Matching Mole was a UK progressive rock band from the Canterbury scene best known for the song "O Caroline". Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album The End of an Ear. He continued his role on vocals and drums and was joined by David Sinclair, of Caravan, on organ and piano, Phil Miller on guitar and Bill MacCormick, formerly of Quiet Sun, on bass. The name is a pun on Machine Molle, the French translation of the name of Wyatt's previous group Soft Machine. Their first, eponymous album was released in April 1972, the bulk of which was composed by Wyatt himself, with the exception of "O Caroline" (a Dave Sinclair composition with lyrics by Wyatt about his recent breakup with girlfriend Caroline Coon) and Phil Miller's "Part Of The Dance". 01 - O Caroline 02 - Instant Pussy 03 - Signed Curtain 04 - Part Of The Dance 05 - Instant Kitten 06 - Dedicated To Hugh, But You Weren't Listening 07 - Beer As In Braindeer 08 - Immediate Curtain LINK
Dion and the Belmonts was a leading American vocal group of the late 1950s. The group formed when Dion DiMucci, lead singer, joined The Belmonts - Carlo Mastrangelo, baritone, Freddie Milano, second tenor, and Angelo D'Aleo, first tenor, in late 1957. In October 1960, Dion decided to quit for a solo career. The Belmonts also continued to release records, but with less success. Dion and the Belmonts reunited in 1966 for the unsuccessful album Together Again on ABC Records, and again in 1972 for a one-off show at Madison Square Garden, recorded and released as a live album. 01 - I Wonder Why 02 - A Teenager In Love 03 - The Wanderer 04 - No One Knows 05 - Ruby Baby 06 - Drip Drop 07 - That's My Desire 08 - Where Or When 09 - Runaround Sue 10 - Little Diane LINK
McLuhan was a US prog rock/jazz fussion band of the east coast. McLuhan was a concept and a mixed-media group where no particular musical venue or style would necessarily prevail. The creator of the idea was David Wright who composed most of the music and wrote the lyrics on their only album. The idea was to try different things in performances including special sound effects such as baby's crying, various weird instruments, background sounds, playing old movies during their performance ("Monster Bride" was actually Bride of Frankenstein and in live performance they would turn on the movie at the point where the 20th Century Fox theme is played). The medium was the message, not the content. Labels didn't matter. The Wise-Fools Pub on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago hired McLuhan to perform every Monday night and they developed a small local following. Their performance got really tight, and eventually led to a record contract. McLuhan only was together for about 1 to 1 ½ years, and they never had a live performance promoting their album... since the very last thing they did was produce Anomaly. It got some obscure radio play but was "dead" as far as the band knew. Anomaly's concept and ideas sound advanced for its time of release (1970). Uniquely American art-rock in a brassy and groovy kind of way. Over the years its become cult album. David Wright - Trumpet/Vocals, Paul Cohn - Flute/Clarinet/Sax, Neal Rosner - Bass/Vocals, John Mahoney - Drums/Vocals, Micahael Linn - Drums, Dennis Stoney Philips - Guitar/Vocals and Tom (Tojza) Laney - Organ/Piano. Bobby Christian-Timpani, xylophone and chimes on Bride and Brief Message 01 - The Monster Bride 02 - Spiders (In Neil's Basement) 03 - Witches Theme And Dance 04 - A Brief Message From Your Local Media I) The Garden II) The Assembly Line III) Electric Man IV) Question LINK
Little info about this British heavy folk rock band. Kevin Fogarty, guitar, Brent Forbes, bass, Conrad Isadore, drums, Norman Leppard, woodwind, Alan Marshall, guitar, vocals, harmonica and Bobby Sass, guitar, vocals. A little known album whose participants were better known for session work. Brent Forbes, who was in Locust in the mid-seventies, also worked for Bob Pegg and The Surprise Sisters; Norman Leppard played with Aynsley Dunbar and Alan Marshall, who was in Zebra in the mid-seventies, played for Pete Bardens. Conrad Isadore was most prolific of all, cropping up on several other artists albums. 01 - Don't Listen To Me 02 - Cautiously 03 - Stop Pulling And Pushing Me 04 - Near The Bone 05 - Run, Shaker Life LINK
Gravy Train were a progressive rock group from Lancashire, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1970. Together with J.D. Hughes (keyboards, vocals, wind), Lester Williams (bass, vocals) and Barry Davenport (drums) they recorded four studio albums. The first two were released on the Vertigo label, and the latter two by Dawn Records. The band was dissolved in 1974. Little is known what happened with its members except for Barratt, who appeared in Mandalaband for their second and final album in 1978. He went on to found the Barratt Band, which recorded albums in the early 1980s. Gravy Train from 1970 is the debut album of the band. 01 - The New One 02 - Dedication To Sid 03 - Coast Road 04 - Enterprise 05 - Think Of Life 06 - Earl Of Pocket Nook LINK
After their 1971 debut album failed to register a blip in the marketplace, Chicago sextet String Cheese promptly faded away. Their failure is woeful, because with proper backing and encouragement, they could have been the next It's A Beautiful Day. Like that San Francisco band, String Cheese's sound was steeped in sparkling hippie subject matter, strongly delivered by chanteuse Sally Smaller and aided by the electric violin of Gregory Bloch. Unfortunately, their debut album was also their last. John Maggi / Drums, Gregory Bloch / Electric Violin, Louis Constantino / Bass, William Dalton / Organ, Piano, Celeste, Guitar, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Sitar, Orator, Sally Smaller / Vocals and Larry Wendelken / 12-String Guitar, Vocals. 01 - For Now 02 - Crystal 03 - We Share 04 - Here Am I 05 - Empty Streets 06 - Forage 07 - Soul Of Man 08 - Certain Kind Of Day 09 - Woke Up This Morning-Coming LINK
Little info about this psych rock band from New york, and their only release, produced by Rick Shorter, (500 copies). COLLEEN PETERSON lead vocal, STEVEN GREEN drums, STEVEN HODGETTS tenor sax, PATRICK KARWAN lead & rhythm guitar , lead vocal & vibes, GARY KING alto sax, STEVEN KORAB bass, KEVIN LAGER trumpet,conga & screams, STEVEN MORTKOWITZ piano,harpsichord & vocal and FRANK YANNI JR organ, sticks & screams 01 - Today's Promises 02 - Bluesday Morning 03 - He Can't Bring You 04 - First Grade Reader 05 - Feelin' It 06 - How Can I 07 - Magic LINK
Climax Blues Band (originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band) was formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarists Peter Haycock and Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and vocalist and harmonica player, Colin Cooper. In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax Blues Band due to pressure from the American band, Chicago Transit Authority. The band has released at least seventeen albums and had a Top 10 hit in the UK with "Couldn't Get It Right". That song and "I Love You" were American hits as well; "Couldn't Get It Right" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, and "I Love You" peaked at #12 in 1981.This album is a compilation of the highlights from their 3 years (EMI) Harvest-label period. 01 - Please Don't Help Me 02 - Hey Baby, Everything's Gonna Be Alright Yeh Yeh Yeh 03 - Everyday 04 - Towards The Sun 05 - You Make Me Sick 06 - Reap What I've Sowed 07 - Shake Your Love 08 - Looking For My Baby 09 - Flight 10 - Mole On The Dole 11 - That's All 12 - Take Out Some Insurance 13 - Wee Baby Blues 14 - Crazy 'bout My Baby 15 - Alright Blue 16 - Cut You Loose LINK
Crabby Appleton was an early 1970s band who scored a Top 40 hit with their first single, Go Back. The group is named after a character from the Tom Terrific cartoon. Though nearly everyone in the group was from an LA-based band called Stonehenge, the group's line-up was revamped with the introduction of Michael Fennelly. Fennelly was the final addition to the group and became the group's leader—writing all their material, and becoming the sole guitarist and vocalist. Fennelly had been one of the principal vocalists and songwriters in The Millennium, whose sole album (Begin, 1968), is considered a classic of sunshine pop. In addition to Fennelly, the group's members included Felix "Flaco" Falcon (percussion), Casey Foutz (keyboards), Hank Harvey (bass), and Phil Jones (drums). Crabby Appleton signed with Elektra Records and recorded their first record: Crabby Appleton, released in 1970. The band's debut single, "Go Back," climbed to #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band opened for the Doors, Sly and the Family Stone, Three Dog Night, Guess Who, ABBA, and George Carlin. They appeared on American Bandstand, the Real Don Steele Show, What's Happening with John Byner, and enjoyed critical success. Both of their albums, Crabby Appleton and Rotten to the Core, received rave reviews in Rolling Stone and Creem magazines.
01 - Go Back 02 - The Other Side 03 - Catherine 04 - Peace By Peace 05 - To All My Friends 06 - Try 07 - Can't Live My Life 08 - Some Madness 09 - Hunger For Love 10 - How Long Will It Take
This group was originally from Colorado, and their one and only album is a very good underrated psychedelic classic, recorded back in 1968 in Los Angeles. The lone self-titled album of the band Dragonfly is a tough psych-pop/proto-metal gem that features acid guitar solos, dynamic rhythms & complex multi-part compositions that recall pop-art era Who & the MC5's classic "High Time”; plus endless weird production touches like backwards tapes, judicious echo & reverb, overdubbed orchestration, etc., and with the tracks segueing together into two side-long suites. The bluesy singer does a fine job too, smoothly growling like T.S McPhee tempered with a bit of Burton Cummings. Dragonfly is an archetypal example of the 1968-1972 late-psych / proto-metal style.
01 - Blue Monday 02 - Enjoy Yourself 03 - Hootchie Koochie Man 04 - I Feel It 05 - Trombodo 06 - Portrait of Youth 07 - Crazy Woman 08 - She Don't Care 09 - Time Has Slipped Away 10 - To Be Free 11 - Darlin' 12 - Miles Away
Flash was an English progressive rock group, formed by former Yes guitarist Peter Banks and vocalist Colin Carter in August 1971. Bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough completed the line-up. The band went straight into the studio in November 1971 to record its debut album, and performed its first gig on January 14, 1972 (coincidentally, exactly one year later, on January 14, 1973, Flash would fill New York's Philharmonic Hall). Flash disbanded during an American tour in Albuquerque, New Mexico in November 1973. 01 - Open Sky 02 - None The Wiser 03 - Farewell Number One 04 - Man Of Honour 05 - Dead Ahead 06 - The Bishop 07 - Psychosync (Escape Farewell Number Two Conclusion) 08 - Manhattan Morning (Christmas '72) 09 - Shadows (It's You) LINK
Freedom was a psychedelic rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, formed initially by members of Procol Harum. Ray Royer and Bobby Harrison, who had performed on the hit Procol Harum single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", were kicked out of the Harum by vocalist Gary Brooker, and replaced by Robin Trower and Barry Wilson. Royer and Harrison then formed Freedom with Steve Shirley and Tony Marsh, who was immediately replaced by pianist/organist Mike Lease, releasing a two German singles and the soundtrack for the Dino de Laurentis film Black on White. In 1968, Harrison entirely overhauled the group's membership, and the new lineup began recording with more of a hard rock sound, scoring tour dates with Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, and The James Gang. Further lineup changes occurred before the band finally splintered in 1972, with Harrison going on to Snafu. 1. Together 2. Miss Little Louise 3. Sweaty Feet 4. Brainbox Jam 5. Direction 6. Going Down 7. Dream 8. Ladybird LINK
January Tyme was a New York band formed around the in-your-face vocal work of Janis Joplin-wannabe January Tyme. The band consisted of Tyme on lead vocals, keyboards, and percussion; Anthony Izzo on vocals and lead guitar; William Brancaccio on rhythm guitar, vocals, and keyboards; Steve Ciantro on bass; and Allen Cooley on drums and vocals. In 1969 the band released their only album for the Enterprise label, titled First Time from Memphis. Falling somewhere between Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company style of music, the band failed to establish their own identity. Despite their songwriting competence and energetic performance on the 11 songs on this album, January Tyme faded into rock obscurity.(MG)
01 - Rainy Day Feeling 02 - The Music 03 - Sleepy Time Baby 04 - Ancient Babylon 05 - Hold Me Up To The Light 06 - Love Is Blind 07 - Are You Laughing 08 - Down To The River 09 - I Could Never Love You 10 - Take This Time 11 - Love Surrounds Me
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon (drums). They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction. The Who have sold about 100 million records and have charted 27 top forty singles in the United Kingdom and United States with 17 top ten albums, with 18 Gold, 12 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone. My Generation is the debut album by The Who, released by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom in December 1965. It was released in the United States by Decca Records in April 1966 as The Who Sings My Generation with a different cover and a slightly different track listing. The album was made immediately after The Who got their first singles on the charts and according to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, it was later dismissed by the band as something of a rush job that did not accurately represent their stage performance of the time. On the other hand, critics often rated it as one of the best rock albums of all time: in 2003, the album was ranked number 236 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and named the second greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine. In 2004, it was #18 in Q magazine's list of the 50 Best British Albums Ever. In 2006, it was ranked #49 in NME's list of the 100 Greatest British Albums. In 2004, the title track was #11 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. 01 - Out In The Street 02 - I Don't Mind 03 - The Good's Gone 04 - La La La Lies 05 - Much Too Much 06 - My Generation 07 - The Kids Are Alright 08 - Please, Please, Please 09 - It's Not True 10 - The Ox 11 - A Legal Matter 12 - Instant Party (Circles) LINK
Mark–Almond were an English band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who worked in the territory between rock and jazz. In 1970 Jon Mark and Johnny Almond formed Mark-Almond (the two began playing together in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers band in 1969). The melancholy tones of saxophonist Almond were an integral part of the group's sound, and Almond frequently played flute as well, including the bass flute. Characterized by a blend of blues and jazz riffs, latin beats, and a mellow rock aesthetic, and in contrast to the heavier guitar-driven rock of his contemporaries, composer and band leader Mark worked at producing warm and melodic works. Mark-Almond's first two albums, Mark-Almond (1971) and Mark-Almond II (1972) were recorded for Bob Krasnow's Blue Thumb label, and were noted for their embossed envelope-style album covers. 01 - The Ghetto 02 - The City (A) Grass & Concrete (B) Taxi To Brooklyn (C) Speak Easy It's A Whiskey Scene 03 - Tramp And The Young Girl 04 - Love (A) Renaissance (B) Prelude (C) Pickup (D) Hotel Backstage 05 - Song For You LINK
Quintessence was a rock band formed in April 1969, by Raja Ram in Notting Hill, London, England. The style was a mixture of jazz and progressive rock with an influence of music from India. Quintessence was among the first true progressive rock outfits signed by Island Records. The original line-up included the Australian born, Shiva Shankar Jones (voice, keyboards, percussion), Raja Ram (flute, percussion), Sambhu Baba (bass, guitar), Maha Dev (guitar), Allan Mostert (lead guitar, bass, sitar), and Jake Milton (drums, percussion). All of them, in addition to a common interest in Indian music, also shared the Hindu faith. Quintessence were tagged a 'spiritual' band, but were playing New Age rock before the term was born. Quintessence is the second release of the band. 01 - Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Guaranga 02 - Sea Of Immortality 03 - High On Mt. Kailash 04 - Burning Bush 05 - Shiva's Chant 06 - Prisms (Conception Barham) 07 - Twilight Zones 08 - Maha Mantra 09 - Only Love 10 - St. Pancras (Live) 11 - Infinitum (Conception Barham) LINK
This band started their career in Surrey and were earlier known as The Few and The Silence. They were discovered by Simon Napier-Bell who once was a manager of The Yardbirds. He brought them to London and they were renamed John's Children by him. Because of their limited muscial ability the band didn't play on the first two singles. The backing tracks were recorded by sessionmen and only Andy Ellisons vocals appear on the 45's. Their first 7-inch "Smashed Blocked" done well in the USA and it reached the Top 100 over there. White Whale offered them a record deal and the result was the eminently forgettable "Orgasm" album. The songs were played live in the studio by the band and overdubbed with screams and shouts from the Beatles movie "A Hard Day's Night". Thankfully their singles were much more better and Bam Caruso compiled back in 1987 (Bam Caruso KIRI 095) all the 45's. And you might know that Marc Bolan was a part-time member and recorded with them two 7-inches ("Desdemona" and "A Midsummer's Night Scene"). All in all a fine mod/pop-art band that will please fans of The Creation, The Eyes, The Who. 01 - Smashed Blocked 02 - Just What You Want - Just What You'll Get 03 - Desdemona 04 - Remember Thomas A'beckett 05 - It's Been A Long Time 06 - Arthur Green 07 - Strange Affair 08 - Midsummer Night's Scene 09 - Sarah Crazy Child 10 - Jagged Time Lapse 11 - Go-Go Girl 12 - Come And Play With Me In The Garden 13 - But She's Mine LINK
Blues rock band from Baton Rouge. Potliquor hailed from Louisiana and straddled the line between country, blues, southern rock and hard rock...all the while throwing in horns just to keep things fresh. With a powerful singer in George Ratzlaff, Potliquor were able to muster some pretty inspired moments on vinyl. This, their elusive second album, "Levee Blues" is widely considered their artistic peak. With an ensemble of female background vocalists in tow, the album bears a certain gospel charm that some of their other efforts were missing. 01 - Cheer 02 - The Train 03 - Levee Blues 04 - Rooster Blues 05 - Chattanooga 06 - You're No Good 07 - Lady Madonna 08 - When God Dips His Love In My Heart 09 - Beyond The River Jordan LINK
Fat Water hail from Chicago and fit very nicely into the dual male/female lead vocals of the late '60s and early '70s. The vocals are very much of the west coast San Francisco scene of that time and bring the Airplane's Grace Slick immediately to mind. Musically, the vocals are matched with acoustic guitars and swirling organ which gives a country rock feel that flows easily from full tilt boogie to slow blues." 01 - I Can Be Happy 02 - Joshua 03 - Amalynda Guinevere 04 - Gimme Your Sweet 05 - Guitar Store Song 06 - Only For The Moment 07 - It' S Not The Same 08 - Wayback 09 - Waiting For Mary 10 - Mistress De Charmaign 11 - Santa Anna Speed Queen 12 - Gotta Get Together LINK
SOD was a bluesy Rock outfit from LA with a lot of beards and bad 70s long hair. To top it all off, their percussion player Jay York was a professional wrestler from the NWA! They put out two albums, and I think this is the better of the two, although the other one gets mentioned because David Axelrod did some production on it. The band gets right down to business with Too Loose To Get Tight Pt. 1 with a nice long drum break intro that leads into some funky Rock. Pt. 2 of the song is even better since it’s mostly an instrumental. Things I Wanna Say is in a similar vein with some nice horn work. In fact, the whole album is a pretty good listen. (S-M67) 01 - Too Loose To Get Tight-Pt.1 02 - Too Loose To Get Tight-Pt.2 03 - Things I Wanna Say 04 - Love Sweet Love 05 - Here 06 - Ev'ryday 07 - La Brea Tar Pit Blues 08 - I Don't Want Ya 09 - Makin' It LINK
