Wonderful Bossa/Light Psychedelia/Lounge/Easy Listening: The New Wave - Little Dreams The Canterbury Recordings 1967 (2011 Now Sounds) Stereo & Mono

 

Tommy André and Reid King, two illustrious Californian unknowns who, besides their passion for young girls in bloom, shared a common taste for graceful and airy melodies, psychedelic treats and new wave cinema (which explains the name of the band). 

So it's no surprise to find, in the middle of this collection of jewels made by the duo, a cover of a song from Michel Legrand and Jacques Demy's "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" rearranged into an intoxicating and melancholic bossa.

After this rereading, the rest of the album oscillates between pop, folk, jazz and classical music. The songwriting, staggering for young men barely twenty years old, is permanently sublimated by Gene Page's arrangements and the inimitable playing of the "West Coast" musicians of the time, most of them coming from the famous Wrecking Crew that Phil Spector and Brian Wilson liked so much. 

At the bend of a harpsichord note, we even find Van Dyke Parks, whom pop symphony enthusiasts know well for having greatly participated in the construction of the "Smile" cathedral with Wilson. Like the genius of the Beach Boys, André and Reid also possess that unheard-of instinct for complex (but never pretentious) harmonies and baroque reveries all wrapped up in oboes, vibraphones, strings, brass and light guitars.

Released in 1967, 'Little Dreams' was an instant hit and made its way to the US charts before being halted by a disagreement between the duo and the record company. The recent resurrection of this album, which went out of print too quickly, has further fuelled the fantasy of a "Summer of Love" as an inexhaustible source of musical marvels. We will keep it preciously on our shelves between Sagittarius' "Present Tense", the Hollies' "Butterfly" and Love's "Forever Changes". All those albums that leave the lazy journalist speechless and inevitably force him to give in to the temptation of adjectives. Magnificent. (Mickael Choisi, popnews.com)

A wonderful, almost beautiful album that these two young guitar virtuosos gave us in 1967. Great guitars, loose and airy sound arrangements, for me a great record. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Pop/Pop Rock: Joey Stec - Joey Stec 1975 (2011 Air Mail Archive, Japan)

 

Joey Stec will be a familiar name to fans of The Millennium, a Southern California group who were the brainchild of producers' Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher, and Keith Olsen. The group's album, Begin (Columbia 1968) is an obscure classic of the period, as well as being one of the most expensive albums recorded by Columbia at the time. Joey Stec was one of the main members of that band, and his own self-titled album is, in its own way, a classic of the period that it was done in as well.

in the great sixties

Released in 1975, The Joey Stec Album is loaded with great pop-rock hooks ("Do You Know"), introspective ballads ("No Knowing," which recalls Neil Young's work from this period) and delightful, joyous singing, songs and performances. Unlike many records like this from the mid-70's, this album actually has retained its freshness, and that alone is an incredible feat. Masterfully produced by the great Jimmy Miller (Traffic, Rolling Stones, etc.), the album features stellar guest performances by such heavyweights as Bobby Keys, Jim Gordon, Carl Radle and others.

 In fact, this album can accurately be described as a poppier version of The Dominos, crossed with the Beatle-esque pop sensibilities of groups as Badfinger and Big Star. Mostly, though, it sounds like Joey Stec, which is a wonderful thing in itself. Absolutely delicious. (Matthew Greenwald, allmusic.com)

You know, as a Boettcher fan, Joey Stec is of course also a ''must'' for me. But simply because Joey Stec released a damn great album in 1975 that has no weaknesses and meets the spirit of the times. 😄😄😄😄😄 out of 😄😄😄😄😄 Smilies for Joey. Enjoy.(Frank)

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60s British Invasion Pop/Folk/Beat: Peter & Gordon - The EP Collection (1995 See For Miles) Reissue

 

Although this 29-track compilation is ostensibly a roundup of songs that appeared on foreign EPs, it actually serves as a greatest-hits collection of sorts. The sequencing is unfortunately haphazard, jumping all over the place chronologically, but it does include all ten of their U.S. Top 40 singles. In fact, it's a substantially better deal than the domestic best-of that appeared on Rhino a few years before this; it has more songs, presents some pretty good B-sides and non-45 tracks, and puts a greater weight on their original compositions. 

The inclusion of four French songs from a rare EP will please collectors, although for general listeners' purposes it would have been wiser to feature the English versions.

So if you make a compilation of EPs by an artist, you should also do it in chronological order imho. Well, you can't have everything.😉 Enjoy.(Frank)

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60s Pop/Bubblegum/Freakbeat/Psychedelic Pop: The Equals - Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys...The Anthology (1999 Sequel)

 

Anyone who thinks of the Equals as nothing but a prelude to Eddy Grant's solo career will find revelations throughout this 50-song double-CD set -- the diversity of sounds here is quite staggering, and all the more so as the quintet was so good at all of it: British Invasion-style rock & roll, psychedelic pop, freakbeat, bubblegum, they could do it all, and with an edge that always told you there was more to this band than what their records were letting you in on.

 The 140 minutes of music here is as much of the Equals as most of us might ever need to hear, starting from their October 1966 single "I Won't Be There" b/w "Fire," and going up through "Diversion," Grant's last authored single for the band, in 1973. In between are all of the singles and B-sides of any significance, plus the most important tracks off of their LPs Unequaled Equals, Equals Explosion, Sensational Equals, Equals Supreme, Equals Strike Again, and The Equals Rock Around the Clock, and the various EPs interspersed between these. Completists might only be satisfied with all of the latter, represented on CDs with a brace of bonus tracks, but this 50-song compilation is impressive in its own right, and as solid a selection of their best work across seven years as one is ever likely to hear. All of it is present in exceptionally good sound and fully annotated by the always reliable and fascinating Roger Dopson. (allmusic.com)

All said. Nothing needs to be added. The Equals were a great band and this compilation by Sequel/Castle is still unsurpassed in my opinion and does justice to this band in every respect. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Australian PsychPop/Folk/Rock: The Dolly Rocker Movement - Our Days Mind The Tyme (2009 Off The Hip, 2010 Bad Afro Records)

 

A quick peek at Australian fivesome the Dolly Rocker Movement’s album titles gives a pretty good idea of where these guys’ heads are at: 2006’s two-fer Electric Sunshine and Purple Journey Into the Mod Machine and the new Our Days Mind the Tyme (released in ’09 by Australian label Off the Hip; now seeing U.S./U.K. release on Bad Afro) 

The 2009 Off The Hip Front cover

could easily have been nicked from a Fading Yellow or Rubble psychedelic ’60s comp. DRM’s in the here and now — at least according to the calendar — though in its mind it’ll always be 1968. Opener “The Only One” is psychedelic drone, though with a light touch, and prickly guitar; “A Sound for Two”, a waltz fueled by violin and harpsichord, nails the old-school psych aesthetic in a way its present-day peers often miss: There’s more to this stuff than just a Hammond organ and a fuzzbox.

2010 BAR Back cover

DRM has done its homework, and even mix things up with some surf/horror-garage vibes on “Coffin Love” and “Memory Layne” (surely Arnold’s regrettably named cousin), respectively. If you’re allergic to psychedelic purple pronouncements (“In the darkest night / I can see you through the hands of time”), you’ll need to steer clear, but the rest of us have a new, reliable psych fix. (Stephen Haag, popmatters)

Like everything DRM has given us to our ears so far, their 2009 work is also exquisite PsychPop/Folk/Rock. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Beatlesque Power Pop: Famous Groupies - Chameleon Sessions (2021 Orange Records)

 

There's not much more to say about Famous Groupies except maybe for people who don't know the band yet. They play music strongly influenced by McCartney/Wings. When you hear the band for the first time you can't believe how authentic they sound. And it's really a pleasure to listen to their songs. Everyone who likes McCartney music should listen to this. Enjoy.(Frank)

If you like the music you can buy it HERE

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Psychedelic Pop/Mod/Punk/Rock: John's Children - There's An Eye in the Sky (2021 Easy Action)

 

Because Marc Bolan -- soon to become T. Rex -- was briefly a member, John's Children are perhaps accorded more reverence by '60s collectors and aficionados than they deserve. Still, they were an interesting, if minor, blip on the British mod and psychedelic scene during their relatively brief existence (1965-1968), although they were perhaps more notable for their flamboyant image and antics than their music. Yardbirds manager Simon Napier-Bell recalled that they were "positively the worst group I'd ever seen" when he chanced upon them in France in 1966,

 yet he was conned into taking them on as clients. Not proficient enough to be trusted to play on their own records, their first single, "Smashed Blocked"/"Strange Affair," was recorded with sessionmen in late 1966. This disorienting piece of musical mayhem, opening with a crescendo of swirling organs and an otherworldly over-reverbed vocal, was one of the first overtly psychedelic singles.

Their improbable saga was launched when the single actually reached the bottom depths of the U.S. Top 100, cracking the Top Ten in some Florida and California markets. The group's U.S. company, White Whale, requested an album, which they shelved when it was received -- an LP with the then-unthinkable title of Orgasm.

 The actual album consisted of mediocre studio material smothered in audience screams lifted from the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack, and was, bizarrely, actually released in 1971 (and reissued a decade later). Their second single, "Just What You Want -- Just What You'll Get"/"But You're Mine," reached the British Top 40 and featured a guitar solo by recently departed Yardbird Jeff Beck on the B-side. A brief German tour followed, during which they managed to upstage the headliners, the Who (with their theatrics, not their music).

The Children  'out-Who'd The Who' lol

At this point, Marc Bolan joined the group for a time as their principal singer and songwriter; details are hazy, but he recorded at least one single with the group, "Desdemona" (which was banned by the BBC for the line "lift up your skirt and fly"), as well as several unreleased cuts that have surfaced on reissues. Bolan departed in a squabble with Napier-Bell, and the group released a couple more flop singles before disbanding in 1968. Their half-dozen singles rank among the most collectible British '60s rock artifacts, and the group -- who managed some decent modish power pop once they learned their way around their instruments a bit -- were acclaimed as pre-glam rockers of sorts by historians. Andy Ellison (the group's lead singer except during Bolan's brief tenure) recorded some decent pop singles at the end of the '60s, and members of John's Children were involved with the obscure British groups Jook, Jet, and Radio Stars in the '70s. (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

I always loved the band for their proverbial craziness. And to steal the show from the Who, well, that takes something, lol. Mr. Unterberger forgot to note that the band also got kicked off the tour. Desdemona' is a personal classic for me. Just great how you can hear the typical Bolan vocals for the first time, long before T.Rex, when he repeats the ''Desdemona'' vocals. John's Children are an absolute cult band that both in their public appearances and musically took some ahead of what was to follow later in the music world. In short, six stars out of five for this collection. Enjoy.(Frank)

You can buy the album HERE

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Pop Rock with marvelous vocal harmonies: Marvin Welch & Farrar - A Thousand Conversations The Best Of Marvin Welch Farrar (1997 Music For Pleasure, EMI Records)

 

Marvin, Welch & Farrar was formed in London in July 1970 and comprised Hank Marvin on lead vocals and lead guitar; Bruce Welch on lead vocals and rhythm guitar; and John Farrar on lead vocals and guitar (both lead and rhythm). Reports were appearing in the United Kingdom music press by August that Marvin and Welch of The Shadows were forming a new group. Marvin later recalled, "I thought at the time that, as the Shadows weren't working regularly, it would be nice to do something new – singing rather than instrumental, though with instrumentals as well, of course. I was talking to Bruce about it and I thought about forming a five-piece. He wasn't keen on a big group so we shelved the idea and started writing songs together. He suggested the two of us should record the songs together. I suggested adding one more person – I wanted the extra strength of a third voice and the scope it would offer". The third member of the new group was then-unknown on the British 'pop' music scene: Farrar was a member of Australian group, The Strangers, which in 1968 had shared a bill with The Shadows. Welch had watched them from the wings of the theatre and was impressed by the young singer-guitarist: Farrar used a coke bottle to provide a slide guitar effect. When Olivia Newton-John reminded Welch and Marvin about Farrar – who was by then married to Pat Carroll, Newton-John's ex-singing partner – the duo invited him to send over some tapes, and then to join them. Farrar remembered "Bruce had tried to phone me earlier and had left a message at my mother's house. I had been out working, and had gone home with my wife and we were both fast asleep around 1.30 am when the 'phone rang. When I picked up the 'phone and Bruce told me what he was planning, I couldn't believe it. Pat wanted me to drop everything and fly to London on the next plane, but I was desperately planning to be cool... Pat and I didn't go back to bed until the following morning. We spent the whole night smoking cigarettes, drinking cups of coffee and talking... I was trying so hard to be cool, but if the truth be known I wanted to get on the next plane, too".

The Strangers had been formed in 1961, and when founder, Laurie Arthur, decided to leave in early 1964, he was replaced by then 18-year-old Farrar. In 1968 they were a support act for The Shadows' appearance at the Menzies Hotel in Melbourne. The Strangers visited Vietnam in 1970 to play for Australian and United States troops, and Farrar spent some time in the US studying recording techniques in West Coast studios. Then came the invitation to join Marvin and Welch in London. Three months after the phone call from Welch, Farrar and Carroll were in London and Marvin, Welch and Farrar had begun rehearsing. Welch related "Originally, we planned just to record. But the enormity of John's move across the world and the good reception our album received changed that". A 13-week Cliff Richard BBC TV series began in January 1971, and Marvin, Welch and Farrar appeared in five of the shows. It was also announced that the new group would be participating in Richard's European tour, scheduled for later that year. They would be billed as 'The Shadows – featuring Marvin, Welch and Farrar'. This was apparently for the benefit of audiences on the continent, who might be less familiar with the new vocal group. The Brian Bennett Orchestra would be accompanied Richard's set and both Welch and The Shadows bass guitarist, John Rostill, were to play in The Shadows/Marvin, Welch and Farrar set. In fact session bassist Dave Richmond – who had played on the Marvin, Welch and Farrar debut album – replaced Rostill for the tour. The Marvin, Welch and Farrar element in the show was confined to three numbers out of ten.

Although the two ex-Shadows were anxious to emphasise their commitment to the new venture, the public were not so sure. Despite an almost total lack of concert and record appearances, the Shadows were voted Top Instrumental Group in the 1971 New Musical Express poll. Live appearances by the new trio still brought demands from the audience for old Shadows numbers. During 1971 and 1972 Marvin Welch & Farrar performed live sessions at the BBC for Radio 1 broadcasting on the Dave Lee Travis Show. Marvin mused "we lost out both ways. We lost out on the old Shadows, and we lost out by not getting through to the people we thought we'd get through to. They just wouldn't accept us". As musicians and songwriters, the group were well respected. Richard felt "The music was good. Excellent in fact. The engineers and EMI who produced all the Beatles things voted 'Second Opinion' the best album to come out of the company". Second Opinion, the trio's second LP, was released in the US on the Sire label, which later released albums by artists such as the Ramones. Marvin, Welch and Farrar records, although well received, did not set the charts alight. The group remained unconcerned, working in the studios or on tour. 

At other times, they were individually or collectively writing songs, some of which were recorded by Richard or Newton-John as well as by the trio. Farrar and Welch were arranging and producing Newton-John's recordings, until she broke off her engagement to the latter, after which Farrar alone became responsible for her recording career. By 1972, however, Welch had dropped out of the trio. The group had not lived up to his expectations, and some sections of the music press were critical of the Richard-Shadows-Newton-John stable generally. Adverse criticisms, though, did not seem to affect the box-office, and the autumn 1971 Palladium season had been a great success. When Richard toured in 1972, it was Marvin and Farrar, with the assistance of Bennett who joined them. Also involved were ex-Shadow Alan Hawkshaw, Newton-John and Carroll. The Marvin-Farrar set mixed Shadows favourites with new material.

Marvin and Farrar recorded an LP as a duo with one track also featuring Welch, which was presumably originally recorded for a planned third Marvin, Welch and Farrar LP. The album track, "Music makes my day", features Newton-John playing a recorder as an accompaniment. Marvin, on reflection, was less than enthusiastic about that joint album: "it lacked something in direction. It was a bit like Frankenstein meets the Beach Boys". The album, Hank Marvin and John Farrar, was also released in the US, on the Capitol label. Richard's second appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest was in 1973, and Farrar was a member of his backing group. When Richard toured Australia in the same year, Farrar was musical director for both the gospel and secular segments of the tour. Backing Richard were Farrar's former group, the Strangers, and the vocal accompaniment was provided by Pat Carroll Singers. (wikipedia)

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Pop Rock/Folk Rock/ with light psychedelia: The Youngbloods - Euphoria 1965 - 1969 (1999 Raven Records) Collection

 

The Youngbloods could not be considered a major '60s band, but they were capable of offering some mighty pleasurable folk-rock in the late '60s, and produced a few great tunes along the way. One of the better groups to emerge from the East Coast in the mid-'60s, they would temper their blues and jug band influences with gentle California psychedelia, particularly after they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. For most listeners, they're identified almost exclusively with their Top Ten hit "Get Together," but they managed several respectable albums as well, all under the leadership of singer/songwriter Jesse Colin Young.

Young got his start on the folk circuits of Boston and New York, and had already cut a couple of solo albums before forming the Youngbloods. John Sebastian was one of the supporting musicians on Young's second LP, and comparisons between the two -- and between the Youngbloods and the Lovin' Spoonful -- are inevitable. Both groups offered good-timey folk-rock with much stronger jug band influences than West Coast rivals like the Byrds, though the Youngbloods made greater use of electric keyboards than the Spoonful, courtesy of the enigmatically named Lowell "Banana" Levinger. The Youngbloods didn't craft nearly as many brilliant singles as the Lovin' Spoonful, but (unlike the Spoonful) endured well into the hippie/psychedelic era.

While Young was always the focal point of the band, their first two albums also had songwriting contributions from guitarist Jerry Corbitt. Produced by Felix Pappalardi (who also worked with Cream), these records (The Youngbloods and Earth Music) were engaging and mature, if inconsistent, folk-rock. Corbitt's "Grizzly Bear" was a small hit, as was "Get Together," a Dino Valenti song that had previously been recorded by Jefferson Airplane. The Youngbloods' slow, soulful interpretation of "Get Together" was definitive, but it wouldn't reach the Top Ten until it was re-released in 1969, after the song had been used in a television public service ad.

By that time, Corbitt had left, and the Youngbloods, reduced to a trio, were living in Marin County, CA. 1969's Elephant Mountain was produced by, of all people, Charlie Daniels. Reflecting the mellowing influence of San Francisco psychedelia, it was their best effort, featuring some of Young's best songs. The group broke up in 1972, and Jesse Colin Young had a long and moderately successful career as a solo singer/songwriter. (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

Of course, it's safe to say that Jesse Colin Young was the band's most important influence, but Corbitt and Levinger also had a strong impact on the band's sound. Young incorporated a lot of folk and blues, as well as psychedelia, into his songs. With Corbitt, pop influences could also be heard again and again. The band also always injected a certain lightness and relaxedness into their songs. Although the band was certainly not one of the most important influences of their time, it is always fun to listen to their music. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Rock/Classic Rock/ Pop Rock: Kinks – Kinks Part One (Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround) 1970 (2004 Sanctuary Midlands) Reissue, Remastered

 

"Lola" gave the Kinks an unexpected hit and its crisp, muscular sound, pitched halfway between acoustic folk and hard rock, provided a new style for the band. However, the song only hinted at what its accompanying album Lola Versus the Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One was all about. 

It didn't matter that Ray Davies just had his first hit in years -- he had suffered greatly at the hands of the music industry and he wanted to tell the story in song. Hence, Lola -- a loose concept album about Ray Davies' own psychosis and bitter feelings toward the music industry. Davies never really delivers a cohesive story, but the record holds together because it's one of his strongest set of songs. Dave Davies contributes the lovely "Strangers" and the appropriately paranoid "Rats," but this is truly Ray's show, as he lashes out 

at ex-managers (the boisterous vaudevillian "The Moneygoround"), publishers ("Denmark Street"), TV and music journalists (the hard-hitting "Top of the Pops"), label executives ("Powerman"), and, hell, just society in general ("Apeman," "Got to Be Free"). If his wit wasn't sharp, the entire project would be insufferable, but the album is as funny as it is angry. 

Furthermore, he balances his bile with three of his best melancholy ballads: "This Time Tomorrow," "A Long Way from Home," and the anti-welfare and union "Get Back in Line," which captures working-class angst better than any other rock song. These songs provide the spine for a wildly unfocused but nonetheless dazzling tour de force that reveals Ray's artistic strengths and endearing character flaws in equal measure. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com)

Certainly one of the best albums by the Kinks. Davies at the peak of his creativity (once again), and incidentally falls with ''Lola'' the biggest hit next to ''You really got me''. Well done, Kinks! Enjoy.(Frank)

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