. The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee...Pretty Ballerina (Sundazed 2011)Flac & mp3

Based in New York, the Left Banke pioneered "baroque & roll" in the '60s with a mix of pop/rock and grand, quasi-classical arrangements and melodies. Featuring teenage prodigy Michael Brown as keyboardist and chief songwriter, the group scored two quick hits with "Walk Away Renee" (number five) and "Pretty Ballerina" (number 15). Chamber-like string arrangements, the soaring, near-falsetto lead vocals of Steve Martin (aka Steve Martin Caro), and tight harmonies that borrowed from British Invasion bands like the Beatles and the Zombies were also key elements of the Left Banke sound. Though their two hits are their only well-remembered efforts, their debut album (Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina) was a strong, near-classic work that matched the quality of their hit singles in songwriting and production.

Unfortunately, the Left Banke's internal dynamic wasn't nearly as harmonious as their sound, and their history goes some way toward explaining their short career. Initially, the group made some recordings that were produced by Brown's father, Harry Lookofsky. When these recordings failed to interest companies in signing the band, the Left Banke broke up, Brown moving to California with the group's original drummer. A backing track for "Walk Away Renee" had already been completed, and the other members overdubbed vocals in Brown's absence. The song was released on Smash and became a hit, and the musicians reunited to tour and continue recording.
Despite popular success, the group, which showed such tremendous promise, was quickly torn asunder by dissension. Due to the nature of their music (which often employed session musicians), the Left Banke's sound was difficult to reproduce on the road, and one could sympathize with Brown's wishes to become a Brian Wilson-like figure, concentrating on writing and recording while the rest of the musicians took to the road.

A variety of guitarists, as both session musicians and ostensible group members, flitted in and out of the lineup; Rick Brand, credited as the guitarist on the first LP, actually plays on only one of the album's songs. Adding fuel to the fire, Brown's bandmates wanted to oust Brown's father as the act's manager. In early 1967, Brown went as far as to record a Left Banke single without them, using vocalist Bert Sommer.

That single ("And Suddenly") flopped, and for a brief time in September 1967 the original members were recording together again. After just one single ("Desiree"), though, Brown left for good. Most of the group's second and final album, The Left Banke Too, was recorded without him. While it still sported baroque arrangements and contained some fine moments, Brown's presence was sorely missed, and the record pales in comparison to their debut. Brown went on to form a Left Banke-styled group, Montage, which released a fine and underappreciated album in the late '60s. He later teamed up to form Stories with vocalist Ian Lloyd.

There were some confusing son-of-Left Banke recordings over the next few years, although the band really came to a halt in 1969, after the second album. Brown, Martin, and unknown musicians made a few recordings in late 1969; then, oddly, the original group re-formed for a fine early-1971 single on Buddah ("Love Songs in the Night" b/w "Two by Two"), although the record itself was credited to Steve Martin. And the original group, minus its key visionary Michael Brown, made an album's worth of ill-advised reunion recordings in 1978, which surfaced under the title Strangers on a Train.

The Left Banke's cult following slowly but steadily grew over the passage of time, especially after the release of 1992's There's Gonna Be a Storm, which collected the group's entire Smash Records catalog on one CD. And the Left Banke's songs were covered by everyone from Rickie Lee Jones, Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet, and Richard Thompson to Alice Cooper. In 2010, two of the original members of the group, Tom Finn and George Cameron, staged a pair of Left Banke reunion shows at Joe's Pub in New York City; joining them were vocalist Mike Fornatale, guitarist Paul Alves, bassist Charly Cazalet, drummer Rick Reil, and keyboardists Mickey Finn and Joe McGinty. The Joe's Pub shows were a critical and popular success, and the new edition of the Left Banke gigged periodically over the next few years, with McGinty replaced by John Spurney in 2012.

In 2011, Sundazed Records reissued Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina and The Left Banke Too on vinyl and CD, allowing the two albums to be heard in their original sequence since they fell out of print in the '60s. In April 2013, Michael Brown joined the new Left Banke on-stage in New York City to perform "Pretty Ballerina," and it was announced that Steve Martin had signed on to return as the group's lead vocalist on March 18, 2015. Martin's return was sadly overshadowed by the announcement the following day that Michael Brown died of heart failure at his home in Englewood, New Jersey; he was 65 years old.(allmusic.com)

Classic album of Baroque/Psychedelic Pop by The Left Banke. Hope you will enjoy it.
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The Association - Renaissance (1967) (2011 Cherry Red Deluxe Expanded Mono Edition) Flac & mp3

Renaissance was a difficult album for the Association to record. Coming in the wake of a serious hit album (And Then...Along Comes the Association) and two huge hit singles ("Along Comes Mary," "Cherish") and at a time when the group was experiencing more bookings than its members had ever dreamed possible, Renaissance was rushed out under pressure from the band's label. Alas, Renaissance bore little resemblance to its predecessor.

For starters, the Association had lost the services of producer Curt Boettcher, who was the architect of the earlier album's extraordinary sound. Additionally, Renaissance was comprised entirely of original material, much of which had been written while the group was touring. These songs were competent and showed some flashes of inspiration but, apart from "Come to Me," nothing here offered anything even remotely as catchy as either of the band's two previous singles. With Association rhythm guitarist Jim Yester's brother Jerry Yester producing, Renaissance has a more stripped-down, conventional folk-rock feel.

Apart from lead guitarist Gary Alexander and wind player Terry Kirkman, none of the other members played on this album, but Alexander is a delight, mixing melodic folk-rock picking and strumming, throwing in a few high-energy licks on one or two numbers, and even using a koto for the album's single, "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies." The latter, despite having a grotesque title when following up a single like "Cherish," is a prize piece of pop psychedelia, all gorgeous harmonies and spaced-out sensibilities backed by a bracing beat. Renaissance wasn't a bad album, but was a more routine, predictable recording than its predecessor and, without a hit single to help push sales, it never reached audiences in remotely the same numbers. (allmusic.com)

In my ears also a good effort by the Association with a lot of strong songs and in no way disappointing. Great vocal arrangements and also the different instruments was well deployed.
I hope you enjoy it like me
Cheers
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mp3 links added! Nick Gilder - City Nights & Frequency (2006)

Hello Folks and Friends, as i yesterday mentioned, i have added the mp3 link to the flac post of yesterday.
Cheers
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Glam/Power Pop: Nick Gilder - Hot Child In The City (The Best Of Nick Gilder) (2001) Flac & mp3

"Hot Child in the City" is a great single: a song about Hollywood hookers that encapsulates everything cool about late-'70s summer nights. But even better is "Roxy Roller," a groupie ode Gilder recorded with his former band, Sweeney Todd, named after the infamous Fleet Street barber. In fact, "Got to Get Out," "Runaways in the Night," and "Tantalize" (also a Sweeney Todd number) are stone-cold classics. Featuring killer Gilder tracks that have never been reissued, The Best of Nick Gilder is a composite of Gilder's three '70s solo releases:

You Know Who You Are, City Nights, and Frequency. Each is an excellent platter and Nights features production from glam-master Mike Chapman in the midst of conquering America (he also had number ones with Blondie and Exile during 1978). Chapman then worked on Pat Benatar's debut, In the Heat of the Night, which featured Gilder's "Rated X," a consummate carnal confection that Gilder serves up even better on this disc. Gilder compresses a bubblegum blast comparable to T. Rex or Cheap Trick
. At least now there's a CD to prove it. (allmusic.com)

Top notch Glam/Power Pop musician is one of the best of his guild. And an underrated artist by the audience. Maybe it was the wrong time and he was ten years late, who knows. For sure he had written a lot of fine pop songs for the genre.
Enjoy
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The Flac link expire 2017-04-23

Thanks to Javier for his contribution!

Glam/Power Pop: Nick Gilder - City Nights /Frequency 2006 (Flac)

Two albums on one disc from Nick Gilder of Sweeney Todd fame. I posted City Nights some weeks ago in mp3. Now Javier contributed this fine albums in Flac here to the blog. I will post tomorrow the Frequency album in mp3, too. Hope you will like it and thanks again to Javier.

Enjoy it
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Jan & Dean - Carnival Of Sound (1966 - 1968) 2010 Rhino (Flac)

Liner Notes By Rhino
Jan Berry and Dean Torrence rode a wave of popularity in the early ’60s that earned the So-Cal duo more than a dozen Top 40 hits, including the #1 smash “Surf City.” The group’s good fortune came to a tragic halt in 1966 when Berry suffered debilitating injuries in a car accident near Dead Man’s Curve, a treacherous road that, ironically, was the subject of one of the group’s earlier hits. As he battled tirelessly to recover, Berry spent the next three years recording songs for a new Jan and Dean album to be titled Carnival of Sound. Despite the quality of the music, the album was never released and became one of rock ’n’ roll’s lost treasures, until now. Rhino Handmade offers two versions of CARNIVAL OF SOUND. The first is a single CD whose 29 songs include mono and stereo mixes of the album along with bonus tracks from the 1966-68 sessions. The other is a deluxe edition that combines the aforementioned CD with a vinyl version of the album in mono presented in a gorgeous hardbound gatefold jacket. To present a clear and vivid picture of what Berry was up to during this transitional phase, the collection’s producer Andrew Sandoval spent three years carefully reviewing and compiling every tape Berry submitted to Warner Bros. for use on CARNIVAL OF SOUND. “Although Jan cut multiple LP-length acetates of his work at the time, he left behind no definitive track list or sequence for the songs to be included on the album,” he explains in the liner notes. “I created the sequence you hear … by grouping his post-accident tracks together and closing with his pre-accident masters. The two parts of this story have such different flavors that they seem to flow best in this manner.” CARNIVAL OF SOUND opens with “Girl, You’re Blowing My Mind,” an upbeat poppy track that kicks off with a guitar that sounds like a jet engine. It then moves into songs that expand Jan and Dean’s signature sound, including the sitar-infused “Mulholland,” the wild imagery of “Laurel And Hardy,” the poignant ballad “I Know My Mind” and the Indian instrumentation of the title track. To round out the album, a selection of oldies was brought in from sessions Berry cut prior to his accident.

Maurice Williams & The Zodiac’s “Stay” was given a quick, 1:35 run-through. The Five Satins’ “In The Still Of The Night” displayed Berry’s new friendship with The Monkees’ Davy Jones, who gave the song some true bubblegum sincerity with a spoken interlude. Berry added horns and woodwinds to his ’66 tracking session for Rusty and Doug Kershaw’s 1961 swamp pop hit “Louisiana Man.” Among the collection’s bonus tracks are “Don’t Drop It” and a demo for “Laurel And Hardy,” plus two versions of “Girl, You’re Blowing My Mind,” Berry’s final mix and another with an alternate backing track. The CD contains Berry’s original mono mixes along with new stereo mixes that Sandoval says are meant to be more illustrative of Jan’s work, rather than a definitive statement. “On careful inspection, Jan’s mono mixes can’t be beat, but the new stereo versions afford the listener a bigger window into his production prowess,” Sandoval says. “Listen out for such anomalies as the longer coda on ‘Mulholland,’ or the vocal verse that later became a guitar solo on ‘Girl, You’re Blowing My Mind.’” More than four decades after Berry found solace in these sounds, they arrive for everyone to share as the Carnival finally comes to town. (End)


It's difficult to know how to assess this album. On the one hand, it's enjoyable listening, and it's an essential archival release -- if not as well-known as Brian Wilson's Smile, Carnival of Sound is just as tantalizing a "lost" artifact of the psychedelic '60s, buried these 40-plus years. And those factors alone make owning it a no-brainer for fans of Jan & Dean, surf music, or psychedelic music (and it embraces both). But unlike SMiLE, which was well within Brian Wilson's grasp, at least when he started it, it's clear that Carnival of Sound was pushing the envelope of what Jan Berry was capable of doing in 1967-1968; listening to it is akin to watching someone run a marathon with a partly injured foot -- they might succeed and possibly even do it well, but there's also the dread of doing untold harm to themselves in the process. Some of the material here actually pre-dates Berry's April 12, 1966 car crash; in March of that year, he had recorded a small group of covers, including "Stay" and "Yakety Yak," for a planned new album that was to carry the duo's work into wholly new territory. Then came the car wreck, and months and years of recovery.

What is here is mostly fun, and beautifully accomplished, with superb playing and excellent singing; and the production is, at times, stunning, and also far more self-consciously ambitious than prior Jan & Dean releases -- Jan & Dean had always managed to quietly impress listeners by slipping these beautifully produced jewels past them as pop music, but on Carnival of Sound, they were very obviously calling more attention to the layers of sound swirling and shifting below the surface of material such as "Girl, You're Blowing My Mind," "Fan Tan," "Hawaii," and even "Tijuana" (a marijuana-laced re-casting of "Little Old Lady from Pasadena"). Listening is a little more work than on their earlier records, but the effort is worth it -- the sitars work for them, and the Laurel & Hardy vignette is goofy fun; but whether the public would have accepted an album that juxtaposed those numbers with the anti-Vietnam War ode "Only a Boy" is questionable. And how well it all holds together is still not clear -- it seems incomplete, as though there are dots that still needed to be connected, for the makers as well as the listener. The CD comes appended with stereo mixes, plus surviving demos, which add to the level of goofiness in the overall picture of the production. And there are liner notes that put to shame almost any archival pop/rock release seen to date, in both their detail and underlying sense of wonder about the music. (allmusic.com)

Incomplete or not it's definitely Jan & Dean's best effort.
Have fun
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The Majority - The Decca Years 1965-68 (Rev-Ola 2009) Flac & mp3

The Majority might be best remembered, or indeed primarily known, for recording a couple of songs penned by writers from much bigger groups that didn't release their own versions. Of the many British Invasion-era bands that never had a hit, however, the Majority had more staying power than most, releasing eight singles on Decca between 1965 and 1968. They never quite found a consistent stylistic direction or great material, however, before changing their name to Majority One in the late '60s.

Formed in Hull, England, as the Mustangs in the early '60s, they changed their name to the Majority around the time they moved to London in 1965. With more of an American pop/rock vocal harmony style than most British Invasion groups, they tried their hand at a variety of material over the next few years, most of it coming from outside songwriters. As a minor coup of sorts, for their second single, 1965's "A Little Bit of Sunlight," they managed to gain access to a Ray Davies composition that never found a place on a 1960s Kinks record (though a 1965 demo Davies cut with session men eventually found release). They also covered another Davies song, the Kinks' "Ring the Bells," on the B-side of their next single, though to be honest the Majority versions of both songs were not in the same league as the Davies-sung ones.

In search of chart material, the Majority also tried compositions written or co-written by such luminaries as John Carter, Twice as Much, and Chip Taylor. But they never hit a commercial or artistic gold mine, the production varying from the lush to straightforward mod-ish rock. One such effort in the latter vein, "One Third" (which like several of their better recordings faintly recalled the Zombies), did find a bigger audience decades later when it was included on the Nuggets, Vol. 2 box set of overlooked '60s British Invasion/early psychedelic-like rock from non-U.S. countries. Lead singer Barry Graham wrote "One Third," but his contributions to the group's recorded repertoire were limited to a couple B-sides.

The Majority's eighth and final single, "All Our Christmases," would generate another collectible for future British '60s rock aficionados to hunt down in subsequent decades, as it was written but not recorded by the Bee Gees. After some major lineup shuffles and work backing singer Barry Ryan in concert and in the studio, the Majority relocated to France, where they renamed themselves Majority One in 1969 and continued their recording career with a similar but more sophisticated musical approach. All of the tracks from the Majority's singles except one are on the CD compilation The Decca Years 1965-68.

Very good psychedelic pop band  who was completely underrated.
Enjoy
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Graham Gouldman - The Graham Gouldman Thing 1968 (1992 Edsel) Flac & mp3

Here is another odd review of Mr Unterberger:

Gouldman issued this solo album in 1968, featuring his own versions of the hits "For Your Love," "Bus Stop," and "No Milk Today" with eight other original tunes. The album blends pensive, acoustic-guitar driven compositions with light orchestral arrangements. It's a pleasant record, but ultimately does not measure up to the monster hit covers of his tunes. He's only an adequate singer, and the slower, more elaborately produced versions of "Bus Stop" and "For Your Love" are not nearly as good as the hard-charging renditions by the Yardbirds and Hollies. A decent curio, though, highlighted by "Pawnbroker" and "Upstairs Downstairs," which would have fit in well on the Hollies' 1966-1967 records.(''Richie'' Unterberger)

Rev-Ola back (more  nice)

.... .... sorry,... no words.
Okay i think the most of you know this album and the man who made it. That's enough to know about the album. I post it in flac now because i haven't seen it for a long time in flac all over the web.
But maybe i am just too lazy for a long search :-)

boring Edsel artwork back...

Have fun
Three cheers and a tiger!
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Glam/Power Pop - Hollywood Stars - Shine Like a Radio: The Great Lost 1974 Album (2013

While they never earned more than a tiny cult following outside their home state of California, the Hollywood Stars became heroes to glam and power pop fans with their tight, hooky, guitar-driven music, which emerged at a time when prog rock and singer/songwriters were dominating the rock scene. The Hollywood Stars sprung from a brainstorm by noted producer, songwriter, and idea man Kim Fowley, who decided in 1973 that rock & roll was ready for a new band that combined the energy and excitement of mid-'60s pop and rock with the crunchy guitars and attitude of hard rock; Fowley described his concept as a West Coast version of the New York Dolls, and he set out to find musicians who would fit the bill. Fowley's first recruit was drummer Terry Rae, who had been in the Palace Guard with Emitt Rhodes, drummed with Jamme, a psychedelic pop band whose sole album was produced by John Phillips, and was recording with the Flamin' Groovies when he got the call from Fowley. Setting out to find musicians who looked and sounded right for the gig, Fowley and Rae filled out the lineup with lead singer Scott Phares, lead guitarist Ruben de Fuentes, guitarist and vocalist Mark Anthony, and bassist Kevin Barnhill, and the new band took up a busy rehearsal schedule, with Fowley and Mars Bonfire contributing songs along with the members of the group.

Soon the band was regularly headlining Los Angeles' leading rock clubs, including the Troubadour and the Whisky A Go Go, and they scored a deal with Columbia Records. Before the band's debut album was released, however, the label discovered someone had charged studio time to the band's account without authorization, and the confusion led to the Hollywood Stars being dropped. The original lineup splintered, but a second edition of the group soon came together, with Anthony on lead vocals, de Fuentes on guitar, and Rae on drums alongside new members Steve DeLacy (guitar), Michael Rummans (bass), and Bobby Drier (percussion). The new edition of the Hollywood Stars was able to pick up where the previous lineup left off, and signed with Arista Records. However, by the time the Stars' album finally emerged in 1977, punk and new wave were on the rise in L.A., and the over-production of the album robbed the band of any hip cachet. The Hollywood Stars toured in support of the album opening for the Kinks, but between disappointing sales, poor promotion, and conflicting egos inside the group, the Stars were on their last legs by the time they arrived home, and by the end of 1977, the band broke up. In 1978, Ruben de Fuentes put together a third version of the Hollywood Stars with Rummans, Drier, singer Al Austin, and guitarist Bryce Mobray, but the more hard rock-oriented lineup attracted little interest and soon dissolved.

Over the years, the Hollywood Stars developed a cult following, especially among power pop fan intrigued by the press coverage the original band had received, and when blogger and superfan Robin Wills discovered that Terry Rae had a reel-to-reel copy of a rough mix of the unreleased album for Columbia, he arranged for it to be remastered and released. The album appeared under the title Shine Like a Radio: The Great Lost 1974 Album in 2013. Four years later, Blank Records released the band's version of "King of the Nighttime World" -- which became a huge hit for Kiss in 1976 -- as a limited-edition 7" that included two previously unreleased songs ("Too Hot to Handle" and "Habits") from 1975.(allmusic.com)

Great thanks to Robin Wills, the man who made possible the release of this long lost gem. Very nice album with a lot of really great songs. Highly recommended if you like Glam with a little Power Pop.
Have Fun
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Power Pop by Game Theory - Dead Center 1984 (2014 Omnivore) Expanded Edition (Flac & mp3)

After making their debut in 1982 with the self-produced and released album Blaze of Glory, Game Theory clearly wanted to aim for a more polished and professional sound on their next releases; for the 1983 EP Pointed Accounts of People You Know, leader Scott Miller took the band into a real studio (admittedly a modest one), and the 1984 EP Distortion found them working with an outside producer for the first time, Michael Quercio of paisley underground psychedelic heroes the Three O'Clock. The French indie label Lolita Records, then enamored of the paisley underground scene, licensed the two EPs and fashioned them into an album, Dead Center, making it the curious follow-up to Blaze of Glory, flown in from across the ocean to the group's homeland. While Dead Center doesn't cohere as an album as well as one might hope, the individual tracks shows that Game Theory were growing past the home-brewed sound of Blaze of Glory, and "Penny, Things Won't," "Metal and Glass Exact," and "Life in July" are smarter and better executed than nearly anything on BoG, while Quercio's production was a great complement to songs like "The Red Baron," "Nine Lives to Rigel Five," and "Shark Pretty" (the latter featuring a guitar solo from David Bowie sideman Earl Slick). And while Miller was clearly the leader of this band, bassist Fred Juhos, keyboardist Nan Becker, and drummer Dave Gill were more than capable accompanists who gave these songs the flavors they needed. One could certainly hear Game Theory's talent and potential on Blaze of Glory, but the material that formed Dead Center represented a major step forward for Miller and his group, and this music suggested they were maturing into the great smart pop band that would emerge on 1985's Real Nighttime.(allmusic.com)

Scott Miller shows here for the first time his skills and abilities as a pop songwriter for a whole album and showed in the direction where Game Theory would go in the future. To me a very good album.
Enjoy
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    You can buy the Game Theory albums here

Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos mp3 files added

Like i yesterday in the Chris Bell post had promised here are the links for the Chris Bell in mp3. I added them in the Chris Bell Flac post from yesterday.
Cheers
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Cheap Trick - The Complete Epic Albums 13) Busted (1990) Flac

Surely, Cheap Trick didn’t intend for the title of Busted, their 1990 sequel to their surprise 1988 commercial comeback Lap of Luxury, to be as prophetic as that of its predecessor, but this vacant, radio-ready rocker finds the group at an unquestionable nadir. It’s not just the sound -- although the shimmering skyscraper production admittedly does the group no favors, neutering Roy Wood’s “Rock N Roll Tonight,” turning its swing into a stiff martial march -- it’s the paucity of material that is so dispiriting, the group either turning in pastiches of their trademarks or surrendering completely to the whims of studio hacks, whose tunefulness eclipses that of Nielsen and Zander, this time around. Like The Doctor before it -- the only album to rival this as the band’s worst -- Busted captures every bad sonic hallmark of its year; it’s as cavernous as that 1986 disaster, thanks in large part to the gargantuan rhythm section, but at least it’s warmer and less reliant on cold synths than that garish misfire, which does make it an easier listen. Even so, the pounding arena rock of Busted remains a bumpy ride because the hollow sound only magnifies the hollowness of the band’s songs.(allmusic.com)

That's it. After Busted  the Epic chapter was over in 1990.
I hope you or you...or maybe you had a little fun with the Epic Series. I think everyone have it's favorites from the Trick catalogue. In this sense
Cheers
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