The late ‘60s, early ‘70s were such a creative period, it is sad to realize how many albums got shelved and passed unnoticed and given no chance. This album had a press of only three copies.
When Keith Darcy from Finderskeepers, had discovered the progfunky group Wool, he also checked out other things on which John Hill participated, he was amazed to find out how one movie track from ‘Riders of the Mark’ (1967) sounded like an exact sonic blueprint for Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”, or how beautifully he arranged this private album from Susan Christie.
When I first heard this album, I was firstly reminded of the delicate arrangements of some of The Mamas and The Papas, as imagined as some solo release from a similar group. Not only the arrangements are tight and effective, well thought over and well produced with band arrangements and orchestral touches, but the songs are well chosen and attractive, Susan Christie has also great vocal qualities, a strong combination that deserves to be heard, and that makes repeated listens a real pleasure. “Rainy Day” has some beautiful dark melancholy in the voice and lyrics, while through the music this is uplifted to the acceptable human sweetness of what makes such feeling an ‘experience’ (so not bringing things down, but lifting it into musical pleasantness).
Everywhere the arrangements are perfect, with the right emotionality made stronger by drums or rock added to the more lush orchestrations, (mixed with acoustic guitars,..)… Just now and then associations with a theatrical/filmic emotionality are made possible, as if highlighting a Morricone accompanied movie…and there’s also one real western song, “Ghost Riders in the Sky”, again into the folk-poprock context.
In the middle there’s also one longer track of over 9 minutes called “Yesterday, where’s my mind?”, with a more experimental introduction, in an ESP-LP LSD fashion, with trance spoken word, at first just rhythmically accompanied, with a bit of organ, before the narrator/singer and the organ goes a little bit crazy, as a free-er introduction that still leads to another real song.
Tracks
1. Rainy Day - 3:09
2. Paint A Lady - 3:22
3. For The Love Of A Soldier (John M. Hill) - 3:55
4. Ghost Riders In The Sky (Stan Jones) - 3:26
5. Yesterday, Where's My Mind? (John Reid) - 9:04
6. Echo In Your Mind - 3:17
7. When Love Comes (J. Hill, Beatrice Hill, Susan Hill) - 2:18
8. No One Can Hear You Cry (B. Hill, J. Hill) - 2:21
Songs written by Billy Soden except where else stated.
All the music created by the band for this album took place in and around the Skydog house in Sandy Springs, Georgia between the summer 1973 and the winter 1974. I think it was not the playing but the living with the band that tells the best story. Michael Sweat and I met at Dekalb Junior College in the fall of 1972. Michael introduced me to Gary and the three of us got together at my parent’s house for some jam sessions with my brother Johnny who was still going to high school at that time. Jimi came along later. It did not take long for us to get moved out of the neighborhoods.
Michael’s parents put up with us for as while too. Leasing that spooky 50-year old house, which was comfortably away from traffic on about 4 acres of property, was the catalyst for some great music and crazy times. And without the Skydog house there could not have been a band. We were all coming of age in the ‘70’s and the house gave us a common bond. Michael was our carpenter. It was his idea to build a stage out in the garage.
I remember the clean up, and discovering the swarm of termites which threatened to eat the entire house. I sat there with a plumber’s torch at the steps from the garage to the screened in breezeway that connected the main house and incinerated them as they made their way out to the pile of garage and junk. That great room turned out to be the room where all this music was created and recorded. Everyone labored pretty hard to get the house livable. And I don’t think anyone worked harder than Gary, Michael and Jimi. Gary he was the skyman, I would say he was the spirit of the group, it was Gary who would come up with some cool phrases like innocent eyed-lady or too much man, let’s call it a night.
When Gary started the groove it was easy to follow. I think of Jimi as the peacemaker, he was rock solid as a player and person, when creative differences polarized Michael and me, it was Jimi that would get us into focus, but the hardest thing for us to do was get thing on tape, we just were not disciplined enough to finish what we started before moving onto something else, it use to drive the recording engineers bonkers.
Johnny was always mister enthusiasm. When Johnny was in, the party was on, and his drumming was great, man those chops still stand up with the best, Johnny made the music really move and he played so hard, he is a true Wildman. To this day I don’t think I have ever played with a better drummer, I don’t think the guys would mind me talking credits for the words and melodies, just about all of them. I was pouring out the music in those days, but what made the band’s music interesting to a lot of folks were the changes and 2 meter changes in the middle eight.
All of that experimentation with the music and partying to attract a lot of friends and visitors. One of our frequent friends was a DJ from WRAS College Radio, I think his name was Clay, or CT as he was called later. He brought in students and semi pros with sound gear and recording equipment and within a few months the living room had more recording equipment than furniture. But nothing in the kitchen, the girls and Jimi would see to that, we had audio snakes and cables hung from the ceilings from the breezeway, through the kitchen and even back to bedrooms.
So thing got a little crowed, it was all great fun unless you were trying to sleep, we got a few more residents in a short time which when we were being pushed by Clay to get it on tape, made it even harder to work. And we had a few run-ins with the local police. We were even subject to a full-scale swat team raid, they came in with machine guns drawn and gas mask while we were recording, we freaked out for a while about that, but they did not find any drugs or guns or anything like that so nothing really came of it. Except for two of the swat team members started coming by to listen, a positive effect of this was it scared off some of our temporary residents and we were able to get things on tape.
In the winter of ’74 the band was basically over, several things brought this about, first the quality of the sound of the album was very poor, we were so discouraged. The tapes were so much better. To this day I still don’t understand what happened, also we lost our lease. The landlord had enough which was too bad really, we made a lot of improvements to the house and property, we had cleaned up, planed a flower garden, a veggie garden painted repaired, fixed plumbing and electrical. So no house no Skydog.
by Tommy Gordon Landsahw
Tracks
1. Luck In Your Life - 10:40
2. North Georgia Carnival Blues - 5:37
3. Ali Sahd (T. Landsahw, M. Sweat) - 7:02
4. Just Want To Make You Happy (T. Landsahw) - 9:46
5. Innocent-Eyed Lady - 12:37
6. Israeli-Arabic Sun - 5:55
7. Ali Sahd (Alt. Version) (T. Landsahw) - 6:32
8. Just Want To Make You Happy (Alt. Version) (T. Landsahw, M. Sweat) - 8:58
9. The Mood Is On (Bonus Track) - 6:03
All songs written by Skydog except where indicated.
Sweet Marie was formed in late 1969 amidst the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the wild music scene of Hollywood. Twentyeight year old Prince Teddy, a producer at Capitol Records and a songwnter.'musician. had a vision tor a rock-n-roll trio with rich harmonies and psychedelic undertones
He approached Sonny Lathrop, a 25 year ok) guitarist and recording musician who was known around the hip Hollywood night dubs, about his idea and together they recruited Willy Bims on drums Bims. 32, had been the drummer for the songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and played on the recordings of many of their hits from the 1 960s and 70s including most of the recordings by the Monkees.
The group began performing after-hours gigs in Hollywood and soon got a multi-month contract to be the house band at the famous Studio City nightclub The Point After Their stay at The Point After was so successful that the owners of the nightclub ottered Sweet Marie a contract to perform at The Point After club in Waikiki. Hawaii on the island of Oahu.
Sweet Mane began recording their first album Sweet Marie 1 not long after arriving in Hawaii With the release of this debut album on Yardbird Records in mid 1970 came their number 1 hit "Remember Mary" which topped the charts in Hawaii and made waves across the charts in the mainland states Quickly the group signed a bigger deal with Liberty Records - one of the biggest labels of the period owned by United Artists – and left Hawaii to go on the road.
In 71 the group returned to Hawaii, this time a nationally known band with a hit. and became the house band at Captain Nemo's -a club built on the movie set of 20 Thousand Leagues Under The Sea Soon after, the band began recording their follow-up album Stuck In Paradise and in early 1972 purchased The Point After night club and reopened it as Sweet Marie's Their nightclub - situated in the heart of the International Market Place on Oahu - became the most popular and successful club in Hawaii with packed houses every night of the week all wanting to get a glimpse of the band that had made the place a hit.
The sophomore album Stuck In Paradise soon shot straight up the charts with the song "Stella s Candy Store" and became the biggest hit for the band, but this time internationally. The band couldn't leaves their homes on Hawaii without being mobbed by crowds wanting pictures and asking for autographs while their songs played constantly on the radio.
They were making appearances or TV and writing songs for commercials and played the Crater Festival in Hawaii with Carlos Santana and did shows with other famous groups such as the Rascals In early 1973. Sweet Marie finished recording its 3rd album - which would never be released - and in late 1973 the band split up over personal and professional differences.
After a year and a half of owning the most successful nightclub Oahu had ever seen, they closed the doors and parted ways. Since the break-up, each of the members has continued performing and writing music till this day.
Tracks
1. Stuck In Paradise (S. Lathrop, B Lewis, D. Bennett) - 3:50
2. It Ain't Easy (D. Bennett) - 3:01
3. My Little Angel (S. Lathrop, D. Bennett) - 2:11
4. Hortense The Hippie (D. Bennett) - 538
5. Do Do (Find Me A Way) (D. Bennett) - 3:41
6. Stella's Candy Store (D. Bennett) - 4:01
7. I Got That Feelin (S. Lathrop) - 2:54
8. Another Feelin' (S. Lathrop, B. Lewis, D.. Bennett) - 2:53
9. I Want Your Woman (D. Bennett) - 3:17
10.Drum Solo (Willy Bims) - 2:28
11.Changes (Phil Ochs) - 3:55
Crow formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. in August, 1967. Originally known as the "South 40", they were former members of the Rave-Ons and the Jokers Wild. The original band members were Dave Wagner (vocals), Larry Wiegand (bass/vocals), Dick Wiegand (guitar), Dave (Kink) Middlemist (Hammond organ/vocals) and Harry Nehls (drums/vocals). They released the "South 40 Live at Someplace Else" LP in 1968.
In 1969 they added Denny Craswell (Castaways) on drums/vocals, changed their band name to Crow, and released the album "Crow Music" on the Amaret label. They had a number of Top-40 hits from 1969 to 1972, including "Evil Woman", "Slow Down", "(Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie) On the King of Rock n' Roll" and "Cottage Cheese" among others.
They disbanded in 1972 but reformed again in 1988. They continue to play select concerts all over the United States and have released numerous CD's. All the members have won Minnesota Music Awards for their own individual instruments. In 2005 they were inducted into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame and in 2009, the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Hall of Fame.
Tracks
1. Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me) (L. Wiegand, R. Weigand, D. Waggoner) - 3:10
2. White Eyes (L. Wiegand, R. Weigand) - 4:13
3. Thoughts (D. Waggoner) - 4:48
4. Da Da Song (D. Middlemist) - 3:19
5. Busy Day (L. Wiegand) - 2:30
6. Time To Make A Turn (L. Wiegand) - 2:47
7. Rollin' (R. Weigand, D. Waggoner) - 3:20
8. Listen To The Bop (L. Wiegand, R. Weigand, D. Waggoner) - 3:07
9. Gonna Leave A Mark (L. Wiegand) - 2:53
10.Sleepy Woman (L. Wiegand) - 9:53
The Crow
*David Wagner - Lead Vocals
*Dick Wiegand - Lead Guitars
*L. Wiegand - Bass
*Kink Middlemist - Keyboards
*Denny Craswell - Drums
With an album and a hit single both selling well, the band changed its base of operations temporarily, moving part and parcel to Chicago in the summer of 1969. There the guys accepted every job they could find. Monaco and Brantseg soon obliged the five by sending them on a major concert circuit to plug their released material. The band headlined the fourth annual Denver Teenage Fair ("Pop Expo '69"), a major outdoor festival in Olympia, Washington called Sky River, and hit a certain peak for itself by appearing in concert with Janis Joplin in November. Spirits ran high and national fame seemed assured.
Crow continued to soar throughout 1970, a year in which the band grossed in excess of $200,000- a far cry from the $3000 a man it made in its days as South 40. By May 1970, their second album Crow by Crow (Amaret ST 5006) had been released and included superb songs, particularly "Cottage Cheese," which included some of the old interplay between bass and drums the group had found so successful in the past. "Slow Down," and "Gone Gone Gone" were also included which were a couple of old tunes penned by Larry Williams and the Everly Brothers, respectively. We were told the second album basically paid for itself, but not much more than that," said Larry, "Traut and Golden put up all the money for the records, putting themselves on the hook. Once they got that back, they were supposed to give us what was left over. Funny-there never seemed to be anything left over. I don't know how much money was ever made or lost, to this day. Maybe they didn't recoup their money. I highly doubt it though, with sales in excess of a million-and-a-half records on both 45s and albums."
Following the success of "Evil Woman," two singles were released in 1970: "Cottage Cheese" and "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King OF Rock And Roll," both of which managed to get no higher than the 50s on Billboard's magic monitor of single hits (#56 and #52 respectively). By the dawn of 1971, things had changed for Crow. The singles were still coming out, but they weren't making the charts, despite the release of their third album Mosaic (Amaret ST 5009) which included some interesting material. It contained the group's recent single, "King Of Rock And Roll," another old rock & roll number as well as "Easy Street," a jazz flavored song, and "I Need Love" which featured Middlemist and L. Wiegand's weird vocal harmonies, in a call and response format.
Between late 1969 and early 1971, the list of performers that Crow either opened for, or actually headlined with, read like a who's who list of rock stars of the day. Crow shared the bill with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Jefferson Airplane, Three Dog Night, Steve Miller Band, Bo Diddley, Steppenwolf, Eric Burdon & War, Janis Joplin (three separate times) and Iron Butterfly to name a few. They also played at some of the most prestigious clubs and concert halls around, including the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles, both Fillmore's East and West, Ungano's, et al.
Tracks
1. I Stand To Blame (D. Waggoner, R. Wiegand) - 2:59
2. Colors (L. Wiegand) - 3:37
3. Smokey Joe (L. Wiegand) - 5:04
4. Medley - 8:15
.a.Death Down To Your Soul (L. Wiegand)
.b.Get Yourself A Number (L. Wiegand)
.c.Annie Fannie (L. Wiegand)
.d.The Last Prayer (L. Wiegand)
5. Slow Down (L. Williams) - 3:30
6. Heading North (L. Wiegand) - 4:52
7. Cottage Cheese (D. Waggoner, D. Craswell, L. Wiegand) - 3:21
8. Gone, Gone, Gone (Phil And Don Everly) - 7:54
Breakthru were a powerful live act who never managed to "break through" into the record charts despite a talented and charismatic line-up.
Breakthru never managed to have an album released of their own which was unfortunate as their only record was a solitary single "Ice Cream Tree" that has since appeared on various 1960s compilations. The group were never happy with the single as it was not a good representation of their "sound", and particularly as the song was not composed by the band themselves.
All the group members were actively involved in song writing with some of this backlog occasionally committed to tape whenever time and money would permit. Now, decades later, the previously un-released recordings they made have been assembled into the one and only Breakthru album titled "Adventures Highway". This collection the band members say, represents how they would like the group to be best remembered.
"Adventures Highway" was assembled from a combination of unreleased-demos, BBC sessions, and surviving recordings from the results of various excursions into the studio by the group between 1967 and 1970. Side one kicks off with the high-energy group-composed Believe It from 1970. You can just imagine the band going all out on this one with its high-energy blues-driven attack.
Here Comes The End from 1967 is a lot more psychedelic sounding with abundant echo effects but still very powerful. The bluesy cover of Willie Dixon's Spoonful really gives an indication of what Breakthru were all about. Gary Aflalo's blues-harmonica playing on this one is exceptional against a backdrop of thundering hammond organ and distorted guitars. If you really hate your neighbours then this is the one to play loud!
Love Is Strange starts out with some crashing guitars/bass/drums highly reminiscent of The Beatles Rain. This one is supposedly based on the Everly Brother's version of the song and features both Gary Aflalo and Keith Abingdon doing a good job harmonizing on the vocals.
This is followed by the album's title track Adventures Highway from 1968 and what a number it is too! Menacing hammond organ joined by pounding drums and guitar build into a climax of sheer volume that soon becomes a backdrop for spaced-out lyrics; Oh let's get transmitted, there's no planet that's too far. We'll see Jupiter and Mars, we'll see strange and weird sights on our space bound trip tonight... (make of it what you will).
The melodic and hypnotic I Have A Dream composed by Geoff Garratley, reaches the height of social consciousness to include actual recorded excerpts from Martin Luther King's famous speech. Interestingly, this track was left off the vinyl version of the Breakthru album. Bob Booth's Growing Older is similarly laid-back but does include some wild hammond fingering towards the end. Troubleshoot co-written by Keith Abingdon and Richard Thomas is an excellent psychedelic rampage with lyrics to match. It has some great wah-wah guitar effects similar to what Roy Wood was doing at the time on many of The Move's records.
We then go right into The Story Of Peer Gynt with its opening riff taken directly from Hall Of The Mountain King (almost seems like a tradition amongst Brum bands to pay tribute to classical music at some time or another). This rocking track was considered for single release at the time but for some reason it never happened. A pity as it would surely have made a good follow up to Ice Cream Tree.
The remaining tracks on the album were recorded in 1970 at London's Piccadilly studios. Although the group were on the verge of splitting by this time, they recorded (ironically) what are regarded as some of their best tracks. Alice Dropped Out from these sessions, would have made a fine single. As one of several Breakthru tracks co-composed by Keith Abingdon and Richard Thomas, this one is a driving blues-rock number with guitars very much at the forefront and the trademark hammond absent. This would have been a powerful one when performed by the band live.
It is followed on the album by Happiness which shows the band could still be tuneful in a commercial direction when they wanted to. Shake Off That Lead is another such radio-friendly track that bounces along with a catchy keyboard-driven melody.
The final track on the Breakthru album is titled Sailor Song. A wonderfully harmonious partnership of keyboard and guitar, and as the title suggests, the lyrics tell of a seafaring character who would rather spend his life out on the ocean rather than be troubled by the problems experienced by those on land. Maybe it's meant as an expression of ultimate freedom (or freedom of expression) that seems to run through the groups music from start to finish on these collected tracks that make up the Breakthru album.
The Circle Records "Breakthru" album package serves as a fine tribute to one of the West Midlands great performing groups of the late 1960s. Breakthru were one of those bands who were at the leading edge of the pop music revolution at a time when innovation and the growth of new musical ideas was reaching its peak during the 1960s. "Adventures Highway" fulfills a dream they had back then and this time you can join them on their journey.
Breakthru
*Keith (Smoke) Abingdon - Guitar
*Gary Aflalo - Lead Vocal
*Bobby Booth - Bass Guitar (Left in 1968)
*Geoff (Gladys) Garratley - Hammond Organ (Left in 1968)
*Jim Leyland - Drums (Left in 1969)
*Frank Farrell - Bass Guitar (Joined in 1968, Multi-talented Frank played bass for Supertramp and later worked with Leo Sayer co-writing his no1 hit ‘Moonlighting’)
*Richard (Plug) Thomas - Drums (Joined in 1968)
*Bill Hunt - Hammond Organ (Joined In 1969, later joined 1st ELO line up and later Wizzard)
Excellent compilation in two discs, released along with Pop and Rock magazine ( the most long-standing Greek monthly music magazine) A melt of latin psychedelic and jazz rock featuring some valuable names like Gerald Wilson, Santana, Madrill among others.
From 1962's latin jazzy tune "Viva Tirado" and a 1966 version of "Evil Ways" to an early nineties live rendition of "Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen" by Santana (although it looks to me like an '80's version, even if it's credited as 1993). Great digi pack covers in a vinyl feel completes the package.
This self-titled album by The Growing Concern curiously first saw the light of day in 1969 on Bob Shad's Mainstream label (Mainstream S/6108), an imprint more familiar to jazz and blues fans than devotees of psych/pop. Perhaps Shad thought he was going to repeat his commercial triumph with The Growing Concern.
However, the band was a different proposition altogether with its emphasis on beautiful vocal harmonies and fantastic guitar and organ work rather than the Joplin-dominated R'n'B of Big Brother, and consequently Shad only allowed the group into the studio on a single occasion, dropping them from the label after this, their eponymous debut. The album, which is brilliantly recorded, is of a consistently high musical quality and the band surely deserved a better fate than the obscurity that Shad's indifference consigned them to."
Tracks
1. Hard Hard Year (L. Ramsford) - 4:25
2. Edge Of Time (Dan Passaglia) - 4:28
3. Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled (John Pedley, Ralph Toms) - 2:44
4. A Boy I Once Knew Well (John Pedley, Ralph Toms) - 4:24
5. All I Really Want (Dan Passaglia) - 2:20
6. Mister You're A Better Man Than I (M. Hugg) - 4:50
7. What Kind Of Life (Dan Passaglia) - 2:58
8. Other Side Of Life (F. Neil) - 4:57
9. I Know A Girl (Dan Passaglia) - 2:36
10.Sit Down I Think I Love You (S. Stills) - 2:24
The seeds of High Treason started at Temple University in Philadelphia, circa 1967. Edgar Koshatka started jamming with an assortment of "alternative music types" that were fairly commonplace in those days of sit-ins, protests, and general mayhem. Edgar was a jazz guy-at heart and a by-then-halfhearted classical guy as a music major.
Edgar always kept half-an-ear cocked to some of the innovative new rock radio stations springing up, and was completely "blown-away" (hey, it was the sixties, right?) when the rich textures, modal harmony, and sonic power of the Jefferson Airplane, circa "After Bathing At Baxters". In mid-'68 or so,, Edgar met Marcie Rauer and Saul Goodman, and many musical ideas began to be exchanged.
The eclectic, multi-style musical mix that was to be the band's trademark began to emerge, based around the writing of Edgar and the instrumental and vocal contributions of all. Joe Cleary, a successful top-40 type who had seen "the light" came aboard, and various bass players and drummers came and went with regularity (a problem that was to plague the band; there are also more than one-of-each on the album). The instrumental and vocal nucleus of Edgar, Marcie, Saul, and Joe remained constant, however.
By late '68, the band had become a full-fledged effort, with a manager, a bunch of equipment, roadies, a band house, and lots of record company inquiries. Along with that came many gigs at scores of PA, NY, NJ, DE, and occasionally furtherafield concert halls, coffee houses, and especially at the symbolic late 60's venues that would later be dubbed "psychedelic garages". These, of course, were the arch typical social and music centers of the time for the alternative culture that had wafted from west coast to east.
The band finally signed a record deal in 1969 with, of all things, a label that was best known for recordings of children books (American Flag rolling papers on the front cover must have been an eyeopener for them!) The group spent a good part of 1969 in New York, recording the album, which was produced by Howard Massler, son of the record company founder and owner. By the early 70's, the band found itself with a record out, a hefty spate of gigs like the Electric Factory, Cafe Au Go Go, Electric Circus, and even The Filmore East (back of booklet).
However, simultaneously, some budding strife along with the realization that their record company didn't have much of a promotional clue in the rock-music-biz, began to take its toll. The band still couldn't lasso the perfect rhythm section (players who understood classical, bop, country, acid, modal/Trane, Miles, and whatever else might come along). Saul, the longtime guitar stalwart, along with Ron, the band's longestlived drummer, began drifting further and further into the Shri Chinmoy/Mahavishnu Orchestra cult, following them around more and more, not exactly a shot in the arm for the High Treason gig or rehearsal commitment.
Edgar went back to school to finish his last few hours for a music degree. Marcy went back to school too, and Joe, always the "straight guy", went back to work. And the infamous band-house fell victim of a sale to a well-known bug and pest eradication service for an office. The last High Treason incarnation, circa '71-73, featured NO guitar (how's that for a rock and roll statement), and just four members-Edgar, Marcy, bassist Terry Morrissey, and drummer Richard Ormsbee. Everybody thought that was the really accessible version of the group, with funky, melodic songs (again, mostly penned by Edgar) and a much less manicdepressive group fit.
They continued playing a lot of mostly local gigs, and rehearsed in a large center-city rehearsal hall. But, the halycon days were over, the rolling papers were all used up, and times were a " changin'" once again. The Nixon recession was in full bloom, and by 1973, record companies weren't in the mood to do much signing. A burglary of just about all the band's equipment in March of 1973 effectively ended High Treason for good.
by Edgar Koshatka Philadelphia, January, 2001
Tracks
1. Leo - 4:37
2. Maybe, Maybe - 8:59
3. Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan) - 5:14
4. Circadian Rhythm - 2:01
5. The Witch - 4:41
6. Fallin' Back - 12:24
All songs by Edgar Koshatka except where noted.
The title of this Country Joe recording is at best a bit deceptive. It was actually recorded at Strawberry Studios in the town Herouville about 50 KM NE of Paris. The stories behind the reason for the recording abound, but the simplest explanation can be easiest. Joe had this large group together and he wanted to record it. In September of 1972 Joe was booked at the prestigious 'Fete De L'Humanite", an annual open air fair cum festival that featured both French folk performers and international artists.
Organized by the French newspaper L'Humanite, the fair took place on the last weekend of the traditional French August holiday month. It's held in Paris and attracts between 300,000 and 500,000 people on the 2 day run. The 1972 headliners were Country Joe followed by the Who. As an attempt to kill two birds with one stone we tried to record the show. It was a dismal failure as there was a strange hum evident throughout the entire performance. As Joe had agreed to do three television shows in Paris, we decided to record the band in the interim.
Strawberry Studios were recommended by the Vanguard's French licensee and we set out to do this. A brief note on the Studio. It was located in an old Chateau; self contained it provided three meals a day, and could accomodate at least two bands and crews. Of course in those days crews were only one or two people. Joe's band in France at that time consisted of Anna Rizzo (from Grootna) and David Getz (from Big Brother and the Holding Company) on drums, Sebastian on Conga, Peter Albin (also from Big Brother) on Bass, Phil Marsh on guitar and Dorothy Moskovitz on Piano, (founder of the United States of America) & Tuki Bailey on various reeds.
Tucki later played in a couple of Sylvester's bands, and wrote music for some very classy soft core movies (along with Michael Bloomfield). As can be expected this was a difficult bunch to keep entertained. As a matter of efficiency we brought Sam Charters (who had produced most of the Fish records for Vanguard) down from Sweden and for the duration along with his wife Anne (the renowned biographer of Kerouac and compiler of the recent "letters" and the "Portable Beat Readers") tried more or less to keep order. One must also imagine the scene.
In one wing of the Chateau was Joe and his band - very Berkeley - the only thing we have in common was the evening meal and the endless (losing on our part) games of "fussball" - the table soccer game popular in Europe). There had been some curious weirdness between Tull and the Fish, which I found out about much later. It turns out that when Beck canceled out of "Woodstock" his agency had pressured Michael Lang to hire lull instead. We never found out why he didn't, but the slot was filled by Country Joe and the Fish and Butterfield – leaving the possibility open for Joe's now legendary solo performance, lull wasn't very pleased about it even then, three years later.
When it was determined that most of the material was not salvageable (one tune was used, in the Best of Country Joe McDonald collection on Vanguard, I used "St. Tropez"-VCD 1 19/20). Joe recorded all of the songs that the group knew. Most of the recording was fairly odd, and when Joe got back to the Bay Area, he went into Different Fur Recording in San Francisco and recorded some more. All of the songs on this album were performed at one time or another by the entire larger band which at times included Barry Melton on lead guitar.
"Fantasy", had been released as a 45 in 1971 having been recorded by Joe in London, backed by the English group "Pretty Things". "Zombies In A House of Madness" written by Michael Beasley is a poem given to Joe while appearing at San Quentin Prison - Beasley has since disappeared, but performs sporadically from time to time.
This was one avant-garde band. During its brief life from 1972 to the fall of 1973, its obnoxious biting attitude; or as Joe puts it; "the trash can sounding drums and spoken sort - of sung lyrics filled with street language was just a bit too much for 1973". As he puts it, the audiences could not really get the concept behind "Sexist Pig" or "Coulene Anne". The fact that women were playing in the band and weren't just background singers was upsetting to many promoters. In one incident as described by Joe, while returning to the hall after dinner (in those days the promoter barely provided sodas and beer) the back stage guard insisted that "chicks had to have passes".
Though it was repeatedly explained to him that they were in the band, it took a front office person to get them in, narrowly avoiding Joe a trip to the local station for harassing the security personnel. All in all the band was ahead of its time. As with all cutting edge events, its relevance is always more historically important than commercial. All in all an interesting recording.
by Bill Belmont, Berkeley, May 1996
This is the last part of a four CD limited box set, released through Akarma label in 2002, it contains also a 36page Book with detailed informations about Country Joe McDonald and Lyrics from these specific albums.
Tracks
1. Fantasy (Joe McDonald) - 3:37
2. Movieola (Joe McDonald) - 2:51
3. I'm So Tired (Joe McDonald) - 4:53
4. Moving (Joe McDonald) - 3:04
5. I Don't Know Why (Joe McDonald) - 1:53
6. Zombies In A House Of Madness (Michael Beasley, Joe McDonald) - 1:39
7. Sexist Pig (Joe McDonald) - 3:50
8. Colorado Town (Barry Melton, Joe McDonald) - 3:09
Many music fans will know Peter Ivers as the writer of 'In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)', which he originally composed for David Lynch's classic film, Eraserhead. The song was later immortalised, of course, by fellow Bostonians, the Pixies.
Ivers may not be a household name, but during his short life he made an impact on many fronts. He was a musician, arranger, composer, screenwriter, catalyst, TV presenter, spotter of new talent, a black belt in karate and a yoga master. Talking to people who knew and worked with him even 24 years after his untimely death, the superlatives still come gushing forth: such epithets as 'perfect'; 'a totally unique and refreshing individual'; 'a legend in the making'; 'a genius in many fields' freely trip off the tongue about him.
Peter's first big music industry break came in 1969, when Epic Records signed him to record his debut solo LP, Knight of the Blue Communion, the first ever legitimate CD reissue of which is now released on Hux Records.
In addition to playing harmonica and providing backing vocals, Peter acted as arranger and composer, while his friend Tim Mayer provided all the lyrics. Ivers assembled a fascinating group of musicians to play on his record. On drums was Cleve Frank Pozar, with Richard Youngstein on contrabass, and Tony Ackerman on guitar. The horn section featured Steve Kowarsky on bassoon, Henry Schuman on oboe and Paul Balmuth on sax.
However, the icing on the cake was chanteuse Yolande Bavan, and the way in which Peter used her as lead vocalist on the album. Bavan was a singer and actress who was born in Sri Lanka and had started her professional career working as a vocalist with renowned pianist Graeme Bell. Later, she met and was befriended by the legendary singer Billie Holiday. Holiday took the young Bavan under her wing and in addition to mentoring Yolande, developed a close friendship with her. Subsequently, Yolande found her way to America where she replaced Annie Ross in the renowned jazz vocal trio, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.
On its original release in 1969, Knight of the Blue Communion drew comparisons with Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, with Yolanda appearing to be the conventional vocalist cast in what was often a sea of avant-garde madness, the music a blend of blues, rock & jazz. The LP was produced by the veteran US pop producer Sandy Linzer, who had written and produced the hit 'Let's Hang On To What We Got'.
Yolande left the band the following year and was replaced by Asha Puthli, a forward thinking, boundary breaking vocalist who'd trained in Indian classical singing and was a natural jazz improviser, whom the New York Times described as 'a sound like raga meeting Aretha Franklin'.
With Asha now on vocals, the Peter Ivers Band released their debut single in 1971, a cover of the Marvin Gaye number, 'Ain't That Peculiar', backed by the Ivers' original, 'Clarence O'Day'. Both titles, previously unavailable on CD, are included here as bonus tracks.
As Puthli recalls, the single 'received glowing reviews from all three major industry magazines, Billboard, Cashbox & Record World and briefly entered the Top 100 Singles Billboard charts'. Asha Puthli went on to sing on Ornette Coleman's Science Fiction album and won Downbeat poll award for best female jazz vocalist for her sterling contribution to that classic album.
This special 'digi-pack' format features a reproduction of the original LP sleeve. The accompanying 20 page CD booklet features extensive liner notes, including interviews with the featured singers and musicians, along with the original LP liner note by Peter Ivers, full lyrics to every track and rare photos.
Tracks
1. Cat Scratch Fever - 7:41
2. Water Curtain - 3:38
3. Dark Illumination - 4:16
4. Confession - 2:32
5. Travelling Lightly - 8:17
6. Showroom Model - 4:31
7. Tobacco - 2:20
8. Lord God Love - 5:04
9. Knight Of the Blue Communion - 2:50
10.Gentle Jesus (Smokey Robinson) - 9:00
11.Ain't That Peculiar - 2:58
12.Clarence O'Day - 2:31
Music by Peter Ivers, Lyrics by Timothy Mayer, unless as else stated.
Gary, Indiana is not a town known for being a rock 'n' roll hot spot, so Oscar and the Majestics' status as the best band in town in the mid-'60s might not seem like much, but the recordings they left behind suggest they could have moved to a number of bigger, cooler cities and still been close to the top of the heap.
Leader Oscar Hamod has a voice that capably fused soul and garage rock influences, his fierce, agile guitar work roared with energy and attitude, and his backing combo -- Robert Wheeler on rhythm guitar, Sam Hamod on bass, Vince Jacim on drums -- was a rock-solid rhythm section that could also deliver great harmonies.
Oscar and the Majestics cut a handful of fine tunes for Chicago's USA Records label, which were included on Sundazed Records' 2009 collection 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60's Garage & Psychedelia from USA and Destination Records; on No Chance, Baby!, Sundazed fills the gaps in the band's history by including all their USA releases, as well as the singles the band released on their own label, delivering everything they released in the decade.
This collection follows the Majestics as they evolved from R'n'B and blue-eyed soul into tougher rock 'n' roll material, ending with their proto-psychedelic cover of "House of the Rising Sun." Despite the presence of red-hot covers of "I Can't Explain" and "Soul Finger," originals dominate this collection, though you might not guess that on first listen; while Oscar and the Majestics were clearly a talented band, their songwriting was quite derivative, and "Why-O" bears a certain resemblance to "Stranded in the Jungle," "I Feel Good" favors "Til the End of the Day," "Fanny Brown" pretty much is "Farmer John," and "Come on Willie" could pass for a speeded-up "Hang on Sloopy" in dim light.
But if the band didn't have a gift for dreaming up great riffs, they could play the hell out of anything they approached, and No Chance, Baby! proves that Gary's finest were one of the great acts on the Midwest teen scene in the mid-'60s. If you dig pre-psych raunch played with fire and precision, this will earn a favored spot on your personal playlist.
by Mark Deming
Tracks
1. Got to Have Your Lovin’ (Oscar Hamod) - 2:35
2. Soulfinger (King, Jones, Cunningham, Cauley, Caldwell, Alexander) - 2:30
3. My Girl is Waiting (Oscar Hamod) - 2:23
4. Baby Under My Skin (Oscar Hamod) - 2:23
5. I Can’t Explain (Pete Townshend) - 2:12
6. Jackie Jackie (Oscar Hamod) - 2:12
7. Why-O or Jungle Beat (Oscar Hamod) - 2:31
8. No Chance Baby (Oscar Hamod) - 2:34
9. I Feel Good (Oscar Hamod, Sam Hamod) - 2:29
10. Come On Willie (Oscar Hamod) - 2:10
11. Top Eliminator (Oscar Hamod) - 2:01
12. Fanny Brown (Oscar Hamod) - 2:14
13. Dawn (R.C. Robinson) - 2:16
14. House of the Rising Sun 1969 (Traditional Arr. Oscar Hamod) - 2:39
Oscar And The Majestics
*Oscar Hamod - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals
*Sam Hamod - Bass, Vocals
*Robert Wheeler - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*Vince Jacin - Drums
The band was started mid 1969, under the name "Mask", as a vehicle for the members to play their original material which they had been writing while in other high school cover bands. All three members were already playing club gigs while still in school, but wanted to pursue their dream of writing all of their own music. By chance a homemade demo tape fell into the hands of J&S records, a small R&B record label that had been somewhat out of the scene for a few years.
After putting up some cash to help offset recording costs, they brought the band to NYC to record a true demo, and immediately started the process of signing them to a single album deal. A short time after the demo was completed, it was discovered that the name "Mask" had already been registered. The concept and original title for the album was Three in One, representing the three member's close musical ties (the original album jacket has the name "3 in 1 Records" printed on the spine, in error).
A fictional name for this imaginary person was needed. The name Pugsley Munion was created by the bands road crew late one night after a gig, in a local donut shop while getting dirty looks from a local cop named Munion. Pugsley came later by chance after seeing it on a street sign out side of NYC. The band put the two names together as a joke for a local gig, and the name stuck by popular demand. The band went to NYC to record the album in mid 1970. The band was booked for two days into Bell Sound Studios, one of NYC's first 8 Track Studios.
Because the band played live as an Organ, Bass Pedal, Guitar, Drum trio for most of the songs, it was thought that bass guitar would be added for the recording to get a better sound in the studio. As the songs were being recorded, bass parts were being experimented with, and were supposed to be replaced at a later session. At the end of the two day recording session rough mixes were prepared and the band was expecting to come back in to redo the base parts, some vocals and mix the project.
Much to the bands surprise the record company released the album as is, in its unfinished form. They also "Lost" the original art work for the cover, an original ink drawing of the band by one of its road crew, messed up the liner notes by forgetting to include Ed Kelly's last name, and renamed the album after the song that they released as a single "Just like You". Needless to say, even as a young band they realized that they were getting less than professional treatment from the label and quickly but unsuccessfully tried to stop the record from being released.
The record did get released and actually got some air play, but shortly after its release John got drafted and the whole project ended. After a very short stint in the Navy due to medical problems, John returned home and rejoined the band who had in his absence added a bass player and a front man. The band played locally for a couple of years in local clubs and developed quite a regional following. Today, all three members have remained active in the business. John played in many touring club bands throughout the 70's and 80's.
He also spent lots of time producing and engineering local bands, writing, collaborating and recording demos with many regional and national artists. During the early 80's he became involved heavily in sequencing and drum programming for his own band, and for his collaborators. In 1984 he recorded "Orion the Hunter" with members of the band "Boston" and "Heart". Currently he is working on plans for an upcoming music project.
In the years after "Munion's " release, Ducky took up Pedal steel and quickly became one of the areas most sought after session players. He recorded and toured with many nationally known acts including "Rubber Rodeo" (1986), John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (Road House, 1990), Terence Trent D'Arby (Symphony or Damn, 1993), Swinging Steaks Peter Wolfe's solo album (Long Line 1996). He also has and still tours occasionally with John Lincoln Wright, Angela West & Showdown and many other rock and country acts.
Ed, who became one of the areas top drummers, is still the drummer of choice for many area bands who rely on his ability to provide rock steady support, creative feel and dynamic sound for their projects, usually gigging with more than 2 or 3 bands at the same time.
by John Schuller, Leominster, Mass. December, 1999
Tracks
1. What's Right For Me (John Schuller) - 6:57
2. Second Time For Me (John Schuller) - 3:37
3. Take My Soul (John Schuller, Tom Belliveau) - 5:46
4. Just Like You (John Schuller) - 2:59
5. Slumberland Blues (John Schuller, Tom Belliveau) - 2:12
6. No Time Tomorrow (John Schuller, Tom Belliveau) - 6:08
7. Trouble (John Schuller) - 5:13
8. Collage Thought (John Schulfer) - 4:21
9. I Don't Know Who To Blame (J. Schuller, T. Belliveau) - 5:21
10.What's Right For Me(J. Schuller) - 6:15
11.Second Time For Me (J. Schuller) - 4:29
12.What's Right For Me (J. Schuller) - 7 53 Tracks 10-11 Alternate Demo Versions from 1970 Track 12 Recorded Live, 2, 71
The Canadian poet Robert Service, is best know for his poem "The Ballad of Yukon Jack"; but his most striking collection of work is contained in the small book of poetry published after the Great War (World War I) ~ "Rhymes of A Red Cross Man".
Service was in the ambulance service during the War and this collection of poems put to music represent the experiences he had while serving in France. Each one of them is evocative of an era, a time that few alive today can understand. Perhaps best illustrated by the film version of "All Quiet On The Western Front" the horrors of trench warfare cannot be described to the young people of today.
Service had a way of talking about situations that in many ways is very much in keeping with late 20th century writing- -the indirectness of "The Man From Athabaska" and the directness of "Jean Desprez" illustrate best the style made more popular by "Yukon Jack" and his poems of the Northwest Territories. "Jean Desprez" was performed in 1971 on the BBC's "Late Night Lineup" in a show that also featured Mick Jagger. We had a copy of the performance, but it was lost.
The album has been a modest underground favorite for many years. It reissue by One Way a few years ago sold out its pressing run.
by Bill Belmont, Berkeley, June 2001
Tracks
1. Foreword - 4:39
2. The Call - 2:35
3. Young Fellow, My Lad - 3:47
4. The Man From Athabaska - 6:28
5. The Munition Maker - 4:22
6. The Twins - 1:53
7. Jean Desprez - 9:48
8. War Widow - 2:02
9. The March Of The Dead - 6:27
Music composed by Country Joe McDonald,
based on poems written by Robert Service
*Country Joe McDonald - Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Footstomping, Harmony Vocal, Tambourine, Organ
