Bermuda Triangle - Bermuda Triangle (1977 us, beautiful psych folk rock, 2007 bonus tracks remaster)

This album was only privately released and now sees the light again. It is a special recording which does not reveals itself after one listen. Most of the album sounds as if this is a Christian or otherwise spiritual inspired item, in a hippie fashion, with driven soul in the vocals, and with speeded up rhythms heading for the light, using rock rhythms, covers or originals for enlightenment. Also the instrumentation is pretty weird and beautiful. There’s use of electric piano and an Arp synthesizer which produces some unusual sounds.

On “Right track” this track sound as if this is orchestrated, but I think the keyboards were responsible for this effect. Also electric and acoustic autoharp provides more special acoustic and emi-electronic touches. The female singer, Wendy, has a beautiful folk-like voice, with some range in her singing. Her voice fits well everywhere, like on the opening track, a cover of the beautiful Moody Blues track (which is one of many people’s all time favourite’s songs) “Nights in a White Satin” ,with additional backing male voice, oscillating violin, electric piano and percussion.

There’s often a sing-a-long and celebrate feeling, from rock to more pastoral, like the closer, “Wind”, a track which has the most psychedelic atmosphere, with an ethereal folkvoice, moody electric piano and bass.
Psychedelic-Folk

The band, originally called Roger And Wendy, was formed in the late '60s in Greenwich Village, typically playing in pass-the-basket-for-tips coffeehouses and folk clubs, such as Gerde's Folk City, (where they headlined for 33 weeks in one year,1970, setting a club record); the Cafe Wha?, the Bitter End, the Cafe Au Go Go, The Gaslight Cafe, The Freudian Slip, The Basement Cafe, and Kenny's Castaways.

Performing at first without microphones (as basket houses had no cabaret licenses, thus amplified vocals were illegal), they developed an energized psychedelic folk style with just an electrified autoharp and fast-pulse bass guitar. Their music quickly evolved from traditional ballads to electric folk, including psych folk, acid freak folk and rock. Roger and Wendy took the stage names Roger Becket and Wendy Becket when they had become involved with the Theater Company of Boston, and then in several off-Broadway plays.

They kept these pseudonyms through much of their musical career before returning to their original surname of Penney. This accounts for some of the confusion regarding credit for albums. Wendy is a lifetime member of the Art Students League of New York.

Tracks

1. Nights In White Satin (Justin Hayward, Peter Knight) - 2:59

2. Right Track (Roger Penney) - 4:12

3. Dream On (Steven Tyler) - 4:36

4. Lark In The Morning/Swallowtail (Traditional) - 1:20

5. Free Ride (Roger Penney) - 3:03

6. Standing Together (Roger Penney) - 3:11

7. Louisiana (Roger Penney) - 2:36

8. Night Train (Roger Penney) - 5:33

9. Wind (Bob Bruno) - 3:48

10.Tucson (Tom Pacheco) - 3:01

11.Bright Light Princess (Roger Penney) - 4:02

12.My Brother (Wendy Penney) - 4:37

13.Jambalaya (Hank Williams) - 3:23

14.Always Love You (Doly Parton) - 2:24

15.You Must Forget (Tom Pacheco) - 3:37

Bonus tracks 10-15

Tracks 1-9 recorded 1977 

Tracks 10,16 recorded 1969

Tracks 12,14 recorded 1974

Tracks 11,13 recorded 1976

Musicians
*Wendy Penney - Vocals, Bass
*Sam Becket - Drums, Percussion, Violin
*Roger Penney - Vocals, Electric Autoharp, Organ, Piano, Arp

Related Act

1969  Euphoria - Euphoria (2004 korean remaster)

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Racket Squad - Racket Squad / Corners Of Your Mind (1968-69 us, pretty beat psych rock with sunny rays)

Forecast: Sonny. Good day for a walk. Bad day for puns, apparently. Without Sonny DiNunzio, however, there never would have been "Walk," which trudged its way up his hometown Pittsburgh charts. Nor would The Vogues have gotten off to such a rousing start. Nor, ultimately, would there have been The Racket Squad.

Sebastian DiNunzio wasn't a Pittsburgher, per se. He came from a little way to the northeast, in the Kiski Valley. While attending Apollo High School in 1959, he linked with a group then known as The Three Chaps (George Esposito, Joe Cesario and Bob Savastano). Sonny brought buddy Ron Fulton aboard, and the newly rechristened and numberless Chaps jumped into the record hop grind. Break came when Sonny's sister told her record-producing boss Nick Cenci about the group. Cenci thought a couple of DiNunzio originals had potential, so he had them cut "One Lovely Yesterday / Perfect Night for Love," which were released on Brent records out of New York.

The single made some noise back home, got them on TV and into the ears of dominant deejays. Searching around for another backer, they went to Lennie Martin, whose string arrangement for The Skyliners hit "Since I Don't Have You" was a rock and roll first. Another DiNunzio composition passed Martin's muster, "Heaven Must Have Run Out of Angels," to be backed with "They'll Never Be." There was a twist this time: high parts of the song were to be handled by another young guy just beginning his career, one Lou Christie, who would be launched to stardom via Cenci's Co & Ce label with "Two Faces Have I" and "The Gypsy Cried." Released on Matador, "Heaven Must Have Run Out of Angels" ran out of oomph, and The Chaps called it quits.

For a while, Joe, George and Bob headed for West Coast employment, but day jobs got old pretty quick. Summoning Sonny, they became The Four Chaps. Terry Melcher at Capitol Records gave them a listen and gave them a pass, but Bob Keene, whose Del-Fi label produced Richie Valens, liked what he heard. Securing a manager, The Four Chaps began playing around Los Angeles Meanwhile, Keene learned a new TV show was being put together, something called Shindig. The quartet auditioned for producer Jack Good, who cast them in the pilot starring Jackie DeShannon, P.J. Proby and Dionne Warwick.

The red-jacketed Chaps sang "Lonesome Traveler," with guitar support from Glen Campbell. Good was considering making The Four Chaps regulars, but Sonny was called back to Pennsylvania, and their 15 minutes of fame ticked away. So, too, went potential work with Phil Spector. That was far from the end of the groove. Back home, Sonny returned to lead vocalist duties with The Townsmen (including Ronnie George, Alan Bills and Bob Ainsworth), who became The Fenways and churned out a lengthier discography, one that continues to feed oldies radio. Beginning with titles like "The Number One Song in the Country," which was more than just wishful thinking,

The Fenways drew solid response to "Nothing to Offer You," "Humpty Dumpty," "Be Careful Little Girl" and especially "Walk," a gem of a 1966 pop rocker that bubbled under the national rankings. Deejays laid on them, especially Sonny's cousin Terry Lee On WMCK / WIXZ, one of the major players on the Pittsburgh scene. Though The Fenways never got to No.1 on their own, they hit the top through teamwork. Part of their studio time was spent under the Co & Ce banner. Cenci had signed a vocal group called The Vogues, who needed a backup band. The Fenways were around and they cut the track for the monster "You're the One," so maybe "The Number One Song in the Country," or at least in a number of markets, wasn't so far off after all.

By the following year, with changes in society inspiring changes in their hair and clothing styles, The Fenways needed a new identity. They becameThe Racket Squad and did what their former selves never did: issued albums. Two of them, and both on the national Jubilee label: an eponymous platter and Corners of Your Mind. Check out "Hung Up," their take on "Romeo and Juliet," and especially their nod to The Skyliners with that group's "The Loser." Good stuff, but not enough to assure longevity.

Various personnel logged time with the band: Bill Cotton, Gene Molanero, Joey Covington (who later flew with the Jefferson Airplane). The Racket Squad became Sebastian, but by the following decade, Sonny was working solo. A car wreck in October of 1978 brought an end to his talented voice. Terry Lee remembered his cousin through a tribute album titled simply Sonny.
by David Salinger

Tracks
1968 The racket Squad
1 The Loser (Vanselow, Losak) - 3:38
2 Let's Dance to the Beat of My Heart (Mike Lewis) - 2:29
3 (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet (Gorman, Hamilton) - 2:24
4 We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin' (P. Simon) - 2:02
5 Higher Than High (Sonny Dinunzio) - 2:38
6 Hung Up (Kelley, Burton) - 2:14
7 Ode to Billie Joe (Gentry) - 3:13
8 Sunshine Man (Wiener, Lewis) - 2:39
9 No Fair at All (Yester) - 2:57
10 Little Red Wagon (Kelley, McCoy, Green) - 2:06
11 Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) (Cunningham) - 2:17
1969 Corners Of Your Mind
12 Ain't Nobody Gonna Love You (Mike Lewis) - 3:02
13 Sweet Little Smoke (Mike Lewis) - 6:00
14 Get Out of My Life Woman (Alan Toussaint) - 3:25
15 Suburban Life (Mike Lewis) - 3:06
16 Get Out of My Life Woman (Reprise) (Alan Toussaint) - 0:46
17 Corners of Your Mind (Mike Lewis) - 3:55
18 You Turn Me On (Mike Lewis) - 5:25
19 Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:04
20 The Minstrel (Gary Hill) - 5:46
21 That's How Much I Love My Baby (Sonny Dinunzio) - 2:36
22 Movin' In (Sauter, Lewis, Dinunzio) - 2:56
23 Maybe Tomorrow (Sauter, Lewis) - 2:50
24 I'll Never Forget Your Love (Mike Lewis) - 3:07

The Racket Squad
*Joey Covington - Drums, Percussion
*Sonny Dinunzio - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Horns
*Gene Molanero - Drums, Percussion
*Bob Ainsworth   - Lead Guitar
*Ronnie George- Bass, Sax

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Pearls Before Swine - Balaklava (1968 us, psych folk gem, japan remaster issue)

A record that virtually defies categorization, Pearls Before Swine's 1968 epic Balaklava is the near-brilliant follow-up to One Nation Underground. Intended as a defiant condemnation of the Vietnam War, it doesn't offer anthemic, fist-pounding protest songs. Instead, Rapp vented his anger through surrealist poetry, irony, and historical reference: Balaklava was the 1854 Crimean War battle that inspired Alfred, Lord Tennyson to write his epic The Charge of the Light Brigade; in reality, the "Charge" was a senseless military action that killed scores of British soldiers.

Balaklava begins with "Trumpeter Landfrey," an 1880's recording of the actual voice and bugle charge of the man who sounded the charge at Balaklava. It makes the transition into "Translucent Carriages," a mix of acoustic guitars, a basic vocal, and ghostly narration ("Jesus raised the dead...but who will raise the living?"), all the more stunning. "Images of April" continues the mystical feel, combining flutes, cricket chirps, and frog croaks for a nether-worldly effect. Rapp virtually cries "I Saw the World," backed by a powerful string arrangement that makes the song even more impassioned.

Like One Nation Underground, Balaklava is somewhat unfocused: "There Was a Man" is a little too Dylan-esque, and Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" detracts from Rapp's compositions. Unfortunately, the record closes with "Ring Thing," a morbid piece that refers to Tolkien's famous Lord of the Rings trilogy. Still, this is superb psychedelic music, successfully merging exotic instruments like marimba, clavinet, French horn, and swinehorn with Rapp's unique lisping vocals.

But Balaklava isn't just acid-trip background music. It's probably the best example of what Rapp calls "constructive melancholy" (also the name of a recent CD collection of Pearls songs), a combination of the real with the surreal, and it's indispensable to any serious '60s rock collection.

by Peter Kurtz

Tracks

1. Trumpeter Landfrey - 0:35

2. Translucent Carriages (Herodotus, Harley, Rapp) - 4:00

3. Images of April - 2:44

4. There Was a Man - 2:59

5. I Saw the World - 3:28

6. Guardian Angels - 3:02

7. Suzanne (Cohen) - 5:01

8. Lepers And Roses - 5:23

9. Florence Nightingale - 0:17

10.Ring Thing (Tolkien, Rapp) - 2:20

All songs by Tom Rapp except otherwise stated.

Pearls Before Swine

*Tom Rapp - Guitar, Vocals, Breathing

*Jim Bohannon - Organ, Piano, Clavinette, Marimba

*Wayne Harley - Banjo, Harmony

*Lane Lederer - Bass, Guitar, Swinehorn

Guest Musicians 

*Joe Farrell - Flute, English Horn 

*Lee Crabtree - Piano, Organ, 

*Bill Salter - Bass

*Al Shackman - Guitar

*Warren Smith - String Arrangements

*Selwart Clarke - String Arrangements

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Montreal - A Summer's Night (1970 canada, wonderful soft folk rock with a jazzy feeling)

“Indicative of the fine working ability of Canada’s enthusiastic musicians is MONTREAL – the makers of the music you are about to hear.

Canadian musicians and performers have always been true to the gaiety of a Canadian summer and have the ability to use the long winter as a working tool. In our efforts to know a new kind of music and determine its influence upon the times and ourselves, we have yet to spend time really listening. This is listening music. Since man first began making sounds, there has been music to move the feet and music to move the mind. The music produced by these fine artists of today merge free-feeling music with words of importance. Although the nature of our situation will allow us to dance, these are still words to be heard.

Jean Cousineau’s guitar will never cease to intrigue your imagination. Gilles Losier’s piano and bass act as an organic rubber band, while his knowledge of sound will create other instruments from the one he is playing. Fran’s voice will bring the sun in the mornings and set it many an evening in your home or pad or camp-out. Montreal is a place for all ages, and so is MONTREAL’s music. A necessary experience”
by Richie Havens

Produced by Richie Havens (who also contributes sitar), this lost classic was recorded in New York in 1970. Featuring Canadian musicians Fran Losier, Gilles Losier and Jean Cousineau, as well as leading jazz flautist Jeremy Steig, psych-folk legend Buzz Linhart and the Carolyn Hester Coalition’s Skeeter Camera, it’s a mesmerising collection of jazzy folk-psych. Packed with glorious vocal harmonies and unforgettable melodies (culminating in the spellbinding acid folk masterpiece ‘Infinity’).

Tracks
1. What About the Wind? (Chris Rawlings) - 2:28
2. A Summer’s Night (Jean Cousineau) - 3:37
3. Circles and Lines (Mike Leibson) - 2:45
4. Sometimes in Stillness (Peter Page, Bill Horan) - 3:00
5. Third Floor Walk-Up (Peter Page, Bill Horan) - 5:30
6. Every Passing Moment (Kenny Rankin) - 2:59
7. Summertime (George Gershwin, DuBose Hayward) - 4:11
8. Round and Round (Fran Losier) - 3:05
9. Infinity (Peter Page, Bill Horan) - 7:58

Montreal
*Fran Losier - Vocals
*Jean Cousineau - Guitar
*Gilles Losier - Piano, Bass
Guest Musicians
*Richie Havens - Sitar, Koto
*Jeremy Steig - Flute
*Buzz Linhart - Vibes
*Skeeter Camera - Percussion

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Stray - Suicide (1971 uk, great hard rock, 2nd album)

London's Stray followed up an eclectic eponymous debut with more of the same on their 1971 sophomore effort, Suicide, which of course was just dandy since "more of the same" on this occasion essentially entailed another imaginative melding of different musical genres under the broad, forgiving definition afforded by the progressive rock tag.

As to the album's rather negative title, it didn't foreshadow a radical shift toward the quartet's pre-existing heavy rock tendencies (actually, more keyboards were the hot novelty here) so much as a reflection of these songs' darker overall mood when it came to their lyrics. Opener "Son of the Father" offered a perfect example, as it alternated quiet passages of sublime but chilling beauty with other hard-driving but rather upbeat sections -- all supporting questioning meditations about generations of men sent off to war after war.

Some ensuing tracks, like "Nature's Way" and "Do You Miss Me?" continue to showcase Stray's copious testosterone via wicked power chords and boogie grooves (but always interlaced with some unexpected jam or jazzy accent), and the especially forceful "Jericho" catapults untold scores of contrasting riffs against one another with urgent intensity, ultimately culminating in a truly frightening descending riff sequence.

Other songs take the opposite course of gentle introspection, achieving both mesmerizing (the lyrically corny but musically elegiac "Where Do Our Children Belong") and dismaying results (the soppy, string-laden Muzak of "Dearest Eloise"), while the neither-here-nor-there "Run Mister Run" evokes a Southern rock feel with its cow bells and blue-collar construction.

And, finally, there's the controversially themed title track, which combines a Black Sabbath-like bass progression from Gary G. Giles with foreboding fuzz chords and sizzling solo licks from Del Bromham (reminiscent of Sir Lord Baltimore) to impart its gloomy story. Not a very uplifting finale, obviously, but nothing that detracts from Suicide's multi-faceted creative accomplishment, under any circumstance -- especially considering the album was reportedly recorded at Olympic Studios in just 30 hours!
by Eduardo Rivadavia

Tracks
1. Son of the Father - 5:48
2. Nature's Way - 3:29
3. Where Do Our Children Belong - 3:39
4. Jericho - 4:55
5. Run Mister Run - 3:54
6. Dearest Eloise (Steve Gadd) - 2:30
7. Do You Miss Me? - 6:28
8. Suicide - 7:39
9. Encore - 0:36
All Songs by Del Bromham except where indicated.

Stray
*Del Bromham - Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards
*Ritchie Cole - Drums
*Steve Gadd - Harmonica, Guitar, Vocals
*Gary G. Giles - Bass
*Pete Dyer - Guitar, Vocals

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Thunder And Roses - King Of The Black Sunrise (1969 us, fine garage psych blues rock)

Thunder and Roses was an early power trio from Philadelphia USA, recorded “King of the Black Sunrise” and released by United Artists Records in 1969. This garage rock album is a hard rockin’, ultra heavy, Hendrix-inspired, slab of bluesy psychedelia. Track one, the classic “White Lace and Strange”, was covered by Nirvana in a radio broadcast that is included on their box set “With The Lights Out”.

The trio pay their respects to Hendrix with a strong version of Red House, then lay waste with a blitzkrieg of superb heavy psychedelic guitar like Cream, they never let the blues influences swamp the rock. Chris Bond went on to play for and produce Hall and Oates.

Tracks
1. White Lace and Strange - 3:16
2. I Love a Woman - 4:43
3. Country Life - 2:51
4. Red House (Jimi Hendrix) - 5:40
5. Moon Child - 4:14
6. Dear Dream Maker - 3:33
7. King of the Black Sunrise - 3:51
8. Open Up Your Eyes - 7:26
All song by Chris Bond, except where noted.

Thunder And Roses
*Chris Bond - Guitars, Vocals
*Tom Schaffer - Bass, Vocals
*George Emme - Drums

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The Appletree Theatre - Playback (1968 us/uk, brilliant concept, baroque pop, sunshine psychedelic rock, 2009 remastered)

Playback was released in 1968 off the Verve label. Both John and Terrence Boylan were the brains behind this project that is divided into three acts. It’s an inventive pop album with great songs, strange sound effects, comedy bits and trippy dialogue in between some of the tracks. Fans of Friends era Beach Boys, Family Tree, the Smoke (Michael Lloyd’s band) and the Millennium will really love this record though it has more of a downbeat mood than the before mentioned sunshine pop classics.

Playback was released in two different album covers (both covers are great) and was supposedly one of John Lennon’s favorites from 1968. Some of the tracks, such as I Wonder If Louise Is Home suggest the boys may have indulged in too many psychedelic drugs, with its distorted megaphone vocals and soaring horns. The album opener, Hightower Square, and Nevertheless It Was Italy are strong hallucinary floaters that play it straight, with light psychedelic arrangements. There’s even a beautiful 52 second acoustic track with gorgeous strings and downer vocals called Saturday Morning.

The real meat of this jaded pop album lies within it’s best 3 tracks: Brother Speed, You’re The Biggest Thing In My Life, and the wonderful What A Way To Go. Brother Speed is a great blue-eyed soul drug number with stax-like horn arrangements, pounding drums, stoned vocals, and a loud guitar psych solo. It’s a good one for sure but You’re The Biggest Thing In My Life is superb as well with tons of guitar feedback within the confines of a creepy but pretty conventional pop song.

The album comes to a close with the outstanding What A Way To Go. This is one of the great introspective acid folk-rock songs that hits a downer psych nerve that few can equal. It’s a good one to play for square friends as the track has beautifully spaced out vocals and crazed, nonsensical lyrics. Highly recommended!
by Jason Nardelli

Tracks
1. In the Beginning (instrumental) - 0:55
2. Hightower Square - 2:24
3. Lullaby (instrumental) - 0:25
4. Saturday Morning - 1:53
5. Nevertheless It was Italy- 2:15
6. I Wonder If Louise Is Home - 2:10
7. Chez Louise - 1:02
8. E-Train - 1:00
9. Meanwhile - 0:15
10. Brother Speed - 3:15
11.You're the Biggest Thing In My Life - 3:35
12.Don't Blame It On Your Wife - 2:50
13.The Sorry State of Staying Awake - 3:54
14.Barefoot Boy - 2:43
15.Lotus Flower (instrumental) - 2:16
16.What a Way To Go - 2:50
All songs by John Boylan and Terry Boylan.

Musicians
*John Boylan - Vocals
*Terry Boylan - Vocals
*Larry Coryell - Guitar
*Eric Gale - Guitar
*Herb Lovelle - Vocals
*Chuck Rainey - Bass
*Chuck Israels - Bass Guitar
*Paul Griffin - Piano
*Buddy Saltzman - Drums
*Michael Equine - Drums
*Zal Yanovsky - Guitar

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The Box Tops - The Best Of Box Tops (1967-70 us, wondrous guitar pop, 20bit remaster edition)

The Box Tops came out of Memphis in 1967 with a sound that both explored the possibilities of rhythm and blues while mixing the sound with straight forward rock 'n' roll. Chilton's voice was flexible, capable of sounding Eric Burdon-husky (as on "The Letter") or sweetly innocent (as on "Neon Rainbow").

"The Letter" went straight to # 1 in 1967, spending four weeks in the top spot in the U. S. It was quickly followed up the charts by "Neon Rainbow", which reached # 24. In 1968, the band had its first (and only) million-selling single with "Cry Like A Baby", which rose to # 2 for two weeks ("...when I think about the good love you gave me / I cry like a baby / livin' without you is drivin' me crazy / I cry like a baby..."). Kind of a cross between the Memphis rhythm and blues of "The Letter" and classic gospel music.

The band was abused like many a band at the hands of producers and record labels --- the more popular they got, the more likely they were to lose control in the studio. Chilton has said that the band's music on record was mostly him singing lead supported by studio musicians, rather than the band (in fact, with one other exception, Chilton was the only band member to appear on the studio recordings made after "The Letter").

For a budding songwriter like Chilton, it was also somewhat discouraging, I imagine, to be told to sing songs written by people not even in the band. Many of the songs were written by Wayne Carson Thompson (including "The Letter", "Neon Rainbow" and "Soul Deep") or by the team of Dan Penn, producer of the records, and Spooner Oldham (Penn and Oldham wrote such soul classics as "I'm Your Puppet" and "Dark End Of The Street" in addition to Box Tops tunes like "Cry Like A Baby" and "I Met Her In Church").

The band charted with 10 Hot 100 singles between 1967-70. In 1968, following the Top 10 success of "Cry Like A Baby" as the year began, the group scored three additional Top 40 hits with "Choo Choo Train" (# 26), "I Met Her In Church" (# 37) and "Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March" (# 28; which remained on the charts into 1969).

Their cover version of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" (# 67) became their first non-Top 40 hit in 1969. They moved back into the Top 40 with "Soul Deep" (# 18) by late summer of that same year ("...my love is a river running soul deep / way down inside me it's soul deep..."). "Soul Deep" was the band's last trip into the Top 40. The next two singles quickly died on the charts ("Turn On A Dream" peaked at # 58 and "You Keep Turning Up On Me" stiffed at # 92).

Although the group did place four albums on the chart, none made the national Top 40 Album chart in Billboard. Though Chilton had his greatest chart success with The Box Tops, he is today may be best remembered for his work with the power pop band Big Star, though Big Star never charted with any single or album according to Billboard magazine. Fans of Chilton's later work will be glad that some of his early compositions with The Box Tops are on this compilation: "I Must Be The Devil", "Together", "The Happy Song" and "I See Only Sunshine".

The CD booklet The 8-page CD booklet is informative, but very lacking in the illustration department (a single, small shot of each band member; no group photos). The recordings benefit from 20 bit digital mastering done from the original master tapes.

Tracks
1. The Letter (Wayne Carson Thompson) - 1:52
2. Neon Rainbow (Wayne Carson Thompson) - 3:01
3. Happy Times (Penn, Oldham) - 1:44
4. Cry Like A Baby (Penn, Oldham) - 2:32
5. Fields Of Clover (Penn, Oldham) - 2:50
6. Choo Choo Train (Fritts, Hinton) 2:50
7. She Shot A Hole In My Soul (M. Gayden, C. Neebe) - 2:41
8. People Gonna Talk (Penn, Oldham) - 4:08
9. I Met Her In Church (Penn, Oldham) - 2:41
10. Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March (B. Weinstein, J. Stroll) - 2:13
11. Together (A. Chilton) - 3:21
12. I Must Be The Devil (A. Chilton) - 3:35
13. Soul Deep (Wayne Carson Thompson) - 2:27
14. I Shall Be Released (B. Dylan) - 2:47
15. Happy Song (A. Chilton) - 1:55
16. Turn On A Dream (M. James) - 2:48
17. I See Only Sunshine (A. Chilton) - 2:14
18. You Keep Tightening Up On Me (Wayne Carson Thompson) - 2:27

The Box Tops
*Alex Chilton - Guitar, Lead Vocals
*Gary Talley - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Bill Cunningham - Bass, Vocals
*Danny Smythe - Drums, Vocals 1967 - 1968
*John Evans - Keyboards, Vocals 1967 - 1968
*Thomas Boggs - Drums, Vocals 1968 - 1969
*Rick Allen - Keyboards, Vocals 1968 - 1969
*Harold Cloud - Bass 1969 - 1970
*Bobby Guidotti - Drums, Vocals 1969 - 1970
*Swain Schaefer - Keyboards, Vocals 1969 - 1970

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Dino Valente – Dino Valente (1968 us, delightful psych acid folk rock)

Dino Valente (Chester Powers was his real name, Dino was a name which he remembered kids called him, and which gave him a good feeling ; it was actually Valenti which he took as an artist’s new last name, but the label misspelled it), after briefly joining the air force, he soon spent time playing at coffee houses and spaghetti shops, formed a short time a duo with Fred Neil, a period where he wrote "Get Together", a song that would bring him fame through the covers by Jefferson Airplane and by the Youngbloods, who made it a top 10 hit in the US.

His first real single from 1964, was a folk pop song called "Birdses" which became the inspiration for Gene Clark to name his new band the Birdses, or differently written, as the Byrds. In 1965 he started to sing with Quicksilver Messenger Service, but before this was really settled, he was busted for the possession of two ounces of pot, so that after a court case where the judge cited his anti-government song “what about me” he was sent to jail for 11 months, an experience which must have done much harm.

In 1968 he got a CBS record deal which he wanted to become a solo record, but which still was produced by the label with some band arrangements, with Bob Johnston leading, how they preferred to hear it, a result which I think, in the end, really made the best of it, and was still done with respect to the music, to give it some balance, because to some degree the album shows almost a bit too much to bear easily, moments of painfully sad and fucked up conclusions, from a human being that had been broken on occasions and now leans on a few fragile things on which to hang upon.

The album opens with “time”, a beautiful and strong sad song about dreams which pass and are lost but for which new dreams can appear instead. Some disappointments of his experiences reveal themselves further, while other songs hold so tight to romantic ideals, mixed with the overly focus on the eternal now, probably because the past still looks painful and the future is not trusted, while certain things still weighs tons.

Some of his singing, (like on “my friend”), is expressed with a conscious, and slowly moving forward singing, which might have come from his time with Fred Neil. But then, also some frustrations creep into it, like a thoroughly bitten maize-ear, his voice makes a few strange moves now and then, whining his cries in such strange moves that it recalls these failures of the endless in time moves with no directions of leading nowhere (remember how Syd Barrett did his own overly sad moves with his lyrics and tone variations in his words, this is of course still different), showing the crumbling role of importance of his own identity, such a position could become on the edge of suicidal, at the same time also his greatest hopes and projections of personal romance and love sounds so equally sad, as if losing its grip on it while biting into its importance.

One time (on “me and my uncle”), Dino sounds like the underground Dylan (he much more was one of Dylan’s characters, the liner notes described him). On “my friend”, there’s a more jazzy background arrangement, while “tomorrow” also is orchestrated. For me, such arrangements also succeed to bring the personality at such moments back to a comfortable real situation and reality. The last track “test” however ends experimental, with just flute in the background, and subtle overuse of echoes, with his bass voice lingering on, and is rather psychedelic, as a fading out with more abstract energy the little weird part that had participated in the album.
by Psychedelic-Folk

Tracks
1. Time - 3:08
2. Something New - 7:10
3. My Friend - 5:53
4. Listen to Me - 3:16
5. Me and My Uncle (John Phillips) - 3:58
6. Tomorrow - 4:09
7. Children of the Sun - 7:05
8. New Wind Blowing - 6:13
9. Everything Is Gonna Be OK - 2:50
10.Test - 3:14
11.Shame on You Babe - 8:04
12.Now and Now Only - 4:04
All songs by Dino Valente, except where indicated.

*Dino Valente - Guitar, Vocals

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Gene Clark - White Light (1971 us, brilliant folk rock, bonus tracks edition)

Gene Clark's 1971 platter, with its stark black cover featuring his silhouette illuminated by the sun, was dubbed White Light -- though the words never appear on the cover -- and if ever a title fit a record, it's this one. Over its nine original tracks, it has established itself as one of the greatest singer/songwriter albums ever made. After leaving the Byrds in 1966, recording with the Gosdin Brothers, and breaking up the Dillard & Clark group that was a pioneering country-rock outfit, Clark took time to hone his songwriting to its barest essentials.

The focus on these tracks is intense, they are taut and reflect his growing obsession with country music. Produced by the late guitarist Jesse Ed Davis (who also worked with Taj Mahal, Leon Russell, Link Wray, and poet John Trudell, among others), Clark took his songs to his new label with confidence and they supported him. The band is comprised of Flying Burrito Brothers' bassist Chris Ethridge, the then-Steve Miller Band-pianist (and future jazz great) Ben Sidran, organist Michael Utley, and drummer Gary Mallaber.

Clark's writing, as evidenced on "The Virgin," the title cut, "For a Spanish Guitar," "One in a Hundred," and "With Tomorrow," reveals a stark kind of simplicity in his lines. Using melodies mutated out of country, and revealing that he was the original poet and architect of the Byrds' sound on White Light, Clark created a wide open set of tracks that are at once full of space, a rugged gentility, and are harrowingly intimate in places.

His reading of Bob Dylan's "Tears of Rage," towards the end of the record rivals, if not eclipses, the Band's. Less wrecked and ravaged, Clark's song is more a bewildered tome of resignation to a present and future in the abyss. Now this is classic rock.
by Thom Jurek

 Tracks
1. The Virgin - 3:38
2. With Tomorrow (Clark, Jesse Ed Davis) - 2:27
3. White Light - 3:39
4. Because Of You - 4:04
5. One In A Hundred - 3:35
6. For A Spanish Guitar - 5:00
7. Where My Love Lies Asleep - 4:22
8. Tears Of Rage (Bob Dylan, Richard Manuel) - 4:14
9. 1975 - 3:55
10.Because Of You (Alternate Mix) - 4:06
11.Stand By Me (Previously Unreleased) (Ben E. King, Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller) - 2:45
12.Ship Of The Lord (Previously Unreleased) - 2:34
13.Opening Day (Previously Unreleased) - 4:02
14.Winter In (Rare Track) - 3:21
All Songs Written By Gene Clark, Except Where Noted

Musicians
*Gene Clark - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
*Jesse Ed Davis - Electric Guitar
*Chris Ethridge - Bass
*Gary Mallaber - Drums
*Mike Utley - Organ
*Ben Sidran - Piano

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Robin Trower - Tale Untold, Chrysalis Years (1973-76 uk, impressive guitar rock, 3 disc box-set, 2010 remaster bonus tracks issue)

Guitarist Robin Trower made his name playing R&B with the Paramounts and classically-tinged art rock with Procol Harum, but wanted no part of either when he launched his solo career in 1972. As the focal point in a guitar-dominated power trio, Trower stretched out, experimented, and, as many have noted, paid homage to Jimi Hendrix in his own way.

Other than his reliance on the reverb of a Fender Stratocaster for tone and atmosphere and the trio format, however, Trower was far from a Hendrix clone. For one, whereas Hendrix’s music always had rough edges in spite of its virtuosity, Trower epitomized precision—from the tight arrangements (owing to his background in Procol Harum) and structured solos, right down to the cleaner tone of his guitar. While Hendrix’s R&B influence came from playing loose, uptempo blues and soul, Trower’s background (with the Paramounts) was in uptown white British R&B. What Trower was doing with Hendrix wasn’t any different than what the Rolling Stones were doing with Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters: updating it and expanding upon it.

While revered by guitar aficionados, Trower didn’t earn nearly as much respect from critics, and if past reissues are any indication, record labels. Of his first five solo albums, included in their entirety on this three-CD compilation, only Bridge of Sighs has ever gotten a decent remaster, the rest left to wallow in straight transfers with flat sound—or worse, in the case of the original ‘80s CD reissues of Live and Long Misty Days. While short on liner notes and packaging, A Tale Untold at last gives all of Trower’s first five the mastering they deserve.

Twice Removed from Yesterday (1973) kicked things off in prodigious fashion, displaying all the elements that would manifest throughout Trower’s early works: bassist James Dewar’s rich, soulful vocals, spacey arrangements, and of course, incredible guitar playing. The dreamy title track and “Daydream” in particular lay the groundwork for the future, and the more laid-back “Ballerina” was the first of many ballads that fit comfortably beside harder-rocking material. That said, the debut rocks harder than most later works, with Trower playing in a slightly more distorted tone on riffs like “I Can’t Stand It”, “Sinner’s Song”, and “I Can’t Wait Much Longer”. (The hardest rocking track of the sessions, “Take a Fast Train”, a killer non-LP B-side ignored by reissue labels for years, is included here.)

Trower’s tone on 1974’s career-defining Bridge of Sighs replaced the slight distortion with echo and effects as the music took another step forward (with commercial success to boot; this was one of four Trower albums to go gold). As fine a debut as Twice Removed was, Bridge of Sighs was even better—including the monumental title track (an FM staple) and rocking stage favorites like “Day of the Eagle”, “Too Rolling Stoned”, and “Little Bit of Sympathy”—all delivered with Trower’s trademark fluidity. Two ballads—“About to Begin” and “In This Place”—were just as good, and the funky edge of “Lady Love” would point the way to Trower’s next stylistic foray.

To get there, the late Reg Isidore was replaced in late 1974 by former of Gypsy and Sly and the Family Stone drummer Bill Lordan, who immediately added another dimension. Isidore may have had a great feel, but not nearly the chops of his successor. On live versions of songs from the first two albums, Lordan replaced Isidore’s more rudimentary (albeit effective) fills and backbeats with a fantastic array of hi-hat action, snare-ride cymbal interplay, polyrhythms executed simultaneously on different parts of the kit, a funky bottom, and, above all, a drive that the trio never had.

The difference can be heard on various bootlegs, as well as 1975’s Live, a strong set recorded on February 3, 1975, for Swedish radio. Being unaware that they were being taped made the band “loose and uninhibited”, according to Trower—and it shows on ripping versions of “Too Rolling Stoned”, “Lady Love”, and “Alethea”. Unlike many such sets, Trower’s live album adds to the studio versions—and would make a great candidate for an expanded edition since it’s a truncated version of the full set.

Before that album saw release, however, the new lineup would make a disappointing third studio album, 1975’s For Earth Below. Recorded at the Record Plant in LA, the album has the cocaine studio feel all over it: trebly highs, slightly too much bass, and more languid tempos. The material isn’t necessarily the problem—“Gonna Be More Suspicious”, “Alethea”, and “Shame the Devil” are fine tracks—but the execution is, particularly from a band capable of much better.

Though sometimes maligned as a Bridge of Sighs clone, 1976’s Long Misty Days was a return to form. Here, the funky edge spearheaded by Lordan finally appears in the studio on wah-wah enhanced tracks like “Caledonia”, “S.M.O.”, and “Pride”, and Trower revisits the blues on “Same Rain Falls” and “Messin’ the Blues”. The psychedelic title track, replete with Trower’s brilliant sustain and also included in an edited single version, is another winner—rounding out a fine run. (A Tale Untold includes a previously unreleased song from the Long Misty Days sessions, “Let Me Be the One”, which is OK.) Like previous albums, the changes were subtle, and innovation not necessarily a strong point, but Trower and band more than made up for it with strong performances and material.

Long Misty Days is the end of this set, but by no means the end of the story. Not counting two early ‘80s collaborations with Jack Bruce, Trower would go on to make four more solo albums on Chrysalis—one great (1980’s Victims of the Fury), two very good (1977’s In City Dreams and 1983’s Back It Up), one not so great (1978’s Caravan to Midnight), but all ripe for remastering.
By Doug Sheppard

Tracks
Disc 1
1973 Twice Removed From Yesterday
1. I Can't Wait Much Longer (Trower, Dewar) - 5:26
2. Daydream (Trower, Dewar) - 6:28
3. Hannah (Trower, Dewar, Isidore) - 5:30
4. Man Of The World (Trower, Dewar) - 2:44
5. I Can't Stand It (Trower, Dewar) - 3:43
6. Rock Me Baby (Joe Josea, B.B. King) - 4:21
7. Twice Removed From Yesterday (Trower, Dewar) - 3:58
8. Sinner's Song (Trower, Dewar) - 5:25
9. Ballerina (Trower, Dewar) - 3:47
10. Take A Fast Train (Bonus Track, B Side) (Trower, Dewar) - 3:16
1974 Bridge Of Sights
11. Day Of The Eagle - 5:02
12. Bridge Of Sighs - 5:01
13. In This Place - 4:30
14. Fool And Me (Trower, Dewar) - 3:56

Disc 2
1974 Bridge Of Sights
1. Too Rolling Stoned - 7:34
2. About To Begin - 3:45
3. Lady Love (Trower, Dewar) - 3:20
4. Little Bit Of Sympathy (Trower, Dewar) - 4:19
5. Day Of The Eagle (Bonus Track, Single Edit) (Trower, Dewar) - 2:53
1975 For Earth Below
6. Shame The Devil - 3:27
7. It's Only Money (Trower, Dewar) - 5:30
8. Confessin' Midnight - 5:53
9. Fine Day - 3:36
10. Alethea - 3:06
11. A Tale Untold - 5:28
12. Gonna Be More Suspicious - 3:06
13. For Earth Below - 6:06
1975 Live
14. Too Rolling Stoned - 6:40
15. Daydream - 8:00
16. Rock Me Baby (KJoe Josea, B.B. King) - 5:58

Disc 3
1975 Live
1. Lady Love (Trower, Dewar) - 3:07
2. I Can't Wait Much Longer - 6:58
3. Alethea (Trower, Dewar) - 4:10
4. Little Bit Of Sympathy - 5:55
1976 Long Misty Days
5. Same Rain Falls (Trower, Dewar) - 3:15
6. Long Misty Days (Trower, Dewar) - 5:43
7. Hold Me (Trower, Dewar) - 3:36
8. Caledonia (Trower, Dewar) - 3:41
9. Pride (Trower, Dewar) - 3:10
10. Sailing (Gavin Sutherland) - 3:45
11. SMO (Dewar, Lordan, Trower) - 3:44
12. I Can't Live Without You (Dewar, Frankie Miller, Trower) - 4:25
13. Messin' The Blues (Dewar, Lordan, Trower) - 3:58
14. Long Misty Days (Bonus Track, Single Edit) (Trower, Dewar) - 4:45
15. Let Me Be The One (Bonus Track, Previously Unreleased) (Trower, Dewar) - 4:33
All songs by Robin Trower except otherwise.

Musicians
*Robin Trower - Guitar
*Jemas Dewar - Bass, Vocals
*Reg Isidore - Drums (Disc1 & Disc 2 tracks 1-5)
*Bill Lordan - Drums (Disc 2 tracks 6-16 & Disc 3)

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Stray - Stray (1970 uk, great heavy rock)

 

Reissue from the June 1970 original release on the Transatlantic label, Stray's eponymously titled debut album is widely acknowledged as their masterpiece. This compilation has been remastered and features them10 previously unreleased sides 'Change Your Mind', 'Answer In Love', 'Send Out A Smile',' I Am What I Am', 'Love In Your Heart', 'Loving You Is Sweeter Than Four', 'The Man Who Paints Pictures', 'In The Night', 'Outcast' & 'All In Your Mind'. Stray made their mark in the late 60s by owning lighting rigs, pyrotechnics and transport in a time when most bands were content to just get up onstage and play.

Stray dated back to 1966 when teenagers vocalist Steve Gadd, guitarist Del Bromham, bass player Gary Giles and drummer Steve Crutchley formed the band whilst all were attending the local Christopher Wren School in London. At this point the average age of Stray members was 14. Steve Crutchley quit to pursue traditional Jazz and was duly replaced by Richie Cole as Stray became regulars on the London club circuit, performing at such venues as Shepherds Bush Goldhawk Club and Covent Garden's Middle Earth. In May 1969 Stray supported The Groundhogs at Southall Farx Club and signed to Transatlantic Records in January 1970.

Stray appeared at their first Reading Festival in 1971, alongside such acts as Rory Gallagher, Medicine Head and Van Der Graaf Generator. Later that year the group also made their debut TV appearance on the show 'Disco 2', although a gig the same year at the Weeley Festival found Stray in bother with the coastguard when stage flares were mistaken for a distress call by the local lifeboat! Stray's first British headline tour in the winter of 1971 had Red Dirt and Steve Tilston supporting. The band would also tour Europe as support to Ten Years After. They would promptly return to the UK for more support shows to the likes of Status Quo before touring nationwide with The Groundhogs.

At this point Stray took on the services of manager Wilf Pine. Securing another Reading Festival slot in 1972 - appearing with Status Quo, Ten Years After and Wizzard - Stray supported The Groundhogs once more in August 1973, experimenting with additional live musicians; including keyboard player Andy Powell, backing vocalists and brass section. Stray also opened for Black Sabbath at Alexandra Palace in the same month.
Stray (Official site)

Tracks
1. All In Your Mind - 9:21
2. Taken All The Good Things - 5:30
3. Around The World In Eighty Days - 3:37
4. Time Machine - 4:41
5. Only What You Make It - 4:00
6. Yesterday's Promises (Gadd) - 4:19
7. Move On (Bromham, Gadd, Cole, Giles) - 5:46
8. In Reverse / Some Say (Bromham, Gadd, Cole, Giles) - 8:58
9. Change Your Mind (Bromham, Gadd) - 5:11
10.The Man Who Paints The Pictures (Holtzman, Holtzman, Knust) - 2:33
11.In The Night (Unknown) - 4:01
12.Outcast - 4:00
13.All In Your Mind (Single Version) - 2:59
All songs by Del Bromham except where stated.

Stray
*Del Bromham - Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards
*Ritchie Cole - Drums
*Steve Gadd - Harmonica, Guitar, Vocals
*Gary G. Giles - Bass
*Pete Dyer - Guitar, Vocals

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Alquin - The Mountain Queen (1973 holland, outstanding progressive rock with blues and jazz shades, 2009 esoteric remaster issue)

A few students in Delft start a group in 1968. It is called Threshold Fear and they mainly play rhytmn and blues. In 1970 the band members are: Hein Mars (bass, vocals), Job Tarenskeen (vocal, sax, percussion), Ronald Ottenhof (sax, flute), Ferdinand Bakker (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Dick Franssen (keyboards) and Bart Terlaak (drums). A single is released on Negram: Sally Saddlepain/Thank me not, the track was produced by Peter Vink who later on would form Finch

At the end of 1971 the group changes the drummer:Terlaak goes and Paul Weststrate comes. In January 1972 they perform in Paradiso for the first time, under their old name. Shortly thereafter (February 1972) the group changes its name to Alquin, after the student society and rehearsal room Alcuin.Due to their growing reputation, May 1972 a record deal with Polydor is closed for 2 albums and 4 singles, and they record their debut album Marks, produced by Hans van Oosterhout. He was also the producer of Supersister. The album is mainly a mix of rock, jazz and classical influences; “symphonic rock”. As a single You always can change is released with on the flip side the non album track Hard royce.

The popularity of the band is growing in 1973 The readers of Oor magazine vote Alquin as the ‘number 1 trendsetter’ of 1973. Alquin tours Great Britain in April and May (17 performances), on stages like Liverpool University, Cavern Club, Greyhound and Marquee Club (London) and including a live TV performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. They also give a good performance as the one and only Dutch act at the Pinkpop festival in the Netherlands. A second album, The Mountain Queen is recorded at the DeLane Lea studio’s in London, with the help of producer Derek Lawrence. He was also the producer of Deep Purple and Wishbone Ash. For fans of progressive rock, this is probably their best effort.
Alquin-org

Tracks
1. The Dance - 13:00
2. Soft-Eyed Woman - 2:38
3. Convicts Of The Air - 3:50
4. Mountain Queen - 14:45
5. Don And Dewey - 1:27
6. Mr. Banum's JR's Maginificent And Fabulous City (part one) - 8:25

Alquin
*Hein Mars - Bass
*Paul Westrate - Drums
*Job Tarenskeen - Saxophone, Percussion, Vocals
*Ronald Ottenhoff - Saxophone, Flute
*Ferdinand Bakker - Guitar, Electric Violin, Piano, Vocals
*Dick Franssen - Organ, Piano, E-Piano

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Douglas Fir - Hard Heartsingin' (1970 us, excellent psychedelic blues rock, Gear Fab edition)

It was an incredible era....one like we'll never see again. Howdy, I'm Douglas A. Snider (AKA Douglas Fir). The band was formed as a complete foursome after many of the tracks on the album had already been cut. The original band was a trio comprised of myself on drums and lead vocals, Tim Doyle on Hammond B-3, and Richie Moore on guitar. We went by the name of "The Sun Trio".

We played alot of "Meat Marketn Bars" in order to pay for the studio time and worked day jobs as well. I worked the high timber industry as a logger and fire fighter. Tim worked in construction, and Richie (the smart one in retrospect) drove a liquor delivery truck. We had a dream...to cut an album and hit the big time...and we damned near did it!! We were totally committed to the project!! It was our dream...the only thing we thought of day and night. We were fortunate in that a couple of guys named Mike Carter and Russ Gorsline, two great recording engineers, also got caught up in the energy of the project.

They fronted us alot of studio time, and when we couldn't pay at times, they shuffled alot of paper around so the studio's owners didn't see the bills. We wrote and recorded some of the songs on the studio floor, and others took more planning and time (obviously the cuts with strings, horns, etc.).After laboring for two long years, we finally decided that we had enough to show the record companies. SO...The big plunge...broke and owing studios, I sold my Honda 305 Scrambler and bought a one-way ticket to Hollywood.

Many hours pounding the pavement and dealing with rejection....Until I met a man by accident in an elevator in the Sunset Vine Towers. Serendipity! The man turned out to be one of Hollywood's hottest arrangers at the time. After a few beers (quite a few) he took me down to the third floor and introduced me to executives from MGM/QUAD Records and we played the tape...Magic...a deal was struck immediately,  the studio bills were paid off, and we added Bruce Bye on bass making the final composite of Douglas Fir.

MGM released a single titled "Smokey Joe's" which received a great deal of airplay, and we toured briefly before the label folded. That's showbiz, folks. But hey...we had a great time making these tracks, playing the 60's bars and Groovin'. And By God, we sold the album even if we didn't get the big hit. Thanks for listening in!!
by Douglas A. Snider,  Hendersonville, Tennessee

Tracks
1. Hard Heartsingin (D. T. Jay, D. A. Snider) - 4:23
2. Jersey Thursday (Donovan P. Leitch) - 2:18
3. I Didn't Try (D.T. Jay, R.L. Moore, D.A. Snider) - 3:40
4. Early In The Morning Rain (Jay, Moore, Snider) - 3:51
5. New Orleans Queen (Snider, Bye, Fetsch, Gorsline) - 3:17
6. Moratorium Waltz (Douglas A. Snider) - 3:05
7. Smokey Joe's (Bye/Fetsch, Moore, Snider) - 2:19
8. Comin' Back Home (Douglas A. Snider) - 3:52
9. Tom's Song (Fetsch, Ford, Snider) - 3:01
10.21 Years (Moore, Snider) - 2:54

Douglas Fir
*Richie Moore - Guitar
*Tim Doyle - Keyboards
*Douglas A. Snider - Drums, Vocals
*Bruce Bye - Bass

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Paul Kossoff - Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit / Back Street Crawler / The Band Plays On / 2nd Street (1972/73/75/76 uk, superb guitar work, four albums, 2005 double disc edition)

Throughout the years, rock music has been littered with talented musicians whose lives were cut short due to drug-related deaths. Free/Back Street Crawler guitarist Paul Kossoff was one such casualty. Kossoff was born in London, England, on September 14, 1950, and early on studied classical guitar (before giving up on the instrument by his teenaged years). But upon discovering the British blues-rock movement of the '60s, Kossoff's interest in guitar perked up once again, especially after catching a John Mayall's Bluesbreakers live show with Eric Clapton.

Kossoff soon purchased an electric guitar (a vintage Gibson Les Paul, which eventually become his trademark guitar) and began playing in local bands. Through one such band, Black Cat Bones, Kossoff became good friends with their drummer, Simon Kirke, who would serve a prominent part in Kossoff's musical future. Eventually feeling that the band had reached its zenith, the band broke up after the Black Cat Bones backed bluesman Champion Jack Dupree on a song called "When You Feel the Feeling."

Kossoff and Kirke set out to form another group, hooking up with vocalist Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser, the quartet decided to go by the name Free (which was supposedly christened by British blues icon Alexis Korner). Just as the new band signed a deal with Island/A&M Records, Kossoff had fully blossomed into an outstanding guitarist, renowned for his fluid, slow, and melodic leads and bluesy riffs. Free issued a pair of albums in the late '60s that went largely unnoticed -- 1968's Tons of Sobs and 1969's self-titled release -- as Kossoff grew slightly disillusioned by the group's lack of commercial progress and tried out for guitar openings in such groups as the Rolling Stones and Jethro Tull.

But big-time success would prove to be just around the corner for Free as their 1970 release Fire and Water spawned the massive hit single (and eventual classic rock standard) "All Right Now" and helped secure the group a spot at the esteemed 1970 Isle of Wight Festival (which also included performances by the Who and Sly & the Family Stone, as well as one of the final performances ever by both Jimi Hendrix and the Doors).

But, this would prove to be Free's commercial apex as after one more release, 1971's underappreciated Highway, the group brokeup. In the wake of their split, Free's record label issued the concert set Free Live, while its members indulged in other projects. Both Kirke and Kossoff decided to stay together, forming the short-lived Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit, along with bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, issuing a lone self-titled release the same year. To the delight of fans, Free's split was short-lived as the quartet reunited in 1972, offering a strong "comeback" album, Free at Last. But behind the scenes, things were in disarray:

Kossoff, by this time, had developed a dangerous drug dependency, which led to Fraser's exit from the band. With Yamauchi taking Fraser's place in the lineup (and Bundrick on board for good measure), the new lineup of Free attempted to record a sixth studio album, but due to his problems, Kossoff's input was minimal (with Rodgers and another guitarist subbing in for Kossoff). When Free supported the resulting album, 1973's Heartbreaker, with a tour, Kossoff was replaced with Wendell Richardson and upon the tour's completion, Free split up once more, but this time for good (as both Rodgers and Kirke would go on to form Bad Company).

The same year as Free's swan song, Kossoff was able to pull himself together long enough to record a solo album, Back Street Crawler, which surprisingly featured contributions from his former Free bandmates (as well as Yes drummer Alan White). Happy with the results, Kossoff decided to form a full-time solo outfit, named after the title of his solo debut.

In addition to Kossoff, Back Street Crawler featured singer Terry Wilson-Slesser, keyboard player Mike Montgomery, bassist Terry Wilson, and drummer Tony Braunagel and the lineup signed on with Atlantic Records to issue a total of two releases -- 1975's The Band Plays On and 1976's Second Street. But Kossoff's health kept worsening; while in a London drug rehab in 1975, Kossoff narrowly escaped death when his heart stopped beating and he had to be revived. Undeterred, Kossoff continued on his destructive path and on March 19, 1976, Kossoff died from a drug-induced heart attack while on a plane flight from Los Angeles to New York at the age of 25.

In the wake of his tragic death, a 16-track career retrospective of Kossoff's, titled Koss (after his nickname), was issued in 1977. Subsequently, several British Kossoff releases were issued in the '80s on the Street Tunes label: 1981's The Hunter, 1982's Leaves in the Wind, 1983's Mr. Big, and 1984's Croydon June 15th, 1975. The late '90s saw a renewed interest in Kossoff and another career retrospective was issued, 1997's 14-track Blue Blue Soul, as well as five-disc Free box set Songs of Yesterday, and a Free biography entitled Heavy Load -- The Story of Free.

by Greg Prato

Tracks
Disc 1
- 1975 The Band Plays On
1. Hoo Doo Woman (Braunagel, Kossoff, Montgomery, Slesser, Wilson) - 4:18
2. New York, New York (Montgomery) - 4:40
3. Stealing My Way (Kossoff, Montgomery) - 4:22
4. Survivor (Montgomery) - 3:36
5. It's A Long Way Down To The Top (Montgomery) - 5:59
6. All The Girls Are Crazy (Braunagel) - 3:34
7. Jason Blue (Montgomery) - 4:57
8. Train Song (Braunagel, T. Wilson) - 4:36
9. Rock & Roll Junkie (Montgomery) - 3:18
10.The Band Plays On (T. Wilson) - 5:00
1973 Back Street Crawler
11.Tuesday Morning (Kossoff) - 16:50
12.I'm Ready (Roden, Roussel ) - 2:20
13.Time Away (Kossoff, Martyn) - 5:40
14.Molten Gold (Kossoff) - 6:48
15.Back Street Crawler (Don't Need You No More) (Kossoff) - 4:11

Tracks
Disc 2 
- 1976 2nd Street 
1. Selfish Lover - 3:26
2. Blue Soul - 3:46
3. Stop Doing What You're Doing - 3:26
4. Raging River - 3:16
5. Some Kind of Happy - 5:00
6. Sweet, Sweet Beauty - 3:14
7. Just For You - 6:18
8. On Your Life - 3:54
9. Leaves In The Wind - 5:12
- 1972 Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit
10.Blue Grass (Bundrick) - 5:10
11.Sammy's Alright (Bundrick) - 4:08
12.Anna (Kirke) - 3:43
13.Just for the Box (Kossoff) - 3:33
14.Hold On (Kirke, Kossoff) - 5:26
15.Fool's Life (Bundrick) - 4:29
16.Yellow House (Bundrick) - 3:26
17.Dying Fire (Kirke) - 4:31
18.I'm on the Run (Bundrick) - 4:38
19.Colours (Elliott Burgess, Kossoff) - 4:47

Musicians
 - 1972 Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit
*Paul Kossoff - Guitars
*John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Electric Piano, Mellotron, Piano, Organ, Vocals
*Tetsu Yamauchi - Bass
*Simon Kirke - Drums, Vocals
*B.J. Cole - Steel Guitar

 - 1973 Back Street Crawler
*Paul Kossoff - Lead Guitar
*Trevor Burton - Bass Guitar
*Alan White - Drums
*Rabbit – Keyboards
*Alan Spencer - Bass Guitar
*Jean Roussel - Keyboards
*Jess Roden - Vocals
*Tetsu Yamauchi - Bass Guitar
*Simon Kirke - Drums
*John Martyn - Guitar
*Paul Rodgers - Vocals
*Andy Fraser - Bass Guitar
*Conrad Isidore - Drums
*Clive Chaman - Bass Guitar

- 1975 The Band Plays On
*Paul Kossoff - Guitar
*Terry Wilson Slesser - Vocals
*Terry Wilson - Guitar, Bass Guitar
*Tony Braunagel - Drums
*Mike Montgomery - Keyboards, Vocals
*Pete Van - Baritone Saxophone
*Eddie Quansah - Trumpet, Flugel Horn
*George Lee - Flutes, Tenor, Soprano Saxophones

- 1976 2nd Street
*Terry Wilson Slesser - Lead Vocals
*Paul Kossoff - Lead Guitar
*Terry Wilson - Bass, Acoustic, Electric Guitars
*John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Keyboard, Vocals
*Tony Braunagel - Drums, Vocals

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