P.F. Sloan – Songs Of Our Times [Mono] (1965)
Artist: P.F. Sloan
Title: Songs Of Our Times
Year: 1965
Format: LP
Label: Dunhill
Sloan’s solo debut unveiled a singer-songwriter of a more serious, not to say Dylanesque, mindset than was evident on the material he had written for other artists up to that point (and indeed on the material that he continued to supply for acts like Johnny Rivers, Herman’s Hermits and the Grass Roots after this album).
At times, the Dylan influence was obvious — “What Exactly’s The Matter With Me,” for instance, sounds like a pop Dylan with a heavy streak of satirical self-pity. Yet the strongest half or so of the album revealed a composer of considerable talent.
Sloan’s own versions of “Eve Of Destruction” and “Take Me For What I’m Worth” are starker than the hit covers by Barry McGuire and the Searchers respectively, and “The Sins Of A Family” is one of his best and most penetrating works.
Other tracks, such as “I Get Out Of Breath” and “This Is What I Was Made For,” show more of the pop tunesmith in Sloan, and his underrated voice is well-suited for the earnest charm of the material. (allmusic)
Track Listing
- Sins Of A Family
- Take Me For What I’m Worth
- What Exactly’s The Matter With Me
- I’d Have To Be Out Of My Mind
- Eve Of Destruction
- This Mornin’
- I Get Out Of Breath
- This Is What I Was Made For
- Ain’t No Way I’m Gonna Change My Mind
- All The Things I Do For You Baby
- (Goes To Show) Just How Wrong You Can Be
- What Am I Doing Here With You
Jim Ford – Harlan County (1969)
Artist: Jim Ford
Title: Harlan County
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: White Whale
Ford sings like a (sometimes bewildering) mix of Waylon Jennings, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, and Van Morrison. Granted, he’s not as brilliant as any of them, but he is versatile and entertaining.
The instrumentation is appropriate for that mix of vocalists, too; you’ll find pedal steel, funky bass, and horns, sometimes on the same song here. If all of that sounds intriguing to you, then you definitely should check this out, but this probably isn’t for everybody. (LenBarker RYM)
“In the liner notes to recent cd reissue Sounds of Our Time Nick Lowe describes Jim Ford: “Jim Ford’s reputation was not the best. He told a lot of terrible stories and he used to bend the truth a bit. I think deep down he was no rock star, but he noticed people provided him with money when he pretended to be one.
Many people who financed his career probably got disappointed when Ford didn’t care to live up to their expectations. He took a lot of people for a ride….I’d never seen anyone use cocaine before I met Ford. Wherever he went there were also illegal substances around. Ford was unreliable and from time to time he disappeared. We were surprised to find what kind of people he seemed to know in England.
One time when he got back he had stayed with the blonde bombshell Diana Dors and her gangster-type husband Alan Lake! ”Nick also added this, “When Jim walked off the plane he wore a big Stetson, rose-tinted shades and jeans with creases and round-toe cowboy boots. I’d never met anyone like him before. Ford was the real thing, he was other-worldly and very charismatic.
He turned up with a $3,000 guitar, an astronomical sum for 1970, but it seemed he could barely play it, and yet it was so mean, the way he hit that thing. He was totally unimpressed by us (Brinsley Schwarz), but he was making the best out of a bad job.”Jim Ford meant a lot of things to a lot of different people.
Sly Stone claimed Ford was his best friend, Nick Lowe name checks him as a major inspiration, and British mod band the Koobas recorded an entire album of Harlan County songs (The Koobas even went as far as to change their name to Harlan County).
His unique brand of country-rock-soul-funk has proven to be original and very influential.The Harlan County LP was released by White Whale in 1969 and is evenly divided between covers and Jim Ford originals.
Most people single out the title track and “I’m Gonna Make Her Love Me” as highlights, and they are great slices of hard country funk. “Harlan County,” the title track, has a nice horn arrangement, crisp, driving acoustic guitars, female backup vocalists and a great beat – it’s another lost gem.
But for me Ford’s fuzz guitar arrangement of “Spoonful” is really stellar and the superb country soul ballads “Changing Colors” and “Love On My Brain” make the album what it is today – a unique record in the country-rock canon.
Ford’s main strength was his songwriting ability but he’s also an underrated vocalist with real southern grit and soul. There is nothing like Harlan County, the LP is mandatory listening for fans of 60s American rock n roll and country-rock.You wanna hear his music? The best reissue to get a hold of is Sounds of Our Time by Bear Family Records (2007).
This disc has the Harlan County LP in its entirety, rare pre-lp singles, and excellent outtakes that are in more of a country-rock vein. For an example of this, check out the slow version of “Big Mouth USA” and the title track. Both tracks are outstanding pieces of Americana that sound very similar to the Band’s best songs on Music From Big Pink.
In the liner notes to recent cd reissue Sounds of Our Time Nick Lowe describes Jim Ford: “Jim Ford’s reputation was not the best. He told a lot of terrible stories and he used to bend the truth a bit. I think deep down he was no rock star, but he noticed people provided him with money when he pretended to be one.
Many people who financed his career probably got disappointed when Ford didn’t care to live up to their expectations. He took a lot of people for a ride….I’d never seen anyone use cocaine before I met Ford. Wherever he went there were also illegal substances around. Ford was unreliable and from time to time he disappeared.
We were surprised to find what kind of people he seemed to know in England. One time when he got back he had stayed with the blonde bombshell Diana Dors and her gangster-type husband Alan Lake!”
Nick also added this, “When Jim walked off the plane he wore a big Stetson, rose-tinted shades and jeans with creases and round-toe cowboy boots. I’d never met anyone like him before. Ford was the real thing, he was other-worldly and very charismatic.
He turned up with a $3,000 guitar, an astronomical sum for 1970, but it seemed he could barely play it, and yet it was so mean, the way he hit that thing. He was totally unimpressed by us (Brinsley Schwarz), but he was making the best out of a bad job.”
Jim Ford meant a lot of things to a lot of different people. Sly Stone claimed Ford was his best friend, Nick Lowe name checks him as a major inspiration, and British mod band the Koobas recorded an entire album of Harlan County songs (The Koobas even went as far as to change their name to Harlan County). His unique brand of country-rock-soul-funk has proven to be original and very influential.
The Harlan County LP was released by White Whale in 1969 and is evenly divided between covers and Jim Ford originals. Most people single out the title track and “I’m Gonna Make Her Love Me” as highlights, and they are great slices of hard country funk. “Harlan County,” the title track, has a nice horn arrangement, crisp, driving acoustic guitars, female backup vocalists and a great beat – it’s another lost gem.
But for me Ford’s fuzz guitar arrangement of “Spoonful” is really stellar and the superb country soul ballads “Changing Colors” and “Love On My Brain” make the album what it is today – a unique record in the country-rock canon. Ford’s main strength was his songwriting ability but he’s also an underrated vocalist with real southern grit and soul.
There is nothing like Harlan County, the LP is mandatory listening for fans of 60s American rock n roll and country-rock.
You wanna hear his music? The best reissue to get a hold of is Sounds of Our Time by Bear Family Records (2007). This disc has the Harlan County LP in its entirety, rare pre-lp singles, and excellent outtakes that are in more of a country-rock vein.
For an example of this, check out the slow version of “Big Mouth USA” and the title track. Both tracks are outstanding pieces of Americana that sound very similar to the Band’s best songs on Music From Big Pink.” (The Rising Storm)
Track Listing
- Harlan Country
- I’m Make Her Love Me
- Changing Colors
- Dr. Handy’s Dandy Candy
- Love On My Brain
- Long Road Ahead
- Under Construction
- Working My Way To L.A.
- Spoonfull
- To Make My Life Beautiful
The Association – Waterbeds In Trinidad (1972)
Artist: The Association
Title: Waterbeds In Trinidad
Year: 1972
Format: LP
Label: Columbia
Hey, everybody loves The Association! “Along Comes Mary”, “Windy”, “Never My Love”, “Cherish”. Their lush harmonic pop provided an alternative soundtrack to the late 60s and their string of nine Warner Brothers albums between 1966 and 1971 represent a body of work unsurpassed by their peers.
It might be surprising to discover, therefore, that as late as 1972 they were still making top quality music, albeit for a new label, Columbia. Their version of ‘Darling Be Home Soon’ may have failed to crack the US charts after a run of 12 hit singles but it’s probably the best Lovin’ Spoonful cover of them all (and that’s saying something!).
The accompanying album, Waterbeds In Trinidad, was the last long-player cut by the original group and has an undeniable elegiac quality to it. They tackle John Stewart’s “Little Road And A Stone” To Roll’ and Goffin & King’s “Snow Queen” alongside the usual array of original compositions, mostly composed by returning prodigal son and founder member Jules Alexander.
An overlooked jewel in the Association’s crown, it’s about time this album was recognized by a wider audience. (J.J. Hildreth)
Track Listing
- Silent Song Through The Land
- Darling Be Home Soon
- Midnight Wind
- Come The Fall
- Kicking The Gong Around
- Rainbows Bent
- Snow Queen
- Indian Wells Woman
- Please Don’t Go (Round The Bend)
- Little Road And A Stone To Roll
The Association – The Association (1969)
Artist: The Association
Title: The Association
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: Warner Brothers
It happens with every band that’s fortunate enough to make more than a couple of records: the time comes when they must “grow up”. Even if they originally emerged fully formed, a band must refine, re-energize and re-examine who they are if they want to stay current in the eyes of the general public.
Traditionally, this involves a group experimenting with sounds that are outside the realm of what made them popular to begin with (a risky proposition to be sure), generally eschewing more humorous and lighthearted material in favor of a “heavier” approach (don’t get me started), and most importantly, releasing a self-titled album that absolutely does not feature the band members’ mugs on the sleeve!
In the scope of the myriad non-debut, self-titled releases, The Association ultimately rates pretty well. Vocally, they band has never sounded better, and they’ve got their new producer John Boylan formerly of psychedelic pop mavericks The Appletree Theatre (see March 1, 2011 post) to thank for that.
Also, the guys in the group have written some really fantastic new songs, bolstered considerably by the return of prodigal son Jules (you previously knew him as Gary) Alexander. The strongest of these numbers chart territories previously unexplored by the band, with some fine results. As such, the Association ought to be commended for taking some artistic risks that have paid off.
The best songs on the new album emanate from the band’s main songwriting corps of Terry Kirkman, Jim Yester and Jules Alexander, and find the group venturing into more rural head-space, as evidenced by the banjo-laden opener “Look At Me, Look At You”, the lovely “What Were The Words” and the timeless “Dubuque Blues”.
In all three cases, the mood is melancholic nostalgia, a trip that suits the new, more mature Association like a tight glove. Also on point are some fine cocktail-pop gems that are more in line with the traditional Association sound.
In short order these would include Jimmy Yester’s near-perfect “Love Affair”, a gorgeously spun story-song from the pen of Teddy Bluechel Jr. titled “the Nest”, the strangely dissonant yet still appealing “Under Branches” and the more upbeat “Goodbye Forever” which really gets over on some pretty funny wordplay (rhyming “ruby” with “boobie” for example, and not in the way you’re thinking.)
Still, it’s hard for any band to one up themselves after releasing a masterpiece, and such is the problem, as it were, with the new Association. Their last full-length Birthday was a consistently great listen from start to finish because every member of the group brought their A-game with them.
As such, there wasn’t a duff track on the album, and it often hit high points that set new levels for sophistication (there’s that word again) for pop music. Now, despite the welcome return of Alexander, this just simply isn’t the case anymore. The new album’s biggest disappointment actually stems from Russ Giguere’s seeming lack of overall involvement with the project.
His featured number on the new album, “Yes I Will” (written by producer Boylan), sounds for all the world like a solo number, and not an exceptional one at that. The song is really too trite to fit with the rest of the album’s more grown-up themes. Likewise, Russ’s own “Broccoli” is nothing more than a joke track, and sadly not a particularly funny one.
This goofy hymn to the bushy green veggy typifies what often happens when bands stay up til four AM in the studio, fueled by too much marijuana. After Giguere’s great work on Birthday, this can only be seen as a let down for him, and my sixth sense is telling me that he might just be hoarding his best material with eyes on releasing a solo in the near future.
As for Larry Ramos and Brian Cole, they are represented by one song apiece; “Are You Ready?” and “I Am Up For Europe”. The former is a passable Ramos soul shuck; not something you’d rave about but not particularly bad either. With the return of Alexander to the fold, it seems Ramos’s shtick, like Giguere’s, is dovetailing from where the rest of the band are at. He’s been relegated to the Davy Jones position in the group.
If anything, Brian Cole’s role within the Association is even more mercurial. A phenomenal bassist with strong stage presence and a booming baritone, he is nevertheless generally the odd man out when it comes to their records.
Encouragingly, he’s finally been allotted his first original contribution, “I Am Up For Europe”, which I’m sorry to say isn’t a particularly grand first step. The guitar sounds are suitably heavy and Brian’s voice is strong and soulful, but regrettably the lyrics are sub par and overall it’s a forced, ham-fisted composition.
The Association also closes on something of a bum trip with an ambitious, orchestral epic titled “Boy On The Mountain” that, for all the effort put into it, manages to fall kind of flat. Considering the song was provided from an outside source, it’s simply not a very good choice of material. The boys would have been better served focusing all their efforts on a top number from an established writer like Jimmy Webb, P.F. Sloan or Carole King.
So the final verdict here? Overall, the Association is an ambitious attempt by the group at re-inventing their sound, and despite its flaws it’s a pretty successful one. If team Association is wise, their game plan for their next release will be to play as a coherent unit as opposed to as a bunch of individuals, and to go to the bench more often and hope that those guys (Giguere, Bluechel, Cole and Ramos) can come up big.
Finally, their producer/ coach must be astute enough to dictate the players’ roles and utilize them to their best effect, so that their individual contributions compliment one another, rather than take away from the whole. (jasonbear RYM)
Track Listing
- Look At Me, Look At You
- Yes, I Will
- Love Affair
- The Nest
- What Were The Words
- Are You Ready
- Dubuque Blues
- Under Branches
- I Am Up For Europe
- Broccoli
- Goodbye Forever
- Boy On The Mountain
The Association – Birthday (1968)
Artist: The Association
Title: Birthday
Year: 1968
Format: LP
Label: Warner Brothers
This must be the best Association album. If I had my way, Birthday would be the ‘classic’ Association album. Still at the moment that I am writing this, And Then… Along Comes the Association remains closest to that status amongst the audience. It is not a bad album, in fact it is relatively good, but in this case, The Association were clearly realising something closer to heaven.
My favourite track within the whole Association catalogue is “Everything That Touches You.” Beside it, I have always been very fond of “Rose Petals, Incense and a Kitten”, while “Hear in Here” has grown on me and “Like Always” is simply fine. “Barefoot Gentleman” finds The Association more philosophic, and I kind of like it that way as well.
With “Come on In”, I have always been disturbed by the personal fact that I heard The Monkees’ very different version first and happened to like it. However, The Association manage to make the song sound good and like their own.
“Toymaker” is one of the best tracks on the album this side of “Everything That Touches You.” I like the feel of the song very much. “Time for Livin’” was a hit, and it is nice, but not most excellent Association material. “The Time It Is Today” and “The Bus Song” are not very catchy, but both are all right, and the latter contains a very bizarre middle section.
“Birthday Morning” sounds quite beautiful once again. If something annoys me on this mostly excellent album, that must be two different lines that mention ‘God’ in a pathetic, classic American way.
Speaking of 1968 albums, Birthday doesn’t equal Present Tense (Sagittarius) and Begin (The Millennium), but every one of these three reminds me of each other. That is a setting that serves Birthday very well. It is not a masterpiece, obviously The Association were never able to record and release one, but it contains many ingredients of a masterpiece. (fairyeee RYM)
Track Listing
- Come On In
- Rose Petals, Incense And A Kitten
- Like Always
- Everything That Touches You
- Toymaker
- Barefoot Gentleman
- Time For Livin’
- Hear in Here
- The Time It Is Today
- The Bus Song
- Birthday Morning
V.A. – GAS-S-S-S O.S.T. (1971)
Artist: V.A.
Title: GAS-S-S-S O.S.T.
Year: 1971
Format: LP
Label: American International
The movie is a post-apocalyptic dark comedy, about survivors of an accidental military gas leak, of an experimental agent that kills everyone on Earth over the age of twenty-five. (A cartoon title sequence shows a John Wayne-esque Army General announcing — and denouncing — the “accident”; the story picks up after the victims have died.)
The lead characters, Coel and Cilla, were played by Bob Corff and Elaine Giftos, and the cast features Ben Vereen, Cindy Williams, Bud Cort and Talia Shire (credited as “Tally Coppola”) in early roles. Country Joe McDonald makes an appearance, as spokesman “AM Radio”.
Gas-s-s-s found a fresh airing on late night television in the 1980s, and was recently (2005) issued on DVD, as a double feature with Wild in the Streets, another AIP movie.The soundtrack was produced by Barry Melton of Country Joe & The Fish. (Wikipedia)
Track Listing
- I’m Looking For A World [Robert Corff]
- First Time, Last Time [The Gourmet's Delight]
- Please Don’t Bury My Soul [Robert Corff]
- Cry A Little [Johnny & The Tornados]
- Maybe It Really Wasn’t Lovey [Robert Corff]
- Juke Box Serenade [Johnny & The Tornados]
- Castles [Johnny & The Tornados]
- World That We All Dreamed Of [Robert Corff]
- Today Is Where [The Gourmet's Delight]
- Don’t Chase Me Around [Robert Corff]
- The Pueblo Pool [Johnny & The Tornados]
- Gas Man [Johnny & The Tornados]
- Got To Get Movin’ [Robert Corff]
- Bubble Gum Girl [Johnny & The Tornados]
- This Is The Beginning [Robert Corff]
V.A. – Psych-Out O.S.T. [Vinyl] (1968)
Artist: V.A.
Title: Psych-Out O.S.T.
Year: 1968
Format: LP
Label: Sidewalk
The soundtrack LP of the 1968 movie Psych-Out features Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Seeds, Boenzee Cryque, and the Storybook performing a nice selection of psychedelic pop songs. Strawberry Alarm Clock has no otherwise unavailable songs here, except for a shorter edit of “The World’s On Fire”. The album is a great collector’s piece but not strictly necessary apart from that.
Although there are only two SAC songs on the Psych-Out soundtrack album, “The World’s On Fire” (in two forms) and “Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow”, a third song by the band, the sparklingly excellent “Pretty Song From Psych-Out”, is on it, but performed by the Storybook instead of the Clock.
This version is not bad — in fact, it’s basically a note-for-note copy of Strawberry Alarm Clock’s version, which is found on the Wake Up… It’s Tomorrow LP — but of course not as great as the original.
The Psych-Out soundtrack album is usually described as a Strawberry Alarm Clock/Seeds album, but that is a bit of historical revisionism reflecting the greater reknown of those groups; the album in fact focuses on the Storybook, who are mostly unknown otherwise and who have some really great psychedelic music here
The movie may be a psychsploitation flick enabling the producers to make a fast buck, but the music is high quality nonetheless. From such dull origins come great things.
Apparently never released as a CD, original vinyl copies are the only way to hear the Psych-Out soundtrack. They are not particularly common, but it is usually not too difficult to find a copy if you really want one.
I actually recommend it, if for the hilariously blatant (but legally a-ok) “Purple Haze” ripoff called “Ashbury Wednesday” by Boenzee Cryque that is played in the movie by Jack Nicholson’s psychedelic band. (unwindwithsac.com)
Track Listing
- The Pretty Song From Psych-Out [The Storybook]
- Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow [The Strawberry Alarm Clock]
- Two Fingers Pointing On You [The Seeds]
- Ashbury Wednesday [Boenzee Cryque]
- The World’s On Fire [The Strawberry Alarm Clock]
- Psych-Out Sanctorum [The Storybook]
- Beads Of Innocence [The Storybook]
- The Love Children [The Storybook]
- Psych-Out [The Storybook]
- The World’s On Fire – Long Version [The Strawberry Alarm Clock]
Ian Whitcomb – Ian Whitcomb’s Mod, Mod Music Hall! [Mono] (1966)
Artist: Ian Whitcomb
Title: Ian Whitcomb’s Mod, Mod Music Hall!
Year: 1966
Format: LP
Label: Tower
Ian Whitcomb’s 1966 follow-up to his “You Turn Me On” album (for more info on that and other Ian Whitcomb posts, see the entries for March 14, 2010).
Flee from this IF you are not enamoured by GB’s Music Hall…as Ian steps right out of GB Edwardian times into the ‘revival shoes’ so beloved by The Temperance Seven, circa 1962, The New Vaudeville Band of Winchester Cathedral fame….
The Bonzos also put their own take on this genre, albeit with more wit and beef, (Viv Stanshill’s Sir Henry Rawlinson further took up the gauntlet, by deepening the psyche wackiness)……
Ian Whitcomb presents a collection of ‘songs’ performed in a style that my gran would have been familiar with…..
‘Poor Little Bird’…kicks off proceedings with a full on mad brass band…with honky tonk piano….off the wall.
‘Get a Date With An Angel’….is Oxford bags lands….sugary sweet and twee in all the correct places….and all with a toy piano accompaniment….
‘The Night I Appeared As Macbeth….he he…high po….this is The Goons on gas….Ian takes on the role of Macbeth as a sub-lieutenant in the First World War British Expeditionary Force…this is way-out beyond the bend….
‘August 1914’…follows on the above WW1 theme…a gypsy fiddler drunkenly sets off…the piano and accordion take up and try to keep up with the French tune…the lads are over in France and all looks set for IT to be over by Christmas….this instrumental is where it’s at……
‘Coney Island Washboard’….takes us over to the Big Apple and we are entertained by Ian and his banjo jug band…we get a stonking kazoo solo too….
‘Mother! Mother! Mother!’……takes us into George Formby land, with ukulele accompaniment…the honky tonk piano chops in with chords and there’s also a manic fairground organ in the mix…. Ian is our wee cheeky chappie here….in the 1970’s Gilbert Sullivan built a career using this voice…
‘The Junkman Rag’….I’m sure this is not Scott Joplin?…Ian knows his rags….he must have had a grin a mile wide playing this instrumental homage to Steptoe and Son….
‘The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi’….adopts Neil Innes vocal delivery on this drug addled ‘dream’……the tune is a light polka with a whole lot of dots in there too….Ian extends this story out to over three minutes…..
‘The Awful Tale of Maggie May’…sees Ian taking on an old jack-tar character….this is a harbour bar-room bawdy ballad, where Ian drops his vocal a couple of octaves…and gargles away while guzzling a bottle of dark rum….he tells his cautionary tale and doesn’t drop character….the tale’s moral is: don’t lie down with the dark ladies of the street, cos when you drop your trousers, you’ll lose your trousers…
‘Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday on Saturday Night?’…..explores the area so briefly touched by Ed Sanders et al in The Fugs’ ‘It Crawled out of My Hand Honest’…this is another little risqué tale…with the band farting away on brass and Ian rollicking on…on his piano.
‘Saucy Seaside Sue’….has Ian singing out from a Blackpool post-card…we are treated to that ‘special’ fairground organ sound…Ian’s honky tonk piano…..and his ‘twee’ Oxford English voice….
‘Reindeer – A Ragtime Two Step’ gets an extended instrumental work-out here…..the beat is constant though we do get a bit of woozy, boozy wibbly wobbles here and there….this is parlour music that everyone’s favourite ‘clever’ uncle would play every Christmas whilst we plucked the turkey bones.
‘Ida! Sweet as Apple Cider’….chunky chunk…plinkity plink…sort of a tune…Ian delivers his rhyming couplets with aplomb….
‘That Ragtime Suffragette’….is a word-feast full of nonsense…this is as surreal as IT gets……..
‘Oh Helen!’…has our Ian lisping his way through 53 seconds of red-faced flustering and blustering love-struck blues….
‘Your Baby Has Gone Down The Plug-Hole’…for those who have stayed the distance…and wondering about the merits of this album being in a rock sleeve…you must know that the Great Ginger Baker…that monster of Toad fame…closed off Cream’s ‘Disraeli Gears’ with this self-same ‘nugget’ from London’s East End….
And so that concludes Ian’s follow-up to ‘You Turn Me On’… feel lucky that most tracks don’t hang around long….but do know that this is an essential listen for lovers of such tracks gathered on the 1990’s release “By Jingo It’s British Rubbish!”…which takes up the torch of all that is to be found herein….. (Cy from Pck)
Track Listing
- Poor Little Bird
- Got A Date With An Angel
- The Night I Appeared As Macbeth
- August, 1914
- Coney Island Washboard
- Mother! Mother! Mother! (What A Naughty Boy Am I)
- The Junkman Rag
- The Sweetheart Of Sigma Chi
- The Awful Tale Of Maggie May
- Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday On Saturday Night?
- 11 Saucy Seaside Sue
- Reindeer – A Ragtime Two-Step
- Ida! Sweet As Apple Cider
- 14 That Ragtime Suffragette
- Oh Helen!
- Your Baby Has Gone Down The Plug-Hole
The Racket Squad – Corners Of Your Mind (1969)
Artist: The Racket Squad
Title: Corners Of Your Mind
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: Jubilee
Corners Of Your Mind is a solid psych LP, most of the songs are originals, with a couple of covers, a decent take on Hendrix’s “Little Wing” and a super solid cover of “Get Out My Life Woman.”
There’s a totally silly Popeye influenced reprise of “Woman” but other than that everything on here is solid, nice production on the drums, which tend to be hanging out in the left channel, as well as good sound on the organ and guitars.
“You Turn Me On” and “Sweet Little Smoke” are suitably psychedelic with slower tempos and distinctly 60s lyrics like “Sweet Little Smoke please set me free, let me sail out on a marshmellow sea…”
I especially dig the way the last two minutes of “Smoke” flows with the bass, tambourine and drums along with the wordless “La La La” singing. “Suburban Life” is a bit harder, with a beat that sounds a bit like “Jungle Fever” from the Chakachas and some nice fuzzy guitar. (meltingpot)
Track Listing
- Ain’t Nobody Gonna Love You
- Sweet Little Smoke
- Get Out Of My Life Woman
- Suburban Life
- Get Out Of My Life Woman (Reprise) Popeye
- Corners Of Your Mind
- You Turn Me On
- Little Wing
- The Minstrel
- Maybe Tomorrow [bonus]
- I’ll Never Forget Your Love [bonus]
The Racket Squad – The Racket Squad (1968)
Artist: The Racket Squad
Title: The Racket Squad
Year: 1968
Format: LP
Label: Jubilee
You ever wonder what The Vogues would sound like as a Psychedelic band? Well this is it. That is because The Racket Squad was the backing band for The Vogues for their “Your The One” days. A few years after, the band decided make their own Lp and a pretty decent debut came out of it.
The Opening track “The Loser” is a really trippy keyboard number, with even some wah-wah in it! This was not a bunch of 19 year old kids making this Lp as you can see from the cover these guys were already in their late 20′s and early 30′s and that experince and maturity can be heard throughout this LP. Most of the tracks on this LP are covers.
Their version of “Let it All Hang Out” is almost better than the original. They also “Psych” up tracks like “We’ve Got A Groovy Thing Goin” and “No Fair At All”. A very good LP by a band that should have made it bigger. (PsychedelicGuy RYM)
Track Listing
- The Loser
- Let’s Dance To The Beat Of My Heart
- (Just Like) Romeo And Juliet
- We’ve Got A Groovy Thing Goin’
- Higher Than High
- Hung Up
- Ode To Billie Joe
- Sunshine Man
- No Fair At All
- Little Red Wagon
- Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)
- That’s How Much I Love My Baby [bonus]
- Movin’ In [bonus]
