Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield - The Lost Concert Tapes, Filmore East (1968 us, brilliant blues rock)

You could tell the way the concert started, how it was gonna be. Bill Graham, took great pleasure in introducing each act, from the side of the stage, in shirtsleeves.When we were all in place, the crew gave him the nod. Michael said: "Wait a second—I wanna say something!" Where upon, our pianist, Paul Harris replied to Graham"Michael wants to say something..." In that instant, Michael had traversed the stage and grabbed the microphone right out of Bill Graham's grasp and proceededinto one of those Bloomfieldian speeches of his. Graham just stood there perplexed,eventually grinning at Michael's bluecollar blurb. 

When Michael finished, he politely dumped the microphone back in Graham's hands and headed back to his guitar. Graham introduced us in one sentence and we were off and running. Now 33 years later, it's my turn for the introductions. This was atypical Bloomfield-Kooper gig. Michael showed up sick as a dog withthe flu, two days before the show. I had put the band together this time. Jerry Jemmott was a master NYC session bassist and wasbest known for his recent work with Aretha Franklin. Pianist Paul Harris was my homey from Queens, who inherited all my studio work when I joined The Blues Project. John Cresci, was introduced to me by my good friend Charlie Calello and had played drums on the last two sessions for my first solo album, "I Stand Alone." I didn't know John very well, but he seemed like the right choice. 

We rehearsed for two days, and Michael managed to give Paul his flu. It started to become noticeable that Cresci might not have been the proper choice, as he seemed to not have logged much previous time playing Chicago-style blues, which is mostly what we performed. He & Jerry Jemmott kinda musically fought for where the groove belonged and that sort of subliminal feuding doesn't make for the best band chemistry. It was, however, just too late to make any personnel changes, and so I just hoped for the best. 

Prior to the first set the first night, Michael burst into the dressing room with this really wild looking guy in tow. His name was Johnny Winter, and Michael had heard him play in Chicago a coupla years before and knew he was good. Steve Paul, owner of the musician-hangout-club The Scene on West 46th Street, had just started managing Johnny, and I had heard good things about him, but had never met him til just then. Michael planned to bring him onstage to jam and I trusted his decision without having heard Johnny before. So we went out, Michael made his first speech of the night and we played "OneWay Out." 

I noticed right away how "on" Michael was, and I was excited because we were recording this show for a possible live album. Jerry & Johnny seemed to be doing okay and it looked like clear sailing. Right after the first song, Michael grabbed the mic again and introduced Johnny as Johnny 'Winters' and brought him right out to play. The opening-night audience, peppered with press and Columbia Records brass, had no idea who this wild-looking, long-haired, extremely white Texan albino was and it got tense real quick. Michael patiently counted out a slow Chicago blues groove and Cresci & Jemmott were at odds right at beat two of the first bar. 

Michael began playing his opening solo and Winter stood there, almost coiled up like a skinny Texas rattlesnake, waiting to strike. After Michael's solo, Winter stepped up to the mic and began to sing in an amazing voice that just didn't go with his frail body. After the first line of the verse ("It's My Own Fault, Baby"—a B.B. King chestnut) he fired off a sharp staccato blast of vintage Chicago-style guitar. The crowd leaned forward, and rows of jaws began to drop. This was the largest, most important audience young Winter had ever performed in front of, and he was virttually playing for his life. 

By the time he had sung a few verses and spun out a blistering guitar solo, the crowd was his. He graciously stepped back and gave Bloomfield the nod to solo. Michael stepped up in a very competitive situation, and slowly began to play his little heart out. But he didn't play any of the traditional licks that Winter had just strutted out for six minutes—he played pure vintage Bloomfield. Drummer Cresci, probably bored out of his gourd after playing over six minutes of slow blues, moved into a completely inappropraite % time waltz groove and pretty much extinguished Michael's momentum. 

Winter, gingerly tried to help by playing harmony with Michael, but it was too late. Michael stepped back and Winter sang the last verse, played a brilliant two minute cadenza and left the stage to a standing ovation. This was a Friday night. On Monday morning, Columbia Records brass who had attended the show offered him a lucrative recording contract which he eventually signed, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Meanwhile, back at The Fillmore East, we were only on our third tune. Michael was having an amazing night. We played Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song," Michael's slow blues "Tell Me Partner," Albert King's "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong," Steve Winwood's version of "Til The End Of Time," Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's Elvis cover "That's All Right, Mama" and a ragged version of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch," originally tweaked by Stephen Stills on the original Super Session album. 

Recording at the Fillmore was always risky business. Bill Graham rarely allowed a proper recording truck outside the premises, so gear had to be set up under the stage, a less than ideal acoustical location for recording. Crude spy cameras and monitors afforded the engineers a narrow view of what was actually going on up there, and spontanaiety was the engineers enemy. When Johnny Winter appeared unannounced, his guitar was nervously chosen to share the piano track in this eight channel world that existed in 1968. Interminable ground loops persisted, causing buzzes worse than the largest beehive. 

When the original sessions were concluded, the tapes laid, unplayed, in the Columbia vaults for 32 years. It was decided between the engineering gaffes and the Cresci/Jemmott battles, that this show was not fit for human consumption. As of 20 years ago, the tapes sunk into the "missing" category. Many attempts to locate them over the years proved futile. In 1999, I began workin on a box set that would come to be known as Rare & Well Done. In the course of raiding the Columbia vaults under various namechecks: Kooper, Bloomfield, Kooper-Bloomfield, etc., the masters miraculously re-appeared. I couldn't believe it. Time had cut into my memories and I couldn't recall whether we nad recorded the show where B.B. King guested or Johnny Winter was introduced. I soon found out. 

These tapes have been on a long, strange, journey. When we first re-discovered them, they had to be baked in an oven, an unceremonious but effective way to keep the Old oxide from peeling off all over the capstans of the playback machines. Then they were sent to the studios of Malcolm Cecil to be digitally debuzzed of all the ground hums, clicks and audio abberations picked up under the stage of The Fillmore East. Then I did some judicious editing to select the usable performances. Then the clarion call was sounded to my dear friend and uber-engineer Bill Szymczyk, who hosted us in Charlotte, North Carolina while he mixed this hornets nest of troubles & blessings at Reflection Sound. Finally, the mixed tapes found their way to Foothill Digital Studios in New York City, where the talented and erudite Allan Tucker, waved his mastering wand over it all and made that quantum leap to palatability. 

So here we are. I have to say, some of this is as good as it gets for Bloomfield afficionados, and the rest still smokes most of the players alive today. After all, this is the man they learned from! The drama of Johnny Winter(s) playing for his life out there on the Fillmore East stage is almost visual and. an audible rare treat to be heard; not to mention, a historical one. Paul Harris, who is largely lost in the audio miasma does a fine job and pops up with a couple of fine blues solos. I didn't particularly have a great night, but I left it as it was  cause this is all about Michael. Jerry Jemmott does his level best to hold down the groove, while Johnny Cresci tries to figure out what the hell he is doing onstage with these ragamuffins. 

This show contains dashes of humor, virtuosity, animosity and sheer joy at various random moments – sometimes all four at the same time! It ain't by any means perfect, but it sure is real and it's a pleasure to finally release it and make it possible to hear it as best as it can be heard. May the blues keep you kalm in these troubled times.

by Al Kooper, November 2002

Tracks
1. Introductions - 1:27
2. One Way Out (E. James, M. Sehorn, S. Williamson) - 4:21
3. Mike Bloomfield's Introduction of Johnny Winter - 0:59
4. It's My Own Fault (B.B. King, J. Taub) - 10:57
5. 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) (P. Simon) - 6:16
6. (Please) Tell Me Partner (M. Bloomfield) - 10:11
7. That's All Right Mama (A. Crudup) - 3:40
8. Together Till The End Of Time (F. Wilson) - 4:30
9. Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong (A. King) - 14:01
10.Season Of The Witch (Donovan) - 8:59

Band
*Mike Bloomfield - Guitar, Vocals
*Johnny Winter - Guitar, Vocals (track 3)
*Al Kooper - Organ, Piano, Vocals
*Jerry Jemmott - Bass
*Paul Harris - Piano
*Johnny Cresci - Drums

Mike Bloomfield
1966-68  The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Strawberry Jam
1967  Electric Flag - The Trip
1968-69  Electric Flag - An American Music Band / A Long Time Comin'  
196?-7?  The Electric Flag - Live
1969  Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper - The Live Adventures
1969  Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites & Friends - Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West
1969  Nick Gravenites - My Labors
1973  Bloomfield, Hammond, Dr.John - Triumvirate (Japan remaster)
1976  KGB - KGB
1976-77  Michael Bloomfield - Live at the Old Waldorf

Al Kooper
1969  The Kooper Sessions With Shuggie Otis
1970  Easy Does It 
1973  Naked Songs
with Blues Project
1966  Live At The Cafe Au Go Go (2013 Japan SHM double disc set)
1966  Projections
1967   Live At Town Hall
1973  Reunion In Central Park
with Blood, Sweat And Tears
1968  Child Is Father To The Man

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Fleetwood Mac - Show Biz Blues (1968-1970 uk, astonishing classic rock blues, 2002 double disc digi pack with unissued material)

'Show-Biz Blues' is a compilation which consists entirely of previously unissued works from Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Included here are new songs as well as alternate versions of previously released tracks, and detailed in this booklet is the background to every track on this second 2-CD collection of early Fleetwood Mac blues. Also to be found in this booklet is new info and interviews for devotees of the original Peter Green line-up of the band, and for anyone interested in the 1960s British music scene - the time during which blues progressed into rock. 

The great thing about doing retrospectives which revisit that blues-rock period is that although the 1960s are well dead and gone, back in this dot.com present fresh info is there daily and important new stuff comes to light from time to time which allows you then to dig a bit deeper. So there can be no such thing as the 'definitive' story of the original Fleetwood Mac - it is an ever-unfolding saga. 

Since The Vaudeville Years collection came out, three things have been made available which add new slants to the Fleetwood Mac Story and to the Peter Green Story. First, an interview with hitherto low-profile Jeremy Spencer on Marty and Lisa Adelson's Fleetwood Mac website /penguin/qa. 

Second, an evocative and often poetic autobiography has been written by Dinky Dawson, the original Fleetwood Mac's sound engineer 'Life On The Road' (Billboard Books - ISBN 0-8230-8344-6). It is essential reading for Mac fans. 

The third chunk of info is not directly to do with early Fleetwood Mac but even so speaks volumes about the climate of those times and about how the pressures of fame and stardom could weigh heavy on a sensitive artist and cutting-edge guitarist. And so, watching Christopher Olgiati's television documentary about Jimi Hendrix - The Man They Made God - broadcast on BBC2's Hendrix Night in 1999, it was impossible not to see some parallels with Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac. In amongst much new archive footage from that time there is Eric Burdon's chilling assertion that "the business killed Jimi". What's more, Band of Gypsies' conga player Juma Sultan recounts bad memories of how Hendrix's creative direction towards the end - or rather a lack of it - was far more 'influenced' by management carrying shooters under their slick suits than by his own musical genius. 

Ironically, Hendrix's show-biz blues towards the end came to him from his fan base many of whom only wanted to hear what they knew. He was booed at the Isle of Wight Festival for musically wanting to move on. Being aware of this, management wanted Hendrix to be a keep-playing-the-old-hits cash cow rather than an inventive musician pushing back barriers. And so, in Juma Sultan's words. "they milked the cow to death". Burdon's and Sultan's comments are stark reminders that if there was something in the air in the late-1960s and 1970 in the music business then it was not the notion of artistic freedom - something Peter Green was also discovering around that time. In 1968 Hendrix told a journalist: 

"We've been playing Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary, Hey Joe and Foxy Lady.....we've been playing all these songs - which I really think are groovy songs - but we've been doing all these songs for two years. So quite naturally we start to improvise here and there and there's other things we want to turn on to the people, you know." 

And just two years later Green - by then, with three hits under his belt - commented: 

"Sometimes I think I've played this song 25,000 times - I've got to do something different with it. It's almost like being dictated to." 

So, a couple of years after Jimi Hendrix, the original Fleetwood Mac - led by a blues visionary - were also poised to conquer the world with a futuristic take on the blues. To get an idea of Green's musical vision listen now to his improvisational skills on a promotional recording of Green Manalishi - Disc 2 - track 7 - extended live version. Playing at his very best, none the less he soon had to quit the business for his freedom - to escape being dictated to by his fans, and also by his band who felt safer playing accessible blues-rock as opposed to the free-form direction of Underway - Disc 2 - track 3. There lies a crucial difference between Green and Hendrix: Green got out just in time, Hendrix got trapped. 

Peter Green's sudden exit came as a big shock to the band he left behind and to the business. But wasn't it a wise move in retrospect. At least he got away with his life. This was his and Fleetwood Mac's Show-Biz Blues, as he recently explained to Harry Shapiro in the Vol. 2 Issue 35 of the indispensable British Blues Connection magazine Blueprint (www.blueprint.blues.co.uk) 

"You can't really say what it was all about - it's just Show-Biz Blues (a track on 'Then Play On'). That's the song that says it all. The rest of them looked like clowns and I'm part of the circus. Whatever Fleetwood Mac had become I just didn't want to play whatever it was." 

The sad irony of Peter's comment is focused when listening to this collection with its many gems, and then imagining what might still have been to come. 

Everybody's got the show-biz blues. 

fom CD Liner-notes

Tracks

Disc one

1.  Soul Dressing (Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Lewie Steinberg) – 3:47

2.  If You Want to Be Happy  (Frank Guida, Carmela Guida, Joseph Royster) – 2:28

3.  Outrage  (William Allen Jr., Cropper, Jackson, Steinberg) – 2:47

4.  The Sun is Shining  (Elmore James) – 3:02

5.  Don't Be Cruel  (Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley) – 1:40

6.  I'm So Lonely and Blue (Jeremy Spencer) – 3:53

7.  How Blue Can You Get?  (Leonard Feather) – 3:36

8.  My Baby's Sweeter  (Sonny Boy Williamson) – 3:38

9.  Long Grey Mare  (Peter Green) – 1:58

10. Buzz Me Baby  (Fleecy Moore, Dave Dexter, Jr.) – 3:33

11. Mind of My Own  (Danny Kirwan) – 2:59

12. I Have to Laugh (Otis Rush, Dave Clark) – 3:27

13. You're the One  (Buddy Holly, Slim Corbin, Waylon Jennings) – 2:05

14. Do You Give a Damn for Me (Green) – 3:58 

15. Him and Me  (Green) – 4:02 

16. Showbiz Blues  (Green) – 4:06

17. Fast Talking Woman Blues  (Green) – 3:22 

18. World in Harmony  (Kirwan, Green) – 3:24

19. Leaving Town Blues  (Green) – 3:49

Tracks 1-3 are performed by The Peter B's, an early band featuring Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood with Peter Bardens and David Ambrose.

Disc two
1.  Black Magic Woman  (Green) – 7:39
2.  Jumpin' at Shadows  (Duster Bennett) – 5:24
3.  Rattlesnake Shake / Underway  (Green) – 14:06
4.  Stranger Blues  (Elmore James, Morris Levy, Clarence Lewis) – 4:15
5.  World in Harmony  (Kirwan, Green) – 3:32
6.  Tiger  (Ollie Jones) – 3:22
7.  The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown)  (Green) – 15:15
8.  Coming Your Way  (Kirwan) – 7:32
9.  Great Balls of Fire  (Blackwell, Jack Hammer) – 2:32
10. Twist and Shout  (Phil Medley, Bert Russell) – 7:45

Fleetwood Mac
* Peter Green – Guitar, Vocals
* Jeremy Spencer – Guitar, Vocals
* Danny Kirwan – Guitar, Vocals
* John McVie – Bass
* Mick Fleetwood – Percussion, Drums

1967-71  Live At The BBC
1968-71  The Best Of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
1969  Shrine '69

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String Cheese - Strings Cheese (1971 us, wonderful psych folk rock with west coast aroma)

On first listen, String Cheese bares an incredible resemblence to the cultish San-Fran psych-folk outfit, “It’s a Beautiful Day”. Both bands have hopeful lyrics carried by angelic voices soaring over lush arrangements and spacious rhythms. In a word: magical.

As the album progressed, I began to hear resemblences to Jefferson Airplane and their quirky forbear, The Great Society.

I can hear both Marty Balin and Grace Slick in the vocals of Sally Smaller, and I am guessing she was only beginning to develop her repertoire. Unlike her female counterparts Pattie Santos and Linda LaFlamme of It’s a Beautiful Day, Sally’s voice hints at much darker qualities. This together with the more electric approach of String Cheese means that had they survived, they may have ventured off into harder-edged musical territory.

Considering the optimism of their lyrics, and the similarities to label mates like Jefferson Airplane, it’s surprising that String Cheese didn’t move from their home base of Chicago to join the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco.

The tight-knit musical community there must have appealed to Greg Bloch, and so he left String Cheese to replace David LaFlamme in It’s a Beautiful Day in 1973. Unfortunately, this move was poisoned by the fact that LaFlamme was forced out of the band he founded due to royalty issues. Other Haight bands like the Grateful Dead were experiencing similar financial problems at the time, and with the Summer of Love fading into the distance, the idealism of the 1960s was losing its momentum – even in San Francisco.

I’d be quite reluctant to say that another “Summer of Love” is just around the corner, but there definitely seems to be hope that musicians are beginning to understand the importance of community again. Here in Toronto, multi-instrumental collaborations are on the rise, and musicians often play in several bands simultaneously – partially for experimentation, but also to pay the bills.

Albums like String Cheese offer up a taste of the magic that is possible for those who are committed to their craft.

The open rhythm of Louis Constantino on bass guitar and John Maggi on drums lays a basic foundation for the lush melodies of Bloch, Smaller, Larry Wendelken (vocals, 12-string guitar), and the sea of instruments played by William Dalton: organ, piano, celeste, electric guitar, harpsichord, keyboards, sitar (acoustic and electric), classical guitar, and orator.

What happened to the rest of String Cheese remains a mystery. Bloch went on to play with Mark-Almond (John Mayall’s former rhythm section), but the rest of the band appears to have just drifted into total obscurity. If you have any details, please feel free to post them as comments. 

By Rugrat from The Basement Rug

Tracks
1. For Now (Wendelken) - 3:46
2. Crystal (Wendelken) - 5:16
3. We Share (Wendelken, Scott) - 2:59
4. Here Am I / Empty Streets (Wendelken, Scott) - 6:27
5. Forage (Wendelken) - 3:00
6. Soul Of Man (Wendelken) - 5:04
7. Certain Kind Of Day (Wendelken, Scott) - 3:59
8. Woke Up This Morning (Wendelken) - 4:30
9. Coming (Dalton) - 1:42

String Cheese
*Lawrence W. Wendelken – 12-String Guitar, Vocals
*Sally Smaller – Vocals
*Gregory Bloch – Electric Violin
*William Dalton – Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Electric Sitar, Celeste, Piano, Organ, Harpsichord
*Louis Constantino – Bass
*John Maggi – Drums

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The Rippers - Honesty (1968 germany, fine beat psych, Vinyl edition)

The  Rippers line featured four college aged Germans (keyboardist Hans Enderle, singer/lead guitarist Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk, drummer Peter Kempf, rhythm guitarist Lutz Wolf) and one Spaniard (bassist Fernando Rosell).   

They apparently made some noise playing clubs and battle of the bands contests, and attracted the attention of the small German Opp label (who had signed The Blackbirds and Hairy Chapter).  How they went from Opp to releasing an album on the budget British Saga label is a total mystery to me, though someone out there must know.

1968's "Honesty" featured a collection of original material sung in English  With Gottescalk credited with writing most of the ten tracks, the band was heavily influenced by a wide array of American and English acts.  That made for a fun spot-the-influences collection with included everything from Ray Manzarek-styled organ flourishes ('Honesty'), to Stax flavored instrumentals ('Big Ben').  The band was also blessed with two strong singers in Gottescalk and Wolf.  Rosell also sang, but wasn't nearly as good.

All three men sang with distinctive accents, but you quickly got acclimated to them and the accents only occasionally stood out as an issue (the hideous ballad 'Georgia').  By the way, courtesy of the liner notes, we know that Gottescalk's voice 'has rather a black timbre.'  I'm guessing something got lost in the German-to-English translation. 

Bad-cat

Tracks
1. Honesty - 3:30
2. My Woman   (Lutz Wolf) - 3:28
3. My Plight   (Hans Enderle, Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk) - 3:23
4. The Night At the Lagoone - 2:36
5. Big Ben (Instrumental) - 3:33
6. Georgia   (Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk, Fernando Rosell) - 3:50
7. All the Jumping People - 2:01
8. The Girl Whom I Adore - 3:53
9. Blues for Kasperek (Instrumental)  (Hans Enderle) - 3:34
10.My Soul Is Wrong - 3:05
All songs by Joachim (Jim) Gottescalk except where noted

The Rippers
*Hans Enderle - Keyboards
*Joachim Gottescalk - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Peter Kempf - Drums, Percussion
*Fernando Rosell - Bass, Vocals
*Lutz Wolf - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar

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Aphrodite's Child - It's Five O' Clock (1969 greece, 2nd album, remarkable psychedelic rock, japan remaster limited edition)

Aphrodite's Child's second LP was in some ways both a continuation of and departure from their debut album, End of the World. There were some grandiose keyboard-based sub-British psychedelic tracks that could have fit in well on the previous record. 

The title song's celestial organ, for instance, is much like that on heard on U.K. psychedelic records of the period such as Rupert's People's "Reflections of Charlie Brown," though it's more sentimentally romantic than virtually anything a British band would have released, especially in its vocal delivery. Yet on other cuts, the group took on a markedly different character, whether it was mildly rousing social consciousness ("Wake Up"), pretty fair stomping power pop-psych ("Let Me Love, Let Me Live"), and, least successfully, good-time country-rock ("Take Your Time") and gravelly vaudevillian soul ("Good Time So Fine"). 

"Funky Mary," on the other hand, is a really cool departure into almost experimental soul-rock, its phased vocals backed by an almost musique concrete wash of bashing drums, Latin-African-flavored bongos, and jazzy vibraphone. If it's guiltier pleasures you're looking for, the unreservedly heart-tuggingly sad "Marie Jolie" is their best (if most saccharine) pop ballad with Mediterranean gondola balladeer overtones complete with accordion solo, though it's End of the World's "Rain and Tears" that the group's most remembered for in that department.

 "Such a Funny Night," which follows right after that, steers the boat back to pop-psychedelia in the twee British mold. Like their first album, then, it's a very uneven record, but one whose best half or so is pretty enjoyable psych-turning-into-prog with Greek accents to both the vocals and melodies, even if it's never going to be classified as especially hip. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. It's Five O'Clock (R. Francis, Vangelis) - 3:31
2. Wake Up (R. Francis, E. Papathanassiou) - 4:04
3. Take Your Time (R. Francis, E. Papathanassiou) - 2:39
4. Annabella (R. Adams, Demis Roussos) - 3:45
5. Let Me Love, Let Me Live (R. Francis, Lucas Sideras) - 4:43
6. Funky Mary (Papathanassiou, Sideras) - 4:11
7. Good Time So Fine (V. Johnson, E. Papathanassiou) - 2:45
8. Marie Jolie (R. Francis, Papathanassiou) - 4:41
9. Such a Funny Night (R. Adams, Papathanassiou) - 4:34

Aphrodite's Child
*Demis Roussos - Bass, Guitars, Vocals
*Vangelis Papathanassiou - Bass, Keyboards
*Lucas Sideras - Drums, Percussion

1968  End of the World (1st album, 2010 esoteric remaster)

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Ruthann Friedman - Windy • A Ruthann Friedman Songbook (1966-73 us, outstanding folk rock, 2013 remaster)

A look at the intense visage of Ruthann Friedman on the cover "Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook" reveals those “stormy eyes that flash at the sound of lies,” but a listen to the sounds within shows the artist spreading her “wings to fly above the clouds.”  For here is an entire disc’s worth of never-before-heard pop nuggets, crafted with a delicacy and beauty to match that photo.  Windy, of course, is so named, of course, for The Association’s 1967 No. 1 hit penned by Friedman, which was recognized as one of BMI’s Top 100 Songs of the 20th Century.  Its eighteen tracks were recorded between 1966 and 1973, truly a period during which anything was possible.  They find Friedman supported by such luminaries as Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Curt Boettcher, Ron Elliott and members of the Los Angeles Wrecking Crew, and reveal a gifted songwriter who was very much more than a “one-hit wonder.”

Chances are, if you know the music of Ruthann Friedman beyond “Windy,” it’s due to her 1969 Reprise album Constant Companion, a fragile psych-folk gem that many have compared to the best of Vashti Bunyan or Judee Sill.  Or perhaps you know Water Records’ 2006 volume of “lost” songs, Hurried Life.  But Now Sounds’ new excavation unearths a wealth of inventive pop.  Though Friedman’s own, stripped-down recording of the seminal “Windy” is reprised (in alternate form) from A Hurried Life, it’s surrounded with seventeen other melodic gems ranging from the sunny to the sad.  These have been drawn from demos and publishing recordings, as well as songs intended for her first, unfinished A&M solo album.

Compilation producer/designer Steve Stanley’s vivid essay explains that a potpourri of influences affected young Ruthann, including the Broadway musicals of Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser and Richard Rodgers, the folk songs of Woody Guthrie and the rock-and-roll of Bill Haley and His Comets.  Indeed, the music on Songbook is stylistically varied.  Friedman possessed a husky, expressive and piercing voice that, at times, recalls Grace Slick; it’s no surprise, then, that she was briefly considered to front Jefferson Airplane following Signe Anderson’s departure.  She modestly reminisces in the liner notes, “They didn’t take me, which was smart.  I mean, Grace Slick, how can you turn that down?”

Four beguiling tracks have been rescued from sessions helmed by Curt Boettcher and Steve Clark in summer/fall 1966.  Boettcher and Clark backed Friedman with many of the musicians also heard on their production of And Then…Along Comes the Association including bassist Jerry Scheff (best known for his work with Elvis Presley) and the Wrecking Crew guitarist Mike Deasy.  A slinky, James Bond-esque intro announces “Don’t Say No” in which Friedman poses the pained question, “Can’t you see how dark my life is without you?”  Boettcher believed in the song and later re-recorded it with The Oracle on the Verve label.  

Friedman brings attitude to the spare “Please, Please, Please” (“You better start to change your ways if you want this love to last!”) and the garage-rock-with-horns of “Burning House.”  The spirited “There’s a Place in the Sky” beckons listeners to the locale where “there’s only love,” imploring “Come on, everybody, be yourself.”  This song wonderfully features the same poetic blend of the earthbound and the celestial that Friedman created in “Windy.”  It’s quite the mystery why The Association didn’t return to the Friedman well following the success of “Windy.”

Tommy LiPuma helmed sessions in 1967 and 1968 for Friedman’s unfinished A&M debut.  It’s crushing to read Friedman’s recollection of Jerry Moss informing her, “You’re the first person I signed to this label who didn’t make it” and summarily dropping her from the label.  Based on the songs premiering here, Moss clearly didn’t make the right decision!  These tracks hold their own alongside those recorded by LiPuma for his other top-notch A&M charges including Chris Montez and Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends.  It didn’t hurt that Friedman’s engaging and melodic songs were being brought to life by the likes of Parks, Newman, Elliott, Russ Titelman, and Wrecking Crew stalwarts Hal Blaine, Lyle Ritz, Joe Osborn, Mike Deasy, Michael Botts and Jim Gordon.

For “High Coin” and “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” Friedman called on the songs’ composers to accompany her – respectively, Van Dyke Parks and Randy Newman.  Parks’ tack piano is unmistakable on Friedman’s shimmering rendition of “High Coin.”  The song had previously been recorded by artists including Bobby Vee and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band; it also earned a spot on Harpers Bizarre’s 1967 Anything Goes album, and Jackie DeShannon would release a version in 1968.  An individualist herself, Ruthann found the clarity and resonance in Parks’ dazzling wordplay, and was similarly sympathetic to Newman’s stark, and even more oft-covered, “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today.”

From these sessions, “Halfway There” is tightly-arranged folk rock with a confident, brazen lead vocal from Friedman.  “Raining Down on My House” is the most atypical track, Eastern-influenced and sitar-flecked.  The evocative “The Sky is Moving South,” co-written with Friedman’s onetime companion Peter Kaukonen, even has a jazz influence.  (An alternate version of this song can be heard on Hurried Life.)  Best of all is “When You’re Near.”  This ode to a lover boasts a pretty, gently loping melody accented by wistful brass fanfares, a lovely guitar spotlight, and tight, dynamic drums.  It’s a companion of a sort to “I’ll Make You Happy,” another gorgeous but rhythmic affirmation of love.  Both craft and genuine emotion pour forth from these songs, and it’s hard to believe they’ve remained on a shelf for over 45 years.

Despite the collapse of the A&M deal, Van Dyke Parks took Lyle Ritz, Bread’s Michael Botts and Peter Kaukonen into the studio for Ruthann’s “Cary” in early 1969.  It’s a pretty and reflective character portrait that compares favorably with Joni Mitchell’s work of the time.  1973’s “Living with My Best Friend” serves as coda to the main portion of the program, with a very different feel than the preceding tracks.  Its breezy verses yield to an almost funky chorus (“Don’t bother raising your eyebrows/Unless you’ve got some new kind of guarantee!”), and nice work on guitars, percussion and horns surround Friedman’s impish lead vocal.  

Two bonus demos not sung by Friedman conclude the CD.  The piano boogie “Pinball Man” is sung by an unknown female vocalist and “Candy Apple Cotton Candy” is sung by Art Podell and Nick Woods, of the New Christy Minstrels.  The latter was recorded on Warner Bros. by Pat Shannon, with a Dick Glasser arrangement.  It’s a far less introspective composition than the others on this disc, but it’s sweetly charming, nonetheless.

Friedman’s comments on the music she made over 40 years ago are eye-opening.  Though she felt that “I’m writing this pop stuff and, I don’t know, it sounds forced…,” the delicious music of Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook is anything but forced.  The disc is also a feast for the eyes, thanks to Steve Stanley’s spot-on graphic design which replicates the feel of an actual LP from that era (right down to the A&M-evoking art on the CD itself). 

by Joe Marchese 

Tracks
1. Halfway There - 2:27
2. Birdie’s Blues - 2:20
3. When You’re Near - 3:07
4. High Coin (Parks) - 2:37
5. I’ll Make You Happy - 2:13
6. Windy (Demo) - 2:26
7. I Think It’s Going To Rain Today (Randy Newman) - 2:33
8. Don’t Say No - 2:27
9. Please Please Please - 2:03
10.Burning House - 1:52
11.There’s A Place In The Sky - 2:17
12.Country Song - 2:03
13.Raining Down On My House - 2:40
14.The Sky Is Moving South (Peter Kaukonen, Ruthann Friedman) - 4:04

15.Cary - 3:09
16.Pinball Man (Bonus Track) - 2:31
17.Candy Apple Cotton Candy (Bonus Track) - 2:37
18.Candy Apple Cotton - 2:05
All songs by Ruthann Friedman except where noted.

Musicians
*Ruthann Friedman - Vocals, Guitar
*Michael Botts, Jim Gordon, Hal Blaine, Jim Troxel - Drums, Percussions
*Lyle Ritz, Joe Osbonrne, Jerry Scheff - Bass
*Peter Kaukonen, Ron Elliot, Russ Titelman, Mike Deasy, Ben Benay, Lee Mallory - Guitars
*Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Butch Parker, Mike Henderson - Piano, Keyboards
*Toxey French - Drums, Vibes
*Jim Bell - Oboe

1965-71  Ruthann Friedman ‎– Hurried Life / Lost Recordings (2003 release)  

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The Lovin' Spoonful - You're A Big Boy Now / Everything Playing (1967-68 us, fabulous psych folk rock, 2011 remastered with extra tracks and 2016 Blu Spec bonus tracks issue)

A pair of tasty sets from The Lovin Spoonful! You're A Big Boy Now is soundtrack to the early Francis Ford Coppola film, and a surprisingly groovy batch of tracks! John Sebastian composed the whole score, and unlike most of the other albums by The Lovin Spoonful, this one's got a lot of instrumental numbers, arranged by the great Artie Schroek – short little grooves with a really nice feel, and mixes of percussion, horns, and guitar that come off with a great groovy 60s sound! The vocal numbers are pretty great too – and titles include the sublime "Darling Be Home Soon", plus "Miss Thing's Thing", "Letter To Barbara", "March", "The Finale", "Try & Be Happy", "Wash Her Away", and "Lonely". 

1968 was a milestone year for rock music, and the Lovin' Spoonful's 'Everything Playing', although mostly overlooked today, was one of the many reasons why. It  is their last long player with chief songwriter/arranger John Sebastian – a solid effort in a (thankfully) similar vein to their earlier classic work, but with hints of the sprawling efforts that blanketed late 60s pop. There's still a few big hits in the mix – "Six O'Clock, "She Is Still A Mystery" and "Money", none of which seemed to find their way onto oldies radio playlists the way the group's earlier efforts did. 

Thanks to that lack of saturation it's pretty deeply satisfying all the way through – warm to our hearts the same way a lot of early 70s Beach Boys stuff is! Comes with 3 bonus tracks: alternate versions of "She Is Still A Mystery", "Only Pretty, What A Pretty" and "Try A Little Bit".

Tracks
1967  You're A Big Boy Now
1. You're A Big Boy Now - 2:30
2. Lonely (Amy’s Theme) (Instrumental) - 3:19
3. Wash Her Away (From The Discotheque) - 2:30
4. Kite Chase (Instrumental) - 1:21
5. Try And Be Happy (Instrumental) - 1:03
6. Peep Show Percussion (Instrumental) - 1:18
7. Girl Beautiful Girl (Barbara's Theme) - 2:23
8. Darling Be Home Soon 3:33
9. Dixieland Big Boy - 1:13
10.Letter To Barbara (Instrumental) - 0:58
11.Barbara's Theme (From The Discotheque) - 1:27
12.Miss Thing's Thang (Instrumental) - 1:37
13.March (Instrumental) - 2:28
14.The Finale - 2:29
All Songs written By John B. Sebastian

1968  Everything Playing 
15.She Is Still A Mystery 2:59
16.Prisc1lla Millionaira - 3:11
17.Boredom - 2:23
18.Six O'clock - 2:41
19.Forever (Steve Boone) - 4:21
20.Younger Generation - 2:39
21.Money - 1:53
22.Old Folks (Joe Butler) - 3:03
23.Only Pretty What A Pity (Joe Butler, Jerry Yester) - 3:00
24.Try A Little Bit - 3:03
25 Close Your Eyes (John Sebastian, Jerry Yester) - 2:43
26.She Is Still A Mystery (Bonus Track, Alternate Version) - 3:08
27.Only Pretty What A Pity (Bonus Track, Alternate Version) (Joe Butler, Jerry Yester) - 2:55
28.Try A Little Bit (Bonus Track, Alternate Version) - 3:02
All Songs written By John B. Sebastian except otherwise.

The Lovin' Spoonful
1967  You're A Big Boy Now
*Joe Butler - Drums
*John Sebastian - Guitar, Harmonica,Autoharp
*Steve Boone - Bass, Piano
*Zal Yanovski - Lead Guitar

1968  Everything Playing 
*Joe Butler - Drums
*John Sebastian - Guitar, Harmonica,Autoharp
*Steve Boone - Bass, Piano
*Jerry Yester - Lead Guitar, Piano

 The Lovin' Spoonful
1965  Do You Believe In Magic (2016 Blu Spec Bonus Tracks Edition)
1966  Daydream  (2016 Blu Spec Bonus Tracks Edition)
1966  Hums Of The Lovin' Spoonful  (2016 Blu Spec Bonus Tracks Edition)
1966 The Lovin' Spoonful - What's Up, Tiger Lily (2008 japan remaster) 
1969  Revelation: Revolution '69
Related Acts
1969-76  John Sebastian - Faithful Virtue, The Reprise Recordings 
1969  Judy Henske And Jerry Yester - Farewell Aldebaran 

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Ruthann Friedman ‎– Hurried Life • The Lost Recordings (1965-71 us, gorgeous acoustic folk rock)

Born in the Bronx in July 6th 1944. Too early to be a baby boomer and too late for the 4th of July. Dog Tag days in the post WWII 50s at P.S.94, with Nuclear Bomb Drills part of our daily lives. Perhaps that is why I have spent so much of my life ducking under desks...

The Friedman family loved all kinds of music. We always sang in the car, perhaps to avoid speaking.  I started playing at Hoot nights at the Troubador when I was sixteen, hanging out with Steve Mann and Hoyt Axton and doing some serious underage drinking at Barney's Beanery and pot smoking at the Fifth Estate.

After Bob Dylan's first album was released and LSD was discovered by all, I headed down the road. My first paying gig was at the Green Spider Coffee House in Denver. It was the time of the great Hippy Migration and I sang for my supper up and down the coast of California. One summer I lived in North Beach sharing a room with good friend and brilliant guitarist Steve Mann, playing alternate weekends at the Coffee Gallery and The Coffee and Confusion. Tromping down Broadway in my short madras dress and high green boots...

Later that year I returned to San Francisco and lived with members of the Jefferson Airlplane in Haight Ashbury...sang with Country Joe and the Fish at the Avalon Ballroom and learned the pleasures of Southern Comfort from Janice Joplin while hunting for hot smokey links in the Fillmore District and purple acid from Owsley.

In Hollywood, about 1964, I became friends with Van Dyke Parks who, among other things, was the first one to say that if I wanted to be a professional all I had to do was make the commitment...always had a pot of soup on the stove...was the most fun to trip with...got me to Warner Brothers...was there helping me at every turn as I tried to make my way through the maze that is the record business.

One truly life changing effect Van Dyke had on me was to introduce me to the Association. Again they were kind enough to let me stay in the spare bedroom of their group house on Melrose Ave. The house was near Vermont Avenue within earshot of the Watts riots. In the midst of all that chaos we had great times together and there was always lots of music being played and strange potions, herbal and otherwise, being consumed.

The next years were spent in recording studios and bouncing from one relationship to another. I have miles of recording tape from that period...some good...and some that I hope to keep buried in the vault forever.

In 1967, thanks to his kindness, I was living in a spare room in David Crosby's home in Beverly Glenn Canyon. It was while living there that I wrote the song Windy. The Association recorded it and my life changed forever. The success of that simple tune gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted.

by Ruthann Friedman

Tracks
1. Hurried Life - 2:33
2. That's All Right - 3:23
3. To Treat A Friend - 2:59
4. Sky Is Moving South (Peter Kaukonen, Ruthann Friedman) - 4:02
5. Looking Glass - 3:28
6. Silver Bird - 2:30
7. Betweeen The Lines - 2:52
8. I’m Askin’ - 2:02
9. Windy - 2:22
10.Typical Sunday - 2:23
11.Southern Comfortable - 3:22
12.Alone At Last - 2:51
13.Boy Took A Ticket - 2:15
14.Method Madness - 2:52
15.Little Girl Lost And Found (Tandyn Almer) - 3:02
All compositions by Ruthann Friedman except where indicated

*Ruthann Friedman - Vocals, Guitar

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Turnquist Remedy - Iowa By The Sea (1970 us, tremendous west coast psych folk blues rock, Gear Fab release)

Turnquist Remedy were a band that embodied the fluid guitar sound and vocal harmonies so prevalent of the late 60's and early 70's. Turnquist Remedy played together from 1968 to at least 1971, possibly later. Band members were Michael Woods, Murphy Scarnecchia, Scott Harder, and John Maggi (Larry Vilaubi, Larry Knechtel, and George Semper played on the album). 

They toured Northern and Southern California extensively during these years. Research shows they played together as early as December 13,1968 at The Bank in Torrance, California and as late as August 1, 1971 at the San Diego Sports Arena. We have also heard a rumor that they appeared on the 1960's drama show "The Mod Squad" as a hippie band; however, this has not yet been confirmed. Michael Woods went on to play with America in the late 70's and early 80's while John Maggi later performed with String Cheese. 

Larry Knechtel was a session musician best known for his work with Simon & Garfunkel (piano on Bridge Over Troubled Waters), The Beach Boys (Pet Sounds, Smile), and Bread. His electric bass guitar riffs on The Byrd's "Mr. Tambourine Man" are now legendary. Special thanks to Al Schmitt for his assistance in this project.

by Roger Maglio

Tracks
1. Just A Number - 2:42
2. Last Cigarette (Michael Woods, Douglas Benton, Dennis Hudson) - 3:26
3. Anytime Soon - 3:00
4. Flyin' Dudley Waltz - 2:30
5. We Don't Even Know - 3:57
6. All Gone Blues Act - 7:02
7. Cowboy Song - 3:20
8. Reno, Nevada (Richard Farina) - 5:22
All songs by Michael Woods except where stated

Turnquist Remedy
*Michael Woods - Guitar, Vocals
*Murphy Scarnecchia - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Scott Harder - Bass, Vocals
*John Maggi - Drums, Percussion
*Larry Vilaubi - Drums
*Larry Knechtel - Piano, Organ
*George Semper - Piano,  Organ

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The Siegel • Schwall Band - 953 West (1973 us, amazing electric blues folk rock)

This is my favorite Siegel-Schwall album. It's the one I would take with me to a desert island, if I had to choose just one. Why? Well, the songs are all so well played and the writing is the most mature of all thier records. Jim's "I Think It Was The Wine" is a great story song and features one of the best guitar solos he ever played. Just superb. Corky gets a harp solo in there too and it compliments the song so well, it just sounds seamless.

 "Just Another Song About The Country Sung By A City Boy", besides being the longest song title in the band's canon, laments the spread of urban sprawl, unchecked growth, pollution and traffic choked city streets. "Reed Zone" (Psychiatric Institution Blues) is a number about a fellow bent on suicide ('Bring me my shotgun babe, bring me my sleeping pills') and Big Bill Broonzy's "When I've Been Drinkin'" tells the story of a fellow who's had a few too many and just wants to sleep it off. Jim's acoustic finger picked guitar and vocal and Corky's harp accompaniment combine to make this a standout track on the album. 

This album also features drummer Shelly Plotkin's only vocal and songwriting appearance on a Siegel-Schwall record ("Good Woman"). All in all, a great album and a satisfying listen.

Oh, yeah. Jim Schwall told me it's his favorite too, so there ya go. 

by William H. Haines

Tracks
1. I'd Like To Spend Some Time Alone With You Tonight My Friend (C. Siegel) – 4:12
2. Traitor From Decatur (Patrick Garvey) – 2:54
3. Good Woman (Shelly Plotkin) – 4:10
4. Just Another Song About The Country Sung By A City Boy (Danny Glicken, Siegel) – 5:23
5. When I've Been Drinkin' (Big Bill Broonzy, Additional Lyrics by Jim Schwall) – 4:06
6. Old Time Shimmy (Rollo Radford) – 3:54
7. Off To Denver (Siegel) – 3:13
8. I Think It Was The Wine (Schwall) – 3:50
9. Reed Zone (Psychiatric Institution Blues) (Siegel) – 5:59
10.Blow Out The Candle (Schwall) – 2:25

Siegel Schwall Band
*Corky Siegel – Piano, Harmonica, Vocals
*Jim Schwall – Guitar, Vocals
*Rollow Radford – Bass, Vocals
*Sheldon Ira Plotkin – Drums, Percussion

1971  The Siegel-Schwall Band
1972  Sleepy Hollow

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Foghat - Energized (1974 uk, fantastic hard funky boogie rock, japan remaster)

It jumps open with an unequivocal derangement of ol' Kansas City Joe Turner's "Honey Hush," in a marvelously shameless send-up of the Yardbirds. A rare cut that makes you discover how loud your equipment can go, it sets the album's tone. Ten Years After comes in for the same treatment with "Wild Cherry." Throw in a thankfully tasteless "That'll Be the Day" for an album than wins full points on irreverence alone.

In addition, Energized has a great "Step Outside" that reminds me of Three Dog Night, and an original "Home in My Hand" that's almost as good as the oldie of the same title everyone else is doing. It's a rude, raving riot of an album, from a group that's doing a bang-up job of closing the gap between where rock & roll has been and where it ought to be going.

by Greg Shaw, Rolling Stone, 1974

Tracks
1. Honey Hush (Turner) - 4:21
2. Step Outside (Peverett, Price, Earl, Stevens) - 6:18
3. Golden Arrow (Peverett, Price) - 4:03
4. Home in My Hand (Peverett, Price) - 5:13
5. Wild Cherry (Peverett, Price, Earl, Stevens) - 5:27
6. That'll Be the Day (Allison, Holly, Petty) - 2:53
7. Fly by Night (Stevens) - 4:47
8. Nothin' I Won't Do (Peverett, Price) - 6:57

Foghat
*Dave Peverett - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*Rod Price - Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar
*Tony Stevens - Bass
*Roger Earl - Drums

Foghat
1972  Foghat (1st Album, Japan remaster)
1973  Rock And Roll (Japan remaster)
Related Acts
1967-68  Savoy Brown - Shake Down / Getting To The Point
1969-70  Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna / Looking In

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Guess Who - Shakin' All Over / Hey Ho (What You Do To Me) / It's Time (1965-66 canada, incredible garage beat roots 'n' roll)

Aside from the magical garage rock classic Shakin' All Over by The Guess Who, the other thirty one gems that make up this wonderful new collection are probably being heard for the very first time by many of their fans.In 1965, when the first rudiments of this superstar act were just beginning to soar into the American and Canadian charts with the smash single Shakin' All Over, three Canadian only released albums would follow over the next few years.Friday Music is proud to be issuing these fantastic three albums on one new compact disc for the first time anywhere for your listening pleasure.

Their debut album Shakin' All Over includes some of the finest musicianship to ever be recorded in their homeland of Canada.Other tracks like I've Been Away and Like I Love You make this first effort a memorable one.A very pleasing half hour of Canadian Rock 60s style that has stood the test of time.Even to this day, The Guess Who still perform the title track in concert.

Hey Ho (What You Do To Me) continues The Guess Who's sojourn with an almost English Invasion approach, which works extremely well on songs like the harmonica laden I Should Have Realized and Randy Bachman's stellar instrumental Made In England.A nicely balanced album with a surprising rendition of Bruce Johnston's five star ballad Don't Be Scared.Rescued from vinyl oblivion, Bachman's remastering job really shines on this second effort.

A real find in this collection is the Canadian garage band classic It's Time.This amazing third chapter from this superstar band also introduced the world to the great voice of Burton Cummings.Along with founders Randy Bachman on guitar, the ever talented Jim Kale on bass and jazz rock drum style of Gary Peterson, these four gentlemen delivered some of the finest tunes ever with tracks like One Day, the bluesy Clock On The Wall and the chain gang rock of Seven Long Days.Never released on vinyl in the States, this newly remastered version should make a lot of Guess Who fans rejoice.

Shakin' All Over/Hey Ho (What You Do To Me)/It's Time were three definitive rocking chapters in the legendary career of The Guess Who.These recordings reveal a snapshot in Canadian musical history, never to be repeated again by anyone, but to be emulated by many.Their music is played on every classic rock and oldies station in the world, and fortunately for all of us, they continue to thrill crowds with their shopping list of number ones from multi-platinum albums recorded over the years.Now, you have your own eighty minute concert to enjoy courtesy of The Guess Who.

CD Liner-notes

Tracks
Shakin' All Over
1. Shakin' All Over - 2:43
2. Like I love You - 1:59
3. Till We Kissed (Where Have You Been) - 2:37
4. Shy Guy - 2:27
5. Shot Of Rhytmn' Blues - 2:07
6. I Want You To Love Me - 2:20
7. I'd Rather Be Alone - 2:10
8. I've Been Away - 2:09
9. Tuff E Nuff - 2:34
10.Turn Around And Walk Away - 2:30
Hey Ho (What You Do To Me)
11.Hey Ho - 2:09
12.Should Have realized - 2:05
13.Hurting Each Other - 2:16
14.Made in England - 3:01
15.I'll Keep Comin' Back - 1:53
16.Stop Teasing Me - 2:35
17.Could This Be Love - 2:08
18.Theme From A Musicbox - 2:13
19.Don't Be Scared - 2:12
20.Goodnight Goodnight - 2:31
It's Time
21.Alright - 2:21
22.And She's Mine - 2:40
23.As - 2:23
24.You Know He Did - 2:03
25.Baby Feelin' - 2:00
26.Clock On The Wall - 3:01
27.Don't Act So Bad - 3:09
28.Believe Me - 2:53
29.Seven Long Years - 2:46
30.One Day - 2:01
31.Gonna Search - 2:27
32.Guess I'll Find A Place - 2:24

The Guess Who
*Randy Bachman - Guitar
*Burton Cummings - Vocals,
*Jim Kale - Guitar Bass,
*Garry Peterson - Drums

Guess Who for more
1966-68  The Guess Who - This Time Long Ago

1967-68  Let's Go
1972  The Guess Who - Live At The Paramount

Related Act
1970/72  Brave Belt - Brave Belt I / II

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Huckle - Wild Blue Yonder (1976 canada, exceptional psych folk harmonies with southern rock airstream, 2012 korean remaster)

The singer-songwriter known as Huckle was born in 1954 and grew up in Montreal and Toronto Huckle moved west to Gabriola Island in 1973 and helped organize two western tours by Perth County Conspiracy (dne), performing the warmup act for some of the shows. 

In spring 1974  on the first of the tours a live recording was made of eleven original Huckle songs with Gary McKeehan engineering. Nine songs were recorded live after soundcheck for Perth County's Vancouver concert at Pender Auditorium March 1974 The band included: Huckle (vocals, guitar, mandolin) with Richard Keelan (guitar) Michael Butler (bass) George Koumantaros (congas) from Perth County, as well as Paul Gellman (vocals, fiddle, guitar) and Wende Sinclair (vocals, bamboo flute).

Two more songs performed by Huckle and Paul were recorded live on stage at Gabriola Hall the next night. These tracks became Huckle's first album release "Upon a Once Time" 500 copies were pressed and mostly sold off the stage at concerts. One of the very first "indie"  records, it has now become rare vinyl and sells for a lot more than it did when it was new ($3) if you can find one.

In summer 1974 Huckle moved to Salt Spring Island and joined the wildly popular local band Sodbusters. They threw boogies at community halls on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the mainland. They also had a grant to tour and perform in BC prisons and work camps. That fall they recorded an album with Si Garber in Vancouver, now also rare vinyl

After wintering in Central America, a summer 1975 tour in eastern Canada included performances by Huckle at many folk festivals (Home County, Northern Lights) and folk coffeehouses (Black Swan, Yellow Door). Paul Gellman and Huckle did a caravan cross Canada tour that fall, with Laura, Cathy, Sam and Jeremy, and Sally Sunshine along, and landed back on Gabriola Island. Huckle and Paul formed a band, Wild Blue Yonder, with Wende Sinclair, Tom Agostino, and Straw. They did a western Canada tour in spring 1976 including a live radio show at the Hovel in Edmonton with Holger Petersen.

A third tour in fall of 1976 as a duo with Tom Agostino introduced the second Huckle album "Wild Blue Yonder", now, you guessed it, rare vinyl. Recorded live and in the studio,   300 copies were pressed Also that year Huckle performed on the national CBC radio show Touch the Earth with Sylvia Tyson and Bill Garrett. In 1977 Huckle moved back to Salt Spring Island and began performing solo again, mostly in Victoria. This led to the formation of Real Fantasy Band. He teamed up with some jazz fusion players (including Hugh Fraser), and played festivals and shows with them for three years.

His third album "Real Fantasy" had band recordings on side one and acoustic solo tracks recorded at Michael Grieve's Keye Studio in Victoria on side two, released on cassette only.

Huckle

Tracks
1. Wild Blue Yonder - 4:14
2. Rolling River - 4:41
3. I Surrender - 3:33
4. Flower To The Sun - 6:18
5. She's Coming Home - 3:28
6. Beautiful You Are - 4:27
7. High For Sky - 1:16
8. Gather The Children - 3:42
9. Wild Night - 4:08
All songs written by Huckle

Band
*Huckle - Vocals, Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Flute, Piano
*Paul Gellman - Vocals, Fiddle, Guitar, Piano
*Wende Sinclair - Vocals
*Tom Agostino - Vocals, Bass
*Straw - Wooden Drums
*Bob Walshaw - Drums

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