rep>>> The Parlour Band - Is A Friend (1972 uk, beautiful prog silk rock, 2010 remaster with extra track)

The Parlour Band have the dubious honour of being the first band from the small English Channel island of Jersey to be signed by a major UK label (Decca) and put into a studio to record an album. This was in late 1971 after Decca had been impressed by some very basic demos submitted the previous year by Peter Filleul, the band's song writer, lead vocalist and keyboard player. At the time, the band was based in Leicester as the group's drummer (Jerry Robins) and one of the guitarists (Jon 'Pix' Pickford) were studying at the local polytechnic (also the venue for the group's first mainland concert). 

The other two group members were brothers Craig and Mark Anders (guitar and bass, respectively), and the five of them shared two low-rent houses typical of the squalor fit only for habitation by mice and students! However, the accommodation did give the band space to practice and Leicester was a fairly convenient location to travel from to get to gigs, although after signing a deal the band relocated to London to be nearer the hub of the English music industry.

From the opening Hammond riff of Forgotten Dreams with its accompanying layered vocals there is no mistaking that Is A Friend? is a product of the 70s. A fantastic opening which surprisingly leads into the more mellow Pretty Haired Girl. The harmony vocals are spot on and the twin lead guitars provide a gloriously melodic interlude. What is essentially a superior pop song breaks with conformity with a guitar solo which stridently leads the listener directly into Spring's Sweet Comfort. And so it goes on, song after song of melodic glory that effortlessly combines prog stylings, pop overtones and west Coast US harmonies. 

Although identifiable as being from the 1970s, it is not surprising that the album failed to capture the imagination of the masses. Sure the players are technically very proficient and the song writing is first class, but the album lacks the bombast of an out-and-out progressive album of the era and is crushed in comparison to the glam rock that occupied the singles charts. Filleul's writing was not entirely unaffected by the contemporary influences as evidenced by tracks such as Evening and the closing suite, Home which provides a light prog finale to the album, and also the rather enigmatic album title (the lyrics include the line: Home is a friend).

I am sure a lot of people would dismiss this album as lightweight and somewhat inconsequential. However, I have to state that I seriously love all of the songs; from the uplifting Little Goldie, through the melancholy of Don't Be Sad to the harder Early Morning Eyes. The killer vocals get to me, the playing is concise and precise, the tunes are memorable and the production (by Nick Tauber) is crystal clear. With Esoteric's precision remastering the sound of the album is perfect and at last there is an informative booklet, written by band member Craig Anders, with information on the band and what they are up to these days. As we have come to expect, the album also features a bonus rarity, Runaround, a horn embellished rocker, the number shows a different side to the band that is not so evident from the 10 core album tracks.

The Parlour Band only released the one album under that moniker but didn't split when the album failed to sell. Instead they changed their name, first to A Band Named O and then simply The O Band, and released four more albums, albeit on a different label. The style of music also changed, taking on a harder edge with Filleul's songwriting dominance usurped. Being a long-time fan of Is A Friend?, this remasterered version is a treat to behold and will no doubt provide me many hours of late night enjoyment. This is an album I would unfailingly recommend to anyone based purely on my own love of the music. However, being somewhat more objective, the progressive elements of the album are rather thin on the ground and, as such, may not find much appeal with our readership. Of course, that doesn't mean that it is not a worthwhile album to possess... 

by Mark Hughes

Tracks
1. Forgotten Dreams - 2:42
2. Pretty Haired Girl - 2:51
3. Spring's Sweet Gomfort - 5:05
4. Early Morning Eyes - 3:52
5. Follow Me - 4:56
6. Evening - 4:58
7. Don't Be Sad - 3:19
8. Little Goldie - 3:20
9. To Happiness - 2:59
10.Home - 7:38
11.Runaround - 4:26
All Words and Music by Peter Filleul

The Parlour Band
*Peter Filleul - Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Rhythm Acoustic
*Pix - Vocals, Wah Wah Gibson
*Craig Anders - Vocals, Electric, Acoustic , Slide Guitar
*Mark Ashley Anders - Vocals, Bass
*Jerry Robins - Percussion

Related Act

1974  A Band Called O - "O" (2019 Big Pink Korea)
1975  A Band Called O - Oasis (2019 Big Pink Korea)

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The Blue Jays - Nascence (1970 us, awesome funky groovy brass rock)

Blue Jays were a US band, their sole LP "Nascence" recorded November 1970 on Map City Label (same as Purple Image and Yesterday's Children). Funky rock record with "Wahka, Wahka" a downtempo and moody cut & "Independent Man" a midtempo, edgy, funky tune. Collector's item with the Supa good "What Do You Want From Me Woman" sampled by "Large Professor" for "Nas" Rapper "It Ain't Hard To Tell".An essential LP with superb gatefold cover. After this release they changed the name to White Water and released "Out Of The Darkness" in 1973 on RCA label. John Vastano former lead singer/song writer of the Blue Jays/White Water, passed away September 21, 2018.  

Tracks

1. Hey Little Lady - 3:37

2. What Do You Want From Me Woman - 3:40

3. Freedom - Where Have You Gone - 3:35

4. Reason To Cry - 4:06

5. Independant Man - 3:29

6. Wahka Wahka (Dick Domane) - 5:40

7. Jackson (Billy Edd Wheeler, Jerry Leiber) - 3:23

8. Beg Borrow And Steal - 3:08

9. Hard Thing To Accept - 3:13

All songs by John Vastano except where stated

The Blue Jays

*Bob Fiocco - Bass, Trombone

*Conrad Catalano - Drums, Percussion

*John Emma - Tenor, Alto Saxophones

*John Vastano - Guitar, Vocals

*Richard Domane - Organ, Trumpet

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rep>>> Montrose - Montrose (1973 us, awesome hard rock, 2017 deluxe double disc remaster)

While not exactly a commercial success in their heyday, cult hard rock band Montrose has been hugely influential on a number of artists; their debut album from 1973 took thirteen years to go platinum and in the interim, it seems they have been all but forgotten again. The people at Audio Fidelity Discs are doing their best to rectify that situation as they have given the svelte gold disc treatment to this somewhat neglected classic.

Listening to the album today, I come away amazed that it didn't sell like a typical outing from AC/DC, Kiss or Aerosmith. As cheerfully brainless as any of those bands, but just as much fun, Montrose deserved stadium rock band status. From the first note to the last, the music is as punch drunk energetic as a high school keg party.

"Rock the Nation", "Bad Motor Scooter", "Good Rockin' Tonight" and "One Thing on My Mind" are rock and roll simplicity personified, very American, very loud and brutish. You can't listen to these songs without wanting to crank the volume! "Space Station #5" is a bona fide classic, Ronnie Montrose's spacey introductory guitar effects giving way to the best song Led Zeppelin never wrote. "Rock Candy" is arguably Sammy Hagar's crowning achievement, delivering lyrics such as "'Cos you're rock candy baby/You're hot, sweet and sticky" with just the kind of swagger they deserve. Denny Carmassi's drums cut through this track with unbelievable groove and power.

While Van Halen certainly deserve credit for creating a number of exciting albums, there are several eerie coincidences served up just five years later on that band's legendary debut: Van Halen recruited Montrose's producer, engineer and many elements of the Montrose sound (not to mention their singer in later years!), albeit with far more emphasis on the histrionics and took that formula all the way to the bank.

Audio Fidelity's recent remaster is an absolute must for Montrose fans. It's a vast improvement over the more readily available CD version on Warner Brothers. No, you don't get bonus tracks or fancy packaging. Yes, you'll have to pay a little more for the gold disc. So scoop one up fast before you have to pay top dollar on Ebay for these collectible limited editions. 

by Steve Pettengill, February 12th 2006

The 2017 Deluxe edition with remastered sound, includes liner notes and a bonus disc made up of demos and a live radio recording made before the band even had a name. It was taped in April of 1973 for radio station KSAN when the group were last minute fill-ins for Van Morrison. They rip through a ten song set of originals and covers, with Ronnie Montrose sounding like a beast on guitar. Also on the disc are six demos cut in 1973, with a speeded up early version of "Rock Candy" and one song, "Shoot Us Down," that didn't make the final cut. These extras help make a classic album even more of one.

by Eduardo Rivadavia

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Rock The Nation (Ronnie Montrose) - 3:03

2. Bad Motor Scooter (Sammy Hagar) - 3:43

3. Space Station #5 (Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose) - 5:17

4. I Don't Want It (Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose) - 2:59

5. Good Rockin' Tonight (Roy Brown) - 2:59

6. Rock Candy (Denny Carmassi, Bill Church, Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose) - 5:05

7. One Thing On My Mind (Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, J. Sanchez) - 3:41

8. Make It Last (Sammy Hagar) - 5:33

Disc 2

1. One Thing On My Mind (Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, J. Sanchez) - 3:40

2. Shoot Us Down (Ronnie Montrose) - 4:32

3. Rock Candy (Denny Carmassi, Bill Church, Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose) - 3:55

4. Good Rockin' Tonight (Roy Brown) - 3:20

5. I Don't Want It (Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose) - 3:07

6. Make It Last (Sammy Hagar) - 4:06

7. Intro 0:54

8. Good Rockin' Tonight (Roy Brown) - 3:55

9. Rock Candy (Denny Carmassi, Bill Church, Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose) - 4:46

10.Bad Motor Scooter (Sammy Hagar) - 5:01

11.Shoot Us Down (Ronnie Montrose) - 4:54

12.One Thing On My Mind (Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, J. Sanchez)  - 3:27

13.Rock The Nation (Ronnie Montrose) - 4:55

14.Make It Last (Sammy Hagar) - 6:04

15.You're Out Of Time (Ronnie Montrose) - 3:35

16.Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry) - 4:53

17.I Don't Want It (Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose) - 3:55

Tracks 1-6  Demo Recordings

Tracks 7-17 KSAN Radio Sessions at Record Plant, Sausalito, CA - April 21, 1973

Montrose

*Sammy Hagar - Lead vocals

*Ronnie Montrose - Guitar

*Bill Church - Bass

*Denny Carmassi - Drums

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rep>>> Bent Wind - Sussex (1969 canada, rough heavy fuzzed psych rock, bonus tracks 2001 digipak remaster)

Phenomenally rare, with those surviving copies fetching upwards of 3000 bucks a pop, the 1969 acid rock raver Sussex had its origins in a drug-addled house in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood. As guitarist Marty Roth "recalls" on his blog, "Myself and another friend from schooldays were running a boutique/headshop at the corner of Sussex and Robert. And, every so often...I'd hear a faint blur of something, close to what some might consider music. It was emanating from the basement of one of the houses beside the lane at 57 Sussex Avenue, almost a block away. 

As it turned out, the guitarist was Gerry Gibas, a close friend who I'd been jamming with while writing original tunes any chance we could. He dropped by the shop during their break and told me to drop over. That's where I met Eddie Thomas Majchrowski, the drummer. His mother owned the house at 57 Sussex Avenue and all the rooms on all three floors were rented out to a mix of students, freaks, druggies and musicians. To my surprise, the bass player was Sebastian Pelaia, a classmate from high school, two years earlier."

With the nucleus of Bent Wind now in place, the lads consumed copious amounts of acid, hawked psychedelic candles at the infamous hippie residence Rochdale College, gigged around the corner at several U of T frat parties, and somehow managed to record these eight stoner nuggets. Roth: "Until we finally made it to recording an LP, all of our songs were without real words. We would use a sort of skat gibberish that sounded similar to words but were muffled by the way we used the microphone and echo effects. Nobody cared." With the rock world in flux - Led Zeppelin had already played sold-out shows at the Rockpile venue in February and August of 1969 - the plodding, freeform guitar workouts and soaring harmonies on Sussex would have been standard-issue cool at the time, bridging the Woodstock nation with the brave new heavy-metal world to come. But the band was essentially broke (Roth: "You have to remember, we were "hippies". We didn't have or need any money."), so it is little wonder that even the well-crafted songs sound somewhat amateurish. 

The heavier tracks like 'Mystify', 'Riverside' and 'Hate' come off better here, cutting through with muscular chords and airy vocals, whereas the flowery ballad 'Look at Love', though well-intended, seems to lug its psychedelic baggage a little too awkwardly. Still, in a Toronto awash in hippies and draft-dodgers, with a little spit and polish - not to mention some financial backing - Sussex could have been a contender. 

by Michael Panontin

Tracks
1. Touch Of Red (Marty Roth) - 3:14
2. Riverside (Jerry Gibas, Marty Roth) - 6:13
3. The Lions (Jerry Gibas, Marty Roth) - 5:29
4. Going To The City (Jerry Gibas) - 2:52
5. Hate (Marty Roth) - 5:23
6. Look At Love (Jerry Gibas) - 4:02
7. Mystify (Jerry Gibas) - 3:38
8. Sacred Cows (Jerry Gibas) - 4:10
9. Riverside (Jerry Gibas, Marty Roth) - 6:20
10.Bent Wind (Marty Roth) - 4:01

11.The Chant (Marty Roth) - 3:45

12.Castles Made Of Man (Marty Roth) - 3:26
13.Sacred Cows (Jerry Gibas) - 2:23
Tracks 1-8 Original Album
Tracks 9-11 Unreleased
Tracks 12-13 Rare Single

Bent Wind
*Jerry Gibas - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Eddie Thomas -  Drums   
*Sebastian Pelaia - Bass Guitar
*Marty Roth - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Tracks 9-11
*Marty Roth - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*Michael George Jones - Lead Guitar
*Bill Miller - Bass
*John Butt - Drums

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rep>>> Rough Diamond - Rough Diamond (1977 uk, good classic rock, feat. David Byron from Uriah Heep fame)

Sometimes it is all about timing. In 1977 all the music press was interested in was Punk and New Wave. Only Sounds (the UK Music Paper) was still rallying around rock music and the old guard. Even so, young rock fans (like me) were also very careful with our money. Albums were very expensive and could be a large percentage of your apprenticeship wages back then.

So hearing that David Byron the ex lead vocalist from Uriah Heep had formed a super group and was signed to Island records, was not really hot news.

David Byron had been sacked from Uriah Heep the year before for substance abuse (although musical differences was the reason back then). The last album High & Mighty had been seen as a very lightweight album and had been panned everywhere. I am sure Island Records (who had also signed the Ian Gillan Band) were thinking lets not spend too much on this.

It is a competent rock album from a bunch of musicians who obviously felt they had paid their dues. You can sense the bitterness in the lyrics from Byron in the opening track called Rock n Roll where he references his previous band. He was determined to get back in the rock first division, but alcohol and playing small venues with smaller audiences and press indifference would see the band fold before their star could shine.

The album actually cracked the Billboard top 200 in the USA, so the interest was there, but they never got the chance. I also feel the album was sequenced very badly. In the 1970s it was more common than you think to keep the best tracks until the end of side two. in more modern times you open with your strongest songs, not then. The last two tracks ‘The Link’ and ‘End Of The Line’ are epic, full of atmosphere and PROG overtones. David Byron is in fine voice throughout and he remains a very underated vocalist.

The interplay between keyboard player ‘Damon Butcher’ and Clem Clempson is terrific. Clem Clempson had auditioned for Deep Purple before this. The real find was Damon Butcher on Keyboards, this guy could really play. I do not own this on CD and I played it today to see if I should try and upgrade it, and my decision is made. I will.

by Phil Aston, 31st August 2019

Tracks

1. Rock 'n' Roll (David Byron, Geoff Britton, Martin Rushent) - 3:28

2. Lookin' For You (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron) - 4:06

3. Lock And Key (Clem Clempson, David Byron) - 4:59

4. Seasong (Clem Clempson, David Byron) - 7:35

5. By The Horn (Clem Clempson, David Byron) - 3:13

6. Scared (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron, Geoff Britton, Willie Bath) - 5:33

7. Hobo (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron, Geoff Britton, Willie Bath) - 5:45

8. The Link (Damon Butcher) - 2:19

9. End Of The Line (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron, Geoff Britton) - 5:46

Rough Diamond

*Clem Clempson - Guitar

*Damon Butcher - Keyboards

*David Byron - Lead Vocals

*Geoff Britton - Drums

*Willie Bath - Bass

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rep>>> Hookfoot - Communication (1972 uk, excellent classic rock with prog shades, 2005 reissue)

Communication is the 3rd album from Hookfoot, recorded in 1972 and relased early 1973. With a new bass player Fred Gandy who replaced Mick Grabham. 

Not much different musical directions, classic four piece rock, a little bit more progressive, some more mellow, but still Caleb Quaye's guitar play is spellbiding.  This release comes with five extra tracks.

Tracks
1. Crazy Day Running Around (Ian Duck) - 5:31
2. They'll Never Find Us Up There (Ian Duck) - 4:34
3. To Stay Would Bring Me Down (Caleb Quaye, Ian Duck) - 3:37
4. Forty Winks (Caleb Quaye) - 2:27
5. Oh Joanna (Caleb Quaye) - 5:28
6. Here I Come (Caleb Quaye) - 4:51
7. And Nothing Changes (Caleb Quaye) - 4:41
8. Cruisin' (Ian Duck, Fred Gandy, Roger Pope, Caleb Quaye) - 5:27
9. The Love That You Saved (Caleb Quaye) - 2:19
10.Just A Little Communication (Caleb Quaye) - 5:28
11.Flying In The U.S.A. (Caleb Quaye) - 4:20
12.Is Anyones There (Ian Duck, Fred Gandy, Roger Pope, Caleb Quaye) - 4:08
13.Slick's Blues For Jumbo (Caleb Quaye, Ian Duck) - 1:45
14.Look To Your Churches (Caleb Quaye, Ian Duck) - 2:39
15.Good Times A' Comin' (Ian Duck, Fred Gandy, Roger Pope, Caleb Quaye) - 6:18
Bonus Tracks 11-15

The Hookfoot
Caleb Quaye - Electric, Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Pianos, Organ, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals
Ian Duck - Electric, Acoustic Guitars, Harp, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals
Roger Pope - Drums, Percussions, Tambourine, Cow-Bell
Fred Gandy - Bass, Percussion
With
Dave Glover - Bass Guitar (Tracks 11-15)

1969  Hookfoot - A Piece Of Pye (2010 japan Remaster)
1971  Hookfoot - Hookfoot (2010 japan remaster)  
1972  Hookfoot - Good Times A'comin ( japan 2010 bonus track remaster)
1973  Hookfoot - Roaring (2005 expanded edition)

1975  Hookfoot - Headlines (2015 Double Disc)

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Eyes Of Blue - In Fields Of Ardath (1969 uk, excellent prog psych rock, 2012 remaster and expanded)

Their second album is more progressive. The best tracks are Merry Go Round (from the 'Toy Grabbers' Soundtrack), which is a keyboard-dominated progressive piece with some good guitar breaks and much classical influence; Graham Bond's Spanish Blues, with some jazzy organ; Door, with its spooky vocals, which along with the dreamy title cut indicated the band's interest in the supernatural and the occult (especially reincarnation).

There was a native sensuality in their playing. Eyes Of Blue was musically curious - In Fields of Ardath is now regarded as a classic album of the era and is much sought after by collectors.

Phil Ryan later played in Man, whilst Weathers went onto play with Pete Brown and Piblokto! and Gentle Giant. Ritchie Francis later made a solo album in 1971. The band later recorded as Big Sleep and aided Ancient Grease on their sole album.

Tracks
1. Merry Go Round - 9:07
2. The Light We See (Gary Pickford Hopkins) - 2:13
3. Souvenis (Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli) - 2:42
4. Ardath (John "Pugwash" Weathers) - 2:36
5. Spanish Blues (Graham Bond) - 4:00
6. Door (Phil Ryan, R. Bennett) - 6:47
7. Little Bird - 2:32
8. After The War (John "Pugwash" Weathers) - 3:31
9. Extra Hour (Phil Ryan) - 2:39
10.Chances - 2:51
11.Apache '69 (J. Lordan) - 4:27
12.QIII (B-Side single) (L. Glas) - 2:31
13.Largo (A-side of Spanish single, released as Big Sleep) (George Frideric Handel) - 3:33
All songs by Ritchie Francis except where indicated

The Eyes Of Blue
*Phil Ryan - Organ, Piano
*Ritchie Francis - Bass, Piano, Vocals
*John "Pugwash" Weathers - Drums, Vocals
*Raymond "Taff' Williams - Guitar
*Gary Pickford Hopkins - Vocals, Guitars

Related Acts
1971  Big Sleep - Bluebell Wood (2007 remastered edition)
1972  Man - Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day (2007 remaster with extra tracks)

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rep>>> Roger McGuinn - Peace On You (1974 us, amazing folk classic rock, 2007 japan remaster)

When Roger McGuinn released his second solo album, Columbia promoted it by playing up McGuinn’s status as a rock & roll legend. It was a point that needed making after several mediocre Byrds albums and a solo record that somehow managed to fly under the radar of rock fans and radio stations. Peace on You isn’t a markedly better record than his first, again suffering from an identity crisis as McGuinn brings in material from other writers, although the production value has more oomph this time. It’s not a bad record and, in fact, grows on me the more I listen to it, but at no point do I have the sense that I’m listening to a rock & roll legend.

Of course, McGuinn wasn’t the only rock star to flounder in the mid Seventies: Neil Young rejected his rock-star status, John Lennon retired, Joni Mitchell was making jazz records. And Peace on You isn’t any worse than those Stephen Stills albums. Individually, the songs are interesting enough. In fact, the songwriting partnership with Jacques Levy was proving almost as fruitful as the Hunter-Garcia team. The Lady, Gate of Horn and Without You are all solid songs with good lyrics. Two songs from James “Donnie” Dacus, who would join Stills in the studio the following year, are also very good: Going to the Country and Do What You Want To.

The remaining songs come from very different quarters. Better Change from Dan Fogelberg is a nice match for McGuinn’s voice; (Please Not) One More Time, featuring Al Kooper, not so much. But the oddest choice is the decision to make a fairly straight cover of Charlie Rich’s Peace on You (from his award-winning Behind Closed Doors album of the previous year) the centerpiece of the album. It gets the album off to unsteady start from which it never really recovers.

As I said, this album grows on me the more I listen to it, and the quality of the individual songs make up for its inconsistencies. Bill Halverson (credited with wife Suzanne) provides plenty of production polish and the backing band (featuring past and future Stills collaborators) is a nice change of partners.

by Dave Connolly, October 4, 2022

Tracks

1. Peace On You (Charlie Rich) - 4:01

2. Without You (Jacques Levy, Roger McGuinn) - 4:07

3. Going To The Country (Donnie Dacus) - 3:17

4. (Please Not) One More Time (Al Kooper) - 3:23

5. Same Old Sound (Roger McGuinn) - 3:30

6. Do What You Want To (Donnie Dacus) - 3:00

7. Together (Jacques Levy, Roger McGuinn) - 3:38

8. Better Change (Dan Fogelberg) - 3:00

9. Gate Of Horn (Jacques Levy, Roger McGuinn) - 2:45

10.The Lady (Jacques Levy, Roger McGuinn) - 4:16

11.Rock And Roll Time (Bob Neuwirth, Kris Kristofferson, Roger McGuinn) - 3:17

Musicians

*Roger McGuinn - Lead Vocals, 12-String Rhythm, Lead Guitar

*Donnie Dacus - 6-String Rhythm, Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals 

*Dan Fogelberg - Backing Vocals, Electric, Acoustic Guitar (Tracks 6, 8)

*Paul Harris - Keyboards 

*Russ Kunkel - Drums, Percussion

*Lee Sklar - Bass 

*Jorge Calderon - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Tish Coulter - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Gwendolyn Edwards - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Brenan Gordon - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Jordan Halverson - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Charles Higgins, Jr. - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Brooks Hunnicutt - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Howard Kaylaw (Kaylan) - Backing Vocals (Tracks 5, 8)

*Mark Kellgren - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Eddie Lee Kendrix - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Al Kooper - Sweetening,  Clavinet, Piano, Guitar, Arranger,  Conductor  

*Al Perkins - Steel Guitar  (Track 6)

*Brian Russell - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*William Smith - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Paul, Cynthia - Backing Vocals 

*Pilar Stallworth - Backing Vocals (Track 1) 

*Mark Volman - Backing Vocals (Tracks  5, 8)

*Tommy Tedesco - Flamingo Guitar  (Track 7)

1973  Roger McGuinn - Roger McGuinn (2013 Edition)

1975  Roger McGuinn And Band - Roger McGuinn And Band (2004 extra tracks remaster)

1979-80  McGuinn Clark Hillman - The Capitol Collection (2007 double disc set)

With The Byrds
1964  The Byrds - Preflyte (2012 Edition)

1967  The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday (2012 Blu-Spec japan)
1968  The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo  (Double Disc Set)
1971  The Byrds - Live At Royal Albert Hall
1971  The Byrds - Farther Along (Blu Spec 2014 extra tracks release)
1971  The Byrds - Byrdmaniax (2013 Japan Blu Spec edition)
1973  Byrds - Byrds (2004 issue)

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rep>>> Hammersmith - Hammersmith • It's For You (1975-76 canada, fine hard rock, Vinyl editions)

Hammersmith was the direct descendent of Painter, a Calgary-based hard rock band that had relocated to Seattle and produced one album in '74. Once Painter had played its last note in '74, Doran Beattie on lead vocals, guitarist Dan Lowe, Royden Morice on bass and keyboards and drummer Herb Ego moved back to Calgary and reinvented themselves.

They were still under contract to Mercury Records, and Bruce Allen, manager of BTO, agreed to manage them. Keeping the same harder edge to their music as their predecessor Painter, they added Jeff Boyne as a second guitarist and began touring western Canada while making stops in Sounds West Studios in Calgary and Timbre Sound in Vancouver to put some material they'd written onto tape. The bulk of these songs were written while the band was still Painter, but in the middle of the recording sessions, Ego left and was replaced behind the drum kit by James Llewellyn.

With Lowe producing, their self-titled debut came out in the summer of '75. "Late Night Lovin' Man" was released as a single, cracking the Top 40 at home. Before long "Funky As She Goes" followed suit, and they found themselves touring Canada for the rest of the year. Other noteable tracks included the cover of Rick Derringer's "Daybreak" and "Breakin' Down," the only original song Lowe didn't have a hand in writing.

By next spring Craig Blair had replaced Boyne on guitars and Llewellyn was gone and Cold Lake native Dale Buchner was the new drummer. They travelled to Sundown Recorders in Edmonton for their 1976 follow-up, IT'S FOR YOU. This time they relied on Jim Gaines, who'd worked with them when they were Painter to co-produce the album with Lowe. "Dancin' Fools" was released as a single, which failed to crack the Top 40. With the record failing to make much of an impression, Mercury had grown impatient with the band and they found themselves without a label.

Once they were off the road, Beattie quit, though the band carried on without him while searching for a new singer and a new deal. Among the people trying out for the singer position was future Moxy and Loverboy frontman Mike Reno (still going by his real name Mike Rynoski), though he didn't last long. By the end of '77 Lowe pulled the plug and everyone went on to do their own thing.

Lowe started up a new project, 451 Degrees a couple of years later, and then Prototype. In addition to becoming a successful producer, he also invented a stereo enhancement process involving multiple microphones called Q Sound, which has been used by such artists as Madonna, Sting, and Pink Floyd, as well as in cell phone technology. Beattie did some session work and became a respected country artist.

Canadian-bands

Tracks

1. Late Night Lovin' Man (Jeff Boyne, Doran Beattie, Dan Lowe) - 3:21

2. I've Got A Right To Know (Doran Beattie, Dan Lowe) - 2:32

3. Money Rock (Doran Beattie, Dan Lowe, Royden Morris) - 3:52

4. Breakin' Down (Doran Beattie, Royden Morris) - 2:52

5. Daybreak (Rick Derringer) - 4:42

6. Feelin' Better (Doran Beattie, Dan Lowe, Royden Morris) - 3:18

7. Nobody Really Knows (Why The Sun Goes Down) (Jeff Boyne, Dan Lowe) - 3:39

8. Low Ridin' Ladies (Doran Beattie, Jeff Boyne) - 2:31

9. Funky As She Goes (Doran Beattie, Dan Lowe, Royden Morris) - 2:39

10.Open Up The Sky (Doran Beattie, Dan Lowe, Royden Morris) - 6:32

Tracks 

1. Be A Star (Royden Morris, Dan Lowe, Doran Beattie, Craig Blair) - 3:58

2. Barre's Bizarre (Dan Lowe, Craig Blair) - 2:35

3. Good-Bye, Good-Bye (Craig Blair, Dan Lowe, Doran Beattie) - 3:50

4. When I Was Young (Doran Beattie, Craig Blair, Dan Lowe, Royden Morris, Dale Buchner) - 5:57

5. Breakaway (Craig Blair, Dan Lowe, Doran Beattie) - 4:19

6. Dancin' Fools (Doran Beattie, Dan Lowe) - 2:58

7. Kickin' Back (Craig Blair, Dan Lowe, Doran Beattie, Dale Buchner) - 3:37

8. Hello, It's for You (Doran Beattie, Royden Morris, Dan Lowe) - 2:57

9. Under the Sea (Doran Beattie, Craig Blair, Dan Lowe, Royden Morris, Dale Buchner) - 6:11

10.Mr. Las Vegas (Royden Morris) - 4:03

Hammersmith
1975  Hammersmith
*Doran Beattie - Lead Vocals
*Dan Lowe - Lead Guitar
*Royden Morice - Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
*Bob Ego - Drums
*Jeff Boyne - Rhythm Guitar
*Jim Llewellyn - Drums
1976  It's For You
*Dan Lowe - Lead Guitar
*Doran Beattie - Lead Vocals
*Craig Blair - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Royden Morice - Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
*Dale Buchner - Drums

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rep>>> Edgar Broughton Band - Wasa Wasa • Sing Brother Sing • Edgar Broughton Band • In Side Out • Oora (1969-73 uk, outstanding rough acid freak rock, 2014 five discs box set)

The debut album by British free-festival favorites the Edgar Broughton Band almost literally re-created the spirit of their natural territory -- a muddy field full of sunbaked hippies -- with eight more or less epic tracks that, though their inspiration has long become the stuff of ancient history, remain essential listening to all but the most jaded ears. All maniacal cackle and frenzied riffing, the band's first single, "Evil," and the brutal bellowing of "Love in the Rain" are the most conventional numbers in that they were certainly written as crowd-pleasing stompers in the days before "Out Demons Out" established itself as the Edgar Broughton Band's all-consuming anthem.

More impressive, however, are the numbers which see the band stretching both their capabilities and their audience's expectations -- the lengthy opus "Dawn Crept Away," the evocatively titled "Death of an Electric Citizen," and, best of all, "American Boy Soldier." Ranking alongside Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" as British rock's finest contribution to the Vietnam War, it is a Mothers of Invention-esque piece that blends sneering spoken word with a delightfully doo wop-ish invocation of all that war really has to offer and all that its servants leave behind. "Shot down from my plane/Never be the same again/I was just 16 years old." As jaggedly metallic as it is theatrically ambitious, Wasa Wasa (an Eskimo phrase meaning "from far, far away") stands alongside early albums by the Fairies, the Deviants, and Hawkwind as a dramatic snapshot of a very special moment in time, as the whimsical hopefulness of the late '60s gave way to the chilled cynicism of the early '70s. And, while the band would certainly produce better songs over the next three years, they never again unleashed such a potent mood.

by Dave Thompson

Sing Brother Sing almost equals the psychedelic cohesiveness and insouciant air of the Edgar Broughton Band's debut album, but, even without doing so, it still stands as their second strongest release. All the songs on Sing Brother Sing wallow in a hippie-ish, kick-backed experimental blues-rock style, extenuated to perfection by Broughton's resonant grumble and vocal staunchness, and surrounded by chem lab mixtures of guitar and bass. The group's peculiar instrumental outputs give odd tracks such as "There's No Vibrations but Wait," "Momma's Reward," and the two parts of "Psychopath" progressive rock-type tendencies with a homemade wit, which would be the band's most daunting characteristic outside of Edgar Broughton's singing.

Although the Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa comparisons are unavoidable, the rest of Sing Brother Sing's facets and odd instrumental avenues emit a distinctness that remains the whole album through. The quaint but humorous English air that encircles "Officer Dan" and "Old Gopher" reflects Broughton's adept satirical approach, maybe without him even knowing it. Held together with elements of jazz, rock, and blues, the music on Sing Brother Sing is captivating because of its raw integrity, and in its refusal to adhere to structure, formula, or to travel a beaten path.

by Mike DeGagne

The most conventional of the Edgar Broughton Band's first (and best) three albums, 1971's Edgar Broughton Band finds the group dispensing with the no-holds-barred mania and theatricality responsible for such classics as "Out Demons Out," "Up Yours," and "Apache Drop Out" and concentrating instead on more musical endeavors. It's an approach that arguably captures the band at their very best at the same time as revealing them at their ugliest. The two-part epic "For Dr. Spock" conjures images of Gong, as it drifts closer to space rock than the Edgar Broughton Band had hitherto ventured, while "House of Turnabout" certainly restates the group's free-freak credentials with its rumbling percussion and scything guitars, a second cousin to the roars that punctuated Wasa Wasa and Sing Brother Sing.

The heart of Edgar Broughton Band, however, lies elsewhere. The lilting chant "Thinking About You," with its spectral reminders of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero," is certainly one of their most rancorous concoctions, while "Evening Over Rooftops" rides an acoustic guitar as pretty as its flowery lyric, but you know there's something rotten squirming just below the surface, even if you can never quite put your finger on it. The pure pop backing vocals, all "sha-la-la" and "doo-be-doo-be-doo," of course, only add to your unease. And, as that is merely the opening number, you can guess what you're in for over the rest of the album long before you actually get it.

The Broughtons' fifth album has never been as well-regarded as its predecessors, although that has more to do with timing than with the record itself -- by 1973, after all, the Broughtons' brand of post-hippie revolution was feeling just a little tired, particularly in the face of the glam scene that had emerged all around, and no matter how strong the songwriting and performances remained, there was still a sense of too little, too late. Which was colossally unfair. No, Oora isn't a patch on either Wasa Wasa or Sing Brother Sing. But it was an improvement on the previous year's Inside Out, and a handful of its contents -- notably "Exhibits from a New Museum/Green Lights" and "Roccococooler" -- could rub shoulders alongside any of the band's earlier, better-feted material. Indeed, the sheer diversity of Oora flies defiantly in the face of anybody hoping to pigeonhole the band with its past reputation, as Oora reveals a tight, concise, and extraordinarily melodic band whose members had clearly been listening to Neil Young as much as the Mothers of Invention, and weren't afraid to prove it.

by Dave Thompson

Tracks 
Disc 1 Wasa Wasa 1969
1. Death Of An Electric Citizen (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant) - 6:09
2. American Boy Soldier (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant) - 4:22
3. Why Can't Somebody Love Me? (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant) - 5:05
4. Neptune (Steve Broughton) - 4:20
5. Evil (Edgar Broughton) - 2:36
6. Crying Band (Edgar Broughton) - 5:13
7. Love In The Rain (Edgar Broughton) - 3:47
8. Dawn Crept Away (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton) - 13:59

 Disc 2 Sing Brother Sing 1970
1. There's No Vibrations, But Wait! (Edgar Broughton) - 4:13
2. The Moth (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant) - 5:14
3. Momma's Reward (Keep Them Freaks A-Rollin) (Edgar Broughton) - 3:05
4. Refugee (Edgar Broughton) - 3:39
5. Officer Dan (Steve Broughton) - 1:38
6. Old Gopher (Steve Broughton) - 3:53
7. Aphrodite (Edgar Broughton) - 4:05
8. Granma (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant) - 2:27
9. Psychopath (Edgar Broughton) - 6:51
10.It's Falling Away (Edgar Broughton) - 5:30

Disc 3 Edgar Broughton Band 1971

1. Evening Over Rooftops (Edgar Broughton, Victor Unitt) - 5:02

2. The Birth (Edgar Broughton) - 3:43

3. Piece Of My Own (Edgar Broughton) - 2:48

4. Poppy (Edgar Broughton) - 2:14

5. Don't Even Know Which Day It Is (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Victor Unitt) - 4:21

6. House Of Turnabout (Edgar Broughton) - 3:08

7. Madhatter (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Victor Unitt) - 6:16

8. GettingHard / What Is A Woman For? (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant, Victor Unitt) - 7:31

9. Thinking Of You (Steve Broughton, Victor Unitt) - 2:08

10.For Dr. Spock (Parts 1, 2) (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant, Victor Unitt) - 3:50

Disc 4 In Side Out 1972

1. Get Out Of Bed / There's Nobody There / Side By Side (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton) - 3:42

2. Sister Angela (Edgar Broughton) - 0:42

3. I Got Mad (Edgar Broughton, Victor Unitt) - 3:46

4. They Took It Away (Steve Broughton) - 2:27

5. Homes Fit For Heroes (Edgar Broughton) - 4:19

6. Gone Blue (Edgar Broughton, Arthur Grant) - 3:14

7. Chilly Morning Mama (Edgar Broughton) - 4:33

8. The Rake (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton) - 2:43

9. Totin' This Guitar (Edgar Broughton) - 1:47

10.Double Agent (Edgar Broughton) - 2:55

11.It's Not You (Edgar Broughton, Arthur Grant, Victor Unitt) - 11:13

12.Rock 'N' Roll (Edgar Broughton, Victor Unitt) - 2:56

Disc 5 Oora 1973
1. Hurricane Man / Rock 'N' Roller (Edgar Broughton) - 6:15
2. Roccococooler (Edgar Broughton) - 3:11
3. Eviction (Steve Broughton) - 3:01
4. Oh You Crazy Boy! (Victor Unitt) - 2:44
5. Things On My Mind (Steve Broughton) - 3:41
6. Exhibits From A New Museum / Green Lights (Edgar Broughton) - 8:01
7. Face From A Window / Pretty / Hi-Jack Boogie / Slow Down (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant, Victor Unitt) - 10:29
8. Capers (Edgar Broughton, Steve Broughton, Arthur Grant, Victor Unitt) - 1:37

The Edgar Broughton Band
*Edgar Broughton - Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
*Arthur Grant - Bass Guitar, Vocals
*Steve Broughton - Drums, Vocals
*Victor Unitt - Guitars, Vocals (On Discs 1, 3, 4 And 5)
Guest Personnel (Only on Disc 5 "Oora" 1973)
*Madeline Bell – Backing Vocals
*Doris Troy – Backing Vocals
*Lisa Strike – Backing Vocals
*Maggie Thomas – Backing Vocals
*David Bedford – Piano

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rep>>> The Mojo Men - Not Too Old To Start Cryin' The Lost Masters (1966 us, tight razor sharp blend of garage rock and trippier elements, 2008 remaster)

In 1966, having just left Autumn Records, the Mojo Men recorded a batch of songs for their new label Warner Brothers, intended both as potential singles and a possible long-player. The San Francisco-based band had recently recruited drummer and lead singer Jan Errico from the neighbouring Vejtables into the fold, which brought about a change of direction. Originally a raunchy rhythm and blues based combo, the Mojo Men were now transformed into an assured folk rock and baroque pop band that drew comparisons to the Beau Brummels, the Byrds and the Mamas & The Papas.

Sad to say, this album’s worth of mostly original material was eventually shoved under the rug, leaving these sessions to gather dust in the vaults, although some of the tunes would be re-recorded later. But thanks to the recent discovery of the master tapes, here’s “Not Too Old To Start Cryin’” in all its shimmering glory. While a handful of cuts, particularly the Bo Diddley-influenced shuffle beat of ‘Til I Find You’, the fuzztone-spiked ‘Give Me One More Chance’ and the rebel snarl of ‘They May Be Right’ retain the band’s initial garage punk pose, the remainder of the material on the disc emphasizes polish and precision. ‘Don’t Let It Happen To Me’, ‘Look Into My Eyes’, ‘Don’t Leave Me Crying Like Before’, ‘Happiness Is You’ and the title track of the collection – which is heard in two differing arrangements - place a strong emphasis upon the band’s new found repertoire of blissed-out harmonies and flowery melody, complemented by heaps of jangly guitars, twinkling keyboards and smart and tight arrangements.

Alive with colour and light, “Not Too Old To Start Cryin’” examines the Mojo Men at the peak of their powers, resulting in a genuine pop rock masterpiece. Despite the fact these stunning songs were shelved, the band soldiered on and it wasn’t long before fame arrived. In early 1967 they netted a nationwide Top 40 hit single with a gorgeous cover of Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Sit Down Think I Love You’ - but that’s another story altogether.

by Beverly Paterson 

Tracks
1. Not Too Old To Start Cryin' (Second Version) (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:34
2. 'Til I Find You - 2:07
3. Is Our Love Gone (Second Version) - 2:05
4. Sure Of Your Love - 2:02
5. Don't Leave Me Crying Like Before (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 3:34
6. You Didn't Even Say Goodbye - 2:47
7. What Kind Of Man (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:08
8. Happiness Is You - 2:18
9. Look Into My Eyes (Paul Curcio) - 2:46
10.What's The Answer - 2:58
11.Free Ride (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:26
12.Times Like These (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:41
13.Another World (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 3:07
14.Give Me One More Chance (Paul Curcio) - 3:08
15.Don't Let It Happen To Me - 1:53
16.Remember Me (Jim Alaimo, Paul Curcio, Jan Errico) - 2:41
17.Oh Lonesome Me (Don Gibson) - 3:39
18.Not For Me (Jim Alaimo, Paul Curcio, Jan Errico) - 2:44
19.They May Be Right - 2:49
20.She Cried (Ted Daryll, Greg Richards) - 2:54
21.I've Had It (Raymond Ceroni, Carl Bonura) - 2:50
22.Is Our Love Gone (First Version) - 2:21
23.Not Too Old To Start Cryin' (First Version) (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:41
24.There Goes My Mind (Paul Curcio) - 2:35
All songs by Jim Alaimo, Paul Curcio except where stated

The Mojo Men
*Jim Alaimo - Bass, Vocals
*Jan Errico - Vocals, Drums
*Paul Curcio - Guitar, Vocals
*Don Metchick - Keyboards

1965-66  The Mojo Men - Whys Ain't Supposed To Be 
1967-68  Mojo Men - There Goes My Mind 
Related Act
1965-66 The Vejtables - Feel...The Vejtables 

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rep>>> The Insect Trust - Hoboken Saturday Night (1970 us, amazing blues jazz folk psych, 2004 reissue)

So declares Nancy Jeffries, shareholder of the Insect Trust, which congealed in Memphis circa 1966 and melted away in Hoboken by 1971. Strictly speaking, "everybody" was a quintet. Jersey-born Jeffries was the singer, sucked into the Memphis scene after her first band secured a residency in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and abandoned their trek to San Francisco. There she met reed player/rock critic Robert Palmer and fell for Skip James rediscoverer and guitar acolyte Bill Barth. Soon Barth and Jeffries visited New York and wound up renting a place in the same cheap old Hoboken building occupied by Luke Faust, who joined them on banjo, fiddle, and harmonica after they all shared a brief fling with Peter Stampfel's Holy Modal Rounders. Back in came Palmer, who had moved north after college and was writing for a radio-financed freebie masterminded by the guy who later gave the world Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. New Orleans-born saxophonist Trevor Koehler hooked up via a crazed Memphis beatnik they knew.

The quintet included at least two superb musicians: Barth, ranked by James biographer Stephen Calt with the devil man himself, and Gil Evans regular Koehler. But it did not include a rhythm section. This made it hard for them to play out, as did their tendency to traipse off to Tennessee. But it also threw them in with some unlikely sidemen. Drummer Buddy Saltzman, superbassist Chuck Rainey and rhythm guitarist Hugh McCracken, the hired hands on Capitol's 1968 The Insect Trust, were renowned studio cats who also backed, for instance, the Archies--which is less surprising when you learn that manager Steve Dubow came aboard straight from the Cowsills. 

The long-lost 1970 masterwork you've purchased is more ragtag; Joseph Macho and Charlie Macey, for instance, have passed into obscurity. But in addition to nonpareil r&b drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (who's on the debut too), Atco reimbursed contributors including avant bassist William Folwell (Albert Ayler, Buddy Guy), pro bassist Bob Bushnell (Mickey & Silvia, Ian & Sylvia) and, on two tracks, Elvin Jones, the premier jazz drummer of our time.

In 1998 interviews posted by the Perfect Sound Forever netzine, Barth--amid claims that he was "never really a big Insect Trust fan" and that the project must have been a failure because its sole purpose was "making plenty of money"--hits paydirt: "I consciously tried to keep the musical ideas separate and distinct. Fusion music was beginning to happen in those days, and I personally regarded it as mush." Note that Barth assumes leadership of this band he didn't like, the one Jeffries just called "everybody's." Note that Jeffries has also recalled, "Bill was the leader because he was the biggest asshole." Compare Faust's analysis: "The band was a democracy--Bill was the leader but he was laid back." Then return to Barth's point. 

The Insect Trust did not make fusion music. They encompassed blues and old-timey and what was called folk-rock and plenty of jazz and, quiet as it's kept, bubblegum, too. But except for the bubblegum, submerged in the unobtrusive competence that underpins The Insect Trust and the quickened tune sense that sparks Hoboken Saturday Night, the ingredients didn't fuse into mush. They coexisted, strikingly in many of the best cases but always easily and naturally. This was pluralistic tolerance in action, at once traditionalist, futuristic and entranced with the here-and-now.

It was something else too--bohemian. Why else begin with a 35-second opening snatch composed by blind Manhattan street musician Louis "Moondog" Hardin, for decades a fixture in his Viking or Native American leathers at Sixth Avenue and 54th Street? "Be a hobo and go with me/From Hoboken to the sea," quaver Faust and Barth over Palmer's recorder obligato and somebody's bongos. Then Jeffries belts, drawls, swallows and surrounds the title credo about having fun because there's nothing better to do. The groove is solid if not quite in the pocket, with mild mayhem all around including more recorder. 

By the time her three minutes are up, Jeffreys is talking gibberish or speaking in tongues, only to right herself on the lovely lope of "Eyes of a New York Woman"--Bushnell-sounding bass line that never stumbles, harmonizing horns, wearily wistful recorder solo, literary lyric lifted from Thomas Pynchon's V. As a traveling man promises escape on the Barth-Jeffries "Ragtime Millionaire," the horns say hello New Orleans-style, with Palmer picking up his clarinet and Folwell and/or kibitzing beatnik buddy Warren Gardner tootling trumpet.

But the horns don't fully assert themselves till Koehler's "Somedays." An infectious Diddleybeat drives a garbled lyric that kind of begins "I can't ask why who knows when/Because it is and then again" and may or may not wonder whether "we're crazy." But it's the unison reeds that define the track's freneticism. Which--more yin and yang--is immediately corrected by William and Arloha Folwell's pastoral love song "Our Sister the Sun," where Jones's bish-bashing waltz time and bassist Folwell's spirit quest gently tether a clarinet-dominated outro that carries the tune past seven minutes on an album where only one other track exceeds 3:23. In 1970, that seemed a suitable farewell to side one, but on CD it leads to another gear switch: Faust's "Reciprocity," the catchiest, liveliest, silliest and nicest song on the record: "Woke up with this tune in my head/It said, 'You're dead.'" Faust disagrees, with horns and a second-line march to back him up.

The middle of the second side is where vinyl albums used to let up, and there is one dip, Jeffries' breathy rendition of a pretty Koehler tune that doesn't justify the grand title "Reincarnations." But before then, she has her proudest moment, the preemptively feminist/womanist "Trip on Me," where she unlooses her assertive voice, a loud mix of booze, smoke, brass and Middle Eastern scales, on lines like "Understand you're just another man/Everything you touch you don't have to own." "I've done all I can, I'm only human, I'm me," she abruptly concludes--only then once again there's a switch. 

Sprightly banjo-and-recorder that recalls Othar Turner's panpipe blues leads into Jeffries's sweet voice, the murmured lyric something about a train that ends with a reassuring, "Hold me tight, Daddy, everything is OK/I'll stay"--which segues immediately on the same track, into a Faust folk song about the assassination of James Garfield. Then the dip, and then, incredibly, the peak: a fully orchestrated version of a ditty about a play date involving spaceships written and initially sung by Koehler's six-ish son Glade. Banjo, hand drums, grownup duet, crazy unison horn section and Elvin Jones all work and play well with others to climax this joyously eccentric and intensely humanistic album. Yes, the literal ending is nearly six minutes of Koehler and Gardner's wonderful instrumental-plus-scat "Ducks." But it's a coda--a prequel to a sequel, a glimpse of a next that never came.

Anyone who wonders what the hippie '60s were like--or could be like, with the arrant nonsense and obsessive back-biting avoided or suppressed--can find out from this true collective. Not the Beatles or the Stones--they were different, bigger and often better, mass culture. Hoboken Saturday Night--like Have Moicy!, the later and smaller and more pastoral and perfect album Peter Stampfel helped actualize, and maybe the Dead's Aoxomoxoa or even Dylan's Basement Tapes--is subcultural. All involve folkies untouched by self-righteous sentimentality.

Three of the Insect Trust are not gone. Koehler--responsible for Moondog and Jones and "Glade Song," all decisive touches--committed suicide in 1976, a genius misfit to his unnecessary end. Palmer died of liver failure in 1997, a former New York Times staffer who left behind two important books (Deep Blues and Rock & Roll: An Unruly History) and much uncollected journalism and scholarship. Barth was painting in Amsterdam when a heart attack got him in 2000. 

Faust still lives in Hoboken, where he co-directs the Monroe Street Movement Space and teaches tai chi. "Surprised that in later life I was able to function," Jeffries became an a&r luminary, signing the likes of Suzanne Vega and Ziggy Marley before she lost her Elektra vice-presidency in 2000. Understandably, she's feeling disaffected. She thinks bands aren't in it for the music anymore. She's wrong--there are many more such now than in the '60s. But if any of them have a Hoboken Saturday Night in them, I wish they'd tell me about it.

by Robert Christgau

Tracks
1. Be A Hobo (Louis "Moondog" Hardin) - 0:35
2. Hoboken Saturday Night (Nancy Jeffries , Robert Palmer, Bill Barth) - 3:00
3. The Eyes Of A New York Woman (Jeff Ogden, Thomas Pynchon) - 3:08
4. Ragtime Millionaire (Nancy Jeffries, Bill Barth) - 3:20
5. Somedays (Trevor Koehler) - 2:47
6. Our Sister The Sun (Arloha Folwell, William Folwell) - 7:20
7. Reciprocity (Luke Faust) - 3:23
8. Trip On Me (Nancy Jeffries, Robert Palmer, Bill Barth) - 2:45
9.a. Now Then Sweet Man (Trevor Koehler)
b. Mr Garfield (Traditional arr. by Luke Faust) - 3:07
10.Reincarnations (Trevor Koehler) - 3:15
11.Glade Song (Luke Faust, Trevor Koehler) - 3:00
12.Ducks (Trevor Koehler, Warren Gardner) - 5:40

Musicians
*Nancy Jeffries  -  Vocals
*Robert Palmer  - Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Recorder
*Trevor Koehler  - Baritone Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Piccolo Flute, Flute, Drum
*William Folwell - Bass
*Bob Bushnell- Bass
*Joseph Macho- Bass
*Charlie Macey  - Bass, Rhythm Guitar
*Bernard "Pretty" Purdie -Drums
*Charles Nealy -Drums
*Donald MacDonald -Drums
*Elvin Jones -Drums
*Bill Barth - Guitar, Steel Guitar
*Luke Faust - Harmonica, Banjo, Electric Guitar, Fiddle
*Hugh McCracken - Rhythm Guitar
*Ralph Casale- Rhythm Guitar
*William Folwell  - Trumpet
*Warren Gardner  - Trumpet

1968  The Insect Trust

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