Psychedelic Pop from the 60's...Nuggets II - (Original Artyfacts From the British Empire & Beyond 1964-1969) (2001 Rhino Records 4 CD Box Set Remastered) Flac& mp3

Nuggets, Lenny Kaye's original 1972 compilation of garage and psych, loomed large in the record collectors consciousness, canonizing a portion of rock that was originally laughed off while setting the standard for reissues. Rhino's 1998 box set of the same name expanded the scope of that record, replicating most of the original while gloriously spilling forth over three additional discs -- and, in doing so, it spurred a minor revolution, becoming one of the most talked-about reissues of the last half of the '90s.

Rhino knew there was an audience thirsting for a sequel, and they gave them one in 2001, but they didn't take the easy way out. Instead of offering another round of American garage rockers, they decided to take the road less traveled, compiling four discs of hidden treasures from non-American garage and psych bands. Most of these cuts are from British bands,

but there are also selections from a pre-fame Guess Who, the New Zealand act the Smoke, the Brazilian psychedelia of Os Mutantes, the exceptional Merseybeat stylings of Uruguay's Los Shakers, and the extraordinary Peruvian combo We All Together, among other non-Brit acts. It's a brilliant, even necessary, move, since most of these bands and songs have been only heard only by the most dedicated collectors -- the kind that are willing to risk money based on just hearing a band mentioned, not to hear the group themselves.

Let's face it -- apart from the Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men," the Small Faces' "Here Comes the Nice," and the Pretty Things' "Rosalyn," the most familiar song here is the opener, the Creation's "Making Time," simply because it provided the indelible soundtrack to Max Fischer's yearbook in Rushmore.

That's four songs out of 109 -- a ratio that should simply entice most die-hard rockers and record collectors, especially since the familiar names (the Move, Them, the Easybeats, the Troggs) are represented by songs that aren't heard all that often. So, the big question is, does Nuggets, Vol. 2 deliver and is it worth spending the money for 100-plus songs you've never heard before? Well, if you're even slightly interested in this, the answer is yes.

That doesn't mean this isn't without its faults -- like any garage rock, if it's listened to in once concentrated burst, it becomes a little samey, which is also a by-product of its biggest flaw, namely how the compilers favor songs that sound like American garage and downplaying the delirious, precious frutiness of British psych. Still, that's a minor complaint, because the simple fact of the matter is this -- there's no better way to fall in love with this music, not just because it does its job so well, it just simply doesn't have any peers. Furthermore, a lot of this stuff is pretty hard to come by (personally, I spent about 150 dollars on a complete Idle Race collection, and it's much better to get their two best songs here). Also, much of the bands here are best heard in this context, since they have a song, maybe three, that were stunners -- and all of these stunners in one place is stunning.(allmusic.com)

Fantastic collection of 60's british pop sound (just a few exceptions). I have put the complete artwork (with book!!!) inside.
If you don't have it yet give it a try. You will like it.
Have fun
              SB1                                       mp3 p1
Flac Part 1&2                                     mp3 p2
Flac Part 3&4 & Artwork                  mp3 p3
                                                           mp3 p4
                                                           mp3 p5

Part Seven! Various Artists - Decca Originals - The Girls' Scene (1999 Decca Records) Flac & mp3

Seventh part of the Decca series ''Decca Originals''. This part is called ''The Girls' Scene'' and Decca had released it in 1999. Like all the volumes of the series this release is also a very fine collection. Hope you will enjoy it. The only fly in the ointment is that i don't have the last two releases ''The Blues Scene'' and ''The Rock'n'Roll Scene''.

Note: You can find the two missing volumes ''Rock'n'Roll Scene'' & ''The Blues Scene'' in the comments. Reader BigGray was so kind to post the links. And here is the artwork for both.

Nevertheless a lot of fun,
Greetings
                SB1         Flac p1& Flac p2           mp3@320 p1  - mp3@320

Missing track 21 added to ''Part Six! Various Artists - Decca Originals - The R&B Scene (1998 Decca Records)''

Hello Folks. If you are someone who downloaded the sixth part of the Decca Originals, The R&B Scene please go back to the post and download the missing 'Track 21 The Plebs - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You'. I added the links in the post.
Cheers 
           SB1

British Pop Psychedelia by Ruperts People - The Magic World Of Rupert's People 1969 (2001 Circle Records) Flac & mp3@320

You'd think compilers would be hard-pressed to squeeze an entire reissue CD out of an obscure non-hit '60s band that had only three singles. This compilation does an admirable job of fleshing out the Rupert's People story to album-length size, though, including both sides of all three U.K. 45s released under the band's name; both sides of the 1967 single by Sweet Feeling, who would evolve into the most significant iteration of Rupert's People; an unreleased late-'60s acetate; three live cuts from 1969; and four live songs from a 1999 reunion gig. It all comes with a teeny-print 16-page booklet detailing the extremely confusing history of the band, which on its most famous single ("Reflections of Charles Brown"/"Hold On") had an entirely different lineup than the one that played on its other releases.

Rupert's People were a second-level British "freakbeat" band, that is, combining psychedelia with British Invasion-styled mod pop. But they were a decent one, approximating a Procol Harum-type sound with "Reflections of Charles Brown," storming soul-psychedelia on "Hold On," and fairy tale psychedelia on "A Prologue to a Magic World" that managed to be charmingly twee instead of embarrassingly twee. The big discovery is the B-side of the Sweet Feeling single, "Charles Brown," which has some lyrical and musical ideas that were reconfigured for the far more famed "Reflections of Charles Brown."

"Charles Brown," however, was quite different in its downright ominous, spooky vibe, spotlighting some of the most creative use of backwards effects to be heard in rock up to that point. The 1969 live cuts (including an unmemorable cover of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want") boast a heavier rock sound and aren't too good either musically or fidelity-wise, though "Reflecting" has a neat extended jazzy keyboard-dominated section reminiscent of early Soft Machine. The four 1999 reunion cuts are dispensable, but as they're placed at the end of the CD, they can easily be ignored.(Richie Unterberger)

Fine effort of a not well known british sixties pop/psychedelic/mod band. I am glad that some people have done the work that made possible this CD. Otherwise bands like this and the music they've played would get lost in time. Thanks to this people and to the band for the great music.

Have fun
                Frank     Flac p1  & Flac p2  & Flac p3    -  mp3@320

The Hoodoo Gurus - Magnum Cum Louder ( Vinyl 1989 RCA Records) Flac & mp3@320

1987's Blow Your Cool! found the Hoodoo Gurus adding a considerable amount of polish to their production and toning down their trademark humor in a bid for a wider audience. But in the United States, it didn't pay off; Blow Your Cool! opened few new doors for the Gurus, and they were dropped by Elektra Records. Thankfully, 1989's Magnum Cum Louder found them newly contracted to RCA Records and sounding like their loyal fans loved them to sound -- loud, hooky, and rockin' out with a smile on their collective face. The album's opener, "Come Anytime," was the Gurus' most irresistible pop song since "Bittersweet," and "Another World," "All the Way," and "Baby Can Dance (Pts. II-IV)" proved they hadn't used up all their good hooks in one place. Meanwhile, those wanting something stronger got their fix with a handful of top-shelf rockers, most notably "Axegrinder," "Glamourpuss," "I Don't Know Anything," and "Death in the Afternoon." The high wackiness of Hoodoo Gurus classics like "Hayride to Hell" and "Dig It Up" is still missing from Magnum Cum Louder, but the overall tone is much more relaxed than Blow Your Cool!; Dave Faulkner seems to be having a fun with the songs here, especially the mock-pompous "Axegrinder," the smirking "Glamourpuss," and the baseball saga/music biz metaphor "Where's That Hit." The Hoodoo Gurus also went back to producing themselves, and the audio is full but uncluttered, with a roomy, natural sounding mix that flatters Brad Shepherd's guitars and Mark Kingsmill's drums more than the slicker, sterile sound of Blow Your Cool! Magnum Cum Louder proved that the Hoodoo Gurus knew better than anyone how to make a great Hoodoo Gurus album, and it marked a welcome return to form for the band.(allmusic)

Fantastic band!
Enjoy
         SB1       Flac p1 & Flac p2         mp3@320

Finest Pop Music By Power Popsters Cotton Mather! The Big Picture 2001 (Houston Party Records) Flac & mp3@320

Hello Folks, i'm sorry but i had problems with my internet connection  :-( . I hope it will be stable now.
Here we have a very fine effort by american power pop band Cotton Mather. The album is from year 2001, four years after Kon Tiki. This is no second Kon Tiki and Robert Harrison don't wanted to do that. What he wanted was to make an album with great songs and that is what he had done. Here is a lot fine stuff.

What please me here is that the more quiter songs works that good on the album.
The album was the last for 15 years by the project called Cotton Mather and it was a dignified farewell album...until the arrival of ''Death Of The Cool''. An advisable album if you like fab four inspired power pop.

Enjoy
         SB1                    Flac p1 & Flac p2          mp3@320

Part Six! Various Artists - Decca Originals - The R&B Scene (1998 Decca Records) Flac & mp3

Here is the sixth part of the Decca series. As always fine artists and fine music.

Enjoy
         SB1     Flac p1  &  Flac p2     - mp3@320

p.s.: Track 21 is missing so please download the Flac track here  and the mp3 track here and insert the song into the tracks. Reader des contributed the track for us. Thanks so much, des.

Dot Dash-Dot Dash-Dot Dash...All for one!!!

Hello Folks, as you maybe know i love the power pop/punk heroes from Dot Dash. The guys released five real great catchy albums of fine power pop/punk in the last five years. yesterday i saw a great offer on bandcamp. You can get all five download albums if you buy the last album 'Searchlight' as CD Digipak for 11 US bucks/14 Can Dollars. Take a look here . The offer is underneath the playable songs. Not to confuse with the offer for the digital discography.

Support The Artists!!!

The Hollies - Confessions Of The Mind 1970 (2013 Parlophone Japan SHM CD ''British Beat 50th Paper Sleeve Collection'') Flac & mp3@320

The Hollies' first album of original material following Graham Nash's departure was an attempt to regain the edge they'd had on Butterfly and Evolution albums, after the digression of the album of Dylan songs, the regrouping with Terry Sylvester in the lineup, and the unexpected hit achieved with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." It's a surprisingly strong album, not only in the songwriting (which includes the last Clark/Hicks/Nash song ever recorded, "Survival of the Fittest"), but also in the production, which isn't too far removed from what was heard on Butterfly and Evolution. There's no sitar here, but Tony Hicks -- who is the real star of the group on this album -- employs at least a half-dozen different guitars in uniquely fine voicings, and there is also some very striking use of orchestra, producer John Burgess making particularly fine employment of a string section as a lead instrument on the Allan Clarke/Terry Sylvester-authored "Man Without a Heart."

Indeed, at least nine of the songs on Confession of the Mind could rate among the better songs the group has ever recorded. Tony Hicks' "Little Girl" sounds almost like a conscious attempt to emulate the harmonies and overall sound of Crosby, Stills & Nash, proving that as singers Clarke, Hicks, and Sylvester could have competed in that arena, musically if not in image. They also try for a heavier sound on "Perfect Lady Housewife," which offers a thumping bassline and some of the most prominent organ playing ever heard on one of their records. By this time, the songwriting partnership between Allan Clarke and Tony Hicks had dissolved, and several of the latter's solo songwriting ventures on this album retain some lingering elements of the psychedelic sound heard on Evolution and Butterfly, with great hooks and solid, pleasing, memorable riffs.

Hicks gets a little too self-consciously out there with the volume pedal on "Confessions of a Mind," but it's all worth hearing, and "Lady Please," which follows, is a gorgeous country-ish rock ballad that could've been picked up by Poco, the Eagles, or Manassas. "Frightened Lady" is another brilliant acoustic/electric guitar and harmony workout, while Hicks' "Too Young to Be Married" gives equal play to his guitar and an orchestra. His playing is the best part of Allan Clarke's "Separated," several layers of acoustic guitars being a joy to listen to, especially in the 1999 EMI remastering.

Unfortunately, the Hollies were now becoming an anachronism in a world of progressive album-oriented rock, not because they actually were, but because their credibility had been wrecked by the Dylan song album and the hit "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." Confessions of the Mind was originally issued in the U.S. in edited and reshuffled form on the Epic LP Moving Finger, with "Separated" and "I Wanna Shout" replaced by "Marigold Gloria Swansong" from Hollies Sing Hollies and the single "Gasoline Alley Bred."(allmusic)

Click here for the tracks!

At the time Nash was gone, this was the most important effort for the band. The band had a lucky hand with Terry Sylvester who not only was a fantastic singer and vocals arranger also he was a good songwriter.
I think here the band had pointed that the Hollies is one of the real great british bands.
It's a real good album and this edition provides some fine bonus tracks.
Viel Spass
                  Frank   mp3 part 1 password corrected & mp3 part 2 password corrected         - Flac

The Vogues - The Vogues' Greatest Hits (1988 Rhino Records) Flac & mp3@320

A doo wop vocal group from the Pittsburgh area, the Vogues started well in the mid-'60s with "You're the One," an infectious bit of folk-rock with enough of a British Invasion feel to earn it heavy play on AM radio. "Five O'Clock World" was an even better single, a two-minute blast of timeless release, chronicling the feel of getting off work with the whole night still ahead, that one instant when everything is a possibility and the future has not yet arrived with its schedule of deadlines and pressures. Few pop songs have ever caught that moment with more élan or conviction. Unfortunately "Five O'Clock World" was to be a high-water mark for the Vogues, and although they enjoyed more chart success during the 1960s, particularly with their biggest seller, the ultraromantic "No, Not Much," they never really built a distinctive body of work. This set from Rhino combines their early singles for Co & Ce Records with the later work from Warner Brothers Records in an effective overview of the band's history. It's the best single disc of the Vogues out there, and really has everything you need, including that little miracle of a song, "Five O'Clock World."

Harmony-pop vocal group the Vogues were formed in 1960 by lead baritone Bill Burkette, baritone Don Miller, first tenor Hugh Geyer, and second tenor Chuck Blasko, who were all high school friends from Turtle Creek, PA. Originally dubbed the Val-Aires, the foursome eventually signed to the tiny Co & Ce label, reaching the number four spot in the autumn of 1965 with "You're the One"; the Vogues' most memorable hit, the classic "Five O'Clock World," cracked the Top Five before the year ended as well. Two more Top 40 entries, "Magic Town" and "The Land of Milk and Honey," followed in 1966, and when the group resurfaced in 1968 with the Top Ten smash "Turn Around, Look at Me," they had jumped to major label Reprise. The single, the Vogues' lone million-seller, anticipated the lighter, more sophisticated approach of subsequent hits like "My Special Angel," "Till," and "No, Not Much." Despite no further chart action from 1970 onward, various Vogues lineups continued touring oldies circuits for years to come.(allmusic.com)

Very strong Rhino collection of the Vogues finest works. Highly recommend.
5 Doo's of 5 possible Wop's.

Enjoy it
            Frank     Flac p1 & Flac p2     - mp3@320

 

Peanut Butter Conspiracy - For Children Of All Ages 1969 (2008 Rev-Ola) Flac & mp3@320

Ralph Schuckett, who played keyboard with Todd Rundgren, the Monkees, Hall & Oates, and others, adds a Vanilla Fudge sound to For Children of All Ages by Peanut Butter Conspiracy, and it is a shame more of that appealing, made-for-radio production Vanilla Fudge made famous is absent from this set. Alan Brackett's vocals sound straight out of Boston band Ultimate Spinach, and that is the downside here. The vocal pretension and bleached lyrics put a damper on this party. Still, it has its moments. Barbara Robison's voice on "Try Again" is hardly Grace Slick, but it adds a hippy vibe one expects, interrupted by strange sound effects which make the listener think the tone arm has lifted off the disc prematurely.

Robison's contribution to "It's Alright" puts this group closer to New Colony Six meets Spanky & Our Gang, and an intuitive producer would've known that that was the way to go. For pomposity it's hard to beat "The Loudness of Your Silence," which would make even Paul Simon cringe.

The classic West Coast sound that "Now" boasts is neutralized by the showy, ostentatious playing. "Out in the Cold Again" would have worked better had Barbra Robison sang lead; her sincerity is at constant odds with the vocal work of bassist Alan Brackett and guitarist John Merrill. When she's not singing, this band sounds like the guys taking over on Big Brother & the Holding Company's first album for Mainstream -- a recording only Janis Joplin could salvage. Here is an example of too much creative control working against an artist.(allmusic)

Naturally we can suppose particular songs may have better sound if Barbara Robison had done the vocals here and there but who will knows that. Some would like it some not. This is how the album sounds and the band have done a good job in my opinion. And by the way the band never sound that helpless if Barbara Robison don't perform the song like Big Brother had done without Janis Joplin. The album have weak moments but all in all an end sixties album that sounds more to the beginning seventies. ''Show you the way'' is musically definitely seventies pop and you hear it in many moments of the album. Well done.
Enjoy it
             Frank  Flac p1  & Flac p2      - mp3@320