Flash - In The Can (1972 uk, delicate progressive rock, 2010 japan SHM double disc remaster)

While listening to the first notes of Lifetime, the opening tune from In The Can (1972) the second album of the British band Flash, I realized that this was the first time since the seventies that I listened to a Flash-album. The band made three albums altogether. They’d released their eponymous debut album earlier in 1972. The third one, Out Of Our Hands, was released in 1973. Not only the music on these albums was exceptional; the album covers caught the eye as well featuring titillating sexy body parts of women. 

Nowadays, not so many prog heads know that Peter Banks, the original guitarist of Yes, was one of the founding members of Flash and he was predominantly responsible for the band’s sound. After two albums with Yes: Yes (1969) and Time And A Word (1970), he was forced to leave the band to make room for Steve Howe whom the band thought to be a better musician. Besides, on the eponymous debut album of Flash we discover another ex-member of Yes. Tony Kaye played the keyboards, but left the band to tour with David Bowie, whereupon he started his own band Badger.

If you listen to Lifetime, the first track of In The Can, you can without doubt hear the typical Yes-sound. This song even features guitar parts that might have been taken from Yours Is No Disgrace, a song from The Yes Album (1971) that Yes made after Banks had left and Howe had joined. On this second Flash-album Ray Bennett plays the Rickenbacker-bass just like Chris Squire did in Yes. And just like Chris he also had a leading role in the music performed. The high-pitched vocals of Jon Anderson have been imitated by lead singer Colin Carter in a way. 

Together with Ray Bennett he also sang the harmony vocals similarly as we can hear on the many albums released by Yes. On this album the keyboards don’t have a prominent role; occasionally we hear some synthesizers played by Mr. Banks. It has to be said that I didn’t miss the keyboards that much; the songs are strong enough to enjoy without them. Even the short drum solo by Michael Hough at the beginning of Stop The Banging gets my approval although, in general, I don’t like drum solos. The A- and B-side of a single released in 1973 add some extra time compared to the original release. The single is a shorter version of Lifetime plus the song Watch Your Step on the flip side. The latter has a nice and poppy tune and sounds in fact radio-friendlier than the A-side.

by Henri Strik 

Tracks
1. Lifetime (Colin Carter) - 10:07
2. Monday Morning Eyes (Ray Bennett) - 5:11
3. Black And White (Peter Banks, Ray Bennett) - 12:03
4. Stop That Banging (Mike Hough) - 1:58
5. There No More (Ray Bennett) - 11:30
6. Watch Your Step (Ray Bennett) - 2:47
7. Lifetime (Single Version) (Colin Carter) - 2:59

Flash
*Peter Banks - Lead Guitar, ARP Synth, Vocals
*Ray Bennett - Bass, Vocals
*Colin Carter - Lead Vocals
*Mike Hough - Drums, Percussion

1972  Flash - Flash (2010 Japan SHM)

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Flash - Flash (1972 uk, elegant progressive rock, 2010 japan SHM double disc remaster)

After Peter Banks found himself replaced in Yes by Steve Howe, he set his sights on creating a new band. That band was Flash. The group formed in 1971 when Banks recruited longtime associate Ray Bennett (Gun) along with Colin Carter (Pete Bardens' Camel) and Mike Hough. Original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye rounded out the group. 

Flash had a sound that felt a lot like that of Yes on its first two albums, but perhaps with a more pop-oriented texture. The group also had a more free-form approach to its virtuosic jamming, seeming to prefer improvisation to well-charted music. Flash's first album, a self-titled one, was released the following year. Kaye did not stay around very long past that release. Rather than replace him, the group carried on as a four-piece. They released two more albums, In the Can and Out of Our Hands in 1973. 

by Gary Hill

Tracks
1. Small Beginnings - 9:21
2. Morning Haze - 4:36
3. Children Of The Universe - 8:57
4. Dreams Of Heaven - 12:54

5. The Time It Takes - 5:45
6. Small Beginnings (Single Version) - 3:11

All songs by Flash

Flash
*Peter Banks - Acoustic, Electric, Spanish Guitars, Hooter, ARP Synth, Backing Vocals
*Ray Bennett - Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
*Colin Carter - Vocals, Percussion
*Mike Hough - Drums, Percussion, Cymbals, Badinage
*Tony Kaye - Organ, Piano, ARP Synthesizer

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Paper Bubble - Scenery (1969 uk, impressive folk psychedelia)

This quite obscure British pop-folk-rock effort might hold some interest for intense fans of British folk-rock of the late 1960s and early '70s, if only because it was produced by two members of one of the major bands in that genre (Dave Cousins and Tony Hooper of the Strawbs). Compared to the Strawbs, however -- and, for that matter, most British folk-rock acts -- Paper Bubble were far more lightweight. 

Emphasizing the close, merry harmonies of guitarists Terry Brake and Brian Crane, many of the tracks have a bouncy, singalong feel that's too happy-go-lucky, in fact, if you're in the wrong mood, though there are occasional breaks into more wistful numbers. Though bassist Neil Mitchell was the only other member of the group, the sound is thickened with some piano, light orchestration, and vague psychedelic textures. Like much American sunshine pop of the period, however, it has an upbeat vibe that verges on the sappy at times, even if this particular record isn't too strongly related to the sunshine pop style, with an innocent childlike escapist quality found in much British psychedelia of the time. And like many such efforts, it has pleasant surface qualities, but lacks memorable depth or truly standout compositions. 

In this context, the least characteristic track, "Mother Mother Mother," rocks like the devil, with berserk organ breaks, effective distorted electric guitar licks, a hard cheery folk-rockin' verve absolutely missing from the rest of the LP. It's the standout number on the record -- and was, in fact, anthologized in 1983 on the Broken Dreams, Vol. 3 compilation of psychedelic British rock rarities -- but, unfortunately, was the only hint of such brazen energy Paper Bubble ever displayed.

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Fillin' A Gap - 3:17
2. Being Human Being - 3:16
3. She - 4:35
4. I'm Laughing - 3:09
5. Just An Actor - 2:26
6. Energy - 6:46
7. Scenery - 5:23
8. MM Of LA - 3:38
9. Silly Bit Of Sentiment - 3:14
10.Mother, Mother, Mother - 3:08
11.Tomorrow Never Comes Like A Silver Spoon - 4:42
Music and Lyrics by Terry Brake and Brian Crane

Paper Bubble
*Terry Brake - Guitars, Vocals
*Brian Crane - Guitars, Vocals
*Neil Mitchell - Bass
With
*Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
*Richard Hudson - Drums

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Duncan Browne - Give Me Take You (1968 uk, lovely baroque folk psych, japan issue)

As a boy, Duncan Browne intended to follow his father, an Air Commodore (British equivalent of a one-star Air Force general), into the Royal Air Force, but his poor health even as a youth precluded this as a possibility. Instead, he chose to pursue his interests as an actor -- he played the clarinet and studied music theory, but wasn't possessed to consider a career in music until, at age 17, he saw Bob Dylan in an appearance on a BBC drama called The Madhouse on Castle Street, during the American folk-rock star's first tour of the U.K. It was Dylan's guitar playing rather than his singing that served as Browne's inspiration and entryway to rock music. "Most people find that odd," he recalled in a 1991 interview from his home in London, "but I was interested in the way he tuned and played his guitar, especially on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan." In response, he bought a Yamaha acoustic model and taught himself to play in a technique that was heavily classically influenced. 

He spent some time busking around London and later traveled across Europe on 30 pounds borrowed from his father, before entering the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. During his three years there, in addition to studying drama, he kept up with his guitar playing and developed a greater command of music theory -- which he'd begun studying as a teenager -- and formed a folk-rock trio called Lorel. They were later signed to Andrew Oldham's Immediate Records and cut one single, ironically enough an original song that had the bad luck to use as its source the same Bach-originated tune that Procol Harum had utilized for "A Whiter Shade of Pale" -- Immediate saw no point in releasing the single, and the trio soon dissolved.

Browne was able to salvage his own career out of the debacle, however -- he had done some arranging for other acts on the label and Oldham was impressed with what he'd seen, and wanted a solo album from him. He turned to a former student friend of his, David Bretton, to serve as lyricist, and the two composed a dozen songs together. The resulting album, Give Me Take You, was one of the jewels of the Immediate Records catalog, a quietly dazzling work that embraced elements of folk, rock, pop, and classical, all wrapped around some surprisingly well-crafted poetry and Browne's stunning voice. Over the decades,

Many who only discovered it well after its original release compare its dulcet introspective tone to Nick Drake's albums. It does fall into a similar English folk vein, though Browne's arrangements are, on the whole, more Baroque, giving the album a semi-classical, regal feel. Browne charted his own classical arrangements and wrote out vocal charts for a choir, but turned to his art school friend David Bretton for song lyrics. It's Bretton's lovely Pre-Raphaelite-style phrases, used here in the guise of lyrical content, that fans of this album often react strongly to, one way or another. True, there's a youthful innocence and melancholy that come off as somewhat naïve-sounding, mawkish, and awkward in our modern age -- "Better a tear of truth than smiling lies" is one example -- but this is a minor quibble. Immediate issued only one single from the album, "On the Bombsite," but it failed to connect with listeners.

 At the time of its release, Oldham's Immediate Records was reportedly falling apart. He was in financial ruin and reportedly cut the sessions short to save money. Apart from a hard to find Canadian LP reissue in the mid-'70s (on which the original cover art was reproduced in tinted monochrome against a silver background).

by Bruce Eder

Tracks
1. Give Me Take You - 3:17
2. Ninepence Worth Of Walking - 3:40
3. Dwarf In A Tree (A Cautionary Tale) - 3:40
4. The Ghost Walks - 5:39
5. Waking You (Part One) - 1:50
6. Chloe In The Garden - 5:14
7. Waking You (Part Two) - 0:58
8. On The Bombsite - 2:44
9. I Was You Weren't - 2:21
10.Gabilan - 4:04
11.Alfred Bell - 4:36
12.The Death Of Neil - 4:36
13.On The Bombsite (Mono Single Version) - 2:47
14.Alfred Bell (Mono Single Version) - 4:35
Music by Duncan Browne, Words by David Bretton

Musicians
*Duncan Browne - Vocals, Guitars
*Nicky Hopkins - Keyboards

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Jesse Colin Young ‎– Together (1972 us, marvelous folk psych bluesy rock)

Made while the Youngbloods were still together, Jesse Colin Young's first solo album since 1965's Young Blood was a busman's holiday on which he played favorite songs from a variety of genres -- '50s rock & roll (Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little 16"), country (the Dave Dudley hit "6 Days on the Road"), folk-blues (Mississippi John Hurt's "Creole Belle"), Chicago blues (the Butterfield Blues Band song "Born in Chicago"), and folk (Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty"). 

Having covered those bases, Young also introduced some timely originals, such as "Peace Song," an anti-war anthem, and "Good Times," which was very reminiscent of the rustic sound Van Morrison had found recently on such albums as Tupelo Honey. It all made for an enjoyable, if unambitious album that reached the charts for several weeks, which inspired Young to give the Youngbloods notice and, after one more album and tour with them, relaunch his solo career full-time. 

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks
1. Good Times - 4:22
2. Sweet Little Child - 3:00
3. Together - 4:55
4. Sweet Little Sixteen (Chuck Berry) - 3:09
5. Peace Song - 4:34
6. Six Days On The Road (Earl Green, Carl Montgomery) - 3:10
7. It's A Lovely Day - 3:13
8. Creole Belle (John Hurt) - 2:07
9. 6000 Miles (Mercy Dee Walton) - 3:50
10.Born In Chicago (Nick Gravenites) - 2:40
11.Pastures Of Plenty (Woody Guthrie, Traditional) - 4:10
All songs by Jesse Colin Young except where stated

Musicians
*Jesse Colin Young - Bass, Guitar,Sax Tenor, Alto Sax, Vocals
*Suzi Young - Vocals
*Rick Anderson - Harmonica
*Pete Childs - Dobro
*Jerry Corbitt - Vocals
*Scott Lawrence - Piano
*Jeff Myer - Drums
*Eddy Offenstein - Guitar
*Rev. Ron Stallings - Horn, Saxophone
*John Wilmeth - Horn

Jesse Colin Young releases
1973  Song For Juli (2009 remaster)
1974  Light Shine
1976  On The Road (Japan remaster)
with The Youngbloods
1967/69  The Youngbloods / Earth Music / Elephant Mountain 
1969  Elephant Mountain (Sundazed expanded)
1971  Beautiful! Live In San Francisco (Sundazed edition)
1972  High On A Ridge Top (Sundazed remaster)

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Tim Rose - Tim Rose / Love, A Kind Of Hate Story (1970/72 us, outstanding classic rock melted with folk psych)

Born in September of what was, at the time I originally wrote this, an indeterminate year ("age is a personal thing - maybe someone will find it out for my obituary.") and brought up in Washington where he won the top music award at High School, Tim first came to prominence in 1967 with his first album on CBS (Columbia). Prior to that, he had trained for the priesthood (but got thrown out for inappropriate behaviour  - smoking) and been a navigator for Strategic Air Command before becoming involved in the music business.

His first notable group was The Journeymen, along with John Phillips and Scott McKenzie, both of whom went on to musical fame. He then teamed up with fellow members of the New York folk scene, James Hendricks and Cass Elliott, to form The Big Three (not to be confused with the British group of the same name).

CBS, in the wake of their success with Bob Dylan, sought out artistes looking for record deals and the first solo album was born. The blues, folk and rock influences made it a classic, with session musicians of a high quality brought in by CBS to ensure their product was a success. However, the record company didn't seem to have a clue about how to market the album and Tim got lost amongst a host of new acts that had been signed. Jimi Hendrix picked up Tim's version of  Hey Joe and made a hit out of it. Because Tim didn't actually write it, he never got a penny in royalties.

More successful in the UK and Europe than in his home country, Tim moved to England in the mid-seventies, performing occasionally in clubs around London, sometimes with fellow expatriate Tim Hardin. These appearances were often shambolic, probably because of the uncertain state that Hardin was in. His heroin and alcohol addiction meant that while he could sing brilliantly, he was unpredictable and therefore grossly unreliable.

The first CBS album was followed by several more excellent recordings, but the one elusive thing that Tim faced was chart success. This led to a variation in styles in the hope of capturing a different market, but no matter whether he rocked, sang ballads or played country, the record sales were getting less as the years went on. Meanwhile, he was messed around by people in the music business and he became soured by the way things were going.

After The Musician, Tim retired from the music business for a number of years before The Gambler was eventually released in 1991. During that time, he was involved in construction work, did some TV commercials that paid for his degree, did some geography teaching and was a Wall Street stockbroker.

In the late 1990s, encouraged by Nick Cave and Jacques Laureys, he started playing live again, supporting Cave at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This collaboration led to a new album, Haunted,  a mixture of older material, recorded live, and new material produced by Cave. His older albums started being re-released as double CDs and a further album of new material came out in 2002. Tim had managed to get back to touring, with a substantial tour of England and European venues in 1999 and further sporadic gigs from then on. Another interesting development was that Brook Guitars of Exeter, Devon, designed and manufactured a Tim Rose guitar. Made of ebony and spruce, with rosewood sides and a mahogany neck, the guitar had Tim's autograph on it. The price? £1795. Not the kind of thing one would smash up on stage.

Tim went into hospital to have a bowel complaint investigated.  His heart didn't survive the second of two operations and he died on  24 September 2002, his age now admitted as 62.

Song-singer

Tracks
1. It Takes A Little Longer (Garry Wright) - 2:43
2. Ode To An Old Ball (Tim Rose) - 3:36
3. Boogie Boogie (Tim Rose) - 1:11
4. If I Were A Carpenter (Tim Hardin) - 2:52
5. Boogie Boogie (Reprise) (Tim Rose) - 0:58
6. I Know These Two People (Tim Rose) - 3:36
7. Georgia By Morning (Cadd Muddie) - 4:13
8. Dim Light A Burning (Tim Rose) - 3:14
9. Sympathy (Rare Bird) - 2:39
10.You Can't Stop Yourself (Tim Rose) - 2:46
11.Sad Song (Clinton Brown) - 4:40
12.Crying Shame (Garry Wright) - 3:37
13.You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (J. Lennon, P. McCartney) - 5:05
14.Jamie Sue (Tim Rose) - 3:55
15.Cotton Growin' Man (Garry Wright) - 4:10
16.You Can't Keep Me (Tim Rose) - 3:47
17.I Gotta Get A Message To You (Gibb Brothers) - 2:26
18.Darling You Were All That I Had (Bettis, Chater) - 4:26
19.Where Do You Go My Lovely (Sasdted) - 6:16
20.Goin' Down In Hollywood (Rose, Bettis) - 4:49

Musicians
*Tim Rose - Vocals, Guitar
*Alan Parker - Guitar (1970)
*Herbie Flowers - Bass (1970)
*Alan Haekshaw - Keyboards (1970)
*Clem Cattini - Drums (1970)
*Peter Lee Stirling - Vocals (1970)
*Garry Wright - Keyboards, Vocals (1972)
*Mick Jones - Guitar (1972)
*Archie Leggett - Bass (1972)
*Bryson Graham - Drums (1972)

Tim Rose 
1967/1969  Tim Rose / Through Rose Coloured Glasses

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Melissa - Midnight Trampoline (1971 aussie, excellent progressive rock with folk shades)

Melissa formed in Sydney in 1969 under the name Molten Hue. The original lineup was Robert Gunn (flute, vocals), Rick Barrett (guitar) Ken Frazier (bass) and Warren "Wal" Sparkes (drums), but Irish-born bassist Joe Creighton (who had previously been a member of UK band The A-Side) replaced Frazier not long after the band was formed. Melissa started out playing a psychedelia and acid-rock, and they were one of the first Australian bands to play rock in the style of American West Coast acts like Jefferson Airplance, Country Joe & The Fish or The Steve Miller Band.

Melissa's debut 45 "Mississippi Mamma" -- produced by Rory Thomas from The Questions -- was a pacy progressive blues-rock number, backed by a raucous cover of Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing". The group's only album, Midnight Trampoline was recorded over a period of nine months during 1971 and was eventually released in October on the independent Banner label. Several tracks were composed by Creighton and/or Barnett, and there's an interesting arrangement of the traditional song "Cuckoo". As Ian McFarlane noted in Freedom Train, the group was obviously heavily under the spell of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, and the LP features two Morrison covers, "Madame George" and "Young Lovers Do". Unfortunately, the album sank without a trace on release, but over the years it has gained a reputation as one of the better Australian rock Albums of the period and it became a sought-after collector's item.

Melissa had a strong following on the Sydney suburban dance circuit and they performed with major acts like Tully and Mecca at 'underground' happenings and concerts at venues like the Paddington Town Hall and the Arts Factory in Darlinghurst. One of the highlights of the group's brief career was a support slot in Sydney on the Sydney leg of the first Australian tour by Elton John in October 1971. By this time, however, internal tensions that built up during the recording of the LP had brought about to a split the band, with Creighton and Gunn being replaced by Chris Keystone and Ken Hanley, plus a new keyboard player, Glen Farley. Melissa continued to perform through 1972 but broke up at the end of that year.

Fortunately, the Melissa recordings were among the precious early-'70s OzRock relics selected for reissue by Vicious Sloth Collectibles. The tracks from the Midnight Trampoline LP, augmented by the two tracks from the single, were included on the CD reissue

The most notable member of the group is of course Joe Creighton, who has long been one of Australia's most respected and sought-after bassist-vocalists. He has played with many notable Australian acts including Billy T, Mark Gillespie, Pseudo Echo, The Black Sorrows, Vanetta Fields, Ian Moss and The John Farnham Band and The Revelators, he's toured with Tim Finn, and led his own Joe Creighton Band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Joe's remarkable list of session credits includes the Oz soundtrack, Jane Conway, Pat Wilson, Australian Crawl, Hunters & Collectors, Sharon O'Neill, the Wendy Matthews/Kate Ceberano duet album, Greg Champion, Marc Hunter and Jenny Morris

Miles-ago

Tracks
1. Matalla (Creighton, Barrett) - 4:54
2. Getting Through (Creighton) - 4:08
3. Young Lovers Do (Morrison) - 4:11
4. Out In The Country (Williams, Nicholls) - 4:01
5. Cuckoo (Trad., Arr. Creighton, Barrett) - 5:46
6. Jennifer In New York (Barrett) - 5:08
7. Madame George (Morrison) - 6:13
8. Mississippi Mama (Zinser) - 1:58
9. Too Much Of Nothing (Dylan) - 2:44

Melissa 
*Richard Barrett - Guitars
*Joe Creighton - Bass, Vocals
*Robert Gunn - Flute, Vocals
*Wally Sparke - Drums, Percussion
Additional Musicians
*"Martin" - Vocal Harmony
*Peter Martin - 12 String Guitar
*Glen Farley - Electric Piano

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Kris Kristofferson - Kristofferson (1970 us, expressive outlaw country folk rock)

Kris Kristofferson was approaching his mid-thirties and had been kicking around Nashville for several years when he belatedly became an overnight success in 1969-1970. The impetus was "Me and Bobby McGee," which he co-wrote with Fred Foster, who ran Monument Records. Roger Miller cut the song, and his recording peaked in the country Top 20 in August 1969. By that time, Kristofferson had performed at the Newport Folk Festival at the behest of Johnny Cash, and Foster decided to sign him to Monument as a recording artist. Before this debut album was released in 1970, Ray Stevens had scored a pop and country chart entry with Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down."

On the evidence of his first collection of songs, Kristofferson was ahead of his country music peers in realizing that, despite Nashville's conservative political tilt, there was a natural affinity between the country archetype of a hard-drinking, romantically independent loner and the rock & roll archetype of a drug-taking, romantically free hippie. (Of course, lots of rock musicians, especially in Los Angeles, had already noticed this similarity, and formed bands like Poco and the Flying Burrito Brothers to exploit it.) 

He opened the album with what sounded like an answer to the criticisms of the Rolling Stones in the wake of Altamont. "Blame It on the Stones" contrasted various conservative stereotypes, starting with "Mr. Marvin Middle Class," with the supposedly evil rock group, its chorus a parody of "Bringing in the Sheaves." Needless to say, that was not a typical way to open a country album in 1970 (or any other time), but Kristofferson quickly followed with the somewhat more reverent "To Beat the Devil," which he dedicated in a spoken introduction to Johnny Cash and June Carter, and in which he established a persona he would maintain through much of the album, the character of a poor songwriter struggling against despair. 

"Me and Bobby McGee," a classic on-the-road song, was next, with Kristofferson, despite the country grammar, displaying his background as an English teacher in its chorus, "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose/Nothin' ain't worth nothin', but it's free." Then came "The Best of All Possible Worlds," which used a reference to Voltaire to reflect wryly on the viewpoint of a drunken vagrant. (You could see what attracted Roger Miller to Kristofferson in a song like this, which clearly was influenced by Miller's "King of the Road," though Kristofferson's treatment of the subject was grittier.) Of course, the ultimate example of the subject was the album-closing "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," which was basically a first-person description of a hangover. The romantic side of the hard-living drifter character was glimpsed in the album's two tenderest statements, "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "For the Good Times," both of which were pleas by the narrator to sleep with the object of his affection.

A sleeve note suggested that Kristofferson had been reluctant to record, but while he didn't have much range as a singer, he brought a conviction to his vocals and a complete understanding of the nuances of the lyrics. The songs were so personal that they seemed to demand a personal interpretation. Nashville, as it turned out, didn't have much use for countercultural songs like "Blame It on the Stones" and "The Law Is for Protection of the People" (which had some choice words for the police), but the country music community could recognize a good love song with an erotic edge that was on the cusp of the era's changing mores, and Ray Price quickly cut "For the Good Times," which topped the country charts. 

Then, Johnny Cash covered "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" for a number one country hit, leading to its winning the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award for 1970, and Sammi Smith gave a twist to "Help Me Make It Through the Night" by recording it as a woman's song for yet another country number one. The finishing touch to Kristofferson's sudden renown was Janis Joplin's cover of "Me and Bobby McGee," released shortly after her death, which topped the pop charts.

When it was released in 1970, Kristofferson did not reach the charts. By the following year, however, its creator was on his way to becoming a major star, and after his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I, broke into the pop charts in July 1971, Monument re-titled the first album Me and Bobby McGee and reissued it. This time around, it made the pop and country charts and went gold. (On February 6, 2001, Monument/Legacy reissued Kristofferson as part of its American Milestones series. Featuring 24-bit remastering, the CD added four previously unreleased tracks from the same sessions that produced the album, among them an early version of "Come Sundown," later recorded for a Top Ten country hit by Bobby Bare and re-cut by Kristofferson himself for his Shake Hands With the Devil album in 1979.)

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks
1. Blame It On The Stones (Kristofferson, John Wilkin) - 2:46
2. To Beat The Devil - 4:43
3. Me And Bobby Mcgee (Kristofferson, Fred Foster) - 4:23
4. Best Of All Possible Worlds - 3:01
5. Help Me Make It Through The Night - 2:24
6. The Law Is For Protection Of The People - 2:40
7. Casey's Last Ride - 3:37
8. Just The Other Side Of Nowhere - 3:39
9. Darby's Castle - 3:19
10.For The Good Times - 3:25
11.Duvalier's Dream - 2:58
12.Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down - 4:34
13.The Junkie And The Juicehead, Minus Me - 3:24
14.Shadows Of Her Mind - 3:13
15.The Lady's Not For Sale (Kristofferson, Carol Pugh) - 3:27
16.Come Sundown - 2:36
All songs by Kris Kristofferson except as noted

Musicians
*Kris Kristofferson – Guitar, Vocals
*Jerry Kennedy - Guitar

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Samuel Prody - Samuel Prody (1971 uk, spectacular heavy psych rock, 2011 Flawed Gems issue)

Tony Savva started his career in London as a bass player and vocalist in various bands. The first group was "The Rivals" - Andy Mitchell (lead guitar), Colin Cookson (rhythm guitar), Bobbie Scott (drums) and Tony Savva (bass & vocals). "Thee of London" - was the next band. They were managed by Reg King and released a single called "Each & Every Day" (written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards).

Next came "The New Breed" - They were managed by Don Arden and he wanted them to record one of two songs written by Wes Farrell & Bert Russell. They wanted to record Hang On Sloopy but unfortunately the McCoys (who recorded it on Bert Russell's own Bang Records label) got there first so they recorded the other one, Friends & Lovers Forever. They then became the "Wild Angels" - and they performed at the Marquee Club in London. 

In the Wild Angels the vocalist was Dave Arden, Don Arden's son. His sister was Sharon Arden who married Ozzy Osbourne (Trivia.. Sharon Osbourne is Don Arden's daughter). The most successful of these early bands was "A Wild Uncertainty". They released a single "A Man With Money" (an old Everly Brothers hit) in 1966 (the B side was "Broken Truth" written by Tony).

When Keith Moon was going through a bad time with the Who (he & Pete Townshend were not getting on too well) he wanted to join the band so he rehearsed for a full day with them at the Kingston Cellar Club. When he agreed to join them as long as he got a £50 per week retainer Don Arden turned him down flat. 

At around this time Tony Savva was auditioned for the Jimi Hendrix Experience but unfortunately it was decided that the band should remain as a three piece. Mitch Mitchell still kept in contact with Tony and he did the percussion on the Wild Uncertainty single. 

The other guys in A Wild Uncertainty were: Gordon Barton on drums (he went on to join Andwella's Dream and then John Entwistle's OX) Peter Tidmarsh on guitar (he carried on with Tony and wrote one of the Samuel Prody Tracks) Eddie Hardin on keyboards - He went on to join the Spencer Davis Group and after a great period with Hardin & York he is still playing with them along with the fantastic Miller Anderson & Colin Hodgkinson. 

They were then managed by the infamous Andrew Loog Oldham who managed the Rolling Stones and founded the Immediate label. In 1968 Tony worked with Lionel Bart on writing a very strange album called "Isn't This Where We Came In?" (Deram - DML 1028). There were many well known performers on the recording - Madeline Bell, Danny Thompson, John Cameron, Willie Rushton, Rosetta Hightower, Kenny Lynch and the sleeve notes were by Jonathan King.

Tony went on to a couple of other bands - Smiffy's Gang and then Giant. It was Giant that eventually moved south to Brighton in the early 70s and became Samuel Prody. Originally Giant was formed by Pete Sears (who went on to Jefferson Starship, now with the FOB - the Flying Other Brothers).  In Giant the guitarist was Davey O'List (ex- the Nice) after Pete Sears left. When the band moved down to Brighton he left after a few months to be replaced again by Pete Tidmarsh. Pete left and he was replaced by Keith Hurley from Brighton.

The band wanted to change their name to Samuel Purdy but as this might have caused a problem with the world famous shotgun maker they were advised to change it to Samuel Prody. After the still popular Samuel Prody album was released the band broke up and Tony joined a great band called Rusty Butler. A young Dave Greenfield was the keyboard player who went on to join The Stranglers (and he is of course still with them!)

Samuel Prody-official

Tracks
1. Who Will Buy (L. Bart) - 4:23
2. Woman - 4:17
3. Time Is All Mine - 6:10
4. Scat Shuffle (P. Titmarsch) - 2:17
5. She's Mine - 3:16
6. Mr Make Believe - 3:16
7. Hallucination - 8:42
All songs by Tony Savva except where noted

Samuel Prody
*Tony Savva - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*Derek "Mort" Smallcombe - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*John Boswell - Percussion, Vocals
*Stephen Day - Bass, Lead Guitar

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Crazy Elephant - Crazy Elephant (1969-70 us, wondrous colorful beats, 2006 remaster and expanded)

"There is no Crazy Elephant," insists writer-producer Ritchie Cordell. "That was just Bob Spencer." Robert Spencer was a member of the Cadillacs, who recorded the rock and roll classic "Speedo," a #14 hit from 1955. In the years that followed, Spencer kept active in the industry, often penning songs and selling them off without just compensation, according to Cordell. In 1969, Spencer linked up with Kasenetz and Katz just as their Super K bubblegum machine was churning out the hits full-throttle.

Kasenetz and Katz hooked him up with Cordell and Joey Levine, who together had penned the soulful "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'." The searing single, featuring Spencer's scorching lead vocal and an obvious background vocal assist by Levine, was submitted to Buddah Records, the New York-based label with whom Kasenetz and Katz had been so continually successful. "We played it for [Buddah General Manager] Neil Bogart," the Super K boys recall, "but he said, 'No, I don't hear it.'" Undeterred, they walked Crazy Elephant over to Larry Uttal at neighboring Bell Records, who snapped it up. By May 1969, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" hit #12 in Billboard. Its stateside success prompted a British release, where it also peaked at #12.

Kasenetz and Katz recruited a five-piece band of college-age youths to support the single on the road, pose for pictures, and fill out the inevitable album. According to the credits on that sole self-titled LP, the lucky winners of this strange sweepstakes were Larry Laufer (leader, keyboards and vocals), Ronnie Bretone (bass), Bob Avery (drums), Kenny Cohen (flute, sax, and vocals) and Hal King (vocals). The whole process was standard operating procedure for bubblegummeisters Kasenetz and Katz. More often than not, according to Cordell, they would "send five bands [with the same name] out on the road. They'd stick them in a room with the album and have them learn all the songs."

"Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" was the only Crazy Elephant record for Cordell and Levine. When the Spencer-soundalike follow-ups "Sunshine, Red Wine" and "Gimme Some More" failed to click, Kasenetz and Katz took Crazy Elephant in a new direction overseas to London. In 1970, they brought in future 10cc members Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, and Graham Gouldman to take over the writing and production duties. Despite the ambitious single "(There Ain't No) Umbopo" (which the trio had recorded in an alternate version for Pye UK as Doctor Father), Crazy Elephant had effectively run its course, and was quietly retired.

by Bill Pitzonka

Tracks
1. Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' (Joey Levine, Richie Cordell) - 2:04
2. Respect (Otis Redding) - 7:25
3. Pam (Larry Laufer, Robert Katz, Iver Kasenetz) - 2:33
4. Come To The Farm (Larry Laufer, Robert Katz, Iver Kasenetz) - 3:16
5. Somewhere (Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein) - 3:45
6. My Baby (Honey Pie) (Larry Laufer, Robert Katz, Iver Kasenetz) - 2:14
7. Sunshine, Red Wine (Jimmy Woods, Bob Levine, Jeff Katz, Jerry Kasenetz) - 2:30
8. (Heartless) Hertie Gertie (Jeff Katz, Jerry Kasenetz) - 3:03
9. Love Strike (Jimmy Woods, Bob Levine, Jeff Katz, Jerry Kasenetz) - 2:23
10.Try This When You're Ready (Larry Laufer, Robert Katz, Iver Kasenetz) - 2:56
11.Higher And Higher (Jeff Katz, Jerry Kasenetz) - 3:37
12.Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' (Joey Levine, Richie Cordell) - 2:01
13.Dark Part Of My Mind (J.Buglisi, N. Foroli, P. Kraft, J. Kent) - 2:53
14.Sunshine (Red Wine) (J. Woods, B. Levine, J. Katz, J. Kasenetz) - 2:30
15.Pam (Larry Laufer, Robert Katz, Iver Kasenetz) - 2:33
16.Gimme Some More (J. Woods, B. Levine, J. Katz, J. Kasenetz) - 2:08
17.My Baby (Honey Pie) (Larry Laufer, Robert Katz, Iver Kasenetz) - 2:18
18.There's A Better Day A Comin' (Na,Na,Na,Na) (R. Cordell, J. Katz, J. Kasenetz) - 3:15
19.Space Buggy (R. Cordell, J. Katz, J. Kasenetz) - 2:25
20.There Ain't No Umbopo (Godley, Creme) - 3:05
21.Landrover (R. Cordell, J. Katz, J. Kasenetz, H. Gold, P. Schindler) - 2:37
22.Respect Revisited (Otis Redding) - 5:00
23.In A Castle (Crazy Elephant) - 4:55
24.Hips And Flips (Joey Levine, Richie Cordell) - 1:55
25.Splif And Spih (Joey Levine, Richie Cordell) - 1:56

Crazy Elephant
*Kenny Cohen - Flute, Saxophone, Vocals
*Bob Avery - Drums
*Larry Laufer - Keyboards, Vocals
*Hal King - Vocals
*Ronnie Bretone - Bass

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