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Four years to the day since this blog started, I have endeavoured to make this post a special treat for those that appreciate the same amazing buried prog rock finds of yesteryear as myself. This volume is dedicated to a band that I came across via a few singles they made in the early '70s. The second I heard them I was blown away by their original, and often progressive sound, and have spent the last couple of years wondering about how such a fully-formed, talented group could have sunk without trace, without album release, and with barely a footnote in rock history.

Occasionally I get a lead from someone who has come across one of the bands I have posted on Youtube, and offers me the info that I've been looking for....in this case the band is Heat Exchange, from Toronto, Canada. A son, and a grandchild, of a Heat Exchange member dropped me lines via couple of tunes I posted. Eventually I was able to get in touch with Craig Carmody, the sax player, and by dint of age, unofficial band-leader of Heat Exchange.

Craig has stayed in music his whole life, starting a musical repair/retail business and is now happily retired, playing in a jazz/rock ensemble with some occasional session work. He has been more than helpful since I contacted him, and he set about writing this exclusive, detailed account of the rise and fall of Heat Exchange, giving me an insight into the trials and tribulations of a young struggling band. The story highlights bad management and the pitfalls and obstacles of the music business. The band was torn between the commercial expectations of a record label that did not seem to appreciate or know how to deal with Heat Exchange, and its own urge to innovate and rock out. This all-too often repeated scenario spelt the end of a band that deserved more. Some of the members went on to acclaim after Heat Exchange, notably drummer Marty Morrin, who was later in Canadian bands Truck, Goddo and Wireless, and many projects with which he is still involved. Guitarist Neil Chapman was also in Truck, and has continued with many more projects.

The download included here is six tracks in chronological order, as they appeared on three singles, released on the Yorkville label between 1972 and 1973. There is an obvious dichotomy in these songs, between the heavy prog elements shown in b-sides like Inferno, Reminiscence and Philosophy, and the accessible, funky pop fun of the a-sides. I really think the band's versatility could have propelled them to a level of fame which they unfortunately never reached. They did however record an album's worth of material, let's hope we get to hear all of it one day. If you would like me to pass any questions on to Craig, drop me a line at the usual email address or post them in comments. Following is what Craig wrote especially for TDATS.

Track list
01. Can You Tell Me (a-side)
02. Inferno  (b-side)
7" 45rpm single, Yorkville / YVM 45052 (1972)

03. Scorpio Lady (a-side)
04. Reminiscence  (b-side)
7" 45rpm single, Yorkville / YVM 45063 (1973)

05. She Made Me All Alone (a-side)
06. Philosophy  (b-side)
7" 45rpm single, Yorkville / YVM 45069 (1973)


Craig Carmody’s Origins

Craig Carmody

"I grew up in Scarborough, a suburb of eastern Toronto. My youth was filled with sports, particularly ice hockey. Like many young boys in Canada, I hoped to become a professional hockey player. Through elementary school I developed a strong friendship with Don Horsburgh, who had taken piano lessons for several years and had become a well-known performer playing at school assemblies and the like.

One Christmas I received a harmonica in my stocking and was soon playing songs on it. This was perhaps the first indicator of any musical ability. I’m not sure what motivated me, but I ordered a guitar from a catalogue and began to plunk away on it, figuring things out by ear. Leaving elementary school and preparing for high school, my friend Don suggested that I sign up for band and that saxophone would be a good instrument play, so that’s exactly what I did.

I guess made some notable progress my first year studying the sax because (and I can't recall exactly how) I was invited to join a fledgling rock band called The Sessions. Even though my playing skills were limited, I figured out parts in the songs we performed and I had so much fun in that band that my interest in performing quickly superseded my interest in hockey, I was hooked!

My high school years were totally immersed in my new passion for music. I played in the school concert band, the school jazz band and various jazz ensembles including a group called the Studio 9 Jazz Quartet with my friend Don. I took every other opportunity to play that presented itself.


The Beginnings of the Band
I continued to study guitar and sax, and worked in a music store part time. When I left high school my guitar playing had progressed enough that I was hired to teach guitar lessons at a local music store. This was a great gig for me as I was making decent money, still living at home, and had lots of time to practice sax. Meanwhile, at my high school, a group of musicians two or three years younger than me had put together a band called 'Cloud'.

Cloud was a much better than average high school band and was quickly developing notoriety. They played mostly blues covers, but did so very well. At that point the band consisted of Neil Chapman on guitar, Gord McKinnon on keyboards and harmonica, Ralph Smith on bass and Marty Morin on drums. Ralph was dating my younger sister and therefore heard me practising at home, one day he came over to the house and told me that Cloud was considering adding horns to the band. He asked if I’d be interested in trying out. Though the members of Cloud were younger than me, I was impressed with their skills and I agreed to attend the audition. I remember the audition vividly. There was also a trumpet player there and when all was said and done I was invited to join the band; one sax, rather than a horn section. This group was the genesis of Heat Exchange.

Cloud continued to practice and scuffle about for the occasional gig while the boys finished up high school and I continued to teach guitar lessons. Our drummer Marty had been doing most of the vocals for the band and we decided that adding a dedicated singer would free him up a to concentrate on drumming. We auditioned several vocalists and chose the talents of an amazing young singer named Mike Langford.

Craig                    Ralph                      Mike                    Neil                     Marty                  Gord

Mike became our sixth member. Finding places to practice and opportunities to play was always a challenge, but we stuck to it. Being the eldest member, I was appointed leader of the band. In due course we signed with an agency and joined the musician’s union. We played the usual high school dances and whatever other gigs were offered to us.

Rock Hill poster 1969

Discovered While Rocking on a Hill
Our music continued to evolve and we started to introduce original songs. One of the gigs we played was a three-day outdoor music festival called Rock Hill, where we were ‘discovered’. [A lot of Rock Hill history can be read here] A few days after our performance on the big stage at Rock Hill, I received a phone call from Blaine Pritchett, who had been allowing us to rehearse in the basement of his small music store and acting as our road manager and supplier of our p.a. system.

Blaine told me that a gentleman named Roland Paquin, who managed several of the top bands in the Toronto area, had heard us play and was interested in managing Cloud. He said that if we took Roland on, the first thing he would do was find us a recording contract. A couple of days later we met Roland, he officially became the band's manager and the record deal search commenced. Cloud moved its rehearsal space to the basement of my parents’ home. Within a short time, true to his word, Roland began bringing over executives from record labels.

Rock Hill poster 1971

He would say something like "O.K. guys, tonight I am bringing over so-and-so from R.C.A. I want you to play through a few songs", he would recommend 3 or 4 tunes that he felt might impress the visitors. After we performed, Roland and the record company execs would go off for a meeting.

These were very exciting times for the band! After several of these sessions with different labels, Roland told us that he had a “pretty good offer from R.C.A." but that he wanted to bring down one more record label exec, from the Yorkville label (a small local label). We figured that having had an offer from a major label like R.C.A., Yorkville would be a let-down, but Roland insisted that we play for them. That evening Bill Gilliland and Richard Gael came to listen to the band. After our performance, Roland disappeared with the executives. Several hours later, he came back and wanted to talk to me outside.


We Had Made It!!!
With a very straight face he told me that we would not be doing any more gigs. I was, of course, dismayed. Then he laid out the details of the Yorkville offer. The offer included the following highlights, Cloud was to stop playing live gigs and to focus entirely on working on the tunes for our album. They wanted to give us the use of their recording studio to practice, to have a full-time producer work with us every day, pay us a salary to provide money to live, and give us a large sum of money upon release of our album. It was a phenomenal offer.

I was led to believe that the deal represented the largest and most lucrative recording contract that any Canadian rock band had ever signed up to that point in time. We were over the moon. The next evening we were picked up by fancy cars from the record company, taken out to dinner, then back to the offices where we all sat around a huge table in the board room and signed our recording contract!! *We had made it!!!!*


After Being Signed
Bill Gilliland was the executive producer of Arc Sound, the parent company that owned the Yorkville label. Richard Gael became producer for the band. It was his job to work with us to perfect the tunes that were going to be on our album. Arc Sound operated out of a sprawling building in a light industrial area of Toronto. Their complex included business offices at the front, a large factory area where vinyl albums and singles were pressed and a generous sized recording studio which became the band's home. [This is the same complex where Neil Merryweather recorded in early bands of his, The Just Us and The Tripp - see Vol68]

The factory part of the operation was fascinating. Many people were employed at huge machines manned 24 hours a day, pressing vinyl. It seems that they pressed records (probably under contract) for many major labels (probably supplying product for the Canadian market). They also manufactured records which were recorded in their own studio. Most of the records under their own labels were unusual things - instrumental covers of pop tunes, local country artists, small time dance bands etc.

The Ugly Ducklings - Yorkville promo shot

The Yorkville label was reserved for their ‘rock artists’ and had their share of successful ‘hits’. The Ugly Ducklings had a monster hit with the tune ‘Gaslight’ several years before and just before we came along the band Ocean had a similar success with ‘Put Your Hand in the Hand’. The company was proud of their successes and perhaps a bit "cocky", they were convinced that Cloud would provide their next huge windfall.

For the next several months we worked on material for the album.  Every day we met at the studio in the back of the Arc Sound facility at 10:00 a.m. to practice continuously until 6:00 p.m. It was like a day job - except that we were doing what we loved to do - making music. Every Friday afternoon I'd go down to the office and pick up cheques for each of us. Our producer Richard Gael was there every day keeping us focused and making suggestions to refine the music. We were paid a meagre salary but most of us were still living at home, we were having the time of our lives. We were given a key to the studio and most evenings we were back at the studio partying and working on new music. Could life have been any better?

Cloud had an interesting way of writing new material. One of us would play a riff - an idea that person had been working on - the rest of the band would pick up on that idea and expand on it. We continued to add to the idea, each contributing an idea for the verse or the chorus, often taking the song in entirely different directions. Our music became more complex. My background in jazz surfaced through my contributions, Gord (a classically trained pianist) would often introduce classical or baroque figures. Our singer Mike would find melody lines that suited the tune and eventually come up with lyrics. It was truly a collective exercise with all of us having input. I honestly cannot remember a single time when an entire song was brought forward by one band member to be learned by the rest of the band, each song was created by the band as a whole and bore the influence of each player.


An Exchange of Names
We spent so much time playing and creating together that our individual musicianship moved ahead in leaps and bounds.  As we got closer to recording our songs, we received word that the band's name 'Cloud' might have to be changed. Apparently another band had released an album under the name 'The Clouds' and it was thought that our name was too close and could draw legal action. The search for a new name began. We were allowed to make suggestions but the record company insisted on having the final say. Heat Exchange was one of the leading contenders, we still didn't know our new name as we went in to record the album.



Recording the Album
When we were ready to start laying down the album tracks, we moved into Manta Sound which was considered the most up to date facility in Toronto at the time. The engineer/owner was David Green, he had a great reputation as an audio engineer. We later found out that much of his notoriety came from jazz and classical recordings and not so much from rock music. All of the recording/mixing time was paid for by Yorkville. They were extremely generous, allowing us to eat up hours of expensive recording time, in order to get each track just the way we wanted it. They also picked up the tab for things like renting a set of tympani because we thought it would sound neat in one of our tunes.

All the tracks were recorded and a 'rough mix' was done. As I understand it, at that time it was necessary for Canadian rock records to obtain an American label to handle U.S. sales, distribution and promotion. We were told that the rough mix had been played for the execs of several big American labels and that they were very interested in the album. However, they had some reservations and wanted to know a few things such as: How did the band go over live (we hadn't played live for probably a year) and did we have a hit AM single to generate interest in the album? So it was decided that we should release the most commercial song on the album as a single, 'Can You Tell Me' was the obvious choice.


The Heat Exchange Sound and the Singles
I'll explain a bit about the rock music scene in Canada in the early '70s. A lot of the music getting airplay on the major radio stations was very commercial (bopperish). FM stations were starting to play some 'artsy' and experimental rock music, but there was a real divide between FM and AM rock. Cloud's music was decidedly FM in style. We were influenced by bands like Emerson Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and we were doing our version of 'theatre rock', we hadn't been focusing at all on 'commercial' potential. There also existed (and still does) the C.R.T.C. which was a government initiated program designed to assist Canadian recording acts to get airplay in Canada. Essentially the C.R.T.C. mandated that Canadian radio stations HAD to include a certain percentage of Canadian produced records in their programming. To further help the fledgling Canadian rock music scene a single new release Canadian record was picked each month and guaranteed airplay on every major radio station across the country.

Heat Exchange first single - 'Can You Tell Me' (1972)

The day that 'Can You Tell Me' was released, the band was called into the record company offices. We saw the first real tangible results of our efforts and learned the band's new name...'Heat Exchange'. A short time later, we learned that 'Can You Tell Me' had been picked as the single guaranteed to get national airplay. We were elated and all ran home to listen to our pop radio station (CHUM) to hear our song. We listened all evening and finally around 10:00 p.m. we heard it. There we were on the radio. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life.  Over the next few days however we began to see a pattern developing. CHUM was playing our record the required 6 times a day but always in the dead of night - never during prime time. It quickly became apparent that the radio stations hated being told that they HAD to play that (or any other) song. So the initiative designed to help us and other Canadian rock bands get airplay was actually working against us.

We had decided to put the song 'Inferno' on the B side of the single. We hoped that its harder edge would better represent the band's real style and perhaps find some favour among the more alternative record buyers. Can You Tell Me/Inferno made it into the record stores and even got more attention in select cities. We heard that it made the top 10 in at least one centre. It appeared on juke boxes and probably sold some copies, but the record company was not at all impressed. They had invested many thousands of dollars in Heat Exchange and had very little to show for it. We didn't have an American label distribution agreement, nor did we have the elusive hit single.

Scorpio Lady single (1972) showing typical Arc Sound logo/sleeve

Getting a hit commercial AM single became the record company’s focus. Our record contract was revised and we gave up the large amount of money that was supposed to come to us upon release of the album in favour of the right to record and release singles until we found the formula for one that was a hit. Our course had been altered considerably, now we were trying to come up with this commercial hit which really wasn't where our hearts were. We reworked one of the tunes we had written (not from the album) and our producer Richard Gael wrote a set of lyrics with a 'popier' slant and we went into a different studio with a different  engineer (hoping to get a more 'pop' sound) and recorded 'Scorpio Lady'. We needed something to put on the B side and so stuck 'Reminiscence', a track from the album, into that position. I really don't know if Scorpio Lady received any airplay but it was available in the major record shops. It's too bad, because I always really liked the song and the way it was recorded.


Cooling Off
By this time we were no longer collecting any money from the record company and were forced to go back out and play as many gigs as we could to try to keep bread on the table. We were travelling all over Ontario and parts of Quebec doing little gigs that hardly paid enough to cover our expenses. It was frustrating and when we weren't on the road we were being hassled by the record company to come up with a hit single. Several of us in the band were getting frustrated. One of the final straws came when the record company tried to talk us into rerecording The Ugly Duckling's song 'Gaslight'. It was a great song but it wasn't our song. We were not impressed!

We eventually settled on a tune to record and apparently went into a different studio again with a different engineer again, and the result was 'She Made Me All Alone'. I actually do not remember the recording session. I don't know if I blanked it out of my mind or what but it was probably 30 years before I heard that recording and I honestly had forgotten entirely ever having made the record. It's definitely me playing sax but I have no recollection of the song or the session.  One of life's little mysteries.  It must have been pressed into a single because one of the other guys in the band found a copy 30 years  later when we were trying to gather all of our recordings and have them put on to a CD.

I guess that at the time I was seriously considering leaving the band and probably did so right after we recorded the song. I needed to make some money. I was about to get married...


The End of Heat Exchange
I was getting near a decision to leave the band. I had met Laurie, my future wife, during the period of time in which we were rehearsing and recording the material for our album. She was getting tired of me being on the road and not having a reliable income and I was disenchanted with what was going on with the band so the decision to leave, while difficult, seemed logical. Laurie and I made plans to move west to Edmonton where we were married and would, in a few years, begin raising a family. I believe that Ralph Smith (bass) left the band at around the same time. He too had a girl friend who was not at all impressed with the rock and roll lifestyle.

In a rather odd twist, the rest of the band was hired to replace some of the guys in a band called Truck and did quite a bit of touring with that group. I'm not actually certain whether Gord McKinnon (Keyboards) did those tours with them or not.


Where are they now?
I guess that within the next while the rest of the guys drifted apart:

Gord McKinnon

Gord McKinnon returned to the classical music world from which he had come. He eventually became an examiner for The Royal Conservatory of Music then went on to obtain the title Dr. McKinnon and now teaches piano at the university level. "Mr. McKinnon is a former faculty member of The Royal Conservatory of Music and is currently Professor of Music at Canada Christian College in Toronto where he teaches harmony, counterpoint and analysis for the Bachelor of Sacred Music Program. He has composed many piano pieces for various RCM publications as well as contemporary gospel songs".

Ralph Smith

Ralph Smith (bass) hung up his axe and as far as I know, never went back to it. He entered the business world and didn't seem to look back. He and his family relocated to Edmonton where I was living so we saw each other from time to time and stayed friends. Ralph now lives in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

Mike Langford

Mike Langford (vocals) seemed to disappear for quite a while. I do know that he continued to perform with some other bands and eventually settled in the small community of Peterborough, Ontario. I managed to track him down seven or eight years ago and he was working in a cabinet shop and doing the occasional gig. [A google search found that Mike has sung along-side a Peterborough blues band called The Channel Cats: http://www.mykawartha.com/whatson-story/3703485-soulful-channel-cats-have-market-hall-date/]

Neil Chapman

Neil Chapman (guitar) neilchapman.ca never gave up on being a rock star. Neil was a prodigal guitar player even before the Heat Exchange days and, of course, continued to make music his career. He went on to play with many bands (again, I certainly can't account for all of his endeavours) but one band I know he had great success with was called The Pukka Orchestra. I managed to touch bases with Neil four or five years ago when he came through Vernon, B.C. (where I now live) with Buffy St. Marie [see Vol76]. Neil also became a sought-after studio musician and continues to perform and record to this day.

Marty Morin performing Supertramp's 'Breakfast In America' with Classic Albums Live

Marty Morin (drums) similarly went on to bigger and better things. While I was living in Edmonton Marty came through performing with the band Toronto (with Holly Woods) A coliseum type tour. I caught Marty again just a few years ago when he came through Vernon with a show [Classic Albums Live] that duplicates note for note various famous albums (this particular show was The Beatles Abbey Road album) an amazing show. As far as I know, Marty is still doing those tours from time to time and also has a band that is dedicated to performing the music of Tom Waits.

Marty Morin in Wireless (1978)

Craig on stage in recent times

Craig's Final Words
As for myself, after separating from Heat Exchange I moved to Edmonton, married and began raising a family. I established what turned out to be a successful music repair and retail business and learned to repair all manner of band instruments. I probably took a 5 year hiatus from playing but then drifted back into it. I played with a several bands in Edmonton including a large jazz band and an R&B showband called Cold Sweat which recorded one single (Betty Lou). In 1994 Laurie and I and our three sons moved further west to Vernon B.C. where I once again took a lengthy break from playing while concentrating on business and family interests. Eventually I was drawn back into performing and have continued to do so ever since. I currently play with a small rock/jazz group called Kath and the Tomkats as well as a large 11 piece showband called The Legendary Lake Monsters. I am happily retired from any day jobs now and only play music. My wife Laurie passed away in 2010 from cancer, but I have been blessed with a new lady (Arleen) and she has become the love of my life. I also do "casual" gigs and the occasional recording session as a studio player.

A few Final thoughts on the music of Heat Exchange. Because our album was never released, approximately half of our music has never been heard by anyone outside of our own families and friends.

From the tunes recorded for our album, the ones that made it into general distribution were:
-
Can You Tell Me
Inferno (B side for Can You Tell Me)
Reminiscence (the B side for Scorpio Lady)
Philosophy (the B side of She Made Me All Alone)

Remember that both Scorpio Lady and She Made Me All Alone were recorded later and thus were not a part of our album. Unfortunately, this means that some of our most interesting work has had next to no exposure. The songs that were chosen as singles or the B sides of later singles were the only songs on the album that were both short enough to put on a 45 single and (maybe) approachable enough to have some potential mass appeal. The rest of the songs on the album were much more "theatrical" and intense. The titles from the album that people have not heard are: 'Scat' , 'For Those Who Listen', 'Stopwatch' and 'Four to Open the Door'. “Four to Open the Door” is actually a suite with 4 distinct movements. So there you have a condensed story of the birth, rise and fall of Heat Exchange.

It has always been my hope to write a book about the Heat Exchange experience. I am now 64 years old and have health issues that mean I may never get around to writing that book in this lifetime. So getting at least a condensed version of the story out at this time seems appropriate."

Thanks Craig, and thanks for listening/reading. Drop me a line if you have any questions to forward to Craig.
Rich

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Herzlich willkommen auf TDATS #107, a collection of music from Austria. I was surprised at how little typical TDATS-ready music was recorded in this country. I was expecting that it's connection with Germany would lead to lots of similar styles and artists to that country's amazing rock history. Surprisingly, although Austria does have a rich tradition of it's own music, the psych, prog and heavy rock that Germany excelled in did not seem take hold in Austria. Going back a lot further, Austria has of course had an astounding influence in classical music with the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Haydn. Maybe Austria's pride in these legends has encouraged a tendency for listeners and artists to stay within the realm of traditional music?

Another factor is of course that small countries near very prolific larger countries will tend to lose their upcoming talent across the border. Having been reading about many bands that did make it on to record, it seems that back then the national pop radio station Hitradio Ö3 had a disproportionately strong control over what bands were publicised and thus in demand, and in turn what bands received recording contracts....maybe the station had an agenda?  Maybe there were many more great bands than we can't possibly remember now, that never even got a chance to be recorded or documented.

TRACKS
01. Novak's Kapelle - Doing That Rhythm Thing (1968)
       single
02. No Bros - Backstage Queen (1982)
       from album 'Ready For The Action'
03. Drahdiwaberl - Kaiserhymne Pink Punk Shirt (1979)
       from album 'Wiener Blutrausch'
04. Lazarus - Awaking of Lazarus Part 2 (1973)
       from album 'Lazarus'
05. Harri Stojka Express - The Jungle (1978)
       from album 'Sweet Vienna'
06. Glashaus - The Waiting Game (1977)
       from album 'Drinking Man'
07. Blowin Free - Song Of Tears (1981)
       from single [1981] and album 'Enemy' [1983]
08. Hide & Seek - Crying Child (1970)
       single
09. Acid - Moonshine Girl (1975)
       from album 'More Acid'
10. Minisex - Valium (1979)
       from albums 'Wiener Blutrausch' [1979] and 'Minisex' [1980]
11. Christian Kolonovits - Wake Up!!! (1976)
       from album 'Life Is Just a Carnival'
12. Gipsy Love - Job In The Docks (1972)
       from album 'Here We Come'
13. U8 - Sherpin' Man (1982)
       from album 'Pegasus 1001'
14. Art Boys Collection - I'm Riding On An Arrow (1972)
       from album 'Stoned Wall'
15. Wolfgang Ambros - UFO (1976)
       from album '19 Class A Numbers'

If my memory serves me correctly, the only Austrian band that has appeared here before is Paternoster, back on volume13. What Austria did have was 'Liedermacher', and 'Deutschrock', and lots of Schlager pop music. Some of the early beat and psych bands that don't appear on here but deserve mention are The Charles Ryders Corporation, and the Albatross single "I Am Dead". One compilation I would recommend to those who want to hear some more is "Beat & Psych in Austria (1966-1972)".

'Wiener Blutrausch' punk sampler LP 1979

Due to these difficulties, I have widened the net and reached up to the early '80s. A happy by-product of this is that I discovered Vienna had a very healthy punk/post-punk/new wave scene starting in the late '70s, and this comp has benefited from some welcome added variety in those styles. Two great comps exist to find out more about that: "Wiener Blutrausch sampler LP 1979" and "Es Chaos is die Botschaft! Es wurschtln es! Austrian Punkscene 78-84". If you are partial to a bit of obscure early '80s metal then you'll also be happy, the widened net has caught three metal bands; No Bros, Blowin Free and U8. There were at least two Austrian heavy metal singles made in 1979, from Angelina (now known as Gallows Pole) and Blind Petition. Alas I have been unable to find them anywhere.

An honourable mention goes to a few more progressive rock bands that didn't make it on here. Eela Craig are one of the best-known. They were undoubtedly a very talented band but their brand of fusion/symphonic prog isn't really TDATS material. Some other lesser-known, shorter-lived bands in a similar vein were Orange Power, Kyrie Eleison, Klockwerk Orange and Isaiah. While they all had some promise, what I could find from them didn't quite make the grade.

Novak's Kapelle Hypodermic Needle / Doing That Rhythm Thing 45 (1968)

We open with a super heavy injection of lysergic psych from Novak's Kapelle. They hailed from Vienna, where most of our acts originated. "Doing That Rhythm Thing" is the b-side to the 1968 "Hypodermic Needle" single, which has appeared previously on TDATS vol33. While making this I found this excellent TV appearance on the Austrian show 'Countdown' in 1969. One astute observer commented that 'Hypodermic Needle' is very similar to The Animals' 1966 single "Inside Looking Out" and they are certainly correct. Strangely, Novaks seem to have taken a long break from recording in the '70s, but successfully (in the artistic sense) reinvented themselves as a hard rock band around 1977, releasing live EPs and a first full album called "Naked". These contain some quirky and amusing rockers with a definite punk edge and some rural US sounds, very different to the '60s singles, although still showing the same level of talent. At some point late in their life they were joined by guitarist Harri (Harry) Stojka, who features two more times in this volume, including his first band "Gipsy Love".  There is tantalisingly little info to be found about Novak's Kapelle, there's a bit more info here and I will carry on looking...

No Bros in the '80s

Innsbruck's No Bros were one of the first Austrian heavy metal bands to make a full length album. Klaus Schubert and Michael Ausserhofer started the band 'Target' in 1974. Nik P. Opperer, Freddy Gigele and Franz Heumader joined up and they became "No Bros". Ö3 Radio presenter Gotthard Rieger was a fan, then became their manager. This was quite bizarre as Ö3 was not known for playing metal, apart from maybe the softest of metal ballads. The success of a live album “Heavy Metal Party” (1982) and it's single "Good Morning, Sir" galvanised them to make the studio LP “Ready for the action” at Dieter Dirks' Colonge studio in the same year. From this, the closing ballad "Be My Friend" was a big hit single that earned them the money and following to tour Europe, playing with bands like Motörhead, Saxon, Girlschool, Uriah Heep and Krokus. Unfortunately internal disagreements and lineup changes caused the band to lose this momentum and they split in 1986, after two more LPs. They have however played various re-unions since, and released some more live material from those events. Thanks to spirit-of-metal.com , austrorock.at and the No Bros fan site for this info.

Stefan Weber in 1993

Stefan Weber started Vienna's underground band Drahdiwaberl in 1969. I found the track "Kaiserhymne Pink Punk Shirt" on a great compilation released in 1979 called "Wiener Blutrausch" [Vienna Bloodlust] which includes a few emerging post-punk/new wave bands, on which Drahdiwaberl were no doubt an influence. Stefan Weber himself made this sampler and he adorns the cover with a typically insane image of him licking a knife. Stefan is a supporter of the "Wiener Aktionismus" leftist student movements, and derisive political satire was a major part of Drahdiwaberl's stage show. Stefan has also stated that "It has always been my goal to make Drahdiwaberl the most extreme and obscene band, and I think we did that" (wikipedia).

This would seem justified as his stage shows have allegedly included live sex, even a staged 'gangbang' whilst masked as various politicians, pissing on the audience, cooking a pig on a spit while throwing various parts into the crowd. Amazingly, Falco was the bass player in Drahdiwaberl between 1978 and 1983, I remember well liking "Rock Me Amadeaus" on Top of the Pops! Being a covers band for a long time, Drahdiwaberl began writing their own songs in the late-'70s and started recording albums in the '80s, which continued with titles like "Mc Ronalds Massaker" until the final LP in 2004.

Lazarus LP (1973)

Neunkirchen's Lazarus was Peter Glatzl (guitar,vocals), Peter Fischer (bass), Alvin Waldner ( guitar), Walter Spacil (drums) and Helmut Sacher (lead vocals). The LP was lost for years, then found and released by the Shadoks label this year. "Awaking of Lazarus Part 2" is a killer slab or nihilistic heavy psych. It looks like my timing was lucky for making an Austrian comp! Here is the Shadoks press release: "Lazarus was founded by Peter Glatzl at the end of 1970 and they have played many gigs in Austria with various lineups until 1976. This amazing albums was recorded in Vienna 1973 in professional studio for Rex Records. Only 15 sample copies where pressed and only 5 copies ended up with the band members. Rex where known for releases of German folk music and Schlager. So they did know what to do with this far-out recording and did not release it. 

Lazarus

Among collectors Lazarus was a big mystery since nobody ever found a copy for the past 25 years. One day Hans Pokora located an original LP and the band as well so we where able to work out a deal. We where amazed but the great music and the professional compositions and recording. The story of Lazarus is been told as a psychedelic opera who emerges as a monster from his grave to spread terror and horror. 

All English vocals, amazing fuzz guitar all over, Zappa style arrangements, great vocals, tons of effects and tight drum sounds. Do not expect a naive Krautrock style, this is pure Underground as good as Open Mind and July with a good dose of psychedelia." There is a great interview with guitarist Peter Glatzl here at Psychedelic Baby webzine.

Harry Stojka Express Sweet Vienna LP (1978)

Harri Stojka is a Vienese guitarist who was has connection to three of the tracks in this comp. He was a late member of the afore-mentioned Novak's Kapelle, and before that was in Gipsy Love, appearing soon. He also played with Peter Wolf and Karl Ratzer. In 1978 he started making his own LPs with The Harri Stojka Express, and "The Jungle" is taken from the first  of those albums, "Sweet Vienna". At this point Harry was moving away from from his previous rock playing to jazz/fusion and world music, but The Jungle has a heavy, funky riff. He is still active and played at the Vienna Jazzfest this year.

Glashaus "Drinking Man" LP (1977)

I know very little about Glashaus. They were Lupo Greil (vocals, guitar), Wolfgang Buettner (vocals, guitar), Hans Proebster (vocals, bass), Harry Stuempfl (vocals, piano, organ, harmonica) and Dieter Stuempfl (drums, percussion). They made one LP in 1977 called "Drinking Man" on the "Music Shop" label. It's a groovy upbeat rock album, sung in English. It's not progressive, but it has some cuts verging on hard rock, and there is some good organ work. The opener "Shine On Medas" is a Status Quo-like boogie number, and there is a southern/boogie feel to most other tracks. "The Waiting Game" and "Vertigo" are my TDATS picks. This album was hard to find and I must thank Lyrkoss at RYM for sending me the LP rip!

Blowin Free - Enemy LP (1983)

Vienna's Blowin Free are another heavy metal reprieve in proceedings. As one of Austria's first metal bands, they had "Song Of Tears" out as a single in 1981, and debut album "Enemy" in 1983. Enemy was definitely one of the heavier of the early Austrometal LPs, it is fairly derivative heavy metal, with punkish simplicity. It has a certain home-made charm and sounds like an attempt at thrash from guys who were not quite fast enough, so it's all kinda chugging mid-paced almost-thrash. The exception is "Song Of Tears" used here, which has a great NWOBHM feel. Vocalist Gary Wheeler is now in another Austrian metal stalwart, Blind Petition. The rest of the band was Robert Klammer (bass), Kurt Kalaschek (drums) and Martin Gellner (guitar). By the time of their third record, "The Knife and the Floosie" (1986), they had sped things up considerably. Unfortunately they went for a cheesy speed metal sound that lacks the character of "Enemy", seemingly prioritising speed over song-writing.

Hide & Seek Crying Child / I Can Fly 45 (1970)

One of the few heavy psych tracks here is up next, thanks to Hide & Seek from Graz. They made four 45s between 1969 and 1971. It's a real fuzz feast, and although a happy upbeat ditty, packs in some serious psychedelic head-swimming. Quote: "Styria's capital Graz had a great Underground Beat scene back in the late 1960s but unfortunately most of the coolest bands never managed to produce a single - typically Austrian... However, the most influential formation of that small scene HIDE & SEEK actually released four (!!) 45-records between 1969 and 1971 of which the third's A-side, the relaxed psych-rocker 'Crying Child' even managed to hit the Ö3-pop-charts. Both tracks of that fine single are featuring nice psychedelic songwriting, fuzz guitars, haunted organs, drug-related lyrics and a healthy load of anarchy. Beware: Your kids might wanna kick some acid after listening to 'I can fly' (also compiled on 'Prae-Kraut Pandaemonium Vol 16'). Enough said: A great and really tough to find Garage-Punk-record."


Acid were a Vienna band that I must admit were not that great. They do seem to have been notable as one on the only vaguely psych/prog-ish Austrian bands that managed to get on major labels and hang around long enough to make a few albums. I scoured them all and was happy to find that I liked at least one track, "Moonshine Girl". It manages to take their commercial, fluffy sheen and make something unique by adding some decent atmospheric keyboard interludes, then welding it all to solid riffs and funky drumming. Founder Herbert Novacek went on to form the band Stress which had one album in 1981, that I have been unable to find thus-far. Original Acid guitarist Peter Koller went on to Wolfgang Ambros's band, appearing later on this comp.

Minisex

As one of the post-punk/new wave (aka the "Neue Deutsche Welle") entrants in this volume, Vienna's Minisex bring a polished but driving track, "Valium", also to be found along with Drahdiwaberl on 1979's "Wiener Blutrausch" sampler. The Neue Deutsche Welle spawned the likes of Nena (99 Red Balloons) and Falco (Rock Me Amadeus).

Christian Kolonovits Life Is Just a Carnival LP (1976)

Vienna's Christian Kolonovits is a composer and producer who has been associated with many pop and rock acts. He also made a solo record in 1976, from which I have taken "Wake Up!!!". "Life Is Just a Carnival" is a rock-opera/concept album on which all the tracks meld together, it reminds me a little of the lighter-hearted parts of The Wall (if they could possibly be described as such) as it seems to be about one mans' struggle with life and society, and one of the parts begins with some background TV show dialogue. I wonder if Roger Waters was listening before The Wall? "It's all up to you" even sounds a bit like "Nobody Home". There's some quite heavy up-front guitar in there, and according to the credits, the main guitarist was Johan Daansen, of the Krautrock-lite Epsilon (see Vol22). Christian also worked with Wolfgang Ambros, coming up at the end.

Gipsy Love George Doggette             Karl Ratzer

We move on to another act involving Harri Stojka. The "Gipsy Love" band seems to have been the starting point for many other careers, including those of Karl Ratzer, Peter Wolf, and Richard Schönherz. Karl Ratzer (guitar) and Harri Stojka (bass with Gipsy Love) are cousins, both of Roma ancestry, which may explain the bands' name. Keyboardist/pianist Peter Wolf is notable, as he went to the US after Gipsy Love, played in jazz bands, became a big band teacher, and played with Frank Zappa for years on the road and 11 albums. He became a successful producer and arranger, writing music for movies Top Gun, Pretty Woman, and arranging for acts including Jefferson Starship, The Who and Kenny Loggins. Gipsy Love made a southern US style soulful rock with piano,  brass and some orchestration. They had a big sound that was contributed to by George Doggette's charismatic vocals, sung in English. They are described in most places as hard rock but I don't agree. It's something closer a Chicago or B.S.&T. with less horns, and less glitz, and added Frank Zappa band attitude.  "Job In The Docks" is strange, gritty, grimy, and it certainly sounds like they enjoyed playing it. One can only wonder what this guy was doing in 'The Docks' and why his woman gave him a 'Chewing Gum' every morning. George Doggette's vocals make the song as much as anything else, they are so damn sleazy!

U8

For our third and final classic metal album, here's the best of the lot, from Nussdorf's U8. Allegedly, the bands' name was the idea of guitarist Manfred Seifriedsberger after he came back from a holiday in Italy, where he had found a jukebox which had his favourite song stored under U8. Their first single release was in 1981, and they made two full-lengths before splitting in 1988. Here's an interview with Günter Maier, who later went on to form Big Heat. Forgetting hard rock for the moment, in terms of metal, No Bros was almost there with their first album. It was however still rooted in '70s hard rock and the constant hammond organ and '80s synth sounds held it back too, whereas U8's debut LP 'Pegasus 1001' has more modern-sounding arrangements and production. The songs are also slightly better. "Sherpin' Man" is slow compared to the rest of the album, but I dig it's grinding doomy riff. It's not really fair to compare Pegasus 1001 to Blowin Free's debut, as I think they were aiming for different things, U8 is way more power metal than Blowin Free's attempt at evil thrash.

Art Boys Collection

On to the final stretch now, we have Art Boys Collection from Andorf. Although maybe a few years behind their US/UK peers, they are still a rare example of good, sometimes-heavy psych from Austria. Their 1972 LP "Stoned Wall" (re-issued by Garden Of Delights in 2010) was a mixed bag, but the heavy cuts like "I'm Riding On An Arrow" are very good indeed. Like a lot of albums during the psych-to-hard-rock/prog transition, there is an awkward mix of experimental heaviness and staid ideas going back to the beat days or jangly pop of the Byrds etc. There are some comments from founding member Gerhard Egger here at Austro-rock-lexikon.

Here's what RDTEN1 at RYM pieced together about the band: "Singer/guitarist Gerhard Egger and drummer Hans Joachim Holz met at a college jam session in Linz, Austria.  The two discovered a common affinity for rock and roll, deciding to form a band.  Recruiting Holtz's brother Walter on keyboards, along with bassist  Johann Aigner, and guitarist Gerhard Bauer, they started playing dances and clubs as The Boys, followed by a change in name to The Art Boys Collection. With the third single providing the band with a massive Austrian hit, Lesborne rushed the band into the recording studio to record a supporting album. In spite of flaws, 1972's "Stoned Wall" is a collection that I've long found fascinating. 

With Egger responsible for ten of the twelve songs (Hans Joachim Holz penning the other two), the album wasn't particularly original, but served as a showcase demonstrating the influence American and English rock had throughout the rest of Europe, and in particular on these guys. With all of the material performed in English (accents were seldom a problem on this set), the album found The Art Boys working their way through an extensive catalog of past and then popular rock styles.  Unfortunately they never released the material they recorded for a planned follow-up."

Wolfgang Ambros

This set ends with a curve ball from Wolfgang Ambros from Wolfsgraben. "UFO" has a punk vibe, but he was a prolific and apparently influential singer song-writer who covered many themes and styles. He has released three cover albums (including songs by Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Hans Moser) along with original pop, rock, blues and folk records. He's famously known for setting the then-new trend in the 1970s known now as Austropop. During his career he has collaborated with countless respected Austrian musicians, including some names in this comp like Christian Kolonovits. At the relatively tender age of 62, he is still actively recording and performing. According to his bio on wikipedia, "His most famous songs are "Schifoan", "Es lebe der Zentralfriedhof" and "Zwickt's mi". "Schifoan" is like an anthem for the Austrian ski tourism and industry. Many Austrian skiers—but also many others—know the lyrics of this song."


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Welcome to #108, this has been in gestation for a while so I managed a pretty quick turn around once i'd perfected it, if you haven't had a chance to get Volume 107 from a few days ago yet, here it is.

This is the the third bluesy volume of TDATS, which now makes for these so far; Vol54, Vol79 and Vol108. Take your pick from 15 tracks of seriously heavy, or seriously psychedelic bluesrock, all guaranteed to have you strutting and mooching all the way down to your local speakeasy. We have UK, US, German and Australian acts joining the party, with all but two acts being new to TDATS. They include the band that evolved into Leaf Hound, a guy who would later be in proto-punks The Tubes, and a guy who was in Noel Redding's band, but quit the music industry for 14 years to become a commander in the Royal Navy.

What can I say about the importance of bluesrock to everything TDATS that hasn't already been said? Mostly associated with heavy R&B acts that emerged in the UK around the mid-'60s, The Blues Breakers, The Yardbirds and Cream sure have a lot to answer for, and Hendrix was playing his part too. This boom lead to tracks such as Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" and Hendrix's "Fire" or "Purple Haze", which have some of the most all-time influential riffs upon what became heavy metal. Around the same time there was Blue Cheer in San Francisco, cranking out super-heavy stoned interpretations of the blues.

TRACKS
01. Juicy Lucy - Willie The Pimp (1970)
        from album 'Lie Back And Enjoy It'
02. The Sacred Mushroom - You Won't Be Sorry (1969)
        from album 'The Sacred Mushroom'
03. Darius - Ancient Paths (1968)
        from album 'Darius'
04. Chicken Bones - Feeling (1975)
        from album 'Hardrock In Concert'
05. Growl - I Wonder (1974)
        from album 'Growl'
06. Tangerine - A.J.F. (1971)
        from album 'The Peeling Of Tangerine'
07. Apple Pie Motherhood Band - Born Under a Bad Sign (1968)
        from album 'The Apple Pie Motherhood Band'
08. Majic Ship - Free (1970)
        from album 'Majic Ship'
09. Chain - Black & Blue (1971)
        from album 'The History of Chain'
10. Dave Carlsen - Big Jake (1973)
        from album 'Pale Horse'
11. Freeman Sound & Friends - 16 Tons (1970)
        from album 'Heavy Trip'
12. Magic Sand - You Better Be Ready (1970)
        from album 'Magic Sand'
13. Warren S. Richardson Jr. - Stella (1969)
        from album 'Warren S. Richardson Jr.'
14. White Mule - Hundred Franc Blues (1970)
        single
15. Black Cat Bones - Save My Love (1970)
        from album 'Barbed Wire Sandwich'

Juicy Lucy - "Lie Back And Enjoy It" LP pull-out

Juicy Lucy was a short-lived commercial blues band that counted Mick Moody in its ranks, later of Whitesnake and other acts. The band was started by The Misunderstood (See Vol62) members Ray Owen, Glenn Ross Campbell (Steel guitar) and Chris Mercer (saxophone). Paul Williams puts on a great vocal performance here, he was the second singer for the band after Ray Owen left for a solo career. Their cover of 'Willie The Pimp' is fantastic, it really shows the combined talents of the band, along with the great slide guitar of Glenn Ross Campbell. In my opinion they never made a classic album, but it's clear they had the abilities. The original is a Frank Zappa song, from the 'Hot Rats' album, and Stackwaddy also did a cool version.

The Sacred Mushroom LP

Sacred Mushroom are up next with a concise little psych blues rocker, here is RYM's review: "Led by future Pure Prairie League member Larry Goshorn (guitar/vocals) and featuring brother Danny Goshorn (vocals) -- Sacred Mushroom were a short-lived rock/blues quintet based in Cincinnati, OH. Their efforts coalesce on this, the band's self-titled debut (and only) long-player. The album contains a blend of proficient originals as well as a pair of well-chosen cover tunes, such as the blues standard "Mean Old World" and the Kinks'"I'm Not Like Everybody Else." While their name conjures images of late-'60s psychedelic or acid rock, Sacred Mushroom's roots were decidedly more bluesy than trippy. Likewise, their harder-edged performance style is well served by the tight and somewhat pop-driven arrangements, resembling artists such as the Allman Joys, Kak, or the pre-Blue Öyster Cult Stalk-Forrest Group. A few of the Larry Goshorn-penned tunes are certifiably lost classics. These include the up-tempo rocker "Catatonic Lover," which features some lyrical chord changes reminiscent of "3/5's of a Mile in 10 Seconds" by Jefferson Airplane, and the Chicago blues-style waltz "All Good Things Must End." The latter is highlighted by some inspired harp playing from Rusty Work. The opening track, "I Don't Like You," is a funky rocker spotlighting the Goshorn Brothers' tight harmonies as well as Larry's distinctive lead electric guitar licks. Another standout is their reworking of "I'm Not Like Everybody Else." The track retains a timeless pop sensibility that incorporates interweaving acoustic and electric guitar lines. "Lifeline," the most extended track on the disc, recalls the electric blues of seminal Fleetwood Mac or Stan Webb's Chicken Shack. Along the same lines is the blues boogie rendering of "Mean Old World," which might easily be mistaken for an obscure version by a mid-'60s lineup of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. After decades of poorly manufactured European bootleg reproductions, Larry Goshorn has reissued Sacred Mushroom.

Darius LP (1968) front

Darius comes in on track 3 with a really nice trad blues-sounding track with plenty of grunt in the guitar dept. Thanks to RDTEN1 at RYM and badcatrecords.com for his opinions on the next act: "So what can I tell you about this guy Darius? Well his given name was Robert Joe Ott and he was apparently originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but in the mid-1960s relocated to Los Angeles where he attracted the attention of the Hollywood-based Chartmaker label.  Released in late 1968 "Darius" was co-produced by Pat Glasser and Butch Parker.  Personally I don't hear the Jim Morrison comparisons that some reviewers allude to, but Darius had a voice that was quite commercial and was well suited to material like the should've-been-hits 'Dawn' and 'I'm the Man''.  Featuring ten original efforts, songs like 'Shades of Blue', 'Ancient Paths' and 'Hear What I Say' offered up a great blend of dark pop and psych moves.

Darius LP (1968) rear

Interestingly, while there was nothing wrong with Darius 'I'm hurt' and 'love is unfair' lyrics, the key ingredient in making the album so good was the support he got from his un-credited backing band - fellow Chartmaster recording act Goldenrod (See Vol31).  Lead guitarist Ben Benay, drummer Toxey French and bassist Jerry Scheff may have been studio professionals who were best known for their work with Elvis Presley, but on this album they cut loose, decorating tracks like 'Mist-Veiled Garden' and 'Blow My Mind' with some amazing fuzz guitar, sitar, and other period accompaniment.  Killer !!!  (Always loved the egomaniacal back cover photo...  You can tell that Darius was sure he was about to become a major star!)"

Chicken Bones "Hardrock In Concert" LP (1976) front

The next belter is a mostly-instrumental, galloping jam from Germany's Chicken Bones. Taken from Silverado Rare Music: "The title of Chicken Bones' album Hardrock In Concert (1976) says it all! There are six "very hard rocking tracks" included therein, performed in the good old tradition of the early seventies heavy progressive scene. Most of the album is instrumental, and offers Rainer Geuecke plenty of opportunities to reveal his musical skills. The two longest tracks are the highlights: "Water" with the whisper of the sea and some beautiful acoustic guitar and "Factory Girl" which was in a more typical hard rock vein. This album has an excellent and well-balanced sound for a private release. The recordings were done in only one week live in the studio - or more probably a barn!

Chicken Bones "Hardrock In Concert" LP (1976) rear

These were an obscure heavy progressive act, who almost certainly had their roots in the late-1960's, and were definitely inspired by Jimi Hendrix and early British bands, like Back Sabbath, Tractor, et al., but were notably much more free and improvised. Despite the title of their album, Chicken Bones were not at all mundane hard rock, but were highly creative and often moved very close to May Blitz, early UFO or Cargo, but with lots of nice moves and flowery guitar work-outs. Basic, and gutsy admittedly, Chicken Bones were a lot better than the reputation that preceded them, and their album became quite a sought after obscurity. Chicken Bones existed in various forms for around a decade, afterwards ending up as the vastly inferior more metal oriented Revanche, then eventually disbanding in the 1980's.

Growl LP (1974) rear showing band

Growl are up next with a piece of great hard rock, full of blues attitude. They were formed in 1969, originally as 'Utopia' (not the Todd Rundgren group), under which name they made one album in that year (see Vol44). The s/t Growl LP was produced by Robert Duffey on Frank Zappa and Herb Cohen's DiscReet label in 1974, which seems to have been the year of the band's demise too. Both the Utopia and Growl albums are a mixed bag of rock 'n' roll, hard rock, and blues rock, but there are some worthy tracks. "I Wonder" is one of the best. Dennis Rodriguez (guitar, vocals), Harry Brender A. "Brandis" (guitar, backing vocals), Geno Lucero (bass) and Danny McBride (drums) were the guys previously in Utopia. Later Growl additions mentioned on RYM were Frank Krajnbrink (guitar, 1969-74), Richard Manuputi (vocals, 1974) and Mick Small (guitar, 1974). I have been unable to find much more info on the band.

Tangerine roll in with a Blue Cheerful vibe and guitar sound. From the Rockasteria page:''The Peeling of Tangerine'' is the Gear-Fab CD reissue of their ultra-rare LP from 1971, recorded at the famous WRS Recording Studios in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Peeling of Tangerine front

Led by the multi-instrumentalist Ferraro brothers Al and Crash (they mainly played guitar), Tangerine started playing together in the late '60s. In many ways, The band recalls a slightly heavier Santana; the music is full of Latin chord progressions, salsafied and tribal drumming and percussion, and Al Ferraro's rousing guitar work, as well as some of the dynamics of early '70s psychedelia and soul. The band doesn't stake out their own musical ground and the songs are not altogether distinctive enough; more often than not, they sound like unstructured (but not formless) jams passing for songs. In the other hand, those jams are often scintillating, with a slight mysterious lurch -- had they been honed in and further fleshed out, they had the makings of blazing tunes. Underused lead vocalist Al Ferraro is a blue-eyed soul shouter along the lines of Steve Winwood, and the band can really cook.

The Peeling of Tangerine rear

Side 2 of the LP is where it's at, and is made up primarily of a heavy jams in the Iron Butterfly, Blue Cheer mold. The 13-minute final cut, "My Main Woman," perhaps summarizes both Tangerine's abilities and excesses best. The song contains gorgeous passages of snaking guitar lines, hyper drumming, and rumbling bass as well as joyous percussive parts, but those parts can go on far longer than taste would merit, thus losing the momentum and drive of the song for short spells before regaining its footing which was reminiscent of Iron Butterfly. Of this final track, Record Collector magazine says: "Al Ferraro’s fine, gutsy vocals crop up too infrequently, but his low-definition, fuzzball guitar soloing is everywhere, not least on My Main Woman, 13 long minutes of aimless grunt. The conga solo is the highlight – which surely speaks volumes."

Apple Pie Motherhood Band  LP (1968)

At the mid-point is The Apple Pie Motherhood Band with the namesake of this volume, and an excellent psychedelic cover of this classic blues song it is too. Review from Allmusic.com - "The Apple Pie Motherhood Band were a Boston collective with a formative heavy blues base and equally earthy  psychedelia. With Atlantic Records staff producer Felix Pappalardi behind the console, the results were a reflection of the ever-changing pop/rock soundscape. Although the band's lineup kept changing, the ensemble credited here includes Dick Barnaby (bass), Jack Bruno (drums), Joe Castagno (guitar), Ted Demos (guitar), and Jeff Labes (organ/piano). Marilyn Lundquist (vocal) was temporarily filling the vocalist's void, her dulcet tones grace several songs. The thoroughly-explored reading of Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" is an obvious homage to British supergroup trio Cream.

The best of the band can be heard on the seven-plus minute slice of psych medley that links the group-penned instrumental "The Ultimate" to a blue-eyed soulful interpretation of Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon's "Contact." The number was a return to the Apple Pie Motherhood Band's prototype C.C. & the Chasers -- whose single "Put the Clock Back on the Wall" b/w "Two & Twenty" were both from the Bonner/Gordon songbook. The Apple Pie Motherhood Band would continue with a revolving door personnel for another year and release their swan song Apple Pie (1970) shortly before breaking up at the dawn of that decade.

Majic Ship LP (1970)

'50s singer Johnny Mann discovered Majic Ship, and many of their earliest recordings veered toward a sort of garage-pop hybrid that was, at best, pleasant. One Tokens-produced side, "Green Plant," on the other hand, hinted that the hearts of the members of the band lay in garage-psych heavy rock. When it came time to record their self-titled debut album in 1969, the music was much more in that vein.

Gear Fab's "The Complete Recordings" CD collects all of the band's official recordings, including early singles and demos. Majic Ship prominently featured Gus Riozzi's organ and Mike Garrigan's distinctive hard rock holler. The other noted members are Tom Nikosey (guitar), Philip Polimeni (guitar), Rob Buckman (drums) and Ray Rifice (guitar). The sound was only a few steps removed from fellow New Yorkers Vanilla Fudge, and like that band, Majic Ship also made use of popular songs by other artists. Two of the most interesting songs on the collection are covers of the Bee Gees'"To Love Somebody" and a medley of Neil Young's "Down by the River" and Stephen Stills'"For What It's Worth." The real starting point on the CD is "It's Over." It is here that the band began to display the heavy, nearly over-the-top rock sound.

Majic Ship LP (1970) insert

Psychedelic Baby Review - "Majic Ship's existence came to a dreary end in 1971 when their equipment was claimed by a fire. 1999 saw the Mike Garrigan and Tommy Nikosey reunite, resulting in an album titled "Songwaves Project" that also included Cher, ex- Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, Dave Amato from REO Speedwagon, and drummer Ron Wikso, who has played with everyone from Foreigner to David Lee Roth to Cher to Randy Meisner to Denny Laine. Although the disc is poppier than "Majic Ship," it's still strongly recommended and adds a nice touch to the band's legacy."

Chain Towards The Blues LP (1971)

Classic Aussie band Chain appear in TDATS for the first time, with a slow-burning track suitable for a 'chain' gang. This is a live rendition but I'm not sure from when or where exactly, it is found on 'The History of Chain' album (1974). They formed in Melbourne as The Chain in late 1968 with a lineup including guitarist, vocalist Phil Manning; they are sometimes known as Matt Taylor's Chain after lead singer-songwriter and harmonica player, Matt Taylor. The band was named by Australian blues Singer, Wendy Saddington, after the song "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin.

Their January 1971 single "Black & Blue", which became their only top twenty hit, was recorded by a Chain line-up of Manning, Taylor, drummer Barry Harvey and bass guitarist Barry Sullivan. The related album, Toward the Blues, followed in September and peaked in the top ten albums chart. They are Australia's defining bluesrock band, and you can read plenty more about them here at Milesago.

Dave Carlsen - Pale Horse LP

Dave Carlsen's real name is Dave Clarke. He made his first solo record "Pale Horse" under the Carlsen pseudonym (apparently to avoid confusion with The Dave Clark Five's leader) in 1973, with assistance from Keith Moon and Noel Redding. After this he was a formative member of The Noel Redding Band (two LPs), and also briefly the "Jimmy McCulloch & White Line" band (one LP). After various other musical collaborations, none of which yielded much, Dave Clarke joined the Royal Navy in 1979. He saw active service in the Falklands War and elsewhere and retired as a Commander in 1992. He has been lead singer and lead guitarist with The Kast Off Kinks since 1994. (wikipedia)

Freeman Sound LP

At track 11 is a really heavy cover of a bluesy country classic, Merle Travis's Sixteen Tons. It was in Motherheast, Ohio USA, in 1969, midway between the towns of Warren and Cortland, that five determined young musicians, Ray Escott - Lead Vocals, LJ Fortier - Drums, John Harrow - Lead Guitar, Vocals, "Buster" McCarthy - Bass, Vocals, and Kurt Sunderman - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, started getting together in the damp basement of LJ's parents home on Sunday mornings in an effort to try to carry on with their dreams of being in a successful Rock band. Having won the Starshine Productions'"Battle of the Bands" in 1970, the five-member Freeman Sound was established as the most popular of several bands (including Morly Grey), that had records released on the Starshine label.

Freeman Sound never made an official LP, but the World In Sound archival release "Freeman Sound And Friends - Heavy Trip" includes 12 tracks with bio and photos. You'll get stoned on some mind-bending vocals backed by instrumentation that includes some very intense, heavy fuzz and wah pedal guitar sounds, solid drums and a screaming organ, with flashes of famous British groups. Prepare to get off on cuts like the heaviest version of Merle Travis'"16 Tons" ever recorded!

Magic Sand LP (1970)

Thanks to tymeshifter for his research on The Magic Sand at RYM. One of the enduring mysteries of psych record collecting has been the nature of the relationship between The Hooterville Trolley and this band. The Trolley's single "No Silver Bird" (See Vol50) has long been an icon of the genre, but that single represented the sum total recorded output of that band, at least under that name. When it was discovered that the exact same track turned up on this album, retitled as "Get Ready to Fly", rumors began to fly instead. The most common and widely believed was that the Trolley, or at least one member, became The Magic Sand. After recording this album, they wanted to give their earlier masterpiece another outing, so they included it here, despite its being completely out of place in this setting. But that scenario did nothing to explain why the song writing credits went to Ernie Phillips on the single, and someone named A.Klein on this album, the latter name never having been associated with The Hooterville Trolley. Well, I am proud to announce that, having just returned from an investigative sojourn, I am finally able to put the subject to rest. The bass guitarist from the Trolley, one Don Kinney, passed away several years ago. But I was able to track down his sister, who put me in contact with his first wife, who was married to him during those critical years.

The Hooterville Trolley "No Silver Bird" single

She told me this story: "No Silver Bird" was originally written by Ernie Phillips. The band was dissatisfied with his version, and sort of punched it up a little bit on their own. The song was recorded in Norman Petty's famed studios in Clovis, NM, at a time shortly after he had just acquired a new mellotron. He was eager to use this new piece of equipment and the band were happy to oblige, literally drenching their song with psychedelic keyboards. They cut two versions of the song that day. The studio time had been paid for by their so-called manager, one Tommy Benvinedez, who insisted on rights to the music they recorded that day, for which he would pay royalties should anything ever come of it. It was Tommy B. who was behind the Magic Sand project. There was no real band by this name. It was entirely a studio project put together by Benvinedez incorporating all sorts of stuff, the exact sources of which are unknown. Some may have been recorded specifically for this album. Other tracks, such as The Trolley's, he just had laying around and decided to throw on here (incidentally, the version that appears on the album was the second take recorded at Petty's studios that day, and not the one on the single). Consequently, the styles of music are all over the place, from country to rock, and everything in between, and  don't even sound to be recorded during the same time frame. Overall, this one is a bit of a disappointment, despite the inclusion of such a notable track. But don't be afraid to check it out for some hidden gems you might discover on your own.

Warren S. Richardson Jr. LP front

From the PHROCK blog (RIP): "A bunch of on-line references question whether Warren S. Richardson Jr. is in fact former Tubes guitarist Bill Spooner. Given that Spooner's website includes the album in its discography section I'd say the answer is yes. By the way, here's the link to his website: http://www.billspooner.com. As a word of warning, anyone expecting to hear something along the same lines as The Tubes patented weirdness is going to be majorly disappointed by this album. In 1967 Richardson-nee Spooner contributed lead guitar to Michael Condello's "Condello" LP. A couple of years later Condello apparently repaid the favour by producing 1969's cleverly-titled "Warren S. Richardson Jr.".

Warren S. Richardson Jr. LP rear

Richardson was credited with penning all six tracks and material like 'Reputation'' and 'Shady Lady' offered up a pretty good set of fuzz-propelled hard rock. Nothing here is particularly original and you may well feel like you've heard some of this stuff elsewhere, but Spooner had a voice that was well suited to the genre and this was one of those rare albums that actually seemed to benefit from the addition of horns (courtesy of Owen Eugene Hale, Richard Lewis and Joseph Ray Trainer). In case anyone cared, perhaps because it strayed a little bit from the predominantly hard rock formula, excluding the needless and seemingly endless drum solo, the psych-tinged 'Wind and Rain' struck me as the standout effort on the album."

White Mule

White Mule is another name for illicitly-made booze like moonshine, white lightning, mountain dew, hooch, and Tennessee white whiskey. Whether or not this was the intended meaning for the band at track 14 I don't know. Harlow, UK's White Mule were Geoff Carpenter on guitar and vocals, John "Culley" Culleton on bass, John "Gypie Mayo" Cawthra on guitar and vocals and John Glasgow on drums. Brian Wren replaced John Glasgow on drums. Bruce Trotter came on board as an extra vocalist and Yanni Flood-Page was added as a second guitar after that. They toured Europe a lot and released two singles, Looking Through Cats Eyes (credited to Flood-Page) and a Mungo Jerry cover "In The Summertime". There are three different versions of their singles listed at 45cat, all of which have 'Hundred Franc Blues' as the b-side. According the bandtoband.com, John Cawthra was later in Dr. Feelgood and a late version of Yardbirds.

Blues Before Sunrise

White Mule evolved from Blues Before Sunrise, who "formed around 1967 and were, Jeff Carpenter, guitar, John 'Culley' Culleton, bass, Bruce Trotter, vocals, and John Glasgow on drums. In 1968 Jeff and John left to be replaced by Brian Wren on drums and Gypie Mayo on guitar and vocals. They quickly changed their name to White Mule. Jeff later played with Sheena Easton on her early hits and albums."

White Mule In The Summertime / Hundred Franc Blues single

Alias were a jamming unit circa 1975-1977 consisting of White Mules' Brian Wren, drums, "Culley", bass, Bill Sharpe, keyboards and Gypie Mayo on guitar. Alias were often seen jamming in the Triad in Bishop's Stortford, or The Orange Footman. "We'd hit a groove and just go with it, usually a funky thing, and play the bollocks off it and quite often end up in a psychedelic miasma. Great fun" - Gypie Mayo. Guests often included Roger O-Dell, drums, Keith Winter on guitar. Brian Wren was later in another Harlow band, Red Express. Roger, Keith and Bill Sharpe went on to form Shakatak in the 80's and have a string of hits. Thanks to the Harlow Band Archive for most of this White Mule information, I really didn't think I was going to find anything on them.

Black Cat Bones band

Closing this set, Black Cat Bones (named after a Hoodoo charm associated with blues music) shouldn't need too much introduction here. A band that were familiar on the London pub circuit, they are well-known to have included Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke before they left for Free. After many line-up changes and the album "Barbed Wire Sandwich" the final death knell came. The last remaining members Derek and Stuart Brooks were joined by vocalist Pete French and guitarist Mike Halls from the Brunning / Hall Sunflower Blues Band. After adding drummer Keith George Young, the outfit became the hard rock band Leaf Hound in 1970 (see vol1 and vol64). Again, Leaf Hound shouldn't need to much of an introduction here, the "Growers Of Mushroom" LP is one of the best heavy underground records ever.

Black Cat Bones - "Barbed Wire Sandwich" LP

Hi guys, you may have noticed a new tab at the top of the page...in a new addition to the blog, I have made 1000's of TDATS tracks and more available, streaming free online 24hrs a day via Radionomy. Almost every track in the comps is there, including the most obscure. There's also some more complete collections from my favourite records like those of Captain Beyond, Night Sun, Budgie, Leaf Hound, Ancient Grease, Buffalo, Highway Robbery, Sir Lord Baltimore and others. Radionomy also provides apps to stream to mobile devices. Go here to listen right now, and get some more info. >TDATS Radio<

Hopefully this will make your lazy sundays more enjoyable, and work day tedium less, well, tedious.
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TDATS 109: Biker movie rock mix by Rich Aftersabbath on Mixcloud

Jeff Simmons was a member in Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention for a while in the early '70s. Before this he made two albums on Frank's Straight record label, one of them was a biker movie soundtrack, the other was a solo record called "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up". Frank Zappa wrote two songs on Lucille, and was a producer, all under the pseudonym "La Marr Bruister". The story is that Zappa discovered Jeff and his band Easy Chair when they opened a Mothers show in 1968. He was immediately taken with Jeff's equal skills in playing both jazz and rock, and by Easy Chair's lyrical sense of humour, all things which had direct parallels with The Mothers. So, Jeff appears here because of his 1969 soundtrack to the hell's angels flick, Naked Angels. This was a Roger Corman production, a guy famous for b-movie/exploitation cinema and cult movies like The Trip and Death Race 2000.  I have used the opening track from the record, called Naked Angels Theme, which is a gloriously groovy fuzz-fest. This was re-issued recently by World In Sound records.

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Welcome to episode 110 of The Day After The Sabbath. This instalment has been made in collaboration with a guy who was an influence when I started this site, so it's about time he received some recognition from me! He lives in Sweden and his name is Mik Kay, he's been running a blog called Heavypsychman for over five years. 

heavypsychmanblog.blogspot.com

Many of you will have come across his blog before as he's made quite a name for himself among all the heavy-hunters out there. His mission is the same as mine, but whereas my interest developed from a pre-internet age love of '90s grunge and alternative rock, now covering a wide period of styles up to 1980, Mik comes from a early-black/death metal background and specialises mainly in the rawest, loudest and loosest heavy psych he can find, usually within the years of 1968 to 1973. The sweet spot where heavy psych was convergent with the newly emerging hard rock sound. He has kindly agreed to curate this compilation, which complements an interview I have done with him.

The resulting comp has instantly become one of the rawest, loudest and fuzziest sets you'll ever hear on TDATS, and you are gonna love it! All the tracks are new to TDATS, as are six of the artists: Bulbous Creation, Smack, Jarvis Street Revue, Negative Space, Bent Wind and Smokin' Willie. The great thing is all 12 of these are album cuts, and they are backed-up equally by the quality of their respective albums, so if you look further into any of them you will most certainly be rewarded.

TRACKS (with Mik's description)
01. Dragonfly - Blue Monday (1968)
       from album 'Dragonfly' 
       "Garage rock with wild fuzz meets H U G E amps"
02. Smack - Sunshine Of Your Love (1968)
       from album 'Smack'
       "An underground Cream plugs into Blue Cheers amps"
03. Sainte Anthony's Fyre - Lone Soul Road (1970)
       from album 'Sainte Anthony's Fyre'
       "Crushing riff of crude raw Heavy distorted Fuzz"
04. Fire - Flames (1973)
       from album 'Could You Understand Me'
       "Monster raw Heavy Fuzz-gasm"
05. Stone Garden - Assembly Line (1969)
       from album 'Stone Garden'
       "Monster HEAVY dynamic crusher"
06. The Jarvis Street Revue - Mr. Oil Man (1970)
       from album 'Mr. Oil Man'
       "Megalithic meglo heavy fuzzsound with equal vocals"
07. Negative Space - Forbidden Fruit (1970)
       from album 'Hard, Heavy, Mean & Evil' 
       "Heavy raw mean and in your face crude blast"
08. Joshua - No Country (1969)
       from album 'Opens Your Mind'
       "Lead Sled of Heavinesss in your face with crude raw edge"
09. Bent Wind - Sacred Cows (1969)
       from album 'Sussex'
       "Heavy Earthquake-evoking rhythm with wasted leads galore"
10. Bulbous Creation - Let's Go to the Sea (1970)
       from album 'You Won't Remember Dying'
       "Heavy basement trip with eerie dark undercurrent"
11. Smokin' Willie - Get Ready (1970)
       from album 'Smokin' Willie'
       "pulverized Rare Earth cover with Most extreme FUZZ leads in existence"
12. Josefus - Dead Man (1970)
       from album 'Dead Man'
       "Monster Heavy doomed Blues based audioal freight train"


Mik's Heavypsychmanblog reveals vinyl rips of lost albums, re-issues of such things from labels like Rockadrome, and his own hand-picked comps, resulting from his searches. He has a great ear for it all. He succeeds in catching the mood and atmosphere of the late '60s/early '70s heavy underground which worshiped the fuzz box, beer and weed with reckless punk attitude. His honest, no-nonsense writing style gets you amped-up just by reading about what delights are in store and you can be confident to hear only the most fuzzy, heavy and wildest cuts conceivable. He's made two series' of comps so far, Heavy Psych Explosion 1-8, Monster Garage Rock, and the most recent, Stack Attack, which is up to Vol5.

Mik Kay aka Heavypsychman

We begin with Mik's personal viewpoint on the more recent music that shaped his tastes and led to his appreciation of older sounds. Take it away Mik!

Mik: Hello Rich, first thanks for the honour of being interviewed.

Q1.You are from Stockholm and you have spent some time living in Australia. Can you tell us some of the major events and influences in your life that lead you to start HeavyPsychMan blog? Did living in Australia have any influence in what you are in to, or the blog?

Yes I live in one of the shittest bluecollar suburbs of Stockholm and lived in a similar suburb in Sydney AUS so yes when you have a heavy environment it affects you. For my part the earliest Raw heavy sounds that attracted me were like pre-84 M O T Ö R H E A D, Bon Scott-era AC/DC, Venom and bands like Sodom, Hellhammer, Bathory. Those were the rawest n' heaviest bands of the time I knew about. Well in the early '90s that pseudo death metal thing started by disillusioned ex Metallica and Slayer fans and the objectionable (in my opinion) character of Öystein Arseth of Mayhem who invited all manner of people into the black death metal scene destroyed everything and I lost interest in that scene. The stuff after 91/92 is awful at best IMO.

Dave Chandler of St Vitus

What was I going to listen to now? Well I loved doom metal like Candlemass, Mercy and Vitus and I think it was Dave Chandler who said he was influenced by Blue Cheer for his leads. Vitus V or five, was a major influence that got me interested in the Heavy '70s scene. It had the hippy bias thing going on BUT the music was HEAVY I mean Heavier than the stuff I had listened to previously. The easiest to find here in SWE was Purple, Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Mountain on LP. I got them and the CD reissue boom came around then also. I began to exclusively listen to '70s heavy music, but the raw edge of the stuff I'd previously liked lingered on and I discovered Blue Cheer and that was a major introduction into heavy psychedelic sounds with a heavier and wilder style than all the rest so I started to explore more and gradually discovered more and rarer bands.

To make a long story somewhat graspable, 1990s tape trading and the '70s music reissue boom in the '90s laid the musical foundation for Heavypsychman as the blog was originally called. I wanted to share this wealth of great raw HEAVY music with like-minded people and blogspot was a great medium and a super tape trading platform. Also that Sabbath is the only really heavy band talked-about pissed me off so I showed people MORE bands were heavy and even Heavier hehe.


Q2.Have you ever been a musician yourself? If so, what do you play and are you in a band?
I played guitar and in the early '90s and wanted to start a trio into demo-era Sodom/Hellhammer kind of music but guys here in Sweden didn't get it, (so much for a death metal boom here) so nothing happened, I still play but now raw southern Bluesy Kinks meets Zeppelin/Cheer stuff. Now I don't have time to play in a band but you never know...


Q3.You have used a lot of different bands and styles on your blog. Could you tell us what your favourite styles in old rock are, and why?
The rawer and the heavier the better, provided the music is good 1965 - 1975. I also love long jam psych from SWE and SF USA and AUS rock. The warm heavy tone of that era combined with super songwriting and talent is a winning combination. I use the term Heavy psych which I actually snatched from a comp called Heavydose of Heavypsych by Arf Arf records. I love fuzz psych and monster heavy bass/drums and raw sounds. Motörhead/Venom had that sound which originally influenced me and has never left me.

Mecki Mark Men poster 1969

Q4.Who are some of your favourite artists from those times, famous or not?
Rare bands: Stone Garden, Josefus, Joshua (Ca), Bulbous Creation, Sainte Anthony's Fyre, Bolder Damn, Jarvis Street Revue, Bent Wind, Smack, Firebirds (Crown band) and Mecki Mark Men. I also like original loner-folk and good original underground psychedelia.

Known bands; Zeppelin (specially 2 & 4, Levee Breaks kills) Mountain, Blue Cheer 1 & 2, Cream, Hendrix, The Who (Live stuff), Grand Funk Railroad 69-70, Sabbath 1 to 4, Cactus 1st, Purple 'In rock'.



Q5.Personally, I think the short period between the late '60s and early '70s was the best and most creatively interesting time in rock history. What are your opinions on why there was such a creative explosion during those times and what other periods and genres interest you most up until the current day?

The zeitgeist of that era was progressive optimism and everything was possible. The future was bright and the postwar era prosperity made a renaissance of the regular man's music which, rock and blues is. A unique time in history from which we now enjoy the fruits. Progressively since the 1973 oil crisis things in the west have gone down hill. In the 90's rock really died and lost it's momentum. There's still good stuff out there like Mount Carmel and Endless Boogie but not in the spotlight like in previous eras. Stoner rock is bland and boring. I liked Fu Manchu's 'In search of' but the other bands sucked IMO, Just no good songwriting anymore or noticeable talent, or even real effort. I saw Vitus live a year ago and the opening act was beyond awful, people walked out and waited for Vitus to take the stage instead, that kind of says it all.


Q6.How are the bands chosen or found for your blog? Do you chose them all yourself, do you get suggestions and recommendations?
I choose the stuff myself and it must fulfill the originality and musical quality demands I have. If an album has one killer tune I save that for a compilation instead of posting a whole bland album. I learnt my trade from record lists and labels like Rockadelic, The Void. Subliminal Sounds and great fanzine and tape-trading friends like Ray Dorsey etc etc in the 90's. Great folks I am greatly indebted to. Cheers to you all you unsung heroes of the underground.

Captain Foam's wall of amps

Q7.Could you tell us three Heavypsychman discoveries or comps that are particular favourites of yours, and why?
The music I share is known by hardcore collectors but they are not always willing to share it. Captain Foam is a killer discovery (we need live tapes). Ceptic Frog is another (the tape owner is 'difficult' I'm told). Mecki Mark Men Live, It took me years of asking before they got posted on Youtube. I like everything I post and actively listen to it all before sharing. If it seems iffy it's not posted.


Q8.Have you ever got in contact with any of the artists?
Our mutual friend Klem[Breznikar of It's Psychedelic Baby - See Vol94] is great at this and his webzine is a dream come true. I have met and talked with members of Mecki Mark Men and Träd Gräs Och Stenar, great folks. They don't understand the big deal with their modern day fame. I would like to hear from members of Bulbous Creation or The Firebirds (LA band) as would most of us.

Bolder Damn

Q9.What is the future for Heavypsychman blog? Do you have any further plans regarding your love of rock music?
I'm happy just to post stuff once a month and searching for rare Heavy raw psych n heavy rock music like you yourself, I must say you and your friends are great at finding new stuff, Big thanks for your efforts you guys. That's what the underground is about. I saw that Bolder Damn was reissued by Guerssen, I still remember when Rockadelic and The Void reissued it years back. My Heavypsych Explosion series was inspired by all those garage psych compilation LPs of the '80s and '90s, I have No LP/CD ambitions, there's too much money and plastic hoarding involved. I'm a music fan not a plastic & cardboard fan. I hate the mainstream labels for all the money sucking they did before the mp3 revolution. I burn a CDR or DVDr to archive my stuff. I dream that a Spotify for rare underground music would come along, so computer nerds, get cracking, we know the music you know the tech...


Q10.Can you tell us something about being a psychedelic rock fan in Stockholm? Do you get much opportunity to watch old bands live, or old-styled/retro bands? I know Sweden has a lot of great stoner/psych bands and it's a relatively big thing over there.
Hehe we have Träd Gräs och Stenar here, I actually prefer Gothenburg bands Centralstödet and Ett Rop på Hjälpöver these Stockholm retro 70's bands. Not a fan of them, not authentic to my ears but surely nice guys, doing something they are passionate about.

Centralstödet are raw long jam-psych from Gothenburg (album out on Cassette!) and Ett Rop på Hjälp are heavy rock from Gothenburg. There's a lot of pop bands here with psych influences but that's not my bag.[Mik reviewed Ett Rop på Hjälp's 2012 album here]


Q11.Are there any bars, venues or record shops etc that would be good to check out for anyone who finds themselves in Stockholm or near-by?
One shop that I can recommend in Stockholm is Got To Hurry records (they had Rockadelics in their boxes when I was there last, Stone Garden!) Subliminal sounds is a must and the Guru as we call him (Stefan Kery) is a psych specialist and great super wired dude. His shop was legendary but Stockholm didn't get it (I did!).


Q12.Could you tell us about some of your favourite current or new artists from anywhere around the world?
Mount Carmel and Endless Boogie are great and underexposed as f**k, Hear them or be square! 

[Mount Carmel's label: link. Endless Boogie's label: link.]

I agree, wholeheartedly about Mount Carmel, I loved their 2012 album 'Real Women'. I will check out Endless Boogie too!


Q13.Is it correct you were editor of Golden Void Fanzine? If so, can you tell us a little about that?
Yes, it was a simple xeroxed zine typed/handwritten and used even computers for reviews. It had hand-drawn psych art by myself. It featured basically the same bands as in my blog, which is a kinda continuation of it. I have no copies left or even originals, but if ya like the blog, you'd have liked the zine. I did it 98 - 99 with 4 issues.


Q14.What have you learnt from your experiences of making the HeavyPsychMan blog? Do you have any useful advice for rock fanatics who are considering starting a blog or similar project themselves?
Be YOURSELF and share YOUR passion, Have quality control in mind because YOU influence the scene, YOU make it or destroy it. Don't post like a manic fool, take your time. For me once a month is good. I remember that dude "Chris Goes Rock" who posted 4 - 6 albums a day? Did he ever hear the music he posted? That's crazy. Get to know your underground friends and link each other. I wish you the best. Yes avoid major label artists or you get deleted links and "friendly" lawyer emails... Yes that's why I don't post Led Zeppelin 4 despite me loving it. Don't post new reissues until the small labels have a chance to sell their copies. I usually wait a year.

Yes, I remember Chris Goes Rock, he is still around in the blogosphere - I used to get a lot of music from him in the days before blogs, when his uploads where listed on torrent sites like Suprnova. He is how I first heard a lot of the music that helped me start TDATS. I do think he is genuinely knowledgeable and had been listening to this stuff for a long time before the internet enabled him to push it all...


Q15. Finally, do you have anything further to say to TDATS and Heavypsychman blog readers out there?
Rich, T H A N K Y O U and the rest of the guys in our scene for finding and sharing Great rare Heavy music. Your Biker rock compilation [Vol 109] was a Blast, Keep that level up n' you will rule. Special Thanks also to everyone who has visited and heard music from Heavypsychmanblog, hope you had a blast. It's great to see how many of the featured bands now actually are known by folks who can appreciate them. Great 2015 to everyone Rock On! Mik.

Dragonfly (1970) & The Legend (1968)

Durango, Colorado's Dragonfly made on album in 1970. They were actually the band The Legend without Ernie McElwaine. [tymeshifter at RYM: "Note that this is actually the band The Legend without Ernie McElwaine. The group never performed under the name Dragonfly, supposedly just the album title here only. Somehow, well after the band had broken up and on subsequent reissues, Dragonfly has stuck as an alias for the band."] The rest of the band was Jack Duncan (bass), Barry Davis (drums, backing vocals), Gerry Jimerfield (guitar, lead vocals) and Randy Russ [Randy Russell] (guitar, backing vocals). The album has been reissued by labels including Sunbeam, Guerssen, Gear Fab, Progressive Line and Eva.

Smack LP (1968)

Fire

Stone Garden promo shot

The Jarvis Street Revue LP (1970) - Full Cover

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Welcome to TDATS #111. Now and again I come across bands that sounded great, but only made some singles and no albums. The first thing I always wonder is, "How come this obviously-talented band were around long enough to make a string of singles and get on a major label, but did not make an album?". It seems to be a question that arises regarding Dutch bands as often as any other nationality, if not more so, and the band that we are interested in for this episode is Cobra. They had an instantly likable brand of hook-laden rock which encompassed hard rock, pop, glam and blues in such a such a way that Dutch bands seemed particularly adept.

The Netherlands had a great pop scene in the '60s and '70s, and The Hague was the place to be. Bands which started there like Golden Earring, Q65, Supersister and Shocking Blue are still respected the world-over. I'd say it was second only to Hamburg as a go-to European city for aspiring musicians. Often, English names can be found in Dutch bands, such as singer Christine Holmes (ex-Family Dogg, later known as 'Kristine Sparkle') in California License and guitarist Ray Fenwick (The Spencer Davis Group, Tee-Set). who was a founder of After Tea. (Incidentally, I used a ripping Ray Fenwick track back on Vol103). Cobra had a British singer called Winston Gawke. Before his time in mainland Europe he'd already tried his hand in the UK as Winston G and had various backing groups, culminating in The Winston G Set (later called Fox & The Whip). For fact-fans out  there, The Winston G Set was also an early band for Huw Lloyd-Langton of ├┤awkШind.

The Dutch quickly assimilated the popular hard rock sounds of the time, and one thing I like was their ability to mix these heavy sounds with a certain pop, almost glam sensibility, avoiding getting too cheesy, but remaining endearingly fun. Some more good examples of this were Blue Planet, Big Wheel, Panda, Inca Bullet Joe and many more. I hope to focus on some more of these names in later episodes...

Back to Cobra. They made five singles (including one under the name of Island), all of which are great. I have contacted the original guitarist of Cobra, who does an excellent job on all the singles, his name is Rob Vunderink. He still works successfully in music and has been a member of distinguished Dutch progsters Kayak since 2001. One of Rob's other notable successes was as a founding member the pop rock band Diesel, which had a number-one single in Canada from an album which was also popular in the US around 1980.

The other two main members of Cobra were Michiel Driessen (drums - later in Livin' Blues, Sun, Flair and Monte Carlo) and Paul Heppener (Bass - ex-Confrontation, later in Centaur, Drama, Shocking Blue, Fontessa and Belgian band Otger Dice).

Rob (left) in The Counts

Q01. Hi Rob, Thanks for your time! Firstly, can you tell us about your beginnings in music?
I was born in Nijmegen. The Van Halen brothers lived here, as did Nina Simone. I got my first guitar when I was sixteen, because I loved the Beatles. Why guitar? That's what they played. I never had lessons, I taught myself and I was in a school band. At a certain point I joined a local top band called The Counts [links: 1, 2] and they had a manager, who became my personal manager also.


Q02. What happened after The Counts?
My manager called and said the singer of the Yardbirds was looking for a guitarist in Nijmegen. These had been a peculiar German version of The Yardbirds [a bogus, or 'tribute' version] without any real Yardbirds. The singer was Winston Gawke from the UK. I started a band with Winston which was first called Jasper Mule. At this point we also had Joop van Kesteren (bass, ex-Counts, who later went on to Grass) and John Lejeune (drums, ex-Corporation, later to Livin' Blues).


Q03. What music were you personally in to at the time?
I liked Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and other hard rock bands.

Cobra

Q04. Can you tell me about Island's "Move Over / Super Woman" Single? I know it had some connection to you and Winston. It is fantastic, Super Woman sounds like a lost Led Zep song! I have only heard this side as it was included in a comp at the time called "Hey June", I've not heard the flipside.
Winston attracted John van Setten as our manager. John had managed a band called Island previously, which had ceased to exist by this time. He arranged a recording session for us and the resulting songs, "Super Woman / Move Over", were released as an Island single. We had nothing to do with the old Island and it was a one-time occasion. 

1. Michiel Driessen 2. Rob Vunderink 3. Winston Gawke 4. Paul Heppener I'm in Love single (1971)

Q05. How did Cobra come about?
We moved to the Hague in 1969, Michiel Driessen and Paul Heppener then took the roles of drums and bass respectively, and the Cobra lineup was made. At one time Cor van der Beek (Shocking Blue - drums) had one or two rehearsals but didn't join. We got ourselves a record deal with Polydor and after my suggestion for calling the band Grizzley, Winston came up with 'Cobra'.


Q06. How did Cobra get signed to the Polydor label?
We just went there and talked to Freddy Haayen, who was director and producer for Golden Earring. He produced us himself, including our first single, 'The War Will Soon Be Over (My Love)' which became a hit in Holland.


Q07. Was there a big rock scene in The Hague in the early '70s?
The Hague was called 'beat city'. Lots of big Dutch bands were from the Hague, like Golden Earring, The Motions, Q65, Supersister and more. Every Tuesday evening musicians would hang out in a place called De Maraton[inc. Q65 and Golden Earring - wiki]. So yes, a big rock scene and a fun place too.


Q08. Did Cobra play many gigs or festivals?
We played all over Holland, both clubs and festivals. We opened up for Ten Years After in Amsterdam in the early seventies. Alvin Lee was a star then because of Woodstock. 

Paul Heppener (bass)

Q09. Can you tell us about the four 45s that Cobra released on the Polydor label?
I think 'The War Will Soon Be Over' was recorded at the Phonogram studio in Hilversum. I remember it must have been early January 1970. Haayen produced us and Cees Schrama played keyboards [aka 'Crazy Casey', also of Golden Earring, Casey & The Pressure Group - wiki, RYM]. The second single was called 'I'm In Love' and it was a Haayen production too, record at the Soundpush Studio in The Hague. The third single was called 'So Dissatisfied', written and produced by Craig Bolyn from the US [ex-Nazz, prod. Ash Tray], same studio as the first one. The fourth single 'Don't Do Like I Do' was produced by former Earring drummer Jaap Eggermont, who would peak at Billboard #1 in the band 'Stars On 45' in the '80s. It was recorded at Soundpush also.


Q10. Do you have any favourite Cobra songs? Can you remember anything about playing any of them, like ones which were hard to play?
I really like So Dissatisfied. I like the bass playing in I'm in love. There was nothing hard about playing these songs.


Q11. Cobra's music is fantastic, all the members performances gel brilliantly. While it’s generally got an anthemic sing-along melodic style like 'The War Will Soon Be Over (My Love)', there's glam rock ('Don't Do Like I Do'), and couple of heavier rockers like 'Midnight Walker' and 'I'm in Love'. There's also some slow blues like 'Schoolgirl Blues'. Can you explain your thoughts on the band’s versatility and what influenced the sound of Cobra?
Winston was the one who got the band together and he wanted a blues/rock band like Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple. He introduced me to the guitar playing style of Rory Gallagher. The War Will Soon Be Over was the odd one out, actually, but the combination of acoustic and electric playing intrigued some people. Later Winston proposed a style more like Mother's Finest, but that never came off. For blues influence we listened to BB King.


Q12. Who were the creative leaders of the band, if there were some?
The song writing was done by Winston and me. No songs were written by Michiel and Paul. I think him and me were the creative leaders, if indeed there were any. 


Q13. There is some extra orchestration on the song 'So Dissatisfied', which sounds like a mellotron/keyboard. Is this correct, and can you remember who played it, or was it put in later?
Craig Bolyn experimented with the Moog synthesizer and he got it on board during the recording. He also added some low string guitar work during the guitar solo.

First Patricia Paay LP (1969)

Q14. 'Don't Do Like I Do' has some female backing vocals. Who did these vocals and how did that come about?
It was Jaap Eggermont's idea. He hired Dutch singer Patricia Paay [radio host, glamour model and television personality - wiki]. We hated Eggermont's production, he fucked it up and didn't even put his name on the record, so he knew he fucked up. The single was a flop.


Q15. 'What Next' is a mini progressive epic. It talks about world war, racism and greed and other such issues. It's much longer, more philosophical, and quite different to all your other songs. What's the story behind that? It also has a very nice emotive guitar solo at the end, is that you playing?
That was Winston's work, those words. It was the time of hippies, peace and grass, so Winston was just exploiting the mood of the time, really. And yes, it's me on guitar.


Q16. What equipment did you use for your guitar sound in Cobra?
At first I used a Fender Stratocaster, later a Gibson SG which I've still got and used when recording Diesel's 'Sausalito Summernight', which peaked at Billboard #25 and #1 in Canada in 1981. For amplification I used Marshall.



Q17. I've been told that it was particularly hard for Dutch rock bands to get label money/backing to record a whole album in their home country back then, and they were often encouraged to focus on writing radio-friendly pop singles, in search of a 'hit'. Because of this, many bands with great hard-rock potential like Cobra made singles which may have been aimed more at commercial acceptance than what the bands actually wanted to sound like, and unfortunately made no albums. What are your thoughts on this? Did these issues affect Cobra?
It's the same everywhere: mainstream radio plays music for the average audience. If you want publicity you have to appeal to a large audience. We were moderately good in getting attention. It all went wrong when Eggermont overdid it with his pop song approach. By that time the band had grown tired of struggling. Myself and bass player Paul Heppener were especially unhappy with the situation.


Q18. 'The War Will Soon Be Over (My Love)' reached number 33 in the Dutch charts for two weeks. later-on 'So Dissatisfied' spent three weeks at #31. Did this encourage Cobra to aim higher?
You must first score better with singles before a recording company will spend money on you to make an album, we never got that far.


Q19. Do you think Cobra had the potential be more successful?
The band could have been bigger with some guidance and a better management.


Q20. How did the band end?
Paul Heppener and I made the decision to leave. We didn't like the lack of development, we disliked the manager who was filling his own pockets. Then Pim van der Linden joined on bass simultaneously with Ben de Bruin on guitar. Cobra lasted for a couple more years without success.


Q21. Is there anything notable you can tell me about what happened to any of the other guys after Cobra was finished?
Michiel Driessen made a living from having a duo with a keyboard player at parties. He bought his own apartment in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch so he must have been doing well. Winston went into business, he said. He must be a pensioner now, being 71 or 72 years old. Paul Heppener played in a group called Drama, and then later was in Shocking Blue, until singer Mariska Veres died. Ben de Bruin played with Rob Hoeke [and Herman Brood's Flash & Dance Band].

Q22. Do you have any final Cobra memories to share?
No, except that we had a lot of fun and I would not like to have missed the experience.

So there you have an explanation for how an original band with some initial success and lots of potential could lose momentum and fade away in the harsh pop world. I will be getting some stories on equally good bands from the same period later, so keep TDATS book-marked.


I asked Rob some further questions regarding his career after Cobra.

Q23. What did you do after Cobra? Can you tell us a little about how you came to play for Maywood (Dutch pop duo)?
After Cobra and an unsuccessful band called Centaur [also with Paul Heppener] I met guitarist Mark Boon who played in Smyle. Smyle's singer Bas Muijs sounded just like John Lennon and did the Beatles stuff for Eggermont's Stars on 45 later. Boon and me formed a band called The Hammer. Take a look here:



I play that red Gibson SG, as you can see. This was on a famous Dutch TV show around Sjef van Oekel. The Hammer had the same manager as Kayak. Pim Koopman was Kayak's drummer who later started producing artists like Maywood and Pussycat, for which Mark and myself were often hired as studio musicians.



Q24. It seems the band you started called Diesel had some great success, #1 in Canada! Can you tell me some more about them?
Later Pim joined Mark and me to form Diesel. Diesel had two hits in the Netherlands and Belgium with Goin' back to China and Down in the Silvermine. We recorded an album, Watts In A Tank. The opening song is Sausalito Summernight, written by Mark Boon and myself. [Sausalito Summernight on youtube] Both the album and the single got charted in the USA and Canada. In 1981 we toured the States and Canada for seven weeks, about forty gigs. Already before the American hit guitarist/singer/composer Mark Boon and bass player Frank Papendrecht had left. Later drummer/producer/composer Pim Koopman left to. Before the tour Mark rejoined. After the tour we recorded another album, without Pim, which flopped. I left. In 1987 Pim and me got together again, singer Jeroen Engelbert joined (he's the singer on the live version of Sausalito Summernight with Kayak in 2010 [below]). In 1987 we had another hit with the song Samantha. Diesel disbanded again in 1989. In 2000 Pim, me and some other guys recorded an album of covers with three original songs. The album was called Diesel on the rocks, You can find it on iTunes.

Q25. How did you come join Kayak late in it's career?
Much later in 2001, when Kayak got together again, Pim asked me to join for one gig because guitarist Rob Winter had to play elsewhere. I never left.. Here you can see Kayak playing Diesel's Sausalito Summernight during the Pim Koopman Tribute Concert at the Amsterdam Paradiso in 2010, one year after Pim's death:



As well as his musical career, Rob currently writes a weekly column for De Gelderlander newspaper, based in the Gelderland region of Holland. He gives special attention to healthcare, education, employment issues, and social absurdities. You can read his related blog here.

Click to go to Vol 105

I have added an extra track to Volume 105, the 'Going Down' covers special. This is another version of the song that Don Nix recorded, for radio. If you haven't listened to this volume yet, now would a great time to do so. In the clip, Don himself says that he wrote the song for Elvis Presley, who did not record it, and then says that Freddie King did. So, even Don does not acknowledge Moloch as being the first act to record it. Poor old Moloch! Well, this blog being a shrine to the Underdog, we salute you!
Read the update and download here: http://www.aftersabbath.com/2014/08/the-day-after-sabbath-105-goin-down.html
You can download the additional track on it's own here if you do not wish to download the whole thing again.

Cheers! Rich.

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Unlike most previous Christmas updates, there is some music to download in this one, keep reading...


TDATS is five years old today. It's been a great ride, and it will continue to get better. I have much more music to add next year, lots of new ideas, and a lot more interviews with acts that have never been spotlighted before. If you are an obscure rock digger you will surely continue to enjoy the fruits of these searches as much as I do. As usual, drop me advice and ideas to aftersabbath@live.co.uk if you feel so-inclined, or contribute at the fb group which now has almost 4000 members, wow! This year saw the creation of TDATS radio, which is still in early days and will hopefully get an upgrade in 2015 if it gets enough listeners.

Thanks to all who support, comment on, and encourage The Day After The Sabbath. Enjoy this year-end's festivities and see you again here soon!

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password:  tdats


Welcome to volume 112! I have had many requests to make a follow-up to the southern rock-inspired Vol65. That will happen, but before-hand, this will definitely be of interest to those of you who like southern rock and it is every-bit as enjoyable as that volume.

The completion of this comp was triggered by a band I discovered quite recently called Heads Hands & Feet. They were an English act based in London, that were around for a few short years. They specialised in good-time bar room blues and US style country rock, similar in places to Lynyrd Skynyrd but with more focus on honky-tonk (stay with me) and country, not so much the hard rock, and they were an early band for renowned guitarist Albert Lee. I adored their honest, good-natured sound as soon as heard it, and it reminded me of a few other UK bands that had a similar thing going on. Thus the idea for this volume arose, and I hunted down some more UK-based acts that rocked in the finest of American tradition. I'm glad to say all these bands are new to TDATS, so making it has been a great pleasure and a complete learning experience.

TRACKS
01. Velvet Opera - Ride A Hustler's Dream / Statesboro Blues (1969)
       from album 'Ride A Hustler's Dream'
02. Cliff Bennett's Rebellion - Amos Moses (1971)
       from album 'Cliff Bennett's Rebellion'
03. Steve Gibbons - Bye Bye Buffalo (1971)
       from album 'Short Stories'
04. Heads Hands & Feet - Hot Property (1971)
       from album 'Tracks'
05. Legend - Moonshine (1971)
       from album 'Moonshine'
06. Gypsy - Comes a Time (1972)
       from album 'Brenda & The Rattlesnake'
07. Hookfoot - Tradin' Riffs (1973)
       from album 'Roaring'
08. Poet And The One Man Band - Light My Fire And Burn My Lamp (1969)
       from album 'Poet And The One Man Band'
09. Jellybread - Green Eyed Gypsy Queen (1972)
       from album 'Back To Begin Again'
10. Pacific Drift - Just Another Girl (1970)
       from album 'Feelin' Free'
11. Guitar Orchestra - Last Chicken In The Shop (1971)
       from album 'Guitar Orchestra'
12. Ellis - Your Game (1972)
       from album 'Riding On The Crest Of A Slump'
13. Cochise - Diamonds (1972)
       from album 'So Far'
14. Holy Mackerel - The Boy And The Mekon (1972)
       from album 'Holy Mackerel'

It's common knowledge that the US was shaken-up by the "British Invasion" pop of the 1960s. Early-on it was the Stones, The Beatles and The Who et al that were making big waves across the Atlantic. Then there were the English bluesrockers like Cream, Ten Years After and Led Zep who made more impact a little later. Of course, the majority of these UK acts owed their chops to blues, jazz, rock'n roll and other sounds that originated in the US. In general, it was an amazing time of rich cultural transactions and co-evolution in music. Something I was not fully aware of until recently was the following early '70s cultural return from the US to the UK, with a small uprising in US country rock appreciation that appears to have happened in the UK. It didn't last that long, as you can see from the narrow time frame of the tracks in this comp, 1969 to 1973. An interesting little observation before I go further, three tracks in this comp have turned out to have an indirect connection to Pink Floyd as you'll see - not the first name you'd expect, I wonder if it's got something to do with David Gilmour liking this kind of music?  There's also a couple of links to Elton John of all people. Make of it what you will...

Having recently become acquainted with the likes of Heads Hands & Feet, Gypsy, Cochise, Hookfoot and Quiver (although not a band that would fit in a TDATS comp, Quiver guitarist Tim Renwick does appear in this comp), i'm surprised I hadn't run into many of them sooner. Maybe one of the reasons is that these bands have been largely passed-over, despite the fact that they included a lot of very talented players who were in other bands that received a lot more attention. Speaking of such, the lineups of the bands in this volume read a little like a who's who of British journeyman/session musicians. Although they may have not achieved long-term international fame, they were "musician's" bands and you can at least say that they were not motivated by commercial success, but doing what they did for the love of it. In fact, researching this has become something of an incredible adventure through the halls and archives British virtuoso guitarists that all missed the spotlight.

In a short digression, although this volume doesn't really delve into it, some of the bands included here were closely tied to the "Pub Rock" scene in the UK. Exemplified by bands such as Bees Make The Honey and Brinsley Schwarz. It's said that pub rock was a retreat back to the roots of country & rock'n roll, partly in reaction to the wanton excesses of the burgeoning progressive rock movements. In that respect it shares the ideals of punk rock. Some of the later pub rock names, like The Count Bishops and Elvis Costello, indeed crossed over into punk territory. One of the catalysts of pub rock was the residency of a US (New York) band called Eggs Over Easy at the Tally Ho pub in Kentish Town, north London. They set-up there while recording over in London, and their countrified blues became a big hit, filling the pub every night. Soon they were being requested at larger venues like The Marquee. Another originator of the pub rock sound was a band that is included here, the modestly-named Legend, from Southend.

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unzip password:  tdats


A couple of things to say for the new year. Firstly, for those interested, I have been kindly invited to do a telephone interview about TDATS with DJ Lucille for her Italian radio show 'Lucyfer', at 'Controradio'. The first part will be broadcast on 4th January at around 21:15 CET (show starting 21:00). This will be streaming world-wide at http://www.controradio.it/ and for locals on 93.6 FM in Florence, 98.9 FM in Pisa, Lucca and Livorno (Tuscany West Coast). (more info)

On to today's post.....this is a quickly-made, fun downloadable comp of many of the best, most interesting, and most-worthy-of-further-investigation finds for the blog in 2014. There's quite a few picks from Volume 112, for which I found a ton of new bands. There's the great discovery of East-West Pipeline which was on biker movies, and the single made by Cobra called Super Woman, which was released under the band name 'Island'. There's a couple from the Indonesian Vol106 which turned out great and one of Mik Kay's great choices from Vol110, Bulbous Creation. I've added individual Youtube clips below for some quick listens. Below them I have included the band write-ups previously done for the blog.

Thanks for reading in 2014 and as usual, there's lots more in store for 2015. Happy new year, Rich.

TRACKS:
01. Guitar Orchestra - Last Chicken In The Shop (1971) on Vol112
02. Heads Hands & Feet - Hot Property (1971) on Vol112
       from album 'Tracks'
03. East-West Pipeline - Unlocked (1972) on Vol109
       from Bury Me An Angel OST
04. Ellis - Your Game (1972) on Vol112
       from album 'Riding On The Crest Of A Slump'
05. Holy Mackerel - The Boy And The Mekon (1972) on Vol112
       from album 'Holy Mackerel'
06. Island / Cobra - Super Woman (1971) on Vol111
       single
07. 60,000,000 Buffalo - Royalty Rag & Cocaine Shuffle (1972) on Vol97
       from album 'nevada jukebox'
08. Benny Soebardja and Lizard - Circle of Love (1977) on Vol106
       from album "Gimme a Piece of Gut Rock" [The Lizard Years]
09. Fort Mudge Memorial Dump - Crystal Forms (1969) on Vol97
       from album 'Fort Mudge Memorial Dump'
10. Jellybread - Green Eyed Gypsy Queen (1972) on Vol112
       from album 'Back To Begin Again'
11. Joe Soap - Get Out From Under (1973) on Vol103
       from album 'keep it clean'
12. Ray Fenwick - Stateside (1970) on Vol103
       from album "Keep America Beautiful, Get a Haircut"
13. Shark Move - Evil War (1972) on Vol106
       from album "Ghede Chokra's"
14. Bulbous Creation - Let's Go to the Sea (1970) on Vol110
       from album 'You Won't Remember Dying'
15. Martha Velèz - Feel So Bad (1969) on Vol97
       from album 'fiends & angels'
16. Lee Pickens Group - Thumbs Up (1973) on Vol103
       from album "LPG"




Heads Hands & Feet - on Volume 112





60,000,000 Buffalo - on Volume 97

Benny Soebardja and Lizard - on Volume 106
Fort Mudge Memorial Dump - on Volume 97

Jellybread - on Volume 112

Joe Soap - on Volume 99

Ray Fenwick - on Volume 103

Shark Move - on Volume 106

Bulbous Creation - on Volume 110

Martha Velèz - on Volume 97

Lee Pickens Group - on Volume 103



For track 1 is a very special find indeed. Actually more than just special, it's some kind of one-time-only occurrence almost without precedent. I came across the album by the name of "Guitar Orchestra" while looking into the side-projects of Mick Grabham and Ray Fenwick. I tracked it down and have been knocked over by the quality of stella musicianship that it contains. The story is that guitarist Ray Fenwick (The Spencer Davis Group) and guitarist Mick Grabham (of Cochise, previously of Plastic Penny) met up one day through ex-Plastic Penny drummer Nigel Olsen, when he joined Spencer Davis Group.

Ray and Mick got on well straight away and soon formulated a plan, in the finest of '70s rock excess, to make a touring band and album dominated by many expert guitarists. Four lead guitarists were initially planned, but as it never amounted to a live entity, the multiple guitar layers and harmonies were over-dubbed by Ray and Mick. Mick claims that the idea was inspired by a 1962  LP called "Guitars'a Plenty", made by the George Barnes Guitar Choir (link). Also invited in were Dee Murray (Elton John Band) on bass and Tony Newman (May Blitz, Three Man Army) on drums. Vocals were mainly provided by John Gilbert of Cochise. Tim Renwick also guests on the album, he was mentioned at the beginning as a member of Quiver - on a small side note, Tim was a key supporting guitarist for Pink Floyd in all their shows since Momentary Lapse of Reason, up until Live 8, and a great job he did too. Dave Gilmour produced an early Quiver album, as one of his first production credits.

Mike Grabham - Ray Fenwick

The end result is a fascinating collection of mostly instrumental guitar-heavy blues, with lots of harmonised guitar parts and hints of country and progressive rock. The set opens with a nine minute rendition of Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance March", while impressive it is the most self-indulgent piece. The rest of the LP is played with equal skill and the songs themselves are genuinely good, with the likes of "Ghost Town" being particularly affecting, aided by John Gilbert's impassioned performance. The same can be said for the song I have picked for this comp, "Last Chicken in the Shop", a perfect choice as it's one of the most country flavoured tracks, and one of the heaviest. This is not some guitarist's show-off collection, it sounds like a fully-formed band, like a hard rock Eagles album that never-was. Lost to the vaults after being made, it was not officially released until 1997 by AngelAir. This is without doubt one of the most impressive curios I have ever found. Looking into the talents that made it, the best of Ray Fenwick, John Gilbert or Mick Grabham's previous works don't have anything to quite compare, so there was clearly a great chemistry happening when they all got together for this. It's a shame will not see more of it!

Personally speaking, the story of Heads Hands & Feet is a bit of a sad tale of missed opportunity that I find to be poignant. Still, the band was made up of seasoned musicians who's careers would continue without the band. They evolved from a studio-only band's record put out under the name of "Poet And The One Man Band", which was overseen by Tony Colton. By this point Tony had become an industry name. He was a band-leader, writer, arranger and producer who had made many of his contacts while frequenting The Flamingo Club in Soho, especially the Flamingo Allnighter on Friday nights. There's an incredible interview with Tony you can read here that recounts the many personalities that he was acquainted with.

Head Hands & Feet was the logical conclusion for Poet And The One Man Band, a band that Tony had gotten together as support for some of his clients. For instance, they played behind Shirley Bassey on her 5 million-selling album "Something". Variously they were Albert Lee (gtr), Jerry Donahue (gtr), Pat Donaldson (bass), John Bell (clarinet), Speedy Aquaye (percussion), Barry Morgan (drums), Peter Gavin (drums), Raymond Barry Smith (gtr) and Tony (lead vocals). A number of piano/organ players were involved: William Davies, Roger Coulam, Nicky Hopkins and Mike O'Neill. Track 8 in this comp is from Poet's album which was made in 1969.


Most of those names, with the addition of Chas Hodges, were to make up Heads Hands & Feet. Chas, from Edmonton, north London, had been in many beat bands by this stage, including Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers, and Joe Meek's house band The Outlaws (with Ritchie Blackmore). He also took part in the Green Bullfrog Sessions (See Vols 13 & 59) with a whole bunch of names including Albert Lee and Rod Alexander of Jodo (See tdats interview with Rod here). HH&F were snapped up by record labels, with their ready-made credentials and mass appeal which was seen as ripe for the US, they were reputedly offered the biggest advance in the history of rock, half a million dollars from Capitol in the US. In the UK they were on Island records. HH&F never realised their full potential, even though they made three albums proper, and after a faltering start they imploded within 4 years of forming. For fascinating details into the times, read the interview I mentioned previously.

C.J. Flanagan and Tony Colton

Most of the band continued productive careers in music, Chas became one half of the 'Rockneys' Chas 'n' Dave and Albert Lee's guitar virtuosity has gained him notoriety playing with big names like Joe Cocker (RIP), Emmylou Harris and Eric Clapton. Despite remaining productive in the industry, Tony admits he was hit extremely hard by the failure of HH&F.  At the time he was also burdened with marital problems, he lost interest in making it big, sinking into periods of drug and alcohol addiction. His resurgence occured after US country artist Ricky Scaggs won awards with a 1984 cover of the old HH&F favourite, "Country Boy". Tony has since been re-building a successful career up to this day, in US country music. Reports that he has a side-line as a Dustin Hoffman look-alike remain unconfirmed however...

Ellis

We move on to Ellis, a band which produced two records, the debut being by far the best. The key members were namesake Steve Ellis (vocals - ex-Love Affair) and 'Zoot' Money, real name George Bruno Money (Keyboards, The Animals, Humble Pie). There's a definite Faces vibe about the LPs, not only in Steve's 'Rod Stewart' rasp, but in their good time bar-room sound. The self-depreciatingly titled debut  LP "Riding On The Crest Of  A Slump" was produced by Roger Daltrey, who Eliss was renting from and living next to at the time.

Ellis Riding On The Crest Of A Slump

I have used the track 'Your Game', with it's southern rock sound. The guitar embellishments provided by Andy Gee (real name Gröber) really push it to another level. Complementing the band along with Andy (ex-Peter Bardens), was Jimmy Leverton (bassist, ex-Fat Mattress - later replaced by Nick South) and drummer Dave Lutton. Ellis quit after the second album, which he admits was lacklustre, feeling they'd been ignored in favour of the Epic label's more established stars like Jeff Beck, Argent and Donovan. There's a good read here on Steve's website, where he talks about Ellis, using the previously-mentioned Eggs Over Easy as a backing band, his friendship with Keith Moon and almost losing his ability to walk in a dockyard accident. Steve and Zoot would soon pair up again on the first Widow Maker album in 1976.

Holy Mackerel LP

This took me a while to track down, and I have now managed to find it, to my great satisfaction. While looking up UK bands online that had been tagged 'country rock', I discovered a completely new one to me, called Holy Mackerel. I did a youtube search for it to see if I could get a quick listen, and low and behold, I soon find a song with "Holy Mackerel - Members of Samuel Prody and Orang-Utan" in the title. Now, alarm bells start ringing. As many of you may know, Orang-Utan was the one-shot London band who recorded a great session one day in 1971.

They got stitched-up by a dodgy producer, who released it as an album in the US without telling any of them, keeping all the profits to himself of course. He even made up the artwork, and the name Orang-Utan, for the sake of the cover. There is a little more on the subject in an interview with guitarist Mick Clarke at It's Psychedelic Baby magazine (link). The connection between Orang-Utan and Holy Mackerel is singer Terry Clark. Now, Terry Clark links another band to Holy Mackerel, Jason Crest. This was a singles-only late '60s psych band who made some average stuff in their time, up until a final acclaimed heavy single in 1969; A Place In The Sun / Black Mass (youtube). Vocalist Terry, Roger Siggery (drums) and Derek Smallcombe (guitar) were all members of Jason Crest, and they all moved on to form Holy Mackerel afterwards. The final associated act is Samuel Prody, an English band that included Derek Smallcombe, which recorded one album in Germany, that has some pretty good heavy stuff on it (youtube).

Holy Mackerel band

The story goes that this group added a second lead guitarist Chris Ware, a bass player Tony Wood, and then relocated to the Lancashire countryside to practice for an album of rural rock. The result was the self-titled Holy Mackerel album, which was released by CBS in 1972. It's great! There's no doubt that the guys had a definite idea about what they wanted with Holy Mackerel, it certainly is no re-hash of Orang-Utan, Jason Crest or Samuel Prody. It's a mainly up-beat set of country rockers, with a glam edge, and a couple of ballads. Although the country aspect is of the american flavour, it still maintains a very English feel also, making this quite a unique sounding record. Don't expect any Sabbath heaviness, or any other typical hard rock moves, it's got a fresh, melodic sound of it's own, with a glam energy and urgency that rocks all the way! Apparently Holy Mackerel recorded a second album which was shelved after the band was dropped by it's label. But they did release three singles after the first album. One of which, 'Gemini', was for the second album, which was posthumously released in 1993 (link).

Judy Roderick & Bill Ashford

Nevada Jukebox - LP front (1972)

The story behind the group's name is unclear. Perhaps it has something to do with the number of buffalo that lived on the North American continent prior to their near extinction brought about by the colonization of white people. I've read that some folks compare this group with another Colorado band, Zephyr (which featured a very young Tommy Bolin on lead guitar). But other than the superficial fact that the two outfits both featured female lead vocalists (Zephyr's was the caterwauling Candice Givens), I don't think they have much in common in regard to music. While Zephyr was very much a rock and blooze band, Roderick's folk background clearly had a strong influence on 60,000,000 Buffalo's more rootsy sound.

Nevada Jukebox - LP rear (1972)

Most of the album's songs were written by Roderick and her husband William Ashford. The opening cut, the brief "Royalty Rag" segues into the cowbell-laden and quintessentially early 1970s ode to blow, "Cocaine Shuffle.""Canyon Persuasion" is a pleasant laid back piece featuring Roderick's strummed acoustic guitar and DeBacker's Leslie speaker-amplified electric instrument. "Lovely Ladies" is more of an all-out rocker with some somewhat herky-jerky time signatures, while "Denver Dame" may very well be an autobiographical piece that deals with Roderick's life experiences in Colorado. The traditional "Maid of Constant Sorrow" is definitely Nevada Jukebox's highlight and, in fact, just might be the heaviest version of this particular song ever committed to wax. Folk rock was a dying breed by the time this album came out, but bands like this weren't going to let the genre go down without a fight. Seriously, this rendition of this venerable warhorse fuckin' rocks, especially with the outstanding guitar interplay between Roderick and DeBacker. "Shake It and Break It" is a decent cover of a song originally done by prewar Delta blues legend Charlie Patton and features the boys in the band - DeBacker and Williamson - handling the lead vocal duties. More early 1970s vibes and plenty of cowbell are to be found on the rock-meets-folk-meets-country-meets-funk piece "Callin' You Down." After a fine arrangement of the traditional "Country Girl Again," there is some really nice slide guitar work on "American Money Blues." The closer, "Do What I Tell Me To," is a tune in the same bag as "Cocaine Shuffle" and "Callin' You Down" - definitely a product of its time."



We'll go straight to Jellybread's country-funktastic "Green Eyed Gypsy Queen". I find the first three Jellybread albums to be unremarkable, pedestrian, straight-blues. They got a real shot in the arm for the fourth, "Back To Begin Again". Maybe the name says it all. They do sound like a different band, beginning again, and the addition of Rick Birkett on guitar (ex-Accent see Vol57) and Kenny Lamb (drums) must have been a contributing factor. On this one they play predominantly hard, funky, country-tinged tunes, with much more attitude in Paul Butler's vocals. Maybe spurred on by the harder hitting music?

Jellybread - Back To Begin Again

Here's what Allmusic (link) has to say about them: "Formed at England’s Sussex University by pianist Pete Wingfield, Jellybread was originally completed by Paul Butler (guitar/vocals), John Best (bass), and Chris Waters (drums). In 1969 the quartet secured a recording contract with the exemplary Blue Horizon Records label and although largely unadventurous, their albums offered a highly competent grasp of black music, including both blues and soul. They provided stellar accompaniment on Lightnin’ Slim's London Gumbo and B.B. King in London, but the unit dissolved in 1971 with the departure of Wingfield and Waters. Newcomers Rick Birkett (guitar, ex-Accent) and Kenny Lamb (drums) joined for Back to Begin Again, but Jellybread broke up when the set failed to make commercial headway. However, Wingfield enjoyed success as a solo artist, session pianist, and member of Olympic Runners." He's also played with Alan Parsons rhythm section, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Paul McCartney, The Hollies and Van Morrison.

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The first new volume for the new year, and it's a country that has had no exposure anywhere on the blog yet, Portugal. After a tricky start I found more than enough tdats-friendly cuts for one volume, so this is part 1, a selection of the heaviest offerings. The forthcoming second part will be a more eclectic set. This is all good stuff, passing through the late '60s groovy beat of Quarteto 1111, the proto-metal heavies Beatnicks and Heavy Band, the nasty prog of Tantra, to the heavy metal of Xeque Mate and NZZN. The cover art is an interpretation of Adamastor. It's a mythological character that symbolised the forces of nature that Portuguese sailors had to confront during the country's time of its explorations. It was famed by the poet Luís de Camões in his classical 1572 work, "Os Lusíadas".

In a similar way to Franco's Spain, the fascist 'Estado Novo' political regime (over-thrown in 1974) was a particular hindrance on rock music. Patriotic, traditional folk and pop music was encouraged and the PIDE security agency (wiki) was used to censor and destroy music that was deemed subversive. It is clear there were very few rock releases for a country of Portugal's size, although there seems to have been a healthy-enough beat scene in the '60s to enable the creation of the four "Portuguese Nuggets" volumes (link). Bands such as Sheiks, The Chinchillas, Banda 4 and Quinteto Académico are some of the '60s bands that laid the groundwork for Portuguese rock. It would appear that after 1974 progressive rock made a belated start, with names like Tantra, Quarteto 1111, Petrus Castrus and Banda do Casaco starting to catch up with the times, the first two of those appear in this volume. Another good CD to look at if you want to investigate more seventies sounds is "Psychadelic Portugal" (link).

Festival de Vilar de Mouros

The first proper rock festival in Portugal was 1971's Festival de Vilar de Mouros on the 7th & 8th of August, which had between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors. The event was enjoyed by the crowds who had never seen such a thing before, but the organisers needed to sell 50,000 tickets to break-even, and it was not put on again until 11 years later.  There's lots to read in Portuguese here: link1, link2, link3. The two big international names appearing were Manfred Mann and Elton John. Quarteto 1111 and Pop Five Music Incorporated, who are both in this comp, were there. Also appearing were Objectivo and Psico, who will both be in the next one.

TRACKS
01. Beatnicks - Back In Town (1972)
       single
02. Beatnicks - Money (1972)
       single
03. Quarteto 1111 - Bissaide (1969)
       'Nas Terras Do Fim Do Mundo' single
04. Xarhanga - Acid Nightmare (1973)
       from single and retrospective album 'Bota Fora'
05. Xarhanga - Wish Me Luck (1973)
       from single and retrospective album 'Bota Fora'
06. Arte & OfÍcio - Lobster Society (1979)
       from album 'Faces'
07. Xeque Mate - Vampiro Da Uva (1981)
       single
08. Tantra - Maquina da Felicidade (1977)
       from album 'Mistérios e Maravilhas'
09. Heavy Band - Beggarman (1972)
       single
10. Heavy Band - Funky (1972)
       single
11. Go Graal Blues Band - The Fault Is Her Own (1979)
       from album 'Go Graal Blues Band'
12. Go Graal Blues Band - They Send Me Away (1980)
       single
13. Pop Five Music Incorporated - Stand By (1971)
       single
14. Pop Five Music Incorporated - Page One (1970)
       single
15. José Cid - Doce E Fácil Reino Do Blá, Blá, Blá (1972)
       from 'Green Windows' album and 'Cantiga Portuguesa' single
16. NZZN - Vem Daí (1981)
       single

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Those of you that spend a lot a lot of time looking for obscurities in the realm of '60s/'70s rock will no doubt be familiar with some of the independent record labels that are re-issuing lost gems. They are of course one of the essential driving forces that keep the interest going in this scene, frequently revealing new artists' work that was previously lost in the vaults of old studios or forgotten in shoe boxes in dusty attics. Myself and everyone else who shares this stuff is indebted to them for making this music known and accessible. I list all the labels that I have used music from so far in the 'recommended' section on the right, so please check that out at some point.

Chris Peters

I was recently contacted by someone who works for one of these labels. He is Chris Peters (link), singer and guitarist for the contemporary heavy psych band 'Samsara Blues Experiment'. One of his other pass-times is assisting in the running of the independent label that his band is signed to, called 'World In Sound', aka 'WIS' (website). Originally started in 1998 by founder Wolf, the label began as a '60s-'70s rarity re-issue label, and has since branched out into signing current bands. In a recent vision-shift it has just moved on to its first '80s re-issue, as you will read below. I have used music from WIS re-issued acts more than a few times in this blog before, Fear Itself (Vol97), Ellison (Vol12), Darius (Vol108) and Goldenrod (Vol31) to name a few. Therefore I was more than happy to join-in with Chris's suggestion of doing a spotlight on the label, which is what volume 114 of TDATS has become.

What you get here is fifteen tracks which I have chosen as some of my personal faves from the WIS 'relics from the past' catalogue. This includes a few names that have appeared before in TDATS, and I am glad to say the rest have not, making for a very fresh set for you guys out there and some new discoveries to me. Label-owner Wolf has given us his opinions on the tracks. He also took part in an interview, which will be great for those of you interested in the world of re-issue labels and what it's like to run one. The majority of tracks are from albums, with two 45s, from Purple Canteen and Protein Bros. These are taken from the WIS obscure 45s comp, "Psychedelic Minds vol. 1" (link).

TRACKS with Wolf's comments (there's more detailed artist info at end of article)
01. Protein Bros - Drainpipe (1971)
        from album 'Psychedelic Minds Vol.1'
        Pure Euphoria! Also heavy as hell and should make everybody want to dance and freak
        out!
02. Gold - No Parking (1970)
        from album 'San Francisco Origins'
        For that period heavy as hell and in my opinion at least as powerful as "Ace of Spades"
03. Dragonwyck - The Vision (1970)
        from album 'Dragonwyck'
        Kind of a heavy punk version of the Doors'"Break on Through"
04. Purple Canteen - Brains In My Feet (1968)
        from album 'Psychedelic Minds Vol.1'
        Fuzziest Fuzz ever
05. Fred - By The Way (1971)
        from album 'Fred'
        Incredible music! An album which should be in each and every good '70s collection
06. Strawberry Window - Mercury (1967)
        from album 'Strawberry Window'
        The raw, intense roots of Westcoast heavy blues rock
07. Fear Itself - For Suki (1969)
        from album 'Fear Itself'
        Perfect culmination of teenage blues and distorted heaviness. Dramatic
08. Headstone - Ragin' River (1974)
        from album 'Still Looking'
        It was their later stuff, it´s a bonus track, a good 70s rocker, a ZZ-Top, AC/DC-like
        stomper, but the more excessive material is the album and the 45s.
09. Mystic Siva - Eyes Have Seen Me (1970)
        from album 'Mystic Siva'
        Mystic Siva were awesome performers. Checkout their live album “Under the 
        Influence”, incredible to me that they were just 16 on average when doing this. Most of
        their songs are really DIE HARD, which was also the major aspect in '80s thrash metal.
10. Jeff Simmons - I'm In The Music Business (1970)
        from album 'Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up'
        "I'm in the Music Business," in which the main character resorts to acting in a porn flick
        to pay his rent when his career as a musician goes nowhere. Frank Zappa produced the
        album and Simmons would later join The Mothers.
11. Freeman Sounds & Friends - If I Could Only (1970)
        from album 'Heavy Trip'
        A very epic heavy rock tune, heavy blues, haunting and unforgettable with stunning
        melodies and forceful guitar work. If it would have been released in 1971 it could have
        been a hit. It also has a bit of Krautrock flair
12. Psiglo - Cambiarás al Hombre (1974)
        from album 'Psiglo II'
        Theatrical South American prog psych at its best! Great rhythm changes and hammond
        riffs, mind-blowing guitar solo
13. Stoned Circus - Trust (1970)
        from album 'Revisited'
        Great! I invited them to Germany in 2005 and they came with original line up. It was
        pure and authentic!
14. Sproton Layer - The Blessing Of The Dawn Source (1970)
        from album 'With Magnetic Fields Disrupted'
15. Cosmic Dealer - Child Of Tomorrow (1973)
        from album 'Child Of Tomorrow'
        The Netherlands had a few spectacular bands with a typical "Dutch vibe" in songwriting.
        Shocking Blue were the heroes, and their heavy songs are just WOW! "Child Of
        Tomorrow" is a perfect heavy/pop rock song with cool Westcoast-feeling and from 2:28
        min. marching into the unexpected! Awesome! In my opinion that part could have been
        more extended to a real freakout, but it´s a song and not a jam. Still, in one word:
        remarkable.

Q1. Hi Wolf, welcome to TDATS. Firstly, can you tell us a little about yourself. Is 'Wolf' a nickname? Where are you from and where do you live in Germany?
Wolf is the short version of Wolfgang. I grew up here, close to Heidelberg in the south western part of Germany. For university I moved up 300 km north to Cologne, then returned and started my label as a hobby in 1998. Besides sports, music was always a true love of mine. My parents' musical taste plus the time I grew up as a kid (early-mid 70s) had a huge impact on my NOW-taste. It was Elvis, Pat Boone, '60s orchestra stuff and the Ennio Morricone Western or Jerry Cotton soundtracks, Joe Meek, who all had an epic, monumentally haunting feeling but catchy arrangements.This is what I call "dark euphoria" and what I see as one part of the World In Sound-philosophy.

Then in the 1980s I was a teen and at first owned only one vinyl; a 50s/60s Rock&Roll comp featuring Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Fats Domino – my next album was Judas Priest “Defenders of the Faith”… It was a great period for music and in retrospect the years 1983 – 1989 was the last serious revolutionary movement in rock history, when I had the ultimate pleasure of seeing Metallica with Cliff Burton in 1985, opening for Venom. Of course, most of the other acts that I saw live were a great experience. Almost every concert was a total blast and a happening with maximum tension – now days I often miss that magic. I feel mostly disappointed about today's LIVE heavy music scene. I ask myself sometimes, if the time to be truly euphoric is gone? Or is it that maybe the term 'euphoria' deserves a new definition?

Q2. Are you a musician yourself?
No I never played music but was always a passionate and conscious listener, hunting for intense and catchy music. I did professional sports for about half of my life (swimming).

Q3. Can you tell us some of the major events and influences in your life that led you to start "World in Sound"?
There was always the passion to discover great music and that is a lifetime quest and still growing. My major motivation was to dive deeper in the local US-underground scene while collecting 60s/70s original vinyl and 45 records at the end of the '90s. This was the period when lots of bootlegs flooded the market but also “popular” re-issue labels had been founded to create a renaissance with a look back to underground music history.

One day near the end of 1998, I decided spontaneously to release music on limited vinyl and to find the band members, with the hope to get more unreleased music and exciting biographies. And further, I had the intention of producing high quality releases, as an alternative for super expensive original albums, like Mystic Siva, Darius or Modulo 1000. I found several bands who just did rare 45 records, like Fred, and I was mind-blown (and still am) when I listened to their unreleased music for the first time.

Q4. Can you describe some of key moments in the development of the label since it started?
There were too many impressing moments to describe one as a key. It was a constant growth and it was always awesome, when after a difficult search for the original artists I had the right guy on the phone. Also meeting some of these guys and talking about their passion, what efforts they put in their music, was highly inspiring.

It was important for WIS to start with CD-releases in 2001, because by that it reached more international popularity. The next important step was to add contemporary groups on the label and most of the latest releases are really good albums, but especially live on stage most of my bands are really challenging.

Also, the jam-project Obskuria gave me an opportunity to produce albums and learn about studio work. I enjoyed the whole process of the production, from sharing ideas to recording, cutting, mixing and mastering it. It was a project with musicians from my label, Tom Brehm from Dragonwyck and the La Ira De Dios band, plus a keyboardist from my area. They jammed like hell and with the help of my sound-engineer we cut these jams to songs. It was a lot of fun and I still listen to it and I am mind-blown.

Q5. You cover a wide range of styles with WIS. TDATS is mainly about heavy stuff like hard rock and heavy prog/psych, but WIS equally features stuff like folk and experimental artists. Could you tell us what your favourite styles in old rock are, including some of your favourite artists from those times?
When people say heavy, I assume that they mean riff-orientated, doomy, less melodic and tight rock, like a hardcore-style kind of sound – Though I think true heaviness should also work on people´s minds and not just on their body, for me it´s more about intensity which is created by exciting layers, catchy melodies, fast(er) rhythms and a climax that every good song should have, plus unexpected movements which are floating into euphoric and hypnotic realms. I can not really tell you which styles I like. Before I already mentioned my "heroes" - the '80s thrash metal and punk movement was the strongest and most influential style, I have lived for - maybe also because of the chance to see all these great bands live on stage. Back then I took all my pocket money to the local record store ;-). I can for sure say that I'm not into most new styles, like Sludge, modern Doom or Nu-Metal, all that is too boring for me.

Q6. Personally, I think the short transitional period between the 60's and 70's was the best and most creatively interesting time in rock history. What are your opinions on why there was such a creative explosion during those times and what other periods interest you most up until the current day?
I totally agree with you, also 1955-1963 was spectacular when Rock & Roll and a serious youth movement opened up the gate – that heated people up for more freedom in music. Especially the fact that bands wrote their own songs, made the '60s/'70s movement this exciting and the naivety and passion of discovering something new drove it to the limit.

Compared to today the quality of dynamics in the productions had way more magical spirit due to the influences of classical/jazz orchestra music, which means the knowledge about music and how things work on the listener was at a higher level. Also that gave interesting crossover albums like Deep Purple the chance to combine classical movements with heavy rock and in the end it sounded like one big orchestra.

Q7. How do you choose the artists to reissue with WIS? Do you choose them all yourself, or do you have assistance or recommendations?
If I want to listen to an album over and over again, I want to release it. Of course I have friends who I "use" as test-listeners, also Chris Peters (from Samsara Blues Experiment and Electric Magic Records) consulted me for some releases, or forwarded to me bands like Postures and Sun And The Wolf. But my experience is, not to listen too much to other people, or think too long about things. It has to hit me from the first note or needs at least 50% of these "WOW"-songs. I think there are either way too many releases on the market, and I receive at least 2-3 demos a week, so I hope that every release is chosen well-enough to not end up in the 0.99ct special sale boxes (which is much less than the production cost).

Q8. How did you get together the obscure 45s that you used in your various artist comps like ''Psychedelic Minds Vol.1''.
They are all in my collection, good stuff ain't it? For a long time I've been thinking of a Vol. 2, so be prepared!

Q9. Do you have any interesting stories regarding how you found out about their lost work, or how you got in contact with any of the artists?
There were too many stories in that field of “detective-research”. Once I tried to locate Florencio Vargas from San Antonio TX. He's on the Psychedelic Minds sampler with the group Sangre Mexicana, a killer song! So, there was a search-website which displayed the ages of people and I called the oldest person with the surname "Vargas", out of 100 hits, who was a 91 year old woman, and asked if she could help me. She was so nice, we talked for more than 10 mins and joked and a few days later I got an E-Mail from Florencio. Most of the WIS releases have been realized after similar web-research for phone numbers and then calling the musicians to find out about an existence of tapes, deals and other things. I have also brought musicians together who lost track of each other, by releasing their music.

Q10. Could you tell us three artists reissued by WIS that are particular favourites of yours, and why?
A tough question, for me every album has at least one “must-have-listened-at-least-once-in-a-lifetime” song!

Fred is for sure one of the most musically-talented bands you'll find in my reissue catalogue. I love especially their self-titled debut, and feel sadness that they were not discovered in 1971. I met three of them in person.

Mystic Siva were awesome performers. Checkout their live album “Under the Influence”, incredible to me that they were just 16 on average when doing this. Most of their songs are really DIE HARD, which was also the major aspect in '80s thrash metal.

There are many, many more album highlights like Easy Chair, Cold Sun, The Id, Phantasia, Fear Itself, Dragonwyck, CK Strong, Headstone, The Head Shop, Gold ... They all developed their “own” remarkable sound and great songs.

Q11. What is the future for WIS? Do you have any other types of project in mind, like books for instance?
I guess the future will be good – several great albums are in the pipeline. With Samsara Blues Experiment this year we will have the first well-promoted US tour of a WIS-artist, and they will be the first WIS-artist at Hellfest in France. I hope that soon other WIS bands can follow.

In 2015 WIS will re-release Blind Illusion's "The Sane Asylum" album, a thrash metal band with psychedelic influences. It will also be the first '80s release in the WIS catalogue. With the new mastering I hope to bring out the 70s psych appeal better than you hear it on the original release. I love open and natural dynamics and sound. According to my knowledge it was Les Claypool's [of Primus] first ever album release. Just yesterday I received unreleased 1979 bonus tracks from guitarist Mark Bierdermann, who is the band leader and founder and... WOW! I hope the WIS fans will see that thrash metal also had psychedelic aspects... and also for you, as a reviewer for heavy progressive music, I think it´s a nugget, if you don´t know about it yet.

I´d also like to set up a festival with only WIS-bands this year.

A book is possible but only by spoken interview and someone else writing it. Could be very interesting though. Do you have any plans in writing a book, btw?

Rich: Possibly, if I can can come up with an original aspect that hasn't been done for a book before.

Q12. Could you tell us about some of your favourite current or new artists from around the world?
A tough question too, the last “current” band that knocked me out was Portishead. Compared to what I have seen live on stage and heard on album during the past 30 years I prefer looking back in time, than searching for current music I could like. I don´t want to sound ignorant and don´t doubt that awesome albums are around today, but I found none by coincidence yet ;-). Btw. I quit collecting about 10 years ago. But I was totally surprised by Black Sabbath's last tour.

Q13. What have you learnt from your experiences of running WIS? Do you have any useful advice for rock fanatics who are considering starting a label or similar project themselves?
I have learned that I would do the same again and I enjoyed the time when I researched a lot in historical music. I also enjoy working with young talented bands who look forward to their best years of making music. I motivate them to find ways to knock the fans out and recommend exciting inventive music for them to listen to. An artist's job is to entertain the fans and a label's job is to entertain collectors by picking the best artists and providing the best "product" in regard to our WIS-special LP-releases for example. If the choice of artists is great, your products will be sought-after as soon they are out of print!

Q14. Finally, do you have anything further to say to TDATS and WIS fans out there?

ROCK ON! WIS will never compromise in the choice of artists, and hopes to release more challenging albums. 

Thanks Wolf!

Strawberry Window - 'Strawberry Window' LP (link) 

Strawberry Window hailed from the San Francisco Bay Areas East Bay music scene in the mid 60’s and were truly one of the “early birds” and innovators who made their own distinct brand of Rock-N-Roll. They played in a heavy-psychedelic-garage style, sounding somewhat reminiscent of the Jefferson Airplane, (early) Mad River, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Frumious Bandersnatch. These previously unreleased recordings have survived for the last four decades in a box on a shelf in a band member's closet.

Meticulous care and detail has been taken to master these recordings with a fresh, open approach, while ensuring that the sound and integrity of the vintage songs remained intact. The music of this guitar based quartet ranges from catchy electric folk tunes and “West Coast” garage rock to raw energetic acid jams lasting over 10 minutes.


Fear Itself - 'Fear Itself' LP (link) 

The album was originally released in 1969 on Dot-Records but didn't receive too much attention - maybe it appeared as a "too" freaked out heavy version of Jefferson Airplane or Big Brother & the Holding Co. The group started back in Atlanta Georgia in 1967 as a quartet with two guitars, played true Psychedelic sounds, recorded with Tom Wilson at the Record Plant in NYC, and moved to Woodstock (NY). The 10 album tracks contain 2 arrangements of traditional tunes all others are originals reflecting true electric heavy blues with a strong Hendrix feel, duelling guitar work and an outstanding female voice/vocals/screams...lots of intense stereo effects.

The group performed at Woodstock Festival in 1968 (one year before...) and played the hottest venues of NYC such as Filmore East. Ellen McIlwaine, the founder of the group made an international solo career as blues-singer and slide guitarist sharing the bill with Jimi Hendrix (main influence), Laura Nyro, Howlin' Wolf, Weather Report, Taj Mahal, George Thorogood, Tom Waits, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen and played a series of concerts with Johnny Winter.


Headstone - 'Still Looking' LP (link) 

This reissue by Headstone, a hard rock quartet from Indiana was their only album release. Their sound is strong and melodic with guitar/organ leads and catchy vocals. Their natural float creates a hypnotic atmosphere. At all their musical spirit is closer to the end 60s blend, than the recording year 1974 reflects, and sometimes they remind of the early Bloodrock stuff. Acid Archives (Patrick Lama): "The opening seven minute title track is a killer journey through local underground guitar psych, and there's plenty more good stuff aboard including some more lyrical moves. Underrated LP, solid all-way through, better than many $1000 LPs."

They were discovered by a local producer from Ohio, who owned the label "Starr-Records" and went there to record "Still Looking" (further they released in 1975 two non-lp 45 records; three "45-rpm songs are bonus tracks on the LP version; on CD you´ll find in total 6 bonustracks on the CD incl. 2 previously unreleased tunes). A hard rock album with several of flashes of the upcoming" new wave of British Heavy Metal (NWoBHM).


Mystic Siva - 'Mystic Siva' LP (link)

This album is remastered and remixed from the original first generation master tape, while the original album in 1970 was taken from a second generation tape; it had included overdub guitar solos on the three songs, to get more of the intended intensity into mix but in the end the original album sound did not reach the expectations of the group, it was too sterile instead of a more natural sound with the distortion and feedback.

This issue here is the real thing, you will hear it like it was intended in 1970. The four Sivas put 60s hippie garage psychedelic rock music on a darker and higher level of intensity, while the slower atmospheric tunes remind of the Doors, Jimi Hendrix or Iron Butterfly, the heavy cuts are unexpectedly crazy, mind blowing and hypnotic with flashes of the later upcoming rural 1980s thrash punk/metal vibe. After 43 years these original album recordings express at its best the challenging and inventive concept of Mystic Siva´s music. 11 original songs with a total running time of 46 minutes incl. a 16 page booklet with liners and other memorabilia.


Jeff Simmons - 'Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up' LP (link)

There are two albums from the Straight label years of Zappa´s multi-talented 'sideman', Jeff Simmons. In 1968 in Seattle Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa was in the audience after his sound check, and was listening to “Easy Chair”, Jeff´s group. Fascinated by his talent, he was signed for Straight records. Both albums, Lucille and Naked Angels were recorded in 1969.

'Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up' contains 10 heavy Blues-Rock and Folk tunes. Jeff is playing a hard-driven and groovy bass, piano, organ and accordion and singing in a style similar to that of Jack Bruce with Cream.

Simmons presented a brace of strong, harmonically sophisticated songs that have some of the explosive, multi-hued impact of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album was produced by Chris Huston (Led Zeppelin II, Undertakers, Young Rascals) and Frank Zappa under the synonym “La Marr Bruister”, who wrote the title track, played lead guitar on two tracks and co-wrote "Wonderful Wino”. Contains  memorabilia from Jeff´s vaults (posters, photos, liner notes).

Lucille was rated in Mojo Magazine as the 2nd best release on Straight Records. Strange Things Art Magazine mentions it as “the closest in execution to contemporary Mothers”, but Jeff´s individual talent made this album to a lost classic. To the right is a cutting from the UK's Melody Maker, December 5th 1970. It is one of the only articles written about Jeff, many thanks to Richard Morton Jack of Flashback magazine. (link)


Freeman Sound & Friends - 'Heavy Trip' LP (link)

I used a great cover of "16 Tons" from these guy back in Vol108. World In Sound presents another group that represents the late 60s, early 70s heavy psychedelic era scene in northeast Ohio, USA (the same region that Dragonwyck is from). Having won the Starshine Productions'"Battle of the Bands" in 1970, the five-member FREEMAN SOUND was established as the most popular of several bands (including Morly Grey), that had records released on the Starshine label. This special collection of original songs and sounds is an exciting bit of rock history that documents some of the charm, wit and depth of talent that made FREEMAN SOUND the special local hit they were.

This release includes 12 great, quality tracks with bio and photos. You'll get stoned on some mind-bending vocals backed by instrumentation that includes some very intense, heavy fuzz and wah pedal guitar sounds, solid drums and a screaming organ, with flashes of famous British groups. Prepare to get off on cuts like the 17 minute "Heavy Trip #70", the Hendrix-like "Tomorrow Is Plastic" and what we would venture to say is the heaviest version of Merle Travis'"16 Tons" ever recorded! This band broke up before they were able to make the most of their popularity. With this previously unreleased album, they may be taking up where they left off.


Psiglo - 'II' LP (link)

First vinyl reissue of this heavy progressive masterpiece from Uruguay. The second release of Psiglo is Uruguays rarest rock album, that was recorded in 1974 and first released in 1980 in an edition of only 200 copies. Contains long progressive tracks with heavy guitars pounding organ and creative arrangements. Second album of our SONDOR series with legendary records and recordings from Uruguay!




Stoned Circus - 'Revisited' LP (link)

This is an outstanding piece of US psychedelia – Stoned Circus – started in 1968 in Kansas City and became soon one of the hottest local acts. The powerful sound with male and female lead vocals has a strong “Jefferson Airplane” feeling, feat. a magic B3 organ and stunning heavy guitars. Not to be confused with the “Stone Circus” that recorded for the Mainstream label. This material was unreleased and found in the archives of Cavern Sound Studios where the “Wizzards from Kansas” recorded.

Rockadelic Records released these recordings as limited LP version in 1994 which is long sold out. Songs include “Gotta find Way”, “Try Love”, “New World”, “Trust”, and a fabulous coverversion of Zeppelin’s “Gonna Leave You”… Originally recorded in 1970 and for the first time on CD taken from the original masters including an 8p. with cool artwork, bio and photos. Highly recommended, reflects the honest summer, peace & love feeling!


Sproton Layer - 'With Magnetic Fields Disrupted' LP (link)

Sproton Layer was a psychedelic rock band based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which thrived from the fall of 1968 through the summer of 1970. They began under the name “Freak Trio” - three hyperactive brothers, Laurence, Ben, and Roger Miller who became, at the young ages of 14 – 16, addicted to Pink Floyd´s “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” when it came out in '67. Their unique and euphoric creation of music ranges from progressive-acid-punk to heavy psychedelia with catchy chord changes and Spaghetti Western Ennio Morricone flashes.

The energy of "With Magnetic Fields Disrupted", which was recorded in 1970, are strong, intense space music episodes of destruction and rebirth. Journalist Michael Azerrad described their recordings in his book OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE as "...a valuable document of an amazing band that sounded like Syd Barrett fronting Cream". The album was first released in 1991 by New Alliance Records, but it did not catch much recognition among the '60's collector freaks. Here is the next chance to discover the whole story of one of the “almost forgotten” US underground art-performance groups. Forty minutes long, the album was remastered from the original tapes.

Features extended band info and about four dozen artifacts including drawings, set lists, photographs, journal entries and more. After Sproton Layer, all Miller brothers contributed to numerous bands such as Destroy All Monsters, Mission Of Burma, and M3 …


Cosmic Dealer - 'Child Of Tomorrow' LP (link)

This is the second previously unreleased album by the Dutch psychedelic hard rock band Cosmic Dealer. Their first album “Crystallization” from 1971 is an outstanding and rare masterpiece for all psych collectors and for sure one of the best Euro-Underground rock albums of the 70s. In 1971 the band was shortly disband but found together in 1973 with a few line-up changes but kept the same musical intention: heavy psychedelic, progressive and guitar driven hard rock, with catchy song writing, a few US-Westcoast flashes but also extended instrumental jam excursions.

This album contains 6 songs which were recorded in 1973, plus 3 demos from 1971 and as bonus you´ll find 7"EP with 4 live cuts (25 mins) and was recorded in 1971, including the title track from their debut Crystallization. The album is is carefully re-mastered to catch the real spirit of the beautiful and intense music and contains a poster and a with lots of photos and liner notes.

Thanks Chris and Wolf, and thanks for reading! Rich
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Many thanks to Lucille DJ (fb) at www.controradio.it (web) for getting in touch and asking to conduct this interview, which was broadcast in instalments between the 5th of January 2015 and the 15th of February, on her weekly radio show based in Florence Italy.

"Bumping into 'The Day After The Sabbath' was like opening the door of a rusty archive of the most obscure and interesting hard rock bands that never really became famous. For me who is not only a collector but also the DJ of the radio program 'Lucyfer', having the chance to speak to Rich and getting to know how he started and built the blog was a real experience. His everlasting passion in researching long-time forgotten gems is contagious and reminds me how music still is the most universal language on earth and yet the most undiscovered one". - Lucille Mancini

Lucille DJ aka Lucille Mancini
You can hear 'Lucyfer' by Lucille DJ every Sunday from 9pm to 10.30pm C.E.T. streaming at www.controradio.it, where it is also available as a podcast download.

Pt. 1
00.00 Introduction and TDATS backstory 1
04.32 Budgie "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" excerpt
05.31 backstory 2
10:23 Bang "Our Home" excerpt
11.06 Volume 111 - Cobra singles
13.36 Cobra "Midnight Walker"
16.54 Volume 76 Native American 1
19.14 Winterhawk "Selfish Man"
24.31 Volume 76 Native American 2
25.25 Buffy St. Marie "Keeper Of The Fire" excerpt
25.56 Volume 76 Native American 3
27.33 Jesse Ed Davis "Red Dirt Boogie Brother"
30.55 Volume 85 Ra'anan book 1
32.37 Rodriguez "Only Good for Conversation" excerpt
34.08 Volume 85 Ra'anan book 2
35.38 Morgen "Welcome to the Void"
40.18 Vol 105 Going Down 1
42.06 Moloch "Goin Down" excerpt
43.26 Vol 105 Going Down 2
44.39 Booker T. & The M.G.'s - "Slim Jenkins' Place" excerpt
45.12 Vol 105 Going Down 3

Pt.2
00.00 Freedom "Going Down"
04.41 Red neck farmers rock idea
06.25 Wabash Resurrection - "In Heat"
11.11 Vol 17 first female collection 1
12.23 Linda Hoyle "Pieces of Me" excerpt
12.53 Vol 17 first female collection 2
13.55 Carman Maki & Blues Creation "Motherless Child"
20.45 Vol 109 Biker movie rock 1
22.04 Lenny Stack - The Duel (Part 1)
24.18 Vol 109 Biker movie rock 2
24.58 East-West Pipeline "You Could Be"
27.58 Vol 68 Neil Merryweather 1
28.53 Lita Ford "Ready, Willing & Able" excerpt
29.55 Vol 68 Neil Merryweather 2
31.11 Neal Merry Weather's Space Rangers "Escape" excerpt
31.36 Vol 68 Neil Merryweather 3
31.59 Heavy Cruiser "Wonder Wheel"
33.25 Heavy Cruiser "Super Girl"
37.07 Vol 96 Heat Exchange
38.59 Heat Exchange "Inferno"

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As many of you will have discovered by now, one of the greatest free resources on the net for finding out about obscure music is Rate Your Music (link). Although it seems to have been originally created as a way of rating and reviewing the records you personally own, due to its "wiki"-type ethos of user contribution it has become one of the best general catalogues in the world for all recorded music.

Scott Blackerby

I go there almost daily, and one contributor/reviewer who frequently comes up on albums and bands that I am interested in is a user that goes by the tag of RDTEN1 (link). He now has over 2500 reviews there! I have found leads from so many of his detailed reviews in making TDATS that I decided he fully deserved some praise here. When I made contact with him recently I was not surprised to find out that he has been an avid record collector and dealer for years, he has a lot of interesting things to say and he plys his trade under the name Badcat Records (link). His name is Scott Blackerby and he lives in Reston, Virginia. What I have done here is asked Scott to pick fifteen tunes for a comp, and say a little about each one. The majority of the acts he picked are brand new to TDATS so hopefully it will be an informative listen for you all. Following that is an interview I conducted with him, mostly regarding what it is like to deal in obscure rock and how he finds the nuggets and information for his reviews.

Scott ~ "Here are 15 of my favorite song finds from 2014. Musically they’re all pretty much rock, hard rock, or blues-rock oriented.  Admittedly there are some oddball choices; Irish blues-rocker, Quebec garage rockers, A German band, and one from Peru."

TRACKS
01. Bloody Mary - Dragon Lady (1974) from album 'Bloody Mary'
There's a rumour going around that Bloody Mary is either Sir Lord Baltimore under another name, or is at least connected in some way. Not surprising as the vocals do sound remarkably similar to John Garner...although he refutes any connection. Scott's full review can be read >here<. "Based on everything I'd read, I have to admit the percussion heavy opening came as a surprise to my ears, but once the lead guitar and keyboards kicked in (along with the screeching lead vocals), I felt more comfortable with the collection's hard rock reputation.   The opener actually boasted what may have been the album's best melody.   rating: **** stars"
02. The Fallen Angels - Room At The Top (1967) from album "The Fallen Angels"
Scott's full review here. "Penned by Bryant, 'Room At the Top' was a driving pseudo-garage tune that showcased Richard Kumer's powerhouse drumming and some Wally Cook sitar touches (actually it sounded like an electric guitar given an odd tuning).  The band actually gave the track a cool, pseudo-British feel (imagine Mick Jagger fronting a true guitar band).  Always loved the freak-out fade.  Roulette tapped the track as the lead-off single.    rating: **** stars"
03. Mitch Ryder - Ain't Nobody White (1979) from album 'Naked But Not Dead'
Scott's full review here. "The third 'Look Ma, No Wheels' composition, anyone who doubted Ryder still had his killer voice only needed to check out the raw, bluesy 'Ain't Nobody White'.    What a growl of a voice and the live version was even tougher than the studio take  !!!   There's an extended, slightly stoned performance of the song from the German RockPalast series (youtube)  rating: **** stars"
04. Rory Gallagher - Let Me In (1975) from album 'Against the Grain'
Scott's full review here. "Anyone who knew Gallagher has a hardcore blues artist was probably going to be surprised by the boogie-styled 'Let Me In'.   Maybe not quite top-40 material, but surprisingly commercial and accessible.  There's a clip of Gallagher performing the tune for a 1975 episode of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. It's worth watching just to see a somewhat stiff Kirshner reading the introduction off of cue cards (youtube).  You had to wonder if Kirshner had a clue as to who Gallagher was. rating: **** stars"
05. Les Napoleons - Fou De Toi (1966) from album 'Les Napoleons A Go Go'
Scott's full review here. "Having been released as their debut single, 'For de Toi' was a blazing Kinks-styled garage rocker showcasing an amazing Jean Guy De Levo solo (Dave Davies would have been proud of the performances.  There's decent live black and white television performance of the tune, though the video and sound are out of sync (youtube)  rating: **** stars"
06. Flo & Eddie - It Never Happened (1972) from album 'The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie'
"When it comes to biting humor, Flo and Eddie are among the best acts out there.  Bolstered by a dark, folk-rock melody that snuck into your head and wouldn't leave, 'It Never Happened" was one of the best tunes on the album.   rating: ***** stars"
07. One St. Stephen - Junkie's Lament (1975) from album 'One St. Stephen'
Scott's full review here. "Well, with his ravaged vocal delivery, 'Junkie's Lament' literally did sound like a strung out addict wailing away on his last couple of breaths.  Iggy Pop on steroids?  Seriously disturbing tune.   rating: **** stars"


08. String Driven Thing - Josephine (1974) from album 'Please Mind Your Head'
Scott's RYM review here. "Always loved James Bell's churning bass line on this one  ...  nice Bad Company-styled blues-rocker that should have provided the band with a massive AOR commercial success.  rating: **** stars"

09. Terry Reid - Live Life (1973) from album 'River'
Scott's RYM review here. "Easily one of the best things he's ever recorded, 'Live Life' had everything going for it including a tasty, slightly Latin-esque melody (thanks to Willie Bobo's percussion), some first-rate guitar, and one of Reid's most energetic performances.  The video and sound quality aren't great, but there's 1973 performance of the tune on British television.  The live version was way funkier than the studio version (youtube).  rating: **** stars"
10. We All Together - Silly Roadman (1974) from album 'Volumen II'
Scott's RYM review here. "Even though something seemed to have been lost in the translation, 'Silly Roadman' had a cool, mildly lysergic, mid-'60s flavor that I find fascinating.   Love the segment about halfway through where the song shifted into heavy rock mode with Guerrero toughening up his voice while guitarist Cornejo and keyboardist Varvande got a chance to briefly stretch out.   rating: **** stars"
11. Fanny - Place in the Country (1971) from album 'Charity Ball'
Scott's RYM review here.  "Penned by Barclay, 'Place In the Country' was one of the album's best rockers.   Nice showcase for the group's harmony vocals.   rating: **** stars"



12. The Petards - Drive (1968) from album 'A Deeper Blue'
Scott's RYM review here. "Nice Beatles influenced rocker ...  how could you not like a German band that could work Florida and Georgia into their lyrics.   How many American bands have ever worked Bavaria or Niedersachsen"

13. Hudson Brothers - Hard On Me (1975) from album 'Ba-Fa'
Scott's RYM review here. "A typical hard rocker that you probably didn't want a ten year old to listen to ...  well today the lyrics are very PG.   Nice to hear them toughen up their sound a bit.   rating: **** stars"



14. Stephen Spano - Eye To Eye (1975) from album 'Eye to Eye'
Scott's RYM review here. "Featuring fuzz guitar, meltdown synthesizer, and full rock instrumentation, the title track was quite different from the rest of the album.  Rock, progressive moves, and even jazzy chords ...  it was all here.  One of my picks for standout performance.  My only complaint is the tune faded out just as Spano was beginning to showcase his tuneful lead guitar moves.   rating: **** stars"
15. John Entwistle - Ten Little Friends (1972) from album 'Whistle Rymes'
Scott's RYM review here. "Great little boogie rocker with Peter Frampton providing the blazing lead guitar.  As for the song, I've read different different stories including it was inspired by a gift of a pack of toy trolls that Keith Moon gave to Entwistle.  The trolls included a character named "Mr. Bones".  An alternative story traced the song to an autobiographical base - namely a reflection of Entwistle's musical dexterity on multiple instruments.  Regardless, it was one killer tune. rating: **** stars"


Hi Scott, thanks for your time! Before I start the questions proper - what's the significance of your RYM username, "RDTEN1"?

The tag (which was originally for my email address) is actually work related.  I work for the Navy and it relates to the kind of money I deal with Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Navy (RDTEN).   For some reason RDTEN wasn't available, so I grabbed the next best thing - RDTEN1.

True story - every now and then I'll get unsolicited email from people wanting a picture of me thinking it stands for red 10, or a hot looking redhead.   Amazing.  When I tell them I'm a middle aged white guy, many folks don't believe it.

Q1. Can you tell us some of the major events and influences in your life that lead you to start BadCatRecords?

So, BadCatRecords is a small on-line website that focuses on talking about and selling '60s and '70s vinyl.  I started it 2004 when I woke up one day and discovered I had somehow managed to accumulate some 30,000 albums.  A back-of-the-envelope calculation indicated that if I did nothing but listen to albums 12 hours a day, it would take me four years to get through the collection.  That was just way more vinyl than I ever needed and it seemed unlikely I was ever going to get that kind of spare time to simply listen to music, so I decided to set up a small website and start selling some of the stuff.

Q2. How long has it been going now? Can you tell us a little about your 
experiences of starting it and how it has developed since then? 

I started selling in 2004.  My initial plans were to list LPs in some of the specialized music publications favored by hardcore collectors (like Goldmine) but a friend at work taught me some basic HTML .  It was enough to let me set up a barebones, but functional website where I started listing vinyl  - www.BadCatRecords.com.   It took a couple of months to upload about half of my original collection and then it took a couple of years for the website to generate a steady stream of traffic and customers.  Today it averages 500+ hits a day.  I realize that's nothing in the overall scheme of things, and unfortunately most of those hits are simply people reading record reviews, or looking for information on a band.   Still, over the ten years the site has now had over a million visitors.  I realize Amazon gets that kind of traffic in a matter of hour, but for a small, homegrown site like mine, which gets virtually no publicity, that's still a neat accomplishment.  

A couple of months back I ran a query against the BadCatRecords name and was surprised at how many on-line references and links there were to the website.  

Ironically, on occasion people mistake BadCatRecords for a true storefront business.  Last summer I was cutting my lawn when a couple of young German collectors showed up looking for BadCatRecords.   Their English wasn't great and my German was equally limited, but they finally realized what I was saying.  Since they'd driven out to Reston,  I let them to browse the stacks.  They ended up buying about 100 soul LPs so it turned into a productive day for all of us.

Q3. Do you have any stories regarding extremely rare finds or particularly 
memorable finds and sales? 

With a regular day job and family obligations (soccer, music lessons, Boy Scouts, homework, etc. ), I don't have a great deal of time to go looking for stuff.  Still, like every collector I've had some nice finds.  

I was at a local community yard sale and  an older lady was selling a bunch of stuff including what appeared to be a stack of religious LPs.  I wasn't expecting anything, but scattered throughout the religious and easy listening stuff were some rare psych LPs (Food, Kak, Mason, etc.).  She was asking a dollar for each LP.  I asked her where she'd gotten the psych stuff and she told me it belonged to her older son.  She'd been asking him to clear the stuff out of her house for years and had finally decided to do it herself.  I told her the psych stuff was worth way more than a dollar. She seemed surprised and asked if I would be willing to pay $10 a pop.  I ended up buying 20 psych LPs for $10 apiece.  Yes, I know I probably should have paid her even more.  Virtually all of them sold online within a matter of weeks.

About two years ago I bought an Ultra Violet LP with an Andy Warhol designed cover.  I found it buried in the discount bin  at a local used record store for a dollar.   Musically it's one of those clear-out-the-party kind of LPs, but the Warhol cover and the fact few copies were pressed makes it a collectible.   It was gone literally an hour after I listed it on line.   

To be honest, most of the music I buy is based on it being something that looks interesting to me.  I've purchased albums for the cover art.  I've bought albums because of the label they were issued under.   I've bought albums because I recognize a band member.   Sure, I'll buy something I know I can resell for a profit ("Dark Side of the Moon" with the posters and stickers), but the vast majority of my collection was purchased because it looked like something that would be cool to hear.   Moreover, most of what I buy is on the cheap side.  While I'd love to spend $200 - $300 for an LP, that's not really in the family budget.

As for sales, I list albums on the BadCatRecords site, but also sell on MusicStack, GEMM. Amazon, and a couple of newer sites.   Deep pocket collectors tend to buy directly off the BadCatRecords website.  There are some collectors who seem to have immense resources at their disposal and I've even dealt with a couple of European and Japanese collectors who buy rarities as an investment.   I've had people spend thousands of dollars on vinyl.  I had a guy spend close to $1,000 on a sealed Peter  Grudzien LP.  Perhaps he got a bargain since it is rare, but those kind of purchases are simply mind-boggling.   Personally I can't image spending that kind of money on an album.   Maybe when I win the lottery.  That said, for every buyer who drops the equivalent of a mortgage payment on vinyl, there are a hundreds who are spending $10 - $50 to buy a slice of their past.  Those are the folks who make up most of my sales.   

I somehow got interested in tax scam albums (you can look the topic up on the BadCat website - link) and about a year ago got a call from a local guy who found some tax scam LPs and wanted to sell them.  He gave me a great price and they quickly sold off my website.  Wish I had more of that happen.   LOL 

Q4. Are you originally from Reston, Virginia? Have you always lived around 
there? How has living there influenced your musical tastes and pursuits, or any 
other places you have lived?

Born in Southern Alabama.  My father was a Department of Defense civilian who had a series of overseas postings.  I spent 14 years living with my family throughout Europe.  Virginia became the family "home base" between overseas assignments.   

The Washington DC area is where many of today's jobs are located.  I would be hard pressed to make the kind of salary I earn here were I living somewhere else in the country.   Admittedly you pay a steep price to live in this area, but it has a very cosmopolitan feel.   If you're into culture and music, there's always something going on in this area.  If so inclined, you could literally see a concert every night of the week.  Doesn't happen in my case, but if you're a young hipster with disposable cash, the opportunities are there ...

It tends to get overlooked, but the Washington DC area has long had an active musical scene - there are some impressive 60s (Fallen Angels), 70s (Artful Dodger) bands that called this are their home.   Go-Go music may not have caught on nationally, but the late Chuck Brown remains an icon in this area.  Think of all the hardcore bands that called this area home - Bad Brains, Slickee Boys, Teen Idles, Fugazi ...   I love all of those bands.  The other thing Washington DC had when I was a teenager was WHFS.   WHFS was this funky little FM radio station that had DJs like Damian Eistein and Jonathan "Weasel" Gilbert.  The station let the DJs pick what they wanted to play which meant it was literally  everything and anything other than top-40 material.    I can't even begin to count the number of albums I bought after hearing something played on WHFS.

Living overseas as a teenager certainly impacted my musical tastes and consumed a big part of my limited disposable income.   As much as I loved Armed Forces Network (AFN) and top-40 rock, I loved European radio stations, including Radio Luxemburg, and Radio Caroline.  Whereas AFN had a pretty regimented play list, European stations were all over the musical map.   There are literally dozens of bands I never would have heard on American radio - some good, some not so good, but all different from typical American top-40.   It certainly opened my ears to a musical sounds far beyond the top-40 most of my friends lived in.   As a teenager I spent a couple of years living in Belgium.  A buddy of mine (hi Mark), introduced me to record libraries.   I'd never heard of the concept, but the way it worked was you paid a membership fee, brought in your record stylus for them to check, and then you could check out a dozen LPs at a time.   I'm still selling albums that I "discovered" living overseas - Bees Make Honey (pub rock), The Boots (German garage rockers). Irish Coffee (Belgian rockers),  Taste (Irish blues-rockers).   The list goes on and on and on ...

Q5. Have you ever been a musician yourself? If so, what do you play and were/are 
you in a band?

Bought a bass in high school and took the instrument to college, but was smart enough to realize there were people far more talented than I was.  I think I read somewhere music critics are all frustrated wannabe musicians.   That would certainly capture it for me.   Maybe when I retire I'll have time to learn how to play an instrument.   Luckily both of my kids seem to have the musical talents I didn't get.

Q6. You appreciate and appraise a very eclectic range of musical genres. Could 
you tell us what your favourite styles in old rock are, and why? 

I looked at this question and wondered about it for a couple of minutes.  I actually looked through a pile of records on my desk and it dawned on me that yeah, my tastes are pretty eclectic.  The current stack has a copy of the new AC/DC release (vinyl), a couple of tax scam LPs, an obscure soul LP, and a copy of an album by the Dutch band Pussycat.  I guess that is  diverse.  Musically I'm willing to try pretty much anything.  I have an eleven year old and I'm surprised at how much of the contemporary stuff he listens to that I actually enjoy.  Yes, I'll admit to having some rap and even Lady Gaga on my iPhone.   

What do I really enjoy ?   I think it's only natural that we gravitate to what we grew up with.  In my case I I love '60s soul, power pop, '70s FM rock, new wave, AOR bands.  The list goes on and on.  I've even been trying to understand jazz.   Is there anything I can't deal with ?   Sure there is.  Can't say I'm a big fan of old country,  bad disco, or Musique Concrete.  Auto-tuning drives me crazy.    True story - For years I'd read articles about Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music".   I remember thinking no album could  be that bad. There had to be a reason the album kept showing up in so many media stories.   I tracked a copy down in college and, yes, it was that bad.   I've only been able to listen to the double LP once.    

Q7. Who are some of your favourite artists from those styles, famous or not? 

I could go on for pages and pages.

Rory Gallagher, Danny Gatton, and Roy Buchanan are all favorite guitarists.  Sadly, all have passed-on, though I was lucky enough to see Gallagher play - once at a street festival in Brussels Belgium.   Gatton and Buchanan were both local artists (Buchanan lived in Reston for a couple of years).  While each released some enjoyable material, they were supposedly even more impressive in a live setting.

I'm a big soul fan.  Wilson Pickett (who lived and died in Northern Virginia),  Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Laura Lee ....   There's a whole universe of soul artists out there who are all but unknown today.   It's always struck me as ironic that I sell more soul to Europeans and Japanese customers than Americans.  It makes me wonder how Americans can be so blind to their own culture.

I love 60s and '70s pop psych bands like Anonymous, Big Star, The Byrds, Colours, Ellie Pop, Flat Earth Society,  The Leopards ...

I'll admit to having a long standing taste for blues-rock bands like Bad Company, Free, Taste, and yes, even AC/DC.   After a crappy day at work, a couple of AC/DC tunes are a good way to re-set your balance.

Q8. Personally, I think the short period between the late '60s and early '70s 
for psych/prog/hard rock was the most creatively interesting time in rock 
history. What are your opinions on why there was such a creative explosion 
during those times.

Sounds like a grad school thesis waiting to happen.   I'm a little too young to have been socially aware during that timeframe, but there's probably something to be said for that thesis.   Why did the lines start to come down?  Not sure, but that "golden" period  certainly didn't last very long.  I can remember while I was in high school you would hear all sorts for musical genres played on the same radio stations (The O'Jays followed by Firefall), followed by George Harrison).  By the time I graduated from college that kind of genre mixing was largely gone with radio becoming more and more homogenized. 

I don't list to a great deal of radio these days, but when I do, I hear a more open and eclectic playlist coming back.  When my kids listen to the radio you're liable to hear a fairly diverse mix that includes rap, country, pop, dance tunes, hard rock, etc.   Musical diversity is so much better than hearing a single genre all day long.


Q9. What other periods and genres which are markedly different do you listen to, 
up to the current day? 

Pretty much whatever is playing is okay with me.   My eleven year old complains if I have an oldies rock station on.   To be honest, what little time I spend in my car tends to be spent listening to NPR. Shows you what cutting edge tastes I have.

Q10. Your appraisals and reviews are very well-informed and written.  What are 
your main methods of gathering the information, and have you ever studied, or 
worked in, any domains other than your record business, that have helped you 
develop your skills? Had you ever considered journalism?

Thanks for the compliment.  I try to research the groups I write about, but in many cases there simply isn't a great deal of reference material out there to work with.  As such, a lot of the stuff I've dumped on the BadCatRecords website and other places is little more than speculation.  Fact of the matter is that a lot of what I've written is probably wrong, but until some comes along and provides the actual facts, that's the best you can do.  I also try to avoid popular bands.  Does anyone need to hear what I think about "Revolver" or "Hotel California"?   Probably not. 

In my real life I work for the US Navy and the job I have entails a lot of writing, so there's a clear overlap.  Hopefully the music stuff is more interesting than some of the business stuff I write.

Years ago Goldmine published a couple of items I wrote and some material I wrote ended up in an obscure book music reference book (The Acid Archives) published by a Swedish music collector by the name of Patrick Lundborg.  Sadly Patrick passed away in June 2014.    Do I have a great a American novel in me ?  If so, it has never shown any interest in getting out.   There are a bunch of topics I'd like to write more about and publish on the website.   I'm still interested in tax scam records.  What a great concept - let's release music that we purposely don't want to sell in order to get a tax break.  How American can you get?   I've got a bunch of material on banned record covers.   There are other obscure topics as well.

Q11. How often do you get in touch with the artists themselves? Do you have any 
interesting or particularly memorable stories on doing so? For instance, times 
when you got some valuable information by some effort, that nobody may have ever 
discovered other-wise.

It seems I hear from someone I've written about at least once a month.  Most of the times it will be someone happy to see they've been remembered and offering to provided information, or correct factual errors I've made in a write-up.  Frequently they'd like help in reconnecting with former band members.   Occasionally I can help.  Someone contacted me a month ago looking for an ex-husband. Many want to buy an album they released, or were somehow affiliated with.   Musicians seem to suffer a lot of broken marriages and house fires.  I've made at least a half dozen sales to band members who effectively lost everything  associated with their prior lives.  

Every now and then I'll hear from someone who thinks I'm an asshole for having written something critical of their work.  I try not to be mean-spirited when I write something.  Occasionally I lose that battle and if someone calls me on it, I'm at least willing to look at the topic again.  I won't reveal the person's name, but I wrote a scathing critique of a song this individual had written.  It was one of the most irritating hits I've ever heard.  The writer wasn't amused and let me know that I was a no-talent loser.   That's fine, but after listening to it, their song still sucks.   Anyhow, I'm thrilled to hear from all of these folks. The fact they took time from their busy lives to contact me is a treat and I still marvel that they somehow managed to stumble on to the BadCatRecords website.

So within the last two months I had two exchanges that left a lasting impression on me.

I found an obscure album at a flea market.  Though I'd never heard of the band I bought the album because I knew a little bit about the label it was released on.   Anyhow, I started looking into the band and discovered it wasn't really a band, rather was the work of a single guy.  To protect his privacy I won't name the individual, but he's become a Grammy winning composer, producer, and writer.  I tracked him down and sent him a note asking if he'd ever heard this album. Turned out he wasn't even aware of the LP.   It was apparently some material he had recorded as a demo and unknown to him some unscrupulous folks had released it under a different name without his knowledge.  I sold him one of the two copies  I had.   It was a nice feeling reuniting the "creator" and his music.

Again, I'll protect the person's privacy, but about two months ago I got an email form a lady living in Majorca.  Her father was visiting her and they had somehow ended up looking for his name on the internet.  He'd been in an obscure English '60s band and they ended up at the BadCatRecords website because I'd written a review of the band's one and only LP.   The review included photos and links to a couple of the band's songs that I'd found on YouTube.   Here's where the story turns sad, but also kind of uplifting.  The father suffers from dementia, but when they were looking at the band photos and the song clips, he regained his focus and started telling the daughter about his days in this band.   
It was touching for her to take the time to write me to tell me how nice it was to have regained her father, if only for a few hours.  She was also nice enough to pass along some of the information her father had provided on the group.

As I said, most of the interactions are positive, though there are some exceptions.  I've had some artists tell me I'm a douchebag for writing less than sterling reviews.  I always remind them comments reflect one person's opinion.  Nothing more than that and the fact of the matter is very few people are ever going to see one of my reviews.  Over the last decade  I've been threatened with a couple of lawsuits.   One relatively unknown band apparently hired a legal firm to protect their legacy (not that they had one).  They came after me apparently under the impression BadCatRecords was reissuing the group's albums.  I was selling a single used copy which was well within my rights.   The law firm went away after I suggested they were wasting their time.  Another artist demanded I turn over a rather valuable copy of her album as it belonged to her.   I suggested she get a lawyer and take me to court.  Haven't heard back from her.  Still have the LP for sale.

Again, most of my dealings are very positive.  The thing you walk away with is what a tough life music is.  Virtually none of these folks made much money and few of them are known beyond hardcore collectors circles.  The lucky ones moves on to the next stage of their lives and kept music as a hobby.   Others have held on to the dream, even when there's no chance of making it.   Just speculation on my part, but if there is an afterlife, I would not be surprised to discover there are lots of music managers, A&R folks, and record label presidents occupying some of the lower and hotter tiers of that afterlife.

Q12. What is the future for Bad Cat Records? Do you have any further plans 
regarding your love of rock music; maybe a book, or your own label, or other 
types of project in mind?

I've sold about half of the collection so there are only another 15,000 LPs to go.  Well, there would be 15,000 if I stopped buying.  The fact this is a hobby rather than a business makes a big difference.  If I had to depend on this for a living I would be in big trouble.  There's certainly money to be made in vinyl, but you'd have to scale up to a massive level and you'd have to constantly be looking for new stock at a time when more and more people are getting back into collecting records.  I can't help but feel that if it were a job, it would lose much of the joy I associate with it as a hobby.  Besides, with a real life and a family, I don't have the time, the interest, or the personal drive to do this on a full time basis.  

So BadCatRecords will remain a hobby.  The extra income has helped the IRS pay down the national debt, and allowed us to pay some of our older kid's college tuition costs, as well as allowing us to pay off the mortgage on a rental property.  That's about the right level of intensity.

Q13. Do you watch much live music? For instance old bands from the days of the 
records you sell, that are still around. Or old-styled/retro bands, around where 
you live or further afar? 

I typically see a couple of bands a year.  As I mentioned, the Washington area is full of clubs an music venues.   We live ten minutes away from WolfTrap Farm Park which has a wonderful summer concert program covering everything from opera to surprisingly contemporary group - Ke$ha played there this past summer.   Opera and Ke$ha.   Who would have thought?    Jiffy Lube Pavilion is 30 minutes away.  The down side is that as much as I enjoy a concert,  ticket prices are simply stunning these days.   Paul Simon and Sting were in town a couple of months ago and while I was interested in seeing them, the asking prices were simply insane.  There's no way I'd pay $100 to see anyone.   

That means my wife and I tend to see local acts such a Mary Ann Redman (a wonderfully talented Washington area singer) and older groups that are no-longer prime sellers (Doobie Brothers, Peter Frampton, Rush, Steely Dan, ZZ Top).

Q14. Could you tell us about any other favourite established or new artists from 
your local area, or anywhere around the world?

Sure, though these aren't going to be The Day After The Sabbath  oriented metal acts, but so what.

As mentioned, there's a local singer named Mary Ann Redman whom I think is great.  She has an amazing set of pipes and has a loyal local following.  My wife and I  see her once or twice a year.  Here's a link to her website:  http://www.maryannredmond.com/ (maybe she'll send me a pair of tickets to a show).

Sadly she died in  1996, but Eva Cassidy was a fascinating Washington area singer.   She recorded an amazing album of duets with the late Go-Go musician Chuck Brown.  Her cover of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" is stunning.   One of Cassidy's cousins runs a tribute website: http://evacassidy.org/eva/ 

He's not a local musician, and while he is well known to 60s pop fans, few other folks have heard the name Emitt Rhodes.   He's way to pop for most The Day After The Sabbath followers, but Rhodes  is simply one of the best pop artists to ever record.  I won't spend a lot of time detailing his musical career, but the guy recorded some of the best Beatles- esque albums ever released before basically dropping out of performing.    He's a longtime favorite and I would love to see some established act give him a helping hand to re-invigorate his career.  Here's a link to his website: http://www.emittrhodesmusic.net/emittstory.html 


Q15. Are there any bars, venues or record stores or other music fan haunts that 
would be good to check out for anyone who finds themselves in Reston or wider 
Virginia?

The area is awash in bars, but as a 50 + year old dad, I'd be hard pressed to tell you what this month's in-place is.   If you're looking for a low key place that serves wonderful chilli dogs, a decent selection of beers, and doesn't have a dress code - Vienna Inn in Vienna, Virginia (couple of miles down the road from Tysons Corner).  http://viennainn.com/
Whitlows On Wilson is located in Arlington, Virginia and has a cool vibe and a younger crowd. http://www.whitlows.com/
Bier Baron Tavern; Madam's Organ, Church Key - all nice places in DC.

I live near the Reston Town Center which is an upscale area full of happening restaurants and bars.  Very young and fashionable demographic which means I don't have much need for it, but so what.  http://www.restontowncenter.com/index.php 


Music venues I can do a little better:
The Birchmere - very eclectic list of bands  http://www.birchmere.com/
State Theater - nicely restored  old movie theater that had an interesting mix 
of local and national bands http://www.thestatetheatre.com/index.xml
Warner Theater - http://www.warnertheatredc.com/
9:30 Club - saw ZZ Top here a couple of years back - http://www.930.com/
WolfTrap yes it's a national park with concerts !!!  http://www.wolftrap.org/


Q16. What have you learnt from your experiences of running Bad Cat? Do you have 
any useful advice for rock fanatics who do something similar, or are considering 
starting something similar?

Wish I had some silver bullet piece of advice that would make everyone successful.  I don't.   Things I've learned include:

Keep good business records for the IRS
Be nice to the post office staff (I see them so often I know them by their first names)
Treat customers the way you would like to be treated
Don't over-grade vinyl; if an album is VG, don't describe it as being mint
If someone asks you to take a picture of the 'B' side matrix of an album groove, tell them you've already sold it.  Someone that obsessive simply cannot be pleased.   They're not worth the time and frustration.
Focus on what you enjoy.   If you hate Scandinavian death metal, why would you sell it?
Buy sturdy LP mailers and buy them in bulk (500 or more at a time in order to keep the costs reasonable)
Try to put your family and friends before any of this other stuff
Try not to lose the joy that brought you into the business.  I guess it sounds kind of saccharine, but the fact of the matter is I still get a thrill out of hearing a new album. There's just something incredibly cool about hold the album sleeve; reading the liner notes, and enjoying an album on a good stereo system, or with a quality pair of headphones.


Q17. Finally, do you have anything further to say to The Day After The Sabbath  
followers who will be reading this and listening to your picks?

I'd actually spent time on The Day After the Sabbath website, I remember reading an article on Fred Cole and Zipper, and have to admit I was surprised you'd have any interest in BadCatRecords.   Your comments about having read many of the BadCat online reviews certainly made me smile.   You always kind of wonder if anyone knows you have stuff out there.  Anyhow, thanks for the nice comments about the site reviews, and for the opportunity to answer your questions.  It was a blast.

Thanks for your time Scott, and all the best!

Rich signing out. Check out Scott's site at http://badcatrecords.com/ and his RYM activities at https://rateyourmusic.com/~RDTEN1


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This volume is inspired by work of the producer, engineer and studio owner, Konrad "Conny" Plank. Known as a hugely influential figure in Krautrock, and instrumental in the careers of bands like Kraftwerk, Can and Neu!, his name is not synonymous with the obscure heavy fuzz / heavy rock / early metal sounds that TDATS usually covers. However, during his legendary career he worked on hundreds of records, and along the way his skills have enhanced a large number of obscure heavy albums.

Born in the town of Hütschenhausen on 3 May 1940, his father was a church organ player. In 1963 he began working in the Köln studio of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR, West German Broadcasting). Then he became assistant producer and sound engineer at Köln's Rhenus Studio, where he oversaw recordings by a diverse range of artists, including Duke Ellington and Karlheinz Stockhausen. It was around this time that he worked on the two earliest records in this comp, those of Creepy John Thomas and Nosferatu.

Scorpions Lonesome Crow (1972) Brain 1001

Another important album to mention is the first Scorpions album, which Conny produced in 1972. This was eons before their '80s commercial peak and at this point they were a mean and heavy progressive band (youtube). It was the Brain label's first ever release, a label started by two guys that defected from Ohr, another influential experimental label with names like Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. Brain was home to a few of the bands in this comp, as well as some of Conny's most important charges, like Cluster and Neu! It was also responsible for bringing works of great foreign bands into Germany, like Norway's Ruphus (see Vol81).

Conny used devices and equipment of his own design, and modified mixing consoles. He taught himself how to achieve the effects that would later be done easily after the invention of polyphonic samplers, using the faders on his desk in conjunction with complex arrangements of tape loops. Brian Eno worked with him many times and considered him an “inventor” as much as anything else. Michael Rother, who worked with Plank as a solo artist and with Kraftwerk, Neu! and Harmonia said: “He had this immense talent to intuitively grasp our intentions and to create fantastic soundscapes, despite the limitations of recording technology at the time.”

In 1974 Conny designed and built "Conny's Studio", located on a farm in a former pigsty, 35 km south of Köln. Two more albums that appear in this comp were made there, those of Bullfrog and Lokomotive Kreuzberg. At this studio other TDATS-appearing bands Birth Control and Harlis also made albums.

The bio on his site closes with: "Conny Plank died of cancer on 18 December 1987. He did not live to see the day when music producers would be celebrated as if they were superstars. The “hippie, the big bear who delved into his creative manias with unbelievable energy and passion” (Michael Rother) would be a superstar himself today."

So, this comp is an hour of some of the heaviest bands that Conny produced or engineered, or both. Eight of the twelve bands here are brand new to the blog, and all these albums are definitely worth checking out!
TRACKS
01. Night Sun - Got a Bone Of My Own (1972)
       from album 'Mournin'
02. Virus - Old Time Movie (1971)
       from album 'Thoughts'
03. Creepy John Thomas - Lay It On Me (1969)
       from album 'Creepy John Thomas'
04. Sixty-Nine - Red Guitar (1974)
       from album 'Live!'
05. Eloy - Dillus Roady (1971)
       from album 'Eloy'
06. Lokomotive Kreuzberg - Comeback (1975)
       from album 'Fette Jahre'
07. Gomorrha - Dance On A Volcano (1972)
       from album 'I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was'
08. Bullfrog - Live (1977)
       from album 'High In Spirits'
09. Time - Shady Lady (1975)
       from album 'Time'
10. Lava - Tears Are Goin' Home (1973)
       from album 'Tears Are Goin' Home'
11. Nosferatu - Highway (1970)
       from album 'Nosferatu'
12. Lucifer's Friend - Prince Of Darkness (1972)
       from album '....Where The Groupies Killed The Blues'

Virus - Thoughts LP (1971)

Virus shared three members with Hamburg's Weed (see Vol9) at various times; Bernd Hohmann (flute, vocals), Reinhold Spiegelfeld (bass) and Werner Monka (guitar), although I think these guys had left by the time of Virus's Conny-engineered second and final album "Thoughts". Recorded at Star Studio in Hamburg, it was a more direct, hard-rocking album than the psychedelic debut and should be tracked down if you like hammond-assisted riffs. There is an interview with Virus member Werner Vogt at ItsPsychedelicBaby here.

"Creepy John Thomas" LP (1969)

The Sydney-born guitarist John Thomas seems to have had an interesting career. It began properly in Melbourne, having some hits with The Flies. He went to Germany in 1967 with his German girlfriend Doris Honigmann for some time where he made the album "Come With Me" under the name Rust (link) with British musicians in 1969. Then he moved to London and got an album deal with RCA, who commissioned two albums to be recorded back in Germany with Conny Plank producing. For those he became "Creepy John Thomas", his reasoning: "The name came from a Spider John Korner song called Creepy John on the blues album Blues, Rags & Hollers and it seemed a good idea at the time as I wanted to project a less clean cut non-commercial image."

John Thomas in recent times

"The British blues boom was happening - Artists like Capt.Beefheart, Doctor John, The Night Tripper, Screamin' Lord Sutch, Howling Wolf etc., all had groovy names which at the time, held fascination for a young wannabe like me.” Then he spent a year in San Fransisco before returning to London and joined the Edgar Broughton Band, credited on the albums Bandages& "Live Hits Harder!". Moving back to Germany, he made two albums as "Johnny & the Drivers" in Berlin, only to move back to London again in the '80s to become a producer and a continuing solo artist. In 1977 John took friends Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart to Conny's studio to record some music for an album which wasn't ultimately released. Conny was reportedly very impressed with Annie's vocal abilities and this lead to them making their first album as The Tourists (1977) and their first as Eurythmics (1981) with him at his studio.

I have taken the track "Lay It On Me" from the first Creepy John Thomas album. On that record was drummer Helmut Pohl, who also played on albums from Gomorrha, appearing later in this comp. An interesting fact is that Paul Rodgers of Free fame sang harmony vocals on the track "Ride A Rainbow" (link).

Sixty-Nine - Live! (1974)

With track four we have a heavy drums-organ duo from Bad Kreuznach called Sixty-Nine. Conny was engineer on their live album, much of which was recorded at a cultural events center called Fabrik, in Hamburg.

Sixty-Nine was founded in 1969 by keyboardist Armin Stöwe & drummer Roland Schupp. They became popular as a live act and were often invited to open for big acts, like West, Bruce & Laing, UFO, Birth Control, Amon Düül II, Jud's Gallery and Agitation Free. They recorded one studio album in 1973 called "Circle of the Crayfish", then after the live album they disbanded. Stöwe founded a trio called Air. He also started the "General Electronic Plastic Studio" where he developed innovative and successful electronic music devices like computerised sequencers, synthesizers and speaker systems. Sadly, he committed suicide in 2005.

Eloy - s/t (1971)

On to another band that has appeared in TDATS before, Eloy (Vol19). Well-known as a progressive rock and space rock band, their first album, which was engineered by Conny, has very little of those things. It is a meat and potatoes hard rock album with the familiar guitar/hammond sounds of Deep Purple. It was recorded at Star studios in Hamburg, where many classic albums were made including the debuts of Ash Ra Tempel, Neu! and Scorpions. The only continuous member of Eloy is founder and guitarist Frank Bornemann, who steered the band in a more progressive direction like that of Genesis, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd on subsequent albums. There is an interview with Frank at ItsPsychedelicBaby here. Some names that have been in Eloy and other notable bands are Jürgen Rosenthal (Scorpions), Fritz Randow (Saxon, Epitaph), Jim McGillivray (Epitaph), Manfred Wieczorke (Jane) and Steve Mann (Andy Scott's Sweet).

Lokomotive Kreuzberg Fette Jahre (1972)

Track 6 brings something a little different to the party. Lokomotive Kreuzberg was a Berlin polit-rock band that started in 1972. Not speaking German, it's impossible for me to comment on the lyrics, but the music on their 1975 album "Fette Jahre", engineered by Conny, is captivating. They mix many styles, from symphonic prog, to folk, to funk, to hard rock. At all times it is played with extreme talent, these guys sure had the chops to compare with the best. I have chosen the hardest rocking track on the album, which was recorded at Conny's studio, but you can take your pick from it. Others, such as the title track "Fette Jahre" (youtube), are equally good.

I've not had a chance to check out all of their four albums. I certainly will but they may not be the easiest band to get into for non-German speakers, especially as they use a lot of spoken-word skits to get certain points across on their agenda.

After the band dissolved, Herwig Mitteregger (drums), Bernhard Potschka (guitar) and Manfred Praeker (bass) played in the Nina Hagen Band before making a new band called Spliff in 1980.

Gomorrha I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was (1972)

Conny Plank produced all of Gomorrha's albums, which amounted to three. The first could be described as a Beatles-inspired beat album, and was one of his very first production jobs in 1969. In 1970 Conny and the band re-recorded it from scratch, this time singing in English and playing from a much improved and advanced progressive rock angle. The title track "Trauma" is regarded as their first high-point, and afterwards they were picked up by the formative krautrock label Brain, which Conny had become connected with by this time. The third and final album "I Turned To See Whose Voice It Was" is regarded as their masterpiece, described by some as a cross between Black Sabbath and Procol Harum. From that I have used the track "Dance On A Volcano". Unfortunately, all the band except guitarist Albrecht Claudi (link) apparently left the music business after the demise of Gomorrha.

Bullfrog - High In Spirits (1977)

Conny was involved with two of the three records that Bavaria's Bullfrog made. He recorded, engineered and produced the first self-titled one at his own studio, and engineered/mixed the second, "High in Spirits" (1977). Bullfrog are often compared with the accessible sound of the far more prolific Jane, who Conny worked with on the Brain label. Bullfrog's bio at Prog Archives (link) says that the step-up of High in Spirits earned them a sizeable following both in Germany and in the US. It also gathered quite a huge fan base in Portugal where the album managed to relegate both ABBA and Pink Floyd to second and third place on the local charts. There's a detailed account of the band here in German.

Time - selftitled (1975)

On to track nine, and we come across one of the most obscure entries here, a UK act called Time. Formed by Tristan Margretts (bass, vocals) and Gary Margretts (guitar, keys, vocals), Time was a development of Spontaneous Combustion (link). Joining were guitar/vocalist Alex Johnson (later to hard rockers Nightwing) and drummer Jode Leigh (later to England). They released a single, self-titled album in 1975. There's a couple of mysteries about this record. Firstly, I have seen various online mentions of vocalist Mike Udell, but his name is not listed on the LP cover. The cover states "Produced by Conny Plank at The House Of Sounds for BUK records UK", as yet I have been unable to find out anything about this supposed studio, including where it is. Seeing as bands usually traveled to Conny, I presume it was recorded somewhere in Germany. The album itself is a great find. It is mostly heavy, angular prog, like a much leaner Yes or Gentle Giant.

Lava Tears Are Goin' Home (1973)

Next up is another one-album obscurity, Berlin's Lava. Their 1973 album "Tears Are Goin' Home" was produced and engineered by Plank at Windrose Studios, Hamburg and released by Brain. Conny also plays lead guitar on the track "Would Be Better You Run" (youtube). The album is quite a mellow, melancholic and improvisational affair. The reason it appears here is because of the great opener, "Tears Are Goin' Home", which crashes in like ├┤awkVVind blasting off at full power. Very little seems to be documented about them, they are described as a commune band, that split in 1974 after the suicide of keys player Thomas Karrenbach.

Nosferatu

Nosferatu hailed from Frankfurt. One self-titled album was released in 1970, recorded at Rhenus studio in Köln and Conny engineered it. In their early days they were fronted by guitarist & vocalist Michael Winzkowski (who went on to Orange Peel and Epsilon) and wind player Christian Felke who guested later with Epsilon. Felke also played on the Christian Kolonovits LP "Life Is Just A Carnival" I used on the Austrian Vol107. The album is a strong set of groovy heavy prog. While filled with cool hammond from Reinhard "Tammy" Grohé and ominous guitar from Michael Meixner, there's a wide range of other instrumentation. The whole album works as a continuous piece on a grand scale, it's very impressive. For such an apparently young, short-lived band they sound like they had been playing together a lot longer.

Lucifer's Friend ....Where The Groupies Killed The Blues (1972)

Closing the volume is one of the more familiar names no doubt, Lucifer's Friend. Conny produced their second album, "....Where The Groupies Killed The Blues" at Windrose Studio and Star Studio. By this time the band were already on the slide away from the heaviness of the debut into more commercial prog territories, but this one catches them at an interesting point where they mixed both and ended up making a unique-sounding album.

"Lucifer's Friend" was just one alias that a core of studio musicians was recording under, and there were many! A quick glance finds The Air Mail, The German Bonds, Asterix, Lucifer's Friend, Brother T. And Family, The Children Of Quechua, Electric Food, The Fantastic Pikes, The Pink Mice and Bokaj Retsiem all centering around four names; Dieter Horns (bass), Peter Hecht (keyboards), Peter Hesslein (guitar) and Joachim Rietenbach (drums). In fact, an entertaining sport that any obscure rock addict with an internet connection could enjoy on a rainy day is "Hunt the Lucifer's Friend spin-off". These guys were seemingly involved in a curious mix of bill-paying studio jobs, exploitation records and real bands, they clearly didn't like to keep all their eggs in one basket. What ever the situation, they sure must have been busy individuals around the turn of the decade! The English singer John Lawton was present in two of the heaviest of these acts, Lucifer's Friend and Asterix, and I'm sure most of you know that he was later in Uriah Heep.

Thanks for reading, Rich

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This volume of TDATS is inspired by one of the enduring stories in the history of American rock; the "Bosstown Sound". It has been regarded from wildly varying viewpoints as a name made up for a scene that never existed, an unjustified hype, an authentic late ‘60s sound, a cynical industries’ marketing ploy that ended in a debacle, or a tragic end to something that could have blossomed and inspired a lot more great music. Probably the saddest part is that some Boston bands were unfairly tainted by the negative opinions, with their careers being hindered or even finished in the process.

TRACKS
01. Quill - Thumbnail Screwdriver (1970)
       from album ‘Quill’
02. Brother Fox and the Tar Baby - Steel Dog Man (1969)
       from album ‘Brother Fox and the Tar Baby’
03. The Far Cry - Hellhound (1968)
       from album ‘The Far Cry’
04. Fort Mudge Memorial Dump - The Seventh Is Death (1969)
       from album ‘Fort Mudge Memorial Dump’
05. Apple Pie Motherhood Band - Grandmother Hooker (1969)
       from album ‘Apple Pie’
06. Beacon Street Union - Sadie Said No (1968)
       from album ‘The Eyes Of The Beacon Street Union’
07. Ultimate Spinach - Mind Flowers (1968)
       from album ‘Behold & See’
08. Eden's Children - Toasted (1968)
       from album ‘Sure Looks Real’
09. Jolliver Arkansaw - Lisa My Love (1969)
       from album ‘Home’
10. The Lost - No Reason Why (1966)
       from album ‘Lost Tapes 1965-'66’
11. Saint Steven - Bastich I & II (1969)
       from album ‘Over The Hills’
12. Front Page Review - Prism Fawn (1968)
       from album ‘Mystic Soldiers’
13. Peter Ivers Band With Yolande Bavan - Showroom Model (1969)
       from album ‘Knight Of The Blue Communion’
14. Willie Alexander & The Boom Boom Band - Hitchhiking (1978)
       from album ‘Meanwhile...Back In The States’
15. Nervous Eaters - Just Head (1979)
       single
16. Listening - See You Again (1968)
       from album ‘Listening’

Alan Lorber

It began with Alan Lorber, who has been a successful New York-based arranger, producer, musician and composer since the early ‘60s. One of his first successes in pop was creating The Mugwumps, a band which later split into The Lovin' Spoonful and The Mamas & the Papas. In 1968 Lorber devised a plan to use Boston as a geographical base from which to promote a number of his signings. He claims to have chosen Boston because of its convenient proximity to New York, where his Bosstown bands were recorded. A convienient fan-base existed in the 250,000 Boston college students and he claims there was a large number of clubs where artists could develop before touring nationally. There were also many college and commercial radio stations to promte at the grass-roots level. Just after announcing his plan to the trade press like Billboard and Variety, Newsweek carried the story, and coined the term "Boss-town Sound", adapted from “Motown”.

53 Berkeley St.

As a backdrop, Gary Burns recounts in his thesis “The Bosstown Sound” that Boston did have a genuine underground, kick-started in the early sixties by a healthy folk scene. A club called “The Boston Tea Party” (53 Berkeley St.) quickly became the main outlet for alternative rock after it opened in the winter of 1966. The Hallucinations playing with The Ill Wind, along with The Lost, were some of the first Tea Party shows to be announced in the underground Boston newspaper, Avatar. Some other important pre-'Bosstown' mid-sixties bands from the area were The (Rockin') Ramrods, The Remains and The Barbarians. The venue was also favoured by big-name visitors like The Velvet Underground, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy and Canned Heat.

The Boston Tea Party opening night poster

Alan Lorber chose the MGM record label for his signed Boston bands Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach and Beacon Street Union for no other reason than the convenience of having used them for similar acts of his already. Almost immediately after the term “Bosstown” was coined, two things happened which would curse it for ever more and bring it to an abrupt end. Firstly, influential rock press like Rolling Stone and Crawdaddy took an immediate negative stance, claiming that the Bosstown sound was a cynical ploy constructed by MGM, to be played against the huge west-coast “San Francisco Sound”.

The spiel in the initial press advert read ”Where the new thing is making everything else seem yesterday. Where a new definition of love is helping to write the words and music for 1968. Three incredible groups, Three incredible albums. The best of The Boston Sound on MGM records.” It then showed the debut LPs of Beacon Street Union and Ultimate Spinach. Also the second LP from Orpheus, showing that the folk/pop sounds of Orpheus were already well-established before being connected to the campaign.

Billboard magazine - 20th January 1968 The first ad in the Boston Sound campaign Beacon Street Union, Orpheus and Ultimate Spinach

Now it was hip to bash the Bosstown sound, even Boston musicians joined in the vitriol. Russell “Rusty” Marcus, late-joining bassist with Eden's Children was quoted as saying: "Boston could never support a music scene. You can't enjoy yourself if your body's sick, and Boston's sick, physically, psychologically sick. We're glad we're not just lumped together with the rest of the Boston Sound. [At that time, Eden's Children was one of the only "Bosstown" bands signed to a label other than MGM] I mean, MGM's trying to buy its way onto the charts.”

Mike Curb (center) & members of the 'Mike Curb Congregation'. Davy Jones television special, 1972

Secondly, in 1969 the newly appointed MGM president Mike Curb (who later became a Reaganite politician and 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California) decided to wage a war on “drug bands”, with Rolling Stone reporting his derogatory comments about bands on his own label! In doing so he dropped many bands from the label, relegating them as "just a bunch of junk". Since then it has been speculated that this was a publicity stunt, and these were merely under-selling bands that were nearing end of contract anyway. The hip and trendy opinion-leaders like Rolling Stone made it acceptable to put down Boston bands. In Lorber’s words, “Nevertheless, the reaction triggered a national controversy which continued for more than a year. It became more trendy to talk 'Boston Sound' than to hear it. A snowball became an avalanche, with the artists buried under the outpouring that overshadowed the music, and eventually destroyed whatever future they might have had."

Countering this to some degree, Alan also wrote: "Strangely though, Boston Sound marketing was successful for Boston itself. Record outlets prospered. Revenues of rock 'n' roll radio multiplied. Circulation of local music papers doubled. Boston clubs experienced overflow attendance. For the groups, Orpheus' single Can't Find The Time was #1 in most US markets. The first Ultimate Spinach album sold 110,000 copies its first week out. All the Boston artists flourished creatively in a wonderful diversity of things political, things poetic, things classical and jazz, things of the time."

From the eighties onward, many people have studied what happened and why, including music executives trying to avoid another such marketing mess. Others have tried to defend the bands that they think were all unfairly tarred with the same brush, and recoup some respect. To make this volume I have used some great online resources that champions of the Bosstown Sound have put together. Respect goes to Paul ‘Blowfish’ Lovell for his “Rock in Boston 1967-69”. To Gary Burns for his Paper “The Bosstown Sound”, and Alan Lorber himself for writing about it all in the nineties, some of which you can read at Orpheus Reborn. Thanks also to Desdinova's “Re-evaluating The Bosstown Sound”.

Chevy Chase (2nd from rt) in Chamaeleon Church

So, this volume is a collection of acts that were part of, or connected to, “The Bosstown Sound”. In TDATS tradition, I have chosen cuts from bands which played heavy at least some of the time. Narrowly missing the grade were Bear (youtube), The Freeborne (youtube) and Teddy & The Pandas (youtube).  Some important Bosstown names like Orpheus, Earth Opera, The Chamaeleon Church, Ill Wind, The Bagatelle and Flat Earth Society may have been good at what they did but do not have songs included here due to the styles they played. I used a band called Fat back in volume 10 (link) but that track ('Country Girl') is in my opinion the best one on their album and I couldn't decide on another. Towards the end of this volume there's a couple punky late-'70s acts. Although obviously not in the Bosstown Sound, I included them as their members were, and it gives some perspective on what influence the old Boston names did had on future sounds.

Quill

The opening track, "Thumbnail Screwdriver", is a catchy song with a rolling groove and charismatic group vocals, a great opener indeed. Quill's real names follow, but on the record they went by the psudonyms of Da-ank Khol, Ju-unk Khol, Phil Stan D' There, Red Rocket Rogers, R. Willy North. These pseudonyms are rumoured to have been an attempt at distancing themselves from their Boston roots, as by 1970 the "Bosstown Sound" was well and truly knackered.

The band enjoyed a brief flash of national exposure by playing at the Woodstock festival in August of 1969. The quintet was co-founded in 1967 by brothers John Cole (bass, guitar, vocals) and Dan Cole (vocals, guitar, trombone), who were the main song-writers. The rest of their lineup was Roger North on drums, Norm Rogers on guitar, and Phil Thayer on keyboards, sax, and flute. Most of the songwriting was handled by John and Dan Cole.

Quill LP (1970)

They were successful enough to get support spots for artists such as Jeff Beck, Deep Purple, Buddy Guy, and Janis Joplin, and their appearance at Steve Paul's Scene in New York City earned them a booking at Woodstock. Unfortunately they never made the cut for the movie, owing to a technical flaw in their footage. They did get signed to Cotillion Records, but the resulting debut album failed, maybe it would have fared better with the help of exposure from the Woodstock movie? John Cole left and the remaining members had their second album rejected by Cotillion. Quill had broken up by 1971 but they received exposure 38 years later when the "Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm" CD contained two of the four songs they played there.

North drum kit

Roger North is probably the most well-recognized ex-member, with a continuing career and a stint with the Holy Modal Rounders. He also gained renown in percussionist circles as the inventor of North Drums, a kit with curved drum bodies that projected their sound outwards towards the audience, which he played from the late '60s onward. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon and plays in the Freak Mountain Ramblers.

Brother Fox & The Tar Baby

Track 2, "Steel Dog Man", starts as it means to go on with a stomping hard rock riff and tight playing, punctuated by glorious psych breaks, backed-up by earthy vocals that cut straight to the bone. Brother Fox and the Tar Baby featured the talents of former Profits guitarist Richie Bartlett, bassist Tom Belliveau, guitarist Dave Christiansen, drummer Bill Garr, singer Steve High and keyboardist Joe Santangelo. Dave Christiansen, Joseph Santangelo, Tom Belliveau and Richard Bartlett were previously in Front Page Review, also appearing in this volume. Belliveau  was also in Pugsley Munion (see vol59), and Bartlett was later in '80s new-wavers The Fools. They were signed by the small Oracle label, which released 1969's Bruce Patch-produced self-titled album. Christiansen was credited as writing all eleven tracks.

Brother Fox & The Tar Baby LP

This has a commercial edge and is a polished product, but it's done right and there's more than enough heaviness here too, over half the album is hard cuts with quite a unique take on combining late-'60s heavy psych with the chunky riffs and hammond organ of the freshly-emerging hard rock sounds of the times. This is what the first Boomerang album should have been like! (see Vol9)

The countrified feel, and high production quality with orchestration, shows that this was a serious stab at a successful album. The mellow tracks and ballads are all good, so make for a nicely diverse listen. The song-writing is consistently good, and the excellent vocals deserve a mention, sounding somewhat like Robert Plant in the heavier tracks. Highly recommended!

The Far Cry LP (1968)

The Far Cry were a jazzy 7-piece with sax and hammond who made even less impact than most of the bands here. Of all the members, guitarist Paul Lenart reappeared some years later, on Beacon Street Union member Peter Ivers' second solo album. He also played on Keith Moon's "Two Sides Of The Moon" (1975). They play a groovy and flowing form of progressive jazz rock, which is a very unusual thing to have come from the US at this time. User "mekkipuur" at RYM says that they are "the American equivalent to the british heavy progressive groups like Catapilla, Van der Graaf Generator, Gnidrolog or Raw Material" which is a good comparison. Vocalist/Harmonica player Jere Whiting sings with wild abandon, making for one of the most distinctive elements of the record, being compared by some to Capt. Beefheart. I have used the track Hellhound, which has a nice shuffle going on and lots of great extended solos from the band.

The Fort Mudge Memorial Dump's 1969 self-titled album is something to get excited about. A great combination the heaviest Boston sound psych you'll find, with Caroline Stratton's vocals resembling Grace Slick and some killer guitar workouts from Dean Keady, which in places resemble Hendrix at his sludgy-wah'd best. The track I used here, "The Seventh Is Death", is one of the most ominous and longest from the album. It features an unusual, troubled male vocal performance which I presume is from one of the other listed members: James Deptula, Dave Amaral or Richard Clerici.

LP cover, 1969

For such a well formed, great-sounding record there is little information to go by but here's what is stated about them: "They were from Walpole, Massachusetts, that started playing by 1969, gathering a good number of fans. Although they were from Walpole, they got filed into the “Boston Sound”, among the Ultimate Spinach, the Beacon Street Union, Orpheus, Tangerine Zoo, ect." A few years ago I found this comment on a Fort Mudge blog post, but as yet I have been unable to verify any of it: "Uncle Rick said...Hi, I worked with Danny (name not Dean!) and Caroline in a band called "Lovelace" in the '70s and we played to packed houses throughout New England. In between was a band called "MadeinUSA" which also cut an album. Lovelace also included locals Chickie Depula on bass and Mick Bendenelli on drums. Caroline, Cindy Daily& Hope Moon on vocals and they kicked butt!"

Apple Pie Motherhood Band 'Apple Pie' LP 1969

Track 5 presents a whimsical song with funny, eccentric lyrics. "Grandmother Hooker" easily raises a smile. Psychedelic blues unit the Apple Pie Motherhood Band evolved out of garage outfit C.C. & the Chasers (link).  In 1965 they relocated from Boston to New York City, briefly adopting the name Sacred Mushroom (used on Vol108) and becoming house band at the Bitter End Café, backing acts ranging from Joni Mitchell to Neil Diamond to Kenny Rogers & the First Edition. The Sacred Mushroom moniker was deemed too drug-oriented for a deal with Atlantic, so a sarcastic comment from guitarist Ted Demos resulted in the name Apple Pie Motherhood Band, and their self-titled debut LP followed in 1968. The group relocated to Vermont to record the follow-up "Apple Pie", adding lead vocalist Bruce Paine, guitarist Michael Sofraine, and harmonica player Adam Myers to original members Dick Barnaby (bass, flute), Jack Bruno (drums), Ted Demos (guitar) and Jef Labes (keyboards).

'Apple Pie' LP rear

They were great musicians and their output was all over the board in terms of style and influence, using a lot of covers. This resulted in many great tracks and some mediocre ones, the second album is the heavier and more consistent. What they lack in originality and identity they make up for in exuberant and fun performances. They opened dates for the Jefferson Airplane, the Butterfield Blues Band, and the Chambers Brothers, but in 1970 they split. Demos, Soriphine and Bruno joined Shakey Legs (link) for one album, Labes later backed Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt, and Bruno spent close to two decades as Tina Turner's touring drummer, then Elton John's. Paine briefly led Steamhammer in the UK, but was better known for acting work.

Eyes of the Beacon Street Union LP 1968

For the next track we have a real dancefloor-filler from one of the original MGM-signed Bosstown bands, Beacon Street Union. Having listened to their two albums, I was not bowled-over by their somewhat unfocused sounds, but I did dig "Sadie Says No". Formed in Boston in late 1966, they comprised of John Wright (vocals), Paul Tartachny (guitar, vocals), Robert Rhodes (keyboards), Wayne Ulaky (bass, vocals), and Richard Weisburg (drums). On his site, Paul Lovell writes: "The Union had a few stage tricks. Sometimes they would throw bags of flour around resulting in a low budget fog show. They always fooled me with this next trick no matter how many times I saw them. They would come on stage and we would all clap and yell. They would start plugging in and tuning up. It seemed to take a long time. Eventually your attention would drift and you would just talk to your friends. At some signal the whole band would slam into the opening chord to My Love Is (youtube) at full volume and SCARE THE BEJEEBERS OUT OF YOU."

Eagle (1970) 'Come Under Nancy's Tent' LP rear

The band members were in their early twenties when both albums were recorded and the press hostility against the Bosstown sound took its toll. They split after only two years together. Shepherded by Alan Lorber (along with the groups Ultimate Spinach and Orpheus), the group met with little success, although their first album The Eyes Of The Beacon Street Union charted at #75 on May 4, 1968. The band relocated to New York, where, after a second album, The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens, Wright, Ulaky, Weisberg, and Rhodes recorded a further album as Eagle. This was a far-less psychedelic, countrified rock affair. Later in the 1970s, Wright went on to write and sing country music as leader of the Sour Mash Boys.  He died on December 4, 2011.

One of Alan Lorber's bands, Ultimate Spinach was one of the most well-known, and perhaps the most notorious, of the groups to be hyped as part of the "Bosstown Sound" in 1968. The name itself guaranteed attention, as one of the most ridiculous  "far out" names of the psychedelic era, even outdoing "The Peanut Butter Conspiracy". They were competent musicians with imagination, but their albums were derivative the West Coast psychedelic groups that were obvious inspirations.

On the first two of their three albums, Ultimate Spinach was completely under the control of leader Ian Bruce-Douglas, who wrote all of the material, sang most of the vocals, and played a wide variety of instruments, most frequently electric keyboards. Their self-titled 1967 debut was a serious attempt at psychedelia, but suffered at times from the overly-obvious trappings of the style and could sound like parody. Guitarist Barbara Hudson's great contributions in the vocal department did go some way in combating these problems, and in the end the album sold quite successfully.

1968's "Behold and See" LP was an all-round better, more consistent album and that is where I took the track I used here, "Mind Flowers". Although it's still quite derivative, this track has a couragously long running time and is supremely atmospheric, one of the trippiest songs I have ever heard. Bruce-Douglas quit after the second LP, but Lorber assembled a new lineup for their final album, with only Barbara Hudson remaining from that of the debut. Ted Myers (ex-The Lost and Chamaeleon Church) and guitarist Jeff Baxter (later to play with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers) were introduced for the imaginatively-titled "Ultimate Spinach III" (1970). It was not quite as good as Behold and See, maybe mirroring the changing times it dropped most of the psychedelia completely. A straight-forward country/blues rock sound was adopted which made for a smoother, pedestrian experience, and a less distinctive album.

Eden's Children 'Sure Looks Real' LP

I found the two albums of Eden's Children quite hard to like on the whole, but they have a few good songs, lots of endearing parts, and a fair amount of good heavy fuzz riffing. It would seem that they seriously lacked in the quality control dept. The production job done by Bob Thiele, who appears to have been quite an accomplished jazz producer since the '40s, is severely inconsistent and lacking in places, making a few of their songs sound embarrassingly amateurish. Being on the ABC label and coming around just after the first wave of the "Bosstown" bands, they are frequently mentioned in the same articles but have always been considered less connected to it. The band was a trio, comprising Richard "Sham" Schamach (vocals, guitar), Larry Kiley (bass) and Jimmy Sturman (drums), at times you'd think they were trying to emulate Cream, but not always unsuccessfully-so. Shortly after the second album, from which I have used the track "Toasted" (voted the best heavy riffer on the album in the TDATS fb group), Kiely left the band and was replaced by Russell “Rusty” Marcus, but they broke up later in 1969. As yet I have found no evidence of further musical efforts from the members.

Jolliver Arkansaw 'Home' LP (1969)

Track 9, "Lisa My Love", coasts in on a bouncy bass line with stabs of fuzz guitar. Jolliver Arkansaw were a development from Bo Grumpus, a band who's only album, "Before The War" (1968), was produced by one Felix Pappalardi (pr. Cream & The Youngbloods). "Produced" is probably an insufficient word to use as he also wrote, arranged and played Keyboards, Trumpet, Bass, Guitar, Percussion and Ocarina, so more or less a fifth member of the band. With him were N.D. Smart (drums) and Jim Colegrove (bass), who traveled from Ohio to team up with guitarists Eddie Mottau and Joe Hutchinson. That was a light psych-pop affair of little interest here, but in 1969 the band renamed to Jolliver Arkansaw and made an album called Home. Felix was back in the producer's seat for this one and for one song, Gray Afternoon (youtube), an additional lead guitarist was invited, none other than Leslie West. Apparently it was this early 1969 session that convinced Felix that Leslie was worth working with more closely, which led to the West solo album Mountain and the formation of the group of the same name, initially as a trio with the ubiquitous N.D. Smart. There is more information at thecoolgroove.com (link).

Track 10 finds its mark from the outset as a raving freak-beat monster, "No Reason Why". Along with The Remains, The Barbarians and The Rockin' Ramrods, The Lost were one of the more celebrated Boston bands of the '60s. Unlike those other groups, who were more prolific, The Lost only released a few singles during their short existence. They were pre-Bosstown Sound, but I have included them as their members crop up again in later bands.

The Lost

They formed at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont in 1964. Originally the band, with Hugh Magbie as lead guitarist and singer, were among few interracial rock bands of the time. Changes ensued when they moved to Boston in late 1964 and Magbie quit to return to college. The Lost developed a lot of original material, from the imaginations of guitarist Ted Myers and keyboardist Willie Alexander (both mentioned elsewhere in this volume), recording a demo produced by Barry Tashian of The Remains that got them signed to Capitol. Their first single,"Maybe More Than You," was Dylanesque folk-rock, and got some sales and airplay in Massachusetts and New York.

A second single didn't appear for almost a year, although the band managed to open for numerous shows like the Beach Boys' 1966 Eastern tour. Capitol dropped them and in 1967 they split.

The Lost Tapes Arf! Arf! Records

Main songwriter Ted Myers ventured into psychedelic music with the Chameleon Church (which had future star comedian Chevy Chase on drums), and was a member of the Ultimate Spinach in the band's final days. Keyboardist Willie Alexander and bassist Walter Powers were members of the name-only, Lou Reed-less Velvet Underground of the early '70s, Powers also playing in Listening, coming up. Willie has become a bit of a Boston legend, playing with an endless succession of local bands over time. The Lost did a lot of recording, at Capitol and elsewhere, in addition to their three singles in the mid-'60s, which eventually became available on Arf! Arf!'s Early Recordings and Lost Tapes CD in the '90s. Read some more here.

Saint Steven Over The Hills LP (1969)

Saint Steven was Steve Cataldo. He was previously a member of Front Page Review, who appear here next, a late-joiner to Ultimate Spinach and founding member of the post-punk/power pop Nervous Eaters. In 1969 he made a solo record called Over The Hills. This was an unusual experimental record with lots of things thrown in - psych, folk, hard rock, pop and sound effects in a psuedo-proggresive package. The record is split into two suites, Over the Hills (side A) and The Bastich (side B). It's all pleasant stuff, with a few fuzzy cuts like Ay-Aye Poe Day and Sun In The Flame. The Bastich pts 1 & 2 gives a good cross-section of what he was attempting, with it's pretentious choral intro and groovy psych guitar lead-out. It's not clear whether Steve played all the instruments himself, as nobody else is credited, but it was produced by John Turner who appears to have made some albums of his own. A highly collectible record due to it's rarity, it's worth a listen for Steve's great vocals, proto-prog concept and considered songs.

Front Page Review Mystic Soldiers LP

Track 12, "Prism Fawn", has a nice urgency to it, with atmospheric keyboards. Front Page Review rubbed shoulders with bands like Eden's Children, Beacon Street Union and Strawberry Alarm Clock. With Alan Lorber behind the controls, they recorded an album for MGM which was not released at the time. "Mystic Soldiers" is a prime example of late '60s US psych, featuring a young Steve Cataldo (as just mentioned, of Saint Steven & Nervous Eaters) on songwriting / vocals. All the right ingredients are there: wah-fuzz guitars, organ, phasing & effects. Steve wrote all of the material for the group, which played minor-keyed brooding stuff. After they broke up, he made the "Saint Steven" solo album mentioned previously, and later hitched onto the new wave by forming the Nervous Eaters (coming up here soon), who made a couple of LPs. Front Page Review's album was finally unearthed for CD release in 1997 by Big Beat.

Peter Ivers' 1969 LP 'Knight of the Blue Communion'

Track 13, "Showroom Model", is an intriguing morsel of arty jazz rock that's indicative of the experimental boom of the late '60s. It's compelling and surreal, with off-kilter changes, but anchored by Peter Ivers' bluesy Harmonica. Peter Ivers was born in Boston in 1946. While studying at Harvard University, he played harmonica in The Beacon Street Union. After they split he surfaced as a member of The Street Choir before he signed to Epic in 1969 and issued "Knight of the Blue Communion", an unusual major-label releases for its time: A surreal parade of jazz, psychedelic, pop, classical and vaudeville vignettes with wildly eclectic arrangements and feverish rhythms. Featuring opera singer Yolande Bevan and electronic “modulations”, it evokes Frank Zappa’s most eccentric moments and the United States Of America at their most juvenile. Ivers recorded a follow-up, "Take It Out on Me" (Epic, 1971), but the label never released it, except for the single "Ain’t That Peculiar/ Clarence O’Day". Take It Out on Me has since been issued by Wounded Bird Records (link).

He signed to Warner Bros in 1974. Ivers and his co-producer, free jazz bassist Buell Neidlinger, delivered "Terminal Love", which at times sounded like Beefheart/Zappa. Indeed, Magic Band & Zappa collaborator Eliot Ingber appears on several tracks. A self-titled album for Warner followed in 1976. A year later, Ivers earned arguably his most enduring fame, writing and recording "In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song)" for David Lynch's noir horror classic Eraserhead (youtube). (The song was later covered by Boston's The Pixies.) A 1980 single, "Love Theme from Filmex," was his last official musical release. In the early '80s, Ivers hosted New Wave Theatre, broadcast on the fledgling USA cable network as part of their Friday evening Night Flight anthology. The series provided early national TV exposure for Los Angeles area bands like The Blasters and Dead Kennedys. With his outrageous wardrobe, philosophical interview questions, and rapid-fire social commentaries, Ivers was a most unconventional host, and many of the artists featured on the show made their distaste for him painfully clear. Peter is reported to have played in an avant-garde jazz outfit called Girlz of Zaetar, which had a rehearsal tape issued in 2007 (youtube).


Ivers was bludgeoned to death in his L.A. apartment in 1983. Many suspected the murderer was a member of the local punk scene. Ivers' killer was never found, but in his memory, Harvard University initiated the Peter Ivers Visiting Artist Program. The retrospective "Nirvana Peter" appeared on Warner in 1985. Josh Frank and Charlie Buckholtz have written a book about Ivers' life, art and mysterious death, In Heaven Everything Is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers and the Lost History of New Wave Theatre (2008). On the basis of new information unearthed during the creation of this book, the Los Angeles Police Department has reopened their investigation into Ivers' death. Thanks to Jason Ankeny at Allmusic.com, eggcityradio.com and Wikipedia for all this info.

Willie "Loco" Alexander (born January 13, 1943) sang and played keyboards with The Lost, The Bagatelle and The Grass Menagerie. He became a member of The Velvet Underground in late 1971, joining fellow Grass Menagerie alumni Doug Yule and Walter Powers and replacing Sterling Morrison. With the Velvet Underground, Alexander toured Europe in support of the album Loaded. Reshuffles brought on by manager Steve Sesnick then ended Alexander's time with the band.

Willie Alexander in recent times

After leaving The Velvet Underground, he enjoyed a checkered career. He recorded three solo singles beginning in 1975, and formed the punk-oriented Boom Boom Band the following year. The group recorded two albums for MCA, but broke up in 1978. He released Solo Loco in 1982, and then formed The Confessions, who also recorded two albums, A Girl Like You and Autre Chose. Alexander continued in his solo status throughout the '80s, and formed the Persistence of Memory Orchestra in 1991. In addition to his storied music career, in 1994, Willie narrated a local film entitled Middle Street made by fellow Gloucester native, independent filmmaker Henry Ferrini. Willie has also contributed many songs to the soundtracks for Henry's other films. You can check out Willie's current activities etc at his site (link).

Nervous Eaters c. 1977

Track 15, "Just Head", is a chunk of killer Stonesy punk with cheeky lyrics and unstoppable momentum. The Nervous Eaters was one of the bands that kick-started the Boston punk scene at the end of the 70‘s and the birth of a local scene that would foster dozens of influential and successful American artists in the 80’s and beyond. That needs to be said because the "Eaters", as the group was affectionately referred to locally, never achieved much attention outside of Boston or New York City. Featuring singer, guitarist and songwriter Steve Cataldo, previously of Front Page Review and Saint Steven, the Nervous Eaters was considered the house band at Kenmore Square’s Rathskeller (aka "Rat") club by virtue of its many appearances there and a pair of 7” singles released on the club’s Rat Records. Before taking that name, they had dubbed themselves The Rhythm Assholes, while they backed Willie Alexander on his 1977 solo single "Kerouac", and in concert. One of those songs, “Loretta,” became and remains one of the city’s enduring rock and roll anthems powered by a scorching four-piece attack and Cataldo’s husky and fervent vocals.

Nervous Eaters, Steve Cataldo 2nd from left

Ric Ocasek of the Cars became a fan and he produced a ten-song demo for the band that enabled a deal with Elektra Records, also the home of his platinum-selling group. Unfortunately, some blaming the producer, their eponymous 1980 album completely lacked the heaviness and attitude of the band’s live shows and original singles. The album failed and the band stepped into the shadows. A 1986 reunion album "Hot Steel and Acid", for the French-based New Rose label, was subsequently issued by Boston's Ace of Hearts Records. It belatedly redressed the balance with the frantic scuzz of the early singles, but the chance of national fame was already well-passed. New incarnations of the band, still including Steve Cataldo, play sporadically up to this day and you can follow them on facebook (link).

Listening LP cover (1968)

Rounding this volume off nicely we have a slice of Hendrix-heavy 1968 psych called "See You Again". Vocalist/keyboardist Michael Tschudin led the band Listening, and the later-Velvet Underground bassist Walter Powers (previously of The Lost) and guitarist Peter Malick (aged only sixteen when joining) helped to make this album historic. Walter performed over the years with keyboardist Willie Alexander as members of The Lost, the aforementioned Velvets, and on Autre Chose, a live album from Willie. Peter Malick later became Otis Spann's guitarist and a member of the James Montgomery Band on Capricorn. The album runs the gamut from psych, pop, blues to jazz. Eight of the 11 tracks are written by Michael Tschudin, with three titles attributed to the group. A couple of tracks are top-tear stuff, "Stoned Is", being another of them, while the rest make for a consistently enjoyable listen front to back. Michael Tschudin appeared soon after in Cynara (link), who look pretty mean on the cover of their s/t 1970 album, which is disappointingly loungy commercial piano-based jazz/soul that never works up a sweat. Peter Malick became an acomplished blues player and since becoming a producer/engineer in the 2000s he has had a hand in starting Nora Jones' career (website).  Drummer Ernie Kamanis played guitar for Andy Pratt and Boz Scaggs and later had a solo career. Paul Lovell recounts some memories of Listening here.

See you again!
Cheers, Rich

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Click to go to Vol 105

I have added an extra track to Volume 105, the 'Going Down' covers special. This is another version of the song that Don Nix recorded, for radio. If you haven't listened to this volume yet, now would a great time to do so. In the clip, Don himself says that he wrote the song for Elvis Presley, who did not record it, and then says that Freddie King did. So, even Don does not acknowledge Moloch as being the first act to record it. Poor old Moloch! Well, this blog being a shrine to the Underdog, we salute you!
Read the update and download here: http://www.aftersabbath.com/2014/08/the-day-after-sabbath-105-goin-down.html
You can download the additional track on it's own here if you do not wish to download the whole thing again.

Cheers! Rich.

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Unlike most previous Christmas updates, there is some music to download in this one, keep reading...


TDATS is five years old today. It's been a great ride, and it will continue to get better. I have much more music to add next year, lots of new ideas, and a lot more interviews with acts that have never been spotlighted before. If you are an obscure rock digger you will surely continue to enjoy the fruits of these searches as much as I do. As usual, drop me advice and ideas to aftersabbath@live.co.uk if you feel so-inclined, or contribute at the fb group which now has almost 4000 members, wow! This year saw the creation of TDATS radio, which is still in early days and will hopefully get an upgrade in 2015 if it gets enough listeners.

Thanks to all who support, comment on, and encourage The Day After The Sabbath. Enjoy this year-end's festivities and see you again here soon!

Download here: [mf] or [mg]
password:  tdats


Welcome to volume 112! I have had many requests to make a follow-up to the southern rock-inspired Vol65. That will happen, but before-hand, this will definitely be of interest to those of you who like southern rock and it is every-bit as enjoyable as that volume.

The completion of this comp was triggered by a band I discovered quite recently called Heads Hands & Feet. They were an English act based in London, that were around for a few short years. They specialised in good-time bar room blues and US style country rock, similar in places to Lynyrd Skynyrd but with more focus on honky-tonk (stay with me) and country, not so much the hard rock, and they were an early band for renowned guitarist Albert Lee. I adored their honest, good-natured sound as soon as heard it, and it reminded me of a few other UK bands that had a similar thing going on. Thus the idea for this volume arose, and I hunted down some more UK-based acts that rocked in the finest of American tradition. I'm glad to say all these bands are new to TDATS, so making it has been a great pleasure and a complete learning experience.

TRACKS
01. Velvet Opera - Ride A Hustler's Dream / Statesboro Blues (1969)
       from album 'Ride A Hustler's Dream'
02. Cliff Bennett's Rebellion - Amos Moses (1971)
       from album 'Cliff Bennett's Rebellion'
03. Steve Gibbons - Bye Bye Buffalo (1971)
       from album 'Short Stories'
04. Heads Hands & Feet - Hot Property (1971)
       from album 'Tracks'
05. Legend - Moonshine (1971)
       from album 'Moonshine'
06. Gypsy - Comes a Time (1972)
       from album 'Brenda & The Rattlesnake'
07. Hookfoot - Tradin' Riffs (1973)
       from album 'Roaring'
08. Poet And The One Man Band - Light My Fire And Burn My Lamp (1969)
       from album 'Poet And The One Man Band'
09. Jellybread - Green Eyed Gypsy Queen (1972)
       from album 'Back To Begin Again'
10. Pacific Drift - Just Another Girl (1970)
       from album 'Feelin' Free'
11. Guitar Orchestra - Last Chicken In The Shop (1971)
       from album 'Guitar Orchestra'
12. Ellis - Your Game (1972)
       from album 'Riding On The Crest Of A Slump'
13. Cochise - Diamonds (1972)
       from album 'So Far'
14. Holy Mackerel - The Boy And The Mekon (1972)
       from album 'Holy Mackerel'

It's common knowledge that the US was shaken-up by the "British Invasion" pop of the 1960s. Early-on it was the Stones, The Beatles and The Who et al that were making big waves across the Atlantic. Then there were the English bluesrockers like Cream, Ten Years After and Led Zep who made more impact a little later. Of course, the majority of these UK acts owed their chops to blues, jazz, rock'n roll and other sounds that originated in the US. In general, it was an amazing time of rich cultural transactions and co-evolution in music. Something I was not fully aware of until recently was the following early '70s cultural return from the US to the UK, with a small uprising in US country rock appreciation that appears to have happened in the UK. It didn't last that long, as you can see from the narrow time frame of the tracks in this comp, 1969 to 1973. An interesting little observation before I go further, three tracks in this comp have turned out to have an indirect connection to Pink Floyd as you'll see - not the first name you'd expect, I wonder if it's got something to do with David Gilmour liking this kind of music?  There's also a couple of links to Elton John of all people. Make of it what you will...

Having recently become acquainted with the likes of Heads Hands & Feet, Gypsy, Cochise, Hookfoot and Quiver (although not a band that would fit in a TDATS comp, Quiver guitarist Tim Renwick does appear in this comp), i'm surprised I hadn't run into many of them sooner. Maybe one of the reasons is that these bands have been largely passed-over, despite the fact that they included a lot of very talented players who were in other bands that received a lot more attention. Speaking of such, the lineups of the bands in this volume read a little like a who's who of British journeyman/session musicians. Although they may have not achieved long-term international fame, they were "musician's" bands and you can at least say that they were not motivated by commercial success, but doing what they did for the love of it. In fact, researching this has become something of an incredible adventure through the halls and archives British virtuoso guitarists that all missed the spotlight.

In a short digression, although this volume doesn't really delve into it, some of the bands included here were closely tied to the "Pub Rock" scene in the UK. Exemplified by bands such as Bees Make The Honey and Brinsley Schwarz. It's said that pub rock was a retreat back to the roots of country & rock'n roll, partly in reaction to the wanton excesses of the burgeoning progressive rock movements. In that respect it shares the ideals of punk rock. Some of the later pub rock names, like The Count Bishops and Elvis Costello, indeed crossed over into punk territory. One of the catalysts of pub rock was the residency of a US (New York) band called Eggs Over Easy at the Tally Ho pub in Kentish Town, north London. They set-up there while recording over in London, and their countrified blues became a big hit, filling the pub every night. Soon they were being requested at larger venues like The Marquee. Another originator of the pub rock sound was a band that is included here, the modestly-named Legend, from Southend.