Shelagh McDonald - Stargazer (Great Folk UK 1971)

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As much myth as musician, singer/songwriter Shelagh McDonald seemed poised to emerge as a major voice in British folk music when she abruptly vanished mere months after the release of her breakthrough LP. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, McDonald arrived in London sometime in the late '60s. While performing at the Troubadour, she befriended fellow singer/songwriter Keith Christmas, who would prove instrumental in landing her a record deal with the B&C label. Album followed in 1970 to decent reviews but mediocre sales, but 1971's Stargazer was a far different story. With McDonald dubbed "the new Sandy Denny" by the U.K. music press, the record was a critical smash and sold respectably.

But after recording a handful of tracks for a proposed third LP, McDonald suddenly disappeared, leaving no clues to her rationale or her whereabouts. While many friends and fans speculated she returned to Scotland, unhappy with her life and career in London, others believed she fled to either the U.S. or Canada in an attempt to recover from a failed relationship or to cure a drug problem. In truth, it was a life-altering LSD trip that sent her into seclusion and also ruined her voice. After a time spent putting her life back together, she married a Scottish bookstore owner and drifted away from society again, only this time happily.

With the CD re-release of Album and Stargazer, her music was embraced by a new generation of fans, and in 2005 Castle/Sanctuary released Let No Man Steal Your Thyme, a compilation of McDonald's complete recorded output, including outtakes and demos. 2005 also was the year McDonald finally resurfaced. After reading a story about herself in The Scottish Daily Mail, she submitted to an interview that cleared up much of the mystery behind her disappearance.

This record could well represent the closest anyone has ever come to crossing circa-1970 Joni Mitchell with circa-1970 Sandy Denny. As a composer, McDonald leans toward the Mitchell half of that equation, with a similarly angular melodic sense, and a phrasing that often shifts register quickly and substantially. It would be mighty surprising if she didn't ingest songs like Mitchell's "Marcie" thoroughly before coming up with narratives in the same style like "Liz's Song." The parallels come out most in the songs in which McDonald emphasizes her piano rather than her guitar. As a singer, her tonal quality is more similar to Denny's.

The result is a double-edged sword. The album can be unequivocally recommended to fans of Mitchell and Denny who have run out of things to buy by those two singers, and want something that's for the most part undiscovered, but with a similar vibe. At the same time, McDonald inevitably comes up short in the unavoidable comparisons with those role models, as she puts far less of her own personality into her work than either Mitchell or Denny did. Dogmatic criticism aside, it's a pleasant album with subdued folk-rock arrangements, and the piano ballad "Lonely King" is haunting enough to make one forget the obvious likenesses to Mitchell's own piano outings for the moment. Occasionally, there are effective slight departures from the standard production of folk-rock albums from the period, as with the sad strings and operatic backup vocals on the title track, and the extremely Garth Hudson-esque organ of "Good Times." The CD reissue adds five bonus tracks from other 1971 sessions, three of which were previously unreleased, and two of which only appeared on compilation LPs in the early 1970s. Unfortunately, the liner notes do not make it clear which two of the other twelve songs were the ones used on compilations, rather than on the Stargazer LP itself

01. Rod's Song
02. Liz's Song
03. Lonely King
04. City's Cry
05. Dowie Dens Of Yarrow
06. Baby Go Slow
07. Canadian Man
08. Good Times
09. Odyssey
10. Stargazer
+ Rare Bonus Tracks

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Siren - Selftitled (Classic Album w. Kevin Coyne UK 1969)

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Before beginning his career as a solo artist, Kevin Coyne was the centerpiece of Siren. The group recorded two albums in the late '60s and early '70s for Dandelion, the British underground-oriented indie run by DJ John Peel. The paths that Coyne would follow on his many solo albums are much in evidence in Siren's work, which spotlight his pained, scraggly, and soulful vocals, as well as his funny, sometimes bitter lyrics. Guitarist Dave Clague (who was once in the Bonzo Dog Band) and pianist Nick Cudworth helped Coyne pen much of Siren's material, and provided much of the low-key bluesy, folksy arrangements. Siren's slim discography was doubled and then some in the mid-'90s, when DJC came up with three albums of mostly unreleased material.

Kevin Coyne was a musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The former "anti-star" was born on 27 January 1944 in Derby, UK, and died in his adopted home of Nuremberg, Germany, on 2 December 2004.

Coyne is notable for his unorthodox and unforgettable style of blues-influenced guitar composition, the intense quality of his vocal delivery, and for his bold treatment of injustice to the mentally ill in his lyrical songcraft. Many influential music figures have called themselves fans of Coyne's work - notable among them are Sting and John Lydon. In the mid-1970s his band included guitarist Andy Summers prior to the formation of The Police. Prominent BBC disc jockey and world music authority Andy Kershaw described Coyne as, variously, "a national treasure who keeps getting better" and as one of the great British blues voices.

As a teen and young adult Coyne studied at the Joseph Wright School of Art from 1957 to 1961 and then studied graphics and painting at Derby School of Art from 1961 to 1965. His love of American bluesmen developed, as did his songcraft and his guitar and vocal talents.

At the conclusion of his arts training, Coyne began the work that would change him forever - he spent the three years, from 1965 to 1968, working as a social therapist and psychiatric nurse at Whittingham Hospital near Preston in Lancashire and then for "The Soho Project" in London as a drugs counsellor. During this period of working with the mentally ill, he performed regularly. Subsequently, his musical aspirations took precedence and he signed a record deal in 1968.

Coyne's early break was the result of John Peel releasing recordings by Kevin's first band Siren in 1969 on his Dandelion Records label.

01. Ze-Ze-Ze-Ze Clague, Coyne, Cudworth 3:01
02. Get Right Church McDowell 3:17
03. Rock Me Baby Josea, King 3:26
04. Wake up My Children Clague, Coyne, Cudworth 3:34
05. Wasting My Time Clague, Coyne, Cudworth 2:18
06. Sixteen Women Clague, Coyne, Cudworth 3:45
07. First Time I Saw Your Face Clague, Coyne, Cudworth 2:50
08. Gardener Man Clague, Coyne, Cudworth 3:30
09. And I Wonder Coyne, Cudworth 2:28
10. Asylum Coyne, Cudworth 3:42
11. Bertha Lee Petway 3:10
12. I Wonder Where Coyne, Cudworth 5:00

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Siren - Strange Locomotion (2nd Album UK 1971 w. Kevin Coyne)

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Formed in Bradford in the late sixties they moved to London and signed for John Peel's Dandelion label. Mick Gratton replaced Chichester on lead guitar for the second album, but soon afterwards the group disintegrated. Coyne made a further album for Dandelion, Case History, and later a series of albums for Virgin, which did not attract the attention they deserved. Many of Coyne's recordings were influenced by his experiences as a social therapist in a Preston psychiatric hospital and later, upon his move to London, as a social worker in Camden. Despite plugs by John Peel, neither Siren or Coyne's solo recordings sold well, although most are now sought-after by record collectors. They also recorded two 45s as Clague.

Given all that Kevin Coyne went on to achieve in his own right, his apprenticeship in Siren remains just that, a learning curve that brought out only occasional flashes of his later acerbity, while the band blues-boogied along behind him. But what flashes they are, from the effortless churn of "Relaxing With Bonnie Lou," with its invocation of Coyne's later "Eastbourne Ladies" shamelessly doing the can-can behind it, to the Stax-y soul of the title track, an R&B shouter in everything but the R&B.

And the shouting. Both are models to which the singer would eventually return, but it's the all-but-unaccompanied "Some Dark Day" and the slurring folk of "Soon" that best pinpoint Coyne's solo ambitions, with the suggestion that his cracked tone and twisted vision need nothing more than the most spartan accompaniment to drive their point home. Indeed, the occasions when the rest of the band does stretch out — the (possibly overlong) seven-minute "Fetch Me My Woman," for example — effectively sideline Coyne altogether, as Mick Gratton's guitar chases the quaalude rhythm and the singer simply yowls around him. "Squeeze Me," meanwhile, closes the album with the kind of heads-down rock'n'rave routine that probably went down fabulously in concert, but quickly wears out its welcome on wax. The majority of the album's deficiencies, however, are those detected only after years spent listening to Coyne's later work.

Placed in the context of its time, in a world where Led Zeppelin had already taken the post-blues boom as far as it could go, Strange Locomotion at least flags a few interesting side roads and makes a couple of dark diversions as well. The U.S. edition, incidentally, drops "Gigolo" and "Fat Moaning Minnie" in favor of "Lillian" and, for who knows what reasons, the 1969 Coyne/Dave Clague "here's a new dance you can do" single, "The Stride." It stands out from its surroundings like an extremely sore thumb, but does save you hunting down the original 45.

01. Relaxing With Bonnie Lou (3:23)
02. Some Dark Day (3:33)
03. Hot Potatao (4:09)
04. Soon (3:48)
05. Gigolo (4:26)
06. I'm All Aching (3:04)
07. Strange Locomotion (2:56)
08. Shake My Hand (3:17)
09. Lonesome Ride (2:21)
10. Fat Moaning Minnie (2:51)
11. Squeeze Me (2:37)

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T.Rex - Dandy In The Underworld (Last Album UK 1977)

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Dandy in the Underworld is the twelfth and final studio album by British rock band T.Rex. It was released on March 11, 1977, and reached a chart peak in the UK of #26. It was the band's highest-charting album since 1974's Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow.

At the time of the album's release Marc Bolan and T.Rex were on a UK tour, supported by The Damned. The album and tour were notable for marking a return to form for the band. Dandy in the Underworld gathered the most consistently positive reviews for any T.Rex album in five years. Having fallen from critical and commercial favour the band had endured some fiercely hostile press but NME, who had been amongst the most negative, noted of the album: "very listenable, well arranged immaculately played."

The sessions had started in Los Angeles in August 1976 and carried on until the end of the year, in UK studios.

Recording engineer Jennifer Maidman writes:"I worked on two tracks on this album, along with a number of other songs including a later single "Laser Love". The track "I Love to Boogie" was recorded and mixed in a single day at Decibel Studios in Stoke Newington, London N16. The studio was very small and funky, Marc liked it because it reminded him of the old Sun Studio in Memphis where a lot of early rock and roll records were made.

The single was mastered from what was originally intended to be a rough mix which Marc took home. It was mixed in about fifteen minutes by myself and Marc, I just threw up the faders, there were no computers in those days, and we went "Ok that'll do". Mick O'Halloran, Marc's roadie was going "Hurry up, we've got to leave now", I think Marc had an appointment or something, You can hear that the guitar solo is a bit on the quiet side and the tape echo on the voice varies, it's about right by the end. We got Dino's Fender Rhodes piano to distort a bit by cranking up the input on the desk, crude but quick and effective.Try doing that on a modern digital desk! Anyway, Marc liked the mix so much that it was released just as it was, much to my surprise, but it still sounds good thirty years later. The master mix was also done at 7.5 inches per second as I recall, rather than the usual 15 ips. This was so that Marc could play it on his reel to reel at home that night.

This, along with the fact that the multitrack was an Ampex two inch 16 track machine rather than the 24 track which was more common by then, helps to give the track it's beefy sound. The other song on the album we did at Decibel was "Universe", which was subsequently overdubbed and mixed at Air studios by Mike Stavrou I think. These were also the last tracks that Marc did with the old rhythm section of Steve Currie and Davy Lutton before Tony Newman and Herbie Flowers came on board."

The album was praised for the strength of the songwriting and Bolan's vocal performances. The title track was released as a single but failed to chart. "I Love to Boogie" and "The Soul of My Suit" did achieve chart placings in the UK.

After three commercially weak albums, Dandy in the Underworld was regarded by many T.Rex fans as a comeback for the band. However, it would prove to be the band's final album, as Marc Bolan was to die in a car crash in September 1977.

Marc Bolan welcomed the advent of punk rock with the biggest smile he'd worn in years. The hippest young gunslingers could go on all night about the influence of the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and the Ramones, but Bolan knew — and subsequent developments proved — that every single one of them had been nurtured in his arms, growing up with the ineffable stream of brilliant singles he slammed out between 1970-1972, and rehearsing their own stardom to the soundtrack he supplied. Dandy in the Underworld, released early in 1977, confirmed Bolan's punkoid pre-eminence. Still retaining its predecessors' demented soul revue edge, but packed solid with powerful pop, Bolan's personal predictions for the punk scene literally exploded out of the grooves.

By the time the album wraps up with the rock'n'armageddon flavored "Teen Riot Structure," Bolan was not simply wearing the mantel of punk godfatherhood, he was happily sticking safety-pins through it and preparing his next move, the driving "Celebrate Summer" single, the greatest record he'd made in years. It was also his last — a month after its release, Marc Bolan was dead. Sorrow immediately imbibed Dandy in the Underworld with a dignity which, had Bolan lived, it probably wouldn't have otherwise deserved — it is not, overall, one of his strongest albums, and the demos and outtakes included on the later volumes of the Unchained series suggest that his proposed next album would have left it far behind. But conjecture, like hindsight, can be a dangerous gauge. At the time, Dandy not only seemed bloated with promise, it was pregnant with foreboding as well. Listen again to the lyrics of the title track — self-mythologizing autobiography and not a happy ending in sight. Just like real life.

01."Dandy in the Underworld" – 4:26
02."Crimson Moon" – 3:25
03."Universe" – 2:44
04."I'm a Fool For You Girl" – 2:18
05."I Love to Boogie" – 2:15
06."Visions of Domino" – 2:28
07."Jason B. Sad" – 3:23
08."Groove a Little" – 3:25
09."Soul of My Suit" – 2:37
10."Hang Ups" – 3:29
11."Pain and Love" – 3:41
12."Teen Riot Structure" – 3:41

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T.Rex - Greatest Hits (Classic Album UK 1973)

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Bolan and his producer Tony Visconti sorted out the session for "Ride a White Swan" and the single changed Bolan's career almost overnight. Recorded on 1 July 1970 and released later that year, making slow progress in the UK Top 40, it finally peaked in early 1971 at No.2. Bolan and Visconti largely (and, in many ways, unwittingly) invented the style that would become glam rock and helped restore a brash and exciting feel, when rock bands had grown increasingly self-important.

Bolan took to wearing top hats and feather boas on stage as well as putting drops of glitter on each of his cheekbones (stories are conflicting about his inspiration for this---some say it was initially introduced by his PA, the late Chelita Secunda, although Bolan told John Pidgeon in a 1974 interview on Radio 1 that he noticed the glitter on his wife's dressing table prior to a photo session and just casually daubed some on his face there and then). Other performers-and their fans-soon took up variations on the idea.

The glam era also saw the rise of Bolan's friend David Bowie, whom Bolan had come to know in the underground days (Bolan had played guitar on a few early Bowie recordings). Before long, even Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart and Grand Funk Railroad dabbed on a little glitter.

Bolan followed "Ride a White Swan" and T. Rex by expanding the group to a quartet with bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend, and cutting a five-minute single, "Hot Love", with a rollicking rhythm, string accents and an extended singalong chorus inspired somewhat by the Beatles's "Hey Jude". It was No.1 for six weeks and was quickly followed by "Get It On", a grittier, more adult tune that spent four weeks in the top spot. The song was renamed "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" when released in the United States, to avoid confusion with another song of the same name by the American band Chase. The song reached No.10 in the States, the only such American hit T. Rex would enjoy.

In November 1971, the band's record label, Fly, released the Electric Warrior track "Jeepster" without Bolan's permission. Outraged, Bolan took advantage of the timely lapsing of his Fly Records contract and left to EMI, who gave him his own record label, the T. Rex Wax Co. Its bag and label featured an iconic head-and-shoulders image of Bolan. Despite Bolan's lack of endorsement, "Jeepster" still peaked at No.2.

In 1972, Bolan achieved two more British No.1s with "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru"-the latter of which stopped Elton John getting to the top with "Rocket Man"-and two more No.2s in "Children Of The Revolution" and "Solid Gold Easy Action". The total of four No.2 singles particularly galled his fans as three were held off the top spot by 'novelty' singles recorded by Clive Dunn, Benny Hill and little Jimmy Osmond. In the same year he appeared in Ringo Starr's film Born to Boogie, a documentary showing the height of T. Rextasy during a concert at Wembley Empire Pool on 18 March 1972. Mixed in were surreal scenes shot at John Lennon's mansion in Ascot and a super-session with T. Rex joined by Ringo Starr on second drum kit and Elton John on piano. At this time T. Rex record sales accounted for about 6 percent of total British domestic record sales. The band was reportedly selling 100,000 records a day; however, no T. Rex single ever became a million-seller in the UK, despite many gold discs and an average of four weeks at the top per No.1 hit. (Documentation of actual sales has been lost.)

In 1973, Bolan played twin lead guitar alongside his friend Jeff Lynne on the Electric Light Orchestra songs "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" and "Dreaming of 4000" (originally uncredited) from On the Third Day, as well as on "Everyone's Born To Die", which was not released at the time but appears as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster.

The move to electric guitars coincided with Bolan's more overtly sexual lyrical style and image, which outraged some of his older hippie fans, who called him a "sell-out". Some of the lyrical content of Tyrannosaurus Rex remained, but the fairytales about wizards and magic were now interspersed with sensuous grooves, replete with orgiastic moans and innuendo. The new image and lyrical content was to influence more sexually explicit performers of the 1980s, such as Prince. "Baby Strange" on The Slider album contained lines like "I wanna ball ya", "In winds of passion my whip is lashin'", and "don't lay me, Baby Strange".

The second T. Rex album, Electric Warrior, released in September 1971, added bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend. Considered by many to be their best album, it brought great success to the group. Publicist BP Fallon coined the term "T. Rextasy" as a parallel to Beatlemania.

Electric Warrior included T. Rex's best-known song, titled (in the UK) "Get It On," which hit #1 on the British charts, like the album from which it came. In January 1972 it became a Top Ten hit in the US, where the song was retitled "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to distinguish it from a song with the same name by the group Chase, also released in 1971. Along with Bowie's early hits, "Get It On" and Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll" were among the few British glam rock songs that had success in the US. However, the album still recalled Bolan's roots as an acoustic troubadour with ballads like "Cosmic Dancer" and the stark "Girl".

Electric Warrior was the band's last album with Fly Records, whom Bolan left when his contract lapsed and they released the album track "Jeepster" without his permission. Bolan went to EMI, who gave him his own record label in the UK, T. Rex Records, the "T. Rex Wax Co.".

On March 18, 1972, T. Rex played two shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley, which were filmed by Ringo Starr and his crew for Apple Films. A large part of the second show was included on Marc Bolan's own rock film Born to Boogie, while bits and pieces of the first show can be seen throughout the credits at the end of the film. Along with Marc Bolan & T. Rex and Ringo Starr, Born to Boogie also featured Elton John, who jammed with the friends to create rockin' studio versions of "Children of the Revolution" and "Tutti Frutti"; Elton John had appeared on TV with Bolan before, playing (miming, actually) the piano part to "Get it On" on the 1971 Christmas edition of Top of the Pops.

The third album under the name T. Rex, The Slider was released in July 1972. It became the band's most successful album in the US, but wasn't as successful as Electric Warrior in the UK, only reaching #4. During spring/summer 1972 Bolan's old label Fly had released the #1 compilation album Bolan Boogie, a collection of A- and B-sides and LP tracks, which affected The Slider's sales. The two singles released from The Slider, "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru" both flopped in the US, but became #1 hits in the UK.

Born to Boogie was premièred at the Oscar One cinema in London, in December 1972, with Bolan, Ringo Starr, and Elton John in attendance. The film received negative reviews from critics, while it was loved by fans. The film was rereleased as an expanded two-DVD set, released by Sanctuary Records in 2005. This included both concerts from Wembley (18 March 1972) newly mixed into 5.1 surround-sound by Tony Visconti, and edited from the original remastered film negative.

01. Telegram Sam
02. Jitterbug Love
03. Lady
04. Metal Guru
05. Thunderwing
06. Sunken Rags
07. Solid Gold Easy Action
08. 20th Century Boy
09. Midnight
10. The Slider
11. Born To Boogie
12. Children Of The Revolution
13. Shock Rock
14. The Groover

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T.Rex - Electric Warrior (Classic Album UK 1971)

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The album that essentially kick-started the U.K. glam rock craze, Electric Warrior completes T. Rex's transformation from hippie folk-rockers into flamboyant avatars of trashy rock & roll. There are a few vestiges of those early days remaining in the acoustic-driven ballads, but Electric Warrior spends most of its time in a swinging, hip-shaking groove powered by Marc Bolan's warm electric guitar. The music recalls not just the catchy simplicity of early rock & roll, but also the implicit sexuality -- except that here, Bolan gleefully hauls it to the surface, singing out loud what was once only communicated through the shimmying beat.

He takes obvious delight in turning teenage bubblegum rock into campy sleaze, not to mention filling it with pseudo-psychedelic hippie poetry. In fact, Bolan sounds just as obsessed with the heavens as he does with sex, whether he's singing about spiritual mysticism or begging a flying saucer to take him away. It's all done with the same theatrical flair, but Tony Visconti's spacious, echoing production makes it surprisingly convincing. Still, the real reason Electric Warrior stands the test of time so well -- despite its intended disposability -- is that it revels so freely in its own absurdity and willful lack of substance. Not taking himself at all seriously, Bolan is free to pursue whatever silly wordplay, cosmic fantasies, or non sequitur imagery he feels like; his abandonment of any pretense to art becomes, ironically, a statement in itself.

Bolan's lack of pomposity, back-to-basics songwriting, and elaborate theatrics went on to influence everything from hard rock to punk to new wave. But in the end, it's that sense of playfulness, combined with a raft of irresistible hooks, that keeps Electric Warrior such an infectious, invigorating listen today.

Electric Warrior is the sixth album by British rock group T. Rex, and is widely considered to be one of the quintessential glam rock releases. Electric Warrior reached number thirty-two in the US; it went to number one for several weeks in the UK, becoming the biggest album of 1971. In 2003 it was ranked number 160 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The album contains two of T. Rex's most popular songs, "Get It On" and "Jeepster." In the United States, "Get It On"'s title was modified to "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to distinguish it from Chase's song "Get It On," which was also released in late 1971. (The printing of the song title "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" on the back cover of original Reprise Records U.S. copies of Electric Warrior is obviously in a different typefont from the surrounding text, with the song's original title retained when printing the lyrics.) "Get It On" was T. Rex's biggest single and their only U.S. hit (#10).

Bolan, in a 1971 interview contained on the Rhino Records reissue, said of the album "I think Electric Warrior, for me, is the first album which is a statement of 1971 for us in England. I mean that's... If anyone ever wanted to know why we were big in the other part of the world, that album says it, for me."

The sleeve was designed by British art design group Hipgnosis. In the November 2001 issue of Vanity Fair American musician Beck chose it as one of his 50 favorite album sleeves. Its iconic design would later influence the cover of †, the 2007 debut album by French electronic music duo Justice.

01."Mambo Sun" – 3:40
02."Cosmic Dancer" – 4:30
03."Jeepster" – 4:12
04."Monolith" – 3:49
05."Lean Woman Blues" – 3:02
06."Get It On" – 4:27
07."Planet Queen" – 3:13
08."Girl" – 2:32
09."The Motivator" – 4:00
10."Life's a Gas" – 2:24
11."Rip Off" – 3:40

Bonus:
12."Rip Off" [Work in Progress] – 2:30
13."Mambo Sun" [Work in Progress] – 3:57
14."Cosmic Dancer" [Work in Progress] – 5:15
15."Monolith" [Work in Progress] – 4:47
16."Get It On" [Work in Progress] – 4:43
17."Planet Queen" [Work in Progress] – 0:56
18."The Motivator" [Work in Progress] – 4:19
19."Life's a Gas" [Work in Progress] – 3:14

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T.Rex - The Slider (Classic Album UK 1972)

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The Slider is the seventh studio album by British glam rock band T. Rex, released on July 21, 1972. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was the band's second record released with their new glam rock style opposed to the bands previous folk oriented music.

Singles of "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru" were released to promote the album. The Slider peaked at number four on United Kingdom charts and number seventeen on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. The album received very high praise from modern critics, with Steve Huey of Allmusic describing the album as "flawlessly executed, and every bit the classic that its predecessor is."

On the recommendation of Elton John, The Slider was recorded outside of Paris at Château d'Hérouville to avoid British taxing laws. Production started on March of 1972 and the basic recordings were completed in Strawberry Studios in five days. One of the songs recorded at Chateau was "Metal Guru". Bolan described the song as a "festival of life song" and that he related "Metal Guru" to "all gods around...someone special, a godhead. I thought how god would be, he'd be all alone without a telephone".

Further recording was done at the end of March in Rosenberg Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The backing vocals by Flo & Eddie were recorded in Elektra Studios in Los Angeles in April.

Two singles were released to promote The Slider. The first was "Telegram Sam" which was released January 1972 and charted in the United Kingdom for 12 weeks and peaked at number one. "Telegram Sam" also charted in the United States and peaked at 67 on the Pop Singles chart. The second single was "Metal Guru" which was released in May 1972 and charted in the United Kingdom for 14 weeks and peaked at number one. It didn't chart in the United States.

The Slider was one of T. Rex best-selling releases. The Slider entered the United Kingdom charts on August 5, 1972 where it charted for 18 weeks, peaking at number four. The the United States, it peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart.

Buoyed by two U.K. number one singles in "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru," The Slider became T. Rex's most popular record on both sides of the Atlantic, despite the fact that it produced no hits in the U.S. The Slider essentially replicates all the virtues of Electric Warrior, crammed with effortless hooks and trashy fun. All of Bolan's signatures are here — mystical folk-tinged ballads, overt sexual come-ons crooned over sleazy, bopping boogies, loopy nonsense poetry, and a mastery of the three-minute pop song form. The main difference is that the trippy mix of Electric Warrior is replaced by a fuller, more immediate-sounding production. Bolan's guitar has a harder bite, the backing choruses are more up-front, and the arrangements are thicker-sounding, even introducing a string section on some cuts (both ballads and rockers).

Even with the beefier production, T. Rex still doesn't sound nearly as heavy as many of the bands it influenced (and even a few of its glam contemporaries), but that's partly intentional — Bolan's love of a good groove takes precedence over fast tempos or high-volume crunch. Lyrically, Bolan's flair for the sublimely ridiculous is fully intact, but he has way too much style for The Slider to sound truly stupid, especially given the playful, knowing wink in his delivery. It's nearly impossible not to get caught up in the irresistible rush of melodies and cheery good times. Even if it treads largely the same ground as Electric Warrior, The Slider is flawlessly executed, and every bit the classic that its predecessor is.

01. "Metal Guru" 2:25
02. "Mystic Lady" 3:09
03. "Rock On" 3:26
04. "The Slider" 3:22
05. "Baby Boomerang" 2:17
06. "Spaceball Ricochet" 3:37
07. "Buick Mackane" 3:31
08. "Telegram Sam" 3:42
09. "Rabbit Fighter" 3:55
10. "Baby Strange" 3:03
11. "Ballrooms of Mars" 4:09
12. "Chariot Choogle" 2:45
13. "Main Man" 4:14

1. https://rapidshare.com/files/331503321/T.Rex.rar
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2. http://uploadmirrors.com/download/1YEGREPI/T.Rex.rar
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Tennent & Morrison - Selftitled (Great Folkrock UK 1972)

Size: 85.4 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Korean 24-Bit Remaster

Originally released on Polydor in 1972, Tennent & Morrison's debut album has been renowned for its superb musical sense by serious record collectors for many years. The album is an exquisite package full of American swamp rock and British folky sound. A stunning reissue!

01. Good for you
02. Tomorrow it might rain
03. Keep my secrets
04. I should have known better
05. Round and round
06. Fog in the future
07. I can't imagine
08. Easy come easy go
09. The last hour
10. Take my place
11. Death in a distant country

1. https://rapidshare.com/files/2446806151/Tennent_&_Morrison.rar
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2. http://uploadmirrors.com/download/0YMKUJIS/Tennent___Morrison.rar
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Reup (a good one): Tetsu - Selftitled (Great Progressive Folkrock, Japan 1972)

Size: 81.8 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Yamauchi was born in 1946 in Fukuoka. In the late 1960s, he played with the band Samurai. His involvement with Samurai led to him working as a session musician in both Tokyo and London. In 1972 he recorded the album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit with Free guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke, together with keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick. He subsequently joined Free and in 1973 the Faces (replacing Ronnie Lane.), When Faces broke up in 1975, he returned to Japan, and he has become a fixture on the Japanese music scene.

The good one blues rock album by the former leader of Japanese progressive group Samurai recorded in fall 1972. There was an experience previously with musicians from Free (album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit was released in 1971) and it is so noticeable: the opening "Wiki Wiki" is similar to alittle bit funky Free, and "Why" - so typical Free track in their classic style. There is soul influence in some tracks but not too much. Among album's ten tracks - three instrumental, most successfull from them is "First Time" with the lead electic organ stylistically between Atomic Rooster and Booker T. & MG's.

Yamauchi gathered pretty strong cast, that included two drummers - Yuji Harada, who played with Tetsu in Samurai, and an omnipresent Hiro Tsunoda. A part of musicians in 1973 took part in the project Friends, in particular, ex-vocalist and harper of The Beavers Ken Narita, The Spiders former keyboardist Katsuo Ohno and guitarist Pipi Sabata. It should be mentioned that vocal parts were given to the three singers, and except Yamauchi himself and Ken Narita, there is an American Eleonore Barooshian (member of female psychedelic trio The Cake, aka Chelsea Lee). It should be recognized that not the all compositions are the same successfull but totally this album is pretty nice.

01. Wiki Wiki - 3.59
02. Alexander Stone - 2.39
03. First Time - 7.04
04. Why - 3.51
05. Dad & Mom - 3.25
06. Who Whould I Be In The World Babe - 3.35
07. How To Cook - 2.35
08. Baby Blue - 3.05
09. Orange Dog - 3.15
10. Sun Down - 4.28

1. https://rapidshare.com/files/831218676/Tetsu_1972_Album.rar
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2. http://uploadmirrors.com/download/UNFQFV0J/Tetsu_1972_Album.rar
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The Art of Lovin' - Selftitled (Superb West-Coast Rock US 1968)

Size: 68.6 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

A Massachussefts outfit whose album is full of interesting and quite imaginative pop/folk-rock, obscure enough to have been reissued. Apart from a cover of Tim Hardin's Hang On To A Dream, all the songs were penned by Paul Applebaum. It's certainly worth hearing.

In an effort to compete with the success RCA Victor and other labels were having with San Francisco based bands, the mid-1960s found Mike Curb and MGM Records signing virtually every New England band they could lay their hands on. In their efforts to market the Bosstown Sound, Curb and company somehow managed to miss one of Massachusetts more talented outfits - The Art of Lovin'.

Built around the talents of singer/guitarist Paul Applebaum, bassist Johnny Lank, sax player Barry Tatelman, vocalist Gail Winnick and drummer Sandy Winslow, 1968 saw the band signed by the small Detroit-based Mainstream Records. Released later in the year, "The Art of Lovin'" made for one of the year's more interesting debuts. Curiously, for years I'd read reviews that labeled this album as being folk-rock oriented. It's not.

That said, the first time I spun the collection I was left with the nagging feeling I'd heard it somewhere before. The second time around, the comparison instantly dawned us. Powered by Applebaum's pseudo-psychedelic material and Winslow's crystalline voice, stylistically tracks such as 'What the Young Mind Says', the rocker 'Take a Ride' and 'Good Times' bore more than a passing resemblance to early Jefferson Airplane. Imagine the Airplane having elected to abandon some of their more strident moves in favor of a slightly more commercial orientation and you'll get a good feel for the LP.

At the other end of the spectrum, harmony rich tracks such as 'Daily Prayer' sounded like The Mamas and the Papas having abandoned their chirpy top-40 orientation. Simultaneously catchy and quite commercial, it's easy to see why this album is valued so highly by collectors. The funny thing is that it gets better each time I go back and listen to it.

Shortly after the album was released Winslow suffered a schizophrenic episode that left him in and out of care for the next 30 years. In spite of his fragile mental health, he managed to attract national attention through his scratchboard art. Sadly, in October 2002 he died after a brief bout with cancer.
We were a bunch of kids who loved creating music in a time that was ripe for psychedelic pop. We spent most of our time working on the tunes in the bass player's basement. A tape was sent to Mainstream records through a friend and we got signed, much to our surprise. A month later we were in NY recording. The entire album took 20 hours to record at A&R Studios. It was a fantastic experience. We had a ball doing the "rock star" thing, well, at least in our heads.

I guess we were one of the projects that Mainstream was hoping to sell off if our music could show some limited success, as they had done with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Amboy Dukes. Unfortunately, the album didn't do that well, although Billboard red-starred us, and described us as a cross between the Mamas and Papas and Jefferson Airplane. Quite a compliment, and totally unexpected.

We didn't play out too much. We opened for Mountain once at a club in Boston, and otherwise did a few local gigs. We disbanded shortly after the LP came out. Most of the members headed off to college, and felt that the band was an enjoyable endeavor, but not so much of a commitment that they would put off a college education, etc.

It was a great experience, and I admit that I am still amazed that the album generates interest, 40 years later. [rateyourmusic.com - RDTEN1]

01.Paul's Circus
02.What The Young Minds Say
03.You´ve Got The Power
04.Take A Ride
05.Good Times
06.Daily Prayer
07.The First Time
08.You'll Walk Away
09.(How Can we) Hang On To A Dream
10.State Of Mind

1. https://rapidshare.com/files/861195318/The Art.rar
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2. http://uploadmirrors.com/download/FWIA6NM4/The_Art.rar
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The Dickies - The Incredible Shrinking Dickies (US Punk 1979)

Size: 80.5 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

This first release by the California-based Dickies contains songs best described as percolating, hyperactive cartoon hardcore, colored with a noticeable bit of Ramones influence. All the songs on this album are frantically fast and very short; over half the selections here have durations under two minutes, and only the instrumental number "Rondo" is longer than three minutes. Most of the tunes here have agreeably goofball lyrics that are often only semi-intelligible.

Chucklesome touches such as dog-barking vocals in "Poodle Party," a quote from the Champs' instrumental "Tequila" in "Shadow Man," cuckoo clock noises in "Mental Ward," and a rubber ducky solo in "Curb Job" help keep the songs firmly tongue in cheek. Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," the Monkees' "She," and Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" are given the same dizzy treatment as everything else here. This album is good, crazy fun and worth a listen.

The Dickies were the clown princes of punk, not to mention surprisingly longstanding veterans of the L.A. scene. In fact, by the new millennium, they'd become the oldest surviving punk band still recording new material. In contrast to the snotty, intentionally offensive humor of many comedically inclined punk bands, the Dickies were winningly goofy, inspired mostly by trashy movies and other pop culture camp. Their covers were just as ridiculous as their originals, transforming arena rock anthems and bubblegum pop chestnuts alike into the loud, speed-blur punk-pop -- basically the Ramones crossed with L.A. hardcore -- that was their musical stock in trade. As the band got older, their music slowed down little by little, but their sound and their sense of humor stayed largely the same, and they were an avowed influence on new-school punkers like Green Day and the Offspring.

Inspired by the first wave of punk coming out of New York and London, the Dickies were formed in 1977 in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. Their initial lineup consisted of cartoon-voiced lead singer Leonard Graves Phillips, guitarist Stan Lee (both of whom would remain constant throughout the band's myriad personnel shifts), keyboardist/saxophonist/guitarist Chuck Wagon (b. Bob Davis), bassist Billy Club (b. Bill Remar), and drummer Karlos Kaballero (b. Carlos Caballero). Already local scenesters, the majority of the band had some connection with the Quick, either as friends or roadies, and started out mostly as a cover band and an amusing diversion for its members. They started playing around the burgeoning L.A. punk scene within a few weeks of forming, and quickly earned a following with their zany live show, which featured outlandish costumes, puppets, and a midget roadie.

On the strength of their demo tape, the Dickies became the first L.A. punk band to score a major-label deal in 1978, when they signed with A&M. That year they issued their debut single, which featured their warp-speed cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and the originals "Hideous" and "You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)"; the latter reigned as their signature song for many years afterward. In early 1979, the group's debut album, The Incredible Shrinking Dickies, was released to significant sales in the U.K., where their cover of the "Banana Splits" cartoon theme song became a Top Five hit. By the end of the year, the Dickies were able to put together a follow-up, Dawn of the Dickies, which featured the fan favorites "Attack of the Mole Men" and "Manny, Moe and Jack," plus a jokey, rocked-up cover of the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin."

In 1980, the Dickies released a single version of "Gigantor," the theme from a Japanese cartoon series. By the end of the year, the increasingly volatile Chuck Wagon had left the band; sadly, he shot and killed himself in June 1981. Stunned, the rest of the Dickies went on hiatus, during which much of the original lineup drifted out of the group. Late that year, Phillips and Lee returned with a new version of the Dickies, which included guitarist Steve Hufstetter (ex-Quick), bassist Lorenzo "Laurie" Buhne, and drummer Jerry Angel; Hufstetter was soon replaced by Scott Sindon. This lineup recorded half of the material on the 1983 mini-LP Stukas Over Disneyland, the other half of which dated from 1980 sessions with the late Chuck Wagon replacing Kaballero on drums and Sindon on second guitar.

A lengthy hiatus from recording ensued, as Phillips and Lee struggled to keep a steady lineup together just for touring purposes. A new group featuring second guitarist Glen Laughlin, ex-Weirdos drummer Nickey Beat, and founding bassist Billy Club was on the road by the end of 1983. Beat was replaced by Rex Roberts in early 1984, and when Laughlin broke his hand in a car accident later that year, Steve Fryette signed on; around the same time, Jerry Angel and Laurie Buhne returned as the rhythm section. By 1985, Laughlin had recovered and returned as the bassist, teaming with new drummer Cliff Martinez. In 1986, ROIR issued the live compilation We Aren't the World, which featured concert recordings from throughout the Dickies' existence, as well as their original demo tape.

In 1988, the Dickies regrouped for a return to the studio, specifically to record the title theme for the low-budget sci-fi/horror comedy Killer Klowns from Outer Space. By this time, their lineup included Phillips, Lee, second guitarist Enoch Hain, and a Buhne-Martinez rhythm section. The Killer Klowns project turned into a five-song EP -- issued by Restless -- that also included a cover of "Eep Opp Ork (Uh, Uh)," a rockabilly tune once featured in an episode of The Jetsons. The EP brought the Dickies back to underground prominence, and 1989 brought their first full-length album of new material in six years, Second Coming. In the meantime, A&M issued a retrospective of their earlier work called Great Dictations: The Definitive Dickies Collection. A second live album, Locked 'n' Loaded, followed in 1990 on Taang.

Another lengthy hiatus followed, however, during which time rumors about the band's drug problems began to circulate. The Dickies didn't resurface again until 1993, when they issued the three-song EP Road Kill. Not long after, bands like Green Day and the Offspring brought punk-pop to the top of the charts, shining a spotlight on the Dickies as an influence. Renewed interest in the band led to a new album, Idjit Savant, which appeared on Triple X in 1995. It featured contributions from the previous Dickies lineup, as well as Glen Laughlin, bassist Charlie Alexander, and Smashing Pumpkins cohort Jonathan Melvoin on drums. Phillips and Lee subsequently assembled a more permanent lineup featuring second guitarist Little Dave Teague, bassist Rick Dasher, and drummer Travis Johnson. Always known for their tongue-in-cheek covers, the band put together its first all-covers album, Dogs from the Hare That Bit Us, for Triple X in 1998. They subsequently signed with Fat Mike's Fat Wreck Chords indie punk label, debuting with the single "My Pop the Cop." The full-length All This and Puppet Stew followed in 2001. Punk Singles Collection appeared in June of 2002 on the U.K.-based Spectrum, while Live in London showed up three months later.

01. Give It Back Hufstetter, Lee, Phillips 1:42
02. Poodle Party Kaballero 1:10
03. Paranoid Butler, Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward 2:05
04. She Badalamenti, Barry, Boyce, Faithfull… 1:37
05. Shadow Man Ainsworth, Lee 2:04
06 .Mental Ward Club, Glibb, Lee 1:50
07. Eve of Destruction Sloan 1:58
08. You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla) Lee, Wagon 1:52
09 .Waterslide Lee, Phillips 2:32
10. Walk Like an Egg Lee, Wilde 2:22
11. Curb Job Lee, Wilde 2:36
12 Shake and Bake Huffsteter 1:56
13 .Rondo (The Midget's Revenge) Phillips 3:13

Bonus Tracks:
14. I'm OK, You're OK Club, Goddard, Lee 2:10
15. Silent Night Gruber, Mohr, Traditional 2:17
16. Sound of Silence Simon 1:35
17. Banana Splits (The Tra La LaSong) Adams, Barkan 1:54
18. Hideous Club, Goddard, Lee 1:13
19.Got It at the Store Goddard, Lee 1:41

1. https://rapidshare.com/files/540966559/The_Dickies_1979.rar
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The Herd - Paradise Lost (Classic Psychedelia UK 1968)

Size: 159 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Incuded
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Herd (there never was a 'The' in their name) was an English pop group, that came to prominence in the late 1960s. They launched the career of Peter Frampton and scored three UK top twenty hits.

The record label Parlophone dropped them after several unsuccessful singles, and they subsequently signed to Fontana. Once there the songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had been largely responsible for a string of hits by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, orchestrated for them a unique blend of pop and flower power. After a UK Singles Chart near-miss with "I Can Fly" (1967), the haunting "From The Underworld", based on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, reached Number 6 later that year with help from copious plays on pirate radio. It was followed by "Paradise Lost", which made it up to Number 15 in 1968.

Their greatest success came with "I Don't Want Our Loving To Die", a Number 5 UK hit single (also in 1968).

With his boyish photogenic looks, Frampton was dubbed "The Face of '68" by teen magazine Rave. Steele then left the group, to be replaced by Spinetti. Dissatisfied with mere teen idol status, and disappointed with the failure of their next single, "Sunshine Cottage", Frampton left to form Humble Pie with Steve Marriott.

The remaining Bown and Spinetti made another flop single, "The Game", then formed the short-lived Judas Jump with Mike Smith and Allen Jones, saxophonists from Amen Corner, and Welsh vocalist Adrian Williams. Taylor, who became a disc jockey, and Steele, reunited briefly for a one-off single "You Got Me Hangin' From Your Lovin' Tree" in June 1971, to almost universal lack of interest.

By the late 1970s, Bown had become a member of the UK rockers, Status Quo.

Before '70s superstardom, even before Humble Pie, Peter Frampton got his first taste of celebrity as a singer and guitarist in the Herd, who chalked up several hits in Britain in 1967 and 1968. Frampton was only 17 when the single "From the Underworld" went into the British Top Ten in late 1967; "Paradise Lost" and "I Don't Want Our Loving to Die" were hits for the group in the first half of 1968. The Herd's brand of mod was extremely commercial and good-timey- and pop-oriented, a bit like a muted and mainstream Small Faces. Much of their material (including all of the hits) was written by their management team of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had supplied songs for the Honeycombs (of "Have I the Right" fame).

Frampton and keyboardist Andy Bown wrote most of the band's original tunes, and one can presume that the limitations of the Herd's overtly pop approach (which sometimes encompassed MOR ballads and orchestrated arrangements) were a factor in his decision to leave for Humble Pie after the Herd had issued just one album and a few singles. After a few Frampton-less singles, the Herd scattered; Andy Bown released a few solo albums and has done session work with Frampton and Pink Floyd.

01. From the Underworld
02. On My Way Home
03. I Can Fly
04. Goodbye Groovy
05. Mixed Up Minos
06. Impression of Oliver
07. Paradise Lost
08. Sad
09. Something Strange
10. On Your Own
11. She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
12. Fare Thee Well
+ 15 Bonus Tracks

1. https://rapidshare.com/files/197056653/The_Heard.rar
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