Monday, September 29, 2008

Young Idea - With A Little Help From My Friends (1968)

Not my rip, but this album seems hard to get. The Young Idea were Tony Cox and Douglas MacCrae-Brown. They charted with the Beatles cover "With A Little Help From My Friends" and after five singles for Columbia an album (Music For Pleasure MFP 1225 / 1968) with twelve tracks was finally released. Most of the material was taken from the aforementioned 45s and it's a shame that their best song "Colours Of Darkness" remained as a b-side of their top-ten hit. All in all this is a very good Pop album ("Just Look At The Rain", "Room With A View" or "Mister Lovin' Luggage Man" are great pop-psych tunes). The four "LP-only tracks" are more or less fillers, only "In Bond Street" reaches the standard of the other songs.

Tracklist:
- With A Little Help From My Friends
- Games Men Play
- World's Been Good To Me Tonight
- On The King's Road
- Mister Lovin' Luggage Man
- Just Look At The Rain
- Peculiar Situation
- In Bond Street
- Just To Love Her
- Gotta Get Out The Mess I'm In
- Room With A View
- Tar And Cement

Personnel:
Tony Cox (piano, gtr, vcls)
Douglas MacCrae-Brown (gtr, vcls)

Band origin:
London

Discographie:
Albums:
1. With A Little Help From My Friends
   (Music For Pleasure MFP 1225) 1968

45's:
1. The World's Been Good To Me/It Can't Be
   (Columbia DB 7961) 1966
2. Gotta Get Out Of The Mess I'm In/Games Men Play
   (Columbia DB 8067) 1966
3. Peculiar Situation/Just Look At The Rain
   (Columbia DB 8132) 1967
4. With A Little Help From My Friends/Colours Of Darkness
   (Columbia DB 8205) 1967
5. Mister Lovin' Luggage Man/Room With A View
   (Columbia DB 8284) 1967

Link removed. A re-issue is available.

Listen to Games Men Play

Sunday, September 28, 2008

V.A. - Mr. Toytown Presents...

This hugely anticipated collection (Toytown Recordings TT-1001 / 2004) was causing murmurs on the psych scene for several months prior to its arrival and now I understand why. These obscure (and I mean obscure) European 45s are drawn mostly from the catalogues of pioneering indie imprints Poplandia, Accion, Bocaccio and others, Spanish counterparts to the likes of Immediate, Penny Farthing and Page One if you will. Spanning the years 1969 to 1974, the selection is inspired to say the least and it manages to wipe the floor with most self-professed ‘psychedelic’ compilations in one fell swoop by virtue of being, well… fucking weird. Casting all concessions to the listener’s mental safety aside, the plainly sadistic Mr Toytown casually throws full-on gonzoid lunacy (Christophe’s five minute lobotomy-fest ‘Da Da Song Part 1’, Big Cherry’s hilarious yet nuts ‘Come In Bonzo’), relentless hard rock (Schizo’s frankly disturbing ‘Schizo And The Little Girl’, The Honest Men’s two-chord drone through The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ – I kid you not), candy-coated Mark Wirtz soundalikes (Napoleon’s irresistible ‘Jimmy Joe’, Barry Wigley’s Carry On-style romp ‘Brother Jack’), mutant folk hybrids (Demsey & Dover’s ominous ‘Emptiness Of Mind’, Children Of The Morning’s, er, ‘Children Of The Morning’) and rip-roarin’ psych pop (J Bastos’ ‘Alice’ – essentially a lysergic DDDBM & T thrashing ‘I Feel Free’ – The Electric Machine’s wah-wah smothered ‘Samantha’s Coming Home’) into his big pot and gives it a stir with his weird stick without pausing for so much as one single reassuringly familiar band or artist name. I like their style. When you emerge, blinking into reality, with the aptly-named Panics’ ‘Come With Me’ still echoing round your head, you may discover that you’ve been staring at a daddy longlegs for 70 minutes and, in the process, it’s somehow “borrowed” some of your brain cells and made itself a cup of tea. Don’t worry. Things like that happen every day in Toytown.
(Andy Morten in "Shindig")

Tracklist:
1. Christophe - Da Da Song Part 1
taken from the single Da Da Song Part 1/Part 2 (Poplandia P-30502) 1969
Line-up incl.: Daniel "Christophe" Bevilacqua.
Origin: Paris (France)
2. Schizo - Schizo And The Little Girl
taken from the single
Schizo And The Little Girl/Paraphrenia Praecox (SFP 44005) 1972
Line-up: Olivier Pamela (vcls), Richard Pinhas (gtr, synth), Pierrot Roussel (bs), Patrick Gauthier (piano), Georges Grunblatt (synth), Coco Roussel (drms). Band origin: Paris (France)
3. J. Bastos - Alice
taken from the single Holy Goly Girl/Alice (Bellaphon BF 18055) 1971
Line-up incl.: J. Bastos [real name Rolf Steitz] (vcls).
Origin: Cologne (North Rhine-Westphalia/Germany)
4. Honest Men - Help
taken from the single
Help/Who You Got To Love? (EMI-Odeon J-006-24.412) 1971
Line-up: Henk Bruinewoud (gtr, vcls), Aloys van der Zwaan (gtr, vcls), Simon Duivelaar (gtr, vcls), Johan Aldenkamp (bs, vcls), Martin Hofman (flute, vcls), Henny Lubben (drms). Band origin: Enschede (Overijssel/Netherlands)
5. Electric Machine - Samanta Viene A Casa
taken from the single
Maní Caliente/Samanta Viene A Casa (RCA 3-10884) 1973
Line-up incl.: Charlie 'Levy' Leroy. Band origin: Argentina
6. Big Cherry - Come In Bonzo
taken from the single
Give A Dog A Bone/Come In Bonzo (Penny Farthing PEN 812) 1973
Line-up: unknown. Band origin: UK
7. Black Swan - Go Where The Rain Goes
taken from the single
Da Ga De Li Da/Go Where The Rain Goes (Polydor 2056123) 1972
Line-up incl.: Billy Bridge [real name Jean-Marc Bridge).
Band origin: Paris (France)
8. White - Sing Little Bird
taken from the single Life Is Love/Sing Little Bird (RCA Victor 40.049) 1972
Line-up incl.: Henri Sere (bs), Gilbert Einaudi (perc, vcls).
Band origin: Cannes (France)
9. Mike Y Toti - De Nata, Fresa Y De Limon
taken from the single
De Nata, Fresa Y De Limón/La Lección [Ekkoleg] (Explosion E-34507) 1973
Line-up: Mike Kennedy [real name Michael Kögel] (vcls), Toti (vcls).
Band origin: Madrid (Spain)
10. Barry Wigley - Brother Jack
taken from the single
Walk On The Grass/Brother Jack (Accion AC-10.0922) 1972
Line-up incl.: Barry Wigley (vcls). Origin: Hull (Yorkshire/UK)
11. Napoleon - Jimmy Joe
taken from the single
Keep On Loving Me/Jimmy Joe (Poplandia P-30507) 1970
Line-up incl.: Roger Wallis (lead vcls). Band origin: Stockholm (Sweden)
12. Morning Glory - Marjory Daw
taken from the single
Green On The Other Side Of The Mountain/Marjory Daw
(Chapter One CH 148) 1971

Line-up incl.: Peter Lee Stirling. Band origin: London
13. Ginger Ale - Sugar Suzy
taken from the single Scoobidab/Sugar Suzy (Injection 134541) 1971
Line-up: Steve Allet (vcls), Rick Beekman (gtr), Ron Bijtelaar (bs), Fred van Zegveld (organ), Will Luikinga (flute, sax), Richard de Bois (drms).
Band origin: Amsterdam (Noord Holland/Netherlands)
14. Dorians - Torch Song
taken from the single Torch Song/Worm Conquers All (Belter 07-848) 1970
Line-up: John Unger (vcls), Bill Loop (gtr), Bob Nixon (bs), Mike Bets (drms).
Band origin: Kingsville (Ontario/Canada)
15. Jumbo - I'm Leaving Today
taken from the single
He Goes Blabla/I'm Leaving Today (Injection 134546) 1972
Line-up: Kees de Blois (gtr, vcls, sax), Hans Schotel (bs), Martin Achterberg (vcls, gtr, organ), Fred de Groot (drms).
Band origin: Rotterdam (Zuid Holland/Netherlands)
16. Demsey & Dover - Emptiness Of Mind
taken from the single Little Car Of Mine/Emptiness Of Mind (BP06-046) 1973
Line-up incl.: Charles Dumolin. Band origin: Brugge (West Flanders/Belgium)
17. Tucky Buzzard - You're All Alone
taken from the single You're All Alone/Free Ticket (Hispavox CP-86) 1971
Line-up: Jimmy Henderson (vcls), Terry Taylor (gtr), David Brown (bs), Nick Graham (keyb'ds), Chris Johnson (drms). Band origin: London
18. Sunshine - Worshippin' The Sun At Dawn
taken from the single
Melody Lady/Worshippin' The Sun At Dawn (EMI J-006-95.383) 1974
Line-up incl.: Freddy Meyer. Band origin: Paris (France)
19. Children Of The Morning - Children Of The Morning
taken from the single
Hey America, America/Children Of The Morning (Bocaccio B-32519) 1973
Line-up incl.: Norman David [aka Shel Shapiro]. Band origin: Rome (Italy)
20. Edelweiss - Sunday
taken from the single
Balada A Un Amor Perdido/Sunday (Top Records MO-1336) 1973
Line-up incl.: Eduardo Marti. Band origin: Madrid (Spain)
21. Panics - Come With Me
taken from the single
Hippopotamus/Come With Me (Goma Carrère G-1036) 1974
Line-up incl.: Peter Dreamoos, Paul Baile. Band origin: France

Get it here (Artwork included)

Listen to Napoleon - Jimmy Joe

Listen to The Dorians - Torch Song

Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Times - Pop Goes Art (1981)

The first release on Whaam! records (a label headed by the Television Personalities' Dan Treacy), Pop Goes Art! is basically a Television Personalities album with Treacy and his longtime cohort Ed Ball trading roles: Ball is the singer and songwriter, and Treacy just plays guitar and bass. The amateurish cover (the original LP cover was a simple white jacket with a design silkscreened on the front and a small piece of paper glued on the back listing the song titles) and no-budget production can't hide the wit and inventiveness of Ball's take on Carnaby Street-era pop. Besides two immediate classics, "Miss London" and the brilliant "I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape" (a song Ball would record several more times in the '80s), the album includes the B-side of Times' first single, "Biff! Bang! Pow!" - not the song by Ball's freakbeat heroes the Creation, but an homage to that band using the same title - and the eight-minute psychedelic closer "This Is Tomorrow," featuring the sort of droning plane-crash guitar that would figure into the next couple of Television Personalities records. Pop Goes Art! is a completely ingenuous record with no agenda, other than the re-creation of one of Ball's favorite musical eras.
(Stewart Mason / allmusic guide)

Tracklist:
- Picture Gallery
- Biff! Bang! Pow!
- It's Time!
- If Now Is the Answer
- A New Arrangement
- Looking at the World Through Dark Shades
- I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape
- Pop Goes Art! (Melody in Mono)
- Miss London
- The Sun Never Sets
- Easy As Pie
- This Is Tomorrow...

Personnel:
Edward Ball (vcls, gtr, bs, keyb'ds) [ABCDEFGHI]
Daniel Treacy (gtr) [B]
John East (bs, vcls) [ABCD]
Paul Damien (drms, vcls) [ABCD]
Ray Kent (organ) [C]
Keith Allen (drms, vcls) [D]
Paul Mulreany (drms, gtr, vcls) [EHI]
Jowe Head (bs) [E]
Richard Green (gtr) [E]
Paul Heeren (gtr, vcls) [FHI]
The Shed (bs) [H]
Jan Stevens (vcls) [HI]
Nick Heyward (bs) [I]


Band origin:
London

Discographie:
Albums:
 1. (B) Pop Goes Art! (Whaam! LP 01) 1982
 2. (C) This Is London (ArtPop ART 19) 1983
 3. ( ) Hello Europe (ArtPop ART 17) 1984
 4. (A) Go! With The Times (ArtPop ART 21) 1985
 5. (D) Enjoy (ArtPop ART 15) 1986
 6. ( ) Up Against It (ArtPop ART 16) 1986
 7. (E) Beat Torture (Creation CRELP 038) 1988
 8. (F) E for Edward (Creation CRELP 053) 1989
 9. (F) Et Dieu créa la femme (Creation CRELP 070) 1990
10. (G) Pure (Creation CRELP 091) 1991
11. (H) At the Astradome Lunaville
    (Creation CRELP 123) 1992
12. (I) Alternative Commercial Crossover
    (Creation CRELP 137) 1993
13. ( ) Sad But True (Rev-Ola CREV055CD) 1997
14. ( ) Pirate Playlist '66 (Creation CRECD 222) 1999

[13. 1987 recordings]

45's:
1. Red With Purple Flashes/Biff! Bang! Pow!
   (Whaam! 002) 1981
2. Here Comes The Holidays (Voici Les Vacances)/
   Three Cheers For The Sun (Artpop POP 50) 1982
3. I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape/
   The Theme From "Dangerman" (ArtPop POP 49) 1982
4. Blue Fire/Where the Blue Begins (ArtPop POP 45) 1984
5. Boys Brigade/Power Is Forever (ArtPop POP 46) 1984
6. London Boys/(Where to Go) When the Sun Goes Down
   (Unicorn PHZ-1) 1986
7. Manchester/Love and Truth (Creation CRE 71) 1990

[2. A-side as Joni Dee feat. The Times]

E.P.'s:
1. I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape [+ 5]
   (ArtPop No. 1) 1983
2. Blue Period [+ 4] (ArtPop No. 2) 1985
3. Boys About Town [+ 3] (ArtPop POP 43DOZ) 1985
4. Times TV [+ 4] (Fire BLAZE 16T) 1986)
5. Manchester [+ 2] (Creation CRE 71T) 1990
6. Lundi Bleu [+ 7] (Creation CRE 114T) 1992
7. Finnegans Break [+ 3] (Creation CRE 158T) 1993

Link removed. A re-issue is available

Listen to Looking at the World Through Dark Shades

Friday, September 26, 2008

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band - See Reverse Side For Title (1967)

A seminal group from the Boston scene, Jim Kweskin and his Jug Band appeared in 1963 and played a happy mix of folk, blues, jug band music, rock and old timey songs. The personnel was quite unstable, having between four and eleven members, but they had a very good live reputation. Muldaur and Richmond also played with Eric Von Schmidt and are both present on the Elektra Blues Project album from 1964. Their records may interest fans of the early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dr. West's Medecine Show and Junk Band or the Lovin' Spoonful.
(taken from "Fuzz, Acid & Flowers")

This is their fourth album from 1967 (Vanguard VSD 79234). It's really nothing for the garage or psychedelic connoisseur and the comparison to the "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band" works better than compare it to "Lovin' Spoonful". I like their version of "Cadillac" (aka "Hey Gyp") and they must have had a lot of fun recording this.

Tracklist:
- Blues In The Bottle
- Chevrolet
- Christopher Columbus
- Never Swat A Fly
- Richland Woman
- Downtown Blues
- Turn The Record Over
- Fishing Blues
- Storybook Ball
- That's When I'll Come Back To You
- Viola Lee
- Papa's On The Housetop
- Onyx Hop

Personnel:
Jim Kweskin (gtr, banjo, vcls) [ABCDE]
Geoff Muldaur (gtr, kazoo, vcls) [ABDE]
Bob Siggins (banjo) [A]
Bruno Wolf (hrmnca, vcls) [AB]
Fritz Richmond (jug, washtub bs) [ABCDE]
Bill Keith (banjo, gtr) [BDE]
Maria D'Amato (vcls, fiddle, kazoo, gtr, perc) [BDE]
Mel Lyman (hrmnca, banjo) [BCDE]
Rex Rakish (perc, vcls) [B]
Richard Greene (fiddle) [E]


Band origin:
Boston (Massachusetts/US)

Discographie:
Albums:
1. (A) Unblushing Brassiness (Vanguard VSD 2158) 1963
2. (B) Jug Band Music (Vanguard VSD 79163) 1965
3. (C) Relax Your Mind (Vanguard VSD 79188) 1966
4. (D) See Reverse Side For Title
   (Vanguard VSD-79243) 1967
5. (E) Garden Of Joy (Reprise 6266) 1968

[3. Jim Kweskin solo with Mel Lyman & Fritz Richmond]

45's:
1. (E) The Sheik Of Araby/Minglewood (Reprise 0624) 1967

Get it here (Artwork included / vinyl rip)

Listen to Chevrolet

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

V.A. - Pebbles Vol. 6 [The Roots Of Mod]

Pebbles Vol. 6 (BFD-5023 / 1980) offered the listener cool R&B sounds from the UK between 1963 and 1966. Some of you might be familiar with the tracklisting because most of the songs (except the great Wheels and Betterdays tracks) were later on English Freakbeat Vol. 6 and on the occasion of this release Mike Stax wrote: "Most of you will probably already have all of this - if not, yours must be an empty and shallow existence."

Tracklist:
1. Fairies - Get Yourself Home
taken from the single Get Yourself Home/I'll Dance (HMV POP 1404) 1965
Line-up: Keith 'Nick' Wymer (vcls), John Acutt (rhythm gtr), John 'Freddy' Gandy (bs, gtr), Mick Weaver [aka Wynder K. Frog] (keyb'ds, bs), John 'Twink' Alder (drms, gtr, vcls). Band origin: Colchester (Essex)
2. Junco Partners - Take This Hammer
taken from the single
As Long As I Have You/Take This Hammer (Columbia DB 7665) 1965
Line-up: Ronnie Barker (vcls, hrmnca), John Anders (vcls), Charlie Harcourt (gtr, bs), Dave Sproat (bs), Peter Wallace (keyb'ds), John Woods (drms).
Band origin: Newcastle (Tyne and Wear)
3. Fairies - I'll Dance
See Track 1
4. Cheynes - Respectable
taken from the single
Respectable/It's Gonna Happen To You (Columbia DB 7153) 1963
Line-up: Eddie Lynch (lead gtr, vcls), Peter Hollis (bs), Peter Bardens (organ, vcls), Mick Fleetwood (drms). Band origin: London
5. First Gear - Leave My Kitten Alone
taken from the single
A Certain Girl/Leave My Kitten Alone (Pye 7N 15703) 1964
Line-up: Dave Walton (vcls, hrmnca), Raymond Wafer (lead gtr, piano), Phil Berkenshaw (gtr, vcls), Michael Ryal (bs, vcls), Ian Colling (drms).
Band origin: Doncaster/Barnsley (Yorkshire)
6. Betterdays - Here 'Tis
taken from the single Don't Want That/Here 'Tis (Polydor BM 56024) 1965
Line-up: Mike 'Shane' Hayne (vcls), Richard Broczek (lead gtr), Mike Weston (bs), Bob Pitcher (gtr, piano, hrmnca), Frank Tyler (drms).
Band origin: Plymouth (Devonshire)
7. Wild Ones - Bowie Man
taken from the single Bowie Man/Purple Pill Eater (Fontana TF 468) 1964
Line-up: Johnny Shadow (vcls), Danny Gavan (vcls).
Band origin: London
8. David John & The Mood - Bring It To Jerome
taken from the single
I Love To See You Strut/Bring It To Jerome (Parlophone R 5255) 1965
Line-up: David John (vcls), Peter Illingworth (lead gtr, vcls), Peter Atkinson (gtr), John Brierly (bs), Fred Isherwood (drms).
Band origin: Preston (Lancashire)
9. Wheels - Road Block
taken from the single Bad Little Woman/Road Block (Columbia DB 7827) 1966
Line-up: Brian Rossi (vcls), Herbie Armstrong (lead gtr, vcls), Rod Demick (gtr, bs, vcls), Tito Tinsley (bs, organ), Victor Catling (drms).
Band origin: Belfast (Northern Ireland)
10. Fairies - Anytime At All
taken from the single
Don't Think Twice It's Alright/Anytime At All (Decca F 11943) 1964
Line-up: Dane Stephens [real name Douglas Robert Ord] (vcls), John Acutt (rhythm gtr), John 'Freddy' Gandy (bs, gtr), Mick Weaver [aka Wynder K. Frog] (keyb'ds, bs), John 'Twink' Alder (drms, gtr, vcls).
Band origin: Colchester (Essex)
11. Rhythm & Blues Inc. - Honey Don't
taken from the single Louie Louie/Honey Don't (Fontana TF 524) 1965
Line-up: Tim Kirby (vcls), Barry Womersley (lead gtr), Mike McKay (gtr), John McCaffrey (bs), Alan Menzies (drms).
Band origin: Southport (Merseyside)
12. Erkey Grant & The Eerwigs - I'm A Hog For You Baby
taken from the single
I Can't Get Enough Of You/I'm A Hog For You (Pye 7N 15521) 1963
Line-up incl.: Erkey Grant [real name Eric Grant] (vcls).
Band origin: London
13. David John & The Mood - I Love To See You Strut
See Track 8
14. Bill & Will - Goin' To The River
taken from the single
Goin' To The River/Let Me Tell You Baby (Checker 1070) 1964
Line-up incl.: William 'Bill' Sasser Jr., Jerry Leon Willis.
Band origin: Nashville (Tennessee/US)
15. Blues By Five - Boom, Boom
taken from the single Boom Boom/I Cried (Decca F 12029) 1964
Line-up: Len Ashley (vcls), Ron McQueen (lead gtr), Mick Wright (bs), John Blisset (piano, keyb'ds), Noel Chartres McManus (sax), Dick Brice (drms).
Band origin: London
16. Steve Aldo & The Challengers -
    Baby What You Want Me To Do

taken from the single
Can I Get A Witness/Baby What You Want Me To Do (Decca F 12041) 1964
Line-up incl.: Steve Aldo (vcls). Band origin: Liverpool (Merseyside)
17. Rats - Spoonful
taken from the single
Spoonful/I've Got My Eyes On You Baby (Columbia DB 7483) 1965
Line-up: Benny Marshall (vcls), Frank Ince (lead gtr), Brian Buttle (bs), Robin Lecore (keyb'ds), Jim Simpson (drms).
Band origin: Hull (Yorkshire)
18. Jason Eddie & The Centremen - Singing The Blues
taken from the single
Singing The Blues/True To You (Parlophone R 5473) 1966
Line-up: Jason Eddie [real name Albert Wycherley] (vcls), John Kirk (lead gtr), Terry Barrett (rhythm gtr), Charlie Richmond (bs), Bill Conroy (drms).
Band origin: Liverpool (Merseyside)
19. Bo and Peep - Young Love
taken from the single
Young Love/The Rise Of The Brighton Surf (Decca F 11968) 1964
Line-up incl.: Jimmy Page (gtr), John Paul Jones (vcls).
Band origin: London

Get it here (Artwork included / vinyl rip)

Listen to David John & The Mood - Bring It To Jerome

Listen to Rats - Spoonful

Monday, September 22, 2008

I Fantom's - Le Insegne Pubblicitarie (1966-69)

This band operated out of Turin/Italy and was responsible for the fantastic "Le Insegne Pubblicitarie". This great piece of garage-psych could be best described as a mixture of the Elevators "Tried To Hide" and Famen's "Hurry" (if that helps). Their first EP (Musical Time MT 01 / 1966) contains the aforementioned "Le Insegne Pubblicitarie", the forgettable "Nadia" and "Il Treno", another fine acid-punker. On their second release (Moon GNP 79024 / 1967) they teamed up with singer Eligio Irato and did two covers, "We Shall Overcome (Trionferemo)" and "Come By Me (Vieni Qui Vicino)", not their best idea and to be honest absolutely out of question. They did better on their last 7-inch (Polydor 2060002 / 1969). "Katia" is a wonderful dreamy soft-psych song whilst "Felicità Vuol Dire" is a fine slice of late '60s Pop. Destination X Records released an album (Destination X TRR 33032 / 1998) with all their singles (except "We Shall Overcome") and ten unreleased songs from 1968. These demos can not really match with their best stuff but "Anche Se..." and "Alberi" are pretty worthwhile.

Tracklist:
- Le Insegne Pubblicitarie
- Nadia
- Il Treno
- Un Nuovo Giorno
- L'Indossatrice
- Specchi Di Ghiaccio
- Crema
- Katia (demo)
- Un'Immagine
- Anche Se...
- Alberi
- Ti Voglio
- Il Trionfo Del Diavolo
- Vieni Qui Vicino
- Katia
- Felicità Vuol Dire

Personnel:
Luigi Nagliero (lead gtr)
Walter Nagliero (rhythm gtr)
Spartaco Nagliero (vcls, bs)
Gino Antone (organ, vcls)
Gino Nagliero (drms)


Band origin:
Turin (Italy)

Discographie:
45's:
1. We Shall Overcome [Trionferemo]/Vieni Qui Vicino
   [Come By Here] (Moon GNP 79024) 1967
2. Katia/Felicità Vuol Dire (Polydor 2060002) 1969

E.P.'s:
1. Le Insegne Pubblicitarie/Nadia/Il Treno
   (Musical Time MT 01) 1966

Get it here (Artwork included / vinyl rip)

Listen to Le Insegne Pubblicitarie

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Wil Malone (1970)

Not surprisingly, the debut solo album by the major creative force behind the group Orange Bicycle is similar in nature to the latter group's music. Almost self-consciously pretty in a manner closer to art-rock (or theater music) than psychedelia (despite its richly hued multi-colored cover), the overall feel of the album, between Wilson Malone's introspective vocals and the reed- and horn- dominated accompaniments with low-volume guitar, is somewhere midway between Baroque pop and singer/songwriter-style reflection. It's all rather dark and brooding but also very beautiful in its execution, and filled with haunting melodies and rich timbres, all of this despite the narrow range and limited expressiveness of Malone's voice, which - even with all of the help he seems to get from the studio in this setting - seems to reach only about half-an-octave. You might find yourself thinking of Wil Malone as a British equivalent to David Ackles' American Gothic, which it predated by two years, but that's not a bad benchmark to have hit, even if it didn't bring Malone much success in 1970.
(Bruce Eder, All Music Guide)

Wil Malone was also part of "Motherlight" who created the wonderful "Bobak, Jones and Malone" (I'm still not sure what's the album title and what's the group name). An original copy of his rare solo album sold lately at ebay for £ 1.950 (crazy). Even for a CD re-issue from Japan you have to pay on Amazon 54 Euro upwards. I've got this fine record at Soulseek and hope you enjoy it like I do (although I can't offer you the artwork).

Tracklist:
- Catherine Wheel
- I Could Write A Book
- February Face
- Love In The Afternoon
- Winter In Boston
- Caravan
- Down Maundies
- Suzy
- Tale To Tell
- One More Flight To Parker
- At The Silver Slipper
- How About Then

Personnel:
Wilson Malone (all instruments, vcls)

Origin:
London

Discographie:
Albums:
1. Funnysad Music (Morgan MR 112) 1968
2. Wil Malone (Fontana STL 5541) 1970

[1. as Wilson Malone Voiceband]

Link removed. A re-issue is available again.

Listen to Caravan

Friday, September 19, 2008

V.A. - Pebbles Vol. 5

More Pebbles, more Garage, more classics. The compilers keep the good standard on the fifth volume (BFD-5022 / 1979) with a large amount of high class tracks.

Tracklist:
1. Tree - No Good Woman
taken from the single No Good Woman/Man From Nowhere (Barvis 7010) 1967
Line-up: Jeff Cook (gtr), David Farrar (bs, vcls), Anthony Cloud (organ, vcls), Johnny Laspoda (drms). Band origin: Wilmington (Delaware)
2. Plague - Go Away
taken from the single Go Away/Money (Epidemic 2164) 1966
Line-up: Larry Shryock, Billy Main, Steve Erickson, Bill 'Corky' Anderson (drms). Band origin: Albuquerque (New Mexico)
3. Magi - You Don't Know Me
taken from the single
Rock And Roll Lady/You Don't Now Me (Farr 71271) 1971
Line-up incl.: Dru Lombar (gtr), Jim Glines. Band origin: Jacksonville (Florida)
4. Gentlemen - It's A Cry'n Shame
taken from the single
It's A Cry'n Shame/You Can't Be True (Vandan TK4M 8303) 1966
Line-up: Seab Meador (lead gtr), Mike Kelley (rhythm gtr, vcls), Bruce Bland (bs), Tommy Turner (keyb'ds), Tim Justice (drms).
Band origin: Dallas (Texas)
5. Five Canadians - Writing On The Wall
taken from the single
Writing On The Wall/Goodnight (Domar 1120) 1966
Line-up: Louie Siedlecki (vcls), Raul Pina (gtr), Bobby Flores (bs), Bruce Svoboda (organ), Bill Kaitner (drms). Band origin: San Antonio (Texas)
6. Dirty Wurds - Why
taken from the single Why/Takin' My Blues Away (Marina 502) 1966
Line-up: Mick Mackles (vcls), Mike Peterson (lead gtr), Justin Pomeroy (rhythm gtr), James T. Savage (bs), Marc Bringman (drms).
Band origin: Chicago (Illinois)
7. Merry Dragons - Universal Vagrant
taken from the single
Let's Sail Away/Smokey/Universal Vagrant (ABC 10838) 1966
Line-up: unknown. Band origin: Los Angeles (California)
8. Fe-Fi-Four Plus 2 - I Wanna Come Back
   [From The World Of LSD]

taken from the single
I Wanna Come Back [From The World Of LSD]/Double Crossin' Girl
(Lance 101) 1967

Line-up: Danny Houlihan (vcls), Mike Layden (lead gtr), Eddie James (gtr), Ernie Gonze (bs), Vic Roybal (organ), Eddie Roybal (drms).
Band origin: Albuquerque (New Mexico)
9. Escapades - I Tell No Lies
taken from the single I Tell No Lies/She's The Kind (XL 356 + Arbet 1010) 1966
Line-up: Tommy Minga (vcls), Benny Kisner (gtr), Dale Rourke (bs), Ron Gorden (keyb'ds), Ronnie Williamson (drms).
Band origin: Memphis (Tennessee)
10. Danny & The Counts - You Need Love
taken from the single You Need Love/Ode To The Wind (Coronado 136) 1966
Line-up: Danny Parra (lead vcls, gtr), Javier Valenzuela (lead gtr), Eric Huereque (bs, vcls), Joe Huereque (drms), Joe Martinez (tamb, vcls).
Band origin: El Paso (Texas)
11. Satyrs - Yesterday's Hero
taken from the single Yesterday's Hero/Marie (Spectrum 2668) 1968
Line-up: Mike Doerr (vcls, perc), Bob Agnew (gtr), Craig Morrell (bs, vcls), Kenny Reibel (keyb'ds), Andy Madajewski (drms, perc).
Band origin: Haddon Heights (New Jersey)
12. Little Phil & The Night Shadows -
    The Way It Used To Be

taken from the single So Much/The Way It Used To Be (Dot 16912) 1966
Line-up: 'Little Phil' Ross (lead vcls), Ronnie Farmer (gtr), Alec Janoulis (bs), Bobbie Newell (keyb'ds), Charlie Spinks (drms).
Band origin: Atlanta (Georgia)
13. State Of Mind - Move
taken from the single Move/If He Comes Back (Chavis 1038) 1967
Line-up: Paul Murtagh (gtr, keyb'ds, vcls), James Booth, Bill Sayers, Tim Ward. Band origin: Wilmington (Delaware)
14. Yesterday's Children - Wanna Be With You
taken from the single Wanna Be With You/Feelings (Showcase 9812) 1966
Line-up: Bob Huling (vcls), Joe Delio (bs), Don Howard Krantz (gtr), Dave Natis (keyb'ds), Fred Davenport (drms), Rich D'Benideto.
Band origin: Long Island (New York)
15. Time Stoppers - I Need Love
taken from the single I Need Love/Fickle Frog (HBR 516) 1967
Line-up: unknown. Band origin: Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)
16. Thursday's Children - You'll Never Be My Girl
taken from the single You'll Never Be My Girl/Try, Girl (Paradise 1022) 1966
Line-up: Jan Pederson (gtr, vcls), Pat Sullivan (bs), Charles Helpinstill [aka Ezra Charles] (keyb'ds, vcls), Richard Gollwitzer (drms).
Band origin: Houston (Texas)
17. 12 A.M. - The Way I Feel
taken from the single The Way I Feel/Good Day (Groovy 102) 1967
Line-up: unknown. Band origin: San Antonio (Texas)

Get it here (Artwork included / vinyl rip)

Listen to Dirty Wurds - Why

Listen to State Of Mind - Move

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Primitives - Maladjusted (1964-67)

This Northampton-based raw R&B group's 45s are now extremely rare and sought-after. They were originally known as The Cornflakes and also recorded a further 45 as Mal and The Primitives. Musically, comparable to the early Pretty Things, you won't need a second mortgage to get to hear these 45s. They're considered to be such definitive British R&B recordings that they've been heavily compiled and are well worth a spin. They also recorded four acetates for Pye; one of which was the superb Oh Mary, a grinding R&B number. Jimmy Page is also said to have helped out on their second 45, whilst Help Me was also recorded by The Rebounds. In 1965 Mal joined the band and they relocated to Italy as a quartet (at least according to the photo on their 1967 album). Aside from Mal, they comprised Jay Roberts (vcls, gtr) from the original line-up, Pick Withers (drms) and one other. Withers was later in Spring and Dire Straits. He stayed in Italy with The Primitives for three years. Line-up 'B' recorded two singles and the an album Blow-Up (Arc ) 1967. This R'n'B/soul-influenced album has been reissued in the nineties and the re-issue includes both sides of their debut Italian single Yeeeh!.../L'Ombra Di Nessuno (which is Dozier-Holland's Standing In The Shadow Of Love, with Italian lyrics) along with their follow-up Italian 45 Johnny No (Hoyt Axton's Thunder 'n Lightnin') and other cover versions like Stevie Winwood's Gimme Some Lovin', The Strangeloves' Cara Lin, Gina Gina (which is Holland-Doziers' Reach Out I'll Be There), Don Covay's Sookie Sookie, which was later covered by Steppenwolf, Charlie Rich's Mohair Sam and an original penned by Jay Roberts Mister Haertache (which is misspelt like this on the sleeve).
(taken from "Tapestry Of Delights")

"Maladjusted" (Castle CMRCD 051 / 2001) contains their Pye/Piccadilly singles, a demo of "Oh Mary" (this track is reason enough to get that CD), their great french E.P. and the "Blow Up" album that was only released in Italy.

Tracklist:
- Help Me
- Let Them Tell
- You Said
- How Do You Feel?
- Every Minute Of Every Day [Mal Ryder & The Primitives]
- Pretty Little Face [Mal Ryder & The Primitives]
- Forget It [Mal Ryder & The Spirits]
- Your Friend [Mal Ryder & The Spirits]
- Lonely Room [Mal Ryder]
- Tell Your Friend [Mal Ryder]
- Oh Mary [Demo]
- Oh Mary
- I Don't Feel Myself
- Mr. Heartache
- Tears In My Eyes

[Blow Up-LP / 1967]
- Gimme Some Loving
- L'ombra De Nessuno
- No Response
- Johnny No
- Cara-Lin
- Yeeeeeeh!
- Gira, Gira
- Every Minute Of Every Day
- Mister Heartache
- Ma Beata Te
- Sookie, Sookie
- Mohair Sam
- L'incidente

Personnel [The Primitives]:
Jay Roberts [real name Jeffrey Farthing]
(vcls, gtr, bs) [AB]
Geoff Eaton (lead gtr) [A]
John E. Soul (gtr, hrmnca, keyb'ds) [A]
Roger James (bs) [A]
Mike Wilding (drms) [A]
Mal Ryder [real name Paul Bradley Couling]
(vcls, hrmnca) [B]
Dave Sumner (gtr) [B]
David "Pick" Withers (drms) [B]

Band origin:
Northampton (Northamptonshire) → Italy

Discographie:
Albums:
1. (B) Blow Up (Arc SA 22) 1967

[1. italian release]

45's:
1. (A) Help Me/Let Them Tell (Pye 7N 15721) 1964
2. (A) You Said/How Do You Feel (Pye 7N 15755) 1965
3. (B) Every Minute Of Every Day/Pretty Little Face
   (Pye 7N 15915) 1965
4. (B) Yeeeeeeah!/L'ombra Di Nessuno (Arc AN 4108) 1967
5. (B) L'incidente/Johnny No (Arc AN 4136) 1967

[3. as Mal & The Primitives]
[4. + 5. italian release]

E.P.'s:
1. (B) Oh Mary: Oh Mary/I Don't Feel Myself/
   Mr. Heartache/Tears In My Eyes (Vogue INT 18093) 1966

[1. french release]



Personnel [Mal Ryder & The Spirits]:
Mal Ryder [real name Paul Bradley Couling]
(vcls, hrmnca) [AB]
Vode Chequer [real name Bob Wakley] (gtr) [AB]
Tony Merry (bs) [AB]
John "Hands" Hathaway (piano) [A]
Larry Reddington (drms) [A]
Mick Charleton (drms) [B]


Band origin:
Oxford (Oxfordshire)

Discographie:
45's:
1. Cry Baby/Take Over (Decca F 11669) 1963
2. See The Funny Little Clown/Slow Down
   (Vocalion V 9219) 1964
3. Your Friend/Forget It (Piccadilly 7N 35209) 1964
4. Lonely Room/Tell Your Friend (Piccadilly 7N 35234) 1965

[2. + 4. Mal Ryder solo]




Get it here (Artwork included)

Listen to You Said

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Syndicate Of Sound - Little Girl (1966)

The Syndicate Of Sound were best known for their national smash hit "Little Girl" which became somewhat of a garage anthem. It went to No. 8 and their album (Bell 6001 / 1966) made No. 148 in the charts. Their longplayer contains respectable versions of "Big Boss Man", "I'm Alive" and "The Witch" (well, they couldn't beat Gerry Roslie's bunch but they came pretty close). You will also find some weak material here, especially on side 1 ("Almost Grown", "So Alone" and "Dream Baby") but all the other tracks are constantly good. My favourites are their self penned songs like the cool "Rumors", the moody "You", the great rocking "Lookin' For The Good Times" and "Little Girl" for sure. The rip is from the original 1966 album.

Tracklist:
- Big Boss Man
- Almost Grown
- So Alone
- Dream Baby
- Rumors
- Little Girl
- That Kind Of Man
- I'm Alive
- You
- Lookin' For The Good Times (The Robot)
- The Witch
- Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby

Personnel:
Jim Sawyers (lead gtr)
Bob Gonzalez (bs)
John Sharkey (keyb'ds, gtr, vcls)
Don Baskin (sax, flute)
John Duckworth (drms)


Band origin:
San Jose (California)

Discographie:
Albums:
1. Little Girl (Bell 6001) 1966

45's:
 1. Prepare For Love/Tell The World (Scarlet 503) 1965
 2. Prepare For Love/Tell The World (Del-Fi 4304) 1965
 3. Little Girl/You (Hush 228) 1966
 4. Little Girl/You (Bell 640) 1966
 5. Rumours/The Upper Hand (Bell 646) 1966
 6. Good Time Music/Keep It Up (Bell 655) 1966
 7. That Kind Of Man/Mary (Bell 666) 1967
 8. Brown Paper Bag/Reverb Beat (Buddah 156) 1967
 9. Mexico/First To Love You (Buddah 183) 1967
10. You're Looking Fine/Change The World
    (Capitol 2426) 1968

Get it here (Artwork included / vinyl rip)

Listen to Rumors

Sunday, September 14, 2008

V.A. - Nice [An Anthology Of Peter Eden Productions]

Like many British pop enterpreneurs in search of that one vital breakthrough, Peter Eden had more strings to his bow than the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Musician, manager, songwriter, A&R man, producer, arranger, publisher, editor, record company owner - in fact, stick a broom in his hand and he'd probably have swept the studio floor on his way out. However, this Tenth Planet anthology (Tenth Planet TP045 / 2000) concentrates on Peter's production work during the 1960s, the quality of which has led more than one fanzine to dub him "the British Phil Spector". While such an epithet is probably a source of embarrassment to Eden himself, there's little doubt that, if you're looking at the small print of a record sleeve or label, a Peter Eden production credit is pretty much a guarantee of quality. In fact, he's the one of a tiny of 60s British producers whose generic sound and style was arguably a more vital ingredient in the quality of a record than the band's contribution.
(liners from the backcover)

This fine compilation contains the excellent Crocheted Doughnut Ring single for Polydor, alternate versions of three songs for Bill Fay's first album and proves that the Fingers' unreleased material was MUCH better than their lame 45s (and now you know my favourites of this set).

Tracklist:
1. Crocheted Doughnut Ring - Azalia & Rhododendron
taken from the single
Azalia And Rhododendren [Two Little Ladies]/Nice (Polydor 56204) 1967
Line-up: Rick Mills (vcls), Bert Pulham (gtr), George Bird (bs), John Chapel (keyb'ds), Dave Skates (drms). Band origin: Southend-on-Sea (Essex/UK)
2. Fingers - Just Like Loving You Baby
[demo / 1967]
Line-up: Rick Mills (lead vcls), Mo Witham (lead gtr), Dave Grout (gtr), John Bobin (bs), Alan Beecham (keyb'ds), Bob Clouter (drms).
Band origin: London
3. Bill Fay - Garden Song
[alternate demo version / 1969]
Line-up incl.: Bill Fay (vcls, piano). Origin: London
4. Clive Palmer - Stories Of Jesus
[demo / 1969]
Line-up: Clive Palmer (vcls, gtr). Origin: Penzance (Cornwall) → London
5. Fingers - I Go To Sleep
taken from the single I Go To Sleep/Oh (Polydor 56080) 1966
Line-up: Rick Mills (lead gtr, vcls), Dave Grout (gtr), John Bobin (bs), Jim Spicer (drms). Band origin: London
6. Sadie's Expression - Yesterday Was Such A Lovely Day
[demo / 1968]
Line-up: Hugh Thomas (lead vcls), Mick Drewer (lead gtr, vcls), Mick Harding (bs, vcls), Chris Brown (keyb'ds, mellotron, flute, vcls), John Skelton (drms). Band origin: Southend-on-Sea (Essex)
7. Fingers - Look Away
[demo / 1966]
Line-up/Band origin: See Track 5
8. Crocheted Doughnut Ring - Nice
See Track 1
9. Gerald Moore - Pilgrim
[demo / 1973]
Line-up incl.: Gerald Thomas Moore (gtr, vcls). Origin: London
10. River - California Here I Come
[demo / 1969]
Line-up: Rick Mills (vcls), George Bird (bs), Alan Gray (gtr), Charlie Mumford (drms). Band origin: Southend-on-Sea (Essex)
11. Bill Fay - The Sun Is Bored
[alternate demo version / 1969]
Line-up/Origin: See Track 3
12. Jubilee Lovelies - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
[demo / 1968]
Line-up: Vernon Haddock (gtr, vcls), David Elvin (gtr, banjo, vcls), David Vaughan (hrmnca), Alan Woodward (gtr, vcls), Graham 'Sid' Lockheart (gtr, bs, kazoo, vcls). Additional musicians: John Bobin (bs), Bob Clouter (drms). Band origin: London
13. Fingers - I Hear The Sun
[demo / 1967]
Line-up/Band origin: See Track 2
14. Bill Fay - The Room
[alternate demo version / 1969]
Line-up/Origin: See Track 3
15. Fingers - Oh
See Track 5
16. Barry Fantoni - Sadie Moonshine
[demo /1967]
Line-up: Barry Fantoni (vcls), David Elvin (ukelele, banjo).
Band origin: London

Get it here (Artwork inluded / vinyl rip)

Listen to Crocheted Doughnut Ring - Azalia & Rhododendron

Listen to Fingers - I Hear The Sun