In 1969 Phafner was born. The group released this record in 1971. The only problem was that they produced only fifty copies of the album. Recently this LP sold for $3000.00.
This group was an advanced psychedelic-rock unit. Their sound was not given its due on this recording however. The sound is in fact, below average. The music is allowed to drown out the vocals, and by and large it sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. With a little loving care, and another good mix down, this album would sound incredible.
I must give full credit to the group…musically they were absolutely excellent. I think with another shot in the studio to remaster this recording, Phafner could be appreciated as a legend of psychedelic rock as they so justly deserve. by Keith Hannaleck
Tracks 1. Plea From The Soul (Dale Shultz) - 5:30 2. Uncle Jerry (G. Smith, S. Smith) - 4:32 3. Wiskey Took My Woman (Phafner) - 5:38 4. Rock and Roll Man (D. Shultz, J. R. Shultz, G. Smith, S. Smith) - 2:59 5. Red Thumb (Phafner) - 4:22 6. Overdrive (Phafner) - 2:50
Phafner *Tommy Shultz - Bass *Steve "Gus" Gustafson - Drums *Dale Shultz - Guitar, Vocals *Steve "Spider" Smith - Lead Guitar *Greg "Smitty" Smith - Vocals, Harmonica
Heavy downer rock band, formed in mid seventies. Ivan Coutts (a keyboard player), when he split the Blacksmiths, in search of new blood to take it a step further, he met John Alexander a guitarist who was in a band called The Falling Leaves along with vocalist Richard Roffey.
Although their sound was a dark doom metal in likes of Black Sabbath or Black Widow, they did't have the chance to release a full length album, some recordings made between 1974-1977 and saw the light of day in 2002 by this specific issue.
Tracks
1. Jasmin Queen - 4.26
2. Explorer - 5.51
3. Face Of The Sun - 6.10
4. Warlord - 3.48
5. Lady Killer - 5.10
6. (as The Blacksmiths) - To The Devil A Daughter - 3.29
7. Devil Drink - 4.23
8. Wild Africa - 7.05
9. I See The Warlord - 4.47
10.Face Of The Sun - 4.45
11.The Ring - 4.12
12.Warlord Part II - 2.19
Released within a matter of months of the debut, "It's a Long Way Down" proved an even better effort. With managers Traynor and Seidal again co-producing, musically the album wasn't a major stylistic change from the debut offering up another mix of folk rock, pop and psych moves.
That said, the overall results were far more consistent and tighter than the debut, the band having apparently gained considerable confidence in the studio. Adding Jack Lauritsen to the songwriting collective, ballads such as the acid soaked 'Horn Playing on My Thin Wall', 'Look to the Sun' and the heavily orchestrated 'One of the Few Ones Left' were to-kill-for numbers showcasing the band's commercial side.
Elsewhere, material such as the lead off track 'Poor Old Man', 'Something You Can Hide In' and 'I'll Drive You from My Mind' underscored the band's trippier edge with great fuzz guitar, stabbing organs and droning vocals. All told it's easy to see why this one's become a sought after and high priced collectable.
Unfortunately, unhappy with the band's harder edged sound and ongoing lack of sales Roulette quickly dropped them from its recording roster and by the end of 1969 the members had called it quits. (The album was originally released with a gatefold sleeve.)
Tracks
1. Poor Old Man (J. Bryant, H. Danchik, J. Lauritsen) - 3:41
2. Horn Playing On My Thin Wall (J. Bryant, J. Lauritsen) - 4:25
3. Something You Can Hide In (J. Bryant) - 3:59
4. Tell Me A Story (H. Danchik) - 0:22
5. Silent Garden (H. Danchik) - 1:54
6. Look To The Sun (J. Bryant, J. Lauritsen) - 3:46
7. Left (J. Bryant) - 2:50
8. I Really Love My Mother (H. Danchik) - 1:07
9. Look At The Wind (J. Bryant, J. Lauritsen) - 4:04
10.Didn't I (J. Bryant) - 2:55
11.It's A Long Way Down (J. Bryant) - 2:45
12.I'll Drive You From My Mind (J. Bryant) - 4:19
Based in Washington, D.C., guitarist Wally Cook had been a member of The Young Rabbits. In 1965 he hooked up with singer/bassist Jack Bryant and Charlie Jones to form The Disciples. Within a matter of months they became The Uncalled, followed by a shift to The Fallen Angels.
The name changes were accompanied by a series of personnel changes, resulting in a line up consisting of Bryant, Cook, keyboardist Howard Danchik, drummer Richard Kumer and guitarist Jack Lauritsen. Under the tutelage of managers Barry Seidel and Tony Traynor (who'd previously managed Kumer in The Mad Hatters) 1967 saw the group signed by Laurie Records.
Switching to the New York based Roulette Records, saw the band release their first LP - 1968's "The Fallen Angels". For their part Roulette executives were probably hoping to repeat their Tommy James and the Shondells successes. Boy were the in for a rude surprise. With Seidel and Traynor producing, the band turned in an overlooked psychedelic classic.
Largely written by Bryant and Danchik, material such as "Room At the Top", "Introspective Looking Glass" and "Your Friends Here In Dundeville" was full of hazy lyrics, weird timings, fuzz guitar and sound effects - simply too progressive for mainstream consumption. Mind you, the set wasn't perfect. Bryant's voice was best described as anonymous.
Also of concern, at this point in time the trippy lyrics weren't likely to do much for radio airplay. Add to that the fact Seidel's horn arrangements were dull, needless and distracting. Still, the overall results were well worth hearing.
Tracks
1. Room At the Top (J. Bryant) - 2:35
2. Love, Don't Talk To Strangers (J. Bryant, H. Danchik) - 1:52
3. Your Friends Here In Dundeville (J. Bryant) - 2:23
4. I've Been Thinking (J. Bryant, H. Danchik) - 1:46
5. It Might Be Easier To Stay Home (J. Bryant, H. Danchik) - 2:07
6. Most Children Do (J. Bryant, H. Danchik) - 3:10
7. Introspective Looking Glass (H. Danchik) - 2:25
8. I Don't Want To Fall (J. Bryant, H. Danchik) - 2:18
9. No Way Out (J. Bryant, H. Danchik) - 2:39
10.Painted Bird (J. Bryant, H. Danchik) - 2:20
11.Your Mother's Homesick Too (G. Meler Jr., R. Decker) - 2:17
12.You Have Changed (H. Danchik) -2 :27
The Amazing Rhythm Aces were formed in Memphis in 1974 by bassist Jeff Davis and drummer Butch McDade, who had earlier recorded and toured with the great singer/songwriter Jesse Winchester. After striking out on their own, Davis and McDade enlisted vocalist/guitarist Russell Smith, keyboardist Billy Earheart, Dobro player Barry Burton, and pianist James Hooker to develop a sound composed of equal parts pop, country, and blue-eyed soul.
Their debut album is an edgy effort, rooted in a purer Southern sound, and embracing a soulfulness that their West Coast rivals lacked. The country gospel tune "Life's Railway to Heaven," the funky "The 'Ella B'," the stomping "Hit the Nail on the Head," and the soulful "The Beautiful Lie" would never have been done in as raw, intense, or bracing a fashion by their rivals.
Russell Smith brings a vocal performance to Charlie Rich's "Who Will the Next Fool Be" that sounds like he's channeling the ghost of Sam Cooke. And between those album highlights and the hits "Third Rate Romance" and "Amazing Grace (Used to Be Her Favorite Song)," the group works in a sweetly nostalgic piece called "King of the Cowboys," all about movie and television heroes.
The groups second album is only slightly less inventive than its first, still very countrified compared to most country-rock, and more soulful than most of the competition. The numbers range from rocking stompers like "Typical American Boy" to the lyrical "If I Just Know What to Say," with room in between for some fine western numbers ("The End Is Not in Sight," "Out of the Snow") -- the former a Grammy-winning country tune, the latter a beautiful mandolin workout -- and novelty songs ("A Little Italy Rag").
by Jason Ankeny and Bruce Eder
Tracks
1. Third Rate Romance - 3:17
2. The 'Ella B' - 4:33
3. Life's Railway To Heaven - 4:20
4. The Beautiful Lie (Butch Mcdade) - 2:54
5. Hit The Nail On The Head - 2:22
6. Who Will The Next Fool Be (Charlie Rich) - 2:48
7. Amazing Grace (Used To Be Her Favorite Song) - 3:17
8. Anything You Want (Russell Smith, James H. Brown Jr.) - 3:48
9. My Tears Still Flow - 3:25
10.Emma Jean - 2:47
11.Why Can't I Be Satisfied - 3:03
12.King Of The Cowboys (Russell Smith, James H. Brown Jr.) - 4:01
13.Typical American Boy (Russell Smith, James H. Brown Jr.) - 3:30
14.If I Just Knew What To Say (Stuart Wright) - 2:06
15.The End Is Not In Sight (The Cowboy Tune) - 3:51
16.Same Ol' Me (Butch Mcdade) - 2:24
17.These Dreams Of Losing You (Russell Smith, James H. Brown Jr.) - 3:29
18.I'll Be Gone - 2:54
19.Out Of The Snow - 3:39
20.Fool For The Woman - 2:43
21.A Little Italy Rag - 2:21
22.Dancing The Night Away (Russell Smith, James H. Brown Jr.) - 5:38
All tracks written by Russell Smith unless stated
It’s not often that someone gets to live a dream, have it fade away, then live it again four decades later. But that’s what happened for the members of Northern California’s Afterglow. Back in the summer of 1967, they went to San Francisco (in The Summer Of Love no less) and recorded an album that was released on a national label. Then, almost 40 years after they’d given up hope that the record would have any impact on the world, they came to realise that… well… it actually had.
Larry Alexander – the band’s drummer and the member who first came to the revelation that at least some people did know and value their music – tells the story of how Afterglow got together and how the self-titled record was made: “I was a senior in high school. Tony Tecumseh [songwriter and lead guitarist, who was about five years older than the rest of us, had started playing with a bass player and that guy’s wife, in a county in Oregon just across the state border.
They were looking for a drummer and somebody told them about me, so I went up and auditioned for them. Then we decided we needed a singer and rhythm guitar player, so we found Gene Resler, who was singing in a church choir. The couple that had started the band with Tony eventually quit, so we found Ron George [bass] and Roger Swanson [keyboards], who were at that time playing in another band. “We all went to junior college together, then we all went on to Chico State University. All during that time we remained friends, and were playing music together. Some friends we knew who had a band had been down to San Francisco and made a demo at Golden State Recorders, so they told the people there about us.
We sent them a demo tape and they invited us to come down and audition for them. They told us to go back home and come up with 20 original tunes and come back when we were ready. So we did that and we went down and did the recordings. “Leo De Gar Kulka was the owner/producer/engineer of Golden State Recorders. He would sign bands up and have them record at his studio, and then he would try and sell the masters to the major labels. This was the first time any of us had ever been in San Francisco. We were just some country bumpkins who didn’t have a manager or anything, and we’d never been in a professional recording studio before.
We were serious about everything though. Serious about the music and about our friendships. This was an emotional experience for us, making those recordings.” The album, originally released in ’68 on MTA Records, is an endearingly innocent and often tuneful collection of songs fuelled by sweet harmonies and a fresh, breezy feel. Some cheesy Farfisa and the occasional odd time signature give it a subtle garage/experimental feel, and the eerie ‘Susie’s Gone’ is a spacey freakout that could be The Fifty-Foot Hose or The United States Of America.
But for the most part, a gentle touch and hummable melody is what drives the record – it sounds like Preflyteera Byrds meets ‘Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow’ Strawberry Alarm Clock. ‘Riding Home Again’, which enjoyed heavy local airplay around the band’s home turf, is an irresistible, happy-making jewel that really should have been included on the Nuggets box.
by Brian Greene
Tracks
1. Morning - 2:05
2. Dream Away - 2:33
3. Susie's Gone (B. Boots) - 2:29
4. Mend This Heart of Mine (Gene Resler) - 2:37
5. Afternoon - 1:59
6. Chasing Rainbows - 1:49
7. By My Side - 1:54
8. It's a Wonder - 2:28
9. Love - 3:02
10.Riding Home Again - 2:34
11.Meadowland of Love - 2:23
12.Susie's Gone (Mono) (B. Boots) - 2:32
13.Chasing Rainbows - 1:51
14.Afternoon - 1:48
15.Morning - 2:11
All songs by Tony Tecumseh except where noted
The group seems to be reduced to a trio of Bob Markley and the Harris' brothers. Although not credited Ron Morgan played the distinctive Lead guitar. Again, either Hal Blaine or Jimmy Gordon played the drums.
Michael Lloyd has left to initiate other projects, and Bob Markley, the former tambourine player, was now firmly in command although he wasn't a musician himself.
The Mono versions of the above feature strikingly different mixes are essential. "In the Arena" opens with a mix of spoken word and cool guitar riffs. "Suppose They Give a War and No One Comes" seems contrived for the era, but at this point in time it plays as a freaky and enjoyable novelty. "Smell of Incense" settles down for a gorgeous folk-psych-pop track.
"Queen Nymphet" is mellow and harmonious enough to pass on the surface as a track by The Association, until one listens to the deliberately subversive lyrics. The album's a pleasure from end to end, as long as you're willing to immerse yourself in the weirdness of the psychedelic era. This edition of the album includes the mono single mixes and edits of "Smell of Incense" and "Unfree Child."
Tracks
1. In The Arena - 4:10
2. Suppose They Give A War And No One Comes (Markley, Bryan) - 3:38
3. Buddha - 2:05
4. Smell Of Incense (Markley, Morgan) - 5:47
5. Overture / Wcpaeb Part II - 1:28
6. Queen Nymphet - 2:19
7. Unfree Child - 3:58
8. Carte Blanche - 2:42
9. Delicate Fawn - 2:30
10. Tracy Had A Hard Day Sunday - 4:35
All songs written by Bob Markley, Shaun Harris except where indicated
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
*Bob Markley - Vocals, Composer, Producer
*Dan Harris - Guitar, Vocals
*Shaun Harris - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*Ron Morgan - Guitar
*Hal Blaine - Drums
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's first album for Reprise was the best of the group's career, in large part because it was the most song-oriented. It was still plenty weird, almost to the point of stylistic schizophrenia, but when you got down to it, much of the record was comprised of fairly catchy songs in the neighborhood of two and three minutes.
At times they sounded like reasonably normal, fairly talented Byrds-like folk-rockers ("Transparent Day," P.F. Sloan's "Here's Where You Belong"); at others, a Kinks-like garage band ("If You Want This Love"); and at others, a fey Baroque pop outfit (the orchestrated "Will You Walk With Me").
There was an undercurrent of unsettling weirdness and even paranoia, though, in some cuts with otherwise pleasing tunes, like "Shifting Sands," with its sizzling distorted guitars; "I Won't Hurt You," with its heartbeat bass and disconnected vocals; and "Leiyla," where a standard teen garage rocker suddenly gets invaded by spoken dialog that seems to have been lifted from a vampire B-movie.
The cover of Frank Zappa's "Help, I'm a Rock" flung them into freakier pastures, emulated convincingly on the group original "1906," an apt soundtrack to a bummer acid trip with its constant spoken refrain, "I don't feel well." It's true that all but one of these songs (the nondescript "'Scuse Me, Miss Rose," written by famed Bob Dylan/Johnny Cash/Simon & Garfunkel producer Bob Johnston) is on the Transparent Day compilation.
But there are good reasons to consider buying the Sundazed 2001 CD reissue: The thorough liner notes start to unravel the history of this mysterious band, and mono single mixes of "Help, I'm a Rock" and "Transparent Day" are tacked on as bonus tracks.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Shifting Sands (Baker Knight) - 3:55
2. I Won't Hurt You (Shaun Harris, Michael Lloyd, Bob Markley) - 2:24
3. 1906 (Bob Markley) - 2:21
4. Help, I'm a Rock (Frank Zappa) - 4:26
5. Will You Walk With Me (Dan Harris) - 3:01
6. Transparent Day (Shaun Harris, Bob Markley) - 2:18
7. Leiyla (Shaun Harris, Bob Markley) - 2:55
8. Here's Where You Belong (P.F. Sloan) - 2:50
9. If You Want This Love (Baker Knight) - 2:52
10.'Scuse Me Miss Rose (Bob Johnston) - 3:03
11.High Goin' (Van Dyke Parks) - 2:04
12.Transparent Day (Single Version) (Shaun Harris, Bob Markley) - 2:22
13.Help, I'm a Rock (Single Version) (Frank Zappa) - 2:15
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
*Hal Blaine - Drums
*Kenny Bobo - Vocals
*Dan Harris - Guitar
*Shaun Harris - Bass, Vocals
*Michael Lloyd - Guitar, Vocals
*Ron Morgan - Guitar
*Bob Markley - Composer
Despite an ever-increasing following from collectors since their demise, for the past thirty years the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band have stubbornly resisted attempts to uncover the truth behind their mythology. Almost every aspect of the group seems to beg unanswered questions.
To begin with there was the name itself. Long and unwieldy, it seemed designed to defy recollection and sink the heart of poster designers everywhere. Was it a six-word manifesto of creative intent, or simply a cynical attempt to climb aboard the 'psychedelic' bandwagon? Then there were the song credits and album photos, according to which a certain Bob Markley was the band's driving force, a position seemingly confirmed by the appearance of his final 'solo' LP: 'A Group'.
Yet, somewhat confusingly, on the back of that album's sleeve there appeared - for the first time since the band's debut on the Fifo label - pictures of all four original members. Last, and definitely not least, there were the songs themselves. Along the way the music encompassed almost every musical genre - harmonic guitar pop, acoustic folk, psychedelic rock, jazz and avant-garde; and then there were those extraordinary lyrics - some starkly political, others naive and child-like; at times dark and sinister, at others simply insane.
As Brian Hogg observed in his sleeve notes to Edsel's mid-80s compilation 'Transparent Day': "(t)here are few groups as enigmatic, as mysterious or as plain contradictory..." This article does not pretend to be a definitive account of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - indeed, it now seems clear that some questions will never properly be answered - but the story which emerges is fascinating nevertheless, not least as an insight into how extraordinary music could emerge from a group driven by internal conflicts and held in the thrall of a man driven by dubious motives.
This album was originally issued in 1966 on the tiny "FIFO" label, which was a Hollywood concern specializing mainly in R&B. Probably only 100 or so were ever made!
A mint original copy of this LP was sold in '95 to a private collector for a substantial sum, who in turn reissued it (unauthorized, of course) on LP and CD. The CD featured three songs as bonus tracks that had turned up on the Raspberry Sawfly "Legendary Unreleased Album" bootleg from 1980, the excellent Sassafras and Obviously Bad (released as a single under the name California Spectrum in 1967) and a cover of the Left Banke's She May Call You Up Tonight.
It seems that much of the material was already completed by the time Markley became involved. However, the inclusion of certain tracks - 'Don't Break My Balloon' [a prime example of Bob's 'singing'] and 'If You Want This Love' - indicates that he must have had some influence over the sessions and, more to the point, their subsequent release on vinyl.
The rudimentary album included contemporary hits and original compositions and was recorded in a self-made studio in a strore-front place on San Vincente, just outside of Beverly Hills.
by Tim Forster
Tracks
1. Something You Got (Chris Kenner) - 2:53
2. Work Song (Oscar Brown, Nat Adderley) - 2:11
3. Louie, Louie (Richard Berry) - 2:46
4. Don't Break My Balloon (Bob Markley) - 3:12
5. You Really Got Me (Ray Davies) - 3:05
6. Don't Let Anything!!! Stand In Your Way (Markley, Kim Fowley) - 2:12
7. I Won't Hurt You (Michael Lloyd, Shaun Harris, Markley) - 2:10
8. If You Want This Love (Sonny Knight) - 1:33
9. Insanity (Markley, Fowley)
10.It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan) - 3:02
11.She Belongs To Me (Dylan) - 1:53
12.She Surely Must Know (Lloyd, Shaun Harris) - 1:57
13.Sassafras (Dan Harris, Lloyd, Shaun Harris) - 1:59
14.She May Call You Up Tonight (Michael Brown, Steve Martin) - 2:25
15.One Day (Lloyd) - 2:01
16.Funny How Love Can Be (John Carter, Ken Harper) - 1:38
17.Obviously Bad (Lloyd, Shaun Harris) - 1:30
18.Endless Night (Shaun Harris) - 2:15
19.Tell Me What You Want To Know (Lloyd) - 1:46
20.Just You & Me (Lloyd) - 1:54
21.Chimes Of Freedom (Dylan) - 3:03
22.Scuse Me Miss Rose (Bob Johnston) - 2:37
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
*Bob Markley - Vocals
*Shaun Harris - Bass Guitar
*Dan Harris - Guitar, Vocals
*Michael Lloyd - Guitar, Vocals
From the mid-'60s through the early '70s, Alan Bown's bands had played in a variety of styles that were popular in the U.K. during that period without achieving wide popularity, although they were among the more respected musicians on the scene. This wasn't entirely due to bad luck.
Their songs weren't as impressive as their chops, and their shifting stylistic identity probably also worked against them with the record-buying public. This record found Bown very much in a progressive phase, favoring long, shifting compositions (all written by Alan Bown and Jeff Bannister save for John Anthony Helliwell's "Turning Point" and a cover of Richie Havens' "Up Above My Hobby Horse's Head") that must have been hell in some respects to play by memory.
As the liner notes to the 2010 CD reissue rightly point out, there were some similarities to British progressive rock groups like Traffic and Procol Harum, though these were on the slight side and tended to be found on the more reflective compositions. Some of Frank Zappa's influence could also be heard on the lengthy "Turning Point," particularly in the horn sections.
The horn parts are generally the most distinctive aspects the record, which otherwise is a little on the unmemorable early-'70s progressive rock side, though with a jazzier flavor than usual owing to the horns. The 2010 CD reissue on Esoteric adds a bonus track, "Thru the Night," that appeared on the 1971 Island sampler El Pea; it's punchier and more soul-influenced than the songs on the LP, and was written by Helliwell, who would join Supertramp.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. The Messenger - 7:56
2. Find a Melody - 5:18
3. Up Above My Hobby Horse's Head (R. Havens) - 4:23
4. Turning Point (The Alan Bown, Antony) - 7:12
5. Build Me a Stage 3:31
6. Stretching out 8:27
7. Through The Night (J. Anthony) - 4:16
All compositions by Alan Bown, Jeff Bannister except where stated.
