mesmirization

Mythos (Eccentric, ever-changing Krautrock) 1972-81

2012-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

*****

Mythos 1972

Track listing

"Mythoett" – 3:08
"Oriental Journey" – 8:16
"Hero's Death" – 9:47
"Encyclopedia Terra Part 1" – 10:17
"Encyclopedia Terra Part 2" – 7:24

Dreamlab 1975

Track listing

All tracks by Stephan Kaske, Robby Luizaga except were noted

"Dedicated to Wernher von Braun" – 5:53
"Message part I" – 2:49
"Message part II" (Kaske) – 5:24
"Expeditions" – 6:02
"Mythalgia" – 2:12
"Dreamlab" – 11:17
"Echophase" - 3:03
"Quite amazed" - 3:10
"Going to meet my lady" - 5:04
"Eternity" (Kaske) – 7:07

Strange Guys 1978

Tracks Listing

1. Aeronaut (5:08)
2. Strange Guys (6:17)
3. Mysterious Scene (8:25)
4. Powerslide (8:28)
5. Terra Incognita (4:33)
6. Backstage Fumble (9:08)

Concrete City 1979

Tracks Listing

1. Harry chanceless (5:06)
2. Concrete city (5:25)
3. Flamenco bay (5:36)
4. Neutron bomb (7:02)
5. Ulysses B. Smart (6:02)
6. Yukon (5:29)

Quasar 1980

Tracks Listing

1. Quasar (4:25)
2. Nurse robot (3:23)
3. Flut-e-quenzer: the knight (9:33)
a) Duel (2:22)
b) Lamentation (4:06)
c) Conjuration (1:26)
d) Rebirth (1:39)
4. Flut-e-sizer (3:29)
5. Didn't notice, didn't mind (3:24)
6. Nothing but your dream (3:18)
7. Just a part (3:32)
8. When the snow's just begun (3:21)

Grand Prix 1981

Tracks Listing

1. Grand prix (4:16)
2. Transamazonica (3:51)
3. Transatlantik non-stop (3:30)
4. Video (5:15)
5. Jet set (5:20)
6. Bermuda Dreieck (4:00)
7. Robot secret agents (3:00)
8. Mayday (3:51)

"Mythos was the project of flutist and guitarist Stephan Kaske. Mythos (Ohr, 1971) offers lengthy jams that straddle the border between folk, psychedelia and progressive-rock (Oriental Journey-Hero's Death, Encyclopedia Terrae).

A new line-up recorded a very different album, Dreamlab (Kosmische Musik, 1975), which crafts simple and quiet atmospheres for mellotron and flute. Mythos disbanded after the more conventional, song-oriented Strange Guys (Venus, 1977) and Concrete City (Venus, 1979).

Kaske started a solo career with Quasar and Grand Prix, collections of mediocre synth-pop.

A new Mythos recorded Mythosphere (1990), and heralded the conversion of Kaske to the business of new age music. All the popular clickes surface on The Dark Side Of Mythos.

Stephan Kaske undertook another change in direction with The Dramatic And Fantastic Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (Membran, 2004), a double-disc album dedicated to the American writer. It includes the grand symphonic eloquence of The Unparalleled Adventures Of Hans Pfaall, the baroque string concerto of The Journal Of Julius Rodman, the tv soundtrack-soundalike The Domain Of Arnheim, the Michael Nyman-esque ostinato repetition of The Pit And The Pendulum, the 10-minute melodic fantasia The Island Of The Fay, the Cajkovsky-ian dance The Power Of Words, the manic crescendo of The Longfellow War. The second disc indulges also in styles that target the dancefloor, although in Kaske's own idiosyncratic manner: the fusion of hard-rock and techno of Never Bet The Devil Your Head, the fibrillating An Extravaganza and the syncopated swinging techno The Stylus."

Renaissance 1969-1978 -Heavily symphonic prog with celebrated vocalist Annie Haslam

2012-01-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

****************************************************************

Renaissance s/t 1969

Track listing

No. Title Music Length
1. "Kings and Queens" 10:56
2. "Innocence" 7:07
3. "Island" 5:58
4. "Wanderer" 4:02
5. "Bullet" 11:21

Illusions 1971

Track listing

"Love Goes On" (K.Relf) - 2:51
"Golden Thread" (J.McCarty/K.Relf) - 8:15
"Love Is All" (J.McCarty/B.Thatcher) - 3:40
"Mr. Pine" (M.Dunford) - 7:00
"Face Of Yesterday" (J.McCarty) - 6:06
"Past Orbits Of Dust" (J.McCarty/K.Relf/B.Thatcher) - 14:39

Prologue 1972

Track listing

"Prologue" (Dunford) - 5:39
"Kiev" (McCarty-Thatcher) - 7:38
"Sounds of the Sea" (Dunford-Thatcher) - 7:07
"Spare Some Love" (Dunford-Thatcher) - 5:11
"Bound for Infinity" (McCarty-Thatcher) - 4:23
"Rajah Khan" (Dunford) - 11:31

Ashes are Burning 1973

Track listing

"Can You Understand?" - 9:51
"Let It Grow" - 4:14
"On the Frontier" (McCarty-Thatcher) - 4:55
"Carpet of the Sun" - 3:31
"At the Harbour" - 6:48
"Ashes Are Burning" - 11:20

Turn of the Cards 1974

Track listing

"Running Hard" - 9:36
"I Think of You" - 3:08
"Things I Don't Understand" (Dunford/McCarty) - 9:28
"Black Flame" - 6:25
"Cold Is Being" - 3:02
"Mother Russia" - 9:18

Scheherazade and Other Stories 1975

Track listing

"Trip to the Fair" (Dunford-Thatcher-Tout) - 10:51
"The Vultures Fly High" (Dunford-Thatcher) - 3:04
"Ocean Gypsy" (Dunford-Thatcher) - 7:05
"Song of Scheherazade" (Camp-Dunford-Thatcher-Tout) - 24:39
i. Fanfare - :38 (instrumental)
ii. The Betrayal - 2:05 (instrumental)
iii. The Sultan - 4:45
iv. Love Theme - 2:42 (instrumental)
v. The Young Prince and Princess as told by Scheherazade - 2:29
vi. Festival Preparations - 5:11 (instrumental)
vii. Fugue for the Sultan - 2:10 (instrumental)
viii. The Festival - 2:10
ix. Finale - 2:29

Novella 1977

Track listing

"Can You Hear Me?" (Camp-Dunford-Thatcher) – 13:38
"The Sisters" (Dunford-Thatcher-Tout) – 7:15
"Midas Man" (Dunford-Thatcher) – 5:47
"The Captive Heart" (Camp-Dunford) – 4:16
"Touching Once (Is So Hard to Keep)" (Camp-Dunford) – 9:27

A Song for all Seasons 1978

Track listing

"Opening Out" (Camp-Dunford) – 4:14
"Day of the Dreamer" (Camp-Dunford) – 9:43
"Closer than Yesterday" (Camp-Dunford) – 3:18
"Kindness (At the End)" (Camp) – 4:51
"Back Home Once Again" (Camp-Dunford) – 3:15
"She Is Love" (Dunford-Thatcher) – 4:11
"Northern Lights" (Dunford-Thatcher) – 4:06
"A Song for All Seasons" (Camp-Dunford-Sullivan-Thatcher-Tout) – 10:53

Mike Oldfield - 4 of the best! symphonic prog rock

2012-01-10T02:04:00.000-08:00

****************************************************************************************

Hergest Ridge 1974

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mike Oldfield.

"Hergest Ridge, Part 1" – 21:29 (the lovely, relaxing side)
"Hergest Ridge, Part 2" – 18:45 (the side with the epic electronic THUNDERSTORM!!!)

Ommadawn 1975 (Remastered 2010)

"Ommadawn (Part One) 2010 Stereo Mix by Mike Oldfield
"Ommadawn (Part Two)" / "On Horseback" 2010 Stereo Mix by Mike Oldfield
"In Dulci Jubilo"
"First Excursion"
"Argiers"
"Portsmouth"

"Ommadawn (Part One)" 1975 Stereo Mix
"Ommadawn (Part Two)" / "On Horseback" 1975 Stereo Mix
"Ommadawn (Lost Version)" 1975 Demo

Incantations 1978 (2011 Reissue Deluxe CD1)
Incantations 1978 (2011 Reissue Deluxe CD2)

Deluxe Edition track listings
Disc 1

"Incantations Part One" Remastered Stereo Mix
"Incantations Part Two" Remastered Stereo Mix
"Incantations Part Three" Remastered Stereo Mix
"Incantations Part Four" Remastered Stereo Mix
"Guilty" 7-inch Single Version

Disc 2

"Diana" 2011 Stereo Mix
"Northumbrian" 2011 Stereo Mix
"Piano Improvisation" 2011 Stereo Mix
"Hiawatha" 2011 Stereo Mix
"Canon For Two Vibraphones" 2011 Stereo Mix
"William Tell Overture"
"Cuckoo Song"
"Pipe Tune"
"Wrekorder Wrondo"
"Guilty" 2011 Stereo Mix
"Diana - Desiderata" 2011 Stereo Mix

"Diana", "Hiawatha" and "Canon for Two Vibraphones" are remixed versions of excerpts from the original album; "Northumbrian" and "Piano Improvisation" are out-takes from the album sessions (the latter previously used as part of the soundtrack for the documentary Reflection); "Guilty" is based on the original 12-inch mix of the song, but is presented here in a noticeably drier, stripped-off version, which omits all of the reverb on the original mix; finally, "Diana - Desiderata" is a remix of the "Diana" excerpt including, as the title suggests, quotations from Max Ehrmann's famous prose poem Desiderata.

QE2 1980

"Taurus I" (Mike Oldfield) – 10:16
"Sheba" (Oldfield) – 3:33
"Conflict" (Oldfield) – 2:53
"Arrival" (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 2:48
"Wonderful Land" (Jerry Lordan) – 3:38
"Mirage" (Oldfield) – 4:41
"QE2" (Oldfield, David Hentschel) – 7:38
"Celt" (Oldfield, Tim Cross) – 3:06
"Molly" (Oldfield) – 1:15

Design -Day of the Fox/ In Flight (2 albums)

2012-01-09T21:55:00.001-08:00

Design -Day of the Fox-In Flight

note:top ratings for these albums on Amazon uk. buy and support!

DESIGN was a British six-piece vocal harmony group in the early 1970s and its members were Barry Alexander, Gabrielle Field, Kathy Manuell, Jeff Matthews, John Mulcahy-Morgan and Geoff Ramseyer.

Design - vocal group magazine photoTheir music has been described as ‘sunshine harmony pop with a light hippy vibe’ and ‘melodic folk-pop with a shimmering, almost psychedelic, West Coast feel’. Design released five albums and thirteen singles in the UK and appeared on more than fifty television shows before they split up in 1976.

Singer and songwriter Tony Smith formed Design while he was working at the BBC in London in December 1968. The group then signed a recording contract with Adrian Kerridge of Lansdowne Studios and recorded their first album Design during the summer of 1969. This led to a two-album deal with Epic Records in the USA.

In November 1970, shortly before the first album was released, Tony Smith left the group and he was replaced by guitarist Jeff Matthews, who had been with John and Geoff in the group Free Expression.

This was Design’s most successful line-up and after their appearances on The Morecambe and Wise Show in 1971 they became one of the most televised groups in the UK, guesting on dozens of programmes with The Two Ronnies, Val Doonican, Benny Hill, Tommy Cooper, and many others.

They toured with Gilbert O’Sullivan, starred in cabaret and at the London Palladium, and recorded the albums Tomorrow Is So Far Away, Day of the Fox and In Flight before Gabrielle Field and Geoff Ramseyer left the group in October 1974.

Barry, John, Kathy and Jeff carried on as a four-piece group and recorded one more album By Design before finally splitting up in October 1976. Since then, Design’s albums have become much sought after by record collectors and they have been highly praised by music critics in magazines and books such as Shindig and Galactic Ramble.

In June 2011 Design's first four albums were reissued for the first time on CD and download by RPM Records. The albums Design and Tomorrow Is So Far Away are available on RPM Records Retro 897 and the albums Day of the Fox and In Flight on RPM Records Retro 898. A third CD of singles and unreleased tracks is planned for release in 2012.

Now once again you can enjoy the glorious sunshine harmonies of the six-piece group described by Noel Edmonds on BBC Radio One as ‘one of the best vocal groups in the world’.

Track Listings
1. NATURE'S CHILDREN
2. DAY OF THE FOX
3. I Feel The Earth Move
4. Can This Be Love
5. Pisces Hymn
6. Meet My Friends
7. If You Think About Me
8. Fallen Angel
9. Yellow Bird (Have You No Home)
10. You'd Better Believe It
11. When Morning Comes
12. Wherever You May Go
13. A Famous Myth
14. Teach Me How To Fly
15. Archie Franks
16. Dirty Work
17. Don't Apologize
18. Second Love
19. End Of The Party
20. I'll Be Back Again
21. I Am The Greene Manne
22. Losing You
23. After The Rain

link above pics. also don't miss their first two albums!!

***WHOOPS AGAIN!!

2012-01-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

HAHA LOL i put a new link in for the FANTASTIC 'MOGOLLAR' (below)but buggered up the html so it didnt show!! its there now, or HERE!!

YEAH SOMETIMES I SLIP UP BUT I USUALLY SPOT IT IN A FEW HOURS COZ I KEEP CHECKING THE POSTS LIKE THE MENTAL PERFECTIONIST I AM.....LOL

Mogollar-S/T 1971 rare 2nd album, fab Turkish Psych with fuzz guitar & Eastern instruments -MUST LISTEN!!!

2012-01-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

*note: i reposted this with more
pictures to illustrate how
colourful and wonderful this
band is!! DON'T MISS, i
wanna see more listeners!
-The band was founded in 1967 by Neco, Aziz Azmet, Aydın Daruga and Murat Ses who were previously members of Silüetler (silhouettes).

However, Neco left the band at the end of 1967. Also, Cahit Berkay, who was a member of Selçuk Alagöz Band, and Haluk Kunt, who was a member of Vahşi Kediler (Wild Cats), both joined the band.

Later, Haluk Kunt was replaced by Hasan Sel, who was a member of Apaşlar (Apachies) in 1968, and Aydın Daruga was replaced by Engin Yörükoğlu in 1969.

In 1970, Hasan Sel was replaced by Taner Öngür, previously a member of Meteorlar (Meteors) and the Erkin Koray Quartet.

The band tried to fuse the technical aspects of pop music with the melodies of Anatolian folk music in late 1960s and early 1970s

In July 1970, Aziz Azmet, the band's vocalist left the band and Ersen Dinleten replaced him for a short time.

Moğollar recorded Ternek/Haliç'te Gün Batışı (Ternek/Sunset on the Golden Horn) 45 rpm, and left for Paris in August 1970.

The group won the Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy (previously won by such groups as Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix) in 1971.

Nearly all of the tracks on this album are compositions or traditional arrangements of Murat Ses, the group's keyboardist, arranger and composer. This ambum is compelling work from the Turkish scene of the early 70s -- music that fuses rock and folk roots, and which makes heavy use of the Turkish baglama -- an instrument with strong sitar-like qualities.

Most of the tunes here are instrumentals that lay the baglama solos out over heavier rhythms -- in a driving sound that's certainly got roots in folk, but which comes off with more of a rock-like intensity.

There's a bit of fuzz on some of the instrumentation, but we can't tell for sure how much electricity was used by the band -- and although the English language notes on the CD do a great job of laying out the group's history and recordings, we wish they'd give a bit more specifics on that front!

CD features a fair number of bonus tracks, including key recordings done by Mogollar in Paris -- and titles include "Ozum Kaldi", "Misket", "Behind The Dark", "Hicaz Mandira", "Yine Bir Gulnihal", "Senhaz Longa", "Hitchin", "Dag Ve Cocuk", and "Garip".

Tracklisting:
01.Katip Arzuhalim Yaz Yare Boyle
02.Bachelere Geldi Bahar
03.Hicaz Mandira
04.Uskudara Giderken
05.Karsiki Yayla
06.Yine Bir Gulnihal
07.Sehnaz Longa
08.Drama Koprusu Bolu Beyi
09.Canakkale Icinde Ayanli Carsi
10.Misket
11.Ozum Kaldi
12.Behind the Dark
13.Halicte Gunesin Batsi
14.Hitchin
15.Berkay Oyun Havasi
16.Ternek
17.Yalnizlgin Ackli Guldurusu
18.Dag Ve Cocuk
19.Garip Coban

Mogollar:
*Cahit Berkay – bağlama,guitar,kemenche,mandolin,yaylı tanbur,vocals
*Taner Öngür – bass,vocals
*Engin Yörükoğlu – drums
*Murat Ses – synthesizer, hammond organ

here

Gryphon -Medieval Prog par excellence!

2012-01-05T23:06:00.000-08:00

Gryphon (1973)

Track listing

"Kemp's Jig" (Trad. arr. Gryphon) – 3:07
"Sir Gavin Grimbold" (Trad. arr. Gulland) – 2:45
"Touch And Go" (Harvey/Taylor) – 1:29
"Three Jolly Butchers" (Trad. arr. Taylor) – 3:54
"Pastime with Good Company" (Henry VIII arr. Gryphon) – 1:31
"The Unquiet Grave" (Trad. arr. Gryphon) – 5:40
"Estampie" (Anon. arr. Gryphon) – 4:53
"Crossing The Stiles" (Taylor) – 2:25
"The Astrologer" (Trad. arr. Gryphon) – 3:12
"Tea Wrecks" (Anon. arr. Gryphon) – 1:06
"Juniper Suite" (Gryphon) – 4:49
"The Devil And The Farmer's Wife" (Trad. arr. Gryphon) – 1:55

Midnight Mushrumps (1974)

Track listing

"Midnight Mushrumps" (Harvey) – 18:58
"The Plough-Boy's Dream" (Trad. Arr. by Gryphon) – 3:02
"The Last Flash Of Gaberdine Taylor" (Taylor) – 3:58
"Gulland Rock" (Gulland) – 5:21
"Dubbel Dutch" (Taylor) – 5:36
"Ethelion" (Trad. Arr.) – 5:15

Red Queen to Gryphon Three (1974)

01. Opening Move (9:42)
02. Second Spasm (8:15)
03. Lament (10:45)
04. Checkmate (9:50)

Raindance (1975)

Track listing

"Down The Dog" (Harvey) - 2:44
"Raindance" (Harvey) - 5:37
"Mother Nature's Son" (Lennon–McCartney) - 3:08
"Le Cambrioleur Est Dans Le Mouchoir" (Taylor/Bennett) - 2:14
"Ormolu" (Harvey) - 1:00
"Fontinental Version" (Taylor) - 5:36
"Wallbanger" (Harvey) - 3:33
"Don't Say Go" (Taylor) - 1:48
"(Ein Klein) Heldenleben (Harvey) - 16:03

Treason (1977)

Track listing

"Spring Song" (Harvey/Sebastion) - 10:00
"Round & Round" (Harvey/Sebastion) - 4:30
"Flash In The Pantry" (Gulland/Sebastion) - 4:57
"Falero Lady" (Harvey/Sebastion) - 4:08
"Snakes And Ladders" (Harvey) - 5:15
"The Fall Of The Leaf" (Harvey/Sebastion) - 4:22
"Major Disaster" (Foster/Sebastion) - 4:04

from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and his fellow Royal College of Music graduate Brian Gulland, a woodwind player, began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble that mixed traditional English folk music with medieval and Renaissance influences. Shortly after this, the duo was joined by guitarist Graeme Taylor and drummer/percussionist Dave Oberlé. After their self-titled debut, they expanded their sound to include electric guitars and keyboards as well as wind instruments, such as bassoons and krumhorns, not previously used in rock music. Gryphon's music often sounded as much like rural English folk or renaissance chansons as it did rock, at least on their early recordings. After their third album (Red Queen to Gryphon Three) and the subsequent tour as a supporting act for Yes, their instrumentation became more conventional and the use of non-standard instruments was reduced. Fans and critics generally regard Midnight Mushrumps and the all-instrumental Red Queen to Gryphon Three as their finest albums.

More Kids Christmas Music! (i can't get enough!)

2011-12-21T15:25:00.002-08:00

..i spent all day yesterday trawling thru ALL of Amazon uk's mp3 kids albums to find the best more songs i could find. i found a great handful of unknown songs, and some fine renditions of some old standards. there are many more 'Jesusy' songs on this collection, except for about 3 that are great kids versions of pop songs.

i think you will be enthralled as i was at the variety of gorgeous tunes on here. i believe they are mostly American kids, but they sing so beautifully you don't notice, except for the odd solo verses!

i always try to avoid anything too jazzy sounding, too slow, too restrained, too twee, or Heaven forbid, any adult interference. <-Let the kids sing!! i just love it clear, bright and decently sweet! enjoy!

here

Maddy Prior & the Carnival Band -A Tapestry of Carols(1987) -gorgeous old worlde folk, must listen!!

2011-12-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

Note: Maddy & band have done about 5 Christmas albums like this, so do check them out if you like Olde Worlde folk! it's great stuff!!

From Wikipedia:
A Tapestry of Carols is an album by Maddy Prior. It is a collection of ancient carols from across Europe, played by The Carnival Band on replicas of medieval instruments. It was recorded at The Quaker Meeting House, Frenchay, near Bristol and released in 1987.

Personnel

Maddy Prior – vocals
Bill Badley – baroque guitar, guitar, gittern, banjo, mandolin, mandocello, cittern, vocals
Andrew Davis – double bass
Charles Fullbrook – tabors, basel trommel, glockenspiel, bells, wood blocks, triangle, cymbals, vocals
Giles Lewin – violin, recorders, vocals
Andrew Watts – Flemish bagpipes, bassoon, curtal, clarinet, recorders, shawm, vocals
Arrangements by Andrew Watts
"Angels From The Realms Of Glory" arranged by Andrew Watts and Giles Lewin.

Track listing

"The Sans Day Carol" (Traditional Cornish)
"In Dulci Jubilo" (German 14th Cent)
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (Traditional English)
"It Came Upon The Midnight Clear" (Tune trad Eng, words EH Sears)
"The Holly and the Ivy" (Traditional English)
"The Coventry Carol" (English 16th Cent)
"Ding Dong Merrily On High" (Tune trad French 16th Cent, words GR Woodward)
"The Angel Gabriel" (Tune trad Basque, words S Baring-Gould)
"Angels From The Realms of Glory" (Tune trad French, words J Montgomery)
"Infant Holy" (Traditional Polish)
"A Virgin Most Pure" (Traditional English)
"Unto Us A Boy Is Born" (German Medieval)
"Rejoice And Be Merry" (Traditional English)
"Joseph Dearest" (German 16th Cent)
"Personent Hodie" (German 14th Cent)
"On Christmas Night" (Sussex Carol) (Traditional English)

here

ELP -Works Vol 1 & 2 (uk 1977) -amazing album with classical, prog and power ballads

2011-12-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Works Volume 1 is a 1977 album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It is a two-disc set divided into four major sections, one each highlighting each band member, and one for combined works.

The album was highly anticipated, as it had been four years since the release of ELP's last studio album, Brain Salad Surgery. However, it was different from the synthesizer-driven music that most fans had expected and received a mixed reaction from fans and press.

Side 1 of the first disc is the Keith Emerson side, a concerto for piano and orchestra.

Side 2 is the Greg Lake side, and consists of acoustic ballads, most of which were written by Lake and Peter Sinfield.

Side 3 (disc 2, side 1, the Carl Palmer side) includes a remake of "Tank" (from ELP's eponymous first album), with orchestral accompaniment and without the drum solo. Another track on Palmer's side is the rocker "L.A. Nights", featuring Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh on lead and slide guitar and scat vocal. Also, two arrangements of outside composers' pieces figure on the Palmer side: one of Bach's baroque D Minor Invention #4, BWV 775, and a piece titled 'The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits', an excerpt of the 2nd movement of "The Scythian Suite" by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), written in 1915.

Side 4 (disc 2, side 2) features the entire band together, and consists of a modern piece re-arranged for rock band, Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, and the long-form song "Pirates" which features lyrics added to music Emerson had written for the soundtrack of a canceled film version of Frederick Forsyth's book The Dogs of War. Aaron Copland found ELP's version of his piece appealing although he was puzzled at the inclusion of a modal solo between two fairly straight renditions of his piece.

Track listing:
Disc one
Keith Emerson

"Piano Concerto No. 1" (Keith Emerson) - 18:19
First Movement: "Allegro giocoso" – 9:21
Second Movement: "Andante molto cantabile" – 2:09
Third Movement: "Toccata con fuoco" – 6:48

Greg Lake

"Lend Your Love to Me Tonight" (Greg Lake, Peter Sinfield) – 4:01
"C'est la Vie" (Lake, Sinfield) – 4:16
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" (Lake, Sinfield) – 4:35
"Nobody Loves You Like I Do" (Lake, Sinfield) – 3:56
"Closer to Believing" (Lake, Sinfield) – 5:33

Disc two
-Carl Palmer

"The Enemy God Dances with the Black Spirits" (Sergei Prokofiev, arr. Emerson, Lake, Carl Palmer) – 3:20
"L.A. Nights" (Palmer) – 5:42
"New Orleans" (Palmer) (features Joe Walsh on guitars and scat vocal) and Keith Emerson on keyboards. – 2:45
"Two Part Invention in D Minor" (J. S. Bach, arr. Palmer) – 1:54
"Food for Your Soul" (Palmer) – 3:57
"Tank" (Emerson, Palmer) – 5:09

-Emerson, Lake & Palmer

"Fanfare for the Common Man" (Aaron Copland, arr. Emerson, Lake, Palmer) – 9:40
"Pirates" (Emerson, Lake, Sinfield) – 13:19

********************************************

Works Volume 2 is an album released in 1977 by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Unlike Works Volume 1 (which consisted of three solo sides and one ensemble side), Volume 2 was a single album which seemingly was a compilation of leftover tracks from other album sessions that had not made those albums. While many derided the album for its apparent lack of focus, others felt it showed a different side of the band, with blues, bluegrass and jazz being very prominent as musical genres in this recording.

Album material

"When The Apple Blossoms Bloom...", "Tiger in a Spotlight" and "Brain Salad Surgery" had been recorded at the 1973 sessions for the album Brain Salad Surgery but did not appear on it - rather strangely in the case of the latter.

Volume 2 also included a stripped-down version of Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas". An orchestral version of the song had previously been released as a solo Lake single in the UK and became something of an annual Christmas standard there.

Track listing:

"Tiger in a Spotlight" (Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, Peter Sinfield) – 4:32
"When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine" (Emerson, Lake, Palmer) – 3:56
"Bullfrog" (Ron Aspery, Mick Hodgkinson, Palmer)– 3:49
"Brain Salad Surgery" (Emerson, Lake, Sinfield) – 3:07
"Barrelhouse Shake-Down" (Emerson) – 3:37
"Watching Over You" (Lake, Sinfield) – 3:54
"So Far to Fall" (Emerson, Lake, Sinfield) – 4:55
"Maple Leaf Rag" (Scott Joplin) – 2:00
"I Believe in Father Christmas" (Lake, Sinfield) – 3:17
"Close But Not Touching" (Palmer) – 3:18
"Honky Tonk Train Blues" (Meade "Lux" Lewis) – 3:09
"Show Me the Way to Go Home" (L. James Campbell, Reginald Connelly) – 3:30

wv1
wv2

ELP -Trilogy (Glorious Symphonic prog classic 1972)

2011-12-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

ELP's third studio album, originally released in 1972, further increased their worldwide popularity. It includes "Hoedown", which has become one of their most popular songs when performing live and "From The Beginning", their highest-charting US single to date.here

1. The Endless Enigma (Part One)
3. The Endless Enigma (Part Two)
4. From The Beginning
5. The Sheriff
6. Hoedown
7. Trilogy
8. Living Sin
9. Abaddon's Bolero

Various Kids -Kids Christmas Songs & Carols (my compilation)

2011-12-18T00:25:00.000-08:00

Psychelatte says: this is my personal selection of the best Kids Christmas songs, old and new that i have on cd, from various cds. i chose them for the quality of the singing and/or the originality of the song.

i don't have kids but i have always loved hearing kids singing. i hope you enjoy it as much as i do. have a Happy Christmas! xxx

(p.s the numbering is all over the place as the songs were taken from various cds.)

A-CAROLING WE GO (US KIDS)
THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS (UK KIDS)
LITTLE DONKEY (UK KIDS)
MR SANTA (UK KIDS)
O COME O COME IMMANUEL (US KIDS)
WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS (US KIDS)
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS (US KIDS)
10 LITTLE ANGELS (UK KIDS)
ITS CHRISTMAS TIME (UK KIDS)
GOOD KING WENCESLAS (US KIDS)
BABHOOSKA (UK KIDS)
O CHRISTMAS TREE (US KIDS)
ROCKING CAROL (UK KIDS)
WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS (US KIDS)
FUM FUM FUM (US KIDS)
OVER THE RIVER (UK KIDS)
WE THREE KINGS (US KIDS)
CHRISTMAS LULLABY (UK KIDS)
THE FRIENDLY BEASTS (US KIDS)
GOD BLESS THE MASTER OF THIS HOUSE (UK KIDS)
STAR CAROL (UK KIDS)
A CHILD THIS DAY IS BORN (US KIDS)
THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM (US KIDS)
THE HOLLY AND THE IVY (US KIDS)
WHEN SANTA GOT STUCK UP THE CHIMNEY (UK KIDS)
BRING A TORCH, JEANETTE, ISABELLA (US KIDS)
DEAR FATHER CHRISTMAS (UK KIDS)
JOY TO THE WORLD (US KIDS)
DECK THE HALLS (US KIDS)
WHAT CHILD IS THIS (US KIDS)
I WONDER AS I WANDER (US KIDS)
MARY HAD A BABY (UK KIDS)
ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH (US KIDS)
CHRISTMAS BELLS (UK KIDS)
SHEPHERDS PIPE CAROL (UK ADULT?)
THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (UK KIDS)
WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED (UK KIDS)
LOVE CAME DOWN AT CHRISTMAS (UK KIDS)
SEE AMID THE WINTERS SNOW (U
SLEIGH RIDE (UK KIDS)
CAROL OF THE BELLS (US KIDS)
CHRISTMAS IS COMING (UK KIDS)
AULD LANG SYNE (US KIDS)

here

Grandaddy -Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland

2011-12-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Bosphorus & Mode Plagal - Beyond The Bosphorus- (Greece, Turkey, -bewitching fusion of folky traditional music & modern Jazz with female vocals)

2011-12-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

“Greek jazz ensemble Mode Plagal collaborate with Bosphorus, a group with Turkish musicians and traditional instruments who bring forth the sound and experience of the Eastern and Anatolian musical tradition. The symbolism of the Bosphorus straits as a passage from one world to the another, from one sea to the other and from one continent to a new world.”

"'It was bound to happen, someday.'
That was the first thing that crossed my mind when I came across the news that Bosphorus and Mode Plagal were to collaborate on a record.

Bosphorus, a group of Turkish musicians from Istanbul who for almost twenty years now have been studying the musical tradition of that city through its many periods have been churning out amazing records off the mainstream. They have been exploring, among other things, the musical tradition of Greek composers of the city, as well as the interplay between what existed in the city (the Byzantine tradition of the time when the city used to be called Contantinople) and what came after (the Ottoman musical tradition both on the level of court music and popular one.)

Mode Plagal have already been covered extensively in Rootsworld, as they have been following a similar path regarding Greek music, but with an added focus on jazz experimentation.

Listen!
So, in many ways, both groups have been dealing with the same questions: What does it mean to be at the crossroads between East and West, Now and Then? What have been the results of the influences of other people on the musical tradition of the region? Are there traces of the past to be found and are there any of those worthy of retention for the future? All that and beautiful sounds!

The latter is where Beyond the Bosphorus succeeds effortlessly: this is a compelling, seductive record that doesn't sound academic at all, while it combines music from three different musical traditions; the learned Eastern musical system (the ancient one), the folk tradition of the Alevi communities, and the western-influenced one, as is noted in the beautiful and very informative trilingual liner notes (Greek, English and French.) There were times that this record sounded pop. At others, it reminded me strongly of Morphine (the band from Boston) or an ethnomusicologist's pet research project. On "Oceania," the last song, the U2 of the late 1980s comes to mind. All that and it never sounds forced, grotesque or garish.

As in the previous collaborative work of Mode Plagal (the Yorgos Margaritis CD recently reviewed), this record sounds like Bosphorus, possessed by Mode Plagal. The way in which they go in and out of the picture, blending in or coming to the forefront, depending on the musical needs or whim of the moment, is fascinating.

Apart from the usual high musicianship of Mode Plagal (who use saxophones, electric and acoustic guitars, drums and bass) and the exquisite learned virtuosity of Bosphorus (who play kemenche, rebab, violin, ney, cello, kudum, bendir, kaval, saz, kanun and tanbur), Vassiliki Papageorgiou, who sings on almost all the tracks, should be singled out for particular praise, as her laid back, spacey yet curiously earthy voice is often the highlight of a song. Providing a stylistic unity to the record which otherwise would have been torn apart by its various musical influences, Papageorgiou inhabits the role of the narrator of this fascinating musical journey, as she sings about love in the city, important Islamic religious feasts, Sappho and most of all about the city: Konstantiniye/Istanbul. - Nondas Kitsos

The press info:
The symbolism of Bosphorus straights as a passage from one world to another, from one sea to the other and from one continent to a new world, has marked through myths the spiritual memory and heritage of migrating tribes as well as that of sea-faring people in the greater basin of the Easter Mediterranean.

Those tribes coming from the South, following the south to north migration of the cranes, believed in the a hyperborean haven and heaven whirling beyond the North Star (Polaris), whereas those arriving from the Ease longed for a Western Paradise somewhere along the shores of the Atlantic. On the crossroads, at the exact point of intersection of the axis, there at the divide between Europe and Asia, a City was founded which it was hoped would reflect the heavenly peace (Irini) and Wisdom (Sophia)- the Byzantine Constantinople, Konstantiniye of the Ottomans- the present dat Istanbul.

The space of all around seems to resound - Aghia Sophia, the Bosphorus, the mosques, the domes, the golden horn, everything seems to whirl around a mysterious and inaudible sound which is perceptible only to those who have managed to emerge free from the murky and channeled waters of urban material existence. Beyond, rises yet another deafening but silent sound, the dirge of a Metropolis which has lost the dream to embrace within her womb all the religions and people suffering tribulations and by this way, becoming admired by all the nations as an example of ecumenicity.

We have tried to capture with our music the echo of this indescribable sound. To achieve this -which is also a game with different musical systems and tunings- two different groups collaborated: Bosphorus with turkish musicians and ancient traditional instruments which bring forth the sound and experience of the Eastern and Anatolian musical tradition and Mode Plagal, a greek avant-garde group which is experimenting a contemporary approach to greek traditional Folk music. The compositions, besides the traditional songs and tunes, are by the musicians of both groups and are put to the lyrics and poetry of G. Seferis, T. Syrelis and V. Papageorgiou around the theme of "Beyond Bosphorus".

They are interpreted by Vasiliki Papageorgiou, with a traditional Alevi prayer to the 12 Imams by Engin Arslan. The musical direction is by Nikiforos Metaxas. Bosphorus and Mode Plagal have been collaborating for some time now, Mode Plagla have been visiting Turkey quite often and both groups have given joint concerts the last couple of years in Greece, Turkey -in Istanbul and Smyrni for the 100 years of G. Seferis- in Belgium, Holland etc.

Apart from the usual high musicianship of Mode Plagal (who use saxophones, electric and acoustic guitars, drums and bass) and the exquisite learned virtuosity of Bosphorus (who play kemenche, rebab, violin, ney, cello, kudum, bendir, kaval, saz, kanun and tanbur), Vassiliki Papageorgiou, who sings on almost all the tracks, should be singled out for particular praise, as her laid back, spacey yet curiously earthy voice is often the highlight of a song. Providing a stylistic unity to the record which otherwise would have been torn apart by its various musical influences, Papageorgiou inhabits the role of the narrator of this fascinating musical journey, as she sings about love in the city, important Islamic religious feasts, Sappho and most of all about the city: Konstantiniye/Istanbul." - Nondas Kitsos, RootsWorld

“Beyond The Bosphorus is a collaboration between Greek band Mode Plagal and the most recent incarnation of the Turkish group Bosphorus, which now includes such leading performers of Turkish art music as Hasan Esen (kemençe) and Murat Aydemir (tanbur). On vocals is Vasiliki Papayeoryiou, who has worked with Bosphorus in the past. In short, this is an impressive line-up. - Chris Williams”
Track Listing
-------------
01. Improvisation: Rebab-Cello
02. Konstantiniye
03. The Tumult Of Torrents
04. Ey Zahit
05. Shuttle Boats
06. Beyond The Bosphorus
07. Until Such Time
08. Itinerary
09. Twelve Imams
10. Tatavla
11. For Sappho
12. Erotikos Logos
13. Lullaby
14. Faraway Lady
15. This Night
16. Oceania

here

Various Artists (2009/2010) -Anatolia Rocks: A Musical Trip Through Turkey Vol. 1 & 2

2011-12-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Anatolian rock (Turkish: Anadolu Rock) is a fusion of Turkish folk and rock music. It emerged during the mid-1960s, soon after rock groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Status Quo, and Omega became popular in Turkey. Examples of this style include Turkish musicians such as Cem Karaca, Barış Manço, Erkin Koray, Fikret Kızılok, Murat Ses alongside bands such as Moğollar, Kurtalan Ekspres, Mavi Işıklar, Apaşlar and Kardaşlar. Today, Anatolian Rock is a general term used to describe music derived from both traditional Turkish folk music and Rock.

Tracklist:
Volume 1
01 Ümit Tokcan - Uryan Geldim
02 Erkin Koray - Estarabim
03 Esin Afşar - Zühtü
04 Edip Akbayram & Dostlar - Zalım Zalım
05 3 Hürel - Döner Dünya
o6 KIm Bunlar - Oyuna Çağrı
o7 Selda Bağcan - Ince Ince Bir Kar Yağar
o8 Erkin Koray - Şaşkın
o9 Barış Manço* - Estergon Kalesi
10 Fikret Kızılok - Sevda Çiçeği
11 Nurcan Opel - Beğenmez Beğenmez
12 Cem Karaca & Apaşlar - Gılgamış
13 Grup Bunalım - Bunalım
14 Mustafa Özkent - Zeytinyağlı
15 Barış Manço* - Ben Bilirim
16 Mavi Işıklar - Gül Dah
17 Galatasaray Lisesi - Zazie
18 Erkin Koray - Türkü

Volume 2
1. Alpay ~ Ben armudu dislerim *
2. Metin H. Alatli ~ Mevlana Böyle Dedi [Edit]
3. Timur Selçuk Orkestrasy ~ Panayir Gunu *
4. Serpil Barlas ~ Yandin askinla ben *
5. Erkin Koray ~ Silinmeyen Hatiralar
6. Zerrin Zerren ~ Yazik Sana *
7. Ersen ~ Dostlar beni hartirlasin
8. Ferdi Özbegen ~ köprüden gecti gelin
9. Baris Manço ~ Sari Cizmeli Mehmet Aga
10. Gulden Karabocek ~ Artik Sorma beni *
11. Grup Cigrisim ~ Salak
12. Mavi Isiklar ~ Ask Cicegi
13. Aziz Azmet ve Bunalimlar ~ Hele Hele Gel *
14. Ajda Pekkan ~ Viens dans ma vie *
15. Gomidas Ensemble ~ Helvaji [traditional] *
16. Edip Akbayram ~ Arabam Kaldi Yolda

Timur Selcuk Orkestrasi -S/T Turkish Anatolian music- great stuff!!

2011-11-27T07:54:00.001-08:00

Timur Selçuk (born 2 July 1946, Istanbul) is a renowned Turkish singer, pianist, conductor and composer.

here

He 6 -A Go Go! - Go Go Sound '71: Vol. 1 & 2,2LP boxset,1971/2004, Psychedelia,Korea

2011-11-22T01:16:00.000-08:00

"Recorded in, yay, 1971, pressed in a ridiculously limited (promotion only) quantity of 300 copies each, and subsequently all but forgotten, these two records by Korean psychedelic groovesters the HE 6 are some gems indeed! With the exception of the closing side-long seventeen minute cover of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (which faithfully does indeed include the obligatory drum solo as per the original version, along with what sounds like a police siren and also an added *flute* solo!) all the tracks on the two albums Go Go Sound '71 vol. 1 and Go Go Sound '71 vol. 2 included here are instrumental jams -- numbered themes with titles like "Theme 2. 4/4 for Guitar" and "Theme 3. Running Human". And even "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is mostly instrumental of course.Listening to the other tracks on this disc it makes sense that they would choose Iron Butterfly's opus as the sole tune to cover. Like that tune, all of their originals are extended jams led by fuzzed-out electric guitar and Hammond organ. In addition, the aforementioned flute gets a workout too. (Yet another victory for the flute, so often mistakenly perceived as diminutive instrument! But the flute can certainly hold its own in this heavy, groovy, acid-rock band.) And it's crucial to mention that HE 6's rhythm section is darn tight! Indeed, this stuff's funky enough that we're sure they were probably just as much influenced by James Brown's band The JB's as they were by the likes of the Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly. If not so obscure, we're sure this would have been plundered by DJs looking for the swank breaks... who knows, maybe hip hop producers in Korea have done so? So, very much recommended to all you folks into these sorta swinging '60s/'70s sounds -- especially if you dig the Cambodian Rocks and Thai Beat comps!
Excellent weird LPs to blow your mind and set your psychedelic "love in"(!)) party to fire!"

here

Picchio Dal Pozzo - Picchio Dal Pozzo (fantastic Italian Prog fusion freakout!!1976)

2011-11-22T00:57:00.000-08:00

"A wonderful release that has always kept me on my toes and been quite an inspiration, Picchio dal Pozzo's self-titled release is a hidden gem in the Canterbury scene, filled with inspiring lines and one of the most wonderful psych tracks these ears have come across. Although perhaps not as essential as Gong's most famous of works, this is wonderful material.Essentially, I am drawn to this album from the psychedelic Seppia, which has a groove for about 4 minutes that I quite simply call the coolest groove ever. Man, is it fun. Think of it as a musical high, with cosmic influences and effervescent vocals and a pounding distorted line that you can't help but move along with. This differs quite much from other famous Italian works and so it should be noted as soon, as this shares much more connection to bands like Gong and the like than it does to Le Orme, Museo Rosenbach, and etc.The variety of instruments, stunning effects, and sense of style are more than enough to make this record something to hold onto. I can almost guarantee that those with a love of Canterbury and an ear for experimentation will be enthralled with this release. Give it a try, I'm sure you'll be impressed. " - (OpethGuitarist - ProgArchives)

- Andrea Beccari / bass, horn, percussion, voice
- Aldo De Scalzi / keyboards, percussion, voice
- Paolo Griguolo / guitar, percussion, voice
- Giorgio Karaghiosoff / percussion, voice

- Guests:
- Fabio Canini / drums on 5,6, percussion on 3,5,7
- Vittorio De Scalzi / flute on 3,8
- Leonardo Lagorio (CELESTE) / contralto sax on 5,7
- Gerry Manarolo / guitar on 7
- Carlo Pascucci / drums on 5,7
- Ciro Perrino (CELESTE) / xylophone on 3

1. Merta (3:18)
2. Cocomelastico (4:23)
3. Seppia (10:16)
a)Sottotitolo
b)Frescofresco
c)Rusf
4. Bofonchia (0:51)
5. Napier (7:23)
6. La Floricultura Di Tschincinnata (4:22)
7. La Bolla (4:29)
8. Off (4:4

here

Shin Jung Hyun & The Men- It's a Lie -blistering Korea psych 1972- made to be played LOUD, LOUD, LOUD!!

2011-11-21T08:06:00.000-08:00

thetruevinerecordshop.com:
"Shin Jung-Hyeon is the Godfather of Korean pop/rock. He started his musical career in 1955. In those days, immediately after the Korean War, there were few musicians. At 1957 he could play at the US army in Korea. His psychedelic play fascinated US soldiers, and some record company asked him to make an LP. His 1st band Add 4 constructed in 1962. Add 4 is the first rock band in Korea. After the time SJH started to make hit songs. Kim Jeong Mi, Park In Su, Pearl Sisters, Kim Chu Ja, Im A Yeong, Jang Hyeon and other singers debuted with the support of Shin Jung Hyeon. They debuted with his hit songs and he became the biggest power in Ga Yo scene."

Tracks:

1. Beautiful Country 9:56
2. It's A Lie 22:15
3. A Woman In The Mist 11:32

here

"I've heard people complaining and asking for re-uploads when the Megaupload links give a "File is Temp Unavailable" Message.

Note #1: There is no need to re-upload because it's still there.
Note #2: The reason for the "File is Temp Unavailable" message, is because the server that host's that file, is currently down, but will be back up later. Note #3: For the MegaUpload servers to get back up, takes them round 5 seconds to 72 hours.

So pretty much when you get a "File is Temp Unavailable" Message when trying to download something from MegaUpload, please don't ask for a re-upload, because it is not needed.

Thank you for your time ^.^ "

Jungle- same (1969) (Heavy Prog Psych) (USA)

2011-11-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

01 - House Of Rooms
02 - Somewhere Sweet Memories
03 - Gray Picnic
04 - Changes I'm Going Through
05 - Early Morning Rising
06 - Slave Ship
here

Tony, Caro & John- (1972 uk Folk-Psych)

2011-11-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

All On The First Day by Tony, Caro and John was first issued in 1972, by those three hippy folk musicians. John and Tony had met in their hometown, Derby at the age of 11 and played together in various rock bands (called beat groups at the time) from their early teens. They graduated in the mid-60s to the folk club circuit in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire where, like everywhere else on the folk scene, experimentation was competing for attention with the traditional stuff.

They headed off to university in 1967, John to Sheffield and Tony to London. In London Tony met Caro, just arrived from Bristol, and they began playing the university folk clubs together. On graduation in 1970 John came to London, joined the others and a flat-cum-commune was born.
So, here is the excellent and rare album of British melodious folk trio.

here

Forever Amber- rare Uk Psychedelia 1969

2011-11-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

"FOREVER AMBER" are originally an act called "The Country Cousins", gigging at Cambridge Shire air bases for homesick Americans.

By 1967 they were driving to gigs in a "Psychedelically" painted ambulance – the new moniker was an abbreviation of "Forever Ambulance".
Meanwhile, the 18-year-old accountancy student "John Hudson" was spending his lunchtimes writing songs for the group's sole album in a rehearsal room above a shop in Cambridge.
"John Hudson" had ambition.
"FOREVER AMBER"'s eponymous album, "The Love Cycle" (Advance M ADV 00101), like "Beach Boys""' "Pet Sounds", cover a relationship sequentially from first meeting to grim denouement.He found a studio to fit his £ 200 budget below a musical instrument shop in Hitchin. "FOREVER AMBER"'s "The Love Cycle" was recorded in a marathon 19-hour session on a Sunday in September 1968, and the band made great use of the profusion of riches upstairs; glockenspiel, penny whistle, a wah-wah pedal, and plenty of harpsichord.

This 1969 LP is a honeyed, melodic album, as intimate and irresistible as anything "The Left Banke" or "The Zombies" ever made, laced with perfectly-timed, dramatic Fuzz-guitar violence.
Created by six teenagers in Northern England, this sixteen song concept album follows the rise and fall of a summertime relationship.
From the celebratory, deeply harmonized opener, "Me Oh My" which first notices the "new girl on our street" to the pensive, haunted closing track, "My Friend", which pleads and quivers with sorrow.
The eight chapters retell the entire romance through a compelling combination of jangling guitars, graceful organ, and the singular earnestness of heartachey teenagers.

Only 99 copies were pressed and flogged off at gigs to the lucky few.
There's a tangible aura about "lost albums", something that draws you into their parallel universe.

Enjoy it!!!

here

Zerfas s/t 1973 US Prog-psych

2011-11-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

This is the only and self-titled album by US prog/psych rock band "Zerfas" from 1973.
a vanity release from a bunch of unsigned but clearly precociously talented teenagers. It was lovingly cut over six months in 1973 at the tiny 700 West Studio in New Palestine, Indiana, using a four-track 3M recorder, plenty of overdubs, a lot of homemade wine and a hell of a lot of creative ingenuity.

Interestingly, the band members chose to add colour to their 1969-British-prog-rock style songs with the techniques of 1967 psychedelia, and the album stands as a fine psych/prog artefact despite being several years behind the timeline. The fun starts with “You Never Win”, which opens with a fade-in backwards version of the closing fade-out – a simple but brilliant idea. “I Don’t Understand” launches with an eerie half-speed recording of small children’s voices, whilst the meandering instrumental heart of “Hope” is washed by shoreline effects. Much use is made elsewhere of backwards voices, backwards instruments, fade-outs, fade-ins, wild stereo panning, ring modulators, tape loops and leftfield echo effects, and even a blast from an elkhorn. However, the underlying compositions don’t rely solely on these touches for interest; the eight songs, all originals, offer an engaging variety of styles from the “Born To Be Wild” knockoff of “You Never Win” through the cosmic boogie of “Stoney Wellitz” to the lush progressive soundscapes of “Hope”, culminating in “The Piper” which appropriately recalls Pink Floyd’s earliest stoner offerings. The playing and singing are excellent throughout, especially considering the tender ages of the musicians; Herman Zerfas’s keyboards in particular are exceptional.

Maybe there’s some Floyd influence, some Grape, some Dead, some Steppenwolf, some Allmans, maybe even some Steve Miller, but really such comparisons are unnecessary. This is a fine album by a fine band in its own right, and should be respected as such.

01. You Never Win (5:14)
02. The Sweetest Part (3:36)
03. I Dont't Understand (5:20)
04. I Need It Higher (4:49)
05. Stoney Wellitz (6:31)
06. Hope (7:45)
07. Fool's Parade (4:23)
08. The Piper (4:17)

here

Erkin Koray - 3 of his best albums -Turkish Psych legend

2011-11-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

S/T 1973

Elektronik Turkuler 1974

Erkin Koray II 1976

Erkin Koray has been in the Turkish rock music scene since the early 1960s. By the late 1960s, he was already a major figure in Turkish psychedelic music (also called as Anatolian Rock)

3 Hur-El - Hurel Arsivi (1974 Brilliant anatolian Turkish folk psych rock)

2011-11-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

A masterpiece of Turkish ethno-psychedelic delight, recorded between 1970 and 1975 by the three very talented Hur El brothers, and released in small quantities on Diskotur (originals sell for $1000 and up nowadays); their second album has the heavy hashish sound - fuzz guitar, impassioned vocals and Eastern percussion - that makes Turkish psych so savory to the rest of the world; very possibly as good as anything recorded by countryman Erkin Koray.

This release by the Korean label “World Psychedelia”, a bootleg label as far as I know, is a straight re-issue of 3 Hur-El’s (don’t ask me how to pronounce it) second album from 1976.

This means that it’s basically a needledrop from clean vinyl, without any sort of modern brickwall mastering or EQ'ing - it sounds nicer than most remasterbated albums coming out these days. (from soundsoftheuniverse).

Track List :
01.Kol Basti
02.Hoptirinom
03.Mutluluk Bizim Olsun
04.Canim Kurban
05.Gonul Sabreyle Sabreyle
06.Kucuk Yaramaz
07.Aglarsa Anam Aglar
08.Omur Biter Yol Bitmez
09.Sevenler Aglarmis
10.Yara
11.Doner Dunya
12.Agit

The Band :
*Feridun Hurel - guitar, sax, vocals
*Onur Hurel - bass,
*Haldun Hurel - drums, percussion

here

Som Imaginario- Som imaginario (Brazil 1971)

2011-10-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

Som Imaginario is considered a Jazz band, but others say that Som Imaginario is a progressive band. ..so let's say that Som Imaginario is Rock with Jazz and Progressive influences. They released three LPs; this is the second one with Wagner Tiso (piano), Luiz Alves (bass), Robertinho Silva (drums), Frederiko (guitar) and Tavito (guitar), all renowned musicians with successful careers after dismissing the band. Thanks Mr. G. for another fine release. Tracks include:

01 - Cenouras (Frederiko)
02 - Você Tem Que Saber (Chico Lessa / Márcio Borges)
03 - Gogó (O Alívio Rococó) (Wagner Tiso / Frederiko)
04 - Ascenso (Frederiko / Fernando Brant)
05 - Salvação Pela Macrobiótica (Frederiko)
06 - Uê (Chico Lessa / Márcio Borges)
07 - Xmas Blues (Frederiko)
08 - A Nova Estrela (Wagner Tiso / Frederiko)

here

The Aggregation - Mind Odyssey -us 1967

2011-10-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Formed: Los Angeles, CA, United States

Members: * LeWayne Braun (guitar, vocals), * Dale Burt (organ, piano, vocals), * Bayard Gregory (drums, timpani, bongos, tambourine, vocals), * Richard Jones (rhythm guitar, vocals), * Leo Potts (flute, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, kazoo, vocals), * Bill Sissoev (bass, trombone, vocals), * Lemoyne Taylor (flute, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, slide whistle, vocals).

Tracks:

A1. The Lady at the Gate 4:45
A2. Looking for the Tour Guide 2:13
A3. The Long Windy Tunnel 6:15
A4. Flying Free 3:05
A5. White Light 2:00
B1. In the Garden 3:05
B2. Reflections 2:55
B3. The City of Toys and Games 3:23
B4. Change 2:50
B5. Life's Light 6:00

One of the greatest US psych records with a dreamy, surreal quality of the super rare lone psychedelic lp from the band 'Aggregation'. The music is sophisticated and controlled, replacing the teenage mantra that had charged rock'n'roll with a wider palette drawing on cool jazz, movie soundtracks, light classical music and easy listening. ~ by dj fanis. ------------------------

This group of talented and diverse musicians played Disneyland in the late '60s and was picked up for this one excellent Concept album by Lee Hazlewood on his LHI label in 1968. 'Unusual and atmospheric early art-rock/psych item based on an acid trip amusement park concept from classically trained band who held a residency at Disneyland! This LP could be seen as a precursor to those extraordinary 1970s private press artefacts, and reveals its classiness and coherence over time. Worth investigating ~ (Internet Source).

here

Som Imaginario-S/T -1970 Brazilian Tropicalia Psych prog-psych

2011-10-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

This was Som Imaginario’s (Imaginary Sound) debut album from 1970. A Brazilian band that often backed the great Milton Nascimento just as Os Mutantes had backed Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso on their early albums. In fact, this album could be seen as the perfect companion piece to Os Mutantes’ 1969 masterpiece, A Divina Comedia Ou Ando Meio Desligado.

The band’s name is very fitting, Som Imaginario is an invigorating blend of folk, soul, psychedelia, brit influenced pop, rock and Brazilian homeland music. For a debut album, the band sounds extremely confident and wild, steaming and cooking thru the album (and there are no duff tracks either!!).

Morse opens the album on a funky note, with blasts of fuzz guitar and swirling organ. The next song, Super-God has some great use of wah-wah and distorted vocals. Milton Nascimento guests on the mysterious Pantera, which is another highlight with a bomb explosion intro. Nascimento’s voice is highly original and experimental and adds depth to an already good composition. The two songs in English, Poison and Make Believe Waltz, are also very good, soulful folky ballads.

here

An essential psychedelic album and a must for fans of Tropicalia. Som Imaginario released a few albums during the progressive rock era which are also highly recommended but reissues are criminally unavailable.

Modulo 1000 - 1972 Complete-Works-Brazilian Prog Rock/Psych - Ultra Rare

2011-10-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Module 1000 is a hard rock group from Rio formed in 1969, which was short-lived. The quartet followed by a heavy line with clear influences from Black Sabbath and a touch of psychedelia a la Pink Floyd. Composed by Daniel (vocals, guitar), Louis Paul (organ), Eduardo (bass) and Candinho (drums), Module 1000 had on his resume participation in the V International Song Festival and the launch of a single album in 1971 that Today is a valuable item for dealers rare LPs. In the 1990s, a record collector of Rio de Janeiro bought the rights from the module 1000 and made Top Tape LP on CD with a limited number of copies (500 copies).

Reprint this stunning album uncertain Brazil since 1970. I really wild, psychotic, exotic, psychedelic progressive beast of Brazil - all these attributes, an extreme form of Long freaked-out songs driven by fury and massive organ fuzz - attacks WahWah guitar, distorted vocals was also added (Portuguese lyrics) that creep deep within the skull - one of the best the world has generally come with the original sound quality amazing three times the coverage is incredible remastered expanded edition of 8 recordings from the years 1970-1972. The only album (serious money worth in the original vinyl) from perfect, the Brazilian formation, playing catchy, rock (prog) heavy, psychedelic-influenced omnipresent. Distorted guitars, rhythms change and Hammond B3 organ sound massive ........ Undoubtedly one of the coolest albums and most original of South America - Brazil.

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Various Artists - Posições (Brazilian 1970s Bliss!)

2011-10-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

VA - Posições
Brazil - 1971

Amazing Brazilian Compilation Ep from the early 70s featuring the best of the Brazilian Avant-Tropicalia Scene. Incredible recordings that seem to have been all recorded in the same studio. It all sounds very consistent for a compilation of this era.

Mind blowing stuff!

One of the remarkable factors inBrazilian music during the early 70’s was the experimentalism. The lack and inversion of rules and as well as the freedom’s idealism echoed from Europe and the United States and entered in Brazil. Here we see this factor in bands that appeared between the end of the 60’s and the first years of the 70’s. Bands consolidated inRio de Janeiro; influenced by the “carioca” way, some jazz sources and by the psychedelic rock.

In 1971 the Odeon launched a collectiveLP, "Posições“( Positions), with four new bands. One Som Imaginario (Imaginary Sound) was not unknown (with one record from the last year); the others A Tribo (The Tribe) , Equipe Mercado (Market Team) and Modulo 1000 (Module1000) were pretty new bands, and from this record didn’t get so far, as bands. As musicians many of the participants of the bands, mostly from A Tribo and Som Imaginario, became very famous, with long term carriers.

A TRIBO (1971)
A Tribo was a band formed by beginning young musician’s : the Carioca singer Joyce, the violinist Nelson Angelo and the guitarist ToninhoHortafrom Minas Gerais , the bass player Novelliand the percussionist Naná Vasconcelos from Pernambuco. Nana and Nelson Angelo were playing in the Free Quarteto, a mix of Bossa Nova and Jazz quartet.In 1970, the two musicians joined the Luiz Eça and Sagrada Family band. There they met the singer Joyce. Nana, Nelson and Joyce called ToninhoHortaand Novelliand formed the Tribe. Together they made some compositions of they own and played covers from Milton Nascimento and Danilo Caymmi. In 70 they were at the V International Festival of the Song with “Onoceonoekoto” (Nelson Angelo). The same year they participated in the collective “Posições” and also recorded a Compact Disc. The sound from A Tribo is very interesting. It discloses the symbiosis of rising talents with the voice of Joyce, Novelli's bass, the arrangements of Nelson Angelo, the guitar of Toninho Horta and the creativity and improvisation of Naná Vasconcelos, who after some months left the band for a solo career. Nenê replaced him. However the band did not last very much beyond 1972, but all the band’s participants had a verysuccessfulcarrer after that.

EQUIPE MERCADO (1971) EQUIPE MERCADO was a band created in Rio de Janeiro during 1970. The band had a verycreative and illustrious singer, Diana, allied with the songwriter Stul (guitar, piano and voice); Leugruber (guitar), RicardoGinsburg (guitar), Carlos Graça (battery) and Ronaldo Periassu (percussion). The band was influenced greatly by psicodelic rock, but it also abided by the Brazilian melodic lyricism. Beyond the participation in the collective “Posições” the group released a compact with the music: “Campos de Arroz” and “Side b rock” in the same year. The band ended the same year. In 1972 Diana and Stul launched another compact disc, presenting themselves as a couple, but, unfortunately they didn’t record anything else.

MODULO 1000 (1971) MODULO 1000 was a quartet formed by Daniel (guitar andvocals, Luis Pablo (guitar), Eduardo(bass), Candinho (battery) in Rio De Janeiro in 69'. Dispite its short duration it left a great influence for the progressive rock bands that were to follow. Modulo 1000 mixed blues, rock and a touch of ballad. The participation of the band in the “V International Festival of the Song” culminated with a compact launched by Odeon with: “Big Mamma” and “Isto Não Quer Dizer Nada”. Still in 70' they would participated in the collective “Posições”. In 72', they launched the only LP of the history of the band, the cult: “Não Fale Com as Paredes “(“Do not speak with the Walls”).

SOM IMAGINÁRIO (1971) In 1971 SOM IMAGINARIO debuteda new record, without the singer and pianistZé Rodrix that followed to play with Sá and Guarabira. As well as the previous record (commented in the Saudosas Bolachas/1970) it was directed by Zé Rodrix, in this new one was directed by the Frederiko. The guitarist occupies this rank and so, the record is presents much more dense and radical that the first one; and the most anarchical possible. At this time, the record does not give many concessions commercial standards. The record opts to a sonorous radicalization. Breaking for dissonance and hardcore. The record has the preciosism of Wagner Tiso keyboard , Luiz Alves (bass), Robertinho Silva (battery), Frederiko (guitar) and Tavito (guitar). From this record “Som Imaginario” (1971) Odeon Records used the song: “Nova Estrela” (Wagner Tiso/Frederyko) to place in the collective “Posições”.

01. Kyrie - "A Tribo"
02. Marina Belair - "Equipe Mercado"
03. Curtíssima - "Módulo 1000"
04. A Nova Estrela - "Som Imaginário"
05. Ferrugem E Foligem - "Módulo 1000"
06. Peba & Pobó - "A Tribo"

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Skydog- Just Want To Make You Happy (1974 Vibrant & uplifting US Hard Prog Psych)

2011-09-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

"First re-release ever taken from the master tapes of this insanely rare LP from Georgia made in 1974 in an edition of 100. Wild & psychotic hippie progressive rock mixed with incredible heavy fuzz psychedelic jammers. Monstrous orgies between the guitar and Hammond organ and you can also find heavy eastern tunes woven in the long guitars jams."

Michael Sweat - Guitar - Vocal
Tommy Gordon Landsahw - Vocal, Rythm Guitar
Gary Elmore - Bass
Jimi Hughes - Organ Hammond
Johnny Parish Landshaw - Drum

01. Luck In Your Life 10:40
02. North Georgia Carnival Blues 05:37
03. Ali Sahd 07:02
04. Just Want to Make You Happy 09:46
05. Innocent-Eyed Lady 12:37
06. Israeli-Arabic Sun 5:55
07. Ali Sahd (Alt. Version) 6:32
08. Just Want To Make You Happy (Alt. Version) 8:5809. The Mood Is On 6:03

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Fate -Sgt. Death (Doors-esque 1968 US Rock Psych)

2011-09-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

Another vintage previously unreleased Psychedelic wonder from 1967-1968. From the remains of legendary band "Euphoria's". Influenced by Doors and other West coast psychedelic bands. Eerie keyboards led psychedelia with great slashing guitar leads and biting vocals to Yardbirds like rave ups.

PS: Only Front Cover

Steve Dore - guitar
Skip Smith - drums
Jay Sneider (Snyder) -keyboards, vocal
Art Webster - bass
Frank Youngblood - vocal1 Sergeant Death 5:04
2 Simone 3:59
3 Sexual Fantasy 3:39
4 Having a Cigarette 2:11
5 I Need a Woman 4:12
6 Hungry Lovin' Blues 2:44
7 Mannequin 5:43
8 Tribute To The Bo 4:20
9 Smoke & Stone 5:09

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APOLOGIES FOR MISSING LINK!!!

2011-09-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

RE: Damin Eih & Bro Clark -Never Mind
-Super-mystical psychedlia (posted below)

-forgot to put link up!

Here it is!! DO NOT MISS THIS AMAZINGLY WEIRD AND ENCHANTING MASTERPIECE!!

here

Enjoy & i look forward to comments!!

:)

Omar Khorshid - Guitar El Chark (Psychedelic,Egyptian Belly-Dance World music '73-'77 compilation 2010)

2011-09-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

Omar Khorshid is one of the greatest middle eastern electric guitarists, with a tone like spun gold and the chops to shred with the best of them. Born in Egypt, he cut his teeth in the underground rock clubs of Cairo in the 1960s. Eventually, he ended up working with the cream of the Egyptian musical crop, playing in the bands of such legendary figures as Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Through his work with these singers, Khorshid introduced Western-style electric guitar into traditional Arab music.

But Khorshid was more than just a groundbreaking guitarist, he was also a bona fide movie star and soundtrack composer. He spent much of the 1970s in Lebanon and Syria and released a slew of wonderful music from blazing reverb-saturated versions of middle eastern classics to weird western lounge tunes. He died in a car accident in 1981 at the tender age of 36 shortly after his return to Egypt and the release his most acclaimed film, The Fortuneteller.

In recent years there’s been a minor surge of interest in Khorshid’s music in the West, but the music has been somewhat hard to come by. One of his most notable fans is Sun City Girls founder and eminently venerable guitarist Sir Richard Bishop. Bishop’s last album, The Freak of Araby, with its eccentric surf guitar along the Nile sound, bears Khorshid’s unmistakable (and thoroughly acknowledged) influence.

Until this welcome 2xLP set on Alan Bishop’s Sublime Frequencies label, Khorshid’s music has not been easy to find outside of Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Guitar El Chark collects instrumental recordings that Khorshid made in Beirut from 1973-1977, which was one of the most prolific and creative periods of his short career. The collection centers on music by Arabic composers, ranging from traditional songs to tunes by contemporary songwriters like Nour al Malah and Khorshid himself. The playing is peerless: Khorshid’s reverb-mad middle eastern surf guitar mixed with intricate hand percussion, serpentine accordion and sci-fi synth sounds. Some of the finest moments come when Khorshid lets loose on the Moog, injecting a singularly alien glow over the proceedings — this is perhaps most notable on the scintillatingly propulsive title track. But even on a more straightforwardly sensuous song like "Habitaty (My Beloved)," Khorshid’s guitar work is out of this world.

My one quibble with this excellent collection is that it presents a unnecessarily narrow picture of Khorshid’s work by not including any non-arabic covers, a few of which, such as his cover of the Gershon Kingsley chestnut "Pop Corn," are truly inspired.

- Dusted

These performances exhibit all the wonderful possibilities of playing authentic late 20th-century Middle Eastern and belly dance music on what is considered primarily a Western instrument. All facets of Khorshid's musical genius are on display here. Many of the selections, intentionally or not, have a strong psychedelic aspect to them, especially the mind-blowing title track, "Hebbina Hebbina," "Ah Ya Zaman," "Kariaat El Fengan," "Sidi Mansour" (the Middle Eastern "Interstellar Overdrive"?), "Raqset El Fada," and the ethereal "Taksim Sanat Alfeyn." A distinct science fiction element can be heard on the final two tracks, as the respective translations of their titles -"Dance of Space" and "Music of the Year 2000" - would suggest. Other pieces such as "Wadil Muluk" and "Rahbaniyat" are showcases for Khorshid's lightning fingers, while "Sabirine" practically drips with reverb. "Ommil Habiba," "Raksat El Kheyl," "Solenzara," "Habibaty," and "Warakat Ya Nassib" display the more laid back and sensitive side of the guitarist, and what they lack in pyrotechnics they more than make up for with exquisiteness. "Arrabia'h" and "Enta Omri" rank as the most purely Middle Eastern-sounding numbers, especially with the "Cifte Telli" section in the latter. The instrumentation throughout this album typically consists of Khorshid on guitar, an electric keyboard, synthesizer or accordion player, and one or more percussionists on hand drums. The synth work occasionally gets a little out of hand on certain tracks that at times border on Middle Eastern disco, but this is a very minor quibble on what is otherwise a consistently extraordinary listening experience.

1. Guitar El Chark (Guitar of the Orient)
2. Wadil Muluk (Valley of the Kings)
3. Sabirine
4. Ommil Habiba (Mother, My Dearest)
5. Hebbina Hebbina (Love Us Like We Love You)
6. Rahbaniyat (Rahbani Variations)
7. Ah Ya Zaman (For Old Time's Sake)
8. Kariaat El Fengan (Fortune Teller)
9. Arrabia'h (The Spring)
10. Sidi Mansour (Master Monsour)
11. Raksat El Kheyl (Dance of the Horses)
12. Solenzara
13. Enta Omri (You Are My Life)
14. Habibaty (My Beloved)
15. Raqset El Fada (Dance of Space)
16. Warakat Ya Nassib (Lottery Ticket)
17. Taksim Sanat Alfeyn (Music of the Year 2000)
18. Record Company Promo Spot

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The Fallen Angels -It's a Long Way Down (1968 USA West Coast Psych)-GORGEOUS!!

2011-09-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

The second LP is one of the ultimate examples of the East Coast psych sound; moody, intricate, with a peculiar intensity. A long time favorite of late 60s collectors and no wonder as it has the makings of a masterpiece. Hard to pinpoint really, but some parts are like a high-brow Common People, others like a folkrock Mandrake Memorial. Arrangements and songwriting are most impressive, with "A Horn Playing On My Thin Wall" being a personal favorite. Often compared to the equally rare Morning Dew LP but this is deeper and more original. The Sgt Pepper of DC, though of course much better! A German original pressing exists. (lysergia)

1. Poor Old Man (3:45)
2. A Horn Playng On My Thin Wall (4:23)
3. Something New You Can Hide In (3:59)
4. Tell You A Story (:22)
5. Silent Garden (1:54)
6. Look To The Sun (3:46)
7. One Of The Few Ones Left (2:50)
8. I Really Love My Mother (1:07)
9. Look At The Wind (4:04)
10. Didn't I? (2:55)
11. It's A Long Way Down (2:45)
12. I'll Drive You From My Mind (4:19)

here

**You may also like Eden's Children

Satya Sai Maitreya Kali - Apache / Inca (1971-1972 us psychedelic and folk rock)-DON'T MISS!!

2011-09-09T16:20:00.001-07:00

At one point, the two albums credited to Satya Sai Maitreya Kali were paired together on a double LP; both of these LPs were so rare that few knew of their existence.

The music's a lot easier to hear now that Normal/Shadoks has reissued both LPs on this double-CD package.

Although issued in the early '70s, the records often sound a lot more in line with circa 1967 folk-rock, primarily because about half the cuts were actually recorded during that era by Craig Smith's band of the time, the Penny Arkade.

The Penny Arkade tracks are slightly odd but accessible Californian country-influenced folk-rock. The acoustic ballads were recorded by Craig Smith solo after the Penny Arkade; these have a gentle yet spooky mysticism that recalls the fine (and almost as obscure) solo albums by the legendary Dino Valenti and Skip Spence.

On Apache, "Color Fantasy," with its full harmonies and tremolo guitars, recalls a lighter, spacier Buffalo Springfield (a group that not many artists could sound like).

Something like "Voodoo Spell," by contrast, sounds like a tougher Monkees. The weirdness continues on "Love Is Our Existence" and "Revelation," both of which have truly eerie disembodied vocals, apparently getting run through a Leslie speaker to the accompaniment of underdeveloped, interesting backing tracks. Inca is really not that much different from Apache, having also been assembled from the same pool of sessions (by both the Penny Arkade and Smith solo).If there's any difference between Apache and Inca, it's that the more extreme numbers seem weirder and more ambitious.

Foremost among these is the Penny Arkade's 12-minute "Knot the Freize" (sic), which despite its length is a pretty well-thought-out combination of differing sections, not a long jam; it's far more pop/rock than it is indulgent psychedelia.

The occasional insertion of lo-fi spoken word recordings between the tracks makes it seem as though the artist was determined to deliberately sabotage conventional commercial strategies, even though much of the music is actually rather commercial.

It's that irony, among other enigmatic qualities, that makes this among the more interesting small-press psychedelic reissues you're likely to find, though much of the enigma has been resolved after the discovery that this was a mix of tracks by the Penny Arkade and later solo recordings by Smith (by Richie Unterberger).
CD-1: Apache
01.Ice and Snow
02.Black Swan
03.Color Fantasy
04.Voodoo Spell
05.Salesman
06.Music Box
07.Love Is Our Existence
08.One Last Farewell
09.I'm Walkin' Solo
10.Silk and Ivory
11.Swim
12.Revelation

CD-2: Inca
01.Lights of Dawn
02.Thesis
03.Knot the Freize
04.Jesus Owns
05.Sam Pan Boat
06.Fearless Men
07.Cheryl
08.Country Girl
09.Old Man
10.King

here

G.F. Fitzgerald -Mouseproof (uk 1970, obscure Prog-Psych Fusion mishmash oddity)

2011-09-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

One of the most unconventional albums ever recorded, this avant-garde psychedelic suite contains elements of folk, jazz, rock and electronica, but has a sound and atmosphere all of its own. Recorded in 1970, but barely released (despite the enthusiastic support of John Peel), original copies now sell for astronomical sums.

G.F. Fitzgerald - Mouseproof (1971) UK

This album was recorded with help from Rod Herman (guitar), Alan Place (guitar), B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar), Rik Kenton (bass, later in Roxy Music), Ian Andrews (bass), Geoff Leigh (sax, he appears in avant-garde albums by Slap Happy, Henry Cow, Hatfield & The North, etc.), Tony Turnbull (drums).

Influences of Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Bonzo Dog Band, Soft Machine, etc. In addition to Gerry Fitzgerald, album features Sam Gopal and Lemmy (of Hawkwind).

Many years ago, no doubt in the dead of night, some intrepid freak climbed fly-like up the walls of the defunct International Film Theatre in Westbourne Grove and pasted up a poster which read "Mouseproof Is Music".

Mouseproof is an album by ace alchemist and cat-handler Gerry Fitzgerald, featuring some very notable little riffs by such famed performers as Lady June Campbell-Cramer on Etheopian Nose Harmonium and Cochise Brian Cole on Electric Hair slide and coal scuttle. Best track by far is one called "Factory Sample Not For Resale", obviously written to wobble the frontal lobes and tickle the medulla, it works too.

Overall effect of the album is like crashing a car into a ditch on acid and then finding that you're unhurt, except for a broken finger nail, and that needed cutting anyway.

Listening to Mouseproof the first time it's very easy to recognise traces of Zappa, Dylan, Bonzo Dog, Tod Dockstader and Capt. Beefheart. I listened to it a second time and began to find bits of Ray Connif, Sha-na-na, Mike and Sheila, Soft Machine, Charlton Athletic and some of that nice organic mescaline. But even after a dozen hearings its very difficult to try to describe the sound of your own mind snapping or one hand clapping, indeed, by beautiful music which took so much time and love to get together.

"You are the fragrance that draws the bee to the Flower and you are the flower and the bee. You and you are like two indicators pointed in the extremes at moments of crises; from each point streams a vitalness in an opposite direction. From the Point whence the Points originate lies The Meaning. Do not differentiate the indicators; handle only, no situation is either a positive or a negative. There is no judgement anywhere; there is only the Handler who knows. Recall that you are the handler and you are not to be manhandled."

Origin: London, UK
Released: 1970/MCA, 2006/Sunbeam

Produced by Roger Watson and G.F. Fitz-Gerald
Engineered by Martin Rushent, Steve Moyce, Jack Amos and Neal Sax.
Recorded in Advision Studios, London, 1970

Tracks :

1 April Affair
2 New Lodger
3 Country Mouse
4 It Takes More Than a Clear Day to See It
5 May Four
6 Ashes of an Empire/The End
7 Under and Over the Waterfall
8 A Movement Lost in Twilight Stone
9 Political Machine
10 Opal Pyramid Drifting Over Time

Band members :

G.F. Fitzgerald - vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitars, electric banjo, piano, bass guitar, gifflid, percussion, moog
Alan Place (Scorpio) - vocals and lead guitar on 'Country Mouse'
Rod Herman (Libra) - lead guitar on 'April Affair'
Brian Cole (Gemini) - steel guitar on 'Country Mouse'
Judy Dyble (Aquarius) - vocals on 'Ashes Of An Empire'
Geoff Leigh (Libra) - alto, tenor & flute
Rick Kenton (Scorpio) - bass guitar
Ian Andrews (Leo) - double bass, bass guitar, mellotron and moog
Sam Gopal (Sagittarius) - tablas
Ted Tetlon (Aquarius) - drums
Tony Turnbull (aries) - drums

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Tea and Symphony -An Asylum For The Musically Insane (1969 UK Psychedelic Prog-folk)

2011-09-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

This amazing thing about the Archives is that you get a fair amount of albums in all sub- genres that rank from the strange , obscure all the way to the frankly bizarre. And all genre considered , one of the more bizarre is the aptly titled debut from this trio. This record dates from 69 ( on the great progressive label Harvest) and is a perfect example (almost a textbook case) of acid-folk but with such a twist of bizarre that it must rank into the folk-prog sub-genre , which has its own share of bizarrerie. Wrapped in a superb psych drawing ( a bit in the style of Beatles 's Yellow Submarine) gatefold sleeve with a no-less superb inside artwork , this uncanny and baroque oeuvre is really a lost gem, one of those rare 24 carrat stuff that only comes so often.

The opening track is a hard to classify track meandering between a few styles (even developping for a few second into the Greensleeves theme) , but staus unfocused enough to destabilize the unwarned listener , but if experienced enough to get him ready for what comes up next. The second track delves into the frozen depths of demon worlds and chilly tales , freezing you to death, only to bring you back to reality with a barroom sing-along tune. Sometimes takes a plunge back into the bizarre and oblique world just left before , reminding the proghead of the insane world of Comus , and warning you of dangers soon to come in your affective life.

Maybe my mind is another sombre affair with a voice that sometimes rings like Family's Roger Chapman and might just be the highlight of the first side. This first side ends into a blues , probably the low point on the album , but this might be up for debate because they are equally at ease into this style as well!The second side is clearly the better one , and it is the succession of a few masterful "songs" like those that make an album a real classic. Terror In My Soul is just as scarry and terrorizing as Comus's Drip Drip , with its sinister flute underlining a superbly tense acoustic guitar strumming. Comes next is a superb adaptation of Fred Neil's Travelling Shoes , and if it was not for the vocals , you'd swear you'be on the Traffic debut album with its delightful pastoral/hippy imagery. Outstanding and astounding! The next track , aptly titled Winter returns to the chilly athmospheres with a haunting cello in the background and bizarre noises evoking stressed and chilled birds calls . The closing track starts out on a harpsichord and flute intro to diverge back into the madness we have now grown accustomed to (we had no choice unless getting locked in forever into the Musically Insane Asylum), but soon we waltz into a great swingy jazz tune to plunge into deep madness (almost free jazz) forever as they apologize for their mischief just accomplished.

Guess what , even if you are not insane , you might want to get a room into this asylum/hotel , where you might just never leave but not really want to check out either, to mis-quote our dear Maani!! Another one of those pearls that I will fight for all progheads to investigate just like I did for Comus , Spirogyra and recently Jan Dukes De Grey. Flabbergasting masterpiece even if I do not give the fifth star. - Review by Sean Trane -

tracklist:

1. Armchair Theatre (3:55)
2. Feel How So Cool The Wind (3:19)
3. Sometime (4:16)
4. Maybe My Mind (With Egg)(3:44)
5. The Come On (4:32)
6. Terror In My Soul (6:08)
7. Travelling Shoes (4:27)
8. Winter (3:19)
9. Nothing Will Come To Nothing (6:15)

- Dave Clempson ('Clem') / guitar
- Jeff Daw / flute, guitar, vocals
- Gus Dudgeon / drums
- James Langston / guitar, vocals, woodwinds
- Nigel Phillips / keyboards, vocals, percussion
- Bob Lamb / drums

here

Pearls Before Swine -One Nation Underground (1967)Folk-Psych

2011-09-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

"...the Red's for the blood we lose; the White's for the gauze they use to cover burned-out blackened men; the rest is for the bodies numb and Blue."

Contemporary Neo-Folksters such as Espers and Charalambides owe much to Pearls Before Swine, whose leader, Tom Rapp, played a major role in inventing the template for psychedelia married to a folk aesthetic. As such, Rapp's definition of the term "folk music" was far more wide-ranging and far less in love with tradition than that of the typical protest singers of the early sixties. On One Nation Underground, he weaves together an eclectic array of elements including farfisa, acid-rock, and singer-songwriter melancholia to create something that still sounds original 44 years later. "Another Time," reportedly his very first song, is an achingly beautiful acoustic ballad about the aftermath of an escape from death, and one wonders if The Doors might have been familiar with "Morning Songs," with its electric organ, martial percussion, and sitar-miming banjo picking. Sadly under-appreciated, this debut, like all the Pearls Before Swine albums that followed it, certainly deserves the stature of a lost classic.

Tracks:

1. Another Time (3:03)
2. Playmate (2:19)
3. Ballad to an Amber Lady (5:14)
4. (Oh Dear) Miss Morse (1:54)
5. Drop Out! (4:04)
6. Morning Song (4:06)
7. Regions of May (3:27)
8. Uncle John (2:54)
9. I Shall Not Care (5:20)
10. The Surrealist Waltz (3:29)

here

Flat Earth Society -Waleeco- 1968 US Psychedelia

2011-09-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Flat Earth Society were a Boston, MA group formed by Jack Kerivan (piano, organ, vocals), Phil Dubuque (rhythm guitar, recorder, lead vocals), Rick Doyle (lead guitar, tambourine, vocals), Curt Girard (drums), and Paul Carter (bass , vocals).
Among the crown jewels of sought after 1960’s american psychedelic records The Flat Earth Society’s "Waleeco" is a legendary album that more than lives up to its reputation. Recorded in 1968 for of all things a candy bar manufacturer (Waleeco being the name of the said confection) the album was only made available to candy fiends that sent in a few wrappers and $1.50. anyone lucky enough to take advantage of that offer obtained a beautiful psychedelic rock/pop masterpiece that took in everything from dreamy West Coast styled acid rock, laid back acoustic folk, driving garage psych rock and full on trippy psychedelia.

Track Listings
1. Feelin' Much Better - Flat Earth Society
2. Midnight Hour - Flat Earth Society
3. I'm So Happy - Flat Earth Society
4. When You're There - Flat Earth Society
5. Four & Twenty Miles - Flat Earth Society
6. Prelude For The Town Monk - Flat Earth Society
7. Shadows - Flat Earth Society
8. Dark Street Downtown - Flat Earth Society
9. Portrait In Grey - Flat Earth Society
10. In My Window - Flat Earth Society
11. Satori - Flat Earth Society

here

Damin Eih, A.L.K & Brother Clark - Never Mind (1973 US super-mystical Psychedelia)

2011-09-03T15:34:00.001-07:00

This was described years ago in a catalog as Gandalf the Grey meets the Moody Blues. I can still not think of a better comparison than this. This is a unique and magical LP of enchanting songs with haunting melodies and harmonies backed by an elaborate and equally haunting instrumentation, led by superb (though not flashy) guitar work. Dreamy and hypnotic, an excellent mixture of folk and psych sounds,, every song is winner.

On many hardcore psych collectors' Top 10 lists (including one via Patrick Lundborg's Acid Archives book), this insanely rare and impossible-to-describe 1973 brain-fryer from Minneapolis is utterly soaked with mystic, thoroughly-dosed higher key psychedelia -- think Zerfas meets Bobb Trimble, but you're still nowhere near the lysergic laboratory. Damin Eih rambled off to India to clear his head after leaving behind this lone, legendary offering, never to be heard from again. Painstakingly and spectacularly re-mastered from two virgin copies of the original vinyl (the master tapes have long since disappeared), this treasure is now rescued from the deepest catacombs of psychedelic fatso obscurity for all to hear.

* Damin Eih - guitars, lead vocals, synthesizer, piano
* A.L.K. (A.L. Katzner) - percussion, piano, vocals, guitar
* Brother Clark (Clark Dircz) - bass, guitar, piano, chinese chimes
1 Tourniquet 2:17
2 Sing A Different Song 4:17
3 Take Off Your Eyes 5:40
4 Soft Margins 4:45
5 Thundermice 3:52
6 Monday Morning Prayer 0:38
7 Gone 4:40
8 Marching Together 3:36
9 Kathryn At Night 3:391
0 Party Hats & Olive Spats 3:24
11 Return Naked 1:57.

here
(Sorry for stupidly forgetting to give link!)

Egg - Egg (1970 uk mix of jazz, psychedelia, rock and fusion)

2011-09-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

Organ / piano, bass guitar, and drums. Add occasional vocals and tone generator and that's it! Obviously not much rocking expected from that ensemble - for goodness sake, just three people and no guitars?

Well like so many of their Cantebury compats, these guys didn't read the memo and they created some ground breaking stuff.

In fact the notes on the original LP read: The music on this LP is not dancing music, but basically music for listening to.

It is harmonically and rhythmically complex, designed to be as original as possible within the confines of the instrumental lineup; so it's pretty demanding on the listener's attention.

Originally released in 1970, Egg took influences from such diverse genres as jazz, psychedelia, rock and fusion, but probably most important, from classical music - and Brahms, Stravinsky and Grieg are directly and indirectly represented here.

And Egg in turn gave their own influences to a number of other Cantebury acts of the early '70s.

Egg was Dave Stewart on keys and tones, Mont Campbell on bass and understated but very competent vocals, and Clive Brooks on drums.

They were hatched from Uriel in 1969, after they'd lost their guitar player, Steve Hillage to his university studies.

Later, Stewart and Hillage would form Khan, and Stewart would move into the realms of Hatfield and Ayers and Campbell would join him in National Health.

The family tree of the Cantebury scene is a complex web, and we won't try to unravel it here. Suffice it to say that this was one of the more influential if underrated acts of prog's golden age.

The music generated by this small lineup was heavily dependent on Stewart's organ and Campbell's bass - both of which were applied with flair and imagination - but all three artists were credited with various compositions.

There's a lot of avant garde generation of weird and spacey tones, but the rest is an entertaining example of several budding progressive genres taking their first baby-steps.

The English sense of humor is present in many songs, although the lyrics tend toward the spaced out rather than the poetic. "The Song Of McGillicudie The Pusillanimous (or Don't Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging In The Coal Cellar With Thomas)" could almost have come off an album by The Doors.

And yes, that's the song's name! "I Will Be Absorbed" comes the closest to a prog 'song' in the traditional sense of the word. Symphony No. 2 is a 5-part 22-minute early-day-avant-garde attempt at a modern-era classic, in a similar vein to many of the Keith Emerson pieces that would come later.

Honors for the all-round favorite, however, go to "Seven Is A Jolly Good Time" which is a bonus track here and wasn't on the original record. By 'good time' they're taking a stab at the fixation with odd time signatures. These excerpts from lyrics tell it all:

I used to play in four time when I was very small...
...I started writing songs in all the rhythms I could find - Like five...
...Seven is a jolly good time, seven is a jolly good time...
...I found it hard to follow, my foot became confused...
...I gathered all the notes up and jumped 'em through a hoop - As in eleven

And of course, the song's actual time signatures follow the suggestions in the lyrics - 7/4, 11/4, etc.

The CD reviewed here was wonderfully remastered from the original tapes, and the Eclectic Discs reissue includes three bonus tracks, including both sides of the band's only single and "Third Movement" has at last been restored in its rightful place as an integral part of the now fully extended "Symphony No. 2".

So - the confines of the instrumental lineup of bass, drums and keys really didn't do much to stifle Egg's creativity. Come to think of it, the same lineup was used effectively by The Nice and ELP.

Who knows, that restricted lineup may have been the very challenge that spurred them to produce the influential music that would become one of the foundation stones of modern-day prog (by Duncan Glenday from http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=2094)

Track List:
01."Bulb" – 0:09
02."While Growing My Hair" – 4:02
03."I Will Be Absorbed" – 5:12
04."Fugue In D Minor" (Bach) – 2:49
05."They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano…" – 1:21
06."The Song Of McGillicudie The Pusillanimous (or don't worry James, your socks are hanging in the coal cellar with Thomas)" – 5:10
07."Boilk" – 1:03

"Symphony No. 2"
08."First Movement" – 5:47
09."Second Movement" – 6:17
10."Blane" – 5:28
11."Third Movement" (previously unreleased) – 3:10
12."Fourth Movement" – 3:13

Bonus Tracks
13."Seven Is A Jolly Good Time" – 2:48
14."You Are All Princes" – 3:45

Egg:
*Dave Stewart - organ, piano, tone generator
*Mont Campbell - bass, vocals
*Clive Brooks - drums

here

Eden's Children - Eden's Children/Sure Looks Real (1968/69 us, psychedelic rock, bosstown sound, 2006 remaster, two albums - MP3 320k)

2011-09-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

In the dark depths of the Bosstown Sound backlash it would be hard to champion your scene amidst charges of 'plastic' and 'lame'. This was the time we threw Eden's Children in their face. Their album was released just after the initial brouhaha so they wern't lumped in with the other groups as much. When they were they held their own.

Eden's Children were on ABC records produced by heavy hitter Bob Theile and they even sounded a little different than the rest. They were more gritty. Still psychedelic they were closer to Hendrix than the Grateful Dead. They were top of the heap for many locals as illustrated in the poll I have included in the radio broadcast on the main page. Their first LP is self-titled Eden's Children and is another album that was always played at parties. Packed with good songs and playing, it never flags.

The Children were a three piece group. All were very good players. Larry Kiley the bass player and Jimmy Sturman the drummer were a constantly interesting rhythm section. The main songwriter/singer was Richard 'Sham' Schamach who was also a great guitar player. If you put on the second Eden's Children album, you first hear the song Sure Looks Real It sounds similiar to the songs on the first album but as the album progresses it seems like something is wrong. This reminds me of what happened to the second Spinach album (although their case was much worse).

You have all the elements of the first album but the sound has been eviscerated. It's flat and thin even though the playing is just fine. I throw the blame here on the engineers at ABC. In this case they seem like they don't know how to record a rock group. The bass has no punch at all even though Kiley is playing just fine.The guitar tone on Things Gone Wrong solo is so bad that the person responsible should spend time in a Donald Rumsfeld run prison. It's not a wash out and a dedicated listener will hear good songs and playing minus a punchy group sound.

Eden's Children never got the attention that they deserved. Alan White over at the NEMS site says that Richard 'Sham' Schamach was on the radar at some point claiming to have a live tape that he was going to release. Well, Sham, please before we all die, get it out.
-The Boston Sound

Tracks
Eden's Children
1. Knocked Out - 3:16
2. Goodbye Girl - 3:20
3. If She’s Right - 2:34
4. I Wonder Why - 3:29
5. Stone Fox - 3:05
6. My Bad Habit - 2:22
7. Just Let Go - 7:43
8. Out Where The Light Fish Live - 5:05
9. Don’t Tell Me - 4:48
Sure Looks Real
10.Sure Looks Real - 4:29
11.Toasted (Larry Kiley) - 2:05
12.Spirit Call - 2:44
13.Come When I Call - 3:44
14.Awakening - 2:08
15.The Clock’s Imagination - 2:54
16.Things Gone Wrong - 4:06
17.Wings (Larry Kiley) - 2:40
18.Call It Design - 3:20
19.Invitation - 3:36
20.Echoes - 2:20
All songs written by Richard 'Sham' Schamach, except where noted.

Eden's Children
*Richard "Sham" Schamach - Vocals, Guitar
*Larry Kiley - Bass
*Jimmy Sturman - Drums

here

Elizabeth - Elizabeth (1968 US Psych)

2011-09-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

Enjoyable trip through East Coast psych reminiscent of the 2nd Fallen Angels LP.

- Steve Weingart (lead guitar, harp, organ, vocals),
- Bob Patterson (guitar, vocals),
- Jim Dahme (guitar, flute, vocals),
- Steve Bruno (organ, bass), and
- Hank Ransome (drums).

01. Not That Kind Of Guy
02. Mary Anne
03. Dissimilitude
04. Similitude
05. You Should Be More Careful
06. The World's For Free
07. Fields Of Home
08. Alarm Rings Five
09. Lady L
10. When All Else Fails

here

The Common People - Of The People/By The People/For The People. (1968 USA Psych)

2011-08-22T09:10:00.001-07:00

This album is a nice blend of folk-pop and light psych which in places sounds not unlike the softer side of Love or The Lollipop Shoppe, but with more orchestration. All eleven songs are originals, most of which are written by group members Jerrald and Denny Robinett, who are assumedly brothers. The standout track is probably the Love-esque “Take from You” which, like the rest of the album, features fine guitar work and soothing breathless vocals. Although Vernon Joynson in his book Fuzz, Acid, and Flowers compares the album to that of labelmates Gandalf, the Common People sound is more guitar based and its accompanying orchestration more invasive. Not a great album, but pleasant listening nonetheless. Similar sounds: Growing Concern, Mandrake Memorial, Tea Company, and Fever Tree.

01.Feeling
02.Girl Said-Know
03.Go Every Way
04.I Have Been Alone
05.Land Of A Day06.Soon There'll Be Thunder
07.Take From You
08. They Didn’t Even Go To The Funeral
09.This Life She Is Min
10.Those Who Love
11.Why Must I Be

here

Front Page Review -Mystic Soldiers -THE MISSING 2 TRACKS!!

2011-06-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

I have just discovered that there were two tracks missing from the issue posted below. I guess it was on other issues, so I found the tracks and here they are. sorry only 256kbps but at least its completion and makes the album a more satisfying length.

08 What are You looking For
09 I'm satisfied

(For the Best Offer is still the final track, now number 10.)

here

Quiet Sun - Mainstream 1975 (UK, Jazz-Rock/Fusion, Canterbury Scene)

2011-06-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Having originated from a Dulwich College band by the name of Pooh and the Ostrich Feather, Quiet Sun was formed in 1970 after MacCormick had made friends with Robert Wyatt, the son of a friend of his mother's. The band integrated jazz elements and sparkling keyboard sounds into their complex music - similar to Soft Machine - but Manzanera's energetic guitar made their music very different from the Softs' who had not been using any guitar (other than bass guitar) on their regular albums before the 1975 release of Bundles, and had used reeds as the main other melody instruments aside of keyboards.

Quiet Sun split up in 1972, Manzanera to Roxy Music, MacCormick to Matching Mole, Hayward to This Heat, and Jarrett began to teach mathematics.

In 1975, Manzanera booked a studio for 26 days to record his album Diamond Head and got Quiet Sun together again to record an album from their old composed material in the studio at the same time. This first and only album of theirs, with participation of Brian Eno and the late Ian MacCormick, titled Mainstream was critically acclaimed and became the New Musical Express' album of the month. One of Quiet Sun's songs appears on Robert Wyatt's Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, under the name "Team Spirit". Additionally, reworked versions of "Mummy was an asteroid, Daddy was a small non-stick kitchen utensil" and "Rongwrong" both appear on the album "801 Live" ("Mummy was an asteroid, Daddy was a small non-stick kitchen utensil" appears under the name "East of Asteroid").
~Wiki

Track List:
1. Sol Caliente (Manzanera)
2. Trumpets With Motherhood (Hayward)
3. Bargain Classics (Jarrett
4. R. F. D. (Jarrett
5. Mummy Was An Asteroid, Daddy Was A Small Non-stick Kitchen Utensil (MacCormick)
6. Trot (Manzanera
7. Rongwrong (Hayward)

Charles Hayward - drums, percussion, keyboards, voice
Dave Jarrett - Fender Rhodes & Steinway pianos, Farfisa & Hammond organs, VCS3 synthesizer
Phil Manzanera - electric 6 & 12 string guitars, treated guitars, Fender Rhodes piano
Bill MacCormick - electric bass, treated bass, back-up voices
with
Brian Eno - synthesizer, treatments & oblique strategies
here

Fred - Fred (1971 us, psychedelic folk/progressive gem)

2011-06-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

The experience that what was Fred, goes beyond what will be said here, as the music made by the band in the years 1970-1974 goes beyond the tracks of this album. The hope in these words is to give a little historical context to the music being published here, for the first time in a collection more than thirty years after it was first recorded.

Ken Price and Joe DeChristopher began playing together while students at Bucknell University in Lewisburg Pennsylvania in 1967. Ken played keyboards, mainly a beat-up electric Wurlitzer Piano. Joe fancied himself a guitar player, but took up Bass to play in Ken’s Band “Still at Large”. When the lead Guitar player dropped out late in 1968, Ken and Joe stayed together, adding John, a young Bass player. Unfortunately, John’s freshman roommate, Bo Fox, had been snatch up by another popular fraternity dance hall band, “The Gross National Product” a trio of Bo on the Drums and two upperclassmen on Guitar and Keyboards.

While the drumming set was not well filled, Joe and Ken thought they could also use a vocalist to help out. Their classmate Gary Rosenberg self-styled poet and disc jockey at the college radio station, steered the to David Rose recently back at Bucknell after a tour of service as a conscientious objector (running a Quaker related home of disadvantaged youth in a tough part of Paris). David made a great contribution as a stager and frontman, keeping quiet the fact about that he’d been trained to play the Violin, which he started doing at the age of six.

The band known occasionally as “David Rose and his Orchid” or “Mustang Turfbinder and the Swelltones” was improving but still need help on the Drums. Help came in the autumn of 1969, when Bo’s GNP band-mates had graduated and left town, leaving him available. Again with an assist from Gary, Ken, Joe, John and David, now willing to try the Violin in the context of improvisational Rock ‘n’ Roll, matched up with Bo. Amidst the belated arrival in small-town, rural America of blossoming counterculture of Peace, Love and drugs, a wonderful musical experience was born.

Gary continued part of our experience, as a friend an source for new music from the likes of The Band, Procol Harum, Traffic, Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Frank Zappa to name a few. We spent the month of January 1970 intending to write a hundred original tunes, a task at which we failed miserably. Even so, we knew that there was something special happening, and as young and as inexperienced as we were, there was a growing will among us to keep with it.

School ended for most of us either by choice or by graduation in May 1970, but we stayed together most of us living in either of two small harm houses about 4 miles west of town. John transferred to a school in Boston, and we accepted into our ranks of ex-collegians, the outsider Michael “Bones” Robinson, self made bass player and song-writer.

We spend the summer smelling honeysuckle along the banks of the Susquehanna, on those trips back from high schools and bars to the south, near Harrisburg and York, we later spent our time building a house out of a barn for David’s family to live in (after his apartment was ruined by flood of 1972), learning to play, to write and manage on our shared income from playing music.

We attracted diverse collection of friends and well-wishers along the way, including artist/photographer L.J. Kopf roaches Roger Brown and Pat Biggs, sound engineer Charlie Bozenhard (who put together the components of a system to amplify David), Folk musicians Tom Patten and Ira Packman (who opened for some of our concerts), a group of ex-students who became carpenters working as “Grassy Flats” and many others, too numerous to mention.

By late 1971, we'd worked up several original tunes (most of them included on this album.) We managed to produce a 45 rpm single, containing "Salvation Lady" and "a love song", both with lyrics from Gary. David preached the vision of a self-sufficient community of artists, self supporting and true to itself. Gary continued to write poetry, much of which was never put to music. LJ took pictures, designed posters, and showed slides at our concerts.

Everyone took a role in the life of the band, on and off the' stage. We covered Procol Harum, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and Mahavishnu Orchestra, enlisting the talenls of wunderkind Peter Eggets on piano, drums when Bo took a break, horn arrangements, and a work ethic we’d never found on our own. Up into 1973, we were existing on the outside of a society in generational turmoil, enjoying our role as outsiders, defiant that hired us, and the booking agents who tried to make a dollar in marketing us.

Even so in those early years especially, we were more than the music, and bigger than the sum of our parts. With the eventual addition of Peter as a full time member of the band, came the departure of Gary, and ultimately later on the dissolution of the band, but alas, that is not the story of the music on this album.

Enjoy what is here, know there is more recorded Fred music to come, and that what is recorded here, while standing on its own merit, was also a part of the seasoning process which led to the music made later under the influence of the formidable composing and arranging skills of Peter Eggers. Welcome to the first recorded music of Fred.

By Joe DeChristopher (Lewisburg Pennsylvania)

Tracks
1. Four Evenings (Mike Robison, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:39
2. Soft Fisherman (David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:31
3. Salvation Lady (Ken Price, David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:01
4. By The Way (Joe DeChristopher, David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:45
5. I'll Go On (Joe DeChristopher, Ken Price, David Rose, Gary Rosenberg) - 4:26
6. For Fearless Few (Mike Robison) - 3:47
7. A Love Song (Joe DeChristopher, Gary Rosenberg) - 4:40
8. Booking Agent Blues (Joe DeChristopher) - 4:33
9. Windwords (Joe DeChristopher, Gary Rosenberg) - 6:51
10.A Love Song (45rpm version) (Joe DeChristopher, Gary Rosenberg) - 3:58

Fred
*Gary Rosenberg - Lyrics, Percussion
*Joe DeChristopher - Guitar
*David Rose - Keyboards, Violin, Guitar, Vocals
*Bo Fox - Drums
*Ken Price - Keyboards
*Mike Robison - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*Peter Eggers - Drums, Piano

here

The Search Party - Montgomery Chapel (1969 us rare Christian folk rock blended psychedelic - 320K)

2011-06-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

SONGIC LIMITED is pleased to announce this fantastic new release on Erebus Records containing 4-page booklet with band info.

A primitive Christian folkrock LP which hits some truly unique moods and sounds on about 2/3rds of the tracks.

Obviously inspired by the westcoast "psychedelic" sounds of the era, the Search Party take compositions by their spiritual mentor, a Catholic middle-aged priest, and turn them into primitive California garage folkrock and psych with fuzz leads and raw vocals!

Most Christian "folkrock" LPs suffer from still having one foot left in Sunday School, but these young seminarians have definitely broken through to the other side.

Side 1 ends with an unparalleled 9-minute downer folkrock excursion with heavy soul-searching lyrics that alone makes "Montgomery Chapel" worth checking out, but beware -- it's crude, even the female vocalist has a strange edge. Unrehearsed confessions from a basement (by Music Emporium).

As with all Erebus Records titles this was remastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

Track List:

01.Speak To Me
02.Renee Child
03.Melanya
04.When He Calls
05.So Many Things Have Got Me Down
06.You And I
07.All But This
08.Poem By George Hall
09.The Decidedly Short Epic Of Mr Alvira
10.The News Is You
here

Front Page Review - Mystic Soldiers (1968 boston very good psychedelic rock - rare 1997 Big Beat records edition)

2011-06-07T05:54:00.001-07:00

****Psychelatte says: Please see missing extra tracks link after first link below..just discovered these!!

For many first-time listeners of The Front Page Review their one and only album, "Mystic Soldiers" will seem like just another footnote in the endless ranks of bands to have come out in the late sixties.

Based out of Boston, many of their songs are keyboard dominated, and Steve Cataldo's vocals will leave you with a feeling of having heard any one of their particular songs on any one of the countless oldies stations dominating the airwaves of your favorite city.

You should listen a little closer, however, because there are some fine aural antics going on in the background of many of these songs.

The opening number, "Prophecies/Morning Blue" is almost downright progressive with its theme of nuclear war, a building fuzz guitar, and a breathtaking tempo shift halfway through and then a Doors-like organ fueled coda.

"Prism Fawn" sounds much like the Who's "Relax" from the Sell Out album....but once again, the lyrics are fixated on doom, One of my favorite songs is "Feels Like Love"-it's a wonderful time capsule to the sixties you could have easily found on the first two Nazz albums.

The electric, harpsichord-like keyboards play nicely against the tinny rhythm guitar work.\

"Silver Children" follows, and yields another remarkable shift in tone; we go from happy love to the familiar Doors territory of The End with more of a mystical heaviness.

"Valley Of Eyes", with a decidedly more urgent tempo, goes from mystical to apocalyptic protest.

"Without You" is more wistful and sad; a nice echo effect is induced onto Cataldo's vocal.

The last song to complete the album proper is "For The Best Offer", plays like an extended psychedelic dream with its series of different fade-ins and fade-outs and the persistent image of `she's the girl of a streetcorner tree'.

In all Front Page Review dish up the kind of psychedelic music you would expect from this time period, but they add a marvelous lyrical twist to many of their songs that sometimes is manifested in occasionally twisted music (by Robert Cossaboon)

Track List:
01.Prophecies/Morning Blue
02.Prism Fawn
03.One Eyed Minor
04.Feels Like Love
05.Silver Children
06.Valley Of Eyes
07.Without You
08.For The Best Offer
here

****MISSING TRACKS FROM THIS ISSUE:

08 What are You looking For
09 I'm satisfied

(For the Best Offer is still the final track, now number 10.)

here

Kensington Market - Avenue Road (1968 canada, psychedelic fusing folk with classical and jazz elements)

2011-06-02T01:43:00.001-07:00

A late night jam with the Lovin' Spoonful's Zal Yanofsky in 1967 would prove to be the big break for Toronto's Kensington Market. As Nicholas Jennings tells it in Before the Gold Rush, his excellent chronicle of that city's Yorkville scene, "Knocked out by the band's sophisticated sound, Yanofsky went down to New York where he raved about them to Felix Pappalardi (Cream, the Youngbloods). Pappalardi flew out to Toronto in October to check them out. Before he left the band's rehearsal space that night, Pappalardi had signed the band to a two-record deal", leading to the recording of this eclectic album for Warner Brothers.

With a couple of seven-inchers on the Stone label already under their belts, the band had just recruited soul shouter Luke Gibson after his own Luke and the Apostles called it quits in the late summer of 1967. Had it not been for that fortuitous hook-up, the band might have ended up a mere footnote in the already crowded Yorkville annals. As it happened, though, with Warner's money and Pappalardi's acumen, the band's debut LP Avenue Road was released early the following year to cheers on the home front and what could be politely described as bewildered indifference south of the border. It seems that everything from the bizarre title (which was really just a street running through Toronto's hipster neighbourhood at the time) to the wintry Canadian imagery on the cover left their American label execs flummoxed.

The winds of opportunity continued to waft the band's way throughout 1968 with a week-long residence at New York's renowned Bitter End early on and a coveted support slot for the Jefferson Airplane out at Hamilton (Ontario)'s McMaster University later that summer. Kensington Market led off with a rerecorded and reworked 'I Would Be the One', which would scale its way up to #18 on Toronto's influential CHUM-AM chart in July.

This slower, buffed-up 'I Would Be the One' opens Avenue Road and it has Pappalardi's paws all over it, the rough garage charm of the original Stone single giving way to some crisp horns and blithe piano rhythms. Actually, much of Keith McKie's tepid songwriting is augmented - and sometimes rescued - by Pappalardi's spacious production, like the ballad 'Aunt Violet's Knee', a potential snoozer fleshed out somewhat with some medieval brass and sugary strings, or the obliquely psychedelic horn that tints the lovely 'Looking Glass'.

And though much of Avenue Road is fairly standard stuff, it is a revealing artifact of what were no doubt heady days in Canadian music history.
by Michael Panontin

Tracks
1. I Would Be The One (Keith McKie) - 2:37
2. Speaking Of Dreams (Luke Gibson) - 2:26
3. Colour Her Sunshine (Keith McKie) - 3:00
4. Phoebe (Gene Martynec) - 3:38
5. Aunt Violet's Knee (Keith McKie) - 4:21
6. Coming Home Soon (Keith McKie) - 2:45
7. Presenting Myself Lightly (Gene Martynec) - 2:15
8. Looking Glass (Keith McKie) - 3:21
9. Beatrice (Gene Martynec) - 2:20
10.Girl Is Young (Keith McKie) - 3:08

Kensington Market
*Alex Darou - Bass
*Keith McKie - Guitar, Vocals
*Jimmy Watson - Drums, Sitar
*Gene Martynec - Guitar, Piano, Vocals,
*Luke Gibson - Vocals, Guitar

here

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera (1967 uk outsanding psych/beat)

2011-06-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera picked up on the British psychedelic movement after supporting The Pink Floyd as a soul/blues band called 'The Five Proud Walkers', the lineup was Richard Hudson (Hud) on drums, Colin Forster on lead guitar, Jimmy Horrocks (Horovitz) on organ and flute, John ????? (bass) and Dave Terry on vocals and harmonica. The boys took inspiration from the experience and it wasn't long before the change of both music and image.

They gigged for a while playing blues based material,but gradually got interested in more free-form stuff. John ???? was replaced by John Ford and the band searched for a new name. Velvet Opera was chosen initially, which was amended to Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera within days after Dave turned up to a session wearing a long black cape and a preachers hat and had to endure some piss-taking from the rest of the band (Elmer Gantry was the fictional hero of a Sinclair Lewis novel and 1960 film about a preacher). The name stuck and Dave became Elmer. By this time Elmer, influenced by the music of John Cage, was making experimental taped backing sounds and using signal generators on stage in the act.

The band began to get quite a following and played clubs and university gigs all over the country and at London venues like the Marquee and 100 club and Electric garden. They would also occasionally play at the Speakeasy where Jimi Hendrix would jam with them, also people like Jeff beck and Eric Burdon. The band had been recorded independantly for a while by Southern Music Publishing, who had their own, four -track, studio in Denmark Street, and it wasn't long before they had secured a record deal with CBS's "Direction" label. The problem was that Southern Music had originally signed them as a bluesy/jazzy band and they were not very keen on trying to get new, more riotous stage act on disc.

The group were persuaded to do more "regular" material. The first recording was the song, written by Elmer, that the band were best known for, 'Flames'. The record was on jukeboxes all over the country and was covered live by bands as diverse as "The Joe Loss Orchestra" and "Led Zeppelin", in fact Jimmy Page recently told Elmer that Flames was the only non-Zep number that they included in their early stage-act (Robert Plant also included it in his 2001-2002 tour). However, for the average radio listener the song was too far ahead of its time and despite live popularity and numerous radio plays the song only managed to achieve number 30 in the charts. Direction did however, take faith in the band to record second and third singles and more importantly a self-titled album.

The group's second single, "Mary Jane" was taken off the BBC playlist after they realised that the song was the slang term for Marijuana. The third single, Volcano, was written by Howard & Blakely, who had written hits for Dave Dee etc. After three singles and the album, major success had still not been achieved. The agent at the time, Terry King, had booked the group a lot of shows, they were regularly appearing on the BBC on John Peel's show, among others, they were playing, touring and promoting hard, but recording success was still elusive. Colin Forster was then replaced by Paul Brett but this still didn't acheive the desired result.

Disagreements erupted within the band, which lead to a split from Elmer and so the Velvet Opera was formed. Elmer Gantry remembers : "eventually, EGVO broke up due to a change of direction within the band. Paul Brett, (who incidentally I had worked with previously and had brought into the band following our initial success) although a brilliant guitarist, had a strong interest in more folkish music and, with Hud's increasing interest in playing instruments other than drums, the band started to change direction. I did not welcome this change, and whilst I had great admiration for all the other members as musicians, was not interested. There followed a coup in which the other members of the band attempted to just replace me and keep the name.

This would clearly have been ridiculous as I was already known as Elmer Gantry and the band was largely know for its riotous, envelope-pushing stage presence, not for electro-folk. The result was that they brought twelve string guitarist folk-blues guitarist Johnny Joyce in, and continued as The Velvet Opera and eventually The Strawbs and The Monks producing the novelty hits "Union Man" and "Nice legs, shame about the face" and I continued with a new line-up, formed from the Downliners sect, as the Elmer Gantry band. I also later had a lead role in "Hair" in the west end, recorded on two Alan Parsons Project albums, did the lead vocals on Cozy powell's album, sang and wrote with Jon Lord on his solo album."

Tracklist
1. Intro
2. Mother Writes
3. Mary Jane
4. I Was Cool
5. Walter Sly Meets Bill Bailey
6. Air
7. Lookin' for a Happy Life
8. Flames
9. What's the Point of Leaving
10.Long Nights of Summer
11.Dream Starts
12.Reaction of a Young Man
13.Now She's Gone
14.Flames (Single Version, Bonus Track)
15.Salisbury Plain (Bonus Track)
16.Mary Jane (Single Version, Bonus Track)
17.Dreamy (Bonus Track)
18.To Be With You (Bonus Track)
19.And I Remember (Bonus Track)
20.Talk Of The Devil (Bonus Track)
21.The Painter (Bonus Track)

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera:
*Dave Terry ("Elmer Gantry") – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
*Colin Forster - Lead Guitar
*Jimmy Horrocks (Horovitz) – Organ, Flute
*John Ford – Vocals, Bass Guitar
*Richard Hudson – Vocals, Ddrums, Sitar

here

Mad Dog - Dawn of the Seventh Sun (1969 us aka C1/C2 great mix of heavy psychedelic, west coast, hard rock, jazz rock and soft ballads)

2011-06-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly good, previously unreleased album of California psychedelia from 1969.

The singing isn't terrific, but it's ok, but the sun-drenched psychedelic leads are great and it has that vibe! "Monstruous & unreleased at the time heavy/psychedelic/westcoast artefact of the highest order.

This is one of the five best ever promo only releases to emerge from California.

Only released in a quantity of a couple of copies to get a major record deal that never materialized.

Three of the songs were used in a low-budget biker flick called "Black Angels".

The original demo lp had only a plain black label with no kinds of credits. We found this hidden gem looking for unreleased music by the band “The Zoo” of "Presents Chocolate Moose" fame.

The original producer told us that a demo only lp was released by “The Zoo” after the “Chocolate Moose” album.

The slightly different line-up had the name “Joyful Noise” (you can see a scan of the acetate in Hans Pokora’s 4001 record collector’s dream) but at this time they were looking for a tougher name to fit to the music and they found “Mad Dog”.

Under this name a couple of test pressings were done. So we made a re-release deal straight away. The tape was sent for remastering and cover artwork.

To our surprise the guy told us, after hearing the tape, that he knew the music and that it had already been re-released by another label without any kinds of info using the numbers from the dead end part of the vinyl wich was C1/C2!

The C was for Cavett, the producer’s name. Since the project was already paid, we decided to go on with the release to please collectors with an amazing remastering straight from the mastertapes, and an insert with unseen pictures and a band bio written by Morgan Cavett.

Track List:
01.Suite For Two Guitars
02.Military Disgust
03.Ala Ala
04.Fort Huachuca Blues
05.Everything's Alright
06.Dawn Of The Seventh Sun
07.The Fast Song
08.When It Touches You
09.Soulful Bowlful
10.Free Fall

Mad Dogs:
*Howard M. Leese (lead guitar, background vocals)
*Terry Gottlieb (bass, background vocals)
*Vincent "Murphy" Carfagna (rhythm guitar)
*Steve Goldstein (drums, percussion)
*Gary Witkosky (lead vocals, background vocals, tenor sax, flute)

amended link, whoops

* * Victoria - Victoria (1971 us great psychedelic west coast - Shadoks Records reissue) * *

2011-06-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

* Psychelatte says: this is a folky psych sound, in my opinion. but still far out.

Though initially recorded in the late '60s and early '70s, the tracks that make up Victoria's sole release didn't see wide release until nearly 30 years later, seeing a further re-release on Shadoks in 2005.

Consisting of a small limited-edition album and a variety of further cuts from tape and acetate, Victoria's appeal lies perhaps most in the sextet's ability to get a lot out of limited resources.

Opening cut "Peace" is almost surprisingly lush and detailed, triumphant brass parts mixing in with the exultant rock & roll from the band.

From there the 15 songs on the CD wend their way, ranging from gentle contemplation to fuller-bodied affairs, less fried psychedelia than the kind of widescreen pop that coexisted with it.

The exact lineup of the band is unclear -- only four people are credited, not all of whom appear to have performed at the same time -- but one Greg Ruban was the core songwriter and arranger, and it's his ability to capture his band surprisingly well that ensures Victoria is more than simply a rare curio.

In ways he simply reflects his time -- "Gevaro" sounds like a lost cut by contemporary Santana, while the proto-prog of "Village of Etaf (Prelude and Overture)" goes on a touch too long in the end.

Throughout, singers Maureen Deidelbaum, Cherryl Simpson, and Sharon Barton -- or some combination of them -- acquit themselves well enough. One of their best efforts is one of the quietly wittiest -- "Never Knew Blues," the title of which is both somewhat descriptive (the descending blues influence is mostly heard in the verses) and an apt section of lyric.

Intriguingly, some of the best tunes never made the original LP release -- "Mister Let Me Go" is a lovely piano-led country song à la the Band, while the autoharp-led "Wheels" feels almost like a cousin to the third Velvet Underground album thanks to the murky rhythm section and steady rumbling pace (by Ned Raggett).

Track List:
01.Peace - 2:44
02.Cumberland - 4:41
03.Gevaro - 4:11
04.Ride a Rainbow - 2:50
05.Never Knew Blues - 4:58
06.Down to the Park (Earth Day Park) - 2:57
07.Village of Etaf (Prelude and Overture) - 12:23
08.Core of the Apple - 8:09

Bonus Tracks:
09.Mister Let Me Go - 3:37
10.Johny and Lisa - 3:02
11.Peace - 2:52
12.Cumberland - 2:51
13.Child of Princess - 3:07
14.Sundance - 1:46
15.Wheels - 2:02

here

* Kennelmus - Folkestone Prism (Us Psych 1972) Fabulously Bizarre Gem! *

2011-05-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

I was dubious about the claims that Folkstone Prism was an album of desert surf music from 1971, but damned if that's not what it is. Oh, it's psychedelic and swirly and sometimes backwards. but it has great tremolo guitar, some fuzz, interesting drums, and most importantly, is a melodic work. Surely adventurous and well off the beaten path, but surely worth checking out. -Phil Dirt [Reverb Central]

This way-obscure Phoenix band released a late-period psychedelic album in 1971 that, by the standards of self-released LPs of the time, was several layers above the usual such offering. Largely (although not wholly) instrumental, their Folkstone Prism was an authentically oddball, occasionally goofy, and sometimes inspired blend of surf music, spaced-out psychedelia, and silly pop. The exotic dabs of melodica, zither, and special effects by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Ken Walker added a cloud of eeriness; "I Don't Know" has keyboards straight off the Chantays' surf classic "Pipeline, " "Goodbye Pamela Ann" scorching psychedelic guitar that sounds like a mating of the Electric Prunes and Haight-Ashbury, and "Mother of My Children" vocals that sound like a Lee Hazlewood parody. Kennelmus, indeed, can be seen as spiritual forefathers of sorts to several post-punk Arizona bands--Black Sun Ensemble, Friends of Dean Martinez, and Scenic--that have made instrumental rock that can function as a quasi-psychedelic desert movie soundtrack. Of course, it's doubtful that those bands, or many others, were aware of Kennelmus, since their album was released in a pressing of 1000 in 1971, and not even well known among collectors. Kennelmus evolved from the more standard garage band the Shi-Reeves, who played British Invasion covers and surf music. Ken Walker changed the name to Kennelmus in 1969 (Kennelmus being his full first name), and with singer/ guitarist Bob Narloch began recording Folkstone Prism in late 1970, with the help of bassist Tom Gilmore and drummer Mike Shipp. The record was very much the brainchild of Walker, who wrote all but one of the songs. Three of the four band members worked at a pressing plant, making them one of the few, if not the only, group of their sort to literally help press their own recordings. An anomaly of its time (or any other), Folkstone Prism made little impact, and the band broke up around the mid-1970s, although the album was reissued on CD by Sundazed in 1999. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide Personally I think record will make a very unique addition to your collection.So by all means give this a listen,and prepare to trip out....

* Indicates Instrumental

01.I DON'T KNOW *
02.PATTI'S DREAM*
03.DANCING DORIS *
04.GOODBYE PAMELA ANN *
05.MONOLOGUE
06.BLACK SUNRISE *
07.THINK FOR YOURSELF
08.THE BUG, THE GOAT,AND THE HEARSE *
09.SHAPES OF SLEEP
10.CLOUD OF LEAD *
11.MOTHER OF MY CHILDREN
12.1001 TWICE *
13.SYLVAN SHORES
14.BULLETIN !!!
15.THE RAVEN

:D

The Strawberry Alarm Clock - Incense & Peppermints (us 1967) - Essential Psych band!

2011-05-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Alarm Clock occupies a peculiar niche in the history of 60's rock. Their name is as well known to anyone who lived through the late-'60s psychedelic era as that of almost any group one would care to mention, mostly out of its sheer, silly trippiness as a name and their one major hit, "Incense and Peppermints," which today is virtually the tonal equivalent of a Summer of Love flashback. But there was a real group there, with members who had played for a long time on the Southern California band scene, who were proficient on their instruments and who sang well and generated four whole LPs of which at least three were worth hearing more than once. The band's origins go back to Glendale, CA, in the mid-'60s, and a group then known as the Sixpence. It was 1965 and all things British were still a selling point, so the name made as much sense as anything else. Their lineup was formed from the members of various other bands coming together, and included Lee Freeman on vocals, guitar, and harmonica, Ed King on guitar, Gary Lovetro on bass, Gene Gunnels on drums, Mike Luciano on tambourine, and Steve Rabe on lead guitar. They mostly did covers of then-popular hits and developed a considerable following in Glendale and also in Santa Barbara, playing there so often that a lot of histories have them coming out of Santa Barbara. They were like a lot of hot local bands, good enough to pull people to their shows and always seemingly poised to make the jump to the next level. They did record, starting with an early single, "You're the One," on the Impact label and a trio of 45s that included "Hay Joe" [sic] and covers of the Who song "I Can't Explain" and the rock & roll standard "Fortune Teller" in 1966, for the tiny All-American label; with "Fortune Teller" flipped to the A-side, their third All-American single was picked up by Dot Records for national distribution. Their membership changed late that year as well, with Rabe departing and Mark Weitz joining on keyboards and vocals, sharing the lead singing chores with Freeman. They continued issuing singles on All-American into 1967, changing their name along the way to Thee Sixpence at one point. In the spring of 1967, there was a flurry of activity going on surrounding the band. They were working out a new single, the A-side of which was to be a sneering punkish piece called "The Birdman of Alkatrash," written by Weitz. They needed a B-side, and an instrumental titled "Incense and Peppermints" --also put together by Weitz with help from guitarist Ed King --was duly recorded, and producer Frank Slay (who also owned a publishing company) ended up sending a tape of the track to a friend, songwriter John Carter, who had scored a modest but important hit with a song called "That Acapulco Gold," for a group called the Rainy Daze, earlier that year. He delivered the words to "Incense and Peppermints," which ended up --under a contract he had with Slay --credited to him and his songwriting partner, Tim Gilbert. By this time, the band had developed enough self-confidence that they felt offended by Slay's maneuver, and neither Weitz nor Freeman was willing to throw themselves into the lyric the way they should have, especially as Carter came down to the session to oversee the recording of his lyrics. It was his choice, backed by Slay, of Greg Munford, a 16-year-old friend of the group who happened to be hanging out at the session. Such was the level of confusion that although Slay promised to put Weitz and King on the song as composers, when the producer/publisher filed the copyright registration, Carter and Gilbert were the only composers listed, although Weitz and King are credited as arrangers --and nobody seemed overly concerned by the fact that Munford wasn't actually in the band. This was "just" a B-side, after all, that would be forgotten as soon as "The Birdman of Alkatrash" started to get airplay, if it ever did. The single was issued on All-American, with "Incense and Peppermints" as the B-side, and a few copies seem to have gotten out credited to the Sixpence. But the group and their management became concerned over the fact that there were other, similarly named (if differently spelled) bands out there, and began thinking that a new name was called for. So the story goes, the group members were sitting around Weitz's house, trying to come up with a name, and had settled on "Strawberry," appropriated from a recent hit Beatles song. They were trying to figure out what went with "strawberry" and someone noticed a piece of household equipment that was making some noise as they sat there. "Strawberry Alarm Clock" scanned well and sounded playful enough in the tenor of the times, and the new name was in place by the middle of the summer. And at that point, with the new name affixed to the All-American 45, the single started to take on a life of its own --literally. The All-American single actually began getting airplay, but it was the B-side, "Incense and Peppermints," that DJs were choosing and airing. Enter Uni Records, a newly established imprint of American Decca and its parent company, MCA, who picked it up for national distribution. For a record now credited to Strawberry Alarm Clock, Uni Records was a perfect conduit, with its brightly colored label design, not that this was real factor in what people heard --it just completed the picture. The song swept across the airwaves gradually, fueling a sales wave that built into a number one chart placement over the next three months, in November of 1967. By that time, the group had been prevailed upon to record an album around the single, even though Munford, who'd sung on the hit, wasn't in the group. The album involved a few changes in the lineup, partly growing out of the fact that the existing membership didn't have enough songs to fill an LP. They brought in 18-year-old George Bunnell, a Massachussets-born musician and songwriter who'd previously played in the Something Else and as a member of Chapter Four and the Waterfyrd Traene, and his collaborator, Ohio-born Steve Bartek, who was still in high school at the time. They brought with them a brace of songs, and Bunnell --who also played bass --was having trouble getting the group's bassist, Gary Lovetro, to handle the bass parts correctly, and King finally suggested that Bunnell play bass on those songs, while Bartek ended up playing flute on the album. Bunnell was so effective that all agreed that he should become a member, and he agreed after initial hesitation over abandoning his current group. Even Bartek, who was only 16, was offered a chance to join, in recognition of his contribution to the album, but because of his age he needed his parents' permission, which wasn't forthcoming. Thus, Strawberry Alarm Clock became extremely unusual (if not unique) as a band with two bass players. Additionally, drummer Gene Gunnels, who'd been with the Sixpence since 1965, then left and then returned, and who had played on "Incense and Peppermints," was gone by the time the group got around to doing the album. In his place was Randy Seol, who'd been in the band since 1966 and sang as well as played drums. And just to make the membership situation more complicated, Seol sang on "Incense and Peppermints," and Gunnels would be back to replace him on drums a couple of years later. The Incense and Peppermints LP ended up coming out astonishingly strong, especially considering the haste with which the album was recorded, and the evolving membership during the recording process. Its number 11 chart placement (the only time one of their LPs actually charted) only affirmed the seemingly charmed nature of the group's work during the last eight months of 1967. This was partly a result of the way that the album was approached --it was done in a hurry, on the fly, but with a rather bold creative impulse at work within that framework. In addition to the flute provided by Bartek (who also evidently played a few other instruments on the sessions), Wietz, Bunnell, King, and Seol all had credits on the album for "special effects," referring to unusual instruments (or unusual sounds from their usual instruments) that they played. In an interview with Gary James, Bunnell recalled employing several different basses as well as an array of exotic instruments in the studio, including the Vox Mando guitar, which resembled a cut-down 12-string (the instrument was immortalized by Brian Jones in a photo but was seldom actually heard on record). In all, the album proved to be one of the more delightful artifacts of the psychedelic era, a strangely compelling mix of psychedelia, sunshine pop, garage rock, and California harmony. If the group wasn't in the front rank of rock acts, they'd certainly earned the entrée to run with them. Strawberry Alarm Clock toured nationally for the second half of 1967 and much of 1968 off the success of "Incense and Peppermints," sharing billing at various times with the likes of Country Joe & the Fish, Jimi Hendrix, and the Who; while Bunnell found the latter to be a highlight, for King it was touring with the Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield that became the high point of his career. They also underwent some more changes. Gary Lovetro, the band's original bassist, a founding member of the group, took the money and ran --for a 25,000 dollar buyout, he relinquished his position to Bunnell and left the music business. The five-man version of the band cut a follow-up single, "Tomorrow," a collaboration between Weitz and King that reached number 23 nationally in early 1968. The song had lots of great hooks, vocal and instrumental, with a killer feedback-soaked guitar break by King and lyrics that belonged to Weitz this time; along with the rest of the album, it also benefited from the presence of vocal coach Howard Davis, who was brought in to help the members push the harmony singing displayed on Incense and Peppermints to new levels of sophistication. On the single they sounded a bit like the Association crossed with the Who or the Creation (except that, unlike the Association, the Alarm Clock played on their own records). Despite the success of "Tomorrow," the album Wake Up...It's Tomorrow never sold as well as it should have, mostly because Uni Records was late in getting it out, a month after "Tomorrow" had started its run up the charts. The public's attention span was very limited, and 30 days was an eternity in a marketplace crowded with lots of new (and some good) music; it's the difference between individual record stores ordering one or two copies of an LP, versus five or six, and displaying them prominently or at length, versus putting them in the browsers for people to find, and listeners still having the song in mind when they find the album. It ended up selling nowhere near the quarter-of-a-million copies of the first LP, and in many ways marked the sudden downward turn in the band's fortunes. The whole image of the group as it's been passed down might have been different if Wake Up...It's Tomorrow had sold better. "Incense and Peppermints," for all of its success, was a piece of product produced by many hands, as was the album that followed, while Wake Up...It's Tomorrow was the creation of a cohesive working band, and sounded it, even with the presence of Howard Davis working to make their singing more sophisticated. There were some exotic instruments, to be sure, and some uncredited contributions by the members --in an interview with Gary James, King said that he played a lot of the bass parts on that record --but it was much more an expression of the five members, complicated by the sometimes very direct (and sometimes interfering) influence of the record label, which was always looking for the most accessible, commercial sound, and also by some disagreements. Weitz revealed in an interview with Richie Unterberger that he and several of the others had strong reservations about Seol's and Bunnell's compositions, most especially "Nightmare of Percussion" and "Curse of the Witches." Still, the album did fit together in its odd way, and was more of a musicians' record than a producer's record --and had more people heard it, they might've been remembered in subsequent years as a band and not just as an AM radio phenomenon with a funny name. It was while working on the album that the group also got pegged for screen immortality, when they were invited to appear in and perform a song in Richard Rush's 1968 drama Psych-Out, set in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury hippie mecca and starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell, and Bruce Dern. Produced by Dick Clark, even that opportunity was an outgrowth of the success of "Incense and Peppermints" --after appearing on Clark's program to mime to their hit, the group got the offer of the movie, which gave King and Freeman a fresh songwriting opportunity, in the form of "Pretty Song from Psych-Out." According to Weitz in an interview with Unterberger, King also served as a technical consultant on the movie when it came to showing Nicholson enough about how to hold and finger a guitar so that he looked as though he were really playing. The song made for one of the better moments on an otherwise already very strong album, and the movie helped shore up the group's seriousness (and their legacy) as an actual band, putting them alongside the Seeds and Boenzee Cryqye.

Their record sales never rebounded, however, even with whatever help Psych-Out gave.
By late 1968, they were still getting bookings based on "Incense and Peppermints" and "Tomorrow," but not what they had been. The record label, which had allowed the members some autonomy on the prior two albums with regard to songwriting and the overall approach to recording, decided to exercise a lot more control for the third album, The World in a Sea Shell. With softer harmony singing and orchestral accompaniments --including brass flourishes --and four songs from outside writers, this was where the Alarm Clock seemed to "sell out" as far as its fans were concerned. Making matters worse was the fact that two of the four outside songs were written by John Carter and Tim Gilbert, the two composers whose names had somehow ended up on "Incense and Peppermints" despite their not having written a note of music (and Gilbert not having written a comma); and this was becoming a sore point as the members, catching their breath after a year's furious activity, realized what two of them had lost --suddenly, but understandably, the group became more than a little distrustful of the management and the producer who'd signed away at least 50,000 dollars in royalties for two of its members. The album was even more irksome in its final form, the first side dominated by the outside songs, two of which were written by Carole King and Toni Stern and perfectly fine as songs --but not really what the group was about; the whole first side sounded like the work of some pop outfit trying to sound psychedelic, and what there was of the Alarm Clock's real sound didn't get heard until the second side. By the time the smoke cleared, Randy Seol and George Bunnell --who weren't represented on the album at all as songwriters --had opted out, and the Alarm Clock's position with its fans was even more precarious, especially amid the maneuvering that followed. The group dismissed their longtime manager, Bill Holmes, and in retaliation Holmes organized a "new" Strawberry Alarm Clock around Seol and Bunnell, booking a tour for them and even initially ignoring a restraining order obtained by Weitz, King, and company. By the time the situation was sorted out legally, promoters were afraid to book anyone claiming to be Strawberry Alarm Clock. The new lineup for the real band included ex-Nightcrawlers guitarist/singer Jimmy Pitman, with King shifting over on an even more permanent basis to playing bass, and, returning to his former spot, drummer Gene Gunnels, replacing interim drummer Marty Katin. The new lineup was almost a new group, in the sense that Pitman's vocals and guitar --which was heavily blues-inflected, and just plain heavy --completely altered their sound, and his songs were harder, louder blues-rock numbers than anything the group had ever before attempted to record or perform. This lineup went into the studio one last time on Uni's dime, the label hoping to salvage something from the chaos surrounding the band, and this time were allowed to produce themselves, with Weitz and King stepping up to that chore. And the results weren't bad --Good Morning Starshine, as it was titled, might not have sounded too much like the Alarm Clock of "Incense and Peppermints" or even "Tomorrow," except on a couple of cuts such as "Small Package" and "Dear Joy," but it was an honest statement of who they were, and even on somewhat disjointed pieces like "Off Ramp Road Tramp," they generated a powerful sound; more to the point, if they weren't exactly making sounds that would endure for the ages, they sounded engaged and involved, which was more than one could say about most of the previous LP. The only exception was the title track, a pop standard from the musical Hair that got to number 87 before it was eclipsed by Oliver's more accessible pop-focused version. It all proved an exercise in futility as the single failed and the group was now more hamstrung than ever, thanks to their ex-manager's chicanery. With record sales going through the floor and bookings difficult to get, there was no reason for the members to stay together, especially amid the continuing disputes and lawsuits over money. Pitman had gone by the end of 1969, to be replaced by vocalist Paul Marshall while King switched back to lead guitar, and Weitz left soon after, disillusioned with the band and the music business. A quartet version of the band carried on, picking up what bookings could be generated by the name until 1971, led by King. In a classic example of one door closing and another opening in life, it was a little later that he was invited to join Lynyrd Skynyrd, an up-and-coming Southern rock band that had opened for the Alarm Clock in its final phase, and whose lead singer, Ronnie Van Zant, he'd become friendly with. It was with Skynyrd on their classic first three LPs and the tours around them that he would finally get the reward to which his success entitled him.

01. The world's on fire
02. Birds in my tree
03. Lose to live
04. Strawberries mean love
05. Rainy day mushroom pillow
06. Paxton's back street carnival
07. Hummin' happy
08. Pass time with SAC
09. Incense and peppermints
10. Unwind with the clock
11. Birdman of Alkatrash

here

The Misunderstood - I, Unseen & I can Take You to the Sun

2011-05-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Does this persuade you to listen to the album now?? Come on, nobody has yet and it makes me so sad!

"Before the Dream Faded"

REPOST: Psychelatte's Glass Freakout feat. Philip Glass works (Amended - extra folder enclosed!!)

2011-05-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

So..here is my offering of a Philip Glass compilation for the unitiated. I've included stuff that shows his wacky style as well as his gentler side. But mostly it's pretty hectic, rushing, vibrant stuff.
I havent included anything overtly operatic or anything too long and repetitive, so as not to alienate potential converts!
There's quite a lot of singing, but its mostly la la la's and pah pah pahs!! I think the pieces I've chosen are pretty accessible and not too challenging, yet still will hopefully take you to heady heights of supreme ecstasy and awe..(hmmm...!) Its not exhaustive by any means, but reasonably definitive, i believe.

Its just over 1 and a half hours. Hope you Enjoy!

**** UPDATE: I was peed off that my audio extraction from
"Geometry of Circles" played ok on my phone, but not on my mp3 player after i had already uploaded the files. I couldn't bear to miss it off, so everything is all re-done.
For those who want the audio, i have uploaded an extra folder with it contained therein, which also includes the above 2 videos..(obviously previous downloaders need only download the first folder).

Folder 1:

Geometry of Circles mp3 audio (should be ok now!!)
Geometry of Circles mp4 video
Channels & Winds with Japanese Hiroshima anime video, mp4
Channels & Winds, " " " " flv

Folder 2:

01b Act 1 A Gentleman's Honor (The Photographer)

02 Freezing (Songs From Liquid Days)

03 Channels & Winds (Passages - with Ravi Shankar)*

04 Act II Tagore Scene I Confrontation & Rescue (Satyagraha)

05 Face to Razor (The Candyman)*

06 Screens of Memory (1000 Airplanes on the Roof)

07 Pruit Igoe (Koyaanisqatsi)*

08 Video Dream (Powaqqatsi)*

09 Knee 3 (Einstein on the Beach)*

10 Dance VII (Glassworks)

11 The Encounter (1000 Airplanes on the Roof)

12 New Cities in Ancient Lands ( Powaqqatsi)*

13 Cocktail Party (Persephone - Orchestral Music - Archive II)

14 Act III Scene II Attack & Fall (Akhnaten)

15 Open the Kingdom (Songs from Liquid Days)

16 Dance IX (Glassworks)

*= album on this blog!

Part 1
Part 2

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - A Child's Guide to Good & Evil

2011-05-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

With their soaring psychedelia, achingly pure folk-rock and Zappa/Beefheart strangeness, these seminal underground gems from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band--Part One, Vol. 2 and A Child's Guide To Good & Evil--can be seen as encyclopedic primers of the late-'60s Los Angeles musical experience.

Tracks:

01. Eighteen Is Over The Hill
02. In The Country
03. Ritual #1
04. Our Drummer Always Plays In The Nude
05. As The World Rises And Falls
06. Until The Poorest Of People Have Money To Spend
07. Watch Yourself
08. A Child's Guide To Good & Evil
09. Ritual #2
10. A Child Of A Few Hours Is Burning To Death
11. As Kind As Summer
12. Anniversary Of World War III
13. Shifting Sands (Single Mix)
14. 1906 (Single Mix)

here

* The Electric Prunes - Mass in F Minor (us 1968) trippy as hell monastic psychedelia! *

2011-05-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Realistically, this isn't really an Electric Prunes. It's more of a studio based wacked out concept album along the lines of the Zodiac's Cosmic Sounds. The Prunes became tenuously attached as producer Dave Hassinger wanted to find a more commercial vehicle for the band and somehow came upon the concept of psychedelic Catholic chants. It seems that the Prunes ended up a bit used and abused, but the word is that they went along for the ride anyway. Holding the creative tiller was none other than cult jazz/psych guru, David Axelrod. Axelrod is responsible for all of the arranging duties on this album (I think we'll keep the basic composition credits with some long dead Catholic monks), and he did a very groovy job. The trouble was that his arrangements were a little over the heads of the talented, but not musically schooled fellows making up the garage rocking Electric Prunes. Thus, the band ended up as little more than session musicians on their own album accompanying even more session musicians. There's an urban legend that the Prunes don't even show up on the record. The rhythm section of bassist Mark Tulin and drummer Quint do play on every track, and singer James Lowe remains as the lead voice of the monastic vocal, but it's still clearly Axelrod in the creative driver's seat. Once you get the bad taste out of your mouth of the band being sidelined, you'll find that this is a damn fine album. In fact, it's more consistent than any of the band's proper releases, although the awesome pop punch of "I Had To Much To Dream Last Night" or "A Long Day's Flight" is notably absent. You will find the psychedelic religious strains of "Kyrie Eleison," which is very recognizable from its use in the film Easy Rider. It's also the most basic psych rock style track on the album, especially with the nails-on-glass noise explosion of the instrumental mid section. For the rest of this short album (26 minutes!) Axelrod adopts an M.O. that renders the tracks a little formulaic. We get short passages of the Latin-language church chants bridged together by instrumental sections mostly alternating between blasts of acid fried guitar leads and amusingly pompous fanfares from the orchestra. "Benedictus" includes a notable keyboard and bass guitar break as well. Fortunately, Axelrod's arranging skills are top notch and keep things interesting throughout. This disc is really more of an Axelrod album than an Electric Prunes album, and if you approach it as such I think you'll find plenty to like. Listen and enter the psychedelic gothic cathedral.

Tracks:

1 Kyrie Eleison (3:21)
2 Gloria (5:45)
3 Credo (5:02)
4 Sanctus (2:57)
5 Benedictus (4:52)
6 Agnus Dei (4:29)
here

See Also Os Mundi - Latin Mass

Electric Prunes S/T Lp:here

* Fever Tree - Fever Tree (US psych 1968)*

2011-05-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

The psychedelic era had many outstanding acts and while they've been praised for years at large, in the same time we missed on some seriously wild stuff. Probably one of the most interesting nuggets was originally a Texas based group -Fever Tree. These guys made their high point in 1968 with a tribute to the Summer of Love’s host city, a cracking single San Francisco Girls. This tune was their first real hit and eventually got released on Self-titled album recorded the same year for UNI Records and renamed Return Of The Native... three more albums were to follow in the next two years. Fever Tree were formed in Houston with Rob Landes (keyboards), Dennis Keller (vocals), E.E. "Bud" Wolfe (bass), John Tuttle (drums) and Michael Knust (guitar), initially carrying amusing name –Bostwick Vines. The name changed in 1967 and the band subsequently signed with Chicago-based Mainstream Records. Two singles were recorded (watch them out garage gem collectors!), but they didn't break through and gained virtually no attention, hence the boys eventually signed to Uni Records and recorded their debut LP for the label. Although only a minor chart hit, San Francisco Girls (Return Of The Native) received a lot of airplay on American FM rock stations as well as on John Peel’s Top Gear radio programme in the UK.

There was one man responsible for the the group's success –Scott Holtzmann, who became Fever Tree's manager and producer. He also stayed very close to every song that the band ever recorded. Though Fever Tree album would mainly be recorded in Houston, some of the material was registered in Los Angeles, where orchestral arrangements were added by Gene Page and David Angel. Page was best known for his work on many soul hits, including the Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', while Angel will always be most famous for his contributions to Love's Forever Changes, now regarded as one of the richest folk/ psych albums of all times. Unfortunately no other tunes from this great LP hit the charts, although The Sun Also Rises seemed to have some pop potential with its arching upbeat melody, sweeping strings, and jazzy piano passages. The night the band recorded that song, a tremendous Houston rainstorm came up and somebody had the idea to put a mike outside and record the storm, eventually overdubbed in the final take. You can hear the cars driving down the street and the thunder at the very end of the song. Elvis Presley loved that tune and wanted to cover it, but for an unknown reason it never happened. Another brilliant track was a cover of Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out by The Beatles, which had actually comprised two sides of the same Beatles single in late 1965. Circus, psychedelic arrangement is rockier that original version and personally my favourite. There was also a version of Buffalo Springfield's Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing that counts as one of the earliest covers of a Neil Young's composition.

Much of the material on Fever Tree boasted multi-sectioned structures and classical influences that not only reflected psychedelic experimentation, but looked forward in some ways to progressive and symphonic rock. The record had some fantastic arrangements and heavy psychedelic sound, while Dennis Keller's vocals were as good as Eric Burdon's or Joe Cocker's. As an effect Fever Tree had peaked at #156 on The Billboard Chart, which is not a great success, but a certain measure of popularity. Original UNI issues are only a moderately rare LPs at the moment, the only problem is getting this record in excellent condition as they were definitely played. In recent years Sundazed Music reissue has seen the light, which is a good proposition for those, who want to have a mint copy! Don't forget about Fever Tree, it's as good as Strawberry Alarm Clock and maybe even better than H.P. Lovercraft. [PL]

Tracklist:
01. Imitation Situation (Toccata And Fugue)
02. Where Do You Go
03. San Francisco Girls (Return Of The Native)
04. Ninety-Nine And One-Half
05. Man Who Paints The Pictures
06. Filligree And Shadow
07. The Sun Also Rises
08. Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out
09. Unlock My Door
10. Come With Me (Rainsong)
here

* REPOST -Tripsichord -Tripsichord Music Box (1971 us fantastic west coast psychedelic akarma remaster edition with 05 bonus tracks -320K) *

2011-05-01T03:43:00.000-07:00

Psychelatte says: do you have ANY idea how much i love this album? Why havent you downloaded it yet??

Tripsichord Music Box, whose shortened name Tripsichord is sometimes used, came from San Francisco. Even though their album was released in 1971, late for the fast paced 1966-1968 period of San Francisco psychedlia, it is still considered an equal to the best and most brilliantly adept albums from the acid rock movement—a Bay area music specialty based upon distorted (crazy) guitars. They were managed by Matthew Katz, who also worked with Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and It's A Beautiful Day. In 1968, he allowed It's a Beautiful Day to press a single and release an LP on his own label before they signed with Columbia.It was San Francisco Sound that released the first recording of Tripsichord Music Box—the single “Timesand Seasons”/ “Sunday the Third”(San Francisco Sound 115). The resulting sound was certainly unique, but the LP format was too restrictive in its length to allow the band to express the entirety of their talents. And if these two titles did possess rare qualities, particularly on “Sunday the Third”, they were hardly original and didn’t stand out against the masses of music produced in1969. It was also at this time that Matthew Katz concocted the idea to release a compilation—one that was destined to lift up his young protégés. Titled “San Francisco Sound”, the compilation was released on the mysterious label Fifth Pipe Dream (F.P.D. 11680) and brought together tracks from It’s a Beautiful Day ("Bulgaria" and the imaginative and unedited "Aquarian Dream", the two sides of their first single), Black Swan (a rather ordinary pop group—the weakest of the four), Indian Puddin Pipes (the formidable "Hashish" and "Water and Wine") and of course Tripsichord Music Box. Tripsichord contributed three songs: "You’re the Woman", "It’sNot Good" (these two songs are actually one), and "Family Song". By far the longest tracks on the album, they are superb, and even though the vocals are themselves excellent, it is above all the explosive and burning guitar and organ solos, and the high-tension melodies that keep our attention. The perfect illustration of acid rock at its highest level, these three tunes that are found nowhere elsehave been added, on this CD, to the nine songs from the original Tripsichord album—providing a morecomplete look into what was Tripsichord Music Box and five bonus tracks.

Track List:

01.On The Last Ride -4:42
02.We Have Passed Away -2:45
03.Black Door -2:55
04.The New Word -4:40
05.Son Of The Morning-5:34
06.Short Order Steward -5:04
07.The Narrow Gate -3:35
08.Fly Baby -6:26
09.Everlasting Joy -4:19
10.You're The Woman (bonus) -3:35
11.It's Not Good (bonus) -3:10
12.Family Song (bonus) -8:26
13.Times & Seasons (bonus) -3:23
14.Sunday The Third (bonus) -3:19

Tripsichord:

*Randy Gordon—drums
*Frank Straight—guitar
*Dave Zandonatti—bass
*Oliver Mckinney—keyboards and organ
*Bill Carr—vocals
*Ron McNeeley-vocals

here

The Baroques -Purple Day (1967-1968 us rare psychedelic garage)

2011-04-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

If Leonard Cohen barged into an Electric Prunes recording after obliterating his mind in an all-night glue-sniffing binge it might have sounded something like this. With song titles as preposterous as “A Musical Tribute to the Oscar Meyer Weiner Wagon,” who knows what the famed RnB label Chess Records was thinkingwhen they decided to sign Milwaukee’s The Baroques in 1967. They did manage to stir up a little controversy with their anti-drug(so they claimed) song, “Mary Jane,” but besides that it looks likeChesswas stuck with a very strange, unmarketable record. And don’t expect an onslaught of spacey sound effects and weird noises a la the early Pink Floyd, this is a less overt type of psychosis that slowly but surely embeds itself under your skin. The Baroques had a fuzz-guitar/ keyboard-damaged sound that retained much of the garageintensity of ’66 while plunging into the experimentation that marked the latter part of the decade.

Sure, there are traces of the Byrds and the Zombies, but by the time the Baroques have had their way with a pop song, it’s like the deformed bastard child of those bands hobbling around on one leg. As on “Rose Colored Glasses,” whereay Berkenhagen’s odd, deep vocals bouncealongwith awkward (yet insanely catchy) riffs until settling into a gorgeous, harmony-laden chorus. “NothingTo Do But Cry” is an exceptional folk-rocker that’s dirtied up with some nice distorted jangling and raw power-chording. At times they veer into chaotic fits of noise that wouldn’t sound too out of place on a Scientists album (“Iowa, A Girl’s Name” “Musical Tribute…”). But what really sets them apart from other similarly-minded bands is the excessively glum atmosphere which pervades most of the album. The sludge-folk of “Purple Day” and “Seasons” may come off too monotonous for some, but there is something absolutely hypnotizing lurking in the uncommonly dark textures of these songs (review by Stranger from the risingstorm).

Tracklisting:

01.Iowa, A Girl's Name (2:45)
02.Seasons (3:00)
03.Mary Jane (2:45)
04.Rose Colored Glasses (2:40)
05.Musical Tribute To The Oscar Meyer Weiner Wagon (3:35)
06.There's Nothing Left To Do But Cry (2:55)
07.Bicycle (2:25)
08.Purple Day (2:45)
09.Love In A Circle (2:30)
10.Commercials (0:59)
11.Iowa #2 (2:33)
12.Oscar Meyer #2 (4:23)
13.Baroques Theme (3:33)
14.Sunflowers (2:23)
15.At The Garden Gate(2:31)
16.Death Of An Onion (2:06)
17.Flying Machine (2:22)
18.Beckwith (4:06)
19.Hand (3:55)
20.Tangerine Sunset (11:48)
21.I Will Not Touch You (2:34)
22.Remember (3:34)

Notes:
Songs #1-9 recorded 3/67 at Ter Mar Studios Chivago Songs #11-13 recorded 1/67 at Zeb Billings Studios, Milwaukee Songs #14-20 1968 Songs #21-22 4/68

The Baroques:
Jay Borkenhagen: Vocals, Guitar
Rick Bieniewski: Bass
Dean Nimmer: Drums
Jacques Hutchinson: Guitar
here

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Bread Love And Dreams -The Strange Tale Of Captain Shannon &The Hunchback From Gigha (1970 uk, dreamy folk, with baroque and sunshine pop trickles)

2011-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

The mouthful named Bread Love and Dreams was a relatively short-lived two woman/one man folk trio hailing from the fair township of Edinburgh, Scotland. The self-titled debut in 1969 failed to ruffle any feathers. Their producer, Ray Horricks (Davy Graham, The Human Beast), had taken the original four-track recordings made by David McNiven, Angie Ray, and Carolyn Davis without their knowledge, threw them on an eight-track, and tacked on a bunch of strings. Horrick’s idea was to turn it into a concept album, but sales figures indicate that no one got it. Davis walked half way out the door after that, to unsuccessfully embark on a solo career. Somehow, by an act of uncertain mercy, McNiven and Ray were granted an extension to their Decca contract and headed back into the studio with Mr. Horricks. The Strange Tale Of… and Amaryllis were recorded simultaneously, with the idea of releasing them together as a double LP. Horricks invested more of himself and his contacts into these sessions. As such, he pulled in the rhythm section from Pentangle and select session musicians to fill out the compositions. This time around, McNiven worked closely with an orchestra conductor, giving the new works a more natural feel over the debut. However, Decca was in the business of making money at whatever cost, just like most RIAA labels, so they split up the albums. Captain Shannon saw release in November of 1970 and Amaryllis mid-way through ‘71. The former was drenched in personal experience and the latter focused on more mystical songs, but neither was seriously promoted. After a brief supporting tour, Bread Love and Dreams was no more. Though they were intended as two sides of a coin, I prefer the straightforward, semiautobiographical nature of Captain Shannon, and believe it to be their most essential work. Amaryllis was weighed down by its 21-minute long opening title track, which was really several songs mashed together, while its partner had a much more even tracklisting. Shannon opens on the lovely Dylan-esque “Hymn To Sylvia.” Written about a female biker in a rough London roadhouse, a flowing church organ and touches of harmonica rounds out a warm, traveling bassline and twin acoustic guitars. It’s the kind of tune to make you fall in love with strangers, and sets the tone of the record. There are characters everywhere you look. Ignoring the slightly sloppy bongo, “Masquerade” predates Trooper with a ballad about a homicidal car thief. Ray’s voice is sampled, looped, and altered in a fashion ahead of its time, while an electric guitar rocks out as seriously as anything the band ever did. The saxophone there adds a nice punch to accent the chorus. The lone Carolyn Davis contribution, “Purple Hazy Melancholy”, takes things down a notch with sorrowful, otherworldly female vocals and a contemplative acoustic intro. Complimentary strings and horns eventually join in, making the track a wonderfully understated epic. It draws you in and makes you stay. They don’t make albums much like this anymore. Sure, neither Captain Shannon nor Amaryllis did very well commercially, but McNiven himself notes they were probably released as part of a Decca tax scam, noting that they were promoted about as much as Andrew “Dice” Clay’s recent comeback tour. Sunbeam’s reissues (Amaryllis popping up late in 2007) were made with complete cooperation with the band, who provide a forward and lengthy, worthwhile explanations of each song. The few random photos are nice too. That makes this pressing of the lost Scottish acid-folk classic the most definitive yet. by Alan Ranta (PopMatters Contributing Editor)
Tracks 01. Hymn for Sylvia -5:43
02. Masquerade -4:52
03. Sucking on a Cigarette -3:30
04. Ho Who Knows All -4:50
05. The Lobster Quadrille -2:42
06. Butterfly Land -5:06
07. Purple Haze Helancholy -3:48
08. Sing Me a Song -2:12
09. The Strange Tale of Captain Shannon and the Hunchback from Gigha -6:56

Bread Love And Dreams

*David McNiven -Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
*Angie Rew -Vocals , Flute
*Carolyn Davis -Vocals Guest Musicians
*Terry Cox -Drums
*Allan Trajan -Keyboards
*Danny Thompson -Bass

;)

* The Picadilly Line -(UK 1967) -The Huge World of Emily Small -Fading Yellow Artist -First Rate melodic Pop-Psych, don't miss!! *

2011-04-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

This British group may be more famed for evolving into Edwards Hand, who had a couple albums produced by George Martin. Before that, however, Picadilly Line put out this obscure album on CBS,
The Huge World of Emily Small is one of those albums that just seems to have slipped under the radar of most UK pop psych collectors. As such it has never been reissued in any form until now! The band (a duo lead by Rod Edwards and Roger Hand, who would later record as Edwards Hand) flourished briefly in the late 60's releasing this one album. With them is the cream of UK session men including Danny Thompson (bass), Alan Hawkshaw (keys), Herbie Flowers (bass) and Harold McNair (flute). The Picadilly Line even managed an appearance at The Middle Earth club in London, the then hallowed centre of the UK psychedelic scene. The album is breezy post Sergeant Pepper psychedelic pop with plenty of swinging London vibes, orchestration and evocative whimsical lyrics. Reference points are a psychedelic Hollies, Chad and Jeremy (circa Of Cabbages and Kings) Nirvana, Kaleidoscope (UK), World Of Oz, Donovan and The Bee Gees. Filled with beautiful dreamy vocal harmonies and elaborate electric and acoustic arrangements this is a real trip back to the height of UK Flower Power. All material is original except for a great version of Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" and The Everly Brothers "Gone, Gone Gone". This exact limited edition reissue is housed in a reproduction of the original sleeve. Features ten unreleased bonus tracks, including their non-album singles "Yellow Rainbow / Evenings With Corrina" and "Evenings With Corrina / My Best Friend", both from 1968.

Tracklist
01 Emily Small The Huge World Thereof
02 -Silver Paper Dress
03 -At The Third Stroke
04 -Can You See Me
05 -Your Dog Won't Bark
06 -How Could You Say Your Leaving Me
07 -Gone Gone Gone
08 -Twiggs
09 -Tumble Down World
10 -Visions Of Johanna
11 -Come And Sing A Song
12 -Her Name Is Easy
13 -Rosemary's Bluebell Day
14 -Gunny Sunside
15 -Country Girl
16 -No One Else Can See
17 -Yellow Rainbow
18 -I Know, She Believes
19 -Evenings With Corrina
20 -My Best Friend
21 -Memories Fade
22 -I Can Tell You Everything

here

Art - (Pre-Spooky Tooth) -Supernatural Fairy Tales (UK 1967)

2011-04-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

Classic but little-known British psych from the band that would later evolve into the much more famous progressive act, Spooky Tooth. Great use of effects, this is vamped in echoes, phasing, and vocoded vocals, and combines strong vocal melodies with distorted rock riffing, psychedelic guitar solos, pounding bass, and sweeping mellotron all to great effect.

Personnel
Luther Grosvenor –guitars Mike Harrison –vocals, keyboards
Mike Kellie –drums, percussion
Greg Ridley –bass, guitar

Tracks

01. I Think I'm Going Weird
02. What's that Sound
03. African Thing
04. Room With a View
05. Flying Anchors
06. Supernatural Fairy Tale
07. Love Is Real
08. Come on Up
09. Brothers, Dads and Mothers
10. Talkin' to Myself
11. Alive Not Dead
12. Rome Take Away Three
here

Blonde on Blonde - Contrasts (Uk 1969)

2011-04-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Blond on Blone's 1969 album is from the period when progressive rock, or more so pop, was new and fresh. Years before the likes of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes, and Genesis made the genre a dirty word and punk evolved in order to destroy it, Blonde on Blonde were taking their pop and psychedelic roots that little bit further.

Progressive, in the sense that the term was originally conceived: a new catchall name to describe the emerging form of music that arose from Sgt. Pepper, filled the Middle Earth Club, and by 1969, was increasingly getting more diverse than the quaint psychedelic form from which it was spurned. Blonde on Blonde had the then contemporary match of folky vocals (which could easily turn it up a gear into rock territory), fuzz guitar leads galore, and some interesting material, which veered from an almost cinematic version of “Eleanor Rigby” to the post-mod (think U.S. garage meets the Small Faces) snotty strut of “Conversationally Making the Grade,” the archetypal heavy rock jam “Ride With Captain Max,” and the slightly old-styled ballad “Goodbye.” Of course, more dynamic musical interplay crept into the fold: classical-intoned aspirations, acoustic folk, ornate pop, and full-on rock. Contrasts is indeed an album that is characteristic of the music that was being bandied around the music press in 1969 as progressive, not the preposterous entity that it became. (By John 'Mojo' Mills)

Tracklist:

01. Ride With Captain Max (Denyer/ Hicks/Hopkins/Johnson) 5.23
02. Spinning Wheel (Johnson) 2.48
03. No Sleep Blues (Williamson) 3.23
04. Goodbye (Godfrey/Murray) 2.13
05. I Need My Friend (Denyer) 3.14
06. Mother Earth (Johnson) 5.04
07. Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney) 3.19
08. Conversationally Making the Grade (Denyer) 4.15
09. Regency (Hopkins/Johnson) 1.58
10. Island On An Island (Johnson) 3.03
11. Don´t Be Too Long (Denyer) 2.38
12. Jeanette Isabella (Denyer) 3.56
13. All Day, All Night (Lawrence) 3.36
14. Country Life (Godfrey/Murray) 3.37

here

APOLOGIES!! from psychelatte

2011-03-31T04:56:00.000-07:00

March 31st 2011 Aaagh I'M REALLY SORRY GUYS! posted wrong link for Philip Glass' mesmerising 'Einstein on the Beach.' That was just a tiny part. I have now posted correct link, 181mb, covering 3 cds of material! Please hear the rest if you haven't already!!

(just click same place again for new link!!)

Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach (1979) freaking nuts choral piece!!

2011-03-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

This is a bizarre and relentless
opera-as the surreal title implies, more dream than drama. The first train episode, over 20 minutes long, remains mind-blowing in its relentlessness. The impact is heightened by the vividness of the recording, with spoken voices in particular given such presence that they startled me as if someone had burst into the room. The vision remains an odd one, but with a formidable group of vocalists and instrumentalists brilliantly directed, often from the keyboard, by Michael Riesman, the recording certainly justifies itself. An opera in 4 parts for ensemble chorus soloists. The so called knee play of this much spoken about opera serves as a recurring motive throughout the piece reaching its emotional apex in the second half of knee play 5 with its lovely violin piece and transcendent poetry embellishing all that is true in the human heart.

***Psychelatte says: SO SORRY, I GAVE YOU WRONG LINK BEFORE, ONLY SMALL PART! Here is all of the whole mad thing!!

MENTAL !!

Philip Glass - The Quatsi Trilogy - from unmissable & legendary 'image' time-lapse documentary films

2011-03-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

When Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass released in the 1982 movie about the technology and the silent mutation of the landscape, they hardly knew 'Koyaanisqatsi' and its two sequels, "Powaqqatsi" and "Naqoyqatsi" would become a cultural landmark. The film titles are Hopi language words, where the word 'qatsi' means life. The Hopi language belongs to the Uto-Azteca and is spoken by the Hopi, an Indian nation that lives in the U.S. northwestern state of Arizona. 'The qatsi Trilogy' is the informal name given to films directed by Godfrey Reggio, with soundtrack by Philip Glass and Francis Ford Coppola executive producing. All the films consist of images of nature and images of man and his creations, all stimulated by the minimalist music of Philip Glass. The films are structured on a tripod: the conceptual chain, the heavy load of images and the rhythm of music. It is difficult to judge each film, as they are not movies in the conventional sense. It is an experience of sounds and images to evoke feelings harmonized. Their role is to provoke, to raise questions. The first covers primarily the northern hemisphere, the second and the South Asian countries, and the third deals with the planet as a whole. Godfrey Reggio is often able to find poetry in even disturbing images, enhanced by the haunting music of Philip Glass.

Philip Glass is a North American composer, born in Baltimore, and is one of the most influential songwriters of the late twentieth century. His music is renowned for minimalist, though he did not appreciate this expression. The term Minimalism was used to refer to the musical production that has the following characteristics: repetition of small portions over vast periods of time and almost hypnotic rhythms. It is often associated with and inseparable from electronic music, psychedelic music or even punk rock. Philip Glass has produced operas, symphonies, concertos and soundtracks. Tibetian and advocates. 'Satyagraha' is an opera based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi which includes several mantras. The soundtrack of 'Koyaanisqatsi' is among the most influential. In addition to symphonic works, Glass also has strong connections with rock and electronic music. Several artists were influenced by his work and received among the influences that is the music of Ravi Shankar that changed your perception of Indian music.

"Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance "

was released in 1983. It is the first and best known of the trilogy. It's an apocalyptic vision of the collision between two distinct worlds: urban life and technology versus the environment. We are shown scenes of natural and urban landscapes, many with the speed changed. Some scenes are slow and some more rapid than normal, like everyday modern life increasingly faster due to technological innovations. Images of the time with majestic minimalist music. The title comes from the Hopi language and means "life out of balance '. The meaning is revealed at the end of the documentary are also sung when three prophecies of the Hopi people in their own language, translated, of course. It was a movie with no story, no dialogue and no narrative structure of any kind. There was little debate about the importance of 'Koyaanisqatsi' as a warning to humanity. Instead, there was only the cult of beauty of the images at high speed that have become cliches used in other films and television programs. Some see it as a film strongly pro-environment, while others say it is more spiritual. Others conclude that it celebrates the beauty and power of the things that man has with nature. To me it is painful proof of how humanity's greatest successes have led us to major flaws too, and maybe in the end, we will have created something totally contrary to life than Earth originally gave us.

Tracklist:
01. Koyaanisqatsi
02. Organic
03. Cloudscape
04. Resource
05. Vessels
06. Pruit Igoe
07 Prophecies

pt1
pt2

'Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation'

was released in 1988 and as in other movies, there are narratives or dialogues. Also at the end is revealed the meaning of the name Powaqqatsi: Life in transformation. Using the deceleration of the images 'Powaqqatsi' denounces violence against nature. It follows an entirely different concept of 'Koyaanisqatsi', which focuses on inanimate structures built by mankind. This is a film about people and lifestyles in the developing world. Godfrey Reggio chose not to use visual techniques and high-speed photography and contented himself with a more discreet approach. Although the film can not match the impact of images of 'Koyaanisqatsi', considered the best by the opinion of the public and critics 'Powaqqatsi' theme has greater depth, it makes the public and critics think. The film is the better film portrait of the effects of modernity upon the natives of the Third World, emerging cultures of Asia, India, Africa, Middle East and South America, partly filmed in Brazil, who still live in the same way they did hundreds of years ago and how they express themselves through work and traditions. The scenes of people working, carrying baskets on their heads, show the enormous effort required to make these people an industrial revolution and in a very short period of time. The images show the tremendous work and sacrifice necessary to build a modern society. The structure of the film is the same as that of 'Koyaanisqatsi': early life, industrial life, and finally to modern existence. 'Powaqqatsi' conveys a humanist philosophy about the earth. The advancement of technology on nature and ancient cultures, and splendor as a result. The film focuses on the modern way of life and the concept of Global Village. 'Koyaanisqatsi' is the imbalance between nature and modern society, 'Powaqqatsi' is a celebration. To Godfrey Reggio is an analysis of how life is changing in a fascinating mixture of different backgrounds. It is a record of diversity and transformation. Cultures dying and prospering. With music by Philip Glass, the traditional instruments and electronics fused with tribal rhythms on a single theme.

Tracklist:

01. Serra Pelada
02. The Title
03. Anthem-Part 1
04. That Place
05. Anthem-Part 2
06. Mosque And Temple
07. Anthem-Part 3
08. Train To Sao Paulo
09. Video Dream
10. New Cities In Ancient Lands, China
11. New Cities In Ancient Lands, Africa
12. New Cities In Ancient Lands, India
13. The unutterable
14. Caught!
15. Mr. Suso # 1
16. From Egypt
17. Mr. Suso # 2 With Reflection
18 Powaqqatsi

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'Naqoyqatsi: Life as War'

ends the trilogy by Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass, with excerpts performed by Yo-Yo Ma, French cellist of Chinese origin. Fifteen years later, in 2002, Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass come back to the post-industrial society, marked by scientific advances and globalization of information. Of the three films, this is the most pessimistic. The film begins with the painting 'Tower of Babel, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Tower built by mankind to reach for the sky at a time when the world spoke the same language with the same words. God did not like the project and confounded the language of all. The tower, allegorically explains the origin of many languages spoken in the world. The film ends with a man lost in space quoting '2001: A Space Odyssey 'of Kubrick. The film is structured by humans, the Earth, space and violence. Political leaders like Bush Jr., Lincoln and Arafat are present. Bin Laden appears briefly, walking among followers. 'Naqoyqatsi' shows the grandeur of the world connected, globalized world, immersed in technology that shortens distances and speeds up procedures for destruction because of their misuse. Unlike the other two films, we used films and digitally manipulated images, mixed with scenes produced by computer graphics. It is a succession of images, some from nature such as clouds and ocean waves, other human as buildings and bridges, and others are computer-generated fantasies. Thus, Godfrey Reggio also demonstrates that the presence of technology is essential and prevalent in film production. 'Naqoyqatsi' does reflect on our relationship with nature, the influence of technology in our lives and new unhealthy ways of relating to people because of the ease of connectivity technology. Humanity does not use technology as a tool, but the technology lives as a way of life. It is a necessity, we can not live without it. At the end of the film we are told that 'Naqoyqatsi' is a word that essentially means, war and violence. But Godfrey Reggio does not include pictures of mushroom clouds, street riots, violent video games. Godfrey Reggio examines a world where nature has been largely eclipsed by the computer. A chaotic world, which often have no time to stop and really look at all the beautiful things that go unnoticed. 'Naqoyqatsi' is the clash between nature and technology. 'Naqoyqatsi' takes us on an epic journey where the real gives way to an amazing virtual tide of digital imagery and music.

Tracklist:

01. Naqoyqatsi
02. Primacy of Number
03.Mass Man
04. New World
05. Religion
06. Media Weather
07. Old World
08. Intensive Time
09. Point Blank
10. Vivid Unknown
11. Definition
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* Philip Glass -The Music of Candyman -UNMISSABLE GOTHIC, MESMERIC, SPOOKY ORGAN & CHOIR MASTERPIECE! *

2011-03-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Amazon.co.uk Review

Philip Glass has never been what you'd call a prolific composer for film, but when the horror genre called, he answered immediately and in style. Although behind-the-scenes politics turned the first Candyman into something of a stalk-'n'-slash flick, the music does wonders for its faux mythological premise. The delicate "Music Box" motif which is in fact "Helen's Theme", is the central pivot of what is a cyclic tale of destiny. Revolving around upon itself, it perfectly characterises a legend foretold. Almost every other cue is dominated by chorus, who in chanting repetitively add weight to the sense of inescapable doom. Several other motifs swim around, such as the gorgeous "Floating Candyman", and then they're given resolution in "It Was Always You, Helen". It doesn't end there however, since the album then seamlessly blends into the few additional cues Glass was talked into providing for the inevitable sequel. Apart from some bold use of church organ, the best cue is "All Falls Apart" with its sit-up-and-take-notice beeping effect. Ending on a remix of "Helen's Theme", this is an extremely well-conceptualised album. Just don't look at the disc and say the name aloud five times... --Paul Tonks

Customer review: (1 of 4 x 5 star ratings)

The Music of Candyman is a welcome release from the Glass back catalogue and is an example of one of the finest musical scores of the las 20 years. The film Candyman has a cult following and is a highly regarded work of filmic horror, much of this being down to the superb Glass score. Haunting piano melodies, ghostly choirs and some very gothic organs combine to create an intense sound once heard, never forgotten. This music has not been available previously and I would thoroughly recommend that you buy this, just don't listen alone!

01. Music Box
02. Cabrini Green
03. Helen's Theme
04. Face to Razor
05. Floating Candyman
06. Return to Cabrini
07. It Was Always You, Helen 08. Daniel's Flashback
09. The Slave Quarters
10. Annie's Theme
11. All Falls Apart
12. The Demise of Candyman 13. Reverend's Walk

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Philip Glass with the Kronos Quartet- Dracula Soundtrack - Completely manic & strung out stuff! RECOMMENDED!!

2011-03-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com

It's no surprise that some of Philip Glass's most inspiring projects have been multimedia. The composer's minimalist tendencies lend themselves to the accompaniment of vast landscapes, silent films, and--now--Tod Browning's 1931 horror classic, Dracula. With longstanding collaborators the Kronos Quartet performing the score, Glass has created a soundtrack that moves with rapid-fire momentum and a timeless chamber-music feel. Dracula never sounds sinister or ironic, just ominous--the perfect companion to a film with plenty of dialogue but no pre-existing score. So what if we've already heard Glass's stylistic trademarks--striking arpeggios, repeated motifs, and the like--on any number of albums (for example, the Kronos/Glass soundtrack to Mishima or Uakti's 1999 release, Aguas de Amazonia)? Unlike the epic three and a half hours of Music in Twelve Parts, this enjoyable disc takes just over an hour and it's well worth hearing. In the new video release of Dracula, accompanied by Glass's score, you'll never see Bela Lugosi's mug the same way again. --Jason Verlinde

Tracklist:

01. (1:15) Dracula
02. (0:43) Journey to the Inn 03. (3:24) The Inn
04. (1:17) The Crypt
05. (2:13) Carriage Without a Driver
06. (3:12) The Castle
07. (1:08) The Drawing Room 08. (2:48) "Excellent, Mr. Renfield"
09. (1:30) The Three Consorts of Dracula
10. (1:34) The Storm
11. (1:22) Horrible Tragedy
12. (1:17) London Fog
13. (2:50) In the Theatre
14. (2:23) Lucy's Bitten
15. (2:57) Seward Sanatorium 16. (2:56) Renfield
17. (1:31) In His Cell
18. (2:09) When the Dream Comes
19. (4:01) Dracula Enters
20. (4:40) Or a Wolf
21. (3:12) Women in White
22. (3:26) Renfield in the Drawing Room
23. (2:22) Dr. Van Helsing and Dracula
24. (4:41) Mina on the Terrace 25. (3:52) Mina's Bedroom / The Abbey
26. (4:06) The End of Dracula

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Charanjit Singh - Ten Ragas to A Disco Beat (1982) Amazing early 'House' electronica sound, instrumental with Bollywood & Psychedelic vibes

2011-03-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

1982 released LP containing Kraftwerk-like acid house music, years before the genre was invented ! TIP!
Performed on the synths that would later define Acid House, the Roland TB-303 and TR-808, the album sounds light years ahead of its time with its repetitive beats and hypnotic electronic melodies. Its maker, Bollywood session musician Charanjit Singh, set out to translate ancient Indian classical Ragas to the modern synthesizer and in doing so seems to have invented House music along the way. The 10 tracks make a consistent listen from A to Z. Its restrained minimalism and lack of cheesiness makes it incredibly contemporary, sounding animated, fluid and unabashedly alive.

1. Raga Bhairav
2. Raga Lalit
3. Raga Bhupali
4. Raga Megh Malhar
5. Raga Yaman
6. Raga Kalavati
7. Raga Madhuvanti
8. Raga Todi
9. Raga Bairagi
10. Raga Malkauns

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Julian Cope - 20 Mothers (UK 1995) Gorgeous, whimsical, top-rate modern Psych from a real legend! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

2011-03-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

Psychelatte says: I have listened to most of his albums and this one stands out as being supremely beautiful, whimsical & psychedelic. Not to be missed! (I also recommend his first 3 solo albums.)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Julian Cope (born Julian David Cope, on 21 October 1957) is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, and poet who came to prominence in 1978 as the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes. Since then, he has released many solo albums and is a founding member of both Queen Elizabeth and Brain Donor. Cope has written four books of non-fiction: Krautrocksampler (1995), The Modern Antiquarian (1998), The Megalithic European (2004) and Japrocksampler (2007), plus two volumes of autobiography: Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999).

Cope's musical career began in July 1977, as bass player with a Liverpool punk rock band known as Crucial Three, which also featured Ian McCulloch (later guitarist and singer for Echo & the Bunnymen) and guitarist Pete Wylie, who later formed The Mighty Wah. Although the Crucial Three lasted for little more than six weeks, and disbanded without ever playing in public, all three members went on to lead successful post-punk bands.

Cope went on to form other short-lived bands UH? and A Shallow Madness with McCulloch, before finally achieving fame and success as the singer, original bassist and primary songwriter of The Teardrop Explodes. [3]

In 1981, Cope compiled Fire Escape in the Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker, which was released by Bill Drummond's Zoo Records. This sparked renewed interest in the work of the reclusive singer; though years later Cope commented that Walker's "Pale White Intellectual" outlook on life no longer held any fascination for him.

After The Teardrop Explodes disbanded in late 1982 following the completion of three albums, Cope returned to live close to his hometown of Tamworth, settling in the nearby village of Drayton Bassett with his new American wife Dorian Beslity.

In 1983 he recorded some introspective works for his first solo album, World Shut Your Mouth, released on Mercury Records in March 1984. This record was followed just six months later by Fried, which featured a sleeve with Cope clad only in a turtle shell. The failure of this record caused Polygram to drop Cope, but he signed a deal with Chris Blackwell's Island Records. Cope's third solo album was the well-received Saint Julian (produced by Ed Stasium) and released the single "World Shut Your Mouth", which became his biggest solo hit, reaching #19 in the UK in 1986, becoming his only Top 20 single there. The follow-up album My Nation Underground spawned only one Top 40 single in "Charlotte Anne", and Cope fell out with Island Records at this time. Cope found modest American success with "Charlotte Anne" reaching the top of the Modern Rock Tracks. He recorded his next album, the low-fi Skellington, in secret during the course of a single weekend, playing in the same studio used for My Nation Underground. Neither his record company nor management had any desire to release Skellington (Zippo, 1989), and Cope refused to record any other material while he feuded with them to try to get his new work released. This became the first of many feuds with record companies. Cope next released a Texas-only album entitled Droolian (Mofoco, 1990), the profits of which were used to aid of one of his heroes Roky Erickson, who was in jail without legal representation. When Cope's war with Island Records had abated, he released the double album Peggy Suicide (Island, 1991), which was heralded by critics as his best work thus far. The record was recorded during the anti-Margaret Thatcher Poll Tax Riots, in which Cope took a prominent role, wearing a huge theatrical costume throughout the march. Cope was later featured on the BBC's Poll Tax documentary, a lone protester walking down Whitehall in the costume surrounded by seven lines of mounted police. For his anti-police tirade "Soldier Blue", Cope sampled Lenny Bruce's Berkeley Concert and mixed in samples of the Poll Tax riot itself . The song was later re-mixed by Disposable Heroes of Hiphopricy's Michael Franti, who also provided a rap for the new mix. When Island Records refused to release the record as being too overtly political, another argument ensued. Many of the songs on Peggy Suicide also reflected Cope's hatred of organized religion, and his increasing interest in the occult, animal rights, paganism, women's rights, the goddess and ecology. In 1992, Cope released another double album, the fiercely anti-Christian Jehovahkill. While the lyrics of such songs as "Poet is Priest", "Julian H. Cope", and the single "Fear Loves This Place" were again highly critical of the Church, much of the music on Jehovahkill reflected his teenage fascination for both Detroit hard rock and a more electro-acoustic based Krautrock. However, the contents of Jehovahkill were too much for Island Records, who dropped Cope the same week that his three shows sold out at London's 1800 capacity Town & Country Club. The press mounted an outcry at Island Records' decision, with the New Musical Express (NME) featuring him on their front cover under the headline 'Endangered Species' while Select magazine started a campaign to have Cope re-signed. Cope refused to comment because he was engaged in a tour of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In the mid-1990s, Cope signed with Rick Rubin's Def American label, releasing Autogeddon (1994) and 20 Mothers (1995), spawning the single "Try, Try, Try", accompanied by two Top of the Pops performances. He was dropped by the label when he refused to visit the USA. In 1996, Cope released the album Interpreter (Echo Records). Cope's ongoing battle with those he referred to as "greedheads" eventually saw him turn his back on the music industry from this point onwards.

1. Wheelbarrow Man 3:02
2. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud 2:35
3. Try, Try, Try 3:27
4. Stone Circles 'N' You 1:48
5. Queen-Mother 3:30
6. I'm Your Daddy 2:13
7. Highway to the Sun 6:14
8. 1995 3:47
9. By the Light of the Silbury Moon 2:13
10. Adam and Eve Hit the Road 2:05
11. Just Like Pooh Bear 3:41
12. Girl-Call 4:23
13. Greedhead Detector 3:49 14. Don't Take Roots 2:13
15. Senile Get 3:37
16. The Lonely Guy 4:42
17. Crying Babies Sleepless Nights 3:35
18. Leli B 3:14
19. Road of Dreams 6:05
20. When I Walk Through the Land of Fear 5:26

just like pooh bear

more!

Jean Claude Vannier- L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches (France 1972) - mix of Psych, Classical, Themic & Avant-Garde HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WEIRDNESS!!

2011-03-09T17:27:00.000-08:00

L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches is the concept LP (released in 1972) from the musical arranger of Serge Gainsbourg's classic Historie De Melody Nelson, Jean-Claude Vannier and it follows in a similar avant-garde rock-opera vein. Legend has it that when Msr. Gainsbourgfirst heard the bare bones of L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches he offered to write the bizarre liner notes (reproduced in French on this reissue) depicting the journey of a young child travelling through the nightmarish "Fly Kingdom" -thus consummating the most extraordinary concept album of all time. At the time L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches was released as a promo only in ridiculously small numbers and is regarded as the Holy Grail among French psych/prog collectors and also hip-hop producers and beat-heads. It's a great LP -and difficult to pigeonhole -with equal doses of psychedelic, classical, soundtrack-esque, jazz, fat beats, avant garde and funk. As a bonus(CD only) we also get two great tracks from Jean-Claude Vannier's super-rare 7" EP Point D'Interrogation -music taken from the soundtrack to the French TV drama (review by moviegrooves.com).

Tracklisting:

1.L'Enfant la Mouche et les Allumettes 2.L'Enfant au Royaume des Mouches
3.Danse des Mouches NoiresGardes du Roi 4.Danse de L'Enfant et du Roi des Mouches
5.Le Roi des Mouches et la Confiture de Rose
6.L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches
7.Les Garde Volent au Secours du Roi
8.Mort du Roi des Mouches
9.Pattes de Mouches
10.Le Papier tue Enfant
11.Petite Agonie de L'Enfant Assassin

Bonus tracks:

12.Je M'appelle Geraldine (Mid-Tempo Version)
13.Je M'appelle Geraldine (Up-Tempo Version)

Jean Claude Vannier:
Claude Engel, Denys Lable, Raymond Gimenez: guitars Tonio Rubio: guitar Pierre Alain Dahan: drumsean Pierre Sabar: piano Marc Chantereau, Michel Zanlonghi: percussions

"Child Killer Flies"

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Part One & Volume Two -FANTASTIC UNMISSABLE U.S PSYCH BAND!!

2011-03-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's first album for Reprise was the best of the group's career, in large part because it was the most song-oriented.

It was still plenty weird, almost to the point of stylistic schizophrenia, but when you got down to it, much of the record was comprised of fairly catchy songs in the neighborhood of two and three minutes.

At times they sounded like reasonably normal, fairly talented Byrds-like folk-rockers ("Transparent Day," P.F. Sloan's "Here's Where You Belong"); at others, a Kinks-like garage band ("If You Want This Love"); and at others, a fey Baroque pop outfit (the orchestrated "Will You Walk With Me"). There was an undercurrent of unsettling weirdness and even paranoia, though, in some cuts with otherwise pleasing tunes, like "Shifting Sands," with its sizzling distorted guitars; "I Won't Hurt You," with its heartbeat bass and disconnected vocals; and "Leiyla," where a standard teen garage rocker suddenly gets invaded by spoken dialog that seems to have been lifted from a vampire B-movie.

The cover of Frank Zappa's "Help, I'm a Rock" flung them into freakier pastures, emulated convincingly on the group original "1906," an apt soundtrack to a bummer acid trip with its constant spoken refrain, "I don't feel well." It's true that all but one of these songs (the nondescript "'Scuse Me, Miss Rose," written by famed Bob Dylan/Johnny Cash/Simon & Garfunkel producer Bob Johnston) is on the Transparent Day compilation.

But there are good reasons to consider buying the Sundazed 2001 CD reissue: The thorough liner notes start to unravel the history of this mysterious band, and mono single mixes of "Help, I'm a Rock" and "Transparent Day" are tacked on as bonus tracks (Richie Unterberger)

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, no strangers to weirdness on their prior 1967 album Part One, had still often stuck to relatively straightforward, concise, and pop-flavored songs on that LP.

Here they stretched out into less structured, more avowedly psychedelic (and indeed experimental) territory, with mixed results.

"Smell of Incense" (covered for a small hit by Southwest FOB) was sublime psych-pop.

Yet "Suppose They Give a War and No One Comes" was just some fool -- actually the band's chief investor, lyricist, and tambourine player, Bob Markley -- grafting silly, self-consciously freaky recitation of a vintage 1936 Franklin Roosevelt speech onto an ominous fuzz guitar backup.

Other cuts like "In the Arena" and "Overture -- WCPAEB Part II" were free-form psychedelic creepiness without the strong content of, say, likely influence Frank Zappa.

Yet some of the strangest efforts exert their own strange charm, like "Buddha," with its unfathomable delineation of a garden of delights set against chimes, tinkles, and gongs.

Interspersed with all this was some generic country-folk-rock (although the wavering backup bagpipes on "Delicate Fawn" give even that a weird sheen), fair harmony soft rock ("Queen Nymphet"), and unhinged garage-psych-fuzz madness.

There's half a decent (if screwy) psychedelic album here, and half incoherence, particularly when so many disparate tracks and styles are slung against each other.

The CD reissue on Sundazed adds mono single mixes of "Smell of Incense" and "Unfree Child." (by Richie Unterberger)

Tracklisting:

(Part One)
01.Shifting Sands - 3:54
02.I Won't Hurt You - 2:24
03.1906 - 2:18
04.Help, I'm A Rock - 4:26
05.Will You Walk With Me - 3:01
06.Transparent Day - 2:18
07.Leiyla - 2:55
08.Here's Where You Belong - 2:50
09.If You Want This Love - 2:52
10.'Scuse Me Miss Rose- 3:03
11.High Coin' - 2:04

(Vol Two)
01.In The Arena
02.Suppose They Give A War And No One Comes
03.Buddha
04.Smell Of Incense
05.Overture: Wcpaeb, Pt. II
06.Queen Nymphet
07.Unfree Child
08.Carte Blanche
09.Delicate Fawn
10.Tracy Had A Hard Day Sunday
11.Smell Of Incense

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band:
*Dan Harris (guitar)
*Shaun Harris (bass guitar, vocals)
*Michael Lloyd (guitar, vocals)
*Bob Markley (tambourine, percussion, vocals)
*Ron Morgan (lead guitar, electric sitar)

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Philip Glass & Ravi Shankar -Passages (1989?) -Awesomely beautiful, joyous modern classical East/West collaberation! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

2011-03-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass met in Paris in 1965, when Glass was a young aspiring composer and Shankar was confirminghis place in the world's classical canon. Shankar acted as an informal mentor to Glass, and their interaction inspired Glass to consider the possibilities of rhythm. By the time they joined forces at a New York City studio, in 1989, the two occupied a more level playing field. PASSAGES differs from previous collaborations that Shankar had undertaken withWestern musicians such as Yehudi Mehuhin, Jean-Pierre Rampal, and George Harrison. On four of the six pieces, the two don't improvise together so much as refine each other's material, while on the remaining tracks, each composer is entirely responsible for the final composition. Shankar's lush orchestrations are most evident on "Prashanti" and the graceful "Ragas in Minor Scale", while Glass's repetitions manifest most hauntingly on "Channels and Winds". But on the finest tracks, "Offering" and "Meeting Along the Edge", their individual talents are subsumed into the collective experience.

Tracklist:

1. Offering
2. Sadhanipa
3. Channels And Winds (psychelatte: omg, this is MESMERIZINGLY beautiful!!!)
4. Ragas In Minor Scale
5. Meetings Along The Edge
6. Prashanti

Amazon uk reviews:

1)East meets West

I had some ideas of what this would sound like before I heard it, but when I heard it I realised I was completely wrong! I thought that it would be typical Philip Glass with some sitar and Indian scales and sounds. It is nothing of the sort. Each track is not so much a collaboration as a joining of distinct parts. You can hear which parts are Glass and which parts are Shankar, but the glue that holds them together is the compositional genius of the two men. It does not just encompass India either, as there are Middle-Eastern motifs and scales used here, and some very Western orchestral parts. It is very light on the sitar, and Ravi Shankar probably has more input vocally than with his sitar playing. This is orchestral music without using a conventional orchestra from the West. It is Indian music without being limited to the traditional Indian instruments and arrangements. It is World Music at its best!

2) Journey to the East...and back!

This album at first glance brings together two of the most unlikely composers one could think of in a collaboration that crosses huge cultural differences but works exceptionally well. Ravi Shankar, whose music has been known in the West for many years , is known for his work with Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison among others. His musical reputation goes far beyond his exemplary sitar playing in the traditional ragas and covers much classical Indian music also. Philip Glass, mostly known for his repetitive structures as a member of the minimalist school and for his powerful soundtracks, has gained a wider audience with classical and popular music afficionados outside of the USA. This album works in many different ways. Despite their differing backgrounds each musician has produced memorable soundscapes which reach deeply into the history of each of the collaborators and their musical heritage and which emerge to enchant and delight the listener. It is often difficult to distinguish the individual contributions from each other in particular pieces which underscores their deep understanding and appreciation of each others work. The pieces are extremely moving and cover a whole gamut of emotions. Each composition has it's own particular feature which causes me to come back to this album again and again. In some ways this album is greater than either of it's component parts and will be a lasting testament to the work of these two great composers.

Musicians: Vocals Ravi Shankar and S.P. Balasubramanyam and the Madras Choir.
Orchestral group from Madras.
Soloists: Ronu Mazumdar, Flute; Shubho Shankar, Sitar; Partha Sarathy, Sarod; Partha Sarathy, Veena; T. Srinivasan, Mridangam & Drum Speech; Abhiman Kaushal, Tabla. Production Glass: Music by Philip Glass. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi for Euphorbia Productions, Ltd., NYC. Conducted by Michael Riesman. Engineered by Blaise Dupuy. Assistant Engineers: Michael McGrath, Ramone Diaz. Recorded at The Living Room Studios, NYC. Executive Producer: Rory Johnston. Edited with Sound Tools by Digidesign. Musicians: Strings: Tim Baker Violin; Barry Finclair Violin, Viola; Mayuki Fukuhara Violin; Regis landiorio Violin; Karen Karlsud Violin; Sergiu Schwartz Violin; Masako Yanagita, Violin, Viola; Al Brown, Viola; Richard Sortomme, Viola; Seymour Barab, Cello; Beverly Laudrisen, Cello; Batia Lieberman, Cello; Fred Zlotkin, Cello; Joe Carver, Bass. Woodwinds: Theresa Norris, Flute; Jack Kripl, Flute, Soprano Saxophone;on Gibson, Soprano Saxophone; Richard Peck, Tenor, Alto Saxophone; Lenny Pickett, Tenor, Alto Saxophone. Brass: Peter Gordon, French Horn; Ron Sell, French Horn; Keith O'Quinn, Trombone; Alan Raph, Trombone. Gorden Gottleib: Percussion. Jeanie Gagne: Voice. Michael Riesman: Piano. Art Direction by Melanie Penny. Design by Candyernigan. Photography by Ebet Roberts.

Tracks 1,5,6 Composed by Ravi Shankar, Tracks 2,3,4 Composed by Philip Glass.

Passages

Neil - Neil's Heavy Concept Album (1984 comedy spoof Psych LP feat. 'Neil' from "The Young Ones") GOOD FUN, GOOD SONGS!

2011-02-26T15:46:00.000-08:00

Review:

Nigel Planer (vocals) revives "Neil" from the short-lived yet highly influential BBC-TV program The Young Ones on Neil's Heavy Concept Album (1984). Although the show was set in the 1980s, Neil's lifestyle centers around the mid-to late-'60s hippie culture, an exceedingly antiquated notion directly contrasting his ultra-mod housemates. This explains the inclusion of the fairly wide selection of psychedelic and progressive nuggets amidst the spoken links and occasional originals. The idea for the long-player stemmed from his version of Traffic's early side "Hole in My Shoe" --which came out as a single. When Planer appeared in character to promote it on BBC 2's Top of the Pops, he lost his footing, resulting in the backdrop falling apart and causing general mayhem on live television. The tune is given a lighthearted romp with notable session musician Rick Biddulph (guitar) working in phrases of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" during the waning moments. Other fun covers are Tomorrow's "My White Bicycle," Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd on "The Gnome," Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man," and "The Amoeba Song," aka the Incredible String Band's "A Very Cellular Song." Caravan's "Golf Girl" is worth additional mention, as it features a cameo voice-over from Dawn French --half of the comedy team French & Saunders --as (of all things) a policewoman. Instrumentally, Planer is supported by an all-star cast that includes Dave Stewart (keyboards/ bass/drum/guitar), Barbara Gaskin (backing vocals), Pip Pyle (drums),akko M. Jakszyk (guitars), and jazz heavy Annie Whitehead (trombone), as well as Jimmy Hastings, who at one time was a primary contributor to the aforementioned prog rock outfit Caravan. "Lentil Nightmare" is a tremendously amusing Planer-penned composition that, among other things, quotes "In the Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson amidst the proto-heavy progressive metal madness. The connecting bits of dialogue provide an outlet for Planer's quirky and earthy humor. Also of note is "Neil the Barbarian," a parody of a movie advert where Neil --a strict vegan --eats a hamburger, which transforms him into this superhero-type character. All said, Neil's Heavy Concept Album is thoroughly entertaining and recommended for inclined parties.

Tracklist:

"Hello Vegetables" –:26
"Hole In My Shoe" –3:40
"Heavy Potato Encounter" –:42
"My White Bicycle" –3:31
"Neil the Barbarian" –1:12 (narrated by Nigel Planer's brother Roger Planer)
"Lentil Nightmare" –5:47
"Computer Alarm" –:36
"Wayne" –1:36
"The Gnome" –2:29
"Cosmic Jam" –2:26
"Golf Girl" –4:40 (featuring Dawn French as a not-so-nice fairy godmother)
"Bad Karma in the UK" –2:17
"Our Tune" –1:13
"Ken" –:41
"The End of the World Cabaret" –1:09
"No Future (God Save the Queen)" –2:12
"Floating" –1:39
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" –3:46
"Paranoid Remix" –1:59
"The Amoeba Song (From 'A Very Cellular Song')" –1:19
BONUS TRACK :
"Hurdy Gurdy Mushroom Man" (B-side of "Hole in my Shoe" single)(audio extracted from video. Please comment if any problems)

album

HuRdY gUrDy MuShRoOm MaN

Great Psych Anthology below!

2011-02-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

Click this link for great SKIP BIFFERTY 2-CD ANTHOLOGY!!

( SEE ITEM #3 !)

The Farm Band - The Farm Band US 1972 Hippie West Coast Psych Rock

2011-02-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

Kind of a given here, don't you think? The Farm Band (also operatingas Stephen & The Farm Band and the TennesseeFarm Band) was the houseband at The Farm, flagship of all hippie communes. I strongly recommend anyone with an interest in the rural revolution to check out this amazing place more; the book "Voices From The Farm" (Rupert Fike, ed.) is a good start. This massive 2LP set was the Farm Band's first release and also by some miles their finest moment (later LPs are pretty good too, though, and I wouldn't want to let go of any of them). A nine-piece outfit, the standard rock setting is augmented by flute, electric fiddle, and French horn(!); mixed vocals and long, jam-oriented material give this an undeniable late-stage West Coast feel (not much of a surprise, really, as most of the Farm residents originated from San Francisco). The mood is one of joy and spontaneity, where you easily can imagine a few hundred longhaired freaks out in the fields groovin' all night long into the morning sun, as the last jam slowly fades away. This spontaneity also resultsin performances that are perhaps a tad "loose", shall we say, or even sloppy, with vocal harmonies going all over the place. Songwriting never was the Farm Band's forte either. What they do succeed in is creatinga sort of tribal Earth Rock, where the leadguitar of Walter Rabideau cuts through time and spaceleading the band further and further away into holy man jam land; the rhythmguitarist steps on his wah-wah, the violinist comes sweeping in from the cornfield ready to push things into even higher grounds, and eventually it's a wall of sound-effect that soarshigh above the watertower, leavingSummertown, TN, as nothing but a tiny dot on the map that stretches out far below. Get the picture? When the jams here really gel it's an amazing power at work, a psychedelic testimony with a groove that appears to be endless. This being a very communal effort it feels contradictory to single out any specific player, but I can't let the opportunity passto praise Walter Rabideau's guitarplaying. One of rock's unsungguitarheroes, his solos have a rich tone, an amazing flow & if you like me have an inclination towards air guitar-moves, Walter's all you need for a night of good fun. Ok, the last statement may not really be serving his reputation much good, but he really is fantastic, and an Acid Rock Legend in this household. On this album he also benefits from having some hot rhythmguitar to play against, by someone named Joseph (last name unknown to me), who wasn't on any of the subsequent LPs. In all, this is a document of a time where possibilities seemed endless (the heading on the Farm Band's touring busread "Out To Save The World"), the music beingonly a fracture of what it was all about. The Farm is still there though, with some 300 members, but the Farm Band called it quits in the late 70sor so. Like any other Farm product the packaging here is awesome; a thick gatefold cover, huge poster and printed inners. A piece of art, a statement and an essential piece of underground head sounds.
(by http:// www.beautifullies.se)

Tracklisting:

01.Om -Farm Band,
02.Loving You
03.Lord's Work -Farm Band, Dotzler, Thomas
04.Keep your Head Up High
05.Being Here With you -Farm Band, Dotzler, Thomas
06.Let It Ride
07.Prayer
08.I Believe It

The Farm Band
Read more about The Farm community: *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ The_Farm_(Tennessee) *http://thefarmcommunity.com/ history/

Virginia Astley - Hope in a Darkened Heart (UK 1986) - GORGEOUS RARE CHILDLIKE DREAMPOP!

2011-02-04T01:36:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Virginia Astley (born 26 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. From the start of her song-writing career in 1980, Astley took her inspiration from many sources. Her classical training influenced her as did a desire to be experimental with her music. Although more popular in the Far East, most notably Japan, she remains a cult artist in her native England.

When its realised that Virginia's debut album was instrumental and "Promise Nothing" was made for export,this is actually her first vocal album.And as far as this country in concerned it was her last. "Some Small Hope",a duet with David Sylvian,was issued as a single the year after and couple with a rerun of "A Summer Long Since Past",one of the 2 items reworked here. At the time Virginia was expecting and had been abandoned by the father so understandably she wanted to call off the sessions. But Warner Brothers,who'd signed her because of their connection with the aborted Why Fi,persuaded long time fan and producer Riuchi Sakamoto to talk her out of it. So this was the result,again a 9 tracker,but the song missed off went to Japan,this being "A day a night",included on their vinyl and CD. "A winter's tale" became a single. Virginia actually adapted 3 previous songs as a barb against the man who walked out on her and these were "Charm" (also a Japanese single) "A father" and "So like Dorian".Not that anyone would notice as she is too poetic to be vitriolic,and her sweet fragile voice could never convey anger. In "I'm sorry" its never been clear who she was apologising to but after giving an interview to the NME Virginia had nothing to say to anyone and retired from the music business to raise the daughter born in Westminster Hospital.Her only signs of activity since then were to contribute a song to the soundtrack of "Lily Was Here" ("Second chance")and the Japanese artiste Hideaki Matsuoka called "Winter White Rain",the Japanese name for snow. "Tree Top Club",which opens up side 2 on the vinyl,is a song inspired by childhood memories in Stanmore,even mentioning the "ruined church",which is still there as there are 2 churches in the same churchyard! Another earlier single "Darkness has reached its end" was also included: the idea behind the lyrics came via a Russian poet and has beautiful words full of pastoral images.

Tracklist:

1 Some Small Hope (with David Sylvian)
2 A Father
3 So Like Dorian
4 I'm Sorry
5 Tree Top Club
6 Charm
7 Love's a Lonely Place To Be
8 A Summer Long Since Passed
9 Darkness Has Reached Its End

dreamdreamdream

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Volume One (US 1966) - Great & Legendary Psych band!

2011-02-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

Psychelatte says: One of my top fave Psych bands ever! They did a good half dozen wacky, melodic, funny and wigged out albums. I adore them!
"Volume One", not to be confused with the other album "Part One". This is their first album release, "Part One" was actually their second. Anyways this is a pretty interesting album. There are quite a few covers on this album. And they are pretty good ones at that.

01 -Something you got
02 -Work song
03 -Louie, louie
04 -Don't break my ballonn
05 -You really got me
06 -Don't let anything!!! Stand in your way
07 -I won't hurt you
08 -If you want this love
09 -Insanity
10 -It's all over now, baby blue
11 -She belongs to me
12 -She surely must know (previously unreleased)
13 -Sassafras
14 -She may call you up tonight
15 -One day (previously unissued)
16 -Funny how love can be (previously unissued)
17 -Obviously bad
18 -Endless night (previously unissued)
19 -Tell me what you want to know (previously unissued)
20 -Just you & me (previously unissued)
21 -Chimes of freedom (previously unissued)
22 -Scuse me miss rose (previously unissued instrumental)

VOL ONE

J.P Sunshine - J.P Sunshine (UK 67-68 West Coast Psych/Folk-Rock)

2011-02-03T03:01:00.000-08:00

To say that J.P. Sunshine was flower-power-era England's least-famous band would be an overstatement. During the group's lifetime, its lo-fi bedroom recordings never actually made it out of the bedroom and it was only decades after London had stopped swinging that J.P. Sunshine's homemade pop-psychedelia was released. Formed in London in late 1967, J.P. Sunshine was the brainchild of poet George Duffell, also known as Jorgy Porgy (the J.P. in J.P. Sunshine). Duffell was keen to set his poems to music, and an opportunity to do so arose when he met Rod Goodway, a former member of the English pop group the Pack, who had a hit with the Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic?" Goodway penned simple arrangements for acoustic guitar and a band coalesced around the duo. Duffell (bongos/xylophone) and Goodway (vocals/guitar) were joined by Adrian Shaw (guitar), Pete Biles (bongos), and Duffell's girlfriend, Pat Morphin (percussion). In early 1968, J.P. Sunshine went electric as Goodway recruited former Pack guitarist Andy Rickell (aka Android Funnel) and Shaw moved to bass.

In keeping with the spirit of the times, J.P. Sunshine was as much a scene as it was a band; its members congregated in Duffell and Morphin's apartment to listen to the latest American imports (Love, Jefferson Airplane, Captain Beefheart, the Grateful Dead, among others) and to ingest chemicals. Then, under the influence of both, they would write and play music, recording on a primitive two-track machine. J.P. Sunshine's informal, proto-lo-fi identity especially suited Goodway and Rickell since it served as a recreational project away from their work as professional musicians. Concurrently with J.P. Sunshine, they were members of the psychedelic rock outfit White Rabbit. During this time, Goodway also sang with the Artwoods, who had briefly renamed themselves the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

The demise of J.P. Sunshine was accelerated by the claustrophobic, chemically enhanced environment the band had created around itself in Duffell's apartment. Rickell became involved with Duffell's girlfriend and the increasingly morose Duffell wrote lyrics about that situation, which the band then used, only making a weird scene weirder. In late 1968, the band committed final versions of its tracks to tape and made a stab at success. Pink Floyd's management responded favorably, but suggested the material be re-recorded with a drum kit. The final nail in the coffin came in December when, following a protracted stakeout, the drugs squad put an end to the J.P. Sunshine scene. Shaw, Rickell, and Goodway went on to various bands, including the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Magic Muscle, Hawkwind, and the Bevis Frond.

The long-lost J.P. Sunshine album eventually appeared on cassette in 1985 and on vinyl in 1996. ~ Wilson Neate, All Music Guide

Lyrics: J.P. Sunshine J P Sunshine is mine and thine, J P Sunshine on me and thee…. From light are we spun Down there, on earth, sunshine gave birth…. To youthI am true, And you… Are…. TruthColours of day, you say, But they…. do not know,they are so grey J P Sunshine is mine and thine J P Sunshine on me and thee From light are we spun…. Spun….spun….spun….spun…spuuuuuuunnnn

Tracks:

J.P. Sunshine
Hey Girl
Love Scene
This Side Up
Octopus
Watch Out
Eyes Are Raining
Dark Star
Swan Song
Rising Free
Hand In Hand
Dirt Blues
hey, maan

Spirit - (S/T US 1968) Heavy Psych. Great stuff!

2011-01-31T14:14:00.000-08:00

–SPIRIT –1968(US)heavypsych Spirit's debut unveiled a band that seemed determine to out-eclecticize everybody else on the California psychedelic scene, with its melange of rock, jazz, blues, folk-rock, and even a bit of classical and Indian music. Teenaged Randy California immediately established a signature sound with his humming, sustain-heavy tone; middle-aged drummer Ed Cassidy gave the group unusual versatility; and the songs tackled unusual lyrical themes, like "Fresh Garbage" and "Mechanical World." As is often the case in such hybrids, the sum fell somewhat short of the parts; they could play more styles than almost any other group, but couldn't play (or, more crucially, write) as well as the top acts in any given one of those styles. There's some interesting stuff here, nonetheless; "Uncle Jack" shows some solid psych-pop instincts, and it sounds like Led Zeppelin lifted the opening guitar lines of "Taurus" for their own much more famous "Stairway to Heaven."

Randy California (guitar, vocals)ay Ferguson (vocals, percussion)
Mark Andes (bass)
Ed Cassidy (drums) J
ohn Locke (keyboards)

1 Fresh-Garbage 3:11
2 Uncle Jack 2:44
3 Mechanical World 5:15
4 Taurus 2:37
5 Girl in Your eye 3:15
6 Straight Arrow 2:50
7 Topanga Windows 3:36
8 Gramophone Man 3:49
9 Water Woman 2:11
10 The Great Canyon Fire in General 2:46
11 Elijah 10:42 bonus track
12 Veruska 2:50
13 Free Spirit 4:27
14 If I Had a Woman 3:11
15 Elijah (Alternate Take) 9:42

Spirit were america’s equivalent of Traffic -an accomplished, stylish psychedelic heavy-progressive outfit with consistently excellent songwriting. Very, very colorful music. Their albums sold quite well, charting in the 20’s although they seem to be less celebrated than they deserve to be, possibly because critics tend to mark down most of the psychedelic music of the era. They are one of very few groups to record three near classic albums in psychedelic mode. They just failed to record a good hit single to lodge them in the public consciousness, which is surprising given the quality of their songwriting. They were closer to their British equivalents in style and technique than almost any other American band.

Spirit

Instant Orange -Instant Orange (1968-1975 US psych west coast and folk rock)

2011-01-31T13:25:00.000-08:00

The hardcore record collectors at Shadoks Music would have you believe that they’ve unearthed a gem in early 1970s San Bernadino band Instant Orange. They haven’t, but the disc at least makes for an interesting listen. Co-frontmen Terry Walters and Randy Lanier founded Instant Orange and kept the band alive for seven off and on years, with a rotating cast of other players. During that time, the group produced a couple of singles, an album, and two EPs. Those releases was pressed independently, with only 100 copies of each ever produced (save for their first single. Walters says they were talked into ordering 300 instead for that one, and that they didn’t let it happen again.) None of the members went on to make a career out of music, so it’s not really a surprisethat the band was more or less forgotten until now. Terry Walters admits that he and Randy Lanier’s main touchstones were ‘60s folk-rock bands like the Byrds and Love. This is apparent throughout the disc, as the jangly sound of the 12-string electric guitar dominatesmany of the songs. The music is catchy enough, but neither frontman really had the vocal or lyrical ability to make the band come alive as a solid successor to their influences. In fact, the vocals on the band’s album Five Year Premiere are mixed so softly that they’re tough to make out, although thisis not a problem on the singles or EPs. The band really comes alive when it tries things outside the folky comfort zone. The banjo-and-kazoo instrumental hoedown “Cycle II” is highly entertaining, and the harder-rocking “Silent Green” has an energy the rest of Five Year Premiere is missing. The group’s two singles also prove successful. The poppy “You I’ll Be Following” has the band’s strongest hook, and with a producer and better singer, I could see it getting radio play back when it was released in ‘68. The second single, released in 1973, has the fun and bouncy country tune “Same Old Thing”, and features the best singing in Instant Orange’s discography. The band’s latter-day EPs, one released in 1974 and the other in ‘75, showcase a broadening sound and a full-time keyboard player, Joe Bianchi. The ‘74 EP opens with the meandering rock song “Suburban Pictorial Abstract”, but goes into boogie blues for the aptly-named “20 to 6 Bianchi Boogie”. The 8-minute instrumental jam “ThemeFrom Beat Whistle” closes out this release. It’s a jazzy and engaging song that features some really strong keyboard and guitar solos, and musical changes. The 1975 EP was the band’s final release. Its songs find the band trying more new things, from the darker “Paper Lay” to the piano-driven bluesy “Skyline”. “Flight of the Mary Celeste” sounds like the band had been listening to its ‘70s contemporaries with story-based lyrics and fuzzed-out guitar solos. Instant Orange itself was not a great band, but was at least pretty good, and fans of ‘60s folk-rock and jangle pop may find a lot to like here (review by Chris Conaton from popmatters.com).

Tracklisting:

01.Introduction
02.Visionary, The (Reactive)
03.Whole Lot Better
04.Whole Lot Better
05.Silent Green
06.Seems Like Everything
07.Seems Like Everything
08.Cycle 2
09.Cycle 2
10.Reflecting Emotions
11.Genesis II
12.Cactus Gardens
13.Ballad of the Rtd
14.Ballad of the Rtd
15.Prairie to the Sea
16.Prairie to the Sea
17.Coming of the Day
18.Coming of the Day
19.You I'll Be Following
20.Reflecting Emotions
21.Suburban Pictorial Abstract
22.20 to 6 Bianchi Boogie
23.Theme From Beat Whistle
24.View From Ghiradelli Square
25.Paper Lay 26.Skyline
27.Plight of the Maray Celeste
28.Genesis II -(non LP version)
29.Same Old Thing Instant Orange:

*Randy Lanier (vocals, guitar, bass guitar, percussion)
*Terry Walters (vocals, guitars, banjo, harmonica, kazoo, bass guitar, drums, percussion)
*Lynn McCurdy (variousinstruments, percussion

Instant Orange - Instant Orange

Sweet Smoke - From Darkness to Light (US 1973) Magical Proggy Hippy Psych with Eastern touches

2011-01-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

The underrared "From Darkness to Light" is SWEET SMOKE's last studio album. This one has some shorter tracks but I think it's closer to progressive rock genre than their first. The music is more diverse, complex and thoughtfully composed. However, in some parts it still ratains the jazz-rock elements from their first album. Their typical sudden changes in mood and rhythm are also presented. I welcome the addition of piano and string instruments. I also like the singing and occasional beatlesque choir parts. The hippie imagery in the music and on the coverart is even more prominent than before. This is also notable in the epic track "Kundalini" which begins in Indo-fusion style: a crowd singing a mantra (a few people are out of tune but I think it was intentional), ethnic percussion, instrumental improvisations, scat singing... It's slowly proceeding in more "conventional" jazz-ock. The ending is a crazy jazz counterpoint between guitar, piano, sax, bas and drums. Trully stunning! "Show Me the War" is thoughtfully arranged and spiced with some dissonance. The title track has some awesome trippy and jazzy things going on. In the end they freak out... Other tracks are nice and simple songs with folky flute and a few intelligent twists. I'm not a "flower power" follower but there is something magical about this album that makes it one of my favorites. PROG ARCHIVES -by Matej Luketic

Tracks
1. Just An Empty Dream
2. I'd Rather Burn Than Disappear
3. Kundalini
4. Believe Me My Friends
5. Show Me The Way To The War
6. Darkness To Light

darknesstolight

Bo Grumpus - Before the War (1968 US "Bosstown Sound" band)

2011-01-23T15:39:00.000-08:00

This is a long lost gem from 1968 by a little known, somewhat psychedelic group called Bo Grumpus. Originally issued on Atco Records. 180 gram vinyl. Bo Grumpus was formed in Boston in 1967 and are not to be confused with the group using the name in the 1990s-2000s. N.D. Smart andim Colegrove traveled from Ohio to team up with guitarists, Eddie Mottau and Joe Hutchinson. Eddie and Joe had performed as a duo in the mid-sixties called Two Guys From Boston. They had done some recording with Noel "Paul" Stookey as their producer but had only one single released on the Scepter label. N.D. had met the Two Guys when they performed in Dayton, Ohio at the local folk club, The Lemon Tree. N.D. then both recorded and performed with them. When they asked him to join them to make a band he was prompt to say yes. N.D. asked Jim Colegrove to join them on bass.The group first performed at The Loft on Charles Street in Boston using the name The Bait Shop. It wasn't long before Eddie and Joe called their friend Felix Pappalardi in New York to come to Boston to hear the group play. Felix had played bass with The Two Guys on their recordings. At the time, Felix had already produced The Youngbloods records for RCA and was in the midst of recording Cream for their upcoming Disraeli Gears LP. Felix came to Boston and heard the group. He and his partner, Bud Prager, liked the band and set about to secure a recording/ publishing deal for them. The Bait Shop moved to New York City inune, 1967 and prepared to record.

01 -Sparrow Tune -2.59
02 -Think Twice -2.22
03 -Yesterday´s Street -4.14
04 -The Breath o´ Love -3.06
05 -A Knowing Young Touch -2.46
06 -Ragtimely Love -2.10
07 -Travelin´ In the Dark -2.43
08 -Brooklyn -2.44
09 -The Moon Will Rise -5.26
10 -If I Came To You -2.58

Before The War

Stalk-Forrest Group - St. Cecilia (US 1968 - early Blue Oyster Cult) Great hippie psych rock!

2011-01-23T10:59:00.001-08:00

69 album from early Blue Oyster Cult when they were known to no one as the stalk forrest group...its a rocking blast which comes complete with some nice quicksilver style guitar but on a much more consise and economical tip, not extended ballroom jams, this is compact, never meandering from its true path...the arrangements give off a mild air of pete townshend meets west-coast acid rock (with a bit of country rockthrown in, though thats more than likely a temporal thing, a couple years on and that wouldn't be there)...why elektra failed to release this debut gem is a strange puzzler as this is right up there with other highly unknown top draw combos (clear light/love/quill/wackers) making the label the heppest of hep...

Track Listing:

1. Gil Blanco County
2. Ragamuffin' Dumplin
3. Bonomo's Turkish Taffy
4. Arthur Comics
5. Curse Of The Hidden Mirrors
6. What Is Quicksand
7. St. Cecilia
8. Donovan's Monkey
9. I'm On The Lamb, But I Ain't No Sheep
10. Fact About Sneakers

St. Cecilia

Magic Mixture - This is The Magic Mixture (UK 1968) great Psych LP!

2011-01-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

Psychelatte says: if you like this, you will probably also likeThe Maze

1968 psych classic which has been much sought after as a fine exponent of the UK's swinging London psych scene. Released on the same label as Guy and David's "Five Day Week Straw People". Like that album this is typical melodic late '60s psych with hammond, screaming wah-wah guitar breaks and Cream-like vocals. UK heavy-psych classic, originally released on the budget Saga label. The modest cover art and relative band anonymity betray an accomplished collection of twelve original tracks, with solo guitar blasts and zonked harmonies a plenty, anchored by some thunderous Hammond. A blanket of warm, hazy production makes this every bit the equal of labelmates The Five Day Week Straw People, and both nestle comfortably next to the filler-free full-lengths of 'underground' icons Second Hand, Open Mind, The Art, etc." Originally released on Saga, this superb piece of psychedelic freakbeat should be in every record collection sharing section with UK psych gods like July, Skip Bifferty, Forever Amber, Five Day Week Straw People, The Open Mind and the likes. Even though according to the The Tapestry Of Delights book, the Saga LP's are supposed to have been recorded at a school premises rather than in a proper studio, this album has become a classic of the genre on its own, containing some killer psychedelic sounds delivered mainly by the guitar of leader Jim Thomas and his bandmate Stan Curtis' organ riffs. The line-up was completed with Jack Collins on drums and Melvyn Hacker on bass guitar. The songs are all original Magic Mixture compositions, and they are all excellent samples of what was going on in the UK when the genres who had been en vogue during the '60s (modern jazz, folk, R&B, pop...) were all put into the same cauldron in the search of a special mixture, eventually obtaining some great pop tunes played with a freakbeat edge and some early psychedelic sounds --all pretty simple and without many gimmicks or studio trickery --but amazingly lovely and very cool. It is one of the most sought-after Saga releases and one that commands high sums when it shows up on eBay.

Line-up Jim Thomas -vocals, guitar
Stan Curtis -organ
Melvyn Hacker -bass
Jack Collins [aka Jack McCulloch] -drums

Tracklisting

1. (I'm so) sad 4:15
2. Urge to leave 2:32
3. You 2:58
4. Slowly the day 3:55
5. New Man 3:00
6. Living on a hill 2:57
7. It's allright by me 3:01
8. When I was young 2:55
9. Hey little girl 2:24
10. Tomorrow's sun 3:20
11. Motor bike song 2:33
12. Moon beams 4:02

This Is Magic Mixture

The Fountain Soundtrack - (Clint Mansell) -also the music used for The Arrivals video series on the NWO - beautiful & apocalyptic! ***

2011-01-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

Amazon customer reviews:

Truely Awesome, 4 Dec 2006

The Soundtrack to The Fountain is an intense, emotional but rewarding experience, but be warned! this is not the run of the mill, orchestral style that seems to permeate movies these days, in an all too predictable way. This is more a case of The kronos Quartet meets Mogwai in a dark alley for a good dust-up. If you are familiar with God Speed You Black Emperor/ A Silver Mnt Zion's anthemic post rock orchestrations for guitar and strings you will no doubt love whats on offer here. Clint Mansell lets his inspirations show thru with a few nods to Phillip Glass and the afore mentioned GSYBE. A brooding emotional sound bulds on repeated(in a good way) piano refrains and strings to represent the various story lines present in the film, that gradually build into a stirring, emotional and intense finale on "Death is the road to Awe" The album is worth it just for this track alone.

Road to awe, 6 April 2006

You can tell a lot about a movie by its soundtrack --comedies get cute pop tunes, action gets harder stuff, and drama has somber compositions. But the exquisite genre-bender "Fountain" was graced with a sweeping, celestial collection of songs, which were a collaboration between composer Clint Mansell's group, the Kronos Quartet, and the Scottish experimental group Mogwai. It's filled with the sorrow of death, the joy of love, and all the feeling that music can muster. It opens with a gentle piano solo, which trickles into a web of slow, ominous strings. "The Last Man" opens the album on a somber note, and moves down the emotional scale from jagged unhappiness to a gentle, slightly achy sound. As it blossoms out into a rising violin solo, your heart will be breaking. Then it dips into more uncomfortable turf --the eerie "Holy Dread," with its hints of chants, dark drums and rattly noises, and the shimmering swirling guitars of "Tree of Life." But then Mansell and Mogwai move back into the orchestral mood --sweeping, shimmering melodies with a sort of spacey feel, and dark-edged neoclassical instrumentals. It rises to a heart-pounding climax in "Death is the Road To Awe," with the music getting louder and more intense, and picking up tempo... before exploding into what sounds like an angelic rock song. The final song is very different in tone --very quiet, mellow and almost happy. Well, Darren Aronofsky's movie is full of death, war, sorrow, love, space travel, and immortality. Somehow it's not too surprising that a normal soundtrack wouldn't do, and that a mixture of neoclassical instrumentals and space-rock are needed to really accentuate the beauty on the screen. The music is full of emotion --sorrow, yearning, love, pain, and loneliness, climaxing in the exultant chorale and explosively soaring "Death is the Road...". To achieve this, Mansell uses some pretty simple instrumentation, with some sort of ambient melodies played with classical instrumentation. He layers plenty of shimmering strings and rippling piano into a sweeping web, and adds in some odd electronic sounds and some tribal drums for atmosphere. Best of all? Though the soundtrack mirrors the development of the movie's events, it can be enjoyed on its own merits, for its own beauty, and not just for way it makes you think of what happened in the movie. One of the best things about "The Fountain" is that soaring, emotion-packed soundtrack, which is almost as good on its own as it is with Aronofsky's movie. An exquisite, powerful experience.

Tracklist:
01. The Last Man
02. Holy Dread!
03. Tree Of Life
04. Stay With Me
05. Death Is a Disease
06. Xibalba
07. First Snow
08. Finish It
09. Death Is The Road to Awe
10. Together We Will Live Forever

"death is the road to awe"

Clip from The Arrivals, featuring evil Fantasia and this music

mesmirization

Mythos (Eccentric, ever-changing Krautrock) 1972-81

***Renaissance 1969-1978 -Heavily symphonic prog with celebrated vocalist Annie Haslam***

***Mike Oldfield - 4 of the best! symphonic prog rock***

***Design -Day of the Fox/ In Flight (2 albums)***

***WHOOPS AGAIN!!

***Mogollar-S/T 1971 rare 2nd album, fab Turkish Psych with fuzz guitar & Eastern instruments -MUST LISTEN!!!***

***Gryphon -Medieval Prog par excellence!***

***More Kids Christmas Music! (i can't get enough!)***

***Maddy Prior & the Carnival Band -A Tapestry of Carols(1987) -gorgeous old worlde folk, must listen!!***

***ELP -Works Vol 1 & 2 (uk 1977) -amazing album with classical, prog and power ballads***

***ELP -Trilogy (Glorious Symphonic prog classic 1972)***

***Various Kids -Kids Christmas Songs & Carols (my compilation)***

Grandaddy -Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland

***Bosphorus & Mode Plagal - Beyond The Bosphorus- (Greece, Turkey, -bewitching fusion of folky traditional music & modern Jazz with female vocals)***

***Various Artists (2009/2010) -Anatolia Rocks: A Musical Trip Through Turkey Vol. 1 & 2***

***Timur Selcuk Orkestrasi -S/T Turkish Anatolian music- great stuff!! ***

****He 6 -A Go Go! - Go Go Sound '71: Vol. 1 & 2,2LP boxset,1971/2004, Psychedelia,Korea****

****Picchio Dal Pozzo - Picchio Dal Pozzo (fantastic Italian Prog fusion freakout!!1976)****

****Shin Jung Hyun & The Men- It's a Lie -blistering Korea psych 1972- made to be played LOUD, LOUD, LOUD!!****

***Jungle- same (1969) (Heavy Prog Psych) (USA)***

***Tony, Caro & John- (1972 uk Folk-Psych)***

***Forever Amber- rare Uk Psychedelia 1969***

***Zerfas s/t 1973 US Prog-psych***

***Erkin Koray - 3 of his best albums -Turkish Psych legend ***

***3 Hur-El - Hurel Arsivi (1974 Brilliant anatolian Turkish folk psych rock)***

***Som Imaginario- Som imaginario (Brazil 1971)***

***The Aggregation - Mind Odyssey -us 1967***

***Som Imaginario-S/T -1970 Brazilian Tropicalia Psych prog-psych***

***Modulo 1000 - 1972 Complete-Works-Brazilian Prog Rock/Psych - Ultra Rare***

***Various Artists - Posições (Brazilian 1970s Bliss!)***

***Skydog- Just Want To Make You Happy (1974 Vibrant & uplifting US Hard Prog Psych)***

***Fate -Sgt. Death (Doors-esque 1968 US Rock Psych)***