Big Brother Feat. Ernie Joseph - Confusion (1970 us, stunning rough hard psych, Akarma edition)

This is one of those LPs I'd heard about for years, but never managed to lay my hands on. Every time I stumbled across a copy in a store it carried an astronomical price ($250 for the last copy I saw three years ago in San Diego), or when I found a copy on the internet it was either already sold, or if it was part of an auction I was quickly outbid. Well, having finally found a copy, was it worth the wait? Yes.

So what do we know about these guys? Not much. Under his given name Ernie Orosco, front man/singer/guitarist Joseph had previously played with a number of Santa Barbara, California-based acts including Ernie and the Emporers and Ernie's Funnys. He'd also recorded a pair of interesting late-'60s albums as a member of Giant Crab (see separate entries). Following the breakup of Giant Crab, Orosco/Joseph apparently relocated to Los Angeles, where he formed Big Brother (not to be confused with Janis Joplin's original outfit). Backed by guitarist Cory Colt, drummer Steve Dunwoodle (aka Steve D. and multi-instrumentalist brother Ruben (aka Ruben the Jet), the quartet attracted the attention of  the small All American label. 

Produced by Bill Holmes who'd handled production for the two earlier Giant Crab LPs, 1970's "Confusion" came as a major change in direction to anyone familiar with Orosco/Joseph's earlier pop/lite-psych moves. With all four members received writing credits, material such as 'Heart Full of Rain', 'L.L.A. (Lubricated Love Affair)' and the bluesy 'Heavy Load' offered up a set of Hendrix-styled guitar pyrotechnics. 

Elsewhere, the heavily phased 'E.S.P.' (sounding like a strange reworking of The Pretty Thing's 'L.S.D.') was actually a reworking of Giant Crab's final single. Given the abundance of guitar rockers, at least to our ears, the standout track was the atypical ballad 'Wake Up In the Morning'. Sweet and sincere, its a beautiful effort. Sure, it ain't the most original LP you'll hear this year and parts of the percussion heavy closing suite 'Gravus Delictum (Unforgiveable Sin)' drag, but the performances were enthusiastic and its an album I play on a regular basis. (Courtesy of Dan McClean, the LP also sports a great black and silver period piece cover)

Bad-cat

Tracks
1. Heart Full Of Rain (Bill Holmes, Ernie Joseph) - 3:33
2. Wake Up In The Morning (Ernie Joseph, Cory Colt, R.T. Jet, Bill Holmes) - 6:40
3. E.S.P. (Self, Ciebiera) - 2:15
4. Heavy Load (Ernie Joseph, Cory Colt, R.T. Jet, Bill Holmes) - 6:39
5. L.L.A. (Lubricated Love Affair) (Ernie Joseph, Cory Colt, R.T. Jet, Bill Holmes) - 3:54
6. Saint James Infirmary (J. Primrose) - 6:06
7. Gravus Delictum (Unforgiveable Sin)
.A.Under Cover Man (Instrumental) (Ernie Joseph, Cory Colt, R.T. Jet) - 1:17
.B.Puck-A-Chick-A (Instrumental) (Steve Dunwoodle) - 0:51
.C.Bare Skin (Instrumental) (Steve Dunwoodle) - 2:44
.D.Roll-In (Instrumental) (Steve Dunwoodle) - 2:07
.E.Roll-Out (Instrumental) (Steve Dunwoodle) - 0:58
.F.Climax (Instrumental) (Steve Dunwoodle) - 0:58
.G.403 Halkirk (Instrumental) (Ernie Joseph, Cory Colt, R.T. Jet) - 3:35

Big Brother
*Cory Colt - Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
*Steve Dunwoodle - Drums, Vocals
*Ruben "The Jet" Orosco - Bass, Sax
*Ernie "Joseph" Orosco - Vocals, Guitar, Bass

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Trevor McNamara - Yeah Captain (1969 aussie, sensational folk psych)

Trevor started his music career at the age of 15, having taught himself to play the guitar. He played in a band called 5 Sided Circle which was considered unique and ahead of its time in the 'mod era' of music. He left after two years and formed a 4-piece band called Musik Express. This band achieved national success in Australia and released a single entitled 'Jackie's Thing', written by Trevor. He left Musik Express to stage a rock opera called 'Piano' which he wrote.

After 'Piano', Trevor was urged to record, and the album 'Yeah Captain' was made - Trevor was then 19. His work had been featured on many recordings, film scores, opera and a wide range of commercials in Australia. The 5 Sided Circle performed for a few years in the '90s, playing at exclusive clubs, and supporting acts from the '60s and '70s, eg, Moody Blues on their Australian tours.

While music is his main love, these days Trevor is a successful businessman and contemporary artist, His paintings are featured all over Australia and the demand for his work grows daily.

'Yeah Captain' was made in 1969, and was the first album of its type produced in Australia. All songs were written and performed by Trevor McNamara. Trevor sang and played all instruments, multi-tracking when necessary, and squeezing everything possible onto a 4-track recording deck. Technology was very young compared to what is available today.

The record company suggested that short tracks be included on the album, because radio stations used 'fillers' between hourly newsbreaks etc., and this would enable more airplay for the local release. Also, any form of controversy in the songs was suggested to create more publicity.

The albums was a milestone in Australia, but Trevor never liked it. Even today, collectors approach Trevor for copies of 'Yeah Captain' - they are always declined.

CD Liner-notes

Tracks
1. Silver - 3:29
2. Waking - 0:37
3. The Gun - 2:44
4. 15 - 1:00
5. Jackie's Thing - From The Rock Opera "Piano" - 2:27
6. Joseph Blackwell - 2:53
7. Riding To Athenbury - 1:47
8. Yeah Captain, Part 1 - 4:10
9. Now - 2:12
10.P.I.P. - 1:28
11.Cavalier - 1:10
12.Digging - 1:05
13.I'm Very Sane, Thank You - 0:54
14.Black Girl - 2:27
15.Sinners - 0:48
16.Living On A Strain - 1:47
17.Yeah Captain, Part 2 - 2:32
18.Morocco (Bonus Track) - 3:21
19.Country Corn (Bonus Track) - 3:42
All songs written and arranged by Trevor McNamara

*Trevor McNamara - Vocals, Guitar

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Donovan - In Concert, The Complete Anaheim Show (1967 uk, folk jazzy psych masterpiece, 2006 two disc set)

Donovan In Concert: The Complete 1967 Anaheim Show is an expanded version of the Donovan In Concert album released in 1968. This version includes 4 unreleased tracks from the concert. There are other four tracks that weren't included in the older version, but were released previously in the 2005 compilation Try For The Sun: The Journey Of Donovan: Epistle To Derroll, To Try For The Sun, Someone Singing and The Tinker And The Crab. Mixed by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, London, September 2005.

Catch The Wind could not be recorded completely due to a machine problem, so just the second half of the song was recorded. The edition of the songs differs a bit from the 1968 version, changing the parts where Donovan talks between songs from the begining of a track to the end of the previous track. The version of Preachin' Love is 4:32 minutes longer than the one in the 1968 release, where they edited the sax and drums solo, maybe to fit in the vinyl record.

The sax part at the end of Mellow Yellow is longer than the 1968 version. The front cover is almost the same as the one in the original released, except the title is written on the left side. The original back cover (with a picture by Stephen Goldblatt) passed to be part of the booklet, and on the back cover is the track list and a picture of Donovan in white clothes playing guitar surrounded by flowers.

The concert was introduced by radio personality Rhett Walker, who makes a little introduction, saying the famous phrase "Welcome to the phenomenon of Donovan". On this version he's introduced by an unkown man. Walker describes an anecdote that had happened a few weeks before at the Hollywood Bowl Concert, and then hands the proceedings to Donovan's father, Donald Leitch:

It's a very widespread belief that the Anaheim Concert was recorded on September 23, 1967, but it's a confusion. On September 23rd Donovan played the Hollywood Bowl Concert, to which Rhett Walker refers in the introduction. In the paperback edition of Donovan's autobiography The Hurdy Gurdy Man there's a picture with the description: "The Hollywood Bowl, November 17th 1967". 

The place is correct, but the date is wrong, according to the person who took the photograph, Susan Geary, there were no pictures available from the Anaheim show, so they used pictures from the Hollywood Bowl for this album.

Donovan played a few songs still unknown to the audience: for example, Poor Cow (introduced by Donovan as Poor Love, its original title, which was changed when the song appeared in the film Poor Cow), Pebble And The Man (later to be re-worked as Happiness Runs in the Barabajagal album, that's why Donovan says he still doesn't know the name of the song) and the special track, Rules And Regulations, which would never be recorded again. He also plays songs of his up-coming album at that time, A Gift From A Flower To A Garden, which was released later in December 1967.

Donovan played with a group of musicians that had recorded with him on his previous albums, including flautist Harold McNair and percussionist Tony Carr: both create an outstanding atmosphere in Preachin' Love. A small part of the show is backed up with a string band to which Donovan refers to as The Flower Quartet. The concert was recorded on a four-track machine.

Donovan-unofficial

Finally. This 1967 concert recorded at the Anaheim Convention Center, just a few weeks after his Hollywood Bowl show, was recorded in its entirety and released as a single LP with a total of 14 tracks. This double-disc CD reissue contains 23 tracks, and is, as it survives, the entire gig. In addition, the sound has been painstakingly remastered; the result is a brilliant sounding document. 

Flow in a Donovan concert is important, and here, presented as it occurred, listeners can drift right into the tidepool of magic. The band is a quintet with Harold McNair on flute and saxophones, Loren Newkirk on piano, Andy Tronosco on upright bass, Tony Carr on drums, and John Carr on bongos. Donovan plays acoustic guitar throughout. The hippy mysticism and flower power poet is everywhere here. 

This isn't rock star excess at all, but an organic, drenched-in-sunshine concert full of gentleness with a premium on good vibes. Tunes not on the original LP and CD issues include "Sunny Goodge Street," "Epistle to Derroll," "Sand and Foam," "Hampstead Incident," "To Try for the Sun," "Someone Singing," "The Tinker and the Crab," and a partial recording of the second half of "Catch the Wind," which was included for purposes of completion, but was marred by a malfunctioning tape recording. 

Donovan was already an expert at getting audiences to eat out of his hand, and here that happens in spades. In fact the only album that comes close to having the flow of this concert was the studio recording of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. While it's true this is only available as an import, it should be sought out by any fan, or, for that matter, any cynic who hasn't heard this particularly beautiful and airy genius of Donovan Leitch. With this presentation, Donovan In Concert becomes one of the great live albums of the '60s.

by Thom Jurek

Tracks

Disc one

1. Intro - 3:25

2. Isle Of Islay - 4:21

3. Young Girl Blues - 6:09

4. There Is A Mountain - 3:04

5. Poor Love (Poor Cow) - 3:28

6. Sunny Goodge Street - 3:13

7. Celeste - 5:15

8. The Fat Angel - 3:24

9. Guinevere - 3:39

10.Widow With Shawl (A Portrait) - 3:00

11.Epistle To Deroll - 5:53

12.Preaching Love - 9:38

Disc two
1. Lullaby Of Spring - 4:27
2. Sand And Foam - 3:21
3. Hampstead Incident - 5:10
4. Writer In The Sun - 4:11
5. Try For The Sun - 3:27
6. Someone Singing - 2:55
7. Pebble And The Man, Happiness Runs - 3:10
8. The Tinker And The Crab - 3:38
9. Rules And Regulations - 2:33
10.Mellow Yellow - 4:42
11.Catch The Wind (Part) - 1:16
All Music and Lyrics by Donovan

Personnel
*Donovan - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica.
*Lorin Newkirk - Piano.
*Andy Troncosco - Bass.
*Harold McNair - Flute, Saxophone.
*Tony Carr - Drums.
*"Candy" John Carr - Bongos, Finger Cymbals
*The Flower Quartet - Strings

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Twice as Much - Sittin' On a Fence, The Immediate Anthology (1966-68 uk, delicate baroque sunny folk psych)

One of the most anonymous-sounding acts of the British Invasion, Twice as Much was the duo of Dave Skinner and Andrew Rose, harmony singers who also wrote much of their own material. Signed to the Immediate label (run by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham), the pair recorded several singles and a couple of albums between 1966 and 1968. 

Most of these recordings were innocuous, pleasantly forgettable pop affairs in the Peter & Gordon/Chad & Jeremy mold, with light orchestral pop/rock arrangements that sometimes employed a touch of the Baroque. They had their only British Top 40 success with a cover of the Stones' "Sitting on a Fence"; although the Stones' version was one of their best cuts from the Between the Buttons era, the Twice as Much interpretation seems to miss the point completely, transforming it into a chipper, quasi-vaudevillian tune without a hint of ambiguity or sullenness. 

by Richie Unterberger

The duo's two albums are assembled together on one CD, and appended with singles that weren't on either, all in glittering sound (it took till the mid-'90s, at least, for proper sources to be assembled on the Immediate Records catalog). The first six tracks, representing single A- and B-sides, have a fair amount of appeal today as artifacts of '60s pop/rock, with "Step Out of Line," an original by the duo, probably representing their own sound best, kind of between Simon & Garfunkel and Peter & Gordon, and closer to the latter. 

The album cuts are a more difficult fit, ranging from Broadway tunes to covers of Beatles and other songs -- though if these guys were to have covered any Beatles tracks, the right ones were chosen in "Help!" and "We Can Work It Out," and the harmony versions of the Small Faces songs are an interesting variant on the latter, even if they won't displace the Small Faces' own renditions. 

There are also good covers of Phil Spector material ("Is That What I Get for Loving You Baby?") and rock classics like "Do You Wanna Dance," but their very best efforts were, in many ways, the duo's own songs, and filmmaker Peter Whitehead seems to have had the best instincts when he lifted their "Night Time Girl" from the first album for use in his documentary Tonite Let's All Make Love in London. Fans of Vashti Bunyan may also want to pick this CD up for the presence of "The Coldest Night of the Year," as the folksinging legend appeared with the duo, fully credited, on the record. 

by Bruce Eder 

Tracks
1. Sitting On A Fence (Mick Jagger, Keith Richard) - 3:07
2. Baby I Want You  - 2:14
3. Step Out Of Line  - 3:09
4. Simplified  - 3:24
5. True Story  - 2:42
6. You're So Good For Me (Charles Bell, Andrew Loog Oldham, Dave Skinner, Andrew Rose) -  2:33
7. I Have A Love (Leonard Bernstein) - 2:02
8. Help (John lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:46
9. Is This What I Get For Loving You Baby? (Phil Spector, Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 2:48
10.Night Time Girl  - 2:46
11.Life Is But Nothing  - 3:54
12.The Spinning Wheel  - 2:21
13.Happy Times  - 3:23
14.Sha La La La Lee (Mort Shuman, Kenny Lynch) - 2:08
15.We Can Work It Out (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:15
16.As Tears Go By (Mick Jagger, Keith Richard) - 3:16
17.The Time Is Right  - 3:03
18.The Summer's Ending  - 2:39
19.Play With Fire (Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Charly Watts, Bill Wyman) - 2:29
20.Why Can't They All Go And Leave Me Alone?  - 2:57
21.Crystal Ball (Mort Shuman, Scott Fagan) - 2:44
22.Hey Girl (John Phillips) - 2:25
23.Listen  - 2:40
24.Green Circles (Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Mick O'Sullivan) - 2:38
25.Life Is But Nothing / Happy Times / Do You Wanna Dance (Dave Skinner, Andrew Rose / Bobby Freeman) - 3:35
26.You'll Never Get To Heaven  - 2:39
27.Coldest Night Of The Year (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 3:27
28.She's Alway On My Mind  - 2:23
All songs by David Skinner and Andrew Rose unless as else stated

Personnel
*David Skinner - Vocals, Keyboards
*Andrew Rose - Vocals
*Nicky Hopkins - Keyboards
*Alan Weighall - Drums
*Andy White - Drums
*Eric Ford - Drums
*Jim Sullivan - Guitar
*Jimmy Page - Guitar
*Joe Moretti - Guitar
*John McLaughlin  - Guitar
*Alan Hakin - Percussion
*Eric Allen - Percussion
*Red Weller - Percussion
*Arthur Greenslade - Orchestra Arrangements

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Triangle - Triangle (1969-70 france, elegant progressive rock, 2010 Mini LP edition)

The short five years career of Triangle (1969-74) was very intense, starting with this first album (the most famous of the three) and released in 1970 containing their biggest hit, "Maybe tomorrow ". 

Triangle was, along with Martin Circus Variations and Zoo, the groups that  revolutionized the history of rock music in France in the early 70s. Formed by Papillon (bass, vocals), Jean-Pierre Prévotat (drums), François Jeanneau (brass, keyboards) and Marius Lorenzoni (guitar)

Their self titled debut is ann extraordinary album, in this 2010 Vinyl replica issue, are included bonus from their first two 1969, 45” and the single version of "Blow Your Cool", also the English and Spanish versions of "Maybe tomorrow". 

Triangle released three albums, which probably fall in the proto-progressive category. Generally they make guitar-dominated rock with slightly above average rhythmic complexities and changes in tempo in melody. 

They do veer off in various directions, psych, folk rock, classic guitar rock, touches of glam rock, proto prog, some nice and some less nice (i.e. schmaltzy) ballads. This album is one of the gems of French rock music.

Tracks
1. Peut-Être Demain - 4:47
2. Left With My Sorrow - 6:38
3. Blow Your Cool - 7:19
4. Guerre Et Paix - 9:21
5. M.L. - G.G. - 1:37
6. Cameron's Complaint - 9:43
7. Listen People (A. Renaud) - 3:44
8. Please (A. Renaud, J.P. Prévotat, G. Fournier) - 4:33
9. Élègie A Gabrielle (F. Jeanneau, J.P. Prévotat, G. Fournier, P. Farges) - 4:58
10.Golden Screen (F. Jeanneau, J.P. Prévotat, G. Fournier, P. Farges) - 3:23
11.Blow Your Cool (Single Version) - 3:09  
12.Ruido De Botas (Spanish Version) (Lyrics by Roda Gil) - 4:50  
13.Peut-Être Demain (English Version) - 4:49
Words and Music by Triangle except where indicated
Bonus Tracks 7-13

Triangle
*Papillon «Gérard Fournier» - Bass, Vocals
*Jean Pierre Prevotat - Drums
*François Jeanneau - Saxophone, Keyboards
*Marius "Mimi" Lorenzini - Guitar

1969-74  Triangle - Anthologie

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The Yardbirds - Live Yardbirds! (1968 uk, great blues rock, 2008 edition)

Arguably the most famous lost live album in history, Live Yardbirds Featuring Jimmy Page, cut at the Anderson Theater in New York on March 30, 1968, has been issued twice on vinyl legitimately (only to be suppressed by legal action) and innumerable times since as a bootleg. 

The original master tape has been improved significantly; the absence of vinyl noise is an obvious plus, but the sheer impact of the instruments is also startling, given that the show was taped by a producer who had never recorded a rock band before, on equipment that was ten years out of date. The producers have expanded this reissue with help from a separate reference tape, an audience recording that preserved the complete unedited show; it's somewhat low-fi, but it captures material edited from the finished master, and it allows for the restoration of little nuances. 

Page's guitar (which goes out of tune several times) is the dominant instrument, alternately crunchy and lyrical, but always loud and dexterous; the roughness of Keith Relf's singing is also more apparent, but his shortcomings don't really hurt the music. The performance also reveals just how far out in front of the psychedelic pack the Yardbirds were by the spring of 1968; Page had pushed the envelope about as far as he could, in terms of high-velocity guitar pyrotechnics. Ironically, this album isn't quite as strong as the contemporary Truth album by Jeff Beck, mostly because the Yardbirds were still juggling three sounds: the group's progressive pop/rock past, the psychedelia of 1968, and a harder, more advanced blues-based sound. 

It's clear that they had few places left to go with the first two; "Dazed and Confused," by contrast, represented something new, a slow blues as dark, forbidding, and intense as anything that the band had ever cut -- it showed where Page, if not this band, was heading. 

by Bruce Eder

Tracks
1. The Train Kept A Rollin'(H. Kay, L. Mann, T. Bradshaw) – 3:16
2. You're A Better Man Than I (B. Hugg, M. Hugg)/"Heart Full of Soul" (G. Gouldman) – 6:49
3. Dazed and Confused (Jake Holmes) - 6:47
4. My Baby (J. Ragovoy, M. Shuman) – 3:10
5. Over Under Sideways Down (C. Dreja, J. Beck, J. McCarty, K. Relf, P. Samwell Smith) – 2:32
6. Drinking Muddy Water (C. Dreja, J. McCarty, J. Page, K. Relf) – 3:15
7. Shapes Of Things (J. McCarty, K. Relf, P. Samwell Smith) – 2:48
8. White Summer(J. Page) – 4:18
9. I'm A Man (E. McDaniel) – 11:55
10.My Baby (J. Ragovoy, M. Shuman) – 2:38
11.I Wish You Would (Billy Boy Arnold) - 3:16

The Yardbirds
*Keith Relf - Harmonica, Lead Vocals
*Jimmy Page - Guitar
*Chris Dreja - Bass
*Jim McCarty - Drums, Vocals

1963-68  The Yardbirds - Glimpses (five disc box set, 2011 release)
1964  The Yardbirds - Five Live Yardbirds (2007 remaster and expanded)

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Lynne Hughes - Freeway Gypsy (1970 us, spectacular brass jazzy blues psych, Vinyl edition)

Lynne Hughes was the lead singer of the late-'60s San Francisco Bay Area band Tongue and Groove, mining the field between folk, blues, and rock, in somewhat the same manner as fellow Bay Area female singers Tracy Nelson and Janis Joplin (or, from beyond the Bay Area, Maria Muldaur). Hughes had a more old-timey ragtime tilt to her vocals than any of those other singers did, and was the most prominent presence on Tongue and Groove's fair, self-titled late-'60s album. Prior to that, she had been something of an auxiliary member of the Charlatans, doing some singing and even recording with them without being an official group member.

Hughes had entered music as a folk musician in Seattle in the early '60s before going to the Bay Area. In 1965, she was performing at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, NV, the same venue where the Charlatans had a long-running residency. She would play guitar and sing lead on a few songs with them, such as "Sidetrack" and "Come on in My Kitchen," and taught them the English madrigal "I Saw Her," which was one of their best recordings (though not officially released until 1996). 

She also played and sang on some demos they did for Kama Sutra in early 1966; two on which she sang, "Sidetrack" and "Devil Got My Man," appear on the 1996 CD compilation The Amazing Charlatans. The Charlatans links carried over to Tongue and Groove, which also featured former Charlatans pianist Mike Ferguson; their Tongue on Groove album had bass by Charlatan Richie Olsen, and a song by ex-Charlatan Dan Hicks. Hughes went on to sing with Stoneground in the early '70s

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Bad Dream (L. J. Baron, D. Randell) - 2:22
2. Rose Of The Woe (K. Doyle, R. Olsen) -3:47
3. Night Life (Nelson, Buskirk, Breland) - 3:11
4. Never Stop A Dream (D. Bennett) - 2:47
5. Gypsy Good Time (N. Gravenites) - 4:07
6. Freeway Gypsy (T. Deeps, D. Randell) - 3:32
7. Rags And Old Iron) (O. Brown, Jr., N. Curtis) - 3:55
8. My Man Is Gone (T. Deeps, D. Randell) - 3:22
9. And When I Die (L. Nyro) - 4:56
10.It Didn't Even Bring Me Down (D. Sahm, F. Morin, M. Ferreo) - 3:35

Musicians
*Lynne Hughes - Vocals
*Mike Melvoin - Keyboard, Arranger
*Mike Dacy - Guitar, Sitar, Dobro
*Louis Shelton – 6, 12 String Guitar
*Therutius Deeps - Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Jerry Scheff, Joe Osbourn - Bass
*Hal Blaine - Drums
*Gary Coleman - Percussion
*Buddy Childers, Tony Terran, Ollie Mitchell, Joe Burnett, Chuck Finley - Trumpets, Flugelhorn
*Bob Brookmeyer, Bob Enevoldsen, Dick Leaf - Trombones
*Don Menza, Jim Horn, Plaz Johnson, Bob Hardaway, Kim Richmond - Saxophones
*Billy Woodruff, Don Bennett, Joe Reed - Backing Vocals

Related Act
1971  Stoneground - Stoneground
1971-72  Stoneground - Family Album

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The Lost - Lost Tapes (1964-67 us, amazing garage psych folk)

Here at last is the Lost album, only 33 years overdue. Along with The Remains, The Ramrods, and The Barbarians, The Lost are the most highly exalted of all Boston-area bands from the mid-1960s. Amazingly, The Lost achieved this status having released only three 45s, none of which made it to the Billboard charts. Now, finally, die-hard fans and newcomers alike can hear the album that might have been, including those rare singles in all their glory.

Although they ended up as legends. The Lost began prosaically enough. Ted Myers, having finished his freshman year at Goddard College, in Plainfield, Vermont, decided to spend the summer of 1964 on Martha's Vineyard island, in Massachusetts. There, with some friends from Goddard, he brashly started a folk coffee house, even though he had no knowledge of how to do such a thing. Furthermore, he had no money, but managed to talk his way into an "on-spec" arrangement with a local landlord. 

Ted remained a coffee house proprietor long enough to give a teenaged James Taylor his first professional gig, then returned to Goddard College for the fall term. Back at Goddard, emboldened by his coffee house success, Ted formed a band in October 1964 with four fellow Goddard students: Willie Alexander, Hugh Magbie, Tony Pfeiffer, and Walter Powers. They called themselves The Lost. The name came from a dream Willie had had about a year earlier.

The Lost began performing almost immediately at on-campus events. Their first paying gig was at a club called The Cave, in nearby Burlington, Vermont. Another early performance (as Walter recalls) was in a multimedia, rock 'n' roll production of Peter Pan at Goddard. This sort of experimentation was a hallmark of the band from the very beginning. Another mark of distinction was Willie's passion for unusual percussion instruments. He concocted some "maracas" made out of pint wine bottles filled with spent .22-caliber casings. 

The bottles inevitably brake as Willie played them, scattering casings everywhere. As Tony recalls, this "happened to Willie regularly, and every time he looked surprised." Thanks to their high-energy performances, The Lost gained a loyal following during their brief time at Goddard. However, they did not endear themselves to College administrators. Goddard was an experimental college and gave credit for work experience. 

Following the Fall 1964 term, the band decided to get this experience by moving to Boston and continuing to work as professional musicians (not exactly what the College had in mind). The move occurred in December 1964. Hugh lived at home with his parents in nearby Cambridge. The rest of the band lived together in a large apartment (later, two apartments) in the Beacon Hill section of Boston and survived on the money they made playing gigs. Only Tony and Hugh had day jobs (Tony as a busboy and Hugh as a researcher for a social-services agency).

Despite the fact that the band had landed several gigs around Boston and had an early affiliation with Don Law (later to become Boston's most successful rock entrepreneur), Hugh and Tony decided to return to Goddard for the spring term in March 1965. Willie, Ted, and Walter remained in Boston (as Willie remembers it, Goddard didn't want them back anyway). 

The band now needed two new members and took a trip to New York City to recruit them. Ted found Kyle Garrahan playing folk music in a Greenwich Village coffee house called The Bizarre. Kyle replaced the departed Hugh Magbie. To replace Tony Pfeiffer, Ted called upon an old friend, Lee Mason. Kyle and Lee moved to the group's headquarters in Beacon Hill. With these changes, a new lineup was in place, and this is the group we hear on this release.

by Gary Burns

Tracks
1. Maybe More Than You Know (Ted Myers, Willie Alexander) - 1:54
2. Back Door Blues (Ted Myers, Willie Alexander) - 2:31
3. I Wanna Know - 2:18
4. Certain Chick (Naomi Neville) - 2:30
5. Here She Comes - 2:52
6. Always I Know - 3:07
7. No Reason Why (Vocal) - 2:32
8. Everybody Knows (Willie Alexander) - 2:18
9. When I Call - 2:00
10.Violet Gown (Version I) - 2:54
11.Mean Motorcycle - 1:55
12.(No) Money In The Pocket (Joe Zawinul) - 2:22
13.Kaleidoscope - 1:54
14.Violet Gown (Version II) - 2:39
15.No Reason Why - 2:01
16.Changes - 2:02
17.Do I Love You (Peter Andreoli, Phil Spector, Vincent Poncia) - 2:34
18.Rocket Ship - 1:53
All songs by Ted Myers except where stated

The Lost
*Walter Powers - Bass, Organ, Vocals
*Ted Myers - Guitar, Vocals
*Lee Mason - Drums
*Willie Alexander - Keyboards, Vocals, Percussion
*Kyle Garrahan - Lead Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals

Related Acts
1967-68 Flat Earth Society - Waleeco And The Lost / Space Kids
1968  Listening - Listening

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Neil Merryweather - Kryptonite (1975 canada, tight heavy rock with glam prog shades and bonus tracks from Richardson and Boers LP)

After three years with Mama Lion, Neil was ready to take the reigns of a new project. He ran an ad in the “Music Connection” magazine seeking a guitarist, deciding on Timo Lane, and recruited drummer Tim McGovern.

Neil wrote a song called “Hollywood Boulevard” and decided to demo it with Laine and McGovern. Laine brought Bob Silvert to the session equipped with a chamberlain.

After the recording, Neil decided that this was his new band. Neil called Maury Lathauwer at Capitol Records and got a night of time at Capitol’s studios. The band recorded a handful of Neil’s songs and a few cover tunes.

Neil supported the band financially, paying for rehearsal studios, meals and on occasion, band members’ rent. The band lasted a few months before Silvert, without notice, sold the chamberlain and other equipment and left town. Timo soon bowed out and disappeared.

Six months later, Robbie Randall, Neil’s road manager from the Mama Lion days, played the tape for Skip Taylor (“Canned Heat” producer). Skip’s brother, Jim Taylor, signed Neil to a management deal, took the tape to Mercury Records, and Neil was signed.

Neil called Tim McGovern and recruited two new members – Michael Willis (guitar), and James Herndon (keyboards and guitar), and the Space Rangers were re-born.

They opened at “The Whiskey” to great reviews. The record went to #5 in the country on FM radio airplay within two weeks after its release.

The band played KSHE radio’s birthday party at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis with “T-Rex”, “Pure Prairie League”, and “KISS”. The Rangers were the hit of the show.

The record was hailed by critics and fans as a success, yet again, the label did nothing to help the band achieve the recognition it deserved. 

Kryptonite

Tracks
1. Kryptonite - 3:19
2. Star Rider - 5:32
3. Always Be You - 3:27
4. Give It Everything We Got - 5:32
5. The Groove - 5:30
6. Real Life Love - 3:38
7. You Know Where I'd Rather Be - 5:21
8. Let Us Be The Dawn - 4:52
9. Aren't You Glad That You Know - 3:06
10.City Boy - 3:02
11.Dust My Blues - 2:40
12.Flat Black - 4:16
13.You Must Live It - 2:46
14.Your Real Good Thing - 3:33
15.Local 149 Are You Ready - 10:51
Bonus Tracks 9-15

Personnel
*Neil Merryweather - Bass, Vocals
*Michael Willis - Lead Guitar
*James Herndon Chamberlain - Synthesizer, Guitar, Slide Guitar
*Tim McGovern - Drums, Guitar
*Jim Taylor - Piano

more Neil Merryweather
1969  Merryweather
1970  Neil Merryweather, John Richardson And Robin Boers
1971  Neil Merryweather And Lynn Carey - Vaccum Cleaner

with 
1972   Heavy Cruiser
1973  Heavy Cruiser - Lucky Dog

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La De Da's - La De Da's (1965-67 new zealand, strong garage beat psych)

Rutherford High School in Te Atatu Auckland was the origins of what was to become the La De Da's. Schoolmates Kevin Borich, Brett Neilsen and Trevor Wilson got together in late 1963 and formed a band, calling themselves the Mergers. They were inspired, like so many other groups around Auckland at the time, by the sounds of the Shadows. They managed to play at a number of local dances and socials. They very soon became such hot property on the Auckland school / football club circuit that the occasional weekend work became a regular occupation and mid-week engagements began to roll in as well.

Kevin Borich had already had a taste of studio experience when in 1961 at the age of 12 he made a private recording for Astor, with two young sisters who lived on a neighbouring poultry farm in Huapai. Sue, aged 9, and Judy Donaldson, aged 11, were later to become major New Zealand recording artists, the Chicks.

The Beatles visit to New Zealand in June 1964 changed the musical direction of almost all the current groups who were playing. They realised at that point that they needed to drop the instrumentals and get into the new 'beat' music. A good vocalist was required. Trevor Wilson knew a guy at Mt Albert Grammar School who could sing. His name was Phil Key and he was recruited as vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Although initially inspired by the Shadows and the Beatles, it was the Rolling Stones that they now modeled themselves on.

Phil Key's sister was an avid record collector whose taste took in lesser known British groups, as well as hard-line American R&B. Through her brother she provided the Mergers with the bulk of their early repertoire. Despite their early popularity, they weren't happy with their name. A promoter even changed their name to the Gonks for an early 1965 gig at a summer carnival. Trevor wanted to call the band the Criminals, but it wasn't until after rehearsals one night at the Wilson household where they were suggesting names that Trevor's mother came up with the suggestion, the La De Da's.

Playing the gamut of high school and church hall dances, the band was gaining the attention of Auckland's hip inner city teen mod set. When not performing, the teenagers would venture into the city to frequent the Durham Lane Clubs, the Top Twenty and the Platterack.

In April 1965, NZBC producer Robert Handlin heard the group and offered them a strange deal. He wanted someone to sing the title to a new movie that was being released that he was featuring on his show. In return he would finance, produce and release a one-off single for the group. The song they had to sing was "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines". They went through with it because of the deal and also for the television exposure. They dressed in black suits, white shirts, bow ties and bowler hats and mimed the song in prime time on national network television. Handlin liked their performance enough to offer them a recording session to release one single.

Kevin was only seventeen at the time and he wrote "Ever Since That Night" and co-wrote the other song "Little Girl" with Trevor. The single was released on the Talent City Label in June 1965 and although both songs were originals in the Rolling Stones R&B style, the single went absolutely nowhere and these days is extremely rare.

By the second half of 1965, New Zealand's local pop industry was enjoying a buoyant boom, new bands were forming every week, record companies were snapping up as many acts as they could find, the public was buying local hits and gigs were plentiful. The most popular acts were the mass-appeal soloists, but pop groups were also making great strides. The groups were springing up from all over the North Island. Even the traditional Maori Showbands were making a strong impact. Nightspots were also thriving, in Auckland one could rage to good young R&B bands at dives like the Oriental Ballroom, 1480 Village, Galaxie and Monaco.

For the younger kids, the progressive Radio Hauraki and the staid NZBC ran Sounds Spectaculars and Popalong Spectaculars at the Auckland Town Hall and the YMCA. In all it was a vibrant healthy atmosphere for the development of good rock music.

Sergent-music

Tracks
1. Little Girl (Borich, Wilson) - 2:32
2. Ever Since That Night (Borich) - 2:46
3. How Is The Air Up There (Duboff, Kornfeld) - 2:38
4. Pied Piper (Duboff, Kornfeld) - 2:26
5. Don't You Stand In My Way (Howard, Wilson) - 2:24
6. I Take What I Want (Porter, Hayes, Hodges) - 3:07
7. Hey Girl (Marriot, Lane) - 2:14
8. On Top Of The World (Mayall) - 2:28
9. Little Red Book (Bacharach) - 2:21
10.Jump Back (Thomas) - 2:19
11.Bright Lights Big City (Reed) - 1:51
12.I Put A Spell On You (Hawkins) - 3:25
13.What Ya Gonna Do About It? (Samwell, Potter) - 3:12
14.Land Of 1000 Dances (Kenner) - 3:05
15.Shake (Cooke) - 2:57
16.Parchman Farm (Allison) - 2:24
17.I've Got My Mojo Working (Morganfiled) - 2:50
18.Ride Your Pony (Dorsey) - 2:32
19.Stupidity (Burke) - 2:02
20.Coming Home (Clarke, Smith) - 2:28
21.I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore (Sawyer, Burton) - 3:38
22.Respect (Redding) - 1:47
23.Find Us A Way (Howard, Wilson) - 2:45
24.All Purpose Low (Howard, Wilson) - 2:52
25.Too Many Fish In The Sea (Whitfield, Holland) - 2:19
26.Rosalie (Howard, Wilson) - 2:24
27.Thank You For The Flowers (Howard, Wilson) - 3:14
28.Hey Baby (Channel, Cobb) - 2:51

The La De Das
*Phil Key - Guitar, Vocals
*Trevor Wilson - Bass
*Kevin Borich - Guitar, Vocals
*Brett Neilsen - Drums, Vocals
*Bruce Howard - Keyboards

Related Act
1973  Band Of Light - Total Union

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