Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success. The band performed at all three of the most famous American rock festivals of the 1960s — Monterey (1967), Woodstock (1969) and Altamont (1969), as well as headlining the first Isle of Wight festival. Reflecting a sense of humor that not all the Haight-Ashbury bands could share or even afford, The Worst of Jefferson Airplane remains one of the most amusing titles of a '60s rock album. The disc smartly collapses two big singles ("White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love," of course) and other well-selected tracks into a chronological mix that moves from flat-out hard rock ("It's No Secret") to the solo acoustic showcase ("Embryonic Journey") and the gospel/blues blessing "Good Shepherd." It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 and has since gone platinum. 01 - It's No Secret 02 - Blues From An Airplane 03 - Somebody To Love 04 - Today 05 - White Rabbit 06 - Embryonic Journey 07 - Martha 08 - The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil 09 - Crown Of Creation 10 - Chushingura 11 - Lather 12 - Plastic Fantastic Lover 13 - Good Shepherd 14 - We Can Be Together 15 - Volunteers LINK
The Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. They were the second group of the British Invasion, after The Beatles, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show when the single "Glad All Over" knocked "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the British charts, then in February 1964 went to #6 in the United States. By early 1964, it was the DC5 (and not the Rolling Stones) who were the Beatles' chief rivals. It was promoted as a competition pitting the Merseybeat sound of Liverpool against the Tottenham sound of the London area. And while the Beatles ultimately prevailed, the Dave Clark Five notched 17 top 40 hits in the US (12 in Britain) between 1964 and 1967. The run that began with "Glad All Over” ended with "Please Tell Me Why” in 1966. In between came the hard-driving "Bits and Pieces,” "Can’t You See That She’s Mine,” "Any Way You Want It,” "Catch Us If You Can” and "Over and Over.” Even after the Top Forty string was broken, when "Satisfied With You” stalled at #50, the DC5 continued to make the charts through 1967, hitting the Top Ten once again with "You Got What It Takes.” By the time it was all over, the Dave Clark Five had sold 50 million records. This US album of 1966, was not released in UK. 01 - Satisfied With You 02 - Go On 03 - Do You Still Love Me 04 - I Meant You 05 - Look Before You Leep 06 - Please Tell Me Why 07 - You Never Listen 08 - I Still Need You 09 - It'll Only Hurt For A Little While 10 - Good Lovin' LINK
This, the group's third album release, was actually an odds-and-sods type compilation of leftover tracks and singles that formed a respectable 10-song 30-minute plus LP. As a sign of just how strong the band was, it still represented a step forward from their second album, and is one of the great unknown albums of 1968.(Bruce Eder) 01 - Mournin' Blues 02 - Collegiana 03 - Willie The Weeper 04 - Cornbread 'Lasses (And Sassafrass Tea) 05 - These Days 06 - Sadie Green (The Vamp Of New Orleans) 07 - Dr Heckle And Mr Jibe 08 - End Of Your Line 09 - Reason To Believe 10 - Hesitation Blues (Oh! Baby Must I Hesitate) 11 - A Number And A Name Thanks to Ronnie Wade LINK
"Texas In My Soul" was originally released on RCA Records in 1968. Willie would probably call this a "theme" album rather than a "concept" album since there is no story or narration throughout the songs, but rather a cohesive theme linking the songs. (E.C.Powell) 01 - Dallas 02 - San Antonio 03 - Streets Of Laredo 04 - Who Put All My Ex's In Texas 05 - The Hill Country Theme 06 - Waltz Across Texas 07 - Travis Letter 08 - Remember The Alamo 09 - Texas In My Soul 10 - There's A Little Bit Of Everything in Texas 11 - Beautiful Texas LINK
Kangaroo released their sole album in 1968, having opened for acts such as The Doors and The Who. Featuring the talent of singer Barbara Keith (whose songs have been covered by Barbara Streisand, Delaney & Bonnie, Lowell George and others), John Hall (Orleans), ND Smart (Mountain & The Great Speckled Bird) and Ted Spelios (Bruce Springsteen). According to the cover, this is a "country-tinged pop-psych" album.
01 - Such A Long Long Time 02 - You're Trying To Be A Woman 03 - Daydream Stallion 04 - Make Some Room In Your Life 05 - Frog Giggin' 06 - You Can't Do This To Me 07 - If You Got Some Love In Mind 08 - I Never Tell Me Twice 09 - Tweed's Chicken Inn 10 - Happy Man 11 - The Only Thing I Had 12 - Maybe Tomorrow
"T.I.M.E.", an acronym for "Trust In Men Everywhere", are one of the great West Coast groups of the 1960s, evolved from a San Diego act "The Hard Times", who were active between 1966 and 1967. Their early line-up featured "Rudy Romero" (vocals), "Lee Keifer" (vocals, guitar), "Bill Richardson" (lead guitar), "Bob Morris" (bass guitar) and "Paul Wheatbread" (drums). "The Hard Times" quickly relocated themselves in Los Angeles, where they became one of the in-house attractions on "Dick Clark"'s daily television show, "Where The Action Is". 01 - Tripping Into Sunshine 02 - Label It Love 03 - Finder's Keepers 04 - Love You, Cherish You 05 - Make It Alright 06 - Let The Colors Keep On 07 - You Changed It All 08 - I Really Love You 09 - Make Love To You 10 - I Can't Find It 11 - What Can It Be 12 - Take Me Along LINK
The Illusion were an American psychedelic rock band from Long Island, New York. They released three full-length albums in the U.S., the first of which was also issued in the United Kingdom. The group had one minor hit in the U.S. in 1969 with "Did You See Her Eyes", which peaked at #32. Their first album reached # 69 and stayed 27 weeks in the Billboard album charts. Since then their vinyl material has become highly sought after by collectors of 1960s psychedelia. John Vinci - vocals, Richie Cerniglia - guitar, Mike Maniscalco - keyboards, Chuck Adler - bass, Mike Ricciardella - drums. 01 - Did You See Her Eyes 02 - Talkin' Sweet, Talkin' Soul 03 - Just Imagine 04 - Run Run Run - Willy Gee (Miss Holy Lady) 05 - I Love You, Yes I Do 06 - Alone 07 - Charlena 08 - Why, Tell Me Why 09 - The Real Thing 10 - You Made Me What I Am LINK
The nucleus of the group that created the LP had its genesis in the excellent mid-'60s bubblegum-psychedelic outfit The Rainy Daze, formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1965, which had a minor Top 100 hit with the camouflaged ode to marijuana, "Acapulco Gold," in 1967. The quintet's catalysts were Tim Gilbert, the lead vocalist and guitarist, and John Carter, the lyricist. The Rainy Daze broke up following several post-LP singles on the Turtles' label, White Whale. Carter and Gilbert, meanwhile, had written an entire album, and now needed a band to record it. With Diamond, they held auditions and ultimately assembled Dave Torbert on bass, Scott Quigley and Matt Kelly on guitars, Chris Herold on drums, and lead singer Rich Fifield. Fifield was replaced midway through the recording sessions with an unknown 18-year-old kid, Don Johnson, in his first professional gig. The resultant, self-titled album was a strong effort, mixing tongue-in-cheek counterculturalisms ("Class of '69" was a carefully couched song about a sex act) and hippie-fied country elements into its hard rock, but also, unfortunately, came out on White Whale just at the moment that the label was beginning to come undone. (AMG). 01 - Freight Train 02 - Class Of '69 03 - Birdie In A Cage 04 - Nothing At All 05 - Cheyenne 06 - Run Rabbit Run 07 - Country Boy 08 - Overnight Bag 09 - Horseradish 10 - Asia Minor 11 - Wind LINK
The Travel Agency was a folk-rock band from California, formed in San Francisco and featured Frank Davis who had previously worked in the studio with the Fever Tree in Texas. They then appear to have relocated to Los Angeles and released two excellent 45s on LA labels Tanqueray ("Time/Made For You". 1966) & Kookaburra ("Time/Emit". 1967). Both of these are excellent folk-rock 45s with Time being the same version on both 45s. This self-titled LP, produced by Bread's James Griffin, was released on LA's Viva Records in 1968. This was followed by a final Viva 45 ("What's A Man/She Understands") in 1969.
01 - What's A Man 02 - Sorry You Were Born 03 - Cadillac George 04 - Lonely Seabird 05 - So Much Love 06 - Make Love 07 - That's Good 08 - I'm Not Dead 09 - She Understands 10 - Come To Me 11 - You Will Be There 12 - Old Man
" 'I am a child of Woodstock nation, I've come a long way from my home...' So sings the one and only Cosmic Michael, on this the opening track of his second album released by the Bliss label in 1970. An album now high on serious psych collector wants lists too... Cosmic Michael. Well, some regard him as a 'Godhead,' the ultimate spiritual hippy, with songs of love, freedom & peace, all delivered with just piano, vocals and kazoo... A true guru... But, what of the music? I guess these days you'd call it loner psych, but back then the term 'freak rock' might have been applied to such a release. After his eponymous, and equally enigmatic debut album released a year earlier, he'd witnessed the Woodstock festival, absorbed the vibe, and relocated to Los Angeles where he then recorded After a While, seemingly quite quickly...'I've seen The Who, and Ten Years After, Jefferson Airplane they nearly blew my mind....' The nine tracks on After a While are stoned '60s DIY rock 'n'roll. You can call it lo-fi or home made, but the message remains: Cosmic Michael preaches love and freedom, and he's a mean boogie-woogie player too. The songs run one after the other, as if part of one spontaneous recording -- the moment one ends, he's into the next, and so on. After a While is of its time, a snapshot of innocence when it was believed music could change the world, and maybe it will yet." (forcedexposure.com)
01 - Now That I Found It 02 - Salty Jam 03 - Cosmic Michael Theme 04 - Too Much 05 - River City 06 - People's Fair 07 - Mother Earth 08 - Heavy Boogie
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
Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company, formed in 1969 by David Borden, was the world's first synthesizer ensemble, predating groups like Tonto's Expanding Head Band and Tangerine Dream. David Borden was in close contact with Dr. Robert Moog and was one of the first musicians to use his Minimoog. After recruiting Steve Drews and Linda Fisher to operate additional synthesizers, the group began playing concerts of minimalist music by Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. They began recording their first self-titled album in 1970, but it would not be released until 1973 by Earthquack Records. Their second album, Like a Duck to Water, was released in 1976. Borden and Mother Mallard continue performing Borden's recent and older music
New England's Blades of Grass were every bit as good as any of the other so-called sunshine pop groups that surfaced in the psychedelic summer of 1967, and if it weren't for a run of just plain blind bad luck, might have had a chance for bigger and better things. As it was, they managed just one album and a handful of singles before calling it quits. The group's biggest success was a version of "Happy," which charted well on the east coast, but unfortunately had to compete with the Sunshine Company's rendition, which stole most of the airplay in the rest of the country. Amazingly, Blades of Grass turned around and subsequently repeated the same scenario with "I Love You Alice B. Toklas," competing with the version by Harpers Bizarre, leading one to wonder if it wasn't bad management rather than bad luck that ultimately haunted them. The group's sole album, Blades of Grass Are Not for Smoking, is presented here in its entirety, along with some non-LP singles, and the end result is a light, soothing collection of baroque pop, heavy on angelic harmonies and ornate orchestration. (Steve Leggett) 01 - Happy 02 - Just Ah 03 - Tomorrow Is My Turn 04 - Satin Slipper 05 - You Won't Find That Girl 06 - Just Another Face 07 - Help! 08 - Or Is It The Rain 09 - Walk Away Renee 10 - That's What A Boy Likes 11 - The Way You'll Never Be 12 - I Love You, Alice B. Toklas 13 - You Turned Off The Sun 14 - Charlie And Fred 15 - Pageant 16 - If You Love Her, Cherish Her And Such 17 - Baby, You're A Real Good Friend Of Mine 18 - Leap Into The Arms Of Love LINK
The Game formed in Mitcham, Surrey, in 1964. Terry Spencer and Allen Janaway had earlier played together in a group called The Secrets, along with future occasional member Terry Brown. Mod-popsters Game had a brief liaison with Kenny Lynch (the black Cockney entertainer) and then signed to the Original Sound Productions management agency and production company, which consisted of Mitcham songwriters Lesley Blake, Alan Gowing and Terry Brown.
01 But I Do 02 Gotta Keep On Moving Baby 03 Gonna Get Me Someone 04 Gotta Wait 05 The Addicted Man 06 Help Me Mummy's Gone 07 It's Shocking What They Call Me 08 The Addicted Man (prev. unreleased) 09 Lavender Grove (as Lavender Grove) 10 When I Was Young (as Lavender Grove) 11 Unfair (1996) 12 Still On The Game (1996) 13 The Addicted Man (1996)
The Ultimate Spinach, composed of keyboardist/guitarist Ian Bruce-Douglas and singer Barbara Hudson was a psychedelic/hard rock/blues band of Boston's alternative scene in the second half of the 1960s.. In their '60's heyday they specialized in lengthy songs such as "Ballad of the Hip Death Goddess", from Ultimate Spinach (1968) and "Genesis of Beauty", from Behold And See (1968). Since 1970 the band have largely abandoned the psychedelic sounds and have (since at least 1975) dropped all of the '60's songs from their setlists (with the exception of 'Ballad Of The Hip Death Goddess' and a few from the third album). In this album, the only original member was Barbara Hudson. One of the musicians who played on the album was guitarist Jeff Baxter, future session man for Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers. This album leaves behind the psychedelic effects that characterised the Bruce-Douglas period and developing a generic sound more reminiscent of such acts as The Byrds, The Monkees and the '68-era Beach Boys.
01 - (Just Like) Romeo And Juliet 02 - Some Days You Just Can't Win 03 - Daisy 04 - Sincere 05 - Eddie's Rush 06 - Strange Life Tragicomedy 07 - Reasons 08 - Happiness Child 09 - Back Door Blues 10 - The World Has Just Begun
