Posts Tagged ‘ 1969 ’

Green “Green”

| Pop,Psych

There weren’t many psych pop albums coming out of Texas in the late 60s but Green is probably the best of them. Atco released this album in 1969 but somehow it was lost in the shuffle. Typically, psychedelic bands from Texas favored either folk based sounds or heavier acid/stoner rock. For this reason, Green stands out amongst the pack as something different. Green is also a unique album because the group seamlessly integrated horns into a sound that is both consistent and vintage. Not much is known about this group other than that they came out of North Texas State University in Denton. Also, they released a second, inferior album in 1971 titled To Help Somebody.

A very good album, Green has a notable English influence. Some songs such as the powerful opener “To Be” or the psych pop of “Where Have I Been” strongly recall the The Who Sell Out. “Where Have I Been” features a nice, metallic raga guitar solo towards the end of the song. The album also showcases a cool lo fi sound as heard on “Green” which is perhaps the heaviest song here. This track is highlighted by lots of loud guitar distortion and an adventurous horn arrangement. It’s an excellent, powerful cut. Other songs have a distinct Buffalo Springfield influence as heard on the beguiling folk rockers “Don’t” and “Sunrise 7.” The arrangements on these songs are sharp and take some interesting left hand turns that will no doubt please the listener.

The music on Green is intelligent, well-thought-out 60s rock with smart pop hooks. Originals are somewhat rare and a good, clean copy may set you back $50 or more but Green is a very fine album that’s certainly well worth a spin.

Sunrise 7:

Green:

Don’t:

:) LP | 1969 | ATCO | discogs ]

The Pretty Things “The Electric Banana Blows Your Mind”

, , | Garage,Psych

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 Pretty Things “Rock St. Trop”

| Classic Rock,Psych

We are dedicating this next post to Phil May, who recently passed away in May, 2020. One of rock n roll’s great vocalists and personalities, he will surely be missed. The Rock St. Trop recordings date back to 1969, when rich French playboy Philippe Debarge hired the Pretty Things to be his backing band and record this fine album. Most fans usually refer to these recordings as Philippe Debarge. The album first surfaced in the form of a bootleg CD and then in recent years, two official releases became available through Ugly Things Records and Madfish.

At this point, lead guitarist and founding member Dick Taylor had left the group to be replaced by Victor Unitt. Philippe Debarge handles lead vocals but listeners can clearly hear Phil May on backup vocals. All tracks were written by Phil May and bassist/keyboard player Wally Waller and recorded in London’s Nova Studios. This album is the perfect bridge piece from S.F. Sorrow to Parachute. The recording quality is crude but highly listenable and the music surprisingly holds together as a cohesive album. Some of these tracks such as It’ll Never Be Me, Alexander and Eagle’s Son first appeared on the Electric Banana EP series. To me, those earlier Electric Banana versions (cut in 1967) are some of the best UK psych tracks ever waxed and have the edge as far as quality goes. But on the Rock St. Trop LP these songs are very good album cuts that lack the production values and studio trickery of the Electric Banana sessions. Also, Send You With Loving, an excellent folk rock number, appears on the Pretties’ BBC sessions though that BBC version was cut live in the studio and differs quite a bit from what’s here on the Rock St. Trop LP. As an album, this is strong all the way through. Of the songs I hadn’t heard, the opening jam Hello, How Do You Do is a highlight, notable for a long backwards guitar solo. You Might Even Say features fluid Spanish style guitar with mellotron making itself present during the song’s fade out. Other winners are You’re Running You and Me, a hard hitting acoustic rocker which effectively showcases the intricate three-party harmony vocals of May, Povey and Waller. I’m Checking Out has a strange vibrating guitar solo while New Day sounds like a good cut from Parachute, with strong guitar work and neat harpsichord flourishes.

While this is an album the Pretty Things never thought would be officially released, to this reviewer it’s a near classic work and a key album for fans of the band. The Pretty Things were on such a hot streak during the late 60s/early 70s that even their demo albums are better than most bands’ best work.

Send You With Loving:

You’re Running You and Me:

Peace:

It’ll Never Be Me:

:) Vinyl Reissue | Madfish | 2017 | discogs ]

Bobak, Jons, Malone “Motherlight”

| Psych

The individuals behind the Motherlight LP never played a live gig as they were essentially a studio vehicle for Mike Bobak, Andy Johns, and Wil Malone. Morgan Blue Town, one of the UK’s leading psych pop labels, released this unsung gem in 1969. It’s one of the most collectible and expensive LPs from the 60s UK psych scene.

Wil Malone had previously led the prolific UK psych group Orange Bicycle and would go on to release a folky solo disc in 1970 and also play in another psych pop group named Fickle Pickle. The Motherlight project saw him write most of the album’s lyrics, sing lead, play keyboards and lead guitar while Bobak and Johns supplied the rhythm section. In my mind, the Motherlight LP is Malone’s finest work ever. The feel of this album is low key but ominous, unlike anything I’ve heard and it’s this quality that makes the LP so special. Tracks such as the masterful On a Meadow-Lea and the hypnotic Lens exemplify the eerie mood of the music and are genuinely psychedelic. Many tracks have tasteful but brief guitar solos that usually feature light distortion and fuzz. Other worthy cuts are Wanna Make a Star, Sam, which goes for a blues rock Procol Harum vibe without forsaking its pop roots. Mona Lose is the album’s hardest rocker with blasts of hard guitar distortion and a fast paced arrangement. For many, the album’s highlight was House of Many Windows, a beautiful progressive psychedelic piece with inventive keyboard work.

Overall, the Motherlight LP is a very solid 4 star album, not to be missed by UK psych fans. As mentioned above, it’s an album with a unique ambience but the songs are also very good and the listener never knows what to expect next.

Mona Lose:

On a Meadow-Lea:

Burning the Weed:

:) LP | Morgan Blue Town | 1969 | discogs ]

Bluebird “Country Boy Blues”

, | Country Rock

Bluebird’s only album was cobbled together from their Jerden, London and Burdette 45s but also tracks that were cut for an aborted album. The group hailed from Mercer Island, Washington and were known as one of the best folk rock/country rock bands of the Pacific Northwest. Most of the cuts on Country Boy Blues were recorded in 1969/1970 but Piccadilly chose to release this retrospective LP in 1980. I managed to pick up a copy for a respectable price but it’s extremely rare and usually sells for over $100.

This is some of the best underground country rock I’ve heard. Modessa, a lost classic, sounds like one of the best cuts from the Byrds great Untitled LP. A pro level fusion of folk rock and psychedelia, it’s Bluebird’s most popular track due to 45 release in 1971. There’s a very good rendition of I Shall Be Released, with sparkling guitar work and world weary vocals. Goin’ Down sounds like one of the David Crosby penned tracks from Notorious Byrd Brothers, with strong raga style guitar leads and a jazzy feel to the arrangement. Other good cuts are Natural Feeling, a driving country rocker with crystal clear vocals and blasts of fuzz guitar. Travelin’ Ways, equally as good, is more of the same. Bluebird, unlike their peers, never fooled around with jugband sounds or tried to sound too Nashville or Bakersfield. There’s nothing pretentious about Bluebird’s music, just talent, class and a genuine feel for the music is on full display.

Bluebird would eventually change their name to Grand Theft and record another album which sounds nothing like Country Boy Blues. When people speak of great country rock records, this band and album rarely, if ever, get a mention. Simply put, more people need to hear this great album.

:) LP | 1980 | Picadilly | ebay | discogs ]

Billy Drake:

Goin Down:

Going to Nevada:

Tamam Shud “Evolution”

| Classic Rock,Psych

Evolution was one of the first original hard rock/psych albums released by a homegrown Australian band. Prior to Tamam Shud, this group of musicians had been known as the Sunsets, a rock n roll combo that specialized in beat/R&B styled material. As trends progressed, the Sunsets changed their name to Tamam Shud. Evolution was their first album, released by CBS in 1969. The LP was financed by Paul Witzig, who would use four of the tracks as background music to his surf film Evolution. Leader, guitarist and primary songwriter Lindsay Bjerre wrote all the tracks on this LP.

The sound quality is very rough due to most of the movie’s budget being spent on transporting (and filming) the surfers to exotic overseas locations. The tracks laid down were little more than demos, recorded live in studio; all songs were first takes. That being said, Tamam Shud’s material and performances still hold up very well in today’s age. The opening Music Train is a Beatles-like pop number that segued into the paranoia of Evolution. This outstanding track features lots of explosive feedback and psychedelic guitar work courtesy of Zac Zytnik. Lady Sunshine was the group at their most pop oriented, a funky folkish number that is perhaps Tamam Shud’s most popular track. Other gems are I’m No One, a track that effectively balances power and grace. Both Mr. Strange and It’s a Beautiful Day feature plenty of dynamic acid guitar work. The latter track opens with jazzy chords but is pretty much a psychedelic blues number with a melodic bridge.

Tamam Shud was one of Australia’s finest psychedelic/progressive groups ever. Any of their prime era recordings are considered essential listening for psych fans. While Goolutionites and the Real People is Tamam Shud’s true masterpiece and one of the great psych prog LPs of all time, Evolution has its moments of brilliance that make it a must have.

Music Train/Evolution

It’s A Beautiful Day

:) LP Reissue | buy from Tamam Shud ]

Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck “Home Grown Stuff”

| Folk,Psych

Home Grown Stuff

Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck were a folk rock group from Vancouver, British Columbia formed in 1968. Commercial success eluded them although they managed to release two fine albums that melded blues, country, folk, hard rock and psychedelia seamlessly. The group had a few interesting non-LP 45s as well, “I” being the best of these forgotten releases.

Most psych fans prefer their highly regarded Home Grown Stuff album from 1969 (Capitol). Mother Tucker’s Yellow Duck has a strong SF influence, at times sounding like Kak or more accurately, the late 60s Youngbloods. “Someone Think,” the album’s best song, features plenty of fuzz guitar distortion and a superb psych styled guitar solo.  This cut is mandatory listening and a true classic of underground psychedelia. “One Ring Jane,” which isn’t far off in terms of quality, was released on 45 and is another excellent psych jam with lots of chaotic electric guitar soloing. Much of this record is folk-rock best exemplified by bouncy, uptempo numbers like the “Times Are Changing” and “Blue Dye.” Other gems are the sparkling country rock track “One Glass For Wine” and the folk psych cut “Elevated Platform.”

Admittedly this album has three or four dud tracks but is still notable for it’s strong songs (it’s highs are pretty high) and fluid SF style guitar work – it’s a firm favorite among late 60s Canadian/American psych rock collectors.  Their second album, Starting a New Day, is more of a country rock record but a good one that’s perhaps more consistent than the great Home Grown Stuff album.

mp3: One Glass For Wine
mp3: Soneone Think

:D  LP | 1969 | Capitol | search ebay ]

PODCAST 29 Garage,Psych,Folk-Rock

, , , , , , | Folk,Garage,Podcast,Psych

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 [?]

International Harvester “Sov Gott Rose-Marie”

| Art,Folk,Prog,Psych

One of the more under-appreciated international underground music scenes to emerge from the 1960s was Sweden’s iconoclastic progg movement, spearheaded by political organizers and avant-garde musicians such as International Harvester founder Bo Anders Persson. These musicians fought to cultivate a new social and artistic consciousness among Swedish youth, playing free shows across the country and recording experimental, minimalist improvisations that pushed back against an elitist, exclusionary musical culture. According to Persson, their principle goal was to bring the community back into the music. Many different bands would emerge from the progg scene, laying down sounds from fuzzed-out trance rock to traditional Swedish folk and more or less everywhere in-between. This record falls in-between.

The history of International Harvester is somewhat convoluted, due to a constantly shifting lineup and unstable name. Originally the group formed under the monicker Pärson Sound, recording two  albums’ worth of material but never releasing a proper record. On scoring a record deal, the band renamed itself International Harvester, a reference to the U.S.-owned tractor manufacturer and a symbolic attack against corporate agriculture. To avoid legal wrangling, however, the band soon had to shorten their name to Harvester, and released one last record with their current lineup before dissolving into Träd, Gräs och Stenar (Trees, Grass and Stone) and finally managing to score popular success.

Sov Gott Rose Marie, the band’s sole release under the International Harvester name, is an unusual patchwork of field recordings, electric krautrock jams and percussive experimentation that bridges the sonic gap between what the Velvet Underground was laying down in New York (the band was actually personally invited by Andy Warhol to play an exposition, but things fell through) and the Amon Düül commune was brewing in Munich circa 1969. Though the music may sound free-form, closer listening reveals the rigorous discipline displayed by the individual musicians. Each member leaves his ego at the door and subsumes himself in the music, a quality perhaps picked up from the band’s time spent studying and performing under the auspices of the aforementioned Riley back in the mid-sixties.

After opening with the deep drone of a Latin death hymn and the chirping of woodland birds, the record wastes no time kicking into gear. There Is No Other Place is perhaps Sov Gott Rose Marie‘s heaviest track, combining the band’s obsession with heavy, pounding tribal rhythms with an overdriven guitar line lifted straight out of the Hawkwind bible. Three tracks later and the disarmingly concise Ho Chi Minh serves as one of the band’s more unusual political statements, exploding the Harvester’s percussive tendencies into a Viet Minh war chant running on a hypnotic two-note figure by bassist TorbjÃrn Abelli. It is perhaps the group’s artistic and political spirit (the band was associated with the Swedish Communist Party’s youth league, and performed and recorded regularly at the Kafe Marx in Stockholm) most perfectly distilled: no time wasted, no unnecessary chords – the new electric underground resistance in less than two minutes.

The mellower side of International Harvester makes itself apparent on The Runcorn Report on Western Progress and the droning title track, which rides at a glacial tempo that perfectly foreshadows such later record’s as Earth’s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull. It’s Only Love is one of the band’s closest forays into the realm of popular music, but coming in right after Ho Chi Minh it’s given its own surreal edge that keeps you on your toes through all of its one minute-forty seconds. All these shorter songs (basically encapsulating Side A of the originally-planned album release) are only a teaser for Sov Gott‘s second half, however, which is composed of three mammoth jams carried over from the group’s Pärson Sound days. SkÃrdetider (Harvest Times) runs almost half an hour, a roaring cauldron of blissed-out space rock featuring spiraling violin lines and low, moaning vocals before an intense fuzz guitar improvisation rends the track to pieces. I Mourn You is thirteen minutes of a similar brew, while How To Survive is an extended Swedish folk chant built around sleepy-eyed percussion and what sounds like a saxophone impersonating an old, croaking hurdy-gurdy.

All of Pärson Sound/International Harvester/Harvester’s records have been recently re-released in one form or another, with Sov Got Rose Marie finding berth with the independent Swedish label Silence Recordings and finally emerging on compact disc in 2006. This is perhaps one of the definitive documents of 1960s Sweden, and an essential record for anyone interested in the more experimental and stimulating strains of acid rock. Hell, even on the most cursory listen it doesn’t take long to realize that International Harvester was truly a band ahead of its time, and one long overdue for popular rediscovery.

mp3: The Runcorn Report on Western Progress
mp3: SommarlÃ¥ten (The Summer Song)

:D Reissue | 2006 | Silence Recordings | buy from amazon ]
:) Original | 1969 | Love Records | search ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Cold Blood “Cold Blood”

| Blues,Psych,Soul

San Francisco/East Bay area’s Cold Blood were one of the first bands of its kind, combining a smooth blend of psych, horn rock, jazz, soul, and R&B with front woman Lydia Pense’s Janis Joplin-esque vocal growlings.  People have often compared the group to the more well-known Californian outfit Tower Of Power, and with good reason.  Even so, Cold Blood have held their own ground and place in rock history, because of their energetic live shows, and the quality of material on their albums.  In 1969, Bill Graham signed the band and made them regulars at his legendary Fillmore West auditorium in San Francisco.  Their fan base quickly grew, and soon the band landed in the studio to record their eponymous debut, Cold Blood.

The album starts with the gospel-feel of “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”, and has become one of my all-time favorite opening tracks of any album.  The song captures a longing for personal freedom and independence, which was a major dream for the people of the 1960’s dealing with civil rights, women’s liberation, and the Vietnam war.  Lydia Pense’s powerful and emotional vocals shine on this one, perhaps owing a bit more to Aretha Franklin than Janis Joplin.  Their rocked-up, funkier version of Sam & Dave’s “You Got Me Hummin'” could have been a huge hit single with the right promotion, and contains some VERY flashy bass work, courtesy of Rod Ellicott.  Their cover of Muddy Waters’  “I Just Want To Make Love To You”, is one of the best cover versions of the song, with the horn section just soaring, and the whole feel of the song positively oozing with passion and sexual desire.  The album ends with the semi-obscure Bobby Parker early soul classic “Watch Your Step”.  The saxophone reaches almost an other-worldly plateau, with a super funkified rhythm backing that leaves the listener with sublime aural satisfaction.

Cold Blood went through various incarnations, with several members passing away or moving on to other projects.  The band finally called it quits in the 1970s, with Lydia Pense recording solo material, and then deciding to retire from music indefinitely in the 1980s to raise her daughter.  The band reformed, have a strong cult following, and still continue to perform and wow audiences.

Cold Blood is so chocked full of great songs that it was very difficult to try and pick the “very best” to review.  Truth be told, this entire album is fantastic.  The original vinyl of the album is surprisingly easy and inexpensive to find on eBay, Discogs.com, etc.  “Oldies” label Collectibles reissued the album in 2001 as a two-album set, paired with their second album Sisyphus, which is also highly recommended.  From a personal standpoint, I’d suggest getting the original vinyl version.  It’s one of the best sounding albums, sonically, that I’ve ever owned, and is almost mandatory to crank to the highest possible volume to get the full experience.  Grab this one if you come across it.

mp3: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
mp3: Watch Your Step

:) Original | 1969 | San Francisco | search ebay ]
:D Reissue | 2001 | Collectables | buy here ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]