Andy Pratt - Andy Pratt 1973 (2002 Sony Int'l) Flac & mp3@320

Andy Pratt's self-titled album is a very quirky, idiosyncratic album that definitely establishes Pratt as a major force in the singer-songwriter arena. He also sounds very depressed as many of the song titles indicate (e.g. "Inside Me Wants Out," "So Fine, (It's Frightening)"). However, this doesn't diminish the album's power or the particular style that is very much Pratt's own. The highlight of the album is the near-hit "Avenging Annie." Sung mostly in Pratt's falsetto voice, it is a tale of a mythical heroine told from the woman's point of view. The fast piano technique is impressive, as are some other production touches (such as the cat sounds and descending guitar line). The song deserves its classic status hands down. The next number, "Inside Me Wants Out," is in the running as one of the most dismal songs ever recorded, and could seriously be used as a study tool for a psychology class -- Sigmund Freud would have a field day with it. It also has a strong hook, and is another top-notch cut on the album. There is a strong jazz element in several of the songs, particularly "Sittin' Down In The Twilight," with its almost funky trombone solo. Pratt's falsetto voice is also a strongly felt presence, though its sometimes shrill quality may not be to the liking of all. Though this album is not nearly as polished as Pratt's "Resolution," and has a very different, more home-made feel, it is nearly as powerful.(allmusic.com)

Don't expect the usual singer songwriter, to me this is a (in a very positive meaning) freak out pop album full of coloured musical balloons. The rhythm and how the songs are ''build'' sometimes remembers me a little to Rundgren and Andy Pratt is partly on the same level like Rundgren in his artistry. To me his sound is very impressive and truly wonderful music.

Enjoy it
             Frank                          Flac part 1 & Flac part 2           mp3@320

1968 Psychedelic Garage Pop: Afterglow - Afterglow 1968 (1995 Sundazed Music) Flac & mp3

Afterglow starts with "Morning," a gentle folk-rock song that finds the middle ground between the Byrds and Jefferson Airplane. Although there are a couple of tracks similar to "Morning" on the album, it is no more an indication of what's to follow as any other song on the record. Each song on Afterglow sounds as if it could have been written by different bands -- sure, there is the sighing "Mend This Heart of Mine," but it follows the downright bizarre "Susie's Gone," awhich, with its dissonant Farfisa organs and slide guitars, sounds like a space voyage gone bad.

It's not particularly coherent, and it isn't particularly good -- the group isn't just derivative, but also doesn't have a sharp sense of melody -- but its sampler nature makes Afterglow a charming psychedelic relic.(allmusic.com)

In the universe of Mr Erlewine musicians play just one style....

 Psychedelic band based in Oregon, Afterglow released only one album in 1968 before vanishing. Led by guitarist/vocalist Tony Tecumseh, the group formed in August of 1965 when Tecumseh was convinced by a friend to contact drummer Larry Alexander and a bassist named Mike. The trio, dubbed the Madallions, soon added vocalist Gene Resler and the band played several shows, usually at a local pizza parlor, before they went their separate ways to attend college. They re-formed in 1966, adding new bassist Ron George and keyboardist Roger Swanson.

That fall, they began recording with producer Leo Lukla at his Golden State Recorders studio, but due to their studies, they were unable to complete an album until late 1967; the resulting eponymous record appeared early the following year on MTA Records.(Discogs)


A piece music of it's time. I like it very much for the real garage sound and the well done vocals of the band and the fine melodies, too. I'm serious.

Have fun
               Frank               New Flac part 1   &  New Flac part 2     -  New mp3@320 link

Keith Cross, Peter Ross - Bored Civilians 1972 (2010 James & Smith Records) Flac & mp3@320

By 1972 guitarist Keith Cross had already developed a reputation as the next potential Clapton, a tag that while not quite as damaging as the next Dylan tag that was being applied liberally to almost anyone, invariably had the same effect of diluting the artist's own personality and creating an image that was near impossible to live up to. Cross, by this point had two excellent future collectibles under his belt in the shape of the Bulldog Breed's excellent modish psych-rock album "Made In England", followed closely by T2's "It'll All Work Out In Boomland", a heavy guitar based proto-prog album that really allowed his guitar playing to take flight.
So come 1972, there were two directions he could potentially take, and perhaps a little surprisingly he bypassed the more obvious full on progressive rock route, and joining forces with fellow singer guitarist Peter Ross who'd been working with Richard Thompson), they settled on a more rootsy, Americanized sound that leaned heavily on the then popular Laurel Canyon sound with a distinct West Coast tinge.

"Bored Civilians" is the result of this collaboration, and the last that either had to do with recorded music. It's easy to see how its lack of success would have left them disillusioned too - it's a very solid effort, and with guest appearances by Caravan's Jimmy Hastings, Brinsley Schwartz's Nick Lowe and Cochise's B.J Cole among a host of others, it certainly had the firepower that should have led to quite a bit of exposure if it had been promoted with any sense of urgency .

It's mostly acoustic based, but that doesn't mean that the flourishing progressive rock scene surrounding them isn't given a look in - while complex time signatures and endless solos aren't really the order of the day here, these are much more complicated, multi-faceted songs than you would find on the works of their contemporaries. Lengthy stand out track "Story to a Friend" even has a middle section that sounds a lot like Pink Floyd's "Any Colour You Like" would have sounded if they'd recorded it for "Wish You Were Here", with Hastings' flute work a dead ringer for Richard Wright's synthesizer tones on that later album - interesting as this pre-dates the release of both of these Floyd works (although Floyd were gigging "Dark Side" material around this time).
Of the two, Ross has a voice that sounds less like a product of its time, with Cross's voice a mixture of Mike Patto and eco-warrior / protest era McCartney (think "Wild Life"),  often straying into an earnestness that collectors of the era will find easy to forgive, but which may prove harder to swallow for more contemporary listeners. This is a real pity as these are generally top notch songs that could perhaps do with a little more variety in terms of tempo, but are otherwise representative of the topper echelon of their era.  Opener "The Last Ocean Rider" is a lively opener with a fabulous second half that gives Cross the opportunity to spar impressively with BJ Cole's pedal steel.
  Their take on Fotheringay's "Peace In The End" is a sprightly, pastoral reinvention that could have provided the hit that this album really needed to take off (Ross's "The Dead Salute" could have provided a similar breakthrough), but perhaps most impressive (bar the gorgeous progginess of "Story to a Friend") is the ornate orchestration that closes the album on "Fly Home" a gorgeous and stately closer that hammers home the musical ambition that this duo display in droves here.(Nathan Ford, The active listener)

If Nathan Ford says it is a progressive album in a particular way he is surely right but to me it is in the most parts a pop rock album. And it is real fine. Great guitars, acoustic, slide, very fine melody lines, vocals full of feeling. It's 1972 and it was for sure one of the finest albums in that year.

Enjoy
         Frank                              Flac part 1 & Flac part 2          -  mp3@320

The Walker Brothers - After The Lights Go Out The Best Of 1965-1967 (1990 Fontana) Flac & mp3@320

They weren't British, they weren't brothers, and their real names weren't Walker, but Californians Scott Engel, John Maus, and Gary Leeds were briefly huge stars in England (and small ones in their native land) at the peak of the British Invasion. Engel and Maus were playing together in Hollywood when drummer Leeds suggested they form a trio and try to make it in England. And they

At Request: John Lennon - The Alternate Imagine (2005 Pear Unofficial Release) Flac & mp3

This is the unofficial pear release and it differs in some songs from the german

US Psychedelic: VA - Ah Feel Like Ahcid- 24 American Psychedelic Artefacts From The EMI Vaults (2007 EMI Records) Flac & mp320

Ah Feel Like Ahcid is a compilation of american bands and artists who show us the US psychedelic with bands who often coming from the garage style of psychedelic. A lot of

The Tages - Don't Turn Your Back: The Complete Recordings, Vol.1, 1964-1966 (1994 EMI Svenska) Flac & mp3@320

Tages were not only the best Swedish band of the 1960s, they were also a prolific one. Don't Turn Your Back: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1, 1964-1966 is but the first of three volumes surveying their output, and it's certainly a comprehensive series, this CD containing 27 songs they cut in the mid-'60s.

As it often goes with bands who are quite invigorating when distilled to one or two best-of compilations, however, the impact is somewhat diluted when hearing all of their work in the order in which it was recorded. In the case of Tages in particular, the disparity between their best and worst work is a little maddening. At their best, they played British Invasion-styled mod rock almost as well as the very best British bands of the time. Much of the time, however, they were an ordinary or even mediocre group, offering rather wimpy folk-Merseyish originals or inconsequential covers of American rock & roll and R&B classics.

Such covers occupy much of the space on this disc, as do some mild originals à la their first single, "Sleep Little Girl," heard here in both its single and LP versions. Yet some of the cuts here are terrific, especially the vicious "I'm the One for You" and "The Man You'll Be Looking For," the latter of which was their best track, even if it was virtually thrown away via its use on a flexidisc.

And while the covers are unimpressive on the whole, even some of those are very good, like their punky take on John Lee Hooker's "Dimples" and the confident rocked-up Motown of "I'll Be Doggone." Collectors of '60s European rock will appreciate the well-packaged completism of this collection, but others are advised to find more selective anthologies.(allmusic)

This is vol.1 and the last of the three volumes released by EMI svenska in '94. ''The Complete Recordings Vol.1, 2, 3 is a well done release  and for a fan of this band nearly perfect. I recommend all three volumes not for completion but because all three volumes are in my opinion very strong.

Viel Spass
                Frank                    Flac part 1 & Flac part 2         -  mp3@320

            

Ringo Starr ''Time To Time'' new link!!!

Hello Folks, if you downloaded the mp3 file of the Ringo Starr ''Time To Time'' album

Dutch '60s Pop Music: Sandy Coast - The Original Hit Recordings And More (EMI 1989) Flac & mp3@320

Formed in 1961 in Voorburg as the Sandy Coast Skiffle Group, they had the following names: the Sandy Coast Five, Sandy Coast Rockers and,

Larry's Rebels - I Feel Good; The Essential Purple Flashes of Larry's Rebels 1965-1969 (2015 RPM Records) Flac & mp3@320

Larry's Rebels had one of the goofier names in the history of rock & roll -- it invites the question, who is this Larry and why does he have his own set of rebels? -- but nobody laughs at their moniker in New Zealand, where for five years they were one of the nation's biggest and best beat groups. Larry's Rebels were sometimes compared to the Animals in their homeland (they released a solid cover of "Inside Looking Out"), and while they lacked the fierce blues power of the British band, they shared their talent for taking well-known songs and giving them a distinctive spin of their own.

Singer Larry Morris had a strong, versatile voice that worked with sunny pop numbers and harder blues-based material, and guitarist John Williams (no relation to the classical guitarist or the film composer) could play tough, howling leads dipped in fuzz and feedback; this was a band that could cover the Who and the Creation and, if not surpassing the originals, deliver versions that had a backbone and a personality of their own.

 (And "Flying Scotsman," an obvious lift from "Train Kept A Rollin'," burns nearly as bright as the Yardbirds' variation on the theme.) Larry's Rebels were stars in New Zealand and fared well in Australia, but they failed to break through in the U.K. and were unknown in the United States, and for many fans of '60s rock, I Feel Good: The Essential Purple Flashes of Larry's Rebels 1965-1969 will be their first exposure to the band.

And these 24 tunes (with a vintage Coca-Cola commercial tacked on as a bonus) confirm that plenty of folks were missing out on a worthwhile band that could tackle moody pop ("This Empty Place"), sneering R&B ("Whatcha Gonna Do 'Bout It"), raunchy garage punk ("Coloured Flowers") and proto-psychedelia ("Halloween") with equal confidence and skill. Featuring a well-written history of the band by Grant Gillanders and lots of rare photos and clippings, I Feel Good: The Essential Purple Flashes of Larry's Rebels 1965-1969 is a definitive single-disc overview of the band's brief but remarkable career, and anyone with a taste for U.K. R&B or freakbeat of the era will enjoy this sampler of the rock & roll kings of the Antipodes.(allmusic.com)

These guys had the skills and their legacy is fine. A lot of beat, psychedelic, freakbeat, garage and catchy songs who let your spine shiver to the rhythm of the songs, lol. Listen the whole disc and you will agree. Grab it and have fun.

Enjoy
          Frank                Flac part 1  &  Flac part 2  &  Flac part 3       - mp3@320

Psychedelic Garage Rock: The Bleu Forest ‎– A Thousand Trees Deep 1970 (2016 Gear Fab Records) Flac & mp3@320

The Bleu Forest was originally formed as a trio in 1966 by Michael Cullen on guitar and lead vocals, Gary Heuer on guitar and backing vocals, and Jack Caviness on drums and backing vocals. The original three sequestered themselves at Jack's Home Acres house during the formative months with constant rehearsals doing Beatles covers and one or two original songs written by Mike Cullen. The first originals were 'Bitterstreet' and 'One I Love', both which were eventually included on the yet unreleased album 'A Thousand Trees Deep' and the recording of demo material at the home of music icon, Jimmy Haskell. Bass player Ed Steele was added to the group prior to these recording sessions. Mike wrote some additional original material and rehearsed for endless hours until they were perfected. The entire process consumed many months before the band felt enough original material was ready to play publicly.
(by music emporium on Discogs)

Several musicians came and went before Mike, due to personal issues, left the group. The split was cordial and Mike allowed the remaining group to use the songs he had written. After a search of the local area, organist Larry Wiseman and lead guitarist/lead vocalist Ron Barkley were added, and this became the Bleu Forest that is remembered.
Members:
Ron Barkley (lead guitar, lead vocals)
Jack Caviness (drums, backing vocals)
Gary Heuer (lead guitar, backing vocals)
Ed Steele (1950-2011) (bass)
Larry Wiseman (keyboards)
Mike Cullen (guitar, lead vocals, main songwriter)

A nice note on the inside of the digipack from drummer Jack Caviness about the recording techniques of the time then. This is a very fine album and a little lost treasure. Give it a try if you like psychedelic garage music.
Have fun
               Frank                      Flac part 1  &  Flac part 2       - mp3@320

At Request: 2 on 1 The Droogs - Stone Cold World - Kingdom Day 1984-87 (1992 Music Maniax Records) Flac & mp3@320

Los Angeles-based band, The Droogs's greatest success has come in Europe. While their garage band approach has yet to capture an American audience, their recordings have received an enthusiastic response overseas. German record label, Music Maniac, reissued their albums, Mad Dog Dreams and Guerrilla Love-In, and released a compilation of their singles, Anthology. Their 1997 album, Atomic Garage, was released by the Spain-based Impossible Records label.

Formed in the early-1970s, the Droogs chose a cover of Sonic's "He's Waiting" for their debut single in 1973. Their second single, released five years later, "Set My Love On You", showcased the songwriting of vocalist Ric Albin and his brother and guitarist, Roger Clay. Other original tunes were included on the multi-artist samplers, Saturday Night Pogo, in 1978, and Ahead Of My Time, the following year.

The Droogs experienced a major change with the arrival of former Textones and Dream Syndicate bassist and keyboards player, Dave Provost in the early-1980s. Provost made his presence felt on a four song EP, Heads Examined, in 1983 and their debut full-length album, Stone Cold World, in 1984.
Although their future appeared secure, after singing with the PVC/Jem label, the Droogs continued to find fame evasive. While touring the Midwest, in support of their 1987 album, Kingdom Day, the label declared bankruptcy and went out of business.

After building a solid following in Europe, the Droogs turned their focus back on the United States, releasing an album, Want Something, in 1990, that included tracks from their European albums and bonus tracks. (allmusic.com)


In my mind they have a slightly ''dark'' sound. I find no better word. If you don't know the Droogs maybe you give it a try.

Have fun
                Frank             Flac part 1 & Flac part 2 & Flac part 3       -  mp3@320