The Eyes - The Arrival Of The Eyes 1966 (2006 ACME) Flac

In 1965 and 1966, the Eyes released a clutch of singles that stand up to the Who's work from the same era in their blend of extremely innovative guitar feedback/distortion and anthemic mod songwriting. "When the Night Falls," "The Immediate Pleasure," "I'm Rowed Out," "You're Too Much," and the dry "My Generation" satire "My Degeneration" are revered highly by British Invasion collectors. The bursts of electronic mayhem were quite advanced for the time, though like the Who they had hooks and harmonies to counterpoint the madness. They weren't as memorable as the Who and didn't approach commercial success. After a much softer fourth single and an ill-conceived album of Rolling Stones covers (recorded under the name the Pupils), the group disbanded.

Acme's 2006 release The Arrival of the Eyes is the first CD compilation of the Eyes work, rounding up all of their four singles (the first two of which, "When the Night Falls" and "The Immediate Pleasure," were combined as a 1966 EP also called The Arrival of the Eyes) the demos that were collected on the Scene but Not Heard EP as well as the album of Rolling Stones covers the band recorded under the name the Pupils; in addition, it also includes a promo for "Radio London" and a couple of alternate takes. It's the complete Eyes, in other words, accompanied by a booklet with a band history and replicas of various articles and press releases from the band's brief history in the mid-'60s. This disc confirms that the Eyes were among the greatest cult mod bands of their time, with a coiled power that recalls the Who at their peak. This, of course, is most apparent on "My Degeneration," a sly dig at the Who that functions as both satire and homage, but their first three singles all had the taut, stylish energy of the Who circa 1965, and the parallels come into even sharper relief with their cover of the Everly Brothers' "Man with Money" which is a dead-ringer for the Who's unreleased version from 1966; in fact, it could reasonably be argued that the Eyes have a tighter, harder take than the Who.

The Pupils' album, while not much more than a fun curiosity, does prove that the band were exceptional mimics, capturing the frenzied energy of the Stones' "Route 66" and doing a version of "Satisfaction" that pumps up the fuzztoned guitar even louder the original. But the Eyes' true peak were those four singles, particularly their debut "When the Night Falls"/"I'm Rowed Out," two barbed pieces of mod proto-punk that remain as punchy and potent today as when they were first recorded. These four singles are the reason to pick up this long-overdue collection, and while the demos aren't as bracing as the finished versions, it all makes for highly enjoyable listening. (allmusic.com)

If you are a sixties mod punk lover this is for YOU.
Have fun!
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....and as always...you need both!

Orange Bicycle - Hyacinth Threads-The Morgan Blue Town Recordings '67 - '71 (2001 Edsel 2CD) Flac

Although never succeeding like their contemporaries, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Wilson Malone's band, the Orange Bicycle, issued late-'60s recordings that occasionally managed to hit the mark with their "U.S. West Coast harmony pop meets U.K. psychedelic pop" style. The early singles released on Columbia during 1967 and 1968 are resplendent with the motif-sweet harmonies, splashes of harpsichord, and fuzz guitar that filled the flower power era.

However, their sole album, released in 1970 and produced by John Peel, showed a musical desperation that would never be shaken off. It contained four songs by fledgling writer Elton John, and for the main part was a very pedestrian affair that lacked any of the excitement of their earlier recordings. In an attempt to reinstate the Orange Bicycle into the echelons of U.K. psychedelia, Edsel has compiled a selection of Malone's finer songs on this double-CD set. Stylistic fragments of the singalong pop of the Bee Gees, the haunting harmonies of the Zombies, and the soulful nature of Traffic converge with the Baroque pop of Simon & Garfunkel and the optimistic sheen of the Association.

Consisting of single sides, a few album tracks, and 15 unreleased cuts, these 33 songs track Malone's career from a fuzzy young tyke (Monkees meet the Who popisms) through to his attempt at Anthony Newley-like theatrical numbers. The face of U.K. psychedelia was ever changing, and it seems that Malone's persistence in trying to fit in with the Zeitgeist and get a hit worked against him.

That's the fine double disc release by Edsel in 2001. Here's a lot of real nice poppy stuff and good ideas in songwriting and arrangement. If you are a fan of sixties psychedelic pop you should don't miss this double disc.
Enjoy it
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                         expire 2017-08-31

The Bonniwell Music Machine - Ignition (1965 - 1969) Flac & mp3

As this has a mixture of rare singles and unreleased tracks from 1965-1969, it's primarily for converted Music Machine fans, not for those who want just one album by the group or a place to start investigation. That said, it's a pretty interesting assortment of odds and ends, a few of which are among the band's best efforts. Foremost among them is the explosive (and quite innovative for its time) 1966 number "Point of No Return" with its unusual mixture of folk-rock and pre-acid guitar work, as well as a magnificent anguished, subtly anti-war vocal by singer and songwriter Sean Bonniwell. The moody, building-from-a-smolder-to-a-roar "Dark White," a 1969 outtake, was already heard on the out-of-print Rhino best-of LP. It's also one of Bonniwell's better creations, as well as one of the best lyrical meditations upon the ambiguous tension of sexual desire that you're likely to hear. "Advise and Consent" is a decent obscure flop single, though not one of the group's greatest.

As for the previously unveiled outings, the 1965 demos by the Ragamuffins (the trio of future Music Machine members Bonniwell, drummer Ron Edgar, and bassist Keith Olsen) are especially interesting, catching them in their tentative transition from folk-pop to garage psychedelia. "Citizen Fear," one of the latest tracks (from 1969), has the careering sonics and intriguing sociometaphysical (if that's a word) words typical of Bonniwell's better songs. Much of the rest, though, is simply not up to the caliber of the band's best stuff. Still, it's a worthy complement to the (Turn On) The Music Machine album and Sundazed's previous collection of lesser-known material, Beyond the Garage.

This is a garage pop band i also like very much and this collection of odds and ends is a fine one imho. Hope you like it , too and i post it in both - mp3 and Flac.
Welcome to the machine!
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Classic Power Pop: The Records-The Records (US) 1979 & The Records - Crashes 1980 Flac & mp3

The Records are probably best remembered for their cult classic and minor hit "Starry Eyes" -- a near-perfect song that defined British power pop in the '70s. And while they never quite matched the success of that record, their high-quality output from 1979 to 1982 has not only held up better than most of the era with its timeless appeal, but has also served as a blueprint for the various waves of British and American power pop since then.

Some have gone as far as to call them "the British Big Star," which is probably a fair comparison -- within their genre, they're seen as giants, yet the general public has missed them for the most part.
The band was formed around 1977, when pub rockers Kursaal Flyers broke up. The drummer from the band, Will Birch, and vocalist/guitarist John Wicks, who had joined the Kursaals in the last stages, began writing together, inspired by the pure pop tradition of the Raspberries, Badfinger, and Big Star. By 1978, they had completed the group by adding bassist Phil Brown and guitarist Huw Gower. After a series of live gigs, they released their debut, "Starry Eyes," on the independent Record Company label in November of the same year. They received some valuable early exposure on the Stiff label's Be Stiff tour, which led to their signing with Virgin Records.

Wicks and Birch continued to churn out should-have-been-hits pop classics over the next three years and three albums -- 1979's Shades in Bed (released in a slightly modified form as The Records in the U.S.), 1980's Crashes (which found Jude Cole replacing Gower), and 1982's Music on Both Sides (which replaced Cole with Dave Whelan and added another vocalist, Chris Gent). Aside from a minor hit with "Starry Eyes" in the U.S., their efforts were criminally unrewarded.

The band broke up in 1982, though they re-formed temporarily in 1990 to contribute a track to a Brian Wilson tribute album. Birch went on to become a notable music critic and historian; he also compiled several compact disc reissues, including Naughty Rhythms: The Best of Pub Rock. Wicks began a solo career in the mid-'90s, appearing on the Yellow Pills, Vol. 3 collection with a song co-written with Birch, "Her Stars Are My Stars" -- a pop gem that picked up right where they left off. "Starry Eyes" continues to be a cult pop classic -- still heavily requested on alternative radio retro shows.

Here is the US album edition of Shades In Bed and Crashes from 1980 both in flac and mp3(Crashes reissue 2004 mp3).
A classic power pop band of the late '70, early '80. I always loved the band also of the guitar sound.
Have fun
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                        The Records (1979) Flac
                        Crashes (regular edition) Flac

Nirvana - The Story of Simon Simopath 1967 (2003) Flac

One of the most entertaining things to do on websites that allow customer reviews of CDs is read the apoplectic fury Kurt Cobain's fans have for the original Nirvana, the cultily-adored British psych-pop group from the late '60s. Much of that misguided and ill-informed venom seems to be directed toward this album, Nirvana's 1967 debut. An unashamedly twee early concept album, The Story of Simon Simopath (subtitled "A Science Fiction Pantomime," suitably expressing the deliberately childlike tone of the album) sounds, like most rock concept albums, like a collection of unconnected songs forced together by the story written in the liner notes.

Ignoring the rather silly story (something about a boy who wishes he could fly), what's left is a regrettably brief but uniformly solid set of well-constructed psych-pop tunes with attractive melodies and rich, semi-orchestrated arrangements. Although the core of Nirvana was the duo of singer-guitarist Patrick Campbell-Lyons and keyboardist Alex Spyropoulos, the group is here expanded to a sextet including full-time French horn and cello players, and the semi-Baroque arrangements are particularly memorable on the singles "Pentecost Hotel" and "Wings of Love."

Although The Story of Simon Simopath has no individual songs as instantly delightful as "Rainbow Chaser," the hit single and key track from their next album All of Us, it's a much more consistent record than that somewhat patchy follow-up.

Listen and enjoy
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Seventies Psychedelic Rockpop by: Orange Bicycle - Orange Bicycle (1970)(2006) Flac

The British psych-pop outfit known as Orange Bicycle evolved from a Beat group, Robb Storme & the Whispers, also known as the Robb Storme Group. They had recorded a handful of harmony pop singles for Pye, Piccadilly, Decca, and Columbia Records during the early '60s, but with little success. In 1966, the Robb Storme Group covered the Beach Boys' "Here Today." It was arranged by the band's own multi-talented keyboardist/producer Wilson Malone and produced by Morgan Music's co-owner Monty Babson at Morgan Studios in the Willesdon area of London. With psychedelic music at its zenith, the group decided to change its name change and, in 1967, they re-emerged as Orange Bicycle. Over the next few years, they released a half-dozen singles; their -- "Hyacinth Threads" -- remains the band's best-known track, appearing on numerous compilations. In late August/early September 1968, Orange Bicycle -- wearing matching black and orange suits -- performed at the Isle of Wight music festival, reportedly covering songs by Love and the Rolling Stones. In 1970, already somewhat past their prime, Orange Bicycle recorded their only album, The Orange Bicycle. It was comprised largely of covers, including Elton John's "Take Me to the Pilot," Bob Dylan's "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You," and Denny Laine's "Say You Don't Mind." A few tracks were produced by John Peel. Psychedelic pop music, however, was on the wane, or transmogrifying into heavier prog or hard rock, so the group decided to call it a day, breaking up in 1971. Wilson Malone's self-titled solo album (as Wil Malone) for Fontana was released that same year. Meanwhile, drummer Kevin Currie joined Supertramp, then Burlesque, before becoming a session drummer. Malone went on to form the heavy psych-prog trio Bobak Jons Malone with celebrated engineer/producer Andy Jons and guitarist producer Mike Bobak. They recorded one album, Motherlight. Malone also collaborated with bassist John Bachini on singer/songwriter Robert MacLeod's 1976 solo album Between the Poppy and the Snow. That same year, they covered the Beatles' "You Never Give Me Your Money" for All This and World War II. Malone then went on to become a top producer/arranger on his own, working with many successful groups and solo artists.

His string arrangement for the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" (which appropriated the symphonic arrangement from the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time") caused a ruckus that resulted in Andrew Loog Oldham suing the Verve for songwriting royalties. In 1988, the Morgan Bluetown label issued an Orange Bicycle compilation, Let's Take a Trip On..., which contained all of the band's Columbia singles but no Parlophone-era recordings. Edsel later reissued all of Orange Bicycle
's recordings -- 33 tracks total -- on a double CD in 2001.

Good musicians were involved here and the album have some pretty good songs. It's not a real pop album but with some nice sounding melodies and good vocals. 4 stars out of 6 from my view of today.
Have fun
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Andrew Gold/Graham Gouldman: The Fraternal Order Of The All - Greetings From Planet Love (1997) Flac

The Fraternal Order of the All is guitarist Andrew Gold in a home studio overdubbing mode, making the record he always wanted to make back in 1967 and 1968. To call this album retro-flavored would be putting it mildly, as Gold's tongue is firmly planted in his cheek all throughout the record and attendant booklet, right down to the fake names for all the musicians. With the exception of guest turns from Jimmy Caprio, Jimmy Herter and Graham Gouldman (who also produced one track and like Caprio and Herter, wrote one other), this is pretty much Andrew's ballgame here, with him playing and singing all the parts. The British rock, Beatles-styled psychedelic sounds truly abound on this disc, in the production values, instrumental work, and songwriting style. Highlights include "Tuba Rye and Will's Son/Balloon in the Sky" (with its Beach Boys-like vocal intro), "Rainbow People," "Freelove Baby," the three instrumentals that help the mood along ("Swirl," "Twirl," and "Whirl" and don't forget the "Groovy Party at Jimmy's Magic Pad"), and the trippy title track.

Gold successfully nails all the sounds and cosmic junk that came with these kind of albums back during those heady times, and if the music wasn't so darn good on here, you'd declare this record just a nostalgic joke that works, but it is so much more than merely that; it's a tucked-away little gem that deserves a much wider audience.(allmusic.com)

Wonderful work of Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman. Really great psychedelic pop record from 1997. But what did i say, it's all said in the review.
Enjoy
         SB1  Flac1   You need both links!    Flac2
 I have added a mp3 link here

Psychedelic Pop: The Smoke - It's Smoke Time

Besides "My Friend Jack," other highlights of the Smoke's only album (all but one of whose tracks were group originals) include the beautiful mid-tempo ballad "Waterfall" and the bee-humming guitars and lilting backup vocals on "You Can't Catch Me." This Repertoire reissue of the original LP adds 14 additional cuts, including non-LP singles, a single issued in 1965 by the Shots (an earlier version of the group), a single puzzlingly issued under the alias the Chords Five, and an interesting alternate take of "My Friend Jack."

A lot of these tracks pale in comparison to the 12 from the original album, but "Have Some More Tea" is a great Who-ish number, and "Sydney Gill" is a good stab at a more progressive mood. [Originally released in 1967, It's Smoke Time was reissued on CD in 2006 and contains the first 12 tracks of the original LP.](allmusic.com)

Viel Spass
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Them - Time Out! Time In For Them - 1968 (2003 Rev-ola) Flac

Them's second post-Van Morrison album, even more than their first such effort (Now & Them), grew further away from their mid-'60s style, to the point where there were few audible links to how Them sounded in the British Invasion era. And like Now & Them, it was an intermittently worthwhile but somewhat characterless record, reflecting late-'60s trends in album-oriented rock without adding much to them or innovating paths of their own. It was even more Los Angeles-psychedelia-influenced than their prior LP, taking the lead of Now & Them's strongest cut ("Square Room") to explore sitar-laden raga-rock on several songs. "Time Out for Time In" adds a nice waltz overlay to the raga-rock sound, but "Black Widow Spider" and "Just on Conception" frankly live up to the stereotypes of "oh wow!" hippie-trippy word soups from the era.

So does "The Moth," but at least there some Roger McGuinn-like vocals and dreamy orchestration add spice. Other songs are competently done but nonstandout heavy soul rock, with "She Put a Hex on You" sounding right off the cutting room floor of a 1968 psychedelic dance rock club movie scene; you can just see the bandana-swathed babe from central casting gyrating as the strobe lights flash. "Waltz of the Flies," the best song, is indeed a beguiling psychedelic waltz, and Jim Armstrong's guitar work throughout is far more instrumentally accomplished than what you'll hear on many similar albums. Yet the record's not in the same league as either the Van Morrison-era Them or the better psychedelic/raga-rock endeavors of the late '60s. The 2003 Rev-Ola CD reissue adds eight bonus cuts (all taken from 45s) of value to anyone interested in the post-Van Morrison Them, including the non-LP single "Corinna"/"Dark Are the Shadows," the rare original single version of the punky "Dirty Old Man" (which is superior to the one on Now and Them), and the rare original 45 version of "Square Room" (which isn't as good as, and is much shorter than, the one on Now and Them).(allmusic.com)

I LOVE IT ! If you don't know the album give it a try.
Have fun
               Frank  Flac1  As always you need both!   Flac2  

Psychedelic Pop of the '60s: Nirvana- All Of Us 1968 (2003 Island Universal) Flac

Nirvana's second album was dainty period British pop-psychedelia, falling on the lightest shade of that category that could be imagined. For some adventurous pop fans, few higher recommendations could be concocted. For most 1960s collectors, though, it's fair to say that it's too precious and insubstantial to qualify as a major work. Their most well-known song, "Rainbow Chaser," leads off, with its prominent phasing effects; "Tiny Goddess," one of their best ballads, comes next.

The rest of the album doesn't measure up to those two tracks, with pretty but not compelling melodies (sometimes reminiscent of, but not in the same class as, Paul McCartney) and orchestration that, like the songs themselves, seem to tiptoe for fear of being too forceful. The overall result is too saccharine, and occasionally even childish.

That's an Mr Unterberger review again. Nothing more to say.

If you like it enjoy it...if not Macca would sing..let it be...
Enjoy
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You need both!!!

Psychedelic Pop: Bit 'A Sweet - Hypnotic 1 (1968) (2011) Flac

Bit a Sweet was reportedly a top draw at the big discotheques in New York City. Their only album, Hypnotic -- released by ABC in 1968 -- is a rare, and often over-looked, high-concept pop-psych album of the first degree. Today it is highly praised by collectors who are interested in psych-pop production values (phased vocals, electric sitar, strings, fuzz guitar). Bit a Sweet was produced by the multi-talented Steve Duboff, who also wrote most of the group's material, including both sides of their heavily edited "2086"/"Second Time" single.

Duboff's sometime songwriting partner on this album, incidentally, was Artie Kornfeld, who -- during this time -- was producing the Cowsills for Mercury; their "How Can I Make You See" also appears here. Another highlights include Bit a Sweet's version of the George Harrison-penned Beatle track "If I Needed Someone." (Incidentally, Kornfeld and Duboff also recorded under the moniker Changin' Times). In February 1967, a year prior to the release of this album, Bit a Sweet covered the Steve Duboff-Dave Morris-penned "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," which was released on MGM (cover versions were also waxed by the Marauders and Limey & the Yanks).

This song -- which unfortunately isn't featured on their debut -- is probably the group's best-known song. If you're curious, you can see it performed, along with one other selection, during the first few minutes of the sexploitation flick Blonde on a Bum Trip, and can also be found on several psychedelic compilations . Drummer Russell Leslie later recorded with a band called Neon (produced by Tommy James) and became a session drummer.(allusic.com)

Very good psychedelic pop here. Good songs and well produced this is one of the better pop psychedelia of the times then back.
Have fun
               SB1     Flac1   Flac2          You need both links!

Andwella's Dream - Love And Poetry (1969) 2004 Japan Flac

Andwellas Dream released one album, Love and Poetry, on CBS in the UK in the late 1960s that is highly regarded by some psychedelic collectors. It is an eclectic but unmemorable affair that touches upon a number of approaches--heavy progressive rock-tinged psychedelia with keyboards, fruity pop-psych with strings and fairytale-type lyrics, folk- and blues-informed material bridging psych and prog--common to British rock of the period. The group changed their name to Andwella and subsequently released a couple of albums under that name.(allmusic.com)

Although Andwella's Dream were a versatile psychedelic group, they were nonetheless generic no matter what angle they were taking. On Love & Poetry, you get sustained guitar that walks the line between freakbeat and heaviness, some swirling organ and husky vocals that betray the influence of Traffic and Procol Harum, pastoral acoustic folky tunes in the Donovan style, airy-fairy dabs of phased guitars and storybook lyrics, etc. Eclecticism is to be commended, and since late-'60s British psychedelia is an interesting genre in and of itself, generic music in the subgenre is more interesting than some other generic music in other styles. Still, generic music is generic music, and being able to do a bunch of different things in an unexceptional manner does not make you exceptional. The fairly tuneful folk-rocker "Midday Sun" is the best cut; it's also interesting to hear a song about "Cocaine" in 1969, before the drug was too well known even in the counterculture.(allmusic.com)

Very nice psychedelic prog pop album. If you don't know it give it a try.
Cheers
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