The Barry Goldberg Blues Band - Blowing My Mind ..Plus (1965-66 us, superb electric blues, 2003 remaster and expanded)

This is the first long-player from '60s blues keyboardist Barry Goldberg (organ/piano/vocals). His early association as Bob Dylan's organist during Dylan's electric debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival garnered Goldberg ample exposure. Within a few months he had teamed up with Steve Miller to create the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. Although the combo were signed by Epic Records and cut a pair of 45s, Miller headed for the flourishing San Francisco psychedelic music scene and left Goldberg and the remnants of the short-lived Goldberg-Miller union to their own devices. 

In addition to the 10 tracks on the album Blowing My Mind (1966), the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band also recorded "The Mother Song," and "More Soul, Than Soulful," which appear on the 2003 release Goldberg-Miller Blues Band 1965-66. Goldberg is then joined by the likes of Roy Ruby (bass), who contributed to some early Michael Bloomfield recordings, and Maurice McKinley (drums), whose musical rap sheet included a previous stint with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The combo also featured the respective talents of Harvey Mandel (guitar) and Charlie Musselwhite (harmonica). 

One of the most evident factors in the success of the Barry Goldberg Blues Band is the impeccable ensemble work as they propel through a blend of effective originals as well as an atypical combination of cover material. The title track is a mid-tempo Goldberg/Ruby tune that features a slightly edgy feel, reminiscent of Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street." "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "That'll Be The Day," are both recommended reworkings that perhaps best exemplify the bluesy synthesis that defined the Barry Goldberg Blues Band, at least on this initial effort. Rather than attempting a note-for-note recreation, they fuse their own blend of electric blues into the well-known and already established melodies. 

The same holds for the cover versions of Jimmy Reed's "Can't Stand To See You Go" and Jimmy McCracklin's seminal side "Think." One non-LP outtake is also included, a strong rendering of Geoff Muldaur's "Ginger Man." 

by Lindsay Planer

Tracks
1. The Mother Song (Barry Goldberg) - 2:57
2. More Soul Than Soulful (Harris) - 3:13
3. Getting It Down (Barry Goldberg) - 2:08
4. Mean Old World (Barry Goldberg) - 3:49
5. Twice A Man (Barry Goldberg) - 2:28
6. Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On (D. Williams, S. David) - 2:37
7. Big Boss Man (A. Smith, L. Dixon) - 2:57
8. Blowing My Mind (Barry Goldberg, Roy Ruby) - 2:57
9. That'll Be The Day (J. Allison, B. Holly, N. Petty) - 2:22
10.Cant Stand To See You Go (J. Reed) - 2:24
11.Put Me Down (Barry Goldberg, Roy Ruby) - 1:53
12.Think (J. McCracklin, D, Malone) - 2:37
13.Ginger Man (G. Muldaur) - 1:46
Tracks 1-2 The Goldberg - Miller Blues Band
Tracks 3-13 The Barry Goldberg Blues Band

The Goldberg - Miller Blues Band
*Barry Goldberg - Vocals, Organ
*Maurice Mc Kinley - Drums
*Steve Miller - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Roy Ruby - Bass Guitar

The Barry Goldberg Blues Band
*Barry Goldberg - Vocals, Organ
*Maurice Mc Kinley - Drums
*Harvey Mandel - Lead Guitar
*Charlie Musselwhite - Harmonica
*Roy Ruby - Bass Guitar

1968  The Barry Goldberg Reunion - There's No Hole In My Soul

1968-69  Electric Flag - An American Music Band / A Long Time Comin'
1969  Barry Goldberg - Two Jews Blues (vinyl edition)
1976  KGB - KGB (2005 remaster edition)

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The Barry Goldberg Reunion - There's No Hole In My Soul (1968 us, spectacular blues psych rock)

After leaving The Electric Flag, pianist and organist Barry Goldberg formed his own briefly lived group and continued to play the blues, albeit spicing it up with unusual psychedelic rock songs and a fabulous cover of the Beatles’ Fool on the Hill (misspelled as Fool on a Hill on the album). There’s No Hole In My Soul is the record output for the group, a dense piece of varying styles that has something for everyone. Following Goldberg from the Electric Flag to the Barry Goldberg Reunion is Harvey Mandel on guitar. The album’s cover is a hint to what’s inside: the cover is a jumbled mess of photographs of faces, blending into one another. The album’s songs are a mixed bag as well, often at odds with one another, representing a variety of styles.s

Goldberg’s instrument of choice, the organ, plays heavily on all tracks, occasionally dwarfing the overall sound, but on songs like the lead off track it remains a tasteful accompanier. Sitting In Circles is a masterful, booming number that brings multiple elements to the table. Echo graces the track, filling up the spaces where the organ, strings, guitars, and drums aren’t playing with excess sound. Goldberg moans the lyrics in a rather contemporary fashion, sort of an older John Mayer cum Leonard Cohen. The lyrics are suitably basic, placing the emphasis on the music, which is excellent and just a bit complex. 

Fool on a Hill sounds like a Velvet Underground outtake, though not a word is spoken. Two or three organs come together (Beatle pun unintended) to make a drone that is otherworldly, while drums keep time by soloing faintly in the background. On occasion the drums will serve a more central role to the song, but it’s really all about the organ and guitar duet that functions as the main melody. The song is a Blue Jay Way interpretation of a classic, fuzzy and hazy, barely holding together rhythmically and absolutely delightful. The organ captures the spiral into the clouds that Paul’s vocals carry on the original as he improvises around “round\round\round\oh oh oh”. 

While slight homage is paid to the original, the Barry Goldberg Reunion is not afraid to push the limit, psychedelic-izing an already trippy song. While the lyrics on other tracks deal with liberation of the mind and riding on rainbows, Fool on a Hill takes credit for being the most psychedelic song on the record. It’s followed by a goofy blues number that hammers shut side one called Capricorn Blues. It’s a bit of astrology rock\blues, as the protagonist struggles to get a date with the proper astrological sign, something Goldberg laments. 

Side two is fairly basic blues and rock, but the final track, a live number called The Answer’s In Your Head is a stirring utopian vision along the lines of We Love You. by the Rolling Stones (“lost within our minds\cos we love you!”) The mind is the best place to method the stresses of social change and of being led and being imprisoned by American corporate society. The band presents a convincing argument for the hippie school of thought, that through experimentation with drugs and less hang ups one can make a revolution, though the radical leftists of the sixties chose to carry out more concrete actions. 

A rousing Doctor John style piano boogie is attached at the beginning of the track, building up to the introduction of the actual song. The noise of a concert jam fades into a country and western track, Goldberg’s voice soaring over the song, backed up by what sounds like a live audience on joyous cries of “the answer’s in your head!”. The song deals with Goldberg recognizing the potential of mindfulness and liberation just around the corner, while describing the loss of his ego. It’s a joyful celebration of the counterculture, complete with whoops and handclaps, inviting the audience into the musical painting. 

Max Close

Tracks
1. Sitting In Circles - 3:40
2. Hole In My Pocket (Danny Whitten) - 2:45
3. It Hurts Me Too - 4:10
4. Fool On A Hill (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:25
5. Capricorn Blues - 1:55
6. Another Day - 3:25
7. Sugar Coated Love - 2:35
8. Strung And Young - 3:15
9. I Think I'm Gonna Cry - 3:25
10.The Answers In Your Head - 3:25
All songs by Barry Goldberg except where indicated

Personnel
*Barry Goldberg - Organ, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*Eddy Hoh - Drums
*Charlie Musselwhite - Harmonica (Harp)
*Harvey Mandel - Guitar
*Don MacCallister - Bass
*Roy Woods - Percussion
*Ronald Minsky - Percussion, Audio Consulant
*Skippy Diamond - Vibraphone (Good Vibes)
*Nettie Goldberg - Barrelhouse Piano

1968-69  Electric Flag - An American Music Band / A Long Time Comin'
1969  Barry Goldberg - Two Jews Blues (vinyl edition)
1976  KGB - KGB (2005 remaster edition)

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Brainbox - Parts (1972 holland, exceptional prog rock, 2012 extra tracks remaster)

Holland's Brainbox were founded by Jan Akkerman in the mid-'60s. While H.P. Lovecraft kept changing members around the drummer, this band would release a record with totally new people in 1972, entitled Parts. Yet the original Brainbox do have qualities somewhat resembling the earlier H.P. Lovecraft, and their eponymous album is a worthwhile collection of musically diverse and eclectic performances. The decent liner notes call this "progressive pop," and in some respects it is, though they shift gears from the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" to the 17-minute plus original "Sea of Delight," and take lots of other directions in between. 

The Damned had a song called "New Rose," which is where the French record label got its name, and there was the aforementioned Savage Rose, but Brainbox start the album with "Dark Rose," a blend of Jethro Tull meets the Mothers of Invention. Brainbox ups the ante by sliding into Tim Hardin and a very credible cover of "Reason to Believe" a full two years before Rod Stewart would get a B-side hit with it (the original A-side of the "Maggie Mae" single), they pull off a chameleon-like change on this to become folk rockers. 

Casimirz Lux has a very appealing voice with a bit of Stewart's rasp, making "Reason to Believe" a highlight of the album. The liner notes credit Jimmy Smith for writing "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," but the tracking properly gives it to Jimmy Reed, and his Top 40 1960 hit is as bluesy as you can get here, the band changing styles yet again and showing their grasp and appreciation of American music. From progressive rock to folk-rock to blues-rock to the folk-pop of Simon & Garfunkel, who is to say they weren't rewriting Blind Faith's lengthy "Do What You Like" by way of "Sea of Joy" for their epic "Sea of Delight"? The album is a dense amalgam of sounds and themes from England and America, but is reverent in its borrowing and presentation. 

Brainbox's rendition of "Summertime" sounds like Deep Purple adding heavy keyboard sounds and slowing up the Billy Stewart 1966 hit reinvention of the Gershwin tune from Porgy & Bess. Of course, Janis Joplin did it two years earlier than Brainbox and psychedelicized it with an immortal performance -- but a good song is a good song, and this is Jan Akkerman before he would give us "Hocus Pocus" from Focus, and that fact makes the album more than just a curiosity. Since these gents were so enamoured of American music, it seems credible that they took the Vanilla Fudge sound -- famous in Europe a year before it hit in America -- and put it on a Janis Joplin favorite. Released with five bonus tracks on CD, including additional versions of "Sea of Delight," this is much more than the "bargain bin" item many American record buyers passed it off as. It's a real diamond in the rough. 

by Joe Viglione

Tracks
1. A Face - 4:23
2. You're Used To Be Warmer - 3:55
3. Part Of Me Is A Part Of You - 5:36
4. What It's All About - 4:56
5. Scotch Ballad - 2:03
6. Another Part - 3:17
7. Dilemma - 3:30
8. Drum And Thunder Suite (B. Golson) - 5:05
9. When I Was Poor - 5:54
10.Virgin (A-Side, 1971) - 3:40
11.Mobilae (B-Side, 1971) - 5:38
12.Companion (Live At Paradiso 1971) - 4:30
13.Sea Of Delight (Single Version, 1969) - 3:03
All compositions by Brainbox except where stated
Bonus Tracks 10-13

The Brainbox
*Robert Verwey - Bass
*Michel Van Dijk - Vocals, Flute
*Ron Meyjes - Lead Guitar, Harmonica
*Robert Verwey - Organ, Piano
*Frans Smit - Percussion

1969-70  Brainbox - Brainbox (2011 bonus tracks remaster) 

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Lonnie Mack - Whatever's Right (1969 us, marvelous soul blues roots 'n' roll, 2003 Sundazed remaster)

By 1968 guitarist Lonnie Mack had been playing professionally for a decade. Ironically, it took a lengthy article in Rolling Stone magazine to finally capture the attention of major record labels.

Signed by Jac Holzman's Elektra Records, Mack finally seemed poised for the big time.  Produced by Russ Miller, 1969's "Whatever's Right" is the resulting mix of blues, gospel and country genres was clearly souped up to appeal to a rock audience.  While the spotlight was clearly on Mack's Gibson Flying V (and his speed of light whammy bar), to my ears the biggest surprise here was Mack's singing. 

As exemplified by tracks like 'My Babe, 'What Kind of World Is This?' and his cover of Bobby Womack's 'I Found a Love' the guy actually had a great voice.  Interestingly, the two best songs here are also the only two Mack originals.  'Mr. Healthy Blues' was a killer instrumental that showcases how fast this guy could play, while Elektra marketing executives should have been fired for not having pulled 'Gotta Be An Answer' as a single.  

Bad-Cat

Tracks
1. Untouched By Human Love (Norman Simon, Dick Roman) -  3:40
2. I Found A Love (Wilson Pickett, Willie Schofield, Robert West) -  3:34
3. Share Your Love With Me (Deadric Malone, Alfred Braggs) -  4:12
4. Teardrops On Your Letter (S. Scott) -  4:14
5. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Reed) -  2:53
6. Mt. Healthy Blues (Instrumental) (Lonnie Mack) -  6:50
7. What Kind Of World Is This? (Troy Seals) -  4:05
8. My Babe (Willie Dixon) -  2:36
9. Things Have Gone To Pieces (Leon Payne) -  2:55
10.Gotta Be An Answer (Lonnie Mack) -  2:43

Personnel
*Lonnie Mack - Guitar, Vocals, 6-String Bass
*Rusty York - Harmonica
*Jack Brickles - Harmonica
*David Byrd - Keyboards
*Roy Christiansen - Cello
*Tim Drummond - Bass
*Ron Grayson - Drums
*Timothy Hedding - Organ
*Jerry Love - Drums
*Denzil Dumpy Rice - Piano
*Leslie Asch, E. Brenden Harkin - Horn Arrangements
*Sherlie Matthews - Vocals

1969  Lonnie Mack - Glad I'm In The Band (2003 Sundazed remaster)

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Ray Stinnett - A Fire Somewhere (1971 us, spectacular folk psych straight ahead rock, 2012 digipak remaster)

Best known for his work with a band that bridged the gap between R&B and garage rock, Ray Stinnett was also an unsung hero of the Memphis music scene whose most personal music would wait over 40 years to find an audience. Stinnett was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1944, and like so many kids growing up in Memphis, he developed a love for music early on, getting his first guitar when he was 12 years old. Stinnett claims he bought the instrument at the same pawn shop where Elvis Presley was said to have gotten his first guitar, and as Stinnett was walking home, he spotted Presley driving by in a Cadillac, who called out to the youngster, "Hey, cat." Suitably encouraged, Stinnett set about learning the guitar, and by his mid-teens, he was playing around town in a duo act with drummer Jerry Patterson, as well as working with a teen rock band called Johnny and the Electros and doing occasional session work. In mid-1963, a Texas-based group called the Nightriders, led by keyboard man Domingo "Sam" Samudio, were booked into a standing gig at a Memphis nightspot called the Diplomat Club when their guitar player and drummer both quit; Stinnett and Patterson signed on to replace them, and when the Nightriders' engagement ended, the Memphis boys hit the road with the band. 

A few months later, the Nightriders changed their name to Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, and after they cut a single for a small Memphis label, MGM Records picked up the disc for national distribution. "Wooly Bully" became the top-selling single of 1965, spending 14 weeks in Billboard's Top 40, and a pair of minor hits followed ("Ju Ju Hand" and "Ring Dang Do"), but Stinnett's tenure with the group was short-lived; within a year of "Wooly Bully" hitting the charts, the Pharaohs had a falling out with Samudio over business matters, and they found themselves replaced with a new set of Pharaohs, who scored a hit of their own with "Li'l Red Riding Hood." Stinnett, Patterson, and their fellow ex-Pharaohs cut a single for Dot Records as the Violations, "The Hanging" b/w "You Sure Have Changed," which dealt metaphorically with their anger and disappointment, but the record went nowhere commercially and the group split up. 

In 1967, as Americans became aware of the growing counterculture, Stinnett headed to Northern California and embraced the hippie lifestyle while living at a celebrated commune, the Morning Star Ranch; a year later, back in Memphis, he formed a psychedelic band called 1st Century, who lasted long enough to release one single for Capitol Records, "Looking Down" b/w "Dancing Girl." While 1st Century quickly dissolved, Stinnett struck up a friendship with legendary producer and instrumentalist Booker T. Jones, and as Stinnett began putting a greater focus on his songwriting, Jones encouraged him and gave him occasional gigs. 

By the dawn of the 1970s, Stinnett and his wife were living on a commune in California and searching for spiritual enlightenment. Stinnett's life path reflects the shifting cultural Zeitgeist of the 1960s with commendable accuracy, but thankfully he never stopped playing guitar like a Memphis boy who dug the blues, as evidenced by A Fire Somewhere, an album Stinnett recorded in 1971 that finally earned a long-overdue release in 2012. When Booker T. Jones produced an album for his then-wife Priscilla Coolidge-Jones, 1970's Gypsy Queen, Stinnett played guitar on the sessions and wrote two songs that appeared on the LP.

Stinnett was a protégé of Booker T. Jones, and when Jones signed a deal with A&M Records, he persuaded them to sign Stinnett as well, and if what Stinnett was writing was a long way from classic Memphis R&B, Stinnett's sharp, emphatic guitar work and easygoing sense of timing suggest he learned more than a little from the cats at Stax Records, though his vocals weren't always on a par with his picking.

As a songwriter, Stinnett conjures up a fine, swampy fusion of soul, country, blues, and rock, with occasional side trips into psychedelia and gospel, and though it's true Stinnett's spiritual and philosophical conceits sometimes sound a bit clumsy after 40 years of gathering dust, Stinnett never sounds less than entirely sincere, and when he deals with the nuts and bolts of love and relationships, he strikes a bull's-eye. And Stinnett was blessed with a rhythm section as idiosyncratically gifted as he was in bassist Mike Plunk and drummer Jerry Patterson. Differences with A&M over marketing and management caused Stinnett to walk away from his record deal, and A Fire Somewhere got left by the wayside, buried in the label's vaults.

This re-release of the album doesn't quite resurrect a lost classic, but this is an entertaining, often fascinating set of well-crafted swamp rock that showcases a talent that deserved a hearing it didn't get in 1971. The album was remastered from the original session tapes,

by Mark Deming

Tracks
1. Salty Haze - 2:43
2. You Make Me Feel - 3:53
3. Silky Path - 5:03
4. Wheel Of Time - 2:36
5. Stop - 3:32
6. Long Rivers Flow - 2:48
7. America - 4:21
8. You And I - 4:18
9. Honey Suckle Song - 3:00
10.Liberty Train - 3:40
11.Naturally High - 3:11
12.Loves In The Answer - 2:46
13.A Fire Somewhere - 5:30
14.The Rain - 5:27
Music and Words by Ray Stinnett

Musicians
*Jerry Patterson - Drums, Percussion
*Mike Plunk - Bass, Baritone Saxophone, Backing Vocals
*Phil Stevens - Trumpet
*Ray Stinnett - Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Harp

1965-73  Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs - The MGM Singles (2011 digi pack release)

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Rowan Brothers - Rowan Brothers (1972 us, beautiful country folk west coast blend, 2002 issue)

Released in 1972, the Rowan Brothers' eponymous debut arrived with a great deal of hype, including an ad featuring a quote from Jerry Garcia in which he stated that Chris and Lorin Rowan "could be like the Beatles. They're that good." Produced by Bill Wolf and David Grisman (credited as David Diadem), the first effort from the Stinson Beach, CA, duo never even came close to living up to such lofty praise. Though it can give a young artist a boost, this sort of hype can quite often be devastating, and probably hurt the pair in the long run.

The Rowan Brothers is a mix of country-rock, folk, and pop tunes with cosmic ("the universe is nothing but a fantasy/of life's illusions throughout eternity") and hippie ("we'll put on our costumes, bring the music along/come on friends we'll sing a happy song") underpinnings, which are often trite and very much artifacts of the time. Although they may lack lyrical muscle, Chris and Lorin are capable of pleasant, catchy tunes that can be light and spirited or lush and pretty. Ignored at the time and somewhat dated today, The Rowan Brothers is another forgotten relic from the late-'60s and early-'70s San Francisco music scene. 

by Brett Hartenbach

Tracks
1. Hickory Day - 2:52
2. All Together - 3:04
3. The Best You Can - 2:52
4. One More Time - 3:27
5. Lay Me Down - 2:34
6. The Wizard - 3:06
7. Mamma Don't You Cry - 3:05
8. Gold - 3:35
9. Love Will Conquer - 3:27
10.Lady of Laughter - 3:36
11.Move on Down - 2:27
12.Singin' Song - 3:34
All songs written by Lorin Rowan, Chris Rowan

Musicians
*Chris Rowan - Guitar, Vocals
*Lorin Rowan - Guitar, Vocals
*Peter Rowan - Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals
*Beverly Bellows - Harp
*Iasos Benardot - Flute
*Edward Bogas - Strings
*Jack Bonus - Flute, Saxophone
*Bill Elliott - Keyboards
*Buddy Emmons - Steel Guitar
*Dick Fenner - Cello
*Jerry Garcia - Steel Guitar
*Richard Greene - Violin
*Jim Keltner - Drums
*Bill Kreutzmann - Drums

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Lonnie Mack - Glad I'm In The Band (1969 us, magnificent soulful blues rock, 2003 Sundazed remaster)

Lonnie Mack was born in Ohio and raised in nearby southern Indiana, he was raised on blues, country and roadhouse rock.

His singing incorporated all three styles. To him, they were all part of the same fabric of Southern music that carpeted the area around his home base in Cincinnati.

Mack didn’t get much of a chance to showcase his vocal talent, however, until he signed at the end of the 1960s with Elektra Records, a folk label that was trying to branch out into rock.

His Elektra albums didn’t make much of a dent when they were issued; Mack’s bluesy roots music was out to style. Today they sound like long-lost gems. At times, they invite comparison to the recordings of the late Eddie Hinton, the blue-eyed soul man from Tuscaloosa.

Mack’s 1969 release, “Glad I’m in the Band," showed him to be a formidable vocalist, especially on blues and r&b. Mack’s remake of Huey “Piano" Smith’s New Orleans rocker “Roberta" was a particularly fine welding of his skills as a player and a singer, and he turns in a very credible performance on Little Willie John’s 1959 blues ballad, “Let The Talk."

From his stash of early 1960s recordings, he resurrects “Why," a tough, slow blues, and “Memphis," which loses little of its bite in a more contemporary setting.

“Save Your Money" is a delectable slice of Muscle Shoals-style soul, while “Old House" shows Mack’s deep affinity for country.

by Ben Windham

Tracks
1. Why - 4:20
2. Save Your Money - 2:48
3. Old House - 3:08
4. Too Much Trouble - 2:05
5. In The Band - 1:44
6. Let Them Talk (Sonny Thompson) - 4:15
7. Memphis (Chuck Berry) - 2:28
8. Sweat And Tears (David Byrd) - 4:14
9. Roberta (Al Smith, John Vincent) - 2:20
10.Stay Away From My Baby (Ray Pennington) - 3:45
11.She Don't Come Here Anymore (Lonnie Mack, Wayne Bullock) - 4:24
All tracks by Lonnie Mack except where indicated

Musicians
*Lonnie Mack - Guitar, Vocals
*Bruce Botnick - Engineer
*David Byrd - Bass, Keyboards, Voices
*Tim Drummond - Bass
*Maxwell Davis - Horn Arrangements
*Mac Elsensohn - Drums
*Sebastian Dangerfield - Voices
*Billy Salyer - Drums

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Wild Butter - Wild Butter (1970 us, fine straight up rock'n'roll with lush harmonies and psych traces, 2010 edition)

Wild Butter was started in 1970 by drummer/lead singer Rick Garen and keyboard player Jerry Buckner. Garen had previously been in the Collection and recorded a demo called "Little Man". Former Rogues member Jerry was impressed and got Eric Stevens, WIXY program director and manager of Damnation of Adam Blessing, interested as well. Stevens took it to New York and after a week or two Buckner got a call saying the band had a LP recording deal with United Artists - only there was no band, yet, although UA didn't know that. "Put a band together" was the request and Rick and Jerry talked to their Akron peers and found Jon Senne' (guitar) and Steve Price (bass) willing to get on board.

Wild Butter played a month or so before recording the LP at Cleveland Recording. "Little Man" was not done, but a whole LP was, including excellent songwriting contributions from everyone. Considering the short time the band had to work up the songs, the high level of writing, musicianship, and vocals are amazing, and the LP is certainly a lost treasure of 1970 contemporary unpretentious melodic rock. The recordings included some guitar parts from Mark Price (Steve's high school aged brother and future Tin Huey member), Jim Quinn and Bob Kalamasz (both from Damnation). The Senne' penned "Roxanna (Thank You for Getting Me High) was chosen as a 45 track backed with "Terribly Blind". The cover photos were taken in a Akron industrial area at Stevens' suggestion. A few shots were taken before some hardhats objected to the 'longhairs' and chased them out!

Wild Butter played the NE Ohio club scene including places like Admiral Bilbos in Westlake where they had to use a fan to cool down their primitive Heathkit PA amp. If the amp overheated, it was instant 15 minute break time. "Roxanna" got some local airplay on stations like WIXY and the band got an appearance on Upbeat, sharing the show with Blues Image who were riding the top of the charts with "Ride Captain Ride" at the time, summer of '70. During the Friday afternoon taping the band got the offical thumbs down stare from Cleveland's 1st lady of establishment telejournalism, Dorothy Fuldheim, as she walked past them in the WEWS TV station hallway!

Buckeye-Beat

Tracks
1. Roxanna (Thank You For Getting Me High) (Jon Senne) - 2:36
2. Terribly Blind (Jon Senne, Steve Price) - 3:28
3. From One Who Sang The Song (Jon Senne) - 2:36
4. Come Fly With Me (John Buckner) - 3:21
5. Oh Martha (Jon Senne, Steve Price) - 4:40
6. Never Comes The Day (Justin Hayward) - 4:39
7. And We Loved It (Jon Senne) - 3:32
8. I've Been Waiting For You (Neil Young) - 3:06
9. Tommy The Cat (R. Peters, Steve Price) - 1:51
10.New York Mining Disaster (1941) (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb) - 5:15

The Wild Butter
*Jerry Buckner - Keyboards, Autoharp, Vocals
*Rick Garen - Lead Vocals, Drums
*Steve Price - Bass, Vocals
*Jon Senne - Guitar, Vocals
Guests Musicians
*Mark Price - Guitar
*Jim Quinn - Guitar
*Bob Kalamasz - Guitar

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Arcesia - Reachin (1972 us, cool weird unusual acid psych, 1997 limited Vinyl edition)

Born in Sayre, Pennsylvania on February 11, 1917. As a child, his father Antonio (Tony) played an Enrico Caruso disc for young Johnny and from that time on Johnny knew what he wanted to do with his life. As a result he became a child prodigy singing whenever possible in public or private in the Sayre, Athens and Towanda area of Pennsylvania, as well as Waverly, New York, and as far as Scranton, Pennsylvania and Elmira, New York. He turned professional as a child after winning a talent show/contest that was produced in Sayre at the Sayre Theatre by the great 'Blackstone the Magician' in c.1926. 

Young Johnny sang for every club or organization in the area that needed or wanted talent to perform for their various causes,i.e. The Elks, Lions, The D.A.R. et,al. In 1932 after a fire almost destroyed the family home, young Johnny, with his father's blessing, decided to travel alone to NYC to become a band vocalist. His childhood idols and inspirations were Bing Crosby, Russ Columbo, Red McKenzie, as well as Caruso.

The album was released in a private edition of 300 copies and most of them were given away to family and friends. In the late 80s, one of those copies was unearthed by rare record dealer Paul Major, who was one of the first persons to appreciate the singularities of “Reachin’ Arcesia”. Since then, the album, which mixes over the top crooner vocals with late 60s acid-rock / pop arrangements is now considered a lounge-psych / real people masterpiece. 

Tracks
1. Pictures In My Window (J. Johnson, Perry) - 2:31
2. Soul Wings - 4:01
3. White Panther - 2:31
4. Leaf - 3:00
5. Voice Of Love - 2:34
6. Reaching (Furth, Perry, Arcessi) - 2:43
7. Summer Of Love (D. Totten, Perry) - 3:14
8. Mechanical Doll - 1:51
9. Butterfly Mind - 2:52
10.Desiree (J. Johnson, Lejon) - 3:02
11.Rainy Sunday - 3:24
All songs by John Arcessi and Lejon except where stated.

*John Arcessi - Vocals

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Tales Of Justine - Petals From A Sunflower (1967-69 uk, wondrous sunny psych with mod beats, Vinyl issue)

Tales of Justine only had one single, 1967's "Albert (A Pet Sunflower)"/"Monday Morning," both sides of which are included on this release. But with the addition of 13 tracks recorded between August 1967 and January 1969 that were unreleased at the time, there's enough for a full album with this LP, pressed in a limited edition of 1000 copies. Entirely written by David Daltrey (except one song he co-wrote with Paul Myerson), it's very much in the school of flowery British pop that, ahem, flowered in the period just post-Sgt. Pepper's

Even by the gaudy standards of the style, it's inclined toward storybookish lyrics and precious melodies, quite possibly taken to excess on "Obsolete Incident," which manages to fit in references to whitewashed coal, chocolate flowers, a clock that runs backwards, and sunburned toast just in the first 40 seconds. Orchestration gets loaded into the mix on the five tracks recorded in December 1968, perhaps looking forward to the kind of musicals on which producer Tim Rice and arranger Andrew Lloyd Webber would collaborate in the near future. If you're the kind of listener who just loves, say, the Hollies in their most psychedelic period around the time of Butterfly, you may well find this to your liking, though it's on the candy-coated side even in comparison with the Hollies' sweetest pop-psychedelia. A harder side surfaces on "Evil Woman," with its pungent psychedelic organ. basic mod rock, and freak-out instrumental break, but that's an atypical effort in the context of this collection. 

Though Tales of Justine were yet more precious in their approach. Bandmember and singer/songwriter David Daltrey was featured in the early Rice-Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and later formed the group Carillion, a support act in a tour during David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust phase. The group's single, and numerous unreleased tracks from 1967-1969, were compiled on the 1,000-copy limited-edition Tenth Planet LP Petals from a Sunflower in 1997. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Albert (A Pet Sunflower) - 2:51
2. Monday Morning - 3:22
3. Sunday School - 3:24
4. Evil Woman (David Daltrey, Paul Myerson) - 3:33
5. Obsolete Incident - 2:39
6. Music To Watch Us By - 3:05
7. Sitting On A Blunestone - 2:40
8. So Happy - 3:10
9. Morpheus - 4:02
10.Aurora - 2:53
11.Something Special - 2:44
12.Pathway - 3:41
13.Saturn - 3:19
14.Jupiter - 2:16
15.So Much Love To Give You - 3:27
All songs written by David Daltrey except where indicated

Tales Of Justine
*David Daltrey - Vocals, Electric, Acoustic Guitars, Bass, piano, Mellotron, Sitar, Celeste
*Paul Myerson - Organ, Bass, Celeste, Vocals
*Bruce Hurford - Drums (1967)
*Paul Locke - Drums (1968-69)

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