VA - Great British Psychedelic Trip Vol 1 1966-1969 (1988) Flac

From the audio archivists at the U.K.-based See for Miles reissue label comes the CD incarnation of The Great British Psychedelic Trip -- a highly acclaimed compilation of long-forgotten hits and considerably more misses. Circa 1986, the label released four single-LP volumes under the same title. This disc is the first in a series of three CDs that recompiles the four records into the digital domain. Seekers of highly obscure music from the late ‘60s are in for a certain treat, particularly enthusiasts of ‘60s Brit-pop -- which is a more apt description of the music found here -- as the term "psychedelic" inevitably conjures images of extended instrumentals and loosely arranged jams. This brilliant music is nothing if not well arranged and succinctly presented in true pop song style. A majority of the artists and bands on this disc may not have made much of a dent in the charts or at the cash registers, however as the contents reveal, many of them definitely had the talent.The first two CDs in this series gather some of the lesser-known artists who recorded at least one single for Decca U.K.'s new "progressive" spin-off label, Deram Records, launched in the fall of 1965. Many of the bands during this era took their cues as much from American garage and the burgeoning underground rock movement as they did from their native Carnaby Street and the concurrent mod scene. Even though these artists might not have made an impact equal to that of the Who, the Small Faces, or Love and the 13th Floor Elevators, they certainly were kindred spirits in a sonic sense. While there is nary a dud amongst the 26 tracks on this compilation, there are a few most exceptional works worthy of revisitation. Most notably are the Californians cover of Warren Zevon's "Follow Me" -- which he recorded with Tule Livingston under the guise of Lyme & Cybelle. This rendering is an inspired, harpsichord-driven and tambourine-tapping masterpiece and would have been the ultimate vehicle for the Monkees. "Red Sky at Night" -- not to be confused with a similarly titled song by the Fixx -- is among the heavier pieces on this volume. With the noir aura of King Crimson and ravaged fretwork reminiscent of Black Sabbath, the Accents unleash a track that pre-dates heavy metal by nearly two years. There are also a few early appearances from artists who would later go on to more notable things. If the song title "Baked Jam Roll in Your Eye" sounds extraordinary enough to have been a Rutles parody, the reality is that the band Timebox was a seminal stomping ground for both Pete "Ollie" Halsall (bass) and John Halsey (drums) -- who co-wrote the track. Despite the absurd name, this uptempo performance contains a Halsey-led rhythm akin to something Dave Clark might have been able to pull off. The track "Shades of Orange" was co-composed by Rolling Stone Bill Wyman during the brief period that he managed the End -- a project taken on at the urging of Stones producer Glyn Johns. Indeed, the song sounds steeped in the Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request, because, according to Dinnes Cruickshank's fascinating liner notes essay, it was worked up as the band was preparing that album. It has also appeared on numerous bootlegs as a "lost" Rolling Stones piece. Tragically, The Great British Psychedelic Trip series has been out of print since the mid-‘90s. A scouring of used CD bins has been known to produce copies, presumably picked over by consumers looking for top-shelf and well-known artists.(Lindsay Planer)

The edition includes three volumes and i post the other two in the next days. This is a really nice
collection of psychedelic pop stuff from mid until late sixties. Light on your incense sticks and enjoy!

Cheers
           Frank    New link

The Grass Roots - The Complete Original Dunhill/ABC Hit Singles 1965 - 1975 (2014) Flac

 The first serious Grass Roots compilation since Rhino's Anthology: 1965-1975, Real Gone's 2014 The Complete Original Dunhill/ABC Hit Singles isn't as comprehensive as that 1991 double-disc set, running 24 songs to its predecessor's 36, but that still leaves plenty of room to be thorough. Every one of the group's charting singles between 1966 and 1973 are here, beginning with "Where Were You When I Needed You" -- their first Top 40 hit in 1966, climbing all the way to 28 -- and ending with "Love Is What You Make It," which topped out at 55. "Mamacita," a 1975 single for Haven, isn't here but their first Dunhill side, a cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Jones (Ballad of a Thin Man)" is, along with a censored version of their breakthrough hit "Let's Live for Today," two inclusions which underscore the group's folk-rock roots, but the band's hot streak really began with "Midnight Confessions," a piece of snazzy blue-eyed soul that opened up a run of AM pop nuggets that ran until 1972. All of these are here, and while the big hits "I'd Wait a Million Years," "Temptation Eyes," "Sooner or Later," and "Two Divided by Love" are the group's best, the Grass Roots' bench is deeper than this suggests, thanks in part to some nifty songs by Harvey Price & Dan Walsh, the authors of "Temptation Eyes" (these include "Baby Hold On" and "Heaven Knows") and Dennis Lambert & Brian Potter ("The Runaway," "Anyway the Wind Blows"). This is state of the art turn of '70s pop, and Real Gone finally gives it the showcase it has long deserved with this fine compilation.

Bio
The Grass Roots had a series of major hits -- most notably "Let's Live for Today," "Midnight Confessions," "Temptation Eyes," and "Two Divided by Love" -- that help define the essence of the era's best AM radio. Although the group's members weren't even close to being recognizable, and their in-house songwriting was next to irrelevant, the Grass Roots managed to chart 14 Top 40 hits, including seven gold singles and one platinum single, and two had hits collections that effortlessly went gold. The group's history is also fairly complicated, because there were at least three different groups involved in the making of the songs identified as being by "the Grass Roots."
The Grass Roots was originated by the writer/producer team of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri as a pseudonym under which they would release a body of Byrds/Beau Brummels-style folk-rock. Sloan and Barri were contracted songwriters for Trousdale Music, the publishing arm of Dunhill Records, which wanted to cash in on the folk-rock boom of 1965. Dunhill asked Sloan and Barri to come up with this material, and a group alias under which they would release it. The resulting "Grass Roots" debut song, "Where Were You When I Needed You," sung by Sloan, was sent to a Los Angeles radio station, which began playing it. The problem was, there was no "Grass Roots." The next step was to recruit a band that could become the Grass Roots. Sloan found a San Francisco group called the Bedouins that seemed promising on the basis of their lead singer, Bill Fulton. Fulton recorded a new vocal over the backing tracks laid down for the P.F. Sloan version of the song. The Bedouins were, at first, content to put their future in the hands of Sloan and Barri as producers, despite the fact that the group was more blues-oriented than folk-rock. However, the rest of the group was offended when Fulton was told to record their debut single, a cover of Bob Dylan's "The Ballad of a Thin Man," backed by studio musicians. When that single, released in October of 1965, became only a modest hit, the Bedouins -- except for their drummer, Joel Larson -- departed for San Francisco, to re-form as the Unquenchable Thirst. Sloan and Barri continued to record. "Where Were You When I Needed You" was released in mid-'66 and peaked at number 28, but the album of the same name never charted.

Amid the machinations behind Where Were You When I Needed You, no "real" Grass Roots band existed in 1966. A possible solution came along when a Los Angeles band called the 13th Floor submitted a demo tape to Dunhill. This group, consisting of Warren Entner (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Creed Bratton (lead guitar), Rob Grill (vocals, bass), and Rick Coonce (drums), was recruited and offered the choice of recording under their own name, or to take over the name the Grass Roots, put themselves in the hands of Sloan and Barri, and take advantage of the Grass Roots' track record. They chose the latter, with Rob Grill as primary lead vocalist. The first track cut by the new Grass Roots in the spring of 1967 was "Let's Live for Today," a new version of a song that had been an Italian hit, in a lighter, more up-tempo version, for a band called the Rokes. "Let's Live for Today" was an achingly beautiful, dramatic, and serious single and it shot into the Top Ten upon its release in the summer of 1967. An accompanying album, Let's Live for Today, only reached number 75. The group began spreading its wings in the studio with their next album, Feelings, recorded late in 1967, which emphasized the band's material over Sloan and Barri's. This was intended as their own statement of who they were, but it lacked the commercial appeal of anything on Let's Live for Today, sold poorly, and never yielded any hit singles. Eleven months went by before the group had another chart entry, and during that period, Sloan and Barri's partnership broke up, with Sloan departing for New York and an attempt at a performing career of his own. The band even considered splitting up as all of this was happening. The Grass Roots' return to the charts (with Barri producing), however, was a triumphant one -- in the late fall of 1968, "Midnight Confessions" reached number five on the charts and earned a gold record. "Midnight Confessions" showed the strong influence of Motown, and the R&B flavor of the song stuck with Barri and the band.

In April of 1969, Creed Bratton left the band, to be replaced by Denny Provisor on keyboards and Terry Furlong on lead guitar. Now a quintet, the Grass Roots went on cutting records without breaking stride, enjoying a string of Top 40 hits that ran into the early '70s, peaking with "Temptation Eyes" at number 15 in the summer of 1971. Coonce and Provisor left at the end of 1971, to be replaced by Reed Kailing on lead guitar, Virgil Webber on keyboards, and Joel Larson -- of the original Bedouins/Grass Roots outfit -- on drums. They arrived just in time to take advantage of the number 16 success of "Two Divided by Love," which was the last of the Grass Roots' big hits. The Grass Roots soldiered on for a few more years, reaching the Top 40 a couple of times in 1972, but their commercial success slowly slipped away during 1973. They kept working for a few more years, but called it quits in 1975. Rob Grill remained in the music business on the organizing side, and by 1980 was persuaded by his friend John McVie to cut a solo album, Uprooted, which featured contributions by Mick Fleetwood and Lindsay Buckingham. By 1982, amid the burgeoning oldies concert circuit and the respect beginning to be accorded the Grass Roots, Grill formed a new Grass Roots -- sometimes billed as Rob Grill and the Grass Roots -- and began performing as many as 100 shows a year. Their presence on various oldies package tours saw to it that the Grass Roots' name remained visible. Grill continued performing with later incarnations of the band into the 2000s; however, he endured the pain of degenerative bone disease for years and in June 2011 suffered a head injury. The following month Grill died in Tavares, Florida of complications from that injury at the age of 67. (allmusic.com)

One of my favourite 60's/70's pop groups. 24 songs here and not one filler ! Great. I will post more of Sloan/Barri efforts in the next days. Have fun with this great band
Frank    Flac

The Complete Herd 1965-1971 (2005) Flac

Before '70s superstardom, even before Humble Pie, Peter Frampton got his first taste of celebrity as a singer and guitarist in the Herd, who chalked up several hits in Britain in 1967 and 1968. Frampton was only 17 when the single "From the Underworld" went into the British Top Ten in late 1967; "Paradise Lost" and "I Don't Want Our Loving to Die" were hits for the group in the first half of 1968. The Herd's brand of mod was extremely commercial and good-timey- and pop-oriented, a bit like a muted and mainstream Small Faces. Much of their material (including all of the hits) was written by their management team of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had supplied songs for the Honeycombs (of "Have I the Right" fame).

Frampton and keyboardist Andy Bown wrote most of the band's original tunes, and one can presume that the limitations of the Herd's overtly pop approach (which sometimes encompassed MOR ballads and orchestrated arrangements) were a factor in his decision to leave for Humble Pie after the Herd had issued just one album and a few singles. After a few Frampton-less singles, the Herd scattered; Andy Bown released a few solo albums and has done session work with Frampton and Pink Floyd.

 Hope you like the Herd. Here is the complete work with 48 tracks.
Have fun
               Frank      Flac

Sunshine Pop/Psychedelic Pop from the late sixties - Angel Pavement!

Anyone unfamiliar with Angel Pavement shouldn't feel too bad. After all, the band was hardly a household name in its heyday, and its peak of exposure consisted of a pair of failed singles at the very tail-end of the 1960s in England. But they were a seriously wonderful sunshine pop outfit from late 1960s, hailing from York, with a sound that was equal parts psychedelia and pop/rock in the best Hollies/Zombies/Beatles manner. The band, which took its name from a 1930 novel by J.B. Priestley (himself a Yorkshireman, natch), was assembled by guitarist/songwriter Alfie Shepherd out of the remnants of a soul-based outfit, Wesley Hardin's Shotgun Package, with Paul Smith (lead vocals), Dave Smith (guitar), Graham Harris (bass), and Alan Reeve (drums) (later replaced by Mike "Candy" Candler). They quickly developed an effective pop-oriented psychedelic sound, similar to what the Hollies were doing on Evolution and Butterfly, and the Zombies generated on Odessey & Oracle, with lush harmonies, glittering instrumental textures, horns and brass in the right places on the pop numbers. They managed to build a large following in their native York and also cut some early sides that heavily reflected all of those influences.

The group's attempt to crack the London club scene coincided with their starting work on a debut album at Morgan Studios, but those efforts were interrupted by an offer to play a series of gigs for a few days in Mexico City in early 1969. Instead, they stayed for five months, and returned to London to pick up work on the album, a process interrupted by Dave Smith's departure (and his replacement by John Cartwright, who played guitar and trumpet). A pair of singles, "Baby You've Gotta Stay" and "Tell Me What I've Got to Do," issued through Fontana Records, failed to elicit any serious chart action in late 1969 and early 1970; a third single and their announcement of a forthcoming LP all ended up missing in action because of disputes between Shepherd and the studio's publishing arm. Their producer apparently put the final nail in the coffin, and they broke up at the end of 1970. Candler went on to join Decameron and the John Coppin and his band, and Shepherd wrote songs and attempted to do a musical adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, while the others exited the business altogether. In 2005, Wooden Hill Records issued Maybe Tomorrow, the first-ever release of nearly two-dozen songs from those long-ago Morgan sessions by Angel Pavement -- they lived up to all of the stories about the group's sound and potential. The 1969 Wind in the Willows project was finally released on CD in 2009, digitally remastered with extra demo songs, on the Wooden Hill label.

Marvelous sunshine/psychedelic pop record from the end of the sixties. A lot of great songs here and i think if this had coming two years earlier...if...Don't miss it grab it! It's a fine pop record if you love this kind of music. Oops... by the way this is the 2005 edition with eight more tracks.

Cheers
           SB1  mp3@320
                                                Complete artwork

Dwight Twilley Band - The Great Lost Twilley Album 1993 mp3@320

The rumor had always been that the original Dwight Twilley Band had completed four albums between 1974 and 1978 that were never released due to problems with their label, Shelter Records; the few writers and personal friends who heard the albums claimed the material was superior to much of their released work. The Great Lost Twilley Album collects the best "lost" tracks from this era, as well as prime material from the unreleased Blueprint album from 1980; true to the myth, the songs are easily as good as the band's classic early albums.

The band especially shines on the proposed follow-up to the hit "I'm on Fire," "Shark," an infectious rocker that stands as one of the great "should-have-been-hits." - Chris Woodstra, AMG

Power pop from the older days. 
Enjoy
         Frank  mp3@320
                 
                  Flac NEW LINK

Code Blue - Code Blue 1980/2003 Flac

In 1980, Code Blue, a no-nonsense power trio featuring Dean Chamberlain of The Motels, released its first studio album. Although commercial success on a grand scale was not to be, the band's potent melodic concoction remains one of the most original sounds of the New Wave era.

While attending Berkeley in the early '70s, Chamberlain formed the group that would become The Motels. Soon after relocating to L.A., the unit fractured as singer Martha Davis became the primary focus, attracting attention from none other than Phil Spector. Chamberlain left to form Skin with drummer Randall Marsh and bassist Michael Ostendorf. Soon they had a record deal with Warner Bros. and a new name, Code Blue. Nigel Grey, fresh from work on the first two Police albums, signed on as producer, and Gary Tibbs of The Vibrators replaced Ostendorf on bass.

After initial sessions at the legendary Olympic Studios in London and overdubs at Grey's studio in the south of England, the band broke with the producer and continued in L.A. with engineer Mike Stone. Released in 1980, Code Blue harnessed the raw, melodic spirit of the New Wave without relying on its musical clichés. While not as emblematic of the '80s as some of their contemporaries, Code Blue brought their delightful "Whisper/Touch" to the classic teen film Pretty In Pink, cementing their place among the finest the decade had to offer.
Also featured on this expanded, remastered edition are 12 bonus tracks, including demos, live performances, and 2003 remixes of "Whisper/Touch" and "Hurt." (rhino)

A lot of people call it New Wave/Power Pop and maybe that's the right designation for the band's sound. But in some songs it's more fresh powerful new wave sound with a share of power pop than pure power pop. Anyway, powerful record in the tradition of (in my ears) english punk/new wave bands of the time then.
Have fun
              Frank   new link limited till 2017-04-15    NEW, new, new link!

Pre Big Star - Rock City - Rock City 1969/70 (2003) mp3@320

While Alex Chilton has always been considered the great mind behind smart pop icon Big Star, some of the group's more obsessive fans (and Big Star hardly seems to attract any other kind) have in recent years began wondering just how much the group's other guitarist and songwriter, Chris Bell, brought to the picture, especially in the wake of Bell's superb posthumously released solo album, I Am the Cosmos. Well, Rock City finally allows listeners to hear what Big Star might have sounded like without Alex Chilton, since for all practical purposes Rock City was Big Star without Alex Chilton. Recorded between 1969 and 1970, Rock City was the self-titled debut album from a band fronted by Chris Bell, with Jody Stephens on drums, Thomas Dean Eubanks on guitar and bass, and Terry Manning on keyboards. Bell wasn't able to score a record deal for Rock City, and before long Eubanks left the group, Manning went back to his other job as a recording engineer, and Bell's high-school buddy Chilton, looking for a gig after leaving the Box Tops, joined up. After Andy Hummel came on board as bassist, Rock City changed its name to Big Star, and the unreleased Rock City album was lost in a tape vault, only to be found in 2002. Heard nearly 35 years after it was recorded, Rock City certainly sounds like a key precursor to what Big Star would accomplish with #1 Record, but it also falls well short of that album's brilliance.

The overall tone is significantly more Anglophilic than Big Star (which says a lot), with a great deal more pomp and pretension on the menu, and while the big-rock crunch of "Think It's Time to Say Goodbye" and Beatlesque melodicism of "Lovely Lady" prove Bell and company were heading in the right direction, the drippy sub-prog of "The Answer" and the meandering "The Preacher" make it clear they hadn't gotten there just yet. And the presence of three tunes that would later pop up in different (and superior) form on #1 Record makes it clear that what Chilton brought to Big Star, along with his songs, was a needed injection of grit and attitude that allowed the band's rock gestures to display a real credibility. Rock City is certainly fascinating as archeology, but as music, you're better off with the #1 Record/Radio City two-fer or I Am the Cosmos.(allmusic.com)

Hello friends of pop, i needed a longer sleep last night and that's the reason why i have my first coffee only now. The first record i listened this morning (now lol) is Rock City, the pre band of Big Star. I know most of the Big Star fans here will know the record. But maybe the one or another don't have it.
Hope you like it as i do (except the band name. Sounds to me more like a hair metal band lol.)
I will have a shower now and post more later.
                                                                         Frank   mp3@320
                                                                        

Off Broadway - Live From the Studio 1980 (Flac)

Howdy guys and gals, i don't know from where i get this and i have no clue if it's maybe on Dime or Zomb because i was not there for years. Anyway i post it here because the recording quality is real fine. And the band is great here. Hope you like it. I was very happy as i found it today because i'm a long time fan of the band. Here is the info and a big Thank You to the original uploader! Enjoy it!

Off Broadway (USA) - Live In The Studio 1980
Broadcast from Full Compass Studio Madison, WI.
On WIBA FM 101.5 MHz Wednesday, October 29, 1980.

01 - Bad Indication (3:35)
02 - Bad Girl (2:40)
03 - Bully Bully (3:57)
04 - Automatic (4:04)
05 - US Girls (4:33)
06 - Oh Boy! (3:48)
07 - Showdown (6:08)
08 - Quick Turns (3:02)
09 - Are You Alone (3:41)
10 - Boys Must Be Strong (6:24)
11 - Eddie's Pals (4:02)
12 - Stay In Time (2:54)
13 - Hang On For Love (10:37)
14 - Full Moon Turn My Head Around (8:15)

Cliff Johnson - Vocals
John Ivan - Lead Guitar
Rob Harding - Guitars
Mike Gorman - Bass Guitar
Ken Harck - Drums

Lineage:

FM > tape (unknown probably reel) > digitization (unknown) > CD-R
CD-R > EAC > WAV > Audacity > WAV > TLH > FLAC

Chicago area Power Pop that delivers both the Power AND the Pop.
The band had hooks and looks, good material, and a charismatic stage
presentation, as this live in the studio recording demonstrates.

A nice selection of songs from their first Atlantic LP On (1,3,6,12,13,14),
and the just-about-to-be-released follow-up, Quick Turns (2,4,5,7,8,9,10,11).

I suppose a lot of areas have local bands that get a sniff of national
attention, but through a combination of bad luck, timing, and label
support never connect with a large audience. Well, here's another one,
captured on a visit to their northern neighbor's largest college town,
in front of a small recording studio audience, straight to the airwaves.

It's too bad there isn't more material from the band - IMHO they compare
favorably with more prolific or better known cult legends and/or more
successful bands of the era like Cheap Trick, the Cars, Shoes, Artful Dodger,
et cetera, not to mention Pezband, which featured Cliff Johnson on vocals in
an early incarnation. On the plus side, we have two studio albums, a more
recent reunion album and live recording, and occasional forays into the
local clubs still occur, if we believe everything we read on the internet.

Track 13 interpolates bits from Oh Yoko (John Lennon) and
Switchboard Susan (Nick Lowe). Seems like they'd frequently play
20 or 30 minute medleys like this, the guitars chugging along with
Cliff singing a few lines from Gloria, Oh Pretty Woman, something by
the Supremes, amd seemingly whatever 3-chord garage rock tune popped
into his head. Johnson is most often compared to John Lennon as a
vocalist, not without cause, for a change, and I'm reminded a bit
of Ian Hunter when he gets to hectoring the listener, as well. Pretty
decent for a kid from Oak Park.

I received this from another former Madison resident I connected with
via Spooner's Facebook page. (Thanks, Kirk!) Original CD-R had gaps
between songs and massive amounts of clipping in places. (Cliff had
a real tendency to swallow the mic sometimes.) Still, a good sounding
source, so I applied Clip Fix, a bit of noise reduction and EQ, and
some Limiting to bring those peaks back below 0 dB. (I'll inquire of the
status of the original tape when I mail a copy of this back to him!)
I made sure there were no gaps in applause between the songs that segue.

Most of the station breaks and announcer talk had been excised from
the recording as I received it, and a few fades and abrupt transitions
will be heard. I took the liberty of snipping a bit from the middle of the
final tune, since the band playing a repetitive vamp behind technical credits
and sponsor acknowledgements gives such a golden opportunity to improve
the listening experience. Apologies to relatives of the station and studio
engineers, and the advertising executives at Stop N Go convenience stores!

Enjoy, with the usual encouragement to share responsibly and support the musicians.

Okay, have a nice day/evening all out there wherever you are.
Cheers
           Frank     Flac p1
                         Flac p2
                         Flac p3 

The Flame - The Flame 1970 (2004) Flac

Although you'd be hard-pressed to discern their heritage, the Flames (they'd soon drop the "s" to avoid confusion with James Brown's backup band) emerged out of the rich South African/Malaysian pop scene as a superb cover combo. They even scored a number one with an update of the Impressions' R&B classic "For Your Precious Love." It wasn't until after the quartet -- consisting of siblings Edries "Brother" Fataar (bass/vocals), Rutle-in-waiting Ricky Fataar (drums/vocals), and Steve Fataar (guitar/vocals), as well as Blondie Chaplin (guitar/vocals) -- had moved to England and were gigging around London that Al Jardine convinced fellow Beach Boys co-founder Carl Wilson to sign the Flame to the Beach Boys' Brother Records label. The eponymously monikered platter would become their best-known thanks to Ricky and Chaplin's association as part-time members of the Beach Boys circa the mid-'70s. During the drawn out legal and political processes that would allow them to earn a living Stateside, the Flamecollaborated with Wilson (producer) and Beach Boys' engineer of choice Steve Desper to craft this ten-song collection, which reflected the overwhelming similarities and obvious inspiration to the Beatles' post Rubber Soul (1965) period.

Particularly, Lennon and McCartney's progressive and keenly developed compositional style, which surfaces here as a running motif throughout the whole work. The rockers range from the effervescent "See the Light" -- which is reprised at the conclusion of the effort in a slower, slinkier, and definitely funkier interpretation -- to the edgier "Make It Easy," "Get Your Mind Made Up," and ominous "Hey Lord." Conversely, they ably pull off the lolloping and lovely "Lady" -- which is a gentle send-up of cowboy westerns -- while "Don't Worry, Bill" is equal measures of Fab Four and fellow power pop revivalists Big Star. When Chaplin and Ricky Fataar briefly joined the Beach Boys early-'70s touring company, the selection was offered coupled with the SMiLE (1967) track "Wonderful" as "Wonderful/Don't Worry Bill." A version of said can be found on the Beach Boys' Endless Harmony (1998) anthology. Other sides worthy of note include the languid "Highs and Lows" and the powerfully anthemic "Another Day Like Heaven." In 2006 Fallout Records issued a "needle drop" CD incarnation of The Flame. While better than nothing at all, it is a poor substitution for the proper remastering that the platter most certainly deserves. 

 Marvelous, Beatles influenced pop music. An album i love so much. Enjoy!

Limited link till March, 19th, 2017  Flac

Ted Mulry - Falling In Love Again (1971) Flac

Ted Mulry first came to the attention of the music industry when he sent a demo of some of his own compositions to Albert Productions in Sydney. The company persuaded him to become a recording artist and he soon rose to fame as a solo singer/songwriter with his own composition, the pop ballad "Julia", which made the Australian charts in 1970. He followed that with "Falling in Love Again", a song by The Easybeats songwriting team Harry Vanda & George Young, which was a major hit in 1971.

Mulry was a prolific songwriter, and a number of bands and artists, including John Farnham and Alison MacCallum, recorded his songs. Most notably, rock band Sherbet had a hit with his song, "You're All Woman". He travelled to England in 1972 and recorded a single there under the name Steve Ryder but returned to Australia soon after. During his time as a solo artist he released two albums, Falling in Love Again and I Won't Look Back.

This album is a typical late sixties/early seventies pop production and it found success with some single hits. I love this kind of music and maybe you do, too.

Kind regards
                     Frank
 New Link

10cc - Deceptive Bends SHM-CD edition (1977/2014) Flac

When Kevin Godley and Lol Creme left 10cc in 1976 to pursue a solo career, many thought it was the death knell for the group. However, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman kept the group alive as a duo (with the assistance of percussionist Paul Burgess) and turned in a surprisingly solid album with 1977's Deceptive Bends. It may lack the devil-may-care wackiness that popped up on previous 10cc albums, but it makes up for it by crafting a series of lush, catchy pop songs that are witty in their own right.

Deceptive Bends also produced a pair of notable hits for the group: "Good Morning Judge" told the comical tale of a career criminal over a hook-laden, surprisingly funky pop backing while "The Things We Do for Love" was an irresistible Beatles pastiche that showcased 10cc's mastery of pop vocal harmonies. "People in Love," a surprisingly straightforward ballad built on a gorgeous string arrangement, also became a modest chart success. The remainder of the material doesn't stand out as sharply as these hits, but each of the tracks offers up plenty of naggingly catchy pop hooks, oodles of catchy riffs, and surprising twists in their arrangements. Highlights among the non-hit tracks include "Marriage Bureau Rendezvous," a satire of dating services set to a lilting soft rock melody, and "You've Got a Cold," a portrait of illness-influenced misery set to a percolating pop melody. The only place where Deceptive Bends slips is on "Feel the Benefit," the lengthy medley that closes the album. Its excessive length and hazy lyrics make it less satisfying than the album's shorter tunes, but it is kept afloat by a catchy, mock-Spanish midsection and some lovely string arrangements. All in all, Deceptive Bends is the finest achievement of 10cc's post-Godley and Creme lineup and well worth a spin for anyone who enjoyed Sheet Music or The Original Soundtrack.

Hello Folks thank God it's friday lol. Two days of leisure and i love that :-)! Here we go with 10cc, a real strong band in the tradition of great songwriting and the wllingness of experience. These guys was one of my absolute favourites in the 70's. This is the first album without Kevin Godley and Lol Creme which did projects after the breakup with a lot of success. For me i love more the things of Graham Gouldman. From the sixties until today he wrote a giant string of wonderful songs. With 10cc and also in his solo projects. He is a real gifted musician (like the other three guys, too). But sorry, i wander from the subject. This is a very strong record in every sense. So i hope you will like it and have a lot of fun. By the way this is the japanese SHM-CD edition from 2014.

Cheers
           Frank       Flac

Cotton Mather - Death Of The Cool (2016) Flac

Cotton Mather, the power pop group led by Robert Harrison, released one of the most impressive under-the-radar classic albums of the '90s, Kontiki. It hit right in the sweet spot between the melodies of the Beatles and the flash of the Who, the clang of the Raspberries, and the sneaky wit of Squeeze, with one wonderful song after another. It was a hard mark to surpass for any band, and after trying a couple times and getting close, the band folded up shop in 2013. Harrison never stopped making music, putting out interesting psych-pop albums under the name Future Clouds & Radar. After an expanded reissue of Kontiki saw the light of day in 2012, Harrison decided to give Cotton Mather new life. Inspired by his studies of the I Ching, he set about writing a song for each of the 64 hexagrams. The initial batch he recorded with a new cast of musicians (and Whit Williams from the earliest incarnation of the band) form the first Cotton Mather album in 15 years, Death of the Cool. It kicks off with the romping "The Book of Too Late Changes," a track that seems designed to announce with no question that the band is back and hasn't lost a step over the years.

The cascading drums, sharply jangling guitars, and Harrison's reliably Lennon-esque vocals make the song sound lifted right off side two of Kontiki. The production is a bit less polished, there's no Brad Jones magic touch here, but it makes up for it with the immediacy. The rest of the album charts a course from swirling psych-pop ("Close to the Sun") to tender country-rock balladry ("The Middle of Nowhere," the sticky sweet "Candy Lilac"), chamber pop melancholy ("The Land of Flowers," "Child Bride"), and strutting late-'60s pop ("Queen of Swords"), with every stop along the way as melodic and cunning as the best power pop can be. Throughout, Harrison's gifts are as strong as ever and the album stands on equal ground with the Cotton Mather back catalog. Not quite as breathtaking as Kontiki, but that would be too much to ask for. Landing just short of that mark is nothing to sneeze at and each and every fan of power pop should make sure to rejoin team Cotton Mather for this fine album, and for the next 53 songs too.

Yep, 15 years later...15 years more lines on my face...lol...congrats Mr Harrison for ''Death Of The Cool''. I had give up to wait for a new Cotton album and after that long time...wow he come back with this effort...and wins. Great album, great fun, great feeling to have Cotton Mather back...a tour?...in Germany...that's too much of hoping for a little wonder...but who knows...:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)... five of six smiles for ''Death Of The Cool''...
Enjoy and have a good night
Frank
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