“Well, I think I stayed a little too long and had too much to drink” are the first words you hear on Deal Gone Down and coupled with the 4.00 am cover photo that gives something of the feeling of the album. It’s Chapman at his most basic with only Rick Kemp and Nigel Pegrum on bass and drums and Maddy Prior and Bridget St. John providing background vocals. Apparently Chapman didn’t really like the production…and he produced it.
The best songs on the album (‘Goodbye Sunny Sky’ and ‘Journeyman’) are first rate but the initial impression is of too many throwaway tracks. The opener ‘The Rock’n’Roll Jigley’ sounds brilliant but just when it should be developing into a monster song it ends at less than two minutes. The first of six bonus tracks, ‘Dumplings’, the B-side of ‘The Banjo Song’, is even shorter. But let’s accentuate the positives. ‘Party Pieces’, from which the quoted line comes, is a gem as is ‘Used To Be’. The title track is a slice of bluesy guitar picking topped off with sizzle cymbal and an electric solo and Michael continues the electric lead into ‘The Banjo Song’.
by Dai Jeffries
Tracks
1. The Rock 'N' Roll Jigley - 1:43
2. Party Pieces - 4:52
3. Another Season Song - 3:27
4. Stranger Passing By - 3:29
5. Used To Be - 1:47
6. Deal Gone Down - 3:59
7. The Banjo Song - 3:32
8. Theme From The Movie Of The Same Name - 2:15
9. Goodbye Sunny Sky - 3:19
10.Journeyman - 5:12
11.Dumplings (Instrumental From The Deal Gone Down Session, B Side) - 1:35
12.Stranger Passing By (Demo) - 4:36
13.Theme From The Movie Of The Same Name (Demo) - 2:49
14.Goodbye Sunny Sky (Demo) - 2:52
15.Untitled Rag (Demo) - 1:51
16.Journeyman (Demo) - 3:09
All compositions by Michael Chapman
Bonus Tracks 11-16
Recording sessions involving musicians who do not regularly work together can be notoriously unproductive, the shelves of second hand record shops are littered with dusty remnants of what might have been a great session.
Happily 'Tramp' is a very fine exception to this rule, perhaps because although there is plenty of creative and spontaneous playing on these tracks, the songs themselves, written by Bob Hall and Dennis Cotton, are economical, witty and tightly constructed; there are no twelve minute guitar solos on this record. Every musician contributed hugely to the overall strength of performance that is obvious throughout the set. Dave and Jo-Anne Kelly are renowned for their ability as blues singers, and they tackled each song whole-heartedly, often adding new ideas whilst actually recording.
Bob Hall is surely the finest boogie pianist in Britain, and has never played better than on these sessions. Bob Brunning is also a highly experienced bass player who has worked and recorded with many blues giants, forming a unit with Bob Hall which has become much in demand by impressed visiting American performers, many of whom have invited them back to the States to form a permanent band! Mick Fleetwood has been the mainstay of Fleetwood Mac for a long time, and when one listens to this exciting playing on this album, one can see why - listen to his inspired and absolutely spontaneous drum lead in during the entirely unrehearsed piano break in 'Too Late For That Now' which leads incidentally to one of the most exciting solos heard in a long while.
Danny Kirwan plays crisply and economically, showing his ability, unusual among rock guitarists - to know when not to play, nevertheless turning in some pleasing solos. Dave Brooks proves just how easily he recently stole the show on some of the '73 American Blues Legends performances, and last but not least, percussionist Ian Morton adds a lot of excitement to the proceedings. Here then is a fresh and exciting album representing of more than worthwhile gathering together of some well known musical 'Tramps'.
Tracks
1. Too Late For That Now (Bob Hall) - 4:53
2. Now I Aint A Junkie Anymore (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall, Dave Kelly) - 3:07
3. What You Gonna Do (Bob Brunning, Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall) - 3:02
4. Like You Used To Do (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall) - 4:04
5. You Gotta Move (Bob Hall, Dave Kelly) - 2:38
6. Put A Record On (Bob Hall, Dennis Cotton) - 3:17
7. Funky Money (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall, Dave Kelly) - 5:43
8. Beggar By Your Side (Dennis Cotton, Bob Hall) - 3:38
9. Maternity Orders (Keep On Rolling In) (Bob Hall, Dennis Cotton) - 2:24
10.It's Over (Bob Hall) - 2:31
The Tramp
*Mick Fleetwood - Drums
*Danny Kirwan - Guitar
*Dave Brooks - Sax
*Dave Kelly - Vocal
*Jo Anne Kelly - Vocal
*Bob Brunning - Bass
*Bob Hall - Piano
*Ian Morton - Percussion
Not to be confused with the “My Sharona” guys on Capitol, the mid-‘60s California band that also recorded for Capitol, or even the ‘60s Argentinean beat combo known as the Knacks, this Knack hailed from Britain and started life as the Londoners in 1965, debuting with a rather ordinary single pairing covers of Elvis Presley’s “That’s My Desire” and Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me” while playing an extended engagement at the legendary Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.
Renaming themselves the Knack after a Richard Lester movie upon returning to the UK the same year marked a turning point for the band, who went on to record six mostly solid singles over the next two years.
The a-side of the first was a gritty cover of the Kinks’ “Who’ll Be the Next in Line”, but the real excitement was on the flip, a stellar cover of the Clique’s “She Ain’t No Good” with strong Beatlesque harmonies. The Clique, incidentally, were not the US band who had hits later in the decade, but an obscure British beat band—though that obscurity didn’t prevent the Knack from covering yet another Clique song on their next single, “Time Time Time”, which was done as adeptly as the previous outing. The a-side, a beat remake of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)”, was almost as good, featuring a brief-but-nifty guitar solo (presumably by Gurvitz).
Their commercial desperation manifested in passable but ordinary covers of two Lovin’ Spoonful hits, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” and “Younger Girl”, and a lament of unknown origin called “Red Hearts”, but their quest also produced a first-rate harmony pop tune in “Save All My Love for Joey” (Joey being a girl). The buoyant beat of “Stop!” was also worthy, if perhaps out of date in the changing musical environment of 1966, a description that also fits their final single from 1967, “(Man from the) Marriage Guidance and Advice Bureau” backed with the band’s only released original, Gurvitz’s “Dolly Catcher Man”. Both the acoustic Rubber Soul-like pop of the a-side and the dreamy pop of the flip showed maturity, but with the rest of the UK dropping acid and/or plugging into fuzzboxes, it was hopelessly anachronistic, and being on a faltering label didn’t help.
The Knack, however, did branch into psychedelia on Gurvitz’s excellent (and previously unreleased) “Lights on the Wall”, a huge step forward from 1967 that signaled a new direction for the band. But with membership shuffling that ultimately brought in Adrian Gurvitz on guitar and Louis Farrell on drums as Paul switched to bass, that direction would be taken up by the rechristened Gun, not the Knack.
Gun were indeed the better of the two bands, but the Knack’s Time Time Time compilation is worth a listen for anyone seeking to dig deeper into British beat.
by Doug Sheppard
Tracks
1. Who'll Be The Next In Line (Davies) - 1:58
2. She Ain't No Good (Rowbottom) - 2:14
3. It's Love Baby (24 Hours A Day) (Jarrett) - 2:20
4. Time Time Time (Rowbottom, Page) - 2:45
5. Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind (Sebastian) - 2:05
6. Red Hearts (Unknown) - 2:04
7. Stop (Miller) - 3:02
8. Younger Girl (Sebastian) - 2:48
9. Save All My Love For Joey (Lyle) - 2:43
10.Take Your Love (Unknown) - 2:17
11.(Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau (Morris) - 3:45
12.Dolly Catcher Man (Gurvitz) - 2:54
13.Lights On The Wall (Gurvitz) - 2:47
14.Back In The USA (Berry) - 3:01
15.Bring It On Home To Me (Cooke) - 2:35
16.That's My Desire (Kresa) - 2:43
This is the first long-player from '60s blues keyboardist Barry Goldberg (organ/piano/vocals). His early association as Bob Dylan's organist during Dylan's electric debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival garnered Goldberg ample exposure. Within a few months he had teamed up with Steve Miller to create the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. Although the combo were signed by Epic Records and cut a pair of 45s, Miller headed for the flourishing San Francisco psychedelic music scene and left Goldberg and the remnants of the short-lived Goldberg-Miller union to their own devices.
In addition to the 10 tracks on the album Blowing My Mind (1966), the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band also recorded "The Mother Song," and "More Soul, Than Soulful," which appear on the 2003 release Goldberg-Miller Blues Band 1965-66. Goldberg is then joined by the likes of Roy Ruby (bass), who contributed to some early Michael Bloomfield recordings, and Maurice McKinley (drums), whose musical rap sheet included a previous stint with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The combo also featured the respective talents of Harvey Mandel (guitar) and Charlie Musselwhite (harmonica).
One of the most evident factors in the success of the Barry Goldberg Blues Band is the impeccable ensemble work as they propel through a blend of effective originals as well as an atypical combination of cover material. The title track is a mid-tempo Goldberg/Ruby tune that features a slightly edgy feel, reminiscent of Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street." "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "That'll Be The Day," are both recommended reworkings that perhaps best exemplify the bluesy synthesis that defined the Barry Goldberg Blues Band, at least on this initial effort. Rather than attempting a note-for-note recreation, they fuse their own blend of electric blues into the well-known and already established melodies.
The same holds for the cover versions of Jimmy Reed's "Can't Stand To See You Go" and Jimmy McCracklin's seminal side "Think." One non-LP outtake is also included, a strong rendering of Geoff Muldaur's "Ginger Man."
by Lindsay Planer
Tracks
1. The Mother Song (Barry Goldberg) - 2:57
2. More Soul Than Soulful (Harris) - 3:13
3. Getting It Down (Barry Goldberg) - 2:08
4. Mean Old World (Barry Goldberg) - 3:49
5. Twice A Man (Barry Goldberg) - 2:28
6. Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On (D. Williams, S. David) - 2:37
7. Big Boss Man (A. Smith, L. Dixon) - 2:57
8. Blowing My Mind (Barry Goldberg, Roy Ruby) - 2:57
9. That'll Be The Day (J. Allison, B. Holly, N. Petty) - 2:22
10.Cant Stand To See You Go (J. Reed) - 2:24
11.Put Me Down (Barry Goldberg, Roy Ruby) - 1:53
12.Think (J. McCracklin, D, Malone) - 2:37
13.Ginger Man (G. Muldaur) - 1:46
Tracks 1-2 The Goldberg - Miller Blues Band
Tracks 3-13 The Barry Goldberg Blues Band
The Goldberg - Miller Blues Band
*Barry Goldberg - Vocals, Organ
*Maurice Mc Kinley - Drums
*Steve Miller - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Roy Ruby - Bass Guitar
After leaving The Electric Flag, pianist and organist Barry Goldberg formed his own briefly lived group and continued to play the blues, albeit spicing it up with unusual psychedelic rock songs and a fabulous cover of the Beatles’ Fool on the Hill (misspelled as Fool on a Hill on the album). There’s No Hole In My Soul is the record output for the group, a dense piece of varying styles that has something for everyone. Following Goldberg from the Electric Flag to the Barry Goldberg Reunion is Harvey Mandel on guitar. The album’s cover is a hint to what’s inside: the cover is a jumbled mess of photographs of faces, blending into one another. The album’s songs are a mixed bag as well, often at odds with one another, representing a variety of styles.s
Goldberg’s instrument of choice, the organ, plays heavily on all tracks, occasionally dwarfing the overall sound, but on songs like the lead off track it remains a tasteful accompanier. Sitting In Circles is a masterful, booming number that brings multiple elements to the table. Echo graces the track, filling up the spaces where the organ, strings, guitars, and drums aren’t playing with excess sound. Goldberg moans the lyrics in a rather contemporary fashion, sort of an older John Mayer cum Leonard Cohen. The lyrics are suitably basic, placing the emphasis on the music, which is excellent and just a bit complex.
Fool on a Hill sounds like a Velvet Underground outtake, though not a word is spoken. Two or three organs come together (Beatle pun unintended) to make a drone that is otherworldly, while drums keep time by soloing faintly in the background. On occasion the drums will serve a more central role to the song, but it’s really all about the organ and guitar duet that functions as the main melody. The song is a Blue Jay Way interpretation of a classic, fuzzy and hazy, barely holding together rhythmically and absolutely delightful. The organ captures the spiral into the clouds that Paul’s vocals carry on the original as he improvises around “round\round\round\oh oh oh”.
While slight homage is paid to the original, the Barry Goldberg Reunion is not afraid to push the limit, psychedelic-izing an already trippy song. While the lyrics on other tracks deal with liberation of the mind and riding on rainbows, Fool on a Hill takes credit for being the most psychedelic song on the record. It’s followed by a goofy blues number that hammers shut side one called Capricorn Blues. It’s a bit of astrology rock\blues, as the protagonist struggles to get a date with the proper astrological sign, something Goldberg laments.
Side two is fairly basic blues and rock, but the final track, a live number called The Answer’s In Your Head is a stirring utopian vision along the lines of We Love You. by the Rolling Stones (“lost within our minds\cos we love you!”) The mind is the best place to method the stresses of social change and of being led and being imprisoned by American corporate society. The band presents a convincing argument for the hippie school of thought, that through experimentation with drugs and less hang ups one can make a revolution, though the radical leftists of the sixties chose to carry out more concrete actions.
A rousing Doctor John style piano boogie is attached at the beginning of the track, building up to the introduction of the actual song. The noise of a concert jam fades into a country and western track, Goldberg’s voice soaring over the song, backed up by what sounds like a live audience on joyous cries of “the answer’s in your head!”. The song deals with Goldberg recognizing the potential of mindfulness and liberation just around the corner, while describing the loss of his ego. It’s a joyful celebration of the counterculture, complete with whoops and handclaps, inviting the audience into the musical painting.
Tracks
1. Sitting In Circles - 3:40
2. Hole In My Pocket (Danny Whitten) - 2:45
3. It Hurts Me Too - 4:10
4. Fool On A Hill (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:25
5. Capricorn Blues - 1:55
6. Another Day - 3:25
7. Sugar Coated Love - 2:35
8. Strung And Young - 3:15
9. I Think I'm Gonna Cry - 3:25
10.The Answers In Your Head - 3:25
All songs by Barry Goldberg except where indicated
Holland's Brainbox were founded by Jan Akkerman in the mid-'60s. While H.P. Lovecraft kept changing members around the drummer, this band would release a record with totally new people in 1972, entitled Parts. Yet the original Brainbox do have qualities somewhat resembling the earlier H.P. Lovecraft, and their eponymous album is a worthwhile collection of musically diverse and eclectic performances. The decent liner notes call this "progressive pop," and in some respects it is, though they shift gears from the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" to the 17-minute plus original "Sea of Delight," and take lots of other directions in between.
The Damned had a song called "New Rose," which is where the French record label got its name, and there was the aforementioned Savage Rose, but Brainbox start the album with "Dark Rose," a blend of Jethro Tull meets the Mothers of Invention. Brainbox ups the ante by sliding into Tim Hardin and a very credible cover of "Reason to Believe" a full two years before Rod Stewart would get a B-side hit with it (the original A-side of the "Maggie Mae" single), they pull off a chameleon-like change on this to become folk rockers.
Casimirz Lux has a very appealing voice with a bit of Stewart's rasp, making "Reason to Believe" a highlight of the album. The liner notes credit Jimmy Smith for writing "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," but the tracking properly gives it to Jimmy Reed, and his Top 40 1960 hit is as bluesy as you can get here, the band changing styles yet again and showing their grasp and appreciation of American music. From progressive rock to folk-rock to blues-rock to the folk-pop of Simon & Garfunkel, who is to say they weren't rewriting Blind Faith's lengthy "Do What You Like" by way of "Sea of Joy" for their epic "Sea of Delight"? The album is a dense amalgam of sounds and themes from England and America, but is reverent in its borrowing and presentation.
Brainbox's rendition of "Summertime" sounds like Deep Purple adding heavy keyboard sounds and slowing up the Billy Stewart 1966 hit reinvention of the Gershwin tune from Porgy & Bess. Of course, Janis Joplin did it two years earlier than Brainbox and psychedelicized it with an immortal performance -- but a good song is a good song, and this is Jan Akkerman before he would give us "Hocus Pocus" from Focus, and that fact makes the album more than just a curiosity. Since these gents were so enamoured of American music, it seems credible that they took the Vanilla Fudge sound -- famous in Europe a year before it hit in America -- and put it on a Janis Joplin favorite. Released with five bonus tracks on CD, including additional versions of "Sea of Delight," this is much more than the "bargain bin" item many American record buyers passed it off as. It's a real diamond in the rough.
by Joe Viglione
Tracks
1. A Face - 4:23
2. You're Used To Be Warmer - 3:55
3. Part Of Me Is A Part Of You - 5:36
4. What It's All About - 4:56
5. Scotch Ballad - 2:03
6. Another Part - 3:17
7. Dilemma - 3:30
8. Drum And Thunder Suite (B. Golson) - 5:05
9. When I Was Poor - 5:54
10.Virgin (A-Side, 1971) - 3:40
11.Mobilae (B-Side, 1971) - 5:38
12.Companion (Live At Paradiso 1971) - 4:30
13.Sea Of Delight (Single Version, 1969) - 3:03
All compositions by Brainbox except where stated
Bonus Tracks 10-13
The Brainbox
*Robert Verwey - Bass
*Michel Van Dijk - Vocals, Flute
*Ron Meyjes - Lead Guitar, Harmonica
*Robert Verwey - Organ, Piano
*Frans Smit - Percussion
By 1968 guitarist Lonnie Mack had been playing professionally for a decade. Ironically, it took a lengthy article in Rolling Stone magazine to finally capture the attention of major record labels.
Signed by Jac Holzman's Elektra Records, Mack finally seemed poised for the big time. Produced by Russ Miller, 1969's "Whatever's Right" is the resulting mix of blues, gospel and country genres was clearly souped up to appeal to a rock audience. While the spotlight was clearly on Mack's Gibson Flying V (and his speed of light whammy bar), to my ears the biggest surprise here was Mack's singing.
As exemplified by tracks like 'My Babe, 'What Kind of World Is This?' and his cover of Bobby Womack's 'I Found a Love' the guy actually had a great voice. Interestingly, the two best songs here are also the only two Mack originals. 'Mr. Healthy Blues' was a killer instrumental that showcases how fast this guy could play, while Elektra marketing executives should have been fired for not having pulled 'Gotta Be An Answer' as a single.
Tracks
1. Untouched By Human Love (Norman Simon, Dick Roman) - 3:40
2. I Found A Love (Wilson Pickett, Willie Schofield, Robert West) - 3:34
3. Share Your Love With Me (Deadric Malone, Alfred Braggs) - 4:12
4. Teardrops On Your Letter (S. Scott) - 4:14
5. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Reed) - 2:53
6. Mt. Healthy Blues (Instrumental) (Lonnie Mack) - 6:50
7. What Kind Of World Is This? (Troy Seals) - 4:05
8. My Babe (Willie Dixon) - 2:36
9. Things Have Gone To Pieces (Leon Payne) - 2:55
10.Gotta Be An Answer (Lonnie Mack) - 2:43
Best known for his work with a band that bridged the gap between R&B and garage rock, Ray Stinnett was also an unsung hero of the Memphis music scene whose most personal music would wait over 40 years to find an audience. Stinnett was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1944, and like so many kids growing up in Memphis, he developed a love for music early on, getting his first guitar when he was 12 years old. Stinnett claims he bought the instrument at the same pawn shop where Elvis Presley was said to have gotten his first guitar, and as Stinnett was walking home, he spotted Presley driving by in a Cadillac, who called out to the youngster, "Hey, cat." Suitably encouraged, Stinnett set about learning the guitar, and by his mid-teens, he was playing around town in a duo act with drummer Jerry Patterson, as well as working with a teen rock band called Johnny and the Electros and doing occasional session work. In mid-1963, a Texas-based group called the Nightriders, led by keyboard man Domingo "Sam" Samudio, were booked into a standing gig at a Memphis nightspot called the Diplomat Club when their guitar player and drummer both quit; Stinnett and Patterson signed on to replace them, and when the Nightriders' engagement ended, the Memphis boys hit the road with the band.
A few months later, the Nightriders changed their name to Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, and after they cut a single for a small Memphis label, MGM Records picked up the disc for national distribution. "Wooly Bully" became the top-selling single of 1965, spending 14 weeks in Billboard's Top 40, and a pair of minor hits followed ("Ju Ju Hand" and "Ring Dang Do"), but Stinnett's tenure with the group was short-lived; within a year of "Wooly Bully" hitting the charts, the Pharaohs had a falling out with Samudio over business matters, and they found themselves replaced with a new set of Pharaohs, who scored a hit of their own with "Li'l Red Riding Hood." Stinnett, Patterson, and their fellow ex-Pharaohs cut a single for Dot Records as the Violations, "The Hanging" b/w "You Sure Have Changed," which dealt metaphorically with their anger and disappointment, but the record went nowhere commercially and the group split up.
In 1967, as Americans became aware of the growing counterculture, Stinnett headed to Northern California and embraced the hippie lifestyle while living at a celebrated commune, the Morning Star Ranch; a year later, back in Memphis, he formed a psychedelic band called 1st Century, who lasted long enough to release one single for Capitol Records, "Looking Down" b/w "Dancing Girl." While 1st Century quickly dissolved, Stinnett struck up a friendship with legendary producer and instrumentalist Booker T. Jones, and as Stinnett began putting a greater focus on his songwriting, Jones encouraged him and gave him occasional gigs.
By the dawn of the 1970s, Stinnett and his wife were living on a commune in California and searching for spiritual enlightenment. Stinnett's life path reflects the shifting cultural Zeitgeist of the 1960s with commendable accuracy, but thankfully he never stopped playing guitar like a Memphis boy who dug the blues, as evidenced by A Fire Somewhere, an album Stinnett recorded in 1971 that finally earned a long-overdue release in 2012. When Booker T. Jones produced an album for his then-wife Priscilla Coolidge-Jones, 1970's Gypsy Queen, Stinnett played guitar on the sessions and wrote two songs that appeared on the LP.
As a songwriter, Stinnett conjures up a fine, swampy fusion of soul, country, blues, and rock, with occasional side trips into psychedelia and gospel, and though it's true Stinnett's spiritual and philosophical conceits sometimes sound a bit clumsy after 40 years of gathering dust, Stinnett never sounds less than entirely sincere, and when he deals with the nuts and bolts of love and relationships, he strikes a bull's-eye. And Stinnett was blessed with a rhythm section as idiosyncratically gifted as he was in bassist Mike Plunk and drummer Jerry Patterson. Differences with A&M over marketing and management caused Stinnett to walk away from his record deal, and A Fire Somewhere got left by the wayside, buried in the label's vaults.
This re-release of the album doesn't quite resurrect a lost classic, but this is an entertaining, often fascinating set of well-crafted swamp rock that showcases a talent that deserved a hearing it didn't get in 1971. The album was remastered from the original session tapes.
by Mark Deming
Tracks
1. Salty Haze - 2:43
2. You Make Me Feel - 3:53
3. Silky Path - 5:03
4. Wheel Of Time - 2:36
5. Stop - 3:32
6. Long Rivers Flow - 2:48
7. America - 4:21
8. You And I - 4:18
9. Honey Suckle Song - 3:00
10.Liberty Train - 3:40
11.Naturally High - 3:11
12.Loves In The Answer - 2:46
13.A Fire Somewhere - 5:30
14.The Rain - 5:27
Music and Words by Ray Stinnett
Released in 1972, the Rowan Brothers' eponymous debut arrived with a great deal of hype, including an ad featuring a quote from Jerry Garcia in which he stated that Chris and Lorin Rowan "could be like the Beatles. They're that good." Produced by Bill Wolf and David Grisman (credited as David Diadem), the first effort from the Stinson Beach, CA, duo never even came close to living up to such lofty praise. Though it can give a young artist a boost, this sort of hype can quite often be devastating, and probably hurt the pair in the long run.
The Rowan Brothers is a mix of country-rock, folk, and pop tunes with cosmic ("the universe is nothing but a fantasy/of life's illusions throughout eternity") and hippie ("we'll put on our costumes, bring the music along/come on friends we'll sing a happy song") underpinnings, which are often trite and very much artifacts of the time. Although they may lack lyrical muscle, Chris and Lorin are capable of pleasant, catchy tunes that can be light and spirited or lush and pretty. Ignored at the time and somewhat dated today, The Rowan Brothers is another forgotten relic from the late-'60s and early-'70s San Francisco music scene.
by Brett Hartenbach
Tracks
1. Hickory Day - 2:52
2. All Together - 3:04
3. The Best You Can - 2:52
4. One More Time - 3:27
5. Lay Me Down - 2:34
6. The Wizard - 3:06
7. Mamma Don't You Cry - 3:05
8. Gold - 3:35
9. Love Will Conquer - 3:27
10.Lady of Laughter - 3:36
11.Move on Down - 2:27
12.Singin' Song - 3:34
All songs written by Lorin Rowan, Chris Rowan
Lonnie Mack was born in Ohio and raised in nearby southern Indiana, he was raised on blues, country and roadhouse rock.
His singing incorporated all three styles. To him, they were all part of the same fabric of Southern music that carpeted the area around his home base in Cincinnati.
Mack didn’t get much of a chance to showcase his vocal talent, however, until he signed at the end of the 1960s with Elektra Records, a folk label that was trying to branch out into rock.
His Elektra albums didn’t make much of a dent when they were issued; Mack’s bluesy roots music was out to style. Today they sound like long-lost gems. At times, they invite comparison to the recordings of the late Eddie Hinton, the blue-eyed soul man from Tuscaloosa.
Mack’s 1969 release, “Glad I’m in the Band," showed him to be a formidable vocalist, especially on blues and r&b. Mack’s remake of Huey “Piano" Smith’s New Orleans rocker “Roberta" was a particularly fine welding of his skills as a player and a singer, and he turns in a very credible performance on Little Willie John’s 1959 blues ballad, “Let The Talk."
From his stash of early 1960s recordings, he resurrects “Why," a tough, slow blues, and “Memphis," which loses little of its bite in a more contemporary setting.
“Save Your Money" is a delectable slice of Muscle Shoals-style soul, while “Old House" shows Mack’s deep affinity for country.
by Ben Windham
Tracks
1. Why - 4:20
2. Save Your Money - 2:48
3. Old House - 3:08
4. Too Much Trouble - 2:05
5. In The Band - 1:44
6. Let Them Talk (Sonny Thompson) - 4:15
7. Memphis (Chuck Berry) - 2:28
8. Sweat And Tears (David Byrd) - 4:14
9. Roberta (Al Smith, John Vincent) - 2:20
10.Stay Away From My Baby (Ray Pennington) - 3:45
11.She Don't Come Here Anymore (Lonnie Mack, Wayne Bullock) - 4:24
All tracks by Lonnie Mack except where indicated
