Singer guitarist Smith was apparently a member of various Los Angeles-based bands including The Lid and Silverskin. It would also be interesting to learn how he came to be signed by the L.A.-based Kent Records which was better known for it's R&B recording roster.
Although 1970's "The Visit" featured support from eight musicians (including Darryl Dragon (credited as Captain Keyboard)) and Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston), the focus was clearly on namesake Bob Smith. In addition to handling all of the vocals and lead guitar, Smith wrote all 14 tracks, arranged, directed, and along with Mark Taylor, co-produced the album.
Musically the set was quite diverse, taking credible stabs at pop, blues ('Source You Blues'), hard rock, psych, jazz ('Ocean Song') and even occasional detours into outright experimentation.
Luckily aural experiments such as the instrumental 'Indian Summer' were far and few between, leaving most of the set with a surprisingly commercial sheen. Exemplified by tracks like the harpsichord-propelled 'Please' and 'The Wishing Song' Smith had one of those flexible and likable voices that allowed him to find a nice balance between commercial and non-commercial moves.
Material like 'Constructive Critique' and 'Source Your Blues' also demonstrated Smith was quite an accomplished guitarist. Personal favorites included the opener 'Please', 'Don't Tell Lady Tonight' and the scorching rocker 'Can You Jump Rope'. (Anyone seen the John Kress poster insert that came with the album? It's supposedly quite cool.) Bottom line; this one's a keeper that should be in every psych collector's stash. Bad-cat
Tracks
1. Please - 2:08
2. Don't Tell Lady Tonight - 3:10
3. Constructive Critique - 4:40
4. Ocean Song - 4:50
5. The Wishing Song - 5:04
6. Can You Jump Rope - 5:48
7. Latter Days Matter - 3:29
8. Indian Summer (Instrumental - 7:55
9. Source You Blues - 6:02
10.Sunlight Sweet - 3:04
11.Of She, Of Things - 3:16
12.Mobeda Dandelion - 3:13
13.The Path Does Have Force - 5:23
14.Try, Try To Understand Yourself - 4:14
All compositions by Bob Smith
Collection of songs from 1968 onwards from Scottish folk rockers String Driven Thing. This charts their transition from the three-piece band of Chris Adams (vocals guitar), Pauline Adams (tambourine, vocals) and John Mannion (guitar) to the addition of Grahame Smith on violin and Colin Wilson on bass guitar, which, after John Mannion left, would form the basis of the line-up that signed to Charisma for the two classic albums and the legendary sacking off the Genesis' Foxtrot tour for going down better than the main band (Genesis).
This release fills in the gap between the band forming in 1968 and the four other String Driven Thing CD albums on Ozit-Morpheus Records, "In the Studio '72", "The Machine That Cried", "Suicide Live In Berlin) and Chris Adams' "The Damage").
The Early Years plunders both the LP and the demos to paint a vivid picture of the group's development over that period. Ten tracks are lifted from String Driven the rest are acoustic demos that leave the story poised on the edge of the band's major-label promotion.
Tracks
1. July Morning - 02:23
2. Say what You Like - 02:38
3. Magic Garden - 03:06
4. Wonderful Places - 03:00
5. I Don't Wanna Wake Up - 02:54
6. City Man - 03:02
7. Another Night in this Old City - 03:05
8. That's My Lady - 02:51
9. Catch as Catch Can - 03:40
10.No More You and I - 02:34
11.Lie Back and Let It Happen - 03:23
12.One of the Lonely People - 04:34
13.Winter Is Coming - 04:14
14.Regent St. Incident - 04:03
15.Jack Diamond - 03:57
16.Argyle St. - 03:55
17.Old Love New Love - 03:27
All song by Chris Adams Bonus Tracks 13-17
Rising above any number of recently unearthed late-60s anglo-pop platters, the sole offering from small town Massachuesetts phenomenon Lazy Smoke is a cohesive, solid, classic album in every sense.
While bands like The Beatles and The Left Banke were singing about love, lament and hallucinated travel experiences, the songs on "Corridor Of Faces" get sincerely dark right away.
One of the biggest collectables of the late-80s. This record is good enough that it's become the shorthand everyone uses when describing any 60s record that's remotely hazy.
Tracks
1. All These Years - 3:28
2. How Was Your Day Last Night? - 1:51
3. Come With The Day - 2:49
4. Salty People - 4:39
5. Jackie-Marie - 2:58
6. Under Skys - 4:16
7. Sarah Saturday 2:47
8. There Was A Time - 2:01
9. Am I Wrong? - 3:37
10.How Did You Die? - 3:16
11.I Don't Need The Sun - 1:19
12.Changing The Time - 1:36
13.I Could Fall Asleep - 1:14
14.Wait Till You See - 2:57
15.Scarecrow - 2:08
16.All These Years - 2:46
17.Come With The Day - 2:15
18.Salty People - 3:16
19.Jackie-Marie - 2:56
20.There Was A Time - 1:38
21.Sarah Saturday - 2:14
22.Am I Wrong? - 3:24 Tracks 11-22 Unplugged Demos
Lazy Smoke
*John Pollano - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Ralph Mazzotta - Guitar, Vocals
*Bob Door - Bass
*John Villanucci - Piano
*Ray Charron - Drums
Out Of The Storm is Jack Bruce yet again taking a different path. No one can accuse this man of being redundant as he leaves behind the hard rock of Whatever Turns You On from his 1973 work with West, Bruce & Laing and takes on Steely Dan with a track like "Keep On Wondering."
The problem with West, Bruce & Laing is that they should have been the back-up band providing Jack Bruce the vehicle to express his artistry. "Keep It Down" would have been a tremendous track for WBL, and Lou Reed/Alice Cooper guitarist Steve Hunter provides the tasteful licks which Leslie West would've used a sledgehammer to find. The title track is real introspection with more "I" references than found on a page in a Marie Osmond autobiography.
Bruce uses the rock format to sing the poetry that he and long time collaborator Peter Brown have crafted here. When played next to his other albums, from Things We Like to Monkjack, as well as the aforementioned Leslie West collaborations, the indellible voice of Jack Bruce is found to belong, not to a chameleon, but to a true changeling. In an industry that resists change, his music evolves in relentless fashion, switching formats as efficiently and quickly as he switches record labels.
While Eric Clapton achieves the acclaim, it is Jack Bruce who delivers a novel and totally original title like "One" with a vocal that moves from cabaret to blues to soul. The man has one of the most powerful and identifiable rock & roll voices, and his body of work is overpowering. "One" has the drums of Jim Gordon and another venture into the Procul Harum sound Bruce has toyed with over various albums in different ways.
Out Of The Storm is another excellent chapter with Steve Hunter showing proficiency and remarkable restraint. Robin Trower, Mick Taylor, Leslie West, Eric Clapton and so many other guitar greats have put their sound next to Jack Bruce's voice, and this is Steve Hunter aiding and abetting, but not getting in the way of Bruce's creative pop/jazz.
by Joe Viglione
Tracks
1. Pieces Of Mind - 5:39
2. Golden Days - 5:14
3. Running Through Our Hands(Jack Bruce, Janet Godfrey) - 4:14
4. Keep On Wondering - 3:10
5. Keep It Down - 3:46
6. Into The Storm - 4:45
7. One - 5:03
8. Timeslip - 6:33
9. Pieces Of Mind - 3:34
10.Keep On Wondering - 3:15
11.Keep It Down - 4:26
12.Into The Storm - 5:42
13.One - 4:57
All lyrics written by Peter Brown, Music by Jack Bruce except where indicated
Musicians
*Jack Bruce - Bass Guitar, Piano, Clavinet, Vocals, Electric Piano, Organ, Harmonium, Harmonica
*Jim Gordon - Drums
*Jim Keltner - Drums
*Steve Hunter - Guitar
This is a very intriguing release from Alexander's (San Diego-Based) Timeless Bloozband. I picked up the record on the basis that it was mentioned in one of the early issues of the pioneering rock mag "Crawdaddy!" and was immediately drawn in by the fantastic cover art. Seriously, this has got to be one of my favorite record sleeves of all time. Great colors and a wonderful image of the sad-eyed lady in the wicker chair with the band's name spelled out in psychedelic letters-- "timeless", indeed!
With such a welcoming image, surely the tunes inside had to great, right?
Well, the music here does start off in fine fashion with a hard blues titled "Love So Strong", which apparently was the single though I don't think it ever charted. This winning number segues nicely into the album's real highlight, the jazzy "Horn Song", which musically is very much in line with what bands like The Electric Flag were doing at the time. (We'll call it psychedelic jazz blues, for lack of a better term.) The lyrics on this one are delivered at a rapid pace and contain a well-worded, anti-authoritarian message very much in line with the prevailing cynical mindset of your average 1968 street urchin. A fantastic song that would make great fodder for any forward-thinking late-60's compilationist.
At this point upon first hearing I thought maybe I'd unearthed a genuine lost classic, but regrettably the quality of the songwriting does drop a notch or two from here on, though the musicianship remains fantastic throughout. Instrumentally, their line-up consisted of a vocalist who I'm guessing also plays the blues harp and flute, lead guitar (very Mike Bloomfield-esque), electric piano, bass and drums. As mentioned previously, tight musicianship is the order of the day, and the album sounds as if it was recorded live in the studio.
For a good summation of what the Bloozband were about, one could use the song "Swanannoa Tunnel" which takes the traditional blues form and re-works it into something quite new (for its time) via haunting wordless backing vocals and rapid-fire drumming. There's even a bit of harp/ guitar duetting going on at the end here. Songwise, "Swanannoa" definitely seems like it may have been the band's on-stage highlight. Despite their moniker, the Bloozband were really better at this sort of psych/ jazz rock sound then they were at the straight blues stuff.
Much of the album's second side is unmemorable, though once again it bears mention that the playing here is quite fine. The drummer in particular impresses, while the weak link remains the vocalist, who while adequate on the mellower stuff veers close to embarrassing on the trio of blues howlers-- "Rosie", "Darlin'" and "Help Me".
Overall my high expectations for this record were somewhat met, but in the end the experience was a little lacking. Alexander's Timeless Bloozband were definitely a second-tier act in the face of such heavy competition as The Doors, Yardbirds or The Electric Flag (to name three bands similar in mood and approach). Yet nevertheless they were still a crack band who contributed one stone cold classic to the pantheon in "Horn Song". Therefore, I recommended For Sale to fans of the sixties' blues rock and psych, particularly if you can get the LP for cheap on the used market.
by Jasonbear
Tracks
1. Love So Strong - 2:17
2. Horn Song - 3:33
3. Plastic Is Organic - 2:37
4. Swannanoa Tunnel - 3:54
5. Rosie - 2:42
6. Front Man - 3:00
7. Tight Rope Walker - 3:24
8. Life - 3:30
9. Darlin' - 2:42
10.Help Me - 4:38
11.Firefly - 2:21
Alexander's Timeless Bloozband
*Charles Lamont
*Carl Lockhart
*Larry Marks
With a live version of "Crossroads" going Top 30 for Cream, Songs for a Tailor was released in 1969, showing many more sides of Jack Bruce. George Harrison (again using his L'Angelo Misterioso moniker) appears on the first track, "Never Tell Your Mother She's Out of Tune," though his guitar is not as prominent as the performance on "Badge."
The song is bass heavy with Colosseum members Dick Heckstall-Smith and Jon Hiseman providing a different flavor to what Bruce fans had become accustomed to. Hiseman drums on eight of the ten compositions, including "Theme From an Imaginary Western," the second track, and Jack Bruce's greatest hit that never charted. With "just" Chris Spedding on guitar and Jon Hiseman on drums, Bruce paints a masterpiece performing the bass, piano, organ, and vocals. The song is so significant it was covered by Mountain, Colosseum, and a Colosseum spin-off, Greenslade.
One has to keep in mind that the influential Blind Faith album was being recorded this same year (and according to the late Jimmy Miller, producer of that disc, Jack Bruce filled in for Rick Grech on some of the Blind Faith material). Bruce's omnipresence on the charts and in the studio gives the diversity on Songs for a Tailor that much more intrigue. "Tickets to Water Falls" and "Weird of Hermiston" feature the Hiseman/Spedding/Bruce trio, and though the wild abandon of Ginger Baker is replaced by Hiseman's jazz undercurrents, these are still basically two- to three-and-a-half-minute songs, not as extended as the material on Bruce's work on his John McLaughlin/Heckstall-Smith/Hiseman disc Things We Like recorded a year before this, but released two years after Songs for a Tailor in 1971. The history is important because this album is one of the most unique fusions of jazz with pop and contains less emphasis on the blues, a genre so essential to Bruce's career.
Indeed, "Theme From an Imaginary Western" is total pop. It is to Jack Bruce what "Midnight Rider" is to Greg Allman, a real defining moment. "Rope Ladder to the Moon" has that refreshing sparkle found on "Tickets to Water Falls" and "Weird of Hermiston," but Bruce has only John Marshall on drums and producer Felix Pappalardi adding some vocals while he provides cellos, vocals, guitar, piano, and bass. Side two goes back to the thick progressive sound of the first track on side one, and has a lot in common with another important album from this year, Janis Joplin's I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
Jack Bruce and Janis Joplin were two of the most familiar superstar voices on radio performing hard blues-pop. Joplin added horns to augment her expression the same time Jack Bruce was mixing saxes and trumpets to three tracks of this jazz/pop exploration. "He the Richmond" deviates from that, throwing a curve with Bruce on acoustic guitar, Pappalardi on percussion, and Marshall slipping in again on drums. But the short one minute and 44 second "Boston Ball Game, 1967" proves the point about the pop/jazz fusion succinctly and is a nice little burst of creativity.
"To Isengard" has Chris Spedding, Felix Pappalardi, and Jack Bruce on acoustic guitars, a dreamy folk tune until Hiseman's drums kick in on some freeform journey, Spedding's guitar sounding more like the group Roxy Music, which he would eventually join as a sideman, over the total jazz of the bass and drums. "The Clearout" has Spedding, Hiseman, and Bruce end the album with progressive pop slightly different from the other recordings here. As with 1971's Harmony Row, Peter Brown composed all the lyrics on Songs for a Tailor with Jack Bruce writing the music. A lyric sheet is enclosed and displays the serious nature of this project. It is picture perfect in construction, performance, and presentation.
by Joe Viglione
Tracks
1. Never Tell Your Mother She's Out Of Tune - 3:41
2. Theme For An Imaginary Western - 3:30
3. Tickets To Water Falls - 3:00
4. Weird Of Hermiston - 2:24
5. Rope Ladder To The Moon - 2:54
6. The Ministry Of Bag - 2:49
7. He The Richmond - 3:36
8. Boston Ball Game 1967 - 1:45
9. To Isengard - 5:28
10.The Clearout - 2:35
11.The Ministry Of Bag (Demo Version) - 3:47
12.Weird Of Hermiston (Alternate Mix) - 2:33
13.The Clearout (Alternate Mix) - 3:02
14.The Ministry Of Bag (Alternate Mix) - 2:54
All Lyrics written by Peter Brown, Music by Jack Bruce
Much of Who's Next derives from Lifehouse, an ambitious sci-fi rock opera Pete Townshend abandoned after suffering a nervous breakdown, caused in part from working on the sequel to Tommy.
There's no discernable theme behind these songs, yet this album is stronger than Tommy, falling just behind Who Sell Out as the finest record the Who ever cut. Townshend developed an infatuation with synthesizers during the recording of the album, and they're all over this album, adding texture where needed and amplifying the force, which is already at a fever pitch.
Apart from Live at Leeds, the Who have never sounded as LOUD and unhinged as they do here, yet that's balanced by ballads, both lovely ("The Song Is Over") and scathing ("Behind Blue Eyes"). That's the key to Who's Next -- there's anger and sorrow, humor and regret, passion and tumult, all wrapped up in a blistering package where the rage is as affecting as the heartbreak.
This is a retreat from the '60s, as Townshend declares the "Song Is Over," scorns the teenage wasteland, and bitterly declares that we "Won't Get Fooled Again." For all the sorrow and heartbreak that runs beneath the surface, this is an invigorating record, not just because Keith Moon runs rampant or because Roger Daltrey has never sung better or because John Entwistle spins out manic basslines that are as captivating as his "My Wife" is funny.
This is invigorating because it has all of that, plus Townshend laying his soul bare in ways that are funny, painful, and utterly life-affirming. That is what the Who was about, not the rock operas, and that's why Who's Next is truer than Tommy or the abandoned Lifehouse. Those were art -- this, even with its pretensions, is rock 'n' roll.
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracks
Disc one
1. Baba O'Riley - 5:01
2. Bargain - 5:33
3. Love Ain't For Keeping - 2:10
4. My Wife (John Entwistle)3:35
5. The Song Is Over - 6:17
6. Getting In Tune - 4:49
7. Going Mobile - 3:43
8. Behind Blue Eyes - 3:42
9. Won't Get Fooled Again - 8:35
10.Baby Don't You Do It (Longer Version) - 8:21
11.Getting In Tune - 6:36
12.Pure And Easy (Alternate Version) - 4:33
13.Love Ain't For Keeping (Electric Version, Townshend On Lead Vocals) - 4:06
14.Behind Blue Eyes (Alternate Version) - 3:30
15.Won't Get Fooled Again (Original New York Sessions Version) - 8:48
Disc two
1. Love Ain't For Keeping - 2:57
2. Pure and Easy - 6:00
3. Young Man Blues - 4:47
4. Time Is Passing - 3:59
5. Behind Blue Eyes - 4:49
6. I Don't Even Know Myself - 5:42
7. Too Much of Anything - 4:20
8. Getting in Tune - 6:42
9. Bargain - 5:46
10.Water - 8:19
11.My Generation - 2:58
12.Road Runner (Ellas McDaniel) - 3:14
13.Naked Eye - 6:21
14.Won't Get Fooled Again - 8:50
The Who
*Roger Daltrey – Lead Vocals, Harmonica
*Pete Townshend – Guitars, Organ, VCS3 And ARP Synthesiser, Backing Vocals, Piano, Vocals
*John Entwistle – Bass Guitar, Vocals, Piano
*Keith Moon – Drums, Percussion Additional Musicians
*Nicky Hopkins – Piano
*Dave Arbus – Violin
*Al Kooper – Organ
*Leslie West – Guitar
Many believe that all starts from a certain hit record by one of America’s pioneering and premiere ‘garage’ bands. Yes, it all kicked off with the raucous sound of ‘Louie Louie’ by The Kingsmen, a smash hit back in 1963. A combination of teenage angst and an insidious ‘hook line’ ensured the number would become a classic and inspiration to future generations of rockers.
The Kingsmen came from Portland, Oregon and were headed by singer Jack Ely and guitarist Mike Mitchell. ‘Louie Louie’ was their debut single, written by Richard Berry and recorded by him way back in 1957. The Kingsmen’s version got to Number 2 in the US chart and proved a Top 30 hit in the UK in 1964.
Although the group was the subject of internal dissent after their first big hit, they went on to enjoy more chart success with such songs as ‘Money’ and ‘The Jolly Green Giant’, both included on this 20 track compilation.
Tracks
1. Louie Louie - 2:46
2. Haunted Castle - 2:48
3. Money - 2:31
4. Little Latin Lupe Lu - 2:27
5. Death of an Angel - 2:35
6. The Jolly Green Giant - 1:59
7. Long Green - 2:39
8. The Climb - 2:32
9. Annie Fanny - 2:07
10.Trouble - 2:23
11.Killer Joe - 2:19
12.The Gamma Coochee - 2:11
13.Little Green Thing - 2:00
14.Little Sally Tease - 2:56
15.Give Her Lovin' - 1:48
16.The Wolf of Manhattan - 2:35
17.Long Tall Texan - 2:47
18.You Can't Sit Down - 3:01
19.New Orleans - 2:25
20.Let the Good Times Roll - 1:53
Mandrill’s first three albums were recorded at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios in New York’s Greenwich Village. Their reputation as a “World Music Group” and “Champions for Peace” began with their self-titled debut album, which contained the epic composition titled “Peace and Love.”
This amazing suite was performed by the group accompanied by the Symphony of the New World, an 80-piece orchestra, and a 200-voice chorus to a Standing Room Only audience at Philharmonic Hall in New York City.
Their sophomore release Mandrill Is contained the single “Get It All” and the cosmic anthem “Ape is High.” The third album, Composite Truth, released in 1973, propelled Mandrill’s popularity around the globe with their jam-heavy funk rhythms encapsulated in the song “Fencewalk.” Their freewheeling approach influenced peers such as Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth Wind & Fire and others.
As their popularity grew, so did their appearances on all of the major music TV shows. Mandrill performed on both of Don Kirshner’s series, In Concert and Rock Concert. On numerous occasions they appeared on Soul Train with Don Cornelius, Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack, Soul! with Ellis Haizlip and Like It Is with Gil Noble.
Tracks
1. Ape Is High - 5:32
2. Cohello - 1:50
3. Git It All - 4:30
4. Children Of The Sun - 5:00
5. I Refuse To Smile - 4:05
6. Universal Rhythms - 3:24
7. Lord Of The Golden Baboon - 3:33
8. Central Park - 4:05
9. Kofijahm - 3:25
10.Here Today Gone Tomorrow - 4:30
11.The Sun Must Go Down - 3:17
All Songs written and arranged by Mandrill
Graham's second effort, a trip between counrty rock to folk and back to classic forms, Prison song is one of these songs that sticks in your mind and absorb it like the earth smack every drop of the rain, this song was one of my favorites that time and even now gives me the same gentle sentiments.
Graham Nash is from a unique era of singer songwriters who created an amazing musical legacy. This album is a fine example of the closing period of that special era and well worth investigating.
Tracks
1. Wild Tales – 2:18
2. Hey You (Looking At The Moon) – 2:14
3. Prison Song – 3:10
4. You'll Never Be The Same – 2:48
5. And So It Goes – 4:48
6. Grave Concern – 2:45
7. Oh! Camil (The Winter Soldier) – 2:51
8. I Miss You – 3:04
9. On The Line – 2:35
10.Another Sleep Song – 4:43
All Tracks composed by Graham Nash
Musicians
*Graham Nash - Acoustic, Electric Rhythm Guitar, Electric Piano, Harmonica, Vocals
*Johnny Barbata - Drums
*Joel Bernstein - Acoustic Guitar
*David Crosby - Vocals
*Tim Drummond - Bass
*Harry Halex - Electric Piano, Acoustic Guitar
*Ben Keith - Pedal Steel Guitar, Dobro
*David Lindley - Electric Slide Guitar, Mandolin
*David Mason - Twelve String Guitar
*Joni Mitchell - Vocal
*Joe Yankee (aka Neil Young) - Acoustic Piano
