Harmony Grass - This Is Us

A late-'60s band that anticipated Prelude's highly commercial harmony vocals, Harmony Grass evolved out of Tony Rivers & the Castaways. They were signed to RCA a year after being formed in Essex, and scored aTop 30 British hit with "Move in a Little Closer Baby." They were unable to repeat this success, despite which they still got one LP released (This Is Us) on RCA (U.K.). They were good enough to rate supporting act status at the Marquee Club in London, but by 1970, the group had broken up. Lead guitarist Tony Ferguson and bassist Kenny Rowe went on to join Capability Brown in 1973, appearing on the album Voice (1973) for Charisma Records, while Tony Rivers sang on albums by ex-Searcher Brian Bennett, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, and Roger Daltrey

Harmony Grass' sole LP has a few songs from their late-1960s singles (including "Move in a Little Closer," their only British hit), and it's also filled out by a few Tony Rivers originals and an assortment of covers. This odd, occasionally impressive and sometimes saccharine mix of pop/rock casts the group among the few British exponents of sunshine pop. Sometimes the airplane-commercial harmonies and cheeriness is vacuous. On the other hand, Rivers proves himself a competent emulator of the Beach Boys' most upbeat material on "Summer Dreaming" and "My Little Girl," as well as the Pet Sounds era on "I've Seen to Dream." On yet another hand, with "Chattanooga Choo Choo," "Tom Dooley," and the weird "(It Ain't Necessarily) Byrd Avenue," the group sounds like a college glee club, here to entertain for your social function, backed by extremely competent studio musicianship.

On "Ballad of Michael," Rivers grapples with somewhat more serious lyrical themes in a tale of a philandering bachelor, but the song also finds him trying to squeeze too many words into too little space. All of the pieces included here, as well as some non-LP single sides and three 1968 tracks by Tony Rivers & the Castaways, are on RPM's The Tony Rivers Collection Vol. 2. .

Have fun
               SB1  Flac1
                       Flac2                  Here is the mp3 link:  mp3@320

Power Pop Sampler: V.A. - Buttons (From Champaign To Chicago) 2012 in Flac & mp3

Maybe it's something in the water (or in Old Style beer), but Illinois has a rich history as the Midwest's Mecca for power pop; in the 1970s and early ‘80s, the Land of Lincoln was home to hundreds of bands that were serving up soaring melodies, guitar-powered hooks, earnest vocal harmonies, dancefloor-filling rhythms, and as much Beatles-like personality as they could muster. Cheap Trick were the Illinois band who were able to sell updated pop to the masses that filled the arenas, and Shoes proved a band could rise from a basement studio and score a major-label deal and international attention, but the vast majority of Illinois power pop bands played the clubs for a few years, left behind some demo tapes or self-released singles, and then vanished without a trace.

The archivists at the Numero Group pay loving homage to the glory days of Illinois power pop with Buttons: From Champaign to Chicago, a compilation that features 19 lost classics of Midwest pop, most of which are as hopelessly obscure as any record collector could wish. Shoes are represented with one early track, "In My Arms Again," but for the rest of the acts, claims to fame are a bit dubious -- the Names were featured in the memorably clumsy low-budget horror flick Terror on Tour, the Vertebrats' "Left in the Dark" was later covered by the Replacements and Uncle Tupelo (Numero Group, of course, has chosen to feature their lesser-known "Diamonds in the Rough" instead), and the All Night Newsboys were the victims of a notorious practical joke in which their roadie was paid to vanish with their gear the night they were set to open for Heart and John Cougar Mellencamp, with several major-label scouts in attendance. And while most of these bands came of age in the New Wave era, "Be for Me" by the Jets, recorded in 1973, makes it clear that the pop underground was lurking about in Illinois long before skinny ties made their comeback.

The pleasant surprise is how uniformly good these bands are -- while a few tunes mostly get by on their energy and charm, "It's a Miracle" by the Names is a brilliant Cheap Trick rip; "Holiday" by Nines is manna from Farfisa heaven; "So Lifelike" by the Jerks is a sly and catchy variation on the theme of the Who's "Pictures of Lily," and if Band of Jocks had the worst name ever, "At Practice" is pretty brilliant. Anyone who ever had a taste for a cool hook in the pre-Reagan era will fall like a ton of bricks for Buttons: From Champaign to Chicago, and younger pop enthusiasts will be wowed by its strength and variety.(allmusic.com)

Hello Folks, i post this collection of very good power pop from the Midwest of the US in both, Flac and mp3. If you pick the mp3 you can take only the music without the artwork because the second link is only the complete artwork.The music is in link 1. But i recommend to take the artwork because it is a giant booklet full of information and photographs. Really nice. The Flac link is limited till 2017-04-14. 

If you are a power popster grab it because here are really great songs in the collection. Contra Band, The Jets, The Shoes, The Names, Paul, The Vertebrats, Nines and a lot other fine stuff will kick you ... .
Enjoy
           SB1   New Flac
             mp3 Link1   You need link1 for the album and link 2 for the (great) artwork!  Link2

Sweeney Todd - If Wishes Were Horses @160 removed. New 320 link up.

I removed the old mp3@160 link. It's now in 320 in the post.

Grapefruit - Around Grapefruit 1968 (2005 Repertoire) Flac

 Like the fruit after it was named, Grapefruit's debut album was at times too sweet, but was on the whole a promising and worthy effort. Devoted almost wholly to songs written by leader George Alexander, the record featured tuneful, upbeat mid-tempo late-'60s British rock with good harmonies, creative ornate arrangements, and a very slight and very sunny psychedelic tinge.

Certainly similarities to the Paul McCartney-penned tracks from the Beatles' own psych-pop era are evident, and if George Alexander's songs weren't in nearly the same league as McCartney's, well, no one working the style was in McCartney's league. Grapefruit was at their best on the occasional songs in which they reached into slightly darker and more melancholy territory, particularly when they made creative use of strings, organ, baroque keyboards, and Mellotron, as on "This Little Man" and "Dear Delilah" and the instrumental "Theme for Twiggy."

The latter tune sounds like something that could have been killer had words been devised; as it is, it seems like something that wasn't quite seen through to completion. There's also the Four Seasons cover "C'mon Marianne," which, although it wasn't one of their better tracks, was (along with "Dear Delilah") one of their two small U.K. hits. The CD reissue on Repertoire adds "Dead Boot," the non-LP B-side of "Dear Delilah."

First album and completely different to the second work Deep Water.Very good psychedelic  sunshine pop. 5 stars out of 6.
Cheers
           SB1   Flac1
                     Flac2

Gary Ritchie - Pop! Radio mp3

Although not new, this is a great example of excellent and timeless melodies from Gary Ritchie. Originally from the Chicago band, Loose Lips, Ritchie teamed up with band mate Jeff King to channel his love of those classic jangle bands in Pop! Radio. Fans of Pezband, Fotomaker, The Raspberries, The Rubinoos, and The Spongetones will just love this album.

From the opening chord riffs of “I’ll Be There” you’ll hum along to the beat that has that 70’s rock feel. The Beatles-jangle isn’t far behind on “You Were Only Using Me” and the hooks just continue to fly by. The excellent rocker “Living On Lies” is a humorous autobiography of a rocker who hasn’t gotten “a life” due to his love of rock and roll. Most of the songs are about moments in a relationship and what happened “Last Night” (a great Dwight Twilley reference here) and other odes to the girl of your dreams. The gems here keep coming, and to get into any more tracks here seems superfluous. Not a single scrap of filler here, so if you never heard it do yourself a favor and stop reading. Get a hold of this album.(powerpopaholic.com)

Very good Power Pop album from Gary Ritchie in his own style. All is said in the review.
Have fun
              SB1  mp3@320

Fountains of Wayne - Utopia Parkway 1999 Flac

There's no denying that Fountains of Wayne know how to craft a great pop record. They know how to write a hook, they can pull of mild rockers and sweet ballads with equal aplomb, and they write melodies that feel like half-forgotten favorites. They have all the elements of a classic power pop band but they suffer from that peculiar '90s ailment -- detachment. For all their flair, talent, and craftsmanship, the band don't really dig deeper than the surface. Of course, that doesn't mean they make bad records, and their second album, Utopia Parkway, is, if anything, every bit as good as their fine debut. All the songs immediately make a connection and all of their melodic attributes simply strengthen with repeated listens. However, those repeated listens reveal that Fountains of Wayne don't have a lot to say. That's not a cardinal sin in guitar pop, since most bands simply recycle the same lovelorn themes, but Fountains choose to have fun with clichés, throwing in goofy asides even in their ballads.

Throughout the record, they seem like the well-read, pop culture-saturated kids who sat in the back of the classroom, cracking jokes that only they can understand. Depending on your view, this either enhances the fun or keeps the record at a distance, because if you don't share their disdain for hippies, laser shows, proms, malls, and bikers, it will be a little hard to sing along with those glorious melodies.

For some, this may be a minor point, but consider this: emotional depth is what lifted Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend to classic status and what keeps Utopia Parkway from truly soaring, despite its many virtues(allmusic.com)

It seems that some people write their review of a FOW album after listening to a Swans record. (Don't misunderstand me, i like what M.Gira do). Whatever...

Enjoy
         SB1     Flac1
                     Flac2
                              ...both...

The Eyes - The Arrival Of The Eyes 1966 (2006 ACME) Flac

In 1965 and 1966, the Eyes released a clutch of singles that stand up to the Who's work from the same era in their blend of extremely innovative guitar feedback/distortion and anthemic mod songwriting. "When the Night Falls," "The Immediate Pleasure," "I'm Rowed Out," "You're Too Much," and the dry "My Generation" satire "My Degeneration" are revered highly by British Invasion collectors. The bursts of electronic mayhem were quite advanced for the time, though like the Who they had hooks and harmonies to counterpoint the madness. They weren't as memorable as the Who and didn't approach commercial success. After a much softer fourth single and an ill-conceived album of Rolling Stones covers (recorded under the name the Pupils), the group disbanded.

Acme's 2006 release The Arrival of the Eyes is the first CD compilation of the Eyes work, rounding up all of their four singles (the first two of which, "When the Night Falls" and "The Immediate Pleasure," were combined as a 1966 EP also called The Arrival of the Eyes) the demos that were collected on the Scene but Not Heard EP as well as the album of Rolling Stones covers the band recorded under the name the Pupils; in addition, it also includes a promo for "Radio London" and a couple of alternate takes. It's the complete Eyes, in other words, accompanied by a booklet with a band history and replicas of various articles and press releases from the band's brief history in the mid-'60s. This disc confirms that the Eyes were among the greatest cult mod bands of their time, with a coiled power that recalls the Who at their peak. This, of course, is most apparent on "My Degeneration," a sly dig at the Who that functions as both satire and homage, but their first three singles all had the taut, stylish energy of the Who circa 1965, and the parallels come into even sharper relief with their cover of the Everly Brothers' "Man with Money" which is a dead-ringer for the Who's unreleased version from 1966; in fact, it could reasonably be argued that the Eyes have a tighter, harder take than the Who.

The Pupils' album, while not much more than a fun curiosity, does prove that the band were exceptional mimics, capturing the frenzied energy of the Stones' "Route 66" and doing a version of "Satisfaction" that pumps up the fuzztoned guitar even louder the original. But the Eyes' true peak were those four singles, particularly their debut "When the Night Falls"/"I'm Rowed Out," two barbed pieces of mod proto-punk that remain as punchy and potent today as when they were first recorded. These four singles are the reason to pick up this long-overdue collection, and while the demos aren't as bracing as the finished versions, it all makes for highly enjoyable listening. (allmusic.com)

If you are a sixties mod punk lover this is for YOU.
Have fun!
                SB1
    link 1 here
    link 2 here
....and as always...you need both!

Orange Bicycle - Hyacinth Threads-The Morgan Blue Town Recordings '67 - '71 (2001 Edsel 2CD) Flac

Although never succeeding like their contemporaries, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Wilson Malone's band, the Orange Bicycle, issued late-'60s recordings that occasionally managed to hit the mark with their "U.S. West Coast harmony pop meets U.K. psychedelic pop" style. The early singles released on Columbia during 1967 and 1968 are resplendent with the motif-sweet harmonies, splashes of harpsichord, and fuzz guitar that filled the flower power era.

However, their sole album, released in 1970 and produced by John Peel, showed a musical desperation that would never be shaken off. It contained four songs by fledgling writer Elton John, and for the main part was a very pedestrian affair that lacked any of the excitement of their earlier recordings. In an attempt to reinstate the Orange Bicycle into the echelons of U.K. psychedelia, Edsel has compiled a selection of Malone's finer songs on this double-CD set. Stylistic fragments of the singalong pop of the Bee Gees, the haunting harmonies of the Zombies, and the soulful nature of Traffic converge with the Baroque pop of Simon & Garfunkel and the optimistic sheen of the Association.

Consisting of single sides, a few album tracks, and 15 unreleased cuts, these 33 songs track Malone's career from a fuzzy young tyke (Monkees meet the Who popisms) through to his attempt at Anthony Newley-like theatrical numbers. The face of U.K. psychedelia was ever changing, and it seems that Malone's persistence in trying to fit in with the Zeitgeist and get a hit worked against him.

That's the fine double disc release by Edsel in 2001. Here's a lot of real nice poppy stuff and good ideas in songwriting and arrangement. If you are a fan of sixties psychedelic pop you should don't miss this double disc.
Enjoy it
             SB1      New link  
                         expire 2017-08-31

The Bonniwell Music Machine - Ignition (1965 - 1969) Flac & mp3

As this has a mixture of rare singles and unreleased tracks from 1965-1969, it's primarily for converted Music Machine fans, not for those who want just one album by the group or a place to start investigation. That said, it's a pretty interesting assortment of odds and ends, a few of which are among the band's best efforts. Foremost among them is the explosive (and quite innovative for its time) 1966 number "Point of No Return" with its unusual mixture of folk-rock and pre-acid guitar work, as well as a magnificent anguished, subtly anti-war vocal by singer and songwriter Sean Bonniwell. The moody, building-from-a-smolder-to-a-roar "Dark White," a 1969 outtake, was already heard on the out-of-print Rhino best-of LP. It's also one of Bonniwell's better creations, as well as one of the best lyrical meditations upon the ambiguous tension of sexual desire that you're likely to hear. "Advise and Consent" is a decent obscure flop single, though not one of the group's greatest.

As for the previously unveiled outings, the 1965 demos by the Ragamuffins (the trio of future Music Machine members Bonniwell, drummer Ron Edgar, and bassist Keith Olsen) are especially interesting, catching them in their tentative transition from folk-pop to garage psychedelia. "Citizen Fear," one of the latest tracks (from 1969), has the careering sonics and intriguing sociometaphysical (if that's a word) words typical of Bonniwell's better songs. Much of the rest, though, is simply not up to the caliber of the band's best stuff. Still, it's a worthy complement to the (Turn On) The Music Machine album and Sundazed's previous collection of lesser-known material, Beyond the Garage.

This is a garage pop band i also like very much and this collection of odds and ends is a fine one imho. Hope you like it , too and i post it in both - mp3 and Flac.
Welcome to the machine!
                                        SB1        mp3@320
                                                       Flac 

Classic Power Pop: The Records-The Records (US) 1979 & The Records - Crashes 1980 Flac & mp3

The Records are probably best remembered for their cult classic and minor hit "Starry Eyes" -- a near-perfect song that defined British power pop in the '70s. And while they never quite matched the success of that record, their high-quality output from 1979 to 1982 has not only held up better than most of the era with its timeless appeal, but has also served as a blueprint for the various waves of British and American power pop since then.

Some have gone as far as to call them "the British Big Star," which is probably a fair comparison -- within their genre, they're seen as giants, yet the general public has missed them for the most part.
The band was formed around 1977, when pub rockers Kursaal Flyers broke up. The drummer from the band, Will Birch, and vocalist/guitarist John Wicks, who had joined the Kursaals in the last stages, began writing together, inspired by the pure pop tradition of the Raspberries, Badfinger, and Big Star. By 1978, they had completed the group by adding bassist Phil Brown and guitarist Huw Gower. After a series of live gigs, they released their debut, "Starry Eyes," on the independent Record Company label in November of the same year. They received some valuable early exposure on the Stiff label's Be Stiff tour, which led to their signing with Virgin Records.

Wicks and Birch continued to churn out should-have-been-hits pop classics over the next three years and three albums -- 1979's Shades in Bed (released in a slightly modified form as The Records in the U.S.), 1980's Crashes (which found Jude Cole replacing Gower), and 1982's Music on Both Sides (which replaced Cole with Dave Whelan and added another vocalist, Chris Gent). Aside from a minor hit with "Starry Eyes" in the U.S., their efforts were criminally unrewarded.

The band broke up in 1982, though they re-formed temporarily in 1990 to contribute a track to a Brian Wilson tribute album. Birch went on to become a notable music critic and historian; he also compiled several compact disc reissues, including Naughty Rhythms: The Best of Pub Rock. Wicks began a solo career in the mid-'90s, appearing on the Yellow Pills, Vol. 3 collection with a song co-written with Birch, "Her Stars Are My Stars" -- a pop gem that picked up right where they left off. "Starry Eyes" continues to be a cult pop classic -- still heavily requested on alternative radio retro shows.

Here is the US album edition of Shades In Bed and Crashes from 1980 both in flac and mp3(Crashes reissue 2004 mp3).
A classic power pop band of the late '70, early '80. I always loved the band also of the guitar sound.
Have fun
               SB1  The Records (1979) mp3
                        Crashes (Reissue 2004) mp3
                        The Records (1979) Flac
                        Crashes (regular edition) Flac

Nirvana - The Story of Simon Simopath 1967 (2003) Flac

One of the most entertaining things to do on websites that allow customer reviews of CDs is read the apoplectic fury Kurt Cobain's fans have for the original Nirvana, the cultily-adored British psych-pop group from the late '60s. Much of that misguided and ill-informed venom seems to be directed toward this album, Nirvana's 1967 debut. An unashamedly twee early concept album, The Story of Simon Simopath (subtitled "A Science Fiction Pantomime," suitably expressing the deliberately childlike tone of the album) sounds, like most rock concept albums, like a collection of unconnected songs forced together by the story written in the liner notes.

Ignoring the rather silly story (something about a boy who wishes he could fly), what's left is a regrettably brief but uniformly solid set of well-constructed psych-pop tunes with attractive melodies and rich, semi-orchestrated arrangements. Although the core of Nirvana was the duo of singer-guitarist Patrick Campbell-Lyons and keyboardist Alex Spyropoulos, the group is here expanded to a sextet including full-time French horn and cello players, and the semi-Baroque arrangements are particularly memorable on the singles "Pentecost Hotel" and "Wings of Love."

Although The Story of Simon Simopath has no individual songs as instantly delightful as "Rainbow Chaser," the hit single and key track from their next album All of Us, it's a much more consistent record than that somewhat patchy follow-up.

Listen and enjoy
                          SB1  Flac1
                                   Flac2

Seventies Psychedelic Rockpop by: Orange Bicycle - Orange Bicycle (1970)(2006) Flac

The British psych-pop outfit known as Orange Bicycle evolved from a Beat group, Robb Storme & the Whispers, also known as the Robb Storme Group. They had recorded a handful of harmony pop singles for Pye, Piccadilly, Decca, and Columbia Records during the early '60s, but with little success. In 1966, the Robb Storme Group covered the Beach Boys' "Here Today." It was arranged by the band's own multi-talented keyboardist/producer Wilson Malone and produced by Morgan Music's co-owner Monty Babson at Morgan Studios in the Willesdon area of London. With psychedelic music at its zenith, the group decided to change its name change and, in 1967, they re-emerged as Orange Bicycle. Over the next few years, they released a half-dozen singles; their -- "Hyacinth Threads" -- remains the band's best-known track, appearing on numerous compilations. In late August/early September 1968, Orange Bicycle -- wearing matching black and orange suits -- performed at the Isle of Wight music festival, reportedly covering songs by Love and the Rolling Stones. In 1970, already somewhat past their prime, Orange Bicycle recorded their only album, The Orange Bicycle. It was comprised largely of covers, including Elton John's "Take Me to the Pilot," Bob Dylan's "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You," and Denny Laine's "Say You Don't Mind." A few tracks were produced by John Peel. Psychedelic pop music, however, was on the wane, or transmogrifying into heavier prog or hard rock, so the group decided to call it a day, breaking up in 1971. Wilson Malone's self-titled solo album (as Wil Malone) for Fontana was released that same year. Meanwhile, drummer Kevin Currie joined Supertramp, then Burlesque, before becoming a session drummer. Malone went on to form the heavy psych-prog trio Bobak Jons Malone with celebrated engineer/producer Andy Jons and guitarist producer Mike Bobak. They recorded one album, Motherlight. Malone also collaborated with bassist John Bachini on singer/songwriter Robert MacLeod's 1976 solo album Between the Poppy and the Snow. That same year, they covered the Beatles' "You Never Give Me Your Money" for All This and World War II. Malone then went on to become a top producer/arranger on his own, working with many successful groups and solo artists.

His string arrangement for the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" (which appropriated the symphonic arrangement from the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time") caused a ruckus that resulted in Andrew Loog Oldham suing the Verve for songwriting royalties. In 1988, the Morgan Bluetown label issued an Orange Bicycle compilation, Let's Take a Trip On..., which contained all of the band's Columbia singles but no Parlophone-era recordings. Edsel later reissued all of Orange Bicycle
's recordings -- 33 tracks total -- on a double CD in 2001.

Good musicians were involved here and the album have some pretty good songs. It's not a real pop album but with some nice sounding melodies and good vocals. 4 stars out of 6 from my view of today.
Have fun
               SB1 Flac1
                      Flac2