Aug 26, 2010

SOFT SOUL TRANSITION - S.S.T. (TRANSITION 1970) Jap/Kor mastering cardboard sleeve + 7 bonus




Not SST as in the LA hardcore label, or the sound of a jet – but SST, as in Soft Soul Transition, a very groovy group with a Sunshine Pop sort of sound! The trio has some wonderful harmonies in their music – echoes of more familiar pop of the late 60s, but presented here in a cool, stripped-down sort of way – with a quality that's similar to some of the best work by Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends – intimate enough to get past some of the more commercial modes of the time. Many cuts are originals by the group – and singer Chris Demilo plays a lot of great keyboards on the grooves – creating a wicked sound that would have been right at home in the A&M scene of the late 60s. Titles include "Gotta Move Along", "Soft Soul Transition", "Put Love First", "Don't Turn On Me", "It's Love", "Happy With You Girl", and "Lights Of Freedom". CD features 7 bonus tracks too – including "Dreamweaver", "Banyan Bay"...
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Aug 1, 2010

BUDDY BOHN - A DROP IN THE OCEAN (PURPLE 1971) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve




Born Walter Moro Bohn on August 21, 1939, in Evanston, IL; son of Jack (a competitive bike racer) and Charlotte McCoy (an actress).
Having learned of the troubadour's code--performing in exchange for basic needs like food and housing--while a teenager, Moro took the code to heart and made a name for himself around the world. Originally known as Buddy Bohn, Moro traveled across continents for the price of a heartfelt song played on his guitar. He has played for kings and queens, actors and artists as well as cooks, smugglers, and American troops stationed in Laos. During his travels he also recorded three albums, on three different labels, on three separate continents. His international hit "Vermouth Rondo" helped him build his home and recording studio in Bodega Bay, California, where he continues to record. For 22 consecutive years, the popularity of his music has earned him recognition from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for consistent play of his compositions.
In 1963, after having traveled throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Moro ended up in Australia. It was here that he recorded his first album, Buddy Bohn--Folksinger. In 1965 Moro appeared on the Andy Williams Show, a popular variety show during the 1960s. In 1967 he toured with the New Christy Minstrels, a popular folk group, as a guest guitarist. From 1968 to 1970, Moro played for the private Los Angeles club owned by Paul Newman called the Factory. Remembering that time, Moro told Contemporary Musicians, "It was possibly the mellowest and most artistic-feedback-rewarding of all the steady engagements I ever played." He added: "It might be topped only by the occasions when I played personally for Pablo Picasso in a cafe in Aix-en-Provence, sitting only two feet from him, and when I gave a private performance for Howard Hughes."
In 1970 he recorded his second album, Places, in Los Angeles on the Happy Tiger label. In 1972 he recorded his third album, A Drop in the Ocean, in the United Kingdom, performing with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. One of Moro's compositions from A Drop in the Ocean, "Vermouth Rondo," went on to become an international hit. Moro used the money he received on royalties from this album to build his home and recording studio in Bodega Bay, California. In 1975 Moro changed his professional name from Buddy Bohn to Moro, his middle name. Since 1976 he has recorded five albums on his own Budwick Music Company label.
Moro's music reflects the extent of his travels and the influence they have had on him. As William Ellis stated in reviewing Moro's 1995 album Amilucience for American Record Guide, "It's more folksy than you might expect and conjures the Orient ... as much as Andalusia." Continuing to compose, play, and perform, Moro has also begun writing a memoir as well as a screenplay about his life.
by Eve M. B. Hermann
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CURTISS MALDOON - CURTISS MALDOON (PURPLE 1971) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 4 bonus




Curtiss Maldoon (Dave Curtiss, Clive Maldoon (real name: Skinner)) is a singer-songwriter duo from England.They first began working together in the band Bodast in 1968 which also featured Steve Howe (Yes, Asia, GTR) on guitar and Bobby Woodman Clarke on drums. They recorded one album produced by Keith West whom Howe had worked with in U.K. psych band Tomorrow (known for their hit 'My White Bicycle') but it remained unreleased until it came out in truncated and remixed form in 1982 as 'The Lost Bodast Tapes'. A full re-issue featuring the original 1969 mixes came out under the title 'Spectral Nether Street' on the RPM label in the 1990s. Although not very active on the live circuit as they preferred to spend their time writing and rehearsing, Bodast played a legendary show called the Pop Prom in 1968 where they were on the bill with the Who and acted as Chuck Berry's back-up band for the night. Curtiss Maldoon were on Purple Records, the label started by Deep Purple. Their connection to Deep Purple came out of Dave Curtiss short-lived involvement with an early incarnation of the band known as 'Roundabout' where Curtiss was the vocalist (and Bobby Woodman Clarke was the drummer). No recordings have come to light of this line-up. Dave Curtiss (under the name Dave Curtis and the Tremors) recorded several 'beat' singles in the mid 60s for various labels.
Madonna's "Ray of Light" is based on the duo's track "Sepheryn," although beyond the first verse, the comparisons are loose...
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