In February 1967, an English band called Nirvana released their debut album, The Story of Simon Simopath. Historically, the album was perhaps the first narrative concept LP ever produced. It predated similar works from The Who, The Kinks, and The Small Faces. Nirvana was really the duo of two singer/keyboardists, Patrick Campbell-Lyons from Ireland and Greek composer Alex Spyropoulos. To augment their studio work, they added various players for live gigs and band photos including Ray Singer (guitar), Brian Henderson (bass), Sylvia A. Schuster (cello), and Michael Cole (French horn, viola). As recounted in Campbell-Lyons 2009 autobiography, Psychedelic Days 1960-1969, this Nirvana enjoyed exuberant times in international youth culture while touring and working in England, Greece, France, South America, Morocco, and points in between. Their most memorable gig was on a French television show hosted by surrealist artist Salvador Dali. While the band performed, Dali threw black paint at them.
While the group worked and played on a world stage, the one place they didn't make a splash was the states. For one matter, while they were one of Chris Blackwell's early signings to his fledgling Island Records, his distribution deal with Bell Records didn't pay off for Nirvana. Bell released The Story of Simon Simopath and a few singles with no promotion whatsoever. Even the band didn't know the album had come out. In 1968, the duo recorded their second album, All of Us, which continued the orchestral pop of their debut, but it didn't appear in the U.S. Then, Blackwell rejected their third outing, Black Flower, and thereafter Nirvana disbanded until 1985 when Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos reunited for on-again, off-again recording and touring.
Why did Nirvana fly so low under the radar all these years, at least in America? Clearly, the Bell debacle didn't help. It's also true they came out during an era of guitar gods, and their emphasis on harpsichords, pianos, and strings were slightly out-of-step, although organ-based groups like Procol Harum and The Zombies found a comfortable niche for themselves. Some feel Nirvana was too "continental," but it's hard to see how anything with European themes would be ignored in the wake of the British Invasion. Perhaps the real issue was that Nirvana defied easy catagorizing. Their lyrics were full of dreamy portraits and character sketches of young people told with trippy wordplay. Proto-power pop?
by Wesley Britton, June 27, 2012
Tracks
1. Wings Of Love - 3:21
2. Lonely Boy - 2:32
3. We Can Help You - 1:59
4. Satellite Jockey - 2:35
5. In The Courtyard Of The Stars - 2:36
6. You Are Just The One - 2:07
7. Pentecost Hotel - 3:08
8. I Never Had A Love Like This Before - 2:51
9. Take This Hand - 2:18
10.1999 - 2:16
11.Wings Of Love - 3:22
12.Lonely Boy - 2:33
13.We Can Help You - 2:07
14.Satellite Jockey - 2:39
15.In The Courtyard Of The Stars - 2:35
16.You Are Just The One - 2:09
17.Pentecost Hotel - 3:13
18.I Never Had A Love Like This Before - 2:50
19.Take This Hand - 2:18
20.1999 - 2:10
21.I Believe In Magic (B-Side To "Tiny Goddess") - 3:25
22.Life Ain't Easy (Previously Unreleased Version) - 3:17
23.Feelin' Shattered (B-Side To "Pentecost Hotel") - 2:22
24.Requiem To John Coltrane (B-Side To "Wings Of Love") - 4:54
All songs written by Patrick Campbell Lyons, Alex Spyropolous
Tracks 1-10 Original Stereo Mix
Tracks 11-20 Original Mono Mix
Bonus Tracks 21-24
Nirvana
*Patrick Campbell Lyons - Guitar, Vocals
*Ray Singer - Guitar
*Alex Spyropoulos - Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
*Michael Coe - French Horn, Viola
*Brian Henderson - Bass
*Peter Kester, David Preston, Patrick Shanahan - Drums
*Sylvia A. Schuster - Cello
*David Preston - Drums
*Patrick Shanahan - Drums
Hailing from the Boston area of the USA, Osmosis was a seven-piece group fronted by the legendary saxophonist and flautist Charlie Mariano and also featured Bobby Knox (vocals), Andy Steinborn (lead guitar), Danny Comfort (bass), Charlie Bechler (keyboards), Lou Peterson (drums) and Bobby Clark (drums, percussion).
On stage, Osmosis were a powerful band, featuring two percussionists. In the studio the group were brave and experimental, arguably becoming one of the first true Progressive bands to emerge in the United States. Their sole album can be compared to the work of British groups such as Van Der Graaf Generator, Soft Machine or King Crimson, whilst also revealing a more jazz orientated side to their character.
Long overlooked, Osmosis has been re-mastered from the original RCA master tapes. The booklet features an essay by Sid Smith featuring an exclusive interview with guitarist Andy Steinborn. This remarkable album was a fusion of early Progressive and Jazz Rock and was released by RCA Records in 1970.
Tracks
1. Of War And Peace (In Part) (Andy Steinborn, Bobby Knox, Charlie Bechler, Danny Comfort) - 1:06
2. Beezlebub (Andy Steinborn, Bobby Knox, Charlie Bechler) - 3:51
3. Thoughts Aften Stray (Bobby Knox, Charlie Bechler) - 2:50
4. Sunrise (Andy Steinborn) - 2:31
5. Shadows (Charlie Mariano, Miki Boni) - 3:34
6. Adrift (Bobby Knox, Charlie Bechler, Danny Comfort) - 4:52
7. Sunlight (Bobby Knox, Charlie Bechler) - 2:32
8. Scorpio Rising (Bobby Clark) - 2:58
9. Please Let Me Go (Bobby Knox, Charlie Mariano) - 4:24
10.Geoffery's Tune (Bobby Knox, Charlie Bechler) - 3:40
11.Of War And Peace (In Full) (Andy Steinborn, Bobby Knox, Charlie Bechler, Danny Comfort) - 7:22
12.Sleep, My Love (Epilogue) (Charlie Mariano) - 1:52
It is certainly correct, the quote from "Rolling Stone" in August 2002, that the eponymous double album (re-released as LHC 007) was the real debut album of Improved Sound Limited. Still, there were numerous notable releases of the band even before that, all of which have, in different ways, specific and unique "Improved" characteristics which make them forerunners of the future sound. This album attempts to document those early years, as the music developed out of the "beat" culture of the sixties, with some input from the eclectic styles of west coast, psychedelic and underground, before heading in the seventies toward progressive rock and expressive ballads.
Whereas CD No. 4, "Road Trax", contained primarily instrumental music for films by Wim Wenders and Erwin Keusch, CD No. 5 returns to vocals, in the band's chosen language of English, as in previous releases. In an article published on 15 April 1972 in the legendary "Melody Maker", Michael Watts wrote about German bands singing in English: "The most popular of these is 'Frumpy', who won a poll not long ago in a German magazine, but the most accomplished that I've heard is 'Improved Sound Limited'." Be that as it may, this album is both prologue and epilogue. But these pieces without opus numbers are anything but scorned rejects. They run the gamut from the short hidden track by the "Pyjamas Skiffle Group" (as the band called itself around 1961) to "The Very Last Waltz" from 2002. Incidentally, even in the skiffle days, the band's instruments were "Improved". As the photo shows, Johnny and Axel had already traded their standard four-string guitars for the six string electro Spanish variety. Rolf was never satisfied with a wash board as the usual drum ersatz; he had a Sonor drum kit. Only the less discriminating Uli stayed with a self-made, original tea box bass, with two strings of clothes line.
Improved Sound Limited released a total of four singles, two of which are on this CD: "It is You" and "Sing Your Song". The other two singles are not included here, for good reason. One had mono mixes of the nursery rhyme "Hoppe Hoppe Reiter" plus "I'm Exhausted" (the stereo versions are tracks 6 and 11). The fourth single contained rough mixes of "Oedipus" and "Where Will The Salmon Spawn" which are hardly different from the recordings on the eponymous double album LHC 007. Instead, I chose for this album the interesting original versions of both songs, as featured on the soundtrack of the TV show "Kommissar" in the episode "Dr. Meinhardt's Tragic End". Compare the audibly different atmosphere of the two versions.
The track list of "The Final Forward" starts with the band's very first single, "It Is You" (B side: "We Are Alone"). With "It Is You", Improved Sound Limited won the beat music competition of Bavarian Radio in 1966, and with it a recording contract. They garnered the most points from a jury including noted classical composer Werner Egk ("Abraxas") and soundtrack specialist Peter Thomas, as well as tumultuous applause (105 dB!) from the audience.
The single was then produced by Polydor's Gerhard Mendelson, who had tremendous success with the German language productions of Connie Francis, Rita Pavone, Gigliola Cinquetti, Gus Backus and Thomas Fritsch, among others. Unfortunately, the release came six months later, so the promotion effect of BR's airplay was lost. But "the beat goes on...".
Tracks 3 and 4, "Marvin Is Dead" and "Sing Your Song", are songs from the film "Der Bettenstudent", directed by Michael Verhoeven. Behind the snappy title is the bestselling novel "Und so was lebt", in which author Finn Søborg sends up bureaucrats and administrators. The cast was strong: Gila von Weitershausen, Hannelore Elsner, Karl Dall, Stella-Maria Adorf and Christof Wackernagel.
The next songs (tracks 5 to 12), from the film "Engelchen macht weiter - Hoppe hoppe Reiter" with Gila von Weitershausen and Mario Adorf, also resulted from the collaboration with Michael Verhoeven. Film producer Rob Houwer, who had made a deal with Rolling Stones guitarrist Brian Jones to do music for Volker Schlöndorff's film "Mord und Totschlag", was quite taken by the Improved Sounds and asked them for some music (see the booklet for the CD LHC 007). The success of the film, and also of the soundtrack LP and single on the Cornet label, would prove him right. On this CD are all significant pieces of music, omitting only smaller bits such as the backround music in a department store.
Rob Houwer himself remixed the music (four track was then state of the art) for the film and the soundtrack album. It was slightly different from the mix on this album, which sounds less commercial but is preferred by the band.
But getting back to Michael Verhoeven: he called on the "wonderful band from Nürnberg" (Verhoeven in the AZ, 11 Jan. 1969) for something special for an episode of the TV series "Kommissar" titled "Dr. Meinhardt's Tragic End". They gladly fulfilled his wishes, for example with a section reminiscent of Gainsbourg/Birkin in the middle of "Oedipus", or just a touch of Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Of Pale" in the instrumental version of "Where Will The Salmon Spawn". Neither version has appeared before on any commercial recording. The same goes for the music for the TV series "Krempoli" (tracks 15 to 20), which was also directed by Michael Verhoeven and broadcast throughout Europe. Incidentally, a cameraman on the TV series was Joseph Vilsmaier, later himself a director of such internationally successful films as "Herbstmilch", "Stalingrad" and "Comedian Harmonists". The band immersed itself with enthusiasm and virtuosity in the series' plot and scenes, without sacrificing the unique "Improved" touch. For me, some tracks sound like early demos of songs on the "Road Trax" CD (LHC 017), for example "Down The Dusty Road", "Mexican Hat" or perhaps "Le fleuve tranquille". Also previously unreleased is the title song of a Fischer&Welz-/Kare-Kraus film called "Lass knacken, Ive", with an imaginative story and highly professional production in the tradition of the young Munich filmmakers. The cameraman was Peter Ettengruber, who edited Schlöndorff's film "Baal" starring Fassbinder in the title role. But the changing zeitgeist stood in the way of this film's success. What remains is the wonderful ballad "The Policeman", which with its mellifluence resonating in melancholy (please excuse the pathos!) could only come from one band: Improved Sound Limited.
The quartet built up a fine reputation as a live band. This makes it all the more unfortunate that I have been unable to locate any surviving recordings at the numerous sources contacted, for example a tape of their appearance at Constantin Film's German premiere of Andy Warhol's film "Trash" in Munich, at which the band was praised by Warhol and his star, Joe Dallessandro.
It is also sad that there are no recordings of their various works for the theater, which drew national attention. Improved Sound Limited provided the music for the German premiere of Fernando Arrabal's "Bella Ciao", by the director of the world premiere at the Théâtre National Populaire in Paris, Jorge Lavelli. The "Frankfurter Rundschau" wrote of an "important, stimulating evening of exciting theater. Improved Sound Limited, which led the tonal troupe in a show/revue which reminds somewhat of "Mahoganny", performed their own compositions just right for the theater." The "Abendzeitung" (Norbert Neudecker) noted "musical numbers which range from highly rhythmic, resonant sounds to schmalzy tango, all extremely attractive and thus appropriate in their ironic context." The "Weserkurier" (Rainer Wagner) reported that the "renowned pop group Improved Sound Limited wrote and played appealing and imaginative songs for this spectacle." The acerbic theater critic Hans Bertram Bock asserted in his review, "the band demonstrated with precision and in responsive collaboration with the other participants their brilliant abilities." The sheet music has survived, any tapes that may have been made have not. But I personally am happy and satisfied with the five CDs (a total of 84 tracks) we have assembled. Concerning the fifth one, I agree with the magazine "Sounds" (Nov. 1973): "Improved Sound Limited reminds at times of the late Beatles, at times of the Byrds. All their songs are very clearly crafted compositions, sound pleasantly fresh and still reflect a lot of experience."
I don't want to conclude my essay without sincere thanks to the band for their cooperation, and also for providing me with numerous recordings and photographs. I am especially grateful to Johnny Fickert and Bernd and Axel Linstädt for fulfilling my request for a very special encore, "The Very Last Waltz", recorded in 2002. I like it just as much as the old "Improved" songs. I almost wrote "classics", because it seems the more I hear them, the more I like them. I think R.W. Schmidt wasn't far from the mark when he quoted Michael Verhoeven in the April 1969 issue of the then trendy magazine "twen": "These guys are in a class of their own in Germany." And I agree with both his overall opinion and with the last sentence of his article: "To paraphrase Richard Wagner, Improved Sound Limited are the ‚Meistersingers of Nürnberg'."
by Manfred Steinheuer, March 2003
Tracks
1. It Is You (Axel Linstädt, Lothar Johnny Fickert) - 2:07
2. We Are Alone (Axel Linstädt, Lothar Johnny Fickert) - 2:22
3. Marvin Is Dead - 3:40
4. Sing Your Song - 2:26
5. Love Is a Natural Thing - 2:22
6. Hoppe Reiter - 2:04
7. Don't Know Baby If You Are Safe - 2:05
8. Leave This Lesbian World - 3:03
9. Old Captain Cook - 2:17
10.Don't You Feel Any Pain - 1:53
11.I'm Exhausted - 2:24
12.Offering a Highly Sophisticated Way to Ride - 1:54
13.Oedipus - 3:11
14.Where Will the Salmon Spawn - 2:26
15.Krempoli Tune - 1:54
16.Down the Dusty Road - 0:54
17.Mexican Hat - 2:35
18.Are You Kidding - 1:09
19.Return to Fender - 2:47
20.Le fleuve tranquille - 3:50
21.The Policeman - 3:36
22.The Very Last Waltz - 2:20
Music by Axel Linstädt, Lyrics by Bernd Linstädt unless as else stated
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
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.
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
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
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
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
