What you're holding is nothing less than a remarkable historical document. Coming off a number two record in Reading, PA ("I Need Love Now"), the group was booked to play a WXAC record hop on February 16, 1968. For the event, engineer Clay Barclay masterminded a novel idea. Prior to the show, the Flowerz spent one long, 18-hour day at Barclay's Shillington recording facility. There they printed to tape high-octane versions of highlights from their live set.
During the performance, not only was Flowerz' on-stage sound amplified, but the musicians played [mostly] in sync with the pre-recorded tape which was also pumped out through the PA system. Barclay's rationale was that this ingenious concept would result in twice the energy and excitement. And from all reports, it succeeded big time!
Despite a few technical issues (like the band not always recalling what the next cued track on the tape was), the Flowerz plowed through song after song with confidence. Between cuts, the school's own disc jockeys emceed the event. Fortunately, most of their entertaining dialogue was captured for posterity.
On this CD are those pre-recorded studio tracks (the composite live sound wasn't recorded) along with the playful on-stage banter. For anyone who wishes to relive an authentic '60s teen dance, this artifact is the Holy Grail.
With talent, tight musicianship and team spirit on their side, the mighty Flowerz run circles around your prototypical teenage rock and roll combo. Aside from their way cool originals, the band lashes out rippin' versions of the rock hits of the day (a prerequisite of bands from that era). As you'll hear for yourself, many of these remakes give the "hits" a run for their money. Sure, the Flowerz were fertilized by a hearty appetite of Stones, Animals, and Byrds records-but managed to blossom with their own patented kick-butt sound.
Prejudice aside (yes, I run the label), singer Jeff Stout is unquestionably in the same league as top shelf '60s punkmeisters that include the Chocolate Watch Band's Dave Aguilar and the Electras' Tim Elfving (lest we forget Starlite and Barclay recording artist Steve Musser, who not only is known to '60s aficionados for his snarling vocal on the apocalyptic "I Can't See You," but also produced both Flowerz killer singles).
Musically speaking, these 22 Flowerz tracks (most of which have never been circulated) are as exciting as the genre gets. The band's chemistry adds up to something really special. Mike Leece and Barry Tucci's harmonious guitar counterpoint, Larry Skillman's grounded bass lines, Bill Sheffer's atmospheric organ parts and Jim Leinbach's rock solid drumming all add up to one heck of a great band. By nudging the established song tempos into overdrive (their secret weapon), you have the formula for a '60s garage-a-holic's wet dream.
Roll over Mick Jagger. Eat your heart out Eric Burdon. I hear the Flowerz are coming up strong and looking for a fight. Or was that Flyte...
by Erik Lindgren, February, 1998
Tracks
1. I Need Love Now (Mike Leece, Steve Musser) - 2:53
2. Talkin' About Love (Barry Tucci) - 2:43
3. Flyte (Barry Tucci, Steve Musser) - 2:17
4. Ups And Downs (Mark Lindsay, Terry Melcher) - 2:13
5. Hey Joe (Billy Roberts) - 2:40
6. Under My Thumb (Keith Richards, Mick Jagger) - 2:24
7. It's My Life (Carl D'Errico, Roger Atkins) - 2:51
8. Come On Down To My Boat (Jerry Goldstein, Wes Farrell) - 2:16
9. Let's Spend The Night Together (Keith Richards, Mick Jagger) - 3:15
10.Heart Of Stone (Keith Richards, Mick Jagger) - 3:12
11.Gimme Some Lovin' (Muff Winwood, Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood) - 2:44
12.Bend Me Shape Me (Larry Weiss, Scott English) - 2:19
13.Light My Fire (Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger) - 2:29
14.Wonderland By Night (Klaus Günter Neumann, Lincoln Chase) - 3:32
15.My Sad Story (Barry Tucci) - 2:08
16.All Day And All Of The Night (Ray Davies) - 2:13
17.Do You Believe In Magic (John Sebastian) - 1:58
18.Rumble (Fred Lincoln Wray, Sr., Milton Grant) - 2:47
Boogie-woogie blues rockers Canned Heat serve up a gyrating platter of previously-unleashed material, all recorded during three separate studio sessions. The album’s final three cuts (“Reefer Blues”, “You Tease Me” and “Something’s Gotta Go”) are the final recorded output from Heat founder/guitarist Alan Wilson, who committed suicide a few weeks after these studio sessions were made.
The album kicks off with the good-time party ambience of “Saturday Night Fish Fry”. Track four, “Drunk”, is a reeling ‘n’ rocking slab of slide guitar magic. Then there’s the rhythm and blues grinder, “Harry’s Open Pit and Bar B Que”.
Canned Heat fell by the wayside in the ’70s with the advent of disco and punk rock, but while those musical stylings have a tendency to come off as cliche and dated today, the Heat’s blistering rhythm and blues still sounds as fresh and new as the day it was canned.
by Yvette Cadeaux
The previously unreleased Atlantic Records session from 1974. Negotiated out of their UA contract, Canned Heat moved to Atlantic where notable blues enthusiasts the Ertegun Brothers were persuaded to give the band another chance. The tapes were released back to the band after the label lost interest due to the impending disco craze, and the infamous Lester Bang’s eloquent 1973 Rolling Stone thrashing of “The New Age.” LP. Fito de la Parra released the album in 1997.
An excellent boogie-blues record in a time that didn’t understand the music, The two unreleased Alan Wilson Tracks (Get Off My Back, Somethings Gotta Go) also appear on the newly released and available “The Boogie House Tapes Vol. 2”, and are a studio and live track that were some of his last recordings.
by Brett Lemke, Maximum Ink, 2004
Tracks
1. Saturday Night Fish Fry (Ellis Walsh, Louis Jordan) - 2:54
2. 50,000 Boogies (Fito de la Parra) - 4:22
3. I Hear You Knocking (Joseph Delton Miller) - 2:20
4. Drunk (Jimmy Liggins) - 3:36
5. If It Ain't One Thing It's Another (Huey Pierce Smith) - 2:23
6. Harry's Open Pit and Bar B Que (Eugene P.Barnett, Steve David Nemeth) - 2:20
7. I Idolize You (Ike Turner) - 5:59
8. The Beggar (Fito de la Parra) - 3:29
9. Choking To Death (Jerry Williams Jr., Stanley McKenny) - 3:34
10.Sad Ol' Mountain Sorrow (James Shane) - 4:56
11.Boogie 'n' ues (Fito de la Parra) - 2:49
12.Reefer Blues (Fito de la Parra) - 1:52
13.You Tease Me (Fito de la Parra) - 4:53
14.Something's Gotta Go (Fito de la Parra) - 5:57
Tracks 1-10 recorded 1974 Maiami FL
Track 11 recorded 1977 Santa Monica CA
Tracks 12-14 recorded during a rehearsal Hollywood CA 1970
Canned Heat
*Bob "The Bear" Hite - Lead Vocals, Harmonica
*Henry "Sunflower" Vestine - Lead Guitar
*Fito de la Parra - Drums, Congas
*James Shane - Bottleneck Guitar, Vocals
*Ed Beyer - Keyboards
*Harvey Mandel - Lead Guitar (Track 11)
*Richard Hite - Bass
*Chris Morgan - Rhythm Guitar (Track 11)
*Alan "Blind Ow!" Wilson - Guitar, Harmonica (Tracks 12-14)
The complete works of UK psychedelic outfit Tintern Abbey, who have developed a cult following over the years due to their 1967 single Beeside/Vacuum Cleaner, brought together in one package. This set contains a wealth of previously-unissued material, with the band’s acetate recordings, demos and studio outtakes being aired for the first time.
Deram Records DM 164, in commercial terms, wasn’t much of a success for the label. Decca’s progressive off-shoot put Tintern Abbey’s debut, Beeside/Vacuum Cleaner, out in the winter of 1967, with the hope it would prosper in the wake of fashionable psychedelic hits like See Emily Play by Pink Floyd and Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade of Pale. But despite these favourable conditions and the record being suitably way-out, it unfortunately made virtually zero impact and quickly slid into record shop bargain bins. Though the record was unloved at the time, in fact this was a remarkable outing, even for a psychedelic 7-inch. Lashings of echo and feedback, and a savage guitar break, give Vacuum Cleaner a unique period feel and Beeside phases out in a stunningly chilled way after a serene piano intro.
Given the lack of response the single received, it was no real surprise that not much more was heard from Tintern Abbey. A projected 1968 follow-up on Deram, How Do I Feel Today?/Do What You Must, failed to appear and though there were whispers in the music press of sessions for a TA album release, nothing was forthcoming. The band worked on some new material, but split up in 1969 and that seemed to be that.
Whilst the various band members then got on with other things, Tintern Abbey’s sole single was playing the long game. Over the years, the record has been rediscovered by psychedelic crate diggers as one of the great lost singles of the era and that, in turn, has sparked renewed interest in the band itself. Further material leaked out sparingly, an EP of tracks recorded in 1968 emerging in 2006 and a few demo items creeping out on ‘various artists’ albums, along with Beeside and Vacuum Cleaner becoming mainstays on psych/freakbeat compilations.
But what about the enigmatic band behind the record? The formation of Tintern Abbey began in 1967, when guitarist Don Smith, a member of The Turnkeys, saw David MacTavish playing as part of a forgotten band in an Earl’s Court club. The pair plotted a new venture and when David bumped into Stuart Mackay at the local job centre, they had found their bass player. Mackay, originally part of Yorkshire band The Sect, had stayed on in London when his band broke up and went back home up North. The final part in the jigsaw was drummer John Dalton, again picked out by Smith when taking in another group at the fashionable Cromwellian nightspot. Naming themselves after Wordsworth’s famous poem, Tintern Abbey were born.
After cutting a couple of tunes, Busy Bee (an early version of Beeside) and Black Jack, in July 1967 at the now-famed R.G. Jones Studio in Morden, South London, the band found a backer in wealthy rich kid Nigel Samuel, somewhat of a 1960s mover and shaker. The band found a base in the former headquarters of The International Times in swanky Knightsbridge. Samuel had bankrolled the paper and his influence had the double-edged sword of the band being well-represented and overexposed in its pages.
Tintern Abbey were then sent to a Cornwall cottage by Samuel to focus on their music. “Getting yourself together in the country” wasn’t unheard of for psych bands at the time and this gave the group an opportunity to work on their craft, away from the worries of the world. As it happens, their stay attracted the unwanted attention of the local old bill, who didn’t much care for what they must have thought were a bunch of long-haired layabouts on their manor.
On their return from the sojourn in the South West, Nigel Samuel had got the band a deal on the Deram record label, who had high hopes for them being their first psychedelic stars. Tintern Abbey had worked on developing the song Vacuum Cleaner whilst in Cornwall. It had its roots in another police raid they endured on receipt of the new speakers Samuel had purchased for them and the need to vacuum their abode before another visit from the drugs squad. The song featured on the flipside of Busy Bee, now renamed Beeside, and was inspired by, of all people, veteran comic Arthur Askey. The record flopped, but received some encouraging reviews.
Not all was well with Tintern Abbey and soon a fissure appeared between pill-popper Don Smith and the rest of the band, who in their leisure time were more drawn towards cannabis. The two habits produced diametrical effects, so something had to give and Smith left the band. His replacement was Paul Brett, who had previously played in Arthur Brown’s band. The band selected him after snubbing a certain David Gilmour. Brett didn’t last too long and was replaced himself by Colin Foster, and John Wilson came in on drums for Dalton. This version of the band worked on some new numbers, many of which make up disc two of this set, but called it a day for good early on in 1969.
by Ian Canty, 18 August 2021
Tracks
Disc 1
1. Beeside (Dave MacTavish) - 3:28
2. Vacuum Cleaner (Dave MacTavish) - 3:06
3. Snowman - 4:03
4. Tanya - 2:59
5. Black Jack - 3:01
6. Bodmin Blow - 3:00
7. My Prayer - 5:24
8. Let The Wind Blow - 4:56
9. Stickleback - 2:51
10.Busy Bee - 3:48
11.Snowman - 4:35
12.Beeside (Dave MacTavish) - 3:17
13.Vacuum Cleaner (Dave MacTavish) - 2:59
14.Do What You Must - 2:40
15.How Do I Feel Today? - 2:12
16.Hookah - 2:54
17.People Can't See - 2:49
18.Naked Song - 2:06
Tracks 3-11 written by Stuart MacKay, John Dalton, Dave MacTavish, Don Smith
Tracks 14-18 written by Stuart MacKay, Paul Brett, John Dalton, Dave MacTavish
Disc 2
1. Nightfall - 2:48
2. Mrs Daisy - 2:36
3. Blue Pants - 2:53
4. People Can’t See - 3:33
5. How Do I Feel Today? - 2:33
6. Magic Horsemen - 2:49
7. My Zoo - 3:20
8. Dream - 4:18
9. My House - 3:58
10.Life Goes By - 5:37
11.My Prayer (Version 2) - 4:23
12.Raspberry Ripple - 6:27
13.Mrs Daisy - 2:32
14.Reaching For Nothing - 2:57
15.Witchcraft - 3:04
16.Something - 4:23
17.Strange Dame - 3:46
18.Snowman - 5:13
Tracks 7, 13 written by Stuart MacKay, Paul Brett, John Dalton, Dave MacTavish
Tracks 8-10, 12, 14-17 written by Stuart MacKay, Colin Forster, John Dalton, Dave MacTavish
Tracks 11, 18 written by Stuart MacKay, John Dalton, Dave MacTavish, Don Smith
The Chris Braun Band, originally formed in Dortmund in 1970 as a rebranding of The Faces, showcased a dynamic blend of blues rock and progressive styles, drawing early comparisons to bands like Frumpy.
Led by Joachim Bernstein, the group initially gained recognition for their energetic live performances across dance schools and clubs throughout Germany. In 1970, vocalist Chris Braun joined the band, prompting a shift in their sound with the addition of Elmar Krohn on flute. The band’s achievements included a notable finish at the German Beat Festival in Recklinghausen.
Despite limited commercial success, their recordings, including the acclaimed album ‘Both Sides’ (1972) on BASF, received critical praise for its musical depth and Braun’s distinctive vocal style. Over the years, the band underwent several lineup changes and stylistic shifts, contributing to the evolving landscape of German rock music until their finally dissolution.
Some time after the debut album was released, the band broke up because the drummer joined German armed forces. They experimented with various musicians but didn’t find a promising lineup. Frustrated by this situation, Chris and Joachim decided to completely restructure. That’s when drummer Ralph Bloch, guitarist Bernd Adamkewitz, and pianist Klaus Melcher joined the Chris Braun Band. They were seasoned musicians with extensive experience in different music genres and were eager to pursue more sophisticated compositions and performances with the band.
This led to a completely new, musically challenging repertoire, which, however, faced its limitations during live performances. The Chris Braun Band existed from 1970 to 1977, after which all the musicians went their separate ways.
by Klemen Breznikar, June 17, 2024
Tracks
1. Nobody But You (Pauer, Bernd Adamkewitz, Chris Braun) - 4:28
2. Foreign Lady (Bernd Adamkewitz, Chris Braun) - 7:33
3. Times Growing Worse (Bernd Adamkewitz) - 3:19
4. While You Are Thinking (Bernd Adamkewitz, Chris Braun) - 2:06
5. The Narrator (Bernd Adamkewitz, Chris Braun) - 4:08
6. He's Got No Joker (Neukirch, Klaus Melchers, Chris Braun) - 3:37
The Canadian psychedelic rock band The Dorians was formed by John Unger and Bob Nixon in Kingsville, Ontario, in 1968. Over the period from 1969 to 1972, they released four singles recorded at "GM Studios" in Detroit (USA). "If I Were 21 And You Were 24/Wanna Hear Your Music Playing", "Help For My Waiting/ Means And Ways "Psychedelic Lipstick/Good Love "and" My Land Of Magic/Psychedelic Lipstick These hits have spread (have been reprinted several times) all over the world, in their native Canada on the label "GM", in Germany and Austria on "Vogue", in the Netherlands and other Benelux countries on "Stateside", in Italy and Switzerland on "PDU", in the neighboring States on "Big Tree", in Spain ("Belter"/"Discophon") and, of course, in the "old woman" of Britain ("Embers" label). Some of these songs were included in the only full-length album by The Dorians, entitled "Rock Concerto" (1970), released, of course, on vinyl, on the Swiss label "PDU (Platten Durcharbeitung Ultraphone)", now based in Liechtenstein. The Dorians were discovered by Ray Charles band member Floyd James in 1970.
Liner-notes
Tracks
1. Torch Song - 3:51
2. Owl Pussy Cat - 2:44
3. Rock Concerto - 9:51
4. Help For My Waiting - 2:56
5. Judith - 2:58
6. Means And Ways - 2:52
7. Good Love - 3:10
8. Psychedelic Lipstick - 3:15
All songs by Bob Nixon, tracks 4,6,7 co-written with Floyd James
New York singer-songwriter Paul Martin (born Paul Myerberg) released a couple of way-obscure singles in 1966-67, and recorded a lot of unreleased demos at the same time; many of these were collected for a 1996 release on Distortions.
This is a truly defining album of 60’s jangle pop and is as interesting as it is beautiful due to the fact it concentrates on the the three prevalent jangle-pop styles at the time with absolute ease. Initially tracks such as You Don’t Seem to Understand, It Happened and The Last Remains of Our Love present 60’s British pop jangle superbly marrying snotty vocals to big booming drums and baselines as the treble flutters about incidentally in the background offering brief chimes. In my mind and as much as I try and prevent the image, these are the sort of tracks that Austin Powers types should have been getting ‘groovy’ to in 60’s London.
Martin then moves on to the psyche-rock/folk end of the jangle-pop spectrum. In tracks such as You Were There and All That’s left. Here the song craft becomes more pronounced and the jangle impetus more insistent as it drives the tracks rather than being a mere compliment to the other dominant musical factors. The jangle becomes the Beef in the Beef Wellington rather than merely the pastry.
The standout tracks of the album are undoubtedly The Byrds inspired Your is the Life and How Many Tears Must I Cry which mimic their influences perhaps a bit too much, which is ultimately forgiven because it is done with such accomplishment.
However It is not a complete jangle-pop festival. Martin appears to be something of the complete 60’s artist forcing the listener to go through 5/6 tracks of Engelbert Humperdinck / Neil Diamond (I actually thought it was Neil Diamond singing on Without Your Love) style crooning on romantic ballads that wistfully confess love for an unknown wonder-lady. Extremely impotent. However it is worth sitting through the occasional dross to find the regular jangle-pop / psyche-folk nuggets.
The Haunted came out of Montreal, Quebec, with a dirty and scruffy bad boys image. Formed by Jurgen Peter, it has previously been reported that the band formed as an instrumental group called The Blue Jays in late 1963. This is now known to be incorrect, although the band did start out playing instrumentals, with Bob Burgess on bass, The Blue J's were a separate high-school act for whom Jurgen Peter stood in on guitar once for one gig which was broadcast on local radio.
Jurgen Peter:- "In Canada, in the early '60s, there was no such thing as a commercial music industry. The DJ's played only American records and it was common knowledge that they lived off "payola" from the record companies. When we, The Haunted, started to play as a band in the Montreal area, there was no way to get a recording contract, no one to play your records, no booking agency to book us, no large shows and paying gigs to play at, no music magazine or anything like it to promote a local band."
"I had to scout out large halls and skating arenas and rent them from the local communities for a Friday night show/dance. Then I went to the local school commission and rented six or seven school busses for that night in order to 'import' our home based Fan Club. I soon found out that if you hired the local DJ to be the master of ceremonies at your show, and gave him a percentage of the gate, he would plug that show all week long without having to buy airtime at a ridiculous price, and if you did have a record, he would actually play it on the air. With the explosion and dominance of the British bands Canada wanted to follow suit and soon the local record companies and radio stations smelled money and latched on to the bands that had the most following."
"I also realized that I needed a 'vehicle' that would promote The Haunted so I got together with one of our Montreal DJ Dave Boxer from CFCF. (He later brought The Beatles into Canada) and formed and incorporated both a bi-weekly music paper ('Music Trend') and a booking agency (Groups And Sound Service aka GASS.) After a successful show, the public wanted to come back the following week and it gave me an opportunity to book some of the other local bands."
In 1965, David Wynne joined from The Rabble, swapping places with Brian Robillard. David:- "I played with The Haunted at the Montreal Forum when we won a Battle of the Bands competition. The prize was a recording session where we cut 1-2-5. Afterwards, Mason left and Michel St German of Les Sinners was hired temporarily to fill-in. Other bands in the competition included David Clayton-Thomas, The Shays and Les Classels etc."
Their first 45, the garage classic 1-2-5 was a hit in Canada in April 1966 and was subsequently released in the U.S.A., Australia and some European countries. On early pressings the group's name was erroneously spelt as The Hunted. Co-written by Burgess and Peter, the 'A' side was a garage punk effort noticeable for its harmonica. The flip was another relatively catchy punk rocker.
Shortly after recording the second 45, David Wynne, left the band. (Though soon afterwards he joined Influence.) A new Haunted line-up (E) came into place, but after the release of, I Can Only Give You Everything which was in a similar style to 1-2-5 and also a minor hit, they left Quality Records for Trans-World. Burgess left too after a row with Peter.
The album included their first and third singles, cover versions of Sam Cooke's Shake and Jagger-Richards' Out Of Time, a self-penned psycho-punk number, Horror Show, as well as some blues (St Louis Blues), Arthur Lee's A Message To Pretty and a couple of other offerings. Good as it sounded it was not The Haunted at their best.
Jurgen Peter:- "By that time The Haunted had avalanched into fame and money. Our fan club was organized with thousands of members. We were on TV almost weekly, and our 45's were playing on most of the radio stations."
The fourth single was similarly mis-credited production-wise, but was relatively weak and made little impact on the charts. Land Of Make Believe, issued in May 1968, was a self-penned Hendrix-influenced acid-blues number. 1968 also saw the release of the 45 on Jet to coincide with the documentary about the group. This is a very sought-after single. Apparently Burgess wrote the 'B' side in ten minutes whilst the rest of the band were recording the 'A' side. It was recorded in New York at the same time as the band's second single.
Jurgen Peter:- "At the end of 1968, Dave Boxer and myself dissolved both Musix Trend and GASS as it was no loger needed and I was just overwhelmed with my own band business at the same time playing and recording. At that time already we couldn't go anywhere without being cornered for autographs or photos."
"We were the most sought after and highest paid Canadian band for many years. When I folded the band in 1971, I had to cancel a whole year of advance bookings and it cost me a fortune in lawyer's fees to get out of some of them."
You can also seek out the band on various compilations, Eight O'Clock In The Morning has resurfaced on I Was A Teenage Caveman, 1-2-5 can be heard on Pebbles, Vol. 1, Get Primitive (The Best Of Pebbles) and both the 45 and LP version of this classic grace Songs We Taught The Fuzztones. Vapeaur Mauve can be found on Pebbles, Box Set. Finally, their cover of Message To Pretty graces Sixties Rebellion, Vol. 8: Love Covers.
The best and most accessible source for this seminal outfit's released material is via Greg Shaw's Rough Diamonds series on Voxx. Two volumes, Return From The Grave (Voxx VXM 200.012) 1983 and I'm Just Gonna Blow My Little Mind To Bits (Voxx VXM 200.013) 1983 come complete with a comprehensive (but distorted) history and include unreleased material as well as the tracks recorded by Burgess' Our Generation. Heartily recommended. There's also a CD Haunted (Voxx VCD 2012) 199?, combining both the Voxx albums on one CD.
by Vernon Joynson with the help of Dave Wynne, Al Birmingham, Jurgen Peter
Tracks
1. 1-2-5 (Bob Burgess, Jurgen Peter) - 2:33
2. Shake (Sam Cooke) - 2:27
3. Horror Show (Al Birmingham, Nick Sarecino, Mason Shea, Jurgen Peter, Johnny Monk) - 5:30
4. Untie Me (Joe South) - 4:44
5. I Can Only Give You Everything (Phil Coulter, Tommy Scott) - 3:01
6. Eight O'Clock This Morning (Allan Birmingham, Bob Burgess) - 2:23
The Easybeats came together in the austere Villawood Migrant Hostel in the major Australian city of Sydney during 1964. Englishman Stevie Wright, already residing in the country for some years, was singing as Chris Langdon with a group called The Langdells. The other four members of The Easybeats were new arrivals: Scotsman George Young (whose brother Alexander played in Tony Sheridan's Big Six, Liverpudlian Gordon 'Snowy' Fleet (formerly with the Mojos), Dutchmen Harry Vanda (guitarist with crack instrumental outfit The Starfighters) and Dick Diamonde.
By the beginning of 1965, The band had a manager, regular work in Sydney beat clubs and a recording contract with Albert Productions. Allowed creative freedom by sympathetic producer / mentor Ted Albert, the group developed a brash, fresh and exciting sound which quickly set them apart from the then current crop of 'cover/copy' acts around them. George and Stevie became amazingly prolific young songwriters: Stevie developing a knack for knocking out quick succinct lyrics and George having an exceptional capacity for melody and musical structure.
After impressing with their first bluesy single, 'For My Women', The Easybeats stormed to the top of the Australian charts in May 1965 with their second single, the dynamic 'She's So Fine'. This begun the ferocious phenomena of 'Easyfever'. It is not naA?ve to say that no incident of Beatlemania or Rolling Stone Fever anywhere in the world surpassed the absolute peak of Easyfever. Airports, television studios, theatres and hire cars were reduced to rubble, fans were hospitalised and general mayhem reigned whenever the band allowed themselves to be seen.
When a young fan magazine foolishly revealed the Young family's address, over three hundred girls from four local high schools descended upon the house that same afternoon. Twenty of them forced their way into the house, whereupon they ran amok, trampling a young Angus and, until stopped by police, seizing anything they could lay their hands on (including George).
Within less than eighteen months The Easybeats had racked up no less than 8 smash hits, some double a-sides. The killers included 'Sorry', 'Wedding Ring' and 'Women'. The overwhelming popularity of the band proved to Australian music that is was viable to write and perform original songs in an original style. It gave other artists a confidence in their own abilities.
By the end of 1966 The Easybeats saga was taking on almost fairytale proportions and the best was yet to come. Bravely they set off to conquer England and by November that year they had cracked the international top twenty with the sublime working class anthem 'Friday On My Mind' (since recorded by David Bowie, Peter Frampton and dozens of others). The band toured Europe with The Rolling Stones before returning to Australia in triumph for a national tour commencing in May 1967. George Young recalls, 'it was the highpoint of the group's career. We didn't come back with the standard excuses for failure. Australia had never any acts that had done it like that before. There was no bull, it was real'.
After being hailed as conquering warriors by their adopted countrymen (including the Lord Mayor of Sydney, who gave then a civic reception), The Easybeats headed back to England, this time without Snowy. He had decided to jump off the treadmill and yield his drummer's stool to Tony Cahill, from the ferocious Purple Hearts. Back in England George Young began to emerge as a creative genius on the level of a Ray Davies, Pete Townsend, Ron Wood or even a John Lennon. He began collaborating with Harry Vanda on vast, ambitious and often sumptuous studio works that are now recognised as staggering achievements (some featuring back up vocals by a young Olivia Newtown-John and Small Face Stevie Marriott). Unfortunately, a sad combination of events, including the banning of the visionary track 'Heaven & Hell', inconsistent musical style and lack of proper career direction rendered the group and their songs the best kept secret in London. By 1969 it was all over, crumbled in a stoned, confused haze.
The only other British top twenty hit had been 'Hello, How Are You?' and only loyal Australians gave chart success to the likes of 'Good Times', 'Land Of Make Believe', 'The Music Goes Round My Head' and 'Do You Have A Soul?'. In 1969, just as they disbanded, The Easybeats enjoyed a final American hit with St. Louis.
The split of The Easybeats allowed Vanda & Young to commence their production / songwriting / recording career in earnest. After releasing material under such bizarre names as The Marcus Hook Roll Band, Band Of Hope, Tramp, Moondance, Haffey's Whiskey Sour and Paintbox, the pair achieved international success as Flash & The Pan, scoring numerous British and European chart hits including 'Waiting For A Train'.
Apart from having their songs recorded by the likes of Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Grace Jones, Suzi Quatro, the Bay City Rollers, John Paul Young and hundreds of others, they produced the first six albums for AC/DC.
The 2001 Australian Performing Rights Association awards saw Friday On My Mind named as the most influential Australian song of the past 75 years.
Describing the music of The Easybeats can convey only a glimmer of the magic it radiates, Not only is it the finest rock ever recorded in Australia but among the finest ever recorded anywhere. Throughout the world, Easybeat devotees are legion and all those who hear are instantly converted.
Three straight years, three straight Sire LPs on the national charts for Stanky Brown from New York City. "If The Lights Don't Get You The Helots Will" from 1977 is their second and one of those 70s records that has everything going for it, but somehow never got a chance to get off the mark – well-written and catchy tunes, a tight approach to production that's also somehow fresh, and a sense of personality that marks this second set by the band to be one where they're really hitting their stride! The record's of the AOR generation, but it's also got a sense of individuality that really shines through – never too polished, but also not an indie effort as well – and some nice echoes of the kind of cuts that would have peaked on British radio a few years before. Titles include "Confident Man", "Coaltown", "As A Lover I'm A Loser", "Alone Tonight", "Good To Me", "Free & Easy", and "Faith In The Family"
Tracks
1. Coal Town (Jeff Leynor) - 3:22
2. Life Beyond (James Brown, Frank Greene) - 4:05
3. Woman, Don't Let It Slip Away (James Brown, Frank Greene, Jeff Leynor) - 3:28
4. Confident Man (James Brown) - 3:15
5. Faith In The Family (James Brown, Frank Greene) - 3:55
6. Alone Tonight (James Brown, Frank Greene) - 3:11
7. Good To Me (James Brown) - 3:12
8. As A Lover, I'm A Loser (James Brown) - 2:31
9. Stop In The Name Of Love (Brian Holland, Edward Holland, Jr., Lamont Dozier) - 3:06
10.Free And Easy (Jeff Leynor) - 5:05
The Stanky Brown Group
*Ames Brown - Keyboards, Vocals
*Jeffrey Leynor - Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Vocals
Dhope from Paderborn in Westphalia played progressive rock in the style of the seventies. Their only LP, "Musical exhibitions" from 1978, contains almost exclusively their own songs, appears only very rarely on the record market and has not yet been re-released. Keyboardist Niko Dragun (born in February 1955) tells the story of Dhope in his own words:
"It all started in the seventies in Brilon, a small town in the Sauerland. In the youth centre there, a soundproof rehearsal room had been set up that was available to everyone. Various musicians met there again and again to do sessions together. Two of them were the singer Thomas Haberland (born in January 1959) and me, the keyboard player Niko Dragun. We both enjoyed jamming together so much that we decided to form a band. We got Heinz Weber as a drummer, with whom we had already rocked out several times. Heinz later played the drums for the Short Romans for many years. Finally, bass player Christoph Brumberg joined us, who later played guitar in the Brilon band Crossfire.
One day Christoph brought along a work colleague: Erlend Luck (born in November 1957) had already gained experience as a songwriter and band musician. And these five 'professionals' called themselves Random Music. Our role models were German rock legends like Jane, Novalis and Grobschnitt, but also English-language bands like Genesis and Jethro Tull. When I got a place to study in Paderborn, the rehearsal room was moved there. At that time, the drummer parted ways with the band. Heiko Klingenberg (born in November 1957) was brought in as the new drummer, and Claus Peter (born in November 1956) also joined as the new bass player. Both also studied in Paderborn. Claus had previously played in the Gütersloh band Corpus and occasionally filled in as a substitute bass player in other bands. Christoph now exchanged the bass for a guitar, but left the band after the first gig of the new formation, which now renamed itself Dhope.
And then it took off. We put together a rock repertoire with German and English lyrics, which we presented at the university festival 'Musik für 'ne Mark' (Music for one Mark) at a late hour in front of a full house and brought the place to the boil. Xenon, whose guitarist Reinhard Hennecke (born in October 1959), who had previously played with the Meschede band Ephesus, met Claus at this event. The two of them did an extensive jam session after the Dhope gig, which went so well that Reinhard also joined us. At some of the early concerts, Christian Voss, a guest musician friend from Bielefeld, had also played percussion. With the new musicians, new, e.g. funky, stylistic elements flowed into the music. More gigs followed. Among other things, we also played as the opening act for Ramses. Soon after, we decided to produce the LP 'Musical Exhibitions' at our own expense.
All in all, the money was enough for just under a week in the studio, although this studio was by no means comparable to that of a Conny Plank. The record label, Harz Records, reflected our limited financial possibilities. With the LP, the possibilities for gigs could be improved, as the acceptance by promoters was increased. And especially live performances showed the quality of the band with a very high degree of joy in playing and improvisation. Although Dhope combined various stylistic elements, they always saw themselves as one of the last Krautrock bands in the tradition of Eloy, Epitaph, Karthago, Jane and Birth Control. Psychedelic passages combined with melody rock and funk were combined according to the motto of the gigs 'Lust und Laune' ('on a whim'). We were also one of the few bands that sang in both German and English. This is reflected in the LP, and the title 'Musical Exhibitions' was meant to express this diversity. By the way, the idea for the cover artwork came from Thomas, the singer. The execution was done by a friend from Brilon, the highly talented draughtsman Ralf Jupe. In the lyrics, an examination of themes of the transition from the seventies to the eighties becomes clear.
'Dream Of Peace' and 'Auf ein Wort, Herr General' ('May I have a Word with you, General?') undoubtedly reflect the pacifist spirit of the time, but when you look at what is happening in the world at the moment, they are more topical than ever. With 'X-Ray', the subject of nuclear power was taken up. And somehow the boys also mourned the ‘old times', the 68ers and the hippie movement, whose high points they had not consciously experienced themselves. This becomes clear in the song 'Monotony'. So besides the fun of music, a social-political approach was also important to the band. Progressiveness instead of conformity. In 1980/81, the original line-up of the band changed. Thomas, who in the meantime had got a place at university in Mönchengladbach, Erlend and I left the band. Heiko, Claus and Reinhard looked for new musicians and played together as Dhope for about two more years. But the style changed from so-called Krautrock to the somewhat harder Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave).
I still played in various Paderborn bands such as Chashed Briegel, Wart's Ab and One Of A Kind. Thomas is still the singer of the Stanley Beamish Blues Band from Gladbach. Reinhard joined the Paderborn hard rock band Stryker as bass player after his time with Dhope. Yes, that's how it was back then. It was a long, long time ago that the band carried their heavy equipment out of the rehearsal room into the cars on an early Monday morning to rush into the Harz mountains and record this longplayer: 'Musical Exhibitions'. Have fun with it!"
A few things can be added to this. The artists first asked the well-known producer Conny Plank from Wolperath for the recordings, but they couldn't pay him and had to go elsewhere. The edition of the LP "Musical exhibitions" (Harz Records RP 10213) was 500 copies, as far as the musicians can remember. But for that it appears very seldom. The main purpose of the release was that they could get gigs better with an LP to show for it. The Harzstudio/Tonstudio Hahn in Osterode, where the tracks were recorded at that time, no longer exists, owner Hahn is probably no longer alive. Harz Records was the studio's own label, but only a few records were released there. The actual order number, RP 10213, is written on the narrow spine of the cover. What is given as the order number on Discogs (www.discogs.com) -76.21016-01 is the matrix number in the run-off of the LP. It was probably set by the cutting studio and stamped into the matrix, not incised. The group commissioned studio owner Hahn to handle the pressing order, and he in turn apparently had the whole thing run through Record Partner from Hamburg, as indicated by the abbreviation "RP" in the order number. It is important to know that Record Partner do not have their own pressing plant, but rather have the LPs manufactured wherever there is free capacity.
So it's an agency that provides its expertise, relieving artists and small labels of the sometimes cumbersome steps involved in releasing a record or CD. The rights, however, were and are held solely by the artists. Almost all the songs on the LP were written by Dhope themselves. The lyrics of "Do it another way" were written by Gerry Phillips, a friend of the group, and those of "Auf ein Wort, Herr General" are loosely based on a text by Woile. Six of the ten pieces are sung in English, two are instrumentals ("Aufbruch" and "Flying" which has nothing to do with the Beatles song of the same name), the first ("Monotonie") is sung in German, and the last ("Auf ein Wort, Herr General") is spoken in German. The photograph on the back of the LP cover was snapped by a daughter of studio owner Hahn and shows from left to right Thomas Haberland, Reinhard Hennecke, Heiko Klingenberg, Niko Dragun, Claus Peter and Erlend Luck. What does the band name actually mean? Originally they wanted to call themselves Deutsche Hoffnung (German Hope), sometimes abbreviated to D. Hope in Germish/Denglish. They simply merged that into Dhope. So it has nothing to do with the name Dope for hashish. The meaning of the LP title "Musical exhibitions" has already been explained by Niko Dragun in his review. The cover shows, appropriately enough, a few drawn exhibitionists, an idea of singer Thomas Haberland. The only concert poster of Dhope can be seen here in the booklet at hand on page 13, but there were also a few festival posters on which, among others, Dhope were mentioned. The colour photographs on pages 17 to 23 were snapped at a Dhope gig in Paderborn. The one on page 15 shows Reinhard Hennecke with his former band Xenon. And the black and white photograph on page 14 shows Christian Nóvé from Dice and Claus Peter at a joint jam session in Mohns Park in Gütersloh in the summer of 1976, before Dhope was founded.
Thomas Haberland started his studies in Mönchengladbach in the winter semester 1980/81 - that is in the autumn of 1980 - whereupon he left the group, as did Niko Dragun and Erlend Luck. The others continued to play with new people under the old name for a few years, at least until 1984, roughly in the style of the NDW group Fee from Brunswick. The collectors' value of the Dhope LP increased considerably over the decades. In the fourth and last edition of the "Cosmic Price Guide to Original Krautrock Records" (Reinbek 2018) by Ulrich Klatte, which has been greatly expanded in the meantime, it is listed at €300 for mint condition. The year of release is listed there as 1976. The LP is not listed at all in the otherwise fairly complete Rock&Pop price catalogue 2020/21 of the German record collectors' magazine "Oldie-Markt" - a sign of its great rarity. Hans Pokora, lacking experience values for this record, lists the LP in his book "6001 Record Collector Dreams” (Vienna 2010) with an all too modest two units, which corresponds to a value of €100 to €180; so he preferred to remain cautious with his estimate. On the internet at Discogs (www.discogs.com), only one copy is currently (2021) offered, at a price of €750. At Popsike (www.popsike.com), six sales results are listed. The most expensive specimen listed there was sold for €561, on Ebay Germany in 2012, with 22 bidders, in not quite mint condition (mint-). The next most expensive one sold in the same year for €462, also on Ebay Germany, also not in mint condition. If you extrapolate the results to mint condition, you get a value of about €500-700.
The exact year of the LP's release has been a mystery until now, as it is neither mentioned on the cover, nor on the label, nor in the run-off. The style suggests theseventies, which of course doesn't mean anything. The matrix number in the run-off of the LP (76.21016-01-1/1 on the A side and 76.21016-01-2 on the B side) starts with the number 76, which could be taken as a hint. And so on Discogs, on Rateyourmusic (https://rateyourmusic.com) and in all four editions of Ulrich Klatte's "Cosmic Price Guide" the year of release is given as 1976, on YouTube sometimes 1976, sometimes 1981. Hans Pokora in his book "6001 Record Collector Dreams" gives the year 1977, wherever he got this information - probably just guessed. But if you go to Discogs, where often also the matrix numbers are mentioned, and look there under "Record Partner" (founded in January 1977), you will quickly find that the number sequence "76" has nothing to do with the year 1976. You can often find it there in the run-off, even on RP records from 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985 or 1986, for example. So it must be an internal numbering of the cutting studio, the pressing plant or Record Partner, independent of the year of release. The fact that there are other records listed on Discogs with the release year 1976, although Record Partner was only founded in 1977, also has nothing to say. Because on these releases, as with Dhope, no vintages are named on cover and label; they were merely assumed on the basis of the matrix numbers with the initial digits "76", nothing more - thus worthless and obviously incorrect information. In truth, the LP was recorded and released at the end of 1978, as far as the band members can remember.
Because of its great rarity, only a few reviews of the Dhope LP can be found. A short one, written by Alan Freeman, appeared in the English magazine Audion. Five more, also all written in English, can be read on the internet at Rateyourmusic (https:// rateyourmusic.com). The record is rated there by a total of 24 participants with 3.64 out of 5.00 possible units.
After such a long time it was not possible to find out who had taken the photographs back then. Should their reproduction infringe a copyright, we hereby apologise and are certainly willing to compensate the claims. The same applies to the poster reproduced, lyrics, etc.
Many thanks for their kind help to Claus Peter, Niko Dragun, Heiko Klingenberg, Reinhard Hennecke, Erlend Luck, Thomas Haberland-Jagielski, Ralf Jupe, Christian Voss, Gerry Phillips, Hans Pokora, Jürgen Kaun, the municipal archive Bad Driburg and the Westfalen-Blatt.
CD Liner Notes
Tracks
1. Monotonie - 2:48
2. Dream Of Peace - 7:36
3. No More Trouble - 3:22
4. Snowqueen - 4:53
5. Aufbruch - 3:40
6. Orientexpress - 3:50
7. Do It Another Way - 5:13
8. Flying - 2:40
9. X-Ray - 4:03
10.Auf Ein Wort Herr General - 6:00
All songs by Thomas Haberland, Claus Peter, Niko Dragun, Reinhard Hennecke, Erlend Luck, Heiko Klingenberg
