Rare R&B: Bobby Marchan - There's Something on Your Mind (R&B US 1965) (Recorded 1959-61)

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Bobby Marchan (born Oscar James Gibson) (April 30, 1930 in Youngstown Ohio – December 5, 1999) was a well-respected American rhythm and blues bandleader, MC, singer-performer, recording artist, and female impersonator, who initially began performing in New Orleans nightclubs, specifically the Dew Drop Inn and the Club Tijuana in the mid-1950s.

Marchan also toured with the band of Huey "Piano" Smith, sometimes performing as lead singer / bandleader and substituting vocally for Huey Smith (who reputedly often would stay in New Orleans to write and record while his namesake band "Huey Smith and the Clowns" played clubs and toured on the road). The touring band included James Booker on piano.

One of Marchan's vocal performances with Huey Smith and the Clowns can be heard on the New Orleans R&B recording, "Don't You Just Know It", which was released in 1958. Marchan also had a solo #1 hit on the national R&B charts in 1960 with the tune "There is Something on your Mind," a cover of a song performed by Big Jay McNeely.

Marchan recorded for a handful of small soul labels such as Fire Records, Volt, Dial, Cameo, and Gamble as well as Ace Records, which had released the Clowns' records.

Marchan regularly performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

In the 1990s his company Manicure Productions was involved in hip hop music booking and promotion including Take Fo' Records bounce music artist DJ Jubilee. He was involved with the formation of Cash Money Records.

Bobby Marchan - US Single 1960

A larger-than-life performer best remembered for his 1960 R&B chart-topper "There Is Something on Your Mind," singer Bobby Marchan was born Oscar James Gibson in Youngstown, OH, on April 30, 1930. As a child he became fascinated by the female impersonators who appeared on the so-called "chitlin circuit" of black nightclubs, and began singing and performing comedy in drag while in his teens. 

In 1953 Marchan organized his own drag troupe, the Powder Box Revue; during a booking at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn, he became enamored with the city, making it his home for the remainder of his life. There he accepted a job as MC at the Club Tijuana, where he was discovered by Aladdin Records president Eddie Meisner. Marchan cut his debut single, "Have Mercy," for producer Cosimo Matassa in 1954, but Aladdin dropped him soon after, and he landed at Dot for the follow-up, "Just a Little Ol' Wine."

He then signed to Ace after label head Johnny Vincent caught his drag show, offering Marchan a contract in the mistaken belief he was a woman; 1955's "Give a Helping Hand" appeared under the alias Bobby Fields, with the Marchan surname restored for his next effort, the regional smash "Chickee Wah-Wah." In 1957 he joined Huey "Piano" Smith as the original lead vocalist with Smith's legendary band the Clowns -- in addition to appearing on classics including "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie-Woogie Flu," "Don't You Just Know It," "You Don't Know Yockomo," and "Havin' a Good Time" (not to mention popularizing the Smith composition "Sea Cruise," a hit on wax for singer Frankie Ford), Marchan also continued his solo career, issuing "I'll Never Let You Go." He left the Clowns in early 1959, issuing his final Ace single, "Rockin' Behind the Iron Curtain," later that same year. He then returned to the road and resumed his drag career, signing to Fire Records to issue "Snoopin' and Accusin'."

Bobby Marchan - US Single 1961

With 1960's reading of the Big Jay McNeely song "There Is Something on Your Mind," Marchan finally scored the solo hit that had for so long eluded him, reaching number one on the R&B charts. A series of Fire singles followed in rapid succession, among them "Booty Green," "All in My Mind," "What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You," and "Yes, It's Written All Over Your Face," but none earned much attention on the national charts. On the recommendation of Otis Redding he was signed to Stax Records in 1963, adopting a more contemporary soul approach and making his label debut with "What Can I Do." Within a year Marchan was recording for yet another label, Dial, cutting "Get Down With It," a hit for British glam icons Slade in 1971. He spent much of the mid-'60s recording for Cameo, debuting in 1966 with "There's Something About You, Baby" and returning to the R&B Top 20 with the follow-up, "Shake Your Tambourine."

Subsequent efforts, including 1967's "Meet Me in Church" and "You Better Hold On," received scant attention, however, and after 1968's "(Ain't No Reason) For Girls to Be Lonely" -- a one-shot for Gamble -- Marchan spent nearly a decade without a record deal, returning to his drag roots yet again. By 1977 he was installed as the MC at New Orleans' Club Alhambra, resurfacing that same year on Mercury with "I Wanna Bump With the Big Fat Woman," soon followed by another novelty effort, "Disco Rabbit." Around 1983 Marchan founded his own production company, Manicure, to scout and promote up-and-coming hip-hop acts. In 1987 he recorded his final single, an updated version of "There Is Something on Your Mind," and later helped found the Cash Money label. After a long battle with liver cancer, he died December 5, 1999, at the age of 69.

(All tracks recorded between 1959-61)

01. There's Something On Your Mind (Pt.1)
02. There's Something On Your Mind (Pt.2)
03. Booty Green
04. It Hurts Me To My Heart
05. Snoopin' And Accusin'
06. All In My Mind
07. The Things I Used To Do (Pt.1)
08. The Things I Used To Do (Pt.2)
09. What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You
10. This Is The Life
11. I Need Someone (I Need You)
12. I Miss You So
13. Yes, It's Written All Over Your Face
14. You're Still My Baby (Pt.2)
15. You're Still My Baby (Pt.1)
16. Look At My Heart
17. Yes, It's Written All Over Your Face (Pt.1): Unreleased
18. Yes, It's Written All Over Your Face (Pt.2): Unreleased

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Yes - Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 (2CD)

Size: 189 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Source: Japan BLU-Spec Remaster

Yes' early years, up until The Yes Album, are usually perceived as a formative period, primarily of interest to hardcore fans. This double-CD set of live BBC and other radio-related tracks from 1969-70, however, forces the listener to take this era of the group's history on its own terms. The performances and repertory all date from the tail end of the psychedelic era, and a time when the Nice were the only fully functioning progressive rock unit in England -- one can hear the early incarnation of Yes catching up fast with Keith Emerson and company, throwing in progressive influences of their own and generally playing like there was no tomorrow. 

The fact that the BBC sessions never permitted retakes, and were never intended for commercial release, gave them a raw, spontaneous quality that was missing from the studio equivalents. 

The drawback is that the singing is sometimes a lot rougher than the group would have preferred -- so "Dear Father," for example, is vibrant but a little raw; on the other hand, "Every Little Thing" is practically worth the price of the disc by itself, as the most exciting track here. Disc two features more live performances of the era off of radio, including a completely different but equally impressive version of "Every Little Thing" and more amazing work by Bill Bruford. 

Overall, it's the perfect early Yes companion to Yessongs, with notes by Peter Banks, the band's co-founder and lead guitarist during this era, that reveal a lot about what the band was like during this era and some of the rivalries and alleged unfairness in the divvying up of credits and revenues.


Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 is a compilation of live recordings by the progressive rock band, Yes. They are the only live recordings to feature the band's original lineup. It is a compilation of the band's early performances on BBC radio. The two-disc set features liner notes from original guitarist Peter Banks, who was fired from the band shortly after these recordings were made.

Legally released, but without the knowledge of the band, this two-CD compilation of early Yes appearances on British, French, and German radio shows is perhaps the best that fans can hope for; except for the title track of "Time and a Word," Yes has never bothered to release live versions of songs off its first two albums. 


Most of these early songs turn up here, and there's even an prototype of "Starship Trooper" in the previously unreleased "For Everyone." Stripped raw of their studio padding, the Time and a Word cuts attain a ragged beauty, especially in redlining versions of "Dear Father" and "No Opportunity Necessary." 

The liner notes were clearly a labor of love, with newspaper clippings, posters, recording notes, unpublished photos, and dishy notes by a thoroughly unrepentant Peter Banks. Despite variable sound quality, and an inevitable garage band grittiness, it's a fine artifact. Released in the U.S. in 1998 as Beyond & Before.

Band members:
♦ Jon Anderson - vocals
♦ Chris Squire - bass, vocals
♦ Peter Banks - guitars
♦ Tony Kaye - keyboards
♦ Bill Bruford - drums

Disc one 
01. "Something's Coming"  Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim  7:38
02. "Everydays"  Stephen Stills  5:12
03. "Sweetness"  Jon Anderson/Clive Bailey/Chris Squire 4:14
04. "Dear Father"  Anderson/Squire  5:33
05. "Every Little Thing"  Lennon–McCartney  5:31
06. "Looking Around"  Anderson/Squire  3:40
07. "Sweet Dreams"  Anderson/David Foster  3:26
08. "Then"  Anderson  4:19

Bonus Track:
09. "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed"  Richie Havens  4:18

Disc two  
01. "Astral Traveller"  Anderson  6:01
02. "Then"  Anderson  5:15
03. "Every Little Thing"  Lennon–McCartney  6:49
04. "Everydays"  Stills  6:06
05. "For Everyone"  Anderson/Squire  4:35
06. "Sweetness"  Anderson/Bailey/Squire  5:16
07. "Something's Coming"  Bernstein/Sondheim  7:58
08. "Sweet Dreams"  Anderson/Foster  4:14

Bonus Track:
09. "Beyond & Before"  Squire/Bailey  5:28

+ Picture Sleeve Mini CD Single:
01. "Astral Traveller" BBC Live

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Yes - Japan Single 1972

Yes - Netherland Single 1970

Stealers Wheel - Selftitled (Scottish Folkrock UK 1972)

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Stealers Wheel is the debut 1972 album by the Scottish folk rock band Stealers Wheel.

Encased in a classy sleeve painted by Scottish playwright John "Patrick" Byrne, the first LP from the tumultuous Stealers Wheel is a debonair affair comprised of the kind of accomplished and polished pub pop for which impetus Gerry Rafferty would become known as he subsequently rode out the decade on the sublime radio single "Baker Street ." Rafferty released his first solo slab, Can I Have My Money Back? (the title already showing signs of unrest) in 1971, and brought amigo Joe Egan from those sessions to the princely proceeding here. 

Worthy musical moments abound, all forever overshadowed by the clever corporate-snub "Stuck in the Middle With You" which branded the duo a one-hit wonder when the track took on a life of its own. Sadly, the song also foreshadowed the premature end of Stealers Wheel, and Rafferty and Egan continued to document the personal and professional turmoil of their short time together throughout their respective solo careers, even re-recording some of these early jewels. And though only Rafferty's star continued to rise, Egan harbors considerable talent as well, shining brightly on his Rubber Soul-influenced tapestry "Another Meaning"; however, he keeps bland company with Bad Company with the dumb thud of "I Get By." 

Meanwhile, Rafferty creates one of those oh-so-cosmic '70s grooves for "Outside Looking In," before being unfortunately caught in one of those oh-so-abrupt '70s fades at the end of side one. This vibe wouldn't be broken so drastically on CD, but for now, and seemingly forever, the platter must be flipped for the unique "Johnny's Song" wherein mountain-rock breaks surround Rafferty's wry life observations. Hidden nugget "Next to Me" extols mellow melancholy meditations exclusive to the West Coast and the Have a Nice Day Decade. 

Closing pastorale "You Put Something Better Inside of Me" inspired renditions by Ted Neeley and Raphael Ravenscroft. Ultimately, this very solid outing casts a somber shadow because of unfulfilled expectations. And any record this carefully crafted doesn't deserve to languish in the bins of obscurity, but such seems to be the fate of Stealers Wheel. At least the band will always be remembered through the cinematic revival of that supreme FM staple "Stuck in the Middle With You." 

Stealers Wheel are a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in Paisley, Renfrewshire in 1972 by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty.

Rafferty and Egan first met when they were teenagers in Paisley and they became the core of Stealers Wheel. In the early 1970s, the band was considered to be the British version of American folk/rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They were initially joined by Roger Brown, Rab Noakes and Ian Campbell in 1972. However, that line-up only lasted a few months and by the time the band were signed to A&M Records later that same year, Brown, Noakes and Campbell had been replaced by Paul Pilnick, Tony Williams and Rod Coombes. This line-up recorded their self-titled debut album, Stealers Wheel and was produced by the influential American songwriters and producers Leiber & Stoller. The album was a critical and commercial success, reaching #50 in the US Billboard 200 album chart, with their million selling hit single "Stuck in the Middle with You", coming from the album.

Stealers Wheel - Italy Single 1972

By the time the first album was released Rafferty had left the band to be replaced by Luther Grosvenor, who remained with the band for much of 1973 on tour. DeLisle Harper also replaced Tony Williams on tour. "Stuck in the Middle With You" reached #6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and #8 in the UK Singles Chart in 1973, and sold over one million copies worldwide, and with the album also selling well, Rafferty was persuaded to return. However, Grosvenor, Coombes and Pilnick all left the band. With so many changes in the band's line-up they officially became a duo, with backing musicians as needed on tour and in the studio. Later in 1973 the single "Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine" had modest chart success (the single version is different from the album version and all subsequent CD's) and, in 1974, the single "Star" reached the Top 30 of both the UK and US charts. Reviewing the single "Star", David Middleton at PopRockNation wrote:

"A catchy shuffle of the Lennonesque variety, "Star" is 3 minutes of pure shimmering acoustic-guitar pop loveliness and honey-throated vocal harmonies, punctuated with spikes of harmonica, kazoo, woodblock, and bawdy barrelhouse piano."

A second album Ferguslie Park was released in 1974, with the duo backed up by nine backing musicians. The album, named after an area of Paisley, just reached the US Billboard 200 and was a commercial failure. With increasing tension between Rafferty and Egan they could not agree on which studio musicians to use on the third album, and with Leiber & Stoller also having business problems, Stealers Wheel disappeared for eighteen months. By the time the album Right Or Wrong was released in 1975, Stealers Wheel had ceased to exist.

The last album, because of disagreements and managerial problems, was produced by Mentor Williams. All three albums had sleeve designs by artist John Byrne.

After 1975 the group was hardly known, and the two last single releases faded away in the charts. Both Rafferty and Egan recorded songs which included lyrics referring to the acrimonious history of Stealers Wheel and a Best of Stealers Wheel album was released in 1990. In 1992 director Quentin Tarantino used the track "Stuck in the Middle with You" in the soundtrack of his debut film Reservoir Dogs, bringing new attention to the band.

Stealers Wheel - Netherland Single 1972

In September 2001 a dance version of "Stuck in the Middle with You" was a UK Top 10 hit for Louise, with a music video that drew heavily on the original song's appearance in the soundtrack of Reservoir Dogs.

All three albums have been unavailable for a number of years, although in 2004 and 2005 the British independent record label Lemon Recordings, of Cherry Red, re-released them with remastered sound and new liner-notes.

After being contacted by iTunes and K-tel records in California, Tony Williams re-formed Stealers Wheel in Blackpool in 2008 with two other original band members, Rod Coombes and Paul Pilnick, together with locally based musician and songwriter Tony Mitchell. On 10 November 2008 they started filming a music video for a re-release of "Stuck in the Middle" on the Fylde coast. They also began writing songs for an album due to have been released in 2009, although they have no plans to go on tour. Luther Grosvenor has expressed his interest in joining the band should they tour.

Gerry Rafferty died on 4 January 2011 after suffering liver failure.

Personnel:
♦ Gerry Rafferty - guitar, lead vocals
♦ Joe Egan - keyboards, lead vocals
♦ Paul Pilnick - lead guitar
♦ Tony Williams - bass
♦ Rod Coombes - drums

01. "Late Again"  Joe Egan, Gerry Rafferty  3:16
02. "Stuck in the Middle with You"  Egan, Rafferty  3:23
03. "Another Meaning"   Egan  3:01
04. "I Get By"  Egan  3:16
05. "Outside Looking In"  Rafferty  3:54
06. "Johnny's Song"  Rafferty  3:45
07. "Next to Me"  Egan, Rafferty  3:37
08. "José"  Egan  3:23
09. "Gets So Lonely"  Egan  2:57
10. "You Put Something Better Inside Me"  Egan, Rafferty  3:50

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Picture of the day (Very rare poster for Electric Ladyland 1968)

(open picture in A NEW WINDOW for 100% size)

Tibet - Selftitled (Very Rare German Progressive Rock 1976)

Size: 78.9 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
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Source: Japan SHM-CD Remaster

Jürgen Krutszch formed TIBET in 1972, having been inspired by the Eastern experimentation of groups such as the BEATLES and THIRD EAR BAND. Krutszch had spent the latter part of the sixties in cover bands (FINE ART, NOSTRADAMUS), and was interested in putting together a group that played native Tibetan instruments such as the tabla, violin, zither, and flute. He quickly abandoned this idea after recruiting former band mates Karl-Heinz Hamann (FINE ART, TESKE) and Dieter Kumpakischkis (NOSTRADAMUS), as well as drummer Fred Teske and vocalist Kalus Werthmann, but the band did retain a certain pseudo-mystic feel to their music during their nine year existence. 

The band toured extensively throughout the seventies, opening occasionally for fellow countrymen and friends of the band KRAAN, but managed to release only a single album, their self-titled 1979 studio release. The tracks for the album were recorded in three separate sessions dating from December 1976 to September 1978, 
The band's sound was a complex fusion of astral rock, jazz, classical music and Tibetan sounds, heavily keyboard-driven (Hammond, mellotron) and compared to the likes of ELOY, AMENOPHIS, and even URIAH HEEP, although most of their studio release consists of tracks that are similar in style but more reserved than any of those bands. Lyrics (when present) were primarily in sung English, but the band was known to play longer instrumentals in concert, and three such tracks appear on their studio release. 

Rumor has it that when Musea Records decided to release the album on CD in 1994, the original master tapes were nowhere to be found, so the label arranged for the entire album to be re-recorded. It is unclear whether the original band members were the actual musicians who recorded the CD version of the album. The original vinyl release sold somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000 copies and is no longer available. 

As an interesting side-note, Garden of Delight Records released a series of sampler recordings of early psychedelic and symphonic bands around the turn of this century, and volume 5 of that collection features two songs credited to TIBET. While the core membership of the band is the same as that one their 1979 studio release, the singer is listed as a 16 year-old girl known simply as Maggie. These tracks were believed to have been recorded by the band very early in their career, and prior to signing Werthmann as their permanent singer. Nothing else is known of the girl. 

Having failed to make a commercial impression with their one record, TIBET decided to call it quits and disbanded following their final concert appearance on March 22, 1980. 

TIBET deserves recognition for having been a small part of the progressive music scene with their extensive live performance history throughout the seventies, and for the eclectic and ambitious style of music for which they were known by their small but persistent fan base.

Another great and forgotten German band, Tibet made a heavier symphonic sound with very creative and well-crafted melodies.
Instruments such as Hammond and Mellotron have a beautiful featured throughout on its course. Two essential instrumental tracks are worth this gem, "White Ships And Icebergs" and "Eagles", these tracks remind me clearly the good old days of Eloy and also the german Minotaurs.

The vocals in English also have much quality and promote more energy to the record. A pity that some German bands have not earned much highlighted back in the 70´s and being discovered only now a days by the collectors and Progressive Rock researchers.

Those "one shot" bands from Germany had a suffered and frustranting career, they used to record their albuns at small home studios and played live in local festivals opening concerts for great bands such as Eloy, TD, Grobschnitt and many others.

The record companies and producers were not interested in those bands, which are nowadays, very rare and quite panned by true lovers and researchers from German Progressive Rock.

Line Up:
♣ Kalus Werthmann / lead vocals
♣ Deff Ballin / keyboards, percussion 
♣ Dieter Kumpakischkis / keyboards 
♣ Karl Heinz Hamann / bass, percussion 
♣ Fred Teske / drums 
♣ Jürgen Grutzsch / guitars, percussion 

01. Fight Back (4:59) 
02. City By The Sea (4:24) 
03. White Ships And Icebergs (6:15) 
04. Seaside Evening (4:13) 
05. Take What's Yours (7:23) 
06. Eagles (6:05) 
07. No More Time (5:30)

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Hmmm...Good

Roy Buchanan - Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX 1974-02-23 (Bootleg)

Size: 209 MB
Bitrate: 320
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Found in OuterSpace
Some Artwork

Dedicated To Roy Buchanan and his, 1953 Fender® Telecaster® "Nancy" 

Roy Buchanan was one of America's true geniuses of the electric guitar. Even posthumously, he commands the ardent respect of his fellow guitarists and a devoted army of fans. The Buchanan sound is unique: heartbreaking, searing solos, trademark shimmering tone, gorgeous melodies and a mixture of lightning quickness and technical creativity that mark him as a wizard of the instrument. He was a pioneer in the use of controlled harmonics, and although this technique has been used by the likes of Jeff Beck, Robbie Robertson and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, all acknowledge Buchanan as the master. 

Raised in the small town of Pixley, California, Roy's musical fire was sparked at an early age. His father was a sharecropper and Pentecostal preacher and Roy's first musical memories were of the racially-mixed revival meetings his family would attend. Surrounded by gospel, R&B and country influences, it wasn't long before Roy expressed interest in playing an instrument. His parents sent him to the local lap steel guitar teacher, Mrs. Pressure, who had Roy picking out the Hit Parade favorites by the time he was seven years old. Six years later, Roy moved on to a Fender Telecaster. "I liked the tone," he said, "it sounded a lot like steel guitar." Soon thereafter, drawn to the blossoming R&B scene in Los Angeles, Roy ran away from home and headed for the big city. At only 15 years of age, he was taken under the wing of famed bandleader/producer/writer/arranger/impresario Johnny Otis. The young Roy studied the blues mastery of guitarists such as Jimmy Nolen (later with James Brown), Pete Lewis and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson.

The late fifties and early sixties found Roy playing for and cutting a number of sessions with musicians as diverse as pop idol Freddie Cannon, rockabilly legend Dale Hawkins, and even Ronnie Hawkins (whose band, the Hawks, would later gain fame as the Band). During his stint with Ronnie Hawkins, Roy played guitar mentor to the group's then bass player, Robbie Robertson. Then, in 1962, Roy's trademark harmonics were introduced on Potato Peeler, his groundbreaking single with drummer Bobby Gregg. In the mid-sixties, exhausted by life on the road, Roy settled down in the Washington, D.C. area, started his own group, The Snakestretchers, and began a residency at the Crossroads Club in Blades Burg, Maryland.

In 1971, already riding on word-of-mouth reputation that included accolades from Eric Clapton, Merle Haggard, the Rolling Stones and John Lennon (who made a personal pilgrimage to see Roy at the Crossroads Club), Roy "broke" nationally as the result of an hour-long National Public Television documentary. Entitled The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World, the show won Roy a contract with Polydor and began a decade of national and international touring. He cut five albums for Polydor (one went gold) and three for Atlantic (one gold), while playing virtually every major rock concert hall and festival. The major labels gave him fame and fortune, but no artistic freedom. Finally, disgusted with the over-production forced on his music, Roy quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his way.

Four years later, Roy was coaxed back into the studio by Alligator Records. His first album for Alligator, When A Guitar Plays The Blues, was released in the spring of 1985. It was the first time he was given total artistic freedom in the studio; it was also his first true blues album. Fans quickly responded, and the album entered Billboard's pop charts with a bullet and remained on the charts for 13 weeks. Music critics, as well as fans applauded Roy's efforts with accolades and plenty of four-star reviews. His second Alligator LP, Dancing On The Edge, was released in the fall of 1986. The album won the College Media Journal (CMJ) Award for Best Blues Album of 1986. 

One year later, Buchanan released Hot Wires, his third Alligator LP and the twelfth of his career. It was hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "his best album ever." By this time, Roy's illustrious career had taken him from underground club gigs in the sixties, to international recognition and gold record sales in the seventies and worldwide tours in the eighties with the likes of the Allman Brothers. He even performed to a sold-out Carnegie Hall with label-mates Albert Collins and Lonnie Mack. Roy was thoroughly enjoying the creative freedom he received from Alligator. "Since coming to Alligator," Roy once commented, "I'm finally making the records that I've always wanted to make." 

Buchanan's skill, soul and technical innovations were nothing less than marvels to his contemporaries and admirers. Without his inventiveness, the landscape of modern guitar playing would be completely different. Buchanan died in Virginia in 1988. He was 48 years old.

Roy Buchanan was born Leroy Buchanan in Ozark, Arkansas on 23 September, 1939.

Roy's father became a farmworker when the family moved to Pixley, California. Roy claimed his father was a pentecostal preacher although Roy's brother JD has said 'If my father ever went into a church, the roof’d fall in on him!'. His family would attend racially-mixed revival meetings and late R 'n' B radio shows were where he developed his love of music. 'Gospel,' Roy recalled, 'that's how I first got into black music.'

At the age of nine, Roy took his first steps onto the bumpy road that was his impressive but ultimately troubled career. It was at this time he first showed interest in the guitar, so his parents bought him a lap steel. They also set him up with a travelling teacher, called Mrs Presher (Roy performed a track called 'Mrs Pressure' so its possible this is the correct name). However, despite three years of tuition, Roy learned to play by ear and never learned to read music.

At the age of 13 Roy first bought a guitar of the type that would be associated with him for the rest of his career. For $120 he got a Fender Telecaster.

A year later he dropped out of school in favour of furthering his passion for the six-stringed instrument. Staying with his older brother and sister in Los Angeles, he met Johnny Otis who took him under his wing - but soon he found himself leading a band called The Heartbeats (nothing to do with Nick Berry). It was in the Heartbeats that he had a brief appearance in a small film of the time called Rock, Pretty Baby. Unfortunately, the agent of the band, Bill Orwig, left the band stranded and Roy had to move on.

Roy took a job playing guitar for Oklahoma Bandstand in Tulsa - but when Dale Hawkins came into town, Roy joined his band and enjoyed three years' touring with him. It was with Dale that Roy made his first record appearance playing the solo on Hawkins's 'My Babe.'

He switched from Dale's to Ronnie Hawkins's (Hawkins was Dale's cousin) band and moved to Canada. During this period Roy taught guitar to the bass player, Robbie Robertson. Robertson and other members of Ronnie Hawkins's band The Hawks later became known as The Band. Later, however, in 1961, 'the Hawk' arranged a 'showdown' between the two guitarists. Here, Arkansan Levon Helm continues the narrative: 'Robbie had actually learned a lot from Roy, whose technical accomplishments as a blues guitarist were without peer back then. Once I asked him where he learned to play so good and he said in all seriousness he was half wolf.'

Later that year, in the summer of 1961, Roy married Judy Owens and the couple settled down in Washington. Roy played local gigs whenever and wherever he could find them, but it wasn't paying enough so he enrolled at barber college. However, by 1970 he was back on the club scene. He started his own band, Buch and The Snake Stretchers, in which he made his debut as frontman, and they started to build up an underground following. With this band he did a gig with singer Danny Denver at the Crossroads bar (odd how crossroads keep on appearing in blues history). It was during this gig that Roy Buchanan was be 'discovered' by the media.

Articles in the Washington Star, then the Washington Post (written by Tom Zito) led to a Rolling Stone reprint of the Post article. John Adams, a producer for WNET in New York, saw the article in Rolling Stone, and, after confirming that Roy was the real thing, he arranged to make a documentary about him. It was called The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World, and he was said to have been among those considered to join the Rolling Stones when Brian Jones left (he claimed to have turned them down). Adams arranged to have Roy play with musicians who had influenced him - this included a set with Merle Haggard and his Strangers (featuring Roy Nichols on Telecaster, as well as with Johnny Otis (with Margie Evans singing) and jazzman Mundell Lowe. The resulting film - interspersed with a live broadcast of rocker Nils Lofgren from WNET’s New York studio - was broadcast on 8 November, 1971, and got rave reviews.

The show won Roy a contract with Polydor (then a fledgling company) and began a decade of national and international touring. He was assigned to agent Charlie Daniels. However despite the fact Roy worked on and off on the album (The Prophet) for several months it wasn't released. The way Charlie remembers it, a critic from Baltimore heard the tapes and said it was rubbish. Between the time The Prophet was recorded and the time it was released, Roy had sold out Carnegie Hall (he was probably the only act without a record on the market to do so).

In the years that followed he recorded Buch and the Snakestretchers, Roy Buchanan, and Second Album. Buch and the Snakestretchers was Roy's first ever release, recorded live in 1971 at the Crossroads, where his was the house band. Roy wanted to capture what he was doing nightly and this result, recorded on two-track quarter-inch reel to reel, is really a snapshot of that moment.

The first album to appear on Polydor (named simply Roy Buchanan) was recorded in July, 1972 and released in the September. It sold 200,000 copies. Roy cut five albums for Polydor overall (one went gold) and three for Atlantic (one gold), while playing virtually every major rock concert hall and festival. The major labels gave him fame and fortune, but no artistic freedom. 'They kept trying to make me into some sort of pop star.' Finally, disgusted with the over-production forced on his music, Roy quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way.

Four years later, Roy was coaxed back into the studio by Alligator. His first album for Alligator, When A Guitar Plays The Blues, was released in the spring of 1985. It was the first time Buchanan was given total artistic freedom in the studio, on what was also his first true blues album. Fans quickly responded, and the album entered Billboard's pop charts with a bullet, remaining on the charts for 13 weeks. Music critics, as well as fans, applauded Roy's efforts with accolades and plenty of four-star reviews. He enjoyed his time with Alligator and released another two albums.

Fate was to deal him a cruel blow though. On the night of 14 August, 1988, Roy was arrested for public intoxication (drunk and disorderly) and taken to the Fairfax County Virginia Adult Detention Center. Official accounts say that Roy hanged himself in his cell by his shirt. He was the father of seven children and had five grandchildren. Some of his family and friends believe that the official account doesn't tell the whole story. Roy seemed to be very happy with Alligator Records and his home life. Also, Roy had seemed at pains over the remaining years that he was free of an alcohol and drug problem that had previously plagued him. Jerry Hentman was a man in the cell opposite and his report of the events has been published on the web.

Roy developed an impressive unique style. He had a clear trebly tone, which could be either hypnotic, or cut through with urgency. He pioneered techniques like pinched harmonics, overtones, feedback, and in particular use of the volume/tone controls. With the volume control he could make a note come out of silence and increase to a crescendo - without any sound of the pick. It was this, in conjunction with the tone control, that made him popularise use of the wah wah pedal. However, he wasn't just a pretty-sounding single note player. 

He was also capable of stringing together a fast finger picking technique, that made his hand seem like a blur. Despite these obvious abilities Roy always said he felt one note in the right place could be more important than several put in for the sake of it.

People he impressed, or inspired include Steve Vai, Gary Moore, Jerry Garcia, Les Paul, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Beck (which explains why he has sometimes been coined as The Guitarist's Guitarist's Guitarist) John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Kim Simmonds, Merle Haggard, Nils Lofgren, Danny Gatton, Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessell, Mundell Lowe and of course Robbie Robertson.

Roy Buchanan builds whirlwind solos with brilliant technique and flat-out blues feeling. A master technician and simply one heckuva guitarist.
- Guitar Player
A master of his instrument.
- Guitar Magazine
I believe Roy Buchanan to be the best blues guitarist ever. No one before or since has been able to capture emotion in the same way. Neither has anyone been able to play the guitar with such finesse as if it was surgically attached to them from birth, in the context of blues or soul. Do yourself a favour, if you haven't heard any Roy go out now and buy one of his records. Your ears will thank you (well not literally that would be silly).
- Guitar World

Roy Buchanan 1974-02-23
Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX

Personnel:
• Roy Buchanan: 1953 Fender Telecaster Guitar (Nancy), vocals
• Billy Price: Vocals
• John Harrison: Bass, vocals
• Ron 'Byrd' Foster: Drums, vocals
• Malcolm Lukens: Keyboards

Albums:
• Buch and The Snake Stretchers - 1971
• Roy Buchanan - 1972
• Second album - 18 January, 1973
• That's What I Am Here For - 1973
• Rescue Me - 1974
• In the Beginning - 1974
• Live Stock - 1974
• A Street Called Straight - 1976
• Loading Zone - 1977 (featuring Steve Cropper)
• You're ot Alone - 1978
• My Babe - 1981
• When a Guitar Plays the Blues - July, 1985
• Live in USA and Holland 1977-85
• Live in Japan - 1977
• Live - Charly Blues Legend Volume Nine - 1985-87
• Dancing on the Edge - 1986
• Hot wires - 7 July, 1987

01. ...Too Many Drivers
02. Roy´s Bluz
03. Rodney's Song 
04. Sweet Dreams 
05. My Baby Says She´s Gonna Leave Me
06. Hey Joe 
07. Johnny B. Goode
08. Bitter Memories
09. Tribute To Elmore 
10. Treat Her Right

01. Green Onions 
02. Further On Up The Road
03. C.C. Ryder
04. That´s What I´m Here For
05. Please Don't Turn Me Away 
06. I Hear You Knockin´ 
07. Whole Lotta Shakin´ Goin´ On
08. The Messiah Will Come Again
09. Don't Call Me ...

Part 1: Link
Part 2: Link
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Part 1: Link
Part 2: Link
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"Nancy"

Yes - Something's Coming: The BBC Recordings 1969–1970 (2CD) AirMail Records BLUE-SPEC CD/24Bit Mini LP + Mini Single CD x3

Will be released tomorrow. Limited Edition 2CD Mini LP + Mini LP CD Single

Great Artwork for this Mini LP CD with CD Single
(open picture in a new window for 100% size)

You can buy from here: http://www.airmailrecordings.com/

//ChrisGoesRock

PS, Anyone who has ordered the album? (just curious)

Van Der Graaf Generator - The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other (2nd Album UK 1970)

Size: 122 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan SHM-CD Remaster

The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970. The album was reissued in re-mastered form, with two bonus tracks, in 2005.

While this is the second album in the Van der Graaf Generator catalogue, it is really the first proper album by the band. Their previous album, The Aerosol Grey Machine had been written and recorded as a solo record by singer and main songwriter Peter Hammill, but because of a deal with the record company, was released under the Van der Graaf Generator name.

The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other was recorded at Trident Studios, London, 11–14 December 1969. Trident was one of the most advanced studios in all of Europe at the time. Most of the album was recorded on an 8-track reel to reel machine. However, the song After The Flood was recorded on a new state of the art 16-track recorder. It was one of the first such 16 track recordings made in the U.K.

The album credited Hugh Banton with writing the cello parts on "Refugees", but he was not given an actual songwriting credit. The first U.S. issue of the album was released by the Probe Records division of ABC Records also in 1970. It featured a different cover than the U.K. version.

The title is taken from artist John Minton: "We're all awash in a sea of blood, and the least we can do is wave to each other."

Peter Hammill has always had an abiding interest, it seems, in the blurred boundary between the mystical and the scientific, and between the rational and magical mind; this is certainly evident on the debut Van Der Graaf Generator album, even though Hammill had yet to really begin focusing himself on what it was that was driving him (despite the fact that the band's very name referenced a device that resembles a bastard mix of scientific apparatus and shamanic totem). 

The Least We Can Do brings those concerns to the fore with ferocity, with time out for a couple of more personal pieces ("Refugees" and "Out of Our Book"). Hammill's lyrics, delivered with all the passion and intent he can muster, reference mysticism, numerology, astrology, various religious pantheons, the Malleus Maleficarum (leading Hammill to conclude, a bit too hopefully, that magic needs to be gray to be balanced), Robert van deGraaf himself (in "Whatever Would Robert Have Said?"), the future of humanity, and surviving ecological catastrophe. 

This being the start of the 1970s, the hopeful notes are drowned out by the tidal wave of fear, sadness, and despair, despite which, the music does tend to be rather uplifting, thanks to the undercurrent of barely restrained majesty VDGG tended to have (possibly thanks to Hugh Banton, who had been rather used to communicating with God via church and cathedral organs; he brought that expertise to a position more normally occupied by determined B3 thumpers engaged in battle with show-horse guitarists). The main thing that The Least We Can Do is in need of now is a good remastering job (and the addition of a few leftover tracks, such as the "Refugees" single version and its B-side.)

Wikipedia Biography:
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriter Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and continue to perform as of 2013.

01 FEB 70 England, London, Lyceum

The band formed at Manchester University, but settled in London where they signed with Charisma. They went through a number of incarnations in their early years, including a brief split in 1969. When they reformed, they found minor commercial success with The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other, and after the follow-up album, H to He, Who Am the Only One, stabilised around a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton, saxophonist David Jackson, and drummer Guy Evans. The quartet subsequently achieved significant success in Italy with the release of Pawn Hearts in 1971.

After several exhausting tours of Italy, the band split in 1972. They reformed in 1975, releasing Godbluff and frequently touring Italy again, before a major line-up change and a slight rename to Van der Graaf. The band split in 1978. After many years apart, the band finally united at a gig at the Royal Festival Hall and a short tour in 2005. Since then, the band has continued as a trio of Hammill, Banton, and Evans, who record and tour regularly in between Hammill's concurrent solo career. Their most recent album, ALT, was released in June 2012.
The group's albums have tended to be both lyrically and musically darker in atmosphere than many of their prog-rock peers (a trait they shared with King Crimson, whose guitarist Robert Fripp guested on two of their albums), and guitar solos were the exception rather than the rule, preferring to use Banton's classically influenced organ, and, until his departure, Jackson's multiple saxophones. While Hammill is the primary songwriter for the band, and its members have contributed to his solo albums, he is keen to stress that the band collectively arranges all its material. 

Hammill's lyrics frequently covered themes of mortality, due to his love of science fiction writers such as Robert Heinlein and Philip K Dick, along with his self-confessed warped and obsessive nature. His voice has been a distinctive component of the band throughout its career. It has been described as "a male Nico" and would later on be cited as an influence by Goth bands in the 1980s. Though the group have generally been commercially unsuccessful outside of early 1970s Italy, they have inspired several musicians, including John Lydon and Julian Cope.

01 JUN 70 England, London, Royal Festival Hall (Charisma Groups)

The band formed in 1967 at Manchester University, after Chris Judge Smith, who had already played in several British rhythm and blues groups whilst a pupil in Oundle School, returned from a trip to San Francisco and, inspired by the bands he had seen, put together a list of possible band names to form a new group. After an unsatisfactory audition they had both attended in response to an advert to form a band, he met fellow student Peter Hammill, who was playing some of his original songs. Hammill had begun writing songs and poetry at the age of 12 while at prep school, and progressed to playing in bands while a pupil at Beaumont College. He was then briefly employed as a computer programmer, during which time he subsequently claimed to have written much of the band's early material, before enrolling at Manchester. Smith was so impressed with the quality of Hammill's original material that the two agreed to form a band together. The band name chosen from Smith's list was based on a Van de Graaff generator, a mechanical device that produces static electricity with impressive lightning-like flashes – the misspellings are accidental. Smith recalls the reason for this may have been that Van de Graaff died in 1967, which was widely reported in the media.

Van Der Graaf Generator - Poster Front

Among the bands that regularly played the university, including Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd, they were particularly impressed by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and recruited an organist, Nick Pearne, to match the format of Arthur Brown's band. Along with two female dancers, the initial line-up was Hammill on guitar and vocals, Smith on drums, wind instruments and vocals, and Pearne on organ, though he did not initially have an instrument. According to Smith, the band initially played as a two-piece, with Smith occasionally using a typewriter as a percussion instrument; their first gig as a three piece was in the student union, which lasted five minutes before the group's amplifiers blew up.

The band managed to persuade fellow student Caleb Bradley to manage them, and by the start of 1968, the band had managed to record a demo tape influenced by blues and jazz, sending it to Lou Reizner, then the U.K. head of Mercury Records, who offered the trio of Hammill, Smith, and Pearne a recording contract in May. At this point, the band had to make a decision whether to stay on at university, or quit their courses and move to London to turn professional. Pearne was not keen to abandon his studies, so decided to leave the group.

Van Der Graaf Generator - Japanese CD Disc

On arrival in London, Hammill and Smith met up with trainee BBC engineer and classically trained organist Hugh Banton, who was a brother of one of their friends back in Manchester. Later that year, they met Tony Stratton-Smith, who agreed to sign a management contract with them in December. Through him, the band acquired a bass guitar player, Keith Ellis, with drummer Guy Evans joining not too long afterwards. This line-up performed on BBC Radio 1's Top Gear radio show in November, and recorded a series of demos for Mercury, before releasing a single ("People You Were Going To" b/w "Firebrand") on Polydor Records in January 1969. Melody Maker said the single was "one of the best records of the week". But the single was quickly withdrawn under pressure from Mercury, since it violated the contract band members Hammill and Smith signed the previous year. Smith, feeling superfluous to requirements, left the band, amicably, shortly after the recording of the single.

Meanwhile, Mercury refused to let the band record, and at the same time Stratton-Smith refused to let the other members of the band sign to Mercury too, as he did not think the deal was fair to the band (only Hammill remained now of the original three who had signed with Mercury). 

US Album Cover

On top of that in late January 1969 the band's van and equipment were stolen. The theft aggravated their financial difficulties. Although the band was touring successfully, which included a concert in February at the Royal Albert Hall in support of Jimi Hendrix,
 it broke up in June after playing a final gig at Nottingham's Pop & Blues Festival on May 10th entirely with borrowed equipment. John Peel, who was compering the show, announced their break-up to the audience.

In July 1969, Hammill had begun performing solo at The Marquee in London, and since there was no group, he decided to record what was intended to be his first solo album at Trident Studios on 31 July and 1 August, with Banton, Evans, and Ellis as session musicians. However, through a deal worked out by Stratton-Smith, the album, The Aerosol Grey Machine, was released by Mercury under the band's name in return for releasing the band from their contract. The album was initially only released in the United States with hardly any promotion at all, so sales were minimal, but the group decided to reform in the middle of the recording session. However, Ellis had already committed to joining Juicy Lucy and was replaced by Evan's former bandmate in The Misunderstood, Nic Potter. 

Vad der Graaf Generator Advertise 1970

The band had also enjoyed flautist Jeff Peach's contributions to the album and wanted to recruit a further instrumentalist. "There was always the idea of having another melodic instrument," recalled Evans. "He [Banton]'ll play a solo, sure, and really give it something, but he doesn't want to do that all the time." Peach was approached to become a full time member, but dropped out after one rehearsal. The position was eventually filled by saxophonist and flautist David Jackson, who had previously played in a band called Heebalob with Smith. Hammill had already sat in with Heebalob at the Plumpton National Jazz Festival on 9 August, and, impressed by Jackson's playing, invited him to join the band, partly because he also needed a flatmate to help pay with the rent.

In September, the new five piece band began rehearsals in Notting Hill Gate. and began to modify its sound. Banton, influenced by the effects pedals popularised by Jimi Hendrix, used his electronic skills to modify a Farfisa organ, giving it a wider variety of sounds. Jackson took his jazz influences, particularly Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and began to play multiple saxophones (usually alto and tenor) simultaneously. Hammill, for his part, elected to sing in received pronunciation, exploring the full range of his vocal capabilities. "We were all megalomaniacs," said Banton. "We grabbed our own space as best we could." The band started to gig regularly, including the first of several live appearances at the Friars Aylesbury in November.

Article About the Band 1968
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Tony Stratton-Smith formed Charisma Records and signed the band as his first act, who recorded their second album, The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other from 11 - 14 December with John Anthony in Trident Studios. Hammill's voice was electronically treated on After The Flood, while Refugees and White Hammer featured cello and cornet respectively. Because the band finished ahead of their rehearsal schedule, Potter decided to overdub some electric guitar - an instrument he had never played before. The album was released in February 1970 and made the top 50 in the U.K, Melody Maker said "If all our groups were as together as this, the British music scene would improve ten-fold."

Potter, however, did not feel he fitted into this increasingly experimental sound the band was developing, and tended to wait until the others had worked out their parts during rehearsals, adding his bass lines on top at the last minute. After recording three tracks of their third album, H to He, Who Am the Only One, he decided to quit the band. His last gig was on 9 August at the 1970 Plumpton Festival. The remaining members auditioned Dave Anderson, roadie for Brinsley Schwartz and friend of the band, but after a week's rehearsal, found that things weren't working out musically. Banton, meanwhile, had become influenced by Vincent Crane's work in Atomic Rooster, where Crane played the bass lines on a Hammond Organ's bass pedals, and suggested that he could do this as well. 

Promo Picture 1971

With just days to go before the next gig, they tried rehearsing as a four piece, and it was successful. Banton later played bass guitar on certain songs, having already learned the instrument in the mid-1960s, and Hammill expanded his instrumental capabilities on stage to cover piano and keyboards as well as guitar. Jackson modified his saxophones to be completely electric, as opposed to simply being amplified through a microphone, and combined the sound with a wah-wah pedal and an octave divider.

H To He continued to be recorded sporadically throughout 1970, and featured Robert Fripp of King Crimson contributing guitar on "The Emperor in His War-Room". John Anthony knew Fripp socially, and invited him to a session as a guest, something Fripp had never done before at that point. According to Jackson, Fripp "put headphones on and started searing away", listening to the track once, then performing two takes. Killer, later to become a live favourite, recycled a middle 8 from an old Heebalob song, and Smith received a co-composition credit on the track. Reviewing the album, Sounds particularly praised Jackson's saxophone work.

16 APR 70 England, London
Empire Rooms (for Kilburn Poly)

The Hammill/Banton/Jackson/Evans quartet that resulted from H to He, Who Am the Only One is now considered the "classic" line-up, and went on to play as part of the "Six Bob Tour" in early 1971 with fellow Charisma labelmates Genesis and Lindisfarne. Despite the complexity of their music, the band were well received on the tour, with Hammill noting "at nearly all the gigs, most of the audience have known most of the songs ... It was like a big family actually, exactly as all of us had pictured it in our wildest dreams."

While on tour, the band started working out compositions between gigs for their next album, which would become Pawn Hearts. The intention was to release a double album, and the band recorded the material; however, for economic reasons, the released recording was a single album containing three tracks – "Lemmings", "Man-Erg", and the 23 minute concept piece "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". Reflecting on this, Hammill said: "Charisma Records felt that it wasn't appropriate for us to release a double album and they vetoed the live studio recordings and the solo tracks by Guy, David, and Hugh.":8 The master tape of the recording sessions has been lost.

Fripp again provided a cameo appearance on guitar. While "Man-Erg" had already been performed on stage, "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" evolved in the studio, recorded in small sections and pieced together during mixing.:9 According to producer John Anthony, the track features a lot more studio experimentation than on previous albums, saying "we pushed the facilities at Trident to the limit and had involved the use of every single tape machine in Trident at some stage." :10 The experiments included tape manipulation and Banton playing Mellotron and synthesizer. According to Jackson, one section of it features the entire band overdubbed 16 times.:11 The album was not a success in the U.K, but proved highly successful in Italy, topping the chart there for 12 weeks. The following single, "Theme One", reached number one in Italy, too. "Theme One" was an instrumental piece, originally written by Beatles producer George Martin as a fanfare for the BBC radio station Radio 1, later to appear on US pressings of Pawn Hearts.

28 JUN 70 England, London, Marquee Club (Rock Dates)

Following commercial success in Italy, the band did a six-week tour there at the start of 1972. The band were apprehensive about touring there, concerned they might be playing to half empty venues, but they were all shocked by the sheer volume of the crowds that came to see them. "Pawn Hearts was seen as the ultimate album by the ultimate band," said Jackson, who at times found it difficult to walk down the street in parts of Italy without being recognised. "The tour was like the prophets have landed ... you couldn't go anywhere without this lunatic 'Generator Mania' breaking out." After the tour, the group was immediately offered another Italian tour, this time doing up to three shows a day. In between the tours, the band made an appearance on Belgian television performing "Theme One" and "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". Since the studio recording of "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" was a collage of multiple recordings, impossible to reproduce live in one setting, the band simply filmed individual sections of the song and spliced them together in the editing suite. It is believed to be the only live performance of the song.

By June, the band had performed another Italian tour (the third that year) and wanted to start recording new material (some of which ended up on Hammill's solo album Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night). However, the combination of working for too long without a break, combined with a lack of support from Stratton-Smith and Charisma and continued financial difficulties caused the band to implode, and Hammill left to pursue a solo career in mid-1972.

The three remaining members recorded an instrumental album with Nic Potter, Ced Curtis, and Pietro Messina, under the name "The Long Hello". Their self-titled album (The Long Hello) was released in 1974.

Personnel:
♦ Peter Hammill – acoustic guitar and lead vocals; piano on "Refugees"
♦ Hugh Banton – Farfisa organ, piano and backing vocals
♦ Nic Potter – bass guitar and electric guitar
♦ Guy Evans – drums and percussion
♦ David Jackson – tenor and alto sax, flute and backing vocals

Additional musicians:
♦ Gerry Salisbury – cornet on "White Hammer"
♦ Mike Hurvitz – cello on "Refugees"

01. "Darkness (11/11)" – 7:28
02. "Refugees" – 6:23
03. "White Hammer" – 8:15
04. "Whatever would Robert have said?" – 6:07
05. "Out of my Book" (Hammill, David Jackson) – 4:08
06. "After the Flood" – 11:29

Bonus tracks
07. "Boat of Millions of Years" – 3:50 
08. "Refugees" (single version) – 5:24 

These tracks were the B- and A-sides of an April 1970 single.

1. Link
or
2. Link
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