The eponymous Walrus set was originally released in 1970, on the Decca offshoot Deram. Walrus the band formed a year earlier in London, the brainchild of main songwriter and bassist Steve Hawthorn, who’d been inspired by the commercial growth of American rock-meets- jazz counterparts Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Debut single Who Can I Trust, featuring original drummer Roger Harrison, kicks the album off: a heavy, Atomic Rooster/Edgar Broughton-like number showcasing the raspy vocals of Noel Greenaway and the understated lead guitar work of John Scates.
Adding replacement drummer Nick Gabb and keyboardist Barry Parfitt, this was followed by a segued, three-pronged attack led by an old blues gem, Rags & Old Iron, while the equally impressive Blind Man and Roadside fit in nicely. Check out the interplay of Don Richards (trumpet), Bill Hoad (flute) and Roy Voce (tenor sax): an awesome start.
With prog on the ascendancy and this band’s masterful reworking of Traffic’s Coloured Rain, Walrus can safely be labelled as nearlymen. The appropriately-titled Tomorrow Never Comes ended the original LP with 60s-like panache, while the obligatory bonus CD closer, Never Let My Body Touch The Ground (a subsequent flop 45) rounded off a very ’umble, very ’eavy album.
by Martin C Strong
Tracks
1. Who Can I Trust? - 2:33
2.a.Rags And Old Iron (Oscar Brown Jr, Norman Curtis) - 13:38
...b.Blind Man
...c.Roadside
3. Why - 4:28
4.a.Turning - 7:16
...b.Woman
...c.Turning (Reprise)
5. Sunshine Needs Me - 3:21
6.a.Coloured Rain - 6:03
...b.Mother's Dead Face In Memoriam (Steve Hawthorn, John Scates, Barry Parfitt, Roger Harrison, Noel Greenaway, Don Richards, Roy Vace, Bill Hoad)
...c.Coloured Rain (Reprise) (Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood)
7. Tomorrow Never Comes - 3:30
8. Never Let My Body Touch The Ground - 2:56
All songs written by Steve Hawthorn except where noted
Signed by Dunhill, the trio's self-titled 1969, debut teamed them with producer George Badonsky. Musically "Bangor Flying Circus" wasn't anything spectacular. On the positive side, DeCarlo and Wolinski were both decent, if anonymous singers; the trio's performances never less than professional. Unfortunately, with Wolinski writing the majority of material (De Carlo credited with one song), selections such as 'Violent Man', 'A Change In Our Lives' and their gawdawful elevator music instrumental cover of The Beatles' 'Norwegian Wood' reflected a surprisingly pedestrian AOR feel.
Occasional jazzy touches on tracks like 'In the Woods' and the skat segments in 'Ode To Sadness' and 'Someday I'll Find' didn't help much either. In spite of those shortcomings, well constructed heavy-psych album from a Chicago trio, with meaty guitar riffs and full organ sounds. This kind of music was done to death in the early 70s, but "Bangor Flying Circus" was made in 1969 and it's still fresh and innovative.
The extended use of organ does not make this proto-prog, which continually gets off to an active jazz-rock (especially noticeable on the last track). Interestingly, the bassist, and is responsible for the keyboard at the same time, with these tools, "led by the show." Above all, they are wonderful melodic, but fully disclosed during improvisations. It's a very well balanced album.
by Adamus67
Tracks
1. Violent Man - 6:05
2. Come On People - 4:02
3. Ode To Sadness - 6:02
4. Concerto For Clouds - 5:23
5. A Change In Our Lives (Alan De Carlo) - 3:45
6. Someday I'll Find - 4:25
7. Mama Don't You Know (That Your Daughter's Acting Mighty Strange) - 3:15
8. In The Woods - 4:18
9. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (J. Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 6:00
All songs written by David Wolinski except where indicated.
Today they've happened! They have hits like Dirty Water, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White and Why Pick On Me to their credit, they recently finished an all-star tour with The Rolling Stones, and The Standees are way up on top!
Four years ago they had nothing going for them but talent, which is the story with most young groups just starting out. But in the case of the Standells, they were heard by a man who was so impressed by what he heard that he decided, there and then, to channel It Into the right places. This was Burt Jacobs. At the time he was not even planning to become a manager in show business, but discovering the Standells made up his mind that it was time for a change. So, the success story works two ways.
Burt worked with the group, building their name and reputation as well as the tab for their performances, and the boys went along with Burt, listening to his advice, and turning all that talent Into successes in personal appearances all over the world; films ("Get Yourself A College Girl," and background music for "Zebra In The Kitchen" and "When The Boys Meet The Girls"), TV (with appearances on "Shindig," "The Lloyd Thaxton Show," "American Bandstand," "Shivaree," "Hollywood A Go Go," and many others), and, of course, their hit albums on Tower - first "Dirty Water," and now this one. In action, the Standells are one of the world's greatest and most exciting young quartets, and here are their latest recordings.
From the original 1966 LP liner notes
Tracks
1. Why Pick On Me (E. Cobb) - 3:75
2. Paint It Black (Jagger, Richards) - 3:76
3. Mi Hai Fatto Innamorare (T.Valentino) - 2:28
4.1 Hate To Leave You (T.Valentino) - 2:35
5. Black Hearted Woman (Houle) - 3:70
6. Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White (E.Cobb) - 3:36
7. The Girl And The Moon (L. Tamblyn) - 2:55
8. Looking At Tomorrow (B.Mann, CWeil) - 2:29
9. Mr. Nobody (L.Tamblyn) - 2:52
10.My Little Red Book (Bacharach, David) - 2:24
11.Mainline (Huntress, Chellis) - 2:07
12.Have You Ever Spent The Night In Jail (E.Cobb) - 2:5 7
13.Our Candidate (M.Smith) - 2:35
14.Don't Say Nothing At All (instrumental) (Hill, Washington) - 2:27
15.The Boy Who Is Lost (L.Tamblyn) - 2:33
The Standells
*Larry Tamblyn - Organ, Guitar, Vocals
*Tony Valentino - Guitar, Vocals
*Dave Burke - Bass, Vocals
*Gary Lane - Bass
*Dick Dodd - Drums, Lead Vocals
Fred came to be as part of the turn on, tune in and drop out culture of the late 60's and early 70's, when several of members were students in very rural east-central Pennsylvania. They started playing music together in the autumn of 1969. From what started as a lyrical, almost art rocky band featuring David's violin, Fred became a jazz rock fusion band. Early on, they modeled after Procol Harum, the Band, Traffic, and Frank Zappa. Later on, they gravitated toward Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever, also similar to Dixie Dregs, but with more of a jazz feel to the compositions.
Fred broke up in 1974, but had their first album produced in 2001 when World in Sound, a small label operating from Schwetzingen, Germany, found us after hearing a 45 rpm single we released in 1971. Since then, they released "Fred" and "Notes On A Picnic", and "Live At The Bitter End", recorded in New York City in the summer of 1974, and released March 20, 2004.
Tracks
1. Here's A Wet One - 6:02
2. Notes On A Picnic - 3:59
3. Variations - 3:20
4. Mantra - 5:27
5. For Bela Bartok - 4:22
6. The Head's The Best Part (Joe DeCristopher) - 6:01
7. Cheese Dog - 4:17
8. Chaos In The Conservatory (Mike Robison) - 8:44
9. Perverseerance - 4:39
10. Political Silence (Joe DeCristopher) - 4:42
11. Slippin' Into Darkness (B.B. Dickerson, C. Miller, H. Brown, H. Scott, L. Oskar, L. Jordan, P.D. Allen) - 12:44
All compositions by Peter Eggers unless as else stated.
Fred
*Joe DeCristopher - Acoustic , Electric Guitar
*Mike Robison - Bass, Vocals
*Bo Fox - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
*Peter Eggers - Keyboards, Tenor Saxophone
*Ken Price - Keyboards, Vocals
*David Rose - Electric Violin, Vocals
Gordian Knot was a short-lived band from southern California by way of Mississippi. They released only one album, a terrific soft rock/harmony pop effort produced by Clark Burroughs of the Hi-Lo's. Original pressings are considered highly collectible and valuable. The group formed at the University of Mississippi and was led by ex-Mississippi all-American quarterback/guitarist/lead vocalist Jim Weatherly, a native of Pontotoc, MS.
The group caught their biggest break after they appeared at a party thrown by Nancy Sinatra, who apparently liked them so much that she asked them to accompany her on a USO trip to Vietnam. According to their liner notes, they were "one of the few groups since the Beatles to possess genuine charm...not a phony show biz glucose charm, but the real thing." The bulk of the songs for their album were written by Weatherly, and have an edgier, husky country-rock vibe compared with those written by Leland Russell, whose beautiful tunes are comparatively similar to the Association's (Burroughs, it should be pointed out, was also a vocal arranger on the Association's Insight Out and Waterbeds in Trinidad! albums). "One Way Street" is the band's lone obligatory jug band entry.
The bandmembers also appeared as themselves in a 1968 MGM teensploitation flick called Young Runaways, performing an original entitled "Ophelia's Dream." A few years after the release of this album, Weatherly moved to Nashville and became a country singer/songwriter, penning a handful of hits. Weatherly's biggest success as a songsmith came in 1973, however, when he wrote five of the nine songs on Gladys Knight & the Pips' Top Ten album Imagination, including the soulful "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" ("Midnight Plane to Houston" was the original title), a pop and R'n'B number one smash in September 1973.
It scored two Grammy awards the following year. Weatherly recorded several albums for Buddah in the mid-'70s, and a few on ABC and Elektra. He has since co-written with younger country acts and provided Vince Gill, Bryan White, and others with hit songs.
by Bryan Thomas
Tracks
1. It's Gonna Take A Lot - 2:52
2. We Must Be Doing Somethin' Right - 2:49
3. Strong Wind Blowin' - 2:44
4. One Way Street - 3:11
5. Carnival Lights, Again - 3:11
6. Carraway Stream - 2:48
7. The World Keeps Spinnin' - 3:13
8. The Year Of The Sun - 3:03
9. I Can't Be Hurt Anymore - 3:15
10.If Only I Could Fly - 3:06
11.Broken Down Ole Merry-Go-Round - 4:23
Another release from Acme/Lion by Peter Dunton's Please, this one is a collection of demos taken from original master tapes and restored acetates from 1968 - 1969. Comes with a 8-page booklet featuring the lyrics.
Tracks
1. We Aim To Please - 2:51
2. No More White Horses - 3:21
3. Paper Anne - 3:15
4. Seaweed - 5:10
5. Break The Spell - 3:17
6. Strange Ways - 3:21
7. Man With No Name - 3:27
8. Watching - 2:11
9. You're Still Waiting - 2:05
10.Breakthrough - 3:23
11.The Story - 2:24
12.Folder Man - 2:24
Music and lyrics by Peter Dunton
Please were formed by Peter Dunton and Bernie Jinks in late 1967. They had just returned to Britain from Germany where they had played with Neon Pearl, which also included their third member Jurgen Ermisch. The fourth original member Adrian Gurvitz later co-founded Gun. Unfortunately this line-up left no vinyl legacy or unreleased recordings that have been located behind it.
They disbanded in May 1968 when Peter Dunton joined The Flies for whom he wrote both sides of their Magic Train 45. When The Flies split up at the end of 1968, Dunton reformed the band (line-up 'B'). Rob Hunt had also been in The Flies. They recorded all the cuts compiled on this album. Please split again in April 1969 when Peter Dunton joined Gun.
The remaining members recruited a new drummer and renamed themselves Bulldog Breed. They later cut the Made In England album. In the Autumn of 1969, Peter Dunton quit Gun to reform Please with Bernie Jinks and Nick Spenser (ex-Neon Pearl). This incarnation was relatively short-lived as they had difficulty recruiting a suitable keyboard player.
In early 1970 Dunton, Jinks and a later Bulldog Breed member Keith Cross joined forces to form T2, who were responsible for the excellent It'll All Work Out In Boomland album. One of T2's tracks, No More White Horses also crops up in a radically different form on Please's 1968/69 retrospective.
Great rock'n'roll rarely translates properly to disc. The history of the genre is littered with literally thousands of acts that were blinding and transcendent on the bandstand, yet limp, ineffectual or misguided in the studio. And the opposite is just as true, though the art of the recording medium allows for a control and an innovation that usually isn't possible in a live context. When the two disciplines are matched, there is the potential for true greatness; yet for those involved, the realization of such may come only after years of frustrated disillusion with the initial outcome. Such is the case with the Chocolate Watchband.
The recorded legacy of this supreme psychedelic punk combo paints a picture quite removed from the truth, yet as our definitive new anthology MELTS IN YOUR BRAIN . . . NOT ON YOUR WRIST demonstrates, it nevertheless holds up as one of the finest catalogues of the 1960s, balanced between the Watchband's own Anglophile blueswailing, and a preternatural aura, the result of studio trickery imposed without the bands knowledge or consent. The juxtaposition acts as a paradigm of how the British Invasion-inspired punk fury acquired an experimental veneer, and led to something unique. By unwittingly having their record career mapped out for them by producer Ed Cobb, the Watchband paradoxically wrote themselves into the annals of cultdom; yet it is the rock'n'roll heartbeat of this once-in-a-lifetime band that is their true heirloom.
As well as handily collecting their complete recorded works 1965-69 in one nicely remastered package, Melts In Your Brain . . . Not On Your Wrist" seeks to finally clarify the peculiar and fascinating history of this consummate group. The tracklisting on this definitive 2 CD set clearly delineates between the tracks that truly feature the definitive Watchband ie the grinding 1966 model led by frontman par excellence David Aguilar - and everything else attributed to the Chocolate Watchband name, whether it be recordings by the earlier and later incarnations of the combo, or those trippy cuts on their three long-players either adulterated or recorded by someone else entirely.
The many aficionados that have come to love the Watchband's albums over the years are no doubt blissfully unaware of the machinations behind the substitutions and studio fakery on their records, and no doubt cherish the non-Watchband sides on those records just as much. To which end, their studio adventures, as well as the illustrious life and times of the Watchband are examined in great detail in the copiously illustrated booklet, with commentary from all the bands members, and a rare interview with the late Ed Cobb.
by Alec Palao
Tracks Disc 1
1.Let's Talk About The Girls (New Aguilar Vocal) - 3:34
2.Sweet Young Thing - 2:57
3.Baby Blue - 3:54
4.Blue's Theme by The Hogs - 2:48
5.Loose Lip Sync Ship by The Hogs - 3:19
6.Don't Need Your Lovin' - 2:38
7.Sitting There Standing - 2:21
8.Misty Lane - 3:22
9.She Weaves A Tender Trap - 2:39
10.Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In) - 2:25
11.No Way Out - 2:22
12.In The Midnight Hour (Original Aguilar Vocal) - 3:30
13.Come On - 1:49
14.Gone And Passes By - 3:14
15.I'm Not Like Everybody Else - 3:43
16.I Ain't No Miracle Worker - 2:50
17.Milk Cow Blues - 2:57
18.Medication (New Aguilar Vocal) - 3:06
19.'Til The End Of The Day (New Aguilar Vocal) - 2:39
20.Psychedelic Trip (Backing Track) - 1:58
Disc 2
1.Let's Talk About Girls (Don Bennett Vocal) - 2:46
2.In The Midnight Hour (Don Bennett Vocal) - 4:27
3.Hot Dusty Roads (Don Bennett Vocal) - 2:26
4.Gossamer Wings - 3:26
5.Baby Blue (LP Mix) - 3:13
6.Medication (Don Bennett Vocal) - 2:07
7.Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying - 2:51
8.Since You Broke My Heart - 2:22
9.Uncle Morris - 3:11
10.How Ya Been - 3:12
11.Devil's Motorcycle - 3:02
12.I Don't Need A Doctor - 4:03
13.Flowers - 2:47
14.Fireface - 2:51
15.And She's Lonely - 4:18
16.Dark Side Of The Mushroom - 2:36
17.Expo 2000 - 2:41
18.Voyage Of The Trieste by The Yo-Yoz - 3:39
19.In The Past by The Yo-Yoz - 3:08
20.The Inner Mystique by The Yo-Yoz - 5:36
21.The Uncharted Sea (Aka Voyage Of The Trieste) by The Yo-Yoz - 3:25
22.Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go (Backing Track)by Inmates - 2:38
23.Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go (Don Bennett Vocal)by Inmates - 2:17
The Standells made number 11 in 1966 with "Dirty Water," an archetypal garage rock hit with its Stones-ish riff, lecherous vocal, and combination of raunchy guitar and organ. While they never again reached the Top 40, they cut a number of strong, similar tunes in the 1966-1967 era that have belatedly been recognized as '60s punk classics. "Garage rock" may not have been a really accurate term for them in the first place, as the production on their best material was full and polished, with some imaginative touches of period psychedelia and pop.
The Los Angeles band was actually hardly typical of the young suburban outfits across America who took their raw garage sound onto obscure singles recorded in small studios. They'd been playing L.A. clubs since the early '60s, with a repertoire that mostly consisted of covers of pre-Beatles rock hits. Drummer (and eventual lead singer) Dick Dodd had been a Mouseketeer on television, organist Larry Tamblyn was the brother of noted film actor Russ Tamblyn, and Tony Valentino was a recent immigrant from Italy. Gary Leeds (later to join the Walker Brothers) was an early member (though he was replaced by Dodd).
The Standells' pre-"Dirty Water" history is a little vague and confusing; they recorded some ordinary albums and singles for Liberty, MGM, and Vee Jay, appeared in the movie Get Yourself a College Girl, and did a lot of television work (most notably a well-remembered guest appearance on The Munsters, where they did a woeful version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"). There were flashes of gritty inspiration on early cuts like "Big Boss Man" and "Someday You'll Cry," but the group didn't really hit their stride until teaming up with producer Ed Cobb, formerly of the clean-cut vocal group the Four Preps. It was Cobb who wrote "Dirty Water," which marked quite a change of direction from their previous clean-cut image. In fact, the group didn't even like the song, which took about six months to break into a hit.
Considerably toughening their image, the group churned out four albums in 1966 and 1967, as well as appearing in (and contributing the theme song to) the psychedelic exploitation movie Riot on Sunset Strip. Cobb, in addition to writing "Dirty Water," also penned their other most enduring singles, including "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White," "Why Pick on Me," and "Try It" (the last of which was widely banned for its suggestive delivery).
The group did write some decent material of their own, such as the tense "Riot on Sunset Strip" and the psychedelic "All Fall Down," which bears an interesting similarity to some of Pink Floyd's early work. Their albums were quite inconsistent -- in fact, one of them, consisting of covers of big, mid-'60s hits, was altogether dispensable -- which makes it advisable for all but the truly committed to look for greatest-hits compilations that selectively weed out the best stuff.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Medication (Ben DiTosti, M.Allton) - 2:42
2. Little Sally Tease (Jim Valley) - 2:57
3. There's a Storm Coming (Ed Cobb) - 3:18
4. 19th Nervous Breakdown (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 3:54
5. Dirty Water (Ed Cobb) - 2:46
6. Pride and Devotion (Larry Tamblyn) - 2:13
7. Hey Joe (Billy Roberts) - 2:12
8. Why Did You Hurt Me? (Dick Dodd, Tony Valentino) - 2:28
9. Rari (Ed Cobb) - 5:32
10.Batman (Neal Hefti) - 3:04
11.It's All in Your Mind (J.Cobb) - 2:38
12.Love Me (Dick Dodd, Tony Valentino) - 2:45
13.Medication (Ben DiTosti) - 2:43
14.Poor Man's Prison (Keith Colley, Joe Henderson) - 2:23
15.Take a Ride (Ed Cobb) - 2:08
The text on the back cover of the LP Pop-Lore According To The Academy preached among others, that we are not dealing with pop, folk and blues, but with something completely new! Such notes were typical on plates of the 60's and as far as they are sometimes true, it is not necessarily in this case ...
The album was the first title in the history of the tiny label Morgan Blue Town (known connoisseurs with a collectable plates Pussy groups and Motherlight) -founded by wziętego, session drummer Barry Morgan.
Polly Perkins is as happily ensconced as any EastEnders cast member could feasibly be in such an unremittingly grim environment, holding down the role of Dot Cotton’s sister, Rose. In 1969, however, she was one of the two lead vocalists in a studiously unconventional jazz-folk quartet called The Academy.
One album the quartet Academy released in March 1969,contained just twelve neatly arranged, but rather sparingly made songs that combine elements of folk, jazz, and (to a very limited extent) psychedelia. Of course, in a way it was a novelty, but back then, incredibly rich in music exciting times you had to try harder to deserve to be called a precursor.
The band occurred two vocalists (including gifted with clear voice Polly Perkins), and the instrumentation consisted of electric and acoustic guitar, flute and saxophone. As you can see, there was composed of drummer and it was a major flaw in all this lovely music, as some fragments sounded almost like a demo, including opening a whole, underdeveloped enroll With The Academy; jazzy Polly Perkins Georgie Brown Loves You, and a little Jethro Tull The Girl In His Mirror. The absence of drums and bass engenders an oddly austere, parsimonious, claustrophobic atmosphere.
However, special mention deserves the typical folk, including captivating vocals and very melodic Munching The Candy, delicate, played only on guitar and flute Poor Jean, quite catchy, referring to Russian folklore, recorded minn. oboe with Rachel's Dream and She returned home-based resonance saxophone, flute and graceful vocal harmonies. Interesting.
by Adamus67
Tracks
1. Enrol With the Academy - 2:47
2. Munching the Candy (P. Perkins, L. Davis) - 2:56
3. Anya Anya - 3:13
4. Quiet and Gentle - 2:58
5. Poor Jean - 3:49
6. Polly Perkins Loves You Georgia Brown (D. Walter, L. Davis) - 1:47
7. Rachel's Dream - 4:03
8. Thank You Mary Hayley Bell (P. Perkins, L. Davis) - 2:39
9. The Girl in the Mirror - 3:47
10.She Returned Home - 3:54
11.Deadline (D. Walter, L. Davis) - 2:53
12.Yellow Star - 3:55
Music by Richard Cobby, lyrics by Lena Davis unless otherwise stated.
The Academy
*Dick Walter - Flute
*Richard Cobby - Guitar
*Polly Perkins - Vocals
*Damon J. Hardy - Vocals
*Lena Davis - Lyrics
