Although they would become better known for smooth AOR ballads like "How Much I Feel," Ambrosia first made their name with this album of progressive rock with a pop music twist. Its songs skillfully blend strong melodic hooks and smooth vocal harmonies with music of an almost symphonic density. Good examples of this crossbreeding are "Drink of Water," which sounds like the Beach Boys tackling a Pink Floyd space rock epic, and "Nice, Nice, Very Nice," which utilizes a combination of stately close-harmony vocals and dynamic instrumental breaks to put forth a clever lyric derived from a Kurt Vonnegut novel.
The complexity of the music is further highlighted by its crystal-clear sonic landscape, mixed by Alan Parsons, which highlights unique touches like the use of a Russian balalaika ensemble and 300-year-old Javanese gongs on "Time Waits for No One." Despite this prog rock ambitiousness, the group is smart enough to avoid letting their instrumental chops take precedence over their music's melodic content: They keep their songs succinct and punchy (nothing extends over six-and-a-half minutes) and they infuse tunes like "Lover Arrive" and the radio favorite "Holdin' on to Yesterday" with a delicate sense of pop songcraft that makes the group's cinematic sound easy for listeners to assimilate. The end result is an album that is intricate enough to please prog rock addicts but catchy enough to win over a few pop fans in the process. Though Ambrosia would go on to score bigger hits later in their career, this is definitely their most cohesive and inspired album.
by Donald A. Guarisco
Tracks
1. Nice, Nice, Very Nice (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.) - 5:55
2. Time Waits For No One (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 4:53
3. Holdin' On To Yesterday (David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 4:19
4. World Leave Me Alone (David Pack) - 3:18
5. Make Us All Aware (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 4:29
6. Lover Arrive (David Pack) - 3:11
7. Mama Frog (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 6:05
8. Drink Of Water (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 6:29
Hinkley’s finest moment came with the second Jody Grind album Far Canal, launched in June 1970 next to Pete Gavin and future Hummingbird guitarist Bernie Holland who had started out in the early days with Bluesology, Patto and Ferris Wheel.The classical motif intro “We’ve Had It” spirals like a magician into some ejaculated riffs that make you realise this is no ordinary group. You have to hear the live track “Plastic Shit” recorded at the Roundhouse to understand the capabilities of this nuclear force.
The lengthy workout on the instrumental “Red Worms And Lice” with Bernie’s guitar spurting like hot mercury balanced with the jazzy ”Ballad For Bridget” were astounding. Peter Gavin joined Heads, Hands & Feet and Vinegar Joe while Tim played sessions with Al Stewart, Snafu and Alvin Lee. Bernie Holland went on to play with Van Morrison.
by Shiloh Noone
Tracks
1. We've Had It - 5:07
2. Bath Sister - 3:29
3. Jump Bed Jed - 7:14
4. O Paradiso - 7:32
5. Plastic Shit (Bernie Holland, Tim Hinkley) - 7:19
6. Vegetable Oblivion - 2:10
7. Red Worms And Lice (Bernie Holland, Tim Hinkley) - 7:22
8. Ballad For Bridget - 3:40
Songs 1,3,6 written by Bernie Holland
Songs 2,4,8 written by Tim Hinkley
Jody Grind
*Bernie Holland - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Vocals
*Pete Gavin - Drums, Percussion
*Tim Hinkley - Organ, Piano, Electric Piano, Vibraphone, Vocals
Fantastic 14-track British beat/garage compilation garnered from the personal collection of one of Britain's top record dealers. As the name suggests, each of these tracks is a real killer. I can't think of a better way to announce that Past and Present is back than with this, the first of dozens of great titles that will be appearing on the imprint in the future." Artists: Gavin Hamilton, Neil Christian, Tangerine Peel, The Groop, Ian and the Zodiacs, The Moving Finger, Guy Darrell, The Hipster Image, Jerry Martin, The Quotations, Winston G, Gene Latter, The Kool, The End.
Artist - Tracks - Composer
1. Gavin Hamilton - It Won't Be The Same (Nick Sandys, V. Bourne) - 2:38
2. Neil Christian - I'm Gonna Love You Baby (Neil Christian, Dilys Rhys Jones) - 2:54
First of all one must add that the sole Delivery album, Fool's Meeting was released by Cuneiform Records together with several bonus tracks. However one must also state that unfortunately much of what this band had recorded, has unfortunately been lost. Master tapes of this album have been lost as have also been the recordings of the band live at various concerts such ss the BBC Top Gear Sessions. Notwithstanding all this the label have managed to include two "bonus" tracks from the same recording session of the album, including the single release Harry Lucky that was unavailable on the vinyl edition, together with two live tracks and the track One For You from the Lol Coxhill/Steve Miller album sessions.
The album opens with the track Blind To Your Light, which with its running bass line conjures up a definite bluesy atmosphere thus confirming the record label's aspirations for Grimes' contention as a vocal ist to rival Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. However the saxophone playing of Coxhill together with Steve Miller's piano helps add spice to the atmosphere giving it a jazz touch alongside the likes of bands such as Colosseum. The live version of this track is played in an incredibly much slower pace with the guitar coming to the fore of the band's playing, something that was not too conspicuous on the studio version. The absence of Lol Coxhill on saxophone is probably the most plausible reason for this and it is up to bass and guitar to fill in his shoes. The slow bluesy touch is maintained on Miserable Man, though the pace is slowed down considerably (in comparison to the studio version of Blind To Your Light) and the overall sound of the track has its roots in the sixties psychedelic rock scene, with Jefferson Airplane a strong contender for inspiration.
On Home Made Ruin one can start to fell the progressive rock slowly creeping into the band's music. The first track that had Phil Miller as sole composer, the music sees the guitar coming to the fore to reply to the jazzy keyboard solo, though the striking factor of this track is the strong ever increasing rhythm and power with which it is played out. The alternate take of this track features a completely different overall structure with some delightful interplay between piano and guitar. With Is It Really The Same, the band start to take on the sounds that were pervading the British rock scene, namely via bands like King Crimson. Coxhill manages to infuse a raw energy into the band's performance giving them a much more raw rock sound, rather than the polished feel that many progressive and Canterbury bands would tend to follow. The live version has Phil Miller's distorted guitar carrying the load of the saxophone, though one must admit that there is a lack of broadness and harshness when the track is executed live.
Once again it takes a Phil Miller composition to bring out a more obvious progressive feel to the music of Delivery. We Were Satisfied is just one such track with a mixture of prog and psychedelia while tracks like The Wrong Time and Figuring It out sound more like a jazzed up version of The Grateful Dead with elements of R&B surfacing occasionally. The last track that was originally on the vinyl album was the title track, Fool's Meeting, which is a true bluesy number that once again re-evokes the Grace Slick/Janis Joplin comparisons with Carol Grimes' powerful vocals.
Harry Lucky was originally omitted from the vinyl version, but was released as a single to promote the release of the album. Of the tracks on the album it is probably the weakest of the lot featuring little of note, unlike the final track on this album, One For You. Written after the official demise of the band it was recorded during the Coxhill/Miller recording sessions in Autumn, 1971 ad could be considered to be more of a jam session than anything else. However it shows how the involved musicians had matured over the short period since their last official recording. The music had evolved from a broad blues style to a more improvisational jazzy approach, a sure feature of most Canterbury bands.
It is indeed a pity that both the album and the band have become mere footnotes in the history of Canterbury music. The album should prove of interest to all those who want to see (or hear!) how much of the British progressive rock scene evolved from the British blues sixties boom. This album is an important stepping stone for such bands standing somewhere in the middle of both genres.
by Nigel Camilleri
Tracks
1. Blind To Your Light (Carol Grimes, Phil Miller) - 5:05
2. Miserable Man (Carol Grimes, Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Roy Babbington, Steve Miller) - 8:28
3. Home Made Ruin (Phil Miller) - 3:23
4. Is It Really The Same (Keith Jarrett) - 5:44
5. We Were Satisfied (Phil Miller) - 4:02
6. The Wrong Time (Carol Grimes, Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Roy Babbington, Steve Miller) - 7:50
7. Fighting It Out (Phil Miller) - 5:48
8. Fools Meeting (Carol Grimes, Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Roy Babbington, Steve Miller) - 5:27
9. Harry Lucky (Alfreda Benge, Pip Pyle, Steve Miller) - 3:41
10.Home Made Ruin (Phil Miller) - 2:56
11.Is It Really The Same (Keith Jarrett) - 5:19
12.Blind To Your Light (Carol Grimes, Phil Miller) - 5:29
13.Miserable Man (Carol Grimes, Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Roy Babbington, Steve Miller) - 8:15
14.One For You (Carol Grimes, Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Roy Babbington, Steve Miller) - 7:43
Delivery
*Steve Miller - Piano
*Phil Miller - Guitar
*Roy Babbington - Bass, String Bass
*Pip Pyle - Drums
*Carol Grimes - Vocals, Percussion Guest Musicians
*Lol Coxhill - Soprano-Tenor Saxophone
*Roddy Skeaping - Violin on "Miserable Man"
*Richard Sinclair - Bass on "One for You"
It's a Beautiful Day were no less memorable for their unique progressive rock style that contrasted well with the Bay Area psychedelic scene. Led by David LaFlamme (flute/violin/vocals) and his wife, Linda LaFlamme (keyboards), the six-piece unit on this album vacillates between light and ethereal pieces such as the lead-off cut, "White Bird," to the heavier, prog rock-influenced "Bombay Calling." One of the most distinct characteristics of It's a Beautiful Day is their instrumentation. The prominence of David LaFlamme -- former violin soloist with the Utah Symphony and original member of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks -- adds a refinement to It's a Beautiful Day's sound. Likewise, the intricate melodies -- mostly composed by the LaFlammes -- are structured around the band's immense virtuosity, a prime example being the exquisitely haunting harpsichord-driven "Girl With No Eyes." The noir framework, as well as lyrics such as "...she's just a reflection of all of the time I've been high," point rather candidly to the hallucinogenic nature of the song's -- if not the band's -- influences.
The same can be said of the languidly eerie "Bulgaria." The almost chant-like quality of the track slowly crescendos into an hypnotic and dreamlike sonic journey -- led by LaFlamme's brilliant violin work. By virtue of being a Bay Area fixture in the late '60s, It's a Beautiful Day could also easily double as a hippie dance band -- which they can also execute with great aplomb -- as the wildly up-tempo "Time Is" amply proves. It's a Beautiful Day remains as a timepiece and evidence of how sophisticated rock & roll had become in the fertile environs of the San Francisco music scene.
The second long-player from It's a Beautiful Day is an exceedingly more pastoral effort than the band's self-titled debut. As many of the Bay Area groups -- most notably the Grateful Dead with Workingman's Dead and American Beauty -- had begun to do, the band realigns its sound from the dark psychedelia and proto-prog of its earlier works and into a lighter and earthier country-flavored rock. Marrying Maiden does, however, continue highlighting both the sextet's stellar instrumental proficiencies as well as vocals -- featuring the entire band -- throughout. "Don and Dewey," the album's opener, is a hot-steppin' spotlight for David LaFlamme's classically trained violin work. Presumably, the tune is an ode to the late-'50s/early-'60s R&B duo of the same name. The track has distinct hints of the concurrent contributions that LaFlamme had been making in an incipient incarnation of Dan Hick & His Hot Licks. It likewise sets the tenor for the remainder of the disc's down-home feel.
The cover of folkie Fred Neil's "The Dolphins" is notable for Fred Webb's honky tonk piano fills and LaFlamme's vocals, recalling some of the earliest New Riders of the Purple Sage sides. One of the more solidly unifying factors linking the NRPS and It's a Beautiful Day is the guest appearance by Jerry Garcia, who is featured on two numbers. As he had done on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Teach Your Children," Garcia lends a few distinct pedal steel guitar riffs to the perky "It Comes Right Down to You." The track also features former Charlatan Richard Olsen on, of all things, clarinet. Another sign of the times is the pickin' and grinnin' on the appropriately titled "Hoedown" -- on which Garcia adds some fiery banjo fretwork.
by Lindsay Planer
Tracks It's A Beautiful Day 1969
1. White Bird (David Laflamme, Linda Laflamme) - 6:06
2. A Hot Summer Day (David Laflamme, Linda Laflamme) - 5:46
3. Wasted Union Blues - 4:00
4. Girl With No Eyes (David Laflamme, Linda Laflamme) - 3:49
5. Bombay Calling (David Laflamme, Vince Wallace) - 4:25
6. Bulgaria - 6:10
7. Time Is - 9:42 Marrying Maiden 1970
8. Don And Dewey - 5:10
9. The Dolphins (Fred Neil) - 4:25
10.Essence Of Now (Mitchell Holman) - 3:15
11.Hoedown - 2:25
12.Soapstone Mountain - 4:15
13.Waiting For The Sun (Hal Wagenet) - 1:15
14.Let A Woman Flow (David LaFlamme, Pattie Santos) - 4:25
15.It Comes Right Down To You (Fred Webb, Robert Lewis) - 3:10
16.Good Lovin' (Fred Webb, Mitchell Holman) - 4:55
17.Galileo (Hal Wagenet) - 3:00
18.Do You Remember The Sun? (Fred Webb, Robert Lewis) - 3:05
All songs by David LaFlamme except where indicated.
The rock era saw a few white female singers, like Janis Joplin, show they could sing the blues. But one who could outshine them all -- Jo Ann Kelly -- seemed to slip through the cracks, mostly because she favored the acoustic, Delta style rather than rocking out with a heavy band behind her. But with a huge voice, and a strong guitar style influenced by Memphis Minnie and Charley Patton, she was the queen.
Born January 5, 1944, Kelly and her older brother Dave were both taken by the blues, and born at the right time to take advantage of a young British blues scene in the early '60s. By 1964 she was playing in clubs, including the Star in Croydon, and had made her first limited-edition record with future Groundhogs guitarist Tony McPhee. She expanded to play folk and blues clubs all over Britain, generally solo, but occasionally with other artists, bringing together artists like Bessie Smith and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into her own music.
After the first National Blues Federation Convention in 1968 her career seemed ready to take flight. She began playing the more lucrative college circuit, followed by her well-received debut album in 1969. At the second National Blues Convention, she jammed with Canned Heat, who invited her to join them on a permanent basis. She declined, not wanting to be a part of a band -- and made the same decision when Johnny Winter offered to help her.
Throughout the '70s, Kelly continued to work and record solo, while also gigging for fun in bands run by friends, outfits like Tramp and Chilli Willi -- essentially pub rock, as the scene was called, and in 1979 she helped found the Blues Band, along with brother Dave, and original Fleetwood Mac bassist Bob Brunning. The band backed her on an ambitious show she staged during the early '80s, Ladies and the Blues, in which she paid tribute to her female heros. In 1988, Kelly began to suffer pain.
A brain tumor was diagnosed and removed, and she seemed to have recovered, even touring again in 1990 with her brother before collapsing and dying on October 21. Posthumously, she's become a revered blues figure, one who helped clear the path for artists like Bonnie Raitt and Rory Block. But more than a figurehead, her recorded material -- and unreleased sides have appeared often since her death -- show that Kelly truly was a remarkable blueswoman.
by Chris Nickson
Tracks
1. Louisiana Blues (McKinley Morganfield) - 3:32
2. Fingerprints Blues (Joe McCoy) - 3:27
3. Driftin' and Driftin' (Oscar Brown, Jr. Warren "Pete" Moore) - 2:40
4. Look Here Partner (Jo Ann Kelly) - 2:36
5. Moon Going Down (Charley Patton) - 4:04
6. Yellow Bee Blues (Joe McCoy) - 3:48
7. Whiskey Head Woman (Tommy McClennan) - 1:52
8. Sit Down on My Knee (Jo Ann Kelly) - 2:43
9. Man I'm Lovin' (Hooker, Josea) - 2:44
10.Jinx Blues (Son House) - 2:31
11.Come on in My Kitchen (Robert Johnson) - 2:49
The John Dummer Blues Band's reputation as one of those groups that hung forever on the cusp of a major step forward, but never quite made it over the top, is one of those odd little injustices with which the British blues scene forever prickles.
Within a year, Bond was dead; this may well have been his last ever recording session, a manic four-day span that saw no less than 11 tracks kicked out, and then abandoned. Before that, though, Vertigo did indeed pass on the album, and attempts to land a U.S. deal via the Foghat connection (Colin Earl, of course) were doomed to failure. The tapes were shelved, the band broke up, and it would be 35 years before anybody ever thought to give them another listen. Now, however, they are where they belong, on the streets and still sparkling as brilliantly as the best of the Dummer band ever did.
by Dave Thompson
Tracks
1. LA Lady - 2:39
2. Sunny Wine Song - 3:17
3. Short Haul Line - 3:15
4. Reach For Me - 4:29
5. Goin' Home - 3:51
6. Bad Dream - 6:19
7. Good Rockin' Man - 4:01
8. Undying Love - 5:15
9. Who's Foolin' Who - 5:40
10.Stealin' - 2:31
11.Keep It In My Mind - 7:19
The John Dummer Blues Band
*Pick Withers - Drums
*Ian Thompson - Bass
*Dave Kelly - Guitar, Lead Vocals
*Pete Emery - Guitar
*Colin Earl - Keyboards
*Graham Bond - Saxophone
*John Dummer - Percussion, Vocals
By the time 1966 ended, many of the groups in Texas that started out playing British Invasion and folk-rock music, were now immersing themselves in the newly emerging psychedelic music. The five groups that comprise this album reflect the changes that occurred during this period and four of them even changed their names to sound more psychedelic. The Nomads became Smoke, Carrols Mood became The Sights And Sounds, The New Imperials became The Front Page News, and The Boys became The Remaining Few.
Represented by twelve tracks on this album, The Nomads/Smoke, started out playing folk-rock music, but by 1967 went psychedelic-as witnessed by their “freak-out” version of “My Little Red Book” replete with backwards tapes. “Carrols Mood” went from singing ballads to surreal songs such as “Mystical Bells”.
The Front Page News went from the soul of “Baby Let Me Bang Your Box” to the fuzz drenched “Thoughts and Afterthoughts”. If the 13th Floor Elevators were the epitome of what a Texas psychedelic band was, then the groups on this album were not far behind in trying to emulate that state of existence. Here then are twenty-two tracks compiling the changes that occurred from late 1966 to 1968, when the Texas bands went metaphorically speaking from “Kool-Aid” to “Electric Kool-Aid Acid”.
Tracks - Artists
1. What You're Doing to Me (Previously Unreleased Mix) - Carrols Mood - 3:47
2. Out She Goes (Previously Unreleased Mix) - Carrols Mood - 2:30
3. I'll Be There (Single Master) - The Nomads - 2:39
4. I Walk Alone (Single Master) - The Nomads - 2:26
5. Thoughts (Previously Unreleased Mix) - The Front Page News - 3:09
6. My Little Red Book (Unreleased Master) - The Nomads - 1:58
7. Situations - The Nomads - 2:45
8. Three O'Clock Merrian Webster Time (Single Master) - The Nomads - 3:22
9. The New Generation (Previously Unreleased Mix) - The Rebellers - 2:45
10.Mainstream (Single Master) - The Smoke - 2:35
11.Church House Blues (Single Master) - The Smoke - 3:28
12.Painted Air - The Remaining Few - 3:37
13.In the Morning - The Remaining Few - 2:40
14.Mystical Bells (Unreleased Master) - The Sights And Sounds - 3:28
15.You Keep Me Hangin' On (Unreleased Master) - The Sights And Sounds - 2:49
16.I Walk Alone (Previously Unreleased Mix) - Carrols Mood - 3:02
17.Three O'Clock Merrian Webster Time (Take 1) - The Nomads - 2:33
18.Three O'Clock Merrian Webster Time (Take 2) - The Nomads - 2:50
19.Three O'Clock Merrian Webster Time (Take 3) - The Nomads - 3:26
20.Three O'Clock Merrian Webster Time (Take 4) - The Nomads - 3:23
21.My Little Red Book (Previously Unreleased Alternate Mix) - The Nomads - 1:56
22.Out She Goes (Alternate Version) - The Sights And Sounds - 2:29
Green And Yellow is the collected recordings of legendary lost 1970s Deep South freaksters, THE STROKE BAND. Seen and heard, until now, by only a few South Georgia pot heads, rednecks, sheriffs, strippers, and intoxicated U.S. Marines. Fronted by Bruce Joyner – a swamp rat synthesis of Buddy Holly, Bryan Ferry and Jerry Lee Lewis – The Stroke Band were an art-punk aberration to anything else happening in South Georgia in 1978 – 79. This Anthology Recordings re-release of the Green and Yellow album is the first in any form since the private press LP came out in 1978. The Green And Yellow digital and CD releases include the original Green And Yellow album; plus the band’s only live performance at Joe’s Cellar – a notorious strip club in Albany, Georgia; and a set of demos and psychotic improvs from their Cork House headquarters in Valdosta.
Singer and band leader Bruce Joyner, who signed to Sire Records with The Unknowns in 1981 and has released several acclaimed solo albums since 1983; Don Fleming, guitarist for the Stroke Band, who went on to front his own bands Velvet Monkeys and Gumball, and produced albums for Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Hole, Screaming Trees, Andrew W.K.; Mark Neill, guitarist for The Stroke Band and The Unknowns, who is a renowned recording producer and engineer, in 2011 he won a Grammy for his production of the Black Keys Brothers album; and Green And Yellow album producer Robert Lester Folsom, whose own album Music and Dreams from 1976.
Yellow Fever is about as good as Hot Tuna gets, an LP that lies schematically somewhere between their earlier acoustic work, which was folk-influenced, good-time music, and the live-wired, guitar/bass dialogues of later albums.
Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do" and a delightful reworking of another folk blues classic, "Hot Jelly Roll Blues", are covers, the rest of the tracks are originals, the best of which ("Song for the Fire Maiden," "Bar Room Crystal Ball") neatly combine Hot Tuna's greatest strengths: Jorma Kakounen's unselfconscious, entertaining vocals and his knife-edged guitar work, and Jack Casady's sensitive, expertly woven bass lines.
As an entity unto itself, Hot Tuna is a relaxing little group. But when I hear the breath-taking finale to "Somebody to Love" or the solo in "Volunteers," I realize that each successive Hot Tuna album simply marks time for two gifted musicians who said it a lot more interestingly the first time around.
by Billy Altman
Tracks
1. Baby What You Want Me to Do (Jimmy Reed) - 6:42
2. Hot Jelly Roll Blues (George Carter) - 4:21
3. Free Rein (Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Ziegler) - 4:14
4. Sunrise Dance with the Devil (Jorma Kaukonen) - 4:28
5. Song for the Fire Maiden (Jorma Kaukonen, Greg Douglass) - 4:16
6. Bar Room Crystal Ball (Jorma Kaukonen) -6:52
7. Half/Time Saturation (Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Bob Steeler) - 4:45
Aura formed in 1971 in Los Angeles with roots in Chicago’s late-1960s soul and club circuit. Guitarist Bill Waidner had co-founded garage R&B act the Bots, later renamed Boston Tea Party* for a 1968 tour with Archie Bell & the Drells and the Fona Records single “Is It Love” (b/w “Don’t Leave Me Alone”). Bassist Jerry Smith was a former member of The Flock, and both keyboardist Sam Alessi and drummer Dennis Horan played in the Mauds. Alessi also spent time with the Five Stairsteps. Vocalist Al Lathan fronted the soul-rock band For Days & A Night, an integrated Chicago group managed by Nick Vitullo and active throughout the teen club circuit under varying lineups from 1966 onward.
For Days & A Night developed a horn-driven soul sound under Vitullo’s direction. The group added saxophonist Fred Entesari and trombonist Andy Foertsch in 1967 after the departure of two original brass players to the Flock. Over the next three years, the band cycled through numerous members—reportedly as many as fifty—while maintaining a steady regional booking schedule under Vitullo’s management. In 1969, the band adopted the name Giant City, inspired by an Illinois state park near Carbondale where they frequently performed.
By late 1970, Giant City’s lineup included Lathan, Alessi, Foertsch, Horan, and Smith. Trumpeter and vocalist George Barr joined around this time, completing the brass section with Entesari and Foertsch. With Vitullo departing for a career in talent booking, management passed to Scott Doneen of American Tribal Productions. Under Doneen, the band secured a deal with Mercury Records. The label requested a name change; during sessions, Lathan reportedly suggested “Aura” after observing a halo around the moon, and the name was adopted. Aura released their self-titled album in December 1971 on Mercury.
The eight tracks showcase a tightly arranged brass-rock sound centered on sharp horn voicings and rhythmic shifts.
Paul Brett is widely regarded as one of the finest 12-string acoustic guitarists in the world and also has an amazing collection of guitars, something that he is probably better known for these days than his recorded output. Having been performing since the early 1960s he has contributed his skills to many records including those by Arthur Brown, Velvet Opera, Tintern Abbey, The Strawbs and Fire to name but a few. However, he also released a trio of albums with his band Sage between 1970 and 1972. Long out of print, Esoteric have done their usual expert job in re-mastering and reissuing the albums complete with bonus tracks and rare photographs. All three albums were initially released by Pye Records, either on the main label, or in the case of the latter two albums, on their Dawn imprint label.
By the time of the second album, Jubilation Foundry, the band's name had changed to the more grammatically correct Paul Brett's Sage and Nicky Higginbottom had been replaced by Stuart Cowell, a second guitarist. Although Higginbottom had gone, some flute playing persists, particularly on the opening track Cottage Made For Two. In other changes, there is more harmony singing and a greater use of orchestrations (by Mike Gibbs) plus an overall rockier feel, although both Brett and Cowell still provide plenty of acoustic in-put throughout the album, such as on their guitar playing on Pasadena Days and piano playing on Keeper Of My Heart, both written by Steve Voice, the younger brother of conga, bongo and anvil (!) player Bob Voice. The simplicity of this latter song, along with the gorgeous arrangement blending strings, wind and brass, make this a killer love song.
There was also an expansion in the styles of music covered, with both sides of the single from the album Goodbye Forever and Good Old Fashioned Funky Kind Of Music being somewhat atypical and although interesting, not the strongest tracks on the album to my mind. (As an aside, the marketing prowess of Pye Records is exemplified by the single being wrapped in a sleeve featuring a photograph which included Higginbottom!). Tuesday Evening features some great harmony singing from the whole band, as does Help Me Jesus during which Voice gets the most out of his bongos.
However, it is the title track, featuring the aforementioned anvil, that takes the credits with some fine playing by the ensemble, haunting lyrics and a great dirge-like quality. The three additional tracks are from an EP that was released between the first and second album which featured Reason For Your Asking from the debut album as lead track. Stylistically, the tracks are more akin to those on the first album, acoustic with added orchestrations on the first two tracks, with Everlasting Butterfly being the standout number, and a more upbeat chant on To Everyman [Freedom].
by Mark Huges
Tracks
1. Cottage Made For Two (Richard Dufall) - 2:35
2. Hold My Hand Mother (John Hutcheson) - 3:00
3. Pasadena Days (Steve Voice) - 3:17
4. Keeper O F My Heart (Barry Myers, Paul Brett) - 3:45
5. Goodbye Forever (John Hutcheson) - 3:03
6. Good Old Fashioned Funky Kind Of Music (John Hutcheson) - 4:23
7. Bits (Paul Brett, Stuart Cowell) - 0:34
8. I Fell So Far (Richard Dufall) - 3:08
9. Written In Winter (Paul Brett) - 2:56
10.Tuesday Evening (Paul Brett) - 2:27
11.Help Me Jesus (John Hutcheson) - 4:16
12.Jubilation Foundry (Paul Brett) - 4:51
13.Bits (Paul Brett, Stuart Cowell) - 0:59
14.Everlasting Butterfly (Paul Brett) - 3:37
15.Savannah Ladies (Paul Brett) - 3:16
16.To Everyman (Freedom) (Paul Brett) - 4:17
Bonus-Tracks 14-16
Paul Brett's Sage
*Paul Brett - Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Electric Guitar, Lead Vocals
*Stuart Cowell - Acoustic Guitar, Lead Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*Dick Dufall - Bass, Vocals
*Bob Voice - Bongoes, Congas, Vocals, Anvil
*Paul King - Harmonica
The colour of Sage , most likely purple with streaks of blue, well that’s if you’ve ever listened to Paul Brett’s Sage. The multi-colored juggled history of Paul Brett most likely started with the group SW4 headed by future Blonde On Blonde Ralph Denyar. Paul would also replace Jimmy Page in Neil Christian & The Crusaders. A brief entry into the Arthur Brown Union yielded their first single, the Pete Townshend produced “Devil’s Grip” with Ronnie Wood on bass.
After brief excursions in 1967 with the Overlanders and Warren Davis Monday Band, Paul would enjoy sessions with the Dave Terry Band which later evolved into Elmer Gantry Band. The age of psychedelia had provided enriched pathways for the gifted Brett as he took his riffs to Tintern Abbey and springboarded from their into the melting pot of Elmer Gantry’s second album Ride A Hustler’s Dream which pushed out an urgent version of Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues”.
The roads were many and the options countless but a distinct destiny drew Paul into the Soulmates where he met the gifted twelve string guitarist, ex Levee Breakers Johnny Joyce who at that stage had just left Velvet Opera. The group Friday’s Chylde had just metamorphosed into Fire and churned out a surging psyche single called “Father’s Name Was Dad” with future Strawb Dave Lambert on lead. Paul would enter for the 1970 conceptual Magic Shoemaker, acknowledged as a masterpiece in the same spirit as the Small Faces’ Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake.
The Brett sessions Paul’s sessions were scattered and endless as he persued the majestic chord that David once held in his Solomon wisdom. Amongst the chosen and frozen were poet Roy Harper’s unforgettable Sophisticated Beggar, Al Stewart’s Zero She Flies alongside Jimmy Page ..the “Volcano” and “Mary Jane” singles honed from Elmar Gantry’s debut which did not include Paul as an official member.
Paul would further his sessions with Strawbs on Dragonfly (lead guitar on "The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake") and various singles included on Classic Strawbs. To add to this magnificent database Paul Brett also filled in the gaps with The Ivy League, The Flower Pot Men, Status Quo, the prolific Barclay James Harvest, ex Strawbs - Hudson & Ford, Max Bygraves, The Cyril Stapleton Orchestra, Lonnie Donegan and folk stalwart Ralph McTell, known for his hit “Streets Of London”.
The first coming of Sage ignited when ex Fire lighters Dick Dufall and percussionist ,vocalist Bob Voice joined lead guitarist Paul Brett to form Paul Brett's Sage with added employment of Nicky Higginbottom on flute and sax. The 1970 self titled ‘Hourglass’ debut was celebrated by the superb seven inch “Three D Mona Lisa” / “Mediterranean Lazy Heat” riddled with superb time signatures. The album was a shivering fusion of bongos , astounding acoustic and pulsing rhythms superbly enhanced by Jethro Tull arranger David Palmer.The percussive rhythms of “The Sun Died” and bass ambling “Little Aztec Prince” are the core style of this story tell album. Often not told are the superb lyrics ..”Reason For Your Asking” - .’You asked me why a flower died and why the Eastern horsemen rides, Why the silver lash of rain hides footprints in the dusty lane’ . Tolkienistic dimensions and apocalyptic visions cradle “Trophies Of War” and the severing “Warlock”. The 1971Jubilation Foundry, more of an acoustic affair and in hindsight Sage’s most established creation with it’s mature fusion of acoustic and harmonies now included ex Titus Groan Stuart Cowell as lead guitarist who later did some amazing things with Al Stewart.
Paul King who later played with Lambert in the King Earl Boogie Band played the harmonica on Jubilation. The album yielded the single “Dahlia” / “Cottage Made for Two”. A strong country element threads the album with elements of Strawbs, Magna Carta but a more definitive pick can be found in the heart sagging “I Fell So Far” and harmony filled “Tuesday Evening”. A cry from the gutter to the utter spills out of “Help Me Jesus” an eerie bluesy ballad that carries it’s message into the follow up holler “Jubilation Foundry”.
By the time the 1972 Schizophrenia hit the shelves Sage were back into electric with some stirring lead fusion on “Custom Angel Man”. a psychedelic master of note. The album enlisted Dave Lambert on piano and organ. Schizophrenia also sprouts some very fast guitar and nifty riffs on “Song Of Life, “Song Of Death” and “Slow Down Man” with Rod Coombes on drums. In the spirit of Jubilation’s “Tuesday Evening” those S&G harmonies reel through “Tale Of A Rainy Night”. Rob Young stepped in for the flute and oboe on the exquisite “Autumn”, a Strawb template in anybody’s book. Paul brett would later team up with ex Levee Breakers Johnny Joyce from Velvet Opera as an acoustic duo and then Cyril Stapleton Orchestra (with Dave Palmer of Jethro Tull and Bob Voice of Fire.
Paul’s awesome fretwork spills through (Bradley’s Records) “Mr.Custer“ & “Summer Driftin“ singles. From 1973 Paul’s solo albums on Bradleys Records, backed by violinist/guitarist Mike Piggott first heard with John Dummer Blues Band , Bert Janch and added multi-instrumentalist Dave Griffiths rule the roost. Further albums most likely deemed Prog or Suites wash Clock’s , Phoenix Future and Earth Birth, the latter a must.
The definitive purchase must be Fretdancer by Paul and that 12-string mandarin called Johnny Joyce that even Shawn Phillips stands in awe of. Paul Brett continues to record, evolving with each recording. Sadly Johnny Joyce passed from this world to a far greater dimension.
by Shiloh Noone
Tracks
1. 3D Mona Lisa (Bob Voice) - 3:22
2. The Sun Died - 4:04
3. Little Aztec Prince (Bob Voice) - 4:25
4. Reason for Your Asking (Paul Brett, Bob Voice) - 4:13
5. Trophies of War - 3:49
6. The Tower - 5:18
7. The Painter - 4:14
8. Mediterranean Lazy Heat Wave (Bob Voice) - 3:21
9. Warlock - 5:42
10.Wher Have All The Clowns Gone? - 3:05
11.One Night Stand - 2:46
All songs by Paul Brett except where indicated.
According to the liner notes on their album, drummer Nick Alexander, singers Liza Gonzales and Dave Riordan, guitarist Greg Likens, keyboard player Bill Masuda and bassist Bill Reynolds met while students at San Luis Obispo's Cal Poly.
Signed by Dot, their 1968 debut teamed the band with producer Frank Slay. Musically "The Yankee Dollar" was nothing less than wonderful. Gonzales and Riordan were both gifted with nice voices and on tracks such as "Sanctuary" and "City Sidewalks" effortlessly trading lead vocals. Backed by Likens' fuzz guitar (check out the great solo on "Live and Let Live"), Masuda's stabbing organ chords and occasional sound effects, the collection sported a sound that successfully blended folk-rock with Jefferson Airplane-styled psychedelic.
Musically the set offered up a standard mix of popular covers (Donovan's "Catch the Wind", Dylan's "The Times, They Are A-Changin'" and Chet Power's "Let's Get Together") and original material. While the covers were all nicely done, group penned originals such as "Follow Your Dream's Way" and "Johann Sebastian Cheetah" were even better. Inexplicably the set failed to sell. The band apparently subsequently called it quits.
by Scott Blackerby
Tracks
1. Sanctuary (Carter, Gilbert) - 2:16
2. Good Old Friends (Carter, Gilbert) - 2:36
3. Catch The Wind (Donovan) - 2:55
4. If In Swimming (David Riordan) - 3:53
5. Follow Your Dream's Way (Greg Likens) - 6:36
6. Live And Let Live (Carter,Gilbert) - 2:18
7. City Sidewalks (Carter,Gilbert) - 2:56
8. Let's Get Together (Chet Powers) - 4:30
9. Winter Boy (Buffy St. Marie) - 2:22
10.The Times, They Are A-Changin' (Bob Dylan) - 3:06
11. Johann Sebastian Cheetah (David Riordan, Greg Likens, Freeman) - 3:04
The Yankee Dollar
*Nick Alexander - Drums, Percussion
*Liza Gonzales - Vocals
*Greg Likens - Guitar
*Bill Masuda - Organ
*Bill Reynolds - Bass
*Dave Riordan - Vocals
The experience that what was Fred, goes beyond what will be said here, as the music made by the band in the years 1970-1974 goes beyond the tracks of this album. The hope in these words is to give a little historical context to the music being published here, for the first time in a collection more than thirty years after it was first recorded.
Ken Price and Joe DeChristopher began playing together while students at Bucknell University in Lewisburg Pennsylvania in 1967. Ken played keyboards, mainly a beat-up electric Wurlitzer Piano. Joe fancied himself a guitar player, but took up Bass to play in Ken’s Band “Still at Large”. When the lead Guitar player dropped out late in 1968, Ken and Joe stayed together, adding John, a young Bass player. Unfortunately, John’s freshman roommate, Bo Fox, had been snatch up by another popular fraternity dance hall band, “The Gross National Product” a trio of Bo on the Drums and two upperclassmen on Guitar and Keyboards.
While the drumming set was not well filled, Joe and Ken thought they could also use a vocalist to help out. Their classmate Gary Rosenberg self-styled poet and disc jockey at the college radio station, steered the to David Rose recently back at Bucknell after a tour of service as a conscientious objector (running a Quaker related home of disadvantaged youth in a tough part of Paris). David made a great contribution as a stager and frontman, keeping quiet the fact about that he’d been trained to play the Violin, which he started doing at the age of six.
The band known occasionally as “David Rose and his Orchid” or “Mustang Turfbinder and the Swelltones” was improving but still need help on the Drums. Help came in the autumn of 1969, when Bo’s GNP band-mates had graduated and left town, leaving him available. Again with an assist from Gary, Ken, Joe, John and David, now willing to try the Violin in the context of improvisational Rock ‘n’ Roll, matched up with Bo. Amidst the belated arrival in small-town, rural America of blossoming counterculture of Peace, Love and drugs, a wonderful musical experience was born.
Gary continued part of our experience, as a friend an source for new music from the likes of The Band, Procol Harum, Traffic, Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Frank Zappa to name a few. We spent the month of January 1970 intending to write a hundred original tunes, a task at which we failed miserably. Even so, we knew that there was something special happening, and as young and as inexperienced as we were, there was a growing will among us to keep with it.
School ended for most of us either by choice or by graduation in May 1970, but we stayed together most of us living in either of two small harm houses about 4 miles west of town. John transferred to a school in Boston, and we accepted into our ranks of ex-collegians, the outsider Michael “Bones” Robinson, self made bass player and song-writer.
We spend the summer smelling honeysuckle along the banks of the Susquehanna, on those trips back from high schools and bars to the south, near Harrisburg and York, we later spent our time building a house out of a barn for David’s family to live in (after his apartment was ruined by flood of 1972), learning to play, to write and manage on our shared income from playing music.
We attracted diverse collection of friends and well-wishers along the way, including artist/photographer L.J. Kopf roaches Roger Brown and Pat Biggs, sound engineer Charlie Bozenhard (who put together the components of a system to amplify David), Folk musicians Tom Patten and Ira Packman (who opened for some of our concerts), a group of ex-students who became carpenters working as “Grassy Flats” and many others, too numerous to mention.
By late 1971, we'd worked up several original tunes (most of them included on this album.) We managed to produce a 45 rpm single, containing "Salvation Lady" and "a love song", both with lyrics from Gary. David preached the vision of a self-sufficient community of artists, self supporting and true to itself. Gary continued to write poetry, much of which was never put to music. LJ took pictures, designed posters, and showed slides at our concerts.
Everyone took a role in the life of the band, on and off the' stage. We covered Procol Harum, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and Mahavishnu Orchestra, enlisting the talenls of wunderkind Peter Eggets on piano, drums when Bo took a break, horn arrangements, and a work ethic we’d never found on our own. Up into 1973, we were existing on the outside of a society in generational turmoil, enjoying our role as outsiders, defiant that hired us, and the booking agents who tried to make a dollar in marketing us.
Even so in those early years especially, we were more than the music, and bigger than the sum of our parts. With the eventual addition of Peter as a full time member of the band, came the departure of Gary, and ultimately later on the dissolution of the band, but alas, that is not the story of the music on this album.
Enjoy what is here, know there is more recorded Fred music to come, and that what is recorded here, while standing on its own merit, was also a part of the seasoning process which led to the music made later under the influence of the formidable composing and arranging skills of Peter Eggers. Welcome to the first recorded music of Fred.
By Joe DeChristopher (Lewisburg Pennsylvania)
Tracks
1. Four Evenings (Mike Robison, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:39
2. Soft Fisherman (David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:31
3. Salvation Lady (Ken Price, David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:01
4. By The Way (Joe DeChristopher, David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:45
5. I'll Go On (Joe DeChristopher, Ken Price, David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 4:26
6. For Fearless Few (Mike Robison) - 3:47
7. A Love Song (Joe DeChristopher, Gary Rosenberg) - 4:40
8. Booking Agent Blues (Joe DeChristopher) - 4:33
9. Windwords (Joe DeChristopher, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:51
10.A Love Song (45rpm version) (Joe DeChristopher, Gary Rosenberg) - 3:58
Fred
*Gary Rosenberg - Lyrics, Percussion
*Joe DeChristopher - Guitar
*David Rose - Keyboards, Violin, Guitar, Vocals
*Bo Fox - Drums
*Ken Price - Keyboards
*Mike Robison - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*Peter Eggers - Drums, Piano
