The Oxfords - Flying Up Through The Sky Vol. One & Two '66-'72 Flac

When Gear Fab Records re-released the Oxfords' sole LP from 1970 called Flying Up Through the Sky, fleshing it out with various band ephemera in 2001, it was assumed that it was the last word on the Louisville group, amounting to a complete recorded works. Turns out it wasn't. When the Allen-Martin Recording Studio where the Oxfords tracked their LP (it was called Sambo Recording Studio when the Oxfords worked there) was demolished in 2006, local session musicians Marvin Maxwell and Walker Ed Amick rescued the studio's master tape library from a cruel and forgotten fate at the bottom of the corner dumpster and began the long task of transferring the multi-track masters into the digital domain. One of their discoveries was that the Oxfords had recorded a fair amount of material that hadn't appeared on Flying Up Through the Sky, leading to this second volume of Oxfords tracks from Gear Fab.

Although generally remembered as a sunshine pop band with some psychedelic overtones, the Oxfords emerge on this second helping as a much more versatile band than that, touching down at times close to jazz and what could almost be deemed a kind of proto-country-rock. At other times they sound like a southern version of early Jefferson Airplane, thanks in no small part to the strong and often sultry vocals of lead singer Jill DeMarco. That diversity is impressive, and one can't help but wonder what might have developed had the band stayed together and not called it quits in 1972.

Among the clear highlights on this addenda volume are a speeded up and rocked out version of Richard & Mimi Fariña's "Reno, Nevada," the wonderfully atmospheric "I Can't Remember Your Name," the hard driving "Year of Jubilo" (based on a Civil War-era song by Henry Clay Work), a Mamas & Papas-like cover of Del Shannon's "Runaway," and the very pretty and jazz-inflected backing track called "Underscore" that concludes this collection (and provides a possible clue to what direction the Oxfords may have taken if they had remained together). In all, it makes a nice coda to the first volume and helps paint a larger, clearer picture of what the band was all about.allmusic.com

Yep, that's what allmusic says about it. First time i heard about a second volume i was really surprised because i never had heard about it. I post the both voplumes in one rar file. I hope you like it.
'till next time
                     SB1



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Tandyn Almer - Along Comes Tandyn mp3@320

Renowned for writing the hit "Along Comes Mary" recorded by the Association, Tandyn Almer was ahead of his time and couldn't manage to keep that creative hit momentum going. Since then he has become known as one of the lost pop geniuses of the '60s. Sundazed released Along Comes Tandyn, which contains 15 unreleased demos that capture the early L.A. blend of sunshine and psych pop of the era. The tracks contain elements of the hallucinogenic jangle of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's first Reprise album, the early Mamas and Papas -- Almer hung out with John & Michelle Phillips -- Brian Wilson (Almer co-wrote "Sail on Sailor" and "Marcella" for the Beach Boys), Curt Boettcher, and even, on the track "Face Down in the Mud," a combination of the Mothers of Invention and the Association! These demos were recorded quickly and the quality is very good, but, more importantly, the obvious thought and effort that were put into both the musical and vocal arrangements makes you wonder what could have been.allmusic.com

The quality of the demos is really great and the songs are in my opinion fantastic. For me this sound more like a pre production than demos.However if you like 60's sunshine pop you will like this.

In his life Tandyn Almer had not much luck how it seems. Here is a Bio i found at allmusic:

A fascinating and enigmatic footnote to the West Coast pop scene of the late 1960s, pianist, composer, and producer Tandyn Almer is best known for writing the Association's classic "Along Comes Mary." Virtually nothing is known of Almer's origins and upbringing. In 1965, Associate Jules Alexander was hired by producer Curt Boettcher to play on a demo of "Along Comes Mary," and was so impressed by the song he asked if his group could record it officially. Released in 1966, the single emerged as a blockbuster, defining the Association's pioneering harmony pop sound. It should have made Almer one of the hottest songwriters in Los Angeles, but he never again scored a major hit. That doesn't mean he was missing in action, however, any number of obscure psych pop singles bear Almer's writing and production credits, among them the Paper Fortress' "Sleepy Hollow People," the Garden Club's "Little Girl Lost and Found," Pleasure's "Poor Old Organ Grinder," and Dennis Olivieri's full-length Come to the Party. He and Boettcher also teamed to write another Association song, "Message of Our Love," as well as Sagittarius' "Musty Dusty." In 1969, Almer recorded his lone solo single, "Degeneration Gap," for Warner Bros.; he also was credited alongside Brian Wilson as a co-writer on a handful of Beach Boys efforts, including "Sail On, Sailor," and "Marcella."

In the mid-'70s, Tandyn Almer moved to Washington, D.C., taking odd jobs and writing songs, but his bipolar disorder impacted his ability to be consistent within his music or relationships. By the '90s, rumors circulated that he had died. He was alive and penniless, but still writing songs. In 2011 he developed serious health problems, resulting in the partial amputation of his left leg. On January 8, 2013 Almer died at his home in Washington D.C. at age 70. In March 2013, Sundazed released Along Comes Tandyn containing 15 rare demos from the mid-'60s.

Have fun!
               SB1



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