The Ministry Of Sound - 1966 Men From The Ministry +1968 Midsummer Nights Dreaming (RPM 2005) Flac & mp3

The Ministry of Sound issued just one 1966 single while they were active. But they recorded several albums' worth of material within the space of about a couple of years, eventually bringing them to the notice of those who collect the small British school of '60s sunshine pop. Too, their history was quite complicated considering their small discography, as they were a studio outfit whose personnel included noted songwriter John Carter, although Carter was not the dominant member.

The core of the Ministry of Sound was the duo of singer/songwriters Robin Shaw and Micky Keen, who had first performed together back in the late '50s in Mick Everly & the Prophets. By the mid-'60s they were part of the house band of Southern Music Studios, and signed to Carter's publishing company as songwriters. They also recorded often at Southern Music Studios as Ministry of Sound, with Carter pitching in with songwriting, guitar, and some lead vocals. Songwriter Russ Alquist also sang lead on some tracks, as well as making some contributions as a writer, with Robin Shaw handling some of the lead vocal duties as well. Top British session drummer Clem Cattini and keyboardist Barry Kingston also recorded with them.

At least several dozen songs were recorded by the aggregation between 1966 and 1968, but the only two that found release were issued on the 1966 Decca single "White Collar Worker"/"Back Seat Driver." In common with much of the material with which the prolific John Carter was associated in the mid- to late '60s (with groups such as the Flower Pot Men and the Ivy League), it gave a British spin to the harmony sunshine pop of groups like the Beach Boys, the Turtles, the Association, and the Tokens, perhaps with a bit of the Four Seasons and Motown thrown in.

Some of it also drew from psychedelia in the sophisticated production, use of then-advanced instrumentation such as the Mellotron, songs that explored British characters and situations, and lightly trippy lyrics. It wasn't as good as their most obvious influences, but it was very smoothly recorded and sung, with pleasant if not indelible tunesmithery.

Although some of the songs they recorded were covered by British pop group Amen Corner and Australian singer Normie Rowe, the Ministry of Sound didn't get the chance to release any more records while they were active. They came to an end when Robin Shaw joined the touring version of the Flower Pot Men, with Keen, Carter, and Cattini continuing to focus on studio work.

In 2005, 35 of the tracks they recorded between 1966 and 1968 were issued on the two-CD set Midsummer Nights Dreaming/Men from the Ministry, most of them previously unreleased, though it did include both sides of their 1966 single.(allmusic.com)

Enjoy this british pop psychedelia
                                                     Frank   mp3 link1     &   mp3 link2       You need both mp3 links!                 The Flac link expire 2017-05-06     Flac

The First Ever With Dolby NR Recorded Album Is A Great Psychedelic Pop Work Of 1967!

Psychedelic pop band the Nova Local formed on the Chapel Hill campus of the University of North Carolina in 1965, comprising singer Randy Winburn, guitarists Joe Mendyk (formerly of the Warlocks) and Phil Lambeth, bassist Jim Opton, keyboardist Cam Schinhan, and drummer Bill Levasseur. The group honed its sound on the Chapel Hill fraternity circuit, and when Opton's Phi Mu Alpha house booked Chad & Jeremy for its annual charity concert, he suggested the Nova Local open the show. William Morris Agency representative Rob Heller accompanied Chad & Jeremy to the gig, and was so impressed by the Nova Local that he offered them a contract on the spot -- Heller soon negotiated a deal with Decca, and minus Lambeth (who resigned his duties to attend law school), the band traveled to New York City to record their lone LP, 1967's Nova I.

According to an interview Opton gave to U-Spaces, the album was the first ever recorded via the Dolby NR System -- two singles were released ("Games" and "Other Girls"), and the record was also issued in the U.K., but in April 1967 the Nova Local dissolved. When Levasseur's son Jason's band covered the Nova Local track "If You Only Had the Time" with his band, Life in General, on their 2000 album The Lovely, Lovely Singing, Bill played drums on the recording(allmusic.com)

Nova 1 is a very strong piece of psychedelic garage pop. It's not the kind of album which plays one nice clean pop song after another. Here you have to listen and suddenly out of all the things that happen on the record you find one pop gem after the next and the next . Here are some great pop candies gathered. But Attention: This are not the Spoonful or the Monkees (and god knows i love these bands)...this are the Nova Local.

Enjoy
         Frank                 FLAC     &     mp3@320

American Power Pop : Ed James - Meet Ed James (2000) Flac & mp3

Ed James...just a guy on a mission to write the perfect song. The son of classical and jazz musicians, Ed was exposed to various genres of music throughout his childhood, but it was rock that would ultimately attract him. Drums became his instrument of choice at a very early age. Ed says, "I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't play drums."

Soon, Ed became interested in composing his own rock and pop music, and began learning how to play the various instruments (guitar, keyboards, vocals, etc.) required to record his songs without the help of outside musicians. At the same time, Ed was studying the songwriting of the Beatles, as well as more contemporary pop & rock artists. Although he enjoyed performing in numerous cover bands throughout his high school and college years, Ed discovered that there was "something magical about writing and recording original songs - creating something from nothing."

After earning a degree in music, Ed relocated to North Carolina, where he began his musical career in earnest. Since arriving to the Charlotte area, Ed has appeared on numerous compilation and tribute CDs, including The Bam Balam Explosion IV USA Power Pop Compilation (Bam Balam Records), Pop Under The Surface (Yesterday Girl Records), Browser Barbarians (DMR Diversions), Unsound Series Volume 1: Pop! (To M'Lou Music), Burnt Marshmallows & Teeny Bikinis (Optional Art), Around The Universe In 80 Minutes - A Tribute To Klaatu (Bullseye Records), A Tribute To The Left Banke (Brobdingnagian Records), and Men In Plaid - A Tribute To The Bay City Rollers (Bullseye Records).

And now, Jam Records and Ed James Music have just released Meet Ed James...the very first solo CD by Ed James, featuring 13 power pop tunes, and displaying Ed's wide variety of musical influences and talents. Written, performed, and produced by Ed alone, but never sounding that way, Meet Ed James is a solo album in its truest sense.(cdbaby)

 

Ed's "Party At Joes" is is one of those great songs that used to make cruising in the car with the AM radio blaring a fun thing to do in the '70s. Probably the best song about partying since Brownsville Station sang "Kings Of The Party" many moons ago. Ed can also produce a great pop song. He shows his serious side with "Turn It Around," which has a chorus that would have made Queen (circa "Killer Queen") proud. Now folks, Ed recorded this pop masterpiece in his bedroom --- and he not only handled the vocals, but played all the instruments himself!(power pop music news) This guy is a very talented pop wizard and this is really Power Pop of the highest order, lol.  Enjoy and you know...you need both Flac links :-).   Flac1  & Flac 2          mp3@320

Irish Power Pop by Pugwash: Pugwash - Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends) 2015

At request by some people who want to see more of Pugwash stuff here i post today their 2015 album Play This Intimately As If Among Friends. To me personally it's one of her best...but...seriously i never heard a bad album by this guys :-) 4 1/2 Sterne von möglichen 5 für die Sternchenjäger aus Irland.

Next time someone tells you they don't make pop records like they used to, prove them wrong and point them in the direction of Irish pop celebrants Pugwash. Thomas Walsh and his bandmates have mastered the fine art of approximating classic pop and gentle psychedelia of the '60s and early '70s, and Walsh writes songs good enough to pass for covers of classic British acts of the era in dim light, mirroring their melodic splendor rather than reworking familiar cliches.

The group's sixth studio album, Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends), is not as rich in guest appearances from pop universe luminaries as some of Pugwash's previous album (of course, having Andy Partridge and Ray Davies pop by to do backing vocals is nothing to sneeze at), but in the truest sense this demonstrates just how talented this band is. By their lonesome, Walsh (on vocals, guitars, and various keyboards), Tosh Flood (guitars and keys), Shaun McGee (bass), and Joe Fitzgerald (drums and percussion) are capable of re-creating a number of musical worlds, from the clean but swaggering rock of "Kicking and Screaming" and the languid psychedelia of "We Are Everywhere" to the faux-exotica of "Clouds" and the country-folk charm of "Oh Happy Days," and while nearly everything here harkens back to another time and place, Pugwash make it sound fresh, immediate, and directly from the heart.

(And the production from Walsh and Flood is ideal and unobtrusive.) Some bands trade in second-hand nostalgia, but Pugwash have used myriad reference points from the '60s and '70s to create pop music that's beautifully crafted, fresh and thoughtful, and best of all, lots of fun. Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends) could use a few more uptempo rockers, but considering how good these 12 songs are, there's little real room to complain, and Pugwash prove that yes, some folks really are making 'em like they used to, and with the same skill and honest love of a good melody.(allmusic.com)

Have fun and a nice weekend
                                               Frank    Flac1  & Flac2  You need both Flac links!    mp3@320

SB's Power Pop Collection Vol.5 (20 Songs) mp3 & Flac

Hello Folks, here is the Power Pop Collection Vol.5. I know i'm a little late this month but for that it is now also in Flac format for the first time. Okidoki here is the songlist:

1 Welcome to the show - Ed James
2 Never grow up - Crusaders Of Love
3 Rain Clouds - Dot Dash
4 Show ‘Em Good - Cocktail Slippers
5 Little Red Light -  Fountains Of Wayne
6 We Never Should Have Moved To L.A. - Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors
7 Star cross'd - Earwig
8 These Are The People Who Live In My House - Eureka Machines
9 Watching The Sun Come Up - Ed Harcourt
10 Come Out And Play - The Paley Brothers
11 Mr Blue Sky - ELO
12  Not The Same - Diamond Hands
13 Show Me Your Love - The Chevelles
14 Working Girls (Sunlight Shines) - The Pernice Prothers
15 Diamanda - The Pearlfishers
16 Do Anything You Wanna Do - Eddie & The Hot Rods
17 Hanging On The Telephone - The Nerves
18 Let's Be Friends Again - The Cheeks
19 The Infinite - Dot Dash
20 Adrenaline Shot - Fred Abbott
21 My Last Heartbeat - Rick Springfield

This is the amended (and right) tracklist done by Anonymous. Thanks for your effort.
Frank

Hope you will enjoy
                                 Frank        Flac 1  & Flac 2 & Flac 3  You need all three Flac links!   mp3@320

Psychedelic Pop/21stCentury Sunshine Pop: Mark Wirtz Ear Theatre - Love Is Eggshaped - The Soundtrack (2005 Rev-Ola) Flac

One of the readers here wrote a few days ago Wirtz have a very british sound. And i think that's right. To me his music have a strong sixties feel under the surface of the songs. Wirtz make music for more than fifty years and had worked with a lot of great musicians. Wirtz  have a universal vibe and that makes his music so great for me.

Shure he had also weak songs sometimes in his works but that is a common thing for musicians with a lot output. If you are not familiar with Mark Wirtz give it a try.
One last word: I would love to see an album of Wirtz and McCartney together!

Enjoy
         Frank           NEW FLAC LINK
                                     

Power Pop by Double Naught Spies - Solid Goldfinger (2004 Wizzard In Vinyl, Japan) mp3

Double Naught Spies play pop-driven guitar rock heavily influenced by the Beatles and 1970s power pop bands. In that they're hardly unique; there were a bunch of bands within Los Angeles itself in the late 1990s that drank from the same well. Still, they purvey the form competently, with cheerful vocal harmonies and some reasonably clever lyrics that can go beyond the usual parameters of the love song.

Formed in the spring of 1996, the group includes former members of the little-known bands Atomic Boy and the Visionaries.(allmusic.com)

Fine melodic guitardriven Power Pop. This is a top notch album without fillers.Great songs and great arrangements make listen to the album to a real joy. Plus a great version of the Bay City Rollers ''I Only Wanna Be With You''.
Have fun
              Frank        mp3@320

Sorry, only mp3 :-(. If there is a kind soul with a Flac file please get in contact via email :-) .

Classic 90's Power Pop: Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend; Goodfriend 1991 (2006 Volcano) Flac & mp3

Girlfriend:

Matthew Sweet's third album is a remarkable artistic breakthrough. Grounded in the guitar pop of the Beatles, Big Star, Byrds, R.E.M., and Neil Young, Girlfriend melds all of Sweet's influences into one majestic, wrenching sound that encompasses both the gentle country-rock of "Winona" and the winding guitars of the title track and "Divine Intervention." Sweet's music might have recognizable roots, but Girlfriend never sounds derivative; thanks to his exceptional songwriting, the album is a fresh, original interpretation of a classic sound.

 Goodfriend:

 This rare promotional disc features alternate versions of most of the tracks from Girlfriend, plus two cover songs (the exception to the album concept being "Someone to Pull the Trigger," which is from the Altered Beast album). A home-recorded acoustic version of the normally crunch-heavy "Divine Intervention" shows up here as an appealing slab of amphetamine folk. Acoustic renditions of "Looking at the Sun" and "Winona" also work amazingly well. In addition, there are several live tracks, the cream of the crop being an appropriately bruised and searing version of Neil Young's "Cortez Killer" that features guest vocals by the Indigo Girls' Amy Ray. There are only a few minor missteps: for one, it's unnecessary to include two versions of "Girlfriend" (a live BBC radio track and a concert rendition), especially when neither comes close to the blistering guitar work by Robert Quine on the studio original. Also, the live version of the normally jangly "I've Been Waiting" is a bit too shaky to merit inclusion. Overall, however, this album stands on its own as an exceptionally strong work, and shouldn't be seen as strictly for Matthew Sweet fanatics.

  This came 2006 by Volcano released as a double disc edition. These both albums got the highest rate at allmusic from staff and readers i think i've ever seen. 5 stars out of five by staff and readers for girlfriend and four and a half stars for Goodfriend by staff and readers, too. WOW!!! My rating is six sweeties out of five and five sweeties + three-fourth sweeties out of six for Goodfriend. :-)

Maybe Sweet's best album he ever delivered.

Enjoy it
             Frank      mp3 & mp3@320   You need both links for mp3 and both for Flac!                            New Flac 1 &  New Flac 2

The Rubinoos - Anthology (2000) Flac & mp3

Being a power pop group in the 1970s was sort of like being a garage band in the '60s, a grunge group in the '90s, or an emo band in the '00s -- there were a ton of them and they all sounded pretty much alike. It took a band with something special to stand out in the crowd. Often this something was not enough to make the band famous or reach the charts but it was enough to make them influential and fondly remembered. The Rubinoos are one of these special groups. They had a boyish charm, great melodies, and plenty of rock & roll spirit, but it wasn't enough to make them stars. Still, they wrote some very good songs and deserve an anthology, if only for the insanely catchy almost-hit single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." Other tracks that should have been hits include their peppy cover of Tommy James' "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Hard to Get." Each of the 16 songs compiled on this disc is a great pop song. If you are a fan of any of the modern pop underground bands like Sloan or the Shazam, you really should check out the Rubinoos. This is a great place to start.(allmusc.com)

Very nice collection of the band.
Have fun
               Frank        Flac1 &  Flac2  You need both Flac links!    mp3@320

Majority One - Rainbow Rocking Chair 1969-71 (2005 RPM Records) Flac & mp3

Most of the songs from Majority One's sole, self-titled album are on this 18-song compilation, filled out with some tracks from non-LP singles (some issued under the names the Majority, Black Label, and Rocky Cabbage), an alternate version of the B-side "Friday Man," and the previously unissued "Letter from the Queen." The material casually resembles the most cotton-candy, daintiest end of the Beatles' late-'60s psych-pop, though only in approach and production, and not in the quality of the actual songs.

Though the arrangements bear the hallmarks of much British music of this sort from that period -- underwater-sounding distorted vocals, light orchestration, harpsichords, high harmonies, images of royalty and childhood, blends of hard-charging acoustic and electric guitars, a slight baroque classical flavor, and an overall jovial bounce -- there's not much compelling melodic substance. The uncharacteristically "Get Back Home" sounds a little like the early (but still post-Denny Laine) Moody Blues when they rocked hard, and "Rainbow Rocking Chair" itself sounds like Majority One might have been listening to the airiest and poppiest late-'60s Pink Floyd cuts (à la "Point Me at the Sky").
The two tracks here from early-'70s singles released under the name Rocky Cabbage are actually among the more impressive and mature, "Freedom" showing a power pop muscle to the guitars missing in much of their other recordings, and "Birds Must Learn to Fly" being a pleasant folk-rock ballad reminiscent of the late-'60s Beatles at their most laid-back. The music's still pleasant overall, though it doesn't stand out within its genre, and the liner notes run through the group's career in great detail.(allmusic.com)

This s a wonderful psychedelic pop effort with all the things an album like this need. To me the band was completely underrated.
Have fun
               Frank        Flac1  & Flac2  You need both Flac links!       mp3@320

Sixties Britain Girlie Pop: Twinkle - Golden Lights -The Singles 1964 - 1969 (RPM 1993)

This is a slightly expanded edition of the Golden Lights compilation that came out on RPM in 1993. Like the previous anthology, it includes both sides of her six 1964-1966 singles, two tracks from a rare 1965 EP, her 1969 Immediate single, and a late-'60s outtake. This upgrade adds a German version of her 1965 single "Tommy"; her 1974 single "Days"/"Caroline"; three songs from an unreleased film/album project called Michael Hannah, from the same era as the "Days" single; and the 1982 B-side "For Sale."

There's also enhanced CD film footage of her performing "Terry" at an April 1965 NME poll-winners concert. Does all of this add up to a must-have, if you already own the first Golden Lights CD? That depends on how fanatical a fan you are, though presumably it's mostly fanatics who bought the first reissue. The '60s material, even by '60s British girl group standards, is featherweight poppiness, but big fans of (for instance) Sandie Shaw could do worse than seek this out. The five 1970s tracks are better than you might expect: The songs are serviceable pop/rock without the gross faceless façade typical of much production from the era, sung in an innocent voice very much like that heard on her '60s stuff. The sound quality is a little subpar on the three previously unreleased '70s outtakes, due to unavailability of the original tapes, though it's not hard to listen to. "For Sale" suffers from mechanical early-'80s production, but again has more personality than much straight pop of the time, by virtue of her sheer guilelessness.(allmusic.com)

I be a sucker for stuff like this, maybe because it remembers me to my earliest childhood or maybe because my musical taste is a little odd. Who knows? But i don't give a damn. My life my fun.
This is the common edition from 1993. Only the best sixties stuff.

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

Mp3 files added to ''Pugwash - Earworm'' post from yesterday !

Hello Folks i just added the mp3 link in the Pugwash - Earworm post from yesterday.
Kind regards
                    Frank