Even - Even (2007 Rubber Records) Flac & mp3

Even are exactly what they are and what Ashley Naylor wants them to be -- a band whose members love their Beatles, their ELO, their power pop, their hints of roots music appreciation. It's all in there and they're not only not hiding it; they revel in it. It would be pointless to criticize something that they're precisely aiming for, no less so than any number of acts exploring their own favorite genres almost to a fault. Even the song titles hit the trick moment for moment -- "I Am the Light," "Keep on Burning," "The Fool Who Makes You Sad" -- and are all spot-on.Even is going to be a treat, but there's still something to be said for trying to push oneself creatively -- and, ultimately, that's just not in evidence here.

Naylor's yearning vocals, the tuneful guitar crunches, the flanged vocals and buried string swells on "Only One" -- it's all designed to slot them in alongside bands ranging from the Shoes to Cheap Trick to Redd Kross to Teenage Fanclub to Jellyfish, and it's well in line with what he's been doing leading Even all these years. But so perfected is this approach now that there's almost little to say; Even as an album is such a flawless example of what Naylor aims for that it's almost something to admire and regard with appreciation more than anything else.

When a song like "Superstition Blues" is exactly the kind of stylishly formal exercise one might guess, down to the twang in the vocals as much as the guitars and mouth harp, what more can be done but to acknowledge it for what it is? So if any of this sounds like it would appeal, then Even is going to be a treat, but there's still something to be said for trying to push oneself creatively -- and, ultimately, that's just not in evidence here.

Enjoy Even
                  Frank      Flac p1 &  Flac p2           - mp3@320

Eurovox - This Is Eurovox (2004 Rusty Metal Records) mp3

The evidence is undeniable: Eurovox equip themselves with borrowed parts: chunks of guitar shrapnel left behind the Mohawk hordes from London’s Class of ’77. Although they have a ferocious enough drum kick and the guitars speed with the ferocity of passing asteroids, Eurovox are definitely not punk. Rather, this is working-class British rock, closer in sound, if not spirit, to vintage Who, the Kinks, and David Bowie. Their Bowie fixation is fairly obvious on “The World Won’t Wait,” but it’s not a pale imitation a la Spacehog or Babylon Zoo (remember them?). The group captures the drag years of Bowie quite well and, while vocalist Mat Hammond is nowhere near as flamboyant as Ziggy Stardust, he offers a solid, charismatic performance.

With artists such as Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, and Franz Ferdinand taking off in the U.S., there seems to be another British Invasion underway, one that has the potential of topping the last U.K. infiltration of this country in the mid-‘90s. However, many of these groups are flashing back to the ‘80s. Eurovox, on the other hand, refuse to settle for a single era. The band plumbs the English rock & roll encyclopedia for definitions of kick-ass music from the ‘60s to the ‘80s. Don’t expect any modern touches here; this is classic British rock with an irresistibly stubborn commitment of remaining true to its royal blue origins.(Karla Ash, thewigfitsall.com)

This is great british mod rock. But the best is that you can hear hundreds of Mod bands and you will Eurovox immediately recognize. Listen loud...better LOUDER!

Enjoy
         Frank                mp3@320

The School - Wasting Away And Wondering (2015 Elephant Records) Flac & mp3

Since their first single, 2008's "All I Wanna Do," the School have been a band that indie pop fans can't help but love, with sticky-sweet, lush, and lovely songs about love and lost love, equal parts girl group and C-86, impeccably played by the band and sung perfectly by leader Liz Hunt. After two albums that won the hearts and minds of all but the coldest and cruelest indie kids, their third, 2015's Wasting Away and Wondering, is another beauty. Made up of bouncy Northern soul-inflected love songs that are designed to make feet happy, girl group-y love-lost songs made to bend hearts, and late-night ballads sure to break them all the way, Wasting was made by a band at the top of its game. Not a wasted note or a wrong foot forward, with a nonstop parade of potential singles, the album doesn't top their previous work as much as it adds another layer of goodness to the recipe. Hunt and her crew lay on the horn section a bit heavier this time, with songs like "Til You Belong to Me" and the "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"-quoting title track reaching near Dexys-level excitement.

The strings are more prominent too, giving songs like the weepy "Don't Worry Baby (I Don't Love You Any More)" an extra ounce of swoon. It's an assured and powerful sound that gives Hunt's vocals a strong foundation, even more than on previous albums. She responds by turning in a performance that's the equal of anything she's done yet, and there are a couple times when she even belts it out a little. One of those times is on the album highlight, "Do I Love You?," where the song, the arrangement, and the performance all come together in a big punch that equals their finest moments of the past ("Let It Slip," "Stop That Boy"). Another is on one of the album's few surprises, the almost noisy, guitar-led minor-key ballad "He's Gonna Break Your Heart One Day," which comes off like one of the saddest mascara-streaked songs the Shangri-Las ever did, only tougher.

It's a nice addition to their repertoire and something they could explore more on the next album. Not that they need to change anything much, since Wasting Away and Wondering is another classic slice of indie pop. The School could keep releasing albums just like this forever and it would be just fine. Better than that, it would be simply lovely.(allmusic.com)

The School make pop music with an early - mid sixties girls pop feel.
Wonderful!!!

Enjoy
         Frank                     Flac p1   & Flac p2       - mp3@320

The Scruffs - Pop Manifesto (2007 Scruffsville) mp3@320

Thirty years after Stephen Burns made his first bid for cult hero status with the Scruffs' debut album, Wanna Meet the Scruffs?, the man stubbornly refuses to give up the power pop ghost, and Pop Manifesto is the third Scruffs album since Burns decamped to Scotland in 1999 and assembled a new version of the band. Those who haven't checked in with Burns since checking out Wanna Meet the Scruffs? years ago may be a bit surprised with the group's latest work; in many respects, Pop Manifesto recalls Burns's short-lived Messenger 45 project, revealing a more baroque tone in the arrangements and a less aggressive attack than in the nervy tone of the group's early sides. The delicate piano, strings, and horn accents on "September's Lost" are a far cry from "You're No Fun," and "What Can I Do for You" almost makes the Left Banke sound like the Nerves. But Burns is still writing terrific songs with glorious melodies and superb hooks, which is the real link between this music and his past, and for good or ill he's still trying to figure out the opposite sex, as "There's a Girl I Know" and "She's Got It for You" amply demonstrate. "Situation Critical" shows he hasn't entirely let his more rollicking side go fallow, either. Pop Manifesto isn't quite the Scruffs as you remember them, but it's a fine and well-crafted visit to smart pop heaven that proves Stephen Burns isn't running out of interesting ideas.(allmusic.com)

I was quite surprised when i heard back then in 2007 or 2008 The Scruffs had released a new album. But it was a positive surprise. That's not the Scruffs from the eighties that's the Scruffs of 2007. 4 and a half star out of 6.

Have fun
              Frank                mp3@320

mp3 flac mp3 flac mp3 flac...

Good Morning Folks, hope all started well into the weekend. In the last weeks a lot of requests come in and a lot who asked for power pop artists. I think i have a quite good amount of power pop music on my external HDDs. But i think  around 90% in mp3 only. Usually i prefer to post albums in Flac & mp3. The original idea, as i started the blog, was to post only in Flac. But after a while i perceived that a lot of the readers (two-thirds) of this blog would love to download in mp3.

Mostly i posted since then in both formats (if possible). But time goes on and i get a lot of requests for albums i only have in mp3. I have decided now also post files that i only have in mp3. This concern mainly power pop music. I hope everyone understand the decision. And for no one anything get lost due to this.
I would be glad to see your opinions in the comments.
Enjoy your lazy Sunday afternoon
                                                      Frank

Power Pop/Garage from Down Under: The Stoneage Hearts - Turn On With The Stoneage Hearts (2002 Off The Hip Records) Flac & mp3

The Stoneage Hearts were a band from Australia and they played a fine Power Pop/Garage style.
In the band were famous names like Danny McDonald and Dom Mariani. Only this speaks for the high quality of the songs . ''Turn on with...'' was the debut by the band and is a great work of powerful pop music. Listen loud and have fun!

Enjoy
          SB1            Flac part1  &   Flac part2               - mp3@320

At Request: The Sneetches - Blow Out The Sun (1994 spinART Records) Only mp3@320

Sneetches take pains to distance themselves from their '60s rave-up past; there's more to them than He's Frank. Naturally, a band fond of covering the Zombies -- we had to look at the songwriting credits here just to be sure that "What I Know" wasn't a Zombies' song we'd inexplicably missed -- can't resist throwing in a few throwbacks such as "...And I'm Thinking," and "All of Everything." But those come on the second half, and by then, they've established the new territory.

As hinted at by the dark-lit photos on the cover, most of this, such as the opening "The Weather Scene" into "Saving It for Me," and the closing "Try To Make It All Work," reflect a more reflective side, a more engrossed, effervescent, spiritual sound. Though no less melodic (almost Bacharach-ian) than their earlier efforts, by turning moody and dark, it's just less derivative (no matter how pleasant they were before). Nice progress, highly delectable.(allmusic.com)

The Sneetches were one of the handful of bands in the U.S. playing classic British Invasion-inspired, mid-'60s West Coast-sounding guitar pop in the late '80s. Their short run of albums and singles never had a large audience, and they never found the major-label success they desired, but the band remains a hidden pleasure for fans of witty, melodically rich pop music.

Have fun
               SB1            mp3@320

The Pillbugs - The 3-Dimensional In-Popcycle Dream 2003 - mp3@320

The Pillbugs are an American power pop/Psychedelic pop group that emerged on the indie music scene in the late 1990s.
Based in Toledo, Ohio, the band consisted of Mark Mikel (vocals/guitar/keyboards), David Murnen (vocals/percussion), Mark Kelley (vocals/bass), Scott Tabner (guitar), Dan Chalmers (drums/vocals). They have released 5 albums under the credo "the world's most psychedelic band." "I don't know if we are or not," said Mikel, "We thought so when we first formed. It was just something to draw attention. It probably isn't completely true."
The group broke up after the death of band member Mark Kelley from lung cancer.

My favourite (psychedelic) Power Pop band. In my ears every album the band released is great.

Enjoy
          SB1          mp3@320

Sorry Folks only mp3.

The Hard Times - Blew Mind 1968 (2003 Rev-Ola) Flac & mp3

San Diego's the Hard Times were a solid garage folk-rock outfit led by two gifted songwriters, Rudy Romero and Bill Richardson, but the band unfortunately never seemed to establish its own identity, drifting between folk-rock, sunshine pop, and a light psychedelia during its short history, breaking up almost immediately after releasing one album, 1967's Blew Mind, which is included here in its entirety along with a handful of non-album 45 releases, making this essentially the group's complete recorded output. There's a lot to like, certainly, from lovely covers of Bob Lind's "Come to Your Window" and Al Kooper's "Sad Sad Sunshine" (which is presented in both the album and single versions) to the spooky, atmospheric "Blew Mind," a Richardson original, and Romero's "Give to Me Your Love" (which was actually recorded under the group name New Phoenix and was produced by Mama Cass Elliot). There's also a lot to scratch one's head about, as well, like the odd, overly baroque version of "Candy Man" which opens this collection, a production approach that is also repeated on Hard Times' ill-advised cover of Donovan's "Colours." One can't help but wonder what might have happened if Romero and Richardson had been allowed to develop the band further on a second album, but that was not to be. When all is said and done, the Hard Times remain an intriguing footnote in the era between mid-'60s folk-rock and the emerging flower power scene of 1967 and 1968.(allmusic.com)

BIOGRAPHY
 Formed in San Diego but based in Los Angeles for much of their brief career, the Hard Times were a second-division, mid-'60s Southern Californian rock band that played folk-rock, sunshine pop, soft rock, and early psychedelia on their sole LP and a handful of 45s without developing a consistent or original sound. There were plenty of bands like that, of course, and perhaps the blanket assessment of the previous sentence is a tad harsh. The Hard Times were among the better such back-of-the-pack trailers, writing much of their material, and doing some decent tracks, particularly on their earliest and rawest singles. Their sole album, 1967's Blew Mind, was so all-over-the-map in its approach, with frequent visits to soft rock territory that skirted easy listening, that one suspects that their sound was deliberately or inadvertently pushed toward an inappropriately mild direction in the studio.
The Hard Times formed around 1965 in San Diego, and got work on L.A.'s Sunset Strip after hooking up with Los Angeles manager Florence Stanley. For a while they were the house band at the Whisky a Go Go, where they played on bills with plenty of acts that became far bigger than they did, such as the Doors, Love, and Buffalo Springfield. They also got a fair amount of exposure on the ABC pop music TV program Where the Action Is, and a deal with World Pacific Records, then making a small splash in folk-rock with Bob Lind.

Their first pair of singles (both non-LP) in 1966, combining three original songs with a cover of Lind's "Come to Your Window," were, in fact, respectable if derivative -- slightly raw, even -- folk-rock, heavily influenced by the Byrds and to a lesser extent by the Beau Brummels. Not much of that sensibility survived onto their 1967 Blew Mind album, however, perhaps in part because studio musicians were often used for those sessions. Their only entry into the charts was with their '66 single "Fortune Teller," which halted at a mere number 97, and wasn't by any stretch one of the better rock covers of that Benny Spellman, New Orleans rock & roll classic, whether compared to the Rolling Stones' version or those by other bands.
The Hard Times broke up in late 1967, with guitarists Bill Richardson and Larry Byrom helping to form T.I.M.E., who did a couple of albums on Liberty. Drummer Paul Whitebread joined Gary Puckett & the Union Gap and, later, Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids; Lee Kiefer became a recording engineer; and Rudy Romero did a solo album in 1972. The Blew Mind album was reissued on CD by Rev-Ola in 2003 with bonus tracks, including all of their non-LP singles and a decent 1967 folk-rock-psych single by New Phoenix, "Give to Me Your Love," on which at least some of the Hard Times played.(allmusic.com)

A lot of real fine songs here. In my opinion underrated. Give it a try!!!
Cheers
           SB1              Flac1   &  Flac2         -  mp3@320

New mp3 link (password corrected) for The Fallen Angels - The Roulette Masters Part 2 of 2 It's A Long Way Down 1968 (1994 Collectables) Flac & mp3

Hello Folks, i posted a new link for the mp3 file.
Kind regards
Frank

The Fallen Angels - The Roulette Masters Part 2 of 2 It's A Long Way Down 1968 (1994 Collectables) Flac & mp3

Here is the second part of the Collectables two disc edition. The whole work (Part 1 & 2) is absolutely great. A very strong collection of the work by the Fallen Angels in 1967/68.
Highly recommend!

Have fun
              SB1      Flac p1   &   Flac p2   -   mp3@320 password fixed link

         

The Fallen Angels - The Roulette Masters Part 1 of 2 1967 (1994 Collectables) Flac & mp3

The Fallen Angels were an American psychedelic rock band formed in Washington D.C., in 1966. Spearheaded by the group's lead vocalist and bassist, Jack Bryant, the band released two albums in their recording career, which was marked by lyrical and instrumental experimentation. Despite never breaking through on a national scale, the Fallen Angels were popular in the American music underground, and their music has been revived over the years.

History

The band originated from a folk rock group known as the Disciples, which formed in 1965 when Wally Cook (rhythm guitar, harmonica), who previously worked in local band the Young Rabbits, came together with Jack Bryant (bass guitar, vocals) and Charlie Jones (lead guitar, vocals). Within a few months, the band became known as the Uncalled, followed by a name change to the Fallen Angels, and multiple personnel shifts that concluded with a solidified lineup consisting of Bryant, Cook, Howard Danchik (keyboards), Richard Kumer (drums) and Jack Lauritsen (rhythm guitar).The band quickly established themselves on the American music underground with their stage theatrics enriched by the group's political satire, and their ability to incorporate folk music, jazz, and psychedelia into their own cohesive sound. Much of the Fallen Angels' material was penned by Bryant with a close similarity to the Mothers of Invention.
In 1966, the band was signed to Laurie Records, releasing one single, "Everytime I Fall in Love", in the same year, and the follow-up, "Have You Ever Lost a Love?" in early 1967. After achieving a top ten radio hit with their debut single, the Fallen Angels signed a recording contract with Roulette Records to produce two albums. In late 1967, the band's first album The Fallen Angels was released, but failed to gain a nationwide response as a consequence of Roulette promoting the group as a mainstream pop act in an attempt to repeat the success of Tommy James and the Shondells, who were also signed to the record label at the time. Despite the commercial failure of the album, overtime it has become recognized as a classic psychedelic piece. Conflicts with Roulette came to head when the Fallen Angels were scheduled to appear on Upbeat, a Cleveland-based adaptation of American Bandstand, to promote their next single "Hey Girl". The record label rearranged the song to be more commercially appealing without the band's consent, consequently leading the group to retaliate by ripping a doll's head during recording. As a result, the performance was heavily edited for the broadcasting.

In 1968, Roulette Records all but abandoned their attempts to make the Fallen Angels a mainstream musical act, and allowed the group much more artistic freedom for their second album It's A Long Way Down. Although promotion by the record label was nearly non-existent, the album fulfilled the group's desire to exemplify their eclectic approach, and, like its predecessor, is considered a psychedelic masterpiece. However, it was a commercial failure and the band was soon dropped from the label, but continued to tour with new drummer John "Thumper" Molloy until disbanding in 1969. In 1974, former manager, Tom Traynor, released a single featuring material recorded by the Fallen Angels in 1969 on his independent record label Sun Dream. In 1994, Collectables Records released much of the group's material on the two compilation albums The Roulette Masters, Part 1 and The Roulette Masters, Part 2. The band's two albums were also remastered by the label in the following years.
In 1997, Bryant reformed the Fallen Angels and recorded the album Rain of Fire, which contained re-recorded versions of their older material and newly penned compositions. The refashioned lineup continued to perform on the east coast until 2009.

This is a real great collection by the Angels. Collectables released it in '94 as a two part edition.
Here comes part one and part two will follow a little later.
Enjoy
         SB1          Flac  -   mp3@320