The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - The Original Lost Elektra Sessions (1964 us, pioneer blues rock blast)

All but one of these 19 tracks were recorded in December, 1964, as Paul Butterfield Blues Band's projected first LP; the results were scrapped and replaced by their official self-titled debut, cut a few months later. With both Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop already in tow, these sessions rank among the earliest blues-rock ever laid down. Extremely similar in feel to the first album, it's perhaps a bit rawer in production and performance, but not appreciably worse or different than what ended up on the actual debut LP. Dedicated primarily to electric Chicago blues standards, Butterfield fans will find this well worth acquiring, as most of the selections were never officially recorded by the first lineup (although different renditions of five tracks showed up on the first album and the What's Shakin' compilation). 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson) - 2:23
2. Just To Be With You (Bernard Roth) - 3:24
3. Help Me (Rice Miller) - 2:17
4. Hate To See You Go ("Little" Walter Jacobs) - 4:35
5. Poor Boy (Traditional) - 3:27
6. Nut Popper #1 (Paul Butterfield) - 2:26
7. Everything‘s Gonna Be Alright ("Little" Walter Jacobs) - 2:59
8. Lovin‘ Cup (Paul Butterfield) - 2:44
9. Rock Me (Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup) - 2:52
10. It Hurts Me Too (Hudson "Tampa Red" Whittaker) - 2:46
11. Our Love Is Driftin‘ (Elvin Bishop, Paul Butterfield) - 2:30
12. Take Me Back Baby ("Little" Walter Jacobs) - 2:50
13. Mellow Down Easy (Willie Dixon) - 3:06
14. Ain‘t No Need To Go Further (Al Duncan) - 2:46
15. Love Her With A Feeling (Hudson "Tampa Red" Whittaker) - 3:00
16. Piney Bown Blues ("Big" Joe Turner, Pete Johnson) - 2:15
17. Spoonful (Willie Dixon) - 3:20
18. That‘s Allright (James A. Lane) - 3:14
19. Going Down Slow (James Oden) - 6:02

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
*Jerome Arnold - Bass
*Elvin Bishop - Guitar
*Michael Bloomfield - Guitar, Hammond, Piano
*Paul Butterfield - Harmonica, Vocals
*Sam Lay - Drums
*Mark Naftalin - Organ

Paul Butterfield's back pages
1965  The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
1966  East West
1966-68  Strawberry Jam
1967  The Resurrection Of The Pigboy Crabshaw
1968  In My Own Dream
1969  Keep On Moving
1970  Live 
1971  Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin'
1973  Paul Butterfield's Better Days
1973  It All Comes Back (Japan Edition)
1976  Put It In Your Ear

Elvin Bishop
1969-70/72  Party Till The Cows Come Home
1974  Elvin Bishop - Let It Flow
1977  Live! Raisin' Hell (2012 remaster)

Mike Bloomfield's tapestry
1967  Electric Flag - The Trip
1968-69  Electric Flag - An American Music Band / A Long Time Comin'  
196?-7?  The Electric Flag - Live
1968  Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield - The Lost Concert Tapes, Filmore East
1969  Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper - The Live Adventures
1969  Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites & Friends - Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West
1969  Nick Gravenites - My Labors
1973  Bloomfield, Hammond, Dr.John - Triumvirate (Japan remaster)
1976  KGB - KGB
1976-77  Michael Bloomfield - Live at the Old Waldorf
1977  Prescription For The Blues

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Wooden Horse - Wooden Horse II (1973 uk, heavenly folk rock)

Growing up out of the grass-roots of the 70’s London folk scene, Wooden Horse were often likened to American acts such as Crosby Stills and Nash, Neil Young, and Peter, Paul and Mary, for their use of close vocal harmonies and acoustic textures.

Susan Traynor (a.k.a. Noosha Fox) was the female vocalist in this group. Songwriters David Mateer and Malcom Harrison provided vocals and guitar. The line-up was completed by Steve Marwood on lead guitar and Neil Brockbank on bass.

Their albums straight ahead acoustic folk with variations here and there if you are a fan of Fox then we'd say these lps are essential to see the kind of Susan aka Noosha sang in before Fox.

'Celebration Song' is a great folk-rock song somewhere between Peter, Paul, and Mary's folk enthusiasm and the Velvet Underground's flair for songwriting comes this number with glorious vocals from Noosha and the guys singing background vocals... an organ solo comes in unexpectedly with zippy enthusiasm, then begins again 'all along the st. i see the dancers...one of their very best compositions, and a tune you'll never forget.... 

'Wooden Horses', acoustic guitars play a slow tune, gloomy, peaceful sound.  'America', some really good lyrics for an excellent tune !, Noosha again shines out here, it's a song about leaving london and traveling thru states in the us such as washington and virginia.  'Kali',  this one is in the style of Gordon Lightfoot a straight ahead folk tune.....male singer - ' Kali i can't even say i really knew your name, i only know i'd no more time, no one left to blame'.... 

'Pick Up The Pieces', another good one, the vioces here are prominent over the instruments.  'July Morning' another Gordon Lightfoot / John Denver style acoustic number.  'Coming Home' is a soft folk that ends wonderfully.  'For You' ,slow song with piano playing, somewhere a sax comes in and plays a melody.

'On This Day', the male singer and Noosha sing this peaceful one together , kinda in the style of Fairport Convention, and the Velvet Underground.  'Afternoon', a  quiet folk tune, final track'Typewriter And Guitar, is a lovely ending, very quiet, closer to Leonard Cohen's LP of '68 than anyone else.

Angel-fire

Tracks
1. Celebration Song - 3:22
2. Wooden Horses - 4:53
3. America - 3:21
4. Kali (Malcolm Harrison) - 4:28
5. Pick Up The Pieces - 3:27
6. July Morning - 1:28
7. Coming Home (Malcolm Harrison) - 5:10
8. For You - 3:10
9. On This Day - 3:38
10. Afternoon - 2:05
11. Typewriter And Guitar (Malcolm Harrison) - 3:48
Words and Music by David Mateer except where stated.

Wooden Horse
*Susan Traynor «Noosha Fox» - Vocals
*David "Dave" Mateer - Guitar, Vocals
*Malcolm Harrison - Guitar, Vocals
*Steve Marwood - Lead Guitar
*Neil Brockbank - Bass
*Dave Young - Flute, Saxophone
*Bob Irwin - Drums

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Jeff Beck Group - Beck-Ola (1969 uk, hard funky blues rock, 2014 japan SHM remaster with xtra tracks)

When it was originally released in June 1969, Beck-Ola, the Jeff Beck Group's second album, featured a famous sleeve note on its back cover: "Today, with all the hard competition in the music business, it's almost impossible to come up with anything totally original. So we haven't. However, this disc was made with the accent on heavy music. 

So sit back and listen and try and decide if you can find a small place in your heads for it." Beck was reacting to the success of peers and competitors like Cream and Led Zeppelin here, bands that had been all over the charts with a hard rock sound soon to be dubbed heavy metal, and indeed, his sound employs much the same brand of "heavy music" as theirs, with deliberate rhythms anchoring the beat, over which the guitar solos fiercely and the lead singer emotes. But he was also preparing listeners for the weakness of the material on an album that sounds somewhat thrown together. 

Two songs are rehauls of Elvis Presley standards ("All Shook Up" and "Jailhouse Rock") and one is an instrumental interlude contributed by pianist Nicky Hopkins, promoted from sideman to group member, with the rest being band-written songs that serve basically as platforms for Beck's improvisations. But that doesn't detract from the album's overall quality, due both to the guitar work and the distinctive vocals of Rod Stewart, and Beck-Ola easily could have been the album to establish the Jeff Beck Group as the equal of the other heavy bands of the day. 

Unfortunately, a series of misfortunes occurred. Beck canceled out of a scheduled appearance at Woodstock; he was in a car accident that sidelined him for over a year; and Stewart and bass player Ron Wood decamped to join Faces, breaking up the group. Nevertheless, Beck-Ola stands as a prime example of late-'60s British blues-rock and one of Beck's best records.

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks

1. All Shook Up (Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley) - 4:50

2. Spanish Boots (Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart) - 3:34

3. Girl From Mill Valley (Nicky Hopkins) - 3:45

4. Jailhouse Rock (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 3:14

5. Plynth (Water Down the Drain) (Nicky Hopkins, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart) - 3:05

6. The Hangman's Knee (Tony Newman, Beck, Nicky Hopkins, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood) - 4:47

7. Rice Pudding (Nicky Hopkins, Ronnie Wood, Jeff  Beck, Tony Newman) - 7:22

8. Sweet Little Angel (B.B. King) - 7:57

9. Throw Down A Line (Hank Marvin) - 2:54

10.All Shook Up (Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley) - 3:18

11.Jailhouse Rock (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 3:11

Musicians
*Jeff Beck - Guitars, Backing Vocals
*Rod Stewart - Vocals
*Nicky Hopkins - Piano, Organ
*Ronnie Wood - Bass
*Tony Newman - Drums
*Micky Waller - Drums

1970  Jeff Beck - Rough And Ready (Japan remaster)
 with The Yardbirds
1963-68  Glimpses (five disc box set) 

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Ron Elliott - The Candlestickmaker (1970 us, brilliant folky country rock with west coast breeze)

Now here’s a record that, for all practical purposes, should not be this obscure. In fact, I’m often taken aback at how many Beau Brummels fans aren’t even aware that Ron Elliott, said group’s guitarist and songwriter, ever cut a record on his own. Fortunately, however, Collector’s Choice saw fit to remind the world a few years back and reissued 1970′s The Candlestickmaker, which would prove to be Elliott’s one and only record.

The music here is beautiful. Mining a deep spiritual vein that was only hinted at in the last two Beau Brummels records (on 1968′s Triangle, in particular) Elliott’s vivid word craft and west coast roots are bolstered by the musicianship of such luminaries as Chris Ethridge, Bud Shank, Ry Cooder, and Mark McClure. Elliott’s voice is a marked contrast to Sal Valentino’s tremulous purr, boasting a rich depth that calls to mind that crown prince of Americana, John Stewart. Interestingly enough, this entire record makes me think of the dense, rocky wildernesses of the Pacific northwest. Maybe this has something to do with how the overall sound of the band is rather sparse, while managing to invoke a richly woven sound. Even the orchestral arrangements of Bob Thompson convey an organic and understated character.

When a record only holds five songs, it seems ridiculous to pick highlights, but “All Time Green” and the gently flowing train song “Deep River Runs Blue” really are absolutely beautiful. Mark McClure’s sharp, spidery guitar lines on the former, while Ry Cooder’s distinctive slide work on the latter blends majestically with either Elliott or McClure’s burbling wah guitar. Meanwhile, Bud Shank’s flute marks the mellow jazz folk of “Lazy Day,” and Leon Russell’s subtle brass arrangements drive “To the City, To the Sea.” Each of these little touches make the songs both memorable and distinctive.

The magnum opus here, however, is clearly the fifteen minute long title track. As Elliott suggests in Richie Unterberger’s liner notes, the song “has a healing quality to it.” The lyrics build on what seems to me to be a driving theme throughout The Candlestickmaker: man’s struggle to break through the cold iron landscape of modern capitalist society and rediscover a free, wild America. Arguably a common theme in the early 1970s United States, but rarely one so eloquently presented. The music never once falters: Ethridge’s bass runs warm and melodic, while McClure’s guitar craft truly sparkles as it trails around Elliott’s words. Indeed, McClure proves himself to be one of the greatest revelations, and his grace on his instrument draws me towards exploring his own work further.

by Nik Rayne

Tracks
1. Molly In The Middle (Gary Downey, Ron Elliott) - 4:09
2. Lazy Day (Downey, Elliott) - 2:41
3. All Time Green (Elliott) - 2:51
4. To The City, To The Sea (Elliott) - 2:59
5. Deep River Runs Blue (Downey, Elliott) - 2:48
6. The Candlestickmaker Suite (Pt. 1: Dark Into Dawn/Pt. 2: Questions) (Elliott) - 14:51

Personnel
*Ron Elliott – Guitar, Vocals
*Gary Downey - Lyrics
*Marc Mcclure - Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Dan Levitt - Bass, Vocal Harmonies
*Chris Ethridge - Bass
*Dennis Dragon - Drums
*Sal Valentino - Tambourine
*Bud Shank - Flute
*Ry Cooder - Guitar
*Lyle Ritz - Bass
*Paul Humphrey - Drums
*Leon Russell - Brass Arrangement

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The Cryan Shames - Synthesis (1968 us, marvelous sunny baroque psych, 2002 extra tracks issue)

This record is more eclectic than it is exciting, though the material is well arranged and the group were accomplished harmony singers in particular. On "Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith & Jones" they get heavy; with the cover of Hoagy Carmichael's "Baltimore Oriole," they get jazz/folk-rock progressive; on "It's All Right," it's jaunty country-rock; on "First Train to California," there's an almost-self-conscious straining for an MOR AM radio hit. 

The segueing together of tracks and occasional insertion of spacy instrumental and production flourishes indicate that they wanted to leave the impression of making a progressive statement. But it sounds for the most part like 1960s AM radio filler trying to get hipper with a touch of the far-out, the problem being that 1960s AM radio filler intrinsically cannot get too hip or far out. 

The 2002 Sundazed CD reissue of this odd mix of sunshine pop and mild pop-psychedelia adds eight bonus tracks. No less than six of them are single versions of tracks from the LP; the other two present both sides of their 1969 single, "Bits and Pieces"/"Rainmaker," which matched a country-rock original with a Harry Nilsson cover. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith And Jones (Isaac Guillory, Jim Fairs) - 2:16
2. Baltimore Oriole (Hoagy Carmichael, Paul Francis Webster) - 4:30
3. It's All Right (D.P. "Dad" Carter) - 2:11
4. Your Love (Lenny Kerley) - 3:28
5. A Master's Fool (Isaac Guillory) - 3:38
6. First Train To California (Jim Fairs) - 2:57
7. The Painter (Isaac Guillory) - 2:52
8. Sweet Girl Of Mine (Lenny Kerley) - 2:26
9. 20th Song (Lenny Kerley) - 2:07
10.Let's Get Together (Dino Valente) - 3:27
11.Symphony Of The Wind (Isaac Guillory) - 3:20
12.A Master’s  Fool (45 Version) (Isaac Guillory) - 3:37
13.First Train To California (45 Version) (Jim Fairs) - 2:57
14.Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith And Jones (45 Version) (Isaac Guillory, Jim Fairs) - 2:16
15.Your Love (45 Version) (Lenny Kerley) - 2:53
16.20th Song (45 Version) (Lenny Kerley) - 2:10
17.Let’S Get Together (Mono Version) (Dino Valente) - 2:31
18.Bits and Pieces (Lenny Kerley) - 2:34
19.Rainmaker (Harry Nilson, B. Martin) - 2:19

The Cryan' Shames
*Tom Doody - Vocals
*Jim Pilster - Vocals, Percussion
*Alan Dawson - Drums, Vocals
*Dave Carter - Vocals, Guitar
*Isaac Guillory - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
*Lenny Kerley - Vocals, Bass, Guitar

1966  Sugar And Spice (Sundazed remaster and expanded)
1967  A Scratch In The Sky (Sundazed remaster and expanded)

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The Cryan' Shames - A Scratch In The Sky (1967 us, fabulous folk colorful psychedelia, 2002 remaster and expanded)

Every now and then something unexpected hits you in a way that leaves a deep and  lasting impression. For me, one of those occasions came with Chicago garage band The Cryan’ Shames’ recording of the old Drifters hit “Up On the Roof,” off their incomprehensibly under-appreciated psychedelic classic A Scratch In the Sky. Granted, “Up On the Roof” itself has been overplayed to the point of nausea since it first made the scene back in 1963, but the Shames take the old Tin Pan Alley standard and turn it into a soaring, tightly woven piece of teenage magic that does not waste a second out of its three minutes and twenty four seconds. It’s the sound of youthful rebellion and romantic angst woven into a thing of panoramic beauty.

As a matter of fact, I reckon that the record that this song is buried in is itself well-defined by the above platitudes. A Scratch In the Sky is one of those rare records laid down at the height of the sixties which manage to pull in the best qualities of the band’s many influences and turn back out something wholly unto its own. The cosmic harmonies of the Beach Boys, the jangling spirit of The Byrds, the rollicking pop of The Beatles; these are all commonly borrowed sounds, but rarely ones so expertly disassembled and recast as we hear on this record. Though this collection of songs remains well-polished through studio-craft and the musicians’ own abilities, it retains a freshness and noncommercial edge that makes it both an accessible and adventurous listen.

The second track, “Sailing Ship,” is a good example of what I mean by all this. There are all sorts of influences detectable here, but nothing absolute. I never fail to be impressed by the thundering drums, jagged guitar chords and droning bagpipes here, all of which make the song sound strangely ahead of its time, or at least out of its own time. In true Sgt. Pepper fashion, the band clearly strove to make each song stand out as a distinct work of art, rather than sounding like something they had simply worked up on the road. The arrangements are ornate and layered with lysergic sounds and tape tricks, and besides the previously mentioned bagpipes the band manages to bring in accordion, harpsichord, tamboura, french horn, and…french lyrics (on “In the Cafe,” of course). If there’s any song reminiscent of the band’s work on their previous record, Sugar and Spice it’s the hard grooving “Mr. Unreliable,” which retains a lot of the garage band attitude and sweet harmonic edge that painted earlier jewels like “Ben Franklin’s Almanac”.

I’m rather blown away to find that the 2002 Sundazed reissue of this record has already dipped back out of print, leaving it perhaps the hardest of the Shames discs to track down. Should the following tracks catch you like they caught me, however, you shouldn’t have to fork over too much for a vinyl copy. It seems strange that so many new reissues end up becoming more obscure and desirable than vintage releases of the same recordings, but I suppose that’s the way it goes.

by Nik Rayne

Tracks

1. A Carol For Lorelei - 4:05

2. The Sailing Ship - 3:36

3. In The Cafe - 3:12

4. Mr. Unreliable - 2:52

5. The Town I'd Like To Go Back To - 4:30

6. Up On The Roof (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 3:23

7. It Could Be We're In Love - 2:35

8. Sunshine Psalm - 2:17

9. Was Lonely When - 4:03

10.Cobblestone Road - 2:51

11.Dennis Dupree From Danville (Jeffrey Bryan - R. Holder) - 3:12

12.It Could Be We're In Love (Single Version) - 2:34

13.It Was Lonely When (Single Version) - 3:27

14.Young Birds Fly (William Oliver Swofford) - 2:25

15.Sunshine Psalm (Single Version) - 2:09  

16.Up On The Roof (Single Version) (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 3:28

17.The Sailing Ship (Single Version) - 2:55

18.The Warm (Jim Fairs) - 4:18

All songs by Jim Fairs, Lenny Kerley unless as else stated.

The Cryan' Shames

*Tom Doody «Toad» - Lead Vocals, Autoharp, Bells

*Jim Pilster «J. C. Hooke» - Tambourine

*Dennis Conroy - Drums

*Jim Fairs - Bagpipes, Bass, Flute, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals

*Isaac Guillory - Accordion, Bass, Cello, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

*Lenny Kerley - Bass, Guitar, Tambora, Vocals

1966  The Cryan' Shames - Sugar And Spice (Sundazed remaster)

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The Cryan' Shames - Sugar And Spice (1966 us, delicate sunny beat psych, 2002 remaster)

The Cryan' Shames actually were a big deal in Chicago in the mid- and late '60s, when a bunch of their singles hit the local Top Ten; some of them were small national hits as well. The biggest of these was "Sugar and Spice," a cover of a Searchers song that made the Top 50 in 1966 and was later featured in Lenny Kaye's renowned Nuggets anthology of '60s garage bands. In their original incarnation, the Shames leaned toward the pop end of garage. 

Borrowing heavily from the Beatles, the Byrds, and the Yardbirds, guitarist James Fairs wrote a clutch of energetic guitar pop/rockers with sparkling harmonies. After 1966, the group pursued an increasingly mainstream pop direction featuring saccharine arrangements and material. In this respect they uncannily mirrored the devolution of local rivals the New Colony Six, who also shifted from tough pop/rock to MOR in their bid for national success. But the Shames' appeal endures, partly through the efforts of reissue/archival labels such as Sundazed Records, which have kept their music available into the 21st century, and some of the original members, who have kept the band alive as a performing outfit from the 1980s onward.

They actually started out in Hinsdale, IL, as the Prowlers, a trio formed by Gerry Stone (rhythm guitar), Tom "Toad" Doody (vocals), and Dave Purple (bass, keyboards), who added guitarist James Fairs and drummer Dennis Conroy, both late of a local band from Downers Grove called the Roosters. The quintet became the Travelers, specializing in R&B and rock & roll covers, though Fairs was starting to write originals as far back as 1964. They became a sextet with the addition of Jim Pilster, a one-handed tambourine player whose artificial extremity got him dubbed "J.C. Hooke." 

Included in their ranks were four singers who were capable of handling lead vocals as well as harmonies, and as they already had their rock & roll and R&B sound down, they emerged as a heavyweight outfit on the local band scene, equally adept at covering the Beatles, the Byrds, or the Rolling Stones, among others. Additionally, as they discovered, Pilster's presence lent them some novelty/publicity value as "the guys with the hook," an attribute that would also benefit the Barbarians around the same time, who sported a member with a replacement appendage. According to biographer Clark Besch, they were making upwards of $180 a gig (albeit split six ways) in 1966, a good fee for a group that had never recorded. They also attracted the attention of manager Bob Monaco, who was associated with the local Destination Records label, and hoped to rectify that gap in their biography in short order.

Their new name was imposed upon them when they were notified that another band had a prior claim on "the Travelers" -- as they told Besch, the situation was described by one of the affected parties as "a cryin' shame," and that became their new name. The group and Monaco intended to make their recording debut with George Harrison's "If I Needed Someone" -- a new Beatles song not yet available in the U.S. -- but were thwarted, as the Beatles' publisher wouldn't allow the release. Instead, they grabbed up another, older British Invasion-spawned original, "Sugar and Spice," written by producer/composer Tony Hatch (under the pseudonym "Fred Nightingale") for his client group the Searchers. The number had been in the repertory of another local band, the Riddles, and they got their version out through MG Productions on a tiny local label. 

The resulting single, which included a proto-psychedelic Fairs original called "Ben Franklin's Almanac," became a Top Five hit locally in Chicago, and attracted the attention of Columbia Records, which bought up their contract and put the record out nationally. It easily made the Top 50 and Columbia wanted more -- the band duly obliged with "I Wanna Meet You," another Fairs original, which only made the Top Ten locally and number 65 nationally. Columbia was still interested in an album, however, and the group delivered the 12-song Sugar & Spice long-player. It was a fairly good record of its kind, mixing covers and Fairs' originals and, as it was done on a tight budget -- basically Columbia accepted the record as delivered, according to Pilster in an essay by Besch -- it also included all four single sides, plus their proposed debut of "If I Needed Someone." Although the album barely cracked the Top 200 nationally, the single and the long-player between them helped raise the band's fees more than fivefold in just a matter of weeks. 

by Bruce Eder

Tracks
1. Sugar And Spice (Fred Nightingale) - 2:27
2. We Could Be Happy (Jim Fairs) - 2:34
3. Heat Wave (Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Eddie Holland) - 2:07  
4. We'll Meet Again (Hughie Charles, Ross Parker) - 2:05  
5. Ben Franklin's Almanac (Jim Fairs) - 1:57
6. She Don't Care About Time (G. Clark) - 2:23
7. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go) (B. Roberts) - 2:40  
8. If I Needed Someone (George Harrison) - 2:17
9. July (Jim Fairs) - 1:34
10.I Wanna Meet You (Jim Fairs) - 2:05
11.We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 3:38  
12.You're Gonna Lose That Girl (J. Lennon, P. McCartney) - 2:13
13.Mr. Unreliable (Single Version) (L. Kerley) - 2:23
14.Georgia (Jim Fairs) - 2:15
15.It Don't Matter To Me (D. Gates) - 2:54
16.Bits And Pieces (Version One) (L. Kerley) - 2:29
17.The Road (L. Kerley) - 2:18

The Cryan' Shames
*Tom Doody - Vocals
*Jim Pilster - Tambourine
*Dennis Conroy - Drums
*Jerry Stone - Guitar
*Jim Fairs - Guitar
*Dave Purple - Bass, Organ, Harpiscord

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Euphoria - A Gift From Euphoria (1969 us, elegant orchestrated psychedelia with folk drops)

A Gift From Euphoria is a well-funded album loaded with symphonic arrangements, excellent studio musicianship, psychedelic audio collage, and sound effects. It’s probably near to the apex of experimental rock from this era, and of the melding and juxtaposition of different styles of music.

The first two tracks on the record demonstrate the pace. Lisa an expansive and string laden orchestral number gives way to a legit bluegrass-country tune with banjo and pedal steel. Wait a little longer and you’ll get some fuzz guitar brain melters. Euphoria is all over the place on this album, which was recorded in Hollywood, London, and Bradley’s Barn. Some of the best session men in town put this one together, and it shows. Nary an unprofessional sound is on this record and some of the arrangements are stunning. They could use this album to replace the orchestra at the Boston Pops.

This is the only album released by the short lived Euphoria. The liner notes imply that the members disappeared, but parts of the liners are as out there as the sounds. Get this one for a supreme example of country and rock gone suicidally psychedelic, sounding remarkably fresh today.

by Brendan McGrath

Tracks
1. Lisa - 3:56
2. Stoen River Hill Song - 2:10
3. Did You Get The Letter - 5:38
4. Through A Window - 2:45
5. Young Miss Pflugg - 3:03
6. Lady Bedford - 3:02
7. Suicide On The Hillside, Sunday Morning, After Tea - 1:47
8. Sweet Fanny Adams - 4:22
9. I'll Be Home To You - 2:47
10.Sunshine Woman - 2:54
11.Hollyville Train - 3:03
12.Docker's Son - 2:49
13.Something For The Milkman - 0:54
14.Too Young To Know - 0:49
15.World - 3:09
All songs written by Hamilton Wesley Watt Jr., William D. Lincoln

Personnel
*William D. Lincoln - Bass, Vocals
*Hamilton Wesley Watt - Vocals
*Doug Delain - Guitar
*Dave Potter - Drums
*Irwin Webb - Orchestral Arrangement, Direction
*Nikolas Venetoulis - Direction

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Darryl Way's Wolf - Saturation Point (1973 uk, remarkable progressive rock, 2008 japan SHM extra tracks remaster)

The band's second album, released a few scant months after their debut, found Darryl Way and co. still edging away from the Curved Air ideal, without doing anything to truly alienate that band's loyal followers. Indeed, there were moments throughout Wolf's career when they sounded more like the original Air than that band's current incarnation ever could. 

Of course it's the mad violin that best confirms the similarities, but one can only dream of how dramatic this band could have been had they only reached a wider audience. Listening to Saturation Point is like walking a tightrope, a taut, nerve-bending ride that takes you from the eccentric peaks of "The Ache" and "Two Sisters" (combined, one of the greatest album overtures of the year), to the boleric attack of "Toy Symphony," a cut that raises the specters of Caravan and ELP, even as it shakes off comparisons with anything else. 

This was indeed the peak of Wolf's musical career, an album that snagged all the high points from its predecessor, then mashed them with the experience that the live show brought into reach. 

by Dave Thompson

Tracks
1. The Ache - 4:50
2. Two Sisters - 4:20
3. Slow Rag (John Etheridge) - 5:17
4. Market Overture - 3:38
5. Game Of X (John Etheridge) - 5:48
6. Saturation Point - 6:45
7. Toy Symphony - 7:16
8. A Bunch Of Fives - 3:331
9. Five In The Morning - 2:40
10.Two Sisters (Single Version) - 3:21
All songs by Darryl Way except where noted
Bonus Tracks 8-10

Darryl Way's Wolf
*John Etheridge - Guitar
*Dek Messecar - Bass, Vocals
*Ian Mosley - Drums
*Darryl Way - Keyboards, Violin

1974  Night Music

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Darryl Way's Wolf - Night Music (1974 uk, great prog rock, Japan SHM remaster)

The scarcest of the three Wolf albums, Night Music is finally remastered and reissued along with its litter mates. For those who did not follow the sometimes tortured path of rock-bands-with-violins (re: High Tide, Curved Air, et al.) Wolf was one of those niche bands, appealing to the minority that thought adding an electric violin to a rock format was more than a great idea, and further appealing to the even smaller minority that preferred instrumental work to "songs". And that difference, between the instrumental and vocal, is the compromise which erodes the impact of Night Music. 

Following two albums that offered flashes of intensity and some fine instrumental stretches, blistering violin work and well-conceived interaction among instruments with a minimum of marginal singing and frankly silly lyrics, the pressures of commerce seemingly dictated a need for more familiar forms. Always a mistake since the word "familiar" already contains the implication that there's already plenty of whatever that is available. 

by Kerry Leimer

Way was to bring ex-If vocalist John Hodkinson into the line-up for Night Music. Wolf's most accessible and commercial release benefited from his rich, individual vocal while greater use of keyboards changed the band dynamics to something more focussed. Ironically, this is where Way bowed out, rejoining his former band, and Wolf disbanded. 

by Peter Muir

Tracks
1. The Envoy (Darryl Way, Bruce Messecar) - 6:34
2. Black September (John Hodkinson, Darryl Way) - 4:53
3. Flat 2/55 (John Etheridge) - 6:59
4. Anteros (Darryl Way) - 4:33
5. We're Watching (Darryl Way) - 5:14
6. Steal The World (John Hodkinson, Darryl Way) - 4:22
7. Comerade Of The Nine (Darryl Way) - 2:44

Darryl Way's Wolf
*Ian Mosley - Drums
*Bruce Messecar - Bass, Vocals
*Darryl Way - Violin, Viola, Keyboards
*John Etheridge - Guitar
*John Hodkinson - Vocals

Related Act 
1970  If - If  (Repertoire remaster)
1970  If - If 2 (Repertoire remaster)
1971  If - If 3 (Repertoire remaster)
1972  If - If 4 (Repertoire remaster)
1972  Waterfall (Repertoire remaster)
1972  If - Europe '72 (Repertoire remaster)

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