Pop Rock/ Soft Rock: Chilliwack - Dreams, Dreams, Dreams 1977 (2013 Mushroom Records) Flac &mp3@320

This is an ambitious record by Chilliwack. For most listeners, this album contained two tracks that both AM and FM radio played in heavy rotation and they will recall. Those two songs Fly At Night and Something Better are great songs, especially Fly At Night, which is the song most listeners will know the band by. The album as a whole revolves around the concept of a travelling rock and roll band trying to make it in America. Masterfully produced with plenty of rich space between instruments and wonderfully sung in a strong falsetto by Bill Henderson, the album flows together seamlessly, almost as a suite. Baby Blue, Roll On, California Girl and Rockin Girl are equally stand out tracks as well. This release stands the test of time and should garner more respect, at least a review and album picture in AllMusic. Enjoy it.(James Stolte, reader review, allmusic)

One of the most underrated albums of soft rock.Just listen to it and you'll take it on your desert island.almost all tracks are worth listening and the rcording is fabulous.I advise you to put it on your best records list.(Gerrard Comment, reader review, allmusic)

I just can second that. Why allmusic don't write a review is an enigma of allmusic. It's a shame for an american online music dictionary. And this is one case. Anyway, here is the history of the band:

The band originated in Vancouver, British Columbia. The members of the C-FUN Classics changed the band's name to The Collectors when Bill Henderson joined in 1966. Their psychedelic self-titled debut album yielded the minor hit "Lydia Purple". Their second album was based on the musical score written by the band for a stage play by Canadian playwright George Ryga, Grass and Wild Strawberries.
Vocalist Howie Vickers left the Collectors in 1969; the remaining members formed the band Chilliwack in 1970, Chilliwack being a Salish term meaning "valley of many streams" and the name of a city east of Vancouver in the Fraser River valley.

Lead guitarist Bill Henderson led the remaining former Collectors members: Glenn Miller (bass, guitar, backing vocals), Ross Turney (drums) and Claire Lawrence (flute, saxophone, keyboards, backing vocals); while he provided most of the vocals and did most of the composing. During 1970, Miller briefly left the band, who were joined on the road by Robbie King (keyboards, bass) and played at Expo '70 in Japan and other gigs across Canada.
In 1971 bassist Rick Kilburn played live with Chilliwack for a short time before Miller returned later that same year when Lawrence departed. New member Howard Froese (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) joined in 1973.
The band released several records that were moderately successful. Hit singles in Canada included "Lonesome Mary", which entered Cashbox January 22, 1972 (and was their first US charting single, peaking at #75 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1972), "Crazy Talk" (#98 in the US in January 1975) and "Fly at Night" (#75 in the US in May 1977). The album track "Rain-o", a blues-based composition that appeared in different versions on their debut album, Chilliwack (June 1970) and the later Dreams, Dreams, Dreams (January 1977), was a well-known concert favourite.
Chilliwack's debut was followed by two more albums: Chilliwack in September 1971 and All Over You in December 1972.

In April 1974 their album Riding High on Goldfish Records (Terry Jacks' Label) contained one of their biggest hits, the aforementioned "Crazy Talk", which was produced by Jacks. This album was not released in the US until early 1975 (on the Sire Records label), where it was retitled Chilliwack (their third U.S. release to bear that title).
However, Chilliwack had a difficult time sustaining any success because of their constant changes of label. The two Collectors albums were on Warner Brothers and Chilliwack's first five albums were on four different labels in Canada: Parrot, A&M, Goldfish and Casino Records.
Rockerbox, their fifth album, was released in December 1975 on Sire Records in the US and (with a different cover) on the little known, aforementioned Casino Records label in Canada. It was Chilliwack's least successful album in Canada.
The band was then signed to Vancouver's Mushroom Records, with distribution throughout North America. After completing one album for the label, Dreams, Dreams, Dreams, Chilliwack began work on their seventh album, to be titled Lights from the Valley. The first attempt at recording proved unsatisfactory, leading to discord among the band members.

Veteran guitarist Froese was replaced by Brian MacLeod, who contributed guitar, drums, keyboards, and backing vocals. The album was re-recorded; with some of Froese's vocal and guitar work, as well as percussion from session drummer Eddie Tuduri, included in the final mix. By the time of the record's release, bassist Glenn Miller and long term drummer Ross Turney had left the group. Mushroom was also having financial problems which hampered the promotion of the album after its release in June 1978.
Drummer Skip Layton and former Prism bassist Ab Bryant were recruited to perform with Henderson, Jamie Bowers (guitar, keyboards) and MacLeod in Chilliwack's 1978 live gigs. Henderson, MacLeod and Bryant then began working on Chilliwack's eighth album in 1979, joined by John Roles (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and drummer Bucky Berger. The Mushroom label went bankrupt abruptly shortly after the album, Breakdown in Paradise, was released in December 1979. Berger was replaced by Rick Taylor shortly thereafter, and the lineup of Henderson, MacLeod, Bryant, Roles and Taylor toured into 1980.

Chilliwack then signed with Solid Gold Records in Canada and Millennium Records in the U.S. in 1981 as a trio (Henderson/MacLeod/Bryant) and enjoyed its greatest success with this lineup, releasing the albums Wanna Be a Star (September 1981) and Opus X (October 1982). The singles "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" (Their first US Top 40 hit, peaking at #22 in December 1981), "I Believe" (US #33 in March 1982), and "Whatcha Gonna Do (When I'm Gone)" (US #41 in December 1982) were popular both in Canada and in the U.S. Rolling Stone wrote:

"At their best, Chilliwack was the finest Canadian rock band, outrocking BTO and outwriting Burton Cummings. But a lack of consistency kept it from international success."

The trio of Henderson, MacLeod and Bryant were joined by drummer Paul Delaney in early 1982 for US promotional appearances on TV shows, like Solid Gold and The Merv Griffin Show, before heading out on the road later in the year with an expanded lineup of Henderson, MacLeod, Bryant, Joey Franco (drums), Glenn Grayson (keyboards, backing vocals) and Dennis Grayson (keyboards, backing vocals).

Henderson and MacLeod received a Best Producer Juno Award for Opus X. However, echoing the Mushroom problems, Millennium Records then collapsed. MacLeod and Bryant left the band soon after, in early 1983, to devote more time to their other project, the Headpins, and Chilliwack's last new studio recording, Look In Look Out, was released in July 1984 with Henderson as the only continuing member, joined by session players Ashley Mulford (guitar, backing vocals, from the band Sad Café), Richard Gibbs (keyboards, from the group Oingo Boingo), Mo Foster (bass), Simon Phillips (drums) and Tom Keenlyside (saxophone), with additional vocals provided by Mark LaFrance, Saffron & Camille Henderson, Dustin Keller and Bob Rock.
By 1985 the band was without a record deal and Henderson cobbled together a touring only lineup made up of former member Claire Lawrence (sax, backing vocals), Jerry Adolphe (drums), Brian Newcombe (bass), Robbie Gray (keyboards, backing vocals) and Dave Pickell (keyboards). Pickell was replaced almost immediately by another former member John Roles (guitar, keyboards) and this grouping played mostly in Canadian clubs and smaller venues until Henderson disbanded the group in December 1988.

On October 6, 1991 Henderson joined fellow rockers Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Colin James and Chrissy Steele at a benefit show at Vancouver's 86 Street Music Hall to raise over $50,000 for Henderson's former Chilliwack bandmate, Brian MacLeod, who was fighting cancer and undergoing treatment at a Houston medical clinic. MacLeod died on April 25, 1992, aged 39.
In 1989 Henderson went on to form the folk-rock supergroup UHF and decided to launch a new Chilliwack lineup in 1997, made up of himself, Adolphe (drums), Doug Edwards (bass, backing vocals) and Roy 'Bim' Forbes (guitar, backing vocals, from UHF). Forbes was succeeded on guitar in 1998 by Bill's brother, Ed, and Chilliwack released a new live album, There and Back - Live, in 2003.
Chilliwack performed at 2005's Voyageur Days Festival in Mattawa, Ontario where they appeared that July with other Canadian bands Moxy, Toronto, Trooper, Goddo, Killer Dwarfs and Ray Lyell for the thirtieth anniversary for release of the debut album by Moxy.
On May 24, 2010 the current members of Chilliwack (Bill Henderson, Ed Henderson, Doug Edwards and Jerry Adolphe) were joined by former members Roy 'Bim' Forbes, Ab Bryant and Claire Lawrence plus Howard Froese's son Tyson on acoustic guitar (standing in for his father, who had cancer and died in the mid-1990s) and Collectors singer Howie Vickers for a Chilliwack 40th Anniversary show at River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond, British Columbia.
Since that time, Bill Henderson has continued Chilliwack but also does duo shows with Claire Lawrence from time to time.

Chilliwack's original bassist, Glenn Miller, died on March 4, 2011 in Toronto after suffering from Muscular Dystrophy.
In 2015 music fans were treated to a new music video by Chilliwack for the song “Take Back This Land”. The song became a rallying call during the Canadian federal election 2015. "The song wasn’t just about the election", said Bill Henderson. "Whether it is logging or fracking or whatever else, there is still a lot more work to do in Canada."
Chilliwack continues to play, mostly in the spring, summer and early fall, at outdoor gatherings and festivals.
Sadly, Doug Edwards died at his home in Vancouver at the age of 70 on November 11, 2016 after a long illness. Doug has been succeeded in Chilliwack by Gord Maxwell (formerly with Ian Tyson).
Bass player Ab Bryant's son, Matt Bryant, is the singer/songwriter and founding member of Canadian roots/folk band Headwater.(wiki)

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               Frank                      Flac part 1 & Flac part 2               mp3@320

At Request: Alexander Spence (of Moby Grape fame) - Oar 1969 (1999 Sundazed Remaster) Flac & mp3@320

No one except psychedelic Renaissance man Alexander "Skip" Spence could have created an album such as Oar. Alternately heralded as a "soundtrack to schizophrenia" and a "visionary solo effort," Oar became delegated to cut out and bargain bins shortly after its release in the spring of 1969. However those who did hear it were instantly

Moby Grape - Wow 1968 (Sundazed 2007 Remaster) Flac & mp3@320

Between the time that Moby Grape released their brilliant self-titled debut and when their second album Wow appeared in 1968, a little thing called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band happened, and for the next few years it was no longer enough for a band with some claim to importance to just play rock & roll, even if they approached it with the freshness and imagination Moby Grape displayed on their first LP.

Bowing to the pervading influences of the day, Wow is a far more ambitious album than Moby Grape, trading in the latter's energetic simplicity for an expansive production complete with strings, horns, and lots of willful eccentricity, best typified by the helium-treated vocals on the hillbilly pastiche "Funky Tunk" and "Just Like Gene Autry: A Foxtrot," a woozy '60s dance band number complete with introduction from Arthur Godfrey (the band went so far as to master the tune at 78 rpm on the original vinyl edition). While at first glance Wow pales in comparison to the instant classic Moby Grape, repeated listening reveals this album has plenty of strengths despite the excess gingerbread; the horn-driven boogie of "Can't Be So Bad" swings hard, "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" is a tough and funky blues number, "He," "Rose Colored Eyes," and "Bitter Wind" are lovely folk-rock tunes with shimmering harmonies (even if the latter is marred by a pretentious noise collage at the close), and "Motorcycle Irene" is a witty tribute to a hard-livin' biker mama.

Wow lacks the rev-it-up spirit of Moby Grape's masterpiece, but Peter Lewis, Jerry Miller, and Skip Spence's guitar work is just as impressive and richly layered, and the group's harmonies and songwriting chops are still in solid shape. While the unobtrusive production on Moby Grape showcased the group's many virtues, those attributes are visible on Wow despite the layers of studio excess, which sapped the momentum and charm of this band without snuffing them out altogether.(Richie Unterberger, allmusic)

Surely it is not as strong as ''Moby Grape'' but it have a lot of great moments and is a real fine work. Listen yourself.

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

Popsike & Bubblegum: Tidal Wave - Spider Spider The Best Of 1969 - '71 (2007 Fresh Music) Flac & mp3@320

 

Tidal Wave are probably best known for their bubblegum pop hits ‘Spider Spider’ and ‘Mango Mango’ in 1969 and 1970 respectively, but they were so much more than that.

Yes, they did play pop and they had a few hits, which were featured on the top radio stations at the time, Springbok Radio and LM Radio. Both stations are long gone, but sadly missed and fondly remembered by many South Africans who grew up without TV. However Tidal Wave also played some very interesting psychedelic pop rock enhanced by the fuzz guitar sounds of Mike Pilot, who formed the hard rock band Stingray in the late 70s. They also played backing for various musicians.

It all started with a man named Terry Dempsey, songwriter and record producer. Dempsey was born in England and came to South Africa in 1968. He wrote and produced The Staccatos first song, ‘Butchers And Bakers’ in 1968. This song had originally been recorded by UK freakbeat band Les Fleur De Lys in 1967, though they called themselves Chocolate Frog at the time. 

 

In August 1970, an album titled simply ‘Tidal Wave’ was released and included ‘Spider Spider’, ‘Green Mamba’ and their next big hit ‘Mango Mango’. This song, with its nonsensical lyrics and repeated phrase of ‘sixty-nine, sixty-nine’, hit number seven on Springbok in late 1970 and achieved top five on LM Radio in January 1971. 

In 1971, according to the History Of Contemporary Music Of South Africa by Garth Chilvers and Tom Jasiukowicz, Tidal Wave supplied the music for the soundtrack of the movie, ‘Lindi’, composed and produced by Terry Dempsey.

 

Mike Koch and Roy Naturman left Tidal Wave and a last single was released in 1971 titled ‘Money Baby’ (b/w ‘I’ve Got To Get Away’) that featured drummer Kevin Kruger and keyboardist Aidan ‘Dooley’ Mason. This song went to number 15 on the Springbok charts and did even better on LM Radio going to number nine. After a couple more line-up changes, sadly, Tidal Wave was no more.

There is a wide variety of music styles covered on this Tidal Wave retrospective release. Lovers of end-of-the-sixties psychedelic pop and rock will discover many hidden gems here including the progressive rock sounds of ‘Get It Out Of Your System’ which would not have been out of place on an Abstract Truth album. This Disc also includes the funky soul sounds of ‘Town Girl’, featuring Peter Vee’s lead vocal, which was previously unreleased.

Tidal Wave is fondly remembered by many and now all their music; the hits, misses and rarities can be found in one place.(taken from the booklet, written by Brian Currin 2007)

 

Nice pop sounds from South Africa at the end sixties, early seventies and well done psychedelic pop with a little harder sound.

Enjoy

          Frank                   Flac part1 & Flac part 2  & Flac part 3       mp3@320

Gary Walker & The Rain - Album No.1 1968 (2009 Universal Eclipse) Flac & mp3@320

I bought this album after reading the story of Gary Walker & the Rain in Shindig! magazine; it’s as entertaining a tale as any such from the late sixties. The Rain’s reign was brief, but they left behind a genuine “lost” album which has only recently seen the light of day outside Japan and which will come as a pleasant surprise to aficionados of Brit psych.
Gary Leeds was only ever a third wheel to the Walker Brothers, a non-singing drummer thumping the tubs on live dates and TV appearances and providing a further piece of eye candy for the photo shoots. However, such was the impact of the Walkers in Europe and Japan that, when the trio folded, Gary was easily convinced by conniving manager Maurice King to put together a new band in England on the basis of his kudos as a former Walker. He was fortunate enough to recruit two capable Merseybeat veterans, Joey Molland (vocal, lead gtr) and Paul “Charlie” Crane (vocal, keys, gtr), plus reliable London bassist John Lawson. Allegedly Molland’s interview ran thus. Leeds: “You look like Paul McCartney. Can you sing like him?” Molland: “Yes”. L: “Can you play guitar like Eric Clapton?” M: “Yes”. L: “You’re in.” Serendipitously, he really could do both, besides proving an adept songwriter. Lawson got the job on the basis of his Gene Clark-like good looks and his orange jacket and purple loons; such are the vagaries of rock showbiz.

Unashamedly cashing in on Leeds’s celebrity, the outfit would be known as Gary Walker and the Rain.
The band’s recording career kicked off with a passable cover of “Spooky” that failed to show in the UK or America but sold well in Japan, where the Walkers had belatedly achieved godlike status. On the basis of this UK Polydor permitted them to record an album, but then inexplicably refused to release it. Only in Japan, where the band’s local label, Philips, was crying out for further product, did it hit the shelves; its title there was Album No. 1, which follows a Japanese penchant for such unambiguous nomenclature whilst appearing pretty humdrum to Western sensibilities. On the ensuing tour of Japan the band were mobbed by teenage girls, with the lion’s share of the attention going to the drum-stool god rather than to the talented but unknown front line.

Sadly, Beat Era heroes were less in vogue in the UK by 1968; the gigs dried up, two subsequent single releases tanked, and the band called it a day just a year after coming together. Molland went on to be a cornerstone of Badfinger, while Crane became a noted music publisher. Leeds enjoyed a brief renaissance when the Walkers reunited in the mid-70s.
The album itself proves gratifyingly to be a distinctive pop-psych set falling somewhere between a pre-Tommy Who, an un-flanged early Status Quo and a nascent Badfinger. The slightly hazy production was by ex-Four Pennies bassist Fritz Fryer, who enlisted much inventive studio trickery to enhance the uncompromisingly basic eight-track recording facilities. The leadoff track “Magazine Woman” sets out the stall, with choppy rhythm, stun-gun lead guitar, delightful rough-edged harmonies and “Taxman” rip-off bassline.

The ensuing tracks move from late Merseybeat through freakbeat to proto-metal, some played straight, others psychedelically treated. Notable are “Thoughts Of An Old Man”, distinctly Pepper-ish musically and lyrically; “Francis”, a crunchy, stereo-tastic garage rocker chronicling the adventures of an elderly philanderer; and a totally wigged-out cover of Lieber and Stoller’s venerable “If You Don’t Come Back” in best Jeff Beck Band style with thudding backing and shards of barely controlled guitar feedback. The original album closes with two ballads: the harpsichord-driven pop-baroque “I Promise To Love You” and the gentle countrified acoustic “Whatever Happened to Happy”.

The album finally hit the Western World as a CD in 2009, boosted by the band’s sole post-album track and both sides of a single recorded earlier by Gary with some Japanese musicians styled the Carnabeats. The B-side of this is unselfconsciously wet-yourself hilarious. Why? I ain’t telling; you’ll have to get the album to find out.(the risingstorm.net)

Nice work from the ex Walker Brother. Good popsike songs and in some songs the style is a little harder. A good pop album with Joey Molland (from later Badfinger fame) involved.

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

Moby Grape - The Place And The Time 1967 - 1968 (2009 Sundazed) Flac & mp3@320

With the exception of Badfinger, you'd be had pressed to name an important rock band with a significant body of work who has had a longer and more dismal run of bad luck than Moby Grape, and more than four decades after they

Great Psychedelic Garage Rock: The Druids of Stonehenge - Creation 1968 (2010 Axis) Flac & mp3@320

Minor heroes of the East Coast garage-psych boom of the late '60s, the Druids of Stonehenge were a New York-based band. With an average age of 17, the group formed as the Druids in 1965, and that November a lineup comprised of Budge, guitarists Carl Hauser and Billy Tracy, bassist Tim Workman, and drummer Steve Tindall entered Manhattan's Nola Studios. This first session produced versions of "Who Do You Love," "Baby Please Don't Go," "Pretty Thing," and "I Put a Spell on You"; further sessions cut over the next year or so included similarly seething covers of Bo Diddley's "I (Who Have Nothing)" and "Bald Headed Woman." These earliest recordings have since been compiled onto a self-titled Sundazed mini-album, selections and performances that place the band firmly in the Rolling Stones/Pretty Things-flavored camp of brutally high-octane R&B.

In 1968, the newly renamed and psychedelically realigned Druids of Stonehenge relocated to the West Coast and, signing to the Uni label, cut the single "A Garden Where Nothing Grows" and the album Creation. Notable for further stylized covers, Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and Love's "Signed D.C." among them, together with a fiery retread of "I Put a Spell on You," the album was recorded in two sets of sessions, the bulk at TTG in L.A., the remainder back at Nola in New York. For many years best known only for the two songs later culled for the Baubles, Vol. 1 compilation, "Six Feet Down" and "Pale Dream," Creation has also since been reissued by Sundazed. The band appeared on television's Joe Franklin Show around the time of the album's release, performing "Paint It Black"; the lineup now included future Seatrain/Randall's Island alumni Elliott Randall, who replaced Tracy following the California sojourn.

However, no further releases were forthcoming and the Druids of Stonehenge broke up in 1969. Occasional partial reunions have taken place in recent years, including a very well-received show in New York in late April 2008.(allmusic.com)


Great garage album by the Druids Of Stonehenge. From beginning till the end of the album truly great. Just listen to ''It's All Over Now, Baby Blue''.

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               Frank                      Flac part 1  &  Flac part 2           mp3@320

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.

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               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