Key Largo - Key Largo (1970 uk, fine blues rock with jazzy mood, 2004 remaster)

"Key Largo may best be described as a group of musicians seeking to create something fresh and unique within the supposed musical boundaries of what most people would simply term blues" state the sleeve notes to their album. In fact what's on offer is pretty British blues rock produced by Mike Vernon, and released through the Blue Horizon label. with lots of harmonica, percussion and brass arrangements in places. The album includes cover versions of Willie Dixon, Alain Toussaint, B.B.King and P. Mayfield songs. 

Tracks include the soul/funk orientated “Give It Up” with a brass arrangement; the slow number “As The Years Go Passing By”, which features some good blues guitar work, and “Come On And Get It Baby”, written by thirties English pianist Stanley Black - an instrumental with jazzy electric piano, sharp guitar chords and percussion by Kenny Lamb who later went on to Jellybread.

by Costas Arvanitis

Tracks
1. Big Chief - 1:27
2. Axe And The Wind - 1:38
3. Give It Up - 2:42
4. What Do I Do With It - 1:54
5. Stranger In My Own Home Town - 2:54
6. That Did It - 5:01
7. Big Chief (Part 2) - 2:21
8. Come On And Get It Baby (If You Want It) Bit One - 3:03
9. Get In It - 2:08
10.Come On And Get It Baby (If You Want It) Bit Two - 1:03
11.O. S. Blues (Otis Spann) - 3:17
12.Wrapped Up In Love Again - 2:15
13.Biscayne Bay - 1:54
14.As The Years Go Passing By - 5:31

Key Largo  
*Pat McAuliffe - Vocals
*Laurence 'Laurie' Garman - Harmonica
*Laurie Sanford - Guitar
*Bob Savage - Keyboards
*Tom Stead - Bass
*Kenny Lamb - Drums

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Foghat - Fool For The City (1975 uk, classic hard boogie 'n' roll, 2008 ultradisc MFSL)

After building a solid core audience through relentless touring and a string of hard-rocking albums, Foghat finally hit the big time in 1975 with Fool for the City. It still stands out as the best album in the group's catalog because it matched their road-tested abilities as hard rockers to a consistent set of tunes that were both well-crafted and ambitious.

The tone for the album is set by its title track: This hard-rocking gem not only pairs riff-driven verses with an effective shout-along chorus, but also throws in a few surprising moments where the guitars are taken out of the mix completely and Nick Jameson's bass is allowed to take the lead in a funky breakdown. Fool for the City also produced an enduring rock radio favorite in "Slow Ride," a stomping rock tune that transcends the inherent cliches of its "love is like a car ride" lyrics with a furious performance from the band and a clever arrangement that works in well-timed automotive sound effects during the verses and plays up the band's ability to work an R&B-styled groove into their hard-rocking sound (again, note the thumping bassline from Jameson).

Further radio play was earned with "Take It or Leave It," an acoustic-based ballad that worked synthesizers into its subtle yet carefully layered arrangement to become one of the group's finest slow numbers. The album's other songs don't stand like the aforementioned selections, but they all flow together nicely thanks to a consistently inspired performance from the band and clever little arrangement frills that keep the group's boogie-oriented rock fresh (example: the witty spoken word bit at the end of "Drive Me Home"). All in all, Fool for the City is both Foghat's finest achievement in the studio and one of the high points of 1970s hard rock.

by Donald A. Guarisco

Tracks

1. Fool for the City (Peverett) – 4:31

2. My Babe (Hatfield) – 4:34

3. Slow Ride (Peverett) – 8:07

4. Terraplane Blues (Robert Johnson) – 5:40

5. Save Your Loving (For Me) (Price, Peverett) – 3:31

6. Drive Me Home (Peverett) – 3:52

7. Take It or Leave It (Jameson, Peverett) - 4:54

Foghat

*Lonesome Dave Peverett - Lead Vocals, Guitar

*Rod "The Bottle" Price - Guitar, Slide, Steel Guitar , Vocals

*Roger Earl - Drums, Percussion

*Nick Jameson -Bass, Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals

Foghat

1972  Foghat (1st Album, Japan remaster)

1973  Rock And Roll (Japan remaster)

1974  Energized (Japan remaster)

1974  Rock And Roll Outlaws (Japan remaster)

Related Acts

1967-68  Savoy Brown - Shake Down / Getting To The Point

1969-70  Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna / Looking In

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The Charlatans - San Francisco 1969 (1969 us, essential west coast psych blues jazz folk rock)

San Francisco, 1969. Speed, smack Altamont. The bloom was off the rose and morning glory that had burst forth with such intense color lust three years before. Jams. Sly. Santana. the Dead and Airplane were nationally known, but locally, on a street level, a scene had soured Moby Grape disbanded.

Tom Donahue resigned as head of Fmundergrounder KSAN. and Bill Graham announced he'd leave the Fillmore West by year's end. A few months earlier, Rolling Stone had run what read like an obit: "The Charlatans. Start of It All, Now in the Dark Hole of Hip."

The Charlatans! The name alone conjures magic to devotees of West Coast 60s rock San Francisco's first long-haired psychedelic band, from Nevada's Red Dog Saloon, in Edwardian, western and Roaring '20s togs, who raided the Cash and Carter Family songbooks to invent "Americana" in '65 (one critic dubbed their sound "Stephen Foster on speed"), who signed a recording contract before anyone else (with Lovm' Spoonful producer Erik Jacobsen and Kama Sutra Records), then negotiated their way out of it with a shotgun and a mindfuck session Those guys.

By 1969. the Charlatans had just about disappeared down the rabbit hole Founding members Dan Hicks and Mike Ferguson had quit, replaced by drummer Terry Wilson and pianist Darrell DeVore. respectively, and, through mutual agree- or disagreement, founder George Hunter was out That left original members Richard Olsen (bass, vocals, woodwinds) and Mike Wilhelm (guitar, vocals) and the two new recruits.

"Mike and I were still trying to hold down the vision of the Charlatans." says Olsen. We still thought we could do something with it. And we'd already put in a lot of time. After the Kama Sutra deal, we had gotten lots of recording offers. George always turned them down because he felt they were never right, never good enough Mike and I were like, 'We should have taken that deal1' Olsen. Wilhelm and the 'new' Charlatans took the offer from Mercury subsidiary Philips Records in 1969 though it paid the quartet a paltry 510,000 advance (a year earlier, Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Steve Miller Band had each made news with S50,000-plus signings). 

The Charlatans was recorded over a six-month period at San Francisco’s Pacific High Recorders Olsen recalls the label suggesting an outside producer for the project (one name mentioned was Mac "Dr John" Rebennack). but the group opted for the DIY approach, self-producing with engineer Dan Healy.

While the original lineup had recorded an entire album's worth of material for Kama Sutra, it remained unissued until recently, making The Charlatans the band's official, if late, debut. It's a charmer whose appeal has only improved with age If a bit busy in spots (We overdid the arranging, admits Olsen "There are too many layers of everything"), it carries the feel of a band earnestly trying to put its best foot forward- and it surely captures some of the blue-steel, spur-jangling Wild West rock & roll of the band that captivated crowds from the Avalon and Fillmore stages.

Five songs date from the original Charlatans' set list. Wilhelm's big rustic baritone powers "Folsom Prison Blues" (his voice sounds older than its years and thus plenty credible reading Cash's mean-loser lyrics) and "Wabash Cannonball." Dig the blistering Berry-esque solos Wilhelm tears off as the latter rolls down the track. Olsen wrote and sings the carefree 'When I Go Sailin' By," one of those newmown homages to the music of the 'teens and '20s that made the Charlatans so stylishly unique. 

Twirl your straw boater Wilhelm's "Blues Ain't Nothm'" may be busy, but it burns. Rumbling drums gallop up to a blast of brass la sort of double-timed "Hold On I'm Comin'" riff), piano and sax tumble in an agitated spin cycle around the vocal, and Wilhelms guitar hacks through it all like a poleaxe Chaotic climaxes also figure in "Alabama Bound." the Charlatans signature tune and "long song" (every Frisco band had to have one). 

This seven-minute version, a group vocal, with Olsen on sax and clarinet, largely resembles the way they played it live from '66 onward: antique and dusty-sounding, frenzied and ominous. ("This next tune." Wilhelm sometimes introduced it, "is a Jelly Roll Morton number that we changed a little well, actually, we changed it a lot. It's in Tibetan modal tuning.")

"Ain't Got the Time" is a newer, almost jaunty folk-rocker from Wilhelm and "High Coin" of course the Van Dyke Parks classic covered by everyone from Harper's Bizarre to the West Coast Pop Art Expenmental Band. The extended coda on "Com" (12-string. sax. guitar accents) makes this one of the more distinctive versions of the tune.

The album's remaining four tracks were written by Darrell DeVore, a recently arrived jazz-trained pianist from Kansas City. (Drummer Terry Wilson had come from early S F. combo the Orkustra. Whose members included a pre-lt's A Beautiful Day David LaFlamme and a pre-Manson Bobby Beausoleil.)

While lighter in tone than the other tracks. DeVore's songs do display a certain pop-jazz flair, tending to pair infectious melodies with adventurous time signatures. The alternately lilting and boogie-woogied "Doubtful Waltz" shifts tempos to good effect, while three-quarter time is used in "When the Movies Are Over." a mock melodramatic tune that, with its oldtimey piano, could've fit snugly into the original band's repertoire.

DeVore's "Easy When I'm Dead" is something of a sleeper. Strong melodic hooks, rhythm stops and Everly harmonies on the chorus keep it interesting, and Wilhelm's guitarring flashes more than a hint of John Cipollma's tremolo-laden style. Despite its strengths. The Charlatans drew a lukewarm response from the record-buying public. 

Philips released one single. "High Coin" b/w "When I Go Sailin' By," but apparently did not vigorously promote it. But, frankly, how would a label have gone about marketing the Charlatans' concise, tuneful rockers to audiences who, by 1969. were clamoring for ever more indulgent jams and histrionic vocals, a surfeit of Creams and Lizard Kings9 (This quartet incarnation of the group did play live: Olsen remembers an especially unimpressive Fillmore gig undone by 'freeform" instrumental tendencies and a lack of professionalism.)

The Charlatans called it a day later that year. Olsen promptly embarked on to a three-year stint as general manager of Pacific High studios ("I was the liaison between the studio and the local music community"), where he assisted on Working/van's Dead and albums by Sly, Van Morrison and Quicksilver. 

Following some early- 70s traveling (two years in Africa, later some time in Francewhere he busked and tap-danced in the Pans metro), he returned to the Bay Area to form first the Powell Street Jazz Band (with respected alumni of San Francisco's '30s and '40s trad-jazz revivali and then the Richard Olsen Orchestra. He continues to perform with the latter today.

Wilhelm went on to a semi-steady late-70s gig with fellow Friscans the Flamin Groovies (he can be heard on their Now' And Jumpin' in the Night albums) and his own acclaimed band. Loose Gravel. He still occasionally performs in Northern California, where he resides. Olsen and Wilhelm have joined surviving original Charlatans Dan Hicks and George Hunter in periodic reunions, most notably in 1997 at a San Francisco rock exhibit at Cleveland s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

The Charlatans is a welcome reissue, a document of the doings in a very special place at a very special time. Listen close and you'll catch it

by Gene Sculatti

Tracks
1. High Coin (Van Dyke Parks) – 3:07
2. Easy When I'm Dead (Darrell Devore) – 2:38
3. Ain’t Got The Time (Mike Wilhelm) – 2:47
4. Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash) – 2:47
5. The Blues Ain't Nothin' (Mike Wilhelm) – 4:44
6. Time To Get Straight (Darrell Devore) – 3:53
7. When I Go Sailin' By (Richard Olsen) – 2:46
8. Doubtful Waltz (Darrell Devore) – 3:24
9. Wabash Cannonball (Alvin Pleasant Carter) – 4:04
10.Alabama Bound (Traditional, Arranged The Charlatans) – 6:53
11.When The Movies Are Over (Darrell Devore) – 3:04
12.Radio Advert – 1:00

The Charlatans
*Mike Wilhelm - Vocals, Guitar, Fretted Instruments, Percussion
*Richard Olsen - Vocals, Bass, Woodwind Instruments, Percussion
*Darrell Devore – Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Bass, Percussion
*Terry Wilson – Drums, Percussion

1965-68  The Amazing Charlatans

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The Deep Six - The Deep Six (1966 us, lovely vocal sunny folk)

From Southern California, this obscure five-man, one-woman pop-folk-rock group issued a self-titled album on Liberty in 1966. From the sounds of things (and the look of the group on the cover), they were a pop-oriented folk group hastily adapting to the folk-rock craze, with their white bread folk roots showing far more strongly than any newfound rock sensibilities. In this sense, as well as the all-over-the-place repertoire of the LP, they recalled the We Five, although they weren't as good and there was a glossier Los Angeles sheen to the production. 

The harmonies and their bent toward bittersweet melodies also bore some similarities to the Mamas & the Papas and the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, though they weren't even remotely the same league as the Mamas & the Papas and not nearly as rock-oriented as the Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Their best song, the original "Rising Sun," had an uncharacteristically gutsy fuzz guitar line, played as if the guitarist was afraid of burning fingers if the tone was sustained too long, and saw some regional airplay.

The Deep Six started out as a San Diego folk trio, evolving into a bigger folk-rockish band after they became the house band for the La Mesa folk club the Land of Oden, co-owned by their co-manager, Ken Mansfield. "Rising Sun," according to the liner notes to the expanded Rev-Ola CD reissue of Deep Six, included a young Jim Messina on guitar, and made number three in Los Angeles, where the group based themselves for part of their short career. 

Much of the music on their records (which, in addition to the LP, included a few non-LP singles) was played by top Hollywood session musicians, including Glen Campbell, Carol Kaye, Mike Deasy, Al Casey, Larry Knechtel, Ray Pohlman, and Barney Kessel; David Gates contributed some arranging. Neither the album nor the follow-up singles to "Rising Sun" sold well, and the group disbanded shortly afterward, with Barry Kane (who had been in the New Christy Minstrels and a duo with Barry McGuire) joining the lineup as the replacement for original member Dave Gray near the end.

After Deep Six, Ken Mansfield went on to work for Capitol Records and served as the first U.S. manager of Apple Records. Bassist Dann Lottermoser joined Stone Country, which did one album for RCA, and included noted country-rock singe/-songwriter Steve Young. The Deep Six album was reissued on CD, with all five of their non-LP songs added as bonus tracks, by Rev-Ola in 2003.

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Paint it Black (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 2:42
2. When Morning Breaks (Tom Paxton) - 2:49
3. Unlock the Door (Bob Lind) - 3:13
4. What Would you Wish (Dave Gray) - 2:47
5. Somewhere, My Love (Maurice Jarre, Paul Francis Webster) - 2:07
6. A Groovy Kind of Love (Craig Bayer, Toni Wine) - 1:59
7. Solitary Man (Neil Diamond) - 2:23
8. Counting (Bob Lind) - 2:42
9. Rising Sun (Dave Gray) - 2:30
10.Winds of Morning (Dann Lottermoser, Tony McCashen) - 2:32
11.Why Say Goodbye (Dann Lottermoser) - 2:31
12.Where were you when I needed (Steve Barri, P.F. Sloan) - 3:05
13.Strollin' Blues (Richard Dehr, Terry Gilkyson, Frank Miller) - 2:56
14.Things We Say (D. Duhn, D. Lottermoser) - 2:56
15.I Wanna Shout (Dave Gray) - 2:21
16.Image of a Girl (Richard Clasky, Marvin Rosenberg) - 2:44
17.C'Mon Baby (Barry Kane) - 2:18

The Deep Six
*Dean Cannon - Vocals
*Tony McCashen - Vocals
*Dave Gray - Vocals
*Dann Lottermoser - Bass
*Jim Messina - Gguitar
*Barry Kane - Vocals

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The Charlatans - The Amazing Charlatans (1965-68 us, prime psych folk rock)

The Charlatans were, by dint of timing, effort and wardrobe, the first on the scene of the 60s San Francisco psychedelic rock bands. The folkie jug-band scene going down in the Bay Area, circa 1964, was destined to be electrified. The Charlatans achieved this on several levels.

The man behind the Charlatans was architecture student George Hunter, who couldn't play a musical instrument, but wanted to be in a rock 'n' roll band. His concept and ambition were joined by Haight-Ashbury musician and entrepreneur Michael Ferguson's artistic and theatrical bent.

During 1964, the nascent group - which included Richie Olsen and Sam Linde - not only rehearsed, but also filmed and photographed themselves, as Hunter thought a successful band should. Some of that early footage may be seen in the film "The Life And Times of the Red Dog Saloon". The only thing missing was a paying gig, which the band was yet to have.

Drummer Linde eventually left the band, and Dan soon took his place, allegedly when he happened by the band's pad to score pot.

In the summer of 1965, The Charlatans were recruited by Chandler Laughlin to audition as the house band for the newly-opened Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada. Dan was skeptical and somewhat reluctant to go, but the other members prevailed upon him, and their LSD-fueled audition at the Red Dog was a success.

The Charlatans' groundbreaking summer engagement at the Red Dog inspired musicians and promoters from San Francisco to begin what was to become a "golden era" of psychedelic music at the various SF dancehalls.

The Charlatans had several recording sessions from 1965 to 1968, and released a single on Kapp Records – "The Shadow Knows" b/w "32-20". The band wanted "Codine" to be the A-side, but the label deemed the subject matter to be too controversial.

Dan left the band in 1968 to concentrate on developing His Hot Licks, which had become an opening act for the Charlatans. After Dan's departure, a Charlatans album was released on Phillips.

Most of Dan's songs from this era are well-known to his fans today: "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away", "By Hook Or By Crook", and "'Long Come A Viper". But his classic anthem of hippie relationship ennui, "We're Not On The Same Trip", should have had the success he envisioned for it. As Dan put it, "That could have been a fuckin' hit. man."

The tracks on the CD are from several sessions; The Autumn Demos (Coast Recorders, SF CA, 8/65), The Kama Sutra Sessions (Coast Recorders, early '66), The Golden State Demo (Golden State Recorders, SF CA, 7/67) and The Pacific High Sessions (Pacific High Recorders, Sausalito CA, early '68).

The Charlatans were not fated to get swept up in the massive SF Band Signings by major labels in the 60s. As Dan says in the liner notes, "We were just cast to be local, just doomed, that was it. Whatever the circumstances were."

by Dan Hicks

Tracks

1. Codine (Buffy Sainte Marie) – 2:22

2. Alabama Bound (Traditional, Arr. M. Ferguson, D. Hicks, G. Hunter, R. Olsen, M. Wilhelm) – 6:24

3. I Always Wanted A Girl Like You (G. Hunter, R. Olsen) – 1:31

4. I Saw Her (Traditional, Arr. M. Ferguson, D. Hicks, G. Hunter, R. Olsen, M. Wilhelm) – 2:06

5. How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away (D. Hicks) – 2:22

6. 32–20 (Robert Johnson) – 2:27

7. We're Not On The Same Trip (D. Hicks) – 3:12

8. Walkin' (G. Hunter, R. Olsen) – 3:08

9. Sweet Sue, Just You (Will Harris, Victor Young) – 3:40

10.East Virginia (Traditional, Arr. P. Gogerty, D. Hicks, G. Hunter, R. Olsen, M. Wilhelm, T. Wilson) – 1:40

11.The Shadow Knows (Jerry Leiber, M. Stoller) – 2:14

12.I Got Mine (D. Hicks) – 2:27

13.Steppin' In Society (Alex Gerber, Harry Akst) – 1:14

14.Devil Got My Man (Skip James) – 2:46

15.By Hook Or By Crook (D. Hicks) – 2:24

16.'Long Come A Viper (D. Hicks) – 2:41

17.Sidetrack (Traditional, Arr. M. Ferguson, D. Hicks, L. Hughes, G. Hunter, R. Olsen, M. Wilhelm) – 2:26

18.Alabama Bound (Traditional, Arr. M. Ferguson, D. Hicks, G. Hunter, R. Olsen, M. Wilhelm) – 2:45

19.Number One (M. Wilhelm) – 4:15

20.Baby Won't You Tell Me (John Hammond) – 3:41

21.Jack Of Diamonds (Traditional, Arr. M. Ferguson, D. Hicks, G. Hunter, R. Olsen, M. Wilhelm) – 4:49

22.The Blues Ain't Nothin' (M. Wilhelm) – 4:58

23.Groom N' Clean Ad (Traditional, Arr. M. Ferguson, D. Hicks, G. Hunter, R. Olsen, M. Wilhelm) – 0:40

The Charlatans

*George Hunter – Autoharp, Percussion, Vocals

*Michael Ferguson – Piano, Vocals

*Mike Wilhelm – Lead Guitar, Vocals

*Richard Olsen – Bass Guitar, Clarinet, Vocals

*Dan Hicks – Drums, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

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The Spike Drivers - 60's Folkrocking Psychedelia From The Motor City (1965-68 us, exceptional psych garage rock)

The Spikedrivers had two line ups between 1965 and 1968 when these (largely) demo recordings were made. With dual male and female vocals some of these tunes are resonant of early Jefferson Airplane (Often I Wonder, Strange, Mysterious Sounds, Baby Let Me Tell You) whilst here and there, there is a definite Fairports influence (e.g. Portland Town). 

Many of the first nine cuts along with tracks 14 & 15; Can't Stand The Rain and I'm So Glad (no, not the Cream song) are infectious and you will soon find yourself humming them all day. There is a small patch of five numbers from their second incarnation though which have been over-recorded (in a rehearsal room seemingly) and which are supposedly ragga based, but which actually descend into over-amped acid-fried mayhem (Grocery Store, Everybody's Got That feeling, I Know, Time Will Never Die, Sometimes) which you will either love or skip past. 

So, an uneven set, but not surprising given that most are demo and rehearsal recordings from two different line-ups covering the transition from folk-rock to (heavy) psychedelia. As an all-round package and artefact however, it has history, a story to tell, colour and great hooks - I would grab it with both hands!

by Paul Martin 

Tracks
1. Often I Wonder (Ted Lucas) - 5:49
2. Strange, Mysterious Sounds (Ted Lucas) - 5:31
3. Baby, Let Me Tell You (Richard Keelan) - 4:32
4. Blue Law Sunday (Tony Wright) - 4:01
5. Baby, Can I Wear Your Clothes? (Joel Myerson) - 3:51
6. Got The Goods On You (Joel Myerson) - 3:45
7. High Time (Joel Myerson) - 2:29
8. Portland Town (Daryl Adams, Sid Brown) - 5:29
9. Grocery Store (Marshall Rubinoff) - 3:30
10.Everybody's Got That Feeling (Marshall Rubinoff) - 4:26
11.I Know (Marshall Rubinoff) - 5:18
12.Time Will Never Die (Marshall Rubinoff) - 3:08
13.Sometimes (Marshall Rubinoff) - 5:56
14.Can't Stand The Pain (Joel Myerson) - 2:30
15.I'm So Glad (Ted Lucas) - 2:28

The Spike Drivers
*Marycarol Brown - Vocals
*Ted Lucas - Guitar, Vocals (1-7, 14,15)
*Richard Keelan - Bass, Vocals (1-7, 14,15)
*Larry Cruise - Drums (1-13)
*Sid Brown - Guitar, Banjo
*Ron Cobb - Bass, Keyboards (8-13)
*Marshall Rubinoff - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (8-13)
*Steve Booker - Drums (14-15)

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The Shaggs - Wink (1967 us, rare psych garage folk rock)

Guaranteed original of this prep-rock classic, well-known among garage collectors already 25 years ago. From the prestigious Notre Dame school came this quintet with a jangly, Beatles/Byrds-inspired teenbeat album. I love the rubber band-sounding guitars! An excellent cover of "If I Were A Carpenter" and two moody originals are among the highlights. 

Although recorded in 1967 at the International Recording Studio in Chicago, this one and only offering by the five-piece preppy outfit from Notre Dame University in Indiana, with its multi-part vocal harmonies and jangly guitar, could easily have appeared in 1965 or ‘66. The liner notes helpfully inform us that the 12 well recorded tracks (10 covers and 2 originals) were laid down in a single 20-hour session, although the claim that this feat was “probably recording history” is surely born more out of youthful hyperbole than solid fact!However, there is no doubting the band’s musical proficiency as they canter through a selection of songs by such luminaries as the Stones, Who, Beau Brummels, Byrds and Them, with the high point being an inspired version of If I Were A Carpenter.

 As was so often the case, the band members, after producing what was to become a massively-collectable rarity, went their separate ways, probably to pursue fascinating careers in the world oforthodontistry or accounting. The exception was organist Geoff Gillette who, clearly finding the musical experience convivial, went on to forge a career as a recording engineer, working in thiscapacity with the likes of Flora Purim, Sergio Mendes, T-Bone Burnett and Dave Gruisin. 

by Adamus67

Tracks
1. Feel A Whole Lot Better (Gene Clark) - 2:28
2. I Call Your Name (Lennon, McCartney) - 2:15
3. If I Were A Carpenter (T.Hardin) - 3:01
4. Sugar And Spice (Tony Hatch) - 2:48
5. Little Girl  (Geoff Gillette) - 2:17
6. Let's Spend The Night Together (Jagger, Richards) - 3:14
7. My Generation (P. Townshend) - 2:21
8. If I Needed Someone (George Harrison) - 3:07
9. The Night Before (Lennon, McCartney) - 2:57
10.Cry Just A Little (Ron Elliot, Robert Durand) - 2:22
11.Impossibility (Rick Medich, Ted Poulos) - 2:28
12.Hey Joe (Billy Roberts) - 2:21

The Shaggs
*Rick Medich - Vocals
*Ted Poulos - Guitar, Vocals
*Geoff Gillette - Organ, Guitar, Vocals
*Franklin Krakowski - Drums
*Ray Wheatley - Bass, Vocals

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The Sun Also Rises - The Sun Also Rises (1970-72 uk, bright acid folk)

Superb sought-after 1970 British acid folk rarity from the Village Thing label. The Sun Also Rises is another case of a folk/psych duo (we’re thinking of Emtidi, whose “Saat” album we have also reissued) who virtually disappeared in the flesh, once they had left behind a small but fascinating recorded legacy. 

The sole Sun Also Rises album has been reissued (legally and illegally) on several occasions, a testament to continuing interest in the music contained therein. Who were they? They were Graham and Anne Hemingway from Cardiff, described everywhere as a mystical, magical hippie female and male folk duo, who played guitars, dulcimer, glockenspiel, vibes, bells, kazoo, percussion—joined throughout by label-mate John Turner (bowed and finger-picked string bass), and Andy Leggett.

Their one and only album is very much in the creative style and delivery of the Incredible String Band, with similarities to the work of their contemporaries Dr. Strangely Strange, COB, Comus, Forest and Tir Na Nog, as well as others of the original freak-folk brigade. The results of their efforts were tripped-out, spellbinding, esoteric folk collages—songs of wizards and dragons, dreams and intentions, love, flickering candlelight, the sweet scent of half-remembered summers, death, jasmine, and suicide. 

We hope that this album will come as a wonderful surprise for lovers of the Incredible String Band and their ilk, as there were few bands that were able to stray into this much loved and much loathed world of fantasy and folk music, and live to tell the tale. This Lion Productions edition comes with a 16-page booklet printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy, which contains a small dose of band info, album lyrics, histories of the Village Thing and Saydisc labels by co-founder Gef Lucena, as well as a Village Thing label discography.

Light-Attic

Tracks
1. Until I Do (Words by Phil Sawyer) - 3:47
2. Wizard Shep - 5:01
3. Part Of The Room - 3:45
4. Green Lane - 8:09
5. Tales Of Jasmine And Suicide (Words by Richard Sylverster) - 3:21
6. Flowers (Words by Heather Holden) - 5:19
7. Song Of Consolation (Words by Spike Woods) - 1:39
8. Suddenly It's Evening - 2:30
9. Death (Traditional arr. by Graham Hemingway) - 6:35
10.Fafnir And The Knights (Words by Heather Holden) - 4:30
Words and Music by Graham Hemingway arrangments by Anne Hemingway except where noted

The Sun Also Rises
*Graham Hemingway - Vocals, Guitars
*Anne Hemingway - Vocals, Dulcimer, Glockenspiel, Vibes, Percussion
With
*John Turner - String Bass
*Andy Leggett - Whistle

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Spirit - Feedback (1971 us, marvelous hard psych with blues jazz and country shades)

Feedback is one of the strangest happenings in rock, more dramatic than Michael MacDonald taking over the Doobie Brothers, but more successful artistically than it was financially, and a chapter of the group that is sadly forgotten. The original band was produced by Lou Adler and built around guitar prodigy Randy California, and a bit of history is in order to understand this hybrid project. David Briggs, producer of Kathi MacDonald, Alice Cooper's Easy Action, and Neil Young, helped the band forge their classic Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus and was retained for this follow-up. 

William Ruhlmann's liner notes to Spirit's Time Circle Epic/Legacy release notes that Randy California resigned from the group at this point. Mark Andes and Jay Ferguson formed Jo Jo Gunne with Curly Smith, and Smith's friends, the Staehely Brothers, joined Cassidy and company. What Ed Cassidy and keyboard player John Locke created with producer David Briggs was a phenomenal reinvention of Spirit, which worked, sometimes better than the original group. Bassist/vocalist Al Staehely wrote the music, with guitar chores and backing vocals by his brother J. Christian Staehely.

"Witch," the final track on the disc, is typical of this new Spirit sound, a fusion of pop/jazz/rock with a dab of country. It would have been a perfect blend for Randy California to step back into, though his ego might have been the stumbling block here. In concert, this version of Spirit was serious and precise, playing with a cool efficiency. David Briggs was the perfect guy to oversee this project, allowing the musicians their space and developing a true counterpart to The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, considered by many to be the band's highpoint. 

The cover is in eerie aqua blue with the faces looking like spirits peering out of a distorted television. The gatefold contains a band photo and a smart evolutionary image for this eclectic and underrated West Coast band. Here's the clincher: musically, some of the best work on Feedback are the two instrumentals by keyboard player John Locke, "Puesta Del Scam" and "Trancas Fog-Out," fragments of the original "Spirit" performed by this new quartet. 

The stuff is brilliant, and that it was excised from Time Circle is a pity. It was this writer who put Epic/Legacy in touch with Randy California in the development of 1991's Time Circle compilation project, and certainly the elegant "Darkness," the third John Locke title, deserved to be included on that double disc, and some representation of this remarkable work would have been appropriate rather than nine whopping cuts from The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus. Jo Jo Gunne guitarist Matthew Andes (brother of Spirit's Mark Andes) co-wrote "Mellow Morning" with Al Staehely, and it, along with "Right on Time" and "Ripe and Ready," all display the Spirit vibe, even hinting at some Jo Jo Gunne, as strange as that may seem. 

The Cassidy/Locke/Staehely/Staehely combo added enough jazz to Spirit to temper the all out assault that was Jo Jo Gunne, and therein lies the difference. This is not David Bowie's ex-drummer and bassist forming the Spiders From Mars; keep in mind that Ed Cassidy was not only the band's insignia with his Yul Brynner look, he was this group's spiritual leader. As Randy California's step-dad, it's a shame he didn't get more firm with the boy and demand they all be "the family that plays together." 

Had the Staehely brothers and John Locke stayed on board for Cassidy and Randy California's next project, the erratic Potatoland disc may have mutated into something totally brilliant. The best of Al Staehely, John Locke, and Randy California would have been truly something. Feedback is a solid performance and remarkable album which deserves its place in the Spirit catalog, and not the status of bastard son. It is a legitimate Spirit project and it is very, very good. 

by Joe Viglione

Tracks
1. Chelsea Girls – 3:38
2. Cadillac Cowboys – 3:41
3. Puesta Del Scam (Locke) – 2:10
4. Ripe And Ready – 3:53
5. Darkness (Locke) – 4:59
6. Earth Shaker (Locke) – 4:02
7. Mellow Morning (Andes, A. Staehely) – 2:30
8. Right On Time – 2:50
9. Trancas Fog-Out – 2:46
10.Witch – 5:25
11.New York City – 3:36
All songs written by Al Staehely except noted

Spirit
*Ed Cassidy - Drums
*John Locke- Keyboards
*Al Staehely - Bass, Vocals
*Chris Staehely - Guitar, Vocals

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Cream - Fresh Cream (1966 uk, blues psych rock masterpiece, japan SHM remaster)

Laid down at the height of the UK blues boom, Fresh Cream covers the kind of territory you might expect from three of the most respected players on the scene at the time. With Clapton fresh just from his time with John Mayall, Ginger Baker leaving behind the R'n'B backwaters of Graham Bond Organisation, and a woefully under-employed Jack Bruce hightailing it from the increasingly pop-leaning Manfred Mann, the electric blues was their natural turf.

Highlights include the racing harmonica work-out, and the call and response excitements on Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ and Tumblin,’” a spine-tingled vocal on the Willie Dixon classic, “Spoonful” as well as the self-penned “Sleepy Time Time” which gives Clapton a free hand to wake up all and sundry. The traditional standard, "Cat’s Squirrel" is given a rousing treatment, showing how well these players meshed. Only a particularly anaemic stroll through Robert Johnson’s “Four Until Late”, sounds like a side filler.

What lifts this album beyond the blues-tinged pigeon-hole are some superior pop songs brought along for the ride. It’s well-neigh impossible to hear the opening bars of “I Feel Free” without conjuring up images of dolly birds, hip young guys in new threads full of finger-clicking coolness hopping aboard one of those brand new Mini cars and soaring off for groovy times. Cultural cliché’s aside, given the amount of musical information that’s been packed into those two minutes and fifty-five seconds, it’s a wonder the thing doesn’t implode under the weight of its own inventiveness.

The rhythmic ambitions and ambiguity of “NSU” adds to the thrill, and if some of it doesn’t quite work as well as it should (Bruce’s dreary “Dreaming” is especially lame), “Sweet Wine” with its psyche-tinged lyrics and the heavy breakout offers a clear hint of what was to come. Overshadowed by its more famous successor (1967’s Disraeli Gears) and their reputation lengthy improvisations during which mighty civilisations would rise and fall, their debut captures one of those elusive moments in music when blues, pop and rock magically starts to coalesce to create something brand new.

by Sid Smith

Tracks
1. I Feel Free (Bruce, Pete Brown) - 2:53
2. N.S.U.(Bruce) - 2:47
3. Sleepy Time Time (Bruce, Godfrey) - 4:22
4. Dreaming (Bruce) - 2:01
5. Sweet Wine (Baker, Godfrey) - 3:20
6. Spoonful (Willie Dixon) - 6:33
7. Cat's Squirrel (Instrumental) (Traditional, Arr. S. Splurge) - 3:05
8. Four Until Late (Robert Johnson, Arr. Eric Clapton) - 2:10
9. Rollin' And Tumblin' (Mckinley Morganfield) - 4:43
10.I'm So Glad (Skip James) - 3:59
11.Toad (Instrumental) (Baker) - 5:09

Cream
*Ginger Baker - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
*Jack Bruce - Vocals, Bass, Harmonica
*Eric Clapton - Guitar, Vocals

1967  Cream - Disraeli Gears (Japan SHM remaster)

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