Herd was an English psychedelic pop rock group, that came to prominence in the late 1960s. They launched the career of Peter Frampton and scored three UK top twenty hits. The record label Parlophone dropped them after several unsuccessful singles, and they subsequently signed to Fontana. Once there the songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had been largely responsible for a string of hits by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, orchestrated for them a unique blend of pop and flower power. After a UK Singles Chart near-miss with "I Can Fly" (1967), the haunting "From The Underworld", based on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, reached Number 6 later that year with help from copious plays on pirate radio. It was followed by "Paradise Lost", which made it up to Number 15 in 1968. Frampton left by the end of 1968 to form Humble Pie with Steve Marriott. The remaining Bown, Spinetti and Taylor made another flop single, "The Game", then, minus Taylor, formed the short-lived Judas Jump with Mike Smith and Allen Jones, saxophonists from Amen Corner, and Welsh vocalist Adrian Williams. Taylor, who became a disc jockey, and Steele, reunited briefly for a one-off single "You've Got Me Hangin' From Your Lovin' Tree" in June 1971, to almost universal lack of interest. By the late 1970s, Bown had become a member of the UK rockers, Status Quo. 01 - From The Underworld 02 - On My Way Home 03 - I Can Fly 04 - Goodbye Groovy 05 - Mixed Up Minds 06 - Impressions Of Oliver 07 - Paradise Lost 08 - Sad 09 - Something Strange 10 - On Your Own 11 - She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not 12 - Fare The Well 13 - Understand [Bonus] 14 - ? [Bonus] 15 - Come On, Believe Me [Bonus] 16 - I Don't Want Our Loving To Die [Bonus] 17 - Our Fairy Tale [Bonus] 18 - Miss Jones [Bonus] LINK
After almost 30 years, there's finally a definitive document of one of the first San Francisco psychedelic groups -- or, at least, as definitive a document as surviving tapes allow. This compilation assembles 23 tracks from their demos for the Kama Sutra and Autumn labels, as well as a couple of later sessions recorded at San Francisco area studios. Much of this material has been bootlegged previously, on both vinyl and tape, but here it appears in its best fidelity to date by far. Those expecting psychedelic fireworks will be surprised. There's some acid-soaked folk-rock here (most notably "We're Not on the Same Trip" and "I Saw Her," the two best cuts), but on the whole it's much more of a travelog of roots music, with White blues, jugband, folk, country, and music hall influences much more to the fore. Sure the Charlatans never really got the opportunity to flex their muscles in the studio, but it's also true that they didn't possess either the songwriting or instrumental chops to rival the Jefferson Airplane or Moby Grape. 01 - Codine Blues 02 - Alabama Bound 03 - I Always Wanted A Girl Like You 04 - I Saw Her 05 - How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away 06 - 32-20 07 - We're Not On The Same Trip 08 - Walkin' 09 - Sweet Sue Just You 10 - East Virginia 11 - The Shadow Knows 12 - I Got Mine 13 - Steppin' In Society 14 - Devil Got My Man 15 - By Hook Or By Crook 16 - 'long Come A Viper 17 - Sidetrack 18 - Alabama Bound 19 - Number One 20 - Baby Won't You Tell Me 21 - Jack Of Diamonds 22 - The Blues Ain't Nothin' 23 - Groom'n'clean Ad LINK
Grapefruit was a London-based British band of the late 1960s. Their brand of music was a typical late Sixties blend of rock, which they often fused with psychedelic effects such as phasers and vocoders, or classical arrangements. They were formed in 1967 as a result of John Perry meeting Terry Doran at Apple Publishing and Terry inputing Scottish-born singer and Bass guitarist George Alexander (born Alexander Young), a member of the talented Young family that also spawned his brothers George, the rhythm guitarist and founding member of The Easybeats and also Malcolm and Angus Young, both founding members of the Australian hard rock band, AC/DC. Alexander Young had chosen to remain in Britain when the rest of the Youngs emigrated to Australia. Alexander had played with The Bobby Patrick Six, with whom he toured Germany in the mid-1960s. Grapefruit's recording career spanned only two years, from late 1967 to the end of 1969. They released two albums (Around Grapefruit in 1968, Deep Water in 1969) and several singles, none of which made a significant impact on the charts. Grapefruit broke up in late 1969. 01 - Deep Water 02 - Can't Find Me 03 - Thunder And Lightning 04 - Lady Goodiva 05 - The Right Direction 06 - L.A. And Back Again 07 - Come Down To The Station 08 - A Dizzy Day 09 - Blues In Your Hand 10 - Time To Leave 11 - Sha-Sha 12 - Universal Party LINK
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy was an American psychedelic pop/rock group in the 1960s. They formed in Los Angeles in 1966 out of a folk-rock group, The Ashes, who included John Merrill (guitar/ vocals), Alan Brackett (bass/ vocals), Barbara "Sandi" Robison (vocals), Spencer Dryden (drums) and Jim Cherniss (guitar/ vocals). The group had earlier been known as The Young Swingers, who released two obscure singles. The Ashes released one single in 1966 on the Vault label, "Is There Anything I Can Do?" written by Jackie DeShannon. Dryden then left The Ashes to replace Skip Spence in Jefferson Airplane, Robison left to give birth, and the group temporarily disbanded. Alan Brackett hooked up with a new guitarist, Lance Baker Fent, and a new drummer, Jim Voigt, naming the new trio The Crossing Guards. Merrill and Robison rejoined, and the five-piece band became The Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Their late 1967 single "Turn On a Friend (to the Good Life)" failed to chart. However, they toured nationally, added a new guitarist, Bill Wolff, and recorded a second album for Columbia, The Great Conspiracy, generally regarded as their best. The group recorded songs for movies including: Angels from Hell, Run Angel Run, Jud, Cherry Harry and Raquel, Hell Ride, 2000 Years Later, and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. 01 - Turn On A Friend (To The Good Life) 02 - Lonely Leaf 03 - Pleasure 04 - Too Many Do 05 - Living, Loving Life 06 - Invasion Of The Poppy People 07 - Captain Sandwich 08 - Living Dream 09 - Ecstasy 10 - Time Is After You 11 - Wonderment 12 - I'm A Fool 13 - It's So Hard 14 - Peter Pan LINK
History leads many of us to believe the only music to come out of San Francisco that matters was the hippy bands of the late sixties. Or Huey Lewis and the News. But truth be told, the beautiful city by the Bay already boasted a vital and valid music scene before it turned into a paisley-papered playpen. The Vejtables were one such great band from the area, and had their discs received more promotion, they surely would have attained widespread commercial success. "Feel... The Vejtables" features every inch of material this mighty fine band ever recorded. 01 - Anything 02 - I Still Love You 03 - Mansion Of Tears 04 - The Last Thing On My Mind 05 - Smile, Smile, Smile 06 - Cold Dreary Morning 07 - I Still Love You (alternate version) 08 - Feel The Music 09 - Shadows 10 - Better Rearrange 11 - Good Times 12 - Time And Place 13 - Suddenly I'm Desperately In Love 14 - I Stole The Goodyear Blimp 15 - Hide Yourself 16 - Good Things Are Happening 17 - Hide Yourself (alternate instrumental take) LINK
Uriah Heep is an English hard rock band. The band released several commercially successful albums in the 1970s such as Uriah Heep Live (1973), but their audience declined by the 1980s, to the point where they became essentially a cult band in the US and UK. Uriah Heep maintain a significant following in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the Balkans, Japan and Russia, where they still perform at stadium-sized venues. Uriah Heep were the first Western band to play in Soviet Russia, under Gorbachev's policy of glasnost.They have sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Very 'eavy... Very 'umble is the debut album of Uriah Heep. It was released in the United States as Uriah Heep with alternate sleeve artwork, and with "Bird of Prey" in place of "Lucy Blues. The album was generally panned by the mainstream critical press upon its release, although it has since been acknowledged as an early classic of the heavy metal genre. 01 - Gypsy 02 - Walking In Your Shadow 03 - Come Away Melinda 04 - Lucy Blues 05 - Dreammare 06 - Real Turned On 07 - I'll Keep On Trying 08 - Wake Up (Set Your Sights) 09 - Gypsy 10 - Come Away Melinda 11 - Born In A Trunk LINK
