10cc - 10cc 1973 (2010 Imperial Records SHM-CD Japan) Flac & mp3@320

Displaying a command of pop styles and satire, 10cc showed that they are a force to be reckoned with on their first album. Hooks abound, harmonies shine, and instrumentation is dazzling without being overdone. Though charges of "self-consciously clever" could be leveled at the group, their command of witty, Anglo-styled pop is so impressive that even those criticisms must be weighed against the mastery of styles. All four members sing lead and are talented songwriters, and this leads to a wide variety of styles that add to their vision.
Featuring their number one U.K. hit "Rubber Bullets," 10cc wade through ten selections of satire and parody. One of the best is "Johnny Don't Do It," a parody of all the "death discs" of the late '50s and early '60s (the misunderstood "bad but really good" guy who is killed in a wreck).

More contemporary and bitingly sarcastic is "Headline Hustler," a commentary on the ravenous, scandal-hungry media. Medical facilities and the treatment afforded there is given ripe 10cc commentary in "The Hospital Song." ("And when I go, I'll die of plaster casting love.") Whether doing loving parodies of the music they grew up with or satirizing contemporary issues, 10cc show themselves to be top-level purveyors of pop on their debut recording. Some might criticize the group for being too self-satisfied with their own intelligence, but there is no denying the true craftsmanship and humor on their 1973 debut.(allmusic)

One of the greatest pop bands in the history of pop music. Are there enough positive attributes available to describe this fantastic band? Sometimes, if i listen to this guys i doubt about it, lol. They all were professional musicians yet at the time they founded 10cc. More or less successful musicians, but successful they were all to a particular point. They were no newbies but with I'm Not In Love they started a world career which overshadowed all what they had reached before. Anyway here is their debut. Enjoy it.

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

Pop from Germany 1972: Love And Tears - Love And Tears 1972 (Polydor Records) Flac & mp3@320

This is no Krautrock folks. Love and Tears was a pop band who was founded 1962 under the name ''Blue Moons. They have played Beat sounds with german and english lyrics. At the change of the decade around this time they changed their name to Love And Tears and tried a more modern sound. In 1972 they released the debut album. On the song ''Action Man'' they worked together with producer Giorgio Moroder (well known of Donna Summer fame) All in all the album was no success. The band called it quits in 1975. The band was also the backing band of then very successful german singer Michael Holm. Different members of the band later would be successful singers and/or songwriters in the german ''Schlager'' music. The album was kindly contributed by D&J of Old Melodies/Wings Of Dream blog. A very big 'Thank You' to you guys :-) !

Enjoy
          Frank    Flac part 1  &  Flac part2        mp3@320

The Count Five - Psychotic Reaction 1966 (1992 Repertoire Records) Flac & mp3@320

Strictly speaking, based on their raw talent, the Count Five wouldn't rate too much attention from music historians. The definitive one-hit wonders, they failed to make much of a lasting impression on the listening public or on music -- but just play that one hit, "Psychotic Reaction," even 40 years after the fact, and almost any audience will brighten up and want to hear more. Their one fault was that they could never generate more -- they tried but never issued another record half as good.
The Count Five started life in San Jose, CA, in the early '60s with a pair of high school students named John "Mouse" Michalski and Roy Chaney, who had played guitar and bass, respectively, in a succession of local bands such as Johnny & the GTOs and the Renegades, specializing in surf instrumental music. Still in their mid-teens, they changed their name to the Squires, added a singer (Kenn Ellner), and tried picking up on the British Invasion sound; this wouldn't be the last time the group attempted to adapt to the musical sounds around them. Sean Byrne, an Irish-born guitarist, singer, and songwriter attending San Jose City College, came aboard in late 1964, and the Squires made a local name for themselves over the ensuing year. Then, organist Phil Evans quit for personal reasons and drummer Skip Cordell joined another group; with the arrival of his replacement, Butch Atkinson, the group changed their name to the Count Five. It was just about then that Byrne put the finishing touches on a song he'd been outlining in his head, ultimately called "Psychotic Reaction."
That song, heard by a local DJ named Brian Lord, became the group's key to stardom, at least momentarily. It became a showcase for the band's abilities, especially guitarists Michalski and Byrne, and they began working it up into the crescendo of their stage act. At first it didn't seem to do much good, as the group was turned down by Capitol Records, Fantasy Records, and a handful of other California-based companies, but after working out a new arrangement of "Psychotic Reaction" with the band, Lord got the song and the group placed with Double Shot Records, a Los Angeles-based label. The record -- a chugging, fuzz tone-laden piece of punk defiance with more than a few signature licks and phrasings borrowed from Bo Diddley and the Yardbirds, among others, and a punk attitude that was worthy of the Standells -- eventually made number five nationally and number one in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the band was never able to follow up the hit with anything even remotely as successful. An album was rushed out, containing some ill-conceived originals, but nothing that the group did after "Psychotic Reaction" seemed to work. They tried reusing the same formula, working in a slightly more folk-rock vein, and attempting some fresh guitar pyrotechnics (on "The World" and "Pretty Big Mouth" and, in a psychedelic vein, on "Peace of Mind"), plus a pair of pretty fair Who covers ("My Generation" and "Out in the Street"), but by 1967, it was clear that the group's days were numbered. The strain of maintaining music careers while attending college -- which was essential to the members keeping their draft deferments -- took its toll, as did the dwindling bookings, as memory of "Psychotic Reaction" faded. In the end, after an attempt by Double Shot to keep Byrne as the only active member, the Count Five ceased to exist.

Their story might have ended there, as dimly remembered one-shot hitmakers, but for the 1972 release of Nuggets, Lenny Kaye's original '60s garage/psychedelic punk compilation. "Psychotic Reaction" may not have been the most original track on the album, but it was one of the more accessible, and still potent and enjoyable on its own terms six years after the fact; suddenly a new generation of enthusiasts discovered the Count Five. Yardbirds fans, in particular, tended to despise the group for having ripped off many of lead guitarist Jeff Beck's pyrotechnical tricks in a more commercially successful manner, but generally the song proved a popular oldie selection among more knowing '60s listeners, and there was demand for their album, which resulted in several rounds of reissues on vinyl and CD. In the decades since, the group has rated at least a mention in most histories of garage rock and psychedelic punk, and "Psychotic Reaction" is as much a standard of the genre as the Standells' "Try It" or the Thirteenth Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me."(allmusic)

Well done british influenced garage rock of the sixties. (I'll post the complete artwork a little later)
Have fun
              Frank  Flac p1  &  Flac p2     -  mp3@320 
                                                                                     Artwork

Anita Kerr (with The Anita Kerr Singers) - Favorites 1994 (1994 Bainbridge Records) mp3@320

This is called ''Favorites'' and i ask myself what kind of favorites. The most is pop stuff from the last 30 years (this is released 1994) and i can't believe that's really the favorites of Anita Kerr. This looks more like a collection for a pop audience. That's okay and the songs here are top notch presented. High class vocals and the arrangements perfectly fits- If you like greart vocals and you are open for a not that often heard kind of pop music you can give it a try. I'm sorry i have it only in mp3 :-(.

Anyway, enjoy
                        Frank    mp3@320

Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders - Birmingham Beat (2003 Acadia Records) Flac & mp3@320

Mike Sheridan lead vocal (left 1966)
Brian Cope bass guitar (left 1963)
Al Johnson lead guitar (left 1964)
Dave Pritchard guitar, vocals
Roger Spencer drums, vocals
Greg Masters bass guitar, vocals (joined 1963)
Roy Wood lead guitar, vocals (joined 1964, left 1966)
Johnny Mann lead guitar (joined & left 1966)
Jeff Lynne lead guitar, vocals (joined 1966)

Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders - Mike Sheridan's Lot
Birmingham Beat
Product Description: Following the huge 'Merseybeat' success of 1962/63, the spotlight moved to Birmingham and the major record companies in the UK swept through the Midlands to sign the leading groups in the area. EMI signed a few via Columbia and Parlophone labels with local favorites Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders first off the block. This is real Beat Group era fare that deserves its first ever appearance on CD. All the group EMI singles are included here. Features 10 tracks by Mike Sheridan & the Nightriders & 4 tracks by Mike Sheridan's Lot.
1. No Other Guy 2. Tell Me What You're Gonna Do 3. Please Mr. Postman 4. In Love 5. Brand New Cadillac 6. Thing of the Past 7. What a Sweet Thing That Was 8. Fabulous 9. Here I Stand 10. Lonely Weekends 11. Take My Hand - Mike Sheridan 12. Make Them Understand - Mike Sheridan 13. Stop Look and Listen - Mike Sheridan 14. Don't Turn Your Back on Me - Mike Sheridan (taken from musicofsixties.blog)

Have fun
               Frank  Flac    &    mp3@320

Heavy Metal Kids - Heavy Metal Kids 1974 (2009 Lemon Records) Remastered Flac & mp3

The Heavy Metal Kids never became stars, never won any readers polls, never had a hit record. But, if you could roll back time to that moment in 1974 when the very first needle hit the very first pressing of their eponymous debut album, it would be impossible to predict that sordid fate. Quite frankly, Heavy Metal Kids rises so far above the rest of the period pack that -- Sparks and Cockney Rebel notwithstanding -- there was no more exciting proposition to be found on the new-release shelves. Part unrepentant boogie band, part pub rock leviathan, and part good-time distillation of the best of Slade and the Faces, fronted by the utterly irresistible cackle of singer Gary Holton, the Kids' flash, slash, and sashay assault had a cosmic energy that could transform even the ballads ("It's the Same," "Nature of My Game") into fists-in-the-air anthems.

A decade later, the band could have so rewritten the notion of the power ballad that suffering through the 1980s might never have been necessary; a decade earlier, the British Invasion could have been the new prog. Imagine Jim Steinman producing Them, and you're close to the majesty of Heavy Metal Kids. As it is, the only people who seem to have truly noted what the Kids were doing were the Rolling Stones -- the laconic reggae of "Run Around Eyes" is a dry run for the Stones' later romp through "Cherry Oh Baby." Heavy Metal Kids hits so many peaks -- "Ain't It Hard," "Always Plenty of Women," "Hangin' On" -- that the end of the album comes so quickly that even they seemed to be taken by surprise.

The closing "Rock n' Roll Man," heralded by one of the most triumphant roars in rock history, is followed not by the sound of needle scraping label, but by a violent reprise for what remains the Kids' finest hour: the stomping, storming "We Gotta Go." And that is not only a juxtaposition that will have you talking Cockney for the rest of the day, it also tells you everything you need to know about the Heavy Metal Kids. Nothing can be taken for granted -- and nothing was. Including the fame and glory that this album still demands.(allmusic)

 Thanks God for the Kids.
 Enjoy
           Frank     Flac p1 & Flac p1        mp3@320

Links for ''John Sebastian - Welcome Back'' up now!!!

What the hell... sorry Folks but i don't know how i could forget to add the links. Anyway i upped them now and you will find them in the post of John Sebastian. It seems that inconveniences like this will be part of this blog and you must live with that if you are a regular visitor, lol. Sorry once again and i hope everything is fine now and you can enjoy John Sebastian.
Have a nice day all of you
                                          Frank

Ex Members of Them: The Belfast Gypsies - Them Belfast Gypsies 1967 (2003 Rev-Ola) Flac & mp3@320

 The Belfast Gypsies' sole album was first issued in Scandinavia by Sonet in 1967. Though the lettering on the sleeve led many to incorrectly think it was an album by Them titled "Belfast Gypsies," the name of the group is indeed the Belfast Gypsies (though some of the group had played in Them when Van Morrison was their lead singer), and the album title Them Belfast Gypsies. That clarification out of the way, as for the music itself, producer Kim Fowley gives this rough-hewn R&B a manic, freaky edge on cuts like "People, Let's Freak Out," "Suicide Song," and "Secret Police."

The Them-like atmosphere is heightened by singer Jackie McAuley, who's very much a Van Morrison-style vocalist ("Gloria's Dream" is a blatant cop of "Gloria"), though not in Morrison's league. Still, it's quite a solid effort, McAuley's organ pacing the band's brittle rock-R&B, with some decent originals and a diverse assortment of imaginative covers, ranging from Donovan to traditional folk to a tongue-in-cheek classical instrumental.

Their tense version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is one of the greatest obscure Dylan covers, and the magnificent harmonica on "Midnight Train" is a highlight. [The record was first reissued on LP in 1978 with a slightly different cover bearing the subtitle "Legendary Master Recordings" and historical liner notes by Brian Hogg, though much later many more definite details about the band emerged. In 2003, it was reissued on CD by Rev-Ola with six bonus tracks, though most of these were different mixes of songs from the original LP.](allmusic.com)

Garage rock with r'n'b and beat from ex Them members.
Have fun
              Frank   Flac p1 & Flac p2      mp3@320

Folk Pop with some Prog: String Driven Thing - String Driven Thing 1970 (2008 Air Mail Archive remastered +14 Bonus tracks) Flac & mp3@320

One of the finest bands signed to the Charisma label during its early-'70s heyday, Scotland's String Driven Thing originally formed as a trio in 1969, led by the husband-and-wife team of Chris and Pauline Adams, plus percussionist John Mannion. Locally popular at the tail end of the 1960s, the band faded from view shortly after releasing a self-titled debut album in 1970. They continued playing, however, with the lineup expanding to include bassist Colin Wilson
In early 1972, Chris Adams journeyed to London, hoping to interest the Strawbs' management with a three-song demo. Finding himself with some free time, he was flicking through the record labels section of the Yellow Pages when he spotted Stratton Smith Enterprises. He called and found himself in conversation with the head of Charisma chief Tony Stratton Smith's publishing company, Mooncrest Music. Within a week, Stratton Smith himself was in Glasgow, for a String Driven Thing showcase at the Burns' Howff pub; a week after that, the band signed with his label.
Shedding Mannion around the same time, the group returned to Glasgow with a princely retainer of 20 pounds per week, to rehearse. A month later, they went back south for their first ever live shows as a "signed" band: a community hall in the town of Tunbridge Wells, where Strat had his country retreat, and the 1972 Reading Festival. It was an audacious entry, but it worked and the group quickly set to work on its first Charisma album, to be titled -- like its independent predecessor -- String Driven Thing.

Recorded in two weeks in August 1972 with producer Shel Talmy, the album landed rave reviews across the music press, with Melody Maker in particular leaping onto the group's side. (Amusingly, it later transpired that the album's distinctive gatefold sleeve, designed by Po of Hipgnosis, cost more than the actual recording sessions!)

The band continued pushing forward. Visiting France, they stopped by the renowned Chateau D'Heuroville studios (the Honky Chateau of Elton John fame), where they were filmed recording some songs with a French producer, who later claimed he'd done a better job than Shel Talmy ("he had a point," mused Adams); December 1972, meanwhile, saw the band fly to New York to support Genesis at that band's first ever American show, at the Philharmonic Hall. String Driven Thing's rise ought to have been inexorable. Their latest single, "Circus," was making waves on both sides of the Atlantic, and plans were afoot for the group to join Genesis on their own latest tours of both Britain and the U.S. Unfortunately, the beginning of 1973 saw Chris Adams hospitalized with a collapsed lung, an event that was to have a serious impact on String Driven Thing's future.

That experience, and the nightmare of the next week's worth of agonizing recuperation was to form the inspiration for much of The Machine That Cried, String Driven Thing's next album. However, although the band did make it onto the British dates, the American shows never happened; instead, the band found itself shunting up and down the British highway system, playing small clubs and universities, and breaking in the new material. The group's management at this time was being handled by Charisma's own in-house team, a less than satisfactory arrangement, but one that Stratton Smith seemed unwilling to change. Indeed, when Adams approached him to speak of the group's "total lack of confidence" in the setup, he simply "hummed and hawed and did nothing." Neither was that the end of the group's travails. In conversation with another label staffer one day, Adams mentioned that the band was considering adding a drummer to the lineup. A few days later, Stratton Smith showed up at a concert in Oxford, and instead offered them a keyboard player, Robert John Godfrey. He survived a week of rehearsals, but just one show, at the London Roundhouse, before the band declared him unsuitable and brought in a drummer (fellow Glaswegian Billy Fairley) after all. Godfrey went on to his own solo career at Charisma.

In this form, String Driven Thing returned to the studio to record The Machine That Cried, alongside what remains their best-known number, the single "It's a Game." The LP has since been acclaimed not merely String Driven Thing's masterpiece, but one of the finest progressive rock albums of the entire era -- its CD reissue on the British Ozit label was widely heralded as among the most intelligent re-releases of recent years, and the excitement that greeted the re-formed String Driven Thing's return to action hailed almost wholly from memories of this marvelous album. At the time, however, all seemed doom-laden. "It's a Game," although it received plenty of British airplay, went nowhere (although a hit Bay City Rollers cover later went some way toward making amends); The Machine That Cried simply died and, by the end of the year, String Driven Thing looked to have followed it, as both the Adams and Chris Wilson walked out. Stratton Smith alone was left to carry the flag, rebuilding the group around himself and newfound vocalist Kim Beacon, and soldiering on until 1975. The two albums that followed both have their place in the prog rock pantheon, but the magic had gone from the band.
It returned in the late '90s, as the Adams returned to the helm, overseeing both reissues of the band's original albums, and the preparation of new material and concerts.(allmusic)

This is not the official first Charisma album. This are songs from 1967 to 1972 (bonus demos). This album was released 1970. I mention this in case you don't read the review and both albums were released under the same name and title. I will later post the Charisma album from 1972.
Have fun
Frank                     Flac p1 & Flac p2 & Flac p3       mp3 p1 - mp3 p2

 

US Power Pop from North Carolina! The Mayflies USA - Summertown 1999 mp3@vbr312~319

The Mayflies USA are a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based power pop rock band signed to Yep Roc Records. The band is a classic example of power pop, as their songs featured catchy melodies, vocal harmonies, and prominent guitar riffs. Their style was influenced by older bands such as The Beatles, Big Star, and also more contemporary groups like Teenage Fanclub and Velvet Crush.

The band released their debut EP in 1997, and their next three albums were released by Yep Roc. North Carolina producer Chris Stamey (formerly of the The dB's, and credited by the band as the "fifth" Mayfly) produced their first two records for Yep Roc, Summertown and The Pity List.
Spin Magazine called Summertown "r-o-c-k like they don't make anymore, in love with early Eagles and Bob Welch, in bed with Wilco but dreaming of the Replacements and Pure Prairie League and proud of it."

Keith Cleversley, who produced The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, worked on their 2002 record Walking in a Straight Line. The band's albums garnered favorable reviews in publications such as The Washington Post, Spin, The Village Voice, Allmusic and The Boston Phoenix;. In 2007 and 2009, the band reunited for some shows.

On May 16, 2012 Billboard Magazine announced that the band will reunite in October 2012 as part of Yep Roc Records' 15 Year Anniversary celebration.
On August 21, 2012, Yep Roc reissued Summertown, this time on vinyl.

Wonderful power pop album from the end of the 20th century. Beautiful catchy melodies and fine arrangements make this album to a very strong pop album in my opinion. I'm sorry but i don't have this album myself. I found it on the web.That's why only in mp3.
Have fun
               Frank           mp3@vbr312~319

John Sebastian - Welcome Back 1976 (2004 Reprise Japan Remaster) Flac & mp3@320

John Sebastian's relationship with Reprise records cooled after the commercial failure of his 1974 album Tarzana Kid, but he still owed one more record on his contract when his theme song for the television series Welcome Back, Kotter became a surprise hit in the spring of 1976. Reprise, naturally, called for an immediate LP tie-in, and Sebastian obliged. But he didn't really have an album's worth of top-flight tunes ready, and the result was an uneven collection filled out with a near-instrumental ("Let This Be Our Time to Get Along"), a folk-blues song he'd written in the early '60s ("Warm Baby"), and a remake of one of his old Lovin' Spoonful songs ("Didn't Wanna Have to Do It").

The new material tended to be craftsman-like pop songs, the melodies simple and catchy, the lyrics light verse ("You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine," "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back," "I Needed Her Most When I Told Her to Go"). Employing the soon-to-be Toto rhythm section of David Hungate and Jeff Porcaro, Sebastian had a solid backing when he ventured into island syncopation on "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back," and Jeff Baxter gave him some convincing pedal steel playing on "A Song a Day in Nashville," the only song that really cut deeply, painting a portrait of a struggling songwriter on the rebound who easily could have been Sebastian himself. Then, of course, there was "Welcome Back," a pleasant-enough tune whose endless repetitions of its title betrayed its origin as a brief TV theme song. It was the biggest hit of Sebastian's career, but unfortunately, with his contract up, Reprise had little reason to work to sustain his comeback, and, amazingly, he quickly went from being a man with a number one record to a man without a record label.(allmusic)

To say John Sebastian never reached the fame of sixties Spoonful times is surely true. But this say nothing about what he have done in the seventies. And it say nothing about his music. Welcome Back is an album with some really good songs on it (I needed her most when i told her to go, Welcome back, Don't wanna have to do it, You go your way and i'll go mine) You go your way... is surely an Eagles song without the Eagles but a very good one. All in all Sebastian have done a good album in 1976. End!
Have fun
              Frank   Flac p1  & Flac p2       -  mp3@320

The Anita Kerr Singers - All You Need Is Love 1967 (2015 Warner Brothers Remastered) Flac & mp3

In the 1950s and '60s, the Anita Kerr Singers were one of the most popular group of backup vocalists in all of country music, appearing on countless recordings by renowned Nashville artists. Kerr was the group's leader, but was joined by alto Dottie Dillard, tenor Gil Wright, and baritone Louis Nunley, as the quartet initially gained attention by performing on the NBC radio program Sunday Down South in the early '50s, which led to a contract with Decca Records.

In 1956, the Anita Kerr Singers landed a spot on the New York-based Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts TV show, which led to further broadcast appearances (although the group never let their session work for others subside). Around the same time, Chet Atkins (then the head of RCA Records' country division) took the group under his wing, which led to the quartet appearing on countless recordings by renowned artists. The Singers continued to record and tour straight through the '60s, even managing to issue several of their own albums, including Anita Kerr Singers Reflect on the Hits of Burt Bacharach & Hal David, Velvet Voices and Bold Brass, and Simon & Garfunkel Songbook, among others.(allmusic)

I only know this album by the Anita Kerr Singers and because i always loved well done vocals in music i like this very much. I am an instrumentalist (and quite bad vocalist :-) ) but one of the first things i learned in making music was the vocals are the most important part in pop music. Anyway this is a very fine work and maybe you give it a try.
Enjoy
         Frank               Flac p1 & Flac p2    -  mp3@320