Plain and Fancy

1967 The Beat Of The Earth - The Beat Of The Earth (2016 remaster)

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

The Beat Of The Earth - The Electronic Hole (1970 us, raw, noisy, droning and completely mesmerizing, 2004 edition)

The Beat Of The Earth's The Electronic Hole, originally released in 1970. Second album from the cultish experimental jam band formed in 1967 in Orange County, California. Their second effort from 1970 -- The Electronic Hole -- takes a step away from their earlier work, being composed with definite song structures versus the earlier drawn-out freeform jams. Sounding much like a west-coast version of The Velvet Underground & Nico, the album has melodic motifs but is much more primitive and mysterious than its cousin, with loads of fuzz, haunting organ, Phil Pearlman vocals, and even some sitar, acoustic strumming, and ballad-like moments ("Love Will Find A Way, Part I"). The album includes even a wild cover of Frank Zappa's "Trouble Every Day". Had the story ended here it would have been a real tragedy, as Pearlman's finest hour was yet to come. Six years later (with who knows what in between), recording commenced on the majestic Relatively Clean Rivers album with an entirely new band and musical vision.

Tracks

1. The Golden Hill - 2:29

2. The Golden Hill - 3:14

3. The Golden Hill - 3:54

4. The Golden Hill - 7:04

5. Love Will Find A Way (Frank Zappa) - 2:56

6. Love Will Find A Way - 7:04

7. Love Will Find A Way - 5:39

All compositions by Phil Pearlman except where noted

The Beat Of The Earth

*Phil Pearlman- Vocals, Guitar

*Bill Younger

*Rick Mandelbaum

*Toni Sartorio

*Wendell Keesee III

Monday, April 21, 2025

Lambert And Nuttycombe - At Home (1970 us, mellow ballads, superb vocal harmonies and subtle guitar interplay, 2007 edition)

Craig Nuttycombe and the late Denis Lambert got their start as a folk duo in the Los Angeles area after years of playing in a number of different bands. After signing with A&M and a move to Sausalito — just north of San Francisco, they recorded this very special and intimate folk album of original material (save a cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles"), which received some FM airplay at the time, helping the duo garner a limited but dedicated following. The instrumentation is simple: two acoustic guitars and two singers harmonizing; the sound is soft, warm and heartfelt, as if they are singing and playing their guitars by the fireplace in your living room on a cool winter night while you pass the pipe around.

There is no pretension of musical virtuosity at work here, the stark arrangements for two acoustic guitars have one purpose only, which is to support the two as they harmonize and deliver their songcraft, and to that end the effort succeeds immeasurably. Think of Nick Drake's acoustic work, pre-psychedelic Donovan or perhaps Duncan Browne's earliest work for the general tone, though an additional dimension is added due to the harmonies, the end result being nothing short of magical.

by Peter Thelen, 2008-01-01

Tracks

1. Morning (Craig Nuttycombe, Denis Lambert) - 2:57

2. Time - 2:22

3. Bird Song - 2:47

4. My Own Beat (Craig Nuttycombe) - 2:02

5. Something On My Mind (Craig Nuttycombe) - 1:43

6. Mouse - 2:06

7. Ode To Drugan (Craig Nuttycombe, Denis Lambert) - 2:15

8. Putting Myself Together Again - 2:18

9. Mr. Bojangles (Jerry Jeff Walker) - 3:38

10.Country Song - 2:37

11.Heaven Knows (Where I've Been) - 1:55

12.Clover - 2:41

Tracks 2,3,6,8,10-12 written by Denis Lambert

Personnel

*Dennis Lambert - Vocals, Guitar

*Craig Nuttycombe - Vocals, Guitar

Sunday, April 20, 2025

Family Times Band - Family Times Band (1976 us, laid-back silky folk tinged psych rock, 2010 reissue)

Family Times Band consisted of two brothers and two sisters who hailed from Newport News, Virginia and released this their sole album in 1976 as a privately pressed edition of 500. Presented here for the first time on CD. This album runs the gamut from killer hypnotic acid folk psych "Sitting By The Ocean" to West Coast psychy folk rock "She's Gone", 3rd Velvets/Hackamore Brick sounds "All I Need", to fuzzed out rockers "Cause You Know". Overall it comes across as being very much a mixture of the Seventh Dawn "Sunrise" LP and the Art Of Lovin'. And despite the 1976 release date, this album is much more in keeping with 1969-70 sensibilities. Lead vocalist Don Leitzke sounds very much like Mandrake Memorial's Michael Kac."

Tracks

1. Sitting By The Ocean - 5:06

2. She's Gone - 3:15

3. My Love - 3:46

4. You've Got To Carry On - 3:25

5. The Morning's Just Begun - 2:19

6. Cause You Know - 2:20

7. That Was All Just A Game - 2:46

8. Everybody Get Happy - 2:20

9. All I Need - 2:37

10.What Should We Do - 2:44

All compositions by Don Leitzke

Family Times Band

*Don Leitzke - Guitar, Vocals

*Jen Leitzke - Keyboards, Vocals

*Amy Leitzke - Bass Guitar, Vocals

*Tom Leitzke - Percussion, Vocals

Saturday, April 19, 2025

The Beat Of The Earth - The Beat Of The Earth (1967 us, fascinating fresh and inventive psychedelic rock, 2016 remaster)

A foundational document of American private-press psychedelic rock emerge from decades-long shadows, deeply illuminated chapters authored by prototypical "terminally unique" Southern California artist/seeker Phil Pearlman and two of his early, briefly extant bands.

From 1967, Phil Pearlman (The Beat Of The Earth), leads a free assemblage of local Southern California acid-heads through loping Velvetica tribal incantations. The Beat of the Earth earns its name in two side-length jams brimming with eastern-tinged luminosity. It is the sun-dappled mirror of The Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray." Instead of the urban decay and black and white pop art of the Warhol scene, The Beat of the Earth represents the same idea, looking west across the Pacific. This comes from the same yet intrinsically polar opposite frame of mind from the VU noise marathons of their epic live shows. Mind-expanding psychedelia done by sun-gobbed hippies that were totally out of step with everything else happening in Southern California of the pop-psych '60s.

Tracks

1. The Beat Of The Earth Part One - 20:54

2. The Beat Of The Earth Part Two - 20:54

Words and Music by Phil Pearlman

Personnel

*Phil Pearlman - Vocals, Guitar

*James R. Nichols - Guitar

*Karen Darby - Vocals, Percussion, Guitar

*Ron Collins - Keyboards

*Sherry Phillips

Friday, April 18, 2025

Midnight - Into The Night (1978 us, raw garage-like underground hard rock)

Midnight is one of those 'shoulda/woulda/coulda' bands that might actually have made it -- had their utter youthfulness not got in the way. Hailing from the 'burbs of Olympia Fields, Country Club Hills, and Chicago Heights, Illinois, Dave Hill (keys), Scott Marquart (drums), Frank Anastos (guitar, vox), and John Falstrom (bass) were all record-obsessed teenagers taking music lessons at Homewood's Melody Mart in 1974. After meeting, they realized that Hill, Anastos and Falstrom went to Rich Central H.S. in Olympia Fields, while Marquart was just down the road at H-F High School in Flossmoor.

That same year they formed Midnight, covering hot and heavy hard rock songs from the likes of Uriah Heep, James Gang and Sabbath (natch!) -- but they evolved quickly, playing house parties and high schools around the south suburbs in '75. By the following year, despite the teenaged years of their members, they were playing nightclubs and colleges in and around Chicago, while adding electrifying original songs to their repertoire. In the fall of 1977, still lacking either management or producer, the kids recorded their LP Into the Night at A-K Sound Recording Studio in Orland Park, IL -- privately releasing it in early 1978 in a small edition, making it a majorly sought-after hard rock rarity today (Falstrom regularly gets offers of $100 or more for a copy!).

Distributed themselves (and barely promoted), the LP certainly covers all the heavy bases with a wickedly raw mix, at times sounding like proto-doomers Pentagram, with the odd, occasional boogie number and power-ballad as well. Following the release of Into the Night, the band continued to play out, including a show at the Aragon in late '79. Meanwhile, Midnight had recording sessions at multiple studios in and around the Chicagoland area -- but Falstrom reports with some considerable regret that they let the tapes 'slide though our fingers' over the years. He was recently able to locate and release the masters from a three-song EP recorded at Columbia College in 1979 and then lost for 30 years -- but Into the Night is the true legacy of Midnight. The end of Midnight came in 1980, when the band chose to stop playing live and focus on writing new material -- this insular existence led to irreplaceable powerhouse drummer Marquart quitting. And with that, the clock struck Midnight on this promising young rock group..."

Fo-Ex

Tracks

1. Train Of Thought (Dave Hill, Rick Goggin) - 4:02

2. Into The Pit - 3:28

3. Crazy Little Mama - 3:24

4. Smoke MY Cigarettes - 3:00

5. Time Will Tell - 6:08

6. Into The Night - 5:04

7. What's The Story - 4:46

8. Future Comes Our Way - 2:31

9. Auto-Kinetic Illusion - 4:06

10.Suicidal Ways - 2:27

All songs by John Falstrom, Scott Marquart, Frank Anastos, Dave Hill except track #1

Midnight

*John Falstrom - Bass Guitar

*Scott Marquart - Drums, Percussion

*Frank Anastos - Guitar, Backing Vocals

*Dave Hill - Keyboards, Lead Vocals

1965-71 The First Three E.P's
1967 Country Joe And The Fish - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die (2013 digi pack double disc set)
1967 Electric Music For The Mind And Body (2013 double disc remaster)
1968 Together (2005 Remaster)
1969 Live! Fillmore West
1969 Here We Are Again
1970 CJ Fish
1970 Tonight I'm Singing Just For You
1971 Hold On It's Coming
1971 War War War
1973 Paris Sessions
Related

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Country Joe And The Fish - Reunion (1977 us, fine folk psych rock, 2018 remaster)

“Reunion,” released in 1977, constituted a reunion of the 1967 version of Country Joe and the Fish. They wisely didn’t just dip into the old psychedelic well, because that really wasn’t likely to go over in 1977. Instead, they served up a bunch of country rock, some of it quite good (“Stateline Nevada” and “Insufficient Funds” stand out), and one of my favorite Christmas songs ever, “Dirty Claus Rag,” in which Santa steals a Christmas tree because they just don’t grow at the North Pole. The album is fun, and playable, and like most band reunion albums, it fails to capture the magic the band once had. I like it, I’ve had it since about 1979, sometimes I’ll play it — but this is a bunch of guys getting together for old times’ sake, not a rejuvenation. It would be their last album as a group of any sort. Country Joe went on to a long and continuing solo career, Barry Melton became a public defender; sometimes the band still gets together.

Tracks

1. Come to the Reunion (Gary Hirsh) - 3:03

2. Time Flies By (Joe McDonald) - 4:09

3. Stateline, Nevada (Barry Melton) - 2:03

4. Love Is a Mystery (Barry Melton) - 2:04

5. Dirty Claus Rag (Joe McDonald, Barry Melton, Sam Charters, Phil Marsh) - 2:04

6. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine (Joe McDonald) - 3:25

7. Thunderbird (Joe McDonald) - 3:42

8. Gibson's Song (Instrumental) (David Bennett Cohen) - 3:37

9. No One Can Teach You How to Live (Barry Melton) - 3:16

10.Insufficient Funds (Bruce Barthol, Phil Marsh) - 2:36

11.Dreams (David Bennett Cohen, Richardson) - 2:55

Country Joe And The Fish

*Country Joe McDonald - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Trombone (Track 3), Harmonica (Track 10)

*Barry Melton - Vocals, Electric, Acoustic Guitars, Mandolin, Dobro, Synthesizer (Track 9)

*David Bennett Cohen - Keyboards, Acoustic, Electric Guitars

*Bruce Barthol - Bass, Vocals (Track 10)

*Gary "Chicken" Hirsh - Drums, Percussion, Sandblocks (Track 5)

With

*John Otis - Congas

*Jim Price - Horns

*Bobby Keys - Horns

*Trevor Lawrence - Horns

*Steve Madaio - Horns

*Sam Charters - Jug (Track 5)

1969 Various Artists - Quiet Days In Clichy (2010 remaster)

1970 Barry Melton - Bright Sun Is Shining

1972 Melton Levy And The Dey Brothers - Melton Levy And The Dey Brothers (2001 remaster)

1966-69 Terry Reid - Superlungs / The Complete Studio Recordings (2004 two disc set)

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Terry Reid - The Other Side of The River (1973 uk, fascinating acid psych bluesy rock with unreleased material, 2016 digipak remaster)

British musician Terry Reid is a relatively unsung legend. With his incredible voice (that earned him the nickname “Superlungs”), spot-on songwriting, and underrated guitar skills, Reid invented new sounds and others followed suit. His 1973 LP, River, is an under-the-radar but deeply loved album. Our special new release, The Other Side Of The River, features all previously unreleased material from the River sessions, including six never-before-heard Reid compositions and five very different alternate takes of tracks from River.

Over the decades, as River went in and out of print, there were rumors of a mythological double album’s worth of unreleased material. The rumors turned out to be true, as the entire album was recorded twice: once with British producer Eddy Offord and again with the legendary Tom Dowd. The sessions captured Reid’s free-associative mix of folk, blues, rock, jazz, bossa-nova, soul, and samba, recalling at times Tim Buckley and Van Morrison, while featuring some remarkable guests including Gilberto Gil on percussion, Ike & Tina Turner’s Ikettes on vocals, and David Lindley, of psych band Kaleidoscope, on violin.

The Other Side Of The River includes songs that even Terry had forgotten – rockers in the style of the River track “Dean,” Latin grooves with percussionist Willie Bobo, and beautifully sparse vocal material not unlike David Crosby’s If Only I Could Remember My Name and John Martyn’s Solid Air.

Reid’s vocal prowess earned him offers to front both Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but he turned down both opportunities to carve out a distinctive solo career. Instead, he rocked on the sidelines, ultimately touring with Cream and Fleetwood Mac, writing songs for CSNY, and opening for The Rolling Stones on their 1969 tour. More recently, Terry’s songs have been covered by a number of younger artists including the Raconteurs, and his voice can be heard on DJ Shadow’s track “Listen”. This spring he will be touring the East Coast and U.K. Though his “superlungs” would have no doubt served Zepp well, perhaps his solo status allowed him to be more experimental and nuanced than he would’ve been able to be as a mainstream frontman, and for that we are grateful. The Other Side Of The River stands alone as a fresh and utterly groundbreaking Terry Reid gem.

LITA

Tracks

1. Let's Go Down - 6:51

2. Avenue (F# Boogie) - 6:04

3. Things To Try - 6:30

4. Country Brazilian Funk - 9:14

5. River - 5:55

6. Listen With Eyes - 3:48

7. Anyway - 5:46

8. Celtic Melody - 1:54

9. Funny - 8:06

10.Late Night Idea - 2:22

11.Sabyla - 5:33

All compositions by Terry Reid

Personnel

*Terry Reid - Guitar, Vocals

*Leo Miles - Bass

*Conrad Isidore - Drums

*David Lindley - Steel Guitar, Slide Guitar, Electric Guitar

*Willie Bobo - Percussion

1968-91 Terry Reid - Original Album Series (2015 five discs edition)

1974 Terry Reid - Seed of Memory (2004 remaster)

Monday, April 14, 2025

Billy Gray - Feeling Gray? (1972 uk / italy, primo blues classic rock, with prog touches, 2010 remaster)

It's 1972. Prog has been a reality for a couple of years, but the counterculture is already knocking at the door with its hard, self-conscious sound. Meanwhile, the epigones of post beat and psychedelia are playing their last cards of trustworthiness because from the following year on, that kind of proposal will be less and less accepted by an increasingly militant and less compassionate public. It is therefore in time William Gray, aka Bill, better known as the guitarist of Trip to place for Polydor his first blues rock album “Feeling Gray” which, however, despite the undoubted quality of the product, will not give him much satisfaction.

Bill was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in 1947 and at not even 20 years of age already had on his resume a successful 45 recorded for Philips as guitarist for the Anteeks: “I Don't Want You” / “Ball and Chain,” now priced at about 290 pounds.

Settling in London in the spring of 66, he joined David Bowie's The Buzz as a replacement for guitarist John Hutchison, and with them recorded a demo of the single “I dig everything” written by Bowie himself. In The Buzz's version, however, the song never saw the light of day having left then-producer Tony Hatch dissatisfied and he fell back on studio musicians for the release.

The Buzzes nevertheless continued to accompany Bowie live for four more months before the reef, but in September they had to give up on Bill Gray of all people, lured by a tempting offer from our own Ricky Maiocchi, then sojourning in London in search of musicians.

Maiocchi, by the way, had already recruited on bass one Arvid Andersen, a quirky beatnik of Scandinavian descent, and a young guitarist of good hope named Ritchie Blackmore, a longtime friend of Arvid's from the days when they were part of first Neil Christian's Crusaders, then Screamin Lord Sutch & The Savages, and finally the Three Musketeers.

Thus, they lacked a drummer, later found in the figure of Ian Broad (formerly a militant in Rory Storm & The Hurricanes with whom Ringo Starr also played) and another guitarist, who was indeed William Gray. And so, here Maiocchi and the Trip began their Italian adventure.

Maiocchi, however, is very centralizing, and Blackmore, who often steals his thunder, does not like the former Chameleon's constant calls for calm. Ian Broad then turns out to be wretchedly undisciplined and scurrilous. After just three weeks Blackmore and Broad leave, the Trips abandon Maiocchi, recruit Sinnone and Vescovi, and proceed on their way.

Bill Gray, for his part will stay with them for two albums, The Trip and Charon, and then he too will drop out due to supposed differences with Vescovi who, some say, apparently was not exactly a model of democracy. Others murmur instead that Vescovi and Andersen were unhappy with the idea that Gray was working on solo material, but that is part of the gossip.

The fact remains that Billy leaves, a year later he meets former Rokes Shel Shapiro, and before long he is at Regson Studios in Milan recording with four other musicians (including Gian Luigi Pezzera and Shapiro himself) his “Feeling Gray?” nine tracks, half an hour long.

Musically there is not much to say about it: nothing prog, nothing innovative, so really nothing earth-shattering, but on the other hand a very pleasant record, very well played, polished and never banal despite the fact that it is evidently Anglophone blues rock. Between the grooves the experience of the musicians shines through, and even if we wanted to mistakenly consider it a filler or worse an exercise in style it is really worth a listen. Thus, if only and only for the sheer pleasure of the music. And also to evoke once again the great spirit of William, who left really too soon.

The album contains nine tracks, all sung in English, composed by Gray himself, who passed away in 1984.

by John Nicolò Martin

Tracks

1. Harleytown - 3:27

2. Leavin' A Big Town - 3:04

3. Summer Nights - 3:16

4. Falling Off The Edge - 3:06

5. Midnight Swinger - 3:27

6. Writing On The Wall - 3:42

7. Borderline - 3:41

8. Ann - 2:39

9. Blue / Gray - 5:49

All Music and Lyrics by Billy Gray

Musicians

*Billy Gray - Lead Vocal, Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, 12 String Guitar, Slide Guitar

*Adalberto Andreozzi - Guitar

*Roby Favero - Bass

*Gaby Moschini - Drums, Percussion

*Gian Luigi Pezzera - Piano

*Shel Shapiro - Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Bill Quateman - Bill Quateman (1973 us, magnificent folk rock, 2000 remaster)

Bill Quateman (born November 4, 1947, Chicago, Illinois) is an American singer-songwriter. Quateman released four albums in the 1970s and charted with the single “Only Love”, which reached No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973.

He started his music career as a singer/songwriter during the 70’s folk music era in Chicago. His first record deal in 1972 was with Clive Davis at Columbia. The album was successful, with two fairly big hits. While working on his second album, the Clive Davis scandal hit Columbia. The new management wanted to go into a different direction than Quateman. He got dropped from Columbia.

He was picked up by RCA years later. The success of the first album couldn’t be recreated. The next three albums did well enough, but not nearly as well as his first. The three albums were heavily produced. His first album was sparse and fit the definition of that singer/songwriter era, the next three were more corporate of the time. Quateman temporarily retired from the music industry to raise his children.

In the 2000s, he reemerged to perform publicly for a brief period. He released the 1973 album (in theory his second album) he worked on at Columbia, and two more albums. He published a book based on raising his daughter as a single parent. He became a health coach and eventually founded a Natural Medicine Company. He is currently the International Director of Advanced Bio Cell.

Tracks

1. My Music - 4:09

2. Circles - 3:58

3. Only Love - 3:02

4. Keep Dreaming - 4:40

5. Only The Bears Are The Same - 3:10

6. Get It Right On Out There - 6:03

7. What Are You Looking For - 4:54

8. Your Love Can Make It Real - 4:57

9. Too Many Mornings - 4:30

Words and Music by Bill Quateman

Personnel

*Bill Quateman - Vocals, Guitar, Piano

*Tom Radtke - Drums

*Sid Sims - Bass

*Clive Anstee - Cello

*Ken Ascher - Keyboards

*Jeffery Brown - Cor Anglais

*Ray Copper - Percussion

*Lesley Duncan - Background Vocals

*Davey Johnstone - Guitar

*Paul Keogh - Guitar

*Caleb Quaye - Guitar

*Denny Seiwell - Drums

*Liza Streik - Background Vocals

Friday, April 11, 2025

Dave Loggins - Apprentice (In A Musical Workshop) (1974 us, wonderful country soft rock, 2006 reissue)

Kenny Loggins' second cousin hit the big time for a couple of months in 1975 with "Please Come to Boston," a serviceable and sentimental soft rock gem from his second album, Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop). Part of the lexicon of harmless '70s singer/songwriters like Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor, Dave Loggins never again regained the momentum spawned by that track, but its appearance on nearly every AM pop compilation illuminates the tune's timelessness. While the rest of Apprentice doesn't deviate from the warm, dull tones of the single -- even the full-on "My Father's Fiddle" and "Girl from Knoxville" sound like the Band-lite -- it's an expertly crafted slice of commercially made diner pie that resonates squarely in the moment and vanishes two steps out of the door.

by James Christopher Monger

Tracks

1. Someday - 3:26

2. My Lover's Keeper - 3:21

3. Second Hand Lady - 3:03

4. Let Me Go Now - 3:00

5. So You Couldn't Get To Me - 2:57

6. Please Come To Boston - 4:07

7. Girl From Knoxville - 2:54

8. Sunset Woman - 5:06

9. My Father's Fiddle - 4:52

10.Wonder'n As The Day Goes By - 3:15

All songs by Dave Loggins

Musicians

*Dave Loggins - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

*Jerry Carrigan - Drums

*John Guerin - Drums

*Kenny Malone - Drums

*John Raines - Drums

*Larry London - Drums

*Norbert Putnam - Bass

*Lee Sklar - Bass

*Shane Keister - Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer, Piano

*William Smith - Piano

*David Briggs - Piano

*Steve Gibson - Lead Acoustic, Electric Guitar

*Billy Sanford - Electric Guitar

*Mike Noble - Acoustic Guitar

*Mac Gayden - Electric Guitar

*Johnny Gimble - Fiddle

*Byron Bach - Cello

*Al Deleonibus - Accordian

*Weldon Myrick - Steel Guitar

*Shane Keister - Moog

*Farrell Morris - Percussion

*Brenda Gordon - Backing Vocals

*Pat Coulter - Backing Vocals

*Brooks Hunnicutt - Backing Vocals

1970 Atomic Rooster - Atomic Rooster (2016 Japan Mini LP SHM remaster)

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Atomic Rooster - In Hearing Of (1971-72 uk, tremendous hard psych prog rock, 2004 remaster and expanded, 2016 japan SHM remaster)

In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster is a remarkable album, but not for the most obvious reasons. On first listen, it’s a heavy psych-prog album by a band centred around former Crazy World of Arthur Brown organ-botherer Vincent Crane and the band’s only album featuring the vocal talents of former Leaf Hound vocalist Peter French (who would later release a solo album with the wonderful title Ducks in Flight), but that’s not the most remarkable thing about it. What is remarkable is that it was recorded by a band that didn’t actually exist.

The initial sessions for the album were recorded with vocalist and guitar wrangler John Cann and drummer Paul Hammond, both of whom left the band shortly before or after French joined (various sources contradict each other on when exactly this was). Crane then wiped a lot of Cann’s guitar work from the album, opting for more emphasis on his piano and organ work. Cann’s sterling fretwork wizardry is all over In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster, so who knows what great stuff was wiped after he’d left the sessions – Chances are we’ll never know because neither Crane or Cann are still with us, having passed away in 1989 and 2011 respectively. Hammond also passed away in 1992, but unlike Cann, his musical contribution to the album was undiluted, in fact his drumming is a major feature throughout.

Stars of the show though are Crane and French, with Atomic Rooster’s lynchpin being an organ-grinding marvel and Crane possessing one of the greatest rock yelps the vast majority of rock fans never heard. Crane and French finished the album together utilising what Hammond and Cann had left behind (one can only imagine that neither of them could afford legal representation at the time, or the split was considerably more amicable than average) and despite all the odds, it was a strong album, boasting eight tracks, two of which, “A Spoonful of Bromide Helps the Pulse Rate Go Down” and “The Rock” are oddly enjoyable instrumental work outs. It is Cann’s vocals, not French’s on the sinuous “Black Snake”, but it doesn’t jar the listener, indeed his vocals suit the song far better than French’s more histrionic voice would have done, so it’s evident that Crane was being careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

With great heavy-prog tunes like “Breakthrough”, “Break the Ice” and “The Price” dotted throughout, In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster is one of those albums that deserves wider recognition by fans of 70s rock. It’s well paced, doesn’t outstay it’s welcome and despite it’s tortured genesis, the musicianship is top-notch throughout. If there is one way it could be improved, maybe I would have sequenced the album so that “Head in the Sky” opened the album with it’s squall of sound, instead of being stuck two third of the way through the album, on the second side. This is a minor quibble though, as In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster is one of those albums ripe for rediscovery for an audience who may want to investigate 70s hard rock beyond the ongoing Led Zeppelin reissue programme.

by Jon Bryan, October 1, 2014

Tracks

1. Breakthrough (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 6:18

2. Break The Ice (John Cann) - 5:00

3. Decision/Indecision (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 3:50

4. A Spoonfull Of Bromide (Vincent Crane) - 4:39

5. Black Snake (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 5:59

6. Head In The Sky (John Cann) - 5:39

7. The Rock (Vincent Crane) - 4:32

8. The Price (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 5:16

9. Devil's Answer (John Cann) -3:29

10.Breakthrough (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 7:20

11.A Spoonful Of Bromide (Vincent Crane) - 4:47

Bonus Tracks 9-11

Track 9 USA Version

Tracks 10-11 BBC In Concert Paris Theatre 27/7/72

Tracks

1. Breakthrough (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 6:18

2. Break The Ice (John Cann) - 5:00

3. Decision/Indecision (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 3:50

4. A Spoonfull Of Bromide (Vincent Crane) - 4:39

5. Black Snake (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 5:59

6. Head In The Sky (John Cann) - 5:39

7. The Rock (Vincent Crane) - 4:32

8. The Price (Vincent Crane, Pat Darnell) - 5:16

9. Devil's Answer (John Cann) -3:29

Bonus Track 9 USA Version

Atomic Rooster

*Vincent Crane - Hammond Organ, Keyboard, Bass, Piano, Vocals

*John Du Cann - Guitars

*Pete French - Vocals

*Paul Hammond - Drums, Percussion

*Steve Bolton: Guitar (Bonus Tracks)

*Ric Parnell: Drums (Bonus Tracks)

1970 Atomic Rooster - Death Walks Behind You (2016 Japan SHM)

1970-72/81 Atomic Rooster - Devil's Answer / Rare Live Recordings
Related Acts
1967-68 The Attack - About Time (2006 remaster with unreleased material)
1967-69 The Attack - Magic In The Air
1967-69 Andromeda - The Definitive Collection
1968 The Five Day Week Straw People - The Five Day Week Straw People

1965-2003 Arthur Brown - The Story Of Arthur Brown (2003 double disc remaster)

1973 Jesse Colin Young ‎– Song For Juli (2009 remaster)

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Jesse Colin Young - Songbird (1975 us, beautiful adult soft rock, 2002 remaster)

Buoyed by the positive reaction he received opening Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's summer 1974 stadium tour, Jesse Colin Young cut another album of attractive, frequently country-tinged music with his usual backup band, in which keyboardist Scott Lawrence and reed player Jim Rothermel had become near collaborators. Young repeated "Josiane" and "Sugar Babe" from his Youngbloods days and took on such unlikely subjects as the plight of Native Americans ("Before You Came"), while his romantic life seemed to be suffering ("Again") and he felt the need to answer his critics ("Slick City"). But his pleasure in playing music remained contagious, especially on the title track, and his fans responded, making Songbird his highest-charting album ever.

by William Ruhlmann

Jesse Colin Young, the frontman and co-founder of the seminal Sixties group the Youngbloods, died Sunday, March 16th 2025. He was 83.

Young relaunched his solo career and released a string of successful albums through the Seventies, including 1973’s Song for Juli and 1975’s Songbird. He was also part of the “No Nukes” concert series, with his rendition of “Get Together” featuring on the triple live album that included performances from the 1979 shows at Madison Square Garden.

Young’s recorded output slowed a bit in the Eighties and Nineties, but he remained busy and even co-founded his own label, Ridgetop Music, with his wife Connie in 1993. In 2012, a Lyme’s disease diagnosis forced Young off the road, but he turned to YouTube to share performances and document his recovery. He returned to the stage in 2016 and released what would be his final album, Dreamers, in 2019.

by Jon Blistein, March 17, 2025

Tracks

1. Songbird - 4:05

2. Before You Came - 5:58

3. Daniel - 4:33

4. Josianne - 3:31

5. Again - 4:11

6. Slick City - 3:25

7. 'Til You Come Back Home - 3:34

8. Sugar Babe - 3:28

9. Motorhome - 2:50

All compositions by Jesse Colin Young

Personnel

*Jesse Colin Young - Guitar, Harmony, Mandolin, Vocals

*Hank DeVito - Pedal Steel Guitar

*Jeff Myer - Drums, Percussion

*Jerry Corbitt - Vocal Harmony, Vocals

*Jim Rothermel - Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone, Wind

*John Tenney - Fiddle, Violin

*Kelly Bryan - Bass

*Peter Welker - Trumpet

*Rev. Ron Stallings - Tenor Saxophone

*Scott Lawrence - Keyboards, Vocal Harmony

*Suzi Young - Harmony Vocals

*Ted Ashford - Horn, Horn Arrangements

1974 Jesse Colin Young ‎– Light Shine

1976 Jesse Colin Young ‎– On The Road (Japan remaster)

1972 Jesse Colin Young ‎– Together

1982 Jesse Colin Young - The Perfect Stranger (Edsel)

1969 Elephant Mountain (Sundazed expanded and 2014 Japan Blu Spec Edition)
1970 The Youngbloods - Rock Festival
1971 Beautiful! Live In San Francisco (Sundazed edition)

1971 Youngbloods - Ride The Wind (2003 remaster)
1972 High On A Ridge Top (Sundazed remaster)

1972 Melton Levy And The Dey Brothers - Melton Levy And The Dey Brothers (2001 remaster)

Monday, April 7, 2025

Barry Melton - Bright Sun Is Shining (1970 us, sensational blues rock)

Over fifty years ago, during the “Summer of Love” – 1967 - Barry “The Fish” Melton celebrated his 20th birthday in June 1967. A few days later, he and his band, “Country Joe and the Fish,” were rocketed onto the world stage at the Monterey Pop Festival with such luminaries as the Jefferson Airplane, the Mamas and Papas, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, Simon and Garfunkel, the Who and a relatively unknown guitarist named Jimi Hendrix. And fifty years ago, in 1969, Barry appeared at the historic festival in Woodstock< New York and also appeared in the movie bearing the same name: “Woodstock.” During the five years between 1967 and 1971, Barry would tour arenas, concert halls, and stadiums through Europe and North America. He also launched his first solo effort, a blues/soul album half of which was recorded in New York with members of the Wilson Pickett Band and half of which was recorded in Chicago with a band featuring Donny Hathaway on piano, Morris Jennings on drums and Phillip Upchurch on bass.

Barry began the 1970’s with an album for Columbia Records produced by legendary guitarist Michael Bloomfield, Barry took up part-time residence in the United Kingdom and recorded two albums at Rockfield Studios in Wales; and he toured extensively in the U.K., France and the Netherlands; Barry and ultimately returned home to San Francisco to record his fifth album of the decade.

In the 1980’s, Barry put together San Francisco’s historic supergroup, “Dinosaurs,” featuring Barry and John Cipollina (Quicksilver Messenger Service, guitar), Spencer Dryden (Jefferson Airplane, drums), Peter Albin (Big Brother and the Holding Company, bass), and Robert Hunter (Grateful Dead songwriter, guitar). Other members of the band later included Merl Saunders and Papa John Creech. “Dinosaurs” recorded its debut album and opened for Tony Bennett at the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge celebration in 1987.

In the 1990’s Barry’s career as a Public Defender mushroomed, beginning with a stint in the Mendocino County Public Defender’s Office, the Office of the (California) State Public Defender, and an appointment as the Public Defender of Yolo County, California, continuing into the early 21st Century. During this period, Barry played local venues in San Francisco and he toured annually in such diverse locations as England, France, Scotland, Thailand and Wales. He also recorded three collaborations with other guitarists including “Dual in the Desert,” with Rich Hopkins of Texas, “Can’t Stop to Boogie,” with Tetuzi Akiyama of Japan and Henry Kaiser of California, and “Revolution Down the Road,” with French guitarist Stéphane Missri and their band, “Jamasutra.”

Today, Barry lives in France half the year and spends the other half in the United States. In the past couple of years, he’s toured in France, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Counter-Culture

Tracks

1. Third Degree (Eddie Boyd) - 3:57

2. Something You Got (Chris Kenner) - 2:46

3. I Had A Dream (Isaac Hayes, David Porter) - 2:42

4. How Sweet It Is(To Be Loved By You) (Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland) - 3:06

5. Wine, Women, Whiskey (Alexander Lightfoot) - 2:24

6. Son Of Hickory Holler's Tramp (Dallas Frazier) - 3:01

7. You've Got What It Takes (Billy Davis, Berry Gordy, Jr.) - 2:30

8. Georgia On My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) - 2:42

9. I've Been In The Darkness (Barry Melton) - 3:13

10.It's A Mean Old World (Otis Rush) - 2:30

11.You've Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robinson) - 2:49

12.The Sun Is Shining (Elmore James) - 2:56

Musicians

*Barry Melton - Guitar, Vocals

*Donny Hathaway - Piano

*Ed Bland - Orchestra Arranger, Conductor

*Gerald Sims - Rhythm Guitar

*Morris Jennings - Drums

*Phil Upchurch - Bass

1974 Chris Braun Band - Foreign Lady

Sunday, April 6, 2025

Chris Braun Band - Both Sides (1972 germany, krautrock little gem with soulful female vocals)

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 dissolution around 1984.

The Chris Braun Band debut album ‘Both Sides’ won the German Record Award for Best New Artist in its release year. The award ceremony took place at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. On that occasion, the Chris Braun Band also performed there. Looking back, that was certainly one of the most spectacular moments in the band’s history for the Chris Braun Band.

by Klemen Breznikar

Tracks

1. Town Of Children`s Blocks - 5:00

2. Comfort Me In Hell - 2:13

3. Untrue World - 2:14

4. Magical Light - 2:54

5. Anxiety - 7:03

6. Paul - 4:19

7. Icy Shapes - 6:18

8. Things For You And Me - 5:15

9. April Fool - 0:11

Words and Music by Chris Braun

The Band

*Chris Braun - Lead Vocals

*Elmar Krohn - Electric, Acoustic Guitar, Flute, Percussion, Vocals

*Horst Schreiber - Electric, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Vocals

*Jochen Bernstein - Bass

*Bill Bakine - Drums, Percussion

Saturday, April 5, 2025

Badge And Company - Badge And Company (1977 us, tough southern boogie rock, 2008 edition)

Badge & Co. were a group from Kansas, and this is their only album released as a self-produced album by Wilmarco label USA in 1977. The members were Terry Williams, Randy Cowan, and Virgil Eugene Martin, and the trio was recorded in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The original LP is known among hard rock enthusiasts as a collector's item, and in a sense it features bluesy hard, centered around the guitar playing with vulgar sounds. The momentum-oriented speed and the ruggedness of the band's hard-hitting explosiveness fit in well with shout-type vocals, the bluesy guitar playing is pretty cool, and the bass is quite solid, so there is plenty to enjoy. Overall, it seems to run at full speed without caring about some slack or mistakes, and the hint of southern rock that permeates the air could be called ZZ Top type, the songs are not bad, and the sound is refreshing with its momentum and loudness.

Tracks

1. It's A Cryin' Shame - 3:59

2. What A Day For A Drive - 2:15

3. Ship Me On The Frisco - 2:20

4. Why - 4:45

5. Rockin' 'n' Rollin - 4:03

6. '56 Chevrolet - 2:15

7. Slow Me Down - 3:26

8. I Left A Message - 3:25

9. For You - 13:55

All songs by Randy E. Cowan, Terry D. Williams, Virgil Eugene Martin

Badge And Company

*Randy E. Cowan - Lead Vocals, Bass, Fiddle

*Terry D. Williams - Guitar, Vocals

*Virgil Eugene Martin - Percussion, Vocals