Rockasteria

Though never a major success story by any means, legendary US progressive rock band Happy the Man have long been one of the most beloved acts in the hearts of true prog fans for many years. Their debut self-titled album in 1977 for Arista Records should have been the start of a great and lengthy career, but the band split in 1979 not long after the release of their second album Crafty Hands.

Crafty Hands, and really any of the output from Happy the Man, is one part progressive rock and one part jazz-fusion. As the band were basically an instrumental outfit, their style was built on soaring melodies, tight but complex rhythms, and dazzling interplay between the instruments. The line-up for this album was Stanley Whitaker (guitars, vocals), Frank Wyatt (keyboards, sax, flute), Kit Watkins (keyboards, recorder), Rick Kennell (bass), and Ron Riddle (drums). Though you can hear the influence of Genesis, Gentle Giant, Yes, and Return to Forever in the music of Happy the Man, they took those influences and created something fresh and unique with them. Tunes like "Service With a Smile" and "Ibby It Is" have bright, breezy melodies that soar over the top of some challenging arrangements, with Watkins & Wyatt really creating some sensational keyboard tapestries.

Those who love the complex interplay of Gentle Giant will totally get into "Steaming Pipes", and "Morning Sun" is a just a gorgeous slice of keyboard drenched prog rock. "Wind Up Doll Day Wind" would feature the vocals of Whitaker, and though a nice little Genesis styled number, kind of sticks out like a sore thumb here. Much more ambitious are the dramatic "Open Book". complete with some tasty acoustic picking from Whitaker and some lovely flute & recorder from Wyatt & Watkins. "I Forgot to Push It" is an upbeat prog/fusion track filled with intricate guitar/keyboard exchanges, and the album closes with the melodic & atmospheric "The Moon I Sing (Nosurri)", a track just dripping with gorgeous keyboard textures and melodies.

As far as US prog goes, it doesn't get much better than this folks. Crafty Hands is classy stuff all the way, and if by chance you haven't yet stumbled upon either this or Happy the Man's debut previously, then you owe it to yourself to discover them at this very moment.

by Pete Pardo

Tracks
1. Service With A Smile (Ron Riddle, Hawkes) - 2:44
2. Morning Sun (Kit Watkins) - 4:05
3. Ibby It Is (Frank Wyatt) - 7:50
4. Steaming Pipes (Stanley Whitaker) - 5:30
5. Wind Up Doll Day Wind (K. Watkins, S. Whitaker, F. Wyatt) - 7:06
6. Open Book (F. Wyatt) - 4:53
7. I Forgot To Push It (K.Watkins) - 3:08
8. The Moon, I Sing (Nossuri) (K.Watkins) - 6:16

Happy The Man
*Stanley Whitaker - Six And Twelve String Guitars, Vocals
*Frank Wyatt - Pianos, Harpsichord, Saxes, Flute, Words
*Kit Watkins - Pianos, Harpsichord, Moog, Fake Strings, Clavinet, 33, Recorder
*Rick Kennell - Bass
*Ron Riddle - Drums, Percussion

1977 Happy The Man (Japan remaster)

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The unreleased album Visualize by Thomas & Richard Frost, taken with its attendant singles "Hello Stranger" and "Open Up Your Heart", is a sparkling and heartwarming gem of late 1960s pop, but the project was merely yet another chapter in the remarkable career of these two brothers, from San Mateo on the San Francisco Peninsula. Rich and Tom Martin had been performing together since the beginning of the decade, with the ensuing litany of bands mirroring all the variegates of American grass roots rock 'n' roll in the 1960s: instrumental surf and greasy R&B in the Impressions; jangly folk-rock with The Newcastle Five; the fuzz-tinged garage rock of The Art Collection. And last but not least, the thundering mod sound of the Martins power trio Powder; whose own LP, recorded while the group was based in Los Angeles and employed as Sonny & Cher's road band, remained frustratingly unissued, and indeed acted as a precursor to the creation of the masterpiece you hold in your hands.

For after the Powder debacle, the Martins returned to northern California to lick their wounds and demo some more introspective material. Though they were enamored of artists like Donovan and Simon & Garfunkel, the Martins innate - and very much Anglophilic – pop sensibility lingered in new compositions like "Bluey Blues Blue" (later to be recorded as "Where Did Yesterday Go?"), "Would You Laugh" and "She's Got Love". It was to be the latter tune that caught the ear of promo man John Antoon, who signed the Martins to his Tons Of Fun publishing imprint, assumed managerial duties and got the duo signed to Imperial Records under the nom de disque Thomas & Richard Frost. As a single, the simple, catchy "She's Got Love" was to achieve a modicum of success as a turntable hit, reaching only the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1969, but with strong regional airplay across the country, upon the back of which the Frosts were able to tour.

Back in LA, Rich and Tom made the scene with their pals Rodney Bingenheimer and Frank Zinn, enjoying a brief but eye-opening spell as bona fide pop stars. Plans were big for the Frosts, with a full, lavishly orchestrated, album release, but it was all to fall apart as the follow-up singles stiffed and parent label Liberty/UA decided to wind down Imperial. In 1971, Rich and Tom signed a new deal with Uni and finally got an album, eponymously-titled and singer/songwriter-orientated, released the following year. In their press interviews the Frosts did for that Uni album, they disparaged the bubblegum of their Imperial period, but the state-of-the art production pop of Visualize has clearly stood the test of time and sounds better now, than it probably ever has.

The proceedings are imbued with the Zeitgeist of Los Angeles in its last throes of pop innocence, and the Martins heart-on-their-sleeve Anglophilic sensitivity is less derivative then remarkably refreshing, with superbly recorded arrangements that any late 1960s pop fan will cherish. Listening to tracks like "Open Up Your Heart", "Where Did Yesterday Go?" or "Hello Stranger" recalls the simple joys of commercial pop at the dawn of the 1970s. Uncomplicated, fun, yet eminently memorable. Tony Macauley would be proud.

by Alec Palao, El Cerrito, California

Tracks
1. Prelude/Shes Got Love - 2:55
2. Where Did Yesterday Go - 2:39
3. December Rain April Laughter - 2:54
4. Woodstock - 2:43
5. Gotta Find A New Place To Stay - 2:29
6. With Me My Love - 2:18
7. Where Are We - 2:25
8. Come Clap Your Hands - 2:30
9. The City - 2:33
10.The World Is Love - 2:41
11.On Our Way Home - 2:48
12.If I Cant Be Your Lover (Vic Dana, Ted Glasser) - 5:44
13.Hello Stranger - 2:42
14.Fairy Tale Affair - 2:49
15.Open Up Your Heart (John Worsley) - 2:51
16.Everyday Judy - 4:14
All songs by Thomas and Richard Frost, except where noted.

Musicians
*Richard Martin - Guitar, Vocals
*Tom Martin - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
*Mars Bonfire - Guitar
*Earl Palmer - Drums
*Michael O'Martian - Piano
*Ben Benay - Guitar
*Barney Kessel - Guitar
*David T. Walker - Guitar
*Jim Horn - Saxophone
*Jay Migliori - Flute
*Doug Feiger - Bass
*Tony Sales - Bass
*Max Bennett - Bass
*Red Rhodes - Pedal Seel Guitar
*The Blossoms - Vocals
*Joe Osborne - Bass

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“Think Pink” is one trippy, hobbity mindfuck of the highest water. It’s a complex and varied album where no two songs are the same, but seem to be examples of sub-genres entire ALBUMS could be fashioned from. Come to think of it, it’s probably the last high-water mark of old-school psychedelia the moment before it gave up the ghost. And Twink had steadily worked his way through a succession of bands that by the time he was in The Pretty Things, making many musical acquaintances via The Pretties’ management, the Bryan Morrison Agency, who also handled The Deviants and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Soon enough they had performed enough gigs together to force Morrison to circulate a letter to these three bands requesting that they refrain from ever showing up at each other’s gigs ever again. Because if there was havoc to be caused, it WAS caused, and if there was none to be found, it would be located immediately.

When Twink left The Pretties, he assembled a virtual roll call of London underground musicians: Viv Prince, Wally Waller, John Povey, Victor Unitt, The Deviants, Quiver bassist Honk, John “Junior” Wood (ex-Tomorrow) and Steve “Peregrine” Took. This album owes a grand debt to Paul “Black George” Rudolph for his uncredited arrangements and outstandingly effortless yet complex Stratocaster noise guitar burn-outs (which populate “Think Pink” in sheer and blissful abundance) are huge, soaringly hard and were barely hinted at on the third Deviants album. And the sessions yielded all things loose, crazy and hardened post-psychedelic. There is even a surprisingly manic funk out rare for even white dopers at the time as well as acoustic numbers that don’t sound the least bit obligatory, raga-based chants and group sing-alongs. Along with Rudolph, the other main inspiration for “Think Pink” was undoubtedly Twink’s pretty, blonde and Kohl-eyed girlfriend Silver, who appears on both the back cover and the album with an unforgettable vocal interlude.

The album opens with “The Coming Of The Other One,” a vocal incantation as screeching backwards sitars, further vocal mantras and randomly hit percussion float through the air and clang in a dark, incense-filled basement from “Performance” with Steve Took emitting fear-inducing animal noises in a dark corner. It fades as sitars race back in time, and the air clears and gets brighter with the remake of Twink’s minnow-psych pop A-side for The Aquarian Age, “Ten Thousand Words In A Cardboard Box.” A celebration of “a thousand colourful shadows dancing around my head/Rejoicing to the waking of the dead...” over heavily recorded drums as Rudolph covers the drums and telephonically-phased vocals with underpinning streams of pink cirrus clouds at daybreak noise/guitar. But Rudolph winds up shanghai-ing the piece into a soaringly free-noise hurricane as he peels riff after riff out of his bottomless Strat.

“Standing Tiptoe On The Highest Hill” is a chilly, overcast autumn morning with swelling mellotron, muted guitar and somber drums, bursting your heart when the grim (yet sung angelically-echoed) lines come in and it dawns on you that this is the acoustic grandfather of Joy Division’s “Decades.” Backward noise/guitar streaks by Rudolph transform the whole piece into a coiled and curling jam out that cuts out to let the song descend quietly back into the sand and it’s seaweed-strewn grave. “Fluid” ends the album side, an instrumental stripped bare of everything but genitals. Slow bass, guitar and drums crack out an undulating and repeating rhythm as Twink and Silver coo to each other, barely touching and letting their vocal vibrations do the work of a thousand fingers. It’s Joy Division again, only a decade earlier and this time it’s “I Remember Nothing.” This is just side one, but side two is just as fantastically charged up and out there, reaching its apex with the Took-damaged, “The Sparrow Is A Sign.”

by The Seth Man

Tracks
1. The Coming Of The One - 3:42
2. Ten Thousand Words In A Cardboard Box (Twink, John Junior) - 4:28
3. Dawn Of Majic - 1:45
4. Tiptoe On The Highest Hill - 5:18
5. Fluid - 4:05
6. Mexican Grass War - 5:28
7. Rock And Roll The Joint - 2:26
8. Suicide - 4:22
9. Three Little Piggies (Steve Took, Twink) - 3:12
10.The Sparrow Is A Sign (Steve Took, Twink) - 2:23
11. 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box (Twink, John Junior) - 3:25
12. Good Wizard Meets Naughty Wizard (Twink, John Junior) - 4:40
13. 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box (Twink, John Junior) - 4:54
14. Dawn Of Magic - 3:24
15. Fluid - 3:40
16. Fluid - 4:19
17. Rock An’ Roll The Joint - 2:15
18. Suicide - 3:10
All titles by Twink except where indicated
Bonus tracks 11-18

Musicians
*Twink – Drums, Tablas, Vocals
*Paul Rudolph – Guitar, Bass, Vocals
*John "Junior" Wood – Bass
*Wally Allen – Piano
*John Povey – Sitar, Mellotron
*Steve Peregrin Took – Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
*Viv Prince – Drums
*Vic Unite - Guitar
*John Lodge - Bass
*Silver Darling - Vocals
*Mick Farren - Spoken Words

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The box opens up modestly enough with Steve Marriott's old band, the Moments, covering the Kinks'"You Really Got Me" and doing one other song, "Money Money." A few of the band's Decca tracks that seem to float between Decca and Immediate follow, and then we plunge into the group's Immediate history.

Andrew "Loog" Oldham's independent label wasn't much more organized than the typical blues label from Chicago in the 1950s, and the Small Faces' tape library is a mess. But the producers have included everything -- every stereo and mono version of each song (where a different mix exists), the five official live tracks, the unfinished backing tracks, every known outtake.

Anyone who thinks this is overkill doesn't know the Small Faces -- they weren't much less prolific than the Rolling Stones, and were better than the Stones as both a soul band and a psychedelic band (the Stones never really made the jump into drug songs too comfortably); and based on the evidence, they could have cut the Who to shreds most nights.

The sound varies, although it's all been nicely cleaned up (mildly CEDAR-ized, actually), and while three versions of "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me" may seem like overkill, it's all fascinating stuff, watching certain songs change and evolve. This is where it ends for the serious fan.

by Bruce Eder

Tracks

Disc 1

1. (The Moments) - You Really Got Me (Ray Davies) - 2:24

2 (The Moments) - Money , Money (Ray Charles) - 2:18

3. Watcha Gonna Do About (Samewll, Potter) - 1:58

4. Sha La La La Lee (Shuman, Lynch) - 2:56

5. Hey Girl - 2:18

6. My Mind's Eye (Original Single Mix) - 1:57

7. My Mind's Eye (Album Mix) - 2:04

8. All Or Nothing - 3:05

9. Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow - 1:55

10.I Can't Make It (Mono Version) - 2:12

11.Just Passing (Mono Version) - 1:14

12.Here Comes The Nice (Mono Version) - 2:58

13.Talk To You (Mono Version) - 2:08

14.Itchycoo Park (Mono Version) - 2:49

15.I'm Only Dreaming (Mono Version) - 2:25

16.Tin Soldier (Mono Version) - 3:22

17.I Feel Much Better (Mono Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 3:58

18.Lazy Sunday (Mono Version) - 3:06

19.Rollin' Over (Mono Version) - 2:13

20.The Universal (Mono Version) - 2:46

21.Donkey Rides , A Penny , A Glass (Mono Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:51

22.Afterglow (Of Your Love) (Mono Single Edit) - 3:26

23.Wham, Bam, Thank You Mam (Mono Version) - 3:18

Disc 2

1. I Can't Make It (Stereo Version) - 2:12

2. Just Passing (Stereo Version) - 1:16

3. Here Comes The Nice (Stereo Version) - 3:04

4. Itchycoo Park (Stereo Version) - 2:51

5. I'm Only Dreaming (Stereo Version) - 2:26

6. Tin Soldier (Stereo Version) - 3:24

7. I Feel Much Better (Stereo Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 3:58

8. The Universal (Stereo Version) - 2:42

9. Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass (Stereo Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:54

10.Wham Bam, Thank You Mam (Stereo Version) - 3:19

11.(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me (Version 2) - 2:15

12.Something I Want To Tell You - 2:10

13.Feeling Lonely - 1:35

14.Happy Boys Happy - 1:37

15.Things Are Going To Get Better - 2:40

16.My Way Of Giving (Version 2) - 2:00

17.Green Circles (Version 1) (Mariott, Lane, O'Sullivan) - 2:48

18.Become Like You - 1:58

19.Get Yourself Together - 2:16

10.All Our Yesterdays - 1:53

21.Talk To You - 2:09

22.Show Me The Way - 2:09

23.Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire - 2:06

24.Eddie's Dreaming (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:53

Disc 3

1. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (Mariott, Lane, McLagan, Jones) - 2:29

2. Afterglow (Of Your Love) - 3:32

3. Long Agos And Worlds Apart (McLagan) - 2:34

4. Rene - 4:31

5. Song Of A Baker - 3:16

6. Lazy Sunday - 3:07

7. Happiness Stan - 2:36

8. Rollin' Over - 2:49

9. The Hungry Intruder (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:14

10.The Journey (Mariott, Lane, McLagan, Jones) - 4:09

11.Mad John - 2:50

12.Happydaystoytown - 4:21

13.Rollin' Over (Live Version) - 2:31

14.If I Were A Carpenter (Live Version) (Tim Hardin) - 2:33

15.Every Little Bit Hurts (Live Version) (Ed Cobb) - 6:22

16.All Or Nothing (Live Version) - 3:43

17.Tin Soldier (Live Version) - 3:22

Disc 4
1. Call It Something Nice - 2:06
2. The Autumn Stone (Marriott) - 4:00
3. Every Little Bit Hurts (Studio Version) (Ed Cobb) - 3:56
4. Collibosher - 3:13
5. Red Balloon (Tim Hardin) - 4:13
6. Don't Burst My Bubble - 2:24
7. (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me (Version 3) - 2:06
8. Green Circles (Version 2) (Mariott, Lane, O'Sullivan) - 2:35
9. Picaninny - 3:04
10.The Pig Trotters - 2:47
11.The War Of The Worlds - 3:15
12.Wide-Eyed Girl On The Wall - 2:48
13.Tin Soldier (Instrumental Version) - 3:03
14.Green Circles (USA Mix) (Mariott, Lane, O'Sullivan) - 2:52
15.Wham Bam, Thank You Mam (Guide Vocal) - 3:22
16.Collibosher (Alternate Mix) - 3:35
17.Donkey Rides, A Penny, A Glass (Alternate Mix With Experimental Brass Overdub) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 3:08
18.The Hungry Intruder (Instrumental Version) (Mariott, Lane, McLagan) - 2:04
19.Red Balloon (Alternate Mix) (Tim Hardin) - 4:21
20.Tin Soldier (Half Instrumental, Half Vocal Mix) - 3:24
21.The Autum Stone (Alternate Mix) - 4:00
22.Wide-Eyed Girl On The Wall (Alternate Mix) - 2:58
All songs by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane except where noted

Small Faces
*Steve Marriott - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*Ronnie Lane - Lead Vocals, Bass
*Ian McLagan - Keyboards, Vocals
*Kenny Jones - Drums, Percussion

1967 Small Faces - Green Circles / First Immediate Album

1968 The Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (3 discs set)

Two people inspired me to write these liners: 1) my best friend Tony Papa, who is the best recording engineer in L. A.,and was the drummer in all my bands of the 60's and 70's-an era I refer to as the "renaissance" of rock n roll, and 2) my younger and only brother, Tom (who after Leon, Billy and Elton is the best piano player I've ever known and who continues to inspire me to this day to become a better piano player. Tom also played with me in all our rock bands of that era).

Dirty Martha or its full original name Dirty Martha's Music Company was the culmination of a number of events. In 1968 Tony told me about a new group playing at the Trauma in center city Philly. That band was B.S.&T. with new lead singer David Clayton Thomas taking over for the band's originator and writer, Al Kooper (album- 'Child is Father to the Man'}.

It was the second show on a warm summer night and Tony and I laid across benches to listen to the first horn, rock n roll band I ever heard in my life. While I was in college, Tony and Tom were playing with an originals band called "Nickels n Dimes", an outgrowth of a high school band we formed called the Savoys. I had just graduated college where for 3 years I gave up gigging when Tony called me to go see B.S.&T. Tony and Tom (who was about to enter a music college where he earned a Masters in music performance) were playing frat house parties & clubs at the New Jersey shore.

After I saw the concert I "forced" my way into their band as bass player. About 6 months later, brother Tom became friends with an awesome lead singer and songwriter, Lou De Meis, while at Combs College of Music and, as they say, "the rest is history". We started Dirty Martha as a horn band with 8 pieces and began writing original material we recorded in a studio (MSI Recording Studios) we set up and owned at the time in riot torn Camden City, New Jersey, above a Spanish food market.

These recordings are saved for posterity thanks to Tony Papa, who believed in our music despite countless rejections after our many trips to the Brill Building in NYC and his avocation for the music business in his 40 years, the last 30 which he has spent in Los Angeles, recording and producing.

After 40 years, Dirty Martha the album,sees the light of day. God, how we wish for those days again. I hope you enjoy the music as much as we enjoyed being a part of an awesome time in the music business. Check out Tony's web site at www.tonypapa.net for more information on the band.

by Duke D'Anastasio

Tracks
1. This Is It (Tom D'Anastasio) - 4:55
2. Away From Here (Lou De Meis) - 3:34
3. She's Not There (Rod Argent) - 3:54
4. Direction (The Band) - 3:23
5. Why Can't I? (Murray Goodman, Terry Wade) - 4:35
6. Children's Song (The Band) - 5:27
7. Gimme' Some Lov'm'(S.Davis, M.Winwood, S.Winwood) - 4:01
8. Lovely Day (Lou De Meis) - 4:43
9. Martha's Ragjam (The Band) - 4:24
10.Mornings (Lou De Meis) - 4:04
11.My Reasons (Terry Wade) - 2:36
12.Song To Sing (John Burgo) - 2:29
13.The Quest (Tom D'Anastasio) - 4:33
14.Things I'll Never Know (Lou De Meis) - 2:13
15.Where Are U Going (Lou De Meis) - 7:18
16.Children's Song (Live) (The Band) - 6:09
17.This Is It! (Live) (Tom D'Anastasio) - 4:46

Dirty Martha
*Tom D' Anastasio - Keyboards, Flute
*Duke D' Anastasio - Bass, Vocals
*Terry Wade - Guitar, Vocals
*Tony Papa - Drums
*Phil Ryan -Trumpet, Percussion
*Murray Goldman -Trombone, Percussion
*John Burgo - Saxes, Percussion
*Lou De Meis - Lead Vocals, Keyboards

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The Sons of Champlin's sprawling, double-LP debut album, Loosen Up Naturally, had its launch marred by the discovery of an obscenity in the cover art that resulted in a mass recall and ruined its commercial chances.

They were also beset by internal strife, and when the time came to release their second album only six months later, they chose to de-emphasize the primacy of lead singer and main songwriter Bill Champlin by shortening their name to "the Sons" and also giving that name to the record. But their music remained essentially the same, a mixture of Champlin's thoughtful lyrics and gritty singing with Terry Haggerty's inventive lead guitar work and the two-man horn section of Tim Caine and Geoffrey Palmer.

As usual, there was almost too much going on in the arrangements, which gave the songs touches of folk, rock, jazz, and psychedelia, often in the same song, as a couple of the tunes extended beyond ten minutes in length, changing tempo and feel in mid-flight. Clearly, this was a band that was accustomed to using its songs as frameworks for free playing in concert, but the bandmembers still hadn't quite figured out how that worked in the studio, and their arguments about musical direction could be heard in the music itself.

Champlin remained the strongest presence in the band, but his songs (all of which were credited to the Sons communally) took a backseat to the group that was playing them any way it wanted to. The results could be exhilarating, if in a somewhat anarchic way.

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks
1. Love Of A Woman - 7:54
2. Terry's Tune - 3:47
3. Boomp Boomp Chop - 10:08
4. Why Do People Run From The Rain - 3:29
5. It's Time - 3:57
6. Country Girl - 1:49
7. You Can Fly - 11:33
All compositions by The Sons of Champlin

The Sons of Champlin
*Jim Beem - Trumpet
*Bill Bowen - Drums
*Tim Caine - Saxophone
*Bill Champlin - Guitar, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals
*Terry Haggerty - Guitar, Vocals
*Geoffrey Palmer - Bass, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals
*Al Strong - Bass

1969 The Sons Of Champlin - Loosen Up Naturally

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Recognized as one of the best performing acts of their time, they toured 300 days a year including sold out performances at Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore East, Fillmore West, Expo ‘70 in Japan and the Isle of Wight Festival in England where they were the only act besides Jimi Hendrix asked to perform twice among acts that included The Doors, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, The Who and Chicago. Back home, their free concerts at Toronto’s Nathan Philips Square attracted one hundred thousand people. Indeed, it’s hard to find a person who lived in Canada through the 1970s who didn’t see the group live. They were Canada’s band.

Free-wheeling, high-spirited – the music of Lighthouse mirrored the times. Their story is interwoven with the history of late twentieth century Canada. Their rise to fame coincided with a new awareness of Canadian culture, encouraged by the government of Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The emergence of Cancon (Canadian content regulations) influenced by Skip Prokop’s historic appearance before Parliament, allowed the music of Canadians to be heard across the country. Riding the wave, Lighthouse originated the cross-Canada rock tour, playing every major and minor venue across the country. Devoted audiences from province to province took pride in seeing one of their own make it to the top.

On the advice of friend, folk legend Richie Havens, they took the demo to MGM Records in New York City. Twenty minutes later they had a record deal and a thirty thousand dollar advance. Two days later they had a manager – Vinnie Fusco from Albert Grossman’s office. Prokop and Hoffert were in heaven. Now all they had to do was put together a performing band.

Lighthouse made its live debut at Toronto’s Rock Pile on May 14, 1969, introduced by none other than Duke Ellington. They were an instant smash. Manager Vinnie Fusco brought them to New York to record their first album at the fabled Electric Ladyland Studios. They were in the middle of one of their sessions when Fusco cheerily popped in to announce that he had just signed the band to a hot deal with RCA records for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This was a bit of a shock to Prokop and Hoffert who had already signed with MGM. Fusco didn’t break a sweat as he brokered a backroom deal between the two companies. This was the sixties after all: stuff happened!

Lighthouse-official

Tracks
1. Mountain Man (Ralph Cole, Peggy Devereux, Skip Prokop) - 4:29
2. If There Ever Was A Time (Skip Prokop) - 5:05
3. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (Richie Havens) - 3:09
4. Never Say Goodbye (Brenda Hoffert, Paul Hoffert) - 3:28
5. Follow The Stars (Skip Prokop) - 4:18
6. Whatever Forever (Paul Hoffert, Skip Prokop) - 5:06
7. Eight Miles High (Gene Clark, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn) - 5:16
8. Marsha, Marsha (Skip Prokop) - 3:28
9. Ah I Can Feel It (Skip Prokop) - 4:54
10.Life Can Be So Simple (Peggy Devereux, Skip Prokop) - 4:03
11.If There Ever Was A Time (Single Version) (Skip Prokop) - 2:56
12.Eight Miles High (Single Version) (Gene Clark, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn) - 3:25

Lighthouse
*Skip Prokop - Leader, Drums, Vocals
*Paul Hoffert - Keyboards, Vibes
*Ralph Cole - Guitar, Vocals
*Grant Fullerton - Bass, Vocals
*Pinky Dauvin - Percussion, Vocals
*Ian Guenther - Violin
*Don DiNovo - Violin, Viola
*Don Whitton - Cello
*Leslie Schneider - Cello
*Freddy Stone - Trumpet, Fluge
*Arnie Chycoski - Trumpet, Flugel
*Howard Shore - Alto Sax
*Russ Little - Trombone

Lighthouse
1971 One Fine Morning
1972 Sunny Days (2008 RDI issue)
1973 Can You Feel It? (2008 RDI issue)
Related Acts
1967 The Paupers - Magic People
1968 The Paupers · Ellis Island (2008 remaster)
1969 The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper
1969 Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites & Friends - Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West (2009 remaster and expanded)

This post is dedicated to Kobilica, one of the blog's best friends.

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It must have been 1990. I was paying a visit to a heavily connected record dealer who had just received some tapes from overseas. He put one on with the words "This is what Paul [Major] and Gregg [Breth] are going to reissue, it's an English album called DARK". I had never heard of it before. "Dark, huh?". The music comes on, a very intro-like thing which nevertheless suggested a nice drum and guitar sound quite unlike the usual 1972 bombast. "Hmm...". Then the actual song begins, a confident, lyrical west coast jam sound like 1968 Quicksilver on a strong night. "This sounds good...", I say. Light, unpretentious vocals enter and the final great fear – that of an Operatic Macho Vocalist – disappears. "This sounds, uh... very good". The record dealer nods in agreement. Shortly after this the Swank label US vinyl reissue did appear, but for reasons not yet made clear it cost not less than $150 in retail, so I passed and settled for a tape dupe.

According to Stephen Smith who produced a more affordable Dark reissue two years later, there will never be another private press British LP of the same stature as Dark "Round the edges". This may be true, and it certainly is one of the rarest, but then rarity doesn't account for anything, and in terms of quality there's nothing exceptional about it. It is a good LP, but also with a number of flaws of varying degrees. As it turns out, my first encounter with it turned out to be a bit of a deception.

After getting the Kissing Spell reissue CD my one-line review of the Dark LP used to be that it "gets weaker for each track". This is not entirely true, but the track sequencing is one of the problems. The opening "Darkside" track, as hinted above, is perhaps the best underground guitarpsych track ever to come out of England, a piece of pure perfection; jammy, loose, beckoning, un-hardrocky, anything. The rest of side 1 is in the same vein, just slightly less "there", and I always choke on the lyrics on "Maypole" which strike me as simple gibberish.

Side 2 opens with the album's weakest track which I can only describe as mediocre, an uninspired melody unfortunately accentuated by a lead guitar playing tandem with the vocals; tracks 5 and 6 are better, but the lack of a "Darkside" makes the second half of the LP a rather pedestrian experience, with insufficient time devoted to songwriting, and nothing added to the fullfleshed statement of the opener – losing the "R C 8" track altogether and shuffling the others around a bit would undoubtedly improved the LP a couple of points.

On a more fundamental level, the vibe I get from Dark is that of a bunch of unknown guys who have been rehearsing in a basement for a long time, building an extensive understanding of each others musical ideas, and each honing their craft – the playing is superb, perhaps the drummer most of all – and it isn't really hardrock, or bluesrock, but a classic jam outfit bred out of the late 1960s US westcoast style, almost jazzy in the playing, but never pretentious or showoffy. That's the positive side of the coin, the negative is that any desire to make a personal statement; perhaps even the ability to do so, went missing in the basement about 500 hours of rehearsal ago. Dark are very sure of what they can play, and they can even afford to be cool about it, but the coolness by definition also means a lack of passion, or fire – again, it's only the initial "Darkside" track that resembles something born out of experience and emotion, rather than an exploration of scales and time signatures.
Lysergia

Tracks
1. Darkside (Giles, Johnson, Thorneycroft, Bush) - 7:28
2. Maypole (Giles) - 5:03
3. Live For Today (Giles, Johnson, Thorneycroft, Weaver) - 8:07
4. R.C.8 (Giles) - 5:05
5. Cat (Giles, Johnson, Thorneycroft) - 5:19
6. Zero Time (Giles, Johnson, Thorneycroft) - 6:49

Dark
*Colin Bush - Bass
*Steve Giles - Guitar
*Clive Thorneycroft - Drums
*Ronald Johnson - Bass
*Martin Weaver - Guitar

1969-71 Dark - Teenage Angst The Early Sessions
1974-95 Dark - Anonymous Days

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The Cates were born in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1942 and grew up in Springdale (Washington County). Although not born to a musical family, the Cates taught themselves how to play and were heavily influenced during their teenage years by Hawkins, whose ever-changing band, the Hawks, was at that time composed of the personnel who eventually became famous as Bob Dylan backup ensemble, the Band: pianist Richard Manuel, keyboardist Garth Hudson, drummer Levon Helm, and guitarist Robbie Robertson.

The northwest Arkansas musical enclave was a diverse one, however, and the Cates heard not only renowned touring rock musicians but also worked with such local stars as vocalist Ken Owens while competing with Hawkins and Tolleson for a tough, knowledgeable regional audience. The Cates band was originally called the Del-Reys, and they sang Everly Brothers style harmonies when they were young, before they developed their own vocal persona. Earl plays the guitar, while Ernie plays keyboard.

The Cates have remained close to the northwest Arkansas club and festival activities, which revolve around the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville and have expanded to accommodate the booming regional commercial developments related to the growth of Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods, and J. B. Hunt.

But the Cates are also true to their musical roots in that theirs is a country soul unit, and they are masters of a kind of rhythmic eclecticism that is native to the cultural territory from which it emerged, bounded generationally by Bob Wills western swing and the Band blend of hillbilly simplicity and blues depth and incorporating both styles into their The Cates association with Helm resulted in Helm performing with the Gates after he temporarily dropped out of Bob Dylan wildly controversial international (and extensively documented) electric tour in the mid-1960s.

Earl and Ernie Cate, (as The Cates Gang) released two albums in the 70's-Wanted (1972) and Come Back Home (1973). Both of them were excellent singer songwriters and influenced rock 'n' roll, country and soul music. Later, they became Cate Bros and eventually signed with Asylum in the mid 70s where they released four albums. Both 'Wanted' and 'Come Back Home' are considered as the best swamp rock albums deeply inspired by soul and R’n’B.

In 1975, the Cates released two more albums on the Asylum label (a powerful force in rock music at the time and one with which Helm had professional contacts), Cate Bros. Band and In One Eye and Out the Other, which led to the Gates touring nationally themselves. Asylum also released The Cate Brothers Band in 1977.

The Cate Brothers Band earned the group critical acclaim for its distinctive sound and a solid reputation for expert musicianship. The album was produced by legendary Memphis guitarist Steve Cropper, a member of Booker T. and the MG's and a mainstay of the celebrated Stax label throughout the company 1960s heyday.

CD Liner-notes

Tracks
1. Livin' On The Countryside - 2:32
2. When Daylight Comes - 2:51
3. One Woman Man - 2:24
4. Let's All Join Together - 2:58
5. Let It Show - 2:17
6. I Wanna Give It All To You - 2:40
7. I've Got My Baby - 2:36
8. Love Your Neighbor - 2:18
9. Wrapped Around - 2:31
10.When Love Comes - 2:38
11.Trying To Get To You - 2:41

The Cates Gang
*Earl Cate - Guitar, Vocals
*Ernie Cate - Keyboards, Vocals
*Terry Cagle - Drums, Percussion
*Billy Wright - Bass

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The Light were a local 'supergroup' of sorts, uniting the brightest talents from two earlier bands from Southern California's fertile Inland Empire garage scene.

Bass player/vocalist Pete Samson and lead guitarist Bob Anglin were both part of the Northside Moss, but by early 1967 were looking to start something new. At the same time, the Bush were beginning to fall apart after a two-year run as the region's most popular act. Samson and Anglin approached the Bush's Greg Eckler about joining forces, and after some complicated finagling the first lineup of the Light came together around March of 1967, with Pete Samson on lead vocals and bass, Bob Anglin on lead guitar and vocals, Greg Eckler on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Brent Cartwright (also from the Bush) on drums.

Mark I of the Light never quite gelled, but stuck together long enough to record an eight-song demo for Capitol Records in April 1967. Soon afterwards Brent left, Greg moved to drums (his primary instrument before joining the Bush) and the Bush's charismatic front man, Steve Hoard, came in to share the lead vocal slot and play rhythm guitar.

This second line up soon attracted the attention of Music Machine producer Brian Ross, who scored the group a single deal with A&M Records on the strength of the melodic Samson-Anglin composition, "Music Box." The single (a Jekyll and Hyde pairing with the fuzz-guitar monster "Back Up" on the flip) was released in September 1967 and "Music Box" quickly became a huge local hit.

By this time, though, the Light's sound had transformed yet again with the addition of a second lead guitarist, 17-yearold Joe Casados, previously of the Peasants. The band now had a three-guitar line up- two lead, one rhythm- in addition to their four strong vocalists and songwriters, a similar format to the Buffalo Springfield or Moby Grape, but with the dueling guitar artillery of the Beck-Page Yardbirds.

With this third lineup the Light finally reached the full, white-hot potential of their combined talents. The recently unearthed studio and live recordings on this CD attest to the phenomenal chemistry between the musicians- Anglin and Casados in particular- as well as the strength of their songwriting.

Unfortunately, just as they were reaching their musical peak the Light fell apart. Feeling marginalized within the band, and with major problems shaking his personal life, Pete Samson decided to quit towards the end of 1967. The other four continued briefly as White Pepper, bringing in Dave Hoard (Steve's younger brother and another ex-Bush member) on bass, but broke up after just a few gigs. Bob, Greg and Steve eventually regrouped under the name Cock Robin, and continued to work together, on and off, for several more years. (Steve also spent some time in England in 1969, fronting a revived lineup of the Misunderstood.)

Meanwhile, Pete Samson traded his bass for a guitar and teamed up with a local Fontana musician, Sammy Hagar. The duo recorded a single for Ranwood Records in early 1968 before going their separate ways. Samson then embarked on a long, troubled but sporadically productive solo career. Greg Eckler worked with him occasionally during 1968-70, including a demo recording of one of Pete's most hauntingly poignant compositions, "Die Another Day," which we've chosen to use as the closing track for this CD.

Sadly, Pete passed away on February 5, 2006. This collection is dedicated to his memory.

by MikeStax, June 2007

Tracks

1. Back Up (Anglin, Eckler, Hoard) - 2:50

2. Music Box (Anglin, Samson) - 1:55

3. Every Day (Samson) - 2:12

4. What You Need (Is Me) (Hoard, Eckler) - 2:24

5. Somebody Touch Me (Eckler) - 3:29

6. Good Inside (Hoard) - 2:07

7. Got To Have You (Samson) - 2:39

8. Just Like The Last Time (Anglin, Samson) - 4:20

9. Tobacco Road (Loudermilk) - 3:13

10.Somebody Touch Me (Eckler) - 3:18

11.I Feel Free (Bruce, Brown) - 3:53

12.Good Inside (Hoard) - 2:07

13.Can't You Hear Me (Samson) - 2:32

14.Got To Have You (Samson) - 2:23

15.Got A Good Reason (Lennon, McCartney, Arr. Anglin) - 2:08

16.Just Like The Last Time (Instrumental) (Anglin, Samson) - 4:18

17.Can't You Hear Me (Samson) - 2:41

18.Tell Me, Tell Me (# 1) (Anglin, Eckler) - 3:56

19.She's Not There (Argent) - 3:02

20.Milk Cow Blues (Arnold) - 4:28

21.I Need Love (Anglin, Eckler) - 2:41

22.When I Look At Her (Anglin, Eckler) - 2:18

23.Tell Me, Tell Me (# 2) (Anglin, Eckler) - 2:50

24.It's All Over (Anglin, Samson) - 2:23

25.Die Another Day (Samson) - 2:41

The Light

*Pete Samson - Vocals, Bass

*Bob Aglin - Lead Guitar, Vocals

*Greg Eckler - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Drums

*Ben Cartwright - Drums

*Steve Hoard - Vocals Rhythm Guitar (Tracks 1-17, 20, 24)

*Joe Casados - Lead Guitar (Tracks 5-17)

*Phil Kelley - 8-String Bass (Track 25)

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A Christmas Present...and Past, by Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay, was one of the stranger seasonal albums ever made, which was perhaps appropriate given its release in the midst of the psychedelic '60s/Vietnam War era. Lindsay and producer/co-songwriter Terry Melcher concocted a comic, satirical take on Christmas that included sendups of President Lyndon Johnson, references to current social problems, and "A Heavy Christmas Message," which plaintively asked, "Who took the Christ out of Christmas?" Amazingly, Columbia Records reissued this odd artifact on CD in the 1990s as though it were just another collection of holiday songs. Listeners who buy it unaware are in for a surprise.

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks
1. Introduction (Lindsay, Melcher) 2:01
2. Wear a Smile at Christmas (Lindsay, Melcher) 1:32
3. Jingle Bells (Pierpont) 3:07
4. Brotherly Love (Lindsay, Melcher) 2:09
5. Rain, Sleet, Snow (Lindsay, Melcher) 2:51
6. Peace (Lindsay, Melcher) 3:17
7. Valley Forge (Lindsay, Melcher) 3:02
8. Dear Mr. Claus (Lindsay, Melcher) 2:33
9. Macy's Window (Lindsay, Melcher) 1:29
10.Christmas Spirit (Lindsay, Melcher) 2:02
11.A Heavy Christmas Message (Lindsay, Melcher) 3:15

Paul Revere And The Raiders
*Mark Lindsay - Vocals, Saxophone
*Charlie Coe - Bass Guitar
*Drake "Kid" Levin - Lead Guitar
*Freddy Weller - Lead Guitar
*Joe Correro, Jr. - Drums

1963-65 Paul Revere And The Raiders - Mojo Work Out
1970 Mark Lindsay - Arizona / Silverbird

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1972 saw the first personnel change in the Oblivion Express when Scot guitarist and vocalist Alex Ligertwood joined the quartet. Second Wind was the band's third outing overall, and the first with its new singer. In typical fashion, Brian Auger upped the creative ante once again. Whereas the previous two albums -- the self-titled debut, and A Better Land -- had showcased, respectively, the mirroring jazz and pop sides of the band, Second Wind combines them regally.

With Auger being free to arrange and play, his composing skills went through the roof. In addition, Ligertwood added to the compositional depth of the band, as evidenced by his fine work, "Truth," which opens the album with its riff-oriented jazz undercoat and rockist sheen. Ligertwood is an excellent rock vocalist, with his reedy middle-range voice and strained falsetto, he wrings the passion from his lyrics. Auger, here on B3, particularly, and on piano to a lesser degree, is simply dazzling on every track. The funky, jazzy grooves on this set are indicative of the direction Auger would mine on all of his future recordings (a fine example of their early fruit is on the driven, deep funk and roll of "Somebody Help Us.")

The centerpiece of the album is the Eddie Harris, Auger, and Ligertwood composition, "Freedom Jazz Dance," covered by everyone from War to the Beastie Boys. Simply put, this track is the pure embodiment of "groove jazz." With its shimmering opening of elongated chords against a tight, rhythmic shuffle, it leaves room for solos, turnabout melodic improvisations, and a melody that is as serpentine as it is infectious. Second Wind is chunky grooves, wondrously complex instrumental interludes, and inspiring performances, all adding up to a solid, adventurous chapter in Oblivion Express' history.

by Thom Jurek

Tracks
1. Truth (Alex Ligertwood) - 7:46
2. Don't Look Away (J. Mullen, B. Dean, A. Ligertwood) - 6:01
3. Somebody Help Us (Brian Auger) - 6:32
4. Freedom Jazz Dance (Harris, B. Auger, A. Ligertwood) - 5:26
5. Just You, Just Me (Brian Auger) - 6:15
6. Second Wind (Brian Auger) - 6:39
7. Freedom Jazz Dance (Live in Paris, 1971) (Eddie Harris, B. Auger, A. Ligertwood) - 5:27

Oblivion Express
*Brian Auger - Keyboards
*Alex Ligertwood - Vocal
*Jim Mullen - Guitar
*Barry Dean - Bass
*Robbie McIntosh - Drums

1971 Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - A Better Land (2006 japan remaster)

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I dithered about reviewing Chris Bell’s I Am The Cosmos for months, in part because I was struggling to decide exactly what I wanted to say about it, in part because of its ambiguous status: formerly considered a “lost album” but nowadays a recognised classic (for the measure of its current standing, read the heartfelt reviews on Amazon.com), whilst actually not an album as conceived, but a compilation of tracks laid down over the six years before his death in 1978 and only issued in collected form fourteen years later to cash in on the renewed interest in Alex Chilton’s tempestuous career. Whatever: such an exceptional record deserves a slot on The Rising Storm.

Chris Bell’s history is extensively available on the Internet, so I’ll eschew my usual historical perspective and offer a purely personal appreciation. I bought the CD in 2001 as a clearance bargain, the insert booklet having gone missing; hence I do not have, and have not read, the highly-rated explanative booklet essay by Chris’s brother David. I knew of Chris as an ex-founder member of Big Star, but I knew nothing of his subsequent music, nor of his repressed homosexuality, clinical depression, heroin addiction and untimely ending, and it was mostly the mystique of the title I Am The Cosmos that prompted me to pick the album up. It didn’t turn out to be the neo-psychedelic exposition the title suggested, but one of the most intimately personal and bittersweet singer-songwriter collections I’ve ever heard: twelve absolutely exquisite compositions, mostly despairing songs of unrequited love, barely leavened with a couple of gently evangelical, faintly optimistic near-hymns.

Musically, the album runs the whole gamut from harsh, primitive electric tracks, all splintered guitars, thunderous drum fills and Spectoresque reverb, to sweet acoustic numbers with the softest possible string or woodwind coloration. Among the many original touches, “Speed Of Sound” pitches the acoustics against “violin-ed” lead guitar, marimba and swelling synth, whilst the quirky “Fight At The Table” features barrelhouse piano and an odd, wah-ed bass line, and the gentle Fender Rhodes on “Though I Know She Lies” is complemented by a crying George Harrison-like slide guitar.

Despite all this variety the overall feel is homogeneous enough to almost convince you that the album was recorded as a single entity. Chris’s vocal throughout is high and keening, and mostly double-tracked with a dissonance that lends yet further pathos to his lyrical delivery. I don’t often attach the greatest importance to lyrics, preferring to hear the voice more as a principal instrument, but given the nature of this record they’re a quintessential and indivisible part of the package: simple, almost naïve and childlike, but utterly honest and expressive – just incredibly sad, without a trace of the cynicism present in some of Alex Chilton’s writing.

If you feel like getting emotionally wrung out one evening, try playing this end-to-end with Neil Young’s Tonight’s The Night, Kurt Cobain’s In Utero and Elliott Smith’s eponymous second album. It’ll either make you feel much better or have you reaching for the razor blades.

by Len Liechti

Tracks

Disc 1

1. I Am The Cosmos - 3:46

2. Better Save Yourself - 4:25

3. Speed Of Sound - 5:11

4. Get Away - 3:26

5. You And Your Sister - 3:11

6. Make A Scene - 4:09

7. Look Up - 3:14

8. I Got Kinda Lost - 2:42

9. There Was A Light - 3:19

10.Fight At The Table - 3:41

11.I Don't Know - 3:22

12.Though I Know She Lies - 3:35

All songs by Chris Bell

Disc 2
1. Icewater - Looking Forward - 3:39
2. Icewater - Sunshine (Stephen Rhea) - 1:45
3. Rock City - My Life Is Right (C. Bell, Tom Eubanks) - 3:08
4. I Don't Know (Alternate Version) - 4:18
5. You And Your Sister (Alternate Version) - 3:03
6. I Am The Cosmos (Extended Alternate Version) - 5:07
7. Speed Of Sound (Alternate Version) - 5:13
8. Fight At The Table (Alternate Mix) - 4:11
9. Make A Scene (Alternate Mix) - 4:11
10.Better Save Yourself (Alternate Mix) - 4:29
11.Get Away (Alternate Version) - 4:21
12.You And Your Sister (Acoustic Version) - 3:00
13.With Keith Sykes - Stay With Me (Keith Sykes) - 2:49
14.With Nancy Bryan - In My Darkest Hour - 3:01
15.Clacton Rag - 3:30
All songs by Chris Bell unless as else written

Musicians
*Chris Bell - Guitar, Vocals
*Ken Woodley - Bass Guitar, Organ
*Richard Rosebrough - Drums
*Jody Stephens - Drums
*Alex Chilton - Backing Vocals, Guitar
*Jim Dickinson - Piano

Related Acts
1970 Terry Manning - Home Sweet Home
1967-70 The Box Tops - The Best Of Box Tops
1970 Alex Chilton - Free Again (2012 release)
1985 Alex Chilton – Feudalist Tarts (Big Time Vinyl edition)

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The band Hickory Wind was formed in Indiana in 1969, by four very young musicians: Sonny Prentice, Alan Jones, Bobby Strehl, and Mike McGuyer. Much of their early musical influences were country rock bands like the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and in a more psychedelic nature: The Beatles in fact, the band's name came from an old Byrd's tune.

The album was recorded in the fall of 1969 and had a very limited release, hence the high dollar value of an original today. Musically the album is a mix of classic country rock played through a psychedelic vibe. The track "Time and Changes" is in my mind, a classic of the era.

There always has been a mystical innocence about the album that I love and the cover I cherish in it's hippie simplicity. The band broke up in 1970, with Sonny Prentice moving to Kentucky and the three remaining members forming B.F.Trike, of which I have included four cuts on this reissue. Hickory Wind is another example of some young musicians who were very talented but didn't have the break or the promotion to make it big.

by Brian Hulitt

Tracks
1. I Don't Believe (Sonny Prentice) - 3:27
2. Time And Changes (Bob Strehl) - 2:26
3. Maybe Tomorrow (Alan Jones) - 3:13
4. Transit Blues (Alan Jones) - 2:49
5. Country Boy (Chuck Lawrence) - 2:15
6. The Loner (Chuck Lawrence) - 2:29
7. Mr. Man (Sonny Prentice) - 3:34
8. New Albany Police Carnival (Alan Jones) - 2:49
9. Father Come With Me (Bob Strehl) - 4:07
10.Judy (Lee Hyatt) - 2:45
11.I'm A Man - 3:41
12.Red Shoes - 2:25
13.Come A Little Closer - 3:18
14.Shuh Rah - 3:10
Bonus Tracks 11-14 recorded as B.F. Trike

Hickory Wind
*Sonny Prentice - Lead, Rhythm, Bass, Harp
*Mike McGuyer - Lead, Rhythm, Harp, Piano And Organ
*Alan Jones - Rhythm, Bass
*Bob Strehl - Drums

Related Act
1971 B.F.Trike - B.F.Trike

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Born in Cardiff, Wales son of a Lay Preacher-Merchant Navy Sea Captain, Lindsay crossed the Atlantc Ocean six times by small cargo steamer, before the age of eight Captain Tom Organ took his wife Dorothy and two young children, Lindsay, and his older sister Anthea, on three exciting voyages to Canada. To this day, Lindsay can remember the massive storms, tidal waves, icebergs, and whales, he saw as a small boy. He says" I will always be grateful for the incredible memories my father gave me by taking me on those voyages", "I will forever love, and remain in awe, of the ocean".

Lindsay started playing guitar and writing songs at the age of eleven. Lindsay was 17, and Jacqueline Clifton was just 14 when they first met and started going together. 'The Land of Opportunity' was calling and after being married just a few months, they emigrated to Canada, arriving on the last day of February 1967, with approximately $50.00 cash, a trunk full of "stuff", including Lindsay's meager record collection, and hearts full of hopes and dreams.

After a year in Toronto, they turned a singing and performing hobby into a full time professional career in May 1968. Toronto agent Paul Simmons booked them their first gig. "The Nor-Shore" hotel, Thunder Bay (Port Arthur), a sixteen-hour drive from Toronto. "We were thrilled," says Lindsay of the time. "What a way to see the new homeland of Canada". The booking was an instant success. Lindsay recalls "It's just that we were such a novelty". "We sang 'light rock', and the popular folk songs of that time. But we had these really strong Welsh accents that almost no one had ever heard before". "That year we worked 48 weeks straight, and that's at six days a week, and I swore I would never work that hard again".

1968 their second year as full time professionals, they were offered to be managed by Andy Anka, father of the legendary Canadian singer/ songwriter Paul Anka. The relationship lasted for quite a few years before they parted ways. "Andy and we were just moving in different directions," says Lindsay. "Although, we had a great relationship while it lasted. Andy opened a lot of doors for us, he got us some great TV and radio exposure". "I'll always remember him as a very kind and generous man". The duo got to perform CBC radio and Television shows with some of Toronto's top studio musicians of that time: Mo Koffman, Guido Basso, Rob McConnell, Peter Appleyard, Ed Bickert, Don Thompson, Terry Clarke, Doug Riley. They shared television appearances with Dr Music, Gene McLellan, Catherine McKinnon, and many other popular Canadian performers of that time.

In 1969 they were the act that opened Toronto night spot, "the Jarvis House". They played numerous return engagements to 'line-up around the corner' crowds, every night. "It was 'The Age of Aquarius' days", Lindsay recalls. "Every night ended in encore after encore". "The crowds would go wild", "One night after we tried to leave the stage, they picked up Jacqueline and literally carried her back on. During that time they were offered a recording deal with Art Snider, owner of a Toronto recording studio called "Sound Canada".

Lindsay and Jacqueline were then living in Burlington, close to Toronto. They asked Ron Knappett, their next door neighbour's son, and an experienced jazz drummer to drum on their recording session. Through Ron they were introduced to two young musicians, just out of school, Daniel Lanois and his school mate Bob Doige. Bob Doidge had played bass in Ian Thomas's band Tranquility Base and Danny had been performing in groups when he was still in school. He and his brother Bob Lanois were starting to build a studio in the basement of their mum's house in Ancaster, Ontario.

At "Sound Canada", which had the luxury of being '8 track', Lindsay was supplied with a sound engineer, an Irish immigrant named Ernie Lyons ("lt's time fer another jar"), and all the freedom to produce what he wanted. The result is an eclectic mix of Lindsay early original compositions, with all sorts of experimental sounds and vocals. Lindsay quote: {"I was still learning the craft of songwriting. One song I'd recently placed second in a British song contest, but the one that came off the best was 'Night Spinner'. It's a little folk song I wrote in Barbados, and we recorded it without drums.

It's more interesting really from a historic point of view. Of the four people on that song: Bob Doidge (bass), later produced Gordon Lightfoot, Brooks Williams, Prairie Oyster, and now owns Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario. Lindsay later produced Alanis Morissette's first record, and Daniel Lanois (lead guitar) of course has produced almost everyone else from Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, U2, Willie Nelson, etc, etc., etc. Most of the sessions took place at 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. after we'd been playing club gigs. But I remember we all had a hell of a lot of fun, and I believe we all learned a lot about sound and recording technique that was a good foundation for what came later on. Thank you, Art Snider'.}

"In a related story, around that time, Art owned the masters of some old sessions by Gordon Lightfoot and by now Gordon had become very successful". "Art Snider decided to capitalize on Gordon's success, and released the tracks as "Early Lightfoot'. "Bob Doidgem, our first bass player, who later in 1999 recorded and produced Lightfoot at Grant Avenue Studios, said that Gordon himself confirmed this "Lightfoot Legend" to him. Gordon bought the masters back from Art Snider, bought up every single copy of the Album that was in the warehouses and in the shops, and with his manager, laid them out in his driveway. Then together they took an axe and smashed every single one. Apparently Gordon felt the same way about his early album as I did about mine".

Shortly after the release of this album Jacqueline and Lindsay added other musicians to their stage line-up. At different times the group had as many as 6 members on stage. In 1971 they moved out of the city and bought a 125 year old stone farmhouse on 200 acres of beautiful rolling land, just outside of the southern Ontario farming community of Mount Forest.

Canadian-music

Tracks
1. Night Spinner - 3:34
2. It's Not Important - 2:25
3. Give Me Eden - 3:19
4. Nine To Five Blues - 3:29
5. Sip of Wine - 3:47
6. Run With The Hare - 3:39
7. Rape of The Fair Country - 4:21
8. Take Me - 1:59
9. The Fair - 2:01
10.Look Away - 3:32
All songs written by Lindsay Thomas Morgan
Tracks 4 and 9 were recorded at the same original session but never released.

Musicians
*Lindsay Morgan - Vocals, Guitar, Keybaords
*Jacqueline Morgan - Vocals, Percussion
*Paul Benton - Hammond B3
*Ron Knappett - Drums
*Kyle Pacey - Lead Guitar
*Daniel Lanois - Lead Guitar
*Bob Doidge - Bass, Vocals

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This short-lived trio was led by Michael DeGreve, who’d been a rock critic for the Los Angeles Times as of 1966. when he was only 19, bringing him into contact with legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.

In 1968 he decided to switch his focus to music-making, forming a band named The Lid As of early 1970, DeGreve and bassist John Latin! were recording the cult album The Visit with their friend Bob Smith, as well as playing with their own band, Truth, along with a couple from New York who were also trying to make it as actors.

They soon signed to the tiny People label (based at 6430 Sunset Boulevard), run by former Motown A’n’R director Mickey Stevenson, who had recently moved to Los Angeles and was apparently curious to dabble in hippie music. Truth made their sole album with three different producers - Stevenson, Clarence Paul (a former Motown producer) and Leon Ware (a songwriter for Ike & Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and many others).

Despite these strong connections to black music, the album's sound is closer to straight pop, with folk and occasional country and psychedelic influences, rich harmony vocals and words that reference Eastern religion. Perhaps too eclectic to strike a chord with audiences, it was released with no fanfare, and sold in tiny quantities.

As Latini has since recalled, 'We did a promo concert at the Palladium in Hollywood, with Blue Cheer and Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids. Unfortunately, the husband and wife split from each other and the group went by the wayside.' As for People, only one other record is known to have appeared on it - soul singer Kim Weston's Big Brass Four Poster. It has since been stated that this was the same People label that James Brown ran, but this seems to be inaccurate, as Brown's label wasn't founded until 1971.

CD Liner-notes

Tracks
1. Have You Forgotten (M. DeGreve) - 3:05
2. Being Farmed (Bob Doran) - 3:21
3. Anybody Here Know How To Pray (Mickey Stevenson) - 2:53
4. Wise Old Fool (M. DeGreve, T. Jacobson) - 2:23
5. Let It Out, Let It In (Leon Ware) - 2:45
6. Far Out (J. Kerr, B. Doran) - 2:52
7. Walk A Mile In My Shoes (Joe South) - 3:45
8. Thoughts (M. DeGreve, D. Smith) - 2:35
9. New York (J. Kerr) - 2:50
10.Contributin' (Bob Doran) - 3:15
11.Lizzie (Bob Doran) - 2:51
12.Talk (J. Kerr, B. Doran) - 2:46

Truth
*Mike DeGreve - Vocals, Guitar
*Bob Doran - Vocals
*J. Kerr - Vocals
*John Latini - Bass

Related Act
1970 Bob Smith - The Visit

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They spell it the English way, and for jolly good reason. Colours have the crystalline sharpness of the Beatles before they turned acid . Colours have a rainbow sound, but you can distinguish one hue from another rather than fight through a haze of static, funky confusion, and screetching feedback. They also write love songs. Helping You Out has a kind of walk-up honesty that cuts through dreamy creamy gush lyrics: Washing your clothes when you're gone for the day and then hanging them out, helping you out.

The spectrum of Colours features Jack Dalton and Gary Montgomery, neither more than a quarter century old, both of whom are professional musicians. They write the songs that lead guitarist Rob Edwards, drummer Chuck Blackwell, and bass guitarist Carl Radle help spread on a palette of sound.

They will tackle a mess of changing time signatures, such as their Bad Day At Black Rock, Baby, where they move through six sharps from 6/8 to 4/8 to 3/8, then 5/4, and even 5/8, changing rhythms with the quick ease of the most wigged-out electronic classic composer.

Yet, underneath is a straight, raw narrative about a tragic hero who, unlike the dramatic victims of a folk song, knows a gently dissonant sound full of the blues, the beat of a street band, the horns of a jazz connection, even the words of folk nostalgia. Brother Lou's Love Colony is a free-form cantata about the hippie colony in California. It ends with a classy coda underscored with, of all sounds, bagpipes. In Rather Be Me, a from Morocco or the whine of a sitar eaving an Indian raga.

All that in the rarely used key of E flat minor lends a greater weirdness to the song. Colours takes a trip in Cataleptic, richly harmonizing over eerie organ music, or rips off a bold, bouncy Lovin' and Don't You Realize in a style that smacks of music hall or vaudeville energy. So Colours does have that broad spectrum of electric sounds so prized in today's rock, but they pull it off without indulging in jarring cliches. And, with a youthfull joyness, they don't paint it black.

by Jon Borgziner

Tracks
1. Bad Day At Black Rock, Baby - 3:27
2. Love Heals - 2:36
3. Helping You Out - 3:00
4. Where Is She - 2:26
5. Rather Be Me - 3:38
6. I'm Leaving - 2:48
7. Brother Lou's Love Colony - 4:29
8. I Think Of Her (She's On My Mind) - 2:13
9. Lovin' - 1:40
10.Cataleptic- 2:08
11.Don't You Realize - 1:56
12.Tommorrow's Women - 2:07
13.All At Once - 1:43
14.Right Or Wrong - 1:51
15.She'll Be The One - 2:37
16.She Just Wanted Kisses - 2:08
17.Angie - 3:18
18.God Please Take My Life - 6:06
19.When Will You Be Coming Home? - 2:28
20.I Tried To Make You Love Me Last Night - 3:31
21.Grey Day - 3:55
22.Smillin' In Toronto - 4:10
23.Hyannis Port Soul (Lost You To The Wind) - 2:18
24.Run Away From Here - 1:59
25.It's Time To Tell You - 4:05
26.Announcement - 1:56
27.I'll Be Your Friend - 2:17
28.You're High - 2:38
All songs written by Jack Dalton and Gary Montgomery

Colours
*Gary Montgomery - Piano
*Rob Edwards - Lead Guitar
*Jack Dalton - Guitar
*Carl Radle - Bass
*Chuck Blackwell - Drums

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The Rotary Connection's Peace is a terrific, soulful Christmas album. With its production and soulful vocal arrangements, it has all the hallmarks of a late-'60s pop-soul record. While that may date it slightly, it's nevertheless a blast to listen to the album, thanks to the great performances, particularly on the part of Minnie Riperton.

by Rodney Batdorf

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

to all of you my Friends, Contributors, Users and Visitors

Thank you for keeping this flame alive.

Tracks
1. Opening Round (M. Aliota) - 1:52
2. Silent Night (Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr) - 5:57
3. Christmas Love (M. Dollison) - 3:09
4. Last Call For Peace (A. Feldman) - 2:52
5. Shopping Bag Menagerie (S. Barnes) - 3:49
6. Silent Night (Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr) - 3:41
7. Christmas Child (C. Stepney, M. Dollison) - 2:42
8. Peace At Least (A. Feldman) - 4:11
9. Santa's Little Helpers (J. Donlinger, J. Nyeholt) - 0:34
10.Sidewalk Santa (S. Barnes) - 4:21
11.If Peace Was All We Had (J. Donlinger, T. Donlinger) - 4:49
12.Silent Night Chant (Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr) - 4:33
13.Silence - 0:30

The Rotary Connection
*Bobby Simms - Vocals, Guitar
*Jim Donlinger - Keyboards
*Jim Nyeholt - Bass
*Minnie Riperton - Vocals
*Mitch Aliota - Vocals, Bass
*Sidney Barnes - Vocals
*Tom Donlinger - Drums

Related Act
1969 Aorta - Aorta
1970 Aorta - Aorta 2

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The first three Country Joe and the Fish albums all have distinct qualities. “Electric Music For The Mind And Body” was the band’s pioneering metaphysical debut. Their third album, “Together”, featured a democratically inclined potpourri of styles. In-between came “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die”, a textbook example of how artist and producer can overcome a perceived shortage of material to create something of lasting value. Ironically, for a group with roots in the folk idiom, there were no acoustic guitars on “Electric Music”. Its sequel introduced these in a necessary fashion. While “Electric Music” represented the essence of the “plugged-in” Country Joe & the Fish, “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die” delved back to the roots of the group’s players, yet still managed to stretch their horizons.

In the spring of 1967, Country Joe & the Fish resided at the cutting edge of the San Francisco psychedelic rock renaissance, and anticipation was high for the sequel to their influential debut. This was an era where a new album was expected every six months. By introducing other aspects of the Country Joe & the Fish musical make-up, “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die” made up for any shortfall with its fresh perspective. Thanks to a rising profile, the group had confidence, so the new album, recorded during a residency in New York that summer, featured bold material that for the first time complemented their outspoken political stance, but in an appropriately humorous fashion. As one critic put it, Country Joe’s protest was delivered as “satiric comedies, not as invective … their power is precisely in the laughter and the release of tension they provoke.” None more so that the title tune, with its sarcastic anti-war message and the “Fish Cheer” intro which, thanks to a ruder in-person variant as well as a star turn in the movie Woodstock, guaranteed ‘The I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag’ would become the number most associated with the act.

True, the commentary could be dark and biting, but there are performances on the record that are empathetic, touching and human. For an album that, as the participants recall, was essentially cobbled together, it bears a remarkable cohesion – perhaps less from the conceptual aspect producer Sam Charters saw as the way to salvage what was workable from the group’s repertoire than an overall deftness of touch that went against the grain at the time. The delicacy the group conjured up on tracks such as ‘Magoo’ and ‘Colors For Susan’ was without precedent in rock, and there is a thread of wilful nonconformity that runs throughout.

This deluxe reissue features Charters’ original stereo and mono mixes of the album, the latter available for the first time since 1967. Bonus cuts include an unreleased alternate mix of the title track (minus sound effects), while the deluxe 40-page booklet is stuffed with rare photos and memorabilia, and comes complete with a replica of the Fish Game, as included in original copies. Most importantly, “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die” sounds better than ever. As Charters’ original sleeve note states, this is indeed “their own world, their own sound … their own music together.”

by Alec Palao

Tracks

Disc 1 (Stereo)

1. The Fish Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag- 3:44

2. Who Am I- 4:05

3. Pat's Song- 5:26

4. Rock Coast Blues- 3:57

5. Magoo- 4:44

6. Janis- 2:36

7. Thought Dream- 6:39

8. Thursday (Cohen, Hirsh) - 3:20

9. Eastern Jam (Bartol, Cohen, Hirsh, Melton) - 4:27

10.Colors For Susan- 5:58

All songs by Country Joe McDonald axept where noted

Disc 2 (Mono)
1. The Fish Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag- 3:44
2. Who Am I- 4:05
3. Pat's Song- 5:26
4. Rock Coast Blues- 3:57
5. Magoo- 4:44
6. Janis- 2:36
7. Thought Dream- 6:39
8. Thursday (Cohen, Hirsh) - 3:20
9. Eastern Jam (Bartol, Cohen, Hirsh, Melton) - 4:27
10.Colors For Susan- 5:58
11.Janis (Instrumental) - 2:37
12.I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die (Alternative Mix) - 3:02
All songs by Country Joe McDonald axept where noted

Country Joe And The Fish
*Country Joe McDonald - Vocals, Guitar, Bells, Tambourine
*Barry Melton - Vocals, Guitar
*David Cohen - Guitar, Organ
*Bruce Barthol - Bass, Harmonica
*Gary "Chicken" Hirsh - Drums

Country Joe discography
1965-71 The First Three E.P's
1967 Electric Music For The Mind And Body (2013 double disc remaster)
1968 Together
1969 Live! Fillmore West
1969 Here We Are Again
1970 CJ Fish
1970 Tonight I'm Singing Just For You
1971 Hold On It's Coming
1971 War War War
1973 Paris Sessions

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While Haight Ashbury was in full bloom, Laurel Canyon awash with fey folkies and the Sunset Strip a-go-go with guitar bands, Rockford, Illinois was celebrating the opening of a new Chrysler factory. The blue-collar city, situated on the banks of the Rock River and just a short drive from Chicago, was the kind of place the freaks passed through on the road to some other happening somewhere else. Yet, as in every city big or small, if you dug deep enough you’d have found a burgeoning underground music scene turned on to the Beatles and thrashing their guitars along to the Yardbirds and the Who. In fact, at the tail-end of the 1960s, the Forest City had no less than two bands, Fuse and Pisces, toiling away on the toilet-club circuit that would eventually be heard outside the city’s limits. Fuse would, by 1974, change their name to Cheap Trick and rock out to mass worldwide audiences. Pisces, apart from three rare-as-hen’s-teeth 45s on the local Vincent label, had to wait another 40 years to be heard.

Now, thanks to Chicago crate diggers Numero Group, a reissue label chiefly known for their excellent ongoing “eccentric soul” series, we can all have our hearts, minds and ears warped by some of the most exciting recordings to ever bubble up out of the 1960s psychedelic stew. With unfettered access to the master tapes, which have been carefully stored away in founding member Jim Krein’s basement ever since the band’s studio burnt down, Numero has compiled a “best of” 15-song collection entitled A Lovely Sight. It takes a leisurely, tripped-out stroll through inventive, haunting soundscapes of psychedelic pop playfulness, crepusclar garage punk and a handful of bewitching bluesy, psych-folk numbers—the latter menacingly breathed into life by a 17-year-old singer called Linda Bruner who’d initially gone to Krein for guitar lessons.

By the time Bruner had joined the band in 1969, however, Pisces was down to only two members, guitarist Krein and keyboard player Paul DiVenti. And like the Beatles before them, only on a far smaller budget (which they supplemented by recording local acts and jingles), they had retreated into their studio and given up playing live. Nevertheless, it appears that, audience or no audience, Krien and DiVenti’s imaginations burnt brighter than the devil’s own lava lamp.

Opener “Dear One” casts a tambourine-wielding spell, as Bruner enchants with a tale of spectral love. Song number two, “Children Kiss Your Mother Goodnight”, is a slow burner to the dark side where a keyboard-induced lullaby turns downright creepy, with the brooding denouement: “Your mother is leaving on the midnight flight / Children your mother’s going to die tonight”. The dreamy folk rocker “Say Goodbye to John” sees the protagonist march off to his death. Even the standout track sung by Bruner, “Sam”, a pleading tale of unrequited love, is full of menace as her voice strains to be heard over baleful throbbing bass and oscillating psych-organ.

There is the odd tune, however, when Pisces’ musical experimentalism gets the better of them, such as the “Revolution No 9”-inspired shenanigans of “Mary” and the early prog-like spoken-word self-indulgence of “Genesis II”. But, as the cliche goes, you can’t make an omelette this tasty without breaking a few eggs. Otherwise, how on earth would they have come up with a wonderful pop song like “Motley Mary Ann”, which sounds as if the Hollies are being backed by a Jamaican sound system with the bass ratcheted up to 10? This release of A Lovely Sight means one less lost classic is waiting to be unearthed.

by Alan Brown

Tracks
1. Dear One (Jim Krein) - 3:16
2. Children Kiss Your Mother (Paul DiVenti) - 2:55
3. Motley Mary Ann (Jim Krein, Paul DiVenti) - 2:29
4. Say Goodbye to John (Jim Krein) - 3:10
5. Mary (Jim Krein) - 2:25
6. Genesis II (Paul DiVenti) - 2:29
7. Sam (Jim Krein, Paul DiVenti) - 3:11
8. The Music Box (Jim Krein) - 2:59
9. Like a Hole in the Wall Where the Rat Lives (Jim Krein) - 2:46
10.Are You Change in Your Time (Jim Krein) - 2:20
11.In the Dreams of Paula (Jim Krein) - 3:15
12.Elephant Eyes (Paul DiVenti) - 2:54
13.Circle of Time (Jim Krein) - 3:32
14.A Flower for all Seasons (Jim Krein) - 2:49
15.In the Summer the Grape Grows (Jim Krein) - 3:36

Pisces
*Linda Bruner - Vocals
*Jim Krein - Guitar, Vocals
*Paul DiVenti - Keyboards, Vocals
*Cal Van Laningham - Drums
*Dale Taylor - Guitar
*Red Balderama - Bass
With
Al Johnson - Lead Guitar
Bob "Fish" Fisher - Bass

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Happy the Man - Crafty Hands (1979 us, smart symphonic progressive rock, japan remaster)

Thomas And Richard Frost - Visualize (1969-70 us, wondrous sunny folk psych)

Twink - Think Pink (1970 uk, essential heavy acid psych rock, 2013 remaster and expanded)

Small Faces - The Immediate Years (1965-69 uk, superb classic mod psych freakbeat, four discs box, 1st edition)

Dirty Martha - This Is It!! (1969 us, awesome heavy blues psych brass rock, 2010 issue)

Sons of Champlin - The Sons (1969 us, fabulous psych jazz rock, japan issue)

Lighthouse - Lighthouse (1969 canada, superb psych brass rock, 2012 extra tracks edition)

Dark - Round The Edges (1972 uk, fantastic psych jam rock, 2013 digi pack remaster)

The Cates Gang - Come Back Home (1973 us, marvelous hard funky southern rock, 2011 korean remaster)

The Light - Turn On The Light (1967 us, dynamic fuzzed out garage psych, 2007 issue)

Paul Revere And The Raiders - A Christmas Present... And Past (1967 us, beautiful garage beat roots 'n' roll, happy holidays)

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - Second Wind (1972 uk, outstanding groovy jazz psych prog rock, japan bonus track remaster)

Chris Bell - I'm The Cosmos (1972-76 us, brilliant melodically pop mastery, two disc set)

Hickory Wind - Hickory Wind (1969 us, amazing psychedelic rock with blues and folk drops, 2007 korean extra tracks issue)

Jacqueline And Lindsay - Jacqueline And Lindsay (1969 uk / canada, wondrous ethereal folk psych, 2012 korean mini lp remaster)

Truth - Truth (1970 us, pleasant sunny psych folk, 2012 Relics issue)

Colours - Love Heals The Complete Recordings (1967-69 us, elegant psychedelia)

Rotary Connection - Peace (1968 us, wonderful soul jazz psych fusion)

Country Joe And The Fish - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die (1967 us, west coast protest acid folk psych masterpiece, 2013 digi pack double disc set)

Pisces - A Lovely Sight (1969 us, cool trippy psychedelia, 2009 remaster edition)