The Delvins
EP (Grey Past; 45)
It's not every day we are treated to four slices of unissued Dutch beat, and even more seldom that they turn out to be real class winners, to stand proud with names like The Motions, The Golden Ear-rings and other combos of a similar persuasion. 'When You See', and 'There Are Things We Used To Do' both have that lowland garage-mod-beat sound down pat with some strident chording, a minor chord here and there and crisp drum accents. Vocally some of their melodies seem instantly familiar, even if you've never heard the songs before. This is especially true of 'You Know You're Losing Me'. Rob van Leeuwen would surely approve. All in all The Delvins is a nice little surprise, and the real deal for anyone smitten by Holland in The Mad Sixties.
http://www.heyday-mo.com/cgi/asearch.pl?X=delvins
Lenny Helsing
DANA GILLESPIE
Foolish Seasons (Rev-ola; CD)
Like Robin Scott and Giorgio Moroder, Dana Gillespie became much better known for a different style of music than that which was featured on her earliest work. Foolish
Seasons, her first LP, originally released in 1968 on London Records, is a fine slice of orchestrated pop which is baroque in some places and light 'n breezy in others, and throws in a smattering of the blues-inflected material for which she would become better known.
Most of Foolish Seasons is comprised of either covers or tunes written especially for Gillespie by heavyweights like Donovan and Bickerton-Waddington, the latter a duo who were staff writers for Deram at the time, and who would become better known in their own right as the chief songwriters for The Rubettes. Highlights include the Bickerton-Waddington penned 'Tears In My Eyes' and 'Can't You See I'm Dreaming,' which are suitably filled with horns and orchestration, the poignant, gentle 'Souvenirs Of Stefan,' the Dusty-esque, soulful 'Hard Lovin' Loser,' and the very pretty 'Where Will You Be'. Gillespie also does solid covers of a couple of Billy Nicholls tunes, 'Life Is Short' and 'London Social Degree," and pens the nice, folky title track. The true gem of Foolish Seasons has to be the opener, 'You Just Gotta Know My Mind,' which swings like nobody's business!
Liner notes by the ubiquitous Steve Stanley tell a thorough tale of Gillespie's travels through the rock 'n roll lifestyle. After Foolish Seasons, she recorded a pretty, folky album called Box Of Surprises (let's hope Rev-ola does up that one as well) and into the '70s forged both an association with David Bowie and the bluesy music for which she became well known. However, Foolish Seasons is the disc which Shindig readers will consider the most celebrated.
www.revola-records.co.uk
David Bash
THE HEATWAVE
EP (Grey Past; 45)
As told elsewhere, these guys were originally known as The Delvins, before adopting The Heatwave moniker in time for the summer of love's more esoteric influences. Issued as a taster for the group's 1st LP Honeymelon Teapot and if this is anything to go by we'll all be singing their praises before too long. The frenetic opener 'Said Before, It Couldn't Happen To Me' would've made a fine 7" slab of nederbeat noise back in its day, and 'Maid, What Do You Do About It' comes on pretty strong too, like a good psychedelic outing; rhythmically hypnotic, and pleasingly menacing. The slower 'Lonely Nation' is another good tune; a cryptic, and doomy-sounding message to mankind, and along with 'You And Your Man' are exclusives to this EP release, the latter heard here in demo only form. I can't wait to hear the whole LP.
http://www.heyday-mo.com/cgi/asearch.pl?X=Heatwave
Lenny Helsing
THE HEATWAVE
Honeymelon Teapot LP (Grey Past; LP)
Languishing in the vaults for the best part of 40 years comes this fascinating document of Dutch garage and psychedelic beat. Hailing from Dordrecht, the same small town as acid high-flyers The Zipps, and also sharing a member in vocalist Jan Bek, you may not be
too surprised at some of the material this group conjured up during their 1967-69 lifespan. But the palette from which The Heatwave have chosen their colours; though rich and broad in scope, incorporates a more pop-orientated vision. They are, however, not averse to the odd experiment or two where different instruments are tried out and a change of dynamic is deployed. 'Girl, I've Got Everything' opens the show in fine style with great pace and some cool freaky fuzz excursions. 'Woman, Can You Shake' and the EP taster cut 'Said Before, It Couldn't Happen To Me' have a strong pushing rhythm and urgent vocalising. At times they resemble an ambitious rock'n'roll combo who've been banished to the garage, fronted by a teenage Neil Young, or Golliwogs-era John Fogerty. A few selections, such as 'She Ran' and 'I've Got It Made' have a real demo, not-quite finished, feel about them. By this I don't mean that they are without merit, as indeed you get a sense that you are witness to a true work in progress here; one that may change and become even better next time you drop the needle on it. This is certainly true in the case of 'Out In The Jet Stream (Tell Me Where The Action Is)', one of the more lyrically intriguing, and vocally excellent cuts. Other highpoints of this set include the attitude-fuelled rockers 'I Know That She's Mine' and 'I Can Prove You Wrong'. There's a funny little thing happening too in the heavy-lidded, "dreaming-west" style number 'California, I'll Be There', where the vocal melody is a dead ringer for, get this, a yet-to-be-born heavy metal epic. I'm talkin' about Lynyrd Skynyrd's mega-bore 'Freebird'. No kidding, it's in there, but The Heatwave did it first you dig!
The group's writing and arranging strengths – which are many and varied - are displayed to the maximum level during the closing track 'You And Your Man', a cautionary tale about the evils of long green. It appeared on the EP in its more stark demo format, but when you hear it here in its full-on splendour, complete with tasteful mini-orchestration and full-blown electrified guitar solo you will be amazed. This 'Honeymelon Teapot' LP, resplendent in a gatefold sleeve design positively, and buzzingly, alive with paisley-fied colour, is just the tonic to chase away even the deepest, darkest winter blues and shall be regarded by many as a lost-but-thankfully-found psych-beat classic in no time at all, mark my words.
http://www.heyday-mo.com/cgi/asearch.pl?X=Heatwave
Lenny Helsing
THE JOINT
Freak Street (Cyclone Releasing Corp; CD)
This short-lived Canterbury band who had connections with Noel Redding and featured future Supertramp member Rick Davies amongst their ranks lasted the duration of the 1967-1969 psychedelic movement, some German soundtrack material was recorded, although a British deal was unfortunately not secured. The ten cuts unearthed on Freak Streetare rather exciting and raw creations, reminiscent of a lot of the then music scene in general, but with a vitality all their own. The incessant Hammond and fuzz guitar progery of The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown or The Nice collide with the revolutionary dementure of Captain Beefheart and The Deviants, while the pop-psych styling of Traffic, Pink Floyd and Procol Harum come to the fore on the wonderful, Rubble friendly, 'Runman's Gunman', 'On The Other Side' and 'Chariot Of Mercury'. All pretty nice; it's just a shame that no pictures or artefacts from the band's archives were unearthed. Nevertheless, this is still a must for UK psych nuts.
Try Wolfie or Heyday or Freak Emporium… take your pick.
Jon 'Mojo' Mills
JD BLACKFOOT
Ultimate Prophecy (Radioactive; CD)
JD Blackfoot were formed from the ashes of garage bands The Tree and Ebb Tide and released just one spirited album in 1970. Dextrous drummer Dan Waldron shines throughout and the band were certainly unafraid of travelling off the beaten path – side one features an array of West Coast rock, folk-rock and country riffs whilst side two has a hard rockin' UK influenced psych/prog-rock edge recalling everyone from Led Zep and the Who to the Moody Blues. Even if did mean a fragmented album that sounded like the product of two different acts J.D Blackfoot let youthful confidence shine over sensible restrain. Their Native American lead guitarist had some later success under the same name, but this is the album to own. Side two verges on the ridiculous, but this is still a corker.
www.radioactiverecords.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills
SEGARINI
Gotta Have Pop (Bullseye Recordings; CD)
Several Shindig readers will recognize Bob Segarini as the main man of the late '60s
psych pop combo Family Tree (their lone LP, Miss Butters will be issued by Rev-Ola very soon!) and early '70s power poppers The Wackers (whose three LPs, thankfully, were finally reissued last year). In the late '70s Segarini embarked on a solo career, releasing three LPs, with Gotta Have Pop being the best of the lot.
Segarini's voice gained a bit of a rasp over the years, making it an acquired taste for some, but this certainly doesn't stop tunes like the celebratory title track and 'I Don't Want To Lose You' from being eminently hooky. The album is a veritable stew of styles, featuring some doo-wop ('Don't Believe A Word I Say'), '50s influenced rock ('Dressed In The Dark'), Southside Johnny-esque blue-eyed soul ('Livin' in The Movies' and 'Love Story'), and the occasionally Spectorian 'Ride Away' and 'Steady Eddie'. There's also a very cool cover of Slade's 'When The Lights Are Out'! This CD reissue appends several bonus tracks from various points of Segarini's career, including a nifty solo version of perhaps The Wackers' best tune, 'Body Go Round', and a very recent paean to George Harrison, 'Goodbye,' which features the appropriate dose of slide guitar figures.
www.bullseyecanada.com
David Bash
VARIOUS
An Apple A Day: More Pop-Psych Sounds From The Apple Era 1967-1969 (RPM; CD)
After a gap of a couple of years, Stefan Granados and RPM have put together a second volume of pop and popsike Apple obscurities, and the wait has been well worth it. One of
the unknown stars to emerge from this set are The U (Don't) Know Who Band, a studio aggregation used to record writers demos. The kick off track had just got to be their 'An Apple A Day' which coincidentally decided them on approaching Apple whilst 'Strange People' with its vaguely 'Reflections of Charlie Brown' structure and 'Now and Again Rebecca', a fine and robust example of British art pop are are also standouts. There are four more Iveys tunes (ahem, and so when is this Iveys demos disc due exactly? It's been a good while now since it was touted and tracks keep seeping out as here). In the form of 'Girl In A Mini-Skirt', 'Black and White Rainbow', Tomorrow Today' and 'Mr Strangeways', all home demos recorded on the group's 2 track Revox c.1968. All of them, as you would expect form The Iveys are excellent.
There's a few Gallagher and Lyle tracks, and respect to their ability, but I've never really 'got them'. However, 'Ivy Unrehearsed' goes into a more upbeat and period popsike-alike sound than I would normally associate with their generally lighter material (such as 'Technicolour Dream' or 'In Your Wonderful Way' also featured here). Elsewhere, Portsmouth pop scene vets Lace, turn in a very attractive and reflective tune in 'Solider'. Turquoise (watch out for their forthcoming anthology on Rev-Ola) present an alternative recording of their Rubbletastic 'Woodstock' along with the previously unissued 'Sister Saxaphone'. Essentially, people will find their own peaks and troughs on this 22 track collection, but to my ears there really isn't a duff track if you like melodic late 60s pop.
Stefan Granados has in his liners, done an excellent job on informing us about the acts concerned and how they came to Apple in the first place and the wonderful poster foldout booklet is choc-packed with band, label and other period photos. This not so much accompanies the first volume as quite simply surpasses it. Congratulations all round to everyone involved, this is an important package, can't wait for Volume 3!
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
Paul Martin
VARIOUS
Andergraun Vibrations Vol.2 (Hundergrum; LP)
The second (a third is promised) volume in this excellent Spanish '70s underground singles compilation series, throws up ten more fantastic tracks. First off is the 5+ mins long privately pressed 45 (only three copies known to exist) 'Mr Mague' by Ciclon. Although
dating from 1978, it has a 1970-'71 sound throughout, heavy proto metal juggernaut that it is. Albert Band's 'Ella Tiene Cabello Rubio' from 1970 has been comped a few times, but is interesting to hear in this heavy psych company where it fits better than the usual Euro beat collections it gets put on. Rudy Ventura was a trumpet player who decided to dip his toes in the psychedelic waters in 1973 with 'Soy Un Sonador'- and it worked! Frantic trumpet trilling accents the chorus on this otherwise psychy rocker. Whilst side one is largely heavy psych, side two is arguably characterised by a more melodic and progressive pop sound. Luis Queimada's infectious 'I Feel Strange' must be due to this transition of styles! Argentine hippy chick 'Nora' becomes 'Norah' with an 'h' on the end for her superb contribution of 'Nobody Gotta Be Home Tonight' from 1974 and for my money is the best and most intriguing track on the comp. The high pitched and original singing style just leaves you wanting a whole album's worth, but she went back to Argentina before this could happen alas. Franklin's take on The Stones' 'Satisfaction' is nothing less than astounding. For the first half you 'll think the track listing is wrong. Then the familiar fuzztone signature riff kicks in only to be summarily snatched away again whilst a looser more '70s rhythm picks up for a few bars before the riff comes back again. In fact it sounds not unlike something Todd Rundgren might have concoted circa Runt. Congratulations are due to all involved in this excellent package which comes with a double LP sized fold out insert of liners in both Spanish and English and a basket of group pics to boot. Get it while you can, it's a good 'un.
http://www.guerssen.com/empresa.html?idioma=eng
Paul Martin
VARIOUS
Kraut! Bloody Rageous (no label; CD)
With the dry wit that is as much an enjoyable part of these comps as the music, the liners open with Volume 4 of a trilogy…Like it's sister Prae Kraut Pandaemonium series
(see elsewhere for Vol.15 review), this stuff just keeps turning up! There's all sorts of Teutonic rumblings and riffing going on here. The Blackbirds 2000's 'Let's Do It Together' is not the least of them, all acid guitar and alternatively whispered and shouted vocals over a big metallic riff. For Cozy Powell fans, there's (somewhat conventional by the standards of this series) Big Bertha's German released only 'Munich City' single, a story of a drunken forage to the 1972 Munich Olympics. The darker side of which, the Black September group murder of Israeli athletes, is not mentioned in the liners, but the knowledge of which lends the record a poignancy it was not intended to have. Two highlights are the previously unreleased 1965 acetate of The Monks' 'Please, Please Love Me' (also included on Prae-Kraut Pandaemonium Vol.15, for more of which see that review elsewhere) and The Speeders' unissued 'I Can't Get It' which would also not be out of place on a Prae-Kraut volume. It's a fantastic stomping freakbeater that has a Wimple Winch 'Save My Soul' vibe going on that then lapses into a soul-jazz workout in the latter stages! There's more conventional prog in the form of Tusk's 'Child of My Kingdom' and of course you cannot escape without a Can track, here 'The Million Game' which has an attacking slide guitar riff and fierce pace. Overall, another very eclectic and excellent collection of weird, wonderful and mind bending tracks. This stuff needs listening to repeatedly to really get into it all, but it repays the attention. Available from Wolfgang Voelkel and presumably all good hip mail orders.
Paul Martin
VARIOUS
Inner City Sound: Australian Punk And Post Punk (Laughing Outlaw; 2-CD)
Recent years have witnessed a growing (and scholarly) body of CD compilation work on of the Australian 1970s to 2000's (e.g. Do The Pop, Tales From The Australian Underground, Antipodean Screams and Born Out Of Time). However, whilst these much
recommended collections document the 1980s and '90s (and in the case of Antipodean Screams the 2000's), the work on the '70s has pretty much rested on token blasts form The Saints and Radio Birdman. Inner City Sound though, on disc one, presents a veritable cornucopia of one-single only belters from the 1978-'79 period (and beyond). This double set is a stand-alone companion to Clinton Walker's newly relaunched 1982 tome of the same name. As such there are no liner notes that explain or even rapturise the qualities of the individual (largely obscure) acts featured. Presumably you buy the book to find that information. What does come with it is a fold out poster insert featuring a giant family tree of Oz bands which Walker suggests should be used as a guide rather than a definitive testament. However, fans of Pete Frame's Rock Family Trees will adore this inclusion and rightly so.
So what about the music? Well, disc one serves up 28 cuts of mainly prime pop-punk and retro garage. Barr a couple of tracks towards the end which are far too experimental to fit with the rest and a couple of tracks barely 40 seconds long, the other 24 blast you away to a time when lyrics such as "I'm laying on me fanny 'cause there's nothing else to do" aroused righteous youthful agreement rather than middle aged smiles of sentimental endearment as they might do today. But as Walker attests, each little slab o'wax still stands up on it's own two skinny legs in today's jaundiced age and reminds us what all the fuss was about. Apart from one or two (like the obligatory Saints track) all these nuggets were strangers to me a mere few days ago, now it's like we've known each other all our lives. Amongst the late '70s material are gems from the likes of The Leftovers, Last Words, Razor, Thought Criminals, Manikins, Boys Next Door, Young Charlatans, Young Modern, and Voigt 465. Others don't stray much beyond the early '80s (with the exception of The New Christs' 1989 'No Way On Earth') such as The Black Assassins' 'Death Take Me Now'. Disc two voyages into the 1980s and should be thought of as a bonus disc rather than an essential partner to disc one. Here, you get far too much synth and drum machine, albeit experimental rather than chartbound. So think of it as The Human League circa 'Being Boiled' as opposed to 'Don't You Want Me Baby'. There are melodic and distinguished pop exceptions such as The Lighthousekeepers' 'Springtime', David Chesworth's 'Making Waves' or The Scientists' 'Happy Hour' and Sunday Painters' 'Something To Do', but a lot of disc two just doesn't float my boat. Having said that the set is a very modest price (on Amazon UK anyway) and disc one is worth every penny on its own, so don't delay, buy today!
www.laughingoutlaw.com.au
Paul Martin
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Mas Rock And roll –'26 rare 60's teen punk artyfacts' (Electro Harmonix; CD)
Some of the tunes on this comp are the essence of '60s teen garage punk. The songs by the Central and South American bands featured here say to me "We tried to duplicate the
slick chart sounds of the time, but we had cheap instruments, shitty studios and tiny budgets. Also we only knew three chords. But who cares?" When you hear the likes of Los Shains tear up the studio with the amazing 'Shains-A-Go-Go', or Los Sinners play'Rebelde Radioactivo' you can almost hear the musicians saying "Caramba! This is not like the pop charts, it is mucho crude and raw, but we love it!" Sheer energy and primal passion created something that was different, but in many ways cooler and definitely wilder than the sounds they were emulating. (In fact, the almost-polished Invasion stylings of Los Shakers stand out a mile from most of the other bands here!)
The CD includes 26 cuts from the excellent series of 10" vinyl mini-LPs put out by the Electro Harmonix label. Sensibly they have concentrated on the Mexican and South American bands and left out the dull '70s style punk bands (and the good US stuff like Phil & The Frantics too). It is good value because only the very rich will own the numerous and expensive vinyl releases.
Some of the best tunes are the crude but crazy instros, such as Bat Boy's mutation of the Batman Theme into something stranger and wilder, or 'Las Mirlas' by Los Electronicos. New life and Spanish lyrics are given to R&B standards; in the hands of Los Monstruos 'Keep Your Big Mouth Shut' becomes 'Hey Monstruo'. Sure, not every song will squeeze your lemons, but the best stuff here is dumb, stupid and utterly brilliant.
www.munster-records.com
Phil Suggitt
VARIOUS
Mod Meeting Vol.4 (Style Records; LP)
This latest volume in the Mod Meeting series compiles sixteen soul-beat sides from 1965-'68. About half have been comped before and will be perhaps a little over familiar to seasond comp collectors (Julien Covey's 'A Little Bit Hurt', The Luvvers' 'House On The Hill', The Bunch's 'You Can't Do This' and Kris Ife's take on 'Hush' for instance). Of those obscuro 45s loosing their compilation cherry (no smirking at the back!), standouts include Bill Martin and Phil Coulter's 'I Feel It Coming' (I said no smirking!), a great fuzzy pop beat number that gets proceedings well under way. The Chanters' 'You Can't Fool Me' seems to be a girl group or girl fronted group (the writing credits imply they were perhaps sisters). Terrific upbeat girl pop from '67 (on a promo UK CBS label) that sounds 2-3 years older than that golden year. Andy Nevison & The Rhythm Masters turn in a R&B come keg party chant led stomper in 'Indiano'. I'm pretty sure this has appeared on a volume of Prae-Kraut Pandomoneum as has his amazing 'White Woman'. Nevison was a black American based in Germany where he could vent his spleen in public in a way he could never have done in the US at the time. Tonny Rich (yes with two 'nn's) has a good stab at Don Covay and Steve Cropper's southern soul swinger 'See-Saw' and the other side of The Chanters single 'All Day Long' isn't bad either. Photo of the comp has to be that of Powerhouse. At least two of them look like dandified bouncers or boxers dayjobbing as Bricklayers. Their rendition of 'Can You Hear Me?' isn't bad though. Overall a pretty good collection with a one or two that really make the ears prick up.
www.w-voelkel.de
Paul Martin
VARIOUS
Prae-Kraut Pandaemonium Vol.15 (Yahoo; LP)
Yes it's back, the best German '60s comp series ever, and this latest volume is as tuff sounding as any of the earlier volumes. Side One kicks off with a psych fest that is The Joints' 'Dinosaur Dreams'. An absolutely on the money acid psych number which if it were
British (it has that sound) would be a holy grail want on anyone's wish list and an eBay bank buster, it probably will be anyway once you've heard it here! The Skins (of 'What To Do' fame) appear again with the short and sweet 'It's Too Late' that leaves you wanting more. Equally so is The Dukes' 'From The Penitentiary' that has a vaguely Dragnet vibe going on in the verses and a strong chorus, a great little 45 all round. One of the revelations is a previously unknown acetate by The Monks cut in late '65 when they were still The Five Torquays. However, this is the Anti-Beatles par excellence. It's an early work-out of what would become 'Pretty Suzanne' but which at this stage was entitled 'Please, Please Love Me' (and also appears on the Kraut! Bloody Rageous CD). The uber-fuzz bass on this cut has to be heard to be believed. Nobody did it better (to co-opt a song title!), a real gem in itself and a prize in tracing the anthropology of the mid into the late '60s soundscape. Freedom's 'Devil Woman' is a great three-chord trashy workout that presaged later street rock 'n' roll styles more akin to The Deviants or even Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers! As if The Joints effort wasn't enough of a psych jewel for you, there's another near the end in the form of Berry Window & The Movements sitar drenched 'Hear Me, Help Me' (check out also their excellent 'I Wait For You' on the Collecting Peppermint Clouds Vol.2 LP). Formally an R&B / soul covers band, this, their final single is very much a psych delicacy which is beautifully proportioned in balance and execution. The LP comes as always with a big old sheet of liner notes written with the acerbic wit that we now expect. A great comp in a fine series, buy this one (from Wolfgang Voelkel's mail order site for instance) with confidence.
Paul Martin
VARIOUS
Trip In Tyme Vols. 1 & 2 (Manic Mustang; CDs)
There's a whole bunch o' US garage stuff on two (separate) discs which may not sound that interesting these days, jaundiced as we get by the veritable cornucopia of such platters surfacing seemingly every month. However, I try and take each one on its own merits. On that basis these two volumes are certainly more than worthwhile. Volume One opens with The Oviatt Brothers' (all 4 of 'em) 'How Can I' which I've not come across before; it's a really good stomping and melodic tune. The oddly named Pattz's 'Tell The World' is anglophile merseybeat whilst The Pied Pipers' 'Stay In My Life' is as manic as the label name. Most of these 45s are of the on the money 1966 vintage (with a few stragglers from '67). There's a good mix of styles including some very nice melodic garage pop such as Dick Treadway and the Salados' 'You Can't Believe It'. Volume 2 kicks off with The Ambushers' 'I Need Love', but quite honestly, the singer just needs throat lozenges, his lovelife might thereafter improve! The Clayton's 'Putting Me On' is another good beat into pop garage number whilst The Oscar 5's 'I Won't Be Your Fool Again' is a classic garage romper as is The Kasuals 'Just Call My Name'. No-one really needs a rather lame version of 'Cara Lin' as here rendered by The Korners of Time, although the guitar break is pretty sound. It's these occasional relapses of judgement to the inclusion of generic covers which tend to put me off some comps (yeah I know others like them for the same reasons). However this is followed by The Boys' 'When I Think' which ups the 'yeaaahhh' quotient considerably. Anyway there's plenty to please on these 25 cuts a-piece discs that would sit alongside your Psychedelic States comps very nicely. They're moderately priced and worth a punt for garage enthusiasts, especially those just getting a feel for the stylistic variations of the gernre. Grab 'em from Wolfgang Voelkel's mailorder, (or presumably Heyday etc).
Paul Martin
