Harvey Mandel - Righteous / Games Guitars Play (1969-70 us, beautiful after hours jazzy blues rock, 2005 remaster)

Many listeners’ first exposure to the unique, slithering guitar sound of Harvey Mandel came when the Rolling Stones’ “Hot Stuff” hit the airwaves in 1976. But Mandel’s story begins more than a decade earlier, when young white guitarists roamed Chicago’s blues clubs, learning to play at the feet of legends like Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Magic Sam. The release of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1965, with its back-cover exhortation to “play it loud,” and the group’s East-West in 1966 showcased the incendiary playing of one of those nascent guitar heroes, Michael Bloomfield, whose raw performances on both records spoke to a new generation of players.

Harvey Mandel was also on the Chicago scene, cutting his teeth sitting in with blues legends. “Bloomfield was more on the South Side, and I hung more at the club Twist City, which is the West Side,” says Mandel. Born in 1945, he was a few years younger than the Butterfield Band guitarist, but by his late teens he was consistently jamming with the likes of Buddy Guy. “I wasn’t legally allowed in a lot of clubs because I wasn’t 21, but the owners didn’t mind,” he says. “They would sneak me in and out, making sure no one fed me liquor so they wouldn’t lose their licenses.” Shortly after becoming “legal,” Mandel made his recording debut on Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s Southside Band, with a singing tone already hinting at the sustain that would help define his sound.

To many suburban blues guitarists, Stand Back was almost as influential as the Butterfield records, but because it was released in 1967, Mandel’s emerging style was overshadowed by Clapton’s work with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and the arrival of Jimi Hendrix. Still, Bill Graham deemed the Musselwhite band worthy to share a bill with Bloomfield’s Electric Flag and Eric Clapton’s new group Cream at his San Francisco-based Fillmore West. “I ended up staying in San Francisco, because after that show the group disbanded and everyone went their own way.

There, the guitarist met Abe “Voco” Kesh (Keshishian), a radio DJ and producer for the Mercury/Philips labels. A fan of the Musselwhite band, Kesh had just produced a No. 1 record for Blue Cheer. This let him get Mandel a solo deal with Phillips without so much as an audition. His first solo record, Cristo Redentor, in 1968, contained many of the markers Mandel would revisit over more than a dozen records and almost five decades: funky grooves with strings and horns filling out the sound, along with psychedelic production techniques like guitars panning across the stereo spectrum and flipping the tape over to achieve backwards guitar effects. Even without recording tricks, Mandel’s distinctive licks seemed at times to be going backwards, creating the serpentine sound that earned him his nickname, “Snake.”

The next year saw the release of Righteous, cementing the eclecticism that would mark all of Mandel’s music, ranging from the clean tones on Cannonball Adderley’s “Jive Samba” and the funky “Poontang” to more distorted effects on the swampy “Love of Life” and the slow blues “Just a Hair More.”

by Michael Ross

‘Righteous’ has more intriguing strings-and-guitar pieces like the torrid and nimble ‘Jive Samba’ and ‘Summer Sequence’. The third disc ‘Games Guitar Play’ broadens the scope yet again, with side one featuring Russell Dashiel a rather good singer and Mandel bringing the blues quotient up with ‘Leavin’ Trunk’ and ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’, then on the reverse side more instrumentals including the pop-country title tune, a hit for Joe South and here played straight with a few dashes of slide guitar. A stealthy tread through ‘Capurange’ works well, as does a gorgeous reading of Horace Silver’s theme ‘Senor Blues’, at once biting but spring-heeled. This cat really IS a genius!

by Pete Sargeant

Tracks 
1. Righteous (Harvey Mandel) - 3:46
2. Jive Samba (Nat Adderley) - 4:22
3. Love of Life (Bob Jones, Harvey Mandel) - 7:36
4. Poontang (Bob Jones) - 4:04
5. Just a Hair More (Harvey Mandel) - 4:53
6. Summer Sequence (Ralph Burns) - 3:27
7. Short's Stuff (Shorty Rogers) - 6:09
8. Boo-Bee-Doo (Duane Hitchings) - 3:21
9. Campus Blues (Harvey Mandel) - 4:03
10.Leavin' Trunk (Sleepy John Estes) - 6:35
11.Honky Tonk (Bill Doggett, Billy Butler, Clifford Scott, Shep Shepherd) - 3:38
12.I Don't Need No Doctor (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - 3:52
13.Dry Your Eyes (Russell Dashiel) - 3:09
14.Ridin' High (Russell Dashiel, Harvey Mandel) - 2:51
15.Capurange (Russell Dashiel) - 6:48
16.Senor Blues (Horace Silver) - 5:37
17.Games People Play (Joe South) - 4:55
Track 1-9 from LP "Righteous" 1969
Tracks 10-17 from LP "Games Guitars Play" 1970

Musicians
*Harvey Mandel - Lead Guitar
*Eddie Hoh - Drums, Percussion
*Art Stavro - Bass (Tracks 1-9)
*Shorty Roberts - Trumpet (Tracks 1-9) 
*John Audino -Trumpet (Tracks 1-9)
*Michael Barone - Trombone (Tracks 1-9)
*Baddy Childers - Trumpet (Tracks 1-9)
*Gene Cipriano - Saxophone (Tracks 1-9)
*Victor Feldman - Percussion (Tracks 1-9)
*Stan Fishelson - Trumpet (Tracks 1-9)
*Plas Johnson - Saxophone (Tracks 1-9)
*Pete Jolly - Keyboards (Tracks 1-9)
*Bob Jones - Guitar (Tracks 1-9)
*Dick Leith - Trombone (Tracks 1-9)
*Lew McCreary - Trombone (Tracks 1-9)
*Ollie Mitchell - Trumpet (Tracks 1-9)
*Peter Myers - Trombone (Tracks 1-9)
*Jack Nimitz - Saxophone (Tracks 1-9)
*Earl Palmer - Drums (Tracks 1-9)
*Bill Perkins - Saxophone (Tracks 1-9)
*Howard Roberts - Guitar (Tracks 1-9)
*Ernie Watts - Saxophone (Tracks 1-9)
*Bob West - Bass (Tracks 1-9)
*Duane Hitchings - Organ (Tracks 1-9) 
*Larry Taylor - Bass (Tracks 10-17)
*Russell Dashiel - Guitar, Vocals, Organ, Piano (Tracks 10-17)

1968  Harvey Mandel - Cristo Redentor (2003 remaster and expanded)
1971  Harvey Mandel - Baby Batter (2016 remaster)
1972  Harvey Mandel - The Snake (2016 remaster)
Related Acts
1965-66  The Barry Goldberg Blues Band - Blowing My Mind ..Plus (2003 remaster and expanded)
1967  Charley Musselwhite - Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band
1968  The Barry Goldberg Reunion - There's No Hole In My Soul
1969  Barry Goldberg - Two Jews Blues (vinyl edition) 
1967-73  Canned Heat - The Very Best Of (2005 issue with previous unreleased track)
1970  Canned Heat - Future Blues (remastered and expanded) 
1971-72  Canned Heat - Historical Figures And Ancient Heads (extra track remaster issue)
1974  Love - Reel To Reel (2015 deluxe edition)

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Great Jones - All Bowed Down! (1970 us, sharp bluesy hard rock, Vinyl issue)

With only one highly collectible 1970 album to their credit, Great Jones, as the liner notes to their LP declared, was an odd combination. This hard driving rock and blues trio featured Billy Cadieux, a fiery jazz-loving guitar player, ex-folky bassist and gutsy lead vocalist, David Tolmie and blues-breaking drummer, Gary Kollarus. This Brooklyn based band became part of the scene revolving around legendary R&B producer, Jerry Ragavoy's Hit Factory Studios in New York City, which is where they met up with keyboardist and songwriter, Jeff Gutcheon. Then an apprentice at the Hit Factory, Gutcheon had worked extensively with Geoff and Maria Muldaur and not only contributed piano and organ tracks to Great Jones' album sessions, but also penned the title song, "All Bowed Down."

Following the release of their album, Great Jones was invited to open two high profile evenings at Bill Graham's Fillmore East, kicking off a bill that also featured Delaney & Bonnie & Friends (then with Eric Clapton on board) and headliners, the Byrds.

Tracks
1. Cripple Creek (Joe Zagarino) - 2:11
2. Finding My Way (Billy Cadieux) - 3:08
3. United State of Mind (Dr John) - 6:32
4. You Don't Know Nothin' About Love (Jerry Ragovoy) - 4:47
5. All Bowed Down (Jeff Gutcheon) - 3:20
6. Idaho Potatoes (Billy Cadieux) - 3:00
7. Leaving Trunk (Sleepy John Estes) - 3:23
8. I Ain't Got Long (Billy Cadieux, David Tolmie, Jeff Gutcheon) - 5:14
9. Leaving California (Billy Cadieux, Richard Farina) - 3:28

Great Jones
*Billy Cadieux - Guitar, Vocals
*David Tolmie - Bass, Vocals
*Gary Kollarus - Drums
With
*Jeff Gutcheon – Piano, Organ
*Mery Clayton, Clydie King, Vanetta Fields - Backing Vocals

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Mushroom - Early One Morning (1973 ireland, brilliant, heavy prog rock psych folk with blazing guitar and fiddle attacks, 2004 edition)

This rare album by this obscure early-'70s Irish folk-rock outfit is in some ways quite similar to the brand of British folk-rock pioneered by Fairport Convention in the late '60s and early '70s. Traditional Celtic folk-flavored melodies are given both delicate and hard-rocking treatments, the standard rock instruments given a British Isles folk tinge with embellishments of violin, electric mandolin, harpsichord, tin whistle, wind chimes, recorder, and bodhran. The similarity isn't extreme, however, as to start with, the production is far funkier and more homespun -- not a bad thing at all, but a trait that needs to be noted in case you're expecting something on the order of Fairport's Full House. Just as crucially, there are definitely more influences from pop, psychedelia, and progressive rock in Mushroom's particular spin on the British Isles folk-rock genre. While at times this is very much in the rapid-fire, lickety-split, ferociously rocked-up reels'n'jigs style that Fairport and such often used in the early '70s, there are also some nearly exquisite passages of melancholy Celtic folk balladry with a mild contemporary rock slant, such as "Tenpenny Piece" and the title track.

Then there's the psychedelic guitar sustain and wah-wah weaving around the violin in "Crying," which otherwise would be a rather standard British late-'60s pop/rock song. And there's also the almost berserk keyboards of "Johnny the Jumper," where Fairport-style folk-rock meets the distorted roller rink sounds of early-'60s Joe Meek productions. It's far more naïve a record than Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span ever made, and less vocally and instrumentally accomplished, not to say more rudimentarily produced. Yet for those very reasons, it's a fairly nifty relic in the genre, if only because it's not just an emulation of obvious influences, but a somewhat odd and original twist on the format. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Early One Morning - 2:37
2. The Liathdan - 4:17
3. Crying - 3:53
4. Unborn Child - 3:44
5. Johnny The Jumper - 3:04
6. Potters Wheel - 2:20
7. Standing Alone - 5:36
8. Devil Among The Tailors - 2:44
9. Tenpenny Piece - 3:28
10.Drowsey Maggie - 3:57
11.King Of Alba - 4:17
All Songs By Alan Brown, Aengus McNally, Cam Lynch, Michael Power, Pat Collins

Mushroom
*Aengus McNally - Guitars, Tin Whistle, Vocals
*Cam Lynch - Percussion, Bodhran, Wind, Wood Chimes, Vocals
*Alan Brown - Bass, 12 String Guitar, Vocals
*Michael Power - Organ, Harpsichord, Moog, Vocals
*Pat Collins - Violin, Electric Violin, Vocals

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Lucifer's Friend - Banquet (1974 germany / uk, remarkable prog jazz brass rock, 2015 digi pak remaster with extra track)

On Banquet, Lucifer's Friend finally pulled together the many different elements to their sound (prog, soul, jazz, hard rock) into one cohesive and totally distinctive style. This time out, the primary focus of the album is epic prog numbers with complex instrumentation that go through a variety of surprising and ambitious changes in their arrangements. The standout example is the opening track, "Spanish Galleon": this pirate-themed epic starts with a Latin-flavored rock groove, that is given further power by the addition of horns, segues into a lyrical, pirate-themed song section that climaxes with a rousing chorus, takes a left turn into an instrumental portion studded with jazzy solos, and then finishes with a stirring reprise of the song section. 

The other prog numbers continue in a similar vein, reaching heights of almost orchestral complexity, but working in enough hooks and solid songcraft into the compositions to keep the listener hooked. Another standout in this arena is "Sorrow," a keyboard-based epic that features a lovely midsection where a keyboard solo is accompanied by a lush string arrangement. Banquet also balances out these epics with a pair of shorter, poppier songs that still manage to show off the band's firepower and complexity in their tighter format; the best is "Dirty Old Town," the closing ballad that builds to a jazzy, horn-powered chorus. All in all, Banquet is a fine, underrated prog outing and is worthy of rediscovery by art-rock fanatics. It's an ideal introduction to the sound of Lucifer's Friend. 

by Donald A. Guarisco

Tracks
1. Spanish Galleon (Peter Hesslein, John Lawton) - 11:50
2. Thus Spoke Oberon (John F. Bacardi, John O'Brien-Docker) - 6:44
3. High Flying Lady Goodbye (Peter Hesslein, John Lawton) - 3:40
4. Sorrow (Peter Hesslein, John Lawton) - 11:36
5. Dirty Old Town (Dieter Horns, Peter Hesslein, John Lawton) - 4:46
6. Our World Is A Rock 'N' Roll Band (Werner Becker, John O'Brien-Docker) - 3:20
Bonus Track 6

Lucifer's Friend
*John Lawton - Lead Vocals
*Peter Hesslein - Electric And Acoustic Guitars, 12 String Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals
*Dieter Horns - Bass, Backing Vocals
*Herbert Bornhold - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
*Peter Hecht - Piano, Organ, Moog Synthesizer, Electric Piano
With
*Herb Geller - Alto Saxsophone, Flute
*Karl Hermann Lüer - Baritone Saxophone
*Stefan Dobrzynski - Tenor Saxophone
*Wilfried Schoberanzky - Bass
*Klaus Holle - Flute
*Franz Behle - Oboe
*Rolf Lind - French Horn
*Hans Alves - English Horn
*Kurt Donocik, Luigi Schaufub, Walter Hillinghaus - Cello
*Günter Fulisch, Heinz Reese, Waldemar Erbe, Wolfgang Ahlers - Trombone
*Bob Lanese, Heinz Habermann, Manfred Moch - Trumpet
*Bruno Korzuschek, Günter Grünig, Werner Knupke - Viola
*Fritz Köhnsen, Günter Klein, Günther Zander, Heinz Donocik, Helmut Jochens, Helmut Rahn, Ingeborg Kaufmann, Otto Kaufmann, Reinhold Gabriel, Senia Daschewski - Violin
*Dave Brian, Elvira Herbert, Sheila McKinley - Choir

1970  Lucifer's Friend - Lucifer's Friend (2008 remaster) 
Related Act
1970  Asterix - Asterix 

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Sugar Cube Blues Band - Sugar Cube Blues Band (1967 us, excellent garage psych folk rock, 1995 Vinyl edition)

From Grenada, Mississippi, the Sugar Cube Blues Band were not a blues band, but more a garage-psychedelic group, as heard on their sole single, 1967's "My Lasting Impressions." 

An entirely unreleased album's worth of material by the Sugar Cube Blues Band found its way onto this LP 30 years after it was recorded, along with the A-side of their sole single, "My Last Impression." As every one of the few reviews of this disc notes right off, despite the band's name, there's no blues or blues-rock here. Instead, it's a mixture of folk-rock, folk, garage rock, and psychedelia, all written by singer Bill Crowder. While the range of songs is considerably greater than that of the average period garage band (if indeed the group could fairly be called a garage outfit), musically it's average to below-average. 

The lyrics show greater ambition than the usual such act, and at times it sounds just a bit like the stranger groups recording on the Austin scene speared by the 13th Floor Elevators. But Crowder aims too high for his vocal range, and his straining, sometimes faltering singing can be frankly irritating at times, especially when exposed more nakedly on the acoustic folky tracks. There's often a bent toward moody minor-keyed folk-rock, though "My Last Impression" is fairly typical ominous garage-psychedelia, complete with pounding fuzzy riff, half-shouted surly lyric, quasi-Eastern guitar solo, and swirling organ. But on the whole this sounds like the work of a band not really ready for or deserving of an album release. 

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks
1. Shades of Life - 1:53
2. Run, Run, Run - 2:39
3. Never Think About Today - 1:59
4. You Can't Be Free - 3:22
5. Summer Sunset/Winter Sky - 2:14
6. There Is A Time For Everyone - 3:28
7. My Last Impression - 3:40
8. Step Into Your Life - 1:54
9. In this Way - 2:35
10. Learn To Be Yourself - 2:08
11.I Need You - 3:07
12.We've Got To Get Away - 2:18
All songs by Bill Crowder

Sugar Cube Blues Band
*Budley Bays - Guitar
*Bill Crowder - Vocals, Harmonica
*Danny Lancaster - Bass
*Deve Lancaster - Drums
*Tony Portera - Keyboards

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The Ten Wheel Drive - Peculiar Friends (1971 us, good funky bluesy brass rock, 2019 korean remaster)

The third and final disc on Polydor from Ten Wheel Drive before Annie Sutton would come in to take over for the irreplaceable Genya Ravan and they would move the organization to Capitol for one more go at it, this is the most sophisticated of the small but cherished output from the ever changing and evolving entity known as Ten Wheel Drive. The pity here is that they had really found their groove on Peculiar Friends.

The band blends so nicely behind Ravan's unique and multi-purpose voice, changing genres while exploring the possibilities of a song like "I Had Him Down." They lift a few notes from Blood, Sweat & Tears' cover of the Laura Nyro composition, "And When I Die," but the song mutates before you can hold it down. The key word is "down," and the six-minute "Down in the Cold" rocks -- co-written by the core of the band, keyboardist Michael Zager (no relation to Zager & Evans of "25/25" fame, though many have made that mistake), guitarist Aram Schefrin, and vocalist Ravan. Drummers and bassists and horn players came and went, but the musical vision of the three main partners kept maturing, "Down in the Cold" takes Janis Joplin's drunken barroom "Turtle Blues" and speeds it up a whole lot. Ravan is in total control from the very slick "Shootin' the Breeze," which is one of the most magnificent songs they ever put on plastic, to "Fourteenth Street (I Can't Get Together)." The textures Schefrin and Zager build are the perfect complement to Ravan, and they should have kept this unit together at all costs. 

The title track is a mere 19 seconds of silliness while "The Night I Got Out of Jail" takes a Beatles riff and tucks it inside an Ike & Tina Turner rave-up. The nine tracks here hardly satisfy fans of early adult rock who would demand more. What they got was "No Next Time," the closest thing to a duet on this album, and a wonderful exercise in stretching the boundaries of pop. This is tough stuff that didn't lend itself to early-'70s radio, but had the potential to move the music from this time period to another, higher level. "The Pickpocket" fuses the hard rock of early Deep Purple from their keyboard heavy Tetragrammaton Days with contemporary jazz. The arrangements and performance here are top-notch, so good that the fact that there would be no more is the most disappointing aspect of Peculiar Friends. 

by Joe Viglione

Tracks
1. Peculiar Friends - 0:19
2. The Night I Got Out Of Jail - 3:44
3. Shootin' The Breeze - 3:19
4. The Pickpocket (Aram Schefrin, Michael Zager, Genya Ravan) - 3:48
5. No Next Time - 4:34
6. Love Me - 5:05
7. Fourteenth Street (I Can't Get Together) - 5:49
8. I Had Him Down - 3:52
9. Down In The Cold (Aram Schefrin, Michael Zager, Genya Ravan) - 6:09
All songs by Aram Schefrin, Michael Zager except where stated

Ten Wheel Drive
*Genya Ravan - Harmonica, Harp, Vocals
*Aram Schefrin - Guitar, Producer, Vocals
*Michael Zager - Clarinet, Keyboards
*Frank Frint - Trumpet
*Alan Gauvin - Reeds, Wind
*Blake Hines - Bass
*Tom "Bones" Malone - Trombone
*Dean Pratt - Trumpet
*Danny Stiles - Trumpet
*David Williams - Drums

1969  Ten Wheel Drive - Construction #1 (2019 korean remaster)
1970  Ten Wheel Drive - Brief Replies (2019 korean remaster)
1969-71  Ten Wheel Drive With Genya Ravan - The Best Of
1971  Genya Ravan - Genya Ravan (Vinyl edition)

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The Mojo Men - Not Too Old To Start Cryin' The Lost Masters (1966 us, tight razor sharp blend of garage rock and trippier elements, 2008 remaster)

In 1966, having just left Autumn Records, the Mojo Men recorded a batch of songs for their new label Warner Brothers, intended both as potential singles and a possible long-player. The San Francisco-based band had recently recruited drummer and lead singer Jan Errico from the neighbouring Vejtables into the fold, which brought about a change of direction. Originally a raunchy rhythm and blues based combo, the Mojo Men were now transformed into an assured folk rock and baroque pop band that drew comparisons to the Beau Brummels, the Byrds and the Mamas & The Papas.

Sad to say, this album’s worth of mostly original material was eventually shoved under the rug, leaving these sessions to gather dust in the vaults, although some of the tunes would be re-recorded later. But thanks to the recent discovery of the master tapes, here’s “Not Too Old To Start Cryin’” in all its shimmering glory. While a handful of cuts, particularly the Bo Diddley-influenced shuffle beat of ‘Til I Find You’, the fuzztone-spiked ‘Give Me One More Chance’ and the rebel snarl of ‘They May Be Right’ retain the band’s initial garage punk pose, the remainder of the material on the disc emphasizes polish and precision. ‘Don’t Let It Happen To Me’, ‘Look Into My Eyes’, ‘Don’t Leave Me Crying Like Before’, ‘Happiness Is You’ and the title track of the collection – which is heard in two differing arrangements - place a strong emphasis upon the band’s new found repertoire of blissed-out harmonies and flowery melody, complemented by heaps of jangly guitars, twinkling keyboards and smart and tight arrangements.

Alive with colour and light, “Not Too Old To Start Cryin’” examines the Mojo Men at the peak of their powers, resulting in a genuine pop rock masterpiece. Despite the fact these stunning songs were shelved, the band soldiered on and it wasn’t long before fame arrived. In early 1967 they netted a nationwide Top 40 hit single with a gorgeous cover of Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Sit Down Think I Love You’ - but that’s another story altogether.

by Beverly Paterson 

Tracks
1. Not Too Old To Start Cryin' (Second Version) (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:34
2. 'Til I Find You - 2:07
3. Is Our Love Gone (Second Version) - 2:05
4. Sure Of Your Love - 2:02
5. Don't Leave Me Crying Like Before (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 3:34
6. You Didn't Even Say Goodbye - 2:47
7. What Kind Of Man (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:08
8. Happiness Is You - 2:18
9. Look Into My Eyes (Paul Curcio) - 2:46
10.What's The Answer - 2:58
11.Free Ride (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:26
12.Times Like These (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:41
13.Another World (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 3:07
14.Give Me One More Chance (Paul Curcio) - 3:08
15.Don't Let It Happen To Me - 1:53
16.Remember Me (Jim Alaimo, Paul Curcio, Jan Errico) - 2:41
17.Oh Lonesome Me (Don Gibson) - 3:39
18.Not For Me (Jim Alaimo, Paul Curcio, Jan Errico) - 2:44
19.They May Be Right - 2:49
20.She Cried (Ted Daryll, Greg Richards) - 2:54
21.I've Had It (Raymond Ceroni, Carl Bonura) - 2:50
22.Is Our Love Gone (First Version) - 2:21
23.Not Too Old To Start Cryin' (First Version) (Jim Alaimo, Jan Errico) - 2:41
24.There Goes My Mind (Paul Curcio) - 2:35
All songs by Jim Alaimo, Paul Curcio except where stated

The Mojo Men
*Jim Alaimo - Bass, Vocals
*Jan Errico - Vocals, Drums
*Paul Curcio - Guitar, Vocals
*Don Metchick - Keyboards

1965-66  The Mojo Men - Whys Ain't Supposed To Be 
1967-68  Mojo Men - There Goes My Mind 
Related Act
1965-66 The Vejtables - Feel...The Vejtables 

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Michael Chapman - Savage Amusement (1976 uk, remarkable folk blues rock, 2015 remaster with extra tracks)

Savage Amusement is Michael Chapman’s 8th album and was recorded in 1976. Recorded at Sawmills in Cornwall, Tapestry in London and Ardent in Memphis, it finds Chapman’s folk guitar stylings augmented by fellow guitarists Tim Renwick (Al Stewart) and Andy Latimer (Camel) whilst the rhythm section is supplied by drummer Keef Hartley and bassist Rick Kemp (Steeleye Span). Peter Wood (Al Stewart) and Muscle Shoals session player Leo LeBlanc complete the band on keys and pedal steel respectively.

Tracks
1. Shuffleboat River Farewell - 4:38
2. Secret Of The Locks - 3:58
3. Crocky Hill Disaster - 4:40
4. Lovin' Dove - 3:33 -
5. Hobo's Lament (Meditation) (Jimmie Rodgers) - 3:17 
6. Stranger - 7:37
7. How Can A Poor Man (Blind Alfred Reed) - 2:40
8. It Didn't Work Out - 5:25 
9. Devastation Hotel - 5:20
10.Lovin' Dove - 2:44 
11.Just To Keep You - 3:06 
12.Devastation Hotel/Crocky Hill Disaster Idea - 2:53
13.Waiting For A Train (All Around The Water Tank) (Jimmie Rodgers) - 3:21
All songs by Michael Chapman except where noted
Bonus Tracks 10-13

Musicians
*Michael Chapman - Guitar, Vocals
*Keef Hartley - Drums
*Rick Kemp - Bass
*Andy Latimer - Guitar
*Leo LeBlanc - Pedal Steel Guitar
*Tim Renwick - Guitar
*Peter Wood - Keyboards
*Mutt, Stevie, Fuzzy - Vocals

1968  Michael Chapman - Rainmaker
1970  Michael Chapman - Fully Qualified Survivor
1970-71  Michael Chapman - Window / Wrecked Again
1973  Michael Chapman - Millstone Grit (2006 remaster)
1974  Michael Chapman - Deal Gone Down (2015 bonus tracks edition)

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Fred Neil - Fred Neil (1967 us, superb folk blues psych with raga elements, 2006 remnaster)

From the clatter of the Greenwich Village 60s folk scene came a voice that was inspired, authentic, and extraordinarily deep. Freddy Neil had one of those unmistakable voices, a baritone that could rumble your brain and leave cracks in your spine. Add to that the skills of one of the better blues-folk songwriters; his songs were covered by Karen Dalton, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Tim Buckley, Harry Nilsson, Jefferson Airplane.

Released in 1967, Fred Neil is moody, soft, and dark, but shimmers in beautiful electric sound. It lives within the pinnacle of styles from which Freddy would draw his influence: Brill Building chops, cold hard blues, good old folk song, and raga spiritualism. The ten original compositions heard here are masterpiece quality pens. “Everybody’s Talkin'” would put the voice of Nilsson forever in popular knowledge thanks to Midnight Cowboy; Fred refused to sing for the movie and his unornamented version is a refreshing listen. Neil harbored a genuine love for dolphins, championing their causes throughout his life, and recording his dreamy ode to open the record. I harbor a specific love for the bluesy standard, “That’s The Bag I’m In” and songs like “Faretheewell (Fred’s Tune)” are too precious for my description.

Neil was a father figure to many integral players in the folk, blues, and rock movements, cited as an influence by folks like David Crosby and Bob Dylan. Go grab this essential LP if it isn’t already in your collection.

by Brendan McGrath

Tracks
1. The Dolphins - 4:06
2. I've Got A Secret (Didn't We Shake Sugaree) (Elizabeth Cotten) - 4:40
3. That's The Bag I'm In - 3:37
4. Badi-Da - 3:39
5. Faretheewell (Fred's Tune) - 4:03
6. Everybody's Talkin'  - 2:45
7. Everything Happens - 2:20
8. Sweet Cocaine - 2:03
9. Green Rocky Road - 3:40
10.Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga - 8:16
All compositions by Fred Neil except track #2

Personnel
*Fred Neil - Acoustic Guitar, Electric, Vocals, Finger Snapping
*Pete Childs - Electric, Acoustic Guitar
*John T. Forsha - Acoustic, 12 String Guitar
*Cyrus Faryar - Acoustic Guitar, Bouzouki
*Rusty Faryar - Finger Cymbals
*Jimmy Bond - Bass
*Billy Mundi - Drums, Cymbals, Tambourine
*Alan Wilson - Harmonica
*Nick Venet - Sound Effects

1964-65  Fred Neil - Tear Down The Walls / Bleecker And MacDougal (2001 release) 

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Twilights - The Way They Played Best Of (1965-69 australia, fine beat folk baroque psych, 2013 remaster)

The migrant hostels of the major Australian cities were the fertile breeding grounds for some of the most vital and seminal rock bands in in the early sixties. At Villawood migrant hostel in suburban Sydney, some young and talented music enthusiasts had recently formed into a group called The Easybeats, and that band's story is among the most compelling as any in Aussie rock History. Meanwhile, over in Elizabeth, north of Adelaide in South Australia, another mob of young guys, like so many youths all over the world, were seduced by the magic of The Beatles' film "A Hard Days' Night". Drawn together by their British origins - similar to the impetus that sparked the Easys' genesis - Glenn Shorrock (hailing originally from Kent, UK), and his friends Mike Sykes and Clem "Paddy" McCartney (although born in Belfast, blessed with a classic albatross of a surname!), formed an a-cappella trio to try out their pop and folk wares, eventually gaining regular bookings around the relatively meagre Adelaide folk/coffee-house circuit.

Occasionally, and especially for more prestige engagements, the vocal three-piece teamed with local instrumental outfits, among them The Vector Men and The Hurricanes. Typical of the era, the latter band began as a Shadows-style instrumental act, but soon caught the Brit-invasion bug. The Twilights and The Hurricans developed a solid bond. It was inevitable that with such strong, enthusiastic, precocious and insistent talents as those of Britten, Shorrock and Brideoake rubbing against each other, the prospect of blending it all together would prove irresistible. Thus, the six-piece, fully electric-and-vocal group as we know and revere them, was born.

Still based in Adelaide, self-managed and produced, the newly-formed band released its debut single, "I'll Be Where You Are" on EMI's Columbia imprint in June 1964. A plaintive, Beatle-esque ballad written by Shorrock and Britten, the single got some airplay in Melbourne but failed to chart outside their hometown Subsequent releases made further inroads -- their second single, "Wanted To Sell", cracked the Melbourne charts and the third, the brisk, Brideoake-Britten original "If She Finds Out" gained them fans in Sydney and Brisbane. The Twilights began to cause a stir with their dynamic live shows in Adelaide, and a 'vibe' quickly built about the band who could knock out note-perfect renditions of the latest hits with ease and could also rock out with wild abandon.

Early in 1965, drummer Frank Barnard (who featured on the first two singles) was replaced by Laurie Pryor. Barnard's wife apparently objected to manager Gary Spry's strict "no girlfriends" touring regime, and so Frank quit. Laurie, a locally-known drumming prodigy who had played with Johnny Broome & the Handles in England, immediately jumped at the offer. The new line-up with Pryor remained in place for the rest of the band's career. After taking over the group's management, Spry's strategy was to establish the group in Australia's pop capital, Melbourne, so The Twilights moved there in late 1965, and rapidly became established as one of the top acts in a city that had no shortage of great bands on offers. 

It was with their classsic fifth single "Needle In A Haystack" that The Twilights achieved national success.Its refrain rang out relentlessly on our 2SM/UW; 3UZ/XY; 4BH/BC (etc) "good guy" radio stations during '66. This superb rendition of the Motown song (originally cut by Martha & The Vandellas) flagged them in no uncertain terms as group to watch The single was a Top 10 in most states and reached the coveted #1 spot on the new Go-Set national chart in October 1966. The Twilights had already made big inroads with their previous single, a rendition of Larry Williams' "Bad Boy" that comprehensively whipped The Beatles' better-known version into a cocked hat. And to consolidate, the funky follow-up single to "Haystack" -- a cover of the Sam Cook classic "You Got Soul", together with a strong first album, confirmed critics' and fans' faith in the band.

On their eponymous debut LP, The Twilights demonstrated their diversity as a recording unit. With a strong mix of self-penned tunes, songs specially written for them (by Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees and Hans Poulsen), and tour-de-force reproductions of their stage favourites, the group's dexterity with a variety of styles was proven. A blistering version of The Yardbirds' "I'm Not Talkin' " (consummately seeing off the original with a welter of Britten guitarobatics) contrasted with the mellow tones of The Who's "La La La Lies", The Moody Blues' "Let Me Go" and the thrilling harmonies of Paddy and Glenn on The Hollies' "Yes I Will". Then, just when you thought it safe, along came a white-hot reading of the Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" to close the program in a raspy-vocalled feedback freakout! The David MacKay-produced LP showcased the band's strengths, and presented a potent document to take the nascent group into its most exciting era.

The next milestone was a new established national pop competition, The Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds. Established a couple of years earlier by Everybody's magazine as a talent quest for new unsigned bands, the Battle gained greater credibility and attracted many of the nation's finer outfits when, in 1966, confectioner Hoadleys' (best known for their scrumptious Violet Crumble Bar) assumed sponsogsubip, and the recently-launched Go-Set magazine took over the co-ordination role. The stakes were higher too, with first prize being full return passage to England on the Sitmar cruise line, two definite gigs and $1,000 prize money. The subsequent competitions would see such acts as The Groop and The Masters Apprentices taking out the prize, and many other prominent outfits that would go on to greater success competed in the Battle until its conclusion in 1972. But, as in so many other instances, The Twilights were pioneers.

In July 1966, The Twilights took the stage at Festival Hall, Melbourne, before a full house of screaming, streamer-hurling fans, to win the competition ahead of over 500 other hopefuls. They were awarded bonus points for sound, originality, presentation and audience reaction -- qualities the band already had in abundance (they had already taken out the 1965 title in a local Adelaide competition the previous year). The competition's rules set a maximum group membegsubip of five, which meant that Paddy -- half of the band's twin lead vocal line-up -- had to sit out the winning performance. But he returned to the stage for the triumphant encore and was, luckily, included in the victors' spoils. Any listener will thrill to hear what the fuss was all about -- the full performance is contained on the Raven LP Twilight Time. With the prize in hand, for the world music mecca of London for their biggest adventure yet. 

Miles-ago

Tracks
1. If She Finds Out (Peter Brideoake, Terry Britten) - 2:20
2. It's Dark (Peter Brideoake) - 1:54
3. Bad Boy (Larry Williams) - 2:11
4. Baby Let Me Take You Home (Traditional) - 2:25
5. Sorry She's Mine (Kenny Lynch) - 2:34
6. John Hardy (Manfred Mann, Mike Hugg, Mike Vickers, Paul Jones, Tom McGuinness) - 2:03
7. I'm Not Talking (Mose Allison) - 2:24 
8. Needle In A Haystack (Norman Whitfield, William Stevenson) - 2:10   
9. I Won't Be The Same Without Her (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 2:44 
10.(I'll Be True To You) Yes I Will (Gerry Goffin, Russ Titelman) - 2:52 
11.You've Got Soul (Margaret Nash) - 2:23 
12.What's Wrong With The Way I Live? (Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks) - 1:58   
13.9.50 - 2:31 
14.Cathy Come Home - 2:01 
15.Young Girl (Laurie Pryor) - 2:26 
16.Time And Motion Study Man (Parsons, Terry Britten) - 2:13
17.The Way They Play - 2:14
18.Always - 2:37
19.Once Upon A Twilight - 2:25
20.What A Silly Thing To Do - 2:46
21.Paternosta Row - 3:19
22.Comin' On Down - 2:23
23.Lotus - 2:57
24.Bessemae - 3:07
25.Mr. Nice - 2:01
26.Tell Me Goodbye - 2:24
27.2000 Weeks - 2:10
28.Bargain Day - 3:01
All songs by Terry Britten except where stated

Twilights
*Peter Brideoake - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*Terry Britten - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*John Bywaters - Bass
*Clem "Paddy" Mccartney - Lead Vocals
*Glenn Shorrock - Lead Vocals
*Frank Barnard - Drums (1964-65)
*Laurie Pryor - Drums (1965-69)

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