rep>>> Sir Douglas Quintet - The Best Of ....Plus (1964-1966 us, exciting garage roots 'n' roll, 2000 release)

Recorded between 1964 and 1966, this set is a companion to THE SIR DOUGLAS QUINTET IS BACK! The Sir Douglas Quintet came off more like a gritty amalgam of every strain of music that drifted through the airwaves of Texas.

Leader Doug Sahm had wide-ranging musical tastes but he attached himself to every performance with such pure and utter confidence that the tendency to label his music falls away as its wonderful wholeness becomes apparent. "She's About a Mover," the number that put the Quintet on the map, opens things up. Delights abound--from the riveting "The Rains Came" to the bluesy drama of "In The Pines."

The breadth found in this timeless music can be heard as the blueprint for Doug Sahm's music career over the following three decades. Restless, reverent, honest and bold, this is an essential Sir Douglas Quintet songs collection from their early period (it's not an all-time best of compilation despite its title)

Tracks

1. She's About a Mover - 2:23

2. Beginning of the End (Jimmy Duncan) - 2:58

3. Tracker (Dick Kline) - 2:33 

4. You're out Walkin' the Streets Tonight - 2:16 

5. In the Pines (Traditional) - 2:22 

6. In the Jailhouse Now #2 (Jimmie Rodgers) - 2:22 

7. Quarter to Three (Frank Guida, Gary Anderson, Gene Barge, Joseph Royster) - 1:45 

8. One Way Out (Sonny Boy Williamson II) - 3:12 

9. Rains Came (Huey P. Meaux) - 2:14 

10.Please Just Say So (Doug Sahm, Jay Schenider) - 2:25 

11.We'll Take Our Last Walk Tonight - 2:44 

12.You're out Walkin' the Streets Tonight - 1:50 

13.Sugar Bee (Eddie Shuler) - 2:19  

14.Blue Norther (Al Nilsen, Nathaniel Allen) - 2:17 

15.Story of John Hardy (Traditional) - 2:42 

16.In Time - 2:15 

17.Bacon Fat (Andre Williams, Devora Brown) - 2:26 

18.She's Gotta Be Boss - 2:11 

19.Love Don't Treat Me Fair - 1:32 

20.She Digs My Love - 2:47 

21.When I Sing the Blues - 2:31

All songs by Doug Sahm except where noted

The Sir Douglas Quintet

*Doug Sahm - Vocals, Guitar
*Jack Barber - Bass Guitar
*Augie Meyers - Keyboards
*Frank Morin - Saxophone, Percussion
*Johnny Perez - Drums

1969-73  Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendocino (bonus material reissue)
1973  Doug Sahm - Doug Sahm And Band  

1973-74  Doug Sahm - Doug Sahm And Band / Texas Tornado / Groovers Paradise (2016 double disc)

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rep>>> Dark - Round The Edges (1972 uk, fantastic psych jam rock, 2013 digi pack remaster and 2002 with extra tracks)

It must have been 1990. I was paying a visit to a heavily connected record dealer who had just received some tapes from overseas. He put one on with the words "This is what Paul [Major] and Gregg [Breth] are going to reissue, it's an English album called DARK". I had never heard of it before. "Dark, huh?". The music comes on, a very intro-like thing which nevertheless suggested a nice drum and guitar sound quite unlike the usual 1972 bombast. "Hmm...". Then the actual song begins, a confident, lyrical west coast jam sound like 1968 Quicksilver on a strong night. "This sounds good...", I say. Light, unpretentious vocals enter and the final great fear – that of an Operatic Macho Vocalist – disappears. "This sounds, uh... very good". The record dealer nods in agreement. Shortly after this the Swank label US vinyl reissue did appear, but for reasons not yet made clear it cost not less than $150 in retail, so I passed and settled for a tape dupe.

According to Stephen Smith who produced a more affordable Dark reissue two years later, there will never be another private press British LP of the same stature as Dark "Round the edges". This may be true, and it certainly is one of the rarest, but then rarity doesn't account for anything, and in terms of quality there's nothing exceptional about it. It is a good LP, but also with a number of flaws of varying degrees. As it turns out, my first encounter with it turned out to be a bit of a deception.

After getting the Kissing Spell reissue CD my one-line review of the Dark LP used to be that it "gets weaker for each track". This is not entirely true, but the track sequencing is one of the problems. The opening "Darkside" track, as hinted above, is perhaps the best underground guitarpsych track ever to come out of England, a piece of pure perfection; jammy, loose, beckoning, un-hardrocky, anything. The rest of side 1 is in the same vein, just slightly less "there", and I always choke on the lyrics on "Maypole" which strike me as simple gibberish.

Side 2 opens with the album's weakest track which I can only describe as mediocre, an uninspired melody unfortunately accentuated by a lead guitar playing tandem with the vocals; tracks 5 and 6 are better, but the lack of a "Darkside" makes the second half of the LP a rather pedestrian experience, with insufficient time devoted to songwriting, and nothing added to the fullfleshed statement of the opener – losing the "R C 8" track altogether and shuffling the others around a bit would undoubtedly improved the LP a couple of points.

On a more fundamental level, the vibe I get from Dark is that of a bunch of unknown guys who have been rehearsing in a basement for a long time, building an extensive understanding of each others musical ideas, and each honing their craft – the playing is superb, perhaps the drummer most of all – and it isn't really hardrock, or bluesrock, but a classic jam outfit bred out of the late 1960s US westcoast style, almost jazzy in the playing, but never pretentious or showoffy. That's the positive side of the coin,  the negative is that any desire to make a personal statement; perhaps even the ability to do so, went missing in the basement about 500 hours of rehearsal ago. Dark are very sure of what they can play, and they can even afford to be cool about it, but the coolness by definition also means a lack of passion, or fire – again, it's only the initial "Darkside" track that resembles something born out of experience and emotion, rather than an exploration of scales and time signatures.
Lysergia

Tracks
1. Darkside (Steve Giles, Ronald Johnson, Clive Thorneycroft, Colin Bush) - 7:28
2. Maypole (Steve Giles) -  5:03
3. Live For Today (Steve Giles, Ronald Johnson, Clive Thorneycroft, Martin Weaver) - 8:07
4. R.C.8 (Steve Giles) -  5:05
5. Cat (Steve Giles, Ronald Johnson, Clive Thorneycroft) - 5:19
6. Zero Time (Steve Giles, Ronald Johnson, Clive Thorneycroft) - 6:49

Bonus Tracks 2002 Progressive Line release

7. In The Sky (Steve Giles) - 4:17

8. Wasting Your Time (Steve Giles, Ronald Johnson, Clive Thorneycroft) - 4:59

9. Could Have Sworn (Steve Giles, Ronald Johnson, Clive Thorneycroft) - 4:56

10.Maypole (Steve Giles) - 5:52

Dark
*Colin Bush - Bass
*Steve Giles - Guitar
*Clive Thorneycroft - Drums
*Ronald Johnson - Bass
*Martin Weaver - Guitar

1969-71  Dark - Teenage Angst The Early Sessions
1974-95  Dark - Anonymous Days

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rep>>> The Rose Garden - A Trip Through The Garden (1967-68 us, amazing sunny folk psych, 2018 bonus tracks remaster)

A Trip Through The Garden, a first-time Rose Garden anthology, is a companion piece to the Clark release and, as such, it illuminates the relationship and tells the band’s story.

A Trip Through The Garden includes the ten tracks from The Rose Garden, the band’s non-album A- and B-sides, previously unheard studio recordings, demos, live tracks and a band rehearsal of “Till Today” which was, extraordinarily, taped in Noreen’s bedroom with Gene Clark.

In the liner notes, The Rose Garden is described as “steeped in jingle-jangle Byrdsy folk rock (done well but arguably passé by 1968) and lush folk-inspired vocal harmonies” which nails it. The band were not writers – though they took arrangement credits for the folk songs “Flower Town” (their rewrite of “Portland Town”) and “Rider”.

The Rose Garden hangs together and is a prime example of West Coast pop of the period. Nonetheless it was, indeed, a little behind the times. A fair guess for a release date made after hearing the album for the first time would be Summer 1967: an assumption supported by the very 1967 song title “Flower Town” and the cover of The Giant Sunflower’s April 1967 single “February Sunshine”. Even so, five decades on it remains a fresh, winning album.

What led up to it being recorded, the deal with Greene and Stone and the contract with ATCO (also The Buffalo Springfield and Sonny & Cher’s label) is detailed. The roots of The Rose Garden lay in the suburbs outside Los Angeles (not West Virginia as has been said elsewhere) and in a band variously named The Marauders, The PF Flyers and the magnificently handled The Blokes: the latter after a line in Herman’s Hermits’ “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter”. Initially, The Beatles were the inspiration, especially the Rickenbacker guitar sound permeating the A Hard Day’s Night album.

Then, The Byrds arrived on the scene and swiftly became The Blokes’ prime influence. A Trip Through The Garden’s live tracks include fine versions of “She Don’t Care About Time” and “So You Want To Be A Rock ’N’ Roll Star”. Playing a late 1966 afternoon show at the Ash Grove venue, they saw the by-then former Byrd Gene Clark at the bar. They did a few Byrds covers, he applauded and was duly invited onto the stage where they ran-through “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” and “‘Eight Miles High” with him. The relationship with Clark did not end there and, ultimately, the band recorded a pair of his post-Byrds songs.

Following their initial encounter with Clark, the all-male, mostly teenage band added singer Diana De Rose, attracted Green and Stone’s attention and changed their name from The Blokes to The Rose Garden. Despite the infrastructure now surrounding them, they had just the one hit. Clark joining them in the studio to help record his compositions, play tambourine and offer advice did not help. Neither did the presence of Neil Young, also there  when they recorded the album (he is not on it). Their strong version of Young’s then-unreleased “Down To The Wire” is heard here for the first time. The end came soon after ATCO divisively credited one of their singles to “The Rose Garden Featuring Diana De Rose.”

Listening to this fine band raises the what-if of whether they might have evolved into a self-determining unit: could they have begun generating their own songs? But the question is moot. The Rose Garden were what they were, and the music they left behind is uniformly great. And, as the hugely enjoyable A Trip Through The Garden amply demonstrates, they were about much more than “Next Plane To London”.

by Kieron Tyler, Sunday, 17 June 2018

The Complete Rose Garden Story

Tracks
1. Next Plane To London (Kenny Gist Jr.) - 2:32
2. I'm Only Second (Charles W. Higgins, Pat Vegas) - 3:14
3. February Sunshine (Pat Vegas, Val Geary) - 2:39
4. Coins Of Fun (Leonard A. Metzger, Pat Vegas) - 3:01
5. Rider (Traditional) - 2:59
6. She Belongs To Me (Bob Dylan) - 3:57
7. Flower Town (Bruce Bowdin, Diana DeRose, James Groshong, John Noreen, William Fleming) - 3:19
8. Till Today (Gene Clark) - 3:16
9. Look What You've Done (Bob Johnston, Wes Farrell) - 3:08
10.Long Time (Gene Clark) - 2:02
11.If My World Falls Through (Kenny O'Dell) - 2:41
12.Here's Today (John Noreen, Phil Vickery) - 2:33
13.Down To The Wire (Neil Young) - 2:38
14.Charlie The Fer De Lance (Dann Lottermoser, Donald Lewis Dunn, Tony McCashen) - 3:00
15.The World Is A Great Big Playground (Al Kooper, Bob Crewe, Irwin Levine) - 3:50
16.Here's Today (John Noreen, Phil Vickery) - 2:42
17.If My World Fall's Through (Kenny O'Dell) - 3:28
18.Dead Men Never Die (Take 2) (Leon Rosselson) - 2:58
19.I'm Only Second (Acetate Version) (Charles W. Higgins, Pat Vegas) - 3:10
20.Till Today (Rehearsel) (Gene Clark) - 3:21
21.Till Today (Acetate Version) (Gene Clark) - 3:16
22.Next Plane To London (Kenny Gist Jr.) - 2:35
23.So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star (Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn) - 2:25
24.She Don't Care About Time (Gene Clark) - 2:38
25.It's The Little Things (Sonny Bono) - 3:00
26.You Don't Love Me (Bo Diddley, Willie Cobbs) - 4:01
Tracks 11-12 Mono Single Version
Tracks 16-17 Stereo Mix
TYracks 22-26 Live recordings

The Rose Garden
*Diana De Rose - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
*John Noreen - Lead 12 String Guitar, Vocals
*James Groshong - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*William Fleming - Bass
*Bruce Bowdin - Drums
With
*Gene Clark - Vocals

Related Acts
1967  Gene Clark - Sings For You (2018 digipak with unreleased material)
1964-90  Gene Clark - Flying High
1964-82  Gene Clark ‎- The Lost Studio Sessions (2016 audiophile double Vinyl set) 

1967  Gene Clark - Echoes
1968-69  Dillard And Clark - Fantastic Expedition / Through The Morning, Through The Night
1971  Gene Clark - White Light
1972  Gene Clark - Roadmaster  (2011 Edition)
1979  McGuinn, Clark And Hillman (2014 Japan SHM Remaster)
1964  The Byrds - Preflyte (2012 Edition)
1973  Byrds - Byrds (2004 issue)

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rep>>> Jonathan And Leigh - Third And Main (1967 us, wonderful psych folk country rock, 2007 remaster)

Forged in the early 60s folk scene of Dayton, Ohio, Jonathan and Leigh arrived in New York City in 1967 to play the Greenwich Village folk club The Gaslight Cafe. Vanguard Records' Maynard Solomon was in the audience and was so knocked out that he signed them for "the biggest cash advance the company's ever handed out...$3000 against five percent of record sales" (as a local Ohio newspaper noted at the time).

The album was recorded in a converted church in New York with outstanding supporting musicians such as Russ Savakus, Richard Davis and Bill Salter; overdubs by Jay Berliner and Warren Smith were added later. The sound is very distinctive, with Jonathan And Leigh's heartfelt Ohio roots shining through in the strong vocals and the accompanying music veering between simple folk stylings and a jangly, electric-folk hybrid. The songs are superb. 

Having been honed over the preceding three years they worked together in Ohio, they represent an impressive debut statement. Particularly fine are Winding River, Summer Sorrow (written for Mimi Farina after husband Richard's tragic death in a motorcycle accident) and Tapestry (John's favourite of them all). Though John wrote most of the songs, Sandy came up with the tune to Winding River after John recited the lyrics down the phone to her. He recalled: "I talked the words down the phone to Sandy and she came up with the beautiful music."

However, the hoped-for success did not come and the duo returned to Ohio. Later John Alden moved to Los Angeles, where he remained for eight years before returning to Dayton. He was part of the band Starbuck (along with Leigh), who recorded a session produced by Don Everly for Atlantic (though the album was never finished or released). 

Subsequently John recorded two albums as part of the country band Electric Range - singing lead, playing guitar and bringing his song writing talents to that group. Electric Range's debut features the Byrds Chris Hillman and was produced by the Eagles Randy Meisner. Sandy Roepken (“Leigh”) went on to form a duo with her husband Michael Bashaw and they have worked together continuously since the late 60s.

by John Crosby

Tracks
1. Constant Tuesday - 3:06
2. Someday Baby (John Estes, Hammie Nixon) - 2:00
3. Tapestry - 2:33
4. Brownsville (Traditional) - 2:32
5. Song For Shelley - 2:38
6. Third And Main - 3:29
7. Balm In Gilead (Traditional) - 2:21
8. Cocaine Blues (Traditional) - 2:31
9. Summer Sorrow - 3:15
10.Winding River - 2:41
11.Changes (Phil Ochs) - 2:51
12.If The Earth Be Round - 2:19
All songs by Jonathan Alden except where indicated.

Jonathan And Leigh
*Sandy Roepken - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Dulcimer
*Jonathan Alden - Vocals, Guitars
*Warren Smith - Drums
*William Salter - Bass
With
*Vinnie Bell - Electric Guitar
*Jay Berliner - Electric Guitar
*Richard Davis - Bass
*Russ Savakus - Bass

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rep>>> Taj Mahal ‎- Giant Step • De Ole Folks At Home (1969 us, magnificent electric acousttic blues folk, 2017 japan remaster)

Along with Ry Cooder, Taj was a founder of the legendary Rising Sons, and went on to release two stripped down delta-blues classics in 1968. Giant Step, released concurrently with a raw collection of solo recordings called De Ole Folks At Home in 1969, would be his third, and personal favorite to many.  It’s the title track’s delicate, sparse mood I can’t stuff in my head enough. Taj transforms the Monkees hit, composed by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, into a relaxed and gorgeous rural roamer – his muddy vox rolls all over the changes, miles beyond blues. And though Giant Step isn’t completely free of the old I-IV-V, just let the feedback harmonica moan from Give Your Woman What She Wants hook you in, the toe-tapping Cajun feel to You’re Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond take you along, and overpowered drive of Six Days On The Road stamp it down, then see who cares about chord progressions anymore.

The most fun comes from inventive production touches: childish piano tittering on Good Morning Little School Girl, metronomic banjo rapping on Farther On Down The Road (one of two originals on the record and an easy classic), ace country guitar leads all throughout provided by Jesse Ed Davis, here accompanying Taj for the third and final record before embarking on his own solo career (releasing three solid records and sessioning with plenty of the greats). The final track, Bacon Fat, is a pretty standard blues originally penned by The Band, and here mostly a drawn out jam affording everbody last licks.

The album is actually 2 in 1, accompanied with De Ole Folks At Home, an acoustic solo set with Taj providing old-time steel-body slide picking, clawhammer banjo, harp, and hambone on traditional and classic numbers like Cluck Old Hen and Fishing Blues, as well as several originals. It’s like pulling up a hot seat on Taj’s front porch, who would pass? An excellent pairing, this record is essential on its own and along with Giant Step you can’t refuse. Downhome grooves, raw authentic performances, a plain fun record that got me rethinking the blues. “Take a giant step outside your mind.”

by Brendan McGrath, September 2nd, 2009 

Tracks
1. Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie Anymo' (Jesse Ed Davis, Taj Mahal, Chuck Blackwell, Gary Gilmore) - 1:04
2. Take A Giant Step (Carole King, Gerry Goffin) - 4:18
3. Give Your Woman What She Wants (Joel Hirschhorn, Taj Mahal) - 2:32
4. Good Morning Little School Girl (Bob Love, Don Level) - 3:46
5. You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond (Buffy Sainte Marie) - 4:59
6. Six Days On The Road (Carl Montgomery, Earl Green) - 3:03
7. Farther On Down The Road (You Will Accompany Me) (Jesse Ed Davis, Taj Mahal, Chuck Blackwell, Gary Gilmore) - 4:41
8. Keep Your Hands Off Her (Huddie Ledbetter) - 2:17
9. Bacon Fat (Garth Hudson, Robbie Robertson) - 6:47
10.Linin' (Huddie Ledbetter) - 1:43
11.Country Blues #1 (Taj Mahal) - 2:40
12.Wild Ox Moan (Ruby Pickens Tartt, Vera Hall) - 2:48
13.Light Rain Blues (Taj Mahal) - 3:24
14.A Little Soulful Tune (Taj Mahal) - 2:40
15.Candy Man (Rev. Gary Davis) - 2:58
16.Cluck Old Hen (Taj Mahal) - 2:34
17.Colored Aristocracy (Taj Mahal) - 2:08
18.Blind Boy Rag (Taj Mahal) - 4:14
19.Stagger Lee (Harold Logan, Lloyd Price) - 3:26
20.Cajun Tune (Taj Mahal) - 1:59
21.Fishin' Blues (Henry Thomas, Jay Mayo "Ink" Williams) - 3:11
22.Annie's Lover (Taj Mahal) - 3:34

Personnel
*Taj Mahal - Vocals, Harmonica, Banjo, Acoustic Guitar
*Jesse Ed Davis - Electric, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Organ
*Chuck Blackwell - Drums
*Gary Gilmore - Bass

1968  Taj Mahal - Taj Mahal (2017 japan reissue) 
1968  Taj Mahal - The Natch'l Blues (remastered with bonus tracks) 
Related Act
1970  Jesse Davis (japan edition)
1972  Ululu (2003 japan HDCD remaster)
1973  Jesse Ed Davis - Keep Me Comin' (Japan 2017) 

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rep>>> Bonnie Dobson - Bonnie Dobson (1969 canada, divine baroque folk psych, 2006 remaster)

Bonnie Dobson Had already acquired legendary; status by the time she recorded this, her eponymous album in 1969. In the ten years since she wrote it, her song "Morning Dew" had long taken on a life of its own and flown far beyond the cafes of Greenwich Village, where the era's emergent troubadours turned out to see her play. Joan Baez may have taken inspiration from Bob Dylan; but Dylan dug Dobson the flame-haired Canuck who had toured with Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee. He even turned out to see her at Gerde's Folk City, using her arrangement of "The Ballad Of Peter Amberly" for his own "Ballad Of Donald White". Fred Neil unleashed his wild fret board mercury on "Morning Dew", in the process creating an arrangement that Tim Rose took and turned into his signature song.

By the time Dobson got around to putting this collection of songs together, The Grateful Dead had also recorded "Morning Dew" for their debut album. It made sense for her to reclaim it. Hence the appearance of Dobson's most famous tune, re recorded for her first album in five years, with Ben McPeek's elegant strings rising with the threat of imminent devastation. "When I saw a film called On The Beach," she said, explaining the song's genesis, "it made a tremendous impression on me, particularly at that time because everyone was very worried about the bomb and whether we were going to get through the next ten years. I was singing in Los Angeles and staying with a girl named Joyce. She went to bed or something and I just say and suddenly I just started writing this song. I had never written anything in my life. Really it was a kind of re-enactment of that film in a way where at the end, there is nobody left and it was a conversation between these two people trying to explain what's happening."

Reconfigured by producer Jack Richardson for a world in which folk had forged myriad tributaries into pop and rock, Bonnie Dobson never sounded better than she does here. In what amounted to a soft-rock setting, her new songs held their own magnificently. "Rainy Windows" is a pensive itinerant's paean to heartbreak in the windy city: "Chicago seen through rainy windows/Always makes me wanna cry."

 "I'm Your Woman" ventures more emotional uncertainty before giving way to a baroque pop sunburst. Less than twenty seconds into "Winter's Going", a sitar serves notice of its arrival with soft, strident chords of portent. Dobson steers a straight course through her own paean to the decay of nature and, with it, romance while the inspired arrangement envelopes her It isn't difficult to see why RCA saw manifold pop possibilities in Dobson's return. Her cut-glass tones made the sort of sublime sense that calls to mind similar practitioners of the art: Eclection's Kerrilee Male, The Sunshine Company's Mary Nance.

In terms of releasing a single from the album, "I Got Stung" picked itself. Framed by tumbling drums, bonkers strings and dive-bar piano, this potent dose of woman scorned was none the worse for its passing resemblance to "He Quit Me", the song written by a then-unknown Warren Zevon and sung by Leslie Miller for the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack. Also featured on that soundtrack, of course, was Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'" a song Dobson would have known through her association with its writer Fred Neil. Thanks to its bustling rhythmic clatter, her version on the song here has long been a bona fide "results" record for clued-up DJs.

If "Morning Dew" instantly established Dobson as a songwriter, it does no harm to reiterate her credentials as a fine interpreter of other people's material. Her version of Jackson C Frank's "You Never Wanted Me" radiates warm empathy. No less arresting are Dobson's versions of J P Bourtavie and Hal Shape's "Time", the sort of fragrant pop chanson that loaf-haired lovelies of the French-speaking countries used to sing on '60s Eurovision Song Contests. Better still is Gilles Vigneault's "Pendant Que", an exquisite study in autumnal sadness piloted from floral harpsichord intro to sitar freakout in exactly three minutes.

Thirty-seven years on, Dobson's own ambivalent feelings towards the album may be informed by the fact that, ultimately these songs, offered no new commercial dawn for her. Of Richardson's opulent production, she says, "I suppose that's what I wanted [at the time]". But by the time Bonnie Dobson made its way into the world, the pop climate was already getting hostile to soft rock, no matter what the pedigree of its creator. Dobson herself raised her kids and settled down in London where she became head administrator in the Philosophy department at the University Of London's Birkbeck College. Thanks to that one song, her place in the corpus of popular music is assured. Bonnie Dobson gives you eleven more reasons to keep her name alive.

by Pete Paphides, London August 2006

Tracks
1. I Got Stung - 2:57
2. Morning Dew - 3:20
3. Let's Get Together (Dino Valenti) - 3:08
4. I'm Your Woman - 3:00
5. Time (Hal Shaper, Jean Pierre Bourtayre) - 3:09
6. Rainy Windows - 2:40
7. Everybody's Talking (Fred Neil) - 3:26
8. Bird Of Space (Ben McPeek) - 2:50
9. You Never Wanted Me (Jackwon Carey Frank) - 3:11
10.Pendant Que (Gilles Vigneault) - 3:01
11.Elevator Man (Chad Allan) - 2:53
12.Winter's Going - 2:41
All compositions by Bonnie Dobson except where indicated

Bonnie Dobson - Guitar, Vocals

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rep>>> Bare Sole - Flash (1969 uk, spectacular garage psych heavy blues rock, 2015 mastered from the original tapes)

Bare Sole had been formed in 1969 from the ashes of another local beat outfit, The Combine, headed by lead guitarist Richie Foster, drummer Ron Newlove and Dave George on rhythm guitar. Richie Foster and Ron Newlove had emigrated from an early sixties band called The Mariners who at one point featured a young Mick Ronson (ironically, Ronson was balancing a day job as a local council gardener and up-andcoming guitarist). However, both Foster and Newlove's involvement in the evolving line-up of the band was short-lived and by 1968 were going out under the name of The Combine. Playing a strict diet of chart and Motown cover material, the band were joined by Brian Harrison on bass guitar leading to the eventual line-up of and change of name to Bare Sole. 

A steady stream of gigs and capable and enthusiastic management gave the band a selection of impressive support slots with visiting headline acts such as The Move, Status Quo, Family and the Small Faces (at this stage, fronted by Rod Stewart). Venues such as The Bridlington Spa and Skyline Ballroom proved a valuable platform on which to show the visiting bands what Hull had to offer. Confidence for the band and their manager grew after several complimentary returns from the bigger bands and studio time was eventually arranged at Fairview studios. The band's manager even brought  in the talents of a Jamaican songwriter Ira George Green who would compose Woman-a-Come for the band. The song's popularity within the band earned it a second version with Fairview's Keith Herd applying a dominant organ backing as he would with the R&B workout Ain't Nobody Here. Songs such as Jungle Beat and Flash illustrated Bare Sole's taste for fuzz and wah-wah pedals impeccably and was thankfully, nothing short of indulgent. Let's Communicate displayed the loose structure of the band's approach and attitude that seemed to mirror those of acts found across the pond, in particular The Litter and Country Joe and The Fish. 

The overall result of their brief session at Fairview and thus their entire recorded history is marked by an arrogant contempt for anything current and progressive, an attitude that can be easily forgiven for it's youthful drive and enthusiasm. Jungle Beat in particular captures the band at its most energetic and anarchic best with overdriven fuzz leads and an exceptionally enthusiastic Ron Newlove on drums. The only sadness being in all this, is that none of the recordings were ever committed to vinyl at the time or even made it out of Hull and in particular, Fairview studios. The band's manager endeavoured to push the band and help to secure a record deal sending a demo tape to Decca records in London.

Unfortunately, the band were denied an audition for the label which by 1 970 was unwilling to invest in a band that clearly had no intentions of keeping up with the changing music fashions of progressive London. Their sound was possibly too raw and primitive for the sophistication of Decca's fancy West Hampstead studios or that of De Lane Lea. Immediately before their tape was returned, the band were packing their bags for a tour of American air bases in West Germany, but as well as a rejected demo, drummer Ron Newlove was about to marry his long-term girlfriend which ultimately led to his decision to quit the band during the tour. Newlove and the band returned dismayed and after a brief and fruitless existence with a newly recruited drummer, the remaining members of Bare Sole inevitably split up and returned to their day jobs in mid-1970.

Although Bare Sole had lasted just over a year, they had narrowly carved themselves into the history books thanks to the Fairview recording session in 1969 and the survival of it. Keith Herd had the foresight to hold onto the original tapes and managed to salvage most of them from further deterioration 39 years later! This celebratory edition of Bare Sole's brief recorded legacy brings to life their music and concludes another chapter in the history of British popular music. As well as this vinyl spotlight, Bare Sole have also surfaced on Front Room Masters, a double-CD archival set of 42 tracks recorded at Fairview studios from 1966-1973. Their notoriety has been further documented in the British Music Archive alongside other Hull and East Riding bands such as The Mandrakes, Rats, Gospel Garden and Roger Blooms Hammer together with numerous nationwide acts.

by Greg Smith (British Music Archive) 2015 Very special thanks to: Keith Herd, Ron Newlove, Richard Foster, Dave George and Brian Harrison (RIP).

Tracks
1. Let's Communicate - 4:49
2. Flash - 4:27
3. Woman A Come (Ira George Green) - 3:19
4. Ain't Nobody Here - 2:08
5. Jungle Beat - 4:22
6. Sole Blues - 5:08
7. Woman A Come (Version 2) (Ira George Green) - 2:21
All songs by Richard Foster, Dave George, Brian Harrison, Ron Newlove except where stated

Bare Sole
*Richard Foster - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
*Dave George - Lead Guitar
*Brian Harrison - Bass
*Ron Newlove - Drums

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rep>>> Timebox - Beggin' (1967-69 uk, marvelous mod beat blue eyed soul, 2008 release)

Timebox Beggin' album comprising essentially intelligent, genre-bending late '60s British Pop laced with a surreal sense of humor and regular flashes of maverick unpredictability. Mod Jazz/Pop outings and Blue Eyed Soul populate the first half of our complete overview, with Psychedelic nuggets and blasts of proto-Hard Rock (plus a few that defy categorization) inflecting the second - and all recorded within a two year span, with much of it unreleased at the time.

Timebox originally started at an art college in Southport when Peter Halsall, Clive Griffiths and Chris Holmes decided to swap their art for music. After trying out several vocalists, all of whom proved unsuitable, John Gee, manager of London’s famous Marquee Club, recommended, Mike Patto who was singing with the London Youth Jam Orchestra, a 24-piece big band at the club. Supposedly, Mike was asked to join the group after a jam session at the Playboy Club. Mike accepted the offer and started working with the band in mid 1967. They quickly became know as a "groups group", and their stage act garnered admiration from many of their contemporary musicians, who for obvious reasons are always the hardest to impress. This alone should attest to the musical skill and unique sound of the band's live performances.

In 1970 Patto was formed consisting of the remaining members of TimeBox, Mike Patto (vocals), John Halsey (drums), Ollie Halsall (guitars and vibes), and Clive Griffiths (bass), and was signed to the newly formed Vertigo label, they recorded their first album live in studio with producer Muff Winwood.

This release is actually quite similar in content to the 1998 collection The Deram Anthology, but with a crucial difference. Unlike that previous release, this includes both sides of their first two singles (both done for the Piccadilly label before they moved to Deram); the only track it's missing from The Deram Anthology is a cover of "Misty." It thus replaces The Deram Anthology as the most comprehensive Timebox compilation, including both sides of all seven of their singles, as well as a good 13 tracks that were unreleased in the '60s (though all of those previously appeared on The Deram Anthology).

The four Piccadilly cuts, unsurprisingly, are more oriented toward straight R&B-soul than their later work on Deram, including a blue-eyed soul number ("I'll Always Love You") and three instrumentals (among them a cover of Dizzy Gillespie's "Soul Sauce") with elements of soul, blues, Latin, and ska.

The other recordings show them, like many late-'60s British bands with similar roots evolving from soul-R&B roots to more progressive sounds that, if not quite all-out psychedelic, certainly showed the influence of the psychedelic era.

For all their reputation among audiences of the time and some collectors, none of this showed them making a leap to the fore as innovators in the way bands like, say, Procol Harum and Traffic with somewhat similar roots did. Their forte was heartfelt, wistful, blue-eyed soul-pop ballads; an attempt at Kinks-like whimsy ("Eddie McHenry") didn't work well, and their moves into harder rock-influenced directions weren't married to very memorable material.

That makes Timebox a talented but marginal part of the late-'60s British rock scene, but certainly there's never going to be more thorough documentation of their recordings than this anthology. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. I Wish I Could Jerk Like My Uncle Cyril (Ollie Halsall, Clive Griffiths, Chris Holmes, Kevan Fogarty, Ronnie Verrell) - 2:04
2. I'll Always Love You (William Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter) - 2:58
3. Soul Saucen (Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo) - 2:58
4. Waiting For The End - 2:23
5. Save Your Love (John Schroeder, Alan Tew) - 2:39
6. Your Real Good Thing's About To Come To An End (David Porter, Isaac Hayes) - 3:11
7. Come On Up (Felix Caveliere)- 3:08
8. A Woman That's Waiting (Mike Patto, Ivan Zagni) - 2:57
9. Beggin' (Peggy Farina, Bob Gaudio) - 2:50
10.Walking Through The Streets Of My Mind (Vic Millrose, David Hess) - 2:51
11.Don't Make Promises (Tim Hardin) -  3:11
12.Girl, Don't Make Me Wait (Leon Huff) - 2:33
13.Leave Me To Cry - 3:18
14.Gone Is The Sad Man - 3:45
15.Eddie McHenry - 2:46
16.Barnabus Swain - 2:49
17.Baked Jam Roll In Your Eye - 3:23
18.Poor Little Heartbreaker - 2:45
19.Stay There - 2:50
20.Country Dan And City Lil (Ollie Halsall) - 2:17
21.Love The Girl - 2:21
22.Tree House - 2:55
23.You've Got The Chance - 3:52
24.Black Dog - 3:01
25.Yellwo Van - 2:51
26.Promises - 2:06
27.Timebox - 3:13
All songs by Mike Patto, Ollie Halsall unless otherwise written.

Timebox

*Chris Holmes - Keyboards

*Clive Griffiths - Bass

*Ollie Halsall - Guitar, Vibes, Vocal, Sitar

*John Halsey - Drums, Percussion (Tracks 4,6-9,11,12,14,17-27)

*Mike Patto - Lead Vocals (Tracks 4,6-9,11,12,14,17-27)

*Kevan Fogarty - Guitar (Tracks 1,2,3,5,10)

*Ronnie Verrell - Drums (Tracks 1,3)

*Jeff Dean - Drums (Tracks 2,5)

*John Henry - Vocals (Tracks 2,5)

*Laurie Jay - Drums (Track 10)

With

*Kiki Dee - Backing Vocals (Track 9)

*Johnny Goodison - High Vocals (Track 8)

Related Acts

1970  Patto - Patto (2010 japan SHM remaster)

1971  Patto - Hold Your Fire (2011 Japan SHM)

1972  Patto - Roll 'Em Smoke 'Em Put Another Line Out (2011 Flawed Gems)

1973  Patto - Monkey's Bum

1975  Boxer - Below The Belt (2012 remaster)  

1976  Boxer - Bloodletting (2012 remaster)  

1977  Boxer - Absolutely (2015 reissue)

1974  Tempest - Tempest (2011 remater)
1973-74  Tempest - In Concert (2013 release)

1973-75  Tempest - Under The Blossom The Anthology (2005 double disc set)

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rep>>> Jesse Ed Davis - Keep Me Comin' (1973 us, singular melt of electrified blues, Southern fried rocked up r'n'b, greasy funk, freaky soul jazz and country rock, Japan 2017)

Charismatic Jesse Ed Davis was truly one of the rare breed known as a “guitarist’s guitarist.” On session after session in the late 1960s and 1970s, he epitomized the concept of playing for the song, drawing deeply from country, blues, rock, and R&B influences without mimicking anyone. He recorded with three of the Beatles and blues giants John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Albert King. He appeared in the film Concert for Bangladesh and played sessions with Eric Clapton, Gene Clark, Neil Diamond, John Trudell, and many others. He released three solo albums on major labels. And yet despite these accomplishments, Jesse Ed Davis remains best known for his work on the early Taj Mahal albums and for being “the guy who inspired Duane Allman to play slide guitar.”

True, Jesse created the signature riff used by Duane for the Allman Brothers Band’s “Statesboro Blues,” as well as the bottleneck on Eric Clapton’s “Hello Old Friend.” But slide was just one facet of Davis’ widespread talent. He created many memorable hooks. Playing fingers-and-pick country on his trademark Telecaster, he could fire off multiple-string bends and double-stops as naturally as a Nashville cat. In blues settings, he made every note count, like a B.B. King or Mike Bloomfield. He delved into jazz. His uncanny feel for rock led to his becoming John Lennon’s guitarist of choice for the Rock ’n’ Roll album.

With his handsome features, long black hair, and moddish clothes, Davis cut a dashing figure onstage. He was one of very few Native Americans to achieve prominence in pop music, and today, almost three decades after his untimely death, he’s regarded as a hero by many young Native Americans.

Early in 1973, Jesse played guitar and sang backup on Bryan Ferry’s These Foolish Things, featuring many Roxy Music alumni, and joined a star-studded cast for Rod Taylor’s self-titled release on Asylum. He next played on Arlo Guthrie’s The Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys, which also featured Ry Cooder and Clarence White. He also released his third and final solo album, the self-produced Keep Me Comin’, which was devoid of guest stars. Instead, Davis relied on studio stalwarts – drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Bob Glaub, and keyboardist James Gordon. He co-composed four of the songs with John Angelo, calling his “Who Pulled the Plug” one of “the great Okie classics.”

Jesse Davis spent his final days living in Long Beach, California, where he sometimes counseled at the American Indian Free Clinic. On June 22, 1988, he was found dead in a laundry room in Venice, California, reportedly of a heroin overdose. His body was returned to Oklahoma for a traditional Comanche burial. In 1998, his first two solo albums were issued on CD by Warner/Japan.

In 2002, Jesse Ed Davis was inducted along with Dave Brubeck and Patti Page into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. “Whether it was blues, country, or rock,” stated the official citation, “Davis’ tasteful guitar playing was featured on albums by such giants as Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, John Lennon, and John Lee Hooker, among others.” For a kid who used to imitate Elvis in front of a mirror, Jesse Ed Davis had truly come a long way.

by Jas Obrecht

Tracks
1. Big Dipper - 1:41
2. She's A Pain (Jesse Davis, John Angelos) - 2:52
3. Where Am I Now (When I Need Me) (Jesse Davis, John Angelos) - 3:16
4. Natural Anthem - 5:37
5. Who Pulled The Plug? (John Angelos) - 5:02
6. Ching Ching China Boy (Jesse Davis, John Angelos) - 2:57
7. Bacon Fat (Andre Williams) - 4:32
8. No Diga Mas (James Gordon) - 0:44
9. 6:00 Bugalu - 6:01
10.Keep Me Comin' (Jesse Davis, John Angelos) - 4:06
Songs 1,4,9 written by Jesse Davis 

Personnel
*Jesse Ed Davis - Guitar, Vocals
*John Angelos - Harmonica, Vocals
*Gary Barone - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
*George Bohannon - Trombone
*Bobby Bruce - Fiddle, Violin
*Billy Davis - Vocals
*Oma Drake - Vocals
*Jacques Ellis - Trombone
*Felix "Flaco" Falcon - Percussion
*Bob Glaub - Bass
*James Gordon - Clavinet, Keyboards, Piano
*Howard E. Johnson - Baritone Sax
*Jerry Jumonville - Alto Sax
*Jim Keltner - Drums
*Chris ODell - Vocals
*Bill Plummer - Double Bass
*Russell Saunkeah - Vocals
*Clifford Scott - Tenor Sax
*John Smith - Tenor Sax
*Julie Tillman - Vocals
*Bobby Torres - Congas
*Carolyn Willis - Vocals

1970  Jesse Davis (japan edition)
1972  Ululu (2003 japan HDCD remaster)

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rep>>> Horse - For Twisted Minds Only (1970-71 uk, outstanding heavy psych rock, 2016 remaster and expanded)

Horse was formed in South London during the late sixties. They created occult influenced progressive hard rock that was ahead of its time. Guitarist Rod Roach had briefly played in an incarnation of British psych-rock legends Andromeda before forming Horse with other key member, vocalist Adrian Hawkins. Alongside bassist Colin Standring, the band also featured legendary drummer Ric Parnell, later of Atomic Rooster (amongst many others) and future star of This is Spinal Tap (aka Mick Shrimpton)! The obscure rockers have been a favorite among collectors for many years. For Twisted Minds Only is an album long overdue for an official reissue. 

Recorded in 1969, originally released in 1970 and bootlegged countless times from scratchy vinyl transfers, Rise Above Relics is now finally presenting this detailed release mastered and cut directly from the original master tapes. Featuring a treasure trove of previously unheard/unreleased material, For Twisted Minds Only is certain to have connoisseurs and collectors of the period frothing at the bit. This long classic gallops out of the gate with the psychedelic “The Sacrifice” that could feel at home on a Jefferson Airplane album from the era. With its bloody chorus and the equally creepy second track “See The People Creeping Round” we can see how this Horse might be an acquired taste.

by Rich and Laura Lynch

Tracks
1. The Sacrifice - 6:17
2. See The People Creeping Round - 4:25
3. And I Have Loved You - 3:13
4. Freedom Rider - 3:20
5. Lost Control - 2:26
6. To Greet The Sun - 4:06
7. The Journey - 3:56
8. Heat Of The Summer - 4:04
9. Gypsy Queen - 2:54
10.Step Out Of Line - 4:24
11.Autumn - 3:52
12.Winchester Town-Dreams Turn To Ashes - 4:15
13.Born To Be Wild - 6:48
14.Picture Of Innocence - 2:53
15.She Brings Peace - Original Version - 5:44
16.Anthems Of The Sea - 3:28
All songs by Adrian Hawkins, Road Roach

The Horse
*Rod Roach - Guitar
*Adrian Hawkins - Vocals
*Colin Standring - Bass
*Ric Parnell - Drums
With
*Jess Liddiard - Drums (Tracks 13,14)
*Steve Holley - Drums(Tracks 15,16)

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