Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Pack - Do You Believe In Magic/Things Bring Me Down (1965)



Personnel:

BOB DUKE drms A
ROD GOODWAY gtr, vcls A
BRIAN GREGG bs A
ROGER HARTLEY gtr A
ANDY RICKELL hrmnca, gtr A
45:
1 Do You Believe In Magic?/Things Bring Me Down (Columbia DB 7702) 1965

1) Came out of Wiltshire in the mid-sixties and enjoyed some success with this cover of The Lovin' Spoonful song. Gregg had earlier played in Johnny Kidd and The Pirates and The Tornados. The 45, which was produced by Mickie Most, is now becoming hard to find and is quite collectable.
Story of the band by Lead singer Rustic Rod Goodway.


2) "What an incredible time we had, taken from our tiny Wiltshire town of Calne and hurled into the wonderful world of Radio London and offshore radio."

I was perusing the Mini Memories web page in a fit of rampant nostalgia and I came across a mention of my old group The PACK, who good old Radio London played and plugged merrily back in 1965 with our debut 45 'Do You Believe In Magic'. John Peel and I (in much more recent times) spoke regularly on the telephone, and his memories of The Pack's version of 'Do You Believe In Magic' were (unsurprisingly) not favourable, but he never had a bad word to say about Radio London.It's true, The Pack were 'one hit wonders' but what an incredible time we had, taken from our tiny Wiltshire town of Calne and hurled into the wonderful world of Radio London and offshore radio. We presented our disc to Radio Caroline from the luxury of our Recording Manager Mickie Most's yacht! We were playing alongside all the big stars of the day. I recall Dusty Springfield as so tiny, but so majestic. Our Business Manager was Peter Grant, who went on to manage Led Zeppelin.I remember us doing a Radio Luxemburg programme with Shaw Taylor and Muriel Young. I think it was called 'Swoon Club'. Boards were held up with the immortal words 'scream' and 'swoon' on them, for the live audience to do their thing, just in case there weren't any Beatles or other 'scream-worthy' people in the studio. I remember Jeff Beck was there, and we were mighty impressed when he came over to say 'hello' to our famous bass player (and personal manager) Brian Gregg. Brian had previously played with Johnnie Kidd and the Pirates, Terry Dene, the Tornados, Billy Fury and many others in the Larry Parnes stable of 'artists with silly names'. Brian was famed for writing the immortal bass line to Johnny Kidd and The Pirates' 'Shakin' All Over'!
Right: "This photo includes our 'mascot' (and real 'leader of The Pack') Sabre the Alsation dog."The Lovin' Spoonful's version of 'Do You Believe In Magic' was indeed the best - well, they wrote it after all - but Mickie Most insisted that we cover it. I had the flu when I sang it, but studio time was so limited, etc... excuses, excuses! We enjoyed a resurgence of sales a while after the single's release, due to radio and TV appearances. I remember a TV show produced in Bristol by TWW (Television Wales and the West), called 'Discs A'Go-Go' where we supported Bo Diddley. Wow, I'd love to see THAT footage again, but it was probably all wiped.
There was life after The Pack too, for me and for lead guitarist Andy Rickell. The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Linda Lewis, The Third Ear Band, and loads more groups, up to the present day.
I cannot help but chuckle when I read (at the bottom of the same page as the 24th October charts) about Ron Wood and brother Art Wood band The Artbirds, as the first band I joined when leaving The Pack in 1967/68 was The Artwoods, who had just changed their name to The St Valentine's Day Massacre. Art Wood actually left the band and I took his place as the band's lead singer in order to perform the outstanding live dates booked for The St.Valentines Day Massacre and to promote the final single "Buddy Can You Spare A Dime". Many years later, in 1988, the drummer of The Artbirds, Twink became the drummer of my band Magic Muscle when we reformed for a tour and to record an album. (Twink had been a member of The Fairies, Tomorrow, and The Pretty Things. See notes for Fab 40 14/03/65, where the Fairies appeared with a climber.)
All the Sixties stuff is represented with many photos of those times in the Rock Family Tree at my website (see below).I must admit, I have never dwelt much on my 'fab' days in The Pack before, even tho' I've got loads of memorabilia here. My website doesn't even scratch the surface! (Perhaps I should go all the way and upload everything?) On October 21st of 2006, I will be 60. Too old to be acting coy and 'cool' over my 'shock horror 1960's chart entry'! No matter that it wasn't a massive hit, being there was a privilege. But I've stayed in the music biz all along. I still play, release occasional albums and make my living selling music that is very much today, but also, to me anyway, in the true 'spirit of the 60's'. Brian Gregg is also still playing professionally.In the summer of 2005, I did a festival gig with Barry Melton, the lead guitarist (way back when) with Country Joe and the Fish. We were jamming at one stage, and I could literally sing anything I liked. For the first time in forty years, I sang 'Do You Believe In Magic'. It was exactly 40 years since the 'hit', and I really enjoyed it. What a pity I didn't find your site then, and get in touch. But better late than never. I hope some of your readers can find their way to my site to relive some of those special 1965-1967 moments and, indeed, listen to The Pack's inferior (tho' very 'punk rock') version of 'Do You Believe In Magic' in my Garden of Sound.

Ethereal Muscle "Believe In Magic", Live at Hilly Fields, July 2005.

Rod Goodway (Guitar and Vocals), Barry Melton (Rhythm Guitar), Huw Gower (Lead Guitar), Steve Carhart (Drums) and Vanessa Williams


Tracks:
1. Do You Believe In Magic
2. Things Bring Me Down
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Lost - No Reason Why (1966)


Δεν υπάρχει αμφιβολία ότι θα έχετε ακούσει χιλιάδες κομμάτια garage, οπότε σίγουρα κάποια θα έχετε ξεχωρίσει. Προσωπικά μου αρέσουν και ψάχνω κομμάτια που ξεφεύγουν από το κλασικό στυλ.
Κάποτε λοιπόν στην Βοστώνη υπήρξε αυτό το γκρουπάκι (σας είναι γνωστοί σίγουρα με το Back Door Blues) , του οποίου οι ηχογραφήσεις κυκλοφορούν σε ένα Cd με τίτλο The Lost - Early Recordings: Demos, Acoustic And Live 1965 - 1966 που περιέχει αρκετά ακυκλοφόρητα τότε κομμάτια. Δεν ξέρω αν έχετε ακούσει ποτέ το συγκεκριμένο διαμάντι. Αν όχι κάντε τον κόπο, το ανέβασα και δίπλα στο Gcast.
Στο συγκεκριμένο γκρουπ θα επανέλθω στο μέλλον

Track:
Lost - No Reason Why
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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Thorinshield – Thorinshield (1967)


Personnel:
- Terry Hand - vocals, drums (1967-69)- Bobby Ray - vocals, bass (1967-69)- James Smith - vocals (1967-69)

ALBUM:
1(A) THORINSHIELD (Philips PHS-600251) 1967
NB: (1) a mono pressing also exists (PHM 200-251).
45s:
1 The Best Of It/Life Is A Dream (Philips 40492) 1967
2 Family Of Man/Lonely Mountain Again (Philips 40521) 1968
NB: Some copies of (1) came in an art sleeve which advertised the album.

This obscure Los Angeles trio had its roots in the folk movement but at times paid lip service to some of the psychedelic trappings of the era. Musically the album is hard to peg, though if you enjoy the sunshine pop characterized byCurt Boettcher and groups like Sagitarrius, it's something you may want to check out. Tracks such as Wrong My Friend, Here Today and Life Is A Dream offered up a highly commercial mix of folk-rock and soft psych. The combination of great harmonies (check out Pleasure Time), coupled with occassional psychedelic touches (nice backwards guitar on One Girl) and attractive orchestration (Prelude To A Postlude), were quite impressive. Hardly 1967's most original debut, but well worth hearing, particularly if you can find it relatively cheap. The first 45 was on the album which was produced by the famous L.A. sax player Steve Douglas and arranged by Perry Botkin Jr. All their songs were written by Bobby Ray and James Smith.
Bobby Ray may be the same guy who played bass on Donovan's May 1966 sessions in L.A., including Season Of The Witch, The Trip and two unreleased pieces: Super Lungs (different version) and Breezes of Patchulie. Drummer Terry Hand had previous played in a number of surf bands and released a couple of singles as a member of Everpresent Fullness.
Compilation appearances include: Life Is A Dream on Electric Food (LP); Lonely Mountain Again on High All The Time, Vol. 2 (LP).
(Vernon Joynson/Stephane Rebeschini/Bob Brainen/Scott Blackerby)

Tracks:
1. Life Is A Dream
2. Brave New World
3. Wrong, My Friend
4. Here Today
5. Pleasure Time
6. The Best Of It
7. Daydreaming
8. Light That Love Brings
9. Prelude ToA Postlude
10. One Girl
11. Collage Of Attitudes
12. Family Of Man
13. Lonely Mountain Again

Infinity - Collected Works 1969-70


Σκαλίζοντας ένα σκληρό που αρχίζει να τα φτύνει με συνέπεια να έχω χάσει τον ύπνο μου μέχρι να γίνει κε νέου κανένα back up, έπεσα πάνω σε αυτό το αρχείο με το γκρουπ. Σκάλισα επίσης το νετ για κάποιες αναφορές στο δίσκο τις οποίες καταθέτω.
Επίσης βρήκα φωτογραφίες του γκρουπ που μάλλον δεν υπάρχουn εύκολα στο νετ τις οποίες έβαλα στο αρχείο.

1) This LP collects together previously unissued recordings from 1969/70 by an Essex-based (Yes!!!) 5-piece who grew from the ashes of The Cymbaline / Cymbeline and The Flies. Musically, their material encapsulates the wonderful "progressive pop sound"- post-Psych but pre-Prog Rock. Hammond organ, a funky rhythm section, superb guitar and beautiful Mirage-style harmony vocals. The opener, 'Venetian Glass', is an absolute treasure- floating and ethereal, yet with some real punch. Most of the tracks are self-penned but among a few covers there are sterling takes on 'Pattern People' and 'Taxman'. Other highlights include 'Space Shanty' (not the Khan song), 'Same Girl' and 'Time Keeper'. A fascinating glimpse into the exploits of a genuinely talented underground band. An essential purchase and beautifully presented, both aurally and visually.

2) The band were formed from the ashes of two legendary UK psyche bands The Flies and Cymbaline. They formed in 1969 and went for a more progressive sound than they had peddled before, but for the opening track 'Venetian Glass' it seems like they were still doing the psyche/pop stuff, good though it is. 'Space Shanty' is better, with the Hammond underpinning some nice guitar-work on a Procol Harum sounding rocker. 'Same Girl' is a nice ballad with a heavy guitar solo, and these three songs are probably the best on the album. Next up is a cover of George Harrison's 'Taxman' followed by '(I'm In Love With) A Girl Like You' which is 60's soul and 'I've Got You Under My Skin' which is so authentically done that you would swear it was a 60's harmony pop band like The Assocaition.

Time Keeper

*The History Behind This Song *
Timekeeper was one of the songs written by me for Infinity, a progressive rock band, (or a PRB as our drummer Phil would have it,) who most frequently resided on this planet, but however did suffer from the hallucinogenic and addictive effects of too much curry and lager and were known to visit seedy curry dens in the East End of London far too often.It was no surprise then that in early 1969 they decided to start work on a album exploring the subjects of time, space, matter, energy and chicken phal, said in some circles to be so culinarily hot it's temperature approached infinity!As it turned out the band split up amid arguments and even physical violence, not because of the usual musical differences, rather because they could not come to an agreement over the exact nature of string theory. I personally had always been an advocate of Ernie Ball 'Regular Slinky' guitar strings, but some of the others still favoured the 'Super Slinky' variation; in error I felt.The album project was thus abandoned. Now myself and Phil, the original drummer and the main songwriter of the band, after 37 years of wrangling inconclusively, have decided to put our scientific differences aside for the good of the band and are starting work on a new project called 'Infinity Regenesis', which is an attempt to re-capture the spirit of those times and that dream we both had when we were young men, but with lots of new material and a new vitality. That is if Phil's bad back clears up and I can get my blood pressure under control and my kidneys can last out another year or two before they wave the white flag or simply jump ship.I've actually rescued 4 tracks from the original album dating from 1969 - that's the year of Woodstock for all you kids out there. What do mean 'What's a wood stock? Is that something to do with shotguns?'No Einstein, der... It was a defining moment in Rock & Roll history! People in their thousands flocked to Woodstock, which is just outside Leicester, I think, with fluffy clouds and a big water-fall and we all had a real good vibe, man...It was also there where I met my first wife. We laughed a lot! Great sense of humour as I remember her...I think it was my wife anyway; I suppose it could have been someone else's wife. I'm CERTAIN I went to Woodstock though. It may have been The Isle of What’s name, thinking about it. I do remember Jimi Hendrix jamming on Race with the Devil, which no doubt pleased Adrian. Oh yes, he could certainly play the piano that guy!It was The Isle of What’s name for sure. Now I think about it, she wasn't my wife at all. Who the hell was she then? She must have been SOMEBODY'S wife, because I remember her telling me she'd bought her wedding ring from a gypsy on Brighton beach. To tell you the truth, I was pretty much out of it that year...

* The Lyrics to Timekeeper *

Verse 1
Ever since the beginning the Timekeeper had planned,
A Universal breakdown at the drop of a hand,
In a flash there was no-one, nothing learned, nothing said,
There's no proof of existence, not alive, never dead…
Verse 2
Say goodbye to your future, you might miss your past,
Now even space is broken, the present won't last,
In a flash it was over, was it all in the mind?
Proof you ever existed, you may never find…
Middle 8
There was no time to make seconds,
To make minutes make an hour,
Turning years into tears,
Now was then, then is now.
Verse 3
Now they see the illusion with the eyes of a child,
And amid the confusion, the Timekeeper he smiled,
I'm the power of creation, life and death, rise and fall,
I am life, I am legend, I'm time, I am all.

Venetian Glass

The *History Behind This Song *

This song is called Venetian Glass. It was another of the songs performed by Infinity in 1970 for the planned ‘Science? Fiction!’ album. This is the original recording made in 1969 which features the vocal performance and Hammond organ playing of the band's keyboardist John DaCosta, who also wrote this particular song. The other people playing on this record are Phil Chesterton on drums and vocals; myself, Brian Gill on guitar and vocals and Ian Baldwin on bass.This recording was made during the time Stuart Calver was in the band, but he wasn’t on any of the originals, except Same Girl, which he sung. He was brought in to the band originally to improve the vocal range of the band, which he did by not only singing some of the lead vocals, but also adding another level of harmony to the sound. It was also useful that he had a green Baldwin 12 string guitar (which I ended up buying myself) and on which he could play Byrds-like rhythms to thicken up the sound on some numbers.Stuart had a much sought after high-tenor voice. I remember when certain pieces of classical music, operas, arias etc. came on the radio (we used to listen to BBC Radio 3 in those days), Stuart would send up the vocalists with a parody of a classical voice and hit all the high notes in a way that would make the rest of us wince and clutch our groins!The production of this song is very much of its time and belies the fact that the band was a fairly heavy sounding, typical British rock band. Notice the way that John pronounces some of the words in a Colin Blunstone-esque English accent. John was really an East End boy like the rest of us, but this was an honest attempt at not trying to sound like a Yank, which of course was frowned on by English progressive rock bands in those days. The 3-part vocal counterpoint harmony break in the middle of the song is worthy of note. It sounds to me like it came from 'flower-power' American influences like the Mamas & Papas and Association.Although none of us were really singers in the Rod Stuart sense of the word, we did know a bit about harmony and our stage act included cover versions of songs like McArthur Park and the Beach Boys' Breakaway. We were basically a 3-part vocal rock band (4 part when on the rare occasions that Ian our bass player could be persuaded out of his comfort zone), which could be fairly heavy and could swing quite a bit too.John, Ian and myself were renewing an association we’d had in another British cult band of the time, when in 1967-8 we had all played in the Flies with the legendary vocalist and drummer Robin Hunt, who did a solo stint as 'Alexander Bell'. The venture may not have been a raging success, but at least it got Rob on the telly! Robin used to be the drummer of the band and was one of the founder members of the Flies.We brought in drummer Peter Dunton in early 1968 to relieve Robin of the job of being front man and drummer, as anybody who knew Robin realised that he was born to be a front man and had no chance of confining his contribution to the band to being part of the rhythm section! Pete was also the vocalist and drummer who would of course go on to form the seminal British cult rock band T2 and release the famous ‘It Will All Work Out In Boomland’ album, which featured Pete writing and also singing all the songs. Post Flies, Pete also had a stint with ‘Gun’ with the infamous Gurvitz brothers Paul and Adrian, who would both go on to do great things and be successful in Los Angeles, where they both now live.The other half of the Infinity story is that Phil and I both used to be in the Cymbaline in 1965-6 in which band I played bass. Phil also did an album with the Flies even before they changed their name to the Flies and were known as Insect, which was also before my time with the band. Flies was also an abbreviation; it started off as 'There Are No Flies On Us, But You Can See Where They've Been', which of course I thought was another one of Rob's brainwaves, but it was coined by George Hayward, the Flies guitarist whom I replaced. The name was modified to simply ‘Flies’ by Decca, the record company who released the band’s first single, I’m not your stepping stone’, which was also done by The Monkeys on the other side of the pond.They started life as In-Sect in early 1965, the year they got an opportunity to make an album of cover versions. Robin had a very serious illness which was eventually to kill him and this was the start of it and so Phil stepped in to cover for him on drums and did the whole album with them with John Hollis of The Cymbaline doing the vocals. I believe that Stu Calver was also on the album in some capacity, probably vocal backing.I left the Cymbaline in November 1966 to be replaced by none other than Stuart Calver and joined 'The Fingers’, an offbeat jug-rock band from Southend in Essex, after first doing a stint in 'The Impact' Germany playing the US Air Force and Army bases around Mainz and Stuttgart with Lloyd Courtenay, who was also the drummer in 'The Fingers' and these days still plays with the Barron Knights. The guitar of Impact was a chap called Mick Rogers. Mick was a very good guitarist/singer in the Steve Winwood mould, who went on to play guitar with the Manfred Mann band. With Lloyd, Mick and I the band backed a young Helen Shapiro in her cabaret and night club act, which was a very pleasant experience.Phil soldiered on with the Cymbaline for another two years after I left the band. His life was becoming more and more wretched and non-musical as time progressed and reached a nadir with the inclusion in their set of ‘I Wanna Be Like You’, the Disney song from the film Jungle Book which had singing gorillas and dancing bears. The point was that they needed somebody to make a pillock of themselves and dress up in a monkey suit and come out to the front of the stage and ham it up. Of course it had to be Phil! (Stuart Calver played the drums in his absence).With his characteristic cheerfulness and can-do attitude and the fact that Phil always could do a very credible impression of a monkey, he was a natural for the job and the number became a big success in their act. Phil was to continue in the ‘monkey’ role, which I believe that despite his frequent suicide attempts and severe depression, he secretly enjoyed, until March 1969, when he left the band. The Cymbaline drafted in Joe Dormer, another old mate and the original drummer with Joey and the Teens. Joe was also a very good drummer, but his talent stopped short of being a credible monkey, so in a way it was the end of an era when Phil left the band and The Cymbaline eventually split up completely several months later.Meanwhile, Phil and I met up one night also in March 1969 and decided to form a thoroughly musical project which became Infinity. By chance, the Flies had at that time also split up; Robin formed a band called Bulldog Breed with Pete Dunton and John and Ian were temporarily out of work and so were approached by Phil and me to join Infinity, as we’d decided to call the new band. The name was a result of us both being heavily into science fiction books and the writing of Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clark and others.The irony is that after some months, Infinity decided that we needed a feature number to give the set some relief and to lighten the mood and we decided to do the old Beach Boys' number 'Monster Mash', for which we needed someone to dress up as a Frankenstein monster, bolt-through-the-neck etc and come out the front of the stage and sing the song in a ‘scary monster’ style, complete with dysfunctional stiff arm and leg movements. We of course chose Ian for the job! He was bigger than the rest of us and made an admirable monster. We found him a big pair of boots and an old overcoat and bought him a rubber monster-head to wear.We sometimes had problems with drunks and wallies down the front of the stage, who would keep setting light to him with their cigarette lighters, which seems a lot funnier now than it did at the time, but it was a success in our act as well.We also did a another feature song where Ian came out dressed as a builder's labourer, carrying a shovel, with muddy boots on and wearing a handkerchief with four knots on his head, complete with a big metal 'Men at Work' sign that we'd nicked on the A1 whilst coming back from a gig. He then proceeded to sing a song called 'Hole in the ground', that had been done by Bernard Cribbins many years previously. The song told of a builder’s labourer who's job it was to dig a hole, for no apparent purpose, who was beset by a man from presumably the local council, who walked officiously on stage, decked out in a suit and a bowler hat and carrying a clipboard. That was none other than John, our keyboard player. The pair of them then sang a duet for the rest of the number, with John telling Ian all the reasons why he couldn’t dig the hole. Another success!You have to wonder though why bands try so earnestly to play good music when it seems that all the public really want is slapstick and monkey suits. Perhaps it's no surprise that the prognosis for many artists is to wind up floating in some celeb's swimming pool pumped full of heroin or barbiturates.It was a bit of an issue for me to decide to put songs that other people had written on my website. After all, the site is supposed to be about my songs and my life. I decided that I could not tell the story of my early life in the bands that I played in without mentioning the other people that played in them too. Infinity was a part of my life. I met a lot of people then with whom I still have an association. Some enduring friendships were formed in those years and there were some people with whom I went on to have a difficult history outside of the bands; John is one of them. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since those days and continues to flow at an ever quickening pace. It is like the expanding universe theory; the bigger it gets the faster it gets bigger.

*The Lyrics to Venetian Glass*
Verse 1
When I first saw her here,
I looked away,
I didn't want to know,
If she would stay,
She came from such a different class,
She looked just like Venetian Glass.
Verse 2
When I looked round again,
She'd disappeared,
I searched, but quite in vain,
The place had cleared,
I didn't know just where to ask,
My only thought, Venetian Glass.
SoloVerse 3
When I had glanced around,
I saw a small boy,
Who said that he had found,
A broken toy,
Right then my life looked like a farce,
Some people break Venetian Glass.
Verse 4
(baa baas)Baa baa baa, baa baa baa,

Same Girl

*The History Behind This Song *

‘Same Girl’ was written about one of Phil’s girl acquaintances – I’d better not say which one until I speak to him. It was not going to be on the Infinity album, which had a science fiction theme, and was instead the most logical choice for a single release. I don’t remember the process by which Stuart was chosen to sing it, probably we all had a go at it and he sounded the best.The other point worthy of mention is the guitar I had at the time and which I played all through the Infinity era was a 1961 Gibson 'Les Paul' Custom, which was the third 'Les Paul' shape variation and the prototype model for the later SG models. I'd bought it in 1968 from a guy who lived in a big house in Weybridge, Surrey, who may well have been famous as a lot of 'pop' stars live in that part of the world. The guitar was then black and some time after I had it I realised that black wasn't the original colour, so I had it sprayed the original off-white. The guy who did the job for me was a famous sprayer who had a contract to spray guitars made by a big manufacturer and the standard of his work was usually excellent. So it came as a surprise when I got the guitar back and saw that he had made a complete pig's breakfast of the job!I took it back to Freedman's music shop in Leytonstone and they dutifully chucked it back at him and to his credit he did have another go at it, but it was never the same afterwards. In fact I used him again on subsequent occasions and his work was always fine, but he did bugger up my old Gibson. I am happily struck by how good it is sounding after thirty odd years of not hearing it. Not wishing to blow my own trumpet (or to mix my own metaphors), I think the guitar sounds great on this song. I had forgotten how good a Gibson can sound - these days it seems to be all Strats, Strats, Strats. (Fender Stratocaster guitars)Stuart Calver was one of nature’s nice people. He was polite, good humoured, cheerful, good company, unassuming – in short, a thoroughly good bloke whom everybody liked. I never knew of him loosing his cool. It is sad that he is no longer with us. He suffered a very long illness which I believe was something to do with an allergy to gluten that turned into something far worse. As there is gluten in most of the food we eat, sufferers are basically living on a knife-edge and have to scrutinise everything they eat and drink. It is not just that gluten is present in bread and flour products, which many people think, it is in the most innocuous foods that we take for granted, like ketchup for instance.Stuart would seem perfectly fine for days at a time then he would get really serious stomach ache that sometimes would double him up in pain, caused by accidentally eating a very small quantity of a flour product that had not been labeled correctly or that he had missed for some reason. There were other give-away signs like the fact that he was always ultra-slim and had a hard job maintaining his weight so that when found a food that he could eat, he would eat vast amounts of it. For instance, Infinity did a summer season in Jersey in the summer of 1969 and for part of the trip we rented a bungalow, which is a story in itself, but I won’t get into that here. In the kitchen of the bungalow there was a communal food cupboard and like a flat full of students, we had to label our individual food items or risk having them nicked by another member of the band. I saw Stuart tip a whole box of Sugar Puffs into a casserole dish and pour a whole pint of milk on them with six spoonfuls of sugar and eat the lot without another word! I also saw him turn grey almost in agony when he ate something he shouldn’t have. Needless to say, his digestion was really strange. One of the sounds that we grew to dread in the van going or coming back from a gig was '...Sorry fellahs, horse and cart'I first met him in the summer of 1964, when I was out of a band temporarily and Phil mentioned to me that he had a friend at work, Stuart, who also played guitar and sung and who also was not in a band at that time. I gave him a ring and arranged to go round to his house in Auriel Avenue in Dagenham East. Getting to Dagenham from where I lived with my Mum and Dad in Chigwell is a very easy journey by car and very difficult and arduous by train. As I was only 15 at the time, it had to be the train, which entails taking the Central Line via Mile End, which is practically into the City and back out again on the District Line to Dagenham East station.Thankfully Stuart’s road was fairly close to the station because you really don’t want to hump a guitar case and an amplifier for miles! It turned out that his family came from Scotland and when I got to know Stuart a bit, his gran became the model for the band when anybody needed to do an impersonation of a Scottish granny…‘Ehh…would ye be wunting a nice cup of tea? …and mebby one of these wee cakkies, uv jest beeked tham…?’ (sorry about that).We played through a few numbers and played each others guitars, which I thought Stuart found particularly painful because he was very, very fastidious where his gear was concerned. He played a second-hand cherry red 1963 or ’64 Gibson 335 in a Gibson fitted case and they both looked like they were brand spanking new. There was a brand new yellow fluffy duster under the strings and he used to clean his guitar and strings thoroughly every time he played anything.I looked on in wonder. It was the first time I had ever seen anybody look after a guitar like they tell you to do in the instructions. My old Gretsch Tennessean looked a bit sad by comparison, but it did have a nice neck – bloody awful pick-ups which had next to no output, but the neck was nice.I remember in 1967 – I still stuck with the Gretsch even then – I bought a Vox AC 30, which I’ve never heard anybody say wasn’t a loud amplifier, but when I used it with the Gretsch in my band at that time, I kept turning up and up until I found myself looking at a big row of 10’s and then someone said ‘You’ll have to turn up a bit Brian, I can’t hear you’ At that time I lost patience with it and bought a Telecaster. It was my own fault really; I didn’t check if the Vox was a ‘top boost’ model, which was about twice the volume of the standard issue. (that’s how Brian May got such an incredible sound).We had a few such meetings at Stuart’s house and the next time we almost brought in a bass player. It was a guy called Brian Young, who had very nice hair (I learned to watch for people with nice hair at a very early age because my own head of hair was already plotting its escape!). He looked like one of the Beatles, which couldn’t have been a bad thing and in keeping with his overall image, he played a Hofner Beatle bass. I’ve no idea where he ended up as after those few meetings because I lost track of him. He probably joined one of the dozens of Dagenham bands that there were in existence at the time. The next thing that happened was I joined a band called The Crossfires, and blew Stuart out! They were some of Stuart’s mates and lived in the same area and, most importantly to me, had not only a bass player – the legendary Bernard Jinks of T2 fame, but a good singer called Malcolm Lefbridge and a van and – it just kept getting better and better! – a few gigs!After this period we lost touch for a while, then in November 1966, I left the Cymbaline, in which band I was the bass player at the time. Phil and Gerry from the old Buccaneers were also in the band. Stuart was brought in after my departure as a replacement.
*The Lyrics to Same Girl*
Verse 1
I sat upon a hill, wondering why,
She looked that way still to my eyes,
Chorus 1
And you know she’s not the same girl inside, inside,
You know she’s a strange girl with things to hide,
And though she smiles so sweetly, just like before,
And you know she’s not the same girl anymore,
Verse 2
I slowly turned away, trying to hide,
The tears that started falling from my eyes,
Chorus 2
Because I found she’s not the same girl inside, inside,
I don’t know who’s to blame girl, so let it ride,
And though she looks appealing, just like before,
You know she’s not the same girl anymore.
Repeat chorus 2
Because I found she’s not the same girl inside, inside,
I don’t know who’s to blame girl, so let it ride,
And though she looks appealing, just like before,
You know she’s not the same girl anymore.

Space Shanty

* The History Behind This Song *

In February or March of 1970; it's a long time back now and my memory is not what it was, Infinity went to Denmark. Ian, John and myself had been there previously with another band, The Flies in 1968 and the crac was legendary! We had a gig playing in The Revolution club in Copenhagen, which was a very nice place, perhaps a little bit posy as I remember it. We had been working on the album that we intended recording at home and had rehearsed several of the numbers in the old scout hut that we used to rehearse in and although the band had been a five-piece outfit for some time, we had done the proposed tracks Space Shanty and Timekeeper as a four-piece.I can’t remember the exact circumstances, but for some reason Stuart was not included in the arrangement of them playing or singing. We decided to play them live for the first time at the Revolution one night and Stuart left the stage and went down to the bar to listen. That particular night we had all – all except Phil that is - basically got off our faces on a variety of substances which we’d either drunk, smoked, or chucked down our throats or all of the above and because we’d all taken different things at different times, the mood of each member of the band varied greatly!John, with whom I shared a room that month, had recently made a contribution to ‘the joint account’ as he called it – always the financial mind at work in one way or the other – and then made successive withdrawals. Ian was absolutely pissed as he was standing at the bar, stiching up an enthusiastic American fan for an endless number of lagers, so after about an hour he was as pissed as about four different coloured and extremely inebriated poodles. I too had made a withdrawal from John’s ‘joint account’, but had also dropped several Hallies, pep pills named after the famous British actress Halley Mills – they were Preludin pills actually and in Denmark you could buy them over the counter at chemist’s shops. They used to give them to air crews during the War to keep them awake and I can tell you they did work! A couple of Prellies and you’d have the strength of ten men!Meanwhile, poor old Phil was huffing and puffing about some completely imagined state of affairs that must have displeased him greatly and we could hear him muttering from behind his drum kit...‘Come on, let’s get down to some bloody work! Call this a professional band? Well, do you? Am I the ONLY one of you that’s professional enough to stay stone-cold sober? Well, am I? Come on, I’m waiting...’He was not happy at all. I think in the end, to relieve his suffering and save any further damage to the band's ear drums, we gave him a handfull of Hallies and he washed them down with a half bottle of somebody's scotch and from that point onwards, he started talking perfect sense that we could all understand.So we did the numbers and they sounded great. That was the top of the curve for me. I think that that was the best Infinity ever sounded. It seemed to me that we were in the zone. You get to a state sometimes when you’re playing when you know precisely what’s happening and you can hear everything perfectly in balance. You seem to have all the time in the world and you feel capable of playing anything that comes into your mind. Or I was just stoned? – it must have been one of the two!I was told afterwards that John had actually fallen asleep during his Hammond solo and the bit I thought was a devastatingly brilliant piece of power-chord playing was in fact John falling asleep and falling all over the keyboard with both arms!When we’d finished playing the numbers, Stuart came back up to the stage and said‘Fellahs, that was bloody brilliant – you don’t need me, do you?’

* The Lyrics To This Song *
The lyrics to this song are not available at present due reasons of copyright and me not wanting to spend the next 20 years behind bars!
Right; all sorted! Here you are...

Space Shanty
Section 1
When you're out upon the rim,
Where the Galaxy grows thin,
And the stars that can be seen,
Are so few and far between...
In the corner of your screen,
A tiny planet can be seen,
What men could live on such as this?
Drfting blind through the abyss...
Section 2
I jumped a ship on Juno,
A blue white blazing star,
They dropped me on this planet,
I landed in the bar.
My father came from Venus,My Mother came from Earth,
I drown in drink the travel stink,
From half the Universe,
Whenever we are drinking,
And that's the whole night long,
We raise our beer and you can hear,
This drunken spaceman's song.
Section 3
I've seen the Rings of Saturn,
And I've orbited the Sun,
I left the Solar system,
When my life had just begun,
The Human race can live in Space,
We know which course to steer,
A spaceman's consolation is,
A belly full of beer.
(repeat last section 3 times)

Members:
Ian, bass;
Phil, drums;
Brian Gill, guitar;
Stu, guitar;
John, keyboards.
Μanager was a Jerseyman called Renzo Martin

Tracks:
Venetian Glass
Space Shanty
Same Girl
Taxman
(I'm In Love With) A Girl Like You
I've Got You Under My Skin (instr)
Time Keeper
Venetain Glass (instr)
Pattern People
(I'm In Love With) A Girl Like You (Mono)
I've Got You Under My Skin
Taxman (instr)

Friday, February 20, 2009

Snow - Snow (1968)


Κρύο, χιονόνερο, αέρας, διακοπές ρεύματος, internet με το στανιό, ήρθαν και οι …Snow και έδεσε το γλυκό.

Personnel incl:
WILL RYAN A

ALBUM:
1( ) SNOW (Epic BN 26435) 1968

45:
1 Where Has My Old Friend Billy Jones Gone/Caterpillar (Epic 5 10425) 1968

From Cleveland, Ohio, this band were originally known as the Muther's Oats. The awful folk-ballad 'A' side can be ignored here. The flip however is an incredibly strange slab of psych-pop which is somewhere between The Beatles' I Am The Walrus and Sweetwater's My Crystal Spider. Truly a relic of the era. Both 45 cuts also appear on their eponymous album, of which Catapillar and Song Of The Sirens are the standout tracks. The band's female singer was recruited by the record producers to change their sound.
On the album, the first three tracks are pretty bland multi-voiced folk-rock, although the short guitar incisions are promising. What follows on Side One is strangely melodic acid-rock with oblique harmonies on the brilliant Engelbert, and a kind of twisted Peanut Butter Conspiracy influence, with a sharp tempo change and toytown psych on You Let Me Know. Side two is even better, starting with the piercing guitar on Song Of The Sirens, another track reminiscent of PBC. A coiled waltz similar to Aorta, The Flying Miraldos follows suit, whilst Sweet Dreams and Bab's Song are pompous but cultivated baroque harmony pop with lush arrangements. The venom is in the tail where the tour de force Caterpillar pulls all stops and ushers the listener through more effects and key changes in three minutes and sounds as boldly experimental today as anything from this period.
Will Ryan later recorded as Willio And Phillio in the seventies and eighties.
Compilation appearances have included: Song Of The Sirens on Psychosis From The 13th Dimension (CDR & CD); Where Has My Old Friend Billy Jones Gone on Rockbusters (LP).
(Max Waller/Joe Rein/George Gell/Marcel Koopman)
Tracks:
01 - The Flying Miraldos
02 - Song Of The Sirens
03 - Where Has My Old Friend Billy Jones Gone
04 - Old Uncle Timothy΄s Flying Baloon
05 - The Golden Oldie Show
06 - Sweet Dreams
07 - Bab΄s Song
08 - Caterpillar
09 - You Let Me Know
10 - Engelbert

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Superfine Dandelion - Superfine Dandelion (1967)


Superfine Dandelion drew from a lot of fine inspirations on their sole album: Jefferson Airplane, the Lovin' Spoonful, and Buffalo Springfield foremost among them. Good taste, however, does not guarantee a good record. Superfine Dandelion isn't lousy; it's just average and unmemorable. It seems as though they did their share of listening to the early Jefferson Airplane, judging from the extremely Airplane-like vocal interplay and minor chord structure of "People in the Street" and "Crazy Town." "My Place," on the other hand, has something of the country-flavored buoyancy of the Lovin' Spoonful and Buffalo Springfield, while the cheeriest cuts have the sunny folk-pop/rock feel of, say, some of the L.A. folk-rock issued by the Dunhill label ("Don't Try to Call Me" recalls P.F. Sloan) or the Monkees. Then "Janie's Tomb" and "It's Raining" have a jokey jug band vibe, like a cross between the Charlatans and the Lovin' Spoonful. These are lot of references to cram into one review, and also an indication that there wasn't much originality to Superfine Dandelion's sound. That wouldn't matter so much if the songs were outstanding, but they're just so-so. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Personnel:
RICK ANDERSON bs, gtr A
ED BLACK gtr, keyb'ds A
MIKE COLLINS drms A
MIKE McFADDEN gtr, vcls A

ALBUM:
1(A) SUPERFINE DANDELION (Mainstream S/6102) 1967
NB: (1) pirated on CD (no label), later reissued officially (Sundazed SC 11057) 2000. The Sundazed version comprises the original album, plus 45s, unreleased track/alternate takes and four cuts by the Mile Ends.

45s:
1 The Other Sidewalk/Ferris Wheel (Rook no #) 1967
2 The Other Sidewalk/Don't Try To Call Me (Rook no #) 1967
3 People In The Street/ ? (Mainstream 672) 1967
4 CrazyTown (Move On Little Children)/Janie's Tomb (Mainstream 673) 1967

This outfit was based in Phoenix, Arizona between 1966-68 and were earlier known as The Mile Ends. Their first 45 contains the fine psychedelic punk of The Other Sidewalk, and the flip features sitars and has a mellow trippy feel, with the vocalist wishing that he'd never come down...
After such an interesting start, they went on to chart regionally with their People In The Street 45, but their album had a strong country influence and is largely dispensable.
Most of the band later went on to greater things - Black and McFadden joined Goose Creek Symphony and later worked for Linda Ronstadt. Anderson later joined Beans who evolved into The Tubes.
Compilation appearances include: The Other Sidewalk on The Lost Generation, Vol. 2 (LP); The Other Sidewalk and Ferris Wheel on Psychedelic Moods - Part Two (CD); Janie's Tomb on Songs Of Faith And Inspiration (CDR & CD).

Tracks:
Candy Man
Bottle Up and Go
I Can Never Say
Bring 'Em on In
Ferris Wheel
People in the Street
Crazy Town (Move on Little Children)
My Place
Day and Night
Shameful Lady
Janie's Tomb
It's Raining
Don't Try to Call Me
The Other Sidewalk
What's the Hurry?
Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head
Ferris Wheel
The Other Sidewalk
http://sharebee.com/543adc11

Friday, February 13, 2009

Epitaph for a Legend - International Artists Story



Μία ιστορική από πάσης πλευράς συλλογή της εταιρείας από το Τέξας. Τι ξεχωρίζω από το διπλό αυτό δίσκο? Καταρχήν το γεγονός ότι εδώ άκουσα για πρώτη φορά τους Red Krayola «νορμάλ». Μετά έχουμε την δημιουργία των 13th Floor Elevators. Αν θυμάμαι καλα ήταν φθινόπωρο του 1965 όταν οι Spades κυκλοφορούσαν το You're Gonna Miss Me. Η International Artists, η ιστορική εταιρεία του Τέξας άκουσε το κομμάτι και αποφάσισε να αγοράσει τα δικαιώματα του. Συγχρόνως συμφώνησαν με το γκρουπ να αλλάξουν το όνομα τους και έτσι γεννήθηκαν οι αξεπέραστοι 13th Floor Elevators. Θρύλοι και μύθοι υπάρχουν στο τι έγινε μέχρι η εταιρεία να τους πείσει να ηχογραφήσουν. Ο θρύλος αναφέρει ότι για να το καταφέρει, τους έκλεισε μέσα σε ένα χώρο και αφού πρώτα τους επέτρεψε να κουβαλήσουν τόση μεγάλη ποσότητα ναρκωτικών που θα κινδύνευε πόλη. Η συλλογή περιέχει επίσης την δυσεύρετη κομματάρα των Chapparrals, το τρομερό spot για την κυκλοφορία του Bull Of The Woods αλλά και πολλά άλλα ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα. (Το μπλε αυτοκολλητάκι δεξιά πάνω γράφει 7.000 δρχ.).

SIDE ONE
1. The Chaynes - "Night Time" (3:02)
2. The Patterns - "In My Own Time" (2:21)
3. The Chapparrals - "I Tried So Hard" (2:54)
4. Thursday's Children - "A Part of You" (2:11)
5. The Electric Rubayyat - "If I Were a Carpenter" (2:40)
6. Sonny Hall - "Poor Planet Earth" (2:11)
7. Inner Sense - "Communication Breakdown" (2:55)

SIDE TWO
1. Red Krayola - "Hurricane Fighter Plane" (3:56)
2. Red Krayola - "Pink Stainless Tail" (4:14)
3. Red Krayola - "Nickle Niceness" (2:59)
4. Red Krayola - "Vile Vile Grass" (2:20)
5. Red Krayola - "Transparent Radiation" (2:53)
6. The Emperors - "I Want My Woman" (2:41)
7. Lost & Found - "25 M.P.H." (2:08)

SIDE THREE
1. Big Walter - "Breakfast in Bed" (2:31)
2. Dave Allen - "C.C. Rider" (2:34)
3. Dave Allen - "Saturday a.m. Blues" (4:02)
4. Lightnin' Hopkins - "Conversation with Lightnin' Hopkins" (3:40)
5. Lightnin' Hopkins - "Black Ghost" (3:52)

SIDE FOUR
1. Various Artists - "Excerpts Inter. With Roky, Ksam 4/1/78" (2:43)
2. Spades - "You're Gonna Miss Me" (3:24)
3. Spades - "We Sell Soul" (3:14)
4. Roky/C. Hall - "Splash I" (3:12)
5. Roky/C. Hall - "Right Track Now" (3:12)
6. 13th Floor Elevators - "Wait for My Love" (3:41)
7. 13th Floor Elevators - "60’’ Radio Spot/Bull of the Woods" (1:07)
8. 13th Floor Elevators - "Fire Engine" (3:17)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Kaleidoscope with Larry Williams and Johnny Watson - Nobody (1967)


Όταν ο κόσμος είχε κέφια έβγαζε τέτοια κομμάτια. Βάζω στο blog αυτή την κομματάρα διότι ίσως ξέφυγε της προσοχής κάποιων…άνθρωποι είμαστε.
Ο Larry Williams ήταν μουσικός (πιανίστας) που ξεκίνησε στα 50’ς στην Νέα Ορλεάνη. Στα 60’ς δούλευες σαν παραγωγός στην Okeh label αλλά και σε άλλες εταιρείες. Στην πορεία μαζί με το φιλαράκι του, τον Johnny “Guitar” Watson βγάλανε κάτι δισκάκια, αλλά γενικά σαν τύποι δεν ήταν παράδειγμα «ηθικής». Στο ιστορικό τους αναγράφεται ότι ήταν μεγάλα μούτρα, ανακατεμένοι με χοντρό εμπόριο ναρκωτικών, εμπόριο λευκής σαρκός (ο π.χ. Williams έβγαλε χοντρά φράγκα ως προαγωγός), πορνεία και άλλα τινά «αθλήματα».
Έγινε το κονέ με τους Kaleidoscope (τα παιδιά ήταν καθαρά μην έχοντας καμία απολύτως σχέση με τέτροιες βρωμοδουλειές) κάπου το 67, με αποτέλεσμα αυτό το ανεπανάληπτο κράμα έθνικ, ψυχεδέλειας και μπλουζ.


Track:
Kaleidoscope with Larry Williams and Johnny Watson - Nobody

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Endless Journey - Phase One, Phase Two, Phase Three


Είχα την τύχη στα νιάτα μου (κάπου το 83) να ακούσω αυτή την εξαιρετική ψυχεδελική τριλογία της PSYCHO, η οποία ως περιεχόμενο με επηρέασε μουσικά τα μέγιστα και στάθηκε αιτία στις κατοπινές μου αναζητήσεις. Τη θεωρώ ως μία από τις καλύτερες συλλογές όλων των εποχών. Ίσως η απόλυτη συλλογή.
Εκτός βέβαια των Lp’s της PSYCHO κάπου στις αρχές το 90, κυκλοφόρησε και αυτό το Αγγλικής νομίζω προέλευσης cd, του οποίου την φωτό βλέπεται και γενικά δεν το βλέπω να κυκλοφορεί στο νετ. Η έκδοση αυτή που συμπεριέλαβε και τις τρεις «φάσεις» του ταξιδιού, τα μπέρδεψε στο οπισθόφυλλο λίγο καθώς έχει ανακατέψει τα κομμάτια. Οι μόνες «πληροφορίες» που βρήκα για το cd που βλέπεται, υπάρχουν εδώ http://www.deaddisc.com/ot/Endless_Journey.htm
Παρακάτω έχω ξεχωρίσει τα κομμάτια έτσι όπως τα έβαλε η PSYCHO στα Lp της.



V.A. - Endless Journey (Phase One)

Tracks:
1. Moving Sidewalks - I Want To Hold Your Hand
2. Rising Storm - Baby Please Don't Go
3. Outcasts - Smokestack Lightning
4. Oxford Circle - Foolish Woman
5. Oxford Circle - Mind Destruction
6. Unsettled Society - 17 Diamond Studded Cadillacs
7. Finchley Boys - I'm Not Like Everybody Else
8. Rising Storm - A Message To Pretty
9. Rising Storm - Don't Look Back
10. Clique - Splash 1
11. Mystic Tide - Psychedelic Journey Pts. 1+2


V.A. - Endless Journey (Phase Two)

Tracks:
1. Paisleys - Wind
2. Finchley Boys - It All Ends
3. Creme Soda - Tonight
4. Flat Earth Society - Feelin' Much Better
5. Mint - Can't Be Free
6. Mint - We're Friends
7. Help - Do You Understand The Words
8. C.A. Quintet - Blow To My Soul
9. Hunger - Workshop
10. C.A. Quintet - Cold Spider
11. Faine Jade - People Games Play
12. Faine Jade - Cold Winter Sun
13. Kak - Trieulogy
14. Creme Soda - Keep It Heavy


V.A. - Endless Journey (Phase Three)

Tracks:
1. Them - Gloria
2. Them - Baby Please Don't Go
3. Electric Rubayyat - If I Were A Carpenter
4. Clear Light - Sand
5. Cykle - Lesson To Learn
6. Cykle - Do My Thing
7. 49th Parallel - Close The Barn Door
8. T. Swift & The Electric Bag - Are You Experienced?
9. Golden Dawn - My Time
10. Frumious Bandersnatch - Hearts To Cry
11. Dirty Filthy Mud - The Forest Of Black
12. Strange - Ruler Of The Universe

Phase One http://sharebee.com/cc10cdbf
Phase Two http://sharebee.com/ea5da2d4
Phase Three http://sharebee.com/3cbe925e

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Elephant's Memory - Elephant's Memory (1969)


Personnel:
RICHARD "CHESTER" AYERS gtr A
STAN BRONSTEIN vcls, sax A B C D
RICK FRANK drms, vcls A B C D
MICHAL SHAPIRO vcls A
RICHARD SUSSMAN piano, organ A
JOHN WARD bs, gtr, drms A B
MYRON YULES bs, trombone A B
DAVID COHEN gtr, vcls, keyb'ds B
GUY PERITORE (*) gtr, vcls B
MIKE ROSE gtr B
WAYNE TEX GABRIEL gtr C
ADAM IPPOLITO keyb'ds, vcls C
GARY VAN SCYOC bs, vcls C D
CHRIS ROBISON keyb'ds D
JOHN SACHS gtr D
(JOHN LENNON vcls, piano C)
(YOKO ONO vcls C)
NB: (*) misspelled on the album as 'Peratori'.

ALBUMS:
1(A) ELEPHANT MEMORY (Buddah BDS-5033) 1969
2(A) SONGS FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY (Buddah BDS-5038) 1970
3(B) TAKE IT TO THE STREETS (Metromedia MD-1035) 1971
4(C) ELEPHANT'S MEMORY (Apple SMAS 3389) 1972
5(D) ANGELS FOREVER (Polydor 2383 260) 1974

45s:
1 Keep Free pt. 1/pt. 2 (Buddha ?) 1968
2 Crossroads Of The Stepping Stones/Jungle Gym (Buddah ?) 1969
3 Mongoose/ I Couldn't Dream (Metromedia MM 210) 1970
4 Skyscraper Commando/ Power (Metromedia MM 210) 1970
NB: (2) also released in Germany with a PS (Buddah 201050). (3) also released in France with a PS (CBS 5207). (4) 'A' side is a non-LP cut.

Originating from New York, Elephant Memory was formed in 1967 by Bronstein and Frank, who were both playing the strip joint circuit. They soon became known for their outrageous performances, with light shows, destruction of sculptures and weird outfits. After recruiting a young Israeli singer, Michal Shapiro they were signed to the Wes Farrell Organization, a powerful management and production company. Their first album was released in February 1969 and has a flashing sleeve, the group members being pictured nude, covered with paints, in front of an elephant. An interesting record, mixing psych, dreamy ballads, jazz and hard rock, two of the songs, Old Man Willow and Jungle Gym At The Zoo appeared on the soundtrack to 'Midnight Cowboy'.
With the success of this film, Buddah released Songs From Midnight Cowboy, which was basically a reissue of the first album with new versions of Everybody's Talkin' and Theme From Midnight Cowboy.
Michal Shapiro, Richard Sussman and Chester Ayers then left with Richard Sussman joining Grootna. A new line-up was put together and the next album, produced by Ted Cooper, Take It To The Streets was totally different to their debut. Elephant's Memory were now playing a very effective hard-rock, obviously inspired by the Detroit groups of the era. Tracks like Power, Piece Now, Damn and Mongoose are powerful and Mongoose became a hit. Incidentally Rick Frank is credited as "Reek Havoc" on the sleeve.
Following this album, the line-up changed again and the band backed John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Some Time In New York City and Approximately Infinite Universe. Their fourth album was naturally issued on Apple and has a good reputation.
In 1973, they backed Chuck Berry on his Bio album and finally released a final record in 1974, produced at the Rockfield Studios in Wales by Steve Smith.
Stan Bronstein launched a jazz-rock career, Rick Frank formed various local bands but died in the nineties. Adam Ippolito went on to play with soul and funk groups and Wayne Tex Gabriel joined Mitch Ryder. Adrian Peritore (aka Guy Peritore) later formed Beede Oms with David Cohen and went on to play with The Motels amongst others.
(Vernon Joynson/Stephane Rebeschini)

Tracks:
1. Band Of Love
2. Brief Encounter
3. Crossroads Of The Stepping Stones
4. Don't Put Me On Trial No More
5. Hot Dog Man
6. Jungle Gym At The Zoo
7. R.I.P.
8. Super Heep
9. Takin' A Walk
10. Yogurt Song
11. Old Man Willow

Sunday, February 01, 2009

One Year Old


Psychspaniolos is one year old.
Thank you all.
Πέρυσι τέτοια μέρα ξεκίνησα το blog, με στόχο να προβάλλω την μουσική που μου αρέσει και ακούω, εκτιμώντας ότι υπάρχουν «ομοϊδεάτες» και ευτυχώς αποδείχθηκε ότι υπάρχουν και χάρηκα. Μπορεί να μην είναι πολλοί αλλά υπάρχουν. Εξάλλου η ποσότητα δεν παίζει ρόλο.
Ελπίζω να έχουμε την υγεία μας και τον χρόνο να συνυπάρχουμε εδώ μέσα και στην συνέχεια.
Σας ευχαριστώ όλους και καλό μήνα.