The Sons Of Champlin - Loosen Up Naturally (1969 us, exciting tight jazz blues psych rock)

Although the Sons of Champlin made their recording debut with the single "Sing Me a Rainbow" on Verve Records in 1967, it has taken them another two years to release this, their first album, which means they are late out of the starting blocks as far as psychedelic San Francisco rock bands are concerned. They try to make up for that with a major statement, a double-LP running over an hour. 

They also distinguish themselves immediately in terms of their instrumentation and arranging style. If the San Francisco sound is defined by simple folk-style song structures extended by long guitar solos, this is something entirely different. The Sons take their inspiration from R&B and jazz, to which they then apply the psychedelic treatment. There is a talented lead guitarist in Terry Haggerty, but he has to fight for space in the songs with Bill Champlin, who plays organ and saxophone, as well as multi-instrumentalist Geoff Palmer, whose arsenal also includes saxophone, though he may also break out a mean vibraphone, as he does in "Get High." 

The horns are unusual in a San Francisco band and incline toward the coming sound of Blood, Sweat & Tears, although that outfit is far more pop-oriented. The Sons are perhaps better understood as fundamentally a jazz band, with their multiple soloists and complicated arrangements. Over all the furious playing, Champlin displays a gritty R&B vocal style, but the melodies are less important than the arrangements and the soloing. 

Champlin's lyrics tend toward the philosophical with many references to being "free," and when he uses that word, he clearly is not just referring to personal liberty, but also to "free" playing, which is what the band does, particularly on the sidelong closing track, appropriately called "Freedom." Loosen Up Naturally, like many other double albums, probably could have been boiled down to a strong single LP, but the very concept of the band on this recording, as embodied in the title, is to spread out and blow, and that takes some space. the Sons of Champlin give the listener a lot to take in on their full-length debut, and they give themselves several interesting directions to pursue in the future. 

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks
1. 1982-A - 3:50
2. The Thing To Do - 4:45
3. Misery Isn't Free - 4:13
4. Rooftop - 3:42
5. Everywhere - 3:45
6. Don't Fight It, Do It! - 4:15
7. Get High - 7:45
8. Black And Blue Rainbow - 3:18
9. Hello Sunlight - 4:20
10.Things Are Gettin' Better - 5:50
11.Freedom - 14:45
All compositions by  Sons Of Chaplin

The Sons Of Champlin
*Bill Bowen - Drums
*Tim Caine - Saxophone
*Bill Champlin - Guitar, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals
*Terry Haggerty - Guitar, Vocals
*Geoffrey Palmer - Keyboards, Bass, Saxophone, Vocals
*Al Strong - Bass

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Rainbow Band (Midnight Sun) - Rainbow Band (1970-71 denmark, brilliant psych, prog jazz rock, bonus tracks edition)

Midnight Sun originally went under the name Rainbow Band and released an album with that name too, before switching to Midnight Sun. Their first LP with their new name was weirdly enough just a re-recorded version of their first record as Rainbow Band! Anyway, "Midnight Sun" is a really good album, melting jazz, blues and energetic rock into a '70s sound. 

It's quite obvious with such influences that the band had listened a lot to bands like Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears, but didn't end up sounding like them at all. "Talkin'" is a superb opener to the album, fusing the bluesy vocals of Alan Mortensen with an irresistible rhythmic theme dominated by Niels Brψnstedt's el-piano and Bent Hesselman's jazzy sax-riffs. The hard rocking and jam-oriented instrumental section turns the spotlight over to Peer Frost's razor-sharp guitar. "King of the Sun" has a pretty similar structure, but with a much lighter feel where the outstanding and tight solo-parts are what really save the track. 

The ballad "Nobody" is based around some eerie piano-chords, but increases the tempo during the instrumental passage where the piano veers into some classical influences too. "Where You Going to be" is in a more straightforward rock-fashion, but with a great mid-tempo groove and a jazzy sax-solo. "B.M." is a short instrumental written by bassist Bo Stief, and is mostly a showcase for his skills on acoustic bass. "Sippin' Wine" is the band from their lightest and least interesting side, with some clear influences from Blood, Sweat & Tears. 

The complex, intense and energetic 15-minute "Living on the Hill" is on the contrary the highlight of the record. It should also be mentioned that the band had a very good and thoroughly active drummer in Carsten Smedegaard. Guitarist Frost also surprises a bit here by turning into a classical-influenced heavy metal-styled guitar-solo in the middle of the song, followed by some even more aggressive jamming. 

The album closes in a far more peaceful way with Hesselman's instrumental "Rainbow Song" where he plays a beautiful theme on flute while some Mellotron turns it into the only slight symphonic moment on the record. This is definitively one of the Danish '70s rock albums you should check out. 

Vintage-prog

Tracks
1. Where Do You Live (Bisgaard, Brøndsted) - 4:26
2. King Of The Sun (Hesselmann, Levy, Mortensen) - 5:05
3. Nobody (Brondsted) / B. M. (Stief) - 7:46
4. Where Are You Going To Be (Hesselmann, Levy) - 2:48
5. Living On The Hill  (Frost, Bisgaard) - 14:12
6. Rainbow Song (Mortensen) - 3:50
7. Talking (Brondsted, Mortensen) - 5:04
8. King Of The Sun (Hesselmann, Levy, Mortensen) - 4:29
9. Nobody (Brondsted) - 4:56
10.Where Are You Going To Be (Hesselmann, Levy) - 5:32
11.B. M. (Stief) - 2:34
12.Sippin' Wine (Mortensen) - 3:07
13.Living On The Hill (Frost, Bisgaard) - 14:48
Album version 2 tracks 7-13

Rainbow Band (Midnight Sun)
*Lars Bisgaard - Vocals (1-6)
*Allan Mortensen - Vocals (7-13)
*Bent Hesselmann - Sax, Flute
*Peer Frost - Guitar
*Niels Brondsted - Piano
*Bo Stief - Bass
*Carsten Smedegaard - Drums

1972/74  Midnight Sun - Walking Circles / Midnight Dream

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Midnight Sun - Walking Circles / Midnight Dream (1972/74 denmark, spectacular jazz prog rock)

Denmark's Rainbow Band was formed in late 1969 as a supergroup consisting of Peer Frost (ex-Young Flowers), Lars Bisgaard (ex-Maxwells), Carsten Smedegaard (ex-Beefeaters), Bent Hesselmann and the former jazz players Niels Bronsted and Bo Stief (they had backed American jazz musicians at Copenhagen's Café Montmartre). The idea was to play jazz-influenced progressive rock in the style of Burnin' Red Ivanhoe and Traffic's second album. These influences were strongly evident on their 1970 album.

 It's a very good effort, still very indicative of the hippie era. The rhythm section still produced the powerful 60s beat, forcing Peer Frost to squeeze out some of his best guitar solos. Lars Bisgaard was replaced by Allan Mortensen (ex-Tears) at the end of 1970. A Canadian group was already using the name Rainbow Band, which forced the Danish group to change their name into Midnight Sun in July 1971. Surprisingly enough, they decided to remake their first album instead of moving on to new material.

"Walking Circles" and "Midnight Dream" are their second and third albums. This is well-crafted progressive jazz with plenty of funky rhythms with great guitar and occasional tight brass that hits the spot. The Walking Circles album features cover art by Roger Dean, as did their debut. Pear Frost is said to be Denmark’s finest guitarist from this time period. Some similarities to 60’s era Traffic and Burning Red Ivanhoe. 

The powerful instrumental "A La Turca" from "Walking Circles" has many trademarks of Midnight Sun at their best; melodic, jazzy saxophone and piano blended with heavy riffs and some outstanding soloing. This level of quality continues in "The Way of Zen", but in a very different musical frame, as this is a laidback and atmospheric ballad based mostly around the piano and some ethereal flute. 

Stief's acoustic bass also makes a return here. But the record unfortunately decreases into mediocrity again with "I've Got A New Mind" that opens the second side in a not very promising way. Luckily, the band goes back to form for the rest of the album. "Winds Gonna Blow" opens with some beautiful, jazzy flute-themes and also has a nice string-arrangement that further enhances the strong melody. Definitively one of the best on the record. The title-track is the most complex piece here, with the el-piano playing one of the main roles. "I'm Living A Dream" is very short but good, mid-tempo jazzy song that closes this partly uneven but still worthwhile album. 

Vintage-prog

Tracks
Walking Circles 
1. Can You Hear The Music Play (Lasse Helner, Peter Helner) - 3:57
2. Country Song (Stief, Lauridsen) - 5:12
3. A La Turca (Hesselmann) - 4:47
4. The Way Of Zen (Andy Levy, Lauridsen, Frost) - 3:49
5. I've Got A New Mind (Andy Levy, Lauridsen, Bronsted) - 4:23
6. Winds Gonna Blow (Andy Levy, Bronsted) - 5:40
7. Walking Circles (Andy Levy, Bronsted) - 7:21
8. I'm Living A Dream (Andy Levy, Bronsted) - 1:37
Midnight Dream
9. Midnight Dream (Andy Levy, Lauridsen, Niels E. Skovgaard) - 5:02
10.Country Days (Andy Levy, Lauridsen, Bronsted) - 2:10
11.Me And I (Lauridsen, Bronsted, Sander) - 1:55
12.Send Me Flowers Every Morning (Lauridsen, Bronsted) - 3:46
13.I'll Love You, I'll Leave You (Andy Levy, Bronsted) - 3:06
14.Batum (Traditional, arranged By Bronsted) - 4:12
15.The Same Dream (Andy Levy, Lauridsen) - 3:19
16.When You Sleep Alone (Andy Levy, Hesselmann) - 4:35
17.Where Ever You Are (Lauridsen, Bronsted) - 8:40
18.How I Love You (Lauridsen, Sander) - 4:00

Midnight Sun
*Peer Frost Johansson - Guitars
*Niels Bronsted - Piano
*Bent Hesselmann - Sax, Flute
*Bo Stief - Bass
*Carsten Smedegaard - Drums
*Frank Lauridsen - Vocals, Harmonica
*Jens Elbøl Nielsen - Bass
*Peter Kragerup - Strings
*Finn Ziegler - Violin
*Simon Koppel - Congas
*Jannie Høegh, Lasse Helner, Sanne Salomonsen - Vocals

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Three Dog Night - Captured Live At The Forum (1969 us, groovy psych rock)

Captured Live at the Forum was so ubiquitous that it turned up with astonishing regularity in the collections of kids who did a lot of acid and suburbanite teens who otherwise listened to the Carpenters and the Partridge Family. And with good reason: it was the album that proved this band was more than a radio phenomenon; that they could (and did) make as great music on stage as they did on their records, and their reputation was made from it. 

The Harmony material is a little less intense. The band had settled into a formula by then, a little more than a year later, and was more pop-focused, but they could still pile on virtuosity to match the versatility, and it's great to hear this material with the kind of presence it deserved in playback, so you can see why even some of the more questionable moments. 

by Bruce Eder

Tracks
1. Heaven Is In Your Mind (Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood) - 3:23
2. Feelin' Alright (Dave Mason) - 4:55
3. It's For You (John Lennon, Paul Mccartney) - 2:02
4. Nobody (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) - 3:03
5. One (Harry Nilsson) - 3:37
6. Chest Fever (J.R. Robertson) - 7:02
7. Eli's Coming (Laura Nyro) - 3:45
8. Easy To Be Hard (Galt MacDermot, James Rado, Gerome Ragni) - 4:25
9. Try A Little Tenderness (Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Harry M. Woods) - 6:08

Three Dog Night
*Mike Allsup - Guitar
*Jimmy Greenspoon - Keyboard
*Danny Hutton - Vocals
*Chuck Negron - Vocals
*Joe Schermie - Bass
*Floyd Sneed - Drums
*Cory Wells - Vocals

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Various Artists - Fairytales Can Come True (1966-72 europe, harmony pop with psychedelic feel, four discs set)

How many forgotten and “uncomped” European pop-psych gems from the late ‘60s can there still be? Judging by this excellent compilation from Nick Soloman’s (the one-man neo-psych band known as the Bevis Frond) imprint label Psychic Circle, the answer is: a lot. 

Following close on the heels of last year’s critically lauded Volume One in the “Fairytales” series, Fairy Cakes For Tea: Fairytales Can Come True delivers another 20 addictive morsels (mostly British) of melodic, and at times seriously danceable, “popsike” confectionary for your delectation without opening the door too wide to the wondrous world of whimsical “toytown” psychedelia. - (Which, let’s face it, is a acquired taste.) - But if you do take up the Youth’s invitation on the mellow “Meadow of My Mind” to “Come wading with me / In the babbling brook of my mind”, taken from the unknown crackle-and-hiss acetate version of a Deram-released obscurity, you won’ regret it. 

Further listening will unwrap candy-coated nuggets ranging from the Starlites’ poptastic “Good Morning Mr. Milkman” to the Hammond organ swinger “Look Out Girl”, a P.F. Sloan cover done by one Lloyd Banks or the almost Elizabethan madrigal of Scott Henderson’s “Saturday Night People” and a scintillating, beefed-up version of the much-covered classic “Spooky” by unknowns Sasperella. The real icing on this particular fairy cake, however, is provided by folk-rock duo Peter and Gordon wigging out on the groovy “I Feel Like Going Out”. The rest of the album pleasantly floats, skips and meanders through a cotton-candy universe without a dud tune. A rare treat indeed.

by Alan Brown

The idea of this compilation is to present obscure British recordings from the late '60s that had a definite psychedelic feel, but also had a lot of harmony pop influence at work as well. Often this led to a particularly precious branch of psychedelia dubbed (long after the fact) by some collectors as "toytown" music, in part because of a preoccupation with British character sketches, childhood nostalgia, and fantasy that was largely absent from American psychedelic rock.

There's some of that here, but fortunately this largely steers clear of excessively precious and twee material, though some of it does have the good-time bounce that leaked down to so many bands from the circa-1967 Beatles and Kinks. None of these were hits or anything close to it, of course, but some general '60s collectors might actually recognize some of the musicians, particularly the Searchers (represented by a fairly respectable, and seldom anthologized, late-'60s 45, "Umbrella Man");

Jackie Lomax, as leader of the Lomax Alliance; Los Bravos, of "Black Is Black" fame (here heard covering the Easybeats' song "Bring a Little Lovin'"); Ian Matthews, heard on the Pyramid's breezy "Summer of Last Year," recorded shortly before he joined Fairport Convention; and Hedgehoppers Anonymous and the Roulettes, both of whom had a little U.K. success on record in the '60s. 

What's most impressive about this compilation, however, is that there's a fair amount of variety in the selections, encompassing an obscure Troggs cover (Barry Benson's "Cousin Jane"), almost raw folk-rock (Hedgehoppers Anonymous' "Daytime"), sub-Walker Brothers balladeering (the Virgil Brothers' "Look Away"), and nearly baroque moodiness with influence from both classical music and Beach Boys harmonies (Fred Lloyd's "Kissed Him," Dreams' "A Boy Needs a Girl," and Dave Christie's "Penelope Breedlove"). If you want more singsongy sugary stuff, that's here, too, but not so much so that listening to the CD gets to be an overly sickly sweet experience. It's definitely an anthology for deep U.K. psych specialists, but likely one of the better ones in this subgenre to ever be compiled.

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks

Disc 1

Tracks - Artists

1. Summer Of Last Year - The Pyramid - 3:07 

2. Bring A Little Lovin' - Los Bravos - 2:25 

3. Kissed Him - Fred Lloyd - 2:04 

4. See The People - The Lomax Alliance - 2:14

5. Cousin Jane - Barry Benson - 2:35  

6. A Boy Needs A Girl - Dreams - 2:28  

7. Mary Ann She - Grisby Dyke - 2:56  

8. Fairy Tales Can Come True - San Francisco Earthquake - 2:29  

9. Trees - Gallagher & Lyle - 2:28 

10.Umbrella Man - The Searchers - 2:57 

11.Penelope Breedlove - Dave Christie - 2:37 

12.Nine To Five - Promise - 2:10  

13.Keeping My Head Above Water - Peppermint Circus - 2:36 

14.Look Away - The Virgil Brothers - 2:39 

15.Upside Down Inside Out - The Snappers - 2:51  

16.Pumpkin Mini - Katch 22 - 2:32  

17.Just Another Wedding Day - Brian Connell And The Roundsound - 2:46 

18.Saturday Town - Darlings - 1:55  

19.Daytime - Hedgehoppers Anonymous - 2:28 

20.Help Me To Help Myself - The Roulettes - 2:40

Disc 2 Fairy Cakes For Tea

Tracks - Artists

1. Honey Do - Crackers -  2:33

2. Mr. Smith - The Foresters -  3:00

3. Meadow of My Love - The Youth -  2:35 

4. Good Morning Mr. Milkman - The Starlites -  2:18 

5. Look Out Girl - Lloyd Banks -  3:02 

6. Never an Everyday Thing - Roek`s Family -  2:45  

7. Saturday Night People - Scott Henderson -  2:07  

8. I'm on My Way - Dave Andrews And The Sugar -  2:02  

9. Spooky - Sasperella -  3:24  

10.Driftwood - The Factotums -  2:45   

11.Listen to My Heart - The Bats -  3:06 

12.Unbrella - 14 -  2:12 

13.Fantastic Fair - The Guards -  2:50 

14.Holly Golightly - Fluff -  2:22 

15.Values - Peter -  2:06  

16.Fairy Cakes for Tea - Mike Quinn And The Breadcrumbs -  2:04  

17.I Feel Like Going Out - Peter & Gordon -  2:38

18.I Thought You Thought - Chuckles -  2:28

19.People People - Oliver Norman -  2:42 

20.Gotta Find You - Rescue Co. No 1 -  3:07

Disc 3 Let`s Ride

Artists - Tracks

1. Sight And Sound - Little Jackie Monday - 2:17

2. Winston G - Riding With The Milkman - 2:12

3. Hurbert Thomas Valverde And The HT`s - We Don`t Care - 2:31

4. Royalty - Let`s Ride - 2:51

5. Les Irresistibles - My Year Is A Day - 3:01

6. Stoics - Earth, Fire, Air And Water - 2:28

7. Grand Union - Slowly But Surely - 3:06

8. Barry Benson - I Can Wait - 2:21

9. Graham Bonney - Mixed Up Baby Girl - 1:44

10.Katch 22 - Don`t Bother - 1:59

11.My Kind Of People - Nobody Knows Why The Butterfly Died - 2:42

12.Mike Batt - Mary Goes Round - 2:15

13.The Chanters - Mississippi Paddleboat - 3:32

14.Des James - City Street - 2:24

15.Unit 4+2 - Booby Trap - 2:43

16.Tony Hazzard - The Sound Of The Candyman`s Trumpet - 2:38

17.The Newmens - What Ya Doin Down There - 3:01

18.Dave Christie - Love And The Brass Band - 2:36

19.White Lining - Back In the Sun - 3:22

20.Equipe 84 - 29th September - 2:26

Disc 4 We All Love the Human Race 
Tracks - Artists
1. The Blue Sound of Love - Alan Dell - 5:00
2. Changes in Our Time - Colin Giffin - 3:18
3. The Maze of Yesterday - Projection - 2:27
4. Lonely Man - Justin's Timepiece - 2:28
5. Hiding Behind My Smile - Iberos - 2:46
6. Little Maid's Song - Sasha Caro - 2:54
7. Makin' Love to Him - Tim Andrews, Paul Korda - 2:10
8. Letter to Josephine - Haystack - 2:49
9. Heart Trouble - Eyes Of Blue - 2:33
10.I Feel No Pain - Newby - 2:34
11.Movie Star - Cherry Smash - 3:14
12.We've Got a Groovy Thing Going - Ola And The Janglers - 2:15
13.Latisha - Dave Berry - 2:31
14.Maker of Mistakes - Chris Andrews - 2:37
15.Wish You Were Here - Darlings - 3:03
16.Six Angels & Three Girls - Modus Vivendi - 2:34
17.We All Love the Human Race - Wayne Fontana - 2:02
18.She Does - Plastic Penny - 3:05
19.I Don't Want You (Any More) - John Burness - 2:06
20.Morning - Jack Carter - 2:17

Psychic Circle compilations
1961-64  Phantom Guitars: A Cool Collection of Twangin' Instrumentals
1966-72  With The Sun In My Eyes
1968-72  White Lace And Strange
1968-72  The Room Of Loud Sounds
1964-69  Realistic Patterns Orchestrated Psychedelia
1965-69  Wednesday Morning Dew 
1965-70  The Electric Coffee House 
1965-70  The Golden Road The Electric Coffee House Vol.2
1966-72  We Can Fly
1969-73  Cosmarama
1969-74  Blow Your Cool: 20 Prog Psych Assaults
1969-74  Lovin’ Fire 20 Obscure Gems
1970-77  A Visit To The Spaceship Factory

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Joy Unlimited - Schmetterlinge (1971 germany, excellent concept fusion progressive rock, bonus tracks issue)

This group began their life as Joy and The Hit Kids, fronted by the talented female vocalist Joy Fleming, and they released four singles on Decca in 1967 and 1968. Their name was changed into Joy Unlimited in 1969, and five further singles were released on Polydor in 1969 and 1970. 

Polydor also released their first album Overground (1970), a befitting title, as it contained 12 short pop-blues rock songs, clearly inspired by Janis Joplin. For this reason, it is a bit dated today and only completists should investigate. 

By then, the group was a sextet. Schmetterlinge ('butterflies') was a solid step in a progressive direction. Indeed a very versatile album, ranging from the gutsy Joplin blues of "Rankness" via free jazz improvisations like "Sensual Impressions" to excellent progressive rock songs like "Rudiment". This album saw the arrival of a seventh member: Cord Kothe. 

The arrangements were refined, benefiting from the group's strong musical muscle. This, and both of the subsequent albums, contained ballet music! The female vocals placed Joy Unlimited in the European tradition of bands like Sandrose, Circus 2,000 and Earth & Fire. 

However, this was to change when Joy Fleming departed to start a solo career in 1972.

Cosmic Dreams At Play 

Tracks
1. Contacts
.a.Rudiment (Heck, Nagel, Herkenne, Hofgen) - 4:27
.b.Connection (Kindl, Metz, Strube) - 1:30
.c.That's The Key (Kindl, Kothe, Herkenne, Hofgen) - 2:32
.d.For You And Me (Kindl, Kothe, Herkenne, Hofgen) - 1:40
2. Manifestations
.a.Suppression (Heck, Kothe) - 2:55
.b.Rankness (Strube, Heck, Strube) - 2:37
.c.Face Of War (Kothe, Hofgen) - 3:28
.d.Free (Kindl, Metz, Nagel) - 2:08
.e.Sensual Impressions (Kothe, Nagel) - 7:14
.f.Quintessence (Heck, Metz, Kothe, Strube) - 2:35
3. Emotions
.a.Eden Park (Heck, Kindl, Metz, Nagel) - 2:58
.b.Metamorphosis (Kindl, Strube, Herkenne, Hofgen) - 3:08
.c.In Search For The Last Word (Heck, Nagel, Herkenne, Hofgen) - 1:59
.d.Rising Mind (Kindl, Kothe, Herkenne, Hofgen) - 2:55
.e.Eden Park Again (Heck, Kindl, Metz, Nagel) - 1:44
4. Neckarbrücken-Blues (Metz, Heck) - 3:20
5. All Heaven And All Earth Are Silent (Heck, Kindl, Kothe, Traylor) - 8:13
6. Silver Gun (Swin Pors, Derring, Kothe, Traylor) - 4:32
7. Peace Train (Stevens) - 3:58
Bonus tracks 4-7

Joy Unlimited
*Joy Fleming - Vocals
*Han Herkenne - Drums, Percussion
*Albin Metz - Trumpet, Bass
*Roland Heck - Organ, Piano, Vibes, Marimba, Percussion, Vocals
*Dieter Kindle - Bass, Guitar, Percussion
*Gerd Kothe - Saxes, Flute
*Klaus Nagel - Guitar, Woodwind, Tympani, Percussion, Flute

1970  Joy Unlimited (Overground)

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Joy Unlimited - Joy Unlimited "Overground" (1970 germany, marvelous funky psych blues rock, 2007 fallout release)

This psych-tinged German crew are best-known for 1971’s progressive Schmetterlinge (‘Butterflies’) LP, but their 1970 debut was just as good. Confusingly released as Overground at home, Turbulence in the UK and Joy Unlimited in the United States, it’s a superb blend of psych, funk and pop, boasting the powerhouse vocals of Joy Fleming, an array of guitar and organ textures and breaks and samples galore. This release here, contains three rare bonus tracks.

“The career of Joy Unlimited started at the Mannheim Conservatory during 1965. Writing film scores and appearing with the Beatles, the Flock, Tom Jones, John Mayall and Henry Mancini have been but a few of their TV and radio appearances. After topping the German polls two years in succession, the group are in demand all over the Continent, and after their appearance at the Dusseldorf Jazz And Pop Festival, Joy Unlimited made this album, their first to be released in England, actually entitled Turbulence. All arrangements are done collectively by the group. The additional brass was scored by Dieter Reith, the bass guitarist and saxophone player of Joy Unlimited”. 

original UK sleevenotes, 1970

“Joy, of Joy Unlimited, is one incredible singer. Her performances create a truth and believability in melody, lyrics and emotion that is all too rare in rock music. The group, which is led by guitarist Klaus, is a tight, knowing, energetic band, comprised of Roland on organ, Dieter on guitar, Albin on bass and Hans on drums. This combination has produced music that set them as top group of the year in 1968 and 1969, as determined by the German music poll, and has got a straight line to groovin’ ears all around the world. Getting it together takes time and talent. They’ve got it together so that you can get it. Now that you’ve got it, enjoy it! In this business a combination of energy, feeling and extraordinary talent is a pure joy… truly a Joy Unlimited”.

original US sleevenotes, 1970

Tracks
1. Save Me Save Me (Young, English) - 2:26
2. Groove With What You’ve Got (Burns, Vegas) - 2:22
3. All Together Now (Lennon, McCartney) - 2:36
4. I Hold No Grudge (Badale, Clifford) - 3:11
5. Feelin’ (Faltermeier, Zauner, Nagel) - 2:45
6. Take Me To The Pilot (John, Taupin) - 2:30
7. Have You Met Anyone Lately? (Bernstein, Millrose) - 2:27
8. It’s Not Alright (Heck, Herkenne) - 2:39
9. I Just Made Up My Mind (Hawkshaw) - 2:25
10.Mr. Pseudonym (Kindl, Herkenne) - 3:48
11.Mr. Slater (Fletscher) - 2:34
12.Helpless Child (Heck, Herkenne) - 3:14
13.Sunshine (Heck, Herkenne) - 2:16
14.Oh Darlin’ (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:17
15.Daytime Nighttime (Hugg) - 3:04
Bonus tracks 13-15

Joy Unlimited
*Joy Fleming -Vocals
*Klaus Nagel - Guitar, Flute, Vocals
*Dieter Kindl - Bass, Sax, Vocals
*Roland Heck - Keyboards, Vocals
*Albin Metz - Bass, Trumpet, Trombone
*Hans W. Herkenne - Drums

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Epitaph – Outside The Law (1974 germany, great hard jam rock with dual guitars and southern feeling, 2010 extra tracks issue)

Krautrock never sounded like this. The four-piece hard rock Germans who called themselves Epitaph had no time for arty experimentalism or stoned improvisations. What they were up for was good old four on the floor blooze-rock boogie, and with 1974′s Outside The Law, they delivered.

Much of the reason things worked so well for them so well was the fact that they knew who they were from the very beginning. They liked to rock Southern style, and did so in English, for maximum effect. It is unfortunate that management difficulties kept them from finding success in the States, because with the right promotion these guys would have had a real chance at making it.

This is apparent right from the top with their Alllman’s inspired “Reflection.” It is sort of a German “Ramblin’ Man,” and a great lead-off for this their third and final album. The group leave plenty of room for guitar solos, courtesy of Cliff Jackson and Klaus Walz – who take ample advantage during songs such as the title track.

“Tequila Shuffle” is another example of their great dueling guitars. Towards the end, both players face off as if re-enacting the axe-duel at the close of the old Ralph Macchio finds-the-blues flick Crossroads (1986). As a nod to the times, the album concludes with an extended magnum opus; “Fresh Air.” You gotta love it when a band take four minutes just to find the riff. To their credit, when Epitaph lock into the groove, they do not let it go for nine solid minutes.

Thanks to the previously mentioned management troubles, which at one point saw the diminutive Irving Azoff ready to sign them, Epitaph broke up after Outside The Law. They did however record three songs in 1976 for what would have been their fourth album. The MIG label has just released Outside The Law on CD for the first time, and have included those later sessions as bonus tracks.

These three tunes actually bode quite well for a “might have been” scenario. “Train To The City” is much less derivative of the Southern rock thing, and in fact reminds me a bit of something off Blue Oyster Cult’s Agents Of Fortune album from the same year. Likewise “Wasted So Much Time” is a road-weary track that could have fit next to “Movin’ On” from Bad Company’s debut. The other Bicentennial year entry is “Kind Of A Man,” which has classic Allman Brothers written all over it, but that’s just fine – if you are going to be influenced by another group, the original Allmans make one hell of a template.

The four remaining extra cuts hail from a reunion concert which took place in 2000. Three of the these are from Outside The Law: “Woman,” “Outside The Law,” and “Big City.” “Jim’s Thing – Drum Solo” features three minutes of Jim McGillivry beating the holy crap out of his skins, and bringing us back to the good old days of the drum solo.

by Greg Barbrick

Tracks
1. Reflexion - 05:17
2. Woman (Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe) - 04:18
3. Big City - 05:53
4. In Your Eyes - 02:51
5. Outside The Law (Cliff Jackson, Klaus Walz) - 06:05
6. Tequila Shuffle (Bernd Kolbe, Cliff Jackson, Klaus Walz) - 04:59
7. Fresh Air (Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe, Klaus Walz) - 09:01
8. Train To The City (Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe) - 04:03
9. Wasted So Much Time (Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe) - 03:00
10.Kind Of A Man (Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe) - 04:54
11.Woman (Cliff Jackson, Bernd Kolbe) - 05:53
12.Outside The Law (Cliff Jackson, Klaus Walz) - 07:53
13.Jim's Thing (Jim McGillivray) - 02:49
14.Big City - 06:32
All song by Cliff Jackson unless as else stated
Bonus Tracks 8-9 taken From "The Lost Tapes" 1976
Bonus Tracks 11-14 recorded Live At The Brewery,  (2000, The Reunion Concert)

Epitaph
*Cliff Jackson - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
*Klaus Walz - Lead Guitar
*Bernd Kolbe - Bass, Vocals
*Achim Wielert - Drums, Percussion
*Norbert "Panzer" Lehmann - Drums, Percussion (Tracks 8-9)
*Jim McGillivry - Drums (Tracks 11-14)
Additional Musicians
*Fred Kaz - Grand Piano
*Billy Shaw - Organ
*Ben Schulter - Keyboards

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Al Kooper - New York City, You're a Woman (1971 us, unique blend of orchestrated blue eyed soul, jazz and r 'n' r, japan remaster)

As the 1960s came to a close, the Band changed the orientation of rock temporarily with their earnest, scholarly take on roots rock. Suddenly, it became de rigueur, especially among performers who took themselves dead seriously, to have sepia-tone album covers, tasteful mandolin flourishes and lyrics about outlaws and Civil War soldiers.

One of the most surprising albums in this vein, in retrospect, is Elton John’s 1971 album Tumbleweed Connection. It’s hard to imagine a time when the flamboyant pop Liberace behind the maudlin tribute to Princess Diana and the bathetic schmaltz of The Lion King soundtrack was considered a bona fide rock performer, but this record survives as evidence.

Tumbleweed Connection, particularly the astounding bass playing of Herbie Flowers, left a deep impression on Al Kooper, who responded by recording his own sepia-tone solo record, New York City (Your’re A Woman), making use of Flowers’s services and covering John’s “Come Down in Time”.  Kooper’s main claim to fame now may be his organ playing on Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde albums, but in the 1960s he also played in the Blues Project, one of America’s first blues-rock revivalists, and then later put together the original Blood Sweat & Tears lineup, unleashing horn-section rock on an unsuspecting world.

After being booted from that band in a clash of egos, BST would go on to record one of the signature albums of the era, whose hits—“And When I Die”, “Spinning Wheel”, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”—continue to pollute oldies stations’ playlists and whose success spawned the likes of Chicago. Meanwhile, Kooper became an A&R man for Columbia Records and something of a rock history footnote. He released several genre-fusing solo records, musicanly albums seemingly made for other session musicians’ appreciation that accordingly left no particular impression on the listening public.

Though Kooper’s albums seem largely to have been unfortunately forgotten (mostly out of print and never reissued in the US) , none is more deserving of rediscovery than New York City (You’re a Woman). It features some of the best of his original compositions and is free of his tendency to include reinterpretations of over-familiar songs like “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” and James Taylor’s “Country Road.” The album’s tone of grim determination is established immediately with the sweeping title track, an unsentimental tribute which wastes no time in letting us know what sort of woman New York City is (“a cold-hearted bitch”).

Amid the string arrangements, the massed backing vocals and florid keyboards, Flowers’s searching bass runs cut through. Perpetually surprising, his bass playing here is almost impossibly expressive, as mercurial and difficult to assimilate as the city itself. This is followed by “John the Baptist (Holy John),” which sounds like a hyper-orchestrated version of the Band, down to the Rick Danko impersonation Kooper offers in his vocal.

But Kooper is nowhere near as self-consciously rootsy; he is too much enamored of concocting complex arrangements to keep anything rugged and rudimentary. “John the Baptist” and the similar “Can You Hear It Now (500 Miles)” which follows both feature dense yet subtle arrangements, with a variety instruments coming in and out of the mix—a sudden flute or trumpet line here, an organ swell there, a background vocal suddenly cutting through, a guitar lick punctuating a drum fill.

After the opening trio, the album falls off some. “Ballad of a Hard Rock Kid” sounds like session pros aping Mott the Hoople, and “Going Quietly Mad” attempts to approximate the Beatles but is sunk by Kooper’s strained vocals, which makes one wonder if he’s performing the song straight or doing a Zappaesque parody. And his obligatory 60s soul homage, the medley of “Oo Wee Baby, I Love You” and “Love Is A Man’s Best Friend,” is competent but perfunctory, more a signal of where Kooper’s heart is at than a satisfying recording in and of itself. It’s impeccably played and produced, but it won’t make you forget about Wilson Pickett. His cover of Bo Diddley’s “Dearest Darling” works a little better; that it sounds like he’s trying too hard manages to come across as endearing.

But the record regains its footing with the exuberantly loopy “Back on My Feet” and the cover of Elton John’s “Come Down in Time”, a rival for the original. Here Kooper’s vocal limitations actually serve the song well, especially next to John’s take, which seems bombastic in comparison. Kooper also clears the arrangement out to highlight Flowers’s bass. The solo passage shifts the tempo and gives the song a more dynamic feel as well, once you get used to keyboard’s initially off-putting pseudo-clarinet tone.

The album concludes by returning to the mock Band sound. “Nightmare #5” is another Flowers showcase, with a storytelling lyric about a cosmic hitch-hiking trip, and “The Warning (Someone’s on the Cross Again)” returns to the religious motifs that permeate the record. But the explicit appropriations of Christian imagery seem to have less a spiritual than musical purpose; they just seem part of the accoutrements of approximating a gospel sound. They signify Kooper’s lofty artistic goals without muddying them with any particular message, biblical or otherwise.

Instead, listeners are left with a sense of musical ambition, even in the form of outright imitation, as an engrossing calling that requires discipline and permits only controlled release, and supplying, in the end, if not transcendence, then the pleasant exhaustion of energy well spent.

by Rob Horning

Tracks
1. New York City (You're A Woman) (Al Kooper) - 5:20
2. John The Baptist (Holy John) (Al Kooper, Phyllis Major) - 3:34
3. Can You Hear It Now (500 Miles) (Traditional, Arranged By Al Kooper) - 3:27
4. The Ballad Of The Hard Rock Kid (Al Kooper) - 4:19
5. Going Quietly Mad (Al Kooper) - 3:54
6. Medley
.a.Oo Wee Baby, I Love You (Richard Parker) - 1:59
.b.Love Is A Man's Best Friend (Irwin Levine, Al Kooper) - 2:24
7. Back On My Feet (Al Kooper) - 3:22
8. Come Down In Time (Bernie Taupin, Elton John) - 4:39
9. Dearest Darling (Bo Diddley) - 3:55
10.Nightmare #5 (Al Kooper) - 3:00
11.The Warning (Someone's On The Cross Again) (Al Kooper, P. Major) - 3:00

Musicians
*Al Kooper - Piano, Organ, Guitars, Mellotron, Harmonium,   Vocals
*Paul Humphries - Drums
*Bobbye Hall Porter - Percussion
*Lou Shelton - Guitar
*Carol Kaye - Electric Bass
*Herbie Flowers - Electric Bass
*Bobby West - Acoustic And Electric Basses
*Roger Pope - Drums
*Sneaky Pete Kleinow - Pedal Steel
*Caleb Quaye - Guitar
*Rita Coolidge, Vanetta Fields, Clydie King, Donna Weiss, Julia Tillman, Edna Wright, Maxine Willard, Lorna Willard, Edna Woods, Claudia Lennear, Dorothy Morrison, Robbie Montgomery, Jessie Smith, Robert John, Mike Gately And Jay Seigal - Backing Vocals

Al Kooper
1969  The Kooper Sessions With Shuggie Otis
1968-69  I Stand Alone / You Never Know Who Your Friends Are
1970  Easy Does It 
1973  Naked Songs (Japan remaster)
with Blues Project
1966  Live At The Cafe Au Go Go (2013 Japan SHM double disc set)
1966  Projections (2013 Japan SHM two disc set)
1967  Live At Town Hall (Japan SHM remaster)
1973  Reunion In Central Park (Japan SHM remaster)
with Blood, Sweat And Tears
1968  Child Is Father To The Man
with Mike Bloomfield
1968  The Lost Concert Tapes, Filmore East
1969  Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper - The Live Adventures

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Pavlov's Dog - Pampered Menial (1975 us, significant progressive rock, 2007 xpanded and 2013 remaster)

While 1974 is considered to be the closure for classic English progressive rock, it was a promising, groundbreaking year for the Americans in the genre, with bands like Kansas and Rush releasing their debut albums. Pampered Menial, the forgotten debut album by St. Louis band Pavlov’s Dog, serves as a further testament to this.

Pavlov’s Dog can actually be the missing piece linking Kansas and Rush – mixing the accessibility of the first with the harder edge of the latter. While not as aggressive as early Rush efforts, Pampered Menial offers about 35 minutes packed with well-written, captivating songs that are dense with instrumental beauty and creativity – creating a sense of celebration from one side and a painful heartbreak affair on the other.

This concentrated, orchestrated work is clearly inspired by early European progressive rock albums (a sub-genre known as "proto-prog"), such as King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King and Spring (another forgotten gem), with various keyboards, mellotron, flutes and strings being a substantial part of the work aside the varied guitar playing, giving it a symphonic touch. It all rocks with intensity, driven by highly dynamic, imaginative drumming, and filled with melody, much in the way Kansas did in their early days.

Lead vocalist David Surkamp’s high singing is very close to that of Rush’s Geddy Lee, both in tone and in delivery. In fact, Surkamp takes his muscular-feminine vibrating vocals to an even more extreme point, using them with more confidence than early Lee, in a way that can be seen as a cross between Lee and the goat-like trembling vocals that Family’s (a late 60’s-70’s outfit that offered orchestrated prog-pop material) Roger Chapman is remembered for.

In fact, Surkamp is not the only one who is performing with confidence. The entire band performs remarkably well and displays maturity and refinement that are sometimes absent from debut albums. Unlike the Led Zeppelin-ish early Rush, Pavlov’s Dog managed to bring on their debut a polished sound that is their own, thus making it a mandatory acquisition to anyone who is interested in American progressive rock.

by Avi Shaked

Tracks
1. Julia - 3:10
2. Late November (S. Scorfina, D. Surkamp) - 3:12
3. Song Dance (Mike Safron) - 4:59
4. Fast Gun - 3:04
5. Natchez Trace (Steve Scorfina) - 3:42
6. Theme From Subway Sue - 4:25
7. Episode - 4:04
8. Preludin (Siegfried Carver) - 1:39
9. Of Once And Future Kings - 5:28
All songs by David Surkamp except where stated

Pavlov's Dog
*David Surkamp - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*David Hamilton - Keyboards
*Doug Rayburn - Mellotron, Flute
*Mike Safron - Percussion
*Rick Stockton - Bass Guitar
*Siegfried Carver - Violin, Vitar, Viola
*Steve Scorfina - Lead Guitar

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