Posts Tagged ‘ 1968 ’

Quicksilver Messenger Service “Quicksilver Messenger Service”

Quicksilver Messenger Service, a Capitol release from 1968, was the debut album from one of SF’s most beloved bands. QMS were one of the earliest SF bands whose roots extend back to the mid 60s when they began as a vehicle for songwriter Dino Valenti. When Valenti was thrown in jail for a drug bust, guitarists Gary Duncan and John Cipollina along with rhythm section of David Freiberg (bass) and Greg Elmore (drums) put forth the group’s finest work in 1969’s live Happy Trails and this classic self titled debut album from 1968.

Quicksilver Messenger Service’s playing time is divided evenly between shorter folk rock compositions and two, long extended guitar jams. The album kicked off with a folk rock classic, QMS’ rendition of Hamilton Camp’s “Pride of Man.” This track was released earlier, in 1967, as a single and is probably the most popular song on the album due to radio play. “Dino’s Song,” is an upbeat folk rock track that sounds like it was recorded a few years earlier. Definitely a highlight, this cut was the A-side of that same single and written by Dino Valenti. Another distinct track, “Light Your Windows,” was a group original that has a dark, romantic folk rock feel highlighted by Cipollina’s jazzy angular guitar. The two long guitar jams have held up well. “The Fool” is over twelve minutes and perhaps the group’s most complex work to date. The most important track was “Gold and Silver” which was up to that point, one of the finest instrumentals in all of rock music. The explosive dual leads of Duncan and Cipollina were revolutionary for the time and thankfully captured in the studio on this amazing track. “Gold and Silver” was more or less rock n roll’s version of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” and stands as one of the greatest acid guitar jams of all time.

My only complaint is that the album feels somewhat short at 32 minutes. The group had other excellent tracks in the can from this period such as “Stand By Me” and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” that didn’t make the album but were released on compilations and 45’s. For anyone wanting to listen to (or learn about) psych or classic rock, the first two QMS’ albums are essential. Not only were they musically adventurous but the Quicksilver Messenger Service feature two of the best guitarists in rock music from that time (or ever).

Light Your Windows:

Gold and Silver:

:) LP | 1968 | Capitol | discogs ]

The Pretty Things “The Electric Banana Blows Your Mind”

The Electric Banana Blows Your Mind is a disc of highlights from recording sessions that took place from 1967 to 1969. Three of these albums were recorded in the 60s with the best of these tracks (all the tracks with vocals) collected for this reissue. For contractual reasons, the Pretty Things recorded this music under the Electric Banana moniker for the De Wolfe Sound Library. The original Electric Banana albums had one side with vocal tracks while the other side had instrumental versions of those same tracks. For many years the music on the Electric Banana series were unavailable through retail music outlets which is why few people were familiar with these Pretty Things songs.

While not as essential or as groundbreaking as S.F. Sorrow or Parachute, The Electric Banana Blows Your Mind does indeed include some killer tracks. The album opens with one of the Pretty Things truly great songs, the psychedelic punk classic Alexander. Dick Taylor’s guitar work remains distinctive as heard on the droning pop of It’ll Never Be Me. Eagle’s Son, from the third and best Electric Banana LP (1969 – Even More Electric Banana), features plenty of guitar distortion and an inventive arrangement. Blow Your Mind is a Yardbirds style psych rave up with good organ and fuzz guitar interplay – very trippy in the best sense. There’s an early version of S.F. Sorrow’s I See You that features a cleaner arrangement but with treated/echoed vocals. Dick Taylor even steps up to the mic for the contemplative A Thousand Ages From The Sun. Finally, Love, Dance and Sing is a good swinging London psych style track that’s worth hearing. Admittedly, there’s a couple of throw away pop tracks with horns and sappy vocals but most of this is truly essential stuff for psych fans.

Again, the best tracks on The Electric Banana Blows Your Mind are on par with S.F. Sorrow and their 45 releases from around the same time. Overall, not an all time classic but a very good release nonetheless.

Alexander:

Eagle’s Son:

Love, Dance and Sing:

:) LP | Tenth Planet | discogs ]

The Ro-D-y’s “Earnest Vocation”

Earnest Vocation, released in 1968 by Philips, is probably the Ro-D-y’s finest hour. While history primarily remembers the Outsiders, Q65, The Golden Earrings, the Motions and Group 1850, there were many other excellent rock groups from the Netherlands such as Sandy Coast, Supersister, Bintangs, Cosmic Dealer and of course this group, the Ro-D-y’s.

Harry Rijnbergen, the band’s chief songwriter, was also lead guitarist and vocalist of the Ro-D-y’s. His vocals sound like a cross between Roy Wood and Ray Davies. What set these songs apart from Rijnbergen’s peers are the sophisticated lyrics (remember English wasn’t his first language) and unique song structures – they simply do not sound like anything I’ve heard. Of the twelve tracks on this LP, only one of them falls short of the mark, the music hall dud Everytime A Second Time. There are many highlights though which include the dynamic phased rocker Easy Come, Easy Go, the weird psychedelia of Dr. Sipher and the bouncy Let It Be Tomorrow. Some tracks feature strings and brass such as the complex title cut while others betray a strong european folk influence – check out the bridge of album opener Unforgettable Girl or the folk rock track No Place Like Home. This is definitely one of the better Euro psych albums I’ve heard, a minor classic worth seeking out.

Also worth checking out is the Ro-D-y’s debut album, Just Fancy from 1967 which is nederbeat pop/garage but a strong effort nonetheless with many highlights. The group also released many fine non LP singles throughout the 60s.

Love Is Almost Everywhere:

Let It Be Tomorrow:

:) LP | 1968 | Philips | discogs ]

Peabody Co. “Peabody Co.”

Nothing is known about Peabody Co., other than that the group recorded 10-11 tracks on acetate back in the late 1960s. Record collectors agree these recordings probably date from 1967-1968. If you’ve never heard their music, which hardly anyone has, Peabody Co.’s sound is reminiscent of Bohemian Vendetta or a private press version of the Blues Magoos.

For most psych fans, the first taste of Peabody Co. was their crazed version of Tobacco Road, which appeared on the A Fistful of Fuzz compilation in 1998. This seven minute rendition is characterized by insane blasts of theremin, guitar noise, a drum solo and sloppy, amateur vocals. It’s gone on to become an underground classic and rightly so. OUT-SIDER, along with the help of Crypt keeper Tim Warren, have finally mastered and released the rest of Peabody Co.’s recorded legacy on vinyl. The good news is that it’s a very good garage psych platter with mostly original compositions. They give a good reading of the Who’s I Can’t Explain, again with wild use of theremin and raw vocals. This track opens the LP (A side) and is very different when compared to the original recording by the Who. Other worthy gems on the A side are the garage punk of People Go/Better Life and two acid rock ballads Mountain High and Sunny Daze. Side B was even stronger, a true classic of acid punk. It opened up with the eastern style guitar work of A Hundred Percent of Nothing followed by a wigged out Seeds-like number titled Love. Both cuts are excellent. These songs are followed by Sleep, a solid garage rocker with a stop/start rhythm and a raga style solo (listen to clip below). The album ends on a high note with Tobacco Road. Again, song for song, the B-side is flawless and to this writer a highpoint in the local garage psych cannon.

Note there are no fuzz guitars or studio sound effects. This LP has a primitive sound that’s psychedelia is apparent through the guitarists eastern scales, guitar feedback and the occasional appearance of the theremin. If you’re into private press garage albums or acid punk this is a must own title that lives up to the hype.

Sleep from B-side:

:) Vinyl | 2020 | Out-Sider | discogs ]

The Frantics “Birth”

Along with the Initial Shock, the Frantics were one of Montana’s top garage/hard rock groups throughout the 60s. They released a raw garage 45 in 1966 and later on in 1970, Lizard Records released the Conception album. At this point, the Frantics story had come to a close until 1994, when Collectables released the Relax Your Mind recordings. This CD was sourced from a poor cassette tape which did much to explain the terrible sound quality of the recordings. The music dates from 1968, straight from the Norman Petty Studio vaults and surprisingly, it all gels as a coherent album – a lost garage/hard rock psych classic. In 2018, Lost Sounds Montana cleaned up the sound and released these recordings on vinyl (mono) as Birth.

Now in excellent sound quality, Birth can be enjoyed by all psych fans for the superb album it is. The A side of the LP opens and closes with two powerful psych tracks that have hard rock strength and lots of stinging fuzz guitar work – take a listen to near classics Her and Her Mountain and Relax Your Mind. At times the lead singer recalls Jim Morrison circa 1968 (Waiting for the Sun), as heard on the fine psychedelic ballad Lady of the Night. Many of these tracks have a psychedelic punk feel to them, with lots of heavy fuzz guitar, unique production tricks, feedback and pounding beats. Think of a very accomplished garage band who just started dropping acid and is exploring the possibilities of the recording studio for the first time. Stone Goddess, Child of the Universe, Just for Awhile and Sweet Mary reflect this experimental attitude to recording music and all are highlights in that respect. Other cuts go for different sounds such as soft rock, blues, avante garde psych and folk rock but none of them are duds.

Highly recommended for those listeners who enjoy garage, psych or hard rock sounds.

Think About It (from Birth):

Lady of the Night (from Relax Your Mind):

:) LP | 2018 | Lost Sounds Montana | discogs | ebay ]

The Litter “$100 Fine”

$100 Fine was the Litter’s second LP, coming off the heels of an otherwise excellent, mostly covers album titled Distortions. The $100 Fine LP was released in 1968 by the Hexagon label.

This time around the Litter focused their efforts on more group originals. There are a handful of lesser known covers that were originally written/recorded by artists such as Jeff Beck, the Eire Apparent, the Zombies and Procol Harum. The album opened with the powerful acid punk madness of Mindbreaker. After hearing this track, one would think or hope this album would be a garage psych monster but unfortunately that’s not the case.

Mindbreaker is only matched by another freaky hard guitar psych gem titled Under The Screaming Double Eagle. These tracks are absolutely essential. The rest of the album falls short. Tallyman and the heavily phased Kaleidoscope are solid, worthy covers that have held up over time. Morning Sun, a group original, features lots of excellent Zippy Kaplan fuzz guitar work. She’s Not There, a Zombies cover, is a 9 minute jam that could have been cut in half but was probably added to pad the album out because the group was short on material. Also, Blues One, a pure blues rock number doesn’t fit in with the rest of the album’s psychedelic ambitions. So while $100 Fine isn’t a bad album, it’s not the masterpiece that some record dealers or psych experts claim it to be. Their next and last album, Emerge, would be a more consistent hard rock effort that’s worth tracking down.

Kaleidoscope

Under The Screaming Double Eagle

:) LP | Sundazed |2016 | buy from Sundazed ]

The Troyes “Rainbow Chaser: The Troyes Complete Recordings (1966-1968)”

The Troyes were a garage psych band who hailed from Battle Creek, Michigan. The group formed in 1965 and later on released two coveted 45s in 1966/1967 by the Space label. In later years, Cicadelic Records/Lion Productions released two CDs/LPs of fantastic, unreleased music from the group’s prime years, 1966-1968. These recordings stand up with some of the very best local garage/psych of the era – without a doubt essential listening.

Most of the songs recorded by the Troyes were in the 2 to 4 minute range. Some of these tracks, such as Morning of the Rain, the Good Night and Tomorrow verge on acid punk (all tremendous cuts), with fast tempos, crazed vocals, fuzz guitars, and raga guitar solos. Blanket of My Love recalls the folkish cuts on the Beatles’ Revolver LP, with its circular guitar riffs and stoned sensibility. One of my personal favorites, Someday You’ll See My Side, has raw vocals and buzzing organ that remind me of the Monks. Some tracks are repeated with alternate versions but none of it is overkill. We also get the classic Rainbow Chaser and Love Comes Love Dies 45 versions, which are perhaps the group’s best cuts.

The CD/LP has 3 earlier teenbeat folk rock cuts and one late period (1968) guitar fuzz monster that clocks in at nearly 5 minutes which effectively ends the Troyes story. The Lion Productions vinyl repro is preferred but beware as it’s relatively expensive. As mentioned above, garage psych sounds don’t come any better than what’s on this first-rate reissue. Well above average songwriting, strong pop instincts and tight playing make this a very attractive package.

Love Comes Love Dies

Morning of the Rain

:) LP | Rainbow Chaser | Cicadelic/Lion | ebay ]
Stream | Glimpses V1 & 2 | amazon ]

PODCAST 29 Garage,Psych,Folk-Rock

I Will Go  – The Beau Brummels (1965)
You Gotta Run – The Roosters  (1966)
Song of a Gypsy – Damon (1969)
Invisible People – Hamilton Streetcar (1968)
Walkin’ Shoes – The Trolls (1964)
The Losing Game – The Five Americans (1966)
Thesis – The Penny Arkade (1968)
Swim – The Penny Arkade  (1968?)

Do I Love You – Powder (1968)
Wanting You – Paul Revere & the Raiders (1967)
Mother Nature – Father Earth – The Music Machine (1969)
Merry Go Round – Reggie King (1969)
So Now You Know Who You Are – Peter Lindahl (1970?)
Think of the Good Times – The Stumps (with the Grodes)  (1967)
Secret Police – The Belfast Gypsies (1966)

Download: Podcast29.mp3
To subscribe to this podcast: https://therisingstorm.net/podcast.xml [?]

H.P. Lovecraft “H.P. Lovecraft II”

There are some bands that maintain classic status to a certain informed percentage of listeners despite almost complete anonymity elsewhere. Chicago folk-rockers H.P. Lovecraft may never have made much of a musical impact on the 1960s/1970s psychedelic rock scene, but they did manage to lay down two extraordinarily cosmic records of west coast rockers that rank up with the best the era had to offer. Their self-titled debut, released on Philips in 1967, set the scene: tight rhythm section, spaced-out guitars, whirling organ, and wide-screen vocal harmonies. Though they took their name from Edgar Allen Poe’s most worthy of successors, the mind-warping writer H.P. Lovecraft, their music itself leaned far closer to the wired, black-light anthems of bands like Jefferson Airplane and Mad River than anything overtly Gothic.

By the time that H.P. Lovecraft II hit shelves, the band had undergone a series of personnel changes and a timely relocation to Los Angeles. Though the material was immediately recognizable as being that of the same band, the jams were tighter and just that much more surreal, with a greater emphasis on experimental keyboard work (as well as a heavy new dose of reverb and tape delay). It was a clear distillation of all that the first album had promised, a kaleidoscopic refraction of the folk influences that weighed so heavily in the band’s choice of material and a closer embrasure of the spectral edge to their sound. Even when the band was not drawing inspiration directly from their namesake’s work, as in the frenetic At the Mountains of Madness, there was a weird edge to their lyrics that was hard to ignore. Cuts like Electrollentando and MÃbius Trip were some of the most memorable compositions the band had conjured: floating, meditational heirs to the preceding album’s centerpiece, The White Ship, which had been the closest that Lovecraft had ever come to a charting single. Momentary detours here come in the form of the medieval folk pastiche Blue Jack of Diamonds – which, while not one of the group’s finest moments, manages to survive on a twist of charm and a benignly pleasant melody – and the brief-but-bizarre affected vocal collage of Nothing’s Boy.

After releasing H.P. Lovecraft II, the band would find itself disintegrating at the height of its powers due to band member disillusionment and differing ambitions. A false reincarnation of the band (under the abbreviated monicker Lovecraft) would release a mild slab of country rock a couple years down the line, but for a more authentic lost third album one should turn to the live Fillmore West recording released on compact disc in the mid nineties. Here the band’s talents shine brighter than ever as their instrumental prowess is unleashed from the restrictions of the studio. Really, though, any additions to Lovecraft’s limited catalog are welcome. If you don’t have of of this band’s recordings, do yourself a favor and remedy the situation: these are a few slabs of wax that no collection should be without.

mp3: It’s About Time
mp3: At the Mountains of Madness

:) Original | 1968 | Philips | search ebay ]
;) Download | buy here ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

The Poor “Help The Poor”

Eagles may have earned themselves a reputation for taking late 1960s country rock and turning it into slick, corporate drivel, but that doesn’t change the fact that the band’s early members have some solid histories in underground rock and roll. Just check Bernie Leadon’s much-lauded work with The Flying Burrito Brothers, Dillard & Clark, and Hearts and Flowers (and that’s one horribly abbreviated list) for a glimpse. One of the least explored Eagles histories, however, is that of bass player Randy Meisner. Not only did Meisner work high-profile stints with Poco and the Stone Canyon Band, but he also served time in a number of far-lesser-known mid-sixties garage bands, such as The Poor, The Esquires, and The Soul Survivors, all of whose recordings have been assembled by Sound City Music on 2003’s rather forgotten Help the Poor.

If the Eagles references have you frightened, fear not: Help the Poor is solid psychedelic garage rock, about as far removed from Meisner’s later band’s output as you can get. From the chiming folk-rock of Hung Up On Losing to the crashing psychedelia of Tom Shipley’s She’s Got the Time, She’s Got the Changes, this is a platter full of strong songwriting, sharp harmonies, and adventurous arrangements. These guys knew what they were doing, taking cues from west-coast combos like The Byrds and The Association and adding a hefty dose of sonic bite. If there’s any complaint to be made here it’s that this anthology is rather top-heavy: the first half-dozen cuts are absolutely phenomenal could-have-been-hit-singles, while the remainder (with the exception of the aforementioned She’s Got the Changes, which is actually one of my favorite pieces here) tend to be a little less memorable.

As is always the case with a comprehensive anthology spanning two or three different bands, you are bound to get some musical anomalies. The choogling surf-rock of The Prophet (the only cut we get from Meisner’s short-lived Esquires) is Help the Poor‘s case-in-point, featuring a booming introduction and awkwardly overdubbed applause which mar an otherwise righteous Morricone flavored instrumental. The album as a whole remains an exciting listen, however, and like all successful compilations leaves the attuned listener hungry for more. Too bad this fifteen-track collection looks to be all we get “ another should-have-been from an era brimming with great sounds.

mp3: Come Back Baby
mp3: She’s Got the Time, She’s Got the Changes

:D Collection | 2000 | Sound City Music | buy here ]