Old links, new links, expired links...

 

I have renewed some links that had expired. You can find them via the search function at the top right here on the page. 

There are a lot of links that have expired. So if you are looking for an album and the link has expired write a post and I will renew the links as soon as I can.

Chris Britton - As I Am 1969 (2004 Archive Air Mail, Japan)

Powder - Ka-Pow! An Explosive Collection; 1967-1968 (2014 Big Beat)

Katch 22 - Major Catastrophe The Katch 22 Story 1966 -1969 (2011 RPM)    

Andy Kim - Baby I Love You & Andy Kim (2006 Collector's Choice)

Design - Design 1970 & Tomorrow Is So Far Away 1972

The Pleasure Fair - The Pleasure Fair 1967 (1997 Universal)

Beatles inspired Pop/Pop Rock/Soft Rock: Kenny Herbert - The Last Song In Abbey Road (2002 Real Live Music)

Ich mag dieses Album sehr gerne. Gerade in ruhigen Momenten höre ich das Album. Kenny Herbert ist ein großartiger Musiker und auch seine Mitmusiker sind immer vom Feinsten. Es sei hier nur David Paton (Pilot, Elton John Tour Band) genannt. Das Album ist sehr empfehlenswert, (auch oder gerade deswegen hahaha), wenn man auf Beatles inspirierte Popmusik steht. Viel Spaß(Frank)

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New Zealand Psychedelic Pop Band inspired by Brit Invasion: Hi-Revving Tongues (later The Tongues, Caboose) - The Complete Singles A & B's (2018 Frenzy Music)

 

The Hi-Revving Tongues are best remembered, perhaps inappropriately, for their 1969 chart-topping single ‘Rain & Tears’. The band can also lay claim to pioneering New Zealand psychedelic pop while their six-month residency at Sydney’s Whiskey-A-Go-Go gave them a decidedly hard edge and their stage show was one of the most spectacular of the era. But mostly they are remembered for an atypical strings-laden ballad that they rarely performed live.

In March 1967 Mike Balcombe and bassist John Walmsley formed The Hi-Revving Tongues, adding Parfitt, organist Bruce Coleman and drummer Rob Noad from Species Nine to complete the lineup. Balcombe had already enjoyed some success as a member of The Sierras, who had released half a dozen singles on Gary Daverne’s Viscount label, distributed by Eldred Stebbing’s Zodiac company. 

The Hi-Revving Tongues began to make a mark almost immediately, impressing Stebbing, who was later to manage the band and direct their recording career. They also won the 1967 Auckland final of The Battle Of The Sounds, and were runners-up to The Fourmyula in the national final. The remarkable thing is that the band didn’t even perform in the national final in Wellington. 

'Battle of the Bands 1968, New Zealand

When the band discovered that there was no performance fee or expenses covered to compete in the national final in Wellington, and with lucrative gigs in Auckland, they declined to compete but were declared runners-up anyway! Twelve months later The Hi-Revving Tongues entered the competition again (renamed The Battle Of The Bands by promoter Benny Levin) and took out the national final.

Chris Parfitt at 'Battle of the Bands 1968'. Looks like there was a lot of fun for the band. 😀😋

Between these two events, the band was to release four singles and a full-length album (the benefit of having Eldred Stebbing as a manager). The first three singles were released by George Wooller’s Allied International, the band having been signed to the label by label boss Fred Noad. These were '(The Psychedelic) Illusion' b/w 'Hate To Go' in October 1967, 'Not Some Of The Time' b/w 'You'll Find Me anywhere' (February 1968), and 'Come Back And Love Me' b/w 'I've Been Lonely Too Long' (May 1968). None were hits, so new manager Eldred Stebbing moved the band across to his Zodiac label and convinced John McCready of Philips to release them via the successful two-company deal, wherein Philips picked up selected Zodiac bands which were seen to have crossover potential.

Mike Balcombe, founder of the band

The first Allied single, written by Balcombe, '(The Psychedelic) Illusion’, often cited as New Zealand’s first recorded example of psychedelic pop. But it was single number four that better exemplified the genre. ‘Tropic Of Capricorn’ (b/w 'Baby I Need Your Lovin'') was written by Parfitt. In 2010 Parfitt confessed to Keith Newman on Radio New Zealand’s Musical Chairs that the first two chords are a direct copy of ‘House Of The Rising Sun’.

1969 brought further singles, including ‘Elevator' (written by George Alexander for the UK group Grapefruit), possibly the band’s best example of psychedelic pop (credited to Chris Parfitt and Hi-Revving Tongues by Zodiac without asking the band, as was the Tropic Of Capricorn album, issued in early 1969) with swirling organ and phased guitar, and a national tour, Blast Off ’68, with Johnny Farnham and Larry’s Rebels.

They were an extremely popular live act, from Whangarei to Dunedin. “One time,” Parfitt remembers, “we were down the South Island for what seemed like two to three months. I think we’d gone down to play just Dunedin and Christchurch and a few other gigs but we kept getting offers to return to these places. We couldn’t get home!”

John Walmsley, co founder

Part of the band’s appeal was their stage show. Parfitt: “John Walmsley’s father used to make his own fireworks and John knew how to work with gunpowder and magnesium. He made our own smoke machine – the first one burned dried grass and hay and it sent the audience rushing to the door coughing, but he sorted that out. Another time, playing the Auckland YMCA, the fire brigade from across the road came running in.”

Impressed with the strobe lights Larry’s Rebels brought back from Australia, the band built their own. They added audiotapes of World War II bombings to the mayhem of feedback, smoke, strobes and explosions. There were occasional minor injuries on stage. Few NZ bands went as far to entertain; little wonder that The Hi-Revving Tongues was such a popular live act.

In 1969, as part of their Battle Of The Bands prize package, the band sailed to Sydney aboard the Achille Lauro. Their first Australian gig was on the same bill as Max Merritt and The Meteors and The La De Da’s. Stebbing hooked up the band with expat New Zealand promoter Graham Dent, who scored the band two television appearances within weeks of arrival. Parfitt’s brother worked at the Astra Hotel and he secured the band a residency at the popular Bondi drinking hole but it was impressing industry hot shot John Harrigan that changed their fortunes. Resident at Harrigan’s Whiskey-A-Go-Go in King’s Cross six nights a week, 9pm-3am, they earned good money, toughened up their sound and were definitely on the rise when Eldred Stebbing summoned them home.

Chris Parfitt, singer

In August 1969, the single 'Baby Come Back To Me' b/w 'Little Red Rooster' was the first for the band on the Zodiac label, Stebbing and McCready having terminated their joint venture earlier in the year. During their eight months in Sydney, Stebbing kept the releases coming, including a song the band had forgotten about. “Eldred had wanted us to record a big ballad with strings,” Parfitt remembers, “and he chose ‘Rain And Tears’ [originally recorded by Aphrodite’s Child and written by Vangelis]. It wasn’t us but we did it; we never performed it on stage.”

Number 1 Single Hit in NZ 1969

When ‘Rain And Tears’ entered the national charts (the band’s first and only appearance on the national charts), Stebbing wanted the band in New Zealand to promote it. In August 1969 ‘Rain And Tears’ reached No.1 and two months later collected the Group Award at the Loxene Golden Disc Awards.

The Band perform at the Loxene Golden Disc Awards 1969

Despite the upward curve, the band’s career was following, things were starting to fall apart. Walmsley, unhappy with the decision to return to New Zealand, returned to Australia, replaced by Graeme Thompson; drummer Rob Noad was replaced by Richard Sinclair, who’d spent time with the earlier Species Nine. The band was given a key spot at Phil Warren’s Redwood 70. It was The Hi-Revving Tongues’ final performance.

The ''The Tongues'' 1970

Oh, there was an attempt to keep it going. A new line-up shortened their name to The Tongues, releasing a self-titled album on Zodiac under that name, but they didn’t last long. In 1972 Balcombe, Coleman and Noad reunited in Australia, forming the nucleus of Caboose, who released a couple of largely ignored singles but had one highlight when they toured Australia with Mungo Jerry and Edison Lighthouse. Caboose didn’t last long either. (John Dix, audioculture.co.nz)

The band celebrated its success exclusively in New Zealand. After the band changed their lineup and name, their music changed as well. However, they could never really continue their previous successes. (Frank)Enjoy!

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1969 Bubblegum/Pop/early Power Pop: Marshmallow Way - Marshmallow Way (1969 United Artists)

 

Marshmallow Way was a pet project for two well-known pop songwriters, Billy Carl (born Carlucci) and Reid Whitelaw, the men who wrote 1910 Fruitgum Company’s 1968 single, “Goody Goody Gumdrops.” After that song was a hit for bubblegum kingpins Kasenetz and Katz, Carl and Whitelaw sought to duplicate K&K’s success on their own and ultimately signed a production deal with United Artists Records. A band was picked from the New Jersey dancehall circuit, renamed Marshmallow Way and put to work recording a set of Carl/Whitelaw compositions. The resulting album, the self-titled Marshmallow Way, was released in 1969, just after the bubblegum craze was reaching its peak.

Beyond the songwriting and production team of Carl and Whitelaw, the personnel of Marshmallow Way is largely unknown. Only the lead singer, Tomm Nardi, is known by name, and this mostly due to his later success with garage hard rockers Sainte Anthony’s Fyre.

A glance at the album jacket—and even a quick read of the song titles—leave no doubt as to the type of music on Marshmallow Way. The front cover is a photo collage of the five band members trapped in a gumball machine that is dispensing marshmallows! The back cover depicts the band floating in the air on a giant marshmallow over a giant marshmallow pie. The song titles are similarly themed: “Michigan Mints,” “Sugar and Spices,” “Sweet Thing,” “C’mon Kitty Kitty.” Hardly subtle.

I first heard of Marshmallow Way through Leonard Los who described the album as “a less silly version of 1910 Fruitgum Company”—a description that is entirely accurate: this is not your little sister’s bubblegum.  “C’mon Kitty, Kitty” opens the album with a glammy drum fill and descending chord pattern that breaks into a power pop hook that reminds me of the material on Sloan’s Between the Bridges: pure pop, but with a definite edge.

 “Keep My Fingers Crossed” is a mix of bubblegum and Chi-Lites soul, with a great falsetto chorus and perhaps overly earnest romantic lyrics. “Michigan Mints” is a straightforward ode to a regional brand of candy set to a bouncy rhythm not unlike Bobby Sherman’s singles from about the same time. “Give and Take” opens with a Tradewinds-meets-Beach Boys vocal arrangement and displays hints of the early Rascals. “Sugar and Spices” is the most straight-ahead bubblegum track and features a ridiculous litany of sweet treats, including, finally, a girl’s kisses. “Good Day” is an acoustic folk-rock song similar to the cheerful approach of Alzo and Udine, though a little slicker in terms of production. The album closes with “Music, Music” and another commonplace of bubblegum: a vaguely soul-based song paying tribute to the powerful effects of “pretty music.” This is more watered-down than usual, but offers lovely changes and a solid vocal arrangement.

At least two singles were released from the album: “C’mon Kitty, Kitty”/“Sugar and Spices” and “Good Day”/“Music Music.” Neither single seems to have had made much of an impact on the charts and Marshmallow Way was unfortunately never heard from again.

Marshmallow Way is long out of print and has never been reissued on CD. Vinyl copies appear occasionally on second-market sites, but are fairly hard to find. (popgeekheaven.com)

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70s british Teen/Glam/Bubblegum: Buster - Buster 1977 ( 2008 Airmail Archive, Remastered)

 

Buster was the name of a British pop band of the 1970s. Their only hit in the British charts was the single Sunday, which was listed at number 49 for one week in 1976. The band had more success than in Europe in Japan, where they managed to place four singles in the Top 20.

The teen band formed in 1972 on the Wirral Peninsula, near Liverpool in the northeast and Wales in the southwest, under the name The New Attraction. As a semi-professional group, the band members were still at school, they played their gigs mainly in the north of neighboring Wales.

 In 1974 they were signed by RCA Records; in the process the band name was changed to Buster. Their singles were written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe and produced by the two of them with David Mackay - the team that was also responsible for the first successes of Bonnie Tyler. The very first release brought Buster their only hit in the British charts. The single Sunday, released on May 14, 1976 with the B-side Salt Lake City - Silver Gun, placed in the Top 50 for a week on June 19, 1976. In Germany, their single Love Rules charted at number 20 on the airplay charts in 1977. The music was classified as glam rock or bubblegum; Buster have been compared to the Bay City Rollers.

While their other singles had little success in their home country - the musical tastes of British youth had by now shifted more to punk - Buster became stars in Japan. Sunday was a top 10 hit, and further releases entered the top 20 of the Japanese charts. They went on tour, culminating in two sold-out concerts in one day at the Budokan. (wikipedia)

The band was certainly a bit late with their teen sound, as the glam and bubblegum wave was already slowly dissolving by mid '76. Even if the "Rollers" were still very successful with a part of the audience, the time of the so-called teen bands was slowly coming to an end. Certainly, at the right time, with the right concept, the band could have easily kept up with such successful acts as Kenny, the Bay City Rollers and similar teen bands. (Frank) Enjoy!

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Wonderful British Baroque Folk/Psychedelic Folk/Folk Rock/Folk Pop: Evensong - Evensong 1973 (Merry Go Round 2010) mono/stereo

 

Released by Philips in 1973, Evensong's self-titled album is a highly regarded British folk-pop artifact that has received critical acclaim and sold well. The duo's fragile, harmony-drenched songs are instrumentally underpinned by veteran studio musicians Clem Cattini, B. J. Cole and Herbie Flowers, with artful string arrangements by former Spencer Davis Group guitarist Ray Fenwick. (walmart)

I can't praise this album highly enough. I'm not really a big folk fan, but this album just blew me away the first time I heard it. Every song is just great. The string arrangements by Ray Fenwick really enhance the feel of the songs. Everything about this album is just right. I can only recommend it to everyone. Simply beautiful music. Enjoy.(Frank)

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60s Pop by David & Jonathan - David & Jonathan (1966-68) (2011 Repertoire Records) 2 Disc (Disc 1 'David & Jonathan' 1966 & Disc 2 'The Best Of')

 

Most famous for their hit cover of the Beatles' "Michelle" in early 1966, David & Jonathan were a harmonizing duo from Bristol, England, with more ties to the MOR vocal sound than the British Invasion. Actually named Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook, 

the pair were primarily songwriters rather than performers, penning "This Golden Ring" and "You've Got Your Troubles" for another British vocal group, the Fortunes. Beatles producer George Martin worked with the renamed David & Jonathan in the mid-'60s, and their soft ballad treatment of "Michelle" made the Top 20 in both the U.K. and U.S. Their smooth dual leads were in the vein of Chad & Jeremy, but even more pop-oriented.

David & Jonathan had another big hit in Britain in 1966, "Lovers of the World Unite." But Greenaway in particular would experience his greatest success as a composer. Sometimes in collaboration with Cook, and sometimes not, his songs were a fixture of the British pop scene in the '60s and '70s. The quality of these hits was variable indeed, ranging from the excellent (the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman" and Gene Pitney's "Something Gotten Hold of My Heart") to the banal (the Pipkins' "Gimme Dat Ding" and Whistling Jack Smith's "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman"), as well as smashes for Blue Mink, Engelbert Humperdinck, White Plains, and others. (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

I think Greenaway & Cook are household names for anyone into sixties pop music. Not only as songwriters for other artists and acts of that time, but also to perform their songs themselves. Their songs were in the ''MOR'' sound at home and the arrangements above all with orchestral sounds and polyphonic vocal harmonies laid out. Simply great and absolutely recommendable. Enjoy!(Frank)

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Instrumental/Guitar: Hank Marvin - Hank Marvin 1969 (1998 Parlophone, EMI, Expanded Edition) Remastered

 

A major influence on British guitar heroes of the '70s such as Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, Hank Marvin played lead guitar for the Shadows, one of the U.K.'s top instrumental outfits and the backing band for Cliff Richard on most of his hits. Born Brian Robson Rankin on October 28, 1941, Marvin grew up in Newcastle learning guitar, banjo, and piano. He played in various skiffle groups around the area, and met up with rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch. After moving to London in 1958, the two were recruited to serve in Cliff Richard's backing band, the Drifters, with Ian Samwell and Terry Smart. Richard's first single, "Move It," hit number two on the British charts, and two other singles -- "Living Doll" and "Travellin' Light" -- hit number one the following year. Samwell and Smart left the band -- now called the Shadows, to avoid confusion with the American vocal group -- and they were replaced by bassist Jet Harris and drummer Tony Meehan.

LP Label Columbia 1969

The Shadows recorded several sides as an instrumental act in late 1959; one called "Apache" hit number one in the British charts. From 1960-1963, the band racked up four number ones and seven Top Ten hits before disbanding in 1968. Marvin, while continuing to appear and record with Cliff Richard, began a solo career with a self-titled album in 1969; it reached number 14 in the album charts. In the early '70s, he reunited with Welch and John Farrar as Marvin, Welch and Farrar. The trio recorded both an eponymous LP and Second Opinion, and then Marvin and Farrar recorded an additional album as a duo. Marvin moved to Australia and became a Jehovah's Witness in 1973, but later joined a re-formed Shadows. The group resumed recording, and hit the Top Ten in 1978-1979 with "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Theme from 'The Deerhunter.'"

Original '69 Back Cover

Hank Marvin's only chart success as a solo act was 1982's Words and Music, which featured the U.K. hit "Don't Talk." He recorded All Alone with Friends in 1983, and then re-appeared in the '90s with four albums: Into the Light, Heartbeat, Hank Plays Cliff, and Hank Plays Holly. Continuing to perform on the live circuit and release throughout the 2000s -- including the U.K. Top Ten albums Guitar Player and Guitar Man -- Marvin also delivered guest spots for the likes of Jason Donovan and Richard Hawley. 2014 saw Marvin branching into jazz territory with the release of Django's Castle, on which he was joined by rhythm guitarist Gary Taylor and accordionist Nunzio Mondia. Marvin returned in 2017 with Without a Word, which featured covers of songs by some of Marvin's favorite artists, including the Beatles and Elvis. (John Bush, allmusic.com)

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(Retro) 60s Girl Group Pop: It's My Party! - Can I Get To Know You Better (2000 Mister Cat Records)

 

Producer John Giotto was the driving creative force behind It's My Party, a band that paid homage to the girl groups of the '60s while bringing their sound into the modern era. Giotto formed the group in the late '80s with a trio of female singers in their twenties, initially creating a sound more reminiscent of the Go-Go's than the Ronettes. When that original incarnation disbanded in 1995, Giotto realized something was missing from the equation: real teenagers singing those anthems of teenage femininity.

He recruited three girls from a nearby high school, and It's My Party was eventually formed. Although the singers occasionally rotated, Giotto remained dedicated to preserving the phenomenon of '60s girl groups through reinterpretations of both classic hits and original material. (Matthew Springer, allmusic.com)

Of course this sound is something for fans in the first place. Nevertheless you should listen to the (retro) sound of this project. Giotto as well as the musicians and all involved in this project created great pop tunes in the garb of the sixties girl groups. (Frank)Enjoy!

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