Can we talk about early-mid70s West Coast post-psych/pop/rock/folk-rock/country-rock?

cutting and pasting just so people know how good they can be live to this day just in case they play a county fair near you:

Little Feat's line-up is more classic than most of their ilk and age. Bill Payne and Richie Hayward played on the first album and Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, Kenny Gradney, & Fred Tackett are all Dixie Chicken era or thereabouts. They mostly rely on the jam band crowd. They put up tons of live shows on the web, so you can hear how good they sound. They are just so tight and rockin'. Long fiery EXCITING guitar solos. I can't remember the last time i heard one of those. They are all such pros. When they get locked in to one of those grooves, it is heaven. and Shaun really does have an amazing voice. She mostly sings back-up though and only gets a few solo numbers. they are in no way hokey. okay, don't bogart that joint is hokey. (it was hokey on the first fraternity of man album too. an album that is otherwise a fine slice of psych-rock.)

-- scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, July 27, 2005 2:09 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

Haha that Little Feat album cover is what makes me do a double take in the dollar bins. I used to pass on the Lee Michaels self titled but decided to pick it up one day and lordy when I heard that insane drum solo I was sold. I saw Harvey drop some Lee Michaels love last month, I think it may have been off of Carnival ???? it was this insane psych boogie jam that he mixed into some other 70's southern boogie stuff, it was pretty great.

I listen to Lee Michaels and I think "why didn't this guy become super-mega huge?" He had the one of the best voices of his era, and he always looked friggin cool. AND he could write amazing songs and play he organ better than anyone around. Ofcourse, he also had some killer drummers on those LPs as mentioned above.

I guess he did make an impact because I do see his records in a good number of used bins ... but ...

the only Lee Michaels album I own is 5th. y'know, with his BIG HIT on it. I'll have to keep a look out for the live thing.

this is good if you see it for a dollar:

http://www.musicobsession.com/Pictures/m/a/mariah390871.jpg

-- scott seward, Friday, April 6, 2007 2:01 PM (3 months ago)

I did see it for a dollar! and so I picked it up. When I went to pay for my records the grizzled old record dude was real enthusiastic about telling me that a Mariah guy went on to be in Survivor. I haven't listened yet. Right now I'm drinking white wine (don't worry, it's a pouilly-fuisse) and listening to this, which was also a dollar:

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41S7CZ4DS5L._AA240_.jpg

young linda = serious cuteness

jammin the charlie d & milo album as we speak.
another recentish discovery are High Mohtain Hoe-Down, who are bluesier than a lot of what gets talked about on this thread.

also, the recent Instant Orange 2LP (CD?) set on Shadoks is amazing. Talk about expensive re-issues, though!! Two LPs for $55, shit. that is expensive. i bet the CD is cheaper. i found a marked down Shadoks CD of the Fingletoad, Siho and Strange set when I was in RI once. It's great, fits on this thread. Inna very Neil Young fuzz guitar groove. This Instant Orange is more Byrdsy feeling. More Moby Grape, too; some cool guitar stuff going on. They are real funny looking in the phoographs, too.

so that Ronstadt album kinda ruled. When "Long Long While" came on I did feel a little like that old Baboon Dooley comic where the guy buys a copy of Chicago II, goes home and smokes a joint, and there's a "I remember this tune" thought-bubble as '25 or 6 to 4' plays. I wish there were full credits on this album, I wanna know who rips off that guitar solo on "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". Is it Bernie??

speaking of insanely priced vinyl reishes, has anybody heard the Country Weather record?? been dying to pick that one up. Just say "San Francisco" and "1969" and I'm there...

Recently found me an old copy of Graham Nash's "Songs for Beginners" and this thread was tailor made for this kind of record. "Better Days" is one of the best songs I've heard from this weird sub-genre.

hmm .. I'm not so sure this Mariah album exactly fits in with "early-mid70s West Coast post-psych/pop/rock/folk-rock/country-rock". I do dig it though! Reminds me a bit of Head East. nice vocal harmonies. and great lead guitar courtesy of, sure enough, future Survivor member Frankie Sullivan.

yes yes yes LOVE Little Feat's albums thru Waiting For Columbus. when I was in high school I saw them live w/Lowell George, only concert I ever snuck into, LG's slide guitar just bowling everybody over (and we were smoking bowls of course hahaha) opening act was Boz Skags just before Silk Degrees hit it big, quite a double-bill in retrospect.

thanks for the Lee Michaels tips, I've been eyeing his albums on Rhapsody not knowing where to start, all I know are his FM hits.

this is all I know abt this dude, the album w/"gold" it's pretty great.

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/7a/9c/fba3228348a09855987af010.L.jpg

Little Feat's Sailin' Shoes is a great record. The band hadn't dug into the New Orleans thing quite yet. It was produced by Ted Templeman, so it has this wonderfully huge sound.

I saw Ratdog last night. Great show. The jam band throb is still pulsing inside my head. They did a great cover of "Easy to Slip" from Sailin' Shoes.

I remember when "Gold" came out, and Creem had a story on John Stewart, and I thought "who's this old dude trying to be a rock star?"...well, now I am older than that "old dude" was in '79...I'll try to remember that the next time I fancy myself "down with the kids"...

i see this john stewart album every time i go to a store, but have never once listened to him. guess i'll check it out if it's cheap next time.

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1447/bloodlinbh1.jpg

Anybody heard this yet? It's a comp of rare and unreleased John Phillips sides from the early 70s.

http://www.myspace.com/theyellowmoonband

current band doing Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, Fleetwood Mac, Anonymous type stuff. pretty good from the 2 tracks on their myspace.

Definitely want to check out that John Philips reissue. I picked up the Wolfking album a few months back and listen to it frequently. Excellent stuff.

Already posted this somewhere else, but it belongs here too:

Lee Michaels-Who Can Want More

yeah, i was unaware of that phillips release, will definitely pick it out

or up

i have the yellow moon band 45, it's great. see also fab labelmates starless & bible black

these two records are next to each other on my shelf

http://home.comcast.net/~dunhill1966/images/wolfking.jpg http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001M0KCU.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

(this is my fave dylan record)

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PPKNA21TL._AA240_.jpg

I just picked this up. It's pretty darn good. Help Yourself had a West Coast/proto-pub rock thing going on.

Anyone heard Bobby Darin's "commitment" LP from 1970? Some really great tracks on there, especially the first one. Kinda psychedelic (with lots of smokin mentions) and pretty folky. Nice grooves and even a few funky folk breakbeats. It's definitely a side of Bob Darin that I hadn't heard until a few days ago.

Class from the Pop-Rock division:

http://www.djangomusic.com/images/cover200/drf800/f860/f86016gux2w.jpg

Anyone heard Bobby Darin's "commitment" LP from 1970?
I LOVE Darin's indie years. Direction Records was run out of a trailer, I think. The other Direction lp, Born Walden Robert Cassotto, is just about as good as Commitment.

i picked up Maria Muldaur's "Sweet Harmony" yesterday for a buck thinking it was gonna be an LA session singer songwriter record w/jazzy touches like joni or something. earl palmer was on drums, so i thought there'd be a bit of funk. put it on and skipped through the songs and was pretty disappointed. put it back on today to actually listen to it and it's a kinda nice, mellow country/folk/gospel album. definitely worth the dollar i spent on it.

I started a Maria thread that no one responded to. still curious about some of those later albums after the 1st one

Maria Muldaur - Classic or Dud?

If you like Earl -- and who doesn't?? -- I think I've sung the praises of Bonnie Raitt's Takin' My Time on here before, he's all over it...

my best friend was dating his daughter for a while (think she's half filipino)

weird. i did a search and came up w/nothing.

i picked up that john phillips deal, jack of diamonds. it's a real mixed bag as you would expect from an aborted solo album, but it has some decent tunes.

really digging this today:

http://www.themonkees.com/monkees_recordings/US/Album%20Michael%20Nesmith%20Tantamount%20To%20Treason.gif

such a great space cowboy record.

digging this too:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51S0S7nD8UL._SS500_.jpg

Re: Tantamount to Treason. "Lazy Lady" came up when I did a random ten earlier... here

I've been wanting to hear that Sir Douglas record but have never found it. Synopsis?

Also, I happened to put up two songs this week that would fit this category. First, Judee Sill was for a time a big Laurel Canyon figure. Jesus Was a Crossmaker was produced by Graham Nash and was covered by the Hollies I think, so you might have heard it. Second, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band were namechecked right at the beginning of this thread and they're awesome. All I listen to the last few days.

Augie Meyer's Western Head Band! Sir Douglas keyboardist gets downhome.

<3 Sopwith Camel's "The Miraculous Hump Returns From The Moon." Sounds like a completely different band than the one that did "Hello, Hello."

"I've been wanting to hear that Sir Douglas record but have never found it. Synopsis?"

very bluesy and very cool. and also kinda all over the place. it's actually divided by sides. blues side is side one and the texmex/country side is side two. which is unique. lots of horns. lots of everything. one track will have accordion, dr.john, and a sax solo by david fathead newman on it. atlantic spent good money on the production. sounds great. half produced by doug and half produced by jerry wexler. great soulful vocals by doug too. possibly the only record i own that features jimmy knepper AND david bromberg.

the last two songs on side one of that nesmith album, gaaaaawd, how beautiful and stoned. such amazing vocals by mike. "you are my one" and "in the afternoon".

past few months or so ian matthew's version of "these days" has been keeping me happy.

and i just been getting into the (first? only?) Ken Lauber record. Some good cosmic country moments on there, and some sadman ballads too.

he is a busy dude

http://www.kenlauber.net/home.htm

like i said elsewhere, i've been digging this curt newbury album a bunch:

http://popsike.com/pix/20060131/4829292847.jpg

doesn't really belong here maybe. more of a psych/folk thing. but what the hell, maybe he's mickey newbury's brother.

my gf went out with nesmith's son for a bit

never met the nez himself though

I got kind of obsessed with "Wax Minute" for awhile. It's got the same tune as another, more famous song, but I've never been able to put my finger on which one. It'll come to me eventually.

also, doesn't dylan play on the doug sahm album or did I make that up?