Author Archive

Wizards from Kansas (self-titled)

| Psych

Wizards from Kansas

This group is primarily known for their devastating version of High Flying Bird. This song is on their only album from 1970 which bears the strong influence of Jefferson Airplane’s masterpiece Volunteers (which is also from 1970).

The Wizards from Kansas started off in the late 60’s playing festivals alongside other, more well known bands. They have a disc of late 60’s outtakes and alternate versions that are trippier and more psych oriented than the above album. It took me a while to get into this album, but I now consider it one of the best San Francisco style acid guitar LPs. As mentioned before, High Flying Bird is radically reworked into a psychedelic tour de force, full of hard distorted guitar and great Airplane-like vocals. The Wizards also do a powerful cover of Codine, which is slow, progressive and tripped out. The originals also hold up, mixing country, psychedelia, folk and rock into a heady brew. Hey Mister and Country Dawn are standout rural rockers, the latter is really one hell of a tune with a classic intro. Mass is a great psychedelic rocker with acid leads that twist inside and out recalling Jerry Garcia’s guitar style.

Anyone into the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, the Youngbloods or H.P, Lovecraft will really appreciate this great, unknown record. By the way, these guys were from Kansas.

“High Flying Bird”

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H.M.S. Bounty “Things”

| Psych

Things

This was one of many Merrell Fankhauser bands throughout the mid to late 60’s and early 70’s. Things was released in 1968, sandwiched in between Fankhauser’s Fapardokly and Mu albums. Mu is agruably his masterpiece, an innovative slab of slide guitar desert psychedelia from the early 70’s. Things has more of a bona fide 60’s sound, coming across like a meeting between Buffalo Springfield, Spirit, the Byrds and Cream.

This album is much more psych minded than 1966’s folk-rock inclined Fapardokly too. A Visit With Ashiya is possibly Fankhauser at his most psychedelic, awashed with stoned vocals and walls of sitar. It’s also one of the album’s centerpieces and a raga rock killer that ends with some thick fuzztones. Things has a handful (about 4) of tuneful, melodic folk-rockers that hark back to earlier times. Ice Cube Island is one of the best of these folk-rockers, being so blissed out and eretheral. It’s an excellent example of acid folk-rock. Other songs like Madame Silky, What Does He See In You and Rich Man’s Fable work really well too and are characterized by paranoid vocals and liquidy fuzz guitar leads. For most listeners though, the highlight of this album is Your Painted Lives. It’s one of those incredible 60’s songs, an early foray into country psych that chugs along with echoed vocals and once again, hard fuzz guitar riffs.

Things is delicate and raunchy all at once and a great, American underground rock record. Fankhauser would go on to make better albums (Mu and his 1976 solo effort) but this record still deserves a special place among the psychedelic 60’s.

“Your Painted Lives”

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The Savages “Live ‘N Wild”

| Garage

Live N Wild

Good rock n roll is supposed to move you emotionally or “blow you away.” Great artists like Bob Dylan or the 13th Floor Elevators have always been brutally honest, searched for meaning and never gave in to commercial demands. Many years ago rock n roll was powerful because it never made any promises. Recordings were murky, guitars distorted and trebly and vocalists were love-struck gods. The Savages Live ‘N Wild album is one of the great holy grails of rock music.

Very few of these albums were pressed, and as time went on Live ‘N Wild only became harder to come by. The Savages created a private press album that possesses clarity, vision and originality. The group cut the album live in Bermuda, 1965. The sound quality and musicianship is excellent, sounding like many studio cut garage albums of the day. The only low point of the album is a competent cover of the Drifters classic, On Broadway.

It’s rare for a private press garage album to mainly consist of originals, let alone good originals (9 of the 12 songs). Like the Rising Storm, the Savages effectively mixed slow moody folk-rock-like compositions with garage raunch. The most famous number here is a garage-punk classic, The World Ain’t Round, It’s Square. It’s an aggressive, trebly mess with angry, tormented screams and is by far the heaviest song amongst the batch.

Quiet Town is very introspective and mysterious, sounding like a 1965 lost Zombies single which hints at the darkness within. Kudos has to be given to the Savages for covering the great Icelandic band Thor’s Hammer with He’s A Man. The Savages version may best the Hammer’s for sheer recklessness and soul. Two other numbers, Gone To The Moon and I Believe are naive teenbeat that glow with sincerity and show a band with a lot of heart.

This is really what rock n roll is all about, cutting straight to the heart. These guys must have been garage kings amongst the affluent who resided in Bermuda. In a perfect world they would have been millionares. The proof is within this stunningly great, lost record.

“Quiet Town”

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Tamam Shud “Goolutionites and the Real People”

| Art,Prog,Psych

Goolutionites and the Real People

Australia has had a vibrant music scene for many years. The 60’s produced many great Aussie bands like the Wild Cherries, the Twilights, the Easybeats, the Loved Ones, Tully, and the Masters’ Apprentices, among others. Tamam Shud came out of the ashes of The Sunsets, who released several decent garage rock singles before their transformation.

The band’s name was taken from a Persian phrase meaning “the very end” which founder Lindsay Bjerre took from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Tamam Shud began playing popular festivals and clubs in or around 1967/1968 and were touted as one of Australia’s first genuine acid rock bands (although it’s important to note that Australia’s surf culture played an important influence). Their first album, Evolution, was released in 1969 and hailed as one of Australia’s first underground rock albums.

Goolutionites and the Real People was a concept album which came the following year, 1970. At this point, they had added teenage guitar wizard Tim Gaze to their lineup. Gaze was much younger than his other bandmates but his contributions were astonishing. Instrumentally, Tamam Shud was the equal to any band in England or the United States. Goolutionites is highlighted by Gaze’s intense guitar playing, which is characterized by lightning fast leads and jazzy licks. It’s a heavy hard rock psych prog album that will appeal to listeners interested in guitar solos and atmospheric vocals. Fans of early Ash Ra Temple, the Flower Travellin’ Band or even Live Dead 1970 will really dig cosmic rockers I Love You All and A Plague. A Plague begins with thumping drums and ragging guitar riffs but then mellows out to deliver the band’s lyrical, apocalyptic visions. Stand in the Sunlight another superb track, with great psychedelic riffs that form a tapestry, weaving in and out during the song’s two and a half minutes. The album closing Goolutionites Theme is awesome, a great space rock song with some incredible guitar solos.

At the time of it’s release Goolutionites was considered a major breakthru, an Oz classic and one of Australia’s finest contributions to rock music. When Tamam Shud disbanded a few of its members went on to form Khavas Jute, who released another great acid rock album in 1971.

“The Goolutionites Theme Part 1 & 2”

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Swampwater “Swampwater”

| Country Rock

Swampwater

Swampwater’s 1970 debut stands alongside Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Guilded Palace of Sin, Poco’s debut, the Everly Brothers’ Roots and Bradley’s Barn as one of the best country-rock records ever.

Founder, Gib Guilbeau had a strong Bakersfield resume prior to forming Swampwater. Guilbeau and Gene Parsons had released a few early country-rock singles in the late 60’s as well as an album which eventually saw light of day in 1970 (although recorded in 1968-). The two recruited Clarence White in 1968 to record the legendary Nashville West album. This album has a good live feel and is highlighted by some of Clarence White’s best playing which was always breathtaking and revolutionary.

Eventually Swampwater formed and started out as Linda Ronstadt’s backing group in the late 60’s. Eric White, Clarence’s brother was also in the band and prior to forming Swampwater had been in the excellent Kentucky Colonels. Swampwater made two distinct albums in the early 70’s without Linda Ronstadt’s involvement. The above album was different than many notable country rock acts of the time for adding cajun and swamprock elements. The album opens and closes with two certified country-rock classics, Louisiana Woman and Big Bayou. Guilbeau had recorded the classy Louisiana Woman with both Nashville West and on his 1970 album with Parsons, though the version heard on Swampwater is the best. Big Bayou is a hard rocking, white hot country song with pretty fiddle that has been covered by many popular artists inlcuding Rod Stewart. Other songs like the acoustic flavored Man From New Orleans are highlighted by beautiful harmonies and a tear in your beer ambience.

Swampwater’s musicianship is high caliber and Guilbeau’s lyrics are always first-rate and thoughtful. Great songs like Kathleen, Desperation’s Back Again (supposedly an Everly Brothers homage with great down and out lyrics) and River People are beautifully arranged and display superior craftsmanship. It’s really a wall of greatness, with each song just as good as the next.

Swampwater mastered all the rural styles from cajun to folk-rock but just never received the breaks they so justly deserved. Their members were slugging it out in bars playing this sort of music years before anyone else had thought to do so. This album is a masterpiece and recommended to any true country fan.

Can anyone provide further information regarding their self-titled RCA album from 1971/1972?

EDIT: John Beland himself was kind enough to stop by and inform us about it in the comments! Thanks for visiting, John!

mp3: Big Bayou

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P.F. Sloan “Twelve More Times”

| Folk,Garage,Pop

Twelve More Times

P.F. Sloan is one of America’s great artists. It’s truly a shame that his work is not as celebrated (or in print) as other pop figures from the 1960’s. From 1965 to 1967 few artists were as prolific as Sloan.

He released 2 great albums, numerous quality singles, an album under the Grass Roots name in 1966 and produced a plethora of outtakes which are currently unavailable on compact disc. Sloan also wrote numerous folk-pop hits for many popular acts of the day which include the Turtles, Barry McGuire and many others. One of the best songwriters of his generation, Sloan also had good vocals that were moody and just right for rock music.

The 1966 album, Twelve More Times was an electrified folk-rock album, dealing with more sophisticated subject matter as compared to his 1965 debut. From A Distance, Here’s Where You Belong, Upon A Painted Ocean and Lollipop Train sound like they could have been hit singles. Sloan calls upon a style that mixes 1966 Bob Dylan, Tambourine era Byrds, folk-rock era Beau Brummels, and the Leaves on some of their more garage oriented efforts. I Found A Girl, is completely acoustic and a lovely naive folk lullaby in which Sloan spreads the joys of finding a girl. The above mentioned Lollipop Train is more teenage heartbreak, primitive, but an astonishing treasure.

This was a time when so many rock musicians were making great music but it was not being noticed or hitting the air waves. Halloween Mary is a great Bob Dylan cop that has some excellent girl put-down lyrics and good hooky guitar riffs. Let Me Be is also killer, a slice of proto power pop finding the singer analyzing himself over some acoustic guitars and pounding drums.

This album has a lot of character and punk bite, something that many of those great folk-rock albums had. It’s a tragedy that Sloan’s first two albums are unavailable on compact disc. They are truly lost classics!

“Halloween Mary”

The Pink Fairies “Never Never Land”

| Art,Pop,Prog,Psych

Never Never Land

The Pink Fairies were from the same trashy underbelly of English underground rock as the Edgar Broughton Band, the Deviants, Hawkwind, Arthur Brown, and Gong. Twink, one of the band’s founders, had been in the beat era Fairies, The In-Crowd, Tomorrow, the Pretty Things, and he even managed to released a great solo album in 1970, prior to this.

The Pink Fairies were special, a truly dynamic band that was England’s very own MC5. They released 3 albums during the early 70’s, and while their true swan song, Kings Of Oblivion, is usually cited as their masterpiece, Never Never Land is nothing less than stellar. It kicks off with the misleading Do It. The album version of this tune begins with an acoustic intro than blasts into a hard punk rocker that should really be a classic radio anthem. War Girl engages in some cosmic blues rock soul with some fantastic wah-wah and a great spacey atmosphere. Say You Love Me and Teenage Rebel are more proto-punk/power pop highlights that show off the bands impressive instrumental chops which were honed at countless outside festivals. Surprisingly, Heavenly Man recalls early 70’s Pink Floyd, with slow profound drumming, dazed vocals and David Gilmour style guitar flourishes.

The band’s sound was a combination of the burgeoning progressive rock scene, the earlier psychedelic revolution, proto-punk/garage rock roots, a small hint of politics, and good ole fashioned rock n roll. All these elements make the 10 minutes of Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout a joy to listen to. This is an undeniably great album from an unsung band. Never Never Land shows a vital band fighting for its life, creating some of the hardest outdoor festival music of the time. Anyone into the early Flamin’ Groovies, the Stooges, MC5, the Coloured Balls, or the Amboy Dukes should do themselves a favor and pick this album up.

“Do It (Single Edit)”

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Mandrake Memorial “Puzzle”

| Art,Psych

Puzzle

Along with the Nazz, this was one of Philadelphia’s top bands throughout the late 60’s. Prior to Puzzle, they released two good rock albums that had a vague Doors influence, mixing keyboards with guitar oriented psychedelia. Puzzle, released in 1969, is an extremely challenging album that is not recommended to those who are into song oriented pop. It’s also a very progressive album that mixes classical/avant garde elements into a dreamy soundscape.

The album is really a mood piece, with plenty of strange moments including one track devoted to a choir of children praying while Whisper Play has, you guessed it, whispers amongst a classical backdrop. Randy Monaco croons throughout the album and there is the occasional guitar freakout, one heard at the end of the 9 minute instrumental Bucket of Air. The reoccuring theme, Just a Blur is a nice, short trippy piece of acoustic music that hints at a concept.

For the era, the Puzzle album is somewhat long, clocking in at around 50 minutes. The real meat of the album lies within the songs. Earthfriend and Hiding are so ambient and so full of great sound effects that they predate a style of psychedelia that Spacemen 3 pioneered throughout the late 80’s. Ocean’s Daughter is another great, menacing song, being a trippy psychedelic ballad with studio trickery and light orchestration. The song characterizes the album itself: confused, dark and unsettling on one hand but alluring and full of beauty on the other. Even the album cover art is really weird and demented, featuring a well known painting with chrome plated maggots inching their way up an endless flight of stairs.

While not for everyone, Puzzle shrouds itself in a velvet mystery. It’s a totally unique experience within the world of pyschedelia that sounds completely unfamilar!

“Ocean’s Daughter”

The Gosdin Brothers “Sounds of Goodbye”

| Country Rock,Folk,Pop

soundsofgoodbye.jpg

The Gosdins were no strangers to country-rock in 1968. The prior year the two contributed harmony vocals and guitar to Gene Clark’s exquisite masterpiece, Gene Clark and the Gosdin Brothers. They had also released some great singles that were caught between the earlier Byrdsian folk-rock sound and a new, emerging country-rock scene (check out There Must Be Someone or I’ll Live Today).

Sounds of Goodbye, released in 1968, would be the duo’s only album together. It was a groundbreaking effort that somehow slipped through the cracks. The originals, For Us To Find and The Victim are outstanding cynical country rockers that stand out for Vern Gosdin’s crystal clear vocals with an added Bakersfield twang. On The Victim, the acoustics sparkle and glitter beautifully with a slight psychedelic production that adds to the Gosdin’s unique vision. Sounds of Goodbye and She’s Gone are very wistful and sad but good nonetheless, recalling Gene Clark’s material from around the same time.

It’s an album that should be filed alongside Swampwater, Gene Clark’s 1st solo album, Roots by the Everly Brothers, and the late 60’s Dillards material. Even the covers on this album are done with taste and care, Let It Be Me (The Everly Brothers hit) particulary stands out in this vein. The cd reissue on Big Beat adds 13 singles and outtakes to the original album, most of which are essential. The above mentioned I’ll Live Today’s intro recycle’s Gene Clarks I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better but eventually evolves into a folk-rock masterpiece. Hang On, one of their hit singles, even finds the Gosdin’s successfully experimenting with a mellotron – in a country rock song!!!

Then we have There Must Be Someone I Can Turn To, one of the first country rock standards and a good enough reason to buy this album. The Byrd’s did a nice version of this song on their Untitled album, but nothing beats the original. The only strange element to the album is the sleeve, in which the Gosdin brothers look like a couple of squares in turtlenecks.

“The Victim”

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Mouse and the Traps “The Fraternity Years”

| Garage

Fraternity Years

Yet another Texas group, the great Mouse and the Traps existed throughout the mid to late 60’s, sadly never having a chance to release an album. They did record a bunch of singles though, some of which are under different names/alias’. This compilation covers most of their singles and some outtakes (contains 25 of the 30 or so songs they recorded).

Nearly all of these songs are good and well worth a listen. On single, they forged 3 unabashed classics: A Public Execution, Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice and Sometimes You Just Can’t Win (a soulful why me rocker). Public Execution was a song that many radio listeners mistook for Bob Dylan’s next big single in 1966. This song as well as the excellent garage punk rocker Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice has been anthologized on Nuggets. Public Execution, while a great song, is not the best on this superb compilation, sounding like a bubblegum garage version of Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone. The followup, Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice is one of the greatest mid 60’s hard rockers with a great speaker shredding, mind frying guitar solo. This legendary performance showed the band could tear it up, they were strong musicians and Mouse was a good singer who speckled his songs with clever lyrics.

The album runs the gamut, showing the Traps to be a diverse unit that played love torn country-rock, psychedelia, sunshine pop, tex-mex, blues-rock, folk-rock and garage-rock (all effectively). Nobody Cares and I Am The One really catch the ear as melodic folk-rockers with a defiant edge and great outsider lyrics. Also, I Satisfy and Beg, Borrow and Steal are psychedelia with tons of fuzz, crazied vocals and imagination. They even released a nice baroque pop/psych-pop single under the Chris St. John name.

The Traps had personality in spades and it’s really strange how they did not succeed commercially/artistically. They ceased to exist by the early 70’s and by then the dream had faded.

“Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice”