Living Game is the most appealing of Mick Greenwood's '70s trilogy of albums, more focused than 1972's To Friends and much less slick than 1974's Midnight Dreamer. Recorded with members of Fotheringay (drummer Gerry Conway) and Fairport Convention (bassist Dave Pegg), among others, Living Game is a straightforward British folk-rock album with some pop and psychedelic influences.
The lilting opener, "Taxi," sounds rather like Kiln House-era Fleetwood Mac (although Lyn Dobson's fluid, mellow flute work adds a not-unappealing hippie-ish edge) and the quite pretty, Indian-accented closer, "Sight," features both the album's best lyrics and strongest melody. Some of what lies between is forgettable post-hippie singer/songwriter stuff, but surprisingly, what could potentially have been the album's worst track, the lengthy centerpiece "After the First World War," is one of its triumphs.
Greenwood and lead guitarist Jerry Donahue up their instrumental intensity a few notches here, for a sound that melds folkish grace and heavy electrics in the manner of contemporaneous Fairport Convention, and Greenwood spits out the ironic lyrics in a credible sneer. Living Game isn't a buried treasure or anything, but it has much that would interest a curious fan of British folk-rock.
by Stewart Mason
First released back in 1971, 'Living Game' is an album that still holds a strong appeal some 30 years later. Here we are treated to well composed pieces that are not long winded and self indulgent affairs, but concise and to the point. Furthermore, the songs are played with with an honest simplicity and a sense of conviction that is sadly lacking in many modern day recordings, and which allows the listener to easily connect with the music.
by Simon Hill
Tracks
1. Taxi - 2.57
2. Friend of Mine - 2.42
3. Living Game - 4.34
4. My Life - 3.50
5. To The Sea - 3.23
6. After The First World War - 5.50
7. To The Farside - 2.45
8. Truth Seeker - 2.46
9. Situation Number Four - 2.22
10.Keep Coming Back - 4.07
11.Sight - 4.00
All songs written by Mick Greenwood
Ariel formed in mid-1973, after the breakup of Spectrum. When Spectrum drummer Ray Arnott announced he was leaving to join Ross Wilson's new band Mighty Kong, Putt and Rudd commendably decided to end the band rather than try to recruit a new member, feeling that it wouldn't be possible to recreate the special spirit of that group. Within a few months of Spectrums's farewell performance their new band (whose name was taken from the character in Shakespeare's "The Tempest") was up and running. Ironically, the two new members, Tim and Nigel, had originally come to Melbourne to work with Ross Wilson and Ross Hannaford on their new project (which became Mighty Kong) and it was after they departed that Wilson asked Ray Arnott to join, thus precipitating the split of Spectrum!
Strong record company interest in Ariel quickly led to a contract with EMI's progressive Harvest imprint. Their superb debut single "Jamaican Farewell" looked set to repeat the early success of Spectrum but it only managed to reach No.34, its success hampered by lack of airplay, especially in Sydney, although it impressed the industry enough to win the FACB 'Single Of The Year'. They toured as support to Gary Glitter November 1973 and released their excellent first LP A Strange Fantastic Dream in December, with writing credits split fairly evenly between Gaze and Rudd. According to Noel McGrath, the album was also the first use of Moog synthesizer on an Australian rock record (though it's possible Tully may have been the first Australian band to recod with one) and producer Peter Dawkins still names it as one of his favourite productions.
It fared well commercially and critically, reaching #12 in the LP charts in February 1974, although there was a minor controversy about Stephen Nelson's brilliant, hallucinatory cover painting, which included (shock! horror!) a hypodermic syringe. Airplay for the LP was further hindered by the banning of three songs ("Confessions Of A Psychotic Cowpoke", "Medicine Man" and "Chicken Shit") by the commercial radio industry's self-regulatory body, the FACB.
One particularly important outcome for the group was that EMI International's President, Allan Davies, fell in love with the album: "You know, Peter," he enthused to Dawkins, "I can't recall ever hearing a song about necrophilia!" Renowned British DJ John Peel also picked up both album and single and "said some really nice things about both of them". These and other factors led to Ariel being invited to tour the UK and record their next album at Abbey Road.
Tracks
1. Jamaican Farewell (Rudd, Gaze) - 2:50
2. No Encores - 3:47
3. Confessions of a Psychotic Cowpoke - 4:43
4. And I'm Blue - 2:52
5. Garden of the Frenzied Cortinas - 7:46
6. Miracle Man (Gaze) - 5:29
7. Chicken Shit - 4:23
8. Worm Turning Blues - 2:56
9. Wheezer Grunter Module Threadaboy/Harry v. Dirchy (God the Man) (Ariel, Gaze) - 4:20
10.Hard Way to Go - 3:49
11.And if it Wasn't for You - 2:32
12.Red Hot Momma - 2:38
All songs by Mike Rudd unless as else stated
By 1970 Galliard was recognized as one of the new-wave of progressive rock bands and following the impact of the first album went back into the studios in late 1969 to commence work on the next album 'New Dawn'. John Smith the original sax player had become increasingly unreliable and had been replaced by a tremendous new player friend of Dave's, Lyle Jenkins. The only trouble with having such a brilliant brass section was that it was being eyed by other bands of much higher recognition than Galliard at the time.
The second album, 'New Dawn', was recorded in the Beatles' legendary Abbey Road Number 2 studio. Surrounded by an array of extra instruments (including the famous Mellotron from Strawberry Fields), the band included supplemented brass sections, sitars, keyboards, sine-wave generators, accordion, harpsichord and other creative inputs that meant it took longer to record than the first album. The album, again produced by Phil Wainman, was far more ambitious and polished than the first album and the band had finally found its own sound.
The first two tracks; the classic 'New Dawn Breaking' written by Geoff with a great brass arrangement by Dave Caswell and a stunning free-form sax-solo from Lyle Jenkins; and 'Premonition', an instrumental written by Dave, were both finished by February 1970. The third track with them playing trumpet and sax, 'Your Mind's Eye', was completed by March. Then, out of the blue, both Dave and Lyle were poached by 'The Keef Hartley Band'. Understandable now as Keef Hartley was an established professional London band with a big following, but at the time it was a massive blow and it was hard to replace them. Keef Hartley subsequently lost Dave and Lyle to 'Ashton Gardner & Dyke'.
Dave and Lyle played together in various bands following AG&D and Dave went on to play with some very high profile bands and artists such as The Who, Elkie Brooks, Rick Wakeman, Randy Crawford, The Yellowjackets, Paul McCartney and many others.
Undeterred, the remaining Galliard line-up was determined to get the album finished. John Morton, a local trombone player and arranger, and a friend of Geoff's, was the key to providing the musicians and working alongside Geoff on the arrangements for the remaining tracks of New Dawn. He also contributed as a co-writer with Geoff on a couple of new songs for the album.
Galliard were back in the studio in May 1970 with a new line-up to include John Hughes brass arranger and trombone/keyboards, Tony Roberts (sax), and Harry Becket - a session trumpeter to complete the album. The first track, 'Winter-Spring-Summer' with this ensemble was recorded on the 3rd May 1970 with a stunning flugelhorn solo by Harry Becket, followed by one of Geoff's favorite tracks, 'Open Up Your Mind' on the 31st May. The album was completed in July and released in September 1970.
John Peel had a major radio-show at the time and invited Galliard to appear live twice earlier in the year when Dave and Lyle were still with the band. The recordings are still available as bootlegs and show how exciting the band could be in a live setting. The band was then a 6-piece with John Morton on trombone and Bob Rae on sax/trumpet.
1970 was a busy year for Galliard with lots of live performances plus a gig in June at the legendary 'Festival of The Midnight Sun' at the Mantorps Racing Circuit in Sweden. This gig though was played as a quartet with no brass section as the guys couldn't make it and it became clear to the band that the cost of touring with a brass section, plus the unreliability of the players and the changes of personnel made it necessary to revert back to the four-piece guitars, bass and drums line-up. This was the line-up that went, inexplicably, to the Belgian Congo in November 1971 to play for Mobutu's presidential celebrations - and came back alive!
Losing the brass section was not a detrimental thing for Galliard who continued to thrive and tour with the quartet line-up. Richard still played sitar and Geoff supplemented with keyboards as synthesizers slowly started to creep into rock group line-ups.
Phil Wainman meantime, with his pop successes, wanted to record Galliard under a different name. The same line-up released a single in 1971 under the name of 'Helicopter' on Phil's own 'Maple Annie' label with a song written by Geoff entitled 'I Belong To Yesterday' which featured Richard on his legendary sitar. The band unfortunately by then had lost its way. The lack of success at the time of the albums had disheartened the guys and Les decided to quit.
Geoff had by then moved on from progressive rock to more commercial music and was attracted to the keyboards and the possibilities that they offered, especially the new electronic samplers and other synthesizers. It was really the end of the road for Galliard as Geoff's new songs moved the band in a new direction towards funk/jazz black-American influenced music that got Geoff and Andy back to their R&B/Blues roots, which was not the direction that all the band wanted to go in. It also got the band more work as they switched to the Birmingham-based Fewtrell/Tully agency and started to work in more night clubs than colleges.
Richard Pannell eventually left in 1973 and joined E.L.O. as their permanent sound engineer. Les Podraza moved on as he wasn't interested in the new music, to be replaced firstly by the late Fred Woolley, followed by Steve James, and then another Geoff drummer discovery, Mel Gaynor (Carl Palmer being the first). Mel later went on to fame with Simple Minds! Lyle Jenkins is still playing and runs a jazz club and teaches sax/woodwinds in Essex. Dave Caswell is retired but still active with local bands in Dorset. He commutes to Germany each year for serious jazz gigs.
Geoff's next band to take the stage and make an impact in Birmingham and the recording scene was 'Muscles' who became Birmingham's answer to 'Level 42', but that's another story!
Tracks
1. New Dawn Breaking - 4:22
2. Ask For Nothing - 9:01
3. Winter-Spring-Summer - 5:57
4. Open Up Your Mind (Brown, Morton) - 3:14
5. And Smile Again - 4:09
6. Something Going On (Brown, Morton) - 4:55
7. Premonition (Caswell) - 4:45
8. In Your Mind's Eyes - 6:28
All songs by Geoff Brown except where stated
Musicians
*Andrew Abbott - Bass, Lead Vocals
*Geoff Brown - Lead Vocals, Rhythm, 12 String Guitars, Hammond Organ, Piano
*Dave Caswell - Trumpet. Indian Flute, Electric Piano, Vocals
*Richard Pannell - Lead Guitar, Sitar, Vocals
*Leslie Podraza - Drums, Tambourine, Sleigh Bells, Vocals
*Harald Beckett - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
*John Hughes - Trombone
*Lyle Jenkins - Tenor, Baritone Saxophones
*John Morton - Piano
*Tony Roberts - Saxophone, Flute
*Tommy Thomas - Congas
Galliard, formed in Birmingham during the summer of 1968, were one of the few progressive rock bands to come out of Birmingham. They were, in essence, a much-augmented later metamorphosis of Craig, the four-piece who recorded the fearsome 'I Must Be Mad'. Galliard cut two albums, 'Strange Pleasure' and 'New Dawn', released on the Deram Nova label, both of which were produced by Phil Wainman, drummer and future Bay City Rollers' manager.
The four members of Craig went their separate ways in 1966. Carl Palmer went off to join Chris Farlowe's Thunderbirds, and then went to 'The Crazy World of Arthur Brown'. He later became part of the very successful 'Emerson, Lake & Palmer' trio. Geoff Brown went off to British Leyland's computer department as a programmer, which stood him in good stead when many years later he set up an international game publisher, US Gold. Len Cox dropped out of the music scene to reappear many years later as a priest. Richard Pannell went on to finish his electronics' degree - the skills gained proving very useful when he later became the sound engineer for ELO.
After Craig, Richard Pannell began playing guitar semi-pro with an Irish showband led by vocalist John Fitzgerald called 'The Castaways' (coincidentally the same name as the first band Geoff and Richard formed in '62, which later became The King Bees). Also playing in the showband were John Smith (sax), Dave Caswell (trumpet), Andy Abbott (bass), and drummer Frank McGonagle. In late 1967 Richard asked Geoff if he would like to join the band on a semi-pro basis as it was only playing weekends and Geoff agreed. Like most Irish showbands at the time the music was an eclectic mix, but what worked really well were the soul-based Stax-type songs with the brass section.
Tiring of the Showband scene, Geoff suggested they form a regular band and concentrate on the soul aspect of the music. Stax was the vogue label at the time and with the brass laden tracks they were ideal songs for the band to cover. Geoff was singing confident lead vocals having cut his teeth on blues with the King Bees. In mid-1968, the band was launched as 'Immediate Pleasure' and played the local clubs such as The Rum Runner and The Cedar Club, gaining a small but enthusiastic group of fans.
Like most bands there are a couple of seminal things that influence the direction and musical genre that any band decides to play; the ability and influence of the leading band members, and the prevailing styles of music around at the time. In the case of Immediate Pleasure it was Geoff's eclectic music tastes linked with Dave and John's jazz background plus Richard's expertise in electronics and experimentation. In addition, groups were emerging in the USA that included brass sections in the line-up, the most notable being 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' with their 1968 album 'Child is Father to the Man' followed in April 1969 later by 'Chicago' with 'Chicago Transit Authority'. Both these bands at the time seemed to Geoff to be an exciting new genre of music that Immediate Pleasure could tackle as it had the line-up to attempt it. It also sparked off Geoff's songwriting skills again.
A somewhat obscure North American group called 'Ars Nova', who released an album Ars Nova in 1968 that had an intriguing mix of psychedelic rock with classical overtones and a brass section, caught the band's interest. The iTunes review of the album almost sums up where Galliard's initial inspiration came from: "There are haunting tunes with a folk-rock base and a faint Renaissance ballad melodic influence - and harder rocking period psychedelic tracks with a bent for unpredictable bittersweet progressions and vocal harmonies..." This eclectic mix was the spark for Geoff to ignite the inspiration for Galliard. The galliard was a popular medieval dance of the 16th century and, influenced by the sound of Ars Nova, Geoff wrote a song for the first album called 'Frog Galliard' and named the band after it.
Strangely enough, for a relatively unknown band, Ars Nova must have been listened to by other Birmingham musicians as one of their album tracks 'Fields Of People' was released by The Move on their 1970 album 'Shazam'. There were other influences in the band though which came from the jazzy brass section and also the early blues songs that the King Bees had played. Slowly, but surely Galliard was developing its own eclectic style.
Frank, the drummer, was not interested in the new direction the band was taking and the search was on for a drummer that would complement and enhance Geoff's Galliard songs and the final piece of the Galliard sound came when Les Podraza joined the band in February 1969. Les was a young, local Birmingham musician who had just come off tour with Tim Rose where he replaced John Bonham on drums. He was very creative and so with Les's drumming and Andy Abbott's original tight bass playing the rhythm section was complete and could easily match the different styles that the band was incorporating. Andy, very influenced by the playing of Blood, Sweat & Tears' Jim Fielder, was also taking some lead vocal parts and singing harmony with Geoff to augment the overall vocal sound. Once Les joined the band, they started to gig solely as Galliard with original material mostly provided by Geoff.
Galliard was still operating semi-professionally, but was building up a major following around the Midlands and on the college circuit, and was starting to support headlining bands - sometimes stealing the show! The band was managed at the time by Alan Clayton of Astra Agency in Wolverhampton, and it was Alan who arranged for Galliard to audition for a new record producer, Phil Wainman, who was looking to step into the emerging progressive rock scene. Decca were launching a new progressive label at the time, Deram Nova, and Galliard produced by Phil was an ideal band to be amongst the first wave of album releases.
By this time, Galliard had amassed enough songs to fill an album and went into Olympic Studios in London to record their first LP entitled 'Strange Pleasure', the fourth album released in the Deram Nova catalogue in November 1969. The mix of songs was very eclectic with the opening track being an arrangement of an old traditional blues classic 'Skillet Good 'n Greasy' first heard by Geoff on Davy Graham's 'Folk, Blues and Beyond' 1964 album - but what an arrangement, with classic guitar build-up riffs, plus a blasting horn arrangement straight out of the BS&T bag. The album also included Galliard's first single, 'I Wrapped Her In Ribbons' a haunting folk-type song punctuated with a brilliant brass arrangement and great trumpet solo in 5/4 time (edited out for the single). The B-side was 'The Hermit And The Knight', a song written by Dave Caswell and included on the second Galliard album.
An interesting note is that, of all people, Frank Ifield recorded Galliard's I Wrapped Her In Ribbons as a B-side to his single 'Three Good Reasons' in May 1970. Why, or how, he chose the song Geoff has no idea. Other highlights of the album were backward guitar solos, sound effects, harmonica and classical trumpet solos amongst other original touches.
Tracks
1. Skillet - 3:46
2. A Modern Day Fairy Tale - 3:16
3. Pastorale - 2:29
4. I Wrapped Her In Ribbons - 3:52
5. Children Of The Sun - 3:46
6. Got To Make It - 4:00
7. Frog Galliard - 3:22
8. Blood - 3:47
9. Hear The Colours - 3:48
10.I Wanna Be Back Home - 4:54
11.The Hermit And The Knight - 2:42
12.I Wrapped Her In Ribbons (Single Version) - 3:09
Neon’s 1970 debut album was produced by Tommy James and Bob King (the pair also handled musical arrangements and contributed one song to the set). "Neon" is actually a surprisingly good heavy rock album. With Crabtree penning the majority of the material, the set offered up a nice blend of guitar rock ('Mountain Baby' - ignore the ponderous drum solo) and more commercial moves (check out the Tommy James and the Shondells-styled harmonies on 'Hold Back My Tears').
Personal favorites were the band's cover of James' 'Dark Is the Night' (always liked that 1960s sitar sound), the rocker 'Can't Stop Myself (From Loving You)' and the mildly psychedelic 'Magic Man'. Listening to the album a couple more times, the set sounds like something The Shondells might have done had the ever elected to go for a tighter, AOR audience - that's meant as a compliment. A pleasant surprise and a bargain at the asking price
Tracks
1. Mountain Baby - 6:26
2. Hold Back My Tears - 3:24
3. Dark Is The Night (Tommy James, Bob King) - 3:26
4. Can't Stop Myself (From Lovin' You) - 6:20
5. Magic Man - 7:31
6. Nobody Nowhere (P. Brannigan, F. Crabtree, R. Leslie, F. Porter) - 7:30
7. Funny Kind Of Feelin' - 5:15
8. Darling Before I Go (Stereo Single Bonus Track) - 2:13
9. Movin' (Mono Single Bonus Track) - 2:37
All songs by Francis Crabtree except where indicated
In January of 1964, Rivers opened the historic Whisky A Go-Go to a packed crowd of Hollywood stars and music fans, kicking off what would come to be known as the Go Go Generation. For the next year, a crowd of fans and celebrities flocked to the club to listen and dance to Rivers’ high energy live performances. Even the Beatles and Bob Dylan graced the club to see Rivers’ show.
Secret Agent Man: The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology, begins with his first hit single, Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” from his debut album Johnny Rivers Live At The Whisky A Go- Go. The single was a smash hit, climbing its way to the top of the charts. Like his first album, Rivers recorded his second, Here We A Go-Go Again!, live at the club. This album also spawned a major national hit with another Chuck Berry song “Maybelline.” Rivers continued to have great success with gems such as “Mountain Of Love,” “Seventh Son,” and one of his best known songs, “Secret Agent Man,” originally the opening theme for the hit TV series Secret Agent starring Patrick McGoohan.
After six “live” albums, Rivers changed direction; he began using more of his own compositions and expanding his arrangements in the recording studio. The centerpiece of his aptly titled Changes album was “Poor Side Of Town,” a lush, soulful ballad, which topped the singles charts in 1966. Rivers was the first artist outside the Motown camp to have hits with the Motown classics “Baby, I Need Your Lovin’” and “The Tracks Of My Tears.” In 1967 Rivers produced his best selling album to date, Realization, which featured his classic hit “Summer Rain.”
In the 1970’s Rivers came back with several classics including “Help Me Rhonda” with Brian Wilson singing harmony (the success of which inspired Brian to go back in the studio with the Beach Boys) and the New Orleans-style piano classic, “Rockin’ Pneumonia - Boogie Woogie Flu.” In 1977 Rivers scored again with the beautiful Jack Tempchin penned ballad “Slow Dancin’.” Secret Agent Man: The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology: 1964-2006 features the above mentioned tracks as well as songs recorded later, including Elvis Presley’s “That’s Alright Mama,” and the Carl Perkins songs “Honey Don’t” and “Matchbox,” recorded in 1991 at Sun Studios and latter two featuring Perkins on guitar. A beautiful version of the Beatles “I’ll Be Back” (from the 2004 Reinvention Highway Soul City release) and crowd-favorite “China” from the 2001 live album Back At The Whisky are also featured on the package.
Shout Factory, June 27, 2006
Tracks
Disc 1
1. Memphis (Berry) - 2:30
2. Maybelline (Berry) - 2:15
3. Mountain of Love (Dorman) - 2:39
4. Midnight Special (Traditional) - 2:28
5. Seventh Son (W. Dixon) - 2:45
6. Where Have All the Flowers Gone (Seeger) - 3:15
7. Secret Agent Man (P.F. Sloan, Barri) - 3:05
8. (I Washed My Hands In) Muddy Water (Babcock) - 2:58
9. Poor Side of Town (Rivers, Adler) - 3:28
10.Baby, I Need Your Lovin' (Holland, Dozier, Holland) - 3:07
11.The Tracks of My Tears (Robinson, Tarplin, Moore) - 2:56
Disc 2
1. Help Me Rhonda (Wilson) - 2:54
2. Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancin') (Tempchin) - 4:00
3. Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um) (Mayfield) - 3:03
4. That's Alright Mama (Big A. Crudup) - 2:51
5. Honey Don't (Perkins) - 3:21
6. Big River (Cash) - 3:04
7. Matchbox (Perkins) - 2:12
8. Down at the House of Blues (Rivers) - 4:40
9. Closer to You (Rivers, Hamblin) - 4:55
10.Blue Suede Shoes (Tribute to Carl Perkins) (Hendricks, Hendricks) - 3:48
11.Last Train to Memphis (Rivers, Tempchin) - 3:41
12.China (Live) (Georgiades, Monday) - 5:49
13.Midnight Special (2004 Version) (Traditional) - 4:41
14.I'll Be Back (Lennon, McCartney) - 2:27
15.Going Back to Big Sur (Rivers) - 3:32
16.Feel a Whole Lot Better (Clarke) - 2:50
17.Rollin' Stone (Waters) - 3:04
18.Let It Rock (Berry) - 2:31
Reissue of classic rare psychedelic rock record from Argentina circa 1970. Very guitar-drenched in a Fraction kinda way, with westcoast overtones. Long tracks, stunnin hard guitar-odyssey effects, phased vocals, everything the mind boggles is here. Has nice surrealistic cover-art.
Montes made one album, originals of which have been fed to the condors long time ago to keep them high and were not found. . Original pressings are rare as gold dust.
Tracks
1. En El Caminos De Dios Hacia El Sol - 1:42
2. Arde Roma - 2:55
3. El Ascensor - 4:40
4. Hoy - 5:52
5. Arco Iris - 7:40
6. Fuera Del Sol - 4:16
7. Epilogo De Crossville - 4:31
8. Dias Despues - 1:32
All songs by J. Montes and Luis Miguel Montes.
Nicky Hopkins' finest solo album, the memorably titled The Tin Man Was A Dreamer is a solid piece of engagingly edgy pop-rock variety with a few rough edges. As one would expect, Hopkins' piano playing (augmented by the organ in spots) dominates most of the songs, but there's ample room for strong contributions from George Harrison (working as "George O'Hara") on lead and slide guitar on four of the tracks, and Mick Taylor on lead and acoustic guitars on four tracks; the rest of the band includes Klaus Voormann on bass and Bobby Keys on sax, as well as future Tubes alumnus Prairie Prince on drums.
Highlights include the hauntingly beautiful ballad "Dolly", the closest thing to a potential hit on this album, featuring a moving vocal performance by Hopkins (who wasn't known as a singer), with a beautifully understated lead guitar contribution by Taylor; the instrumental "Edward", featuring Hopkins' piano and organ rippling across a wide range of musical textures; the pounding, pumping rocker "Speed On", which offers Hopkins and his songwriting partner Jerry Williams on vocals; the wittily scatalogoical "Banana Anna"; "Lawyer's Lament", with its exquisite harmonies and Taylor's sensitive lead playing; and the rollicking "Pig's Boogie", which crosses paths with the work of Merrill Moore and Jerry Lee Lewis. This is a very worthwhile foray into center-stage by one of rock's most renowned side- and session men.
by Bruce Eder
Tracks
1. Sundown In Mexico – 1:35
2. Waiting For The Band – 2:15
3. Edward – 5:20
4. Dolly (N. Hopkins, J. Williams) – 4:42
5. Speed On (N. Hopkins, J. Williams) – 3:59
6. The Dreamer – 5:47
7. Banana Anna (N. Hopkins, J. Williams) – 3:37
8. Lawyer's Lament (N. Hopkins, J. Williams) – 3:43
9. Shout It Out (N. Hopkins, J. Williams) – 3:39
10.Pig's Boogie – 2:42
All songs by Nicky Hopkins except where indicated
Musicians
*Nicky Hopkins - Piano, Organ, Vocals
*George Harrison - Guitar, Slide Guitar
*Mick Taylor - Guitar
*Jerry Williams - Vocals
*Klaus Voorman - Bass
*Prairie Prince - Drums
*Ray Cooper - Percussion
*Bobby Keys - Sax
*Jim Hora - Sax
*Jim Price - Trumpet
*Chris Spedding - Guitar
*Mike Egan, Chris Rae - Acoustic Guitars
*Del Newman - Strings, Brass Arrangements
These Trails was recorded in Honolulu in 1973 and originally released in a small private pressing, and it is one of those rare albums whose backstory is almost wholly audible in the music. Primarily written and performed by singer-songwriters Margaret Morgan and Patrick Cockett, the album has long circulated among fans of obscure psych-folk, and it has been reissued several times in perhaps-not-entirely-legit versions. The album's reputation is well-earned, as These Trails is a lovely and incredibly evocative slice of Pacific folk-rock, and Drag City has performed a good service by finally reissuing the album in a handsome new authorized edition.
The musicians behind the creation of These Trails were never even officially a band-- they played no professional gigs together and made no other recordings. (Which is why there are no outtakes or bonus materials included with this reissue.) Margaret Morgan and Patrick Cockett lived together in Hawaii in what sound like idyllic circumstances, writing and playing songs based largely on the majesty of their natural surroundings. The duo was joined in the studio by singer-guitarist Carlos Pardeiro and Dave Choy, a studio engineer who embellished the group's acoustic material with what was then a state-of-the-art Arp synthesizer. The addition of these vintage electronics helps to give the album a slightly off-kilter wobble, creating an otherworldly atmosphere that would echo decades later in the work of Stereolab and Broadcast.
For the most part, however, the music on These Trails sounds as though it could have been created only in its own specific time and place. Like many of the best psych-folk documents of the era, the album seems to have been produced in a completely irony-free environment, and it has a sense of guilelessness that would be virtually impossible to reproduce today. Morgan sings in a voice highly reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, but with a distinctive island lilt of her own. Throughout the album she harmonizes with Cockett in a manner that sounds both unique and effortless, backed chiefly by acoustic guitars, dulcimer, and Choy's mysterious burbling Arp.
Lyrically the album abounds with references to local Hawaiian landmarks, flora, and vocabulary. Songs such as "Our House in Hanalei" or "Waipoo" can serve as a sort of personal guidebook, with Morgan and Cockett pointing out various natural features along the trail. ("Banana leaves describe the breezes... gingers grow, where white buds lay sleeping.") Especially evocative is "Rusty's House", which describes a visit to the front porch of surfer Rusty Miller, whose remote home was accessible only by foot, in an account so vivid that the listener can practically feel the sunshine and taste the pot smoke.
Even more transporting are the album's instrumental interludes "Psyche I" and "Psyche II", on which Choy gently explores the Arp's cosmic possibilities. These mildly trippy moments aside, most of the action on These Trails remains firmly affixed in the verdant Hawaiian soil. The songs are short and melodic, and the musicians avoid many of the indulgences that mar so many psychedelic albums of the time period-- there are thankfully no prolonged organ solos or overt references to The Lord of the Rings.
Patrick Cockett has gone on to perform with such artists as Buffy Sainte-Marie and Taj Mahal, but by all evidence the enigmatic Margaret Morgan, who passed away in 2004, never recorded again. This fact makes These Trails seem all the more like a snapshot from an exquisite but fleeting moment in time. And though it is interesting to speculate where their music might have gone from here if the artists had continued to write and record together, there is no denying that they captured something special on These Trails, and while the album plays that seems like enough.
by Matthew Murphy
Tracks
1. These Trails - 1:24
2. Our House In Hanalei - 1:51
3. Of Broken Links - 1:40
4. El Rey Pescador (Carlos Pardeiro) - 3:07
5. Psyche I And Share Your Water - 5:22
6. Hello Lou - 3:47
7. Rusty's House And Los In Space ( Patrick Cockett, Carlos Pardeiro) - 5:49
8. Psyche II - 2:30
9. Sowed A Seed - 2:17
10. Rapt Attention - 2:15
11. Waipoo (Patrick Cockett) - 2:36
12. Garden Botanum (Patrick Cockett, Margaret Morgan) - 3:31
All songs by Margaret Morgan unless as else stated.
These Trails
*Margaret Morgan - Dulcimer, Guitar, Vocals
*David Choy - ARP Synthesizer
*Patrick Cockett - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Tabla, Vocals With
*Eric Kingsbury - Guitar
*Carlos Pardeiro - Guitar, Sitar, Vocals
Junco Partners sprang from the same Newcastle music scene that launched Eric Burden and the Animals. Formed in 1964 (the name came from a famous blues song), the original line-up featured singers John Anderson and Ronnie Baker, guitarist Charles Harcourt, bassist David Sproat, keyboardist Peter Wallis, and drummer John Woods.
With The Animals breaking through to an international audience, Junco Partners seemed groomed for similar success. Immensely popular on the local club scene, in 1964 they packed up for Hamburg's infamous Star Club, but were turned back by German immigration officials who discovered they were too young to get work permits. That setback seemed momentary with the band signing a recording deal that saw the release of their debut single.
Even though it was an intriguing mix of blues and more pop-oriented moves (imagine a mash-up of The Animals and The Zombies), the single did little commercially (# 60 on the UK pop charts), and the band returned to the English circuit where they spent the next six years opening for name bands and serving as a touring unit for a stream of American blues acts, including Freddie King and Howlin' Wolf.
By the time the band got a chance to finally record an album the line-up had shrunk to former Jackson Heights alumnus Charles Harcourt on lead guitar and vocals, Sargeant on lead vocals and keyboards, Sproat on bass, and drummer Woods. Produced by Fritz Fryer, to my ears 1970's "Junco Partners" was one of those albums that didn't immediately hit you, rather crept up on you and simply wouldn't leave you alone (kinda' like a bad woman).
So here's what the band has to say about the collection: "The The Junco Partners Album was recorded in various big London studios for "Barclay" record label over a six week period in between touring in 1969 with Howlin Wolf, Freddie King and others. It was released in England, France and Germany after the band split up in 1970. At the time of recording, the band was a very slim four piece, renown for its dynamic live performances and gave its all to Bob Sargeant's songs. But truthfully we still didn't capture the essence of what we were when we started out, or what we are now - "A bloody good blues band". However it did awakened Bob Sargeant's recording and producing prowess - he went on to produce number 1's on both sides of the Atlantic, including more than twenty top 20 hits and on reflection the songs are not that bad either."
Judging by these ten tracks I'd say their opinion was a bit on the modest side. Anyone expecting to hear a standard collection of British guys doing lame blues covers was going to be in for a major surprise. While material like their cover of Joe Cocker's Change In Louise' and the Sargeant-penned 'Am I Blue' underscored their longstanding blues fixation, the album was far more diverse than expected with credible stabs at progressive, psych, and commercial rock.
Sargeant may not have been able to compete with the bluesy intensity of former lead singers John Anderson and Ronnie Baker, but he was actually quite good, occasionally sounding a bit like a gruffer Stevie Winwood and on tracks like 'Fly Me High' and 'Reprieve' he was magnificent. Guitarist Harcourt also handled vocals on a couple of tracks and was also a strong presence. As for the rest of the band, Harcourt was a real rarity - a rock guitarist who didn't play a single unnecessary chord, while the Sproat/Woods rhythm section was consistently superb - easy to see why American blues men wanted to work with them.
Tracks
1. The Minotaur - 4:21
2. Fly Me High - 4:44
3. Change In Louise (Joe Crocker, Chris Stainton) - 3:50
4. Black Widow - 4:03
5. Help Me (Charles Harcourt) - 3:43
6. Natural Thoughts - 3:25
7. Am I Blue - 4:21
8. Reprieve - 3:45
9. In The Morning- 4:10
10. Death By Fire (P. Rowan) - 5:28
All songs by Robert Sargeant except where stated
