The Golden Cups - Live Album (Superb Hardrock Live Japan 1971) not to be missed . . .

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One of the late records by the legend of Japanese 60's rock and not widely known, the fact that surprised me. Because the material and the quality of performance make it one of their strongest works. The whole album is made in one sort with domination of heavy blues and even two original compositions (the rest is covers as usual) are very worthy and not falling out of common range. 

The disk starts from poppy enough Joy To The World but even here – despite of its flippancy – you can feel the harshness of sound. The choice of covers speaks for itself: there are first-class versions of Van Morrison's song I've Been Working So Hard, The Allman Brothers' hit Midnight Rider and even famous hard rock number Nantucket Sleighride by American rumblers Mountain. 

And the following tune, band's original The Ballad In E Minor written by John Yamazaki (who played later with Shinki Chen and Yonin-Bayashi) don't yield to it in heaviness being in spite of its name not a ballad but slow blues. The last but one tune is cool proto-progressive 8 minute instrumental composition titled just Untitled. Blending together distorted bluesy guitar and forceful flute it is credited to band's guitarist Eddie Ban. 

The final Ain't No Rules In California from repertory of American band Blues Image is played as powerful hard rock jam and sounds just thrilling. No doubt that Japan of 1971 had much stronger releases but these veterans showed here very worth result. Really good work.

01. Joy to the World   3:23 

02. I've Been Working So Hard   6:06 

03. Midnight Rider   4:53 

04. I Shall Be Released   5:51 

05. Nantucket Sleighride   6:38 

06. The Ballade in "E" Minor   4:54 

07. Untitled   8:45 

08. Ain't No Rules in California   10:19 

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The Ghost - When You´re Dead For One Second (Superb Acid-Folkrock UK 1970) not to be missed

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Ghost formed in Birmingham in the late sixties. They started out playing a heavish sort of blues-rock before they met up with singer Shirley Kent who'd already recorded two tracks on a charity EP, The Master Singers And Shirley Kent Sing For Charec 67 (Keele University 103) in 1966. Paul Eastment had earlier played in Velvet Fog. 

They recorded their album at the end of 1969, spawning their first 45 at the end of the year. When You're Dead was a strong song with a clear US West Coast influence. It was hardly Chart material, though, so predictably sales were poor. The album came out in January 1970. There's a clear contrast between the folk pieces that Shirley Kent sings on like Hearts And Flowers and Time Is My Enemy, which in style recall Sandy Denny's heyday in Fairport Convention, and the blues-rock numbers contributed by the rest of the band, of which For One Second sounds the strongest. Also worth checking out is the powerful Too Late To Cry. The album has now become a major collector's item, partly on account of its rarity but also on account of the breadth of its appeal to fans of both blues-rock and folk. 

The band returned to the studio in Spring 1970 to record I've Got To Get To Know You. Another track from their album, For One Second, was put on the flip, but when the 45 failed to sell the band slowly began to fall apart. Shirley Kent left to pursue a solo career and eventually released an album in 1975, Fresh Out, under the pseudonym Virginia Tree. I haven't heard it but it's reputedly folkier than Ghost's output and featured former band members Paul Eastment and Terry Guy on three of the tracks. After Kent's departure, the remaining band members soldiered on for a while using the name Resurrection but this later incarnation of the band didn't make it onto vinyl. 

In 1987, Bam-Caruso reissued Ghost's album under the title For One Second with the addition of the non-LP 45 track, I've Got To Get To Know You. More recently the album has been reissued on vinyl and CD.

01. When You’re Dead (4:25)

02. Hearts And Flowers (2:54)

03. In Heaven (3:21)

04. Time Is My Enemy (4:06)

05. Too Late To Cry (5:04)

06. For One Second (5:25)

07. Night Of The Warlock (4:22)

08. Indian Maid (4:21)

09. My Castle Has Fallen (2:57)

10. The Storm (3:36)

11. Me And My Loved Ones (4:09)

12. I’ve Got To Get To Know You (4:02) 

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Transatlantic Railroad - Express to Oblivion (West-Coast Rock US 1967-68)

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Though it did not lead the band to stardom, where they were bound to go, Transatlantic Railroad did offer an unforgettable West Coast ride on a "meta-journeys to unimagined places". 

The good thing is that now the ride will go on forever, thanks to this release.

Coming from the sixties' "fruity" Frisco bay area, they were often referred to as "the next great San Francisco music scene band" which is what they had remained too, supposedly because of "one band member's inflexibility". The seven songs on this album are more than enough a proof of their potential, so an explanation like this is the only reasonable one. 

Transatlantic Railroad were some kind of an amalgamation of all the good, heard in the music of the local scene ... and wider. The set opens with the musical omnibus Camp Towanga, sounding like Moby Grape fronted by Greg Allman, along with his Hammond organ, with Peter Green steppin' in for a guitar solo during the '50s ballad-like middle eight, and it's followed with another Southern-jam, Fred Chicken Blues reminding of the Statesboro one.

Tahoma Street Song, recalls Quicksilver's best moments, Elephant is a quirky, Door-opening psych, with a 10 minute-looooong jam, Old English 800 is a very un-English "spoonful" of blues, their single's b-side Irahs explores the C&W segment of the American tradition (think Moby Grape's It's No Use) and, along these '67/'68 recordings, as a bonus, you get one of the 1966 efforts from their early 'Brummels-like phase, called Good Times, that could've easily pass as an unreleased studio track by the mentioned fellow S.F.folk rockers.(cdbaby.com)

Transatlantic Railroad was one of many late-'60s San Francisco psychedelic bands that did their share of live work in the region but barely recorded, remaining known almost exclusively to those who saw them play. Based on the material that showed up in the early 2000s on the archival release Express to Oblivion, their talent was such that it didn't absolutely demand a record release. 

Still, their bluesy psychedelia, heavy on guitar soloing and organ as well as unpredictable multi-sectioned original compositions, was representative of the second or third division of northern California psychedelic bands of the era. 

The group formed at San Rafael High School in Marin County in 1965, and on its first show opened for the Grateful Dead, the night the Dead changed their name from the Warlocks. A couple of unreleased 1966 tracks in a garage-folk-rock style showed up about 30 years later on the '60s Bay Area rarities compilation What a Way to Come Down. Like many other groups from the area, Transatlantic Railroad moved into a harder psychedelic style shortly afterward, and released just one single, "Why Me"/"Irahs," on the Sire subsidiary Phoenix in 1968. 

They also started work on an album, but it was abandoned after five demos. It's been reported (in the psychedelic rock reference book Fuzz Acid & Flowers) that this came about when Geoff Mayer's large Hammond RT-3 organ wouldn't fit through the doors of the studio, and Mayer was unwilling to use other equipment. 

Also according to the volume, the five completed demos can be heard on Express to Oblivion, which also has a couple of other lighter, less psychedelia-inclined tracks. After the group broke up in the early '70s, guitarist and lead singer Kent Housman recorded or performed with Blue Cheer, the Ducks, and SFO. (AMG)

01 - Camp Towanga - 3.17

02 - Fred Chicken Blues - 3.29

03 - Tehama Steet Song - 7.33

04 - Elephant - 12.16

05 - Old English 800 - 5.54

06 - Irahs - 2.36

07 - Good Times - 2.46 

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Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (1st Album US 1968)

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Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Vincebus Eruptum is the debut album of proto-metal/psychedelic band Blue Cheer, released in January 1968. The album is widely considered to be the best Blue Cheer album, although this title sometimes goes to their second album, Outsideinside.

Vincebus Eruptum peaked at #11 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in North America, while the single, a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," peaked at #14 on the Pop Singles chart.

Blue Cheer is a San Francisco-based rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who helped to pioneer heavy metal music. According to Tim Hills in his book, The Many Lives of the Crystal Ballroom, "Blue Cheer was the epitome of San Francisco psychedelia. The band was rumored to have been named for a brand of LSD and promoted by renowned LSD chemist and former Grateful Dead patron, Owsley Stanley. Another rumor is that the Blue Cheer was a blend of heroin and methamphetamine with just a pinch of arsenic "for an extra glowly feeling", taken intravenously. A "blue cheer" is also obscure and somewhat archaic British slang for a fart.

The band's sound, however, was something of a departure from the music that had been coming out of the Bay Area: Blue Cheer's three musicians played heavy blues-rock, and played it very loud.

Original personnel were singer/bassist Dickie Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens, and drummer Paul Whaley. Their first hit was a cover version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" from their debut album Vincebus Eruptum (1968). The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their only such hit, and the album peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The group's sound was hard to categorise, but was definitely blues-based, psychedelic, and loud. The group underwent several personnel changes after the 1968 release of Outsideinside, and then yet more changes during and after 1969's New! Improved! Blue Cheer (different guitarists on side 1 and 2). After Leigh Stephens was replaced by Randy Holden, formerly of Los Angeles garage rock band The Other Half, in 1968, Blue Cheer's style changed to a more commercial hard rock sound à la Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly. For the fourth album Blue Cheer, Holden, who had left during the third album, was subsequently replaced by Bruce Stephens. Stephens later quit and was replaced by Gary Lee Yoder, who helped complete the album.

The new line up of Peterson, Ralph Burn Kellogg, Norman Mayell, and Yoder in 1970 saw the release of The Original Human Being and then 1971's Oh! Pleasant Hope. When Oh! Pleasant Hope failed to dent the sales charts, Blue Cheer temporarily split up.

01. "Summertime Blues" (Capehart/Cochran) – 3:47 

02. "Rock Me Baby" (Josea/King) – 4:22 

03. "Doctor Please" (Peterson) – 7:53 

04. "Out of Focus" (Peterson) – 3:58 

05. "Parchment Farm" (Allison) – 5:49 

06. "Second Time Around" (Peterson) – 6:17 

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Bobby Charles - Bobby (Superb Rock US 1972)

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Co-produced by Rick Danko and John Simon, Bobby Charles was the perfect marriage between the good-time Danko side of the Band and Bobby Charles Guidry's own swampy cajun roots. On the opening "Street People", Bobby sounded like a Bowery version of Randy Newman; on "Long Face", he was a bayou Lee Dorsey. Behind him Rick put together a wonderfully loose sound somewhere between the Muscle Shoals Swampers and the band Allen Toussaint had used for his great Minit productions in the '60s. With guest appearances by Garth, Levon, and Richard, as well as Mac Rebennack and Woodstock guitar maestro Amos Garret, it was certainly a far more enjoyable record than Cahoots.

Bobby Charles (February 21, 1938 – January 14, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter.

An ethnic Cajun, Charles was born as Robert Charles Guidry in Abbeville, Louisiana and grew up listening to Cajun music and the country and western music of Hank Williams. At the age of 15, he heard a performance by Fats Domino, an event that "changed my life forever," he recalled.

Charles helped to pioneer the south Louisiana musical genre known as swamp pop. His compositions include the hits "See You Later, Alligator", which he initially recorded himself as "Later Alligator", but which is best known from the cover version by Bill Haley & His Comets; and "Walking to New Orleans", written for Fats Domino. His songwriting record in the UK charts reads 7 hits, 3 top tens with 75 weeks spent on the chart.

"(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" was a 1950s classic that Charles composed which Clarence "Frogman" Henry had a major hit with and which was on the soundtrack to the 1994 film Forrest Gump. His composition "Why Are People Like That?" was on the soundtrack to the 1998 film Home Fries.

Because of his south Louisiana-influenced rhythm and blues vocal style, Charles has often been thought to be black, when in fact he is white.

On November 26, 1976, Charles was invited to play with The Band at their farewell concert, The Last Waltz. Charles played "Down South in New Orleans", with the help of Dr. John and The Band. The performance was recorded and released as part of the triple-LP The Last Waltz boxed set. The performance was not captured on film however, and did not appear in the film based on the concert with Charles only appearing briefly in the concert's final song, "I Shall Be Released" (he is largely blocked from view during the song). That song, sung by Bob Dylan and pianist Richard Manuel, featured backup vocals from the entire ensemble, including Charles.

He co-wrote the song "Small Town Talk" with Rick Danko of The Band. "Promises, Promises (The Truth Will Set You Free)" was co-written with Willie Nelson.

Charles continued to compose and record (he was based out of Woodstock, New York for a time) and in the 1990s he recorded a duet of "Walking to New Orleans" with Domino.

In September 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame honored Charles for his contributions to Louisiana music with an induction.

Charles collapsed in his home near Abbeville and died January 14, 2010.

01.Street People (B.Charles) 

02.Long Face (B.Charles) 

03.I Must Be in a Good Place Now (B.Charles) 

04.Save Me Jesus (B.Charles) 

05.He's Got All the Whisky (B.Charles) 

06.Small Town Talk (B.Charles/R.Danko) 

07.Let Yourself Go (B.Charles) 

08.Before I Grow Too Old (B.Charles/A.Domino/D.Bartholomew) 

09.I'm That Way (B.Charles) 

10.Tennessee Blues (B.Charles)

Bonus: 

11.Homemade Songs (Charles) 

12.New Mexico (Charles) 

13.Rosie (Charles) 

14.Small Town Talk (Charles/Danko) [single mix] 

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The Fort Mudge Memorial DUMP - Selftitled (WestCoast Rock US 1970)

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Bitrate: 256
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The above album by this Boston band contains some good tracks. All the material was written by the band. Mr. Man and Crystal Forms both portray Stratton's vocals favourably and include some good guitar work. Others, such as Actions Of A Man and What Good Is Spring? find Caroline and the band in a mellower mood.

Fort Mudge Memorial Dump was a band from Walpole, Massachusetts, that started playing by 1969, gathering a good number of fans. They got filed into the “Boston Sound”, among the Ultimate Spinach, the Beacon Street Union, Orpheus, Tangerine Zoo, ecc.

With good technique and better ideas, they recorded a very sought-after LP for Mercury in which the voice of Caroline Stratton stands out to some Jefferson Airplane affinity.
Guitarist Dean Keady, with his jazzy effects, leads the band.

Despite its east coast origins, the band is firmly rooted in San Francisco acid-soaked psychedelia. The revelation here is Stratton, whose powerhouse vocals are reminiscent of the Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick.

All the material was written by the band. Mr. Man and Crystal Forms both portray Stratton's vocals favourably and include some good guitar work. Others, such as Actions Of A Man and What Good Is Spring? find Caroline and the band in a mellower mood...

01. Mr. Man 
02. Crystal Forms 
03. Actions Of A Man 
04. Blue's Tune 
05. The Seventh Is Death  
06. What Good Is Spring? 
07. Tomorrow 
08. Know Today 
09. Questionable Answer

10. The Singer

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The Head Shop - Selftitled (Good Heavy Psychedelia US 1969)

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DO YOU WANT HEAD? BLOW YOUR MIND WITH THE HEAD SHOP ALBUM!', screams a commercial ad in New York's Screw magazine in l969. Here's the CD reissue from the original mastertape, including bios, photos and 7 bonus tracks. The album was produced and arranged by Milan, aka Rick Rodell, and Max Ellen, both professionals in the music business. The band had garagy roots and evolved from Household Sponge to The Head Shop. Milan´s project that time was Licorice Schtik. 

Both outfits released a 45 record, which are 4 bonus tracks on this CD. This New York psychedelic underground project has its unique sound: soulful vocals, flying Hammond organ, fuzzy bass, distorted lead guitars, lots of percussive -- and weird -- rhythm instruments, plus several unexpected stereo effects. Larry Coryell features as 'wailing' guest musician on the track, 'I Feel Love Comin' on'. 'Listen with the Third Ear,' and this album and 9 musical chapters will lead you into new musical and audiophile dimensions of psychedelic art of music."

CD reissue from the original mastertape, including bios, photos and 7 bonus tracks of this classic US '60s expolito-psych album that goes totally over the top. Crammed full of distorted acid guitar and weird effects (choirs, backwards bits etc.) this is like a bit like Vanilla Fudge but much more extreme... Tracks like "Listen With A Third Ear" and "Prophecy" are particularly mind disturbing. CD contains 7 bonus tracks. This is fantastic psychedelia.

01 - Head Shop - 3.03

02 - Heaven Here We Come - 2.48

03 - Sunny - 3.17

04 - Listen With The Third Ear - 2.38

05 - Opera In The Year 4000 - 4.26

06 - Revolution - 2.32

07 - I Feel Love Comin´ On - 5.53

08 - Prophecy - 2.20

09 - Infinity - 4.58

10 - Scars (Bonus) - 2.37

11 - Second Best (Bonus) - 2.17

12 - Flowers, Flowers (Bonus) - 2.03

13 - Kissing Game (Bonus) - 2.10

14 - Sunshine (Bonus) - 1.15

15 - Groovy Feelings (Bonus) - 1.53

16 - In Central Park (Bonus) - 1.53

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The John Dummer´s Famous Music Band - Selftitled (UK Blues 1970)

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This blues outfit formed in the Summer of 1967 in London. By the beginning of 1968, Tony Walker and Roger Pearce had both quit the music business. The next line-up was playing solid Chicago-styled blues. In July 1968, they turned professional. By now, Steve Rye had departed for Simon and Steve, and Tony McPhee, a friend of Dave Kelly's, came in on guitar. However, McPhee's stay was brief - a few month later he left to join The Groundhogs. Their two albums for Mercury are the most sought-after by collectors.

Dummer followed this with Music Band, a venture with violinist Nick Pickett, which achieved little here but had a French hit with “Nine By Nine”. 

Shortening their name to John Dummer, they signed to Vertigo, recording “Blue”, with a cover designed by Roger Dean. The music was still competent blues-rock, but nowhere near as good as their earlier, late-sixties offerings on Mercury. Then, teaming up again with his original guitarist Dave Kelly, Dummer recorded “Oobleedooblee Jubilee” with a country-influenced band. This was a dreadful album, and Dummer went on to hit the skins for another appalling (if commercially successful) band, Darts.

01. Lady Luck

02. Yes Sir, She's My Baby

03. Boogie Woogie Lullaby

04. Coming Home

05. Searching For You

06. Nine By Nine

07. Move Me, Don't Leave Me

08. Going In The Out

09. No Chance Now

10. Fine Looking Woman

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The Elastic Band - Expansions on Life (Pre. The Sweet) (UK 1970)

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Bitrate: 320

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A sole album by this British band later became Sweet. The album features mixed bag sound of blues, psychedelic, progressive rock. Unfortunately, never made to the chart but the album is pretty impressive indeed. The Elastic Band is a psychedelic rock/blues band formed in North Wales during the late 1960s. The band features Andy Scott , Mike Scott, Ted Yeadon, and Sean Jenkins. Andy Scott would go on to become a member of Sweet. The band released one album, Expansions On Life , on the Decca Nova label.

The Elastic Band was a Welsh rock music group band, formed in Cardiff in the 1960s. They were one of the exponents of the UK psychedelic rock scene from the late 1960s and featured Andy Scott who would go on to become guitarist with Sweet. Other members were August Eadon (Gus) who went by the name Ted Yeadon when he was a member of Elastic Band, Sean Jenkins (drums) and Mike Scott (bass - Andy's brother). The band broke up in 1970 when Yeadon accepted an offer to join Love Affair.

The opening gambit for future Sweet axeman Andy Scott, The Elastic Band were born from the embers of The Silverstone Set, a mid-decade Welsh soul band of some note, who had their minds expanded when they supported some of the emerging underground acts whenever they strayed across the border. When they finally made it to the studio in 1969, their music was a long way from the highly-collectable mod pop of their two early singles, incorporating psych with an amateur proggishness, which remains very endearing, if not very well recorded.

Step forward this reissue, which does right some of the studio wrongs and makes intrinsically good tracks such as Crabtree Farm and Has Anybody Seen Her sound as they should have done at the time. The addition of four bonus tracks and a wealth of archival material also goes some way to putting this very decent album back into some order.

♦ Andy Scott – guitars (1968–1971)

♦ Mike Scott – bass (1968–1971)

♦ Sean Jenkins – drums (1968–1971)

♦ Ted Yeadon – organ, piano, flute, congas, harmonica, vocals (1968–1971)

01. Mother Goose

02. Last Person In The Bar

03. Crabtree Farm

04. Has Anybody Seen Her

05. Dear John

06. Room Full Of Room

07. That's Nice

08. Life Still Goes On

09. Sad Jazz

10. Sunrise Work 'Till Sunset

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Steve Morgen - Morgen (Really Good Heavy Psychedia US 1969)

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Formed in Long Island in 1968, MORGEN (fronted by vocalist/guitarist Steve Morgen) released its unique album in 1969, one that is considered a major heavy psychedelic rock record, mixing fuzzy garage and freaky hard rock, covering Summer of Love flowers under furious guitars and a massive rhythm section.

US heavy psych masterpiece from 1969. Powerful sound and recording with thunderous drums, piercing fuzz guitars and the incredible vocals of Steve Morgen. Formed as Morgen’s Dreame Spectrum in 1967 in NY, Morgen were one the first bands signed to ABC’s offshoot Probe Records (home also of Soft Machine in the US).

Fuelled by the chemistry between ace guitar player Murray Shiffrin and creative songwriter/singer Steve Morgen, they recorded their self-titled album in 1968 but, much to the band’s dismay and frustration, it wasn’t released until December 1969. Morgen included seven impressive tracks, all of them written by Steve Morgen. You can hear subtle influences of Hendrix, Stones, Who, Doors or Donovan but Morgen’s sound is clearly a beast of its own kind. The mysterious gatefold cover featured Edvard Munch’s iconic 1893 composition The Scream on the front. Welcome to the Void!

* Audiophile restoration / remastering by Ezra Lesser.

01. Welcome To The Void 04:48

02. Of Dreams 05:38

03. Beggin' Your Pardon (Miss Joan) 04:51

04. Eternity In Between 05:10

05. Purple 04:13

06. She's The Nitetime 03:31

07. Love 10:56

08. Of Dreams (45 Version) [bonus track]  03.24

09. She's the Nitetime (45 Version) [bonus track]  03.27

10. Street Walker [bonus track]  03.39

11. Lady [bonus track]  04.06

12. Too Many Americas [bonus track]  05.47

13. Don't You Tell Me [bonus track]  05.52

14. Maryjane [bonus track]  02.59

15. Alpha Omega [bonus track]  05.01

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Richard Thompson - Guitar, Vocal (Unreleased Songs UK 1967-76)

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Source: Japan SHM-CD Remaster

(guitar, vocal) is a 1976 album by Richard Thompson. It was released by Island Records as a career retrospective after he and his wife Linda had gone into semi-retirement from the business of making and performing music following the release of Pour Down Like Silver (1975).

Most tracks are unreleased recordings from Thompson's career to date - though the two instrumental tracks were recorded specifically for this compilation. (guitar, vocal) spans Thompsons's early years with Fairport Convention as well as the time he spent performing and recording as a duo with wife Linda. The release was notable for two live cuts from the 1975 Richard and Linda Thompson tour — "Night Comes In" and "Calvary Cross" — which featured lengthy guitar solos by Thompson, and for the Fairport Convention tracks "The Ballad of Easy Rider" featuring an excellent vocal from Sandy Denny which was an unreleased track from the Liege & Lief sessions and "Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman" which had been recorded for and then omitted from that group's Full House album.

(guitar, vocal) has been out of print for some years now. Several tracks first released as part of this compilation have subsequently been included as bonus tracks on remastered Fairport Convention and Richard & Linda Thompson albums issued by Island Records. However the BBC version of Mr Lacey remains unavailable elsewhere, and did not feature on the recent Fairport Convention boxset.

A superb 68-minute collection of obscure and unreleased tracks from Thompson's career, covering late 1967 until April 1976. The album's first six tracks are devoted to Thompson's career with Fairport Convention -- highlights include "Throwaway Street Puzzle" (the B-side of the single "Meet on the Ledge"), the BBC recording of "Mr. Lacey," the Liege and Lief session outtake "The Ballad of Easy Rider," the Full House session outtake "Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman," and "Sweet Little Rock 'N' Roller" from the L.A. Troubadour (House Full) concert tapes. 

Thompson plays some sizzling guitar on these cuts, though "Ballad of Easy Rider" -- played here the way Dylan might've covered it on John Wesley Harding -- is more representative of Sandy Denny than Thompson. The post-Fairport material includes an alternate arrangement of "A Heart Needs a Home" from Hokey Pokey, a beautifully sung live rendition of "The Dark End of the Street" (featuring one of Linda Thompson's best performances); their hard-rocking live rendition of Jack Clement's "It'll Be Me"; the exquisite solo acoustic guitar instrumental "Flee as a Bird"; and two epics, "Night Comes In" and "Calvary Cross," featuring Thompson and his band stretching out on-stage. Despite the existence of the triple-CD career retrospective, this disc still has enough prime rarities to rate as a must-own, even for casual fans. [Source: Wikipedia + AMG]

Joe Boyd – Producer

Sandy Denny – Vocals

Timi Donald – Drums

Pat Donaldson – Guitar (Bass)

Judy Dyble – Vocals

Fairport Convention – Performer

Victor Gamm – Engineer

Ashley Hutchings – Bass, Guitar (Bass)

John Kirkpatrick – Accordion, Button Accordion

Martin Lamble – Drums

Todd Lloyd – Producer

Dave Mattacks – Drums

Ian Matthews – Vocals

Simon Nicol – Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Mellotron

Dave Pegg – Guitar (Bass)

Pete Ross – Harmonica

Peter Ross – Harmonica

Dave Swarbrick – Mandolin, Violin

Linda Thompson – Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), Performer

Richard Thompson – Dulcimer, Guitar, Mandolin, Arranger, Vocals, Producer, Appalachian Dulcimer

Ian Whiteman – Harmonium, Piano (Electric)

John Wood – Producer, Engineer

01."Time Will Show the Wiser" (Emmitt Rhodes) - this recording was included on Fairport Convention's first album. – 3:03

02."Throwaway Street Puzzle" (Ashley Hutchings, Thompson) - originally released as the b-side to Meet On The Ledge, the single from Fairport's second album What We Did On Our Holidays. This song was a bonus track on the 2003 re-issue of What We Did On Our Holidays. – 3:18

03."Mr Lacey" (Hutchings) - this version is from a 1968 BBC radio broadcast and remains unavailable eleswhere. – 2:53

04."The Ballad of Easy Rider" (Roger McGuinn) - Recorded during the sessions in 1969 for Fairport's Liege & Lief album. The 2002 re-issue of the Unhalfbricking album included The Ballad of Easy Rider as a bonus track as it was felt that the song fitted better with the mix of contemporary songs on that album rather than the traditional feel of Liege & Lief. – 4:34

05."Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman" (Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) - originally recorded during the 1970 sessions for Fairport's Full House album. Thompson was unhappy with the vocals and insisted that the track be omitted from the original album. However the track was included on the 2001 re-issue of Full House. The recording included on (guitar, vocal) has extra vocals by Linda Thompson recorded in 1975. – 5:23

06."Sweet Little Rock 'n Roller" (Chuck Berry) - recorded in concert at the Troubador club in Los Angeles during Fairport's 1970 tour. – 4:18

07."A Heart Needs a Home" - this is a different recording and arrangement of the song included on the Hokey Pokey album. This track was included in the 2000 Island Years compilation. – 4:04

08."The Dark End of the Street" (Dan Penn, Chips Moman) - recorded during a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London in April 1975. The same recording was included as a bonus track on the 2004 re-issue of the Pour Down Like Silver album. – 4:22

09."It'll Be Me" (Jack Clement) - recorded during a concert at Oxford Polytechnic in November 1975. The same recording was included as a bonus track on the 2004 re-issue of the Hokey Pokey album. – 4:22

10."Flee As a Bird" (trad., arr. Thompson) - recorded in 1976 for this compilation. – 3:11

11."Night Comes In" - recorded during a concert at Oxford Polytechnic in November 1975. The same recording was included as a bonus track on the 2004 re-issue of the Pour Down Like Silver album. – 12:24

12."The Pitfall/The Excursion" - recorded in 1976 for this compilation. – 3:02

13."Calvary Cross" - recorded during a concert at Oxford Polytechnic in November 1975. The same recording was included in the 2000 Island Years compilation. – 13:27

Bonus Tracks

14. Fairport Convention - If I Had A Ribbon Bow (Bonus 1967) 02.44

15. Fairport Convention - Throwaway Street Puzzle (Bonus 1968) 03.30

16. Fairport Convention - You're Gonna Need My Help [BBC Bonus 1969]  04.11

17. Fairport Convention - Some Sweet Day (BBC Bonus)  02.18

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JJ & The Real Jerks - Rat Beach (Ramones Alike Punk US 2023)

Size: 121 MB

Bitrate: 320

mp3

Ripped by ChrisGoesRock

Artwork Included

For those late to the party, L.A.’s JJ & The Real Jerks have been kicking around since 2009, bashing out a handful of singles, e.p.’s and full-length platters for labels like Dead Beat, Rock N' Roll Manifesto, Stamp Out Disco, Heavy Medication, and Pat Todd’s Rankoutsider Records. Now, these Sons of The Dolls are back in business with their strongest batch of sleazy barroom rock ‘n’ roll yet.

Steeped in boozy swagger and Stonesy git-down, these 17 songs do exactly that. Joe “JJ” Jennings and company mix their Johnny Thunders with SoCal punk’n’roll from the glory days of The Humpers and The Dragons and add a spritz of Buzzcocks’ melodic attack. They come blazing out of the gate with dual-guitar overdrive and thrashing rhythms, segue into hooky-as-hell barstool anthems, then celebrate the miracle of life with uplifting swagger infused rock n' roll ditties.. This is one fun, raging garage-punk release so hop on aboard and hitch a ride with us on over to Rat Beach. 

Published by 4 May 2013:

Can you tell us a bit about the band’s history? What have you released so far?

The band started in mid 2009, essentially as a recording project just to get some ideas out. Eventually when we had enough material, we started playing out live and releasing records.  So far we’ve put out 3 seven inch singles, and one 12 inch EP, and currently working on a new recording now.

You played your first show opening for MICHAEL MONROE, how was it and how did it happen?

That was an amazing night!  It was at a small 200 person venue in Redondo Beach, right under the pier.  It was one of Michael Monroe’s first shows with his new band, before their record was even out.  We kind of just got lucky to get on that bill, it was a Sunday night and we got in front of a good amount of people.  I think we only rehearsed once and played like 5 songs, it was loose to say the least, but really fun!  Michael Monroe ruled, and it was pretty great to get that opportunity to see him perform right in my neighborhood!

How did you get to work with Rankoutsider Records?

I’ve been friends with Pat Todd’s rhythm guitarist Kevin Keller for a few years now.  He got us an opening slot with The Rankoutsiders a couple years ago, and Pat was there to see our set.  I gave him a few of our older recordings, and through that the relationship with the label began.  We’ve released ‘The Wringer’ 7” single, as well as the latest ‘Economy Class Ego Trip’ EP on Rankoutsider.  I also had the opportunity to play sax on two songs on their new record that will be out this year.

Greg Kuehn (The JONESES/TSOL) appears on the EP. How did you meet? When did you hear The JONESES and TSOL for the first time?

I met Greg when my old band got to play with Prima Donna & The Joneses at a club in West LA back in 2008 or so.  Around that time, Full Breach Kicks had just re-issued a few of the Joneses records, and the band was starting to play shows around town again.  TSOL I had been familiar with just through being into the early LA and OC punk rock stuff.  Greg’s an amazing musician, and when we were looking for those real rollicking ‘ham-fisted’ piano parts, he was more than willing to lay down some tracks for us!

You probably get a lot of comparisons with The HANGMEN. Your opinion about the band?

I think they’re great!  I’ve gotten to catch them a few times. One of the best shows I saw was them along with the Zeros (the original Zeros from Chula Vista) on New Year’s eve a few years back at a tiny bar in downtown LA.

J.J., you also play sax in WALTER LURE’s West Coast backing band, right?

Yes, since about 2009. I met Joey Pinter (The Waldos lead guitarist who played on the Rent Party record) through Real Jerks bassist Hiroshi Yamazaki. Walter wanted to line up a few SoCal shows, and Joey basically put the backing band together. They were looking for a sax player and through Hiroshi I got the gig. Since then, Walter has come out to LA about three times. We actually just played a show a few weeks ago put together by Roy J. Morgan, it was the fourth annual Johnny Thunders tribute show that he does. It was a blast. Close to 400 people came out, and just about every good rock n’ roll band from L.A. was on the bill!

Do you only release your records on vinyl? It seems like this format is getting more popular than the CDs nowadays…

All of the releases have come out on vinyl & digital so far. Usually 300-500 copies pressed on colored wax. I’ve always been a big record collector, so it just seemed natural to release the music on this format. It’s definitely not the cheapest route, but it’s been a great experience and I’ve learned a lot. The pressing plant we use is local here in LA, and I’ve gotten to know them pretty well over the years. Also it seems like people will pay a little more attention to a vinyl release. It’s more likely to get reviewed, airplay on radio stations etc.

Do you feel like a new American rock’n’roll scene is rising from the underground with bands like PRIMA DONNA or The BITERS?

It’s definitely still an underground ‘niche’ thing, but what’s really cool is to see more and more younger guys and girls showing up at the gigs, and maybe even forming bands of their own. There seem to be a lot of younger groups that are looking to bands like the Dolls, Stooges, MC5 etc as an influence, and still putting a modern spin on it.

What are the last live bands you’ve enjoyed?

The Night Marchers, The Hives, Fidlar, The Zeros, Crazy Squeeze, Dirty Eyes, Telephone Lovers, Black Mambas,

Your projects?

Aside from doing JJ & The Real Jerks, I play bass in The Legendary Swagger, which is a five piece straight ahead rock n’ roll/punk band. A few of the guys in that band Geoff Yeaton, Skot Pollok and Richie Mendez play in the Real Jerks too. They’ve been around for a while, I loved their band so much they were one of the major influences on me forming The Real Jerks. Eventually I got a couple of those guys to agree to play in my band, and in turn, they let me join their band as the bass player!! We play out a couple times a year.

01. Rat Beach 02:58

02. Girl I Want My Money Back 02:39

03. Mile High Fight Club 03:29

04. Crash Pad 03:10

05. Bridge Worth Burning 03:12

06. Built To Blast 02:28

07. Dead In The Water 02:14

08. Lost Souls Pub 02:49

09. I Don't Know 03:01

10. Ten Cent Beer Night 02:58

11. Mess You Up 03:48

12. Deprecation Blues 02:28

13. Split Decision 02:19

14. Sinking Feeling 02:54

15. Put Me Out 01:58

16. Shaken Down 02:26

17. Wasted Time 02:56

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