Larsen Feiten Band - Larsen Feiten Band / Full Moon (1980/82 us, marvelous jazz funky rock, 2005 edition)

The Larsen-Feiten Band would only ever technically release one album under that name, a 1980 self-titled outing, but its members were in such hot demand as sessionmen that it’s questionable if the band could have remained a full-time project. Keyboardist Neil Larsen had played on records for everyone from Don McLean and Dan Fogelberg to Richard Thompson and George Harrison, even penning several album cuts for the likes of George Benson (“Windsong,” “Stand Up”), Rickie Lee Jones (“So Long”), and even Miles Davis (“Carnival.”) Guitarist Buzz Feiten, meanwhile, had made a name for himself as a member of both the Paul Butterfield Blues Band – where he first linked up with Larsen – and as Gene Cornish’s replacement in the last several years of the Rascals.

In 1973, Larsen and Feiten – alongside several fellow Paul Butterfield Blues Band alums – formed the short-lived Full Moon (whose Larsen-penned instrumental “Midnight Pass” would later be covered by Sea Level on Cats on the Coast), but the two men would continue to work with each other, both playing on a lot of the same sessions and Feiten playing guitar behind Larsen on the latter man’s solo albums for the A&M jazz subsidiary Horizon, before forming a second band together. The newly-formed Larsen-Feiten band was rounded out by three more in-demand sessionmen: bassist Willie Weeks, percussionist Lenny Castro, and drummer Art Rodriguez.

The band’s sound was adult-contemporary-oriented with an obvious R&B influence, but the blues and jazz backgrounds of Larsen and Feiten meant that their sound had a bit more grit to it than, say, the Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers, and the band was more easily comparable to more jazz-fusion-inspired acts like Sea Level or Time Loves a Hero-era Little Feat, bands that still had their feet firmly planted in the world of R&B-influenced pop yet weren’t adverse to indulge their inner jazz musicians and embark on long instrumental jams. Not surprisingly, two of the eight cuts on Larsen-Feiten Band (produced by the legendary Tommy LiPuma, best known for his work with George Benson, Natalie Cole, and Diana Krall) are instrumentals, both Larsen-penned; “Further Notice” is the more jazz-oriented of the two, but the album-closing “Aztec Legend” is perhaps even more adventurous and intricate, boasting just a slight hint of prog, and the title of the latter fits the music quite well.

The percussive grooves of the slow-burning “Midnight Star” and the danceable “Make It” (which makes great use of the famed horn section from the jazz-pop outfit Seawind) make great use of the rhythmic sense of Castro and Rodriguez both, while the sunny and soulful “She’s Not in Love,” penned by Feiten with future ‘80s pop star Michael Sembello (“Maniac,” “Automatic Man”), boasts the disc’s most unforgettable chorus. Larsen’s slinky “Over” (penned with lyricist Allee Willis) vaguely recalls the great, overlooked early Toto single “Georgy Porgy” and has a sensational pre-chorus that in and of itself is enough to make you give the cut a second listen.

The disc’s most famous track, though, is the opener, “Who’ll Be the Fool Tonight,” which was released as a single and gave the band their first and only Top 40 hit, peaking at #29. The chorus isn’t nearly as catchy upon first listen as that of “She’s Not in Love,” but it’s easy to see why the track was still chosen as the lead-off single: it’s just got that winning sound to it. The five men ride the song’s R&B groove with an expert precision and smoothness that would make Michael McDonald envious, but it never quite sounds entirely like yacht-rock, either; imagine Al Jarreau’s “We’re in This Love Together” with a harder and more pronounced bop to it, with just a hint of the Doobies’ “Takin’ It to the Streets” thrown in for good measure, and you’ve got a good idea of the sound of the single. There’s pop there, to be sure, as well as elements of soul and smooth-jazz, but it’s played with an attitude that gives the cut just a hint of rock and makes it both surprisingly punchy and a bit too genre-defying to fit neatly into any one category.

For some reason, the Larsen-Feiten Band name was retired, and the same exact lineup would record one more album together, 1982’s Full Moon, under the name Full Moon featuring Neil Larsen & Buzz Feiten and featuring an equal mix of instrumentals and songs with vocals, but the album didn’t perform nearly as well as the previous outing. (Both this disc and Larsen-Feiten Band would eventually emerge on CD as a two-fer package in 2005 on the Wounded Bird label.) Nearly the entire band – with the sole exception of Weeks – would also show up on Rickie Lee Jones’ Pirates.  

Larsen and Feiten would continue to make music together as sessionmen, the two men most notably serving as the keyboardist and guitarist, respectively, on Kenny Loggins’ iconic title theme for the film Footloose. Feiten would also temporarily return to band work in the late ‘80s as the replacement for Steve Farris in – fittingly enough – Mr. Mister.

by Jeff Fiedler, December 15, 2016

Tracks

1. Who'll Be The Fool Tonight (Buzz Feiten) - 4:12

2. Danger Zone (Buzz Feiten, William D. Smith) - 5:04

3. Further Notice (Neil Larsen) - 3:34

4. Over (Allee Willis, Neil Larsen) - 5:08

5. She's Not In Love (Buzz Feiten, Mike Sembello) - 4:41

6. Morning Star (Buzz Feiten) - 5:21

7. Make It (Allee Willis, Neil Larsen) - 4:28

8. Aztec Legend (Neil Larsen) - 4:39

9. Phantom Of The Footlights (Buzz Feiten, Sal Bernardi) - 4:28

10.The Visitor (Neil Larsen) - 4:39

11.Twilight Moon (Buzz Feiten) - 3:57

12.Sierra (Neil Larsen) - 4:35

13.Brown Eyes (Buzz Feiten, Mark Vieha, Sal Bernardi) - 4:19

14.Hero's Welcome (Neil Larsen) - 4:30

15.Standing In Line (Buzz Feiten, Mark Vieha) - 4:12

16.Little Cowboys (Lenny Castro, Neil Larsen) - 3:58

Tracks 1-8 from the LP "Larsen Feiten Band" 1980

Tracks 9-16 from the LP "Full Moon" 1982

Larsen Feiten Band

*Neil Larsen - Keyboards

*Howard "Buzz" Feiten - Guitar, Vocals

*Lenny Castro - Percussion, Vocals

*Art Rodriguez - Drums

*Willie Weeks - Bass

With 

*Kim Hutchcroft - Alto Saxophone

*Larry Williams - Tenor Saxophone 

*Chuck Findley - Trumpet, Trombone

*Bill Reichenbach - Trombone

*Jim Horn - Saxophones

*Larry McNally - Backing Vocals

*Vernon Porter - Backing Vocals

*Jimmy Haslip - Bass (Tracks 11,15)

*David Sanborn - Alto Saxophone (Track 10)

Related Acts

1972  Full Moon - Full Moon (2005 japan remaster)  

1969  The Butterfield Blues Band - Keep On Moving 

1971  The Rascals - Peaceful World (japan remaster)  

1972  The Rascals - Island Of Real 

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The Crystal Voyager Band - Crystal Voyager (1973 new zealand / australia, a transcendent sonic backdrop of soft psych rock and breezy folk)

G. Wayne Thomas was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and spent his early years from a very young age boarding at Timaru Boys High in the South Island. Due to his mother’s poor health, the family later moved to Christchurch, where he attended Cashmere High. Here he joined the school band and played First 15 rugby, subsequently being selected to play for Canterbury in several divisions up to under 19s, and for the schoolboy side that toured Fiji.

His first job was as a Production Assistant with CHTV 3, and he later moved to Australia on a scholarship to study Theatre Production at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). During this time he worked as Stage Manager for Frank Strain’s Theatre Restaurants at night, before taking a full time position with the then Elizabethan Theatre Trust Company, now Opera Australia.

Round 1972 G. Wayne Thomas was continuously writing, producing and sometimes singing numerous television and radio commercials for Australia’s leading adverting agencies. One of these assignments required him to be overseas for an extended period of time and this eventually lead to him leaving Warner Bros.

On return to Australia he formed his own record label along with Jon English, called Warm and Genuine, the name being an antithesis of the reality of the music/recording business. He produced Jon’s first No. 1 record “Turn the Page” and became the Executive Producer of Jon’s first album “Wine Dark Sea”. These were released through Polygram, on which he also released his first solo album “G. Wayne Thomas” which included his third single “Everything in You” / “Call My Name”, as well as “Come Tomorrow Morning” and a version of Kris Kristofferson’s song “I’ve Got To Have You” made world famous shortly after by Carly Simon.

At this time Thomas was asked by David Elfick to write and produce the soundtrack for Albe and David’s new film “Crystal Voyager”. To do this Thomas formed a studio band, funnily enough, called the “The Crystal Voyager Band” whose members comprised Bobby Gibbert (keyboards), Mick Lieber (ex Python Lee Jackson, Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, guitars) Rod Coe (bass) and John Proud (drums), with Thomas on acoustic guitars and vocals.

The film “Crystal Voyager” was based on the exploits of American hippie kid, knee boarder and inside the wave Film Cameraman, George Greenough, who was also the prime mover in the invention of the “fish eye” camera lens. The film also featured the band Pink Floyd in the final scenes, where Greenough strapped a camera to his head to film inside the hollow section of the wave called “the tube”. These sequences became famous and were used by Pink Floyd for a number of years in their live performances, and captured the imagination of European audiences with the film running for over a year in London’s West End as a double feature with the film Fantastic Planet.

by Grant Drinkwater, G. Wayne Thomas, 2015 

Tracks

1. Changes (G. Wayne Thomas, Reed) - 4:13

2. Into The Blue - 3:45

3. Junkyard I/2 - 4:17

4. Red Sun Sea (Bobby Gibbert) - 3:40

5. Slipping Away - 2:40

6. Changes 2 (G. Wayne Thomas, Reed) - 2:17

7. Morning Light - 2:35

8. Clouds Cry (That Could Be The Reason) - 4:04

9. Gypsy Shoes - 4:25

10.Hollywood - 4:14

11.Space And Time - 6:52

12.Listen To The Sunrise (Bill Bensing) - 3:04

13.Old Mother Sea (Bill Bensing) - 3:00

All songs by G. Wayne Thomas where noted

Bonus tracks 12-13

The Crystal Voyager Band

*G. Wayne Thomas - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar 

*Bobby Gibbert - Keyboards, Moog, Arp

*Mick Liber - Rhythm, Electric Guitars 

*John Proud - Drums, Percussion 

*Rod Coe - Bass

With

*Michael Carlos - Moog, Arp

*Bill Bensing - Vocals (Tracks 12-13)

Related Release

1972  Various Artists - Morning Of The Earth (2002 remaster)   

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Tony Kosinec - Bad Girl Songs (1970 canada, delicate jazzy folk rock)

Tony Kosinec is a singer-songwriter born in England and raised in Canada. His second album "Bad Girl Songs", -release early 1970- has been treated like a treasure among enthusiastic singer-songwriter fans. Self-penned songs based on acoustic guitar and piano, Tony Kosinec's music was packed with the highest purity. While digesting the idioms of folk, a fresh harmony of rock and contemporary pop music,  a thin and straight forward singing voice. Lyrics guided by a warm and delicate line of sight. 

"Bad Girl Songs" was produced by Peter Asher (formerly Peter & Gordon) who worked also with James Taylor. Maribeth Solomon on piano and flute, Zal Yanovsky's simple acoustic sound on his guitar, and Russ Kunkel's drums. The songs and melody  express Tony's unique delicate and pure sensibility and are too wonderful. A work that makes you sigh when you listen to it, especially when he's trying to express the charm of his work in words.

Tracks

1. The World Still (Tony Kosinec) - 5:10

2. I Use Her (Tony Kosinec) - 2:25

3. Bad Girls (Tony Kosinec) - 3:55

4. Come And Go (Tony Kosinec, R. James) - 3:41

5. Medley: It's Raining, Car Car, Car (Tony Kosinec, Bob Sandler, Mark Scheckter) - 3:21

6. 48 DeSoto (Tony Kosinec, Bob Sandler) - 2:58

7. Gemini At Pains (Tony Kosinec, Bob Sandler) - 3:13

8. Me And My Friends (Tony Kosinec, Bob Sandler) - 4:18

9. Dinner Time (J. Leichtling) - 3:12

10.Wheatfield (Tony Kosinec, Bob Sandler) - 5:52

11.The Sun Wants Me To Love You (Tony Kosinec) - 4:15

12.My Cat Ain't Coming Back (Tony Kosinec, Bob Sandler, Mark Scheckter) - 3:36 

Personnel

*Tony Kosinec - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, String Arrangement

*Mark Lams - Bass

*Maribeth Soloman - Piano, Flute

*Russ Kunkel - Drums

*Zal Yanovsky - Electric Guitar  

1969  Tony Kosinec - Processes (2016 japan remaster)  

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John Buck Wilkin - In Search Of Food Clothing Shelter And Sex (1970 us, magnificent orchestrated psych folk rock, 2016 korean remaster)

John "Bucky" Wilkin, the son of Marijohn Wilkin (author of the country classic "Long Black Veil"), is most noted as a session guitarist on numerous country and rock records of the 1970s, particularly outlaw country releases by Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Kinky Friedman, and Jessi Colter. He was also a songwriter and put out a little-known solo LP, In Search of Food, Clothing, Shelter & Sex, on Liberty. The record was easygoing, though sometimes moodily eccentric, country-folk-rock with frequent orchestration. Prior to his solo album, Wilkin had been in Ronny & the Daytonas, famous for their 1964 hot rod hit "Little GTO." Wilkin was also in the American Eagles (not to be confused with the much more famous Eagles), who also included keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and put out a single in 1969. 

"Boy of the Country," for its dark edginess, is a standout, though even so the orchestration somewhat dilutes the overall effect. Kris Kristofferson fans might find this an interesting collector's item due to the presence of an early, pre-Janis Joplin version of "Me and Bobby McGee" as well as "Apocalypse 1969" one of the better and harder-rocking cuts.

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks

1. Apartment Twenty-One - 2:52

2. Faces And Places (Jane Leichardt) - 3:11

3. My God And I - 4:10

4. Boy Of The Country - 3:46

5. Apocalypse 1969 - 4:51

6. Me And Bobby McGee (Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson) - 4:52

7. The Daydream - 5:22

8. Mary Jackson - 4:02

9. Long Black Veil / Nashville Sun (Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin, John Buck Wilkin) - 4:02

10.About Time / Nashville Sun Reprise - 2:12

Words and Music by John Buck Wilkin except where stated

Musicians

*John Buck Wilkin - Vocals, Guitar

*Don Tweedy - Producer, Arranger, Conductor

*Anne Soodman - Vocals 

*Billy Sanford - Guitar, Mandolin 

*Bob Phillips - Trumpet 

*Brenton Banks - Violin

*Byron Bach - Cello, Violin 

*Charlie Hayward - Bass 

*Chuck Leavell - Keyboards

*Courtland Pickett - Bass  

*Dave Pell - Saxophone 

*Don Sheffield - Trumpet, Horn 

*Frank Beach - Trumpet 

*Frank Friedman - Guitar 

*Gary Vanosdale - Viola 

*Gene Cipriano - Woodwind, Horn

*George Tidwell - Trumpet 

*Gloria Strassner - Cello 

*Jerry Carrigan - Drums 

*Jesse Ehrlich - Cello  

*Jim Horn - Saxophone, Flute, Oboe 

*John Wyker - Guitar 

*Kenny Buttrey - Drums 

*Larry Butler - Piano 

*Leonard Malarsky - Violin  

*Lew McCreary - Trombone

*Lillian Hunt - Violin 

*Lloyd Ulyate - Trombone 

*Lou Mullenix - Drums   

*Marvin Chantry - Violin, Viola 

*Myron Sandler - Violin, Viola 

*Ollie Mitchell - Trumpet  

*Paul Hubinon - Trumpet   

*Paulo Alencar - Violin   

*Samuel Boghossian - Viola 

*Shari Zippert - Violin 

*Solie Fott - Violin 

*Spiro Stamos - Violin 

*Tom Scott - Saxophone 

*Wayne Butler - Trombone 

*Wayne Moss - Bass, Guitar, Keyboards

*Wilbert Nuttycombe - Violin  

*Bill Green - Saxophone, Clarinet

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The Trout - The Trout (1968 us, fabulous baroque sunny psych, 2017 korean remaster)

Pop psike trio consists of Tony Romeo, Frank Romeo and Cassandra Morgan. Originally released on MGM in 1968, this psych-sunshine pop classic is definitely worth listening to. 

Before Tony Romeo hit it big writing songs for the Partridge Family, he formed the Trout with his brother Frank and Cassandra Morgan releasing this wonderful lp that was recorded in three different studios in New York in 1968, The album is typical of most late 60s Pop Psych records that employed the “Sgt. Pepper” production formula: orchestration, flutes, sound effects, etc. There are some very nice Tony Romeo originals here, “November Song”, “Carnival Girl” and “Sunrise Highway”. Cassandra Morgan’s vocals are sensational, her vocal on “Worst Day I’ve Ever Been To” is fabulous, and her harmonies with Tony and Frank are nice also (“You Can’t Hang On” is a favorite).

Cassandra Morgan, “Cass” would leater record an album in 1973, also with Tony Romeo, but it was never released. One of the tracks “Isn’t It Hard To Tell The Truth” was released as promo/DJ on Three Brothers Records. She’d written all the songs but one, which was written by her then husband, Madison Mason, known as Joe Mason.

Morgan did backing vocals for the Lou Christie album, for which her husband Joe, also played guitar. Cassandra Morgan went on to write, direct and perform in a number of theater and Broadway shows, there are a number of soundtrack recordings that include her performances. The most famous of these was the Tony nominated “Pump Boys and Dinettes” in 1982. Cass continues to write and perform today.

Tony Romeo was a successful writer and composer by the time he started to crank out tunes for Three Brothers Records. Tony had written the 1970 Partridge Family hit, “I Think I Love You” (the 1970 NARM Record of the year), as well as tracks for David Cassidy (solo) and many others. Romeo wrote eleven of the twelve tracks for Richard Harris’ 1972 “Slide” album, which included “Blue Canadian Rocky Dream“, the track that would become the first 45/single released on Three Brothers.

Tony formed and founded “Wherefore Productions, Inc.” as well as Wherefore Music from 441 West 49th Street in New York City, just four blocks from the CTI HQ at Rockefeller Center, with the legendary Brill Building, in between the two. Romeo had started in the music business as a recording engineer for MGM. 

Among Romeo’s later hits was “The People Theme” for People (Weekly) TV show, for which Romeo was the musical director, for a show at it’s peak was watched by some 30-million people. The title theme would become a “disco” hit in the waning months of 1978. The track was released under the name Sacco, which was in fact Lou Christie’s family name. Tony passed away in 1995, 56-years old.

Tracks

1. The Beginning - 0:41

2. Fresh Water - 2:22

3. Crazy Bill - 3:30

4. Carnival Girl - 4:30

5. November Song - 4:11

6. Arizona Two Thoughts: Cuddlin' Warm-Here Beside You Now - 2:19

7. Hushabye Wee Bobby - 2:53

8. Yeah Yeah Yeah - 3:13

9. Worse Day I've Been To - 2:49

10.You Can't Hang On - 3:10

11.Understanding Who I Am - 2:51

12.Sunrise Highway - 3:39

13.The End - 0:29

Composed, Arranged, Conducted by Tony Romeo

The Trout

*Cassandra Morgan - Vocals 

*Frank Romeo - Vocals  

*Tony Romeo - Vocals 

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Bill Jerpe - Bill Jerpe (1970 us, beautiful folk psych rock, 2014 korean remaster)

The legends surrounding a cult classic often outstrip the music’s realities. Perhaps an album remains a “Best Record You’ve Never Heard” mainstay simply because it’s rare, a collector’s way of flexing muscle. A less cynical take understands that the truth can’t compete with decades of word-of-mouth hyperbole or the expectations we’ve created as we cultivate our want lists. Or perhaps we perpetually covet because we want to do the impossible, to relive the formative experiences of first encountering our desert island picks. Fortunately, there are holy grails like Bill Jerpe’s long-obscure self-titled release, recently reissued by Soft Estate Records, that justify the mythology.

Early in his career, Jerpe, a Mid-Hudson Valley singer-songwriter, signed with Epic Records, one of the countless “Next Bob Dylan” hopefuls plucked from the mid-1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. Jerpe’s jittery, fussy cuts, including the single “Navigation Blues”, are hootenanny appropriate: socially conscious, informed, wry, playful, if not a bit cocky. Yet they did not garner him mainstream attention, and Epic cut ties with Jerpe. Yes, the same hard rain that befell a thousand other would-be Zimmermans.

By 1969, Jerpe, by then considered an “elder statesman of the folk scene,” gathered a group of local musicians to record a full-length. Perhaps jaded after a run with a major label, Jerpe and company cut the songs during a two-day session in a motel room, a venue choice that helped solidify the album’s reputation as one of the first indie efforts. The result is a collection of songs so immediate that you feel you already know them by heart. Compared to his feisty Epic sides, this is a come-down affair, sober, wounded, and grounded.

Album opener “Another Day Goes Down” is a hands-in-the-air resignation with a wistful melody that belies the reality that, “Here you’re dead or you’re upside down, and all I can do is let another day go down.” It’s a stunning track, an instant classic that could overshadow the rest of the album if the rest of the album weren’t as essential.

Elsewhere, the material here is less greasy spoon, more art gallery. Dylan’s inescapable influence still lingers, but an affection for the Velvet Underground also reveals itself. “You’ll Get the Heaven” chugs alongside “Foggy Notion” and “Thanks A Lot For Coming Into My Life” echoes the most tender moments of VU’s self-titled LP. The album takes a rustic psychedelic turn with “Have You Heard Any Good Jokes Lately?”, recalling the cosmic country of Gram Parsons and The Flatlanders.

Despite these nods, Jerpe never succumbs to his influences or the trappings of the folk genre. Instead of relying on topical songs that would render this album a dead letter, he delivers an album that trades social capital for self-exploration, in turn providing a blueprint for the DIY experience.

by Charlie Farmer, June 14, 2021

Tracks

1. Another Day Goes Down - 4:37

2. You`ll Get To Heaven - 3:48

3. Thanks A Lot For Coming Into My Life - 3:57

4. Have You Heard Any Good Jokes, Lately? - 3:24

5. Non-Stop`s Blues - 6:01

6. Lily Lay Down - 5:27

7. Lost In The Ocean, Stuck In The Sky - 5:59

8. Sittin` Here Satisfied - 2:56

9. I Expect To See You Then - 4:27

10.Help Me Home - 2:58

Music and Lyrics by Bill Jerpe

Musicians

*Russ Simon - Bass Guitar 

*Paul Johnson - Drums 

*Bart Barbour - Lead Guitar  

*Pete Weinstock - Piano, Organ, Recorder, Autoharp  

*Bill Jerpe - Vocals, Guitar, Banjo 

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Loadstone - Loadstone (1969 us, splendid psych jazz prog brass rock)

Loadstone formed in Las Vegas. Devers, Abernathy and Phillips were backing Bobby Darin at the time when he went on his hiatus to find himself, leaving them looking for a gig. Ryan, Douglas, Sterling and Cernuto were freelance musicians in Vegas looking for work. Thanks to a guitar player by the name of Mike Richards, who originally was in the group, they got together and formed a cover band to make some cash. 

The band worked a club in Vegas called 'The Pussycat A Go Go' where Andy Williams used to hang out. He signed the band to his label, Barnaby Records, because of the big following the band attracted to its live performances. Andy also got Dave Grusin to produce the album as well as play piano on one track, Dayshine. The album was recorded in a two week period in the Summer of 1969 and other than record promotion concerts and a few club gigs in L.A., the band never toured.

Their self titled sole album a highly consistently as a good effort, The music, prog tinged rock, with lots of horns, and psych influences. "Flower Pot" 15 minute-long psychedelic suite, complete with sound effects, phasing, screams, echo loops and bird noises, the track was recorded in one take, with the voices overdubbed later. The album’s lack of sales caused the group to slowly dissolve to working lounge gigs in Vegas. When that was over the band members went on to other groups.

Tracks

1. See The Light (Barry Abernathy, John Sterling, Larry Devers) - 3:25 

2. Keep On Burning (Larry Devers, Terry Ryan) - 2:47 

3. Dayshine (John Sterling, Larry Devers) - 5:16 

4. Time (Larry Devers, Sqamuel Cernuto) - 3:43 

5. It Couldn't Be Bad (John Sterling, P. Dowland, Terry Ryan) - 3:15 

6. Flower Pot (Barry Abernathy, John Phillips, John Sterling, Larry Devers, Steve Douglas, Samuel Cernuto, Terry Ryan) - 15:15

Loadstone

*John Sterling - Guitar, Vocals 

*Samuel "Sam" Cernuto - Trombone 

*Steve Douglas “Husczka” - Trumpet, Fluegelhorn 

*John Phillips - Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Oboe, Bassoon 

*Terry Ryan - Keyboards 

*Barry Abernathy - Bass 

*Larry Devers - Drums

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Evergreen Blueshoes - The Ballad Of Evergreen Blueshoes (1969 us, extraordinary folk psych rock, with Skip Battin from Byrds fame and Chester McCracken from Doobie Brothers, 2016 korean remaster)

The underground folk-rock band Evergreen Blueshoes was conceived in Los Angeles in June of 1967  by a  guitarist/songwriter and bassist/singer trying to bring their two musical experiences together to form a unique new one.  It survived the turbulence of the following year only to die of neglect in mid-1969. Its heart was the partnership of Allan “Country Al” Ross aka Al Rosenberg aka A.P. Rosenberg, a struggling songwriter and folk and country music guitarist and Clyde “Skip” Battin, a singer-bassist hoping to turn a 1959 hit record into a post-Beatles career. The band was rounded out by Kenny Kleist, organ and trumpet, Lanny Mathijssen, Rock ‘n Soul guitar, and Chet McCracken, a soul-type “heavy” drummer.

At its best in live concerts the group presented a humming blend of different musical genres: American and ethnic folk, Rock & Soul, Country,  20th Century modernism and poetry,  knitted together by spoken narrative to form a continuous 40 minute set and album  [Amos  Records (vinyl, of course) , a sub-label of Warner Bros.]

Most of the band’s repertoire was written by Ross (Rosenberg at the time), a protégé of Doc Watson and student of American string-band music and Balkan dance accompaniment while an undergrad at UCLA.  [Jewish Teahouse] is an example of what could happen when he got his shit together. The melody is lifted from Ladarke, a kolo dance tune complete with accelerating entrance,  a Haiku-like lyric and Rock bridge. It was the first song in a projected cycle that left  Ross and the band with three recorded but unreleased songs,  Gypsy Wedding , Telephone Sue and Piece of the Action.

Battin brought his 1959 ballad “Cherry Pie” to the table in the band’s efforts to get gigs and court record producers, as well as his front-man charisma and sexuality (“Pick one girl in the audience and take her home with your eyes.”) The “Cherry Pie” identification cut both ways: they would get low-paying gigs in beer joints from owners Skip had known in his “Skip and Flip” days, backing up “Cherry Pie,” but they’d often have to play the song, which by that time Skip hated. If they didn’t, there were occasional consequences. Once, in a mainly Chicano San Fernando bar, a Pachuco came up to the stage in the middle of a cutting-edge, no-breaks concept set, loomed over Kenny, the organ player, and said, “Play ‘Cherry Pie.’ Play it now.’” Another time Skip and Al were trying to get the attention of Snuff Garrett, a heavy-hitter producer/A&R guy at Liberty Records. They made a plea in his office to hear some of Al’s “now” compositions. As they made their pitch, Garrett leaned back in his chair, smiled and said, “I’ll consider it, if you sing ‘Cherry Pie.’” Skip reportedly looked like he was going to cry but did it anyway. Garret did not make a record of them.

Two things kept the band under constant pressure: the need to work, especially in venues that encouraged acts to perform fresh material (no “Top 40,” please) and the development of…fresh material. For Skip, booking the band into small, out-of-the-way venues that paid bills but gave no exposure to the record industry and had no use for new material, was easy. The hard part was convincing the band’s foot soldiers, organist Kenny Kleist, guitarist Lanny Mathijssen and an early drummer named Willie, that it was necessary to give up a gig at, say, the Plush Purple Lounge in Anaheim at $145/week per man for a week at the Topanga Canyon Corral, a hot but low-paying club in the Santa Monica Mountains, because producers, A&R guys and other scouts came there, if only to scope out hippy chicks who danced flowingly with no underwear on and macramé tops as concealing as hurricane fences. Generally speaking, though, Lanny and Kenny, and, later, drummer Chet McCracken, went along with it, probably sensing that small, obscure, Top Forty bars were not where it was “happening” in middle/late ‘Sixties Pop and Rock. So the band worked steadily from its inception in the summer of 1967 until early 1969.

It was in the development of material that Skip and Al’s partnership worked best. Skip, old pro that he was, admitted he had trouble writing, in fact, with creativity in general. So he recruited Al, a local country-folk guitarist who taught at and frequently accompanied acts appearing at the Ash Grove, to form a band with him, fifty-fifty in every way. He, Skip, would sing lead, play bass, recruit other members and, at first, lead them to gigs. Al, inexperienced as a rock player but more in touch with where music was headed in the mid-‘Sixties than Skip,  would write and adapt Public Domain material like this arrangement of Life’s Railway to Heaven, perform and, later, book the band into such venues as the Topanga Corral, Ash Grove, Troubadour and Whiskey A Go Go.

Though never expressly articulated, it was a good plan, because Skip had great stage presence, sex appeal and knowledge of the record business, if not the material itself.  He knew what to do with fresh product even if he couldn’t produce it himself. He also had a line to Al’s imagination that enabled him as a mentor to guide his disciple along creative paths that might pay off. They developed a strong friendship, which included sharing acid trips, as well as the exciting, exhausting business of launching and sustaining a new band. The result was that soon after their first meeting Al began writing, adapting and arranging songs and instrumentals for Skip to sing and the band to play.

Al’s creative “product,” as credited either in the album’s liner notes or the group’s estimation, included “Life’s Railway to Heaven,” “Line Out” (with Skip), “The Raven” (with E.A. Poe), “Mrs. Cohen’s Little Boy” (with Dave Cohen), “Moon Over Mt. Olympus” and “Jewish Teahouse.” There were three post-album songs he wrote but never recorded: “(Have You Ever Seen a) Gypsy Wedding?,” “Telephone Sue” and “Midget at the Whiskey,” as well as a novel bluegrass treatment of the Hedgehog Song written and performed by the Incredible String Band, a British group.

This material was hatched, slowly at first, then more quickly as Al became more sure-footed as a composer and lyricist. There were always stages, risers, bars, love-ins, high school auditoriums, music festivals and shows to test the new material in and, therefore, get feedback from. In general, the feedback was nearly always positive, often dramatically so in venues like the Corral, Ash Grove, Whiskey, and, for one magical night when the band was supposed to go on as ringers for the United Fruit Company but ended up performing as EGBS, at Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium.

Although the band played a lot of bars at the beginning, for nothing but survival pay, things got better and better as an identity gradually emerged. Some time in mid-1968 Bob Hite, lead singer for Canned Heat and champion of EGBS to the bookers at the Topanga Corral, introduced Skip and Al to John Hartmann and Skip Taylor, partners in Kaleidoscope, a fledgling management and representation agency that would be out of business in less than a year. In the meantime, they booked the band into larger, higher-paying one-night venues, like the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Anaheim Playhouse and some classier lounges in Las Vegas, and began to expose the band to producers, A&R men and record labels. But it was at the Whiskey A Go Go, on the Sunset Strip, that Mike Post, future TV theme-music giant (“Rockford Files,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Law and Order,” et al) found and, ultimately, produced them.

There was definitely public awareness of the band at the height of their activity. The Whiskey and Ash Grove dates drew capacity crowds and “for twenty minutes,” as Al said, they were considered the most popular underground band in L.A. Members of Buffalo Springfield, Pogo (later “Poco”), Canned Heat and the Byrds could be seen in audiences, and, perhaps, drew some spiritual if not musical sustenance from the band.

But, as with so many unseasoned bands, things began to fall apart between the time the album, “The Ballad of Evergreen Blueshoes,” was produced and its release. The post-recording doldrums had Skip hating the record production, producer and production company with good reason: all of them sucked. It was Al who’d found and put them in everybody’s faces, mainly because he believed in Mike Post, an ambitious if moderately gifted producer, who had just had a huge hit single, Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas.” That Post was also the producer of Sammy Davis, Jr., didn’t raise questions in Al’s mind says something about his inexperience. Skip never completely forgave Al for his aggessiveness, which he characterized as “Rossiprocity.”

For his part, Al came to despise the managers that followed the suddenly-defunct Kaleidoscope, Laurel Canyon Productions, which he blamed for the breakup of the band because they paid the members salaries in lieu of getting them gigs. Thus, Skip and Al honored their tacit 50-50 partnership agreement even as the band slid into oblivion, the album’s eventual distribution notwithstanding. !0,000 pressings were said to have been made, though’ this seems to be an educated guess rather than an accountancy fact.

As for the rest of the band, Wisconsin farmer/organist Kenny Kleist, construction-worker/guitarist Lanny Mathijssen and Kid Chet McCracken (ten years younger than the next oldest band member, Al) they thought they’d died and gone to heaven. They were in a real-deal hippy band making music (when they were actually making music) in L.A., were on a double-jacketed album cover emblazoned with a four-color photo of them cavorting nude in the Hollywood Hills (the first such album-cover artwork in the Industry), were being paid by their “Canyon” managers to not work, had bought a bunch of new furniture, had tried cocaine, had copies of their production contract with four pages missing right where it talked about reporting of proceeds, advances against royalties and gross (as opposed to net) accounting. Which they signed! It doesn’t get any better, and neither did Evergreen Blueshoes.

Power-Pickers

Tracks

1. Life's Railway To Heaven (Al Rosenberg, Chester McCracken, Ken Kleist, Lanny Mathijssen, Skip Battyn) - 3:50

2. Walking Down The Line (Bob Dylan) - 3:25

3. Line Out (Al Rosenberg, Skip Battyn) - 0:46

4. Amsterdam In 1968 (Mark Levine) - 3:07

5. Everything's Fine Right Now (Mike Heron) - 3:00

6. Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) - 3:00

7. The Hedge Hog's Song (Mike Heron) - 2:44

8. The Raven (Al Rosenberg, Edgar Allan Poe, Skip Battyn) - 1:53

9. Mrs. Cohen's Little Boy (David Cohen) - 1:55

10.Moon Over Mt. Olympus (Al Rosenberg) - 1:45

11.Jewish Teahouse (Al Rosenberg) - 3:16

12.The Everblue Express (Kim Fowley, Skip Battyn) - 4:54

The Evergreen Blueshoes

*Al Rosenberg - Guitar 

*Lanny Mathijssen - Guitar

*Ken Kleist - Organ

*Skip Battyn - Bass, Vocals

*Chester McCracken - Drums  

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1969  Armageddon - Armageddon

1971  The Byrds - Live At Royal Albert Hall (2008 issue) 
1971  The Byrds - Byrdmaniax (2013 japan Blu Spec edition) 

1971  The Byrds - Farther Along (Blu Spec 2014 extra tracks release)

1972  Skip Battin - Skip (2003 issue)

1973  Skip Battin ‎– Topanga Skyline (2010 remaster) 

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Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck - Starting A New Day (1970 canada, exceptional folk country psych rock, 2012 korean remaster)

Riding the wave of the psychadelic movement taking the West Coast by storm in the late 1960s, Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck was originally a loose group of stage performers, where everyone had different characters on stage, and guitarist Bob O'Connor was the only actual musician, and was centred around Boston native Kathy Kay as Mother Tucker.

He left to join Medusa, but before long fellow bandmates bassist Charles Faulkner and drummer Hughie Lockhead left when Mother Tuckers vocalist John Patrick Caldwell (whose original role was the actual talking yellow duck) said he was looking to form an actual musical group. Along with guitarist Roger Law, they hooked up with promoter Cliff Moore and played the Vancouver area, making a couple of trips down the western seaboard to California.

They eventually caught the attention of executives at London Records, who rushed out their first single, "I" b/w "Funny Feeling." It did nothing on the charts in '68, but encouraged, the label issued a follow-up, "One Ring Jane" b/w "Kill The Pig" the following spring. When it also failed to make the top 40, the band decided to do things its own way, and formed Duck Records, with distribution through Capitol. They re-released their first two singles, and as they made their rounds around Vancouver, they became regulars at The Retinal Circus, and also made the area's high school dances part of their regular routine.

After adding Donnie McDougall on guitars and vocals, they entered the Vancouver Recording Company studios with producer Robin Spurgin, and released their debut album, HOMEGROWN STUFF in the fall of '69, which saw a re-recorded version of "One Ring Jane" get released again, with "Times Are Changing" as its b-side. It became their only US release. A second single, "Little Pony" made its way to the charts, but fell off just as quickly. Primarily written by Law, McDougall, and Caldwell, the music was influenced by everything from the San Fransisco peace movement and traditional country to distorted guitars and spoken word, and contained interesting vibes in songs like "Elevated Platform," the country-rocker "One Glass For Wine," "Intermission Poetry," and "Bye Dye."

They were originally supposed to appear on an album full of West Coast artists that was to benefit The Cool Aid House, a sanctuary opened in Vancouver for the homeless youth and hippies, but the band pulled out of the commitment at the last minute. They played the back-up role on JK. & Co's SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER album in '69, and they toured alongside the likes of Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, The Yardbirds, and opened the Pacific Colisseum with Cream. Law's departure paved the way for his younger brother Les to replace him.

Their sophomore album came in the summer of 1970 in the form of STARTING A NEW DAY. The title track b/w "No One In Particular" from the first album was the only single, which failed to resonate with radio stations or the buying public. More in the same experimental vein as its predecessor, other noteable cuts included "True Blue," "Middlefield County," and "Nightfowl."

But unable to catch a big break, the band split up by early 1971. McDougall gained the most notoriety of any of the members, eventually joining The Guess Who for the first time, and would also end up in several other versions of the band's many lineups over the years. Roger Law died in the mid '90s in a car collision. Faulkner joined the Wild Root Orchestra for their lone album in 1981, then got out of the business all together after a couple of other ill-fated groups. 

by  John Bower, Doug Larson, Tressa Novicelle, Mike Panontin

Tracks

1. Starting A New Day (Donald McDougall, Patrick Caldwell, Rodger Law) - 2:40

2. Love's Been A Long Time Coming - 3:37

3. Middlefield County (Donald McDougall, Leslie Law, Patrick Caldwell) - 4:48

4. True Blue (Donald McDougall) - 3:15

5. Natchez Theme (For Natchez) - 1:50

6. Wood U Call It - 4:40

7. Nightfowl - 2:30

8. Did You Ever (Leslie Law, Patrick Caldwell) - 2:37

9. Collin's Breakdown (Donald McDougall) - 1:01

10.A Play On Children (Donald McDougall, Patrick Caldwell, Rodger Law) - 5:15

All compositions by Donald McDougall, Patrick Caldwell except where noted

Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck

*John Patrick Caldwell - Vocals, Harmonica

*Roger Law - Guitar

*Charles Faulkner - Bass

*Hugh Lockhead - Drums

*Donnie McDougall - Guitar, Vocals

1969  Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck - Home Grown Stuff   

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The Old Man And The Sea - The Old Man And The Sea (1972 denmark, tight heavy psych prog rock, 2010 remaster and expanded)

 

Danish band, originally from Jutland, formed in 1968, as a cover band, but soon the five musicians find their skills in original song writing and released their sole album in 1972. English lyrics in hard prog vein with full-bodied rock grafts that balance between vocals of the singer Ole Wedel, the powerful organ by Tommy Hansen,the sharp guitar by Benny Stanley, and the rhythm section  punching above its weight.

"Jingoism", with the acid guitar solo, "Princess" with the melodic piano. "The Monk Song"pt 1, a very tight rock that melts the vocals  with the organ, before the slight final flute crescento in a vaguely jazzy key. Pt 2 recalls the English dark prog (Atomic Rooster ), with the guitar taking over before Hansen's organ flood the space. The collaboration between the five  musicians  is remarkable.

 

"Going Blind", bears the signature of the bassist, gives a warm rock-blues rich in nuances and the usual vocal harmonies, before giving way to Stanley's incisive lead guitar, with flute, piano and organ playing crowns the evolution of the long guitar theme. The record, still very enjoyable, remains a gem of the brilliant Danish prog scene of the time. They disbanded in 1975.

Tracks

1. Living Dead (Benny Stanley, John Lundvig, Ole Wedel, Tommy Hansen) - 7:48

2. Princess (Knud Lindhard) - 6:02

3. Jingoism (Knud Lindhard) - 6:56

4. Prelude (Tommy Hansen) - 1:11

5. Monksong, Pt. 1 (Tommy Hansen) - 5:51

6. Monksong, Pt. 2 (Tommy Hansen) - 3:36

7. Going Blind (Knud Lindhard) - 10:31

8. Circulation (Benny Stanley, Knud Lindhard, Ole Wedel, Tommy Hansen) - 5:58

9. Lady Nasty (Tommy Hansen) - 7:49

10.Nasty Backbone (Ole Wedel) - 4:23

11.Roll The Dice (Knud Lindhard, Tommy Hansen) - 3:17

12.The Jam (John Lundvig, Knud Lindhard, Roar Eskesen, Tommy Hansen) - 7:20

The Old Man And The Sea

*Ole Wedel Petersen - Lead Vocals

*Benny Stanley - Electric Guitar

*Tommy Hansen - Organ, Piano, Vocals

*Knud Lindhard - Bass, Vocals

*John Lundvig - Drums

*Lars Thygesen - Drums

*Robert Hausehildt - Vocals

*Lasse Laursen - Guitar

*Erik Halager - Bass, Vocals

*Roar Eskesen - Drums

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