Tom Waits' debut album is a minor-key masterpiece filled with songs of late-night loneliness. Within the apparently narrow range of the cocktail bar pianistics and muttered vocals, Waits and producer Jerry Yester manage a surprisingly broad collection of styles, from the jazzy "Virginia Avenue" to the up-tempo funk of "Ice Cream Man" and from the acoustic guitar folkiness of "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You" to the saloon song "Midnight Lullaby," which would have been a perfect addition to the repertoires of Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. Waits' entire musical approach is stylized, of course, and at times derivative -- "Lonely" borrows a little too much from Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" -- and his lovelorn lyrics can be sentimental without being penetrating.
But he also has a gift for gently rolling pop melodies, and he can come up with striking, original scenarios, as on the best songs, "Ol' 55" and "Martha," which Yester discreetly augments with strings. Closing Time announces the arrival of a talented songwriter whose self-conscious melancholy can be surprisingly moving.
by William Ruhlmann
Tracks
1. Ol' '55 - 3:58
2. I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You - 3:54
3. Virginia Avenue - 3:10
4. Old Shoes (And Picture Postcards) - 3:41
5. Midnight Lullaby - 3:27
6. Martha - 4:32
7. Rosie - 4:03
8. Lonely - 3:11
9. Ice Cream Man - 3:05
10.Little Trip To Heaven (On The Wings Of Your Love) - 3:37
11.Grapefruit Moon - 4:48
12.Closing Time - 4:24
All songs written by Tom Waits
Rare British singles of the psychedelic and mod eras contains cuts that are so hard to find that some music historians of the era have never seen or heard them. No, it's not Children of Nuggets, nor is it Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks, but there is some great stuff here -- all of it is at least worth hearing: Vamp's "Floatin'," Open Mind's "Magic Potion," and Nimrod's "The Bird" are just three examples of a slew of psychedelic and mod tunes to be found here.
The second of the Perfumed Garden series contains some better-known (in terms of obscurities, anyway) psych, mod, hard rock, and garage rock singles from the period. For starters, there's the first Deviants A-side, "I'm Coming Home," Les Goths' "Turn Over," and the Eyes masterpiece "When the Night Falls." Other, lesser-known cuts, such as Les Fleur de Lys' "Mud in Your Eye," Drag Set's "Day & Night," and Gary Leeds & Rain's "Francis" are also here, making this perhaps the most satisfying volume in the series.
Collectors of rare British psychedelic, hard rock, and mod pop had been looking for many of these singles for ages. Included among the many obscurities are the Groundhogs' "Sad Go Round," Barry Mason's "Over the Hills," and the Longboatmen's "Take Her Anytime." The rest is up to par with the first two volumes, rounding out a collection of rare '60s tunes that is essential for those who consider themselves connoisseurs of the era.
Disc 3
1. Longboatmen - Take Her Anytime - 2:54
2. Miller - Baby I Got News For You (Oak Version) - 2:58
3. Les Goths - Out Of The Sun - 2:47
4. Shyster - Tick Tock - 2:45
5. Majority One - Get Back Home - 2:46
6. Groundhogs - Sad Go Round - 3:06
7. Herbal Mixture - Please Leave My Mind - 2:38
8. Pete Sully And The Orchard - Evil Woman - 2:42
9. Adams Recital - No Place For The Lonely People - 2:48
10.Cedars - For Your Information - 2:39
11.Wolves - Lust For Life - 3:00
12.Actress - It's What You Give - 2:31
13.Reign - Line Of Least Resistance - 3:01
14.Barry Mason - Over The Hills - 3:02
15.Boeing Duveen And The Beautiful Soup - Which Dreamed It - 2:30
16.Andwella's Dream - Felix - 4:17
17.Serendipity - Through With You - 3:50
18.Rupert's People - Hold On - 3:30
Beset by disappointing record sales and fractious tensions within the group after three years of constant touring, Stoneground brought their caravan to a rest in Sacramento on January 6, 1973. The band had become a cult favorite through their involvement in the Medicine Ball Caravan film project (English fans, in particular, became enamored with the band's infectious live performances) and performances during the final days of The Fillmore. But the original members just had the plug pulled on their recording contract by Warner Bros. The bandmembers were in limbo and a split was inevitable. But the band had one final concert to play, heading a bill that included Cold Blood and Sylvester and the Hot Band at a sold-out Sacramento Memorial Auditorium.
All the band's frustrations are exorcised in this intense performance, which overcomes the venue's notoriously mediocre acoustics. The recording is impeccable, taken from the sound board; few live albums from the early '70s have been released with such a clean sound. But this outing was not overdubbed or otherwise sweetened in the studio. Frontman Sal Valentino's distinctive, wavering vocals hit their target, especially in the 13-minute medley of Tim Hardin and Bob Dylan songs and his own "Super Clown." Tim Barnes was an excellent guitarist having a hot night. His occasional solos crackle, but most of the show finds him meshing with the other musicians. Highlights include "Passion Flower," the closest Stoneground ever had to a hit record. The song was actually a regional favorite; it's obvious the Sacramento audience recognizes the song's piano introduction before Lynne Hughes begins singing. This song clearly took the audience to a heightened level. All four of Stoneground's women singers sing lead on one song and share background duties on the others. Each has a distinctive voice and style. Valentino was among those who left Stoneground following this concert, moving on to an ill-fated reunion of the Beau Brummels.
Pianist Cory Lerios would gain minor fame with the pop group Pablo Cruise. The others suffered the frustration of being good but not quite distinctive enough to attain major success. Barnes led various formations of Stoneground for another ten years or so, but the group was soon an anachronism, a group of blues- and R&B-based hippies performing in the teeth of disco and punk/new wave. This is the first Stoneground release on CD; anyone interested in the old albums must peruse the used-record sections of local music stores, assuming they can find one that still trucks in vinyl. Stoneground was best experienced live and did not disappoint in what would be the original formation's swan song.
by Casey Elston
Tracks
1. Alligator Man (Floyd Chance, Jimmy Newman) - 3:41
2. Love's Made a Fool of You (Charles Harding Holly, Bob Montgomery) - 4:30
3. You Better Come Through (Tim Barnes) - 3:41
4. Ajax (Duedre LaPorte) - 3:32
5. Passion Flower (Lynny Hughes) - 4:04
6. Black Sheep Boy/Highway 61 Revisited/Don't Make Promises (James Timothy Harden, Bob Dylan) - 14:08
7. Bad News (John D. Loudermilk) - 4:22
8. Super Clown (Sal Valentino) - 5:28
9. Dancin' (Sal Valentino) - 4:44
10.Feel So Bad (Sam Hopkins) - 6:55
11.Butterfly (Cory Lerios) - 3:43
12.Total Destruction to Your Mind (Jery Willimas Jr) - 7:46
13.Queen Sweet Dreams (Sal Valentino) - 5:56
Folk/Psych LP on private Banana record label. Reportedly only 500 were made. This LP starts with great psych tracks that include melodic acid guitar, fuzz guitar and harmony vocals. Side 2 is more melodic rural psych, with electric acid leads and amazing melodies.
"amazing madison, wisconsin based private press, one of the top discoveries of the past few years. starts off with a couple of great rural dreamy psych tracks with melodic acid guitar, and gradually gets trippier and trippier. "devils fate" and "lady liz" are haunting, creepy downer tracks with uptempo drums and electric guitar. "may day" is heavy melodic psych with fuzz guitar and harmony vocals. side 2 is more stoned melodic rural psych, with electric acid leads, amazing melodies and effects.
Tracks
1. Boono's Song (Richard Middleton, Jon Hunsbuser) - 3:24
2. Minneapolis (Richard Middleton, Jeff Roberts) - 2:28
3. Devil's Fate (Richard Middleton, Jon Hunsbuser) - 5:01
4. Lady Liz (Richard Middleton, Jeff Roberts) - 5:41
5. Mayday (Richard Middleton, Jon Hunsbuser) - 4:13
6. Sweet Blue Child (Richard Middleton, Jeff Roberts) - 2:39
7. Off The Track (Richard Middleton, Jeff Roberts, Jon Hunsbuser) - 4:16
8. Can Tell (Richard Middleton, Jon Hunsbuser) - 4:25
9. Let's All Move You (Richard Middleton, Jeff Roberts) - 5:49
10.Someone's Love (Richard Middleton, Jeff Roberts) - 2:48
You Used To Think is one of those records that defines the late 1960s cry for freedom. Laced with existential angst, the music is a Joycean journey that meanders musically—in a gloriously atonal manner—through myriad idioms, including jazz, folk, and a wet canvas of classical Indian ragas. The glue that binds it all is the eerily beautiful, raspy, poetic, angular howl of Erica Pomerance. Her music is without guile, and pierces through the nonsense of a world gone completely mad in its obsession with war and indefensible capitalism. It as merely a mirror held up to the falsity of society in the '60s, but also appears prophetic today.
Pomerance's naked voice is accompanied here by a tinkling piano, ululating flutes, a squawking saxophone, and rangy, twanging guitars in counterpoint with the drone of a sitar and skittering tambourines. This creates a psychedelic stew for Pomerance to traipse across with calculated atonality and a shrill, shimmering consciousness. You Used To Think uncovers a dark, expressionistic world with a Caligarian epicenter. Pomerance's metaphors are Zen-like and maniacal, wildly surreal; flower power and the almost academically concrete.
Her lyrics sear the soul. In "Burn Baby Burn," she recalls the French student revolution of 1968: "There are no profits, only victims ... of moral mania ... citizens of the great society ... lying down by the cold riverside is the price of freedom." In "You Used To Think," she is sharp, funny, and completely uninhibited as she wails: "You used to think that images were answers/but you were really seeing what you see/that ghostman in your parlor chair of laughter/He was frozen to the bone, you gave him tea."
This is a gutsy album. It must be, as Pomerance more often than not eschews prettiness in music and lyrics. Her voice is an involuntary wave of sonic energy. She warbles, groans, scats, splutters, and bounces. She is a sculptor of sound—the nearest that a vocalist could come to the John Coltrane who inhabited interstellar space while hovering with spiritual abandon. Pomerance may appear to have abandoned spirituality here, but in actual fact her words and music come closest to just that in an oblique, angular way.
She approaches vocals as Thelonious Monk did his quirky melodic lines, and in the end is able to achieve rapturous abandon even when the songs appear to vaporize in an air of absolute ecstasy. You Used To Think is an anthem of the '60s.
by Raul d'Gama Rose
Tracks
1. You Used To Think - 3:17
2. The Slippery Morning - 3:48
3. We Came Via - 7:05
4. The French Revolution - 3:23
5. Julius - 4:44
6. Burn Baby Burn - 5:42
7. Koanisphere - 7:10
8. Anything Goes - 5:33
9. To Leonard From The Hospital - 5:27
All songs written by Erica Pomerance
Arlo Guthrie was still prone to long story-songs and occasional humorous introductory monologues on his second outing. Three of the seven tracks last for longer than five minutes, though none remotely approach "Alice's Restaurant" in epic length. Recorded live at the Bitter End, it shows Guthrie starting to adapt more wholeheartedly to folk-rock instrumentation, with a full if subdued band including drums and keyboards.
"The Motorcycle Song" should please those looking for more comic narratives, as should "The Pause of Mr. Claus," most of which is actually a spoken monologue that does finally lead up to fairly funny punchlines. In a more purely musical vein, he touched (mildly) upon ragga-rock on "Meditation (Wave Upon Wave)," with tabla by Ed Shaughnessy. Arlo Guthrie was managing to establish himself as a folk-rock talent with an identity quite distinct from his famous father, not an easy feat.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. The Motorcycle Song - 7:56
2. Wouldn't You Believe It - 3:03
3. Try Me One More Time (Ernest Tubb) - 2:13
4. John Looked Down - 2:22
5. Meditation (Wave Upon Wave) - 6:38
6. Standing At The Threshold - 2:34
7. The Pause Of Mr. Claus - 7:50
All songs by Arlo Guthrie, except where stated
The Tea Company from New York City was one of the early birds from the US psychedelic underground scene with an LP on the market by 1968 originally released on Smash Records. This album marks the evolution of the 45 rpm teen-psych-garage band market to the upcoming LP-generation with extended improvisational parts. “The Naturals” formed in 1963 with Joe Meek influence and evolved into the Tea Company which showcased a more psychedelic sound. Opening up big ballrooms for such acts as; The Mamas and the Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Bob Dylan, Ritchie Havens, and many others, the Tea Company became popular in the US underground, also in San Francisco for spectacular live shows and lyrical hippie statements.
Influenced by and using the same equipment as the Beatles, the controversial and intense “East-Indo Sound” reflects “an assemblage of possessed rock performers; retinue preparing the unusual; alternating with the roots of soul…whose purpose is to cause sensation, due to stimulation of the auditory centers of the brain!” Played with lots of freaked-out-echo-organ/-guitar noises on a 12-string Rickenbacker and various-stereo madness, reminds strongly of Syd Barrett/s spirit but more driven by hard hittin/ drums.
You will find an outrageous 9 min. cover version of Vanilla Fudge “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, which is celebrated among 60s collectors as a true milestone. The album is a mindblowing and freaky production . This release (remastered) captures the end 60s stereo sound-experiments in a fresh and intense way!
Anazitisi Recs
From New York City, The Tea Company was one of the early birds from the US psychedelic underground scene, with an LP on the market, originally released on Smash Records, in `68. This album stands for the evolution of the 45 rpm teen-psych-garage bands to the upcoming LP-generation with extended improvisational parts. Tea Company evolved from the Naturals as precursors to the psychedelic sound, with Joe Meek influences. They were founded in 1963 and played the big ballrooms supporting Mamas and the Papas, The Lovin' Spoonful, Bob Dylan, Ritchie Havens, and many others.
Tea Compnay´s controversial and intense "East-Indo Sound", reflects "an assemblage of possessed rock performers; retinue preparing the unusual; alternating with the roots of soul...whose purpose is to cause sensation, due to stimulation of the auditory centers of the brain!" - They became popular in the US underground, also in San Francisco for spectacular live shows and lyrical hippie statements. The music is inspired by the Beatles, using exactly the same equipment as them. Tea Company played with lots of freaked-out-echo-organ/-guitar noises on a 12 string Rickenbacker and various stereo madness reminds strongly of Syd Barrett´s spirit but more driven by hard hittin´ drums.
Inspired by Vanilla Fudge, the Tea Company also did an outrageous 9 min. version of "You keep me hangin on", which is celebrated among 60s collectors as a true milestone. The album is a mindblowing intense production - See more at: https://www.lpcdreissues.com/item/come-and-have-some-tea-with-2#sthash.ucOUROls.dpuf
World In Sound
Tracks
1. Come And Have Some Tea With Me (Frankie Carr) - 3:30
2. Flowers (Mike La Ssandro) - 10:01
3. Love Could Make The World Go Round (Frankie Carr) - 3:32
4. You Keep Me Hanging On (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland) - 8:47
5. Don't Make Waves (Water Sound Effects) - 1:38
6. As I Have Seen You Upon The Wall (Frankie Carr, John Vancho, Mike La Ssandro) - 2:43
7. Make Love Not War (Frankie Carr) - 2:30
8. Maiden In The East (Al Frazia) - 2:11
9. Theme From A Natural (Al Frazia, Frankie Carr, Joe Santos) - 2:10
10.Internationally Me (Al Frazia) - 2:11
11.Say Hay Ha Ha (Al Frazia) - 2:37
Tracks 1-7 by Tea Company
Tracks 8-11 by The Naturals
The Tea Company
*Frankie Carr - Lead Vocals, Guitars, Hammond Organ, Piano, Bass
*Al Vertussi - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Vox
*John Vancho - Bass, Vocals
*Mike La Ssandro - Drums, Vocals
It's sometimes not realized that Joni Mitchell was a hugely influential force on young women singer/songwriters in the early '70s, sometimes to the point where the influence, and even imitation, was fairly obvious. You hear a lot of early Mitchell on British singer/songwriter Juliet Lawson's obscure 1972 album Boo. Recorded with the help of some guys from British folk-rock band Trees (producer David Costa and bassist Bias Boshell) and saxophonist Lol Coxhill, it sold a few thousand copies and got some positive press in the U.K. when it was released, but sank into obscurity after its first pressing sold out.
You might hear some Carole King on some of the more mainstream cuts here as well, though Lawson's not as good a singer or composer as either King or Mitchell. It's better than some other rare albums bearing these imprints, however, with some lyrical eccentricity (particularly on the unfathomable "Who Is India?") and oddly structured tunes. Yet it's hard to get past the inevitable unfavorable comparisons.
"Let Me Not Put You Down" is more distinguished than much of the material as it opts for an early-'70s British folk-progressive rock sound that doesn't have marked reference points to the early-'70s American singer/songwriter movement, while "The Weeds in the Yard" also stands out for its quirky combination of bouncy piano, Coxhill's saxophone, and a string arrangement. [The 2005 CD reissue adds historical liner notes and demo versions of five of the album's songs.]
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Dear Fool - 3:32
2. Igloo - 2:42
3. Nothing New - 3:10
4. I Won't Get My Feet Wet Again - 3:21
5. Who Is India? - 3:47
6. Let Me Not Put You Down - 4:54
7. Only A Week Away - 3:24
8. Playing Is No Song - 2:39
9. You're So Right, September - 3:36
10.The Weeds In The Yard - 2:33
11.Rolling Back - 4:14
12.Frog In The Jam - 3:35
13.Dear Fool (Demo) - 3:06
14.Who Is India (Demo) - 3:34
15.Let Me Not Put You Down (Demo) - 3:29
16.Playing Is No Song (Demo) - 2:33
17.You're So Right, September (Demo) - 4:29
Music and Lyrics by Juliet Lawson Musicians
*Juliet Lawson - Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*Bias Boshell - Bass, Keyboards
*Lol Coxhill - Saxophone
*Barry DeSouza - Drums
*Luis Jardine - Percussion
*Ian Blair - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
*Russell Aldez - Steel Drums
*The Hafner String Quartet - Strings
*Casey Synge - Backing Vocals
*Dari Lalou - Backing Vocals
*Karen Friedman - Backing Vocals
*Miguel Barradas - Backing Vocals
A legendary San Diego underground band who recorded the amazing I'm Gonna Move 45 in 1968. Just 500 copies were pressed and as recorded here, they sound remarkably like Frumious Bandersnatch despite never having heard of their Bay Area counterparts! The 45 has a very clean sound as the band used small amps in the studio, but live in the sixties they cranked through over-driven stacks and their concerts are the stuff of legend. The Direction is a tremendous trippy dirge, with Cream-like vocals and drumming, and introspective lyrics.
McCann and Spiron had played together in The Orfuns, a punk band that split in 1965 when McCann ran into trouble with the law. A handful of acetates of this band survive, and will see release soon.
Framework was formed in 1967 as an all-original rock group by a local production company (KB Artists) that also represented The Brain Police. Their first recording was made at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and is the only known recording of line-up 'A'. In August 1968, Fann replaced Gallahar and shortly after the band stripped down to a trio. The second 45 showed a dramatic change stylistically, all connections to pop being abandoned.
At this point Framework became a top live draw in San Diego, playing blues-based hard rock ala Cream. In late 1969, Rick Randle joined the band from The Brain Police.
Framework folded on New Year's Eve 1970 when McCann accepted an offer to join Anthrax, who then recorded an album for Elektra as Formerly Anthrax. They'd gained not just a talented guitarist but, as a bonus, a flautist and versatile vocalist, who took up lead vocal duties on their accomplished jazz-prog-rock album. He wrote too and brought two compositions from the Framework repertoire (and featured on the Rockadelic/Shadoks retrospective) - Like A Child and These Things I Know.
Tracks Disc 1
1. I'm Gonna Move (Terry Fann) - 3.30
2. Flotz (Jerry McCann) - 3.19
3. The Direction (Terry Fann) - 5.43
4. You're Going Home (Jerry McCann) - 4.29
5. Iron Door (Jerry McCann) - 3.49
6. Funny Kind Of Sunshine (Jerry McCann) - 2.25
7. Get Out Of My Room (Terry Fann) - 1.47
8. Like A Child (Jerry McCann) - 4.17
9. Conscence Be Your Guide (Terry Fann) - 3.21
10.Wind Chimes (Jerry McCann) - 3.39
11.Last Sad Song (Jerry McCann) - 8.11
Disc 2
1.Beautiful Weather (Henry Burch) - 3.00
2.I'm Gonna Move (Terry Fann) - 3.40
3.Wind Chimes (Jerry McCann) - 5.29
4.These Things I Know (Jerry McCann) - 5.34
5.Like A Child (Jerry McCann) - 3.48
6.Get Out Of My Room - Good Times (Terry Fann, Framework) - 14.14
7.Get Out Of My Room - Good Times (Terry Fann, Framework) - 13.12
Dancer were a little-known progressive band hailing from the Isle of Wight, a rather culturally isolated island off the south coast of England, although it's only a short ferry ride from the mainland. Although they released nothing in their lifetime, luckily they had the resources to record an album's-worth of material in 1972, finally released by those nice people at Kissing Spell in 2001 as Tales of the Riverbank, and would'ja believe it, it's really very good? Its highlight is undoubtedly the lengthy title track, which is a full-on prog epic.
An interesting fact about Dancer is that their keyboard player was a young Anthony Minghella, now, of course, known as director of 'The English Patient' et al. Given that the album was recorded in a London studio and was produced by the Groundhogs' Tony McPhee, the band had access to some pretty good equipment, and Minghella got some 'Tron (McPhee's?) on a couple of tracks (McPhee is also rumoured to have played it at the session). Tales Of The Riverbank itself has cellos near the beginning, with a good quantity of strings scattered throughout the piece, plus a brass part on Morning, although that appears to be it, despite Internet witterings to the contrary.
So; that rarity, a good 'unreleased album'. Just about worth it on the 'Tron front, too, though again, largely for its centrepiece. Top marks to Kissing Spell, anyway.
A sad footnote to this review is that Minghella died on the 18th March, 2008, of complications from a cancer operation. After such a stellar career in film, it's hardly surprising that his rump musical career hasn't been mentioned in the obituaries.
Tracks
1. Tales Of The Riverbank - 11:24
2. America Wood - 3:51
3. Morning - 6:03
4. Mac's Cafe - 4:26
5. This Change In Me - 3:32
6. Fairhill Affair - 5:09
7. Mind The Houses - 4:41
