Little Johnny & Ted Taylor - The Super Taylors 1973

Now here'a a relic from Little Johnny Taylor's prolific early '70s Ronn tenure that also features soul-blues singer Ted Taylor. Although they weren't related (except by label), the "Super Taylors" shared this album like long-lost brothers. Four duets find the two complementing one another most soulfully; otherwise, the album is comprised of solo sides by both (including Johnny Taylor's "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing"). AMG.

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Mama's Pride - Mama's Pride 1975

"The debut album from St. Louis (St.Louis, State of Missouri). Was established in 1972, signed a contract with Atco Records. The album was produced Arif Mardin, in what follows a repeated winner of the "Grammy" ... The group performed about the same fate as The Allman Brothers Band (ie, Soulful Southern Rock), is no coincidence that they both performed at the concerts ... Also participated in these concerts Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Charlie Daniels Band, The Outlaws, Todd Rundgren, Alice Cooper, REO Speedwagon ...The band, Mama's Pride, was originally from St. Louis, Missouri USA. In their hometown, they were fondly referred to as "The Pride of St. Louis". The group was formed by brothers Pat and Danny Liston. Members of the original band were: Pat Liston - vocals, slide, electric and acoustic guitars, organ, Danny Liston - vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, Kevin Sanders - drums, percussion, back ground vocals, Max Baker - lead electric guitar, 12-string and acoustic guitars, background vocals, Joe Turek - bass, background vocals, Frank Gagliano - keyboards and synthesizer. Mama's Pride signed with Atco Records (a division of Atlantic Records) in 1974. They recorded and released their first album a short time later. According to Frank Gagliano, the Muscle Shoals tapes are still the highlight of the band then and now! The reason being is those recordings actually sounded live and in concert! Ten tunes--rhythm tracks--vocals--and overdubs recorded and mixed down in "three days"! David Johnson the engineer recorded all the tracks and we had been playing six nights a week for some time and the band was smoking hot!! All the labels that heard those tracks came to Atlanta to make a bid. Atlantic Records and the whole staff flew down to Tampa, Florida to see the group at a club called the PAC--Performing Arts Center. They offered us a major deal after the first show!! We actually met Amet Ertugen the CEO of Atlantic and he offered us a deal we couldn't refuse! Frank Gagliano auditioned for Pat Liston in one of the first groups he had in St. Louis. At the time Frank was 14 years old and played accordian. Pat liked the way Frank played but told him to get a Wurlitzer electric piano and the gig was his! Well Frank picked up a used Wurlitzer and called Pat back and he had already hired somebody else, Ten years later Kevin Sanders---Kevin and Frank played together in bands since they were kids-- joined the group in December of 1973 in Tucson, Arizona and Frank hooked up with the group in April of 1974 in Kearny, Nebraska" 

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Here Comes Everybody - Here Comes Everybody 1974

Prog/psych álbum released in 1974 by an Oklahoma, US' band. Enjoy it.

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Yvonne Fair - The Bitch Is Black 1975

As Alice Clark's eponymous 1972 epic on Bob Shad's Mainstream Records label is a thing of beauty deserving a wider audience, so is Norman Whitfield's 1975 supervision of Yvonne Fair entitled The Bitch Is Black. A title that shocked and grabbed attention upon its release, it may also have played a part in not revealing the majestic voice and soul-stirring ballads within. If you can't tell a book by its cover, be careful if the title throws you off base as well. Sure, Harvey Fuqua's "Stay a Little Longer" has some gutsy vocals reflecting that title -- and stunning production by Fuqua as Whitfield had collaborators in that department on this disc -- Pam Sawyer, Gloria Jones, and Clay McMurray also chipping in, but this is Yvonne Fair's moment in the sun and her big U.K. hit, "It Should Have Been Me," should have been a monster in the U.S. as well. There's a hilarious parody of it on YouTube under the name Vicar of Dibley, a British TV sitcom with a comedienne, Dawn French, doing the lip sync to Fair's popular rendition. Stevie Wonder's "Tell Me Something Good," a Top Three hit for Chaka Khan in the summer of 1974, is absolutely grand here, with bubbling guitar and sweet horns that give it an entirely different perspective. A cover of Barbara George's 1962 hit "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" moves with authority, and is a great selection on one of those albums that not only doesn't have a bad track, it's one that you wish would just keep on going. The re-release on reissue supervisor Paul Williams' Reel Music label has a generous 7,500-word essay by liner note writer A. Scott Galloway, over 20 pages with photos and information that has never been revealed about the singer before. Galloway interviewed Dionne Warwick, Chuck Jackson, Venisha Brown (daughter of Fair and James Brown), and many others specifically for this release. There's also a stunning and quite rare wedding photo of Fair in the tray when you lift the CD out of the jewel case, those in charge making it a labor of love that shows great respect for the artist. Packaged with the tender loving care this music deserves, and impressively remastered by Bill Lacey, it's a project that sets a new standard and is an absolute delight in every aspect. AMG.

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The Meters - The Meters 1969

Initially created to be the house band for Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn's Sansu Enterprises, the Meters started out backing such famous names as Lee Dorsey and Betty Harris. Led by organist Art Neville, the quartet was rounded out by jazz-influenced guitarist Leo Nocentelli, along with the bubbling rhythm section of bassist George Porter, Jr. and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste. Booker T. & the M.G.'s may have been the most obvious influence, but the Meters differentiated themselves by injecting a healthy dose of New Orleans funk into their sound. Led by Neville's fat-sounding organ, the Meters quickly scored hits with the sinewy "Cissy Strut" and the more languid "Sophisticated Cissy." Simplicity is the hallmark of this impressive debut and nuance is paramount, whether it's Nocentelli's lazy riffs echoing throughout "Ease Back" or Modeliste unobtrusively riding his hi-hat along the perimeter of the Memphis-fried "6V6 La." Not unlike the M.G.'s, the Meters were masters of interpretation -- the band here moves easily from a chugging reading of Sly Stone's "Sing a Simple Song," to kicking back on a smoky version of the Classics IV's "Stormy." AMG.

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England - Garden Shed 1977

England is a progressive rock band from Maidstone, South East England, United Kingdom, formed in 1975. The band existed (in one form or another) from 1975 to the early '80s. Reformed around 2005.

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Klaatu - Hope 1977

A somewhat disappointing follow-up to the promise left by the group's inspired debut, Hope was actually recorded just before the first album was released (and prior to the subsequent "Are Klaatu the Beatles?" rumors). The band opted for a more conceptual, rock opera sound, but they ended up sounding pretentious, and in some cases like a rip-off of Queen. If you're into LP sleeve art, though, this one is breathtaking. The artist, Ted Jones, did several of the band's striking album sleeves, but this is certainly the most beautiful. Drummer and band archivist Terry Draper later tried to retrieve the original oil painting from which the cover was shot, but discovered it had been pilfered by an unknown employee of Capitol. AMG.

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Gwen McCrae - Rockin' Chair 1975

This album marked the long-playing debut of Gwen McCrae, a sultry voiced singer who remains popular with soul music cultists today. Rockin' Chair collects the material that she had been recording for the Cat label, a subsidiary of disco giant TK Records. Despite the fact that it was not technically conceived as an album, all the material on Rockin' Chair hangs together nicely: everything here was produced by Miami soul stalwart Steve Alaimo, who strikes an effective balance between silky soul and gospel-tinged funk on all the tracks. The obvious standout is the title tune, a mid-paced invitation to romance that frames McCrae's seductive vocal with stately horns and churning, infectious percussion. The end result is downright hypnotic and it deservedly became a massive hit on both the R&B and pop charts during 1975. None of the remaining tracks are as instantly infectious as the title hit, but they all make for fine listening: "Move Me Baby" is a gently-loping funk jam built on some silky keyboard riffs, and "Your Love Is Worse Than a Cold Love" is a convincing declaration of frustrated passion that gets a gutsy, gospel-tinged treatment from McCrae. Trivia fans will also want to take note that Harry Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band lent a hand on the production of "Move Me Baby." However, the album's unsung gem is "90% Of Me Is You": this hypnotic tune is a grand showcase for McCrae's emotive skills, allowing her to unfold a tale of emotional enslavement over a sleek backing track that balances yearning strings with a moody funk groove. All in all, Rockin' Chair is an exciting collection that will appeal to any fans of 1970s soul. AMG.

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Nucleus - Under The Sun 1974

Nucleus began its long jazz-rock journey in 1969, when it was originally formed by trumpeter Ian Carr. They attracted a following after a successful performance at the Montreux International Festival in 1970, which led to the critical success of albums Elastic Rock and We'll Talk About It Later. The other members consisted of saxophonist Karl Jenkins, drummer John Marshall, and guitarist Chris Spedding. Spedding split after the first two albums, but the rest of the lineup lasted until 1972, when Jenkins and Marshall both left to join Soft Machine. Belladonna was the first album with only Carr, and although he enlisted the help of guitarist Allan Holdsworth, the band eventually became a solo venture for his music. They finally broke up in the mid-'80s after several Carr-only albums. AMG.

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Gong - Magick Brother 1969

In 1970, the world got its first taste of the original pothead pixie, Daevid Allen's Gong, as Magick Brother was released in France on the BYG label. Allen's wife, Gilli Smyth, penned all the tunes on the album, and Allen's now-classic "Ph.P." drawing style graces the inside of the gatefold. Leaning a little toward the pop end of the spectrum, Magick Brother is a fairly light album, devoid of the blatant psychedelic/hippie qualities which shine through so brilliantly on the later Camembert Electrique. Smyth's "space whispering" makes its debut on the opening track, though the album is not as spacy as it is ethereal. "Gong Song" is a highlight, with lyrics describing a pothead pixie who came down from the planet Gong to sing his green song -- the roots of the Gong myth. Allen's guitar sound is a bit flat and hollow throughout the project, dynamics taking a back seat in most of these recordings. He relies on distortion and various guitar augmentations, but this all works quite well in the context of the collective sound. Much of the vocal harmonizing on the album is typical of many '60s pop troupes and sounds fairly dated today. Didier Malherbe's sax and flute playing spices up this mostly pop-oriented prog rock outing, helping to make this a cut above the radio norm. Although this is an interesting release, especially for its status as the first Gong project, it is not typical Gong and is not recommended as a starting point for sampling the band's recordings. AMG.

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Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media - Funky Stuff 1975

From the end of the 1960s, saxophonist Jiro Inagaki led groups such as The Soul Mates, and His Black Rhythm Machine, blasting down the jazz rock road before forming Soul Media in 1969. The album Funky Stuff, Inagaki’s final work of his jazz rock era, was released in 1975 on Nippon Columbia, and was written and arranged by pianist Hiromasa Suzuki. Inagaki said of Suzuki: "His ideas were innovative and his phrases were sparkling. He could write songs that were 'catchy' in a good way." Funky Stuff is a masterpiece born from the combination of Suzuki's exceptional musical qualities and the artistic direction taken by Soul Media at the time. Yusuke Ogawa - Universounds

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Lennie MacDonald - Hard Road 1975

English singer and songwriter. Lennie MacDonald band toured Britain with the late and now legendary Marc Bolan and T-Rex appearing at Glasgow Apollo Manchester free trade hall and London Lyceum Ballroom. With the end of his record deal and the advent of punk, MacDonald moved to Europe and became a busker playing the streets of Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Zurich and Milan.

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Canned Heat - Canned Heat Cookbook 1969

This initial best-of package, Canned Heat Cookbook, was released rather quickly in 1969 after the band's initial burst of creativity resulted in four albums and two hit singles between 1967 and 1968. Friend/manager/producer Skip Taylor lists tons of the band's engagements from 1966 on the gatefold of the album, which constitutes its only liner notes. Dozens and dozens of gigs, from the Monterey International Pop Festival to Club 47, the Boston Tea Party, and what they call the Woodstock Pop Festival, are all listed and this is a staggering resumé suited well to a greatest-hits package. There are baby photos of the five bandmembers (and the obligatory thanks to their moms for providing them), as well as a very cool cover design by Dean Torrence which features his artistic rendition of each performer along with a couple of butterflies. They look somewhat like the Band here, and their rocking blues was actually somewhat similar to the dudes who backed up Bob Dylan. But the sound of their records differed from that other ensemble, and Al Wilson's personality shines through on "Goin' up the Country" and "On the Road Again," two blasts of '60s pop which were quite different from anything else on the radio at the time. Repackages are often arbitrary and one can quibble that the song named after the group, "Canned Heat," is missing, but this best-of album is worthy of the moniker regardless and contains "Bullfrog Blues" and "Rollin' and Tumblin'" from the 1967 self-titled debut; tracks from 1968's Boogie With Canned Heat, including "Amphetamine Annie," the hit "On the Road Again," and the 11-minute-plus "Fried Hockey Boogie"; and material from yet another 1968 album, Living the Blues, including "Goin' up the Country," which was as identifiable to the band as "On the Road Again" with Alan Wilson's high-pitched, earnest, nasal request giving the audience a musical handle, as well as "Boogie Music," also getting the nod from the Living the Blues disc. Three selections from 1968's Hallelujah album -- "Time Was," "Sic 'Em Pigs," and "Same All Over" -- round out the original vinyl version of the LP. The group would release a live album on Liberty in 1970 after this compilation, and hit again with "Let's Work Together" from another studio album in 1970, Future Blues. For those who want to get a good glimpse of this band, Canned Heat Cookbook is the place to start. Len Fico at the Fuel 2000 label put together a 2002 compilation which features the same tracks along with the addition of the third hit, "Let's Work Together." AMG.

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Genesis - Nursery Cryme 1971

By 1971 Genesis had all the pieces in place. Following the devastating departure of guitar player Anthony Philips and drummer John Mayhew they’d finally found musicians who had the chops to keep up with these posh boys’ grandiose visions. Though (with singer Peter Gabriel especially) their roots lay in white r’n’b it was no longer simply good enough to sing about the simple joys of being young. Their previous album, Trespass, had been full of post-apocalyptic allegory (a subject they’d return to) and anti-violence diatribe. Easing into their self-appointed role as purveyors of very English rock fantasy, they retired to the obligatory ‘place in the country’ and gave the world Nursery Cryme. An album filled with 19th century shaggy dog stories, greek myth and rural life. Genesis had virtually invented their own genre, Edwardian rock.

By this point their roots in the work of prog predecessors, Procol Harum and Family, were still very visible, yet Gabriel’s love of role-playing within song was taking them somewhere else entirely new. Honed by endless gigging at places like Ayelsbury’s Friars club, songs such as ‘’The Musical Box’’ were tailor-made for his use of costume to hide his shyness (a creepy old man in this case). The production was far too rudimentary to really convey their power but recent recruits, Phil Collins (ex-child star and fusion enthusiast) and Steve Hackett (proven track record with sibling John in band, Quiet Sun), made all the difference. Collins’ snappy drums were augmented by his uncanny ability to sound not unlike Gabriel, allowing him to sing on one track (“For Absent Friends”). Hackett’s armoury of tapping and swell techniques really broadened the palette of the band, giving Tony Banks more room for his Delius-lite organ filigrees, not to mention their newly purchased Mellotron, bought from King Crimson who they were now chasing in the ‘most-English band’ contest. “Seven Stones” is a masterclass in pomp, in a good way. And let’s not forget the twelve string guitars. Never has a band had such a chiming about them and hardly surprising; nearly every member played one. So we end up with a series of mini suites about murder by croquet mallet followed by psychosexual haunting (“The Musical Box”), armageddon by enraged plant life (“The Return Of The Giant Hogweed”) or hermaphroditic tales of caution (“The Fountain Of Samalcis”). All of it delivered with a panache that wouldn’t quite put them in the big league but was a large step towards making their mark. bbc.co.uk/ Chris Jones

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Jefferson Starship - Red Octopus 1975

Jefferson Starship went back into the studio in February 1975 to record its second album; Red Octopus turned out to be the best-selling album of the entire Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship's career, largely due to the presence of Balin's ballad "Miracles," which became a Top Ten hit. (Slick and Sears' "Play on Love" was also a singles chart entry.) The album first hit number one (which no Jefferson Airplane album had ever done) in September, and bounced in and out of the top spot for the next two months. Eventually, it sold over two million copies. (At this point, Creach quietly exited the band.) AMG.

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The Sound Farm - Harvest 1969

Not much info about this band from Columbia, Missouri. The music is psychedelic/jam blues, and acid rock. Give it a listen!

Comment on my former post. "I freaked out when I first saw the Sound Farm label. I hadn’t seen it since 1969. I lived in Columbia, Missouri from 1967-1970, my name is Sonny Smith, I was the drummer in a different band called “Crystal Clear” & we were friends with the Sound Farm, we’d borrow amps from each other when we had gigs. & Smokey ( Michael Cochran) helped us record a demo out at the Sound Farm, which was a real place by the way. They changed personnel later by adding David “Bean” Walter on keyboards & vocals, & Glen “Bummer the Drummer” Ward on drums. But when I was friends with them, the line-up was… John Slezinger, Bass guitar, vocals. Heidi Upton, organ,piano,vocals. Michael “Smokey” Cochran, Lead, Rhythm, Bass guitars, vocals. Ken (Wikowski) Shepard, Lead, Rhythm,Bass guitars, vocals. Jim “Bozo” Taylor, Drums, Vocals. Guy Wayne Bottom, Percussion, Vocals. I once followed them to St. Louis,Mo where they opened for the Albert King blues band. And I went down to Springfield, Missouri to see them at the new Bijou Theatre later in their career. But the best I ever saw them was when they put on a show at the Hall theatre on 9th street in Columbia,MO in 1968, I was upstairs in the booth working the stage lights, it was a hell of a show. They were popular & well liked around mid-Missouri, I worked at the Ivanhoe restaurant in Columbia at the time, and they hung out there and played there sometimes. I was proud to know them as close friends, they were more experienced than the band I was in, but they helped us out when ever they could, they even sold us their old PA system. I heard Kenny Shepard has passed away, (he owned Crazy Music shop/store) & Michael Cochran is still playing music (Monday in the ozarks) but I’ve never heard anything about the rest of the band because I moved from Columbia decades ago. Me & John Slezinger the bass player were close friends, I’d really like to know what happened to him, if anybody has any information about John, (or the rest of the band members) please let me know. John gave me my copy of this tape recording, I played it so much that the tape wore out, I had to get another copy from him. Thank you for taking me down memory lane." By Sonny Smith, thank you. (Crystal Clear) 

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Osibisa - Black Magic Night Live at The Festival Hall 1977

Recorded on July 19, 1977, this double LP (reissued as a two-CD set) contained live versions of songs that appeared on several of their 1971-1977 albums, as well as one ("Living Loving Feeling") that only came out as a single. Osibisa, who anticipated many of the features of the worldbeat sound, cover a lot of ground on this lengthy set -- maybe too much for some tastes. Sometimes the material gets close to traditional African music in its rhythms and chanting; at others, it nearly treads on jazz fusion territory, though not in a bad way. And while Osibisa singer and multi-instrumentalist Teddy Osei says in the liner notes that the band wasn't influenced by Santana, the Afro-Latin rhythms and chant-style vocals in some of the songs certainly remind you of Santana, though again not in an objectionable fashion. There's also some Rahsaan Roland Kirk-style flute playing, and a rendition of their substantial 1976 British hit "Sunshine Day" that finds them at their most pop-friendly. While they might not have been the most innovative or original of these kind of groups, overall this is a lively document of an ensemble that fused African, soul-funk, and some Latin and jazz elements when that sort of mixture was far less accessible outside Africa than it would be in subsequent decades. AMG.

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Maypole - Maypole 1970

The Story of Maypole was about freedom, people being natural, true to themselves and the others around them. We told the truth about things and what we saw. The beauty, the ugliness, the injustice, of the times.The plight of hungry hearts on their journey seeking to find true happiness. Maypole was not a typical group. Our approach was artistic and on a spiritual level. Demian's guitar style has been compared to Jimi Hendrix,Frank Marino, and Carlos Santana. The reality is, that Demian was playing just as long as the afore mentioned players. His influences were what was going on around him. The hardships of his early life made him sensitive and thoughtful about life.He was run over by a bus in Baltimore when he was just 4 years old and suffered severe injuries. Long rehabilitation helped to build his concentration, endurance and his character. His ability to make his guitar sound in so many different ways is what made the guitar interesting for him. A way to express himself with no boundaries.He lives in Germany at the moment,where his new version of The Maypole is based. Dennis Tobell- Under the stage name of Denny Romans, later to be known as Demian Bell. Principle writer and Lead Guitarist and Vocals. Born near Chicago, to a show business Father and Mother, grew up in Maryland, Ohio, and California. First started piano at age 7, then guitar at 13. First professional gig at 14, with 'The Rogues' at the Gold Horse Saloon in Folsom California. He was a member of 'The Moss' a Baltimore Blues band that won many competitions known as 'Battle of The Bands' at 15. He founded the 'Psychedelic Propellor' at 16, in Baltimore Md. Played with 'Van Morrison' and 'Moulty and the Barbarians' at 18 and 'Maypole' when 20, with Paul Welsh. Paul Welsh- Drummer and writer and co-founder with Dennis Tobell. Born in Frankfurt Germany, to a French mother and American father. Raised in Towson , Maryland. A brilliant student in History, Literature, Languages and music. His first love was music as he saw it, as a tremendous way to communicate with the masses. Playing drums since age 10, he first played with 'The Paupers', 'Daddy Warbucks'and then with 'Maypole' Paul commited suicide in 1988. Steve Mace- Writer, singer and second guitarist. Born in Baltimore, raised in Towson , Paul and Steve were next door neighbors all their lives. He also was a member of the 'Paupers', 'Daddy Warbucks', before joining 'Maypole' Kenny Ross- Singer, songwriter. Born in Baltimore and grew up in the Govans area of Baltimore. Kenny was also a member of 'The Paupers' with Paul and Steve. Kenny passed away in May 2005. John Nickel- Bass Guitar was born in Baltimore, was from the Essex area of Baltimore, and played in many area bands before joining 'Maypole'. AMG.

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The Monkees - Head 1968

This disc contains songs and snippets of dialogue from the Monkees' full-length feature film of the same name. Although their Emmy-winning television program had been cancelled in the spring of 1968, the quartet quickly regrouped and, with the assistance of budding actor/director Jack Nicholson, created a 90-minute surreal cinematic experience -- replete with matching soundtrack. Without question, both the movie and album are the most adventurous and in many ways most fulfilling undertaking to have been born of the Monkees' multimedia manufactured project. The music featured on both the screen as well as this album is a long strange trip from the Farfisa-driven bubblegum anthem "I'm a Believer." Perhaps even more telling is that Head became the first Monkees long-player not to include a Tommy Boyce/Bobby Hart composition. As such, the talents of each member are uniquely showcased -- especially those of Peter Tork, whose contributions were previously too few and far between. Ironically, his acid rocker "Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again" and Eastern-flavored "Can You Dig It?" are not only among the best of the six original compositions on the soundtrack, but also among his finest Monkees offerings, period. Other notable tracks include Micky Dolenz's vocals on two Carole King works: the ethereal "Porpoise Song," which was co-authored by Gerry Goffin, and the Toni Stern collaboration on the pastoral "As We Go Along." AMG.

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Aardvark - Aardvark 1970

Unfortunately, the few times short-lived British prog outfit Aardvark's name ever comes up, it's usually due to their rock footnote status: guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke were in an early version of the band before they went on to fame and fortune with Free. But when Aardvark's lone, self-titled album was released in 1970, the group hadn't even bothered to replace Kossoff, opting instead for a vocals/keys/bass/drums lineup and going for the kind of organ-led sound that had already been proven viable in an early prog context by the Nice. Aardvark's approach -- while bearing some surface similarities to the Nice -- is much less classically influenced, bearing more of a jazz/blues/R&B base, and the harder edge they achieve on a number of tracks puts them more in the company of Atomic Rooster (of course, Atomic Rooster's Carl Palmer had just joined with the Nice's Keith Emerson to form ELP by this time, but that's another story). In fact, the album's opening track, "Copper Sunset," boasts a heavily fuzzed-out organ riff that resembles nothing so much as the hard-rocking sound Jon Lord was developing at the time with Deep Purple. The album closes out with the aptly titled "Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke It," a wild instrumental free for all that finds everyone -- other than singer Dave Skillin -- pushing the proverbial pedal to the floor, and inspires tantalizing questions about what might have been if Aardvark had only lasted just a bit longer. AMG.

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Keith - 98.6 / Ain't Gonna Lie 1967

Remembered for his 1967 Top Ten smash "98.6," singer Keith was born James Barry Keefer in Philadelphia on May 7, 1949. According to legend, he earned his first record deal with Columbia after camping out on the doorstep of A&R executive Jerry Ross; the resulting single, 1966's "Caravan of Lonely Men," was credited to Keith and the Admirations. When Ross moved to Mercury Records he took Keith with him, and the singer soon cracked the Top 40 with his solo debut, "Ain't Gonna Lie; " "98.6" reached the number seven position in the first week of 1967, but except for one last Top 40 entry -- "Tell Me to My Face" -- he never again appeared on the U.S. charts. After his 1968 sophomore LP Out of Crank failed to create public interest, Keith signed to Frank Zappa's Discreet label to issue the single "In and Out of Love"; after one final album, 1969's RCA release The Adventures of Keith, he retired from performing, briefly attempting an unsuccessful comeback during the mid-1980s. AMG.

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999 - High Energy Plan 1979

Like the highly influential Buzzcocks, 999 epitomized the pop side of British punk in the late '70s. High Energy Plan owes its snarling, bratty, in your face attitude to the Sex Pistols and the Clash, but unlike those bands, 999 doesn't bring a heavy political agenda to the table. This LP (which came out in the U.S. in 1979) is an exercise in wild, raucous fun, and hook-laden gems like "Homicide," "High Energy Plan," "Let's Face It," and "Rael Rean," which are the essence of pop-minded punk. If, in the late '70s, you thought that punk and power pop were mutually exclusive, 999 was among the bands that could set you straight (much like the Buzzcocks, the Ramones, and the zany Dickies). And High Energy Plan doesn't get all of its inspiration from punk or new wave; the 1960s British Invasion rock of the Kinks and the Rolling Stones certainly had an impact on 999. Produced by Martin Rushent, High Energy Plan is among the band's finest albums and is essential listening for lovers of early British punk. AMG.

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Rust - Come With Me 1969

An Australian ("Creepy" John Thomas) and two English guys (Walt Monaghan and Brian Hillman) who got together in Germany, playing at Army bases in the Rhineland. They also got to record a fun psychedelic album, that was partly borderline pop and pastiche, and also nudged towards the underground. 

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