Singer Terry Clarke, guitarist Derek Smallcombe and drummer Roger 'Spodge' Siggery had all played in UK psych legends Jason Crest. Following their collapse in 1969, Clark joined short-lived UK rockers Hunter, whose sole LP was released in America only under the band name Orang Utan, while his former bandmates played with High Broom, best-known for releasing a version of Dancing In The Moonlight on Island in 1970. Smallcombe then played a stint with progressive rockers Samuel Prody, whose sole LP was released in Germany only, before rejoining Clark and Siggery in 1972 to form the quintet Holy Mackerel, along with new recruits Chris Ware (guitar) and Tony Wood (bass).
Having relocated from their native Kent to rural Lancashire, they devised a set that drew on progressive, pop and country influences before starting to gig. According to their LP's sleevenotes, they 'took the Northern college circuit by storm, experimenting and refining their music until they were ready for their album'. Having come to the attention of producers Roger Easterby and Des Champ (best-known for making hits with pop artists including Vanity Fare, Deep Feeling, Dr Marigold's Prescription and Chicory Tip), they were signed to CBS and entered the studio. A single coupling Rock-A-Bye and New Black Shoes was issued in late October 1972, preceding the appearance of their self-titled LP in November.
Unfortunately, as 1973 came around the market for such records was fast shrinking, and it sold poorly despite an enthusiastic endorsement from John Peel ('A group to watch and, of course, a good one to listen to as well') and 45 releases in Germany, Turkey and elsewhere. They appeared on Peel's show in November, performing Waterfall, Spanish Attraction, Oh! and Trie Boy & The Mekon, but it made little difference to their success. They did go on to record a follow-up album, entitled Closer To Heaven, but CBS didn't release it and it languished until finally appearing in 1993.
Having departed CBS, the band remained with Easterby and Champ for three further singles that appeared on the producers' own Santa Ponsa label (a subsidiary of Pye), but none of those charted, so they finally called it quits in mid-1974.
CD Liner-Notes
Tracks
1. Going To The Country (Steve Miller, Ben Sidran) - 3:05
2. Virginia Water (Derek Smallcombe) - 3:49
3. Spanish Attraction (Terry Clark) - 7:38
4. Rock-A-Bye (Barry Ian Green, Ron Roker) - 2:36
5. Oh! (Derek Smallcombe) - 5:19
6. Were You At All (Chris Ware) - 2:59
7. New Black Shoes (Terry Clark, Roger "Spodge" Siggery, Chris Ware, Derek Smallcombe, A. Wood) - 3:49
8. The Boy And The Mekon (Terry Clark) - 5:50
The Holy Mackerel
*Terry 'Nobby' Clark - Vocals
*Derek 'Mort' Smallcombe - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
*Chris Ware - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
*Tony Wood - Bass
*Roger 'Spodge' Siggery - Drums
Check the liner notes of an album by an artist that doesn’t primarily write their own material, and the credits will be teeming with the names of the people responsible for penning the songs. Sometimes these names will be familiar: fellow performers, star producers, or the rare songwriter or writing team that has earned enough hits to be well-known in their own right. Much of the time, however, the names will be more obscure, listing writers who may have worked steadily for years turning out album tracks and B-sides, or recording with minor artists rather than stars. If they’re very lucky, they might even manage to punctuate their career with a hit or two.
Such is the case of Bobby Lance, a Brooklyn native who started writing songs with his older sister Fran Robins (17 years his senior) while still a teenager in the late ’50s. Most of their material was doled out to little-known doo-wop and girl group outfits, but the duo scored big when Aretha Franklin took their song “The House That Jack Built” to the Top 10 on both the pop and R&B charts in 1968. The hit granted Lance the opportunity to record two albums for Atlantic Records, 1971’s First Peace (released on the Cotillion imprint) and 1972’s Rollin’ Man, both now compiled onto a single disc and released on CD for the first time by Real Gone Music.
Lance’s debut, 1971’s First Peace, was made with the full backing of the Atlantic machine, featuring a lineup of musicians familiar to anyone who’s studied the liner notes of the label’s classic soul albums of the era. The Swampers, house band for Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, serves as Lance’s core group, while legendary saxophonist King Curtis leads the horn section, and the gospel group the Sweet Inspirations provides the backing vocals. Lance, for his part, leads with a gutsy, Southern-inflected voice of surprising range and intensity, well-suited for the soulful ballads and bluesy rockers comprising the album.
“More Than Enough Rain” is by far the best-known song on either of Lance’s LPs, due to the rumor that Duane Allman plays slide guitar on the track. (Bill Kopp’s liner notes for this reissue presents it as fact, but it’s apparently still a source of debate for avid Allman Brothers fans.) The six-minute psych-blues rocker is a bit of an outlier, however. More typical of First Peace is opening track “Somebody Tell Me,” a mid-tempo R&B groover that mixes blues boilerplate (“My mama had me on a block of wood / in an old broken-down shack”) with vaguely hippie sentiments (“everybody helps each other, yeah”).
First Peace sometimes feels weighed down with Lance’s insistence on piling on the dramatics and “soulful” signifiers, but it’s also packed with enough gems to demonstrate why he managed to be in demand by not one, but two of the most important record labels of the era. (See below.) The underwritten melody line and tired “I’m a man, you can’t hold me down” lyrics of “Somewhere in Between” are more than made up for by its thundering, desperate chorus, which singlehandedly propels the song to the top of the pack. “One Turn You’re In One Turn You’re Out” and “Trouble is a Sometimes Thing” are radio-friendly ballads that could have been R&B hits (though perhaps in cover versions), while the moody atmosphere and tense arrangement of “Shake Down Blues” lends the song a directness largely lacking from rest of the album.
First Peace met with little success. At some point before its release, Lance had also managed to sign a songwriting contract with Motown Records. The legal wrangling between the two labels resulted in a decision that they would split the profits of Lance’s albums, and Atlantic had little interest in promoting a record in which it had only a limited financial stake. Rollin’ Man, released the following year, is far more stripped down, probably due to budgetary restrictions. Gone are the strings and horns, the Sweet Inspirations backing vocals, and Robins as his writing partner. Instead, Lance wrote all the tracks — nine on this album, shrunk down from the 11 on First Peace — and recorded them in New York with a four-piece rock band he had recruited on his own. Even the cover of his second album knocked a few superfluous letters from his name, billing him only as “B. Lance.”
Despite the cutbacks — or, more likely, because of them — the lean Rollin’ Man is the superior album, tamping down the previous album’s florid blue-eyed soulisms and focusing on a tighter rock groove. Lusty opener “Bar Room Sally” introduces Lance in a less self-serious mood; during the coda, he even provides the voice of “Sally” and kissy noises against a clattering, saloon-style piano. For all its goofiness, though, “Bar Room Sally” also sets the template for the level of songcraft throughout the album. Unlike First Peace, where even many of the stronger tracks seemed either underwritten or overly busy, epic rockers like “Something Unfinished” and “John the Rollin’ Man” are packed with hooks, but lean enough to keep them sharp and let them sink in.
Lance’s taste for grandeur hadn’t abated entirely, however, as testified by the lengthy instrumental solos on the eight-and-a-half-minute-long “Hot Wood and Coal,” and the expansive, Neil Diamondesque pop balladry of “Last Stop Change Hands” and “She Made Me a Man.” Yet the limitations of the recording process seem to have inspired Lance. While First Peace at times sounded like a songwriter’s demo tape — a song for Aretha, followed by a song for Clarence Carter — Rollin’ Man is fully committed to Lance’s personal blend of influences and interests. Ever the professional songwriter, however, there’s nothing on the album so personal or idiosyncratic that it couldn’t be covered by a band like Three Dog Night or Grand Funk Railroad. The one exception is album closer “Tribute to a Woman,” a delicate, relatively elliptical hymn that barely runs over a minute, yet contains more genuine feeling than First Peace‘s ode to ladykind, “Walkin’ on a Highway.”
Despite the fact that Lance found his groove, however, Rollin’ Man would prove to be his final album; like its predecessor, it foundered. Lance briefly continued to work as a songwriter for Atlantic, but the trouble he had caused for the label ensured his contract wasn’t renewed when it expired. The man who had worked in the music business since he was a teenager suddenly found himself locked out of the industry. Unlike many of his songwriting peers, however, Lance was lucky enough to leave behind a recorded legacy of his own. First Peace and Rollin’ Man aren’t perfect albums, but Lance’s talent shines throughout. Had he had as much of a head for legal matters and business as for songwriting and performing, it’s possible these albums wouldn’t be just cult curiosities, but the start of a fascinating career.
by Sally O'Rourke
Tracks
1. Somebody Tell Me - 2:22
2. Somewhere In Between - 3:44
3. One Turn You're In One Turn You're Out - 4:12
4. More Than Enough Rain - 5:54
5. I May Not Have Enough Time - 3:12
6. It Can't Be Turned Around - 2:18
7. Brother's Keeper - 3:28
8. Trouble Is A Sometimes Thing - 3:49
9. Cold Wind Howling In My Heart - 3:39
10.Shake Down Blues - 3:11
11.Walkin' On A Highway - 5:07
12.Bar Room Sally - 4:20
13.Hot Wood And Coal - 8:26
14.Somewhat Unfinished - 3:33
15.She Made Me A Man - 2:30
16.John The Rollin' Man - 4:33
17.Last Stop Change Hands - 5:10
18.You Got To Rock Your Own - 3:12
19.He Played The Reals - 3:38
20.Tribute To A Woman - 1:18
All selections written by Bobby Lance except Tracks 1-11 co written with Fran Robins
The Ghost LP is one of the most fabulous UK psych/prog albums. This Birmingham band featured guitarist Paul Eastment, previously in The Velvett Fogg. The album, originally released back in 1970 on the Gemini label in the UK and in 1971 on Exit/Ekipo records in Spain, is one step ahead psychedelia entering the realm of prog music, yet retaining an atmospheric mind expanding feel through it all.
Loads of Hammond organ swirls, pyrotechnical guitar licks, beautiful accoustic guitar parts, and above it all killer vocal arrangements. The lead-off track, "When You're Dead," is the most effective and famous (at least in the world of psychedelic collectordom) cut. Lead singer Paul Eastment sounds much like Family's Roger Chapman, but even creepier (and more ostentatious), as the group vamp around a skin-crawling riff, anchored by an almost garagey shrill organ.
Yet the second song, "Hearts and Flowers," could almost be the work of an entirely different outfit, with the band's other lead singer, Shirley Kent, shining on a pretty folk tune reminiscent of some of Fairport Convention's most precious early numbers (Shirley would later move on to record the "Fresh Out" LP as Virginia Tree). Top quality remastered sound, an impressing addition to your psych prog collection!
Tracks
1. When You're Dead (Paul Eastment, Paul Keatley) - 4:25
2. Hearts And Flowers (Shirley Kent) - 2:54
3. In Heaven (Terry Guy) - 3:21
4. Time Is My Enemy (Shirley Kent) - 4:06
5. Too Late To Cry (Paul Eastment, Paul Keatley) - 5:04
6. For One Second (Terry Guy) - 5:25
7. Night Of The Warlock (Paul Eastment, Terry Guy) - 4:22
8. Indian Maid (Terry Guy) - 4:21
9. My Castle Has Fallen (Paul Eastment) - 2:57
10.The Storm (Paul Eastment, Paul Keatley) - 3:36
11.Me And My Loved Ones (Terry Guy) - 4:09
12.I'Ve Got To Get To Know You (Shirley Kent) - 4:02
The Ghost
*Daniel MacGuire - Bass Guitar
*Charlie Grima - Drums, Percussion
*Paul Eastment - Lead Guitar
*Terry Guy - Organ, Piano
*Shirley Kent - Vocals
Named after a poem written in 1835 by Alfred Tennyson, Locksley Hall came from Spokane, Washington. Established 1967, the band was well regarded on the Pacific Northwest circuit until their demise in 1970. In 1969, The group put together an album intended to be released by the Epic label, but the effort failed to materialize. However, the tapes from these sessions were saved, and “Locksley Hall” has recently been reissued.
Operating in the same male-female vocal framework as groups such as Eternity’s Children, the Peanut Butter Conspiracy and It’s A Beautiful Day, the band was clearly a product of their time, yet had enough of their own bright ideas to forge a rather unique identity. Informed by adventure and imagination, “Locksley Hall” offers many mercurial moments to keep listeners interested and satisfied.
The introductory track is a short instrumental propelled by the spooky sound of a church organ, which duly whets the appetite. Plugging in at over seven minutes in length, “Let Me Blow Out Your Candles” is molded of a moody and meditative texture, intensified by spellbinding vocals, wavery acid-flavored guitar pickings and the lilting burr of a flute. Equally mesmerizing is the ghostly hymn-like approach of “When Autumn Leaves Turn To Gold,” while “Boy” rattles and rocks to a snarling edge.
Breezy jazz rhythms and shimmering melodies cement “Que-Ball,” and for a good laugh, there’s the corny “D.O.P.E.,” a strummy hillbilly sentiment about smoking grass. Exploding with sunny harmonies and effective hooks, “Wake Up (Tubby’s Tune)” is a pure pop gem smacking of hit single status, and “Some Say Love” carries a soulful hard rocking flair.
A lot of cool and clever stuff is happening throughout “Locksley Hall.” The vocals are strong and heartfelt, and the interplay between the guitars, keyboards and drums moves and grooves with freewheeling fervor. Containing an alluring mix of colors and tones, the album shows off the band’s vision on a variety of different levels. A homemade quality, coupled with a casual attitude gives “Locksley Hall’ an added dose of charm. As far as true blue hippy rock goes, here’s an album that certainly fits the term.
A nearly forgotten singer/songwriter of the '60s, Tim Rose's early work bore a strong resemblance to another Tim working in Greenwich Village around 1966-67, Tim Hardin. Rose also favored a throaty blues-folk-rock style with pop production flourishes, though he looked to outside material more, wasn't quite in Hardin's league as a singer or songwriter, and had a much harsher, even gravelly vocal tone. Before beginning a solo career, Rose had sung with Cass Elliott in the folk trio The Big Three, a few years before she joined The Mamas And Papas. Signed by Columbia in 1966, his 1967 debut album (which actually included a few previously released singles) is considered by far his most significant work.
by Richie Unterberger
Although The Musician was recorded several years after Tim Rose's 15 minutes of fame had officially ended, his voice is as gloriously ragged and raspy as ever, and the album contains several flashes of the brilliance that made Rose a Greenwich Village legend in the mid- and late '60s. Considerably less folky-sounding than his earlier records, The Musician contains heavy rock versions of the two songs with which Rose is most identified ("Morning Dew" and "Hey Joe") along with several originals and covers of generally high quality. Like Alex Chilton, another devotee of pure pop music who seems entirely unconcerned with commercial success, Rose's no-apologies vibe has always placed him in the "love him or hate him" category.
On his exceedingly strange version of Neil Young's "Old Man," Rose, amid swirling psychedelic slide guitars, sings like a raging drunk, lending the song an air of chilling desperation. Although much of the production values are quite dated, Rose does a good job of treating each song with a complete emotional honesty that transcends any sonic limitations.
by Pemberton Roach
Tracks
1. Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson) - 4:43
2. 7.30 Song (Tim Rose, Nick Theobald) - 4:51
3. Small Town Talk (Bobby Charles, Rick Danko) - 3:51
4. The Musician (Mike Shepstone, Peter Dibbens) - 3:43
5. Loving Arms (Tom Jans) - 3:31
6. Old Man (Neil Young) - 4:09
7. Hey Joe (Billy Roberts) - 4:30
8. It's Not My Life That's Been Changing (Tim Rose) - 3:25
9. The Day I Spent With You (Tim Rose) - 3:29
10.Second Avenue (Tim Moore) - 3:13
11.Now You're A Lady (John D. Bryant) - 3:26
12.Where Is The Good Life? (Tim Rose, Andy Summers) - 3:52
Personnel
*Tim Rose - 5-string Banjo, Banjo, Bass, Acoustic, Rhythm Guitars, Electric Piano, String Arrangements, Vocals
*Jonathan Rowlands - Tambourine
*Andy Summers - Electric Guitar, Nylon String Guitar
*Roger Sutton - Bass
*John Verity - Electric Guitar
*Ron Berg - Drums
*Richard Burgess - Drums
*David Charles - Drums
*Tina Charles - Background Vocals
*Paul Cobbold - Bass, Bowed Bass, Fuzz Bass, Electric Guitar
*B.J. Cole - Dobro, Steel Guitar
*Mick Dyche - Guitar
*Ian Ellis - Bass
*Tommy Eyre - Flute, Keyboards, Electric Piano, String Arrangements
Tim was raised in Virginia, from which he gets his southern roots and where he learnt to play guitar, banjo, organ and bass. He started his professional career with the Big Three, which together with Mama Cass Elliott (whom he discovered working in a drug store) went on to become one of the critically acclaimed singing groups of the mid 60's. When the group broke up, Tim decided to make a solo career, Tim considers his most formatwe years were during the period he lived in Bleeker Street, above the Bitter End, in New York's Greenwich Village working the coffee bars and folk rock clubs. His friends and musical contemporaries who were all working the same circuit read like a Who's Who in music today - Steve Stills, Dave Crosby, John Sebastian, Scott Mackenzie, Felix Pappallardi, Janis Ian, Simon & Garfunkel, Don McClean, Al Cooper. David Clayton-Thomas, Harry Chapin, Eric Wiseberg among others.
Tim was discovered by Dave Rubinson of CBS Records, singing his particular brand of electric folk rock at the Night Owl cafe. He started working with producer Bob Johnston (later of Dylan fame) in Nashville. However, CBS weren't ready for the combination of Bob and Tim and Dave Rubinson, who until then had only been producing spoken word records, was persuaded by Clive Davis and Tim to produce an album with Tim.
The initial tracks included 'Morning Dew', 'Hey Joe' and 'Come Away Melinda'. These early recordings have become the cornerstone of Tim's career and were early influences on other artists such as Jimmy Hendrix, Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck. In 1969, after several successful tours, which have included in his various bands musicians like John Bonham, Ainsley Dunbar, Eric Wiseberg, Elliot Randall and Andy Summers among others, Tim decided to live in New York, give up touring and concentrate on writing and making commercials.
He either wrote or appeared in over 200 commercials within the short period of three yea's. He later moved to Los Angeles where he continued with his writing and renewed his first love affair with airplanes and flying. In 1976 Tim moved to London, Irving off the Fulham Road close by Chelsea Football club. Here he met producer & songwriter Pierre Tubbs and they started working on this album also formed a band called Tim Rose & Fresh Air. This went well until the record company, a Dutch organization decided that they would have a change of management and chucked out all the acts the previous management had signed, including Tim. Tim hung around for a year or so but soon became fed up with waiting and sadly flew home to New York another life. This album was made with hope in the air and a great sense of fun, remember fun?
CD Liner Notes
Tracks
1. I Just Wanna Make Love To You (Tim Rose, Rob Gold) - 3:00
2. He Was Born To Be A Lady (Pierre Tubbs, Alan David) - 4:11
3. Dance On Ma Belle (Tim Rose, Rob Gold) - 4:47
4. It'll Be Alright On The Night (Pierre Tubbs, Alan David) - 3:35
5. Runaway (Tim Rose) - 3:08
6. Moving Targets (Pierre Tubbs) - 3:38
7. The Gambler (Tim Rose, Rob Gold) - 4:59
8. Blow Me Back Santa Ana (Pierre Tubbs) - 3:45
9. Is There Something 'bout The Way I Hold My Gun (Pierre Tubbs) - 2:56
By 1970 Big Brother had evolved a very distinct sound which is nonetheless a bit difficult to describe. James Gurtey had moved over to the bass and Peter and I were playing guitars, along with David Schallock who had come to the band from The Sons of Champlin, Mr. Schallock was a fine guitar player and a sterling human being, and it was a real pleasure to have him in the band.
Thus, with James, a guitar player, on the bass and then three other guitar players, the sound was very much in the treble range. Dave was a good guitar player and he mellowed out all that high end by playing very melodically in thirds with us on most of the tunes. Dave Getz was playing very cleanly at this point and he was taking risks too, propelling the band and having the courage and energy to get off into some new areas. Of course, this is my interpretation of the Big Brother sound of 1970, What the audience heard was something else.
Here are some adjectives they used to describe what we were doing: energetic, rambunctious, raucous, reckless, rowdy, rebellious, brash, confident, viscera! and aggressive. We had a cleaner sound, our technique was better, we were trying some things that we hadn't tried before, so it was a good direction for the band. The cover of the "Be A Brother" album is revealing.
All primary colors and there is that madman, limned by Bob Seideman who did that Blind Faith album cover with the girl and the hood ornament, and the madman is giving us the peace sign and grinning inanely. This is anti-Art and beyond technique, or below technique. The background is a sort of insane map of California, "Be A Brother" was the first album we did after Janis. We had learned to tune the guitars by this time and what we played in tune was more developed.
There were some complaints, even in the band, that we weren't sticking to our roots, and that we were being a little too adventurous in our songwriting/ composing, I think it is a real shame that we didn't continue on after "How Hard it Is, the next album, and do several more along just this same experimental tack. "Keep On" is the first song on the "Be A Brother album," which is fitting because the feeling in the band at the time was that we were going to persist no matter what. "Through the valley of tears, child," we were going to go on and improve and do something worthwhile.
We wanted to work with Nick Gravenites because he wrote songs of real meaning. I also had had the good fortune to meet Kathi MacDonald a year or so earlier when I had been volunteered to be her birthday present one fine sunny afternoon. We wrote a song together and I was astonished at how talented she was. Kathi knew more songs than anyone ! had ever worked with, but it was her voice, that razor sharp instrument, that made me want to get her into Big Brother.
Kathi and Nick were quite a combination. Nick was a burly man who looked like a Chicago truck driver as drawn by R, Crumb in Zap Comix and Kathi was so slender she hid behind the microphone stand. We had Mike Finnegan in the band too. He had played with The Jerry Hahn Brotherhood and he also had his own band. Mike is now one of the main keyboard players in the Los Angeles recording scene and he plays with all the big guns down there but I always thought his singing was the best.
Let's see, we had other side people on this album. We had Richard Green from Seatrain who played some marvelous violin. We had Janis Joplin. As far as I know, we were the first rock band to use Tower of Power as a horn section and it was an education to see them planning out the head arrangements for the tunes. They came into the studio with no charts or written music of any kind, sat over in a corner talked for a while about who was going to take a third or a fifth and then played their parts beautifully.
The tune "Home On The Strange" features Peter Albin playing a lovely melody that reminds me a bit of his work on "Cuckoo/Sweet Mary" in the early Big Brother days. The melody is "I Wonder As 1 Wander," an ancient tune that long predated the John Jacob Niles version of it from the 1930s. I like the feel of this tune. In some ways it reminds me of "All Is Loneliness, a Moondog tune that we did on our first album. James is doing some interesting basswork and David Schailock is making everything musical. "Someday" is another song of hope.
Another song that looks forward and tries to describe a better future. Another song that begins with a pattern in the guitars, echoed in thirds, and reechoed in the bass. "Sunshine Baby" is one of those dreams of unachievement of interruption, one of those dreams where you just can't quite slip free of the bonds that are holding you to earth, where you just can't quite make it to the stage.
There's a feeling of desperation there, of being at the end of one's tether. "I've searched away the night time, Sunshine, just trying to get back to you." In April of 1970 we played at The Filtmore in San Francisco and Janis came onstage to sing a couple of numbers with us. She and Nick did a tune that became "Ego Rock. We asked Janis if she would come and sing a bit on our new album...noth ing elaborate, just some backup vocals and she came and celebrated a bit with us. She did some funny vocal work on "Mr, Natural." That's her cackling voice you hear back in the mix. Janis was amazed when I brought "Mr. Natural" into the rehearsal room, our living room, at Lagunitas, because the tune was much more worked out than the usual Big Brother tune.
I worked out the two guitar tracks for "Mr. Natural" at the Chelsea Hotel in New York on one of the new Sony tape recorders while Danny Rifkin was talking to me nonstop about the prospects for his band The Grateful Dead. I was thinking that the Dead were fortunate to have someone like Danny on their side, because he never stopped thinking about how to get them to the next step. I think he and Rock Scully had a lot more to do with the Dead's success than people realize. in May of 1970 we played at The Bermuda Palms in San Rafael, California, and Janis was there with The Full Tilt Boogie Band.
This was a very chaotic affair. Janis had too much to drink and she began a rant on the microphone that sounded like a parody of her usual self. This is the first time I felt scared for her. She seemed flabby and tired and at the end of her rope. Earlier that afternoon, she had told me, "I'm not going to die. I come from good, strong pioneer stock. I'm a survivor." This statement sent a chill down my spine. It seemed as If she were tempting the gods, and her talking like that didn't seem like a good idea at all. In July of 1970, we played at The Sports Arena in San Diego on the same bill with The Electric Flag and Janis and The Full Tilt Boogie Band. That was a strange engagement.
Janis was very keyed up and she was hanging onto James Gurley for dear life, We all flew home on the same plane and Michael Bloomfield regaled us with an incredible story of how he taped two balloons full of warm water to the bathroom mirror and masturbated to them. Well, maybe you had to be there. One thing about Michael, he never held back! I had the same eerie, unpleasant feeling watching Janis on the plane as I did at the San Rafael engagement with her. She was tense because we were all together and she was obviously indulging too much for her own good. Janis was so full of herself that you could tell she was nervous and insecure about something.
There was no hope of calming her down, but we tried anyway. This "Be A Brother" album came out in October of 1970, quite a month. I wrote a tune about James Gurley one day. James is from Detroit and he has a Detroit soul, funky, threadbare and a bit country. That funkiness is a strange admixture in the psychedelic zenmaster guru that James also can be, and I was trying to get some of this complexity into the tune that I called "Funky Jim." I brought it into the studio one day and Nick Gravenites completely appropriated it because he liked the idea so much. Nick actually knew James before I did, and he must have thought he had a prior claim, Anyway, the song came out well. Tower of Power added some horn parts, someone changed the spelling to "Funkie Jim" and we had another tune.
Merle Haggard, who has a face to match his name, and who has a deep grained country soul, wrote a song called "Okie From Muskogee" that was intended to celebrate the downhome virtues and the American cleanliness of that city. Conservative elements on the American political scene fastened onto this song as a sort of anthem which became a kind of "Ballad of the Green Berets" for the home front. Ah, if we could only get back to Muskogee, all would be peace and light again.
The problem was that in reality Muskogee, Oklahoma, not only had hippies down by the courthouse, it had a lot of them. In fact, people from Oklahoma, such as Mike Finnegan who was playing with us at the time told us that Muskogee was the center for countercultural activity at the time. Nick wrote 'Til Change Your Flat Tire, Merle," as a kind of riposte to the specious patriotism that Okie From Muskogee represented. Big Brother played in London recently and as I was coming off stage someone handed me a CD that had a hiphop/rave version of "I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle" on it, so the song lives on as a bow to the opposition.
I have a tape of Big Brother playing most of the tunes on this album at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City June 1970 and it's good to hear that we actually did the parts live on stage with Nick, Kathi and Mike Finnegan. I say "actually did the parts" because often with the recording process there are vocal and instrumental overdubs that are impossible to play live. I was not sure if we could do the songs the way we recorded them, but we did do them that way in Salt Lake, Be a brother. Be a sister, Be the one who tries harder, to get it together, Thank you for listening.
by Sam Andrew, May 2002
Tracks 1971 How Hard It Is
1. How Hard It Is (Sam Andrew, Dave Getz) - 4:21
2. You've Been Talkin' Bout Me, Baby (Ray Rhrera, Walter Hirsch, Gale Garnet) - 3:25
3. House On Fire (Dave Getz, Louis Rappaport) - 3:55
4. Black Widow Spider (Sam Andrew) - 3:32
5. Last Band On Side One (Sam Andrew, Rosco Segel) - 1:56
6. Nu Boogaloo Jam (Sam Andrew, Dan Nudelman) - 3:23
7. Maui (Sam Andrew, Rosco Segel) - 3:25
8. Shine On (Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, Dave Getz) - 5:24
9. Buried Alive In The Blues (Nick Gravenites) - 3:57
10.Promise Her Anything But Give Her Arpeggio (David Shallock) - 3:55 1970 Be A Brother
11. Keep On (Sam Andrew, Peter Albin, Dave Getz, James Gurley, David Shallock) - 4:19
12. Joseph's Coat (Nick Gravenites, John Clpollina) - 3:08
13. Home On The Strange (Arranged/Adapted by Peter Albin, Sam Andrew) - 2:12
14. Someday (Sam Andrew) - 2:15
15. Heartache People (Nick Gravenites) - 6:34
16. Sunshine Baby (Sam Andrew, Peter Albin, Dave Getz, James Gurley, David Shallock) - 3:28
17. Mr. Natural (Sam Andrew) - 3:31
18. Funkie Jim (Sam Andrew, Peter Albin, Dave Getz, James Gurley) - 3:45
19. I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle (Nick Gravenites) - 3:11
20. Be A Brother (Nick Gravenites) - 3:03
Big Brother and the Holding Company
*Nick Gravenites - Lead Vocals
*Kathi Mcdonald - Lead Vocals (Tracks 1-10)
*Sam Andrew - Guitar, Vocals
*James Gurley - Guitar
*Dave Schallock - Guitar
*Peter Albin - Bass
*Dave Getz - Drums
*Mike Finnegan - Vocals, Keyboards (Tracks 1-10)
Musical siblings George Chambers (bass/vocals), Willie Chambers (guitar/vocals), Lester Chambers (harmonica/vocals), and Joe Chambers (guitar/vocals) were raised on rural gospel in their native Mississippi before switching over to folk and then soulful blues and R'n';B-fueled rock. The Chambers Brothers' recordings issued by the Los Angeles-based Vault label were nearly four years old when Feelin' the Blues hit the streets in 1970.
The band's style had changed quite drastically from old-school blues, soul, and pop to the longer psychedelic jams heard on their international hit "Time Has Come Today." Although the mixture of live and studio selections gives the collection an odds-and-sods vibe, several of the performances are among the best of the Vault Records-era material. Somewhat contrasting with the album's title, the Chambers actually cover a wide spectrum of music on Feelin' the Blues. Their roots can be heard throughout the flawless interpretation of the sacred standards "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" and the excellent "Travel on My Way." Similarly, the midtempo reading of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" offers the Chambers an opportunity to subtly return to their gospel origins with call-and-response backing harmonies.
The proceedings are far from being pious, however, as the quartet harmonizes the chorus of "Too Fat Polka" during one of the instrumental breaks. Perhaps wishing to remove some of the sting from the real storyline, the reworking of "House of the Rising Sun" -- according to the spoken introduction -- is told from the point of view of the receptionist (huh?) at the infamous bordello. Had The Chambers Brothers decided on a more straightforward translation, the song could easily have been one of the album's best. Other tunes worth spinning include a version of Bobby Parker's "Blues Get Off My Shoulder" -- in a longer form than on 1968's The Chambers Brothers Shout! -- and the comparatively brief but effective update of the jazzy "Undecided."
by Lindsay Planer
Tracks
1. Girls, We Love You (Lester Chambers) - 3:25
2. I Got A Woman (Ray Charles) - 6:35
3. House Of The Rising Sun (Traditional) - 6:05
4. Don't Lose Your Cool (Joe Chambers) - 1:48
5. Just A Closer Walk With Thee (P.D.) - 5:230
6. Blues Get Off My Shoulder (B. Parker) - 3:18
7. Travel On My Way - 4:05
8. Undecided (C. Shavers, S. Robin) - 3:06
Ned four young men who chance brought together in a Harvard dorm in 1969. Rokko Jans and Jeffrey Parsons were attending Harvard while Nick Talantis and Norman Reim were just passing through Boston on their way to Greece. They ended up many-a-night jamming till dawn and as quickly as that plans were changed: Rokko and Jeff forsook the scholarly life and Nick and Norman have yet to make it to Greece. The four have been making music together, off and on, ever sinc
Capricorn
Work in a mellow, pickin', strummin' and grinnin' style more reminiscent of Poco, the Eagles and CSN&Y. Most endearing for their very casualness, whether up tempo pieces or down-to-earth ballads... It is almost impossible to dislike Ned, four smiling long-haired geeks, each holding in his arms an absolutely massive looking dog, in the picture on the back of their first album."
Rolling Stone
Ned has performed throughout the US and Canada since 1969. Very active in concert halls and on college campuses in the early seventies, they opened for a wide variety of acts, including: Sly and the Family Stone, The James Gang, B.B. King, The Supremes, Ramsey Lewis, Rare Earth, B.J. Thomas, Richie Havens, Wilson Pickett, The Dells, The Kinks, Wishbone Ash–-and many more.
Nedband
Tracks
1. Feelings To Hide (Jeff Parsons, Nick Talantis, Norman Reim) - 3:43
2. Above The Storm (Alaric Jans, Nick Talantis) - 2:00
3. Rosemary May (And Little Baby Blue Jeans) (Nick Talantis) - 3:38
4. Time (Alaric Jans) - 2:29
5. I Got A Conflict (Nick Talantis, Norman Reim) - 6:45
6. Matinee Movie (Alaric Jans, Nick Talantis, Norman Reim) - 3:17
7. Mississippi Streams (Alaric Jans, Nick Talantis, Norman Reim) - 6:29
8. My Heart Song (Alaric Jans, Nick Talantis) - 3:40
9. I Seen The Glory (Nick Talantis, Norman Reim) - 3:01
10 Home (Alaric Jans, Nick Talantis, Norman Reim) - 3:45
By the mid-'70s, Lou Reed had been through a lifetime of rock 'n' roll experiences in just a little more than a decade. From early-'60s session work to the Velvet Underground to the unexpected chart success in the early '70s with the solo hit "Walk On the Wild Side," Reed was never one to stay in limbo. He followed his hit Transformer album with the dark and haunting Berlin, the live album Rock and Roll Animal and the back-to-basics Sally Can't Dance.
His next move remains one of the most famous middle fingers in the history of music: the 1975 release of Metal Machine Music, a double album of guitar feedback and other noise effects. Was it a joke, a bold artistic statement, a contractual obligation or all of these? In early 1976, Reed told an interviewer, "I committed a number of blasphemous acts that I can back myself up on, only in saying that it got me the chance to make Metal Machine Music, and it gave me the power to make Coney Island Baby my way, from top to bottom. That's why I did Metal Machine Music. It was supposed to clear the air. Most people, even if you are into electronic music, aren't going to listen to that."
Reed was back on a more conventional path with Coney Island Baby in early 1976, and by October, he returned with the self-produced Rock and Roll Heart, his seventh solo album. It's another of Reed's more conventional records, opening with the soul-injected "I Believe in Love," which surges along with R&B horns. Its refrain of "Good time music, good time rock 'n' roll" is a 180-degree turn from the barrage of noise found on Metal Machine Music.
Reed sticks to traditional music here: "Banging on My Drum" is a straightforward rocker, "Follow the Leader" is funky and "You Wear It So Well" is a soulful ballad. On "Ladies Pay," he even sounds like he's imitating Patti Smith imitating Lou Reed.
There's much use of horns on Rock and Roll Heart, bearing the influence of early rock 'n' roll and jazz that often hangs out in Reed's work. The closing "Temporary Thing," one of the album's best tracks, creates a tension that never breaks over five intense minutes as it borrows from the Velvets, jazz and soul music. "Rock 'n' Roll Heart" didn't get much love. But give it a chance. It's a fresh and intriguing listen, hardly the throwaway its critics claim.
by Dave Swanson, October 28, 2016
Tracks
1. I Believe In Love - 2:46
2. Banging On My Drum - 2:11
3. Follow the Leader - 2:13
4. You Wear It So Well - 4:52
5. Ladies Pay - 4:22
6. Rock & Roll Heart - 3:05
7. Chooser and the Chosen One - 2:47
8. Senselessly Cruel - 2:08
9. Claim to Fame - 2:51
10.Vicious Circle - 2:53
11.A Sheltered Life - 2:20
12.Temporary Thing - 5:13
All Songs by Lou Reed
The second and last album from Catapilla was even weirder adventurous and more experimental than the debut, but actually also better. Robert Calvert delivers some of the best and most beautiful sax-playing I've ever heard on an album. Listen to the instrumental "It Could Only Happen to Me" and you'll hear what I'm talking about. You can hear the same on the last minutes of the 12-minute opener "Reflections" and "Thank Christ for George". The music seems often to be based on jams, and always dominated by Calvert`s saxophone and Meek's voice. Unusual, original, atmospheric and always very beautiful in the more quiet parts. If you're tired of Genesis and Yes clones and want to hear something far more original progressive rock, then you definitively should try Catapilla.
Vintage-Prog
Tracks
1. Reflection - 12:06
2. Charing Cross - 6:45
3. Thank Christ For George - 12:07
4. It Could Only Happen To Me (Graham Wilson, Robert Calvert) - 6:45
All songs written by Graham Wilson, Robert Calvert, Anna Meek unless as else stated.
In mid 72, bassist Gerry McAvoy's flat-mate, drummer Rod deAth, deputised for the late Wilgar Campbell and following Wilgar's ultimate departure Rod became a permanent replacement. After six years of working with the trio format, Rory looked to embellish his sound by introducing keyboards into the line-up. Rod who had been a member of blues band Killing Floor', recommended to Rory their piano player Lou' Martin - who ironically hailed from Belfast.
The line-up clicked and remained together for some five years this recording being the blueprint. Originally released in early 73, the cover features the circuit board of a Stramp power-baby' amplifier which was custom designed for Rory in Hamburg. It was specifically designed to be compact enough to fit into the small luggage compartment of a VW "beetle" car a particular Rory favourite.
Opening with Walk On Hot Coals which went on to became a Callager classic, allowed the musicians o really stretch out, particularly the ambicextrous Rod who wove drum patterns for Rory to overlay his blistering guitar work. Daughter Of The Everglades was inspired by a book that Rory had been reading and is amongst the more melodic compositions of his repertoire and highlights Lou's contribution to the band. Banker's Blues : over a barrelhouse style piano, Rory switches to acoustic twelve string guitar and rack mounted harmonica and demonstrates his ability to put a fresh-coat on a Big Bill Broonzy number.
The opening "rocker-style" finger-clicking sets the tone for the demanding Hands Off. Buoyed by his own saxophone section, this shows Rory at his menacing best. Like many writers, Rory drew inspiration from old trains, and his slick playing on Race The Breeze gives a sense of frictionfree rolling freight. When asking hfc promoters what their next venture might Ire after his Irish tour, Rory was bemused to find that the promoter had booked the faith healer Finbar Nolan. Blues music being rich with lyrics of various supernatural powers inspired Rory to write Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.
Unmilitary Two-Step : a brilliant, whimsical acoustic instrumental which is set to a Scott Joplin type tempo and is full of musical humour. If I Had A Reason: a soul-searching song with a waltz time country feel, features Rory on lap steel guitar and Lou on honky tonk piano. Stompin' Ground : a driving slide track of a prodigal's return. Following his rigorous touring Rory was much pleased to arrive home in Cork and lay back until the road would call him again. Treat Her Right: this track, like the former came to light in an unmarked box. Rory had always enjoyed performing this Roy Head favourite with the Impact Showband of ‘65 and had fun with his new band by treating this song to his blistering guitar style.
by Donal Gallagher
'Blueprint' originally released in early '73, and contains "Daughter Of The Everglades" one of the most beautiful songs he ever wrote, the cover features the circuit board of a Stramp "power-baby" amplifier which was custom designed for Rory in Hamburg. It was specifically designed to be compact enough to fit into the small luggage compartment of a VW "beetle" car, a particular Rory favorite.
Tracks
1. Walk On Hot Coals - 6:59
2. Daughter Of The Everglades - 6:09
3. Banker's Blues (Big Bill Broonzy) - 4:42
4. Hands Off - 4:27
5. Race The Breeze - 6:51
6. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - 8:22
7. Unmilitary Two-Step - 2:45
8. If I Had A Reason - 4:27
9. Stompin' Ground - 3:27
10.Treat Her Right (Roy Head) - 4:00
All titles Composed by Rory Gallagher except where stated.
It jumps open with an unequivocal derangement of ol' Kansas City Joe Turner's "Honey Hush," in a marvelously shameless send-up of the Yardbirds. A rare cut that makes you discover how loud your equipment can go, it sets the album's tone. Ten Years After comes in for the same treatment with "Wild Cherry." Throw in a thankfully tasteless "That'll Be the Day" for an album than wins full points on irreverence alone.
In addition, Energized has a great "Step Outside" that reminds me of Three Dog Night, and an original "Home in My Hand" that's almost as good as the oldie of the same title everyone else is doing. It's a rude, raving riot of an album, from a group that's doing a bang-up job of closing the gap between where rock & roll has been and where it ought to be going.
by Greg Shaw, Rolling Stone, 1974
Tracks
1. Honey Hush (Turner) - 4:21
2. Step Outside (Peverett, Price, Earl, Stevens) - 6:18
3. Golden Arrow (Peverett, Price) - 4:03
4. Home in My Hand (Peverett, Price) - 5:13
5. Wild Cherry (Peverett, Price, Earl, Stevens) - 5:27
6. That'll Be the Day (Allison, Holly, Petty) - 2:53
7. Fly by Night (Stevens) - 4:47
8. Nothin' I Won't Do (Peverett, Price) - 6:57
