Plain and Fancy

Monday, March 1, 2021

Ellie Pop - Ellie Pop (1968 us, fresh breezy folky psych pop, 2005 korean remaster)

Ellie Pop were from Roseville, Michigan formed in 1968, some rock collectors/fans consider Ellie Pop’s only album a mid 60’s classic. The sound is straight out of 1966/early 1967 (though this album was released in 1968-) with strong Beatles influenced melodies and harmonies. Other comparisons that come to mind are a guitar oriented Association (with more balls!) or the Merry-Go-Round, on their less trippy, Beatles inspired material.

There are no psychedelic freakouts, distorted vocals or backward guitar solos on this record. It’s a straight up power pop/pop record, with the occasional odd time signature and plenty of good song arrangements. The production is not as pristine as say the Left Banke’s debut, so the playing and the record itself sound rough or crude at times. The songs reward with repeated listenings though, and the Fab Four injected Whatcha Gonna Do is a personal favorite (those Yeah Yeah Yeah’s are straight out of the early Beatles songbook). Oh! My Friend has a vibe similar to Rubber Soul’s downbeat folk-rock numbers, sad and moody but a worthy song nonetheless. Can’t Be Love is also very good, with some strange twists and turns and excellent thick guitar riffs that hum like a Mustang engine.

No Thanks Mr. Mann is as psychedelic as this record gets, a classic 60’s character sketch with some superb harmonizing and frantic guitar playing toward the end. While the Beatles comparisons are inevitable, this record is still original and very solid. It’s definitely near the top of the heap of Mainstream (record label) releases.

by Jason Nardelli

Tracks

1. Seven North Frederick - 2:19

2. Winner Loser - 2:12

3. Can't Be Love - 2:31

4. Remembering (Sunnybrook) - 2:26

5. Seems I've Changed - 2:20

6. Caught In the Rain - 2:30

7. Oh! My Friend - 2:18

8. Some Time Ago - 2:18

9. No Thanks Mr. Mann - 2:48

10.Watcha Gonna Do - 2:41

All songs by Len Gervasi, George Kouri

Ellie Pop

*George Kouri (George Dunn) - Vocals

*Bill Long - Lead Guitar

*Doug Kouri (Doug Kunn) - Bass

*Wayne Kolar - Drums

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Plato And The Philosophers - Thirteen O'Clock Flight To Psychedelphia (1966-68 us, awesome garage psych)

Ken Tebow came from a musical family. His mother played in big bands during World War II. His grandfather met his grandmother while he was in a band. From the time he was in grade school, Ken was playing one instrument or another, beginning with a coronet. In the early 60's, Ken was playing the saxophone with his friend. They would play along with the music of bands like The Marquees. In 1962, Ken dropped the sax for the bass guitar and formed a group called The Checkmates. This was when Ken was a mere fourteen years old. Mike Imbler also fourteen was in the group. The band went on till 1965 playing mainly in Church basements and Jr. High School Proms. Their music consisted of instrumental covers.

The Checkmate's manager suggested a name change in 1965 as there was another popular group with the same moniker. He suggested coming up with a name that sounded like Paul Revere and The Raiders or Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs. Thus was born Plato and The Philosophers. They were from Moberly, Missouri The band at this time was Mike Imbler- lead guitar, Ken Tebow-bass and vocals, Barry Orscheln-keyboards, Mark Valentine- drums(note: a year later a fifth member Ben White would play bass. When they first started playing with the new name Ken suggested they go on stage dressed in Togas and sandals. He even put together the materials for the outfit from gym shorts and sheets. The band performed two times with the outfits. Just before they were to perform a third time in the outfits, Ken went out to the parking lot and saw a fire. The other band members had burned the outfits!

Plato's first single release was "C.M. I Love You" b/w "I Don't Mind" on the It Records label. The band was booked into a small basement studio in Quincy. Barry got the band booked there. He called them up and the band paid for the sessions. The record was cut from a master that was done live in the studio. There was no over dubbing the vocals later on. The band played live and Ken sang the vocals simultaneously. Five hundred records were pressed. Most were sold or handed out at the groups shows. Some were sent to radio stations. Ken was intent on getting the band signed to a major label. He found a Billboard catalog that listed record companies and their addresses. He sent out the records to many companies. He received ten reject letters. The other companies did not even answer him, except one, a company in Chicago called GAR Records. GAR got in touch with Ken and was interested in issuing the record on their label. Ken was seventeen at this time. The owner of GAR came to Moberly to meet with the band. He signed them to a record deal which stated they would receive monthly sales statements. For the first three months the band received statements. The record had sold 10,000 copies. It was "pick hit of the week" in Michigan and Northern Illinois. The band never heard anything further. In the summer of 1967 Plato and The Philosophers were opening for The McCoys at the Missouri State Fair. A group of kids came up to Plato and wanted autographs. The kids were from Michigan and told Plato that they had the "I Don't Mind" record and heard it numerous times on the radio. No one knows to this day which stations played it and how many records it really sold.

After the success of their first single, Plato and The Philosophers got in touch with a well respected studio in Columbia, Missouri(which was only about thirty five miles away from Moberly) called "Fairyland Studios". The band worked out a deal with the studio to issue the record on the Fairyland Records label by paying for all the studio and record pressing costs. This time the band would lay down the initial backing tracks and then come back in another session and overdub the vocals on May 7, 1967. In the summer of 1967, the record was released. Only about four hundred copies were pressed. Most were sold at dances and sent out to radio stations. There was some radio air play, but not enough to go back and repress the record. Ken's ballad "Wishes" was the a-side, while "Thirteen O'clock" was the b-side. Ben White thought up the title and Ken wrote the words and music. When asked what the lyrics were about, Ken is at a loss to remember. He does recall trying to make the bass sound in the song distinguished. A lot of reverb was added to the song. If one listens carefully to the end of the song you can hear the drummer knocking over this cymbal stand. While the band wanted to re-do it, they later decided it sounded kind of cool and left it in anyway.

After the "Thirteen O'Clock Flight To Psychedelphia" single, the band went back into Fairyland Studios on September 24, 1967 to record two more sides for a single "Doomsday Nowhere City" b/w "I Knew". Ken recalls that "Doomsday Nowhere City" was about "not liking his hometown and wanting to get away from it, putting it down". The song stands out as real period gem, reflecting the pop psychedelic sound that was issuing from bands such as The Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Rainy Daze. The flip side "I Knew" is lost. It was to be a song with lots of brass. When the sessions were finished the band failed to issue the sides as a single for lack of funds.

In 1968 Plato and The Philosophers began to change to a heavier sound, influenced in part by their admiration for The Iron Butterfly. When the album In A Gadda Da Vidda was released all the groups in the Central Missouri area would perform the single edit of In A Gadda Da Vidda.

Barry, Plato's keyboard player, studied the long version of the song for a month. He dedicated his time to learning every single note of the eighteen minute song. Thereafter In A Gadda Da Vidda became the theme song for Plato and The Philosophers. For the next year the band played the long version at every gig. In 1969 Plato had been booked into a Florida club six nights a week performing from nine till two in the morning.

The next recording sessions were done in 1968 in Pekin. The songs recorded were "Ima Jean Money"and "Take It Easy". Later in 1968 Plato records some more songs in Springfield- Through Your Heart", "The Pill", "How I Won The War", "In Good Time", and a second version of "Take It Easy". These demos got Plato a tentative agreement with Cedarwood Music for an album and single release. When the group went to Nashville to record an album for major distribution. By now there were only two original members, Ken and Barry. The band's sound also changed with the addition of a brass and horn sound on many of the songs. For example a new version of "Ima Jean Money" was recorded with horns. Other songs recorded at this time were "I Really Don't Care", "Back Room Bar", "Today I Died", "Don't Take It To Heart", and "Winter Green". Two of the songs "Don't Take It To Heart" and "Winter Green" are pop sounding songs written by Larry Williams. The rest of the songs are by Ken Tebow. When it comes time for a album and single release nothing is done, so all the material is never released.

After the Nashville sessions failed to bring success the band began to fall apart. By the end of 1970 Plato and The Philosophers was no more. Ken got married that year, then in June he was drafted into the Army. Five weeks later he was discharged for what the Army termed "physically unfit". The other members left to pursue their own careers. Recently Plato and The Philosophers re-formed and released a cd of new music. Here then, is their first album of old material combined with some other bands from the same era of sound.

Cicadelic

Tracks

1. I Don't Mind (Ken Tebow) - 3:02

2. C.M. I Love You (Ken Tebow) - 2:26

3. Thirteen O'Clock Flight To Psychedelphia (Previously Unreleased Mix) (Ken Tebow) - 3:02

4. Doomsday Nowhere City - 2:33

5. Trippin' Out (Bill Evans, Bill Payne, Joe Geppi) - 2:12

6. She's Kinda Weird (Bill Evans, Bill Payne, Joe Geppi) - 2:20

7. Hole In Her Soul - 2:14

8. Church House Blues (Thomas Pounds) - 3:28

9. I Like It Like That - 2:16

10.Why Won't You Wear My Ring? - 2:03

11.Heat Wave - 2:15

12.Shop Around - 2:46

13.Wishes (Previously Unreleased Mix) (Ken Tebow) - 3:26

14.I Knew - 3:02

15.Ima Jean Money - 4:06

16.Today I Died - 2:35

17.Take It Easy - 2:50

18.How I Won The War - 3:18

19.In Good Time - 2:32

20.Back Room Bar - 2:39

21.Through Your Heart - 5:09

22.Thirteen O'Clock Flight To Psychedelphia (Early Take) (Ken Tebow) - 3:06

Tracks 1-4 and 13-22 by The Plato And The Philosophers

Tracks 5-7 by Something Wild

Track 8 by The Smoke

Tracks 9-12 by The Fortunes

Plato And The Philosophers

*Mike Imbler - Lead Guitar

*Barry Orscheln - Keyboards

*Ken Tebow - Bass, Vocals

*Mark Valentine - Drums

*Ben White - Bass

Something Wild

*Bill Evans - Guitar

*Bill Payne - Keyboard (Little Feat)

*Joe Geppi - Bass

*Linus Kal X Blue - Lead Vocals

*Red Libben - Drums

The Smoke

*Johnny Orvis - Vocals, Guitar, Banjo

*Eddie Beyer - Keyboards

*Richard Floyd - Bass, Guitar, Vocals

*Earl Finn - Bass, Keyboards, Guitar

*Phil Parker - Drums

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Adamkosky - In Your Eye (1973 us, beautiful folk rock, 2008 korean remaster)

Lonely melodic private press 1973 USA album. The recording session took eleven hours and there were no second takes. Low-fi crude sound with vocals, some solo tracks, some with further instrumentation. Its from a folk-blues tradition but sometimes sounds a bit like 70s singer-songwriter stuff by a 19-year-old who couldnt afford to hire a band. It is laid back but ethereal, very homemade sounding with a weird b/w cover of a bullet in the eyeball of the moon. Sparse music with creepy vocals that sound resigned to the problems of existence. Local pressing with three hundred pressed.

Tracks

1. Never Thought - 3:33

2. Broken Hours, Wasted Days - 1:47

3. Sand Castle Skies - 1:51

4. Steam - 2:17

5. Last Winter's Fridays - 4:07

6. Armadillo Hitchhike Blues (Water Adamkosky, Dennis Smith) - 2:26

7. One More Time - 1:22

8. Shadows - 2:44

9. Sunset Of A Dying Day - 3:16

10.Afterthoughts - 2:15

11.Dreams - 1:12

All songs by Michael Adamkosky, Erich Mees except where stated

Musicians

*Michael Admkosky - Vocals, Drums, Guitar, Mandolin

*Ray Pauken - Banjo

1968 Alexander Lee Spence - AndOarAgain (2018 three disc remaster)
1972 Bob Mosley - Bob Mosley
1974-77 Bob Mosley - Never Dreamed

Friday, February 26, 2021

Moby Grape - Grape Jam (1968 us, awesome blues jam psych rock, 2007 remaster)

Grape Jam is the oddity here. Of course Moby Grape's strengths and reputation on record up to this point were based on concise executions of carefully composed three-minute songs. Live, those stretched out a bit longer, but Grape certainly weren't considered a jam band in the sense of The Dead, Quicksilver, and others. Grape Jam showcased what the band could do for the most part just jamming in the studio, along with some guest players like Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield (several months before the release of Super Session), plus a slow blues vocal cut that opens the proceedings.

The jams are great fun, even if a little long-winded at times, and showcase some great playing mostly in an electric bluesy style that was so prevalent at the time. Closing the original disc was "The Lake," a bizarrely psychedelic meandering with lyrics written by somebody outside the band, and is pretty much a throwaway. Three lengthy bonus cuts are included, the last being an arrangement of "Bags' Groove" with Kooper, Randy Brecker on trombone, and part of Blood Sweat & Tears horn section.

by Peter Thelen, 2008-01-01

Tracks

1. Never (Bob Mosley) - 6:12

2. Boysenberry Jam (Skip Spence, Bob Mosley, Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis) - 6:00

3. Black Currant Jam (Skip Spence, Bob Mosley, Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis) - 7:07

4. Marmalade (Bob Mosley, Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller, Mike Bloomfield) - 14:02

5. The Lake (Skip Spence, Bob Mosley, Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, Michael Hayworth) - 3:58

6. Grape Jam #2 (Skip Spence, Bob Mosley, Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis) - 9:18

7. Grape Jam #3 (Bob Mosley, Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, Joe Scott) - 9:10

8. Bags' O Groove (Milt Jackson) - 13:21

Tracks 1-5 Recorded January 16 - February 13, 1968

Tracks 6-8 Spontaneous Studio Recordings, 1968

Moby Grape

*Peter Lewis - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

*Jerry Miller - Lead Guitar, Vocals

*Bob Mosley - Bass, Vocals

*Skip Spence - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

*Don Stevenson - Drums, Vocals

With

*Fred Lipsius - Alto Saxophone

*David Rubinson - Drums

*Al Kooper - Piano

*Jerry Weiss - Trumpet

*Randy Brecker - Trumpet

*Mike Bloomfield - Piano

*Joe Scott - Piano

1966-69 Live (Sundazed digipak issue)
1967 Moby Grape - Moby Grape (2007 remaster)
1967-68 The Place And The Time (2009 Sundazed release)
1969 Wow (Sundazed Issue)
1969 Moby Grape - Moby Grape 69' (2007 remaster and expanded)
Related Acts

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Various Artists - Bob Stanley And Pete Wiggs Present Three Day Week (1972-75 uk, excellent rock mosaic, 2019 compilation)

Britain wasn’t on its own in having a thoroughly miserable 1973: O Lucky Man! and Badlands both found a great year to premiere; Watergate brought America to a new low. But America didn’t still have back-to-backs and outside bogs. Tens of thousands of Britons were still housed in wartime pre-fabs. The bright new colours of the post-war Festival of Britain and Harold Wilson's talk in the 60s of the “white heat of technology” now seemed very distant as strikes, inflation, and food and oil shortages laid Britain low. What had gone wrong? And what did pop music have to say about it?

Many of the year’s biggest acts had set out on their particular journeys in the most idealistic years of the 60s (Yes, Genesis, the Moody Blues) and still held traces of that era’s promise. For acts such as Bowie and Roxy Music who had emerged in the new decade, one way out of the British malaise was to look into the future, embracing modernism and the space age beyond, a world of electric boots and mohair suits. Another was to draw heavily on the revered 50s, retreating to rock’s unsullied roots while remaining ostensibly current – Wizzard, Mott The Hoople and even the Rubettes managed to reshape the 50s to their own ends, much as Springsteen did in the States, although beyond them lay Showaddywaddy, Shakin’ Stevens, and a sickly nosedive into nostalgic yearning.

This left a small rump of acts diligently soundtracking Britain’s present, not with a wagging finger but a fuzzy guitar, a primitive synthesiser, and a pitch-black sense of humour. Quite often these records were cut in home studios – many featured the same basic synth (just the one) that Roxy’s Eno and Hawkwind’s DikMik used; the guitarists still played blues progressions picked up from the Stones; and they sometimes touched on glam – the era’s brightest, newest noise – found inspiration in its disposability and its energy, but didn’t have the luxury of a Chinn and Chapman or a Mickie Most to sprinkle fairy dust on their final mix. And outside the studio door were the strikes, the cuts, economic chaos, teenage wasteland – these musicians created music that, intentionally or not, echoed their surroundings. It wasn’t glam, but it emerged from what Robin Carmody has called “the glamour of defeat, the glory of obliteration”.

The songs on “Three Day Week” amplified the noise of a country still unable to forget the war, even as it watched the progressive post-war consensus disintegrating. We hear shrugs and cynicism, laughter through gritted teeth. Comparing it to the richness of records made just five or six years earlier, you might think musical instruments had been rationed, and that everyone has one eye on the clock, cutting corners to get the recording finished before the next power cut. You picture engineers in donkey jackets, with a brazier by the mixing desk. You hear odd electronic explosions, quacks and squiggles. The pub piano is predominant, with its brown ale, Blitz-spirit, grin-and-bear-it jollity. And under many of these tracks is a barely concealed frustration (sexualised on the Troggs’ ‘I’m On Fire’) and even anger (how else to read ‘Urban Guerrilla’, or the howling and the hand grenade at the end of Stud Leather’s ‘Cut Loose’?). Think of “Three Day Week” as an extended, musical Play For Today.

The Three Day Week itself – which only lasted eight weeks, but was the nadir of a four-year-long depression – had been a result of the Tory government’s limit on pay rises in October 1973 and the miners strike that followed. Back at the start of 1972 the miners had struck for higher pay and won, averting Prime Minister Edward Heath’s threat to introduce a three day week in manufacturing and industry to hold on to energy reserves. By late 1973, though, the miners had slipped from top of the industrial wages league to 18th. Amid strikes by civil servants, medical staff, railway and dock workers, the miners went on strike again. The Three Day Week proper lasted from New Year’s Day to 7 March 1974. TV shut down at 10:30. Power cuts and blackouts in homes across Britain meant the sales of candles and torches soared. Old soldiers tutted. The Army were on standby. And, nine months later, there was a spike in the birth rate.

For the younger generation, however, the Three Day Week is not remembered as a period of woe. Power cuts were fun! Who wouldn’t like the idea of a three day week? More time to play! It was also easy for kids to confuse pop culture and politics when the Prime Minister was Ted Heath and the leader of Britain’s biggest union, the TGWU, was Jack Jones. Even the TUC’s leader Vic Feather sounded like the bassist from a RAK act. There is also the folk memory of the period being a high-water mark for the power of trade unions, who seemingly always struck for higher pay and won, a dreamtime for many on the left. The second miners strike brought down the Tory government – what a time to be alive! Margaret Thatcher was only education secretary at this point, the hated “milk snatcher”, and no one had a crystal ball to see what the Tory reaction might be several years down the line.

The records on this collection were almost all released as 45s, sent to shops in cost-cutting plain white paper bags, and – thanks to the oil shortage caused by the Arab-Israeli conflict – pressed on thinner vinyl than you’d have had ten years earlier. On every level, they felt as if they were being recorded and released under wartime restrictions. Many of these tracks were B-sides, recorded in haste, with no commercial forethought or relevance to the A-side, because, as Peter Shelley recalls, “You’d made the wild assumption that no one would ever play it”.

Why did the music end up sounding this way? There had been a general sense of decline in Britain since the turn of the decade – not only in industry but in film, art, fashion, and in people’s expectations. You could trace its roots further back to 1968, when the collapse of the Ronan Point tower block in East London sounded a death knell for modernist dreams. Or to 1967, a year for which Swinging London has prevailed in popular memory over Cathy Come Home, but which should be remembered for the devaluation of the pound and the capital's nationalistic dock strikes as much as Alexandra Palace’s 14 Hour Technicolour Dream. By 1972, everything new – be it a brick wall or a terylene suit – was a shade of brown or orange, and the smell of sweat and odour-hugging man-made fabrics (not only clothes but carpets and curtains) was dominant. The worsted mills of Bradford and cotton mills of Manchester were fast disappearing, and the mix of wet wool, chimney smoke and boiled cabbage that Shena Mackay recalled being London’s olfactory default in the 60s had been replaced by weeks-old fag smoke, BO, and something plasticky you couldn’t put your finger on.

Few of the songs on “Three Day Week” are politically direct: the Edgar Broughton Band had been Ladbroke Grove rabble rousers at the tail end of the 60s, but their ambitions sound entirely blunted on the monochrome hopelessness of ‘Homes Fit For Heroes’; Phil Cordell’s ‘Londonderry’ is diffuse, but it was an odd place to single out for a song title in 1973; Pheon Bear appears to be losing the will to live even as he shouts himself hoarse on ‘War Against War’. The ambivalence of the Strawbs on ‘Part Of The Union’ – a #2 hit – is entirely in keeping with the pub humour and shrugging cynicism of the era. So there is a little agitation here, but there is plenty of gleeful irreverence. One more drink? What have we got to lose? The government’s on its knees and we might all be out of work tomorrow. Quick, somebody, get on the piano before the lights go out again.

by Bob Stanley

Artist - Tracks - Composer

1. The Brothers - Part Of The Union (John Ford, Richard Hudson) - 2:55

2. Small Wonder - Ordinary Boy (Mike Berry) - 2:55

3. Ricky Wilde - The Hertfordshire Rock (Peter Shelley, Ricky Wilde) - 2:47

4. The Kinks - When Work Is Over (Raymond Douglas Davies) - 2:06

5. The Sutherland Bros Band - Sailing (Gavin Sutherland) - 2:36

6. Adam Faith - In Your Life (Adam Faith, David Courtney) - 2:39

7. Phil Cordell - Londonderry (Phil Cordell) - 3:08

8. Stud Leather - Cut Loose (Roger Cook) - 3:02

9. The Troggs - I'm On Fire (Richard Moore) - 2:12

10.Mike McGear - Kill (Mike McGear) - 1:49

11.Lieutenant Pigeon - And The Fun Goes On (Nigel Fletcher, Rob Woodward) - 3:03

12.Mungo Jerry - Open Up (Ray Dorset) - 3:24

13.Matchbox - Rod (Paul Vigrass, Rod Lynton, Steve Brendell, Jack Oliver) - 2:12

14.Hawkwind - Urban Guerilla (Dave Brock, Robert Calvert) - 3:38

15.Edgar Broughton Band - Homes Fit For Heroes (Edgar Broughton) - 4:18

16.Bombadil - Breathless (Terry Bull) - 3:04

17.Robin Goodfellow - Why Am I Waiting (Robin Goodfellow) - 3:35

18.Cockney Rebel - What Ruthy Said (Steve Harley) - 2:29

19.Paul Brett - Clocks (Paul Brett) - 1:39

20.Climax Chicago - Mole On The Dole (Colin Cooper, Derek Holt, John Cuffley, Peter Haycock) - 5:01

21.Barracuda - I Feel So Down (Peter Shelley) - 2:39

22.Wigan's Ovation - Northern Soul Dancer (Alf Brooks, Jim McClusky, Pete Preston, Phil Preston) - 2:18

23.Stavely Makepeace - Don’t Ride A Paula Pillion (Nigel Fletcher, Rob Woodward) - 2:50

24.Pheon Bear - War Against War (Pheon Bear) - 3:02

25.Roly Pin (Ray Stiles, Roly Davis) - 3:55

26.David Essex - Stardust (David Essex) - 2:49

1971 Rory Gallagher (Japan Mini Lp replica)
1971 Deuce (Japan Mini Lp replica)

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Rory Gallagher - Stage Struck (1980 ireland, great live hard classic blues rock, 2018 remaster with extra tracks)

The late Irish guitar legend Rory Gallagher released a few classic live albums in his career, and Stage Struck is certainly one of them. This one originally came out in 1980 and featured the definitive trio of Gallagher on guitar & vocals, Gerry McAvoy on bass, and drummer Ted McKenna. Eagle Rock has now unleashed this powerhouse live album to the masses once again, so if you missed any of the previous editions, don't hesitate to get your hands on it now.

Stage Struck basically showcases the trio in all their hard rock fury, celebrating such releases as Calling Card, Photo-Finish, and Top Priority. From top to bottom, it's nothing but scorching versions of classic tunes such as "Wayward Child", "Shinkicker", "Brute Force and Ignorance", "Moonchild", "Shadow Play", and many more. Rory's guitar is fed through a distorted Marshall stack for plenty of monstrous rock & blues licks, and he's just oozing emotion on the dramatic "Bad Penny" and bluesy "Keychain". Let's not forget what a great singer he was too, which you can hear perfectly on the upbeat rocker "Follow Me", a song that featured not only great guitar playing, but also a catchy hook as well.

Perfect through and through, Stage Struck is the perfect companion to Irish Tour and Live in Europe, three of the best guitar-led live albums you'll ever hear. If you are a longtime Rory Gallagher fan, you already know how great this album is, and if you are new to the late guitarist, then what are you waiting for, get your hands on this pronto!

by Pete Pardo

Tracks

1. Shin Kicker - 3:50

2. Wayward Child - 4:47

3. Brute Force And Ignorance - 4:13

4. Moonchild - 6:00

5. Hellcat - 4:38

6. Bad Penny - 6:38

7. Keychain - 5:01

8. Follow Me - 6:17

9. Bought And Sold - 4:38

10.The Last Of The Independants - 5:37

11.Shadow Play - 5:09

All songs by Rory Gallagher

Bonus Tracks 10-11

Personnel

*Rory Gallagher – Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals

*Gerry McAvoy – Bass

*Ted McKenna – Drums

1972 Live In Europe (2018 remaster)
1973 Blueprint (Japan Mini Lp replica)
1973 Tattoo (2012 promo copy)
1974 Irish Tour (2018 remaster)
1975 Against The Grain (2018 remaster)

1976 Rory Gallagher - Calling Card (Japan remaster)

1977 Rory Gallagher - ‘Check Shirt Wizard-Live In ’77 (2020 double disc digipak remaster)

1978 Rory Gallagher - Photo-Finish (2018 bonus tracks remaster)

1979 Rory Gallagher - Top Priority (2018 remaster wit bonus tracks)

1970 Taste - On The Boards (Japan SHM edition)

1970 Taste - What's Going On Isle Of Wight Festival (2015 extra tracks remaster)

1971 Taste - Live Taste (2009 Japan SHM)

1971 Rory Gallagher (Japan Mini Lp replica)
1971 Deuce (Japan Mini Lp replica)
1972 Live In Europe (2018 remaster)
1973 Blueprint (Japan Mini Lp replica)
1973 Tattoo (2012 promo copy)
1974 Irish Tour (2018 remaster)
1975 Against The Grain (2018 remaster)

Monday, February 15, 2021

Rory Gallagher - Top Priority (1979 ireland, exceptional hard bluesy classic rock, 2018 xtra tracks remaster)

It was Rory Gallagher’s then label, Chrysalis Records, who inadvertently named his tenth album. Top Priority, the brisk follow-up to 1978’s well-received Photo-Finish, arrived on the back of a hugely successful US tour which resulted in positive press at home and abroad, provoking Chrysalis into revealing that their “top priority” was the release and promotion of the prolific Irish star’s next album.

Though Gallagher chose the phrase as the record’s title to remind the company executives of their promise, Chrysalis had good reason to support him every inch of the way. They saw he was in fine shape creatively and, as Photo-Finish had already demonstrated, he had the resilience required to sidestep the post-punk era’s revolving door of fads and fashions.

Gallagher had, however, made a few changes of his own. He reshuffled his band’s personnel prior to Photo-Finish, retaining longtime bass lieutenant Gerry McAvoy, but stripping the line-up back to a muscular power trio completed by ex-Sensational Alex Harvey Band drummer Ted McKenna. As he told North America’s Record Review in April 1980, he’d found this process reinvigorating.

“There’s something about a three-piece,” he mused. “You’re really back to the essentials, it’s very rhythmic and aggressive, and I like that. With keyboards, you’ve got extra texture and all that, but it cuts down the free-form style. I’m happier in a three-piece band.”

Gallagher’s team had recorded Photo-Finish at Dieter Dierks’ studio outside Cologne in Germany. They decided to return there for the Top Priority sessions as they enjoyed the complex’s relaxed, yet creative vibe. The record they emerged with, however, was every bit as urgent and compelling as its immediate predecessor.

Top Priority opened with the anthemic, shape-throwing “Follow Me” and the tracklist was again long on exuberant rockers such as “Wayward Child,” the atmospheric, Southern rock-styled “Bad Penny” and the thrilling “At The Depot,” with the latter number affording Gallagher the opportunity to let rip with some truly imperious slide guitar.

Except for “Keychain” and the smoldering “Off The Handle,” the Cork man’s blues influences were less evident than usual, but several significant stylistic departures more than redressed the balance. To this end, the whole band performed with swagger to spare on the atypically funky, Hendrix-ian “Public Enemy No.1,” while the evocative, noir-flavored “Philby” found Gallagher drawing unlikely comparisons between the notorious double agent Kim Philby and his own restless rock’n’roll lifestyle.

“I just do my own thing, whatever it is”

“I love that whole espionage thing,” he told Record Review. “I thought there were some parallels to the rock world. It’s a spy song and he’s the ultimate spy. I added the electric sitar to give it a slightly exotic feel and there’s some mandolin on it also. I hope to do more songs like that, using more unusual themes.”

First released on September 16, 1979, Top Priority was quickly embraced by Rory Gallagher’s fiercely loyal fanbase and it soon found favor among the era’s more tuned-in critics, such as Creem’s Michael Davis, whose review sagely noted that “after a decade on the boards, he can still make blues-based material come alive”. Four decades on, that observation still holds true: the exhilarating Top Priority has barely aged a day. Indeed, its inherent freshness shows exactly why this singular performer was always right to follow his heart and eschew the industry’s continual turnover of trends.

“Well, I just go doing my own thing, whatever it is,” Gallagher said in 1980, illustrating this point. “I think it’s modern and valid and moves in its own way. The next thing you get is new wave and that’s not that different, it’s back to basics, which is where I’ve been all along. I think good rock’n’roll and blues are timeless – it’s not a fad.”

by Tim Peacock, September 16, 2020

Tracks

1. Follow Me - 4:41

2. Philby - 3:51

3. Wayward Child - 3:31

4. Keychain - 4:09

5. At The Depot - 2:57

6. Bad Penny - 4:03

7. Just Hit Town - 3:37

8. Off The Handle - 5:37

9. Public Enemy No 1 - 3:46

10.Hell Cat - 4:50 -

11.The Watcher - 5:48

All compositions by Rory Gallagher

Bonus Tracks 10-11

Musicians

*Rory Gallagher – Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals

*Gerry McAvoy – Bass

*Ted McKenna – Drums

1976 Rory Gallagher - Calling Card (Japan remaster)

1977 Rory Gallagher - ‘Check Shirt Wizard-Live In ’77 (2020 double disc digipak remaster)

1978 Rory Gallagher - Photo-Finish (2018 bonus tracks remaster)
1970 Taste - On The Boards (Japan SHM edition)

1970 Taste - What's Going On Isle Of Wight Festival (2015 extra tracks remaster)

1971 Taste - Live Taste (2009 Japan SHM)

1976 Rory Gallagher - Calling Card (Japan remaster)

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Rory Gallagher - Photo-Finish (1978 ireland, stunning hard blues classic rock, 2018 bonus tracks remaster)

'Photo Finish' was so titled because the album was originally delivered to Chrysalis at the eleventh hour, just (and only just) making the deadline.Rory began recording the material for the album in San Francisco but on completion of those sessions he was unhappy with the results and decided to move the project to Germany. Meantime, Rory had written more songs and returned to the band line-up to a three piece, Ted McKenna on drums and Gerry McAvoy on bass.

Some of Rory's best work came from 'Photo Finish'. His "Fuel To The Fire" has some of the tightest harmonising guitars and echos of his earlier classic " A Million Miles Away". "Shadow Play" starts with a pile-driving classic Gallagher guitar riff, this self doubting song gives us an insight to Rory's double life, on and off stage, poetically described in the line -'A little bit of Jekyll, a little bit of Hyde'.

by Donal Gallagher, London 1998

Tracks

1. Shin Kicker - 4:01

2. Brute Force And Ignorance - 4:15

3. Cruise On Out - 4:41

4. Cloak And Dagger - 5:19

5. Overnight Bag - 4:50

6. Shadow Play - 4:43

7. The Mississippi Sheiks - 5:59

8. The Last Of The Independents - 3:57

9. Fuel To The Fire - 6:20

10. Early Warning - 2:49

11. Juke Box Annie - 3:17

All songs composed by Rory Gallagher

Bonus tracks 10-11

Musicians

*Rory Gallagher - Guitar, Vocals, Mandolin, Harmonica

*Gerry McAvoy - Bass

*Ted McKenna - Drums

1977 Rory Gallagher - ‘Check Shirt Wizard-Live In ’77 (2020 double disc digipak remaster)
1970 Taste - On The Boards (Japan SHM edition)

1970 Taste - What's Going On Isle Of Wight Festival (2015 extra tracks remaster)

1964 The Original Lost Elektra Sessions
1965 The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
1966 East West
1966 The Butterfield Blues Band - East-West (2014 Hybrid SACD limited adition)
1966-68 Strawberry Jam
1967 Electric Flag - The Trip
1968 The Super Sessions (2014 Hybrid Multichannel SACD 24/88)
1968-69 Electric Flag - An American Music Band / A Long Time Comin'
196?-7? The Electric Flag - Live
1968 Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield - The Lost Concert Tapes, Filmore East
1969 Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper - The Live Adventures
1969 Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites And Friends - Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West
1969 Nick Gravenites - My Labors
1970-71 Big Brother And The Holding Company - Be A Brother / How Hard It Is

Friday, February 12, 2021

Various Artists - Mill Valley Bunch Casting Pearls (1972 us, amazing electric blues rock)

In 1972 a group of American musicians united by friendship and a common passion for good music (blues, in particular), came together in Mill Valley to give life to these amazing jam sessions, which after more than 30 years have finally been made available again. The original LP was released with 7 tracks from the session, but now, thanks to the extended playing time available on CD, the complete session (16 tracks) has finally been restored to its entirety. Following Bloomfied's and Nick Gravenites' lead, the musicians alternate on the various tracks, bringing their unique style to each song and the relaxed studio atmosphere shines through in the music's natural flow. Musicians include: Barry Goldberg on piano, Michael Shrieve (ex-Santana) on drums, Spencer Dryden (ex-Jefferson Airplaine) on drums, Lee Michaels on piano, Mark Ryan (ex-Quicksilver Messenger Service) on bass, and more!

Tracks

1. Honky-Tonk Blues (Hank Williams) - 2:03

2. Betty And Dupree - 3:40

3. Ooh-Ooh-Ooh,La,La,La - 3:23

4. Run For Cover - 3:36

5. What Would I Do Without My Baby - 5:23

6. Mellow Mountain Wine - 4:48

7. Let Me Down Easy - 6:31

8. Jimmy's Blues - 2:58

9. Young Girl's Blues (Jani's Blues) - 3:46

10.Letting Go Ain't Easy (Richard Dey) - 4:23

11.Bye Bye I'm Goin' - 2:20

12.Bells Are Going To Ring - 3:58

13.I've Had It (Ray Ceroni, Carl Boruna) - 3:33

14.Bedroom Blues (Nick Gravenites) - 7:14

15.Your Hollywood Blues (Nick Gravenites) - 4:29

16.Go Home Blues (Nick Gravenites) - 5:05

All songs by Michael Bloomfield except where indicated

Musicians

*Michael Bloomfield - Bass, Electric, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Vocals

*Nick Gravenites - Guitar, Vocals

*Barry Goldberg - Organ

*Mark Naftalin - Organ, Piano

*Pete Sears - Piano

*Ira Kamin - Organ, Piano

*Lee Michaels - Organ, Piano

*John Kahn - Bass

*Mark Ryan - Bass (Ex. Country Joe And Fish, Quicksilver M. S.)

*Spencer Dryden - Drums (Ex. Jefferson Airplane)

*Michael Shrieve - Drums (Ex. Santana)

*Bill Vit - Drums (Ex. Hooteroll)

*Rick Jaeger - Drums (Ex. AB Skhy, Crowfoot)

*Russell Dashiel - Guitar (Ex. AB Skhy, Crowfoot)

*The Pointer Sisters - Vocals

*Chicken Billy Thornton - Vocal

*Dino Andino - Congas

*Ace Of Cups - Vocals

*Ron Cimille - Acoustic, Rhythm Guitar

*Rick Dey - Bass, Guitar, Vocals

*Tony Doe - Drums

*Dr. Rick Jaeger - Drums

*Jeffrey James - Drums

*Denise Jewkes - Vocals

*Jeneatte And Co. Jones - Vocals

*Tom Richards - 12 String Guitar

*Craig Tarwater - Guitar

*Rev. Ron Stallings - Vocals

*Blue Gravy - Piano, Drums, Bass

*Steve Doe - Piano

*Fred Doe - Lead Guitar

*Doug Doe - Bass

1972 Nick Gravenites And Mike Bloomfield - Steel Yard Blues (2015 remaster)
1973 Bloomfield, Hammond, Dr.John - Triumvirate (Japan remaster)

1976 Michael Bloomfield - If You Love These Blues Play'em As You Please (2004 reissue)
1976 KGB - KGB
1976-77 Michael Bloomfield - Live at the Old Waldorf
1977 Prescription For The Blues
1969 A.B. Skhy - A.B. Skhy

1970 A.B. Skhy - Ramblin' On (2019 korean remaster)