Perhaps 2017 will finally right the cosmic wrong that keeps Chris Bell a cult figure, relegating his memory to being “the guy that left after Big Star’s first record” or as a lesser-heralded member of “the 27 club”. Before the year is out, the first comprehensive biography of his life, Rich Tupica’s There Was a Light: The Cosmic History of Big Star Founder Chris Bell, will be released. We’re also told to expect a comprehensive, six-LP box set, The Complete Chris Bell, which alleges to make good on the promise of its title.
Omnivore Records offers a stunning first salvo in the re-appraisal of Bell’s work with Looking Forward: The Roots of Big Star. Though it will be filed as such for practical purposes, this is not a “Chris Bell” record in the traditional sense of an artist-in-charge and at the front-and-center of things. It could even be argued that there is no such thing in Bell’s case, for this talented and tragic artist did not release a full-length collection of his own music during his lifetime. The highly regarded I Am the Cosmos collection released in 1992 by Rykodisc made available Bell’s post-Big Star recordings, which had failed to find a sympathetic record label before his death in a car accident in 1978.
Looking Forward: The Roots of Big Star collects material from when Bell was working at Ardent Studios between 1969 and 1971, leading up to the months immediately before Big Star’s formation. The album is credited as “featuring” Bell with a list of collaborators. Both Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens, Bell’s colleagues along with Alex Chilton in Big Star, appear among the many collectives credited here. Other significant contributors include Tom Eubanks, Terry Manning, Alan Palmore, and Steve Rhea, who also contribute to the excellent oral history in the liner notes. This loose group of musicians hanging around during the off-hours of the studio recorded under an assortment of names including the Wallabys, Icewater, and Rock City. That last group’s recordings were previously released by Manning’s own Lucky Seven Records in 2003 and comprise 11 of the tracks here.
Bell appears throughout these tracks as a trusted collaborator and guiding force. Only two of the cuts are credited solely to him, while he shares composition duties on another seven. He sings lead vocals on only four of the tracks and doesn’t even appear on “The Wind Will Cry for Me”. It is his defining guitar work and support vocals that form the most consistent thread throughout the collection and point the way to what will become the Big Star sound. In the group of musicians hanging around Ardent, Bell found a collection of kindred spirits, fellow pop-rebels who looked to England for inspiration while finding themselves growing up at ground-zero of Southern soul. They found joy not in grooving smoothly but rather lurching spastically.
The influence of the British mod and psychedelic music flows through these cuts in a way that distinguishes them from the sounds that Bell would develop with Chilton in Big Star, but the twisted pop sheen is already forming. Palmore’s “Feeling High” shows a clear Beatles influence, while Bell’s own “Psychedelic Stuff” evokes the Pretty Things, and “A Chance to Live” could be a lost track by the Move. Bell’s singing on the version of “My Life Is Right” first recorded with Rock City sounds more confident here, even, than on the version he recorded with Big Star. And the guitar tone on the collection’s opener “Think It’s Time to Say Goodbye” evokes “In the Street” from #1 Record.
Bell’s collaborators demonstrate themselves a talented bunch. There was something in the water or amidst the smoke floating in the air at Ardent Studios during the decade’s turn into the ‘70s. Eubanks, in particular, proves himself a versatile vocalist equally comfortable with a hard rocker’s rasp or a lazy psychedelic croon. Manning’s keyboards and synthesizers color the songs in a way that differentiates them from Big Star, offering more psychedelic flourishes, as in the backward masking on Bell’s “Looking Forward” or the pseudo-mandolin in “The Wind Will Cry For Me”, and his “Sunday Organ” is a standout instrumental contribution.
Listening to Looking Forward: The Roots of Big Star it becomes apparent that, without Chris Bell, there would have been no Big Star. The anthology makes it plain that Bell was one of the great collaborators in rock and roll history and adds further emphasis to just how cruelly the fates have treated him. Compiler Alec Palao makes all the right decisions in his selection and sequencing of these songs, presenting as complete a portrait of an artist still in formation as is possible, offering all sides of Bell: singer, songwriter, lead guitarist, accompanist, and, ultimately, catalyst.
Pop Matters, 30 June 2017
Tracks
1. Rock City - Think It's Time To Say Goodbye (Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 3:56
2. Icewater - All I See Is You (Chris Bell, Steve Rhea) - 3:33
3. Rock City - My Life Is Right (Chris Bell, Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 3:06
4. The Wallabies - Feeling High (Alan Palmore) - 3:21
5. Icewater - Looking Forward (Chris Bell) - 3:39
6. Rock City - The Wind Will Cry For Me (Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 3:07
7. Chris Bell - Psychedelic Stuff (Chris Bell) - 2:48
8. The Wallabies - The Reason (Alan Palmore) - 2:33
9. Rock City - I Lost A Love (Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 3:16
10.Icewater - A Chance To Live - 2:07
11.Rock City - The Answer (Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 3:34
12.Rock City - Lovely Lady (Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 3:09
13.Icewater - Sunshine (Steve Rhea) - 1:40
14.Rock City - Introduction (Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Terry Manning, Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 1:50
15.Rock City - Sunday Organ (Terry Manning) - 3:16
16.Rock City - The Preacher (Chris Bell, Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 3:41
17.Rock City - Shine On Me (Thomas Dean Eubanks) - 2:33
18.Rock City - Try Again (Chris Bell, Alex Chilton) - 3:37
19.Icewater - Germany - 3:34
20.Icewater - Oh My Sou (Alex Chilton) - 3:20
21.Icewater - All I See Is You (Chris Bell, Steve Rhea) - 3:21
22.The Wallabies - Feeling High (Alan Palmore) - 4:50
Fifty years later, NRBQ’s eponymous debut remains a remarkable feat even now. A stunningly ambitious blend of styles and sounds, it comes across as an amazingly adventurous, exploratory mix tape that was far beyond any kind of expectation in 1969 and remains so even now. A remarkable record for the time — and all times really NRBQ can still b e viewed as a dazzling achievement, an example of complete creative control taken to its most unexpected extremes.
Never before re-released, the wait was well worth it. The band seamlessly shift from one genre to another, segueing effortlessly from a loose and limber take on Eddie Cochran’s “C’mon Everybody” to the avante garde expressionism of Sun Ra and Carla Bley (as represented by “Rocket 9 and “Ida,” respectively). That’s only the beginning, as the group veer from an otherwise orthodox version of Bruce Chanel’s classic “Hey! Baby” to the abnormally indescribable closer, “Stay With Me.”
Despite this eclectic overreach, the group take their task in stride. Recorded all in one take, they opt for spontaneity and it shows. NRBQ is indeed a bold statement, one that makes any attempt at categorization wholly superfluous. With the releases of last year’s Happy Talk EP and the sprawling five disc retrospective High Noon it’s clear that legacy continues.
by Lee Zimmerman
Tracks
1. C'mon Everybody (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart) - 3:06
Violence Fog founded in 1969 by members of local bands from the Baden-Baden area. After just a few rehearsals, the band was able to perform for bigger audience. In addition to their own compositions, their repertoire also included “Brother were are you” (Remo Four) and “Paint it black” (Rolling Stones). The band had a lot of fans who followd them to their performances in southwest Germany, in youth centers and music clubs.
They also played on premieres and screenings of music films such as Easy Rider, Woodstock, Alice’s Restaurant and Let it be. There the band achieved a special effect with their elaborate Psychedelic-Light-Show projected onto the cinema screen. In mid-1970, the group had achieved national recognition. They decided to apply to the SWF to participate in this production series on the research promising groups.
This specific event took place on April 23, 1971 and the group recorded the songs in the radio's studio U 1 in Baden-Baden. Although the SWF recordings gave the band another boost and motivation, they broke up a few weeks later for professional reasons. Despite intensive research, no other publishable titles of this great band could be found.
Guitarist Enno Dernov and drummer Herbert Brandmeier left to play at Jud’s Gallery (SWF Sessions Vol. 1), but Enno Dernov decided to leave the group a few months before they started recording with the SWF. He joined Brainstorm and took over the bass on their second LP. The twin brothers Karl-Heinz and Wolfgang Höfer switched to folk music.
Jerusalem formed around 1969/1970 when Matthias Stein and Richard Ress left the group Intoxication and Hungry Love with Günther Rüffel, Wolfgang Hilgert and Bernd Lewandowski broke up. The 5 musicians, 16-20 year old schoolchildren or trainees, had already known each other as an integral part of the young music scene in and around Landau / Pfalz and wanted to set up something of their own because they tired of covering popular bands.
The highly motivated young musicians managed to perform their own compositions and soon were the main attraction of the Landau music scene. In addition to the skillful interaction of the two guitarists (Matthias Stein and Günther Rüffel), the fact that JERUSALEM played with 2 bassists (Richard Reß and Wolfgang Hilgert) was particularly noticeable.
The band's music, committed to the progressive zeitgeist of the time, was an expression of the creative potential of each individual member and was enthusiastically received by the fans. On the occasion of various appearances along with well-known bands such as Ihre Kinder and Frumpy as the opening act. As part of a tour with Frumpy, JERUSALEM not only played in southwest and southern Germany, but also in Austria and Switzerland. JERUSALEM also performed with Fashion Pink (SWF-Sessions Vol.3), Roland Schaeffer's band. Roland Schaeffer was hired by the SWF as a producer for the youth group competition. JERUSALEM applied to the SWF and on June 4th, 1971 they recorded these titles in the radio's studio. All titles were broadcast on SWF 3's Pop-Shop program. Unfortunately, the band could not benefit from the further increase of their popularity.
A few months after the SWF recordings, guitarist and singer Matthias Stein died in a tragic motorcycle accident. Richard Ress, long-time friend of Matthias Stein's, was so shocked that he stopped his music activities and withdrew. These events marked the end of JERUSALEM. Despite intensive research, no further titles - unfortunately also no photos - of the band couldn't be found. The remaining musicians joined other local groups. Günther Rüffel currently plays in a cover band in his spare time. Bernd Lewandowski works as a freelance musician.
Somewhere in between the psychedelic dream and the three-day week lies the curious remains of a bygone age. Electric Asylum 6 unveils an unforgiving world of melodic absurdity with psychotic, at times erotic, and neurotic sounds to arouse the senses one more time. Rocksteady Trojan stalwarts get into their platform boots as Marsha Hunt and her 22 turn the senses inside-out with a venomous rocker for Vertigo. An intrepid Time Lord prescribes a dose of infectious electronica rivaled only by a neurotic blast of Rococo before Buster break into the nearest Moog retailer, triumphant. Prizes go to the first one to spot the leprechaun! Includes a 16-page booklet with comprehensive liner notes and rare color photographs.
Mysterious one-off project, co-led by 3 US expatriots living in Munich, Germany: Keyboardist Jimmy Jackson, drummer George Green and Guitarist William Powell. Major point of interest for most progressive and psychedelic rockfans is Haboobs very significant connection with Amon Düül II. Bandleader Jimmy Jackson plays organ on Amon Düüls Albums "Dance of The Lemmings" and "Wolf City". He also played organ on many LPs of Embryo (Embryos Rache, Steig aus, Rock Session) and has further numerous studio credits (for example: Doldinger's Passport, Tangerine Dream "Electronic Meditation"). On Haboob Jackson effects-laden organ and mellotron (here called "choir-organ) are quite prominent. LP is comprised of a free improvisation, a very Hendrix-inspired Blues and some pretty straight forward funk-rock pieces. The end result is a collaboration between Amon Düül II and early Funkedelic. The music has a lot of appeal and those who are interested in a fusion of Euro-psychedelic rock with hints of funk should definitely seek this one out.
Tracks
1. Israfil - 9:45
2. Blues For Willi Pee - 3:52
3. Sooloo - 5:11
4. Morning Prayer - 5:11
5. Keep On Pushing - 4:42
6. Soldier Boy (Florence Green, Florenz Dixon) - 3:44
7. Time To Be - 3:46
All compositions by James Jackson except where stated.
Following the dissolution of Poet & the One Man Band, Albert Lee (guitar), Pete Gavin (drums), Tony Colton (vocals), and Ray Smith (guitar) got together with Chas Hodges (bass, violin, vocals) and Mike O'Neill (keyboards) to form the country-influenced Heads, Hands & Feet and recorded a double album that had a great deal in common with the work of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Grateful Dead at that time. Their self-titled debut album, populated with guests from the folk and singer/songwriter scenes, was released as a double record in the U.S., but only as a single album in Europe. The record was very well regarded, with Lee's guitar work garnering attention.
Keyboardist O'Neill departed soon after the album's release, and the band proceeded to move away from country influences and toward rock. Band split before the 1973 release of Old Soldiers Never Die, which marked the group's move to Atlantic Records. Albert Lee moved on to found the Albert Lee Band with Pete Gavin and Chas Hodges, and eventually joined Eric Clapton's band. Chas Hodges later formed the duo Chas & Dave with Dave Peacock.
by Steven McDonald
Tracks
1. I'm in Need of Your Help (Pat Donaldson, Raymond Barry Smith, Tony Colton) - 1:51
2. Send Me a Wire - 3:56
3. Look at the World It's Changing/You Because You Know Me - 8:43
4. Green Liquor - 5:48
5. Country Boy (Tony Colton, Albert Lee, Raymond Barry Smith) - 5:34
6. Tryin' to Put Me On - 3:23
7. I Wish You Knew Me - 4:29
8. Devil's Elbow - 5:04
9. Pete Might Spook the Horses (Raymond Barry Smith, Tony Colton, Pete Gavin) - 5:20
10.Everybody's Hustlin'/Hang Me, Dang Me (Tony Colton, Raymond Barry Smith, Chas Hodges) - 8:11
11.Delaware - 4:58
12.The More You Get, the More You Want (Tony Colton, Pete Gavin, Chas Hodges, Albert Lee, Mike O'Neill) - 6:56
13.Song for Suzie - 7:11
14.Tirabad - 3:33
15.Little Bit Lonely - 2:22
All songs by Raymond Barry Smith, Tony Colton except where noted
Heads Hands And Feet
*Tony Colton - Vocals
*Raymond Barry Smith - Guitar, Vocals
*Mike O'Neill - Keyboards, Organ, Piano
*Albert Lee - Guitar, Dobro, Vibes, Moog Synthesizer, Vocals
After a stint in the Army, a college degree, and an Air Force tour, singer/guitarist Tom Mobley kicked around the Indiana music scene playing in the band Shiloh Morning, and working in the duo Pleasant Street, before joining Sequoiah with brothers Bill and Bob Johnson.
Signed by Moe Whittemore's 700 West label, the trio debuted with 1976's cleverly titled "Sequoiah". Produced by Whittemore, the album featured a combination of band originals and covers by the likes of Gordon Lightfoot ('Brave Mountaineers') and Jerry Jeff Walker ('Bo Jangles'). All three members handled vocals with Mobley having the best voice of the three. Musically the album found the trio offering up a pleasant mixture of country-rock numbers and more country oriented numbers. Imagine a mixture of Asleep At the Wheel, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Poco, and you'd be in the right aural neighborhood.
The results were never less than professional, but with the possible exception of the ballad 'Trail of Tears' and 'When You Are Old' nothing here was particularly original, or inspirational. Too be totally honest, were it not for the connection with 700 West, there's a good chance this set would have disappeared without a trace.
'Memories (of a Man and a Woman)' is a pretty, acoustic country-tinged ballad. Nothing particularly original or special, the song's high came in the form of a nice acoustic guitar and some brief harmony vocals. Mobley's 'When You Are Old' is easily one of the best tunes. A pretty country-rock ballad, the tune had a gleaming melody and a nice Mobley vocal - yeah, the lyric was a bit on the sweet side, but it was still a nice performance.
Another album highlight, coutesy of some electtic guitar and producer Whittemore's synthesizers, Mobley's 'We're Al Friends' was the song came the closest to copping a rock attitude. Nice tunePretty acoustic country tune that showcased the trio's sweet harmony vocals and got an extra star for Bill Johnson's unexpected blazing electric guitar solo.
'Trail of Tears' is a beautiful song. Built on a bed of shimmering acoustic guitars and again showcasing their crystalline voices, this was a wonderful performance.
The band seemingly only recorded this one album before calling it quits. Mobley relocated to Florida and has remained active in music, recording a series of ten solo albums.
Bad-Cat
Tracks
1. Memories (Of A Man And Woman) (Bob Johnson) - 3:36
2. I Can'T Make It Any Better (Bill Johnson) - 4:00
“Yesterday’s Gone”: the song by folk-pop duo Chad and Jeremy opens the first of the six discs comprising Cherry Red and RPM’s new box set Fab Gear: The British Beat Explosion and Its Aftershocks 1961967. It’s a most appropriate opener, as yesterday really was gone for an entire generation of artists swiftly rendered obsolete by the emergence of The Beatles. As the box eloquently explains, the Fab Four “in name, song, band structure, image, defined this new Beat music…Until 1967, when The Beatles reinvented pop again with Sgt. Pepper’s, Beat music – in the broadest sense – was the basic template for aspiring young (mainly male) teenagers forming a band.” This CD box collects 180 tracks chronicling this fertile period in British (and by extension) global music history, with an emphasis on new-to-CD cuts and the catalogue of Pye Records. Why Pye? Castle Music’s Beat Beat Beat series dug into the Pye vaults but was aborted before its intended conclusion; this box picks up where that series left off. The sixth disc here is even more collector-oriented, focusing on tracks that initially weren’t released.
As expected for such a large collection, there’s a blend of the famous and the not-so-famous. In the former category are lesser-known tracks from household names like The Kinks, David Bowie (with his early band The Lower Third), The Moody Blues, and The Searchers. Among the latter type are little-known bands whose personnel would become future members of Yes, Fleetwood Mac, Manfred Mann, Traffic, The Move, and Deep Purple, just to name a few. There are plenty of “A-ha!” moments and fascinating discoveries across these six discs. Connections abound between artists, bands, songwriters, and producers on this potpourri of Beat subgenres including rock-and-roll, pop, RAndB, folk, and soul. The chronological approach works well, allowing listeners to trace the development of production styles as well as the growing confidence of bandmates to write their own songs rather than tap established songwriters.
Though The Beatles are naturally absent from this survey, there are Fab connections, such as Marilyn Powell’s groovy, spirited cover of “All My Loving,” one of the first Beatle covers by a female artist; The Tremeloes’ bright take on “Good Day Sunshine;” and The Hi-Fi’s “Baby’s in Black.” Though The Kinks do appear on Fab Gear with “Who’ll Be the Next in Line,” the band is also represented via numerous covers including one from The Doc Thomas Group. Their RAndB-meets-country cover of “Just Can’t Go to Sleep” features none other than a pre-Mott the Hoople Ian Hunter. Ray Davies’ songs were so popular, and so evocative of their period, that this set also features interpretations from the Davies songbook by The Fingers (“I Go to Sleep”), The Thoughts (“All Night Stand”), Gates of Eden (“Too Much on My Mind”), The Attraction (“Party Line”), and Five’s Company (“Session Man”).
America happily adopted the British sound in the 1960s, but Britain enjoyed a cultural exchange too as American RAndB and pop inspired countless U.K. artists. America’s answer to Denmark Street, The Brill Building, is represented by tunes here like Billie Davis’ “That Boy John” (penned by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry), Felders Orioles’ “Down Home Girl” (Jerry Leiber and Artie Butler), The Alan Price Set’s “Any Day Now” (Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard), The Syndicats’ “On the Horizon” (Leiber and Mike Stoller), and The Knack’s “Take Your Love” (Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil). “Love Potion No. 9” was a particular Brill-born favorite. The tale of Madame Rue and her amour-inducing concoction is heard here in versions by Tony Jackson with The Vibrations, as well as The Baskervilles, though the U.S. hit by Liverpool’s The Searchers is absent.
Not too far from the Brill Building, Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe were plying their song trade for Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, among others. The duo’s “She Lied” got the beat ballad treatment from The Buckinghams (of London, not the U.S. group of “Don’t You Care” and “Kind of a Drag” fame). The California sound crossed oceans, too, as evidenced by Tony Rivers And The Castaways’ credible take on The Beach Boys’ driving “Girl Don’t Tell Me.” The Spectrum made David Gates’ Monkees hit “Saturday’s Child” their own, and The Montanas went freakbeat on “That’s When Happiness Began” from the California-by-way-of-Massachusetts songwriting team The Addrisi Brothers. Some of The Montanas’ most enduring A-sides were penned, in part, by Pye’s songwriter-producer-arranger-AAndR man Tony Hatch. His compositions are among the most egregious omissions on this box, although that’s perhaps because his output is so well-represented elsewhere on CD. (Hatch’s behind-the-scenes influence is felt here, however.) Other top-tier U.K. writers are here, though, including Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, John Carter and Ken Lewis, and even the future Sir Tim Rice.
For those wishing to dig deeper, a number of the artists here have had full anthologies released on Cherry Red including The Bo Street Runners (“Bo Street Runner”), The Mike Cotton Sound (“Round and Round”), The Artwoods (“If I Ever Get My Hands on You”), Philip Goodhand-Tait and The Stormsville Shakers (“I’m Gonna Put Some Hurt on You”), The Spectrum (“Saturday’s Child”), and Katch 22 (“Makin’ My Mind Up’).
Fab Gear is a beautifully-designed set. It’s packaged in the style of a hardcover book, with each disc slotted in a page of its own. A 5page, full-color booklet of liner notes from Nick Warburton and Bruce Welsh is worth the price of admission, with track-by-track annotations filling in the blanks on many of the artists who’ve fallen through the cracks over the years. It’s also copiously illustrated with records, sleeves, and artist photos. Simon Murphy has remastered, and the sound is strong throughout.
A treasure trove of enjoyable pop, Fab Gear is a testament to the endurance of the beat boom, not to mention its direct antecedents in rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
by Joe Marchese, June 26, 2018
Artists - Tracks - Composer
Disc 1
1. Chad Stuart And Jeremy Clyde - Yesterday's Gone (Wendy Kidd, Chad Stuart) - 2:31
2. Carter-Lewis And The Southerners - Somebody Told My Girl (Kenneth Hawker, John Shakespeare) - 2:39
3. The Nomads - My Whole Life Through (Stuart Slater) - 2:57
4. Billie Davis - That Boy John (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich) - 2:31
5. Marilyn Powell - All My Loving (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:23
6. The Regents - Bye Bye Johnny (Chuck Berry) - 2:17
7. A Band Of Angels - Me (Mickey Baker, Mike D'Abo) - 2:03
8. Ray Singer - Tell Me Now (Ray Singer) - 2:44
9. Mickey Finn And The Blue Men - Reelin' And A Rockin' (Chuck Berry) - 2:22
10.Le Group 5 - Baby What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Reed) - 4:09
11.The Bo Street Runners - Bo Street Runner (John Dominic) - 2:11
12.Mike Sarne And The Leroys - Love Me Please (Kenny Lynch, Mike Sarne, Clive Westlake) - 2:36
13.The Moody Blues - Lose Your Money (But Don't Lose Your Mind) (Denny Laine, Michael Pinder) - 1:58
14.The Mike Cotton Sound - Round And Round (The Mike Cotton Sound) - 2:36
15.The Others - I'm Taking Her Home (Ian McLintock, Paul Stewart) - 2:17
16.The Artwoods - If I Ever Get My Hands On You (Kenneth Hawker, John Shakespeare) - 2:03
17.Mal Ryder And The Spirits - Your Friend (Marty Wilde) - 2:38
18.Jimmy Royal And The Hawks - I'm Leaving You (T. Delaney, P. Delaney, B. Delaney) - 2:07
19.The Wild Oats - You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover (Willie Dixon) - 2:27
20.Four And One - Don't Lie To Me (Chuck Berry) - 1:53
21.Tommy Bruce And The Bruisers - Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker) - 2:42
22.Grant Tracy - Never Let It Be Said (Roger Cook) - 2:05
23.Angelina - Wishing My Life Away (Del Murray) - 2:10
24.Peter Jay And The Jaywalkers - What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One (Smokey Robinson) - 2:46
A young sunshine pop group that came from the East Coast rather than California (the home of most such acts in the '60s), the Blades of Grass had a mild hit in 1967 with "Happy." Their version made number 87, while a competing version by the Sunshine Company from Southern California got higher, making number 50. Actually the Blades of Grass' single was the much bigger hit in some markets, like New York, Washington DC, and St. Louis. But the two competing versions of the same song split sales, with the Sunshine Company, generally speaking, doing better in the western half of the country, and the Blades of Grass better in the eastern half.
Much of the Blades of Grass's personality was subsumed in the studio, where their tracks were given rather heavy orchestration, and where they seldom recorded original material. They were, however, a real band from the New York metropolitan area, with two of the members coming from Maplewood, NY, and the other two from South Orange, NJ. They were finishing high school around the time they recorded their only album, and unlike many groups from the time (even high school-aged ones), they boasted the clean-cut, short-ish-haired look that was actually much more common among average high schoolers in 1967 than long hair.
Recording for the Jubilee label, their Are Not for Smoking LP was lightly psychedelic-shaded pop, with good harmonies variously reminiscent in spots of the Mamas & the Papas and higher-voiced acts like the Happenings. The songs were more pleasantly romantic than memorable, however, even if they were densely and conscientiously arranged. The Blades of Grass did record a few additional non-LP singles in the late '60s before breaking up. The album, plus seven additional songs (mostly from non-LP 45s), was reissued on CD by Rev-Ola in 2002.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Happy (Tony Michaels, Vinny Gormann) - 2:26
2. Just Ah (Frank DiChiara, Marc Black) - 2:35
3. Tomorrow Is My Turn (Don Askew, Wayne Wadhams) - 2:27
4. Satin Slipper (Billy Meshel, Robert Sedita, Larry Tassi, W. S. "Sonny" Tongue) - 2:07
5. You Won't Find That Girl (Daniel Jay Greene, Donny Marchand) - 2:21
6. Just Another Face (Al Dischel, Joey Day) - 2:47
7. Help! (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:45
8. Or Is It The Rain (Frank DiChiara, Marc Black) - 2:28
9. Walk Away Renee (Bob Calilli, Michael Brown, Tony Sansone) - 2:35
10.That's What A Boy Likes (Bill Jerome, Jr., Steve Jerome) - 2:50
11.The Way You'll Never Be (Don Askew, Wayne Wadhams) - 2:55
12.I Love You Alice B. Toklas (Elmer Bernstein, Larry Tucker, Paul Mazursky) - 2:25
13.You Turned Off The Sun (Jerry Harris, Paul Kaufman) - 2:35
14.Charlie And Fred (Allan Clarke, Graham Nash) - 3:06
15.Pageant (Marc Black) - 3:07
16.If You Love Her, Cherish Her And Such (Fred Haber) - 2:42
17.Baby, You're A Real Good Friend Of Mine (Bill Jerome, Jr., Steve Jerome) - 2:22
18.Leap Into The Arms Of Love (Alan Dischel, Joey Day, Lyn Jerome) - 2:39
With 23 very rare singles originating from all over North America, from 1966-1970 (dates are not given for a couple but they certainly fit the time frame), this is very much in the Pebbles garage compilation mentality. The key difference is that the focus is on a later era -- only two to three years later on the average, mind you, but a significant difference when you're talking about the '60s, when styles and sounds changed very quickly. It logically begets another difference between this and your average garage compilation: there is much more weight given to hard, even heavy, guitar rock and psychedelic lyrics.
Nonetheless, much of the fuzz guitar and cheesy organ texture typical of "classic" garage music remains. You have to dig pretty deep even for any names that are known by association on this comp, as all of the groups are unknown: three members of Adam went on to the Balloon Farm, Light's "Back Up" was produced by Music Machine producer Brian Ross, and Steve Cropper co-produced the Aardvarks' "Subconscious Train of Thought." For all the effort involved in locating these 45s, and the informed and entertaining liner notes.
by Richie Unterberger
Artists - Tracks - Composer
1. The Changin' Tymes - Blue Music Box (Larry Moore, Charles Ferrer) - 2:15
