The Birds - Collectors' Guide to Rare British Birds

The Birds were one of the hard-luck outfits in the annals of '60s British rock. By reputation, they were one of the top R&B-based outfits in England during the mid-'60s, with a sound as hard and appealing as the Who, the Yardbirds, or the Small Faces. In contrast to a lot of other acts that never charted a hit, the Birds are remembered slightly by some serious fans, and are mentioned in several history books -- but for entirely the wrong reasons. The Birds are remembered for the fact that Ron Wood got his start in the band before moving on to bigger things with the Faces and the Rolling Stones; and that they shared a name, albeit spelled differently, with an American band of considerable prominence. Nobody knows a lot about their music, however, which, on record, consisted of fewer than a dozen songs. Ron Wood (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Tony Munroe (guitar, vocals), and Kim Gardner (bass) grew up within a block of each other, along with original drummer Bob Langham (succeeded by Pete Hocking, aka Pete McDaniels), and had gotten together with lead singer Ali McKenzie to form a band in 1964, while all were in their teens. They were based in Yiewsley in West London, and played the local community center regularly, building up a serious following, which led to their turning professional. The name the Birds came about when they were forced to change their original name, the Thunderbirds, owing to the name of Chris Farlowe's backing band of the period. Their music was hard R&B with a real edge to to it, and was good enough to get them into in a battle-of-the-bands contest held under the aegis of Ready, Steady, Go, the weekly music showcase series. They didn't win, but got a television appearance out of it, on which they were spotted by executives from Decca -- a contract followed, resulting in the recording of their first single, "You Don't Love Me," in November of 1964. Early the following spring, they tried again with a second single, "Leaving Here," which they got to perform on television.

The group seemed poised for success. Their bookings placed them ahead of the Pretty Things and the early Jeff Beck group the Tridents, and they were billed with the Who on some of the same gigs. In that company, there seemed to be no way that they could fail, especially with their sound, a loud, crunchy brand of British rhythm & blues-based rock, roughly akin to early Who, the Yardbirds, and the Kinks.

Disaster struck the band from a completely unexpected quarter -- across the Atlantic -- at in the spring of 1965, however. Fresh off of their first U.S. hit came a Los Angeles-based quintet called the Byrds. Their debut single, "Mr. Tambourine Man," released on the newly established British CBS Records label, was burning up the British charts, and "Leaving Here" by the Birds was left there, on record store shelves (when it was ordered at all). That summer the rival group toured England for the first time, and although the Birds' manager tried to take legal action, it was to no avail -- the spellings were different, and both groups' claim to the name were about equally good. A third Decca single in late 1965 brought their relationship with that label to an end. The group then moved to Reaction Records, at first under the name Birds Birds, but their debut single for the label, "Say Those Magic Words," was delayed in release for almost a year due to a contractual dispute. They also cut a version of Pete Townshend's "Run Run Run" highlighted by Wood's crunchy guitar and McKenzie's punked-out vocals, that could've given the Who a run for their money in a chase up the charts by rival singles. And they got one delightfully bizarre film appearance under their belt, performing a Ron Wood/Tony Munroe song, "That's All I Need," in the horror chiller The Deadly Bees, in 1966. Munroe was out of the band not long after, and Wood left in 1967, passing through the lineup of the Jeff Beck Group before joining the reconfigured (Small) Faces with Rod Stewart in 1969.

The Birds were one of the better bands of their era, as evidenced by the large following they built up from their live performances, playing a hard, loud brand of R&B, with polished vocals and a forceful, crunchy guitar sound. They weren't far removed from the Small Faces or the Who in sound, and perhaps they might've fared better, or had a longer run at success, if they hadn't been signed to a label that already had the Small Faces and the Rolling Stones under contract. The name confusion probably killed whatever chance they had of cracking the English charts, as well as eclipsing their musical virtues for posterity.

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Kaleidoscope (UK) - Tangerine Dream

Essentially, this 1967 record from Kaleidoscope combines psychedelic-pop whimsy with early Procol Harum-lyrics, Zombies-harmonies and a touch of Procol Harum. In fact the high points of the record rank right up there with Odyssey and Oracle and any other record of the period. I would not go as far as saying this is a legendary album, but it is amazing at points and maintains a high quality of music throughout, interesting no matter how many times one may listen to it.

On the whole the lyrics on Tangerine Dream are either haunting or nonsense. What keeps them from venturing into the "trite" category is lead singer Peter Daltrey's delivery. He whispers, to great effect, at least parts of each song. Add to that the reverb drenching every syllable and you have something beautiful and relaxing and psychedelic. No matter that he sings on "Please Excuse My Face"

Blushing, smiling through the tears
Please excuse my face/ I feel dead
I'll hide myself away.

This could easily turn rather pathetic quickly. However, the beauty of the acoustic-driven song and the earnest voice of Daltery allows it to come off pleasant, if a sad song can be so (and they can be).

Other very good tracks include "Dive into Yesterday" and "(Further Reflections) in the Room of Percussion," both of which feature time signature changes and uber-psychedelic, "I Am the Walrus" lyrics. Take "Dive into Yesterday,"

Battalions in navy blue are bursting beige balloons
The water pistols are all filled with lemonade
The jester and the goldfish have joined minds above the moon
Oh, please kiss the flowers and you, too, will be safe

What does that mean? And does it matter if the answer is nothing really? The images, as incredible as they are, could be in another language. It would not matter because the overall effect of the music serves to take the listener to another place. And I believe that to be the main point of music in general and psychedelic music in particular.

But my favorite lyric on the whole album is uttered on the awesomely named "(Further Reflections) in the Room of Percussion." Sounding overwhelmed, which I think if one were to travel around in the world of this record would be perfectly understandable, the singer manages to half-sing

My God, the spiders are everywhere...

If you dig 60's psychedelia you will dig "Tangerine Dream," certainly. (Velvet Night Sky Review)

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Les Fleur De Lys - Reflections

Les Fleur de Lys were a British band originally formed in late 1964, in Southampton, Hampshire, England. They recorded singles beginning in 1965 in the mod-psychedelic music genre, later known as freakbeat. Known for their varied line-ups, only drummer Keith Guster was a member throughout their history. They finally disbanded in 1969. Keyboardist Pete Sears went on to play with Jefferson Starship. Les Fleur de Lys were managed by Atlantic Records' Frank Fenter, who had also discovered Sharon Tandy, the first white artist to record for Stax Records. Together, they produced a string of near-chart hits which later became collectable discs. (wikipedia)

Sprawling 24-track comp of the rare recordings of this enigmatic band. Includes 14 songs issued under the Les Fleur de Lys name, singles that they issued under the Rupert's People, Chocolate Frog, and Shyster pseudonyms, and releases on which they backed Sharon Tandy, John Bromley, and Waygood Ellis. It goes without saying that such a manic hodgepodge is geared toward the hardcore collector market. But if you like mid-to-late '60s mod-psych, it's a decent item to have around, with some sparkling (occasionally crazed) guitar work, unusually constructed tunes that sometimes meld soul and psychedelia, and nice harmonies. "Circles" and "Mud in Your Eye" are first-rate pounding mod guitar tunes; "Gong With the Luminous Nose" is pop-psych at its silliest; "Reflections of Charlie Brown" is pop-psych at its most introspective; and Sharon Tandy's "Daughter of the Sun" is a lost near-classic with witchy vocals and sinister psychedelic guitar. [Allmusic.com]

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GARY WALKER AND THE RAIN - ALBUM No.1

Gary Walker was the catalyst in bringing the unrelated Walker Brothers to the UK in 1965 where, for a couple of years, they enjoyed commercial success. He had two minor UK hit singles while still a member of the group in 1966. The Walker Brothers split in May 1967 with all three members going solo.^[1]
In 1967 he founded Gary Walker and The Rain, which consisted of Joey Molland (guitar and vocals); Charles "Paul" Crane (lead vocals, guitar); and John Lawson (bass guitar). The band only released one album, "Album No.1" A Japanese only release.

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Johns Children - Smashed Blocked

John's Children were a 1960s pop art/mod rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with The Who in Germany in 1967 when they upstaged the headliners. Their 1967 single "Desdemona", a Bolan composition, was banned by the BBC because of the controversial lyric, "Lift up your skirt and fly". Their US record label delayed the release their album, Orgasm for four years from its recording date due to objections from Daughters of the American Revolution.
John's Children were active for less than two years and were not very successful commercially, having released only six singles and one album. But they had a big influence on punk rock and are seen by some as the precursors of glam rock. In retrospect the band has been praised for the impact they had, and their singles have become amongst the most sought-after British 1960s rock collectables. (Wiki)

 

A must not only for T. Rex archaeologists, but for anyone with a yearning to discover what the best of British freakbeat sounds like, Smashed Blocked! reprises the six months or so that Marc Bolan spent with mod psychedelics John's Children in 1967, adding the group's two earlier 45s (the U.S. hit title track included), and a random selection of rarities and acetates to what would otherwise appear a fairly standard track listing. Most of the titles here have already appeared on a myriad compilations. Did they really need to be released one more time? Appearances can be deceptive. Of the nine (out of 17) tracks that boast some kind of Bolan-ic intervention, only one has previously seen the light of day on official releases: the outtake "Hippy Gumbo." The singles "Midsummer Night's Scene" and "Remember Thomas A. Beckett," together with the post-Bolan "Come and Play With Me in the Garden" and "Jagged Time Lapse," are present as alternate takes with noticeable, if not precisely Earth-shattering differences; "Mustang Ford" and the backing track for "Sally Was an Angel" are familiar only from bootlegs; and the set comes to a shattering conclusion with four cuts from a 1967 BBC session, recorded shortly after drummer Chris Townson returned from a tour with the Who, where he sat in for a poorly Keith Moon. The reproduction is no better than the crunchy-sounding bootleg EP that appeared in the late '80s, and may even come from the same source. But at least it won't deteriorate any further. To this already mouthwatering selection can be added the original acetate pressing for "Smashed Blocked," still laboring beneath its working title of "The Love I Thought I'd Found," and the group's "lost" third Columbia label single, the fuzz-drenched "Not the Sort of Girl You'd Take to Bed." There's also a reprise of "Strange Affair," without the pointless backward tape effects found on the Orgasm album release, plus another chance to hear Jeff Beck's crucial solo in the B-side "But She's Mine." And while the John's Children catalog still cries out for a decent housekeeping job, but at least the component parts are now in place. Around the same time as this album was released, a copy of the original "Midsummer Night Scene" 45 sold in England for over 4,000 dollars. Smashed Blocked! grants the opportunity to hear what all that fuss is about for considerably less outlay than that. (AMG)

Get it: HERE

The Singles - Better Than Before

The Singles are a well-dressed foursome of guys barely in their twenties who hail from garage rock central U.S.A., better known on the map as Detroit, MI. They don't have much in common with the others bands on the scene except for a lot of energy in their approach and a healthy respect for the past. Instead of looking to the Stooges or the blues for inspiration, the Singles look to classic pop sources like the Beatles, the Who, the Kinks, Buddy Holly, and the Flamin' Groovies (bass player Dave Lawson even resembles Groovie guitarist Cyril Jordan circa 1976) for their inspiration. Main Single Vince Frederick writes unswervingly snappy tunes and delivers the chirpy vocals with just the right amount of teenage angst. The tracks alternate hard-charging beat rockers like "No More Places (Left to Go)," the Buddy Holly-channeling "See You Again," and the tambourine-shaking "He Can Go, You Can Stay" with sensitive beat ballads like "Waited So Long" (which has a monster guitar solo by Will Yates), "Since You've Been Gone," and the lilting "There's Nothing Wrong When I'm With You." Better Than Before rushes past in a blur of melody, harmony, and energy without a single weak song, and thanks to Jim Diamond's clean but not sterile production the record sounds live and alive. While the Singles have a way to go before they match their idols, their debut record gets them off on the right foot. Fans of power pop, guitar pop, garage pop, and just plain pop should check these kids out. They may not be better than before, but they are better than a lot of today. -AMG

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KEN STRINGFELLOW - TOUCHED

Ken Stringfellow is something like power-pop royalty. Not only is he a great songwriter, responsible for half of the music of the Posies, but he's also kept his plate constantly full over the last decade, working with everyone from REM to Big Star to Scott McCaughey to Ringo Starr. The Posies are the hardest working defunct band in show business-- Stringfellow and fellow Posie John Auer have released more material since the band's breakup than most bands release in an entire career.
And in the midst of all this, Ken found time to start yet another band-- a group called Saltline that only managed to record one EP before splitting. This left Stringfellow with a bunch of songs just lying around doing nothing. So, he penned up a few more and put them all to work on his second solo album, Touched. True to form, it's not a bad batch of tunes.
Stringfellow allows the country tendencies that have always lurked in his songwriting to come to the fore on the opener "Down Like Me." Ron Preston's steel guitar swells in and out of the mix and drummer Eric Marshall keeps things moving at a quick clip as Stringfellow serves up one of the sticky melodies we've by now come to expect from him. Mitch Easter's production is clean and uncluttered, but it sometimes lacks the punch of the Posies' best efforts, like 1993's excellent Frosting on the Beater.
"This One's on You" pulls back the reins and turns back the clock to roughly the time when Bernie Leadon was still in the Eagles. One of the Posies' main strengths was always the harmonies of Auer and Stringfellow. Here, minus Auer, Stringfellow simply layers his own voice and while this works well enough, there's a certain balance that Auer's voice brought to the harmonies of the Posies that's lacking on Touched. On his own, Stringfellow's voice also has a somewhat alarming tendency to sound like Timothy B. Schmidt on the high notes, but this only happens rarely.
Stringfellow naturally includes a few of the power-pop gems that he does so well, like the Sloan-esque "Find Yourself Alone." At first glance, the song is catchy and well-performed, with a monster chorus, but a closer listen reveals several piano and Rhodes tracks filling out the background, adding immensely to the overall texture of the song. If only there were radio stations somewhere that would play this stuff.
"Uniforms" begins over a bed of cello and violin, but quickly segues into loping pop full of cleanly strummed guitars, harpsichord, and even a bit of distant clip-clop percussion nicked straight from Pet Sounds. Atmospheric synths gradually enter the mix, only to give way to a piano interlude that lays the groundwork for the last few verses. The rhythm pushes forward harder than before, and layers of synth wash underneath Stringfellow's multi-tracked voice. It's an impressive little opus that uses a keen sense of arrangement to its fullest advantage.
"Sparrow" is the best of an impressive quartet of classic power-pop songs with one of the album's finest melodies topping another inventive arrangement. Stringfellow makes use of his lowest range in the pre-chorus over fuzzed-out guitars and organs, and offers some impressive guitar and keyboard work in the instrumental bridge. The Hammond-soaked "Reveal Love" comes down a notch, eschewing guitar entirely in the verses, but still offering a massive chorus designed to rattle around your head for days afterward.
But while the more upbeat numbers on Touched are uniformly flawless, things get spotty when Stringfellow departs from that route. "One Morning" is a fine enough acoustic song, full of nicely layered vocals and a great melody, but it's followed by "Spanish Waltz," a song that feels somewhat labored. It veers between some forced distorted passages and vaguely psychedelic sections with odd little guitar parts battling with Stringfellow's otherwise good vocal melody. There's a bombast to the song that's simply unbecoming a songwriter like Stringfellow, whose primary strength is melody.
It's followed by "Fireflies," a quiet, pensive song where the guitar and drums are actually more prominent than the vocals. It works well as a mood piece or interlude, but little else. But it's on "The Lover's Hymn" where he really veers off course. The aforementioned Timothy B. Schmidt resemblance hinted at earlier is in a full bloom here, and the song practically sounds like an outtake from the sessions for "The Long Run." At more than five minutes, it's extremely overlong, and never really develops itself beyond the organ-coated verses, with the exception of some somewhat interesting instrumental bits presented in lieu of a chorus.
Thankfully, Stringfellow gets his bearings again for the closer, "Here's to the Future," and ending Touched in the same territory that Big Star's third album occupied 25 years ago. What begins as an acoustic song is shrouded in a blanket of analog synthesizer during the crescendos between verses, and Marshall punctuates it with orchestral percussion. It's a fitting close to a fine solo effort that's not afraid to take a few chances. No one really knows at this point what will become of the Posies, but as long as Stringfellow keeps putting out music in some form, the future of power-pop looks okay. (Pitchfork)

Get it: HERE

MATTHEW SWEET - GIRLFRIEND

Matthew Sweet's third album is a remarkable artistic breakthrough. Grounded in the guitar pop of the Beatles, Big Star, Byrds, R.E.M., and Neil Young, Girlfriend melds all of Sweet's influences into one majestic, wrenching sound that encompasses both the gentle country-rock of "Winona" and the winding guitars of the title track and "Divine Intervention." Sweet's music might have recognizable roots, but Girlfriend never sounds derivative; thanks to his exceptional songwriting, the album is a fresh, original interpretation of a classic sound.

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WONDERMINTS - MIND IF WE MAKE LOVE TO YOU

“During 2000-2001, Wondermints cemented their already direct '60s influences by serving as the backing band for Brian Wilson's solo tours, documented on the concert albums Live at the Roxy Theater and Pet Sounds Live. Upon returning, they went into the studio and recorded Mind If We Make Love to You, a record that ably displays some steady gains in musicianship and expertise from playing some of the best pop music of all time in front of audiences all over the world. As on previous records, the band sparkles simply by playing up their influences instead of hiding them. Surprisingly, though, the Beach Boys inspiration apparently came from their early-'70s phase instead of their classic '60s era; "Ride," with backing vocals from Wilson himself, is immediately obvious, featuring a soulful vocal from the Carl Wilson playbook (first bluesy as on "The Trader," later heavenly as on "God Only Knows") and a progression of short "feels" instead of the usual verse-chorus-verse format.
Elsewhere, Wondermints again call on spirits of the past -- from the Association (for "Out of Mind," on which Curt Boettcher must surely be smiling) to the Zombies ("Shine on Me") to even the Grateful Dead ("Time Has You") -- but any hint of a stale sound is saved by gorgeous hooks, clean production, and an over-all beautiful construction. Occasionally the similarities are to fellow latter-day pop savants like Jason Falkner or even the Ocean Blue, but Wondermints ably display all they've learned during their nearly endless summer of touring with the golden boy of '60s pop.” (From AllMusicGuide).

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VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH - ABOVE THE BLUE REVIEW

Vegas with Randolph are:  John Ratts, Eric Kern, Dave Purol, Dan Aylestock, and Brock Harris.

The first question that came to me when I received this album for review was, "Who is Randolph then?" None of the band members are called Randolph!  Of course, after a few seconds of looking at the cover, I soon forgot about Randolph anyway!

The band have been compared to bands such as Fountains of Wayne, Fastball, Sloan and suchlike and on the album opener "The Better Part," you could also add Luna to that list too, a song with searing guitars and some brilliant catchy vocal arrangements that would entice any listener to track two and beyond without any hesitation.

 

The albums title track "Above the blue" starts off with a keyboard riff reminiscent of something The Beatles would have come up with and then goes off somewhere completely different with more great guitar hooks, and powerful vocals, in fact this 20 track album delivers cracking power pop from start to finish, I am playing the album now for the umpteenth time and I don't see that abating anytime soon, well, only to take it to the car as this album would also make for excellent driving music.

 

The album is nearly all up tempo, unabridged power pop, save for a couple power pop ballads, if that is the right description for them?

In conclusion, this is an album of well crafted, catchy tunes, great vocal arrangements, a nod and a wink to some of our heroes in the world of power pop and certainly a band to keep your eye on and ears open to.  Of course with every upside to a band there has to be a downside and in Vegas With Randolph's case, the downside is you need to buy 2 cds, one for the home and one for the car, thank God for MP3s eh!

You can contact "Vegas with Randolph" here: FACEBOOK MYSPACE

You can purchase "Above the Blue" on AMAZON CDBABY or you can buy a great package that includes a CD + a T-Shirt  + a digital download of the album with bonus tracks (this sorts out the car and home copies) - for a special low price! Includes immediate download of 20-track album in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire on the bands FACEBOOK page.

Vegas With Randolph T-Shirt design which is worth the package price alone!

FRONT PRINT

 BACK PRINT

The Greenberry Woods - Big Money Item

 

The Greenberry Woods' instrumentation and yearning vocal style tend to the emotionally manipulative, heart-on-sleeve side, but lyrics often rise above the vacuous boy-girl stuff that defines the genre. "Love Songs" surveys the cliched landscape with a sly, knowing eye while working completely within the musical formula. At 18 tracks, most hovering under the three-minute mark, Big Money Item serves up a dizzying over-abundance of sugary riches. While some selections remain lightweight trifles, enough substantial moments overflow the cone to coat the listener in captivating sticky goo. "Invisible Threads" combines sudden gear shifts with a phased, baroque pop underpinning. There's the stately soft-psych of "Parachute," and a dew-eyed tip of the hat to Crowded House balladry in "For You." "Nervous" pumps up the fuzz for some garage-y power-pop while "Go Without You" breaks into Bay City Roller handclaps. "Oh Janine"'s soaring chorus recalls both The Beach Boys and Eric Carmen's Raspberries. Even at its most superficial and derivative and unapologetically nerdy, Big Money Item is just so chock full of fatal hooks that...well...life almost starts to feel that fresh and innocent again.

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Grass-Show - Something Smells Good in Stinksville

Grass Show (often written Grass~Show®) were a Britpop-inspired indie band from Sweden, active in the mid to late 1990s. They released one album in the United Kingdom, Something Smells Good In Stinkville, in 1997, with three singles, "1962", "Freak Show" and "Out Of The Void". The album contains a cover version of the Ace of Base song, "All That She Wants".
The artwork for their releases was notable as it often portrayed imagery of 1950s American families, which were juxtaposed with surreal and absurd elements. For example, the sleeves for the "1962" single has images of families cooking trainers.

Never mind the title. Grass-Show's debut album Something Smells Good in Stinkville is an infectious fusion of stylish Brit-pop, quirky new wave, punchy '70s power-pop and breezy Euro-pop. The band's strength is their melodic sensibilities, and while their clever lyrics can come across as smug, the light, frothy hooks and melodies are positively effervescent.

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THE BRILLIANT CORNERS _ SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME

With trumpets blaring and guitars jangling, the Brilliant Corners sound like they're ready to party on Somebody Up There Likes Me. Pop music doesn't need studio gloss to craft toe-tapping hooks, and the Brilliant Corners glide through 12 songs on Somebody Up There Likes Me with infectious enthusiasm and hummable melodies. The title track and "Your Feet Never Touch the Ground" are exhilarating, driven by propulsive guitars and jubilant horns. Bristling with youthful exuberance, "Teenage" and "Friday Saturday Sunday Monday" each clock in a little over two minutes, and their brevity makes them even more addictive.

Like Aztec Camera and the Smiths, the Brilliant Corners are able to decorate sad tales with deceptively upbeat new wave rhythms. The Brilliant Corners a lament a girl's passing in "She's Dead," but the music sounds more like a celebration than a wake. On the LP's most powerful song, "Never a Young Girl," vocalist David Woodward sings of a woman whom he was once in love with when he was a child, but now old age has taken its toll on her looks. "The cracks on the ceiling match the cracks on her face," Woodward laments as the band adopts the Smiths' slower, moodier moments, an uncharacteristic yet welcome respite from the Brilliant Corners' usual bursts of energy. Like almost everything else on the album, it's brilliant.
[From allmusic]

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BUFFALO TOM - SLEEPY EYED

Put Sleepy Eyed in your CD player, hit play, and prepare to be amazed -- "Tangerine," the lead-off cut, signals the brief but welcome return of "Dinosaur Jr." with two-and-three-quarters minutes of charging neo-grunge guitars and galloping drums, the likes of which you haven't heard from this band since Birdbrain. But, of course, Buffalo Tom sound a lot tighter, stronger, and more confident when they dig into the big shaggy dog rock than they did five years previous, and while they never get quite as rollicking as "Tangerine" again onSleepy Eyed, cut for cut it's a far more direct and straightforward rock album than anything they'd managed since their creative breakthrough on Let Me Come Over. To some listeners,Sleepy Eyed might sound like a regression, moving back into noisy power trio mode after the more polished surfaces and intricate arrangements of Let Me Come Over and Big Red Letter Day, but play Sleepy Eyed back to back with Birdbrain and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the differences. Sleepy Eyed decisively proves Buffalo Tom write better hooks and better melodies, write smarter lyrics, and even rock harder than when they were still trying to find their way out from under J. Mascis' shadow, and they sound like they're having a great time just turning up the amps and letting rip, especially Bill Janovitz, whose rock-dude guitar outros are a hoot (and this is one band who I cannot begrudge for enjoying themselves every once in a while). On Sleepy Eyed, Buffalo Tom go back to the old neighborhood and show everybody how much bigger and stronger they've become -- it's sorta like a high school reunion, but louder and a lot more fun.

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GIGOLO AUNTS - THE ONE BEFORE THE LAST

 

As one of the best-ever U.S. alternative pop acts to fall into obscurity, the Gigolo Aunts somehow found a large following in Spain, of all places -- hence this Spain-only set of rare and unreleased material, released via that country's Bittersweet Records in 2000. Warming overseas fans' hearts with a fine cover of Nacha Pop's "The Girl from Yesterday," this odds'n'sods album is nearly as good as such well-plotted Aunts affairs as 1994's Flippin' Out and 1999's Minor Chords and Major Themes. From the piano-laden pulse of "Kay and Michael" to hard chargers like "The Shift to Superoverdrive" and "To Whoever," the songwriting axis of Dave Gibbs and Steve Hurley is on the money. But The One Before the Last's parting shot, an acoustic winner called "The Sun Will Rise Again" (with a feel akin to Minor Chords and Major Themes' "Everyone Can Fly"), is among the finest in the group's canon. ~ John D. Luerssen, Rovi

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The Masonics - Royal & Ancient - 2007

This LP, Royal and Ancient, is a mix of surf attitude, a fondness for '60s Britbeat before everyone's hair started toward the collar and garage punk dumbness. Now, don't take dumbness as a diss... some of the greatest records ever made have been dumb or made by dummies. So what kinda dolt-jolt is this? You dig Leave My Kitten Alone? Gone wild to early Kinks rekkids? Well, you're gonna git down to this LP for sure.

Do Thee Headcoats, The Milkshakes, The Clique,The Delmonas, The Kaisers or The Wildebeests mean anything to you? Well, the members The Masonics all served time in at least one of those bands. If you loved 'em, then you could probably argue that The Masonics are a supergroup of the Brit rock'n'roll scene. Either way, these cats have cut some serious stone. LP opener, Don't Talk To Me is a frazzled rabble-rouser which ticks ALL the right boxes. At times, it sounds like it's about to fall down drunk... but between... man, it's tighter than Booker T & The MGs.

The band switch between sweaty beat club to torch-song... garage torch-song I should add... there's no Celine or Whitney influence here... unless, by some fluke they've all had childhood sweethearts by the same name. Either way, Chicken Bomb, Shig-Shag, Call Me Deceiver all do exactly what they say on the tin. I've been lucky enough to have been given the long-player on both CD and vinyl, and to be honest, the vinyl pressing is a lot tougher. Maybe it's just the format... but if you wanna get the most outta this cut, then The Masonics 12 incher needs to find a home between your sleeves.

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TALCUM SOUL - VARIOUS ARTISTS

If you didn't dance enough last night, dance a little more today with this fine collection of soul classics!

Get it: HERE

1. Seven Days Too Long - Chuck Woods
2. A Lil' Lovin' Sometimes - Alexander Patton
3. Dr. Love - Bobby Sheen
4. Breakout - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
5. Fortune Teller - Benny Spellman
6. Looking For You - Garnet Mimms
7. One More Hurt - Marjorie Black
8. What's Wrong With Me Baby - The Invitations
9. Ready, Willing And Able - Jimmy Holiday & Clydie King
10. End Of Our Love - Nancy Wilson
11. Love And Desire - Patrice Holloway
12. Better Use Your Head - Little Anthony & The Imperials
13. Dance, Dance, Dance - The Casualeers
14. What Can I Do? - Billy Prophet
15. Condition Red - Baltimore & Ohio Marching Band
16. She Blew A Good Thing - The Poets
17. As Long As I Have You - Garnet Mimms
18. Ski-ing In The Snow - The Invitations
19. Working On Your Case - The O'Jays
20. Love In My Heart - The Entertainers
21. If You Go - Derek Martin
22. I'll Do Anything - Doris Troy
23. Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette) - The O'Jays
24. Don't - Marva Josie
25. You're My Everything - Little Jerry Williams
26. The Drifter - Ray Pollard

The Milkshakes - Nothing Can Stop These Men - 1984

This UK, Chatham, Kent-based band were originally conceived in the late 70s by the Pop Rivets roadies Mickey Hampshire and Banana Bertie as Mickey And The Milkshakes. Often appearing on the same circuit as fellow Medway town bands the Dentists and the Prisoners, they performed as a "psychobilly" outfit, supporting the Pop Rivets from time to time with Wreckless Eric cover versions. Pop Rivets leader Billy Childish then began writing with Hampshire and in 1980 formed a new version of Mickey And The Milkshakes. Eventually settling on a line-up of Childish and Hampshire (guitars, vocals), Russ Wilkins (bass) and Bruce Brand (drums), they started recording a string of albums featuring various R&B classics plus original material. After the first album they truncated their name. Later on, when John Agnew replaced Wilkins, they began to refer to themselves as Thee Milkshakes. In addition to their normal activities of gigging and recording, they also acted as the backing band to an all-girl vocal trio called the Delmonas. As prolific releasers of album material, The(e) Milkshakes were only modestly successful with singles, achieving two UK Independent Top 20 hits with "Brand New Cadillac" (1984) and "Ambassadors Of Love" (1985). The band split in 1984 (although Milkshake material continued to be released long after), with Childish going on to form the equally productive Thee Mighty Caesars.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

Very best wishes to all for 2012.

SUPERDRAG - REGRETFULLY YOURS

In the glut of grungy power pop bands that flooded the mid-'90s, it was pretty easy to write off Superdrag as "just another rock band." The difference is that Superdrag is essentially a pop band, as Regretfully Yours proves. While the band's sound itself is nothing terribly exciting, most of the songwriting lives up to the promise of the album's saccharine-rush single, "Sucked Out" -- full of hooks and tightly constructed. This is somewhat surprising, considering the album was the band's first for a major audience, and the norm of the time period was for producers and labels to reduce every rock band to a Seattle clone. Regretfully Yours will certainly satisfy the pop/rock and pop-punk crowds.

Get it: HERE

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!