Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Hardwater (1968)

This band was formerly known as The Astronauts. In 1967 they left their surf sound behind and made a 45 with a different line-up (Sally Go 'Round The Roses/Pay The Price) as Sunshine Ward. They moved to Los Angeles, got signed by Capitol and released their self-titled album (Capitol ST 2964 / 1968). It's a pretty West Coast sounding affair but it seems they were a bit late on the spot. All in all it's a good one and even producer David Axelrod couldn't ruin it. Three of their tracks (City Sidewalks, Sanctuary and Good Ole Friends) were also recorded by Yankee Dollar.

Tracklist:
- Medley: My Time/Take A Long Look
- City Sidewalks
- Love And I
- Monday
- Plate Of My Fare
- Not So Hard
- Good Ole Friends
- Sanctuary
- To Nowhere
- Good Luck

Personnel:
Richard Otis Fifield (gtr, vcls)
Peter M. Wyant (gtr)
Robert Carl McLerian (bs)
Tony Murillo (drms)

Band origin:
Los Angeles (California/US)

Discographie:
Albums:
1. Hardwater (Capitol ST 2954) 1968

45's:
1. City Sidewalks/Not So Hard (Capitol 2230) 1968
2. Plate Of My Fare/Good Old Friends (Capitol 2373) 1969

Get it here (Artwork included / vinyl rip)

Listen to Not So Hard

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr Billy can, happy new year, thank you for posting this album, at last i've found it, Do you have a Mexican group called Los Chijuas, I'm looking for their second album.

frumious bandersnatch said...

Very good album. I only had a bad vinyl rip (with cracks & skips) until now, something I found on the web long ago, & it was rather frustrating. So, thanks to you for this quality rip.
& Best wishes for the new year !

Anonymous said...

Many Thanks !! I love this album , I have the vinyl , but this sounds GREAT !. And the covers are perfect !!

Greetings from: The Netherlands

Alex said...

Thanks for this...but David Axelrod, one of the greatest producers of all time, ruining something? I have to say that's an odd thought.

Anonymous said...

Axelrod did destroy the Electric Prunes, I must say.

Anonymous said...

Axelrod in no way "ruined" the Electric Prunes, they couldn't play his arrangements and weren't really into the sound he was going for. Release of an Oath and Mass in F Minor should have been Ax's solo albums, they should be considered lucky to have worked with him. You can' ruin something that wasn't all that great to begin with, mid range psych band, thats all.

Britannica said...

Gonna have to agree with the last poster...Axelrod is a jazz and funk legend. Release of an Oath is one of my favorite rock albums in general and both it and Mass in F Minor eclipse the Prunes' original works in my opinion. Hardwater is a great album though regardless of whether you think it's because of or in spite of Axelrod.