The J. Geils Band - The J. Geils Band 1970

The J. Geils Band's self-titled debut serves notice that rock & roll wasn't dead in 1970 despite the best efforts of the singer/songwriter brigade. Though it sounds a bit reserved in the light of the albums that followed, compared to the majority of bands on the scene, it was a nonstop blast of energy, fun, and sweat. Featuring the hipster jive of singer Peter Wolf, the amazing afro and harp chops of Magic Dick, the fret-burning work of J. Geils, and the jack of many trades Seth Justman (keys, compositions, backing vocals), the Geils Band rips through some classic blues by the likes of Otis Rush("Homework"), Walter Price ("Pack Fair and Square"), and John Lee Hooker (a slow-burning "Serves You Right to Suffer"), old Motown gems ("First I Look at the Purse"), and originals that stand up well next to the covers ("Wait," "What's Your Hurry," and future live favorite "Hard Drivin' Man"). A nice mix of nostalgia, intensity, and bar band excitement, the album serves as fair warning that the Geils Band was on the scene and was ready to bring back the good-time spirit of the juke joint, the abandon of the early rock & roll scene, and the high energy of the late-'60s concert halls. AMG.

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Blackbirds - No Destination 1968

Although the Blackbirds' debut LP sounded a year or two behind the times when it came out, it was a strange and intriguing disc, worth checking out by those who like the downcast and somber sound of '60s beat music from the low countries. At times this is eccentric R&B-influenced rock, but it's set aside from the norm by the odd church-psychedelic organ and strange bits of falsetto vocals that sound as sardonic as they do sincere. It might be due to an imperfect command of the English language, but the lyrics can get pretty weird and gloomy, too, as in the title track, which declares "I stay in my bed, 'cause a job is no destination" -- a pre-slacker statement of purpose, perhaps. Although this can approach elegiac ballad territory with a song like "Golden Son," it gets pretty out there with "She," in which the singer gutturally announces that "I have no problems, I have no work...all the people hate me, it doesn't touch me" before a frilly falsetto praises the virtues of "She," his reason for living. And if not for "She," he sounds like he'd be headed straight for the psychiatric ward. AMG.

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Essra Mohawk - Essra Mohawk 1975

Essra Mohawk has never recorded for the same record label more than once, but it's rarely affected the consistency of her songwriting. Here, she left behind the free-form, rambling qualities of her earlier work, and, working within slightly more conventional rock confines, rocked 'n' rasped her own inimitable way through ten finely crafted psych-pop gems, as well as one frenetic take on Gershwin's "Summertime." "New Skins for Old" starts as the album means to go on: "Can we doubt when we don an old animal skin/that it's really a previous state we were in"; birth, death, reincarnation and the universe are the album's recurrent themes. Despite its muscled-up rock power, the set also capturesMohawk solo at the piano for "You're Finally Here" and "I Cannot Forget," two warm, candid love ballads. Porgy and Bess fans may balk at her unusual treatment of "Summertime," but approached without prejudice, it's a fine tribute. As usual, though, it is the romantic, spiritual and sensual imagery that never fails to impress. "Openin' My Love Doors" is a case in point -- Mohawk describes a post-coital moment of bliss ("We made love while the clouds cried/Now the birds sing as we lie side by side") and runs with it throughout the song. A great achievement from start to end, and Mohawk at her vivid and insightful best. AMG.

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Thrice Mice - Thrice Mice 1970

A sextet from Hamburg, playing the patented, distinctive German type of progressive jazz-rock typified by underground legends like Xhol or Out Of Focus (2nd & 3rd album). The leading soloist in Thrice Mice was Wolfgang Buhre. Vocalist Karl-Heinz Blumenberg had little to do most of the time. Their self-titled album was recorded during November and December 1970 in Hamburg and released on Phillips in 1971. Buhre often tried to copy the wah-wah sax style of Ian Underwood of Mothers Of Invention, this was most apparent on opening track "Jo Joe". On "Vivaldi" the three soloists were playing duets with themselves in turn! Minnemann's organ sound was high, thin and cranky in a late sixties' way. The distinctive German underground sound (rooted in jazz) marked the track "Torekov". After a couple of years, the group resurfaced as Altona and made two further albums for RCA in 1974 and 1975.

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John Miles - Rebel 1976

Best remembered for the rock ballad "Music," singer John Miles was born April 23, 1949 in Jarrow, England. His first musical venture of note was the Influences, which also launched the careers of Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson and Geordie guitarist Vic Malcolm; following the group's breakup, he formed the John Miles Band, relocating to London in 1975 and soon landing a deal with Decca.Miles' debut LP Rebel followed a year later, launching the UK hit "Highfly"; the follow-up, the epic ballad "Music," reached the British Top Five and paved the way for a U.S. tour in support of Elton John. 1977's Stranger in the Cityalso yielded a Top Ten entry in "Slow Down," but successive efforts like 1978's Zaragon, 1979's More Miles Per Hour and 1981's Miles High failed to recreate Miles' initial flush of success. In the wake of 1985's Transition, he lent vocals to projects from the Alan Parsons Project and Jimmy Page, subsequently touring behind acts including Tina Turner and Joe Cocker; Upfront, Miles' first new solo album in eight years, followed in 1993. AMG.

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Nat King Cole - Thank You Pretty Baby 1967

Cobbled together from previous singles and a few unreleased tracks, Thank You, Pretty Baby does, unfortunately, sound like a posthumous Nat King Cole LP. Its palette of clippity-clop rhythms, trad vocal choruses, and breezy, evocative strings definitely wouldn't have made the grade during Cole's lifetime -- in fact, the rhythms were added after his death. Still, unlike contemporary material by Elvis Presley(who sang over nearly identical arrangements), Cole transcends the simpy arrangements and weak material simply by exercising his voice, lending an air of respectability to the better songs while treating the novelties with an air of amusement that allows both artist and listener to share the joke. Several of the songs were (originally) arranged by Nelson Riddle, including a beautiful version of "You Made Me Love You." AMG.

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Rockadrome - Royal American 20th Century Blues 1969

A near-mint copy of Rockadrome's lone 1969 LP will probably set you back at least a month's rent - and not a one-bedroom in Wawa (ON), either. Recorded in the early months of 1969 at Art Snider's Sound Canada studios in Toronto and pressed up in very limited quantities, Royal American 20th Century Blues is an impossibly rare psych-rock curio that has sold for upwards of US$1900.

The band (guitarists Ron Dove and Mike Clancy, along with bassist Paul Lachapelle and drummer Rick Vallieres) formed in Toronto in 1968, with the older Clancy having once recorded with rockabilly acts Jack Bailey and The Naturals and Jerry Warren and The Tremblers. Royal American... seems to have one foot planted on either side of the Atlantic, flitting from Brit-infused freakbeat ('Very Strange') to acerbic West Coast guitar jams ('Thirteen Miles Down'), sometimes even in the same song (the amazing five-minute title track). Dove's Dylanesque whine on the jangly 'There You Go Again' should by rights be maddeningly annoying, but instead the song could almost be a long-lost Blond on Blonde outtake. And the sombre piano reprise that closes side two is a sober lament - almost frighteningly so - on our own royal American twentieth century futility. The record is not without its detritus, but still, how Royal American 20th Century Blues could have gone so unnoticed remains a mystery.

Snider kept the lads busy later that year, employing them as session musicians on a couple of equally arcane endeavours, Hyde's obscure folk LP on Quality and, a few years later, for Snider's wife's project, the Allen Sisters. But aside from a solo seven-inch by Dove, the band responsible for one of Canada's rarest records was never heard from again.

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Havenstock River Band - Havenstock River Band 1972

The Havenstock River Band was an obscure american band formed in the early 70s as a support band of singer Glenn Yarbrough. In 1972 they launched their only and rare LP until today without reissues. Little else is known about the group.
The self-titled album features 12 short tracks of typical country rock of the 70s, with hard, blues / boogie rock touches and some beautiful ballads. Heavy guitars on "rural" style with presence of piano, harmonica and violin are featured in instrumental, vocal also does not disappoint, with good moments of chorus. For the tracks, best are "Dog", "Love What I Got" and "I've Only Got a Nickel". Nothing essential, but a good one for fans of country and southern rock.

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Jef Gilson Et Malagasy - Zao 1973

French pianist Jef Gilson came up in the '60s and played in a straight-ahead hard bop style and also made forays into Afro-jazz and free jazz, including a noteworthy version of Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan." He featured the young violinist Jean Luc Ponty on some early recordings, and also appeared on Magma drummer Christian Vander's Vander et les Trois Jeffs. The pianist led numerous ensembles ranging from trios to creative big bands during his career, including the Jef Gilson Nonet, Jef Gilson et Malagasy, and the Jef Gilson Orchestra. AMG.

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Herbie Mann - Memphis Underground 1968

Herbie Mann has always been open to new trends in his music. For this 1969 studio session, he and three other top soloists (vibraphonist Roy Ayers and guitarists Larry Coryell and Sonny Sharrock) went down to Memphis and combined their talents with a topnotch local rhythm section. The music effectively mixes R&B and country rhythms with the lead jazz voices, although the material, which includes "Memphis Underground," "Hold On! I'm Comin'," and "Chain of Fools," is rather weak. AMG.

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Alan Bown - Listen 1970

Though British trumpeter/bandleader Alan Bown gave his name to the group he put together, he's far from the dominant musical force; there are long stretches where you might think the band had no trumpet at all. Nonetheless, he shaped the band's sound and shepherded the group through shifts in style and personnel. They had already gone from beat-era mod pop to psych pop before turning toward a heavier, more progressive sound on their second album, Listen. They had also been through two different singers, and the second, Robert Palmer -- later of Vinegar Joe and solo fame -- had left Alan Bown in the lurch by leaving just before Listen's release. Lacking the funds to start from scratch withPalmer's replacement, Gordon Neville, the band had to simply re-record the vocals over the original instrumental tracks. Though Neville's voice wasn't as soulful or flexible as Palmer's, he did a yeoman-like job of taking the reins. In fact, his rougher-edged sound suits the harder direction in which the band was headed on the album. Originally released in November of 1970, Listen is very much a product of its time; there's a proto-prog feeling to the instrumental excursions (the album was produced by King Crimson saxophonist/future Alan Bown member Mel Collins), mixed with the kind of bluesy hard rock that was coming into favor via the likes of Led Zeppelin and Free. On some of the more adventurous tracks, the horn section -- Bown and future Supertramp saxman John Anthony Helliwell -- stretches out with a freewheeling approach influenced by the trailblazing progressive jazz exploits of Miles Davis et al. After Listen, Alan Bown (the band) would make only one more album before splitting, withBown himself going on to a brief stint with prog rockers Jonesy. AMG.

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The Bob Meighan Band - The Dancer 1976

This was recorded in 1975 in a small studio in Tucson.
This album caught the attention of Capitol records and was ultimately rerecorded and significantly spiffed up. Many people missed the old version, or so I'm repeatedly reminded. The white Dancer album was recorded in 50 hours and was produced by Jim Bastin at a cost of about $3000 total if memory serves.
Both Jim and Milt Miller our drummer for the BMB have passed on and we want to make the album available for download for a brief period and dedicate it to these two great musicians. Our deep and sincere thanks to Douglas Grant and Lownoise Records for making this project possible with the excellent and tasteful CD mastering. Enjoy.

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Bob Johnson & Peter Knight - The King Of Elfland's Daughter 1977

First things first. Dig out a vinyl copy and play the opening "The Request" at 45. There, you never need buy another copy of "Losing My Religion." Okay, now slow it back down again. The King of Elfland's Daughter was, Steeleye Span manager Tony Secunda later admitted, one of the most ill-timed projects he had ever been involved in, a full-fledged folk-rock concept album which forgot to ask whether anybody actually cared for folk-rock (or concept albums) any longer. It was the age of punk rock, a beast that did not necessarily impact upon the core support enjoyed by Steeleye themselves, but would certainly bare its teeth at any attempt to raise traditional music back out of the folk clubs. Add to that the somewhat convoluted nature of the concept's source, Lord Dunsany's late Victorian (and hence, pre-Hobbit) hodgepodge of mystic imagery and good old-fashioned fairy tale, and a star-studded cast that omitted any current stars, and the entire affair seemed to be riding a hot rail to oblivion. And so it proved -- sales were poor, promotion was negligible, and the album...the album was utterly preposterous. Musically, composers Bob Knight and Pete Knight fulfill their brief admirably, distilling the essence of the story down to a relatively straightforward epic of quest and discovery. But a succession of bludgeoning miscasts, ranging from an apparently tongue-tied Chris Farlowe to a frankly puzzled Alexis Korner, hopelessly overwhelm Mary Hopkin's lithesome appearances as the heroine, Lirazel, and P.P. Arnold's spellbinding witch. The musical accompaniment, meanwhile, is rarely more than functional, a series of perfunctory passages that rely on instrumentation, rather than actual construction, to convey the required folk-rock vibe. And still there is a charm to the affair that prevents one from simply throwing it away, a Quixotic valor, perhaps, derived from flying so hard against the prevailing winds that it deserves your attention for sheer gall alone. Or, maybe, it's the fact that a good story well told is worth its weight in gold, and this story is told very well indeed. AMG.

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