The Tornados - Telstar: The Complete Tornados 1962-1966 (2CD)

One of the saddest stories in rock & roll history surrounds the Tornados, an instrumental group from Britain. Although there were other groups with the same name (see listing for their surf-band American counterparts), this batch of Tornados were the creation of British producer Joe Meek. 

Meek was England's first independent producer, being equal parts Thomas Edison, Phil Spector, and Ed Wood. An inveterate tinkerer, he designed his own compression units and microphone pre-amps, giving his productions their own distinct sound. Setting up a homemade studio in a three-story flat on Holloway Road in London, Meek pioneered such recording techniques as close miking of instruments, distortion, his aforementioned trademark compression, loud drums fortified by percussion from pocket combs, milk bottles, and stomping the floorboards himself. He put together the original Tornados in late 1961 as a studio session group, its original lineup consisting of Alan Caddy and George Bellamy on guitars, Roger LaVern on organ, Heinz Burt on bass, and Clem Cattini on drums. After one single flopped, Meek had the group do one of his compositions, an instrumental called "Telstar." Utilizing willful distortion, cheap tape echo, beeping satellite sound effects, a cheesy-sounding Clavioline (a two-octave keyboard powered by a battery), and massive amounts of tube compression, the resulting production sounded like nothing else at the time, or since. It became the first number one record on the American charts by a British rock group and ended up selling five million copies worldwide. It should have made Meek a millionaire and the Tornados a household name. But a French copyright infringement suit kept all royalties tied up for six years, and the Tornados were kept from touring the United States behind their international hit due to a contract employing them as a backup group to U.K. pretty boy Billy Fury. By the time the dust settled, the Tornados had gone hitless for several years, and so had Joe Meek. After numerous personnel changes, the original members scattered to various groups, Heinz Burt starting his own solo career and Cattini becoming a British session mainstay of producer Shel Talmy. The copyright infringement suit was ruled in Meek's favor six years later, a year after he had blown his face off with a hunting rifle after murdering his landlady, ending his life in his beloved but debt-ridden studio.

Telstar: The Complete Tornados

CD1

1. The Tornados - Love And Fury (2:40)

2. The Tornados - Popeye Twist (2:29)

3. The Tornados - Telstar (3:17)

4. The Tornados - Jungle Fever (2:16)

5. The Tornados - Globetrotter (2:41)

6. 06 Locomotion With Me

7. 07 Robot

8.  Life On Venus

9. The Ice Cream Man

10.  Theme From The Scales Of Justice

11. Dragonfly

12.  Hymn For Teenagers

13.  Hot Pot

14.  Joystick

15. Monte Carlo

16.  Blue, Blue, Blue Beat

17.  Exodus

18.  Blackpool Rock

19.  Granada

20.  Ragunboneman

21. Early Bird

22.  Stompin' Through The Rye

23.  Stingray

24.  Aqua Marina

25.  Pop-Art Goes Mozart

26.  Too Much In Love To Her

27.  Is That A Ship I Hear 

28. Do You Come Here Often

CD2

1. Tornados - Dreamin' On A Cloud (2:01)

2. Tornados - Red Roses And A Sky Of Blue (2:23)

3. Tornados - Earthy (1:59)

4. Tornados - Ridin' The Wind (2:58)

5. Tornados - Chasing Moonbeams (1:40)

6. Tornados - 06 - Theme From A Summer Place

7. Tornados - 07 - Swinging Beefeater

8. Tornados - 08 - The Breeze And I

9. Tornados - 09 - Ready Teddy

10. Tornados - 10 - My Babe

11. Tornados -  Blue Moon Of Kentucky

12. Tornados -- Long Tall Sally

13. Tornados - 13 - All The Stars In The Sky

14. Tornados - 14 - Indian Brave

15. Tornados - 15 - Flycatcher

16. Tornados - 16 - Dreams Do Come True

17. Tornados - 17 - Lullaby For Giulia

18. Tornados - 18 - Costa Monger

19. Tornados - 19 - Lonely Paradise

20. Tornados - 20 - Chatanooga Choo Choo

21. Tornados - 21 - Rip It Up

22. Tornados - 22 - Alan's Tune

23. Tornados - 23 - Cootenanny

24. Tornados - 24 - Night Rider

25. Tornados - 25 - Life On Venus

26. Tornados - 26 - Telstar

27. Tornados - 27 - Red Rocket

Fifty-five Tornados tracks on two CDs may be 53 more than most casual listeners need, but this double-disc set justifies itself in the listening. To most Americans, and even most Britons, the Tornados were one-hit wonders, responsible for "Telstar" and not much else, but as this set shows, they did come up with some cool sounds and tunes under the guidance of producer/manager Joe Meek. "Robot" is nearly as pretty a tune as "Telstar" (it also charted in England at No. 17), and it sounds fresh, as something not nearly as widely heard for 36 years; "Life On Venus," the B-side, is a very close second, almost a "son of Telstar." "Ice Cream Man" was another British chart single, and offers the spectacle of Meek and the Tornados applying a Bo Diddley beat to their trademark sound. Other highlights include lots of television themes, both material for actual use on the air and the group's covers of such as material as "Stringray" and "Aqua Marina" from the sci-fi kids' show Stringray. The material extends right into 1964 and the band's attempts to compete in the area of vocal records, when it became clear that the public wasn't too interested in instrumental rock & roll anymore. The annotation includes a beautifully detailed essay by Chris Welch, with extensive interview material on drummer Clem Cattini (the longest-tenured member of the Tornados) and Cattini's recollections on each of the tracks here. In the end, there's more to the Tornados' sound and history than most of us knew, all revealed here.

HOUR GLASS - Southbound (1969)

Chances are that the Hour Glass' two albums would never have been reissued, but for the fact that the group was formed by Duane and Gregg Allman out of the ruins of their first full-time band, the Allman Joys; additionally, its lineup featured future Capricorn Records star record producers Johnny Sandlin on drums and Paul Hornsby on organ and piano. And that would also be a bit unfair, because the Hour Glass were an above-average white soul group -- no Allman Brothers Band by a long shot, at least on their recordings, but an imposing outfit. 

Originally named the Allman-Act (a pun on "almanac"), they got an audition with Liberty Records with help from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and a recording contract resulted. There was also a name change to the Hour Glass. Unfortunately, it turned out that Liberty was primarily interested in Gregg Allman as a lead singer, and did its best to dress up the group's recordings with layer upon layer of production, including a full horn section and a soul chorus. The resulting debut album didn't sound a lot like the group, although it was polished and often effective white Southern soul, sometimes crossing paths with the sounds later heard from Elvis' glorious Indian Summer period on the From Elvis in Memphis album, which was still two years away. Other moments, such as "Silently," fit more easily into the languid pop-psychedelic spirit of 1967. 

Amid this over-production, there wasn't a lot of the actual Hour Glass on the album, and not much in the way of sales success. By the time of their second album, Power of Love, the band's lineup had changed, with Pete Carr, a friend of Sandlin and company from Pensacola, FL, replacing Mabron McKinney on bass. This time out, they were given a freer hand in choosing the songs that went onto the new album, which gave it a bluesier feel than its predecessor. The Hour Glass still wielded virtually no control in the studio in terms of how the songs were arranged or recorded, but elements of their sound slipped through. Gregg Allman also wrote a couple of songs during this period, one of which, "It's Not My Cross to Bear," would turn up later on the Allman Brothers Band's debut album. Unfortunately, the Hour Glass' best moments were nowhere near the studio sessions where these two albums had been recorded but, rather, at the long jams they played at the Whisky a Go Go. 

They made an attempt to record an album of their own, putting together demos for a proposed third release at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL -- they also cut a handful of tracks, most notably a B.B. King medley featuring Duane Allman out in front which, although not adequate from a commercial standpoint, did show off his playing in the studio better than any records up to that time. Liberty Records had no interest in the resulting tapes or in doing a third album, the first two having stiffed, and the band broke up soon after. Gregg and Duane tried playing in a band with their friend Butch Trucks, called the 31st of February, but Gregg headed back to California while Duane remained in Florida. 

Although Liberty rejected the results of the Muscle Shoals sessions, they ended up benefiting all concerned in a far more roundabout fashion. Duane Allman's playing on those tracks led to a contract for session work at Fame, where he got to play on records by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and King Curtis, and was heard by manager Phil Walden and persuaded to form a new band. The rest, as they say, is history.

Green - Green (1969)

It had to happen sooner or later. All of the 60s psych albums that were completely dismissed and ignored for about thirty years are finally being re-evaluated.

 Most sucked then and suck now, but for a variety of reasons a few lost albums, most of which are much more interesting than the old standbys, are beginning to get their due. It wasn’t until the early 90s that all of the psych albums on the Mainstream label became hot commodities. Psych fans always scoffed at pop albums (at least the ones with no Curt Boettcher involvement), but finally a bunch of straightforward but good pop-psych albums are becoming desirable. And while it may seem that there’s an unlimited supply of obscure private press albums out there, sometimes it’s easier to take a look at a few major label albums that you passed by because they were too “easy.” 

The self-titled album by Green is a perfect example of a recent rediscovery. One can only guess why nobody noticed such a terrific record. Was it because it was so difficult to categorize? Was it because their more well-known second album was so bad that nobody bothered to go back and listen to the first? Was it because so many dealers and collectors are indiscriminate horn-haters and didn’t dare listen to it after seeing the credits on the back cover? While I’m asking, why is it that every album with a cover shot of the artist in and around a big tree (i.e. Karen Beth’s JOYS OF LIFE) is destined to be underrated?

Let’s start with the horns. There’s no Tower of Power/Cold Blood-style bombast here, no jazzy showing off, no soulful flourishes. There isn’t even anything resembling the effective use of horns on classic psych albums like Love’s FOREVER CHANGES or The Common People’s OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE. Instead, Green uses french horns, phased trumpets and sliding trombones to create a wall of sound. They don’t dominate; they color and shape the songs. They’re used more like keyboards than as lead instruments. If you don’t read the liner notes (which credit four band members with horns and two with reeds) or pay close attention, you might not even notice that there are horns at all. The band has a hard rock type of energy, but the flowing horns and soft, reassuring lead vocals (dead ringer for Kensington Market, another horribly underrated band) give the album a consistency and gentleness of tone that lulls the listener into a false state of security. Aha! Maybe nobody listened enough times for this album to reveal itself, and that’s why it just floated by them! The melodies are there; the hooks are there, but they’re subtle, and these songs don’t attract our attention through guitar solos, brash sound effects, or bluesy vocal intensity. They do, however, use creative and clever arrangements that sneak up on you. 

The album’s defining moment is the chorus of “At The Time.” The instruments stop, a line is sung unaccompanied, then the instruments return, flanged beyond recognition, and with no low end. At first you’ll wonder if your woofer went out, then you’ll marvel at the genius of the arrangement. Other subtle moments of sonic bliss occur throughout the album. On “To Be,” the french horn shifts from speaker to speaker, then is double tracked behind the guitar solo, creating a beautiful, haunting cacophony of sound. “Where Have I Been” starts with some Eastern-flavored fuzz guitar, develops several excellent hooks, and alternates guitar-based breaks with horn-led accompaniment. Each verse is arranged differently, and until you’ve listened several times you won’t notice the brilliant shift from horns, to guitars, to flute. The song “Green” (obviously they used their imagination for the arrangements, not the song titles) starts with an unexpected blast of feedback, then moves to a complex mix of spastic percussion, heavy metal guitar and marching-band horns. The horns and guitars both play melodies that you swear you remember from your youth but can’t exactly place. Until they hit a few trills, the horns sound uncannily like a synthesizer, and the song ends with a fuzz bass/maraca war. Yes, these songs are jam-packed with ideas. Just listen to the great percussion arrangements to see how much is going on here! 

Green are equally adept at ballads, such as the mildly jazzy “Sunrise #7,” which has some nifty, subtle time signature changes, and “Footprints In The Snow,” which features harpsichord and flamenco guitar. If you haven’t already guessed, these guys are multi-talented musicians, yet they never show off or lose focus. GREEN is a short album, with eleven songs barely cracking half an hour, and the songs are so concise that you’ll wish they were longer. What a refreshing concept from an era of self-indulgence!

After a while there’s a bit of melodic similarity, and both album sides peter out a little bit as they go along. Still, even the lesser songs have something to offer, such as the great melodic bass playing on “Just Try”. This album stands up as a noble experiment gone right. It’s inventive, moody, confident and distinctive. Green are from Texas, but, trust me, don’t sound like any other Texas band you’ve heard. They were as out of place among their musical contemporaries as they were their non-musical peers. Now, can anyone tell me what “RCMPB” stands for??

http://www.lysergia.com/LamaReviews/reviews5.htm#GREEN

1. Green - To Be (2:51)

2. Green - Where Have I Been (3:12)

3. Green - Sunrise #7 (3:37)

4. Green - Just Try (2:13)

5. Green - Sparkle (2:24)

6. Green - 06 - Green

7. Green - 07 - Footprints In The Snow

8. Green - 08 - At The Time

9. Green - 09 - RCMPB

10. Green - 10 - Don't

11. Green - 11 - Have You Ever

Keith - The Adventures Of Keith (1969)

"Alone on the Shore" opens the third album by Keith, the one name handle for James Barry Keefer. The shimmering pop that was created by Bobby Hebb producer Jerry Ross and arranger Joe Renzetti on the first two Mercury discs is replaced by original compositions and the arrangement of the meticulous Larry Fallon. Fallon is credited for arranging The Looking Glass hit "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl," however, he is the actual producer on that disc. He is one of the industry's underrated talents, and he allows Keith's band of David Jiminez (guitar), Joe Coyle (ryhthm guitar), Dave Fiebert (bass), and Rick Fox (drums) to experiment in ways that are admirable.

 This LP plays more like latter day Donovan, another one-name pop maestro. "Alone on the Shore" and "Trixon's Election" are heady pop tunes, maybe too deep for Top 40 at the time. Even Buffalo Springfield knew enough to temper their politics with radio friendly music. The sounds here are an intriguing mixture of '60s garage rock with British pop, flavors of The Beatles, The Small Faces, Kaleidoscope UK, and other psychedelic rockers. The production by Ted Daryll allows this group to stretch out. "Waiting to Be" is five minutes and thirty eight seconds of psychedelic jam. Keith wrote only one song on his second album, none on his first, so RCA Records showed some kind of faith in the artist allowing him to compose/co-write all ten titles on The Adventures of Keith. These are adventurous tunes, and worth listening to. It's a natural progression from the second album's Jimmy "Wiz" Wisner's (yes, the one and the same from Tommy James & the Shondells sessions), arrangement of the Spanky & Our Gang hit "Making Every Minute Count" to the short one minute and fifty six second "Melody," which begins like a track from one of the first two Keith albums, diving into the progressive nature of this recording, and back to the pop sensibilities of the first two LPs. "The Problem," which is the last song on side one, was issued as a single with the excellent "Marstrand," the first track of side two. "Elea-Elea" is another five minute plus track, and one of the album's standouts. Great melody and all the indications that Keith should have been a major, major pop star. Where Donovan had Led Zeppelin performing on "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and the Jeff Beck Group behind him on "Goo Goo Barabajagal" helping churn out the hits, Keith and his band crafted an album perfect for FM radio, perhaps a bit ahead of its time for an artist known for covering the Hollies. But Keith's musical direction here is impressive and reiterates how clever his three Top 40 hits prior to this release really were.

1. Keith - Alone On The Shore (3:41)

2. Keith - Trixon's Election (3:16)

3. Keith - Waiting To Be (5:41)

4. Keith - Melody (1:58)

5. Keith - The Problem (2:58)

6. Keith - Marstrand

7. Keith - Mr. Hyde

8.  Keith - China Clipper

9. Keith - Elea Elea

10. Keith - Charley Cinders

Beat...Beat... Beat... movie

Beat...Beat... Beat... movie part 3

The Creation - Our Music Is Red With Purple Flashes

They could've been contenders -- hell, they should've been contenders! That's the first thought that passes through one's head as one hears the early singles by the Creation -- and, indeed, how they weren't contenders is astonishing. They had it all, the in-house songwriting, the production, the voices, and the sound that should've put them right up there with the Who and ahead of the Move and Jimmy Page, among others. Their lead guitarist, Eddie Phillips, was even asked by Pete Townshend to join the Who as their second guitarist. But thanks to an unaccountable weakness in their British sales -- as opposed to their German chart action, which was downright robust -- and some instability in their lineup, they were never to enjoy any of the recognition they deserved, and a right turn from psychedelia into soul at the wrong moment took whatever wind they had out of their sails (and sales). And the final few months of their history, filled out by the work of a revived band that never quite got it together in the studio, and singles derived from early outtakes, did nothing but confuse fans and admirers, who couldn't be sure "which" Creation they were dealing with on record.

The band's history began in 1963 with a group called the Blue Jacks in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, to the north of London. The band had just gotten a new lead singer, Kenny Pickett (who'd previously driven the van for Neil Christian & the Crusaders), and with the addition of a new lead guitarist, Eddie Phillips, they changed their name to the Mark Four. The latter band got signed to Mercury Records' British division in 1964 but the resulting two singles failed to sell. Even as British audiences were finding their work quite resistible, however, German audiences were greeting their performances at the Big Ben Club in Wilhelmshaven with rousing enthusiasm. It was during their extended residence in Germany that the band chanced to cross paths with a local band called the Roadrunners, who had attracted amazing local club attendance with their use of guitar feedback in their songs. Eddie Phillips made note of the effect and started working out how he might assimilate it into his playing.

The Mark Four got a second crack at recording success with Decca Records, which resulted in a single of "Hurt Me (If You Will)" b/w "I'm Leaving." It also failed to sell, but it did establish the beginning of a new sound; on that record, Phillips introduced his own approach to guitar feedback. It was all a little too wild for Decca, which stuck the song on the B-side, but it was a beginning, of sorts. It also coincided with an ending, as the band's rhythm guitarist, Mick Thompson, and their bassist, John Dalton -- soon to join the Kinks, replacing Peter Quaife -- quit. The Mark Four finished their history with a temporary lineup and one last single in early 1966. During the weeks that followed, Pickett and Phillips, along with drummer Jack Jones, held the group together and began rethinking their precise image and direction -- for a brief time, future superstar bassist Herbie Flowers even sat in with them. By the spring of that year, the group had evolved into the Creation, with ex-Merseybeats bassist Bob Garner filling out the lineup, and they had also signed with an ambitious young Australian-born manager -- then closely associated with Brian Epstein -- named Robert Stigwood. 

The Creation burst on the British pop/rock scene that June with "Making Time," a single that seemed to have everything going for it -- a killer beat after a brief (but catchy) stop-and-go intro, a great chorus, and a flashy, slashy, crunchy lead guitar part by Eddie Phillips that intersected very neatly with and expanded on the kind of sound that the Who were carrying high onto the charts at the time. The parallel was no accident, as that single was produced by Shel Talmy, who'd also worked on all of those early Who sides. In an eerie and inexplicable portent of their future, however, "Making Time" soared to number five in Germany but peaked at an anemic number 49 in England, this at a time when they were getting amazing press for their stage performances, which included paintings being lit afire and, in anticipation of what Jimmy Page would one day be doing with the Yardbirds, among others, Phillips began playing his electric guitar with a violin bow. 

The group finally saw some slightly significant chart action at home in the fall of 1966 with "Painter Man," a cheerfully trippy pop anthem -- with a feedback-oozing guitar break -- that made the Top 40; predictably (and one can see where this story is going), the same record hit number one in Germany. The B-side, "Biff Bang Boom," opened with a "My Generation" guitar riff and jumped into a pop/rock idiom with a psychedelic edge that could have earned it airplay on its own. 

By the start of 1967, however, the Creation had hit a crisis point, as Kenny Pickett quit over creative differences and frustration at the need to continue touring in Europe, where their audience was seemingly rooted. He was eventually replaced by Kim Gardner, late of the group the Birds. Their sound at that point was still intact -- Phillips was still there on guitar, which was a huge part of what they were about musically and sonically. At this point, with whatever momentum they'd built up in jeopardy, the group took a totally unexpected turn into blue-eyed soul with "If I Stay Too Long," which was a good enough showcase for Gardner (supported by some reverb-soaked backing vocals and an organ) but offered little from Phillips except some emphatically played chords; it was as though the Who, having established themselves on the charts and the radio with "My Generation" and "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere," had suddenly issued their version of "Please, Please, Please" as a 45 rpm -- it confused people who knew the Creation, and was mostly ignored by established fans. Much more like their established sound were "Can I Join Your Band," which somehow only got issued in France, and the U.K. single's B-side, "Nightmares." 

They were still struggling for a commercial foothold in England, despite being one of the most widely touted live acts of the time, when the group's German label decided it was time to release a Creation LP. The latter, entitled We Are Paintermen, ended up being better than anyone could have anticipated, highlighted by the previous hit plus a surprisingly good, crunchy, at times almost Byrds-like rendition of "Like a Rolling Stone," and a version of "Hey Joe" that had the temerity to take Jimi Hendrix's slow tempo and treat its jagged guitar line even more harshly. There was also a rousing rendition of "Cool Jerk" for anyone who cared, though a lot else of what was there was either off-point or represented the earlier lineup. One more single, "Life Is Just Beginning" b/w "Through My Eyes," showed up in the fall of 1967 -- the A-side was a rousing psychedelic showcase, with elements of Indian raga and a catchy, chant-like main body, plus jagged guitar and a string orchestra with the cellos sawing away in the best "King Midas in Reverse" manner; "Through My Eyes" was no throwaway, either, with a lean, crunchy guitar, beautiful choruses, and a great central tune, with three-minutes-and-change of spacy sensibilities ending in a feedback crescendo. 

Evidently, Eddie Phillips felt that the single was as good a showcase as he would ever get, and in October of 1967 he quit. His departure was followed by Kim Gardner's decision to exit the group for a team-up with Ron Wood, Jon Lord, and Twink, in what became known as Santa Barbara Machinehead. The Creation was kept "alive" into the spring of 1968 when their U.K. label, Polydor, released a single of "How Does It Feel" b/w "Tom Tom" on both sides of the Atlantic, with the U.S. version tarted up in all sorts of dubbed-on psychedelic effects. They were both good sides but never charted, and that might've been the end of the group, but for the sudden re-emergence of Kenny Pickett, who got Gardner and Jones back together to form the core of a new "Creation." That band went through a couple of lineup changes, played around Europe for a bit with Ron Wood as a member, and then dissolved, and somewhere in the midst of all of those lineup changes a new album was started and abandoned (and forgotten for 36 years). Oddly enough, the new group at its best didn't sound bad, or all that much different from the classic lineup, although they lacked Phillips' knack for brushing up right against the edge of chaos with his guitar breaks. 

That might've been the end, once and for all, of the group's history, but for four excellent (and very early) sides, probably demos by the Pickett/Phillips lineup, with Herbie Flowers sitting in on bass -- including a fine soul side, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," and a killer rendition of "Bonie Maronie," kitted out in a manner not that different from "Hey Joe" or "Biff Bam Boom" -- that turned up in Germany in 1968. This time, however, the group was really gone, the members going their separate ways -- Phillips into soul singer P.P. Arnold's band, among other activities; Gardner became part of Ashton, Gardner & Dyke ("Resurrection Shuffle") and Tony Kaye's group Badger; Dalton and Thompson tried reuniting under the name Passtime, and Kenny Pickett, after enjoying some success as a songwriter and performing in a variety of contexts, returned to being a roadie, this time for Led Zeppelin and other bands; and he eventually re-formed the Creation in the first half of the '90s.

His reactivation of the Creation was a response to a long series of events belatedly recognizing the band. In the early '80s, Eva Records of France released an LP that combined the singles by the Mark Four and some of the key sides of the Creation, while England's Edsel Records released How Does It Feel to Feel?, the definitive LP collection of the Creation. The group gained a reputation as one of the great lost missing links of '60s rock, sort of England's answer to Moby Grape in terms of massive talent unaccountably caught in a dead-end. The latter day group enjoyed three years of success before Pickett's death from a heart attack in 1996 ended their history. Since then, Demon Records in England has issued a slightly fuller, better mastered compilation (Our Music Is Red -- With Purple Flashes), and Retroactive Records released two CD's of their work, complete with outtakes, alternate mixes, and television performances, all amazing for a band that couldn't get a proper LP recorded in their own time.

Our Music Is Red - With Purple Flashes doesn't improve on the definitive Creation collection How Does It Feel to Feel, nor is it any worse. Instead, it's a comprehensive, well-produced 24-track compilation that contains every one of the group's major songs, plus a couple of interesting covers, lesser-known singers and album tracks. Like How Does It Feel to Feel it offers a generous retrospective of the underappreciated mod quartet, and if you don't have that compilation, it's a worthwhile acquisition. If you already have that other excellent collection, Our Music Is Red - With Purple Flashes isn't necessary.

The Spencer Davis Group - Funky (1968)

Although it was recorded in 1969, this album was not released at the time (although a few were circulated in the US in 1971 before it was withdrawn due to contractual reasons). By the late 1960s the band were firmly under the creative direction of Ray Fenwick, who played lead guitar, sang lead vocals, and wrote all of the songs. Needless to say it was such a change from the Stevie Winwood days that it was in essence an entirely different group, playing competent but faceless period music that echoed trends in country-rock, Traffic-like soul-progressivism ("What a Way to Die"), and heavy blues. The CD reissue has ten bonus tracks from the same era, taken from TV and radio sessions, studio outtakes, and a live recording from the 1967-68 era. These have a slightly more interesting, though not very distinctive, psychedelic-pop air; all of them, however, were previously released on RPM's Taking Out Time compilation.

VA - Pulp Surfin'

Mixing '60s surf classics with contemporary retro efforts in the style isn't a great idea. It doesn't sink this surf compilation, though, because surf revivalists only occupy about a third of the disc; the rest include classics, or at least interesting obscurities, by the Bobby Fuller Four, the Lively Ones, Link Wray, the Centurions, the Sentinals, and others. Eden Ahbez sneaks in with a number from his off-the-wall 1960 exotica LP, and the weird 1963 horror-rock novelty by Mr. Guy (not a surf tune, but who's talking) was produced by a young Frank Zappa. Lolly Vegas, later to help found Redbone, plays lead guitar on the neat and hard-to-find cut by the Deuce Coupes. One of the latter-day efforts is a rare outing by Brian Wilson, who collaborated with Andy Paley for "In My Moondreams." Several of those songs, it should be noted, can be found on better surf compilations (some on the Del-Fi label itself), but this is a respectable collection.

Surfin' With Bo Diddley (1963)

He only had a few hits in the 1950s and early '60s, but as Bo Diddley sang, "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover." You can't judge an artist by his chart success, either, and Diddley produced greater and more influential music than all but a handful of the best early rockers. The Bo Diddley beat -- bomp, ba-bomp-bomp, bomp-bomp -- is one of rock & roll's bedrock rhythms, showing up in the work of Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, and even pop-garage knock-offs like the Strangeloves' 1965 hit "I Want Candy." Diddley's hypnotic rhythmic attack and declamatory, boasting vocals stretched back as far as Africa for their roots, and looked as far into the future as rap. His trademark otherworldly vibrating, fuzzy guitar style did much to expand the instrument's power and range. But even more important, Bo's bounce was fun and irresistibly rocking, with a wisecracking, jiving tone that epitomized rock & roll at its most humorously outlandish and freewheeling. 

Before taking up blues and R&B, Diddley had actually studied classical violin, but shifted gears after hearing John Lee Hooker. In the early '50s, he began playing with his longtime partner, maraca player Jerome Green, to get what Bo's called "that freight train sound." Billy Boy Arnold, a fine blues harmonica player and singer in his own right, was also playing with Diddley when the guitarist got a deal with Chess in the mid-'50s (after being turned down by rival Chicago label Vee-Jay). His very first single, "Bo Diddley"/"I'm a Man" (1955), was a double-sided monster. The A-side was soaked with futuristic waves of tremolo guitar, set to an ageless nursery rhyme; the flip was a bump-and-grind, harmonica-driven shuffle, based around a devastating blues riff. But the result was not exactly blues, or even straight R&B, but a new kind of guitar-based rock & roll, soaked in the blues and R&B, but owing allegiance to neither.

Diddley was never a top seller on the order of his Chess rival Chuck Berry, but over the next half-dozen or so years, he'd produce a catalog of classics that rival Berry's in quality. "You Don't Love Me," "Diddley Daddy," "Pretty Thing," "Diddy Wah Diddy," "Who Do You Love?," "Mona," "Road Runner," "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" -- all are stone-cold standards of early, riff-driven rock & roll at its funkiest. Oddly enough, his only Top 20 pop hit was an atypical, absurd back-and-forth rap between him and Jerome Green, "Say Man," that came about almost by accident as the pair were fooling around in the studio.

As a live performer, Diddley was galvanizing, using his trademark square guitars and distorted amplification to produce new sounds that anticipated the innovations of '60s guitarists like Jimi Hendrix. In Great Britain, he was revered as a giant on the order of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. The Rolling Stones in particular borrowed a lot from Bo's rhythms and attitude in their early days, although they only officially covered a couple of his tunes, "Mona" and "I'm Alright." Other British R&B groups like the Yardbirds, Animals, and Pretty Things also covered Diddley standards in their early days. Buddy Holly covered "Bo Diddley" and used a modified Bo Diddley beat on "Not Fade Away"; when the Stones gave the song the full-on Bo treatment (complete with shaking maracas), the result was their first big British hit.

The British Invasion helped increase the public's awareness of Diddley's importance, and ever since then he's been a popular live act. Sadly, though, his career as a recording artist -- in commercial and artistic terms -- was over by the time the Beatles and Stones hit America. He'd record with ongoing and declining frequency, but after 1963, he'd never write or record any original material on par with his early classics. Whether he'd spent his muse, or just felt he could coast on his laurels, is hard to say. But he remains a vital part of the collective rock & roll consciousness, occasionally reaching wider visibility via a 1979 tour with the Clash, a cameo role in the film Trading Places, a late-'80s tour with Ronnie Wood, and a 1989 television commercial for sports shoes with star athlete Bo Jackson.

Peter Reese And His Pages

Beat- and rockband Peter Reese & The Pages from Mainz, Germany. "Slop Walk" was written by their female lead-guitarist Helga Gwiasta (Fender Jazzmaster). Dutch Indo-Rock influence.
Line-up: Peter Reese (bass gt., vocals), Helga Gwiasta (lead gt.), Falk Schuppank (piano) and Robby Pfleger (drums) 

******

Peter Reese and the Pages from Mainz recorded a full LP for the Philips label. Here are two Rock`n`Roll songs by this great German Beat group with a super-fast guitar break on Hully Gully Lullaby played by their female lead-guitarist Helga Gwiasta…

*****

01 - Hippy Hippy Shake
02 - Whole Lot Of Shakin' Goin' On
03 - San Antonio Rose
04 - Tallahassie Lassie
05 - Slop Walk
06 - Sweet Little Rock'n Roller
07 - I'm Talkin About You
08 - Hully Gully Lullaby
09 - Pages' Rhythm
10 - Twist And Shout
11 - Jungle Beat
12 - Goodnight Irene

v.a. longplayer
13 - Bye Bye Johnny
14 - Louie Louie

45'
15 - Shakin' All Over
16 - Yum Yum
17 - That's The Blue Beat
18 - Lazy Lady
19 - Hully Gully Lullaby
20 - Schau Schau

The Blizzards - I'm Your Guy (1965)

Even among followers of Eurobeat, or even '60s German rock specifically, the Blizzards -- not to be confused with the entirely different Dutch band of the same era named Cuby & the Blizzards -- haven't been very widely heard. 

But while they lack the wild edges of the Lords and the Boots, to name the most internationally esteemed names in this field, their 1965 album I'm Your Guy has its moments for devotees of the style. They play in a rough'n'ready style heavily influenced by the British Invasion, though with a jagged attack (especially rhythmically) that makes it a little distinct from U.K. bands operating in similar areas. The weakest link -- as it is in numerous German rock records of the mid-'60s, more so than in similar groups from Holland and Scandinavia also singing in English as a second language -- is the singing, delivered with the stiffness of performers who don't quite understand everything they're relaying. The lyrics, too, are on the basic side and indicative of the clumsiness that comes with operating in a tongue in which they're not totally fluent. The originals (which comprise more than half the LP) are still relatively decent, if hardly wonderful, often invested with the kind of gloomy cast that numerous Continental bands brought to beat music. Still, when they turn their attention to covers of classic contemporary hits like "Mr. Tambourine Man," the Hollies' "I'm Alive," and Del Shannon's "Stranger in Town" -- none of them done nearly as well as the originals, though "Stranger in Town" has an appealingly frenetic recklessness -- the superiority of the outside material is mightily apparent. "Faithless Sleep" gets the nod as the best track due to its eerie swells of what sound like tone pedal guitar. A few other cuts that fall outside the usual sub-British Invasion aping add variety, especially the horror-rock organ-dominated "Dr. Jekyll," the Shadows-like instrumental "Blue Star," and the quite good surf-style instrumental "Blizzards." ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

VA - Rock@RollEra1964

1. Roy Orbison - Oh Pretty Woman (2:56)

2. The Shadows - The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt (2:44)

3. Chuck Berry - No Particular Place To Go (2:42)

4. The Drifters - Under The Boardwalk (2:40)

5. Teh Dixie Cups - Chapel Of Love (2:46)

6. 06-It Hurts To Be In Love (Gene Pitney)

7. 07-Rember (Walkin' In The Sand) (The Shangri-Las)

8. 08-It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song) (Betty Everett)

9. 09-Hi-Heel Sneakers (Tommy Tucker)

10. 10-Louie Louie (The Kingsmen)

11. 11-If He Tells You (Adam Faith)

12. 12-It's Only Make Believe (Billy Fury)

13. 13-Nadine (Is It You) (Chick Berry)

14. 14-That Girl Belongs To Yesterday (Gene Pitney)

15. 15-I Will (Billy Fury)

16. 16-Handy Man (Del Shannon)

17. 17-I'm Leaving It Up To You (Dale And Grace)

18. 18-(They Call Her) La Bamba (The Crickets)

19. 19-Theme For Young Lovers (The Shadows)

20. 20-The Crying Game (Dave Berry)

21. 21-Bama Lama Bama Loo (Little Richard)

22. 22-Maria Elena (Los Indios Tabajaras)

23. 23-Leader Of The Pack (The Shangri-Las)

24. 24-Borne On The Wind (Roy Orbison)

The Mixtures - The Pushbike Song (1971)

Australian musicians Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in Tasmania in 1965 ...

. They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of The Strangers, and the three decided to form a band together after a jam session. They quickly signed to EMI that same year and released three singles. They went through several line-up changes over the following few years, then signed to CBS Records in 1969. A few further singles followed before transferring to Fable Records in 1970.

As a result of the 1970 radio ban, during which many Australian radio stations refused to play Australian and British music released by major labels, the Mixtures recorded a cover of Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" and received much more airplay than had initially been expected for a group on a small record label. The single went to #1 in Australia for six weeks. They followed up with "The Pushbike Song" (produced by David Mackay), which went to #1 in Australia for two weeks, hit #2 in the UK Singles Chart,[1] and went to #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. after being released on Sire Records.

The next single, "Henry Ford", peaked at #43 in Australia. Further line-up changes ensued before "Captain Zero" went to #5 in Australia in 1971, their last big hit. The group released material together for several more years before breaking up in 1976.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mixtures

Jimi Hendrix & The Isley Brothers - In The Beginning (1964)

Cut around 1965, while Hendrix was still part of the Isley's band, these casual sessions, remixed to push his guitar up with the voices, are far superior to Curtis Knight's Hendrix tapes. Make you wonder what would have happened if they'd been released at the time.

These are the first offerings from the Isley Brothers' T-Neck record label, and many consider special because Jimi Hendrix played lead guitar on them. However, these tracks bombed as singles. "Testify" is noisy and congested, too much is going on. Hendrix's guitar is prominent, and identifies him as conclusively as a DNA sample. The Isleys imitate popular singers Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and James Brown on "Testify," but the imitations are weak and sound like clones of each other. "Move Over and Let Me Dance" has some of "Testify"'s problems but works a little better, it has a danceable groove and a much better hook. The only soft selection is "The Last Girl," which has an airy sound, and features a rare laid-back vocal from Ron Isley during this phase of his career. Hendrix fans will love this, but fans of the Isleys' later stuff will not be impressed.

The Isley Brothers

Jimi Hendrix

1. Jimi Hendrix & The Isley Brothers - Move Over And Let Me Dance ~ part 1 (2:44)

2. Jimi Hendrix & The Isley Brothers - Have You Ever Be Disappointed ~ parts 1 & 2 (6:22)

3. Jimi Hendrix & The Isley Brothers - Testify ~ parts 1 & 2 (alternate take) (4:14)

4. Jimi Hendrix & The Isley Brothers - Move Over And Let me Dance ~ part 2 (2:47)

5. Jimi Hendrix & The Isley Brothers - Wild Little Tiger (2:26)

6.  The Last Girl

7.  Simon Says

8. Looking For A Love

9. Testify ~ parts 1 & 2

10.  Move Over And Let Me Dance

11.  Have You Ever Be Disappointed

12.  The Last Girl

13.  Looking For A Love

14. My Little Girl

15.  Open Up Her Eyes

16.  Love Is A Wonderful Thing

17.  Footprints In The Snow

18.  Who's That Lady

19. The Basement

20. Conch

21. My Little Girl ~ alternate version

BRENDA LEE – German, French and Italian recordings

BRENDA LEE – German, French and Italian recordings

01. Wiedersehn Ist Wunderschцn

02. Kansas City

03. Ohne Dich

04. Drei Rote Rosen Blьhn

05. Ich Will Immer Auf Dich Warten

06. No My Boy

07. Geh' Am Glьck Nicht Vorbei

08. Am Strand Von Hawaii

09. Darling Bye Bye

10. In Meinen Trдumen

11. Wo Und Wann Fдngt Die Liebe An

12. Darling Was Ist Los Mit Dir

13. La Premiere Fool

14. Pourquoi Jamais Moi

15. Sono Sciocca

16. Nulla Di Me

Brenda Lee - Little Miss Dynamite (BOX SET)

One of the biggest pop stars of the early '60s, Brenda Lee hasn't attracted as much critical respect as she deserves. She is sometimes inaccurately characterized as one of the few female teen idols. More crucially, the credit for achieving success with pop-country crossovers usually goes to Patsy Cline, although Lee's efforts in this era were arguably of equal importance. While she made few recordings of note after the mid-'60s, the best of her first decade is fine indeed, encompassing not just the pop ballads that were her biggest hits, but straight country and some surprisingly fierce rockabilly. 

Lee was a child prodigy, appearing on national television by the age of ten, and making her first recordings for Decca the following year (1956). Her first few Decca singles, in fact, make a pretty fair bid for the best preteen rock & roll performances this side of Michael Jackson. "BIGELOW 6-200," "Dynamite," and "Little Jonah" are all exceptionally powerful rockabilly performances, with robust vocals and white-hot backing from the cream of Nashville's session musicians (including Owen Bradley, Grady Martin, Hank Garland, and Floyd Cramer). Lee would not have her first big hits until 1960, when she tempered the rockabilly with teen idol pop on "Sweet Nothin's," which went to the Top Five. 

The comparison between Lee and Cline is to be expected, given that both singers were produced by Owen Bradley in the early '60s. Naturally, many of the same session musicians and backup vocalists were employed. Brenda, however, had a bigger in with the pop audience, not just because she was still a teenager, but because her material was more pop than Cline's, and not as country. Between 1960 and 1962, she had a stunning series of huge hits: "I'm Sorry," "I Want to Be Wanted," "Emotions," "You Can Depend on Me," "Dum Dum," "Fool #1," "Break It to Me Gently," and "All Alone Am I" all made the Top Ten. Their crossover appeal is no mystery. While these were ballads, they were delivered with enough lovesick yearning to appeal to adolescents, and enough maturity for the adults. The first-class melodic songwriting and professional orchestral production guaranteed that they would not be ghettoized in the country market. 

Lee's last Top Ten pop hit was in 1963, with "Losing You." While she still had hits through the mid-'60s, these became smaller and less frequent with the rise of the British Invasion (although she remained very popular overseas). The best of her later hits, "Is It True?," was a surprisingly hard-rocking performance, recorded in 1964 in London with Jimmy Page on guitar. 1966's "Coming on Strong," however, would prove to be her last Top 20 entry. 

In the early '70s, Lee reunited with Owen Bradley and, like so many early white rock & roll stars, returned to country music. For a time she was fairly successful in this field, making the country Top Ten half-a-dozen times in 1973-1974. Although she remained active as a recording and touring artist, for the last couple of decades she's been little more than a living legend, directing her intermittent artistic efforts to the country audience.

by Richie Unterberger

Brenda Lee-Little Miss Dynamite 4cd box

Brenda Lee - Little Miss Dynamite 1

01 - Jambalaya (On The Bayou)

02 - Bigelow 6-200

03 - Bigelow 6-200 (Alt)

04 - Some People

05 - Your Cheatinґ Heart

06 - Doodle Bug Rag

07 - Christy Christmas

08 - Iґm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus

09 - Fairyland

10 - One Step At A Time

11 - Dynamite

12 - Ainґt That Love

13 - Love You Till I Die

14 - One Teenager To Another

15 - Rock A Bye Baby Blues

16 - Rock The Bop

17 - Ring-A-My Phone

18 - The Golden Key

19 - Little Jonah (Rock On Your Steel Guitar)

20 - My Baby Likes Western Guys

21 - Papa Noel

22 - Rockinґ Around The Christmas Tree

23 - Bill Bailey, Wonґt You Please Come Home

24 - Heading Home

25 - Letґs Jump The Broomstick

26 - Humminґ The Blues Over You

27 - The Stroll

28 - Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody

29 - Pretty Baby

30 - St. Louis Blues

31 - Pennies From Heaven

32 - Baby Face

33 - Bailinґ The Jack

Brenda Lee - Little Miss Dynamite 2

01 - Just Because

02 - Side By Side

03 - A Good Man Is Hard To Find

04 - Some Of These Days

05 - Back In Your Own Backyard

06 - Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye

07 - Sweet Nothin's

08 - (If I'm Dreaming) Just Let Me Dream

09 - Weep No More My Baby

10 - That's All You Gotta Do

11 - I Want To Be Wanted (Per Tutta La Vita)

12 - Just A Little

13 - Build A Big Fence

14 - Be My Love Again

15 - I'm Sorry

16 - Dynamite

17 - Love And Learn

18 - Wee Wee Willie

19 - Jambalaya (On The Bayou)

20 - Do I Worry (Yes I Do)

21 - Emotions

22 - I Want To Be Wanted (Per Tutta La Vita)

23 - No One

24 - Crazy Talk

25 - The Big Chance

26 - It's Never Too Late

27 - I'm Learning About Love

28 - Careless, That's All

29 - We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me)

30 - If I Didn't Care

Brenda Lee - Little Miss Dynamite 4

01 - Tables Are Turning

02 - Funny Feelin'

03 - Eventually

04 - Dum Dum

05 - Let Me Be The One

06 - Speak To Me Pretty

07 - Time Is Not Enough

08 - Here Comes That Feeling

09 - Just Forget

10 - Break It To Me Gently

11 - Fool #1

12 - Anybody But Me

13 - So Deep

14 - Only You (And You Alone)

15 - You've Got Me Crying Again

16 - It's The Talk Of The Town

17 - You Always Hurt The One You Love

18 - I Miss You So

19 - I'll Be Seeing You

20 - Lazy River

21 - Send Me Some Lovin'

22 - Hold Me Little

23 - I'll Always Be In Love With You

24 - Organ Grinder's Swing

25 - Let The Four Winds Blow

26 - Everybody Loves Me But You

27 - Heart In Hand

28 - She'll Never Know

29 - Why Me!

30 - It Takes One To Know One

31 - Sweet Lovin'

Brenda Lee - Little Miss Dynamite 4

01 - Tables Are Turning

02 - Funny Feelin'

03 - Eventually

04 - Dum Dum

05 - Let Me Be The One

06 - Speak To Me Pretty

07 - Time Is Not Enough

08 - Here Comes That Feeling

09 - Just Forget

10 - Break It To Me Gently

11 - Fool #1

12 - Anybody But Me

13 - So Deep

14 - Only You (And You Alone)

15 - You've Got Me Crying Again

16 - It's The Talk Of The Town

17 - You Always Hurt The One You Love

18 - I Miss You So

19 - I'll Be Seeing You

20 - Lazy River

21 - Send Me Some Lovin'

22 - Hold Me Little

23 - I'll Always Be In Love With You

24 - Organ Grinder's Swing

25 - Let The Four Winds Blow

26 - Everybody Loves Me But You

27 - Heart In Hand

28 - She'll Never Know

29 - Why Me!

30 - It Takes One To Know One

31 - Sweet Lovin'

A Brenda Lee extravaganza covering her enormously popular years between 1956 - 1962, This Bear Family boxed set of 4 cds includes a large hard-bound book jam-packed with photos and biographical data. For starters, the audio quality and remastering are superb. I was startled at how the music leaped out into the room, being exceptionally dynamic and lively. Brenda's voice has a palpable presence. Also, you can take pleasure in hearing the fine detail and nuances of the instrumentation. Speaking of instrumentation, Owen Bradley, the Nashville producer who produced such stars as Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, and Loretta Lynn, matched Brenda Lee early on with outstanding studio pros like Hank Garland, Floyd Cramer, Boots Randolf,Grady Martin, the Jordanaires and Anita Kerr singers. Legends in themselves, these musicians brought a level of professionalism to Brenda's music second to none. Even excluding Brenda's extraordinary contribution, it is pure pleasure listening to her supporting cast. And finally, there is Brenda. Song after song, interpretation after interpretation, we discover the allure and timelessness of her music. Her talent is a shining star that shines brightly in each of the 122 performances included in this set. In a very natural manner, Brenda effortlessly emotes an energy and feeling that ranges all the way from heartbreak to fiery passion. When we look back and think of country artists like Hank Williams, Jim Reeves, and Patsy Cline as singing the "country blues", Brenda Lee established a style that can only be referred to as "country soul". What is indeed trully remarkable about this body of work is that she reached such a height of success and professionalism between the tender ages of 12 and 16. Equally impressive, upon listening to her repertoire, was that there was no tapering off of her talent or presentation - she only gets better! For those who want to look back through the lens of time and discover a treasure of beautifully crafted gems, I recommend this collection of vintage Brenda Lee. It reminds us that all true art is timeless and eternal.