Pisces - A Lovely Sight (Late 60's US Psychedelia)

Though it's primarily known for its "eccentric soul" reissues, the founders of Chicago's Numero Group label also have a deep and abiding love for the wildly inventive and genre-blurring qualities of vintage psychedelic rock, and with their latest release, they've unearthed as brilliant a buried treasure as I've ever heard from the fertile period that followed "Sgt. Pepper's" and the much-vaunted Summer of Love.

Hardly a hippie haven, the psychedelic trip as interpreted in Rockford, Ill., circa 1969 was darker, grittier and on occasion more sinister and threatening than anything heard in sunny San Francisco--not for nothing does Numero describe the group of studio musicians who called themselves Pisces as aiming for "the Beatles and Jefferson Airplane, but somehow sounding more like the Velvet Underground's meth'd out Midwest cousin." As with the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, that hint of menace makes the group's journey toward the white light all the more powerful.

Previously heard only on three ultra-rare 45's issued back in the day--the group's one album remained unreleased until this collection--Pisces' other big asset is the warm, robust Earth Mother voice of sometimes vocalist Linda Bruner, who shines on tracks such as the enchanting "Dear One," the lovely "Say Goodbye to John" and the haunting "Sam." The band was not immune to the indulgences of the times--a song like "Mary" sinks under the weight of all that phasing and studio trickery, while the somber spoken-word bit in "Genesis II" would have been better left to the Moody Blues. But overall, the enduring melodies and unique ambience of "A Lovely Sight" sound as vibrant and relevant today as they did four decades ago.

The Numero Group may be more popularly defined by their various soul and funk compilations, such as the ongoing Eccentric Soul series, but for me, the most rewarding releases from the label have more often come via the excavation of decades-old fringe acts almost too obscure to even be considered undiscovered. Previous entries in the catalogue have spotlighted such musical footnotes as Antena, Catherine Howe, the original Yellow Pills compilation, Kansas Cityís Titan pop label, and most illuminating for me, the Wayfaring Strangers: Ladies from the Canyon collection, which rescued over a dozen female folk singers from the early 70s post-hippie wash-out.

Numeroís latest non-soul resurrection comes in the form of late-60s psych-pop group Pisces, who kicked around the Rockford, Illinois scene for a few years before bowing out without a whimper or even an album to their name. Adding to the romanticized back-story, the Pisces tapes which make up this compilation could still feasibly be rotting away in an Illinois basement somewhere if not for the luck of the Numero Group, who coincidentally ran across a handful of Pisces singles as they researched the bandís fledgling label, Vincent Records, presumably for an upcoming selection of highlights from the short-lived imprint.

As is the case with nearly anything Numero unearths, the music itself must stand up to modern scrutiny, as it can become too easy to elevate the status of these ¸ber-obscure acts, many of which could well be unknown for a reason. Thankfully, Pisces left behind a strong, trippy and frequently enchanting collection of psych-pop curiosities, and as always, Numero has painstakingly compiled these tracks into one revealing document, which here theyíve dubbed A Lovely Sight, after the studio run by Pisces co-leaders Jim Krein and Paul DeVenti.

As I mentioned earlier, Pisces never got around to releasing an actual album, so whatís interesting about A Lovely Sight is that Numero has taken the liberty of sequencing a selection of 13 Pisces tracks into a kind-of revisionist full-length. Theyíve done a considerable job in my view, as A Lovely Sight plays out as seamlessly as anyone could have hoped, with two distinct sides and even an Extended Play appendix, adding two additional tracks to this mock-album. And of course, the entire package is immaculate, with detailed liner notes and a handful of suitably psychedelic photos adding to the druggy nostalgia.

But back to the music, which is not only consistently strong, but also rendered in surprising clarity, as to accentuate every backwards guitar line and hand-manipulated tape experiment. The bandís occasional forays with these hallucinatory tape editing techniques remind me most directly of their contemporaries in The United States of America. But whereas USA utilized the kaleidoscopic aspects of these experiments to stretch out into lengthier head-trip excursions, Pisces use them in service of stand-alone pop songs. And these pop songs are, through and through, equally reminiscent of post-Rubber Soul Beatles, Nico-fronted Velvet Underground ballads, and Jefferson Airplane-style psych-rock rave-ups.

Early album highlight ìMotley Mary Annî on its own could pass for a Revolver outtake and in all seriousness could actually make a convincing argument for that same level of pop perfectionism. These Krein and DeVenti-led tracks are all charmingly left-of-center pop oddities, but itís when they hand the reigns over to a mysterious female vocalist by the name of Linda Bruner that Pisces really begins to add a unique dimension to their proto-typical garage psych sound. Bruner recorded vocals for four Krein/DeVenti originals, and her earth-mother sighs add an ominous atmosphere to opener ìDear One,î while her more operatic flair comes to the fore on the thrilling combo of ìSay Goodbye to Johnî and ìSam.î

Despite these considerable highlights, A Lovely Sight ends with arguably its two best tracks: ìElephant Eyesî is a steadily skipping garage-rock number of a fairly high order, and if Pisces werenít so obscure Iíd swear the Black Lips had lifted its woozy nonchalance for blatant use on their latest album; and closer ìCircle of Timeî brings things full circle, both thematically and lyrically, doubling back on ìDear Oneî and quite easily standing out as the most energetic and rocking of the tracks in this set (complete with a dizzying drum solo). It truly does sound like some sort of alternate reality hit, where Jefferson Airplane never took off and Vincent Records had the means to distribute the single outside the insulated Rockford community.

A Lovely Sight is certainly one of the stronger Numero pop/rock releases thus far, and one that will no doubt satisfy those clamoring for more from this seemingly endless well of Nuggets-style psychedelic pop. And Pisces can now stand apart from their equally obscure brethren in that their legacy wonít have to amount to a single track as part of a gargantuan box set sans context, but rather as a fully told story, complete with 15 examples of their pop ingenuity. It really is a lovely sight, and one that the Numero Group has now made a whole lot easier to admire.

01. Dear One
02. Children Kiss Your Mother Goodnight
03. Motley Mary Ann
04. Say Goodbye To John
05. Mary
06. Genesis II
07. Sam
08. Music Box
09. Like a Hole In The Wall Where The Rat Lives
10. Are You Changing In Your Time
11. In the Dreams Of Paula
12. Elephant Eyes
13. Circle Of Time
14. Flower For All Seasons
15. In The Summer The Grape Grows

Post by CGR

Incredible String Band - The Incredible String Band (Incredible debut Folk-Rock album 1966)

The debut release from the original Incredible String Band trio -- Robin Williamson (violin/whistle/mandolin/guitar/vocals), Clive Palmer (banjo/guitar/vocals), and Mike Heron (guitar/vocals) -- was also their most simple. It is this minimalism that allowed the natural radiance of the band's (mostly) original material to be evident in the purist sense, and likewise without many of the somewhat intricate distractions and musical tangents that their future work would incorporate. Immediately striking is the group's remarkable and collective prowess on seemingly all things stringed -- hence, their apropos moniker. With an unmistakable blend of distinct instrumentation and harmony vocals, the Incredible String Band take inspiration from traditional music on both sides of the Atlantic. Their impish charm and tongue-in-cheek fairytale mythology also add to their folkie mystique. This first long-player -- originally issued in 1966 -- contains a bevy of songs that, while steeped in conventional folk music, are completely unique. This likewise holds true for the three traditional pieces, "Schaeffer's Jig," "Whistle Tune," and the rare Clive Palmer instrumental solo, "Niggertown." Palmer, formerly of the highly underrated Famous Jug Band, would exit the Incredible String Band after this record, and thus the perpetually rotating personnel that would guide the group for the remainder of its existence began, perhaps aptly, at the beginning. The original songs range from light and airy love ballads -- such as the Williamson solo "Womankind" or the understated mischief of "Dandelion Blues" -- to the high and lonesome sound of Mike Heron's mandolin-driven "How Happy I Am." There are likewise darker -- yet no less poignant -- tunes such as "Empty Pocket Blues" and the haunting "Good As Gone." While this album is a tremendous launch pad for potential enthusiasts, be aware that every Incredible String Band recording is also extremely individual and reflects the current membership of the group.

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

July - 2nd of July (Unissued material from 1967 - British Psychedelia)

July started out in the early '60s as an Ealing-based skiffle act working under the name of the Playboys, and then metamorphosed into an R&B outfit known as the Thoughts and then the Tomcats, through which John "Speedy" Keen passed as a drummer. The final Tomcats lineup, which evolved out of an unrecorded band known as the Second Thoughts, found some success in Spain when they went to play a series of gigs in Madrid in 1966. They returned to England in 1968, the group's lineup consisting of Tony Duhig on guitar, John Field on flute and keyboards, Tom Newman on vocals, Alan Jamesplaying bass, and Chris Jackson on drums, and changed they their name to July. The band lasted barely a year, leaving behind one of the most sought-after LPs of the British psychedelic boom (on the Major Minor label in England, and Epic Records in the U.S. and Canada).

Their sound was a mix of trippy, lugubrious psychedelic meanderings, eerie, trippy vignettes ("Dandelion Seeds," "My Clown"), and strange, bright electric-acoustic textured tracks ("Friendly Man"), with some dazzling guitar workouts (Crying Is for Writers") for good measure, all spiced with some elements of world music, courtesy of Tony Duhig (who has since come to regard July as an embarrassing element in his resume). Their first single, "My Clown" b/w "Dandelion Seeds," has come to be considered a classic piece of psychedelia while the album is just plain collectable, despite some shortcomings. The band separated in 1969, with Duhig moving on to Jade Warrior, Newman becoming a well-respected engineer, with Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells to his credit, and bassist Alan James later working with Cat Stevens and Kevin Coyne, among others. Of the various reissues, Bam-Caruso's 1987 Dandelion Seeds is the most accessible, with Essex's The Second of July consisting of previously unissued recordings from 1967.

01. You Missed it All - 1.57
02. My Clown - 2.31
03. Dandelion Seeds - 2.40
04. Stamping Machine - 1.41
05. (A) Bird Lived - 1.54
06. Look At Her - 2.17
07. The Way - 2.03
08. Friendly Man - 2.01
09. I See - 2.23
10. The Girl in The CafÈ - 1.57
11. You See Me I See You - 2.11
12. Man Outside - 3.27
13. Move On Sweet Flower - 2.10
14. Hello to Me - 2.13

AMG Review by Bruce Eder

July - July (1968 Excellent British Psychedelia)

They started out as a skiffle act from Ealing, called The Playboys and then became a R&B combo The Tomcats. John (Speedy) Keen was in them for a while. In 1966, The Tomcats went to Spain with a new line-up (the future July one). As Los Tomcats, they got in the Charts with four EPs, one of which was all in Spanish! They returned to the UK in 1968, still basing themselves in Ealing.

July recorded what has become one of the most sought-after British psychedelic sixties albums. Twenty-five years on time has not been kind to all the tracks (e.g. Jolly Mary) but overall it's well worth purchasing for its eerie brand of psychedelia (on Dandelion Seeds and My Clown) and some fine psychedelic guitar work (Crying Is For Writers). More accessible are the Bam-Caruso reissue, which was put out in a different sleeve, and the Aftermath CD reissue. Both also include the second 45, which wasn't on the first album. Duhig and Field went on to be in Jade Warrior and Tom Newman later released solo albums on Virgin and Decca. He also set up Branson's Manor Studios and engineered Tubular Bells I and II. Duhig was also later in Assagai. Alan James went on to play for Cat Stevens, Duffy Power, Neil Innes and Kevin Coyne. They were managed by Spencer Davis.

July started out in the early '60s as an Ealing-based skiffle act working under the name of the Playboys, and then metamorphosed into an R&B outfit known as the Thoughts and then the Tomcats, through which John "Speedy" Keen passed as a drummer. The final Tomcats lineup, which evolved out of an unrecorded band known as the Second Thoughts, found some success in Spain when they went to play a series of gigs in Madrid in 1966. They returned to England in 1968, the group's lineup consisting of Tony Duhig on guitar, John Field on flute and keyboards, Tom Newman on vocals, Alan Jamesplaying bass, and Chris Jackson on drums, and changed they their name to July. The band lasted barely a year, leaving behind one of the most sought-after LPs of the British psychedelic boom (on the Major Minor label in England, and Epic Records in the U.S. and Canada). Their sound was a mix of trippy, lugubrious psychedelic meanderings, eerie, trippy vignettes ("Dandelion Seeds," "My Clown"), and strange, bright electric-acoustic textured tracks ("Friendly Man"), with some dazzling guitar workouts (Crying Is for Writers") for good measure, all spiced with some elements of world music, courtesy of Tony Duhig (who has since come to regard July as an embarrassing element in his resume). Their first single, "My Clown" b/w "Dandelion Seeds," has come to be considered a classic piece of psychedelia while the album is just plain collectable, despite some shortcomings. The band separated in 1969, with Duhig moving on to Jade Warrior, Newman becoming a well-respected engineer, with Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells to his credit, and bassist Alan James later working with Cat Stevens and Kevin Coyne, among others. Of the various reissues, Bam-Caruso's 1987 Dandelion Seeds is the most accessible, with Essex's The Second of July consisting of previously unissued recordings from 1967.

Post by CGR

Xit - Entrance (Late 60's group of Sioux Indians from Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Fantastic rare album of some beautiful previously unreleased pre-Lincoln Street Exit tracks recorded from 1967-68 and released in 1974 by the Phoenix based Canyon Records after XIT’s two Rare Earth releases. (Max Collodie)

Track Listing

1. Half A Man
2. Open Doorway
3. Yellow Man Of Paris
4. She’s Upon Her Way
5. Orange Benevolence
6. Mississippi Riverboat Gamblin’ Man
7. Sunny Sunday Dream
8. Soulful Drifter
9. St. Louis Mama
10. Forever Or Not At All
11. She’s My Everything

http://www.redtelephone66.com/2010/11/xit-entrance-1974/

Hard Stuff - Bulletproof (1972 British Hard Rock)

John Cann, the guitarist for Hard Stuff, came hot off the heels of Atomic Rooster, a hard driving prog rock group led by keyboardist mastermind, Vincent Crane. Hard Stuff's Bulletproof, which was released under Deep Purple's Purple Label in 1972, was considerably heavier with thick mounds of aggressive guitar chords and lightning fast leads. The music itself is very rooted in the 70s and doesn't age as well as say, Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. But that's really if your ear is untrained to true 70s hard rock authenticity. Hard Stuff is to Blairwitch Project as Led Zeppelin is to Nightmare on Elm Street, with the latter being more raw, gritty, and not filtered through big production values and commercialism. Songs on the album like the hard hitting blues fest 'Sinister Minister' or the heavy metal self-document 'Time Gambler', convey a sense of soul, strength, and edginess which seem to be missing in most of today's contemporary hard rock music. To sum up, if you want to experience the vintage sounds of of an obscure long-haired, 70's metal group, then this is it.

1. Jay Time

2. Sinister Minister

3. No Witch At All

4. Taken Alive

5. Time Gambler (Rodney)

6. Millionaire

7. Monster In Paradise

8. Hobo

9. Mr Longevity - Rip

10. Provider - Part One

http://www.amazon.com/Bulletproof-Hard-Stuff/dp/B0009YNR7K

David Sylvian/Robert Fripp - Damage (1993 Fine Art-Rock)

Damage is derived from the closing shows of the 1993 Road to Graceland tour, which heralded the collaborative reunion of King Crimson's Robert Fripp (guitar) with David Sylvian (guitar/keyboards/vocals), the former leader of Japan. This hour-plus set finds Sylvian in tremendous voice and Fripp sonically enveloping spaces and respecting silences in a bout of well-manicured fretwork. The pair is augmented by soon-to-be Krim members Pat Mastelotto (drums) and Trey Gunn (Chapman stick/vocals) as well as former Martha & the Muffins axeman Michael Brook (guitar). The contrast in styles from Fripp's ethereal Soundscapes and edgy guitar inflections to Sylvian's smoother and refined demeanor is reminiscent of Brian Eno's early collaborations with Roxy Music. The fact that both know how to manipulate the spaces between the notes unites them further. Damage is full of those moments; so many, in fact, it is amazing that Fripp and Sylvian do not make the time to work together more often. "Firepower" contains a premier example of exactly how each craftsman is able to compliment the other. Fripp's extended solos at the end of the piece are definitive and singularly his own, yet the context in which he approaches his role as soloist yields an overwhelmingly palpable symbiosis between music and musician(s). Likewise, listeners who consider Fripp a calculated and overtly technical guitarist might be shocked by his cerebrally funky additions to tracks such as "God's Monkey" and "20th Century Dreaming (A Shaman's Song)." The syncopated nature of the melodies allows for a great deal of interplay and collaboration between Gunn and Mastelotto -- a trait they'd further incorporate into the mid-'90s version of King Crimson.

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

UFO - No Heavy Petting (1976 Great Hard-Rock)

Following the breakout success of Phenomenon and Force It, UFO had finally ascended to the first division of British hard rock. And after hiring a second guitarist and keyboard player in Danny Peyronnel, Schenker and Mogg led the group back into the studio to record their fifth album, No Heavy Petting. A noticeably cautious effort, Petting stuck so close to the rules laid down by Force It that all the excitement of the band's performance wound up slipping through the cracks. Gutsy opener "Natural Thing" was competent enough to become a concert regular, but lukewarm material like "Can You Roll Her" and "Reasons Love" simply added nothing new. And bass player Pete Way didn't help things any with his only contribution, the plodding, amazingly dull "On with the Action." Even the album's best moment, the beautifully executed "I'm a Loser" (which unleashes Schenker for one of his most jaw-dropping solos ever), mimics Force It's "Out in the Street" before closing with a piano pattern straight out of progressive rockers Kansas' "No One Together." The overly dramatic "Belladonna" (complete with synthesizer-simulated harpsichord), on the other hand, is mostly a casualty of time; the kind of ballad that was effective enough in its time, but simply hasn't aged well. Thankfully, UFO would rebound in spades the following year, delivering their best all-around studio effort, Lights Out

AMG Review by Eduardo Rivadavia

801 - Live-The Rehearsal Version (Extra CD with the rehearsal version of the classic live of 1976)

801 provided Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera with one of his most intriguing side projects. Although the band only played three gigs in August and September 1976, this album captures a night when everything fell right into place musically. That should only be expected with names like Eno and Simon Phillips in the lineup. (Still, the lesser-known players -- bassist Bill MacCormick, keyboardist Francis Monkman, and slide guitarist Lloyd Watson -- are in exemplary form, too.) The repertoire is boldly diverse, opening with "Lagrima," a crunchy solo guitar piece from Manzanera. Then the band undertakes a spacey but smoldering version of "Tomorrow Never Knows"; it's definitely among the cleverest of Beatles covers. Then it's on to crisp jazz-rock ("East of Asteroid"), atmospheric psych-pop ("Rongwrong"), and Eno's tape manipulation showcase, "Sombre Reptiles." And that's only the first five songs. The rest of the gig is no less audacious, with no less than three Eno songs -- including a frenetic "Baby's on Fire," "Third Uncle," and "Miss Shapiro"'s dense, syllable-packed verbal gymnastics. There's another unlikely cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me," while Manzanera turns in another typically gutsy instrumental performance on "Diamond Head." This album marks probably one of the last times that Eno rocked out in such an unself-consciously fun fashion, but that's not the only reason to buy it: 801 Live is a cohesive document of an unlikely crew who had fun and took chances. Listeners will never know what else they might have done if their schedules had been less crowded, but this album's a good reminder.

AMG Review by Ralph Heibutzki

Neil Young - Mirror Ball (Great Neil Young album with the contribution of Pearl Jam 1995)

Neil Young uses Pearl Jam on Mirror Ball much as he has used his perennial backup band Crazy Horse, looking for feel and spontaneity. At the start of the record, he can be heard instructing them: "No tuning, nothing," and the take of "I'm the Ocean" is an obvious run-through that became a master take. But Pearl Jam is not Crazy Horse; in place of the latter's primitive, nonswinging sound, the former boasts spirited rhythms and dense guitar interplay that Young makes excellent use of in a series of songs built out of simple, melodic rifts. Those songs come mostly in pairs: "Song X" and "Act of Love," the first two tracks, both seem to be about abortion, especially in its religious aspect, each containing a reference to "the holy war"; "What Happened to Yesterday" and "Fallen Angel" are song fragments on which Young plays the pump organ; and "Downtown" and "Peace and Love" find Young addressing the musical and philosophical concerns of hippies and contain name checks of Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and Led Zeppelin. The songs also share highly imagistic lyrics that are allusive and frequently just obscure. At their best, notably on "I'm the Ocean" and "Scenery," they provide intriguing portraits of the artist -- "People my age/They don't do the things I do," Young sings in "Ocean" -- while "Scenery" is one of his bitter denunciations of celebrity. Such subject matter is not new for Young, and Mirror Ball is typically uneven. But it is always interesting musically, suggesting that he has found another catch-up that works. Probably due to the commercial power of Pearl Jam, the album became Young's highest charting record since Harvest 23 years earlier, though it had a relatively short chart life.

AMG Review by William Ruhlmann

Procol Harum - Something Magic (1977 Prog-Rock [final album of the 1st PH era])

When Procol Harum's ninth studio album, Something Magic, was released in March 1977, it sold poorly and was largely dismissed, with the group breaking up at the end of the promotional tour for it. With this reissue more than 30 years later, annotator Roland Clare argues it is "in need of outright reappraisal." He doesn't actually make that case, but he does explain the circumstances that led to the debacle. After its previous album, Procol's Ninth, produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Procol Harum might have been expected to go back to a more conventional approach; instead, the group hired the hot studio of the day, Criteria in Miami, and its hot resident producers, Ron and Howie Albert. When the band arrived in Florida and played the songs intended for the album, the Albert brothers threw half of them out. That left half of an album to fill, which led singer/pianist/composer Gary Brooker to turn to a parable-like poem written years earlier by his lyric partner Keith Reid, "The Worm & the Tree," and -- in a move anticipating This Is Spinal Tap -- writing a musical suite around it to fill up side two. He then recited the poem rather than actually setting it to music, creating a pretentious work just at a time when critics and fans were tiring of peers like Jethro Tull and Yes doing much the same thing. It didn't help that the songs making up side one were relatively minor Procol Harum. None of this has changed in the ensuing decades, but Clare's explanation is interesting to read; the remastered sound is terrific; and the album boasts three bonus tracks including not only the instrumental B-side "Backgammon," which has appeared elsewhere, but also previously unreleased live versions of two of the songs the Alberts rejected, "You'd Better Wait" and "This Old Dog." They do not suggest that Something Magic could have been a great or even good Procol Harum album. But they do add to an understanding of one of the more confusing chapters in the band's history.

AMG Review by William Ruhlmann

Damon - Song of a Gypsy (1970 Folk Psych)

The Damon recordings are amongst the most sought-after and widely-loved of the late-60s underground scene. Simply put, they convey emotion and power in a very concise and believable way. Song Of A Gypsy is is an excellent psychedelic album and both gatefold/non-gatefold versions are monster rarities. There's lots of fuzz guitar and a mystical feel about tracks like Do You? and The Night, I Feel Your Love which has a sleepy, stoned atmosphere sounding rather similar to The Deep. Another track, Birds They Fly High, has spoken lyrics and 'snake charming' music, again creating a sort of Eastern mystical feel.

Based in Los Angeles, David Del Conte and Charlie Carey had already pursued careers in popular music for many years before deciding to embrace the underground rock movement. Del Conte released a considerable number of 45s; it is possible that as much as half of his discography will be found to be too early to fall within the timeframe of this book. The last recordings he made pre-Damon (aside from a handful of acetates never made available to the public) may be of interest to readers. As Damon Lane, he issued at least three singles on the Del Con label - these possess a unique Byrdsy jangle over which his trademark authoritative voice presides.

The first Damon single has a non-album 'B' side and a different lead vocal than the album version of the 'A' side. (It is, by all accounts, significantly rarer than the album and fortunately these tracks are included as one side of a 7" EP of bonus material with the reissue on the Little Indians label.) The record set the tone of the band's campaign which ran the course of 1968 - the message of love and self-expression coupled with an almost arrogant disregard for the establishment:

"I wake up each day about noon
I live in a rainbow-coloured room
I break every rule in the book
I don't even bother to look
I laugh at the heat, I've got bells on my feet
And oh, what a good boy am I"

The album itself is made up of (similarly) short, urgent tracks that overflow with Carey's amazing distorted leads and Del Conte's powerful, otherworldly voice. The title track opens Side One in dramatic fashion; the opening lyric "Today I feel like cryin', Today I feel like dyin'" delivered in a most convincing manner. It's obvious right away that you're listening to something very special. If there really is such a thing as psychedelic music, this is surely it.

It should be noted that the sound quality of this album is exemplary. Like the Cykle album, the fidelity is so good that even the bootlegs impress...

Del Conte and Carey, despite living roughly a thousand miles apart, continue to perform together and collaborated on a new album project in 1998. The resulting CD release, Gypsy Eyes has much to recommend it, not the least of which is the fact that it sounds like a second Damon album! The closing track, The Gift, is truly mindblowing, as good as anything on the first album.

You can also find the LP version of Song Of A Gypsy on Love, Peace And Poetry: American Psychedelic Music (LP & CD), but obviously, the Damon album is an essential purchase.

01. Song of a Gypsy (2:25)
02. Poor Poor Genie (2:55)
03. Don't You Feel Me (2:33)
04. Did You Ever (3:01)
05. Funky Funky Blues (3:00)
06. Do You (3:12)
07. Night (2:06)
08. I Feel Your Love (2:15)
09. Birds Fly So High (3:29)
10. Road of Life (2:44)

Post by CGR

The Cult - Sonic Temple (1989 Alternative/Metal)

More varied than its predecessor, Electric, Sonic Temple finds the Cult trying several different metal styles, from crunchy Electric-era '70s grooves and the fuzzy, noisy psychedelia of Love, to mellow ballads and commercial '80s hard rock. Not all of the experiments work, as some of the songs lean toward ponderousness, but enough of them do to send Sonic Temple into the Billboard Top Ten, due to the exposure provided by the hit single "Fire Woman."

AMG Review by Steve Huey

Vanilla Fudge - The Return (2002 VF Comeback)

The Return is the seventh album by the rock band Vanilla Fudge, it was released in 2002. It featured new versions of songs from throughout their career. It also features new covers of songs from 'N Sync: "Tearin' Up My Heart", Backstreet Boys: "I Want It That Way", Marvin Gaye: "Ain't That Peculiar", and a Fudge version of the Rod Stewart hit "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy", which Fudger Carmine Appice co-wrote with Stewart. The album also featured the return of Vince Martell and a new member: Bill Pascali.

Line-up / Musicians

- Carmine Appice / drums, vocals
- Tim Bogert / bass, vocals
- Vince Martell / guitar, vocals
- Bill Pascali / organ, vocals

Tracklist

1. "Ain't That Peculiar"
2. "You Keep Me Hangin' On"
3. "Tearin' Up My Heart"
4. "Shotgun"
5. "People Get Ready"
6. "Take Me For A Little While"
7. "Good Good Livin'"
8. "I Want It That Way"
9. "Need Love"
10. "She's Not There"
11. "Season Of The Witch"
12. "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_Fudge_2001

Ultravox - Vienna (Great New Wave 1984)

With the departure of vocalist John Foxx and guitarist Robin Simon behind them, Vienna kicked off Ultravox's second phase with former Rich Kids vocalist Midge Ure at the helm. Trading Foxx's glam rock stance for Ure's aristocratic delivery, Vienna recasts the band as a melodramatic synth pop chamber ensemble with most of the group doubling on traditional string quartet instruments and the synthesizers often serving to emulate an orchestra. It was a bold move that took awhile to pay off (the first two singles, "Sleepwalk" and "Passing Strangers," went unnoticed), but when the monolithic title track was released, the Ure lineup became the band's most identifiable one almost overnight. The simple and instantly recognizable drumbeat of "Vienna" proved infectious, taking the single to the top of the charts in the U.K. and making an impression in a new wave-apprehensive America. Drummer Warren Cann's monotone narration on "Mr X" and the frantic ride that is "Western Promise" give the album just enough diversity and showcase the rest of the group on an Ure-heavy album. There are plenty of pretentious and pompous moments at which Foxx-era purists cringe, but taken as a snooty rebellion against the guitar-heavy climate of the late '70s, they're ignorable. Returning producer Conny Plank's style adapted well to the new group, pitting the stark and the lush against one another. Add Anton Corbijn's photography and Peter Saville's smart cover design and all the ingredients for an early-'80s classic are there. A few albums later, it would all seem like a fluke, but on Vienna, all the pieces come together.

AMG Review by David Jeffries

Van der Graaf - Pawn Hearts (Superb Prog-Rock 1971)

Van Der Graaf Generator's third album, Pawn Hearts was also its second most popular; at one time this record was a major King Crimson cult item due to the presence of Robert Fripp on guitar, but Pawn Hearts has more to offer than that. The opening track, "Lemmings," calls to mind early Gentle Giant, with its eerie vocal passages (including harmonies) set up against extended sax, keyboard, and guitar-driven instrumental passages, and also with its weird keyboard and percussion interlude, though this band is also much more contemporary in its focus than Gentle Giant. Peter Hammill vocalizes in a more traditional way on "Man-Erg," against shimmering organ swells and Guy Evans' very expressive drumming, before the song goes off on a tangent by way of David Jackson's saxes and some really weird time signatures -- plus some very pretty acoustic and electric guitar work by Hammill himself and Fripp. The monumental "Plague of Lighthouse Keepers," taking up an entire side of the LP, shows the same kind of innovation that characterized Crimson's first two albums, but without the discipline and restraint needed to make the music manageable. The punning titles of the individual sections of this piece (which may have been done for the same reason that Crimson gave those little subtitles to its early extended tracks, to protect the full royalties for the composer) only add to the confusion. As for the piece itself, it features enough virtuoso posturing by everyone (especially drummer Guy Evans) to fill an Emerson, Lake & Palmer album of the same era, with a little more subtlety and some time wasted between the interludes. The 23-minute conceptual work could easily have been trimmed to, say, 18 or 19 minutes without any major sacrifices, which doesn't mean that what's here is bad, just not as concise as it might've been. But the almost operatic intensity of the singing and the overall performance also carries you past the stretches that don't absolutely need to be here. The band was trying for something midway between King Crimson and Genesis, and came out closer to the former, at least instrumentally. Hammill's vocals are impassioned and involving, almost like an acting performance, similar to Peter Gabriel's singing with Genesis, but the lack of any obviously cohesive ideas in the lyrics makes this more obscure and obtuse than any Genesis release.

AMG Review by Bruce Eder

David Sylvian - Gone to Earth (Very Good Art-Rock 1986)

David Sylvian is a brilliant rock & roll guitarist and vocalist. He is also a great electronic minimalist. Sadly, he tries hard to do both together. Gone to Earth has moments of brilliant instrumental ambience with deep samples and misplaced vocals. The instrumental virtuosity grabs listeners immediately. Sylvian surrounds himself with some of the greats -- Bill Nelson, Robert Fripp, and Mel Collins among them. The sound is dynamic and gentle at the same time. There is an ambient version of Gone to Earth, which is a better disc but hard to find.

AMG Review by Jim Brenholts

Rust - Come With Me (1969 British Psychedelic Rock)

Originally released in 1969 on the independent German label Hor Zu. A minor masterpiece of British psychedelic pop full of gorgeous keyboard sounds, weird & sparse arrangements, treated piano, general garage mayhem, fuzzed-up guitar, distorted vocals and sound effects. For fans of the Deviants. Miniature LP sleeve with original artwork.

Upon a first listening of these guys you may be tempted to write them off as one of those bands whose groovy shtick consisted of phased guitars and distorted vocals. The first song proper, "You Thought You Had It Made" doesn't do much to dispel this. By the time you get to "Please Return", however, you will notice that something very peculiar is happening-they're writing some fantastic songs! This song, especially, is a wonderful melodic metaphor for loneliness that wouldn't have been lost in a John Donne anthology with a great, understated guitar solo to boot. It doesn't stop there, brace yourself for "Should I", a song that reaches heights sublime you will not here very often on music from this era; and that chorus: "Should I ask the sunset for another dance/ Should I ask the stars for some more romance/Should I have a home now shuffling my feet/Should I laugh at dirty faces talking in the street?" The title track is a winner for the chorus-there's also a neat intro to the song that opens the album.

It is too bad they can't sustain this kind of quirky greatness throughout the album. Although the playing is first rate (the drummer especially shines at times), it's hard to top finer moments of the earlier songs. The next few songs are some of the standard psychedelic fare you often heard in this time period. "Think Big" recalls Evil Hearted You-era Yardbirds; "Rust" is a decent enough song whose vocal and lyrical styles evoke some of Syd Barret's work on the first Floyd album; "Delusion" might make you think of some of the heavier moments of the Amboy Dukes. "The Endless Struggle", though having very heavy metaphysical lyrics, doesn't quite reach the majestic heights of "Please Return". In all, this album doesn't so much represent what the mainstream of the sixties was like, but is nevertheless one of those turns down a strange alley that, although not leading to anywhere particularly special, remain unforgettable in the least.

01. Come With Me (Introduction)
02. You Thought You Had It Made
03. Please Return
04. Should I
05. Think Big
06. Rust
07. Delusion
08. Doesnt Add Up To Me
09. Find A Hideaway
10. Come With Me
11. The Endless Struggle

Post by CGR

Swampgas - Swampgas (1972 Hard Blues Rock)

If you find this album, buy it, whatever the cost. A band that has a southern drawled singer, so they gotta be from Texas, Louisiana or somewhere nearby. Blazing heavy guitars all over the place with wah-wah, backwards fazing and east/west stereo special effects. Everything you need for psychedelic guitar perfection.

Loose, rural psych/hard rock from 1972 with fluid guitar and masterful organ, produced by Artie Kornfield at A&R in New York. 8 powerful tracks with interplay that is similar to bands like (early) Lynyrd Skynyrd, Trapeze etc. Great songs like "Frolic Child" build from a gentle ballad into a beautiful guitar workout whilst "Trapped in the City" is a 6 minute bluesy workout with excellent phased Hammond work. Nice album.

01.Patato
02.Don't
03.The Waiting, E Train Blue
04.Trapped In The City
05.Eulogy
06.Frolic Child
07.Pala
08.Egg Shells

Post by CGR

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (1971 Great Psychedelic Soul)

Funkadelic is a heavyweight psychedelic-soul experiment that pits rough rock guitar and instrumentals against soul chants. A collective of voices and musicians, who also double as Parliament, Invictus group, rock and soul, some of the funkiest, far-out flings in soul music. "Can You Get To That," "You And Your Folks" and "Wars at Armageddon" are typical Funkadelic freak-outs. (Billboard 1971)


I'll just say it up front: the title song of this album contains the best guitar solo in the history of rock music. You won't believe me, probably, because you have your own favorite solos clutched tightly to your chest, and anyway, isn't Funkadelic, well, y'know, a funk band? I salute your right to worship your own guitar gods; that's why we listen to loud music. But don't let the name of the band, or their color, or the age of this album fool you: Eddie Hazel recorded - in one take - the solo against which all other solos would be measured if he hadn't been African American. Sorry to play the race card, but it MUST be true.

The story on Maggot Brain is that George Clinton, out of his mind on Yellow Sunshine, told Hazel to play the first half of the song as if he had just heard that his own mother was dead, and then the second half as if he had found out she was alive. The result is beyond "astonishing" or "powerful" or anything else critics usually say; it's an improvised composition, of both deep blues purity and cold, hard, futuristic vision. There is a band backing it, but it fades out (reputedly because they sounded shitty next to Hazel), and it's pretty much just one man showing us what he's made of. If you've heard it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, well, the record store is open and you just got paid.

The rest of the album is excellent, too, and diverse, with the soul of "Back in Our Minds" sounding great next to the Black Sabbath funk of "Super Stupid" (which contains, by the way, another stunning Eddie Hazel solo), and the Bernie Worrell organ burnout of "Hit It and Quit It." And the whole thing ends in perfect Funkadelic fashion with "Wars of Armageddon," a long-ass guitar workout featuring screaming, hilariously over-the-top crowd chanting, sound effects that make no sense (cows, farts, sirens, canned sitcom laughter), and the overall feeling that everything is coming apart. (Hey: it was Detroit in 1971.) This CD is not quite 37 minutes long, but it runs the gamut of emotions, musical styles, and points of view. And it contains the greatest guitar solo in the world.(Matt Cibula)

Funkadelic, a black group from the still riot-smoldering streets of Plainfield, New Jersey, pushed their energies into total freak-rock mind expansion beyond their riot-wrecked environs and heads and beyond the staid, tried and true frontiers/boundaries of what both black and white American culture demanded from black musicians. These said styles--soul, R&B, blues and doo-wop-- also operated to some extent as an imprisoning musical ghetto. So it was a true leap forward when George Clinton, Funkadelicís guiding light, vocalist, songwriter and arranger, synthesized elements from all these styles and fused them into a ghetto blast off that was Funkadelic, about as alien to the older black music establishment as possible.
All the Hendrix and Zappa comparisons are just that because early Funkadelic from this period was a far more casual and hungry a proposition. I mean, if you can ever get your hands on the original Westbound LP, just look at the group picture in the gatefold: A bald and eye-shaded Tawl Ross is holding a Belgian block in one hand, head tilted to one side, wearing a cheap and ugly multi-coloured leather jacket oozing nothing but attitude (And in a totally Iggy way, as a friend of mine pointed out recently). The other members are posed in positions of not street corner bullcrappiní, but stoned, thin, ready for everything and smiling out of their skulls, from the barren, rubble-strewn abandoned Plainfield lot.

The title track instrumental unfurls side one with a Clinton intonation and damply echoed drums slowly thud out against an ever-swaying, cradling rhythm guitar which guitarist Eddie Hazel begins to hang his delay, fuzz-wah and sustain runs against. Thereís even the crackling of unseated guitar-to-amp cord, which doesnít do anything but add to the real, stripped of all pretense atmosphere. Thereís soaring feedback trail-offs, and the guitar does gently disappear at times, only to reappear along with the drums, occurring unnoticeably often. A hi-hat is way in the background as Hazel reappears with a sprightly guitar run with all effects off, only to deftly slip back into a fuzz-wah double-tracked delay right before it rips through all the barbed wire stitches and into an ultra-psychedelic disjointed run that hovers over the waste of ghettos everywhere. Itís a wail of injustice, with nowhere to turn but to guitar and amplifier as cop, judge and jury. And the only judgment a soothing voice encouraging, ìGo, Maggot Brainî. Even at about ten minutes long, it still fades to soon, and this track holds some of the purest, expressive and unwavering guitar soloing ever. It is imbued and practically short-lists ALL THE SHIT from Hazelís personal experiences specifically and is a microcosm of all the flaming shit hoops blacks had to jump through not to just be accepted, but to SURVIVE. How these actions impacted psychologically over several hundred years worth of this treatment and manifested within members of this exploited and suppressed human race is unfathomable to conceive. And it was this experience that drove Clinton to create a mythology to catapult himself out of the white world, out of the USA and into the heavens with his ideas, music and stage presentation. Because only then was he was a free man.

The rest of side one is taken up with three songs. ìCan You Get To Thatî is gospel hour, with low, low Ruben & The Jets ìyou can come out of the closet nowî vocalizing against a group chorus with acoustic guitar and Bernie Worrellís first appearance, here on piano. ìHit It And Quit Itî is where Worrell is on genre-traversing Hammond leads as an echo-chambered Hazel solo, appear though at the fade out, burns on and on. The bottom heavy ìYou And Your Folks, Me And My Folksî features more of the drums echoed into almost metallic bursts as piano and percussion fill a dark and heavy night. The assembled vocal chorus of ìYeah, yeah, yeahî sways throughout in a gospel zone dub out.
Side two is where Funkadelic go completely over the top. There are only three songs, and they are relentlessly free of everything except for the ability to zap at two thousand paces. The first track, ìSuper Stupidî is about as heavy as Funkadelic ever gotówhich is to say, itís got a tighter stop and start groove than Bonzo on ìPresenceî and the most roaringingly out-of-control-yet-in-control and out there guitar Eddie Hazel ever laid down. His rhythm snakes through an entire scat-ass chorus, mimicking it, and never loses speed. In fact, Hazel, Fulwood, Nelson, Worrell, Ross, everybodyóis unconsciously so behind the groove, that the combined momentum pushes it ever so slightly and undetectably faster with every second (You only need to listen to it on CD repeat a few times. After it ends, compare it to the opening of the drums at the beginning. I donít know how they ever laid that down or made it work, but there was no thought behind it at all. Itís magic, sheer fuck magic). And Hazelís electric fence fry-out at the fade is some of the most O-mind French kissing of all time. ìBack In Our Mindsî is the necessary goofball percussion and piano sing-along, seeing as itís wedged between ìSuper Stupidî and the extended LP finale, ìWars Of Armageddonî, which is nearly ten minutes of ìTime Has Come Todayî cowbell, while Worrellís organ and the tight drums keep it all in the pocket as the sounds of crying babies, more extreme wah-wahíed soloing from Hazel, cries of ìGoddamn hypocrite!î all fly over the ever-steady Funkadelic rhythm section. In this case, the whole band is the rhythm section, so tight yet loose as it is. More muddled voices and then laughter appear. The groove has been heating up for four minutes with no sign of stopping when a cuckoo clock sounds, along with a goofy ìPoo poo pa doo!î as the Grandest Funk Railroad of all times is steaming down the tracks, not even stopping for the cow moo sound effects. The drums get all hammered into an ultra-compressed tinny din like King Tubby recording The Who in 1965, and then the whole ìMore Power/Pussy/People to The People/Pussy/Powerî proclamations start up, and pretty soon, farting. It all cuts off with multiple A-bombs going off, Clinton intoning as the last minute becomes nothing but silenceÖall the bullshit, along with the entire world, is goneÖuntil a human heartbeat appears.

Then the wildly giddy Funkadelic jam returns ever so slightly, just to blow your mind even further. Which their Westbound albums do at an alarming rate, but fewer still at this velocity. (Reviewed by The Seth Man, 24th July 2000)

01 - Maggot Brain - 10.20
02 - Can You Get To That - 2.50
03 - Hit It And Quit It - 3.50
04 - You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks - 3.36
05 - Super Stupid - 3.57
06 - Back In Our Minds - 2.38
07 - Wars Of Armegeddon - 9.44

Post by CGR

REPOST: Stavros Logaridis - Stavros Logaridis (1978 Greek Prog-Rock from a member of the legendary Poll)

Ο Λογαρίδης γεννήθηκε στην Κωνσταντι-νούπολη το 1953 και, σε ηλικία μόλις 18 ετών, γνωρίζει την επιτυχία και την καταξίωση με τους θρυλικούς POLL στις αρχές των 70ς [Τουρνάς / Λογαρίδης / Ουίλλιαμς]. Μετά τη διάλυση των Poll, άρχισε η - πολύπλευρη και ενδιαφέρουσα - προσωπική του καλλιτεχνική σταδιοδρομία. Στην αρχή με τους ΑΚΡΙΤΑΣ, ένα πολύ καλό προγκρέσιβ ροκ σύνολο, στους οποίους ο Σταύρος έπαιζε μπάσο και τραγουδούσε. Οι "ΑΚΡΙΤΑΣ" κυκλοφόρησαν το 1973 έναν δίσκο - που σήμερα είναι συλλεκτικός - και μετά διαλύθηκαν. Μέχρι τα μισά των 80ς έβγαλε κάποιους προσωπικούς δίσκους, οι οποίοι δεν γνώρισαν την απήχηση που τους άξιζε [πάντως, λατρεύω το τραγούδι του "ΜΑΝΟΥΛΑ ΕΛΛΑΣ"]. Για μένα, όμως, η αγαπημένη του δραστηριότητα ήταν οι μουσικές που έγραφε για τηλεοπτικά σήριαλς και εκπομπές και για τον κινηματογράφο !!! Αν δεν το ξέρετε, η μουσική της εκπομπής ΜΟΥΣΙΚΟΡΑΜΑ είναι δική του !!! Όμως, η αγαπημένη μου μουσική είναι αυτή που έγραψε για την ταινία του ΠΑΝΟΥΣΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ "ΟΙ ΑΠΕΝΑΝΤΙ", όπου ο Σταύρος παίζει μόνος του όλα τα όργανα !!! Επίσης, γνωστή είναι και η αντιδικία του με τον ΒΑΓΓΕΛΗ ΠΑΠΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΥ, καθόσον ισχυριζόταν ότι η μουσική του τελευταίου στο "ΔΡΟΜΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΦΩΤΙΑΣ", για την οποία είχε πάρει Όσκαρ, ήταν δικής του έμπνευσης !!! Πάντως, οι δικαστικοί αγώνες δικαίωσαν τον Vangelis [αν κάποιος γνωρίζει περισσότερες πληροφορίες γι' αυτό, θα είναι χαρά μου να τις διαβάσω] !!! Στα μέσα των 80ς εμφανίζεται ξανά στον δίσκο του ΓΙΩΡΓΟΥ ΖΗΚΑ "ΜΕ ΤΑ ΦΕΓΓΑΡΙΑ ΧΑΝΟΜΑΙ", όπου επωμίζεται το ρόλο τόσο του ερμηνευτή όσο και του ενορχηστρωτή !!! Μετά ... χάθηκε ξανά για αρκετό καιρό. Ώσπου .....

Στα μέσα των 90ς τον πέτυχα στο μικρό μπαράκι "ΕΝΑΛΛΑΞ", να παρουσιάζει έναν καινούριο δίσκο του, μετά από σχεδόν μια δεκαετία δισκογραφικής [και όχι μόνο] απουσίας !!! Τίτλος της δουλειάς του "ΟΝΕΙΡΕΜΕΝΕΣ ΠΟΛΙΤΕΙΕΣ" [πολύ αξιόλογος δίσκος, στον οποίο συνέβαλε, νομίζω, και η ΒΑΣΩ ΑΛΑΓΙΑΝΝΗ, που, όμως, πέρασε απαρατήρητος] !!! Μιλάμε .... η σκηνική του παρουσία με είχε μαγέψει !!! Έπαιζε όρθιος την κιθάρα του, ταξιδεύοντάς μας είτε με τα παλιά των Poll, είτε με παλιά ρεμπέτικα, είτε με τα καινούρια τραγούδια του .... Μαγευτικός, υπέροχος .... Και ... κρίμα που εκείνη την ημέρα [που ουσιαστικά σηματοδοτούσε την επιστροφή αυτού του πολύ σπουδαίου καλλιτέχνη στα πράγματα] ήμασταν στο μαγαζί μόλις .... 15 άτομα !!!!

"Σταύρος Λογαρίδης"!!!!!!!!!! με ένα πολύ καλό artwork με κοπτικό εξώφυλλο του Θόδωρου Πανταλέων!!!φωτό Άλιντα Μαυρογένη, η παραγωγή έγινε από τον Γιάννη Πετρίδη και τον Βίκο Αντύπας με ηχολήπτη τον Νίκο Δεσποτίδη, μουσικοί που συμμετύχαν:Δήμης Παπαχρίστου - όλες τις κιθάρες, Γιώργος Φιλιππίδης -μπάσσο, Γιώργος Τρανταλίδης -τύμπανα, Γιώργος Μαγκλάρας -βιολί, Νίκος Πολίτης -μπάσσο, Νίκος Βαρδής -μπάσσο, Γιώργος Τσουπάκης - τύμπανα, Μαριάντζελα & Ευτυχία - φωνητικά, Μάκης Παπαθεοδώρου - πνευστά,

Α' πλευρά :) 1. Το Πρώτο τραγούδι, στίχοι: Ρασούλης, 2. Πόλεμος, 3. Ράντη, 4. Σνιφ - σνιφ, 5. Jane

B' Πλευρά:) 1. Close the door, 2. O Απελπισμένος, 3. Light, 4.Παρ'ολίγο..., 5. Βέρα Κρούζ εξπρές

http://www.musicheaven.gr/html/modules.php?name=Splatt_Forums&file=viewtopic&topic=16577&gotolast=1

Magazine - The Correct Use of Soap (Great Post-Punk 1980)

This is something of a return to standard operational form for Magazine, who thawed after recording Secondhand Daylight to throw together an energetic batch of colorful and rhythmically intricate songs. It's an unexpected move considering that they enlisted Martin Hannett (Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, Crispy Ambulance), master of the gray hues, as the producer. A looser, poppier album than its predecessors -- somewhat ironically, a cover of Sly & the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" is the most subdued song -- it features the rhythm section of John Doyle and Barry Adamson at their taut, flexible best and guitarist John McGeoch at his most cunningly percussive. Save for the called-for razzle-dazzle on "Sweetheart Contract," keyboardist Dave Formula takes more of a back seat, using piano more frequently and no longer driving the songs to the point of detracting from the greatness of his mates, as the most frequent complaint of Secondhand Daylight goes. Howard Devoto's lyrics are also a little less depressive, though they're no less biting. The closing "A Song from Under the Floorboards" -- another near-anthem, an unofficial sequel to "The Light Pours Out of Me" -- includes sticking Devoto-isms like "My irritability keeps me alive and kicking" and "I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit." His themes of distrust and romantic turbulence remain focal, evident in "You Never Knew Me" ("Do you want the truth or do you want your sanity?") and "I Want to Burn Again" ("I met your lover yesterday, wearing some things I left at your place, singing a song that means a lot to me"). "Because You're Frightened" is the closest they came to making a new wave hit, zipping along with as much unstoppable buoyancy as Lene Lovich's "New Toy" or the Teardrop Explodes' "Reward," yet it's all fraught nerves and paranoia: "Look what fear's done to my body!" Song for song, the album isn't quite on the level of Real Life, but it is more effective as a point of entry.

AMG Review by Andy Kellman

David Sylvian - Brilliant Trees (Brilliant Art-Rock 1985)

For an album of only seven tracks, Brilliant Trees is an eclectic affair fusing funk, jazz, and ambient. Its best pieces are the moody jazz of "Red Guitar," the dusky atmosphere of "Weathered Wall," and "Brilliant Trees" itself, both of which feature the woozy trumpet of Eno collaborator and fourth-world pioneer Jon Hassell. The record also showcases guest players like Holger Czukay. Some CD editions also carry the three-part "Words With the Shaman" to make up a fuller album.

AMG Review by Kelvin Hayes

Pearl Jam - Ten (Superb Alternative/Grunge 1991)

Nirvana's Nevermind may have been the album that broke grunge and alternative rock into the mainstream, but there's no underestimating the role that Pearl Jam's Ten played in keeping them there. Nirvana's appeal may have been huge, but it wasn't universal; rock radio still viewed them as too raw and punky, and some hard rock fans dismissed them as weird misfits. In retrospect, it's easy to see why Pearl Jam clicked with a mass audience -- they weren't as metallic as Alice in Chains or Soundgarden, and of Seattle's Big Four, their sound owed the greatest debt to classic rock. With its intricately arranged guitar textures and expansive harmonic vocabulary, Ten especially recalled Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. But those touchstones might not have been immediately apparent, since -- aside from Mike McCready's Clapton/Hendrix-style leads -- every trace of blues influence has been completely stripped from the band's sound. Though they rock hard, Pearl Jam is too anti-star to swagger, too self-aware to puncture the album's air of gravity. Pearl Jam tackles weighty topics -- abortion, homelessness, childhood traumas, gun violence, rigorous introspection -- with an earnest zeal unmatched since mid-'80s U2, whose anthemic sound they frequently strive for. Similarly, Eddie Vedder's impressionistic lyrics often make their greatest impact through the passionate commitment of his delivery rather than concrete meaning. His voice had a highly distinctive timbre that perfectly fit the album's warm, rich sound, and that's part of the key -- no matter how cathartic Ten's tersely titled songs got, they were never abrasive enough to affect the album's accessibility. Ten also benefited from a long gestation period, during which the band honed the material into this tightly focused form; the result is a flawlessly crafted hard rock masterpiece.

AMG Review by Steve Huey

Christine Perfect - Christine Perfect (1969 Great Blues Rock)

Christine Perfect is the self-titled debut album of the music artist of the same name (Perfect being the maiden name of the future Christine McVie). It was released just after she left Chicken Shack but before she joined Fleetwood Mac. The Album contained the hit single "I'd Rather Go Blind" from Christine's days with Chicken Shack.

Christine McVie (born Christine Anne Perfect on July 12, 1943 near Greenodd, Cumbria) is an English rock singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. Her primary fame came as a member of the British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac though she has also released three solo albums. McVie has a deep contralto vocal range.

Christine Anne Perfect was born in the small village of Bouth in the Lake District, but eventually grew up in the Bearwood area of Smethwick, where her father, Cyril, was a college professor and concert violinist. Christine's mother Beatrice (called Tee) was a medium, a psychic and a faith healer. Her grandfather had played the organ in Westminster Abbey. Although Christine had been introduced to the piano at age four, she didn't really take to music until she was 11. She continued taking classical music lessons until the age of 15, when her older brother, John, brought home a Fats Domino songbook which transformed her musical interest from classical music to rock n' roll. Other early influences include The Everly Brothers and The Beatles.

Christine studied sculpture at an art college in Birmingham, England for five years, with the goal of becoming an art teacher. During that time she met a number of budding musicians in England's blues scene. Although studying art at the time Christine had an innate love for the music business. Her first foray into the music field didn't come until she met two friends Stan Webb and Andy Silvester in a pub one night. At the time they were playing in a band called "Shades Of Blue" which had a few dates booked but no bass guitarist. Knowing that Christine had musical talent they asked her to join. Also during that time she would often sing with Spencer Davis. After five years Christine graduated from art college with a teaching degree, but by that time "Shades of Blue" had split up.

Fresh out of art college, Christine found that she didn't have enough money to launch herself into the art world, so she moved to London, where she worked briefly as a department store window dresser.

In 1968, a friend of Christine told her that her ex-bandmates Andy Silvester and Stan Webb were forming a blues band and were looking for a pianist, so she wrote to them asking to join them. A few days later they replied, inviting her to play keyboards/piano and sing background vocals in their band Chicken Shack. Christine stayed with Chicken Shack for two albums and together they scored the top 10 British hit "I'd Rather Go Blind" with Christine on lead vocals. She was given a Melody Maker award for female vocalist of the year, and she was lauded for having one of the "top 10 pairs of legs in all of Britain". Christine left Chicken Shack in 1969 after meeting Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie.

Christine was a big fan of Fleetwood Mac at the time and while touring with Chicken Shack the two bands would often run into each other (they were also stablemates at Blue Horizon). Encouraged to continue her career, she recorded a solo album, Christine Perfect, which she does not feel is among her better works. As Christine McVie, she joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, just after marrying Fleetwood Mac bass guitarist John McVie. She had already contributed backup vocals, played keyboards, and painted the cover for Kiln House. The band had just lost founding member Peter Green and its members were nervous about touring without him. McVie had been a huge fan of the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, and since she knew all the lyrics to their songs, she went along. McVie quickly became an essential member of the group and the author of some of its finest songs, a position she would continue to hold for nearly 25 years.

The early 1970s was a rocky time for the band, with a revolving door of musicians, and only the albums Mystery to Me and Bare Trees scoring any successes. Furthermore, a group impersonating Fleetwood Mac was touring the United States without their permission. John McVie's alcohol drinking became unbearable, and Christine had an affair with a music producer.

01. "Crazy About You Baby" (Williamson) - 3:03
02. "I'm on My Way" (Robey) - 3:10
03. "Let Me Go (Leave Me Alone)" (McVie) - 3:35
04. "Wait and See" (McVie) - 3:14
05. "Close to Me" (McVie, Haywood) - 2:40
06. "I'd Rather Go Blind" (Jordan, Foster) - 3:52
07. "When You Say" (Kirwan) - 3:14
08. "And That's Saying a Lot" (Jackson, Godfrey) - 2:58
09. "No Road Is the Right Road" (McVie) - 2:49
10. "For You" (McVie) - 2:46
11. "I'm Too Far Gone (To Turn Around)" (Hendricks, Otis) - 3:26
12. "I Want You" (White) - 2:23

Post by CGR