Monday, January 21, 2008
Dick Dale - Unknown Territory (1994)
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Merseybeats - The Merseybeats (1964)
The Fourmost - First and Fourmost (1965)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Arcadium - Breathe Awhile (1969)

Arcadium was another list of obscure British psychedelic bands. They had their start playing at such clubs as The Middle Earth (where every act you can imagine from well known, like Pink Floyd, to little known acts like Writing on the Wall, Wooden O, and Tam White were seen performing there). A small label called Middle Earth, who released only five albums, (one being a compilation called Earthed, another by Writing on the Wall called The Power of the Picts which I have reviewed here) released Breathe Awhile their one and only LP.
The band consisted of (presumably) brothers Allan Ellwood (organ, vocals) and Robert Ellwood (lead guitar, vocals), as well as John Albert Parker (drums), Graham Best (bass, vocals), and Miguel Sergides (12-string guitar, vocals). The music is late '60s British psychedelia with some early prog leanings, where guitar and Hammond organ dominates. NEXT:
Bonus tracks
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Zombies - BIG BEAT (the Decca stereo anthology)
Original Release Date: 1964
Disc 1
01-It's Alright With Me
02-She's Not There
03-You Make Me Feel Good
04-Summertime
05-Woman
The Zombies - Begin Here (1964)
Led by Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals, the band scored US hits in the mid- and late-1960s with "She's Not There", "Tell Her No," and "Time of the Season." Although they never rose to the prominence of other British invasion bands, The Zombies are a favourite of music critics for their sophisticated, jazz-inspired musical arrangements and vocal harmonies.[citation needed] Their 1967 album Odessey and Oracle, comprising twelve songs by the group's principal songwriters, Argent and Chris White, now considered one of the best of its time, is ranked 80 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.... NEXT:
And The Zombies Fan Page.....
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LP
1964 Begin Here
1968 Odessey And Oracle
1991 New World2004 As Far As I Can See
2005 Live At Bloomsbury Theatre, London
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01 - Road Runner
02 - Summertime
03 - I Can't Make Up My Mind
04 - The Way I Feel Inside
05 - Work 'n' Play
06 - You've Really Got A Hold on Me
07 - She's Not There
08 - Sticks And Stones
09 - Can't Nobody Love You
10 - Woman
11 - I Don't Want To Know
12 - I Remember When I Loved Her
13 - What More Can I Do
14 - I Got My Mojo Working
15 - It's Alright With Me
16 - Sometimes
17 - Kind Of Girl
18 - Tell Her No
Aphrodite's Child - It's Five O'Clock - 1969
Back in Paris Vangelis prepares the release of another single, "I want to live", an arrangement of the song "Plaisir' d'amour". The release of the single in June is another big success in Europe, especially in France and Holland.
The success of the album "End of the world" calls for the release of another, so Vangelis, Demis and Lucas go back into the studio. What did not seem possible a year before now finally happens, the three Greeks, still astonished with their sudden success travel to London to record their next album "It's five o'clock" in the Trident Studios.
The first single from this album "Let me love, let me live", released in October 1969 rises to a number one position in the French charts, but it is the B-side "Marie Jolie" that is most popular in the rest of Europe. The title track "It's five o'clock" quickly follows the same path, released in December 1969 it does well in the charts of many European countries.

Aphrodite's Child - End Of The World - 1968
Vangelis Papathanassiou - keyboards, vocals
Demis Roussos - vocals, bass
Loukas Sideras - drums, vocals
Anargyros Koulouris - guitars (1971-1972)
All members of Aphrodite's Child had been playing in different local groups before moving to Paris. Most notably Vangelis Papathanassiou already formed a highly successful band during his high school years, The Forminx (1963 to 1966), while Demis Roussos has been part of bands such as "The Idols" and "We five".
During 1967 Vangelis and Demis form an ensemble together with Lucas Sideras (drums) and Argyris Koulouris (guitars), sometimes referred to as "The Papathanassiou Set". It is during this time that the group plays with local artists as Ricardo Credi and Vilma Ladopoulou. Trying to make a name for themselves, they record a demo with two songs, "Plastics nevermore" and "The other people". Impressed with the demo, Philips Records in Greece proposes to have the group try their luck in England...

Their first single "Rain and tears", based on a Canon by Pachelbel and released in May 1968, immediately strikes gold and becomes a huge hit. The song plays in France during the student riots, and is an instant success in France and other countries in Europe. Due to the success of the single it is time to record their first album "End of the world". The title song of the album, released in October 1968, becomes their second single. A third single "Valley of sadness" is also shortly issued in France, but that is quickly withdrawn .... NEXT
Monday, January 07, 2008
The Archies - Absolutely the Best of
The Archies play a variety of contemporary popular music, consistent with the era in which the comic is drawn. They seem to have a preference for rock and roll, however.
Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge later also joined the group. Every member sings vocals, with Jughead handling the bass voice on a few tracks.
The roles the teens play in the fictional band were:
Archie - Lead Guitar
Reggie - Second Guitar (or Bass Guitar; see below)
Jughead - Drums
Betty - Tambourine/Percussion/Guitar (occasional)
Veronica - Organ/Keyboard
Hot Dog - mascot
A set of studio musicians were assembled by Don Kirshner in 1968 to perform various songs. The most famous is "Sugar, Sugar", written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, which went to #1 on the pop chart in 1969 and earned the group a gold record (in fact, in Billboard magazine's Hot 100, it was ranked as the number one song of that year, the only time a fictional band has ever claimed Billboard's annual Hot 100 top-spot). Other Top Forty songs recorded by The Archies include "Who's Your Baby?," "Bang-Shang-A-Lang," and "Jingle Jangle."...----> NEXT : and ----> MORE :
Saturday, January 05, 2008
The Applejacks - TELL ME WHEN

Tell Me When/Baby Jane Like Dreamers Do/Everybody Fall Down Three Little Words/You're The One For Me Chim Chim Cheree/It's Not A Game AnymoreIt's Not A Game Anymore/Bye Bye GirlI Go To Sleep/Make Up Or Break UpI'm Through/We Gotta Get TogetherYou've Been Cheating/Love Was In My Eyes
At the end of that year Joe invited Mike Smith an A&R man, along to the Civic Hall in Solihull to see them perform. Mike was also impressed and in January the groups first single 'Tell Me When' was released.The disc went right to the top of the charts and caused a number of problems for the group.Gerry, Al, Martin and Don were called before their headmaster and were asked to make a choice, continue with their studies or leave school to embark on a pop career. The boys made a decision to turn professional and the rest followed
This photo was taken after the group were filmed for the 1964 pop film 'Just for You'. The film featured a DJ, Sam Costa who reclining on a bed, called up his favourite pop hits onto a strange type of projection screen. The film was released after the Applejacks had had great success with 'Tell me when'. It included other 60's groups in a compilation, a forerunner to the pop video of today.


The Applejacks became very popular with the many fans of beat music and were booked solidly to appear throughout 1964 at dance halls all over the country. They had a road manager which was a luxury in those days to drive then between gigs, their personal manager Arthur Smith handled all the correspondence from their many live TV appearances and shows. The Applejacks were in heavy demand for TV work, appearing on shows such as 'Ready Steady Go, Top of the Pops, Thank your lucky stars', and many more. Their popularity was greatest in the venues of the major cities of London and Birmingham but they ensured that appearances were given throughout the country to support their recordings.
The group, formed in Solihull in 1961, were originally known as The Crestas and then The Jaguars. At that time the band consisted of Phil Cash (born October 9, 1947), Martin Baggot (born October 20, 1947), Gerald Freeman (born May 24, 1947) and Megan Davies (born March 25, 1944); all members of the 1st Olton Scouts Troop. By the end of 1961, keyboarder Don Gould (born March 23, 1947) was also added to the line-up. As they had no singer, they played instrumental songs by groups like The Shadows and Tornados. Singer Al Jackson (Harry Llewellyn - born April 21, 1945) joined in 1962 and The Applejacks soon became a popular attraction with a regular residency at Solihull Civic Hall. They played a lot of American style rock 'n' roll; Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles etc. and were unusual for the time in having a female bass guitarist.
The Applejacks were signed up by talent scouts from the Decca Record Company in late 1963 and in February of 1964 they released their first single Tell Me When which was composed by songwriters Les Reed and former school teacher Geoff Stephens. The record was a brilliant and catchy composition and fitted the times perfectly, peaking at number 7 and remaining in the charts for 13 weeks. Some of the band members were still going to school at the time! The success of the single brought TV appearances on shows like Ready Steady Go! and Thank Your Lucky Stars where the Applejacks became friends with the Beatles who they met during a rehearsal.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney provided the Applejacks with a song Like Dreamers Do (one of the earliest Lennon/McCartney compositions) and the group recorded this with it being released as the follow up single. The Applejacks provided an excellent interpretation of the song and to their credit, used their own arrangement rather than just "copying" the Beatles demo. Hopes were high as recordings of Beatles compositions by other artists had proven successful but despite this, the Applejacks version of Like Dreamers Do only reached No. 20 in the record charts.
1964 proved to be a very busy year for The Applejacks. The group appeared in the British pop music film "Just For You" which also featured Freddie and The Dreamers and Peter and Gordon. In addition to regular TV apperances, The Applejacks performed live on the coveted New Musical Express annual poll winners concert at Wembley. Perhaps even more memorable was when Megan Davies and drummer Gerry Freeman were married in a highly publicized wedding that was attended by hundreds of screaming local teenagers.
The Applejacks recorded an album for Decca Records under the direction of future Gary Glitter producer Mike Leander. This self-titled album had a simple yet refreshing production style which suited the group well but unfortunately it did not sell enough copies to make the album charts. A new Applejacks single was also released but the awkward Three Little Words stalled at No. 23 and was to be their last showing in the record charts. Other singles were recorded and released but even a very good version of The Kinks I Go To Sleep could not halt the group's chart decline.
By 1966, The Applejacks had accepted a lucrative contract in cabaret to perform on board the luxury Trans-Atlantic ocean liners R.M.S. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I and II. Although a good move for the band financially, the engagements served to isolate them from their fans and make the promotion of any new records by the group all but impossible.
After being dropped by Decca the Applejacks faded from the scene, but their place in Brumbeat history is assured as they were the first local group to make a big impact on the national record charts.
Singles:
Tell Me When/Baby Jane (Decca F 11916) 1964 (7)
Like Dreamers Do/Everybody Fall Down (Decca F 11916) 1964 (20)
Three Little Words/You're The One (Decca F 11981) 1964 (23)
Chim Chim Chiree/It's Not A Game Anymore (Decca F 12050) 1965 (withdrawn)
It's Not A Game Anymore/Bye Bye Girl (Decca F 12106) 1965
I Go To Sleep/Make Up Or Break Up (Decca F 12216) 1965
I'm Through/We Gotta Get Together (Decca F 12301) 1965
You've Been Cheating/Love Was In My Eyes (CBS 202615) 1967
Album:
The Applejacks (Decca LK 4635) 1964
The Applejacks on Wikipedia