Baroque Pop/Acoustic Folk Pop/Psychedelic Pop: Appaloosa - Appaloosa 1969 (2005 Collector's Choice)

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Parker Compton co-founded the acoustic band Appaloosa with violinist Robin Batteau in the late '60s. Both musicians had been heavily influenced by the folk scene in their hometown, Cambridge, MA. Compton got his start singing in a Cambridge church choir before he and Batteau began playing the coffeehouse circuit together.

Liner Notes By Richie Unterberger

As the 1972 press release for Compton's solo album, To Luna, told it, he showed up at producer Al Kooper's Columbia Records office in late 1968, hoping to show him his songs. Uninterested, Kooper told the kid (Compton was 18) to come back some other time. But a little while later, Kooper came in on Compton and Batteau performing for the office secretaries. Finally won over, Kooper recorded their demo, and within a year the newly signed musicians had released an album, the self-titled debut from their group Appaloosa. Also including bassist David Reiser and cellist Eugene Rosov, Appaloosa was joined in the studios by members of Blood, Sweat & Tears and by Kooper himself.

Appaloosa soon gave way to a duo project for Compton & Batteau, before the two musicians went their separate ways. Compton recorded a solo album and resurfaced in the '90s with some new recordings, while Batteau went on to play in a duo with his brother David Batteau, join the late-'70s band Pierce Arrow, and later work as a studio musician. (Joslyn Layne, allmusic.com)

Of course, the folk influence cannot be denied, but pop, baroque pop, light psychedelia also play a not to be underestimated role in the music of Appaloosa. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Pop/Bubblegum: Tracey Ullman - The Best Of Tracey Ullman (2002 Metro, Stiff)

Before she became a famous TV comedienne, Tracy Ullman recorded two albums in the early '80s that effortlessly recalled the classic girl group sound of the '60s. Ullman covered everything from Doris Day ("Move Over Darling") to Blondie ("[I'm Always Touched by Your] Presence, Dear"), finding the underlying connections between classic pop songs of all eras. You Broke My Heart in 17 Places, her debut album, was a hit in the U.K., and she even managed to have a Top Ten hit in America with a version of Kirsty MacColl's "They Don't Know." Although it had some fine numbers, the follow-up, You Caught Me Out, wasn't as successful, prompting Ullman to return to television. By the end of the '80s, her comedy show, The Tracy Ullman Show, was one of the most critically acclaimed television shows in America; she hasn't recorded any music since. (S.T. Erlewine, allmusic.com)

Tracy Ullman evokes the spirit of the sixties girl groups with most of the songs on this compilation and she succeeds remarkably well in many songs. Also the whole thing doesn't seem artificial in any way. She also proves a sure hand in the selection of cover songs. The music of Ullman is supposed to be fun in the first place and she succeeds in this very well most of the time. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Request: Garage Rock/Psychedelic/Folk Rock Rock: Mouse And The Traps ‎– The Fraternity Years 1966 - 1968 (1997 Big Beat)

Fraternity Years is the first Mouse & the Traps compilation of a truly official nature, taken right from the master tapes. The 25 tracks do miss a few of their least essential cuts, like the awful country novelty "Would You Believe," their mediocre final single for Bell, and the "Psychotic Reaction" single they recorded under the pseudonym of Positively 13 O'Clock.

But everything else is here, with the neat bonuses of a 1967 single credited to another pseudonym (Chris St. John) and seven interesting, previously unreleased sides, including the moving folk-rock-protest number "Nobody Cares" and a you-gotta-hear-it-to-believe-it cover of "You Are My Sunshine" (set to the arrangement of James Brown's "I Got You"!).

The lengthy liner notes present the best history of the group ever written, capping an excellent reissue of a fine band who were probably too chameleon-like to find their niche in the national market. (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

"A Public Execution," the first song here, is so Dylan-like that many who heard it believed that Dylan was indeed singing. Nope, just Mouse's singing style.

Favs beyond the above song, "You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care)," "You Are My Sunshine," "Cryin' Inside," "I Wonder Where the Birds Fly," "Like I Know You Do," "All For You," and especially the Brit-influenced "I've Got Her Love" and "Promises Promises."

The psychedelic "I Satisfy" is cool so is the jazzy feel of "Requiem For Sarah." "L.O.V.E. Love" is...well, lovely. A lot of knockout music here some of which should have hit the national charts. All in all, the only song on the CD that grates is the baroque "Hand in Hand" where Mouse's Dylanesque vocal seems out of place.

The band adds enough attitude and energy to make their covers of "I'm a Man," "Ya Ya" and "Mohair Sam" enjoyable.

This is another band who enjoyed regional success and who played with names such as the Byrds, The Box Tops and Yardbirds but for various reasons couldn't break to the national level, which is a shame.(allmusic reader review by James Cole)

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Pop/Progressive/Pop Rock: David Paton - The Traveller-Another Pilot Project (2019 David Paton Songs Records)

To avoid confusion from the start; this is not David's Project ''A Pilot Project'' from the year 2014, but the second part (you can call it that) from the year 2019 the Paton called ''Another Pilot Project''. On the album he turns again to the Alan Parsons Project, in which he was involved to a considerable extent.

I wonder what moved Paton to revive this part of his musical past. Anyway, for me as a 'Pilot' fan the album is a must. Of course a lot of it sounds familiar, because Paton usually doesn't distance himself very far from the original interpretation of the songs. Nearly all instruments was played by David Paton himself.

It should also be noted that his daughter Sadie did the vocals on two of the songs and did it very expressively. The album is of course primarily for fans of David Paton and the APP, but of course also for those who are not so familiar with both. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Psychedelic Pop/Pop Rock: The Flame - Psychedelic Essentials 1970 (2011 Purple Pyramid)

The Flame are most known for their connections to the Beach Boys, though they'd been active for quite some time in a much different part of the world than Southern California before they came to the Beach Boys' attention. Originally known as the Flames, the group with brothers Ricky Fataar, Steve Fataar, and Edries Fataar, as well as Blondie Chaplin was a popular act in their native South Africa in the mid- to late '60s, moving to London near the end of the decade to try to break into a larger market.

Still using the name the Flames, they put out an obscure album in the U.K. in 1968, Burning Soul. In July 1969, they were seen at the London nightclub Blaise's by Beach Boys guitarist Al Jardine, who brought the band's other guitarist, Carl Wilson, to see them the following night. Wilson offered to produce an album for the band on the Beach Boys' label, Brother, in California, although it wasn't until the late '70s that the LP was released. By this time, the group was using the name the Flame to avoid confusion with James Brown's backup singers, the Famous Flames.

The album didn't actually sound much like the Beach Boys, instead bearing a quite prominent late-'60s Beatles influence in the intricately arranged vocal harmonies and guitars, as well as showing traces of other, more hard rock-oriented late-'60s British acts. Cuts such as "Don't Worry, Bill," "Another Day Like Heaven," and "Highs and Lows," in fact, came about as close as anyone did to simulating the feel of Abbey Road, though the material wasn't as brilliant as that penned by the Beatles. Although a single from the album, "See the Light," made the bottom reaches of the national charts, a second album was recorded but not released, the band breaking up shortly afterward.

Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin were absorbed into the Beach Boys for some recordings and touring in the mid-'70s, and Ricky Fataar, in addition to acting and recording as part of the Beatles parody group the Rutles, played on numerous sessions (mostly as a drummer). Chaplin has also had a busy session career, mostly notably in the studio and on-stage with the Rolling Stones since the late '90s. (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

Even though the album was produced by Carl Wilson, it clearly sounds more like the Beatles than the Beach Boys. Still, I wouldn't call it a copy of the Fab Four. For people who like Beatles-inspired music, this album is definitely a must. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Beat/Pop/Rock: The Easybeats - Easy 1965-1966 (1992 Repertoire Records) Remastered, 8 Bonus Tracks

Their first album, not available outside Australia until the 1990s. The Vanda/Young songwriting partnership had yet to dominate the band in their early days, and most of the (entirely original) material here comes from the pens of George Young and singer Stevie Wright. It's more Merseybeatish and less oriented toward power-pop and staccato guitar attacks

than their subsequent releases, which isn't really detrimental; it doesn't scale the peaks the band would shortly climb, but neither does it have the overdone good-time mania that made some of their efforts hard to take in more than limited doses. A fairly consistent, if not incredibly remarkable, relic from the Beat era, with some very Beatlesque tracks, including "It's So Easy," "I Wonder" (on which Harry Vanda sounds a lot like a young George Harrison circa "Do You Want to Know a Secret"),

and cuts that could pass for the Searchers ("I'm Gonna Tell Everybody"), Gerry & the Pacemakers ("Hey Girl," "A Letter"), the Merseybeats ("Cry Cry Cry"), the Kinks ("You'll Come Back Again"), and Peter & Gordon ("Girl on My Mind"). Stuck in the middle of all of those delightfully derivative treasures is the most defiantly original track off the album, and (not coincidentally) their first big Australian hit, "She's So Fine,"

which doesn't sound like anything else here, pulsing with energy, a hot pumping bass part, and a ferocious guitar break. The Repertoire Records CD reissue enhances the original album significantly with the addition of eight bonus tracks, including five jewels from the Vanda/Young songwriting team. (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

Maybe not the best album of the band but certainly one of the most important releases (besides ''Friday On My Mind'' the worldwide monster hit), because it gave them the breakthrough in Australia with the hit single ''She's So Fine'' and with it the first step to an international breakthrough. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Late 60s Psychedelic Rock: Canterbury Fair - Canterbury Fair 1969 (1999 Sundazed)

The Canterbury Fair was a band from Fresno California that recorded between 1967 to 1969. The band, led by John and Philip Hollingsworth, skillfully employed keyboards and a fuzz bass to create a monstrous epic sound of swirling tapestries of mind-bending music that was way ahead of its time.

Canterbury Fair created a sound the was reminiscent of the Doors but contained elements of the Left Banke and Love. The unique thing about this band is that no one played guitar in the band, the entire sound was based around the organ as the lead instrument together with drums bass and vocals.

This collection of 10 songs includes the A-side of the ultra-rare single, "Song On A May Morning" originally released on the small local Koala label as well as the group's never-before-heard full-length album that was recorded but never released and one live track recorded during the band's hey day.

The CD package contains in depth information on the band together with rare photographs and reproductions of concert posters. Another long lost legendary band finally resurrected for all to hear.

(Keith Pettipas, allmusic.com)

Very good album full of interesting sounds. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Psychedelic Rock/Rock/Pop: Lothar & The Hand People - Space Hymn (+ Presenting + The 45s) (The Complete Capitol Recordings) (1967-1969) 2 CD 2003 Acadia

As the subtitle suggests, Space Hymn: The Complete Capitol Recordings (2003) contains all the material that Lothar & the Hand People cut during their three-year association with the label. The long-players Presenting. . .Lothar and the Hand People (1969) as well as Space Hymn (1969) are featured on this two-disc compendium, as well as the singles issued prior to their debut LP.

Although Paul Conley (synthesizer/keyboards/Moog synthesizer), John Emelin(vocals/voices), Tom Flye (drums/percussion), Rusty Ford (bass), and Kim King (guitar/Moog synthesizer/amplifiers) were products of the fertile New York City rock & roll scene of the mid-'60s, the combo made their way via Denver, Colorado circa 1965. They blend experimental psychedelia with a myriad of sounds from the burgeoning Moog synthesizer keyboard technology.

The results were decidedly mixed, as selections such as "It Comes on Anyhow" -- which is less of a song than a musique concrete composition -- "Today Is Only Yesterday's Tomorrow," and the introduction to the superb baroque-flavored "That's Another Story." In the case of the latter, the seeming randomness of the bleats and electro-drones lessens the musicality, especially since the melody is actually one of their more engaging outings. By contrast, "Sister Lonely" stands out, thanks to the variation of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' & Tumblin'" along with some considerable contributions from Ford's undulating underpinning.

"You Won't Be Lonely" may be the best example of Lothar & the Hand People as a straight-ahead and slightly garage-influenced aggregate, with some particularly worthwhile vocal harmonies that recall the Who's mid-'60s output. "Wedding Night for Those Who Love" is a remarkable instrumental with Conley providing an affective duet between the theremin and piano, producing arguably the best fusion of traditional and modern instrumentation.

To lesser effect is the cover of Manfred Mann's second-tier hit "Machines" -- with some overbearing mechanical, yet rhythmic clunking -- and "Sex and Violence," with an otherwise consistent improvisational jam. As referred to above, Space Hymn: The Complete Capitol Recordings also includes "L-O-V-E (Ask for It by Name)," "Rose Coloured Glasses," "Comic Strip," "Every Single Word," "Have Mercy (Mercy, Mercy, Mercy),"

and "Let the Boy Pretend," the respective A- and B-sides to a trio of 45s, none of which are otherwise available on CD. Parties looking for a somewhat less comprehensive collection should check out This Is It Machines from See For Miles. (Lindsay Palmer, allmusic.com)


The band offers a wide range from psychedelic rock to pop, experimental songs, and rock. An unusual, but very interesting mixture, which the band (has) presented here with their work. Enjoy.(Frank)

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60s Pop: Chad & Jeremy - Before And After 1965 (2002 Sundazed)

Chad & Jeremy's first Columbia album was similar to their previous material (recorded for Ember in the U.K. and licensed by World Artists in the U.S.) in its light British Invasion pop/rock style with folky overtones. There wasn't anything here quite on the level of their previous big hits, "Yesterday's Gone" and "A Summer Song," though the orchestrated ballad "Before and After" would be their final Top 20 single.

As a whole the album's a bit of a variety show, the pair proving modestly enjoyable to mediocre at a range of approaches on both originals and outside material. There's the nearly straight folk of "Fare Thee Well (I Must Be Gone)" and Gordon Lightfoot's "For Lovin' Me," more orchestrated pop/rock ballads ("I'm in Love Again," "Tell Me Baby," and a slightly inferior remake of "What Do You Want With Me," which they had already done for Ember),

bouncy British Invasion pop ("Little Does She Know," "Say It Isn't True"), the Andy Williams hit "Can't Get Used to Losing You," and even a strained attempt at a British Invasion R&B rave-up ("Evil-Hearted You"). "Why Should I Care" is about the best of the original tunes, though at one point it blatantly rips off a riff from the Zombies' "She's Not There."

The 2002 CD reissue on Sundazed doubles the length with an assortment of rare singles, outtakes, and alternate versions. None of these are astounding, but some of the more interesting extras include their B-side-only cover of Dino Valenti's "Pennies," which makes its CD debut; the previously unissued version of the obscure Zombies song "Sometimes"; the Italian-sung "Adesso Si" and "Nessuno Piu Di Me," a Europe-only single in 1966;

and both sides of the rare 1966 Chad and Jill Stuart single (Jill Stuart was Chad Stuart's wife), which paired covers of Peter, Paul & Mary's "The Cruel War" and Bob Lind's "I Can't Talk to You." (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

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