Paul Westerberg - Eventually 1996 Flac & mp3

Paul Westerberg's second solo album, Eventually, delivered a full three years after his debut, 14 Songs, illustrates that he has problems telling the difference between maturity and stodginess. Eventually follows the same pattern as 14 Songs, as he balances up-tempo, Stonesy rockers with introspective, folky ballads. Generally, his slower numbers cut the deepest, like the affectionate Bob Stinson tribute, "Good Day" and the heart-tugging "MamaDaddyDid." When Westerberg rocks out, he sounds tired and mannered; neither his riffs nor his performance has the energy of vintage Replacements, or '70s and '80s Stones, for that matter. And the rockers demonstrate the major flaw of Eventually -- its carefully considered production. Though the production is clean and professional, its very slickness emphasizes the uneven quality of Westerberg's songwriting. There are some gems here -- in fact, there are even more this time around than on 14 Songs -- but Westerberg still sounds uncertain of what direction he wants to pursue and how to grow old gracefully.(allmusic.com)

Second solo album by Mr Westerberg and a really good one. $ and a half stars out of six for the album.
Two stars for the review.

Have fun
              Frank    Flac1  &   Flac2   You need both Flac links!      mp3@320

The Hollywood Years II: Psychedelic Easy Listening Pop: Mark Wirtz - Dreamer of Glass Beach; The Hollywood Years 1971-1982, Vol. 2 Flac

Here is the second album of the Hollywood Years 1971- 1982. It's called ''Dreamer Of Glass Beach''.
To me the first volume is the stronger compilation. I will post more Mark Wirtz stuff in the next few days.

Have fun
               Frank     NEW LINK FLAC
                                     

Psychedelic Easy Listening Pop: Mark Wirtz - ''Kitschinsync - The Hollywood Years Vol 1'' 1971-1982 (1991 RPM) Flac

"Easy listening" isn't really an appropriate classification for Mark Wirtz; "instrumental pop" may suit him better. An EMI staff producer in the late '60s, Wirtz's most enduring contributions to contemporary music were as producer of Tomorrow, one of the finest overlooked British psychedelic groups (featuring guitarist Steve Howe in his pre-Yes days). (It's also been reported that Wirtz turned down a chance to work with Pink Floyd in the Syd Barrett days.) Wirtz also made some "mood music" albums on his own, the most ambitious of which was a "Teenage Opera" song cycle of sorts that he began working on in 1967. Tomorrow lead singer Keith West was enlisted as lyricist, and one piece developed into West's 1967 "Excerpt from a Teenage Opera" single. A grandiose, multi-part orchestrated narrative, it became an unexpectedly huge (number two) hit in Britain in the summer of 1967.

This led to reports that an entire "Teenage Opera" was in the works, and indeed West did record a marginally successful follow-up ("Sam") in the same vein. The entire opera, however, never appeared, partly because West wasn't entirely keen on the project, and was far more eager to continue playing underground psychedelic rock with Tomorrow (which would break up in 1968 anyway) than to sing far more pop-oriented material as a solo act. Wirtz continued to work as a producer and issue more rock-influenced easy listening albums; dribs and drabs of songs that may have been earmarked for the "Teenage Opera" project would appear under the names of both himself and non-entities like Sweetshop and Zion de Gallier. While the "Teenage Opera" and "Sam" singles sound as much like kiddie rock as grand concepts in the making, it's possible that their suite-like construction influenced the Who's Tommy and the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow, both of which are usually referred to as the first full-blown rock concept albums that followed a storyline. In 1996, a mock-up of what the "Teenage Opera" album may have sounded like was built from tracks by Wirtz, West, Tomorrow, and others, and issued on the RPM label.(allmusic.com)

 Mark Wirtz have done a lot of different music and it's really hard to give it the right name. But it's not instrumental pop. To me his work always (also in later works) had a particular popsike sixties feeling. I think the best description for his music is ''Pop''. And Wirtz is a musician who shows the wide range of pop music. But he was always criminally underrated. I often thought how the one or another Beatles album had sound with his production.
Okay give it a try or not
but enjoy your day or eve
                              Frank       New Flac Link

Pinkerton's Assorted Colours - Flight Recorder: From Pinkertons Assorted Colours To The Flying Machine (1965-71) (Castle 2004) Flac & mp3

Formed in Rugby in 1964, the first line-up of this band -- originally known as The Liberators -- was Samuel ("Pinkerton") Kemp on autoharp and vocals, Tony Newman on rhythm guitar, Tom Long on lead guitar, Barrie Bernard playing bass, and John Wallbank on the drums. Following a brief hook-up with producer Shel Talmy, which resulted in one single, Wallbank exited the line-up, to be replaced by Dave Holland.

The quartet were seen and signed by Reg Calvert, the manager of the Fortunes, after which they changed their name to Pinkerton's Assorted Colours and adopted brightly colored costumes for their stage act. Their sound was an amalgam of folk and pop, highlighted by the use of an electric autoharp, which the band used in a manner somewhat similar to that of the Lovin' Spoonful. In late 1965, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours were signed to Decca Records, and they cut their debut single that year with future Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke.

That record, "Mirror, Mirror," a band original written by Tony Newman, became a No. 8 British hit in 1966. They had one more minor chart entry, "Don't Stop Loving Me Baby," later in the year, but that was their last hit and after the failure of "Magic Rocking Horse," they left Decca to sign with Pye Records, and even a name change to "Pinkerton's Colours" didn't make their records more appealing. Ian Coleman later replaced Barrie Bernard (who joined Jigsaw) on the bass, but the group's days were numbered, and they faded away as the 1960's wore on. In 1968, after their failure with the Pye single "Kentucky Woman," Pinkerton's Colours -- with Steve James

now on lead guitar -- transformed themselves into Pinkertons, and finally turned into Flying Machine, who released one album in a pop-psychedelic mode, in 1970.(allmusic.com)

I love this album and maybe you will do it, too.
Have fun
               Frank     New Flac 1   &  New Flac 2  You need both links!
                            mp3@320   &  mp3link 2

Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey - Mavericks 1991 Flac & mp3

As a fan initially attracted to the dB’s for that band’s nervous energy as much as its irresistible lovelorn pop-craft, I initially was rather coolish toward Mavericks, the ’91 reunion disc by Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey. In comparison to the NC band’s addictive jangle, the two dB’s song-crafters went for a less assertive sound on their nineties collaboration — lo-fi folk-pop more than power-pop.
Perhaps this approach was just a little too unassuming. When the disc was first released on Rhino’s RNA label, it quickly slipped into the cut-out bins, barely attracting the cult audience that had once made dB’s albums steady sellers in the 80’s import racks. At the time, I wasn’t all that bothered by this fact, but listening to Collector’s Choice Music’s recent reissue, Mavericks proves to be more than just a musical footnote. Years removed from its New Wave-y associations, it’s a sweet set of well-wrought pop-rock.

Primarily recorded by Holsapple and Stamey – with an assist on the drums and bass by a variety of musician friends – the disc is a smartly low-key set of acoustic-focused pop-tracks. If the early dB’s records were the sounds of transplanted southerners in the Big City, looking at and appropriating every slick pop sound they came across, the duo’s set proves less self-consciously over-clever. Though several of the cuts (“I Want to Break Your Heart,” the Fab Four-y “Geometry,” Stamey’s engagingly woozy “Close Your Eyes”) wouldn’t sound out of place on a dB’s disc, they also fit within Mavericks‘ cozier parameters.
With one exception (a harmonic cover of Gene Clark’s “Here Without You,” which was first heard on the Byrds’ classic Mr. Tambourine Man), the material in Mavericks is all original. Only the country-rocking opener “Angels” is credited as a collaborative effort, with the remaining ten tracks on the disc evenly divided ‘tween Holsapple and Stamey. In the dB’s, Holsapple was typically the more openly poppish, yet on this disc, it’s Stamey who contributes the most straight-ahead cuts. This mild switch of personas results in some surprising moments – Holsapple’s quietly folkish “She Was the One,” in particular. But, in the end, both singers’ direct vocals and deceptively easy way with a pop hook are what carry the record. I was a dope for largely ignoring this album when it first came out, but I can take small comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the only one. And thanks to the folks at CCM, we’ve all been given a chance to rediscover this guitar pop gem. CCM’s reissue contains the usual “bonus tracks,” the only unfamiliar song being the most overtly countrified cut to emerge from the session, “Hollywood Waltz,” which if nothing else deserves props for rhyming “waltz” with “balls.” At the very end of the bonus section, though, the two throw in the opening lines to the Beatles’ “Do You Want to Know A Secret?” just before fading out into a decade of cultish solo projects. It’s the kind of throwaway moment that practically provides this disc’s own tagline: for far too long, Mavericks has been an unjustly kept pop secret.(blogcritics.org)

This is just a fantastic album. I think not only for us listeners, but for the both musicians, too.
And i don't want to make blablabla about this wonderful work. If you don't have ever listen to it i can it only absolute recommend. 6 striped wizard hats from 6 possible dotted wizard hats.
Enjoy!
          Frank   Flac1  &  Flac2    You need both Flac links!    mp3@320

Pugwash - Eleven Modern Antiquities 2008 Flac & mp3

If Jollity was Pugwash's Skylarking then 11 Modern Antiquities is Oranges and Lemons. There's more of a sheen and swagger to up-tempo tracks Take Me Away, You're Friend and Its So Fine. Fans of the bands more whimsical tunes will adore the Andy Partridge co-writes My Genius and At The Sea and anyone with a taste for accessible psychedelia will lap up the Micheal Penn assisted Limerance. Another fine album from a criminally overlooked band.(reader review allmusic.com)

Everyone compares the band with XTC and it's hard don't do it, i know. But the band just can lose this comparisons. And to compare 11 Modern Antiquities with Oranges And Lemons from XTC is like compare apples and oranges, lol. Wanna say it's a little bit like compare XTC with the Beatles. It's flattering but have nothing to do with the reality. Reality is that the Beatles and XTC are favourite bands of me. And reality is 11 Modern Antiquities is a quite good album that sometimes remembers to XTC and often to the Beatles...or to apples?

Enjoy!
           Frank     Flac 1  &  Flac 2   You need both Flac links!     mp3@320

SORRY NO ART!

The Model Rockets - Snatch It Back and Hold It (1996 C/Z Records) Flac & mp3

While the Model Rockets' main influence is classic power pop, they occasionally kick some songs into punk overdrive, making it difficult to pigeonhole the band as being of one style or another. That's true of Snatch It Back and Hold It, the group's second album, which successfully integrates new guitarist and sometime songwriter Scott Sutherland. The Model Rockets have a playful sense of humor that sometimes recalls another Seattle pop outfit, the Young Fresh Fellows, as on tracks like "She's on the Cover" and the pro-gay "Flame On." (allmusic.com)

Second album by the Seattle band with new guitarist Scott Sutherlad. Imho this work is stronger than the debut.

Enjoy it!
              Frank          Flac1   &    Flac2  You need both Flac links!    mp3@320

Power Pop/Rock By The Model Rockets - Hi Lux (1994) Flac & mp3

After the breakup of Stumpy Joe, several members re-formed in 1993 as a punked-out power-pop outfit called the Glory Stompers, which was soon changed to the Model Rockets because of an identically named band. The initial lineup included guitarist/lead vocalist John Ramberg, gutiarist Grant Johnson, bassist Boyd Remillard, and drummer Graham Black. After a local Seattle single and a compilation appearance, the Model Rockets released their debut album, Hilux, on Lucky Records, which was produced by ex-Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey.

Johnson left the band in late 1994 and was replaced by former Chemistry Set member Scott Sutherland. Switching to the C/Z label, the Rockets supported their second album, 1996's Snatch It Back and Hold It, with a successful tour of Spain.

The band play a nice style of Power Pop and similar styles here on the album. Well arranged and the production of Scott McCaughey made it to a fine debut album.
Enjoy
          Frank          Flac1  &  Flac2   You need both Flac links!    mp3@320

Psychedelic Pop From Canadian Band Elephant Stone!

Elephant Stone - Elephant Stone 2013

 For modern rock fans the very name Elephant Stone connotes something specific: a beloved 1988 single from the Stone Roses. The new millennial, Canadian psych rock band Elephant Stone does indeed take elements from the Stone Roses, specifically how the Manchester group layered acoustic guitars and ringing Rickenbackers to create a psychedelic, '60s pastiche that never sounded tethered to the past, but on their eponymous 2013 sophomore set, there are several elements that give this modern-day trippy pop band their own identity. Foremost among them is a fondness for Indian music -- not a huge surprise considering how leader Rishi Dhir was an in-demand sitarist among the neo-psychedelic set prior to his formation of Elephant Stone (he played with Brian Jonestown Massacre and Soundtrack of Our Lives, among others) -- but it's hardly exotic window-dressing for standard-issue psychedelia. Classical Indian music is thoroughly interwoven with '60s psychedelia and pop -- and the two are different, with the first emphasizing texture and the second structure -- giving Elephant Stone a shimmering, off-kilter quality that's alluring. That sound is alluring enough to warrant return visits to the album, repeated listens that reveal the album to be built on solidly sculpted songs where the riffs and melodies intertwine into something quietly enchanting; like their inspirations, Elephant Stone evokes the best of the past, but is intent on recasting these sounds for the future.

Elephant Stone is a neo-psychedelic outfit led by Rishi Dhir, formerly of the High Dials. Its music incorporates the influence of British Invasion bands like the Kinks and the Beatles, as well as Indian classical music, which Dhir was paying particular attention to when he formed the band in Montreal in 2008. With Dhir singing lead and handling nearly a dozen instruments, help from several guests including producer Jace Lasek, and no shortage of breezy melodies, Elephant Stone released its debut album, The Seven Seas, in 2009 on Dhir's own Elephants on Parade label (with Fontana Distribution). The Glass Box EP followed in 2010 via Elephants on Parade and 360 Degree. The group signed with Canada's Hidden Pony for 2013's self-titled Elephant Stone. Settling into a regular lineup of Dhir, Gabriel Lambert on guitar, and Miles Dupire-Gagnon on drums, Three Poisons arrived in 2014, also on Hidden Pony. The trio released Elephant Stone's fourth LP, Ship of Fools, with Burger Records in 2016.

Don't miss it
Enjoy it!
              Frank      Flac part1  &  Flac part2 You need both Flac links!
                                             mp3

mp3 links added to The Peep Show - Mazy: The Secret World of The Peep Show (2007 Castle)

Hello Folks, at first i want to wish you all a happy easter! I hope all of you enjoy the holidays.

I just added the mp3 links to the post by The Peep Show - Mazy: The Secret World of The Peep Show (2007 Castle) from yesterday.
Cheers
           Frank

D L Byron - This Day And Age (1980, Vinyl) Flac & mp3

Raised by his adoptive parents in southern New Jersey, D.L. Byron (born David Byron) became enamored with the Beatles, the Byrds, and Bob Dylan at an early age. When he wasn't busy getting thrown out of a string of exclusive prep schools, Byron formed several teenage garage bands and won a number of poetry competitions. Deciding to pursue his music career in earnest, Byron moved to New York City in February of 1971. After working briefly at the Colony Record shop (located on the ground floor of the Brill Building) and living in a $45 per week fleabag hotel, Byron managed to catch the tail-end of Tin pan alley, procuring a $75-a-week job as a staff writer for E.H. Morris. While there, he met and was influenced by greats like Harold Arlen, and began to perform at open mike nights around New York. In 1979, Clive Davis and Arista discovered Byron and signed him, hoping to find success with an American version of Elvis Costello or Graham Parker. In 1980, Byron released This Day and Age, which became an instant power pop classic.

Produced by Jimmy Iovine and featuring members of Billy Joel's band, the record contained ten tracks of energetic pop/punk in the vein of the Jam's In the City and Elvis Costello's Armed Forces. The album spawned a Top 40 hit and popular MTV video with the first single, "Listen to the Heartbeat." Byron toured the U.S. heavily in support of This Day and Age, both as a headliner and as an opening act for Bob Seger (on his Against the Wind tour) and the Boomtown Rats (on their Fine Art of Surfacing tour). Shortly afterwards, Byron recorded a version of "You Can't Hurry Love" for the R.S.O. Records soundtrack to the Tim Curry vehicle Times Square, which also included songs from the Cure, XTC, Joe Jackson, Suzi Quatro, Lou Reed, the Ramones, Roxy Music, and others. Arista also released a 12" single version of Byron's remake of "Down in the Boondocks," which featured Billy Joel on backing vocals. Soon afterwards, Byron began recording demos for his second Arista album. One of these songs, which he planned to use as the lead single for the album, was "Shadows of the Night." Arista, however, told Byron that "Shadows of the Night" and the other songs were not commercial enough and promptly put him on suspension for a year. Later, several other artists recorded "Shadows of the Night," the most famous of whom was Pat Benatar. Benatar used the song as the opening track on her 1982 Get Nervous LP, which went on to sell over four million copies. "Shadows of the Night" won the 1982 Grammy Award for Record of the Year and has since been included on several compilations and greatest-hits packages. Disillusioned by Arista's lack of foresight, Byron asked to be released from his contract and the label complied. He then decided to concentrate on his writing and, although plagued by personal problems and drug abuse, managed to place songs on Never Run, Never Hide by Benny Mardones (a gold record), Lights On by Price-Sulton, the self-titled record by Drive She Said, and others.

In the early '90s, Byron completely renounced drugs, delved seriously into various forms of spirituality and successfully located his birth mother (interestingly enough, Byron found that his real grandfather had owned the music store where he bought his first guitar). He then began performing and recording again, releasing Exploding Plastic Inevitable on Zen Archer/Fountainbleu Records in 1998. The new album had a much folkier slant than This Day and Age (drawing critical comparisons to Marshall Crenshaw and Tom Petty), although Byron's pop songwriting chops were fully intact. In 1999, Byron undertook a U.S. tour co-headlining with two other Fountainbleu artists, began writing material for a new album, and recorded a song for a Gene Clark.(allmusic.com)

Classical early 80's Power Pop album. This is the vinyl edition.
Enjoy
          Frank  Flac
                     mp3

Army Navy - The Wilderness Inside (2014) Flac & mp3

Los Angeles trio Army Navy's third full-length album, 2014's The Wilderness Inside, is a nuanced, lyrical work informed by the group's longstanding love of '70s power pop, folk, and country. Showcasing the talents of lead singer/guitarist Justin Kennedy, along with guitarist/vocalist Louie Schultz and drummer/vocalist Douglas Randall, the album follows up the group's equally melodic 2011 sophomore effort, The Last Place. As with that album, here Army Navy and longtime producer/engineer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Dawn Landes, Ben Harper) strike a balance between bittersweet, often melancholic lyrics and bright, catchy pop hooks.

To these ends, cuts like the jangly, languid folk-rock-infused "Birdy" and ruminative, early-'80s soft rock-influenced "Dumb Luck" bring to mind the vintage rock sound of bands like America and the Raspberries. Elsewhere, cuts including the ascendant "The Mistakes" and romantically epic "Crushed Like the Car" are blissful, guitar-based anthems that set them justifiably next to such contemporaries as Canada's Sloan, Scotland's Teenage Fanclub, and Albuquerque's the Shins. Clearly, based on the level of tangible musical touchstones on The Wilderness Inside, Army Navy have great taste in music. Thankfully, they know how to turn these influences into moving pop/rock metaphor. As they sing on the ebullient "Spinning on the Record," "Somehow I just know your songs have changed me/Your music is the air I breathe tonight/No one ever knows the words to save me/Maybe all your gibberish was right." With The Wilderness Inside, Army Navy's melodic message rings clear.(allmusic.com)

Power Pop, Jangle, a little shoegaze, it's all inside here. And it's a very melodic album full of catchy melodies with a clever arrangement.
Have fun
               Frank    Flac1
                            Flac2
                            mp3