Saturday, August 26, 2006

Well I got three up today..better than nuthin' I guess

I will be adding albums as I am able, so more fun is in store!!!!

Here's a great proggy-rock album from Skin Alley called 2 Quid Deal. And seeing as they were on the Stax label in 1973 that's probably the deal they got too. Stax, primarily a soul label based in Memphis Tennesee, was way out of their element in releasing this one, and I've seen more white label promos of this LP than standard stock copies. Also it didn't help that the label was on it's last legs by this time, the top artists were either dead or out of vogue with the record buying public in the early to mid 70's. So with 2 strikes against the band (a third being progressive rock in general had no real U.S. following unless they had the names Yes or Emerson Lake & Palmer). They released this fantastic album that basically didn't get heard.
The album I have ripped (a U.S. promo copy of course) is a bit worse for wear but still very listenable. I have dug this LP ever since I first took a chance on it (who could refuse that cover?) for a couple bucks at a used store in the mid nineties. Not a bad track in the bunch and standouts (to my eardrums) are Graveyard Shuffle and the Demoagouge. Brillinat stuff!!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/30824859/SKAL-2QUDE.rar

LIQUID SMOKE - same (Avco Embassy)

Kinda of a bummer on this one. The first track, a cover of I Who Have Nothing, luckily for me the weakest track among the bunch, had a skipping problem I just could not fix. If you want it, this is for sale right now on ebay for the budget price of 60 damn dollars. I got mine for .50 at a flea market a few years back and I'll take the 59.50 discount for the skips on track one. It could be fixed, because the all the parts are there (listen to figure that one out). I wonder if the Black Crowes heard the version of Hard to Handle on here because their version sounds awful close. But on this album it's the originals that are the best, with some nice fuzzy rippin' guitar and cool organ runs. Give it a shot.



Which came first? The album came out in 1971.














http://rapidshare.de/files/30890710/LS-LS.rar




A band called Nutz. Hmmmm.......... An album called Hard Nutz. Double hmmmm. But actually this is some pretty cool hard rock with interesting production. The guitars sound like they are put through every effects box known to man all at the same time. Seems like the band is going for a heavy Queen vibe at times, especially with the background vocals but, at other times it's a more straightforward hard rock vibe. Only one downside to this was the bass heavy production, which is a bit strange considering the painstaking state of art sound they got otherwise. Well, just decrease the bottom end and you'll have a cool hard LP (for '77 anyways).
Enjoy, back with more tomorrow and will finally get the liveandotherwise blog updated too.








Friday, August 25, 2006

Where have I been?

Yes, I know. Lax as hell, I am. I have a pretty good excuse. My friggin' back hurts. But here I am again to molest your ears with some groovy psychedelic ditties guaranteed to grow hair in places you just don't want it to.


We'll start slowly. Here is the American Revolution's sole LP from 1968. I had wanted to hear this puppy for years. I got ahold of a copy a year or so ago and let's just I was mildly disappointed. I had heard such good things. Never been told it was a monster or anything like that, but still I had my hopes up. So I will leave it at this: if you like bubble gum psych from the acid capital of the U.S.A. (yes, Wisconsin, just ask Hyde) you will be on cloud nine. If you like wild trippy fuzz fests then move on down the page, and I might be able to help you out.


http://rapidshare.de/files/30688487/thAm_Re_-_sa_68_.rar



Now we're getting closer to the type of stuff that makes my quest for all things psych worth the trouble. This here is the American Dream (rather have a Dream than a Revolution anyways). Produced by this cat named Todd (Rundgren), and released on Ampex in 1970, this has a sound kinda similar to Todd's band the Nazz (Todd sures loves that phase shifting) but I find I am reminded of a bit of Spirit here and there also. Good News, Big Brother and I Ain't Searchin' are faves, but what the hell is a Credemphels?!?!?!?






http://rapidshare.de/files/30692054/Am_Dr_-_sa_70_.rar


Now here is a platter done just the way I like it. You put this thing on whatever listening device you have handy, and the first track is this raga drum type thing, maybe. Okay pretty cool. Then the band does this sappy love shit and you say boo fuckity hoo, but before you can remove the pollution from your airspace, WHAM, here comes a freakout from the nether region of Xyplopagus (wherever the hell that is) and you start diggin' it again, then bam, more peace and love bs and you get disgusted and start for the device again, BOOM the drummer's acid kicked in and he goes off for a moment. That's the way this album goes, keeps you off balance in such a great way. Some of the songs segway into each other and you'll notice that I left some that way in my rip. Actual track list is below. I guess I needn't mention I luv this album, do I?

1-Birdsong
2-Witch Helen
3-Have You Seen Them Cry
4-Lake Of Sand
5-State of Confusion
6-Golden Lion
7-Pioneer Saint of Death
8-the Resurrection
9-Demian
10-So It Seems
11-Suite Classical #1

http://rapidshare.de/files/30698651/BloPe_-_sa_68_.rar



For Bigfoot Kit, who shared an album I was desperately searching for, is Good Rats From Rats to Riches. This has gotta be their hardest rocking album (all are worth hearing) and probably the one I dig out the most. I wore a cassette of this one out back in the eighties! Not my rip and I have no idea where I got it so thanks to you, o' sharer of great tunes.









http://rapidshare.de/files/30693721/GR-FRTR.rar


And with Kit's permission I give you the great Captain Beyond tribute, with a killer version of Dancing Madly Backwards by Pentagram, and supremely cool cuts by Flower Kings, Locomotive Breath and many others. It is the first album done track by track and then has a few bonus cuts at the end. Thanks to Bigfoot Kit for this and no thanks to the asshead that stole my CD of it!!


http://rapidshare.de/files/29543795/A_TRIBUTE_TO_CAPTAIN_BEYOND_-_A_Thousand_Days_Of_Yesterdays.rar

Back later tonight or tomorrow with Hard Nutz, Liquid Smoke, 2 quid Deal by Skin Alley and more. Gonna update that live blog of mine too!!! Yippeee!!!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Here's one I forgot to post from a long time ago

I was going through my rapidshare links I noticed this hadn't been downloaded in a long while, so I checked and I had never posted it here (at least I don't think I did).

So here is the first album from Ginger Baker's Airforce.



http://rapidshare.de/files/17953279/GBAF_-_1st_-_Pt.1.rar

http://rapidshare.de/files/17953911/GBAF_-_1st_-_Pt.2.rar


And also some wonderful folks out there in blogsville are adding my links to their rapidshare link folders (curse rapidshare for coming up with that horrid idea) and passing them around and links are being killed off. It's not that many (7 so far) so if you happen to click a dead link please let me know so I can remove the old link and I will get a new one added. Most of them seem to be fairly deep into the archive so basically unless you are new here, it's not a real big problem and nothing I'm going to fret about.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Jim Dandy sez---let life be good to you


Hands down my favorite studio album from Dandy Jim and the boys. Only a couple weak tracks here and most are fairly original and energetic compared to some of their studio stuff. Back Door Man was the closest they ever came to a hit and Fancy Nancy, Cryan' Shame and Let Life Be Good To You should have been big.



http://rapidshare.de/files/28831925/BlOaAr-Alg.rar









From 1976 here's Focus' Ship of Memories. A fairly good one from these guys since by a friend.






http://rapidshare.de/files/28783771/FoShOMe.rar










Always dug Roy and this album is a pretty tasty platter of his guitar licks.





http://rapidshare.de/files/28788302/Loading_Zone.rar



Some early Genesis. From 1972 here's Foxtrot. This is the definitive remastered edition (or so says the cover of it). It's done in 320k.






http://rapidshare.de/files/28790864/g-fxtt_-dre.rar


http://rapidshare.de/files/28793019/g-fxtt-dre_p2.rar






Also from a friend here's Blue Cheer's first LP Vincebus Eruptum.





http://rapidshare.de/files/28803905/BC-VE.rar











And also from an anon source is Caravan's Songs For Oblivious Fisherman.



http://rapidshare.de/files/28780062/CarvSoObFi.rar






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And from Bruce here are some more cool albums plus a track that was left off of one from the other day.




Download-Link: http://rapidshare.de/files/28817626/love_out_here_pt_2.rar.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/28816863/love_out_here.rar.html

links for out here by LOVE. in my opinion this has the the best version of "Signed D.C." the version on the 1st lp is shorter.

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Here's the missing Gravy Train track.

http://rapidshare.de/files/29162672/Gravy_Train_-_1974_Staircase_to_the_Day_-_04_-

_Staircase_To_The_Day.rar.html

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And also from Bruce:

this is the band "ollie and the gogos' they were a band from penn. around 1966. they recorded one 45 and were a regional success. i am freinds with one of the band members and made him this cd. it has the single and all unrealesed. this cd has never seen the light of day other than a couple people. larry has had quite a long career in the music buisness with several hit songs and populare tv theme songs. freddy barnett played in a number of bands over the years. this is deffinity low fi. but it has that feel of a band trying to make way back when. the band did have a reunion last year playing several shows in the penn. area.



http://rapidshare.de/files/28832106/OLLIE.rar.html


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Saturday, August 05, 2006

Wow....more stuff.


Lots of fun stuff this evening. Here is a Canadian band I don't know a whole lot about except this LP was released in 1970, it was produced by Jack Richardson who produced a lot of rock back in the 70's, and it varies between sunshine pop songs and harder rock with some blazing fuzzed leads on other numbers. Guess which my favorites are? Although you can't see it here mine has a neat-o gweet-o silvery metallic cover like the Silver Apples 1st album (and Steppenwolf's 1st on some editions).


http://rapidshare.de/files/28346653/N-st_70.rar






And a 180 degree brings us to Zebra's first album from 1983. These guys were marketed as the next Zep back in the early hair metal daze. Randy Jackson was a member of a Zep tribute band before this group, and he does pull off more than a few Percyisms from time to time throughout the 35 or so minutes of this platter. Most people want this for the two huge FM staples "Who's Behind the Door?" and "Tell Me Want You Want" but really the first five songs are great proggy hard rock. The last 4 are not as good in my opinion but when my friends and I were wearing out my vinyl copy of this we never got past side one most of the time, so it may be a case of giving them "One More Chance". By request, but I can't remember who, sorry!

http://rapidshare.de/files/28353323/Z_83-1.rar



A great garage album in my opinion, in fact one of the few I can stomach listening to all the way through is this slab of tex-mex zaniness from the frat-rock days of 1966. These guys wrote more than the average amount of original material, which is why I think it scores more points with me. But the covers aren't bad either, Stormy Monday being a great blues raver that comes to mind. So here in all it's mono glory is Question Mark & the Mysterian's Cameo long player 96 Tears. WARNING: This one is recorded from vinyl and there are a few pops at the beginning's of a couple songs. The tracks are numbered 11-22, but 11 is actually 1 and so on.



http://rapidshare.de/files/28347714/QMM-NST.rar




These (or at least In the Garden) were posted on another blog that went kaput so I decided to upload them and post them on mine. These are the first 2 albums from the underrated band Gypsy (AKA: James Walsh Gypsy Band).
They are proggy, bouncing between hard and soft and are both all around solid LPs. Mine are the Bedrock CD reissues that came out in the mid to late 90's.











http://rapidshare.de/files/28350460/G-FAP1.rar

http://rapidshare.de/files/28351720/G-FAP2.rar



Here's In the Garden, (obviously) the 2nd album.















http://rapidshare.de/files/28349253/G-ITG.rar



Okay, this is the cover of the original LP, but what I have for your enjoyment is MUCH better. I couldn't find the cover anywhere but it is a compilation with the same title from Edsel records UK back in '87. It removes many of the so-so tracks from the album pictured at left (like the lackluster Who covers) and replaces them with some really great single sides and turns a two star album into a five star album, so to speak. This comp has the hit of course, but also has the very psychedelic "Merry Go Round" and "Contrast" (a single that followed the album) both of which are favorites of mine. Yes they stole that middle section of "Psychotic Reaction" straight from the Yardbirds, but these guys had a few original moves too. Check 'em out. (p.s._the orig. is posted at another blog, I think Green Fuz).


http://rapidshare.de/files/28345254/C5-PR.rar

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And Bruce sent some more cool stuff to share.

Bill Mummy's Paradora's Box (this album came out before the previous one Bruce sent)

http://rapidshare.de/files/28212505/mumy.rar.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/28211956/Pandora_s_Box.rar.html

Big Brother - How Hard It Is

http://rapidshare.de/files/28098135/bib_brother.rar.html

Gravy Train - Staircase to the Day

http://rapidshare.de/files/28209800/staircase_to_the_day.rar.html

As always, thanks very much Bruce!!!

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


The first of several requests I'm working on. This one was real easy (I have the CD) and it's not the kind of music I usually post here, but I like it, and maybe some others will too! The original album came out sometime around 1980 on the Elektra label and these guys were marketed as another "Cars". The Bob Ezrin production of the the album was quite similar to Roy Thomas Baker's handling of that other somewhat similar group. They had a modest hit with "Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" and were deemed new wave. The skinny tie set took to them, but only briefly as their second album Amazon Beach stiffed and the U.S. heard nothing further from the Kings. But apparently the band did do some other stuff, 5 examples are included on this expanded CD which came out in Canada in 1999.


http://rapidshare.de/files/27976753/kaham.rar


And a friend of the blog, Maris sent me some great Max Webster-Kim Mitchell stuff along with permission to share with everyone here. I especially recommend Kim Mitchell's Akimbo Alogo, but all are worthy of a listen as Kim and Max Webster are definetly a great underrated hard rock band.

Max Webster - A Million Vacations

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q64OAFT3

Kim Mitchell - Akimbo Alogo

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JNDXJKLR

Kim Mitchell - Itch

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H714WY7O

Kim Mitchell - S/T Ep

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSNUM5OD

Kim Mitchell - Shakin' Like a Human Being

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NEJBTI1T

And finally over at the liveandotherwise blog which I have been neglecting lately:
Genesis from 1978, the Doors from 1970, and a great Van Halen demo set and 8 disc Marc Bolan/T.Rex set sent from another friend.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Back to business......

Hello again everyone. Let's get back to what started this stinkin' blog in the first place. Music. I am going to hold off on starting a forum for right now, as 3 have popped up in the last couple days and oversaturation is a thing we don't need. Let's see how these other ones progress. Thanks to everyone who offered to lend a hand and trust I will keep you in mind if things pan out to where starting a forum would be a benefit.

Thanks also to those who responded favorable to my Friday post. I couldn't respond to everyone and the emails were real nice too, I will get back to all who emailed (that I haven't already) in short order.

For now here are a couple nuggets for your downloading pleasure. My usual ripper, that I love dearly has disappeared from my computer (did some bios updates and reg edits, and I think I accidentally removed it) and I am using a freeware one til I can dig out my software to relaod it so this is an appetite whetter of what will be a smokin' update (maybe later today, tomorrow at the latest) with some requests and some surprises.




More Groundhogs, from 1970 here is Thank Christ For the Bomb. Still has some of the psych leanings like split but edging away from it slowly. Still an excellent album from Tony and the boys.




http://rapidshare.de/files/27754397/g-tcftb_70.rar















From 1972 here is Who Will Save the World--The Mighty Groundhogs. Love that cover!!! And the music ain't bad either. Starting to move into their mid-period hard rockin' sound on this one.






http://rapidshare.de/files/27756408/g-wwstwtmg_72.rar










Great later period Rory, Fresh Evidence is from 1990 and was self produced. My version is the original IRS release and this is the cover for that one. It was reissued with a close up head shot after Rory's death.






http://rapidshare.de/files/27759095/RG-FE.rar







Found this at a CD shop over the weekend and just decided to throw it up. This according to the very shabby liners is a live document, venues and dates unlisted of early Hawkwind. Not great sound quality, but far from horrendous, and decent versions of some early stuff here.










http://rapidshare.de/files/27752389/HW-ITB.rar


For right now that's all from me, but Bruce has sent some great stuff to share with everyone and I'll reprint what he sent along with the files. I did find one cover that wasn't included and have posted it here.

Hunger - same

http://rapidshare.de/files/27442467/hunger.rar.html


about the band
According to members of the band, Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King volunteered to re-arrange some of the material and contribute his lead guitar in the preparation of a new master. The results were truly stunning, and the remastered Hunger! album was immediately put into production and scheduled for release... but halted after only a handful of vinyl test pressings were made. This is the album reissued on the Void label, licensed from the band, that is highly recommended.
King's influence is most obvious on the opening track, Colors - transformed from a bouncy pop song (2'00") on the Strictly From Hunger album to a wicked hard rocker ala Steppenwolf with amazing dual lead guitar parts (now stretching to 3'35"). Portland '69 follows, this time radically remixed (i.e., it's the same recording, but hardly recognisable!) and what is a rather laboured instrumental on the Strictly From Hunger album is now a brutal tour-de-force that builds to an incredible intensity. The remaining tracks are remade and/or remodeled as well, rendering the released vesion obsolete. Really, this is the Hunger! album to have, and had it been issued at the time, the band may well have survived into the seventies.
Bill Daffern left the band in 1969, which may be the reason the remastered album wasn't released - his distinctive lead vocals (heard on She Let Him Continue and No Shame) were part of the Hunger! sound from day one. He was replaced on drums by Gene Gunnels of the Strawberry Alarm Clock, and this final line-up played a few gigs before the band split for good.

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Love - A Product of Our Times (live bootleg)

a great live recording of love with art work. this is a nice boot i picked up last summer on the cape

http://rapidshare.de/files/27601709/love_live.rar.html

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next is kind of a oddity its billy mumy " will from lost in space" i just picked this up. he plays all instruments. i have heard his barns and barns but never any serious music by him. i was impressed king of a rural rocky sound. thought it was worth passing along i have never seen any of his stuff posted.

http://rapidshare.de/files/27443004/mumy_lis.rar.html