The New Wave - Little Dreams: The Canterbury Recordings (67 us pop psych, expanded and remastered Deluxe edition Mono/Stereo - MP3 320K and FLAC)

Despite their name, the New Wave were not some trend-hopping band of the late '70s or early '80s, but a soft rock sunshine pop duo of the late '60s.



Comprised of singer/songwriters Tommy Andre and Reid King, they put out an obscure, self-titled album on the Canterbury label, also the home of fellow sunshine poppers the Yellow Balloon.

Very little is known about the New Wave, though from the album sleeve pictures they look extremely young, most likely still in their teens.



The album is in fact so soft and pop-ish that its relationship to rock music is slight and it sometimes sounds geared as much or more to the adult pop market as the pop/rock one.



Their material emphasizes breezy, samba-influenced close-harmony romantic tunes, acoustic guitars, and light percussion embroidered by vibes and some orchestration.

The music is pleasant but fluffy, somewhat like the most pop-oriented material by Chad & Jeremy, though the resemblance isn't extremely strong.



On the other hand who are we to judge whether this is bad music or an overlooked gem?

It all depends on one's musical taste and memories brought back on long summer evenings or cloudy and rainy days in autumn.



Just listen without prejudice.

Tracklist :

01.Little Dreams (Stereo)

02.Shadows Of Good Bye (Stereo)

03.The Evening Mist - A Mourning Dew (Stereo)

04.Autrefois (J'ai Aimé Une Femme) (Stereo)

05.In A Linely Towne (Stereo)

06.The Shade Of The Sun (Stereo)

07.Walkin' On Down The Street (Stereo)

08.Once (Stereo)

09.Live For Today (Stereo)

10.Not From You (Stereo)

11.Where Do We Go From Here (Stereo)

12.Little Dreams (Mono)

13.Shadows Of Good Bye (Mono)

14.The Evening Mist - A Mourning Dew (Mono)

15.Autrefois (J'ai Aimé Une Femme) (Mono)

16.In A Lonely Towne (Mono)

17.The Shade Of The Sun (Mono)

18.Walkin' On Down The Street (Mono)

19.Once (Mono)

20.Live For Today (Mono)

21.Not From You (Mono)

22.Where Do We Go From Here (Mono)



Bonus Tracks :

23.Tightrope

24.Kiss The Mountain

25.Esemplastic Polyhymnia

26.You Never Said I Love You

27.The Stream Of Life



[ Rip and scans by COR ... many thanks mate ]

HERE (password is : phrockblog)

The Hollies - The Clarke, Hicks & Nash Years (1963-1968 uk uk rock'n'roll, rhythm and blues, psychedelic, pop psych - 6 CD boxset - MP3 320K and FLAC)

At first sight, the title of this box set may confuse. Lead singer Allan Clarke retired from the enduring harmony hitmakers in 1999, while guitarist Tony Hicks is still at the helm today… But Graham Nash jumped ship more than 40 years ago, so the 158 tracks here come from the period between 1963 and ’68, when all three were in the line-up.

While calling the release The Graham Nash Years might have been more pedantically accurate, it would serve only to undermine the contributions of his bandmates. Hicks, in particular, deserves credit for the third dimension he brings to the vocal sound, pitched between the two more traditional parts like a kind of mad scientist extra Everly Brother.

It was an inspired triumvirate, fashioning material to be sung in a folk idiom three-part harmony, something rarely attempted in the pop world outside of The Beatles.

The approach added a thrilling texture to covers such as Just One Look and Stay, and made even more sense on their self-penned hits – most powerfully King Midas In Reverse and On A Carousel.

Every single the band released between late ’66 and Nash’s departure two years later was written by the trio.

Beyond the hits, however, The Hollies haven’t always been given enough credit for the boldness of their albums, so this set is welcome for giving us every track of pop-psych collections such as Butterfly (Dear Eloise, Elevated Observations) and the slightly more trippy Evolution (Heading For A Fall, Signs That Will Never Change).

If Nash is to be acknowledged as the architect of some of the most elaborate harmony arrangements the band ever attempted, Hicks should be equally lauded for the instrumental daring – it was very rare indeed to hear a banjo on a pop record in the mid-60s, as we do on Stop Stop Stop.

History suggests Nash’s departure was prompted by what he saw as a retrograde move by the group.

After the envelope-pushing albums mentioned above, he was unhappy that the next long-player was to be comprised entirely of Bob Dylan covers.

He was also tiring of the band’s relentless touring schedule. In terms of vocal innovation, Nash clearly took the template he helped forge in the UK over to the US when he became a cornerstone of another harmony-based trio with David Crosby and Stephen Stills. Clearly, this is a release geared towards the completist, and if some of the more tentative and by-the-numbers beat group offerings on the first two discs don’t quite gel, it’s nonetheless intriguing to listen to three intuitive musicians learning their craft step by step, misfires and all.

As any serious Hollies fan may already know, Nash returned to the fold for one album in 1983.

What Goes Around was a curious affair that quickly sank without a trace, awash with the synth-heavy production style of the era, all but burying the voices. Its absence here is just as well, frankly, as it would only taint the beauty of what went before (by Records Collector).

Disc 1:
01.The Hollies - Whole World Over (1997 Digital Remaster)
02.(Ain't That) Just Like Me (1997 Digital Remaster)
03.Hey What's Wrong With Me (1997 Digital Remaster)
04.Now's the Time (1997 Digital Remaster)
05.Little Lover
06.Zip A Dee Doo Dah (Song of the South) (2011 - Rema
07.I Understand (2011 - Remaster)
08.Searchin' (2003 Digital Remaster)
09.Stay (1997 Digital Remaster)
10.Poison Ivy (Takes 10-12) (1997 Digital Remaster)
11.Memphis
12.Talkin' 'bout You
13.It's Only Make Believe
14.Lucille
15.Baby Don't Cry
16.Do You Love Me
17.Mr Moonlight
18.You Better Move On
19.Whatcha Gonna Do 'bout It
20.What Kind of Girl are You
21.Rockin' Robin
22.Keep Off That Friend of Mine (1997 Digital Remaste
23.Just One Look (2003 Digital Remaster)
24.Candy Man
25.When I'M Not There (2011 - Remaster)
26.What Kind of Love (2011 - Remaster)
27.Here I Go Again (2003 Remaster)
28.Baby That's All (1997 Digital Remaster)

Disk 2:
01.Time for Love (1997 Digital Remaster)
02.Don't You Know (1997 Digital Remaster)
03.You'll Be Mine (1997 Digital Remaster)
04.It's In Her Kiss (Mono) (1997 Digital Remaster)
05.Come On Home (1997 Digital Remaster)
06.Too Much Monkey Business (1997 Digital Remaster)
07.I Thought of You Last Night (1997 Digital Remaster
08.Come On Back (1997 Digital Remaster)
09.Set Me Free (1997 Digital Remaster)
10.Please Don't Feel Too Bad (1997 Digital Remaster)
11.What Kind of Boy (1997 Digital Remaster)
12.We're Through (Alternative Arrangement) (1997 Digi
13.We're Through (1997 Digital Remaster)
14.To You My Love (1997 Digital Remaster)
15.Nitty Gritty/Something's Got A Hold On Me (1997 Di
16.Put Yourself In My Place (1997 Digital Remaster)
17.She Said Yeah
18.Yes I Will (Alternate Version) (2011 - Remaster)
19.When I Come Home To You (1997 Digital Remaster)
20.Nobody (1997 Digital Remaster)
21.You Know He Did (1997 Digital Remaster)
22.Yes I Will
23.Mickey's Monkey (1997 Digital Remaster)
24.That's My Desire (1997 Digital Remaster)
25.The Very Last Day (1997 Digital Remaster)
26.Honey and Wine (2003 Digital Remaster)

Disc 3:
01.Listen Here To Me (Bell Studios Demo)
02.So Lonely (Bell Studios Demo)
03.Bring Back Your Love To Me (Bell Studios Demo)
04.I'M Alive (2003 Digital Remaster)
05.Look Through Any Window
06.Lawdy Miss Clawdy (1997 Digital Remaster)
07.You Must Believe Me (1997 Digital Remaster)
08.Little Bitty Pretty One (2011 - Remaster)
09.Down the Line (1997 Digital Remaster)
10.Fortune Teller (1997 Digital Remaster)
11.Too Many People (1997 Digital Remaster)
12.So Lonely (1997 Digital Remaster)
13.I'Ve Been Wrong (1997 Digital Remaster)
14.Stewball (1998 Digital Remaster)
15.She Gives Me Everything I Want (2011 - Remaster)
16.I Can't Get Nowhere With You (2011 - Remaster)
17.I'Ve Got A Way of My Own (2003 Digital Remaster)
18.You In My Arms (2011 - Remaster)
19.Don't Ever Think About Changing (1999 Digital Rema
20.If I Needed Someone
21.Running Through the Night (2011 - Remaster)
22.Don't You Even Care (What's Gonna Happen To Me?) (
23.I Can't Let Go (1997 Digital Remaster)
24.Oriental Sadness (1998 Digital Remaster)
25.Stewball (French Lyric Version)
26.Look Through Any Window (French Lyric Version) (20
27.You Know He Did (French Lyric Version)
28.We're Through (French Lyric Version)

Disc 4:
01.I Take What I Want (1998 Digital Remaster)
02.Hard Hard Year (Mono) (1998 Digital Remaster)
03.A Taste of Honey (2011 - Remaster)
04.That's How Strong My Love is (1998 Digital Remaste
05.Take Your Time (1998 Digital Remaster)
06.Fifi the Flea (1998 Digital Remaster)
07.Sweet Little Sixteen (1998 Digital Remaster)
08.I Am A Rock (Mono) (1998 Digital Remaster)
09.After the Fox (2011 - Remaster)
10.Don't Run and Hide (2011 - Remaster)
11.Bus Stop (2003 Digital Remaster)
12.Peculiar Situation (1999 Digital Remaster)
13.Suspicious Look In Your Eyes (1999 Digital Remaste
14.Stop Stop Stop
15.Tell Me To My Face (Stereo) (1999 Digital Remaster
16.Pay You Back With Interest (1999 Digital Remaster)
17.Clown (Stereo) (1999 Digital Remaster)
18.It's You (1999 Digital Remaster)

Disc 5:
01.Lullaby To Tim (1999 Digital Remaster)
02.On A Carousel
03.We're Alive (2003 Digital Remaster)
04.Kill Me Quick (2003 Digital Remaster)
05.Leave Me (1999 Digital Remaster)
06.The Games We Play (1999 Digital Remaster)
07.Schoolgirl
08.Rain On The Window (1999 Digital Remaster)
09.Then The Heartaches Begin (1999 Digital Remaster)
10.Ye Olde Toffee Shoppe (1999 Digital Remaster)
11.You Need Love (1999 Digital Remaster)
12.Stop Right There (1999 Digital Remaster)
13.Water On The Brain (1999 Digital Remaster)
14.Heading For A Fall (1999 Digital Remaster)
15.Carrie Anne (2003 Digital Remaster)
16.Signs That Will Never Change (2003 Digital Remaster)
17.King Midas In Reverse (2003 Digital Remaster)
18.Try It (1999 Digital Remaster)
19.Everything Is Sunshine (2003 Digital Remaster)
20.Wishyouawish (1999 Digital Remaster)
21.Postcard (Stereo) (1999 Digital Remaster)
22.Step Inside (Stereo) (1999 Digital Remaster)
23.Pegasus (1999 Digital Remaster)
24.Dear Eloise (1999 Digital Remaster)

Disc 6:
01.Elevated Observations (1999 Digital Remaster)
02.Would You Believe (1999 Digital Remaster)
03.Away Away Away (Stereo) (1999 Digital Remaster)
04.Charlie And Fred (1999 Digital Remaster)
05.Butterfly (1999 Digital Remaster)
06.Maker (1999 Digital Remaster)
07.Open Up Your Eyes (2011 - Remaster)
08.Wings (2003 Digital Remaster)
09.Jennifer Eccles
10.Tomorrow When It Comes (2011 - Remaster)
11.Relax (2003 Digital Remaster)
12.Do The Best You Can (2011 - Remaster)
13.Like Every Time Before (2003 Digital Remaster)
14.Man With No Expression (Horses Through A Rainstorm) (1998 Digital Remaster)
15.Blowin' In The Wind (Nash Version) (2003 Digital Remaster)
16.A Taste Of Honey
17.Listen To Me
18.Stop Stop Stop (Live at Lewisham Odeon)
19.Look Through Any Window (Live at Lewisham Odeon)
20.The Times They Are A Changin' (Live At Lewisham Odeon)
21.On A Carousel (Live At Lewisham Odeon)
22.King Midas In Reverse (Live At Lewisham Odeon)
23.Butterfly (Live At Lewisham Odeon)
24.Jennifer Eccles (Live At Lewisham Odeon)
25.Carrie Anne (Live At Lewisham Odeon)


[ Thank you COR for sending this post ]
CODE: 57040 or click here (password is code_number+phrockblog)

The Idle Race - Birthday Party (1968 uk psychedelic and psych pop with Jeff Lynne future E.L.O. band - 2007 japan remaster edition - FLAC)

The debut album by this unjustly overlooked band is a piece of classic British psychedelia that transcends its origins.

Most British bands trying to achieve a psychedelic sound in those days simply played softly and sang in a very effete and poetic manner -- the Idle Race, by contrast, play hard here and don't sound effete so much as just cheerfully trippy, a lot like the Beatles of "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever"; indeed, "End of the Road" from this album sounds like a rewrite of "Penny Lane."

Jeff Lynne is the dominant personality here, as composer, guitarist, and singer, and, as one might expect given his presence, the music all has a Beatles-like quality of playfulness amid the musical invention.

The single "Skeleton and the Roundabout" may be a little over-produced, but it is beguilingly innocent in its zaniness, and the softer middle section anticipates the structure of Lynne's later work with ELO.

Much more indicative of his future direction are "Morning Sunshine," one of the prettiest songs to come out of the entire Birmingham music scene and displaying a languid guitar flourish that anticipates any number of ELO songs circa A New World Record, and "The Lady Who Said She Could Fly," an orchestrated Beatlesque jewel that sounds like a lost ELO track.

As demonstrated here, the Idle Race weren't quite as powerful a band as their rivals the Move -- who also loved to cover American soul and folk-rock and thus had a wider variety to their sound -- but this album is steeped in beautiful melodies and even prettier embellishments in the singing and playing, yet never loses sight of its rock & roll underpinnings.

Once in a while, as in "On with the Show," the sound effects are a little more prominent than one would like, and there's a certain music hall ambience to a few songs (such as "Lucky Man") that is somewhat distracting -- but those two numbers are followed by the joyous and pounding "Pie in the Sky," so it all balances out and, overall, this album is very solid and a great deal of fun, as well as full of little surprises and signposts pointing toward Lynne's future (by Bruce Eder
).


Birthday:


Track List:
01."Skeleton and the Roundabout" – 2:26
02."Happy Birthday" (Patty Hill, Mildred J. Hill) – 0:23
03."Birthday" – 3:00
04."I Like My Toys" – 2:12
05."Morning Sunshine" – 1:48
06."Follow Me, Follow" – 2:48
07."Sitting in My Tree" – 1:59
08."On With the Show" – 2:22
09."Lucky Man" – 2:38
10."Mrs. Ward" – 2:14
11."Pie in the Sky" (Dave Pritchard) – 2:23
12."The Lady Who Said She Could Fly" – 2:22
13."End of the Road" – 2:09

Personnel:
*Jeff Lynne - vocals, guitar, piano
*Dave Pritchard - guitar, vocals
*Greg Masters - bass guitar, vocals
*Roger Spencer - drums, vocals


[ Thank you JIM SPRYROPOULOS for sending this post ]
CODE: 53392 or click here (password is code_number+phrockblog)

49th Parallel - The Best Of 49th Parallel (1967-1970 us psychedelic and pop psych - 1995 pacemaker records compilation - FLAC)

Calgary, Alberta's 49th Parallel were originally known in the mid-60's as a popular bar band by the name of The Shades Of Blond.

With a stifling and musically limiting Calgary club scene they were never able to get farther than having one single -- 1966's "All Your Love".

The tune would eventually pop up on a (now rare) 4 song EP next to an early incarnation of The Stampeders.

As members came and went a name change was introduced as 49th Parallel and over the course of a year a solid line-up developed featuring Abbott, Lowe, Carlson, Petch, Woodhouse and Bare.

The group released three singles on Gaeity Records between mid-1967 and late spring of 1968, at which time Petch and Woodhouse left and Dave Downey was added as bassist (Petch was not replaced).

Throughout 1968 and parts of 1969 they toured throughout North America with an ever fluctuating roster. Despite these shake ups, they did hit and run recording sessions which bore several singles for Venture Records including "Twilight Woman" that managed seven weeks on the CHUM charts with a peak position of #16 in April 1969, and its follow-up, "Now That I'm A Man", in September 1969 which managed a modest 3 week ride on the CHUM charts and a peak position of #22.

A full-length album was hastily assembled from singles and studio outtakes because the line-up was continually fluctuating and new recordings were impossible to conduct.

This would be compounded by the immediate departure of singer Dennis Abbott following the album's released.

Enter Dorn Beattie, who, along with Lowe, Velker, Downey and Bare began working on another album in 1970 which was never completed, though the single, "I Need You", did surface (and failed to chart).

Eventually the band changed its name to Painter and released one album before mutating into the hard rock act Hammersmith who would finally succumb in the late '70's after two albums on Mercury Records.

Beattie went on to create All The Rage In Paris, but that too faltered when co-founding keyboardist Doug Johnson quit to form Loverboy. Beattie, in recent years, is now a successful country singer; Lowe continued on with a new version of Painter, 451 Degrees, and Prototype (who also recorded an album).

He produced albums by Qwest, Whitewolf, George Fox, Amin Bhatia, and would also be responsible for the invention of the studio production technique called Q-Sound (used by such luminaries as Pink Floyd, Bob Ezrin and Madonna)

49th Parallel found a mild revival in the mid-90's on classic rock radio in the prairies, prompting Pacemaker Records to issue a 'best of' collection (With notes from Bill Munson and Jack Velker).

Singles
as SHADES OF BLOND
1966 All Your Love

as 49th PARALLEL
1967 Labourer/You Do Things (Gaiety)

1968 She Says/Citizen Freak (Gaiety)
1968 Blue Bonnie Blue/Missouri (Gaiety)

1969 Twilight Woman (Venture)
1969 Now That I'm A Man (Venture)

1970 I Need You/Goodtime Baby (Venture)

Albums/CDs
1969 49th Parallel (Gaiety)

1995 The Best Of 49th Parallel (Pacemaker)

Compilations
1999 "Citizen Freak" on 'Best Of Gaeity Records' (Pacemaker)

Labourer:


Track List:
01.Labourer
02.You Do Things
03.Citizen Freak
04.She Says
05.Blue Bonnie Blue
06.Up To No Good
07.Now That I'm A Man
08.Get Away
09.Eye To Eye
10.Missouri
11.Lazerander Filcny
12.(Come On Little Child) Talk To Me
13.Magician
14.Twilight Woman
15.Close The Barn Door
16.The People
17.Good Time Baby
18.I Need You
19.Shades Of Blond/All Your Love

49th Parallel:
*Dennis Abbott (vocals)
*Dan Lowe (guitar)
*Bob Carlson (guitar)
*Dave Petch (organ)
*Mick Woodhouse (bass)
*Terry Bare (drums)
*Dave Downey (bass; replaced Woodhouse)
*Alf Cook (bass; replaced Downey)
*Dennis Mundy (organ; replaced Petch)
*Jack Velker (organ; replaced Mundy)
*Dorn (Doran) Beattie (vocals; replaced Abbott)


[ Thank you MCLEHAST for sending this post ]
Rip and scans made by torrents
CODE: 52473

Phluph - Phluph (1968 us bosstown sound psychedelic pop - FLAC)

Hailing from Boston in the late sixties, Phluph recorded their one and only album for the Verve record label before drifting off into obscurity.

One wonders why such a talented group never achieved success in the music industry.

Perhaps Verve, being a predominatly jazz based label, did not know how to promote the band properly. Or perhaps it was because Phluph were part of the ill-fated "Bosstown Sound" scene which caused such a furore in the music industry at that time.

The Scene That Never Was?
The “Bosstown Sound” was started as a publicity campaign by producer Alan Lorber, aiming to market the various Boston based psychedelic bands on MGM’s books (The Ultimate Spinach, Eden’s Children etc) as being part of one singular movement.

The idea was to rival the burgeoning San Francisco scene as well as the Mersey-Beat sound that was being imported from across the Atlantic. Unfortunately the rock critics and the underground took umbrage at what they deemed was a shallow corporate attempt at selling the counter-culture back to them as a package.

There was strong anti-establishment feeling at this time because of the Vietnam War, and this helped to fuel the fire against the Boston scene.

This coupled with the subsequent pressure from those on the West Coast who declaimed them as frauds, meant that many of the bands became black- listed, never getting the sales figures that they deserved.

Phluph never survived the backlash and disappeared, leaving behind their sole album cut for Verve in 1968. Since its rediscovery the album has garnered some disparaging reviews from some quarters, yet has been lauded by others.

In all honesty Phluph is not as ground breaking or experimental as other albums from that era but nevertheless it still stands as a great slice of psychedelic pop.

It is an album very much of its time, combining all the elements most people would expect from a late sixties piece; fuzz guitar, close harmonies, thinly veiled drug references in the lyrics and a heavy amount of organ grinding.

Sadly the sleeve notes don’t reveal which band member played which instrument, but working on the assumption that all organists from the sixties looked like Ray Manzarek, one can probably ear mark the chap with the enormous glasses and cunning haircut as being the man in charge of the keys.

And what a player the organist was. Just as Manzarek was the musical genius and driving force behind the Doors, so too the organist on this album steers the group to safety, manipulating the instrument in every way possible in order to draw from it all possible sounds.Whether it’s conjuring up mournful paranoia for “Girl in Tears” or propelling the group through the brilliant “Patterns” or the Beatles-esque “Ellyptical Machine”, the guy on the organ holds the day.

He even gets a freak out on the bizarre “Love Eyes”. This tune also boasts a haunting guitar solo which DJ Shadow sampled for his Private Press LP. Apart from those moments of genius the rest of track doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny.

“In Her Way” has got to be the pick of the bunch. Spaced out vocal harmonies and jangling guitar chords open the song before the band gets into a bass heavy groove.

The shimmering organ fades in and out under the bass line, before the track moves on to a great fuzzy guitar solo, with the guitarist making the instrument sound like a busted sitar. It’s a near perfect 3 minutes of psychedelic pop.

In the liner notes on the original LP there is a quote about the band from Cashbox Magazine: “We can’t see anything that could possibly hold back a group like this.

When their reputation catches up with their ability, Phluph may very well be famous throughout the world”.

Unfortunately something did stand in their way and all the potential from such a talented bunch was never fully realised. In a different world maybe they would have been given a chance to become more than just a bargain bin relic (by Gerard Fannon).


Doctor Mind:


Track List:
01.Dr. Mind 2:51
02.It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry 2:41
03.In Her Way 3:03
04.Another Day 4:40
05.Girl in Tears 3:10
06.Ellyptical Machine 2:30
07.Lovely Lady 5:50
08.Death of a Nation 2:30
09.Love Eyes 6:56
10.Patterns 2:33

Phluph:
* Lee Dudley (vocals, drums),
* Ben Blake (vocals, guitar),
* John Pell (vocals, bass),
* Joel Maisano (vocals, organ).


[ Thank you JIM SPYROPOULOS for sending this post ]
CODE: 52446

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