The Seeds - A Web of Sound 1966

Web of Sound by the Seeds should be a garage rock classic. Everything about this record is superb '60s underground rock, from the cover concept (by band leader Sky Saxon) of the four musicians trapped in a spider's web to the back cover black and whites, and the bizzaro liner notes by producer Marcus Tybalt, who also penned a couple of tunes here. Unlike other albums by the Seeds, nothing on here sounds like their hit "Pushin' Too Hard," and that is a plus; not because that inverted Kinks riff isn't great -- it is, but Saxon had a penchant for trying to recapture that original butterfly. The six songs on side one are fun punk rock that helped inspire the new wave of the late '70s. But it is side two, with its four-minute "Just Let Go" and the fuzz pop of Saxon's "Up in Her Room," that cuts across '60s boundaries. Where "In a Gadda Da Vida" needed more melody and lyrics and Rare Earth's long version of "Get Ready" has too much drum solo, the Seeds take Van Morrison's then-censored Them hit, "Gloria," and kind of explain what happens once Saxon gets her up there, "making love in her room." The keyboards and Rolling Stones-wannabe blues guitar build a nice foundation for the fuzztone that follows Saxon as he keeps repeating the title of the song. He seems to be parodying the Beau Brummels, the Shadows of Night, and Them, all who preceded the Seeds by a year or two. The funny thing is, although the riff to "Pushin' Too Hard" is missing from this album, the melody to "Up In Her Room" is "Pushin' Too Hard." "Up in Her Room" has a fabulous '60s organ like ? & the Mysterians, and exactly like the fuzz organ in the middle of the Velvet Underground's similar epic, "Sister Ray," even ending with the same vamp as "White Light/White Heat," the title track of the album where "Sister Ray" made her debut. Saxon was clearly aware of what other people were doing at the time and A Web of Sound stands as a superior garage rock effort. It is just too bad tunes like "The Farmer," "Just Let Go," and "Tripmaker" didn't have the Top 40 charm of, say, Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Just Like Me" or "Kicks." The inclusion of a hit on that scale would have opened up many minds to the lunacy of the Seeds' "Pictures and Designs," with Saxon's growl that Iggy Pop copped so wonderfully. By drawing from the elements that made Moulty & the Barbarians, the Leaves, and Them so charming, A Web of Sound gave direction to the Stooges, Alice Cooper, and other acts who took it all a few steps further. Saxon does it all with great flair here, aided and abetted by organ and guitar sounds in "I Tell Myself" that imitators have not been able to accurately duplicate.

(AMG)

Tracks
01 Mr. Farmer 2:58
02 Pictures and Designs 2:40
03 Tripmaker 2:40
04 I Tell Myself 2:25
05 A Faded Picture 5:14
06 Rollin' Machine 2:28
07 Just Let Go 4:04
08 Up in Her Room 14:27 

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THE ELECTRIC PRUNES: TOO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT. ORIGINAL GROUP RECORDINGS 66/67

For a band that scored two major hit singles in their first year as recording artists, the Electric Prunes were given precious little respect by their record label, Reprise Records; the group was allowed to perform a mere two original tunes on their debut album I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), and when their second, Underground, didn't sell, they became glorified session men under composer and arranger David Axelrod on Mass in F Minor. When the Prunes couldn't play Axelrod's charts to his satisfaction, they were replaced by session men, and the original bandmembers weren't even invited to participate on two "Electric Prunes" albums later released by Reprise, Release of an Oath and Just Good Old Rock and Roll. Despite it all, the Electric Prunes' best work is still the stuff of legend among garage rock enthusiasts, and with good reason -- the freaked-out, fuzz-enhanced guitar lineup of Ken Williams, Jim Lowe and Weasel Spagnola created a wild and distinctive sound most of their peers would envy, and they fused the energy of the garage generation and the sonic experimentation of the burgeoning psychedelic scene with a skill few have matched before or since. Reprise finally gives the genuine Electric Prunes the tribute they deserve with Too Much to Dream -- Original Group Recordings: Reprise 1966-1967, a two-disc set that features the albums I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) and Underground in their entirety, as well as handful of non-LP singles, unreleased tracks and monophonic mixes. Disc one, featuring the debut album, is more enjoyable, featuring the group's biggest hits and most memorable tunes, but Underground suggests the real tragedy that the Prunes were not allowed to follow their own muse in the studio again -- the group sounds tighter, more creatively unified and more mature on Underground, and it's not hard to imagine they could have had several more fine albums in them if they'd had the chance to chart their own path. As it is, this set collects some superb and atypical '60s garage stuff, the bonus material is solid and intriguing if not always revelatory, Jim Lowe and Mark Tulin tell the band's story in the thick liner booklet, and the Prunes' famous radio ad for Vox wah-wah pedals even makes the cut. This is a first-rate anthology from a wildly underrated band, and folks with a jones for mid-'60s rock will want to find room for this in their collections.

Get it: HERE

The Count Five - Psychotic Reaction (1966)

The Count Five was a 1960s garage rock band from San Jose, California, best known for their Top 10 single "Psychotic Reaction".
The band was founded in 1964 by John "Mouse" Michalski (born 1948, Cleveland, Ohio) (lead guitar) and Roy Chaney (born 1948, Indianapolis, Indiana) took over bass duties, two high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived outfits. After going shortly under the name The Squires, and several line-up changes later, the Count Five were born. John "Sean" Byrne (born 1947, Dublin, Ireland) played rhythm guitar and lead vocals, and Craig "Butch" Atkinson (born 1947, San Jose, California) played drums. The Count Five gained distinction for their habit of wearing Count Dracula-style capes when playing live.
"Psychotic Reaction", an acknowledged cornerstone of garage rock, was initially devised by Byrne, with the group refining it and turning it into the highlight of their live sets. The song was influenced by the style of contemporary musicians such as The Standells and The Yardbirds. The band members were rejected by several record labels before they got signed to the Los Angeles-based Double Shot Records. "Psychotic Reaction" was released as a single, peaking at #5 in the U.S. charts in late 1966. The band got along for about another year, but dropped out of view altogether when their only hit had fallen from public memory. Another setback to a potential career in the music business was the decision of the five members (who were between the ages of 17 and 19) to pursue college degrees.
By 1969, the Count Five had broken up, but their memory was immortalized in a 1972 essay by rock journalist Lester Bangs, entitled "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung." In the essay, Bangs credited the band for having released several albums — Carburetor Dung, Cartesian Jetstream, Ancient Lace and Wrought-Iron Railings, and Snowflakes Falling On the International Dateline — that displayed an increasing sense of artistry and refinement. However, none of these albums actually existed, except in Bangs' own imagination.
The Count Five reunited only once, when they performed a concert in 1987 at a club in Santa Clara, California called "One Step Beyond". This performance has been released as Psychotic Reaction Live.
The song "Psychotic Reaction" can be heard playing on the jukebox in an early scene in Wim Wenders' film Alice in the Cities (1974).
Craig Atkinson died on October 13, 1998 and John "Sean" Byrne died on December 15, 2008. Roy Chaney formed a new band in the 1990s called The Count (with Byrne and drummer Rocco Astrella, who played in the last version of the original group). The Count released their debut CD, Can't Sleep, in 2002. In 2006 they were inaugurated as one of the first into the San Jose Rock Hall of Fame. (From Wikipedia)

01. Psychotic Reaction [Mono Version]
02. Double Decker Bus [Mono Version]
03. Pretty Big Mouth [Mono Version]
04. World [Mono Version]
05. My Generation [Mono Version]
06. She's Fine [Mono Version]
07. Peace of Mind [Mono Version]
08. They're Gonna Get You [Mono Version]
09. Morning After [Mono Version]
10. Can't Get Your Lovin' [Mono Version]
11. Out in the Street [Mono Version]
12. Move It Up [Mono Version]
13. So Much [Mono Version]
14. You Must Believe Me [Mono Version]
15. Teeny Bopper, Teeny Bopper [Stereo]
16. Contrast [Stereo]
17. Merry-Go-Round [Mono Version]
18. Revelation in Slow Motion [Mono Version]
19. Declaration of Independence [Mono Version]
20. Enchanted Flowers [Mono Version]
21. Mailman [Stereo]
22. Contrast [Mono Version Demo Version]
23. People Hear What I Say [Mono Version]
24. Psychotic Reaction [Mono Version]

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Chocolate Watch Band - No Way Out (1967) With Bonus

 

The Chocolate Watchband, was a psychedelic rock and garage rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1965.^[1] The band had finally broken up indefinitely by 1970 but then reunited in 1999 at a 66/99 show Mike Stax organized in San Diego. They continue to play today at garage rock shows in Europe as well as the States with Little Steven and the Electric Prunes. The band's music was largely described as a blend of 1960s-style garage rock with a distinguishable rolling San Francisco Sound. The group's early music appeared to contain blues influences, and later it developed psychedelic elements through use of instrumental experimentation. Ed Cobb was well-known as their producer. The band also appeared in the 1967 film Riot on Sunset Strip and the 1968 film "The Love Ins".

1. Let's Talk About Girls

2. In the Midnight Hour

3. Come On

4. Dark Side of the Mushroom

5. Hot Dusty Roads

6. Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)

7. Gone and Passes By

8. No Way Out

9. Expo 2000

10. Gossamer Wings

11. Sweet Your Thing

12. Baby Blue

13. Misty Lane

14. She Weaves A Tender Trap

15. Milk Cow Blues

16. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying

17. Since You Broke My Heart

18. Misty Lane (Alternative Take)

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all of "Ice Cream Man" visitors from all over the world, I hope you all have fantastic holidays!

ICE CREAM MAN POWER POP AND MORE ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!!!!

2011 has been an excellent year for Power Pop releases, there is no top 100, 50, 25 or 10 here, 2011 has been a great year for Power Pop, there have been loads and loads of great releases,  but the one stand out album of the year, which I know has taken blood, passion, pain and tears to produce.....and it didn't just stop at an album, no, there was a fantastic film to accompany it as well! Ladies and gentleman I give you.............................................

THE TURNBACK - DRAWN IN CHALK.

A debut album to accompany a wonderful, moving film with the title "Drawing In Chalk", a film that will resonate with anyone who has ever tried....and failed, it is a little bit me and a little bit you, a little bit of each and everyone one of us, it is real life, and the soundtrack album is brilliant, a perfect piece of Power Pop with tunes to get your blood pumping, your heart pounding and your feet tapping, check the album out and also check the film out.....you are not the only one that has ever failed, but you will also discover that you can achieve if you believe!

Many congratulations to The Turnback, thank you for such an inspiring album and film, we at "Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More" look forward to hearing more from you in the coming year!

You can buy the album here: Here and you can get the film: Here

The Breakaways - Walking out on love. The Lost Sessions

Hot on the heels of Alive's first-ever formal reissue of the Nerves EP and a rare live set, comes this volume of demos cut by Peter Case and Paul Collins in between the demise of the Nerves and the formation of their respective bands, the Plimsouls and the Beat. As with the Nerves, Collins started out on drums and Case on bass, with various guitarists pressed into action for cassette- and home-made reel-to-reel recording sessions. Case and Collins handled the vocals and eventually took on guitar duties as well. The recordings vary in quality, but the enthusiasm of power-pop pals playing and singing their hearts out easily transcends moments of mono muddiness and under-mixed vocals.

The thirteen songs include a few that had been recorded by the Nerves such as "One Way Ticket" and "Working Too Hard," as well as originals that would become staples for the Plimsouls ("Everyday Things") and Beat ("I Don't Fit In," "Let Me Into Your Life," "USA" and "Walking Out on Love"). Even more interesting to fans are the originals that didn't make it past these rough demos. "Radio Station" features the deep reverb guitar and impassioned vocal Case would perfect with the Plimsouls, "Will You Come Through?" has the ringing guitar of a P.F. Sloan folk rocker, and "House on the Hill" shows off Case's rock `n' soul sound.

In addition to the songs Collins would re-record with the Beat, he offers the driving drums and Everly-styled harmonies of "Little Suzy" and the rhythm-guitar propelled "Do You Want to Love Me?" As Collins notes in the liners, "this is the sound of pop on the streets of Los Angeles circa 1978, no money, no deals, just the burning desire to make something happen in a town without pity." Case and Collins approached these sessions with the unbridled passion and total dedication of musicians without masters - no label, no audience, no radio stations, no managers or agents, just the muse of pop music. The recordings may be fuzzy in spots, but the invention is clear as a chiming bell. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Get it: HERE