The legendary UK band, Magic Carpet, was formed in 1971 by Alisha Sufit (singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist), Clem Alford (sitar, esraj), Jim Moyes (guitar), and Keshav Sathe (Indian tabla / percussion). Magic Carpet created a unique and unusual sound in a true meld of musical styles and influences.
The sitar player, Clem Alford, was classically trained in the Indian tradition, as was tabla player, Keshav Sathe. Alisha Sufit, who first met Jim Moyes when they were both students at Chelsea School of Art in the sixties, writes original songs reflecting diverse influences - including traditional, contemporary and . The band recorded one eponymous album first released in 1972. The original vinyl version has since become a sought-after collectable, now reissued on CD by Magic Carpet Records label. Visit the MySpace page or their web site for more information.
Quote: 'Based around the classically trained sitar virtuoso Clem Alford and the breathtaking ethereal vocalist Alisha Sufit, Magic Carpet delivered perhaps one of the finest Indian-influenced psychedelic folk albums of the 1970's. Unfortunately this supremely talented collective split before the album was released. Alisha Sufit's astonishing vocal talents are included in nine of the twelve tracks, the remaining three being instrumental. Alisha Sufit and Jim Moyes play guitar, with the brilliant Keshav Sathe on tabla percussion. This album has been described as 'a psych folk gem - a unique and extraordinary fusion of east and west, Magic Carpet being one of the very first bands to truly combine Indian and western instrumentation'.
For the listener who craves the deep, warm, dark green and forest brown, fog-drenched Indian influenced psychedelia that chartered its way out of San Francisco in the late sixties / early seventies, this reissue of the Magic Carpet's debut record will ring a true chord. True, the band hailed from the UKA nowhere near the flower children of the Haight, but their brand of "Eastern Psych Folk" is close kin to After Bathing At Baxter's era Jefferson Airplane (a seriously underrated record) and calls to mind the Bay Area folk revival scene going on today.
In a time of Devendra Banhart's elfin freakiness, Joanna Newsom's evil-angel resurrections, and the resurgence of interest in Vashti Bunyan, the Magic Carpet's 1972 lost classic could not sound fresher. Alisha Sufit is a resurrecting chanteuse whose dark voice is crystal clear and mesmerizing; Clem Alford's sitar playing is top notch and truly psychedelic. The songs come as old friends (our favorite: "Father Time") and hang in the air as mysteries, leading to the sweet 20+ minute instrumental raga not found on the original release. Top notch rainy day music, and for those so inclined, a perfect bong stuffer for the holidays.
Tracks
1. The Magic Carpet (Clem Alford, Jim Moyes, Keshav Sathe) - 2:28
2. The Phoenix - 3:22
3. Black Cat - 4:05
4. Alans Christmas Card (Clem Alford, Jim Moyes, Keshav Sathe) - 3:21
5. Harvest Song - 3:41
6. Do You Hear The Words (Clem Alford, Jim Moyes, Keshav Sathe) - 3:00
7. Father Time (Alisha Sufit, Clem Alford, Jim Moyes, Keshav Sathe) - 4:22
8. La La (Clem Alford, Jim Moyes, Keshav Sathe) - 2:42
9. Peace Song - 3:49
10. Take Away kesh (Clem Alford, Jim Moyes, Keshav Sathe) - 2:35
11. High Street - 3:37
12. The Dream - 3:56
13. Raga (Traditional arranged by Clem Alford) - 20:27
Words and Music by Alisha Sufit except where noted
In late 1967, Kenny Berdoll and Gerry Smith of the Brehmen Caste got a gig at the Galaxy in Cudahy, a South Side Milwaukee suburb. They named the band Eastern Mean Time and Pat McCarthy joined. EMT went through several musicians until the Kondos brothers came aboard in early 1968. It was apparently a joint meeting of the minds, as Nick Kondos' version is that he and John were looking for musicians with which to form their new band.
It was John who suggested the new name, and Danny Peil was the last to join. "He was working in Las Vegas," said Nick, "but we convinced him to come back to Milwaukee. We showed him what we had and he said, This is what I've been looking for. I've had enough of the night clubs.' He had the voice, the range and the strength.
Then we felt we had the right combination." Initially the majority of their repertoire covered Vanilla Fudge, Cream, Hendrix and other psych flavoured material, but they had an agreement with the club owner to rehearse there in the afternoons and work on their originals, gradually introducing more of them into the gig. In a 1975 interview for the Milwaukee Bugle American, Berdoll said, "We built lighting systems and made the Galaxy into a psychedelic club. We'd sit down in my basement and invent new ways to do lighting and stuff, and that all carried over into the Corporation.
The billing that we had was like The Biggest Light Show in Town with the Largest Projections' - a lot of visuals. We started doing college dates and a few other bars, also trips to Chicago, where we played the Aragon Ballroom, and a few as far as Minneapolis." In 1969, with the help of the senior Kondos, the band bought half interest in the Bastille, a club near Lincoln & Howell.
"The Bastille was a psychedelic thing because we put all our ideas into that place," said Berdoll. "It was an old movie theatre with all the seats removed." By this time the Corporation was doing all original material, most of it written by John Kondos, and some written by Nick. "We had already written 90 per cent of those songs when we had the Eastmen Blues Band," said Nick. "We probably could have recorded eight or nine albums." With the Bastille as a home base, the band also gigged occasionally at O'Brad's on the East Side, and they opened for Cream and other names at the Scenem downtown.
While in Detroit for the initial recordings, they appeared at a college festival in Ann Arbor along with Procol Harum, SRC and the MC5. "We went over really big there," said Kondos. "Next thing, we were doing love-ins and things at Washington Park and Grant Park with the Messengers and some others. It was all hippies and we were the ones that drew the people in." For Berdoll, the high point in the Corporation's existence was right after the album came out. "We played a really big 'be-in' at a park on the South Side. About 10,000 people showed up; it was really electric; the adrenalin was flowing.
Towards the end we had to do several encores and the thing was almost erupting into a riot. Everything was political back then, like the draft card burnings and such." Perhaps more extensive touring might have propelled that first album to greater heights, but except for Chicago and St Paul, the band remained local. There were no television appearances, and nothing else to build a greater audience. Kondos said that a European tour was in the planning stages, but it fell apart when disagreements with Capitol Records surfaced.
The Corporation travelled to Los Angeles to meet with the label, the Kondos brothers and their uncle handled the negotiations. "They treat you like kings," said Nick. "They set you up with the hottest girls; we went to a jam featuring Jimi Hendrix, and then they get the drugs out. But we found out that the album was selling and we didn't get a penny. We had an argument with Capitol and that's how the contract ended. Maybe we were a little impatient.
You give it everything you've got and, if you want to be a star, you have to let them use you and abuse you for a while, and THEN worry about the money." By July 1969, only about 18 months after the band had jelled, and only five months after dropping off Billboard's LP chart, the Corporation was no more. Besides the break with Capitol, drugs were a contributing factor, and perhaps egos got in the way. "No single person was an angel," said Kondos. "It was everybody's fault; everybody screwed up." Gerry Smith was the first to leave the band, relocating to Florida.
The remaining members played a couple of gigs and then decided to split up. Alexander Kondos, along with his brother, attorney Michael, and his two sons travelled to Los Angeles to meet with record companies. "We wanted someone to hear us live," said Nick. "We were prepared." With no demo tape, they aroused enough interest for Capitol to send producer John Rhys (pronounced Reese) to hear them. "I was one of their only guys outside of Hollywood," said Rhys, who spent about a week in Milwaukee and saw the band at several places. "I liked them, I liked their concept. I liked the Kondos brothers; John was a great talent." Nick added that Rhys was "excited as hell" after hearing just two songs on the first night and, by the last set, he was practically ready to record.
The Capitol LP was cut at Ralph Terrana's Terra Shirma Studio in Detroit, where Rhys lived at the time. "There were no problems at all," he said. Berdoll explained the evolution of 'India', the John Coltrane piece that fills an entire side of the LP: "It started off as a break song. We'd do it for three minutes one time, then five, then ten, and soon it was a 20-minute song." "Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels were setting up in another studio," recalled Kondos. "We blew their minds. Ryder came down and said, 'You guys are ahead of your time – more ahead than the people are ready for.'
" The subsequent material was recorded at Dave Kennedy Studios in Milwaukee. "They were just flying too high," said Rhys. "One song had a 16-bar flute intro and John couldn't get past eight bars. Then one day he came out of the men's room and said, "We can't go on with this - you're a Cancer and I'm a Sagittarius. This just ain't gonna work." But according to Nick, it all worked out in the end. "The second album is a lot better than the first," he said.
To listen to this CD, get ready for a trip - in the 60s- 70s sense of the word. Overall, the Corporation employed liberal use of instrumental colours, a dynamic range of vocals - from gentle to scream, solo to group - experimental and thoughtful arrangements (with many twists and turns combining elements of pop, garage rock, blues, hard rock and psychedelic), dissonance and high energy (with lots of busy drums). Expect sudden changes in direction. And a brief whistle call thrown into a few cuts is fun.
by Gary Myers
Tracks
1. You Make Me Feel Good (John Kondos, Daniel Peil) - 2:32
2. Sitting by the Sea (John Kondos) - 2:59
3. Heard the News (Nicholas Kondos) - 4:56
4. I Do Love Her (Kenny Berdoll, John Kondos) - 2:48
5. Yes I Know (John Kondos, Nicholas Kondos) - 2:31
6. Get on My Swing (John Kondos, Nicholas Kondos) - 2:55
7. Walking Along (John Kondos, Nicholas Kondos) - 3:22
8. Hassels in My Mind (John Kondos, Daniel Peil) - 5:28
9. My Child, He Walks Alone (John Kondos, Daniel Peil) - 9:58
10.Sky Faces (John Kondos, Daniel Peil) - 6:30
11.Changes (John Kondos, Daniel Peil) - 4:07
12.Book on a Shelf (John Kondos) - 4:36
Second solo album for Mike Vernon, released for Sire records and not by his own label. "Moment Of Madness" was recorded in Oxfordshire in England during the spring in 1973, and revealed on record stores later the same year.
Slightly different from his previous release, more hard funky sounds (sometimes reminds me "Gold Plated", by Climax which came out couple years later and was also produced by Mike Vernon). There are some Bluesy tones and of course a cast of prime musicians. Alls songs were written by Mike and Vie Vernon.
Musician, producer and label head, Mike Vernon died March 2nd 2026, at the age 81, his boyhood passion for blues turned into a hugely impactful career.
Blues Hall of Fame inductee John Hammond is a giant of 20th century blues, a talented songster whose work has preserved countless blues, gospel, and folk tunes that otherwise might have disappeared from the great Americana songbook. The son of famed Columbia Records A&R legend John Hammond (who discovered Dylan and Springsteen and was an early champion of Delta bluesman Robert Johnson), the young Hammond began playing guitar in high school and dropped out of college to pursue his musical vision. Living in Greenwich Village in the early-to-mid-60s, Hammond hung around and made music with fellow travelers like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Duane Allman.
Hammond has released roughly three-dozen albums since his self-titled 1962 debut, including a critically-acclaimed collection of material by singer/songwriter Tom Waits, 2001’s Wicked Grin. Known as a skilled interpreter of song, Hammond possesses an enormous knowledge of, and deep insight into the material he performs. Signed to the venerable Vanguard Records label early in his career, Hammond recorded so much material during his initial sojourns into the studio that Vanguard was releasing albums long after he’d left the label. Mirrors is one such work, a Frankensteined-production that cuts ‘n’ pastes various performances but somehow comes together as a cohesive album. The original side one is entirely ‘electric,’ Hammond joined in the studio by friends like Charlie Musslewhite and a pre-Band Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm; side two is strictly ‘acoustic.
Hammond’s rowdy cover of Billy Boy Arnold’s ‘I Wish You Would” spanks the planks from note one. Jimmy Lewis’s fluid bass line opens the song, Musselwhite’s greasy harp jumps in soon thereafter as Hammond growls out the vox above as funky a rhythm as you’d hear in the mid-60s. Hammond’s guitar battles with Robertson’s while the greatest master of the Telecaster, Michael Bloomfield, toils away in the background on piano. Hammond’s take on the great T-Bone Walker’s “They Call It Stormy Monday” is workmanlike but, considering how often the tune’s been covered by literally everybody in the blues biz, Hammond’s languid vocals and subdued instrumentation seem rather lackluster by comparison.
Much more interesting is the unusual reading given Piedmont bluesman Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues.” Best known as performed by the Allman Brothers Band, Hammond’s spry take pre-dates Duane Allman’s by a half-decade and has a decidedly rockabilly tint that features guitarists Billy Butler and James Sprull chicken-pickin’ joyfully behind Hammond’s twangy vocals. A cover of Mose Allison’s “I Just Got Here” stands at the crossroads of the Delta blues and big city jazz, and Hammond’s gruff vocals slip and slide across Barry Goldberg’s minimalist keyboard riffs.
A full-band version of Robert Johnson’s “Traveling Riverside” closes out the album’s ‘electric’ side with a bang, the rhythm section of bassist Lewis and drummer Helm laying down a locomotive groove atop which Hammond’s roaring vocals and Musselwhite’s raging harp dance alongside Robertson’s nimble fretwork. The ‘acoustic’ side of Mirrors offers just Hammond and his guitar, an engaging pairing that delves deeply into the traditional acoustic blues that Hammond adores. A pair of Johnson’s songs open the side, slow-burning “Stones In My Passageway” provided ethereal vocals and haunting guitar, effectively capturing the original emotion of the Delta blues classic.
A cover of Johnson’s “Walking Blues” is more upbeat, with Hammond’s gritty vocals and aggressive, percussive guitarplay providing a (then) contemporary sheen to the muddy Delta gem. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” is a Rev. Gary Davis song, done up nicely here with some elegant fretwork and reverent vocals effectively mixing blues and gospel and taking the song dangerously close to Son House’s darkly-emotional turf. Casual blues fans all know Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night,” but they don’t know that he had a much deeper songbook of blues and gospel treasures. Hammond tackles Johnson’s “Motherless Willie Johnson” (a/k/a “Motherless Children”), his reading differing greatly from Eric Clapton’s better-known cover, the song performed here with reckless abandon that successfully channels the original’s emotional energy.
by Rev. Keith A. Gordon
Tracks
1. I Wish You Would (Billy Boy Arnold) - 2:51
2. They Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad) (T-Bone Walker) - 4:11
3. Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie McTell) - 3:23
4. Keys To The Highway (Big Bill Broonzy, Charles Segar) - 3:15
5. I Just Got Here (Mose Allison) - 4:37
6. Travelling Riverside (Robert Johnson) - 2:55
7. Stones In My Passway (Robert Johnson) - 3:12
8. Walking Blues (Robert Johnson) - 2:57
9. Death Don't Have No Mercy (Traditional) - 3:19
10.Motherless Willie Johnson (Blind Willie Johnson) - 2:22
11.When You Are Gone (Blind Boy Fuller) - 2:34
12.Rock Me Mama (Traditional) - 2:27
13.Get Right Church (Traditional) - 1:53
Musicians
*John Paul Hammond - Guitar, Harmonica, Vocal
*Michael Bloomfield - Guitar, Piano
*William "Billy" Butler - Guitar
*Bobby Donaldson - Drums
*Barry Goldberg - Organ
*Levon Helm - Drums
*Eric Garth Hudson - Organ
*Jimmy Lewis - Bass
*Charlie Musselwhite - Harmonica
*Robbie Robertson - Guitar
Has classic rock radio made a bad name for itself because the music doesn’t wear well with age, or is it because they keep playing the same old shit? In a perfect world, classic rock gems like Jericho would no longer be neglected by the airwaves and listeners would abound in new sounds from a previous era. Just imagine your local classic rock station slipped in one cut off this record, in place of the usual barrage of Zep and Skynyrd repeats; there could easily be a demand for this sweet sounding, authentic-as-it-gets, yet unissued and unplayed recording.
Jericho members Frank DiFelice, Denny Gerrard, Fred Keeler, Gordon Fleming hailed from Canada and recorded this one-off at the famous Bearsville studio in Woodstock, with engineering and production by Todd Rundgren. These guys were a part of the same scene as Jesse Winchester and The Band, sharing Rundgren as producer and art director Bob Cato between this and Stage Fright, and the music falls right in line, albeit with a harder edge.
They bust down the door with “True Fine Girl,” sounding like the Band on steroids with overdriven organ and screeching guitars notching a next-level sound. “SS #4” even sounds a little like hard rock “Cripple Creek,” but the key here isn’t loud guitar rippin but a loose knit down-home groove. There are nasty prog moves and killer Clavinet shredding on “Cheater Man;” Gordon Fleming really steals the show on keys, often overshadowing the guitar leads a rare feat for keyboardists. “Baby’s Gone Again” is a blues that shuffles harder than Cream and “Backtrack” is a killer Edgar Winter style instrumental with gnarly parts played thru Garth Hudson’s own Leslie speaker and Clav. I’m a sucker for “Goin’ To The Country,” a goofy, stoned country groover with wowy Moog bass replacing the “jug” line. The vocalist shines on this little number vocals are really great all the way through, actually that definitely stands out from the rest.
One track, “Make It Better,” would score a minor hit, but Jericho would be largely forgotten, unissued since its original release. I do find that this record tends to push a little too hard; it’s kind of relentlessly hard-rockin. But it deserved much more than it got.
by Brendan McGrath
Fred Keeler passed away on June 14th, 2019
Tracks
1. True Fine Girl (Fred Keeler) - 2:43
2. The Road I Never Took (Gordon Fleming) - 3:17
3. Lonely As Me (Fred Keeler) - 2:35
4. Cheater Man (Fred Keeler) - 2:21
5. Baby's Gone Again (Fred Keeler) - 3:02
6. Goin' To The Country (Fred Keeler) - 3:24
7. Fool Killer (Mose Allison) - 3:49
8. Intro: Into My Blue Heaven • Backtrack (George Whiting, Walter Donaldson, Denny Gerrard, Frank De Felice, Fred Keeler, Gordon Fleming) - 4:27
9. Make It Better (Fred Keeler) - 3:23
10.S.S. #4 (Gordon Fleming) - 3:48
11.Do You Want Me (Fred Keeler) - 3:24
12.Can't Seem To Make It Happen (Gordon Fleming) - 5:40
Dropped by long time record label Epic, the band signed with United Artists (RCA in the UK), releasing 1975's Chris White, Rod Argent, and Tony Visconti produced "Counterpoints". The band's second post-Russ Ballard album was apparently recorded under trying circumstances which included drummer Bob Henrit coming down with a nasty case of hepatitis which required Genesis' Phil Collins to step in for most of the recording sessions. As on earlier albums, Rod Argent was responsible for most of the material with bassist Jim Rodford and singer/guitarist John Grimaldi contributing the remaining material. Musically the band seemed to be trying to navigate the thin line between artistic integrity and record label pressure to generate commercial viable material.
The problem was they seemingly couldn't figure out where that sweet spot was. The end result was an album that was too commercial for progressive fans, and too progressive for their pop fans. Add the absence of any standout number ('Rock and Roll Show' was probably the most readily commercial tune), and you had an album that disappeared in a heartbeat. The band toured in support of the LP, but needless to say, within a year Argent itself was history.
by Scott Blackerby
Tracks
1. On My Feet Again - 3:15
2. I Can’t Remember But Yes - 3:05
3. Time (Jim Rodford) - 7:18
4. Waiting For The Yellow One (John Grimaldi) - 2:50
5. It’s Fallen Off (John Grimaldi) - 2:45
6. Be Strong - 4:14
7. Rock 'n' Roll Show - 4:04
8. Butterfly - 3:06
9. Road Back Home - 7:36
All compositions by Rod Argent except where indicated
The Outlaws, a southern rock band who also incorporated strong country influences, a triple guitar attack and exquisite harmonies, first came onto the scene with their classic self titled debut album in 1975. It featured hits such as 'There Goes Another Love Song' and the live favourite 'Green Grass And High Tides'
The band had much going for them, with Hughie Thomasson, Henry Paul and Billy Jones all being skilled singers, songwriters and guitar players. 'Lady In Waiting' was their second album, issued in 1976, and serves as a fitting sequel to the well received first record. 'Breaker Breaker' is a superb slice of Eagles-like 70s country rock, while the bluegrass infused 'South Carolina' will get feet tapping in no time. A first class cover of 'Freeborn Man' and the Thomasson penned 'Just For You' are both fine examples of the band showing their southern rock roots and the supremely catchy 'Lover Boy' highlights how well the band's three vocalists blend on a chorus.
Closing out with the excellent 'Stick Around For Rock And Roll', 'Lady In Waiting' is a tremendous entry into The Outlaws discography and if you haven't got it, this reissue is well worth picking up.
The band would follow this up with 'Hurry Sundown' in 1977 and a live album in 1978. In 1979, the band would re-group after the departure of Henry Paul, who would go on to form his own band. Freddie Salem would be drafted in as a replacement and the band made the magnificent 'Playin' To Win' album, a much more rock orientated effort than their previous work. To see where the story goes net, you need the next batch of the reissues, reviewed here. In the meantime though, enjoy this sublime example of 70s Southern Rock with a country soul.
by James Gaden, March 26, 2018
Tracks
1. Breaker Breaker (Hughie Thomasson) - 3:00
2. South Carolina (Henry Paul) - 3:06
3. Ain't So Bad (Billy Jones) - 3:49
4. Freeborn Man (Keith Allison, Mark Lindsay) - 4:51
5. Girl From Ohio (Henry Paul) - 5:03
6. Lover Boy (Hughie Thomasson) - 3:59
7. Just For You (Hughie Thomasson) - 3:17
8. Prisoner (Billy Jones) - 3:58
9. Stick Around For Rock 'n' Roll (Hughie Thomasson) - 6:36
We recently lost another unsung genius from the cracks and crevices of 60s pop/psych. Tandyn Almer, who sadly passed in early 2013, would never become a household name, but you’ve definitely heard his work. Penning major tunes like “Along Comes Mary” for the Association, “Sail on Sailor” and “Marcella” for the Beach Boys, and countless other psych-tinged gems, Almer left behind a distinguished trail of well-crafted compositions. Luckily, and ironically (as I’m sure he would have enjoyed to see its official release), we have gained a new trove of lost work in Along Comes Tandyn, a collection of Almer’s demos from 1965-1966.
Originally written and recorded for Davon music, a small number of acetates labeled “The New Songs of Tandyn Almer” was circulated in order to shop his tunes to other recording artists. While some acts like The Sure Cure and Curt Boettcher’s The Ballroom took the bait, most of these tracks have remained unheard. The sound is definitely demo quality (all the better), the band generally led by a clangy electric guitar and sprinkled with bits of piano and harpsichord.
The vocals soar with typical 60s harmony, the lyrics quite often along the same vein. You can tell Almer was a real musician’s musician, his tunes never compromise, always taking an unexpected turn and often for something quite complicated. Take a listen to the surprisingly hip “Everytime I Take You Back To Me” and just try to follow the changes; or check the classical piano work on “There’s Gotta Be a Way.” Even “Along Comes Mary” (not included here) ducks and weaves at every chance, delivering it’s punch where you’d least expect it.
Some of Almer’s other happenings of note include an interview in Leonard Bernstein’s Inside Pop – The Rock Revolution (a “serious” investigation into pop’s emergence as an art form), as well as a short-lived best friendship with Brian Wilson, allegedly ending in an enstranging three-way. While not exactly loaded with clear winners (Face Down in the Mud” is a downright weirdo blues offering that would sound at home on FZ’s Only in it for the Money and some tracks sound a bit like psychedelic filler).
Along Comes Tandyn is still an excellent comp of lost pop-psych with a satisfying garage sound. Essential for fans of complex pop, the full package includes excellent liners (with lots of information provided by Tandyn himself) and will turn anyone into a hardcore Tandyn fan. Count me a Fandyn.
by Brendan McGrath
Tracks
1. Find Yourself - 2:44
2. You Turn Me Around - 2:20
3. Anything You Want (T. Almer, G. Mekler) - 3:45
4. About Where Love Is - 2:11
5. Everytime I Take You Back To Me - 2:08
6. There’s Gotta Be A Way - 2:43
7. Alice Designs - 3:39
8. Face Down In The Mud - 4:09
9. Where Will They Go - 4:34
10.Escape - 3:27
11.Victims of Chance - 3:34
12.Bring Your Own Self Down (The Purple Gang) - 2:48
13.I Get High - 3:21
14.Menagerie of Man - 2:15
15.Sunset Strip Soliloquy - 4:05
Words and Music by Tandyn Almer unless otherwise stated.
Paul Pena was born on January 26, 1950 in Hyannis, MA, the oldest child of Jack and Virginia Pena. His grandparents came from the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa. He was born with congenital glaucoma. When he was five, he began school at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown - a suburb of Boston. He graduated in 1967 and then attended Clark University in Worcester, MA.
As a young child, Paul soon showed his talent for music. His mother heard him picking out melodies and chords on a baby grand piano that had been found in the town dump and brought home, 'as a toy that a blind child might enjoy.' He developed 'perfect pitch.' Soon Paul was studying the piano, guitar, upright bass, violin and 'a little trumpet.' He played and sang popular jazz and Cape Verdian ballads with his father, a professional jazz musician, and also sang in his school choruses. Paul appeared in a talent show, and while in college, performed in coffeehouses in Worcester.
Paul Pena is a respectable album in that style, but it's a fairly ordinary journeyman effort, albeit without serious flaws. There's a little bit of an early-'70s folky singer/songwriter looseness à la Van Morrison involved as well, though occasionally he gets into a funky groove that was more explicitly Southern soul-influenced. Only "One for the Lonely" comes close to getting a really hooky blues-rock riff into the mix, however. Some of the other tracks have some modest pleasures as well, like the expansive organ of "Something to Make You Happy," which gives the brooding number a San Francisco acid rock tinge. The folk-bluesy "Lullaby" is another of the stronger tracks, with its galloping going-down-the-road feel and unexpected addition of steel guitar (by Jeff Baxter) and harp.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Woke Up This Morning - 4:56
2. I'm Gonna Make It Alright - 4:13
3. The River - 6:08
4. One For The Lonely - 4:50
5. Something To Make You Happy - 7:07
6. My Adorable One (Ida Irral Berger, Clara Thompson) - 3:44
7. When I'm Gone - 4:37
8. Lullaby - 5:16
All songs by Paul Pena except where stated
David and the "Great Lost Pavlov's Dog" album. So that is what you want to hear about, huh? Okay. I suppose it is worth a shot. Those were heady days, and more than a little depressing for your erstwhile poet find singer.
Pavlov's Dog had been touring in support of "The Sound of the Bell," bringing its melodic romanticism to some of the strangest venue's your narrator could have imagined in his youth. Yet living it! Concert dates with Nektar, Slade, Kraftwerk, Blue Oyster Cult, Journey, ELO, Thin Lizzy, Peter Frampton , ad nausea I left the band tired, restless and completely discontent.
The rhythm section had been salvaged, with Kirk Sarkesian more than capably handling the drum chores in the wake of Mike Safron and Bill Bruford's exits. David Hamilton was handling the piano in the studio, with Tom Nickeson holding it down on tour, in addition to his vocals and guitar duties.
Me, I was just plain unhappy, with the record company, management and agencies all pushing for a "HIT." Now lets be a trifle honest here, shall we? I write love songs, this is not the Brill Building. Major Plan Concocted!! Bring in new producers (Krugman and Perlman help meeeeeee!!!!!!), the band decides they ate songwriters (even the roadies), and EVERYBODY wants to sing! Did I want to vomit-you betcha!
So the powers that be want David to deliver the "pop" songs, ouch. Douglas and I came up with "Painted Ladies" and "Trafalgar" in minutes, not our best work that. "Falling In Love" and "Jenny" were tossed out, spent seconds of pleasure on that pair. "Only You," "I Love You Still" and "Suicide," squarely where my heart was.
The recording began in St.Louis at Technosonic Studios, not far from both my boyhood and present homes. Mark Spector $ John Jansen co-producing this awful mess. I came equipped with my bulldog Charlie & and Telecaster guitar each day, and amid wrestling bouts with Mark (yes...really), managed to get the basic tracks recorded with the band spinning out of control. Overduba were not pretty....Steve Scorfina is singing "It All For You," a song he had from his REO Speedwagon days, and Tom came up with a quick instrumental exit for the album, "While You Were Out."
I'm singing the Jefferson Airplanes' "Today," (is this somebody's idea of the "HIT" ?), and hating my every waking moment. Time to ditch this scene, David & Douglas escape to New York with the master tapes! Bring in the ringers! Jeff Baxter takes a masterful turn on the guitar solo on "Painted Ladies," thanks Jeff! Jeff & Elliot Rahdall compose some melodic harmony guitars for "Falling In Love," "Jenny" and elsewhere, Jim Maelen contributed some terrific percussion & smoothing quite a few bad patches.
That's Elliott on the solo in "Falling In Love," he said he really liked the song & I didn't. O well In any case, the gothic intrigue of "Only You" still holds measure with me today (I love Scorfina's tragic pathos in the solo), as does "Suicide." Is that where the unfortunate rumours of my untimely demise stem? I still perform Love You Stiff," from time to time, I enjoy the way my voice sounds! Also, "Only You," occasionally. It still maintains the potential' & penchant' for a heartbreak... So It Goes
by "Just" David
Tracks
1.Only You - 4:33
2.Painted Ladies (David Surkamp, Doug Rayburn) - 3:22
3.Falling In Love - 3:27
4.Today (Marty Balin) - 3:08
5.Trafalger (David Surkamp, Doug Rayburn) - 3:10
6.I Love You Still - 4:05
7.Jenny - 4:07
8.It`S All For You (Steve Scorfina) - 3:50
9.Suicide - 2:04
10.While You Were Out (Tom Nickeson) - 2:38
11.Song Dance(Mike Safron) - 6:29
12.Of Once And Future Kings- 6:50
13.Natchez Trace (Steve Scorfina) - 4:18
14.A Little Better - 2:18
15.A Look In Your Eyes - 4:27
16.Julia (Live) - 2:55
17.She Came Shining (David Surkamp, Doug Rayburn) - 4:37
18.Did You See Him Cry (David Surkamp, Doug Rayburn) - 6:07
19.Subway Sue - 5:40
20.I Wait For You (David Surkamp, Doug Rayburn) - 1:44
All compositions by David Surkamp except where stated
