Originally recorded in 1969, Peppermint Records presents the previously lost Glass Harp album 'Where Did My World Come From?' for the first time officially released. Although only two songs ('Where Did My World Come From,' and 'She Told Me') were ever released in their time, the rest of the recordings have been bootlegged and circulated for years, though none of these were transferred from the original masters. Now, the staff of Peppermint issues these recordings officially for the first time from the original masters! Assumed to be lost for good, Glass Harp's guitarist and vocalist Phill Keaggy accidentally stumbled upon the box with the masters when looking for tapes for another project.
Glass Harp's dynamic range and energetic performances in their music takes the listener on an emotional journey through the delicate acoustic ballads to the more driving rock songs. 'Where Did My World Come From?' is a quintessential example of Glass Harp's ability to blend technical skill with emotional depth, making it a standout in their discography. This out of this world psychedelic rock album is an absolute must-have.
Tracks
1. Where Did My World Come From? - 3:16
2. She Told Me - 4:37
3. High Flight - 4:14
4. Save Me - 6:37
5. Groovin' With Sammy - 3:19
6. Eleanor Rigby - 7:04
7. You Do Something - 4:02
8. I've Just Begun - 2:54
9. What You're Doing - 3:49
Tracks 1,3,8 written by Phil Keaggy
Tracks 2,4,5,7 written by Phil Keaggy, John Sferra, Steve Markulin
They might not be a household name, but July is a band you ought to know. The U.K. psych-rockers have garnered a cult following since the release of their self-titled 1968 record. Original mono copies sell for more than three grand online, but its not just the scarcity and desirability of the album that raises eyebrows; it's the high quality of the music. Though their singles may not have charted back in the day, the five-piece Ealing-based group is still considered by psych-rock enthusiasts to be one of the unsung heroes of the genre.
Well, listeners no longer have to shell out big bucks to hear this or any other July album. The Grapefruit label recently released a career-spanning box set - July: The Complete Recordings - that tells the whole story of the band, from 1968 to the present.
July formed from the ashes of The Dreamers, one of many smaller groups that emerged during the British Invasion. After another British band, Freddie and The Dreamers, made it big, they rechristened themselves The Tomcats. The original Tomcats featured vocalist-guitarist Tom Newman, lead guitarist Peter Cook, bassist Alan James, and drummer Chris Jackson. A lineup change found them joining forces with members of another rock group, Second Thoughts. That group featured Jon Field on flute, keyboards, and percussion, Tony Duhig on guitar, Patrick Cambell-Lyons on vocals, and others. When Second Thoughts split, Duhig and Field joined up with Newman, James, and Jackson to form a new iteration of The Tomcats. This would later become the first lineup of July.
The Tomcats enjoyed some success in Spain with a blend of R&B and rock, but Newman and Cook eventually made their way back to London and wrote new material that embraced the psych-rock sound. They recorded demos and found a new label in Major-Minor and a new manager in Spencer Davis. July was recorded with the label's staff producer Tommy Scott and engineer Mike Ross overseeing. The 12-song effort was released in 1968 and the rest, as they say, was history.
The 6-CD box set July: The Complete Recordings tracks the band's entire six-decade history, bringing together all their releases in one package for the first time ever, newly remastered and presented in a deluxe clamshell package with an impressive 36-page booklet. The historic photos and new liner notes by David Wells, including new interviews with band members, provide unprecedented insight into the history of July. And that's before we get to the impressive selection of music!
CD 1 features that cult classic in its original mono mix along with single edits of album cuts "My Clown," "Dandelion Seeds," plus the non-album A-side "Hello, Who's There" and its B-side, a longer, looser re-recording of the album cut "The Way." CD 2 features the 12-track album in stereo. This mix is a bit of an anomaly as it was originally only available in the U.S. on the Epic label. Epic had re-EQ'd the mono mix to build a faux-stereo version that to this day sparks controversy among fans. It's been enhanced for this set to a much better result. The songs are often heavier than most psych-pop that made it to the charts, Indian-inspired, and full of reverb and tape trickery that would make more well-known bands jealous.
As Tom Newman remembers in the liner notes, "We used two four-track machines and bounced tracks from one to another, the same way that Sgt. Pepper was made. I was already making tape loops by then fifty-foot long going right 'round the room, so I got very interested in multi-track facilities. Tommy and the engineer [Mike Ross] were also into making their own Sgt. Pepper with freaky recordings techniques." Alan James recalled one such incident during the recording of "You Missed It All": "Mike Ross was...trying to show us how to get white noise by hanging a microphone out of the window. It was fairly early in the morning on a Sunday, and so the back streets were fairly quiet. Suddenly, though, someone got out of his car and slammed the door very loudly. Mike told us we'd have to take it out, but we just said, "No, leave it in." It's this sense of adventure - not to mention the quality of the songwriting - that makes it an enduring album that's worthy of all the accolades it's received in the decades since.
Many sets would stop there with the first album but, typical of the label, Grapefruit has gone several steps further to present proves there's more to the story than their eponymous effort. The third CD presents all the tracks from a 1995 compilation called The Second of July. The fourteen tracks are made up of those historic demos by Newman and Cook which have been augmented slightly, mainly with drums. Here, we witness the duo trying out wild psychedelic ideas from inside various flats in Ealing. Though it's obviously a do-it-yourself affair, these songs display a certain confidence in their material which is all the more intriguing considering the era in which they were created.
As David Wells points out in his liner notes, in 1967 many British bands were exploring improvisational forms. July, meanwhile, had tighter sets with constructed songs. "We played at The Roundhouse...with another up-and-coming band," reflected bassist Alan James. When they were packing up to leave, the MC implored them to return to the stage for another set. "He said, 'The audience don't like the band that's out there at the moment.' That happened to be Pink Floyd."
While their live sets alongside Jethro Tull, Spooky Tooth, and Roy Harper were well-received, some of the band members grew tired of the requirements of studio recording. "The whole recording session [for July] was an absolute nightmare," Jon Field said, quoted in the notes. "Nobody was relaxed, and the whole thing was done in such a rush. The producer, Tommy Scott, couldn't contribute to the music because he didn't understand it - there was no empathy at all." "We weren't allowed into the control room to listen to the takes," Newman stated. "It was the old Peter Sellers thing: 'Where the carpet starts, you stop.'"
Differences in artistic direction between the band and producer Scott came to a head during the recording of the Small Faces-esque "Hello, Who's There?" "They turned it into a joke recording," offered songwriter Peter Cook, recalling the put-on accents and production choices that certainly date the song. Worse, Tommy Scott's send-up that he'd so hoped would bring the band surefire chart action ended up stalling completely. July called it quits, with Field and Duhig forming Jade Warrior, as Newman, Jackson, and Cook reformed The Tomcats. Cook would go on to become a top luthier, while Newman would eventually convince his friend Richard Branson to start up the Virgin record label and also produce a number of Mike Oldfield albums.
It wasn't until decades later, as crate-digging psych fans rediscovered the album that they would begin to re-evaluate their legacy as July. Newman, James, Jackson, and Cook reconvened in 2009. After four decades, Cook professed that "the chemistry was still there, and everything kind of gelled... At that time I thought, well, I wasn't actually in July, so I've got to bring something to the party." He penned new tracks and recorded the material with Newman for an album that would be called Temporal Anomaly. Those previously unreleased 10 tracks mark the first inkling of July's return - though they were recorded under the Tomcats moniker - and are included on CD 4.
The whole band would eventually revisit the Temporal Anomaly material on a new fully-fledged July project aptly called Resurrection, which also featured material prepared by all four members. Finally released in 2013, and featured on this set on CD 5, the album was hailed as a triumphant return that blends classic psychedelic traits with a contemporary feel. A new version of the album's tongue-in-cheek, Beatles lyric-inspired "Can I Go Back Again" was released in 2016 as a non-album single. It's presented as a bonus track alongside Cook's original demo.
But while that track looks back, July has continued to move forward and their latest studio effort, The Wight Album, comprises the sixth and final disc of this career-spanning box set. Here, Newman and Cook pay tribute to their past, featuring songs by Jackson and James along with a clever use of guitar parts from 1968. Once again, July combines heavy guitars and familiar psych-rockisms with a decidedly contemporary production style. The world of recording has changed dramatically since 1968; for one, the band can be their own auteurs, and phasing and looping can be done in a click. July makes full use of a range of recording techniques, and they include one song that brings the effort full-circle.
In Cook's words: "Just when we thought [the album] was done and dusted...[Tom] called to ask if I remembered writing a song in 1967 called 'The Game'...It kind of rang a bell, but it was only when he sang it to me that it slowly came back. Tom couldn't remember the last verse or the tune for the middle-eight, but he thought we had to include it on the album in the spirit of '67. So, one new last verse and middle-eight later, we laid it down." It's a poetic way to tie the bow around July's history so far, bringing together songs and sounds from across their 50-year history.
by Sam Stone, September 14, 2020
Tracks
Disc 1 July (Mono) 1968
1. My Clown - 3:27
2. Dandelion Seeds - 4:32
3. Jolly Mary - 2:22
4. Hallo To Me - 3:01
5. You Missed It All - 2:53
6. The Way - 3:30
7. To Be Free - 2:51
8. Move On Sweet Flower - 3:28
9. Crying Is For Writers - 2:37
10.I See - 2:43
11.Friendly Man - 3:12
12.A Bird Lived - 2:40
13.My Clown - 3:17
14.Dandelion Seeds - 3:21
15.Hello, Who's There? - 3:12
16.The Way - 4:14
Tracks 1,3,7,10,11,12,13,15 written by Peter Cook
Tracks 2,4,5,6,8,14,16 written by Tom Newman
Track 9 written by Chris Jackson
Disc 2 July 1968 (Stereo)
1. My Clown - 3:28
2. Dandelion Seeds - 4:32
3. Jolly Mary - 2:23
4. Hallo To Me - 3:00
5. You Missed It All - 2:51
6. The Way - 3:21
7. To Be Free - 2:50
8. Move On Sweet Flower - 3:26
9. Crying Is For Writers - 2:36
10.I See - 2:43
11.Friendly Man - 3:12
12.A Bird Lived - 2:38
Tracks 1,3,7,10,11,12 written by Peter Cook
Tracks 2,4,5,6,8 written by Tom Newman
Track 9 written by Chris Jackson
Disc 3 The Second Of July 1969
1. You Missed It All - 1:57
2. My Clown - 2:30
3. Dandelion Seeds - 2:41
4. The Stamping Machine - 1:41
5. A Bird Lived - 1:52
6. Look At Her - 2:18
7. The Way - 2:02
8. Friendly Man - 2:02
9. I See - 2:24
10.The Girl In The Café - 1:57
11.You See Me I See You - 2:12
12.Man Outside - 3:29
13.Move On Sweet Flower - 2:11
14.Hallo To Me - 1:55
Tracks 1,3,4,6,7,10,11,12,13,14 written by Tom Newman
Tracks 2,5,8,9 written by Peter Cook
Disc 4 Temporal Anomaly 2010
1. I Like It - 4:38
2. If - 5:08
3. A Day To Remember - 4:28
4. All The Hours There Are - 3:07
5. Don't Let Me Down - 5:07
6. Magical Days - 3:02
7. Regeneration - 5:01
8. Dreams - 3:14
9. I'm Talking To You - 3:34
10.Lights - 5:27
All songs by Peter Cook except tracks 4,6 by Tom Newman
Disc 5 Resurrection 2013
1. Dreams - 5:02
2. I Like It - 4:35
3. Can I Go Back Again - 5:30
4. Counting The Minutes - 4:20
5. A Day To Remember - 3:44
6. King Bee - 4:24
7. All The Hours There Are - 3:08
8. I'm Talkin' To You - 3:42
9. Linear Thinking - 2:52
10.Heaven Or Hell - 4:06
11.Magical Days - 3:59
12.Regeneration - 4:20
13.Can I Go Back Again - 6:18
14.Can I Go Back Again - 5:42
All songs by Peter Cook except tracks 7,11 by Tom Newman
Disc 6 The Wight Album 2020
1. The Devil Inside - 3:11
2. Special Guy - 3:13
3. Sophie - 6:28
4. Animals - 4:16
5. We Are The Masters - 3:26
6. Love 'N' Love - 1:39
7. Protest Song - 4:03
8. Henry's Squirrel - 3:39
9. It's Up To Me - 3:11
10.Seeking The Hacksaw Blades - 4:40
11.Let Me - 5:01
12.Catchin' Up - 3:03
13.Mods Of Ryde - 2:26
14.The Game - 1:54
15.What's Gonna Be - 3:46
16.Disco Klingon - 3:00
17.It's A Fine Line - 2:05
18.Dancing - 0:26
19.Truth - 4:35
20.The Traveller - 3:29
21.Home - 5:58
22.Once When We Was Free - 3:37
23.Right Place, Wrong Time - 2:43
Tracks 1,2,4,5,9,11,14,15,18,19,21,23 written by Peter Cook
It has been quite a number of years since the last Shawn Phillips release. I remember seeing his album Second Contribution with him wearing a black cape facing away from the camera on a dry lake bed with cracked mud in the record store when it was released while I was in college. It fascinated me, but being on a tight student’s budget, I passed on it. Then when I moved to Houston in 1972, Shawn was hitting his stride and the local FM radio station KLOL gave him a lot of airplay. And over that decade, he established his presence. This new triple CD set presents nearly four hours of music from eight unreleased live performances between 1972 and 1978. 51 songs from his discography: Contribution, Second Contribution, Collaboration, Faces, Bright White, Furthermore, Rumplestiltskin’s Resolve, and Transcendence.
This set of live recordings covers most of these albums, and I am sure some die hard fans will lament that some songs did not make it, for example “Man Hole Covered Wagon,” but that is not a great loss as the majority of the well-known songs are here. Lovingly restored from the source tapes by Prof. Stoned - you should check out his blog, the sound quality is quite good overall. I saw Shawn perform live in February 1978 at the Houston Music Hall, but the performance unfortunately is not on this set. What I do remember is that Shawn played hard on both his acoustic and electric guitars, just like you will hear on Live in the Seventies. He also was a great story teller between songs, which sadly is not on this set. He enthralled his audiences, even on his most quiet of ballads. There is barely any audience chatter, except for some moments at the Texas Opry House in Houston. And Shawn was very appreciative of that. What we have here are several FM broadcasts - Majestic Theater in Dallas on April 4, 1973; The Nugget in Rochester, NY on April 10, 1972; Ivanhoe Theatre in Chicago on March 31, 1977, and Texas Opry House on December 11, 1978, some soundboard recordings - unknown venue in 1973; Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio on October 28, 1973: Municipal Auditorium in Austin on November 1, 1973; and The Forum in Inglewood on January 30, 1974. Despite the muffled sound on some of these old recordings, Shawn’s Texas drawl and crystal clear multi-octave vocals stand out. And you can tell that his various audiences loved every minute of each performance.
One thing does puzzle me though. John Williiams’ iconic five-note sequence from Close Encounters of the Third Kind was well known after its release on November 16, 1977. Yet when Shawn included the sequence in the intro to “Maestoso” a year later on December 11, 1978, the audience did not react. Very odd. Think Like a Key should be applauded for rejuvenating these performances and releasing them nearly 50 years later. Many of Shawn’s albums are out of print, so this set is an easy way to delve into his discography. And it is a wonderful companion to Shawn’s other live albums released between 2007 and 2009.
by Henry Schneider, Published 2022-08-10
Tracks
Disc 1
1. Lovely Lady - 4:24
2. We - 3:05
3. Lady Of The Blue Rose - 5:16
4. Landscape - 4:11
5. Hey Miss Lonely - 3:02
6. Springwind - 7:31
7. Coming Down Soft & Easy - 6:22
8. Planned "O" - 7:19
9. Never Did Go Down To Baltimore - 2:10
10.Dream Queen - 4:13
11.Screamer For Phlyses - 5:29
12.Steel Eyes - 4:42
13.Song For Sagittarians - 3:49
14.Whaz' Zat? - 1:52
15.Schmaltz Waltz - 2:28
16.Spaceman - 4:40
17.Song For Northern Ireland - 2:09
18.Cape Barras (Shawn Phillips, J. Peter Robinson) - 4:52
Words and Music by Shawn Phillips except track #18
Tracks 1-10 KAFM radio broadcast at Majestic Theater, Dallas TX, April 4th 1973
Tracks 11-15 WCMF radio broadcast The Nugget, Rochester NY, April 10th 1972
Tracks 16-18 unknown venue, Texas 1973
Disc 2
1. Starbright - 3:01
2. Breakthrough - 5:33
3. Technotronic Lad - 2:48
4. All The Kings And Castles - 4:43
5. Victoria Emmanuele - 4:33
6. Not Quite Nonsense - 2:37
7. Troof - 4:21
8. Talking In The Garden - 9:38
9. Anello - Where Are You - 3:11
10.I Took A Walk - 6:04
11.Woman - 6:06
12.Keep On - 2:30
13.Sleepwalker - 3:49
14.Song For Mr. C - 5:44
15.Furthermore (Shawn Phillips, J. Peter Robinson) - 2:13
16.January First (Shawn Phillips, J. Peter Robinson) - 4:18
17.Bright White - 3:13
Lyrics and Music by Shawn Phillips except tracks #15,16
Tracks 1-5 Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio TX, October 28th 1973
Tracks 6-11 Municipal Auditorium, Austin TX, November 1st 1973
Tracks 15-17 The Forum, Inglewood CA, January 30th 1974
Disc 3
1. Moonshine / Big Boos Man (Shawn Phillips / Luther Dixon, Al Smith) - 6:29
2. Ballad Of Casey Deiss - 6:52
3. Serendipity Peace - 3:53
4. What's Happenin' Jim - 3:53
5. Today - 6:38
6. Early Morning Hours - 5:53
7. Memories For Jh - 2:25
8. Lookin' Up, Lookin' Down - 4:14
9. Good Evening Madam - 2:09
10.Take It Easy - 4:40
11.Lady In Violet - 4:56
12.Implications - 4:47
13.Motes Of Dust - 7:00
14.Julia's Letters - 3:06
15.Maestoso - 4:17
16.Ease Your Mind (Michael Kamen) - 6:24
All songs by Shawn Phillips except where noted
Tracks 1-7 WXRT radio broadcast, Ivanhoe Theatre, Chicago IL, March 31st 1977
Tracks 8-16 FM radio broadcast, ITexas Opry House, Houston TX, December 11th 1978
Not as random as it might first appear, this five-disc set joins the Feelgoods’ timeline with the Canvey Island band on the verge of major changes. Sneakin’ Suspicion was the band’s fourth release, and the last to feature guitar-toting figurehead Wilko Johnson, soon to be sacked (in ill-judged haste, considering his role as Feelgood’s sole writer).
It’s a state of affairs born out by the 1977 album’s reliance on covers, with the title track arguably the only original to meet the benchmark set by previous material. Be Seeing You, released later the same year with new strummer John Mayo, found them tapping old friends Larry Wallis and producer Nick Lowe for new songs, while reworked 60s soul hits (Wilson Pickett, Homer Banks) suggested an at least partial detour from their pub-rock roots.
All but three tracks on Let It Roll (1979) were written specifically for the album, on which various permutations of members collaborated with session player Pete Wingfield and producer Mike Vernon, most effectively on the near hit single Put Him Out Of Your Mind, but it was a relatively underwhelming collection.
They were back on track for 1980’s high-octane A Case Of The Shakes, with Lowe again producing and singer Lee Brilleaux writing with more confidence on Punch Drunk and Drives Me Wild. That album was the furthest they’d escape Johnson’s long shadow.
And as if to underline the lessening dependence on their erstwhile founder, 1981’s live release On The Job completely ignores the Wilko-era songs that were hitherto the backbone of any Feelgoods set list. It would, however, be Mayo’s last outing and mark the end of the group’s long deal with label United Artists, the law of diminishing returns heralding their final days as a force with which to be reckoned.
by Terry Staunton, 21 December 2016
Tracks
Disc 1 Sneakin' Suspicion 1977
1. Sneakin' Suspicion - 3:55
2. Paradise - 4:06
3. Nothin' Shakin' - But The Leaves On The Trees (Cirino Colacrai, Diane Lampert, Eddie Fontaine, John Gluck Jr.) - 3:29
4. Time And The Devil - 3:01
5. Lights Out (Mac Rebennack, Seth David) - 1:55
6. Lucky Seven (Lew Lewis) - 2:48
7. All My Love - 3:50
8. You'll Be Mine (Willie Dixon) - 3:21
9. Walking On The Edge - 3:42
10.Hey Mama Keep Your Mouth Shut (Ellas McDaniel) - 3:57
All songs by Wilko Johnson unless as else written
Disc 2 Be Seeing You 1977
1. Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won't Do) (Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper, Wilson Pickett) - 3:09
2. She's A Windup (John Mayo, Big Figure, John B. Sparks, Lee Brilleaux) - 2:00
3. I Thought I Had It Made (John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux) - 2:16
4. I Don't Wanna Know (John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux) - 2:42
5. That's It, I Quit (Nick Lowe) - 2:35
6. As Long As The Price Is Right (Larry Wallis) - 3:09
7. Hi-Rise (John Mayo) - 2:37
8. My Buddy Buddy Friends (Aaron Corhton) - 2:45
9. Baby Jane (Bernard Reed, Harry Nesbitt, Jerry Wilson, John Bishop, Lee Simmons) - 2:58
10.The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock 'n' Roll (Brownie McGhee, McKinley Morganfield) - 2:20
11.Looking Back (Johnny Guitar Watson) - 2:00
12.60 Minutes Of Your Love (Isaac Hayes, David Porter) - 2:24
Disc 3 Let It Roll
1. Java Blue (Rick Danko) - 4:30
2. Feels Good (John Mayo, Pete Wingfield) - 3:25
3. Put Him Out Of Your Mind (John Mayo, Mike Vernon) - 3:50
4. Bend Your Ear (John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux) - 4:02
5. Hong Kong Money (John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 4:36
6. Keeka Smeeka (John Mayo) - 4:02
7. Shotgun (John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 6:28
8. Pretty Face (Chris Boyle, Gavin Daneski, Ralph Worman, Vic Sendall) - 2:34
9. Ridin' On The L & N (Dan Burley, Lionel Hampton) - 3:32
10.Drop Everthing And Run (Graham Foster, Pete Wingfield, Mike Vernon) - 3:17
Disc 4 A Case Of The Shakes 1980
1. Jumping From Love To Love (Bat Fasterly, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 2:52
2. Going Some Place Else (Larry Wallis) - 2:17
3. Best In The World (Nick Lowe) - 2:33
4. Punch Drunk (Larry Wallis, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 2:44
5. King For A Day (Larry Wallis, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 2:06
6. Violent Love (Otis Rush) - 2:20
7. No Mo Do Yakamo (Allen Rush, Dennis Linde) - 2:15
8. Love Hound (Allen Rush, Dennis Linde) - 3:00
9. Who's Winning (Nick Lowe, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 2:12
10.Coming To You (John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux) - 2:47
11.Drives Me Wild (Bat Fasterly, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 2:24
12.Case Of The Shakes (Bat Fasterly, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux) - 2:56
Disc 5 On The Job 1981
1. Drives Me Wild (Bat Fasterly, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 2:48
2. Java Blue (Rick Danko) - 3:57
3. Jumping From Love To Love (Bat Fasterly, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 3:06
4. Pretty Face (Chris Boyle, Gavin Daneski, Ralph Worman, Vic Sendall) - 2:44
5. No Mo Do Yakamo (Allen Rush, Dennis Linde) - 2:07
6. Love Hound (Allen Rush, Dennis Linde) - 2:59
7. Best In The World (Nick Lowe) - 2:31
8. Who's Winning (Nick Lowe, John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 2:09
9. Riding On The L & N (Dan Burley, Lionel Hampton) - 3:21
10.Case Of The Shakes (Bat Fasterly, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux) - 3:06
11.Shotgun Blues (John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 5:48
12.Goodnight Vienna (John B. Sparks, John Mayo, Lee Brilleaux, John Martin) - 0:44
Bryan MacLean guitarist, singer and songwriter of the cult 60's Californian band Love, died of a heart attack on Christmas day 1998 in the city of Los Angeles where he was born.
Love were responsible for producing the album 'Forever Changes' in 1967 which has long held the reputation with music critics for being one of the finest albums ever made and although Arthur Lee did most of the song writing for the band, it is Bryan's song 'Alone Again Or' from that classic album that Love are generally remembered for.
Born in Beverley Hills, California in 1946, Bryan's father was an architect to the Hollywood stars and his mother an artist and a dancer. Neighbour Fritz Loew of the composers Lener and Loew recognised him as a melodic genius at the age of three as he doodled on the piano. Bryan's gift for music was duly noted and he was given piano lessons and taught classical arrangement theory. Bryan's early influences were more Billie Holliday and George Gershwin rather than Robert Johnson, although he confessed a strong obsession for Elvis Presley. During his childhood he wore out show music records from 'Guys and Dolls', 'Oklahoma', 'South Pacific' and 'West Side Story'.
His first girlfriend was Liza Minelli and they would sit at the piano together and sing songs like 'The Wizard of Oz'. He learned to swim in Elizabeth Taylor's pool and his father's best friend was Robert Stack from T.V's 'Untouchables'. At 17 Bryan encountered the Beatles, "Before the Beatles I had been into folk music. I had been showing my art work at a panel shop (I wanted to be an artist in the bohemian tradition) - where we would sit around with banjos and do folk music, but when I saw 'A Hard Days Night' everything changed. I let my hair grow out and I got kicked out of three high schools."
Bryan started playing guitar in 1963/64. He got a job at the Balladeer before it changed its name to the Troubadour Club, playing back-up blues guitar. It was here he met the pre Byrds Jet Set while dating Jackie De Shannon and he became 'fast friends' with David Crosby. He moved away from home and by early 1965 he became road manager for the Byrds on their first Californian tour with the Rolling Stones. He managed one more cross-country tour with the group after they hit big with 'Mr Tambourine Man' but the exhausting 30 one nighters broke him physically and when the Byrds left for their first U.K. tour in the summer of 1965 they left Bryan behind.
After an unsuccessful audition for a part in the Monkees Bryan got into a car on Sunset Strip which Arthur Lee was driving. Arthur had a band called the Grass Roots doing a residency at the Brave New World Club and being street wise knew Bryan's 'connections' with the Byrds. He knew all of the scene that followed the Byrds would follow Bryan if he invited him to see the band play at the club as the Byrds were out of town and sure enough after a couple of weeks the crowds were lined up and down the street for blocks. Bryan desperately wanted to join the band and he said, "I'd give my right arm to be in your group." To which Arthur responded "No - you're going to need it!" The Grass Roots became Love when another group registered a hit with the name.
"The music that is presented in this collection was written, decades ago, when I was in the band LOVE, and was written with that band in mind, and had been intended to be performed by, and associated with the band, LOVE... So what did happen? ... why weren't they? well...
Arthur was the leader, and he made the final decisions, and we did, primarily his songs. Oh, I didn't mind really, Arthur was my (best) friend, and I was having a ball.
I firmly believe if things had been the other way around, by now, you probably would've already heard a great deal, if not all, of what is assembled here. For one thing, I would have stuck around the band alot longer, not feeling the frustration of having such a backlog of unpublished, and unperformed material, and the natural unfulfilled desire for recognition, or even vindication. But things weren't, and I didn't, and after all, it's not what happens, so much, it's how you end up."
Bryan MacLean
Tracks
1. Barber John - 4:03
2. Fresh Hope - 4:13
3. Kathleen - 2:03
4. Orange Skies - 4:19
5. Strong Commitment - 3:22
6. Alone Again Or - 3:32
7. Tired Of Sitting - 2:33
8. Blues Singer - 3:23
9. Friday's Party - 2:56
10.People - 2:49
11.Claudia - 3:01
12.If You Believe In - 3:06
13.Orange Skies (Second Version) - 4:34
14.Alone Again Or (Second Version) - 3:46
15.She Looks Good - 3:59
16.Old Man - 3:05
All songs by Bryan MacLean
This now rare and sought-after album was the work of a band from Tulsa in Northeastern Oklahoma. Although entirely embellished with cover versions collectors will pay hundreds of bucks for an original copy, the attraction being that many of the covers are as good, maybe even better than the originals.
First off is I'm So Glad with some tasty fuzz guitar; next up is Love Me Again with more superb guitar work; this is evident too on Mars Bonfire's Born To Be Wild - every bit as good as The Steppenwolf version. There's a fine rendition of The Byrds' I Feel A Whole Lot Better, a very psychedelic treatment of Ingle-De Loach's Fields Of Sun with some excellent guitarwork and drumming and a fine Hendrix impersonation on Fire.
Side Two isn't quite as good but it includes a rehash of Mick Jagger's Connection, a very fuzzy cover of Strange Brew and impressive reworks of Donovan's Season Of The Witch and Eric Burdon's Sky Pilot. Certainly any collector of psychedelia should snap up the recent repress. It has an interesting back cover too!
Tracks
1. I'm So Glad (Skip James) - 4:08
2. Love Me Again (Phil Norvell) - 3:57
3. Born To Be Wild (Mars Bonfire) - 3:45
4. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Gene Clark) - 2:48
5. Fields Of Sun (Darryl DeLoach, Doug Ingle) - 2:47
6. Fire (Jimi Hendrix) - 2:58
7. Ryder (Rose) - 2:47
8. Connection (Mick Jagger) - 2:16
9. Strange Brew (Eric Clapton, Gail Collins, Felix Pappalardi) - 2:45
10.There's A Girl (Dickerson) - 3:17
11.Season Of The Witch (Donovan Leitch) - 4:05
12.Sky Pilot (Eric Burdon) - 5:28
Meal Ticket’s first album “Code Of The Road” was released in 1977, possibly the worst possible timing ever as the pub-rock movement into which they could have fitted had dissipated in 1976 to give way to punk-rock, a real shame as that first LP is a cracking record that will satisfy every fan of American country-rock. This first album firmly dominated by the writing partnership between keyboard player Rick Jones and lyricist Dave Pierce (which Steve Simpson describes as an integral part of the band in the liner notes) and sees lead vocals spread between Willy Finlayson and Rick Jones. “Code Of The Road” is probably the mellowest of the three LP’s with a feel not too far removed from what band like Poco were doing on the other side of the Atlantic at the same time. The guitar work courtesy of Ray Flacke and Steve Simpson is fabulous throughout. To sum things up: a great debut album.
During the Watford gig, great covers of tracks by Boz Scaggs, Tony Joe White, Randy Newman proved that Meal Ticket’s main influences came from the US. The band opened for several American artists on their UK tours but never toured Uncle Sam’s country. Their follow-up album “Three Times A Day” (also released in 1977) is often considered a lesser effort which is untrue but turns out to have a more spontaneous feel than its predecessor. Opening track “This Could Be The Town” (a song from Willy’s days in “Bees Make Honey” penned by Barry Richardson) has turned out to be the band’s most famous song due to an appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Finlayson’s vocals on the excellent version of “Yesterday’s Music” prove that he was a more than worthy competitor to Glen Frey and Bob Seger.
by Craig Chaligne, 1 February 2017
Their third and last album "Take Away" from 1978, is splendid and fully demonstrates their unique characteristics of being pop and catchy despite their extremely earthy sound. They play The Band's famous song "Shape I'm In." and Mike Heron's, "Down On My Knees", is a little mellow and a great piece.
Tracks
Disc 1 Code Of The Road 1977
1. Out Of The Blue - 4:46
2. Keepin' The Faith - 6:31
3. Ok Bar - Same Old Story - 3:53
4. Last One To Know - 4:36
5. Day Job - 4:26
6. The Man From Mexico - 6:52
7. Snow - 3:21
8. Golden Girl - 4:26
9. Standing On The Wrong Corner - 3:29
10.Georgia Syncopator - 3:02
11.The Code Of The Road - 1:17
Tracks 1-5 written by Dave Pierce, Rick Jones, Steve Hammond
Track 6 written by Michael Ross, Rick Jones
Tracks 7-11 written by Rick Jones, Dave Pierce
Disc 2 Three Times A Day 1977
1. This Could Be The Town - 2:38
2. Oh Sister - 3:35
3. Last Port Of Call - 4:54
4. Comes The Dawn - 3:09
5. River Man - 5:45
6. Yesterday's Music - 3:31
7. Rural Routes - 3:19
8. I Wish, I Wish - 3:06
9. Laughing Daughter - 4:01
10.This Dream I Have Of You - 4:01
Track 1 written by Barry Richardson
Track 2 written by Rick Jones, Steve Simpson
Tracks 3,4,8,9,10 written by Dave Pierce, Rick Jones
Track 5 written by Steve Simpson
Track 6 written by David Clayton-Thomas, William Daniel Smith
Track 7 written by Dave Pierce, Rick Jones, Steve Hammond
Disc 3 Take Away 1978
1. Why In The World? - 3:21
2. Down On My Knees - 4:09
3. Lucy - 4:29
4. Lonestar Motel - 3:32
5. The Shape I'm In - 4:06
6. Blame - 2:46
7. Simple - 3:05
8. Bonnie Lee's Dinette - 3:33
9. At The Funny Farm - 2:51
10.Get On Board - 3:19
11.Son Of The Creature From The Black Lagoon - 4:34
12.Boogie Queen - 4:27
Tracks 1,8 written by Dave Pierce, Rick Jones, Steve Hammond
Track 2 written by Mike Heron
Tracks 3,6,7,9,11 written by Dave Pierce, Rick Jones
Track 4 written by Dave Pierce, Rick Jones, Willy Finlayson
Thomas Jefferson Kaye's second solo work “First Grade'' is perfect. Along with the 1st, it can be recommended as a masterpiece of a swamp singer-songwriter. All three albums he released in the 70's, including White Cloud, are all essentials, and the works he has been involved in producing are all wonderful.
The participating members are all famous, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Jeff Baxter, Rick Derringer, Richie Huley, Timothy Schmidt, Jim Gordon, Joe Osborne, Dean Parks, Clydie King, Dusty Springfield, and a strong lineup including Jimmy Haskell, who arranged the horn and strings.
Thomas Jefferson Kaye a talented man was also active as a producer for Bob Neuwirth, Gene Clark, Gordon Waller, Link Wray, he also produced and participated on Dr. John's, Hammond's and Bloomfield's "Triumvirate" in 1973. Thomas Jefferson Kaye (real name Kontos), died in hospital in Warwick, New York, September 16th, 1994.
Tracks
1. Northern California (Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 1:12
2. Easy Kind Of Feeling (Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 3:38
3. She Bout To Drive Me Wild (Alvin Robinson, Jessie Hill, King Floyd, Mac Rebennack) - 4:13
4. Say That You Love Me (Loudon Wainwright III) - 2:26
5. American Lovers (Donald Fagen, Walter Becker) - 5:00
The Stanky Brown Group was an industrious rock sextet from New Jersey. With a varied blend of sounds and exceptional musical talent, the Stanky Brown Group has delivered a mix of brass mellow and funky free soul elements with their debut album " Our Pleasure To Serve You’ in 1976. Recorded at Ultima Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York, and featuring first rate guests such as “Mountain” Leslie West on lead guitar, Eric Weissberg on pedal steel guitar among others and nice songs like “A Hundred Times Around”.
Tracks
1. Masquerade - 3:28
2. You've Come Over Me - 3:52
3. Let's Get to Livin' - 3:28
4. U B U - 2:30
5. A Hundred Times Around - 5:15
6. Don't You Refuse - 2:47
7. Friday Night Without You - 2:50
8. Matthew - 3:02
9. Misery Loves Company - 3:09
10.Ravin' Beauty - 3:25
11.Where Have They Gone - 3:45
Songs 1,2,3,5,6,9 written by Jeffrey Leynor
Songs 4,7,8,10,11 Music by James Brown, Lyrics by Frank Greene
The Stanky Brown Group
*James Brown - Keyboards, Vocals. ARP 2600, ARP Pro-Soloist
One popular noun used in songwriting is “Rain”, expressing a wide range of feelings and emotions. Here, I’m using this concerning a band, and there are a number of groups who have chosen to take this as their moniker. Be this Rain, the ‘90s indie band who achieved minor success with their song ‘Lemonstone Desired’. Or the Basingstoke band The Rain, another indie-pop band who began their activity, even earlier, in 1986. Another group who predated both of these are Rain, the band unearthed by Cherry Red and imprint Grapefruit, on the release of Tomorrow Never Comes: The NYC Sessions 1967-1968. This Beatles-meets-West-Coast vibe comes from a band who played at both the Gilmore and Whiskey a Go-Go, in the early ‘60s, but failed to make headway or achieve a recording contract. An early US-only single was issued under the name One, but the band renamed themselves Rain, after their favourite Beatles B-side. No complaints from me, both The Beatles and their track are favourites, but what about this West Coast band. Will they deserve to have their music held with the same esteem as both of these?
Well, early on, I can confirm that the 16 tracks here both surprised and fed my wish for great sounds, albeit with a hippy-trippy vibe. This single CD package comes complete with reproductions of some of the vintage handbills and posters the band advertised their appearances with, as well as photos from New York friend, Linda Eastman, perfect for these fans of The Beatles. This is the first-ever release of this lost psychedelic pop album, which both pleases and leaves me questioning why it is only now that TNC has been made available. Maybe it’s that ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, but enough of my frippery, let me press play.
Wow, now this is music sprinkled with some fairy dust, as the first track ‘Sapphire Skies’ makes its debut. Music that is not the same as, but certainly inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and his Experience, this track kicks ass. With musical effects laid on the vocal and instrumentation, it has the feel that it has consumed a dose of LSD before recording. But if this opening track was a little full-on for you, then the second track ‘One Is All, And All Is One’ might be a little more to your flavour. A country-tinged number, although this may be down to the instruments used and how they are played. The melody is extremely moreish and when the vocalist pronounces that “…Love will change your mind…”, it’s a number that speaks of Flower Power and its ethos. There is nothing to dislike about this track, that you might find yourself taking it home at the end of the evening. Followed by ‘No Deposit, No Return’, another song I liked its message. The line “…Is it true, that when you give your love to someone, you are never ever all alone…”, continuing “…Cause when you give your love to someone, you will always get love in return. No deposit, no return, you don’t get something you don’t earn…”. Yes, some would say hippy-trippy, but Rain is expressing a wish that life be much simpler. As this number plays out, the guitarist uses a bottleneck, to allow the guitar to express laughter, or maybe it’s descending through the scale. Whichever way, a nice touch.
This first-time release of an album that was laid down over 50 years ago feels something special and sounds as fresh as ever. Although as I have suggested it is filled with elements that speak of the day it was produced, the mastering and production feel new. From track 4 is ‘Sundrops’ with its lo-fi string arrangement, the harmonies from this Anglo-American trio are simply perfect, although briefly the recording does show production anomalies. Track 5 is ‘So Unhappy’, which proves far from it. With an upbeat tempo played in what comes across as a West-Coast Byrds-style moment. Again harmonies are used when it comes to the track ‘Didn’t Lie’, in its very Beatles-style delivery, this album is just so easy to accept and goes down like your favourite milk shake.
During these 10 tracks, recorded for the album, I have to say that I felt nothing less than exhilaration, this is indeed a great lost album. Although is the first time the album has seen the light of day, or cry in the morning and coming complete with bonus tracks to make an album of 16 tracks, increasing the original 34 minutes to 54 and making a more acceptable 21st Century release. This is a wonderful album, for anyone who appreciates music coming from the 1960s and the birth of pop. But when you’re looking for the band, these are Rain, not to be confused with Rain – a tribute to the Beatles, are an original band and not a tribute band. I could play this album to death and still go back for more.
But before I leave you, I want to clarify that track 15 on the album ’She’, is not the Charles Aznavour song. Slightly different in tone and time, the opening line runs “Everybody’s got to have themselves a woman, to love and keep him company…”, so before equality I guess, but a song projecting its own message. Seriously though, this is a great album, once lost, now available to all. Rain, a band I’m very glad to have made their acquaintance.
Formed in the biker hotspot of San Bernadino, east of Los Angeles, Alkana centred on the voice and lyrics of Jack Rucker (who would also become known by the nickname Damien King I, the lead singer for the heavy metal band Warlord), the guitar pyrotechnics of Danny Alkana, who drew heavily from the style of Boston’s Tom Scholz and Deep Purple’s Richie Blackmore, bassist Craig Williams and drummer Donny McLaughlin keeping the rhythms fast and furious.
‘California Rock n Roll Queen’ and psych epic ‘The Tower’ have the kind of Golden State rock majesty of Van Halen or Journey, and there are shades of Granmax, Asia and Judas Priest too. Hard rock? 70s metal; Epic; Progressive? Innovative? Paleolithic? Nostalgic? All of these together? Yes, but one more thing: Good music as a whole. At least the outrageous prices for which vinyl (originally issued on the Baby Bird label in 1978), was changing hands were commensurate with the quality of its content. this is a long lost hard rock gem.
Tracks
1. California Rock 'n' Roll Queen - 5:44
2. Montezuma's Sweet Revenge - 3:17
3. On Our Own - 6:30
4. Freedom Lady - 4:45
5. Paradise (Graig Williams, Jack Rucker) - 5:29
6. The Tower - 11:22
7. Head Games - 3:31
All songs by Danney Alkana, Jack Rucker except track #5
