Mother Earth - Living With The Animals (1968 us, enormous blues rock with folk and jazz touches, 2004 reissue and original vinyl edition)

Though Mother Earth is often remembered as a vehicle for Tracy Nelson, Living With the Animals is a true group effort, combining memorable vocal performances with tight R'n'B-derived playing with excellent guitar work from Michael Bloomfield. Side one is a showcase for Nelson's blues belting and piano, particularly on "Down So Low" and "Mother Earth." Not to be overlooked is the blues shuffle "I Did My Part" and R.P. St. John's sardonic "Living With the Animals" and "Marvel Set," which features him on lead vocals. 

Side two offers some stellar moments here as well, including "Cry On" and "Goodnight Nelda Grebe," with fine horn section work and excellent Nelson vocals. Written and fronted by St. John, "The Kingdom of Heaven Is Within You" is a brilliant closer; it's nocturnal, moody, and spacy and showcases beautiful muted trumpets and reeds with a gorgeous flute solo by Link Davis Jr. 

by J.P. Ollio and Thom Jurek

Tracks
1. Marvel Group (Powell Saint John) - 3:17
2. Mother Earth (Memphis Slim) - 6:16
3. I Did My Part (Allen Toussaint) - 2:51
4. Living With The Animals (Powell Saint John) - 4:57
5. Down So Low (Tracy Nelson) - 3:51
6. Cry On (Allen Toussaint) - 4:36
7. It Won't Be Long (John Leslie McFarland) - 3:39
8. My Love Will Never Die (Willie Dixon) - 4:59
9. Goodnight Nelba Grebe, The Telephone Company Has Cut Us Off  (Sylvia Caldwell, Tracy Nelson) - 2:42

10.The Kingdom of Heaven (Is Within You) (Powell Saint John) - 5:05

Musicians
*Tracy Nelson - Vocals, Piano, Keyboards
*Martin Fierro - Vocals, Flute, Saxophone, Altohorn, Tenorhorn, Synthesizer
*Powell St.John - Vocals, Harmonica
*Bob Salisbury - Vocals, Saxophone, Baritone Horn
*Losella Funque,Sylvia Caldwell,Shalimar Samuelson,Bob Arthur - Vocals
*Michael Bloomfield,  John Andrews, Makal Blumfeld - Guitar
*Spencer Perskin - Violin
*Ron Taormina - Saxophone, Baritonehorn
*Frank Morin - Saxophone, Tenorhorn
*George Rains - Saxophone, Drums
*Link Davis - Saxophone
*Luis Gasca - Trumpet
*Link Davis Jr. - Altohorn
*Mark Naftalin - Piano, Organ, Keyboards
*Danny Goldberg, Barry Goldberg - Organ
*Jose Rodriguez, Jose Emilio Rodriqueziii - Drums
*Earthettes - Background Vocals

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The Attack - About Time (1967-68 uk, solid mod freakbeat, 2006 remaster with unreleased material)

The Attack where a band formed in 1966 around singer Richard Shirman (born 26 April 1949, London). 

The first line-up featured drummer Alan Whitehead from Marmalade, guitarist David O'List (later of The Nice) and John Du Cann. Their first single "Try It" had also been recorded by The Standells and Ohio Express. They also released a version of "Hi Ho Silver Lining", a few days earlier than Jeff Beck. Richard Shirman was invited to be singer with Andromeda but he declined.

They had more energy than an H-bomb after flash, and they hit the senses and the soul with a long awaited wake up call.  Led by ex Ready Steady Go dancer Richard Shirman, aka Jivin'K. Boots (!), and future Nice guitarist David O'List, the Attack recorded four singles for Decca, plus a number of unreleased tracks and a radio session, all included here. 

A definitive collection, which includes such stand outs as - ‘Try It’ "bugged out insanity,with sexual overtones blowing the Standells version into oblivion"; ‘We Don't Know’"a tight explosion of mod-soul" ; ‘Anymore Than I Do’, a freak beat classic! Plus of course their pre-Jeff Beck version of ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’. 

This gorgeous package by Phil Smee and with full involvement of Richard Shirmani ncludes all four Decca singles and previously unreleased material.

Tracks
1. Anymore Than I Do (O'List, Shirman) - 2:06
2. Feel Like Flying (Aka Making It) (John DuCann) - 2:37
3. Created By Clive (Radio Session) (Pattison) - 2:45
4. Try It (Levine, Ballack) - 2:07
5. Go Your Way (John DuCann) - 2:45
6. Too Old (John DuCann) - 3:05
7. Colour Of My Mind (Richard Shirman) - 2:30
8. Lady Orange Peel (Richard Shirman) - 2:28
9. Sympathy For The Devil (Jagger, Richards) - 4:49
10.Neville Thumbcatch (Smith, Bain) - 3:03
11.Strange House (John DuCann) - 4:10
12.Created By Clive (Pattison) - 2:41
13.Mr Pinnodmy's Dilemma (John DuCann) - 4:27
14.Come On Up (Previously Unreleased) (Felix Cavaliere) - 2:49
15.Freedom For You (John DuCann) - 2:36
16.Hi Ho Silver Lining (English Weiss, Lancer) - 2:30
17.Magic In The Air (Aka Watch With Mother) (John DuCann) - 3:38
18.Anything (Previously Unreleased) (Richard Shirman) - 2:08
19.We Don't Know (O'List, Shirman) - 2:44

Musicians
*John DuCann  - Guitar
*Richard Shirman - Vocals
*George Watt - Organ
*Alan Whitehead - Drums
*Jim Avery - Bass Guitar
*Geoff Richardson - Guitar
*Kenny Harold - Bass Guitar
*Keith Hodge - Drums
*Roger Deane - Bass Guitar
*Chris Allen - Drums
*Gerry Henderson - Bass
*Davey O'List - Guitar
*Bob Hodges - Organ

1967-69  The Attack - Magic In The Air

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Steve Miller Band - Children Of The Future (1968 us, superb psych blues rock, 2012 digipak remaster with bonus track)

The 1968 debut of the Steve Miller Band begins with a shattering cacophony, followed by an acoustic strum emerging like a beacon of light amidst the darkness and clatter.  The album’s title track “Children of the Future” is far removed from the ironic detachment of “The Joker” or the sleek majesty of “Fly Like an Eagle,” later hits that proved the group could go “pop” while still showing off their versatility and impeccable musicianship.

Though the blues-rock guitarist from Wisconsin rose through the ranks in the fertile Bay Area psychedelic rock scene, Miller’s first album was recorded by producer Glyn Johns at London’s Olympic Studios.  Miller and his band (originally Boz Scaggs on guitar/lead and background vocals, Lonnie Turner on bass/background vocals, Jim Peterman on mellotron and organ/background vocals, and Tim Davis on drums/lead and background vocals) married blues guitar licks to hazy, lysergic melodies.  The centerpiece of Children of the Future is the side-long suite which opened the LP, primarily written by Miller.  

It’s bookended by the title song (“We are children of the future…wonder what in the world we are going to do…When they get high, they can see for miles and miles/When we get high, I can see myself for miles…You know I’ve got something that you can use”) and the B.B. King-influenced closer “The Beauty of Time is That It’s Snowing (Psychedelic B.B.),” an instrumental with only the “We are children of the future” mantra for lyrics.  What Mr. King thought of it, I don’t know.  Miller did, indeed, get high, as his lyrics went, and was busted and imprisoned for marijuana possession while recording the album.  The suite’s lyrics combine optimism with hippy-dippy cosmic belief redolent of the period (“In my second mind, I can see you grow/Feel you flow/It moves my soul, yeah”) though traditional love song sentiments and blues tropes are also present.

The second side is more traditional, though songs still flow into one another.  Boz Scaggs, on the verge of coming into his own as a solo artist, contributes two tracks to Side Two.  His pretty, ethereal pop song “Baby’s Callin’ Me Home” (with Ben Sidran on harpischord) segues into the electric rock of “Steppin’ Stone” (not the Monkees hit).  Long before “Jet Airliner,” Miller contributed the folk-rock “Roll with It” (“There’s a plane goin’ down the runway…Believe I better go with it/There’s a train goin’ by the highway…believe I better roll with it”) with its wailing guitar solo.  

The album is rounded out by Jim Pulte’s “Junior Saw It Happen” and a couple of R&B covers, “Fanny Mae” (with its striking R&B harmonica and a riff that was also semi-appropriated for The Beach Boys’ “Help Me, Rhonda”) and the slow-burning “Key to the Highway.”  The new reissue adds one bonus track, the shimmering non-LP single “Sittin’ in Circles,” written by another well-regarded tunesmith, Barry Goldberg of the Electric Flag.

by Joe Marchese

Tracks
1. Children Of The Future – 2:59
2. Pushed Me To It – 0:35
3. You've Got The Power – 0:53
4. In My First Mind (Steve Miller, Jim Peterman) – 7:31
5. The Beauty Of Time Is That It's Snowing (Psychedelic B.B.) – 5:24
6. Baby's Callin' Me Home (Boz Scaggs) – 3:24
7. Steppin' Stone (Scaggs) – 3:00
8. Roll With It – 2:29
9. Junior Saw It Happen (Jim Pulte) – 2:29
10.Fanny Mae (Buster Brown) – 3:09
11.Key To The Highway (Big Bill Broonzy, Charlie Segar) – 6:16
12.Sittin' In Circles (Barry Goldberg) - 3:06
All songs by Steve Miller unless as else stated

Band
*Steve Miller – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
*Boz Scaggs – Guitar,  Vocals  
*Lonnie Turner – Bass, Vocals
*Jim Peterman – Hammond Organ, Mellotron. Vocals
*Tim Davis – Drums, Vocals
With
*Ben Sidran – Harpsichord

1968  Sailor (2012 digipack remaster)
1969  Brave New World (2012 digipack remaster)
1969  Your Saving Grace (2012 digi pack remaster)
1970  Steve Miller Band - Number 5 (2012 digi pack remaster)

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The Attack - Magic In The Air (1967-69 uk, exciting freakbeat garage, psych)

You can say that the Attack were in fact, at least a couple different groups for the fact that vocalist Richard Sherman had to regroup Attack from almost scratch 3 times.

The Attack's beginnings lie in a group called The Soul System. With members coming and going, once a stabilized 5 piece arouse, the band came attention to Don Arden, a top agent who signed them, found their first single (Try It, a Standells tune), and changed their name to Attack. Issued in January 1967, the single didn't do much on the charts.

However with it's heavy garage sound, it is considered a minor Freakbeat classic. The flip side We Don't Know is a rather strange jazz/soul and freakbeat hybrid with some silly lyrics. This same lineup stayed for the recording of their next single Hi-Ho Silver Lining before disbanding due to the lack of success with both 45's. Hi-Ho Silver Lining was met with fierce competition as Jeff Beck, who presumably heard The Attack's version and rushed out his own version as his first single after only a few days of The Attack's single.

The result was Jeff Beck getting the hit with Hi-Ho. The B side to Hi-Ho was an awesome piece of freakbeat, Any More Than I Do. This number, apart from being featured in recent compilations of the years, was used by John Peel for a radio jingle for the pirate Radio London. The guitarist responsible for the powerful riffing on Any More Than I Do, David O'List left to join the Nice in breaking new ground for a while, whilst drummer Alan Whitehead went back to the Marmalade and the others faded into obscurity.

Richard Sherman, now the only one left, regrouped The Attack with Scottish organist George Watt, drummer Chris Allen, guitarist Geoff Richardson and bassist Kenny Harold. Their follow up to Hi-Ho was another kinda cheeky and very English affair, Created By Clive. In a very ironic coincidence, two versions of Created By Clive were released the same day, by The Attack and The Syn!

The result was neither got any attention that the song was meant for which was probably better off as the liner notes of their posthumous compilation Magic In The Air notes "Clive, a fashion designer who specialized in dressing debs in see-through mini-dresses, would have probably sued anyway".

The new guitarist Geoff Richardson penned their B side, the slow tamped raga Colour Of My Mind. With the single just barely in the shops, a new guitarist John DuCann was added and the drummer and keyboard player were replaced too. With this lineup, The Attack went about playing all the venues available, Middle Earth, Tiles, the Speakeasy etc.

However personnel changes shifted once more in the summer of 1967, and Geoff Richardson and Kenny Harold left being replaced by Jim Avery. The recorded the two sides of their next single, Magic In The Air/Lady Orange Peel but the A side was rejected by Decca for being too heavy and the band were sent in to record the harmless Neville Thumbcatch.

Two more tracks were recorded in October 1967, covers of Morning Dew and Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever, but the single that was eventually released in January 1968 was Neville Thumbcatch backed with Lady Orange Peel.

Thumbcatch was very similar to Cream's Pressed Rat And Warthog with it's narrative verses and trumpet melodies. With this single, the group disbanded again. DuCann and Sherman kept Attack alive, recruiting bassist Roger Deane and drummer Keith Hodge and continued on as a four piece.

This last lineup recorded tracks for a future album and single, all left in the can. Before their split in mid 1968, the group recorded many songs, including Winding Up Clocks, Feel Like Flying, Strange House, Just Waiting, Freedom For You, etc. Unfortunately, not all of these tracks survived when the Magic In The Air album was being compiled.

But featuring all their singles (with one exception, Created By Clive) and a handful of unreleased tracks from their 1968 album sessions, the compilation gives a better look at who The Attack were really about.

Tracks like Magic In The Air, Strange House, Freedom For You & Colour Of My Mind justify their high place in British freakbeat/psych history. Perhaps with a more stable lineup, the band would have reached farther than they did.

Tripod

Tracks
1.Magic In The Air (John DuCann) - 3:39
2.Colour Of My Mind (Richard Sherman) - 2:29
3.Mr. Pinnodomy's Dilema (John DuCann) - 4:28
4.Hi Ho Silver Lining (English Weiss, Lancer) - 2:30
5.Try It (Levine, Ballack) - 2:03
6.Freedom For You (John DuCann) - 2:35
7.Any More Than I Do (O'List, Sherman) - 2:04
8.Strange House (John DuCann) - 4:11
9.Neville Thiumbcatch (Smith, Bain) - 3:03
10.Feel Like Flying (John DuCann) - 2:37
11.Lady Orange Peel (Richard Sherman) - 2:24
12.We Don't Know (O'List, Sherman) - 2:50
13.Too Old (John DuCann) - 3:08
14.Go Your Own Way (John DuCann) - 2:45

Musicians
*John DuCann  - Guitar
*Richard Sherman - Vocals
*George Watt - Organ
*Chris Allen - Drums
*Jim Avery - Bass Guitar
*Geoff Richardson - Guitar
*Kenny Harold - Bass Guitar
*Keith Hodge - Drums
*Roger Deane - Bass Guitar
*Gerry Henderson - Bass
*Davey O'List - Guitar
*Bob Hodges - Organ
*Alan Whitehead - Drums

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Bobby Whitlock - Where There's A Will There's A Way (1972 us, incredible classic rock melted with funky vibes, 2013 remaster)

Whitlock’s story is a remarkable one. Born to a hardscrabble existence, raised in abject poverty, abused by his preacher father and was sent out to pick cotton in the fields. Moving from one railroad town to another, Whitlock was quite literally from the wrong side of the tracks.

Yet thanks to his singing and piano playing, music was Whitlock’s escape. Winding up in Memphis, Whitlock hooked up with Stax Records, who signed him as the first white artist to their new pop label HIP. But it was soul music, not pop, that was in Whitlock’s heart – and his break came when Delaney & Bonnie asked him to join their band, The Friends.

Following Delaney & Bonnie from Stax to Elektra Records, Whitlock found his life starting to intertwine with ‘60s rock royalty. Delaney & Bonnie took him on tour with Blind Faith, where Eric Clapton was impressed with Whitlock’s playing and the camaraderie he saw in The Friends. Soon, Whitlock joined Clapton, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle in Derek & The Dominos, the crack unit that backed George Harrison on much of the seminal All Things Must Pass and recorded the classic rock album Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs.

During the recording of those albums, Whitlock tentatively made his first steps as a solo artist. Though drugs were already beginning to tear Derek & The Dominoes apart, Whitlock was able to call on some high profile friends (and “Friends”) to play on his album, including Clapton, Harrison, session bassist Klaus Voorman (John Lennon, Carly Simon, et al), drummer Jim Gordon, Chris Wood (of Traffic) and others. “I really loved my first record and everything that was behind it,” says Whitlock now. “And for the love that was brought to the room by everyone each time we recorded. I know that you can hear it in Eric’s solo on "The Scenery Has Slowly Changed.”

When Bobby presented his album to Atlantic Records they rejected it, citing a different vision for his debut record. So Bobby bought himself out of his contract. Soon after, The Dominos split up following troubled second album sessions. Bobby just kept moving: first back to his rural home in England, then to France, where the Rolling Stones were recording Exile On Main Street. He found a deal for his debut album (via producer Jimmy Miller) and a follow-up too. 

That second album, Raw Velvet, featured the Edwin Hawkins Singers, the L.A. Symphony, Eric Clapton, Jim Gordon and Bobby’s new band members: Rick Vito on guitar, Keith Ellis on bass and Don Poncher on drums. Andy Johns co-produced the self-titled debut (with Whitlock) and Jimmy Miller produced the Raw Velvet LP. Andy was the recording engineer of Exile on Main Street and later produced Television’s Marquee Moon. Miller, of course, produced Exile On Main Street!

Light-Attic

Tracks
1. Where There's a Will (Bonnie Bramlett, Bobby Whitlock) - 3:44
2, Song for Paula - 3:16
3. A Game Called Life - 4:15
4. Country Life - 3:06
5. A Day Without Jesus (Don Nix, Bobby Whitlock) - 3:24
6. Back in My Life Again - 3:31
7. The Scenery Has Slowly Changed - 3:52
8. I'd Rather Live the Straight Life - 2:29
9. The Dreams of a Hobo - 3:23
10.Back Home in England - 2:51
11.Tell the Truth (Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock) - 3:50
12.Bustin' My Ass - 3:31
13.Write You a Letter - 2:29
14.Ease Your Pain (Hoyt Axton) - 3:03
15.If You Ever - 3:18
16.Hello L.A., Bye Birmingham (Delaney Bramlett, Mac Davis) - 3:56
17.You Came Along - 3:04
18.Think About It - 3:09
19.Satisfied - 2:56
20.Dearest I Wonder - 3:49
21.Start All Over - 3:24
All songs by Bobby Whitlock except where indicated

Musicians
*Bobby Whitlock - Vocals, 12 String, Rhythm, Acoustic, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Piano
*Chris Wood - Flute
*Bonnie Bramlett - Vocals
*Delaney Bramlett - Guitar, Vocals
*Eric Clapton - Bass, Electric Slide Guitar
*Keith Ellis - Bass
*Jim Gordon - Drums, Tabla
*George Harrison - Guitar
*The Edwin Hawkins Singers - Vocals
*Jim Keltner - Drums
*Bobby Keys - Saxophone
*Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra - Strings
*Jerry McGee - Guitar
*Don Poncher - Drums
*Jim Price - Trombone, Trumpet
*Carl Radle - Bass
*Rick Vito - Guitar, Slide Guitar
*Klaus Voormann - Bass

1975  Bobby Whitlock - One Of A Kind (2016 japan SHM remaster)

1976  Bobby Whitlock - Rock Your Sox Off (2016 SHM remaster)
1970  Derek And The Dominos - Layla (2013 platinum SHM edition)

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Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield - The Lost Concert Tapes, Filmore East (1968 us, brilliant blues rock)

You could tell the way the concert started, how it was gonna be. Bill Graham, took great pleasure in introducing each act, from the side of the stage, in shirtsleeves.When we were all in place, the crew gave him the nod. Michael said: "Wait a second—I wanna say something!" Where upon, our pianist, Paul Harris replied to Graham"Michael wants to say something..." In that instant, Michael had traversed the stage and grabbed the microphone right out of Bill Graham's grasp and proceededinto one of those Bloomfieldian speeches of his. Graham just stood there perplexed,eventually grinning at Michael's bluecollar blurb. 

When Michael finished, he politely dumped the microphone back in Graham's hands and headed back to his guitar. Graham introduced us in one sentence and we were off and running. Now 33 years later, it's my turn for the introductions. This was atypical Bloomfield-Kooper gig. Michael showed up sick as a dog withthe flu, two days before the show. I had put the band together this time. Jerry Jemmott was a master NYC session bassist and wasbest known for his recent work with Aretha Franklin. Pianist Paul Harris was my homey from Queens, who inherited all my studio work when I joined The Blues Project. John Cresci, was introduced to me by my good friend Charlie Calello and had played drums on the last two sessions for my first solo album, "I Stand Alone." I didn't know John very well, but he seemed like the right choice. 

We rehearsed for two days, and Michael managed to give Paul his flu. It started to become noticeable that Cresci might not have been the proper choice, as he seemed to not have logged much previous time playing Chicago-style blues, which is mostly what we performed. He & Jerry Jemmott kinda musically fought for where the groove belonged and that sort of subliminal feuding doesn't make for the best band chemistry. It was, however, just too late to make any personnel changes, and so I just hoped for the best. 

Prior to the first set the first night, Michael burst into the dressing room with this really wild looking guy in tow. His name was Johnny Winter, and Michael had heard him play in Chicago a coupla years before and knew he was good. Steve Paul, owner of the musician-hangout-club The Scene on West 46th Street, had just started managing Johnny, and I had heard good things about him, but had never met him til just then. Michael planned to bring him onstage to jam and I trusted his decision without having heard Johnny before. So we went out, Michael made his first speech of the night and we played "OneWay Out." 

I noticed right away how "on" Michael was, and I was excited because we were recording this show for a possible live album. Jerry & Johnny seemed to be doing okay and it looked like clear sailing. Right after the first song, Michael grabbed the mic again and introduced Johnny as Johnny 'Winters' and brought him right out to play. The opening-night audience, peppered with press and Columbia Records brass, had no idea who this wild-looking, long-haired, extremely white Texan albino was and it got tense real quick. Michael patiently counted out a slow Chicago blues groove and Cresci & Jemmott were at odds right at beat two of the first bar. 

Michael began playing his opening solo and Winter stood there, almost coiled up like a skinny Texas rattlesnake, waiting to strike. After Michael's solo, Winter stepped up to the mic and began to sing in an amazing voice that just didn't go with his frail body. After the first line of the verse ("It's My Own Fault, Baby"—a B.B. King chestnut) he fired off a sharp staccato blast of vintage Chicago-style guitar. The crowd leaned forward, and rows of jaws began to drop. This was the largest, most important audience young Winter had ever performed in front of, and he was virttually playing for his life. 

By the time he had sung a few verses and spun out a blistering guitar solo, the crowd was his. He graciously stepped back and gave Bloomfield the nod to solo. Michael stepped up in a very competitive situation, and slowly began to play his little heart out. But he didn't play any of the traditional licks that Winter had just strutted out for six minutes—he played pure vintage Bloomfield. Drummer Cresci, probably bored out of his gourd after playing over six minutes of slow blues, moved into a completely inappropraite % time waltz groove and pretty much extinguished Michael's momentum. 

Winter, gingerly tried to help by playing harmony with Michael, but it was too late. Michael stepped back and Winter sang the last verse, played a brilliant two minute cadenza and left the stage to a standing ovation. This was a Friday night. On Monday morning, Columbia Records brass who had attended the show offered him a lucrative recording contract which he eventually signed, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Meanwhile, back at The Fillmore East, we were only on our third tune. Michael was having an amazing night. We played Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song," Michael's slow blues "Tell Me Partner," Albert King's "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong," Steve Winwood's version of "Til The End Of Time," Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's Elvis cover "That's All Right, Mama" and a ragged version of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch," originally tweaked by Stephen Stills on the original Super Session album. 

Recording at the Fillmore was always risky business. Bill Graham rarely allowed a proper recording truck outside the premises, so gear had to be set up under the stage, a less than ideal acoustical location for recording. Crude spy cameras and monitors afforded the engineers a narrow view of what was actually going on up there, and spontanaiety was the engineers enemy. When Johnny Winter appeared unannounced, his guitar was nervously chosen to share the piano track in this eight channel world that existed in 1968. Interminable ground loops persisted, causing buzzes worse than the largest beehive. 

When the original sessions were concluded, the tapes laid, unplayed, in the Columbia vaults for 32 years. It was decided between the engineering gaffes and the Cresci/Jemmott battles, that this show was not fit for human consumption. As of 20 years ago, the tapes sunk into the "missing" category. Many attempts to locate them over the years proved futile. In 1999, I began workin on a box set that would come to be known as Rare & Well Done. In the course of raiding the Columbia vaults under various namechecks: Kooper, Bloomfield, Kooper-Bloomfield, etc., the masters miraculously re-appeared. I couldn't believe it. Time had cut into my memories and I couldn't recall whether we nad recorded the show where B.B. King guested or Johnny Winter was introduced. I soon found out. 

These tapes have been on a long, strange, journey. When we first re-discovered them, they had to be baked in an oven, an unceremonious but effective way to keep the Old oxide from peeling off all over the capstans of the playback machines. Then they were sent to the studios of Malcolm Cecil to be digitally debuzzed of all the ground hums, clicks and audio abberations picked up under the stage of The Fillmore East. Then I did some judicious editing to select the usable performances. Then the clarion call was sounded to my dear friend and uber-engineer Bill Szymczyk, who hosted us in Charlotte, North Carolina while he mixed this hornets nest of troubles & blessings at Reflection Sound. Finally, the mixed tapes found their way to Foothill Digital Studios in New York City, where the talented and erudite Allan Tucker, waved his mastering wand over it all and made that quantum leap to palatability. 

So here we are. I have to say, some of this is as good as it gets for Bloomfield afficionados, and the rest still smokes most of the players alive today. After all, this is the man they learned from! The drama of Johnny Winter(s) playing for his life out there on the Fillmore East stage is almost visual and. an audible rare treat to be heard; not to mention, a historical one. Paul Harris, who is largely lost in the audio miasma does a fine job and pops up with a couple of fine blues solos. I didn't particularly have a great night, but I left it as it was  cause this is all about Michael. Jerry Jemmott does his level best to hold down the groove, while Johnny Cresci tries to figure out what the hell he is doing onstage with these ragamuffins. 

This show contains dashes of humor, virtuosity, animosity and sheer joy at various random moments – sometimes all four at the same time! It ain't by any means perfect, but it sure is real and it's a pleasure to finally release it and make it possible to hear it as best as it can be heard. May the blues keep you kalm in these troubled times.

by Al Kooper, November 2002

Tracks
1. Introductions - 1:27
2. One Way Out (E. James, M. Sehorn, S. Williamson) - 4:21
3. Mike Bloomfield's Introduction of Johnny Winter - 0:59
4. It's My Own Fault (B.B. King, J. Taub) - 10:57
5. 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) (P. Simon) - 6:16
6. (Please) Tell Me Partner (M. Bloomfield) - 10:11
7. That's All Right Mama (A. Crudup) - 3:40
8. Together Till The End Of Time (F. Wilson) - 4:30
9. Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong (A. King) - 14:01
10.Season Of The Witch (Donovan) - 8:59

Band
*Mike Bloomfield - Guitar, Vocals
*Johnny Winter - Guitar, Vocals (track 3)
*Al Kooper - Organ, Piano, Vocals
*Jerry Jemmott - Bass
*Paul Harris - Piano
*Johnny Cresci - Drums

Mike Bloomfield
1966-68  The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Strawberry Jam
1967  Electric Flag - The Trip
1968-69  Electric Flag - An American Music Band / A Long Time Comin'  
196?-7?  The Electric Flag - Live
1969  Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper - The Live Adventures
1969  Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites & Friends - Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West
1969  Nick Gravenites - My Labors
1973  Bloomfield, Hammond, Dr.John - Triumvirate (Japan remaster)
1976  KGB - KGB
1976-77  Michael Bloomfield - Live at the Old Waldorf

Al Kooper
1969  The Kooper Sessions With Shuggie Otis
1970  Easy Does It 
1973  Naked Songs
with Blues Project
1966  Live At The Cafe Au Go Go (2013 Japan SHM double disc set)
1966  Projections
1967   Live At Town Hall
1973  Reunion In Central Park
with Blood, Sweat And Tears
1968  Child Is Father To The Man

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Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs - The MGM Singles (1965-73 us, awesome garage roots 'n' roll, 2011 digi pack release)

These days, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs are best remembered for such infectious ’60s hits as “Wooly Bully” and “Lil’ Red Riding Hood,” and for the sartorial splendor of turbaned frontman/organist Sam the Sham (née Domingo Samudio) and his bandmates. But the one-of-a-kind Memphis-by-way-of-Texas quintet produced a large and highly original body of R&B/blues/Tex-Mex/garage tunes that established them as one of the greatest singles bands of the 1960s. While the band’s wacky humor and flamboyant visual image may have threatened to brand them as a novelty act, their raw exuberance, rootsy grit and playfully subversive streak made it clear that Sam and his Pharaohs were the genuine article.

Throughout the second half of the ’60s, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs turned out a lengthy string of killer seven-inchers. Many of those singles boasted non-album B-sides that were as memorable as their better-known A-sides. Now, for the first time ever, Sundazed Music has gathered both sides of every one of the band’s original MGM Records singles on these lovingly packaged compact disc collection. The sizzling set includes such immortal Pharaohs classics as “Wooly Bully,” “Lil’ Red Riding Hood,” “Ju Ju Hand,” “Ring Dang Doo,” “Red Hot,” “The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin,” “How Do You Catch a Girl” and “(I’m in With) The Out Crowd,” along with an amazing assortment of rare non-album B-sides, solo efforts and side projects. These long-out-of-print gems have been sourced from the original MGM masters and sound better than ever!!! 

Sundazed  

Formed in Dallas and led by a dynamic turban-wearing lead singer and organist named Domingo Samudio, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs were a garage bar band gone huge (it has been long rumored that they could play six hours straight without repeating a tune), and by mixing blues, R&B, and Tex-Mex together with a loopy sense of humor and sly lyrics, they stomped into pop history with the iconic party anthem “Wooly Bully,” which hit the number two spot on the pop charts right in the middle of the British Invasion in 1965. 

Aside from that record, though, and “Li’l Red Riding Hood” a year later in 1966, the group wouldn’t have that kind of chart success again, and Samudio and his band went down into most people’s annals as a one-hit wonder. This irresistible set, which collects all of the Pharaohs’ singles and B-sides for MGM Records between 1965 and 1968, plus Samudio's 1973 comeback single for the label (he had left MGM for Atlantic in 1970, only to return for that one release), proves there was a lot more to the story. 

Tracks like “Ju Ju Hand” (from 1965), “(I’m in With) The Out Crowd” (also 1966), “Banned in Boston” (1967), and “Old MacDonald Had a Boogaloo Farm” (1968) all display a delightfully subversive joy in being wryly silly, and they don’t get in the way of dancing, either. Oh, and then there's the wonderful kiss-off single "I Couldn't Spell !!*@!" from 1968 -- no, Sam the Sham was far from being a one-hit wonder and the romping, stomping proof of that is collected here. 

by Steve Leggett

Tracks
1. Wooly Bully (Domingo Samudio) - 2:22
2. Ain’t Gonna Move (Davidson, Kesler) - 2:05
3. Jujuhand (Domingo Samudio) - 2:06
4. Big City Lights (Davidson, Kesler) - 2:39
5. Ring Dang Doo (Tubert, Byers) - 2:22
6. Don't Try It (Domingo Samudio) - 2:21
7. Red Hot (William Emerson) - 2:16
8. A Long Long Way (Paul Gibson) - 1:58
9. Li'l Red Riding Hood (Ronald Blackwell) - 2:41
10.Love Me Like Before (Domingo Samudio) - 2:44
11.The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin (Ronald Blackwell) - 2:35
12.(I'm In With) The Out Crowd (Domingo Samudio) - 2:15
13.How Do You Catch A Girl (Ronald Blackwell) - 2:19
14.The Love You Left Behind (Domingo Samudio) - 2:30
15.Oh That's Good, No That's Bad (Dewayne Blackwell) - 2:18
16.Take What You Can Get (Domingo Samudio) - 2:16
17.Black Sheep (Bob McDill) - 2:48
18.My Day's Gonna Come (Davidson, Kesler) - 1:59
19.Banned In Boston (John Morier) - 2:56
20.Money's My Problem (Carabetta, Gerace) - 2:23
21.Yakety Yak (Lieber, Stoller) - 2.02
22.Let Our Love Light Shine (Malone-Scott) - 2:36
23.Old Macdonald Had A Boogaloo Farm (Dallas Frazier) - 2:44
24.I Never Had No One (Domingo Samudio) - 2:42
25.I Couldn't Spell !!*@* (Wayne Thompson) - 2:22
26.The Down Home Strut (Carabetta, Samudio) - 2:14
27.Fate (Domingo Samudio) - 3:34
28.Oh Lo (Domingo Samudio) - 2:57

Musicians
Tracks 1-8
*Samuel Domingo - Vocals, Keyboard
*Ray Stinnet - Guitar
*Dave Martin - Bass
*Butch Gibson - Saxophone
*Jerry Patterson - Drums
Tracks 9-26
*Samuel Domingo - Vocals, Keyboard
*Tony "Butch" Gerace - Bass, Vocals
*Billy Bennett - Drums, Percussion
*Andy Kuha - Guitar, Vocals
Tracks 27,28
*Lorraine Gennaro
*Jane Anderson
*Fran Curcio

Related Act
1971  Domingo "Sam" Samudio - Hard And Heavy

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Fleetwood Mac - Show Biz Blues (1968-1970 uk, astonishing classic rock blues, 2002 double disc digi pack with unissued material)

'Show-Biz Blues' is a compilation which consists entirely of previously unissued works from Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Included here are new songs as well as alternate versions of previously released tracks, and detailed in this booklet is the background to every track on this second 2-CD collection of early Fleetwood Mac blues. Also to be found in this booklet is new info and interviews for devotees of the original Peter Green line-up of the band, and for anyone interested in the 1960s British music scene - the time during which blues progressed into rock. 

The great thing about doing retrospectives which revisit that blues-rock period is that although the 1960s are well dead and gone, back in this dot.com present fresh info is there daily and important new stuff comes to light from time to time which allows you then to dig a bit deeper. So there can be no such thing as the 'definitive' story of the original Fleetwood Mac - it is an ever-unfolding saga. 

Since The Vaudeville Years collection came out, three things have been made available which add new slants to the Fleetwood Mac Story and to the Peter Green Story. First, an interview with hitherto low-profile Jeremy Spencer on Marty and Lisa Adelson's Fleetwood Mac website /penguin/qa. 

Second, an evocative and often poetic autobiography has been written by Dinky Dawson, the original Fleetwood Mac's sound engineer 'Life On The Road' (Billboard Books - ISBN 0-8230-8344-6). It is essential reading for Mac fans. 

The third chunk of info is not directly to do with early Fleetwood Mac but even so speaks volumes about the climate of those times and about how the pressures of fame and stardom could weigh heavy on a sensitive artist and cutting-edge guitarist. And so, watching Christopher Olgiati's television documentary about Jimi Hendrix - The Man They Made God - broadcast on BBC2's Hendrix Night in 1999, it was impossible not to see some parallels with Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac. In amongst much new archive footage from that time there is Eric Burdon's chilling assertion that "the business killed Jimi". What's more, Band of Gypsies' conga player Juma Sultan recounts bad memories of how Hendrix's creative direction towards the end - or rather a lack of it - was far more 'influenced' by management carrying shooters under their slick suits than by his own musical genius. 

Ironically, Hendrix's show-biz blues towards the end came to him from his fan base many of whom only wanted to hear what they knew. He was booed at the Isle of Wight Festival for musically wanting to move on. Being aware of this, management wanted Hendrix to be a keep-playing-the-old-hits cash cow rather than an inventive musician pushing back barriers. And so, in Juma Sultan's words. "they milked the cow to death". Burdon's and Sultan's comments are stark reminders that if there was something in the air in the late-1960s and 1970 in the music business then it was not the notion of artistic freedom - something Peter Green was also discovering around that time. In 1968 Hendrix told a journalist: 

"We've been playing Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary, Hey Joe and Foxy Lady.....we've been playing all these songs - which I really think are groovy songs - but we've been doing all these songs for two years. So quite naturally we start to improvise here and there and there's other things we want to turn on to the people, you know." 

And just two years later Green - by then, with three hits under his belt - commented: 

"Sometimes I think I've played this song 25,000 times - I've got to do something different with it. It's almost like being dictated to." 

So, a couple of years after Jimi Hendrix, the original Fleetwood Mac - led by a blues visionary - were also poised to conquer the world with a futuristic take on the blues. To get an idea of Green's musical vision listen now to his improvisational skills on a promotional recording of Green Manalishi - Disc 2 - track 7 - extended live version. Playing at his very best, none the less he soon had to quit the business for his freedom - to escape being dictated to by his fans, and also by his band who felt safer playing accessible blues-rock as opposed to the free-form direction of Underway - Disc 2 - track 3. There lies a crucial difference between Green and Hendrix: Green got out just in time, Hendrix got trapped. 

Peter Green's sudden exit came as a big shock to the band he left behind and to the business. But wasn't it a wise move in retrospect. At least he got away with his life. This was his and Fleetwood Mac's Show-Biz Blues, as he recently explained to Harry Shapiro in the Vol. 2 Issue 35 of the indispensable British Blues Connection magazine Blueprint (www.blueprint.blues.co.uk) 

"You can't really say what it was all about - it's just Show-Biz Blues (a track on 'Then Play On'). That's the song that says it all. The rest of them looked like clowns and I'm part of the circus. Whatever Fleetwood Mac had become I just didn't want to play whatever it was." 

The sad irony of Peter's comment is focused when listening to this collection with its many gems, and then imagining what might still have been to come. 

Everybody's got the show-biz blues. 

fom CD Liner-notes

Tracks

Disc one

1.  Soul Dressing (Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Lewie Steinberg) – 3:47

2.  If You Want to Be Happy  (Frank Guida, Carmela Guida, Joseph Royster) – 2:28

3.  Outrage  (William Allen Jr., Cropper, Jackson, Steinberg) – 2:47

4.  The Sun is Shining  (Elmore James) – 3:02

5.  Don't Be Cruel  (Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley) – 1:40

6.  I'm So Lonely and Blue (Jeremy Spencer) – 3:53

7.  How Blue Can You Get?  (Leonard Feather) – 3:36

8.  My Baby's Sweeter  (Sonny Boy Williamson) – 3:38

9.  Long Grey Mare  (Peter Green) – 1:58

10. Buzz Me Baby  (Fleecy Moore, Dave Dexter, Jr.) – 3:33

11. Mind of My Own  (Danny Kirwan) – 2:59

12. I Have to Laugh (Otis Rush, Dave Clark) – 3:27

13. You're the One  (Buddy Holly, Slim Corbin, Waylon Jennings) – 2:05

14. Do You Give a Damn for Me (Green) – 3:58 

15. Him and Me  (Green) – 4:02 

16. Showbiz Blues  (Green) – 4:06

17. Fast Talking Woman Blues  (Green) – 3:22 

18. World in Harmony  (Kirwan, Green) – 3:24

19. Leaving Town Blues  (Green) – 3:49

Tracks 1-3 are performed by The Peter B's, an early band featuring Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood with Peter Bardens and David Ambrose.

Disc two
1.  Black Magic Woman  (Green) – 7:39
2.  Jumpin' at Shadows  (Duster Bennett) – 5:24
3.  Rattlesnake Shake / Underway  (Green) – 14:06
4.  Stranger Blues  (Elmore James, Morris Levy, Clarence Lewis) – 4:15
5.  World in Harmony  (Kirwan, Green) – 3:32
6.  Tiger  (Ollie Jones) – 3:22
7.  The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown)  (Green) – 15:15
8.  Coming Your Way  (Kirwan) – 7:32
9.  Great Balls of Fire  (Blackwell, Jack Hammer) – 2:32
10. Twist and Shout  (Phil Medley, Bert Russell) – 7:45

Fleetwood Mac
* Peter Green – Guitar, Vocals
* Jeremy Spencer – Guitar, Vocals
* Danny Kirwan – Guitar, Vocals
* John McVie – Bass
* Mick Fleetwood – Percussion, Drums

1967-71  Live At The BBC
1968-71  The Best Of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
1969  Shrine '69

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String Cheese - Strings Cheese (1971 us, wonderful psych folk rock with west coast aroma)

On first listen, String Cheese bares an incredible resemblence to the cultish San-Fran psych-folk outfit, “It’s a Beautiful Day”. Both bands have hopeful lyrics carried by angelic voices soaring over lush arrangements and spacious rhythms. In a word: magical.

As the album progressed, I began to hear resemblences to Jefferson Airplane and their quirky forbear, The Great Society.

I can hear both Marty Balin and Grace Slick in the vocals of Sally Smaller, and I am guessing she was only beginning to develop her repertoire. Unlike her female counterparts Pattie Santos and Linda LaFlamme of It’s a Beautiful Day, Sally’s voice hints at much darker qualities. This together with the more electric approach of String Cheese means that had they survived, they may have ventured off into harder-edged musical territory.

Considering the optimism of their lyrics, and the similarities to label mates like Jefferson Airplane, it’s surprising that String Cheese didn’t move from their home base of Chicago to join the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco.

The tight-knit musical community there must have appealed to Greg Bloch, and so he left String Cheese to replace David LaFlamme in It’s a Beautiful Day in 1973. Unfortunately, this move was poisoned by the fact that LaFlamme was forced out of the band he founded due to royalty issues. Other Haight bands like the Grateful Dead were experiencing similar financial problems at the time, and with the Summer of Love fading into the distance, the idealism of the 1960s was losing its momentum – even in San Francisco.

I’d be quite reluctant to say that another “Summer of Love” is just around the corner, but there definitely seems to be hope that musicians are beginning to understand the importance of community again. Here in Toronto, multi-instrumental collaborations are on the rise, and musicians often play in several bands simultaneously – partially for experimentation, but also to pay the bills.

Albums like String Cheese offer up a taste of the magic that is possible for those who are committed to their craft.

The open rhythm of Louis Constantino on bass guitar and John Maggi on drums lays a basic foundation for the lush melodies of Bloch, Smaller, Larry Wendelken (vocals, 12-string guitar), and the sea of instruments played by William Dalton: organ, piano, celeste, electric guitar, harpsichord, keyboards, sitar (acoustic and electric), classical guitar, and orator.

What happened to the rest of String Cheese remains a mystery. Bloch went on to play with Mark-Almond (John Mayall’s former rhythm section), but the rest of the band appears to have just drifted into total obscurity. If you have any details, please feel free to post them as comments. 

By Rugrat from The Basement Rug

Tracks
1. For Now (Wendelken) - 3:46
2. Crystal (Wendelken) - 5:16
3. We Share (Wendelken, Scott) - 2:59
4. Here Am I / Empty Streets (Wendelken, Scott) - 6:27
5. Forage (Wendelken) - 3:00
6. Soul Of Man (Wendelken) - 5:04
7. Certain Kind Of Day (Wendelken, Scott) - 3:59
8. Woke Up This Morning (Wendelken) - 4:30
9. Coming (Dalton) - 1:42

String Cheese
*Lawrence W. Wendelken – 12-String Guitar, Vocals
*Sally Smaller – Vocals
*Gregory Bloch – Electric Violin
*William Dalton – Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Electric Sitar, Celeste, Piano, Organ, Harpsichord
*Louis Constantino – Bass
*John Maggi – Drums

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49th Parallel – 49th Parallel (1967-70 canada, outstanding garage beat psych, 2005 bonus tracks edition)

Calgary's torch bearers in the great sixties garage punk sweepstakes were the 49th Parallel, whose 1969 chart success 'Twilight Woman' garnered them a few deserved rays of limelight. Unfortunately, plagued by personnel changes since their inception in 1966 (as the Shades of Blond), the lads were unable to capitalize on their minor hit, and by 1970, not long after the release of this self-titled LP, had decided to pack it in.

Starting off as a six-piece, the Shades of Blond landed a record deal with Ontario-based RCA subsidiary Gaiety Records, re-christened themselves the 49th Parallel and released a couple of mildly successful forty-fives, the spry 'Labourer' (RCA 3428) and the sunshine pop of 'She Says' (RCA 3447). A switch to the Venture label in 1968 saw more success with the curious 'Blue Bonnie Blue' b/w 'Missouri' (the former penned by a then unknown Delaney Bramlett about his equally obscure muse, Bonnie). 

At this point keyboardist Dave Petch left to be replaced first by Alf Cook and then by Dennis Mundy, with bassist Mick Woodhouse yielding to Dave Downy. By the time of their second Venture seven-incher, the radio-friendly pop-rocker 'Twilight Woman', the band's fortunes seemed to be lifting with some chart activity south of the border. With MGM affiliate Maverick agreeing to handle US distribution, the band recorded their sole full-lengther The 49th Parallel, an oddly schizophrenic mix of sunshine pop, Anglo lysergia and the gruffer acid-rock sounds of the era.

The gentlest and ultimately most successful tracks on The 49th Parallel were written by a mysterious D. Hockett, like the blithe and sugary opener 'Now That I'm a Man', with shades of Curt Boetcher at work in the summery orchestration, or the blurry Tomorrow-esque psych of 'Lazerabder Filchy'. The lysergic 'Missouri' showcases a breezy farfisa that sallies along behind a more caustic - and at times intrusive - guitar solo. Add to these the soulful AM fare of 'Twilight Woman'. Unfortunately, these tracks lie buried somewhat amidst some rather hefty acid-rock riffs. The record heats up on these tougher tracks when driven by Danny Lowe's caustic guitar or, especially, Mundy's abrasive Hammond B-3 licks (as on 'People') but often founders when the machismo is left unchecked.

The disparate The 49th Parallel often comes off more like a cobbled-together collection of singles than a unified album - hardly a surprise given the cachet of LPs back in the days of free-form radio. 

by Michael Panontin

Tracks

1. Now That I'm A Man (Don Hockett) - 2:22

2. Get Away (Jim Stallings) - 2:26 

3. Eye To Eye (Dennis Abbott) - 2:45 

4. Missouri (Dennis Abbott, Bob Carlson) - 3:17

5. Lazerander Filchy (Don Hockett) - 2:52

6. (Come On Little Child) Talk To Me (Dan Lowe) - 3:00

7. (The) Magician (Don Hockett) - 3:33

8. Twilight Woman (Dennis Abbott) - 2:23

9. Close The Barn Door (Alf Cook, Dan Lowe, Dennis Abbott, Bob Carlson, Terry Bare) - 3:11

10.The People (Dan Lowe, Jack Velker, Terry Bare) - 2:45

11.All Your Love (Dan Lowe, Dennis Abbott) - 2:10

12.Laborer (Bob Carlson, Dan Lowe, Dave Petch, Dennis Abbott, Mick Woodhouse, Terry Bare) - 2:25

13.You Do Things (Bob Carlson, Dan Lowe, Dave Petch, Dennis Abbott, Mick Woodhouse, Terry Bare) - 2:23

14.She Says (Bob Carlson, Dan Lowe, Dave Petch, Dennis Abbott, Mick Woodhouse, Terry Bare) - 1:57

15.Citizen Freak (Bob Carlson, Dan Lowe, Dave Petch, Dennis Abbott, Mick Woodhouse, Terry Bare) - 1:36

16.Blue Bonnie Blue (Delaney Bramlett, Morris Mac Davis) - 2:30

17.Up To No Good (Delaney Bramlett, Morris Mac Davis) - 2:19

18.I Need You (Dan Lowe, Dave Downey , Doran Beattie, Jack Velker, Terry Bare) - 4:21

19.Goodtime Baby (Dan Lowe, Dave Downey, Doran Beattie, Jack Velker, Terry Bare) - 2:46

20.Missouri (Dennis Abbott, Bob Carlson) - 2:20

21.Blue Bonnie Blue (Delaney Bramlett, Morris Mac Davis) - 2:24

Track 11 as The Shades Of Blond

49th Parallel 
*Dennis Abbott - Vocals
*Dan Lowe - Guitar
*Bob Carlson - Guitar
*Dave Petch - Organ
*Mick Woodhouse - Bass
*Terry Bare - Drums
*Dave Downey - Bass
*Alf Cook - Bass
*Dennis Mundy - Organ
*Jack Velker - Organ
*Dorn - Doran Beattie - Vocals

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The Rippers - Honesty (1968 germany, fine beat psych, Vinyl edition)

The  Rippers line featured four college aged Germans (keyboardist Hans Enderle, singer/lead guitarist Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk, drummer Peter Kempf, rhythm guitarist Lutz Wolf) and one Spaniard (bassist Fernando Rosell).   

They apparently made some noise playing clubs and battle of the bands contests, and attracted the attention of the small German Opp label (who had signed The Blackbirds and Hairy Chapter).  How they went from Opp to releasing an album on the budget British Saga label is a total mystery to me, though someone out there must know.

1968's "Honesty" featured a collection of original material sung in English  With Gottescalk credited with writing most of the ten tracks, the band was heavily influenced by a wide array of American and English acts.  That made for a fun spot-the-influences collection with included everything from Ray Manzarek-styled organ flourishes ('Honesty'), to Stax flavored instrumentals ('Big Ben').  The band was also blessed with two strong singers in Gottescalk and Wolf.  Rosell also sang, but wasn't nearly as good.

All three men sang with distinctive accents, but you quickly got acclimated to them and the accents only occasionally stood out as an issue (the hideous ballad 'Georgia').  By the way, courtesy of the liner notes, we know that Gottescalk's voice 'has rather a black timbre.'  I'm guessing something got lost in the German-to-English translation. 

Bad-cat

Tracks
1. Honesty - 3:30
2. My Woman   (Lutz Wolf) - 3:28
3. My Plight   (Hans Enderle, Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk) - 3:23
4. The Night At the Lagoone - 2:36
5. Big Ben (Instrumental) - 3:33
6. Georgia   (Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk, Fernando Rosell) - 3:50
7. All the Jumping People - 2:01
8. The Girl Whom I Adore - 3:53
9. Blues for Kasperek (Instrumental)  (Hans Enderle) - 3:34
10.My Soul Is Wrong - 3:05
All songs by Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk except where noted

The Rippers
*Hans Enderle - Keyboards
*Joachim Gottescalk - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Peter Kempf - Drums, Percussion
*Fernando Rosell - Bass, Vocals
*Lutz Wolf - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar

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Aphrodite's Child - It's Five O' Clock (1969 greece, 2nd album, remarkable psychedelic rock, japan remaster limited edition)

Aphrodite's Child's second LP was in some ways both a continuation of and departure from their debut album, End of the World. There were some grandiose keyboard-based sub-British psychedelic tracks that could have fit in well on the previous record. 

The title song's celestial organ, for instance, is much like that on heard on U.K. psychedelic records of the period such as Rupert's People's "Reflections of Charlie Brown," though it's more sentimentally romantic than virtually anything a British band would have released, especially in its vocal delivery. Yet on other cuts, the group took on a markedly different character, whether it was mildly rousing social consciousness ("Wake Up"), pretty fair stomping power pop-psych ("Let Me Love, Let Me Live"), and, least successfully, good-time country-rock ("Take Your Time") and gravelly vaudevillian soul ("Good Time So Fine"). 

"Funky Mary," on the other hand, is a really cool departure into almost experimental soul-rock, its phased vocals backed by an almost musique concrete wash of bashing drums, Latin-African-flavored bongos, and jazzy vibraphone. If it's guiltier pleasures you're looking for, the unreservedly heart-tuggingly sad "Marie Jolie" is their best (if most saccharine) pop ballad with Mediterranean gondola balladeer overtones complete with accordion solo, though it's End of the World's "Rain and Tears" that the group's most remembered for in that department.

 "Such a Funny Night," which follows right after that, steers the boat back to pop-psychedelia in the twee British mold. Like their first album, then, it's a very uneven record, but one whose best half or so is pretty enjoyable psych-turning-into-prog with Greek accents to both the vocals and melodies, even if it's never going to be classified as especially hip. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. It's Five O'Clock (R. Francis, Vangelis) - 3:31
2. Wake Up (R. Francis, E. Papathanassiou) - 4:04
3. Take Your Time (R. Francis, E. Papathanassiou) - 2:39
4. Annabella (R. Adams, Demis Roussos) - 3:45
5. Let Me Love, Let Me Live (R. Francis, Lucas Sideras) - 4:43
6. Funky Mary (Papathanassiou, Sideras) - 4:11
7. Good Time So Fine (V. Johnson, E. Papathanassiou) - 2:45
8. Marie Jolie (R. Francis, Papathanassiou) - 4:41
9. Such a Funny Night (R. Adams, Papathanassiou) - 4:34

Aphrodite's Child
*Demis Roussos - Bass, Guitars, Vocals
*Vangelis Papathanassiou - Bass, Keyboards
*Lucas Sideras - Drums, Percussion

1968  End of the World (1st album, 2010 esoteric remaster)

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