Plain and Fancy

rep>>> Babe Ruth - First Base / Amar Caballero (1972-73 uk, stunning hard prog rock with brass parts)

Babe Ruth was formed in 1970 and went on to make three impressive albums and several singles, for the Harvest record label. Their musical style was an engaging blend of hard rock, soul, and progressive and jazz rock, marked out by Alan Shacklock’s flammable guitar work, and arranging skills, and Janita ‘Jenny’ Haan’s powerful soaring vocals. They were a remarkable band in many ways, that deserved considerably more recognition, for what was a unique and expansive musical style.

First Base was their stunning 1972 debut album. Opening track Wells Fargo, is a stomping rock song, with some splendid soul aspects, supplied by Brent Carter’s saxes. The rhythm section of Dick Powell on drums and bassist Dave Hewitt adds some thumping propulsion to the song, while Gaspar Lawal adds some subtle rhythmic accents on the congas. Add into the mix, Alan Shacklock’s staccato guitar riff and Janita Haan’s superb soulful vocal, and you have the complete rock classic. The liquid guitar solo is the icing on the cake of this striking album opener.

The following track, The Runaways, begins with Dave Punshon’s gentle piano chords and Harry Mier’s undulating oboe. Janita Haan’s jazz like vocal phrases float over a haunting and elegiac cello quartet. The instrumental section melds the cello’s, with cymbal driven percussion, and Dave Punshon’s quite beautiful piano refrain, which he later punctuates with some sparkling solo playing. This is seven minutes plus of gorgeous music, with the oboe and string arrangements put together by the very talented Alan Shacklock.

Then we move onto Babe Ruth’s dazzling interpretation of the Frank Zappa classic King Kong, originally to be heard in multiple versions on The Mothers of Invention, Uncle Meat album. While respectfully retaining many of the elements in Zappa’s original, it adds in a jazz rock sheen, with the guitar and electric piano to the fore, and a driving blues backbeat. The piano and guitar solos are fast and inventive. It is a very good interpretation indeed. Black Dog is another inventive cover, this time of a Jesse Winchester song, where Janita Haan’s vocal becomes like another solo instrument in the band, spiralling upwards and driving the song forward. Dave Punshon delivers another stunning piano solo, that is full of syncopated lush melodies.

The Mexican, tells the story of The Alamo, from the Mexican soldier’s perspective, and includes an excerpt from Ennio Morricone’s For A Few Dollar’s More. It has a cool dance beat and was re-recorded in 1984 by John “Jellybean’ Benitez, with Janita Haan providing new vocals, and becoming a dancefloor hit in the process. The final track on the album, Joker, has the band returning to the hard rocking style of Wells Fargo, accompanied by Alan Shacklock’s most stinging guitar workout.

Across the tracks on this debut album, Babe Ruth demonstrated a wide range of musical reference points, strong songwriting and interpretive musical skills, aligned with great musicianship, and Janita Haan’s incredible vocal range. It is a rock classic that deserves to be heard and appreciated much more than it was on its release in 1972, and hence the space given to reflecting on its merits in this review.

The sophomore follow-up album, Amar Caballero, is of similar musical range and richness. By this time the line-up had changed a little, with Ed Spevock coming in on drums, and Chris Holmes playing keyboards on part of the album. At the core of the album is the three-part title track. The first section, El Caballero de la Reina Isabella, was written by Janita Haan and Alan Shacklock, and has a very evocative lyric by Janita Haan, which is sung with a wonderfully poetical and storytelling voice. Alan Shacklock’s Hombre de la Guitarra section, includes some very fast-paced classical guitar playing, underpinned by Ed Spevock and Gaspar Lawal’s, inspirational drums and conga shuffle. The final section, El Testament De ‘Amelia, is based on Miguel Llobet’s arrangement of this traditional song. Alan Shacklock’s playing has a gentle rising and falling, creating a meditative and open soundstage.

Other key album highlights include Broken Cloud, cowritten by Alan Shacklock and Janita Haan. It is a quite beautiful ballad, orchestrated with horns and strings by Alan Shacklock. Janita Haan’s voice here is it at its very best, sometimes whispered, and understated, and at other times ascending with incredible power. A raucous cover of the Capitols classic rhythm and blues track, Cool Jerk, is led by Ed Spevock’s meticulous funk-driven drumming. Janita Haan’s delivery of the lead and backing vocals, aligned with the rolling piano accompaniment of Dave Punshon, creates a fantastic soulful performance.

by Gareth Allen, 4th July 2022

Tracks

1. Wells Fargo (Alan Shacklock) - 6:16

2. The Runaways (Alan Shacklock, David Whiting) - 7:28

3. King Kong (Frank Zappa) - 6:46

4. Black Dog (Jesse Winchester) - 8:04

5. The Mexican / For A Few Dollars More - 5:48

.a. The Mexican (Alan Shacklock)

.b. For A Few Dollars More (Ennio Morricone)

6. Joker (Alan Shacklock) - 7:43

7. Lady (Alan Shacklock, Janita Haan) - 3:37

8. Broken Cloud (Alan Shacklock) - 3:57

9. Gimme Some Leg (Alan Shacklock, Janita Haan) - 6:01

10.Baby Pride (Alan Shacklock, Janita Haan) - 3:50

11.Cool Jerk (Donald Storball) - 2:27

12.We Are Holding On (Alan Shacklock) - 3:26

13.Doctor Love (Alan Shacklock) - 3:00

14.Amar Caballero (Sin Ton Ni Son) - 9:19

.a. El Caballero De La Reina Isabella (Alan Shacklock, Janita Haan)

.b. Hombre De La Guitarra (Alan Shacklock)

.c. El Testament De N'Amelia (Traditional)

Tracks 1-6 from LP "First Base" 1972

Tracks 7-14 from LP "Amar Caballero" 1973

Babe Ruth

1972 First Base

*Janita "Jennie" Haan - Vocals, Castanets (Track 5)

*Alan Shacklock - Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Hammond Organ, Percussion, Vocals

*Dave Hewitt - Bass Guitar

*Dave Punshon - Electric Piano, Keyboards

*Dick Powell - Drums, Percussion

With

*Gasper Lawal - Conga, Bongo, Cabasa

*Brent Carter - Saxophone

*Harry Mier - Oboe

*Peter Halling - Cello

*Clive Anstee - Cello

*Manny Fox - Cello

*Boris Rickleman - Cello

*Jeff Allen - Drums (Track 2)

1973 Amar Caballero

*Janita Haan - Lead Vocals

*Alan Shacklock - Guitars, Celesta, Electric Piano, Organ, Mellotron, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals, Orchestration, Strings Conductor

*Chris Holmes - Keyboards, Organ

*Dave Hewitt - Bass, Fuzz Bass

*Ed Spevock - Drums, Percusion, Timpani

With:

*Dave Punshon - Electric Piano (Track 1), Grand Piano (Track 5)

*Dave White - Flute (Track 1)

*Steve Gregory - Flute (Track 1)

*Brian Warren - Flute (Track 2)

*Jack Ellory - Flute (Track 2)

*Duncan Lamont - Flute (Track 6)

*Keith Christie - Trombone (Track 1)

*Ray Premru - Trombone (Track 1)

*Ray Harris - Trumpet (Track 1), Flugelhorn (Track 2)

*Bud Beadle - Baritone Sax (Track 5)

*Steve Gregory - Tenor Sax (Tracks 5,7)

*Ron Carthy - Trumpet (Tracks 5,7)

*John Georgiadis - Violin, String Section Leader (Tracks 1,2)

*Raymond Vincent - Violin (Track 6)

*Gaspar Lawal - Percussion (Tracks 1,3), Congas (Track 7), Vocals (Track 3)

*Nick Mobbs - Tambourine (Track 6)

*Angelito Perez - Congas, Cowbell, Vocals (Track 8)

*Chris Bushen - Backing Vocals (Track 4)

rep>>> Looking Glass - The Complete Recordings (1972-73 us, marvelous soft classic rock)

To the outside observer, Looking Glass were one of the luckiest bands to come up during the early '70s -- and doubly so, coming out of New Jersey in 1972 with a number one hit, three years before anyone was thinking about Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, and getting radio play on the song that has carried over into the oldies and '70s nostalgia boom over the decades since. Ironically, the bandmembers were never entirely happy with either the hit or the nature of the success that it brought them, mostly because it didn't represent what Looking Glass actually sounded like.

The group was founded by Brooklyn-born guitarist/singer/songwriter Elliot Lurie, bassist Pieter Sweval, and pianist Larry Gonsky, all of whom were students at New Jersey's Rutgers University. In their original late-'60s incarnation, Looking Glass were successful playing frat parties and local clubs before splitting up in the early '70s after graduation. Eventually, Lurie and Gonsky linked up again with Sweval and drummer Jeffrey Grob (who had been playing together in a band called Tracks), and Looking Glass were reborn. A hard rock outfit with a lot of virtuosity, they decided to try turning professional and shooting for a real career; even as they got lots of work at clubs up and down the East Coast, they began writing songs and heavily rehearsing the new material. Their music impressed Columbia Records president Clive Davis, who signed them to the Epic Records label, and a debut recording session for the company was scheduled.

After two failed attempts at recording (including one with guitarist Steve Cropper in Memphis), they struck gold with a producer named Bob Liftin and a Lurie original called "Brandy." They went through a lot of different versions before coming up with one that worked, with unobtrusive strings and horns dubbed on and the group harmonizing more than usual. Initially released as the B-side of "Don't It Make You Feel Good" in early 1972, "Brandy" was overlooked (along with the A-side) until Harv Moore, a disc jockey in the District of Columbia, flipped the single over and took it up as a personal cause. The record broke out in the city of Washington and spread rapidly, peaking six months after its release at the number one position. A self-titled debut album was released in the spring and was more representative of the group's sound. Although it didn't sell nearly the way the single had, it performed well enough, riding the charts for 16 weeks. Unfortunately, Looking Glass were never able to emulate "Brandy's success, and their next few singles failed to chart. It was a year later before another single, "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne," reached the Top 40 for the group.

These chart successes didn't really do as much as one might have expected for the group, however. Neither hit single sounded very much like the band did on-stage -- much more representative were fast-paced rock & roll songs like "Jenny-Lynne" and "Don't It Make You Feel Good." They were a long way from the horn and string overdubbed singles by which radio listeners knew them, and inevitably many concertgoers were disappointed in their shows, which emphasized the rock & roll songs over the catchy AM pop they'd released so successfully. Lurie, wearied over the contradictions in the group's success, left Looking Glass in 1974 and embarked on a short-lived solo career that yielded a solo album and a series of unsuccessful singles. He also played live locally in the New York-New Jersey area, including a gig with Al Kooper at New York's Bottom Line. When Clive Davis founded Arista Records in the mid-'70s after being forced out of Columbia, Lurie was signed to the new company but failed to find a hit.

The other members of Looking Glass stayed together for another year, playing out their string as "Lookinglass" without a recording contract and a decreasing audience, until they called it quits in the middle of the decade. By the end of the 1970s, Lurie was no longer a performer and had moved into the motion picture business, working in music. He has supervised numerous scores, including The Last of the Mohicans, and wrote or produced the music for Night at the Roxbury, Alien 3, Mary Katherine Gallagher: Superstar, Perfect, Die Hard 2, Dying Young, and a remake of Miracle on 34th Street, among other films. Lurie and Sweval revived Looking Glass as a touring band in 2003 and hit the road with a show that included their hits, album cuts, and cover versions of rock and pop favorites from various decades.

by Bruce Eder

Tracks

1. Jenny-Lynne (Pieter Sweval) - 3:05

2. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) (Elliot Lurie) - 3:09

3. Catherine Street (Pieter Sweval) - 5:50

4. Don't it Make You Feel Good (Elliot Lurie) - 2:50

5. Golden Rainbow (Elliot Lurie) - 3:07

6. Dealin' With the Devil (Pieter Sweval) - 3:20

7. From Stanton Station (Elliot Lurie) - 3:48

8. One by One (Pieter Sweval) - 6:03

9. Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne (Elliot Lurie) - 3:24

10.City Lady (Elliot Lurie) - 3:26

11.For Skipper (Pieter Sweval) - 3:19

12.Sweet Somethin' (Elliot Lurie) - 2:51

13.Who's Gonna Sing My Rock and Roll Song (Larry Gonsky, Nancy Nalence) - 3:51

14.Are You Dreamin' (Elliot Lurie) - 2:59

15.Rainbow Man (Pieter Sweval) - 3:31

16.Wait (Elliot Lurie) - 2:56

17.Sweet Jeremiah (Pieter Sweval) - 3:21

18.Wooly Eyes (Larry Gonsky, Nancy Nalence) - 4:35

19.Golden Rainbow (Elliot Lurie) - 2:59

20.Jenny-Lynne (Pieter Sweval) - 2:59

21.Highway to Hollywood (Larry Gonsky) - 2:58

22.Rock This Town (H. Hanson, Michael Lee Smith) - 3:56

Tracks 1-8 from "Looking Glass" 1972

Tracks 9-18 fro "Subway Serenade" 1973

Bonus Tracks 19-22

Looking Glass

*Elliot Lurie - Guitars, Lead Vocals

*Pieter "Piet" Sweval - Bass, Lead Vocals, Harp

*Larry Gonsky - Keyboards, Vocals

*Jeff Grob - Drums

With

Tracks 1-8

*Chuck Connolly - Backup Vocals

*Tasha Thomas, Barbara Massey, Carolyn Davis - Backup Vocals

*Eddie Hinton - Guitar

*James Giampa - Congas

*Larry Fallon - Horns/Strings Arrangements

Tracks 9-18

*Maxine Dixon - Backup Vocals

*Nancy Nalence - Backup Vocals

*Nancy Farrell - Backup Vocals

*Steve Von Schreiber - Backup Vocals

*Ralph Macdonald - Congas Percussion

*Seldon Powell - Saxophone

*Arif Mardin - Horns, Strings Arrangements

Related Act

1976 Starz - Starz (2005 bonus tracks)

1977 Starz - Violation (2005 bonus tracks)

1976 Bullfrog - Bullfrog (2013 remaster)

rep>>> Bullfrog - High In Spirits (1977 germany, strong hard rock with hammond organ and prog touches, 2009 remaster and expanded)

Bullfrog played classic seventies hard rock, which in terms of sound is reminiscent of big names like Deep Purple , Rainbow or Uriah Heep , but nevertheless has its own note and independence. Starting with the raspy, rough voice of Gerd Hoch , through the superb, fresh and rousing guitar work of Sebastian Leitner , the cool grooving and equally explosive substructure of Vincent Trost (bass) and Bruno Perosa (drums) to the first-class keyboard work of Harald Kaltenecker, here were exceptionally good musicians at the start, who made "High In Spirits" the high-class album that it finally became.

The rocking title track opens the dance with small funky sprinklings and the keyboard (mostly on this track) reminiscent of Jon Lord . The following "Feelin' Allright" is a great grooving mid-tempo rocker, with a running time of more than six minutes, especially the guitar and the keys provide exclamation marks. "Be Yourself" was released as a single and is a killer ballad with a very successful vocal melody and a Gerd Hoch , who was able to fully show off his whiskey-soaked vocal cords here. A strong song that not only goes straight to the ear, but also gets stuck there.

But with "Rollin' Again" and "Free Spirit" the gas pedal is pushed harder again! Especially the boogie rocker "Free Spirit" gets you in a good mood, while in "Rollin' Again" the creaking bass carries everything away and the keyboard once again sets the tone. It's half time now and my bad memories of the band have long since faded, or rather been swept off the table completely! At just under nine minutes, "A Housepainter's Song" is the longest track on the disc. After a guitar/keyboard intro lasting about two minutes, the band once again slides into a melodic verse of highsThen vote the necessary dirt, i.e. the corners and edges are missed. Fat guitar melodies make the title downright epic, but they always find their way back to the verses in good time. My personal highlight on "High In Spirits"!

After the straight forward rocking "Live" follows the last piece with "LA Police #55". And this is where it gets down to business with such a relaxed, swinging, rocking energy that you are inevitably carried away. A worthy conclusion to a great disc!

The mix of the record, released in 1977, was done by Krautrock producer legend Conny Planck . On the new edition of "High In Spirits" to be discussed here, all eight tracks were added a second time as a bonus. And this in the original mix completed by the band in the recording studio. The biggest difference is that the bonus tracks sound a bit rougher.

Ultimately, it remains to be said that "High In Spirits" is a very strong rock album by this band, which rightly claims its special place in German rock history and was therefore also highly deservedly re-released. So, I'll see if I can get Bullfrog 's Rockpalast performance again. It seems to me that I was fundamentally wrong in my opinion at the time!

by Markus Kerren, November 8th, 2009

Tracks

1. High In Spirits - 3:19

2. Feelin' Allright - 6:05

3. Be Yourself - 3:21

4. Rollin' Again - 3:32

5. Free Spirit - 2:54

6. A Housepainter's Song - 8:53

7. Live - 3:46

8. L.A. Police No. 55. - 5:09

9. High In Spirits - 3:19

10.Feelin' Allright - 6:04

11.Be Yourself - 3:19

12.Rollin' Again - 3:41

13.Free Spirit - 2:54

14.A Housepainter' Song - 8:30

15.Live - 3:46

16.L.A. Police No. 55 - 5:08

All compositions by Sebastian Leitner, Gerd Hoch

Tracks 1-8 from "High In Spirits" 1977

Bonus Tracks 9-16 The Unreleased Hiltpoltstein Mix

Bullfrog

*Gerd Hoch - Vocals

*Sebastian Leitner - Guitars

*Harald Kaltenecker - Keyboards

*Vincent Trost - Bass

*Bruno Perosa - Drums, Percussion

With

*Günter Kaup- Backing Vocals

*Uwe Hillmer - Backing Vocals

*William Candler - Backing Vocals

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

rep>>> Granmax - A Ninth Alive • Kiss Heaven Goodbye (1976/78 us, powerful guitar rock, 2008 digipak remaster)

From Nebraska of all places came this little-known 70's act, debuting as a power trio in 1976 with A Ninth Alive and following that up two years later with Kiss Heaven Goodbye, by which time they'd recruited a new vocalist to expand their sound. By most accounts the first album is a bit of an ordinary hard rock album and it's Kiss that often gets the long-lost-classic accolades, and that's the album reviewed here.

On their second "Kiss Heaven Goodbye" released in 1978, their main characteristic is the singer which has a unique voice, The record is quite heavy for its time and this is obvious judging from cover and songtitles however don't forget it's still hard rock. There are songs (e.g "Respected man") that contain Sabbath elements, in general these guys were more hard rock oriented. Songs like "Prince Of The Southern Ice" would be right at home on any early NWOBHM album, and that movement was still a year away from taking hold. Like many a band over the years, the breaks didn't go their way and they disbanded. Granmax is indeed one of those gone-but-not-quite-forgotten bands that 70's fans should track down.

Tracks

1. Take You Away - 4:45

2. U.S. Is Coming Around - 3:56

3. Crumbling Towers - 2:43

4. Bankers Bar - 4:31

5. Find A New Day - 3:24

6. Out On The Tide - 3:58

7. Ceiling Wall - 4:37

8. Glitter Boots Boogie - 3:50

9. Let Me Know - 3:22

10.Letters To Myself - 4:47

11.Mistress Of Eternity - 4:24

12.Dream Woman - 2:47

13.Daughter Of Hell - 4:43

14.It's Worth The Wait - 3:11

15.Prince Of The Southern Ice - 4:31

16.This Life's For Me - 3:58

17.Respected Man - 3:35

18.Travels Of Tim - 3:34

All songs by Steve Myers, Tim McCorkle, Louis McCorkle, plus Nick Christopher for tracks 11-18

Tracks 1-10 from "A Ninth Alive" 1976

Tracks 11-18 from "Kiss Heaven Goodbye" 1978

Granmax

*Nick Christopher - Lead Vocals (Tracks 11-18)

*Steve Myers - Lead Guitar, Vocals

*Tim McCorkle - Bass Guitar, Vocals

*Louis McCorkle - Drums

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

rep>>> Surprize - Keep On Truckin' (1972 us, groovy psych blues rural rock)

Surprize were a 1970's psychedelic rock band from Philadelphia. After being together for eight months, the band recorded their one and only, album "Keep On truckin'" in one of Philadelphia’s finest recording studios. Upon release the band started to get TV and radio airplay as well as being booked for larger concerts. The band had great success and growing more and more popular every day. A few years later Surprize were approached by a larger and more well-known record label. They wanted to promote and produce the second album and give it a release on their own label which meant the chance of national distribution.

Shortly after this approach whilst performing out of town, band leader Peter Accardi had a supernatural occurence, which would change the bands. The next morning Peter Accardi, called for a special meeting. At this meeting Peter shared how something supernatural had happened to him, and how he knew he was going to heaven. His life was changed and he tried to share how we all needed the same thing in our lives. Much to everyone's shock, Peter walked away from his career as the lead singer of the band and decided to go to Bible College in order to become a Preacher. A few weeks later keyboard player joined Accardi in his new calling and followed him on his journey to become a Preacher. Not long after the band decided to call it a day. As for Accardi and Bissel both now serve the Lord at the Elkdale Baptist Church, West Clifford, Pennsylvania. Peter Accardi is the church Evangelist and Frank Bissel serves as the Pastor of the church.

Tracks

1. Earth Odyssey (Pete Accardi, Mark Shapiro, Fred Kieffer, Rick Martin, Franck Bissel) - 6:45

2. Sweet Love 4:18

3. Keep On Truckin' 5:10

4. Ev'ry Day 5:15

5. See The Light 6:29

6. Try A Little More

All songs by Howard Stein, Tony Roccia except track #1

Surprize

*Pete Accardi - Vocals, Percussions, Harmonica

*Mark Shapiro - Guitar, Backing Vocals

*Fred Kieffer - Drums, Percussions

*Rick Martin - Bass, Backing Vocals

*Franck Bissel - Backing Vocals, Keyboard

The Tweeds - I Need That Record The Tweeds Anthology (1977-85 us, fantastic power pop with harder edges)

The Tweeds where from Massachusetts and issued a small string of singles and EPs from 1977 – 1981, the most famous of which is probably 1980’s Perfect Fit which contains their most lasting tracks “I Need That Record” and “The Girl Who Said No”

Pretty much all of their output is included here, even including an alternate recording of “Underwater Girl” from its inclusion on an ’81 b-side that saw it rerecorded for the release and added an intro. The band apparently included Kenny Gorelick (aka Kenny G, the band of your elevator existence) on keys at one point but its unclear how much of the material he may have played on. In general the band has a lot of delightful, but not especially hard hitting power pop and its safe to say this may be the most definitive release of their music that you’d ever need.

The aforementioned “Underwater Girl” might be the best surprise, as its not included on many compilations and its a solid runner of a power pop jam and gives the band a bit of a harder edge. The rest is probably for the true power pop diggers but I’ve always been a sucker for the fringes of the genre. Not holding my breath for a vinyl issue of this but it would be nice to have a bit more background from the label on this one. Barring that, I’ll just cross my fingers that the Buttons series might start back up (please, please, please), it was promising but I’m sure it sorely undersold those soul comps. One can only hope this might be an indication of turning their gaze back towards power pop.

by Andy (Raven Sings The Blues)

Tracks

1. If I Could Only Dance (Marc McHugh, Paulson) - 2:21

2. I'm Thru (Marc McHugh, Paulson) - 1:56

3. Shortwave (Marc McHugh, Paulson) - 2:25

4. Teen Love (Marc McHugh, Paulson) - 2:35

5. Ode To A Glicknick (The Larry Glick Song) - 1:39

6. Underwater Girl (Marc McHugh) - 3:10

7. My Memories (Charles Blackwell, Françoise Hardy, Jacques Datin) - 2:44

8. Postcard (Marc McHugh) - 3:01

9. I Need That Record (Marc McHugh, Jeff Mezzrow) - 3:19

10.Hey Baby (Marc McHugh, Jeff Mezzrow) - 3:50

11.Later Tonight (Marc McHugh, Jeff Mezzrow) - 2:53

12.She's The Girl (Who Said No) (Marc McHugh) - 3:09

13.I've Got Rock In My Heart (Marc McHugh, Jeff Mezzrow, George Godding) - 3:39

14.We Ran Ourselves (Marc McHugh, Jeff Mezzrow, Paulson) - 3:45

15.Away From You (Marc McHugh, Jeff Mezzrow, Paulson) - 4:11

16.Underwater Girl (Eat Records Version) (Marc McHugh) - 3:51

17.Part Of The Game (Marc McHugh) - 4:02

18.No More (Erik Lindgren) - 3:02

The Tweeds

*Jeff Mezzrow - Guitar, Vocals, Bass

*Marc McHugh - Guitar, Vocals

*Gordon Wallace - Brums, Vocals, Bells

*George Godding - Vocals, Percussion (Tracks 1-13)

*Michael White - Bass (Tracks 14-18)

With

*Kenny Gorelick - Piano (Track 10)

Monday, September 7, 2026

rep>>> White Lightning - Strikes Twice (1968-69 us, raw garage heavy psych rock)

Hard fuzz trio featuring the blazing leads of Zippy Caplan (ex-Litter). The band was less garagy and more pounding hardrock than the Litter. "Under the Screaming Double Eagle" collects studio tracks from 1969. White Lightning was a slang term for LSD at the time (and bootleg whiskey prior to that). The group added two new members and shortened their name to Lightning. They continued in the hardrock mode but now with dual leads. "Lightning" is another excellent effort, just missing the certain magic they possessed as a power trio.

"White Lightning" was formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 by ex-"Litter" guitarist "Zippy" Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich. The two musicians had been jamming together for close to a year before they decided to become a group.

The name "White Lightning" was picked by "Zip" Caplan and Woody Woodrich during their drive back from the "Litter's" filming of "Medium Cool" because it was another name for acid. "White Lightning's" original drummer, Garr Johnson, quit the group after only a months rehearsals because he didn't believe a three-piece act could make it in Minneapolis. Mick Stanhope was immediately brought in from Chicago by Ronn Roberts to fill the empty drummer's chair.

Minneapolis Music

Tracks

1. Prelude To Opus IV (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 2:02

2. (Under The Screaming Double) Eagle (Denny Waite, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 3:22

3. Born Too Rich (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 3:59

4. Coming Down (Larry Loofbourrow) - 3:32

5. Borrowed And Blue (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan) - 3:01

6. Bogged Down (Mark Gallagher, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 2:31

7. Let Me Feel It Too (Larry Loofbourrow) - 3:17

8. Only Love (Larry Loofbourrow) - 1:45

9. Age (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan) - 3:36

10.Fantasy Days (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 3:25

11.No Time For Love (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 11:18

12.William Tell (Gioacchino Rossini) - 5:15

13.Prelude To Opus IV (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 4:18

14.Freedom (Mick Stanhope, Ronn Roberts, Tom Caplan) - 5:15

15.Groundhog (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 3:38

16.1930 (Mick Stanhope, Ronn Roberts, Tom Caplan) - 4:11

17.Just Let The World Roll On By (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan) - 1:46

18.Before My Time (Bernie Pershey, Mick Stanhope, Ronn Roberts, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 3:12

19.Age (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan) - 3:50

20.Fantasy Days (Mick Stanhope, Tom Caplan, Woody Woodrich) - 2:31

White Lightning

*Mick Stanhope - Vocals, Drums, Percussion

*Tom "Zippy" Caplan - Guitar

*Woody Woodrich - Bass, Vocals

*Bernie Pershey - Drums (Tracks 13-20)

*Ronn Roberts - Guitar (Tracks 13-20)

With

*Barbara Hess - Vocasl (Tracks 15,17)

1968 The Five Day Week Straw People - The Five Day Week Straw People

rep>>> Various Artists - Swinging London A Trunk Full Of 60's Pop Exotica The Accidental Genius Of Saga Records (1968-70 uk / italy / germany, fascinating beat psych, 2007 remastered sounds)

In the late 1960s and early '70s, the British budget label Saga recorded numerous albums designed to cash in on U.K. pop/rock-psychedelic trends. The LPs were quickie exploitation jobs, but as is often the case with such productions, some reasonably genuine stuff couldn't help sneaking through and finding status among serious '60s collectors decades later. This quite unusual compilation gathers 25 tracks that were scattered across numerous Saga releases, the common denominator being that all of them were plugged into British mod rock and psychedelia to some degree. It almost goes without saying that none of these songs were hits, and that very few of them are known even to veteran British '60s collectors, though some might be familiar with the Five Day Week Straw People, the Magic Mixture, and the Blackbirds (the last actually a German group whose material Saga managed to issue for the U.K. market).

A few recognizable musicians do pop up here and there, even if the culprits most likely wouldn't mind having these relics buried deep within their résumés, including Mungo Jerry's Ray Dorset (here part of Good Earth), future Fairport Convention bassist Dave Pegg (as part of the Dave Peace Quartet), and original Fleetwood Mac bassist Bob Brunning (as part of Five's Company). As you also might expect, the actual music's not nearly as interesting as it is rare, since much of it's either heavily derivative and/or obviously trying to latch on to fashionable Swinging London-type grooves and the lighter side of psychedelia. Approached with the right level of expectations, however, that doesn't mean there aren't some fun or at least amusing moments along the way, if you're a fan of those genres and have at least a little irreverent humor about the styles' excesses and naïveté.

A good number of the tracks are fairly groovy in different and sometimes off-the-wall ways. Those cuts would include the Blackbirds' downright creepy "She," with its horror movie organ and Dracula-like vocals; the Dave Moses Group's cool, Latin-tinged, organ-based go-go lounge instrumental, "Quite Fast"; Linda & Noel's quite accomplished slice of toy town psych pop, "Mr. Bantam's Fair"; New World's strange heavy psych adaptation of "Scheherezade"; Shake 26's hard-charging instrumental "Underground Set," which bisects mod rock and heavy psychedelia; Five Day Week Straw People's ridiculously echo-smothered "Sunday Morning" (not the Velvet Underground song!); and Magical Mixture's dreamy "Moon Beams," perhaps the one cut on the CD that can hold its own as a legitimate first-rate piece of U.K. psychedelic buried treasure. Others are just OK, or generic or even subpar, though sometimes in a manner that lovers of kitsch might appreciate. Stefan Granados' lengthy liner notes dig up more information about these obscure budget releases than anyone would have thought possible.

by Richie Unterberger

Artist - Track - Composer

1. First Impression - Swingin' London Scene (John Britten) - 2:06

2. Five Day Week Straw People - Five Day Week Straw People (David Montague, Guy Mascolo) - 3:27

3. The Magical Mixture - I'm So Sad (Terry Thomas) - 4:13

4. Katch 22 - There Ain't No Use In Hanging On (Junior Campbell, Thomas McAleese) - 2:10

5. Good Earth - That's The Life (Colin Earl, Dave Hutchins, Ray Bowerman, Ray Dorset) - 2:40

6. Blackbirds - Girl I'm Wondering (Werner Breinig, Hubert Koop) - 3:00

7. Dave Moses Group - Quite Fast (David Moses) - 2:58

8. The Graham Walker Sound - Young Scene (From The Big Match) (Keith Mansfield) - 2:30

9. Katch 22 - Thoughts On A Rainy Day (Martin Wayne, Paul Bonner) - 1:54

10.The Magical Mixture - New Man (Terry Thomas) - 3:00

11.Underground Sound - Arcipelago (Gianfranco Reverberi) - 3:20

12.Dave Peace Quartet - Couldn't Bear The Sight (Dave Peace) - 2:20

13.Blackbirds - She (Werner Breinig, Hubert Koop) - 4:28

14.Five's Company - If This Is Love (Eddie Broadbridge) - 4:44

15.Family Affair - Someone Is Calling Your Name (Noel Cream, Viktor Fernando, Patrick Herbert) - 2:38

16.First Impression - All Lead Back To You (John Britten) - 2:20

17.Herbie And The Royalists - Lost Voyage (Brian Cooper, Denis Lascelles, Herbie Hunte, Ian Miller, Steve Field) - 4:42

18.Katch 22 - Don't Listen (Martin Wayne, Paul Bonner) - 1:49

19.Linda And Noel - Mr. Bantam's Fair (Noel Cream) - 3:31

20.The Graham Walker Sound - Crossroads (James Horner) - 3:23

21.New World - Scheherazade (Rimsky Korsakoff) - 3:15

22.Herbie And The Royalists - My Life Has Just Blown A Fuse (Brian Cooper, Denis Lascelles, Herbie Hunte, Ian Miller, Steve Field) - 3:05

23.Underground Set - Shake 26 (Gianfranco Reverberi) - 2:44

24.Five Day Week Straw People - Sunday Morning (David Montague, Guy Mascolo) - 4:21

25.The Magical Mixture - Moon Beams (Terry Thomas) - 4:06

1967-69 The Magic Mixture - This The Magic Mixture (2008 extra tracks issue)

1970-74 Mungo Jerry - Gold (2019 three disc remaster)

1968 The Blackbirds - No Destination (2005 bonus tracks remaster)

1970 The Underground Set - The Underground Set (Flawed Gems 2012 edition)

rep>>> Beckett - Beckett (1974 uk, fine prog rock with some hard traces, 2008 digipak)

Beckett Vocalist Terry Wilson-Slesser, a native of Newcastle upon Tyne, was to figure in ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff's solo outfit Back Street Crawler and was later hook up with Charlie. The vocalist was also known to be in contention during 1980 for the AC/DC frontman vacancy following Bon Scott's death.

Wilson-Slesser had replaced original Beckett singer Rob Turner, the previous frontman having been killed in an auto accident. Soon after this appointment guitarist Les Tones quit. The group's first major performance was supporting UFO at Newcastle's City Hall. Beckett carved out a live reputation by performing residencies at the infamous Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. Beckett, having scored the financial backing of Island Publishing, then underwent a major line-up change.

The band's 'My Lady' single was a clear flexi-disc given away free at gigs in 1974, the same year the band released their eponymously titled album, produced by Family's Roger Chapman, on the Raft label subsidiary of Warner Bros. On the live front Beckett supported the likes of Wizzard, Slade, Free, Ten Years After, Thin Lizzy and The Faces. The band performed at the 1974 Reading Festival, after which they switched labels to CBS Records. For a period Wilson-Slesser was rehearsing with Mott The Hoople musicians following Ian Hunter's exit.

The Beckett concerts with Free would ultimately lead to an eventual union between Terry Wilson-Slesser and guitarist Paul Kossoff in Back Street Crawler. Slesser was known to be in contention for the AC/DC frontman position during 1980 after Bon Scott's death. The singer also acted as backing vocalist on Def Leppard's 'Pyromania' album. The Beckett song 'A Rainbow's Gold' was covered by Iron Maiden as a B side on their 1984 hit single '2 Minutes To Midnight'. That same year Wilson-Slesser acted as an offstage singer for the Michael Schenker Group, performing on a European and Japanese tour.

The Rock Detector

Tracks

1. Once Upon a Time... The End (Robert Barton) - 0:55

2. Rolling Thunder - 5:23

3. Rainclouds - 5:10

4. Life's Shadow (Brian Quinn, Robert Barton) - 6:51

5. New Dawn Chorus - 1:02

6. A Rainbow's Gold (Kenny Mountain, Terry Wilson-Slesser) - 4:40

7. Don't Tell Me I Wasn't Listening - 5:30

8. Green Grass Green - 4:35

9. My Lady (Kenny Mountain, Robert Barton) - 3:26

10.True Life Story - 5:36

Compositions written by Kenny Mountain except where indicated

Beckett
*Robert Barton - Guitar, Vocals
*Keith Fisher - Drums
*Terry Wilson-Slesser - Vocals
*Ian Murray - Bass
*Kenny Mountain - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Tim Hinkley - Keyboards

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