various artists - Son Of Gathering Of The Tribe (1969)

Son of Gathering of the Tribe

Be a Caveman: The Best of the Voxx Garage Revival (Garage/Psych/Indie compilation)

From 1979 onward, the Voxx label has been the home of more 1960s garage revivalist bands than any other company, although the label's activities tapered off in the early '90s. This is a 27-song survey of Voxx's output (excluding the actual '60s garage bands whose material it reissued occasionally). Many of these names were among the best-known groups in this rather insular movement, such as DMZ, the Crawdaddys, the Barracudas, Plan 9, the Unclaimed, the Pandoras, the Tell Tale Hearts, the Fuzztones, the Cynics, and the Chesterfield Kings. There are a few names that might be unfamiliar to those steeped in the style, like the Time Beings, the Leopards, the Event, and the Laughing Soup Dish. But even if you're the purist who only wants to hear the original 1960s garage recordings, you'll probably recognize most of these bands, if only because so many of them advertised in (and wrote for) fanzines detailing obscure 1960s garage music. The music on this disc? It's a cliché by now to note that it's not as exciting as the obscure 1960s recordings it's modeled on, but that's no less valid a statement than it ever was. Those songs that are covers of old nuggets don't match the original versions; much of the original material sounds like form without the content. Some non-standard garage influences peek through occasionally, such as surf, punk, and polished late-'60s British psychedelia, but for the most part it's bluesy, simple 1966-style ranting. the Leopards' late-'60s Kinks-style vaudeville-mod satire "Psychedelic Boy" really stands out (refreshingly so) in this context as something a little different. Should you want just one overview sampler of the genre, though, this -- despite the absence of some of the more celebrated names, such as the Lyres -- has got to be the best one out there.  

Track List

1. Left In The Dark - Vertebrats

2. Can't Stand The Pain - DMZ

3. There She Goes Again - Crawdaddys

4. This Ain't My Time - Barracudas

5. I'm Not There - Plan 9

6. Run From Home - Unclaimed

7. Melvin - Pandoras

8. Spooky - Gravedigger V

9. It's Not Me - Tell Tale Hearts

10. One Step Closer To You - Miracle Workers

11. Why Don't You Love Me - Time Beings

12. Green Slime - Fuzztones

13. I'll Make You Sorry - Odds

14. Nothing's From Today - Vipers

15. Waste Of Time - Cynics

16. Are You Gonna Be There - Chesterfield Kings

17. Dr. Syn - Stomachmouths

18. Bye Bye Baby - Wombats

19. Teenage Lima Bean - Laughing Soup Dish

20. Midnight Hour - Hypstrz

21. Fun In The Summer - Surf Trio

22. She Only Knows - Eyes Of Mind

23. Can't Get Enough - Things

24. Psychedelic Boy - Leopards

25. Living So Dead - Steppes

26. She's Our Girl - Event

27. Be A Caveman - Dwarves

AMG Review by Richie Unterberger

Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (1998)

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is one of the handful of genuine blockbusters in pop/rock history, selling over 40 million copies around the world in 20 years, which means that most musicians have heard it at least once, even if they were not influenced by it. Keeping that in mind, it would seem that Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours -- a track by track re-recording of the album by contemporary artists -- had the potential to be a collection of diverse reinterpretations of familiar songs. Instead, it's a bunch of adult contemporary and adult alternative pop/rock artists primarily sticking to the original arrangements. Some groups do shake it up a bit -- Matchbox 20 recasts "Never Going Back Again" in minor chords, the Goo Goo Dolls rock up "I Don't Want to Know" -- but for the most part, the interpretations follow the original recording. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- Elton John's "Don't Stop," Shawn Colvin's "The Chain" and Duncan Sheik's "Songbird" are all pleasant -- but it doesn't make the album particularly interesting, either. Of course, it would have been hard to record a new version of Rumours that betters the original, but this tribute is so predictable that it's a little numbing.

1	Tonic -	Second Hand News	3:31
2	Corrs, The -	Dreams	4:12
3	Matchbox20* -	Never Going Back Again	3:45
4	Elton John -	Don't Stop	4:39
5	Cranberries, The -	Go Your Own Way	4:02
6	Duncan Sheik -	Songbird	3:26
7	Chain, The -	Shawn Colvin	3:39
8	Jewel -	You Make Loving Fun	5:09
9	Goo Goo Dolls -	I Don't Want To Know	3:37
10	Tallulah -	Oh Daddy	5:10
11	Sister Hazel -	Gold Dust Woman	6:37

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Hallucinations (Psych-Pop Compilation)

Producer Andrew Sandoval has pulled together twenty-four superb psych-pop tracks from the WEA vaults, including sides culled from master tapes of Warner, Reprise, Loma, Atco, Valiant, and Cotillion. The focus is on singles, with a few album tracks mixed in, and primarily from artists who were either unknown, or were stepping outside their regular domain for an experimental run down the psychedelic highway. Some of the best known names here are those of the session producers, including Lenny Waronker, Jerry Yester, Don & Phil Everly, Don Adrissi, Jimmy Bowen, Joey Levine, Curt Boettcher, and Richard Perry.

Better known artists, like The Tokens, are represented by sides that step away from their familiar hits, and the one-off singles and rare album tracks explore lesser known sides of the commercial psych boom. Though recorded in proper studios for major labels, these tracks still temper their hit-seeking with a healthy dollop of experimental. The key years of 1966 through 1968 yield an entire program of psych-tinged folk and sunshine rock, heavy on the harmonies and studio craft.

Highlights include the trippy vocals, space sounds and discothËque beat of Baker Knight's "Hallucinations," the raga jangle of Adrian Pride's "Her Name is Melody," the funky "Straight Aero" by Jeff Thomas, the jugband-styled harmonies of MC^2's "My Mind Goes High," the Sgt. Pepper-esque "Lucifer" from future Ohio Express mastermind Joey Levine, and the droning "Hell Will Take Care of Her" from Brass Buttons. Fans of the mid-80s paisley underground, particularly The Rain Parade, early Bangles and Three O'Clock, will find this volume familiar and compelling.

'60s folk fans will want to check out the Curt Boettcher-produced cover of Bob Gibson and Phil Ochs' "That's the Way It's Gonna Be," complete with a variable-speed guitar and backward koto instrumental break. Songwriter Paul Williams' debuts as a performer on The Holy Mackerel's "Wildflowers," complete with Leslie-fied lead vocals, and the original mono single mix of The Monkees' "Porpoise Song" makes it's CD debut. Producer Sandoval lovingly documents each side with details on the band and the circumstances of the track's creation. The insert booklet also includes many photos and label reproductions, and the purpose-built tri-fold digipack features a neat pop-art color wheel. Originally issued by Rhino Handmade as "Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults," this has been reissued with a minor track change in the UK under the title, "My Mind Goes High." [Source Unknown]

01. Hallucinations - Baker Knight, Baker Knight, Baker Knight
02. It's Love - Misty Wizards
03. Break Away - Next Exit
04. Looking at a Baby - Collectors
05. Her Name Is Melody - Adrian Pride
06. Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies - The Association
07. Lantern Gospel - The World Column
08. Who Planted Thorns in Miss Alice's Garden - Tom Northcott
09. Man of Straw - John Wonderling
10. White Pony - Ellen Margulies
11. Straight Aero - Jeff Thomas
12. My Mind Goes High - M.C.2
13. Hell Will Take Care of Her
14. Lucifer - The Salt
15. Strangers from the Sky - Kim Fowley
16. Antique Doll - The Electric Prunes
17. Astrologically Incompatible - The Bonniwell Music Machine
18. How Nice? - The Tokens
19. Your Love Belongs to Everyone - Los Coronados
20. That's the Way It's Gonna Be - Lee Mallory
21. House of Glass - The Glass Family
22. Wildflowers - The Holy Mackerel
23. Porpoise Song - The Monkees
24. Smell of Incense - The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

Post by ChrisGoesRock