Axiom - The Axiom Archive (1969-71 australia, remarkable classic soft country rock, 2004 issue)

Formed in Melbourne in 1969, Axiom were arguably Australia's first true supergroup. Yet, in spite of a wealth of talent and promise, some notable chart successes and two superb Albums of original material, they failed to achieve lasting popularity, due in part to waning public support in Australia as they vainly tried to crack the fickle English market, and the band fizzled out after less than two years. Nevertheless, Axiom deserve to be recognised as an important musical bridge between Sixties pop and Seventies rock in Australia, as one of the first serious attempts to make Australian rock with international appeal, and as one of the finest bands of their time.

Axiom was formed by Brian Cadd and Don Mudie, both former members of leading Melbourne popsters The Groop. Cadd, who began his career with Melbourne's The Jackson Kings, was already a prominent singer, songwriter and keyboard player. Besides his success with The Groop, he wrote hits for other acts, including "Elevator Driver" for the Master's Apprentices and "When I Was Only Six Years Old" for Ronnie Burns (which was also a UK hit for Paul Jones) and both he and Mudie worked as session players on a number of important recordings including the Russell Morris' classics "The Real Thing" and "Part III into Paper Walls".

After linking up in The Groop, Mudie and Cadd formed a successful songwriting partnership that carried on through Axiom and beyond. Shorrock was the former lead singer of The Twilights; Lavery was from Perth's (in)famous The Valentines; Stockley was from leading Melbourne group Cam-Pact.

The formation of Axiom was apparently somewhat controversial, and there have been suggestions (probably based on reports in Go-Set) that Cadd & Mudie had deliberately engineered the break-up of The Groop in order to be able to form Axiom. The offer was evidently an attactive one -- Lavery and Stockley quit their respective bands and Shorrock withdrew from managing Melbourne band The Avengers to join. The Groop split after Mudie and Cadd had conducted lengthy (and apparently secret) negotiations to recruit Terry Britten who, like Shorrock had been a member of the recently defunct Twilights. They were unsuccessful in snaring Britten, but this evidently enabled them to make the link that resulted in the recruitment of Shorrock.

Axiom signed to Ron Tudor's Fable Records. Their first single "Arkansas Grass" (co-written by Cadd and Mudie) was an immediate hit, reaching #7 in December 1969. Cadd, like many other Aussie musicians, had been deeply influenced by the trend towards a fusion of country and folk elements with rock, spearheaded by acts like Dylan, The Byrds, Crosby Stills & Nash and especially The Band. Songs like "Arkansas Grass" show how well and how quickly Axiom mastered the idiom, and proved that they were able to create material that could stand up against (or indeed pass for) that of any major American group.

Axiom, and Brian Cadd in his later solo work, have sometimes been criticised for the overt "American-ness" of some of their songs. There is no denying it, but there are several important factors that need to be understood when considering why Cadd and Mudie took to this style so enthusiastically. It's tempting to think that they had the US market in mind but Brian Cadd . Moreover, The Groop had been leading local proponents of soul and R&B, but Australian radio's entrenched resistance to black music -- even of the homegrown variety -- made it clear that this route would soon be a musical dead-end, at least in commercial terms (and it was not until the advent of disco in the late 1970s that this changed).

Brian Cadd was by no means the only ones smitten by the charms of innovations of The Band. George Harrison and Eric Clapton have openly admitted that lyrical honesty and the rootsy, organic musical style of The Band's first two LPs completely transformed the direction of their own music (a fact clearly in evidence on Clapton and Harrison's early solo albums) and as well a providing a rich new musical vocabulary, The Band caught the ears of many songwriters with their use of American Civil War imagery (also prominent on "Arkansas Grass"). The currency has faded now, but at the time it provided a convenient allegory that writers like Cadd and Mudie could use to refer to the controversial war then raging in Indochina, without facing the very real risk of having their anti-war messages censored by record labels or denied airplay by radio.

Doug Lavery left the band in early 1970 to join The Mixtures and was replaced by Don Lebler (ex-The Avengers). Axiom left for London in April with publishing deal from Leeds Music and reported record deal offers from both Apple and Decca. Their attempts to break into the English scene were understandable in the context of the time, but in retrospect their material clearly suggests that they would have been much more likely to succeed in America (as LRB would ultimately prove). Indeed, the latter part of their career suggest that they were heading in that direction, as so often happened, it seems that they lacked the necessary management and record company support.

They released their second single "Little Ray of Sunshine" just prior to leaving for England. Fool's Gold unquestionably ranks as one of the best and most original Aussie albums of the period, and (in my opinion) one of the best Australian pop-rock albums ever. It was also a significant step forward in creative control, being one of the very first Australian rock albums released on a major label that was produced by the artists themselves. Axiom was able to take advantage of the great improvement in sound provided by the new 8-track facilities at Armstrong's Studios, which showcased a selection of superb songs, brilliantly performed. Like the equally overlooked 1970 LP Prepared In Peace by Flying Circus, Fool's Gold was an important bridge between pop and country rock, and another notable feature is the closing track, "Who Am I Gonna See?", which is probably the first Australian pop-rock recording to use a didgeridoo in the arrangement.

Although there is a strong American flavour to many of the songs, Fool's Gold anticipated the approach taken by later acts like The Dingoes and Skyhoooks, and features some of the first examples of Australian pop songwriters tackling distinctly Australian themes and using local references, notably on the tracks "Mansfield Hotel" and "Once A Month Country Race Day". Soon after arriving in England, Axiom signed a three-year contract with Warner's Reprise label. Evidently Warners were sufficiently impressed to assign the making of band's third single to legendary American-born producer Shel Talmy (The Kinks, The Who, Creation, Manfred Mann, The Easybeats). The single "Father Confessor" was released in July, but after the spectacular success of the first two singles, this one curiously failed to chart at all in Australia, probably due to the effect of the recently imposed 1970 Radio Ban.

Milesago

Tracks

1. Arkansas Grass - 3:07

2. Baby Bear - 3:47

3. Ford's Bridge - 3:43

4. Samantha - 2:37

5. Take It Or Leave It - 2:34

6. A Litttle Ray Of Sunshine - 3:20

7. Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow - 2:55

8. Mansfield Hotel - 3:40

9. Can't Let Go Out This Feeling - 3:25

10.Country Pickin' - 1:21

11.Once A Month Country Race Day - 2:25

12.Fool's Gold - 4:31

13.Who Am I Gonna See? - 4:22

14.Same Old Country Song - 2:23

15.My Baby's Gone - 3:16

16.Father Confessor - 3:28

17.Hold The Phone - 3:16

18.Sailing Ships - 3:30

19.Talking About It - 3:03

20.Time And Time Again - 3:36

21.Longest Day - 3:28

22.Matter Of Time - 2:41

23.Show Me The Way - 4:00

24.Rolling And Tumbling Down - 2:39

All compositions by Brian Cadd, Don Mudie

Tracks 23-24 as Brian Cadd And Don Mudie

Tracks 1-13 taken from the Fool's Gold album, 1970

Track 14 recorded for ABC-TV series GTK

Tracks 15-22 taken from the If Only album, 1971. Produced by Shel Talmy in London

Tracks 23-24 by Brian Cadd and Don Mudie, 1971

Axiom

*Brian Cadd - Keyboards, Vocals

*Don Mudie - Bass

*Glenn Shorrock - Vocals

*Chris Stockley – Guitar

*Doug Lavery - Drums (1969)

*Don Lebler - Drums (1969-71)

Related Acts

1965-69  Twilights - The Way They Played Best Of (2013 remaster)  

1966-68  The Master's Apprentices - The Master's Apprentices (2009 double disc digipak edition)

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Santana - Abraxas (1970 outstanding latin jazz psych rock, 2020 SACD Hybrid and 2001 bonus tracks editions)

 

Carlos Santana is one of the three new guitarists who border on B. B. King's cleanliness. His only two contemporaries are Eric Clapton and Michael Bloomfield, but Santana is playing Latin music and there are no other Latin bands using lead guitars. The paradoxical thing about Santana has been their acceptance by a teenybop audience that digs Grand Funk and Ten Years After when they should be enjoyed by people who are into Chicago and John Mayall.

The heart of Santana is organist Gregg Roli and bassist Dave Brown, who hold the rhythm together over which the percussion unit can jam and bounce. Timbales, congas (Puerto Rican) and drums take off on Brown's rhythm and then Santana himself comes in to make his statements on lead guitar.

Carlos Santana is a Chicano and he loves the guitar, which has always been used heavily in Mexican music. He has perfected a style associated with blues and cool jazz and crossed it with Latin music. It works well, because the band is one of the tightest units ever to walk into a recording studio. Of white bands, only Chicago can equal their percussion, but Chicago is held together by horns, while Santana is held together by timbales and congas.

"Oye Como Va" is the highlight of the album. It's only weakness is that Roli's fine organ has been mixed too low. This is a different trip for Santana, much more into the styles of the younger Puerto Rican musicians in New York, like Orchestra DJ and Ray Olan, and farther from the Sly trip that dominated their first album. Unless you really dig Latin music or some of the middle period work of Herbie Mann and the Jazz Messengers, you may not enjoy this cut or the album at all.

Abraxas is one of the new independent productions for Columbia done at Wally Heider's studio, and bass player Dave Brown did much of the engineering. The album he has helped to come up with may lose Santana some of their younger audience, but is bound to win them respect from people interested in Latin jazz music. On Abraxas, Santana is a popularized Mono Santamaria and they might do for Latin music what Chuck Berry did for the blues.

The major Latin bands in this country gig for $100 a night, and when you see them, you can't sit still. If Santana can reach the pop audience with Abraxas, then perhaps there will be room for the old masters like La Lupe and Puente to work it on out at the ballrooms. But for now, Abraxas is a total boogie and the music is right from start to finish.

by Jim Nash, Dec 24, 1970

Tracks

1. Singing Winds, Crying Beast (Michael Carabello) - 4:51

2. Black Magic Woman - Gypsy Queen (Gabor Szabo, Peter Green) - 5:20

3. Oye Como Va (Tito Puente) - 4:19

4. Incident At Nneshabur (Alberto Gianquinto, Carlos Santana) - 5:01

5. Se A Cabo (José "Chepito" Areas) - 2:52

6. Mother's Daughter (Gregg Rolie) - 4:28

7. Samba Pa Ti (Carlos Santana) - 4:48

8. Hope You're Feeling Better (Gregg Rolie) - 4:17

9. El Nicoya (José "Chepito" Areas) - 1:32

10.Se a Cabó" (José "Chepito" Areas) - 3:47

11.Toussaint L'Overture (Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José Areas, Mike Carabello) - 4:52

12.Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen (Gabor Szabo, Peter Green) - 4:57

Bonus Tracks 10-12 on 2001 edition Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, April 18, 1970

Santana

*Carlos Santana - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals

*Gregg Rolie - Keyboards, Lead Vocals

*David Brown - Bass

*Michael Shrieve - Drums

*José "Chepito" Areas - Percussion, Congas, Timbales

*Michael Carabello - Percussion, Conga, Keyboards 

With

*Rico Reyes - Backing Vocal, Percussion 

*Alberto Gianquinto - Piano

1971  Santana - Santana III (2016 mobile fidelity and 2006 double disc edition)  

1972  Santana - Caravanserai (2011 MFSL Ultradisc)  

1972  Carlos Santana And Buddy Miles - Live! (2005 japan remaster)

1973  Santana - Welcome (2003 remaster)  

Related Act

1966  William Penn And His Pals - William Penn And His Pals

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The Association - Insight Out (1967 us, beautifully textured harmonies and choruses into folk rock garage punk, novelty tunes, and psychedelia, 2008 japan bonus tracks remaster)

Who's trippin’ down the streets of the city / Smilin' at everybody she sees / Who's reachin' out to capture a moment?  Everyone knows it’s Windy!

And most everyone knows Ruthann Friedman’s 1967 pop classic which not only hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart but was featured on The Association’s third album and first long-player for Warner Bros. Records, Insight Out.  But everyone would be forgiven for thinking that the LP was entitled Windy, so prominent was the name of the single on the album cover.  But there’s much more to Insight Out.

Helmed by producer Bones Howe, beginning a short but important relationship with the group, it also boasts P.F. Sloan’s shimmering “On a Quiet Night,” and two songs by the team of Dick and Don Addrisi. The first, the ebullient “Happiness Is,” could virtually be the calling card of the entire sunshine pop genre.  The second, “Never My Love,” was an instant standard.  It climbed its way to a No. 2 chart placement, and BMI actually ranked the song the second-most played hit on radio and television of the entire twentieth century.  (For those wondering, it was sandwiched between “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’” at No. 1 and “Yesterday” at No. 3.  Not bad company, eh?)  Mike Deasy, known more as a top session guitarist rather than a songwriter, brought in a strong song of his own, “Wantin’ Ain’t Gettin’,” which was outfitted with a timely sitar arrangement.  Now, all of those songs and more are yours to savor on a deluxe, expanded mono edition of Insight Out from Now Sounds, following the label’s reissues of three other albums by the classic band of harmony purveyors.

The success of Insight Out was far from pre-ordained.  The band had become accustomed to a revolving door of producers, with Curt Boettcher having helmed their debut And Then…Along Comes the Association and Jerry Yester in charge of its follow-up, Renaissance.  Yester hoped to continue working with The Association, but his productions of “Never My Love” and the antiwar “Requiem for the Masses” hadn’t met with much favor by the Valiant Records brass.  Jules Alexander had exited the group for a pilgrimage to India.  And The Association's Valiant home was about to be purchased by Warner Bros. Records, along with the band's contract.  After the lofty heights scaled by “Cherish” and “Along Comes Mary” from the first album, the two singles off Renaissance failed to make much of an impression.  Enter Bones Howe, originally an engineer with a varied C.V. who had scored successes producing The Turtles on such songs as P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri’s “You Baby” and Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe.”

As Howe recalls in reissue producer Steve Stanley’s comprehensive liner notes for the new edition, ““I made a deal with their manager, Pat Colecchio.  Initially he called me up and said, ‘The guys are going to write some songs and you can bring some songs to them.’ And I said, ‘Well look, are they going to turn me down on every song because they didn’t write it?’ And Pat said, ‘You bring songs to them and they’ll bring songs to you. If you both like them, you can record them.’ And I thought that was fair enough; I’m sure that we can find some common ground. And ‘Never My Love’ was one of those songs. That, in my estimation, was one of the best records I ever made.”  Considering Howe also produced those Turtles hits, The 5th Dimension’s “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” The Monkees’ “Someday  Man” and music for artists ranging from Elvis Presley to Tom Waits, that’s no small praise from the modest producer.  (I won’t spoil any more of the interviews you’ll find excerpted in Insight Out’s 16-page booklet, including reminisces from Ruthann Friedman, Dick Addrisi, P.F. Sloan and Association members Russ Giguere, Jim Yester, Terry Kirkman and Larry Ramos!)  Though the members of The Association were accomplished musicians, the studio veterans of Los Angeles’ Wrecking Crew were brought in for the sessions.

By April 1967 the Valiant deal with Warner was sealed, and hopes were high for the band’s debut on the Burbank-based label.  Howe and The Association had, indeed, found common ground.  The group had found a new member, as well.  Larry Ramos had spent some four years as a member of The New Christy Minstrels, honing the vocals that would make him an integral part of The Association’s blend.  He would also serve as lead guitarist.

That debut single would be Friedman’s “Windy” b/w “Sometime,” a Russ Giguere composition that would appear alongside “Windy” on the new album.  “Windy” went to No. 1 that July, and by September, the LP Insight Out had climbed all the way to No. 8 on the LP chart, the group’s most successful studio album.   The hits just kept on coming; “Never My Love” nearly matched the quick success of “Windy,” hitting No. 2 in November and No. 1 on the Cashbox chart.

In a marked change from the entirely self-written Renaissance, only five of the eleven songs on Insight Out were penned by band members, but each song was choice.  Ted Bluechel’s lush, romantic “We Love Us” is as irresistible as Jim Yester’s “When Love Comes to Me” is buoyant.  Russ Giguere’s “Sometime” is very much of its time, with an inward-looking lyric befitting the album’s title of Insight Out: “Is there heaven on Earth?/If there is what’s it worth?/Are we really living/Or are we a shadow/Of what life can be?/Is the answer inside of me?”  Terry Kirkman supplied the nostalgic throwback “Wasn’t It a Bit Like Now?” (“Instead of groovy, it was keen/And jeepers, it’s wow!/It just doesn’t seem that different now”) as well as the stirring album closer “Requiem for the Masses.”

A generous eleven bonus tracks have been included on Insight Out, doubling the album's number of songs.  They include “Autumn Afternoon,” the Addrisi Brothers song that was Howe’s first production for The Association.  It’s been rescued from the Warner Bros. vaults to make its debut here.  It’s joined by six instrumentals that offer a window into the rich, lush arrangements crafted by Howe, Clark Burroughs, Ray Pohlman, Bill Holman and the band members themselves.   You’ll also find both sides of the two mono singles from the album, “Windy” b/w “Sometime” and “Never My Love” b/w “Requiem for the Masses.”

by Joe Marchese, November 1st, 2011 

Tracks

1. Wasn't It a Bit Like Now? (Terry Kirkman) - 3:31

2. On A Quiet Night (P. F. Sloan) - 3:21

3. We Love Us (Ted Bluechel) - 2:25

4. When Love Comes To Me (Jim Yester) - 2:45

5. Windy (Ruthann Friedman) - 2:56

6. Reputation (Tim Hardin) - 2:39

7. Never My Love (Don Addrisi, Dick Addrisi) - 3:10

8. Happiness Is (Don Addrisi, Dick Addrisi) - 2:13

9. Sometime (Russ Giguere) - 2:38

10.Wantin' Ain't Gettin' (Mike Deasy) - 2:20

11.Requiem for the Masses (Terry Kirkman) - 4:08

12.Windy (Ruthann Friedman) - 2:59

13.Never My Love (Don Addrisi, Dick Addrisi) - 2:55

Bonus Tracks 12-13

The Association

*Russ Giguere - Vocals, Guitar

*Brian Cole - Vocals, Bass

*Terry Kirkman - Vocals, Brass, Woodwinds

*Jim Yester - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards

*Larry Ramos, Jr. - Vocals, Guitar

*Ted Bluechel Jr - Vocals, Drums

With

*Jerry Scheff - Bass

*Hal Blaine - Drums 

*Joe Osborn - Bass  

*Mike Deasy - Guitar

*Larry Knechtel - Keyboards

*Ray Pohlman - Bass  

*Dennis Dudimir - Guitar

*Al Casey - Guitar

*Gary Coleman - Vibes, Percussion

*Arthur Breigleb - French Horns

*Gale Robinson- French Horns

*Vince Derosa- French Horns

*Richard Perissi- French Horns

*Ian Freebairn Smith - Trumpets

*Jules Chaikin - Trumpets

*Oliver Mitchell - Trumpets

*Bob Edmondson - Trombones

*John T. Johnsosn - Saxophones

*Gene Cipriano - Saxophones

*Bud Shank - Flute

1966-69  The Association - Original Album Series (2016 five discs box set)  

1966  The Association - And Then...Along Comes (2013 Japan remaster)
1968  The Association - Birthday (2013 Japan remaster)
1969  The Association - The Association

1970  The Association - Live (2003 remaster)
1972  The Association - Waterbeds In Trinidad 

Related Act

1971  Russ Giguere - Hexagram 16 (2013 reissue)  

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Karthago - Second Step (1973 germany, remarkable kraut prog rock, 2011 bonus tracks remaster)

Karthago were founded in Berlin by Joey Albrecht (guitar, vocals, originally from Hannover) and Gerald Luciano Hartwig (bass). Since 1968, they had performed together in clubs as the duo Blues Machine. In 1970, they engaged the Bolivian percussionist Thomas Goldschmitt (mainly hand percussion) and soon landed a recording contract with BASF. Just a month before the recordings of their first album began, two additional members were added to their line-up: Ingo Bischof (keyboards) and Wolfgang Brock (drums). "Karthago" was recorded in October 1971 at Audio Tonstudio, Berlin with Dieter Zimmermann producing and Stan Regal engineering. It was released in a spectacular, inventive and expensive six-part fold-out cover with several die cuts!

Certainly a lavish package, recalling the multi-coloured and psychedelic Santana album designs - but actually outdoing them! Karthago's sound was graced with excellent heavy guitar work and the funky, gutsy vocals of J. Albrecht, recalling the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the heavy progressive funk band Funkadelic. The best tracks in this style were "Why Don't You Stop Buggin' Me Babe" and "String Rambler". Others, like the catchy little instrumental "Nos Vamos", had a more distinct Latin character, very much like early Santana. This is a very underrated album! Few other German bands recorded music in this particular style.

More Santana-esque instrumental work was present on "Second Step", recorded at Windrose Dumont Time, Hamburg, May 1973, with C. & M. Hudalla producing. This was much more of a joint group effort, balanced between jazzy keyboards, heavy guitars and South American rhythms. Most of the material was great, but Ingo Bischof's compositions were a bit out of place - his songs were almost singer-songwriter type of ballads! Original drummer W. Brock had left for The Rattles in February 1973 and was replaced by Norbert 'Panzer' Lehmann on this album. 

Collecting-Tull

Tracks

1. Pacemaker (Gerald Luciano Hartwig, Ingo Bischof, Joey Albrecht, Tommy Goldschmidt) - 2:44

2. I Don't Care (Joey Albrecht, T. M. Fabian) - 5:46

3. Crosswords And Intermissions (Lee Gates, Ingo Bischof) - 6:44

4. Don't Send Me Your Money, Send Me Your Heart (Joey Albrecht, T. M. Fabian) - 5:15

5. Wild River (Joey Albrecht, T. M. Fabian) - 5:28

6. Lamento Juvenil (Start To Fight) (Joey Albrecht, Tommy Goldschmidt, Tommy Goldschmidt) - 3:49

7. California Gigging (Lee Gates, Gerald Luciano Hartwig) - 3:05

8. Oberbaum Bridge (Lee Gates, Ingo Bischof) - 7:37.

9. Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) - 2:39

10.Going Down (Don Nix) - 3:45

Bonus Tracks 9-10

Karthago

*Joey Albrecht - Guitar, Vocals 

*Ingo Bischof - Keyboards, Vocals, Clavinet, Grand Piano

*Tommy Goldschmidt - Drums, Timbales, Vibraslap, Guiro, Claves

*Gerald Luciano Hartwig - Bass, Percussion, Vocals 

*"Panzer" Paul Lehmann - Drums

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Saft - Horn (1971 norway, fine melt of glam rock blues prog psych, 2021 remaster)

Rock band from Bergen, formed in late 1969 , and disbanded  in the spring of 1974. They  had several reunions since then. Saft was among the first rock bands to sing in Nynorsk ("Fjovisere" in 1971), also made history when they won the European summit with "People In Motion" in November 1971.

The members of the first Saft incarnation came from other established Bergen bands: Ove Thue (vocals, guitar), Tom Harry Halvorsen (keyboards, vocals) and Trygve Thue (guitar, vocals) from Neither Nor, Magne Lunde (drums) from Human Beings, and Rolf Skogstrand (bass) from various - including Human Beings. The band had ample opportunity to play in the hippie musical Hair on the National Stage in Bergen in the autumn of 1970. A recording from the performance was released on LP by Polydor just before Christmas 1970. Saft made a demo recording of their self-composed material at about the same time, and a contract deal with Polydor.

In summer of 1971 they released "People In Motion" / "Albertine Hall", which was a big success and critical aclaimed. The record was chosen as Norway's contribution to the European Summit on November 20, 1971. “Horn” was their second album released in 1971 an experimental record with diverse styles, and improvisations with all members contribute in songwriting.

Tracks

1. Green Grass (Tom H. Halvorsen) - 4:57

2. Not Going Bald (Ove Thue) - 2:38

3. See Me (Ove Thue, Tom H. Halvorsen, Trygve Thue) - 6:07

4. Take Off (Trygve Thue) - 0:58

5. Help, I'm In The Middle Of The World (Trygve Thue) - 3:37

6. Rubber Boots (Tom H. Halvorsen) - 0:37

7. People In Motion (Ove Thue) - 3:10

8. Sky Hy (Tom H. Halvorsen) - 3:07

9. You Can Always Have A Go (Tom H. Halvorsen, Trygve Thue) - 3:09

10.Omaka Si Pi (Magne Lunde, Ove Thue, Rolf Skogstrand, Tom H. Halvorsen, Trygve Thue) - 7:10

Saft

*Ove Thue - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Flexatone

*Trygve Thue - Acoustic, Slide, Electric Guitars, Vocals

*Tom H. Halvorsen - Organ, Acoustic, Electric Pianos, Vocals

*Rolf Skogstrand - Bass, Vocals

*Magne Lunde - Drums

With

*Gunnar Aas - Drums, Congas 

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Santana - Santana III (1971 us, a savage beauty blend of latin acid jazz psych rock, 2016 mobile fidelity and 2006 double disc edition)

Santana III is an album that undeservingly stands in the shadows behind the towering legend that is the band's second album, Abraxas. This was also the album that brought guitarist Neal Schon -- who was 17 years old -- into the original core lineup of Santana. Percussionist Thomas "Coke" Escovedo was brought in to replace (temporarily) José Chepitó Areas, who had suffered a brain aneurysm, yet who recovered quickly and rejoined the band. The rest were Carlos, organist Gregg Rolie, drummer Michael Schrieve, bassist David Brown, and conguero Michael Carabello. "Batuka" is the powerful first evidence of something being very different. 

The band was rawer, darker, and more powerful with twin leads and Schon's harder, edgier rock & roll sound paired with Carlos' blend of ecstatic high notes and soulful fills. It cooks -- funky, mean, and tough. "Batuka" immediately transforms itself into "No One to Depend On," by Escovedo, Carabello, and Rolie. The middle section is highlighted by frantic handclaps, call-and-response lines between Schon and Rolie, and Carlos joining the fray until the entire track explodes into a frenzied finale. And what's most remarkable is that the set just keeps on cooking, from the subtle slow burn of "Taboo" to the percussive jam workout that is "Toussaint l'Overture," a live staple in the band's set list recorded here for the first time (and featuring some cooking Rolie organ work at its beginning). "Everybody's Everything" is here, as is "Guajira" and "Jungle Strut" -- tunes that are still part of Santana's live show. With acoustic guitars, gorgeous hand percussion, and Santana's fragile lead vocal, "Everything's Coming Our Way" is the only "feel good" track here, but it's a fitting way to begin winding the album down with its Schon and Santana guitar breaks. 

The album ends with a completely transformed reading of Tito Puente's "Para los Rumberos," complete with horns and frantic, almost insanely fast hand drumming and cowbell playing. It's an album that has aged extremely well due to its spare production (by Carlos and the band) and its live sound. This is essential Santana, a record that deserves to be reconsidered in light of its lasting abundance and vision. 

by Thom Jurek

With Guitar Virtuoso Neal Schon in Fold, Santana Makes Musical Magic That Truly Spans the Globe Years Before “World Music” Became a Genre

The final Santana album recorded with the leader’s famed Woodstock lineup, one of the most capable and explosive bands ever assembled, Santana III (commonly referred to as The Third Album) is a beacon of Latin-tinged rock, melodic creativity, and cohesive interplay. The record also marks the debut of young guitar virtuoso Neal Schon, who functions as the ideal foil to Santana, whose playing on this 1971 set rivals that of the finest in his career. If not for arriving after the monumental Abraxas, it is likely Santana IIIwould be mentioned in the same breath as groundbreaking psychedelic classics such as Bitches Brew. It’s that good.

Embracing the concept that all of the members should share their musical ideas, Santana added two crucial components to his band: Schon, discovered at the age of 15 playing in a Palo Alto club, and Thomas “Coke” Escovedo, who during the sessions temporarily replaced ill percussionist Chepito Areas, and whose percussive assistance helped define the album’s feel. With Schon in the fold, Santana strives for the unknown, and yet, manages to stave off the numbing excesses that define much of the period’s output.

From the opening “Batuka,” peppered with Schon’s stirring guitar lines, to the sensitive “Everything Is Coming Our Way,” infused with a mesmerizing Hammond organ underpinning that supports Santana’s vocal pathos, the record teams with inventiveness. Involving albeit accessible concoctions of funk, jazz, rock, blues, and soul run throughout the set. Spanish-styled flavors infuse a majority of the material, ranging from the salsa piano on “Guarjira” to the distinctive “No One to Depend On,” a lively take on the cha-cha-cha.

A globe-spanning armada of percussive instruments – timbales, congas, drums, vibes, tambourines, and more – as well as the existence of a three-person percussion team that fits in harmoniously with Santana, Schon, and company makes Santana III a masterful accomplishment in musical chemistry and the exploration of true world craft.

The tension of Schon’s guitar lines, the album’s open sound, and extensive use of studio echoes (check the presence of the backward echo on “No One to Depend On”) fill the soundstage, replete with the kind of depth and dynamics one expects from a first-rate audiophile recording.

Audio Venue

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Batuka (Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José Areas, Mike Carabello) - 3:34

2. No One To Depend On (Coke Escovedo, Michael Carebella) - 5:31

3. Taboo (Gregg Rolie, José Areas) - 5:35

4. Toussaint L'Overture (Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José Areas, Mike Carabello) - 5:59

5. Everybody's Everything (Carlos Santana, Milton Brown, Tyrone Moss) - 3:33

6. Guajira (Chepito Reyes, David Brown, Rico Reyes) - 5:45

7. Jungle Strut (Gene Ammons) - 5:22

8. Everything's Coming Our Way (Carlos Santana) - 3:16

9. Para Los Rumberos (Tito Puente) - 2:46

10.Gumbo (Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie) - 4:24

11.Folsom Street  One (Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie) - 7:08

12.Banbeye (Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José Areas, Mike Carabello) - 10:21

13.No One to Depend On (Coke Escovedo, Michael Carebella) - 3:13

Tracks 1-9 Original Album

Bonus Tracks 10-12 Legacy edition previously unissued studio recordings 

Bonus Track 13 Legacy edition single version

Disc 2 

1. Batuka (Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José Areas, Mike Carabello) - 3:47

2. No One to Depend On (Coke Escovedo, Michael Carebella) - 5:29

3. Toussaint L'Overture (Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José Areas, Mike Carabello) - 6:10

4. Taboo (Gregg Rolie, José Areas) - 5:10

5. Jungle Strut (Gene Ammons) - 5:49

6. Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen (Peter Green, Gábor Szabó) - 6:15

7. Incident At Neshabur (Alberto Gianquinto, Carlos Santana) - 5:28

8. In A Silent Way (Joe Zawinul, Miles Davis) - 6:55

9. Savor (Gregg Rolie, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José Areas, Mike Carabello) - 3:35

10.Para los Rumberos (Tito Puente) - 3:41

11.Gumbo (Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie) - 5:26

Live at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, California, July 4, 1971

Santana

*Gregg Rolie - Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Piano

*Carlos Santana - Guitar, Vocals

*Neal Schon - Guitar

*David Brown - Bass

*Michael Shrieve - Drums, Percussion

*José "Chepito" Areas - Percussion, Conga, Timbales, Drums

*Mike Carabello - Percussion, Conga, Tambourine, Vocals

With

*Rico Reyes - Percussion, Vocals, Vocals 

*Thomas "Coke" Escovedo - Percussion, Vocals

*Luis Gasca - Trumpet 

*Mario Ochoa - Piano 

*Tower Of Power - Horn Section 

*Linda Tillery - Background Vocals

*Greg Errico - Tambourine

1973  Santana - Welcome (2003 remaster)  

1972  Santana - Caravanserai (2011 MFSL Ultradisc)  

1972  Carlos Santana And Buddy Miles - Live! (2005 japan remaster)

Related Act

1966  William Penn And His Pals - William Penn And His Pals

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Lindisfarne - Back And Fourth (1978 uk, wonderful folk soft rock, 2007 japan extra tracks remaster)

This was Lindisfarne's comeback album after a fairly dire patch in the mid-'70s. Back and Fourth (originally issued by Polygram) was smoothly commercial.

With its original lineup back together, Lindisfarne went for the gold this time, building their music on folk-like melodies (and a distinctly American sound, at that), country-type hooks ("King's Cross Blues"), and pleasing harmonies, exemplified by "Warm Feeling," where the group sounds like an earthier, edgier Firefall.

Alan Hull's writing also took on a trans-Atlantic character -- gone was the distinct English character of songs like "Fog on the Tyne," and in its place was a poppier American sound, with some brief, embarrassing digressions into funky R&B ("Get Wise"). "Woman," whose subject is no more ambitious than its title, would have been an embarrassment to Lindisfarne during the early '70s, but it was the kind of sound that didn't offend radio programmers, and "Run for Home" became a familiar track on FM radio even in America, where the band had scarcely made any impression in earlier years.

Producer Gus Dudgeon kept the instrumentation simple and the sound pretty much rooted in midtempo rock, and the result was a pleasing collection of new tunes. 

by Bruce Eder

Tracks

1. Juke Box Gypsy - 2:23

2. Warm Feeling (Ray Jackson, Charlie Harcourt) - 4:00

3. Woman - 3:22

4. Only Alone - 3:41

5. Run For Home - 4:19

6. Kings Cross Blues (Ray Jackson, Charlie Harcourt) - 3:43

7. Get Wise - 3:08

8. You And Me - 3:03

9. Marshall Riley's Army - 3:38

10.Angels At Eleven - 2:55

11.Make Me Want To Stay - 3:57

12.Stick Together (David Edgar, Simon Cowe) - 3:13

13.Brand New Day - 3:31

All music and Lyrics by Alan Hull except where indicated

Lindisfarne

*Alan Hull - Vocals, Acoustic, Electric, 12-String Guitars, Keyboards

*Ray Jackson - Vocals, Mandolin, Harmonica

*Rod Clements - Electric Bass, Acoustic, Electric, 12-String Guitars, Violin

*Simon Cowe - Lead, Acoustic, 12-String Guitars, Mandolin, Vocals

*Ray Laidlaw - Drums

1970-73  Lindisfarne - The Charisma Years (2010 four disc set edition)  

1973  Alan Hull - Pipedream (2005 remaster and expanded)  

1974  Lindisfarne - Happy Daze (2008 remaster with bonus tracks)

Related Acts

1970  Junco Partners - Junco Partners (2007 reissue)  

1970  Jackson Heights - King Progress  

1971  Bell And Arc - Bell + Arc  

1972  Gary Wright And Wonderwheel - Ring Of Changes (2016 release)  

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Free - Free Live! (1971 uk, stunning classic rock, 2002 remaster with bonus tracks)

Although Free made excellent studio records, Free Live! is perhaps the best way to experience the band in all its glory. Led by singer-guitarist Paul Rodgers and lead guitarist Paul Kosoff, the band swings through nine songs with power, clarity, and a dose of funk. Of course, the hit single "All Right Now" is gleefully extended, much to the audience's and listener's delight. Superbly recorded by Andy Johns, this is one of the greatest live albums of the 1970s. 

by Matthew Greenwald

Tracks

1. All Right Now - 6:26

2. I'm A Mover - 3:42

3. Be My Friend - 5:56

4. Fire And Water - 3:58

5. Ride On A Pony - 4:31

6. Mr Big (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 6:20

7. The Hunter (Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones, Carl Wells, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Steve Cropper) - 5:20

8. Get Where I Belong - 4:18

9. Woman - 4:34

10.Walk In My Shadow (Paul Rodgers) - 4:18

11.Moonshine (Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers) - 9:23

12.Trouble On Double Time (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 3:51

13.Mr Big (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 5:53

14.All Right Now - 5:32

15.Get Where I Belong - 4:21

All titles by Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers except where indicated

Bonus Tracks 9-15

Tracks 1, 7, 11, 12, 13 were recorded live at Sunderland Locarno-Fillmore North, January 1970.

Tracks 2 - 6, 9, 10, 14 were recorded live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, 13th September 1970.

Tracks 8, 15 were recorded at Island Studios, 26th March 1971. 

Free

*Paul Rodgers - Vocals

*Paul Kossoff - Guitar

*Andy Fraser - Bass

*Simon Kirke - Drums

1969-71  Free – Live At The BBC (2006 double disc edition)

1970  Free - Fire And Water (2008 double disc)

1970  Free - Highway (2002 remastered and expanded)  

1972  Free - Free At Last (2002 remaster)

1973  Free - Heartbreaker (2002 remaster) 

Related Acts
1967-69  The Magic Mixture - This The Magic Mixture (2008 extra tracks issue) 
1972/73/75/76  Paul Kossoff - Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit / Back Street Crawler / The Band Plays On / 2nd Street (2005 double disc edition) 

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Fairport Convention - Liege And Lief (1969-70 uk, folk rock masterpiece, 2007 deluxe edition)

The best British folk-rock band of the late '60s, Fairport Convention did more than any other act to develop a truly British variation on the folk-rock prototype by drawing upon traditional material and styles indigenous to the British Isles. While the revved-up renditions of traditional British folk tunes drew the most critical attention, the group members were also (at least at the outset) talented songwriters as well as interpreters. They were comfortable with conventional harmony-based folk-rock as well as tunes that drew upon more explicitly traditional sources, and boasted some of the best singers and instrumentalists of the day. A revolving door of personnel changes, however, saw the exit of their most distinguished talents, and basically changed the band into a living museum piece after the early '70s, albeit an enjoyable one with integrity.

When Fairport formed around 1967, their goal was not to revive British folk numbers, but to play harmony- and guitar-based folk-rock in a style strongly influenced by Californian groups of the day (especially the Byrds). The lineup that recorded their self-titled debut album in 1968 featured Richard Thompson, Ian Matthews, and Simon Nicol on guitars; Ashley Hutchings on bass; Judy Dyble on vocals; and Martin Lamble on drums. Most of the members sang, though Matthews and Dyble were the strongest vocalists in this early incarnation; all of their early work, in fact, was characterized by blends of male and female vocals, influenced by such American acts as the Mamas & the Papas and Ian & Sylvia. While their first album was derivative, it had some fine material, and the band was already showing a knack for eclecticism, excavating overlooked songs by Joni Mitchell (then virtually unknown) and Emitt Rhodes.

Fairport Convention didn't reach their peak until Dyble was replaced after the first album in 1968 by Sandy Denny, who had previously recorded both as a solo act and with the Strawbs. Denny's penetrating, resonant style qualified her as the best British folk-rock singer of all time, and provided Fairport with the best vocalist they would ever have. What We Did on Our Holidays (1969) and Unhalfbricking (1969) are their best albums, mixing strong originals, excellent covers of contemporary folk-rock songs by the likes of Mitchell and Dylan, and imaginative revivals of traditional folk songs that mixed electric and acoustic instruments with a beguiling ease.

Matthews had left the band in early 1969, and Lamble (still in his teens) died in an accident involving the group's equipment van in mid-1969. That forced Fairport to regroup, replacing Lamble with Dave Mattacks, and adding Dave Swarbrick on fiddle. Their repertoire, too, became much more traditional in focus, and electrified traditional folk numbers would dominate their next album, Liege and Lief (1969). Here critical thought diverges; some insist that this is unequivocally their peak, marking a final escape from their '60s folk-rock influences into a much more original style. This school of thought severely underestimates their songwriting talents, and others feel that they were at their best when mixing original and outside material, and contemporary and traditional styles, in fact becoming more predictable and derivative when they opted to concentrate on British folk chestnuts.

The Liege and Lief lineup didn't last long; by the end of the '60s, Ashley Hutchings had left to join Steeleye Span, replaced by Dave Pegg. More crucially, Denny was also gone, helping to form Fotheringay. Thompson was still on board for Full House (1970), but by the beginning of 1971 he too had departed, leaving Nicol as the only original member.

Fairport have kept going, on and off (mostly on), for the last 25 years, touring and performing frequently. It may be too harsh to dismiss all of their post-Thompson records out of hand; Angel Delight (1971), the first recorded without the guitarist on board, was actually their highest-charting LP in the U.K., reaching the Top Ten. Nicol's exit in late 1971 erased all vestiges of connections to their salad days. Fairport was now not so much a continuous entity as a concept, carried on by musicians dedicated to the electrified British folk style that had been mapped out on Liege and Lief.

So it continues to this day, supported by a devoted fan base (Dirty Linen, the top American roots music magazine, originally began as a Fairport Convention fanzine). Denny would actually return to the group for about a year and a half in the 1970s, prior to her death in 1978; Nicol rejoined in 1976. Keeping track of Fairport's multitudinous lineup changes is a daunting task, and the group has coexisted on an erratic basis with the various other projects of the most frequent members (Nicol, Mattacks, and Pegg, the last of whom has played with Jethro Tull since the late '70s). They played annual reunion concerts during the 1980s and '90s (sometimes joined on-stage by Fairport alumni like Thompson), events that turned into some of the most popular folk festivals in Europe. They've also released some albums of new material intermittently throughout the last couple of decades, mostly pleasant, unexceptional traditional-oriented outings that appeal primarily to diehards.

The most distinguished graduates of Fairport, however, have continued to shape the British folk and folk-rock scene with notable solo and group projects. Richard Thompson is one of the most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters in the world; Ian Matthews made some interesting recordings as a solo act and with Plainsong and Matthews Southern Comfort; Denny sang with Fotheringay and released several solo albums before her death; and Hutchings carried on the most traditional face of British folk-rock with Steeleye Span, the Albion Band, and the Etchingham Steam Band.

by Richie Unterberger 

Tracks

Disc 1 Original Album

1. Come All Ye (Sandy Denny, Ashley Hutchings) - 5:00

2. Reynardine (Traditional) - 4:30

3. Matty Groves (Traditional) - 8:07

4. Farewell, Farewell (Richard Thompson) - 2:37

5. The Deserter (Traditional) - 4:21

6. Medley (Traditional) - 4:06 

.. The Lark in the Morning 

.. Rakish Paddy

.. Foxhunters' Jig

.. Toss the Feathers

7. Tam Lin (Traditional) - 7:11

8. Crazy Man Michael (Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) - 4:41

Disc 2 Studio Out-takes and BBC Sessions

1. Sir Patrick Spens (Traditional) - 3:59

2. Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood (Traditional, Richard Farina) - 5:59

3. The Ballad Of Easy Rider (Roger McGuinn) - 4:53

4. Tam Lin (Traditional) - 7:46

5. Medley - The Lark In The Morning/Rakish Paddy/Foxhunter's Jig/Toss The Feathers (Traditional) - 4:13

6. Sir Patrick Spens (Traditional) - 3:44

7. Reynardine (Traditional) - 4:19

8. Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood (Traditional, Richard Farina) - 7:50

9. The Lady Is A Tramp (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 2:11

10.In Other Words (Fly Me To The Moon) (Bart Howard, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 2:21 

Fairport Convention

*Sandy Denny - Vocals 

*Dave Swarbrick - Fiddle, Viola 

*Richard Thompson - Electric, Acoustic Guitars, Backing Vocals 

*Simon Nicol - Electric, 6-String, 12-String Acoustic Guitars, Backing Vocals 

*Ashley Hutchings - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals 

*Dave Mattacks - Drums, Percussion

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Dragonwyck - Chapter II (1973-74 us, fantastic psych rock, 2006 issue)

Their Doors-influenced style of psych rock was captured on a demo LP in 1970 which is now very collectible. A second demo LP was recorded in 1973 (including a couple of remakes of songs from the first LP). Then a 45 in 1974. More changes were in store, including gigs and recording under the names Flying Turns (the name of a thrill ride at the defunct Euclid Beach Park) and Fun (a Gentle Giant influenced period), before the band called it quits.

I was born in Venezuela. When I was a child, my parents moved to the industrial city of Cleveland, Ohio. In the 1960’s, Cleveland had some of the best radio in America. Plus we were able to receive CKLW out of Detroit. Almost all early rock and roll music was black. Great performances of 3 chord songs loaded with rhythm and attitude. After the Beatles, music became more intelligent, using chord patterns and harmonies no one had ever heard before. And it wasn’t just the Beatles. All British bands were so fucking great. It was the beginning of progressive music. Those two separate attitudes of rhythm and composition were my main musical influences when I was young.

The early 70’s was rock and roll heaven. There were a lot of great original bands and places to play. Cleveland was a factory town with hard drinking men and women who loved loud rock bands, and going out 3 or 4 nights a week to support them. Besides the night clubs, Dragonwyck toured with rockers Foghat, Golden Earring, The Edgar Winter Group and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. It was a very exciting time for music, and for us being in the middle of it all.

It’s really hard to tell them without the context of the time. The 70’s was a decadent decade throughout the world. Everybody, EVERYWHERE was living outside of the walls of conformity that exist today. There was so much more tolerance and social freedom to misbehave. But to say that the 70’s was a drunken, drug induced fuck-fest, would be an understatement. It was a beautiful time.

‘Chapter 2’ was recorded at Audio Recording Studio in Cleveland. This was 1972 and the studio had an Ampex 16-track machine. The mellotron and moog synthesizer was just released at that time, so we bought one each and had a ball recording that record. We also put a lot of work into background vocals on that album. The “fun” album was anything but fun. It was interesting from a clinical point of view, and in 1974 we were one of the first bands to be using samples, albeit primitive tape loops. We did a lot of tape edits on that record, and from that point on, I never went back to recording effects more that musical performance.

Tom Brehm Interview

Tracks

1. Kimberly (Tom Brehm) - 0:32

2. He Loves You (Bill Pettijohn) - 3:18

3. Fire Climbs (Bill Pettijohn) - 6:41

4. Relics (Bill Pettijohn, Tom Brehm) - 5:11

5. Freedom Son (Bill Pettijohn, Tom Brehm) - 3:57

6. Lady (Bill Pettijohn, Tom Brehm) - 3:47

7. Run To The Devil (Bill Pettijohn, Kenneth Staab, Tom Brehm) - 3:45

8. Dead Man (Bill Pettijohn) - 4:15

9. The Music (Bill Pettijohn, Jack Boessneck, Tom Brehm) - 3:14

10. Forever Only Last A Little While (Tom Brehm) - 4:40

11. Lovin' The Boys (Bill Pettijohn, Tom Brehm) - 3:14

12. The Music (Bill Pettijohn, Jack Boessneck, Tom Brehm) - 3:07

Bonus Tracks 11-12

Dragonwyck

*Tom Brehm - Guitars

*Mikey Gerchak - Bass, Vocals

*Jack Boessneck - Drums

*Bill Pettijohn - Vocals

*John Hall - Keyboards, Vocals

*Jerry Moran - Keyboards (Tracks 11-12)

1974-76  Dragonwyck - Fun (2008 remaster)   

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