Genesis - In The Beginning (68 us heavy psychedelia - Wave audio format)

Originally released in 1968, this classic fusion of melodic songwriting, searing guitar and male/female harmony vocals finally makes its long-awaited CD debut here ( ... ).



Leader Jack Ttanna had played in psych legends The Sons Of Adam, while guitarist Kent Henry would go on to join Steppenwolf, and their superb musicianship is showcased throughout this brilliant album, the only one the band ever released.



This is major label American psychedelia at it's best.



Originally released on Mercury Records in late 1967, this group from Los Angeles had a heavy, yet versatile sound.



This LP has nice arrangements with heavy fuzz guitar reminiscent of Iron Butterfly and The Maze.



"Angeline", "Ten Second Song" and "Gloomy Sunday" are the standout tracks, although the whole LP is very good.



With male/female vocal harmonies, the female vocals are up there with the Nancy trinity (Nansi Nevins, Nancy Nairn and Nancy Blossom) and the wonderful Dorothy Moskowitz.



Highly recommended! (by cgr)



Track List :

01.Angeline

02.Suzanne

03.Gloomy Sunday

04.What It's All About

05.Mary, Mary

06.Ten Second Song

07.Girl Who Never Was

08.World Without You



Personnel :

*Jack Ttanna - guitar, vocal

*Bob Metke - drums

*Fred Rivera - bass

*Kent Henry - guitar

*Sue Richman - vocal

*Jimmy Chappell - bass



[ Thank you BOBBO59 for sending this post ... rip from his CD-R ]

[ Original rip and scans made torrents ]

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The Mourning Dayze - The Lost Recordings (67 us psychedelic pop - MP3 320k and FLAC)

The Mourning Dayze were a Wisconsin garage band in the mid-'60s heavily influenced by the Beatles and the Byrds and this extremely brief (22 minutes) collection of the group's recordings from 1967 shows just how derivative they actually were.

"Man with the Thin Mind", which is probably the best track here, bubbles along on a speeded up "Taxman" (via the Beatles) progression while "The Mourning Dayze" is clearly the Byrds' "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" with a different set of lyrics.

Likewise "Moon That Gives No Sunlight" takes its melody and even the tone and feel of its lyrics from Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom", and the arrangement is exactly the same as the Byrds' version of the Dylan song.
All of this is a bit bothersome, but the Mourning Dayze weren't doing anything that a thousand other local bands weren't also doing at the time, and copping from the Beatles, the Byrds, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Animals and the Yardbirds is what gives the whole garage band phenomenon of the '60s its signature feel and sound.

Still, nothing here generates more than historical interest, and even the much lauded "Fly My Paper Airplane" (included here in two versions), which has been cited as a lost psychedelic classic, hardly lives up to its billing.

Bands like this one were extremely valuable in their local communities, places where megastars like the Beatles weren't likely to visit, but translated to a larger stage, well, the world already had the Beatles and the Byrds, and while imitation is flattery, it's still imitation, however nicely configured it might be. (by Steve Leggett from amg)

Tracklist:
01.Fly My Paper Airplane
02.Sad Man's Madness
03.Man With The Thin Mind (previously unreleased)
04.Moon That Gives No Sunlight (previously unreleased)
05.Rain Time (previously unreleased)
06.The Mourning Dayze (previously unreleased)
07.Are We Going To Say Goodbye? (previously unreleased)
08.Fly My Paper Airplane (previously unreleased alternate version)

Personnel :
*Doug Henry - ?
*Rick Pfeifer - ?
*John Valentine - composer (?)
*Steve Ellmann - ?
*Berry Oakley (?) - bass
*Curly Cook (?) - guitar
*Mike Warner (?) - drums

[ Rip and scans by COR ... many thanks mate ]
HERE (password is : phrockblog)

Gold - Oregins S.F.1970 (us san francisco great psychedelic west coast - Wave audio format)

With nine songs recorded in the studio at Golden State Recorders in San Francisco in 1969 and 1970, plus eight songs (in decent if imperfect fidelity) from a live show at the Fillmore West on March 3, 1970, this is a generous document - lasting 78 minutes in all - of a San Francisco band that only got to release one obscure single, never putting out an LP. (Both sides of that single, "No Parking"/"Summertime" - the latter produced by Country Joe McDonald, who also plays clavichord on the track - are here, though the notes don't make it clear if these were the same recordings used on the 45.)

It's a decent slab of period late-'60s San Francisco rock, though Gold were neither top-tier when judged against the many similar bands from the time and region, nor possessed of a fully formed musical identity.
Certainly you can hear bits and pieces of other major Bay Area acts - "High on Love" and "When I Saw You" have the spacey languor of Quicksilver Messenger Service at their most folk-rocking wistful, and "Conquistadores" is very much in the spirit of Santana's first album (in fact both bands had "Fried Neck Bones," heard on the live portion of this CD, in their repertoire).

Other tracks have a more macho, bluesy hard rock approach, and while eclecticism was a trademark of numerous San Francisco psychedelic acts, Gold were missing that something that might have elevated them to a notable rank.

Despite their derivative nature, however, "When I Saw You", "High On Love", and "Colores" are all enjoyable songs for those who like the distinctively bittersweet sound of much gentler SF psychedelia.

Other tracks indicate they could have done well with a Santana-esque fusion of rock, blues, and Latin rhythms had they wanted to go further down that route.

The scattershot liner notes don't give you much of a coherent history of the band's life and times, however.

The band were managed by Ron Cabral along with his brother Dennis from 1968 to 1973.
They broke up after playing San Francisco shows at both the Fillmore and Winterland with groups such as: Big Brother and the Holding Company, Hot Tuna, Ten Years After, Malo, and Mike Bloomfield. (by CGR)

Track List :

Golden State Recorders - San Francisco 1969/70
01.No Parking
02.High On Love
03.Righteous Road
04.Conquistadores
05.Heavy
06.When I Saw You
07.PSB
08.Filet Of Soul
09.Summertime

Live at the Fillmore-West Auditorium 03/03/1970
10.When I Saw You
11.Filet Of Soul
12.Colores
13.PSB
14.Conquistadores
15.No Parking
16.Fried Neck Bones
17.Heavy

Gold :
*Ed Scott - rhythm guitar
*Joe Bajza - lead guitar
*Louie Goursau - drums
*Chico Moncada - bass
*Richard Coco - vocals
*Robin Sinclair - vocals
*Ron Cabral - percussion (cowbell, maracas, guido, sticks, tambourine)
*Sebastian Nicholson - congas
*Bob Golden - vocals

[ Rip and Scans by DR BELL OTUS ]
CODE: 58147 or click here (password is cod_number+phrockblog)

Damon - Song Of A Gypsy (1969 us psychedelic acid rock - Flac)

Damon.
This is the artistic name of David Del Conte, a genius American gypsy musician who is responsible of probably the rarest and most sought-after psychedelic music album of all time.
We're talking about his debut album, "Song Of A Gypsy", which was originally released in 1969.

This album has a totally unique sound, with the "crooner-like" voice of Damon, the omnipresent melodic fuzz guitar of Charlie Carey and truly atmospheric melodies.
It's ordinary psychedelic rock music, not quite as strange or exotic as some word-of-mouth would imply.

There's plenty of searing fuzz guitar, soul - searching and - probing lyrics with a mystical gauze, and, frankly, minimal melodic variety throughout the ten tracks, which have a slight Eastern flavor.
It's not a mainstream record by any means, but it's not stunningly weird or innovative either.

Song of the Gypsy is a bit of a classic.
It was first released on the Ankh label, which no one but avid vinyl collectors would have heard of because it was Damon’s own.

If you have a spare $3000 or so and are lucky enough to spot one floating around on eBay, you can own a piece of history. For the rest of us poor plebs who have trouble scraping together 30c, we’ll have to be content with the 2009 remastered version.
Perhaps if you take up a collection, you can also afford a couple of spliffs that would add to the authenticity of the whole sixties in the ‘noughties’ experience.

This CD is pure flower-power folk rock.

You’d have to really like this genre to enjoy listening, but Damon has produced a fine collection of hypnotic songs that deserve to be thrown out there to the new hippy generation.

The first track has the same title as the album.
It’s music you could belly dance to if you so desired. Musical instruments and sounds go in and out of fashion, and the guitar riffs and percussion used here both date the music and make it cool.

Most songs are romantic, like ‘Don’t You Feel Me?’ and ‘Did You Ever?’ but unlike other songs of the time, Damon’s lyrics are about love and not about lust.

There is a touch of blues thrown in the mix with ‘Funky, Funky Blues’ and this provides a break from the mellow ‘love humankind’ theme. Fans of Damon the Gypsy have described his music as ‘magical’ and ‘mystical’.

Maybe they’ve fried up one or two too many magic ‘rooms, but I will say that if you enjoy sounds that are truly typical of this time, then you can’t go past Damon the Gypsy because his music is quality.

Track List :
01.Song Of A Gypsy
02.Poor Poor Genie
03..Don’t You Feel Me
04.Did You Ever
05.Funky Funky Blues
06.Do You
07.The Night
08.I Feel Your Love
09.Birds Fly So High
10.The Road Of Live

Personnel :
*Damon - gypsy guitar, vocals
*Charlie Carey - guitar
*Mike & Lee Pastora - percussion
*Helena Vlahos - finger cymbals
*Atley Yeager - bass, background Vocals
*Carl Zarcone - drums
*Richard Barham - durbecki (dumbeg)

[ Thank you DR BELL OTUS for sending this post ]
[ Rip and scans made by torrents ]
CODE : 51879

The World Of Oz - The World Of Oz (1969 uk psychedelic pop japan remaster edition - MP3 320K and FLAC)

This album was, for many years, a choice and expensive collectable in the U.K. and elsewhere, mostly owing to its sheer obscurity -- the group had virtually ceased to exist by the time the 12" vinyl platter made it into record shops on either side of the Atlantic, and it disappeared soon after.

But The World of Oz has more than rarity or obscurity to recommend it -- it actually works on two levels, the original album's 11 songs holding up as first-rate sunshine pop, strongly reminiscent of the Bee Gees' Horizontal and Idea albums, while more select parts of the record document a band that was regarded as one of the more promising to come out of late-'60s Birmingham.

On the softer side of the music, "Beside the Fire" recalls "World" from the former album, while "Jackie" is strongly reminiscent of any number of early Robin Gibb-sung ballads, and that is hardly to be considered negative criticism.

The only problem one has with those songs, and the album as a whole, is the same one that the bandmembers reportedly had with it: that it doesn't always represent what the group really sounded like.

Deram Records A&R chief Wayne Bickerton lavished attention on this band, including the budget for a 35-piece orchestra that accompanied them on many of the tracks, which made the music sound great but somehow lost the sound of the band itself in the process.

The group does reveal a somewhat heavier sound on "The Hum-Gum Tree," which was also their third single -- the thicker-textured guitar and bass work are probably closer to what this group sounded like on-stage, while the haunting "With a Little Help" mixes a restrained orchestral accompaniment and Beatlesesque harmonies, it's a great compromise between their pop and rock aspects.

The music may sometimes seem a bit fey and light, but as with the Bee Gees on Horizontal, one does get a strong sense of a band with some solid chops there beneath the harmonies and orchestral flourishes.

"Mandy-Ann" works even better as a horn-and-harmony driven piece with the rhythm section coming to the fore, though one wishes that the producers had avoided one annoying punctuating sound-effect (by Bruce Eder).

Like A Tear:


Track List:
01.The Muffin Man
02.Bring The Ring
03.Jackie
04.Beside The Fire
05.The Hum-Gum Tree
06.With A Little Help
07.We've All Seen The Queen
08.King Croesus
09.Mandy-Ann
10.Jack
11.Like A Tear
12.Willow's Harp

The World Of Oz:
Tony Clarkson: bass
Rob Moore: drums
Geoff Nicholls: guitar, organ
Christopher Robin: guitar, piano, vocals

[ FLAC rip and scans by OldrockerBR ]
[ MP3 rip and scans by SKULLY76 ]

[ MP3 version posted on the phrock blog in Friday, December 25, 2009 ]
CODE: 51366

Mouse And Traps - The Fraternity Years (1966-1968 us garage, psychedelic, folk, blues and pop rock - rare Big Beat records compilation - FLAC)

This Tyler, TX band achieved their greatest international fame a half-decade after they first laid down the Dylanesque "A Public Execution" in the mid-60s.

The exposure came from the song's inclusion on Lenny Kaye's legendary "Nuggets" double LP and revitalized interest in the group's entire catalog of singles.

The resulting interest spawned early vinyl-mastered reissues on New Rose, and finally, this authoritative CD release drawn from the original master tapes.

Mouse is Ronnie Weiss, a singer whose normal singing voice is a dead-ringer for Dylan's nasal delivery.

"A Public Execution," Weiss' 1966 kiss-off to an ex-girlfriend, found the sort of disjointed regional radio success that never gained the critical mass needed to chart nationally.

The band developed fans in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio and Kentucky, but never graduated beyond their contract with the Cincinnati-based Fraternity Records.

The single's B-side, the horn-lined "All for You" is perhaps more indicative of the R&B material the band turned out in live performances across oil patch towns in East Texas. Still, this was the mid-60s, and like Jim Sohns of The Shadows of Knight, Mouse lent a cocky edge to the band's blues.

The follow-up single, "Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice," sounds even more like the Shadows of Knight, with bedspring-twangs of fuzz guitar punctuating the mile-a-minute vocals and R&B band rave-up.

It's a truly sweltering piece of mid-60s garage rock. The flipside, "I Am the One" introduced the band's proclivity for folk-rock, which also included the Byrds styled buzz and jangle of "I've Got Her Love" and the Dylanesque "Like I Know You Do."

The latter was the flipside of a novelty (written by one of the label's investors) "Would You Believe," that's been omitted from this collection (and by all reports, to everyone's advantage).

Mouse tackled other styles, including the baroquely styled "Hand in Hand" and "As Far as the Sea," and the twangy production pop of "Promises, Promises."

Even further afield, the record company's search for commercially viable sides resulted in the bubblegum "L.O.V.E. Love," the wistful "Sometimes You Just Can't Win" (also recorded by the band's studio mate, John Fred of Playboy band fame), and the 1968 organ-led psych sides "I Satisfy" and "Look at the Sun."

None had much sales impact, but they did provide space for infectious B-sides like the rocking "Lie, Beg, Borrow and Steal" and the harmony laden "Requiem for Sarah."

Big Beat's 25-track collection sports seven previously unreleased tracks, including a ripping cover of The Yardbirds "I'm a Man," a funky, James Brown styled take on "You Are My Sunshine," the party-time arrangement of Dallas Fazer's "Mohair Sam," and the original protest folk-rocker "Nobody Cares."

One might have hoped for the band's non-Fraternity sides (originally released on Hanna-Barbara and Epic), or the novelty "Would You Believe," but their absence is a nit.

An introductory essay from the band's producer and detailed liner notes from reissue producer Alec Palao round out a solid package documenting a mid-60s Texas garage band that should have been more widely known in their own time. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com].

I Satisfy:


Track List:
01.A Public Execution
02.Maid Of Sugar, Maid Of Spice
03.Nobody Cares
04.Cryin' Inside
05.I'm A Man
06.Lie Beg Borrow And Steal
07.I Got Her Love
08.I Am The One
09.Like I Know You Do
10.Sometimes You Just Can't Win
11.All For You
12.Do The Best You Can
13.Look At The Sun
14.You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care)
15.Promises Promises
16.I Satisfy
17.Requiem For Sarah
18.L.O.V.E. Love
19.Ya Ya
20.Good Times
21.Hand In Hand
22.You Are My Sunshine
23.I Wonder Where The Birds Fly
24.Mohair Sam
25.As Far As The Sea

Mouse And Traps:
*Dave Stanley (bass guitar)
*Jerry Howell (keyboards)
*Ken "Nardo" Murray (drums)
*Bugs Henderson (lead guitar)
*Ronny "Mouse" Weiss (guitar, vocals)
*Doug Rhone (guitar)


[ Thank you MCLEHAST for sending this post ]
Rip and scans nade by torrents
CODE: 51042

Tripisichord - Tripsichord Music Box (1971 us fantastic west coast psychedelic akarma remaster edition with 05 bonus tracks - MP3 320K and FLAC)

Tripsichord Music Box, whose shortened name Tripsichord is sometimes used, came from San Francisco.

Even though their album was released in 1971, late for the fast paced 1966-1968 period of San Francisco psychedlia, it is still considered an equal to the best and most brilliantly adept albums from the acid rock movement—a Bay area music specialty based upon distorted (crazy) guitars.

They were managed by Matthew Katz, who also worked with Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and It's A Beautiful Day.

In 1968, he allowed It's a Beautiful Day to press a single and release an LP on his own label before they signed with Columbia.It was San Francisco Sound that released the first recording of Tripsichord Music Box—the single “Times and Seasons”/“Sunday the Third” (San Francisco Sound 115).

The resulting sound was certainly unique, but the LP format was too restrictive in its length to allow the band to express the entirety of their talents.

And if these two titles did possess rare qualities, particularly on “Sunday the Third”, they were hardly original and didn’t stand out against the masses of music produced in1969.

It was also at this time that Matthew Katz concocted the idea to release a compilation—one that was destined to lift up his young protégés. Titled “San Francisco Sound”, the compilation was released on the mysterious label Fifth Pipe Dream (F.P.D. 11680) and brought together tracks from It’s a Beautiful Day ("Bulgaria" and the imaginative and unedited "Aquarian Dream", the two sides of their first single), Black Swan (a rather ordinary pop group—the weakest of the four), Indian Puddin Pipes (the formidable "Hashish" and "Water and Wine") and of course Tripsichord Music Box.

Tripsichord contributed three songs: "You’re the Woman", "It’s Not Good" (these two songs are actually one), and "Family Song". By far the longest tracks on the album, they are superb, and even though the vocals are themselves excellent, it is above all the explosive and burning guitar and organ solos, and the high-tension melodies that keep our attention.

The perfect illustration of acid rock at its highest level, these three tunes that are found nowhere else have been added, on this CD, to the nine songs from the original Tripsichord album—providing a more complete look into what was Tripsichord Music Box and five bonus tracks.

Fly Baby:


Track List:
01.On The Last Ride - 4:42
02.We Have Passed Away - 2:45
03.Black Door - 2:55
04.The New Word - 4:40
05.Son Of The Morning - 5:34
06.Short Order Steward - 5:04
07.The Narrow Gate - 3:35
08.Fly Baby - 6:26
09.Everlasting Joy - 4:19
10.You're The Woman (bonus) - 3:35
11.It's Not Good (bonus) - 3:10
12.Family Song (bonus) - 8:26
13.Times & Seasons (bonus) - 3:23
14.Sunday The Third (bonus) - 3:19

Tripsichord:
*Randy Gordon—drums
*Frank Straight—guitar
*Dave Zandonatti—bass
*Oliver Mckinney—keyboards and organ
*Bill Carr—vocals
*Ron McNeeley-vocals


[ FLAC rip and scans by OldrockerBR ]
Previous MP3 version posted at PHROCK in Friday, May 22, 2009
CODE: 49935

Moby Grape - Vintage: The Very Best of Moby Grape (1967-1969 us psychedelic west coast compilation with 48 tracks - MP3 320K and FLAC)

It's hard to imagine a better-produced package of Moby Grape's work than this two-disc, 48-track condensation of their best late-'60s recordings.

The first disc of this set centers around their entire 1967 self-titled debut LP (included in its entirety), which mixed blues, country, and folk influences with hard-charging psychedelic rock & roll.

The result was one of the Summer of Love's more enduring works. The second disc boils their wildly inconsistent 1968-69 material down to a fairly strong and coherent selection.

While it doesn't match the peak of the group's initial burst, it features some strong folk and country-rock originals that wear much better in the absence of the bloated jams and half-baked hard rock that could make their albums a chore to sit through.

Each disc includes interesting demos, outtakes, and live performances that round out the legacy of this prodigiously talented but ill-fated band, which was overcome by internal strife and label/management difficulties after their promising debut (by Richie Unterberger).

Disc: 1
01.Hey Grandma
02.Mr Blues
03.Fall On You
04.8.05
05.Come In The Morning
06.Omaha
07.Naked If I Want To
08.Rounder
09.Someday
10.Ain't No Use
11.Sitting By The Window
12.Changes
13.Lazy Me
14.Indifference
15.Looper
16.Sweet Ride
17.Bitter Wind
18.Place And The Time
19.Rounder
20.Miller's Blues
21.Changes
22.Hey Grandma
23.Omaha
24.Big

Disc: 2
01.Skip's Song
02.You Can Do Anything
03.Murder In My Heart For The Judge
04.Bitter Wind
05.Can't Be So Bad
06.Just Like Gene Autry
07.He
08.Motorcycle Irene
09.Funky Tunk
10.Rose Colored Eyes
11.If You Can't Learn From Your Mistakes
12.Ooh Mama Ooh
13.Ain't That Shame
14.Trucking Man
15.Captain Nemo
16.What's To Choose
17.Going Nowhere
18.I Am Not Willing
19.It's A Beautiful Day Today
20.Right Before My Eyes
21.Truly Fine Citizen
22.Hoochie
23.Soul Stew
24.Seeing

Moby Grape:
*Bob Mosley (vocals, guitar)
*Skip Spence (guitar)
*Peter Lewis (guitar)
*Jerry Miller (bass)
*Don Stevenson (drums).

Additional personnel:
*Arthur Godfrey (banjo, ukulele)
*Lou Waxman And His String Orchestra.


[ Thank you COR for sending this post ]
CODE: 49800

The Human Beinz & The Mammals - The Human Beinz & The Mammals (1967 us/uk garage beat pop, blue eyed soul - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Best-known for its version of "Nobody but Me," Youngstown, OH's frat rock quartet the Human Beinz featured rhythm guitarist Ting Markulin, lead guitarist Richard Belley, bassist Mel Pachuta, and drummer Mike Tatman. Originally known as the Human Beings, the group was a local favorite and was discovered playing at a Youngstown bar. Their early releases include covers of Bob Dylan's "Times They Are A-Changin'" and Them's "Gloria," as well as renditions of the Who and Yardbirds songs; they released their first singles on the local Gateway imprint.

In 1967, the group signed to Capitol Records and scored a Top Ten hit with their cover of the Isley Brothers' "Nobody but Me." On their debut album, which was also named Nobody but Me, the band found their name changed to the Human Beinz, a play on the hippie phrase "be-in." The following year, the group issued Evolutions, which showcased a more original side to the Human Beinz' music, but the album did little and the band ultimately broke up. ~ Heather Phares

This is split release featuring songs recorded for Gateway prior to the enormous success of their Capitol Records release 'Nobody But Me', but not released until 1967. Since Gateway didn't have enough material for a full album, they included cuts from a similar band, The Mammals. Contains Human Beinz doing covers of pop hits from the day like 'Pied Piper', 'My Generation' and 'Gloria'.


Tracks
The Human Beinz (Gateway Gigs)
1. Pied Piper (Konfeld,Duboff) - 2:12
2 . My Generation (Pete Townshend) - 2:45
3. Gloria (Van Morrison) - 2:46
4. The Times They Are A Changing (Bob Dylan) - 2:02
5. Nobody But Me (Isley Brothers) - 2:15
The Mammals (Gateway Years)
6. I Say Love (Medley,Russell) - 2:15
7. Hey Little One (Burnette,DeVorzon) - 2:30
8. Stop In The Name Of Love (Holland,Dozier,Holland) - 2:43
9. Hold On! I'm Coming (Hayes,Porter) - 3:32
10.Ooh Baby Baby (Robinson,Moore) - 2:57
11.Up Tight (Cosby,Moy,Wonder) - 2:38

The Human Beinz
*Dick Belly - Vocals, Guitar
*Joe Markulin - Guitar
*Mel Pachuta - Bass
*Mike Tateman - Drums

[ Thank you ARGS for sending this post ]
CODE: 49098