THE RED KRAYOLA - Singles [USA experimental, psychedelic, rock 1970-2002] 2004 Drag City DC257CD

The very notion of the Red Krayola putting out "singles" is a little surreal, since singles are by most definitions the most commercial face of the record industry. After all, if anything was consistent about the Red Krayola throughout their career, it was their uncompromising underground uncommerciality. Yet the band actually put out a good number of singles in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and 21 tracks from those releases -- some of them quite rare, and some them actually previously unissued -- are collected on this compilation. While it wouldn't be accurate to categorize this as a best-of, in its own way it reflects the band's evolution as well as almost any anthology could (though it doesn't have anything from their earliest, psychedelic-oriented recordings in the late '60s), Mayo Thompson being the only constant throughout their ever-changing lineups. Strictly speaking, not all of this is the Red Krayola, as the CD begins with an unreleased 1970 solo Thompson non-LP B-side, and both sides of the very rare 1970 single by Saddlesore (which included both Thompson and another early Red Krayola member, Rick Barthelme). Those three tracks are rather fried Texas acid-country-folk, but by the time of the next Red Krayola 7" (the live, unreleased "Wives in Orbit"/"Yik Yak") in 1976, Thompson was already onto the sound that would largely characterize his next two decades or so of work: jerky-tempoed, irregularly structured, at times jarring indie rock with oblique, discursive lyrics. The most satisfying tracks, perhaps, are those from the 1979-1981 Rough Trade singles in which the band also included British punk-new wavers Gina Birch, Lora Logic, and Epic Soundtracks (and on a couple singles, Pere Ubu's Allen Ravenstine). This particularly brand of scratchy, at times even funky, new wave will certainly appeal to fans of the Raincoats (Birch's principal band), though it's less accessible to pop ears, a highlight being "Born in Flames," described in the notes as "the Social-Democrats' Song from the eponymous film by Lizzie Borden." The final eight cuts come from 1993-1999 singles, Thompson's deconstruct-and-reassemble-the-jigsaw-puzzle approach to rock music remaining in full force, though the jagged edges have slightly softened. Like everything here, these aren't for impatient listeners, but bear their fruits for those looking for intellectual avant-garde rock with some substance. The liner notes (sample excerpt: "the song title rather clings the existentialistic rejections of the Punk generation to the social norm, that was out of sight in that enthusive and nihilistic community for a short while") are about as obtuse and academic as you'll find on any rock compilation, though.

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THE HASKELS - The Haskels [USA punk rock 1979 lost album] 2019 Splunge Communications Inc. SPL-025

Milwaukee's Haskels were kings of the late 70's punk scene, centered at Zak's North Avenue nightclub, sharing the stage with bands like the Lubricants, Blackholes, Orbits, Plasticland and others that have found their way onto bootlegs and posthumous releases of their own. 

Their sound was a combination melded from the roots/glam/Detroit-inspired, naive retro pop sound of godfather/scenester Presley Haskel and Richard LaValliere's surreal dream-based narrative genius compositions, fleshed out by Gerard LaValliere's precise guitar attack and Guy Hoffman's unorthodox but dance-inducing beats. The band's chops as well as their charisma carried the day, as they filled clubs and held court at the Haskel Hotel, their headquarters in the run-down Brady Street area of Milwaukee's lower East side. 

The Haskels, evolved out of another popular pre-punk band of the time, In A Hot Coma, burned brightly from 1977 to 1979, supernova-ing after their last show together on New Year's Eve 1979. Presley and Gerard continued on to form the next version of the band, with Presley's Haskels releasing the classic "Taking The City By Storm" EP in 1981, while Richard and Guy went on to form the Oil Tasters, releasing two 45's and the acclaimed Oil Tasters self-titled LP on Thermidor Records in 1982. Guy later went on to drum for the BoDeans and ultimately, the Violent Femmes. 

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THE GROUPIES - Primitive [USA garage 1967] 2020 BeatRocket BR 154

Gritty '67 Garage Punk Perfection! The complete known recorded work from dominant New York garage punks The Groupies! Includes their iconic and oft-covered nugget "Primitive," its B side of equal swagger "I'm A Hog For You," and a complete bombastic 1967 live show put to tape before the band imploded and microphone madman Cooker went to the pen!

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THE RETROS - Inner City Rockers [USA punk rock 1979] 2012 BDR Records BDR #4

The Retros were arguably the best punk band in St. Louis during their brief existence. From 1978-1981 they wowed crowds at parties, VFW halls and bowling alleys with their infectious punk pop anthems. A couple attempts at recordings were made, but the Retros produced no official released during their lifespan. In the Spring of 1979, the band was the subject of a final exam for a friend’s studio recording class at Webster University. When the exam was finished, the Retros took advantage of the couple of hours of leftover studio time. They ripped through twelve originals ina quick, live-in-the-studio type set up with limited overdubs and only a couple of retakes. The tapes ended up in soundman/manager Don Hollenbeck's closet and were nearly forgotten until now.

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GEDO (外道) - ベスト Best Gedo [Japan hard psychedelic rock compilation 1974-1981] 2003 SAR AICL-1436

Formed in Osaka, Japan in 1972 by ex-M Hideto Kanoh and Too Much bassist Ryoichi Nakano, Gedo were very popular power trio in the early 1970’s festival circuit, mainly at biker meetings and political events. Much like the MC5, Gedo’s music carried a lot of political overtones, shooting down capitalism and following ideals from American hippy movements. Although they mix psych with hard rock, they sound much more proto-punk with their aggressive delivery. In fact , I wouldn’t hesitate to call them punk rock. An absolutely fantastic band.

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THE RIVALS - ...If Only [UK punk rock 1978-81] 2007 Bin Liner Records RUBBISHCD007

If Only features 20 cuts of prime snot-nosed teenage punk rock from the band that gave us ‘Future Rights’ & ‘Here Comes The Night’. Features both sides of their two singles, plus sixteen more killer tracks all of which were recorded between 1978 - 1981. One of the songs is ‘Rose Of England’ which they wrote a good two years before the mighty Last Resort covered it. The majority of people didn't even know that The Rivals had actually written it. This unique track even includes backing vocals from Roi Pearce of Last Resort/4 Skins on the track as he and his notorious crew were roadies for the band back in the day.

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THE ONES - The Ones [USA, Milwaukee, WI, punk rock 1978-80] 2014 Rerun Records RERUN #022

Ozone was started in 1975 by a couple of high school kids from the Northwest side of Milwaukee, WI. They were the hardest rockin’ teenage band in town, playing full sets of original material in the vein of their musical heroes the Stooges, KISS and AC/DC to packed high school parties and teen dances. When they heard the Ramones debut in 1976, Ozone settled into a solid Punk ROCK sound. With no chance for a band like them to get signed, especially in Milwaukee, there were no pretentions. Just informed meat n' potatoes rock n' roll, sans any boogie or bar-band licks. After a finding the perfect line up and a couple more years of extensive rehearsal, gigs and song writing, dedication paid off and they smashed the competition at a big-time battle of area bands in late 1979. Part of the grand prize package was studio time and the release of a 45rpm single. Still called Ozone up until that point, a name change was necessary when they learned of an established group using the same moniker. The “Short Dress” b/w “Tightrope” 45 was released in 1980 on Blue Ribbon Records under their new name, The Ones. Both sides are blazing Punk n' Roll but with little to no distribution or promotion, hardly anybody noticed it at the time. Being issued without a picture sleeve didn’t help matters. Copies seemed to disappear from sight along with the band, making it one of the rarest and most sought after 45s from any Wisconsin band ever. Copies have changed hands for upwards of $800 online. "Tightrope" was later bootlegged on the Staring Down the Barrel comp LP, making demand even greater. The Ones folded shortly after the record was issued when band leader and driving force Clancy Carroll decided to change musical directions. He would go on to form the much-loved garage/punk/pop band the Dominoes with ex-Haskels guitarist Gerard LaValliere and continue to play in area indie bands through the '90s.

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SAN MICHAEL'S - Nattag [Sweden progressive psychedelic rock 1972] 2009 Transubstans Records TRANS 062

San Michael's became a rather popular live act in Sweden and Norway, and in 1972 they recorded their second album with touring member Nane Kvillsäter now a permanent guitarist. However, the album went unreleased at the time but was unearthed almost 40 years later by Swedish label Transubstans. It's a more mature effort than ”San Michael's” showing that the band benefitted from Kvillsäter joining the band. The songs are better overall and the performances are heavier than on their debut. The thin vocals are still the weakest link though. All in all, it would have made perfect sense releasing ”Nattåg” in the early 70's, as intended.

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ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS - When I Was Young [The MGM Recordings 1967-1968] 2020 Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 52700

Deluxe box set including all classics by Eric Burdon & The Animals, including the albums "Winds Of Change", "The Twain Shall Meet", "Every One Of Us", "Love Is" and the rare mono version of "Winds Of Change" / Everything remastered from the original tapes / With 10 bonus tracks from singles releases / Includes illustrated booklet, new liner notes and a poster

The new box set features all recordings by Eric Burdon & The Animals for the label MGM Records from October 1967 to December 1968.

Eric Burdon & The Animals arrived in December 1966, when the original Animals disbanded. Singer Eric Burdon recruited Vic Briggs (guitar, piano), John Weider (guitar, violin, bass), Danny McCulloch (bass) and Barry Jenkins (drums) to form a new band that developed its musical direction away from angry rhythm and blues and towards psychedelic rock.

They signed with MGM Records in the USA and won Tom Wilson (Bob Dylan, The Mothers Of Invention, The Velvet Underground) as producer. 1 ½ Years later the final album of the band was released. Eric Burdon stayed in the USA and joined the band War in 1969.

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ANGEL'IN HEAVY SYRUP - Underground Flowers -The Best Of 1991-1999 [Japan psychedelic 1991-99] 2017 Reveil TECH25519

Angel'in Heavy Syrup was a Japanese psychedelic rock band formed in 1990 in Osaka. Emerging from the Japanese noise rock scene, they were influenced by krautrock bands such as Amon Düül II, but drew primarily from psychedelic and progressive rock, resulting in their characteristic ethereal neo-psychedelic sound.

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BEAT 4 - Había una vez [Chile garage, psychedelic, pop 1968] 2012 Shadoks Music 140

This is the last of four albums Beat 4 recorded (plus a later soundtrack) and it's their most sophisticated LP. On it, they could create their own sounds and ideas for the first time without RCA telling them what to do. Beat 4 was one of the most popular bands in Chile, who created strong albums as good and as successful as The Beatles. Habi Una Vez... (trans. "Once Upon a Time") was influenced by member Willy Benitez' theater experience after a long trip to the south of Chile (Patagonia). The album has a strong emotional touch and it is very well-composed and played (as most other releases from Chile). If you prefer the sound of Blops, Embrujo and Kissing Spell over hard psych from Mexico, you will love this one very much. Transparent, fluid, wide open spaces, emotionally composed, with poetic lyrics and lots of humor.

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JONATHAN RICHMAN - I, Jonathan [USA garage, pop, rock 1992] Rounder Records ROUNDER CD 9036

I, Jonathan is Richman's best post-Modern Lovers album.

"A lo-fi effort cut in a California basement, I, Jonathan returns Richman to the full band setting and manic diversity that recent conceptual efforts have forsaken. Sloppy and wild, the album is a blast from start to finish; among its many concerns are skydiving ("Tandem Jump"), sea life (the surf instrumental "Grunion Run"), nightclubbing ("I Was Dancing in a Lesbian Bar"), and hero worship ("Velvet Underground")". Allmusic

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BOB SEGER & THE LAST HEARD - Heavy Music - The Complete Cameo Recordings 1966-1967 [USA garage rock 1966-67] ABKCO 8369-2

Most rock fans know Bob Seger had a career before 1976's Night Moves first gave him a major hit outside the Midwest, but given how much of his back catalog has stubbornly remained out of print, many don't know just how far back the trail goes. Plenty of folks are aware of the 1975 album Beautiful Loser, and the better informed even know he hit the singles charts with "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" in 1968. But Seger has been a major presence in his native Michigan as far back as June 1966 (a month after he turned 21), when "East Side Story," a tune he cut with his band the Last Heard, became a potent local hit in Detroit. Between licensing problems with the Cameo/Parkway catalog (the label that issued Seger's earliest sides) and the reluctance of Seger and his management to look deep into his history, his early singles with the Last Heard (guitarist Carl Lagassa, bassist Dan Honaker, and drummer Pep Perrine) have been dead out of print since the mid-'70s. That has thankfully changed with the release of Heavy Music: The Complete Cameo Recordings 1966-1967, which collects ten tracks Seger recorded before moving up to Capitol Records in 1968. While most of this music falls into the broad category of '60s garage rock, Seger was already an eclectic artist, and Heavy Music covers plenty of stylistic ground. Seger and his bandmates nimbly jump from the Van Morrison-style drama of "East Side Story" and the bluesy wail of "Chain Smokin'" to the artful folk-rock of "Very Few" and the bold but lyrical "Vagrant Winter." Even when Seger and his gang were kidding, they delivered the goods; "Florida Time" is a hilarious bit of Midwest surf pop, "Sock It to Me Santa" is a Christmas novelty that burns like Mitch Ryder on trucker's speed, and "Persecution Smith" may be the greatest fake Bob Dylan song (Highway 61 Revisited era) ever committed to wax. And "Heavy Music" is as passionate and powerful a celebration of "the big bad beat" as you could hope for, and Seger's first step into inarguable greatness. For fans who know these songs from bootleg pressings sourced from scratchy singles, the clarity of the remastering is a marvelous surprise, and the liner notes by Jim Allen sum up the period with concise enthusiasm. These tracks could be described as Bob Seger's juvenilia, but that clearly underestimates the music; Heavy Music is proof that Seger was a major talent as a singer, songwriter, and frontman right from the start, and this is as good as Midwestern rock of the mid-'60s gets. For Bob Seger fans who've never heard his first recordings, Heavy Music is nothing short of a revelation.

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THE BEASTS OF BOURBON - The Axeman´s Jazz [Australia garage swamp rock 1984] 2010 Inertia Recordings RMASTR1008CDA

Beasts of Bourbon were formed in August 1983 by vocalist Tex Perkins to fulfil bookings for his previous band, Tex Deadly and the Dum-Dums, and began playing in small Sydney venues. The initial version of the group was James Baker of Hoodoo Gurus on drums, Spencer P. Jones of The Johnnys on guitar, Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris Sudjovic on bass guitar: both of The Scientists. This line-up was featured on the band's first album, The Axeman's Jazz, which was recorded during October 1983 in a single eight-hour session for $100 by Tony Cohen. Also in 1983 Richard Ploog (former member of The Church) joined the band for a short time on drums as a side project. In January 1984 the line-up of Jones, Perkins, Sujdovic, Brett Rixon on drums and Tony Thewlis on guitar (both from The Scientists) played gigs in Perth. In July that year the album was issued on Green Records and according to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "it remains a classic of Australian garage/swamp rock. It was the best-selling Australian alternative album for 1984. It also went on to sell over 30.000 copies in Europe".

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SEICHE - Demo Press [USA hard psychedelic 1981] 2019 Jackpot JPR-057

Seiche formed in Chicago as a recording project to show off the skills of the musicians and the engineer. The resulting record: Seiche - Demo Press LP was a hard psych/prog record released in 1981 that sounded like it came straight out of 1973. The records was mostly unavailable due to its extremely limited release (50 printed copies).

Inspired by psychedelic rock and fresh out of high school, Seiche melded the often disparate worlds of histrionic hard rock soloing with some of the more skewed elements of full-blown psychedelia.

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SKY SUNLIGHT SAXON - Golden Vaults Volume 1 Timeless [USA garage psychedelic] 2001 Radio V Records

Sky sought to take advantage of the internet age and released this album as a CD-r on a mysterious label called Radio V in 2001 through a website. Golden Vaults is a compilation of several recordings housed in a homemade-looking package; it’s been unavailable for years.

Golden Vaults is a mix of unreleased stuff with various groups of musicians, plus songs fans had heard before. Sound quality throughout the CD is less than stellar, even on songs that have been released elsewhere in good quality.

Which is of course a shame. There’s some intriguing material on Golden Vaults, and it hints that Sky had a lot of unreleased stuff sitting around on various tapes from various eras. We bet there’s more where this came from. Hopefully someone can secure the rights to recordings Sky Saxon made with people like The Lemurians and The Chesterfield Kings and release a higher-quality set someday.

As for Golden Vaults, it’s a very hard-to-find CD but there is some worthy stuff on it. And Sky Saxon completists will want it regardless. (By the way, this CD is proudly called “Volume 1” but there was never any Volume 2 as far as we can tell.)

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THE KIDS - Living In The 20th Century [Belgium punk rock, power pop 1979] 2016 Universal Music Belgium 4782775

One of the first groups in Belgium to really tap into the power of the international punk scene which was erupting in 1976-77 were The Kids. In retrospect, it is a bit foolish to call the Kids a "punk"-group, since they were much too R&B for that, but they certainly communicated the "punk"-feeling.

The album "Living in the 20th century" becomes a classic. They even hit the hitparades with "Dancing".

Their moment of fame however is the brilliant song "There will be no next time" (or as Humo put it : "the world hit which never was one"). Amazing album !!

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RICHARD HELL - Spurts The Richard Hell Story [USA punk rock, underground 1973-2004] 2005 Rhino R2 74723

Richard Hell has produced a rather small body of work as a musician -- two albums as a frontman -- Blank Generation and Destiny Street -- and one in collaboration with a handful of downtown-New York all-stars, released under the handle Dim Stars. But the work casts a very long shadow; Hell has more than earned his reputation as one of the groundbreaking figures of the New York new wave/punk scene, not just for being there at the right place and time but for creating some powerful and startling records with a handful of gifted collaborators (most significantly, guitarist Robert Quine), and the literacy and force of his songwriting has stood the test of time better than many of his peers' work (with the exception of Patti Smith). But for a man with such a small legacy, Richard Hell certainly seems fond of anthologizing his work, and Spurts: The Best of Richard Hell marks the third time he has attempted to sum up his life in rock & roll in one convenient package. Spurts focuses a bit harder on the more recognizable facets of the Hell canon than either 1984's R.I.P. or 2002's expanded and revised version, Time -- since Spurts draws from a variety of sources rather than just unreleased material, it includes the most familiar versions of "Love Comes in Spurts" and "Blank Generation," as well as cuts from Destiny Street (in newly remixed form) and the latter-day Dim Stars sessions. There are a few historically important rarities on-board as well, most notably a live recording of "Blank Generation," from Hell's brief tenure with Television, a radically different version of "Love Comes in Spurts" recorded with the Neon Boys (Hell's pre-Television collaboration with Tom Verlaine), and a one-off, one-song reunion with the original Voidoids from 2001 ("Oh," which stands as a potent reminder of how great that band was). To look at the pieces, this is certainly the most career-inclusive Hell collection of the three, and serves as a vivid testament to his talents.

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THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR - Magic Touch - The Complete Mustang Singles Collection [USA rock and roll 1964-66] 2018 Now Sounds WCRNOW57

Magic Touch: The Complete Mustang Singles Collection is the first time all of the Bobby Fuller Four's mid-'60s Mustang singles have been released in their rare mono form. It also rounds up a session Bobby Fuller produced for fellow Mustang artist Jay Horton and three songs released by Randy Fuller after Bobby's untimely demise in 1966. It's a fine way to hear the progression of Fuller's sound from an oldies/surf act on early records like "Those Memories of You" and Thunder Reef" to something more fully realized. By the time Fuller and his band (and producer/label owner Bob Keane) hit on the perfect sound of "Let Her Dance," the combination of Fuller's crystal-clear vocals, his love of simple pop songs, the echoing production, and the energy of the musicians was unstoppable. The run of singles begun with "Let Her Dance," followed by "Never to Be Forgotten," the timeless "I Fought the Law," and the super-charged Buddy Holly cover "Love's Made a Fool of You" -- a feat rarely equaled by any artist of any time. The B-sides aren't that bad either, especially the brilliant "Another Sad and Lonely Night" and "Don't Ever Let Me Know," a thoughtful ballad that saw Fuller beginning to experiment a touch with the formula. Though Bobby hated his final single, 1966's "The Magic Touch"/"My True Love," because he didn't have full control over the sound, it's hard to agree with his displeasure. The little bit of Motown groove creeping into the mix gives the sound a nice boost and the songs are keepers. Overall, the mono mixes are crisp and powerful, and just different enough from the better-known stereo and album mixes to give collectors a reason to snap this set up pronto. The fun Jay Horton single is another selling point, so are the Randy Fuller tracks, especially "It's Love, Come What May," which is basically a Bobby Fuller Four track with Bobby's lead vocal doubled by Randy. Magic Touch may not be the ideal place for a Fuller neophyte to discover the magic of his sound and songs, but it's not bad by any stretch and, really, anything that helps keep the flame burning is a worthwhile endeavor.

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PURPLE OVERDOSE - Reborn [Greece psychedelic 1999] Action Records ACT 002

 

Purple Overdose were founded in Athens, Greece in 1987 by lead guitarist and vocalist Costas Constantinou. The band seeks to recreate the psychedelic atmosphere of the mid 1960's while blending hard rock, jazz, oriental and even some folklore into their music. The lyrics in English written by Constantinou, can be described as poetic and somewhat sentimental, and draw inspiration from the flower power movement of the 1960's. They embrace ideals of nature and freedom of spirit.

The band has released 9 albums: 5 studio albums, 3 live albums and a compilation album. The first album Exit 4 was released in 1988 and received critical acclaim. The arrangements on this debut album are slightly simpler than on later albums, incorporating elements of hard rock with psychedelia. The second album, Indigo (1990) marks a move towards more complex compositions. The next album to follow is the same-titled Purple Overdose introducing the flute (Vasilis Kapanikis) and elements of jazz, and a further move towards more progressive compositions. In the same vein is their forth album, Solemn Visions (1996) which experiments in places with a curious mixture of blues and oriental influences. The fifth studio album, Reborn, released in 1999, is arguably the pinnacle of their career. This album features longer spacier compositions, and again a variety of styles, showing the band at full maturity. 

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SAUCERS - What We Did [USA punk, power pop 1978-80] 2002 Grand Theft Audio GTA053

I met Malcolm Marsden, Malcolm Doak and Mark Mulcahy and we formed Saucers in late 1977. We found a rehearsal space in an old building off downtown New Haven where we started practicing and writing songs. This went on almost daily for months until one day a couple of guys walking by heard us playing and stopped in to check us out. Tom Hearn and his friend Legs McNeil, of Punk Magazine fame, liked what they heard and offered us our first gig at a strip mall bar along the Long Island Sound shore in Devon, CT. We played with a band they were helping out known as The Survivors (later The Stratford Survivors) who had on drums a young Mike "Mad Mike" Czekaj (who later on gained fame with The Fuzztones). Thus we were off! After awhile more bands playing original music and non-Top-40 covers started either forming or coming out of their spaces and we started doing off nights in a few local clubs, such as The Oxford Ale House, that would let us in, usually on a Monday or Wednesday night. Most of the scene at the time was Top 40 cover and 'tribute' bands. Then we found a bar down by the Yale University campus that became Ron's Place; from 1978–'81, it was the scene of an extraordinary explosion of original music in the city and surrounding region of Southern CT that has lasted to this day. The Poodle Boys, Disturbance, Hot Bodies, Stratford Survivors, Scout House, Subdueds, Baby Strange and many others appeared both on Ron's stage and on the original 13-song LP I put out in 1982 (It Happened But Nobody Noticed) and the CD re-master I made in 2006 (It Happened But Nobody Noticed/Temp Supplementarie with another 13 bands from that era); the recordings are a testament to the diversity and incredible talent that exists there. 

It wasn't long before Saucers looked to record, and in 1978 booked an evening at Trod Nossel Studio in Wallingford, CT with noted engineer Richard Robinson at the controls. We recorded six songs, "Final Solution," "Muckraker," "Annie," "Frustration," "Slow Down," and "Orpheus," a song written by Malcolm Marsden. Only "Muckraker" was released initially, when it appeared on It Happened But Nobody Noticed. Saucers were playing more shows in New Haven and Devon and were looking to expand further. We ventured to NYC to play CBGBs as well as looking to Boston, Providence, and elsewhere.

Saucers returned to Trod Nossel, and Mr. Robinson, in the spring of 1979, this time with a two-guitar lineup as Malcolm Doak was replaced by guitarist Seth Tiven. Six more songs were recorded, "Muckraker" and "Frustration" (again), along with new songs, "Roadmaster" and "I Didn't Get It," as well as two compositions by Malcolm," Take A Chance" and "What We Do." Unlike the previous recordings, three of these became Saucers' first single, "What We Do/Muckraker/I Didn't Get It," which was self-released in 1979 (ORMI 5098).

I wrote both songs on the second single, "A Certain Kind of Shy/She’s Alright," but Mark sang the A side. It was Mark's lead singing debut, and a seismic shift in his career trajectory (he would later form Miracle Legion). There is very little video footage of Saucers, save for a promo video and some short clips for performances at Toad's Place in New Haven as well as Saucers' home stage at Ron's Place. In 2000, Jim Tennyson contacted me and suggested I get in touch with Grand Theft Audio Records in Los Angeles as they had issued some recordings from other defunct CT bands and might be interested in Saucers. Brian at GTA was interested and I took the master tapes I had been carrying around for 20 years to a local Indianapolis studio to have them digitized and remixed. The result was the CD What We Did (GTA 053), released in 2002. This release contained all of the studio recordings of Saucers and a live cut, "Why Me," recorded at The Cupboard as the soundtrack for the above mentioned video made by Monica Thompson the summer of 1980. 

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THE ZIPPS - Kicks And Chicks; Ever Stoned [Netherlands freakbeat, psychedelic1966-1969] 2013 Pseudonym CDP-1111

Dutch freakbeat band the Zipps formed in Dordrecht, the Netherlands in the fall of 1965. Lead guitarist Peter Nuyten and drummer John Noce Santoro previously teamed in the Moving Strings, who issued a pair of singles on the Delta label before dissolving, while singer/guitarist Philip Elzerman and vocalist Jan Bek came to the Zipps lineup from the Beat Town Skifflers, and bassist Theo Verschoor tenured in the Twilights. Bek quit the Zipps prior to the release of their debut single, "Roll the Cotton Down," issued in early 1966 on the Op-Art label; after signing to the Relax label, the group issued two more singles that year, "Chicks and Kicks" and "Beat and Poetry." Beginning with 1967's "Marie Juana" -- a record which required significant lyrical revisions before Relax censors would agree to its release -- the Zipps steered their garage-influenced sound towards psychedelia, and thanks in part to their hallucinatory light show, they earned the sobriquet "The Dutch Pink Floyd"; Elzerman openly espoused drug use in interviews, and stickers reading "Be Stoned! Dig: Zipps Psychedelic Sound" were distributed at live dates. After backing French pop singer Philippe Salerne on his singles "Elle" and "Venez Voir Comme On S'Aime," the group replaced Santoro with drummer Wim Klein, but after a December 1967 date in support of the Electric Prunes and the Soft Machine, the Zipps dissolved when Nuyten, Verschoor, and Klein all announced their exit. Elzerman and Santoro reformed the group in early 1968, adding guitarist Dick Visschers and bassist Ruud van Seventer for one final single, 1969's "When You Tell It, Tell It Well..!" The Zipps eventually disbanded for good, and in 1999, the Dutch label Pseudonym compiled all of their singles, the Philippe Salerne sessions, and a handful of live cuts for a retrospective titled Be Stoned! Dig: Zipps.

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SNEAKERS - Nonsequitur Of Silence [USA pop, power pop 1976-79] 2006 Collectors' Choice Music CCM 733

They called the Flatlanders more of a legend than a band, and the same holds true for the Sneakers, a power pop group from North Carolina that was known more than heard. That it was known is down to its co-leaders Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter, two figures that loomed large in the American underground in the ‘80s as the leaders of the dB’s and Let’s Active, respectively (Sneakers drummer Will Rigby also was a founding member of the dB’s; Easter also produced the early R.E.M. album in tandem with Don Dixon, who helmed the Sneakers EP). The Sneakers had an EP and an LP to their name, but they were local independent efforts at a time when independent albums truly did not leave their locality, so they were hard to find for many, many years -- a situation that was somewhat rectified by the 1992 release Racket, which was the first reissue of this material, but in somewhat bastardized form, as it was remixed and partially re-recorded in places. Fifteen years later -- nearly as a long a span of time from their EP to their first LP -- Stamey and Easter compiled the Nonsequitur of Silence CD for Collectors Choice, rounding up almost all of the EP, LP, and assorted cuts from Racket, plus three unreleased bonus tracks. To put it mildly, this is a big deal, the first real comp of one of the legendary forgotten bands, and Nonsequitur of Silence does more than satisfy the cult who long waited for this reissue: it will convert non-believers, too. This almost feels as long ago, if not more so, than the Beatles and British Invasion that fueled the Sneakers; the group’s homemade replicas of ringing ‘60s guitar pop hinted toward punk, new wave, jangle pop, and ultimately indie rock, but lacked all of the stylized self-absorption that followed as well. Like Big Star before them, the Sneakers were pop obsessives recording in a blissful vacuum, obsessed with the past but not living with it, so their recordings have a twitchy vitality that remains bracing and fresh years later. The music on Nonsequitur of Silence may belong to a cult, but it’s an important one, acting as the bridge between Big Star and R.E.M., pointing the way to such latter-day popsters as Guided by Voices and the Elephant 6 collective, too. Nevertheless, the best way to think of the Sneakers is not in terms of history, but rather, as a band that produced some brilliant power pop during their brief period together, pure pop that remains purely pleasurable all these years later and has never been better heard than it is here.

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THE SHOCKING BLUE - Live In Japan [Netherlands pop, rock 1972] 2009 Recordsmen Communication RCM 00106 2

The Shocking Blue formed in The Hague in 1967. The band spawned a number of psychedelic rock hits during the 60s and early 70s, including 'Never Marry a Railroad Man', 'Mighty Joe', 'Love Buzz', 'Blossom Lady', 'Inkpot' and 'Venus'. The latter became their biggest hit and went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band had sold 13.5 million discs by 1973. The recording of the album Live In Japan took place in their prime years as they were successfully and regularly touring around the globe. The album was recorded on 28th and 30th of July 1971 at two sold-out Tokyo Koseinenkin Hall shows. It includes some of their biggest hits; 'Hot Sand', 'Mighty Joe', 'Shocking You' and the megahit 'Venus'(the opening and closing song of the album). 

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JOE CLARK - TONY GEORGE - One Man Bands [USA folk psychedelic 1976] American Arts, Inc. AAI 1101

Here is that private press, 70's. moog-psych record I promised a while back. Although technically I should have only promised half a record of moog-psych (as I will explain).

Now I really know nothing about Tony George (aka Anthony M. George), Joe Clark (aka Joseph A. Clark), or the American Arts, Inc. record label out of Baltimore. This was the 1st (& I suspect the last) release on the label and, as Clark & George play all the instruments on their respective sides as well as listing themselves as composers, producers & engineers, I suspect they also fronted the cash for the record. But I do have opinions.

The l.p. is a split release between two artists whose only common denominator appears to be that they are the sole performer on their side of the record.

The real ace here is Tony George's extended, moog-psych-freakout, "And He Thought" (the sub-parts are labelled in the tracklist below). There is some deep, crypto-religous/philosophical message here but unless you've obtained (however temporarily) some alternate state of consciousness I wouldn't worry about it but just sit back and coast on Tony's sine wave interupted by the occassional rant. Tony asks, "Did you ever think happiness is to know me?" I'm pretty sure the answer before listening will be no (& I'm pretty sure none of you have heard this before), but afterward you may change your answer. Or maybe not. Happiness is not the word I would chose to describe your listening experience, but this is some weird-ass shit.

Joe Clark also performs solo but is certainly using some multitracking as he plays more conventional rock instruments. Clark's side has its moments and the music is fine, but I wouldn't have posted it if it weren't weren't paired with Tony George. Clark generally sounds like low-budget, late-60s/early-70s rock with some psych influences. There are also some odd moments--like the song about America (it was the bicentenial). However, overall, I think Joe would have been better off if he skipped the lyrics entirely. Sometimes they get downright confusing (& not in a weird, stream-of-conciousness, psychedelic way)--e.g., who is being addressed in "Don't Turn Your Back" (the 1st song)--it seems to change part way through the song? Other tracks (like Dreaming of You & Drinkin' 'n' Thinkin'...) are nice enough pop songs but never more than component.

From the legendary blog: Play It Again, Max

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ALICE'S ORB - Even The Grass Is Full Of Acid [UK neo psychedelic 1992] Strangely Brown SB 8

UK Alice's Orb are a part time, principally studio based band and one of the few able to do a convincing imitation of early Pink Floyd. Their origins lie in a noisy Luton pub rock band, The Twitch, who were active in the area from 1983-87. This band split, but Jeff Ross and two of the other members kept The Twitch going for another two years. Some of this band's material was released posthumously. After The Twitch folded, Jeff joined a punk band called Chocolate Foetus, the pinnacle of whose career was supporting the Mega City Four. Inspired by listening to the home made efforts of Bevis Frond, he next bought a four track portastudio and began recording his own music along with Martin and Alan from The Twitch. The results of these early sessions were released as the Alice's Orb tape, the first release on Jeff's Strangely Brown label. Like all the Alice's Orb tapes, this first one was obscure (although it is still available from Acid Tapes), but an idea of the quality of Alice's Orb at this time can be gained from the three tracks that made it onto the debut album, Mr. Phelps, Mi Lady and Teardrops. They are all very primitive and with muddy sound quality, although Teardrops in particular is a fine song with its bizarre sound effects and spoken mid section. The debut album, Even The Grass Is Full Of Acid, took its strange title from a line in a Star Trek episode and was a compilation of material that appeared previously on tape. Despite the primitive nature of most of the recordings (even though Jeff had upgraded to a six track somewhere along the line), most of the material came over quite powerfully. Alice's Orb is a suitably weird intro, mutating from a spacey synth passage into a chorus of You Are My Sunshine. Coalbarn Blues is the first of the many songs which have a strong Syd Barrett feel to them and is full of strange sound effects and jangling, discordant guitar. Telescope takes the Barrett feel further with feedback and Floyd-like organ set against a subsonic bassline; the song descends into psychedelic mayhem mid song. The percussion was played by a guest musician called Rusty. Horace's Magick Pyjamas is a fast, hard rocking instrumental with some inventive guitar work from Alan and one of the filthiest bass lines ever. The stand out track of the album is another Barrett-influenced number, Psycho Doodle, a very odd, eerie song with more pulsing bass guitar, sparse percussion and vocals pitched very low. The original demo version of this song has appeared on a French compilation, Come Together. Around the same time, Alice's Orb also supplied a song for the Psychedelic Psauna compilation.

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JOHN PHILLIPS - Jack Of Diamonds [USA rock, pop 1972-73] 2007 Varèse Vintage 302 066 819 2

Jack of Diamonds featuring material from 1972 and 1973 to approximate what might have been a second album.

John Phillips as a member of the Mamas & the Papas, he's been heard and loved by millions, and he's part of the very fabric of American folk and rock history. But thanks in no small part to huge quantities of drugs, Phillips fell off fast, and for most of the 1970s on up he wandered wasted and restless, his sole commercial success a co-write credit on the Beach Boys' unctuous "Kokomo" before dying of heart disease in 2001.

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THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES - Hillside Strangler Restrangled [USA punk rock 1977-1978] 2006 Bluside Records BSD-1313

The Hollywood Squares were an American band formed in Los Angeles/California in 1977. They are probably best known for their classic "Hillside Strangler". They broke new ground on the Southern California musical landscape, influencing punk and new wave bands for generations to follow. Guitarist Eddie Vincent and drummer Tad, having played together in various bands since the early seventies, found themselves in London after a gig in Switzerland during the famous punk summer of 1977. Enthusiastically responding to the energy and mayhem of the punk explosion, they were inspired, once back home in L.A., to form the power trio they dubbed the Hollywood Squares. In 1978 they released in a very limited edition on the trio's own Square Records label their first 7.

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