The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee...Pretty Ballerina (1966-67 us, wondrous psychedelia with baroque colours, Sundazed 2011 remaster)

Even in the heady musical atmosphere of 1967, the Left Banke's debut LP Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina stood out. The New York outfit's beguiling blend of classically-influenced songwriting, heart-tugging three-part harmonies and exquisitely textured arrangements resulted in music that embodied equal amounts of youthful innocence, autumnal melancholy and precocious musical sophistication.

The Left Banke perfected its singular sound on its iconic debut single "Walk Away Renée," a Top Five hit in its original release and an enduring pop standard in the years since, and on its equally affecting follow-up "Pretty Ballerina." The subsequent album that bore the titles of both singles was an equally impressive achievement, demonstrating remarkable depth and showing the band to be much more than a mere two-hit wonder.

The Left Banke's story is liberally strewn with bad choices, missed opportunities, interpersonal acrimony and squandered potential. But the negative aspects of the band's history are far less pertinent than the fact that, in their all-too-brief existence, the Left Banke created a consistently magnificent body of work that stands with the most original, inventive and emotionally resonant pop music of its era.

The members of the Left Banke were still in their teens in 1965, when Tom Finn struck up a friendship with Steve Martin-Caro, née Carmelo Esteban Martin Caro, who'd recently arrived in town from his native Spain. Finn and Martin had originally met on the street outside of Manhattan's City Squire Hotel, watching a mob of screaming girls awaiting the arrival of the Rolling Stones. They were soon joined by Finn's friend George Cameron and the Magic Plants' drummer Warren David-Schierhorst.

The budding band soon began visiting World United Recording, a modest studio at 48th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, where Finn's previous outfit the Magic Plants had recorded. There, they fell in with 16-year-old Michael Brown, a classically trained pianist and budding composer who was working at World United as an assistant and sometime session player. Brown was the son of the studio's owner Harry Lookofsky, a veteran jazz violinist who'd played on numerous sessions and recorded on his own as Hash Brown.

Since Brown had the keys to the studio, the quintet—with Martin on lead vocals, Cameron on guitar, Finn on bass, David on drums and Brown on keyboards—began convening there for late-night rehearsal sessions. Martin, Finn and Cameron quickly developed an organic vocal rapport, honing the distinctive three-part harmonies that would become a cornerstone of the Left Banke's sound. Brown's advanced musical skills increased the group's options considerably.

Soon, Brown's father took an interest in the nascent combo and became its manager, publisher and co-producer. Lookofsky's involvement would help to advance the Left Banke's early career, but his multiple roles (not to mention his status as father of the band's main songwriter) created conflicts of interest that would soon help to splinter the lineup.

The Left Banke began cutting tracks at World United in early 1966, recording such early tunes as "I've Got Something on My Mind" and "I Haven't Got the Nerve," both of which would end up on Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina. Aside from David's drumming and Brown's piano and harpsichord, the remaining instruments were played by session musicians. David was soon ousted from the band by Lookofsky after the drummer ran off to California with Brown; Lookofsky had the underage pair stopped by police at the airport and sent home. 

by Scott Schinder 

Tracks
1. Pretty Ballerina (M. Brown) - 2:38
2. She May Call You Up Tonight (M. Brown, S. Martin, Caro) - 2:21
3. Barterers And Their Wives (T. Feher, M. Brown) - 3:00
4. I've Got Something On My Mind (S. Martin, Caro, G. Cameron, M. Brown) - 2:49
5. Let Go Of You Girl (S. Martin, Caro, G. Cameron, M. Brown) - 2:55
6. Evening Gown (T. Feher, M. Brown) - 1:46
7. Walk Away Renee (M. Brown, T. Sansone, B. Calilli) - 2:44
8. What Do You Know (T. Feher, M. Brown) - 3:00
9. Shadows Breaking Over My Head (S. Martin, Caro, M. Brown) - 2:36
10.I Haven't Got The Nerve (G. Cameron, S. Martin, Caro) - 2:16
11.Lazy Day (M. Brown, S. Martin, Caro) - 2:23

The Left Banke
*Tom Finn - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*George Cameron - Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Guitar
*Steve Martin Caro - Lead Vocals, Drums. Tambourine, Guitar, Bass
*Michael Brown - Piano, Harpsichord, Clavinet, Organ, Vocals
Additional Musicians
*Buddy Saltzman - Drums
*Harry Lookofsky - Violin
*Seymour Barab - Cello
*George Marge - Oboe
*Hugh McCracken - Guitar
*Joe Mack - Bass
*Al Gorgoni - 12-string Acoustic Guitar
*John Abbott - Guitar, Bass
*Warren David-Schierhorst - Drums
*Rick Brand - Guitar
*George "Fluffer" Hirsh - Guitar
*Al Rogers - Drums
*Jeff Winfield - Guitar

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Khazad Doom - Encore! (1968-70 us, impressive heavy psych melted with early prog, private press numbered edition)

Throughout the sixties and early seventies, a rock 'n' roll band from suburban Morton Grove, Illinois performed in and around Chicago. Even though they remained together about the same time as the Beatles dominated American pop charts, Khazad Doom (pronounced Kah' zud doom) never made it in the traditional sense. But artistically, over nine years, they forged a kind of music now called Progressive Rock.

After their split in 1972, during the eighties, the band achieved cult status when their promo album LEVEL 6 1/2 was reissued and distributed throughout Europe. Just one copy of the original LEVEL 6 1/2 vinyl rides the top of collectors' wish-lists and has traded for as much as $1,500 a copy!

In 1995, the limited edition retrospective CD called ENCORE! was burnt from Khazad Doom’s original tapes. It includes much of the band’s decade of output.

Like many so-called basement bands of the sixties, Khazad Doom employed various configurations, engaged in band battles, and sought the help of agents and recording gurus. Unlike other bands, Khazad Doom, influenced by the Beatles and other classically-based groups of the time, recorded frequently and included many original songs and rearrangements in its repertoire, hoping that would somehow help them progress along their path to stardom.

After the band performed around Chicagoland for several years, playing all original material and rearrangements, they pioneered writing and performing a decidedly non-rock genre when they introduced Stanley's Visit To Kerkle Morff, a moralistic fantasy that sounded right for Broadway, a full length feature cartoon, or a musical, more than a rock operetta. 

On a primitive recording set-up that shouldn't have worked, they recorded Stanley and a variety of other songs that still represent Khazad Doom at its best. Twenty-six years later that remastered recording makes up most of the ENCORE! limited edition CD, now sold out but still circulating among fans and collectors worldwide. The CD includes the best cuts from the LEVEL 6 1/2 project--The Hunters, "In this World," and "Narcissus."

Khazad Doom

Tracks
1. Cherry Town (As The Laymen) (Jack Eadon) - 3:12
2.  Love Wich We Share Among Us (As The Laymen) (Steve Yates) - 2:11
3.  The Prelude (Jack Eadon) - 12:18
4.  In The Den (Jack Eadon) - 4:32
5.  The Golden Yellow Meadow (Jack Eadon) - 6:56
6.  Narcsissus (Eadon, Sievers, Yates, Hilkin) - 5:05
7.  In This World (Steve Yates) - 2:42
8.  Nothing To Fear (Yates, Eadon, Dixon) - 2:44
9.  Excerpt From Uncle Gillroy/s Crazy Son (Jack Eadon) - 2:57  
10.Stanley/s Visit To Kerkle Morrf (Jack Eadon) - 12:26
11.Can/t Find Love Alone (Jack Eadon) - 2:50
12.Dirt (Jack Eadon) - 1:50
13.Paper Bus (Steve Yates) - 4:02
14.Frozen Faces (Steve Yates) - 3:38
15.Come With Me (1978) (Eadon, Sievers, Yates) - 4:14

Khazad Doom
*Jack Eadon - Guitar, Vocals
*Tom Sievers - Bass, Vocals
*Steve “Al” Yates - Organ, Vocals
*Steve “Crow” Hilkin - Percussion

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