The Lovin' Spoonful Original Album Classics Box (2012) - (4) Everything Playing 1968 Flac

The Lovin' Spoonful's fourth album, Everything Playing, was made under trying circumstances. Musically, the Sgt. Pepper/Summer of Love era had made the Spoonful's good-time, jugband approach obsolete, and chief songwriter John Sebastian had to try to keep up. Personally, the group had suffered the disaster of a drug bust that resulted in the departure of lead guitarist Zal Yanovsky, who was replaced in August 1967 by Jerry Yester. Despite these problems, Sebastian was able to turn out a good album paced by its three Top 40 hits, "Six O'Clock," "She Is Still a Mystery," and the deceptively comic "Money," in which he castigated financial aspects of the music industry. Also excellent were "Boredom" and "Younger Generation," which Sebastian later would sing at Woodstock. When Sebastian wasn't at the mic, the singing could be mediocre, and the group was often all over the map in its attempt at musical sophistication, but the record was saved by Sebastian's writing and singing. Then he too jumped ship.(allmusic.com)

 Here' the fourth disc and tomorrow i post the last of the box.
Cheerio-ho
                  SB1
 Flac

SB's Power Pop Collection Vol.2

Here is my second homemade ''Power Pop Mixtape''. It was a lot of fun to search through the music and select the songs. Hope you will give it a try and send me comments if you enjoyed it or not.Okay here we go:
                   SB'S Power Pop Compilation - Vol. 2
1) Paul Collins - Walking Out On Love                     
2) The Loud Family - Look Through Any Window
3) The Poppees - If She Cried
4) There She Goes Again - The Crawdaddys
5) The Choir - I'd Rather You Leave Me
6) Gary Charlson - Burning In You
7) Jeremy - Love Explosion
8) The Flamin' Groovies - You Tore Me down
9) Material Issue - Bus stop
10) The Autumn Defense - Back Of My Mind
11) Nushu - Precious To Me
12) Ouch - I Need You More
13) Lannie Flowers - Give Me A Chance
14) Grant Lindberg - Blakened Heart
15) Propeller - Wish I Had Her Picture
16) Hector Penalosa - It's Gonna Be Alright
17) The Mystery Machine - She's Not Mine
18) Nick Piunti - Heart Stops Beating
19) The Click Beetles - Try Girl
20) Jasko - The Memo
21) Rabbitt - Dingley's Bookshop

All @320mp3     link

Cheers
           SB1                                         

An absolute classic of british pop psychedelia! The End - Introspection (1969) Flac

Although Introspection bombed due to a belated release, collectors have since heralded it as one of the finest albums from the brief British psychedelic wave. Produced by Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in early 1968, the spirit of the era (or maybe that of the previous summer) is sonically created, with sumptuous results. Giffin and Graham's gentle harmony vocals tread a similar path to Odessey and Oracle-era Zombies, while sessionman Nicky Hopkins' harpsichord, a pumping Hammond, Terry Taylor's searing Cream-like fuzztone guitar leads, psychedelic duel-ragas, and floating Mellotron recreate the colors of a rainbow. The overall effect is psych-pop rather than acid-inspired mayhem, although the drifting ambience of the production, lyricism, and instrumentation could not be anything else than a product of psychedelia. A majority of the numbers were clearly influenced by the Satanic Majesties' Request sessions that Wyman had been undertaking -- and indeed Wyman co-wrote two songs -- although the the End's more commercial pop edge forges a sound distant from the Rolling Stones. With an abundance of moods, tones, and a gloriously over the top production, Introspection is a superb period piece, and rightfully deserves it's near-classic status.(Jon Mills)

''Introspection'' ist ein Album der britischen Pop Psychedelia Periode Mitte bis Ende der Sechziger, welches sich meiner Meinung nach noch etwas höher, vom Anspruch und seiner Klasse her, seinen Platz an der Spitze der besten Pop Psych Alben seiner Zeit redlich verdient hat.Was macht das Album so gut? Ich denke, die Macher haben es verstanden mehr musikalische Einflüsse ihrer Zeit zusammen zu bringen, zu einem Sound der das Album wesentlich ''progressiver'' daherkommen ließ und dennoch solch ein Pop Appeal versprühte, dass man sich dem nur schwerlich entziehen konnte.

Das Album gehört sicher zu den Top 5 dieses Genres in besagtem Zeitraum. Mindestens. Ich hoffe, ihr habt Spaß mit dem Album (falls ihr es noch nicht kennt).
Wir hören uns & Cheers
                       SB1
Flac

Superscope - Generally Electric 1995 (Flac)

A fashion of heavy guitar riffs and power-pop harmonies became a part of Superscope's sound upon their formation in 1994. Combining the chemistry of Shane Bolton (drums), Kevin Borruso (guitar/vocals), and Gerry McAvoy (bass), Citadel Records first captured the trio's pop-metal hybrid on their 1995 debut of Generally Electric. But after contributing to two Bomp Record compilations in 1996 -- Windmill Pop On Top and Windmill Laugh While you Can -- Superscope took a six month hiatus while playing under the moniker of Reuben Kinkaide. Following their return in 1997, Spinning Top Records followed with the release of the 1997 EP Popping Crease(allmusic.com.)

At the times of ''Generally Electric'' McAvoy and Bolton had leave the band and became replaced by Darren Murphy on bass, vocals and Jason Barfoot drums, vocals. As allmusic writes ''a pop-metal hybrid'' for me is a little bit misleading. Harder guitars yes but no way ''Metal''. Anyway for me it sounds great and i hope you also enjoy it.

Frank
                                                                    Flac

Game Theory - Lolita Nation 1987 (2016) Expanded Edition (48 tracks) Flac & mp3@320

Game Theory leader Scott Miller never made a secret of his fondness for Big Star, and while Real Nighttime favored the lush but direct sound of #1 Record, and The Big Shot Chronicles suggested the harder-edged tone of Radio City, Lolita Nation plays like Game Theory's variation on the themes of Big Star's masterfully damaged swan song, Third/Sister Lovers. Certainly Game Theory's most ambitious album, Lolita Nation was a two-LP set that combined some of Miller's most user-friendly power pop squared off against dark, moody ruminations on betrayal, failed love, and mortality, all of it punctuated with bursts of avant-garde noise and unclassifiable studio doodling, and finally thrown into a sonic Cuisinart through Miller's aggressive use of aural montage. Game Theory's most challenging work, Lolita Nation is a bit disorienting on first listen, though it finds the band playing at the very top of its form on demanding material. New guitarist Donnette Thayer made an impressive debut, and drummer Gil Ray and keyboardist Shelley LaFreniere delivered outstanding performances.

There are more than a few flat-out brilliant tracks, such as "Chardonnay," "The Waist and the Knees," and "The Real Sheila," alongside such head-scratchers as "Turn Me on Dead Man," "Watch Who You're Calling Space Garbage Meteor Mouth," and the 22nd track (which stubbornly defies titling). Lolita Nation was the point where the many ideas and approaches Miller had experimented with on Game Theory's earlier albums finally came together in a (pardon the expression) blaze of glory, and if the album is a bit much to absorb on first listen, few rock albums of the '80s reward repeated listening more than this one. Miller was one of the few rock musicians who often (and fittingly) cited James Joyce as an influence, and Lolita Nation is his Ulysses, a dense, profoundly idiosyncratic masterpiece.

At first the bad news (and sorry for that): This post is without the wonderful artwork which is included in the Omnivore release of 2016. But the music here recover damages. 21 bonus tracks make this edition to a giant 48 piece edition. I will not talk to much about the band or this record because i think most of you know them very well. Only this: ENJOY IT!

Cheers!
            Frank
320

Here are the links for the Flac version:  Flac part 1 (new link)
                                                                Flac part 2 (new link)
                                                                
The artwork is added in the flac folders.
                          

Any Trouble - Wheels In Motion

Any Trouble's 1980 debut was a wonderful slice of new wave flavored pub/pop/rock, which despite a fair amount of critical buzz, never really delivered on its commercial promise. With its second release, 1981's Wheels in Motion, produced by Mike Howlett (A Flock of Seagulls, Berlin), the band took a slightly more sophisticated, studio approach with singer/songwriter Clive Gregson's songs, veering away from the breakneck, live energy of Where Are All the Nice Girls?, which for the most part simply captured their feverish stage act in a studio setting. Still, whatever spark Wheels in Motion may lack is negligible thanks to the caliber of the material here. A handful of first-rate Gregson originals kick-start the proceedings, including the cautionary, albeit hopeful opener, "Trouble With Love," the irresistible power pop of "Open Fire" and the infectious rocker, "As Lovers Do." Several cuts in, the deliberate "Eastern Promise" is nearly as good, while "Power Cut" ranks just a rung below. Elsewhere, Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day," the only non-Gregson original, is given a slick, but affecting treatment. Moments of heavy-handed cynicism, as on the otherwise terrific, "Walking in Chains," as well as a couple of lackluster tracks drag things down to some extent, but still Wheels in Motion's highlights rank with the best work of Clive Gregson's career, both with and without Any Trouble.(allmusic.com)

Long time ago since i listened the album for the first time. It remember me to times which were full of crazy experiences and a life full of surprises. But that's another story. If you don't know the band, lend them an ear and have fun.

Frank

Flac

At request: Sweeney Todd - S/T 1975 (Flac)

The band, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, originally consisted of vocalist Nick Gilder, guitarist Jim McCulloch, bassist Budd Marr, keyboardist Dan Gaudin and drummer John Booth. The single, "Roxy Roller", became a No. 1 hit in Canada, holding the top position in the RPM national singles chart for three weeks beginning on June 26, 1976, and winning a Juno Award for the band.
Gilder and McCulloch subsequently left the band to pursue solo careers. Gilder subsequently had hits with "Hot Child in the City", "Here Comes the Night" and "(You Really) Rock Me".
Clark Perry was brought in to replace Gilder on vocals, and Skip Prest replaced McCulloch on guitar. Though he did record a second version of Roxy Roller, Perry did not work out, however, and was replaced within a few months by then 15-year-old Bryan Adams.
The new lineup recorded Sweeney Todd's second album, If Wishes Were Horses, which includes the third version of Roxy Roller. However, that album was unsuccessful, and Adams left the band after less than a year. The band attempted to carry on with Chris Booth on vocals (and Grant Gislason replacing Prest in 1978), but broke up before recording any further albums.

At request.
                Cheers Frank

Flac    (Limited Time: 20.01.17)      New link (limted time 15.Feb.)

New link (limited May 15th)

The Lovin' Spoonful - Hums Of The... (1966) Flac

Good morning Folks, friends and all you lovers of music, sweet music. For me no work today because i have a day off. Yieeepppieeeeeeeee!
Once again thank you for all your comments. I will try as fast as i can to publish all your comments. If i need a little more time please don't be angry about it. I really appreciate your comments very much! Also feel free if you have any suggestions how we can make this a better place for you and me. Okay, let's go to the music.

''Hums Of The Lovin' Spoonful'' is the third album of the band and it's again a great one. Allmusic.com writes about it:
Having released two previous albums and a soundtrack, along with a stream of singles, over the previous 12 and a half months, the Lovin' Spoonful assembled their third regular studio LP, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful, for release around Thanksgiving 1966. It contained the group's chart-topping single from the previous June, "Summer in the City," along with September's Top Ten hit "Rain on the Roof" (curiously titled "You and Me and Rain on the Roof" on the LP). Released simultaneously with the album and included on it were the two songs from the next single, "Nashville Cats," which became the band's seventh consecutive Top Ten entry, and "Full Measure," a B-side featuring drummer Joe Butler on lead vocals that scraped into the singles chart. Those were the money songs, although Bobby Darin discovered the leadoff track, "Lovin' You," and quickly covered it for a Top 40 hit, and the moody "Coconut Grove," a tribute to Fred Neil, would become a permanent part of Spoonful leader John Sebastian's repertoire in his solo career. An emphasis on the parts of the album is a way of describing it as more a loose collection of disparate tracks than a unified effort, despite Sebastian's hand in all the compositions and his lead vocals on most of them. This was by necessity, but also by design, since Sebastian and co. went into the studio trying to sound completely different each time. They often succeeded: Except for the vocal similarity, the rock band playing "Summer in the City" and the caustic, autobiographical "4 Eyes" doesn't sound much like the country unit picking its way through "Lovin' You" and "Nashville Cats." Sebastian may have been an obvious New Yorker (those "yellow Sun records" were from Memphis, not Nashville), but that didn't keep him from expressing his musical passions effectively. The 2003 Sundazed LP reissue added four demos, instrumental tracks, and alternate versions of songs from the album.

´The Spoonfuls were a extraordinary band then. Not much bands back then could bring three albums in the Billboard charts (with good positions) in only two years and besides a bunch of singles.. I have take a look back in billboard U.S. allbum history. Do You Believe In Magic peaked at 32 (35 weeks in the album charts). Daydream peaked at 10 (31 weeks in the album charts), Hums Of... peaked at 14 (26 weeks in the album charts). The most successful album in the sixties was the compilation ''The Best Of'' in 1967 which peaked at 3 (52 weeks in the charts). Alongside they had 7 Singles in the Top 10, 5 in the Top 40's and all in all 14 singles charted in the Top 100. The greatest single success was...naturally ''Summer in the city'' at Number 1. I know that's just facts and figures but it shows that the years from 1965 to 1967 were the most successful at the audience. Enough, here comes number three of the ''Original Album Series'' Box.
Enjoy it!
              Frank

Flac

Game Theory - Big Shot Chronicles Expande Edition 2016 (Flac)

Scott Miller broke in a new Game Theory lineup on their third album, 1986's The Big Shot Chronicles (a revolving-door cast of musicians was something he would get used to over the next decade or so). If the album lacks the narrative cohesion of the group's previous full-length effort, 1985's Real Nighttime, it's obvious from the album's first cut (the joyous and explosive "Here It Is Tomorrow") that the addition of Shelley LaFreniere on keyboards, Suzi Ziegler on bass, and Gil Ray on drums made Game Theory a stronger band in every respect. While Game Theory's attempts to rock out on Real Nighttime sometimes sounded a bit tentative, The Big Shot Chronicles reveals a band that's equally adept at flexing their muscles ("I've Tried Subtlety" and "Make Any Vows") or easing into a song's subtleties ("Regenisraen" and "Like a Girl Jesus"). Real Nighttime had a more ambitious concept in its tales of the perils of young adulthood, but The Big Shot Chronicles was meant to document a great band with a stack of top-notch tunes at the ready, and on that level it's even more exciting and engaging than Game Theory's breakthrough effort.

As a songwriter, Scott Miller continued to grow ("Erica's Word" and "Don't Look Too Closely" are both smart-pop Heaven on Earth), and though he was fond of referring to his voice as a "miserable whine," he sure knew how to make it communicate. Finally, Mitch Easter's production guides the record through moody neo-psychedelia and uptempo hard pop with an equally sure hand; the record sounds just as good as the band plays. A superb set from one of the best (and most underappreciated) bands of the '80s, The Big Shot Chronicle may not have been their best album -- that honor would go to the wildly ambitious double set Lolita Nation -- but as a set of songs and performances, it's practically unbeatable.(allmusic.com)

What can i say? Scott Miller you know... He was a real underrated musician at the public. I will ''Lolita Nation'' post tomorrow. I'm very tired from work today, so i wish all of you a good night and enjoy this wonderful record.
Cheers
           Frank

Flac

Nick Gilder - City Nights 1978 @320

City Nights, of course, includes Gilder's chart-topping raison d'etre"Hot Child in the City"; the Canadian actually strove to release the pedestrian "All Because of Love" first, but Chrysalis wisely pushed for this street-walking tale to break Gilder in America. As for the rest of the record, the cognoscenti know the surrounding disco-metal set off a global tremor still felt in the "21st Century." From the crisp robot come-on of second single "Here Comes the Night" to the trench-coated social worker flirting in "Got to Get Out," Gilder calmly claims his crown as the king of an insular world of kinky hooks and killer rhythms where any ace pop fan should strive to reside. All of this jukebox Nabokov's '70s work is facile and frequently brilliant. Rock away your frustration and fly high into the City Nights. (Doug Stone allmusic.com)
Well said, Doug!

 I hope you will enjoy it as i do and fly high...
Frank
320

GLAM!!! Nick Gilder - You Know Who You Are 1977 @320

Nick Gilder began playing with Vancouver-based Sweeney Todd. The band split in 1977 after two albums (Sweeney Todd and If Wishes Were Horses) when he and bandmate Jimmy McCullouch moved to Los Angeles. That same year, Gilder began a solo career, signing to Chrysalis and releasing You Know Who You Are. His second album, City Nights, produced the platinum number one single "Hot Child in the City" in 1978. Though Gilder released several other albums (including 1979's Frequency and 1981's Body Talk Muzak), he never approached his earlier success.

Lookout for this high-energy, bubble-blast of true emotion, simulated swagger and Johnny Zip's flying V. The only bad thing about Nick Gilder's deep-blue debut pearl is that the shining You Know Who You Are signals the beginning of the end. No one knew at the time, but the late '70s would compress pop to the point of celestial explosion. Sure, there have been some great variations on the theme since, but listening to the luminous You Know Who You Are nowadays is most sentimental, as it's a fleeting close encounter of the kind that must come to a close. If you need to hear how amazing these takes on Gilder's Sweeney Todd leftovers "Roxy Roller" and "Tantalize" are, what are you waiting for?

Then there's "Genevieve" and "Amanda Greer," two haunting gazelles who will never see the light of disc. Let this "Poor Boy" tuck you in at night illuminating illicit images of X-queens between the seats, with the radio playing familiar tin-can beats, before he sails away on a gentle breeze. Glammaster Gilder nailed a number one on his sophomore effort, City Nights, and then polished off the '70s with a near-perfect supernova flourish, Frequency. Like a true '70s star, he disappeared (for the most part) with the delectable decade he helped define, running away in the night, bidding fond farewell, and never going back to his old school, where he taught an endless wave of inferior influences the finer points of back-street noise and plastic metal.

For me personally a great album and i hope you like Gilder, too. I will post also two other albums later.
Have fun
               Frank
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Mikal Cronin - MCll (2013) Flac

If you only know Mikal Cronin as a member of Ty Segall's band, you might be in for a shock on his debut album for Merge, 2013's MC II. If you picked up Cronin's self-titled 2011 album on Trouble in Mind, you might also be in for a bit of a surprise. See, Cronin doesn't go in for noise freakouts or skuzzy garage rock -- he's more of a power popper with an ear for a pretty melody. He's also cleaned up his sound quite a bit on this record with far less reverb and surface noise scuffing up his songs. Cronin and producer Eric Bauer go for a very layered approach that mixes acoustic and electric guitars and features Cronin's nice falsetto harmonies over the top. It makes for a very adaptable sound, perfect for uptempo rockers (like "Shout It Out" or "Turn Away"), midtempo janglers ("Weight," "Am I Wrong"), or introspective ballads ("Peace of Mind.") And despite Cronin playing all the instruments (save the occasional guitar solo by Segall, some drums, and occasional violin), it's a very live and direct feeling record with none of the sterility you often find with one-man band projects.

Much of the rest of the album looks to the '90s for inspiration, touching on Matthew Sweet's punchy power pop or gently biting Sloan's rambunctious, but keenly melodic, sound. Check "Am I Wrong" for something that a track that could have been on One Chord to Another, "Peace of Mind, too, has very Sloan-sounding vocal harmonies. "See It My Way" is a little close to being generically '90s though and tips too far in the grunge-lite direction. It's a minor stumble on an album made up of super hooky, really fun tracks and it's not enough to wreck the good-time vibe. Indeed, Cronin's second album is a step forward from his debut and shows off a guy with enough talent to step out from behind Segall's shadow and make it on his own. (Tim Sendra)
Enjoy
         Frank

p.s.: Tomorrow i want to post some glam and bubblegum music and i hope some of you will like it.
Wish you all a nice day/evening.     New Link