Antorcha - Antorcha (1969-1973 mexico, heavy psych garage, shadoks 2006 remaster edition - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Originally called Broken Souls, shortly after Las Antorchas, and finally Antorcha, this -trio decided to struggle independently after the disappointment of not having fame and fortune with their record label company. Formed at the beginning of 1969 by Victor Manuel Motta Aviles (drums and vocals), Guillermo Motta Avites (keyboards and guitar] and Omar Cortes Gavino (bass & vocals) accompanied in certain recording sessions by guest musicians: Mario Salazar Hernandez (keyboards and vocals) Antonio Salcedo (drums), and Eduardo “El Tortas” Bastida (speaker).

Unlike their first phase, they decided to use a harder and protestant style. With an Acid Rock, sometimes with Latin accents, with lyrics in English and in Spanish like the rest of the Mexican groups used to do it at that their musical growth was evident. They produced five Extended, Plays (EP) one LP titled "Anarquismo" in 1976 and one cassette fitted "Antofcha 1965-1976" remembering their complete career period, They took charge of the distribution and promotion of their records everywhere in parties, ballrooms, radio broadcast and TV network presentations etc.

Here we include all their EP songs and one from their 1976 cassette with no covers!: “Cancion No1”, “Amiga” and “Nada” from the first single; "Grass", "Going Down" and "El Jardin del Eden" from the second EP; "La Tierra" and “Crisalida” from their third EP: “Sodomaquina" (remembering the students slaughter in Tlaltelolco, 1968); "Inconclusa”, from the fourth EP "Bracero", "Quiero Vivir" and "Intento No. 2" from the fifth EP; and “Mira” from their sole cassette. In lata 1976 Antorcha disbanded and now the writer carries diverse creative and publishing activities.
by Artuto Alcantara G.

Review in Spanish by Rubber Soul Music
Antorcha fue un grupo mexicano originario de la Ciudad de México formado en 1965 con el Nombre de "los Broken Souls" por Bernardo Minerva (Batería y voz), Jorge González (Guitarra líder y coros), Victor Manuel Motta (Teclados y coros) y Omar Cortés Gaviño (Bajo y coros), después en 1966 se les uniría Fernando Mercado (Guitarra rítmica y coros). Después de llamarse las Almas Rotas, pasaron a llamarse las Antorchas.

Entre 1966 y 1968 grabaron mucho material (En su mayoría refritos, como muchas bandas lo hacían en ese entonces) el grupo grabó covers de bandas como the Yardbirds, the Who, the Animals, the Beatles, Vanilla Fudge y otros más, aunque nunca fueron publicados, solo publicaron un sencillo como "las Antorchas" en 1967 bajo el sello de orfeón, el grupo se sintió incomodo por no hacer canciones originales, y terminó por volverse un cuarteto independiente en 1969 y volvieron a cambiar de nombre por el de "Antorcha", y ahora cambiando su sonido Garage/Beat psicodélico, por un Rock Ácido contestario hacia el régimen represor de aquella época, y ahora con rolas originales, aunque con algunas letras en inglés, y gracias a sus letras anarquistas y críticas al gobierno, fueron vetados, el grupo logró lanzar varios Extended Plays entre 1969 y 1974, y un larga duración en 1976 bajo el título de "Anarquista", aunque todavía no se ha editado en disco compacto, pero se han logrado editar el primer material como las Antorchas, y esta recopilación de Extended Plays lanzados entre 1969 y 1974 bajo el sello Alemán de Shadoks music.

Tracks
1. Cancion No. 1 - 4:16
2. Nada - 6:30
3. Amiga - 3:44
4. En El Jardin Del Eden - 6:13
5. Grass - 3:59
6. Going Down - 2:03
7. La Tierra - 5:58
8. Crisalida - 6:50
9. Sodomaquina -5:21
10.Inconclusa - 4:34
11.Mira - 3:18
12.Bracero - 5:17
13.Intento No. 2 -2:50
14.Quiero Vivir - 3:32

Antorcha
*Victor Manuel Motta Aviles- Drums, Vocals
*Guillermo Motta Avites - Keyboards, Guitar
*Omar Cortes Gavino - Bass, Vocals
*Mario Salazar Hernandez - Keyboards, Vocals
*Antonio Salcedo - Drums
*Eduardo “El Tortas” Bastid - Speaker

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The Other Half - The Other Half (1968 us, garage psych with Randy Holden, 2006 lion records bonus tracks edition - FLAC)

San Francisco based, but spent alot of time on the LA scene. Contains some nice heavy psych guitar work and features all original material (the album starts out as if it were recorded live, which it is not) except for an interesting version of Arthur Lee’s Featd Fish (for some strange reason, miscredited to Country Joe [McDonald]) .

The song first appeared in the line-up of Randy Holden’s previous band The Sons Of Adam and was never recorded, at least to my knowledge, by Love (at least in its original run). According to Vernon Joynson’s book Fuzz Acid And Flowers the band split shortly after they recorded the theme to Mod Squad , a hip youth oriented 60s cop show.

Randy Holden, after the band’s breakup, replaced Leigh Stephens in Blue Cheer before pursuing a, more or less, solo career. The song Mr. Pharmacist , is probably their best known recording, having appeared on a number of psych & garage compilations .
Originally issued on the Acta label in 1968.

This edition issued in 2006 and includes 5 bonus tracks, comes in a digi-pack.

Tracks
1. Introduction (Randy Holden, Jeff Nowlen, Geoff Westen) - 1:50
2. Feathered Fish (Arthur Lee) - 2:38
3. Flight of the Dragon Lady (R. Holden, J. Nowlen, G. Westen, L. Brown, D. Wood) - 2:36
4. Wonderful Day (Randy Holden) - 2:21
5. I Need You (Randy Holden, Mike Port) - 2:46
6. Oz Lee Eaves Drops (Randy Holden, Jeff Nowlen) - 2:29
7. Bad Day (Randy Holden, Jeff Nowlen) - 2:18
8. Morning Fire (Randy Holden, Jeff Nowlen) - 2:37
9. What Can I Do For You, First Half (Randy Holden, Jeff Nowlen, Geoff Westen) - 2:45
10.What Can I Do For You, The Other Half (Randy Holden, Jeff Nowlen, Geoff Westen) - 6:57
11.I’ve Come So Far (bonus track 1968 single)(Geoff Westen) - 2:22
12.Mr. Pharmacist (bonus track 1968 single) (Jeff Nowlen) - 2:30
13.No Doubt About It (bonus track b-side of an Acta single) (Jeff Nowlen) - 2:36
14.It’s Too Hard (bonus track) (Jeff Nowlen) - 2:13
15.I Know (bonus track) (Jeff Nowlen) - 2:41

The Other Half
*Randy Holden - Lead Guitar, Vocals(1967-68)
*Geoff Westen - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals(1966-68)
*Larry Brown - Bass (1966-68)
*Danny "Woody" Woods - Drums (1966-68)
*Jeff Nolan - Vocals, Harmonica, Guitars (1966-68)
*Ron Saurman - Drums (1968)

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The Misunderstood - The Legendary Goldstar Album/Golden Glass (1966/69 us/uk, garage blues psych, double disc edition - MP3 320k and FLAC)

The release of the 'Legendary Gold Star' album brings us a step closer to fill in the final missing pieces of the Misunderstood jigsaw. The group had formed in 1965 in Riverside, a town 30 or so miles south of Los Angeles and united by their common love of the blues and the British Invasion bands, had settled on a line up of Glenn Campbell (steel guitar), Rick Brown (lead vocals/harmonica), Steve Whiting (bass), Rick Moe (drums) and Greg Treadway (guitar).

Pretty quickly the quintet began to experiment away from the rigid twelve bars favoured by other Riverside outfits and started to incorporate unusual arrangements and guitar feedback into their live act. When disc jockey John Peel working his way across the US chanced upon them tearing people's heads off at a live show in a local shopping mall, the seeds were sown, that turned The Misunderstood from just another garage band into the stuff of legend. Peel was blown away and plans were hatched for them to go into the studio to lay down some tracks with the jock as producer.

Some time in the spring of 1966, they entered Gold Star in Hollywood, a studio already with a fast-rising reputation as the place Phil Spector cut a lot of his hits. Their repertoire was still blues-based, the combo taking its cue very much from The Yardbirds and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Rumour has it that in addition to the tracks you're hearing here, they cut a rumbustious "Smokestack Lightning' and an epic version of 'I'm Not Talkin',' during which the band walked out of the recording room for a smoke in the corridor whilst their instruments just fed back.

Sadly tapes of the whole session mysteriously disappeared and have never been found. The tracks here, most of which have never been released before, have been taken from an acetate. The acetate was discovered in the early 80's in the attic of the uncle of their old roadie, Duane Bulmer in Riverside, scratched and dirty, but through the wonders of the Cedar system, the songs have been partly restored to their former glory.

Shortly after they cut it, Peel persuaded them to go to England, where they lost r and recruited ex-Answers' guitarist Tony Hill. Vibing off the nascent 'underground' vibes ii London and rubbing shoulders with the newly arrived Hendrix, the band developed at an alarming rate with Hill and Brown writing true psychedelic masterpieces like 'I Can Take You To The Sun', which became their debut 45 for Fontana Records (and can be found on the Cherry Red Album 'Before The Dream Faded').

Sadly Brown soon received his call-up papers for Vietnam and became a long-time draft dodger finally ending up as a diamond merchant in India! The band soldiered on and reputedly recorded some six songs for Philips in Paris in April 1967, before UK immigration officials packed the three remaining Californians off back home. Glenn later refloated the band and the further adventures ol Misunderstood II can be heard on the other disc of this set, 'Golden Glass'.

Fans still sit around wondering what might have been, had Uncle Sam not interfered in what promised to be one of the most exciting, most innovative bands of the 60's. The belated appearance of the Gold Star album offers a fascinating glimpse of the band at the most crucial stage in their development, as they waved goodbye to their roots and embraced the psychedelic culture wholeheartedly.
by Nigel Cross

Tracks
The Legendary Gold Star Album
1. Blues With a Feeling (Unknown) - 4:43
2. Who's Been Talking? (Burnett) - 2:58
3. You Got Me Dizzy (Abner, Reed) - 3:13
4. You Don't Have to Go Out (J. Reed) - 4:44
5. Goin' to New York (J. Reed) - 2:41
6. Shake Your Moneymaker (E. James) - 3:50
7. I Just Want to Make Love to You (Fulfon) - 3:16
8. I'm Not Talkin' (Traditional) - 5:33

Golden Glass
1. Never Had a Girl Like You (Campbell, Hoard) - 4:31
2. Golden Glass (Campbell, Hoard) - 7:40
3. I Don't Want to Discuss It (You're My Girl) (Beatty, Cooper, Shelby) - 4:59
4. Little Red Rooster (Burnett, Dixon) - 5:00
5. You're Tuff Enough (Daniels, Moore) - 3:28
6. Freedom (Campbell, Hoard) - 3:34
7. Keep on Running (Edwards) - 5:13
8. I'm Cruising (Campbell, Hoard) - 2:09

The Misunderstood
The Legendary Gold Star Album
*Glenn Ross Campbell - Steel Guitar
*Rick Brown - Lead Vocals, Harmonica
*Steve Whiting - Bass
*Rick Moe - Drums
*Greg Treadway - Guitar
Golden Glass
*Chris Mercer - Alto Sax
*Davy O'List - Rhythm Guitar
*Nick Potter - Bass
*Glenn Ross Campbell - Steel Guitar
*Guy Evans - Drums
*Remi Kabaka - Conga
*Steve Hoard - Lead Vocals

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The Velvet Illusions - Acid Head 1967 (us, garage, acid psych, cherry red 2011 remaster edition - MP3 320k and FLAC)

We almost made it! What happened? More about that later.... Have you heard of us? Our 45's are collected around the world. Our songs, including "Acid Head", "The Velvet Illusions Theme Song", "Mini Shimmy" and "Hippie Girl", are found on the Pebbles CD series or other compilation disks. I've even heard a cover version of "Acid Head", from a CD released by the Austrian group Running Stream. We are discussed in at least one book, "Sixties Rock", published by Michael Hicks in 1999. Our "artifacts" are contained in the Experience Music Project archives. We're known to collectors as a "Lost California Psychedelic Band". In reality, we were from Yakima!



We were a "Vox Band". As you can glean from the photo, we had as much Vox equipment as any band could ever need, including three Super Beatle amps, a Continental organ, Vox P.A. speakers and various Vox guitars, including a Mando Guitar. We also used Mosrite guitars, including a beautiful double-neck model that our great lead guitarist, the late Dewayne Russel played. We recorded an album's worth of original songs in Seattle at Sound Recording, during 1966 and 1967. Our originals, including "Acid Head", "She Was The Only Girl", and "The Velvet Illusions Theme Song" received airplay throughout the West, as did our cover of a Jerry Merritt social protest song that I (Randy Bowles) sang, entitled "Town Of Fools". Jerry was our Music Adviser. Remember him? He was a member of Gene Vincent's famous Blue Caps. He showed us how to make our own sets of "slinky strings" for our guitars, before they were available in Yakima.



We were a versatile band. In addition to performing the psychedelic and social commentary songs we were known for, we also covered Blue-Eyed Soul, Teenie Bopper, and what has come to be known as the "Northwest Sound". And, we could play ballroom dance music (not that we wanted to). I remember playing an event held in honor of then-Governor Albert Rosellini at a Democratic convention in Yakima, watching from the stage as people in suits and gowns stared at us. I must say, we preferred playing rock music to our own age group!



We kept very busy playing or practicing, every day of the week. We often rented a hall and put on our own dances and battles of the bands. We made television appearances and did in-store performances. We even traveled to La Grande, OR to receive the Key to the City. We never appeared in the Seattle area, as we made the decision to go south, instead. Way south!



In June, 1967, after playing countless gigs throughout Eastern Washington and Oregon, the seven core members relocated to Hollywood, CA, with our manager, George Radford, Sr., George Jr.'s father. We moved into a nice neighborhood, into a spacious house with a beautiful meditation garden in back. We practiced all the time. The cops came over so many times to tell us to "turn it down" that we became friends with them.



We had a suite of offices in Hollywood, where we gathered daily to do mass-mailing of our 45's and publicity material. We employed Sophie Tucker's manager, Jack Olephant, as our Publicity Director (I hope I spelled his name correctly!). One of the musical Matolla family, Buddy, was another of our Music Consultants.



Due to a lot of hard promotional work put in by us, our songs became noticed. Cash Box Magazine, the juke box industry's house organ, listed "The Velvet Illusions Theme Song" as a Best Bet. The flip side of that record was a song I sang, written by Gene Vincent, another song of social commentary called "Born To Be A Rolling Stone." Our most notable song, the now classic psychedelic "Acid Head", was banned from airplay throughout the world. Our manager felt that this was great publicity. (Ironically, "Acid Head" was an anti-drug song. I think people had trouble getting past the title.)



We performed at L.A. International Airport as part of the welcoming entourage for The Queen of English Music Hall, Two Ton Tessie O'Shea, the singer who appears in that famous photo with the Beatles surrounding her. We, of course, had to have a similar photo taken with her! The famed New York newspaper columnist, Earl Wilson, wrote a story about this, saying Ms. O'Shea had a special connection to The Velvet Illusions, because our 15 year-old keyboardist, Steve Weed, "wrote her and asked for ukulele instructions". This story, of course, was fabricated by Jack Olephant, who just happened to be Tessie's manager.



Speaking of our 15-year-old genius songwriter/keyboardist/singer, Steve Weed: many websites hawking CD compilations containing our songs continue to perpetuate the myth that he married Patty Hearst, the newspaper heiress who had been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. -- Different Steve Weed. -- Anything to sell product, I guess....



Being kids from Yakima, we had some fun living in Hollywood during the "Summer Of Love". We used to dress up as "hippies" and walk down Hollywood Boulevard, waving at all the gawkers on the street and in passing cars. We thought this was so funny. We also enjoyed visiting the Stash Head Shop. We were totally straight-arrow kids, who didn't even drink, and this establishment really opened our eyes to what was currently happening. It was a great day when The Stash added our 45 to their juke box!



And now then: In the face of this success, why did we wind up moving back to Yakima and splitting up? Well, we were just kids. Our average age was just 17. We became homesick. And, several of us balked at continuing with our manager. I personally was resentful of the fact that my stage name was changed to Jimmie James. When I asked why, I was told, "There's a lot of money behind that name." Hmmm. I never saw any! Also, we did not appreciate having to play ballroom music, or teenie bopper music, at hippie dances. Slowly but surely, we each walked away from it all.



In the Fall of 1967, several of us reunited in Yakima as The Peppermint Tea, to perform as the half-time entertainment for the Harlem Clowns basketball show in Yakima. We played just what we wanted to play. It was the best gig we ever played, because we did exactly what we wanted.



After several of us core members left, two other boys joined the group in Hollywood. Special mention should be made of drummer Jon Juette, who, although not able to play in the original recording and touring group, put a lot of energy and conviction into the contribution he made to the group. Also, Bruce Kitt joined on rhythm guitar late in the game. After relocating to Yakima, Mr. Radford, George Jr., and some other boys started the New Velvet Illusions, but that group didn't last.



Sad to say, I haven't seen any of my former band mates in close to 40 years. Nor have I heard many of our recordings since 1967. Songs like "Hippie Girl", "Mini Shimmy", "Born To Be A Rolling Stone" and "Bigfoot" (written about the Sasquatch craze) are just titles to me -- I can hardly remember how they go.



If you know Steve Weed, please have him contact me! I'd give anything to reunite with him. I don't know about him, but I'm not too old to rock! (Ed Note: Steve was located on 7 May 2006)

by Randy Bowles

Tracks

1. Acid Head - (Weed, Radford) - 3:04

2. She Was The Only Girl (Weed, Radford) - 2:36

3. I'm Coming Home Los Angeles (Bobby Worth, Henry Sanicola) - 2:07

4. Town Of Fools (Jerry Merritt) - 2:18

5. Velvet Illusions (Weed, Radford) - 2:03

6. Born To Be A Rolling Stone (Jerry Merritt) - 1:49

7. Lazy (Sandra Karr, George Radford, Buddy Motola) -2:08

8. The Stereo Song (Radford, Weed, Motola) - 1:51

9. Mini Shimmy (Weed, Radford, Motola) - 2:11

10.Hippy Town (Weed, Radford, Buddy Motola) - 2:10



The Velvet Illusions

*Randy Bowles “Jimmy James” - Guitar, Lead Vocals

*Steve Weed - Vox Organ, Vocals

*Danny Wohl - Guitar

*Dale Larrison - Bass, Vocals

*George Radford Jnr- Saxophone, Bass

*Dewayne Russel - Doubleneck Guitar

*Danny Wagner - Drums



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Jeff St John's Copperwine - Joint Effort (1970 aussie, garage, psych with funky grooves - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Copperwine (aka Jeff St John's Copperwine) was formed by Jeff St John's in early 1969. The band's first gigs were some low-key dates in Perth, before returning to Sydney. Copperwine soon commanded a rabid following in that city's fast-developing 'head' scene. Around the time of the new band's formation, guitarist Ross East was also invited to join the revised Masters Apprentices line-up by Jim Keays, but he turned it down, opting to stay with Jeff.



Aided by East and Peter Figures, plus Alan Ingram on bass and keyboardist Barry Kelly (from Marty Rhone's Soul Agents), St John wowed punters at the Ourimbah "Pilgrimage For Pop", Australia's first major outdoor rock festival, held at Ourimbah, NSW at the end of January 1970. The band's dynamic repertoire mixed quality prog-flavoured group originals with powerful renditions of Sly & the Family Stone's funk classic "Sing A Simple Song" (a stage fave for many Australian acts of the time including Southern Comfort and The Affair), a storming version of The Temptations' psych-soul masterpiece "Cloud Nine" and Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home."



This body of songs was captured by producer Pat Aulton in superb that remains one of the most accomplished and musically adventurous long players of the time. The punningly-titled Joint Effort won considerable critical acclaim, but failed to generate significant sales. A similar fate befell the great single lifted from the album, "Cloud Nine" / "Days To Come" (Feb. 1970). An EP, Sing A Simple Song, which featured four selections from its parent album, came out in May 1970.



In retrospect, Joint Effort reveals at least three truths -- the album was one of Festival Record's most consistent sellers for many years, it's a fine artefact of what was musically going on with OzRock in this heady and fertile time, and it documents what a fine band Copperwine was and provided conclusive proof that Jeff is one of the best rock vocalists this country has ever produced.



The musicianship of the band, particularly that of East and Kelly illustrated the embarrassment of riches scattered among Australian groups at this time. Original band-composed collaborations on the LP include the reflective "Fanciful Flights" (compiled on Raven's 2-CD compilation Golden Miles: Australian Progressive Rock, 1969-1974), the jazz-tinged instrumental "Any Orange Night" and the ensemble piece "You Don't Have To Listen". The towering opening track, a surging, organ-driven cover of The Temptation's "Cloud Nine", showed off Jeff's commanding soul stylings, superbly backed by a power-drive performance from Copperwine that, frankly, puts the original in the shade.



Another single, issued on Spin in November 1970, fared extremely well. The smoothly confident, organ-led cover of Rotary Connection's "Teach Me How To Fly" (featuring a berserk guitar solo from East, and some very tasty bass-drums interplay) propelled the band to #12 in Melbourne and a very encouraging #3 Sydney chart placement. St John's dazzling vocal performance on this record is probably the main reason why.



An 'insane” (as Jeff puts it) schedule of touring, concentrated in the eastern states, sustained Copperwine throughout 1970-71. Noted soul-blues singer Wendy Saddington (formerly of James Taylor Move and Chain) joined as co-lead vocalist in May 1970 and made her recording debut with the band (without St John though) on the intriguingly laid-back, bluesy album Wendy Saddington and Copperwine Live, recorded at the Wallacia Rock Festival in January 1971.



By this time, too, former Amazons and Dave Miller Set member Harry Brus had replaced Alan Ingram on bass. The Copperwine/Saddington live album was scheduled for re-release on CD as part of Festival's reissue program, but the entire reissue project was scrapped after the acquisition of Mushroom Records. Festival's rapid financial decline after 2002 led to its closure in late 2005, and the entire Festival-Mushroom archive was sold to the American-owned Warner Music group soon after.



Although Saddington had departed Copperwine by February 1971, the group continued to tour relentlessly, with Jeff at the helm. Another major event for the band in 1971 was its participation in the Hoadley's Battle of the Soudns. The group, with St John in ultimate form, put on a commanding show, performing a stunning version of the Leon Russell-penned "Hummingbird", but they finished third behind Fraternity and Sherbet.



"Hummingbird" (backed by Derek & The Dominos' Keep On Growing) became the next Copperwine single, which was released in August on Festival's new progressive subsidiary, Infinity and it was a moderate chart success. Early in the year they recruited Glyn Mason (ex-Chain, Larry's Rebels) and this line-up performed at the Mulwala Festival near Albury in NSW in April 1972. Soon after, Jeff split from Copperwine, but the band continued on for some time, with Mason taking over as lead vocalist.

by Paul Culnane

Tracks

1. Cloud Nine - 6:22

2. Sing A Simple Song - 4:25

3. Fanciful Flights Of Mind - 3:23

4. Any Orange Night - 7:26

5. You Don’t Have To Listen - 5:00

6. I’ve Been Treated So Bad - 3:09

7. Days To Come - 4:10

8. Reach Out - 5:22

9. Can’t Find My Way Home - 4:19

10.Train - 2:18

11.Remember - 5:54

12.Enviroment In Three Parts - 7:50



Musicians

*Harry Brus - Bass

*Ross East - Guitar, Vocals

*Johnny Green - Guitar

*Barry Kelly - Piano, Clarinet

*Wendy Saddington - Vocals

*Jeff St. John - Vocals

*Peter Figures - Drums

*Alan Ingham - Bass

*Phil Wooding - Guitar

*Glyn Mason - Vocals, Guitar

*John Sangster - Vibes, Glockenspeil

*Billy Thorpe - Harmonica

*Doug Ashdown - 12 String, Dobro Guitar

*Elegio Sincic - Sitar

*Mick Parker - Flute

*Marilyn Murray - Vocals

*Obadia Loombogle - Harp

*Phil Wooding - Guitar



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Infinity - Collected Works (1969-70 uk, garage psychedelic rock, 2009 remaster issue - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Legendary UK psych outfit Infinity formed in 1969 from the ashes of "Chocolate Soup" psych faves the Flies and Cymbaline. The mission: to develop a heavy psychedelic/pop sound, and express it through complex original songs.



Thanks to some funky Hammond organ, punchy guitars, and the band’s unique harmonies, Infinity were no run of the mill outfit. Upon their return to mainland England from a residency in Jersey, they joined the high-profile NEMS agency, alongside heavy hitters like Pink Floyd, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Soft Machine, and Pretty Things. In late 1969 and early 1970, following support slots with The Searchers and Marmalade, Infinity recorded original material for a proposed album, which was meant to explore "time, space, matter, energy and chicken phal, said in some circles to be so hot in a culinary sense that it's temperature approached infinity," or so they have said, with tongue-in-cheek, we have to believe.



Sadly, they broke up soon after the sessions. The good news is that the band left behind the recordings presented on this disc, which can now be enjoyed in the digital format after the passage of more than four decades! Comes with a 24-page booklet which includes band history, photos, and more, printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy.

Tracks

1. Time Keeper - 4:02

2. Venetian Glass - 1:53

3. Space Shanty - 5:41

4. Taxman (George Harrison) - 2:59

5. (I'm In Love With) A Girl Like You - 2:28

6. Same Girl - 3:02

7. Pattern People (Jim Webb) - 2:35

8. Venetian Glass (Instrumental) - 1:54

9. I've Got You Under My Skin (Instrumental) (Cole Porter) - 2:34

10.(I'm In Love With) A Girl Like You (Mono) - 2:27

11.I've Got You Under My Skin (Cole Porter) - 3:33

12.Taxman (Instrumental) (George Harrison) - 2:59

All sons written by The Infinity except where indicated.



Infinity

*Ian Baldwin - Bass Guitar, Vocals

*Phil Chesterton - Drums, Vocals

*Brian Gill - Guitar, Vocals

*John Da Costa - Organ, Vocals

*Stu Calver - Guitar, Vocals



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William Penn And His Pals - William Penn And His Pals (1966 us, explosive garage rock, with young Gregg Rolie pre-Santana - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Also known as the William Penn Fyve on many bootlegs. It's been a long time coming, in fact about 35 years. This group was formed in 1965 and extinct by 1968. They were one of the most famous groups in The San Francisco Bay Area at the time and their name was all over Radio KYA, KFRC and KLIV as opening act for the biggest national and international acts as well as headlining their own shows.

The lineup boasted Mickey Hart (for a brief period) of the Grateful Dead and Gregg Rolie of Santana/Journey fame was a full time member for 1 1/2 years before he started a group with a dude name Carlos Santana. Gregg sings lead on all but one of these songs.

Wm. Penn used to go toe to toe in Battle of the Bands with the Grateful Dead and recorded one of the most famous Garage Rock Classics by the name of Swami. Swami appears on at least five bootleg compilations along with the flip side.. Blow my Mind. The group changed it's name briefly to Wm. Penn V for Swami (actually it was William Penn Fyve but Pebbles called them William Penn V since they were/are bootlegging Swami) and there is some confusion as to whether William Penn and His Pals was in fact the same Wm Penn Fyve; they were. Other songs have appeared on "The Scorpio Record Collection" put out by Ace/Fantasy.

Finally all the songs of this classic group are available to the public in one professionally manufactured CD with 8 pages of facts and photos. There are even a few gems that nobody except a select few have heard. these songs is almost like being at an show in the 60's at The Longshoremans Hall in San Francisco.

Besides the wonderful songs the liner notes include the original copy from San Francisco's I.D. magazine with the run down on Wm Penn and his Pals written by their manager. You must read this to get the full scope of just how popular this group was.

Tracks
1. Swami - 2:57
2. Gotta Get Away - 2:34
3. Far and Away (R. Cox, G. Rolie, M. Shapiro, J. Shelton, S. Leidenthal) - 2:32
4. Blow my mind (G. Rolie, M. Shapiro, R. Cox, S. Leidenthal) - 2:25
5. There I go I've said it again - 2:29
6. E2D - 2:25
7. Blow my mind (alternate version) (G. Rolie, M. Shapiro, R. Cox, S. Leidenthal) - 2:06
8. Gotta get away (alternate version) - 2:44
9. There I go I've said it again (alternate version) - 2:36
10. Fly Fly PSA (R. Cox, N. Holtman, M. Shapiro, J. Shelton, S. Leidenthal, V. Justus) - 1:00
All songs by Mike Shapiro except where indicated.

William Penn And His Pals
*Neil Holtman (aka William Penn) - Lead Vocals, Hawaiian Guitar Steel
*Ron Cox - Vocals, Drums
*Mike Shapiro - Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, 12-String Guitar
*Steve Leidenthal - Vocals, Bass
*Jack Shelton - Rhythm Guitar
*Gregg Rolie - Vocals, Organ
*Mickey Hart - Drums
*Vern Justus - Voice Over

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The Tormentors - Hangin' Round (1967 us, psychedelic garage rock, 2009 gear fab release - MP3 320k and FLAC)

The Tormentors were another great yet undiscovered band from the 1960's. All we know is that they were based out of the Los Angeles area and had several singles out on the Royal and Kenwood labels. Of those 45s, the track "Motate" was the only one not included on this LP.

Fantastic garage psyche and rollicking, with sweeter moments, too – getting off a number of modes this one album, which would make a lesser group sound aimless – but they manage to pull it all off! Some tunes have a raw, no frills garage sound, others have sweeter, but still kinda gritty melodic vibe with some organ in the mix, and still others steer towards moody psychedelia.

Tracks
1. Didn't It Rain (Tim Daley, Dan Davis, Mark Davis, Lee Harper) - 2:30
2. Capricious Lolita (Lee Harper) - 2:39
3. Blue Blooded Lady (Lee Harper) - 2:52
4. Childhood Memories (Tome Daley, Dennis Daley) - 2:23
5 Still In Love With You Baby (Ron Elliott) - 1:50
6. What's Goin' On (Lee Harper) - 2:14
7. Black Coffee (Lee Harper) - 2:41
8. She's Gone (Lee Harper) - 2:33
9. 'Cause You Don't Love Me (Lee Harper) - 2:06
10.Hey, Hey, Little Girl (Lee Harper) - 2:36
11.It's Not Over (Lee Harper) - 2:54
12.Sounds Of Summer (Mark Davis, Dan Davis) - 2:22

The Tormentors
*Tim Daley - Drums, Lead Vocals
*Lee Harper - Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
*Mark Davis - Lead Guitar
*Dan Davis - Bass, Organ

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The Clefs Of Lavender Hill - Stop! Get A Ticket (1965-68 us, garage beat with sunshine pop rays - 2010 wounded bird edition - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Best remembered for their folk-rock cult classic "Stop! Get a Ticket," the Clefs of Lavender Hill were led by singers/guitarists Travis and Coventry Fairchild, in reality Brooklyn-born brother and sister Joseph and Lorraine Ximenes.

Settling in Miami in 1966, the siblings recruited bassist Bill Moss and his brother drummer Fred, late of the local band the Twilights (noted for their lone single, 1965's "She's There"), and soon issued their first Clefs of Lavender Hill single, the Thames label release "First Tell Me Why." However, Miami radio instead seized on the B-side, "Stop! Get a Ticket," given the song's irresistible Merseybeat-inspired approach.

The record proved so popular across South Florida that it was licensed for national release by the Date label, surging as high as number 80 on the Billboard Top 100. The follow-up, "One More Time," rose to number 114 in the autumn, and the Clefs closed out 1966 with one more single, "It Won't Be Long." The record failed to chart, however, as did its successor, 1967's "Gimme One Good Reason" -- a full-length album was completed, but Date chose to cut its losses, shelving the LP and dropping the Clefs from its roster.

The Moss brothers soon exited, and the Travis and Coventry continued on with bassist Frank Milone and drummer Steve Zaricki before dissolving in 1968. "Stop! Get a Ticket" was later included on 1998's Nuggets box set. The album finally saw the light of day when the tracks from it, along with the group's lone single, were released by Wounded Bird in 2010 under the title Stop! Get a Ticket.
byJason Ankeny

Tracks
1. New Orleans (Frank Guida, Joseph Royster) - 2:29
2. You Don't Notice (Travis Fairchild) - 2:32
3. Sunshine Superman (Donovan Leitch) - 2:59
4. Play With Fire (M. Jagger, K. Richards, C. Watts, B. Jones, B. Wyman) - 2:21
5. So I'll Try (Travis Fairchild) - 2:14
6. It Won't Be Long (J. Lennon, P. McCartney) 2:02
7. One More Time (Travis Fairchild) - 2:36
8. Bang Bang (Sonny Bono) - 2:53
9. Will You Go Away (Travis Fairchild) - 3:15
10.First Tell Me Why (Travis Fairchild, Coventry Fairchild) - 2:15
11.Stop! Get a Ticket (Travis Fairchild, Coventry Fairchild) - 2:22
12.Gimme One Good Reason Gimme One Good Reason (Travis Fairchild) - 2:07
13.Oh, Say My Love (with Travis & Coventry) (Travis Fairchild) - 2:54
14.Stop! Get a Ticket (Mono Single Version) (Travis Fairchild, Coventry Fairchild) - 2:25
15.Stop! Get a Ticket (Stereo Single Version) (Travis Fairchild, Coventry Fairchild) - 2:27

The Clefs of Lavender Hill
*Joseph Ximenes (Travis Fairchild) - Vocals, Guitar
*Lorraine Ximenes (Coventry Fairchild) - Vocals, Guitar
*Bill Moss - Bass (1966-67)
*Fred Moss - Drums (1966-67)
*Frank Milone - Bass (1967-68) (As Travis & Coventry)
*Steve Zaricki - Drums (1967-68) (As Travis & Coventry)

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Vagrants - I Can't Make a Friend (1965-68 us, garage psych with young Leslie West pre-Mountain, 2011 remaster edition - MP3 320k and FLAC)

The Vagrants weren't the only band to come out of Forest Hills High School, later there was another Queens-based combo you might have heard of... The Ramones. Johnny and Tommy Ramone attended Forest Hills High School at the same time as most of the Vagrants. (Joey, who was a few years younger, was there shortly afterwards.)

In 1965 Johnny and Tommy were playing together in a short-lived band called the Tangerine Puppets. "I try not to talk about it 'cause it was bad!" Johnny told me when I interviewed him in 1995. He was much more interested in talking about the Vagrants. "First I knew Roger Mansour, who was the drummer, and me and him used to be friends. He used to call for me in the morning and we used to go to school together. He was a great drummer, and I'd hear from him how he was going to get into the Vagrants.

Larry West—whose real name was Larry Weinstein, who was Leslie's brother—he was the bass player. He'd be sitting there in the study hall 'cause he'd be on permanent suspension for having his hair too long. He'd be saying he was starting a band with his brother and how his brother's a great guitar player. And I'd ask other kids in the school about if they knew the good guitar player, and they'd go, 'No, he's just a fat kid. He's no good.' But Larry would always be saying how great his brother was. His brother was older, and he was just a dropout. Larry at this point was about 15,1 was about 16, and Leslie was about 18. Larry just sat there suspended the whole year 'cause all that mattered was the Vagrants and growing his hair—that was the important thing in his life.

So they were starting, and as soon as I saw Leslie play I said, 'Wow, this guy's great!' He didn't play like he played later on, but he was able to play whatever cover he was doing and do it exact, from Beatles stuff to 'You Really Got Me.' Whatever he would figure out, he would play just like the record." "We were close with the Ramones," remembers Larry, "but I didn't even know what they were doing. I didn't even know they were starting a band." At that point, they weren't. After the Tangerine Puppets broke up it would be another nine years before Johnny picked up a guitar and formed the Ramones. "I would try and get into wherever I could [to see the Vagrants]," Johnny told me. "Sometimes you could get into certain clubs who wouldn't get so heavy with the [ID] proofing.

There'd be a place in the city. I saw them at the Manhattan Center, Action House on Long Island, places like that. I must've seen them dozens of times "They went through so many different evolutions throughout the band ... Somewhere along the way they went away to Long Island to play some places, and that's when they came back and we started hearing more about the Rascals and Vanilla Fudge. The Vagrants came back and they were different. They were into more like the Rascals-type thing with the songs slowed down and doing sort of a soul type of thing, like 'Mustang Sally' type stuff.

They were doing 'Good Lovin" stuff too. They kept doing covers of other people's songs, but they would be better than the Rascals and better than the Vanilla Fudge at doing the stuff. They just looked better, and Leslie's guitar playing was far superior to Gene Cornish of the Rascals or Vince Martell, the guitar player in the Vanilla Fudge." The band's image and presentation made a big impression on Johnny. "The band looked so good," he continued, "and Larry was becoming like a Jim Morrison ... just like permanently fucked-up with the leather pants and the long, wavy hair ... Leslie would become more and more flashy with the outfits he would be getting into.

They'd just go through so many phases where everything would come in with the really loud colored clothes with these boas—these feathered things around him, y'know? Weird seeing some 350-pound guy looking like this!" "I only knew them then from the cafeteria in school," admits Peter Sabatino. "I saw them sitting there, y'know. They were new on the scene. I guess, because of the ego, I didn't pay a lot of attention to that, how upcoming they were. It's only through your interview that I realized they were emulating us and we were idols to them. Like Larry and I used to wear these motorcycle jackets back then, and I guess they picked up on that. Whatever they thought was cool with the Vagrants; they took for themselves."
by Mike Stax

Tracks
1. Oh Those Eyes (Jerry Storch) - 2:36
2. You're Too Young (Richard Tyson, Alan Abrahams) - 2:05
3. I Can't Make A Friend (Jerry Storch, Trade Martin) - 2:34
4. Young Blues (Trade Martin, Ed Miller, B. Smith Jr.) - 2:16
5. The Final Hour (Bert Sommer) - 2:27
6. Your Hasty Heart (Bert Sommer) - 2:59
7. Respect (Otis Redding) - 2:15
8. I Love, Love You (Yes I Do) (Bennie Earl) - 2:38
9. Beside The Sea (Gail Collins, Felix Pappalardi, Bert Sommer) - 2:18
10.A Sunny Summer Ran (Felix Pappalardi, Bert Sommer) - 2:50
11.And When It's Over (Bert Sommer) - 2:19
12.I Don't Need Your Loving (Jerry Storch) - 2:53

Vagrants
*Roger Mansour — Drums
*Peter Sabatino — Vocals, Harmonica, Tambourine
*Jerry Storch — Organ, Vocals
*Larry West — Bass, Vocals
*Leslie West — Guitar, Vocals

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The Human Zoo - The Human Zoo (1970 us, psychedelic garage rock with funky vibes, 2010 edition - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Originally known as The Circus, The Human Zoo were a rock band from Westminster, California. For the first time since its original release in 1970, an exact re-issue of The Human Zoo album, taken from the original master tapes, with all album artwork faithfully replicated.

The Human Zoo's great claim to fame among garage/psychedelic fans is that they were managed by Jim Foster, guitarist with the Human Expression, the West Coast psych act that scored a modest hit with the song "Optical Sound." That's not a lot to base a reputation on, but the lone album the Human Zoo left behind is pretty good stuff, and suggests with better promotion they could have risen to much more impressive heights.

Boasting two lead singers (Roy Young and Jim Cunningham), the Human Zoo worked up a full and dynamic sound with impressive harmonies on these sessions, and the rest of the band shows off some solid chops -- John Luzadder and Larry Hanson are a capable guitar combo, with Hanson also doubling on keyboards, while bassist Bob Dalrymple and drummer Kim Vydaremy hold down the rhythm with strength and confidence.

While the Human Zoo could add a trippy edge to their songs (such as "I Don't Care No More"), they (at least as captured on this album) were at their best when they rocked out, and it's on numbers like "Na-Na" and "Funny" that the Human Zoo really connect, while "Gonna Take Me a Ride" and "Help Me" reveal they weren't bad with blue-eyed soul stuff, either.

The production is simple, but also captures the performances in a clean and natural fashion and is thankfully short on the studio trickery often inflicted on lesser-known psych acts. The recording seems to favor the band's live sound, and if the Human Zoo sounded this tight on-stage, it's hard to say why they didn't attract greater notice at the time.
Mark Deming

Tracks
1. It's Got To Be (Roy Young) - 3:01
2. Na-Na (Larry Hanson) - 2:07
3. Help Me (Jim Cunningham, Larry Hanson) - 3:11
4. I Dont' Care No More (Larry Hanson, John Luzadder) - 2:36
5. Funny (A.Morettini, D.Leonards) - 5:09
6. Late To My Resurrection (A.Morettini) - 3:07
7. When Papa Started Drinking (Bob Dalrymple) - 2:27
8. Gonna Take Me a Ride (Jim Cunningham, John Luzadder) - 3:31
9. Stone Sassy Fox (Jim Cunningham, D.Leonards) - 3:16
10. The Human Zoo (Roy Young, John Luzadder) - 3:12
11. The Time Was Over (Bob Dalrymple) - 2:36

The Human Zoo
*Roy Young - Vocals
*Jim Cunningham - Vocals
*Larry Hanson - Guitar, Horn, Keyboards
*John Luzadder - Guitar
*Bob Dalrymple - Bass
*Kim Vydaremy - Drums

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Quatrain - Quatrain (1965-69 us, garage, acid folk, psych, 2008 sundazed extra tracks edition - MP3 320k and FLAC)

Back in 1968, Tetragrammaton Records of Beverly Hills, Bill Cosby’s label, released a local Los Angeles group’s only recorded album, Quatrain. The group consisted of Don Senneville, one of Los Angeles’ more creative lead guitarists, Steve Lindsay on bass guitar, Rick Pease on rhythm guitar, and Jim Lekas on drums. The record album was produced and engineered by the late David Briggs, Neil Young’s producer for many years.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to be part of the excitement and enchantment of Los Angeles’ psychedelic and popular music movement between 1964 and 1969 gaze back glowingly and longingly upon those halcyon and magical times. Quatrain was part of the flow and pulse of the musical weaves in those politically and socially turbulent, but equally carefree and provocative moments in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles was truly something in the 1960s: Open, creative, still innocent, but growing bolder and openly seeking new musical and sociological paths. The Watts Riots, the Sunset Strip music scene, love-ins, sit-ins, free love, drugs, and the Laurel and Topanga Canyon scenes marked the bright side. Viet Nam dragged on, and Armstrong would soon walk on the Moon.

But the foreboding and chilling event that marked the culmination of the 1960s was the rude awakening brought about by the Tate and Labianca tragedies. Innocence in Los Angeles had been forever lost, and Quatrain went through the changes warily, like everyone else in the summer of 1969.
by Jim Lekas

Quatrain was a garage band out of the San Fernando Valley and was originally formed in 1963 as The Fourth Shadow by founding members Senneville and Pease, with Lekas joining to play drums and sing in November of 1964 after a stint as an aerospace worker and part-time surf band drummer. Pease was a talented folk musician and excellent writer, as was Senneville.

Bassist Mark Johnson and guitarist Bruce Epstein were added in early 1965 to complete the first version of the quartet after Pease had gone off to the military. The group was mostly a cover band then.

Tireless promoter and personal manager Billy Marcot provided direction and early gigs for the foursome. Roger “Turk” Anderson and a young but sagacious Russ Deck were the group’s spiritual advisors and close associates. The group, still called The Fourth Shadow at the time, covered a lot of British Invasion material, with the usual au fait and de rigueur black turtlenecks and sport coats. School hops, parties, and beer bars were typical venues for The Fourth Shadow.

From 1965 to 1967, personnel changed periodically and the band’s name changed several times. Other members in the Quatrain evolution included guitarist Tim “Rainbow” Bell, lead singer Cary Brent, backup singer Doug Webb, and most importantly, Steve “Buff” Lindsay, bassist from the popular San Fernando Valley rock group The Boss Tweeds. Lindsay became a solid part of the group on bass, replacing the departing Mark Johnson.

In 1966, the group, then known as The Berries, which was at the time holding court as the house band at The Middle Earth on Ventura Boulevard in Reseda, was signed by Doubleshot Records of Hollywood, but nothing materialized except for a national Pillsbury radio jingle for “Gorilla Milk,” a breakfast mix product that went nowhere, much like two singles released on Doubleshot by The Human Jungle, as the boys were known, with Joe Hooven and Hal Wynn as producers. Wynn and Hooven had previously struck gold with The Count Five’s “Psychotic Reaction,” and Brenton Wood with “The Oogum-Boogum Song” and “Gimme Little Sign.”

The band was booked by Doubleshot to play a dance in Pasadena as The Plastic Zoo, and the embarrassment of performing under that name for one gig was obviated by the opportunity to share the bill as one of five groups with the then just-formed, talented, and up and coming Three Dog Night.

The Plastic Zoo and The Human Jungle experiments, and the affiliation with Doubleshot Records, ended as quickly as they had begun, and the boys thankfully returned to playing clubs around Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley as The Berries.

In 1967, Lekas suggested “Quatrain” as a new name after spending a few weeks reading the quatrains of Omar Khayam. The group agreed to the change, and the new name stuck.

Quatrain's sole release is among devoted psych collectors and the response will likely be a unison chorus of solemnly nodding heads. Slip a copy of this lost, heavy monster on the turntable, however, and those same heads will bang hard in wah-wah-smeared, acid-rock ecstasy.

Produced and engineered by future Neil Young producer David Briggs, Quatrain burns with stinging fuzz-guitar leads (“Fragments,” “Ask Me No Questions,” the cryptic “Flowing Robes”) and floats and flickers like orange sunshine (“Rollin,” “The Tree”).

Tracks
1. Fragments - 4:14
2. Unconquered Islands - 3:17
3. Flowing Robes - 3:20
4. Fields of Love - 2:26
5. Canyon Women - 1:22
6. Rollin - 3:09
7. Black Lily - 3:23
8. Early Morning Company - 2:54
9. Ask Me No Questions (Steve Lindsay) - 2:58
10. Try To Live Again - 3:00
11. Masquerade (Don Senneville) - 2:42
12. The Tree - 5:36
13. Towering Buildings - 4:19
14. So Much For Royalty - 3:57
15. Unforeseen Regrets - 4:43
16. When Will You Happen to Me (Don Senneville, Jim Lekas) - 4:21
17. Let You Go - 3:14
18. Sun Came Up - 4:48
19. Get A Life - 4:06
20. Ghosts Over the Sunset Strip - 4:59
All compositions by Jim Lekas, except where indicated.
Tracks 13-20 Previously Unissued

Quatrain
*Don Senneville - Lead Guitar
*Steve "Buff" Lindsay - Bass Guitar
*Eric Pease - Rhythm Guitar
*Jim Lekas - Drums

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