An extremely rare piece of independent folk psych left in Minnesota in 1972. Three St. Paul natives: Richard Greenwood (vocals, sitar, guitar, violin), John Curley (vocals, harmonica, trumpet), Clyde Thompson (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and session members (drums, flute) , percussion, and bass), and features an acoustic sound with a natural live feel that has been compared to the early 70's British band Heron, as well as a laid-back acid feel.
Tracks
1. Changes - 4:45
2. One Time One Place - 3:37
3. Little Willy - 4:18
4. Sitting At The Crossroads - 3:25
5. Wandering - 4:27
6. Kind Woman - 2:33
7. Brother Song - 6:50
8. One Little Man - 7:13
9. Christmas Song - 4:25
10.Together - 6:27
Music and Lyrics by Richard Greenwood, John Curlee, Clyde Thompson
Back in the '60s, most white blues fans trying to play the music took the approach of struggling to sound as serious and authentic as possible, and a big part of the charm of the Insect Trust's debut album is that, by accident or design, they went in an entirely different direction.
While the Insect Trust were clearly and affectionately influenced by classic blues and folk, they were also eager to mess around with it, and Robert Palmer and Trevor Koehler's horns and woodwinds often throw this music into a loopy, atonal, and acid-infused direction while the loose, slightly rickety sound of Bill Barth and Luke Faust's guitars and banjos honors the styles found on vintage 78s just as their rock-oriented chops keep the results from sounding as if they spent much time actually learning the original riffs.
Given the loose but insistent backporch funk of this music -- perhaps held in place by guest musicians Bernard Purdie, Hugh McCracken, and Chuck Rainey -- the sweet tone of Nancy Jeffries' vocals seems a bit out of place, but she never seems less than committed, and she gives "World War I Song" and "Declaration of Independence" a full-bodied reading that fits their meaning, if they don't sound especially "bluesy."
And the final two cuts, "Mountain Song" and "Going Home," take off into a never-never land of pastoral avant-garde whimsy that exists in a world all its own. the Insect Trust refined their worldview on their second, last, and finest album, 1970's Hoboken Saturday Night, but their debut has more than its fair share of lovely moments and is an engaging example of roots music fans letting their freak flag fly with righteous joy.
by Mark Deming
Tracks
1. The Skin Game - 4:07
2. Miss Fun City - 5:04
3. World War 1 Song - 3:18
4. Special Rider Blues - 7:45
5. Foggy River Bridge Fly - 1:07
6. Been Here And Gone So Soon - 3:29
7. Declaration Of Independence - 2:30
8. Walking On Nails - 3:12
9. Brighter Than Day - 2:31
10.Mountain Song - 2:49
11.Going Home - 5:10
As dusk enveloped the spectacular vistas of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California, a huge pile of wood lay stacked at the edge of a high cliff. Nature lovers from far corners of the world gathered on the valley floor, waiting till dark when the woodpile was torched and slowly pushed off the cliff, the burning logs forming a blazing cascade down the mountain’s stony face. The image of the primitive light show, staged at Yosemite for tourists, stuck in Florida-born Rick Roberts’ mind for a long time. Then in l973, as he and his new Colorado based band were about to play their first gig but still needed a name, the image flashed back: Firefall. That seems an especially dead-on handle for the country flavored rock’n’roll band that carried the torch of musical forebears such as The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Flying Burrito Brothers into the mid-’70s and beyond.
In early 1975, FIREFALL recorded a three song demo tape produced by Chris Hillman and began shopping it to several major labels. At the same time, the new group’s members pursued other musical avenues. After CSNY’s mammoth 1974 tour and latest divorce, Stills put a new group together, and signed a solo deal with Columbia. Stills cut his solo album at Caribou Studios near Nederland, Colo., and for the six week supporting tour that summer, Stephen added Roberts to the band on backing vocals and guitar. During the set, Rick sang his song, ‘Colorado,’ a Burrito tune that Linda Rondstat had made famous.
Firefall’s big break came unexpectedly, at around the same time. A few months after splitting up with Richie Furay and J. D. Souther, Chris Hillman hit the road with a backup band that included Firefall’s Bartley, Andes, and Roberts. By the time they were scheduled to play The Other End in NYC, Hillman became ill and could not complete the tour. Firefall flew in it’s other two members from Colorado to finish the engagements. Atlantic A&R reps, who’d been impressed by their demo, caught the show and quickly offered the group a multi-album contract. They signed on and made plans to record their first record in the winter of 1975. Wanting more color and texture to their music, Firefall called upon DAVID MUSE, a high school buddy of Rick’s in Bradenton, Fla., who played sax, flute, harmonica and every imaginable keyboard. It was the final musical piece Firefall would need. With ex-Poco Producer Jim Mason at the helm, the band went into rehearsals in Boulder.
Though Caribou Studios was available and nearby, it was quite pricey and would probably be ‘too close’ to home, families and all the distractions that might take away the needed focus. So Firefall flew to Miami, Florida to record at one of the top studios in the country, Criteria Studios, who had hosted many artists including The Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, The Allman Bros., CSN and Stephen Stills. The band got down to focused work and the magic flowed. The first album, engineered by Karl Richardson (Bee Gees), took one month to record and mix and was made on 16 track tape. It was released by Atlantic Records in the spring of 1976 and became Atlantic’s quickest album to sell gold status (500,000) in it’s storied history. Sparks flew with the album called “FIREFALL” and the group’s sound caught fire on record, radio and on-stage. While the first single, ‘Livin’ Aint Livin,’ climbed into the top 40, songs like ‘Mexico,’ Robert’s original version of ‘It Doesn’t Matter’ and Burnett’s ‘Cinderella’ took off on album oriented rock (AOR) stations.
The group toured with Leon and Mary Russell, The Doobie Brothers and The Band (on their final tour before making their farewell documentary movie, ‘The Last Waltz’). The second single, ‘You Are The Woman,’ raced into the Top 10, becoming an overnight mega-hit with pop and mellow rock audiences. Firefall continued to tour the summer of ’76 with Fleetwood Mac, who’d recently added Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to their lineup for their groundbreaking “White Album.” Firefall cemented relationships with Mick and the band that would last a year and a half. A rare (for the era) third single, ‘Cinderella,’ though having received saturation FM airplay, fared less well on AM radio, hindered, as they would later learn, by a few influential woman’s organizations on the east coast who didn’t like the ‘message’ of the (fictional) lyrics. But Firefall blazed very brightly in 1976 and 1977, making a sizable mark during their first year in a crowded industry with their fresh and melodic music.
The group went back to Miami and Criteria Studios with Jim Mason to make their second album. It was to be called “TROPICAL NIGHTS” and included a number of songs that would later be dropped. Instead of a hotel, they rented one of the ‘Home At Last’ mansions that Eric Clapton made famous on his “461 Ocean Blvd.” album. Percussionist JOE LALA, (ex Manassas and CSN percussionist and an occasional touring Firefall member) and the legendary Memphis Horns added punch to the record. But in L.A., Atlantic C.E.O., Ahmet Ertegen, listened to the playback of the final mix and stated, “You boys need to go back in the studio and re-do this record (as Fleetwood Mac had with the White Album). It must be stronger to follow up your great first album. Write more songs, go back on tour, take your time.. no problem.” And so the band hit the road again and prepared to rework a few existing songs and add a number of newly written ones, including the future single, ‘So Long.’ The new album was renamed “LUNA SEA” with a new cover and released in early 1977.
The debut single, ‘Just Remember I Love You,’ re-recorded with ex-Poco and future Eagle, TIMOTHY SCHMIDT singing background vocals, shot up the charts into the Top Ten. The album was certified gold on Oct. 3, after less than two months on the Billboard charts, where it peaked at #27. The song however, reinforced Atlantic’s – and radio’s – perception of Firefall as a soft-rock ballads band. The group on the other hand, saw itself as a smokin’ rock unit who happened to have a few mellower hits that got lots of pop and adult contemporary airplay. As a result, the second single off ‘LUNA SEA,’ the more rock’n’roll ‘So Long,’ didn’t get the major push or airplay the first single had. Non-stop touring, managerial problems, alcohol and drug abuse by some of the band and internal friction began to tear at the group – but it was the ‘big time’ and they were enjoying ’star status.’ All differences were swept under the table. The band toured extensively with Fleetwood Mac during their Rumors Tour (playing sold out stadiums nationwide) and also played with The Doobie Bothers, Chicago, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Beach Boys and Lynard Skynard (frequently playing with them right up to Skynard’s terrible plane crash).
Firefall came back stronger than ever in 1978 with their third album, “ELAN,” recorded first at Criteria and later at L.A.’s Record Plant. The band brought in heavyweight producer Tom Dowd (Aretha Franklin, The Rascals, Cream, The Allman Bros., Eric Clapton) to make the record. But band and producer, though getting along fine, had different musical visions. Atlantic was poised to release Dowd’s effort, when Firefall’s new manager, Mick Fleetwood and Limited Mgmt., demanded the group be allowed to ‘beef up’ the record. And so, for a second time, the band re-worked an album (and greatly increased their on-paper debt with the label). And again, their dark luck with managers continued – Limited Mgmt. and Firefall soon parted ways.
The production team of Ron and Howard Albert (The Allmans, Clapton, Stephen Stills/Mannassas, Crosby, Stills & Nash) were brought in to finish the project. Don Gehman, who engineered the Miami dates and mixed the whole record with the Alberts would go on to produce John Mellencamp in the ’80s. Industry anticipation was so high for “ELAN” that it shipped gold, meaning half a million copies were in stores on release day. Hoping to put any identity issue to rest, the band and Atlantic chose ‘Strange Way’ as the album’s first single. The Roberts tune was a ballad and a rocker rolled into one, alternating mellow, plaintive verses with angry, ballsy choruses and featuring a smokin latin-flavored flute solo at the end. Not surprisingly, it went over big with both Top 40 and AOR radio during the autumn and winter of ’78, and the band embarked on another series of concert dates, this time as the headliners. ‘Strange Way’ and other oft played tracks like ‘Sweet And Sour’ (with future Traveling Willbury’s/Little Village drummer Jim Keltner on drums), helped boost “ELAN” past the million mark in sales as 1978 gave way to ’79. It was certified as Firefall’s first platinum album in mid January, just as ‘Goodbye, I Love You’ was saying hello to the Hot 100. Three months later, ‘Sweet And Sour’ was issued as a single, continuing the long hot run.
by Stephen K. Peeples
Tracks Disc 1 Firefall 1976
1. It Doesn't Matter (Chris Hillman, Rick Roberts, Stephen Stills) - 3:32
2. Love Isn't All (Larry Burnett) - 4:11
3. Livin' Ain't Livin' (Rick Roberts) - 3:48
4. No Way Out (Larry Burnett) - 4:05
5. Dolphin's Lullaby (Rick Roberts) - 4:33
6. Cinderella (Larry Burnett) - 3:53
7. Sad Ol' Love Song (Larry Burnett) - 4:42
8. You Are The Woman (Rick Roberts) - 2:45
9. Mexico (Rick Roberts) - 4:17
10.Do What You Want (Larry Burnett) - 4:02 Luna Sea 1977
11.So Long (Rick Roberts) - 5:28
12.Just Remember I Love You (Rick Roberts) - 3:18
13.Sold on You (Larry Burnett) - 3:34
14.Someday Soon (Rick Roberts) - 4:05
15.Just Think (Rick Roberts, Mark Andes, Michael Clarke, Larry Burnett, Jock Bartley, David Muse) - 4:14
Disc 2 Luna Sea 1977
1. Getaway (Larry Burnett) - 3:46
2. Only a Fool (Rick Roberts) - 4:24
3. Head on Home (Larry Burnett) - 4:04
4. Piece of Paper (Larry Burnett) - 4:06
5. Even Steven (Larry Burnett, Rick Roberts) - 4:24 Elan 1978
6. Strange Way (Rick Roberts) - 4:45
7. Sweet and Sour (Jock Bartley, Rick Roberts) - 3:32
8. Wrong Side of Town (Larry Burnett) - 2:42
9. Count Your Blessings (Rick Roberts) - 3:32
10.Get You Back (Larry Burnett) - 4:16
11.Anymore (Mark Andes, Larry Burnett) - 4:03
12.Baby (Larry Burnett) - 3:48
13.Goodbye, I Love You (Rick Roberts) - 4:22
14.Sweet Ann (Rick Roberts) - 3:25
15.Winds of Change (Rick Roberts) - 3:31
It’s almost impossible to avoid describing Rough Mix as devotional music, but it’s equally difficult to reconcile that description with some of the album’s components. Townshend’s stinging guitar on “My Baby Gives It Away,” the chugging. Faces-like title instrumental and the wailing saxophone coda on Lane’s Fifties-style “Catmelody” are hardly typical of spiritual music. But then matters meditative have never before been fully integrated into the ugly, angry sounds we call rock & roll. Their juxtaposition here, in fact, might be one meaning of Rough Mix; it certainly ain’t smooth.
The Who’s Townshend and former Face Lane come by their rock & roll inclinations honestly, and obviously, but spiritual inclination is their long suit here. Both men are followers of Meher Baba, the Indian spiritual master who died in 1969, and this has given the album a sort of humility — not to say modesty — which is its special virtue.
Not surprisingly, almost everything Townshend does here owes a debt to the Who. “My Baby Gives It Away” is one of his improbable sexual misadventures, like “I’m a Boy” or “Pictures of Lily.” “Misunderstood” is more understated musically — just voice, guitar, harmonica, cowbell and a drum machine — but belongs with his best boasts, in the tradition of “My Generation.” “Just one want to be misunderstood/Want to be feared in my neighborhood.” Ten years ago, this probably would have been called a Dylan parody, but the resolution of the lyric is actually a lot closer to the self-doubt of The Who by Numbers.
“Street in the City” is helped by Townshend’s marvelous acoustic guitar, but it is dominated by an utterly unlikely horn and string arrangement. It is schmaltzy enough to pass for an outtake from Days of Future Passed, and as the album’s longest track, it is simply its most vexing.
“Keep Me Turning” is a spiritual parable that is undoubtedly much clearer to its author than to any other listener. The organ, guitar and drum interplay makes the song exciting, but what draws me back time and again is the yearning and vulnerable quality of Townshend’s vocal. This is spiritual rock & roll in the very best sense: it doesn’t always make sense except in the heart, which won’t ignore it. Its wit and charm strike beyond the confusion of its verses to the heart of the chorus, where the devotional imagery is most complete, and the guitar part at the bridge, which is among the most supple and liquid Townshend has ever done.
Lane’s songs reflect his recent work with Slim Chance; his last album, which has not been released in the U.S., had a hint (“Harvest Home”) of what is fully realized here. Lane has moved past straight rock & roll — although he makes his share of it on “Catmelody” and “Rough Mix” — into a merger of rock with Irish ballads and Scottish and English folk music. There is a kind of wisdom and assurance to these songs, and when he sings, “God bless us all,” or, of “all of my family and all of my friends,” he does so with sincere conviction. More wonderfully, there is no distance, no sense of trying to recapture something lost in a modern age. In addition, as John Prine once said of Jackson Browne. I don’t know where Lane gets his melodies. but I’d sure like to go there.
Lane makes his music with guitars, fiddles, banjos, drums, harmonica, electric bass. Although that sounds like a formula for folk rock, there is nothing of the haunted quality or joyousness of the greatest folk rock. Instead, there is a meditative air to the music, captured eloquently in the opening verse of his best song here, “Annie”.
What Lane does is hardly unprecedented. Dylan’s soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Eric Clapton’s 461 Ocean Boulevard, even Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” share a part of its wise and ancient spirit. (Clapton brings a blues guitar to “April Fool” that is its prettiest touch.) Townshend has made his share of songs with a similar feeling — silly as it was, The Who by Numbers’ “Blue, Red and Grey” had it — as has Lane himself: listen to the Faces’ “Debris.” What’s important is that the dedication and beauty of the music is as crucial as the homage it pays to its masters and traditions.
So the final numbers on Rough Mix, among the few true collaborations on the record, have a special flavor. Don Williams’ “‘Til the Rivers All Run Dry” is a country love song, but in this context — and considering Baba’s love for Jim Reeves’ “There’s a Heartache Following Me,” which Townshend did on his first solo album — it is clearly a tribute to the master.
“Heart to Hang Onto,” written by Townshend but on which Lane sings the verses and Townshend the choruses, wears an even thinner veil. There’s a brutal war going on in the song’s midsection between Townshend’s Tommy-like guitar and John Entwistle’s brass arrangement. This is the perfect musical expression of the cosmic quest — this is the real “The Seeker.” The lesson here is stated through a series of metaphorical characters, the most tragic of whom is Danny: “Danny, he wants to save for a new guitar/He’s gonna learn to play but he won’t get far.” Implicitly, Danny’s not going anywhere because he hasn’t made the connection; he has no “heart to hang onto,” which is to say he lacks the spirit to make the music move.
The glory of this album and of the work of Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane throughout their careers is that art and the deepest spiritual aspiration are completely intertwined. Often, of course, that makes for a rough mix, and a rougher life. But it’s worth the turbulence, for it touches closer to the heart of the rock & roll experience than almost anything I know.
by Dave Marsh, October 6, 1977
Tracks
1. My Baby Gives It Away - 4:03
2. Nowhere to Run - 3:17
3. Rough Mix (Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane) - 3:12
4. Annie (Eric Clapton, Kate Lambert, Ronnie Lane) - 2:56
5. Keep Me Turning - 3:46
6. Catmelody (Kate Lambert, Ronnie Lane) - 3:12
7. Misunderstood - 3:01
8. April Fool - 3:34
9. Street in the City - 6:07
10.Heart to Hang Onto - 4:28
11.Till the Rivers All Run Dry (Don Williams, Wayland Holyfield) - 3:54
12.Only You - 4:29
13.Good Question - 3:34
14.Silly Little Man - 3:44
Songs 1,5,7,9,10,13 written by Pete Townshend
Songs 2,8,12,14 written by Ronnie Lane
Bonus Tracks 12-14
Musicians
*Ronnie Lane - Vocals, Guitars, Mandolins, Bass Guitars, Banjos, Ukuleles
Little Free Rock was a Heavy Rock Trio from Preston in Lancashire, England. Peter Illingworth, Lead Guitar and Vocals, Paul Varley, Drums and Frank Newbold, Bass Guitar and Vocals.
Their Eponymous Album was released in November 1969, and they were an evolution of Purple Haze whose psychedelic nuances created great interest from their conception in early 1968. Purple Haze were a highly respected three piece outfit formed originally performing covers of songs from bands like The Who, Creation, Tomorrow etc but quickly developing a style and presentation of their own. To avoid association with Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze, the name was changed to Little Free Rock from the meaning of their names. Paul means 'Little', Frank means 'Free' and Peter the 'Rock'.
Little Free Rock went on to work with Ginger Johnson's African Drummers, whose appearance with the Rolling Stones at the 1969 Hyde Park Concert in Sympathy for the Devil has created much interest. Drummers who appeared from time to to included Gaspar Lawal (Ginger Baker's Airforce), Remi Salaka (Rolling Stones), Speedy Aquay (Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames), Lofty and Mac Tonto (Osibisa), and 'Lord' Eric Carboo. On one occasion at the Chalk Farm Roundhouse there were 26 African Drummers and a Witchdoctor.
The band performed regularly at the Roundhouse Sunday Night 'Implosion' Events and had numerous residencies at the Wardour Street Marquee Club. As well as performing all over Belgium, Continental Trips included the Star Club in Hamburg, Essen Jazz and Blues Festival, and festivals in Frankfurt, San Tropez and Santa Margarita de la Costa in Italy.
CBS and Warner Brothers were becoming exceedingly interested in this new Afro Rock but only six weeks after the release on the LFR Album, Transatlantic started Breach of Contract proceedings. When CBS and Warner Brothers heard this they backed off, however, CBS said that the band was too much like Santana, whom they already represented. Unfortunately, LFR were then unable to record for Transatlantic or anyone else for that matter, which was sad as the original Contract was for 6 Albums over a three year period.
Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) joined the band for a short period, with gigs arranged at The Marquee and The Lyceum, and invited LFR to perform on sessions for his Solo Album. Sadly, after only one gig at a club called The Night Angel Club in Soho, Peter decided that he was having too much hassle with Ginger Johnson about fees for the recording and he backed out. The tracks were never released.
Tracks
1. Roman Summer Nights - 2:47
2. Lost Lonely - 4:15
3. Blud - 3:55
4. Castles In The Sky (Peter Illingworth, Frank Newbold) - 3:49
5. Dream - 3:46
6. Tingle - 3:59
7. Evil Woman (Peter Illingworth, Frank Newbold) - 2:43
8. Age Of Chivalry - 4:24
9. Making Time (Eddie Phillips, Kenny Pickett) - 10:20
Songs 2,3,6,8 written by Peter Illingworth
Songs 1,5, written by Frank Newbold
Little Free Rock
*Peter Illingworth - Guitar, Vocals
*Frank Newbold - Bass, Vocals, Percussion
*Paul Varley - Drums
The Colwell-Winfield Blues Band. A nice enough, nondescript name for what would seem to be a nice enough nondescript white blues band, a somewhat fashionable commodity these days. But here is where the listener is suddenly surprised, for, as was evidenced at the Supermarket this weekend, the band comes complete with a pair of saxophone players.
Until the group gets warmed up to the prospect of playing as a group they manage to maintain the audience's interest with a succession of very well done sax solos, done in the jazz vein. The combination of an electric rock-blues band and pair of jazz saxophonists' is extremely well-blended, creating a feeling not of a rock group attempting a jazz piece, but the impression that these guys really were jazz musicians disappointed with the undefined ramblings of the 'new Jazz' musicians and searching for a new outlet, in rock. The influence upon them is obviously Coltrane and Coleman, yet there is occasionally soft and gentle (Shorter)? influence for balance. It's very gratifying to know that there is a group associated with the rock legions that uses a saxophone for what it is, not a member of the 'sock-it-to-me' rhythm section, but a solo lead instrument.
As a blues band, Colwell-Winfield is a fine representation of the musicl works of BB. King, Muddy Waters, Skip James et.al. both in presentation and style, but that is not enough. The problem involved with being a good blues band is one of identity. Too many good blues bands exist today, not enough groups have something else. For this reason (their ability to combine horns with a basic heavy blues background) Colwell-Winfield should be heard. Easily the most impressive number of the night was their overwhelming handling of "Dead End Street" a sometimes slow, sometimes rapid creative structure of sounds.
Starting like another of their saxophone based jazz-influenced numbers the song proceeded to catch everyone up in its magnitude. In much the same manner that the Cream has been known to play, i.e. a desire by each individual to outdo the next, the song soared through guitar solos, sax solos, electric piano phrasings, electric bass, horns, and drum breaks in continuing excellence. And amazingly enough they accomplished it all while remaining together as a unified whole, to the delight of the audience, which finished the twenty minute outburst on its feet applauding and cheering, the group seemed unable or, more likely unwilling to quit. This group should make it very big, very soon. If you can't hear them live (by far the best way) get their 'Cold Wind' album. It is a better than average studio production of an often times inspiring group…why couldn't this have been the 'Boston Sound'?
by Randy Hawthorne
Tracks
1. Free Will Fantasy (Mike Winfield) - 4:18
2. Mind To Give Up Living (Got A Mind) (Bill Colwell) - 6:49
3. Dead End Street (Ben Raleigh) - 7:54
4. Cold Wind Blues (Bill Colwell, Bruce Sweeney, Charles "Moose" Sorrento) - 4:45
5. Whole Lot Of Lovin' (Joe Josea, Maxwell Davis) - 3:33
6. Going Down Slow (St. Louis Jimmy) - 4:40
7. Govinda (Collin Tilton) - 6:00
8. Wind Is Singing (Bill Colwell) - 4:10
9. Cold Wind Blues (Version 2) (Bill Colwell, Bruce Sweeney, Charles "Moose" Sorrento) - 4:00
10.Whole Lot Of Lovin' (Version 2) (Joe Josea, Maxwell Davis) - 3:49
Jason Humberto Ephraim Rivera was born January 19th, 1951 in Cuamo, Puerto Rico and grew up in Southern California. He made a living performing as a gifted professional musician and was a recording artist back in the 1970s. His album “Jode” on Vanguard Records, recently earned a gold record.
A very interesting release that has some fantastic cuts, from the rockers “I Think It’s The Man”,”Let The Morning Shine” and “Miscommunication” to the mellower “There’s No Reason To Cry”, “Did You Not Hear Me” and “Tomorrow Is Gone”. An album that you’re sure will enjoy."
Heavy downer rock band, formed in mid seventies. Ivan Coutts (a keyboard player), when he split the Blacksmiths, in search of new blood to take it a step further, he met John Alexander a guitarist who was in a band called The Falling Leaves along with vocalist Richard Roffey.
Although their sound was a dark doom metal in likes of Black Sabbath or Black Widow, they did't have the chance to release a full length album, some recordings made between 1974-1977 and saw the light of day in 2002 by this specific issue.
Tracks
1. Jasmin Queen (John Alexander, Andy Dunlop, Paul Cantwell) - 4.26
2. Explorer (John Alexander, Andy Dunlop, Paul Cantwell) - 5.51
3. Face Of The Sun - 6.10
4. Warlord - 3.48
5. Lady Killer - 5.10
6. To The Devil A Daughter (Ivan Coutts, Dave Smith, Chris Pritchard, Andy Harsent, Kip) - 3.29
7. Devil Drink - 4.23
8. Wild Africa - 7.05
9. I See The Warlord - 4.47
10.Face Of The Sun - 4.45
11.The Ring - 4.12
12.Warlord Part Ii - 2.19
Songs 3-5,7-12 written by John Alexander, Andy Dunlop, Paul Cantwell, Ivan Coutts, Richard Roffey
Complex is a super-rare and long-out-of-print holy grail private press classic. Revered by the almighty Acid Archives (they’ve got trophy photos of it staged next to bottles of fine Scotch!), as “one of the ‘Holy Trinity’ items of rare British psychedelia (the other two being Dark and Forever Amber),” Complex somehow sounds distinctly like mid-60s American garage rock – so much so that I find its 1970 record date quite hard to believe.
They tear open the album with a fire-breathing combo organ lead; Funny Feeling is a 3-part tune revealing two factors of the Complex sound – intelligent and endearing compositions filtered through fuzzy, raw energy. Green Eyed Lucy’s vibrating bass guitar groove helps strike the balance between blues, soul, and unbridled teenage garage. Gratuitous guitar shredding on Witch’s Spell and “sensitive” boppers like Norwegian Butterfly, seemingly written to get the lead singer, whose confident voice is a sweet surprise, some groupie action. Self Declaration features an epic Iron Butterfly-esque prog-organ solo and throughout the album a distinct and drastically lo-fi sound is present from start to finish.
Then there’s my favorite track – the unexpected, wildly out-of-place but somehow perfect Josie. It’s a surprise that this group of white suburban kids could pull off a convincing reggae dancehall number, but a joy to hear the squeaky combo organ bouncing along with the ragtag orchestra backing this weird little number.
Complex is a scary kind of record, the rarity and grungy sound are sure to dissuade casual listeners, but seekers will find the sounds much more accessible than the ghastly psychedelic cover implies. It’s really just an oldies garage record with soul; you can play it for friends without clearing the room! Begging for a reissue.
by Brendan McGrath
Tracks
1. Funny Feeling - 2:51
2. Message From The Year 2000 (Steve Coe) - 2:43
3. Green-Eyed Lucy - 3:48
4. Josie - 2:34
5. Witch's Spell - 3:38
6. Norwegian Butterfly - 2:51
7. Self Declaration (Steve Coe) - 6:03
8. Images Blue - 2:55
9. Storm On Way - 3:59
10.Madamoiselle Jackie - 3:56
11.Live For The Minute (Steve Coe, Tony Shakespeare) - 4:01
12.Hush (Joe South) - 4:28
13.Images Blue - 4:27
14.Green-Eyed Lucy - 3:50
15.Norwegian Butterfly - 3:02
All tracks written by Steve Coe, Bob Mitchell except where noted
The rare, sole, and self-titled album by Eclection was one of the finer overlooked folk-rock recordings of the 1960s, and perhaps the best relatively unknown British folk-rock LP of its time. The band had a great deal going for them: four strong singers, rich multi-part harmonies, strong original material by two composers, deftly textured mixes of electric and acoustic guitars, and tasteful orchestration that gracefully enhanced the soaring bittersweet melodies and male-female vocal blends. They were also one of the few British acts signed to Elektra Records, the hippest American independent label of the era.
None of this translated into high sales or wide renown. Eclection, so full of promise on this 1968 album, had split up by the end of 1969, never having issued another full-length release. The simple label of "British folk-rock band" applies to Eclection as much as any description could. Upon closer scrutiny, that term fails to capture the complexities of this enigmatic group. For this British band had but one actual British member, the rest of the group hailing from Norway, Australia, and Canada; for that matter, when one of the Australians left, she was replaced by an American.
The group are closely connected to the Fairport Convention family tree via the presence of two future members of the band, yet neither of them wrote material or took prominent lead vocal roles on the Eclection album. Despite the Fairport connection, the folk background of some of the members, and the obvious vocal and instrumental folk-rock elements, they didn't think of themselves as folk-rock.
Too, this British album, recorded in London by mostly non-British musicians, sounded more like a product of California than anything else, despite the absence of any Americans on the recording. Tying it all together was the unlikely figure of producer Ossie Byrne, most known for overseeing the first international hits of the Bee Gees. Byrne, of course, was not British either, hailing from Australia.
Eclection was an apt name for a group originating from such disparate regions. Georg Hultgreen, who wrote eight of the eleven songs on the album and handled twelve-string electric and acoustic guitars, was born in Norway. The son of Russian prince Paulo Tjegodiev Sakonski and Finnish sculptress Johanna Kajanus, he moved to Paris just before entering his teens. Shortly afterward he moved with his family to Quebec, where he learned English, and worked as a stained glass window designer before ending up in England. Michael Rosen, who wrote the remaining three songs on the LP and played trumpet in addition to six-string acoustic and electric guitars, came from Canada.
Singer Kerrilee Male, an Australian, had in the mid-1960s sung in Dave's Place Group; that outfit was featured on the Australian folk music television show Dave's Place, featuring ex-Kingston Trio guitarist Dave Guard, who had somehow ended up living in Sydney. Fellow Australian Trevor Lucas had the most on-record experience of any member of Eclection, having released a couple of rare folk albums, as well as contributing to the EP The Folk Attick Presents, singing backup vocals on British folk legend A.L. Lloyd's Leviathan, and appearing on the soundtrack to Far from the Madding Crowd.
Completing the unlikely quintet was their sole British member, drummer Gerry Conway, who was just leaving his teens. Conway had been playing in the group of musical giant Alexis Korner, whose band was famous for helping train numerous future British rock stars, including members of the Rolling Stones, Cream, and Led Zeppelin. If it seems like an unlikely transition from a blues-oriented ensemble such as Korner's to the pop-folk-rock of Eclection, it should be remembered that Korner's band had also given apprenticeships to Danny Thompson and Terry Cox, the rhythm section of one of the most successful British folk-rock groups, Pentangle.
After about a year of gigging with post-Kerrilee Male lineups, Eclection broke up in late 1969 (though Henderson did head a revamped version of the band in the 1970s). Lucas and Conway formed the rhythm section of Fotheringay, featuring Trevor's girlfriend (and, later, wife) Sandy Denny, who had just established herself as the finest British folk-rock singer as part of Fairport Convention. Fotheringay made a fine folk-rock album in 1970 before Denny left for a solo career.
Lucas and Denny would play together again in Fairport Convention in the mid-1970s, though Denny died tragically young in 1978, while Lucas passed away in 1989. Conway's long career took in stints in Jethro Tull and Pentangle, as well as recordings with John Cale, Sandy Denny, Joan Armatrading, the Everly Brothers, Cat Stevens, Richard Thompson, Al Stewart, and many others. He's now, in 2001, the drummer in Fairport Convention, an institution that's still going strong more than thirty years after their formation.
As for the others, Hultgreen, under the name Georg Kajanus, joined Sailor, who had a couple of Top Ten British singles in the mid-1970s. An accomplished artist as well as a musician, he is now, believes Conway, living in Paris. Rosen later played with obscure early-1970s progressive rockers Mogul Thrash, which also included future Family/King Crimson/Asia member John Wetton. Gerry last saw Michael in the early 1980s in Canada while touring with Richard Thompson, "and as far as I know, he was working in his uncle's steel mill." Conway's lost all contact with Kerrilee Male, whom he believes went back to Australia after quitting Eclection. "As it started as it finished, I suppose," he chuckles. "Everybody disappeared back to the four corners of the earth."
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. In Her Mind - 3:57
2. Nevertheless (M. Rosen) - 2:51
3. Violet Dew - 3:51
4. Will Tomorrow Be The Same - 3:13
5. Still I Can See - 4:18
6. In The Early Days - 3:39
7. Another Time Another Place - 4:26
8. Morning of Yesterday - 4:11
9. Betty Brown - 3:06
10.St. Georg And The Dragon (Up The Night) (M. Rosen) - 4:58
11.Confusion (M. Rosen) - 5:04
12.Mark Time (B-Side) - 2:51
13.Please (A-Side) - 2:51
14.Please (Mark II) (A-Side) - 2:56
15.Nevertheless (A-Side) - 2:50
16.In The Early Days (B-Side) - 3:37
17.St. Georg And The Dragon (B-Side) (M. Rosen) - 4:58
18.Nevertheless (BBC Sessions) - 3:00
19.Will Tomorrow Be The Same (BBC Sessions) - 3:08
20.Violet Dew (BBC Sessions) - 3:22
21.Please (BBC Sessions) - 2:53
22.Morning Of Yesterday (BBC Sessions) - 4:10
All songs by Georg Hultgreen (Kajanus) except where indicated
Bonus Tracks 12-22
