Piccadilly Line - The Huge World Of Emily Small (1967) FLAC

The Picadilly Line's sole album is one of the recordings that most epitomizes what has been retrospectively dubbed the "toytown" school of British psychedelia by collectors. That is, the songs bounce along daintily; the vocal emphasis is on high harmonies; the lyrics are sometimes populated with observations of British everyday life and characters, sprinkled with a coat of whimsy; and the arrangements benefit from touches of baroque orchestration. It's executed here, however, with a fey, twee touch that makes the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle, for instance, sound rough 'n' ready by comparison. It's thus going to be too light even for some British psychedelic pop enthusiasts, but it's not quite the most saccharine entry in the genre, though it's undeniably precious.

There's a folky lightness that keeps this from being too wide-eyed and childish, sometimes sounding a bit like Simon & Garfunkel gone toytown, though with some similarities to both the 1967-era Beatles and '60s California pop in the vocals and arrangements. The covers of Bob Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" and the Everly Brothers' "Gone, Gone, Gone," however, seem misplaced in these surroundings. The CD reissue adds ten bonus cuts of a similar nature (though they're sometimes marginally gutsier) and the same level of professionalism, including all three of their non-LP cuts that appeared on singles in 1968. Of these, the one of most interest is "Yellow Rainbow," as it was written by Graham Nash, then of the Hollies. Unsurprisingly, it sounds much like a Hollies song given a lighter treatment than the Hollies themselves would have; also unsurprisingly, to be a little uncharitable, it's by far the best track on the CD.(R.Unterberger)

Here is an earlier effort by Rod Edwards and Roger Hand.This is the cd reissue with the bonus tracks in flac.
Hope you will enjoy
                                Frank
FLAC

Edwards Hand - First Album 1969 (great psychedelic pop!) mp3@320

Because Edwards Hand were one of the few pop/rock acts other than the Beatles who were produced by George Martin in the late 1960s, their obscure self-titled debut album has generated some rough comparisons to the Beatles' own work. It's true that the harmonies, melodies, and orchestrations bear some similarity to those heard on the very most pop-oriented of the Beatles' productions, though in truth there's a stronger resemblance to the ornate pop-psychedelia of the late-'60s Bee Gees. Throwing those names into the hat so quickly, though, is a little misleading and might spark hopes for a buried treasure that's better than it is. For the actual songs are certainly coyer and more saccharine than the compositions of the Beatles, and even make the Bee Gees' late-'60s stuff sound melancholy and a little hard-edged. It's more something of a combination of Beatles/Bee Gees-lite with poppier, soaring, sometimes fruity orchestral arrangements -- most likely Martin's strongest contribution to the record -- and more of a middle of the road/sunshine pop/toytown psychedelic influence than the Bee Gees (and certainly the Beatles) admitted. Certainly some of the lyrics make one blanch a bit on the printed page, with their fey references to picture books, kings and queens, bringing flowers in the morning, walking down London's Charing Cross Road, magic cars, and the like. If you like those elements, of course, there are things to enjoy about this record. It has reasonably catchy though not stunning melodies, good duo vocal harmonies, and an ambience that captures something of the most innocuous side of the Swinging London/flower power era. It does sound best, however, when it gets most serious and Bee Gees-like, "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" and "Orange Peel" being two examples.


For me this two guys was for around a little more than two years in the sixties the most impressive musicians/songwriters in the mid/late sixties psychedelic (baroque) pop scene. They was very ''light'', that's true, but that's it what i love in the sound of Edwards Hand. Enjoy it

Frank

320

Rollercoaster - Rollercoaster (1999)

Rollercoaster were a band from Perth with members of musicians which were well known from popular bands in Australia.  Duane Smith (The Chevelles), Craig MacLean(Superscope), Grant Ferstat (Flavour Of The Month), and Dave Shaw (The Stems). The album was recorded around '97 and released 1999. It was released in Spain and is the one and only album by the band. The songs are written by Smith and MacLean as far i know. If you like australian power pop in the tradition of the Chevelles (but not only) you are right here. It's in mp3@320.
Good night girls and boys

Cheers
           Frank
320 

SB1
 

''Liverpool Express'' Three for one!

Today here are three albums from Liverpool Express. Liverpool Express was a successful pop/rock quartet that formed out of the remnants of Rockin' Horse, a short-lived early-'70s oldies-oriented band organized by '60s Liverpool music veterans Jimmy Campbell and Billy Kinsley. Kinsley restarted Rockin' Horse in 1975 with Tony Coates on guitar and vocals, Roger Scott Craig on keyboards, and Derek Cashin on drums, while Kinsley played bass. Signed to British Warner Bros., they had a slow start with the abortive debut single "Smile," but scored with their second record, "You Are My Love," which reached number 11. They became fixtures in the mid-level of the U.K. charts for more than five years, with the occasional run up to the Top Ten, and in later years Cashin was succeeded by Pete Kircher and Coates was replaced by Kenny Parry. Their history came to an end when Kinsley rejoined his '60s outfit the Merseybeats in the early '90s.allmusic.com

Their greatest success was found in South America where three of their singles ("You Are My Love", "Every Man Must Have A Dream", and "Dreamin'") reached No. 1 in the charts. They were the first band to do a major stadium tour there, playing to more than a quarter of a million people.
They appeared on British television quite frequently, including on Top of the Pops. Whilst away on tour, more TV appearances followed, recording their own TV specials in Brazil, Finland, and for the BBC in the UK.
Liverpool Express toured the UK and parts of Europe with Rod Stewart, and by personal request, played for Prince Charles at a Royal Gala show held in Liverpool.
All four band members had previously played with the band The Merseybeats, Billy Kinsley being a co-founding member in the 1960s. In the 1990s, Kinsley re-joined The Merseybeats. Pianist Roger Scott Craig, went on to join Fortune in 1982, and formed the bands Harlan Cage in 1996, and 101 South in 2000. He also played and recorded with German singer, Nina Hagen, in the mid-1980s. Their tour schedule included playing to hundreds of thousands of people at the Rock in Rio concert in Brazil.
When Cashin, Coates and Scott Craig left the group, Kinsley recruited musicians, Dave Goldberg (keyboards) and Kenny Parry (guitar). Kinsley, Goldberg and Parry have since remained the three core members of the band. The original line-up were reunited in mid-2002, when Scott Craig came up with the idea of compiling and releasing a 'Best Of' CD, due to fan interest. A year later, Scott Craig and Kinsley met in Liverpool to write and record new material for the album, Once Upon A Time. (wiki)

In this post are three albums: ''Tracks'' from 1976, ''The Best Of'' 2002 and ''Once Upon A Time'' from the reunited band in 2003. Once Upon...is very different compared to that seventies stuff. Some songs remember me to Alan Parsons Project but not because Ian Bairnson (guest) plays lead on two tracks.  But listen for yourself. ''Best Of'' is 192 ''Once'' and ''Tracks'' 320. If there is anybody with an upgrade, please email me.
 Greetings  Frank
              

mp3

pass:SB3

 

Martin Newell - The Off White Album (1995) mp3@320

One of the great eccentrics of modern English pop/rock, Martin Newell's songs are recommended listening for anyone who enjoys the peculiarly British eccentricities of Ray Davies, Andy Partridge, Syd Barrett, and the like. His grasp of the pop hook was second to few throughout the 1980s and '90s; his arrangements favor a guitar jangle but are usually infused with a whimsical eclecticism full of goofy sound effects and unusual garnishes of unexpected percussion and string instruments. His voice is winningly quizzical, but his chief assets are his compositions, which reflect contemporary English life with a wry combination of affection and cynicism.
For most of the 1980s, Newell was the mainstay of Cleaners from Venus, who recorded most of their albums at home for cassette-only self-release, although they eventually put out some vinyl product. After a short stint as head of the similar Brotherhood of Lizards, Martin started a solo career in the 1990s that was essentially a continuation of the territory he'd explored in the 1980s; sometimes he re-recorded songs from the previous decade. The difference, if any, was that he was concentrating on the proper official album market instead of the cassette underground, with somewhat higher (though not slick) production values.

Newell's most acclaimed album was 1993's The Greatest Living Englishman, which was produced by Andy Partridge of XTC. The Off White Album (1995) was a bit more baroque in approach, with occasional string arrangements. Spirit Cage was issued in fall 2000, and a collection of home-brewed recordings from 2010 through 2014, Teatime Assortment, appeared in 2015. Newell has co-written material with Captain Sensible and is a poet/humorist of some renown in Britain, publishing his own prose with a good deal of success and writing humorous pieces for the Independent newspaper. Ironically, his music is virtually unknown on his home turf, although he enjoys a considerable cult following in Germany, Japan, France, and on certain American college radio stations.(allmusic.com)

 Newell's second widely distributed album (he self-released some tapes under his own name in the 1980s) is a bit more precious and ornate than The Greatest Living Englishman, particularly when the songs employ string arrangements. At these times especially, this sounds a bit like Elvis Costello's unplugged/string quartet releases. Newell's phrasing, too, is getting more deliberate in a way that also faintly recalls Costello, though Newell doesn't sound as calculated in his delivery. As far as the songs go, it's largely more of the same: witty, affecting vignettes about British characters, simultaneously evoking a glorious past and a somewhat unsettling, frustrating present. It's not his best record, but it's still more inventive, intelligent British pop than what you hear from most other such artists that try to carry this kind of thing off.(Richie Unterberger)

My impressions of the album are in some points (Costello) different from Mr Unterberger's. But today is that kind of day i should better stay in bed anyway. Okay take a listen and enjoy.

Cheers
            Frank

@320

Manual Scan - All Night Stand Best Of 1980-1992 (2000) FLAC

Manual Scan were the champions of retro '60s-flavored rock & roll in the West Coast mod revival of the late 1970s. In many ways, they unified the movement between bands playing new material and those lovingly recreating '60s British pop styles. Manual Scan had it both ways, coming up with clever tunes that had overt '60s influences while still remaining new and fresh. This 21-track compilation brings together their very best from 1980 to 1992, bringing together impossibly rare tracks (some only previously available as flexi-discs) along with some previously unreleased material. Manual Scan

played catchy, edgy power-pop very much in the spirit of the Jam minus the political slant; the guitar work between leaders Bart Mendoza and Kevin Ring is as solid a two-guitar team in a small-combo format as you're likely to hear in this genre. Highlights include "Nothing You Can Do," "Bird," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "And We Still Feel the Same" and nice covers of "Shapes of Things to Come," "I Can Only Give You Everything," and the Zombies' "It's Alright With Me," the latter group being a seminal influence. Some powerful power-pop music from a band that deserves a much wider hearing. (Cub Koda allmusic.com)

All said. A record full of energy and powerful pop hooks.
In FLAC

Cheers
           Frank

Here

Ted Mulry Gang - ''Here We Are'' & Bonus (1974)

  Born 2 September 1951, Oldham, Lancashire, England, died

1 September 2001, Sydney, Australia. Mulry emigrated to Australia in 1969 where he took a bulldozer driving job in the NSW Main Roads Department. His interest in songwriting prompted him to record a demo tape, leading to a recording contract with Parlophone Records. His debut single, the romantic ballad ‘Julia’, became a minor hit, following which he signed to the nascent Albert Records label and recorded Vanda And Young’s ‘Falling In Love Again’. Mulry also made a name for himself as a songwriter for other artists, and briefly returned to the UK to perform under the name of Steve Ryder. Back in Australia in 1972, Mulry began playing the bass and joined with Herman Kovacs (drums) and Les Hall (guitar) to form the Ted Mulry Gang. Shortly before the release of the band’s debut album, Here We Are, rhythm guitarist Gary Dixon was added to the line-up.

The Ted Mulry Gang marked a decisive change in musical direction for the singer, dumping his old balladeer image in favour of good-time rock ‘n’ roll. He revived old standards, such as ‘Darktown Strutters’ Ball’, wrote a hit, ‘Jump In My Car’, toured widely and appealed to young teenage fans. The band shortened their name to TMG after switching to the Mushroom Records label in 1977, but by the end of the decade the hits had begun to dry up. The band continued to perform as a popular act on the live circuit, without releasing any more records until the mid-80s, when Mulry retired to run a garage. The band re-formed for a 70s revival show in 1990 and continued playing despite Mulry’s other projects, including a slot on the televised Roy & HG Show. In 2000 Mulry was diagnosed with brain cancer, and succumbed to the disease the following September. (allmusic.com).

Wenn man sich das Cover anschaut und weiß die Band kommt aus Australien, dazu befinden wir uns in der Mitte der Siebziger, dann weiß man eigentlich schon was einen musikalisch ungefähr erwarten könnte. So gings mir jedenfalls und ich lag richtig damit...damals...aber das ist lange her. Vielleicht hat's mit Nostalgie zu tun, oder weil ich kürzlich gelesen habe, dass die Band in Originalbesetzung wieder auftritt (Natürlich nicht mit Ted, sondern mit seinem jüngeren Bruder, der den Gesang übernimmt), dass ich sie mal wieder rausgekramt habe.  Wie auch immer, für mich sind die besten Stücke der Platte die, welche eindeutige Bezüge zu den Beatles hören lassen. Einige Stücke (z.B. ''Only Love Can Make it) waren wohl ein Zugeständnis an die Plattenfirma (die Ted lieber weiterhin als Soloact mit Schmusecharakter gesehen hätte), die hier so gar nicht in das Gesamtkonzept der Platte passen wollen. Ansonsten gibt's Party Sunshine Rock'n'Roll der Siebziger wie ''Jump in my car''. ''Give it to me'' klingt ziemlich nach Bad Company. Alles in allem ein gutes Album, daß eindeutig in den Siebzigern zuhause ist, aber auch heute noch Spaß macht. Aber macht euch selbst ein Bild.
Mit 'nem lieben Gruss bis demnächst
Frank

@320

Salt Water Taffy (1968) Sunshine Bubblegum @320

This New York-based bubblegum group -- led by songwriter/producer Rod McBrien -- recorded their lone album for Buddah Records in 1968. Titled after their local New York hit "Finders Keepers" (which bubbled under Billboard's Hot 100 nationally at number 105 in May 1968), the album featured a vocal harmony sound that was supposed to be similar to what a white version of the 5th Dimension would sound like, according to McBrien. Several of the tracks were penned by McBrien and his songwriting partner, former Valrays saxophonist Johnny Giametta, while others included covers from the Anders & Poncia catalog ("Whence I Make Thee Mine") and one tune by the Mann/Weil team ("You Baby"). Lead vocals on the title track were actually handled by Tommy West (whose real name is Tommy Piccardo), who sang the one-off minor hit as a favor (West later penned hits for the Partridge Family, produced Jim Croce, and partnered with Terry Cashmen as the Buchanan Brothers). The song featured a chirpy chorus of taunting children and a vocal arrangement in the Jay & the Techniques vein. Additional songs featured Janie Brannan (whose husband penned the goofy liner notes) and Kathy Weisberg, recent transplants to New York who fell into the gig as Salt Water Taffy girls. A follow-up single with similar playground children chanting, "Sticks and Stones," failed to catch on, as did two additional singles pulled from the album. In 1970, the group transferred over to United for one single -- another Anders & Poncia cover, "Summertime Girl" -- which failed to chart, and shortly thereafter the Salt Water Taffy broke up.

 This record is a real gem in sixties pop music. And if you are a lover of sixties pop you can't resist these songs. Related to the 5th Dimension it is far more of a bubblegum pop feel here in the songs. The edition is full of 22 songs and i haven't found anything about a 22 track edition
(but i haven't search a lot because i was a little bit lazy). Track 13 and 14 are bonus tracks on the Rev-Ola CD from 2009. They are here, too. All in all a wonderful pop album and it had deserved
more attention than a no. 105 on Billboard charts. So, genug geschwätzt ! Enough said! I hope you like it like i do.

Three cheers
                    Frank

mp3@320

The Baroques - Purple Day 1967/68 @320 (CD)

A minor psychedelic band with a mixture of interesting and generic material, the Baroques recorded one LP for Chess in 1967, when the blues/R&B/soul-oriented label was considering breaking into the rock market. Popular only on a regional level, the Milwaukee group (originally called "The Complete Unknowns," until someone probably realized how dangerously self-fulfilling it could be) was dominated by the morose compositions and low, odd vocal range of singer-lead guitarist Jay Berkenhagen who also played keyboards; the other members were Rick Bieniewski on bass, Jacques Hutchinson on guitar and vocals, and Dean Nimmer on drums. With a slight garage feel, their unusual, occasionally oddball material was built around electric (sometimes "baroque") keyboards and fuzz guitar riffs, which occasional detours into uplifting folk-rock and freak-out jamming. They lucked out in 1966 with the Berkenhagen-authored single "Mary Jane," which engendered considerable local controversy over whether it was or wasn't a drug song: it wasn't, but the dispute over the lyrics got them labeled as a psychedelic act, and boosted their live popularity. The album never sold, however, and the group disbanded in 1968. They won't appeal to many listeners besides psychedelic specialists, but they recorded some idiosyncratically worthwhile stuff, most of which has been reissued on small collector labels.(R. Unterberger allmusic.com)

Fine psychedelic garage pop. It's a pity that the band don't got more attention then in the sixties.
But like a famous man once said: ..at the right time at the right place...or forget it.

Enjoy
         Frank

@320

The Liverpool Echo - The Liverpool Echo 1973(2005)CD Flac

Power pop has never sounded so powerful! When former Mandrake Paddlesteamer mainstays Brian Engel and Martin Briley convened as Liverpool Echo in 1973, the Beatles had been in the grave for just three years, and the world still desperately wanted them back -- so desperately that, with a band name borrowed bodily from an old Merseybeat-era newspaper, what could any record company do, but lift a "Fabs"-headlined copy of the paper for an album cover? But "Beatles Come Home So Quietly" really wasn't the most appropriate banner for an LP jacket, all the more so since, once you hit the vinyl, the spirit of the "Moptops" hung so heavily over the music that it screamed out for attention. Of course, it was true that any early-'70s band that was capable of melding melody with studio-borne creativity would inevitably be tarred "the new Beatles" (as Badfinger and 10cc would readily testify); it is also true that all such comparisons were then hopelessly devalued by the arrival of the Rutles.

But still Liverpool Echo have an uncanny grasp of the Merseybeat sound circa 1963 and 64, spliced with a healthy hint of the Hollies, and that was more than enough to raise high hopes for the album. Unfortunately, hope was all that the record label (Spark) could do. They certainly had no promotion or distribution muscle to speak of, and both band and LP sank within seconds, to lie forgotten until Revola revived it (with excellent Mark A Johnston liner notes) in 2005.

This is the remastered CD of 2005 published from Rev-Ola. I hope you give it a try because it's an album full of fine pop songs.
Cheers
           Frank

ps: i try this for the first time and want to see if it works...
Flac

Billy Nicholls - Forever's No Time At All - The Anthology 1967-2004 (FLAC)

The collected works of Billy Nicholls may well prove essential listening, not just for fans of the 1960 cult favorite -- whose entire Would You Believe album, complete with outtakes, is present on the first half of the first disc -- but also for admirers of Pete Townshend, who produced and recorded Nicholls during the 1970s. That work is also here, and if it isn't quite as ornate and flowery as Nicholls' '60s work, it also compares favorably with the music that the Who was putting out circa 1974. That's all augmented by tracks off of the previously released compilation Penumbra Moon, which is gorgeous in its own right as singer/songwriter-style material. The latest tracks here, dating from the 21st century, are not quite as pretty as some of what's come before, but the music is still valid, enjoyable rock in a somewhat heavier (or, more heavily produced) vein, more self-conscious in its approach but not without interest. He still writes great lyrics and melodies that if they're not wholly dazzling, dress up nicely. Anyone who owns Would You Believe
will find a lot here to keep himself busy and happy.

 Imho Billy Nicholls was one of the greatest Songwriters for pop/rock, british psychedelia/sunshine pop songs of the sixties in Great Britain after the fab four. He is for sure a little bit underrated from the audience but the musicians who worked with Nicholls always estimated him as great artist.
The collection is in FLAC and there are 43 tracks on two discs. Enjoy

Frank



Flac

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!!!

Happy New Year 2017, Folks! I wish all of you a wonderful new year with health, success, a lot of love or all the things that means happiness and contendment to you.
I hope some things will take a better way in the new year than in 2016, for me personally and for the
world as well.

I want to start the new year with ''The Association - The Complete Warner Bros. & Valiant Singles Collection (2012)''

While there are plenty of amazing moments on the Association's albums that never came anywhere near a single, the group was first and foremost a singles-oriented act, just as L.A. sunshine pop contemporaries like the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds notwithstanding) and the Mamas & the Papas were. That's part of what makes this anthology such an effective encapsulation of the group's gestalt. The last major Association anthology, Rhino's 2002 double-disc release Just the Right Sound, took a more expansive approach to organizing its retrospective. But by presenting the A- and B-sides of each Association single from 1965's Bob Dylan cover "One Too Many Mornings" to 1971's "That's Racin'" in chronological order, the Now Sounds collection allows listeners to experience the group's evolution in exactly the same way a fan of 45s would have done during the Association's heyday. And while assembled A-sides like "Along Comes Mary," "Cherish," "Windy," and "Never My Love" lend this two-CD offering a definitive greatest-hits aspect, the B-sides are often non-LP cuts, adding some serious heft to the archival side of the project.

Stylistically speaking, it's fascinating to hear the growth the Association experienced over the course of just a few years. While the succulent vocal harmonies remained a signature throughout the group's career, the arrangements and songwriting underwent some major changes. The band began in a folk-rock mode with tracks like the aforementioned Dylan tune before settling into a lush, heavenly pop paradise all their own on circa 1968 masterpieces like "Everything That Touches You." At the same time, the fuzzed-out guitar lines of another 1968 single, "Six Man Band," showed the Association to be entirely comfortable with psychedelia. By 1969, the hits pretty much stopped coming, but the group didn't hit the pause button on its evolutionary process. 1970 B-sides "I Am Up for Europe" and "Look at Me, Look at You" show that the Association was capable of convincingly shifting toward heavy, blues-based rock and country-rock, respectively, while it's easy to envision "It's Gotta Be Real" hitting the early-‘70s R&B charts if only it had come from an act with a bit less of a squeaky-clean straight pop image. If you let it, The Complete Warner Bros. & Valiant Singles can simultaneously underline the Association's commercial peak and deepen your understanding of the group's true musical personality.

This anthology is a fine thing and i hope you will have fun with the songs.
Here we come, 2017!
Cheers
            Frank

link in the comments