The Smoke - It´s Smoke Time (1967 uk, fabulous mod beat , repertoire bonus tracks edition)

The story of The Smoke began back in 1965 in Yorkshire when millionaire and entrepreneur Alan Brush discovered a local Mod/Beat band called The Shots supporting PJ. Proby. Brush was looking to get into the music business and so approached the band - (Geoff Gill, drums, Malcom Luker, guitar, Mick Rowley, vocals, John "Zeke" Lund, bass and Phil Peacock, guitar) - with a view to management.

The band accepted and Brush secured them a deal with Columbia Records who released the single "Keep Hold Of What You've Got'V'She's A Liar" (DB 7713) in October 1965. However, with the single failing to take off, Brush's interest waned, Peacock left, and the remaining four members were left to consider their future. Presenting their newer more psychedelic demos to producer Monty Babson, the band changed their name to The Smoke and released the "My Friend Jack'TWe Can Take It* single (Columbia DB 8115) in February 1965.

With the single climbing the charts in the UK7 eventually reaching No. 45, the record promptly became banned by the national radio stations because of the line "my friend jack eats sugar lumps" which they felt was a reference to the taking of LSD! Nonetheless, the underground press and radio picked up on the song and it became a massive hit throughout Europe and in particular Germany, where it reached No. 2 and stayed in the charts for sixteen weeks.

Indeed it was on the European mainland that The Smoke became successful, so much so that their one official LP "It's Smoke Time" (GULL INT 128301) was released in Germany only.The follow up single "If The Weather's Sunny"/"! Would If I Could, But I Can't" (Columbia DB 8252) however, wasn't a hit and the band left Columbia shortly after it's release in August 1967. By this time The Smoke had become managed by Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records and so it was to that label that they signed.

Running parallel to The Smoke at the same time was an outfit called Chords Five who just so happened to be The Smoke under a different name. Their debut single "I'm Only DreamingVUniversal Vagrant" (WIP 3044) had been released in May 1967 and for two years the two "bands" would alternate their releases. The first release on Island to feature The Smoke name was "It Could Be Wonderful"/ "Have Some More Tea" (WIP 6023) which came out in November 1967 but once again failed to chart.

The Smoke's next single "Utterly Simple (written by Dave Mason of Traffic)/ "Sydney Girl" (WIP 603) didn't actually get a proper release and any copies that do exist currently fetch around £200 on the collectors market. The next two Chords Five singles "Same Old Fat ManV'HoId On To Everything You've Got" (POLYDOR 56261 May 1968) and "Some People" (written by Graham Gouldman, later of 10cc/ "Battersea Fair" (JAYBOY BOY 6 march 1969) also failed to chart, so Lund, Luker and Gill took up an offer to become resident musicians at Morgan Sound Studios.

With a variety of guest musicians they released records throughout the early 70s - "Dreams Of DreamsV'My Birth" (Revolution Pop REVP 1002), "Sugar Man"/ "That's What I Want" (Regal Zonophone RZ 3071) and "Ride Ride Ride7"Guy Fawkes" (Pageant SAM 101) - though once again they never repeated the success of "My Friend Jack".

Of all the members, Geoff Gill has remained the most successful. Having worked with the likes of Jenny Darren and the Beaver Brothers he became a producer/songwriter for Boney M who themselves scored a No. 57 chart placing in April 1980 with their version of "My Friend Jack".

by Mark Brennan

Tracks
1. My Friend Jack (Rowley, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 3:03
2. Waterfall (Rowley, Gill, Luker, Lund) -  2:41
3. You Can't Catch Me (Rowley, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 3:17
4. High In A Room (Rowley, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 3:00
5. Wake Up Cherylina (Rowiey, Gill Luker, Lund) - 2:19
6. Don't Lead Me On (Brown, Reno) -  2:17
7. We Can Take It (Rowley, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 2:43
8. If The Weather's Sunny (Rowiey, Gill, Luker, Lund) -  2:50
9. I Wanna Make It With You (Rowiey, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 3:10
10. It's Getting Closer (Rowiey, Gill, Luker, Lund) -  2:33
11. It's Just Your Way Of Lovin' (Rowiey, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 2:25
12. I Would If I Could But I Can't (Rowley, Gill, Luker, Lund)  - 2:14
13. Have Some More Tea (Single A-Side) (Rowiey, Gill, Ridiey) - 2:13
14. Victor Henry's Cool Book (Single B-Side) (Gill, Rowiey) - 2:28
15. Sydney Gill (Single A-Side) (Gill, Rowley) - 3:32
16. It Could Be Wonderful (Single B-Side) (Miller, Rowiey, Gill) - 2:18
17. Keep A Hold Of What You've Got (Single A-Side released as "The Shots") (Maidon) - 2:06
18. She's A Liar (Single B-Side released as "The Shots") (Maidon) - 2:21
19. I Am Only Dreaming (Single A-Side released as "Chords Five") (Rowiey, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 1:57
20. Universal Vagrant (Single B-Side released as "Chords Five") (Feldman, Goldstein, Gottehrer, Farrel) - 2:50
21. Dreams Of Dreams (Single A-Side) (Vaughan, Williams, Chapman) - 2:28
22. My Birth (Single B-Side) (Francis) - 2:38
23. Jack IS Back (Single A-Side) (Gill, Berckerman) - 3:16
24. That's What I Want (Single B-Side) (Gill, Luker, Malone, Lund) - 2:23
25. Playing With Magic (previously unreleased) (Gill, Luker, Malone, Lund) - 3:06
26. My Friend Jack (Single A-Side) (Rowiey, Gill, Luker, Lund) - 3:40

The Smoke
*Geoff Gill - Drums,
*Malcom Luker - Guitar
*Mick Rowley - Vocals
*John "Zeke" Lund - Bass
*Phil Peacock - Guitar

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Chariot - Chariot (1971 us, great hard blues rock)

Hard rocking US power trio spun off from '66-'68 Los Angeles Knack. Dates of release are usually given as 1968, but it is believed to have been as late as 1971 Straight forward, hard rock with soulful raspy vocals, tight playing, tight songs Hard rocking, not really psychy.

A mainstream play at a radio friendly Grand Funk/ James Gang sound Guitar playing is tasteful, and in service to the song, therefore, no long crazed solos Overall, a solid and enjoyable late 60's/early 70's hard rock album.

by zphage

Tracks
1. Yolanda Jones - 3:32
2. You Let Me Love You - 3:50
3. Gamblin' Man - 7:09
4. The War Is Over (Larry Gould) - 2:59
5. Home Wreckin' Mama - 1:55
6. Hey People - 3:25
7. Variety Woman (Larry Gould) - 3:09
8. Got To Be A Lover - 3:08
9. Poor Man Blues (Larry Gould) - 6:47
All Selections Written by Michael Kaplan except where indicated

Chariot
*Michael Kaplan - Vocals, Guitar
*Pug Baker - Drums
*Larry Gould - Vocals, Bass

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Keef Hartley Band - Little Big Band (1971 uk, live blues rock with jazzy feeling and mild psychedelic touches, 2008 esoteric remaster)

Ever since the critical success of their numerously-populated' album The Battle Of North West Six, the Keef Hartley Band's main man hadmharboured the desire to run a larger ensemble on a more regular basis simultaneously with his small group, and better still etch their efforts into black plastic. Further public acclaim and consequential artistic freedom had favourably manifested themselves over the ensuing; eighteen months, during which period two further studio LPs had nailed their colours to the mast, namely “The Time Is Near”.... (Released: August 197O) and “Overdog” (8th April 1971).

Added to this, thanks to the ever-increasing1 numbers that had been turning: up to catch Hartley's units strutting- their stuff on the boards, his finances had gradually improved to the point that he could bring- the group of like-minded friends who shared his vision tog-ether more often. So it was that while “Overdog” was still fresh off the presses, arrangements were actually being made for its 'expansive' follow-up. Keef s long-time producer Neil Slaven recalled in the mid-Seventies: "The Big Band had begun to play a few dates. It shouldn’t have been economically possible, but audiences quickly proved otherwise.

Of course, it had to be recorded, so in June we used the combined services of the Marquee Club/Studio to tape a couple of concerts. The problems were almost insurmountable, but I think we captured the atmosphere of a typical Big Band gig. They were loose, friendly occasions, but still powerful.' How very true. The repertoire chosen for revisiting was drawn from all three of Hartley's existing studio sets, with emphasis on the first, Halfbreed. Keef s 'registered small group' had latterly been cut to a quartet of himself on drums. Miller Anderson (Guitar, Vocals), Gary Thain (Bass) and Mick Weaver (Keyboards).

This last-named was not in attendance on the nights of 13th/14th June, but would re-emerge amongst a yet further re-shuffled line-up for Hartley's next spectacular. The other three stalwarts were, however, and found themselves augmented by thirteen other musicians, some of whom were decidedly familiar to camp followers. In the brass department sat five trumpeters. Mike Rosen was then currently working on Mogul Thrash's eponymous LP, with contributions to The Bunch's “Rock On” (1972) and Scaffold's “Fresh Liver” (73) just around the corner, while Terry Noonan's impressive C.V. was top-heavy with inserts on Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon label albums.

How does Chicken Shack’s “O.K. Ken”? (68). Champion Jack Dupree s “Scooby Dooby Doo” (69) and Top Topham’s “Ascention Heights” (7O) grab you for starters? Martin Drover's to-be-well-travelled horn was gaining youthful experience for the days when such as Bryan Ferry, Jim Capaldi, Andy Fairweatlier-Low, Gonzalez and Juice On The Loose might make a call, and Mike Davis, who'd recently added his fivepenny-worth to Deram labelmates' Egg's marvellously esoteric The Polite Force was, if he had but known it, destined to blow with, amongst others, Duster Bennett, Georgie Fame and Ramsey Lewis. Harry Beckett, who'd enriched both “Halfbreed” and “Battle” took the solos.

Trombone parts were the responsibility of Danny Allmark and the muchrespected Derek Wadsworth, a gentleman well-known to Manfred Mann, Julie Driscoll, Savoy Brown and Colosseum, to name but four. Certain elements of the reed section knew the numbers intimately, Lyn(n) Dobson, Barbara Thompson and Chris Mercer having all been involved with various forerunning Hartley long-players, so tenor saxist Roger Wade had no shortage of compatriots to compare notes with (pun intended!). Keyboard emissions were fashioned by Derek Austin, and a damn fine job he made of them. Suitably impressed, presumably, were Linda Lewis, Alvin Lee and Chris Thompson s Night, for they dialled him later in the decade, and that leaves only percussionist Pete York.

Long-time backbeat of The Spencer Davis Group, he'd lately also set out a stall with musician/singer/songwriter Eddie Hardin, who'd originally volunteered for the thankless task of replacing Stevie Win wood in the SDG. As The World s Smallest Big Band' the two of them had deposited a couple of remarkable LPs with Bell, but were currently awaiting the imminent issue of one under Deram s parent Decca logo. Meantime. Pete was fully occupied... After mixing, Hartley's aptly-titled “Little Big Band” dream became a reality when SDL 4 fanfared its arrival in British shops on 1st October 1971.

It didn t intrude on the printed best-sellers and, disappointingly for its creator, London Records in the States confirmed that the Deram logo there would not be manufacturing an equivalent, probably because no wholly-new material was displayed within its grooves. Nevertheless, they'd be back on the case when next Blighty's Red Indianchampion donned Ms warpaint as the “Seventy Second Brave”, though he'd be fronting yet another amended 'tribe'...

By John Tracy

Tracks

1. You Can't Take It With You (M. Anderson) - 7:15

2. Me And My Woman (Gene Barge) - 4:56

3. Not Foolish, Not Wise (Jath) - 6:50

4. Leg Overture - 23:16

a. Leavin' Trunk (J. Estes)

b. Halfbreed (D. Dines, I. Cruickshank, K. Hartley)

c. Just To Cry (H. Lowther, O. Finnegan)

d. Sinnin' For You (D. Dines, F. Hewitson, K. Hartley, O. Finnegan)

Musicians

*Barbara Thompson - Alto Saxophone

*Chris Mercer - Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone

*Gary Thain - Bass Guitar

*Keef Hartley - Drums

*Miller Anderson - Guitar, Vocals

*Derek Austin - Organ, Piano

*Pete York - Percussion

*Lynn Dobson - Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute

*Roger Wade - Tenor Saxophone

*Danny Allmark - Trombone

*Derek Wadsworth - Trombone

*Martin Drover - Trumpet

*Mike Davis - Trumpet

*Mike Rosen - Trumpet

*Terry Noonan - Trumpet

*Harry Beckett - Trumpet

Keef Hartley's brands

1968-72  Not Foolish Not Wise

1969  Halfbreed (2008 Esoteric)

1969  The Battle Of North West Six  (2008 Esoteric)

1970  The Time Is Near (2008 Esoteric remaster)

1970  Overdog (2005 Eclectic)

1972  Keef Hartley Band - Seventy Second Brave (2009 Esoteric remaster issue)

1972  Lancashire Hustler (2008 Esoteric)

With The Artwoods 

1964-67  Tha Artwoods - Singles A's & B's

1966  The Artwoods - Art Gallery (2009 remaster and expanded)

Related Act

1971  Miller Anderson - Bright City

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Country Joe And The Fish - Live! Fillmore West (1969 us, great psychedelic west coast)

When i look back on the last few months Country Joe & The Fish  were still trying to keep the band together and go on in touring I remember all the confusion and all the arguments and all the exasperation—but also I remember so many nights when they played with all their old magic and uniqueness. Since I'd been working with them for four years as their producer for Vanguard Records, I wanted to try to capture some of these last moments on tape, so with engineer Ed Friedner—who had worked with me on the albums they did in New York—I stalked them for a number of nights on their last gigs.

We did the first recordings of them live at the Fillmore East, but we couldn't catch them at their nest. They were headlining a bill that opened with Procol Harum, continued with Ten Years After, and ended with Country Joe & The Fish. By the time the first two bands had finished it was the middle of the night, and both the audience and Joe and the Fish were too wiped out to make their music happen. We decided to make another try, so with Ed bribing his way on to an airplane with several hundred pounds of recording equipment as carry -on luggage we flew out to San Francisco to record what was going to be their last gig together. Ed rented a large moving van and set everything up outside the Fillmore Auditorium on Market Street.

The opening act was a new English band called Led Zeppelin, so we thought there was a chance the audience wouldn't be as limp for Joe and the Fish as they'd been in New York. Since it was going to be a final night on stage together the band decided to invite all their friends to join them, and backstage there was a long party before they went out to play. Ed was sitting in Ms van on the street outside, with Bill Belmont, who did a number of things with the Fish, helping htm keep track of what was happening on stage. A small TV monitor had been rigged up so Ed could see what the band was doing, but he had to keep watching the needles on the machines. It also turned out he had to watch his back.

A street gang tried to take over the van and Ed—who had learned a lot in his youth on New York streets—had to back them off with a broken bottle. Back stage the party went on so long that the band and their friends finally came out to play in a blaze of excitement and a heavy accumulation of controlled substances. But OR stage all of them immediately became the stars that they were, and after I'd made sure that everybody was playing and the sound to the van was working I went out front and looked up at the stage.

Here was one of the greatest line-ups of San Francisco's musicians I had ever seen—and each of them was into his own stage personality. Jorma was bent over his guitar, Steve was swaying up and down, Jerry was studying his strings, Joe was half-smiling, Barry was striding around his end of the, stage. It was as much show business as music, and at that moment I realized how far we all had come since I'd first seen everybody playing in Berkeley parks and in little clubs only a few years before.

I don't remember that everybody ever got in tune. I don't remember that most of the time the rhythm was that tight, but it didn't matter. It was one of those moments of the 60's that would never come again—and listening to it again after all these years, brings back that moment and so much of the mood of those chaotic years.
by Sam Charters

Tracks
1. Introduction/Rock And Soul Music/Love (Joe McDonald, Barry Melton) - 6:15
2. Here I Go Again (Joe McDonald) - 4:42
3. It's So Nice To Have Your Love (Joe McDonald) - 6:31
4. Flying High (Joe McDonald) - 12:36
5. Doctor Of Electricity (Barry Melton) - 9:10
6. Donovan's Reef Jam (Joe McDonald, Steve Miller) - 38:18

Country Joe & The Fish
*Country Joe McDonald - Vocals, Guitar
*Barry Melton - Vocals, Electric Guitar
*David Cohen - Guitar, Keyboards
*Gary "Chicken" Hirsch - Drums, Percussion
*Jack Casady - Bass
Guest Musicians
*David Getz - Drums
*Mickey Hart - Drums
*Jerry Garcia - Guitar, Harp
*Jorma Kaukonen - Guitar
*Steve Miller - Guitar

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Gordon Lightfoot - Summertime Dream (1976 canada, remarkable folk rock)

  With Summertime Dream, Gordon Lightfoot produced one of his finest albums, and wrapped up a six-year period of popularity that he would not recapture. Propelled by his second biggest hit, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Summertime Dream summed up the sound that had served Lightfoot so well in his post-"If You Could Read My Mind" days.

This distinctive sound featured Lightfoot's strummed six- or 12-string guitar complemented by Terry Clements' electric guitar lines and Pee Wee Charles' pedal steel guitar accents. The material here is excellent, and the singer's voice is at its strongest. Mixing upbeat songs like "Race Among the Ruins," "I'd Do It Again" and the title track with beautiful ballads such as "I'm Not Supposed to Care" and "Spanish Moss," Lightfoot and his band deliver a tasty smorgasbord of intelligent, grown-up music.

As for "Edmund Fitzgerald," its continued popularity more than 30 years after its release attests to the power of a well-told tale and a tasty guitar lick.
by Jim Newsom

Tracks
1. Race Among the Ruins - 3:21
2. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - 6:32
3. I'm Not Supposed to Care - 3:31
4. I'd Do it Again - 3:14
5. Never too Close - 3:04
6. Protocol - 4:02
7. The House You Live In - 2:55
8. Summertime Dream - 2:30
9. Spanish Moss - 3:51
10.Too Many Clues in this Room - 4:49
All songs composed by Gordon Lightfoot.

Musicians
*Gordon Lightfoot - Vocals, 6- & 12-String Guitar, Piano
*Pee Wee Charles - Pedal Steel Guitar
*Terry Clements - Lead Guitar
*Rick Haynes - Bass
*Barry Keane - Drums, Percussion
*Gene Martynec - Moog Synthesizer
*Jim Gordon - Drums on "The House You Live In"

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Gordon Lightfoot - Lightfoot! / The Way I Feel (1966-67 canada, marvellous folk rock)

Gordon Lightfoot was born on November 17, 1938 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. His parents recognized and encouraged his interest in music; his first appearance as Massey Hall in Toronto, now a revered standard in his tour schedule, was just before he turned 13, as the winner of a competition for boys with unchanged voices.

After a background in barbershop quartets, and as a member of a duo, Lightfoot struck out on his own in the early 60s. He had written perhaps 75 songs, when he was caught up in the country music scene and folk revival of the time; Bob Dylan's music and a song by Merle Travis, Dark As A Dungeon, combined with his sensitivity, inventiveness and beautiful voice, resulted in his unique songwriting and singing style. In less than two years, between late '61 and some time in 1963, his sound and his life changed forever.

Lightfoot was already 27 at the time of his solo debut, which might have accounted in part for the unusually fully developed maturity and confidence on this recording, in both his songwriting and vocals. Contains some of his best compositions, including "Early Mornin' Rain," "I'm Not Sayin'," "The Way I Feel," "Lovin' Me," and "Ribbon of Darkness." At this point Lightfoot was still including some covers in his repertoire, and he handles numbers by Phil Ochs ("Changes"), Ewan McColl ("The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"), and Hamilton Camp ("Pride of Man") well. The whole album is included on The United Artists Collection.

Lightfoot had used additional guitar and bass on his debut, but for his second LP he went for a fuller band sound, using a couple of the noted Nashville sessionmen (Charlie McCoy and Ken Buttrey) who had played on Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. The result was a brighter and more accesible sound, with the country elements more to the fore. The songs weren't quite as impressive as his first batch, but they were still very good, highlighted by the epic "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" and an electrified remake of "The Way I Feel." The whole album is included on The United Artists Collection.
by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1966 Lightfoot!
1. Rich Man's Spiritual - 2:44
2. Long River - 2:46
3. The Way I Feel - 3:43
4. For Lovin' Me - 2:25
5. The First Time Ever I saw Your Face (Ewan MacColl) - 3:10
6. Changes (Phil Ochs) - 2:30
7. Early Mornin' Rain - 3:04
8. Steel Rail Blues - 2:48
9. Sixteen Miles - 2:05
10.I'm Not Sayin' - 2:28
11.Pride Of Man (Hamilton Camp) - 2:41
12.Ribbon Of Darkness - 2:39
13.Oh, Linda - 3:09
14.Peaceful Waters - 2:01

1967 The Way I Feel
1. Walls - 2:53
2. If You Got It - 2:31
3. Softly - 3:26
4. Crossroads - 2:58
5. A Minor Ballad - 3:15
6. Go Go Round - 2:40
7. Rosanna - 2:42
8. Home From The Forest - 3:04
9. I'll Be Alright - 2:27
10.Song For A Winter's Night - 3:01
11.Canadian Railroad Trilogy - 6:22
12.The Way I Feel - 3:02
All songs written by Gordon Lightfoot except where indicated.

Musicians
1966 Lightfoot!
*Gordon Lightfoot - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*David Rea or Bruce Langhorne - Second Guitar (Tracks 2 and 14)
*Bill Lee - Bass
1967 The Way I Feel
*Gordon Lightfoot - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*Kenneth A. Buttrey - Drums
*Red Shea - Guitar
*John Stockfish - Bass
*Charlie McCoy - Harmonica, Celeste, Bells

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Killing Floor - Out Of Uranus (1971 uk, impressive heavy blues rock, japan remaster issue)

In the Summer of 1970 Killing Floor picked up one of those dream gigs that don't come along very often - a six week residency in the South of France! In the course of the holiday (sorry, engagement) yours truly got seriously sunburnt and the club went bust. However we all had a jolly good time, and more importantly, we were able to use the empty club each afternoon to rehearse for our new album, "Out of Uranus".

Where the hell did that name come from? Well as usual it was me and my big mouth - overhearing talk of a college band with that name I repeated it innocently at a band meeting. Immediately it was taken up as the name for the next album and I've had to live with it ever since. Well, it was at least memorable, and Bill wrote a pertinent lyric for the opening track of the album.

We were by now a four-piece band - Lou being involved in other projects. We had actually split completely a few months earlier, but drifted back together one by one. By now the British "Blues Boom" was all over and blues was not saleable in the U.K. Instead we'd travelled several times to Germany and Switzerland, playing mainly residencies with occasional club or festival dates.

For the new album we had a whole set of original new material which could roughly be described as progessive blues, veering towards the "heavy" side. Bands like Free and Led Zeppelin were waving the "heavy" banner pretty hard at the time - it seemed like the way to go.

So it was back to Pye studios near Marble Arch, this time the larger No.1 room. The sessions, as always, were late night all night affairs. Lou came in and played some piano on "Call For the Politicians" and we featured a mellotron and violin on "Soon There Will Be Everything".

The cover had already been designed for another "Penny Farthing" project, and was generously donated to our album - at once distinctive, memorable and completely tasteless!

"Politicians" was a single, and with Larry Page behind it there seemed a fair chance of success. Larry had been involved in chart hits for the Kinks and the Troggs in the sixties. "Politicians" did make it on to the Radio One playlist, and we heard it quite often on the radio. We even went up to the West End one afternoon and guested on the "Radio One Club", being interviewed by Annie Nightingale and getting screamed up by the young audience. We met Gilbert O'Sullivan in the dressing room, a friendly chap who looked quite normal until he slipped into his schoolboy stagegear. My greatest regret was leaving before the arrival of Ken Dodd.

But "Politicians" wasn't a hit and life carried on as normal. Later we found out that it had sold several thousand copies in Germany, but nobody told us at the time. We performed "Milkman" on BBC TV as the closing track of "Disco 2", a programme which was the fore-runner of The Old Grey Whistle Test. We mimed to the backing track while Bill sung live - Bazz thrashing away on the BBC plastic imitation cymbals.

"Out of Uranus" is an interesting and at times exciting record, although parts of it sound dated and can be clearly pegged to those "progressive" days of the early seventies. Listening to it again for the first time in many years I found it entertaining and enjoyable, and was struck by the wealth of ideas it contains.
by Mick Clarke

Tracks
1. Out of Uranus - 4:41
2. Soon There Will Be Everything - 3:56
3. Acid Bean - 4:30
4. Where Nobody Ever Goes - 5:25
5. Sun Keeps Shining - 4:22
6. Call For the Politicians - 2:20
7. Fido Castrol - 4:36
8. Lost Alone - 5:05
9. Son of Wet - 5:20
10. Milkman - 5:35
All titles by Stuart MacDonald, Bill Thorndycraft and Mick Clarke.

Killing Floor
*Bill Thorndycraft - Lead Vocals, Harp
*Mick Clarke - Lead Guitar
*Stuart McDonald - Vocals, Bass Guitar
*Bazz Smith - Drums
With
*Lou Martin - Piano
*Paul Spencer Mac - Violin, Special Effects

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Elias Zaikos - Off The Box (1997 greece, fantastic instrumental electric blues rock)

I met Elias Zaikos (in person) few months back, I follow him from his early beginning, he's one of a hell great guy, he loves his music, loves his guitar, (he can play the guitar like most of the people can walk), loves the Blues, well this great magma from Chicago style to Mississippi air and from the Brit tones to Mediterranean smooth.

“Off The Box” is late ‘90’s release with outtakes, live recordings and previously unreleased material. A really enjoyable album with the original Blues feeling, take us back to the sixties Electric sound, the  Band is outstanding, they found a way to talk each other through the instruments, and they are plenty of them, this excellent view of Green’s “Slabo Day” is fascinating with the use of the violin, all the other songs (except “Summertime” which also has the same expressive violin) was written by Elias.

I hope you will love this record and stuck with it, it has something that makes you to hear it again and again, it sounds so familiar but sometimes surprising with unexpected musical passages.
Be well and take care my friend.
Να ‘σαι καλά όπου και να ‘σαι φίλε μου.
(Both of my posts are by his kind permission)

Elias Zaikos was born in 1960 in Thessaloniki , Greece , where he is permanently based. During his early teen years, he showed relatively little interest in music and listened mainly to Greek traditional and popular songs. Sometime around 1976, he was introduced to soul and to rock and roll music. Little by little he got so involved with music that being a listener just wasn't enough. A friend of local rock musicians, he followed them on to their gigs and got a first hand knowledge of the pleasures - but also the difficulties - that are all part of a musician's lifestyle. He soon found out what it really means to express oneself through an instrument.

As he turned twenty, he picked up the guitar for the first time. The six strings became his constant companion and he devoted his time to practicing and playing. Around the same time he discovered the blues, the musical genre that had such a powerful and profound effect on him that he dedicated himself to it completely. A self-taught musician, Elias Zaikos developed a particular technique on the guitar, using a thumbpick together with the bare fingers of his right hand - something he saw for the first time on a live Muddy Waters video.

In the early eighties, Elias Zaikos founded Blues Wire (or Blues Gang, as they were initially named). In 1983 the band recorded the first blues album in Greece , which paved the way for a long series of successful albums that followed. Performing an average of two hundred nights every year in a small country like Greece is an achievement indeed, but Blues Wire have done just that, confirming thus the band's hard work and also its enduring popularity.

The band has played in clubs and festivals in most European countries and received a well-deserved enthusiastic response from audiences everywhere. Renowned guitar players such as Buddy Guy, Louisiana Red and Gypie Mayo have been impressed by E.Z.'s chops and style, and so were the diverse audiences throughout Europe while E.Z. was handing them his fiery and passionate solos: from the singing crowd of Athens to the dancing gig-goers in Trieste and the standing ovation in Austria .

Over the last fifteen years Elias Zaikos has worked together with a great number of artists and earned the respect and admiration of his fellow musicians and peers. Nowadays he is considered to be the most important blues musician in Greece - a guitarist of rare talent and expressiveness, a strong and passionate singer and a charismatic performer. The elements that prevail in his live and recorded work are his complete love for the guitar and an endless quest for the spirit behind the music at all times away from ego trips and other pretensions

Tracks
1. Charlie's On The Move - 4:40
2. Ice Delivery - 3:29
3. Mediterranean Blood - 5:10
4. Extra Jalapenos - 3:28
5. Slabo Day - 5:22
6. Please Lord, Let My Guitar Talk - 5:17
7. Onion Stew - 3:29
8. Rivermoon Waltz - 3:53
9. Kuma-Goo - 4:50
10. Summertime - 9:10
11. Off The Box - 4:48
12. Steel String Parade - 4:13
13. Read Roses For My Love (Part I) - 2:28
14. Read Roses For My Love (Part II) - 2:50
15. F.A.N.O. - 3:03
16. Lazy Swing - 2:02
17. Blues For Ronnie Earl (Live) - 5:58
All music my Elias Zaikos except "Slabo Day" by Peter Green, Snowy White and "Summertime" by George Gershwin

Musicians
*Elias Zaikos - Guitars
*Sotiris Zissis - Bass
*Alex Apostolakis - Drums
*Akis Katsoupakis - Keyboards
*Jason Yeremtzes - Percussion
*Kostas Tsougras - Accordion (track 12)
*Nick Dounoussis - Rhythm Guitar (track 17)
*Dimitris Goumberitsis - Fretless Bass (track 8)
*George Bandoek - Harmonica (tracks 4, 7)
*Kostas Karakatsanis - Violin (tracks 5, 9)
*Haris Kapetanakis - Tenor Sax (track 1)
*Yorgos Gotsis - Soprano Sax (track 8)
*Yannis Economidis - Trumpet(track 1)
*Christos Kilias - Drums (track 8)

More Elias Zaikos releases
Blues Wire - Take My Hand To The Sky 1983-2007 

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Fleetwood Mac - Shrine '69 (1969 uk, classic blues rock)

Prior to becoming a pop sensation, Fleetwood Mac was a powerhouse blues act that was fueled by the guitar wizardry of Peter Green. He had met band leader Mick Fleetwood several years earlier in a group called Peter B's, which Green had joined at the age of 19. Shortly thereafter, he replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, where he met Fleetwood Mac's future bassist John McVie.

After leaving Fleetwood Mac in 1970, Green suffered a mental collapse, and only sporadically has returned to recording and performing. His most recent project Splinter Group finds him rediscovering the vibrant electric blues that he helped to pioneer in the '60s -- most notably with Fleetwood Mac. This, along with Fleetwood Mac's recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame certainly have helped him to rebuild his image and recapture his legacy.

For those who yearn for the Fleetwood Mac of old and for those who have yet to experience the magic inherent in Green's guitar playing, Rykodisc has delved deep into the archives to produce an officially sanctioned live recording of the band titled Shrine '69. The performance was captured by the group's soundman Stuart "Dinky" Dawson at Los Angeles' Shrine Exposition Hall, and this disc shows why Fleetwood Mac was regarded as one of the finest white blues bands of the 1960s.

Green's guitar playing shines throughout Shrine '69, most notably on a cover of B.B. King's Need Your Love So Bad and his own composition Rolling Man. He flooded the former tune with emotion, while paying homage to one of his earliest influences. On the latter, Green attacked the song with a biting lead while the band churned out a spirited groove that was reminiscent of some of the music that John Mayall was creating at the time. Considering that he was only 22 years old at the time of this recording, both his playing and singing convey a supernatural essence.

Clapton fans would do well to give Shrine '69 a listen, too — not just for the guitar playing but also for the vocals. Over the past decade, Clapton has really come into his own as a blues singer, and his vocal style is undeniably similar to that of Green. Just examine the versions of Before the Beginning and Need Your Love So Bad from this disc for proof.

Despite all this, Green isn't allowed to fully steal the show as Jeremy Spencer turned in a few noteworthy performances of his own. His slide guitar fueled the free-flowing rhythm of My Baby Sweet, and he pounded out piano chords and sang furiously to turn Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire into a raging inferno.

Shrine '69 is nearly perfect in every aspect. Simply put, Shrine '69 is simply too good to pass up.

  
Tracks
1. Tune Up - 2:10
2. If You Be My Baby (Green, Adams) - 4:28
3. Something Inside of Me (Kirwan) - 4:03
4. My Sweet Baby (Williamson) - 4:26
5. Albatross (Green) - 3:26
6. Before the Beginning (Green) - 3:05
7. Rollin' Man (Green, Adams) - 5:33
8. Lemon Squeezer (Lane) - 5:29
9. Need Your Love So Bad (John) - 6:59
10. Great Balls of Fire (Blackwell, Hammer) - 2:59

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

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The Casuals - The Very Best Of (1968-71 uk, fine psychedelic pop)

In Britain, The Casuals are best remembered for 'Jesamine1, which came within an ace of topping the charts in September, 1968, This triumph, however, was the result of much hard graft in the clubs of central Europe.

Indeed, the group had been based in Italy in Milan for several years, which was convenient for a demanding work schedule after they had, according to contemporary reports, briefly - momentarily - replaced The Beatles as the top British act in Italy. By the time they returned to England in 1967, the line-up of the group consisted of Scottish drummer Robert O'Brien, bass player Alan Taylor from Halifax in Yorkshire, guitarist Howard Newcombe from Lincoln, and the group's unique selling point, 22 year old vocalist/organist John Tebb.

Tebb was blessed with a strong lead voice, and was considered handsome, sexy even. Tebb's attributes plus the overall professionalism of The Casuals ensured victory for three consecutive weeks on the TV talent show, 'Opportunity Knocks'. They were, therefore, perfectly placed for a climb into the Top 10 in the summer of 1968 with 'Jesamine1, which was co-written by Marty Wilde and had previously been recorded by Welsh combo, The Bystanders.

Who could not share the elation - and then the dismay - felt by The Casuals when their chart debut, which looked odds-on to go to the very top, ultimately failed to outsell 'Those Were The Days' by Mary Hopkin, who was also a multiple 'Opportunity Knocks' winner ? Nevertheless, future prospects looked good when 'Toy' also reached the UK Top 30 at the end of 1968, and the group's 1969 album, 'Hour World', received favourable reviews. However, success in Britain thereafter was non-existent, even with the great Roy Wood, the writer of all the hits by The Move, writing and producing 'Caroline' for The Casuals, although in continental Europe, the single was better appreciated.

The Casuals remained well-appreciated in much of the rest of Europe when their fleeting British success came to an end, but even so, their moment of glory with 'Jesamine' is well-remembered, and it would surprise no-one if this virtually perfect piece of pop became a reissued hit
by Brian Gammidge

Tracks
1. Jesamine (Manston, Gellar) - 3:38
2. Toy (Andrews) - 3:13
3. Fool's Paradise (Arnold, Martin, Morrow) - 2:27
4. Hey-Hey-Hey (Tebb) - 2:09
5. Hello It's Me (Hazzard) - 2:35
6. Toyland (Roben, Catchpole) - 3:00
7. Sunflower Eyes (Manston, Gellar) - 2:25
8. Now You Can Be (Lynton) - 2:21
9. Daddy's Song (Nilson) - 2:39
10. Love Me Tonight (Pace, Pilat, Penzeri, Mason) - 2:57
11. Someday Man (Williams, Nichols) - 2:36
12. Seven Times Seven (Trovajoli, Fishman) - 3:34
13. Weather Vane (Tebb) - 3:13
14. Never My Love (Addrisi, Addrisi) - 2:30
15. My Name Is Love (Colyzer, Adrews, Swettemham)- 3:22
16. Adios Amour (Goodbye My Love) (Springfiled, Newell) - 2:57
17. I've Got Something Too (Greenway, Cook) - 3:36
18. Caroline (Wood) - 3:36
19. Someday Rock 'N' Roll Lady (Tebb) - 2:44
20. Naughty Boy (Tebb) - 2:55

The Casuals
*Howard Newcombe - Guitar, Trumpet, Vocals
*Alan Taylor - Bass
*Johnny Tebb - Keyboards
*Bob O'Brien - Drums

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Vacations are Over....

My friends, I'm leaving for my summer vacations, I'm going to the Greek West Coast with my children.
Few days to relax together with sea, beaches, freddos, lot of ouzo, souvlaki,  and feta.
Stay well and keep on Rockin'..
Marios

The Ides Of March - Common Bond (1971 us, fusion jazz rock, magic records extra tracks issue)

With the 1970 hit single "Vehicle" and the album of the same name, the Ides of March became one of the most popular bands of the era to incorporate soul-oriented horn arrangements into a rock setting, without sacrificing the rich vocal harmonies they'd employed since they began to release records in the mid-1960s. On their 1971 LP Common Bond, the group continued to explore not just brassy rock, but also some of the polished folk-rock harmonies and lengthy progressive workouts they'd flashed from time to time on the Vehicle album. Common Bond, however, would not produce a national hit single on the order of Vehicle, though there are indications they might have had one had one of the tracks in particular been pushed harder.

The story of Common Bond actually begins with the single they recorded as a follow-up to "Vehicle," which had gone all the way up to #2 on the national charts in spring 1970. Initially the band had hopes that "Aire of Good Feeling," a track that wound up on the Vehicle LP, would be the next single. But as lead guitarist, lead singer, and principal songwriter Jim Peterik remembers, "Warner Brothers did not think so. They called our management and said, would you please record another song that's more like 'Vehicle'? That was in the days when follow-ups sounded very similar to the prior one, a la Jackson Five or whatever. So I went to my lab, and I wrote 'Superman.' That kind of became the first song we recorded for the second album.

"We went to the West Coast to record 'Superman.' It was very exciting, because we were now at Sunset Sound, which was like us going to Mecca or something. It was just the holy grail of studios. We were just mesmerized. And sure enough, the sound that came back from those playback speakers was like nothing we had heard. It was so powerful, so punchy. And right in the middle of my vocal take, all the members of the group Chase" -- another group with a horn section, who'd score a big hit single in 1974 with "Get It On" -- "walked in. And then we were all so amped up, because Bill Chase and the whole band were there spurring us. That really set the tone for the second record." Despite fulfilling Warners' request for a made-to-order follow-up, however, "Superman" didn't reach the charts.

Though Common Bond generally stuck to the same approach as the Vehicle album, there were a few changes this time around. The band was slightly reduced in size, from a seven-piece to a six-piece, with the departure of guitarist-bass-singer Ray Herr. They were able to do sessions at RCA Recording in their home base, Chicago, with engineer Brian Christian, who in the early '70s also worked on records by the Guess Who, Alice Cooper, and Poco. "When we heard playbacks, like [for the track] 'Tie-Dye Princess,' we were like totally blown away, and much more happy with the sound than we had been on the first record," enthuses Pederik.

While the album did have some aggressive, horn-fueled soul-rock a la "Vehicle" in cuts like "Superman," "Ogre," and "Giddy-Up Ride Me," there was also some quite different, gentler California-flavored harmony folk-rock, in the mold of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Foremost among those tracks was "L.A. Goodbye," which became their final chart single, peaking at #73. That modest position doesn't tell the whole story, however, as the single topped the Chicago charts for five weeks -- "the test of a real hit record, to me," asserts Pederik. "Chicago used to be the test market. If it made it in Chicago, it was a pretty good chance it would make it everywhere. Well, it didn't happen. Apparently Warner Brothers was going through a shift in distribution, from being distributed by another major to independent distribution. The story we got [was] that 'L.A. Goodbye' really got lost in the shuffle between distributors."

That doesn't diminish his pride in his track, as Jim continues, "The studio had this Neve console. That created the sound, with the vocal harmonies, for 'L.A. Goodbye,' which of course is really the touchstone of that record in my mind. The vocal blend just was incredible." Adds multi-instrumentalist and fellow Ides of March founder-member Larry Millas, "We triple-tracked the vocals. That was the secret. If you double-tracked them, they were real good. If you triple-tracked them, it was something else. We looked at each other and it was like, 'Alright Carpenters, take that!'"

It's something of a surprise that the same voice responsible for the gravelly blue-eyed soul of "Vehicle" could switch to a much softer tone for folk-rockish material such as "L.A. Goodbye." But Jim Pederik was gifted with a vocal versatility enabling him to walk both sides of that line. "People think I was like a Camel smoker or something," he observes with amusement. "I didn't smoke at all. My voice was able to kind of split its vocal cords a little bit for that rougher sound. Within one album, I could be as clear as a bell, or as gruff as I wanted. It was just part of the way I sang. My dad used to say, 'Jim, you're going to ruin your voice singing that.' I didn't. Not yet, anyway."

Another highlight for the band was the eleven-minute "Tie-Dye Princess," in which the group got to blend several of the styles closest to their hearts -- horn-rock, folk-rock, and elaborate, progressive song construction -- into an extended piece. "Like most songs with the Ides, they start with a germ, usually a song that I bring to the table," is the explanation Jim gives for how such lengthy tracks developed. "Then it gets Ides of March-ized in rehearsal, and it's just what happened with the band. We would be down in Larry's basement, we would learn the basic song, and then we'd jam and jam and jam, and figure out ways to expand it. Sometimes the arrangements even unfolded onstage. We would try a song onstage, and then we would take a section and just interact and go, 'Hey, that was cool. Let's make that a part of the permanent arrangement.' That's how most of our arrangements developed, kind of organically, actually."

Although the Vehicle LP had made the middle of the top hundred of the album charts, Common Bond missed the listings altogether. "The record company was not real supportive of diversity," feels Millas. "They wanted it to be one thing. Like, 'Be that, just do that.' And we were doing all kinds of music on our albums. So it kind of made the marketing a little confused for them."

Despite its lack of chart success, the Ides of March found reasons to be pleased with the music on the record. "I think what I liked most is that we could take the time and our acquired knowledge up to that point, and come up with something as satisfying as 'L.A. Goodbye,'" states Millas. "That record is kind of a quintessential pop-folk, really well-done single, and I'm really proud of that." Adds Peterik, "It's probably got some of the high points, and maybe the one low point of my memory. The high point is, like Larry said, 'L.A. Goodbye.' 'Tie-Dye Princess,' to me, that stands, [despite] a couple lyrics that I wish weren't in there. But overall, it's a nice piece. But when I get interviewed, people say, 'What is the worst song you ever wrote?' I usually say, 'Ogre.' It's horrible. It's just a bad song."

Common Bond was the second and final Ides of March LP for Warner Brothers, the band departing for RCA soon afterward. After a couple more albums, they broke up at the end of 1973. Peterik went on to more commercial success as part of Survivor, as well as writing or co-writing hits for .38 Special. For the past 15 years, he's also been playing with a reunited Ides of March, who, remarkably, still include all six members who played on Common Bond.

As Larry says, "We're still the Ides of March, and we're taking Jim's song seeds and working on 'em." Picks up Jim: "And doing the same thing we always did. We're just having a ball doing it. We always look to those times, especially those first two albums, for inspiration. Trying to take what's good about those, and keep expanding that. I really think, no matter what the diversity is, there is an Ides of March sound. It doesn't have to do, necessarily, with the brass -- 'Is there brass in the song? Is there harmony?' It's a spirit. It's very positive music. We don't dwell on the negative stuff. That's the kind of people we are, and that's the kind of band we are. That's kind of been the common thread."
by Richie Unterberger

 Tracks
1. Friends of Feeling - 3:41
2. Orge - 4:07
3. L.A. Goodbye - 2:44
4. Hymn for Her - 3:56
5. Mrs Grayson's Farm - 5:09
6. Superman - 2:56
7. We Are Pillows - 3:12
8. Prelude to Freedom - 0:28
9. Freedom Sweet - 3:26
10.Tie-Dye Princess - 11:25
11.Superman (Single Mono Version) - 2:52
12.Melody - 2:36
All songs by Jim Peterik

Ides Of March
*Larry Millas - Vocals, Guitar, Organ, Bass
*James Michael Peterik - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Saxophone, Piano
*Bob Bergland - Vocals, Bass, Saxophone
*Mike Borch - Vocals. Drums
*Chuck Soumar - Trumpet, Vocals, Odds, Ends
*Ray Herr - Guitar, Bass, Vocals

more Ides Of March
1965-68 Ideology
1970 Vehicle

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The Ides Of March - Ideology (1965-68 us, beat psychedelia, sunshine pop, sundazed remaster edition)

This collection of 1965-1968 material, taken from rare regional singles along with a couple of previously unreleased tracks, is far removed from the Ides of March's horn-rock era (as heard on their 1970 hit "Vehicle"), both chronologically and stylistically.

When they started, the Ides were a Chicago teen band, recording mostly original songs heavily influenced by folk-rock and the British Invasion, although a few of these cuts do use brass. In general that's good news (and preferable to the horn-rock of their later career), but the harmony-heavy pop/rock of this early work isn't too exciting. In common with several other groups from the Chicago and Midwest areas, the group favored a rather clean-cut, Americanized take on British Invasion bands like the Beatles and the Hollies, though the folk-rock of the Byrds is heard in the guitar arrangements especially.

The local Chicago hits "You Wouldn't Listen" (which made number 42 nationally) and "Roller Coaster" are here, but to be tough about it, there's not enough light and shade here to put the Ides on the level of good British Invasion bands, or even of good British Invasion-influenced bands from the same region, such as the New Colony Six.

More to the point, there's too much light and not enough shade; although the harmonies are fairly impressive and the execution polished, the material is too often sunnily bland. The great exception to that is the riveting, raw folk-rocker "I'll Keep Searching," buried on a B-side, which has great bittersweet melodic hooks, melancholy harmonies, and dramatic stop-start tempos.

The disc includes two 1965 songs that they recorded as the Shondels on a super-rare self-released 45, as well as the previously unreleased originals "One and One Does Not Make Three" and "I'll Take You Back." The latter of these, an uncommonly moody tune, is actually a highlight of the collection.
by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. You Wouldn't Listen (Borch, Millas, Peterik) - 2:33
2. Girls Don't Grow on Trees - 2:58
3. You Need Love - 2:47
4. Roller Coaster - 2:33
5. I'll Keep Searching (Millas, Peterik) - 2:25
6. One and One Does Not Make Three - 2:23
7. Give Your Mind Wings - 2:55
8. Things Aren't Always What They Seem - 2:29
9. The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) (Crewe, Gaudio) - 2:21
10.Hole in My Soul - 2:54
11.I'm Gonna Say My Prayers - 3:01
12.Sha-La-La-La-Lee (Lynch, Shuman) - 2:59
13.My Foolish Pride - 2:19
14.I'll Take You Back - 2:05
15.Like It or Lump It (Peterik, Millas) - 3:28
16.No Two Ways About It (Peterik, Millas) - 2:13
17.Hole in My Soul (Stereo Mix) - 2:52
18.Girls Don't Grow on Trees (Stereo Mix) - 2:54
All Songs Written by Jim Peterik, except wher indicated

Ides Of March
*Bob Bergland - Bass
*Jim Peterik - Vocals, Guitar
*Mike Borch - Drums, Percussion
*Larry Millas - Guitar

more Ides Of March
1970 Vehicle

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Creme Soda - Tricky Zingers (1975 us, psychedelic rock, west coast touches)

Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Creme Soda generated a fanatical following based on their legendary single '(I'm) Chewin' Gum/Roses All Around' which appeared on the Trinity label in 1975. Creme Soda are not an easy band to categorize as they were able to play virtually any musical genre with consummate ease.

Their only full-length album, Tricky Zingers (which also includes their 'hit' singles), also made its appearance on Trinity (Trinity CST11) in 1975 and despite the considerable interest the record generated, the band, perhaps mindful of the adage 'quit while you're ahead,' did exactly that, never to be heard of again. Tricky Zingers is an impressive and relatively overlooked recording, which, despite being recorded in 1975, has a decidedly mid-'60s feel about it.

The eleven self-penned songs range from very good to brilliant, particularly 'Tonight,' 'Keep It Heavy' and 'Roses All Around.' The album's style ranges from folkrock to wasted psychedelia, with two experimental tracks featuring drone effects and backwards guitar thrown in for good measure, as well as a couple of rootsy rock'n' roll numbers."

As one critic was moved to write ?this is a major album worthy of a high quality reissue. This is another band that lends credence to the theory that the very best psychedelia was made in the `70s

Tracks
1. Give It Up (Man) - 4:06
2. Tonight - 2:58
3. Numero Uno - 4:53
4. (I'm) Chewin' Gum - 2:41
5. Deep In A Dream - 4:28
6. The Nazz Are Blue - 3:07
7. Keep It Heavy - 2:46
8. Roses All Around - 2:11
9. And That Is That - 2:02
10.The Beat Song - 3:43
11.When It Sun Shines - 5:41
12.Daydreamin' - 2:23

Creme Soda
*Jim Wilson - Bass, Piano, Percussion, Vocals
*Bill Tanon - Guitar, Bass, Harp, Mandolin, Bowed Guitar, Vocals
*Ron Juntunen - Electric, Acoustic, Slide Guitar, Bass
*Art Hicks - Drums, Bongos

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Spring - 2 Untitled (1972 uk, smart prog rock, 2007 digipak remaster)

It took me a couple of years, but I eventually made the effort to track down a copy of "Spring 2". I would have loved a vinyl copy (not sure they exist), but all I could find was the 2007 Second Harvest CD version (Second Harvest catalog number 417). While I was happy to have the music, the rest of the package was disappointing - little in the way of liner notes, performance credits, or biographical information. At least to my ears the sound quality was also a little on the flat side.

Whereas I was instantly attracted to "Spring", I'll readily admit it took me a couple of spins to warm up to the sophomore album. Musically it wasn't really that much different than the debut, but unlike the debut only one or two of the twelve performances jumped out at you with the same vigor as the debut. That said, the album proved to be one of those that rewarded repeated spins.

'Jack and Jill' started out with a rollicking keyboard propelled rhythm pattern before Pat Moran's instantly recognizable vocals kicked in and the song started a torturous series of tempo changes. The start and stop tempo was initially kind of jarring, but once you got into the groove it was actually kind of cool Moran's voice has always fascinated me. Technically he wasn't any great shakes as a singer, but his odd Scottish accent made for some interesting performances. 'Hendle Mews' started out as a stark, keyboard dominated ballad, but about halfway through morphed into a strange pseudo-jazzy riff. Totally unexpected and not nearly as bad as you would have thought, it actually reminds me a bit of something Vince Guaraldi might have written for a Peanuts animated special.

Another ballad, 'A Painted Ship' was probably the album's most commercial track. Sporting a beautiful, haunting melody and one of Moran's least labored vocals, this one actually had commercial potential. Opening with Kipps Brown wall-of-sound organ and Pick Withers frenetic drums, 'High Horse' found the band taking their best shot at becoming ELP clones. Moran's Greg Lake impression was quite impressive though the song itself was mediocre (like most of the ELP catalog). Nice Ray Martinez guitar solo at the end of the track.

Another of the album's more commercial track, 'Feneley Avenue' benefited from a beautiful, easygoing melody and Martinez's nicest guitar solo. Great song to ponder Martin's quirky accent.  'Helping the Helpless' came about as close to being a pop song as these guys ever came.   'A Word Full of Whispers' brought the group's renown mellotrons out in full force. Nice mid-tempo rocker which sported another tasty Martinez acoustic guitar solo. Shame the song faded out just as it was starting to pick up some steam.

The first outright disappointment, the piano-propelled ballad 'Loser' never generated much in the way of energy, sounding like a demo that the band never got around to finishing up. rating:  Overlooking the awful fidelity, the song sounded like it had been recorded with the sound meters all the way in the red, 'Get My Share' was probably the album's most progressive sounding performance. Kicked along by Withers drums the track provided plenty of room for Brown to stretch out on organ and mellotron. At the same time, the song was surprisingly catchy.

An alternative version of 'Hendre Mews' this time out the song was given a much more rock oriented sound, complete with lots of Martinez lead guitar. And guess what ... This versions far superior to the other. Ironically, the alternative version of ''A Word Full of Whispers' wasn't as good. I'd place the blame on the group's decision to give this version a mild country flavor and the fact Moran's vocals came out sounding distorted.

'Fool's Gold' started out as a pretty acoustic ballad, but Martinez' chunky lead guitar quickly kicked in giving the song a much need kick in the pants. The song then opened up into a jazzy instrumental segment with some nice Martinez fuzz guitar, before closing out with a return to the original melody and an abrupt conclusion.

Not the classic the debut was, but when you consider the circumstances surrounding this one, the end results were actually surprisingly enjoyable..

BadCat

Tracks
1. Jack And Jim - 5:21
2. Hendre Mews - 4:38
3. A Painted Ship - 4:11
4. High Horse - 5:46
5. Fernley Avenue - 4:03
6. Helping The Helpless - 4:25
7. A World Full Of Whispers - 4:02
8. Losers - 4:00
9. Get My Share - 3:37
10.Hendre Mews (Bonus Track, Completely Different Mix) - 7:14
11.A World Full Of Whispers (Bonus Track, Different Version) - 3:57
12.Fool's Gold (Bonus Track) - 6:26
All songs by K. Brown, A. Maloney, R. Martinez, P. Moran, P.Withers.

 Spring
*Kipps Brown - Keyboards
*Adrian Maloney - Bass, Guitar
*Ray Martinez - Guitar, Keyboards
*Pat Moran - Vocals, Keyboards
*Pick Withers - Drums

1971  Spring (Akarma edition)

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