They're a group with five distinct but not disjointed personalities. This is Them as I know them.
There's Kenny McDowell, who worried about stepping into Van Morrison's place as the group's vocalist. He's a worker on stage, shouting and whispering everything from blues to Indian ragas. Blues is his game and he plays it well. Off stage he's shy, but getting over it. Charming in that delightful Irish way, he blushes when complimented and calls every girl "Luv." You just can't help but love Kenny.
Towering over him on stage is Kim Armstrong, lead guitar player extraordinaire. A year ago Jim looked like a cross between Chad Stuart and Peter Asher; now he just looks tall. New Shankar albums to blow his mind, but then so do songs like "They're Coming To Take Me Away," so how can you win? He's basically an uncomplicated guy who likes to like and is easy to like. Keep your eye on this man; he's going to develop himself into one of our top guitarists. But it won't hang him up, 'cause things just don't hang Jim up.
And there's Alan, who resembles an iceberg in that only about ten percent of him is above the surface. He keeps a lot of him inside. What's on the outside looks a lot like Omar Sharif. It's a little difficult to earn Alan's respect, as it is with all of Them, but once you get it you have a loyal friend. But cross him once and you'll never have a chance to do it again. He's one heck of a bass player, but if you ask him he'll tell you Jim is the group's best guitarist. He can seem a bit rough at times, but he's learning the meaning of gentleness. Just don't let Alan frighten you.
Ray Elliott plays sax, organ, flute, etc., and is the world's largest living leprechaun, not necessarily in captivity. He's easy to love but impossible to understand. He calls his sax a typewriter and is capable of talking for hours without making sense to anyone other than himself, but that's Ray. And you'll just have to take him as he is, 'cause there's no way he's ever going to change. But why should he; he's enjoying himself. Ray doesn't trust people, but maybe he has a reason. We'll probably never know.
Move slowly around Dave Harvey and he may be able to keep up with you. Them's drummer, he's a low keyed Englishman who looks Spanish when his moustache gets too long. He once wore a watch that said five o'clock for three months, but in Dave's world it might have been five o'clock for three months. Jazz is his bag, photography his latest interest and girls his full time interest. He doesn't stand out in a crowd, but he's glad of that since crowds bother him. Dave's simply quiet, easy going and slow, at everything.
These are Them now and now is Them. They've been through some changes, bad times and good times and learned from all of it. It's going to happen for Them now. I think you'll like Them.
by Carol Deck
Tracks
1. I'm Your Witch Doctor (John Mayall) - 2:39
2. What's The Matter Baby (Joy Byers, Clyde Otis) - 2:46
3. Truth Machine (Jim Armstrong, Dave Harvey, Ray Elliott, Kenny McDowell) - 2:10
4. Square Room - 9:59
5. You're Just What I Was Looking For Today (Carole King, Gerry Goffin) - 2:57
6. Dirty Ol' Man (At The Age Of 16) (Tom Hale) - 1:48
7. Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out (Jimmie Cox) - 3:35
8. Walking In The Queen's Garden - 3:06
9. I Happen To Love You (Carole King, Gerry Goffin) - 2:48
10. Come To Me - 2:24
11. Walking In The Queen's Garden (mono single mix) - 3:04
12. I Happen To Love You (mono single mix) (Carole King, Gerry Goffin) - 2:54
Songs 4,8,10,11 by Alan Henderson, Jim Armstrong, Dave Harvey, Ray Elliott, Kenny McDowell
The exotic, mindbending sounds of Gandalf have long been one of the great lost treasures of the first great psychedelic era. Featuring the breathy vocals and lysergic guitar of Peter Sando, the band's only official album Gandalf—a delight from start to finish—has been a best-selling Sundazed psychedelic release that has generated a fervent demand for more of the same.
The release of Gandalf 2, is a return trip to the band's garden of earthly delights. A thorough search of Sando's tape vault revealed a fabulous stash of spellbinding demos and acetates, unheard for decades. Sando has penned the liner notes for Gandalf 2, which also features another visit to the band's dusty book of memorabilia.
Released with Peter Sando's active cooperation, technically this wasn't really a Gandalf album since it included a number of non-Gandalf tracks; notably three selections from guitarist Peter Sandolf's post-Gandalf Barracuda project. That said, the collection included a mixture Gandalf acetates and demos that may have been intended for a shelved sophomore album.
Tracks
1. Bird In The Hand (Sando) - 3:55
2. Days Are Only Here And Gone (Sando) - 3:31
3. Smokey Topaz (Sando) - 3:03
4. Ladyfingers (Bonner, Gordon) (As The Barracuda) - 2:28
5. No Earth Can Be Won (Sando) - 4:16
6. Bad Dream (Demo) (Sando) - 2:58
7. I Won’t Cry No More (Sando) - 3:10
8. The Dance At St. Francis (Bonner, Gordon) (As The Barracuda) - 2:18
9. Julie (The Song I Sing Is You) (Bonner, Gordon) (As The Barracuda) - 2:52
10.Over This Table (Sando) - 3:18
11.Golden Earrings (Demo) (Evans, Livingston, Young) - 6:09
12.Tears Of Ages (Live) (Sando) - 2:59
13.Downbound Train (Live) (Berry, Arr. By Peter Sando) - 6:43
Our flight to sixth cloud from this heavenly piccadilly compilations, is getting brighter with the melt of psych pop flavored with early progressive rock, giving a different shade to these sunny tunes.
From Still Life to Shulman brothers (pre Gentle Giant) and from Philamore Lincoln's melodic pop to the Merseys merseybeat.
Many gems that have eluded the grasp of compilers before will grace
deserved ears and should serve to establish Piccadilly Sunshine as the
stalwart series in the inflated contemporary maze of re-issues.
Artists - Tracks
1. Still Life - What Did We Miss - 3:11
2. Ross Hannaman - 1969 - 3:02
3. Disciple - Cherie Alamayonaika - 2:36
4. Simon Dupree And The Big Sound - Sleep - 2:36
5. Mike Sedgewick - The Good Guys In The White Hats - 3:02
6. Happy Confusion - Hereditary Impediment - 2:55
7. Philamore Lincoln - Rainy Day - 2:38
8. Katch 22 - Out Of My Life - 2:24
9. The Merseys - I Hope You're Happy - 2:23
10.The High - Beggar Man Dan - 3:10
11.The Mariane - Like A See Saw - 2:26
12.Selwyn And John - Bogey Man - 2:05
13.Little Brother Grant And Zapatta Schmidt - Let's Do It Together - 2:23
14.Chuckles - Painting The Day - 2:03
15.Zion De Gallier - Winter Will Be Cold - 2:30
16.Tate Gallery - Newspaper Man - 2:28
17.Malcolm Rabbitt - Why Won't The Sun Shine On Me - 3:13
18.Kaplan - I Like - 3:27
19.The Epics - Travelling Circus - 2:33
20.Hayden Wood - The Last One To Know - 2:32
The late sixties and early seventies were incredibly productive times for rock music with more scenes than you could shake a stick. There seemed almost to be three distinct breeds of Progressive rock – the folk and classical based movement typified by the Canterbury set, the Blues based bands like Taste or The Groundhogs and the crossover bands like Colosseum or, in this case Trifle.
Trifle only ever made one album and it has been a collectors item for years and I think that this is the first CD issue of the album and it really is a bit more than just a curio. The songs like ‘Alibi Annie’ are fairly typical of the time, the lyrics are less than deep but they serve to create a baseboard for the musicians and the quality there is really something. Because the horn section of Barry Martin (saxes), John Protchard (Trumpet) and Dick Cuthell (Trumpet) are an integral part of the band the music is written with horns in mind and this creates a more powerful and subtle sound. Not that George Bean’s guitar or vocals are weak, they aren’t and Speedy King works well with Rod Coombes to anchor the rhythm section.
The best numbers are those where they try to create something unique and they hit the spot on ‘Is It Loud?’ with the horns in a very jazzy space and the keyboards meandering beautifully all creating a mesmerising sound that is a combination of Nucleus and ELP if you can imagine such a thing. ‘Old Fashioned Prayer Meeting’ has a gospelly and funky feel to it and ‘New Religion’ is very dark and moody and there is a touch of menace about the number but the standout track on the album is undoubtedly ‘Devil Comin’ – which has more than a touch of voodoo about it and a beaten rhythm that chills the listener..
As a bonus we get ‘Dirty Old Town’ which was the b-side to their single ‘Prayer Meeting’ and probably could have been a hit in its own right. Overall a good album with more than a few touches of real brilliance and about time it was re-issued.
by Andy Snipper
Tracks
1. Alibi Annie (George Bean, Dick Cuthell, Chico Greenwood, Patrick King) - 4:55
2. Home Again (R.Berkowitz) - 4:05
3. One Way Glass (Mann, Thomas) - 4:34
4. But I Might Die Tonight (Stevens) - 3:51
5. Is It Loud? (Alan Fealdman) - 8:10
6. Old Fashioned Prayer Meeting (George Bean, Patrick King) - 4:39
7. New Religion (George Bean, Dick Cuthell) - 5:43
8. Devil Comin '(George Bean, Patrick King) - 7:45
9. Candle Light (George Bean, John Hitchen) - 1:48
10.Dirty Old Town (George Bean, Dick Cuthell, Barry Martin) - 3:48
11.Old Fashioned Prayer Meeting (Single Version) (George Bean, Patrick King) - 4:38
This excellent album by American hard rock band was released in 1973 by Columbia label, but unfortunately went completely unnoticed! The band name was associated only with a drummer Mark Bell (of US heavy rock legend Dust & then a future member of Ramones - as Marky Ramone) - which was a huge injustice!
Estus music combined early 70's classic heavy, bluesy rock sound with storming, heavy guitar rifts, but also with nice and catchy melodies.
It often sounded very similar to Dust (understandably), but also to Led Zeppelin, Wishbone Ash and even early Lynyrd Skynyrd. This perfectly produced and beautifully sounded album will surely appeal to the most fans of ambitious heavy rock!
Tracks
1. 90 M.P.H. (Tom Nicholas) - 4:27
2. On The Wings (John Nicholas, Tom Nicholas) - 7:12
3. McCloud (Tom Nicholas) - 2:28
4. Goodbye (J. Nicholas, T. Nicholas) - 5:05
5. Inside Out You Look The same (John Nicholas) - 5:29
6. Sweet Children (J. Nicholas) - 6:14
7. Truckin’ Man (J. Nicholas, T. Nicholas) - 4:06
8. In The Morning (Harry Rumpf) - 4:35
9. B.M.D. (J. Nicholas, T. Nicholas) - 5:09
Estus
*Tom Nicholas - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
*John Nicholas - Bass, Vocals, Harp, Percussion
*Harry Rumpf - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion
*Marc Bell - Drums
I was born in Croydon, South London on April 1st 1947. The musical tradition in my family went hack two generations: my mother was a ballerina, my grandfather an opera singer and my grandmother a violinist, so there was a connection with the performing arts all my life.
Though the American folk movement had made 'troubadours' such as Tom Paxton, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan part of the mainstream, my first love was painting and I enrolled at Croydon Art College in 1967, where I met my contemporaries Malcolm McLaren, Jamie Reid and Vivienne westwood. Art colleges were also a breeding ground for musicians, and 1 was listening to the Incredible String Band, Tyrannosaurus Rex and others, as well as Stravinsky and avant-garde classical composers like Cage and Stockhausen.
After leaving art school 1 carried on painting and songwriting at a cottage in Kent which 1 shared with a Canadian writer/lyricist called Ian Carruthers. He sadly took his own life a few years later, and this reissue is dedicated to his memory. At the same time I also began to make contacts in radio and TV, and made my debut on Top Gear and Night Ride, as well as performing topical songs on magazine and children's programmes.
One evening in July 1969 I performed on John Peel's BBC radio show, then headed for the TV studios to make an appearance on BBC2's arts show Late Night Line-Dp, hosted by Joan Bakewell. The following day I was contacted by Sandy Roberton, an underground folk impresario representing a number of artists including Al Jones, Synanthesia, Keith Christmas and Shelagh McDonald. He was very switched-on and charming, living a glamorous lifestyle in Chelsea, and said he wanted to manage and produce me.
A week later I found myself cutting an album with him at Sound Techniques, just off the King's Road. He put me together with Mighty Baby, formerly known as R’n’B band The Action. Working with them was quick and easy, as they were either very intuitive or very high - probably both! I particularly remember Martin Stone, with his Mexican moustache and woolly hat. He was an innovative blues guitarist with a fragile, considerate manner.
The drummer, Roger Powell laid down solid, lazy grooves from so far back on the stool that I kept thinking he was going to fall off, while Mike Evans on bass and Ian Whiteman on keyboards enhanced my basic structures with melody and rhythmic counterpoint. The sessions were also distinguished by a meeting with Jimmy Page and Roy Harper, who were recording in the next door studio The songs are an eclectic, oddball mixture of poetic allegories, moments of truth and sparks of originality. Some were written with Ian Carruthers, and much was inspired by my then-girlfriend, Penny Lamb.
The Sailor was the most obvious tune to extract as a single, and received a surprising amount of airplay on daytime radio. Song of the Sun had been crafted by my school friend John West as a piece of prose. I set it to music in the bedsit mindset of a Leonard Cohen devotee. The Sound of Rain was a little lament that was obviously influenced by Paul Simon's early work.
All I can say about Penelope is how great it is to be in love and find a way to declare it in a song for posterity! The Day Begins is dark and discordant - tortured youthful anxiety laid bare. 1 have no idea where Woman From The Warm Grass came from, but it had more to do with sex than drugs, as I had not yet been initiated into the latter. Richie Havens was also making a serious impression, and lyrical free association had its appeal too. I Am Your Suitcase Lover concerns the fantasy of an encounter with a prostitute. Maybe I had Johnny Cash and Nashville Skyline in mind. It's complemented by classic Gordon Huntley steel guitar (fresh from Woodstock), with Roger Powell's bar-room-brawl drum fills at their best.
Mara's Supper was inspired by a dinner I innocently provided the musical accompaniment for, little knowing that Ian was doing mushrooms and herbs with William Blake! Point of Leaving was a kitchen sink drama, written with Brief Encounter in mind - bleak black and white TV imagery and teenage sexual anxiety from the shadowy side. The Purple Cadger ended proceedings by marrying a masterful set of lyrics from Ian to some Dylanesque rock n roll.
I enjoyed recording the album, but it was cut in a single day without a band rehearsal, and the songs hadn't been significantly worked or performed live. It was an opportunity not to be missed, however, and though I wasn't remotely in control Sanely delivered a result under the circumstances. He then shopped around and cut a deal with a small independent label called Head Records, run by a hippy named John Curd. None of this had anything much to do with me, and other than £125 to buy an electric guitar, I never saw any money. But it was my first record, I had no expectations, and 1 was pleased to start somewhere.
It appeared in November 1969, and the reviews were quite good - Rolling Stone called it 'soothing, sweet and occasionally really hot,' and said the songs were 'tender mood pieces, vast open land, beach and seascapes with all their inherent imagery of desolation and sad loneliness.' My only real disappointment was with the artwork — as a painter I had a clear idea of how I wanted it to look, but was given no artistic control. At the time of its release I shared the stage with the likes of John Martyn, Shelagh McDonald and Forest at gigs promoted by Sandy.
I'd have loved to have played live with Mighty Baby, but they had their own album to promote and it never happened. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, John Curd had been busted and banged up. Mead Records was consequently dissolved and the album barely made the shops. Despite that, I continued to play radio sessions and the bonus track, Tattooed Lady, comes from a Peel session recorded shortly after the LP was cut.
The lyrical narrative was penned by Ian with Penny (the Woman From The Warm Grass herself) taking the lead vocal alongside John Lewis, who was to feature in 'M' ten years later. I added guitar and vocal harmonies. Hearing the material today, I'm struck by its eccentricity, and how dark some of the songs are. Though it reflects the underground folk of that era, I hope it also , remains relevant as an early indication of my eclectic musical taste.
by Robin Scott, January 2006
Tracks
1. The Sailor - 4:00
2. Song of the Sun (Robin Scott, John West) - 3:42
3. The Sound of Rain - 4:30
4. Penelope - 7:01
5. The Day Begins - 4:55
6. Woman From The Warm Grass - 3:39
7. I Am Your Suitcase Lover - 4:22
8. Mara's Supper (Robin Scott, Ian Carruthers) - 4:24
9. Point Of Leaving - 3:17
10. The Purple Cadger (Robin Scott, Ian Carruthers) - 3:14
11. Tattooed Lady (Bonus Track) (Robin Scott, Ian Carruthers) - 4:53
All songs composed by Robin Scott unless as else written.
Musicians
*Robin Scott - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
*Martin Stone - Lead Guitar
*Gordon Huntley - Steel Guitar
*Mike Hvans - Bass Guitar
*Ian Whiteman - Piano
*Roger Powell - Drums
Although revisionist historians will claim that any Shadows of Knight best-of that includes "Gloria" will cover just about everything you'll ever need on this Chicago punk band (and usually acting as if Van Morrison's and Them's original was the actual hit -- wrong), true believers have long championed their two original albums for the Dunwich label, especially their debut long-player named after their big hit.
Why? Simply because it positively rocks with a raw energy of a band straight out of the teen clubs, playing with a total abandon and an energy level that seems to explode out of the speakers.
Equal parts Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Who, and snotty little Chicago-suburb bad boys, the Shadows of Knight could easily put the torch to Chess blues classics, which make up the majority of the songs included here.
Their wild takes on "I Just Want to Make Love to You," "Oh Yeah," and "I Got My Mojo Working" rank right up there with any British Invasion band's version from the same time period.
Original material was never plentiful on either SOK long-player, but worth checking out are "Light Bulb Blues," the blues ballad "Dark Side," and the why-me? rocker "It Always Happens That Way."
Completing the package is the inclusion of three bonus tracks, the single-only "Someone Like Me" and an alternate version, and "I Got My Mojo Working," which is vastly superior to the take on the original album.
A not-too-vastly-different alternate mix of "Oh Yeah" completes the bonus tracks, although the original album version is curiously missing from this otherwise excellent package.If you're only going to own one Shadows of Knight package, you could, and should, start right here
by Cub Koda
Tracks
1. Gloria (V. Morrison) - 2:34
2. Light Bulb Blues (J. kelley, J. Sohns, J. McGeorge) - 2:32
3. I Got My Mojo Working (M. Morganfield) - 3:28
4. Darkside (W.Rogers, J. Sohns) - 2:00
5. Boom Boom (J. L. Hooker) - 2:28
6. Let It Rock (C. Berry) - 1:52
7. Oh Yeah (E. McDaniel) - 2:45
8. It Always Happens That Way (W.Rogers, J. Sohns) - 1:52
9. You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover (W. Dixon) - 2:37
10.(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man (W. Dixon) - 3:52
11.I Just Want to Make Love to You (W. Dixon) - 3:49
12.Oh Yeah (E. McDaniel) - 2:45
13.I Got My Mojo Working (M. Morganfield) - 3:14
14.Someone Like Me (Novak, McDowell) - 2:18
I was born in 1953, and grew up in a pretty little Hampshire village. Music was in my blood - my grandfather played piano for silent movies, my grandmother was a cellist and mezzo soprano, my mother was a trained concert pianist who'd moved into jazz and my father (who died when I was very small) had been a drummer and dancer too. As a result, I was raised on music from Chopin right through to Georgia On My Mind, and at school I was always the kid that sang in the playground.
From the age of 11 I was taken up by the local beatniks, who introduced me to early R’n’B and soul, John Coltrane, Doc Watson, Revd. Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy and many others. In those days there was brilliant new stuff coming out every week too, so I was listening to Dylan, the Beach Boys and Motown as well. I was very lucky to have such a thorough musical education. By the time I was 13 I had a repertoire of about 200 songs, and had started to sing in local clubs. Local press and TV soon heard about me, and I became quite well-known in the area.
I eventually left home at 16 to live with my older friends in Southampton. Around this time, Van Morrison's Astral Weeks appeared, and totally blew me away. The first time I heard it, I ran straight home, grabbed my guitar and tried to write songs in the same style. I couldn't do it, though, and what came out instead was Give Her The Day, the first song I ever wrote. One day in 1972 I answered a knock at the door, and found three good looking guys from London on the doorstep. They explained that they were part of a jazz rock band who were doing a gig at Southampton University that night, but the opening act couldn't make it and could I do a half hour slot instead? I explained that 1 hadn't been gigging for a while, and didn't have a set together as such, but had started writing my own songs, and maybe this was a chance to try them out in public.
So off I went and sang my first selfpenned songs, and got a standing ovation. Later that evening they turned up again, this time to ask if 1 wanted to join their band as a lead vocalist. I gladly consented, and it went well. A few weeks later, after more rehearsals, we did a show at the Marquee, which was another success. They were great, but their guitarist, Stuart Cowell saw me aside to suggest that he was in a strong position to get me a record deal if I wanted one. Within a matter of weeks I'd been signed to Columbia and flown to New York. They wanted to make me into a star, but I wasn't at all comfortable with it.
At a reception over there I was introduced to the label's owner, an elderly man in a wheelchair, as 'the next Barbra Streisand,' which mortified me. To my friends and me that would have been about the least cool thing imaginable. John Hammond himself came especially to meet me, and told me he believed me to have 'one of the finest voices ever to come out of the UK.' At the time it all went over my head, I'm afraid, and it's only in retrospect that I've come to appreciate the enormity of these compliments. They offered to buy me a house over there, which I refused, then put me in the studio with some very talented black musicians and asked me to write something in a funkier style than before.
I came up with But Which Way Do I Go?, which summarized my feelings. I found it all too overwhelming, I was more interested in my social life than my career, and I wanted to be back in England. When I think about it now I can see what a big deal it was, and I'm grateful for their faith in me, but at the time I was still a kid and didn't know if I was coming or going. As a result, I returned home and went into the studio to make an album in the folk-blues idiom that I was accustomed to, rather than the funkier, more soulful style they'd wanted in America. I didn't have enough songs to fill an LP, but when we began recording they just poured out of me. Stuart produced the sessions, and also managed me. He was a great musician as well as an intelligent and sensitive guy, and slowly came to understand what I was about.
The musicians were very subtle and sensitive too, and kept to the essence of what I'd written. Albert Lee was lovely, and his musicianship was a thrill to be around. The rhythm section were also really sympathetic and tolerant of my naivete. It was all very easy and quick, because I actually didn't know how not to do a perfect take. Being so young (18 years old) and unconscious is a blessing on that score. Mick Glossop was the overall producer, and remains to this day one of the most sensitive people I've ever worked with in the studio (and I've worked with some of the world's greats, like Phil Ramone and Gus Dudgeon).
The album appeared in July 1973, and was well-received. Disc said 'genuine new talents are pretty rare, and here's a songwriter of the first order, who plays a mean acoustic guitar too.' Give Her The Day was extracted as a 45 (backed with But Which Way Do I Go?), and the NME called it 'a monster record, full of soul, feeling and emotion.' At one point it was getting 24 plays a day on the BBC, and Tony Blackburn even made it his single of the week - something I kept very quiet about in front of my friends!
At one point Cliff Richard wanted to cover it, but nothing came of it. Another 45 appeared later in the year (Human Failure I Ain't It Funny?), but that didn't chart either. I couldn't have cared less - my friends and I weren't remotely interested in the hit parade, and I didn't like the idea of appearing on TV anyway, so I turned down all offers apart from The Old Grey Whistle Test. I gigged in support of the album for a year, both on tour with John McLaughlin, Tom Paxton, Loudon Wainwright and others, and doing one-off shows with people like Sly and the Family Stone, Genesis and Roy Harper.
I seemed set to go full blast into a mega career, which should have been a dream come true, but for me (having been gigging since I was thirteen) the novelty was virtually non-existent, and I was pretty bored by the lifestyle that went with 'the biz'. I'd had my first child when I was 18, and looking after him wasn't compatible with the life of a touring musician. I dreamed of being able to do what I wanted with my day, instead of an endless round of trains, planes, hotels and concert halls, round and round so that you couldn't tell one from the other. I was desperate for a big change in my life, and dreamed of isolation and anonymity.
By the middle of 19741 was getting thoroughly fed up of playing the same songs every night, and constantly moving around. I was offered the support slot on Ike and Tina Turner's forthcoming European tour, but couldn't face it and turned it down. At the same time, Joan Armatrading got in touch to say she was a big fan of the album and wanted to duet with me. She came to stay with me in Hampshire for a week, and we did a lovely gig together at the Marquee, but it was practically the last thing I did. I ended up going away for 2,1/2 years, and at the end of it I felt 1 had a far more meaningful, healthy and satisfying life.
I've continued to sing and record since, but only on my own terms - in fact, I'm currently working on my first solo album since Raw But Tender, and its approach is similar. Since the advent of the internet, I've had lovely fan mail about the album from people all over the world, ranging from a captain of industry in South Africa to a worker on a kibbutz in Israel. I think people identify with it is because it's a truly heartfelt piece of work, and a sincere expression of a human soul at a particular point in its journey. I'm delighted that people will now have another chance to hear it.
by Jaki Whitren July 2006
Tracks
1. New Horizon - 3:13
2. Oh Little Boy (Whitren, Baker) - 2:32
3. A Little Bit Extra Please - 2:35
4. Country Life - 1:43
5. To A Friend, Through A Friend (Let Your Feelings Burn) - 3:54
6. But Which Way Do I Go? - 4:56
7. Give Her The Day - 2:52
8. Ain't It Funny? - 3:08
9. I've Thought Hard About It - 4:26
10.As That Evening Sun Goes Down - 3:29
11.Human Failure (Leslie) - 3:13
12.Running All The Time (Whitren, Baker) - 3:37
All songs by Jaki Whitren except where noted.
"Here We Are Again" is the fourth--and next to last--album by the original lineup of Country Joe and the Fish. While the group would reunite every so often over the next few decades, this is one of the highlights of their career. The group's multi-songwriter democracy had displayed an admirable eclecticism on the first three albums, but the results often sounded scattershot. While that wide-ranging spirit is all over HERE WE ARE AGAIN, the individual songs somehow cohere into a more satisfying whole.
The addition of a horn section recruited from Count Basie's orchestra adds a jazz/R&B edge to the folk-rock-based songs, a conceit that works better than it might sound. Country Joe McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton largely avoid topical material in favor of witty tunes about love and life, making HERE WE ARE AGAIN the least dated of Country Joe and the Fish's original albums.
Recorded at Vanguard's 23rd Street Studio, New York, New York.
Tracks
1. Here I Go Again - 3:24
2. Donovan's Reef - 4:18
3. It's So Nice To Have Love - 3:25
4. Baby, You're Driving Me Crazy (Barry Melton) - 2:43
5. Crystal Blues - 6:18
6. For No Reason - 3:55
7. I'll Survive - 2:28
8. Maria - 3:30
9. My Girl (Barry Melton) - 2:16
10.Doctor Of Electricity (Barry Melton) - 3:58
All songs by Country Joe McDonald except where noted.
Country Joe And The Fish
*Country Joe McDonald - Vocals, Guitar
*Barry Melton - Vocals, Electric Guitar
*David Cohen - Guitar, Keyboards
*Gary "Chicken" Hirsch - Drums, Percussion Additional personnel
*Mark Kapner - Piano
*Mark Ryan - Bass
*Jack Casady - Bass
*Peter Albin - Bass
*David Getz - Drums
It's amazing, really, how often in life we do things with never a thought that someday we will be asked to explain ourselves. Case in point - "Clearing". In the 1970s, our little trio - Joan, Sarah and Jeff - performed throughout New England at a large variety of venues - often in Unitarian churches for Sunday services and other gatherings.
We had a sense that the terrible inequities and cruelties of the world could somehow be reduced, explained and addressed at the most basic level of person-to-person relationships - how we related as individuals to the environment and world at large. That was our message, and our medium was poetry and song. It all seems rather naive and childlike in our brave new post-trauma world, and of course anything that bears the taint of "hippyness" is fair game for derision and ridicule. Recognizing ourselves in the marvelous satire "A Mighty Wind" gave even us a sense of smug satisfaction. But there is much from the 60's and 70'sthat is worth remembering and perhaps even relearning.
For one thing, we could live very differently. In the early 70's, Joan and I were living in a large somewhat decrepit mansion outside of Boston with our large extended family of 16 who had gathered from across the country. The mortgage and expenses were tiny, and we bought food collectively, ate together and shared the household work . Our population ebbed and swelled as friends and relatives came to stay for days, weeks, or months at a time. Living was incredibly cheap. Sometimes we would have jobs, and often not. People thought we were a commune, but we knew that we were just a big messy family.
The crusty old neighbors were particularly suspicious, since the house had previously been occupied by Timothy Leary. They expected more acid tripping and hanging out naked on the front lawn. We never did that, but we did do plenty else, particularly music. It seemed like it was music all the time. Fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, piano, drums, harmonica, jews harp, pots and pans - whatever. We were mostly musicians, and those that weren't sang harmony. Some of us played in outside groups - bluegrass, country, rock - and sometimes we just formed groups amongst ourselves. And we always just played and sang together. In the midst of all this musical activity was Clearing.
Clearing began with a request from the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1971. Their 1964 hymnal - "Songs for the Celebration of Life" - was designed to be less solemn than usual, with quite a few beautiful poems set to less traditional music. With interest in promoting this new approach to church music, they were seeking musicians who could present the songs in an informal "folk" style. Joan and I had performed at UUA functions, so we came to mind, and they introduced us to Sara Benson who also had UUA connections. Sara was a remarkable person with a deep spiritual core and a centered focus that made her an island of calm in the midst of any turmoil. We loved her immediately.
After years of rigid musical training on the flute, she had spent agonizing additional years freeing herself until she was a totally natural improviser with a remarkable talent. Sara brought poetry and beauty and light to everything she did. She was the soul of Clearing. The album "Who Is In My Temple" was our first collaboration. This collection of songs from the hymnal was recorded at Ace Recording Studios in Boston, a cavernous old establishment with a cold and professional atmosphere. The record was well received in UUA circles, and we immediately had offers to sing at Unitarian services and events.
By 1973 we had expanded our interests and repertoire to the point where we wanted to make another record - of our own material - to be called simply "Clearing". We hadn't really enjoyed the "Ace Recording" experience, and besides we were low on cash, so we decided to record this one on our own. We managed to find some war-surplus recording equipment, and by this time Joan and I were living in the big house with its giant library room - perfect as an ad-hoc studio. Most of the recording took place there, with our friend Tom Rothschild at the rudimentary controls. It was an unlikely setting - with people coming and going and pauses as airplanes flew overhead - but we had the advantages of ignorance, enthusiasm and naivete. Some cuts were done at other locations - notably at a church we found in Waltham that had fantastic acoustics.
For a very reasonable fee, we got to use it for a couple of evenings, late enough to avoid serious traffic noises. In the spirit of the times, we invited several friends and family members to participate on this record, as noted on the track list. The album had a pressing of 2000, most of which were sold at performances and through the UUA. Clearing continued on until about 1976.
After Clearing, we pursued various interests. Joan Faber had a long career as a singer-pianist performing standards in various nightclubs in the Boston-Cambridge area. She is currently the head of the sheet music Department of Johnson String Instrument in Newton. Jeff Brewer developed an interest in rock climbing in the 1980s, and invented a treadmill-like machine for climbing called the Treadwall. He is currently partners in the company that manufacturers this device. Joan and Jeff still live on the big-house property with members of their extended family. Sara Benson moved from the Boston area to Charlemont, a western-Massachusetts town with an active alternative life-style population. She became an important and much-loved member of that community. In 2008 Sara passed away. Her loss is sorely felt by her friends and family.
by Jeff Brewer, February, 2009
Tracks
1. Morning Has Broken (Leon Maleson) - 2:28
2. Morning Light (Vici Frazer) - 4:02
3. Sunshine Man (Sara Benson) - 2:39
4. She's Leavin (Sara Benson) - 2:52
5. Greyhound Bus Song (Joan Minkoff) - 3:50
6. The First Time (Joan Minkoff) - 3:29
7. The Church Where We Got Married (Jeff Brewer) - 2:45
8. Eve (Jeff Brewer) - 2:46
9. Seth (Jeff Brewer) - 2:03
10. When I Was A Young Boy (Leeds Brewer) - 4:10
11. My Father (Sara Benson) - 3:45
12. Clearing (Joan Minkoff) - 4:43
"The band was gifted with a flair and a half for harmony pop, especially that of the good old fashioned barbershop quartet variety."
From Paterson, New Jersey came The Happenings, who encountered a quick flash of glory in the sixties before getting bumped off the radar by the more progressive acts of the era. The band was gifted with a flair and a half for harmony pop, especially that of the good old fashioned barbershop quartet variety.
However, they updated their sound just enough so it wouldn't be too horribly quaint for the kids to digest. Such spine-tingling vocal prowess can be experienced on these two albums which have been shoehorned into one compact disc.
Released in 1966, "The Happenings" deposited a pair of rock solid hit singles with "See You in September" and a copy of Carole King and Gerry Goffin's "Go Away Little Girl." A cluster of Tokens compositions such as "Tonight I Fell In Love," "You're In a Bad Way," "What To Do" and "Tea Time" line the album as well.
And that makes complete sense because not only did the evergreen doo-wop group handle the band's affairs and produce their work, but The Happenings were also signed to their label, BT Puppy Records. Decked out in a freaky jacket cover that belied the characteristically polite music housed inside, "Psycle" was issued in 1967 and included "I Got Rhythm" and "My Mammy," both which clenched the national charts. The album suggested The Happenings were attempting to stretch boundaries a bit, as snippets of the material are trimmed with jazz and blues inclinations. But the band refused to pretend to be something they were not, and all told, "Psycle" teems with concise harmony pop configurations.
The Happenings excelled at this style of music so why change their image? Although the band never broke any real new ground, their contributions to the golden age of teen radio should not be underestimated.
by Beverly Paterson
Tracks 1966 The Happenings
1. See You in September (Sherman Edwards, Donald Meyer, Sid Wayne) - 2:29
2. Tonight I Fell in Love (Mitch Margo, Phil Margo, Hank Medress) - 2:19
3. Girl on a Swing (Robert Miranda) - 2:31
4. If You Love Me (Really Love Me) (Marc Monnet, Marguerite Monnot, Geoff Parsons) - 2:43
5. What to Do (Buddy Holly, Hank Medress) - 2:42
6. You're Coming on Strong, Babe (Robert Miranda) - 2:56
7. Go Away Little Girl (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 2:21
8. The Same Old Story (Dave Libert, Robert Miranda) - 2:25
9. Sealed With a Kiss (Gary Geld, Peter Udell) - 2:25
10.You're in a Bad Way (Hank Medress) - 2:43
11.Girls on the Go (Brute Force) - 2:31
12.Tea Time (Lucky Thompson) - 2:45 1967 Psycle
13.I Got Rhythm (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 2:58
14.Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Morris Levy, Fred Lyman, Frank Lymon) - 2:49
15.That Cold Feeling (Hank Medress) - 2:29
16.Down, Down, Down (Dave Libert, Robert Miranda, Neil Young) - 2:32
17.Growing Old (Lord, I Must Be Growin' Old) (Dave Libert, Robert Miranda) - 3:23
18.I Believe in Nothing (Hank Medress) - 2:39
19.My Mammy (Walter Donaldson, Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young) - 2:58
20.When I Lock My Door (Hank Medress) - 2:38
21.I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (Harry Carroll, Joseph McCarthy) - 2:37
22.When the Summer Is Through (Hank Medress) - 2:33
23.Every Year About This Time (Dave Libert, Robert Miranda) - 2:28
24.Bye Bye Blackbird (Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson) - 3:05
The Happenings
*Tommy Giullano- Vocals, Percussion
*Mike La Neve - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
*Bernie Laporta - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Dave Libert - Vocals, Bass, Keyboards
*Bob Miranda - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
It might be cute to say that Boyce & Hart were the hand inside the Monkees' puppet head, if not for the fact that the Monkees had legitimate talent and have already caught enough grief over their prefabricated origins. Boyce & Hart had yet more talent, though, and not only plied the Monkees with hit songs but, in some cases, performed them, too.
Tommy Boyce enjoyed minor teen idol success as a solo act with "I'll Remember Carol" in 1962 before teaming up with Bobby Hart to produce one Top Ten hit ("I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite") and a handful of lesser chart entries. This Australian anthology, simply titled The Anthology, contains two of Boyce's solo recordings (including his hit), 18 A&M recordings from Boyce & Hart's prime (including all of their hits), and five songs the duo cut with the Monkees' Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz in the '70s. The Boyce & Hart recordings are the highlights, especially the bubblegum pop of songs such as "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite" and "The Countess."
Listeners already familiar with the Monkees' albums will experience deja vu throughout as Boyce & Hart demonstrate again and again the extent to which they were the architects of the Monkees' sound. Even the Monkees' detours into pop psychedelia are matched by Boyce & Hart on a trippy rendition of "Jumpin' Jack Flash." The theme song from the 1967 spy film The Ambushers (complete with gunshot sound effects) is campy fun, as are the mid-'70s cover versions of "Teenager in Love" and the Beach Boys' "Sail on Sailor," provided one doesn't approach them with high expectations.
For those who want only the Boyce & Hart recordings, a more recent compilation on Rev-Ola titled I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite: The Best of Boyce & Hart limits its focus to recordings from the pair's late-'60s heyday.
by Greg Adams
Tracks
1. I'll Remember Carol (T. Boyce) - 2:27
2. Sunday, The Day Before Monday - 2:19
3. Out And About - 2:30
4. I Should Be Going Home - 3:00
5. For Baby - 3:48
6. Sometimes She's A Little Girl - 2:55
7. I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite - 2:43
8. The Ambushers (H. Monetnegro, H. Baker) - 2:15
9. I'm Digging You Digging Me - 2:37
10. I Wanna Be Free - 2:25
11. Teardrop City - 2:22
12. Love Every Day - 2:50
13. The Countless - 2:28
14. Goodbye, Baby - 3:59
15. Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (Shifrin, Boyce, Hart)- 2:06
16. Alice Long - 2:52
17. P.O. Box 9847 - 3:01
18. Abracadabra (Shelton, Lewis, Gallie) - 1:52
19. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Jagger, Richards) - 4:08
20. Standing In The Shadows Of Love (Holland, Dozier, Holland) - 4:29
21. I Love You - 3:10
22. A Teenager In Love (Pomus, Shuman) - 3:00
23. Sail On Sailor (D. Trevor) - 3:40
24. I Remember The Feeling - 3:25
25. It Always Hurts Most In The Morning - 3:28
All songs by Tommy Boyce And Bobby Hart unless as else stated
*Tommy Boyce - Guitar. Vocals
*Bobby Hart - Vocals, Piano
Lee Clayton was born on October 29th, 1942 in Russellville, Alabama. He grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and learned to play harmonica and guitar around the age of seven. As Clayton told the UK magazine Omaha Rainbow way back when: "I've always known music was important - when my dad knew he'd got uptight, and the world got too much for him. he would break out his bourbon and play Red Foley and Jimmie Rodgers records and tell war stories and drink whisky.
I can remember trying to figure out when I was a little boy what .-.as going on; why everybody would sit there and get drunk and cry. I figured anything could evoke that kind of emotion had to be pretty strong". At the age of nine, he was given a steel guitar, and like many of his contemporaries, turned onto Country music as heard on the many specialist radio stations in the Southern States. Apparently, Clayton had been given a choice of instruments - guitar or accordion - and, probably surmising (given his relatively tender years, maybe it was just a hunch he had) that the guitar was a better method of attracting the attention of young ladies took up the string option. However, when he professed boredom and the formal music lessons that his dad was paying for, Clayton senior promptly sold the guitar. This proved to be a temporary hiatus from Clayton's musical ventures, however; Clayton took up music again in his mid-teens.
As time went by, Clayton got married, and acquired a Porsche sports car - he has said elsewhere that the limit of his ambitions at the time was to fly aeroplanes, play music now ambitions, and, in his own words: "One day, something went 'click' and I turned round and went back home, quit the job and started trying to get in the air force". Clayton spent several years in the US Air Force; having been drawn to the fly boys when taking a friend to undergo basic training as a pilot. Whilst in the USAF, he piloted the infamous Voodoo 101 fighter, nicknamed the 'Widowmaker' by his fellow pilots because of the plane's unfortunate propensity to become uncontrollable at high speeds.
Having had his fill of that, Clayton left the services to pursue a potential career as a singer-songwriter. In the aforementioned interview, Clayton recalled his attempts to find a way in to the Nashville singer-songwriting circle: "I was living in Louisville, Kentucky, and I'd.... spend three or four days a week in Nashville. (When) people would say to me 'What are you doing?', I'd say Tm a poet and songwriter'. Within six months, my money started to go and they took my credit cards away from me and I was on the street. Sold my Porsche and I had an old beat-up Volkswagen. I went from then until I got some money from the record company when I signed the deal in early 73. (Before that) it was out on the street, sleeping on the floor time".
His first major success came with the song that gave 'Outlaw1 country its name, Ladies Love Outlaws, originally recorded by The Everly Brothers on their 1972 album, Pass The Chicken And Listen, and taken into the US Billboard Country singles chart by Waylon Jennings in the same year. Ironically enough, Jennings didn't even want the song (or the album it came from) released; it ended up giving its name to a movement in which he would become one its icons.
Indeed, it's probably by far Clayton's best known number - artists such as Tom Rush, Confederate Railroad (on the soundtrack of the movie Maverick, which starred Jodie Foster and Mr 'Hi there sugar tits' himself, Mel Gibson) and Jimmy Rabbit have tendered their own take on record over the years. Such success and notoriety saw Clayton score a record deal with the MCA label. MCA had broadened their musical horizons in the early 1970s, signing the future giants of 'Southern Rock', Lynyrd Skynyrd, and also started feeling out talent in other musical genres. The first fruit of the liaison was the album you're hopefully playing now, simply entitled Lee Clayton. From the cover on in, it's apparent that Clayton had been around a bit, done his fair share of dues paying before he set foot in a recording studio.
The cover features a long-haired, somewhat careworn individual, in a country setting, looking more like a drifting hitch-hiker than a Nudie Cohen-suited 'hat' act from the Nashville production line. A cursory introduction to the album's musical content reveals that Clayton is possessed of a voice that is similarly rough around the edges - but a perfect vehicle for his intimate, ruminative and pleasingly melancholy songs. Indeed, melancholy is the overall mood that permeates the album in an emotive and appealing way.
It's not, however, the kind of melancholia of a Hank Williams or a Ray Price; no, what Clayton parlays is a contemporary take on Romantic desolation. Whereas Hank would've contrasted the existential hillbilly longing of / Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You with up-tempo hee-hawing like Settin' The Woods On Fire, Clayton's songs are more urban, and negotiate a different emotive register - equally as affecting, mark you, but firmly rooted in the here and now, at least the here and now of the early 1970s. Also (and you couldn't ask for more from a debut album), Clayton's debut is a bunch of well-crafted, melodically strong and considered collection of songs that showed great promise.
Lee Clayton was produced by Chip Young - his career has seen him provide like services on albums Billy Swan, Joe Ely, Mickey Newbury and Delbert McClinton amongst many others. The album also contains musical contributions from a talented bunch of session musicians, whose names will be familiar to fans of the music that's emanated from Nashville over the last thirty years. These include such Music Row luminaries as Tim Drummond (bass), Mickey McGee (drums), and Buddy Spicher (fiddle). Bonnie Bramlett also gets to provide some backing vocals, too.
There's also a personal dedication from Clayton to Waylon (Jennings), Kris (Kristofferson), and Billy Joe (Shaver) - a nice acknowledgement from one talented singersongwriter to his influential contemporaries - Clayton would latterly have more reasons to thank Jennings and Kristofferson, as we shall see. The centrepiece of the album is the composite New York City Suite 409. In the space of its six minutes plus duration, Clayton skilfully elides two songs together - Lord She Don't Belong In New York City, and Don't You Think It's Time To Come Home.
The first part finds Clayton in thoughtfully sombre mood, yearning for his lover who's in far off NYC, and his skilful description of the missing main squeeze's homespun ways paints a vivid mental picture. It's also obvious a concurrent strand running through the piece is the notion that she's not coming back, which makes the second half of the song all the more poignant, Clayton's lyrical and vocal understatement only adding considerably to the emotive sucker punch that the song ultimately delivers.
To me, this illustrates Clayton's songwriting talents brilliantly; a complex emotional range put across simply and effectively. Your attention is drawn to the female vocal in this song that adds a pleasingly femme ying to Clayton's masculine yang - it's supplied by none other than Carly Simon, whom, one surmises, is likely the subject of Clayton's credit on the original album jacket: "Special thanks to a lovely lady from New York City".
I'm duty bound to point out the presence on bass on this track of one Dennis Linde - often erroneously credited as the composer of the dreamy sixties folkie hit Elusive Butterfly (that was actually Bob Lind - Dennis will be best-known to you as the composer of arguably Elvis Presley's best latter-day record, Burning Love, as well as composer of songs recorded by Garth Brooks (Callin' Baton Rouge), Mark Chesnutt (Bubba Shot The Juke Box), George W Bush's favourite Country act, The Dixie Chicks (Goodbye Earl) and even our very own Dr Feelgood (No Mo Do Yakamo).
Elsewhere, Clayton turns his attention to the Country staples of drinking (Bottles of Booze), and the wooing of women (Mama, Spend The Night With Me) - I'm not sure how successful Clayton was with the lady in the latter, but at least he achieved a modicum of artistic success in crafting a fine contemporary Country seduction song. Clayton, somewhat inevitably, perhaps, chooses to end the album with his most famous song (up until then), Ladies Love Outlaws, and his version, whilst not the definitive item, serves to illustrate the depth and range of his songwriting skills - it's not the best track herein, but would still be a standout item on most singer-songwriters' albums.
Lee Clayton - the album, was not a huge sales success, even if its artistic success justified MCA's signing him in the first place. Interviewed a few years later, Clayton was philosophical about it's commercial failure: "I think at some point in time people will understand what I've been trying to do. At the time, it was a very well kept secret. What happened to it was... who knows what happens? It's just one of those things. I had a shot, I rolled my dice and was fortunate enough and worked to a point where I could make a record album. It didn't sell a whole bunch, but that's just part of it. It knocked me out at the time that somebody thought enough about me that I could even put it down on plastic".
He continued with the following overview of the year in which MCA signed him: "The start of 73, I had no money; got some money; made a record; spent a lot of money; end of '73 broke; off the label; back on the streets again all in one year. I lived in a motel room in California most of 74, then went to the desert in December of '74 - out in the Mojave Desert and lived there with this woman. Didn't do a whole lot. the truth is, just sat around and looked at things. Watched a lot of sundowns and sunrises, thought a lot, climbed the mountain and one day figured it was time for me to go at it again". Lee Clayton signed to the Capitol label in the late 1970s, and cut two more albums – Border Affair (1979) and Naked Child, which were well regarded at the time, critically, if again underwhelming in the sales department.
Border Affair contained his own versions of songs such as Silver Stallion and If You Can Touch Her At All, the former of which was a signature track by that infamous quartet of Country Gargantuans, The Highwaymen - that's Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson. Willie Nelson also recorded the latter in solo mode. Despite Clayton's apparent obscurity, it's clear that his music has exerted a palpable influence on successive generations of artists; there's a lot of Clayton in Steve Earle and Ryan Adams, to these ears, and even Bono, vocalist with U2, once said: "There's only one Country singer who has influenced me, and he's an unknown feller called Lee Clayton." Since the early 80s, Clayton has sporadically put his head over the parapet - a live album here, tour of Scandinavia there, nut nothing really sustained.
One surmises that Clayton likes it that way. So what's Lee Clayton up to these days? Well according to EMI publishing's Bruce Burch, he is living about an hour's drive outside of Nashville, and is still writing great songs. One hopes that there's more to come from this talented individual.
by Alan Robinson, October 2006
Tracks
1. Carnival Balloon -3:23
2. Bottles Of Booze - 4:48
3. Henry McCarty - 3:29
4. New York City Suite 409 - 6:38
…a. Lord She Don't Belong In New York City
…b. Don't You Think It's Time To Come Home
5. Mama, Spend The Night With Me - 3:07
6. Red Dancing Dress - 4:77
7. Danger - 2:52
8. Lonesome Whiskey - 2:45
9. Ladies Love Outlaws - 2:42
All songs written by Lee Clayton
Musicians
*Lee Clayton - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*Bobby Woods - Piano
*Reggie Young - Electric Guitar
*Kenny Malone – Drums, Percussion
*Johnny Christopher - Rhythm Guitar
*Lloyd Green - Pedal Steel Guitar
*Shane Kestler - Moog
*Bobby Thompson - Banjo
*Mike Leech - Bass
*Tim Drummond - Bass
*Dennis Linde - Bass
*Richard Bowden - Electric Guitar
*Ed Black - Pedal Steel Guitar
*Mickey McGee - Drums
*Bobby Ogden - Organ
*Chip Young - Rhythm Guitar
*Jerry Shook - Harmonica
*Buddy Spicher - Fiddle
Motherheast Ohio USA, is a place where the waves of media influence from the east and the west coasts seem to come crashing in and collide, the result being a splashing forth of some unique talent individuals.
It was there, in 1969 midway between the towns of Warren and Cortland, that five determined young musicians, Ray Escott - Lead Vocals, LJ Fortier - Drums, John Harrow - Lead Guitar, Vocals, "Buster" McCarthy - Bass, Vocals, and Kurt Sunderman - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, started getting together in the damp basement of LJ's parents home on Sunday mornings in aa effort to try to carry on with their dreams of being in a successful Rock band.
Having won the Starshine Productions' "Battle of the Bands" in 1970, the five-member Freeman Sound was established as the most popular of several bands (including Morly Grey), that had records released on the Starshine label. This special collection of original songs and sounds is an exciting bit of rock history that documents some of the charm, wit and depth of talent that made Freeman Sound the special local phenomenon they were.
This release includes 12 great, quality tracks with bio and photos. You'll get stoned on some mind-bending vocals backed by instrumentation that includes some very intense, heavy fuzz and wah pedal guitar sounds, solid drums and a screaming organ, with flashes of famous British groups. Prepare to get off on cuts like the 17 minute "Heavy Trip #70", the Hendrix-like "Tomorrow Is Plastic" and what we would venture to say is the heaviest version of Merle Travis' "16 Tons" ever recorded! This band broke up before they were able to make the most of their popularity.
Tracks
1. Tomorrow Is Plastic - 4:13
2. Heavy Trip #70 - 17:25
3. All I Need - 4:38
4. If I Could Only - 5:17
5. Wanting To Be Free (John Harrow) - 3:57
6. All Roads Lead Home - 5:37
7. 16 Tons (M. Travis) - 3:50
8. Singing My Own Song - 3:20
9. On The Way - 3:34
10.Get It While You Can - 2:24
11.I Just Can't Stop Lovin' You Babe - 3:52
12.Christmas Card - 2:24
All songs by LJ Fortier except where indicated.
Freeman Sounds And Friends
*Ray Escott - Lead Vocals
*LJ Fortier - Drums
*John Harrow - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*"Buster" McCarthy - Bass, Vocals
*Kurt Sunderman - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
