Katerinas Magic World

The Use Of Ashes was the fourth album made by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and the second on Reprise Records after their move from ESP-Disk.

After recording the album These Things Too, the other original founding members of Pearls Before Swine had all left, and leader Tom Rapp and his then wife Elisabeth moved to her home country of the Netherlands (travelling on the maiden voyage of the QE2 liner) to live for several months near Utrecht. Most of the songs on The Use Of Ashes were written there. They were recorded back in Nashville in March 1970, with some of the city's top session musicians, many of whom formed the basis of the band Area Code 615.

Many of Rapp's admirers regard this, and particularly the first side of the original LP (tracks 1 through 5), as the finest and most consistent of all his albums.

The opening track, "The Jeweler", with its refrain of "He knows the use of ashes / He worships God with ashes", came to him when he saw his wife cleaning a piece of jewelry with a paste made from ashes, and is generally regarded as one of his finest and most poetic songs. A version was later recorded by This Mortal Coil. The next track, "From the Movie of the Same Name" is largely instrumental, featuring David Briggs' harpsichord and, like all the tracks, is beautifully and sensitively arranged. "Rocket Man" is based on a Ray Bradbury story (in his book "The Illustrated Man") about an astronaut and father burning up in space, but also draws on Rapp's difficult relationship with his own father and the fact that, in his teens, he lived near Cape Canaveral in Florida. The song itself inspired Bernie Taupin's lyrics on Elton John's hit of the same title. Another highlight, "Song About A Rose", again shows Rapp's ability to convey metaphysical thoughts within an artfully arranged song, with the lyrics "And even God can only guess why or where or when or if the answers all belong / And you and I we sing our song about a rose / Or perhaps the shadow of a rose".

A different texture is provided by the jazzy "Tell Me Why," shimmering with vibraphone beneath Rapp's whimsical lines.

The song "Riegal" was inspired by reading a newspaper article on the wartime sinking of a prison ship, when 4,000 prisoners drowned. Later histories suggest the number may have been out by 1,000 odd souls, but the sinking remains one of the worst maritime disasters ever[citation needed], and the song remains one of the most achingly beautiful evocations of the perils of going down to the sea in ships. Rapp does not apportion blame, indeed the lyric gives credit to the German, but probably not Nazi, captain who apparently saved many lives by grounding his ship. Rapp's juxtaposition of stark imagery reveals that while Pearls Before Swine might not have continued the more bombastic direction set about on their earlier protest songs "Uncle John" or "Drop Out," they maintained social and political relevance. The final track, "When The War Began", contains an equally potent message on the futility of war.

Additional material from the Nashville sessions was released on the next Pearls Before Swine album, City of Gold.

The sleeve design shows a late 15th century French or Flemish tapestry, "The Hunt of the Unicorn: vi, The unicorn is brought to the castle", from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It shows three huntsmen bringing down a unicorn with spears and swords. The sleeve continued the group's approach of using classic art on their album covers, started with their debut album One Nation Underground.

A single, "The Jeweler" / "Rocket Man" (Reprise 0949), was issued from the album.

In 2003 The Use Of Ashes was finally issued on compact disc as part of the Jewels Were the Stars compendium, anthologizing Pearls Before Swine's Reprise Records output.

A Dutch group formed in 1988 out of the rock band Mekanik Commando took the name "The Use Of Ashes", inspired directly by the Pearls Before Swine album
Tracks
01. The Jeweler (2:48)
02. From the Movie of the Same Name (2:21)
03. Rocket Man (3:06) ("based on a short story by Ray Bradbury")
04. God Save The Child (3:08) ("Elisabeth helped")
05. Song About A Rose (2:21)
06. Tell Me Why (3:43)
07. Margery (3:03)
08. The Old Man (3:16)
09. Riegal (3:13)
10. When the War Began (5:07)
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Harpers Bizarre's second album, released in 1967, is a joy for pop music lovers, and the best of their four Warner Brothers releases. The opening, "This is Only the Beginning," establishes a faux radio broadcast typical of the 1940's, leading directly into the opening verse of "Anything Goes," sung by Cole Porter himself! This segues into the group's performance of the song (featuring Van Dyke Parks on piano; check out his later work, both solo and with the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson), and is followed by another Cole Porter tune, "Two Little Babes In the Wood," again featuring Porter's own voice on the intro. Naturally, these two songs sport some of the cleverest lyrics ever written. These are followed by the first of two songs by one of the 20th century's greatest songwriters, Randy Newman, "The Biggest Night of her Life," a sweet, uptempo song with an instrumental break the flapper set will love. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's title song from the movie "Pocketful of Miracles" is a pure joy, and is followed by another Randy Newman song, "Snow," a beautiful, moody, emotional piece. This is followed by a cover of the big band-era classic, Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo," in a sparkling arrangenment that pays homage to the original. "Hey You In the Crowd," an original by Ted Templeman and Dick Scoppettone of the group, is an unptempo charmer presented in a faux-live-on-stage style. Doug Kershaw's classic "Louisiana Man" and the Edith Piaf classic "Milord" both get top-flight treatments here, followed by another Templeman/Scoppettone original, "Virginia City". "Jessie" by Jimmy Griffin (later to be a member of Bread, and to win an Oscar for co-writing "For All We Know" from the movie "Lovers and Other Strangers") is an urban mood piece with a melody that owes a lot to George Gershwin. David Blue's "You Need A Change" is a lost gem, and makes you wonder why Blue never won wider acceptance. The original album closes with "High Coin," by the brilliant Van Dyke Parks. It's unusual, as you would expect from Parks, but the Harpers handle it with aplomb. This Download includes 2 bonus tracks. By Richard E Upton
Tracks
1. This Is Only the Beginning
2. Anything Goes
3. Two Little Babes In The Wood
4. The Biggest Night Of Her Life
5. Pocketful Of Miracles
6. Snow
7. Chattanooga Choo Choo
8. Hey, You In The Crowd
9. Louisiana Man
10. Milord (Album Version)
11. Virginia City
12. Jessie
13. You Need A Change
14. High Coin
15. Cotton Candy Sandman (Sandman's Coming
16. Malibu U
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Off the hook krautrock like sounds from this Australian band. unfortunately not much is known about this band except for the fact that they released 2 albums, man Coda and Nebular trajectory. Fortunately I got hold of the Man Coda album thru ebay! And in such a great state!!! here's the link so you can all enjoy wonderful weirdness!
This is completely off-the-hook abstract Australian psych-rock. Evidently self-produced by the band and never formally distributed, copies of this super-limited pressing are creeping their way across the globe. Only 500 were ever pressed. Recorded direct to digital tape by just a drummer, bassist, and guitarist, the sounds run the gamut from surging, moody, textural, and nearly beatless masterpieces like “Man Coda” and “Reality’s Way” to the tense, jazzy, and angular “The Little Prince” to the stupid ill cut “Zeitgeist,” an all-out sonic rock assault that would make Les Claypool shit in his pants. This song also has an insane drum intro. Demented genius.
Tracks
1. Realitys Way
2. Zeitgeist
3. The Little Prince
4. Man Coda
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Well, how many albums do you hear that sport a meowing cat for an introduction? With pixie-like vocals, which puts them in the early Pink Floyd territory, Pussy's modus operandi throughout the album is a heavy, funereal keyboard style laced with freaky guitar solos. But this is by no means a dark and gloomy album. Off-kilter would be a better description. The opener, "Come Back June" sports a surf-like Ventures style rhythm with a punchy guitar break halfway through. "All My Life" and "We Built The Sun" are more spacey, cerebral organ sponged songs. The former borders on drug-induced self pity, while the latter, through the lyrical personification of nature, tries to be somewhere else entirely-in the land of the sun people. Make sure you're sitting down for the interstellar overdrive of "Comets", which is the hands-down centerpiece of the album. You won't believe what's at the epicenter of this freak out either-yes, a raging theramin solo (or at least a keyboard that sounds very convincing)! Returning from that trip leads you to the gentler, earthier "Tragedy In F. Minor", that recalls some of the Pretty Things work on the S.F. Sorrow album; the acoustic guitar is wonderful on this piece. The last song, the instrumental "G.E.A.B." is another heavy standout, this time featuring guitar workout that builds to a fuzzy rave-up climax-and then the cat again. by Robert Cossaboon
Tracks
1. Come Back June
2. All of My Life
3. We Built the Sun
4. Comets
5. Tragedy in F Minor
6. The Open Ground - Pussy, Clark, Barry G.
7. Everybody's Song
8. G.E.A.B.
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HUMAN BEAST "Volume One" CD. Rare, sought after, and absolutely excellent heavy UK psychedelic album from 1970 (Decca); alternately hypnotic and hard-driving, with intense guitar workouts in a classic psych mould; much high-caliber Eastern-influenced guitar work and cracking drums?highly recommended, although those of you who know this album will need no encouragement, I am certain; historical buffs note that David McNiven from Bread, Love and Dreams contributed the few lyrics (strange as they are) on this mostly instrumental album.
1 Mystic Man
2 Appearance Is Everything, Style Is a Way of Living
3 Brush with the Midnight Butterfly
4 Maybe Someday
5 Reality Presented as an Alternative
6 Naked Breakfast
7 Circle of the Night
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The World of Oz LP was released on schedule and disappeared without creating a ripple on the charts, on either side of the Atlantic. The album cover was a very strange one — it featured visual representations of the last lineup of the group, which was understandable but also strange, as they were hardly heard on the record inside. The cover design was an especially ornate affair, utilizing characters from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz universe, which, according to Kubinec, also included representations of their manager, and even annotator Jonathan King, while the back cover had images of Bickerton and arranger Mike Vickers. As a psychedelic artifact, musical and visual, that LP and the cover were serious collectors' items for many years.
Tracks
1 Muffin Man
2 Bring the Ring
3 Jackie
4 Beside the Fire
5 Hum-Gum Tree with a Little Help
6 We've All Seen the Queen
7 King Croesus
8 Mandy-Ann
9 Jack
10 Like a Tear
11 Willow's Harp
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They were formed in Liverpool in 1962 during the latter part of the Merseybeat boom and were managed by Brian Epstein. Ellis and O'Riley had previously been with The Thunderbeats. Morris and Leatherwood were in The Midnighters. Despite appearing in Ferry Across The Mersey and touring with The Beatles in 1965, none of their numerous singles for Columbia and Pye reached the Charts. They cut two confident singles for Pye: the first was a Kim Weston Motown track. In Spring 1966 they switched to EMI Columbia. Their final 45 was a quasi-psychedelic version of Cat Stevens' The First Cut Is The Deepest - it's quite good fun. They also recorded an album, which was very rare and sought-after, prior to its reissue. It features some fine lead guitar work, and contains some competent and usually R&B influenced mid-sixties rock. One of the best tracks, was the complex Barricades.

They also recorded as 45 as The Kubas in 1965 for Columbia. Keith Ellis went on to Van der Graaf Generator briefly. Stu Leatherwood was later in March Hare.

Compilation appearances include: Gypsy Fred on Justafixation (LP); The First Cut Is The Deepest on Liverpool 1963-1968 (CD), Liverpool 1963-1968, Vol. 1 (LP), Electric Sugarcube Flashbacks, Vol. 1 (LP), Hard Up Heroes, Vol. 2 (CD); Barricades on Psychedelia At Abbey Road (CD), Rubble, Vol. 3 - Nightmares In Wonderland (LP) and Rubble, Vol. 2 (CD); You'd Better Make Up Your Mind on Rubble, Vol. 7 - Pictures In The Sky (LP), That Driving Beat (CD) and The Sixties File (Dble LP); Face on Twisted Teenage Screaming Fuzzbusters (LP); Somewhere In The Night on Watch Your Step (CD); Take Me For A Little While and You'd Better Make Up Your Mind on What About Us (CD) and Merseybeat Nuggets, Vol. 2; A Place I Know on Doin' The Mod, Vol. 1 (CD); Here's A Day on Illusions From The Crackling Void (LP); Face on English Freakbeat, Vol. 2 (CD).
Tracks
1. Royston Rose [Ellis/Morris]
2. Where are the Friends? [Ellis/Leathwood]
3. Constantly Changing [Ellis/Morris/Leathwood]
4. Here's a Day [Ellis/Morris/Leathwood]
5. Fade Forever [Ellis/Leathwood]
6. Barricades [Ellis/Stratton-Smith/Leathwood]
7. A Little Piece of My Heart [Blackwell/Scott]
8. Gold Leaf Tree [Ellis] / Mr. Claire [Leathwood]
9. Circus [Ellis/Leathwood]
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Actually, the bandname is spelled wrong; in fact it's "The Leather-Coated Minds" and this happens to be the mythical first album produced and recorded by J.J.Cale in 1967. It was done in the middle of the whole "Flower-Power" Thing and it certainly sounds like it. It's a concept album with noises that seem to be taken off the streets of L.A., it contains covers from the Byrds,
Donovan and the first four J.J.Cale compositions that were ever recorded (four instrumentals, actually). It was after hearing this album (and the obscure single "After Midnight", which is not on the album), that Eric Clapton decided to make his version of it. It became an international hit and finally allowed J.J.Cale to get a real record contract under his own name at Shelter Records, where he released "Naturally" in 1972
Tracks
01 Eight Miles High
02 Sunset and Clark
03 Psychotic Reaction
04 Over Under Sideways Down
05 Sunshine Superman
06 Non-Stop
07 Arriba
08 Kicks
09 Mr. Tambourine Man
10 Puff (The Magic Dragon)
11 Along Comes Mary
12 Pot Luck
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The Grass Roots are a U.S. rock and roll band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri.

In their career, The Grass Roots achieved one platinum album, two gold albums, thirteen gold singles and charted singles a total of twenty nine times. Between 1967 and 1972, The Grass Roots set a record for being on the Billboard charts for 307 straight weeks. They are one of only nine bands that have charted twenty nine or more Top 100 Billboard singles. They have sold over thirty million records worldwide.

Since the disbanding of the original group in 1975, early member Rob Grill and a newer group of Grass Roots continue to perform and tour with many shows each year. They hold the all time attendance record for one act, the US concert of 600,000 people on July 4, 1982 in Washington, DC. They recently released a live album chronicling their fourteen Top 40 Billboard hits titled Live Gold in 2008.
Tracks
1 Feelings
2 Here's Where You Belong
3 The Sins of the Family Fall on the Daughter
4 Melody for You
5 Who Will You Be Tomorrow
6 You Might as Well Go My Way
7 All Good Things Come to an End
8 Hot Bright Lights
9 Hey Friend
10 You and Love Are the Same
11 Dinner for Eight
12 Feelings, Reprise
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The heavy-breathing vocalist on one of the most infamous chart-toppers in British history, Jane Birkin enjoyed a long film and recording career. Born in London in 1946, she followed in her mother's footsteps and began acting at the Kensington Academy in London. While still a teenager, she made her stage debut in Graham Greene's 1964 production Carving a Statue. One year later, she was offered a part in Passion Flower Hotel, a musical produced by James Bond series composer John Barry, and she married him soon after. Birkin's first film, The Knack...And How to Get It, followed in 1965, while a brief nude role in 1966's controversial Blow-Up made her semi-famous.
Tracks
1. Di Doo Dah - Jane Birkin, Gainsbourg, Serge
2. Help Camionneur! - Jane Birkin,
3. Encore Lui - Jane Birkin,
4. Puisque Je Te le Dis - Jane Birkin,
5. Les Capotes Anglaises - Jane Birkin, Gainsbourg, S.
6. Leur Plaisir Sans Moi - Jane Birkin, Gainsbourg, Serge
7. Mon Amour Baiser - Jane Birkin, Gainsbourg, Serge
8. Banana Boat - Jane Birkin,
9. Kawasaki - Jane Birkin,
10. La Cible Qui Bouge - Jane Birkin,
11. La Baigneuse de Brighton - Jane Birkin,
12. C'Est la Vie Qui Veut Ça - Jane Birkin, Gainsbourg, Serge
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C’mon, regardless of what you think of the music, you’ve got to admit the band name and the cover art (courtesy of William Mahood) were pretty hysterical. Besides, if it featured Freddy Fender, it had to have something going for it.

I can’t tell you much about this outfit. They apparently started out as a New Orleans bar band and recorded at least one single as Satan & Satin’s Roses (‘Devil Time’ b/w ‘’ xxx catalog number ), before mutating into Satin & the Desciples (sic). The goofy cover shows them to have been a quintet, while the liner notes provide a Lake Charles, Louisiana address for Goldband Records, providing some additional support for the notion they were Louisiana-based. There are no production, or performance credits, though the lineup apparently consisted of lead singer … Bates, Childs and Denson were credited as writing the material.

1969’s “Underground” is one of those album’s most folks will find thoroughly appalling. Lyrically, musically, thematically, and sonically it’s hard to argue the point. To be honest, a bunch of 5th graders could have probably come up with something at least as good. That said, there’s going to be a select group of folks who think the album is so bad as to actually have merit. Call it a character flaw, but I guess I lean towards the latter category. Overlooking the obvious characteristics, this is one strange effort. About half of the collection recalled Sam the Sham and Pharohs-styled garage rock (had they been forced to play with one arm behind their backs). With his sing/song vocals on tracks like the crazed ‘Devil Time‘ and ‘Satan On Universe’ the anonymous lead singer sounded like Sam Samudio, or Root Boy Slim after soaking in warm Budweiser for a week. Exemplified by material like ‘Satan’s First Theme’, ‘Ensane’ (sic) and the seemingly endless ‘Book of Alpha’ (and you though high school science class dragged on), the predominant satanic theme was about as ominous and threatening as a teletubby. Maybe it was just me, but backing vocals that included the phrase ‘he’s the booger man’ didn’t really serve to frighten the listener. The other half of the album was given over to strange folk and country material. ‘Why the Seas’ Are Salty’ and ‘Black Sheep’ (the latter including an accordion solo) were hysterically inept – imagine your drunk uncle deciding to sing the next time he showed at the local pub.
I’ve never seen of heard it, but there’s also a non-LP single: ‘Mummies Curse’ b/w ‘Cat’s Meow’ (Goldband catalog number 1188).
Tracks
01 Satan’s First Theme – 7:45
02 Why the Sea’s Are Salty (L.G. Childs) - 2:02
03 Black Sheep (Roy O. Bates) – 2:41
04 Devil Time (Denny Denson) – 2:03
05 Satan On Universe (R.O. Bates) – 2:44
06 Ensane (Roy O Bates – Denny Densen) – 2:09
07 Book of Alpha (Roy O. Bates) – 8:17
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An undeclared start of the Radio Gnome trilogy (much like The Hobbit is like the prelude to Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings) as some characters are introduced here but not fully developped. They will take their world of sillyness to a point that most of the musicians will play one or two roles in the trilogy and actually taking a surname (or two) to fit the music.
As Daevid Allen could not head back with Soft Machine to England because of passport problem , he stayed in Normandy and soon joined a hippy community-band (it was that or the catholic youth choir ) and started with Welsh freakpoet and girlfriend Gilly Smyth (later to be his wife) this weird Planet GonG world and this probably came after they overdosed of over-ripe Camembert cheeses.

If you take out the four short tracks that bookends both sides of the vinyl (they total 1.5 min), you are down with seven tracks, two of which are still regularly performed in concert nowadays - Dynamite and You Can't Kill Me. Side 1 is very energetic but to tell you what happens on a given track would take at least one page per track. The regular and irregular but constant changes in each track is a trademark of GonG and certainly helps fitting well with the concept and even sillier/funnier with the lyrics.

Side 2 is more endearing to me with their first real masterpiece in Fohat Digs Holes In Space that strongly hints at the stuff they will be reknown for in YOU. Tropical Fish/Selene is another gem that should be heard. Even at this early stage, Allen uses some of his Glissando (aluminium bar used to slide over the strings but not resulting as the bottleneck used in blues) guitars effects , but although Trisch doubles in on bass and guitar , they had a guest guitarist also. Didier Malherbe is marvelous on sax. Pip Pyle will later be seen in Canterbury bands.

The unfortunate thing about early GonG albums is that they were released under so many different labels , versions and semi-legal releases that it is quite hard to follow their Gnome Trip unless you have the inner sleeve to go along with. I despaired for years but recently Charly released a miniLp sleeve (pricey but strongly recommended to appreciate Gong to the utmost) under the Victor label: Catalogue number VICP 61171. Finally the GonG oeuvre getting respect.
Tracks
01 Gnome Prediction (0:27)
2. You Can't Kill Me (6:18)
3. I've Bin Stone Before (2:36)
4. Mister Long Shanks/O Mother/I Am Your Fantasy (5:57)
5. Dynamite/I Am Your Animal (4:32)
6. Wet Cheese Delirium (0:31)
7. Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen's Heads (0:12)
8. Fohat Digs Holes In Space (6:22)
9. And You Tried So Hard (4:38)
10. Tropical Fish/Selene (7:36)
11. Gnome The Second (0:27)
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The Golden Dawn started out in the murky time and space of Austin, Texas in late 1966, along with many other wild groups now holding legendary status, but most notably with the kings of the Texas Psychedelic scene, the 13th Floor Elevators. George Kinney and Roky Erickson of the Elevators grew up together and played in high school bands with each other, and by the time of the Great Mind Expansion, the Elevators and the Dawn were in close contact.
On Power Plant, you find lyrics that are aligned with similar subjects as those approached by the 'vators Tommy Hall, yet all original in Kinney's inimmitable style. Possibly it was relative to this similarity that led, unfortunately, to the two bands' record company, the infamous International Artists label out of Houston, to make a decision that seems to have um, "shafted," the career of the vibrant Golden Dawn.
This is what happened: a few months after the release of the 13th Floor Elevators' "Psychedelic Sounds" debut, the Dawn had finished "Power Plant" in mid 1967, and were ready to let it fly. But, by that time, the Elevators were beginning to record their second album (and magnum opus) "Easter Everywhere," which the record company management thought, for whatever reason, should come out first.
And so it went... much to the dismay of George Kinney (voc, guitar), Tom Ramsey (lead guitar), Jimmy Bird (rhythm guitar), Bill Hallmark (bass), and Bobby Rector (drums)--collectively, the Golden Dawn. When "Power Plant" was finally released, in 1968, it was largely panned as the work of an Elevators knock-off band, and it was unjustly snubbed in a big enough way to discourage the development of this excellent and unique band.
The thing is, you ultimately cannot stop something that is as great as "Power Plant," so naturally, through the years it climbed in "cult" status, to the point where recognition of this great music drew out George Kinney once again to reform the band in 2002, and perform live all over the States. And now, we have an all-original album of fresh music from the enigmatic Golden Dawn.
Texas Medicine
Tracks
1. Evolution
2. This Way Please
3. Starvation
4. I'll Be Around
5. Seeing Is Believing
6. My Time - Golden Dawn, Bird
7. A Nice Surprise
8. Every Day
9. Tell Me Why
10. Reaching Out to You
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Food, a relatively obscure Chicago group who released their only album, Forever Is a Dream, in 1969, gets the reissue treatment from Fallout; and though the recording quality’s inevitably dated, this QUIET album of soft-edged psychedelic rock offers a varied palate of pleasures. Psychedelia has been played and played out, so it’s difficult to evaluate this with fresh ears: even so, the smallest of signifiers immediately sets us off—a slight wobble at the end of a melody, in the flute or the trumpet. The bending communicates that pastoral melody is imperfect, and it’s a metaphor that sticks. Just listen to Asteroid #4 and compare. But Forever Is a Dream is inescapably a debut album. “What It Seems to Be” blossoms into a full-sounding orchestral ballad, shouting out with the kind of abandon you associate with ‘90s indie. However, “Coming Back” and a few other tracks have an amateurish air, like the band’s searching, not quite reaching, a fully-worked out song. Simplicity still carries the day… “Lady Miss Ann” reminds strongly of Simon & Garfunkel, but then again so does Tobias Freiberg. If they had stuck around, Food may have proven themselves a band worth that ‘cult’ label.
Tracks
1. Forever Is a Dream
2. Naive Prayers
3. Lady Miss Ann
4. Fountain of My Mind
5. Coming Back
6. What It Seems to Be
7. In the Mirror
8. Marbled Wings
9. Traveling Light
10. Leaves
11. Here We Go Again
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Hardin & York's career began at London's famous Marquee club back in August 1969 and despite a heavy touring schedule they still issued three studio albums between late 1969 and early 1973. Though Hardin & York - organist Eddie Hardin, and drummer Pete York (one or rock’s only true duos) - never really managed to climb out of the college circuit in Britain, over in Europe it was a different story, and the group achieved phenomenal success thanks to their powerful and virtuoso live act - particularly in Germany, where they quickly reached the large stadiums and sold truck loads of albums.

“A cross between Procul Harum and Traffic” is how one reviewer summed them up, but as both members of Hardin & York had played in the Spencer Davis Group (as had the members of Traffic), perhaps this isn’t too surprising. What is surprising is that the original Hardin & York albums - ‘Tomorrow Today’, ‘The Worlds Smallest Big Band’, and ‘For The World’ - have never been properly compiled until now. This new release, assembled with help from Eddie Hardin, gets to the heart of their music and popularity, bringing together over a dozen tracks from the three LPs, plus a couple of rare non-album sessions. The selection focuses on the band's progressive rock energy: power driving rhythms, lengthy solos and instrumentally centred classics - all set off against Eddie’s often Winwood-esque vocals, music which remains as strong today as it did in the early seventies. The pair have had remarkably diverse careers since those days. After the success of Hardin & York they teamed up with Spencer Davis to reform the legendary Spencer Davis Group.

Since then Pete York has played in numerous bands, as well as fronting three very successful series of ‘Superdrumming’ for German TV, touring a special jazz swing band, and regularly guesting on albums by the likes of Deep Purple’s Jon Lord. Eddie Hardin went on to help develop Roger Glovers ‘Butterfly Ball’ album and concert, cut the collectable ‘Wizard’s Convention’ session album, and played at the 1999 Deep Purple Royal Albert Hall show. The original duo also cut a reunion album (‘Still A Few Pages Left’) in 1995
Tracks
1. Tomorrow Today
2. 100 Years From Now
3. I'm Lost
4. Drinking My Wine
5. Candlelight
6. Beautiful Day
7. Mountains of Sand
8. Can't Keep a Good Man Down
9. Listen Everyone
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The Litter was a psychedelic and garage rock band formed in 1966 in Minneapolis. Today they are best remembered for their 1967 debut single "Action Woman."

The group recorded its last album in 1972 but would re-unite in 1990, 1992, and again in 1998, when they recorded a new studio album consisting of both old and new material
From Minneapolis, the Litter were one of the finest bands to emerge from the Midwest garage scene. Their debut lp, "Distortions," is considered a classic of the garage/psychedelic movement, with their gloriously fuzzed drenched takes of classics by the Who, Spencer Davis, the Small Faces, and Yardbirds, to name a few. The results gained the Litter exposure, and gave them the confidence to go back to the studio to work on their sophomore effort.
The results of their work is the amazing "$100 Fine," released in 1968. The first major difference between this and the debut lp is that the band wrote most of their own material for this lp, (save covers of the Yardbirds' "Tallyman," Small Faces "Here I Go Again," Procol Harum's "Kaleidoscope," and the Zombies "She's Not There") showcasing their talents as writers as well as musicians.

The music on the album is top rate, led by lead guitarist Tom "Zippy" Caplan, guitarist Dan Rinaldi, and oragnist/lead vocalist Denny Waite. The opening track, the Waite/Kane (Jim Kane- bass, and moog synth) penned "Mindbreaker," offers superb fuzztone guitar work, and builds up to an interesting psychedelic haze. The cover of "Tallyman" shows off Rinaldi and Caplan's superb driving electric guitar work, while that of "Here I Go Again" also offers a glorious opening guitar riff (assumedly by Caplan) to add to the great guitar work.. "Morning Sun" continues the trend, showing off excellent psychedelic guitar work. "Confessions (Of a Traveler Through Time,") a live offering that was to be used in a film, has an infectious opening bass riff from Jim Kane, while Rinaldi and Caplan (yet again) dominate with their guitar prowice on "(Under the Screaming Double) Eagle." Side one ends on a silly note, the very psychedelic and nonsensical "Apologies to 2069."

Side 2 is dominated by their wonderful cover of the Zombies' classic "She's Not There," a common staple in their live shows. This 9+ minute workout on it is a glorious moment for the band, as is the amazing "Kaleidoscope," noted for its use of phasing (an effect still in its infancy during this period), which is painstakingly explained in the liner notes to the lp. The track was groundbreaking and was slated to be released as a single, but before it could be, the Small Faces had released their classic "Itchycoo Park," which had very similar phasing effects. Alas, "Kaleidoscope" did not see the light of day.

The lp is an amazing look at a band at the height of its creative and musical powers. "$100 Fine" is as good an effort from 1967-1968 as many of the other lps of the era. The guitar prowice of Caplan and Rinaldi is as good a double-barrel attack as any in the 60's while Waite's powerful vocals are superb. The bass of Kane and drumming of Tom Murray is as good as it gets, as well- very tight. The results are a glorious lp.

Waite and Caplan would leave the band by the end of '68, and the revamped band would sign to a major label. 1969's "Emerge The Litter" is an excellent hard rock effort, but in comparison to this lp and their debut lp, pales in comparison.

"$100 Fine" is as good a garage/psychedelic effort as one will find. It is well worth searching out and buying. An excellent effort. By Sean M Kelly
Tracks
01 Mindbreaker 3:07
02 Tallyman 2:52
03 Here I Go Again 2:50
04 Morning Sun 2:24
05 (Under the Screaming Double) Eagle 2:39
06 Apologies to 2069 1:11
07 Kaleidoscope 2:17
08 Blues One 4:10
09 She's Not There 9:10
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This group fronted by Sean Bonniwell was one of the most gritty and serious of the exploding "60's garage punk" scene. No lame covers like other groups at the time were doing:
The Standells, The Leaves, etc. Here the group dressed in matching black clothes and wore ONE leather black glove each. Baby Michael Jackson knew nothing of them. They took their debut single "Talk Talk" as far as they could. A quick blast of self-mocking and anger. Many years later revived by huge fan ALICE COOPER on his "Flush The Fashion" lp. The group toured around and showed up on American Bandstand. Dick Clark of course was obsessed with their one glove look.

Their debut lp came out on the tiny Original Sounds label in 1966. It featured a rougher sound than say, LOVE. "Masculine Intuition" could possibily be their finest moment. Basic playing and great production should have made them big.
The group broke up and Sean found new members for the second and last lp. By that time Sean was the self-proclaimed star of the band, alone on the cover riding a homemade contraption. No band photo on the reverse. After that doomed sophomore jinx, Sean became a Born-Again Xian
extrordinare. Recording a solo lp and starting a boring Christian rock group, HEAVEN SENT. After he heard ALICE COOPER's version of "Talk Talk", he redid it himself but this time age made him more tame
01 Talk Talk 1:59
02 Trouble 2:14
03 Cherry Cherry 3:12
04 Taxman 2:34
05 Some Other Drum 2:34
06 Masculine Intuition 2:09
07 The People in Me 3:00
08 See See Rider 2:31
09 Wrong 2:20
10 96 Tears 2:18
11 Come on in 2:55
12 Hey Joe
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They toured with and/ or shared the bill with every major act of the time, including: Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Cream, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & The Holding Co. w/ Janis Joplin, C S N & Y, the Who, Frank Zappa, Jefferson Airplane, Chicago, Chuck Berry, Spirit, the Allman Bros., E.L.P., Joe Cocker, War, Linda Rondstadt, Santana, Joan Baez, Beach Boys, Steve Miller, Chambers Bros., and many others.
The group performed on all major network television shows (Red Skelton, Steve Allen, Playboy After Dark, Hollywood Palace, American Bandstand, Etc.), and at all major national rock venues and pop festivals of the time including WOODSTOCK, where they were the first band to play.

In December of 1969 their lead vocalist, Nancy Nevins, was hit by a drunken driver, suffering nearly fatal injuries including a severely damaged vocal cord. Awaiting her recovery, the band continued to gather fans with their exciting performances while releasing two more albums on Warner/ Reprise, “Just For You” and “Melon”. However, Nancy's prolonged recovery as well as other pressures forced them to eventually disband.

In 1995, following an invitation to play at WOODSTOCK II, the surviving members reunited. With founding members Alex Del Zoppo on keyboards, Fred Herrera on bass, and Nancy Nevins on lead vocals and guitar, Sweetwater now includes a strong drummer, Mike Williams, and an exciting lead guitarist, Joe Bruley, - - an instrument the group never had.

Recent response to their new music and live performances has been overwhelming. They are continuing to write and record (CD release planned), have a movie of their story being produced by VH-1, and are planning an active summer ’99 schedule. An excellent biographical source of information on the group can be found in a “Goldmine” magazine issue of June 9, 1995.
Tracks
01 Motherless Child (5:04)
02 In A Rainbow (3:17)
03 Here We Go Again (2:32)
04 My Crystal Spider (3:52)
05 For Pete's Sake (2:50)
06 Rondeau (1:15)
07 Come Take A Walk (3:48)
08 Two Worlds (3:56)
09 What's Wrong (4:00)
10 Through an Old Storybook (2:32)
11 Why Oh Why (3:00)
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Groep 1850 emerged from the renowned Dutch group Klits (short for 'clitoris') from The Hague. The line-up in 1965 consisted of: Peter Sjardin (vocals), Trevor Dirksen (guitar), Caspar Kiebert (drums), Chris Zieck (bass) & Jacques de Jong (guitar). On 1st January, 1966, the group renamed itself into Groep 1850. Their progressive music immediately revealed that the group was far ahead of its time!

In 1966, the line-up changed to: Peter Sjardin (vocals, flute, organ), Ruud van Buuren (bass, in 1969 to Livin' Blues), Daniel van Bergen (guitar & piano), Beer Klaasse (drums, ex-Kick & Defenders; in 1969 to Q65) & Rob de Rijke (bass, flute; ex-Subterraneans). In September 1967 they played at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, opening for the Mothers of Invention. The LP "Agemo's Trip To Mother Earth" was the first Dutch concept LP featuring works of poet Hans Wesseling (1968).

In 1968, the group disbanded for almost a year and then chose Amsterdam as the home base for their reunion. The new line-up consisted of: Peter and Daniel (who'd played with the Boots in the meantime) and some new members: Dave Duba (g, ex-Burning Sun), Dolf Geldof (bass, ex-Burning Sun) and jazz drummer Martin van Duynhoven (a.o. ex-Hans Dulfer). From 1971 onwards, Groep 1850 worked on and off
Group Eighteen Fifty is an interesting, if sometimes exasperating, late-'60s Dutch band who ranks among the most accomplished and original Continental rock acts of the era, though they made little impression in English-speaking territories. Starting as a more or less conventional beat band in the mid-'60s, they had taken a turn for the more psychedelic and bizarre by 1967. Determined to drive into the heart of the psychedelic beast, their songs (performed in English) are quite eclectic for the era, shifting from doom-laden tempos with growling vocals to sunny, utopian passages with breezy harmonies. The group could be roughly labeled as a mixture of the early Mothers of Invention (whom they supported at a Dutch concert in 1967) and Pink Floyd without much of a sense of humor; their songs are intriguing and not without powerful hooks, and the lyrics ambitious (if often inscrutable), but one's attention tends to wander over the course of an album, or even during their lengthier songs. Their late-'60s LPs are highly esteemed by some serious psych/progressive collectors.
Tracks
01 paradise now. 5:23
02 friday I m free. 2:55
03 hunger. 4:55
04 circle. 1:09
05 lonelyness. 2:23
06 martin en peter. 1:56
07 !. 7:06
08 purple sky. 10:53
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Dzyan’s third and last album, still as a trio and recorded in the Dierks studios and released on the legendary Bacillus label. Graced with a grotesque cartoon-like artwork, the album remains very much in the line of the previous two albums, even if they return to shorter track format resembling their debut album.
Opening with the reflective 9-mins Back Where We Came From, Electric Silence starts very strongly with Giger’s marimbas and gongs, preceding Marron’s slow increasingly–present guitar wails before Giger takes it over again. By the half of the track, the group is now in full flight with Karwatky’s bass giving a Nucleus base on which both Giger and Marron can expand and improvise. Indian music is the main influence of A Day In My Life, just as on the previous album Kabisrain. Closing up the first side is The Road Not Taken (a reference to Time Machine artwork cover?), which is downright dissonant and comes close to atonal music if it was not for Marron’s guitar wailing like an Indian sitar.

The flipside starts with an Indian-laced Khali (who’d have thought with such a name, right? ;-), where mellotrons are in the background. The same mellotrons pave the 9-min Earthly Thinking’s intro over dissonant wooden block percussions first and steel drums second, then ensues a wide improvisation with only Karwatky staying wise and providing a base, thena drum solo ending in total sonic chaos with both Marron and Karwatky also going nuts. Closing with the album’s title track (my fave) where the Mahavishnu Orchestra impressions return, reminiscing of the previous’ album title track. Compared with their previous works his album does have a more ethnic feel (mostly Indian), but aesthetically- speaking it is just as Dzyann-esque as their previous two.

Just as excellent as their first two albums, Electric Silence closes Dzyan’s recording career with an impeccable album and rounding up a very even discography where all three albums are equal in quality. It would be hard for me to choose just one album, meaning that you’d have to discard two choices as good as the one you’ve taken. So if anything, I’d suggest you start chronologically. by Sean Trane
Tracks
A1 Back To Where We Come From 8:57
A2 A Day in My Life 4:03
A3 The Road Not Taken 4:55
B1 Khali 4:56
B2 For Earthly Thinking 9:38
B3 Electric Silence 4:30
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"BULLDOG BREED - Today, London is over-flowing with pop groups. hey arrive with guitars, long hair and tight pants from all parts of the globe...all chasing that elusive "hit" record. Bulldog Breed are very representative of today's imaginative young groups. They look upon their guitars as their best friend and spend hours working out their own compositions.

What they have which many other groups lack, is the ability to compose a variety of contrasting material -ranging from obvious pop and blues, to ballads and jazz. All to be found on this exciting first album.

i watched Bulldog Breed at work for two weeks compiling this LP in a London studio, and I was impressed with their enthusiasm, their tremendous talent, and the results. But Listen to the album...it speaks for itself! ~ DAVID WIGG (Daily Express)"

Bulldog Breed released on 45 rpm single on Deram records and one LP "Made In England" for Decca's "Deram Nova" imprint, which is a masterpeice of terse, heavy guitar oriented blues rock psychedelia with some particularly dark and occult elements, "Shebas' Broomstick Ride" "Austin Ossmanspare" (the occultist and painter), some ideas about cryogenics and laser transplant surgery "Reborn" mixed with some harder pop-psych style numbers. Members had previously played in THE FLIES, PLEASE, NEON PEARL, GUN and later in T2.
Tracks
01. Paper Man - 3.20
02. Broomstick Ride - 2.22
03. I Flew - 2.49
04. Eileen´s Haberdashery Store - 2.51
05. Folder Men - 2.38
06. Dougal - 2.31
07. When The Sun Stands Still - 2.57
08. Reborn - 2.36
09. Friday Hill - 3.14
10. Silver - 2.11
11. You - 2.38
12. Top Of The Pops Cock - 2.13
13. Revenge - 2.22
14. Austin Osmanspare - 3.13
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Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out is an album credited to Timothy Leary. It consists of a narrated meditation mixed with freeform psychedelic rock music
Tracks
01 The Turn On - 2:23
02 The Tune In - 3:34
03 The Beginning Of The Voyage (Heart Chakra) - 4:01
04 Root Chakra - 2:05
05 All Girls Are Yours - 4:37
06 Freak-Out - 0:29
07 Freak-Out (Continued) - 3:53
08 Genetic Memory - 6:43
09 Re-Entry (Nirvana) - 3:10
10 Epilogue (Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out) - 2:52
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"Fried" was Julian Cope's second solo offering after desmantling the neo-psychedelic band the Teardrop Explodes and was by then the most reflective of both his electric and acoustic songwriting skills.
His psychedelic rock is here complemented by some slower acoustic numbers,somewhat reminiscent of Syd Barret's solo work.

Being less focused than"World Shut your Mouth" the album is nonetheless more varied and rewarding.

The album boasts over ten sparkling songs and is a must for anyone intrigued by Cope's music("Peggy Suicide" is the more comprehensive demonstration of his ability though).

REYNARD THE FOX-It's one of his all time best;everyone I know finds the track's chorus incredible and rightly so.The final freak out and the spoken word bit make it even better.And who besides Cope would write a song about a fox hunt focusing the fox's point of view:"The red men come again,they kill my children and they kill my wife(...)and then they leave me bleeding..." Talking about lyrical originality...

BILL DRUMMOND SAID-About the Teardrop Explodes' manager Bill Drummond,this one has some fantastic melodic twists.

LAUGHING BOY-A heart beat gives it its pulse and the track is conducted in a way that wouldn't be strange to Syd Barret.

ME SINGING-Not as slow as the previous,has some great pre-chorus action(isn't Radiohead's "Pyramid Song"riff similar?).

SUNSPOTS-The single.It didn't chart as it should have but its power is undeniable.All kinds of strange noises and instruments(an oboe?)coalesce in this unforgettable love song.

BLOODY ASSIZES-This anti death penalty song is the album's most uptempo cut and a great rocker anywhere in the world.

SEARCH PARTY-Is gentler and resembles XTC circa "English Settlement".

O KING OF CHAOS-A dramatic tune,it always makes me think of a biblical or greek tragedy setting.

HOLY LOVE-A sweet love song filled with colourful touches.

TORPEDO-An entrancing track featuring only Julian and a keyboard.

I WENT ON A CHOURNEY-A short instrumental ditty.

MIC MAK MOK-A grooving and driving tune(are the Zig Zags of the chorus a reference to the Zig Zag Wanderer known as Captain Beefheart?).

LAND OF FEAR-Reminds me"Head Hang Low" from his solo debut and is like the latter a superb Scott Walker-esque song.
Definitely worth checking out.
Tracks
1. Reynard The Fox
2. Bill Drummond Said
3. Laughing Boy
4. Me Singing
5. Sunspots
6. The Bloody Assizes
7. Search Party
8. O King Of Chaos
9. Holy Love
10. Torpedo
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Pacific Ocean Blue is Dennis Wilson's only solo album, released in 1977. After several attempts, starting in 1970, to release his own project, some of which made it to the finished album, Wilson recorded the bulk of Pacific Ocean Blue in the months spanning the fall of 1976 to the following spring. Recalling the time Wilson spent working on the album, co-producer Gregg Jakobson said, "This was when he fully accepted himself as an artist. Brian had shown him chords on the piano, but as he'd become more proficient the music that came forth was not derivative of that. Having his own studio helped tremendously. With a little encouragement, and the right tools, Dennis took off."

Wilson became the first member of The Beach Boys to undertake a solo project. Released in August 1977, Pacific Ocean Blue received glowing reviews for its depth and emotion. It also gained praise from his older brother Brian Wilson. The album also performed encouragingly in the U.S. charts peaking at #96 for a 12 week chart stay, and eventually went on to sell almost 300,000 copies It is also notable that Dennis' hard living had begun affecting his looks and more importantly his singing voice, which now delivered grainy and rough, yet still deeply soulful, vocals.Despite Wilson's pledge to record an even superior follow-up, entitled Bambu, his continuing decline into substance abuse and personal problems ensured that the album remained unfinished at the time of Wilson's drowning death in December 1983Thus, this album, alongside his pioneering work with the Beach Boys, remains a focal point of Dennis Wilson's legacy, even being referred to as a "lost classic."The album has appeared on several "Best-of" lists including Robert Dimery's "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die," Mojo's "Lost Albums You Must Own" and "70 of the Greatest Albums of the 70s" lists. In 2005, it was ranked #18 in GQ's "The 100 Coolest Albums in the World Right Now!" list.

Issued by Caribou/CBS Records on CD in 1991, Pacific Ocean Blue went out of print within a year due to ongoing disagreements over copyright ownership; the album was virtually unavailable for more than a decade. Copies of the extremely rare 1991 CD sold for over $200.

Legacy Recordings released a special 30th anniversary, 2-disc edition of Pacific Ocean Blue on June 17, 2008.[17] It includes material from the Bambu sessions.A limited edition 180-gram vinyl multi-LP box set was also released on the Sundazed label.

Despite missing the UK Album Chart on its original 1977 release, the expanded reissue of Pacific Ocean Blue entered the UK album chart at #16, also reaching #5 on the Norway album chart. In addition, the package managed to attain a high of #8 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart
Tracks
Disc One
01 River Song - 3:44
02 What's Wrong - 2:23
03 Moonshine - 2:27
04 Friday Night - 3:10
05 Dreamer - 4:23
06 Thoughts of You - 3:04
07 Time - 3:32
08 You and I - 3:25
09 Pacific Ocean Blues - 2:37
10 Farewell My Friend - 2:26
11 Rainbows - 2:48
12 End of The Show - 2:57
13 Tug Of Love - 3:44
14 Only With You - 3:57
15 Holy Man [instrumental] - 4:24
16 Mexico

Disc Two: Bambu (The Caribou Sessions)
01 Under The Moonlight - 3:55
02 It's Not Too Late - 4:22
03 School Girl - 2:31
04 Love Remember Me - 4:04
05 Love Surrounds Me - 3:40
06 Wild Situation - 2:41
07 Common - 3:34
08 Are You Real - 3:38
09 He's A Bum - 2:50
10 Cocktails - 3:00
11 I Love You - 2:02
12 Constant Companion - 3:22
13 Time For Bed - 3:07
14 Album Tag Song
15 All Alone - 3:44
16 Piano Variation on Thoughts Of You - 3:03
17 Holy Man (Taylor Hawkins Version) - 4:25
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Affenstunde is the 1970 debut recording by composer and multi-instrumentalist Florian Fricke's Popol Vuh, named for the sacred Mayan text. Affenstunde is somehow akin yet very different. The music here all seems of a piece, despite the different selection titles and the single percussion piece on the set. The sheer momentum of the title cut, which closes the album and integrates spacious electronic soundscapes, ever deepening tonalities, found taped choral vocals whispering in the background, and percussion is one of the most provocative pieces to come from the Krautrock generation. This is an auspicious debut, which holds up wonderfully in the 21st century.
1. Ich mache einen Spiegel - Dream Part 4
2. Ich mache einen Spiegel - Dream Part 5
3. Ich mache einen Spiegel - Dream Part 49
4. Affenstunde
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During the recording of ‘Statues’, The Open’s Steven Bayley split from his long-term girlfriend. Upsetting for them, but great news for us. The Open always sounded huge, but manageably huge in an early U2 and The Verve way rather than anything too exciting. Well, not anymore.

The Open have never lacked ambition, but you still have to applaud ‘Forever’, a gravity-free piece that combines Miles Davis-like trumpet with spectral piano chords and precious few words. First single, ‘We Can Never Say Goodbye’ (“Curtain’s coming down on our love”) is absolute glumness personified, but, somehow, feels strong enough to crush pain and doubt on contact. How do they do that?

The title track (“I broke you down, no sight nor sound”) is just Bayley’s voice and a guitar and is all the more startling for it. ‘Alone’ could have been pulled from the soundtrack of some existentially dour, Left Bank tragedy from 1970. ‘Season Of The Change’ is stadium-sized in its desire to reach out and touch everyone, ‘Two Lovers In The Rain’ is piano jazz-bo craziness, if you please.

‘Statues’ is, frankly, all over the shop. Too many ideas, too much energy, too many possibilities, too many wide open roads to ever settle and become boring. Or keep their girlfriends. But that’s not our problem.
Tracks
01 Forever
02 We Can Never Say Goodbye
03 Moment In Time
04 Two Lovers In The Rain
05 Statues
06 My House
07 She's Mystery
08 Seasons Of The Change
09 Fallen Tree
10 Alone
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First of all, check out the really cool artwork on the cover of Omega`s fourth album recorded in the English language at Chipping Norton studios in the UK in 1975 just as the band was gaining international popularity with an anthology also being released on Passport Records in Canada that same year.
Four of the six tracks were previously released in Hungarian on the Nem tudom a neved (Omega 6) album. One Man's Land is a reworked track which appeared under the title Unfaithful Friends in Hungarian on the controversial Omega live LP in 1971, entitled Elo.The real treat here, though is Never Feel Shame, the only track the band did not do in Hungarian with some very trippy moog and vocal at the midway point. Get ready for some really heavy synths mellotrons and organ. String arrangements added later give the album even more depth and work beautifully with the keyboard parts. Although the guitar remains for the most part supportive the bass is given some nice treatments and has a nice warm fat sound to it which will be noticed from the opening track. The only drawback on the album is the almost impossible to understand vocals a problem on many of Omega`s English recordings. Nevertheless, the album is moody and passionate. Not really a concept album but the songs seem to fit together in a way not only musically but with environmental issues and survival in a 20th Century world themes being explored. Lyric sheets would have been welcomed with Omega`s English albums of the `70s!

Arguably their proggiest album with all the ingredients of early `70s progressive rock. Although not as complex as contemporary Gentle Giant, Focus or Jethro Tull recordings the album should definitely find a certain amount of appeal for these audiences.
Tracks
1. Movin' world (6:33)
2. One man land (5:52)
3. Magician (6:03)
4. The hall of floaters in the sky (3:25)
5. Never feel shame (8:15)
6. 20th century town dweller (6:46)
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The album is a tragic rock opera about a doomed couple that addresses themes of drug use and depression. Upon its release, the response of fans and critics was not positive as many were expecting another upbeat glam outing.[citation needed] Despite lukewarm reviews the album reached #7 in the UK album chart (Reed's best achievement there). Poor sales in the US (#98) and harsh criticism made Reed abandon the album and in subsequent years he rarely played any 'Berlin' material in his live shows. Over time many have come to consider 'Berlin' to be among Lou Reed's best studio albums as a solo artist.

Musically, Berlin differs greatly from the bulk of Reed's work, due to the use of heavy orchestral arrangements, horns, and top session musicians. Instrumentally, Reed himself only contributes acoustic guitar.

"The Kids" tells of Caroline having her children taken from her by the authorities, and features the sounds of children shouting for their mother. The Waterboys take their name from a line in this song.[1]

"Sad Song" references Mary I of Scotland in its initial verses:

Staring at my picture book
She looks like Mary, Queen of Scots
She seemed very regal to me
Just goes to show how wrong you can be

As with Reed's previous two studio albums, Berlin re-drafts several songs that had been written and recorded previously. The title track first appeared on Reed's solo debut album, only here it is lyrically simplified, the key changed, and re-arranged for piano. "Oh, Jim" makes use of the Velvet Underground outtake, "Oh, Gin". "Caroline Says (II)" is a rewrite of "Stephanie Says" from VU. The Velvets had also recorded a rather sedate demo of "Sad Song", which had much milder lyrics in its original form. "Men of Good Fortune" had also been played by the Velvets as early as 1966; an archival CD featuring live performances of the band playing at Andy Warhol's Factory provides the evidence of the song's age. The CD featuring the early performance of "Men of Good Fortune" is not for sale and can only be heard at the Warhol museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Tracks
01 Berlin – 3:23
02 Lady Day – 3:40
03 Men of Good Fortune – 4:37
04 Caroline Says I – 3:57
05 How Do You Think It Feels – 3:42
06 Oh, Jim – 5:13
07 Caroline Says II – 4:10
08 The Kids – 7:55
09 The Bed – 5:51
10 Sad Song – 6:55
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I bought the LP "Of Cabbages and Kings" in the fall of 1967 because of a foolish error. I had heard a song called "Painted Dayglow Smile" that was being played almost nightly by Rosko, a disk jockey who had a popular radio show on WNEW FM in New York City. I thought that "Painted Dayglow Smile" was a really great record and I was very anxious to buy it, but I was surprised to hear Rosko reveal that it was by Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde. I had practically forgotten all about Chad and Jeremy, even though I knew that they were still around because I had recently seen them on an episode of the "Batman" television series.
Chad and Jeremy were being played on the AM radio shortly after the arrival of The Beatles. I had heard the duo's first American single release "Yesterdays Gone" in the early summer of 1964, and I liked the song as much as I liked any British Invasion records that were out at that time. I not only bought "Yesterdays Gone" when the record was released on the World Pacific label, I also purchased their follow up hits, including "A Summer Song" and "Willow Weep For Me."
Chad and Jeremy always seemed to me to be a little too polished to be just a couple of singers who strummed guitars. I remember seeing the twosome in guest starring roles on several situation comedy television series in the mid-'60`s, including "The Patty Duke Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Their comedy timing as the fictional "The Redcoats" on Van Dyke's program made me think that these Englishmen were really actors who were masquerading as rock `n' rollers.
Columbia Records signed Chad and Jeremy to a big contract in 1965, and began releasing a lot of albums and singles, including the LP "Distant Shores." I remember seeing that album in the record stores at the time, but I have to admit that I never bought any of their discs after "Willow Weep For Me." In fact, Chad and Jeremy didn't have a hit on any of the NYC top forty radio stations after Christmas, 1964.
So I found myself in late 1967 searching out the records stores for a copy of Chad and Jeremy's "Painted Dayglow Smile." I never did find it, but I did unearth the obscure album "Of Cabbages and Kings" by Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, as they were now billed. The colorful cover showed the pair of musicians dressed in Indian-like garb, and they were seated in front of a painted psychedelic background that featured characters from the Lewis Carroll poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter." I had often wondered if The Rolling Stones used the cover of "Of Cabbages and Kings" as a model for the soon to be released "Their Satanic Majesties Request."
I bought "Of Cabbages and Kings" even though I did not find "Painted Dayglow Smile" listed anywhere on the back cover. Songs with titles such as "Rest In Peace" and "The Gentle Cold of Dawn" made up most side one, and there was something called "The Progress Suite" on side two. I made the purchase thinking that maybe "Painted Dayglow Smile" was included in "The Progress Suite."
The opening of "Of Cabbages and Kings" was obviously influenced by The Beatles "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band," right down to the squeaks and groans of a tuning orchestra. Jeremy Clyde is then heard self-importantly reciting a line from Carroll's famous poem: "The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things, of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings..." (interestingly, Chad and Jeremy were talking about walruses at least three months before John Lennon sang that he is one). There is then heard the grunts of someone laboriously hammering and chiseling stone. The sound effects finally lead into the opening strains of "Rest In Peace," with lyrics like "my name it is Mathews, and I've got it made, a memorial maker, it's a profitable trade...".
I listened to all of the ballads and satirical songs on side one, including "Busman's Holiday" and "Can I See You." There was also a funny song about teenage pregnancy, which I liked very much. I noticed that a lot of the songs featured the then trendy sounds of sitars and tablas, and there was also a lot of Sergeant Pepper-like special effects added to the tracks, like babies crying and crowd noises. I flipped the LP over, and listened to "The Progress Suite," which featured a lot of social commentary and humor that I really did not understand. I then realized that I had been duped; "Painted Dayglow Smile" was nowhere to be found on "Of Cabbages and Kings."
Despite my faux pas, I had my LP copy of "Of Cabbages and Kings" for over twenty years. I still liked to listen to it on occasion, especially side one. I always thought that Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde were very underrated, and I was not surprised to see the Sundazed record label reissue "Of Cabbages and Kings."
Chad and Jeremy released yet another concept LP on Columbia Records in the late summer of 1968 called "The Ark." I was amazed to see "Painted Dayglow Smile" listed on the album's back. I bought "The Ark" and upon listening to it realized that "Painted Dayglow Smile" had been re-recorded in stereo. To make matters worse, this version was ruined, at least for me, with a lot of annoying and weird sound effects. So now I had purchased two Chad and Jeremy LP's and I still did not get the song I wanted.
Thirty four years later, I was able to purchase the Sundazed CD release of "Of Cabbages and Kings" which includes a bonus track of the original Columbia Records 45 RPM version of "Painted Dayglow Smile" (the one Rosko played on the radio so many years ago.) After all these years, "Painted Dayglow Smile" is back where it belongs.
By Gary Weinraub
Tracks
1. Rest In Peace
2. The Gentle Cold Of Dawn
3. Busman's Holiday
4. Can I See You
5. Family Way
6. I'll Get Around To It When And If I Can
7. Progress Suite: Prologue
8. Progress Suite: Decline
9. Progress Suite: Editorial
10. Progress Suite: Fall
11. Progress Suite: Epilogue
12. Manners Maketh Man
13. Cautionary Tale
14. The Gentle Cold Of Dawn (instrumental)
15. Rest In Piece (single version)
16. Painted Dayglow Smile
17. Sister Marie
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While The Ark contained nothing quite as elaborate as "The Progress Suite" that had taken up one whole side of Of Cabbages and Kings, it was another psychedelic mishmash of styles -- Indian one minute, musichall the next -- of a kind so many popular performers had been indulging in at the time in hopes of making the next Sgt. Pepper. The difference was that most of Chad & Jeremy's peers had gotten it out of their systems the year before. But C&J were upper-class types who took naturally to the pretensions of the form -- they thought they were making Art. Their listeners thought differently: The Ark missed the charts, and Chad & Jeremy broke up
Tracks
1. The Emancipation of Mr. X
2. Sunstroke
3. The Ark
4. The Raven
5. Imagination
6. Painted Dayglow Smile
7. Pipe Dream
8. Translantic Trauma 1966
9. Sidewalk Requiem, Los Angeles June 5th and 6th
10. Pantheistic Study for Guitar and Large Bird
11. Paxton Quigley's Had the Course
12. You Need Feet
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Between 1965's Maiden Voyage and 1968's Speak Like a Child, Herbie Hancock was consumed with his duties as part of the Miles Davis Quintet, who happened to be at their creative and popular peak during those three years. When Hancock did return to a leadership position on Speak Like a Child, it was clear that he had assimilated not only the group's experiments, but also many ideas Miles Davis initially sketched out with Gil Evans. Like Maiden Voyage, the album is laid-back, melodic, and quite beautiful, but there are noticeable differences between the two records. Hancock's melodies and themes have become simpler and more memorable, particularly on the title track, but that hasn't cut out room for improvisation. Instead, he has found a balance between accessible themes and searching improvisations that work a middle ground between post-bop and rock. Similarly, the horns and reeds are unconventional. He has selected three parts -- Thad Jones' flügelhorn, Peter Phillips' bass trombone, Jerry Dodgion's alto flute -- with unusual voicings, and he uses them for tonal texture and melodic statements, not solos. The rhythm section of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Mickey Roker keeps things light, subtle, and forever shifting, emphasizing the hybrid nature of Hancock's original compositions. But the key to Speak Like a Child is in Hancock's graceful, lyrical playing and compositions, which are lovely on the surface and provocative and challenging upon closer listening. [This version of the album includes bonus material.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Tracks
1. Riot
2. Speak Like a Child
3. First Trip - Herbie Hancock, Carter, Ron [1]
4. Toys
5. Goodbye to Childhood
6. The Sorcerer
7. Riot (first alternate take)
8. Riot (second alternate take)
9. Goodbye to childhood (Alternate take)
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After Froese and Schulze parted company in 1970, the band was lucky to find a replacement in Christopher Franke, an extremely talented musician, who will be one of the first people on earth to explore the power of synthesizers and translate technology into musical notes. From 1970 Franke and Froese will constitute a nucleus of the Tangerine Dream band, accompanied by more or less important temporary members. Unfortunately, after 18 years, their cooperation ended abruptly, with no particular benefit for what remained of Tangerine Dream.
Alpha Centauri, their second album, is a significant step forward in their career. The first change one notices immediately after turning the album on, is the quality of the sound. Unlike its predecessor, this album was not recorded in an old factory warehouse, but in a studio. Guitar is not a dominant sound anymore - it is messed into the musical texture that in turn consists of landscapes created by VCS3 synthesizer performed by Franke and "church-like" organs maneuvered by both Froese and Schroyder, the latter having a very temporary adventure with Tangerine Dream. Still, there is lots of experimental stuff in this recording. One does not have to look far - the whole "side B" of vinyl consists of a single, title track that does not possess a musical leading line. It is hard to digest only at the first trial or for "unaccustomed ears". Do not give up, however. Come back to Alpha Centauri every now and then and maybe, as I certainly hope, you will find a fly in a collision with Comas Sola somewhat attractive, even if pure historical reasons are not convincing for you at this time.

The second track is the most structured, which seems to be against their hitherto worshipped motto of complete freedom. Under heavy stratum of organs, we can dig the buried neoromantic tune - trying to catch it is by itself a pastime. Then they slowly progress with pompous symphonic schwung that culminates in hysteric looping of the tune and organs and blasted altogether with acoustic percussion solo by Christopher Franke. The whole album ends with German recitative. I love this language, although I understand as much as from Eskimo.
Tracks
1. Sunrise in the Third System - Tangerine Dream, Franke, Christopher
2. Fly and Collision of Comas Sola - Tangerine Dream, Froese, Edgar
3. Alpha Centauri - Tangerine Dream, Froese, Edgar
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Holly's debut album and it's great, dark and beautiful. What more can we say! Released June 1995.

Holly Golightly (real name) started her musical career as a founder member of all girl garage band Thee Headcoatees, a Billy Childish / Thee Headcoats splinter group in 1991.

She spent four years as a Headcoatee before breaking away to release her debut record, The Good Things, in 1995. Where the Headcoatees sound was a blend of girl group sounds and three-chord garage-rock with all the original songs coming from the pen of Billy Childish, Holly's solo sound is more a blend of pre-rock electric blues, folk rock, and less frantic rock & roll.

Apart from the wide range of covers of such artists as Willie Dixon, Ike Turner, Lee Hazelwood, Wreckless Eric, and Bill Withers, Golightly also writes all her own material.

Holly Golightly is definitely the most interesting and diverse artist to come out of the Billy Childish school and is certainly one of the better singer/songwriters of the post-grunge era who gets better with every album.

Since her debut in 1995, Golightly has been very prolific, releasing 13 long play records and loads of singles for a wide variety of labels as well as touring America eight times as well as Australia & Europe.
Tracks
1. Virtually Happy
2. Listen
3. Wherever You Were - Holly Golightly, Malane
4. The Good Things
5. Expert
6. Comedy Time - Holly Golightly, Goulden, Eric
7. Hold On
8. Without You
9. Anyotherway
10. The Ride #2
11. Every Word
12. The Last Time
13. Charm
14. Headstart
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Although this band is largely responsible for defining the circa 1990 rave culture, their music is far removed from the bass-heavy electronica usually associated with dance clubs. Ten songs on this album are characterized by lazy tempos, groovy bass hooks, and artfully simple percussion tracks which interact perfectly to form smooth, danceable beats. The rhythmic foundation is further accented by tasteful guitar licks and restrained keyboard parts. Their lyrical content tends to be a little dark, even seedy for exstacy fueled dance parties. The flat, nearly spoken vocal arrangements mesh with the rest of the musical stew. --Michael A. Massa
Tracks
1. Kinky Afro
2. God's Cop
3. Donovan
4. Grandbag's Funeral
5. Loose Fit
6. Dennis and Lois
7. Bob's Yer Uncle
8. Step On - Happy Mondays, Kongos, John
9. Holiday
10. Harmony
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The End is an album by Nico, released in 1974. The album is titled The End... on the cover. It was her fourth release, as well as her fifth collaboration with John Cale and third with him as producer. The album was her darkest, most caustic work yet. It carried the same organic, harmonium-based gothic music heard on The Marble Index and Desertshore, but went one step further with the addition of Brian Eno's synthesizers and electronics. The mix of Nico's gloomy, hypnotic melodies and Eno's synthetic droning, as heard on "Innocent and Vain", produced an atmosphere of brooding apocalyptic destruction. Other songs that aren't as violently dramatic have a lingering distortion to them. "You Forgot To Answer" tells of the misery felt when she failed to reach ex-lover Jim Morrison by phone only to find out later that he had died. It's a simple mix of her vocals, Phil Manzanera's guitar, Cale's piano and Eno's synthesizer death-moans. The sound conjures up the Weimar Republic, with melodies reminiscent of Kurt Weill and angular, distorted electronics symbolic of Expressionism.

All but two of the songs on the album were written by Nico: a cover of the Doors' "The End" and the German national anthem "Das Lied der Deutschen", sung as a form of protest in behalf of terrorist Andreas Baader. Her interpretation of the national song which has been considered by some critics as the most significant interpretation of a patriotic anthem since Hendrix's performance in Woodstock, 1969. In retrospect, The End is a precursor to acts such as early Death In June and subsequently the neofolk movement, that blend European folk and classical with cutting-edge electronic experimentation.

The front and back covers feature stills from the Philippe Garrel film, Les hautes solitudes (1974), which Nico appeared in.
Tracks
01 It Has Not Taken Long
02 Secret Side
03 You Forget To Answer
04 Innocent and Vain
05 Valley of the Kings
06 We've Got The Gold
07 The End
08 Das Lied Der Deutschen
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