The Blend was a '70s rock quintet from Maine led by singer/guitarist Jim Drown .Signed to MCA and accomplished two albums. and had combined sales of nearly 130,000 records. They even got on Billboard's top 100 at #74 with a bullet.
The Blend had it all. All five were lead singers and songwriters, and every show was an addictive train ride that led to a climactic explosion several times.
The Blend gained the experience of touring and opening huge shows for a long list of great rock and roll acts (The Who, ZZ Top, Hall and Oates, Charlie Daniels, etc). Their second album under the title "Anytime Delight" released in 1979 and it’s a pleasant hard rockin with some smokin southern blasts.
Tracks
1. Feel Like I'm Crazy - 3:49
2. Money (Steven Dore) - 5:09
3. Anytime Delight (Steven Dore) - 3:09
4. I'm Not Losin' - 3:15
5. Sky High (Steven Dore, Jeff Joseph) - 4:18
6. Misty Blue (Donnie "D.P." Pomber) - 4:01
7. She Can Take Me - 3:26
8. Will You Be Mine (Steven Dore) - 3:15
9. For Crying Out Loud - 1:58
10.The Prize - 7:03
All songs by Jim "J.D." Drown except where stated
The Blend
*Steven Dore - Guitar, Piano
*Jim "J.D." Drown - Guitar
*Ken Holt - Bass, Vocals
*Donnie "D.P." Pomber - Guitar, Piano
*Skip Smith - Drums
Moonstone members lived in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada and released a completely left unnoticed LP on the private Canadian label Kot’Ai, recorded in Montreal somewhere in the early ‘70’s, and, like the label says, what a great discovery this is indeed. On the first track, female singer Carolyn MacLeod sounds like a cross between Vasthi Bunyan and perhaps Linda Perhacs.
All tracks have delicate and gentle fingerpicking guitar. There’s one short instrumental based upon guitars only, “Fina’s Birthday Song”. Often the male vocals lead and there are nicely worked out vocal harmonies. “In Case”, “Cointreau” and “Relative Hoak” and the melancholic “Said Gently” (with piano only) does this with a definite West Coast feeling and harmony, at times close to Crosby,Stills, Nash & Young, performed with a similar gentleness as the other tracks. “Black Blind Light” is a bit more psychedelic, with flute and guitars improvisations.
Last track, “Hope you can see” is the most melancholic song of the album, a track which can stand well against another favourite folkpsych track favourite of mine which I mentioned before in another review (of The Search Party, mentioning the similar track "All but this”), namely Jefferson Airplain’s "Coming back to me"
Psych-folk
Tracks
1. Focus (Carolyn MacLeod) - 4:44
2. In Case (Michael Heath, Randy Price) - 4:32
3. Top Heavy - 2:42
4. Fina's Birthday Song (Randy Price) - 0:51
5. Cointreau - 3:33
6. Relative Hoak - 2:31
7. Black Blind Light (Michael Heath, Randy Price) - 4:27
Wigwam were the number one progressive rock band out of Finland in the 70's golden era of prog rock. Wigwam's Dark Album (1977) has a tumultuous production history. The original edition did not go past test pressing stage as the band's UK label Virgin rejected it. The band returned to the studio to create the final Dark Album which eventually was released only in Finland on Love Records, as Virgin were no longer interested.
Tracks
1. Oh Marlene! (Jim Pembroke) - 4:52
2. Cheap Evening Return (Pekka Rechardt, Jim Pembroke) - 5:29
3. The Item Is The Totem (Pekka Rechardt, Mats Huldén) - 4:49
‘Live in Europe’ was compiled from live performance recorded throughout Europe during February and March 1972. It has gone on to become one of the best live albums of all time, serving as a massive influence on budding musicians such as The Edge and Adam Clayton of U2, who both cite this album as the recording that made them want to learn guitar and play in a band.
For some Rory had wanted to capture the adrenaline and excitement of his live performance. Whilst touring extensively in Europe he decided to record his shows, the results were little short of phenomenal and Live In Europe earned Rory much acclaim, including his first solo Top Ten album and 1972’s Melody Maker ‘Top Musician Of The Year’ award.
Tracks
1. Messin' With The Kid (London) - 6:25
2. Laundromat (Gallagher) - 5:12
3. I Could've Had Religion (Traditional arr. by Gallagher) - 8:35
4. Pistol Slapper Blues (Fulton Allen) - 2:54
5. Going To My Hometown (Gallagher) - 5:46
6. In Your Town (Gallagher) - 10:03
7. What In The World (Traditional arr. by Gallagher) - 7:57
8. Hoodoo Man (Traditional arr. by Gallagher) - 5:56
9. Bullfrog Blues (Traditional arr. by Gallagher) - 6:47
This is one weird-ass album, and one that will probably become better known as time goes on and more people discover that it's a very early musical document of Allan Holdsworth — he was part of 'Igginbottom's Wrench along with David Freeman on bass, Steve Robinson on the other guitar, and Mick Skelly on drums. 'Igginbottom's Wrench, their one and only album, bears about the same relationship to Holdsworth's later work that The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp does to Robert Fripp's work, and it's curious that both albums are on the same label. 'Igginbottom's Wrench also sounds a lot like GG&F, kind of arty, theatrical psychedelia with some prominent jazz influences weaving in and out, but none of it taken seriously enough to be played or sung especially well, and it's easy to see how this recording got overlooked in 1969.
It's mostly notable for the presence of "Golden Lakes," which evolved into "Velvet Darkness" and loomed ever larger in the decades to come. This shows Holdsworth at his least precise and pretentious, not in great form instrumentally or vocally (but not bad, either), noodling around in a less-than-formal setting and calling it an album. It's great fun and it will probably delight Holdsworth's fans, and anyone into late-'60s progressive rock or jazz/rock fusion.
by Bruce Eder
Tracks
1. The Castle (Allan Holdsworth) - 2:55
2. Out Of Confusion (Dave Freeman, Steve Robinson , Allan Holdsworth, Mick Skelly) - 2:09
3. The Witch (Allan Holdsworth) - 3:03
4. Sweet Dry Biscuits (Allan Holdsworth) - 2:54
5. California Dreamin' (John Phillips, Michelle Phillips) - 4:00
6. Golden Lakes (Allan Holdsworth) - 5:12
7. Not So Sweet Dreams (Allan Holdsworth) - 5:00
8. Is She Just A Dream? (Allan Allan Holdsworth, Mick Skelly) - 4:33
The second (1969's Games People Play) and fourth (1971's Joe South) albums by Joe South were combined onto one CD on this 2006 reissue, which added three non-LP bonus tracks.
To some degree, Games People Play was a rushed album, issued to capitalize on the unexpected hit single title track (which had first been issued as an LP-only cut on South's previous long-player, Introspect).
Three songs that had appeared on Introspect ("Games People Play," "Birds of a Feather," and "These Are Not My People") were placed on Games People Play as well, and some of the other songs (like "Untie Me" and "Concrete Jungle") had been recorded by other artists as early as 1962.
For all that, however, it was a pretty cracking good set of country-soul-rock, and if it was hastily thrown together, it certainly didn't show in the songwriting, production, or performances.
South's sage, humanistic, and somewhat outside-looking-in view of the madding crowd came through forcefully in "Party People," "These Are Not My People," and "Birds of a Feather." Wholehearted romantic lust and confusion laced his energetic recastings of "Untie Me" (first a hit for the Tymes back in 1963) and "Hush" (which had just been a smash for Deep Purple), as well as the respectably Elvis Presley-meets-Neil Diamond-styled "Heart's Desire," which had the catchiness of a hit single.
The dabs of psychedelia throughout the record -- some electric guitar here, some weird echo there (both at once on "Hole in Your Soul," the most avowedly strange track) -- might have been trendy, but were nonetheless effective. Quite a lot of fine music not found on best-of compilations awaits South fans who have yet to discover this record.
As South was working at a white-hot pace in the late '60s, with three fine if slightly erratic albums emerging one after the other, it's perhaps unsurprising that Joe South was both less energetic and less impressive than what had preceded it.
It's still a worthy record with his expected (and perhaps unsurpassed) knack for combining rock, country, and soul, though it marked no less than the third appearance in four albums of "Birds of a Feather." Certainly the most renowned track is "Rose Garden," a number three pop hit in the hands of country singer Lynn Anderson, though South's version is unsurprisingly funkier and more relaxed.
At other points South sounds rather like Elvis Presley might have in the early '70s had Elvis been able to write songs and was less of a showboat. But while the songs are OK (and, in the case of "Rose Garden," quite a bit more than that), there was nothing aside from "Rose Garden" as exciting and striking as the best of what South had done in the late '60s.
The bonus tracks include the Righteous Brothers-styled B-side "It Got Away" and the rare psychedelic instrumental 45 "Soul Raga Simmerin'"/"Soul Raga Cookin'," which was issued under the name of the Believers, and which evolved into "Hole in Your Soul" when lyrics were added. ~ Richie Unterberger
"Games People Play" and "Joe South" are two classic country-soul albums well ahead of their time. Known primarily as a session man (Aretha Franklin, Wilson Picket, Bob Dylan) Joe South had shown his song writing ability since the late 1950's. "Games People Play" made him a bona-fide star.
The LP of the same name was an electrifying blend of southern soul and country with deft dabs of rock and psychedelia. His 4th album, Joe South (1970), was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia with the Atlanta Rhythm Section further demonstrating his skill as both a gifted songwriter and rootsy singer with an exceptional voice.
These two albums showcase a unique talent: Joe South, the man who blazed the path of country rock'n'soul. With three rare bonus tracks including the simmering psychedelic 'Soul Raga' by South's band The Believers, this 24 track, 75 minute '2-for-1' with revealing liner notes is extraordinary value
by Bernie Howitt
Tracks
Games People Play 1969
1. Games People Play - 3:33
2. Party People - 4:25
3. Untie Me - 2:34
4. Concrete Jungle - 2:52
5. Hole In Your Sole - 3:33
6. Hush - 3:45
7. Birds Of A Feather (Long Version) - 4:20
8. Heart's Desire - 2:52
9. Leanin' On You - 2:51
10.I Knew You When - 2:58
11.These Are Not My People - 2:31 Joe South 1971
12.High On A Hilltop - 3:43
13.Birds Of A Feather (Single Version) - 2:45
14.For The Love Of A Woman - 3:00
15.Rose Garden - 2:48
16.Yo Yo - 3:45
17.Fool Me - 2:59
18.How Can I Unlove You - 2:20
19.You Need Me - 3:03
20.She's Almost You - 2:22
21.Devil May Care - 3:05 Bonus Tracks
22.It Got Away - 2:28
23.Soul Raga Simmerin' (with The Believers) - 3:42
24.Soul Raga Cookin' (with The Believers) - 2:32
All songs by Joe South
Musicians
*Joe South - Vocals, Guitar, Sitar Tracks 12-21 with The Atlanta Rhythm Section
*Rodney Justo - Vocals
*Barry Bailey - Lead Guitar
*James B. Cobb - Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Dean Daughtry - Keyboards, Vocals
*Paul Goddard - Bass
*Robert Nix - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
As on so many obscure long-players of the late '60s, there's a salad of styles on Kangaroo's sole, self-titled album, running the gamut from redneck country-rock ("Frog Giggin'," "Happy Man") and sunshine pop-spotted psychedelia ("Such a Long, Long Time") to strident folk-rock ("Daydream Stallion") and avowedly sub-Beatlesque sounds ("Happy Man," "Make Some Room in Your Life"). There are also insertions of backwards guitars, San Francisco-type acid rock riffing, soul vocal posturing, descendants-of-Mamas & the Papas male-female backup harmonies, and a monologue about killing frogs and having sex at the same time.
Still, there are good things about the record, particularly the vibrato folk-rock vocals of Barbara Keith. They're reminiscent to varying degrees of Melanie, Judy Collins, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, though her own personality comes through, as showcased to best effect on the record's highlight, the strident yet haunting folk-rock-psych outing "Daydream Stallion." Fans of Keith should be aware both that this record is not similar to the ones she would subsequently make during her long career, and that her contributions are usually confined to backup harmonies. But when she took the lead vocal -- as she did on "Daydream Stallion," the slightly less impressive "The Only Thing I Had," and her wordless scatting on the opening jazzy section of "I Never Tell Me Twice" -- Kangaroo showed some glimmers of becoming something special.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Such A Long, Long Time - 2:13
2. You're Trying To Be A Woman - 2:15
3. Daydream Stallion (Barbara Keith) - 3:53
4. Make Some Room In Your Life - 2:42
5. Frog Giggin' (Norman Don Smart II) - 3:15
6. You Can't Do This To Me - 3:45
7. If You Got Some Love In Mind - 2:40
8. I Never Tell Me Twice - 2:28
9. Tweed's Chicken Inn (Norman Don Smart II) - 3:10
10.Happy Man (Teddy Spelios) - 3:30
11.The Only Thing I Had - 3:30
12.Maybe Tomorrow - 2:10
All songs by John Hall except where stated.
The Kangaroo
*John Hall - Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Barbara Keith - Vocals
*Norman Don Smart II - Drums, Vocals
*Teddy Spelios - Guitar, Vocals
Perfectly capturing the live connection between the audience and performer, ‘Irish Tour’ is not the only one of Rory Gallagher’s best loved albums but is surely one of his greatest live albums ever released. Recorded in 1973 at Belfast’s Ulster Hall, Dublin’s Carlton Cinema and Cork’s City Hall the album shows Rory putting in performances of awe inspiring power, that after 30 plus years still make you yearn to be there, in the audience.
In 1974 the ‘troubles’, as they were known, were tearing Northern Ireland apart. Most artists refused to play Belfast, concerned about the all too frequent violence that could erupt. Rory was one of the few performers who could bring both sides together, unifying the crowd through his music. A recent article in a Belfast daily newspaper stated “Rory Gallagher never forgot Northern Ireland, he returned throughout the 70’s when few other artists of his caliber dared not come near the place”.
The tour was filmed by Tony Palmer, first envisaged as a TV film, it soon became clear Palmer had a movie with mass appeal. When released in 1974 the film played extensively in the U.K. then spread to Europe, eventually touring along side Rory in America.
The songs featured on ‘Irish Tour’ are mainly chosen from Rory’s previous releases. However the album does feature some cover versions of songs by artists such as J.B. Hutto, Tony Joe White and Muddy Waters, who Rory had worked with previously that year. The band live-up for the tour consisted of Rod De’Ath (drums) Lou Martin (keyboards) and Gerry McAvoy (bass).
Rory was renowned as a live performer, anyone who saw him play or who’d brought the 1972 ‘Live In Europe’ album knew his reputation was justified. He enjoyed success with his previous five releases, constant touring and plaudits from the press. On ‘Irish Tour’ the maturity forged by his musical development and the belief in his own abilities is palpable. Each member of the band shared the passion and understanding for the music they played, anticipating Rory’s mood and flow perfectly.
Throughout ‘Irish Tour’ the guitar tome is outstanding, colourful and hard-hitting, while maintaining a controlled sensitivity. Rory constantly demonstrates his incredible guitar technique. It’s worth mentioning his skilful backing chord work, volume control and his switching of tone, which deepen the musical expression of the album.
by Shu Tomioka
Tracks
1. Cradle Rock (Rory Gallagher) - 7:38
2. I Wonder Who (Morganfield) - 7:52
3. Tattoo'd Lady (Rory Gallagher) - 5:04
4. Too Much Alcohol (J. B. Hutto) - 8:30
5. As The Crow Flies (Tony Joe White) - 6:02
6. Million Miles Away (Rory Gallagher) - 9:29
7. Walk on Hot Coals (Rory Gallagher) - 11:13
8. Who's That Coming? (Rory Gallagher) - 10:05
9. Back on My Stompin' Ground (After Hours) (Rory Gallagher) - 5:18
10.Maritime (Rory Gallagher) - 0:33
If I was to construct one of those music-journo referential polygons, I’d pull together The Band, CSNY, Cream and most anything off Classic Hits FM to hint at the sound of this hairy British outfit calling themselves Coulsen, Dean, McGuinness, Flint. All Music Guide gives this album high praise, calling it the best Dylan cover album ever. What do I think? After playing it a lot over the past few weeks, then yes, I’m close behind, although some qualifications have to be made. Firstly, as a ‘Dylan covers album’ it’s not entirely true—at the time of release none of these songs had been officially made available to the public, so for those who hadn’t heard the Basement Tapes bootlegs where half of this material comes from, these were less ‘covers’ than new songs. Neither ‘Get Your Rocks Off’ nor ‘Sign On The Cross’ were even recorded by Dylan from what I can gather. Secondly, this is only ‘greatest’ in the sense that these songs are played in the rock and roll mode. If anything, this is only the second time a whole album of Dylan covers had been made and sung in English by a male rock band (both British bands, The Hollies being the other one). There was the Byrds Play Dylan of course, but they’d recorded Dylan songs intermittently throughout the sixties, only releasing their collection of Dylan covers as a stand-alone album in 1979.
The upshot is that for anyone who was a fan of Dylan and rock music in 1972, there really wasn’t much competition. All Dennis Coulsen et al had to do was put in a decent effort. Fortunately they went beyond decent and recorded a bona fide rock album that still sounds great in 2011. Yet until I researched Dylan cover albums I’d never heard of this group. Tom McGuinness had been a member of Manfred Mann while Hughie Flint was from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Coulson is the lead singer here, though from what I can tell, the other members add backing vocals too and there’s several other musicians roped in to play sax, clarinet, trombone, euphonium and even flugelhorn.
Eternal Circle… was first heard here, otherwise not released by Dylan until the Bootleg Series 1-3 collection. Dylan’s version is as good as anything off Freewheelin’ but this version turns it into classic rock. Great lyrics too, all about how there’s a young woman in the audience watching the singer very intently but it’s such a long song that by the time he’s finished, he’s taken his eyes away, and she’s gone, like Batman. And now he’s singing a song about that experience, which makes this a meta-song, hence the title “Eternal Circle.” The instrumentation is rich and strong, hefty beat and bass, beautifully clear strummed guitars, piercing electric notes, and the singer is fantastic. “But the song it was long and it was far to the end / So I glanced at my guitar / And played it pretendin’ / That of all the eyes on me / I could see none.” There’s something almost Indian about the instrumentation here, sweeping strums across a Jews harp, a fairly fast tempo offset by those slow electric notes. They stuck this on first because it’s awesome, and it has that perfect pathos about it, a song of unfulfilled desire, grasping for something that’s not really there.
Lo And Behold… has a classic blues rock feel. Singer does a fantastic falsetto on the chorus part that goes “Get me outta here, my dear man!” These Basement Tapes lyrics are sort of brilliantly absurdist: “Going down to Tennessee / Get me a truck or somethin’ / Gonna save my money and rip it up.” The basic riff, beat and bass all sound like something you’ve heard a thousand times before, my idea of what George Thorogood and the Destroyers sound like, even though I’ve probably not heard them since the eighties. But the tune here is pure rock/pop and on one level it’s almost like they blow the Band out of the water, this is so good. But what it lacks I guess is that beautiful ramshackle carefree feel of the Basement Tapes versions.
Let Me Die In My Footsteps… is another only released on Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3. This has a similarly forlorn vocal to Dylan’s version. But it’s a nice dynamic shift from the previous song, with this tabla, and low submerged bass sound, tom tom type drums and mantra-esque quality about the melody. It doesn’t sound a million miles away from the Beatles’ ‘Within You Without You’ or ‘Love You To.’ The chorus: “Let me die in my footsteps / Before I go under the ground.” There’s two or three of them singing in semi-falsetto unison here too which also adds to that Hindi effect. Yet again, they’ve got the sound aesthetic exactly right. The recording is lavish, full, opulent. Crystal clear guitar parts, everything balanced just beautifully. Love that tabla.
Open The Door Homer… is another absurdist Dylanesque tale which plays on rhyming words. “Open the door Richard / I’ve heard it said before,” they sing here. This has a mid-tempo rock beat, a strong baroque-metal rock vocal. “‘Take care of all your memories,’ said my friend Mick / ‘For you cannot relive them / And remember when you’re out there / Trying’ to heal the sick / That you must always / First forgive them.’” Then we get a banjo solo, an electric guitar solo, some drum fills. A good time feel.
Lay Down Your Weary Tune… Dylan’s version wouldn’t see light of day until Biograph in 1985. Again, they really mix it up. Here we get Coulson’s appealing, emotive voice: “Lay down your weary tune, lay down / Lay down the song you strum / And rest yourself ‘neath the strength of strings / No voice can hope to hum.” While he sings this without any instrumentation the other three provide loud ‘aahs’ and ‘oohs’ like a barbershop quartet, then the song kicks in proper. The lyrics here are great too. It’s all about comparing various instruments and the sounds they make to aspects of nature. So for example “the morning breeze like a bugle blew / Against the drums of dawn,” “the ocean wild like an organ played,” “the crashin’ waves like cymbals clashed,” “the cryin’ like a trumpet sang,” “the branches bare like a banjo,” and “the water smooth ran like a hymn / And like a harp did hum.” All the backing musicians join in, the volume rises, everything builds in tune with these ideas spilling out of the lyrics which exhort the musician to take time out. Exhilarating stuff.
Don’t You Tell Henry… has the coolest opening ever on various brass instruments playing all whacky whoopy, bent notes. Then the song kicks in and sounds like some great lost Beatles classic along the lines of ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite’ with one of those fairground tubas keeping time. When the chorus comes on each member joins in one by one, “Don’t you tell Henry / Don’t you tell Henry / Don’t you tell Henry / Don’t you tell Henry” until all four of them are singing in unison, “Apple’s got your fly.” It’s over quickly, but it bounces around resonantly. Wonderful.
Get Your Rocks Off… is not even listed as a Dylan song on his quite comprehensive website. It has this slow blues feel, again very much of the George Thorogood or John Mayall camp. Bass and drums playing together slowly, bumping and grinding out that bluesy rhythm, meanwhile, the phrase ‘Get your rocks off’ as it’s used here seems to have little or nothing to do with the usual meaning of the phrase as far as I can tell. Here we have a maid lying on a bed, a man up on Blueberry Hill, another man laying down around Mink Muscle Creek and finally some children in the side road, all of ‘em hollering “Get your rocks off / Get your rocks off-a-me!” The four short verses end, and we get some fiddly solo work, all plucked and skewered guitar notes, as the tempo begins to pick up pace, the electric guitar soloist starts showing off his Thorogood/Satriani chops, and even the drummer joins in with some hot little fills. Good stuff.
The Death Of Emmett Till… another great little number from 1962 which finally saw the light of day on the Witmark Demos boxset in 2010. “It was down in Mississippi / A few short years ago / When a young man from a Chicago town / Stepped through a southern door / Now this young man’s tragedy / I can remember well / For the colour of his skin was black / And his name was Emmett Till.” One of Dylan’s best race protest songs. Coulson takes care of the first verse solo before the drum and bass start up with a rhythmic rock beat. A word about the singer – he has the perfect ‘classic rock’ kind of voice. A little bit Glenn Frey/Don Henley, a little bit John Lennon, a little bit Jack Bruce, a little bit Ozzy Osbourne. His voice practically reeks of the dust you smell in any old second hand vinyl shop. Great protest anthem. Brilliantly performed.
Odds And Ends… sounds the most like The Basement Tapes version. Lead singer here is Hughie Flint who sounds a lot like Dylan, and he certainly gets the affectations exactly right, but it’s totally natural, not like he’s putting it on. What a pity these guys didn’t stay together and record a few more albums. Maybe they couldn’t write tunes as great as these, I don’t know, but this is like some long lost classic right up there with those Big Star records. About the only criticism I could level at this is that it sounds almost too much like the Basement Tapes version. “Odds and ends / Odds and ends / Lost time is not found again.” Indeed.
Sign On The Cross… was never released by Dylan in any official form. It’s a slow piano ballad, “Now I try, oh, for so awfully long / And I just try to be / And now, oh it’s a gold mine / But it’s so fine / Yes but I know in my head / That we’re all so misled, / And it’s that ol’ sign on the cross that worries me.” The pace is laidback, the vocal forlorn, serious, tender, gospel-like. The drum, bass, guitar all join in and pick up the pace, the piano drops out. This is the longest song here clocking in at well over five minutes. When the chorus comes on, Coulson lets loose on his baroque falsetto, what I like to think of as his heavy metal voice, but done in gospel style. He’s a brilliant singer as was Flint on the previous song. Here we get several female gospel singers doing backup on the chorus: “Sign on the cross / Sign on the cross / Sign on the cross.” Coulson actually manages to sound African-American! How are they doing this!? Piano bouncing away, all singers joining in, musicians pick up the pace, everyone hollerin’ and hootin’ in the background as the song does a long slow fade out. Truly inspiring stuff. One almost wonders if this isn’t one of those secret supergroups made of members using aliases. Look at those hairy bastards on the cover! Surely they can’t be the chaps producing this incredible sound? Here’s what so perfect about this album – they have a distinct sound, but they keep the dynamic continually on the move from song to song, so that they never sound like they’re repeating themselves. This should get the reissue treatment big time.
by Alan Bumstead, December 6, 2011
Tracks
1. Eternal Circle - 2:58
2. Lo And Behold - 4:14
3. Let Me Die In My Footsteps - 4:15
4. Open The Door, Homer - 4:25
5. Lay Down Your Weary Tune - 4:05
6. Don't You Tell Henry - 2:00
7. Get Your Rocks Off - 4:50
8. The Death Of Emmett Till - 3:35
9. Odds And Ends - 2:33
10.Tiny Montgomery - 3:37
11.I Wanna Be Your Lover - 3:35
12.Sign On The Cross - 7:25.
13.Eternal Circle (alternate mix) - 2:58
Music and Lyrics by Bob Dylan
Bonus Track 13
Personnel
*Dennis Coulson - Lead Vocals
*Dixie Dean - Bass Guitar, Harmonica, Cornet, Jew's Harp, Vocals
An extremely rare piece of independent folk psych left in Minnesota in 1972. Three St. Paul natives: Richard Greenwood (vocals, sitar, guitar, violin), John Curley (vocals, harmonica, trumpet), Clyde Thompson (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and session members (drums, flute) , percussion, and bass), and features an acoustic sound with a natural live feel that has been compared to the early 70's British band Heron, as well as a laid-back acid feel.
Tracks
1. Changes - 4:45
2. One Time One Place - 3:37
3. Little Willy - 4:18
4. Sitting At The Crossroads - 3:25
5. Wandering - 4:27
6. Kind Woman - 2:33
7. Brother Song - 6:50
8. One Little Man - 7:13
9. Christmas Song - 4:25
10.Together - 6:27
Music and Lyrics by Richard Greenwood, John Curlee, Clyde Thompson
