Posts Tagged ‘ 1970 ’

Rodriguez “Cold Fact”

| Folk,Psych

Cold Fact

Cold Fact by Sixto Rodriguez was recently reissued by Light In The Attic – an excellent reissue at that.  Over the past few years this lp has gained quite a reputation, probably due to its unique sound, which is still fresh even by today’s indie rock/folk-rock standards.  Cold Fact was originally released by Sussex in 1970 and while it didn’t sell too well in the U.S. , the record gained a new lease on life in 1971 when A&M repressed the lp in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand – where it sold well (he would eventually play to sell-out stadium crowds in South Africa!).  Rodriguez was born in Detriot MI, his parents were both Mexican immigrants – his first name was chosen because he was the sixth child. 

Cold Fact is a s0lid record all thru – a real four star gem. One can tell that Dylan was a major influence but this should by no means discredit  Rodriguez’s originality and talents as a songwriter.  The album led off with “Sugar Man,” a drug addled masterpiece full of intriguing lyrics, twisted electronic sound effects, and soulful vocals.  “Sugar Man” is a very dark composition that has stood the test of time well and probably the lp’s standout track – a true classic.  Other tracks are worthwhile though like the fuzz guitar driven garage rocker “Only Good For Conversation” or the horn laden “Crucify Your Mind.”  “Hate Street Dialogue,” “I Wonder,” and “Forget It” are also excellent with good accoustic melodies and lyrics that really hit home hard.  This is real outsider music that is sung so eloquently and played so well it’s almost hard to notice the despair – you really have to listen to the lyrics. 

Prior to the Light In the Attic reissue there was a so/so RCA repress from the late 80s.  Light In The Attic have done a great job with Rodriquez and will also be reissuing his second lp, Coming From Reality.  Cold Fact is singer-songwriter material at its best with beautiful vocals, catchy songs, string and horn arrangements that compliment rather than harm, great downer lyrics, and just the right amount of psych-folk residual.  Distinctive soul searching stuff.

“Sugar Man”

:D CD Reissue | 2008 | Light In The Attic | buy from attic | amazon ]
:) Vinyl Search | ebay ]

It’s All Meat “It’s All Meat”

| Garage,Psych,Punk

It's All Meat

It’s All Meat were a late 60s/early 70s band that hailed from Toronto and released this excellent album in 1970 (Columbia).  Prior to that, It’s All Meat had been known as The Underworld.  The Underworld released a superb, crude garage single (“Go Away”/”Bound” – the label is Regency) in 1968 and also recorded some fine unreleased material captured on acetate.  As mentioned before, some of the members of The Underworld would form It’s All Meat.  In 1969 this new group would release their debut 45, “Feel It” coupled with “I Need Some Kind of Definitive Commitment.”  The A-side combined MC5 energy with New York Dolls-style swagger and features plenty of feedback and great guitar breaks.  It’s one of the great proto-punkers. 

Their album was released the following year and feartured 8 fresh original numbers written by drummer Rick McKIM and keyboard player/lead vocalist Jed MacKAY.  There are a bunch of good, solid stonesy garage rockers that form the axis of this lp: “Make Some Use Of Your Friends,” “Roll My Own,” “You Brought Me Back To My Senses,” and “You Don’t Know The Time You Waste.”  The latter track would be released as the group’s second and final single but “Roll My Own” and “Make Some Use Of Your Friends” were just as good, featuring fine psychedelic guitar work and raw vocals.  Other note worthy tracks flirted with blues (“Self-Confessed Lover”) and folk-rock (“If Only”) but the lp’s brightest moments were its two 9-minute marathon compositions.  “Crying Into A Deep Lake” was full-blown Doors psychedelia with spacey keyboards and spooky Jim Morrison influenced vocals.  The other lengthy track, “Sunday Love,” sounds like a strange Lou Reed/John Cale concoction with lots a great psychedelic guitar noise and soft folk-like passages sprinkled with light garage keyboards.   So while these last two tracks are very long, they never wear out their welcome and are required listening for both garage and psych fans.  The album’s production teeters between a primitive recording sound and the typical major label gloss, making it just right.

It’s All Meat is a fine, consistent trip all the way thru.  It’s one of the best late period (really late) garage rock albums I know of.  The album’s hard rock and proto-punk sounds give it a nice,  visceral edge.  It’s All Meat was reissued in 2000 by Hallucinations though originals are not hard to come by either.

“Make Some Use Of Your Friends”

:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | Columbia | search ebay ]

Sheridan/Price “This is to certify that….”

| Art,Pop,Psych,Sunshine

This Is To Certify That...

This is one of the better albums coming from the Move family tree. It was released in 1970 though it has a clear 1967/1968 sound and is one of the best albums of its kind. Rick Price entered the Move sometime in the late 60s, contributing bass and guitar to “Shazam“, “Looking On” and “Message From The Country.” Mike Sheridan had previously been leader of the Nightriders which were a Birmingham group that specialized in the merseybeat sound and 50s rock n roll.

The Nightriders were sort of a breeding ground for future Move members, most importantly Roy Wood. During Price’s tenure with the Move, he and Sheridan started writing songs together for the above album. Both Sheridan and Price share vocals and writing chores on an album that veers into power pop, psychedelia, sunshine pop and progressive pop. There are horn and string arrangements on this beautiful album that recall some of Paul McCartney’s soft moments on the Beatles’ classic White Album (think “Martha My Dear” or even the Move’s great “Beautiful Daughter”). Some of the heavier moments like “Sometimes I Wonder,” “Lamp Lighter Man,” and “Lightning Never Strikes” sound like excellent 68/69 era Move outtakes. In fact, “Lighting Never Strikes” was released as a Move single at the tail end of the 60s. Sheridan and Price’s version is just as good though not as trippy, with a splendid backwards guitar solo, slashing acoustic guitars and crashing drums. Other songs such as the string laden pop number “Davey Has No Dad” or the trippy “Picture Box” have a beautiful child-like, story song whimsy that hints at a Ray Davies influence.

This is an exceptional if little known Move album that will appeal to fans of the Beatles, Kinks and even lovers of soft, sunshine pop sounds.

“Lightning Never Strikes”

:D CD Reissue | 2007 | Ace | amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | Gemini | ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

uReview: The CCR Discography

, , | Country Rock,uReview

I gotta be honest. I grew up with a ton of Creedence, but I’m not exactly familiar with their LPs. My experience with the band comes largely thru massive classic rock radio exposure and the Chronicle I and II collections. Late last year Fantasy Records reissued CCR’s first six albums on CD and MP3, but I want to hear from you before I dive in:

[poll id=”3“]

Q. Give us your low-down on CCR. What was your runner up album?

Jerry Jeff Walker “Bein’ Free”

| Americana,Country Rock,Folk

Bein' Free

This one, his 4th solo, was recorded after Mr. Bojangles, Driftin’ Way of Life, and Five Years Gone. He would imprint his legacy on the next one, Jerry Jeff Walker (an Austin masterpiece), but bridge from his drifter-folk career with Bein’ Free, by no means just a three star record.

He kicks it off with a customary party track, “I’m Gonna Tell On You.” This song embodies the “gonzo” sound, with a crew hollering background choruses and one-liners, a perfectly loose feel, boozy grin on your singer’s face. “Stoney.” “Nobody’s.” “But For The Time.” Hard not to fall for the heartfelt Jerry songs. “Harmonica Talk” is pretty awesome, a trio of hambone, jaw harp, and harp riffs. “Please Let Me Be” is especially interesting with sandpaper blocks, harpsichord, and some fantastic pipey (synth?) sounds I can’t even make out.

“Some Go Home,” one of “Jerry Jeff’s train songs” was the track that got me early on; JJ’s no slouch on a storyteller and this is kind of a precursor to “Desperados.” Bein’ Free is a special album, the kind that benefits from vinyl’s hum and crackle. I’m sure the CD sounds just fine.

Q: Any other fans out there? Care to list your top three JJW songs or records?

“Some Go Home”

;) MP3 Album | download Bein’ Free ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | ATCO | search ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Randy Newman “12 Songs”

| Americana,Country Rock,Pop,RnB

12 Songs

Randy has a voice that works for any audience. I think his varied and rather awesome body of works helps prove this: ex 1. ex 2. ex 3. I hate to bring it up again (does every record I listen to have Clarence White on it?) but gaddang I love the original Old Kentucky Home with many renewed thanks to cw (I’ve always been more familiar with the BB version).

Mama told me not to come. Rabbit Rabbit. Happy new year!

“Lucinda”

:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | Reprise | search ebay ]
;) MP3 Album | download at amazon ]

The Cowsills “II x II”

| Classic Rock,Pop,Sunshine

I never thought I’d be recommending a Cowsills album here on the Storm but I guess stranger things have happened. II x II is considered the group’s finest album along with 1968’s We Can Fly. This lp was a concious attempt to get away from the Cowsills pop image and create something a bit more original and experimental. I think they succeeded marvelously as II x II is a great folk-rock album that saw the band writing more mature, reflective material.

Unlike a lot of sunshine pop groups, the Cowsills could actually play their own instruments. They did this well, along with writing most of the album’s material. Bill and Bob Cowsill wrote a lion’s share of this material, much of it in a gentle, lilting folk-rock style. Father best exemplifies this new approach being a beautiful folk-rocker with a lite psych mellotron touch – this track floats in the air like the best sun pop gems should. Some of the tracks like Signs and Anything Changes even rock hard in spots, much closer to power-pop in spirit but successful any way you slice it. Highlights are really hard to point out on such a consistent and varied album. Don’t Look Back, an early morning country-rocker with a strong CSNY influence is a real gem in the Cowsills catalog while The Prophecy Of Daniel And John The Divine is more abstract and easily their most advanced album cut – a mini masterpiece of lite psychedelia.

This lp should have proven to the world that there was much more to the Cowsills than great singles like The Rain, The Park & Other Things. The sound is very homespun and where the earlier albums relied heavily on studio technology this one doesn’t. When II x II was released the group was suffering a major commercial downfall. The album should have remedied this and repaired their critical standing amongst the rock world. Sunshine pop fans should not miss this near classic album. II x II has been reissued on cd in its entirety along with earlier album tracks under the title Painting The Day.

“Don’t Look Back”

:D CD Reissue | 2006 | El Records | Painting the Day: The Angelic Psychedelia of the Cowsills ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | MGM | search ebay ]

Freedom’s Children “Astra”

| Prog,Psych

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

:D CD Reissue | 2008 | Shadoks | search amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | Parlophone | search ebay ]

Michael Chapman “Fully Qualified Survivor”

| Classic Rock,Folk,Pop,Power

Michael Chapman, apart from being a prolific English songwriter whose revered work spans four decades, is probably the best guitar smith you have never heard. While his skills are best evidenced on this album’s predecessor, Rainmaker, the original songwriting and tight production, seemingly informed by all music that came before it, steal the show here.

It’s as if every style of rock music were somehow harnessed and tamed into Michael’s unique folk vision. The album sounds fresh as anything recorded today, yet still of its time, sparkling with punchy drum fills and orchestral arrangements. The album opens with an understated triumph: experimental strings create a soundscape for the soothing rhythm of Aviator to “take my time away.” I cannot think of another 9 minute song that doesn’t seem to last long enough. The lyrics on the album evoke a feeling of hopelessness, and there is a kind of sad tone but all together I believe it can be an uplifting album. This may be thanks to sharing much of the same personnel responsible for early albums by Elton John and David Bowie. During Fully Qualified’s hardest moments, though, I hear a striking resemblance to Bowie’s classic Man Who Sold The World.

Stranger In The Room and Soulful Lady lend a classic rock balance to softer songs like the immortal Postcards From Scarborough, by far the most famous Chapman song. Through several interludes, we are treated to Chapman’s masterful six-string suites. I know my fair share of fingerpicking but still have trouble believing that Naked Ladies & Electric Ragtime is actually performed on one guitar by one person. In any case, it’s a piece that should be standard fare in guitar workshops the world over. But note that I’m not talking about the trite electric guitar leads, performed by Mick Ronson who would team up with Bowie for Space Oddity thanks to this record.

Fully Qualified Survivor is an exceptional collection of songs and your best introduction to one of England’s great underappreciated artists. One of the best.

“Andru’s Easy Rider/Trinkets & Rings”

:D CD Reissue | 2011 | LITA |  buy ]
:) LP Reissue | 2011 | LITA | buy ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | Harvest | search ebay ]

Cold Sun “Dark Shadows”

| Psych

Dark Shadows

Never seeing an actual release until 1989, Cold Sun is a devastating slab of Texas psych and the sickest of lost gems. I can’t say I’ve ever been so moved by feedback and noise in my life. The long awaited reissue from World In Sound sheds some long due light on this beauty and is one of the best we’ve seen in 2008.

The record is sometimes referred to as just Cold Sun; years later the band was unofficially renamed Dark Shadows which was printed on the sleeve as a pseudo album title. Interestingly, both names are derived from the same mythology that inspired the band Mu. Many of the details to the Cold Sun story have been lost in the cracks but Patrick the Lama’s (Acid Archives) essay is a noble piece of research and comes highly recommended for those interested in the history of this band.

I never thought hard psych could sound gorgeous. The magic of the record, for me, is in Billy Miller’s (who wrote most of the material and spearheaded the band) electrified autoharp. This instrument sounds like no other, but I initially mistook it for a distorted Fender Rhodes. The instrument is rarely strummed in the traditional autoharp style but finger-picked like a real harp, the sound full of sustain and grit. Add Tom McGarrigle’s stabbing guitar leads, Mike Waugh’s deep, dark, progressive bass lines, and Hugh Patton’s energy behind the kit and you’re hearing everything the third Elevators album needed to be. It’s clamorous and peyote-drenched and hard but also tender and beautiful.

The World In Sound reissue has great sound, excellent liners (in which Jello Biafra calls Dark Shadows “the best psychedelic album I know of”) and two badass live cuts from 1972. I found the CD available at Heyday Mail Order, but for the LP version you’ll have to wait til the end of the month (and fight for it).

Cold Sun fans? Come and testify!

“Here In The Year”

:D CD Reissue | 2008 | World In Sound | buy from heyday ]
:) Vinyl Reissue | Coming Soon | go to world in sound ]