samedi 27 octobre 2007

JIMI HENDRIX - Cherokee Mist ('91 good boot)

For all the guitar lovers.

cd rip
for the connoisseurs:

ANDWELLA - World's end (UK 1970)

Nice Lp.
This band started life as a trio from Northern Ireland called Method, changing their name to Andwella's Dream after moving to London in 1968. After the first LP they were known simply as Andwella.
Love And Poetry is a highly-rated psychedelic album, which featured guest artist Bob Downes playing sax, flute etc. All the songs were written by Dave Lewis. The highlights are the opening track, The Days Grew Longer For Love, which like most tracks is slow and melodic but with killer guitar leads; the heavier psychedelic number Sunday and Cocaine and Shades Of Grey, two tracks which veer towards progressive rock with plenty of organ and jazzy guitar. CBS released three singles from the album including two non-album sides: Missus Man and Mister Sunshine. Of these, Sunday is a superb slice of psychedelic rock with some Hendrix-influenced guitar work.
In 1970 they switched to Reflection for whom they recorded two albums, neither of which matched their first effort and two 45s. The World's End album was also comprised entirely of Dave Lewis compositions, but most of the tracks were more mainstream with string orchestrations, brass arrangements and background vocals. The best tracks are the mid-tempo R&B influenced I Got A Woman with flute solo, jazzy piano and guitar; two tracks (Reason For Living and Shadow Of The Night), which sound similar to Traffic and the slow instrumental Michael Fitzhenry which featured some good guitar work and flute. On the down side Back On The Road was pale imitation of The Band's The Weight. The flip side of their first 45 was an instrumental credited to Andwella. A Mike Fitzhenry appears on the credits of the first album as one of the recording engineers.
Lewis was a multi-instrumentalist and an acclaimed songwriter who also recorded a privately-pressed album in 1970. He also made further solo albums. McCulloch had previously played with One In A Million, Thunderclap Newman and with Struthers had been with short-lived group 'McCullochs, Struthers and Patterson' (the other members being Jimmy McCulloch and Robbie Patterson). After Andwella he went on to a group called 'White Line', with his brother Jimmy. McDougall went on to work with Speedy Keen (ex-Thunderclap Newman), while Smith joined Khan.



Personnel:

GORDON BARTON(drums)
DAVE LEWIS (guitar, piano, organ, vocals)
NIGEL SMITH (bass, vocals)
DAVE McDOUGALL (keybords)

Rip from vinyl @ 256

Front cover included

For the connoisseurs:http://sharebee.com/bceebd1c

lundi 15 octobre 2007

SORTILEGE - Métamorphose ( France 1984)

A classic ! French and good!





Personnel:

Didier Dem (guitars)
Bob Snake (drums)
Christian Augustin (vocals)
Daniel Lapp (bass)
Stephane Dumont (lead guitar)


Rip rom Vinyl @ 320

Artwork from vinyl included.

vendredi 12 octobre 2007

FAITH - Same (USA 1973)

Progressive heavy rock quintet.They were also known as Limousine and were managed by Terry Knight.
"As summer 1973 began, Knight launched his boldest promotional stratagem, the band Faith. Drummer Dave Barnes told me the story:

We were called Limousine when we found out from our manager Bill Craig Jr. that we were going to meet Terry Knight. We just knew we were on our way to stardom. Terry Knight flew us in to New York from our hometown Muncie, Indiana for our meeting. We met with his photographer that took the famous portrait of our backside, so no one would see our faces.
The gimmick with Faith owed to their anonymity and Knight's strategically-planted rumors the band was comprised of heavyweight members from various, legendary 1960s groups from London. Supposedly the musicians - Noel Redding and Keith Relf were among the names whispered - came together to forge an illustrious new career without cashing in on prior glories or running afoul of contractual complications. Sold as a "mystery supergroup," Faith is a bizarre twist of art imitating art: Knight took the cue from none other than his collective nemesis, Rolling Stone magazine.

In 1969, Greil Marcus penned for Rolling Stone a spoof record review of an album by "The Masked Marauders." Tantalizingly, the group supposedly included Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger (performing such obviously satire titles as "I Can't Get No Nookie"). The presumably stoned public rushed to stores to snap the record up. When no such record could be located, Marcus decided to pursue the gag and, calling in some favors (and some not-so-heavy session musicians), a "Masked Marauders" record was rushed out to an underwhelmed audience. Soon enough, Rolling Stone exposed the very hoax they created.
Without examining the consequences of jiving Rolling Stone with their own jive, Knight decided to take up the idea for his own.

Lead singer Carl Storie recounts the experience:

The album had been released before the Brown Bag deal. We were called Limousine - the record was on GSR. He bought the rights to it and took it to his studio and remixed the masters. He made a lot of changes; the album really sounded different, better - he had a real talent for that.
We met with Terry only once - in his New York office. I never questioned the mystique, the gimmick. He believed in the music, he believed in us as musicians; he felt the skill of the band would overcome any negative stuff resulting from the ad campaign.

We had this huge billboard on the Sunset Strip, so everybody who was anybody would see it and be talking about Terry Knight's new mystery group - it was the cover of the album, specially designed so the heads of the band came out over the top of the billboard. He had the Faith logo put on matches, patches for clothes, postcards - anything it could be printed on. He did it all, he put our names on everything; it was incredible.

He paid us to rehearse; we worked on our show up here [in Indiana] all summer long. He would call us everyday from New York or wherever, asking us "Are you getting the act down tight?" "Yes, Terry, that's all we're doing, working on our show." We played in this cabin; no one was to know what we were doing or whom we were. It was a wonderful time in our lives. We had our debut show planned for Madison Square Garden; Styx was going to open.
Then Rolling Stone exposed us; they busted the plan. They called us hicks - we were devastated, the joke of the town, they came down on "the hype." The show didn't happen; Terry folded the label shortly after the album came out.

Rolling Stone didn't bother to review Faith. Robert Christgau's Creem review was an exercise in humiliation, stating only "I was curious enough to play the first side of this record the day I got it. It took me two months to get to side two."
Like Windmill In A Jet Filled Sky, Faith is a classy album, displaying some excellent writing and playing. The opening track, "Sometimes, Sometimes" is an alluring blend of funky backbeats, uptown riffing and heavy-duty soul shouting. The gospel-inflicted piano ballad, "Answer To The Master," features the sort of honky-tonk epiphany that made the young Rod Stewart such a white-hot comet. The melancholy acoustic serenade, "We're All Heading In The Way / The Last Song" is both philosophical and emotional.

It didn't matter - summer '73 belonged to Led Zeppelin's Houses OfThe Holy and Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon."

Excerpted from I (Who Have Nothing): The Terry Knight Story by Barry Stoller

Rip from vinyl @ 320
Artwork from vinyl included

mercredi 3 octobre 2007

CHEVY - The Taker (UK 1980)



Excellent heavy dual lead guitar rock quintet.



Personnel:

Martin Cure ( lead vocals, guitar, background vocals)

Andy Chaplin (drums & percussion)

Paul Shanahan (lead guitar, background vocals)

Steve Walwyn (lead guitar, background vocals)

Bob Poole (bass guitar, background vocals)


rip @ 320

Artwork included


For the connoisseurs:http://sharebee.com/4b808955

From the Archives and by request:GREAT JONES - All Bowed Down ( USA 1970)

"The sleevenotes to this album tell us: 'Great Jones is an odd combination; a jazz-loving guitarist; a blues-freaking drummer; and an ex-folk singing bassist.' Well, the end result is a funk/blues album with at least three decent tracks. The first is opener Cripple Creek, with its bouncy bass notes and sharply accentuating drum beats. Superimposed on this are Cadieux's catchy acoustic guitar riffs. The second is the title cut, a funky piano-driven number. Also of note is I Ain't Got Long, on which Cadieux contributes some delicate blues guitar which blends well with Tolmie's gutsy vocals. An average album, overall, though." Taken from Fuzz Acids & Flowers.

Personnel:
BILLY CADIEUX(guitar)
MERRY CLAYTON (vocals)
VANETTA FIELDS (vocals)
JEFF GUTCHEON (keyboards)
CLYDIE KING (vocals)
GARY KILLARUS (drums)
DAVID TOLMIE (bass)


Vinyl rip @ 320
Artwork included

For the connoisseurs:http://sharebee.com/2741374f