Just Others - Amalgam (1974 uk, pleasant acoustic folk rock, 2010 Korean remaster)

Geoff Twigg and Brian Rodgers first met in Frank Terenzi's music shop in Maidstone, Kent in September 1973. There was instant musical rapport, and they did their first gig together a mere? days later. Both had been musically active in the area for years: Geoff had played in a teenage band called Wyndmsh, and in a duo with Penny Connor, and was a member of the Concord Singers, a Kent-based choir; Brian, meanwhile, had been a member of a folk-rock outfit (name long forgotten}, and worked with another band, Bacchus, and as a solo folkie. 

Geoff's main influences were Lennon and McCartney, Paul Simon, Melanie, Judy Collins. Joni Mitchell, and others in the singer-songwriter vein, underpinned by a keen interest in the classical guitar repertoire by contrast. Brian's enthusiasm was for the current British folk scene - Ralph McTell, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Steeleye Span. Tir Na Nog, John Renbourn, John James, and others. 

The crossfertilization between their separate enthusiasms and previous musical experience goes a long way toward explaining the uniquely distinctive blend to be heard on Amalgam. Just Others worked in most of the folk venues around the southeast of England, and secured a residency at the Faversham Folk Club. Keen for wider acclaim, they entered the annual Melody Maker contest, but, in Brian s words, "played abysmally, go nowhere". 

Amalgam was recorded, making the utmost of the most basic equipment in the spring and summer of 1974. Just 250 copies were pressed (500 were ordered, but the pressing plant was in financial difficulties), and the record was sold only at gigs. Enough songs were written for a second album and record companies were duly approached, including such obvious candidates as Rocket and Chrysalis, but without success. Chappell Music were prepared to take on the publishing, and even to underwrite the recording of the follow-up, but it was not to be .. . The songs remain unrecorded, and sadly, for the most part forgotten.

The need to pursue their individual careers was to force the eventual demise of Just Others. Geoff worked as a peripatetic music teacher and achieved academic distinction atthe Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Kings College, where he studied composition. He later moved to the United States, where he currently works as the musical director for a church. Brian, meanwhile, became a full-time teacher (art design and technology); he also took up sailing, and has raced small sailing craft at international level. He returned to university in 1986. and taught in Australia throughout 1993, where he began playing music once more. Since returning to the UK in 1994 he has regularly performed solo, and has recently farmed a duo, No Vacancies, with Bernard Quenby, playing ragtime/blues, folk, and other material including at least one song from the Just Others days, Close Your Eyes to the Sun.

What kind of album did Just Others make? Every listener wi|! make up their own mind, for sure, but to my ears, there are songs on Amalgam that manage to convey striking post-Swinging London melancholy (Ballad of a Londoner), soft-focus summer laziness (Close Your Eyes to the Sun), yearning romanticism (Question of Emotion. I Do Not Know Your Name), Lost love lamented (Dialogue Between a Young Man and the Night), and universal agnosticism I Where Is He?), and they do it more effectively than most albums that cost many megabucks to record; there are flashes of true inspiration, like the crumhorns which frame the stunning Ballad to Lady Ann (a trackwhose hallucinatory neo-medieval vibe is, in today's parlance, pure acid-folk), and the distant string quartet on Where is He. 

There are anthemic melodies that won't let go (At The End of the Rainbow, Siny For me). And there is an all-pervading feeling, part optimism, part melancholy, that makes this a uniquely interesting addition to any serious collection of acoustic music of the period. At the time of writing these notes, I am fairly certain that no other copies of Just Others/Amalgam have been found, or offered on the collectors' market. Just Others “Amalgam” is indeed something rather special.

by Andrew Hawkey

Tracks
1. I Do Not Know Your Name - 3:09
2. Question Of Emotion - 2:59
3. A Ballad To Lady Ann - 4:50
4. We Are Not Alone - 2:49
5. Close Your Eyes to the Sun - 2:28
6. Concerning A Lost Love - 3:28
7. I Miss You - 2:50
8. Song For All Seasons - 2:30
9. Ballad Of A Londoner - 3:50
10.Where Is He? - 2:48
11.A Dialogue Between A Young Man And The Night - 4:32
12.At The End Of The Rainbow - 2:55
13.Sing For Me - 4:16
All songs by Geoff Twigg except track #6 by Brian Rodgers

Just Others
*Geoff Twigg - 6-String Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*Brian Rodgers - 6 And 12 String Guitars, Mandolin, Vocals
*Evelyn Tubb - Trumpet
*The Canterbury Waites - Crumhorns
*Trent Quartet - Strings
*The Concord Singers - Choir

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Terry Knight And The Pack - Terry Knight And The Pack / Reflections (1966-67 us, great detroit hard garage beat psych, pre Grand Funk, 2010 issue)

This two-fer compiles the only two albums by Michigan's Terry Knight & the Pack; its self-titled 1966 debut and 1967's Reflections. Rock 'n' roll collector's and Michigan rock aficionados have given these albums semi-legendary status simply because the lineup included the roots of Grand Funk Railroad -- Knight was the band's manager and producer until 1972, and both guitarist Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer came from its ranks.

These two recordings were originally issued on the Lucky Eleven imprint and were distributed by Cameo/Parkway who had scored a number one hit with "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians, another Michigan act. Knight's gift wasn't so much as a singer, but as a songwriter capable of aping the hitmakers of the day, and he knew how to arrange. This is born out on the first album's covers of Sonny Bono's "Where Do You Go," "You're a Better Man Than I" (a hit for the Yardbirds), and a particularly strange reading of the Rolling Stones' "Lady Jane." The single from the album was a reading of the Lieber & Stoller nugget "I (Who Have Nothing)."

Knight's own tunes include the fuzz guitar-drenched album-opener "Numbers" was reminiscent of the Seeds, while "What's on Your Mind" walked a line between Georgie Fame and the Zombies. The band's second album, Reflections, opens with the whitest cover of Joe Tex's "One Monkey (Don't Stop No Show)" ever.

There are some real rockers here, too, in "Love, Love, Love, Love, Love," that's reminiscent of the Standells, the soul-inflected-cum-Association-influenced "This Train," and a unique garage psych cover of the Stones' "(I Can't No) Satisfaction." This is an integral part of Michigan Rock history.

by Thom Jurek

Tracks
1. Numbers - 2:30
2. What's on Your Mind - 1:48
3. Where Do You Go (Sont Bono) - 3:08
4. You're a Better Man Than I (B. Hugg, M. Hugg) - 2:53
5. Lovin' Kind - 3:00
6. The Shut-In - 3:37
7. Got Love - 3:12
8. A Change On The Way - 3:42
9. Lady Jane (Jagger, Richards) - 2:56
10.Sleep Talkin' - 3:00
11.I've Been Told - 2:41
12.I (Who Have Nothing) (Leiber, Stoller, Mogol) - 3:25
13.One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Joe Tex) - 2:35
14.Love, Love, Love, Love, Love - 2:54
15.Come with Me - 2:41
16.Got to Find My Baby - 2:49
17.This Precious Time (P. Sloan, S. Barri) - 2:48
18.Anybody's Apple Tree - 2:33
19.The Train - 2:11
20.Dimestore Debutante - 4:22
21.Dirty Lady - 3:13
22.Love Goddess of the Sunset Strip - 3:35
23.Forever and a Day - 3:06
24.(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Jagger, Richards) - 3:57
All songs by Terry Knight except where indicated.

Terry Knight And The Pack
*Don Brewer - Drums, Vocals
*Bob Caldwell - Bells, Vocals
*Mark Farner - Bass, Vocals
*Herm Jackson - Bass
*Curt Johnson - Guitar, Vocals
*Terry Knight - Harmonica, Harpsichord, Piano, Vocals

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Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf (1968 canada, us, superb classic album, 2013 japan SHM bonus tracks and 2014 SACD)

Steppenwolf have their origins in a Canadian band called The Sparrow, who released two singles in 1966 with little success. The Sparrow broke up in some acrimony but it wasn't long before constituent parts of it re-formed when an ABC Dunhill staff producer called Gabriel Mekler heard some tapes they had recorded and suggested to their guitarist/ vocalist John Kay that they make some demos. Sparrow guitarist Dennis Edmonton declined to participate in the reunion: he was recording an album of his own compositions, one of which was a song called 'Born To Be Wild'. However, Sparrow drummer Jerry Edmonton (his brother) and keyboardist Goldy McJohn were game. In addition, Kay took on teenage prodigy guitarist Michael Monarch and bassist Rushton Moreve. 

The band started rehearsing in a garage beneath Kay's apartment. Kay remains convinced that the dark, distorted and menacing style the band emerged with was the result of the battered and borrowed equipment their impoverishment forced them to use at the time.  That style was, by coincidence, similar to the music several different groups were making at the time: Led Zeppelin,  The Jeff Beck Group, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and, later, even the Beatles (the electric version of Revolution) were coming up with booming, distorted sounds never heard in rock up to this point. 

That form of music was given a name by the lyric of 'Born To Be Wild which Kay and co decided to record after Edmonton (who wrote it under his new pseudonym of Mars Bonfire) dropped off a demo.  Edmonton had been inspired by a motorcycle poster bearing the legend "BORN TO RIDE". The phrase he used to convey the sensation of riding a powerful motorcycle - "heavy metal thunder" - was recognised by music journalists as an equally apt description for this new style of distorted music and quickly passed into the language. However, Born To Be Wild was always bound to be remembered for more than providing a label.

Everything about it was perfect, from its intoxicatingly hedonistic sentiment to its soaring melody to its superb ensemble playing. A timeless classic, it became a number two US hit for the band in August 1968 under the name Steppenwolf.  The name had been suggested by Mekler who had been impressed by Herman Hesse's celebrated novel of that title. The perception of the song - which climbed to number 30 in the UK the following year - as one which defined the free-spirited age was cemented when it appeared in the movie Easy Rider in 1969. However, Steppenwolf's eponymously titled debut album, released in January 1968 in the US and three months later in Britain, proved that they were more than a heavy metal band. 

A Girl I Knew is a piece of vaguely psychedelic pop bookended by harpsichord playing that could not be a greater contrast to Born To Be Wild's growling guitar riffs. In addition, the band's cover of Willie Dixon's Hoochie Coochie Man underlined their blues roots, and Berry Rides Again saw them affectionately pastiching the style of one of the first rock and roll stars. The Pusher, meanwhile, illustrated how Kay had a perspective that was often very different from other radicals of the time:  what other rock musician in the LSD-soaked year of 1968 would cover Hoyt Axton's emphatically anti-drugs culture composition? As someone who had had to risk his life at the age of four fleeing from East Germany to the West,  Kay was always going to have a slightly different view of the world to North Americans who, while genuinely angry about societal iniquities, had only ever known privilege compared to the inhabitants of Kay's home country.

This propensity to think for himself would later lead Kay to do the unthinkable for a heavy rock band member when he wrote strongly feminist songs for Steppenwolf's 1971 album 'For Ladies On/y'. That, though, wouldn't have come as a surprise to those who concentrated on the lyric of Lost And Found, one of the highlights of the album 'Steppenwolf The Second', which appeared in the US a mere ten months after its predecessor. (Britain would have to wait until January 1969.) 

by Sean Egan

Tracks

1.  Sookie Sookie  (Don Covay, Steve Cropper) – 3:12

2.  Everybody's Next One (John Kay, Gabriel Mekler) – 2:53

3.  Berry Rides Again (John Kay) – 2:45

4.  Hoochie Coochie Man  (Willie Dixon) – 5:07

5.  Born to Be Wild  (Mars Bonfire) – 3:28

6.  Your Wall's Too High  (John Kay) – 5:40

7.  Desperation  (John Kay) – 5:45

8.  The Pusher  (Hoyt Axton) – 5:43

9.  A Girl I Knew (Morgan Cavett, John Kay) – 2:39

10.Take What You Need  (John Kay, Gabriel Mekler) – 3:28

11.The Ostrich" (John Kay) – 5:43

Steppenwolf

*John Kay - Guitars, Harmonica,Lead Vocals

*Rushton Moreve - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals

*Michael Monarch - Guitars, Backing Vocals

*Goldy McJohn - Hammond Organ, Piano, Electric Piano

*Jerry Edmonton - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals

Related Acts
1968  John Kay and the Sparrow
1972  John Kay – Forgotten Songs and Unsung Heroes

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Rayne - Rayne (1979 us, jagged sharp folk rock with acid drops and southern spirit, Shadoks reissue)

Originals of this 1979 album are almost impossible to find (300 copies) and if you can find one, expect to auction off your first born child, or a valuable body organ to pay for it.  Geez, even the 1994 500 press reissue on Stan Denski's Or label is difficult to track down and expensive.

Can't say I have more than the bare bones facts on this outfit - most of what follows is taken from an insert that accompanied the OR reissue.  Living in the New Orleans suburb of Algiers, brothers Frank (vocals and guitar), George (bass), Johnny (guitar) and Mike (drums) Saucier), started playing New Orleans clubs in 1977.  With limited demand for a rock band on the local club circuit, they moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, followed by another move to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi where they invested in an old school bus.

Equipping the bus with sleeping bunks they spent the next two years touring throughout the Southeast.  By 1979 they'd apparently had enough of the road and decided to take what little money they'd made and by some recording equipment.  They apparently didn't have all that much in terms of resources since the subsequent album was recorded on a TEAC 2 track reel to reel recorder.  

Recorded over a month long period in their living room (bet the neighbors were thrilled), 1979's self-produced "Rayne" is pretty impressive.  Essentially recorded live without any overdubs or postproduction enhancement, this sounds better than 80% of major label releases.  It's also interesting in that if you didn't know it had been recorded in the late 1970s, you probably would have guessed that it was a late-1960s product.  

Featuring all original material, the eight tracks offered up a mixture of conventional hard rock ('No Reason To Cry' and the slide guitar propelled 'Slip Away') and more folk-oriented track (the ballad 'Never Going, Always Gone' and the Dylan-esque 'Good Dog').  Lyrically this isn't exactly upbeat sunshine pop ('No One Heard Her'), but who cares when it's played with so much enthusiasm.  Know all those albums that say 'play loud'?  Well this one doesn't carry that statement, but it does sound great when cranked up to the max. Easily one of the most impressive albums I've heard this year.

The resulting tapes were pressed in Nashville, but with a limited budget, only a couple of hundred copies were pressed.  Some copies were passed along to record stations and other 'insiders', with at least one box worth (100 copies?) being destroyed when the frustrated brothers decided to see what would happen if they fired a shotgun at them.  There were apparently no survivors.  Needless to say, a wiser investment would have been to shove the box into a closet and wait for the collector world to discover them.  

Interestingly, their self-financed debut drew the attention of a larger label which financed a second album.  The brothers wrote and recorded material for the album, but apparently furious with the post-production work which gave the set an AOR feel, they copped the master tapes and destroyed them; though not before a single was supposedly released.  Never heard the 45 and I don't even know what the titles are.

Bad-cat

Tracks
1.  No Reason To Cry - 2:51
2.  Good Dog - 2:31
3.  She Comes - 2:45
4.  No One Heard Her - 4:36
5.  March - 3:58
6.  Neighborhood - 6:18
7.  Never Going, Always Gone - 3:35
8.  Slip Away -  2:48
All compositions by Rayne

Rayne
*Frank Saucier - Vocals, Guitar
*George Saucier - Bass
*Johnny Saucier - Guitar
*Mike Saucier - Drums, Percussion

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The Firebirds - Light My Fire (1969 multinational, raw fuzz acid heavy psych)

The Firebirds, a completely anonymous British session band, released ‘Light My Fire‘. Now, the Doors hit of the same name doesn’t really show up on the album, although it’s main hook is alluded to in one song and even though one song IS called ‘Light My Fire’ that isn’t the one!

Stylistically, LMF doesn’t sound anything like Jim Dandy & The Knobs. In fact, the intended effect – a Hendrix Experience clone – ends up sounding like Jack Bruce of Cream fronting first LP Black Sabbath mocking the Experience! It’s incredible in just how over the top it goes: 

The guitar is brutal, taking on an almost ‘My War‘ era Greg Ginn (Black Flag) feel on the LP’s best track ‘No Tomorrows’. It just squeals with that tortured amp buzz, like Blue Cheer‘s ‘Vincebus Eruptum’ , but even dirtier, if you can believe that. If you’re a Tony Iommi freak, prepare to be surprised when you hear this guy pulling out the licks to ‘Paranoid’ two years before that song existed! 

The drummer is particularly entertaining in his  "Mitch Mitchell" approach. I think there may be one steady beat throughout the entire record. This guy is a fill machine- it’s absurd! Plus, the record contains a three solo suite “Free Fuzz / Free Bass / Free Drums”. The highlight here is “Free Bass”. 

The bassist isn’t really skilled enough to do a proper solo, and hearing him struggle through it is a Spinal Tap worthy moment. Like I said earlier, the singer has a Jack Bruce-ish quality, but then does himself no favors by employing Hendrix speak on ‘Gypsy Fire’. It must be heard to be believed!

Now, remember, this isn’t a real band – just some salary guys with guitars and no control over the end product. As such, the track ‘Warm Up’ is just not the same band. It may have a few of the same players, but it doesn’t even remotely approach the sound of the rest of the album. 

by Marshottentot

Tracks
1. Warm Up - 2:30
2. Reflections - 4:23
3. By Baby - 5:29
4. Free Bass - 2:38
5. Free Drum - 4:31
6. Free Fuzz/Gypsy Fire - 2:39
7. No Tomorrows - 5:02
8. Light My Fire - 4:18

*Unknown session musicians

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AUM - Resurrection (1969 us, brilliant blues based hard psych)

One of the first acts signed to Bill Graham's Fillmore label, 1969's "Resurrection" teamed the band with producer David Rubinson. As one might have guessed from the album title (let alone the back cover which showed three crosses), their sophomore effort found the band pursuing a pseudo-religious agenda. In spite of occasionally clunky lyrics and an irritating degree of echo, Ceballos-penned material such as "God Is Back In Town," the ballad "Only I Know" and " Today and Tomorrow" wasn't half bad. 

Boasting a nifty Ceballos guitar solo, the stately title track was our nomination for standout track. Elsewhere, the driving "Bye Bye Baby" and "Little Brown Hen" recalled Quicksilver Messenger Service. Commercially the set did nothing; the trio calling it quits shortly thereafter.

Bad-cat 

Tracks
1. God Is Back In Town - 5:22
2. Resurrection - 5:24
3. Only I Know - 3:55
4. Bye Bye Baby - 3:42
5. Today and Tomorrow - 7:28
6. Little Brown Hen - 2:48
7. Aum - 6:01
8. Pachuko Boogie - Preserve Your Mama (A. Ammons) - 1:15
All songs written by Wayne Ceballos except where noted.

AUM
*Wayne Ceballos - Guitar, Organ, Lead Vocals, Harmonica
*Ken Newell - Bass, Vocals
*Larry Martin - Drums, Vocals

1969  AUM - Bluesvibes

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Various Artists - Destroy That Boy! More Girls With Guitars (1965-68 us / uk, attractive garage freak beat, blue eyed soul, 2009 Big Beat release)

This post is dedicated to Nelwizard by Jim the Greek 

“Destroy That Boy!”, the sequel to 2004’s “Girls With Guitars”, delves into the world of garage femmes and all-girl bands in a quest to prove that females of the species do indeed rock, roll and even snarl. In the post-Beatles beat boom, many an impressionable lass was inspired to take guitar in hand and toe the line with their male counterparts, with at least 160 touring female bands in the USA alone. A select few hit the recording studio to leave their aural mark on the decade, from which Ace has melded the cream of crop with some solo sisters to create another healthy 24-track dose of girl garage goodness.

This time old Blighty has its share of representatives, including fully-fledged female groups She Trinity and the Liverbirds. She Trinity – whose original members hailed from the UK, Canada and the USA, hence their somewhat confusing moniker – appear with their first and last (and most acclaimed) singles. The Liverbirds’ success was limited to their adoptive home of Germany, where they recorded two albums of R&B and rock’n’roll covers, three of which are showcased here. Schoolgirl duo the Termites get their pincers into a Stones classic, while South African ex-pat Sharon Tandy and Coventry’s Beverley Jones give out some gutsy performances too.

From across the Atlantic, alluring society girls the What Four open proceedings. The cover shows the Debutantes from Detroit, whose talents and glamorous image scored them a far-eastern tour and gigs alongside Motown’s finest. Another pivotal group was the Feminine Complex, formed by lead guitarist and songwriter Mindy Dalton, who achieved the rare feat of releasing an LP, but here we’re treated to two demos, including their wonderfully lo-fi version of the Monkees’ ‘(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone’, cut in their first incarnation as the Pivots.

Elsewhere come the Starlets with an attitude-soaked take on ‘You Don’t Love Me’, Swedish bombshell Ann-Margret with both decks of her single for Lee Hazlewood’s LHI label and Raylene Loos and her cohorts the Blue Angels, who contribute a rollicking rendition of ‘Shakin’ All Over’. The Girls (nope, not the same gang as on “Girls With Guitars”) debut with an unreleased cut produced by Sly Stone, while woe betides the man on the receiving end of Aussie Toni McCann, who let’s rip with ‘No’.

Jack Nitzsche protégée Karen Verros kicks off the mid-section with, a fuzz-laden mind-blowing gem written by Donovan. Project X (whose line-up included Scott McKenzie) delights with a jangly folk-garage affair and Cheryll & Pam wax lyrical in ‘That’s My Guy’. British Invasion off-shoots the Lady Bugs’ ode to the American fraternity is a hilarious romp and the wiggy Fondettes pay tribute to the mop-headed boys who started it all.

Much more info on these artists is to be found in the glossy feature-packed booklet, which includes interviews with Jan McClellan of the Debutantes and Beverley Jones. So let the girls blow the dust of their guitars yet again and take a trip down to the tougher side of girl-groupsville.

by Matt Meek

Artists - Tracks
1. The What Four - I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy - 2:04
2. The Starlets - You Don't Love Me - 2:15
3. Raylene and The Blue Angels - Shakin' All Over - 2:08
4. She Trinity - He Fought the Law - 2:20
5. Toni McCann - No - 1:54
6. The Liverbirds - He's Something Else - 2:16
7. Beverley Jones - Hear You Talking - 2:44
8. The Debutantes  - Shake a Tail Feather - 2:14
9. The Fondettes - The Beatles Are in Town - 2:02
10.Project X  - Don't You Think It's Fine - 2:37
11.Ann-Margret - It's a Nice World to Visit (But Not to Live In) - 2:27
12.Sharon Tandy - Hold On - 3:10
13.Karen Verros - You Just Gotta Know My Mind - 1:54
14.Ann-Margret - You Turned My Head Around - 3:19
15.The Feminine Complex - I've Been Workin' on You - 2:48
16.The Girls  - Here I Am in Love Again - 1:59
17.The Termites - Tell Me - 2:54
18.The Liverbirds - Talking About You - 3:04
19.The What Four - Baby, I Dig Love - 2:01
20.The Pivots - (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone - 2:31
21.The Liverbirds - He's About a Mover - 2:38
22.Cheryl & Pam Johnson - That's My Boy - 2:05
23.The Ladybugs - Fraternity, USA - 2:26
24.She Trinity - Climb That Tree - 3:32

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New Dawn - There's A New Dawn (1969 us, fabulous laid back trippy psychedelia, 2009 remaster and expanded)

The New Dawn's "There's A New Dawn" has been hailed as one of the rarest and best psych albums to come out of the late 60s and early 70s. It's been a personal favorite Of mine since the day 1 discovered a bootleg copy on CD back in the early 90's .

I found the music to be just as unique and important to me as other bands I had heard from the region: The New Tweedy Brothers, The Sonics and even The Wipers.

They all conjure a distinctive geographical musical perspective. Maybe it's all the rain, but there's an almost tangible thread running through these introspective songwriters.It's a bit like looking at the world through rainy clouds while waiting for a sunny day to arrive.

In 1966, Dan Bazzy (singer , songwriter) and founder of The New Dawn bass player Bob Justin and guitarists Larry Davis and Joe Smith, local Garage Band musicians who had been straggling to find a suitable drummer.

Bazzy joined their band and after a brief stint of playing as The Sound Citizens, The New Dawn was formed. By 1967, The New Dawn were essentially a nightclub band, touring throughout the northwest part of the country, down through California and Nevada, and as far north as Alaskn.

The band recorded and released their private press album "There's A New Dawn" in July of 1970. The songs were composed in the studio and were recorded late at night after gigs. Initially five hundred copies were pressed, but it's estimated that only around 200 may still exist.

Many of the records from the pressing were either damaged due to traveling or were warped, and distribution was limited since the album was sold mostly at their live shows.

Their one chance at the big time came in 1971 when the ABC-Dunhill Records label expressed a serious interest in the demo of three of their new heavier sounding songs. Considering the success ABC-Dunhill had with Steppenwolf, these demo tracks (included on this collection) demonstrate what a great fit the band could have been for the label and gives us a glimpse into what might have been for The New Dawn.

By the end of 1971, The New Dawn faded into the sunset after years of living motel to motel under the disillusionment of their missed opportunity. Over this past year I have had the privilege and pleasure of getting to know Bazzy and his family while working with him on this authorized CD release of "There's A New Dawn".

One of the highlights of this experience was the January 2008 reunion show of The New Dawn in Willamina, Oregon. Bazzy was accompanied by his son Dan (rhythm guitar), Russ Hosley (lead guitar), and Karen Purdom (bass). It still blows my mind that a garagepsych band from rural Oregon has achieved such prominence in the annals of rock history.

I hope you enjoy discovering The New Dawn as much as I did. 

by Isaac Slusarenko, Founder Jackpot Records.

Tracks
1. (There's A) New Dawn (Bill Gartner) - 4:16
2. I See A Day (Dan Bazzy) - 3:35
3. It's Time (Dan Bazzy) - 2:41
4. It's Rainin' (Dan Bazzy) - 3:12
5. Hear Me Cryin' (Dan Bazzy) - 3:28
6. Dark Thoughts (Bill Gartner, Larry Davis) - 2:57
7. Proudman (Dan Bazzy) - 3:18
8. Billy Come Lately (Dan Bazzy) - 2:32
9. We'll Fall In Love (Dan Bazzy) - 3:36
10.You (Dan Bazzy) - 3:11
11.Last Morning (Bill Gartner) - 3:39
12.Life Goes On (Bill Gartner) - 4:11     
13.We Need Each Other (Dan Bazzy) - 3:44
14.Woman (Dan Bazzy) - 3:29
15.Do What You Want To (Bill Gartner) - 3:21
16.It's Rainin' (Live) (Dan Bazzy) - 3:07
Tracks 1-12 from 1970's "There's A New Dawn-19
Tracks 13-15 1971 Demos
Track 16 Live Benefit Show WiUamina VFW Hall - Jan 12th, 2008

New Dawn
*Dan Bazzy - Lead Vocals, Drums
*Joe Smith - Lead Guitar
*Bobby Justen - Bass
*Bill Gartner - Lead Vocals on 1, 6, 11, 12
*Backup Vocals, Recorder on "It's Time", Harmonica
*Larry Davis - Organ and Rhythm Guitar
2008 Live New Dawn
*Daniel Bazzy — Rhythm Guitar
*Russ Hosley - Lead Guitar
*Karen Purdom - Bass
*Dan Bazzy - Lead Vocals, Drums

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Various Artists - Piccadilly Sunshine Vol. 11 (1966-70 uk, charming pop psych and other flavours, 2012 Particles)

Piccadilly Sunshine Vol.11 gives us a further delve through the colourful confines of long-forgotten British pop revealing pretty colours and flower-power pop. Celebrating the British psyche that inspired songs such as Gypsy Fred and Cobbled Streets, this latest installment illuminates the obscured artefacts of illustrious noise that emerged from the Great British psychedelic era. 

Piccadilly Sunshine part Eleven offers bittersweet folk rock and baroque, beat pop from an era that was and never shall be again.

CD Liner notes

Artists - Tracks
1. Mike Stevens And The Shevelles - Hog Tied - 3:04
2. Chris Duffy - Something For Now - 2:12
3. David Cumming - The Parrots of Simple Street - 2:40
4. Hammers - Little Butterfly - 2:35
5. John Cushing - Boys for Toys - 2:28
6. Terry Reid With Jay, Peter And The Jaywalkers - This Time - 1:48
7. The Crew - Marty - 3:00
8. Twinset - Sneakin' Up On You - 2:25
9. Act - Cobbled Streets - 2:10
10.Scott Harris - Barry Johnson's Sad Eyes Inn - 2:27
11.Gibsons - Lazy Summer Day - 2:34
12.Unit Four Plus Two - I Was Only Playing Games - 2:40
13.The Rogues - And You Better Let Her Pass By - 2:50
14.Chippy - Think About Me - 2:11
15.Dave Helling - If You're Gonna Leave Me - 2:48
16.The Keepers - Lonely Boy - 2:14
17.The Koobas - Gypsy Fred - 3:00
18.Loose Ends - Send The People Away - 2:26
19.Chris Kerry - The Place - 2:10
20.Vanity Fare - Betty Carter - 1:52

The Piccadilly Sunshine flavours 
1968-70  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 1
1966-71  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 2
1967-70  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 3
1967-69  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 4
1966-69  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 5
1967-70  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 6
1966-70  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 7
1966-71  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 8
1964-71  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 9
1966-69  Piccadilly Sunshine Part 10

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The Red Crayola - God Bless The Red Krayola And All Who Sail With It (1968 us, ambitious inspired experimental avant gard rock, 2011 Charly issue)

The Red Crayola were one of the greatest psychedelic bands of the 1960s and probably of all times. They played extremely wild experimental music that was decades ahead of its time. They predated Germany's expressionistic rock (Faust) and the American new wave (Pere Ubu). Their "freak outs" were closer to John Coltrane's free-jazz and to Jackson Pollock's abstract paintings than to rock and roll.

Their leader, Mayo Thompson, is a composer who ranks among the greatest living musicians (classical, jazz, rock). His revolutionary compositional style had few stable coordinates. His pieces float not because they are ethereal but because melody and rhythm are left "loose". They are organisms that rely on supporting skeletons that are falling apart as they move.

Thompson placed his art firmly in the iconoclastic tradition that Frank Zappa had just founded, and simply increased the amount and the speed of noise. Parable Of Arable Land (1967) is one of the milestones of rock music, a carousel of savage harmonic inventions/sabotages.

God Bless (1968), composed after a stay in New York and a collaboration with Joe Byrd of the United States Of America, was even more experimental – if less unified (it contains twenty aleatory fragments) - than the first album.

The album still shows a natural bent towards the ways of the learned American avant-garde (from Varese to Cage), even though terribly transfigured.  

by Piero Scaruffi

Tracks
1. Say Hello to Jamie Jones - 2:30
2. Music - 1:00
3. The Shirt - 2:30
4. Listen to This - 0:04
5. Save the House - 1:24
6. Victory Garden - 1:48
7. Coconut Hotel - 1:22
8. Sheriff Jack - 2:12
9. Free Piece - 2:18
10.Ravi Shankar: Parachutist - 2:09
11.Piece for Piano and Electric Bass - 0:45
12.Dairymaid's Lament - 2:30
13.Big - 1:37
14.Leejol - 2:40
15.Sherlock Holmes - 2:55
16.Dirth of Tilth - 1:26
17.Tina's Gone to Have a Baby - 1:49
18.The Jewels of the Madonna - 1:29
19.Green of My Pants - 3:00
20.Night Song - 1:52
Words and Music by Red Crayola

The Red Crayola
*Steve Cunningham – Bass
*Tommy Smith – Drums
*Mayo Thompson – Guitar, Piano, Vocals

1970  Mayo Thompson - Corky's Debt to His Father

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AUM - Bluesvibes (1969 us, power west coast heavy blues psych rock)

One of the great lesser-known San Francisco bands, AUM was a classic rock power trio, inspired by the likes of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream, and led by the talented multi-instrumentalist and singer Wayne Ceballos. The band was first brought to the attention of Bill Graham by San Francisco's premier photographer, Jim Marshall.

Wolfgang's vault

Initially signed by the London-affiliated Sire label, as one would expect from the title, the group's 1969's "Bluesvibes" found them working in a distinctively blues-vein. Reflecting the band's live act, the Richard Gotthrer produced debut featured a series of seven extended jams, (the shortest song clocking in at 4 minutes). 

With Ceballos writing the majority of the material, in spite of period excesses (e.g. aimless soloing), originals such as "Mississippi Mud" and "Chilli Woman" weren't half bad. Moreover, Ceballos proved a decent singer, injecting considerable energy into his performances. Among the few missteps, the band's ponderous cover of John Loudermilk's "Tobacco Road" would've been suitable for Vanilla Fudge. Commercially the set proved a non-entity; quickly vanishing into cutout bins.

Bad-cat

Tracks
1. Tobacco Road (John Loundermilk) - 6:54
2. Mississippi Mud - 4:03
3. My Bridge Blues - 5:41
4. Chilli Woman - 4:34
5. Little Help from You - 6:54
6. Movin' Man - 7:48
7. You Can't Hide - 7:24
All songs by Wayne the Harp Ceballos unless as else stated

AUM
*Wayne Ceballos - Guitar, Organ, Lead Vocals, Harmonica
*Ken Newell - Bass, Vocals
*Larry Martin - Drums, Vocals

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Various Artists - Feeling High The Psychedelic Sound Of Memphis (1967-69 us, incredible garage psych, 2012 Big Beat release)

Memphis is well known as the birthplace of the blues, the fount of southern soul and the locale that begat rock’n’roll. My colleagues and I have been digging deep in various Memphian vaults over the past decade, but the focus up until now has largely been soul and R&B. Lest we forget, the city boasted a healthy rock scene well into the 1960s and 1970s, but few retrospectives have documented Memphis music in the psychedelic era when, as a major recording centre, it was the nexus not just for local freaks, but those from neighbouring Arkansas, Mississippi and beyond. Big Beat’s “Feeling High – The Psychedelic Sound Of Memphis” shines a welcome light on this long-neglected area, focusing on the years 1967-1969 and principally on the work of two renowned Memphis mavericks.

With a decades-long career as an iconoclastic musical polymath, Jim Dickinson needs little introduction. However, his rarely-discussed apprenticeship as a producer-engineer at Ardent Studios in the late 1960s made Dickinson responsible for many of the wildest and wackiest sessions ever held in Memphis. Some excerpts slipped out at the time on obscure singles on Stax and elsewhere, such as the absurd version of ‘For Your Love’ by Honey Jug. “Whenever anybody came into Ardent, it was obvious who was going to do the crazy stuff, ”Dickinson recounted to me several years ago. The bands he produced there include the pyjama-wearing Kinks-ish Wallabys of Jackson, Mississippi and psychedelic hillbillies Knowbody Else, later to become famous as Black Oak Arkansas.

In contrast, James Parks was a young wet-behind-the-ears punk who took over the control room at uncle Stan Kesler’s Sounds Of Memphis studio in 1968, bringing in his freak friends from counterculture hotspots such as the Bitter Lemon. Parks’ production work included Changin’ Tymes, Mother Roses and Triple X, featuring future country star Gus Hardin, as well as crazoid studio-only experiments such as ‘Rubber Rapper’ and ‘Shoo Shoo Shoo Fly’. There is a palpable air of chaos about much of what Parks produced, which explains why he was unable to place a lot of it at the time – but in hindsight it’s a remarkable cache of work.

Dickinson and Parks represent the outer edge of the Memphis music scene in those years. While the vast majority of tracks on “Feeling High” have not been issued before, their inspired lunacy and a shared willingness to push the envelope make the recorded evidence very special indeed. Local notables such as the Poor Little Rich Kids, 1st Century and Goatdancers share the tracklisting, the sound quality is excellent, and the detailed liner notes spill the beans on this fascinating tributary of the city’s musical legacy. 

by Alec Palao

Artists - Tracks
1. Sealing Smoke - Rubber Rapper - 4:30
2. The Honey Jug - For Your Love - 2:49
3. The Changin' Tymes - Blue Music Box - 2:09
4. The Knowbody Else - Secret Storm - 3:06
5. Triple X - Spare Me - 3:37
6. The Wallabies - Holy Days - 2:28
7. Greg McCarley - Shoo Shoo Shoo Fly - 4:11
8. The Changin' Tymes - Hark the Child - 5:32
9. Poor Little Rich Kids - Come on Along and Dream - 3:02
10.The Goatdancers - Eat Me Alive - 2:33
11.Greg McCarley - Crazy Man's Woman - 3:49
12.Judy Bramlett - Deja Vu - 2:48
13.The Knowbody Else - Free Singer's Island - 2:18
14.The Wallabies - Feeling High - 3:16
15.Triple X - Rockin' in the Same Old Boat - 4:25
16.Poor Little Rich Kids - I Need Love - 2:37
17.Mother Roses - Ticket to Ride - 4:46
18.David Mitchell - Ogden - 2:55
19.Greg McCarley - If You're Thinking - 2:09
20.The Wallabies - Old Man of Time - 2:27
21.The Goatdancers - We're in Town - 2:54
22.1st Century - Dancing Girl - 2:11
23.The Knowbody Else - Flying Horse of Louisiana (Live) - 6:05
24.The Goatdancers Advert - 1:03

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Headstone Circus - Headstone Circus (1968-70 us, west coast influenced bluesy folk psych, Shadoks release)

"Around 1966, Nick Bonis, Mike Johnstone, Randy Pope, and I formed a psychedelic band. On Halloween night we went to an old cemetery, dropped acid, and spent a very strange night among the tombstones. The tombstones appeared to be melting and taking on animal shapes. Some of us saw spirits, and I'm not sure what I saw, but it was disturbing. Afterwards, we referred to that night as the 'Headstone Circus.' It seemed appropriate to call ourselves Headstone Circus as a band so we did." 

by Glenn Faria

The band plays a (rather) West Coast style while recorded on the east coast, with a certain Crosby, Stills, Nash ‘n’ Young / Buffalo Springfield or Neil Young -Crazy Horse period- influence, but additionally with a more bluesy side-effect, and with some portions on certain tracks, where a smoky dark bluesy feeling is improvised calmly upon. This is of course the acid bluesy side associated with something of the east coast that gives this slightly smokey feeling. The lead vocals have a warm attractive effect and fit well with the West Coast feeling. 

Several of the more song orientated tracks are more acoustic. The last four, and also more simple,  I guess are more like rough demo versions. I am sure that if they would have had a chance with a big studio production and treatment on some tracks, these could have been better, (-a few tracks also suffered from a few worn-tape errors)-, while most of it for me is already great as it is, and makes it, almost essential to check it out, especially when you like the CSNY. 

A track like “Summer’s Gone” could have easily been a Neil Young track, and still is one of my favorite songs. After a while, singer/composer Glenn Faria left the group only because he was offered a solo contract. This solo album was reissued by World In Sound some years ago. Here, the Neil Young influence still is noticeable, but for me this solo album isn’t so rewarding as the previous Headstone Circus, but it also features a nice redo of the already mentioned “Summer’s Gone” song.

Psychedelic-music

Tracks
1. I'm Goin' Down - 4:38
2. You Don't Know - 6:52
3. Summers Gone - 4:44
4. I'm Crazy - 5:57
5. Healer - 4:09
6. Arms Of God - 3:31
7. Born In Georgia - 3:56
8. Reason To Live - 3:16
9. Reach Out - 2:45
10.I Hear The Thunder - 3:43
11.I Love The Wind - 4:11
12.Bear Down - 5:18
All compositions by Glenn Faria

Headstone Circus
*Glenn Faria - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*Mike Johnstone - Guitar
*Randy Ray Pope - Drums, Vocals
*Nick Bonis - Bass

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Colours / Christian – Voluptuous Doom / Good vs. Evil (1968-70 us, slpendid psychedelia, 2009 Frantic release)

Thank's to Frantic Records for unearthing more forgotten gems of California's rich musical heritage. Having languished in the vaults for close to 40 years, the Colours and Christian tapes finally make their way to CD for the very first time after the fickle hand of fate conspired to deny them the success they so obviously deserved. 

If everything had gone according to plan then I'm positive that Colours would be as well known and regarded today as any of the big name Californian groups and that they would have achieved legendary status amongst devotees j& sixties rock. 

Their blend of West Coast psychedelia and fey British pop stylings set them apart from many of their peers, the intricate arrangements and lush production coupled with delicate orchestra and beautiful harmonies contrast dramatically with  the loose improvisational jamming that was typical of many of their Bay Area counterparts. 

Amid all vibrancy of the Northern California music scene, The   Colours stand out as something special. It's fascinating to hear the transition from Colours' baroque grandeur to the stripped down Rock of Christian. Electric and Acoustic Guitars have replaced the orchestration and ornate  keyboards, indicating the influence of groups such as Moby Grape and Buffalo Springfield, while the British pop leanings are perhaps even more overt evidenced by covers of Hollies and Beatles material. 

Listening to these recordings is akin to hearing! a microcosm of the progression of late sixties rock music. That they have remained hidden away for so long is a crime, to be able to hear them now is a wonder. It's time to welcome Christian in to your life. Prepare to experience Colours you! Never dreamed existed.

by Gray Newell

Tracks

Disc 1 - Colours

1. Picture Windows - 4:35

2. Dreams - 3:49

3. Voluptuous Doom - 2:44 

4. Thoughts Of Love - 5:08

5. Who’s Been Sleeping - 2:41

6. Memories - 3:34

7. Ferdinand Smash-Me-Toe - 3:29

8. Candy Coloured Lover - 8:06

9. Communicate - 3:45

10.Are You Free - 5:16

11.Candy Coloured Lover (instrumental) - 13:41

12.Wood For Sale (live) - 3:46

13.Candy Coloured Lover (live) - 10:50

14.Wood For Sale (instrumental) - 4:03

15.Alan Lau Introduction - 3:22

Tracks 1-10 arranged and recorded in 1968 by Colours for an unreleased album
Tracks 11-15 live at the Matrix, summer 1967

Disc 2 - Christian
1. Mary The Wither - 3:11
2. Charlie And Fred (Alan Clarke, Graham Nash) - 3:29
3. Don’t Worry - 4:15
4. Are You Free - 5:35
5. American ’69 - 3:21
6. Good Vs. Evil - 5:25
7. Hope That You Survive - 2:28
8. Stand Naked - 3:56
9. Another Day (Marc Kellett) - 1:55
10.With A Little Help From My Friends (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)- 7:28
All songs by Bob Brien, Mark Cipolla, except where noted.
Recorded in late '69 early '70 at Sierra Sound in Berkeley and Realistic Sound in Chico

Musicians
*Chuck Edwards - Vocals, Guitars
*Bob Brien - Guitar, Vocals
*John Healy - Drums
*Mark Cipolla - Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
*Ed Seymour - Keyboards
With
*Marty Paich - Strings, Horns (Disc 1, Tracks 1-10)
*Steve Parsons - Drums (Disc 2)
*Kurt Kearnes - Lead Guitar (Disc 2)

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The Blues Train - The Blues Train (1970 canada, great psych blues rock, Gear Fab issue)

The Blues Train, like the Crazy People, are unknown artists that released some great sounds in the late 60's and early 70's. While little is known about them, we do know they were Canadian and recorded "The Blues Train" on the Burnaby, British Columbia-based Condor label in 1970. 

Condor has gone down in history as a Canadian exploit label and they were indeed riding the crest of the different crazes that were going on during these times. Condor released quite a diversified line of music during the late 60's: everything ranging from the weirdness of The Crazy People to Latin Holiday to the very highly-rated Blues Train, The Surf Riders, and The Jimmy Cole Unlimited. As with The Crazy People, there are several rumors circulating as to actually who The Blues Train were. 

The most plausible theory shared by both Clark Faville and myself is that one of its members was Johnny Kitchen, who has songwriting credits on both this LP and on other Condor release "The World With The Trio Of Tyme (#2459) and "The Crazy People (#2457). It is a known fact that he was in Canada at this time and obviously associated with the label. Kitchen ended up in Los Angeles in 1969, making records beginning with " The Victims Of Chance" on the Crestview label. 

As arcane as this might seem to the casual reader, his name is synonymous with at least a dozen weird underground records released on various private labels in the U.S.A. and still nothing is known about them. To date, Johnny Kitchen has over 200 songs copyrighted through BMI We also know there is a connection with Johnny Kitchen to Wild Man Fischer. His 1969 LP "Life Brand New", has the chorus "My life is all brand new", which is the same voice and words appearing on "Parade At The Funny Farm" and "Let's Split" of The Crazy People LP. 

However, other Blues Train song writing credits that never appeared on the original Condor release do not match any others from Crazy People. The inclusion of only one by Kitchen himself implies his involvement on Blues Train, unlike that of The Crazy People, may have been minimal. 

Although all performers are uncredited, there has also been some speculation that a prominent Vancouver "personality" (and local TV. weatherman) was involved in putting together the "Rock" oriented exploit efforts on this label, and it is e likely that some of the musicians involved also appear o Blues Train, Jimmy Cole Unlimited, and other Condor e Jack Millman, who has songwriting and production credits on Crazy People, also is shown as involved with Condor release #2460 "And I Love Her": Jack Millman and The Tempo Orchestra. In addition, Jack Millman, along with Jean Daniel Productions, produced The Blues Train. 

by Roger Maglio

Tracks
1. Ride The Train (Eric Llord) - 3:57
2. Missin'You (Joe Sanchez) - 4:35
3. Pain In My Head (Johnny Kitchen) - 3:25
4. Some Body To Love (Joe Sanchez) - 2:18
5. Hootchie Kootchie Man (Hoyt Axton) - 3:05
6. Busted In Chicago (Billy Wolfe) - 3:28
7. A & R Man (Joe Sanchez) - 2:41
8. Coast To Coast (Joe Sanchez) - 2:08
9. Whole Lot O1 Blues (Paul Wayne, Delmar Williams) - 2:29
10.Got My Eyes On You (Ralph Morris) - 2:06
11.Mojo (McKinley Morganfield) - 2:25

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Nigel Mazlyn Jones - Sentinel / The Fools Of The Finest Degree (1976-78 uk, beautiful folk rock with some acid drops, 2008 Kissing Spell remaster)

Nigel Mazlyn Jones has released 10 albums since 1976. The first two albums ‘Ship to Shore’ and ‘Sentinel’ are sought by collectors and have now been re-released by Kissing Spell with extra tracks and sleeve notes. TV and radio collaborations and a growing audience in the dance/chill out festival scene have widened his traditional long standing folk / roots / progressive following yet critics often state he deserves wider acclaim and recognition. 

Nigel creates a unique sound combining 6 and 12 string acoustic guitar sounds with electric textures and also plays Indian santor and clay pot. Much of his writing is influenced by the land, sea and sky of the south west of Britain where he lives yet some of his song writing also cuts to the core of human life. At live gigs he often combines the music with powerful and evocative visuals.

He was born in 1950 in the industrial Midlands and started playing guitar and writing songs and poetry at an early age. In his youth he worked part time with animals eventually moving to the Channel Islands in the seventies to work with the great apes for the conservationist and writer Gerald Durrell. Studying animal behaviour and that of the onlookers he realised that true conservation required a shift in human attitudes and following his love for the natural landscape, he eventually settled near the north coast of Cornwall where he still lives.

Nigel Mazlyn Jones

Tracks
1. All In The Name Of Love - 5:54
2. Sentinel -5:47
3. Flying - 3:52
4. Roll Away - 5:37
5. Water Road - 3:32
6. All In All - 4:31
7. Fools - 8:23
8. The Wheel - 6:07
9. Takes Two To Make It - 3:00
10.The Hills Of Celt - 5:23
11.Baby This Time - 3:16
12.All My Friends - 4:56
13.Which Way To The Sea? - 3:43
14.It Was All In The Name Of Love (Instrumental) - 2:45
All tracks composed by Nigel Mazlyn Jones

Musicians
*Nigel Mazlyn Jones - Guitars, Vocals
*Mick Candler - Drums, Percussion
*Steve Hutt - Bass
*Pete Bimbo Acock - Sax
*Dik Cadbury - Guitar, Vocals
*Johnny Coppin - Piano
*Rob Lloyd - Guitar
*Phil Beer - Violin, Vocals
*Chris Kerridge - Bass, Guitar
*Dave Titley - Guitar, Vocals
*Paul Anastasi - Synthesiser

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Imagine - Images, Clear Skies And Rainbows (1975 us, elegant progressive rock, korean bonus tracks edition)

"Images, Clear Skies and Rainbows" was an impressive venture into prog-rock teetering on the edge of progressive by a group called Imagine.

An exceptionally solid effort from start to finish. The first side shows the group in more of a progressive vein with several good but abbreviated guitar runs, giving you a taste of what direction the group could actually go in when they decided to. On the second side they bear down and let you see their true colors by stretching out the guitar interludes into longer segments in each song. 

The best song on the entire LP is "Tomorrow." The bass and guitar team up to give you a tour de force of rock and roll. The flute adds another dimension to the taken as a whole sound, giving it that decidedly progressive edge. Judging from the sound and vocal style. This LP is remarkably good considering I have never heard of them and cannot seem to find any history of the group anywhere. 

by Keith Hannaleck

Tracks
1. Come Alive - 5:33
2. City Lights - 5:06
3. Rock And Roll Man - 4:37
4. Superstar - 5:31
5. Images Clear Skies And Rainbows - 5:34
6. Tomorrow - 5:26
7. My Golden Lady - 4:33
8. Castles Of Sand - 5:31
9. Just A Dream (Bonus) (Jeffery Levy) - 5:06
10.Flight 491 To Nowhere (Bonus) (J. Levy, E. Slaski) - 4:30
All songs by Ted and Mike Kieta, except where noted.

Musicians
*Mike Kieta - Bass Lead Vocal
*Ted Kieta - Guitar, Vocals
*Bob Rowland - Acoustic Percussion
*Mike Prichard - Flute, Lead Vocal
*Todd William - Lead Guitar
*Ray Smith - Lead Guitar
*Keith Dickerson - Saxophone
*M.H. Dickson - Keyboards
*Nancy Black, Karen Smith and Carol Dickerson - Backing Vocals

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