THE FIREBALLS - Goin' Away / Groovy Motions (ATCO, 1968)

The Fireballs o Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs eran originarios de Nuevo Méjico y fueron básicamente un combo instrumental, casi más conocidos por la polémica suscitada al añadir arreglos a las grabaciones póstumas de Buddy Holly, de hecho compartían productor, Norman Petty, que por sus propias canciones. Casi al final de su carrera tuvieron ocasión de filtrear con sonidos más sicodélicos como en esta estupenda cara B.

JENNIFER´S FRIENDS - Land Of Make Believe / Visions (Buddah Records 1968)

A única aparición discográfica de Jennifer´s Friends, conxunto de New Haven (Connecticut) que traballou entre 1967 e 1970, foi este sinxelo que na cara A levaba "Land Of Make Believe", orixinal dos Easybeats, e polo outro lado esta moi agradable sorpresa de ambientación sicodélica titulada "Visions". Como non había demasiada información sobre o grupo na rede, decidín escribir a un mail que atopei, ó do guitarrista Matt Lawton, que me enviou o documento que se pode ver máis abaixo e tamén un par de fotos promo cortesía de Buddah Records aínda que castigadas polo tempo. Isto é un resumo.  

The band was formed by Matt Lawton (lead and rhythm guitar), Ben Mochan (bass, rhythm and 12-string guitar, autoharp), Mark Lipson (organ, electric piano), and Kevin Weaver (drums). Matt and Ben, friends for several years and fraternity brothers at college, were playing music together, primary folk music. Ben had met Kevin and Mark somewhere in southern CT where we all lived. Mark was a high school student at that time. Kevin taught math in Clinton, CT. Ben knew John Carney, a graduate student at Yale.

The original name was Zyme. The name Jennifer’s Friends came about while working with John to record "Downtown Tomorrow" and "I Must Go". Jennifer was one of the young women sitting around with the band during practice. We needed a name for our upcoming recording session in New York, and someone suggested Jennifer’s Friends. The stuff of history…

The band, with Barry Buxbaum joined as lead singer, took home-made tapes of original music to New York City, and attracted the attention of a management group, Schwade Merenstein, consisting of Bob Schwade and Lou Merenstein. Schwade Merenstein was managing Miriam Makeba at that time. Lou was connected to Buddah Records. The band recorded a variety of singles under the name Jennifer’s Friends, with only one release, "Land of Make Believe", hitting the top 40 on Billboard. During this time period there were several notable milestones and “near-misses” for the band, as described below.

Matt Lawton quit the band for personal reasons around 1970. Mark and Ben talked Lou Merenstein into producing an album of original music ultimately released by Avco/Embassy under the band name Smokey John Bull. Barry sang on these recordings, which included a number of new band members and singers. Matt formed a local band in southern CT, Giant Yellow. The band played clubs and bars up and down the CT coast, and developed a solid local following. 

Jennifer’s Friends had a few close encounters with making it big in the music industry. The band opened for several big name bands, including Neil Young and Crazy Horse in May,1969; T.K. Rich (TK the son of Buddy Rich, well-known big band drummer), and The Rich Kids; and Strawberry Alarm Clock. Immediately prior to the recording of "Land of Make Believe", the band was given the option of recording a song titled "The Worst That Could Happen", a song ultimately recorded by a group called The Brooklyn Bridge. The song went to Number 1 on Billboard. The band played it live all over CT and was the headliner band at the Ohio State Fair in 1968, where the song was Top 5. Imagine those nice Midwestern folk watching lead singer Barry “shot” and bleeding and sliding down his microphone stand while Matt tore into a psychedelic lick and fires shot up on the amps! Shook up those Ohio folks some….

In 1969 the band recorded a song titled "Lay Lady Lay". The song was released 1 week earlier than our version by Bob Dylan, and went on to be a big hit for him. The band’s version was shelved. Finally, the band had the opportunity in 1969 through Schwade Merenstein to write and record an original movie score for an early Michael Douglas movie titled "Hail Hero". The music and lyrics were cranked out in about 1 week, including recording in New York City. The movie score ended up being recorded by Gordon Lightfoot. More close encounters with the big time……….

Certainly a strong characteristic of Jennifer’s Friends was their song writing, and full and at at times complex harmonies. Much of that came from Matt and Ben’s writing, and Mark’s musical acumen regarding arrangements and harmonies. Barry’s raspy mid-range brought it all together for a wide variety of distinctive sounds. 

Matt Lawton and Barry Buxbaum. February 2014

ARTIGO COMPLETO

FLORIBUNDA ROSE- Linda Loves Linda - One Way Street (Piccadilly, 1967)

"One Way Street"

O sudáfricano John Kongos desembarcou en Londres en 1967. Despois dalgún intento en solitario apareceu como cabeza visible de Floribunda Rose, un proxecto que só deixou como legado este sinxelo. Ao ano seguinte o grupo mutaría en Scrugg e con ese nome publicaron tres singles máis cos que tampouco pasou nada. O éxito acabou por chegarlle nos primeiros setentas con "He's Gonna Step on You Again" e "Tokoloshe Man". Todas estas pezas están dipoñibles xuntas nun recomendable cd do que aínda se atopan copias: "John Kongos Featuring Floribunda Rose & Scrugg - Lavender Popcorn"

MATEO - ¿Por Qué? (1972)

Continuando con "cantautores majaras" como diría Fredi D´Alfredo, recuperamos esta peza de Eduardo Mateo, coñecido como o Syd Barrett do cono sur, que ía incluida no seu primeiro Lp "Mateo solo bien se lame".

MOSS DOSS PHOBOSMOSS - Woodstock - Woodstock / Peace, Love, People And Music (Barclay, 1970)

Non teño nin idea de quen se agacha tras o nome de Moss Doss Phobosmoss aínda que probablemente fosen só un divertimento de estudo.

THE CALIFORNIA POPPY PICKERS - ¡Guateque! (Yupi, 1969)

Unha selección persoal das miñas favoritas dos catro discos editados polos California Poppy Pickers no ano 1969. Evidententemente case tódolos temas son puro expolio de éxitos do momento pero os poucos orixinais, case sempre asinados por Gary Paxton, non están nada mal.

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The California Poppy Pickers were one of several relatively anonymous studio projects assembled by Alshire label head Al Sherman to record budget-priced copycat LPs of '60's pop hits. Virtually all of the groups in question -- Fats and the Chessmen, Los Norte Americanos, and the Bakersfield Five, among them -- were helmed by producer and songwriter Gary Paxton, best-known for composing the novelty smash "The Monster Mash." In 1965, Paxton founded his own Hollywood recording studio, assembling a session crew that variously included guitarist Clarence White, bassist Jerry Scheff, and guitarist/fiddler Gib Guilbeau -- he also discovered brothers Rex and Vern Gosdin, releasing their country hit "Hangin' On" on his Bakersfield International label. By the late 1960s, Paxton was regularly licensing material to Alshire, and at Sherman's request, he put together The California Poppy Pickers to capitalize on the growing country-rock trend. Comprised of singers/multi-instrumentalists Ken Johnson and Dennis Payne, along with pedal steel guitarist Leo LeBlanc, the group released three 1969 LPs -- Sounds of '69, Hair/Aquarius, and Today's Chart Busters -- comprised primarily of covers and thinly-veiled rewrites. For reasons unknown, the fourth and final California Poppy Pickers album, Honky Tonk Women, was recorded without Paxton's involvement, and featured an entirely different lineup -- singer/guitarist Mike Messer, singer/bassist Don Larson, guitarist Randy Wilcox, and drummer Tom Slipp were, in reality, a Christian rock band called the Wilson McKinley, and they used the proceeds from their lone Alshire date to fund a self-released 1970 date titled Jesus People's Army: On Stage. Jason Ankeny

RUSSELL MORRIS - The Real Thing (Part I) / The Real Thing (Part II) (Diamond Records, 1969)

Unha clásica en tódalas discoteques e boites de Barallobre.

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"The Real Thing" is a song originally recorded by Australian singer Russell Morris in 1969. His version, which was produced by Ian "Molly" Meldrum and written by Johnny Young was a huge hit in Australia and has become a classic. 

Young had originally written the song for Meldrum's friend Ronnie Burns, but when Meldrum heard Young playing it backstage during a taping of the TV pop show , he determined to secure the song for Morris, reportedly going to Young's home that night with a tape recorder and refusing to leave until Young had taped a "demo" version of the song for him.

In collaboration with engineer John Sayers, Meldrum radically transformed "The Real Thing" from Young's original vision of a simple acoustic ballad into a heavily produced studio masterpiece, extending it to an unheard-of six minutes in length and overdubbing the basic track with many additional instruments, vocals and sound effects. The bed track used the services of The Groop as backing band, with vocal contributions from Danny Robinson (Wild Cherries), The Chiffons, Maureen Elkner, with Sue Brady and Judy Condon, guitarist Roger Hicks from Zoot — who devised and played the song's distinctive acoustic guitar intro - and Billy Green who played electric guitar and sitar. The children's choir singing toward the end is the Hitler Youth singing "Die Jugend Marschiert" (Youth on the March). The single is reported to have cost A$2,000 — the most expensive single ever made in Australia up to that time (the typical budget for an entire album at the time) — and features one of the earliest uses of the studio technique known as "phasing" on an Australian recording. "The Real Thing" became a national number one hit for Morris in mid-1969 and is widely considered to be one of the finest Australian pop-rock recordings of the era. Wikipedia

NOEL HARRISON - Suzanne / Museum (Reprise-Hispavox, 1967)

"Museum"

Estes dous temas de Noel Harrison viñan orixinalmente no seu Lp "Collage". Mola máis a adaptación de Donovan.

DADDY LINDBERG Shirl - Wade In The Shade (Columbia, 1967)

"Wade in The Shade"

The Fingers foron unha das primeiras banda británicas en definirse a si mesmos como sicodélicos alá polo 66. Tamén, segundo as lendas que acompañan a todo grupo de rock, saían a escena cun mono de nome Freak Out. Na súa curta carreira deixaron tres sinxelos aínda que  o seu terceiro apareceu baixo o seudónimo de Daddy Lindberg. "Shirl", una peza de Geoff Stephens e John Carter non vale moito pero "Wade in the Shade" é realmente impresionante.  Hai uns días púxose en contacto con nós John Bobin,  baixista orixinal de The Fingers,  que nos conta isto:

Hi:
I saw a track called "Wade in the Shade" in your blog which my old band The Fingers recorded in 1967 under the name Daddy Lindberg (The Fingers were under contract to EMI, with a certain amount of recording time allotted to us at Abbey Road. We had run out of time for that period so Peter Eden (our producer) booked us in as Daddy Lindberg!). We were recently persuaded to reform for a one-off gig and the evening was recorded for posterity. Henry Scott-Irvine (the well known author, broadcast media consultant and radio presenter) was present at the reunion gig when The Fingers played together for the first time since 1967. Henry described the gig thus: 

“The Fingers emerged in 1966 and recorded their best songs in the summer of 1967. With former members of Dr Feelgood, The Kursaal Flyers and Wilko Johnson’s Solid Senders, gathered alongside former associates of Procol Harum, The Fingers took to the stage on the night of September 21st 2012 in the shape of their original line-up. During the break several TV screens came to life showing The Fingers in May 1967 from the German TV series Beat Beat Beat, which was televised, live in Frankfurt. The pinnacle of the show was ‘Wade in the Shade’, which was the B-side of ‘Shirl’ undertaken by The Fingers’ alter-ego band Daddy Lindberg. I did say to their bass guitarist, John Bobin, that it was a shame they had not played ‘All Kinds Of People’ and its B-side ‘Circus With A Female Clown’, which are now regarded as psychedelic masterpieces by many, which brings us back to that particular tag ‘psychedelic’. Record Mirror newspaper said in 1966, ‘The Fingers are as about as psychedelic as Ken Dodd!’ Leaving aside the above two songs, the Daddy Lindberg single and the songs seen on Beat Beat Beat, Record Mirror probably had a point. The Fingers were a great 60’s Pop group. They were extremely versatile, then and now. And they had their psychedelic moments, too!” 

Our new CD "Wade in the Shade" is available from www.mickeyjupp.com.. All the best,  John

THE SPECTRUM - Little Red Boat By The River - Forget Me Not (RCA, 1969)

"Forget Me Not"

 

Xa que falabamos de The Spectrum no post anterior, aquí vai o sinxelo ao que faciamos referencia.  Dos Spectrum ingleses, había outros australianos progres co mesmo nome naquela época, contan as lendas que apareceron vencellados a un produto televisivo con fase de selección tipo Monkees , o certo é que foron máis populares no resto de Europa que na súa propia casa. En España foron número 1 con "Headin´ for a heatwave" aínda que a miña favorita é "Samantha´s mine". O su único Lp, "The light is Dark Enough", podedes escoitalo en Ezhevika Fields. ***

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There are contrasting views of The Spectrum's origins. According to RadioLondon.co.uk the band was originally formed for Captain Scarlet, but as Paul Cross at Sweet Floral Albion tells it the band was already formed and was appropriated for the TV series. On the other hand, Bruce Eder at All Music Guide sees The Spectrum as a manufactured group, reportedly put together by British RCA to see if they couldn't come up with a U.K. equivalent of the Monkees.

The final word may go to Scott Swanson in a detailed post to Spectropop Group: while it is true that Anderson signed The Spectrum to record a version of the Captain Scarlet Theme Song, I suspect that the name duplication was mere coincidence -- and Anderson only hired the band to avoid a lawsuit! Swanson also points out that The Spectrum pre-dated The Monkees, even though RCA may have signed them "with the Monkees in mind". Poparchives 

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE - Little Red Boat By The River - From My Window (I Can See) (Buddah 1968)

"From My Window (I Can See)"

The Brooklyn Bridge nacen da unión de dúas bandas, The Rhythm Method e Johnny Maestro & The Del-Satins. Desde finais dos 50 Johnny Maestro fora o cantante solista de The Crests, autores de pezas como "Sixteen Candles", "Trouble In Paradise" ou "Step By Step". The Del-Satins tamén tiveran éxitos pola súa conta como "Teardrops Follow Me" pero traballaron como respectados vocalistas de sesión. Eles son os que acompañan a Dion nos seus clásicos  "The Wanderer" e "Runaround Sue".  The Rhythm Method eran un septeto con ventos, moi popular na zona de Long Island. Con contrato asinado con Buddah Records debutaron con este sinxelo con produción do recentemente falecido Paul Leka. "Little Red Boat By The River", da que fixeron una versión os británicos The Spectrum, é unha conachada chicleteira pero "From my window" ten  o seu aquel. **

FAT MATTRESS - Magic Forest / Petrol Pump Assistant (Polydor, 1970)

"Magic Forest"

Dous temas extraídos do primeiro, e tamén, mellor disco de Fat Matress, a banda que montou Noel Redding despois de abandonar á Jimi Hendrix Experience, cos que non podía meter moita bola a nivel compositivo, creo lembrar que durante a súa estadía no trío só conseguiu que gravaran "Little Miss Strange" no Lp Electric Ladyland.

THE MONCKENMIER ENSEMBLE - Golden Wings - Cry The Rain Down (Sonoplay, 1967)

"Cry The Rain Down"

O único dato que atopei sobre este grupo foi nunha subasta de ebay na que se dicía que eran de New York e practicaban unha mestura de sicodelia e garaxe aínda que despois de escoitalo o garaxe non o vexo por ningures pero si pode ter algún punto sicotrópico a cara B  "Cry the rain down". Non sei se houbo outras edicións pero a portada española do sinxelo podédela ver aquí.

DADDY LINDBERG Shirl - Wade In The Shade (Columbia, 1967)

"Wade in The Shade"

The Fingers foron unha das primeiras banda británicas en definirse a si mesmos como sicodélicos alá polo 66. Tamén, segundo as lendas que acompañan a todo grupo de rock, saían a escena cun mono de nome Freak Out. Na súa curta carreira deixaron tres sinxelos aínda que  o seu terceiro apareceu baixo o seudónimo de Daddy Lindberg. "Shirl", una peza de Geoff Stephens e John Carter non vale moito pero "Wade in the Shade" é realmente impresionante.  

THE GRAVESTONES (Casete, 1991)

"So Tired"

The Gravestones era imberbes genuinos amantes del sonido vintage. Mis favoritos del Getxo Sound sector revival. Casi todos sus miembros continúan en activo (Dani Merino quizá sea el más conocido como cantautor, Ferdy está en Smile....) pero nada volvió a ser lo mismo. Aunque casi nadie lo sabe, Miguel Angel Villanueva metió unos coros que ellos no conseguían ordar en la grabación de su primer EP para Shangri-la. 

WALLACE COLLECTION Daydream (EMI, 1970)

"See That Man"

Este fue el segundo elepé de los belgas Wallace Collection y que en algunos países se publicó como "Wallace Collection" y en otros como "Serenade". La edición española incluía a mayores el mega éxito que habían obtenido el año anterior con la empalagosa "Daydream" que también sirvió para titularlo. En cuanto a lo musical y a pesar de ser un pastiche de época es bastante entretenido aunque cuando se ponen blandiblú me superan. 

WALLACE COLLECTION Il Sorriso, Il Paradiso/Just a Little Matter (EMI, 1970)

PROTOCOL Purple Fixation - Children Make Smiling So Easy (Belter, 1972)

"Children Make Smiling So Easy"

Protocol viñan de Francia aínda que non teño moi claro se eran un grupo real ou un invento do produtor Frederic Leibovitz . As dúas cancións do sinxelo teñen espíritu Procol Harum, moi evidente en "Purple Fixation" que é case "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Máis interesante é o ambiente conseguido en "Children make similing so easy", cuns bonitos detalles sicotrópicos.

PHIL CORDELL Pumping The Water - Red Lady (Vogue-Zafiro, 1969)

"Red Lady"

Phil Cordell decidió dedicarse al mundillo del espectáculo en los primeros años de la década de los sesentas con Steve Douglas and the Challengers con los que hizo su aprendidaje por tierras alemanas, algo muy habitual entonces. El grupo cambió su nombre a The Prophets y lograron que Joe Meek produjera alguna de sus canciones aunque nunca fueron publicadas. En 1965 forma Tuesdays Children con los que graba un puñado de singles con alguna canción realmente notable como "Strange Light From The East". Phil abandonó el grupo en 1967 e inició carrera en solitario con este single que incluía la fantástica "Red Lady". En 1971, bajo el seudónimo de "Springwater" tuvo un relativo éxito con el instrumental "I Will Return" y ya en 1974 decide ser Dan The Banjo Man y triunfa con la canción homónima llegando al número 1 en Alemania. Desde entonces y ya bajo su nombre continuó trabajando y publicando regularmente hasta su muerte en el 2007.

MOOD SIX I Saw The Light (Cherry Red-Contraseña, 1987)

"Light Music / I Saw The Light"

Unha das miñas cancións favoritas de tódolos tempos é este tema orixinal de Todd Rundgren que hoxe recuperamos na versión que fixeron os londinenses Mood Six neste maxi que que contiña catro pezas non aparecidas en ningún dos seus dous elepés. Curiosa é tamén a adaptación a base de cordas do mesmo tema feita coa colaboración do String Quartet Coda. Para os fanáticos recomendar un estupendo dobre cd publicado polo selo Cherry Red, "Cutting Edge Retro: A Mood Six Anthology"

MOOD SIX Hanging Around - Mood Music (EMI, 1982)

PROCOL HARUM Kaleidoscope (EP, EMI, 1968)

"Kaleidoscope"

Procol Harum, dos que recoñezo a súa importancia en canto á creación dun tipo de son característico e de moita influencia durante aqueles anos, sempre me pareceron un pouco pretenciosos e aburridos aínda que nos seus comenzos deixaron temas moi entretidos como os que forman parte do seu único Ep español. Para Dani-El.