Decca Originals-THE MOD & FREAKBEAT SCENES (1998 compilations)

This 25-song CD is much more than just an excursion into the farther reaches of English Decca Records' vaults -- it's also a de facto tour of the playlists of some of England's hottest mod clubs of the mid-/late '60s; hardly a sound on this collection ever made it anywhere near a chart listing, anywhere in the U.K. (much less the U.S.A.), but a lot of what is here did get picked up locally in London among the mods that made up the audiences of most of these bands. Considering how badly England's Decca Records fared in the middle-late 1960's (apart from the Rolling Stones, the Small Faces, and the Moody Blues) in signing really solid acts, this is an astonishingly good collection of soul-influenced, mod-oriented singles from the company's vaults. A few of the acts included, such as the Small Faces, Tom Jones, St. Louis Union, Chris Farlowe, and the Amen Corner, made some kind of splash on the charts, but most of the musicians here got their chance on these single sides, failed to find success, and disappeared into the mist of musical history. The CD jumps headfirst into the kind of hard-rocking, intense soul numbers that were played to death in London' mod clubs, even if they never scraped even the lower reaches of the charts. The sound on these singles tells you right away why most of these groups were never going to make it as world-class recording acts, being too raw and direct -- without the distinctive hooks to get more than a listen from any radio deejays. By themselves, the Ronnie Jones track, coupled with those by Tom Jones, Steve Aldo, Graham Gouldman, Poets, the Eyes of Blue, and the Quik, justify the cost of this $20 import. The sound is excellent throughout, and it's also reassuring on some level to learn from the notes that Decca is digging so deeply into its vaults that these acts are nearly as obscure to the people producing this compilation as they are to us.



The Freakbeat Scene (1998) is another entry in Decca Records' lauded archival "Scene" series. Each respective title has proven to be as much a treat for the hardcore fan as for the curious neophyte. The focus of this 25-track anthology is the mid- to late-'60s mod, soul, rock, garage, and psychedelia-influenced British bands that created a distinctive synthesis of sounds that have become collectively referred to as freakbeat. However, as explained in the liner booklet blurb, that exact phrase wasn't turned until the subgenre resurfaced as retro-chic during the 1980s. The vast majority of these platters may not be familiar to all but the most academic of freakbeat enthusiasts, which is partially due to their relative unavailability for over two decades. In some cases, for example the Score's aggressive and attitude-laden cover of the Beatles' "Please Please Me," is practically all that exists. The same can be said of the edgy proto-punk reading of "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" from the Flies, which deflates the Monkees' sugary farfisa organ with stinging electric guitar leads and a heavily pulsating backbeat. While Keith Shield's echoplex-soaked revision of Donovan's "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)" lies closer to the Animals' frenzied reworking of the tune, it likewise boasts a rhythmic agitation notably absent from either of the higher profile takes. Among the better-known acts are the Small Faces, whose "Understanding" exemplifies the soulful nature of freakbeat, highlighted by Marriott's blistering fretwork and vocals. There is also an early original from future T. Rex figurehead, Marc Bolan. "The Third Degree" is an apt demonstration of Bolan's penchant for catchy and mod-ish melodies. Although that barely scratches the surface, it is safe to say that interested parties will not be disappointed in the Freakbeat Scene.

-Bruce Eder, Lindsay Planer, allmusic.com

DOWNLOAD:
DECCA ORIGINALS: THE MOD SCENE
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DECCA ORIGINALS: THE FREAKBEAT SCENE
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Hearts and Flowers-THE COMPLETE HEARTS AND FLOWERS (1995/2002 compilation)

I know what you're thinking, there's a future Eagle floating around in this band somewhere. Trust me, this will remain an Eagles-free blog forever. All these guys bounced around LA in psych bands and stuff before turning to the dark side, so they may occasionally crop up in other forms. -Ian!

This Los Angeles based trio is among a handful of '60s groups to turn out stellar major-label releases to little or no acclaim, and only faint memory among the few who heard them at the time. Their two Capitol albums of West Coast country-inflected folk-rock predated or paralleled many which found fame, such as efforts from The Beau Brummels, Byrds, Dillards and Flying Burrito Brothers, and matched them in quality and innovation. This is a perfect storm of folk and rock, with country touches, sunshine-pop production and age-of-Aquarius sensibilities that lends both albums the magic glow of 1960's social awareness and utopian hope.

The band's debut, 1967's "Now is the Time For... Hearts and Flowers," combines light-psychedelic touches with Nik Venet's crystal-clear production across a combination of originals and songs selected from the pens of Donovan ("Try for the Sun"), Tim Hardin ("Reason to Believe," popularly recorded by Rod Stewart), Hoyt Axton ("10,000 Sunsets"), Goffin & King ("Road to Nowhere" - the B-side of their first single), and a fine cover of the Merle Haggard hit "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive." The entire album balances folk and country influences similarly to Brewer & Shipley's best work. Sadly, despite prominent opening slots on tours by The Doors and Simon & Garfunkel, the album went nowhere commercially.



Before recording their second album, 1968's "Of Horses, Kids and Forgotten Women," guitarist/vocalist Rick Cunha departed and was replaced by future Eagle, Bernie Leadon. This sophomore LP includes a more generous helping of originals (including a reprise of the title track from the debut!), along covers of Arlo Guthrie's "Highway in the Wind" and James Lee Kincaid's "She Sang Hymns Out of Tune." The band's original "Two Little Boys" would become a hit for Rolf Harris a couple of years later. Nik Venet added more orchestration to the second release, resulting in heavier psychedelic influence on cuts like "Ode to a Tin Angel." Though more in line with popular LPs of '68, the band still found little commercial success, and were drifting apart by the time the album hit the stands. One could argue that they left the stage set and the amplifiers warmed up for The Byrds' "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" and Gram Parson's post-Byrds recordings.

-hyperbolium.com

DOWNLOAD:
Hearts and Flowers-THE COMPLETE HEARTS AND FLOWERS (1995/2002 compilation)
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Chris Lucey-SONGS OF PROTEST AND ANTI-PROTEST (1966)

My son Bob wrote and performed much music in the 60's and 70's, but, sadly, was not paid for music that he wrote, performed, and sometimes produced. His experiences were so painful, and so frustrating that he finally left Hollywood in the 80's, and turned his back on the music business forever.

In the last ten or eleven years, he has been living with me in San Luis Obispo, and earning his living by doing odd jobs, gardening, fixing roofs, pruning trees, etc. He had left the music business, and did not want to look back.

Then, about three years ago, he got a call from a stranger out of the blue, someone who had been searching for him for a long time, and had gone to great lengths to find him, including stealing his Social Security number from a Musician's Union record, and hiring a private detective.

This man, Steve Stanley, was a journalist of sorts, a musician, and an avid fan of 60's music, particularly that of Bobby Jameson, my son, aka Chris Lucey, because his first album was done under that pseudonym. It was called "Songs of Protest and Anti-Protest, and, according to Steve, had now become a cult hit.

But Bob did not want to be found. His experiences in the music business had been so painful, he did not want to revisit them.

Steve Stanley gave Bob the news that the Chris Lucey album had been reissued by an English company as a CD, with both the name Chris Lucey and Bobby Jameson on it. He also told him he would have money coming, but to this day, it has never materialized. Once again, just as in the past, a promise was made that sounded reasonable enough to believe, but didn't pan out.

Revola, the English Company, has never paid him anything. Cherry Red, the parent company has never paid him anything. Ace Records, from whom Revola licensed the album (whether legally or not is another question), has paid him exactly $127, and has not given him an accounting that makes it clear what this immense(!) payment was for. Now, Ace says Revola owes Bobby money, Revola says Ace owes him money, nobody pays anything, and the shell game goes on. Nobody has attempted to give him any real accounting of how many albums were sold in the five years since the CD was reissued.



Joe Foster, of Revola Records, told Bobby that he was working to get him money due him on the European market. It sounded good, but months went by and there was little communication, and nothing really happened, as far as Bobby could tell. All he had to go by was Joe's assurances that he was working on it, and that it could turn out to be a very remunerative thing. Unfortunately, this was very reminiscent of experiences out of his past. People would always tell him they were doing wonderful things for him, and he should just be patient. Then nothing happened.

Meanwhile, he was contacted by a man named, Alex Palao, who said he was a representative of Ace Records. He wanted to come and see Bobby and get him to sign a contract. First he said he represented Ace, then he denied it, but the address of Ace Records was clearly on his e-mail. His actual part in all this, and his intentions, are still a mystery.

The upshot of it all was that Bobby grew angry and frustated over the continuous passing of the buck, and put a public message on a music site on the web that they should all cease and desist manufacturing his album, selling his album, or promoting his album in any way, and to stop doing anything in his behalf. Since then he has heard nothing from any of them.

-poetroy, http://poetroy.pnn.com/articles/show/12352-the-saga-of-bobby-jameson-chris-lucey

More information at Bobby's own blogs:
http://bobbyjameson.blogspot.com
http://lifeandtimesofbobbyjameson.blogspot.com

I find both of those fascinating, if sprawling reads. Despite the obvious nature of this blog it still tears me up when artists, especially from that era, aren't even paid enough to make a simple living. If anything corruption at that level of the music business makes me feel less guilty about this blog as a reaction. Bobby Jameson is a man who is pretty deeply hurt.

I know the story I pasted above doesn't literally describe the album, which is amazing. But it does tell a more important cautionary tale.

DOWNLOAD:
Chris Lucey-SONGS OF PROTEST AND ANTI-PROTEST (1966)
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Various Artists-PSYCHEDELIC DISASTER WHIRL VOL. 1-4 (1986 / 2000s compilation)

I have very little information on these at hand, I'm still looking around. I know the first volume is based on an actual LP comp from 1986, pictured above. Available here is a series of homemade volumes compiled by a member of the old garagepunk message board.

I'll let the person who uploaded this torrent, mysticeyes, explain:

OK, how about another smokin' compilation of rare 60s singles for fans of the Pebbles volume 3 and Calico Wall variety of music. Every tune is a killer, so clear out little children, the lame, those with compromised immune systems, and people on heart medication. The Human Expression's "Optical Sound" may be the epitome of 60s psychedelic punk, but it is probably the most conventional sounding song here. Dig the Perpetual Motion Workshop's pair, "Won't Come Down" and "Infiltrate Your Mind." The Caretakers of Deception's brain-damaged "Cuttin' Grass." The Twentieth Century Zoo's crushing "You Don't Remember." These tunes will unleash a seething, swirling maelstrom of fuzz, delays, echo, sick tempos, weird guitar distortions and twisted lyrics that could splatter you all over the walls. Crank it up and melt.

Note: There was a bootleg vinyl compilation called "Psychedelic Disaster Whirl" that came out in 1986. This is not it -- this is an upgrade of that album. These are the same tunes in the same sequence, but they are ripped from pristine examples of the original 45s, using highend equipment and resulting in much better sound than that of the original comp. The remastering was done by bosshoss66 from singles in his own collection, and copies were given out to members of the defunct garagepunk.com forum. This was the way it was explained to me by the guy from whom I obtained these flacs. I own neither the vinyl comp nor the 1997 reissue which, I have heard, had really awful sound. My only contribution here is to create a cue file. I've also included the best picture of the album cover that I could find on the web.



Later three more volumes appeared...

Many moons ago I posted a sonically upgraded version of the 1986 comp LP "Psychedelic Disaster Whirl." That came out of the archives of bosshoss66 on the old garagepunk forum, who did the remaster job with high-quality gear and his own collection of original 45's. He followed up with three more CD-Rs of similar sounds, and here are those disks. As you know, the garage comps of the 70s and 80s were almost all bootlegs mastered from vinyl. Many of them sounded like they came from multi-generation cassette tapes of warped, scratchy records . So it is a treat to finally hear very well-recorded copies of mint, or near-mint, vinyl, and to be able to enjoy all the lunacy and creativity that literally leap out of the grooves of these incredible time capsules. I wonder what the guys in Oedipus and the Mothers told their parents about the name of their band?

If you have more info or even compiled this comp, feel free to comment!

Anyway, this stuff is great. Has more of a crazed Norton/Crypt Records/The Cramps vibe than, say, Nuggets. I converted these to MP3, FLAC is available on Demonoid.

EDIT: Complete tracklist here.

DOWNLOAD:
PDW I
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PDW II
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PDW III
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PDW IV
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Various Artists-SOFT SOUNDS FOR GENTLE PEOPLE 1,2,3 (2003, 2004 compilations)

These are really awesome. Many of the songs are uncollected in any other form and are long out of print. The review says the legitimacy of these comps is questionable because they're basically bootlegs. Don't let that stop you from checking them out

BTW, if you have VOL. 4 and beyond of this series in 320kbps or higher and would like to help a brother out, please leave a comment!
-Ian!

Subtitled "Far-out and beautiful tracks from California and beyond 1966-1971," Soft Sounds for Gentle People scours the nooks and crannies of the sunshine pop archives to unearth nearly two dozen singles and album cuts long forgotten by all but the most rabid collectors. Although there's a strong psychedelic dimension to the material -- nothing here would seem out of place in the Nuggets series -- the radiant harmonies and lush orchestral arrangements wonderfully capture the more tranquil side of late-'60s pop; sweet but never syrupy, should-have-been hits like the Pleasure Fair's "Today," the Lewis and Clarke Expedition's "Blue Revelations," and the Moorpark Intersection's David Axelrod-produced "I Think I'll Just Go and Find Me a Flower" sound far fresher and even more contemporary than the overplayed chart hits that dominate oldies radio. Most of the tracks are mastered directly from the original vinyl, and while there are some cracks and pops present in the mix, the overall fidelity is excellent and the liner notes are witty and informative -- all told, a fantastic package, although its legitimacy is questionable.


"Today" by The Pleasure Fair.
Please comment if you recognize
who sampled that opening organ
sound. It's killing me!

This series of CDs from Pet Records is supposed to be devoted to sunshine pop releases from the second half of the 1960s -- but most of the acts here know a good beat when they find it. Starting with the Mojo Men (billed by this time as Mojo) doing "Candle to Burn," the makers have generally chosen psych-pop sides with a beat. Even the most "produced" side here, "January Girl" by Pipedream (who apparently didn't exist as a group), manages to throw together enough of a rhythm section and effects to make it worthwhile psychedelic rock, even if the song itself sounds like a leftover from a sub-Hair musical. The Fun and Games apparently hailed from Texas, but that didn't stop them from sounding as spaced-out and languidly pretty as their trippy California surroundings on "Close to Carmel." Bryan's mysterious "Learn to Love" actually comes off as closer to psychedelic rock (with a decent beat) than most of the rest here, despite its being the product of a studio ensemble -- Tommy Roe producer Steve Clark evidently knew how to create those sounds on the fly. Leon Russell was one of the prime movers of Le Cirque, along with Marc Benno and Jerry Riopelle of Parade, and for a piece with a fairly conventional brass-loaded accompaniment, it does achieve a colorful effect with its trippy lyrics. The disc gets better as it goes along, the talent of the results (or both) becoming very imposing midway through -- far and away the best cut on this album is "Time Goes Backwards" by Jim & Jean, the folk duo; this psychedelic folk track is a totally unexpected permutation of their sound that lingers long after it's over. The Hung Jury's "Buses" is also pleasant psych pop in a Monkees-like mode, and "Lovin' Day" by the Status Cymbal is a surprisingly garage punk-ish cut to come out of Felton Jarvis' orbit in Nashville. Jacobson & Tansley were a virtually unknown Curt Boettcher project from 1966, whose "Dream With Me" managed to chart in New York and Cleveland, and deserved better. And the Second Helping's mouthful of a title, "Floating Downstream on an Inflatable Rubber Ball" -- which prominently features a pre-Loggins & Messina Kenny Loggins, with sitar and spacey lyrics -- makes for surprisingly pleasant listening. Less interesting and more ponderous is Stained Glass' "A Scene In Between," which is more pure psychedelia than sunshine pop -- produced by Rick Jarrard, it does have a nicely brittle lead guitar part that recalls the 12-string on "Eight Miles High" slowed down a bit.

-Jason Ankeny, Bruce Eder, allmusic.com

DOWNLOAD:
SSFGP I
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SSFGP II
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SSFGP III
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The Left Banke-THERE'S GONNA BE A STORM: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1966-69 (1992 compilation)

Though it's missing a few rarities -- namely the Steve Martin single for Buddha that reunited him with Michael Brown -- this is the most definitive Left Banke compilation. It features the entirety of their two late-'60s albums, as well as a couple of singles that didn't make it onto LPs at the time (though they later appeared on Rhino's History) and a previously unissued cut, "Men Are Building Sand." Their debut 1967 LP, Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina, is an underrated classic of the time, matching smart harmonies and pop hooks to baroque orchestration. Its brilliance casts a bit of a shadow over the rest of this collection. The group's 1968 album Too suffered from bloated production and, more importantly, the absence of chief songwriter/arranger Michael Brown. In turn, the 1967 single Brown cut under the Left Banke moniker with singer Bert Sommer suffers from the absence of lead vocalist Steve Martin. By the time Brown and Martin tenuously reunited for a late-1969 single, some of the spark had gone. All of the aforementioned highs and lows of this prodigiously talented but strife-ridden group are on this disc.

-Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com

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The Left Banke-THERE'S GONNA BE A STORM: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1966-69 (1992 compilation)
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The Mamas & the Papas!

Was it really just little more than a week? Felt longer.

Ok, so the treatment of The Mamas & the Papas masters and their catalogue over the past decades seems pretty abysmal. Until Sundazed I don't think anybody was doing anything decent with this material in the CD era and beyond aside from lame comps.

Steve Hoffman tried his hand at remastering some of the singles for a compilation, and while he got it extraordinarily clean sounding, he turned once mono radio singles into hard-panned severe stereo mixes. That move perplexed me and renders the songs pretty unlistenable to boot. I dunno, it's out there if you want to compare. All the other CDs I've heard have similarly abysmal stereo mixes. Yes, I love their voices and harmonies, but I don't really appreciate the great stomping beat of "Creeque Alley" relegated to somewhere far off in my right ear.

Anyway, by the time Sundazed got their hands on the masters, they were deteriorated to the point where... well, you can hear it for yourself on their reissues. I don't knock them for it, they did the best they could. There's some Byrds stuff they put out that suffered a similar fate.

SO, the conclusion I have come to is that there is really no satisfying reissue of The Mamas & the Papas' albums. You're stuck with original Dunhill vinyls from the 1960s to hear how this stuff was meant to sound. So that's what the three M&P albums here are ripped from. I'm totally up for suggestions of what OOP releases sound better... the MCA discs from the 1980s?

Oh, for the record my favorite single LP by them is DELIVER, if you wanted a starting point.

I'm throwing in the excellent Cass Elliot comp for good measure, because I'm obsessed with her lately. "California Earthquake" is one of the best songs ever written. Her cover of The Beach Boys' "Disney Girls" is pretty stellar also.



Hey, you know that band Tool? How they're so "edgy" for writing that post-apocalyptic misanthropic nightmare song about how Los Angeles will be swallowed by the ocean? Yeah, Mama Cass wrote that shit in 1968 and shoved it down Middle America's throat on The Fucking Smothers Brothers. Take your ball and go home, Tool.

DOWNLOAD:
The Mamas & the Papas-IF YOU CAN BELIEVE YOUR EYES AND EARS (1966)
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The Mamas & the Papas-THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS (1966)
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The Mamas & the Papas-DELIVER (1967)
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Cass Elliot-DREAM A LITTLE DREAM (1997 compilation)
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The Velvet Underground-PEEL SLOWLY & SEE (1995 compilation)

Re-up, better bitrate of this indispensable box set. If you don't have this, what's your problem? I actually like the closet mix more than the regular mix of the third album. I know, what's my problem? -Ian!

Does this five-CD box set feature an abundance of essential material? Certainly. It has all four of the studio albums released by the Lou Reed-led lineup, and a wealth of previously unreleased goodies. Is it an essential purchase? That depends on your level of fanaticism. Most serious Velvet fans have all four of the core studio albums already (although the third, self-titled LP is presented in its muffled, so-called "closet" mix), and will be most interested in the previously unavailable recordings, which do hold considerable fascination. The entire first disc is devoted to a drummer-less 1965 rehearsal tape in John Cale's loft, with radically different, almost folky run-throughs of most of the important songs from their classic debut, as well as a song that only made it onto Nico's first LP ("Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"), and one which makes its first appearance anywhere (the Dylanesque "Prominent Men"). Other big bonuses include no less than seven outtakes from Loaded and other songs re-done by Reed on his early solo albums. And there are sundry other unreleased live and studio items, highlighted by a scorching live 1967 "Guess I'm Falling in Love" and the 1969 demo "Countess From Hong Kong." There are also highlights from VU and Another View, longer versions of Loaded's "Sweet Jane" and "New Age," and an 80-page booklet. The thing is, though, that virtually everyone who's interested in this material has already bought the four studio albums, sometimes several times over. A separate release of the two discs or so of truly new material would have been welcomed by the many fans who aren't interested in paying for a five-CD box of stuff when they already have well over half of it.

by Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com


DOWNLOAD:
The Velvet Underground-PEEL SLOWLY & SEE (1995 compilation)
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Moby Grape-MOBY GRAPE / WOW (1967 /1968)

The S/T is a rip of the first pressing MONO vinyl, WOW is from a reissue with bonus tracks on CD. I didn't skip GRAPE JAM out of laziness, it's just particularly not very good. Meandering jams, they couldn't even give it away at the time. They even tried discounting it heavily if you bought a copy of WOW and nobody really cared. -Ian!

Moby Grape's career was a long, sad series of minor disasters, in which nearly anything that could have gone wrong did (poor handling by their record company, a variety of legal problems, a truly regrettable deal with their manager, creative and personal differences among the bandmembers, and the tragic breakdown of guitarist and songwriter Skip Spence), but their self-titled debut album was their one moment of unqualified triumph. Moby Grape is one of the finest (perhaps the finest) album to come out of the San Francisco psychedelic scene, brimming with great songs and fresh ideas while blessedly avoiding the pitfalls that pockmarked the work of their contemporaries -- no long, unfocused jams, no self-indulgent philosophy, and no attempts to sonically re-create the sound of an acid trip. Instead, Moby Grape built their sound around the brilliantly interwoven guitar work of Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, and Skip Spence, and the clear, bright harmonies of all five members (drummer Don Stevenson and bassist Bob Mosely sang just as well as they held down the backbeat). As songwriters, Moby Grape blended straight-ahead rock & roll, smart pop, blues, country, and folk accents into a flavorful brew that was all their own, with a clever melodic sense that reflected the lysergic energy surrounding them without drowning in it. And producer David Rubinson got it all on tape in a manner that captured the band's infectious energy and soaring melodies with uncluttered clarity, while subtly exploring the possibilities of the stereo mixing process. "Omaha," "Fall on You," "Hey Grandma," and "8:05" sound like obvious hits (and might have been if Columbia hadn't released them as singles all at once), but the truth is there isn't a dud track to be found here, and time has been extremely kind to this record. Moby Grape is as refreshing today as it was upon first release, and if fate prevented the group from making a follow-up that was as consistently strong, for one brief shining moment Moby Grape proved to the world they were one of America's great bands. While history remembers the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane as being more important, the truth is neither group ever made an album quite this good.



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.

-Mark Deming, allmusic.com

DOWNLOAD:
MOBY GRAPE (1967)
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WOW (1968)
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Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band-SAFE AS MILK (1967)

Rip of an first pressing MONO vinyl from Buddha Records. -Ian!

Beefheart's first proper studio album is a much more accessible, pop-inflected brand of blues-rock than the efforts that followed in the late '60s -- which isn't to say that it's exactly normal and straightforward. Featuring Ry Cooder on guitar, this is blues-rock gone slightly askew, with jagged, fractured rhythms, soulful, twisting vocals from Van Vliet, and more doo wop, soul, straight blues, and folk-rock influences than he would employ on his more avant-garde outings. "Zig Zag Wanderer," "Call on Me," and "Yellow Brick Road" are some of his most enduring and riff-driven songs, although there's plenty of weirdness on tracks like "Electricity" and "Abba Zaba."

-Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com


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Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band-SAFE AS MILK (1967)
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Various Artists-MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY JOHN CASSAVETES' "FACES" (1966)

This is one of those "big deal" discoveries for me. Big thank you to Bananafish and the blog LIKE A TIME MACHINE POWERED BY BICYCLES for this stunning find! I didn't know that one of my favorite films of all time even had a score! -Ian!

This LP was presumably rushed out to capitalize on the surprising critical success of Faces, though I've never come across a single mention of it in any Cassavetes bio. As the title says, the album (produced by Miles Davis' producer/collaborator Teo Macero) is comprised of "music from the soundtrack, plus music inspired by the film;" what this means is that only a few tracks were actually featured in the film (Love Is All You Really Want, Love Has Conquered Man, and Charlie Smalls' stark and soulful Never Felt Like This Before), while the rest are either extrapolations of musical themes from the minimal score (i.e. two additional renditions of Love Is All You Really Want), or are pieces with loose thematic or practical ties to scenes in the film (I Dream of Jeannie, Deck The Halls[?]).

It's impossible to say who's "inspiration" was responsible for this collection, as three of the four people who would presumably know -- Macero, Smalls (a composer and songwriter later known for writing the music for the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz), and Cassavetes himself -- are no longer with us (anyone have a phone number for Jack Ackerman?). Personally, I'm just glad that an officially-produced soundtrack to any Cassavetes film exists; the only other one I know of is Bill Conti's Gloria score, issued in a limited edition by Varese Sarabane's limited-edition and now out of print. Now, if only someone would put together a nice collection of Bo Harwood's music for John's other films (hint hint)...

-http://likeatimemachinepoweredbybicycles.blogspot.com

DOWNLOAD:
Various Artists-MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY JOHN CASSAVETES' "FACES" (1966)
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James Carr-THE COMPLETE GOLDWAX SINGLES (2001 compilation)

Has some overlap with YOU GOT MY MIND MESSED UP, but to me the only guy that ties with Carr as the greatest soul vocalist of all time is O.V. Wright. -Ian!

All 28 songs from Carr's 1964-1970 Goldwax singles are here, which is enough to make it a fair bid for a good best-of compilation, although it doesn't have everything he recorded. About half of the songs on this British import are not on the most well-known American CD compilation of Carr's work, The Essential James Carr, and those tracks are consistent with the level of his other Goldwax recordings, although they don't include anything on the level of "The Dark End of the Street" or "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man." This disc is particularly valuable for filling in some of his earliest 1964-1966 sides, which have a very slightly poppier and more up-tempo bent than his most esteemed songs. "That's What I Want to Know"'s groove is pretty Motown-ish, for instance, while "I Can't Make It" and "Only Fools Run Away" have Marvelettes-like chirping in the background. The 1970 funk update of "Row, Row Your Boat" isn't much to cheer about, though. There are plenty who will argue the point, but this doesn't quite live up to Carr's billing as the greatest '60s deep soul singer; Otis Redding (who Carr resembles in some respects) was better, and others had better and more imaginative material. It's good, certainly, and recommended to fans of artists like Redding who are looking for similar stuff that doesn't get played on the radio anymore.

-Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com

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James Carr-THE COMPLETE GOLDWAX SINGLES (2001 compilation)
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Fred Neil-BLEECKER & MACDOUGAL / THE MANY SIDES OF FRED NEIL (1965 / 1998 compilation)

Given the late Fred Neil's near mythic reputation as a songwriter, singer, environmentalist, and recluse, the reissue of his 1965 album Bleecker & MacDougal is of historic importance. But rather than being an artifact of the man who wrote "Everybody's Talkin'," "Other Side to This Life" (which appears here), and "Dolphins," this album is made of the material that gave Neil his enigmatic presence. This is a highly evocative and emotionally charged set of material, nearly all of which Neil composed. The lineup on the album was similar to his previous outing with Vince Martin, and featured John Sebastian on harmonica, Felix Pappalardi on bass, and guitarist Pete Childs (who also played dobro and electric on the date -- the latter was heresy for a folk record), with Neil playing 12-string. The pace of the set is devastating, from the greasy blues of the title track to the strolling darkness of "Blues on the Ceiling," the jug band stomp of "Sweet Mama," and the balladic heraldry of "Little Bit of Rain," a dynamic Tim Buckley would bring his own magic to as he emulated it a few years later. In addition, there's the tough Chicago blues meets California swagger of "Country Boy," which Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield would perfect two scant years later. "Other Side to This Life" is its own elegiac painting in sound, with glistening dirge-like textures caressed by Neil's baritone. The tough, battered "Travelin' Shoes" is an early example of folk-rock with a big accent on the word "rock." Yet, on the album's lone cover, a gorgeously wrought and multi-textured rendition of "The Water Is Wide," Neil added spare, haunting jazz overtones to the arrangements, transcending the folk coffeehouse prison the song had been encased in for a decade. In fact, if one listens to Bryter Layter by Nick Drake, it would be easy to hear the connection. The album closes with the winding dobro that sparks "Gone Again," underlining the album's feeling of rambling transience and willful acceptance of both the graces and hardships life offers. In 13 songs, Neil transformed the folk genre into something wholly other yet not unfamiliar to itself, and helped pave the way for an entire generation of singer/songwriters who cared as much for the blues as they did for folk revival traditions. This is -- more so than his fine compilation The Many Sides of Fred Neil (also on Collector's Choice) or his debut Capitol album, Tear Down the Walls -- the Fred Neil record to have.



For many, the name Fred Neil will be familiar only as that belonging to the songwriter of the modern classic "Everybody's Talkin'," or perhaps "Candyman," "The Dolphins," or "Other Side of This Life," songs that Roy Orbison, Tim Buckley, and the Jefferson Airplane, respectively, recorded. However, Neil's influence extends much farther. John Sebastian, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Bob Dylan all claimed him as an influence, since he blended traditional and contemporary folk, blues, rock, gospel, Indian, and pop influences into a distinctive, idiosyncratic style. His music was not only influential, it was quite rich on its own terms and some of the best music of its era. Unfortunately, since Neil chose a life of seclusion in 1971, disappearing from both recording and performing, his work was neglected. Remedying the situation, The Many Sides bypasses his Elektra material, instead offering a complete summary of his Capitol recordings, including his three albums for the label (Fred Neil, Sessions, Other Side of This Life), both sides of a non-LP single with the Nashville Street Singers, and six unreleased cuts. It's a long overdue compilation and one that certainly stands as a definitive portrait of an influential and criminally underappreciated folk-rock figure. After listening to The Many Sides of Fred Neil, it makes sense that Neil turned into a recluse -- this is moody, haunting music, unlike much of the work of his contemporaries. In particular, his eponymous album boasts challenging, innovative arrangments that remain fresh and startling to this day. The rest of his work may be a little uneven in comparison, but it's frequently compelling and often matches its heights. Most importantly, The Many Sides of Fred Neil grants Neil his proper place in folk-rock history, confirming his unique vision and talent.

-Thom Jurek, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

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Fred Neil-BLEECKER & MACDOUGAL (1965)
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Fred Neil-THE MANY SIDES OF FRED NEIL (1998 compilation)
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The Merry-Go-Round-LISTEN, LISTEN: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION (1966-69, 2005 compilation)

Multiupload is acting funky today, so I'm using other stuff. It'll be fun when none of them work. Is there a single reliable upload service left? Jeez. -Ian!

The Merry-Go-Round's Listen, Listen: The Definitive Collection is a near-perfect example of doing a reissue the right way. Lovingly put together by the folks at Rev-Ola, the package is a perfect blend of enlightenment and entertainment, with insightful liner notes that feature new interviews with many members of the group and their guiding light, Emitt Rhodes, excellent photos, clean and crisp sound, and best of all, the wonderful music of the Merry-Go-Round and Emitt Rhodes. First, some bookkeeping. The opening half of the disc contains the group's lone album released on A&M in 1967, The Merry-Go-Round, the second half is the Emitt Rhodes album released by A&M in 1970 (and also in '71 with a different cover and an altered track listing) called The American Dream. The album is made up of songs Rhodes cut with studio pros in 1969 after the demise of the group, as well as demos recorded in the latter days of the Merry-Go-Round. The package is rounded out by four songs taken from singles released after The Merry-Go-Round, the mono version with drums of "Time Will Show the Wiser," and as a bonus, the band's recording of "Good Vibrations" with A&M honcho Herb Alpert on lead trumpet. Now for the music. The Merry-Go-Round is a breathtaking blend of chiming folk-rock guitars, British Invasion harmony vocals, baroque pop arrangements, and pure pop songcraft that sounds daisy fresh in 2005. The Beatles are a huge influence, there is plenty of Paul McCartney in Rhodes' sweet vocals and their vocal harmonies. You can hear the Byrds a bit, some Left Banke (especially on the sweeping orchestral pop gem "You're a Very Lovely Woman"), some L.A. garage on rockers like "Where Have You Been All My Life" and "Lowdown"; the group definitely didn't exist in a vacuum. There are some songs, though, that are quite unique and original like "Time Will Show the Wiser" with its otherworldly sped-up and backwards guitars and enchanting melody; the warm and bouncy hit single "Live," and "Had to Run Around" an exquisite ballad whose tender beauty foreshadows Rhodes' classic 1970 Emitt Rhodes album.



These songs, and the overall quality of the songs and the group's loose and earthy playing, help lift the album above the pack and should lead to it being mentioned in the same breath as Love's first album or Buffalo Springfield's first when talking about classic American debut albums of the '60s. The singles included on the reissue show the band adding piano and a fuller sound, not too surprising since many of the tracks on the album were demos. They are fine songs, too; 1968's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band"-inspired "Listen, Listen" rocks harder than anything else they recorded and has one of Rhodes' most intense vocals; "She Laughed Loud" is a self-mocking tune with some great background vocals, and "Missing You" incorporates some lovely harpsichord and was unjustly buried as a B-side. The American Dream album features some of Rhodes' best songs, like the rollicking Harry Nilsson-esque "Holly Park," the catchy as the flu, should-have-been a hit "Let's All Sing," and a couple of tracks that sound like the blueprint for the sound of Rhodes' first real solo album: the simple and beautiful "Saturday Night" and "Pardon Me." It also features a couple of near-clunkers in the hokey Appalachian narrative "Textile Factory," the overly dramatic "Someone Died," and the calypso-inflected "Mary Will You Take My Hand." The use of studio musicians also tends to drain most of the homespun charm of the MGR's work and the grafted-on string and horn arrangements on some of the songs can veer to the point of schmaltz ("Come Ride, Come Ride," "The Man He Was"). When you strip away the excess sweetening, though, the record is at its heart a solid pop record, not up to the standard of what preceded it or what followed, but most certainly worth hearing. The set is a must for fans of Rhodes, too, but more than that, the fact that it marks the first time the entire Merry-Go-Round discography is available on CD makes it an absolute must for fans of sophisticated '60s pop. In a world of botched reissues and pointless collections, Rev-Ola gets it right here.

-Tim Sendra, allmusic.com

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The Merry-Go-Round-LISTEN, LISTEN: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION (1966-69, 2005 compilation)
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BOBBY HUTCHERSON

Perhaps the single album that best sums up Bobby Hutcherson's early musical personality, Components is appropriately split into two very distinct halves. The first features four Hutcherson originals in a melodic but still advanced hard bop style, while the latter half has four free-leaning avant-garde pieces by drummer Joe Chambers. Hutcherson allots himself more solo space than on Dialogue, but that's no knock on the excellent supporting cast, which includes Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto sax and flute, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Ron Carter on bass. It's just more Hutcherson's date, and he helps unite the disparate halves with a cool-toned control that's apparent regardless of whether the material is way outside or more conventionally swinging. In the latter case, Hutcherson's originals are fairly diverse, encompassing rhythmically complex hard bop (the title track), pensive balladry ("Tranquillity," which features a lovely solo by Hancock), down-and-dirty swing ("West 22nd Street Theme"), and the gaily innocent "Little B's Poem," which went on to become one of Hutcherson's signature tunes and contains some lyrical flute work from Spaulding. The Chambers pieces tend to be deliberate explorations that emphasize texture and group interaction in the manner of Dialogue, except that there's even more freedom in terms of both structure and tonal center. (The exception is the brief but beautiful closing number, "Pastoral," an accurate title if ever there was one.) Components illustrated that Hutcherson was not only the most adventurous vibes player on the scene, but that he was also capable of playing more straightforward music with intelligence and feeling.

Bobby Hutcherson's first quartet outing, Happenings, casts the brightest spotlight on the vibraphonist's soloing abilities, matching him once again with pianist Herbie Hancock (who is also heavily featured) and drummer Joe Chambers, plus bassist Bob Cranshaw. For that matter, the album also leans heavily on Hutcherson's compositional skills; save for Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," six of the seven numbers are Hutcherson originals. Given his reputation as a modernist, most of the pieces here are structured pretty simply -- there's a lot of straightforward modal hard bop, giving Hutcherson and Hancock plenty of room to solo. They handle much of the material with a light, mellow touch, trading off meditative licks even on the more up-tempo pieces and poignant, lyrical lines on the ballads "Bouquet" and "When You Are Near." The two exceptions are the opening and closing numbers: "Aquarian Moon" is challenging post-bop, while the sinister "The Omen" finds Hutcherson opening up the bag of tricks he learned from the freely structured group dialogues Chambers wrote for albums past. Sharp stabs from the piano signal transition to a new, sometimes unaccompanied lead instrument, and Hutcherson's darting marimba lines build up a claustrophobic tension. That doesn't change the overall feel of the album, though, which ends up a charmingly relaxed, low-key outing and a nice addition to Hutcherson's Blue Note catalog.


Theme from "Blow Up" found on OBLIQUE

One of Bobby Hutcherson's best albums, Stick-Up! was also his first official release not to feature drummer Joe Chambers, who was a major part of Hutcherson's outside leanings. Instead, Stick-Up! stakes out the middle ground between hard bop and the avant-garde, offering a set of structured yet advanced modal pieces indebted particularly to Coltrane. Hutcherson's originals (five out of six selections) show him at the top of his game as a composer, and the ensemble's playing is tight and focused throughout, but what really lifts Stick-Up! to the top tier of Hutcherson's discography is its crackling energy. It's quite possibly the hardest-swinging album he ever cut, and part of the credit has to go to the stellar rhythm section of McCoy Tyner on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, who lay down a driving, pulsating foundation that really pushes Hutcherson and tenorist Joe Henderson. Tyner in particular is a standout, charging relentlessly forward on the intricate "8/4 Beat" and "Black Circle" and lending a Coltrane-ish flavor to the spiritually searching "Verse." The lone non-Hutcherson piece, Ornette Coleman's sometimes overlooked "Una Muy Bonita," is given a fantastic, rollicking treatment as catchy as it is progressive, proving that the piece is a classic regardless of whether it's interpreted freely or with a steady groove and tonal center. Hutcherson's originals are uniformly strong and memorable enough to sit very well next to it, and that — coupled with the energetic performances — ranks Stick-Up! with Dialogue and Components as the finest work of Hutcherson's tenure at Blue Note.

Bobby Hutcherson's second quartet session, Oblique, shares both pianist Herbie Hancock and drummer Joe Chambers with his first, Happenings (bassist Albert Stinson is a newcomer). However, the approach is somewhat different this time around. For starters, there's less emphasis on Hutcherson originals; he contributes only three of the six pieces, with one from Hancock and two from the typically free-thinking Chambers. And compared to the relatively simple compositions and reflective soloing on Happenings, Oblique is often more complex in its post-bop style and more emotionally direct (despite what the title may suggest). The latter is especially true on the two opening Hutcherson pieces, the sweetly lilting "'Til Then" and the innocent, childlike theme of "My Joy," which is reminiscent of "Little B's Poem" (save for its multi-sectioned structure). Meanwhile, Chambers' experiments with counterpoint in the context of group improvisation keep getting more evocative. The title cut is quick and driving, with lots of short, fleeting exchanges between Hutcherson and a surprisingly swinging Hancock; "Bi-Sectional" makes playful use of chromaticism in its first part, after which Hutcherson and Chambers switch between several different percussion instruments for what amounts to an artillery attack. As for the other pieces, Hutcherson's "Subtle Neptune" fuses post-bop with Brazilian rhythms, and Hancock's "Theme From 'Blow Up'" is a spare modal melody over a repeated chordal vamp, somewhat reminiscent of his classic "Maiden Voyage." All the performances are spirited enough to make the sophisticated music sound winning and accessible as well, which means that Oblique is one of the better entries in Hutcherson's Blue Note discography and one worth tracking down.

-Steve Huey, allmusic.com

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COMPONENTS (1965)
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HAPPENINGS (1966)
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STICK-UP! (1966)
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OBLIQUE (1967)
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Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood-NANCY & LEE (1968)

Re-up, found a better rip. With bonus tracks! This was released as a comp called FAIRYTALES & FANTASIES but in essence it's NANCY & LEE with several bonus tracks, and is OOP I believe. Some Velvet Morning might be one of the greatest songs of all time. -Ian!


Dude lived hard.

Lee's first duet album with Nancy Sinatra is a classic of '60s pop. He plays the leering, deep-throated, trail-worn cowboy to her bright-eyed girl-child, and the match on songs like "Summer Wine," "Sand," "Jackson," and "Some Velvet Morning" is a smart, sexy, lip-smacking bowl of mind candy.

-Kurt Wolff, allmusic.com

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Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood-NANCY & LEE (1968)
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The Rolling Stones-THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST (1967 MONO VINYL 24/96)

Something a little experimental. A high-end FLAC rip of an original MONO mix first pressing vinyl of this album, ripped at and presented in 24 Bit / 96 kHz resolution by "Prof. Stoned" (his details here), making this a higher than CD resolution capture of an analog recording on an analog source. It's also the last Stones album to get a dedicated mono mix in the US. As in, not a fold down of the stereo mix, but created for mono specifically. The stereo mixes are engineered after the fact in subsequent remixes.

Also thrown in is the mono mix of Sympathy For The Devil, for reasons explained in the dealie.

I take issue with the premise presented in the review below. I happen to have always thought TSMR was a psych MASTERPIECE, even surpassing SGT. PEPPER. Though the mono mix of PEPPER did raise it in my esteem greatly just this past year. My point, though, is that the reputation of this album only suffered because it was a STONES album. Had this been recorded by a band like The Zombies or something it would have been forever hailed a masterpiece. But instead, it's called "the time the Stones made a psych album."

Anyway, this plays fine in Foobar2000, but if you use iTunes you might want to stick with the regular old MP3 version. I threw in the STEREO ABKCO version, and also an MP3 version of the mono mix taken from the FLAC if you just want the mono mix without the fancy high-end hullabaloo. -Ian!


Click for big!

What is arguably the worst album the Rolling Stones did during the 1960s has suddenly been transformed into one of the best bootleg releases ever, its reputation salvaged and its songs transformed into superb, punky psychedelia, and it's all because of the use of the mono mix (virtually unheard by anyone outside of England) and a new transfer that runs circles around the late-'80s ABKCO stereo CD edition. Their Satanic Majesties Request has always been disliked by fans, who perceived it as the Rolling Stones trying to emulate the Beatles during the latter's psychedelic phase, and generally not sounding terribly good. The mono mix fixes all of that and then some -- indeed, all of a sudden, the album sounds great, and is great. The rhythm instruments are upfront and solid, and from the opening bars of "Sing This All Together" through the punchy break on "In Another Land" to the extended jam on "Sing This All Together (See What Happened)" (as it's printed here), this sounds like the Stones, pounding away hard and heavy, and scarcely like the Beatles at all. As expected, "2000 Man" is the highlight, with a crunchy guitar break that's right up close and personal, along with Jagger's vocals over it and Charlie Watts kicking the hell out of his kit while the organ twists little Arabesques around all of them; not far behind in terms of allure, amazingly enough, is "Sing This All Together (See What Happened)" -- the horns sound much more integrated into the texture of the track and a lot more dissonant, the Mellotron is more upfront in the mix, holding the piece together much better at the end, and the tom-toms and kettle drums are practically in your lap, while Keith Richards' guitar, doing strange psychedelic slides in the opening or playing a crunchy rhythm accompaniment to the horns, comes off as a true rock virtuoso performance. The rest of the album pretty much is elevated to a similar degree -- oddly enough, only "She's a Rainbow" isn't transformed radically -- and it's all more worth hearing than it's been in decades.

-Bruce Eder, allmusic.com

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MONO VINYL 24/96 FLAC
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MONO VINYL MP3
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ABKCO CD STEREO MP3
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Various Artists-NUGGETS, VOL. II: ORIGINAL ARTYFACTS FROM THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND BEYOND (2001 compilation)

Nuggets, Lenny Kaye's original 1972 compilation of garage and psych, loomed large in the record collectors consciousness, canonizing a portion of rock that was originally laughed off while setting the standard for reissues. Rhino's 1998 box set of the same name expanded the scope of that record, replicating most of the original while gloriously spilling forth over three additional discs -- and, in doing so, it spurred a minor revolution, becoming one of the most talked-about reissues of the last half of the '90s. Rhino knew there was an audience thirsting for a sequel, and they gave them one in 2001, but they didn't take the easy way out. Instead of offering another round of American garage rockers, they decided to take the road less traveled, compiling four discs of hidden treasures from non-American garage and psych bands. Most of these cuts are from British bands, but there are also selections from a pre-fame Guess Who, the New Zealand act the Smoke, the Brazilian psychedelia of Os Mutantes, the exceptional Merseybeat stylings of Uruguay's Los Shakers, and the extraordinary Peruvian combo We All Together, among other non-Brit acts. It's a brilliant, even necessary, move, since most of these bands and songs have been only heard only by the most dedicated collectors -- the kind that are willing to risk money based on just hearing a band mentioned, not to hear the group themselves. Let's face it -- apart from the Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men," the Small Faces' "Here Comes the Nice," and the Pretty Things' "Rosalyn," the most familiar song here is the opener, the Creation's "Making Time," simply because it provided the indelible soundtrack to Max Fischer's yearbook in Rushmore.


This song's publishing was by Apple and Paul McCartney demanded Fire overdub
more vocal harmonies and guitar reverb, which I think muddied up the original.
I don't think the original, as posted here, even made it to the old 45, but did make it onto
Nuggets, solidifying its superiority!

That's four songs out of 109 -- a ratio that should simply entice most die-hard rockers and record collectors, especially since the familiar names (the Move, Them, the Easybeats, the Troggs) are represented by songs that aren't heard all that often. So, the big question is, does Nuggets, Vol. 2 deliver and is it worth spending the money for 100-plus songs you've never heard before? Well, if you're even slightly interested in this, the answer is yes. That doesn't mean this isn't without its faults -- like any garage rock, if it's listened to in once concentrated burst, it becomes a little samey, which is also a by-product of its biggest flaw, namely how the compilers favor songs that sound like American garage and downplaying the delirious, precious frutiness of British psych. Still, that's a minor complaint, because the simple fact of the matter is this -- there's no better way to fall in love with this music, not just because it does its job so well, it just simply doesn't have any peers. Furthermore, a lot of this stuff is pretty hard to come by (personally, I spent about 150 dollars on a complete Idle Race collection, and it's much better to get their two best songs here). Also, much of the bands here are best heard in this context, since they have a song, maybe three, that were stunners -- and all of these stunners in one place is stunning.

-Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

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DISC 1
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Various Artists-NUGGETS: ORIGINAL ARTYFACTS FROM THE FIRST PSYCHEDELIC ERA 1965-1968 (1972, 1998 compilation)

Compiled by rock critic and future Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye, 1972's Nuggets was the anthology responsible for reviving interest in mid-'60s American garage rock. After the proliferation of specialized volumes with the Nuggets title by reissue label Rhino, this four-CD box set is intended as the ideal summation/expansion of the Nuggets concept. The first CD reproduces, track-by-track, the original 27-song Nuggets, while the other three CDs add what may be considered 91 bonus tracks, from the biggest-selling garage hits ("Louie Louie," "Wooly Bully") to some cuts that only devout '60s specialists will know. All important permutations of the mid-'60s garage style are present: primitive fuzz, folk-rock, horn rock, psychedelic dementia, protest rock, etc. Major heroes the Music Machine, the Seeds, the Shadows of Knight, the Electric Prunes, the Standells, the Sonics, the Chocolate Watch Band, and many others are all represented, often by more than one song. If it's possible to give a five-star rating with reservations, it's tempting to do so here. No one could have possibly satisfied all rabid garage collectors with a mere 118 songs, but that's not really the point here; the object was to provide a wide-ranging box set of '60s garage rock that would entertain, represent the considerable span of garage styles, and be massive -- yet affordable -- for the committed rock fan who nonetheless doesn't want everything. Rhino has succeeded, while also presenting the songs in the best possible quality (in mono), whether from the master tapes or best existing copies. With a 100-page booklet of new liner notes (Kaye's original annotation is also included), it is the best investment possible for those who thirst for more '60s garage rock than is available on the best single-volume compilations, with a track selection geared toward cream-of-the-crop quality and variety rather than narrow collector prejudices.

-Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com

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DISC 1
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MAD MIKE MONSTERS!

Re-up! -Ian!

In an era when Clear Channel-owned stations play the same 30 corporate-approved pop hits over and over in a never-ending loop, it seems impossible to believe there was ever a place in radio for DJs like Pittsburgh icon Mad Mike Metrovich. Guys like Metrovich were the motor-mouthed heralds of a new teen culture, larger-than-life tastemakers and soothsayers whose quirks and sensibilities profoundly shaped the musical landscape as far as the station signal carried. Mad Mike was a particularly compelling character by any metric, with his WZUM show virtually ignoring the British Invasion in favor of local hits, rockabilly classics, and R&B scorchers that championed a raw, dynamic sound presaging the emerging garage rock scene. (Further bolstering his anti-authoritarian stance, Metrovich steadfastly refused to identify the records he spun either on the air or at live gigs, creating even more rabid listener interest in his playlists.) The Mad Mike Monsters series assembles more than a dozen staples from Metrovich's 1964-1967 heyday, bolstered by WZUM radio spots and other vintage ephemera -- highlights include the Del-Mars' "Snacky Poo," the Marquis Chimps' "Red Rose Tea," the Renegades' "Geronimo," and the Grand Prees' "Jungle Fever."

-Jason Ankeny, allmusic.com

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MAD MIKE MONSTERS VOL. I
MAD MIKE MONSTERS VOL. II
MAD MIKE MONSTERS VOL. III
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