock to country to polkas were released on Kirchstein’s Cuca label and its subsidiaries during that time, and dozens of young Wisconsin musicians owed him their start.
Located on the Wisconsin River, about 25 miles northwest of the state capital Madison, Sauk City could not have been further removed from the mainstream of the record business. One of Cuca’s first releases, Muleskinner Blues by the Fendermen, a rocked up version of an old hillbilly tune, caught on internationally in 1960 and, despite some legal difficulties, Kirchstein was able to plough back some of the profits into his own studio. By prudently keeping things small and manageable, Cuca gradually came into its own as its reputation as a recording locale began to spread.
Wisconsin boasted an awful lot of working rock bands, almost as many, in fact, as Merseyside in the early 60s. Wisconsin kids, weaned since infanthood on polkas, were so starved of rock that they lent their keen support to the thriving local scene and by 1962, the local rock scene had gradually coalesced. By the mid-60s, as more and more performers gravitated towards his self-contained little operation, Kirchstein even took to mastering and pressing his own records in-house.
This second release in Ace’s exploration of the Cuca legacy, taps into a rich vein of raw garage and psych rock released locally on Cuca, Night Owl, Wright and other off-shoots between 1965-69.
Bands such as the Plague, the Sandmen and the Willing Mind were by their very nature short-lived. Most of the participants were youngsters from middle-class families which placed education above the vagaries of the record business. Tellingly, most bands came together at their local high school, enjoyed a brief blossoming, before disintegrating in the aftermath of graduation. With the Vietnam conflict being at its height, the draft would also play a part in breaking up many bands.
Prospects weren’t always helped by the fact that Wisconsin was so far removed from the main hubs of the record industry. To be fair, most of the bands took a realistic view. In 1968 Mark Johnson, who played drums in the Willing Mind, a high school band from Horicon, Wisconsin (whose sole 45, Decide, can be heard here), told a local newspaper, “When a group like ours isn’t nationally or regionally known, it’s best to start with a few hundred records. A key factor to success seems to be the involvement of a distribution man. He listens to the song and if he thinks it will sell, he’ll send it to the radio stations and start it circulating. Unfortunately, distribution men are very hard to find and, so far, we’ve had to do it on our own.”
Only a handful of these relative novices were to remain in music for any length of time and, essentially, “Garagemental” offers a microcosmic glimpse into the rock bands of small town America in the years following the so-called British Invasion moving through to psychedelia. Though the influences are many and varied, they stem from the tougher end of the 60s rock spectrum.
Most of the original 45s were pressed in very small quantities and were only promoted in the immediate environs, making them extremely rare today. Add to this six previously unissued sides (including two by the legendary Joey Gee & the Come-Ons) and “Garagemental!” more than lives up to its ultra-rare tag and, more importantly, doesn’t waver from start to finish in kinetic intensity.
by Rob Finnis
Artists - Tracks
1. The Scarlet Henchmen - The Crystal Palace - 3:06
2. Joey Gee And The Come Ons - She's Mean - 2:48
3. Kiriae Crucible - The Salem Witch Trial - 2:53
4. Joey Gee And The Come Ons - 'Til The End Of Time - 2:10
5. The Wanderer's Rest - Don't Know What I'd Do - 2:33
6. The Trodden Path - Don't Follow Me - 2:06
7. The Trodden Path - Keep Me Hangin' On - 2:22
8. The Henchmen VI - All Of The Day - 2:36
9. The Henchmen VI - Is Love Real - 2:11
10.The Trodden Path - In This World I Need Love - 3:25
11.The Willing Mind - Decide - 2:25
12.The Wanderer's Rest - Love Is A Beautiful Thing - 2:52
13.The Challengers - Challengers Take A Ride On The Jefferson Airplane - 2:13
14.Raylene And The Blue Angels - Shakin' All Over - 2:10
15.Sundog - Gimme Some Lovin' - 3:16
16.Joey Gee And The Come Ons - Jenny, Jenny - 1:54
17.Joey Gee And The Come Ons - Little Latin Lupe Lu -2:35
18.The Wanderer's Rest - The Boat That I Row - 2:52
19.The Hitchikers - Feel A Whole Lot Better - 2:43
20.The Wanderer's Rest - You'll Forget - 2:45
21.The Sandmen - World Full Of Dreams - 2:07
22.The Wanderer's Rest - In Good Time - 2:03
23.The Plague - When I See That Girl Of Mine - 2:06
