The Loot were something of a poppier, minor-league Troggs. Like the Troggs, they came from Andover. Guitarist Dave Wright had been an early member of the Troggs, and briefly replaced Chris Britton in the Troggs when Britton left the band for a short spell in 1967. The Loot recorded for Page One, the label run by Troggs manager Larry Page, and issued "Baby Come Closer" as their 1966 debut single; the song would also be done by the Troggs on their second LP. The Loot never did have anything close to a hit, in large part because they never did corral the right song for any of their half-dozen 1966-1969 singles. They played fair but hardly outstanding moddish pop/rock, a bit lusty and raw sometimes, but not nearly as much so as the Troggs. Seven of the 12 songs from their singles are included on the various-artists compilation Untamed & Innocent, which also has rarities from fellow collector-favorite mod bands the Sorrows, the Untamed, and the Thoughts.(MZA)
01 - She's A Winner 02 - Try To Keep It A Secret 03 - Baby 04 - Baby Come Closer 05 - Meet Jaqueline 06 - You Need Someone To Love 07 - Radio City 08 - Save Me 09 - I've Just Gotta Love You 10 - Don't Turn Around 11 - I Got What You Want 12 - Gotta Get Home 13 - You Are My Sunshine Girl 14 - Whenever You're Ready
The Silkie were an English folk music group. Their name derived from an Orcadian song The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry, which they sometimes performed. They were briefly considered to be the English equivalent of Peter, Paul and Mary, with their common repertoire of Bob Dylan songs, and the original Australian folk group, The Seekers. The original quartet were Hull University students and consisted of Sylvia Tatler (vocals), Mike Ramsden (guitar and vocals), Ivor Aylesbury (guitar and vocals) and Kevin Cunningham (double bass). The group received help from John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison to record their cover version of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" on 9 August 1965 at the IBC Studios at about the same time as The Beatles' own version was being released on their album Help! The song charted in the UK at # 28 and also reached # 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the same year. John Lennon produced while Paul McCartney played the guitar and George Harrison kept time by tapping his guitar and also playing the tambourine. When the recording was completed, Lennon was so pleased with it that he rang Brian Epstein, played it over the phone to him, and told him that they had just recorded a Number 1 hit. The Silkie had been scheduled to tour the United States in December 1965 and had even been booked to appear on both the Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand, but were unable to obtain the necessary visas and work permits so the tour was subsequently cancelled. Two further singles released in 1966 failed to make the UK or U.S. charts and The Silkie finally split up.
01 - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 02 - The Times They Are A-Changin' 03 - Mr. Tambourine Man 04 - Close The Door Gently 05 - Bob Dylan' Dream 06 - Girl Of The North Country 07 - Blowin' In The Wind 08 - Blood Red River 09 - Love Minus Zero-No Limit 10 - It Ain't Me, Babe 11 - Tomorrow Is A Long Time 12 - City Winds 13 - Leave Me To Cry 14 - Keys To My Soul 15 - Born To Be With You 16 - I'm So Sorry
...it was dawning of the Age of Aquarius, and anything was possible. The year was 1967, the Summer of Love, and this "collective concept album" put out by Electra Records perfectly encapsulates that heady, incense scented time. With its traditional rock instruments alongside early synths and electronics, exotic percussion, sitars, harpsichords, bells and other effects, this is as gloriously an innocent psychedelic foray as you are likely to find. The Zodiac is not really a band, per se, but a gathering of some of the hottest session musicians of the time. The music is all instrumental, but backs periodic, ever so serious poetic recitations by Cyrus Faryar, as he goes through each of the twelve signs of the zodiac, giving each one a character to represent it (Aquarius, The Lover of Life; Gemini, The Cool Eye; Libra, The Flower Child, etc.) Water has faithfully reproduced the wildly colorful cover, including the purple lettered instruction on the back: Must Be Played In the Dark. I can just imagine a bunch of stoned hippies back in 1967, sitting around in the dark listening to this, deriving great meaning from Faryar's poetic musings. "Far out, man." It's a fun album, if you listen to it in light of the times it was recorded in. Quite a bit of the music is actually very creative and trippy, utilizing unusual instruments that may sound familiar to some now, but were unheard of in rock music in 1967. Cosmic Sounds is a fascinating and entertaining glimpse into the past, into a time full of innocent hope and joyous experimentation.(Aural Innovations #21, 2002)
01 - Aries - The Fire-Fighter 02 - Taurus - The Voluptuary 03 - Gemini - The Cool Eye 04 - Cancer - The Moonchild 05 - Leo - The Lord Of Lights 06 - Virgo - The Perpetual Perfectionist 07 - Libra - The Flower Child 08 - Scorpio - The Passionate Hero 09 - Saggitarius - The Versatile Daredevil 10 - Capricorn - The Uncapricious Climber 11 - Aqaurius - The Lover Of Life 12 - Pisces - The Peace Piper
Aardvark made one album only, then totally vanished from the scene. However, it was a very good album with lots of heavy prog workouts that should appeal to all fans of early prog acts like The Nice, Spooky Tooth, Deep Purple, Quatermass and Egg. "A very strong album, and whilst not terribly innovative, is still hugely enjoyable in many respects." Frank Clark - percussion, David Skillin - vocals, Steve Milliner - organ, piano, celeste, vibes, marimba & recorders and Stan Aldous - bass 01 - Copper Sunset 02 - Very Nice Of You To Call 03 - Many Things To Do 04 - The Greencap 05 - I Can't Stop 06 - The Outing-Yes 07 - Once Upon A Hill 08 - Put That In Your Pipe And Smoke It LINK
Heavily influenced by San Francisco bands (Big Brother and Jefferson Airplane quickly come to mind), the Santa Rosa, California-based A Euphonious Wail was roughly five years behind creative and popular tastes. Not that it stopped a struggling Kapp Records from signing the quintet. Built around the talents of drummer Doug Hoffman, keyboardist Bart Libby, singer Suzanne Rey, singer/guitarist Steve Tracy and bassist Gary Violetti. 01 - Pony 02 - We've Got The Chance 03 - Did You Ever 04 - When I Start To Live 05 - F# 06 - Chicken 07 - Night Out 08 - Love My Brother 09 - I Want To Be A Star LINK
Thorinshield is sometimes labeled a U.S. folk-psych trio or a sunshine pop band by collectors, but though they share some traits with Californian sunshine pop artists, they had a more straightforward, less lightweight rock flavor than many acts given that label. On their sole, obscure, self-titled album (from 1968), the influences of the melodic rock and vocal harmonies of the 1966-1967 Beatles are evident, as are some of the ornate orchestration, production trickery, and trippily optimistic-romantic lyrics that were becoming in vogue throughout much pop music by the late '60s.(AMG) Bass - Bob Ray, drums - Terry Hand and guitar - James Smith 01 - Life Is A Dream 02 - Brave New World 03 - Wrong My Friend 04 - Here Today 05 - Pleasure Time 06 - The Best Of It 07 - Daydreaming 08 - Light That Love Brings 09 - Prelude To A Postlude 10 - One Girl 11 - Collage Of Attitudes LINK
From Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Fredric issued a rare, limited-run album in the late '60s, Phases and Faces, that's highly valued in some collector quarters. It would be ultimately inaccurate to call this garage psychedelia; it's too clean-cut and poppy, with conscientious harmonies, guitar-organ interplay, and light lovelorn lyrics. They were a very young group, and it shows in the callow songwriting, despite the well-executed arrangements. The single "Red Pier" made some modest local noise, and by 1970 they were signed to Capitol, who changed their name to the Rock Garden. They disbanded shortly after beginning their relationship with Capitol; drummer-vocalist David Idema eventually had a hit as David Geddes, "Run Joey Run." (AMG). 01 - Federal Reserve Bank Blues 02 - The Girl I Love 03 - All About Judi 04 - Henry Adams 05 - Morning Sunshine 06 - Taggin' 07 - Cousin Mary Knows 08 - My Yellow Tree Red Piper 09 - Red Pier 10 - Old Fashioned Guy 11 - Born In Fire 12 - Saturday Morning With Rain LINK
These Trails was an Honolulu, Hawaii group that was privately pressed on Sinergia Records in 1973. Members were Patrick Cockett (vocals, slide guitar, tabla), Eric Kingsbury (guitar), Margaret Morgan (vocals, guitar, dulcimer), Carlos Pardeiro (vocals, guitar, sitar), Dave Choy (arp synthesizer, recorder, arrangements and final mix) and Ron Rosha (ipu). Their eponymous album is an album that skillfully combines a keen sense of melody with otherworldly vocals from the enigmatic late Margaret Morgan and innovative sonic experimentation that over 30 years later has stood the test of time. What's more the band furnished each of its tracks with the colours, scents and atmospheres of the botanical treasure of the volcanic Pacific island paradise that birthed them. (PRBlog) 01 - These Trails 02 - Our House In Hanalei 03 - Of Broken Links 04 - El Rey Pascador 05 - Psyche I & Share Your Water 06 - Hello Lou 07 - Rusty's House & Lost In Space 08 - Psyche I I 09 - Sowed A Seed 10 - Rapt Attention 11 - Waipoo 12 - Garden Botanum LINK
Captain Beyond, the first album by Captain Beyond, was released in 1972, and featured former members of Iron Butterfly, Deep Purple, Johnny Winter, and Rick Derringer. The album cover for the U.S. release included 3-D artwork (using lenticular printing). Even though there are 13 tracks, it really sounds as if there are only 5 with tracks 1-3, 6-8 & 9-13 segueing together. Tracks 4 & 5 are the only individual songs that don't segue into each other or from other songs. In which case "Dancing Madly Backwards" is 9:19, "Thousand Days of Yesterdays" is 9:01, and "I Can't Feel Nothin'" is around 9:13. 01 - Dancing Madly Backwards 02 - Armworth 03 - Myopic Void 04 - Mesmerization Eclipse 05 - Raging River of Fear 06 - Thousand Days of Yesterday (Intro) 07 - Frozen Over 08 - Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone) 09 - I Cant Feel Nothin' (Part 1) 10 - As the Moon Speaks 11 - Astral Lady 12 - As the Moon Speaks (Return) 13 - I Can't Feel Nothin' (Part 2) LINK Captain Beyond - 1973 - Frozen Over Live
Frozen Over is an audience recording of the 1973 concert in the University of Texas at Arlington with better quality than the Official Far Beyond a Distant Sun - Live in Arlington Texas released in 2001. 01 - Taped Intro (Voygers Of Distant Travelers) - Distant Sun 02 - Dancing Madly Backwards On A Sea Of Air 03 - Armworth 04 - Myopic Void 05 - Drifting In Space 06 - Pandora's Box (It's War) 07 - Thousand Days Of Yesterdays 08 - Frozen Over 09 - Butterfly Bleu 10 - Mesmerization Eclipse 11 - Stone Free LINK Captain Beyond - 1977 - Dawn Explosion
Dawn Explosion, the third and final album by Captain Beyond, was released in 1977, and featured former members of Iron Butterfly. Original singer Rod Evans was replaced by Willy Daffern. 01 - Do or Die 02 - Icarus 03 - Sweet Dreams 04 - Fantasy 05 - Breath of Fire, Pts. 1-2 06 - If You Please 07 - Midnight Memories 08 - Space Interlude 09 - Oblivion 10 - Space Reprise 11 - Space Reprise LINK
Delaney & Bonnie was a rock/soul revue fronted by husband-and-wife singer/songwriters Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. The pair's "Delaney & Bonnie & Friends" incarnation was particularly influential, drawing in and in many cases helping shape the direction of such musical luminaries as Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, George Harrison, Leon Russell, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, and King Curtis. Home is the first album by Delaney & Bonnie, released on the Stax label. Most of the album was recorded in 1969 at Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and features many of Stax's house musicians, including Donald "Duck" Dunn, Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, and Isaac Hayes. The album's cover photo shows Delaney and Bonnie with Delaney's grandfather, John Bramlett, in front of the log cabin in Pontotoc, Mississippi where Delaney grew up. 01 - A Long Road Ahead 02 - My Baby Specializes 03 - Things Get Better 04 - We Can Love 05 - All We Really Want To Do 06 - It's Been A Long Time Coming 07 - Just Plain Beautiful 08 - Everybody Loves A Winner 09 - Look What We Have Found 10 - Piece Of My Heart 11 - A Right Now Love 12 - I've Just Been Feeling Bad 13 - Dirty Old Man 14 - Get Ourselves Together 15 - Pour Your Love On Me 16 - Hard To Say Goodbye LINK Delaney & Bonnie - 1971 - Motel Shot
Motel Shot is a 1971 album by Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. The album, their third for Atco/Atlantic and fifth overall, is a mostly acoustic set. The album's title refers to the impromptu, sometimes late-night, jam sessions pursued by touring musicians when on the road. In the liner notes, Delaney Bramlett dedicates the album to "My mom who sang alto." Bonnie Bramlett wrote "If this album can make one person feel half of what I felt on this session, then I am happy. It is to all of you with love." 01 - Where The Soul Never Dies 02 - Will The Circle Be Unbroken 03 - Rock Of Ages 04 - Long Road Ahead 05 - Faded Love 06 - Talkin' About Jesus 07 - Come On In My Kitchen 08 - Don't Decieve Me (Please Don't Go) 09 - Never Ending Song Of Love 10 - Sing My Way Home 11 - Going Down The Road Feeling Bad 12 - Lonesome And A Long Way From Home LINK Delaney & Bonnie - 1972 - D&B Together
D&B Together is a 1972 album by Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. It was their last album of new material, as Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett would divorce soon after its release. Although released by Columbia/CBS, D&B Together was actually recorded for the Atco/Atlantic label, under the working title Country Life. 01 - Only You Know And I Know 02 - Wade In The River Of Jordan 03 - Sound Of The City 04 - Well, Well 05 - I Know How It Feels To Be Lonely 06 - Comin' Home 07 - Move 'em Out 08 - Big Change Comin' 09 - A Good Thing (I'm On Fire) 10 - Groupie (Superstar) 11 - I Know Something Good About You 12 - Country Life 13 - Over And Over (Bonus Track) 14 - I'm Not Your Lover, Just Your Lovee (Bonus Track) 15 - Good Vibrations (Bonus Track) 16 - Are You A Beatle Or A Rolling Stone (Bonus Track) 17 - (You Don't Know) How Glad I Am (Bonus Track) 18 - California Rain (Bonus Track) LINK
Captain Beyond was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971. The original line-up for Captain Beyond were singer Rod Evans, guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, bassist Lee Dorman, and drummer Bobby Caldwell. Evans was the original lead singer for Deep Purple and probably best known for his vocals on their 1968 debut chart-breaker "Hush". Reinhardt and Dorman had played in Iron Butterfly; Dorman, in particular, played on most of Butterfly's early albums, including their 1968 breakthrough In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Caldwell had come to prominence playing with Johnny Winter. This line-up recorded the self-titled debut album, released in 1972. Following this album Caldwell left the band to join Derringer and was replaced by drummer Brian Glascock. Also joining the band around this time were Reese Wynans (later of Double Trouble) on keyboards and Guille Garcia on congas. The record company's chosen producer, Giorgio Gomelsky, did not like Glascock's drumming and requested a new drummer. Glascock was released and Martin Rodriguez was brought in on drums on the recommendation of Garcia. This six man line-up recorded the group's second album, Sufficiently Breathless. Tension during the recording of Sufficiently Breathless led to Evans quitting. The original line-up reformed later in 1973 for a US tour but the band split up at the end of the year. Sufficiently Breathless, is the second album by Captain Beyond, recorded at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia and in The Record Plant, Sausalito, California, and was released in 1973
01 - Sufficiently Breathless 02 - Bright Blue Tango 03 - Drifting In Space 04 - Evil Men 05 - Starglow Energy 06 - Distant Sun 07 - Voyages Of Past Travellers 08 - Everything's A Circle
Originally a trio of friends from school, John Simms (guitar), Mark Sheather (bass), and Ken White (drums) grew up in the Acton area of London and started as a college circuit blues-rock band called Jug Blues (later Matuse and then X). Impressing manager Ashley Kozak, the band were given a deal with Vertigo, changed their name to Clear Blue Sky and recorded a self-titled record under the production of Patrick Campbell-Lyons. Still only eighteen, the three musicians mixed hard blues with progressive and psychedelic rock in an unusually mature way, and the LP was released in January 1971 sporting one of Roger Dean's earliest album covers. The group was occasionally compared to Cream, Led Zeppelin and early Jethro Tull, though the music had a firm prog sensibility unlike Cream or Zeppelin and sometimes may even remind of Rush. Clear Blue Sky's 1971 debut (reissued on Repertoire,1991) is considered their most important and the LP is a collector's item. The second record, "Destiny" [Saturn, 1990], released twenty years after the first (and then again in 1999 on Aftermath in CD format), is old material but shows an improvement in form and approach from the first session. 01 - Destiny 02 - Pick Up 03 - Bottom of Your Soul 04 - Follow the Light 05 - Back on the Road Again 06 - Vagabonds 07 - When I Call Your Name 08 - Waiting for the Day 09 - Killing Time LINK
Damnation of Adam Blessing was formed in Cleveland in 1968 including veterans of the Garage Bands, The Alarm Clock, and The Society. Damnation of Adam Blessing's focus was obviously on contemporary Hard-Rock, but the arrangements were far more advanced. While most Heavy Rock acts featured screaming or shouting vocalists, Damnation of Adam Blessing tested the waters with low-range, gospel-like harmonies and Adam Blessing's grinding yet melodic leads. Adam Blessing - Lead Vocals, Ray Benich - Bass, Jimmy Quinn - Rhythm Guitar - Vocals, Bobby Kalamasz - Lead Guitar - Vocals and Billy Schwark - Drums - Percussion 01 - No Way 02 - Death Of A Virgin 03 - Driver 04 - Everyone 05 - Back To The River 06 - Money Tree 07 - Ba-Dup 08 - New York City Woman 09 - In The Morning 10 - Smile LINK
After singer/songwriter Paul Williams landed one of his songs on the flip side of Tiny Tim's "Tip Toe Thru The Tulips", he was approached by record producer Richard Perry with an offer to cut his own album. It was a giant step for Williams, who had just lost his job at the White Whale label a year earlier, an event that left him distraught and sour on the music industry. Apprehensive about going it alone,he formed a band with ex-Jefferson Airplane bassist Bob Harvey, guitarist George Hiller, flautist Cynthia Fitzpatrick, ex-Turtle drummer Don Murray and Williams' brother Ralph on guitar. Dubbed the Holy Mackerel, the band recorded it's psychedelic pop debut throughout the spring of 1968. Before the record's completion, Harvey left and was replaced by future Elvis Presley bassist Jerry Scheff, and then drummer Don Murray was replaced by Michael Cannon. The record appeared in November of 1968 and despite being a Billboard magazine "Special Merit Pick", it went nowhere and the Holy Mackerel called it quits soon after. Williams began his successful solo career a year later. (AMG) 01 - The Secret Of Pleasure 02 - Scorpio Red 03 - The Lady Is Waiting 04 - Wildflowers 05 - The Somewhere In Arizona At 430 A.M Restaurant Song (And Now I Am Alone) 06 - Prinderella 07 - Bitter Honey 08 - Nothin' Short Of Misery 09 - The Golden Ghost Of Love 10 - The Wild Side Of Life 11 - 10,000 Men 12 - 1984 LINK
A third-tier late-'60s L.A. psychedelic outfit, the Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band were not as weird as their name indicated. They were, more to the point, as trendy as their name led one to believe, recording common-denominator psychedelic pop for the GNP label that emulated much of the form, but delivered little in the way of lasting content. (AMG) This Los Angeles area pop group recorded two interesting albums for Gene Norman’s Carole label in 1967 and 1968. The first, The Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band Featuring Steve Hoffman was a pleasant collection of flower pop ditties highlighted by the sitar-led "Factory Endeavour” and the A-side to their only single, "Flowers Never Cry.” 01 - Factory Endeavour 02 - Early Dawn 03 - Antagonizing Friend 04 - Barnyard Philosophy 05 - Flowers Never Cry 06 - Geometry Alley 07 - October Sunshine 08 - Le Vent 09 - Publicity Inclined 10 - Yesterday Girl LINK
Strawbs (or The Strawbs) is an English rock band founded in 1964. Although the band started out as a bluegrass group they eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock, glam rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hit Part of the Union, which reached number two in the UK charts in February 1973. They were originally known as the Strawberry Hill Boys. Although they started out in the sixties as a bluegrass band, the Strawberry Hill Boys' repertoire soon shifted to favour their own (mainly Cousins') material. They were the first UK signing to Herb Alpert's A&M Records and recorded their first single "Oh How She Changed" b/w "Or Am I Dreaming" in 1968[1], which was produced and arranged by two highly influential seventies’ producers, Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti, who also worked on their critically acclaimed first album, Strawbs, which was released in 1969. (Note: Although that first single was issued in the U.S. on A&M, neither of their first two A&M LP's were issued in the US until around 1975.) Strawbs is a studio album by Strawbs, their first (not counting the Sandy Denny & The Strawbs LP recorded in Demark.)
01 - The Man Who Called Himself Jesus 02 - That Which Once Was Mine 03 - All The Little Ladies 04 - Pieces Of 79 And 15 05 - Tell Me What You See In Me 06 - Oh How She Changed 07 - Or Am I Dreaming 08 - Where Is This Dream Of Your Youth 09 - Poor Jimmy Wilson 10 - Where Am I - I'll Show You Where To Sleep 11 - The Battle
Folk-rock outfit the Hobbits was the studio project of Queens, New York-born singer/songwriter Jimmy Curtiss, who ranks as one of the more interesting footnotes in the history of rock & roll — the rare would-be teen idol who actually wrote his own material (and did so admirably), he later expanded his reach into psychedelia and harmony-laden folk-rock, but while the subject of a small cult following, none of his records ever made a commercial dent. Curtiss first surfaced in 1959 as a member of the doo wop combo the Enjays and issued his solo debut, "Without You," on United Artists in 1961 — the label attempted to position him as a teen crooner in the mold of Bobby Vee or Paul Anka, but he failed to make a commercial impact. After a period working as a songwriter he dropped out of music to pursue a career in advertising before resurfacing in 1967 with the bubblegum cult classic "Psychedelic Situation," a major hit in Germany that attracted little attention at home. Curtiss then signed to Decca, collaborating with producers Jerry Vance and Terry Phillips and songwriter Marcia Hillman on the Hobbits — despite borrowing their name from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels and titling their 1967 debut Down to Middle Earth, The Hobbits turned out relatively straightforward sunshine pop, and the album is much sought-after by soft-psych aficionados. The follow-up, Men and Doors: The Hobbits Communicate, appeared in 1968 — like its predecessor, the record didn't sell, and Decca terminated the contract. After rechristening the group The New Hobbits, Curtiss released 1969's Back From Middle Earth, essentially a solo effort. [Allmusic.com] 01 - Down To Middle Earth 02 - I'm Just A Young Man 03 - Daffodil Days (The Affection Song) 04 - Break Away 05 - Treats 06 - Hands And Knees 07 - Let Me Run My Fingers Through Your Mind (Buy My Flowers) 08 - Out Of My Mind 09 - Clap Hands Til Daddy Comes Home 10 - Sunny Day Girl LINK The Hobbits - 1968 - Men and Doors - The Hobbits Communicate
This is the second album by The Hobbits. Only remaining member of the band at this moment was Jimmy Curtis. New line-up includes Gini Eastwood, Heather Hewitt and flamenco guitarist Marius. 01 - Men And Doors.mp3 02 - Espanña Baby.mp3 03 - Let Me Make My Own Mistakes.mp3 04 - Feeling.mp3 05 - Words Get In The Way.mp3 06 - The Journey.mp3 07 - Will You Be Ready For Tomorrow.mp3 08 - Love Is.mp3 09 - Strawberry Children.mp3 10 - University Of The Street.mp3 11 - Artificial Face.mp3 LINK The New Hobbits - 1969 - Back from Middle Earth
01 - You Could Have Made It Easy 02 - Growin' Old 03 - I Could Hear The Grass Growin' 04 - Comin' Out 05 - The Devils Gonna Get Me 06 - Underground 07 - Love Can Set You Free 08 - Flora 09 - Woman So Worried LINK
The Peddlers formed in Manchester in 1964, as a pop trio of Trevor Morais, Tab Martin and Roy Phillips. Morais, the drummer, had previously played with Faron's Flamingoes and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes (who had struggled to replace Ringo Starr after he had left to join The Beatles). Martin, the bassist, noted for his peculiar style of playing a Gibson EB2 bass guitar in an upright position as though it were a string bass; and Phillips, on vocals and keyboards, had both been in The Saints and The Tornados; Phillips had also been with The Soundtracks. The trio released six singles and an EP on the Philips record label before joining CBS in 1967. In 1968 they released the album Freewheelers, consisting of standards sometimes adventurously arranged by Keith Mansfield. The follow-up, 1968's Three In A Cell, included a downtempo version of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever", from the 1965 musical of the same name, which was later heavily sampled for its bass and Hammond organ riff. Trevor Morais left the trio during an Australian tour in 1972, and was replaced on drums by New Zealander Paul Johnson. The Peddlers disbanded in 1976.
01 - Comin Home Baby 02 - On A Clear Day 03 - Basin Street Blues 04 - Nobody Likes Me 05 - I'm A Boy In Love 06 - People 07 - In The Still Of The Night 08 - Ebb Tide 09 - Just A Pretty Song 10 - The Lost Continent 11 - Prime Of My Life
The Twilights were an rock group of the mid to late 1960s. Alongside their own career successes, The Twilights are also notable for the inclusion of vocalist Glenn Shorrock, who later fronted Axiom, Esperanto and Little River Band, and guitarist Terry Britten who went on to become an internationally successful songwriter and producer and pen major hits for artists such as Tina Turner. Alongside The Easybeats and The Masters Apprentices, The Twilights are widely considered to be one of the most significant Australian rock groups of the 1960s. Highly popular bands with teenage audiences, they were renowned for their musical excellence and live prowess, as well as their on-stage humour, and they were held in high respect by fellow musicians. The group is also notable as one of the few major Australian rock bands of the period to retain the same personnel for virtually all of its career. Like most of their contemporaries, they began as a cover band, playing accomplished renditions of hits by popular overseas bands of the era such as The Beatles, The Who and The Small Faces, and their early hits in Australia were all cover versions. The Twilights were noted for being on top of current musical trends, and their early repertoire was regularly updated with the latest British and American rock hits, which were regularly sent to them on record and tape by family and friends in the UK. Later in their career guitarist Terry Britten began to write original material but the group did not last long enough for this to have a significant impact on their career. 1968, the watershed year for The Twilights started optimistically with the Aussie chart success of "Cathy Come Home" and continued with the invitation by the Seven Network to develop a weekly television sit-com series based around the group at work and play, loosely along the lines of "The Monkees" or "A Hard Days’ Night". At the time, Go-Set magazine documented the pilot of "Once Upon A Twilight" with photos of the group on location around Melbourne, with their proposed co-stars, comedienne Mary Hardy (playing the role of the band’s secretary), and a youthful Ronnie Burns. The fate of the TV show was decided at the end of the year, when the Ford Motor Company withdrew its sponsorship and the project was cancelled, but the project helped to propel work on what was to become The Twilights’ greatest recording achievement. The "soundtrack" to the shelved TV show took on a life of its own. A long gestation period, interspersed with the band’s most concentrated regime of live touring yet, resulted in one of the finest Australian albums of the era, "Once Upon A Twilight". 01 - Once Upon A Twilight 02 - What A Silly Thing To Do 03 - Bessemae 04 - Stop The World For A Day 05 - Mr. Nice 06 - Take Action 07 - Blue Roundabout 08 - Devendra 09 - Found To Be Thrown Away 10 - Tomorrow Is Today 11 - The Cocky Song 12 - Paternosta Row LINK
Tractor were formed in Rochdale in 1971 from the remains of three-piece band The Way We Live (originally formed in 1966 at Balderstone School, Rochdale). The band comprised Jim Milne (guitarist, vocalist and songwriter) and Steve Clayton (drummer, percussionist and songwriter) who had teamed up in 1971 with their manager and sound engineer John Brierley, who built his first studios (Dandelion Studios Rochdale) in his bedroom and attic. John later recorded Factory and many other bands at his Cargo Studios in Rochdale. As The Way We Live, Tractor made a 1971 album for Dandelion Records boss, the late John Peel. After the release of this album, "A Candle For Judith", Peel described guitarist Jim Milne as "...the man responsible for some of the most urgent flowing and logical guitar playing I've ever heard". Their second album, "Tractor” (as Tractor) got to number 18 in the Radio Luxembourg album charts and was frequently played on the BBC by DJs like Peel, Bob Harris and Anne Nightingale. It was also in the Virgin Top 30 selling album charts in 1972. 01 - All Ends Up 02 - Little Girl In Yellow 03 - The Watcher 04 - Ravenscroft's 13 Bar Boogie 05 - Shubunkin 06 - Hope In Flavour 07 - Everytime It Happens 08 - Make The Journey 09 - Lady Of Astorath 10 - Stony Glory 11 - Overture LINK
