Plain and Fancy

Sunday, September 27, 2026

rep>>> Firefall - Firefall • Luna Sea • Elan (1976-78 us, classy elegant country folk rock, 2016 double disc set)

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

Firefall
*Mark Andes - Bass Guitar
*Jock Bartley - Lead Electric, Slide Guitars, Bigsby Palm Pedal Guitar
*Larry Burnett - Electric, Acoustic Rhythm Guitars, Vocals
*Michael Clarke - Drums
*Rick Roberts - Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
*David Muse - Piano, Clavinet Synthesizer Flute, Tenor Sax, Harmonica
With
*Joe Lala - Congas Timbales Shakers Tambourine Finger Cymbals, Sand Blocks

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rep>>> Pete Townshend • Ronnie Lane - Rough Mix (1977 uk, awesome classic roots rock, digipak extra tracks remaster)

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

*Pete Townshend - Vocals, Guitars, Mandolins, Bass Guitars, Banjos, Ukuleles

*Charlie Hart - Violin (Track 4)

*John Entwistle - Horns (Track 10), Vocal (Track 11)

*Mel Collins - Saxophones (Track 6)

*Peter Hope Evans - Harmonica (Tracks 2,7)

*Benny Gallagher - Accordion (Track 4)

*John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Organ, Fender Rhodes (Tracks 2,3,5,10)

*Ian Stewart - Piano (Track 6)

*Eric Clapton - Electric Guitar (Track 3), Acoustic Guitar (Track 4), Dobro (Tracks 8,11)

*Graham Lyle - Twelve-String Guitar (Track 4)

*Dave Markee - Double Bass (Tracks 4,8)

*Boz Burrell - Bass Guitar (Tracks 10,11)

*Henry Spinetti - Drums (Tracks 2,3,5,10,11)

*Charlie Watts - Drums (Tracks 1,6)

*Julian Diggle - Percussion (Track 7)

*Billy Nicholls - Vocal Help (Track 11)

*Edwin Astley - Orchestrations (Track 9)

*Tony Gilbert - Orchestral Leader (Track 9)

*Charles Vorsanger - Principal Second Violin (Track 9)

*Steve Shingles - Principal Viola (Track 9)

*Chris Green - Principal Cello (Track 9)

*Chris Laurence - Principal Bass (Track 9)

1965 My Generation (two disc japan SHM-CD remaster)
1966 A Quick One (japan SHM-CD double disc box remaster)
1967 Sell Out (double disc japan SHM expanded edition)

1968 The Who - Live At Fillmore East

1971 The Who - Who's Next (Japan SHM)

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rep>>> Little Free Rock - Little Free Rock (1969 uk, superb heavy psych blues rock, 2003 edition)

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

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Saturday, September 26, 2026

rep>>> Colwell • Winfield Blues Band - Cold Wind Blues (1968 us, awesome brass psych blues rock, 2001 hard sleeve reissue)

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

The Colwell-Winfield Blues Band

*Bill Colwell - Guitar

*Chuck Purro - Drums

*Jack Shroer - Alto, Tenor, Soprano Saxophones

*Moose Sorrento - Vocals

*Collin Tilton - Tenor Saxophone

*Michael Winfield - Bass

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rep>>> Jode - Jode (1971 puerto rico / us, exciting classic rock with southern country elements and top-notch guitar interpretations)

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."

Tracks

1. Jode Theme - 1:20

2. When I Was A Younger Man - 1:53

3. Faith - 2:54

4. Let The Morning Shine - 2:21

5. Tomorrow Is Gone - 3:13

6. Got Something On My Mind - 2:00

7. Julie - 3:55

8. Fly Away With My Brother - 4:32

9. Miscommunication - 3:03

10.Did You Not Hear Me - 2:53

11.Good Times - 2:41

12.Human Behavior - 2:52

13.There's No Reason To Cry - 2:19

14.I Think It's The Man - 6:20

15.Why - 0:43

All song by Jason Rivera, Omar Rivera

Jode

*Jason Rivera - Guitar, Vocals

*Omar Rivera

*Dave Rivera

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Friday, September 25, 2026

rep>>> Warlord - Warlord (1974-77 uk, heavy downer rock, 2002 edition)

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

Tracks 1,2 as Stallion

Track 6 as The Blacksmiths

Warlord
1974-76
*John Alexander - Guitar
*Andy Dunlop - Bass, Acoustic Guitar
*Paul Cantwell - Drums
*Ivan Coutts - Keyboard, Vocals
*Richard Roffey - Vocals
Stallion 1977
*John Alexander - Guitar, Vocals
*Andy Dunlop - Bass, Acoustic Guitar
*Paul Cantwell - Drums
The Blacksmiths 1974
*Ivan Coutts - Keyboards, Vocals
*Dave Smith - Lead Guitar
*Chris Pritchard - Rythm Guitar
*Andy Harsent - Bass
*Kip - Drums

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rep>>> Complex - Complex (1970 uk, fine beat psych)

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

Bonus Tracks 12-15

Complex

*Steve Coe - Organ

*Brian Lee - Guitars, Backing Vocals

*Lance Fogg - Bass, Backing Vocals

*Tony Shakespeare - Lead Vocals, Drums

1971 Complex - The Way We Feel

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Eclection - Eclection (1968 uk, gorgeous folk rock with sunny psych tignes, 2011 remaster and expanded)

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

Eclection
*Georg Hultgreen (Kajanus) - Vocals, Guitars
*Trevor Lucas - Bass , Vocals
*Gerry Conway - Drums, Vocals
*Kerrilee Male - Vocals
*Michael Rosen - Vocals, Guitars, Trumpet

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Thursday, September 24, 2026

rep>>> Various Artists - 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music (1971-2021 us, superb electric blues compilation, 2021 three disc box set remaster)

You could say that Alligator Records was born in a little neighborhood South Side Chicago bar in January of 1970, almost two years before the label’s first release. That’s the first time I was overwhelmed by the most joyful, exhilarating, spirit-lifting music of my life—the blues of Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. It was at Florence’s Lounge, on a gritty side street of run-down houses, on a snowy Sunday afternoon. This life-altering music was created by just three men—Hound Dog Taylor, playing a cheap Japanese guitar with a steel slide encasing the fifth of his six fingers (true!) and singing in a high-pitched voice into a microphone plugged into a guitar amplifier; Brewer Phillips, propelling each song with ever-changing bass lines played on a Fender Telecaster guitar, and Ted Harvey, driving the band with rocking grooves played on a minimalist drum kit. It was blues, but it sure wasn’t sad blues. It was blues to make you forget your blues, to make you holler and dance and throw away your troubles. But it could turn serious, slow and cathartic. Hound Dog, playing searing slide and singing about love gone wrong in his ragged, just-on-the-verge-of-cracking voice, could reach inside you, grab you by the soul, and squeeze hard.

I had pushed my way into the dancing, happy crowd of neighborhood people. They had come here to cut loose on the weekend and celebrate their shared “down home” roots in the Mississippi Delta, and to forget about their low-paying jobs and hard life in one of the poorest parts of the city. Once they had figured out that I wasn’t a cop, they weren’t concerned about the longhaired, bearded “hippy” among them. They were having too much fun. And I, a young blues fan who had come to Chicago to immerse himself in the music he loved, thought, “This band has got to be recorded.” And so, in the spring of 1971, I started Alligator Records to record an album by my favorite musicians. It was called simply Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. Now, 50 years and over 350 albums later, Alligator Records is still releasing recordings by my favorite musicians.

The promotional flyer for that first album was headlined “Genuine Houserockin’ Music,” and that’s been Alligator’s slogan ever since. Not only does it pay tribute to Hound Dog’s band, but it also has a deeper meaning. Genuine because Alligator’s music is rooted in the blues tradition, even when it stretches beyond a purist definition of blues. It’s a musical tradition created by oppressed Black people to carry them through hard times and bind their communities together. It’s created by musicians who have honed their music to meet the emotional needs of live audiences, not by programming synthesizers in their bedrooms. House instead of “theater” or “arena” or “stadium,” because it grew up being played in intimate settings, on front porches and in little taverns, where the audience could feel the emotions of the musicians and the musicians could feel the feedback from the audience. Blues is not music presented by the musicians, but instead it’s shared between the musicians and their audience, just like what happened every Sunday at Florence’s Lounge. And Rockin’ because it’s meant not just to move your body and your feet, but also to rock your soul. It’s music to rid you of your inner pain by ripping that pain right out of you. That’s why they say the blues “hurts so good.”

When I started Alligator back in 1971, I knew a little bit about the record business. I had learned from watching my mentor, hero and boss, Bob Koester, founder of Delmark Records, whom I had talked into hiring me as the label’s shipping clerk. I went to every Delmark recording session in 1970 and 1971, saw Bob interact with and inspire musicians, listened to him on the phone with distributors, and packed every LP Delmark shipped to critics, radio stations, mail order customers and distributors. I hung on his every word as he shared his years of accumulated wisdom learned from running a tiny blues and jazz label.

But Bob didn’t spend much energy reaching out to the growing new audience for the blues—an audience like me—college-aged kids who had discovered blues by listening to the Stones or Yardbirds or Paul Butterfield, or maybe from hearing acoustic blues at folk music festivals, like I did. They were reading new publications called Rolling Stone or Creem, and listening to “progressive rock” radio stations that were playing everything from the Beatles to Motown to Coltrane to Joni Mitchell to B.B. King. I knew that if I was so energized and excited by Hound Dog Taylor’s music, that young audience and those radio stations and those publications would love his music as much as I did. So, when I founded Alligator, a label with one LP in its catalog, I reached out to those radio stations and those publications. I sent out hundreds of promo copies, and visited as many stations as I could. And, much to my delight, the DJs and writers fell in love with Hound Dog, too. My one-man record company, housed in an efficiency apartment where I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor, was getting national and international radio play and press coverage. Plus, I was able to sell enough Hound Dog albums to afford to make the second Alligator release, a summit meeting of two of the world’s best harmonica players, Big Walter Horton With Carey Bell. By then, I had become Hound Dog’s booking agent, manager, publicist, song publisher and part-time driver. I became the same thing for Son Seals and Koko Taylor. They all needed my support, and I was the whole staff of Alligator. It was four years before Alligator was able to afford a full-time employee.

The early years of Alligator were spent mining the riches of Chicago’s fabulous blues scene. Dozens of taverns and clubs across the Black neighborhoods of the South Side and West Side booked blues bands (and, starting around 1971, some white North Side clubs did, too). You could sit 20 feet from Howlin’ Wolf at Big Duke’s or Junior Wells at Theresa’s or Otis Rush at the Wise Fools Pub. And you could hear wonderfully talented unrecorded and under-recorded bluesmen and women who deserved a national and international audience. Alligator became the home for some of those world-class Chicago artists, ranging from an unknown, rough-edged young guitarist from Arkansas named Son Seals, to Koko Taylor, “The Queen Of The Blues,” to a subtle, melodic master singer and player named Fenton Robinson. Besides full albums by Chicago artists, our six-LP Living Chicago Blues series, released in 1979 and 1980, showcased 18 more of the city’s bluesmen and women. One of them, Lonnie Brooks, a West Side guitarist with roots in Louisiana and Texas, became a long-time member of the Alligator family, bringing his funky “voodoo blues” sound to the label.

It wasn’t until 1978 that Alligator signed its first non-Chicagoan, the legendary Texas-born guitar giant Albert Collins, “The Master Of The Telecaster.” Albert came to Alligator with a worldwide reputation as a thrilling, top-echelon blues guitarist. With his Alligator debut, Ice Pickin’ (which I co-produced with Dick Shurman), he finally made a record that matched the level of his overwhelmingly powerful live performances. Ice Pickin’ announced Alligator as more than a Chicago label. During the 1980s, my little label signed artists from all across the country.

The first was the beloved, one-of-a-kind pianist/vocalist Professor Longhair, New Orleans’ “Bach of Rock.” Fess cut his classic Crawfish Fiesta album (sadly, the last album of his career) for us. Famous blues-rock guitar heroes also found a home at Alligator. The flamboyant Johnny Winter came aboard, determined to get back to his blues roots. He made three albums for Alligator with some of Chicago’s blues giants, beginning with the much-hailed Guitar Slinger. Pyrotechnic master guitarist Roy Buchanan followed, and Alligator shepherded the re-emergence of Lonnie Mack, produced by his #1 disciple, Stevie Ray Vaughan. (In December of 1985, Albert Collins, Lonnie Mack and Roy Buchanan rocked the house at Carnegie Hall for an American Guitar Heroes night. It was a long way from Florence’s Lounge!)

Other major blues figures joined the Alligator family during the 1980s—powerhouse harmonica giant James Cotton, beloved country-tinged blues-rocker Elvin Bishop, the fabled Texas guitarist Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown (who had been recording since the 1940s) and the exuberant “Swamp Boogie Queen,” pianist Katie Webster. Besides signing established stars, we championed rising younger artists, helping them break out of their local scenes to reach national and international audiences. We released albums by a host of newcomers: Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, the rough and ready band from Chicago’s West Side; The Kinsey Report, the funky band of brothers from Gary, Indiana; Little Charlie & The Nightcats, the jumping, swinging quartet from Sacramento; The Paladins, the tough roots rock trio from Southern California; Kenny Neal, the guitarist/harmonicist from Louisiana bayou country; and Tinsley Ellis, the rocking guitar hero from Atlanta. All of them burst onto world stages following their debut Alligator releases. And the unlikely all-female, all-acoustic, proudly middle-aged trio, Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women, became one of the label’s best sellers. Virtually all the Alligator artists were touring nationally and internationally, represented by professional booking agents. I often became the overseas road manager for Koko Taylor and Lonnie Brooks, and regularly carried luggage and guitar cases through Europe, Japan and Australia. Alligator has always been a “hands on” business.

The 1980s and 1990s were years of steady growth for Alligator. In the 1970s, the label released only 22 LPs. In the 1980s, that number grew to 60, and in the 1990s, we released 90 albums. The label expanded from three people to over 20. We moved from my little house in a working-class neighborhood, with its dank basement “warehouse” crammed with albums and 7000 cassettes stored in the kitchen, to two rundown storefront buildings. Alligator became a real business, with distributors across the country and around the world. Taking a leap of faith, I gambled on a new technology called compact discs, and Alligator became the first blues label to release its catalog on CDs. Meanwhile, I was in the studio constantly, producing or co-producing iconic artists like Albert Collins, Koko Taylor, Son Seals, James Cotton, Johnny Winter, Roy Buchanan, Lil’ Ed, Saffire, and more. As a fanatic fan, to work with these artists, help them create and then be the bridge that carried their music to the public, was my dream come true. And over the years Alligator attracted a series of intensely hard-working staffers who were just as dedicated to the artists and their music as I was.

We celebrated the 20th anniversary of Alligator in 1991 by hitting the road and taking the music to the people. In the spirit of the old R&B multi-artist package tours, we rented a bus and brought on board Koko Taylor & Her Blues Machine, the Lonnie Brooks band, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Elvin Bishop and Katie Webster. They barnstormed across the Midwest and up and down the East and West Coasts, delivering hours-long shows with spontaneous jams, and spreading the gospel of Genuine Houserockin’ Music.

As we rolled into the 1990s, established artists like harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite, zydeco accordion hero C.J. Chenier and Piedmont acoustic blues duo Cephas & Wiggins found a home at Alligator. Through an arrangement with Germany’s Ruf Records, we released four albums by the amazing Luther Allison, a Chicago legend who had relocated to Europe. Between 1994 and his tragic death from cancer in 1997, Luther became the most popular artist on Alligator, returning to the U.S. to deliver thrilling, hours-long performances, including his incredibly powerful set at the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival. But we were also determined to continue to bring new names to the forefront. Australian slide guitar wizard Dave Hole, brilliant California harp player William Clarke, and visionaries like young Corey Harris and cutting-edge New York guitarist/songwriter Michael Hill, all became Alligator artists. Plus, the most charismatic blues/roots singer of her generation, Shemekia Copeland, cut the first of her seven genre-bending Alligator albums in 1998, at the age of 18.

Things turned difficult for Alligator starting in 1999, when music began being offered illegally on the Internet for little or nothing. CD sales plummeted, and thousands of record stores closed nationwide, especially independent stores that had supported Alligator. “Music should be free” became a mantra for a lot of youth. At the end of 1999, we had 22 employees. Within a few years, that number was reduced to sixteen. But still, established artists kept knocking on our door. In the next few years, Coco Montoya, The Holmes Brothers, Marcia Ball, Roomful of Blues, Tommy Castro, W.C. Clark, Guitar Shorty and the truly legendary Mavis Staples, all of whom had recorded for other labels, released Alligator albums. Our definition of the Alligator sound broadened to include roots rock singer-songwriters—Florida’s JJ Grey & Mofro and New Orleans’ Eric Lindell and Anders Osborne. Not every artist has stayed with Alligator. We weren’t the right fit for some musicians, or they weren’t the right fit for us. But many, like Koko Taylor, Lil’ Ed, Lonnie Brooks and Little Charlie & The Nightcats (now Rick Estrin & The Nightcats), spent decades with us and became close personal friends. Of course, over the years, we’ve had too many of our musician family members leave us to join the great blues band in the sky.

Today, after 50 years, Alligator remains proudly independent and still 100% dedicated to Genuine Houserockin’ Music. With a roster that includes beloved veterans like Marcia Ball, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Elvin Bishop and Roomful Of Blues, rising stars like Selwyn Birchwood and Toronzo Cannon, and the 22-year-old sensation Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, we are committed to the past, present and future of the tradition. Now that illegal downloading has been replaced by digital streaming services reaching around the globe, Alligator’s music can be heard in China, India, and across Africa, and in other countries where it was never available in physical form. Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers would be amazed to see what happened to the tiny record label, now with over 350 releases, that was created to bring their music to the world. They’d be thrilled to know that billions of people can now discover the joyous houserockin’ blues that they played every Sunday at Florence’s Lounge.

by Bruce Iglauer, 2021

Artist - Tracks - Composer

Disc 1

1. Hound Dog Taylor - Give Me Back My Wig (Hound Dog Taylor) - 3:34

2. Koko Taylor - I'm A Woman (Koko Taylor, Bo Diddley) - 4:34

3. Big Walter Horton And Carey Bell - Have Mercy (Walter Horton) - 3:43

4. Fenton Robinson - Somebody Loan Me A Dime (Fenton Robinson) - 2:56

5. Professor Longhair - It's My Fault, Darling (Miles Grayson, Lermon Horton) - 4:53

6. Son Seals - Telephone Angel (Deadric Malone) - 5:25

7. Johnny Winter - Lights Out (Mac Rebennack, Seth David) - 2:34

8. Albert Collins - Blue Monday Hangover (Deadric Malone, Gilbert G. Caple) - 5:34

9. James Cotton - Little Car Blues (Big Bill Broonzy) - 3:33

10.Albert Collins, Robert Cray And Johnny Copeland - The Dream (Bruce Bromberg, Robert Cray) - 5:32

11.William Clarke - Pawnshop Bound (William Clarke) - 4:23

12.Lonnie Mack - Ridin' The Blinds (Don Nix) - 4:23

13.Lonnie Brooks - Cold Lonely Nights (Lonnie Brooks) - 5:43

14.Luther Allison - Soul Fixin' Man (Luther Allison, James Solberg) - 4:06

15.Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Got My Mojo Working (Preston Foster) - 4:47

16.Saffire The Uppity Blues Women - Sloppy Drunk (Lucille Bogan) - 3:07

17.Roy Buchanan - That Did It (Dave Clark, Pearl Woods) - 5:07

18.The Paladins - Keep On Lovin' Me Baby (Otis Rush) - 4:02

Disc 2

1. Michael Burks - Love Disease (Michael Burks) - 3:19

2. Kenny Neal - I'm A Blues Man (Walter Godbold, A.D. Prestage, Joe Shamwell) - 4:11

3. The Holmes Brothers - Run Myself Out Of Town (Wendell Holmes) - 3:25

4. Little Charlie And The Nightcats - Jump Start (Little Charlie Baty) - 2:54

5. Katie Webster - I'm Still Leaving You (Jay Miller) - 3:36

6. Smokin' Joe Kubek And Bnois King - Don't Lose My Number (Joe Kubek, Bnois King) - 3:33

7. The Kinsey Report - Corner Of The Blanket (Donald Kinsey, Kenneth Kinsey, Ralph Kinsey) - 3:36

8. Carey Bell - I Got A Rich Man's Woman (Jack Leroy Welch) - 4:43

9. C.J. Chenier - Au Contraire, Mon Frere (Williams) - 3:39)

10.Mavis Staples - There's A Devil On The Loose (Brenda Burns) - 3:34

11.Michael Hill's Blues Mob - Presumed Innocent (Michael Hill, Eunice Levy) - 4:38

12.Bob Margolin - Not What You Said Last Night (Bob Margolin) - 2:48

13.Billy Boy Arnold - Man Of Considerable Taste (Billy Boy Arnold) - 4:32

14.Cephas And Wiggins - Ain't Seen My Baby (John Cephas) - 3:23

15.Long John Hunter - Marfa Lights (Jon Foose, Long John Hunter, Tary Owens) - 4:53

16.Dave Hole - Phone Line (Dave Hole) - 3:43

17.Eric Lindell - Josephine (Eric Lindell, Aaron Wilkinson) - 2:46

18.Joe Louis Walker - I Won't Do That (Tom Hambridge, Richard Fleming) - 5:01

19.Janiva Magness - That's What Love Will Make You Do (Milton Campbell) - 3:20

20.The Siegel-Schwall Band - Going Back To Alabama (Sam Lay) - 3:40

21.Corey Harris And Henry Butler - Why Don't You Live So God Can Use You (Traditional) - 2:12

Disc 3

1. Marcia Ball - Party Town (Bobby Charles) - 4:14

2. Lil Ed And The Blues Imperials - What You See Is What You Get (Lil Ed Williams) - 4:21

3. Roomful Of Blues - In A Roomful Of Blues (Chris Vachon) - 3:30

4. Billy Branch And The Sons Of Blues - Blue And Lonesome (Walter Jacobs) - 4:12

5. Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram - Outside Of This Town (Tom Hambridge, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram) - 4:09

6. Shemekia Copeland - Clotilda's On Fire (John Hahn, Will Kimbrough) - 4:26

7. Curtis Salgado - The Longer That I Live (Curtis Salgado) - 3:50

8. Selwyn Birchwood - Living In A Burning House (Selwyn Birchwood) - 4:07

9. Elvin Bishop And Charlie Musselwhite - Midnight Hour Blues (Leroy Carr) - 4:13

10.The Cash Box Kings - Ain't No Fun (When The Rabbit Got The Gun) ("Low Rollin' Joe" Nosek, Oscar Wilson) - 3:07

11.Tommy Castro And The Painkillers - Make It Back To Memphis (Bonnie Hayes, Tommy Castro) - 4:55

12.JJ Grey And Mofro - A Woman (John Grey Higginbotham) - 3:25

13.Rick Estrin And The Nightcats - I'm Running (Rick Estrin) - 4:07

14.Coco Montoya - You Didn't Think About That (Dave Steen) - 3:56

15.Tinsley Ellis - Ice Cream In Hell (Tinsley Ellis) - 4:14

16.Chris Cain - You Won't Have A Problem When I'm Gone (Chris Cain) - 3:06

17.Guitar Shorty - Too Late (Cecilia Rockstead, Dave Kearney) - 4:15

18.Nick Moss Band And Dennis Gruenling - The High Cost Of Low Living (Nick Moss) - 4:04

19.Toronzo Cannon - The Chicago Way (Toronzo Cannon) - 4:22

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

rep>>> Axiom - If Only... (1971 australia, fine blue eyed baroque folk, 2021 reissue)

In September Warners flew them to Los Angeles where they recorded the remaining tracks for their second LP If Only... with Talmy. They returned to Australia for a few months in November 1970 and then headed back to England in February 1971. If Only was released in March 1971, just after the band split. Talmy was interviewed by music writer Richie Unterberger in 2000. Almost thirty years down the track, he still spoke of Axiom group and the album in glowing terms:

"Warner Brothers hired me to record them. Super-duper band. It was a super album. Two weeks before the album was to be released on Warner, they decided to break up. And they did, and Warners said, "Bye!! If you think we're promoting this album, you're out of your fucking minds!" I was real pleased with that album. It was fun to do, they were talented, the songs were great."

Coming from the man who produced such classics as "My Generation", "You Really Got Me", "Friday On My Mind" and "Waterloo Sunset", this is high praise indeed.

Axiom had their third and last Aussie hit in early 1971 with the first single lifted from the LP, "My Baby's Gone" (the verses of which bear a suspicious resemblance to the 1980s World Party hit "Ship of Fools"). The only surviving videos of the band are performances of the song from Happening '71 and the shortlived Channel 9 pop show Move, and they also filmed a promotional clip for the song, one of the first such clips made in colour in Australia. Given that Australia wasn't to get colour TV for another four years, this was clearly done with overseas markets in mind. When released in January, the single did extremely well -- it was Top 10 by February, peaking at #8, a fact that is at odds with conventional wisdom, which says that interest in the band was waning while they were away in England.

Unfortunately the difficulties of slogging it out in England and cracking the international market undoubtedly took their toll, and it seems there was growing tension within the band by the start of 1971 and Lebler and Mudie both quit, following Doug Lavery into The Mixtures in March, which precipitated the band's break-up. Sadly, as Shel Talmy relates, this came only two weeks before If Only... was released. One can only speculate on the result if they had been able to stay together to promote it. Both album and single were released later that year in America but in the absence of the band, they sank without trace.

Brian Cadd continued to write and record with Don Mudie. They returned to Australia and released a duo single in late 1971, after which Brian hooked up with Ron Tudor to form the Bootleg label. He enjoyed a hugely successful solo career in the '70s and '80s both in Australia and overseas. He moved to America in 1975 and became a prominent member of what was dubbed the "Gumleaf Mafia", the group of Aussie expats based in L.A. that included John Farrar, Billy Thorpe and Olivia Newton-John. In recent years he has also been a member of the reformed Flying Burrito Brothers. He returned to Australia in the early '80s and eventually settled back here in the early 90s. He has worked regularly on the club and casino circuit since then. During his 1999 tour Cadd and his first wife had a 'close shave', and had to be rescued by a passer-by after their car was swept off a bridge on the Gold Coast during local floods. Brian continues to perform as well as running his own record label, among other music interests.

Glenn Shorrock returned to the UK for several years, singing and recording with the multi-national group Esperanto, before accepting an invitation to team up with members of Mississippi, which soon became the mega-successful Little River Band. Glenn reunited with Brian Cadd in 1993 for the album Blazing Salads.

Chris Stockley went on to a very distinguished career in the 70s with The Dingoes and Stockley, See & Mason.

Unfortunately we have no current information about the later careers of Don Mudie, Doug Lavery and Don Lebler, so if anyone can fill us in, we'd love to hear from you!

Milesago