Psychedelic Pop From Brighton, UK; The Dials - The End Of The Pier 2013 (Gear Disc)

Brighton-based rockers the Dials began honing their blend of psychedelic indie rock in the early 2000s. Nodding to artists like Love, the Byrds, the Faces, and Syd Barrett (just to name a few) with their jangly, trippy, harpsichord-rich pop songs, the Dials released their self-titled debut in 2007. (Margaret Reges, allmusic.com)

Here some reviews about their other releases:

"The Dials’ self titled debut, released a couple of years back, was a sprawling mass of head-shrivelling psych and sonic exploration tempered by cosmic acoustic balladry. It paid tribute to the likes of Pink Floyd and the Beatles’ more magically mysterious forays. It was a vast melting pot of sounds and ideas but its lengthy running time ultimately proved draining rather than absorbing.
"It’s a tightly focused burst of strange energy that still manages to roam all over the sonic landscape, taking in surf instrumentals given gothic organ backing (opener Sandycove), falling-into-your-own-head Syd Barrett dreamscapes (Good Morning Mr Magpie) and rather straight-faced country ballads delivered in narcoleptic baritones (Blue Pine Yodel). The Dials are as energetically explorative as ever in their music and this energy proves far more intense crammed into so tight as juicy a package as this." (Maverick)

"Companions of the Rosy Hours: Confident pop-rock of impeccable influences"
"In possession of a slew of great ’60s records with well-thumbed sleeves, Brighton’s Dials are rarely shy when it comes to acknowledging their sources. This second album glides effortlessly between the harmonic swoon of The Byrds (“Watch Her Walk Away”), the poppier elements of the Velvets (the Farfisa stab of “NY Radio”) and the child-like psych of Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd (“Good Morning Mr Magpie”). All are despatched with brio and genuine affection for every genre that crosses their radar" Terry Staunton, Uncut

All this fits also to the ''The End Of The Pier''. Wonderful psychedelic pop. Highly recommended. Enjoy.(Frank)

Sorry, no art except front cover :-( .
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Beat, Pop, Psychedelic Pop; The Knack - Time Time Time The Complete UK Singles (And More) 1965-1967 (2007 Rev-Ola)

Taking their name from Richard Lester's swinging London classic The Knack and How to Get It and their sound from the Kinks, the Knack captured a certain vibe from mid-'60s Britain -- which isn't quite the same thing as making an impact at the time. One of the charms of the Knack is that they were so of their time that they don't quite transcend their time, yet they evoke it, which is why Time Time Time: The Complete UK Singles (And More) 1965-1967 is enjoyable even if it isn't quite memorable.

What's striking is indeed how much they sound like the Kinks circa Something Else; unlike the equally Kinks-obsessed Turquoise, who delved deeply into The Village Green, there aren't many signs of wry whimsy here -- there's nothing but lean, hard-hitting, hooky pop. Which isn't to say that the Knack only reworked the driving rock & roll of "Who'll Be the Next in Line?," the Ray Davies song they covered and which opens this collection.

They could branch out, as on the terrific "Time Time Time," which glides along on swirling guitars and harmonies, a piece of pure '60s pop that still can thrill. They rarely reached this height, but they did nice covers of the Lovin' Spoonful (both "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?," which they pumped up with fuzz-toned guitar, and "Younger Girl"); "Save All My Love for Joey" is a pretty nice slice of soft, string-laced pop;

"Take Your Love" is bright, crystalline pop; "(Man from The) Marriage Guidance and Advice Bureau" plays as if the Hollies tried to write a Dylan song instead of just singing them; and Paul Gurvitz's pair of originals, "Dolly Catcher Man" and "Lights on the Wall," are very good, propulsive British psychedelic pop, suggesting the potential of Gurvitz as a songwriter.

These moments are a little fleeting on Time Time Time, as they're surrounded by perfectly fine but mildly forgettable period pieces, but they're the reason for '60s collectors to check out this likable band. (S.T. Erlewine, allmusic.com)

The band was certainly a little underrated. They had some really good songs but never made it into the front row of the big sixties bands. I second the review from allmusic in the most parts and recommend the collection. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Davy Jones - The Bell Recordings 1971-72 (2012 Friday Music)

Davy Jones was kind of in a dead-end bind when the last remnants of the Monkees called it quits in 1970. He was, after all, essentially an actor playing a musician on a TV show when he was bounced into a recording career, and although he had fan clubs of teenage girls all around the globe, that was what he was, an actor.

He could sing, in a British music hall sort of way, and if matched to the right song, he could pull it off, but his musical career really had more to do with a casting call than it did anything else. Opportunity knocked and Jones did his best with it. He signed a record deal with Bell Records in 1971 and released a solo album, Davy Jones, that same year, and a handful of singles, before leaving for MGM Records in 1973.

This set includes the Davy Jones album in its entirety and the A- and B-sides of three singles from Bell, so it's pretty much the Bell story. The music hasn't worn well, and aside from a version of Neil Sedaka's "Rainy Jane" and the impossibly cheery but affecting "Sitting in the Apple Tree," the curious charm of this release has more to do with willful nostalgia than it does musical spark. Jones played the part he was given as best he could, and as a former jockey, he rode with it, and he did it without pretension.

With the right song, he could work it. There just aren't many of those kinds of songs here, although as a document of the Bell years, it has a certain resonance.(Steve Leggett, allmusic.com)

Davy Jones always had a personality of his own, both in his voice and in the choice of songs. I really like the work he recorded for Bell. But I also think that some of the material at the beginning of the seventies was a bit late and still sounded a lot like sixties. Nevertheless, the songs have quality and their very own 'Jones charm'. Enjoy.(Frank)

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U.S. Powerpop: Shoes - Best (1987 Black Vinyl Records)

Evoking the Beatles and the Raspberries in their gifts for writing superlative pop tunes and Todd Rundgren in his skill at bringing them to life in the studio, Shoes won over pop obsessives when they first emerged in the mid-'70s, playing music with a charming innocence and execution unmatched by the more derivative bands lumped into the category "power pop." At the same time, when punk and new wave were making "Do It Yourself" their rallying cry, Shoes were the living embodiment of the D.I.Y. ethic, writing their own songs, producing their own recording sessions in their own home recording studio, and releasing the results on their own label. When 1977's Black Vinyl Shoes became a cause célèbre among rock critics, it earned them a major-label record deal, and the group's cult following grew with the release of 1979's Present Tense and 1980's Tongue Twister. By the time Shoes released Silhouette in 1984, they'd left the major labels behind, turning their Black Vinyl label into a cottage industry, issuing new albums (1989's Stolen Wishes and 1994's Propeller) and keeping their older work in print. By the late '90s, the group's productivity had slowed to a halt, but 2012's Ignition showed Shoes were still capable of making top-shelf pop magic in the studio.




Shoes were formed in Zion, Illinois, in 1973 by Jeff Murphy, John Murphy, and Gary Klebe, with the Murphys and Klebe all sharing songwriting duties and Skip Meyer joining as drummer in 1976 . While the group played live on rare occasions, their natural home was in the studio, and Jeff Murphy, an electronics whiz and audiophile, created their own makeshift four-track studio in his home, where they could spend hours putting the sounds in their heads on tape. Released in 1975, Un Dans Versailles was Shoes' official debut, but it appeared in a very limited edition (only 300 copies) and received limited distribution through their own Black Vinyl label, while their second LP, Bazooka (1976), initially went unreleased.

Arriving in 1977, Black Vinyl Shoes changed the game for the band. Though it barely appeared in record stores, enough critics and key music industry people heard the record to start a word-of-mouth buzz. Eventually, Greg Shaw, the head of Bomp! Records, heard the record and arranged for the band to release one single, the brilliant "Tomorrow Night"/"Okay," on his label. The independent PVC Records label gave Black Vinyl Shoes a nationwide reissue, and soon Shoes were the toast of the rock press, earning rave reviews with much ink spent describing their unusual road to success. A contract with Elektra Records soon followed, and the label released the group's next three textbook power pop albums: Present Tense (1979), Tongue Twister (1981), and Boomerang (1982).

Despite the instantly accessible, catchy quality of the songs and plenty of positive press, radio failed to warm to the band, and as a consequence, they were unable to achieve mainstream
success. Among specialists, however, these albums, along with the debut, stand as the high points of the '70s-'80s power pop era, brilliantly crafted and highly influential.
Elektra dropped Shoes after the release of Boomerang, and Meyer left the band. The remaining three retreated back to the home studio, returning with Silhouette in 1984, a more subtle, keyboard-oriented album initially released only in Europe. Having won back the rights to Black Vinyl Shoes and their Elektra catalog, in 1987 Shoes issued Shoes' Best, a collection that pulled together the best material from their first 12 years and brought their music to compact disc for the first time. The CD revived interest in Shoes and gave the Black Vinyl label a new lease on life. Returning to their Short Order Recorder studio, they returned in 1989 with Stolen Wishes, a polished effort that emphasized keyboards and vocal harmonies.

 Shoes remained intermittently active in the '90s, releasing Propeller (1994) and the live Fret Buzz (1995), as well as issuing music from other like-minded bands on Black Vinyl. The collective efforts of Shoes in the mid-'90s led to a power pop revival in indie rock circles in the U.S., and the band stayed active working on reissue projects (including 2007's Double Exposure, a double CD of demos taken from the albums Present Tense and Tongue Twister), the occasional live show, and running the Short Order Recorder studio.(Mark Deming, allmusic.com)

Allmusic gave this collection five stars and i want give five, too. The collection is full of great songs from the '70s until 1987, in my opinion the best time of the band. I think this is a good startng point for people who haven't heard the band before. Enjoy.(Frank)




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Psychedelic Pop: Earth Island - We Must Survive 1970 (2012 Aurora)

Very good Psych-lite with tinges of Pop and prog. Is music on the same wavelength as The Millennium; light "airy" sort of super-produced pop with (often) positive messages. For a few tracks I could've sworn the lead singer was Curt Boettcher (like on "Seasons of Our Lives"). Even some of the other vocalizations are similar (which is a good thing): --Ooh!-- and --Ahh!-- backing vocals on several tracks along with multiple singers, instrumentation varied from song to song, etc.

The album is solid throughout, with no real "clunkers" to be found. Fillers, (see below), yes perhaps... but even the fillers aren't horrible. On repeated listens I've grown to appreciate it more and more.

Highlights: "Earth People's Park" "This Island Earth" and "Ride the Universe" stand out to me.

I didn't really care for "Peace and Understanding, Toronto 1970" as it just felt like tossed-together filler material compared to the rest of the record. Same with "The Hungry Planet"; they tried to spice it up with backing vocals but it's still a simple blues-themed jam in the end. Actually the second side is the weakest part of the record, with the first few tracks being very solid.(excerpt of the review by Faltain, reader at 'rateyourmusic.com')

I am not sure if i posted the album already on my first blog but however, i listened to the album this morning (after a long time i haven't listen to it) and thought it could be a good idea to post it on the blog. Hope you will have the same fun as i had this morning :-) . Enjoy.(Frank)

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British Sixties Pop; Barry & Paul Ryan - Hey Mr. Ryan 1968 (Decca, German Vinyl Release)

The twin sons of popular singer Marion Ryan, Paul (b. Paul Sapherson, 24 October 1948, Leeds, England, d. 29 November 1992) and Barry (b. Barry Sapherson, 24 October 1948, Leeds, England) were launched as a clean-cut act to attendant showbusiness publicity. Their debut single, ‘Don’t Bring Me Your Heartaches’ reached the UK Top 20 in 1965, and over the ensuing months the siblings enjoyed respectable, if unspectacular, chart placings with ‘Have Pity On The Boy’ and ‘I Love Her’. The Ryans shifted away from their tailored image with ‘Have You Ever Loved Somebody’ (1966) and ‘Keep It Out Of Sight’ (1967), penned, respectively, by the Hollies and Cat Stevens, but such releases were less successful.

They split amicably in 1968 with Paul embarking on a songwriting career while Barry recorded as a solo act. Together they created ‘Eloise’, the latter’s impressive UK number 2 hit and subsequent million seller, but ensuing singles failed to emulate its popularity. Paul’s compositions included ‘I Will Drink The Wine’, which was recorded by Frank Sinatra, but neither brother was able to sustain initial impetus. During 1969 Barry had an accident which caused serious burns to his face. In the 70s Paul moved to the USA, but later left the music business and opened a chain of hairdressing salons. He died of cancer in 1992. (Bio by allmusic.com)

As far as I know the album was released in 1967 in England and 1968 in Germany. The album offers commercial British sixties pop. I like the album very much because I like this kind of sixties pop music very much. The album is certainly not exceptional but it has a lot of good pop songs to offer. Enjoy. (Frank)

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R & B, Soul, Pop, Rock; Bobby Freeman - C'mon And S-W-I-M (2000 Ace Records)

Although this has the same title as Freeman's only Autumn album, 1965's C'mon and S-W-I-M, this is in fact a retrospective of Freeman's entire stint with the label. In addition to all 12 songs from the original C'mon and S-W-I-M LP, it has five non-LP cuts from 1963-1965 singles, and seven previously unissued outtakes and alternates. At the very least, it's enjoyable uptempo party soul. At its most ambitious, there are fusions of rock and soul elements -- hard-slicing guitars, unusual and crafty melodic lines -- that point to the directions explored, in much deeper and more effective fashion, by Sly Stone a few years later. That should not come as a great surprise, given that Stone, then known as Sylvester Stewart, produced this material, in which he was also involved as arranger and frequent songwriter. In fact, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (heard here in both its LP version and faster single version) would be done on Sly & the Family Stone's Dance to the Music album, although Larry Graham and not Stone would do lead vocals. More impressive than the energetic dance outings with live-in-the-studio-sounding party noise are Stone/Stewart's pop-soul-rock compositions, including "I'll Never Fall in Love Again"; "That Little Old Heartbreaker Me"; "Friends," with its James Brown-like horns and Latin rhythms, and the idiosyncratically, melodically twisting "Cross My Heart." (The last of these only appeared on 45 originally.) The outtakes and alternates, incidentally, are pretty worthwhile, and not just footnotes, particularly as they include a few Sly Stone-penned tunes. Of those, "Swing Me" is a pretty good Motown approximation, while "Honest" gets into some more personal, melancholy writing that certainly anticipates some of Stone's work a few years down the line. Not a brilliant disc, but a good one that has more historical importance in the rock and soul lineage than has been recognized. (Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

Like Mr Unterberger say in his review it's not a brilliant work but a good one. In my opinion the best songs here are those that are go a bit more in a pop direction. But as I said everything here is pretty much worth listening to. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Brit Pop by Northern Uproar - Northern Uproar (1996 Heavenly)

On their self-titled debut album, the teenage band Northern Uproar comes on like a minature Clash, thanks to the production of Manic Street Preacher James Dean Bradfield. It's clear that Northern Uproar learned their Clash riffs secondhand through the Manics and lifted the rest of their sound -- as well as their apolitical, laddish attitude -- from Oasis.

At their best, the band can tear through appealingly raucous and melodic rock & roll with brutal, youthful energy. At their worst, the group wants to prove that they're more than a rock & roll band, so they head down slow, string-laden detours.

At this point in their career, Northern Uproar doesn't have the depth to pull off ballads, but that's fine, given their age. Northern Uproar certainly isn't a consistent album but it is fun, if occasionally mindless, rock & roll. (S.T. Erlewine, allmusic.com)

If you don't like Brit Pop - Hands off. But if you like the nineties and the phenomenon what was called brit pop you are right here. The band is fine the album fulfill all the expectations of brit pop fans and i like the album, too :-) . Enjoy.(Frank)

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Japanese Power Pop With David Paton of Pilot fame; Beagle Hat - Magical Hat (2006 Avalon)

Hello folks, i don't want lose much words because we are here for the music, right?! So let's go again. Today i want introduce three bands. Here is the first and as nearly always here is the allmusic review:

Uncanny re-creations of '60s and '70s British pop are the specialty of Beagle Hat, a Japanese band whose musicianship and attention to detail place them on a higher plane than most revival acts. Their invitation to David Paton of Pilot to sing all the tracks on their 2006 album Magical Hat was an inspired move, and the result is Paton's best album since Pilot's heyday. The musical references, which take the form of sounds and styles rather than direct quotations, begin to fly almost immediately. The opening song, "Casgabarl!," is constructed in movements like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," and the guitar solo is an homage to Brian May. Paton's "Goldmine" is a remarkable re-creation of the Pilot sound; the only thing missing is the handclaps. Just as remarkable is the ability of Beagle Hat's Hisa Tanaka and Takeo Kurashina to write songs that sound almost exactly like something from a '70s-era Pilot album. The lovely acoustic song "After the Typhoon" and the poppy "Fairyland" easily could have been written by Paton. Even the slightly off-kilter lyrics -- a result of the English-as-a-second-language lyricists -- don't sound out of place considering that many of Pilot's lyrics had a peculiar quality, too. Beagle Hat cites the Beatles, Pilot, Queen, and Yes as their main influences, and all are audible to some degree on Magical Hat. The ever-present vocals of David Paton keep bringing it back to Pilot, though, which is a delight for fans of that under-appreciated band. The bonus track on the Japanese edition is a brief reprise of "Casgabarl!" with ambient noises. (Greg Adams)

I really second the review by Mr Adams. Beagle Hat show all of their skills in songwriting and arrangement. Maybe the best work of the band and to bring David Paton in the band for this album is just geniously. Enjoy.(Frank)

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Pop, Rock, Psych Prog: Autumn - Comes...Autumn 1971 (2010

Although Autumn began as a bubblegum band in the late-60's, the early-70's found them, after various line-up changes, a markedly different band. With lush harmonies, Beatle style arrangements and a great batch of songs that ranged from breezy pop to progressive rock (as well as the the seven minute orchestral extravaganza: 'Kill My World'), Comes... Autumn showed a mature and accomplished band that belied both their age and their beginnings. Features the singles 'Falling' and 'Goblin's Gamble', plus 5 bonus tracks: including the rare final single 'Just Couldn't Believe It', a spirited cover of the Beatles' 'Day Tripper' and previously unreleased demos.. It has been re-mastered by Gil Matthews. Liner notes from Ted Lethborg featuring quotes from a recent interview with lead singer Tony Romeril.(excerpt from amazon editorial office)

The band showed all their skills on this album, which went beyond their bubblegum past, although they also benefited from it on this album; In the form of great hooklines. The songs come across as absolutely relaxed and casual. With this album the band had recorded their masterpiece. Enjoy.(Frank)

Complete new links and complete artwork.

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