Off for a few days.......back soon, but in the meantime......

Please could I ask you to take a look at this page Ruby Owen Appeal this little girl desperately needs help, I have made a donation personally for this little girls plight and if you can make a donation however small, it will really help.
You can read full details about Ruby at the page and find all the details of the registered charity.

Thank you so much for taking your time to read and see you all soon.

Peace and love Rick.N.Baker

The Action - The Ultimate Action

 

This collection is a slightly expanded version of an LP that first appeared in 1984. There are no notes -- an unthinkable oversight today -- but otherwise, this is one of the best pieces of British beat-style R&B available, a match for the best tracks off The Beatles' Second Album, and any of the best R&B-style numbers by the early Who. The material isn't in chronological order, although that's not a huge problem for CD listeners, but it's heavily scrambled. The stuff stands on its own, in any case -- "Harlem Shuffle," "Since I Lost My Baby," and "In My Lonely Room" are among the finest English R&B covers of the period, and even originals like "Never Ever" (written by Alan King, Reggie King, and Mike Evans and the group-composed "Twenty Fourth Hour" are fine pieces of songwriting, with attractive hooks and choruses, and good soulful performances. One fascinating discovery unearthed on this CD, amid hits that never were (like their cover of the Marvelettes' "I'll Keep on Holding On" and the brooding, modish "Wasn't It You,") is the group's cover of the Spector-Goffin-King classic "Just Once in My Life." In contrast to the Righteous Brothers' Wall of Sound approach, the five-piece band does it by themselves with no overdubbed help, and Reggie King and company are good enough singers to pull it off, despite a few awkward moments on the fade. The attempts at experimental, quasi-psychedelic material ("Shadows and Reflections") are nicely played and sung, but they lack the depth and urgency of the group's earlier material, and it's easy to understand EMI's misgivings over the direction the group was going in, based on this evidence. As an added attraction, the production by George Martin is also among the best work of his career in rock & roll, second only to his work with the Beatles.  

Listen: ACTION

The Leftovers - On the move

 

Hailing from the famous punk rock town of, er, Portland, ME, the Leftovers released their debut full-length after touring regionally with the likes of the Mopes and Teenage Bottlerocket and putting in their compilation-and-splits dues. "Full-length" is something of an exaggeration (On the Move clocks in at under 30 minutes), but that's part of the charm of bands like this -- there's no time wasted on intros or outros, no stupid "sketches" or "interludes" to weigh things down, just short, sharp, hook-laden tunes all featuring heart-on-sleeve vocals and buzzsaw guitars. There's pure bubblegum lurking underneath the crunchy veneer of "Dance with Me," and the handclaps that you keep expecting throughout that compact gem of a song appear on the next and equally hooky track, "She She She." "Mind Off You" and "See You Tonight" are the band's twin masterpieces, a pair of punk-pop classics that last almost exactly two minutes each (and the second of which, if you listen carefully, evokes Elvis Costello circa Get Happy!). On a few of these songs the hooks could be just a bit sharper and more memorable, but it seems likely that the band is going to progress in just that direction. Highly recommended. (AMG)

Listen: HERE

The Boo Radleys - Find the way out.

 

By 2005 -- in America, anyway -- hearing the story of how the Boo Radleys didn't make it was more common than hearing any of their actual music. The recap: the Liverpool band came up shoegazers, became pop songwriters, and blew up with a single that shone like gold. But then they tore stardom to shreds with a brilliantly noisy follow-up, and disbanded soon after releasing a frustrated swan song. Since that awkward end the Boos have been a footnote for some, a pleasant memory for others, and a reason for fanatical devotion to still more. So ideally, Find the Way Out pleases all parties. It's a two-disc, fully remastered, 35-song chronological recap of the band's eight-year career, painstakingly compiled by guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr both to tell the Boo Radley story and satisfy the diehards. It begins with two songs from Ichabod & I, the noisy (and rare) 1990 debut that shoved American alternative rock into a wall of Kevin Shields-ian distortion. The dynamic between Carr's roaring guitar and Sice's effortless songbird vocals on "Catweazle" would define the group's sound. "Happens to Us All" is here too, as is a demo version of "Hip Clown Rag." There are highlights from the Boo Radleys' Rough Trade singles and EPs, including the incredible funky blister of "Kaleidoscope" and "Everybird"'s blend of pedal stomp crunch and twining acoustic strum. The set includes the lengthy 12" version of the 1992 Creation single "Lazarus," as well as its B-side, "Let Me Be Your Faith"; devotees might wonder where "At the Sound of Speed" is, but they'll have to make do with the creaky, gentle "Cracked Lips/Homesick" -- a Giant Steps-era B-side -- or any of the five songs from that album. The brassy, handclapping "Wish I Was Skinny" and "Best Lose the Fear"'s fuzzy psych-pop are highlights, showing off the Boos' songwriting development. Of course Find the Way Out's second disc starts with "Wake Up Boo!" -- it's their career definition and ultimate death knell tied up in an unstoppably glorious pop experience. The nine-minute version here -- subtitled "Music for Astronauts" -- trips out at the end in a way Super Furry Animals would soon perfect. Its flip, "Blues for George Michael," is another epic, and "Find the Answer Within" (from the Wake Up! LP) rarefies Carr's guitar to a conventional jangle. 1995's "From the Bench at Belvidere" is a breezy masterpiece of lilting piano and dripping guitar notes; there's even a flute solo. (Pray that Teenage Fanclub someday covers this.) C'mon Kids, the blaring fame freak-out album that followed the popular embrace of Wake Up!, is represented here by four tracks, and the finale Kingsize gets three. (The previously unissued "Tomorrow" is a faraway trumpet, rainy streets meditation with the gem lyric "trap set in the slums.") By Find the Way Out's end you're either convinced of the Boos' place in the U.K. music canon or mad at Carr because he didn't include your favorite song. But either way you've walked the band's creative arc with one of its creators. And that's way better than just hearing about it.  

Listen: Part 1 &  Part 2

Sloan - One Chord to Another

 

Following the bungled American release of Twice Removed, it seemed unlikely that Sloan would survive, let alone record an album as wonderful as One Chord to Another. On the group's previous album, Sloan had refashioned itself as a power pop band, often with terrific results, but on One Chord to Another the songwriting blossoms. Filled with catchy, jangling riffs and memorable melodies, the record is a tour de force of hooks and harmonies, filled with exceptionally strong songs and forceful performances, which give the record a firm, rocking foundation. Few power pop records of the '90s are as infectious and memorable as One Chord to Another. -AMG

 

Listen: NEW LINK

The Lambrettas - Beat Boys in the Jet Age

 

The Lambrettas are an English mod revival band, first active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Named after the iconic Italian Lambretta scooter brand popular among Mods, the band was formed in Lewes. Their original line-up consisted of Jez Bird (singer/guitarist), Doug Sanders (guitarist/vocalist), Mark Ellis (bassist) and Paul Wincer (drummer).
Their biggest hit was in 1980, with a cover version of the 1950s Leiber and Stoller song, "Poison Ivy", which reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart. They scored a #12 hit with the follow-up, "Da-a-a-nce". In the same year, they released the album Beat Boys in the Jet Age, which reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart, and scored another minor hit single single, "Another Day (Another Girl)" (hastily renamed from "Page 3" after complaints from the Sun newspaper. After the Mod revival faded, subsequent singles, which included a 1982 cover of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love", and a second album, 1981's Ambience, were commercial failures. The band played their final concert in their original incarnation in London on 14 April 1982. Bird re-formed the band for a time in the 1990s.
The band reformed in 2009 and are busy touring the UK and Europe.

Beat Boys in the Jet Age was the debut album by English mod revival band The Lambrettas. It included the bands hit cover of the song "Poison Ivy" which reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart. The band would continue this success with the release of their very own "Da-a-ance", reaching #12 in the UK Singles Chart. The album reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart, and scored another minor hit single, "Another Day (Another Girl)" which reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart.

 Listen:HERE

Beulah - The coast is never clear.

 

When the sun is shining, this album ticks every single box, but don't stop here, check out all the other albums by Beulah too!

ALLMUSIC After the dazzling reception of 1999′s When Your Heartstrings Break, Beulah wasn’t concerned with following things up with something fashionable. The bandmembers were near masters of crafting the perfect pop song — for themselves — and quite comfortable with the process. The Coast Is Never Clear captures Beulah’s classy cool indie pop, akin to what came before. Singer/songwriter Miles Kurosky‘s quirky lyrical rants are spry, and the personal experiences behind each song allude to Beulah’s unabashed nature. From the twangy licks of the bittersweet “Popular Mechanics for Lovers” to the psychedelic soul tinker of “A Good Man Is Easy to Kill,” Beulah gives way to a breaking heart. Sulking and wistful, the theme works and it’s not beyond measure. The pop melodies are relaxed; the harmonies are solid. “I’ll Be Your Lampshade” is Beulah’s country take, with sweeping horns and a sad, pathetic harmonica wallowing over a lost love. It’s not necessarily fit for tears, but The Coast Is Never Clear isn’t necessarily joyless. The band is sarcastically sweet on “What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?,” while emulating what everyone has faced in the role of eager, adoring wooer. Beulah’s indie cred cannot be tarnished with The Coast Is Never Clear. It’s not strict rock music — it’s basic. And it’s good. [by MacKenzie Wilson]

Get it: HERE