The Primitives - Maladjusted (1964-67 uk, excellent mod freak beat, 2001 release)

Like most of their equally obscure mid-60s R&B/freakbeat brethren, THE PRIMITIVES are principally namechecked these days for the value - both in fiscal and artistic terms - of their vinyl legacy. Their trio of singles for the Pye label, the Italian-only album Blow Up and a unique-to-France EP currently have a combined value on the collectors circuit of over £1000, an accurate representation of their standing amongst freakbeat connoisseurs.  But while their records have long been coveted by 60s collectors, the story of the Primitives has remained shrouded in mystery, with only vague rumours ci rc u lati ng about the relationship between the band's early UK career and their subsequent exploits in Italy.

Maladjusted rounds up their work during this 1964-67 period, featuring everything from those previously-mentioned releases plus an alternate version of the French EP's lead track, 'Oh Mary', the entire Blow Up album and a couple of related solo 45s from the group's long-term frontman Mal Ryder who, along with early fan John Taylor, has provided invaluable help in piecing together the legend of the band.

The Primitives evolved in 1964 out of British beat boom hopefuls The Cornflakes (previously known as The Rising Sons), whose typically cheesy post-Beatles handle didn't prevent them building up a sizeable fan base on the Oxford live circuit. As the Cornflakes, they won the Plaza Cinema beat group contest in Northampton, a competition that proved to be of twofold importance in their embryonic career: the contest's first prize was a two-year contract with the Pye label, while Cyd Cipin, who ran the local Plaza, was so impressed by the group that, in conjunction with his brother Mayer and their associate Leslie Jaffa, he became their manager.

While The Primitives were experiencing the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, a teenage rock'n'roll fan by the name of Paul Bradley Couling had been invited to rehearse with The Meteors, who also worked the Oxford iive circuit. Accepting their invitation, Couling quickly began to attract attention as The Meteors' frontman, and he was duly approached by prominent local band The Beatniks, whose lead singer Peter Cox had just been called up for National Service. Couling didn't need to think twice about accepting their offer: he left The Meteors, his job at the Southern Electricity Board, Oxford and his old identity behind. Adopting the stage name of Mal Ryder, he and his new colleagues - by now rechristened the Spirits moved north to Doncaster, appointing Martin Yale (who also handled Hull R&B band The Rats and Sheffield's Joe Cocker) as their manager.

Yale helped Mal Ryder and The Spirits find work in working men's clubs, but his influence was most apparent in brokering a recording deal. With the aid of future Tom Jones producer Peter Sullivan, two singles were cut both for Decca and Decca's Vocalion Pop labels: 'Cry Baby' / 'Take Over' (Decca F 11669, June 1963) and 'See The Funny Little Clown' / 'Slow Down' (Vocalion V 9219, May 1964). When these failed to garner attention, the band changed managers, the London-based David Stones setting in motion a move to Pye subsidiary Piccadilly. That led to the November 1964 release, 'Forget It' b/w 'Your Friend' (a Marty Wilde song), and a follow-up single - the Carter/Lewis composition 'Lonely Room' (also recorded by Carter/Lewis's own band, The Ivy League) backed by 'Tell Your Friend'appeared as a Mal Ryder solo single in April 1965.

Stones also arranged for the group to follow the well-worn UK/Germany export route, including a stint on the Storyville Club circuit that found The Spirits playing for up to six hours a night. Exhausted by their schedule, The Spirits fulfilled their contractual commitments in Germany before returning to England in spring 1965, when they promptly split up. As stressed as the rest of his former colleagues, Mal Ryder went back to work with his father on building sites, his hopes of pop stardom apparently over.

The Primitives stayed with Mal until the early 70s, by which stage their line-up had gone through several changes. Pick Withers returned to England, playing with various low-profile progressive acts before finally hitting paydirt in the late 1970s with Dire Straits. His replacement in The Primitives, Scottish-born drummer Robbie Mcintosh, came to the group from the Brian Auger Trinity before going on to international success with the Average White Band, though he died at a tragically early age in 1974. A more pivotal Primitives member, Jay Roberts/Jeffrey Farthing, is also sadly no longer with us, having died of an overdose in the 1990s.

The late 60s line-up of the Primitives continued to contribute to Italian albums like "Sua Eccelenza" and "Mal Dei Primitives", but their musical output had become increasingly erratic. Sparkling psychedelic performances of 'Dear Mr. Fantasy', 'Race With The Devil' and the Small Faces track 'Song Of A Baker' were buried cheek-by-jowl alongside such mainstream fare as 'Love Letters In The Sand', 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' as Mal opted for the traditional showbiz route. For that reason, our anthology ends in 1967, thereby capturing both Mal and the Primitives during their mid-60s artistic apex, with fire in their teenage bellies and an unshakable commitment to the life-affirming qualities of raw, belligerent, adenoidal British R&B. Maladjusted? The Primitives?!? You'd better believe it.

by David Wells

Tracks

1. Help Me (Mort Dixon, Ralph Bass, Sonny Boy Williamson) - 3.39

2. Let Them Tell (Jeffrey Farthing, John E. Soul) - 2.14

3. You Said (Geoff Tindall) - 2.17

4. How Do You Feel? (John E. Soul) - 2.23

5. Every Minute Of Every Day  (Frank Catana) - 2.10

6. Pretty Little Face (John E. Soul) - 2.07

7. Forget It (Irving Martin, Jack Daw) - 2.01

8. Your Friend (Mal Ryder) - 2.37

9. Lonely Room (John Carter, Ken Lewis, Perry Ford) - 2.02

10.Tell Your Friend (Mal Ryder) - 2.27

11.Oh Mary (Jackie Edwards) - 2.48

12.Oh Mary (Jackie Edwards) - 2.05

13.I Don't Feel Myself (Dave Sumner) - 2.42

14.Mr. Heartache (Jay Roberts) - 2.36

15.Tears In My Eyes (Dave Sumner) - 3.47

16.Gimme Some Loving (Muff Winwood, Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood) - 4.21

17.L'Ombra De Nessuno "Standing in The Shadows Of Love" (Brian Holland, Edward Holland, Jr., Lamont Dozier) - 2.55

18 .No Response (Anderson) - 3.08

19.Johnny No "Thunder & Lightning" (Hoyt Axton) - 3. 10

20.Cara-Lin (Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer) - 3.32

21.Yeeeeeeh! "' Ain t Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore" (Lori Burton, Pam Sawyer) - 3. 12

22.Gira, Gira "Reach Out, I'll Be There"  (Brian Holland, Edward Holland, Jr., Lamont Dozier) - 3.07

23.Every Minute Of Every Day (Frank Catana) - 2.16

24.Mister Heartheache (Jay Roberts) - 2.19

25.Ma Beata Te (Jay Roberts) - 3.08

26.Sookie, Sookie (Don Covay, Steve Cropper) - 2.51

27.Mohair Sam (Dallas Frazier) - 2.43

28.L'lncidente "Soul Finger" (Ben Cauley, Carl Cunningham) - 2 .52

Tracks 5,6,11 as Mal And Primitives

Tracks 9,10 as Mal Ryder

Musicians
*Jay Roberts - Vocals, Bass, Organ
*Geoff Eaton (aka Geoff Tindall) - Lead Guitar,
*John E. Soul - Rhythm Guitar, Harmonica
*RogerJames - Bass
*Mike Wilding - Drums
*Mal Ryder - Vocals
*Stuart Linnell - Lead Guitar
*Mick Charleton - Drums
*Dave Sumner - Guitar
*Bruce Finley - Drums
*Pick Withers - Drums
*Robbie McIntosh - Drums

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Love Sculpture - Forms and Feelings (1969 uk, 2nd great album with early Dave Edmunds, 2008 esoteric remaster with bonus tracks)

Love Sculpture made an amazing leap forward in a relatively short space of time from their album of raw blues and soul covers (Blues Helping) to the much more advanced psychedelic pop and quasi classical structures of Forms and Feelings. It starts with two memorable singles “In The Land of the Few”, complete with Byrds like jangly guitars and an early expression of environmental concerns in their take of Paul Korda’s “Seagul”, a sensitive, somewhat dramatic ballad as it turns out.

The creative leap forward taken by the band is also demonstrated on the remarkable version of “Nobody Talking” (written by Finesilver and Ker famous for their composition “Fire” for the Crazy World of Arthur Brown) with some blistering guitar breaks seguing into a 7:43 tour de force entitled “Why (How-Now)”, also by Finesilver and Ker but to my ears a remake of George Harrison’s It’s All Too Much. Just when you think you’re moving forward it’s back in time to a cheeky Edmunds arrangement of Bizet’s “Farandole”- “sacre blue” to some but a kind of Cossack dance that might make you dance around the living room with your Dyson to others!

By the way Edmunds can’t resist a Clapton blues guitar quotation in the middle of this sounds like Fresh Cream to me! While the Chuck Berry cover (“You Can’t Catch Me”) seems out of place, there’s another Finesilver/Ker number “People, People” that restores the flow: a sardonic, psychedelic, Ray Davies type of ballad featuring some incendiary guitar. Few people familiar with the hit single “Sabre Dance“ (included as a bonus track) would realise that an interpretation of Holst’s “Mars” segues into the full album version.

There are other worthwhile bonus tracks like the b-side of “Sabre Dance”, a rare Edmunds solo composition (“Think of Love”) mixing blues with psychedelic but mostly an “I Hear you Knocking” trying to get in with a bit of “River Deep, Mountain High” as well! The single version of “Seagull” with a truncated “Farnadole” is also included along with “In The Land of the Few” and its b-side “People People”. There’s a lot to enjoy on Forms and Feelings, a quantum leap from Love Sculpture’s tentative debut and one of the most enduring and exciting releases of the period.
by Phil Jackson

Tracks
1. In The Land of the Few (Dave Edmunds, Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker)
2. Seagull (Paul Korda)
3. Nobody's Talking (Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker)
4. Why (How-Now) (Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker)
5. Farandole (Georges Bizet, arranged by Dave Edmunds)
6. You Can't Catch Me (Chuck Berry)
7. People, People (Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker)
8. Mars (Gustav Holst)
9. Sabre Dance (Aram Khatchaturian, arranged by Dave Edmunds)
10.Think of Love (Dave Edmunds, Bonus Track)
11.Seagull (Paul Korda, Single Version, Bonus Track)
12.Farnadole (Georges Bizet, arranged by Dave Edmunds, Single Version, Bonus Track)
13.In The Land of the Few (Dave Edmunds, Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker, Mono Single Version, Bonus Track)
14.People, People (Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker, Single Version, Bonus Track)
15.Sabre Dance (Aram Khatchaturian, arranged by Dave Edmunds, Single Version, Bonus Track)

Love Sculpture
*Dave Edmunds - Guitar, Vocals
*John Williams - Bass
*Bob 'Congo' Jones - Drums
*Terry Williams - Drums (arrived late 1969 and replaced Bob )
*Mickey Gee - Guitar (arrived late 1969)

1968  Love Sculpture - Blues Helping (2008 remaster)

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Love Sculpture - Blues Helping (1968, fine blues rock with early Dave Edmunds, 2008 esoteric remaster)

Long before he produced legendary albums by artists like Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin' Groovies; before he had formed a musical partnership with pop/rock singer/songwriter Nick Lowe; even before he enjoyed a brief - albeit moderately successful - career as a solo artist during the 1980s, guitarist Dave Edmunds was a bluesman.

Yup. You read that correctly...singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer Dave Edmunds, who has worked with such artistically disparate artists as k.d. lang and the Stray Cats, Rockpile and Johnny Cash, and whose solo work was a maddening mish-mash of 1950s-styled rockabilly, vintage '60s British rock, and the 1980s-era infatuation with synths and keyboards and slick production...that Dave Edmunds was a blues-rock guitarist the equal of contemporaries like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Rory Gallagher. And you wondered why the Fabulous Thunderbirds chose Edmunds to produce their breakthrough 1986 album Tuff Enuff?

Before he wore any and all of the abovementioned musical hats, Edmunds cut his teeth with the long-lost British blues-rock outfit Love Sculpture. Formed in 1966 in response to England's ongoing love affair with the blues, and inspired by the popularity of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Love Sculpture was an early power trio consisting of Edmunds on vocals and guitar, John Williams on bass, and drummer Bob "Congo" Jones.

All three members of Love Sculpture had played together for years in bands such as the rockabilly-oriented trio the Raiders, and the blues-influenced Human Beans (who recorded one single for Columbia and shouldn't be confused with the Youngstown, Ohio frat-rock band the Human Beinz).

Signed to EMI's Parlophone label, the band released its 1968 debut album into a thriving British blues-rock scene that included Cream and Savoy Brown, among many other bands. A collection of blues and R&B standards, with a lone original song in the title track, Blues Helping was designed as a showcase for Edmund's underrated six-string pyrotechnics.

Although Edmunds has since stated that he knew little about the blues when recording Blues Helping, you couldn't tell it from the results. With his instrument slung low, Edmunds leads the band through a breakneck cover of Freddie King's "The Stumble," the sped-up instrumental proving the guitarist's mettle and fretboard dexterity. The set includes a smoky cover of Ray Charles' "I Believe To My Soul" that features bassist Williams belting out the vocals, accompanied by Edmunds' stinging leads. Elmore James' raucous "So Unkind" is provided a Chicago blues-styled rhythm and Edmunds' spry guitarwork.

An odd cover of the George Gershwin song "Summertime" provides one of those hippy-dippy 1960s flashback psych-pop moments, with lush instrumentation, echoed vocals, and delicate, tho' decidedly un-bluesy guitarplay. The old blues chestnut "On The Road Again" was based on Canned Heat's cover of the song earlier in the year, and it even sounds like Bob Hite, Al Wilson, and crew save for Edmunds' distinctive guitar tone and blistering solos. Otherwise, from the vocals down to the potent, driving rhythm, you'd swear that you were listening to the boogie kings from California.

An inspired cover of Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle" lopes along at an acceptable tempo, Williams' sly vocals peppered by shards of swaggering fretwork and supported by a hearty bassline as sticky and wide as two lanes of freshly-paved blacktop. Going back to the deep well that is Ray Charles' song catalog, "Come Back Baby" is a smoldering R&B bonfire with Jones' subtle brush-and-cymbal work and one of Edmunds' most dynamic solos. The album's title track, the instrumental "Blues Helping," features heaps of six-string notes that fly by with the speed and power of a tornado.

Four bonus tracks were tacked onto the end of Blues Helping, including an engaging cover of Tim Rose's folk-rock classic "Morning Dew (Take Me For A Walk)" by the pre-Love Sculpture line-up of the Human Beans, the 'A' side to their lone 7" single release. It's a fine cover, too, more in a psychedelic vein than blues-rock, but an impressive and original performance nonetheless. The 'B' side of the long-lost Human Beans single is a somewhat strained reading of the Isaac Hayes/Dave Porter gem "It's A Wonder" that offers inspired instrumentation but weak vocals. Another pair of tracks, from an obscure pre-Love Sculpture single, are interesting, but unremarkable pastiches of Beatlesque psych-pop.

More of a measure of Dave Edmunds' chameleon-like musical talents than a true artistic statement, Love Sculpture's Blues Helping is an obscure relic of an era past. The band would release a second, less bluesy and far less energetic album in 1969, and they would even score a hit in the U.K. with a speed-demon cover of the classical composition "Sabre Dance." Although he'd slap a bluesy lick into a song now and then throughout his lengthy solo career, Edmunds never quite walked the blues-rock path the same way again.
Still, Blues Helping is a rockin' collection of spirited blues covers with plenty of verve and more than enough guitar-wrangling to please even the most diehard Stevie Ray fan.

It's also a lot of fun, the band loose-limbed and brash in their musical aggression, playing off the power trio aesthetic with a recklessness and joy that they'd never find again. Edmunds' fretwork is a thing of amazement, and it makes one wonder what might have been if he'd followed Clapton down that lost highway towards the crossroads.
By Keith A. Gordon

Tracks
1. The Stumble (Freddy King, Sonny Thompson) - 3:03
2. Three O' Clock Blues (B.B. King, Jules Taub) - 5:08
3. I Believe To My Soul (Ray Charles) - 3:47
4. So Unkind (Elmore James, Marshall Sehorn) - 2:56
5. Summertime (DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin) - 4:02
6. On The Road Again (Floyd Jones, Will Shade) - 3:35
7. Don't Answer The Door (Jimmy Johnson) - 6:02
8. Wang Dang Doodle (Willie Dixon) - 3:31
9. Come Back Baby (Ray Charles) - 2:45
10.Shake Your Hips (James Moore) - 3:19
11.Blues Helping: Instrumental (Bob Jones, Dave Edmunds, John Williams) - 3:46
12.Morning Dew: Take Me For A Walk (Bonnie Dobson, Tim Rose, 1967 Single Release as Human Beans) - 2:52
13.It's A Wonder (Isaac Hayes, David Porter, 1967 Single Release as Human Beans) - 2:41
14.River To Another Day (Charles & Kingsley Ward, 1968 Single Release) - 2:36
15.Brand New Woman (Crick Feather, 1968 Single Release) - 2:21

Love Sculpture
*Dave Edmunds - Guitar, Organ, Piano, Lead Vocals
*John Williams - Bass, Piano, Vocals
*Bob 'Congo' Jones - Drums, Vocals

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Flower Pot Men - Let's Go To San Francisco (1967 uk, sunny flower power psych with bonus tracks)

The Flowerpot Men were a studio construct created by British songwriters John Carter and Ken Lewis, who had previously been in the Ivy League, notable for providing background vocals on the early Who albums and for first recording the cult song "My World Fell Down," later a famous non-hit by Sagittarius.

Carter and Lewis (as the Flowerpot Men) crafted the Beach Boys-influenced "Let's Go to San Francisco," which was a minor hit at the close of the Summer of Love, as well as a couple of albums' worth of psychedelic-tinged sunshine pop, the highlights of which are included here.

Aside from the two-part single "Let's Go to San Francisco" (and its reprise, "Let's Go Back to San Francisco"), this release from C 5 also includes the very Byrds-ish "Blow Away" and the epic Mellotron-laced "Mythological Sunday." None of this is major stuff, but some of the recordings are gorgeously produced, and fans of 1960s sunshine pop and psychedelia should definitely give the Flowerpot Men a try.
by Steve Leggett

Tracks
1. Let's Go To San Francisco, Part 1 & 2 (John Carter,  Ken Lewis) - 6:17
2. A Walk In The Sky (John Carter,  Ken Lewis, Russell Alquist) - 3:51
3. Am I Losing You (John Carter) - 2:00
4. Man Without A Woman (John Carter, Russell Alquist) - 4:00
5. You Can Never Be Wrong (John Carter,  Ken Lewis, Russell Alquist) - 2:35
6. Piccolo Man (John Carter,  Ken Lewis, Russell Alquist) - 2:17
7. Mythological Sunday (Russell Alquist) - 5:18
8. In A Moment Of Madness (Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway) - 2:59
9. Young Birds Fly (Bill Swofford) - 2:27
10.Sweet Baby Jane (Gillian Shakespeare, John Carter) - 3:35
11.Journey's End (Gillian Shakespeare, John Carter) - 4:22
12.Silicon City (Gillian Shakespeare, John Carter) - 4:05
13.Busy Doin' Nothing (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke) - 2:54
14.White Dove (John Carter,  Ken Lewis) - 4:09
15.Let's Go Back To San Francisco, Part 1 (John Carter,  Ken Lewis) - 2:35
16.Let's Go Back To San Francisco, Part 2 (John Carter,  Ken Lewis) - 2:46
17.Cooks Of Cake And Kindness (John Carter, Russell Alquist) - 2:56
18.Gotta Be Free (Peter Barnfather, John Carter) - 3:29
19.Heaven Knows When (Peter Barnfather, John Carter) - 3:39
20.Brave New World (Gillian Shakespeare, John Carter, Russell Alquist)  - 3:13
21.Children Of Tomorrow (Gillian Shakespeare, John Carter, Russell Alquist)  - 7:57

The Flower Pot Men
*Tony Burrows - Vocals
*Neil Landon - Vocals
*Robin Shaw - Vocals
*Pete Nelson - Vocals
*Ged Peck - Guitar
*Carlo Little - Drums
*Nick Simper - Bass
*Jon Lord - Organ

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Blues Wire - Take My Hand To The Sky (1983-2007 greece, superb blues rock, unreleased, demos, lives and outtakes)

In the words of blues prodigy Katie Webster, "Blues Wire are the best blues band in Europe and deserve to be heard by a wider audience".

According to everybody who has ever witnessed a Blues Wire gig this band is one of Europe 's best kept blues secrets and they should finally get the chance to be known to blues lovers around the world. The Blues Wire story began in 1983 when Sotiris Zisis (bass) and Elias Zaikos formed Blues Gang (who renamed themselves as Blues Wire in 1985), the very first blues band in Greece that tried to capture the original sounds of blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and T-Bone Walker.

They recorded the first blues album ever to be made by Greek musicians, at a time when it was really difficult to play music without obvious roots in Greek culture, let alone get a record deal for it. Back then, playing the blues not only could make someone almost an outcast, but it also meant dealing with shady characters and going through hard times. The only ways for a blues band to go through these times was to be tough, determined and stay true to the spirit that moved them in the first place.

It was these qualities that saw Blues Wire rise from a struggling blues band to full-grown, seasoned artists with their own distinctive sound. Thousands of gigs in every kind of venue imaginable, scores of TV and radio show appearances in Greece as well as abroad and an enviable recording expertise have helped define their tight and recognizable sound, a mix of passion and maturity that only comes with experience. Playing festivals and clubs in countries like France , Italy , Austria and Hungary (among others) not only consolidated their reputation but also proved that they are long past the novelty aspect of being a blues band coming from Greece .

Their infectious live act has captured the minds and the hearts of audiences everywhere and has earned them many an enthusiastic press reviews all around Europe . Through the years Blues Wire have often backed up top blues artists such as Louisiana Red, Katie Webster, John Hammond, Larry Garner, Big Time Sarah, Carey and Lurrie Bell, Angela Brown, Big Jay McNeely, Al Copley and Jeanne Carroll, to mention a few, proving they can keep up with the best of them. They have also opened for legendary musicians like Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Albert King, Otis Rush, the Yardbirds and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Their skill and musicianship led to memorable jam sessions with blues pioneers like Champion Jack Dupree, rising stars like Sherman Robertson and well-known British blues players like Dave Kelly. The band's versatility and open hearted attitude brought up spontaneous performances together with many musicians of different styles, ranging from Brit-jazzer Dick Heckstall-Smith to Australian songwriter Louis Tillett and from Canvey Island R&B masters Doctor Feelgood to members of Osibisa.

Blues Wire has provided the foundation of the Greek blues scene and the main inspiration for many younger musicians. For five years they were the house band at Pararlama, the first and most famous blues club in Greece .

After a career spanning more than twenty years, Blues Wire are now busier than ever. Spanning yet another mark in their long career, their last studio album showcases a more varied, elaborate and eclectic sound.

Blues Wire may have moved on to another level but their essence remains intact.

Tracks
1. Steady Gig - 3:58
2. Beacause Of You - 4:42
3. Meanthing - 3:16
4. Bulldog Boogie - 4:12
5. Keep Blues Alive - 4:16
6. Love Me - 3:44
7. There Is Love - 4:32
8. Circus Of Fools - 5:30
9. Fat Meets Bones - 4:06
10.Chicago Blues - 4:08
11.Blinded - 3:34
12.Life On The Road - 6:00
13.Wishbone - 6:57
14.Goodbye Now Blues - 1:35
All Songs Written by Elias Zaikos

Blues Wire
*Elias Zaikos - Guitars, Vocals
*Sotiris Zissis - Bass
*Nick "Backbone" Dounoussis - Guitar
*Alex Apostolakis - Drums
*George Bandoek - Harp, Guitars, Keyboards
*Oleg Chaly - Piano, Organ
*George Papazoglou - Drums

*John Doc Stanopoulos - Tenor Sax

*Akis Katsoupakis - Keyboards

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Grand Funk - Closer To Home (1970 us, classic heavy rock, 3rd album, japan remaster with bonus tracks)

Closer to Home, the trio's third album, was the record that really broke them through to the commercially successful level of metal masters such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Rather than rushing headlong into their typical hard, heavy, and overamplified approach, Grand Funk Railroad began expanding their production values.

Most evident is the inclusion of strings, the acoustic opening on the disc's leadoff cut, "Sins a Good Man's Brother," as well as the comparatively mellow "Mean Mistreater." But the boys had far from gone soft. The majority of Closer to Home is filled with the same straight-ahead rock & roll that had composed their previous efforts. The driving tempo of Mel Schacher's viscous lead basslines on "Aimless Lady" and "Nothing Is the Same" adds a depth when contrasted to the soul-stirring and somewhat anthem-like "Get It Together."

The laid-back and slinky "I Don't Have to Sing the Blues" also continues the trend of over-the-top decibel-shredding; however, instead of the excess force of other bands, such as MC5, Grand Funk Railroad are able to retain the often-elusive melodic element to their heavy compositions.
by Lindsay Planer

Tracks
1. Sin's A Good Man's Brother
2. Aimless Lady
3. Nothing Is The Same
4. Mean Mistreater
5. Get It Together
6. I Don't Have To Sing The Blues
7. Hooked On Love
8. I'm Your Captain
9. Mean Mistreater (Alternate Mix)
10.In Need (Live)
11.Heartbreaker (Live)
12.Mean Mistreater (Live)

Grand Funk
*Mark Farner - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Mel Schacher - Bass Guitar
*Don Brewer - Drums, Vocals

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John Lee Hooker And Canned Heat - Hooker 'N' Heat (1971 us, superb blues rock, MFSL ultra gold double disc)

Canned Heat are hands down the best back-up band John Lee Hooker has recorded with since those hot shot country groups that blazed anonymously through the studios in the early Fifties. And despite the cover billing, they are very much a back-up group, for this is really a John Lee Hooker album, and one of his best in a long while.

    

Much of the credit goes to the Heat's planning and programming. They have caught Hooker in a variety of settings: soloist in his own characteristic idiom; playing a fantastic series of duets with the late Al Wilson; and fronting the entire band (minus Hite, who worked on the project, and spread his infectious good humor, from the control booth) for some righteous, raunchy boogie. Canned Heat have made no secret of the fact that their entire boogie series, spread over some three albums, draws its inspiration from Hooker's work, so the combination is a natural. The second album in this two-record set is given over to band numbers, and it's the best of the two.

    

Wilson's presence doesn't need to be overadvertised; he is very strong throughout, mostly in a very subtle way. Hooker has noted his admiration for Wilson several times, and their generation-spanning empathy is very evident here, especially on side two, which is given over mostly to Hooker with Wilson's harp and piano. Hooker remarks. "I don't know how that boy keeps up with me." It's no easy trick, keeping up with John Lee, but that's just what Alan does, laying down some amazing playing, especially on harp, in the process.

 Vestine, who had recently rejoined the band when these sides were cut, is also very strong, even though he like Wilson is subservient to Hooker's thing. Henry once told an interviewer his greatest ambition was to record with John Lee Hooker and with Albert Ayler. With the release of Ayler's Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe, and Hooker 'N Heat, Henry has fulfilled his ambitions at a very young age; there's no place for him to go but up.

 Mention should be made of the earth-moving power of Antonio de la Barreda and Adolfo de la Parra. the Heat's south-of-the-border rhythm section, and of the engineering, which may still be a little too clean for Hooker, but then, nobody records in barns anymore. Hooker fans are going to dig this record, and so are Heat fans, and that includes a lot of people. Let 'em boogie!

by Bob Palmer

Tracks

Disc-1

1. Messin' with the Hook - 3:23

2. The Feelin' Is Gone - 4:32

3. Send Me Your Pillow - 4:48

4. Sittin' Here Thinkin' - 4:07

5. Meet Me in the Bottom - 3:34

6. Alimonia Blues - 4:31

7. Driftin' Blues - 4:57

8. You Talk Too Much - 3:16

9. Burnin' Hell" (Bernard Besman, Hooker) - 5:28

10.Bottle Up and Go - 2:27

Disc-2

1. The World Today - 7:47

2. I Got My Eyes on You - 4:26

3. Whiskey and Wimmen' - 4:37

4. Just You and Me - 7:42

5. Let's Make It - 4:06

6. Peavine - 5:07

7. Boogie Chillen No. 2 - 11:33

All songs written by John Lee Hooker except as noted.

Musicians

*John Lee Hooker - Vocals, Guitar, Percussion

*Bob Hite - Vocals

*Henry Vestine - Guitar

*Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson - Guitar, Piano, Harmonica

*Antonio De La Barreda - Bass

*Adolfo De La Parra - Drums

Other Canned Heat 

1968  Livin' The Blues 

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Howlin' Wolf - The Real Folk Blues / More Real Folk Blues (1966-67 us, blues master, 2002 release)

The Real Folk Blues, originally released by Chess in 1966 to capitalize on the then-current folk music boom. The music, however -- a collection of Howlin' Wolf (born Chester Arthur Burnett), singles from 1956 to 1966 -- is full-blown electric, featuring a nice sampling of Wolf originals with a smattering of Willie Dixon tunes.

Some of the man's best middle period work is aboard here; "Killing Floor," "Louise," the hair-raisingly somber "Natchez Burning," and Wolf's version of the old standard "Sitting on Top of the World," which would become his set closer in later years.

The Mobile Fidelity version sounds as sonically sharp as anything you've ever heard by this artist and its heftier price tag is somewhat justified by the inclusion of two bonus cuts. But those on a budget who just want the music minus the high-minded audiophile concerns will be happy to note that this is also available as a Chess budget reissue.

More Real Folk Blues,  was issued in 1967 (after the Wolf  had appeared on network television with the Rolling Stones, alluded to in the original liner notes) and couldn't be more dissimilar in content to the first one if you had planned it that way. Whereas the previous volume highlighted middle-period Wolf, this one goes all the way back to his earliest Chess sessions, many of which sound like leftover Memphis sides. The chaotic opener, "Just My Kind," sets a familiar Wolf theme to a "Rollin' & Tumblin'" format played at breakneck speed, and what the track lacks in fidelity is more than made up in sheer energy. 

For a classic example of Wolf's ensemble Chicago sound, it's pretty tough to beat "I Have a Little Girl," where the various members of his band seem to be all soloing simultaneously -- not unlike a Dixieland band -- right through Wolf's vocals. For downright scary, the demonic-sounding "I'll Be Around" is an absolute must-hear. Wolf's harp solo on this slow blues is one of his best and the vocal that frames it sounds like the microphone is going to explode at any second. As soul singer Christine Ohlman commented upon hearing this track for the first time, "Boy, I'd sure hate to be the woman he's singing that one to."

by Cub Koda

Tracks

1. Killing Floor - 2:48

2. Louise - 2:41

3. Poor Boy - 2:32

4. Sitting on Top of the World - 2:30

5. Nature - 2:44

6. My Country Sugar Mama - 2:33

7. Tail Dragger (Willie Dixon) - 2:55

8. Three Hundred Pounds of Joy (Willie Dixon) - 3:02

9. Natchez Burning - 2:09

10.Built for Comfort (Willie Dixon) - 2:35

11.Ooh Baby (Hold Me) - 2:36

12.Tell Me What I've Done - 2:47

13.Just My Kind - 2:52

14.I've Got A Woman - 2:55

15.Work For Your Money - 2:12

16.I'll Be Around - 3:14

17.You Can't Be Beat - 3:10

18.No Place To Go (You Gonna Wreck My Life) - 2:56

19.I Love My Baby - 2:57

20.Neighbors - 2:45

21.I'm The Wolf - 2:52

22.Rockin' Daddy - 3:03

23.Who Will Be Next - 2:34

24.I Have A Little Girl - 2:34

All songs by Chester Burnett except where indicated

Songs recorded between 1953-65

Musicians

*Howlin' Wolf - Vocals, Guitars, Harmonica

*Andrew McMahon - Bass

*Arnold Rogers - Tenor Sax

*Donald Hankins - Baritone Sax

*Johnny Jones - Piano

*Hubert Sumlin - Guitar

*Andrew Palmer - Electric Bass

*Willie Dixon - Bass

*Alfred Elkins - Bass

*Sammy Lay - Drums

*Earl Phillips - Drums

*Hosea Lee Kennard - Piano

*Otis Spann - Piano

*Jody Williams - Guitar

*Willie Johnson - Guitar

*Junior Blackman - Drums

*J.T.Brown - Tenor Sax

*Lafayette Leake - Piano

*Buddy Guy - Guitar

*Otis "Smokey" Smothers - Guitar

*Fred Below - Drums

*Lee Cooper - Guitar

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B.B. King - Lucille (1967 us, blues legend, MFSL ultra disc)

In December 1967, B.B. King entered the studio with noted jazz producer Bob Thiele to record what eventually became LUCILLE. Named after King's guitar, this record finds B.B. adding some fresh ingredients to his already potent stew of traditional blues. With its biting brass and female back-up singers, "You Move Me So" is a funky, spiritual workout, whereas "I Need Your Love" finds King combining Sam Cooke-flavored vocalizing with a dash of rambling country-flavored piano.

As for the blues, Riley B. King has 'em and isn't afraid to share. He digs deep and bathes Ivory Joe Hunter's "No Money No Luck" in heavy pathos. The title track is the most impressive and spontaneous number on this record despite its near-ten-minute length. Done in a talking blues style, "Lucille" started out with King telling the story of his guitar while noodling around on her during a break. Correctly sensing that blues gold was being freshly served up, an excited Thiele had the engineer flip on the record button, preserving a conversation between a man and his guitar for posterity.

Tracks
1. Lucille - 10:16
2. You Move Me So - 2:03
3. Country Girl - 4:25
4. Mo Money, No Luck Blues (Ivory Joe Hunter) - 3:49
5. I Need Your Love (Walter Spriggs) - 2:22
6. Rainin' All the Time - 2:56
7. I'm with You - 2:31
8. Stop Putting the Hurt on Me - 3:04
9. Watch Yourself (Sidney Barnes, Louis Gross, George Kerr) - 5:47
All tracks by B. B. King, except where noted.

Musicians
*B.B. King - Guitar, Vocals
*Irving Ashby - Guitar
*David Allen - Bass
*Lloyd Glenn - Piano
*Jesse Sailes - Drums
*Maxwell Davis - Leader, Organ
*Bobby Forte, Bob McNeely, Cecil McNeely - Saxophone

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Blood Sweat And Tears - No Sweat (1973 us, great fusion jazz rock, 2005 issue)

David Clayton-Thomas replaced by the blind singer Bobby Doyle, once leader of the Bobby Doyle Trio. Joe Henderson replaces Fred Lipsius and guitarist George Wadenius, a member of the Swedish group "Made in Sweden", joins the band. The new lineup fails to gel and they start to look for another lead singer.

Jerry Fisher is at this time recording singles in New York with "New Design", a subsidiary of Columbia Records (the BS&T label). His newly tracked recording session prompted an invitation to have a jam session with the group. After that, he's invited to join the band. Prior to joining BS&T, Jerry Fisher performed the nightclub circuits in Las Vegas, Tahoe, parts of his native Oklahoma and Texas. He had a sizeable following and was considered by one Texas music critic as "probably the greatest white blues singer in the business".

All these changes mean time rehearsing and reorganizing instead of recording and Columbia Records releases a "Greatest hits" package. Eleven selections, seven singles chart entries, plus two album tracks from the celebrated debut album when Al Kooper lead the group, and two more from the Grammy-winning multi-platinum second album.The album contained the singles edits of the songs.

The personal changes continued. Joe Henderson is replaced by Lou Marini Jr. Dick Halligan calls it a day and Larry Willis takes over as keyboard player. In the summer of '72, Blood, Sweat & Tears went in the studio again to record a new album. This time they choose mostly covers. At the end of August, the first new material to be released in 13 months, the single "So Long Dixie" is released, but stalls out at #44. The album is released a month later. A discouraged Steve Katz leaves the band along with Chuck Winfield, who is replaced by Tom Malone. There is no replacement for Steve Katz.

As touring continued, Blood, Sweat and Tears begin gathering material for yet another album and in the spring of 1973 they are once again in the studio to record. The result "No Sweat" was released in June the same year and contained both originals and cover songs. The album this time is more rocking with "Roller Coaster" released as a single. The LP scores at #42 and another single, "Save Our Ship" is released from the album.

The touring continues and so are the personal changes within the band. Longtimer Jim Fielder leaves and is replaced by Ron McClure, Lou Marini JR is replaced by Bill Tillman. Tom Malone leaves and Tony Klatka takes over. Lew Soloff also leaves the band. Jerry LaCroix, formerly a member of the Edgar Winter group, joins the band on sax and flute. He also sings, but Jerry Fisher is still the lead singer.

Tracks
1. Roller Coaster (M. James) - 3:23
2. Save Our Ship (George Wadenius, Cynthia Weil) - 3:43
3. Django (An Excerpt) (John Lewis) - 2:08
4. Rosemary (Randy Newman) - 3:13
5. Song for John (Lou Marini) - 2:53
6. Almost Sorry (Jeff Kent, Doug Lubahn) - 6:26
7. Back Up Against the Wall (Buddy Buie, James Cobb) - 3:21
8. Hip Pickles (Marini) - 1:31
9. My Old Lady (Wadenius, Weil) - 3:15
10.Empty Pages (Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood) - 3:15
11.Mary Miles (Michael Rabon) - 2:26
12.Inner Crisis (Larry Willis) - 5:40

Blood Sweat and Tears
*Jerry Fisher - Vocals
*Dave Bargeron - Trombone, Tuba, Bass Trombone, Baritone Horn, Background Vocals
*Bobby Colomby - Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
*Jim Fielder - Bass, Background Vocals
*Lou Marini - Woodwinds
*Lew Soloff - Trumpet
*Tom Malone - Trumpet, ARP, 12-String Fiddle
*George Wadenius - Guitar, Background Vocals
*Larry Willis - Keyboards
Guest Musicians
*Paul Buckmaster - Synthesizer, ARP, Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements
*David Hentschel - Synthesizer, ARP
*Steve Katz - Guitar
*Chuck Winfield - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, French Horn
*Jimmy Maelen - Percussion
*Frank Ricotti - Percussion
*Joshie Armstead - Background Vocals
*Valerie Simpson - Background Vocals
*Maretha Stewart - Background Vocals

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Al Kooper - Easy Does It (1970 us, noble psychedelic, blues, folk jazz rock, 2008 remaster)

This is the third solo effort from rock & roll wunderkind Al Kooper.  Originally issued as a two-LP set, Easy Does It (1970) is a diverse album that reveals the layer upon layer of musicality that has become synonymous with the artist. He draws deeply upon his skills as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and equally engaging arranger. 

The extended run-time of the double album format likewise allows Kooper to thoroughly exhibit his wide-ranging and virtually mythical adaptability as an artist whose sheer talent defies the boundaries of genre or style. The set kicks off with the youthfully optimistic rocker "Brand New Day."

This is the first of two tracks Kooper used in his score for Hal Ashby's directorial cinematic debut, The Landlord, a highly affable counterculture classic starring Beau Bridges.  The haunting "The Landlord Love Theme" is also included, and is poignantly dovetailed with one of the disc's profoundly affective epics. "Buckskin Boy" is an uptempo rocker that lyrically offers a brutally honest assessment of the Native American situation, which was quickly becoming a national plague upon the social conscience of the country in the early '70s. 

The song is replete with Kooper's dynamic chord changes and trademark phrasing. The "morning after" fallout from a particularly potent experience with LSD is credited as the inspiration behind "Sad, Sad Sunshine." The cut features some heavily Eastern-influenced lead sitar work reminiscent of the sounds of Donovan circa Hurdy Gurdy Man (1968) and the burgeoning Canterbury-based progressive folk movement of the late '60s and early '70s. 

There is a decidedly Yankee contrast on the country-rocker "I Bought You the Shoes (You're Walking Away In)" as well as the cover of John Loudermilk's "A Rose and a Baby Ruth." Other well-placed cover tunes include a classy, soulfully subdued reading of Ray Charles "I Got a Woman'" as well as the spacy and well-jammed-out version of "Baby Please Don't Go." Throughout the 12-plus minute side there are definite recollections of the extended instrumental interaction that defined Kooper's former band, the Blues Project, as well as some of the inspirational improvisation heard on the original Super Session (1968). 

This performance alone is more than worth the time and effort of seeking out Easy Does It. 

by Lindsay Planer

Tracks
1. Brand New Day (Al Kooper) - 5:10
2. Piano Solo Introduction to I Got a Woman - 2:00
3. I Got a Woman (Ray Charles, Renald Richard) - 4:30
4. Country Road (James Taylor) - 4:22
5. I Bought You The Shoes (You're Walking Away In) (Bob Brass, Irwin Levine, Kooper) - 1:57
6. Introduction - 0:50
7. Easy Does It (Kooper) - 5:25
8. Buckskin Boy (Kooper, Charlie Calello) - 3:10
9. Love Theme from The Landlord (Kooper) - 3:12
10.Sad, Sad Sunshine (Kooper) - 5:04
11.Let the Duchess No (John Gregory, Jim Roberts) - 3:17
12.She Gets Me Where I Live (Kooper, Calello) - 3:34
13.A Rose and a Baby Ruth (J.D. Loudermilk) - 3:29
14.Baby, Please Don't Go (Big Joe Williams) - 12:26
15.God Sheds His Grace on Thee (Kooper, Calello) - 3:27

Musicians
*Rick Marotta - Drums, Vocals (Background)
*Wayne Moss - Guitar
*Joe Osborne - Bass
*Earl Palmer - Drums, Guitar (Steel)
*Alexis Rodgers - Guitar, Drums
*Al Rogers - Drums
*Stuart Scharf - Guitar
*Tommy Tedesco - Guitar
*Stu Woods - Bass, Vocals (Background)
*Charlie McCoy - Bass, Harmonica
*John Miller - Bass
*Joe Jr. Corero - Drums
*Stu Scharff - Guitar
*Lyle Ritz - Bass
*Keith Allison - Guitar
*Pete Drake - Pedal Steel, Guitar (Steel)
*John Miller - Bass
*Freddy Weller - Guitar
*The Blossoms - Vocals, Background Music
*Louie Shelton - Guitar
*Peter Ivers - Harp
*Kenneth A. Buttrey - Drums
*Charlie Daniels - Bass, Guitar
*Bobby Colomby - Conga, Drums, Vocals
*Tom Cosgrove - Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
*George Devens - Percussion
*Milt Holland - Percussion, Tabla
*Larry Knechtel - Piano, Keyboards
*David Bromberg - Guitar, Guitar (Steel), Pedal Steel
*Al Kooper - Organ, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Electronic Effects, Ondioline, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background), Sitar, Guitar (Electric), Piano
*Joe Beck - Guitar
*Fred Lipsius - Saxophone, Soloist

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The Sorrows - Take A Heart (1965-67 uk, effective mod freak beat, 2006 double disc edition)

The Sorrows’ roots can be traced back to Coventry (around 1963), where Don Fardon (vocals), Pip Whitcher (lead guitar), Terry Jukes (rhythm guitar), and Philip Packham (bass) played in various local beat groups. While plying their trade in the local night clubs the group was discovered by John Schroeder, Picadilly’s label manager. Their first Picadilly (owned by Pye) single, “I Don’t Want To Be Free/Come With Me,” was an excellent Kinks-like number, full of power chords and tough, soulful vocals. Another quality single leaked out (“Baby”) but success seemed to elude the boys.

It wasn’t until “Take A Heart” that the Sorrows had their big top 20 smash. Originally written by songwriter Miki Dallon and recorded by the Boy Blues, “Take A Heart” for my money, is one of the UK’s greatest rock n roll singles. The song’s arrangement gradually builds up into an explosion of speedy guitar work, charging rhythms, and violent lead vocals (Fardon was a great vocalist). Without question, this 45 is one of the true classics. To capitalize on the single’s success Pye released the Take A Heart LP in December of 1965. The LP is consistently good, featuring originals, a few more tracks written by Miki Dallon and some interesting R&B covers. Standouts include their ferocious take on “Teenage Letter,” the trashy mod pop of “Come With Me,” a couple of strange beat ballads (“How Love Used To Be” and “We Should Get Along Fine”), and a Dylan influenced folk-rocker titled “Don’t Sing No Sad Songs For Me.” Another great cut is their cover of “Let Me In,” a track that rocks really hard and features impressive fretwork. Take A Heart is right up there with the early Stones’ output, the Pretty Things first two LPs, and the Small Faces debut; it’s that good.

The Sorrows released a few more 45s from the lp but none of them made the charts. At this point Fardon decided it was best that he leave the group to pursue a solo career. The Sorrows would soldier on, releasing an excellent early psych 45 in 1967 (“Pink, Purple, Yellow, Red”) and then relocate to Italy. It was around this time that the group cut an LP titled Old Songs, New Songs in 1968. A respectable LP, Old Songs, New Songs was a mixture of group originals and covers of then popular tracks by Traffic, The Small Faces and Family.
by Jason (The Rising Storm)

Tracks
- The Singles
1. I Don't Wanna Be Free - 2:35
2. Come With Me - 2:35
3. Baby - 2:26
4. Teenage Letter - 2:35
5. Take A Heart - 3:14
6. We Should Get Along Fine - 2:28
7. You've Got What I Want - 1:59
8. No, No, No, No - 2:35
9. Let The Live Live - 2:06
10.Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me - 2:22
11.Let Me In - 2:47
12.How Love Used To Be - 3:27
13.Pink Purple Yellow Red - 2:48
14.My Gal - 2:48
15.Gonna Find A Cave * - 2:25
16.I Take What I Want * - 2:47
17.Baby All The Time * - 2:30
18.Baby *** - 2:59
19.Nimm Mein Herz (Take A Heart In German) - 3:12
20.Sei War Mein Girl (We Should Get Along Fine In German) - 2:26
21.Mi Si Spezza II Cuore (Take A Heart In Italian) - 3:09
22.Vivi (Baby In Italian) - 2:51
23.Verde, Rosso, Giallo, Blu (Pink, Purple, Yellow, Red In Italian) - 2:50
24.No, No, No, No (In Italian) - 2:33
25.Zabadak - 2:59
26.La Liberta Costa Cara (How Love Used To Be In Italian) - 3:19
27.Hooky ** - 2:28
28.You're Still Mine ** - 2:00
29.Armchair King ** - 2:47
30.Smoke Gets In Your Eyes ** - 2:47
* (unreleased at the time)
** (previously unissued)
*** (previously unissued '66 version)

- 1965 - Take A Heart (The Album)
1. Baby - 2:26
2. No, No, No, No - 2:36
3. Take a Heart - 3:17
4. She's Got The Action - 1:51
5. How Love Used To Be - 3:23
6. Teenage Letter - 2:26
7. I Don't Wanna Be Free - 2:39
8. Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me - 2:21
9. Cara-Lin - 2:41
10.We Should Get Along Fine - 2:29
11.Come With Me - 1:59
12.Let Me In - 2:46

The Sorrows
*Don Maughn - vocals
*Philip "Pip" Witcher - lead guitar
*Wez Price - rhythm guitar
*Philip Packham - bass guitar
*Bruce Finlay - drums

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The Collectors - The Collectors / Grass And Wild Strawberries (1967-68 canada, magnificent avant garde psych rock with great arrangements)

The Collectors were formed in Vancouver, Canada in 1961 and originally known as the C-Fun Classics and released many local records. They adopted the name C-FUN Classics when they gigged to promote local Vancouver, BC radio station CFUN-AM. The group were featured as the house band on 'Let's Go', a weekly TV show. In 1965, they released two singles as the Canadian Classics -- 'Til I Met You' (Jaguar 2002A) and 'I Don't Know' (Valiant 723).

With former horn player Howie Vickers handling the lead vocals, they cut 'Eyes' and 'Don't Feel Bad' -- both of which later appeared on the History of Vancouver Rock and Roll, Volume 4 (VRCA 004; 1991). 'Eyes' -- a fine folk tune seasoned with tasty guitar and just a dash of psychedelia -- is easily the better track. 'Don't Feel Bad' has a vague 'On Broadway' feel. More elaborately produced, it also seems a less genuine effort.

In 1967, The Collectors released the Vancouver smash hit single 'Looking at a Baby' (New Syndrome 16, 1967, subsequently reissued on the History of Vancouver Rock, Volume 3 VRCA 001, 1983) along with two other 45s - 'Fisherwoman' and 'Fat Bird'.

The Collectors were drawn towards US west coast venues where they established a positive reputation for their complex arrangements, soaring harmonies and extended improvisations.

Dave Hassinger was the mutual producer of both The Electric Prunes and The Collectors. Having just participated in the recording of The Collectors' epic 'What Love (Suite)', an entire side of their first Warners album, The Collectors immediately came to mind to Hassinger, who also "owned" the name The Electric Prunes.

But although ready and willing to be session performers, The Collectors had already established themselves as Canada's hottest group with their original material and didn't really want to divert from their own artistic awesomeness. So, after the recording of 'Mass in F Minor', the Prunes were reformed with a completely new line-up to record 'Release of an Oath' with David Axelrod.

After, The Collectors collaborated with George Ryga and released the 'Grass and Wild Strawberries' LP which was based on Ryga's stage play of the same name.

During this period, The Collectors also provided the soundtrack music to three Canadian based films - Don't Let the Angels Fall (1968) along with David Hassinger, Canada the Land / Canada, pays vaste (1969) and The Land (1969). Further information regarding these films can be obtained from The Collectors's entry at the National Film Board of Canada's web site.

Although their imaginative use of of time signatures and woodwind garnered critical plaudits, this was not transferred into sales, and the Collectors' career ebbed with two non-album singles.

The departure of Howie Vickers in 1969 prompted an internal rethink and the remaining quartet abandoned the name and emerged as Chilliwack in 1971 with Bill Henderson taking over lead vocals.
Shadwell-Tripod

Tracks
1967  The Collectors
1. What Is Love - 3:51
2. She (Will-O-The-Wind) - 3:51
3. Howard Christman's Older - 5:08
4. Lydia Purple - 2:47
5. One Act Play - 3:42
6. What Love (Suite) - 19:06
1968  From Grass And Wild Strawberries
7. Overture - 4:49
8. Grass And Wild Strawberries - 2:01
9. Things I Remember - 2:46
10.Don't Turn Away (From Me) - 3:10
11.Teletype Click - 2:55
12.Seventeenth Summer - 3:29
13.The Long Rain - 2:57
14.My Love Delights Me - 2:23
15.Dream of Desolation - 2:30
16.Rainbow of Fire - 2:52
17.Early Morning - 3:28
18.Sheep on the Hillside - 4:17

The Collectors
*Howie Vickers - Lead Vocals
*Bill Henderson - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals, Keyboards
*Claire Lawrence - Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards, Harmonica & Vocals
*Glenn Miller - Bass and Vocals
*Ross Turney - Drums
Guest Musicians
*Larry Knechtel - Piano, Harpsichord
*Norm Jeffries - Vibes
*Jesse Erlich - Cello

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The Plastic Cloud - The Plastic Cloud (1968 canada, exceptional garage/ psych)

The Plastic Cloud were a psychedelic rock band based out of Bay Ridges, Ontario. Had their homebase been located elsewhere (San Fran, NYC, or LA) things may have been very different for the Plastic Cloud but instead this sole album has languished in obscurity. Psych fans and collectors remain divided, however: collectors consider Plastic Cloud one of Canada’s best psych albums (or indeed the best from anywhere) while some jaded day-trippers merely find it just ok/ nothing special. All lyrics were written by guitarist/vocalist Don Brewer but other members were drummer Randy Umphrey, bass player Brian Madill, and guitarist Mike Cadieux.

At first listen I was not impressed with the Plastic Cloud’s only offering. After reading all the hype about mind-jarring fuzz guitars and John Lennon-like vocals I found the disc rather mediocre and unimpressive. After several more spins I began to appreciate the band’s intensity and lysergic charm: this disc truly does deliver the goods if you’re into hardcore, late-night psych sounds. Two of the tracks (“Civilization Machine” and “You Don’t Care”) come close to or exceed the ten minute mark and both are repetitive but also very good. “You Don’t Care” features nasty eastern style fuzztone and powerful drum work that never bores despite its 10.5 minute length. Other tracks like “Epistle To Paradise” and the superb “Bridge Under The Sky” show a dreamy, softer folk-rock side which is equally appealing. These tracks have a nice trippy production and attractive ringing guitars. Another gem, the “Dainty General Rides Again” sounds like a lost British psych pop nugget and features a nice brief fuzz guitar break. While not a major classic, Plastic Cloud is surely one of the better Canadian psych albums and is consistently good throughout. The guitarists’ tones vaguely remind me of Jorma Kaukonen’s work with the Jefferson Airplane: these guitar tones coil, uncoil, and burrow deep into your head like all great psych guitar solos should. Once again, if you enjoy great, ripping fuzz guitar and sinister vocals (check out “Shadows Of Your Mind”) this album is definitely for you.

Originals came out on Allied in 1968 and are very expensive. The group also released a single off Allied in 1968 (“Shadows Of Your Mind” coupled with “The Dainty General”). The best and only official cd reissue I know of is by Pacemaker (from 2005) although it offers nothing in the way of liner notes, just a couple of photos. If Canada produced acknowledged, underrated classics like Spirit Of Christmas’ Lies To Live By (prog), The Guess Who’s It’s Time (garage/beat), The Sinners Vox Populi (psych pop/garage) and Kensington Market’s Aardvark (psych pop) then Plastic Cloud is just a notch or so below these records but still a great album.
by Jason Nardelli

 Tracks
1. Epistle To Paradise - 3:25
2. Shadows Of Your Mind - 4:10
3. Art's A Happy Man - 3:05
4. You Don't Care - 10:25
5. Bridge Under The Sky - 4:25
6. Face Behind The Sun - 4:43
7. Dainty General Rides - 4:05
8. Civilization Machine - 8:55

The Plastic Cloud
*Don Brewer - Vocals, 12-String Guitar
*Brian Madill - Bass
*Mike Cadieux - Guitar
*Randy Umphrey - Drums

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Dschinn - Dschinn (1970-72 germany, remarkable krautrock with powerful arrangements and impressive vocals)

Back to the spring of 1970. Influenced by the Beatles and their musical revolution, a whole generation stepped into a new feeling and created a creed of another future. Therefore the angloamerican rock-dreams also forced a lot of creative sub-culture living and progressive sounds in Germany.

The story of  Dschinn started in the heart of Hessen/Germany, near the city of Marburg, when a bunch of creative, young musicians decided to found a rockband. The Hurricanes were born. With their own songs and explosive stage shows they were after a career in music business. By setting such a high goal they played live concerts everywhere - at clubs, universities and of course at countrywide pop-festivals.

The result of these efforts: they gained a lot of awards at up-and-coming-rock-festivals, national performances at famous beat-clubs such as the StarDust (formerly called StarClub) in Hamburg. It also was on stage, as they were discovered by an influentual businessman. In sympathy with their first producer, who just had become both their greatest fan and financial supporter the band had to change their former name into Dischas. They could soon release their first single "Here What I Say/Come Back To Me", which shot into the Austrian charts and even was placed in the Top-ten for a couple of weeks.

Despite of further singles placed in the charts and further performances on stages such as SWF Baden-Baden and Funkausstellung Berlin, the band decided to change their music style radically. Due to this decision, not only their contract had been released, but also their former group-name had become too old-fashioned., so they now called themselves Dschinn, which sounded much more sophisticated - as a symptom of those times. Of course-from now onwards the band entered the progressive musicgenre, too.

Dschinn started with a brandnew set of remarkable songs with powerful arrangements and impressive vocals. All tracks we recorded at Tonstudio Mitte Bremen. Even though recording-quality should be rated as rather poor, the nusicial output must be honoured as real Krautrock-jewls, that stood out against the efforts of some other contemporary artists in Germany. Looking for a new record-company, the Band contacted Bacillus records, a subsidary of Bellaphon, Frankfurt and sow their first and only album "Dschinn" was released 10 years after the band had been founded.

Unfortunately this little masterpiece was no big success as it disappeared in the great oversupply of music. Finally, in 1972 the rockgroup disbanded. The last musically sign of Dschinn was their track "Rock ‘n’ Roll Dschinny”, a marvelous highlight, which had been placed two years later on a Bellaphon-sampler.

Tracks
1. Freedom - 4:48
2. Fortune - 4:56
3. I'm In Love - 4:46
4. Train - 4:56
5. Let's Go Together - 3:11
6. Smile Of The Devil - 4:24
7. I Wanna Know - 3:34
8. Are You Ready - 4:03
9. For Your Love  - 4:11)
10.Rock'n Roll Dschinny - 3:07
11.Day After Day (Outtake) - 2:43
12.Give Me A Little Love (Outtake) - 2:58
13.Can't You See (Outtake) - 3:11
14.Road Tune - 2:20
15.Woman - 2:26
16.Hurry Up - 3:39
17.Take Me Back - 3:27
18.Never, Never - 2:52
19.Let's Go Together Alt - 2:18
20.Come On Come Back - 2:31
21.Hear What I Say - 2:54
Bonus Tracks 9-21
Tracks 14-21 as  Dischas

Dschinn
*Bernd Capito - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Peter Lorenz - Lead Vocals Rhythm Guitar
*Silvio Verfurth - Bass, Vocals
*Athanasios Paltoglou - Drums, Percussion
*Uli Mund - Drums, Percussion

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Borealis - Sons Of The Sea / Professor Fuddle's Fantastic Fairy Tale Machine (1970-74 canada, fine psychedelic rock, korean remaster with bonus tracks)

Audar Records produced the Borealis In July 1972. It was the first rock album recorded in the Atlantic provinces. The record company was kind of expecting the usual country or folk materials, normal during that time, but we had other things in mind, although we did not mislead them. Song 1, "In the end". made the Top Ten for two months in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

However, a lack of promotion by the hand members, who thought record companies did such duties, soon consigned this LP to collector's shelves and bargain bins in Woolworth deportment stores. Nevertheless, for many years the hand relieved (CAPAC cheques of varying amounts, indicating repeated airplay someplaces, somewhere in Canada. "business", song one on side two was a funky sendup of local business practices, as experienced by the band, it was thought to be the most worthy, as satire. and was designated to be the first "single". Instead, the record company pressed it has to be the "B" side, with "In the end” as the "A" side.

The company then mastered the LP with "In the end" as song one, side one, perhaps because it was the least jarring to the region's many country fans. The album was recorded the night before Borealis opened for the famed Lighthouse band. The recording company's timetable would not be overthrown by a group of young musicians who professed So be opening for a supergroup the next day! And so, a weekend passed, I remember most of it the ports when 1 was awake. It was worth every second!

Professor Fuddle's Fantastic Fairy Tale Machine
The « Fuddle album was inspired following an idea by Alan Ball, who went on to join the Canada Arts Council. Alan had the idea of writing a play than explain, to children, how computers work. Nowadays, of course, children toil adults how computers work, but such was not the way of the world back in 1971 Personal computers had not been invented. Computers were, in tact, huge complex machines, taking up entire floors of space, in places like universities.

Teams of “programmers” operated these humming contraptions, feeding the machinery with cards on which data was “computed” by perforating, or piercing, the cards with strategically olaced holes. But in digress. The story of the play is a 1070's fairy tale, set in a fishing hamlet in Newfoundland ('New-fun-Land'), Canada's most easterly island province. Jeff, a young boy of about 12. visits his uncle, Professor Fuddle, who has acquired an old union hall in the hamlet, in which to build his experimental 'computer'.

The opening tune introduces and animates the huge machine, which takes up the entire width of the stage. As Jeff arrives, the professor is seated before the machine's controls at centre stage. He is testing the machine's capability to produce 'holographs' of storybook characters. Snow White appears from the machine's 'good' side, hiding from a wicked queen in a haunted forest, singing the LP's second song. 'Rain's my name', and dreamily dancing to the computer's generated music of Philomel, from Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. Snow White's 'Seven Dwarfs' arc produced from the computer's 'good' side, during song 5, as 'dancing masters', local wooden dolls, normally suspended on sticks (the amchine appears to have absorbed the local culture).

From the 'evil' side of the computer, ghosts of mermaids from seagoing mythology, haunt the witch into recanting her ways, via the song 'The opera cracks the bell'. As forgetful old professors might do, Professor Fuddle has forgotten to 'teach' it to count - a major flaw, the audience learns, when two huge actors appear as the 'dancing masters', supposedly portraying the 'Seven Dwarfs'. So, Jeff and his assembled characters encourage the audience to help them program, or 'teach' the computer to count, and to 'learn' tho difference between 'big' and 'small', by singing the 'Count Comprison Song'. Songs 'Indigo Evening' and 'Sonnet Song (Plenylunios)' add mood and moral purpose to the plot, as presentations for younger minds were supposed to do, back in the 1970's.

The witch's 'evil bell' cracks, to the tune 'The Opera Cracks The Bell', and the spell of her thousand year reign of evil is broken. The play, staged at the St. John's Arts & Culture Center as its Christmas presentation, was a success, according to the next day's reviews. Alan's play wont on to be included in a Collage of Canadian Children's Plays. Following which, every child around the world over the age of three learned to make computers sing and talk, and we adults slunk back to our caves. The rest, as they say, is History. And so is this forgotten LP.
by Paul Bradbury

Tracks
Sons Of The Sea 1970-72
1. In The End - 2:30
2. Broke - 3:14
3. Sons Of The Sea - 3:49
4. Higher - 3:23
5. Another Boy - 5:06
6. Business - 4:42
7. The Politician - 3:28
8. Old Age - 3:00
9. Tomorrow Morning - 5:17
10.Lucky Day - 3:06
Professor Fuddle's Fantastic Fairy Tale Machine 1974
11.Professor Fuddle's Fantastic Fairy Tale Machine - 3:00
12.Rain's My Name - 2:05
13.Witch's Chant - 2:08
14.Philomel - 2:40
15.Dancing Master's Jig - 1:42
16.Indigo Evening - 2:43
17.Counting Comparison - 2:37
18.Sonnet Song - 2:45
19.The Opera Cracks The Bell - 1:53

Borealis
Paul Bradbury - Vocals, Organ
Wayne Sturge - Guitar, Vocals (1-10)
Mark Bradbury - Bass, Vocals (1-10)
David Hillier - Drums (1-10)

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