MANFRED MANN - FIVE FACES OF MANFRED MANN (HIS MASTER'S VOICE 1964) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 13 Bonus

The HMV years 1
The debut album by Manfred Mann holds up even better 40 years on than it did in 1964. It's also one of the longest LPs of its era, clocking in at 39 minutes, and there's not a wasted note or a song extended too far among its 14 tracks. The Manfreds never had the reputation that the Rolling Stones enjoyed, which is a shame, because The Five Faces of Manfred Mann is one of the great blues-based British invasion albums; it's a hot, rocking record that benefits from some virtuoso playing as well, and some of the best singing of its era, courtesy of Paul Jones, who blew most of his rivals out of the competition with his magnificently impassioned, soulful performance on "Untie Me," and his simmering, lusty renditions of "Smokestack Lightning" and "Bring It to Jerome." The stereo mix of the album, which never surfaced officially in England until EMI's anniversary reissue (remastered in 24-bit digital sound), holds up very nicely, with sharp separation between the channels yet -- apart from a few moments on "Untie Me" -- few moments of artificiality.[allmusic]
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MANFRED MANN - MANN MADE (HIS MASTER'S VOICE 1965) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 12 bonus

The HMV years 2
The group's second British album, released just as the original lineup was entering a state of collapse with the impending departure of two key members, shows some of the changes that can happen in a year, as they move away from Chess Records' brand of blues as their baseline. Instead, Manfred Mann produce a sound that is slightly smoother and a lot more soulful. A handful of originals, mostly by Mike Vickers and Mike Hugg with one Paul Jones-authored number thrown in, are scattered amid covers of songs originally from the Temptations, the Skyliners, and T-Bone Walker. If it isn't as fierce, bold, or daringly ambitious as Manfred Mann's debut long-player, Mann Made is just as much a virtuoso effort, and a surprisingly cohesive one considering that it was released immediately after Mike Vickers and Paul Jones announced their respective departures from the band.[allmusic]
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MANFRED MANN - SOUL OF MANN (HIS MASTER'S VOICE 1967) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 12 bonus

The HMV years 3
Amidst their pop/rock, blues, and folk-rock, Manfred Mann peppered their early recordings with jazzy instrumentals that faintly suggested a jazz-rock direction. Soul of Mann, never issued in the U.S., is a compilation of most of these early instrumental efforts, which originally appeared on various singles, EPs, and LPs between 1963 and 1966 (though one song, "L.S.D.," and is actually a blues-rocker with a Paul Jones vocal). Instrumentals were not the band's forte, but this collection is more interesting than you might think. No one would put Manfred Mann on the level of genuine American jazz acts like Oscar Peterson, but these cuts are executed with a surprising amount of style and wit. And Mann and his men were nothing if not eclectic, producing downright strange instrumental takes on "Satisfaction," "I Got You Babe," and "My Generation." There are straighter (but still imaginative) versions of songs by the Yardbirds and Cannonball Adderley, as well as their own originals (the bluesy stomper "Mr. Anello" is a standout). Manfred Mann fans will find this worth picking up, especially given that several of the tracks never came out in the U.S., such as the aforementioned "Mr. Anello," and all of the pop covers they did for the 1966 EP Instrumental Asylum.[allmusic]
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MANFRED MANN - MANN MADE HITS (HIS MASTER'S VOICE 1966) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 13 bonus

The HMV years 4
The first greatest-hits compilation devoted to Manfred Mann's hits, Mann Made Hits was one of the great dance albums of its era and has held up about as well as those hits, which is to say, really well. Originally released in England on EMI's HMV imprint, it opens up with the cheerful, soulful pop of "Pretty Flamingo" but quickly branches into the group's more R&B-focused work ("On No, Not My Baby," "Come Tomorrow," "There's No Living Without Your Loving"), their bluesier sides ("I'm Your Kingpin"), their folk-influenced output ("John Hardy," "With God on Our Side," "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"), and their harder jazz side ("Spirit Feel"), without missing their biggest pop hits ("Do Wah Diddy Didd," "Sha La La," "5-4-3-2-1"). This is about the best original vinyl compilation there ever was on this band, and one can also see the quandary EMI was in when they issued it -- having dropped the group in the wake of Paul Jones's departure for a solo career in 1966, presuming that the band's prospects were limited (while they held on to Jones), the front cover is labeled "Manfred Mann With Paul Jones." As it turned out, they were selling the band short, as the latter enjoyed three more years of hits, but this is still a killer farewell to the Paul Jones-era, even if it has been supplanted by numerous more comprehensive compilations since.[allmusic]
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OVERLANDERS - MICHELLE (PYE 1966) JVC K2 mastering cardboard sleeve + 10 bonus

The Overlanders were originally a trio composed of Paul Arnold (piano & guitar), Lori Mason (piano & harmonica), and Peter Bartholomew (guitar), with all three doing the singing. They were part of the British folk revival of the early 1960s and some of the tracks in this collection are pure folk music, most notably the lovely "Gone the Rainbow," which blows the familiar Peter, Paul & Mary version away. The group recorded with the Pye label, with Tony Hatch, who also worked with the Searchers as well as Petula Clark (his wife), producing their records. "Movin'" and "Rainbow" were the two sides of their second 45, while their third, a cover of Chad & Jeremy's "Yesterday's Gone" was ironically the first non-original song they released and their only chart success (#75) in the U.S.
With both the guitar playing and the vocal harmonies being well above average I am at a loss ot explain why we did not hear more of the Overlanders. "Don't It Make You Feel Good" is a better song than a lot of the British Invasion songs that made it to the Top 10 on this side of the pond and "Room Enough for You and Me" is pretty good too.
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In 1965 they evolved into a legitiamte beat group by adding Terry Widlake (bass) and David Walsh (drums) and had their big moment when the Beatles released "Rubber Soul." Lots of groups covers songs from the album (e.g., the Hollies did "If I Needed Someone"), but the Overlanders took "Michelle" to the top of the charts in the U.K. for three weeks in January 1966. The differences from the Beatles version are obvious, with the song being more of a rock song and not as light as what the Fab Four released. Some of you are going to find that you might actually like this cover a bit better than the original. The B side of the single, "Cradle of Love," is more representative of the group's sound, and reaffirms that the Overlanders usually had good songs on both sides of their 45s.
After the success of "Michelle" the Overlanders returned to their folk routes doing familiar American folk songs like Woody Guthrie's "This Land" and "Pick a Pale of Cotton."
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As you all can imagine...it was not me who deleted the "Georgie Fame" post (& others!)
From now on I have to be very careful in what is safe or not for sharing...
I still have dozens of albums to share with all of you & new releases still coming every 10-15 days, but unfortunately after the last...bang my choices are very very limited

SMALL FACES - SMALL FACES (IMMEDIATE 1967) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 21 bonus

Small Faces was the second LP of that name issued by the band in the space of a year, a fact that -- coupled with its release a year later in America in somewhat modified form as There Are But Four Small Faces -- has always confused fans of the group's work. This particular album was the Small Faces' Immediate Records debut, and caught the group in the transition from an R&B-based mod band into a psychedelic-oriented outfit. They were still finding their way along the trail from sweaty, soul-drenched James Brown- and Otis Redding-inspired covers and originals to flower-power trippiness, and the short running time and the relative lack of Steve Marriott lead vocals (Ronnie Lane is out front on three of the 14 numbers, in addition to the presence of an instrumental) reveal that they were still laboring to find a sound and a collective voice with which they were comfortable, amid other activities (lots of gigs plus playing on other artists' work as the unofficial Immediate Records house band). The short running time didn't prevent this from being a pretty imposing album, however, especially in its original British edition. "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me" would probably have been a single but for the fact that Steve Marriott and producer Andrew Oldham gave it away to a quartet of Small Faces admirers called the Apostolic Intervention -- no matter, for it made a strong album opener and a great lead-in to "Something I Want to Tell You" and the ballad "Feeling Lonely," which slides into the heavier-weight instrumental rocker "Happy Boys Happy," which showcases Ian McLagan's keyboards and Kenney Jones' drums. "My Way of Giving" was a superb soul shouter that could have been a B-side in the group's earlier phase, but the real treat is the bejeweled, soaring, spaced-out dream account of "Green Circles," with its beautiful lead piano and exquisitely spacy choruses, leading to a tough, crunchy-textured bridge and finale. Side two opened with "Become Like You," a trippy acoustic guitar-dominated psychedelic ballad, leading to the elegant opening strains of the punchy "Get Yourself Together" and the funny, Cockney-flavored "All Our Yesterdays," with its heavy brass and trumpet embellishment. "Talk to You" was another Marriott soul belter, and "Show Me the Way" was a superb harpsichord workout for McLagan, who got an even better break on "Up the Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire" amid Marriott's acoustic guitar strumming, all closing on the delightfully trippy, upbeat "Eddie's Dreaming" (which featured Georgie Fame's band supporting the quartet)....
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[I'm sorry...Rapidshare deleted the link (see comments) & I don't dare to upload it again...Also "goodbye" to their masterpiece "Ogdens'NutGone Flake" mono & stereo versions, I was planning to post as a SF epilogue these days...]

SMALL FACES - FROM THE BEGINNING (DECCA 1967) Jap DSD mastering cardboard sleeve + 14 bonus

From The Beginning was released in 1967 as a spoiler by Decca, the Small Faces' old label, to coincide with the release of their new album on the Immediate label entitled Small Faces (confusingly, the only album they made for Decca was also self-titled). The Small Faces did not especially appreciate the gesture, and made a point of specifically discouraging people from buying From The Beginning in the advertising for their new album.
From The Beginning contained all the hits they had had with Decca (What'cha Gonna Do About It, Sha-La-La-La-Lee, Hey Girl, All Or Nothing and My Mind's Eye), available on any number of compilations, alongside a number of previously unreleased recordings. These and are now the chief attraction of this album.
The Small Faces had one line-up change while they were with Decca, when in October 1965 Jimmy Winston left and was replaced on keyboards by Ian McLagan. Although the Decca album Small Faces depicted Ian McLagan on the cover when it was released in May 1966, Jimmy Winston played on five or six of the tracks, recorded before his departure, and largely comprising their stage act of the time.
Unfortunately, it seems not to be known when these outtakes were recorded but the stage favourite Baby, Don't You Do It (a Marvin Gaye cover) has Jimmy Winston on lead vocals and guitar so some others may well have been recorded before October 1965, possibly the bizarre but interesting version of Runaway and the excellent takes on Don Covay's Take This Hurt Off Me and the Miracles' You've Really Got A Hold On Me. Both of these demonstrate what a fine band they were, and what a great vocalist Steve Marriott was. Indeed one wonders why space could not be found for some of these recordings on their first album. After Ian McLagan joined, they began to put Booker T-style instrumentals on their B-sides, so the cover of Plum Nellie here probably features him rather than Jimmy Winston on keyboards.
The album also included earlier versions of songs they re-recorded for Immediate, including My Way Of Giving, which they had handed over to Chris Farlowe for a single, and (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me...
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SMALL FACES - SMALL FACES (DECCA 1966) Jap DSD mastering cardboard sleeve + 13 bonus

Lane and Marriott met in 1965 while Marriott was working at the J60 Music Bar in Manor Park, London. Lane came in with his father Stan to buy a bass guitar, struck up a conversation with Marriott, bought the bass and went back to Marriott's house after work to listen to records. They recruited friends Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston (born James Edward Winston Langwith, 20 April 1945, in Stratford, East London), who switched from guitar to the organ. They rapidly progressed from rehearsals at The Ruskin Arms public house (which was owned by Winston's parents) in Manor Park, London, to ramshackle pub gigs, to semi-professional club dates. Marriott's unique and powerful voice attracted rising attention. Singer Elkie Brooks was struck by Marriott's vocal prowess and stage presence, and recommended them to a local club owner, Maurice King. Impressed, King began finding them work in London and beyond.
The band's early song set included R&B/soul classics such as "Jump Back", James Brown's "Please Please Please", Smokey Robinson's "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and Ben E. King's "Stand by Me". The band also performed two Marriott/Lane original compositions, a fast and loud "Come on Children" and the "speed enhanced" song "E too D", in which Marriott would display his considerable vocal abilities in the style of his heroes and role models, Otis Redding and Bobby Bland. "E too D", which appears on their first album, Small Faces, is named after the guitar chord structure. On US compilation albums the track is titled "Running Wild".
They were kicked out of their first out-of-town gig, a tough working men's club in Sheffield, after only three songs. The crowd at that concert was mainly made up of Teddy boys and hard-drinking workers. Despondent, they literally walked into the mod-oriented King Mojo Club nearby (then owned by a young Peter Stringfellow) and offered to perform for free. They played a set that left the local mods wanting more and started a strong buzz. During a crucial residency at Leicester Square's Cavern Club, they were strongly supported by Sonny & Cher, who were living in London at the time and had first seen them perform in Sheffield.
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THE "DECCA" YEARS
They signed a management contract with management impresario Don Arden, and they were in turn signed to Decca Records for recording. They released a string of high-energy mod/soul singles on the label. Their debut single was in 1965 with "Whatcha Gonna Do About It", a Top 15 UK singles chart hit. Marriott and Lane are credited with creating the instrumental to the song, "borrowing" the guitar riff from the Solomon Burke record "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love". The lyrics were written by The Shadows band member Ian Samwell (who arguably wrote the first British rock 'n' roll record, "Move It"). The group failed to capitalize on the success of their first single with the follow-up which was written by Marriott/Lane, the hard-edged mod number "I've Got Mine". The band appeared as themselves in a 1965 crime film titled Dateline Diamonds starring Kenneth Cope as the band's manager. It featured them playing their second single release, "I've Got Mine". Arden thought the band's song would receive publicity by the film; however, the film's UK release was delayed, and "I've Got Mine" subsequently failed to chart...
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MERSEYBEATS - MERSEYBEATS (FONTANA 1964) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 18 bonus

The Merseybeats were formed in 1961, in Liverpool under the name of The Mavericks which comprised of Tony Crane (lead guitar, vocals) Billy Kinsley (bass, vocals) working as an Everley Brothers influenced duo around the clubs and pubs of Liverpool. They soon became a four piece with the addition of David Elias(rhythm guitar, vocals) and Frank Sloane (drums). For a short while they changed name to The Pacifics and in 1962 The Mavericks were re-named The Mersey Beats, by Bob Wooler, M. C. of the famous Cavern Club. Later that year the group was re-titled THE MERSEYBEATS and Sloane was replaced by John Banks and Elias by Aaron Williams.
They were originally signed to Brian Epstein, but he failed to supply The Merseybeats with the same classy suits that he had given The Beatles, dispute between artist and management. brought an end to their relationship, the spilt with Epstein is something the group regret to this very day. On the Fontana label, The Merseybeats received their first big hit in 1963 with ‘It’s Love That Really Counts’ followed in 1964’ by their million selling recording ‘I Think of You’ which raced up the top ten and presented them with their first gold disc. The Merseybeats adopted their own distinctive style of fashion, the sartorial elegance they would have liked under Epstein. New tailoring saw them credited as the ‘Best Looking Group’ dressed in tight fitting suits with bolero jackets and frilly shirts, their outfits complete with high heeled zip boots provoked hysteria from their female fans. They received further success with two more major hits, ‘Don’t Turn Around’ and ‘Wishin & Hopin’, Other successful recordings include ‘Last Night’ ‘Don’t Let It Happen To Us’ ‘I Love You Yes I Do’ ‘I Stand Accused’. ‘Mister Moonlight‘ ‘Really Mystified‘ ‘The Fortune Teller‘ ‘Lovely Loretta’ and ‘It’s Love That Really Counts’. The Merseybeats appeared regularly at Liverpool’s world famous Cavern Club and they hold the unique distinction of appearing with The Beatles on more occasions than any other band from that era. Their success brought them international recognition, 1964 saw The Merseybeats appearing in Germany, the U.S.A. and even having their own Merseybeats Show on Italian television.In 1964 Billy Kinsley left to form The Kinsleys and was replaced by the legendary Johnny Gustafson, the line up changed again when Billy returned to the group a few months later.
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UNIT 4+2 - FIRST ALBUM (DECCA 1965) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 11 bonus

The group originated with guitarist Brian Parker and an instrumental band called the Hunters, who recorded for the Fontana label in 1961. Parker left the Hunters in early 1962 and joined Adam Faith's backing band the Roulettes. He didn't stay long with the latter band, preferring to put together a group of his own with the emphasis on vocals. Parker recruited guitarists Tommy Moeller and David Meikle, and singer Brian Moules, and the quartet played gigs at youth clubs and other local venues, and turned professional soon after. Parker, who suffered from chronic ill-health, left the band around this time and was replaced by Howard Lubin.
The quartet took the name Unit Four in 1963, and continued to find popularity in clubs. By this time, the British beat boom heralded by the Beatles was sweeping the charts, and the group recognized that they would need a punchier sound to have a chance at breaking out of the club venues and getting a recording contract. They added two more players, Rod Garwood (bass) and Hugh Halliday (drums), and, in the process, became Unit 4+2.
The sextet was signed to English Decca in 1964 and their debut single, "Green Fields," followed early in the year, making a minor splash on the UK charts with its folk-gospel sound. A second single, "Sorrow and Pain," was well received but made little lasting impression.
Their third single, "Concrete and Clay," issued early in 1965, was the charm. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was also the first single by the group on which they played with two guest musicians, guitarist Russ Ballard and drummer Bob Henrit (two of Parker's former bandmates from the Roulettes). With a memorable chorus, a bossa-nova beat, and pleasant, hook-laden acoustic guitars, "Concrete and Clay" rose to number one on the British charts and charted all over the world. The song was one of the finest pop records of 1965. Not only was it a UK number one, it was a worldwide hit, and the group was suddenly getting played on radio across the globe.
It may have been too much, too soon. Like too many other groups of the period, the band had nothing remotely as good to serve as a follow-up release, as soon became apparent. Decca released an album to capitalize on their sudden success, but it wasn't as interesting or attractive as the single. Their next single, "You've Never Been in Love Like This Before," a more soul-influenced number, failed to match the chart performance of "Concrete and Clay," but made the English Top 20...
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Unit 4+2 was a one-hit wonder that probably deserved better. As one of the better acoustic-electric bands of the mid-'60s, the group stormed the charts with one memorable hit, "Concrete and Clay," scoring on both sides of the Atlantic, but they were never able to come up with a follow-up that was as catchy.
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THE MINDBENDERS - MINDBENDERS (FONTANA 1966) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 10 bonus

...After a tour of America, Fontana abruptly left the band in the middle of a concert in 1965. Guitarist Eric Stewart suddenly became the lead singer of the band, which immediately dropped "Wayne Fontana" from its name.
The Mindbenders' first single without Fontana was the hit "Groovy Kind of Love" (a Carole Bayer Sager / Toni Wine composition).The song reached number two in the U.S., and sold one million copies globally. It was successfully revived by Phil Collins in the 1980s. The album of the same name, however, was a failure, as were their other singles and later albums.
A second song by Bayer and Wine, "Ashes to Ashes," did reach number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, after an earlier effort in 1966, "Can't Live With You (Can't Live Without You)" had struggled to break the Top 30. The Mindbenders made their final American tour in July 1966, kicking off in Atlanta, Georgia on Independence Day, in front of a capacity 25,000 crowd, but they were only the support act. James Brown was the headliner and, while Eric Stewart remembered, "we went down quite well," a more memorable show came when the Mindbenders played the Fillmore West later in the tour. "The liquid light show was great and really worked with our act, which was a lot heavier than on our records"...
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Remaining together following the departure of frontman Wayne Fontana, the Mindbenders got off to one of the most promising starts any band could enjoy, when their debut single "A Groovy Kind of Love" soared to number two in the U.K. and topped the chart in America. And had the group only succeeded in locating a decent follow-up, they might well have developed into one of the finest British bands of the late '60s.
Instead, a series of disastrous choices of 45s condemned them to the ranks of rank also-rans, and it is only later that the sheer quality of their other work — material hitherto lost on two Mindbenders LPs — had been re-evaluated sufficiently to let listeners state that here was one of the greatest of all Britain's post-beat bands....
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DAVE DEE DOZY BEAKY MICK & TICH - IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE (FONTANA 1966) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 13 bonus

Hook-laden tunes transformed Salisbury, Wiltshire, England-based quartet Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich into one the United Kingdom's top pop bands of the mid-'60s. Performing songs by their managers Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, the group scored with such Top Ten U.K. hits as "Hold Tight," "Hideaway," "Bend It," "Save Me," "Okay," "Zabadak," "Last Night in Soho," and the chart-topper, "Legend of Xanadu." Although they were among the many British bands who honed their skills while performing in Hamburg, Germany, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were one of the first to tour the United Kingdom with established acts. Shortly after moving to London in 1965, the group hooked up with Howard and Blaikley. With the group disbanding in 1969, Dee recorded a minor hit as a soloist before turning his attention to producing. He briefly reunited with the band in 1974 and again in the early '80s. He recorded a single, "Staying with It" b/w "Sure Thing" in 1983. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide
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"If Music Be the Food of Love" was Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mich and Tich's second album, and it's by far the most succesfull of their 4 orginal albums. Originally released in 1966 the album included their recent hits "Hideaway" and "Bend it" as well as their break-through "You Make it Move". Moreover the extensive list of bonus-tracks (13) contains some of their later hits like "Save Me", "Touch Me, Touch Me" and "Okay".
The album tracks are fine; especially "Loos of England", "Master Lewellyn", "All I Want" and "Hair on My Chinny-Chin" are favourites of mine.
There is an overall good-time and optimistic feel to this album, and most songs will set the scene for singing-along.
The song-writing team Howard/Blaikley wrote all the singles and a good deal of the of the album tracks. And it's unquestionable that these guys possesed an unique skill for writing catchy pop-tunes. The band themselves also wrote some of the material for the album and some of the B-sides. Among them fine tracks like "Master Lewellyn", "Shame" and "Marina"...[net]
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DAVE DEE,DOZY,BEAKY,MICK & TICH - S/T (FONTANA 1966) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 13 bonus

Five friends from Wiltshire, David John Harman, Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies, John Dymond, Michael Wilson and Ian Frederick Stephen Amey, formed a group in 1961 called Dave Dee And The Bostons. They soon gave up their jobs (e.g. Dave Dee was a policeman) to make money from music. Apart from performing in Britain, they also occasionally played in Hamburg (Star-Club, Top Ten Club) and in Cologne (Storyville).
In summer 1964, British songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley became interested in recording them. The band was set up in the studio to make recordings with then famous producer of The Honeycombs, Joe Meek. These recording sessions failed to get anywhere off the ground as an interview with Dave Dee stated that Joe Meek "had very strange recording techniques. He wanted us to play the song at half speed and then he would speed it up and put all these little tricks on it. We said we couldn't do it that way. He exploded, threw coffee all over the studio and stormed up to his room. His assistant Patric Pink came in and said, "Mr Meek will not be doing any more recording today." That was it. We lugged all our gear out and went back home." While these recording session proved unsuccessful they eventually gained a recording contract with Fontana Records.
They changed their name to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich — an amalgam of their nicknames. The distinctive name, coupled with well produced and catchy songs by Howard and Blaikley, quickly caught the UK's public's imagination and their records started to sell in abundance. Indeed, between 1965 and 1969, the group spent more weeks in the UK Singles Chart than The Beatles.
Vocalist Dee, the ex-policeman, was at the scene of the automobile accident that took the life of American rocker Eddie Cochran and injured Gene Vincent in April 1960. Dee had taken Cochran's guitar from the accident and held it until it could be returned to his family.
They also scored a Number One hit on the UK chart in 1968 with "The Legend of Xanadu".This particular track made it 'big' worldwide - even in the United States (where they had previously had little success). Their other Top Ten UK hits included "Hideaway", "Hold Tight!", "Bend It!", "Save Me", "Touch Me, Touch Me", "Okay!", "Zabadak!" and "Last Night in Soho".
In September, 1969, Dee left the group for a short-lived solo career. The rest, re-billed as (D,B,M and T) continued releasing records, until they broke up in 1972...[net]
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WAYNE FONTANA & THE MINDBENDERS - S/T (FONTANA 1965) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 13 bonus

(Continue).....The band set off for America almost immediately and ran straight into trouble. Visa difficulties had forced the band to cancel a couple of shows at the start of the tour -- immigration officials actually demanded statements from both Billboard and Cashbox to prove that the band's Stateside success actually justified their presence here. Then, the moment they stepped off the plane, the Mindbenders were served writs for one million each. They were being sued for not making two gigs in New Jersey.
Thankfully, the threat came to nothing and the remainder of the tour passed off happily. A new version of their debut album, featuring several cuts not on the U.K. album was released, making a respectable number 28; unfortunately, the moment the band's back was turned, their fortunes began to dip. Their next single, "Just a Little Bit Too Late," only reached number 45 in the U.S. (and number 20 in Britain) and when "She Needs Love" halted at number 32 in the U.K., at the same time as their second album, Eric, Rick, Wayne and Bob, stiffed, it appeared as though the Mindbenders' magic had dissipated already.
Certainly Wayne Fontana, the Fontana label, and the Kennedy Street Enterprises management label, thought so. The singer had always entertained visions of eventually graduating to a solo career and, in October 1965, everybody concerned realized the time had come; everybody, that is, aside from the band. They remained in the dark until, midway through a live show, Fontana simply walked off stage, turning to Stewart as he left and saying, "It's all yours."
It was not the first time the band had played on without their frontman; back in March, nervous exhaustion had confined Fontana to bed, midway through a 21-date, twice-nightly British tour with Herman's Hermits. So, with Stewart taking lead vocals, the band finished the set themselves; the audience seemed to enjoy themselves and the decision was made to carry on as a three-piece, which was precisely what their label and management had been planning all along. And, overnight, one fading chart act became two promising newcomers, singer Wayne Fontana and band the Mindbenders...[allmusic]
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WAYNE FONTANA & THE MINDBENDERS - ERIC RICK WAYNE & BOB (FONTANA 1966) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 6 bonus

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders first emerged out of apprentice telephone engineer Glyn Geoffrey Ellis' daydreams of becoming a successful pop performer. Rechristening himself Wayne Fontana after Elvis Presley's drummer, DJ Fontana, Fontana's first band was the Jets, a staple on the Manchester circuit through 1961-1962, but one which was doomed to failure.
Renaming the band after Dirk Boarded's then-recently released hit movie The Mindbenders (Fontana, of course, was allowed to keep his name!), the quartet's first release, in June 1963, was a cover of one of the aforementioned stage favorites, Fats Domino's "My Girl Josephine," retitled "Hello Josephine." It was not a major hit, peaking at number 46, and two further singles, "For You, For You" (October 1963) and a cover of the Diamonds' "Little Darling'" (February 1964), were even less successful.
But the label did not lose faith. After all, what sort of headlines would "Fontana drop Fontana" make? The band plugged on, and in May 1964, their version of Ben E. King's "Stop Look and Listen" made number 37. Again it was a tiny drop in the ocean, but this time the Mindbenders were able to capitalize upon it. By early fall, they were riding the Top Five with a spellbinding take on Major Lance's masterpiece of incoherence, "Um Um Um Um Um Um."
The Mindbenders' original recording of the song was produced by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham -- their label rejected it and insisted on a re-recording, cut with Fontana's own Jack Baverstock. The first recording remains unreleased; the remake soared to number five. An EP titled after the hit followed it to number seven, while the band's eponymous debut album reached number 18. As was standard at this time, the entire LP was recorded in one day, crammed in to a schedule which included their first major British tour, supporting Brenda Lee.
Meanwhile, back in the singles chart, the band was busy confirming their ascendancy with a skillful adaptation of Clint Ballard's "The Game of Love," featuring a moonlighting member of the Spinners folk group on backing vocals and a devastating Stewart guitar solo, played on a Les Paul borrowed from Jimmy Page. It reached number two in Britain and number one in America, despite being not only the Mindbenders' first Stateside release, but also one of the first releases on the American Fontana label...(to be continued!)
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JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES - THE (almost) COMPLETE HMV RECORDINGS ( 1959 - 1966)

Johnny Kidd's musical career began as leader of the 'Nutters' skiffle group. As the 1950s drew to a close most of the Lonnie Donegan inspired groups began to migrate to rock and roll. So it was with Johnny Kidd who with former 'nutter' Alan Caddy, Tony Docherty, Johnny Gordon and Ken McKay formed his new group 'The Pirates'. Their first release 'Please Don't Touch' managed to reach the chart, but didn't get inside the top twenty. As that rare commodity, 'British Rock and Roll' it ought to have done better. After failure of its follow-up the band reverted to a cover 'You Got What It Takes' which managed #25 despite direct competition from Marv Johnson who took the song to #5.
The Pirates line up gradually changed and Brian Gregg (bass) and Clem Cattini (drums) replaced Gordon and McKay. It was the first single with the new line-up that pushed Johnny Kidd to the top. 'Shaking All Over' is arguably the most atmospheric and original rock and roll record ever to have been produced in a British studio, though much is owed to the guitar riff played by session man Joe Moretti.
Further personnel changes were made to the Pirates over the years and some change of style took place with the coming of the British 'Beat Boom', but the underlying theme remained. The band would dress in pirate regalia and Kidd would always wear his eye-patch which is often unnecessarily explained through an apocryphal story concerning a broken guitar string.
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Sadly, Johnny Kidd- possibly Britain's most original rock and roll performer- was killed in a road accident on October 7th 1966 near Bolton in Lancashire when he and his latest batch of Pirates were driving away after a performance.
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The groups' numerous recordings offer some great cuts, with many gems hidden away on the flipsides of singles. There are also many tracks that were unreleased in Kidd's lifetime, including those from a 1964 aborted album which show off how powerful the group's sound could be... A two CD set, 56 tracks, newly remastered...
Here Disc One
Here Disc Two

SORROWS - TAKE A HEART (PICCADILLY 1965) Japan K2 mastering cardboard sleeve + 10 bonus

One of the most overlooked bands of the British Invasion, the Sorrows offered a tough brand of R&B infused rock that recalled the Pretty Things (though not as R&B oriented) and the Kinks (though not as pop oriented). Their biggest British hit, "Take a Heart," stopped just outside the U.K. Top 20; several other fine mid-'60s singles met with either slim or a total lack of success. With the rich, gritty vocals of Don Fardon, taut raunchy guitars, and good material (both self penned and from outside writers), they rank as one of the better British bands of their era, and certainly among the very best never to achieve success of any kind in the U.S. After their sole LP (also titled Take a Heart), they issued a couple of singles with psychedelic and Dylanesque overtones, and had somehow relocated to Italy in the late '60s, where they played out their string with material in a much more progressive (and less distinctive) vein. Don Fardon had a Top 20 hit in America with a pre-Raiders version of "Indian Reservation" in 1968.
The Sorrows are considered perhaps to be the archetypal freakbeat band...
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