Australian Power Pop: Young Modern - Play Faster 1980 (25th Anniversary Edition) Flac & mp3

Australian music writer Andy Bradley once called Young Modern "the first power pop band from Down Under," and the band's bright, energetic sound and ear-catching melodies were a clear precursor to the skinny-tie pop sounds that would begin having a major impact on the charts at the end of the 1970s. Unfortunately, Young Modern was just a bit early to reap the benefits of power pop's brief moment of commercial success, though their historical importance and influence on the likes of the Hoodoo Gurus and the Sunnyboys is widely acknowledged. Young Modern was formed in 1977 by John Dowler, an Irish expatriate who had spent time in Europe, the Netherlands, and England before settling in Adelaide.

Dowler was previously the leader of Spare Change, a prescient band that favored straightforward rock & roll with a pop touch, with Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, the Velvet Underground, and Sparks cited by the group as key influences. After Spare Change broke up in 1976, Dowler began looking for like-minded musicians to form a new group, and in 1977, he met up with Andy Richards, whose older brother had gone to school with Dowler. Richards was playing bass in a band called Suggestion, who were going nowhere fast, and Dowler recruited Richards and Suggestion guitarist Vic Yates to join his new group. After schooling his new bandmates on his musical philosophy and his enthusiasm for the Flamin' Groovies, Big Star, and the Byrds, Dowler, Richards, and Yates teamed with guitarist Michael Jones and drummer Mark Kohler, and the first edition of Young Modern (named after a pop fanzine of the '60s) was complete.

Young Modern played their first gig opening for Radio Birdman in November 1977, and they quickly gained a sizable following in Adelaide for their hooky, straightforward brand of rock & roll. Young Modern were a hard-working band who were eager to play, and they hit the road, playing club dates around Southeast Australian and learning to handle all kinds of crowds. Dowler was friends with Steve Cummings of the pub rock band the Sports, and Cummings was impressed enough with Young Modern to help them make their first record. Cummings produced the single "She's Got the Money" b/w "Automatic," which the band released in 1978 on their own Top Gear label; it scored significant airplay on Double J Radio in Sydney and Triple R in Melbourne and spread word about Young Modern nationwide. The success of "She's Got the Money" led to an offer from Dirty Pool, a successful music management firm who handled two of Australia's biggest hard rock outfits, Cold Chisel and the Angels.

Young Modern signed up with Dirty Pool and relocated to Sydney, though Mike Jones opted to stay in Adelaide and Mark Carroll took his place in the lineup. Despite Dirty Pool's success with other acts, they didn't seem to know what to do with Young Modern, and the band often found themselves booked into clubs that favored hard rock while pop bands that had sprung up in Young Modern's wake were enjoying greater success. With the group's momentum fading, Young Modern decided to break up in the summer of 1979; an album, Play Faster, was released by the indie label Local Records that combined their single with a number of unreleased demos, and the group briefly reunited in 1980 to play a few shows in support. (Spare Change's unreleased recordings would also be compiled into an album after Young Modern called it quits.)

Dowler went on to form the Glory Boys (who later became Talk Show), and enjoyed success in the late '80s with the Zimmermen. In 2006, Dowler reunited Young Modern to cut a new album, How Insensitive, which was released the following year; the band went on tour after the album's release, and another reunion jaunt in 2010 resulted in a live album, Live at the Grace Emily 22.12.2010.(allmusic.com)

This is a wonderful Power Pop/Jangle album with strong sixties influences. If you love Garage Power Pop with sixties vibe, this is a must for you. Highly Recommended!
You can buy the album here

You will enjoy and you
will have fun
Cheers
           Frank       Flac     mp3@320

New Flac ''The Plimsouls: Everywhere At Once 1983'' link is up !

I added a new link in the Plimsouls post from yesterday. Please give me a comment if it works. Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience again.
Cheers
           Frank

Classic Power Pop: The Plimsouls - The Plimsouls...Plus 1981 (1992 Rhino) Flac & mp3

The Plimsouls were in the right place and time--Los Angeles just after the Knack took skinny-tie power pop national--to score a major record deal almost upon forming. With the instant credibility conferred by leader Peter Case's membership in the legendary punk-pop Nerves, whose "Hanging on the Telephone" Blondie had taken to the charts, the Plimsouls were expected to become a very big deal. Sadly, the anti-Knack backlash took down the entire L.A. power pop scene almost overnight, and their self-titled debut disappeared immediately.

The excellent Rhino reissue THE PLIMSOULS...PLUS collects that album, the rare ZERO HOUR EP, a handful of b-sides including an early version of EVERYWHERE AT ONCE's stellar "How Long Will It Take?" and an excellent previously unreleased tune called "Memory." Case's rough-edged songs and the band's noisy performances are almost unbearably exciting, and this is a true power pop classic.

No need to say something more about this album. A true classic!
Enjoy
          Frank                                                               New Flac
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Wish all of you Happy Easter days!

Garage/Power Pop: Dee Rangers - Blue Swedes 2007 (Vinyl) Flac & mp3

Debuting in 1997 with the EP This Modern World, Dee Ranger imported their vintage of 60's guitar romp to their home country of Sweden. With their reflection towards the raw styling of The Sonics and The Kinks, Nicke Ohman (guitar), Johnny Elfstorm (bass), Uffe Pettersson (drums) and Mike Eriksson (vocals) would release a series of seven-inches various labels throughout 1997. This includes the Fall Down, I Just Wanna Rock 'n' Roll and Don't EPs.

This is great Garage/Power Pop from swedish band Dee Rangers.
Five fat stars from possible six stars!
Enjoy,
          Frank    mp3
                      Flac
                     

60's Garage The Leaves - The Leaves...Are Happening (2000 Sundazed) Flac & mp3

At last, a legitimate and well-distributed reissue of everything the Leaves released on Mira between 1965 and 1966: the entire Hey Joe album, all of the non-LP songs from their singles, the single version of "Too Many People," and three versions of "Hey Joe" (from the hit single and two previous 45s which used slightly different arrangements). This is not the complete work of the Leaves, as it doesn't include anything from their 1967 Capitol LP All the Good That's Happening, but this is no loss, as that album was pretty lousy. (Two covers of unspecified origin from the compilation 1966 are also missing.) Although the Leaves were erratic, at their best they were a fine band who drew from the Byrds' folk-rock, the Beatles' melodicism, and the hard rock of the Rolling Stones, as best heard on "Hey Joe" and the less celebrated "Too Many People," "Be With You," "Just a Memory," "Dr. Stone," "Funny Little World," and "Words." The reissue is enhanced by the detailed history in the accompanying 16-page booklet.(allmusic.com)

The band was far better than her reputation under music critics. The Sundazed compilation shows that.
Sorry no booklet. Maybe some kind soul have it and could post it...:-)
Enjoy
          Frank     Flac
                        mp3@320
                                            Complete Artwork Here

Power Pop by the Plimsouls: Everywhere At Once 1983 Flac & mp3

After their eponymous Planet Records debut full-length, the Plimsouls took the major-label bait and signed on with Geffen Records. Everywhere at Once, their first Geffen album, has mixed results. While the change to a major label did have a profound impact on the band, it wasn't always for the best. While Jeff Eyrich's somewhat heavy-handed production did take a little air out of their performance, the end result is far less clinical than other major-label mainstream rock records of the day. Everywhere at Once does contain the Plimsouls' greatest recorded achievement, "A Million Miles Away," which packs all of the passion and punch of some of John Lennon's finest recordings with a wonderful power-driven Byrds-like arrangement. Other standouts on this record include "Play the Breaks" which, while not quite as awesome as it is in a live performance (they were possibly the finest live band in Los Angeles in this period), still shines.(allmusic.com)



Formed in Los Angeles in 1978, the Plimsouls merged roots, retro and guitar rock with a ramshackle punk aesthetic. At a time when rock music was shifting gears, the Plimsouls' brand of soul-punk -- a modern take on '60s soul, British Invasion and garage rock sounds -- fit right in with the '80s post-punk American guitar band movement. Known for their kinetic live performances, the Plimsouls had an exceptional frontman in singer/songwriter Peter Case whose decision to pursue a solo career effectively ended their '80s run, but whose songs have kept the group's slight catalog and legacy in the public eye.

Case came to the Plimsouls with experience, having previously collaborated with Jack Lee and Paul Collins in the Nerves, a precursor-to-punk D.I.Y. group with a 1976 single, "Hangin' on the Telephone" (later recorded by Blondie). Living in L.A., Case started to play with locals Louie Ramírez (drums) and Dave Pahoa (bass) in 1979, and within the year Eddie Muñoz (of Austin's the Skunks) joined them on guitar. After recording one EP, Zero Hour in 1980, and a self-titled album in 1981 that contained the now classic power pop anthems "Zero Hour" and "Hush, Hush," the group self-financed a single, "A Million Miles Away." The jangling guitar song was picked up by influential FM station KROQ and thanks to trend-setting DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, the song became a local smash, catapulting the Plimsouls toward wider recognition. The inclusion of "A Million Miles Away" on the soundtrack to the cult film Valley Girl cemented the band's reputation as power pop icons and remains a timeless classic.

An album for Geffen, Everywhere at Once, followed in 1983 but ultimately, the liaison with the label was not a lasting one and the Plimsouls broke up shortly after its release. A testament to the band's stage power is the live document, One Night in America, released in 1988. Following the group's dissolution, Case went on to record a solo album for Geffen; he remains a critically admired and influential artist with a large folk, blues and rock repertoire. In 1995-1996, the band, sans Ramírez, re-formed and played a few reunion dates with former Blondie drummer Clem Burke and released a new studio LP Kool Trash in 1998. In 2005, Oglio Records reissued One Night in America; the original lineup (with Bryan Head on drums) remains together and continues to perform wherever and whenever there's a demand for their unique soul-punk sound.

Power Pop at it's best!
Enjoy it                
             Frank   

                             Flac        mp3@320

Power Pop Of The Eighties: Sorrows - Love Too Late (1981) Flac & mp3

For their second album, 1981's Love Too Late, Sorrows were paired up with legendary producer Shel Talmy, who in the mid-'60s had worked with the Who, the Kinks, the Creation, and the Easybeats; unfortunately, the idea of working with Talmy was better than the results, and the album didn't fare as well with critics and sold no better than they debut. Sorrows broke up in the mid-'80s and the albums fell out of print, never appearing on CD as they became the stuff of legend among fans of '80s pop. In 2010, Bomp! Records released Bad Times Good Times, a collection of demos and alternate versions of material from Sorrows' debut album; Alexander also announced that Sorrows were playing a handful of reunion shows to support the new album's release, with the possibility of new recordings in the offing.

Enjoy this wonderful Power Pop and
...have fun
                 SB1  Flac1  You need both Flac links!  Flac 2
                                              mp3@320

The Five Americans - Progressions 1967 (Sundazed 2006) Flac & mp3

The Five Americans' third album, Progressions, lives up to its title. The group, which had gained success with the pounding frat rocker "I Saw the Light" and the bubbly pop hit "Western Union," began to show some real artistic growth as they stretched out and explored new sounds. Some of the tracks sound like more assured versions of their earlier efforts -- the bubblegummy "Zip Code" (the attempted follow-up to "Western Union"), the tender folk-rock of "(But Not) Today," the sparkling pop of "Stop-Light" -- but they also incorporate some harder guitar rock on "Black Is White -- Day Is Night," Kinks-y baroque pop psych on "Rain Maker," and blue-eyed soul on "Come on Up."

They also ditched the at times too slick sound achieved by producer Dale Hawkins, took over the production chores themselves, and did a fine job of creating a full and rich sound with just enough experimentation to keep things unpredictable. Progressions is a substantial leap of quality for the group; with the right push, it could have been big. Instead it is a hidden gem that fans of fine '60s pop should seek out and savor.(allmusic.com)

This is maybe the strongest work of the five Americans. It's a real great album with finest psychedelic pop, very good vocals, some lighter bubblegum but with great quality. Excellent pop arrangements all over the whole album. I highly recommend this album to give it a try if you are in sixties pop psychedelia.
Enjoy
         SB1       Flac
                      mp3@320

Flac Link Added: Dwight Twilley Band - The Great Lost Twilley Album 1993

Good evening Folks, i posted in February, the 4th the ''Dwight Twilley Band - The Great Lost Twilley Album 1993'' album in mp3. I have now added a Flac link in the post here.
The link is up for two weeks and expire 2017-04-26.
Cheers
           SB1

Peter & Gordon - I Go to Pieces/True Love Ways 1965 (Two for one Package) Collectables 1998 Flac & mp3

I Go To Pieces:
The duo's third album was a versatile but patchy collection. And there was no getting around it: The best tracks, as was the case in many acts of the era, were the hits -- "I Go to Pieces" and the less well-remembered brassy, pounding "Don't Pity Me." They were at their best when they were at their folkiest, as on their nice cover of the Everly Brothers' "Sleepless Nights" and the decent original "Tears Don't Stop," which wouldn't have sounded out of place in the Searchers' repertoire. But they weren't well-equipped to tackle bluesy rock and folk oldies, as they tried to do with Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" and "A Mess of Blues," Doris Troy's "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" (done better by the Hollies), and Leadbelly's "Good Morning Blues"). Still, it's a slightly above-average British Invasion pop/rock album. It's included in its entirety as half of the two-for-one package I Go to Pieces/True Love Ways on Collectables, which adds their fourth album, True Love Ways, and their 1967 hit "Sunday for Tea."

True Love Ways:
Peter & Gordon branched further from their initial pop-folky British Invasion harmony sound on their fourth album, with erratic results. There was an increased tilt toward heavy orchestrated ballads, which could work very well at times, as on the title track, a worthy updating of the old Buddy Holly song (and a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic). Their less impressive reworking of "To Know Him Is to Love Him" (retitled "To Know You Is to Love You") made the Top Five in Britain. However, they weren't well-suited to soul covers like "Cry to Me," and on their solo vocal showcases (Gordon Waller on Smokey Robinson's "Who's Lovin' You" and Peter Asher on "Any Day Now"), they overextend themselves without the support of a harmonizing partner. As for the better tracks, their cover of the Everly Brothers' "Crying in the Rain" was a natural choice, and the melodramatically arranged "Hurtin' Is Lovin'" and the folkier "I Told You So" are two of their better originals. Want some dig-deep trivia? The opening notes of their cover of Del Shannon's "Broken Promises" are identical to the opening notes of the subsequent Neil Young composition "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong," done by Buffalo Springfield on their first album. True Love Ways is included in its entirety as half of the two-for-one package I Go to Pieces/True Love Ways on Collectables, which adds their third album, I Go to Pieces, and their 1967 hit "Sunday for Tea."(allmusic.com)

Enjoy
         SB1    The Flac link expire 2017-04-25

 FLAC
mp3@320

Just a few informations...

Hello Folks i just want to write some words about my situation and the blog.
At the moment i have a lot of things to do. First i will move with my family into a new house in the coming next weeks. A lot of things must prepared for the move and that's a lot of work.
Furthermore, at the moment i have issues with my health and that's something what makes me sorrows. I have a lot of dates with doctors. And so forth. All that takes time and that is the reason why it could be in the next weeks that i don't post that often like i have done in the past.
I hope all of you can understand that and i hope that will be only a temporarily   state.                                                                                                                                                         
Just one thing: Please no comments about my health in the kind of  ''Get well soon'' or anything like
that. It's just because i don't like that.
Okay, like i said i hope it 's just a short time with not so much posts from me.
Nevertheless i will furthermore post music whenever my time allows it and i hope for your understanding.
Wish all of you a nice day
                                         Frank                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

El Goodo - El Goodo 2006 Flac & mp3

Drenched in hazy rich harmonies, ringing guitars, and horns, the mysterious El Goodo are a '60s psychedelia revival band from the village of Resolven in South Wales, U.K. The members -- who don't use their last names -- include Jason (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Pixy (vocals, bass, guitar, keyboard), Lewis (guitar), Elliot (drums, keyboard), and Matty (vocals, keyboard). Friends Super Furry Animals have brought El Goodo along on tour as well as released their self-titled debut on their own label, Placid Casual, in late 2005. The album was released in the U.S. on Empyrean Records in October 2006.

Although Welsh psych-pop outfit El Goodo don't sound a bit like Big Star, the fact that they nicked their name from an old cult fave tune is illuminating: there is nothing about El Goodo that any reasonably knowledgeable student of pop history hasn't heard before. That said, the first-names-only quintet do a better job than most of synthesizing enough disparate influences that it doesn't sound like they're just ripping off one band in particular. The wry "Stuck in the '60s" says it all, really: faux Beach Boys vocals, queasy strings out of a Serge Gainsbourg record, a Mellotron part straight from the opening of "Strawberry Fields Forever," Forever Changes' mariachi trumpets, but all of them are brought together by a solid, hooky melody and a knowing lyric that says "Yes, we know we're not really doing anything new here."

Other highlights include the accordion-powered waltz "I Tried But I Failed," which has unexpected echoes of Ram-era Paul McCartney, and the sweet-tooth psychedelia of the jangle-fuzzy "Surreal Morning," complete with backwards guitar solo. Blending the druggily experimental vibe of the Beta Band or El Goodo's friends and patrons Super Furry Animals with the kind of retro songcraft the Apples in Stereo mastered on Fun Trick Noisemaker and Tone Soul Evolution, this is strictly for those who like to play spot-the-homage, but the group's better than average songwriting and clear fondness for their obvious influences make this an enjoyable listen. (allmusic.com)

Definitely one of the top ten Pop Psychedelia records of the last 15 years. And the band sound at it's best if they don't use contemporary or up to date influences. I know that's sound like a denial of musical developement. But i think that some things don't fit or work well if you wanna reach a sound who don't end in a ''retro'' sound. A very very good work here nearly without any weakness. Maybe just one little point: ''Here it comes'' is to much a copy of VU in my ears. 5 of 6 of Lucys diamonds.
Enjoy it
            SB1   You need both Flac links!  Flac 1
           Flac 2
           mp3@320