LOU REED (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013)

Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader 

and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

Lou Reed, a massively influential songwriter and guitarist who helped shape nearly fifty years of rock music, died today. The cause of his death has not yet been released, but Reed underwent a liver transplant in May.

With the Velvet Underground in the late Sixties, Reed fused street-level urgency with elements of European avant-garde music, marrying beauty and noise, while bringing a whole new lyrical honesty to rock & roll poetry. As a restlessly inventive solo artist, from the Seventies into the 2010s, he was chameleonic, thorny and unpredictable, challenging his fans at every turn. Glam, punk and alternative rock are all unthinkable without his revelatory example. "One chord is fine," he once said, alluding to his bare-bones guitar style. "Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz."

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed was born in Brooklyn, in 1942. A fan of doo-wop and early rock & roll (he movingly inducted Dion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989), Reed also took formative inspiration during his studies at Syracuse University with the poet Delmore Schwartz. After college, he worked as a staff songwriter for the novelty label Pickwick Records (where he had a minor hit in 1964 with a dance-song parody called "The Ostrich"). In the mid-Sixties, Reed befriended Welsh musician John Cale, a classically trained violist who had performed with groundbreaking minimalist composer La Monte Young. Reed and Cale formed a band called the Primitives, then changed their name to the Warlocks. After meeting guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Maureen Tucker, they became the Velvet Underground. With a stark sound and ominous look, the band caught the attention of Andy Warhol, who incorporated the Velvets into his Exploding Plastic Inevitable. "Andy would show his movies on us," Reed said. "We wore black so you could see the movie. But we were all wearing black anyway."

"Produced" by Warhol and met with total commercial indifference when it was released in early 1967, VU’s debut The Velvet Underground & Nico stands as a landmark on par with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde. Reed's matter-of-fact descriptions of New York’s bohemian demimonde, rife with allusions to drugs and S&M, pushed beyond even the Rolling Stones’ darkest moments, while the heavy doses of distortion and noise for its own sake revolutionized rock guitar. The band’s three subsequent albums – 1968’s even more corrosive sounding White Light/White Heat, 1969’s fragile, folk-toned The Velvet Underground and 1970’s Loaded, which despite being recorded while he was leaving the group, contained two Reed standards, “Rock & Roll” and “Sweet Jane,” were similarly ignored. But they’d be embraced by future generations, cementing the Velvet Underground’s status as the most influential American rock band of all time.   

by Jon Dolan, October 27, 2013

Road - Road (1972 uk / us, stunning hard psych rock, with Noel Redding)

Formed in March 1972 by former Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding, in the aftermath of a debilitating fall at Frank Zappa’s home, this short-lived power trio also featured former Rare Earth guitarist Rod Richards and Redding’s Fat Mattress bandmate Leslie Sampson on drums. 

Their sole album is a crunching hard rock collection that was praised on release that July – but the band split soon afterwards, making it a lost piece of the jigsaw for Hendrix fans, and a must-hear for all lovers of proto-metal.

Tracks
1. I'm Trying (Rod Richards) - 6:33
2. I'm Going Down To The Country (Noel Redding) - 2:42
3. Mushroom Man (Rod Richards, Leslie Sampson) - 4:08
4. Man Dressed In Red (Noel Redding) - 7:00
5. Spaceship Earth (Rod Richards) - 3:28
6. My Friends (Noel Redding) - 6:17
7. Road (Rod Richards) - 9:29

Road
*Noel Redding - Bass, Vocals, Production
*Rod Richards - Guitar, Vocals
*Leslie Sampson - Drums, Vocals, Percussion

Related Act
1969-74  Rare Earth - Fill Your Head

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Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On (1969 uk, blues rock masterpiece, deluxe expanded 2013 edition)

A peculiar news bulletin appeared in the July 12th, 1969, edition of Rolling Stone: Two members of the British blues band Fleetwood Mac were  going to "put Christ on wax," as the headline put it. Singer-guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer planned to write and produce an "orchestral-choral LP" about the life of Jesus. "The record will be in addition to an album by the full band and a solo LP by Spencer," the report said, then quoted Spencer: "We believe in God, and this is a serious venture."

The Jesus LP was never made. But those few lines in Rolling Stone caught, in eerie miniature, the searching energies and mounting crisis — musical, spiritual, psychological — that soon shattered the classic bluespower Fleetwood Mac that created this record and the vital singles included in this reissue: Green, Spencer, singer-guitarist Danny Kirwan, bassist John McVie, and drummer Mick Fleetwood.

Then Play On was Fleetwood Mac's third studio album — and the only LP made in that lineup's supernova lifetime. Recorded in the late spring and summer of 1969, Then Play On was released in Britain and America that fall. A few months later, in May 1970, Green — Fleetwood Mac's founder and leader — left the band, citing religious convictions. "I want to lead a freer and more selfless life along Christian principles," he told Rolling Stone at the time. 

The guitarist, who was born Jewish, had also suffered traumatic experiences with LSD and was showing ominous signs of an illness eventually diagnosed as schizophrenia. Spencer and Kirwan were soon gone as well, the former to a Christian commune in Los Angeles in February, 1971. Kirwan, who was only 18 when he joined Fleetwood Mac in mid-1968, was fired in August, 1972, when his drinking and manic behavior became too much to bear. 

Fleetwood and McVie survived the chaos and ensuing personnel changes, carrying the band that Green named after them to a spectacular, multi-platinum rebirth, still going today.  "But the outcome of this album is not what we dreamed of," Fleetwood says now concerning the devastation that followed Then Play On. "I had no idea at the time of the hidden textures, the indicators that Peter was reaching out in songs like 'Before The Beginning' — that he was questioning what and who he was."

Born Peter Greenbaum in East London in 1946, Green was only 20 when he became Eric Clapton's successor in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He quickly earned acclaim for his dynamic, melodically incisive approach to Chicago blues guitar, showcased on Mayall's 1967 album, A Hard Road. Green started Fleetwood Mac that summer. McVie also came from the Bluesbreakers. Fleetwood had played in white R’n’B groups, such as The Cheynes and Shotgun Express. And Spencer was a hot, teenaged slide guitarist with a special passion for Mississippi bluesman Elmore James.

By late 1968, Fleetwood Mac had two British hit albums, Fleetwood Mac and Mr. Wonderful, made before Kirwan joined. An early '69 single, Green's dreamy instrumental, "Albatross," went to Number One there. "You're going, 'How on earth did this happen?'" Fleetwood marvels. "We were having hits playing Elmore James. People are drinking their tea in the suburbs of Manchester, watching us on these pop TV shows, and they didn't know we were just doing the same music we played in the pubs."

Still just 23, Green quit Fleetwood Mac in the wake of astonishing work — arguably his best on record, given the troubles looming around the bend. Then Play On, the '69 two-part hit single "Oh Well," and the thrilling, tormented 1970 45 "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)" all capture the first-era Fleetwood Mac at their exploratory peak: blessed with protean guitar talent and inventing a highly personal, matured psychedelia while still grounded in Chicago and Mississippi blues. 

The album is also marked by a striking, whispered majesty — part day-glo country, part anguished prayer — in Green and Kirwan's delicately triggered ballads. Then Play On, issued in different, confusing U.K. and U.S. track sequences. The cover and title of Then Play On now come with more pathos than Green and Fleetwood intended. They named the record after the opening line in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a prescription for healing, joy, and amorous comfort: "If music be the food of love, play on." The image spread across the gatefold sleeve — a naked young man riding a white horse — was an Art Nouveau mural by the English painter Maxwell Armfield, originally commissioned for the dining room of a London mansion.

The sessions for Then Play On began that April in London. Fleetwood Mac — an early pillar of the British blues revival imprint Blue Horizon — had a new major-label deal with Warner Bros., and were producing themselves. The engineer was Martin Birch, who continued to work with the band through the early '70s. (Birch was also about to start a long studio relationship with Deep Purple.) But the evolution out of the purism on Fleetwood Mac and Mr. Wonderful had been going on — and moving fast — since the summer of 1968, when the four-piece Mac toured the U.S. for the first time, appearing in psychedelic dancehalls like San Francisco's Carousel Ballroom and mixing with fellow travellers, in blues and roots, such as the Grateful Dead, The Byrds, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. 

The Fleetwood Mac that made this album did not survive its creation. But the dreams, drive, and truths in these songs, in the guitars — they play on, as Green intended. "Truly, as a musician, he was ready to move on," Fleetwood says. "The sad part is he didn't feel he could take us. But even when he formed Fleetwood Mac, there was this incredible focus, like making sure it was not his name on there: 'No, I want this to be your band.' I'm not so sure that Peter didn't have a vision that one day, when he left, he didn't want this thing to collapse.

"This was a man," Fleetwood says of his old friend, "who saw things that we could not imagine." And this was his gift, before saying goodbye.

by David Fricke, R. S.  June, 2013

Tracks
1. Coming Your Way (Danny Kirwan) - 3:44
2. Closing My Eyes - 4:50
3. Fighting For Madge (Mick Fleetwood) - 2:42
4. When You Say (Danny Kirwan) - 4:31
5. Showbiz Blues - 3:50
6. Underway - 3:04
7. One Sunny Day (Danny Kirwan) - 3:13
8. Although The Sun Is Shining (Danny Kirwan) - 2:25
9. Rattlesnake Shake - 3:29
10.Without You (Danny Kirwan) - 4:35
11.Searching For Madge (John Mcvie) - 6:55
12.My Dream (Danny Kirwan) - 3:31
13.Like Crying (Danny Kirwan) - 2:25
14.Before The Beginning - 3:29
15.Oh Well, Part 1 (Mono Single) - 3:22
16.Oh Well, Part 2 (Mono Single) - 5:39
17.The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (Single) - 4:36
18.World In Harmony (Single) (Danny Kirwan) - 3:26
All songs by Peter Green except where noted

Fleetwood Mac
*Peter Green - Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Six String Bass, Violoncello
*Danny Kirwan - Vocals, Guitar
*John Mcvie - Bass Guitar
*Mick Fleetwood - Drums, Percussion
*Jeremy Spencer - Piano
Additional Personnel
*Christine Perfect - Piano
*Big Walter Horton - Harmonica

1967-71  Live At The BBC
1968-70  Show Biz Blues
1968-71  The Best Of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
1969  Shrine '69

1970  Kiln House

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Plain Jane - Plain Jane (1969 us, fabulous country folk rock with sunny psych tinges, 2008 edition)

Recorded at Hollywood's I.D. Sound Studios with Les Brown Jr. handling the production duties, 1969's "Plain Jane" was nothing short of fabulous.  Featuring ten original tracks with all four members contributing material, the album showcased a mesmerizing blend of late-1960s country-rock, pop, and psych influences. Full of killer songs and breath-taking, slightly stoned vocals, this overlooked gem spent weeks on my CD carousel.  

Hard to pick standouts since all ten tracks were worth hearing, but the opener 'Who's Drivin' This Train' sounded like Arlo Gurthrie and the Grateful Dead having graduated from the John Philips top-40 songwriting academy, while 'Not the Sam' combined CSN&Y vocal harmonies with some ballistic drumming and a cool psych feel.   If I had any complaints, it was that these guys lacked a distinctive sound of their own, though in borrowing bits and pieces from other groups they came up with a wonderful aural stew. 

They also created one of those albums that was a blast to crank up and play spot-the-influences. Okay, I'll add that 'Num-Bird' was too country-flavored for my tastes.   'You Can't Make It Alone' was what post-Monkees Michael Nesmith always yearned to sound like.  'That's How Much' sported an odd mock-English feel - hum, kinda' what Davy Jones always wanted to sound like ...  'Short Fairy Tale' added some tasty jazzy guitar licks to the mix.  And that was just side one.    All hyperbole aside this is a classic lost album just waiting to be discovered !!!  

Bad-cat

Tracks
1. Who's Drivin' This Train? (Barry Ray) - 2:57
2. You Can't Make It Alone (Jerry Schoenfeld) - 4:10
3. That's How Much (Don Gleicher) - 2:10
4. Short Fairy Tale (Don Gleicher) - 2:12
5. Not The Same (Jerry Schoenfeld) - 4:21
6. Num-Bird (Barry Ray) - 2:58
7. What Can You Do? (Jerry Schoenfeld) - 2:35
8. Fire Hydrant (Barry Ray) - 3:26
9. Silence (Don Gleicher) - 2:37
10. Mrs. Que (Barry Ray) - 3:37

Plain Jane
*Barry Ray - Guitar, Vocals
*Don Gleicher - Guitar, Vocals
*David Schoenfeld - Drums
*Jerry Schoenfeld - Bass, Piano, Vocals

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Matching Mole - Matching Mole (1972 uk, marvelous prog rock, canterbury scene, 2012 double disc and 2013 Blu Spec japan bonus tracks remasters)

Robert Wyatt left Soft Machine in 1971 because of creative differences (he didn't want the band to completely abandon vocals) and decided to make a solo album. Wyatt was contractually obligated to Soft Machine's label (CBS) as a solo artist, and it was at the behest of CBS that Matching Mole was formed: CBS insisted that a band be created to support the solo album with a tour. Wyatt ended up making the band a permanent entity and thus Matching Mole (a play on machine molle, the French translation for "soft machine") was birthed. Given the genesis of the project, it should be no surprise that most of the music is Wyatt-penned.

The album is minor practically by definition — it's a disjointed, uneven mixture of experimental jazz improvisation and graceful, Beatles-esque melodic passages — but I think it is nevertheless quite successful. Most of the songs flow together and the first three have a suite-like unity. "O Caroline" is a beautiful Mellotron and piano piece that has an almost-convincing sincerity, although lyrics like "If you call this sentimental crap you'll make me mad / because you know that I would not sing about / some passing fad" reveal an obvious self-awareness. 

"Caroline" then morphs into the trippy "Instant Pussy," in which Wyatt's wordless vocals echo and float above a gentle, catchy bass riff. Groovy. Structure returns with "Signed Curtain," another fragile vocal tune where Wyatt's lyrics irreverently do nothing more than designate what part of the song he's singing: "This is the first verse... this is the chorus / or perhaps it's a bridge," and so on. I find it charming in Wyatt's singularly weird sort of way, though I'm sure it sounded more daring at the time than it does now.

Then we're off to experimental jazz fusion territory, albeit with an occasionally psychedelic bent that I suppose harks back to Wyatt's U.F.O Club days in Soft Machine when they shared the bill with Pink Floyd. "Part of the Dance" is Phil Miller's, and it shows — the piece is very proto-Hatfield and the North. It's probably my favorite of the instrumental jams. "Instant Kitten" and "Dedicated to Hugh, But You Weren't Listening" (a pun on an early Soft Machine song) are Wyatt compositions with psychedelic auras: the drones that make up the opening segment of "Dedicated To Hugh" are more Pink Floyd than Soft Machine.

Up until this point, I'd say that the album flirts with excellence. The final two tracks drag it down a bit, though. "Beer as Braindeer" and "Immediate Curtain" are free-form explorations of sound textures. In some respects, they resemble the similarly-minded material on the Can album Tago Mago (except here the impact is sweetened by Mellotron). This stuff isn't bad, but sequenced this way the flow of the album is disrupted. Tailing off as it does, Matching Mole is like a trip that I'm not sure really goes anywhere, even if the ride is often interesting.

by Matt P. 

Tracks

Blu Spec 2013 edition
1. O Caroline (David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt)- 5:05

2. Instant Pussy - 2:59

3. Signed Curtain - 3:06

4. Part of the Dance (Phil Miller) - 9:16

5. Instant Kitten - 4:58

6. Dedicated to Hugh, But You Weren't Listening - 4:39

7. Beer as in Braindeer - 4:02

8. Immediate Curtain - 5:57

9. O Caroline (Single Version) (David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt) - 3:33

10.Signed Curtain (Single Edit) - 3:05

11.Signed Curtain (Take Two) - 5:32

12.Part Of The Dance (Take One) (Phil Miller) - 7:28

13.Memories Membrane (Bill MacCormick, Phil Miller, David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt) - 11:17

14.Horse (Bill MacCormick, Phil Miller, David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt) - 3:48

15.Sandwich (Bill MacCormick, Phil Miller, David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt) - 5:35

All compositions by Robert Wyatt except where noted

Disc 1 Esoteric 2012 The Original Album Remastered

1. O Caroline (David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt) - 5:06

2. Instant Pussy - 3:02

3. Signed Curtain - 3:03

4. Part Of The Dance (Phil Miller) - 9:14

5. Instant Kitten - 4:59

6. Dedicated To Hugh, But You Weren't Listening - 4:40

7. Beer As In Braindeer - 4:02

8. Immediate Curtain - 5:58

9. O Caroline (Single Version) (David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt) - 3:33

10.Signed Curtain (Single Edit) - 3:05

11.Part Of The Dance Jam (Phil Miller) - 20:57

All songs by Robert Wyatt except where stated

Bonus Tracks 9-11

Disc 2 Album Sessions Recordings December 1971 / January 1972

1. Signed Curtain (Take Two) - 5:32

2. Memories Membrane - 11:16

3. Part Of The Dance (Take One) (Phil Miller) - 7:27

4. Horse - 3:47

5. Immediate Kitten - 9:54

6. Marchides / Instant Pussy / Smoke Signal (Dave McRae, Robert Wyatt) - 19:36

All tracks by Robert Wyatt except where indicated

Tracks 5-6 BBC Radio One Sessions 

Matching Mole
*Phil Miller - Guitar
*David Sinclair - Piano, Organ
*Bill Maccormick - Bass
*Robert Wyatt - Drums, Voice, Mellotron, Piano
Additional Musician
*Dave MacRae - Electric Piano

Related Acts
1968  Caravan - Caravan (Japan SHM remaster)  
1970  Caravan - If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (Japan SHM remaster)
1971  Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink (Japan SHM remaster)
1973  Caravan - For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night (Japan SHM remaster)
1974  Caravan - Caravan And The New Symphonia (Japan SHM remaster)
1975  Caravan - Cunning Stunts (Japan remaster)

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Terry Smith - Fall Out (1968 uk, superb jazz rock)

Terry Smith's rare late-'60s LP was an accomplished set that showcased his fluid, modern bop-influenced jazz guitar in both big band and small combo settings. Smith plays much in the style of American guitarists working in similar territory during the period, such as Wes Montgomery and Grant Green. The arrangements and playing by the backing musicians on this album, recorded in London, are a little stiffer than what you'll hear on most U.S. sessions, but they get the job done tastefully enough. 

The vibe gets a little more uninhibited on the two tracks featuring just Smith, organist Bob Stuckley, and drummer Chris Karen. As those two tracks ("Fall Out" and "Early Morning Groove") are the only two Smith originals, one suspects that this is the kind of material that was closest to his heart at the time. Otherwise most of the record is given to interpretations of standards, including "My Man's Gone Now," Cole Porter's "I Love You," and the Bacharach-David compositions "The Look of Love" and "Windows of the World." 

While pop star Scott Walker produced, there's no strong resemblance between this and the music Walker was recording at the time, though Walker did make suggestions regarding the material. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Morning Minor (Deuchar) - 6:00
2. The Look Of Love (Bacharach, David) - 4:48
3. Early Morning Groove (Smith) - 3:54
4. My Man's Gone Now (Gershwin, Hayward) - 4:54
5. I Love You (Porter) - 1:59
6. Windows Of The World (Bacharach, David) - 4:49
7. Fall Out (Smith) - 4:07
8. Harry's Theme (South) - 4:07

Musicians
*Terry Smith - Guitar
*Gordon Beck - Piano
*Greg Bowen - Trumpet
*Les Condon - Trumpet
*Tony Fisher - Trumpet
*Chris Karen - Drums
*Jim Lawless - Marimba, Soloist, Vibraphone
*Don Lusher - Trombone
*Ron Mathewson - Bass
*Ronnie Ross - Baritone Sax
*Ronny Stephenson - Drums
*Bob Stuckley - Organ
*Ray Warleigh - Flute, Alto Sax
*Derek Watkins - Trumpet
*Kenny Wheeler - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
*Roy Willox - Flute, Alto Sax
*Bob Effort - Tenor Sax
*Deniz Lopez - Percussion
*Peter Ahern - Percussion

Related Act
1974  Zzebra - Zzebra

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America - America (1971-72 us, brilliant country folk rock with gorgeous vocal harmonies, Hybrid SACD 2013 edition)

America's debut album is a folk-pop classic, a stellar collection of memorable songs that would prove influential on such acts as the Eagles and Dan Fogelberg. Crosby, Stills & Nash are the group's obvious stylistic touchstone here, especially in the vocal harmonies used (compare the thick chordal singing of "Sandman" and "Children" to CS&N's "You Don't Have to Cry" and "Guinevere") and the prominent use of active strummed acoustic guitar arrangements (contrast "Riverside" to CS&N's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"). 

America's intricate interplay of acoustic guitar textures is more ambitious than that of their influences, however. Performance quality is usually good, though on occasion sloppily executed or out of tune (especially on the openings to "Donkey Jaw" and "I Never Found the Time"). Lengthy instrumental introductions ("Donkey Jaw"), middle improvisatory interludes ("Here"), and closings ("Clarice") are frequently encountered. Most of these selections boast highly unusual and inventive chord progressions that work well without drawing undue attention to themselves.

 Lyrics are sometimes trite ("I need you/Like the flower needs the rain") or obscure ("He flies the sky/Like an eagle in the eye/Of a hurricane that's abandoned"), but the music more than makes up for any verse problems; only the odd "Pigeon Song" seems an unsalvageable misstep. Sound quality here has a covered, intimate feel that lends a ghostly aura to this release. 

Chart hits from this album include the spectrally loping "A Horse with No Name," the squarishly tuneful "I Need You," and the nervously dour "Sandman." Other highlights include the buoyantly charming "Three Roses," the yearningly lovely "Rainy Day," and the quietly ringing "Clarice." In spite of its flaws, this platter is very highly recommended. 

by David Cleary

Tracks
1. Riverside (Dewey Bunnell) - 3:03
2. Sandman (Bunnell) - 4:08
3. Three Roses (Bunnell) - 3:54
4. Children (Bunnell) - 3:07
5. A Horse With No Name (Bunnell) - 4:10
6. Here (Gerry Beckley) - 5:30
7. I Need You (Beckley) - 3:05
8. Rainy Day (Dan Peek) - 2:55
9. Never Found The Time (Peek) - 3:50
10.Clarice (Beckley) - 4:01
11.Donkey Jaw (Peek) - 5:17
12.Pigeon Song (Bunnell) - 2:18

Musicians
*Gerry Beckley – Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Chimes, Piano
*Dewey Bunnell – Vocals, Guitars
*Dan Peek – Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Bass
*Dave Atwood – Drums
*Ray Cooper – Percussion
*Kim Haworth – Drums
*David Lindley – Electric Guitar

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Foxx - The Revolt of Emily Young (1970 us, beautiful sunny melodic psych)

By the late-1960s Buzz Cason was quite a powerhouse in the music industry. He'd been a founding member of Nashville's The Casuals, recorded as a member of The Statues, and enjoyed solo success under the pseudonym 'Garry Miles'.

Together with Bobby Russell he was a prolific writer, ran a publishing company (Russell-Cason Music) and headed a record company (Rising Sons). He also enjoyed success as a back up singer, and as the owner and operator of Creative Workshop recording studios. Against that backdrop Cason further stretched his horizons via 1970's "The Revolt of Emily Young A Rock Novella By Buzz Cason and Pepper Martin."

A concept album co-written by singer/guitarist Pepper Martin, the collection was produced by Cason and credited to the studio band Foxx (consisting of bassist Butch Bourque, former Livin' End drummer Little Joe Martin, singer/rhythm guitarist Martin, and well known studio pro Al Perkins on lead guitar). This is one of those early-197s albums that's been largely lost to audiences. Judging by the number of reviews you'll find, it's even escaped notice from hardcore collectors with the few on-line reviews tending to be brief and somewhat critical.

That's unfortunate since the set was actually quite enjoyable and innovative in its own way.. Yeah, it was clearly a product of a certain timeframe and parts of the set haven't aged all that well (other than wine, few things do), but it's one of those albums that grows on you the more you listen to it. Like many concept pieces, the plotline to this one was a little vague to my ears, but seemed to follow the birth, childhood, and brief life of namesake Emily Young (along with her impact on family and friends). Songs got you from birth through early adulthood where Emily left home in order to hitchhike across the country.

Following Emily's spiritual search ('Opus Epyllion (The Age Of Light)'), downfall ('Flight Termination'), and death ('Just Another Village Incident'). Kind of a bummer ending ... Still, musically the set was quite good. Pepper had one of those chameleon-like voices that was equally at home on country-tinged material ('Into Something Real'), hard rock ('Rock Jock Bobby Sloan'), pop (the Beach Boys-styled harmony rich 'Rebecca's Prayer'), and even sunshine psych flourishes ('Sunshine Children').

Though never a flashy player, Perkins turned in nice leads when required - check out his solo on 'Flight Termination'. All-in-all quite enjoyable and something that sunshine pop fans would certainly clamor to hear. Even better, it's still quite affordable.

Bad-Cat

Tracks
1. New Bethel Awakening - 3:32
2. Rebecca's Prayer - 2:15
3. Doctor John - 2:13
4. Sunshine Children - 2:38
5. Rock Jock Bobby Sloan - 0:28
6. In the Garden - 3:04
7. Syndrome of Change - 3:19
8. Highway Children - 4:30
9. Into Something Real - 3:28
10.Opus Epyllion (The Age of Light)  - 3:20
11.Flight Termination  - 3:53
12.Just Another Village Incident - 3:54
13.Last Words - 2:29
14.New Bethel Awakening II - 2:15
15.The Revolt of Emily Young - 1:14
All compositions by Buzz Cason and Little Joe Martin

Foxx
*Pepper Martin - Guitar, Vocals
*Al Perkins - Guitar, Vocals
*Butch Bourque - Bass, Vocals
*Little Joe Martin - Drums, Vocals
Supporting Musician
*Buzz Cason (aka James Cason) - Keyboards

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Earth Island - We Must Survive (1970 us, wonderful psychedelia, 2012 Aurora issue)

Hello, my name is Billy Gene Liska and I was surprised to discover my album on so many web. sites for sale. I played lead guitar and vocals and co wrote the songs. We were not a canadian band, we were from hollywood california and bassist Skip Battin did not play on the album. The album was recorded at “Larabee Studios” in hollywood in the coarse of two weeks. That was our first time in a recording studio,1969. I haven’t been in touch with the other guys in many years. Richard Vanderwoerdt passed away in 1974. Richard and I were renting a house in Long Beach California and one day he was out on his bike and was killed. Richard wrote shortly before his death called “I See Love In Your Eyes”. It can be heard at, search Grey Beard Bandit. 

Cheers, Billy Gene Liska

Originally issued in June 1970,pressing Philips (PHS 600-340) - US, at a time when rock music was beginning to embrace ecological themes,sole album was produced by Kim Fowley. Touching on rock, psychedelia and sunshine pop, it boasts fine vocal harmonies throughout, and makes is (by some estimates ) genuine pearl period of dawn psychedelic rock . The sounds of tracks on the album, reproduced perfectly and clearly bring to mind the best moments of creative collaboration such classics as Curt Boettcher psychedelia ( especially his voice) and Gary Usher . 

Main Earth People's Park , with its symphonic moments of the rhythm , like the heartbeat , a bit like Brian Wilson's performance , as well as some more complex Ride The Universe. Also noteworthy strong and smooth vocals, often even in choral singing , visible in most songs and fundamental intertwining harmonies that not all the performers at the time managed to get so easily . In addition to these songs on the album yet to be noted and This Island Earth, which, together with them is the main theme of full length , one might even say , a certain concept . In general , if someone prefer to enjoy the music of the psychedelic light style 60 - ies of the last century, with hints of early pop music and progressive,that this album should be strongly recommended .

As any good album should do, the opening tracks are winners. "Earth People's Park" takes a little of Brian Wilson's pocket symphony idea to heart with it's multiple sections, as does the somewhat harder rocking "Ride the Universe." Forsaking straight up lead vocals, most of the songs rely on a weave of harmonies that compare favorably with just about anyone else. The first bump in the road is probably with "This Island Earth," where the band unfortunately takes on the opportunity to sing the title in a ludicrously rising chorus. It might just be that images of the wonderfully cheesy movie of the same name are filtering through my head. Things get back on track with the ever-so-slightly morose "Doomsday Afternoon" (I'd expect something a little more hardcore with that title). Highlights later on the disc include the entertaining hippie nightmare, "Mother Earth Is a Beautiful Lover," which spins through both waltz time and a chilled version of a garage rock . Earth Island manages that tinge of melancholy that really takes the music to a higher level.

by Adamus67

Tracks
1. Earth People's Park (W. Liska, Richard Vanderwoerdt) - 3:22
2. Civilization, I Can't Hear A Word (W. Liska) - 2:15
3. Ride The Universe (Nicholas Rush, W. Liska, Richard Vanderwoerdt) - 3:52
4. Seasons Of Our Lives (Richard Vanderwoerdt,  C. B. Doshier, S. Vanderwoerdt) - 2:45
5. This Island Earth (W. Liska, Richard Vanderwoerdt) - 2:30
6. Doomsday Afternoon (J. Poults) - 2:03
7. Ashes, Ashes All Fall Down (R. Tyson) - 3:06
8. Greatest Adventure Of Our Lives (N. Rush) - 3:15
9. Peace And Understanding, Toronto 1970 (N. Rush) - 2:39
10.Mother Earth Is A Beautiful Lover (W. Liska) - 3:47
11.The Hungry Planet (Skip Battin, Kim Fowley) - 1:48
12.Save Our World, We Must Survive (Skip Battin, Kim Fowley) - 1:37

Earth Island
*Bruce Doshier - Lead Guitar, Flute, Vocals
*Bill Liska - Guitar, Vocals
*Richard Vanderwoerdt - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Nicholas Rush - Drums, Vocals

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Tee And Cara - As They Are (1968 us, lovely orchestrated sunny folk, 2009 remaster)

Tee and Cara were a boy/girl duo whose light flickered brilliantly for this album before fading altogether. They were innocent of the workings of the music industry and, apparently, greatly disliked the instrumentation that was added to this album without their involvement.

The duo were probably right considering that the string arrangements do intrude too much in places, though the woodwinds add pleasing texture and depth. Despite this, though, Tee & Cara’s own songs emerge triumphantly, building through the album to a very fine four-track culmination in Waiting List, I Don’t Think I Know Her, Just Thinkin’ and Nothing To You.

This 1968 New York recording, then, is truly worthy of the oft-misused “buried treasure” tag, defying exact characterisation other than resting in an early folkish singersongwriter vein. Delicate covers of A Hard Day’s Night and I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ add well to the whole absolutely delightful package.

by Kingsley Abbott

Tracks
1. Don't Ask Me Why - 2:48
2. Keeping Track (C. Beckenstein) - 4:59
3. Steppin' In Time (C. Beckenstein) - 2:26
4. A Hard Day's Night (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:08
5. Fragment - 1:37
6. I Got Plenty Of Nuttin' (I. Gershwin, G. Gershwin, D. Hayward) - 2:12
7. Waiting List - 2:55
8. I Don't Think I Know Her (T. Sapoff, C. Beckenstein) - 2:47
9. Just Thinkin' - 3:45
10.Nothing To You - 3:56
All songs by Tee Sapoff except where indicated.

Musicians
*Cara Beckenstein - Vocals, Piano, Guitar
*Tee Sappof - Vocals, Guitar

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Question Mark And The Mysterians - The Best Of (1966-67 us, magnificent garage psych rhythm 'n' beat, 2005 remaster)

Like so many rock 'n' roll classics -"Satisfaction," "Layla," "Whole Lotta Love," "Purple Haze," "Johnny B. Goode"- ? and the Mysterians' 1966 smasheroo "96 Tears" begins with a riff that drills into your cranium and, once implanted, never, ever leaves. And why would you want it to? It's the perfect riff for the perfect three-minute, badass lock 'n' roll song.

But "96 Tears" isn't like those other riff-o-matics. For starters, the guitar sits this one out; this tadically radiant riff is dispensed via that most soulful of seemingly long-lost instruments, the venerable organ. And that opening burst of austere insanity- a staccato sputter of eighth notes, all two of them tepeated ad infinitum- is only the beginning. No sooner has it stunned you into instantaneous acceptance of its immortality than it morphs into another unbearably mind-numbing riff of equal enormity. The song could end right there and you'd die happier for having heard it.

Then comes that voice:

"Too many teardrops for one heart to be cryin'/Too many teardrops for one heart to catry on." Whoa. This guy sounds desperate, vulnerable. He's hurting like hell since she left him; she's even laughing at him! You feel his pain and you're hooked. You've got to stay tuned to see if he's gonna crack.

Nope, he's tough, defiant; he's got himself together now—he's not so much singing as sneering He may be down but soon things will be different: "And when the sun comes up/I'll be on top/You'll be way down there/Lookin' up." Is that a threat or a mere prediction? No matter; she's gonna be the one bawling before this is all over, you just watch and see: "Ninety-six tears, c'mon and lemme hear you cry, now/Ninety-six rears (whoo!)/I wanna hear you cry/Night and day, yeah, all night long."

What is this? Who is this? "96 Tears"? What an odd name for a song, you're thinking. And the gtoup singing it is called—huh?—? and the Mysterians ? The singer is a punctuation mark ? You've gotta be kidding me. Is he a strange visitor from another planet or somethin' ? Well, since you asked...  The man who calls himself?, you see, was born on Mars. He's been around since the dinosaurs and regularly has conversations with The People From The Future. He's been famous for several lifetimes and his band, he once said, "came together out of the clear blue sky."

Not buying it? Try this earthly version then: He may or may not have been born Rudy Martinez circa 1945, in Texas. And he probably did his growing up in the Saginaw, Michigan area where the band -most of them transplanted Chicano Texans- really formed.

There are two sides to every story, after all. But ? -and yes, that's his legal name- ain't giving anything away. That's part of the mystique, like the perma-shades that blot out the King of Attitude's eyes. If he told you more about himself, he wouldn't be much of a question mark, now, would he?

So we'll be the designated bean-spillers. The nucleus of the original band –bassist Larry Borjas, drummer Robert Martinez and guitarist Bobby Balderrama- took up rockin' circa 1962. Keyboard player Frank Rodriguez was soon added and before long the band was cranking out tunes by the Ventures and the like.

They named themselves after a 1957 Japanese sci-fi movie in which alien Mysterians from the planet Mysteroid land on Earth looking to mate with our women. That's where ? comes in. Around '64, he just appeared, a dancing, snarling enigma, declaring himself the Mysterians' new vocalist and suggesting that the others take names like X, Y and Z to maintain their inscrutability (they passed on the offer). By then Robert (spies swear he's ?'s brother) and Larry had found new lives in the military, replaced by Eddie Serrato (?'s brother-in-law) on drums and Frank Lugo on bass.

The now-solid lineup cut a couple of records that went nowhere. Then came "96 Tears," which began its ascension to garage band eminence one day when Rodriguez began noodling on his keyboard. (And get this, trivia fans: Contrary to long-standing assumptions, Frank played the omnipotent riff on a Thomas organ, not a Farfisa, as is so often assumed.) ? once told this writer how the song materialized from the depths of his subconscious: "As soon as Frank hit the first chord, I said, 'We can't use that because I've heard it before.' We were all trying to figure out where we'd heard it. Then I realized that I wrote the song a long time ago." ? had called his composition, which he'd penned as much as four years earlier, "Too Many Teardrops."

Guitarist Bobby Balderrama picks up the story: "? started singing it, and then Eddie said, 'We should give it a number, like how many teardrops?' He said, 'Let's call it "69 Tears.'" I was only 15 at the time, but I knew what that meant. So he said, 'Let's turn the numbers around.' And so we went with that." In March of 1966, ? and the Mysterians shuffled into a makeshift studio in Bay City, Michigan, and cut "96 Tears" and its B-side, "Midnight Hour." The band's manager, Lilly Gonzales, issued approximately 750 copies on her own Pa-Go-Go Records label, and ? himself began promoting it, calling radio stations and visiting record shops all over Michigan.

After several months the single had stirred enough local buzz that Cameo-Parkway Records, a label that had logged dozens of hits by the likes of Bobby Rydell, Dee Dee Sharp and Chubby Checker earlier in the '60s, picked up the distribution, re-releasing the single on its Cameo imprint. (? claims he went with Cameo because the label was orange, his favorite color. More probably, Neil Bogart, then vice president of the company, cut a deal with Gonzales.)

Long story short: By the end of October, the quintet had laid claim to the number one single in America. Not to mention a bona fide rock 'n' roll anthem that forever raised the bar for rock 'n' roll anthems. "96 Tears" marked the last major hit for Cameo Parkway, certainly its last chart topper. It's also the only song that most people associate with ? and the Mysterians.

But that wasn't all, folks, and now, finally, all of the group's amazing slabs of pure teenage Tex-Mex bliss can be found in one place. What you've got here are 27 pristine examples of unadorned, unadulterated dementia: the entire contents of the two albums ? and the Mysterians spewed out for Cameo, 96 Tears and Action, the non-LP single "Do Something To Me'V'Love Me Baby (Cherry July)," and two previously unreleased tracks, an early, slower and bluesier take of "96 Tears" and an outtake of "Midnight Hour"—both in glamorous stereo!

? and the Mysterians did manage to place another three singles on the charts in '66-'67. "I Need Somebody," which led off that debut album and now christens our collection, made it to number 22 in Billboard. It's another cocky garageland masterwork, inexplicably inserted "Mary Had A Little Lamb" funky organ lick and all. "We weren't too far from Motown," says Balderrama of the song, "and I think we were trying to get that funky style."

Following the opener, the group immediately struts its versatility, rolling through a set of incessantly hyper tunes like the boss "8 Teen" (no relation to the later Alice Cooper hit), "You're Telling Me Lies" and "Why Me" (with Tony Orlando singing background!). We're talking classic lusty, R&B-driven snot-nosed punk all the way here, yet there's an undetlying tenderness in ?'s vocals, belying his crusty demeanor.  He's that kinda guy.

By the time the Mysterians recorded their second album, rock had grown fuzzier - heavier, as they said back then. ? was in the vanguard, as amply demonstrated in "Girl (You Captivate Me)," the early '67 single that hinted at a proto-Detroit rock sound that would shortly be taken to extremes by the likes of the Stooges and the MC5. There's more upfront bass; louder, more depraved guitar;  ?'s vocal is chewier- things are getting more mind-blowing by the minute. "Can't Get Enough Of You, Baby," which preceded "Girl" by a few months, was virtually a "96 Tears" clone, although  ?'s vocals swim in a sea of reverb. 

There are nods to the soul and pop sounds of the day. "Got To" borrows a page from the Otis Redding soul book, while the band's cover of the Isley Brothers' "Shout" rivals any of the hundreds of other versions recorded back then. "Do Something To Me" borders on bubblegum and preceded Tommy James' hit version by a year. ? and the Mysterians didn't hold on for long. Cameo-Parkway soon scaled back operations and although the band recorded for other labels in various guises, by 1968 they were through. Some of the musicians stayed active through the years but it wasn't until the late 1990s that the original members of? and the Mysterians returned to conquer the world for a second time, making new recordings and performing killer live shows. 

The lucky ones who witnessed them reported that the band was every bit as nutso as it was in '66. It was, they said, enough to make a believer cry -cry, cry, cry. Whoo!- 96 tears.

by Jeff Tamarkin, 2005

Tracks
1. I Need Somebody - 2:15
2. Stormy Monday (Billy Eckstine, Earl Hines, Robert Crowder) - 2:27
3. You're Telling Me Lies (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 2:31
4. Ten O'Clock (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 2:13
5. Set Aside (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 3:03
6. Up Side (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 2:53
7. '8' Teen (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 2:48
8. Don't Tease Me (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 1:41
9. Don't Break This Heart Of Mine (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 1:55
10.Why Me (Bobby Balderrama, Eddie Serrato, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez) - 1:38
11.Midnight Hour - 2:38
12.96 Tears - 2:58
13.Girl (You Captivate Me) (Alan Dischel, Joey Di Francesca) - 2:17
14.Can't Get Enough Of You, Baby (Denny Randell, Sandy Linzer) - 1:57
15.Got To - 2:22
16.I'll Be Back - 2:02
17.Shout (Part 1 and 2) (Isley Brothers) - 5:31
18.Hangin' On A String (Gloria Shane, Jason Darrow) - 2:15
19.Smokes - 1:52
20.It's Not Easy - 2:43
21.Don't Hold It Against Me (Bernard Ross, Lor Crane) - 1:57
22.Just Like A Rose (Jason Darrow) - 2:10
23.Do You Feel It - 2:25
24.Do Something To Me (Jimmy Calvert, Norman Marzano, Paul Naumann) - 2:37
25.Love Me Baby (Cherry July) (Bobby Balderrama, Frank Lugo, Frank Rodriguez, Rudy Martinez, Peter Woodman) - 3:03
26.Midnight Hour (Unreleased Version) - 2:30
27.96 Tears (Unreleased Version) - 3:03
All songs by Rudy Martinez except where stated.

? And The Mysterians
*Question Mark - Lead Vocal
*Bobby Balderrama - Guitar
*Frank Lugo - Bass (except Tracks 11,12,26,27)
*Frank Rodriguez - Organ
*Eddie Serrato – Drums
With
*Tony Orlando On Harmony Vocal (Track 10)
*Fernando Aguilar - Bass (Tracks 11,12)

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Chad And Jeremy - Three In The Attic (1968 uk, delightful sunny psych folk, 2013 edition)

Of the many British Invasion acts that stormed the charts in the wake of the Beatles, Chad & Jeremy possessed a subtlety and sophistication unmatched among their contemporaries, essentially creating the template for the kind of lush, sensitive folk-pop embraced by followers from Nick Drake to Belle & Sebastian. Chad Stuart (born in Windemere, England, on December 10, 1941) and Jeremy Clyde (born March 22, 1941, in Buckinghamshire, England) met while attending London's Central School of Speech and Drama. The two became fast friends, and after Stuart taught Clyde to play guitar, they formed a folk duo as well as a rock & roll group, the Jerks. Because he graduated a year ahead of his bandmates, Clyde relocated to Scotland and performed with the Dundee Repertory Theatre.

When the Jerks dissolved, Stuart dropped out of school, studied arranging, and wrote songs with composer Russell Franks. Clyde returned to London soon after, but in the face of an actors' strike, he resumed his music career, reunited with Stuart, and the duo landed a residency at the local coffeehouse, Tina's. Chad & Jeremy quickly earned a fan following, and in mid-1963 composer and producer John Berry signed the duo to the small independent label Ember Records. They released their debut single, "Yesterday's Gone," that autumn and it entered the U.K. Top 40. Remarkably, it would prove their only British hit of any real substance. 

by Jason Ankeny

Around 1967, the duo had almost completely split up, save for recording dates. Jeremy featured in Black Comedy, as well as doing an episode of "My Three Sons" during this period. Unfortunately, he occasionally missed concerts because of acting conflicts and tensions between the two began to mount.

     

During this period, Chad was approached to write the score for an American International Picture, entitled Three In The Attic. Bob Irwin once described it as "a very sixties movie", and today Chad squirms at the very mention of the film, the only explanation for his involvement being that, "I was so hungry to score a picture, that I deliberately clouded my judgement, and ignored that little voice inside me". Certainly thirty years later, the soundtrack is still wonderful.

Chad-Jeremy official

Tracks
1. Good Morning Sunrise (Wayne Irvin) - 3:28
2. Paxton Quigley's Had the Course (Chad Stewart, Jeremy Clyde) - 3:14
3. Tobey's Song (Chad Stewart, Jane Dansie) - 3:46
4. Paxton's Song (Smoke) (Chad Stewart, Daniel Dalton, Lois Dalton) - 3:04
5. Know Yourself (Wayne Irvin) - 4:17
6. Background Music (Chad Stewart, Donna Dijon) - 13:22

Musicians
*Jeremy Clyde - Vocals
*Chad Stewart - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
*Dennis Faust, Kim Capli - Drums
*Michael Rubini, Lincoln Mayorga - Keyboards
*Wayne Irvin - Guitar
*Teressa Adams - Cello
*Allan Lasky, Bill Fritz - Woodwinds
*Laroon Holt, Bill Mattison - Flugel Horns
*Dave Roberts, Dick Shearer - Trombones

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The Tormentors - Hangin' Round (1967 us, groovy garage beat sunny psych, 2009 Gear Fab release)

The Tormentors were another great yet undiscovered band from the 1960's. All we know is that they were based out of the Los Angeles area and had several singles out on the Royal and Kenwood labels. Of those 45s, the track "Motate" was the only one not included on this LP.

Fantastic garage psyche and rollicking, with sweeter moments, too – getting off a number of modes this one album, which would make a lesser group sound aimless – but they manage to pull it all off! Some tunes have a raw, no frills garage sound, others have sweeter, but still kinda gritty melodic vibe with some organ in the mix, and still others steer towards moody psychedelia.

Tracks
1. Didn't It Rain (Tim Daley, Dan Davis, Mark Davis, Lee Harper) - 2:30
2. Capricious Lolita (Lee Harper) - 2:39
3. Blue Blooded Lady (Lee Harper) - 2:52
4. Childhood Memories (Tome Daley, Dennis Daley) - 2:23
5 Still In Love With You Baby (Ron Elliott) - 1:50
6. What's Goin' On (Lee Harper) - 2:14
7. Black Coffee (Lee Harper) - 2:41
8. She's Gone (Lee Harper) - 2:33
9. 'Cause You Don't Love Me (Lee Harper) - 2:06
10.Hey, Hey, Little Girl (Lee Harper) - 2:36
11.It's Not Over (Lee Harper) - 2:54
12.Sounds Of Summer (Mark Davis, Dan Davis) - 2:22

The Tormentors
*Tim Daley - Drums, Lead Vocals
*Lee Harper - Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
*Mark Davis - Lead Guitar
*Dan Davis - Bass, Organ

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Sunnyboys - This Is Real (1980-84 aussie, outstanding guitar rock, garage psych revival, double disc edition with ureleased material)

One of Australia's finest bands, the Sunnyboys performing at any number of pubs, clubs or festivals in their home country during the early eighties was to experience great live acts. From their debut in Sydney on August 15th 1980, supporting inner-city faves The Lipstick Killers, right through to their final headline performance on December 24th 1984, they oozed passion, energy, charisma and sweat. Lots of sweat. 'Hi-energy' and 'dance' were the expressions typically used to describe their shows, long before those terms were hijacked and applied to completely different musical genres. Night after night, venue after venue, the band left a writhing mass of sweat-soaked, deliriously happy bodies.

In frontman and guitarist Jeremy Oxley, they had a songsmith to equal the Easybeats' Vanda & Young before him and silverchair's Daniel Johns after him. Backed by a stellar band that included his brother Peter Oxley on bass, Peter's school friend Bil Bilson on drums and Richard Burgman on guitar, Jeremy delivered passionate, concise pop-rock songs that perfectly captured the feelings and thoughts of youth and young adults all over the country. They were Jeremy's songs all right, but the band was very much the sum of its considerable parts, ruling the roost in inner city Sydney as well as throughout much of greater regional Australia.

Along the way, the Sunnyboys produced a tidy sum of classic singles, including the top forty hits Happy Man, Alone With You, You Need A Friend and the controversial Show Me Some Discipline. What was more astonishing perhaps was the quality of the b-sides. Culled for the most part from their first album sessions, songs like Guts of Iron and Stop & Think were A-sides in anyone else's language, but for Jeremy, whose gift was in full flood, they were just more seemingly effortless 'dance' tracks that didn't make the cut.

This Is Real is the definitive Sunnyboys release. A 2CD set that for the first time brings together all those classic single A&B sides plus a selection of rare and previously unreleased studio tracks plus a full live CD drawn from three radio broadcasts in the band's peak years of 1981 - 1982 plus a full 36 page full colour booklet.

Disc-1 Singles A'n'B, Rare and Unreleased
Includes all four tracks issued on their debut self-titled EP in December 1980,  Every single they ever issued from Happy Man to Comes As No Surprise. All original single versions. No album versions. All the single B-sides, many taken from the classic first album recording sessions. All these are on CD for the very first time and include live favourites Stop & Think, Guts Of Iron and Pain The ultra rare Tell Me What You Say taken from the limited edition vinyl version of their debut album plus an alternate mix of first album favourite My Only Friend

Disc-2Live 1981 - 1982
A full 21 song, 70 minute set drawn from three high quality radio broadcasts. Live at Bombay Rock, Melbourne for EON FM in January 1981. Live at the Governors Pleasures Tavern, Sydney for Triple J FM in February 1981. Live at the Family Inn, Sydney for Triple J FM in February 1982. Plus a cover of the Beatles' Birthday taken from the Mushroom Evolution Concert at the Myer Music Bowl in January 1982.
Only four of the twenty ones songs have been released before and only one of those on CD.

Extras
As with the previous Feel Presents release Tales From the Australian Underground, This is Real will be accompanied by a 36 page full colour booklet including rare photos, poster and handbill art as well as a 10,000+ word biography. This biography outlines in full detail the band's rapid rise from their first show on August 15th 1980, their signing to Mushroom Records in February 1981, the platinum success of their debut album and the consequent struggle and pressures faced by the band as the demands for more and more hits and success brought them to a close of business in December 1984. For the very time also, the full story of singer, songwriter, guitarist, Jeremy Oxley's tragic struggle with schizophrenia is disclosed. A read worthy of a book in its own right.

Tracks
Studio
1. Love to Rule - 4:13
2. Stop & Think - 2:21
3. To the Bone - 2:14
4. The Seeker - 3:44
5. What You Need - 3:32
6. Tomorrow Will Be Fine - 2:12
7. Happy Man - 3:00
8. Alone With You - 4:00
9. Guts of Iron - 3:51
10. Physical Jerk - 2:51
11. My Only Friend - 3:27
12. Tell Me What You Say - 3:43
13. You Need A Friend - 4:18
14. No Love Around - 3:24
15. This Is Real - 3:39
16. Pain - 3:00
17. Show Me Some Discipline - 3:10
18. Love in A Box - 3:16
19. Comes As No Surprise - 3:55
20. Bottom Of My Heart - 3:21
21. You Need A Friend - 1:33

Live
1. Why Do I Cry (B Tashian) - 3:07
2. Guts Of Iron - 3:37
3. Love to Rule - 3:59
4. Strategy Idol - 2:43
5. Tomorrow Will Be Fine - 2:20
6. My Only Friend - 3:20
7. Alone With You - 3:39
8. What You Need - 3:24
9. I'm Shakin' - 4:25
10. Tunnel Of Love - 3:03
11. I Don't Want You - 2:38
12. Happy Man - 2:56
13. I Can't Talk to You - 2:37
14. The Seeker - 3:36
15. I Want to Be Alone - 2:55
16. Let You Go - 4:59
17. Thrill (J Oxley, P Oxley) - 3:22
18. I'm No Satisfied (J Oxley, P Oxley) - 3:48
19. Trouble in My Brain - 4:11
20. You Need A Friend - 3:42
21. Birthday (Lennon, McCartney) - 2:15
All songs by Jeremy Oxley except otherwise.

The Sunnyboys
*Jeremy Oxley - Guitar, Vocals
*Peter Oxley - Bass
*Richard Burgman - Guitar
*Bill Bilson - Drums

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Ariel - The Jellabad Mutant (1974-75 aussie, incredible guitar rock with prog shades)

Ariel's second album was to have been a John Whyndham-ish science fiction concept piece, The Jellabad Mutant; you can read more about this long-lost project in Paul Culnane's feature article. But before the project had even been conceived, there was a major disruption, with the band abruptly splitting in two. Mills, Macara and Gaze quit amidst some rancour in April 1974, after a trip to Perth and Mike retreated to the Mornington Peninsula with his family. He began writing fragments of new songs on his "trusty Canora guitar and a crappy tape recorder" which began to form themselves into "some sort of order ... the beginnings of a Grand Idea that might eventually become what every songwriter had dreamt of since Townshend dropped Tommy on an unsuspecting public -- a Rock Opera".

Returning to Melbourne, Rudd "did what I always did -- I called Bill". They worked on the new material over a period of weeks, and by May they the piece sufficintly ready that they approached drummer John Lee to rehearse with them. John, a fine drummer who had previously played in Sayla, Blackfeather and Gulliver Smith & The Dead End Kids, had just left The Dingoes, after recording their first album and their debut single "Way Out West". The three began rehearsing together, and in June or July, as the material took shape, John suggested bringing in his former bandmate from Sayla, lead guitarist Harvey James. Mike later discovered that John and Harvey had also known each other in school, a connection which, he later realised, would sow the seeds of "another 'them and us' scenario" in the band's internal politics.

Harvey, who was already gaining a reputation as a player to watch, had recently left Mississippi and returned home after that band's disastrous trip to England. Rehearsals continued and before long it became apparent that this arrangement had taked on a life of its own. More by accident than by design, the quartet became the new lineup of Ariel. The new lineup cut a terrific single, "Yeah Tonight" which was released in August -- presumably to keep EMI at bay while they beavered away on the new album.

Thus far things had fallen into place rather nicely, but it all began to turn pear-shaped over the next couple of months. With writing more or less complete, Ariel demoed their new album at EMI Studios in Sydney, wit the sessions produced by Peter Dawkns and engineered (probably) by Martin Benge. However, to the band's dismay, EMI rejected it outright. Mike sardonically comments that they were told that it had been rejected because EMI England had "a basement crammed full of rejected rock operas". It would be nearly thirty years before The Jellabad Mutant saw the light of day on record, when it was reissued by Mike and Bill's RareVision label. 

In the liner notes, Mike ponders wistfully about what could have been: "It's interesting to speculate what might have happened had we been allowed to proceed with the Mutant with an intact budget (EMI slashed the budget for Rock'n'Roll Scars adding to the pressure) and with the time to to reflect and be creative with the raw material you hear in the demos. I regret not going in to bat for it at the time. We had a fabulous opportunity with the best technical assistance any band could have wanted. But I didn't sell the dream, even to myself." 

Milesago

Tracks
1. Introduction And Overture - 3:52
2. The Capsule / The Farm - 6:17
3. The Train / The Hospital - 6:17
4. The Funeral - 3:41
5. Cinematic Sandwiches - 3:34
6. Neo-Existentialist Greens / Medicine Man / The Letter - 7:40
7. I'll Take You High - 3:14
8. I Can't Say What I Mean (Rudd, G. Mason) - 4:35
9. Mutant Medley - 10:12
All Songs By Mike Rudd Except Where Noted

Ariel
*Mike Rudd - Guitar Vocals
*Bill Putt - Bass
*Glyn Mason - Guitar, Vocals
*John Lee - Drums
*Harvey James - Guitar

1975  Ariel - Rock And Roll Scars

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