Since we seem to no longer be able to get a hold of that fantastic '60s french girl group Ultra Chicks series, we're delighted to finally get a bunch of this just-reissued collection of girl group tunes compiled, strangely enough, by controversial industrial culture icon Boyd Rice. No, they're not the highly sought French ye ye girls, but they are very much in the same perky vibe as the abovementioned comps. Rice has selected nine lesser known (or quite unknown) artists to showcase: solo singers Diane Ray, Bernadette Castro, Bernadette Caroll, Susan Rafey, Priscilla Paris, Robbie Winston, and Lori Burton as well as the suitably named groups The Love Exchange and Honey Ltd. The songs range from squeaky clean and girlish like Patty Duke to the more worldly and womanly like Petula Clark and Shirley Bassey. The second tune by Ms Castro sounds like something Le Tigre studied thoroughly. Very cool!
Geez! Just when you thought you've heard all the Brazilian Psych and Tropicalia of the sixties and seventies worth listening to, comes this monster compilation of complete unknown jams from the era that very nearly blows away anything you considered to be the best. Distributed by the same folks who brought us the killer Psych Funk 101 compilation (a unanimous store favorite), if you dug that compilation you should definitely check this one out. Culled specifically from the rarest of 7" singles (the era's cheapest and most produced format), many of 'em promo only, there are none of the usual suspects, no Caetano, Os Mutantes or any of Rogerio Duprat's star artists. Instead this is the sound of the deeper radical underground, of groups most of which couldn't ever get record deals. The music is way heavier, the vibe more unhinged and funky with big fuzz and often wild, ecstatic arrangements. Here is the checklist of groups on here: Celio Balona, Loyce E Os Gnomes, The Youngsters, Serguel, Fabio, Tony E Som Colorido, 14 Bis, Banda De 7 Leguas, Ton & Sergio, Ely, Com OS Falcoes Reais, Marisa Rossi, The Pops, Piry, and Max Rybell. The cd comes with a HUGE full color booklet with info on all the singles and pictures and the enhanced cd itself features a documentary, called "What Are Fuzz Bananas?" (good question). Meanwhile, the vinyl version comes with a large full color booklet with info on all the singles and pictures. We got the last copies of the first vinyl pressing that include 3-D glasses, though we're not sure why they were included as none of the record sleeve was printed in 3-D as far as we can tell, though they do make the wildly colorful psychedelic drawing in the gatefold sure look neat!
Way Recommended!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Previously issued a while back only on vinyl, "Cambodian Rocks" - now on CD - presents a handful of unknown (to the point that no artist names or track titles are given) Cambodian garage bands from the late 60s and early 70s. The liner notes explain that the compiler (s/he is also anonymous) picked up a bunch of random tapes while in Cambodia and put this together of the best tracks from those tapes. For those who are entranced by the psychedelic exotica found in the "Love, Peace, and Poetry" series, "Cambodian Rocks" makes an exceptional companion. For the most part this compilation is dominated by really good fuzzed out organ / guitar garage rich with understandably crappy production. But along with the garage cuts, there's a track of incredibly unfunky James Brown mimicry that make the Make Up's theatrical irony seem even more insincere than they really are. Appropriated dancehall groove/stomps with Cambodian instead of Jamaican overtones. But the highlight is the appearance of the female led garage band who were featured on the Asian Psychedelic chapter of the "Love, Peace, and Poetry" series. Greasy garage rock not far from the Count Five or the Seeds but with reverb drenched female vocals that hits high notes rarely found even on Bollywood sountracks. Totally essential.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
While most record stores might include Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" as a mainstay album, consistently moving units from its initial release on up to the present, the original Cambodian Rocks collection has been for us a mainstay in its own right. We may not be able to boast the quantities that a larger store might for a staple, but Cambodian Rocks has got to be one of the most universally loved albums here at aQ. So you can imagine we were pretty damn excited when we found out that the collection was being released with full disclosure of musicians, vocalists, recording dates, song titles and lyrics (translated into English!) And if that isn't enough, Khmer Rocks has expanded their version of the collection to two discs! Even better, for all of you owners of the original collection, between these two discs and the original release on Parallel World there are only 5 songs total that overlap! So now you're wondering what the connection is between Khmer Rocks and Parallel World. Well, as far as we can tell, there is absolutely no connection. Seems like Khmer Rocks titled their two discs to capitalize off the original's popularity. And to their credit, they seem a bit more legit, having gone through the trouble of tracking down artists' names and song titles to give credit where credit is due. Not to be too harsh on Parallel World -- their collection is a fucking great compilation, always will be -- but the Khmer Rocks folk seem to be more genuinely indebted to these artists and it shows in their aformentioned efforts. And like Parallel World's collection, all the tracks on these two discs are absolutely great. It would be hard to leave a track out of your iPod if you were short on space. You might just have to get rid of something else. The artists here are all absolute geniuses in their abilities to absorb American rock and roll and tweak it to local tastes. In a lot of ways these bands are like South East Asian versions of the Sun City Girls -- picking up foreign radio transmissions (shortwave radio broadcasts to American military personnel) and subverting them to their own likeness. Some of our favorites are tracks like Meas Samoun's "The Engagement", a completely dirty take on the Santana sound (a lot of these Cambodian rockers seemed to really dig Santana) with an organ (or is it some ridiculously fucked up early seventies guitar processing?) solo that will kill you. Others, like Ros Sereyosthea take an American song part and parcel -- in this case CCR's "Rolling On A River" -- merely inserting their own lyrics and twisting the arrangement. Other twisted renditions sound an awful lot like "Hey Jude", "If You're Going To San Francisco", and "Whiter Shade Of Pale". But more often than not the tracks tend to be originals with a deeply modified American twang and sound less like the cover versions mentioned above. In all cases, the rock on these recordings has an energy of absolute immediacy and urgency that's unlike any of their psychedelic counterparts the globe round.
While most record stores might include Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" as a mainstay album, consistently moving units from its initial release on up to the present, the original Cambodian Rocks collection has been for us a mainstay in its own right. We may not be able to boast the quantities that a larger store might for a staple, but Cambodian Rocks has got to be one of the most universally loved albums here at aQ. So you can imagine we were pretty damn excited when we found out that the collection was being released with full disclosure of musicians, vocalists, recording dates, song titles and lyrics (translated into English!) And if that isn't enough, Khmer Rocks has expanded their version of the collection to two discs! Even better, for all of you owners of the original collection, between these two discs and the original release on Parallel World there are only 5 songs total that overlap! So now you're wondering what the connection is between Khmer Rocks and Parallel World. Well, as far as we can tell, there is absolutely no connection. Seems like Khmer Rocks titled their two discs to capitalize off the original's popularity. And to their credit, they seem a bit more legit, having gone through the trouble of tracking down artists' names and song titles to give credit where credit is due. Not to be too harsh on Parallel World -- their collection is a fucking great compilation, always will be -- but the Khmer Rocks folk seem to be more genuinely indebted to these artists and it shows in their aformentioned efforts. And like Parallel World's collection, all the tracks on these two discs are absolutely great. It would be hard to leave a track out of your iPod if you were short on space. You might just have to get rid of something else. The artists here are all absolute geniuses in their abilities to absorb American rock and roll and tweak it to local tastes. In a lot of ways these bands are like South East Asian versions of the Sun City Girls -- picking up foreign radio transmissions (shortwave radio broadcasts to American military personnel) and subverting them to their own likeness. Some of our favorites are tracks like Meas Samoun's "The Engagement", a completely dirty take on the Santana sound (a lot of these Cambodian rockers seemed to really dig Santana) with an organ (or is it some ridiculously fucked up early seventies guitar processing?) solo that will kill you. Others, like Ros Sereyosthea take an American song part and parcel -- in this case CCR's "Rolling On A River" -- merely inserting their own lyrics and twisting the arrangement. Other twisted renditions sound an awful lot like "Hey Jude", "If You're Going To San Francisco", and "Whiter Shade Of Pale". But more often than not the tracks tend to be originals with a deeply modified American twang and sound less like the cover versions mentioned above. In all cases, the rock on these recordings has an energy of absolute immediacy and urgency that's unlike any of their psychedelic counterparts the globe round.
It would appear that the Khmer Rocks label is slowly rendering the original Cambodian Rocks compilation on Parallel World obsolete. With each volume of their version of the beloved series there are a smattering of those tracks included -- now better served with full disclosure of the artists' names, song titles and even lyrics! With volume 3 there are three more, leaving you with 16 completely new tracks. We figure that by volume 7 or 8 of the Khmer Rocks series we'll all be able to trade in the original. As a bonus, Khmer Rocks has included two tracks at the end of volume 3 of "Romvong Songs", or Cambodian circle dance songs. It's the label's way of turning on all the garage psychsters to some traditional Cambodian music. The first track is actually a lot like the tracks on the Cambodian rocks discs, but with a bit more swing. The second, by Cambodian superstar Sinn Sisamouth, replaces guitar and bass with flute and clarinet along with traditional Cambodian instruments, but it still has the same intensity of those rock tracks. What can we say? Highly recommended!
BACK IN STOCK! We thought these were gone for good a month ago, but we've just managed to get a few more!
Here's the soundtrack to your wildest blaxploitation-fueled fantasies, baadasssss R&B with an acid rock edge. You'll never need to ask, "Mommy, what's a funkadelic?" after this.
"Chains & Black Exhaust" is a compilation of late sixties/early seventies raw, fuzzed-out funk put together by some young, devotedly-crate-diggin' Memphis DJs, who apparently don't think we need to know what exactly we're listening too, 'cause there's no artist info, no track listing, nothing -- heck, the title of the comp appears nowhere on it, even! They give us a tantalizing but unhelpful glimpse of some original 45 labels in a photo in the cd booklet, which is otherwise illustrated with snapshots of black motorcycle club insignia. We can't imagine this lack of info is for copyright reasons, perhaps they just don't want their finds being identified & scooped by other DJs...? And unfortunately, none of us here, despite our enthusiasm for this stuff and general musical expertise, can tell you what's on here, nor did we locate a tracklist on the internet.
Oh well, whoever these mystery artists are, what's important is that they kick out the jams big time here: hard, heavy stuff full of wailing acid-psych wah wah leads, driving organ, killer grooves, and soulful vocals. It's funk verging on rock, with Black Power meets garagey rock n' roll attitude. Of course, these old singles tracks are served up with lots of lovely ol' vinyl crackle, just scratchy enough to lend that extra level of authenticity and atmosphere to the party. Highly recommended -- if you're into *early* Parliament-Funkadelic you'll dig these 16 cuts. This is one of those albums that just sells itself the second we put it on over the stereo -- even our pal DJ Z-Trip bought one instantly. Enjoyed that Peanut Butter Wolf-produced collection of unearthed funk singles? Then you'll love this one too. Right on.
We're told that *perhaps* someday this will get reissued with proper liner notes (the kind that actually tell you who is on the record at least) but that's at least a year or a year and a half off, if ever. So, we'd recommend grabbing these copies now, while you can, before they're gone, again...
A very original, wonderfully varied collection of uber-rare international "psych and progressive gems" of the '60s and early '70s presented by Lo Recordings, who've always brought us the cool cutting edge modern electronica. Lo has previously also delved into the past for library music / acid funk compilations...now they go waaaay out with these bizarro rock tracks, picked by British hip hop DJ Garreth Goddard (who records as Cherrystones for the Twisted Nerve label). Obscure artists on here indeed -- we had previously only heard Brazil's Rita Lee (of Os Mutantes) and Detroit R&B hard rockers Frijid Pink (with "Crying Shame", one of their best songs). Garreth's obsessive crate-digging has paid dividends here, making this the kind of comp you've got to get 'cause you'll never find these records OR reissues. It's all groovy, psychedelic, crazed stuff. Some other names: Taiconderoga, Black Cat Bones, Klaus Doldinger, Niagara, Breakout, Mecki Mark Men, Sunbirds, The Mogol, and more. Veering from free-jazz inspired horn soloing to heavy fuzz guitar riffs to spoken beat poetry, the stuff on here is all over the place yet is freaky, funky, fried fun that really seems to belong together -- kudos to the DJ. Awesome.
Hey, here's the third killer compilation we've had from British 'digger and DJ Cherrystones (aka Garreth Goddard)! Cherrystones Rocks and Cherrystones Hidden Charms were both excellent, eclectic collections of groovy '60s/'70s international psych-rock surprises, and Cherrystones Word continues the tradition, complete with his customary detailed notes on each track included in the cd booklet. This one though seems somehow darker and more deviant, with a wider, weirder range, from '60s pop-psych to '70s krautrock to '80s garage-rock. It's definitely not necessarily a floor-filling DJ mix, more like what we'd imagine a random shuffle through Garreth's iPod playlist of fuzzy freakiness might turn up. The overall theme seems just to be cool and obscure, with an unexpected quotient of experimental prog and even queasy, off-kilter New Waviness included in the mix. Here's the run-down: Brainbox (featuring the hyper-Hendrixy guitar of Jan Akkerman, later of Focus fame), Dead Moon, George Brigman and Split, The Deviants, Chrome, Nosferatu, Fusioon, Roger C. Reale & Rue Morgue (a cover of The Troggs' "I Can't Control Myself"), Kontakt Mikrofoon Orkest, Midnight Circus (not the Messthetics one), Pan y Regaliz, Episode 6, Bintangs, George Romanos, and Lard Free. Who would put the exquisite, flute-laden Spanish psych sadness of Pan y Regaliz on the same comp with notorious sci-fi guitar punks Chrome? Or think that Dead Moon's urgent garage punker "Dead Moon Night" should go on the same disc with the slow and sinister sax-laced heaviness of "Warinobaril" by French freak proggers Lard Free? Or clue us into the R&B side of The Deviants, while also introducing us to the percolating quirk-funk of Spain's synthy Fusioon? Well Cherrystones would. Word!
More than twenty years after the three first volumes, "Chocolate Soup for Diabetics" Vol. 4 and 5 are finally released. Fourteen titles on each lp, twenty one on each disc. Totally great 1960's UK psych, groovy rock, and soul by The Transatlantics, The Perishers, Gary Walker, The Peasants among others. Extensive liner notes for each song. Sooo good. The highlights on vol. 4, for me, are the fuzzy fucked up version of 'You Don't Love Me' by Gary Walker, and 'How Does It Feel' by The Perishers.
More than twenty years after the first three volumes, Chocolate Soup for Diabetics Vol. 4 and 5 are finally released. Fourteen titles on each lp, twenty one on each disc. Totally great 1960's UK psych, groovy rock, and soul by The Transatlantics, The Ways and Means, The Magic Lanterns among others. Extensive liner notes for each song. Sooo good.
It's hard to tell if this is a bootleg or not. Regardless, this clearly isn't something that we're going to be able to keep in stock for long. Chocolate Soup For Diabetics is a series of compilations with a bunch of unknown psych / garage bands probably
The second volume in the series of questionably legitimate compilations entitled "Chocolate Soup For Diabetics." Again more '60s psych / garage bands with more of a UK Big Beat feel (early Kinks, Yardbirds, etc.). Again super limited. This line-up packs the
The third volume from the "Chocolate Soup For Diabetics" psych / beat series concentrates on the UK sound from the mid-'60s. Of the three, this one is the most soulful and has the dodgiest 'mastering' which is quite noticeably riddled with surface noise,
Psych reissues are a dime a dozen these days, no matter how you classify or organize the songs and groups, specific certain years, a particular sound, or scene, or whatever, there's no way to spin it, there's just too too too much. And plenty of those tracks, well, like lots of reissues, could very well have just remained undiscovered. It takes more than just cramming a bunch of tracks on a record and putting some cool psychedelic artwork on the front, it requires knowledge of the music, as well as a knack for making mixes. Some folks definitely have it. Andy Votel obviously, and of course Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond, who has been releasing killer reissue comps on the Psychic Circle label. And there's whoever put together these Chocolate Soup For Diabetics comps, which gathered up some of the coolest UK psych rock from the sixties, originally released only on lp, now finally available all gathered up into a single 5cd box. And holy shit, no matter how tired of this stuff you might be, if you're anything like us, this stuff will immediately get you excited again. Fuzzy, tripped out, super rocking, jangly, space-y and most definitely PSYCHEDELIC. A few bands we already dug like Tintern Abbey, The Misunderstood and Wimple Winch, but so many new (old) discoveries: The Voice, Nuchez's, The Fresh Windows, The Fire, Graded Grains, Felius Andromeda, The Syn, The Tickle, Dantalian's Chariot, odds are the psych obsessives out there are probably a bit more well versed in UK psych obscurities, but for the rest of us, this stuff is blowing us away.
Take the first track on the first disc, "The Train To Disaster" by The Voice, after a purloined sample of Arthur Brown's "God Of Hellfire" intro, the track explodes into a fuzzy, super distorted stomp, that sounds ridiculously heavy for the time, hooky and fuzzed out, catchy like crazy, and those guitars! Raw and fiery and fuzzy and bad ass. The next track by the weirdly named Nuchez's, begins all jangly, but quickly builds momentum, some proggy organ wrapped around the guitar chug, some moody crooning, woozy guitars, and then some awesomely distorted fuzzpsych leads, and the song is transformed into something that sounds more like the Monks. We could go track by track for sure, but you probably get the picture. 5 discs, 5+ hours of super rocking, fuzzy psychedelic garage rock bliss, from jangly and trippy to crunchy and heavy, we just can't stop listening to this stuff. Wow.
Comes in a nice full color box, each one machine numbered (LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES), each disc in it's own full color sleeve, and includes a massive booklet with tons of photos and liner notes...
We're finding it tough to keep up with the output of Psychic Circle, all their awesome '60s/'70s psych/pop/beat compilation action is a bit overwhelming, from Phantom Guitars to Instro-Hipsters to Fairytales Can Come True, and it's all been pretty great. In large part 'cause most of these comps have been put together by record collector extraordinaire, Nick Salomon, previously known to us as the Bevis Frond guy. So, we've missed listing a few, but here's one of the very latest, one we had to review, 'cause it's the follow up to the fantastic Blow Your Cool. Remember that one? "20 Prog/Psych Assaults From The UK & Europe". Itself sorta the sequel to A Visit To the Spaceship Factory, which in turn was kinda the UK version of Psychic Circle's White Lace & Strange comp of American garage-psych heaviness. So, what has Salomon dug up to blow our cool with this time? A "cosmarama" of obscure sounds, from twenty bands we haven't heard of AT ALL (well, with just two or three exceptions). Fortunately they're all pretty rockin', and Mr. Saloman provides liner notes about each.
The bands: Distant Jim, Carriage Company, Kingdom, The Tower, Back Street Band, Big Wheel, Bismarck, CWT, Silence, Ginger Ale, Pussy (ex-Jersusalem), Tenderfoot Kids, Electric Food, Mr. Albert Show, The Petards, Castle Farm, The Pebbles, Corporal Gander's Fire Dog Parade (!), Chips, and Richard St. Clair & Forum.
There's some folky-proggy dreamy stuff here, and melodic popsike moments, but mostly these cuts are on the harder rockin', and totally groovy side of things, approaching proto-metal, even, when it comes to the efforts several of these acts... with plenty of jamming organs, acidic fuzz wah guitars, cowbell, and the occasional horn section (this is from back when having one was hip). Maybe it'll mean something to you that there's more than one song here with the word "Woman" in the title! Definitely we're reminded of the likes of Steppenwolf, Dust, Bloodrock, and Grand Funk at times. Black Sabbath no, not so much except on Pussy's "Feline Woman" which could almost be a re-write of the song "Evil Woman" originally by Crow, that Sabbath covered on the UK version of their debut album...
Another Psychic Circle winner. All we know is, if Nick Saloman were DJing at a bar anywhere near here, we'd be drinking there all night!
Germany's Trikont label is responsible for some of our favoritest, weirdest comps, like Ho! Roady Music Of Vietnam, Beyond Istanbul, and that whole Flashbacks series of early 20th century Americana oddities. Here's another one, sort of a primer on what was cookin' in the psychedelic era of the hippies and the yippies in the United States of Amerikka, stuff that maybe (maybe) won't ever get used for a baby boomer beguiling car commercial... including tracks by Captain Beefheart, Blue Cheer, The Fugs, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Pearls Before Swine, The Stooges, Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, Lothar & The Hand People, Tiny Tim, The Godz, Exuma, Kaleidoscope, Canned Heat, Chambers Brothers, Shel Silverstein, Tim Rose, Country Joe & The Fish, Grace Slick & The Great Society, The Holy Modal Rounders, Moondog, and the MC5. Yeah, chances are you have, or certainly have heard, a lot of these tracks already -- some are obvious, classic picks ("Summertime Blues", "1969", "Tiptoe Through The Tulips", "Kick Out The Jams", "Time Has Come Today" etc.) -- but it's still a righteous comp of significant tuneage that in fact, at the time, -was- in opposition to the "mainstream". And it's interesting to hear those better-known hits in context with some of their more obscure contemporaries, the "underground" documented here embracing protest folk, psychedelic soul, Woodstock hard rock, and even some (hopefully) satirical coffee house beat poetry, the latter from Shel Silverstein of "Where The Sidewalk Ends" fame! Lots of humor here, actually, whether due to the track in question being a novelty song (Tiny Tim!), or just 'cause of the hippie era datedness. So, while NOT the most bizarre Trikont comp ever, not a bad spin... and a good gift for your younger family and friends who have yet to be exposed to some of this. And when was the last time you heard Hendrix tearing apart the "Star Spangled Banner"? Still pretty powerful stuff.
Over the last several years Finders Keepers / B-Music has mined and shared some of the most amazing sounds from the psychedelic past, bringing folks like Selda, Jean-Claude Vannier, The Yamasuki Singers and Susan Christie into heavy rotation in these parts. Record diggers will be so envious of what Andy Votel and his equally talented collection of record collecting friends (including Gruff Rhys, David Holmes, Cherrystones, Jazzman Gerald, etc) dug up for this comp of rare finds from all over the globe. Lots of fuzz, heavy psych, deep grooves, and tripped out delights from all across the globe. We were especially excited to finally get to hear a track by Indoor Life, the drugged out post-punk project of legendary San Francisco disco producer and Sylvester collaborator Patrick Cowley. Once again the Finders Keepers crew have mined some obscure psych gems that will be pleasing our ears for a long time to come!
Not a new release, but a new arrival, at the recommendation of AQ's Jeff. This comp collects of singles tracks from the following mid-60s Japanese garage groups, in the "Group Sound" genre: The Napoleon, D'Swooner's, The Hi-Lo's, The Unicorns, The Gallopers,
A swell comp of, like it says, crunchy guitar instrumentals from the sixties! That means, tracks by Link Wray and loads of likeminded folks we've never heard before: Riptides, Fireballs, Jay Bee & The Kats, Teddy & The Rough Riders, and more. 20 tracks total.
Compilation of artists from John Peel's late sixties early seventies record label.
Psychedelia in film and Psychedelic music sometimes serve at cross-purposes. In films, trippy visuals and dreamy passages often define the strangeness of the music, a factor that is often missing when hearing the music out of context. While true psychedelic music can overbearingly take center attention, a quality that doesn't work with most narrative films. Take for instance this new Cherry Red collection of obscure Italian soundtrack pieces from master composers, Morricone, Umilani, Rota, Piccioni and others from the strange and trippy side of their filmography. While the films, such as Fellini's Toby Dammit (An Eli Roth horror favorite) and Polanski's What? featured creepy sub-plots, surrealistic dream interludes, drug freakouts, as well as off-beat comedy, spy capers and other absurdities, the musical approach was less psychedelic as we know it and more of a liberal cross-pollination of musical genres and forms. Eastern raga and jazz? Why not?
Baroque harpsichord and creepy organ dirges? Sure! Multi-tracked flutes and wah wah guitar? Awesome. While not everything here is as trippy as you would expect, this is a pretty extensive survey (28 tracks!) of little heard soundtrack music that will serve the creepy and surreal moments of your life quite well.
Another excellent compilation from Soul Jazz, even though we were a bit perplexed by it at first.
What we thought was going to be a southern rock primer (a la Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet, etc.) was only part of the story. Sure Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers are represented, but so are Johnny Cash, Joe South, Big Star, Boz Scaggs, and Cher(!?). It turns out the connection between these artists is behind the scenes, as the session players and studios behind much of seventies southern rock (namely Muscle Shoals, but also studios in Memphis and Nashville) had a hand in much of the country and soul production of the fifties and sixties. So this is more of a primer of the development of a regional sound, which comes across sound-wise as the peak of country crossover meets the roots of seventies rock, with the crossover acts edging towards rock, and the rock acts showing there mellower side. But it's all deep cuts here, no "Sweet Home Alabama", thankfully. Though some artists we thought should have been included are only represented through cover versions, which explains the presence of Cher who covers Dr. John's "I Walk On Gilded Splinters". But we were very happy to see Bobbie Gentry getting some love with three songs included. Often relegated to one hit wonder status, she made several great records with some of the finest southern production there is.
So those looking for more hell-raising, whisky drinking boogie rock, this might not be the comp for you. But those who dig the brilliance of southern studio production, this has that in spades! Here is a complete artist list: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Barefoot Jerry, Joe South, Bobbie Gentry, Area Code 615, Allman Brothers, Cher, Cowboy, Link Wray, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russell, Tony Joe White, Dan Penn, Linda Ronstadt, Big Star, Travis Wammack, Johnny Cash, and Billy Vera. Comes with a 68 page full color booklet chock full of pictures and history of this prolific musical region.
Also here in the vinyl format, spread over two double lps, as per the usual Soul Jazz procedure.
Another excellent compilation from Soul Jazz, even though we were a bit perplexed by it at first.
What we thought was going to be a southern rock primer (a la Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet, etc.) was only part of the story. Sure Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers are represented, but so are Johnny Cash, Joe South, Big Star, Boz Scaggs, and Cher(!?). It turns out the connection between these artists is behind the scenes, as the session players and studios behind much of seventies southern rock (namely Muscle Shoals, but also studios in Memphis and Nashville) had a hand in much of the country and soul production of the fifties and sixties. So this is more of a primer of the development of a regional sound, which comes across sound-wise as the peak of country crossover meets the roots of seventies rock, with the crossover acts edging towards rock, and the rock acts showing there mellower side. But it's all deep cuts here, no "Sweet Home Alabama", thankfully. Though some artists we thought should have been included are only represented through cover versions, which explains the presence of Cher who covers Dr. John's "I Walk On Gilded Splinters". But we were very happy to see Bobbie Gentry getting some love with three songs included. Often relegated to one hit wonder status, she made several great records with some of the finest southern production there is.
So those looking for more hell-raising, whisky drinking boogie rock, this might not be the comp for you. But those who dig the brilliance of southern studio production, this has that in spades! Here is a complete artist list: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Barefoot Jerry, Joe South, Bobbie Gentry, Area Code 615, Allman Brothers, Cher, Cowboy, Link Wray, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russell, Tony Joe White, Dan Penn, Linda Ronstadt, Big Star, Travis Wammack, Johnny Cash, and Billy Vera. Comes with a 68 page full color booklet chock full of pictures and history of this prolific musical region.
Also here in the vinyl format, spread over two double lps, as per the usual Soul Jazz procedure.
Another excellent compilation from Soul Jazz, even though we were a bit perplexed by it at first.
What we thought was going to be a southern rock primer (a la Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet, etc.) was only part of the story. Sure Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers are represented, but so are Johnny Cash, Joe South, Big Star, Boz Scaggs, and Cher(!?). It turns out the connection between these artists is behind the scenes, as the session players and studios behind much of seventies southern rock (namely Muscle Shoals, but also studios in Memphis and Nashville) had a hand in much of the country and soul production of the fifties and sixties. So this is more of a primer of the development of a regional sound, which comes across sound-wise as the peak of country crossover meets the roots of seventies rock, with the crossover acts edging towards rock, and the rock acts showing there mellower side. But it's all deep cuts here, no "Sweet Home Alabama", thankfully. Though some artists we thought should have been included are only represented through cover versions, which explains the presence of Cher who covers Dr. John's "I Walk On Gilded Splinters". But we were very happy to see Bobbie Gentry getting some love with three songs included. Often relegated to one hit wonder status, she made several great records with some of the finest southern production there is.
So those looking for more hell-raising, whisky drinking boogie rock, this might not be the comp for you. But those who dig the brilliance of southern studio production, this has that in spades! Here is a complete artist list: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Barefoot Jerry, Joe South, Bobbie Gentry, Area Code 615, Allman Brothers, Cher, Cowboy, Link Wray, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russell, Tony Joe White, Dan Penn, Linda Ronstadt, Big Star, Travis Wammack, Johnny Cash, and Billy Vera. Comes with a 68 page full color booklet chock full of pictures and history of this prolific musical region.
NOW ON VINYL!!!
Yay! Always cool to get a new comp of crazy, colorful, psychedelic pop rock treats from way back when (and way far off too, internationally speaking).�The comic bookish cartoony cover art gets the swinging '60s (and early '70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, part of something called the "Rioplatense scene".
The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky...
Yay! Always cool to get a new comp of crazy, colorful, psychedelic pop rock treats from way back when (and way far off too, internationally speaking).�The comic bookish cartoony cover art gets the swinging '60s (and early '70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, that the detailed liner notes in the illustrated booklet will explain were part of something called the "Rioplatense scene".
The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky...
Spanish import, limited to 500 copies.
Here's the sequel, already, to last year's great Dirty Water comp of proto-punk (sonically and/or spiritually) music from the '60s and '70s, including many often-overlooked, unlikely gems and surprises, plus some "standards" as well. It's another double disc set, with 39 tracks on the compact disc version (and 19 on the slightly less comprehensive vinyl). We were already impressed with what compiler Kris Needs (former editor of British underground '70s rock mag ZigZag) included on the first volume, and this one just as cool. Some bands make a return appearance (MC5, The Silhouettes, Death, the Flamin' Groovies, Suicide, Mott The Hoople), and deservedly so, but there's lots of room for songs by artists dipping into the dirty water for the first time. From famous folks like the Velvet Underground, Bo Diddley, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Captain Beefheart, Blondie, and Big Star to not so well known names like The Vice Creems (Needs was the singer!), The Tidal Waves, The Unrelated Segments, Kilburn & The High Roads, Doctors Of Madness, and The Human Expression, amongst others. This is quite an eclectic collection, and while, say, ESP-label proto-punk bands of radical hippies from downtown NYC like the Godz and The Holy Modal Rounders are obvious choices, many others aren't. For one thing, it's not even all rock 'n' roll. The supposedly "punk" side of jazz is represented here by Albert Ayler and Dizzy Gillespie, the former punk for being so "free" and "out", the latter simply for ripping it up bebop style, we assume! Reggae (Tapper Zukie, Junior Murvin), funk (Parliament, though the track here is oddly more of a gospel tune), and folk (Woody Guthrie) are also included. Krautrock, too, via Faust. The proto-punk thing of course makes more obvious sense regarding entries from the realms of '70s glam, '50s rock n' roll (Eddie Cochran), and '60s garage (The Zachary Thaks) and psych (The United States Of America).
And happily, at least one of the suggestions we made in our review of the first Dirty Water is included here, heavy hippies the Edgar Broughton Band. There's also some more heavy psych from the likes of Blue Cheer, The Misunderstood, and Stackwaddy. So once again, a killer collection of tracks that might be familiar to you (but given new context here) and/or that might not (but you'll be glad to hear), forming a primer part II to a "secret history of rock 'n' roll", elaborated upon in Needs' extensive liner notes that come in a huge 86 page booklet (cd version, at least). It's also quite well programmed, like they way Death's "Freaking Out" segues perfectly into the Dizzy Gillespie track, makes sense!!
One suggestion for vol. 3: Blue Oyster Cult!
Forget about making your own eclectic mix of edgy proto-punk rock and pop, you don't need to, it's been done. It's all here, folks. Well, enough of it anyway, spread over two cds or four sides of vinyl. 33 alternate-universe "hits" (or 23 on the vinyl version), from underground bands in the '60s and '70s who, if not always properly punk, were still actually punker than most punk bands EVER. That is, if someone had asked us to put together a compilation revealing the gnarled roots of "punk" back in the '60s, and then branching into an examination of some left-field, outside manifestations of the same in the '70s, we couldn't do it any better than this, compiled by Kris Needs, who used to edit the UK rock mag ZigZag back in the '70s. He knows his stuff.
From Detroit, NYC, London, LA and elsewhere, there's slicked back '50s rockers, '60s psych garage, '70s prog singer songwriters, downtown NYC art-noise, pub rock, krautrock, and even reggae... connected only by attitude and/or artistry... some cuts being rare and wondrous one-off flashes of genius, other simply displays of what the band in question was capable of doing all the time. Some tunes you'll have heard before, of course, but need to hear again. And there's probably more than a few that might be new to you too. A definite primer on a secret history of rock n' roll we wish wasn't so secret. Some of it's harder, some of it's poppier, some it's glammier, some of it's weirder... but it's all good.
Some big names/usual suspects: Suicide, Silver Apples, The Stooges (with a distortion-filled, 12 minute long live track, "Do You Want My Love?"), Flamin' Groovies, The Monks, the New York Dolls, The Seeds, T.Rex, even Sun Ra - demonstrating the outside jazz influence on the MC5, with his "Rocket Number Nine", which the compilers follow with the Five's "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)"... About the only obvious band missing, and we can only imagine it was due to a licensing issue or somesuch red tape, are Radio Birdman, but The Saints are here to represent the Aussie punk explosion. The comp even includes recent discoveries Death, from Detroit, nice to see them now written into the aforementioned secret history, a few years ago they were too unknown even for that. Others in the lineup: The Standells, The Deviants, Pink Fairies (doing "Do It", later covered by the Rollins Band, y'know), Gene Vincent, Jook (who dey?), Mott The Hoople, Zolar X (yay!), The Up, David Peel & The Lower East Side, The Silhouettes, The Last Poets, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Third World War, Dr. Feelgood (with "Roxette", if you look it up a performance on YouTube you might get your mind blown), Peter Hammill (of Van Der Graaf Generator), Can, Red Krayola, Rocket From The Tombs, The Dictators, The Hollywood Brats (doing a Kinks cover, previously unreleased on cd), and Culture. Not bad, eh?? Ok, maybe if there was a third disc we'd expect to also hear Crushed Butler and Amon Duul II and Angel Face and Les Rallizes Denudes and The Sonics and the Imperial Dogs and Gaseneta and the Edgar Broughton Band and a few others, but heck, this is a pretty good start!
And it comes with a HUGE booklet (76 pages) filled with detailed info from Needs on all these artists, crucial and obscure (or both). Really well done. You want a Xmas present to immediately up someone's hippness quotient (or impress them with yours)? Try giving 'em this comp, as well as a copy of Savage Damage Digest zine, also reviewed this list.
FYI, as alluded to above, the double lp format has fewer tracks (lacking, feristance, that Stooges number) and no huge booklet, but is still a good spread of stuff, and comes on 180 gram vinyl, for those that want some proto-punk 'tude for their turntable.
Second compilation of essential British Acid Folk (Gathering In The Mushrooms was the first.) compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne. Featuring well known figures such as John Renbourn, Steeleye Span, Shirley Collins, Anne Briggs, and Pentangle along more obscurer groups such as Midwinter, Stone Angel, Shide and Acorn, and Mellow Candle.
This one should hardly need a description. C'mon, it's called PSYCHEDELIC SITAR HEAD SWIRLERS! And it's a massive 5 disc collection of Eastern tinged garage rock from the sixties and the seventies, from all over the world, all the songs linked together by one common sonic theme, the gorgeous hypnotic buzz of the sitar. Sometimes subtle and minimal, other times, intense and distorted and buzzy, the songs themselves ranging from hippie folk pop, to crunchy sitar drenched garage rock pound, to organ driven groovers, featuring a whole mess of bands you no doubt are already familiar with (or should be), many of whom we've raved about on past lists: J.K & Co, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The Pretty Things, July, Ramases, C.O.B., Meic Stevens, Erkin Koray, Popol Vuh, Brainticket, The Chocolate Watch Band, The Amboy Dukes, The Strawberry Alarm Clocks, Them, Krokodil, Mecki-Mark Men, The New Tweedy Brothers, Kuni Kawachi, The Book Of A.M., Shocking Blue, Pentangle, Sheila Chandra, Ananda Shankar, but for every band you already know and love, there's a handful you've probably never heard: Wylde Olde Souls, Popera Cosmic, Stuntz's Blue Leg Expedition, The Misty Wizards, Mushroom's God, Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band, United States Of Existence, we could go on, but needless to say, this collection is pretty incredible.
From the opening droney sitar spoken word tale, the collection flits from groovy flute flecked hippie jangle, to woozy, druggy almost Spacemen 3 like hazy buzzy drift, from jangly power pop to warm woozy psychedelic dream pop, from twangy strummy folk to sitar-ed Beatles covers, with much of the comp heavy on the drone, the sitar's distinctive buzz transforming even the simplest most standard chunk of sixties pop, into something more exotic and far out, more trancelike and WAY more psychedelic. So awesome.
Each disc comes in its own full color sleeve, all housed in a thick full color box, with a massive booklet packed with photos, record covers, and of course liner notes detailing the various songs and artists.
This past record store day, we were super excited about this amazing book by Johan Kugelberg, "Enjoy the Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992", a hefty, 508-page tome that thoroughly chronicles the history and obsessions of one of the largely misunderstood and under-appreciated niches of recorded music, the "vanity record" - also known as "private press recordings" - also known as outsider weirdness! With that book came a download coupon for an amazing compilation of some of the artists included in the book, and now that compilation has been released by Now & Again on double cd and vinyl and it's both super amazing and completely bonkers in all the best ways. It includes some old faves like Arcesia, whose operatically crooned "White Panther" some might recall from the American edition of the Love Peace & Poetry psych series; the love damaged soul-punk balladeer Gary Wilson (who can forget that line at the end of his song "6.4 = Makeout"? "She's a real groovy girl and she's got red LIPS! She's Real! She's Real!! SHE'S REAL!!!!"? Well, not us anyway), and Florida lounge maestro, Michael Farneti, whose Good Morning Kisses lp we featured on one of our Outsiders & Eccentrics In-between lists. But there are plenty of new-to-us goodies, including one of our new faves, Medico Doktor Vibes, whose Caribbean-inflected witch doctor bedroom funk recorded in LA in 1979 will soon be reissued by local label Companion Records sometime in the near future. As per the Now & Again sound, there are plenty of outsider funk, soul and disco rarities, some naive lounge, burnt out yacht rock, creepy exotica and country pop and just plain weird sounds - like 33 1/3 whose jungle themed "Monkey Bridge" would make any Kid Creole & The Coconuts fan smile. Here's the rest of the line-up: Vinny Roma, Steven David Heitkotter, Joe E., Ray Harlowe & Gyp Fox, Russ Saul, Jade, Boa, Circuit Rider, Dennis The Fox, Bob Harrison, Gary Schneider, The Muzzy Band, The Invaders, Carol-Leigh & Hank Mindlin.
Fun freaky shit!
Along with putting out the three Cambodian Rocks compilations that have rendered the original Parallel World label comp of the same name virtually obsolete, Khmer Rocks also has a plethora of other khmer music compilations that we're only just beginning to scratch the surface of. While every bit as great as the three Rocks comps we reviewed previously, they're also not marketed as much for the greater population... ie: these are more for the Khmer community. To this end, there's no translation of the song titles or artists. Additionally this collection is on CD-R, but we can't complain because it's also only 9.98. You're probably wondering what a Spanish title is doing on a collection of Cambodian rock music and, well, so were we. The first track, with the word "espanola" featured prominently in the lyrics, clears all that up: yes, it's Cambodian Cha-Cha and Latin tinged Cambodian rock. There are even trumpet flourishes and string sections lifted straight out of a bolero. Not to give you the wrong idea however, only a handful of the tracks on Espanola are actually Latin influenced. Like the Cambodian Rocks series, there's plenty of good old fashioned go-go and garage rock make up the bulk of the collection. Plus the closer, a fuzzed out "hard rock" encore of a track is about as unlike anything in the previous comps. For those of you who already own the other anthologies, as far as we've been able to tell from listening -- another downside to not having English liner notes -- there's no overlap with any of the previous Cambodian collections we've been selling. Muy bien Khmer Rocks!
Year after year Dave Crider (formerly of the Monomen) slings out heaps of primo-garage releases from around the world on his Bellingham, WA label Estrus. This is the second volume of rough rawk nuggets culled from his extensive catalog. Starring The Monkeywrench, The Insomniacs, Estrella 20/20, The Von Zippers and twenty more trashy garage wonders! Plus a super-duper price!
When the summer occasionally heats things up around here, it's sometimes hard to get into the really heavy music we get so much of. Andee's been rocking the early eighties power pop in the back and in that same vein we've been really getting into the early predecessor of eighties power-pop, mid-sixties British psych-pop or "psyke-pop" as Nick Saloman calls it on his latest Psychic Circle compilation. We haven't had a good soft-psych compilation in awhile so this sounds particularly good with a lot of uncommon picks from the likes of The San Francisco Earthquake, Barry Benson (formerly PJ. Proby's hairdresser), Iain Matthews (pre-Fairport Convention), and Gallagher & Lyle. Highly "Bird"-obsessive, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of female perspective in these songs as some of the lyrics, like "I've got to train her to want me" have left some of the female employees here amusingly bemused. Gender pitfalls aside, this is another satisfying comp from Psychic Circle, whom we hope will release something more femme-centric really soon.
British DJ Andy Votel (also responsible for the mindblowing Vertigo Mixed set that we'll be reviewing as soon as we have enough!) has compiled this fantastic disc devoted to, as you might expect, some way cool "folk" music sounds from approx. three decades ago... he's selected tracks from acts that range from pagan UK acid folk to SoCal styled sunshine popsyke to would-be Joni Mitchell songstress stuff to far-out hippy jams. Even a Polish blues band. Some of this had unrealized commercial potential, other stuff was willfully experimental...all of it is mellow and pretty, sometimes melancholic, sometimes sunny and buoyant. The folksters found here are mostly pretty obscure and uncelebrated, though AQ customers are likely to be already familiar with, say, Brigitte Fontaine and Linda Perhacs. And there's a track from Spain's wonderfully stoned Musica Dispersa, whose reissued album we so recently reviewed.
Here's all the artists: Carol Batton, Kathy Smith, Sarofeen & Smoke, Brigitte Fontaine, Linda Perhacs, Breakout, Musica Dispersa, The Poppy Family, Wendy & Bonnie, Bonnie Koloc, Heaven & Earth, Erica Pomerace, Audience, The Roundtable, Sidan. Lots of lovely female voices, some menfolk too. As you'd expect, a lot of this is a wee bit twee -- some cuts are more our thing than others -- but it's a fine comp with no duds and lots of gentle gems. Votel provides enthusiastic and well-researched liner notes with info on each artist featured. Nicely done!
Originally released for Record Store Day earlier this year, this killer comp is finally more widely available, and thankfully less limited. And there were definitely lots of Record Store Day releases to be excited about, but we were especially psyched on this one, a sprawling double lp collection of lost sixties psychedelic jams, collected from the Vanguard vaults, this collection marking the first time those vaults have been explored for lost records and 45's, gathered with the intention of an elaborate and extensive digital reissue project, but 18 of the best were gathered up and compiled here for Record Store Day. And holy crap. Some of you may recognize some of these bands, and maybe some of these songs, but for the most part, this was mostly all new stuff to us.
The Third Power's "Getting Together" which sounds, as impossible as it may seem, like the bastard child of Jimi Hendrix and Kiss. Or Erik's "You Said / But I've Got My Way", with its weirdly distorted guitar buzz, and brooding minimal lowslung stripped down sound. Listening offer up "Stoned Is", with a music example of just what stoned is, with whirring organs, warm washed out guitars, wild psychedelic leads, skittery drums, and weary druggy vox. The 31st Of February deliver the oddly named "A Nickel's Worth Of Benny's Help" a fuzzy, distorted garage-y groove, with some awesome weirdly effected percussion, and Elizabeth's (a band not a person) "You Should Be More Careful" is a jangle drenched rapid fire lyrical warning, while Jeff Monn's "I Can Understand Your Problem" is a brooding, slithery, organ drenched Doorsy jam, all murky and moody�
We could pretty much go on and on, track by track, but you get the drift, there's not a weak one in the bunch. Tripped out, psychedelic, groovy, fuzzy, heavy, jangly, garagey, surfy, and pretty much every and any stop in between, every one of these most definitely a lost gem, making this one of our favorite psych reissue comps in ages!
Incredible packaging too. Pressed on ultra heavy vinyl, with the original Vanguard inner sleeves, all housed in a super thick full color gatefold sleeve, with extensive liner notes, as well as descriptions of each band, and eye popping psychedelic graphics.
As elemental to psychedelic music of the sixties and seventies as fuzz-fueled freakouts and surreal mystical lyricism, was the dirge! Those slow and heavy head-nodding anthems of bittersweet self-reflection often replete with powerful descending chord progressions and moody and soulful angst-laden vocal crooning.
The amazing folks at the Now-Again label (who usually focus on the funk side of the psychedelic equation) have assembled quite a tour-de-force with these rare heavy-hitters from around the globe, including long-time aQ favorites as well as plenty of new discoveries. Here's the line-up: Top Drawer (Kentucky), Sensational Saints (Cleveland, OH), East of Underground (USA via Germany), D.R. Hooker (New Haven, CT), Shin Jung Hyun & The Men (Korea), T. Zchiew & The Johnny (Thailand), The Strangers (Nigeria), Damon (Los Angeles, CA), Ellison (Montreal), Morly Grey (Cleveland, OH), Shadrack Chameleon (Dakota City, IA), Ofege (Nigeria), Ana Y Jaime (Columbia), Kourosh Yaghmaei (Iran), and Baby Grandmothers (Sweden)! Focusing not only on the rare, but also the rather unconventional modes of the ballad, this compilation doesn't just cover heavy psych territory, but also crosses currents with gospel, soul and downbeat international funk by obscure artists who sought after their own kind of sound. Just in time for those cold winter months, this is perfect fireside listening. In fact, it's the perfect, sad and beautiful companion to the energetic exuberance of that Psych Funk 101 compilation, we raved about a couple of lists ago. Meaning, it's a total must-have!
The cd comes with a beautiful booklet of album covers and notes about each band.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume six is titled Come Into My World and has tracks from Thackeray Rocke, Those Guys, The Tasmanians, King James and The Royal Jesters, The Night People, The Insects, The Endd, and much more.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume 7 garage by the Spirits of Blue Lightning, The Lazy Eggs, The Cindermen and others, including a rarity by a different, not-famous Ides of March.
This delightful new collection from the great British crate-digger Johnny Trunk focuses on the lighter and more whimsical obscurities of British Folk. Think a more kid-friendly Wicker Man Soundtrack-same spooky and wondrous undertones but without all the, er... shall we say, ribald subtext. There is definitely an acidy H.R. Pufnstuf vibe to some of the songs which made some of us imitate those overacting kids on Barney. In fact some of these songs were recorded for children's movement classes in the early seventies, using lots of zany instruments like penny-whistles, kazoos and ocarinas. While this is not strictly aimed at children (some songs like Basil Kirchin's sublime "I Start Counting" might be too slow for full kiddie enjoyment), we think parents would rather have their young kids listening to this stuff than crap like Barney or Raffi. Fans of "incredibly strange music", novelty records, and sixties and seventies folk-pop should check this too. Far out!
