Fashion Pink - Encore (1969-75 germany, splendid kraut prog jazz psych rock, 2005 remastered release)

The band was founded in 1968. Their first gig took place on 12.10.1968, the line-up included Roland Schaeffer (vocals, guitar, saxophone, bass), Eddy von Overheidt (organ, vocals), Helmut Rusch (lead guitar), Jürgen Argast (bass) and Joe Koinzer (drums). Before, Roland and Helmut had played with the Pop Mops and Reaction, and soon after with a trio called Blues Act (1968), although their involvement with Blues Act was short-lived. In summer 1968 they contacted Eddy and Jürgen – and Fashion Pink was born. Eddy von Overheidt had been vocalist and guitarist with The Edwardians, a band who played Rock’n Roll Standards and titles by the Beachboys. Jürgen Argast had played with The Checkmates. The band was complete when Joe Koinzer joined them. He had played titles by John Mayall, Yardbirds and B.B. King with The Snakes. 

Fashion Pink were considered Baden-Baden’s Super Group. Rusch modelled himself on Jimi Hendrix and was the first to play a Fender Stratocaster including a Marshall-tower. Fashion Pink were the first in the region to play so called progressive underground music, mixed with jazz elements and free-jazz intermezzos. However, this line-up was only short-lived, since Helmut was drafted by the German Armed Forces and Jürgen left the band due to differences about the music. He was replaced with Rainer Bodensohn, who had originally learnt to play the guitar, but later on chose the transverse flute as his main instrument and also played bass. Before Helmut left the band in October 1969, Fashion Pink were the first of many bands to give a guest performance with the radio station Südwestfunk (today SWR) in Baden-Baden, and so this promising up-and-coming band recorded songs in Südwestfunk’s recording studio U1. On 15.6.1969, the band including Helmut recorded the titles “Peeling Beans” (composed by Roland Schaeffer) and “Forget it, I got it” (Spooky Tooth). Once he had served his time Helmut went to England, and from there he moved to Toronto in 1980. And, as he tells us in his email:” People call me Colin now.”

The titles of this CD impressively show the development of the band, the influences that worked on it, its models and how the band eventually found their own style, which became even more distinct in the follow-up band “Brainstorm”. The titles 01-07 are the ones that were recorded in Südwestfunk’s studio U1 between 1969-1971. They are published on CD for the first time. The live version of “Watch time flows by” was recorded off the mixing desk during a live appearance in Ludwigshafen in 1971. Titles 09-17 are special, since they had been published on a mini LP (T.A.C. Beiersdorf) recorded by order of the cosmetics company Beiersdorf. Eddy’s father Werner von Overheidt, editor with the Südwestfunk, who was working as a pianist and arranger as a sideline, had got in touch with Beiersdorf (e.g. Nivea), who were looking for a special “gift” for their customers. They thought of gratifying their customers with a so called soundtrack. In early 1971 Fashion Pink recorded the titles themselves and acted as producers. Parts of the titles were to be used in later musical epics. The LP was never publicly released. It was only ever given as a present to Beiersdorf customers and is now available on CD for the first time.

In early 1972 the band changed its name into Brainstorm and tried to get a record contract. Intercord offered the group a contract to publish 2 LPs. In October 1972 they brought out their first LP called “Smile a while”, followed by the LP “Second Smile” in 1973. Meanwhile several of Brainstorm’s recordings have been published under the CD label Garden of Delight. “Stars on stage” was recorded live during a gig in Ludwigshafen on 29.6.1975. Shortly afterwards, Brainstorm dissolved, too, and Schaeffer joined GURU GURU, where he is still active today.

by Manfred Steinheuer, December 2005

Tracks
1. I See You (Roger Mc Guinn, Dave Crosby) - 4:16
2. Dharma For One (Ian Anderson, Clive Bunker) - 11:17
3. Watch Time Flow By (Roland Schaeffer, Eddy Von Overheidt) - 1:39
4. I'm A Man (Steve Winwood, Jimmy Miller) - 3:51
5. There Was A Time (Roland Schaeffer, Leon Thomas) - 10:16
6. Forget It, I Got It (Jimmy Miller, Gary Wright) - 2:59
7. Peeling Beans (Roland Schaeffer) - 3:22
8. Watch Time Flow By (Roland Schaeffer, Eddy Von Overheidt) - 3:14
9. Why Am I So Blind - 2:43
10.Thesen Und Antithesen - 3:35
11.Variation I - 1:55
12.Bass In Race - 1:35
13.You Just Knock Me Out - 0:33
14.Scheiße Durch Den Urwald Getrommelt - 4:06
15.Variation II - 0:34
16.Brainstorming - 5:07
17.Variation III - 1:05
18.Stars On Stage (Roland Schaeffer) - 12:11
All compositions by Roland Schaeffer, Eddy Von Overheidt, Rainer Bodensohn, Jo Koinzer except where stated
Track 18 as The Brainstorm

Personnel
*Roland Schaeffer - Vocals, Guitar, Saxophone, Bass, Vibraphone
*Eddy Von Overheidt - Organ, Vocals, Electric Piano, Clavinet
*Helmut Rusch - Lead Guitar
*Jürgen Argast - Bass
*Joachim "Jo" Koinzer - Drums, Percussion
*Rainer Bodensohn - Bass, Flute
*Harold Wagner - Bass

1970-71  Fashion Pink - To Brainstorm (2000 issue) 
1973  Brainstorm - Second Smile 

Free Text
Text Host

Rock Workshop - The Very Last Time (1971 uk, fascinating brass jazz blues groovy classic rock, 2004 remaster and expanded)

It’s probably accurate to claim that Rock Workshop couldn’t exist today. Only during the early seventies did record labels bestow upon bands the flexibility and freedom that led to the creation of such original and often avant-garde albums.

Rock Workshop were just such an innovative project. The band formed in 1971 when guitarist Ray Russell (who had previously worked with Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames) colluded with the legendary singer Alex Harvey. Russell had first met Harvey after standing in for Harvey’s brother Leslie (of Stone The Crows) in the musical ‘Hair’ (at a tender age).

Their shared enthusiasm in producing more left-field material enabled them to recruit a sprawling band of twelve members that included a lively brass section.

Their debut album ‘Rock Workshop’ was recorded over a two-day period in April 1970, and released soon afterwards, though it surprisingly failed to make any substantial impact on the charts. Containing such tracks as ‘Hole In Her Stocking’ and ‘Born In The City’- both delivered with Alex Harvey’s hefty vocals- and it remains fresh even today.

Yet the record label was sufficiently impressed with the debut to fund a second album.

Regrettably, by the time of the recording of the second album, Alex Harvey had effectively left the band in order to pursue his own career (with the first of many Sensational Alex Harvey Band albums being released in 1972).

Replacing Harvey were Al Greed (who had sung on a number of the songs on the first album) and the somewhat mysterious figure of Ginger who only worked with the band on this record.

This release is enhanced by the inclusion of some previously unreleased material, which Russell has recently unearthed, that were recorded in the period between the first and second album.

“Well, these are tracks that I didn’t know that I had. I found the tapes, along with a few photos of Alex, in the bottom of a box in my loft,” he smiles. “I’m actually amazed that the tapes have survived so long as they were left out in my barn for ages!”

Including rehearsals (with Harvey on vocals) of tracks such as ‘Wade In The Water’ and ‘Ice Cold’ along with live material recorded at London’s Goldsmiths College they provide a valuable insight into how the band arranged and performed their material in a live setting.

Angel-Air

Tracks
1. Living Reason - 4:13
2. Street War (Parts 1-2) - 9:12
3. Going Home (Ray Russell, Alan Greed) - 5:42
4. What's Mine Is Mine (Ray Russell, Alan Greed) - 2:54
5. Weeping Wood Mandalas - 1:51
6. Forgotten How To Live (Ray Russell, Alan Greed, Ginger Harper) - 4:00
7. Light Is Light (Ray Russell, Alan Greed) - 3:49
8. I Think It's... (Ray Russell, Alan Greed, Alan Rushton) - 4:01
9. Ella Banta Dum Bundy - 6:22
10.Very Last Time - 3:31
11.Is This End... Baby? - 0:51
12.Let My Bluebird Sing (Alex Harvey, Ray Russell) - 4:04
13.Wade In The Water - 3:41
14.Ice Cold (Ray Russell, R. Shepherd) - 3:04
15.Heavy Weather - 4:39
16.Patterns - 2:44
17.Watch Your Step - 4:16
18.Ashen Besher - 5:28
All songs by Ray Russell unless as else stated
Bonus Tracks 12-18

Personnel
*Ray Russell - Guitar
*Harry Beckett - Horn
*Bob Downes - Wind
*Alan Greed - Keyboards, Vocals
*Ginger Harper - Vocals
*Alex Harvey - Vocals (Tracks 11-14)
*Alan Rushton - Drums
*Brian Miller - Keyboards
*Tony Roberts - Wind
*Daryl Runswick - Bass
*Alan Rushton - Drums
*Derek Wadsworth - Trombone
*Phil Wainman - Percussion
*Tony Uter - Percussion

1970  Rock Workshop - Rock Workshop (2002 bonus tracks remaster)  

Related Acts
1969-71  Paul Korda - Passing Stranger (2012 remaster and expanded)
1973  Mouse - Lady Killer   1972-73  The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Framed / Next 
1974-75  The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Impossible Dream / Tomorrow Belongs to Me
1975-76  The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Live / The Penthouse Tapes
1976-78  The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Stories / Rock Drill
1969  Keef Hartley Band - The Battle Of North West Six (2008 remaster) 
1969  Sweet Pain - Sweet Pain

Free Text 
the Free Text

Tom Waits - The Heart Of Saturday Night (1974 us, magnificent jazz blues art rock, 2009 japan mini LP remaster)

Tom Waits is an urban romantic poet whose lyrics echo the oral Beat poetry pioneered by Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti and Corso in the Fifties. Like the Beats, Waits has an ear for the underlying rhythms of American speech and an impressive ability to catalog and juxtapose provocative snatches of cityscape while creating a grandly sentimental vision. Waits has the special ability to redeem cliches — to make such phrases as "lonesome ol' town" and "ol' bloodshot moon" at once sincere and sardonic.

While so many singer/songwriters concern themselves with escape from the city, Waits's songs express passionate love for the seamier side of Los Angeles and its environs. Booze, cigarettes and gasoline fuel his world of neon signs, gas stations, diners, bus depots, barmaids and sailors, all of which merge into an evocation of ecstatic nighttime restlessness.

Waits's excellent first album, Closing Time, conjured this vision less directly than The Heart of Saturday Night, which obsessively searches it out. While Heart doesn't contain any song quite as arresting as "01' 55" on the first album, most of its material surpasses the rest of Closing Time. Waits has a marvelously raspy voice, a jazz singer's phrasing, and plays a fair piano. The material on Heart ranges from spoken jazz-poetry to doleful melodic lyricism. "Diamonds on My Windshield," the one entirely spoken cut, celebrates being on the road. A first-person monolog delivered Oscar Brown-style, "Diamonds" reads like poetry:

Oceanside ends the ride

With San Clemente commin up

And Sunday desperados slip by

And cruise with a dry buck

And the Orange drive-in, neon billing

And the theaters filling to the brim

With Slave Girls, Hot Spur, Bucket Full of Sin

Two other songs — the title cut and "The Ghosts of Saturday Night" — also have very strong lyrics. Musically, the most beautiful moment is "San Diego Serenade," a slow waltz with a lovely string arrangement by Mike Melvoin.

Among today's young, white singer/songwriters, only Bruce Springsteen plays with language so abandonedly, though Waits's cool, jazz-flavored pop is utterly dissimilar to Springsteen's hot rock & roll. In his liner notes, Waits lists among his many influences Kerouac, Randy Newman and Frank Sinatra. One that he omits is Hoagy Carmichael, with his laconically sentimental keyboard style.

Beneath the sophisticated brilliance of his lyrics, Waits reveals a haunting innocence — the sense of a loner circling and recircling the same turf, musing out loud.

by Stephen Holden, December 5, 1974

Tracks
1. New Coat Of Paint - 3:22
2. San Diego Serenade - 3:29
3. Semi Suite - 3:29
4. Shiver Me Timbers - 4:27
5. Diamonds On My Windshield - 3:14
6. (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night - 3:50
7. Fumblin' With The Blues - 3:03
8. Please Call Me, Baby - 4:25
9. Depot, Depot - 3:44
10.Drunk On The Moon - 5:09
11.The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours At Napoleone's Pizza House) - 3:18
All songs written by Tom Waits

Musicians
*Tom Waits - Vocals, Piano, Guitar
*Jim Hughart - Double Bass
*Pete Christlieb - Tenor Saxophone
*Tom Scott - Clarinet
*Jim Gordon - Drums
*Bob Alcivar - Arranger

1973  Tom Waits - Closing Time (2009 japan SHM remaster)

Free Text
Text Host

Spirogyra - St. Radigunds (1971 uk, excellent folk prog rock, 2013 remaster)

Spirogyra was one of the more intriguing bands of the early '70s. The quartet of singer/guitarist/songwriter Martin Cockerham, singer Barbara Gaskin, violinist/keyboardist Julian Cusack, and bassist Steve Borrill were obviously short a member, with future Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks coming on board for the recording of St. Radigunds, the group's debut album. 

The group's sound was unusual, with Cockerham's brittle, almost adenoidal vocals counterpointed by Gaskin's crystalline tones. Musically, too, the bandmembers played their instruments off against each other, with soaring, sometimes searing violin rocketing around strummed guitar and striking keyboard work. Stylistically, Spirogyra were determined to clash genres as well, and although much of their sound was grounded in folk-rock, Spirogyra interlaced it with proggier elements and psychedelic leanings.

Thus they never quite fit comfortably into the contemporary Canterbury scene, into which they were often lumped, and effectively drew in a much more diverse audience. This eclectic approach was also reflected in the lyrics, heard in the working man's view of WWII and its aftermath on the strident "The Future Won't Be Long" and the -isms that infect "Time Will Tell," notable in the acid-drenched imagery of "Magical Mary," and found in the poetry-laced lyrics of "Island."

With occasional use of unusual rhythms, intriguing blends of styles, innovative arrangements, and lyrics to ponder, St. Radigunds had it all, and quickly established Spirogyra as one of the most creative and innovative groups of the day.

by Jo-Ann Greene

Tracks
1. The Future Won't Be Long - 4:18
2. Island - 3:43
3. Magical Mary - 6:20
4. Captain's Log - 2:08
5. At Home In The World - 3:06
6. Cogwheels Crutches And Cyanide - 5:55
7. Time Will Tell - 5:37
8. We Were A Happy Crew - 5:31
9. Love Is A Funny Thing - 2:10
10.The Duke Of Beaufoot - 8:07
All compositions by Martin Cockerham except Track #7 by Julian Cusack

Spirogyra
*Barbara Gaskin - Lead, Backing Vocals
*Martin Cockerham - Guitar, Lead Vocals
*Julian Cusack - Violin, Keyboards
*Steve Borrill - Bass
With
*Robert Kirkby - Strings, Trumpet, Recorder
*Tony Cox - VCS3 Synth
*Dave Mattacks - Drums
*Bill Bruford - Drums

Free Text
the Free Text

Tom Waits - Closing Time (1973 us, great blues jazzy rock, 2009 japan SHM remaster)

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

Personnel
*Tom Waits - Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Harmonium, Harpsichord, Celeste
*Delbert Bennett - Trumpet
*Shep Cooke - Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Peter Klimes - Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar
*Bill Plummer - Double Bass
*John Seiter – Drums, Backing Vocals
*Arni Egilsson - Bass Guitar
*Jesse Ehrlich - Cello
*Tony Terran - Trumpet

Free Text
Text Host

Various Artists - The Perfumed Garden (1966-72 uk, stunning compilation of beat psych blues hard rock, 2009 five disc box set)

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. 

by Thom Jurek

Tracks
Disc 1
1. Factory - Try A Little Sunshine - 3:43
2. Eyes - You're Too Much - 3:24
3. Syn - Grounded - 2:24
4. Nimrod - The Bird - 3:15
5. Smoke - Sydney Gill - 3:32
6. Birds - No Good Without You Baby - 2:42
7. Shy Limbs - Reputation - 3:34
8. Game - It's Shocking What They Call Me - 2:42
9. Frame - Doctor Doctor - 2:45
10.Mandrake Paddle Steamer - Strange Walking Man - 3:11
11.French Revolution - Nine Til Five - 2:31
12.Vamp - Floatin' - 2:35
13.Syndicates - Crawdaddy Simone - 3:12
14.Sands - Listen To The Sky - 3:46
15.Tintern Abbey - Vacuum Cleaner - 3:06
16.The Craig - I Must Be Mad - 2:49
17.Open Mind - Magic Potion - 3:33

 Disc 2
1. Kult - No Home Today - 2:46
2. Eyes - When The Night Falls - 2:34
3. Poets - Baby Don't You Do It - 2:27
4. Ace Kefford Stand - For Your Love - 5:42
5. Ruperts People - Reflections Of Charles Brown - 4:15
6. Thane Russal And Three - Security - 2:42
7. Deviants - I'm Coming Home - 5:57
8. Fleur De Lys - Liar - 3:20
9. Kult - Mister Number One - 3:28
10.In Be Tweens - You Better Run - 2:37
11.Uglies - I See The Light - 3:37
12.Glen Athens And The Trojans - Let Me Show You How - 4:29
13.Gary Leeds And Rain - Francis - 3:01
14.Les Goths - Turn Over - 3:46
15.Drag Set - Day And Night - 2:16
16.Fleur De Lys - Mud In Your Eye - 3:00
17.Accent - Red Sky At Night - 3:16

 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

 Disc 4
1. Flies - Magic Train (Demo Version) - 2:53
2. Joint - Dinosaur - 2:53
3. Blonde On Blonde - Spinning Wheel - 2:46
4. Magic Mixture - When I Was Young - 2:51
5. Tucky Buzzard - Time Will Be Your Doctor - 3:46
6. Timebox - Barnabus Swain - 2:49
7. Simon's Secret - I Know What Her Name Is - 2:08
8. Please - The Road - 5:30
9. Orang Utan - Magic Playground - 3:25
10.Arcadium - Poor Lady - 3:59
11.Flaming Youth - Pulsar - 3:07
12.Monument - Give Me Life - 3:50
13.Five Day Week Straw People - Does It Rain - 3:17
14.John McLaughlin - Siren - 5:40
15.Animals - Gratefully Dead - 3:58
16.Arzachel - Leg - 5:39
17.Deviants - Jamie's Song - 3:33

Disc 5
1. July - The Way (Long Version) - 4:17
2. Pacific Drift - Feelin' Free - 2:31
3. Camel - Where Is My Mind - 3:35
4. Bulldog Breed - I Flew - 2:46
5. Wynder K Frog - Eddie's Tune - 5:26
6. Aynsley Dunbar - Warning - 3:24
7. Wil Malone - Love In The Afternoon - 2:36
8. Dear Mr Time - Your Country Needs You? - 3:41
9. Complex - Self Declaration - 6:05
10.Twink - Fluid - 4:03
11.Eyes Of Blue - Crossroads Of Time - 4:55
12.Dogfeet - Mr Sunshine - 11:08
13.Bram Stoker - Extensive Corrosion - 4:18

Free Text
the Free Text

Stoneground - The Last Dance (1973 us, excellent funky psych classic rock, 2001 release)

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

The Stoneground
*Sal Valentino - Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
*Tim Barnes - Guitar, Vocals
*Cory Lerios - Keyboards
*Stephen Price - Drums
*John Blakely - Guitar, Bass
*Lynne Hughes - Vocals
*Dierdre LaPorte - Vocals
*Annie Sampson - Vocals
*Terence Clements - Horns
*Dave McCullough - Bass
*Lydia Morero - Vocals

1971 Stoneground - Stoneground
1971 Stoneground - Family Album
Related Acts

1964-66  Beau Brummels - Autumn Of Their Years
1965  Introducing The Beau Brummels (Sundazed edition)
1966  Beau Brummels' 66 (Japan edition)
1967  Beau Brummels - Triangle
1969  Beau Brummels - Bradley's Barn
1974  Beau Brummels - Live 
1975  Beau Brummels
1969  Tongue And Groove - Tongue And Groove (2009 remaster) 
1969  Indian Puddin And Pipe - Indian Puddin And Pipe (2017 reissue) 
1970  Lynne Hughes - Freeway Gypsy (Vinyl edition) 

Free Text
Just Paste

Jake - The Jake Album Dedication (1973 us, awesome acid folk psych rock, Vinyl release)

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

The Jake
*Jeff Roberts - Guitar, Vocals
*Jon Hunsbuser - Guitar, Vocals
*Mike Hazelwood - Bass, Vocals
*Richard Middleton - Drums, Vocals

Free Text
the Free Text

Erica Pomerance - You Used to Think (1968 canada, extraordinary acid folk raga psych jazzy rock, 2009 digipak remaster)

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

Personnel
*Erica Pomerance - Vocals, Guitar
*Trevor Koehler - Saxophone
*Gail Pollard - Sitar, Vocals
*Dion Grody - Flute
*Lany Brooks - Bass
*Craig Justen - Percussion
*Billy Mitchell - Guitar
*Don Coopersmith - Guitar
*Ron Price - Guitar
*Richie Heissler - Guitar, Vocals
*Tom Moore - Flute
*Michael Ephraim - Piano

Free Text
the Free Text

Arlo Guthrie - Arlo (1968 us, wonderful folk rock)

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

Personnel
*Arlo Guthrie - Guitar, Vocals

*Bob Arkin - Bass
*Stan Free - Piano, Harpsichord
*Ed Shaughnessy - Drums, Tabla

1967  Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant 

Free Text
Just Paste