[ratings]
A Stones gem or derivative nonsense? What’s your call on this controversial LP?
“In Another Land”
CD Reissue | 2002 | Abkco | buy from amazon
Original Vinyl | 1967 | Decca | search ebay ]
Freedom’s Children were a South African band who began their journey in the mid 60s. Ramsay McKay (bass guitarist and songwriter) and Colin Pratley (drums) were the core members of this group. Julian Laxton would later be brought in as the group’s lead guitarist. They released a handful of singles throughout 1967 and 1968, the best of these being blistering hard rock covers of Satisifaction and Mr. You’re a Better Man Than I. Little Games, another 45 effort was comparatively weak when compared to the singles that had come before it and the Yardbirds’ original. Freedom’s Children were one of South Africa’s first psychedelic groups in the apartheid era. Their anti-apartheid stance was dangerous at the time, often preventing the band from obtaining work permits and could only play gigs illegally.
In 1968 the group would release a promising debut album titled Battle Hymn Of The Broken Hearted Horde. The album was produced and released without the group’s knowledge and in some ways similar to the Small Faces’ Odgen’s Nut Gone Flake. Each track was linked by a narration and at the end of each side were Pepsi advertisements. Definitely dated and of its time, the lp still has some great psych pop tracks like Season and Kafkasque. Disappointed with the results McKay added new vocalist Brian Davidson and began working on a second lp.
What they would emerge with in 1970 was one of the great, dark masterpieces of space rock. Astra was unlike anything from South Africa or anywhere else in the world. It feels like a concept album about Jesus Christ but Ramsey McKay goes out of his way to dispell such myths. McKay explained, “You see where Astra really comes from, is we had this flat in West Kensington. When the Americans landed on the moon¦we took all our beds and put them in a semicircle around this little black and white TV. Anyway, we took this acid and when they landed on the moon we were tripping. It was such an experience, I shall never forget it and that’s what Astra appeared out of.” Astra took on challenging themes of religion (The Kid He Came From Hazareth), war (Medals of Bravery – the Vietnam War), and political statements about life in South Africa under apartheid (Tribal Fence and Gentle Beast). The Kid He Came From Hazareth was originally titled Nazareth. In this track McKay wanted to potray Jesus as an outlaw and he explained that the lyrics went something like this: “When he came down from Nazareth he was a hellhound on the run.” It’s a perfectly realized piece of progressive psychedelia with soaring vocals and intelligent guitar solos via Julian Laxton. For the recording sessions Julian Laxton used/created a special “black box” for a greater variety of guitar echoes. The Homecoming balanced out Laxton’s wonderful black box soaked guitar solos with heavily distorted vocals by Davidson and a beautiful, unforgettable acoustic chorus. Another great track, Medals of Bravery has a gentle British pop psych vibe with lots of Hammond organ and a marching band beat. Engineer Nic Marten was responsible for the excellent organ playing throughout Astra and really is one of its underrated contributors. Slowly Towards The North Part 1 & 2 was one of the album’s last tracks and one of its very finest. Part 1 was a dark, foreboding progressive piece which evolved into an uplifting organ dominated second half which beared a strong similarity to late 60s Procol Harum. The album as a whole is marvelous and full of studio effects, dive bomb guitar runs, complex arrangements and distorted, mutant vocals.
Anyone searching for a great, lost space rock psychedelic record should really seek out Astra. It’s one of the best lps of its kind and has been reissued a few times, most notably by Shadoks Music and Lucky Pig Records. The Lucky Pigs reissue is preferred because it includes some of the early singles. After Astra, Ramsey McKay would quit Freedom’s Children and take part in other seminal South African groups the Abstract Truth and Hawk. Freedom’s Children went on to release another respectable hard rock effort in 1971 titled Galactic Vibes.
“The Homecoming”
Anything in quotes came from the excellent South African rock site: http://www.rock.co.za/files/fc_index.html
CD Reissue | 2008 | Shadoks | search amazon
Original Vinyl | 1970 | Parlophone | search ebay ]
Stone Country’s only album contains some of Steve Young’s earliest known recordings. RCA released this strange melange of psychedelia, country, soft-pop and jangly folk-rock back in 1968. This record is by no means a cohesive effort as it sounds like the work of 5 different groups. At first I wasn’t so sure about the album but multiple listens reveal a good record with very solid performances. So while the album itself might not gel together as a finished product, about 90% of the songs are strong and hold up well individually.
Stone Country were a Los Angeles CA sextet that only existed for a little less than 2 years. Steve Young had headed out to LA from Alabama in 1963, looking to secure a recording contract. The group was founded in 1967 when the management company of Denny Bond and Ken Mansfield were in the beginning stages of putting together a new group that would combine elements of both country and rock n roll. Steve Young was chosen as lead guitarist and vocalist while the rest of the group’s lineup looked something like this: banjo player Don Beck, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Doug Brooks, drummer Dennis Conway, vocalist and bassist Dann Barry, and guitarist Richard Lockmiller.
The album, while not a lost classic is very solid and thoroughly enjoyable. It was clear from the beginning that Young was the group’s most distinctive songwriter and vocalist. Magnolias, a Young original, was one of the lp’s highlights and a unique mixture of Southern soul and swamp rock that only he could deliver – a very gritty vocal performance too. Woman Don’t You Weep was more of the same, another good Young roots rocker with a driving beat and an attractive string arrangement. Two raga rock gems, Love Psalm and Mantra have nice fuzz guitar work and could easily fit in on the Byrds classic Notorious Byrd Brothers lp. Other tracks hit more of an Association soft-pop sound (‘Lizabeth Peach and Everywhere I Turn – both very good) while Why Baby Why (a George Jones cover) and Life Stands Daring Me show off the group’s country roots. The latter is a particularly imaginative slice of psychedelic country-rock with its soaring vocals, glittering guitars and wild banjo picking. Stone Country’s only mistake was including Angelica, a horrible bland pop number that had no business being on the lp.
Rev-Ola just recently reissued Stone Country for the first time on cd. Stone Country hits all the right bases that were common in 60’s American rock music: psychedelia, country-rock, folk, blues, airtight harmonies, adventurous arrangements, and great musicianship. This record is well worth a spin.
“Magnolias”
CD Reissue | 2007 | Revola | buy from revola | amazon
Original Vinyl | 1968 | RCA | search ebay ]
Much loved folk-rock record that is highly desirable from a 60s record collector perspective but comes with a steep price tag ($300-500). I believe Fapardokly’s only lp was released in 1967 off UIP but has some of Merrell Fankhauser’s early work with the Exiles. Prior to the Exiles, Fankhauser had been in the Impacts, a surf group who released the sought after 62/63 lp Wipe Out! This lp contains the original version of Wipe Out and the album as a whole is recognized as a minor gem of surf music.
After the Impacts, Fankhauser would retreat to the desert area of Antelope Valley (CA). It was here where he began to grow as a songwriter and musician. Fankhauser would soon discover a 14 year old Jeff Cotton and eventually the two would form the Exiles. The Exiles played a kind of beat music influenced by the British Invasion and earlier artists such as Ricky Nelson and Buddy Holly. Three or four of these tracks appear on the Fapardokly album and were recorded in Glen Studios during the 1964-65 era. The best of these early tracks is Tomorrow’s Girl, a nice, downbeat Zombies inspired tune that had real potential. In all the Exiles would release 3 singles in the mid 60s of which none would result in any kind of commercial success.
There would be numerous lineup changes throughout 65-66, a time period in which Captain Beefheart would convince both John French and Jeff Cotton to join his new Magic Band. Even through all this, Fankhauser was able to record some interesting folk-rock tracks and eventually release the Fapadokly album in 1967. These newer tracks were more sophisticated and recorded at both Gold Star and Gary Paxton Studios in Hollywood CA. The album opened up with Lila, an excellent, shimmering folk-rocker that recalled the best aspects of the Byrds’ Fifth Dimension lp. The next track, the Music Scene, had a clear Bob Dylan influence and lyrically explained Fankhauser’s frustrations with the music industry. Super Market closed the album out on a high note with its beautiful 12 string acoustic guitar runs, psychedelic lyrics, and blaring trumpet. Two other tracks, Gone To Pot and the quirky Mr. Clock were both successful forays into 1966 psychedelia. The former track begs strong comparisons to the Byrds’ Eight Miles High but is still a very enjoyable piece of raga-rock. The whole album is a mini gem of mid 60s folk-rock which can easily be bought on cd for less than $10 (try the Sundazed version).
“Mr Clock”
CD Reissue | 1995 | Sundazed | buy from sundazed | amazon
Original Vinyl | 1967 | UIP | try ebay ]
Mad River were one of the truly unique Berkeley/Bay area groups. In their brief lifetime they released one ep and two lps but have proven to be a durable psychedelic group. People often compare Mad River to Country Joe and the Fish or the Quicksilver Messenger Service but it’s important to point out that the River’s sound was much more neurotic and darker in mood.
Lawrence Hammond was the lead vocalist, principal songwriter and bass player of Mad River. Hammond was born in Berkeley but spent his childhood in the Mid-West where he was exposed to a diverse mixture of country and folk music. In the mid 60s he attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. It was here he began studying medicine and met the future members of Mad River. The group performed in dives all throughout Ohio and in 1965 they were one of the few rock n roll groups around. To make a long story short, the group became frustrated with their efforts and eventually packed up and moved to the more progressively minded Berkeley, CA. In Berkeley the group’s lineup looked something like this: David Robinson (lead guitar), Thomas Manning (vocals and 12 string guitar), Gregory Dewey (drums), Rick Bochner (2nd lead guitar and vocals) and Lawrence Hammond (bass guitar and lead vocals). Mad River lived a meager lifestyle in Berkeley but were able to record an excellent ep off a local label in 1967. Two of the songs would end up on their self-titled 68 album albeit in different versions. One song, Orange Fire can only be heard on this great ep and is one of its highlights. Orange Fire is a minor key protest rock gem, with explosive guitar noise and cutting, angular riffs. It was both Robinson’s unique, abrasive guitar style and Hammond’s strange, quavering vocals that made people sit up and take note. Robinson’s guitar style was similar to the Magic Band of the late 60’s and much later, Television’s Tom Verlaine/Richard Lloyd on their classic Marquee Moon lp.
In 1968 the group were signed to Capital (along with the Steve Miller Band and the Quicksilver Messenger Service) and afforded the luxury to record the above debut. Disaster struck though, by way of an old recording engineer who knew nothing about current rock music. Thus, the recording and playback speed were not the same, so everything on the album came out faster and higher than Mad River had played it. When the record came out in 1968 it was savaged by Rolling Stone and hated by many rock critics alike.
Today, the Mad River lp sounds fantastic, unlike anything from the time and often considered a dark, ominous masterpiece of psychedelia. Amphetamine Gazelle is the gem of the album, with hard charging guitar riffs and a pulsing rhythm section that really captures the essence of speed. In Wind Chimes, they created an excellent rock instrumental that’s pure psychedelia and highlighted by dreamy eastern scales. Other tracks like High All The Time and Eastern Light are classic Bay area acid blues notable for Hammond’s piercing vocals and Robinson’s fine, sleazy guitar tones. Summary: Once again Rolling Stone proved to be wrong in their judgment and the Bay area produced another classic album of American psychedelia. Mad River would go on to record one more album in 1969, titled Paradise Bar and Grill. This album has much more of a roots rock vibe but is also highly recommended.
“Amphetamine Gazelle”
Vinyl Reissue | Sundazed | 2008 | preorder at sundazed ]
CD Reissue | 2001 | Collectors Choice | 2fer | buy at amazon
The Moon were somewhat of a second tier 60’s rock super group. This group was headed by David Marks and Matthew Moore. Prior to the Moon, Marks had been in the Beach Boys (rhythm guitar) and played on their first four albums. After this stint he fronted Dave and the Marksmen who enjoyed several local hits. Moore had been in the Matthew Moore Plus Four and had previously recorded with Capital and White Whale. The Moon formed right after Marks had disbanded his latest group, the Band Without a Name, who themselves recorded 2 singles for Tower and Sidewalk.
The Moon recorded two albums in 1968 and 1969 for Imperial. At this point the lineup was Matthew Moore (piano, chief songwriter and lead vocals), David Marks (lead guitar), Larry Brown (drums) and Drew Bennett (bass). The above debut, Without Earth is by far the stronger record with more psychedelic arrangements and a greater consistency – though some fans would argue this, favoring the more mature sounding sophomore effort. There’s a clear Magical Mystery Tour feel to this album and the group covers two songs off Colours’ (another obscure American popsike group) debut album. Of the two tracks, Brother Lou’s Love Colony catches the ear most, with its nice little sitar flourishes and Beatles influenced bridge. The remaining 10 tracks are Moore originals, all really good but none sound like they could have reached top 40 radio. The group hit a good hard rock groove on Got To Be On My Way, a tune notable for its liquid distorted guitar. I Should Be Dreaming and Walking Around are spacey psych pop gems whose backward cymbals glitter and flicker while the sitars and vocal echo help convey an authentic acid experience. One of the best tracks off the album, Someday Girl, is a beautiful venture into soft pop with a heavenly melody and even prettier strings. Another similar track, Face, sports a nice pro sound with great fuzz bass and a catchy chorus while Give Me More achieves fragile beauty.
Jon Stebbins chronicled both the Moon and David Marks’ story in “The Lost Beach Boy
“Got To Be On My Way”
CD Reissue | 2004 | Revola | buy from revola | amazon
Original Vinyl | 1968 | Imperial | search ebay ]
Tages (pronounced “tah-guess”) are universally known as the best sixties pop band from Sweden. They struck it big early, hitting the Swedish #1 with “Sleep Little Girl” in 1964! Their efforts in the psychedelic era would be their last. Studio should sit comfortably next to masterpieces of the year, a few notches closer to Odessey & Oracle than Sgt. Pepper and not very far at all from the following year’s Birthday Party. Thanks to the tape cuts, orchestration, harmonies, and studio tricks, it even sounds like they got their hands on a copy of Brian Wilson’s unreleased Smile tapes. Certainly, anybody willing to spend enough time exploring all the rabbit holes in the Beatles catalog owes themselves a trip through this marvelous record.
The album opener, Have You Seen Your Brother Lately, proves how apt the name “Studio” is for such a creatively produced statement. Few won’t be sold within the first few seconds, hearing a looping string quartet surrender to a commanding rhythm highlighted by pounding drums and boxy plucked bass lines. Delicate touches of grand piano and kazoo bust open the door to an album rife with auditory treats and excellent craftmanship. Vocals are good, reminding me of an edgier Colin Blunstone, with plenty of fine backup parts.
But Studio is a diverse affair, It’s My Life, the 2nd track growls out dark guitar distortions straight from the Move arsenal under workout vocal leads. The drums stand out, consistently providing ahead-of-their-time and vicious beats. Tunes are often loaded with orchestration, like the soft ballad, People Without Faces, and bouncier brass marches like What’s The Time and She’s Having A Baby Now. Tasteful psychedelic treatments abound in backwards guitar leads, weird stomp boxes, and sound effects sprinkled throughout the record. Songs are short pop winners, maybe missing some of the excellent songwriting of their contemporaries, but the entrancing production really makes up for the lack of a better bridge or two.
The only real dissapointment is the lack of a proper CD or LP reissue (thankfully, the album is available digitally). An album like Studio should have propelled them to top 500 lists worldwide, rather than remain a Swedish rocknroll footnote. Members of the Tages would form Blond in 1969 but disband by 1970.
“Have You Seen Your Brother Lately”
MP3 Album | download at amazon
The Joys of Life is Karen Beth’s best early album which was released off Decca in 1969. Beth was not a popular artist so it was strange when this underground record peaked at #171 in Billboard’s Top 200 in 1969. The good thing about The Joys of Life is that it’s a strong record without a steep price tag and easy to find on vinyl – just check your local record dealer or better yet, ebay.
Beth’s vocals are a mixture of Karen Dalton and Buffy Sainte-Marie and the album is a beautiful blend of rural folk, lite psychedelia, and the more downer elements of the singer-songwriter genre. The album opener It’s All Over Now has one too many horns and is by far the lp’s weakest track. After this, there are no false starts or wasted notes; this album is completely solid all the way thru. The title track is an unsettling acid folk masterpiece that begins to rock about mid way thru and is highlighted by organ and vibes. Song to a Shepard is an impressive, stark vocal that sounds centuries behind, similar to what the English folk-rock groups were doing from around the same time. Other tracks reach into deeper, darker moods, just listen to Something to Believe In and the excellent Nothing Lasts. The former is a disturbing slice of spooky folk-jazz paranoia while the latter is a majestic, melancholy folk-rocker. White Dakota Hill, another great track, is wistful with a slight C&W feel that gives this album variety and substance.
Anyone into Margo Guryan or Linda Perhacs is strongly urged to track this record down. The Joys of Life really deserves a first time cd or vinyl reissue as it’s a pretty unique record that needs to be heard by more people.
“Something To Believe In”
Original Vinyl | 1969 | Decca | search ebay ]
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown issued just one album in 1968 off Polydor. But that one album holds up as one of rock’s great one shot wonders. Prior to releasing this lp Brown had been singing in a number of semi pro bands throughout the early 60’s while studying in France. It was during this period that Brown developed his strange stage persona and eccentric nature.
In 1967 The Crazy World of Arthur Brown released the Track single Devil’s Grip backed by Give Him A Flower. This disc is a good slice of soul drenched psychedelia that was notable for Brown’s operatic vocals and heavy organ interplay. In 1968 Brown and the group released Fire, a huge top ten hit over in England and here in the US. When Fire hit the airwaves nothing sounded quite like it. Brown’s vocals were demonic, the song’s lyrics were threatening and like the album above, it had a slight r n b feel.
The group’s only album is one of the masterpieces of late 60’s British rock, a confident, flamboyant debut that has few equals. The album opened with Prelude – Nightmare, a powerful piece of early progressive rock with crazed vocals, thundering drums and soulful organ via Vincent Crane – a true classic. The two covers, I Put A Spell On You and I’ve Got Money are suprisingly fine examples of British R&B. Spontaneous Apple Creation is possibly the album’s most psychedelic cut with lots of sound effects and nonsensical lyrics but a good piece of music regardless. The band flirts with basic pop on the catchy Rest Cure but for many Child of My Kingdom was the group’s finest moment on lp. This track is a superb piece of British R&B with hints of psychedelia and just plain lostness.
After this debut Brown recorded Strangelands, music that was recorded in the late 60’s but would not see an official release till the late 80’s. These recordings are strange to say the least and dispense of conventional song structure in favor for something more challenging and demented. In the early 70’s Brown would form Kingdom Come, a skilled group of musicians who would release 3 worthwhile records that are more progressive in nature than the Crazy World of Arthur Brown recordings. There have been numerous reissues of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the best being a standard Polydor repress and the pricey Japanese import in excellent sound quality. For anyone who likes their music on the edge, this album is a must.
“Child Of My Kingdom”
CD Reissue | 1991 | Polydor | google shop ]
Vinyl Reissue | 2007 | Tapestry | ebay ]
The Blues Project were one of the hottest live acts of the time and one of the first album oriented bands. Not all blues, with certain tunes rooted in folk and this album bearing a psychedelic edge (nearly the American “Aftermath”) but listen to them cook through some classic blues standards and soulful originals, and the name starts to settle in just fine.
This Greenwich Village group lit up audiences weekly at New York’s Au Go Go Cafe. Before they cut their first record, the smokin’ hot Live At The Cafe Au Go Go, they were joined by session player Al Kooper who was looking to gig and improve his chops on the Farfisa organ. By the time Projections was released, they had become a hard-edged party band that were well-equipped to extend their jams for a drugged out San Fransisco scene, and their eagerness to incorporate other musical forms and experiment beyond the blues put this band ahead of their time.
Al’s “Kooperphone” (actually called a Tubon) on Can’t Keep From Crying supplies an opening dose of out-of-control psych. A completely unexpected classical suite introduces Steve’s Song, a folksy groover with light touches of fuzz. And it’s hard to not become a classic ’66 record with a track like the hard slow blues, Two Trains Running, running 11 minutes 30 seconds. Another toss-for-a-loop is a Jazz-lounge number featuring Andy Kulberg on the uncleverly named Flute Thing. Cheryl’s Going Home is a riff-based standout, but when they perform bluesy shuffles like Wake Me Shake Me and Caress Me Baby you know they’ve hit their stride. The blues numbers give the album its vintage appeal.
Though they could smoke an audience, they were unable to score a hit song. However, one of the last tracks they cut before Al Kooper left the band may be one of the best unknown singles of the year: No Time Like The Right Time.
The Polydor/Chronicles anthology has the Projections album on disc two, with scores of live material and outtakes from the first album on disc one and detailed liners.
“I Can’t Keep From Crying, Sometimes”
CD Reissue | 2011 | Sundazed | buy from sundazed
LP Reissue | 2011 | Sundazed | buy from sundazed
Original Vinyl | 1966 | Verve | search ebay ]