one month passes...
two months pass...
Artist: WIZARDS FROM KANSAS Title: S/T
Format: CD Catalog
Number: CDWIZARS/T
Price: $17.25 Label: World Psychedelia
Release
Date: 5/5/03
***A very welcome reissue of this excellent and unheralded album (Mercury, 1970) that has developed a big reputation and price tag over the past decade--and why not, as it's one of the best US psych albums around, with fine versions of classic songs like "High Flying Bird" and Buffy St. Marie's "Codeine," as well as excellent original compositions like "Misty Mountainside," "Country Dawn," and "She Rides With Witches." Includes keyboard help from MARK NAFTALIN from PAUL BUTTERFIELD's BLUES BAND (who remembers the record fondly), as well as additional aid from a cast of hemp pickers, superdooperchicks, and other friends.
Model, singer, actress and writer. American-born Marsha Hunt first came to prominence starring in the rock musical Hair in London in 1968. Her relationship with Mick Jagger led to the birth of their daughter Karis. Her acting career included appearances in Dracula AD 1972 (1972) and the Lindsay Anderson directed Britannia Hospital (1982). In 1990 she played Bianca in the Trevor Nunn directed television production of Othello. Since the late 1980s Hunt has published a number of books including Joy (1990) and Free (1994).
"Los Vidrios Quebrados comenzamos en el 65 en la Escuela de Derecho de la Católica, Formamos primero un trío con Cristán Larraín en bajo y Juan Enrique Garcés en batería. Después de probar muchos guitarristas de acompañamiento llegó Juan O´Brien. Empezamos con instrumentos hechos por nosotros mismos y tocábamos en colegios. Después de presentarnos en un festival de la canción en la Católica, Odeon nos ofreció un contrato y grabamos nuestro primer single, con el tema Friend por un lado y por el otro She'll Never Know I'm Blue. Un año después, con el productor Alberto Maturana, grabamos el LP Fictions para RCA.
Artist: ELDERBERRY JAK
Title: Long Overdue
Label: GEAR FAB/COMET (ITALY)
Format: LP
Price: $21.00
Catalog #: GF 426
"This great Morgantown, West Virginia quartet originally released this (very rare) rural rock album in 1970 on Electric Fox. Great fuzz guitar, heavy organ and tasteful use of acoustic guitars and piano. Reminiscent of America, Neil Young and Douglas Fir. Original artwork. 180 gram vinyl."
If any Austin group of the late '60s could be called the Vulcan Gas Company's de facto house band, it would have to be the Conqueroo. That, despite the fact that the Vulcan was self-billed as a psychedelic concert hall and the Conqueroo was hardly psychedelic although certainly a hippie favorite. If any musical genre could have been attached to the eclectic Conqueroo, it would have been not one but a fusion of many: folk, rock, jazz, and blues. Nonetheless, the Conqueroo was a regular at the Vulcan -- featured prominently on many Vulcan handbills and posters -- from the hall's opening in 1967 until its closing in mid '70. And it was at the Vulcan that Sonobeat owners Bill Josey Sr. and Rim Kelley (Bill Jr.) first heard the Conqueroo perform and instantly knew they had to record the group. Just one recording session at the Vulcan Gas Company yielded Sonobeat's fifth release and third rock single, a pairing of Ed Guinn's I've Got Time (featuring an enigmatically dramatic, yet strangely reserved, duet) and 1 to 3 (featuring an equally dramatic but uninhibited vocal by its composer, Bob Brown). No fancy recording techniques were used; the single is nothing short of two great songs performed passionately by great musicians, captured just a little raw at one of Sonobeat's favorite venues. It remains the only commercial release by the Conqueroo, who often shared the Vulcan stage with the 13th Floor Elevators, Johnny Winter, or Shiva's Headband.
From left, Charlie Pritchard (guitar), Gerry Storm (drums), Bob Brown (guitar), Ed Guinn (bass), four kids and a dog
Sonobeat issued the Conqueroo's single with a two-sided black and white picture sleeve designed by legendary Austin cartoonist Gilbert Shelton (who lived with the Conqueroo and half a dozen other assorted characters in a large house just off the University of Texas campus).
A stunning image by celebrated Austin photographer Belmer Wright (not to be confused with another great Austin photographer, Burton Wilson) completed the sleeve, which has a bit of the look and feel of one of those famous Vulcan Gas Company handbills of the '60s. Both sides of the sleeve are identical, except for the song titles, hand lettered by Shelton.
Originally scheduled as Rs-104 (which collectors will note is etched in the dead wax), the Conqueroo's single moved up a notch in Sonobeat's release schedule after Shiva's Headband had second thoughts about the release of their single, also recorded at the Vulcan and originally scheduled for release ahead of the Conqueroo's. Bill Josey's handwritten notes on the master tape box indicate both songs were recorded in March 1968 with two 2-track Ampex recorders. The second recorder was used for vocal overdubs that were recorded at the end of the Vulcan session.
After landing a solo contract with MGM/Verve Records, and before beginning a solo album, he recruited brother John for an experimental ‘rock meets theatre’ album. The duet, along with a dozen top studio musicians, recorded The Appletree Theatre in 1967, a ground-breaking effort among the so-called "concept" albums of the late sixties, fusing brief Saturday Night Live type comic sketches with slightly tongue-in-cheek parodies of contemporary musical genres. John Lennon, in an interview with Penny Nichols in London, called The Appletree Theatre one of his favorite new albums, Time Magazine lauded the Boylans' sense of humor, and Phillip Proctor acknowledged their influence on his own group, The Firesign Theatre.
Returning to Bard College in ‘68, Boylan teamed up with fellow students Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, and recorded Alias Boona at New York’s Hit Factory, for MGM Records. In a tip of the hat to his old mentor, Boylan recorded an entirely re-arranged version of Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues, sounding more like Procol Harem than early Dylan. The influence of The Band and Van Morrison were also evident on the album, in such tunes as Deep in the Middle and Hey Hannah. Dylan brought the album to the attention of manager Albert Grossman, and discussions began toward recording an album in near-by Woodstock, N.Y., then home to both Dylan and Grossman.
PETE BROWN & THE BATTERED ORNAMENTS
Mantlepiece
Enregistré avant le clash entre Pete Brown et Chris Spedding, "Mantlepiece" sera manipulé à sa sortie. Le producteur effacera toutes les traces des vocaux de Peter Brown et les remplacera. L'echec commercial précipitera l'explosion du groupe. Rob Tait le batteur, suivra Pete Brown au sein de son nouveau groupe Piblokto et Chris Spedding entamera la carrière qu'on lui connaît. Sans Brown, "Mantlepiece" manque singulièrement de folie mais reste un honnête disque de rock jazz, comme savent bien les pondre les anglais.
First, a little background: Michael Yonkers has to rank among American rock's most intriguing eccentrics. His adolescent obsession with garage and surf eventually developed into a fascination with gadgetry that would inform his band's dynamic brand of rock primitivism but also indirectly cause him years of health problems. Recording with his own modified guitar (a sawed-down Telecaster he still plays today) and homemade effects, Yonkers released five little-heard albums on his own label in the mid 1970s. But then in 1971, he broke his back in an accident at the electronics factory where he worked; years of surgery and an allergic reaction to dye used in X-rays caused a degenerative spinal condition which Yonkers now treats through dance. Now in his 50s, Yonkers is a prominent figure in the Minneapolis dance community for years and he occasionally still plays live music as well.
Recorded in 1968 when Yonkers was still a teenager, Microminiature Love provides another link between the dirty swagger of '60s garage and the angry hallucinations of '70s punk. The record's incredibly cruddy production style (it sounds like it was recorded straight to tape in an echoey basement) recalls Stooges outtakes, while its dark, dissonant rhythms and zany flavor presage Pere Ubu. With its cheap guitar pyrotechnics, layers of distortion and weird effects, and Yonkers's gloomy vocals, Microminiature Love was the kind of album that would have driven Lester Bangs into fits of frothy-mouthed ecstasy. Only Bangs never heard the record, because a deal with Sire to release it fell through and Microminiature Love languished in unreleased obscurity until 2002, when De Stijl Records rescued it with a vinyl-only release. Sub Pop's new CD version adds six previously unreleased 1968-era tracks.
Tiffany Shade "Tiffany Shade" 1968 (Mainstream)
This used to be one of the less championed Mainstreams, but the persistent hype on the label has sent the rep of it soaring. Mainstream seldom spent much time on A & R once the artists had been signed, but Tiffany Shade must have been pushed through quick even by their standards. Hence a rather charming teen garage presentation of what is economy fare westcoast folkrock-psych sounds, plus a bunch of tracks that make no sense at all. LP opens strongly with several raw trips on the early Airplane style; cutting fuzz leads and excellent "Nuggets" vocals should appeal to anyone. Side 2 is less garagey & more goofy top 40, but listenable with class points reaped for a Love cover. All over a bit better than I expected, with some prime slices of 60s cheese-psych. Superb cover artwork, as always with the label. An original UK pressing exists on the Fontana label.
CD issue of excellent the sole album from this UK hippy folk trio. Originally released on Deram in 1969, it is similar in places to the Incredible String Band, Gryphon or Moonkyte with harpsichiord and medieval arrangements mixing with electric and acoustic folk. Fab groovy and certainly of it's era. Great artwork too...(hey, did you know that the lady from sunforest sang a song in clockwork orange? true story! your pal, scott)
What, I ask you, can be said about Bobb Trimble that hasn't been said before? Gentlepersons, don't start your search engines just mumble along in unison: "Ummeverything?"
Aye, verily; here's a chip off'n a rock tale too seldom told, although I'm hard-pressed to find anyone to blame for that. In fact, if a few hollow-eyed collectors hadn't honed in on his small-press cry from the DIY wilderness, these notes might still be swimming in my head instead of on the gramophone documentation now before you.
Besides, it's not like anyone else in the original Wormtown (Worcester, MA c.1977-1984) punk/weirdo scene ever made a truly national splash. The Unattached and The Odds (JJ Rassler's post-DMZ combo) came closest; besides, Bobb himself wasn't even really accepted in said scene-at-large until he'd hit the local club/warehouse/fairground circuit in '82 with the largely junior high-school Crippled Dog Band (context: Bobb was 24 at the time; loony tambourinist/howler Capt. PJ was thirty-something).
Before that, nuances of the odd onionskin layers of studio acid-folk heartbroken sound-dreams from his two self-released albums had fallen mostly upon punk-and-garage-rock-deafened ears. a real shame to be sure, but I can't even necessarily blame the newly punk-attuned, since they'd fought long and hard to cast off the yoke of 70s/80s arena/schmaltz oppression. To those for whom the urgency of punk and new/no-wave was a refreshing fix, Bobb's solo stuff may have been dismissed too readily as symbolic of the discarded "old guard".
Some of this original solo style is showcased here on Side One: Bobb solo recordings never released in their own time. Two of them, "Blood Of The Lamb" and "Home In Heaven" are rewrites of other as-yet unreleased tunes ("Break Of My Horizon" and "Wandering In A Daydream", respectively) that he undertook during a brief foray across the border into Jesus-freakdom. While spirituality often had colored the musical impressions in Bobb's music, there was a time of such loneliness and despair for him that he'd taken solace in the calm soul of the hippy-Man-of-Nazareth - while also taking to recasting some of his work in such wistful stain-glasséd tones. He never proselytized openly about his beliefs, though; in fact, the other members of The Prefab Messiahs and I originally took to calling him "St. Bobb" just because of his otherworldly aura of enlightened naïvete. In any event, Orpheus is planning a series of Bobb-related discs, so eventually you'll be able to hear these songs in their original text-settings too.
Despite the dissimilarities between Bobb's music and that of Wormtown-at-large, he was a big fan of the local scene, and became at least as caught up in its excitement as any other active participant. So, even as he proceeded to record a second solo album largely in his established style, he'd also convened a gaggle of Northborough, MA grade-schoolers (average age: 12) as "Bobb & The Kidds".
Why? On one hand, it may have been his own interpretation of the "youth voice empowerment" flaunted by the newest breed of rock rebels. Then again, like many a beautiful dreamer (& even Whitney Houston), Bobb believed that "the children are the future" - and since he felt a sense of betrayal in suburban society's overt message that innocence and imagination weren't acceptable in its adult populace, forming The Kidds could have been his way of ducking a punch of that unfortunate reality.
At some point, though, parents of one of The Kidds became paranoid about this 23-year old "artistic type" (with no girlfriend) leading a rock band of young boys. The paranoia spread far enough that The Kidds soon were disbanded by a force more insidious than that of any record company - their parents! (The one surviving document of the group actually made it onto Bobb's second LP (Harvest Of Dreams; no label); "Oh Baby" sounds much like what The Shaggs might have if they'd been boys weaned on Kiss' Love Gun)
Determined not to be foiled, Bobb sought out a few slightly older (junior high) guys, and - with "permission to rock" secured -- thus the Power Puff Boys...er, umm...the Crippled Dog Band - was formed!
The band breathed some youth-slackened rock fire into some of Bobb's songs, wrote some new ones of their own (featured here on Side Two), and slipped in the occasional odd choice in Beatles covers. The name was inspired by drummer Steve Fouracre's three-legged dog "Boopsie" (shown on the LP art; Bobb claims that Boopsie somewhat mauled him during the photos you see here, but he claims so with just enough hint of a smirk and a would-be poker face that it's hard to take him seriously). Many Wormtonians may recall what was perhaps their greatest day in the sun - their appearance at a WCUW event at E.M. Loew's Theater (now The Palladium) with The Nebulas, Performers, and Foamin Agents in February 1983. For the occasion, Bobb wore a top hat with bunny ears and a green satin coat, complete with bunny-tail.
Artist: DORMOUSE, JEREMY
Title: Toad
Label: HALLUCINATIONS
Format: CD
Price: $13.00
Catalog #: HCD 005
"Legendary Canadian folk/psych rarity from 1967-68. One of the hardest to find album collectibles there is. This recording also features a very young Lynda Squires (Reign Ghost) and many other Canadian folk notables of the day. Original cover art is here as well as liner notes . The master came from the band and sounds great, with male/female throughout. Standout cut for me is 'Believe Me', a folk gem of the day. Also a cool, haunting cover of 'Suzanne' is right there as well. This project is also related to the 'Rejects' LP, another lost Canadian rarity."
Armed with a recording contract the Panama Limited Jugband initially gigged at a large number of London coffee houses, the best known being the Troubadour at Ellis Court. One night at the Troubadour, PLJ played on the same bill with Stefan Grossman, a performer of acoustic blues guitar instrumentals and the author of many blues guitar instruction manuals which provide note-for-note transcriptions of classic downhome blues recordings. Brian Strachan's negative appraisal of Grossman's playing that evening, a sentiment with which Denis obviously concurs, reflects PLJ's commitment to the emotional feel of blues music.
We played there with Stefan Grossman. Brian hated Stefan, of course. He thought Grossman was totally hopeless. No feel whatsoever, just guitar licks straight off the record. Brian said that Grossman went to live with [African-American] blues guys, sucking up to them, getting them to show him how to do licks he couldn't get off the record. And Brian was just totally disgusted with him. It was great! Oh he could go on for an hour about Stefan Grossman!
The commercial recording commitment of the Panama Limited Jugband, later Panama Limited, prompted Denis to write songs, a pursuit that he has continued to this day. Performing a mixed repertoire of original and classic jugband songs (Memphis Jug Band, Cannon's Jug Stompers) PLJ landed engagements at universities that brought the band in contact with other elements of the English folksong revival. Shortly after the issue of their second recording, however, the band ceased being profitable.
In '69 we did the Jugband record [Harvest / EMI Records, The Panama Limited Jugband]. Then in '70 we did the next record [Harvest / EMI Records, Indian Summer] which had to be original. So that's when I started writing and I wrote eighty percent of the record. They dropped the "Jugband" part; it was just "Panama Limited" now. And then we weren't doing a hell of a lot after that and it was a tough time. You couldn't get many gigs. We could get gigs at universities like at Cambridge and Canterbury and places like that. I remember we did some gigs like that with the Young Tradition, those guys with their fingers in their ears [cupped hand over ear, a technique for improved hearing of one's own voice, common to ballad revivalists]. They're really good. They were really spine-chilling. I didn't really understand the music because it wasn't blues. I guess it was my own music; it was English music!
The story of how Denis eventually came to Newfoundland is a fascinating combination of serendipity and strategy.
― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 22 January 2005 14:19 (nineteen years ago) link
one year passes...
ten months pass...
one month passes...
two months pass...
one year passes...
two weeks pass...
four years pass...