When the Last Ritual disbanded, Allan Springfield, Kenneth Lehman, John Scarzello and Chris Efthmian together with Earl Ford, Stanford L. James III and Billy Schwartz, formed a new band by the name Chelsea Beige. They signed to EPIC, recorded and released one and only album titled "Mama, Mama, Let Your Sweet Bird Sing", in 1971.
There's is music in this album. Music to replenish the constant rush of meandering tunes that many new groups perform on their first LP. For this reason this album is worthwhile. Perhaps another attraction here is the addition of brass, which appears to be after the fact but adds to the LP in certain parts. The songs themselves are high energy and have should receive more attraction.
There are two Buzzy Linhart albums entitled Buzzy, one released in 1969 on Philips, and this third solo release on Buddah records in 1972. There's a jazzy "Eye 1-2-C-U Shuffle," which could be the Electric Flag with Linhart on vocals. The band -- featuring Danny Trifan on bass, guest star Moogy Klingman on organ, future Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers session man supreme Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on acoustic and electric guitars, Ten Wheel Drive's Luther Rix, and mixing by Todd Rundgren -- creates what may be the most intimate of Linhart albums released on a major label.
There's a great cover of Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Take Me to the Pilot" with the equally great line "he's a virgin" with Buzzy quipping "aren't we all?." Interesting that Uni Records pushed much Elton John product out in this early-'70s period when Buddah had three Linhart discs in release (one on a subsidiary called Eleuthera Records, a band project called Music, with a majority of the songs written by Buzzy). On February 28, 2002, AMG spoke with the singer/songwriter's son, Xeno Linhart (note that the publishing company on some of the songs is Xeno Music, with Ascap as the Performing Rights Organization). Xeno claimed that "Apparently, shortly after recording The Time to Live Is Now, there was a drummer swap. Luther Rix and Kevin Ellman swapped bands so Luther and Bette Midler could be together, and bringing in an Indian drummer into the Trio to do the ragas seemed right. But Kevin left soon after to go with Moogy Klingman and become Utopia. All this in just a few months, and then there are the next sets of players. But the order of recording is not really the same as the order of release.
There really are two albums called Buzzy. The 18-minute version of "Sing Joy" [is] on Buzzy Phillips 1969, later on Best of Buzzy Linhart (1972) and the more memorable 8:30 version [appears] on Buzzy Kama Sutra/Buddah 1972 The Black Album, as it is called for its mostly black cover (by photographer Ira Wexler). The first Buzzy is quite unique in its arrangements. Best of Buzzy (1972) on KamaSutra/Buddah is a repackaging of the Buzzy (Phillips) and other material. So, the two "Sing Joy" (tracks) show up in a few places. It is worth some study itself, as it was the first raga Buzzy wrote (1964), and then re-wrote a few times. It is also a major component of the 30-minute long live raga jam by Seventh Sons, "4 A.M. at Franks" (also released as "Raga," both on ESP Disks). We have restored and remastered the cut for inclusion on a collection of improvised one-take recordings to be called 'Avant Buzz.'
So, there is a lot of Buzzy's material with the date 1972, but it was just a timing issue, and probably a mistake by record companies to flood the market with so much of his material all at once and not making it clear that some was recorded years earlier." On Barry Gordy's "You Got What It Takes" -- a hit for both Marv Johnson and the Dave Clark Five in the '60s, Linhart gives it a musician's treatment. Nothing on this album seems to be crafted with the charts in mind, though on "Rollin' On" Buzzy lifts melody and lines from Bacharach/David by fusing "What the World Needs Now" into his song. L. Luther Rix's "Boogaloother" is a delight with passages straight from the Ten Wheel Drive songbook. "Sing Joy" changes the mood, evolving from the percussive sounds into a rocking "Tutti Frutti" tracked live at Studio A of New York's Record Plant. The Black Album may be the least commercial of Buzzy's efforts, but it is solid musicianship and contains sounds that drew from, as well as inspired, past and future works of Ten Wheel Drive, Bette Midler, Utopia, Jimi Hendrix, and Steely Dan, and it is all quite staggering.
by Joe Viglione
Tracks
1 Tornado (Buzzy Linhart, Artie Traum) - 2:28
2 Rollin’ On (Buzzy Linhart) - 3:20
3 You Got What It Takes (Berry Gordy, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Tyran Carlo) - 2:44
4 Boogaloother Or Captain Hornbone’s Last Desperate Truck (Luther Rix) - 1:12
5 Sing Joy Tutti Frutti (Buzzy Linhart, Dona Calles, Dorothy La Bostrie, Richard Penniman) - 8:29
6 Take Me To The Pilot (Bernie Taupin, Elton John) - 5:00
7 Eye 1-2-C-U Shuffle (Buzzy Linhart) - 2:29
8 Tell Me True (Buzzy Linhart) - 3:50
9 Don’t You Pay Me No Mind (Buzzy Linhart) - 4:09
Musicians
*Buzzy Linhart - Vocals, Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Vibraphone, Marimba, Drums, Percussion, Piano
This set of five songs follows on the heels of their masterpiece Four Letter Monday Afternoon, and continues their jazzy, progressive rock style in as fine form as they ever have been in. The instrumentation: drums, bass, two guitars, sax, and a vocalist / sax / flute player. Their strengths lie both in the long instrumental sections and in the adventurous structures of the songs, which contain plenty of time changes and composed, thematic parts.
Perhaps the only slightly duff moment on the album is the short “The Way I Know Her,” a 3 ½ minute acoustic guitar ballad that seems a bit dull for a band who practically doesn’t know what the word means. But it’s an insignificant point on a map of some of the finest German rock of the 70s. With good quality sound (for an archive anyway) and lengthy liner notes by guitarist Remigius Dreschler, this comes recommended to all fans of the German rock scene, especially those who like it on the jazzy side.
Rankin File was a full-time band during 1971 and 1973, touring in UK and Europe, appearing in folk clubs, concert and festivals.
Ian Rankin was the main songwriter singer and also played guitar, he was born in Edinburgh Scotland, Rick Nickerson is from Canada, he was the bass player and did the backing vocals.
Tony Mitchell was born in Blantyre and grew up in Edinburgh, he was the lead guitarist. Between 1971 and 1973 Rankin File recorded 2 albums, "Rankin File" released by Technicord Records and "Mr Sax" by Folk Heritage records.
Tracks
1. Me In A Leash - 2:58
2. Lost It On The Road - 5:55
3. Leaving Home - 3:51
4. Words And Wisdom - 2:51
5. Whispy (Tony Mitchell) - 2:00
6. Met Her On The Shap - 2:43
7. Carefully - 3:10
8. Mr Sax - 6:21
9. Call On Me - 3:17
10.Sense Of Kind - 4:21
Music and Lyrics by Iain Rankin except where stated
Formed in the Bayview area of uptown Toronto in the Summer of Love, the band was originally called Simon Caine And The Catch. At that time Godfrey was a member of The Diplomats while Pendrith had played with several Toronto acts such as Luke and The Apostles, Livingston’s Journey and Ottawa’s Three’s A Crowd. With a solidified line-up, the abbreviated entity of Simon Caine recorded one self-titled album on RCA.
The album’s liner notes were penned by famed journalist Ritchie Yorke and featured a song co-written by, then, concert promoter John Brower (who would finance and produce the legendary Festival Express cross-Canada train cavalcade). The band was managed by Bob Ezrin and Gary Muth (alongside Cat and Dixie Rump Roast featuring a young Eddie Schwartz) and often booked by Sigma Productions agent Michael Cohl – who would to on to found CPI, Brockham, and has recently been the world-tour promoter for the Rolling Stones.
Pendrith would go on to a successful career as sideman to some of Canada’s most prestigious talents such as Bruce Cockburn and Murray McLauchlan; Shields still plays (piano, guitar, vocals) and lives in the New Market area outside of Toronto.
by Gary Muth, Nick Warburton, Richard Wielusiewicz
Tracks
1. 100 Fat Hairs - 3:18
2. Left By The Riverside - 4:11
3. Scarlet Skies - 4:46
4. High Executioner - 2:49
5. Walked Out The Door (Dave Richardson, Pat Godfrey) - 3:48
Silberbart was an underground heavy progressive power trio from Hamburg. The album contained just four songs: 'Chub Chub Cherry' (a short heavy rock song like a freaky Cream), 'Brain Brain' (16 minutes of acid nightmares, continuously shifting tempo in amphetamine-driven mayhem), 'God' (a much more melodic attempt with powerful guitar arrangement, sounding like Black Sabbath meet Hendrix with a collective paranoia) and 'Head Tear Of The Drunken Sun' (finished at all with 12 minutes of hazardous power trio pyrotechnics).
This is an extreme album in many ways: the raw power, the cranky vocals, the restless arrangements, not forgetting the ugly silver gnome on the front sleeve. For the first time the history of Silberbart is told by band leader Hajo Teschner and there are many rare photos of the group.
Given the number of talents early-'60s garage outfits that came out of the Northwest, it's surprising that Tacoma's The Wailers are often forgotten. One of the regions most talented and versatile bands.
By the late 1960s virtually every band in existence seemed duty sworn to recorded a psychedelic album. With a line up consisting of keyboardists Ron Gardner and Kent Morrill, bassist Buck Ormsby, drummer Dave Roland, and lead guitarist Denny Weaver, the late era Wailers were no exception; their contribution to the idiom taking the form of 1968's Al DeMartino produced "Walk Thru the People". Unlike 1966's "Outburst", this time around most of the ten tracks were band originals - Gardner and Morrill credited with the majority of songs.
The interesting thing was that viewed as a marketing move (complete with rear panel Buddha quote), rather than a true artistic statement the results were surprisingly impressive. While nothing here was what you'd consider to be artistically groundbreaking, all ten tracks offered up an enjoyable mix of psych and commercial touches. Highlights included 'Busy Man', a blazing cover of the classic 'Smokestack Lightning and the fuzz propelled 'You Can Fly'. Bell tapped the latter for a single 'You Can Fly' b/w 'Thinking Out Loud' (Bell catalog number 694).
Bad-Cat
Tracks
1. Walk Thru The People (Ron Gardner) - 0:52
2. Busy Man (Kent Morrill) - 2:51
3. Thinkin' Out Loud (Kent Morrill, Ron Gardner) - 3:25
4. Suddenly (Ron Gardner, Kent Morrill) - 4:32
5. You Can Fly (Ron Gardner, Kent Morrill) - 3:10
6. Early Mornin' Hour (Denny Weaver, Kent Morrill) - 3:05
7. Just Friends (Woods) - 3:28
8. Smokestack Lightning (Chester Burnett) - 5:50
9. I Can't Tell You (Andy Di Martino, Buck Ormsby, Denny Weaver) - 2:24
Gotham was an American brass-rock/soul band from NYC that released the album Pass the Butter on Motown-subsidiary Natural Resources in 1972.
Gotham, alternately known as the New York Street Band, came together in 1971 when veteran saxophonists Alfred “Peewee” Ellis and Frank Vicari teamed with trumpeters John Catchell and John Eckert, both fresh off a stint with Ten Wheel Drive.
Ellis did a five year (1965–69) stint in the James Brown Revue, where he co-wrote hits like “Cold Sweat,” “The Chicken,” and “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud.” During 1970/71, he played on albums by soul singer Bobby Lester, jazz saxist Hank Crawford, and Bahamian musician Exuma.
Vicari spent the prior decade backing big band leader Maynard Ferguson, followed by a stint with Woody Herman and His Swinging Herd. In 1970, he partook in the jazz-psych one-off The Albert. He then played on the 1971 Kudo release From a Whisper to a Scream by soul singer Esther Phillips. As Gotham got underway, he played on the 1972 albums Beer Cans On the Moon by folkster Ed Sanders and the eponymous jazz-rock double-album by White Elephant, produced by Mike Mainieri.
Gatchell played on the 1970 UA release Spectrum by jazz drummer Les DeMerle. With Eckert, Gatchell played on the 1970/71 albums Brief Replies by brass-rockers Ten Wheel Drive and the eponymous fourth album by singer/songwriter Cris Williamson. They both played alongside Vicari on the 1971 Esther Phillips release (Gatchell also played on her 1972 album Alone Again, Naturally). Meanwhile, Gatchell and Ellis locked horns on the 1971 Kama Sutra release Do Wah Nanny by Exuma.
Eckert played on 1969 jazz titles by Paul Desmond and the American Brass Quintet, the latter culminating a five-year stint. He also notched credits on 1970/71 albums by PJ Colt and Carol Hall. In parallel with Gotham, he played on the 1972 Flying Dutchman release Blues and the Soulful Truth by jazz singer Leon Thomas.
The other members of Gotham were guitarist Link Chamberlin, bassist Chris Qualles, drummer James Strassburg, and singer/guitarist Schuylar “Sky” Ford. Chamberlin was a member of ’60s surf rockers The Orchids. More recently, he played on albums by Giant, The Rascals, and the Ernie Wilkins Orchestra. Strassburg hailed from brass-rockers Gas Mask, which issued one album, Their First Album, on Tonsil Records in 1970. The others were relative newcomers to the scene.
Gotham signed to Natural Resources, a sublabel of Motown, and recorded their singular album at MoWest Studios in Los Angeles. The album, Pass the Butter, hit shelves in 1972. It features 11 songs: two written by Ellis (“Use It or Lose It,” “Moon”) and six by Chamberlin, including “Why Doesn’t the Sun Shine,” “Ease My Mind,” and “Talkin’ ‘Bout.” Ford contributed “They Made Me An Outlaw.” They also tackle numbers by Otis Smith (“Sittin’ On a Mountain”) and Billy Vera (“Behind the Wall”).
Pass the Butter was produced by Tom Wilson (The Animals, The Velvet Underground, Mothers of Invention) and engineered by MoWest newcomer Larry Miles, who worked on concurrent label projects by Diana Ross and the Four Seasons. The cover features an illustration by Tim Clark of Rod Dyer, Inc. It shows an encircled image with ambiguous subject matter: apparently two sentient slices of toast, in the shape of hearts, swiving and sweating in a vintage bed. The back shows a photo collage of the eight members with diagonal credit text. In the Netherlands, Pass the Butter was issued on Motown’s Rare Earth division.
Gatchell and Eckert played on the 1973 Paramount Records release by Joel Kaye and His New York Neophonic Orchestra. That same year, Gatchell rejoined Ten Wheel Drive for their eponymous fourth album, released on Capitol. He also played on 1973–75 albums by George Benson, Ronnie Foster, Esther Phillips, John Tropea, and Eumir Deodato.
In 1975, Gatchell interacted once more with Ellis on the Roulette release Out Among ‘Em by Love Childs Afro Cuban Blues Band, produced by Michael Zager. Gatchell then played on 1976 albums by Chick Corea (The Leprechaun) and singer/songwriter David Forman. During said timeframe, Eckert played on albums by Johnny Hammond, Michael Mantler, and different titles by Deodato.
Vicari played on 1973–75 albums by Ferguson, T-Bone Walker, Blue Mitchell, John Lennon, the Manhattan Transfer, and ex-Mountain man Leslie West. In 1976, he played on the Muse Records release Slow Down, Baby, the singular album by soul-funk singer and songwriter Rickie Boger.
Ellis played on mid-’70s titles by Sonny Stitt and Reuben Wilson. As Pee Wee Ellis, he released the jazz-funk album Home In the Country on Savoy Records in 1977. He spent many subsequent years as a musical director for Van Morrison.
Strassburg played on High On You, the 1975 debut solo album by Sly Stone. Behind Ellis, he drummed alongside Idris Muhammad and Bernard Purdie on Home In the Country. In 1983, Strassburg played on the jazz-pop album So Nobody Else Can Hear by Jimmy Cobb with Freddie Hubbard and Gregory Hines.
Chamberlin, as Linc Chamberland, cut a 1977 solo album, A Place Within, on Muse. In 1983, Chamberland collaborated with NW contrabassist David Friesen on the Muse release Yet to Come.
Ellis, Strassburg, and Chamberland all played on the 1977 A&M/Horizon album Light’n Up, Please! by reedist David Liebman.
Gotham’s manager, Marty Perellis, became a road manager for Frank Zappa during the mid-1970s. He’s depicted on the cover of the Mother’s 1973 release Over-nite Sensation.
New York based, Last Ritual's lone LP from 1969 is definitely a step above that dubious wheelhouse, and if it was in better condition, I'd probably hang on to it and spend more time trying to decipher its weirdness. Many of the elements are there: good, occasionally heavy guitar work, a mix of long and short cuts, crazed, rambling lyrics, production work from Tom Wilson, etc. There's also lots of horns -- never fear, it's not horn rock, and the arrangements are very well done -- and maybe too much rambling.
The Last Ritual is more proto-prog rock than psych and features shifting tempos and styles from country to chamber music, heard best/worst and most seemingly random on the near-17 minute album closer, "Bugler's Reveille." Conducted, composed and arranged by one Allan Springfield, there's nearly nothing about this album or band online; in fact, many listings on discographies or the occasional copy for sale seem to think there's no band name for some reason. the album was recorded mostly live rather than tracked in pieces -- which would be truly impressive considering the complexity of much of this material. A few clues here and there also turn up info about a direct follow up band named Chelsea Beige.
Gas Mask formed in New York City when Italian jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava teamed with reedist Richard Grando and saxophonist David Gross. The trio paired their talents with a five-piece rock band comprised of guitarist Bill Davidson, bassist Ray Brooks, drummer James Strassburg, keyboardist Nick Oliva, and singer Bobby Osborne.
Rava first recorded a decade earlier with titles on the Italian Cetra label. During the mid-1960s, he played on albums by Piero Umiliani and Steve Lacy. He also did a stint in Gato Barbieri‘s Italian quintet. After his appearance on the 1969 FMP release European Echoes by German trumpeter Manfred Schoof, Rava moved to Manhattan, where he caught wind of the burgeoning fusion of jazz and rock.
Osborne hailed from The Del-Aires, a surf-rock band from Paterson, NJ, that released four singles between 1961 and 1964 and appeared in the B-movie The Horror of Party Beach.
Grando played on 1969 albums by Earth Opera (The Great American Eagle Tragedy), Tom Paxton, and Steve Elliot. Just as Gas Mask got underway, he played on the 1970 Elektra release The American Revolution by David Peel & The Lower East Side.
Davidson played on the 1969 folk-rock album The Mother of Us All by the Steve Baron Quartet.
Gas Mask signed to the short-lived NY label Tonsil Records and released their singular album, ironically titled Their First Album, in 1970. It features 10 songs: two by Gross (“The Immigrant,” “The I Ching Thing”) and eight by Oliva, including “If You Just Think of Me,” “Just Like That,” “Thank You My Dear,” and “Watch Myself Grow Tall.”
“If You Just Think of Me” rides on a shaky groove in Gm/Cm with percolating bass, rippling organ, and a darting sax riff. Osborne’s gruff, soulful vocals command the staccato, angular refrain and major-seventh chorus.
A subdued bass in B heralds “Just Like That,” where emotive, stretched-vowel vocals soar amid cascading organ keys and trumpet overlays. Midway, sax/trumpet tradeoffs are undercut with loose tom rolls.
“Thank You My Dear” enters on a tight, two-chord, half-step riff (F#/G) with a drum-pummeled, locked-horn pattern. It soon unfolds to an open-cadence chorus with cascading organ, bobbing bass, and Osborne’s sonorous croon. Midway, brass floodbursts collide with icy organ layers.
The band cuts loose on the two instrumentals. “The Immigrant” features a persistent bassline in E against an ascending brass/organ riff (C-D-E). It soon cuts to a mute trumpet solo.
“The I Ching Thing” begins with dark, faint, distant billowing sounds. One minute in, a shaky pattern in Cm/F forms with flute, muted trumpet, and chordal strikes. Things loosen in the middle with perforating flute, scaling bass, and roaming drums.
Their First Album was produced by Teo Macero, best known for his production work on jazz classics by Miles Davis (Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Miles In the Sky), Charles Mingus (Mingus Ah Um), and Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross). Original copies are housed in a gatefold sleeve with a lyric/photo inner-spread. The label bears Tonsil’s distinct open-mouth trademark against a red background.
The Gask Mask album was one of three released on Tonsil, which otherwise only handled the acts Canada Goose, Great Jones, and a field recording by actor Robert Redford (The Language and Music of the Wolves), plus a single by Joey Dee and the New Starliters. In France, the album was released on Musidisc as Pop No End and credited just to Bobby Osborne with generic, psychedelic gogo girl cover art.
Rava played on the 1971 experimental big band release Escalator Over the Hill by Carla Bley and Paul Haines. He then launched his career as a bandleader, starting with the 1972 Fonit Cetra International release Il Giro Del Giorno In 80 Mondi.
Grando played on a string of 1971–73 folk and country albums, including titles by David Bromberg, The Quinaimes Band, and Cat Mother. In 1974, he served as a touring musician on David Bowie‘s Diamond Dogs tour, as documented on David Live.
Oliva played on 1972 albums by singer Genya Raven (formerly of fellow brass-rockers Ten Wheel Drive) and singer/songwriter D.R. Hooker.
Strassburg partook in the soul-funk octet Gotham, which issued the 1972 album Pass the Butter. As Jimmy Strassburg, he played on High On You, the 1975 debut solo album by Sly Stone. He then played on the 1977 albums Home In the Country by (ex-Gotham saxophonist) Pee Wee Ellis and Light’n Up, Please! by David Liebman. In 1983, he played on the jazz-pop album So Nobody Else Can Hear by Jimmy Cobb with Freddie Hubbard and Gregory Hines.
Brooks played on the 1973 release This Is Marva Josie, recorded with Earl “Fatha” Hines and His Orchestra. Gross resurfaced in the mid-1980s on a pair of Gramavision titles by jazz drummer Bob Moses.
