Tangerine - The Peeling Of Tangerine (1971 us, excellent hard psych jam rock, Gear Fab issue)

In the late fifties and early sixties Big Al was on of the local, (Latrobe, PA), musicians that had the privilege of playing with some of the greats of Rock and Roll His guitar showed up on the local stages with the likes of the Everly Brothers, Fabian, Bo Didley and Lou Christy. Big Al got his first Silvertone guitar when he was in high school It didn't take long for him to excel. He went from playing on the street corner by the Sun Drugs in the afternoon to his first group playing trie local seen in a matter of months. 

Within a year he was backing up some of the top names in the business Piano was Big Al's first instrument but the guitar won his heart. He also plays flute, percussion and trumpet. Big Al was the mam influence on who Tangerine was in the 60's and 70's. Crash |oined the group in the late 60's and even though he was raised with the 50's rock and roll he brought with him a taste of the English sound, the sound of his era. Crash also brought a new type of vocal harmony to the group With the use of minors and falsetto the new vocal sound was created. 

Crash shared lead vocals with Al for live performances Crash's first intro into music was also the piano but went rapidly toward the woodwinds Clarinet, alto, tenor and baritone sax, bassoon and oboe were all instruments Crash played in high school. But because of his big brother AL, he learned to play the guitar Congas came later after the group had formed. His first professional gig was with the "Fireflies" an East Coast group. Crash has since become an outstanding bassest, his current instrument with the Ferraro Brothers. 

Tangerine has evolved into the "Ferraro Brothers" band. They're new CD, "Run that by me again", was recorded back in 1997 in Fullerton CA. They are working on a new release that will be out hopefully in the summer of 2000 When the two are not playing Big Al has an accounting Office in Latrobe, PA And brother Crash is an operational consultant and travels across the USA. Both hope to finish out the decade by tounng and playing rock and roll They have both moved back to their roots in Pennsylvania several years ago, leaving Los Angeles behind. 

The new sound is a blend of 50's 60' and 70's music It consists of more vocal harmonies and a milder blend of instrumentation.

by Lynn "Crash" Ferraro, Latrobe, PA. June 1999

Tangerine - ''The Peeling of Tangerine'' CD Reissue of their ultra-rare and very hard rock psychedelic LP from 1971, recorded at the famous WRS Recording Studios in Pittsburgh, PA. Great guitar work throughout, plus a 13 minute long track which shows off the great talent this band possessed. Very much in the vein of early Iron Butterfly!!!

Led by the multi-instrumentalist Ferraro brothers Al and Crash (they mainly played guitar), Tangerine started playing together in the late '60s, but the group's sole album was released in 1971. In many ways, The Peeling of Tangerine is a stellar, accomplished album. More than anyone, the band recalls a slightly heavier Santana; the music is full of Latin chord progressions, salsafied and tribal drumming and percussion, and Al Ferraro's beautiful guitar work, as well as some of the dynamics of early '70s psychedelia and soul.

The band doesn't stake out their own musical ground and the songs are not altogether distinctive enough; more often than not, they sound like structureless (but not formless) jams passing for songs. In the other hand, those jams are often scintillating, with a slight mysterious lurch -- had they been honed in and further fleshed out, they had the makings of blazing tunes. Underused lead vocalist Al Ferraro is a blue-eyed soul shouter along the lines of Steve Winwood, and the band is capable of cooking.

The first side of the album recalls the Allman Brothers, but stripped down to a guitar trio. The sound could benefit from a larger palette of colors, and even the guitar isn’t amped up, maintaining a mid 60s surf tone throughout are mixed in their only album, psychedelic, hardcore, jazz - a bit of everything. The album opens very brief psycho-blues 'Come And See Me', where the guitar line in the chorus is remarkably similar to Love Potion # 9, most of the known performance in The Searchers. Next - jazz-rock 'The Hutch' with blues guitar line and 'Chain Gang', where too much obvious influence of jazz, rhythm and kept it to "float" bass riff, then Ches guitar, and bass, in turn, plays a solo. Heavy blues 'AJF' is an unjustly forgotten Latin-soul gem,built on a meditative guitar riff Feedback completes the first side of the plate.

The other side does plug in, and is made up primarily of a heavy jam in the Iron Butterfly, Blue Cheer mold The epic 13-minute final cut, "My Main Woman," perhaps summarizes both Tangerine's abilities and excesses best. The song contains gorgeous passages of snaking guitar lines, hyper drumming, and rumbling bass as well as joyous percussive parts, but those parts can go on far longer than taste would merit, thus losing the momentum and drive of the song for short spells before regaining its footing which was reminiscent of Iron Butterfly, where all the members are demonstrating their art of using tools (including solos on bongos).
by Adamus67

Tracks
1. Come And See Me (Al Ferraro) - 2:44
2. The Hutch' (Al Ferraro) - 3:26
3. Chain Gang (Al Ferraro, Dennis Kostley) - 5:42
4. A.J.F. (Al Ferraro, Dennis Defelice, Crash) - 5:32
5. My Main Woman (Al Ferraro, Dennis Defelice) - 13:11
'The Hutch was written during a live performance at "The
Hutch" in Vienaa, West Virginia, Feb. 28 1971

Tangerine
*Al Ferharo - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Lynn (Crash) Ferraro - Congas, Guitar, Vocal
*Dennis Defelice - Bass
*Dennis Kostley - Drums

Free Text
Just Paste

Fear Itself - Fear Itself (1968 us, awesome heavy acid psych blues rock, 2006 edition)

A late sixties San Francisco outfit, whose album is full of fuzz-blues material sounding rather like a psychedelic Groundhogs. Its more psychedelic tracks included Underground River and For Suki. Only two covers are present, a bluesy version of The Letter and Born Under A Bad Sign, both were chosen for their 45. The album is now a very minor collectors' item and was produced by Tom Wilson.

The album was originally released in 1969 on Dot-Records but didn?t receive too much attention - maybe it appeared as a too freaked out heavy version of Jefferson Airplane or Big Brother & the Holding Co. The group started back in Atlanta Georgia in 1967 as a quartet with 2 guitars and played true psychedelic sounds, recorded at the Record Plant in NYC, and moved to Woodstock (NY).

Their 5 original tunes, 2 arrangements of traditional tunes and 3 others are electric heavy blues with a strong Hendrix feel with duelling guitarwork, an outstanding female voice/vocals/screams...lots of intense stereo effects. They performed at Woodstock Festival in 1968 (one year before...) and at the hottest locations of NYC such as Filmore East.

Ellen McIlwaine, the founder of the group made an international solo career as blues-singer and slide guitarist sharing the bill with Jimi Hendrix, Laura Nyro, Howlin' Wolf, Weather Report, Taj Mahal, George Thorogood, Tom Waits, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen and played a series of concerts with Johnny Winter. This release, is issued with stunning sound quality and includes a great booklet with pictures and biographical background. - For all 60?s collectors who are not familiar with this masterpiece - it?s a must - there a not many groups that were able to present the freewheelin? live on stage feeling on their studio album!

World In Sound

Tracks
1.Crawling Kingsnake (Johnny Lee Hooker, Bernard Bassman) - 3:20
2.Underground River (Ellen McIlwaine) - 3:23
3.Bow'd Up (Ellen McIlwaine) - 1:41
4.For Suki (Ellen McIlwaine) - 2:47
5.In My Time Of Dying (Traditional) - 8:48
6.The Letter (Wayne Carson Thompson) - 2:08
7.Lazarus (Ellen McIlwaine) - 5:46
8.Mossy Dream (Ellen McIlwaine) - 2:49
9.Billy Gene (Ellen McIlwaine) - 3:06
10.Born Under A Bad Sign (Booker T. Jones, William Bell) - 3:33

Fear Itself
*Ellen McIlwaine - Vocals, Harp, Rhythm Guitar, Organ
*Chris Zaloom - Lead Guitar
*Bill McCord - Drums
*Paul Album - Bass

Free Text
Just Paste

The Flame - Psychedelic Essentials (1970 south africa, wonderful psychedelia, produced by Carl Wilson, 2011 remaster)

As the Flames, brothers Ricky. Steve ('Brother') and Edries Fataar, together with Blondie Chaplin, were one of South Africa's most popular 60s bands. Playing soulful cover versions with exotic touches that hinted at their Malaysian heritage, they had a string of local hits between 1964 and 1968, including a 14 week run at number one with a cover of Jerry Butler & The Impressions' For Your Precious Love. 

When their ambitions began to stretch beyond South Africa, however, they decamped to the UK. where their LP Bunting Soul appeared on Page One in 1968. It failed to sell, but they still spent the next few months playing London club dates. The future seemed uncertain, until one night (probably in July 1969) Beach Boys guitarist AI Jardine happened to see them play Blaise's nightclub (where they had a residency). 

Duly impressed, he brought fellow band member Carl Wilson along to see them the next night, and he promptly offered to produce an album for them, to appear on the Beach Boys' planned Brother Records imprint. The Flames gladly accepted, and later that summer they flew to California, where Carl rented them a beautiful house overlooking Sunset Boulevard. Work permits were slow to materialise, however, which allowed them not only to immerse themselves in LA's hedonistic atmosphere, but also to move away from the cover versions that had defined them thus far, and start honing their own material under Wilson's encouraging supervision. 

The songs they came up with combined the punch of their live performances with the melody and craft of Paul McCartney - who, incidentally, name-checked them as one of his favourite groups around this time. Sessions finally began in October 1969 and. without the constraints of a tight studio schedule (a benefit of being produced by a superstar), they were given free rein to perfect their arrangements. Recording of the LP was completed the following July, and they embarked on a promo tour to support its October 1970 release (under the name 'Flame', to avoid confusion with James Brown's 'Famous Flames'). 

Heavily trailed in the music press, it came complete with a lavish poster and was the first album ever to be available in compatible quadraphonic sound. However, despite favourable reviews and having a minor hit (See The Light I Better  Get Your Mini! Made Up) which reached #95 on the Billboard chart in November 1970) – it sold badly. They undertook a support slot on a Beach Boys' US tour, but a second single (Another Day Like Heaven I I'm So Happy) also flopped. 

The band soldiered on to make another LP, reportedly with fuller string and horn arrangements, but it was never released and, frustrated, they disbanded shortly afterwards. Ricky and Blondie promptly joined the Beach Boys, appearing on their Holland LP and touring extensively with them in the mid-70s. Ricky also went on to appear in the cult favourite Beatles parody The Rutles, as well as appearing as a sideman to Bonnie Raitt, Joe Walsh, Crowded House and others. 

Blondie, meanwhile, became an in-demand session player, appearing on the Rolling Stones Bridges To Babylon album in 1997 and touring with them to this day. Edries and Steve found it harder to sustain careers in music, however. Steve now lives back in Durban, where he is still active in the local music scene, but Edries died tragically young in 1978, as did Carl Wilson (who succumbed to cancer in 1997). 

Despite their lack of contemporary success, however, power pop aficionados and Beach Boy completists have always kept the Flame flickering, and it is to be hoped that this CD reissue will spread awareness of their superb music wider than ever before.

Tracks
1. See The Light 3:06
2. Dove - 2:18
3. Make It Easy - 3:06
4. Get Your Mind Made Up - 4:10
5. Don't Worry Bill - 3:17
6. Lady - 3:28
7. I'm So Happy - 3:17
8. Another Day Like Heaven - 5:42
9. Hey Lord - 3:49
10.Highs And Lows - 4:49
11.See The Light (Reprise) - 1:28
All songs Steve Fataar, Blondie Chaplin, Edries 'Brother' Fataar, Ricky Fataar

The Flame
*Blondie Chaplin - Guitar, Vocals
*Steve Fataar - Guitar, Vocals
*Edries 'Brother' Fataar - Bass, Vocals
*Ricky Fataar - Drums, Vocals

Free Text
Text Host

The Sevens - The Sevens (1965 swiss, killer garage beat)

The Sevens were five very talented, and experienced musicians who had already played in some of the local bands in Basel, Switzerland.

Michel Bovay (bass, vocals) had started out as rhythm guitarist for the legendary, early rocking Globemasters in 1963. They were formed by Charles Gemperli (vocals) in 1959. When the bass player of The Globemasters left, Michel was his replacement.

The Cannon Balls were another early rocking (Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard influenced) beat group from Basel, formed in 1960 by Pino Gasparini (lead guitar, vocals), Georges Laederich (guitar) and Nando Gasparini (drums). In early 1962 Pierre Aebischer joined The Cannon Balls as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. They had by now turned into a twisted rock band. At this time the two rivaling groups from Basel were The Dynamites and The Globemasters. By the end of 1963 the better local groups had already turned towards 60s beat.

In January 1964 The Globemasters broke up for various reasons, including musical differences, and The Cannon Balls had also just lost their organist Sam Wälti (he went on to form his own group, the Sam Wee Five). Georges Laederich also left to play rhythm guitar in Peter Brugger's pre-Sheapes, post-Tornados group, The Blizzards. The two remaining ex-Globemasters, Charles Gemperli and Michel Bovay got wind that The Cannon Balls were about to break up, so they asked Pino and Nando Gasparini to form a new band. They decided to use Les Pirates for the new band name.

The drummer for their first 3 shows was Peter Thommen (ex-The Strangers, The Globemasters and pre-The Dynamites). He helped out for the first three shows until Nando could take over.

A few months later, Charlie had problems with his vocal chords, so he had to stay in hospital for two months; he never returned to the group. They decided to ask the great ex-Cannon Balls lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Pierre Aebischer (who wasn´t working for another band yet) if he would like to join up as their singer and rhythm guitarist. Les Pirates third lineup (from autumn 1964) now consisted of Pierre Aebischer (rhythm guitar, vocals), Michel Bovay (bass, vocals), Pino Gasparini (lead guitar, vocals) and Nando Gasparini (drums).

The Sevens

Tracks
1. Be My Loving Baby (M. Bovay, P. Aebischer, P. Gasparini) - 2:17
2. I'm Crying (A. Price, E. Burdon) - 3:04
3. I'm Gonna Dress In Black (M. Gillon, M. Howe) - 3:25
4. Talk About Her (M. Bovay, P. Aebischer, P. Gasparini) - 2:09
5. The Love Of A Bird  (P. Aebischer) - 2:34
6. Why Don't You Love A Man Like Me (M. Bovay, P. Aebischer, P. Gasparini) - 2:16
7. Panam (M. Hungerbuhler, M. Bovay, P. Aebischer, P. Gasparini) - 3:06
8. Pretty Little Angel (M. Bovay, P. Aebischer, P. Gasparini) - 1:55
9. What Can I Do (M. Bovay, P. Aebischer, P. Gasparini) - 2:43
10.You Should Know (M. Bovay, P. Aebischer, P. Gasparini) - 2:11
11.In God I Trust (P. Aebischer) - 2:15
12.Don't You Fret (Ray Davies) - 2:32
13.Little Girl I Know - 2:05
14.My Mother - 2:03
15.Balla Balla - 2:11
16.Seven - 2:53
17.Run Me Down - 3:05
18.I'm Not The Right - 2:06
19.Beggin' Me To Stay - 1:57
20.I Can't Understand - 2:21
21.It's All Over Tonight - 2:17
Bonus tracks 13-21

The Sevens
*Michel Bovay - Bass, Vocals
*Nando Gasparini - Drums
*Pino Gasparini - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Pierre Aebischer - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
*Markus Hungerbühler - Organ, Vocals

Free Text
the Free Text

Ocean - Give Tomorrow's Children One More Chance (1972 canada, pleasant folk rock)

The group's origins stem from when highschool friends guitarist Dave Tamblyn and keyboardist Greg Brown grew up in London, Ontario playing in a number of bands on the weekends, finally settling in as Leather and Lace, which featured Janice Morgan on vocals. They moved to Yorkville and became staples on the folk scene through the rest of the decade, eventually settling on a lineup that included Jeff Jones on bass and drummer Chuck Slater.

They were signed to Yorkville Records in 1970 who got them a distribution deal with Capitol. They released their debut PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND, the title track to an upbeat that owed much of its stylistic origin to pure hand-clapping gospel that Gene MacLellan had originally written for Anne Murray, who coincidentally also was on Capitol's label. Although Murray recorded the song two years before Ocean, the song was buried on her album and received no attention from executives. 

Ocean, meanwhile, saw the song released as their first single while they still played high school dances and night clubs around Toronto. That soon changed, and the band began playing to crowds across North America, into Europe, and appeared on just about every Hit Parade type of TV show on the air. The song eventually topped Canada's charts and reached number 2 in the US, selling well over a million copies in the process.

The album was predominantly written by outsiders, and other noteable tracks included "The One Who's Left" - another MacLellan composition, a cover of The Band's "Stones I Throw," and their rendition of the gospel standard "Will The Circle Be Unbroken." "Deep Enough For Me" and "We've Got A Dream" followed up the charts, both cracking the top 40 before year's end. Following a highly successful world tour, they returned home amid allegations of missing funds compliments of management.

Still with Yorkville, they scored a distribution deal with Kama Sutra Records in 1972. They returned to the studios in Toronto, and released their follow-up "Give Tomorrow's Children One More Chance" later that year. The band tried to veer away from the easy listening gospel formula for success that made them overnight sensations only a year and a half earlier, though still just as preachy in their own way.  

The music on the second album moved away from the gospel sound towards more of a folk pop sound. Once again the songs were the highlight of the album, written by some of the best in the business including, Robbie Robertson and Richard Manual (The Band), Cook and Greenway, Steven Stills, Carole King and others. Despite the strong songs on the album, Ocean only managed to score a minor hit in Canada with the song "One More Chance" and were subsequently dropped by the label. 

Canadian Bands

Tracks
1. Things Im Going Through (Jeff Jones) - 3:41
2. One More Chance (R. Cook, R. Greenway, M. Hazlewood, A. Hammond) - 3:16
3. Its Just Another Whistle Stop (R. Robertson, R. Manuel) - 3:52
4. Wild Country (Wayne Faro, Greg R. Brown) - 3:09
5. Hosanna (J. Brown) -  4:09
6. Make The Sun Shine (Ken Stella) - 2:48
7. Mud Island (Donna Weis, Mary Unodsky) - 5:49
8. Helplessly Hoping (S. Stills) - 2:23
9. You Make Me Feel Like (A Natural Woman) (C. King, G. Goffin, G. Wexler) - 3:35
10.Funnier Man (Paul Craigie) - 7:10

Ocean
*Janice Morgan - Vocals
*Greg Brown - Keyboards, Vocals
*Jeff Jones - Bass, Vocals
*Dave Tamblyn - Guitar, Vocals
*Chuck Slater - Drums

Free Text
Just Paste

Gygafo - Legend Of The Kingfisher (1973-74 uk, prog folk rock with psych shades)

For 1973, British group Gygafo's only album is somewhat of an anomaly as it sounds quite like a psych-rock album from a few years earlier with the fuzz guitar and organ. But despite the 60's tonal qualities, Gygafo also show the prediliction for structural complexity as initially portrayed on the album's second track, "A Room With a View," that trades between a whimsical progression and a more aggressive classical rock section. 

And, in fact, it is this threshold betwixt late 60's psych and embryonic progressive rock that Gygafo pirouette around throughout . . .These phases are particularly distinct on the long side one-ending, three-song suite, "Waiting for the Rain/Entering Winds of Long Ago/Season's Weather (Coming Home)," although once the first half of the album is through, Gygafo keep solidly to a whimsical, late 60s, bay area, psychedelic influenced rock. 

In conclusion “ The Legend of the Kingfishers” Is a fair prog rock with some folk and hard rock influences, including some sinuous ebb-and-flow guitar lines, well worked-out vocal harmonies, haunting melodic figures, and classically flavored keyboard passages. 

Tracks
1. Solid Man Song - 3:54
2. A Room with a View - 5:35
3. Waiting for the Rain/Entertaining Winds of Long Ago/Season's Weather (Comning Home) - 12:07
4. And a Timne Tot Hink (Box 1) - 4:43
5. Today I Am - 5:44
6. The Legend of the Kingfisher - 9:56
7. What You Don't Know (Won't Hurt You) - 8:49
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - 5:18
All songs by Gygafo.

Gygafo
*John Atkinson - Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Flute, Glockenspiel
*Paul Kent - Bass
*Pete Nickson - Drums, Percussion
*Charlie Speed - Guitar, Vocals
*Eddie Stringer - Keyboards, Piano, Vocals

Free Text
Just Paste

Shiva's Headband - Psychedelic Yesterday (1977 us, hard texas psych, Akarma digipak book-style sleeve)

Storming into the growing Austin music scene in 1967, the group became the house band at the Vulcan Gas Co. and the first group to perform at the renowned Armadillo World Headquarters. Shiva’s Headband ’s quickly rose to a leading position in the new Austin music scene and built a large following of loyal fans all over Texas—from Dallas to San Antonio and the Valley, to Corpus Christi, to Houston and Nacogdoches! As the Headband’s reputation grew, both locally and world-wide, its appearance became a must on shows featuring national acts.

They played with such luminaries as Spirit, Steppenwolf, ZZ Top, Janice Joplin, Canned Heat and Steve Miller. Contract offers arrived from RCA, CBS, Electra, Fillmore and others. Finally, they signed with Capitol and released the first LP from the Austin scene (Take Me To The Mountains, produced by Spencer Perskin with Fred Catero ). The Headband has had a number of subsequent releases over the years and now offers their first CD- Shiva’s Headband Classics, Vol. 1, Down in Texas (Produced by Spencer Perskin for Moontower).

The often imitated but never duplicated sound of leader and founder, Spencer Perskin, is undoubtedly the backbone of Shiva’s Headband. Perskin began his career at age 8, and by age 9 was accepted as a special music student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas where he studied for eight year. During his high school years, he played with the Hillcrest High Orchestra, the Hillcrest Band and the Dal-Hi Orchestra. Following high school, Perskin attended North Texas State University where he, along with fellow classmates Michael Murphy and Steve Fromholz, was a member of the school’s Folk Music Club. Perskin also played with the N.T.S.U. Orchestra.

Three years later, in Austin, he and his wife, Susan, and friends founded the soon-to-be- famous Shiva’s Headband. In 1969 Perskin released the Shiva’s second single on his new Armadillo Record label, after the Capitol release in 1970 he founded, with a lot of help from his friends, the now-legendary Armadillo World Headquarters—the institution most responsible for placing Austin, Texas firmly on the World Music Map! Leading the group for almost three decades today Perskin fronts a rejuvenated Shiva’s that is as much a part of the new millennium as it was the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

"Psychedelic Yesterday" was recorded live in studio in Austin, Texas, March 1977 and originally released in 1978.

by Adamus67

Tracks
1. Ryder Blues - 3:34
2. Easy Street - 4:17
3. Stone City - 3:50
4. Up-Downhearted Blues - 5:02
5. Lightnin' - 5:07
6. Undermine - 6:11
7. Waiting Game - 4:18
8. Vortex - 8:16
9. Mr.  Butts (Bonus Track) - 3:14
10.Insanity (Bonus Track) - 4:24

Shiva's Headband
*Suzy Perskin - Vocals, Organ
*Spencer Perskin - Vocals, Violin, Guitar
*Brian Red Moore - Bass
*Jerry Bazil - Drums
*Robert Flynn Jr. - Guitar
with
*Georgina Van Ris - Bass
*Steve Whitfield - Drums
*Greg Lowry - Bass
*Mike Kearney - Guitar
*Sativa Perskin Esper - Vocals

Free Text
the Free Text

Mouse - Lady Killer (1973 uk, wild creative fuzzy prog with glam shades, Angel Air bonus tracks reissue)

Angel Air continues to sweep up the furthest flung crumbs of the Ray Russell canon for reissue, and now they've finally swatted the Mouse onto CD. This quartet, comprising Russell, drummer Alan Rushton, keyboardist Jeff Watts, and singer Alan Greed released their sole album on EMI in 1973. 

Russell jokes in the booklet that "attempts to make a single were forgotten about an hour into the first session," but even so the compulsive "Electric Lady," a throbbing rocker or alternately, the bouncy pop-flecked "We Can Make It" both fit that bill. And even if "Going Out Tonight" was a little too quirky for singledom, it was still the perfect set opener on-stage or on record. 

Given free rein, however, the band were all to free to explore the byways of their own obsessions. "All the Fallen Teen Angels," for example, is proof positive that you really can put a reggae beat to any kind of music, even pompous, synth-driven pop/rock and it certainly is startling, but would you really want to hear it twice? "Asher Besher," in contrast, delves deep into Black Sabbath territory, "The Happening to Me and You" dips into psychedelia, while "Just Came Back" returns from Delta blues. 

But even with all its musical meanderings, this is a more commercial album than Russell lets on, and if only producer John Acock had exerted a bit more control, squashing the occasional over-long intro and more tightly focused the songs, Lady Killer would have made a killing in the charts. As is, it's still a fine set of '70s rock in a supple and subtle experimental mode. 

by Jo-Ann Greene

Tracks
1. Going Out Tonight - 4:45
2. You Don't Know - 2:41
3. Electric Lady - 2:38
4. All The Fallen Teen Angels (J. Fidler, P. Hope Evans) - 3:32
5. Ashen Besher - 5:30
6. We Can Make It - 3:32
7. East Of The Sun - 4:34
8. It's Happening To Me And You - 2:49
9. Sunday - 2:49
10.Just Came Back - 5:18
11.Lost In The City (R. Russell) - 3:55
12.Timothy Leary's Ride Home (R. Russell) - 0:45
13.Jamie (R. Russell) - 2:42
14.Hit And Run (R. Russell) - 5:25
All songs by Mouse unless as else written.
Bonus tracks 11-14

Mouse
*Alan Clare - Keyboards, Vocals
*Alan Rushton - Drums
*Ray Russell - Guitar
*Jeff "Tain" Watts - Bass

Free Text
the Free Text

Canterbury Fair - Canterbury Fair (1967-69 us, heavy psych with baroque and early prog touches, Sundazed release)

The Canterbury Fair was a band from Fresno California that recorded between 1967 to 1969. The band, led by John and Philip Hollingsworth, skillfully employed keyboards and a fuzz bass to create a monstrous epic sound of swirling tapestries of mind-bending music that was way ahead of its time. Canterbury Fair created a sound the was reminiscent of the Doors but contained elements of the Left Banke and Love. 

The unique thing about this band is that no one played guitar in the band, the entire sound was based around the organ as the lead instrument together with drums bass and vocals. This collection of 10 songs includes the A-side of the ultra-rare single, "Song On A May Morning" originally released on the small local Koala label as well as the group's never-before-heard full-length album that was recorded but never released and one live track recorded during the band's hey day. 

This release contains in depth information on the band together with rare photographs and reproductions of concert posters. Another long lost legendary band finally resurrected for all to hear.

by Keith Pettipas

Tracks
1. Talk Song (Philip Hollingsworth) - 6:31
2. Song on a May Morning (P. Hollingsworth) - 2:53
3. Acid (John Hollingsworth) - 3:50
4. Bad for Anyone (J. Hollingsworth) - 3:37
5. Russian Opera (J. Hollingsworth) - 2:59
6. Long Brown Hair (Jim Baker) - 4:18
7. Winds of the Sky (P. Hollingsworth) - 5:18
8. A Spanish Serenade (J. and P. Hollingsworth) - 5:49
9. Sally Rover (J. Hollingsworth) - 10:15
10.The Man (Live) (J. Hollingsworth) - 5:22

The Canterbury Fair
*John Hollingsworth - Keyboards, Vocals
*Philip Hollingsworth - Bass, Vocals
*James Holley - Drums
*Sean Cosaro - Drums

Free Text
Text Host

Dear Mr.Time - Grandfather (1970 uk, marvelous psych prog, with acoustic elements, strings and flute)

Dear Mr Time were an obscure British outfit who straddled the late-period psych/early prog divide with their sole album, a concept piece entitled Grandfather. It (loosely, of course, in true concept album style) tells the story of one man's life from his birth around the turn of the century to his own death, as recounted by his grandson. 

Birth - The Beginning makes for a pastoral enough start, but the pace picks up quickly enough as the story races towards the protagonist's experiences as a soldier in the trenches. The rest of the album veers between acoustic and electric, but quality's maintained throughout, avoiding the 'only two or three decent tracks' syndrome. On reflection, the concept actually owes a little to the Pretty Things' seminal SF Sorrow, but it's a very different album and, let's face it, a fairly universal subject.

No-one's credited with Mellotron, so I'll assume keyboard player Barry Everitt was responsible for the excellent MkII strings on Prelude (To Your Country Needs You?) and the rather shorter part in closer Grandfather. Pity they didn't use it more, but there you go. Incidentally, the cellos in Prelude are real.

All in all, this is really rather good, and undeservedly obscure, especially when you consider some of the third-rate stuff that's been available for years. The CD appears to've been pressed from a vinyl copy, but the surface noise isn't too bad, and rather a slightly crackly copy than none at all! A welcome addition to the field of UK psych/prog reissues, with a couple of good 'Tron tracks. Assuming you can find it, buy.

Planet-Mellotron

Tracks
1. Birth - The Beginning (Baker) - 3:58
2. Out Of Time (Baker) - 4:30
3. Make Your Peace (Everitt) - 5:20
4. Your's Claudia (Baker) - 2:51
5. Prelude (To 'Your Country Needs You?') (Everitt, Baker, Sewell, Sturgeon, Clements) - 3:00
6. Your Country Needs You? (Everitt, Baker, Sewell, Sturgeon, Clements) - 3:35
7. A Dawning Moonshine (Baker) - 3:52
8. Years And Fortunes (Baker) - 4:01
9. A Prayer For Her (Baker) - 2:53
10.Light Up A Light (Baker) - 3:23
11.On A Lonely Night (Baker) - 4:16
12.Grandfather (Baker) - 2:36

Dear Mr.Time
*Chris Baker - Lead, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
*John Clements - Drums, Percussion
*Barry Everitt - Vocals, Organ, Piano, Harpsichord
*Dave Sewell - Bass,Vocals
*Jim Sturgeon - Saxophone, Flute, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

Free Text
Text Host