V.A. - 2131 South Michigan Avenue - 60s Garage & Psychedelia From U.S.A. & Destination Records. (us garage and psych sundazed compilation - FLAC)

[ Sundazed Records Series # 22 ]

In Its title, this two-CD set recalls the Chicago street address that headquartered U.S.A. Records and its associated Destination imprint. 2131 South Michigan Avenue compiles 40 tracks that reveal the highly charged garage and psychedelic sounds blowing through the city of Chicago and the Midwest during the late 1960s.

Twenty-two bands are represented by 38 songs and two advertising spots on the discs; the collection is mastered in mono, as most cuts were pressed only on seven-inch vinyl, and few were heard outside of regional radio markets.

Two previously unreleased tracks bookend the second CD: The Counts’ “Stop Cheating On Me” is a terrific British Invasion-style track showcasing the early inspiration for garage rock, while The Lost Agency’s alternate take of “Time To Dream” is immersed in the psychedelia of the late ’60s.

The compilation features The Flock, The Cryan’ Shames and The Buckinghams, three groups who gained national reputations and ultimately inked contracts with Columbia Records.

Emphasizing an edge muted on their later Columbia hits, the Buckinghams perform brash guitar and organ workouts on the extended versions of “Don’t Want To Cry” and “I’m A Man,” a five minute rave-up from the highly collectible original mono pressing of the Kind Of A Drag LP.

Along with “I’m A Man,” 2132 South Michigan Avenue has six additional cover versions of contemporary hits by local bands. These titles include “Midnight Hour,” “I Can’t Explain,” “Til The End Of The Day,” and “Help Me Boy,” which reconfigured the familiar Animals/Outsiders “Help Me Girl” to accommodate The Daughters Of Eve, the one girl group on the album.

With five songs, Oscar Hamod And The Majestics claim the most tracks on the collection. The Indiana quartet’s guitar-based R&B embodies the strengths of the Heartland, while doubling as an American reverberation of Britain’s Mod sound.

The Jokers, another group hailing from Indiana, unveil contrasting sides of their Destination label single: “I’ll Never Let You Go” is melodic pop, yet “What’cha Gonna Do” has the threatening bluesy undertow of the early Rolling Stones.

The Foggy Notions, a high-school band from hometown Chicago, deliver pure ’60s garage rock with “Take Me Back And Hold Me” and “Need A Little Lovin’,” a two-sided single on a minor affiliated label called Ginny Records.

Brimming with fuzz guitar riffs and Farfisa organ lines, this compilation holds plenty of other rare gems performed by long-forgotten groups dripping with punk-rock swagger or soaring with folk-rock harmonies.

These groups carry wonderfully inspired names such as The Sheffields, The Cherry Slush, The Shady Daze, Trafalgar Square and Park Avenue Playground, whose “I Know” sports the complex influences of post-Sgt.Pepper Anglo-pop.

The first collection to focus on these independent Chicago labels, 2131 South Michigan Avenue includes an insert showing photos of all singles and most bands, as well as author Jeff Jarema’s comments on each group coupled with impressively detailed musician lineups.

CD-1:
01.One Girl Man - The Lost Agency
02.I’ll Make You Pay - The Shady Daze
03.Got To Have Your Lovin’ - Oscar Hamod & the Majestics
04.Take Me Back and Hold Me - The Foggy Notions
05.Echoes - Lord and the Flies
06.Midnight Hour - The Messengers
07.If You Ever Go - Ronnie Ross and the Good Guys
08.Soul Finger - Oscar Hamod & the Majestics
09.I’ll Never Let You Go - The Jokers
10.Do You Still Love Me - The Sheffields
11.I’m the One For You - The Great Society
12.Ben Franklin’s Almanac - The Cryan’ Shames
13.Need a Little Lovin’ - The Foggy Notions
14.I Can’t Explain - Oscar Hamod & the Majestics
15.Don’t Want to Cry - The Buckinghams
16.Come With Me - The Boyz
17.You’re Gonna Lose That Girl - The Cryan’ Shames
18.I Cannot Stop You - The Cherry Slush
19.Time to Dream - The Lost Agency
20.Rowe Jukebox Promo - The Buckinghams

CD-2:
01.Stop Cheating On Me* - The Counts
02.Til the End of the Day - Trafalgar Square
03.Hard Times All Over - The Boyz
04.You Made A Fool of Me - Lord and the Flies
05.I Don’t Want You - The Ricochettes
06.Hard Hard Year - The Messengers
07.No Chance Baby - Oscar Hamod & the Majestics
08.What’cha Gonna’ Do - The Jokers
09.I Don’t Need Your Help - Gary and the Knight Lites
10.Are You the Kind - The Flock
11.Help Me Boy - The Daughters of Eve
12.I’m a Man - The Buckinghams
13.My Girl Is Waiting - Oscar Hamod & the Majestics
14.Lifs (Don’t Mean Nothin’) - Michael & the Messengers
15.The Trip - Park Avenue Playground
16.I Know - Park Avenue Playground
17.Gotta Take It Easy - The Cherry Slush
18.What Would You Do If the Sun Died - The Flock
19.Time to Dream (alternate vocal)* - The Lost Agency
20.Radio Spot - The Daughters of Eve

Bands:
The Lost Agency, The Shady Daze, Oscar Hamod & the Majestics, The Foggy Notions, Lord and the Flies, The Messengers, Ronnie Ross and the Good Guys, The Jokers, The Sheffields, The Great Society, The Cryan’ Shames, The Foggy Notions, The Buckinghams, The Boyz, The Cherry Slush, The Counts, Trafalgar Square, The Ricochettes, Gary and the Knight Lites, The Flock, The Daughters of Eve, Michael & the Messengers, Park Avenue Playground


[ Thank you COR for sending this post ]
CODE: 23490 or click here (password is code_number+phrockblog)

The Flamin' Groovies - Supersneakers (1968 us us mix of psychedelic, blues, rock & roll - remaster edition with 10 bonus tracks - MP3 320K and FLAC)

[ Sundazed Records Series # 63 ]

SUPER SNEAKERS is an essential document in the development of both power pop and the DIY underground.

Self-released in 1968, when pretty much nobody was releasing albums on their own, the seven-track 10-inch LP SNEAKERS was enough of a success that Epic signed them for their 1969 full-length debut SUPERSNAZZ.

Oddly, given the number of archival Groovies reissues, it took until 1996 for SNEAKERS to finally be reissued, in an expanded edition featuring 10 contemporaneous live recordings from original lead singer Roy Loney's private stash.

SNEAKERS is very much a document of its time--there's a psychedelic vibe to songs like "Prelude in A Flat to the Afternoon of a Pud" that's missing from their later, poppier work--but all thelements that made the Groovies special are already here.

The remastering, liner notes, and extras are all up to Sundazed's usual excellent standards.


Golden Clouds:


Track List:
01.I'm Drowning
02.Babes In The Sky
03.Lovetime
04.My Yada
05.Golden Clouds
06.The Slide
07.Prelude In A Flat To Afternoon Of A Pud

Bonus Tracks:
08.Cabria
09.In Between
10.Doin' My Time
11.Night Owl Blues
12.Wild About My Lovin'
13.The Slide
14.My Yada
15.Local Boy Makes Good
16.Sportin' Life
17.Good Morning Mr. Stone

The Flamin' Groovies:
Cyril Jordan, Tim Lynch, Roy Loney (vocals, guitar)
George Alexander (vocals)
Danny Mihm (percussion)


[ Thank you COR for sending this post ]
CODE: 51987

Gary Usher - Barefoot Adventure: 4 Star Sessions (1962-66 us surf and sixties pop music - 2 CD collection - MP3 320K and FLAC)

[ Sundazed Records Series # 08 ]

Two discs-38,35 minutes each approximately. Remastered by Sundazed Records. Having grown up in Southern California during the era this music was popular,and being saturated by it,I will try to be as unbiased as I can.

This was the time before The Beatles and all the rest of the "British Invasion" groups changed music forever. This music was simple sounding yet was profound in it's message of fun under the sun at the beach,watching the girls stroll by.

For anyone who remembers the innocence of those times,or for anyone who wants an insight into what it was all about-listen to this.

Gary Usher was one of the architects of the "Southern California sound",and was ,in his own way,a genius in his field of music.

The tracks in this collection are fun-pure and simple. No great messages to ponder,just escapist tunes that sounded good on the car radio or blasting from your parents hi-fi when they weren't at home.

The arrangements ,by today's standards,are straight out of the pop music era,an era that others,like Brian Wilson(a collaborator of Usher's) and The Beach Boys for example,took all the way to the top of the charts.

Some listeners will note that Usher was the producer of albums by some of the best 60's groups-like The Byrds(Younger Than Yesterday,Sweetheart of the Rodeo,and one of The Byrd's best,The Notorious Byrd Brothers),Jan and Dean,Dick Dale,and one of my favorite groups,The Peanut Butter Conspiracy.

This collection delves into Usher's music beyond The Hondells,which sixties music-lovers will remember,and has a number of "B"sides that few have heard,and a few tracks that have not previously been released. All these tracks show how music in the Los Angeles/Southern California area was adopted by many groups,both known and unknown.

There are some short interviews interspersed throughout the two discs which give a better understanding of this era. Personally I would rather have had more music in place of the interviews,but that's a minor quibble.

The folks at Sundazed Records have done their usual good job with the liner notes.

There is a track by track listing with information that is helpful(if you need it!) in understanding and enjoying these great sides.

For the listener who still lives in this era,or for someone who wishes they could have-this is well worth picking up (by Stuart Jefferson).

CD-1:

01.R.P.M.

02.My Little Surfin' Woodie - (previously unreleased)

03.Barefoot Adventure - (previously unreleased)

04.Four On the Floor

05.Cheater Slicks

06.C.C. Cinder - (previously unreleased)

07.Chug-a-Lug, The

08.Gary Usher Interview Part 1

09.My Little Beach Bunny

10.Playmate of the Year

11.Lonely Surfer Boy

12.Soul Stompin' - (previously unreleased)

13.Nifty '50 - (previously unreleased)

14.Power Shift

15.Mag Wheels

16.Gary Usher Interview Part 2 - (previously unreleased)

17.My Sting Ray

18.426 Super Stock

CD-2:

01.Wax, Board and Woodie - (previously unreleased)

02.Draggin' Deuce - (previously unreleased)

03.'54 Corvette

04.My Little Surfin' Woodie - (previously unreleased)

05.Gary Usher Interview Part 3 - (previously unreleased)

06.R.P.M. - (previously unreleased)

07.Barefoot Adventure

08.Cactus Juice - (previously unreleased)

09.Coney Island Wild Child

10.Sugar and Spice - (previously unreleased)

11.Twins - (previously unreleased)

12.Milky Way - (previously unreleased)

13.Quicksand - (previously unreleased)

14.Gary Usher Interview Part 4 - (previously unreleased)

15.You Made a Believer Out of Me - (previously unreleased)

16.Waiting For the Day - (previously unreleased)

17.Tied Down - (previously unreleased)

18.Harder and Harder - (previously unreleased)

[ Thank you COR for sending this post ]

CODE: 20385

Twentieth Century Zoo - Thunder on a Clear Day (1968 us heavy psychedelic - sundazed records with 06 bonus tracks - MP3 320K and FLAC)

[ Sundazed Records Series # 62 ]

A middling late-sixties psychedelic group, Twentieth Century Zoo were the first such band from Phoenix to get an album released and nationally distributed, even if that LP was on a small L.A. label, and not many people would hear it.

The band evolved from the Bitter Sweets, which had a couple of local singles in 1966 and 1967. In 1967 and 1968, Twentieth Century Zoo had a couple of singles on the small Caz label, the first of these, "You Don't Remember, " being respectable psych-punk in the mold of the Music Machine.

In late 1968, the group recorded an album in Los Angeles for Vault Records, Thunder on a Clear Day. Featuring elongated fuzz-sustain riffs and heavy organ, somewhat in the manner of Fever Tree, there was little to make it stand out from the crowd of similar late-sixties American albums.

At times there was also a hard blues-rock feel, which could break into tedium on longer tracks, such as a ten-minute cover of Little Walter's "Blues with a Feeling."

Twentieth Century Zoo got to open for several bigger bands in Phoenix, such as Iron Butterfly and Blue Cheer, and did one more single for Vault before breaking up in 1970.

Their album was reissued by Sundazed in 1999, with non-LPs singles and outtakes tacked on as bonus tracks.

You Don't Remember:


Track List:

01.You Don't Remember [45 Version] 2:51

02.Clean Old Man 2:39

03.Love in Your Face [45 Version] 2:05

04.Tossin' and Turnin' 2:18

05.Quiet Before the Storm 4:56

06.Rainbow 4:17

07.Bullfrog 6:39

08.Love in Your Face 3:20

09.You Don't Remember 3:09

10.It's All in My Head 5:06

11.Blues With a Feeling

12.Only Thing That's Wrong 2:46

13.Stallion of Fate 2:58

14.Country 2:56 1

15.Hall of the Mountain King 3:02

16.Enchanted Park 4:29

Twentieth Century Zoo:

*Bob Sutko (vocals, harmonica)

*Allan Chitwood (bass)

*Greg Farley (guitar)

*Paul "Skip" Ladd (lead guitar)

*Randy Wells (drums)

[ Thank you NELWIZARD for sending this post ]
Previous posted at PHROCK in Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Rip and scans made by torrents
CODE: 50367

Blues Image - Open (1970 us mix of blues rock, latin rock and hard rock with Mike Pinera 2nd album - MP3 320K and FLAC)

[ Sundazed Records Series # 61 ]

Mike and his group Blues Image were co-founders and house band at THEE IMAGE, a Miami Beach concert venue they opened and co-headlined on weekends.

There Mike performed, met and jammed with such artists as JERRY GARCIA & GRATEFUL DEAD, THE CREAM with ERIC CLAPTON, THE YARDBIRDS with JIMMY PAGE, ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS, BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS, FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION, JIMI HENDRIX, THE DOORS, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, TED NUGENT & THE AMBOY DUKES...and many more.

Blues Image soon signed with Atlantic Records where they had a major hit with "RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE" which Mike co-wrote and sang.

Ride Captain Ride is currently featured in television shows and on several best-selling music compilations offered on TV like "FLOWER POWER, HAVE A NICE DAY, PBS-MY MUSIC THE 70's, SOUNDS OF THE SEVENTIES."

The certified multi-platinum hit song is also in major movies such as ANCHORMAN.

Blues Image's second album was their most successful, in large part because of the inclusion of their huge hit single "Ride Captain Ride."

The rest of the record, however, shows them to be a band in search of a more individual voice, borrowing heavily as it does from Jimi Hendrix ("Love Is the Answer," "Pay My Dues"), Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Running the Water"), any number of average blues-rock bands ("Clean Love"), and the Latin-rock fusion of Santana ("La Bamba," "Consuelate," and the instrumental "Wrath of Daisey").

Those familiar only with "Ride Captain Ride" might be surprised at the band's versatility, which took in blues, Latin, and hard rock, though not in as even or striking a mixture as, say, Santana.

It's a pedestrian form of versatility, though, with none of the other songs possessing the pop hooks of "Ride Captain Ride."

The 2004 CD reissue on Sundazed adds historical liner notes with quotes from guitarist Mike Pinera and percussionist Joe Lala.

Track List:
01."Love Is The Answer" - 2:35
02."Running the Water" - 2:37
03."Clean Love" - 7:49
04."La Bamba" (Traditional) - 2:26
05."Consuelate" - 1:15
06."Ride Captain Ride" - 3:46
07."Pay My Dues" - 3:49
08."Fugue U" - 0:50
09."Parchman Farm" (Mose Allison) - 2:49
10."Wrath of Daisey" - 1:31
11."Take Me" - 7:35

Blues Image:
*Mike Pinera - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Malcolm Jones - Bass
*Joe Lala - Percussion, Vocals
*Skip Konte - Keyboards
*Manny Bertematti - Drums

Guest:
*Kent Henry - Guitar Solos


[ Thank you MARIOS and KEITHF99 for this post ]
Previously published in the blog on Saturday, July 25, 2009
CODE: 49854