The Fantastic Baggys - Anywhere The Girls Are! 1964-66 (2000 Sundazed) Flac &mp3@320

Along with the entire Tell 'Em I'm Surfin' LP, this CD adds a heap o' extras: the 1964 non-LP single "Debbie Be True"/"Anywhere the Girls Are," a couple of songs that showed up on a 1966 South African LP, the 1965 non-LP single "It Was I," and nine alternate/instrumental/vocal overdub/variations versions, most of them previously unreleased. "Debbie Be True," complete with "Don't Worry Baby"-type guitar chording, would have been pretty fair Beach Boys album filler; "It Was I" is a not-bad update of the old Skip & Flip hit rockaballad; and "(Goes to Show) Just How Wrong You Can Be," which would be re-recorded by P.F. Sloan in the mid-'60s as a solo artist, shows Sloan and Steve Barri's growth into more serious directions. To be honest, though, most of those extras are nothing more than very modest variations from the official tracks. But what the heck, if you're bothering to hunt down a Fantastic Baggys compilation in the first place, you might as well have everything you can, right? In addition there are lengthy liner notes, even including first-hand quotes from Sloan and Barri. It remains about the best Jan & Dean album you could track down that is not, in fact, Jan & Dean.(Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)

As the preview already says, this is clearly going in the direction of Jan And Dean. The band is really good, the arrangements are cleverly done, just like you need it in this kind of music. Most of the songs are written by Sloan and Barri, who were real hit guarantees at that time. The songs are well done and imho this is a recommendable fun. If you like Jan & Dean and similar artists you will like this, too.

Enjoy
        Frank                 Flac part 1  &  Flac part 2   &  Flac part 3       -   mp3@320

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kingsmen - On Campus 1965 (1994 Sundazed) Flac & mp3@320

The third album by the Kingsmen (if you don't count the soundtrack to How to Stuff a Wild Bikini). There are 12 tracks on the Wand vinyl release and three bonus cuts on the Sundazed CD version. The minor hit written by Lynn Easton, "Annie Fanny," starts off the album with a suitably Animal House-style vocal, but that annoying crowd noise which permeated some of the Wand releases is a definite distraction here. For a band that could have reigned as garage rock rulers, this album holds almost no revelations and is not as exciting or original as early discs by the Seeds, the Blues Magoos, or the Electric Prunes. When Big Brother & the Holding Company proceeded without Janis Joplin, they at least had their original cosmic sound and a little help from their friends.

With both Don Gallucci and Jack Ely gone, renditions of "Shotgun," the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," "Stand By Me," "I Like It Like That," and Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" do nothing for the group, or for those classic copyrights. Another Lynn Easton composition, "The Climb," sounds like a rewrite of "Twist & Shout" by the Isley Brothers, and with their eventual Top Five hit "Jolly Green Giant"(not on this album) and its borrowing from the Olympics, it is obvious the band loved classic R&B. Too bad they couldn't inject it into their performances on record. Despite the lack of passion, "The Climb" ranks with "Annie Fanny" as the best two tracks to be found in the grooves of The Kingsmen on Campus. The five preppies in different colored sweaters on the front cover put things into perspective; this is the Grass Roots without Rob Grill or Warren Entner, and the record has little heart and less soul.

But the album cover is a bizarre prediction of the success their biggest hit would have in the film Animal House and the frat rock label fits them perfectly. It isn't that "A Hard Day's Night" is the worst Beatles cover ever, it's just plain boring, as uninviting as a performance by some generic wedding band with Lynn Easton's sax going back and forth with the organ on the melody. The band had the potential to bang out some memorable garage sounds, but rather than give us jangly guitars and Jack Ely-style vocals, everything sounds so...pedestrian. For the real thing, pick up the Barbarians' first record.(allmusic,com)

In the case of the Kingsmen it's hard enough to find an album without Louie Louie on it, lol. I think it's different to listen to the record in 1965 or lets say 2017. If you listen to a record the first time in these days but you have often read about it i believe you will rate the album different as if you have heard it in 1965, the year of it's release. What i try to say is this album is way better as its reputation. Surely it's no groundbeaking album but it has its moments.

Have fun
               Frank                        Flac part 1  &  Flac part 2           mp3@320

At Request! Folk Pop, Sunshine Pop, Easy Listening; The Goldebriars - Walkin' Down The Line- The Best Of...1963 - 1965 (2014 Now Sounds) Flac & mp3@320

If a rock or pop musician rose to fame in the mid- to late '60s, chances are excellent that his or her closet housed a cheerful but earnest skeleton in the form of a fling with folk music. Curt Boettcher was no exception; he became a hero to sunshine pop fans for his production work with the Association, and his remarkable pop-psych studio projects Sagittarius and the Millennium, but from 1963 to 1965 Boettcher made his first impressions in the music business as the founder and leader of the Goldebriars, a pop-influenced folk act from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

While the Goldebriars' repertoire for the most part was frustratingly typical for the day (a handful of popular folk standards and originals like "MacDougal Street," which sounds like a Midwestern teenager's fantasy of life as a beatnik, or "No More Bomb," a calypso-influenced antiwar song that could double as a nursery rhyme), the vocals were honestly something special, and the striking harmonies of Boettcher and sisters Dotti Holmberg and Sheri Holmberg gave the group a truly unique sound. The Goldebriars' cleverly blended vocals and the canny use of multi-tracking to give them a richer and brighter sound suggest this was where Boettcher first began to understand the possibilities of the recording studio (though Bob Morgan was the credited producer on their recordings).

The Goldebriars released two albums and a fistful of singles for Epic Records during their brief history, and Walkin' Down the Line: The Best of the Goldebriars collects 25 songs from their tenure with Epic, as well as five demos (including four unreleased tracks that won them their record deal). Most of these tracks sound spare and uncluttered, with Boettcher and the Holmberg sisters joined by multi-instrumentalist Ron Neilson, while latter-period recordings include a rhythm section and additional studio players who add the slightest touch of a rock & roll mood, suggesting that with the addition of an electric 12-string, Boettcher could have had a decent folk-rock combo on his hands.

As it is, the Goldebriars often sound a bit too naive and treacly for their own good (which isn't all that surprising, given than they were all still in their teens when they cut their first album), but the vocal harmonies and the group's engaging way with a melody set them apart from the dozens of Kingston Trio wannabes that were dominating the folk music scene at the time, and Walkin' Down the Line is well worth investigating for folks with a taste for the poppier end of early-'60s folk, and for Curt Boettcher fans curious about his juvenilia. The remastering for this set is splendid, and the booklet includes fine and informative liner notes from Dawn Eden (allmusic.com)

This album was truly ahead of his time with this kind of ...(is it at all ''Folk''?) Folk. Of course is the sound build on Folk music. ''Sea Of Tears'' is a kind of a ''Folk Lounge Easy Listening'' song. Or listen to the kind of western country square style ''Jump Down'' with its really ''far out'' vocal arrangement that drive up the song. And it's going on at this really high level of musicianship. Sure i am one of the greatest fans in this world of Curt Boettcher. But what he have done on this album is in parts truly brilliant and some of this work he have done here, he later not reached everytime. And his best times came a while later first. I highly recommend this album. Hope you have fun.

Enjoy
         Frank      


      New mp3@320 link part 1  &  New mp3@320 link part 2         New Flac link

Pop Rock/ Soft Rock: Chilliwack - Dreams, Dreams, Dreams 1977 (2013 Mushroom Records) Flac &mp3@320

This is an ambitious record by Chilliwack. For most listeners, this album contained two tracks that both AM and FM radio played in heavy rotation and they will recall. Those two songs Fly At Night and Something Better are great songs, especially Fly At Night, which is the song most listeners will know the band by. The album as a whole revolves around the concept of a travelling rock and roll band trying to make it in America. Masterfully produced with plenty of rich space between instruments and wonderfully sung in a strong falsetto by Bill Henderson, the album flows together seamlessly, almost as a suite. Baby Blue, Roll On, California Girl and Rockin Girl are equally stand out tracks as well. This release stands the test of time and should garner more respect, at least a review and album picture in AllMusic. Enjoy it.(James Stolte, reader review, allmusic)

One of the most underrated albums of soft rock.Just listen to it and you'll take it on your desert island.almost all tracks are worth listening and the rcording is fabulous.I advise you to put it on your best records list.(Gerrard Comment, reader review, allmusic)

I just can second that. Why allmusic don't write a review is an enigma of allmusic. It's a shame for an american online music dictionary. And this is one case. Anyway, here is the history of the band:

The band originated in Vancouver, British Columbia. The members of the C-FUN Classics changed the band's name to The Collectors when Bill Henderson joined in 1966. Their psychedelic self-titled debut album yielded the minor hit "Lydia Purple". Their second album was based on the musical score written by the band for a stage play by Canadian playwright George Ryga, Grass and Wild Strawberries.
Vocalist Howie Vickers left the Collectors in 1969; the remaining members formed the band Chilliwack in 1970, Chilliwack being a Salish term meaning "valley of many streams" and the name of a city east of Vancouver in the Fraser River valley.

Lead guitarist Bill Henderson led the remaining former Collectors members: Glenn Miller (bass, guitar, backing vocals), Ross Turney (drums) and Claire Lawrence (flute, saxophone, keyboards, backing vocals); while he provided most of the vocals and did most of the composing. During 1970, Miller briefly left the band, who were joined on the road by Robbie King (keyboards, bass) and played at Expo '70 in Japan and other gigs across Canada.
In 1971 bassist Rick Kilburn played live with Chilliwack for a short time before Miller returned later that same year when Lawrence departed. New member Howard Froese (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) joined in 1973.
The band released several records that were moderately successful. Hit singles in Canada included "Lonesome Mary", which entered Cashbox January 22, 1972 (and was their first US charting single, peaking at #75 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1972), "Crazy Talk" (#98 in the US in January 1975) and "Fly at Night" (#75 in the US in May 1977). The album track "Rain-o", a blues-based composition that appeared in different versions on their debut album, Chilliwack (June 1970) and the later Dreams, Dreams, Dreams (January 1977), was a well-known concert favourite.
Chilliwack's debut was followed by two more albums: Chilliwack in September 1971 and All Over You in December 1972.

In April 1974 their album Riding High on Goldfish Records (Terry Jacks' Label) contained one of their biggest hits, the aforementioned "Crazy Talk", which was produced by Jacks. This album was not released in the US until early 1975 (on the Sire Records label), where it was retitled Chilliwack (their third U.S. release to bear that title).
However, Chilliwack had a difficult time sustaining any success because of their constant changes of label. The two Collectors albums were on Warner Brothers and Chilliwack's first five albums were on four different labels in Canada: Parrot, A&M, Goldfish and Casino Records.
Rockerbox, their fifth album, was released in December 1975 on Sire Records in the US and (with a different cover) on the little known, aforementioned Casino Records label in Canada. It was Chilliwack's least successful album in Canada.
The band was then signed to Vancouver's Mushroom Records, with distribution throughout North America. After completing one album for the label, Dreams, Dreams, Dreams, Chilliwack began work on their seventh album, to be titled Lights from the Valley. The first attempt at recording proved unsatisfactory, leading to discord among the band members.

Veteran guitarist Froese was replaced by Brian MacLeod, who contributed guitar, drums, keyboards, and backing vocals. The album was re-recorded; with some of Froese's vocal and guitar work, as well as percussion from session drummer Eddie Tuduri, included in the final mix. By the time of the record's release, bassist Glenn Miller and long term drummer Ross Turney had left the group. Mushroom was also having financial problems which hampered the promotion of the album after its release in June 1978.
Drummer Skip Layton and former Prism bassist Ab Bryant were recruited to perform with Henderson, Jamie Bowers (guitar, keyboards) and MacLeod in Chilliwack's 1978 live gigs. Henderson, MacLeod and Bryant then began working on Chilliwack's eighth album in 1979, joined by John Roles (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and drummer Bucky Berger. The Mushroom label went bankrupt abruptly shortly after the album, Breakdown in Paradise, was released in December 1979. Berger was replaced by Rick Taylor shortly thereafter, and the lineup of Henderson, MacLeod, Bryant, Roles and Taylor toured into 1980.

Chilliwack then signed with Solid Gold Records in Canada and Millennium Records in the U.S. in 1981 as a trio (Henderson/MacLeod/Bryant) and enjoyed its greatest success with this lineup, releasing the albums Wanna Be a Star (September 1981) and Opus X (October 1982). The singles "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" (Their first US Top 40 hit, peaking at #22 in December 1981), "I Believe" (US #33 in March 1982), and "Whatcha Gonna Do (When I'm Gone)" (US #41 in December 1982) were popular both in Canada and in the U.S. Rolling Stone wrote:

"At their best, Chilliwack was the finest Canadian rock band, outrocking BTO and outwriting Burton Cummings. But a lack of consistency kept it from international success."

The trio of Henderson, MacLeod and Bryant were joined by drummer Paul Delaney in early 1982 for US promotional appearances on TV shows, like Solid Gold and The Merv Griffin Show, before heading out on the road later in the year with an expanded lineup of Henderson, MacLeod, Bryant, Joey Franco (drums), Glenn Grayson (keyboards, backing vocals) and Dennis Grayson (keyboards, backing vocals).

Henderson and MacLeod received a Best Producer Juno Award for Opus X. However, echoing the Mushroom problems, Millennium Records then collapsed. MacLeod and Bryant left the band soon after, in early 1983, to devote more time to their other project, the Headpins, and Chilliwack's last new studio recording, Look In Look Out, was released in July 1984 with Henderson as the only continuing member, joined by session players Ashley Mulford (guitar, backing vocals, from the band Sad Café), Richard Gibbs (keyboards, from the group Oingo Boingo), Mo Foster (bass), Simon Phillips (drums) and Tom Keenlyside (saxophone), with additional vocals provided by Mark LaFrance, Saffron & Camille Henderson, Dustin Keller and Bob Rock.
By 1985 the band was without a record deal and Henderson cobbled together a touring only lineup made up of former member Claire Lawrence (sax, backing vocals), Jerry Adolphe (drums), Brian Newcombe (bass), Robbie Gray (keyboards, backing vocals) and Dave Pickell (keyboards). Pickell was replaced almost immediately by another former member John Roles (guitar, keyboards) and this grouping played mostly in Canadian clubs and smaller venues until Henderson disbanded the group in December 1988.

On October 6, 1991 Henderson joined fellow rockers Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Colin James and Chrissy Steele at a benefit show at Vancouver's 86 Street Music Hall to raise over $50,000 for Henderson's former Chilliwack bandmate, Brian MacLeod, who was fighting cancer and undergoing treatment at a Houston medical clinic. MacLeod died on April 25, 1992, aged 39.
In 1989 Henderson went on to form the folk-rock supergroup UHF and decided to launch a new Chilliwack lineup in 1997, made up of himself, Adolphe (drums), Doug Edwards (bass, backing vocals) and Roy 'Bim' Forbes (guitar, backing vocals, from UHF). Forbes was succeeded on guitar in 1998 by Bill's brother, Ed, and Chilliwack released a new live album, There and Back - Live, in 2003.
Chilliwack performed at 2005's Voyageur Days Festival in Mattawa, Ontario where they appeared that July with other Canadian bands Moxy, Toronto, Trooper, Goddo, Killer Dwarfs and Ray Lyell for the thirtieth anniversary for release of the debut album by Moxy.
On May 24, 2010 the current members of Chilliwack (Bill Henderson, Ed Henderson, Doug Edwards and Jerry Adolphe) were joined by former members Roy 'Bim' Forbes, Ab Bryant and Claire Lawrence plus Howard Froese's son Tyson on acoustic guitar (standing in for his father, who had cancer and died in the mid-1990s) and Collectors singer Howie Vickers for a Chilliwack 40th Anniversary show at River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond, British Columbia.
Since that time, Bill Henderson has continued Chilliwack but also does duo shows with Claire Lawrence from time to time.

Chilliwack's original bassist, Glenn Miller, died on March 4, 2011 in Toronto after suffering from Muscular Dystrophy.
In 2015 music fans were treated to a new music video by Chilliwack for the song “Take Back This Land”. The song became a rallying call during the Canadian federal election 2015. "The song wasn’t just about the election", said Bill Henderson. "Whether it is logging or fracking or whatever else, there is still a lot more work to do in Canada."
Chilliwack continues to play, mostly in the spring, summer and early fall, at outdoor gatherings and festivals.
Sadly, Doug Edwards died at his home in Vancouver at the age of 70 on November 11, 2016 after a long illness. Doug has been succeeded in Chilliwack by Gord Maxwell (formerly with Ian Tyson).
Bass player Ab Bryant's son, Matt Bryant, is the singer/songwriter and founding member of Canadian roots/folk band Headwater.(wiki)

Have fun
               Frank                      Flac part 1 & Flac part 2               mp3@320

At Request: Alexander Spence (of Moby Grape fame) - Oar 1969 (1999 Sundazed Remaster) Flac & mp3@320

No one except psychedelic Renaissance man Alexander "Skip" Spence could have created an album such as Oar. Alternately heralded as a "soundtrack to schizophrenia" and a "visionary solo effort," Oar became delegated to cut out and bargain bins shortly after its release in the spring of 1969. However those who did hear it were instantly