The Small Faces - There are but four Small Faces

Today would have been Steve Marriots 65th birthday, to celebrate the event I am posting one of the bands finest albums, There are but four Small Faces.

Small Faces' first album for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label originally appeared in two different forms in England (where it was known as Small Faces) and America, and the two song lineups have been combined on an early-'90s American Sony Music reissue: There Are But Four Small Faces. The music here is much more fully developed and experimental than their preceding album, still largely R&B-based (apart from the delightfully trippy "Itchycoo Park," the band's sole American hit) but with lots of unusual sounds and recording techniques being attempted.  - AMG

Listen:HERE

Paul Bertolino - Bandmaster Flash. FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

 

Paul Bertolino is a behind-the-scenes musician's musician from Berkeley, California... a short-list Bay Area session player who has done time fronting one of San Francisco's toughest garage-soul outfits The Sleaves, and is currently playing drums for major label breakout band Persephone's Bees.
Paul draws from a well that incorporates the toughest 60s jangle-rock, the softest 70's a.m. gold, and maybe even a pinch of Radio Shack synth swagger. Almost in spite of that it's laid back, California songwriting so solid and proprietary that it refuses to be picked apart into it's base elements...try as you might. This is the stuff that will make up the Nuggets Boxes of the future, so why wait? Come feel the love. - Paul Koehler 

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE: BANDCAMP

Contact and more info. Facebook  Myspace

Mascots: 1964-68!

 

A 32-track compilation of their 1960s recordings, including all five of their Swedish Top Ten hits, lots of A-sides, and some B-sides and LP cuts. "Words Enough to Tell You" is top-drawer Merseybeat and better, in fact, than some genuine Merseybeat songs that were international hits. But nothing else here matches that high point, although "A Sad Boy," "When I Return," and "Goodbye" are fair Merseybeat-ish tunes that should be crowd-pleasers among intense British Invasion pop lovers. Too often the production is thin, the English vocals awkwardly accented, and the songwriting slight, and sometimes there's a mawkish Nordic folk-meets-pop/rock vibe. Originals like "Nobody Crying" and "I Close Your Eyes" have a heavy Hollies influence; "I Want to Live," with its moody intensity, frantic rhythms, and undisciplined fuzz guitar break, is by far their wildest outing (and an uncharacteristic one). The later selections tend toward limp pop/rock, and although their earlier recordings are no more original, they're certainly more fun to hear.   - AMG

Listen:Part 1  Part 2

The Aftermath - Friendlier up Here. FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

 

A brilliant find over on Bandcamp that I would like to make you aware of and what is more, the band are giving this little gem away for free!!!

The Aftermath's debut album which boasts 3 top 20 singles in Ireland and was voted The Hot Press list of the 250 best Irish albums of all time.

It features guest appearances. from Steve Wickham from The Waterboys on violin, Vyv Long on cello, Helen Turner from The Style Council on piano and Duncan Patterson ex Anathema on Bass.

What some of the papers say:

“The saviors of Irish lad rock.”
The Irish Independent

“Say hello to rock's latest heroes - Who just happen to be Irish”
4/5-METRO NEWSPAPER.

“A record of uncompromising, inspired rock anthems. A stellar debut.”
HOT PRESS.

“The hardest working band in Irish showbiz.”
TOTALLY DUBLIN.

“The record hurtles along in a dizzying myriad of styles but is gratifyingly stuffed full of good tunes... like the Bad Seeds on top form.”
8/10 - AU MAGAZINE 

Download the album free: HERE

Contact and read more: Myspace Facebook

Cherry Twister - At Home With Cherry Twister

 

The title says it all: Cherry Twister are a homespun pop group, and At Home With Cherry Twister is a collection of their homemade demo recordings. Led by frontman Steve Ward, Cherry Twister embody the D.I.Y. ethic of Ram-era McCartney while sounding like they spend lots of time listening to Beach Boys and Big Star records. The guitars are alternately chiming and crunchy all over this one, with gooey, almost sticky-sweet background vocals drenched over every bridge and chorus. The problem is that it sounds better on paper. Like all too many of their peers, Cherry Twister fail to stumble across anything resembling a truly memorable hook (with a few notable exceptions, such as "Meteorite"). And at 16 tracks, the album is an awful lot to swallow, given the lack of an obvious entry point, and given that Steve Ward's rather pinched vocals are an acquired taste. Even with these limitations, At Home With Cherry Twister became one of the most popular guitar pop cult records of the late '90s, showing that Ward's endearingly quirky songwriting and the Twister's devotion to '60s-influenced three-and-a-half minute pop singles certainly reached quite a few listeners.-AMG

 

Listen: HERE

LIVE. The Jam Farewell Concert, Brighton 11/12/82. LIVE

By no means is this a great quality recording, but given the year, the technology available and the gig in question, it is worth a listen!

Start!/It's Too Bad/Beat Surrender/Away From The Numbers/Ghosts/In The Crowd/Boy About Town/Get Yourself Together/All Mod Cons/To Be Someone/Smithers-Jones/Tales From The Riverbank/Precious/Move On Up/Circus/Down In The Tube Station At Midnight/David Watts/Mr. Clean/Going Underground/ In The City/Town Called Malice/Butterfly Collector/Pretty Green/The Gift

 

GET IT:HERE

Nederbeat Dutch Nuggets 63-69 - Vol. 2

Between 1963 and 1969 beat music was really happening in the Netherlands. Renowned bands such as the Outsiders, The Motions and Q65 received a great deal of attention. They got a lot of airplay, resulting in many hits and even more gigs. The familiar Beat sound, which was mainly played by Radio veronica, was contagious and all over Holland people were playing the Beat. Hundreds of musicians rehearsed in attics, sheds and garages. Many bands got the chance to record a single...

Part 1. HERE Part 2. HERE