Pearls Before Swine - These Things Too (1969)

Μάλλον σπάνια βρίσκουμε πλέον ελεύθερο χρόνο έτσι όπως καταντήσαμε τη ζωή μας. Μία ατέλειωτη τρεχάλα να προλάβουμε διάφορα στο 24ωρο, το οποίο ενίοτε δεν μας φτάνει. Δεν αποτελώ εξαίρεση αλλά ανήκω στους προνομιούχους και το εννοώ, που έχω την δυνατότητα να «κάθομαι» 15 μέρες τα Χριστούγεννα. Τουλάχιστον βρίσκω το χρόνο να ασχοληθώ για ώρες με το βασικό μου χόμπι, που καταλαβαίνατε βέβαια πιο είναι.
Αυτές τις μέρες κατάφερα επιτέλους να μετακομίσω, με πρώτο μέλημα την τακτοποίηση δίσκων, cd κ.λ.π., όπου μέσα σε όλα πάθαμε και το ατύχημα να σπάσει το γυάλινο πλατό του πικ απ (στεναχώρια μεγάλη και ατέλειωτα τηλέφωνα μέχρι να βρω τον αντιπρόσωπο στην Αθήνα να παραγγείλω καινούργιο).
Τέλος πάντων, τακτοποιώντας τους δίσκους (αλήθεια τι όμορφη ασχολία, αφού πλέον ο κάθε δίσκος ξυπνά κάθε λογής αναμνήσεις) έφτασα στους Pearls Before Swine και στο These Things Too (έναν από τους λίγους δίσκους που τολμώ να πω πως έχω original).
Ξύπνησαν κάποιες μνήμες, όχι ιδιαίτερα ευχάριστες, αλλά μνήμες της νιότης, οπότε αμέσως έβαλα να ακούσω στο pc το Look Into Her Eyes.
Είχα την τύχη να ακούσω Pearls Before Swine πριν πολλά χρόνια, τότε που δεν υπήρχε η δυνατότητα του internet. Αναρωτιόμουν γιατί σε κανένα από τους πρώτους δίσκους τους δεν υπήρχε ούτε μία φωτό του γκρουπ. Γιατί ως εξώφυλλα επέλεγαν ασυνήθιστα θέματα από πίνακες, ποιος ήταν το Tom Rapp? Πόσο καλλιεργημένος και ψαγμένος ήταν ώστε να έχει διαβάσει Ηρόδοτο? Ηρόδοτο δεν έχουμε διαβάσει καν εμείς που είναι και «δικός» μας. Μου προκαλούσε απορία το γεγονός πως αν και ψευδός (έτσι νομίζω) είχε το θάρρος να τραγουδήσει με αυτή την περίεργη φωνή, με αυτό το τρεμούλιασμα λες και ξεψυχά.
Το internet έλυσε αργότερα αρκετές απορίες, αλλά χτες βράδυ με απόλυτη ικανοποίηση πέτυχα μία ιστοσελίδα με περιεχόμενο κάτι σαν βιογραφικό-ανάλυση-ερμηνεία. Δεν εξεπλάγην όταν διάβασα πως παρά τις τεράστιες πωλήσεις δίσκων, δεν πήρε παρά ψίχουλα. Πως κάπου δεν νοιάστηκε για τα χρήματα.

Απάντηση του Rapp σε σχετική ερώτηση το 1998
How do you see the music industry today?
It is certainly a lot harder to sign up with a large record label these days. With ESP-Disk in 1967, we just sent them a tape and a funny letter and they sent us a telegram saying, "Come up to New York and make a record." I doubt that happen much anymore. It's such a bottom line business now--how much money will the record make and how soon. In the 60's, records spoke with honesty and authority to the people who listened to them. Now, many times, the only authority in the record is the authority of money. That's not enough.

Όταν 6 χρονών έγραφε το πρώτο τραγούδι του και όταν σε διαγωνισμό εφήβων ξεπέρασε το Dylan, αλλά διάλεξε το περίεργο δικό του μουσικό δρόμο, αναρωτήθηκα χωρίς να βρω απάντηση, γιατί χάθηκε για 30 χρόνια δίχως να δώσει καμία παράσταση.
Η ταπεινότητα έκρινε ο αρθογράφος του site πως ήταν αυτή που δεν υπάρχουν παρά ελάχιστες φωτό του γκρουπ. Η ταπεινότητα μάλλον δεν επέτρεψε ύπαρξη φωτό σε δίσκο. Το ταπεινό κίνητρο της μουσικής ήταν αυτό που μάλλον κανείς δεν είδε ποτέ μία ζωντανή εμφάνιση των Pearls Before Swine.
Κρίνοντας με τα όσα λίγα κατέχω από την μουσική εκείνης της εποχής, μπορώ να διακρίνω ένα γκρουπ που έχει προσωπικό ήχο. Οι Pearls Before Swine έχουν. Διαβάζοντας κανείς τους στίχους του Rapp, συγκλονίζεται για παράδειγμα από το γεγονός ότι στο αντιπολεμικό Balaklava περιλαμβάνει πολεμικά γεγονότα και πρόσωπα που προϋποθέτει ατέλειωτες ώρες διαβάσματος και μελέτης. Ουδείς ξύπνησε ένα πρωί και του ήρθε να διαβάζει για τον Κριμαϊκό πόλεμο ή κάνω λάθος?
Συνεπώς οι δίσκοι τους δεν ήταν προϊόν βαθειάς μελέτης και προβληματισμού και όχι αγάπες και λουλούδια. Έχει και από αυτές βέβαια αλλά πως τις αποδίδει ε?
Δεν προξενεί εντύπωση επίσης η επιλογή των οργάνων που χρησιμοποιεί για να αποδώσει τις συνθέσεις του πέραν των καθιερωμένων που είχαν σχεδόν όλα τα γκρουπ? Να το πω ταλέντο, έμπνευση, ικανότητα, μελέτη? Πείτε ότι θέλετε.
Προσωπικά θεωρώ τους Pearls Before Swine σαν ένα από τα κορυφαία φωνητικά σύνολα που πέρασαν ποτέ από τον πλανήτη. Δεν με ενδιαφέρει αν θεωρούνται κορυφαίοι σε αυτό που κάποιοι ονόμασαν psychedelic folk (στις ταμπέλες κολλήσαμε?). Με ενδιαφέρει το γεγονός πως αν και προέρχομαι από μία παντελώς διαφορετική κουλτούρα, από άλλο κόσμο, πως αν και δεν γνώρισα πρόσωπα και πράγματα της εποχής τους, έστω και αν δεν καταλαβαίνω πάντα το ακριβές νόημα των στίχων του…με αγγίζουν σαν συγκρότημα ιδιαίτερα.
Φλυάρησα αρκετά έτσι όπως τα νοιώθω εγώ για τον δικηγοράκο πλέον Tom Rapp και τη μπάντα του. Παραθέτω τους στίχους από το κορυφαίο για μένα κομμάτι του lp και ίσως ένα από τα καλύτερα κομμάτια του (δεν παραβλέπω το Rocket Man, για το οποίο σχολιάζω λέγοντας πως είναι δυνατόν, να βλέπεις μία ρουκέτα μέσα σε τεράστιο σύννεφο καπνού να φεύγει στο διάστημα και να γράψεις κάτι τόσο συγκλονιστικό), το οποίο αγαπώ ιδιαίτερα.

Από την ίδια συνέντευξη
How do you look at your musical heritage after all these years?
I am amazed at the interest being shown in pbswine music. I was just in Key West (in Southern Florida, USA) and a used record store there had all the albums for $50 and $60 apiece! Throughout the 1980's I feared that all the music had disappeared down a black hole--it only existed in the "dead language" of vinyl and everyone was throwing away their record players for CD players. I thought that even if someone wanted to listen to the songs, pretty soon no one would have the proper record player to do it.

"Look Into Her Eyes" By Tom Rapp

In her eyes, centuries are

Hair as black and straight

as lonely streets are

Look into her eyes

Look into her eyes

Have you ever been there

You wander lost along the sea shore

Ask the reason why

All the villains always live

And all the heroes always die

She dissolves your words in acid

Nothing is the same

First she throws away the rules

Then she throws away the game
She says she's not immune to knowledge

She's not afraid of clouds

Then you wander hand in hand

Among imaginary crowds

There's nothing you can do about it

Nothing you can change

Seems like only yesterday

Lost inside a picture frame

Pearls Before Swine
Tom Rapp: Vocals, Guitar
Wayne Harley: Banjo, Harmony
Elisabeth: Vocals
Jim Fairs: Guitar, Harmony, Celeste

Other musicians
Bill Salter: Bass
Grady Tate: Drums
Richard Greene: Electric Violin

Other credits
Recorded at Impact Sound, New York, by Richard Alderson and Danford Griffiths
Mixed at A&R Recording, New York, by Steve Friedman
Arranged by Bill Eaton, Jim Fairs and the Pearls
This album is dedicated to Elisabeth

Tracks:
"Footnote" – 1:18 (Rapp / Auden)
"Sail Away" – 3:06 (Rapp)
"Look Into Her Eyes" – 4:36 (Rapp)
"I Shall Be Released" – 3:03 (Dylan)
"Frog In The Window (reprise)" – 2:31 (Rapp)
"I'm Going To City" – 2:30 (Rapp)
"Man In The Tree" – 3:30 (Rapp)
"If You Don't Want To (I Don't Mind)" – 3:14 (Rapp)
"Green And Blue" – 0:21 (Rapp / Elisabeth)
"Mon Amour" – 2:07 (Rapp / Elisabeth)
"Wizard of Is" – 3:35 (Rapp)
"Frog in the Window" – 2:42 (Rapp)
"When I Was a Child" – 4:46 (Rapp)
"These Things Too" – 3:25 (Rapp)
http://sharebee.com/bae73125

TIMEMAZINE Νο 4

Πληροφορήθηκα με χαρά την κυκλοφορία του νέου τεύχους, το οποίο και περιμένω με ανυπομονησία να λάβω. Όσοι έχετε την δυνατότητα και την καλοσύνη, ενισχύστε αυτή την προσπάθεια ώστε να κυκλοφορήσει ξανά. Σας διαβεβαιώ πως δεν τίθεται κανενα θέμα κέρδους από την κυκλοφορία του. Είναι ένα ψώνιο και μόνο από μερικούς "άρρωστους".

Serenity - Piece Of Mind (1972)

Χρόνια πολλά σε όλους μας. Να είμαστε καλά για να αντέξουμε αυτά που μας προετοιμάζουν να έρθουν και ο Θεός να βάλει το χέρι του.
Συγνώμη που χάθηκα τόσο καιρό αλλά έπεσε γκάζι επιτέλους να μετακομίσω. Βέβαια είχαμε και τις ζημιές, όπως το πλατό από το πικ ακ.
Δεν πολύ κυκλοφορεί αυτό το γκρου στο νετ οπότε είπα να το ανεβάσω. Ευχάριστα και απαλά ακούσματα στο πνεύμα της ηρεμίας που πρέπει να έχουμε. Καλή σας ακρόαση.

Personnel:
PHIL BRIGGS gtr, vcls A
MALCOLM LANE hrmnca, vcls A
ROB SINCLAIR bs, vcls A

ALBUM:
1(A) PIECE OF MIND (Down Under DL 1501) 1972

45s:
1 Where Is The Lord?/Millions (Down Under DS 1001) 1972
2 Pig/Sandelmaker (Down Under DS 1004) 1972

The sole album by this obscure New Zealand trio is decent early-'70s folk-rock with some occasional pop, psychedelic, and blues traces, though it's not notable enough to be of interest beyond the specialized collecting circuit. The trio do manage a pleasant low-key sound that has a slightly unusual, diffident, laconically hip quality, especially in the vocals. That makes for a nice change from the leagues of early-'70s albums colored by earnest blandness to the singing and songwriting. Also, like many rock records from the era made away from the main recording centers of the United States and United Kingdom, it has a slightly-behind-the-times feel, sounding more like a 1970 record than a 1972 one -- not a huge difference, but a notable one at a time when trends in pop music changed so rapidly. None of the songs are outstanding, but none are turkeys either; several of the tracks sound a little like engaging minor league cousins to Country Joe & the Fish's better reflective psychedelic tunes, and a California psychedelic influence is audible in the harmonies and wafting organ of "Away from Here." Much of the material has a breezy feel that doesn't try too hard, nearing an almost jazzy sense of hippie cool on "Millions." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Tracks:
01 Green And Sunny Weather
02 Devil Man
03 Millions
04 Away From Here
05 Seatime Rain
06 Chance With Freedom
07 Where Is The Lord
08 Sandelmaker
09 Pig
10 The Golden Legend
11 Shell
12 Her Mind Holds You

http://sharebee.com/22aac988

Tommy Flanders - The Moonstone (1969)

Δεν νομίζω να υπάρχει άνθρωπος της «συνομοταξίας» μας που να μην έχει τουλάχιστον ακούσει Blues Project. Εδώ τον έχουμε ξεχωριστά και απολαμβάνουμε τη φωνή του μέσα από ομολογουμένως καλά κομμάτια. Οι διάφορες κριτικές που υπάρχουν για το δίσκο αναφέρουν διάφορα κομμάτια που θεωρούν πως ξεχωρίζουν. Καλό όμως σε τελική ανάλυση είναι αυτό που αρέσει σε μας και εμένα μου αρέσει περισσότερο το She’s My Love.

Personnel:
MICHAEL BOTTS A
TOMMY FLANDERS vcls A
BRUCE LANGHORN A
DENNIS McCARTHY A
DICK ROSMINI gtr A
JERRY SCHEFF bs A

ALBUM:
1(A) MOONSTONE (Verve Forecast KF 5076) 1969
NB: (1) catalogue number may be erroneous.

45s:
1 Friday Night City/Reputation (Verve 5064) 1967
2 The Moonstone/Between Purple and Blue (PS) (Verve Forecast FTS-3075) 1968
3 Between Purple And Blue/First Time, Last Time (MGM 14143) 1970

Primarily remembered as lead vocalist with The Blues Project during the mid-60s, this littleheard solo album, originally released on Verve, opens the door to a side of Tommy Flanders that has little to do with anything overtly bluesy.
Flanders had originally appeared alongside Al Kooper and future Blood, Sweat & Tears guitarist Steve Katz on The Blues Project’s 1966 debut album Live At Cafe Au Go Go. By the time it was released, however, he had already left. Later signing to Verve, Flanders released three singles on their parent label MGM between 1967 and ’70. This, his sole solo LP, hit the racks in 1969.
Featuring contributions from a host of top West Coast session men, The Moonstone inhabits the laidback world of late 60s folk-rock with abundant echoes of Tim Hardin. The title track, however, hints at something all together darker, courtesy of the combination of fuzz guitar and psychedelic organ. It’s by far the album’s most memorable moment, to the extent that other mildly interesting tracks are completely dwarfed by it. Though pleasant in an undemanding and thoroughly unremarkable way, The Moonstone is just too mellow, slight and frankly soporific for its own good.

Tracks:
1. Since You've Been Gone
2. Blue Water Blue
3. Morning Misty Eyes
4. Detective Story
5. Purple and Blue
6. Moonstone
7. By the Mailbox We Stood
8. Angel of Mercy
9. Boston Girls
10. Sleepin'
11. She's My Love

http://sharebee.com/2e976f78

Jim Sullivan – U.F.O. (1970)

Σας χαιρετώ και εύχομαι καλό μήνα.
Μία ειλικρινά δύσκολη μέρα στο σχολείο τελείωσε πριν λίγες ώρες. Μία ακόμα μέρα όπου αναγκάστηκα να ανέχομαι αχρείους και άθλιους «συνάδελφους» που εκτός των άλλων (π.χ. να κατηγορούν καθηγητές σε μαθητές που είναι ότι χειρότερο), έχουν σαν μόνη σκέψη το πώς θα τιμωρήσουν μαθητές. Αφού πρώτα τους προκαλέσουν, αποκαλώντας τους «χασικλήδες», «σκουπίδια», «αλητήριους», μετά απαιτούν και πετυχαίνουν την τιμωρία τους.
Δασκαλοπατέρας δεν υπήρξα ποτέ και ούτε θα γίνω. Όταν ο μαθητής πρέπει να τιμωρηθεί θα συνηγορήσω ή θα ζητήσω εγώ την ποινή του, αφού όμως πιο πριν έχει εξαντληθεί κάθε άλλο περιθώριο. Ο χειρότερος μαθητής σε συμπεριφορά δεν παυει να ειναι ενα παιδι που δεν πρεπει ούτε να στοχοποιείται ούτε να γίνεται αντικείμενο ξεσπάσματος της δικιάς μας ανυπαρξίας. Τα υπαρξιακά μας προβλήματα δεν λύνονται επειδή στο σχολείο έχουμε την εξουσία της ποινής.
Είναι άλλο να τιμωρείς ένα μαθητή, ο οποίος να καταλαβαίνει στο τέλος τη μαλακία που έκανε και να ζητά συγνώμη και άλλο να τον προκαλείς και ας είναι ο χειρότερος, επειδή τον έχεις βάλει στο μάτι για να τον τιμωρήσεις. Αυτό είναι αλητεία. Είναι ανήθικο, είναι απαράδεκτο.

Δυστυχώς κάτι τέτοια άθλια υποκείμενα και κατακάθια κυκλοφορούν ακόμα στα σχολεία μας, διαπλάθοντας τους χαρακτήρες στα παιδιά σας, "διδάσκοντας" τους ήθος, αξιοπρέπεια και πολιτισμό. Οποία ξεφτίλα.
Και είναι κρίμα που κάτι τέτοιοι αλήτες καθηγητές προστατεύονται από το σύστημα και δε πάνε σπίτια τους. Είναι το ίδιο το σύστημα που προστατεύει όλους αυτούς που έχουν κάνει τα σχολεία, «οίκους ανοχής», «χασισοποτεία», «πάρκινγκ μαθητών» στο όνομα της πολυπολιτισμικής κοινωνίας. Είναι το σύστημα που νοιάζεται πολύ περισσότερο για το αν ένας καθηγητής άργησε το πρωι να πάει στη δουλειά του (κακώς), παρά αν τα σχολεία στο πρωτο σεισμό θα διαλύσουν. Είναι το σύστημα που έφτιαξε τη μάζα των "καθηγητών" να ωθεί τους μαθητές να πάνε στα ιδιαίτερα για να κονομήσουν (διότι κάνουν ιδίατερο μάθημα στους μαθητές τους) αντί να βελτιώσουν το μάθημά τους. Είναι το σύστημα που νοιάζετε πολυ περισσότερο αν τυχών ο μαθητής κλειθεί το πρωι να κάνει προσευχή (έχει απαγορευτει δια ροπάλου) παρά αν τα παιδιά σας, τα "διδάσκουν" ελεεινοί και τρισάθλιοι τύποι.
Σήμερα όμως ειλικρινά αηδίασα που είμαι σε σχολείο….αηδίασα κυριολεχτικά και μεταφορικά. Σιχάθηκα το σινάφι μου άλλη μία φορά διότι είναι τουλάχιστον για πέταμα.

Επιστρέφοντας σπίτι ήθελα να ηρεμίσω, προσφεύγοντας στο ηρεμιστικό της μουσικής μου. Προέκυψε αυτό που ανέβασα και είχα ακούσει πριν 3-4 χρόνια κατεβάζοντας το βέβαια από το νετ. Που να βρεθεί κάτι τέτοιο παλιότερα για να το ακούσουμε ή να το αγοράσουμε? Που και πως?
Εξαιρετικός δίσκος από τον Jim Sullivan, ένα folk τραγουδοποιό από την Δυτική ακτή που έβγαλε άλλο ένα δίσκο το 72 αλλά δεν έχω ακούσει.
Διαβάζοντας τα περί του καλλιτέχνη και του δίσκου να αναφέρω πως κυκλοφόρησε σε δύο εταιρίες, έχοντας ως χαρακτηριστικό ότι την δεύτερη φορά πέρασε από επεξεργασία, μάλλον αλλοίωσαν κάποια χαρακτηριστικά του π.χ. στα κρουστά. Στα κρουστά συμμετείχε ο πρόσφατα αποβιώσας Earl Cyril Palmer. Ένας ντράμερ που μπήκε στο Αμερικάνικο Hall of Fame. Ψάξτε αν κάνετε κέφι για αυτόν και θα εκπλαγείτε.

Από το δίσκο ξεχωρίζω μακράν το Johnny (η γυναίκα μου κάνει κέφι όχι άδικα το Whistle Stop) όπου και παραθέτω τους στίχους.

Johnny (lyrics)

See the people run and gather.

How something high has caught their eye.

Frightened with the sound of something,the speaker stands to wave and cry.

Hey says, "Hear ye! Hear ye! Now something dreadfulhas occured.

Waste no time to heed my warning.

Little Johnny thinks he is a bird.

"Johnny come down come down from the sky.

Johnny come down you're flyin too high.

Johnny yells from lofty posture.

Sitting high above the ground,"I won't drink your muddy water

you try your best and I won't come down."

'Cause I can see your picture painted

and true it's part of life I'm sure.

And that don't mean I've got to like it

and when the air is clean and pure.

"Johnny come down come down from the sky.

Johnny come down you're flyin too high.

"Johnny tell us tell us will you

just what secret have you found?

Do you really know the answer,

how to sail above the ground?"

"Half is part of all an answerand it's better sure than none at all.

And I can't love no hand that strikes me.

If I shot him down then I'd surely fall.

"Johnny come down come down from the sky.

Johnny come down you're flyin too high.

Thoughts from Jim Sullivan:
"Born Aug 13 which makes me a Leo I guess but actually my name is Jim Sullivan, 7th son of a Nebraska farmer that came to the big city during World War II to work in the defense plants."
"I grew up in a government housing project with a bunch of other Oakies and Arkies (…of all sizes and colors) in a fairly clean pile—"
"I decided that I would like to play music when I would sit and listen to the blues groups practicing around various houses—you could even hear the upright piano in the early electric blues groups…"
"I watched the guitar players studiously and then went home to practice "Oakie-Doakie Stomp" by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown until I had grown callouses on my finger tips and brain."
"At the same time I was going to college and working (so what?). Anyhow me and another guy bought a bar near the college [and used] that for income. We damn near starved to death."
"The bar went broke and I went to work with a few different rock groups, the music got louder and louder. A few years of bangin around went by. I decided to move to L.A. and concentrate on writing and here I am…"

Personnel:
Jim Sullivan - Vocals, Guitar

Earl Palmer - Drums

Don Randi - Keyboards

Jimmy Bond - String Bass

Lyle and Max - Fender Bass

Tracks:
1.Jerome

2.Plain As Your Eyes Can See

3.Roll Back The Time

4.Whistle Stop

5.Rosey

6.Highways

7.U.F.O.

8.So Natural

9.Johnny

10.Sandman

http://sharebee.com/4ebb7d93

The Buckinghams

Personnel:
NICK FORTUNE bs A B C
CARL GIAMARESE ld gtr, vcls A B C
DENNIS MICCOLIS organ A
JON-JON POULOS drms A B
DENNIS TUFANO gtr, vcls A B C
MARTY GREBB keyb'ds, horns B
(JIM GUERCIO bs )

ALBUMS:
1(A) KIND OF A DRAG (USA 107) 1967 109
2(B) TIME AND CHANGES (Columbia CS 9469) 1967 58
3(B) PORTRAITS (Columbia CS 9598) 1968 53
4(B) IN ONE EAR AND GONE TOMORROW (Columbia CS 9703) 1968 161
5( ) MADE IN CHICAGO (Columbia 33333) 1975 -
6( ) ROMPIN' AND STOMPIN' (Capitol ST 440) 19?? -
7(A/B) GREATEST HITS (Columbia CS 9812) 1969 73
NB: (1) reissued on CD by Sundazed with bonus tracks (SC 6126) 199?. (2) and (3) reissued on one CD (Sundazed SC 11073) 199?. (4) reissued on CD (Sundazed SC 11074) 199? with nine bonus tracks.

45s:
1 Sweets For My Sweet/Beginner's Love (Spectra-Sound 003) 1965
2 I'll Go Crazy/Don't Want To Cry (USA 844) 1966 112
3 I Call Your Name/Makin' Up And Breakin' Up (USA 848) 1966 -
4 I've Been Wrong/Love Ain't Enough (USA 853) 1966
5 Kind Of A Drag/You Make Me Feel So Good (USA 860) 1966 1
6 Laudy Miss Claudy/I Call Your Name (USA 869) 1967 41
7 Summertime/Don't Want To Cry (USA 873) 1967 -
8 Don't You Care/Why Don't You Love Me (PS) (Columbia 44053) 1967 6
9 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy/You Are Gone (PS) (Columbia 44182) 1967 5
10 Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)/And Our Love (PS) (Columbia 44254) 1967 12
11 Susan/Foreign Policy (PS) (Columbia 44378) 1967 11
12 Back In Love Again/You Misunderstand Me (PS) (Columbia 44533) 1968 57
13 Where Did You Come From?/Song Of The Breeze (PS) (Columbia 44672) 1968 117
14 This Is How Much I Love You/Can't Find The Words (PS) (Columbia 44790) 1969
15 It's A Beautiful Day (For Loving)/Difference Of Opinion (PS) (Columbia 44923) 1969 126
16 I Got A Feelin'/It Took Forever (PS) (Columbia 45066) 1970 –
Special Juke Box Disc:
17 Interview + 'Kind Of A Drag' (Play Me Play Back 1013) 1966
18 Veronica/Can We... (Red Label 71001) 1981
NB: There's also a French EP with PS: Kind Of A Drag/You Make Me Feel So Good/Don't Want To Cry/I'll Go Crazy (Columbia ESRF 1841) 1967.

Originally known as The Pulsations, The Falling Pebbles, The Centuries and later The Buckingham Fountain, this Chicago-based act came together in 1965. Their biggest early exposure was on WGN-TV's "All Time Hits" show in 1965, playing cover hits of the day. Their first 45 release was a cover of the Drifters/Searchers' hit Sweets For My Sweet on Spectra Sound. They were soon signed by the Chicago-based USA Records. Their first three 45s were also substantial local hits but their big 'national' break came when Kind Of A Drag (written by Jim Holvay of local Chicago band The Mob) climbed to the top of the U.S. Singles Charts in February 1967. This resulted in Columbia buying their contract from USA Records and Jim Guercio, who was later involved with The Mothers Of Invention taking over production of their recordings.
They enjoyed two further Top Ten hits with Don't You Care (which was again written by Holvay and fellow Mob member, Gary Beisber) and Mercy Mercy, which took a top twenty instrumental hit by jazz musician Cannonball Adderly earlier that year and added vocals. Their first two albums also sold quite well peaking at No's 109 and 58 respectively in the Album Charts.

Not a psychedelic or garage band as such they did release a 45, Susan, which was an attempted venture into psychedelia and this was their most relevant recording to this book, whilst their first album is quite garagey, and of their early 45 cuts Don't Want To Cry is a great fuzz raver and I've Been Wrong Before is a great British-inspired slice of garage-pop.
Although they fell from favour in 1968, following a drug bust, they struggled on until 1970 and their Greatest Hits compilation, released in the Summer of 1969, made No. 73 in the U.S. charts. Incidentally, Martin Grebe, who joined the band in 1968 had earlier played in Chicago act The Exceptions.
Carl Giamarese and Dennis Tufano later signed to A&M Records as a duo (recording under that name) and met with further chart success. They were one of a number of acts managed by Jon-Jon Poulos before his drug-related death on 26th March 1980. Marty Grebb also played with Dick Campbell and became an active sesson musician during the seventies.

The Buckinghams reformed in 1980 and again in 1981 for the annual Chicago festival. In 1985/86 they released two cassettes Sincerely Yours and A Matter Of Time, and for their 30th anniversary in 1996 a live CD/cassette and video Places In Five was released. They have also recently released their first new album of mainly original material Terra Firma, available on CD.
The vinyl junkies out there may want to know that in 1966 they released a juke-box only 45 on red wax. It consisted of a track from their first album and interviews with the band and is now one of the rarest sixties recordings out of Chicago. The compilation Psychotic Reactions (LP) also includes their rare I'm A Man cut featured only on the first pressing of their debut LP (and the Sundazed CD reissue). A right roarin' rave-up it is too which is why it was replaced makes you wonder if The Litter had heard this.
You can also find I've Been Wrong on Pebbles Vol. 6 (CD) and I Don't Want To Cry (the flip side to their first 45 on USA Records) on both Glimpses, Vol. 1 (LP) and Glimpses, Vol's 1 & 2 (CD).
For more information on the band - check their website: http://www.aol.thebuckinghams.com
(Vernon Joynson/Cheryl Miller/Byron Stewart/Stuart Shea/Stephane Rebeschini)

The Buckinghams - In One Ear And Gone Tomorrow (1968)

Ο δίσκος περιέχει το I Know I Think που εκτιμώ πως είναι το καλύτερο τους κομάτι. Συνθέτης, ο Γιάννης Πούλος δηλαδη ο Jon Jon Poulos που υποθέτω πως ήταν πατριώτης μας. Γεννήθηκε στο Ιλινόις αλλά δυστυχώς πέθανε νεότατος από υπερβολική δόση.

The Buckinghams had freed themselves from Guercio and consequently moved in more adventurous directions, as their brand of clean collar pop-rock was becoming fast outdated. Yes, the band explored new territory, but it was only new territory for them. In One Ear has a pile of songs that sound like second-rate tunes from other bands, either Love's orchestrated and acoustic dreams (the hushed "Simplicity"), or Paul Revere and the Raiders pop ("Till the Sun", "Are You There", "The Time of My Life"). Some sound like a deliberate attempt to break with their earlier sound (the country-rock attempt at humor "Our Right to Be Wrong" with phony vocals and massive amounts of slide guitar). Psychedelia only gets a few passing nods (the hazy, contemplative "I Know I Think" written by Grebb and Poulous, and the lame opening to "Song of the Breeze").

Giamarese did get to solo, but he does not show any of the exuberance displayed on their debut (the distorted guitars on "I Can't Find the Words" are a frustratingly missed opportunity). Still, In One Ear has plenty of "regular" Buckinghams materials, even though they had run out of Holvay/Bieber songs. Guercio's last work is here (Grebb's bluesy "What Is Love"), but even with Guercio gone, Grebb and arranger Sam Andrews know how to put major 7th chords, and horn and string arrangements together to copy the Buckingham's finer moments (the intro to "Back in Love Again" sounds eerily like Chicago). Their pre-Guercio style shows up only intermittently, such as on the fun soul flashback "Can I Get a Witness?". Still, the band, or really Grebb (who wrote or co-wrote with other members nearly every tune) knows how to write some good material, and "I Can't Find the Words" boasts a good sing-along chorus. In One Ear produced no hits, and is inconsistent, but the Buckinghams made their own mistakes, and not Guercio's. Produced by Jimmy "the Wiz" Wizner.

1. Back in Love Again
2. Simplicity
3. Can I Get a Witness
4. Our Wrong to Be Right
5. Can't Find the Words
6. Song of the Breeze
7. What Is Love
8. I Know I Think
9. Till the Sun Doesn't Shine
10. Are You There (With Another Boy)
11. The Time of My Life

http://www.load.to/S8yUf5qHQQ/Buckinghams_-_In_One_Ear___Gone_Tomorrow__1969_.rar

The Buckinghams – Portraits (1968)

"So if 'Time & Charges' wasn't enough to prove that The Buckinghams were for real, they came up with this, the finest pop-rock '60s album of all time (in my humble opinion, that is). If I had to go to a desert island for the rest of my life, this is the first album I would grab. Perfection from first to last track."- Dean Sciarra - ItsAboutMusic.com

1. C'mon Home
2. I Love All of the Girls
3. We Just Know
4. We Just Know - Reprise
5. Inside Looking Out
6. Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)
7. Susan
8. The Mail
9. Big Business Advisor
10. Have You Noticed You're Alive
11. Have You Noticed You're Alive - Reprise
12. Just Because I've Fallen Down
13. Any Place in Here
14. Any Place in Here - Reprise
http://www.load.to/EeJQlIeTHa/Buckinghams_-_Portraits__1968_.rar

The Buckinghams – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (1991)

Tracks:

1. Kind of a Drag
2. Lawdy Miss Clawdy
3. I've Been Wrong Before
4. I'll Go Crazy
5. I Call Your Name
6. Makin' Up and Breakin' Up
7. Don't You Care
8. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
9. Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)
10. Susan
11. Back in Love Again
12. You Misunderstand Me
13. Where Did You Come From
14. This Is How Much I Love You
15. It's a Beautiful Day (For Lovin')
16. Difference of Opinion
17. I Got a Feelin'
18. You (Previously Unreleased)
http://www.load.to/sdvzXpOO8H/Buckinghams_-_Mercy,_Mercy,_Mercy.rar

Ugly Ducklings - Somewhere Outside (1966)

Έχω αναφέρει κατά το παρελθόν πως ο Καναδάς χαρακτηριζόταν από μουσική ποιότητα την εποχή εκείνη. Εδώ έχουμε άλλο ένα παράδειγμα ενός τέτοιου γκρουπ που επιβεβαιώνει όσα ισχυρίζομαι.

Personnel:

GLYNN BELL gtr A B C F G
DAVE BINGHAM vcls A B C D E F G
ROBIN BOERS drms A B C D E F G
ROGER MAYNE gtr A B F G
JOHN READ bs A F
HOWIE SMITH bs B C D E
MIKE McKENNA gtr C D
RAY NOVAK keyb'ds D E
DAVE KINDRED gtr E

ALBUM:
1(A) SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE (Yorktown YT 500 01) 1966 R4
NB: (1) There were both muticoloured and white label issues of this album, which has also been counterfeited. (1) reissued on CD (Unidisc AGEK 2185) 199?. Ugly Ducklings (Yorktown YT-50003) 1982 was a mix of album, non-album and unissued tracks. This was later reissued on CD (Unidisc AGEK 2186) 199?. There's also another CD compilation of their material Too Much, Too Soon (Pacemaker PACE 021) 1997. Other releases include Off The Wall (LP) (Razor RAZ 003) 1980 and Duck Tales (CD) (Freeway Records 001) 1999.

45s:
1 Nothin'/I Can Tell (Yorktown 45001) 1966 70
2 She Ain't No Use To Me/10:30 Train (Yorktown Y-45002) 1966 59
3 Just In Case You Wonder/That's Just A Thought I Had In My Mind (Yorktown Y-45003) 1966 68
4 Postman's Fancy/Not For Long (Yorktown Y-45005) 1967 -
5 Gaslight/Rimb Nugget (Yorktown YV-45013) 1967 17
6 Epilogue/I Know What To Say (Yorktown YV-45017) 1967 –
Reissue 45s:
7 Gaslight/Rimb Nugget (Yorkville 45070) 1973 -
8 Nothin'/Gaslight (Underground 1021) 1976 -
NB: (1) This was issued initially with a black label, then subsequently with a multi-coloured one. (8) also listed as (Arc UR 1021).

Formed in the spring of 1965 as The Strolling Bones, a blatant Rolling Stones-inspired outfit featuring Brian Jones look-a-like, British-born Glyn Bell. After making its live debut at Cedarbrae High School in Toronto's Scarborough district (the entire band minus Boers studied there), the group changed name to The Ugly Ducklings and won a residency at Charlie Brown's Place. In late 1965, the band attracted the attention of Yorktown Records, who recorded the group's debut single, the Bingham-Mayne collaboration, Nothin' for a mere $300 on a 2-track machine at Hallmark Studios. The record was picked by local radio and became a local smash in March of the following year. On the back of the single's success, the 'Ducks landed their dream gig - opening for the Stones at Maple Leaf Gardens in June 1966.

The group's debut album Somewhere Outside, recorded in New York and Toronto was issued around this time and contained all of the group's early singles. The opening cut, Nothin', was also their finest moment, with its snotty punk vocals and guitar assault. She Ain't No Use To Me was a punk shouter with some snappy guitar work, whilst That's Just A Thought I Had In My Mind is more restrained, veering more towards pop. Also of note on the album were Do What You Want, a mid-paced beat number; Just In Case You Wonder, which featured some good fuzz guitar; Hey Mama (Keep Your Big Mouth Shut), notable for some fine psychedelic guitar work; a snotty version of Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Any More, the only non-original and the closing cut, Windy City (Noise At The North End), an atmospheric instrumental complete with sound effects and more fuzz guitar. However, the label's decision to bring in producer Brian Ahern against the band's wishes, and its failure to distribute the 'Ducks records properly in the US led to the first of several personnel changes in early 1967. Read dropped out (later working in the photographic retail business) and was replaced by Howie Smith.

Differences in musical direction led to Mayne's departure later in the year and Bell followed him soon afterwards. In their place, the 'Ducks recruited Mike McKenna from Luke and The Apostles. Mayne subsequently tried to form a new group but nothing happened and he later went on to work in the TV business, producing commercials for ABC. Bell meanwhile became involved with commercial art.
Amid all this activity, the group enjoyed its biggest hit with the brilliant Gaslight, which had been recorded in New York with the NBC Orchestra, and only featured Bingham on the record.

The new line-up made a few recordings in late 1967 and early 1968, including McKenna's Blues Fell This Morning and Bingham's Rise To Your Calling, which were never issued at the time, but have since appeared on The Ugly Ducklings compilation Duck Tales. In the spring of 1968, Ray Novak was added on organ, but this line-up didn't gel and in June, McKenna left to form McKenna Mendelson. Guitarist Dave Kindred was brought in to fill his shoes.
The revised band line-up made a comeback at Toronto's Flick during July 1968, but no recordings were made. In early 1969, the band split up, only to reform a few months later as GNU. Boers maintained the greatest profile working with B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite, Neil Merryweather and the 49th Parallel. Throughout the '70s there were several Ugly Ducklings reunions, but no official recordings appeared.
In 1980 however, the original members decided to reform and an album called Off The Wall was released.

The current line-up featuring former Buffalo Springfield Revisited guitarist Stan Endersby on bass made its debut at the Toronto Rock Revival concert, held at the Warehouse on May 2, 1999.
The recent CD, Too Much Too Soon includes remastered cuts from many of their 45s, plus one newly recorded track.
The Ugly Ducklings are widely recognised to be one of the best garage punk bands to have come out of Canada, and their album is recommended.

Two of their later 45s also figured on compilations:- Gaslight on Yorkville Evolution and Epilogue on CTV's After Four. Retrospectively, you'll find Just In Case You Wonder on Pebbles, Vol. 10 and A Journey To Tyme; She Ain't Used To Me on Ear-Piercing Punk and Mayhem And Psychosis, Vol. 3; That's Just A Thought That I Had... on A Journey To Tyme and Gaslight on Psychedelic Archives, Vol. 7 (CD).
(Nick Warburton/Vernon Joynson)

Tracks:
1 - Nothin'
2 - Do What You Want
3 - She Ain't No Use to Me
4 - Just in Case You Wonder
5 - Not for Long
6 - I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart out Anymore
7 - Hey Mama (Keep Your Big Mouth Shut)
8 - 10-30 Train
9 - That's Just the Thought That I Had in My Mind
10 - Postman's Fancy
11 - Windy City (Noise At The North End)
12 - I Wish You Would
13 - Gaslight
14 - Rimb Nugget.Mp3
15 - My Little Red Book (Bonus)
16 - I Need Your Love (Bonus)
17 - I Can Tell (Bonus)
18 - Epilogue (Bonus)
19 - I Know What To Say (Bonus)

http://www.load.to/j9tIQLtkVD/Ugly_Ducklings_-_Somewhere_Outside.rar

The Cat Came Back - USA Garage Greats 1965-1967

Με τις συλλογές όπως θα ξέρετε είναι τι θα σου κάτσει καθώς υπάρχει αρκετή μούφα. Αυτή εδώ ευτυχώς προέκυψε πολύ καλή. Ναι μεν λέει garage αλλά με αρκετά έντονη ψυχεδελική χροιά θα έλεγα. Αξίζει τουλάχιστον να την ακούσετε.

Tracks:

01 The Golliwogs - Walking On The Water (Scorpio)

02The Fourth Amendment - I See The Light (Four Sons) 03 The Fourth Amendment - Little Black Egg (Four Sons) 04 The Raik's Progress - Sewer Rat Love Chant (Liberty) 05 The Raik's Progress - Why Did You Rob Us, Tank (Liberty)

06 The Quarrymen - Don't Try Your Luck (Sara)

07 The Quarrymen - Why (Sara)

08 The Celtics - Time With You (Dante)

09 The Baracudas - What I Want You To Say (Downey)

10 Bill Hjerpe - Not For Sale (Columbia)

11 Bill Hjerpe - Navigation Blues (Columbia)

12 The Stingrays - The Cat (Welhaven)

13 The Young Strangers - She's Gone (T.Y.S.)

14 The Clydes - Gonna Put You Down (Maz)

15 The Nobles - Something Else (Marquis)

16 The Voxmen - You Tell Me (V-M)

17 The Voxmen - They Say (You're Gonna Lose That Girl) (V-M)

18 The Second Half - Forever In Your World (IGL)

19 The Burlington Express - One Day Girl (Cavern)

20 The Burlington Express - Memories (Cavern)

21 The Outcasts - People (Sola)

22 The Outcasts - You're Teaching Me (Sola)

23 The Torres - Play Your Games (IGL)

24 The Torres - Don't You Know (IGL)

25 The Wooly Ones - Put Her Down (Titan)

26 The Wooly Ones - Slings And Arrows (Titan)

27 Dale & The Devonaires - Take A Look At A Fool (IGL)

28 Dale & The Devonaires - Never Be Free (IGL)

29 The Tempters - It's Been A Long Long Time (Link)

30 The Tempters - I Will Go (Link)

31 The Try-Angle - Com'ing Home (Orlyn)

32 The Try-Angle - The Writing On The Wall (Orlyn)

http://sharebee.com/bf77c760

Καλά να περάσετε αδέλφια...

Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things Vol. 1

Έναρξη εδώ αυτής της τριλογίας όπου αν είδα καλά έχει κυκλοφορήσει και τέταρτο μέρος, άρα έγινε κουαρτέτο, το οποίο ανέβηκε πρόσφατα στο νετ από «συνάδελφους».
Η πρώτη αυτή συλλογή περιέχει μερικά εξαιρετικά κομμάτια όπως το Baby Baby των Wild Cheries ή το Love Someone των Aliens ή το πολύ fuzz κομμάτι των New Directions στην Alternate Version

This compilation follows in the vein of many similar regional '60s garage/psych collections that surfaced towards the end of the 20th century, thanks to a combination of ever deeper interest in obscurities and the general proliferation of cheap CD runs for a small but obsessive market. Like the best of the bunch, from Nuggets on down, a combination of liner notes, photos, and general stories provides a good amount of the appeal. This particular disc focuses on bands from the Tidewater area of Virginia, named after three of the groups featured here. All are pretty well unknown outside of the occasional appearance on a similar comp or two, and generally speaking the performances are an obvious mix of derivative originals and good-spirited covers dedicated to raising a fun cheap racket, like so many other regional hits and misses of the era.

So coming to this for revelations isn't at all a good idea, but listening in for the heck of it often turns up some rough and ready fun. The higher octane numbers make this a good party disc and the various ballads are sweet enough, and as the compilers are proud to say, it's different from the regional "beach music" that the area is known for. Wild Thing are probably the most notable of the bunch, not only for their mighty fine "Weird Hot Nights" (dig the crazed laughs on the breaks) but their utterly insane look of huge silver pompadours and general alien decadence. It must have taken sheer chutzpah to even think of a look like that in 1966. Another noteworthy cut is from the Electrical Banana -- it's a fair cover of "There She Goes Again" by the Velvet Underground that suddenly breaks into a peppy, kick-up-your-heels ending. Not only was it probably one of the first remakes of that band ever, the actual recording was done via a gas-generator powered deck in Vietnam, where bandleader Dean Kohler, veteran of the Satellites (also featured on this collection) had ended up to serve his tour of duty! ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks
1. When Will You Stay - Satellites

2. Next Boy, The - Satellites

3. I Cried Once - The Wild Cherries

4. Baby, Baby - The Wild Cherries

5. Babba Diddy Baby - Heart Attacks

6. Do You Have to Ask - Swinging Machine

7. Comin' on Back Home - Swinging Machine

8. Workin' For My Baby - Lenis Guess

9. Weird Hot Nights - WIld Thing

10. Do You Have to Ask - Swinging Machine

11. Crying For Her - Proverbial Knee Hi's

12. Watch Out - Proverbial Knee Hi's

13. Certain Girl, A - Rude Awakening

14. Flight Patterns - Denis And The Times

15. 1-A - The Reactors

16. There She Goes Again - Banana

17. She's Gone - Banana

18. Gooseberry Pie - Dean Kohler

19. What Makes You Think - Beachnuts

20. Black River - The Psychos

21. Love Someone - Aliens

22. Runaway Baby - The Journey Back

23. Synthetic People - The Journey Back

24. Springtime Lady - New Directions

25. Franki'es Got It! - Steve Peele Five

26. Springtime Lady - New Directions (Alternate Version)

http://sharebee.com/ae38ef16

Aliens, Psychos & Wild Things, Vol. 2

Επίσης Καλή συλλογή που κινείται μεταξύ Garage Rock και 60s Punk. Πολύ ενδιαφέροντα κομμάτια όπως για παράδειγμα το Reckless Ways των Smacks ή Girl You've Got to Turn Me On των Sound on Sound.

Like the first compilation in this series, the focus of this collection of regional garage/psych singles from the '60s covers Virginia, in this case looking more at the north of the state, near the D.C. area and elsewhere. As with the predecessor, it's a fun labor of love -- besides packing the disc full of goodies, including a slew of never released cuts, the compilers have a lot of photos and band stories to offer. One statement says it all: "True fans want the human side, not just the sides on old 45s." There are a few numbers that cropped up elsewhere, but the liner notes promise cleaner transfers and indeed everything sounds pretty darn good throughout, given both the recording conditions and the need to transfer from vinyl at points.

The general musical flavor remains pretty much the same -- there's nothing really deathless throughout the 25 songs on the compilation, but all the vaunted energy and good times ascribed to the American garage explosion has a fine echo here. Standout...s include the nervy "Jump, Jack, Jump" by the Miller Brothers, with some just threatening enough vocals on the verses, and a fairly echoey but still excitable enough take on the Yardbirds' "You're a Better Man Than I" by the Nite Beats. There are a lot of numbers that were clearly designed first and foremost for the local dances and gigs just about all these bands thrived on -- the Live Wires' "Scrambled Eggs" and the murkily recorded but still sharp "Let Me Take You Down" by the Uprisers are two good examples. Two brothers, Larry and Stanley Burnell, crop up in a number of bands and as producers along the way -- being a pretty good rhythm section obviously made their services in demand - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks:
1. The Panics - No More

2. Live Wires - Scrambled Eggs

3. The Roaches - Someone With A Heart

4. Miller Brothers - Jump,Jack,Jump

5. Smacks - Reckless Ways

6. Smacks - Nobody Else Is Gonna Do

7. Smacks - There'll Come A Day

8. The Flys - The Way Things Are

9. Nite Beats - You're A Better Man Than I

10. HazzardsHey Joe -

11. The Barracudas - I Can't Believe

12. The Escorts - My Only Love

13. Phantom - I Want To See Her Cry

14.Minuteman - Why Do I Cry?

15.Uprisers - Let Me Take You Down

16.Uprisers - Nine To Five

17.The Changing Times - Go Your Own Way

18.The Changing Times - Keeper Of Souls

19.Kool Kuzzins - Love Can Be True

20.Sound On Sound - Girl You've Got To Turn Me On

21.Shades, Inc. - Fragile Fruit

22.Creations - Better Watch Out

23.Creations - I'm Mad

24.Creations - Soul And Feelin'

25.Creations - To Whom It May Concern
26. Bonus Track
http://www.load.to/5Hh2aS6vzH/Aliens,_Psychos,_and_Wild_Things_Vol._2.rar

Aliens, Psychos & Wild Things, Vol. 3

Η πιο ψυχεδελικη και μάλλον η ποιοτικότερη από τις τρεις. Για παράδειγμα τα κομματια των Morning Disaster ειναι εξαιρετικά psych.

The third installment of Arcania International's exhaustive overview of Tidewater/Richmond Virginia garage and psych from the mid-'60s is chock-full of bands that -- well -- no one has ever heard of. Like the folks at specialty labels like Gear Fab and Norton, Arcania recognizes the appeal of unknown, unsigned bands from yesteryear. And though much of this material is extremely lo-fi (Velvet Haze's fuzz-drenched "Last Day on Earth") and amateurish (Banana's disastrous "I'm a Man"), there are several gems to be found. Some tunes, like Wilson Castle's "Party" and The Bosom Blues Band's "Hippie Queen" reveal legitimately sincere attempts at musical sophistication, posing the question; what could some of these bands have accomplished with a skilled producer and first-class recording gear?

The surprisingly good CSN&Y-soundalike psych-ballad, "Cherry Road," by a band called Plauge is just another fine example of this. What is, perhaps, most interesting about these bands, though, is to hear their imitation of the more popular sounds of the day. Shades of the Animals, Yardbirds, Jefferson Airplane, Iron Butterfly, and the Byrds are clearly evident. And while this collection proves that a fuzz box in the wrong hands -- or at the wrong feet -- can be a room-emptying disaster, there is no denying the exuberance, innocence, and bittersweet naivete of rock's under-the-radar bands of the 1960s. Compilations such as this, however, are perhaps most interesting to the un-initiated as -- at best -- social anthropology. This is not for the average vintage rock enthusiast, but dive right in if you are looking for something slightly strange but surely fun. ~ John Duffy, All Music Guide

Tracks:
1. Shades, Ltd. - Frog Hunt on Mars
2. Del-Fi's - Now It's Time
3. Perpetuated Spirits of Turpentine - I'm a Lucky Guy
4. Perpetuated Spirits of Turpentine - I'm a Double Naught Spy
5. Rejects - Just a Little Bit of You
6. Wanted & Co. - Why
7. IV Pak - Whatzit
8. Lost Souls - Minds Expressway
9. Lost Souls - For You
10. Changing Tymes - The Only Girl I Love
11. Banana - I'm a Man
12. Clover - Way She Smiles
13. Baracudas - Days of a Quiet Sun
14. Bosom Blues - Hippie Queen
15. Morning Disaster - Song of Innocence
16. Morning Disaster - Black Leather Books
17. Morning Disaster - Urban 44
18. Velvet Haze - Last Day on Earth
19. Shirley Hughey - Pink and Green
20. Plague - Cherry Road
21. Wilson Castle - Party
22. Wilson Castle - The Greatest Moments
23. Wilson Castle - Instrumental
http://www.load.to/BwmCD6NZbm/Aliens,_Psychos_and_Wild_Things_Vol._3.rar

Live in Tripolis - Greece

Saturday 17 Oct 2009
-Doorsopen 21:00
-Admission 8 euro
-Psych DJ set by the 3 TimeLords

Καλή επιτυχία παιδιά.

Mastin and Brewer - Need You/Rainbow (1966)

Δεν υπάρχουν πολλά σημεία στο νετ για να ψάξεις και να βρεις τέτοια ποιοτικά σινγκλ. Θα έλεγα πως είναι μετρημένα στα δάχτυλα του ενός χεριού. Ένα τέτοιο είναι το garagehangover όπου τον περασμένο Μάιο ανέβασε αυτό το σινγκλ. Κατεβάστε το από δω ή από το garagehangover και ακούστε ιδίως το Need You. Ένα πραγματικά πανέμορφο τραγούδι όπως και το Rainbow.
Μόλις άκουσα το σινγκλ το μόνο που σκέφτηκα ήταν να το μοιραστώ μαζί σας διότι είναι πιθανό να σας ξέφυγε.
Το κείμενο εξηγεί γιατί το 45αρι αντί για Mastin and Brewer γράφει Brewer and Brewer.
Αντιγράφω από το garagehangover την πρόταση … «Columbia duly released the single, albeit in limited numbers, as Brewer & Brewer that autumn, but it failed to attract much interest». Καλύτερα, συμπληρώνω εγώ.

Personnel:
MIKE BREWER gtr, vcls A
JIM FIELDER bs A
TOM MASTIN gtr, vcls A
BILLY MUNDI drms A

45:
1 Need You/Rainbow (Columbia 4-43977) 1966

In December 1965, after a few years playing together on the folk-circuit, Mastin and Brewer arrived in L.A.. Here they stayed with producer Barry Friedman and New Christy Minstrel, Randy Sparks, recording a three-song demo, comprising originals Need You, Sideswiped and Bound To Fall. The latter track was later covered by Stephen Stills's Manassas.

In early 1966, they formed a group with ex-Skip Battin Group drummer Billy Mundi and Tim Buckley sideman Jim Fielder. Rehearsing in the same house as Buffalo Springfield, they joined The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield on a tour of Southern California and also played at L.A.'s Whisky A Go Go and Ash Grove clubs.
In mid-1966 they changed name to the Elesian Senate and began work on an album. Mastin however, left during the sessions and the band subsequently fragmented. Mundi joined The Lamp of Childhood for a few months and then The Mothers of Invention, Fielder too joined The Mothers at the suggestion of Mundi, whilst Mastin moved to San Francisco to work in bars and later committed suicide.

Left without a band, Mike Brewer brought in his brother Keith to overdub his voice over Mastin's (who later committed suicide) on the duo's lone single. The two brothers then began work on new material; Mike's Truly Right, written about Mastin was covered by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the brothers' collaboration, Love, Love and Mike's Truly Right were later rerecorded by Brewer and Shipley on their debut album.
In the Summer, Mike took up a songwriting post at Good Sam Music which ultimately led to the formation of Brewer and Shipley.
(Nick Warburton)

Tracks:

1. Need You

2. Rainbow

http://sharebee.com/412978d1

The Mystic Tide - Solid Sound (1965-67)

Personnel:
JOE DOCKO gtr, ld vcls A B
PAUL PICELL bs, vcls A B
JIM THOMAS gtr, vcls A
JOHN WILLIAMS drms A B

ALBUM:
1(A/B) IT COMES NOW (Distortions DB-1 006) 1991
2(A/B) SOLID SOUND/SOLID GROUND (Distortions ?) 199?
NB: (2) is an eighteen track CD compilation, including all single tracks and an unreleased acetate of their first song from 1965. Seven songs are not on (1) which is now out of print.

45s:
1 Stay Away/Why (Esquire 4677) 1965
2 Mystic Eyes/I Search For A New Love (Esquire 719/720) 1966
3 Frustration/Psychedelic Journey Pt 1 (Solid Sound 156/7) 1966
4 Running Through The Night/Psychedelic Journey Pt 2 (Solid Sound 158/9) 1967
5 Mystery Ship/You Won't Look Back (Solid Sound 321/2) 1967

Out of the Woodbury suburb of New York City, this band made some outstanding recordings. They started life combining their own compositions with Them, Searchers and Zombies originals. They went very much against the tide of most Long Island bands, who were heavily into soul. By early 1966 they were becoming more adventurous. For their second 45, they covered a Them song, Mystic Eyes. Indeed, this slow punk ballad was party responsible for their name, as their leader Joe Docko liked it so much. Their third 45 was their magnum opus. Frustration was a haze of dementia with superb guitar leads from Docko. They played 10 minute versions of it live and each was different. The flip, Psychedelic Journey Pt 1 was a stunning psychedelic instrumental which once again contained some superb guitar playing from Docko. The song continued on the flip to their fourth 45, which featured fine discordant clashing guitars and a striking ending. After this Jim Thomas left and they continued as a trio for one final effort:- Mystery Ship, another punk ballad - a tale of death and the futility of life, backed by the more optimistic, You Won't Look Back. This lacked the 'fullness' of sound of their previous two, now they were only a trio.
The band are well represented on compilations. You can find Psychedelic Journey Pts 1 & 2 on Endless Journey - Phase One (LP) and Endless Journey - Phase I & II (Dble CD); Frustration on Acid Dreams, Vol. 1 (LP); Mystery Ship and Mystic Eyes on Sixties Archive Vol. 5 (CD) and The Finest Hours of U.S. '60s Punk (LP); Psychedelic Journey, Part 1 on Son Of The Gathering Of The Tribe (LP); Mystery Ship on Glimpses, Vol's 1 & 2 (CD) and Glimpses, Vol. 2 (LP); Runnin' Through The Night on Ear-Piercing Punk (LP) and Pebbles, Vol. 2 (ESD) (CD); You Won't Look Back on Boulders, Vol. 11 (LP); Stay Away on Psychedelic States: New York Vol. 1 (CD); and finally You Know It's True on Psychedelic Crown Jewels, Vol. 1 (Dble LP & CD). The band also appear on Eva's E-Types vs Mystic Tide 1984 retrospective with the following tracks:- Frustration, Psychedelic Journey (Pts 1 and 2), Running Through The Night, Search For A New Love, and You Won't Look Back. All tracks were written by Joe Docko.
The recent Distortions retrospectives include all their 45s plus an early effort, I Wouldn't Care, a gentle Merseybeat-influenced song. The later CD release includes seven extra tracks. Forget all the compilations and get this excellent legitimate collection of their 45s.
An absolute 'must' for connoisseurs of psychedelia, they were at the forefront of experimentation and ahead of their time.

Tracks:
01. Wouldn’t Care
02. Why
03. Stay Away
04. I Search for New
05. Mystic Eyes
06. Frustration
07. Running Through the Nigh
08. Psychedelic Journey pt.1
09. Psychedelic Journey, Pt. 2
10. Mystery Ship
11. You Won't Look Back
12. You Know It's True
13. It's Simple Sistero
15. Frustration
16. Silver Rails - Going Home
17. See the Light
18. Solid Ground
http://sharebee.com/ca45b327

Jennifer's Friends - Visions / Land Of Make Believe (1968)

Τυχαία άκουσα ένα κομμάτι, έψαξα για αυτούς αλλά όπως συνήθως συμβαίνει σε αυτές τις περιπτώσεις οι πληροφορίες είναι ανύπαρκτες. Διαμάντι το Vision και πολύ ευχάριστο το Land Of Make Believe.

Very little is known about this band. They are believed to be from the New Haven, CT area due to their sole single charting on a local radio station there in the summer of 1968. Both sides of the 45 are excellent, with the A-side being more of a well crafted pop-psych orchestration and the B-side a slower, more moody piece.
(techwebsound)

Tracks
1) Visions
2) Land Of Make Believe

http://sharebee.com/6decfdb1

Paul Butterfield Blues Band - The Resurrection Of Pigboy Crabshaw (1967)

Εδώ δεν χρειαζόμαστε συστάσεις. Καλή σας ακρόαση

Tracks:
1. "One More Heartache" (Smokey Robinson, The Miracles) – 3:20
2. "Driftin' and Driftin'" (Charles Brown, Johnny Moore, Eddie Williams) – 9:09
3. "I Pity the Fool" (Deadric Malone) – 6:00
4. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (William Bell, Booker T. Jones) – 4:10
5. "Run Out of Time" (Paul Butterfield, Brother Gene Dinwiddie, Peterson) – 2:59
6. "Double Trouble" (Otis Rush) – 5:38
7. "Drivin' Wheel" (Roosevelt Sykes) – 5:34
8. "Droppin' Out" (Paul Butterfield, Tucker Zimmerman) – 2:16
8. "Tollin' Bells" (Traditional, arr. Butterfield Blues Band) – 5:23

http://sharebee.com/73f39cb2

American Revolution - American Revolution (1968)

Personnel:
RICHARD BARCELONA gtr, vcls A
DANIEL DERDA drms A
EBBIE HADDAD keyb'ds, vcls A
JOHN KEITH bs, vcls A

ALBUM:
1(A) AMERICAN REVOLUTION (Flick-Disc FLS 45,002) 1968
NB: (1) promo copies issued in mono with sticker.

45:
1 Cold Wisconsin Nights / Come On And Get It (Flick Disc 902) 1968

A late sixties Hollywood hippie type rock band. Barcelona and Keith later played in Edge, who issued an album in 1970. The American Revolution album, produced by Harley Hatcher, is quite heavily orchestrated with pleasant vocal harmonies, particularly on In The Late Afternoon, Rainbow In The Rain and Love Has Got Me Down. Some of the songs have a psychedelic taint, but it's predominantly rather good psych-pop.
Producer Harley Hatcher, was an exploitation film composer, member of Mike Curb's gang and as an army buddy of Elvis he sang in ad-hoc groups with the King.
(Vernon Joynson/Joe Foster/David Jaffe)

Tracks:
1. Cold Wisconsin Nights

2. Rainbow in the Rain

3. Prelude to Love

4. Show Me How to Cry

5. Crying Eyes and an Empty Heart

6. Come on and Get It

7. In the Late Afternoon

8. Keeping Your Love

9. Opus 1

10. Love Has Got Me Down

http://sharebee.com/d7620479

The Velvet Underground – Another View

Ας ανεβάσω και αυτό αφού υπάρχει για όσους δεν πρόλαβαν τότε να το αγοράσουν. Είπαμε και πριν ότι είχαμε και τα καλά μας τότε. Μετά από αυτό το δίσκο ερωτεύτηκα την εκτέλεση του Rock And Roll που άκουσα εδώ. Νομίζω είναι παρασάγγας ανώτερη από αυτή που πρωτοακούσαμε.

When The Velvet Underground moved from Verve Records (who had released their first two albums) to parent company MGM Records, they signed a two-album deal, releasing their third and eponymous album The Velvet Underground in March 1969. Later that same year, however, there was a management change and MGM Records' new CEO, Mike Curb was brought in to try to rescue the financially struggling label. He decided to purge the record company of its many controversial and unprofitable acts. The Velvet Underground quickly became one of the groups blacklisted and were released from their contract. The band had, however, in the meantime recorded fourteen tracks for possible release as their second MGM album. All of these were shelved and forgotten by their record company until the early Eighties.

As Verve (by then an imprint of Polygram) prepared to re-release the band's three Verve/MGM albums on vinyl and, for the first time, on CD, they found nineteen previously unreleased tracks: five Cale-era tracks and the fourteen "lost album" tracks, some of them in two-track mixdown format, some of them even on multitracks. The cream of the nineteen tracks was released in February of 1985 on VU; the rest remained for the time being in the vaults.

In 1986, Polydor decided to prepare a vinyl box set for European release. Simply titled The Velvet Underground, this box, which was released in June, consisted of the band's first three albums, VU, and an untitled bonus album containing the remaining nine tracks from Polygram's vaults. That untitled album was later separately released on vinyl and CD as Another View.

An acetate-sourced alternate mix of this album's version of "Ride into the Sun", featuring vocals by Lou Reed, has appeared on bootlegs and on the Australian boxed set What Goes On.

As The Velvet Underground moved from MGM to Atlantic, they re-recorded two of the songs on Another View, "Ride into the Sun" and "Rock and Roll", for possible inclusion on Loaded. Only "Rock and Roll" made the grade, but two of the Another View songs would be recycled by Lou Reed during his early solo career: "Ride into the Sun" (on Lou Reed, 1972) and "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together" (on Street Hassle, 1978).

Tracks:
Side one
1. "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together" (Reed) – 2:56
Recorded September 30, 1969
2. "I'm Gonna Move Right In" – 6:30
Recorded September 27, 1969
3. "Hey Mr. Rain" – 4:56
Recorded May 29, 1968
4. "Ride into the Sun" – 3:20
Recorded September 5, 1969
5. "Coney Island Steeplechase" – 2:20
Recorded May 6, 1969
Side two
1. "Guess I'm Falling in Love" (Instrumental version) – 3:35
Recorded December 5, 1967
2. "Hey Mr. Rain" – 5:16
Recorded May 29, 1968
3. "Ferryboat Bill" (Reed, Morrison, Yule, Tucker) – 2:10
Recorded June 19, 1969
4. "Rock and Roll" (Reed) – 5:18
Recorded June 19, 1969

http://www.sendspace.com/file/je5pqt

The Velvet Underground - VU

Από τις ευχάριστες κυκλοφορίες τότε στο τόπο μας. Όποιος πρόλαβε τον Κύριο είδε σε αυτές τις περιπτώσεις καθώς μην φαντάζεστε ότι κυκλοφορούσαν χιλιάδες κόπιες. Οι άρρωστοι ήταν μετρημένοι.

When The Velvet Underground moved from Verve Records (who had released their first two albums) to parent company MGM Records, they signed a two-album deal, releasing their third and eponymous album The Velvet Underground in March 1969. Later that same year, however, there was a management change and MGM Records' new CEO, Mike Curb was brought in to try to rescue the financially struggling label. He decided to purge the record company of its many controversial and unprofitable acts.

The Velvet Underground quickly became one of the groups blacklisted and were released from their contract. The band had, however, in the meantime recorded fourteen tracks for possible release as their second MGM album. All of these were shelved and forgotten by their record company until the early 1980s.
As Verve (by then an imprint of Polygram) prepared to re-release the band's three Verve/MGM albums on vinyl and CD, they found nineteen previously unreleased tracks: five Cale-era tracks and the fourteen "lost album" tracks, some of them in two-track mixdown format, some of them even on multitracks. The cream of the nineteen tracks was released in 1985 as VU; the rest was released as Another View in 1986.

VU is a selection from the 1969 tracks as well as two previously unreleased Cale-era songs—"Temptation Inside Your Heart" and "Stephanie Says". Since most of the material was available on multitrack (only "Ocean" is included in its original 1969 mix), engineers were able to clean up and remix the tracks.
As The Velvet Underground moved from MGM to Atlantic, they re-recorded two of the songs on VU, "Ocean" and "I'm Sticking with You", for possible inclusion on Loaded. Neither made the cut, but no less than six of the VU songs would be recycled by Lou Reed during his early solo career: "I Can't Stand It" , "Lisa Says" and "Ocean" on Lou Reed, 1972; "Andy's Chest" on Transformer, 1972; "Stephanie Says" (became "Caroline Says II") on Berlin, 1973; and "She's My Best Friend" on Coney Island Baby, 1976.
It peaked in the U.S. at #85, the band's best placing

Tracks:
Side one
1. "I Can't Stand It" – 3:21
Recorded May 20, 1969
2. "Stephanie Says" – 2:49
Recorded February 13, 1968
3. "She's My Best Friend" – 2:47
Recorded May 14, 1969
4. "Lisa Says" – 2:53
October 1, 1969
5. "Ocean" – 5:10
June 19, 1969
Side two
1. "Foggy Notion" – 6:41*
Recorded May 6, 1969
2. "Temptation Inside Your Heart" – 2:30
Recorded February 14, 1968
3. "One of These Days" – 3:50
Recorded September 23, 1969
4. "Andy's Chest" – 2:49
Recorded May 13, 1969
5. "I'm Sticking with You" – 2:26
Recorded May 13, 1969

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1n89ft

23rd Turnoff - Michael Angelo / Leave Me Here (1967)

Καλό φθινόπωρο σε όλους μας. Κουράγιο και υπομονή.

Personnel incl:
JIMMY CAMPBELL

45:
1 Michael Angelo/Leave Me Here (Deram DM 150) 1967
The band were named after the 23rd turnoff the M6, which goes to their home city, Liverpool. They had earlier recorded as The Kirkbys, but this disc was a big improvement and attracts considerable attention from collectors. Leave Me Here was an acoustic piece with just a hint of raga.

Jimmy Campbell went on to record three solo albums and some 45s.
Compilation appearances include: Michaelangelo on The Psychedelic Scene (CD), Rubble, Vol. 12 - Staircase To Nowhere (LP), Rubble, Vol. 6 (CD) and Deram Dayze (LP); Leave Me Here on The British Psychedelic Trip, Vol. 1 (LP) and Great British Psychedelic Trip Vol. 1 (CD).

Tracks:
1. Michael Angelo
2. Leave Me Here
http://www.sendspace.com/file/klutht