The Travel Agency formed in San Francisco and released their self-titled LP, produced by Bread's James Griffin, on LA's Viva Records in 1968. Drummer Frank (real name Francisco) Lupica joined a little later, prior to the LP. Lupica had previously been in Us, a Bob Segarini-led garage band who'd recorded for the Autumn label in 1965 but whose sole 45 was not released due to a dispute over arrangements between Segarini and the label they split soon after and Segarini went on to lead a succession of more successful bands (Family Tree, Roxy, Wackers).
Side One is the stronger; the haunting and stately neo-prog keyboard intro which blossoms into the poppy What's A Man, strong fuzztone on Cadillac George, and gentler love songs Lonely Seabird and So Much Love. There are fast commercial rockers (Make Love and Old Man) and catchy pop (That's Good). Perhaps because of this diversity and the lack of band identity, thanks to the absence of any member info or credits, the album was overlooked and remains underrated.
Steve Haehl and Frank Lupica reappeared a couple of years later in Shanti, whose eponymous Eastern-influenced LP was released in 1971. Two tracks thereon were composed by non-member Mike Aydelotte, aka Michael Sage when he was in Travel Agency. Lupica went on to a solo career and, billed as Francisco, performed one-man shows all over California playing numerous exotic instruments including a self-built electrified I-beam; adorned with keyboards and other devices, he dubbed it the Cosmic Beam. In 1976 he released his proto-new age LP, Cosmic Beam Experience.
In the same year he was musician and composer for Tanka, a very short animated film about Tibetan thank gas (images from the Tibetan Book Of The dead) alongside former Shanti bandmates Ashish Khan and Pranesh Khan;
in 1979 he was sound effects creator for Star Trek The Motion Picture; and in 1998 his music was used and sampled in the film The Thin Red Line. He played viola the Deep Song CD by Ranee Lee.
by Max Waller with thanks to Jeff Jarema.
Tracks
1. What's A Man - 5:06
2. Sorry You Were Born - 3:08
3. Cadillac George - 4:42
4. Lonely Seabird - 3:21
5. So Much Love - 3:02
6. Make Love - 2:25
7. That's Good - 6:57
8. I'm Not Dead - 2:17
9. She Understands - 3:10
10.Come To Me - 3:16
11.You Will Be There - 2:16
12.Old Man - 2:12
13.Time – 2:35
14.Made For You – 2:09
15.Emit – 2:34
16.What's A Man – 3:08
17.She Understands – 3:07
All songs by Steve Haehl, Michael Sage, Frank Lupica
Bonus Tracks 13-17
The Travel Agency
*Steve Haehl - Guitar, Vocals
*Michael S. Aydelotte aka Michael Sage - Bass
*Francisco (Frank) Lupica - Drums
Blind Ravage was formed in September 1969 in Laval, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec. Jean (John) Charbonneau (guitar, vocals) and Bob Dufour (bass, lead vocals) had been working together along with drummer Danny Gorman doing gigs in various night clubs in and around Montreal They met with Andre Deguire (drummer, vocals) at one of those night clubs where he was backing up shows and singers.
On account of Danny's departure, John and Bob asked Andre to join them. Andre had been gigging once in a while with Serge Fleury (organ, piano, vocals) who was doing R&B at the time and who knew Bob well, having played with him in the early sixties with a group called the Furys. That band had stormed Montreal's dance halls with Beatles and Stones material for many years. Serge was asked to join the group and this is how Blind Ravage all started.
The guys did night clubs mostly in Montreal doing covers of Rod Stewart, Deep Purple, Spencer Davis, Led Zeppelin and other rock bands that highly influenced them when they decided to write their own material. So, they went on and produced an album on the Crescent Street label along with producer Ken Ayoub. Ayoub had produced earlier records with Bob and Serge at the time of the Furys.
The album was released in 1971 and the single Loser b/w My Life was taken from that album. The band played various concerts in Quebec, Ontario and in the northeastern states such as New York, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire before dismantling in 1973. Bob, Andre and Serge came up with a progressive rock project Genesis type called Clockwork that became very popular especially in Quebec.
They also came up with a single called Cybernaut b/w Mean Lady that was very YES oriented. They went on until late 1975. Later, Bob and John formed a country rock band called Mirage that lasted a couple of years. In the late seventies, the four musicians went their own ways but stayed close friends and performed together occasionally on special events. Andre passed away in 1997 and John died at the end of 2006. Bob and Serge have been mostly into blues over the past 20 years and still gig together once in a while.
by Serge Fleury, Laval, Quebec, Canada, May, 2007
Tracks
1. Susie-Q (Dale Hawkins, Stan Lewis, Eleanor Broadwater) - 2:45
2. Tousaw - 3:43
3. Friday Fish - 4:13
4. Prodigal - 3:42
5. My Life (Andre Deguire) - 3:52
6. Strange Power (Serge Fleury) - 6:13
7. Cement Jungle - 3:44
8. Ruins - 4:02
9. Disaster - 2:28
10.Loser (Robert Dufour) - 2:39
All compositions by Robert Dufour, Jean Charbonneau except where noted
Blind Ravage
*Jean Charbonneau - Guitar, Piano
*Andre Deguire - Drums
*Serge Fleury - Organ
*Robert Dufour - Bass
Owen-B started as a band called "The Wildlife" in the Mansfield, Ohio area. They were one of several garage bands from central Ohio that formed around the time close to the end of the first British invasion (1964-1966). Members in the original group included Bob Ross (bass), Charlie Barker (drums), Terry VanAuker (lead guitar), and John Kinkle (rhythm guitar).
John Kinkle left the band shortly after formation to attend college and was replaced by Tom Zinser. Bob Ross and Charlie Barker had played together in an earlier band called "The Amboy Dukes" (no relation to the nationally known band of the same name). Terry VanAuker was from an earlier group called "The Collegiates" and Tom Zinser came from a group called Tommy Z And The Sleepers.
The group also added Louie Basso as front man and lead singer. After less than a year of playing together in 1967, the group was signed to Columbia Records, but Columbia executives insisted the band drop Louie Basso as a contract contingency. He was replaced with Jim Krause, a former member of Tommy Z And The Sleepers. The band had one notable release called "This Is What I Was Made For" written by P.F. Sloan.
The song achieved some regional success and charted #15 on the Columbus, Ohio radio station WCOL. After two more releases, the band left the Columbia label. In late 1969. Tom wrote "Mississippi Mama", a simple straight ahead rock and roll tune that the band decided to produce and record on their own dime, and then try to market it to a label. Wes Farrell, a fairly well known New York producer, offered to buy it and put it out on Janus Records. It reached #81 on the Cashbox chart in March of 1970.
The follow up single "Never Goin'Home" also reached #1 locally and was even championed by Billboard magazine which stated "With the feel and flavor of the Credence Oearwater Revival hits, Owen-B should soon find himself high on the charts with this compelling and infectious rhythm outing. First rate performance and material combine to make this a sure hit". Despite this flirtation with major success, certain members of the band wished to pursue a more personal approach by releasing an album of originals.
This lead to Bob Ross leaving the band. He was not replaced and Tom Zinser moved from Rhythm guitar to bass. Shortly before Ross left the band, Charlie Barker decided to go back to school to avoid the draft and was replaced by Bobby Tousignant (Avery), who had played drums for the Ohio based group The Music Explosion. It is at this point where the band personnel were as it appears on the Owen B album, which was recorded in Mid-1970.
by Tom Zinser
Tracks
1. Share (Tom Zinser) - 0:52
2. Daily News (Tom Zinser) - 4:34
3. All We Are Asking (Tom Zinser) - 4:17
4. Mellow Meadow (Tom Zinser) - 8:00
5. Share (Tom Zinser) - 1:09
6. My Friends (B.Tousignant) - 4:11
7. Weekend {Tom Zinser) - 4:21
8. Leavin' It All Up To You (Tom Zinser) - 3:46
9. Out On Our Own (Tom Zinser) - 3:15
10.Thank You For Listening (Bob Tousignant) - 3:43
11.ZigZag Han (Tom Zinser) - 3:13
12.Mississippi Mama (Tom Zinser) - 1:59
13.Never Goin' Home (Tom Zinser) - 2:44
14.Nowhere To Run (Holland, Dozier, Holland) - 2:30
The Maglory Dengluch last flourished between 1968 and 1969. Its origins were in a jug band in which Pete and Michael had been playing ( called The Versatile Mind of Fred Probert ). They were asked to join an impromptu band to sing Roddy McCorley, accompanying a play in Cambridge. Kerry heard them and asked to sing some songs with them, and John came in to round out the line up. Kerry came up with the name (a bastardisation of the Irish magairle deangluch, the translation of which is out there on the internet, so we won't elaborate!).
We practised, pinching songs from groups active in Dublin, such as Sweeneys Men, the Johnstons, and Finbar and Eddie Furey, who were then little known in England; and recording the results on Michael's old reel to reel tape recorder. Tape was at a premium in those days, and we never got down all our repertoire! We played at folk clubs, parties, festivals, and the odd concert (the highlight being as the warm up group for The Johnstons' one performance in Cambridge).
The record was made by the long defunct Granta label, in one session, just before Kerry departed for the US, on a night otherwise famous at Cambridge for the Garden House riot!
Tracks
1. Leezy Lindsay - 3:29
2. They'll Never Get Their Man - 2:32
3. Eileen Og - 3:05
4. Spend My Money Along With Sally Brown - 2:35
5. Flowers In The Valley - 4:48
6. The Medley - 4:44
7. Long Cabin Home In The Sky - 4:33
8. O'Carolan's Concerto - 2:20
9. Come By The Hills - 3:34
10.My Dearest Dear - 3:28
11.Summertime - 3:23
12.The Curragh Of Kildare - 4:59
Keyboardist/singer/namesake Norman Haines started his professional musical career as a member of the Birmingham-based beat group The Brumbeats. Following The Brumbeats' breakup Haines became a member of Locomotive, which cur a couple of highly regarded singles and the album "We Are Everything You See" before collapsing. Haines then recruited lead guitarist Neil Clarke, singer/bassist Andy Hughes, and drummer Jimmy Skidmore for the band Sacrifice.
In 1970 the Parlophone label signed Sacrifice to a recording contract. Apparently unhappy with the band name, Parlophone marketing executives unilaterally released the band's debut single 'Daffodill' b/w 'Autumn Mobile' (Parlophone catalog number R 5871) under the name 'The Norman Haynes Band' (no I didn't typo that).
While the single did little commercially, Parlophone decided to finance an album. With Tony Hall in the producer's chair, 1971's "Den of Iniquity" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. With namesake Haines and bassist Hughes responsible for the majority of material, the few detailed reviews I've stumbled across portrayed the album as having a dark progressive sound.
Only partially true and not a particularly accurate description. Propelled by the combination of Haines' blistering voice and keyboards and Clarke's fantastic guitar, the results managed to combine razor sharp hard rock, blues-rock and more commercial moves. You're probably scratching your head trying to figure that combination out, but the fact of the matter is songs like the ominous title track, 'Finding My Way Home' and 'Everything You See (Mr. Armageddon)' (the latter previously recorded by Locomotive) should have held equal appeal to top-40 radio and free form FM audiences.
Stylistically the biggest surprise was the pretty acoustic ballad 'Bourgeois'. Written and sung by Hughes the track served to spotlight his folkie roots. In contrast, side two found the band stretching out on a pair of largely instrumental blues-rock oriented numbers. Less dynamic than side one, the 13 minute 'Rabbits' and 'Life Is So Unkind' served to spotlight the band's instrumental prowess, guitarist Clarke in particular getting a chance to showcase his first-rate playing.
With little support from Parlophone the LP didn't exactly burn up the charts, though part of the blame may have rested with the choice of art work. The Heinrich Kley drawing was pretty stunning and some British retailers apparently refused to stock the album.
With the band calling it quits in 1972 Haines released a solo 45: 'Give It To You Girl' b/w 'Elaine' (Parlophone catalog number R 5960). He was offered a spot in the newly formed Black Sabbath, but passed on it and then largely disappeared from the music scene though he appears to have returned to the fold fronting Norman Haines Blueskool.
Tracks
1. Den Of Iniquity - 4:33
2. Finding My Way Home (N. Haines, Andy Hughes) - 3:25
3. Everything You See Mr.Armageddon - 4:35
4. When I Come Down - 3:56
5. Bourgeois (Andy Hughes) - 2:59
6. Rabbits (Neil Clarke) - 13:05
.a.Sonata (For A Singing Pig)
.b.Joint Effort
.c.Skidpatch
.d.Miracle
7. Life Is So Unkind - 8:21
.a.Moonlight Mazurka
.b.Echoes Of The Future
8. I Really Need A Friend - 3:44
9. Daffodil - 3:51
10.Autumn Mobile - 3:32
11.Give It To You Girl - 4:36
12.Elaine - 2:54
13.Rabbits (Single Version) (Neil Clarke) - 3:53
All compositions written by Norman Haines except where noted.
The Norman Haines Band
*Neil Clarke - Lead Guitar
*Norman Haines - Vocals, Keyboards
*Andy Hughes - Vocals, Bass
*Jimmy Skidmore - Drums, Percussion
2006 reissue of the hard to find sole album by US duo Drnwyn. Wonderful record that has some very cool psychedelic moments (especially the track '' The madman and the angel'' ), and a good number of fabulous folk rock midtempos.
There's drums, bass and lots of acoustic guitars in here, but also electric leads, keys, mandolin and multi- part vocals with some female chorus as well. But most important, very well- crafted songs from start to finish. This was a private release back in 1978, and a deep dive into acid folk- psych.
Tracks
1. Empty Bars - 4:55
2. Summer Sun - 4:36
3. Secrets Of The Past - 4:50
4. Brothers - 3:03
5. Move A Mountain - 5:02
6. Gypsies In The Mist - 6:27
7. Places Faces Pages - 5:26
8. The Madman And The Angel - 5:22
9. Something To Hang On The - 5:17
Music and Lyrics by David W. Hoag
The folks at Past & Present dropped the words "acid" or "psychedelic" from the subtitle of the fifth installment in their Electric Asylum series, and with good reason -- while most of these twenty tracks are truly eccentric, these isn't much here that sounds at all lysergic.
Instead, this disc focuses on UK hard rock, glam rock, early progressive rock, and a few tunes that defy convenient generic classification. Tracey Dean's "Boy On The Ball" might have been new wave if it had a harder guitar line and had been released in 1978 instead of 1974 (Dean's voice has the most furious quaver ever captured on tape), and the oddball spoken work track that's tagged onto track 13 takes the product of a freshman poetry seminar and runs it through enough studio trickery to make it sound like the voice of a cut-rate God.
Elsewhere, the medley of "Gimmie Gimmie Good Loving" and "Gimmie Some Loving" by Biggles is hard stomping proto-glam, Hector could be the Bay City Rollers' next door neighbors on "Ain't Got Time," "The Obeah Man" from Iron Horse generates some impressive hoodoo groove, Matchbox's "Rod" is a boogie-flavored pop rocker overloaded with echo and curious synthesizer squealings, Slow Dog's "Walking Through The Blue Grass" suggests T. Rex on cough syrup, Mustard's "Good Time Comin'" is a brilliantly sludgy hard rock track, Now revel in some sweet guitar distortion on "I Wanna Be Free," and one can't help but wonder if Devo ever heard "Yeah!!" by Jets, which anticipates the sound of their Freedom Of Choice album without the socio-political angles.
Even the lesser tracks are enjoyably curious in the manner of the best British rock of the mid-1970s, and this is compelling in a way the more psych-oriented volumes in this series were not (if only because this stuff hasn't been anthologized with the same alacrity as freakbeat). The Electric Asylum Vol. 5 is weird and wild fun -- lace up your paisley boots and check it out.
by Mark Deming
Artists - Tracks
1. Tracey Dean - Boy On The Ball - 2:44
2. Colonel Bagshot - One Look In Her Eyes - 2:45
3. Biggles - Gimme Gimme Good Lovin/Gimme Some Lovin’ - 3:46
4. Iron Horse - The Obeah Man - 3:26
5. Dunno - Magic Beat - 2:06
6. Hector - Ain’t Got Time - 2:59
7. Baby - Heartbreaker - 3:25
8. Slow Dog - Walking Through The Blue Grass - 2:48
9. 13 Amp - Need A Woman - 2:53
10.Matchbox - Rod - 2:14
11.Life - Love Nest - 2:52
12.Now - I Wanna Be Free - 2:35
13.Squeek - Make Hay While The Sun Shines - 5:25
14.Dawn Chorus - Electric Garden.2:34
15.Jets - Yeah! - 2:38
16.Tracey Dean - Moonshiner - 3:29
17.Boston Boppers - Whirlwind Girl - 2:47
18.Barry Green - Papa Do - 2:23
19.Mustard - Good Time Comin’ - 2:36
20.Whistle - When The Lights Go Out On Broadway - 2:57
Liar's second album was released in 1978, with a single "Set the World on Fire", and following a promotional visit to the US by Burton and Taylor, the band undertook a tour of Yugoslavia in preparation for a nationwide tour of the United States with American band Styx.
The album was initially well received in the US; at one point, it was the third most played album in the Billboard airplay charts behind Bob Dylan's Street Legal and The Who's Who Are You. Following heavy airplay, the album entered the album charts, and despite strong opposition from the band, a decision was made to pull out of the Styx tour in the belief that continued sales would mean that the band would soon be able to headline on their own. However, airplay soon tailed off and the album left the charts.
A decision was then made by Delta and Bearsville for the band to record another album in California. Thus, in late 1978, the band took up temporary residence in Hollywood and recorded a third album at Stevie Wonder's Crystal Studios in Los Angeles, again produced by John Alcock.
The album was felt to lack an obvious single, and talks concerning policy between management and Bearsville eventually broke down. At one point A&M records considered signing the band, but did not. During this contractual wrangling, the band returned to the UK, and undertook a successful sell out tour with UFO, culminating in two nights at the then Hammersmith Odeon. It proved impossible to find a solution to the band's contractual problems and Liar folded; the Hammersmith Odeon gig on 16 February 1979 becoming their last.
Tracks
1. Set The World On Fire (Dave Taylor) - 3:47
2. Town Of Evil People (Dave Burton) - 5:45
3. I'm Calling (Dave Burton) - 4:30
4. Midnight Promises (Steve Mann, Graham Batten) - 4:50
5. Five Knuckle Shuffle (Dave Taylor, Steve Mitchell) - 3:04
Maffitt/Davies was a short lived duo who released one album off Capitol in 1968. Judging by the cover you’d expect psychedelic fireworks but The Rise and Fall of Honesty is really an Ameriana folk-rock record. This is another good one that never saw release in the cd era. I found a vinyl copy in the Boston area for only $15 dollars though lately this lp has been somewhat hard to come by. While labelmate lps by the Common People and Food attract more attention I think that Maffitt/Davies was a much, much better group.
The record starts off with a brilliant version of Bob Dylan’s Just Like A Woman. Maffitt/Davies transform this standard into a heartbreaking orchestrated folk track that must surely rank as one of the best versions of this song. Forest Lawn, the album’s failed single, has a distinct Face to Face Kink’s sound though it’s notable for its dobro and freaky church organ. Tom Thumb’s Blues is the other Dylan cover on this record and shows the band taking a Byrds/Everly Brothers vocal harmony approach. The playing is topnotch throughout the record (check out instrumental Lungi Dal Caro Beni) and the duo’s vocal harmonies are tight if a bit unconventional. This is a quiet, tranquil record that never bores and reminds me of prime late 60?s Dillards on their folk-rock outings.
One of my favorite tracks on the album is Landscape Grown Cold. This is a visionary slice of American music that predates the alt. country/folk boom with dark lyrics, strings, phasing towards the end, and a vibe similar to Texas band Euphoria. More noteworthy tracks are Kingswood Manor which is a good folk-rock track that flirts with psychedelia by way of tabla (and drug references within the lyrics) while country-rocker City Sidewalks is very trancey and will appeal to any true Byrds fan. About 3 or 4 tracks on the album include drums though electric guitar fans should note with caution that most of this disc is acoustic.
The music is time worn, ancient and has that lived in feel but always inventive and never short on ideas. What ever happened to these musicians? Does anyone know? Anyway, if Americana or folk-rock is your bag, prepare yourself for a really good one.
by Jason (The Rising Storm)
Tracks
1. Just Like A Woman (Bob Dylan) - 5:10
2. Landscape Grown Cold (John Hartford) - 4:26
3. Big Time Man (M Whelan) - 2:36
4. KingSWOod Manor (H. Axton, l. Ulz) - 3:57
5. Time Of Towns (H. Axton, l. Ulz) - 4:06
6. Forest Lawn (Brian Davies) - 3:19
7. Tom Thumb's Blues (Bob Dylan) - 5:29
8. City Sidewalks (T. Anderson) - 3:24
9. You'll Never Know (Bob Gibson, Shel Silverstein) - 4:04
10.Lungi Dal Caro Bene (Giuseppe Sarti, Maffitt, Davies) - 2:44
11.Parade (Phil Ochs) - 2:46
12.Quietly Blow My Mind (Tim Anderson) - 2:34
13.Come Back Momma (Bob Gibson) - 2:35
14.Things (Unknown) - 2:27
15 Flowers (Fred Neil) - 3:24
16.Kind Word (Unknown) - 2:23
17.Twelve Golden Strings (Unknown) - 3:04 Bonus tracks from 11-17.
Musicians
*Clark Maffitt - Vocals, Guitar
*Brian Davies - Vocals, Guitar
*Michael Lang - Piano
*Jimmy Bond - Bass
*Joe Osborne - Bass
*James Gordon - Drums
*Milt Holland - Tabla
Lest the Gods of Indie strike me down, I have a confession to make that could well ruin the few hip credentials in my possession. But here goes nothing:
Forgive me, oh Indie Father, for I have sinned. I am guilty of ignorance and bandwagon jumping. I regret that until recently I have been sinful due to an ignorance of the works of Jonathan Richman and his band, the Modern Lovers.
There I said it—but let me defend myself. Yes, Richman has been releasing records since the early 70s and is still releasing them today. Yes, his name is uttered amongst the musical cognoscenti in hushed tones. Yes, he helped to pioneer and promote the proto-punk sound along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges. And yes, he’s also influenced more of today’s acts than the wacky-baccy. So why is that when I tell people I’ve been listening to the Modern Lovers that I’m met with blank looks?
Maybe I am forgiven for my obliviousness. The sad truth is that Jonathan is the muso’s best kept secret, the kind of guy who gets namedropped more often than played. So if you’re shaking your head thinking “OMG! This guy doesn’t have a clue about the Modern Lovers WTF?!” then stop reading—for once this is not for you. Please go back to trying to impress people with your in-depth knowledge of Wackies Dub obscurities.
We all have to start somewhere and Roadrunner Roadrunner, a 46 track retrospective of Richman’s 1970s output, is the perfect Alpha course to the church of the Modern Lovers.
Richman’s influences are obvious from the outset: shambolic Velvets-style rock’n’roll fused with tinges of doo-wop and sweet melodies reminiscent of the Beach Boys. These influences pale in significance however, when compared to the massive list of performers who took their cues from him.
Anyone who ever dared to challenge the balls-out machismo of the atypical rock idol has Jonathan to look up to.Every lovable nerd from Stephen Malkmus to MC Paul Barman can thank the Modern Lovers for handing them their pass to the world of uncool.
As for Emo? Pah! Richman practically invented the stuff. “This is your chance to make me feel awkward”, intones the jealous male dumpee on “I’m Straight”, but this isn’t the kind of cloying self-pity one would get from the likes of Death Cab and Co.
Even through his beat-up nasal whine, one can tell Richman has tongue placed firmly in cheek, winking wryly at his audience as if to say “yes, we all act like asses in times of love and hate”. It’s this kind of honesty—Jonathan’s straight-up but witty sentiments—that make the Modern Lovers such an endearingly feel-great act.
The playfulness and delivery on some of the more downbeat tracks such as “Hospital” and “Affection” propel them well away from the wallowing drudgery of any of your present-day indie wimpsters.
In the past, bands like the Beach Boys would boast about the speed of their motors. Jonathan had his own take on the “Little Deuce Coupe” mentality with his own clapped-out “Dodge Veg-O-Matic”—the story of one man’s love for a no-go junk-heap. He turns the Beach Boys on their heads again on the California Girls-y “New England” in which he compares Maine with the magnificent Israeli desert.
It’s these celebrations of the mundane that make Richman a true champion for the common man. It didn’t hurt that the Modern Lovers would also regularly play old folks and children’s homes as well as the obligatory rock venues. “Government Centre”, a song about playing a gig in an office, conjures up images of secretaries dancing on their desks. Similarly, nursery rhymes such as “I’m a Little Dinosaur” and “Here Come The Martian Martians” are soundtracks for infant mosh-pits.
This is all encompassing rock’n’roll—inventive and shambolic enough to satiate the toughest of rockers yet wholesome enough that holidaying families could easily sing along to it in the car. Sorry all you hipsters and musos—thanks to this compilation your secret is well and truly out.
22.Egyptian Reggae (Earl Johnson, Jonathan Richman) - 2:37
Disc Two
1. The Sweeping Wind (Ewa Ti Feng) (Traditional) - 2:03
2. Dodge Veg-O-Matic (Extended Version) - 5:42
3. Fly Into The Mystery - 3:18
4. The Wheels On The Bu (Traditional) - 2:29
5. Angels Watching Over Me (Traditional) - 1:51
6. I'm A Little Airplane - 2:41
7. Hey There Little Insect - 2:46
8. Ice Cream Man - 7:28
9. I'm A Little Dinosaur - 2:03
10.The Morning Of Our Lives - 5:28
11.Chapel Of Love (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector) - 2:43
12.Abdul And Cleopatra - 3:17
13.Lover Please (Billy Swan) - 1:57
14.Affection - 4:07
15.Buzz Buzz Buzz (Robert Byrd, John Gray) - 1:58
16.Back In Your Life - 2:13
17.Party In The Woods Tonight - 3:01
18.I'm Nature's Mosquito - 2:44
19.Lydia (Levy) - 3:09
20.I Hear You Calling Me (Charles Marshall) - 2:51
21.Roadrunner (Once) - 4:43
All Songs by Jonathan Richman unless as else indicated.
A lost jewel of the late 1960s UK psychedelia! Jardine recorded this album in 1969 for release by Polydor. That never happened, and the LP was shelved.
Now, almost 40 years later, you can be among the first to discover the excellence of these brooding poetic tracks, all written by Keith Law just before he joined psych band Velvett Fogg for their only album. Something strange and sinister, with moments of fragile beauty, perhaps akin to what would have resulted if Comus had set their lyrics to Moody Blues-esque melodies.
Some heavy guitar solos, organ, flute, and flowing sitar, for good measure. Most of the bands in Birmingham were either pop or soul hased. Velvet! togg, along ivith Black Sabbath, The Moi>e, and Traffic were probably the onfy progressive bands. Velvett Fogg was the more outrageous and the more psychedelic. Keith Law's band Love and Understanding was pure flower-power, and as such was being, they were in 1967, one of the first Psych bands.
Jardine is the French translation of the English word "garden." Jardine is also the name of a short-lived but also charismatic and exceptional group from 1960 5 Birmingham, a hand that managed to leave some jewels which could easily have granted them a place close to the now legendary "kings" of the British psychedelic scene.
by Nick Karathanassis
Tracks
1. Execution Of The Child (Version 1) - 4:07
2. Rain Day Julep - 3:48
3. Hello, Goodbye, Victoria Cane - 3:12
4. Hannah, Wife Of Thomas Kite - 1:57
5. Harpsichord - 3:40
6. Somewhere Within Orphelius - 4:09
7. Roses And Ribbons - 3:08
8. Masochists Of Strangulation - 3:09
9. Lady On The Hillside - 3:07
10. Execution Of The Child (Version 2) - 3:29
11. The Story Of Acorn Rose - 1:45
12. Blackbirds Of Jardine - 5:21
All songs by Keith Law.
The fourth volume in Past & Present's Electric Asylum series walks away from the psychedelic themes of the earlier installments in favor of U.K. hard rock singles of the early to mid-'70s, most hailing from the days before heavy metal had fully codified itself and sometimes betraying the influence of the working-class end of glam (think Slade, not Bowie).
If there is a psychedelic angle to these tunes, it usually presents itself in the form of twisty melodies, the occasional lyrical eccentricity, or curious band names, but most of these 20 tunes are hard-stomping numbers full of big guitars, bigger drums, and growling vocalists, and acts like Incredible Hog, Wolfrilla, and Hard Horse deliver pretty much the sort of meat-and-potatoes hard rock thunder you'd expect.
Seeing as '70s hard rock hasn't been compiled to death like a number of other genres, Rock Hard British Freakrock certainly has novelty going for it, and there are a few real gems to be found here -- Mustard's "I Saw, I Heard" is built around a brilliant chunky guitar sound and a superb throbbing bassline, Slowload's "Big Boobs Boogie" is as raucous as the title would suggest, "Red Shoe Trucken" by Bear Brothers sounds like some odd but fortunate cross between Deep Purple and Gary Glitter, Bubbles' "Zap n' Cat" has a sleazy swagger along with some great nasty guitar licks, and "Eagles" by Sundance suggests what the James Gang might have sounded like if they'd come from Birmingham and not Ohio.
While not every track here sounds like a lost classic, and some of the source singles are noticeably worn, this collection is never boring, and the best stuff is choice beer-swilling, air-guitar mangling music that will get your denims dirty in no time flat.
by Mark Deming
Artists - Tracks
1.Hector - Lady - 3:13
2.Slowload - Big Boobs Boogie - 3:08
3.Rog And Pip - Warlord - 3:28
4.Wolfrilla - Come Tomorrow - 3:09
5.Incredible Hog - Lame - 3:22
6.Smoke - That's What I Want - 2:25
7.Spunky Spider - You Won't Come - 2:44
8.Ning - Machine - 3:22
9.Quiet World - Rest Comfortably - 2:52
10.Turtle - You Turned Your Back And Walked Away - 2:46
11.Bear Brothers* - Red Show Trucken - 2:45
12.Hard Horse - So Long I'm Moving On - 2:42
13.Mustard - I Saw I Heard - 2:39
14.Tuesday - Big Mr. Little Man - 2:12
15.Godson - We've Not Made It - 3:01
16.Bubbles - Zap N' Cat - 2:33
17.Sunshine Kid - My Linda - 2:22
18.Clutch - Black Angel - 3:36
19.Jackal - Year Of The Tiger - 3:32
20.Sundance - Eagles - 3:11
The title of this 20-track compilation might mislead some listeners to expect too much in the way of psychedelic music. Certainly there's some lingering influence from mod rock and psychedelia on this collection of early-'70s cuts.
But really, it's more pop than anything else, and arguably glam rock is more of a factor than mod psychedelia, even of the slightly retro sort. It's not a genre easy to pigeonhole or, one would think, to market. That hasn't stopped Past 'n' Present from dedicating a whole series to it, however, and this anthology is actually fairly entertaining and amusing on the whole, if lacking in killer songs and somewhat on the lightweight side overall.
Certainly it's not stuff you're likely to have encountered before; one look at the track listings will be enough to zap any "seen that, heard that" collector smugness you might have out of your system, with only Roger Ruskin Spear (formerly of the Bonzo Dog Band) and the novelty group the Barron Knights likely to be familiar names even to Anglophiles.
Occasionally the material is obviously derivative, if never quite annoyingly so. Part of M.A.S.K.'s "Gotta Get Away" can't fail to recall the Beatles' "Dear Prudence," for instance, while Shakane's "Rhona" sounds a little like a hybrid of "Honky Tonk Women"-era Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival, and T. Rex is echoed on a number of tracks. But there are some quite cool more offbeat things here, like Spode's "Cincinnati Woman," which is an uncanny, eerie early-'70s update of Joe Meek's productions; 1984's weird and wobbly cover of the Syndicate of Sound's mid-'60s garage rock hit "Little Girl"; and Roger Ruskin Spear's predictably absurd, monstrous, heavy rock satire "Drop Out."
There are also some connections to much more familiar names in some of these tracks, like Wheels' respectable modish groover "She Don't Mean It," featuring Crispian St. Peters.
by Richie Unterberger
Artists - Tracks
1. Renegade - Lovin' And Forgiving - 2:40
2. Primitive Man - Animal Love - 2:28
3. The Sensations - Oh My Eli - 3:37
4. Puzzle - Houla - 3:06
5. Barracuda - I Feel So Down - 2:38
6. Grumbleweeds - Hey Babe) Follow Me - 2:52
7. Boneshaker - Sweetness - 3:00
8. Barron Knights - You’re All I Need - 3:12
9. Dynasty - Tutankhamun - 3:46
10.M.A.S.K. - Gotta Get Away - 3:37
11.Shakane - Rhona - 3:01
12.Wheels - She Don’t Mean It - 3:00
13.Spode - Cincinatti Woman - 2:47
14.1984 - Little Girl - 2:38
15.Greg Robbins - Virginia Creeper - 2:20
16.Things Fall Apart - Bye Bye My Rose - 2:56
17.Roger Ruskin Spear - Drop Out - 2:03
18.Don Crown - The Flying Machines - 2:02
19.Zebedee - She Couldn’t Make Gravy - 3:43
20.Amazon Trust - Sheila Lee - 2:36
Liar was formed in 1975 in Maidenhead in Berkshire by Dave Taylor formerly of Edison Lighthouse. In 1976, the band came to the attention of Chris Demetriou, a freelance producer and A'n'R man for Decca Records. Demetriou took the band into Decca's West Hampstead studios, inviting singer/guitarist Paul Travis, with whom he had worked before, to sit in with them to help with song arrangements and also to provide a channel of communication between studio and control room.
After various personnel changes, the line-up for the first album, Straight from the Hip, comprised David Burton (lead vocals and guitar), Dave Taylor (formerly of Catapilla; bass and vocals), Paul Travis (guitar and vocals) and Clive Brooks (previously of Egg and The Groundhogs; drums). Lead guitar was provided on a session basis by Geoff Whitehorn, then working with Crawler, although at the time of the album's release this role had been filled by Steve Mann, subsequently with Lionheart, MSG and Sweet, who completed the final line-up. Keyboards on two tracks were by John (Rabbit) Bundrick.
Following the debut album 'Straight From The Hip' in 1977, released on Decca label during 1977, the band undertook an initial tour of the UK with Slade, followed by two European tours, covering Holland and Germany. A three week tour of Hungary, sharing the stage with top Hungarian band Piramis, followed, and the final show of this tour in Budapest had an audience of 35,000.
Tracks
1. Soft Light, Sweet Music (Paul Travis, Barrylord) - 3:38
2. Straight From The Hip Kid (Paul Travis, Norma Tager) - 3:16
3. Roll Me Down - 3:23
4. Rich Man's Woman - 4:03
5. Try Lovin' (Paul Travis, Norma Tager) - 3:09
6. Chicago Shakedown (Dave Taylor, Steve Mitchell) - 4:29
7. Full Time Woman (Paul Travis, Norma Tager) - 4:17
8. Born To Rock And Roll - 3:46
9. Light Of The City - 3:34
10.Blame It On The Kids (Paul Travis, Norma Tager) - 4:36
11.Full Time Woman (Paul Travis, Norma Tager) - 4:36
Starwood formed in Aspen Colorado round the mid seventies.The band made a self-titled album for Columbia; it was recorded at the Caribou Ranch in Nederland, where Elton John, Stephen Stills, Rod Stewart and numerous others would make albums.
The single “Burning Over You” was released to radio in 1977. The band toured with the Dirt Band for most of a year, appearing at Red Rocks; they finished 1978 with a show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, on a bill with Santana and Eddie Money.
Starwood didn't quite hit rock-star status. They played a final gig, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, and never made another record, never toured again.
Musically they’re running upon country and folk forms, somehow like a light version of Crosby Stills and Nash with sound closest to Little River Band and Firefall, in conclusion an enjoyable album with many good moments.
Tracks
1. Burnin' Over You (D. J. Holster) - 4:54
2. Almost Monte Carlo (D. J. Holster) - 4:28
3. Simone (D. J. Holster, B. Mysior) - 2:53
4. Always Brings Me Tears (H. Gregg) - 3:22
5. Tortuga (M. Moore) - 3:34
6. (I Gotta) Dance With You (D. J. Holster) - 3:15
7. You Don't Have To Cry (D. J. Holster, H. Gregg) - 3:33
8. Silver And Gold (D. J. Holster, H. Gregg) - 5:46
9. Give A Little Bit (D. J. Holster, H. Gregg) - 3:40
10.Ophelia (D. J. Holster, R. E. Carpenter) - 3:29
These are obscurities -- and you better believe they are very obscure when the most well-known artists are Steamhammer and the Montanas -- from the late '60s and early '70s, and about as much early hard rock (with some prog rock elements as well) as psychedelia. With all due respect to the estimable Past & Present label for digging into a genre that reissues haven't explored much, it's doubtful that comps such as these will launch as much collector enthusiasm for the style as specialist reissues did for freakbeat.
The material is largely somber, the arrangements on the heavy side, and the songs not too memorable, if often tightly played and well produced. These are the kinds of releases that, in any era, clutter the bins of ill-distributed records that very few people have heard or are familiar with; these just happen to be ones belonging to the British early-'70s hard rock division. You can hear echoes of Jimi Hendrix, Spooky Tooth, Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, the Jeff Beck Group, Jethro Tull, and the like, if usually in a less lively and ebullient mood, but nothing that's going make you wonder why these acts didn't get bigger.
The inclusion of a couple pretty pointless covers of well-known tunes by big stars (the Deep Set doing Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and the Treetops singing the Moody Blues' "Gypsy") doesn't help. On a more positive note, Josephine Levine's vocals on J.C. Heavy's "Mr. Deal" add welcome spice to what otherwise is a pretty testosterone-heavy set, and Steamhammer's "Windmill" has a lighter, dreamier, more psychedelic feel than their predominantly blues-based output (and the rest of this CD). And no, the Iron Maiden who do "Falling" here are not the famous metal band of the same name.
by Richie Unterberger
Artists - Tracks
1.Cats Eyes - The Wizard - 3:38
2.Buster Jangle’s Flying Mattress - Taken Over My Brain - 2:55
3.J.C. Heavy - Mr. Deal - 3:35
4.Eastwood - I Am Free - 3:58
5.Iron Maiden - Falling - 6:05
6.Wolfrilla - Song For Jimmi - 3:08
7.The Deep Set - Cinnamon Girl - 3:20
8.Steamhammer - Windmill - 4:25
9.Gentry - Attempted Contact - 3:14
10.Humbug - Ebeneezer - 3:52
11.Montanas - Doctor Nero - 2:49
12.Choc - Time - 3:11
13.Magnet - Mr. Guy Fawkes - 3:56
14.Mosaic - Bird Of Time - 2:19
15.Chameleon - Who Am I? - 3:27
16.Now - People Are Standing - 3:09
17.Iron Cross - All Of The Time - 3:10
18.The Treetops - Gypsy - 3:32
19.Lost Dog - Latchkey Child - 3:04
20.J.C. Heavy - That Woman’s Mind - 2:39
20 blasts of long-forgotten British Freakrock. The Glorious British Psychedelic music scene did not cease to exist at midnight on December 31st 1969, it took on the previous decade with furore, new gadgets and studio gimmicks, but with some of the same key players.
From the hard and loud sound of J.C. Heavy, Rainbow Family and Steel Mill to the sublimely bonkers Asylum, Monsoon, Mighty ‘Em and Galahad interspersed with spoonfuls of Psychedelia, Doom and Acid Rock.
Artists - Tracks
1. Mighty 'Em - Jekyll & Hyde - 3:23
2. Asylum - Suzy's Back - 2:36
3. Iron Horse - Magic Love - 3:04
4. Monsoon - Night Of The Fly - 3:01
5. Galahad - Rocket Summer - 3:06
6. J.C. Heavy - Is This Really Me - 3:12
7. Rainbow Family, The - Travellin' Lady - 2:49
8. Puzzle - Do You Feel The Pain - 2:48
9. Grumbleweeds, The - In A Teknicolor Dreem - 3:44
10.Explosive, The - Hey Presto, Magic Man - 3:05
11.J.C. Heavy - Do What You Like - 3:15
12.Choc - The Devil - 3:07
13.Danta - Queen Of Sheba - 4:17
14.Vincent Crane's Atomic Rooster* - O.D.- 3:19
15.Renegade - Never Let Me Go - 2:34
16.Satisfaction - Love It Is - 3:01
17.Audience - Eye To Eye - 2:33
18.Steel Mill - Get On The Line - 4:17
19.Kirk St. James - Tears I Cry3:55
20.Legs - So Many Faces - 2:54
