Zerfas - Zerfas (1973 us, delicate artificial post psych flutter, Radioactive issue)

Brothers Dave and Herman Zerfas started their professional recording career as members of the Indiana-based band Jubal.  By 1973 the band had morphed into Zerfas, in the process recording an album that I'd easily categorize as a true lost classic.  Released by Moe Whittemore, Jr.'s 700 West label, 1973's "Zerfas" stood as one of those rarities - an album that came close to living up to the collector hype surrounding it and probably one of a handful of albums that I'd consider paying the asking price in order to own an original copy.  

Produced by Whittemore, Jr. with four of the five members contributing material, the album's gained a Beatlesque reputation over the years.  That's normally a mixed blessing and while not entirely accurate in this case, the Zefras brothers had clearly listened to their share of mid and late-era Fab Four.  The album's also regularly slapped with a psych label which I find somewhat misleading.  

I've listened to the album dozens of times over the years and while 'The Piper' is psychedelic and there are occasional psych studio effects including the opener 'You Never Win' which started with an interesting bit of backward tape manipulation before kicking into the tuneful organ propelled garage rocker, the bulk of the set has always struck me as being surprisingly commercial.  So what were the highlights?   Six of the eight tracks were exceptionally good.  With a dazzling fuzz guitar and inspired lead vocal from bassist Mark Tribby (who was supposedly reluctant to sing lead) 'The Sweetest Part' demonstrated the band were equally comfortable working in a country-rock arena.  

Apparently written during their Jabul days, 'I Don't Understand' started out with a slice of studio insanity before switching over to a pretty, if stark Badfinger/Emmitt Rhodes/McCartney-styled ballad.  The song was also worth hearing for what may have been the album's best guitar solo. With a killer melody, glistening group harmonies and a touch of studio experimentation (I've always loved the way the cheesy synthesizer snuck in) the side one closer 'I Need It Higher' found the band taking a stab at a more commercial sound.  You had to scratch your head and wonder how this one wasn't a major radio hit.  

Best of all was 'The Piper' which actually managed to mix pop, rock, psych, and progressive moves into a wonderful slice of music.  That left one track up in the air (the experimental 'Fool's Parade' - complete with 'mushroom soup' belches) and two tracks that were marginal - 'Stoney Wellitz' which sported a bouncy melody, but was plagued by a cheesy synthesizer and an irritatingly whiny lead vocal. Complete with ocean waves sound effects, 'Hope' was a mid-tempo piece that simply didn't make much of an impression on me one way or the other.  Those minor criticisms apart, as I said earlier, a lost treasure and one of the few LPs I'd even think about awarding 5 stars on my lame grading scale.

Bad-cat 

Tracks
1. You Never Win (David Zerfas, Herman Zerfas) - 5:14
2. The Sweetest Part / I Don't Understand (David Zerfas, Mark Tribby) - 8:39
3. I Need It Higher (David Zerfas) - 4:48
4. Stoney Wellitz (David Zerfas, Herman Zerfas) - 6:30
5. Hope (Bill Rice, Herman Zerfas) - 7:44
6. Fool's Parade / The Piper(David Zerfas, Herman Zerfas, Steve Newbold) - 8:39

Zerfas
*Bill Rice - Bass, Backing Vocals
*Steve Newbold  - Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Mark Tribby  - Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals
*David Zerfas  - Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Guitar
*Herman (Brian) Zerfas  - Vocals, Keyboards, Bass, Guitar

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Krokodil - An Invisible World Revealed (1971 swiss, great acid-laden guitar heavy psych prog and exotic instrumentation, extra tracks release)

The perfect album reminiscent to, Twenty Sixty Six & Then, Pink Floyd and Hawkwind. Huge, juicy, psychedelic sounds, a lot of groovy moves of guitars, solid rhythm section and the addition of even a sitar! And for the record, this is Swiss band.

If you never thought a harmonica could solo on top of a mellotron and sound as cosmic as the best guitar solos from early 70s,of original experiments and sonic juxtapositions prepare to be surprised.

Krokodil were constantly promoted by the labels they signed to as a Krautrock band, yet though they had the spirit of Krautrock in their veins, the truth was that they were Swiss! Naturally, Liberty tried to present them as the Krautrock answer to The Groundhogs.

Well, Krokodil did have blues origins, they really knew how to rock-it and had a flair for the experimental, so they did have the same sort of attitude as The Groundhogs. But, all that aside, Krokodil were innovators in their own right, not at all copyist, except for maybe their John Mayall type roots. Like most Swiss bands, Krokodil were an unlikely combo, mostly of German-Swiss extraction, with one Englishman: Terry Stevens. Early on, the quoted "Swiss Bob Dylan" Hardy Hepp seemed to be in control, his softer folk and blues mix, and Mojo Weideli's harmonica, gave them a more down-to-earth sound.

After Hardy's departure for a solo career, Krokodil really blossomed with the extraordinary AN INVISIBLE WORLD REVEALED, an album that took on all sorts of ethnic and fusion elements, becoming like a hybrid of Amon Düül II, Man and Third Ear Band, all mixed into that unique Krokodil style. Ethnic elements had figured in earlier Krokodil recordings, but not so much as here, where the sitar, tablas and flute are heavily featured. Krokodil had become the finest of Swiss Krautrock bands.

A change of label, to Bacillus, their next album GETTING UP FOR THE MORNING offered a similar blending of rock, blues and ethnic styles, though in a more condensed and song-based concoction. The double album SWEAT & SWIM, though it had a couple of duff tracks, also contained some of their best, not least so the 17 minute cosmic-ethnic trip "Linger" recalling the masterworks of AN INVISIBLE WORLD REVEALED.

On his records combined the blues rock sound of the sitar, harmonica and violin. It is thanks to an interesting instruments they managed to create a somewhat otherworldly, hypnotic oriental atmosphere. Krokodil - An Invisible World Revealed from the first sounds of Lady Of Attraction invite us to your climate lakes. Climate reminds a little of the first Hawkwind album, which has not yet been recorded in space. Acoustic sound, "from afar" vocals and rich instrumentation opens the album perfectly.

One of the most interesting tracks on the album is a fifteen-minute Odyssey In Om. If you like the sound of the first hypnotic CD Santana, George Harrison experimented with sitar or dreamlike flute or saxophone - beginning of the song is for you. After nearly six minutes there is hard rock guitar and harmonica along with the rhythm section and endow us a real departure. One of those brilliant moments when you can listen to the disc fragment without end. In addition, we have a lot of electric guitar and blues-based rock songs (Last Doors, Looking At Time), more or less zakradających towards psychedelic sounds, also feel the harsh climate of Crocodiles recordings krautrock.

by Adamus67

Tracks
1. Lady Of Attraction (Anselmo, Durst, Stevens, Weideli) - 4:21
2. With Little Miss Trimmings (Anselmo, Durst, Stevens, Weideli) - 1:42
3. Oddyssey In Om (Anselmo, Durst, Stevens, Weideli) - 15:19
4. Green Fly (Anselmo, Durst, Stevens, Weideli) - 4:23
5. Looking At Time (Terry Stevens) - 14:03
6. Last Doors (Walty Anselmo) - 4:00
7. Pollution (Walty Anselmo) - 3:04
8. Krokodil-Session Part 1 (Anselmo, Durst, Stevens) - 11:24
9. Krokodil-Session Part 2 (Anselmo, Durst, Stevens) - 11:42
10.Don't Make Promisses (Tim Hardin) - 3:58
11.Hurra! Allive (Walty Anselmo) - 3:04

Krokodil
*Duede Durst - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
*Walty Anselmo - Sitar, Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Terry Stevens - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*Mojo Weideli - Harmonica, Flute, Percussion

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The Left Banke - The Left Banke Too (1968-69 us, wonderful psychedelia with baroque touches, Sundazed 2011 remaster)

The Left Banke started at the top, launching its recording career with the 1966 debut single "Walk Away Renée," which became both a Top Five smash and an iconic pop classic. They followed it with the equally memorable hit "Pretty Ballerina" and the beloved LP Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina. Less well known, but no less noteworthy, is the band's underappreciated second act.

Although it largely escaped the public's notice upon its release in November 1968, The Left Banke Too is an unsung gem that remains close to the hearts of a dedicated cadre of fans. Recorded after the departure of keyboardist/songwriter Michael Brown, the sophomore disc finds his former bandmates—frontman Steve Martin, bassist/guitarist Tom Finn and drummer George Cameron—rising to the occasion to produce music whose ambition and expressiveness matches, and in some cases surpasses, that of the band's more prominent prior work.

The Left Banke's original lineup had combusted shortly after Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina's release, and the group split into two factions, with singers Martin, Finn and Cameron on one side, and Brown and his father, manager/producer Harry Lookofsky, on the other. The schism led to Brown (with help from songwriter Tom Feher, who had contributed to the first album, and singer Bert Sommer) releasing his own single, "Ivy, Ivy" b/w "And Suddenly," under the Left Banke name, and releasing it in April 1967 on the band's label, the Mercury Records subsidiary Smash. After Finn, Martin and Cameron hired lawyers and won back control of the band name, Smash withdrew support from Brown's single. But the resulting confusion over the competing Left Bankes resulted in a loss of commercial momentum from which the band would never recover.

The two factions temporarily reconciled in the spring of 1967 to record a pair of Brown/Feher compositions, "Desirée" and "In the Morning Light." Brown produced those sessions, with John Abbott (who played and arranged on the first album) as arranger and various New York session musicians playing most of the instruments.

Although The Left Banke Too showed their creative batteries to be fully charged, it wasn't long before the group's morale was sagging. The album was lost amidst a flood of new hippie acts, and the band—which toured with Tom Feher on keyboards and new guitarist Tim Hayden—experienced a new set of frustrations with its new management team, which Finn says kept them on the road, with little financial reward and no discernable career benefit to the group.

Although the trio disbanded, Steve Martin and Michael Brown reunited in the studio shortly thereafter to record one more single, "Myrah" b/w "Pedestal," which was released under the Left Banke's name in November 1969. In 1971, Martin, Finn, Cameron and Brown came together to record Brown's songs "Love Songs in the Night" and "Two by Two." The results were released under Martin's name, both as a single and on the soundtrack LP of the little-seen film Hot Parts, both on the Buddah label.

In the 1970s, Brown would record with Montage, Stories and the Beckies, while a 1978 Finn solo project would evolve into an abortive Left Banke reunion with Martin and Cameron; a set of demos from that project would see release in 1986, as Strangers on a Train in the U.S. and Voices Calling in Britain. In the years since, various combinations of Left Banke members, including Brown, have periodically reunited in the studio to work on new material, but the fruits of those efforts have remained unheard by the public.

Years of speculation regarding a Left Banke reunion came to an end in March 2011, when Finn and Cameron teamed with a group of New York musicians for a pair of shows in New York, marking the first Left Banke gigs in more than four decades and the first time many of the band's songs had ever been performed live. The reunion shows' rapturous reception underlines the ongoing fan interest in the Left Banke, and the fact that the songs from The Left Banke Too were as well-received as the more familiar hits demonstrates the high esteem in which this album is held by the band's admirers.

by Scott Schinder

Tracks
1. Goodbye Holly (T. Feher) - 2:55
2. There's Gonna Be A Storm (T. Finn) - 4:16
3. Sing Little Bird Sing (T. Feher) - 3:07
4. Nice To See You (T. Finn) - 2:40
5. Give The Man A Hand  (M. Potocki) - 2:54
6. Bryant Hotel (T. Feher) - 3:24
7. Desirée  (M. Brown, T. Feher) - 2:40
8. Dark Is The Bark (T. Finn, S. Martin, Caro, G. Cameron) - 3:27
9. In The Morning Light  (T. Feher, M. Brown) - 2:49
10.My Friend Today (T. Finn) - 3:05

The Left Banke
*Tom Finn - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*George Cameron - Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Guitar
*Steve Martin Caro - Lead Vocals, Drums. Tambourine, Guitar, Bass
*Michael Brown - Piano, Harpsichord, Clavinet, Organ, Vocals
*Tom Feher - Piano
Additional Musicians
*Linda Hills - Voice
*Marvin Potocki - Guitar
*Rick Brand - 5-String Banjo
*Hugh McCracken - Guitar
*Joe Mack - Bass
*Bobby Gregg - Drums
*Ralph Casale - Guitar
*Jerry Ciccone - Guitar
*Chet Amsterdam -Bass
*Paul Griffin - Keyboards
*Artie Schroeck - Drums
*Artie Schroeck - Vibraphone
*Marvin Stamm - Trumpet
*Ray Alonge - French Horn
*Ray Desio - Trombone
*George Young - Woodwind
*The Irving Spice Strings - Strings

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The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee...Pretty Ballerina (1966-67 us, wondrous psychedelia with baroque colours, Sundazed 2011 remaster)

Even in the heady musical atmosphere of 1967, the Left Banke's debut LP Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina stood out. The New York outfit's beguiling blend of classically-influenced songwriting, heart-tugging three-part harmonies and exquisitely textured arrangements resulted in music that embodied equal amounts of youthful innocence, autumnal melancholy and precocious musical sophistication.

The Left Banke perfected its singular sound on its iconic debut single "Walk Away Renée," a Top Five hit in its original release and an enduring pop standard in the years since, and on its equally affecting follow-up "Pretty Ballerina." The subsequent album that bore the titles of both singles was an equally impressive achievement, demonstrating remarkable depth and showing the band to be much more than a mere two-hit wonder.

The Left Banke's story is liberally strewn with bad choices, missed opportunities, interpersonal acrimony and squandered potential. But the negative aspects of the band's history are far less pertinent than the fact that, in their all-too-brief existence, the Left Banke created a consistently magnificent body of work that stands with the most original, inventive and emotionally resonant pop music of its era.

The members of the Left Banke were still in their teens in 1965, when Tom Finn struck up a friendship with Steve Martin-Caro, née Carmelo Esteban Martin Caro, who'd recently arrived in town from his native Spain. Finn and Martin had originally met on the street outside of Manhattan's City Squire Hotel, watching a mob of screaming girls awaiting the arrival of the Rolling Stones. They were soon joined by Finn's friend George Cameron and the Magic Plants' drummer Warren David-Schierhorst.

The budding band soon began visiting World United Recording, a modest studio at 48th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, where Finn's previous outfit the Magic Plants had recorded. There, they fell in with 16-year-old Michael Brown, a classically trained pianist and budding composer who was working at World United as an assistant and sometime session player. Brown was the son of the studio's owner Harry Lookofsky, a veteran jazz violinist who'd played on numerous sessions and recorded on his own as Hash Brown.

Since Brown had the keys to the studio, the quintet—with Martin on lead vocals, Cameron on guitar, Finn on bass, David on drums and Brown on keyboards—began convening there for late-night rehearsal sessions. Martin, Finn and Cameron quickly developed an organic vocal rapport, honing the distinctive three-part harmonies that would become a cornerstone of the Left Banke's sound. Brown's advanced musical skills increased the group's options considerably.

Soon, Brown's father took an interest in the nascent combo and became its manager, publisher and co-producer. Lookofsky's involvement would help to advance the Left Banke's early career, but his multiple roles (not to mention his status as father of the band's main songwriter) created conflicts of interest that would soon help to splinter the lineup.

The Left Banke began cutting tracks at World United in early 1966, recording such early tunes as "I've Got Something on My Mind" and "I Haven't Got the Nerve," both of which would end up on Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina. Aside from David's drumming and Brown's piano and harpsichord, the remaining instruments were played by session musicians. David was soon ousted from the band by Lookofsky after the drummer ran off to California with Brown; Lookofsky had the underage pair stopped by police at the airport and sent home. 

by Scott Schinder 

Tracks
1. Pretty Ballerina (M. Brown) - 2:38
2. She May Call You Up Tonight (M. Brown, S. Martin, Caro) - 2:21
3. Barterers And Their Wives (T. Feher, M. Brown) - 3:00
4. I've Got Something On My Mind (S. Martin, Caro, G. Cameron, M. Brown) - 2:49
5. Let Go Of You Girl (S. Martin, Caro, G. Cameron, M. Brown) - 2:55
6. Evening Gown (T. Feher, M. Brown) - 1:46
7. Walk Away Renee (M. Brown, T. Sansone, B. Calilli) - 2:44
8. What Do You Know (T. Feher, M. Brown) - 3:00
9. Shadows Breaking Over My Head (S. Martin, Caro, M. Brown) - 2:36
10.I Haven't Got The Nerve (G. Cameron, S. Martin, Caro) - 2:16
11.Lazy Day (M. Brown, S. Martin, Caro) - 2:23

The Left Banke
*Tom Finn - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*George Cameron - Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Guitar
*Steve Martin Caro - Lead Vocals, Drums. Tambourine, Guitar, Bass
*Michael Brown - Piano, Harpsichord, Clavinet, Organ, Vocals
Additional Musicians
*Buddy Saltzman - Drums
*Harry Lookofsky - Violin
*Seymour Barab - Cello
*George Marge - Oboe
*Hugh McCracken - Guitar
*Joe Mack - Bass
*Al Gorgoni - 12-string Acoustic Guitar
*John Abbott - Guitar, Bass
*Warren David-Schierhorst - Drums
*Rick Brand - Guitar
*George "Fluffer" Hirsh - Guitar
*Al Rogers - Drums
*Jeff Winfield - Guitar

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Khazad Doom - Encore! (1968-70 us, impressive heavy psych melted with early prog, private press numbered edition)

Throughout the sixties and early seventies, a rock 'n' roll band from suburban Morton Grove, Illinois performed in and around Chicago. Even though they remained together about the same time as the Beatles dominated American pop charts, Khazad Doom (pronounced Kah' zud doom) never made it in the traditional sense. But artistically, over nine years, they forged a kind of music now called Progressive Rock.

After their split in 1972, during the eighties, the band achieved cult status when their promo album LEVEL 6 1/2 was reissued and distributed throughout Europe. Just one copy of the original LEVEL 6 1/2 vinyl rides the top of collectors' wish-lists and has traded for as much as $1,500 a copy!

In 1995, the limited edition retrospective CD called ENCORE! was burnt from Khazad Doom’s original tapes. It includes much of the band’s decade of output.

Like many so-called basement bands of the sixties, Khazad Doom employed various configurations, engaged in band battles, and sought the help of agents and recording gurus. Unlike other bands, Khazad Doom, influenced by the Beatles and other classically-based groups of the time, recorded frequently and included many original songs and rearrangements in its repertoire, hoping that would somehow help them progress along their path to stardom.

After the band performed around Chicagoland for several years, playing all original material and rearrangements, they pioneered writing and performing a decidedly non-rock genre when they introduced Stanley's Visit To Kerkle Morff, a moralistic fantasy that sounded right for Broadway, a full length feature cartoon, or a musical, more than a rock operetta. 

On a primitive recording set-up that shouldn't have worked, they recorded Stanley and a variety of other songs that still represent Khazad Doom at its best. Twenty-six years later that remastered recording makes up most of the ENCORE! limited edition CD, now sold out but still circulating among fans and collectors worldwide. The CD includes the best cuts from the LEVEL 6 1/2 project--The Hunters, "In this World," and "Narcissus."

Khazad Doom

Tracks
1. Cherry Town (As The Laymen) (Jack Eadon) - 3:12
2.  Love Wich We Share Among Us (As The Laymen) (Steve Yates) - 2:11
3.  The Prelude (Jack Eadon) - 12:18
4.  In The Den (Jack Eadon) - 4:32
5.  The Golden Yellow Meadow (Jack Eadon) - 6:56
6.  Narcsissus (Eadon, Sievers, Yates, Hilkin) - 5:05
7.  In This World (Steve Yates) - 2:42
8.  Nothing To Fear (Yates, Eadon, Dixon) - 2:44
9.  Excerpt From Uncle Gillroy/s Crazy Son (Jack Eadon) - 2:57  
10.Stanley/s Visit To Kerkle Morrf (Jack Eadon) - 12:26
11.Can/t Find Love Alone (Jack Eadon) - 2:50
12.Dirt (Jack Eadon) - 1:50
13.Paper Bus (Steve Yates) - 4:02
14.Frozen Faces (Steve Yates) - 3:38
15.Come With Me (1978) (Eadon, Sievers, Yates) - 4:14

Khazad Doom
*Jack Eadon - Guitar, Vocals
*Tom Sievers - Bass, Vocals
*Steve “Al” Yates - Organ, Vocals
*Steve “Crow” Hilkin - Percussion

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Wildweeds - Wildweeds (1970-71 us, strong country rock with folk blues and roots 'n' roll shades, Akarma reissue)

It's the stuff of pop music legend: in the late 60s, a young band with a scorching style and a regional number-one song drifted into obscurity. Meanwhile the band's frontman, then-teenage Al Anderson, went on to a highly visible career that includes a decades-long stint with the hugely popular band NRBQ. Anderson moved on to become one of the most sought after songwriters in Nashville, and he's still going strong after 40 years of musical adventures.

This is the tale of The Wildweeds, a band that by all accounts was always slightly out of step with prevailing musical fashions. In retrospect, the band seemed to exist to set the stage for Al Anderson's future. But, as this new collection from Confidential Recordings, "No Good To Cry: The Best of The Wildweeds," reveals and affirms, the music that the group produced stands on its merits as an important contribution to the pop lexicon.

The influences which made the band seem in the minority musically are today acknowledged as masters of soul. True the Beatles and the Stones popularized and emulated crossover rock and roll artists like Chuck Berry. But The Wildweeds worshipped the likes of Ray Charles, The Impressions and Billy Stewart. Perhaps The Weeds were ahead of their time. Listening to "No Good To Cry: The Best of The Wildweeds," a compilation of the band's singles and unreleased material, shows just how fresh that take is today.

By the late 50s/early 60s, rock and roll had moved out of the south, and was not strictly the domain of the big cities any more, so this group of Windsor, CT boys was able to follow their musical ideals with impunity.

The Hartford area had a strong music scene. The young players typically shifted in and out of various combos. Bands with names like The Blues Messengers, The Altones, The Six Packs and The Futuras shaped them. The Weeds finally gelled in late 1966. Shortly thereafter, the name was expanded to The Wildweeds.

While the band was still in its early stages, Andy Lepak's father, Alex Lepak Sr., a professional musician and teacher, started managing them. He provided a stabilizing influence, paying them a salary and instilling in them strong ideals about their music. 

Wildweeds' sole album (they were no longer called "the" Wildweeds by the time it came out) was cut with assistance from top Nashville session men Charlie McCoy, Weldon Myrick, and David Briggs. This Akarma  reissue adds three non-LP tracks from 1971 singles.

Wildweeds

Tracks
1. Baby Please Don't Leave Me Today - 2:14
2. Can't Sit And Watch Little Susie Laugh - 3:28
3. John King's Fair - 2:53
4. Belle - 1:45
5. An Overnight Guest - 3:34
6. Nobody's Here To Help Me Cry - 2:46
7. And When She Smiles - 2:30
8. Paint And Powder Ladies No.2 - 1:52
9. Fantasy Child - 2:35
10.My Baby Left Me (Arthur Curdup)  - 2:07
11.Don't Ask Me How How Or Why - 3:24
12.Mare, Take Me Home - 3:28
13.C'mon If You're Comin' (Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry) - 2:21
14.Ain't No Woman Finer Lookin'  - 3:15
15.Goin' Back To Indiana  - 2:48
All songs by Al Anderson except where indicated

The Wildweeds
*Al Anderson - Vocals, Lead, Rhythm Guitar
*Bob Dudek – Vocals,  Drums
*Al Lepak,Jr. - Bass
*Martin Yakaitis - Percussion
With Special Thanks To
*Charlie McCoy - Organ,Dobro,Harmonica,Vibes
*Weldon Myrick - Steel Guitar
*David Briggs - Piano
*Mac Gayden - Electric Guitar
*Jim Colvard - Bass Guitar

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Nektar - Sunday Night At London Roundhouse (1974 uk, spectacular progressive rock, Bellaphon double disc set)

Releasing a live LP with side A containing one and a half song from a recorded concert and side B containing three cuts from a jam that lasted several hours was not a very sensible thing to do in 1974. The LP was titled Sunday Night At London Roundhouse, and its release looked somewhat overdone between the steady flow of album releases the band had anyway in those days (ten sides of vinyl in three years). I never though it was a very good album; it was too short. Too short for a live album, and too short to show anything that the band could do when jamming. 

Nektar recorded their last date on the English 1973 tour (in support of their early 1973 album ...Sounds Like This, although the masterpiece that was following it, Remember The Future, was released two days before this concert took place) on November 25th, because the record company wanted a live album. Good idea, why not, although the band were more into their next studio album, of course. 

Early the following year, while recording the following studio album Down To Earth, the bass player's birthday was a reason to go jamming for a few hours having the tape recorded running - it was March 27th, 1974. A good reason! Besides the opener Desolation Valley, many of the music that followed was pure improvisation or at least unreleased material. And sometimes very unlike their usual sound. 

With recordings like that I could never imagine how a record company could take only two songs from the live concert for one side of a live album (Desolation Valley and A Day In The Life Of A Preacher including the birth of Oh Willie, the latter was even cut in half for the release) and making a very short B side with Oops - Unidentified Flying Abstract, Mundetango, and Summer Breeze from the jam session. I once wrote that the only reasonable thing the record company could do is release a double CD of the full concert and if necessary a multi CD set of the jam. 

Well, what do you know? They did almost exactly that! First, there is a double CD featuring the complete concert in wonderful stereo quality. Crying In The Dark / King Of Twilight is good, great to hear Cast Your Fate and especially Odyssey of which I knew only one other live version. Remember The Future and 1-2-3-4 are wonderful. A Day In The Life Of A Preacher is at last complete, and a special version indeed as it has the origins of what would become Oh Willie on the following studio album Down To Earth. It shows how the band could jam while in concert, it shows how tight the unit of these musicians was, and it shows the diversity in their musical ideas. With the following jam, titled Summer Breeze, the sound is going from dreamy to heavy agressive. I have always loved this contrast in the band's sound.

The album also shows that after ...Sounds Like This and Remember The Future, the band was letting in the guitar more and more, a little away from the somewhat psychedelic sounds of the first album and the title track of A Tab In The Ocean, though still being progressive. Well, with Down To Earth coming on, this is hardly a surprise. Playing A Tab In The Ocean live in 1976, it was like the band was saying they never stopped liking their earlier sound, but they were just exploring further. (It is beyond the scope of this review to go into the sound of the album after that, Recycled, but on there, the keyboards regained importance.)

Being more of a progressive rock fan than a rock and roll fan, the rock and roll medley show closer is less interesting, but what's 6 minutes on a 100 minute show, eh? But also being a fan of early blues and hard rock, songs like 1-2-3-4 and Odyssey are just marvellous! The emotion that is feeding the musicians results in such performances that is best heard live. With the band having reformed, I am very much looking forward to seeing them on stage! 

The other side of the original Sunday Night LP received the same "and now a proper CD release" treatment, resulting in a 41 minute disc. Significantly more than the 15 minutes on the LP. I guess these are the parts from the jam that were worth a commercial release. I am still curious to what the rest of the tapes hold secret, but I am more than satisfied with what is offered here.

It is starting with a song we all know, but you can hear and feel the band is more relaxed than in front of an audience. You can hear it on other recordings as well, but not as clear as here, how subtle a guitar player Roye Albrighton is.

The other tracks are all otherwise unreleased. One Mile Red and Summer Breeze were played in concert several times, though. The first definitely bears the Nektar signature on it. But the remaining tracks all have something surprising, making this release a very special one. Being in a relaxed environment obviously lets the musicians play looser tracks, almost jazzy as in We Must Have Been Smashed or Oops, although the latter was not that laid back. 

These CDs are a real treat for Nektar fans! Fans will have it already, it's not for them I write this. If you like Nektar and would like to hear how they sound live, get this Sunday Night album right away! Unidentified Flying Abstract is amazing for fans, but there are other albums to hear first if you want to get to know the band. 

by Gert Hulshof

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Crying In The Dark / King Of Twilight - 12:10

2. Desolation Valley - 8:58

3. A Day In The Life Of A Preacher Including The Birth Of Oh Willie - 19:50

4. Summer Breeze - 3:04

5. Cast Your Fate - 5:42

Disc 2
1. Remember The Future Part One - 18:47
2. Odyssey - Ron's On - 11:15
3. 1-2-3-4 - 12:31
4. Remember The Future Part Two - Let It Grow - 5:14
5. Woman - 6:09

Nektar
*Allan "Taff" Freeman - Keyboards, Vocals
*Derek "Mo" Moore - Bass, Vocals
*Mick Brockett - Lights
*Ron Howden - Drums, Percussion
*Roye Allbrighton - Guitars, Vocals

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Grace Slick And The Great Society - Conspicuous Only By Its Absence / How It Was (1968/71 us, west coast psychedelic rock, historical live recordings at Frisco's matrix club 1966, Collector's Item issue)

This double-LP/single-CD reissue combines both of the Great Society's live albums, Conspicuous Only by Its Absence and How It Was, and features "Somebody to Love" in its original slower, more menacing version. It also includes the Society's extended version of Grace Slick's "White Rabbit" along with several other haunting originals which strike an exhilarating balance between tight songwriting and psychedelic jamming. Based on his raga-tinged work here, guitarist Darby Slick (Grace's then brother-in-law) deserves a lot more recognition than he's ever received for his pioneering explorations of Eastern scales. 

Bassist Peter Van Gelder isn't far behind him in the innovation department, and makes significant contributions here on saxophone and flute as well, plunging into John Coltrane territory on the former -- and his work on "White Rabbit," by itself, is worth the price of admission. Additionally, Grace Slick's singing was already about 95-percent of what it would be with the Airplane when she came aboard the latter, and if you close your eyes and forget what you're hearing, there are moments when you'd swear you were listening to her work from Surrealistic Pillow, After Bathing at Baxter's, or Crown of Creation. 

What's more, the CD edition is very nicely produced, the engineers overcoming most of the sonic limitations of the original concert tapes that made the original LP versions sound so flat in spots. All of these attributes make the title of this release something of a misnomer -- far more than a "Collector's Item," this is a genuinely exciting glimpse into the birth of psychedelic music, and essential listening for any devotees of the latter, or the San Francisco sound in any of its manifestations; the Great Society might not have made it past 1966, but they left behind music here that was as solid, substantial, and enduring -- and worth hearing today -- as anything the Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and the Charlatans were doing at the time. (And if you do look for this CD -- which, amazingly, is still in print as of 2007 -- a lot of stores tend to file it under Grace Slick rather than Great Society). 

by Richie Unterberger and Bruce Eder 

Tracks
Conspicuous Only By Its Absence
1. Sally, Go 'Round The Roses (Lona Stevens, Zell Sanders) – 6:32
2. Didn't Think So (Grace Slick) – 3:23
3. Grimly Forming (Peter Vandergelder) – 3:53
4. Somebody To Love (Darby Slick) – 4:27
5. Father Bruce (D. Slick, G. Slick, J. Slick, D. Miner) – 3:31
6. Outlaw Blues (Bob Dylan) – 2:27
7. Often As I May (Grace Slick) – 3:43
8. Arbitration (Peter Vandergelder) – 3:58
9. White Rabbit (Grace Slick) – 6:15
How It Was
10.That's How It Is (David Miner) - 2:39
11.Darkly Smiling (Darby Slick) - 3:08
12.Nature Boy (E. Ahbez) - 3:10
13.You Can't Cry (David Miner) - 2:58
14.Daydream Nightmare (David Miner) - 4:34
15.Everybody Knows (Darby Slick) - 2:37
16.Born To Be Burned (D. Slick, J. Slick) - 3:13
17.Father (G. Slick, D. Slick, J. Slick, D. Miner) - 6:35

The Great Society
*Grace Slick – Piano, Vocals
*Darby Slick – Guitar
*David Miner – Guitar
*Jerry Slick – Drums
*Peter Vandergelder (Van Gelder) – Bass, Flute, Saxophone

1965-66 The Great Society - Born to Be Burned

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Mapleoak - Mapleoak (1970-71 uk/canada, fine classic rock melted with rural, blues and jazzy tunes, featuring Peter Quaife from the Kinks fame)

During the mid-‘60s, guitarist Stan Endersby was at the forefront of the Toronto music scene, playing with some of the city’s most experimental and musically inventive bands. As a member of The Tripp, Endersby worked alongside future singer-songwriter Neil Merryweather and pianist Rick Bell, who later played with Janis Joplin and The Band. 

Later, he travelled to England and led the Anglo-Canadian group Maple Oak, the band formed by ex-Kinks bass player Peter Quaife. The band issued a rare and now much sought after single for Decca and an album (recorded after Quaife’s departure) before the remaining members returned to Canada. 

Tracks
1. Son Of A Gun - 3:40
2. Hurt Me So Much - 2:17
3. Guitar Pickers - 3:20
4. Natural Joy - 3:44
5. Roses - 2:43
6. Bring Me Water - 3:12
7. Down Down - 3:48
8. Treetors - 5:13
9. Flying Circus - 2:04
10.Sail Away - 2:35
11.I Don`t Know - 4:24
12.All These Times - 2:13
13.Frankley Stoned - 5:03

Mapleoak
*Stan Endersby - Guitar, Vocals
*Martin Fisher - Keyboards
*Peter Quaife - Bass
*Mick Cook - Drums
*Gordon Macbain - Drums

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The Great Society - Born to Be Burned (1965-66 us, classic west coast psych garage with young Grace Slick , Sundazed edition)

Before joining Jefferson Airplane, Grace Slick sang lead and played various instruments for the Great Society, who were nearly as popular as Jefferson Airplane in the early days of the San Francisco psychedelic scene. Instrumentally, the Great Society were not as disciplined as Airplane. 

But they were at least their equals in imagination, infusing their probing songwriting with Indian influences, minor key melodic shifts, and groundbreaking, reverb-soaked psychedelic guitar by Slick's brother-in-law, Darby Slick. Darby was also responsible for penning "Somebody to Love," which Grace brought with her to Airplane, who took it into the Top Five in 1967. the Great Society broke up in late 1966.

by Richie Unterberger 

Tracks
1. Free Advice (Darby Slick) - 2:29
2. Someone To Love (Darby Slick) - 3:03
3. You Can't Cry (David Miner) - 2:32
4. That's How It Is (David Miner) - 2:27
5. Girl (David Miner) - 2:09
6. Where (David Miner) - 2:10
7. Heads Up (Grace Slick) - 1:17
8. Free Advice (Alternate Version #2, Darby Slick) - 2:06
9. Father Bruce (Grace Slick, Darby Slick, Jerry Slick, David Miner) - 3:07
10.Born To Be Burned (Darby Slick, Jerry Slick) - 2:05
11.Double Triptamine Superautomatic Everlovin' Man (David Miner) - 1:55
12.Love You Girl (David Miner) - 3:06
13.That's How It Is (Alternate Version, David Miner) - 2:22
14.Right To Me (David Miner) - 3:04
15.Where (Alternate Version, David Miner) - 2:13
16.Free Advice (Alternate Version #1, Darby Slick) - 2:09
17.Daydream-Nightmare-Love (David Miner) - 3:17

The Great Society
*Darby Slick - Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Grace Slick - Vocals, Guitar,
*David Miner - Vocals, Guitar
*Jerry Slick - Drums
*Bard Dupont - Bass

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