The third album by this incarnation of Renaissance was a match for their previous success, Ashes Are Burning, with equally impressive performances and songwriting and a few new musical twists added. The songs here fit more easily into a rock vein, and the prior album's folk influences are gone.
Turn of the Cards rocks a bit harder, albeit always in a progressive rock manner, and Jon Camp's bass and Terence Sullivan's drums are both harder and heavier here, the bass (the group's only amplified instrument) in particular much more forward in the mix. This change works in giving the band a harder sound that leaves room for Jimmy Horowitz's orchestral accompaniments, which are somewhat more prominent than those of Richard Hewson on the prior album, with the horns and strings, in particular, more exposed.
Annie Haslam is in excellent voice throughout, and finds ideal accompaniment in Michael Dunford's acoustic guitar and John Tout's piano. The writing team of Dunford and Betty Thatcher also adds some new wrinkles to the group's range -- in addition to progressive rock ballads like "I Think of You," they delivered "Black Flame," a great dramatic canvas for Haslam and Tout, in particular; and "Mother Russia" is a surprising (and effective) move into topical songwriting, dealing with the plight of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and other victims of Soviet repression (you had to be there in the 1970s to realize what a burning issue this was).
And then there were the soaring, pounding group virtuoso numbers like "Things I Don't Understand," which managed to hold audience interest across nine or ten minutes of running time.
by Bruce Eder
Tracks
1.Running Hard - 9:35
2.I Think Of You - 3:07
3.Things I Don't Understand (Dunford, Jim McCarty) - 9:27
4.Black Flame - 6:25
5.Cold Is Being - 3:00
6.Mother Russia - 9:17
All Songs credited to Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher except where noted.
Renaissance made considerable impact and won an enthusiastic cult following when they first emerged at the beginning of the seventies. The British art rock band was born from the ashes of the original Renaissance founded by ex-Yardbirds Jim McCarty and Keith Relf in 1969. The new band continued with the concept of mixing classical music with poetry, blended with elements of rock, jazz and folk. The result was a highly individual sound blessed with hauntingly beautiful themes.
A variety of artists played with different versions of Renaissance, but the key members were guitarist and composer Michael Dunford, and singer Annie Haslam, who worked mainly with the gifted musicians John Tout (keyboards) and John Camp (bass). The lyrics to their romantic songs were contributed by the Cornish poetess Betty Thatcher, who listened to demo tapes of Dunford's songs and then posted on her lyrics. Annie Haslam, from Bolton, Lancashire, joined the band in 1972 to record their first album with the post McCarty-Relf line-up, called Prologue. Its success led to a more ambitious follow up album Ashes Are Burning.
Guitarist Rob Hendry who contributed to Prologue had left the band, and composer Michael Dunford joined the ranks as acoustic guitarist. "I went to visit the band and played them a few songs with my acoustic guitar," recalls Michael. "The acoustic sounded quite good and after a few rehearsals I became a full time member. In fact the piano was the main lead instrument which suited the orchestrated songs. There was a strong classical feel to the music. On Ashes Are Burning we worked with a string arranger called Richard Hewson who was great. The album was recorded at CTS Music Centre, which was than called De Lane Lea Studios, in Wembley.
The band line-up was John Tout, Terry Sullivan, John Camp, Annie and myself, and that was the line-up that continued until 1979. We used a 22 piece string section with woodwinds for two of the songs, "Can You Understand" and "Carpet Of The Sun". It was such an emotional feeling because we'd always wanted to work with an orchestra. Hearing the run through was absolutely fantastic, and we felt it was the way to go in the future. Over the next few years we did several "live" shows with orchestras. In the later years we changed too much, and got away from that sound, which was probably a bit of a mistake! But it was a breath of fresh air when we first recorded with the orchestra.
We didn't get any hit records off Ashes Are Burning but we gained a cult following and that album did very well in America. We were managed by Miles Copeland at the time and we went to America in 1974 for the first time. American audiences respond instantaneously and if they like you, they tell you. We were overwhelmed at the reaction to our first show, in a college in Brooklyn. We were astonished at the fact that people knew our songs. It was such a boost."
The title track "Ashes Are Burning" is an extended piece which became the band's encore number at concerts. "It gave everybody a chance to play a solo and have a bit of blow, because ninety per cent of the songs were heavily arranged. I remember one show we did at Radio City Music Hall in New York, where Betty Thatcher came out to see us play to 6000 people. We did three nights there on a huge stage, and I remember Betty introduced us. There was a cab strike in New York at that time, and we got hold of a Yellow Cab and put it on the hydraulic ramp under the stage and as the curtains opened, the cab came up with us inside it. We were greeted with rapturous applause!"
Annie Haslam remembers the Wembley recording sessions as: "A fantastic experience. We had a great engineer, Dick Plant, who really helped us a lot. The most incredible part of that album was when the orchestra came in. The first number they stuck up was "Carpet Of The Sun". I was standing next to John Tout and our eyes were welling up with tears, because all of a sudden, there was an orchestra playing our music. It felt so emotional because we had taken a step further from Prologue, and the music was progressing." The song title came from a child's inspired turn of phrase, as lyricist Betty Thatcher explains. "A child living in my home asked if the grass in the garden was a carpet, "Oh yes," I said, "It's the carpet of the sun", and I wrote the song for that child."
Renaissance rehearsed their new set of songs in a church hall before they took the plunge and started recording. Annie suggested they start the album with the sound of a gong, which can be heard on the opening track "Can You Understand". Says Haslam: "It's such a great album I love all tracks, but "At The Harbour" is one of the best things we ever did. Jim McCarty wrote "On The Frontier", which was the last time we used any of his music."
The title track "Ashes Are Burning" became one of the most important numbers in their act, and says Annie: "I have been doing it recently in my own stage shows. It's a great piece to show off the musicians in the band and I can do an operatic vocalise thing at the end. Of course since this album was made my vocal range has stretched, so I can sing higher than I did then. On the album the piece lasts about 12 minutes and Andy Powell from Wishbone Ash does a solo at the end. In the show it went on for half an hour." Betty Thatcher recalls that the song was inspired by a very strange set of circumstances. "I had a so-called "near-death experience" and I was told to go back as I didn't finished. I actually argued with God, but God won and I came back and wrote "Ashes Are Burning"."
After the album was released in 1973 Renaissance went on to create such works as Turn Of The Cards (1974), Scheherazade And Other Stories (1975), Live At Carnegie Hall (1976), Novella (1977), A Song For All Seasons (1978), Azure D'Or (1979), Camera Camera (1981) and Time Line (1983), before they finally broke up.
In recent years Annie Haslam has relocated to live in America where she tours with her own band and has released a solo album Blessing In Disguise with producer Tony Visconti. Michael Dunford has also returned with a new album called The Other Woman while in Spring 1995 there were plans afoot to revive the original Renaissance with Jim McCarty, John Hawken and Louis Cennamo. The music of Renaissance seems to be spreading outwards likes ripples in a sea of talent. Says Annie: "I don't think there was anything like the music Renaissance used to produce in the seventies and eighties. We were put in the pigeon hole of classical folk rock, but there wasn't another band like us and the albums just got better and better. Looking back - I feel blessed with everything that happened."
by Chris Welch
Tracks
1. Can You Understand - 9:56
2. Let It Grow - 4:19
3. On The Frontier (Jim McCarty, Betty Thatcher) - 4:58
4. Carpet Of The Sun - 3:37
5. At The Harbour - 6:50
6. Ashes Are Burning - 11:35
7. Can You Understand - 11:13
8. Let It Grow - 4:55
9. Ashes Are Burning - 12:28
All compositions by Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher except track #3
Bonus Tracks 7-9 for BBC Radio One "In Concert" Recorded 3rd January 1974 at the BBC Paris Theatre, London. Previously unreleased
Renaissance
John Tout - Keyboards And Vocals
Annie Haslam - Vocals
Jon Camp - Bass Guitar And Vocals
Terry Sullivan - Drums, Percussion And Vocals
Michael Dunford - Acoustic Guitar With
Andy Powell - Guitar On "Ashes Are Burning"
Richard Hewson – Strings Arrangements
A Gift From Euphoria is a well-funded album loaded with symphonic arrangements, excellent studio musicianship, psychedelic audio collage, and sound effects. It’s probably near to the apex of experimental rock from this era, and of the melding and juxtaposition of different styles of music.
The first two tracks on the record demonstrate the pace. Lisa an expansive and string laden orchestral number gives way to a legit bluegrass-country tune with banjo and pedal steel. Wait a little longer and you’ll get some fuzz guitar brain melters. Euphoria is all over the place on this album, which was recorded in Hollywood, London, and Bradley’s Barn. Some of the best session men in town put this one together, and it shows. Nary an unprofessional sound is on this record and some of the arrangements are stunning. They could use this album to replace the orchestra at the Boston Pops.
This is the only album released by the short lived Euphoria. The liner notes imply that the members disappeared, but parts of the liners are as out there as the sounds. Get this one for a supreme example of country and rock gone suicidally psychedelic, sounding remarkably fresh today.
by Brendan McGrath
Tracks
1. Lisa - 3:56
2. Stoen River Hill Song - 2:10
3. Did You Get The Letter - 5:38
4. Through A Window - 2:45
5. Young Miss Pflugg - 3:03
6. Lady Bedford - 3:02
7. Suicide On The Hillside, Sunday Morning, After Tea - 1:47
8. Sweet Fanny Adams - 4:22
9. I'll Be Home To You - 2:47
10.Sunshine Woman - 2:54
11.Hollyville Train - 3:03
12.Docker's Son - 2:49
13.Something For The Milkman - 0:54
14.Too Young To Know - 0:49
15.World - 3:09
All songs written by Hamilton Wesley Watt Jr., William D. Lincoln
Personnel
*William D. Lincoln - Bass, Vocals
*Hamilton Wesley Watt - Vocals
*Doug Delain - Guitar
*Dave Potter - Drums
*Irwin Webb - Orchestral Arrangement, Direction
*Nikolas Venetoulis - Direction
If you were paying close attention to the UMG-released Zappa titles, you may have noticed that Uncle Meat was one of the few pre-1982 albums that wasn't reissued using the original master tapes for the first time (all the Ryko masters were altered by Zappa). Meat Light remedies that by finally releasing the Uncle Meat original vinyl mix, remastered from the original master tapes for the very first time on CD. The results are stunning. The album literally sounds better than it ever has, with a crisp clarity to all the instruments, even on the most dense tracks. This alone would justify purchase for most Zappa fanatics...but wait! There's more!
Who knew there was ANOTHER Uncle Meat?!? Yes, disc two and part of disc three present "Uncle Meat: Original Sequence." Many of the tracks are exactly the same, but with different sequencing and some completely unreleased material, all segued together with some additional contributions from the Apostolic Vlorch Injector (responsible for the blasts of noise on Uncle Meat and We're Only in It for the Money). "Whiskey Wah" and "The Whip" are previously unreleased guitar solos. "King Kong" doesn't end the set; it's the end of "Side 2" (of four), and it doesn't include the part that was recorded on a flatbed diesel at a Miami Pop Festival. "Cops and Buns" was included on The Lost Episodes, but in an edited form. Some of the other spoken bits ("Our Bizarre Relationship," "If We'd Been Living in California...") have just a little bit of extra material on them, providing a bit of further insight. "Mr. Green Genes" has a slightly different mix with some additional organ and vocals. The "Original Sequence" closes with "Cruisin' for Burgers"...but that's not the end of Meat Light! "A Bunch of Stuff" seems to be a spoken intro to the film Uncle Meat. Tracks like "Tango" and "More Beer" are just short cues. The single version of "Dog Breath" is a gas: no main vocals/lyrics -- just prominent (and awesome!) backing vocals with extra guitar and saxophone mixed in. "The String Quartet" is a medley of Uncle Meat tunes that was often performed live by the Mothers, but this sounds like a studio version. "Electric Aunt Jemima" is a different, more modern-sounding mix, while "Exercise 4" is an unused further elaboration of the "Uncle Meat Variations."
The alternate mix of "Mr. Green Genes" has a different vocal mix and cool keyboards added. "Echo Pie" takes Jimmy Carl Black's displeasure in "If We'd Been Living in California" and kicks it up a notch or five. "1/4 Tone Unit" is a short, pretty chamber ensemble piece, "Sakuji's March" is a short percussion piece, and "No. 4" is a scored piece with some amazing double piano followed by double marimba. The extended version of "Prelude to Uncle Meat" adds about a minute and a half to the standard version, along with some interesting extra guitar at the end. "My Guitar (Proto 1)" is a ripping instrumental with FZ jamming on the "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" riff. Hearing the guitar from "Nine Types of Industrial Pollution" played at the original speed is extremely interesting. You can hear Frank playing acoustic guitar over a faint, slowed-down drum track. It's rare to hear Zappa play acoustic guitar at all, and his playing here is quite different than what he's normally known for. The live version of "Uncle Meat" sounds great. The instrumental version of "Dog Breath" is a bit more refined and not quite as raucous as the single version...until the guitar solo! Meat Light closes with an alternate mix of "The Dog Breath Variations." This is a set fans have been waiting for for years.The sound is a huge improvement over all previous Uncle Meat CDs and the additional material is all excellent.
Uncle Meat is arguably Zappa's most avant-garde, most dense, most wide-ranging, and one of his most difficult albums for some. It's also one of his very best and Meat Light really does justice to this masterpiece.
by Sean Westergaard
Tracks Disc 1 Original 1969 Vinyl Mix
1. Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme - 1:56
2. The Voice Of Cheese - 0:26
3. Nine Types Of Industrial Pollution - 6:02
4. Zolar Czackl - 0:54
5. Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague - 3:59
6. The Legend Of The Golden Arches - 3:27
7. Louie Louie (At the Royal Albert Hall in London) - 2:18
8. The Dog Breath Variations - 1:50
9. Sleeping In A Jar - 0:50
10.Our Bizarre Relationship - 1:05
11.The Uncle Meat Variations - 4:46
12.Electric Aunt Jemima - 1:46
13.Prelude To King Kong - 3:39
14.God Bless America (Live at the Whisky A Go Go) - 1:10
15.A Pound For A Brown On The Bus - 1:29
16.Ian Underwood Whips It Out (Live on stage in Copenhagen) - 5:09
17.Mr. Green Genes - 3:13
18.We Can Shoot You - 2:03
19.“If We’d All Been Living In California...” - 1:14
20.The Air - 2:57
21.Project X - 4:49
22.Cruising For Burgers - 2:18
23.King Kong (as played by the Mothers in a studio) - 0:51
24.King Kong (its magnificence as interpreted by Dom DeWild) - 1:19
25.King Kong (as Motorhead explains it) - 1:45
26.King Kong (the Gardner Varieties) - 6:14
27.King Kong (as played by 3 deranged Good Humor Trucks) - 0:37
28.King Kong (live on a flat bed diesel in the middle of a race track at a Miami Pop Festival... the Underwood ramifications) - 7:24
Disc 2 Original Sequence
1. Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague - 2:55
2. The Legend Of The Golden Arches - 3:16
3. The Voice Of Cheese - 0:26
4. Whiskey Wah - 1:34
5. Nine Types Of Industrial Pollution - 6:03
6. Louie Louie (Live at the Royal Albert Hall in London) - 2:27
7. The Dog Breath Variations - 1:51
8. Shoot You Percussion Item - 1:28
9. The Whip - 5:03
10.The Uncle Meat Variations - 4:47
11.King Kong - 10:46
12.Project X Minus 5 - 1:47
13.A Pound For A Brown On The Bus - 1:29
14.Electric Aunt Jemima - 1:46
15.Prelude To King Kong - 3:39
16.God Bless America (Live at the Whiskey A Go Go) - 1:11
17.Sleeping In A Jar - 0:51
18.Cops And Buns - 5:56
19.Zolar Czakl - 0:47
19.Zolar Czakl - 0:47
Disc 3
1. We Can Not Shoot You - 1:16
2. Mr. Green Genes - 3:13
3. “PooYeahrg” - 0:32
4. Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme - 1:27
5. Our Bizarre Relationship - 1:10
6. “Later We Can Shoot You” - 0:15
7. “If We’d All Been Living In California…” - 1:19
8. ‘Ere Ian Whips It/JCB Spits It/Motorhead Rips It - 2:30
9. The Air - 2:58
10.Project X .5 - 2:38
11.Cruising For Burgers - 2:23
12.“A Bunch Of Stuff” - 1:40
13.Dog Breath (Single Version) - 2:55
14.Tango - 0:24
15.The String Quartet - 3:06
16.Electric Aunt Jemima (Mix Outtake) - 1:40
17.Exercise 4 Variant - 4:32
18.Zolar Czackl (Mix Outtake) - 0:45
19.“More Beer!” - 0:17
20.Green Genes Snoop - 1:13
21.Mr. Green Genes (Mix Outtake) - 3:11
22.Echo Pie - 2:16
23.1/4 Tone Unit - 1:06
24.Sakuji’s March - 0:35
25.No. 4 - 1:52
26.Prelude To King Kong (Extended Version) - 5:24
27.Blood Unit - 1:22
28.My Guitar (Proto I- Excerpt) - 2:12
29.Nine Types Of Industrial Pollution (Guitar track, normal speed) - 9:53
30.Uncle Meat (Live at Columbia University 1969) - 4:44
31.Dog Breath (Instrumental) - 2:50
32.The Dog Breath Variations (Mix Outtake) - 1:46
Personnel
*Frank Zappa — Guitar, Low Grade Vocals, Percussion
*Ray Collins — Swell Vocals
*Jimmy Carl Black — Drums, Droll Humor, Poverty
*Roy Estrada — Electric Bass, Cheeseburgers, Pachuco Falsetto
*Don (Dom De Wild) Preston — Electric Piano, Tarot Cards, Brown Rice
*Billy (The Oozer) Mundi — Drums
*Bunk (Sweatpants) Gardner — Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Bassoon (All Of These Electric,/Or Nonelectric Depending)
*Ian Underwood — Electric Organ, Piano, Harpsichord, Celeste, Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax, Baritone Sax, Special Assistance, Copyist, Industrial Relations, Teen Appeal
*Artie (With The Green Mustache) Tripp — Drums, Timpani, Vibes, Marimba, Xylophone, Wood Blocks, Bells, Small Chimes, Cheerful Outlook, Specific Enquires
*Euclid James (Motorhead/Motorishi) Sherwood — Pop Star, Frenetic Tenor Sax Stylings, Tambourine, Choreography, Obstinance, Equipment Setter-Upper When He’s Not Hustling Local Groupies
*Ruth Komanoff Who Plays Marimba, Vibes With Artie On Many Of The Tracks,
*Nelcy Walker - The Soprano Voice
Taking their band and album name from the titular character in the first book of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast series, Titus Groan’s eponymous 1971 album is a heavy, kingsize slab of progressive rock. The sort that rattles window frames and loosens fillings.
Even the Greek Titan Atlas would’ve struggled to support the weight of a song as extraordinarily dense as ‘Hall of Bright Carvings’, and he was known for carrying the substantial burden of the heavens upon his shoulders.
One can almost envisage the heads-down hairiness of the band as they attack their instruments throughout the passage of Titus Groan. Thankfully, this unprovoked assault on their musical apparatus – and the listener’s eardrums – doesn’t register as some unholy and unlistenable mess that’s dribbled down the inside leg of Satan’s own purple loon pants.
Titus Groan, the band’s one and only album, sees the four members getting to grips with a variety of instrumentation, including the usual guitars etc. the ubiquitous organ and piano, and in the case of Tony Priestland, sax, oboe and the progger’s weapon of choice, the common or garden flute.
The combination of sax and oboe incorporates a jazzier influence that breezes across the sometimes impenetrable undercurrent of the guitars and drums, particularly on the opener ‘It Wasn’t For You’. ‘Hall of Bright Carvings’ remains as excellent as ever, with its 12 minute barrage of tuneful noise and occasional medieval flavour, and is easily Titus Groan’s finest moment.
The aforementioned flute comes to the forefront on ‘I Can’t Change’, rendering a more introspective track upon which the intricate melodies weave in and out of the heavy rock grumbling away in the background.
Overall, Titus Groan’s first and last album is progressive rock from the heavier end of the spectrum, free from the overly self-indulgent trappings that bogged down, and ultimately sank, many of their peers.
by Nick James
Tracks
1. It Wasn't for You (Stuart Cowell, Tony Priestland) - 5:32
2. Hall of Bright Carvings (Stuart Cowell, Tony Priestland, Jim Toomey) - 11:39
3. I Can't Change (Titus Groan) - 5:40
4. It's All Up With Us (Stuart Cowell, Tony Priestland, Jim Toomey) - 6:08
5. Fuschia (Tony Priestland) - 6:05
6. Open the Door Homer (Stuart Cowell, Tony Priestland, Jim Toomey) - 3:28
7. Woman of the World (Stuart Cowell, Tony Priestland, Jim Toomey) - 4:27
8. Liverpool (Stuart Cowell, Tony Priestland, Jim Toomey) - 5:52
Bonus Tracks 6-8
Titus Groan
*Stuart Cowell - Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Piano
*John Lee - Bass
*Tony Priestland - Flute, Oboe, Saxophone, Wind
*Jim Toomey - Drums, Percussion
Mention the name Curt Boettcher to fans of late 60s soft pop, and you'll get nods of reverence. Over the years, Boettcher has had a growing mystique, in large part because the wonderful bands he led didn't achieve even a modicum of popularity during their tenure, but also because he was such a talented writer and musician. His bands Sagittarius and The Millennium have been written about quite often in recent years, as their albums have been reissued on CD. Even though he passed away more than 10 years ago, Boettcher's name is constantly on the lips of many fans, and perhaps because of the intrigue surrounding his musical life everyone wants to fill in the missing pieces. One of those pieces has long been discussed in rather hushed tones although few knew much about it, and that was the unreleased album by The Ballroom, the band that Boettcher had circa 1966, before Sagittarius and The Millennium.
Most collectors had given up on the possibility that this album would ever see the light of day, but fortunately people like Joe Foster of Revola Records was persistent in his quest to make it happen, and Revola has now released a disc called Preparing For The Millennium, which contains not only the Ballroom album, but outtakes from Ballroom and Millennium sessions as well as solo projects by Ballroom members. The end result was more than worth the wait, as the music within is beautiful, harmony filled pop that will easily satiate the appetite of any fan of late 60s pop music.
Curt Boettcher had many strengths as a musician and songwriter, but perhaps his greatest was his voice, which not only soared to the heavens but contained a childlike innocence not unlike that of Peter Pan. However, while his music was certainly pretty, whimsical and melodic, it was often tinged with enough psychedelic flourishes to conjure the image that perhaps our Peter was ingesting some funny, mind altering substances (which indeed Boettcher was at the time). Upon listening to The Ballroom CD, one can hear the germination of a fruitful period for Boettcher, and his bandmates Sandy Salisbury, Michelle O'Malley, and Jim Bell were able assistants, contributing tight musicianship, beautiful Association/Cowsills like harmonies, and sophisticated songwriting in the case of Salisbury.
The album (actually, the tapes of 11 of the original 13 songs could be found) could almost serve as a soundtrack to a fairytale, albeit a slightly askew one, and Boettcher's Peter Pan persona is easily communicated on tracks like the delightful "Spinning, Spinning, Spinning," "Love's Fatal Way", and the Salisbury penned "Magic Time". The band could emerge from that mold as well, as the American Indian flavored "You Turn Me Around," (co-written by "Along Comes Mary" writer Tandyn Almer-Boettcher had produced the first Association album) the slow, intense, and mystical "It's A Sad World," the goofy, Vaudevillian, pot induced "Crazy Dreams," and the pop/psych workout of the traditional R&B "Baby Please Don't Go" would attest. The Ballroom album also has nascent renderings of "Would You Like To Go" and "Musty Dusty", which would appear in more ornate versions on Sagittarius' Present Tense and The Millennium's Begin albums, respectively. The Ballroom versions are slightly slower and sparer, and in that form perhaps more cogently illustrates the beauty of these songs. Although The Ballroom is considered to be a Boettcher-led project, perhaps the highlight of the album is the Salisbury penned "I'll Grow Stronger," which contains an amazing melody line, complimentary whispery lead vocals and exquisite harmonies. Truly an amazing aural experience!
The next 8 tracks on the CD are outtakes and demos from The Ballroom and The Millennium, many of which emerged on either the aforementioned Sagittarius or Millennium albums. These are all excellent, especially "Another Time", which is more acoustic based than the released version but greatly emphasizes the delicate, complex melody lines, and "I'm Not Living Here", which in this version is carried by a prominent, slightly distorted bass line (these outtakes contain some different lyrics than those versions which appeared on "Present Tense"). Some songs that had not previously seen the light of day in any form are the uptempo, slightly loungy "If You Only Knew," the slow, Indian tinged "Believe You", which could have easily fit on the Monkees' Head soundtrack, and the pretty, early Monkees-ish "Sunshine Today". The final three songs on the disc are the gypsy-ish "Milk And Honey", by a pre-Ballroom Boettcher project called Summer's Children, "All Really Have Is A Memory", a soft, romantic Salisbury solo track (credited to "Sandy" on the 45) that out Left Bankes the Left Banke in the refrain, and a delightful version of Nilsson's "Best Friend" by the Salisbury led group Puppet.
The packaging of Preparing For The Millennium is stellar as well, with cool photos, vintage press clippings, and the usual excellent liner notes and song annotations by the venerable Dawn Eden, which include insights from various members of The Ballroom and The Millennium. All in all, Preparing For The Millennium is a collection that should be considered the Holy Grail of soft pop.
The aforementioned ‘Duellin’ Banjo’ track is a little bit of an anomaly on here. An oasis amongst the Gallagher brothers, a Ringo to the rest of the Beatles. You do not get more of the same. The LP is filed under Rock, but it’s a bit of a stretch if I’m honest, it’s a bit like the trouble the Sorting Hat had with where to put Harry Potter. An element of country for sure is how the first side kicks off, and after the banjos have departed, ‘Empty Dreams / Flying machines’ is a gentle smouldering track that, to be honest, has more life in it than is given here. Rain from a clear sky is an oddity.
A little psychedelia of noise accompanied by words that ramp along at a pace. It’s almost as if the two were brought together after different nights out and made to work. And Side A finishes with a more traditional violin dominant track which fits in the middle of everywhere.
And so it continues on Side 2. I’m not exactly sure if this fits into any specific genre. Accomplished musicians undoubtedly, it feels a little like a lost afternoon in the hills, trying to find its way home. Not quite sure which direction to take. Promising paths are followed by cul-de-sacs but stick with it as there is enough variation on here to be able to find little gems hidden here and there. Try Snowbird at the end for example. Lovely.
With a plethora of recent reissues (Jackpot – vinyl and RPM – cd), it seemed like a good idea to backtrack to this classic record and give it another listen. C.Q. was to be the Outsiders last album (their 3rd LP), an attempt to reach the group’s original core audience amidst a troubling commerical downfall. Not only is this one of the best “international” psych albums but it’s as good as anything by the early Pink Floyd, psychedelic era Pretty Things or Love. Its closest reference point is probably the Pretty Things superb S.F. Sorrow – there are no soft, wimpy moments on either of these records, just pure intensity and garage punk muscle. C.Q. is what the Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request should have sounded like.
C.Q.’s strength is in it’s consistency and diversity. No two songs sound alike yet every experiment is well thought out and successful. The group’s hallmark start-stop punk rhythms are firmly in place on many of C.Q.‘s tracks but by 1968 the Outsiders had grown considerably, incorporating more folk-rock and psych sounds into their repertoire. Psych cuts such as the very European sounding “Zsarrahh” (supposedly a nod to Wally Tax’s Russian roots), the brief “Bear,” an avant garde folk-rock cut titled “Prison Song” and “C.Q.” heralded a new, more experimental outfit.
Other cuts such as the sensitive “You’re Everything On Earth,” a bluesy, spacy cut titled “It Seems Like Nothings Gonna Come My Way Today,” and “I Love You No. 2″ were folk-rock gems that showed off Tax’s soft, expressive side. That being said, it’s the harder cuts that warrant the greatest attention. “Misfit,” “Doctor,” “The Man On The Dune,” ”Happyville,” and “Wish You Were Here With Me Today” are masterful acid punkers. “Doctor,” one of the group’s best LP tracks, features distorted vocals and an explosive fuzz guitar freakout. “The Man On The Dune,” another classic and personal favorite, is a blistering psych punker with jagged guitar fuzz and a strange, unsettling conclusion. It goes without saying that C.Q. is one of the immortal 60s albums.
As mentioned above, there have been many reissues of C.Q. To me, the Pseudonym reissue was the best as it featured three terrific non-lp tracks (“Do You Feel Alright” is an excellent cut that should have been a hit). In this RPM disc features six good live cuts from 1968.
by Jason Nardelli
Tracks
1. Misfit (Frank Beek, Leendert Busch) - 3:04
2. Zsarrahh (Leendert Busch, Wally Tax) - 3:25
3. CQ (Leendert Busch, Wally Tax) - 3:26
4. Daddy Died On Saturday (Ronald Splinter, Wally Tax) - 3:01
5. It Seems Like Nothing's Gonna Come My Way Today (Frank Beek, Ronald Splinter) - 1:50
6. Doctor (Frank Beek, Leendert Busch) - 4:42
7. The Man On The Dune (Frank Beek, Ronald Splinter) - 2:07
8. The Bear (Leendert Busch, Ronald Splinter) - 1:03
9. Happyville (Frank Beek, Wally Tax) - 2:25
10.You're Everything On Earth (Ronald Splinter, Wally Tax) - 3:05
11.Wish You Were Here With Me Today (Ronald Splinter, Wally Tax) - 1:54
12.I Love You No.2 (Frank Beek, Wally Tax) - 3:13
13.Prison Song (Leendert Busch, Wally Tax) - 5:42
14.Do You Feel Alright (Frank Beek, Leendert Busch, Ronald Splinter, Wally Tax) - 3:21
15.Daddy Died On Saturday (Ronald Splinter, Wally Tax) - 3:07
16.I Love You No.2 (Frank Beek, Wally Tax) - 3:15
17.Misfit (Frank Beek, Leendert Busch) - 3:10
18.Happyville (Frank Beek, Wally Tax) - 2:22
19.Prisonsong (Leendert Busch, Wally Tax) - 5:34
Bonus Tracks 14-19 Live at Fantasio Amsterdam 31.12.68
Torsten Herzog and Willie Wagner left Kin Ping Meh in 1972. The band had already been expanded with Alan Joe Wroe (bass), Uli Gross (guitar, although he left again within months) and Gagey Mrozeck (guitar, ex-2066 & Then). 'No. 2' (1972) followed the path of its predecessor - it was filled with great quality heavy progressive rock.
Just like the debut album 'No. 2' was produced by the Hamburg team of Achim Reichel/Frank Dostal (Rattles) and recorded in the Windrose Dumont Time studios. Once again, Conny Plank was the sound engineer. One year later, Plank set up his own studio near Cologne and built his own monument by producing the first four Kraftwerk records. On 'No. 2', Kin Ping Meh followed down the path they had taken the year before - straight rock with no experiments, resulting in unspectacular, but highly powerful rock music.
All in all, the second Kin Ping Meh album seems to show them in an even more relaxed mood and offers not only catchy rhythms, but almost pop-like elements. The first two songs ('Come Down To The Riverside' and 'Don't Force Your Horse' are typical Kin Ping Meh rock. The next song, a cover version of the Beatles' 'Come together', ends on a well-done jam (the 'Together Jam'). And just like the debut album, 'No. 2' has its calmer moments as well ('Livable Ways' and 'Day Dreams').
The LP ends with the lively 'Very Long Ago' and 'I Wonna Be Lazy', written by Reichel and Dostal. As bonus tracks, this CD contains the single B-side version of 'Sometime' (1973, Zebra 2047002; the original version can be found on the debut album) plus the single A-side 'Sunday Morning Eve' (1973, Zebra 2047004)
by Matthias Mineur
Tracks
1. Come Down to the Riverside (Werner Stephan, Uli Gross) - 3:12
2. Don't Force Your Horse (Uli Gross, Dr. Grossenmaier) - 3:46
3. Come Together (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 6:00
4. Together Jam (Kalle Weber, Torsten Herzog, Fritz Schmitt, Gagey Mroze, Uli Groß, Werner Stephan, Willie Wagner) - 4:54
5. Liveable Ways (Uli Gross, Frank Dostal) - 8:02
6. Day Dreams (Werner Stephan, Uli Gross, Dr. Grossenmaier) - 7:32
7. Very Long Ago (Willie Wagner) - 2:55
8. I Wanna Be Lazy (A. Reichel, Frank Dostal) - 3:04
9. Sometime (Single Version) (Willie Wagner, Frieder Schmidt) - 4:33
10.Sunday Morning Eve (Gerhard Mrozeck, Uli Gross, Alan Joe Wroe) - 3:58
These are obscurities -- and you better believe they are very obscure when the most well-known artists are Steamhammer and the Montanas -- from the late '60s and early '70s, and about as much early hard rock (with some prog rock elements as well) as psychedelia. With all due respect to the estimable Past & Present label for digging into a genre that reissues haven't explored much, it's doubtful that comps such as these will launch as much collector enthusiasm for the style as specialist reissues did for freakbeat.
The material is largely somber, the arrangements on the heavy side, and the songs not too memorable, if often tightly played and well produced. These are the kinds of releases that, in any era, clutter the bins of ill-distributed records that very few people have heard or are familiar with; these just happen to be ones belonging to the British early-'70s hard rock division. You can hear echoes of Jimi Hendrix, Spooky Tooth, Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, the Jeff Beck Group, Jethro Tull, and the like, if usually in a less lively and ebullient mood, but nothing that's going make you wonder why these acts didn't get bigger.
The inclusion of a couple pretty pointless covers of well-known tunes by big stars (the Deep Set doing Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and the Treetops singing the Moody Blues' "Gypsy") doesn't help. On a more positive note, Josephine Levine's vocals on J.C. Heavy's "Mr. Deal" add welcome spice to what otherwise is a pretty testosterone-heavy set, and Steamhammer's "Windmill" has a lighter, dreamier, more psychedelic feel than their predominantly blues-based output (and the rest of this CD). And no, the Iron Maiden who do "Falling" here are not the famous metal band of the same name.
by Richie Unterberger
Artist - Track - Composer
1.Cats Eyes - The Wizard (William Filby) - 3:38
2.Buster Jangle's Flying Mattress (Taken Over My Brain) (Mike Finesilver, Pete Ker) - 2:55
3.J.C. Heavy - Mr. Deal (John Needham, Kenny Anders, Josephine Levine Musaphia, Neil Levine, John Hajok) - 3:35
4.Eastwood - I Am Free (Phil Smith, Malcolm Cope, Keith Belmore, Jim Onslow) - 3:58
5.Iron Maiden - Falling (Barry Skeels, Steve Drewett, Trev Thoms) - 6:05
6.Wolfrilla - Song For Jimmi (Geoff Hart) - 3:08
7.The Deep Set - Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young) - 3:20
8.Steamhammer - Windmill (Kieran White, Martin Quittenton) - 4:25
9.Gentry - Attempted Contact (Cahir O'Doherty, Norman Lindsay) - 3:14
10.Humbug - Ebeneezer (Dave DuFort) - 3:52
11.Montanas - Doctor Nero (Jake Elcock, Will Hayward) - 2:49
12.Choc - Time (Alain Gaude, Keith Fawcett) - 3:11
13.Magnet - Mr. Guy Fawkes (Mick Cox) - 3:56
14.Mosaic - Bird Of Time (David Titley) - 2:19
15.Chameleon - Who Am I? (Marilyn Saunders, Tom Goodearl) - 3:27
16.Now - People Are Standing (Colin Miles, Phil Wheeler, Dave Shott, Keith Burge, Paul Seemayer) - 3:09
17.Iron Cross - All Of The Time (Alan Saunders, Dave Hill) - 3:10
18.The Treetops - Gypsy (Justin Hayward) - 3:32
19.Lost Dog - Latchkey Child (Clark, Counsell, Pascal) - 3:04
20.J.C. Heavy - That Woman's Mind (John Needham, Kenny Anders, Josephine Levine Musaphia, Neil Levine, John Hajok) - 2:39
