Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The band began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to The Beach Boys in terms of Billboard singles and albums chart success among American bands, Chicago is one of the longest running and most successful pop/rock and roll groups. Chicago re-teamed with producer Phil Ramone in October 2010 to begin work on a new album. According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading U.S. singles charting group during the 1970s. They have sold over 38 million units in the U.S., with 22 gold, 18 platinum, and 8 multi-platinum albums. Over the course of their career they have charted five No. 1 albums, and have had 21 top ten hits. The Chicago Transit Authority (Chicago I) is the eponymous debut album by The Chicago Transit Authority, who would later be known as Chicago. It was recorded and released in 1969. Peter Cetera - bass, vocals, Terry Kath - guitar, vocals, Robert Lamm - keyboard, vocals, Lee Loughnane - trumpet, vocals, James Pankow - trombone, Walter Parazaider - woodwinds, vocals and Danny Seraphine - drums. 01 - Introduction 02 - Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is 03 - Beginnings 04 - Questions 67 And 68 05 - Listen 06 - Poem 58 07 - Free Form Guitar 08 - South California Purples 09 - I'm A Man 10 - Prologue (August 29, 1968) 11 - Someday (August 29, 1968) 12 - Liberation LINK
Cass Elliot, born Ellen Naomi Cohen and also known as Mama Cass, was an American singer and member of The Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. Elliot was found dead in her hotel room in London, England, from an apparent heart attack after two weeks of sold-out performances at the Palladium. In 1998, Elliott was posthumously inducted along with other original members – John Phillips, Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty – of The Mamas & the Papas into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mama’s Big Ones is the third solo album released by Cass Elliot. It was also the last studio album she released for Dunhill in order to fulfill her three album deal. Elliot’s frustration with trying to prove herself as her own artist and tackle the material she wanted had proved an impossibility with Dunhill. The power struggle began with her attempts to drop the "Mama" moniker and use the name Cass Elliot. This had been met with opposition by the studio heads at Dunhill. They felt that using the name "Mama Cass” and producing music similar to what she had done with The Mamas & the Papas was what would sell with audiences. Five of the songs had just been released on her first two solo albums. The other songs consisted of four singles she released and recorded in the studio with producer Steve Barri in 1970 and one hit she had with The Mamas & the Papas. The singles "One Way Ticket" and "Ain’t Nobody Else Like You" were the only new songs introduced by the album. 01 - It's Getting Better 02 - Dream A Little Dream Of Me 03 - Make Your Own Kind Of Music 04 - Words Of Love 05 - New World Coming 06 - Move In A Little Closer, Baby 07 - One Way Ticket 08 - The Good Times Are Coming 09 - Easy Come, Easy Go 10 - Don't Let The Good Life Pass You By 11 - Ain't Nobody Else Like You 12 - A Song That Never Comes LINK
Caravan are an English band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan. Caravan rose to success over a period of several years from 1968 onwards into the 1970s as part of the Canterbury scene, blending psychedelic rock and jazz to create a distinctive sound like their contemporaries Soft Machine. Caravan still remains active as a live band in the 21st century. Caravan is the debut album by the band. It was released in 1968. The album was the result of the band borrowing equipment while on tour with Soft Machine, producing "an unusually mature musical statement". The album was released in stereo and mono, in both the United States and United Kingdom, but failed to reach chart hit status. 01 - Place Of My Own 02 - Ride 03 - Policeman 04 - Love Song With Flute 05 - Cecil Runs 06 - Magic Man 07 - Grandma's Lawn 08 - Where But For Caravan Would I Be LINK
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important group in the Canterbury scene, they have been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation. Andrew Latimer (guitar), Andy Ward (drums) and Doug Ferguson (bass) had been playing as a trio called The Brew around the Guildford, Surrey area of England. On February 20th, 1971, they auditioned to be the back-up band to singer/songwriter Phillip Goodhand-Tait and released an album with him in August 1971 titled "I Think I'll Write a Song" on DJM Records. This would be their first and last album with Goodhand-Tait. [2] They recruited Peter Bardens (keyboards) and after an initial gig to fulfill a Bardens commitment on 8 October 1971 in Belfast, Northern Ireland under the name of Peter Bardens' On, they changed their name to Camel. Their first gig was at Waltham Forest Technical College, London supporting Wishbone Ash on 4 December. Mirage is Camel's second album, released in 1974, and is one of the group's most remembered albums.[citation needed] It features some of their best-known songs, including "Nimrodel" and "Lady Fantasy", and is also a showplace for Andrew Latimer's flute, notably on "Supertwister". There are only 5 tracks on this record, two over 9 minutes. Those two are multi-part epics: "Lady Fantasy" and "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider", the latter being about The Lord of the Rings. It was released on Deram Records. As a result of a business agreement between the band and the cigarette company, the album's cover art very closely resembles the cover of the Camel cigarettes packet. 01 - Freefall 02 - Supertwister 03 - Nimrodel The Procession The White Rider 04 - Earthrise 05 - Lady Fantasy Encounter Smiles For You Lady Fantasy LINK
Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic, "Honey" which sold well over one million copies in the United States. Franklin Delano Reeves, better known as Del Reeves, was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell". He is also known for his 1968 trucker's anthem, "Looking At The World Through A Windshield", which demonstrated he was capable more than just novelty songs. He became one of the most successful male country singers of the 1960s. This is a collaboration album with duets of Goldsboro & Reeves. 01 - Our Way Of Life 02 - Under Your Spell Again 03 - Walking On New Grass 04 - Here We Go Again 05 - Heartaches By The Number 06 - Take A Little Goodwill Home 07 - I Just Wasted The Rest 08 - She Thinks I Still Care 09 - A Dime At A Time 10 - Crazy Arms 11 - I Ain't Broke But I'm Badly Bent LINK
Produced by Appletree Theatre's John Boylan, Bear featured the talents of keyboardist Eric Kaz, singer Steve Soles and guitarist Artie Traum (backed on their album by Autosalvage bassist Skip Boone and drummer Darius Davenport). Though a formidable lineup of talent came together for Bear's sole album, it had neither a consistent style nor compelling material. Another one-shot late-'60s psychedelic band, Autosalvage, might serve as a point of comparison, as two members of that group (Skip Boone and Darius Davenport) play on Greetings, Children of Paradise. Bear's record, though, is even more diffuse than Autosalvage's in its dodges between various circa-1968 underground rock styles, made even more erratic by some aspects which seem to aim for a bit of pop appeal. There's a little of the Lovin' Spoonful's good-time rock from time to time, but more often it's an uneasy mesh of free-floating American hippie rock with some Beatlesque harmonies and melodies. Sometimes there are jazzy beats and arrangements; at other times there are moderately heavy psychedelic guitar solos; at others, their basic folk-blues roots poke through (as on "Hungry Dogs of New Mexico"). The songs are kind of shapeless and the melodies on the undistinguished side, however. (AMG) 01 - Greetings! 02 - So Loose And So Slow 03 - Like Cats 04 - Happy Days 05 - What Difference 06 - It's Getting Very Cold Outside 07 - I Won't Be Hangin' 'round 08 - Don't Say A Word 09 - Don't You Ever Want To Think About Them 10 - The Hungry Dogs Of New Mexico LINK
An Introduction to Syd Barrett is a 'best of' compilation featuring the work of Syd Barrett spanning the period 1967–1970, including both material written during his time with Pink Floyd and his post-band solo career. The album features a series of new remasters and remixes, all overseen by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. The cover art, featuring various images relating to songs contained within the album, was designed and created by long-term Pink Floyd conceptual artist Storm Thorgerson. 01 - Pink Floyd - Arnold Layne 02 - Pink Floyd - See Emily Play 03 - Pink Floyd - Apples And Oranges 04 - Pink Floyd - Matilda Mother 05 - Pink Floyd - Chapter 24 06 - Pink Floyd - Bike 07 - Syd Barrett - Terrapin 08 - Syd Barrett - Love You 09 - Syd Barrett - Dark Globe 10 - Syd Barrett - Here I Go 11 - Syd Barrett - Octopus 12 - Syd Barrett - She Took A Long Cool Look 13 - Syd Barrett - If It's In You 14 - Syd Barrett - Baby Lemonade 15 - Syd Barrett - Dominoes 16 - Syd Barrett - Gigolo Aunt 17 - Syd Barrett - Effervescing Elephant 18 - Syd Barrett - Bob Dylan Blues LINK
Kaleidoscope (originally The Kaleidoscope) was an American psychedelic folk and ethnic band who recorded 4 albums and several singles for Epic Records between 1966 and 1970. The group was formed in 1966. The original members were David Lindley, Solomon Feldthouse, Chris Darrow, Chester Crill and John Vidican. The group was founded on democratic principles – there was no "leader". They soon began performing live in clubs, winning a recording contract with Epic Records. The first single, "Please", was released in December 1966. Disbanded in 1970, the album A Beacon from Mars was released in early 1968, to generally good reviews but poor sales. Liner notes to the CD reissue of this album claim the original title was "Bacon From Mars" but it was misprinted. 01 - I Found Out 02 - Greenwood Sidee 03 - Life Will Pass You By 04 - Taxim 05 - Louisiana Man 06 - Baldheaded End Of A Broom 07 - You Don't Love Me 08 - Beacon From Mars LINK
Hippie folk psych band Perth County Conspiracy was a folk music group, based in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. It was formed in 1969 and was active until at least 1977. They lived together as a commune, similar to the Grateful Dead. The music is characterised by its message-oriented lyrics and unconventional arrangements. The 1970 self-titled album features Shakespearian dialogue and audio collage elements mixed with folk and folk rock music that might place it in the genre of psych folk. Over its career PCC(DNE) recorded several albums of material including at least two on the Columbia label. Kanada, from 1975, is the fifth release of the band. Cedric Smith (vocals, guitar), Richard Keelan (guitar, vocals), Michael Butler (bass), Terry Jones (guitar, vocals), George Taros (piano, vocals) and Bob Burchill (guitar, vocals, fiddle; 1973-1975) 01 - Hurray For 02 - Breaking Down The Wal 03 - Heart Of The Beast 04 - Mothers Blues 05 - 05 Memory Stains - Linin 06 - Live With Me On Earth 07 - Touch A Spark 08 - Military Spectatorsh 09 - Richard's Down 10 - Dance Of The Fat - Y 11 - The Pioneer Song 12 - The Voice In The Wil LINK
Ram Jam was an American 1970s rock band, best known for their 1977 hit single, "Black Betty". The band members were Bill Bartlett (guitar), Pete Charles (drums), Myke Scavone (lead singer), and Howie Arthur Blauvelt (bass). Also, Jimmy Santoro, who toured with the band in support of their debut album, joined on guitar for the follow-up album. Bartlett was formerly lead guitarist for bubblegum group The Lemon Pipers, while Blauvelt played with Billy Joel in two bands, The Hassles and El Primo. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram is the second and final album by Ram Jam in 1978. Re-released in 2006 on Rock Candy Records. The title is a play on James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. 01 - Gone Wild 02 - Pretty Poison 03 - The Kid Next Door 04 - Turnpike 05 - Wanna Find Love 06 - Just Like Me 07 - Hurricane Ride 08 - Saturday Night 09 - Runway Runaway 10 - Please, Please, Please (Please Me) LINK
Please were formed by Peter Dunton and Bernie Jinks in late 1967. They had just returned to Britain from Germany where they had played with Neon Pearl, which also included their third member Jurgen Ermisch. The fourth original member Adrian Gurvitz later co-founded Gun. Unfortunately this line-up left no vinyl legacy or unreleased recordings that have been located behind it. They disbanded in May 1968 when Peter Dunton joined The Flies for whom he wrote both sides of their Magic Train 45. 01 - We Aim To Please 02 - No More White Horses 03 - Paper Anne 04 - Seaweed 05 - Break The Spell 06 - Strange Ways 07 - Man With No Name 08 - Watching 09 - You're Still Waiting 10 - Breakthrough 11 - The Story 12 - Folder Man LINK
UK Power trio of keyboard, bass and drums. Straddling the line between hard rock and prog, there's a little something here to appease fans of both styles. Keyboards apparently just piano and organ, with the latter being especially hot-wired to make the keyboardist's style resemble Frumpy keyboardist Jean-Jacques KRAVETZ, or perhaps Dave STEWART at his most maniacal (see "Dreams Wide Awake" for an example). He can lash out at his organ with a recklessness that puts EMERSON to shame, listen to the solo on "Post War, Saturday Echo" if you don't believe me. Bass player John GUSTAFSON (pre-ROXY MUSIC) sings in a uncontrolled, manic voice that can often sound gut-wrenching. A couple of tracks (the ballad "Good Lord Knows" and the lengthy jam-orientated "Laughin' Tackle" include massed strings. In the 90s there suddenly was a QUATERMASS II, but their music seems to have very little to do with the original band. The latest CD is called "The Long Road". (progarchives)
01 - Entropy 02 - Back Sheep Of The Family 03 - Post War, Saturday Echo 04 - Good Lord Knows 05 - Up On The Ground 06 - Gemini 07 - Make Up Your Mind 08 - Laughin Tackle 09 - Entropy 10 - One Blind Mice 11 - Punting
