David Axelrod - Songs of Experience (1969)

With this album Axlerod based the songs upon the poetry of William Blake, definately a concept type piece.
The album's one of Axelrod's first on his own, cut for Capitol Records at a time when he was working with some of the label's biggest selling soul acts, like Cannonball Adderley and Lou Rawls turning their already-successful sounds into super-hit material by adding some nice funky touches, and excellent baroque production.

"A Poison Tree" and "A Little Girl Lost" are the first two tracks and show Axelrod’s usual heavy orchestration with strings, a loud violin, harpsichord and a strong Chamber Music sound.

"London" is much better with its keys playing and Carol Kaye’s walking bass. The "Sick Rose" goes through a number of parts, each led by a different instrument beginning with the guitar, then strings, and finally an organ joins in at the end. I like the second side much better with the harpsichord and light melody of "SchoolBoy", and bass again "Human Abstract", "The Fly", and the slow developing "A Divine image".
Tracks
01 The Poison Tree 3:10
02 A Little Girl Lost 3:29
03 London 2:49
04 The Sick Rose 4:49
05 The School Boy 2:31
06 The Human Abstract 5:33
07 The Fly 4:52
08 A Divine Image 4:36
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Françoise Hardy - If you listen (1971)

The LP, originally released in 1971, is the sultry French songstress' only English language album.
Sung (except for one track) in English, this 1972 album (originally titled just Françoise Hardy) was reissued on CD by Virgin France in 2000 under the title If You Listen, and issued in some foreign territories under yet different titles in the 1970s. However it was titled, it was a good, tasteful, and subdued set of folk-rock- and singer/songwriter-influenced covers (though the one French song, "Brulure," was the sole original Hardy composition). It's no surprise that the mood here is dignified rainy-day sorrow. But that was Hardy's forte, and the arrangements, emphasizing acoustic guitar and light strings, seem to indicate she was doing some listening to British folk-rock and American singer/songwriters. So does the choice of covers, including songs by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Neil Young ("Till the Morning Comes"), Beverley Martyn, and Randy Newman ("I Think It's Gonna Rain Today"). There's also the quite obscure "The Garden of Jane Delawnay," a misspelled interpretation of "The Garden of Jane Delawney" by the British folk-rock band the Trees; "Let My Name Be Sorrow," originally done by Mary Hopkin; and a couple of tunes co-written by Mick Jones, later of Foreigner. None of songs rate among her best work, but it's still a good album, often overlooked even by Hardy fans and notable in that just one of the English songs ("Bown Bown Bown") was also recorded by Hardy in a French version. It's also much superior to her album of English cover versions of just three years before, Françoise Hardy en Anglais, which was over-produced and far heavier on the syrup.
She grew up in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, the daughter of an unmarried mother. She received a guitar on her sixteenth birthday as a reward for passing her baccalaureat. After a year at the Sorbonne she answered a newspaper advertisement looking for young singers. Hardy signed her first contract with the record label Vogue in November 1961. In April 1962, shortly after finishing school, her first record "Oh Oh Chéri" appeared, written by Johnny Hallyday's writing duo. Her own flip side of the record, "Tous les garçons et les filles" became a success, riding the wave of Yé-yé music in France, with two million sales. She first appeared on television in 1962 during an interlude in a programme reporting the results of a presidential referendum.

Hardy sings in French, English, Italian, Spanish, and German. In 1963 she came fifth for Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest with "L'amour s'en va". In 1963, she was awarded the Grand Prix Du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy.

In 1981, she married her long-time companion Jacques Dutronc, with whom she had had a son, Thomas Dutronc, in 1973. In 1994, she collaborated with the British pop group Blur for their "La Comedie" version of "To The End". In May 2000, she made a comeback with the album Clair Obscur. Her son played guitar and her husband sang the duet "Puisque Vous Partez En Voyage." Iggy Pop and Étienne Daho also took part. She has also recorded a duet with Perry Blake who wrote two songs for her award winning Tant de belles choses album. Hardy lives near Paris and Dutronc lives in Monticello, Corsica, although they remain a couple
Tracks
1. If You Listen
2. Ocean
3. Until It's Time For You to Go
4. Garden of Jane Delawnay, The
5. Sometimes
6. Let My Name Be Sorrow
7. Brulure
8. Can't Get the One I Want
9. I Think It's Gonna Rain Today
10. Take My Hand For a While
11. Bown Bown Bown
12. Till Morning Comes
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Kaleidoscope - Tangerine Dream (1967)

On first listen, this is light, throwaway pop psychedelia, and it's easy to see why it sold in such low quantities - and hence is so incredibly rare. Think of the black and white video of Spinal Tap in their earliest incarnation singing "Listen to the Flower People", and you've just about got it.

So it seems to be a complete joke at the expense of record collectors - because the humour in the delivery seems almost non existent - the sincerity makes your jaw drop, aghast, and the lightweight music makes you think of Barrett Pink Floyd without the overdrive.

But then you listen again, and things start popping out at you. You listen again, and your attention is even more strongly held - and so it goes on. For this is an album crammed with subtleties almost hidden behind songs that border on the twee, but in actual fact are full of poetic depth and disturbing imagery.

In the year that saw "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band", "Piper At The Gates of Dawn" and "Forever Changes" (among others), it's not hard to see how this gem got overlooked.

The character of this album is peculiarly English - in much the same way that "Piper..." is, but different... kind of musty, and filled with visions of middle class Victorian houses with manicured lawns and slightly overgrown borders, tea and cakes at 4, that sort of thing - giving more a warped yet perspicacious view of a solid reality, than some befuddled LSD-fuelled fantasy.

It's not really Prog Rock - but it IS incredibly progressive, even for 1967, when everything was progressive for the time, or so it seems.

THE MUSIC:

The introduction gives little clue as to the nature of the song that will follow; "Relax your eyes, for after all, we can but share these minutes", over an urgent "tick tocking" guitar... but then it all goes kinda Pete Tong. "Kaleidoscope, kaliedoscope, kaleida...". All very quaint and archetypally flower power - and that is it's strength.

The highlight of this track is the drumming, which has some superb "moments", but the overall arrangement is subtle, and the details are easily missed.

But it gets better... Much better. I'd guess the main issue here is that the opening track sets you off in the wrong direction, and every track can end up sounding like a dippy hippy tree-hug fest.

But "Tangerine Dream" is an album to discover, little bit by little bit - you simply need to allow the music to breadcrumb you into the depths of the forest, never to return...

"Please Excuse My Face" is an entertaining psychedelic pop tune, distinguished by the intro, which is remarkably similar to "Old Friends (Bookends Theme)" by Simon and Garfunkel. The open, airy arrangement is pleasing - but there are several songs by Love, The Byrds and Jefferson Airplane that are more imaginative and progressive.

"Dive Into Yesterday" is a lot more like it - possibly because by now I'm longing fo rsomething even half overdriven - with an imaginative introduction, nice drive and odd overall arrangement - largely caused, it would seem, by a bassist who is not too sure of what's happening, man. The riffing is cool, and there are some nice production touches and tangible psychedelic madness. Again, the drumming particularly stands out.

At 2:00 there are references to the lyrics of "Kaleidoscope", maintaining a subtle continuity that is easily missed, and around 2:55 there is a nice surprise - a return to the introduction of "Kaleidoscope", then some nice Floyd style development - along the lines of "The Gnome", but with some seriously odd experimentation on the guitar. The scooping attack on the word "Dive..." gives added propulsion to the most interesting track so far - although why water pistols should be filled with lemonade, and why that shuold interest the jester and the goldfish I'm still not sure...

"Mr Small The Watch Repairer Man" has even more production details verging on psychedelic (reefer?) madness - and quite insane drumming - it's like the stops are being slowly pulled out further and further as the album progressses. The vocals are practlcally Syd Barrett to a T.

"Flight From Ashiya" is much more experimental in terms of structure, with bass pedals a plenty to up the drama - and I get flavours of the Small Faces' "Ogden's Nut Gone", with added Nut Gone... A wall of sound is produced with a jangling Byrds-style guitar propelling the whole artifice in a disturbingly controlled way to the edge of oblivion.

"The murder of Lewis Tollani" begins with a drum heartbeat, then the story is narrated over slithering guitars - this is no ordinary song. For the next verse, the guitars undulate uncomfortably, and pauses add tension to the drama. This use of space in the music is what makes this really stand out.

"(Further Reflections) In the Room Of Percussion" seems like a return to standard song form - I was hoping for some great things from the very talented and precise Danny Bridgman, but this is, nonetheless, an enjoyable but very dark song; "My God - the spiders are everywhere!!!".

"Dear Nellie Goodrich" and "Holiday Maker" are great entertaining and startlingly observant songs, with more hidden depths, and "A Lesson Perhaps" is a poignant story of the King with no Kingdom, told in an appropriate style, with nice Mediaeval-flavoured guitar accompaniement.

But it's the 8:00 "The Sky Children" that I really wanted to get stuck into - all Proggers like the long tracks ;o). This is a strong that's very strong in melody - which is fortunate, as it's also very well endowed with lyrics...

For this song, a lyric sheet is very helpful for the first few listens, as it helps you realise that this is an incredibly well constructed and orcestrated piece, and highlights the main difference between Kaleidoscope and other 1960s psychedelic bands.

THE SUMMARY:

A wonderful, dreamy set of songs with a surprising bite that passes almost unnoticed on the first few listens. The bonus tracks are a nice addition, but the album is best taken in its original form to get a feel for how it was conceived (bearing in mind that some tracks were recorded considerably earlier than the album recording sessions)

This is not an album for those who want "hits", nor is it one for fans of the impossibly complex or crushingly heavy. It's not even real Prog Rock... although we are talking about 1967 here - so it could be.... Review thanks to Certif1ed
Tracks
1.Kaleidoscope
2.Please Excuse My Face
3.Dive Into Yesterday
4.Mr.Small the Watch Repairer Man
5.Flight From Ashiya
6.The murder of Lewis Tollani
7.In the Room Of Percussion
8.Dear Nellie Goodrich
9.Holiday Maker
10.A Lesson Perhaps
11.The Sky Children
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Various Artists - Pet Projects, The Brian Wilson Productions (1960's)

Brian Wilson did quite a bit of production work outside of his main gig with the Beach Boys, especially in the early to mid-'60s. This 23-track collection — entirely drawn from pre-1966 releases, except for a 1969 single by the Honeys and a 1973 single by American Spring — doesn't round up all of them, as some were unavailable for contractual reasons. But it's a good anthology of this facet of Wilson's career, with many obscure songs that are difficult to find and have been seldom reissued. As is usually the case for outside production/songwriting ventures by major stars, few of Wilson's non-Beach Boys ventures were hits, and in fact none of the items on this CD were. As is also usually the case in these situations, the material (frequently though not always written or co-written by Wilson) was more lightweight than what was being devised for the figure's principal project, the Beach Boys in Wilson's case. But this disc is still pretty enjoyable, featuring as it does a few genuinely outstanding cuts in which Wilson got to tinker with some production approaches. Foremost among these is Sharon Marie's 1964 Ronettes sound-alike single "Thinkin' Bout You Baby," which has a verse that was reworked with some changes to provide the Beach Boys' 1968 hit "Darlin'." Also of special note is Glen Campbell's 1965 single "Guess I'm Dumb," which has a confessional lyric and orchestral pop/rock production on par with the Beach Boys' own best album tracks of the period. Only slightly below this level is Gary Usher's 1964 single "Sacramento," which actually sounds a little more personal than much of the Beach Boys' output of that year. Brian Wilson himself is heard on the one-off 1964 single by the Survivors, with an A-side ("Pamela Jean") with an identical melody to that used for the Beach Boys' "Car Crazy Cutie," and an instrumental B-side ("After the Game") that's a vague forerunner of the lush instrumentals on Pet Sounds. The other tracks on this compilation are more frivolous, but they do testify to the large influence Phil Spector had on Wilson in the mid-'60s (particularly in the tracks by the Honeys). Other oddities of note are the Little Eva imitation by Rachel & the Revolvers; the 1973 Columbia single by American Spring, the band featuring Marilyn Rovell and Diane Rovell of the Honeys; and the cover of "Vegetables" (from the Beach Boys' Smiley Smile album) by the Laughing Gravy, a pseudonym for Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean.
1. Run Around Lover - Sharon Marie
2. Thinkin Bout You Baby - Sharon Marie
3. Pamela Jean - The Survivors
4. After The Game - The Survivors
5. Sacramento - Gary Usher
6. That's The Way I Feel - Gary Usher
7. Teh One You Can't Have - The Honeys
8. Surfin' Down The Swanne River - The Honey
9. Summertime - Sharon Marie
10. Hide Go Seek - The Honeys
11. Shyin Away - American Spring
12. Pray For Surf - The Honeys
13. Shoot The Curl - The Honeys
14. Vegetables - The Laughing Gravy
15. The Revo-Lution - Rachel & The Revolvers
16. Number One - Rachel & The Revolvers
17. She Rides With Me - Paul Petersen
18. Guess I'm Dumb - Glen Campbell
19. Story Of My Life - Sharon Marie
20. He's A Doll - The Honeys
21. Tonight You Belong To Me - The Honeys
22. Goodnight My Love - The Honeys
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The Cretones - Snap! Snap! (1981)

The Cretones were a United States, Los Angeles-based new wave and power pop group in the early 1980s. Led by singer/guitarist and former Eddie Boy Band member Mark Goldenberg (who also wrote the bulk of The Cretones' material), the group had a strong sense of melody and a lyrical wit that placed them a cut above most of their new wave peers. Other members were Peter Bernstein (bass, vocals), Steve Beers (percussion) and Steve Leonard (keyboards, vocals).

Both their albums were released on Richard Perry's Planet Records label. They had one single that charted on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100: Real Love, in the spring of 1980, which was from their first album, Thin Red Line. The song Empty Heart, from their second album Snap Snap, was their only other song to receive significant airplay on album rock stations, but it did not chart as a single.

They are perhaps best-known as the group that provided three of the songs on Linda Ronstadt's platinum-selling 1980's new wave album, Mad Love. Ronstadt's effort served to introduce and highlight Mark Goldenberg's tuneful melodies.

After the band broke up, Mark Goldenberg went on to write the song Automatic for the Pointer Sisters, which was a hit in 1984. He later toured with artists such as Peter Frampton and Chris Isaak and had moderate success as a new age instrumental artist in Japan. Since 1994, he has been lead guitarist for Jackson Browne and continues to write, play, and produce. Cretones members Steve Beers and Peter Bernstein helped produce and compose the score to the TV show 21 Jump Street. Steve Beers has been producing television ever since, while Peter Bernstein has gone on to write numerous film and TV scores
Tracks
01 Empty Heart
02 Hanging on to No One
03 Swinging Divorcee
04 Lonely Street
05 I Can't Get Over You
06 One Kiss
07 Love is Turning
08 Girls! Girls! Girls!
09 Snap! Snap!
10 Mood vertigo
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Miles Davis - Miles in the sky (1968)

Miles in the Sky is an album recorded in January and May 1968 by the Miles Davis quintet. It is notable for the first use of electric piano and electric guitar on an issued recording by Davis, a foreshadowing of his move into fusion music over the next few years.

Although the album was released shortly after recording, the tracks come from different sessions which show different stages of Miles Davis's evolution from acoustic jazz to electric "fusion" music. "Paraphernalia" features George Benson's electric guitar, although it is more conservative in style than the earlier "Circle in the Round", which was not released until the late seventies. "Black Comedy" and "Country Son" are Davis's last return to the acoustic quintet format in the studio. "Stuff", with its electric bass, Fender Rhodes piano and binary rhythm, is in yet another idiom, that of the forthcoming Filles de Kilimanjaro.

"Paraphernalia" was the only composition from this album to enter Davis's live book.
Tracks
01. Stuff
02. Paraphernalia
03. Black Comedy
04. Country Son
Listen

The Who - My Generation (1965)

My Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick in the United Kingdom in December 1965. It was released in the United States by Decca in April 1966 as The Who Sings My Generation with a different cover and a slightly different track listing.

The album was made immediately after The Who got their first singles on the charts and according to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, it was later dismissed by the band as something of a rush job that did not accurately represent their stage performance of the time. On the other hand, critics often rated it as one of the best rock albums of all time: in 2003, the album was ranked number 236 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2004, the title track was #11 in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In 2004, it was ranked #18 in Q Magazines list of the 50 Best British Albums Ever. In 2006, it was ranked #49 in NME's list of the 100 Greatest British Albums.
The album was made during The Who's early "Maximum R&B" period and features several covers of popular R&B tunes, in addition to the R&B leanings of the tracks written by the band's guitarist Pete Townshend.

According to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, "I'm a Man" was eliminated from the U.S. release due to its sexual content. The U.S. release also excised a brief solo laden with manic drum rolls and guitar feedback before the final verse of "The Kids Are Alright", hiding some of the group's sonic pop-art leanings.

Many of the songs on the album saw release as singles. Aside from "My Generation", which preceded the album's release and reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart, "A Legal Matter", "La-La-La Lies", and "The Kids Are Alright" were also released as domestic singles by Brunswick after the band had started releasing new material on the Reaction label in 1966. As they were not promoted by the band, they were not as commercially successful as "My Generation" or the Reaction singles. "The Kids Are Alright" was however a top 10 single in Sweden, peaking at #8.

"My Generation" and "The Kids Are Alright" in particular remain two of the group's most-covered songs; while "My Generation" is a raw, aggressive number that presaged the heavy metal and punk rock movements. "The Kids Are Alright" is a more sophisticated pop number, with chiming guitars, three-part harmonies, and a lilting vocal melody, though still retaining the driving rhythm of other Who songs of the period. Along with other early Who numbers like "I Can't Explain" and "So Sad About Us", it is considered an important forerunner of the "power pop" movement."Circles" was notably covered by contemporaries of the group, British freakbeat outfit Les Fleur de Lys. The cover version has found some notice after its inclusion on Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964-1969.

The U.S. release also substituted a portrait of the band with Big Ben in the background for the original UK cover depicting the band standing beside some oil drums and looking upward to the camera, with splashes of colour added by the red and blue stencilled letters of the title and a jacket patterned after the Union Flag thrown over John Entwistle's shoulders.

In June 2009, the album was selected to the National Recording Registry of the US Library of Congress. The album, deemed "culturally significant," will be preserved and archived.
Tracks
1.Out in the Street (2:33)
2.I Don't Mind (2:33)
3.The Good's Gone (4:00)
4.La-La-La-Lies (2:14)
5.Much Too Much (2:43)
6.My Generation (3:19)
7.The Kids Are All Right (3:07)
8.Please Please Please (2:44)
9.It's Not True (2:29)
10.I'm a Man (3:19)
11.A Legal Matter (2:49)
12.The Ox (3:50)
13.Circles (Instant Party) * (3:13)
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Serge Gainsbourg - Initials B.B. (1968)

A fantastic Serge Gainsbourg album -- and the BB initials in the title belong to Brigitte Bardot! This rare gem from 1968 is a second set of tracks that Serge cut with Brigitte Bardot -- and it's a doozy! The record repeats a few tracks from their other effort (Bonnie & Clyde) -- but it's also got some incredible cuts that are exclusive to this album, and which have that stone funky groove that makes the best late 60s work of Serge so in-demand these days! The best tracks include "Mustang", "Initials BB", and "Black And White" -- all of which have incredible funky intros that are totally sampleable.
As it was still the case in pre-album era, this is a collection from various sessions in 1965, 1967 and 1968 (in full May Events, Mr. Gainsbourg was recording in London ...). Despite of this, this album is stylistically quite homogeneous.

"Initials B.B." is dedicated to his former lover, Brigitte Bardot. The song is inspired by Edgar Poe's "the Raven", Almeria is the town where B.B. went after seeing Gainsbourg for the last time (to shoot "Shalako"). The music uses a bit of Dvorak's "New World Symphony". Recorded in London in May 1968.

"Comic Strip" was recorded in June 1967. The onomatopoeias are by Bardot. An English version of the song was recorded following the diffusion of an American version of "the Brigitte Bardot Show" by NBC-TV in December 1968.

"Bloody Jack" was recorded in May 1968 in London. Inspired by Jack the Ripper.

"Docteur Jekyll et Monsieur Hyde" pursues on British myths. It was recorded in December ... 1965 !

"Torrey Canyon" refers to the biggest tanker in the world, who sank in 1967. The song was recorded in June 1967.

"Shu ba du ba loo ba" was recorded in December 1965.

"Bonnie and Clyde" was recorded in December 1967, with Bardot, and, as two other songs from this album, appears also in their "Bonnie and Clyde" album (which is also a loose collection from various sessions).

"Black and White" is from the May 1968 session in London.

"Qui est "in" qui est"out"" was from December 1965.

"Hold-up" was recorded in December 1967.

And, finally, "Marilu" is from December 1965. Possibly inspired by Italian actress Marilu Tolo ...
Tracks
Initials B.B. (3:36)
2.Comic Strip (2:13)
3.Bloody Jack (2:07)
4.Docteur Jekyll et Monsieur Hyde (1:59)
5.Torrey Canyon (2:45)
6.Shu Ba du Ba Loo Ba (2:08)
7.Ford Mustang (2:43)
8.Bonnie and Clyde (4:17)
9.Black and White (2:11)
10.Qui Est "In" Qui Est "Out" (2:16)
11.Hold-Up (2:39)
12.Marilu (2:32)
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Mort Garson - The Wozard of Iz (1968)

Mort Garson was a hippie-ish electronic music scientist and guru, who specialized in the more extreme possibilities of the moog. One of his most ambitious projects was a single spoken word LP for each sign of the zodiac, set to an electronic score. He also recorded the moog album "Electronic Hair Pieces" - that one with the great cover. "The Wozard of Iz" was one of his later recordings, and was a collaboration with Jacques Wilson (who apparently wrote and conceived the project). The musical, which might have been intended to go beyond just a recorded album, is a psycho-electronic re-working of "The Wizard of Oz" that sounds like the soundtrack to the greatest LSD/freak-out/moog/synth/electronic musical that never was. This oddity is a hysterical and typical leftist/hippie commentary on the socioeconomic human condition of the average American in 1968, and uses the analogy of Dorothy taking a "trip" from Kansas for a brighter and better world where one can really be "free."
The record begins over a kooky electronic score, while a male voice (with a deep Brooklyn accent) intones:
"This is the story of why Dorothy began her search for the Wonderful Wozard of Iz! Or somewhere... over... what rainbow? Our Dorothy... locked into one suburban acre of negative vibrations... boxed in with a pair of authority symbols; a hypnotized aunt, and a mesmerized uncle, who had turned life off... and turned the television set... on... and on ...AND ON!!!"
Then the music builds and builds as another voice commands Dorothy:
"Congratulations Dorothy, you're about to join the ranks of other famous teenage drop-outs... like Shirley Temple, Candy, and Tallulah Bankhead!"
To which a synthesized male voice in the background repeats over and over:
"Leave the driving to us! Leave the driving to ussssss!"
...to which the voice of Dorothy makes it's first appearance and sexily coos:
"I'm out of the coffin... I'm out of the box... Kansas City isn't where it's at... it's a place where people throw rocks at dreams, and the dreams shouldn't be stoned... only the dreamer. I want to be in a place where I can see a stranger, and offer him a flower. I want that kind of power!"
And that's just in the first few minutes. The record goes on and on and on like that. Dorothy meets a bag lady "on a bus" who tries to hand her some pamphlets written by an army general from "Normalville" ... but Dorothy convinces the army general to "...trade his dog tags in for love beads..." and the lady on the bus eventually gets attacked by some "free press" pamphlets, and becomes The Wicked Old Witch in protest. Dorothy eventually decides to "...find the Great Wozard of Iz... because if I find out where the Woz was, I'd find out where it's at!" Then she gets advised by some more witches on busses to leave "Upset Strip" road in search of "the yellow green road" past the land of "surf and muscle tan" where she notes "...everyone has sunburned teeth from smiling so much." The scarecrow she eventually meets is an excessive consumer who buys too many American gas-guzzling cars and who has substituted "things" for "zing" and decides to follow Dorothy on her quest for the Wozard who can perhaps help him "think" instead of "thing." All the while, insanity-inducing electronic sounds bloop, swerve, echo and boom in the background. This LP is a (fractured) MASTERPIECE!
The rest of the album goes all over the place... using plenty of instruments and a whole chorus of vocalists. The songs sound like they could be in ANY musical... and it's a wonder that the production never made it anywhere past an LP recording. The voice of Dorothy is provided by sometime Lee Hazelwood vocalist/partner Suzie Jane Hokum. There are rumors that this woman is actually Nancy Sinatra (it certainly sounds like her)... but looking at some of the discussions about this album on the web... it looks like the verdict is still undecided as to whether it is her or not. It could be... or it may be just a vinyl compleatist nerd's urban legend. Review found here.
Tracks
1. Prologue - 3:05
2. Leave the Driving to Us - 2:50
3. Upset Strip - 2:25
4. Never Follow the Yellow Green Road - 2:40
5. Thing a Ling (Scared Crow) - 2:21
6. In-Man - 1:28
7. Man With the Word (Lyin' Coward) - 2:00
8. They're Off to Find the Wozard - 1:40
9. Blue Poppy - 6:27
10. I've Been Over the Rainbow - 2:10
11. Big Sur - 3:20
12. Killing of the Witch - 3:35
13. Finale - 1:04
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Gong - Flying Teapot (radio gnome invisible part 1) (1973)

Flying Teapot is an album by Gong, originally released in 1973. Co-titled "Radio Gnome Invisible Part 1", it is the first of the Radio Gnome Trilogy of albums, and was followed by Angel's Egg and You. The Trilogy forms a central part of the Gong mythology.

Recorded at The Manor, Oxfordshire, it was produced by Giorgio Gomelsky and engineered by "Simon Sandwitch 2 aided by Tom Zen" (presumably Simon Heyworth and Tom Newman).
1973's Flying Teapot is a Gong milestone. It's the first installment in their legendary "Radio Gnome Trilogy" and a transitional point between the underground psychedelia of Camembert Electrique and the artier, more ethereal sound they later developed. Teapot is more visceral, less cerebral than its successors, and the catchy ensemble riffs of Camembert are still present. The arrival of virtuoso guitarist Steve Hillage and synth wizard Tim Blake represented a great leap forward, though. Blake concentrated exclusively on ambient electronic effects and soundscapes a la early Hawkind, leaving harmonic development to the other band members. Hillage's fleet-fingered jazz-rock solos and arsenal of effects upped the musicianship a notch and reinforced the spacy jazz elements already in place. Whether you're able to follow the willfully confusing storyline or not, the elaborate mythological world created by Daevid Allen is loads of fun when wrapped around music as inspired as this psychedelic art-jazz-space rock amalgam. The key players are a group of gnomes from another planet who arrive in a flying teapot (stoner imagery plays heavily in hippie Allen's vision) to save the world (or something). Actually, some surprisingly intellectual/philosophical messages were contained in the trilogy, leavened heartily by the irrepressible Allen's healthy sense of humor.
The story:
Gong mythology is a collection of recurring characters, themes, and ideas that permeate the rock albums of Daevid Allen and Gong and to a lesser extent the early works of Steve Hillage. The story is based on a vision Allen had during the full moon of Easter, 1966 in which he claims he could see his future laid out before him. The mythology is hinted at through all of Gong's earlier albums but is not the central theme until the "Radio Gnome Trilogy" (1973-1974).

The story begins on the album Flying Teapot (1973) when a pig-farming Egyptologist called Mista T Being is sold a "magick ear ring" by an "antique teapot street vendor & tea label collector" called Fred the Fish. The ear ring is capable of receiving messages from the Planet Gong via a pirate radio station called Radio Gnome Invisible. Being and Fish head off to the hymnalayas of Tibet (sic) where they meet the "great beer yogi" Banana Ananda in a cave. Ananda tends to chant "Banana Nirvana Mañana" a lot and gets drunk on Foster's Australian Lager.

This latter development mirrors the real-life experience of band members Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth who met their saxophonist, Didier Malherbe, in a cave in Majorca.

Meanwhile, the mythology's central character, Zero the Hero, is going about his everyday life when he suddenly has a vision in Charing Cross Road. He is compelled to seek heroes and starts worshipping the Cock Pot Pixie, one of a number of Pot Head Pixies from the Planet Gong. These pixies are green with propellers on their heads, and they fly around in teapots.

Zero is soon distracted by a cat which he offers his fish and chips to. The cat is actually the Good Witch Yoni, who gives Zero a potion. This concludes the first album of the Radio Gnome Trilogy
Tracks
1. Radio Gnome Invisible
2. Flying Teapot
3. The Pot Head Pixies
4. The Octave Doctors And The Crystal Machine
5. Zero The Hero And The Witch's Spell
6. Witch's Song/I Am Your Pussy
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Naked Eyes - Fuel for Fire (1984)

Fuel for the Fire was Naked Eyes' 1984 follow-up album to their successful début. However, it was met with far less critical success and subsequently flopped. The band did have minor success with one single off the album, "(What) In the Name of Love" which reached #39 in the US on the Billboard 100.

Naked Eyes disbanded following the disappointment of Fuel for the Fire. The album has never been officially released on CD.
Band:
Naked Eyes was one of the first bands to make significant use of the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer on a pop recording. Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush had used the instrument on prior efforts, but the usage had been far less than Naked Eyes would employ on their debut effort. The debut album Burning Bridges was produced by Tony Mansfield, along with the follow up album Fuel for the Fire, which also featured two titles produced by Arthur Baker.

Naked Eyes consisted of childhood friends from Bath, England: Pete Byrne on vocals and Rob Fisher on keyboards. The two had formerly played in a band called Neon with future members of Tears for Fears and stayed together as a duo after the group broke up. Naked Eyes are one of the few acts to have enjoyed significant success outside their country of origin, notably in the U.S. and in Canada, yet remain almost unknown in their homeland.

Their second and third singles, "Promises, Promises" (which appears in an episode of the TV series, Knight Rider, and the 12" mix of which features vocals from Madonna) and "When the Lights Go Out", were also hit singles, mainly in the U.S. and in Canada. However, their second album Fuel for the Fire and the single "(What) In the Name of Love", were not as well-received, and the group broke up soon after its release. Byrne ended up doing session work (he is heard on Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover", and wrote and produced "I Am the Cute One" for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen in 1992) while Fisher joined another duo, Climie Fisher.

Fisher died on 25 August 1999, aged 39, following surgery for an illness which turned out to be bowel cancer.

Byrne released a solo album The Real Illusion in 2001, which featured some of the last tracks he wrote with Fisher for a proposed third Naked Eyes album.

More recently, the Naked Eyes version of "Always Something There to Remind Me" was used in the trailers of the Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston comedy, The Break-Up.

On 31 July 2007, Naked Eyes, featuring Byrne, released Fumbling with the Covers, which consisted of covers of Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Elvis Costello songs, along with Naked Eyes hits.

In the summer of 2008, Naked Eyes completed a U.S. tour along with Belinda Carlisle, ABC and The Human League.

Currently, Naked Eyes is working on Piccadilly, its first album of original songs in more than 25 years
Tracks
A1 (What) In The Name Of Love 4:25
A2 New Hearts 3:37
A3 Sacrifice 4:07
A4 Eyes Of A Child 3:35
A5 Once Is Enough 4:08
B1 No Flowers Please 4:00
B2 Answering Service 3:42
B3 Me I See In You 3:34
B4 Flying Solo 4:31
B5 Flag Of Convenience 4:13
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The Motions - Their Own Way (1966)

In comparison with their brasher debut album, Their Own Way was disappointingly sluggish and subdued. The emphasis was on rather lethargic soul-rock ballads, as if songwriter Ronnie van Leeuwen was trying to find something that would get the same chart success as (better) British singers of the time such as the Walker Brothers. "Why Don't You Take It" was a pretty obvious attempt to capture a Drifters-like mood, and though the group occasionally got into a bluesy mode, the sound was surprisingly thin and the execution rather perfunctory. The biggest problem was that the songs weren't memorable, with the notable exception of the scorching "Everything That's Mine," now enshrined on the Nuggets 2 box set. That track is a mod masterpiece with screeching guitar that's just as exciting as the early Who or Small Faces, and its appearance at the very end of the album is downright shocking, blowing the rest of the set out the window. The bonus tracks aren't too exciting or notable; the only one not taken from a non-LP 45 is a previously unreleased stereo version of a song from Their Own Way, "You've Hurt Yourself."
The Band:
The Motions from The Hague were one of the bigger groups of the 1960s Dutch beat explosion. They were formed in 1964 from the remnants of Ritchie Clark and the Ricochets and went on to become hitmakers for the next several years. The Walker Brothers even recorded "My Love Is Growing", a song The Motions' Robbie van Leeuwen had written (the Motions had recorded it as a flipside to "Why Don't You Take It") and the Walkers' manager John Stewart produced The Motions' second LP, "In Their Own Way". The single, "Freedom", reached the lower regions of the American charts in 1969. This song was sampled in the 1990s by Japanese band Tokyo No.1 Soul Set on their track "Sunday". Although the group disbanded in 1971, the most important members have met each other again & again in new bands such as Crossroad, Greenhorn, Jupiter and Galaxy Lin.

From 1964 to 1967, the line-up was stable: Rudy Bennett (i.r.l. Ruud van de Berg - vocals, earlier as Ritchie Clark and the Ricochets), Robbie van Leeuwen (guitar, ex-Atmospheres & Ricochets, later the founder of both Shocking Blue and Galaxy Lin), Henk Smitskamp (bass, ex-Willy & Giants, later to Livin' Blues) & Sieb Warner (i.r.l. Siebolt Warntjes - drums, ex-Ricochets, later to Golden Earring). This line-up had a string of hits in The Netherlands during 1965 and 1966 with singles like "Wasted Words" and "It's The Same Old Song". Their first album, "Introduction To The Motions", is considered one of the best albums of the era.

Early 1967, Robbie left to form Shocking Blue and was replaced by Gerard Romeyn (ex-Tee-Set, later with Nico Haak, Image). Late 1967, Henk Smitskamp was ousted in favour of Leo Bennink (ex-Mack and Jay-Jays). A fifth member was found in multi-instrumentalist Jan Vennik (sax, flute & organ, also ex-Jay-Jays, later to Rob Hoeke & Ekseption). When in mid-1968 Gerard Romeyn and Jan Vennik were busted for posession of marijuana and incarcerated, the band took in Paul van Melzen (ex-Haigs, later in the Mailer McKenzie Band) on bass and Bobby Green, (i.r.l. Bob van der Vaart - organ, ex-Bobby Green Selection, also to Fisher & Friends). Bennink switched to guitar. This line up recorded the album "Electric Baby" for Decca in 1969. The band then suffered another setback by the departure of drummer Sieb Warner to rivals Golden Earring (who'd by then just dropped the 's' off Earrings). His replacement was Han Cooper (i.r.l. Han Gordinou de Gouberville). The last line-up of the group (up until 1971) was: Rudy, Leo, Paul, Bobby and Han. They did a few gigs in England and went on a trip to the USA (only playing at The Scene Club in New York), but international success eluded them. They recorded one more album for the Simogram label of supermarket chain Simon de Wit, but split up soon afterwards.

After the breakup, Rudy Bennett, Bobby Green and Gerard Romeyn all released solo singles. Bennett later joined Robbie van Leeuwen in Galaxy Lin. In 1992, The Motions did a one-off reunion gig for Veronica television with the original line-up, joined by Leo Bennink on guitar and keyboards. Rudy Bennett regularly does Golden Oldies gigs with pick-up bands under the moniker of The Motions, often including Leo Bennink. Henk Smitskamp still plays with Willy & his Giants.
Tracks
01. My babe
02. You've hurt yourself
03. My love is growing
04. Hard time blues
05. Late last night
06. Why don't you take it
07. Sittin' on top of the roof
08. Too late to be sorry
09. You can't fight it
10. There's no place to hide
11. Everything that's mine
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Steppeulvene - Hip (1967)

Steppeulvene (Danish language for Steppenwolf) was a Danish rock band which despite its short life has become the icon for the Danish hippie music scene. The name of the group was taken from the 1928 novel Steppenwolf by German Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse. Also in 1967, in California, the band Steppenwolf named itself after the novel.

Their only album Hip (1967) was the first rock album with original Danish lyrics, and has attained near-mythological status in the history of Danish rock.

The group was the result of a collaboration between lead singer Eik Skal?e, who had traveled in the Orient in the early 1960's and wrote the Bob Dylan-inspired, highly symbolic and almost surreal lyrics, and Stig M?ller (guitar, vocal), who wrote the drawling, psychedelic, folk-influenced music. The other members were S?ren Seirup (bass) and Preben Devantier (drums).

A tour in October 1967 came to a chaotic end when a concert was cut short by the police and the group members were arrested for cannabis use. Shortly after being released, Eik Skal?e went on a journey to Afghanistan/Nepal (on the so-called "hippie trail") and was found dead outside the city of Ferozepore near the Indian/Pakistani border in October 1968, apparently after a drug-induced suicide. Back in Denmark the rest of the group attempted to carry on, but, lacking the characteristic Skal?e as a front figure, quickly dissolved
Tracks
A1 Dunhammeraften 5:25
A2 Itsi-bitsi 4:54
A3 Til nashet 5:23
A4 Jensen 6:40
B1 0-0-0 5:02
B2 Lykkens pamfil 5:44
B3 Kvinde kom ud 4:03
B4 Kun for forrykte 5:19
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Donovan - Sunshine Superman (1966)

These recordings mark a distinct change in Donovan's music, representing some of the first psychedelia released. A full rock band backs up Donovan on many of the songs, and the instrumentation has been expanded to include sitar and other unique musical instruments. This change is partially the result of working with producer Mickie Most, whose pop sensibilities led to chart hits for many other artists at the time.

Donovan's lyrics began to encompass his increasing ability to portray "Swinging London" and give listeners an insider's look into the mid-sixties pop scene. He was known to be close to The Beatles and Brian Jones at this time, and he became widely known after "Sunshine Superman" became a chart-topper in the US, and hit #2 in the UK. Donovan's penchant for name-dropping in songs such as "The Trip" and "The Fat Angel" (written for Mama Cass) coupled with his chart success helped elevate him to superstar status. In addition to noting the people in the pop scene, Donovan recorded "Bert's Blues" for his friend and folk music notable Bert Jansch.

Contrasting this modern bent was Donovan's fascination with medieval themes in such songs as "Legend of a Girl Child Linda" (written for Brian Jones' girlfriend Linda Lawrence) and "Guinevere". The rich descriptions of color and environment that Donovan developed in individual songs on Fairytale were now evident throughout his writing.

Several other songs were recorded for Sunshine Superman, but did not make the cut. These include "Museum" (later rerecorded and released on Mellow Yellow), "Superlungs My Supergirl" (later rerecorded and released on Barabajagal) and "Breezes of Patchulie" (originally called "Darkness of My Night" and released on Donovan's 1964 demo collection Sixty Four). The Sunshine Superman recordings of these songs were all included on Troubadour The Definitive Collection 1964–1976.

In the video for the Beatles' "A Day in the Life", a close up of a spinning turntable shows the Epic Records version of Sunshine Superman playing. The film was shot at the recording sessions for the song, which was included on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

A cover version of "The Fat Angel" was recorded, approprietly, by Jefferson Airplane for their 1968 live album Bless Its Pointed Little Head.
Tracks
1.Sunshine Superman (3:14)
2.Legend of a Girl Child Linda (6:51)
3.Three King Fishers (3:15)
4.Ferris Wheel (4:12)
5.Bert's Blues (3:57)
6.Season of the Witch (4:56)
7.The Trip (4:34)
8.Guinevere (3:39)
9.The Fat Angel (4:10)
10.Celeste (4:08)
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Eric Burdon & War - Eric Burdon declares War (1970)

"We the people have declared war against the people for the right to love each other". Personally I prefer the second title, but then record companies can be such picky people. Eric Burdon & War was one of those unstable combinations that throws out sparks and heat even as it heads toward meltdown. Looking back it seems amazing that the team up of a British Blues / rock singer, a freaked out Danish harmonica player and an L.A. - based R & B / Jazz / Latin sextet came together at all. Their mixture of ethnic background & musical influences created a sound that was as hard to classify as exciting as it was to listen too. Eric Burden & War ran that fine line between genius & total excess as their star blazed a fluorescent trail across the musical stratosphere. The brief career only lasted two years & two albums, (1969 - 71) during this brief time together they performed with a sense of daring, risk, imagination, & adventure. "Eric Burdon declares War" was the first & most successful of the two albums, (the other "Black Man's Burdon" being released the following year) recorded after nearly a year of touring, the band went in and laid down what they were playing on stage with very little overdubs & plenty of ad-libbing. The music captures the kinetic inter play between Burdon & his band mates. Their ability to communicate with and improvise off each other gives "Declares War" its power & its glory. The tension between Burdon's unpredictable nature, War's polished instrumental skills, and Lee Oskar's reckless jamming harmonica runs through the music. Burdon was an artist with a definite message, and working with a multi-racial band was part of his statement. "War" wasn't a name to be chosen lightly in 1969 (or now come to that) it acknowledged both cultural & artistic conflicts & challenged audiences to deal with such issues, at least that's my slant looking at the monikers meaning. The free flowing approach of the album starts immediately with first cut "The Vision Of Rassan" with its name checks to Charlie Parker & John Coltrane, this was the bands tribute to jazz reed player Roland Kirk, and wets the musical palate for what is to come. From there, Burdon leads the band into an expanded exploratory version of Tobacco Road, that had previously been a hit for the Nashville Teens, but not much of their version remains as Burdon uses the lyric as a springboard for an odd erotic sermon, nailed down by War's tight supporting play.
The albums best known track "Spill The Wine" is a Latin tinged daydream of a song which became a number 3 in the U.S.A & a number one in the rest of the world. "Mother Earth" an old blues standard gives us the main theme for the 13 minutes of "Blues For Memphis Slim". As the band coasts along, Burdon expounds upon sex, birth, & morality, stepping aside to allow Charles Miller & then Lee Oskar to strut their stuff. The albums concludes with the vocal workout "Your No Stranger" a nice return to normality after what has gone before. The following year the partnership dissolved, fortunately the music they recorded survives, a remarkable combination of divergent ancestries and united talents. review courtesy Mott the Dog.
Tracks
1. Vision of Rasson: Dedication / Roll On Kirk
2. Tobacco Road: Tobacco Road / I Have A Dream / Tobacco Road
3. Spill the Wine
4. Blues For Memphis Slim: Birth / Mother Earth / Mr. Charlie / Danish Pastry / Mother Earth
5. You're No Stranger
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