JAKE HOLMES - A LETTER TO KATHERINE DECEMBER (TOWER 1968) Cardboard sleeve limited reissue

U.S. folk-rock singer & songwriter Jake Holmes' second album, originally released in 1968 on the Tower label.A Letter To Katherine December is a record that many critics rate even more highly than his first. This is indeed a great follow-up; an album which easily evades the shadow of its predecessor' success and another recording that, in typical Holmes fashion, defies description. Although Rick Randle, whose bizarre bass playing was such a feature on the first album, is missing on this one, Charlie Fox's immaculate string and horn arrangements more than compensate. Holmes' eccentric songwriting is here in all its rich diversity, the sound quality is outstanding and the production standards superb. As was the case with its predecessor, A Letter... failed to achieve any real commercial impact, so Holmes switched to a more country feel for his next two releases. Obviously, he had perplexed the people at Tower Records enough by this time, and so the label cancelled his contract. Without a safety net, Holmes plunged into the world of TV commercials, which, ironically, is where he was to eventually enjoy his only real financial success. Highly recommended.
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SPENCER DAVIS GROUP - THE SECOND ALBUM + 8 BONUS (FONTANA 1966) Japan cardboard sleeve SHM-CD

The Spencer Davis Group were were one of the UK's most convincing R&B bands to emerge during this period. They were best known for introducing a prodigious teenager, Steve Winwood, to the world. It was apparent from their first record that Winwood, with his ferocious soul drenched voice, belying his tender sixteen years, would be the focal point of the group.
Davis put the group together in Birmingham in 1963, and they turned professional a year later. From the outset of their recording career they made it plain that albums were as important to them as singles - unusual in those days.
The group's first three singles reached the lower end of the Top Thirty, but it was the release of their debut album "Their First LP" in July 1965 that established them as a major group. Under the guidance of producer, Chris Blackwell the quartet got their first major hit with the blistering "Keep on Running", originally performed by another of Blackwell's acts, the West Indian Jackie Edwards. From then until Winwood's departure every single the SDG released was a huge hit (including "Somebody Help Me", "I'm A Man" and "Gimme Some Loving".
The second LP was also well-received on its release in February 1966...Here

GALE GARNETT & THE GENTLE REIGN - SAUSALITO HELIPORT (COLUMBIA 1968) Japan cardboard sleeve DSD mastering

Sausalito Heliport is a beautifully tripped-out material from Gale Garnett & The Gentle Reign titled after the Sausalito Heliport, a northern California complex that housed a bunch of hippy dippy bands in the late 60s! The album's a wonderful blend of Bay Area freedoms and some of the folksier and sweeter touches of east coast groups of the time with instruments include organ, harpsichord, guitar, and lots of cool percussion and a style that's got lots of wild elements, yet always manages to compress them down into cool sunshiney tunes! Titles include "Peace Comes Slowly To The Thrashing Fish", "Water Your Mind", "The Trip Note Song", "Man In The Middle", "Want Ad","Deer In The City",This Year's Child & More...
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CHAD & JEREMY - DISTANT SHORES #### (COLUMBIA 1966) Japan cardboard sleeve +bonus

This is Chad & Jeremy's 1966 LP DISTANT SHORES, and the 11 beautiful tracks from that album would have made a superb CD on their own. But Columbia dug deep into the vaults, dragging out unreleased gems from the duo's late '65 London sessions as well as oddities like Jeremy's delightfully twisted "Teenage Failure," a flop single for the mop-topped pair. In all, 24 tracks, mostly sunshiney harmony pop& folkrock all worth hearing. An even better C&J collection than any of their "greatest hits" compilations...
The best tracks - Distant Shores, Last Night, You Are She, When Your Love Has Gone, Morning - recall the softer, early Association, early S&G and even the Turtles, all tinged with a certain cream tea and croquet Englishness. The traditional cockney song Sixpence is performed with cutesy added Englishness and feels like a great moment of Lionel Bart. Everyone’s Gone To The Moon emulates the original as does Early Morning Rain. Nice...Here

DAVID AXELROD - PRIDE (WARNER BROS 1970) Remastered reissue

Very rare album by the Electric Prunes arranger who did "Release of an Oath" and "Mass in F Minor". The album has some vocals but is still filled with David's trademark arrangements (guitars / drums /bass /harpsichord /strings etc) and some beautiful psychedelic arrangements throughout.
The Electric Prunes albums are well known, but the Pride album is equally great -- a spare, airy album co-penned with MT Axelrod, and featuring Spanish guitar, vibes, and other sweet instrumental elements amidst the vocals -- all set to gently funky rhythms that echo some of Axelrod's best work at Capitol. Pride titles include "Proud Sorrow", "A Hope", "The Death Of Juan Diaz", "The Truth","In The Wilderness","Worthless Pleasures","Returning Home", and "Song Of The Pirate"...
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TROGGS - THE TROGGS TAPES (PENNY FARTHING 1976) Japan cardboard sleeve remastered

This 1976 album & its 11 tracks is pure Troggs.......
With singer Reg Presley and late drummer Ronnie Bond on board, original producer/manager Larry Page puts together an exciting album which has a simple raw sound, perfect for the new wave. As Larry Uttal's Private Stock label couldn't do much with Blondie, this innovative disc went nowhere as well and the shame of it is that there's some great rock & roll in these grooves. Bassist Tony Murray and co-guitarist Colin Fletcher come up with a decent pop ballad in "After the Rain," while Rufus Thomas' "Walking the Dog" is so primitive that it is too bad the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith didn't get to hear it before they tracked the tune for their respective debut albums. The snarling guitars of Fletcher and Richard Moore create a wonderful platform for Reg Presley's distinctive grunts and growls. Sure, Marc Bolan was the visionary that Reg Presley is not, but with the Troggs having three Top 30 hits to Bolan's one in America, and with quality underground stuff like this, the band should have been able to do more than issue discs for a cult following. Producer Larry Page and guitarist Colin Fletcher come up with a great track in "Gonna Make You," while sea effects on "I'll Buy You an Island," courtesy of the English Channel, is the cool, earthy stuff that made the Troggs such an important fringe band. The back of the LP has a tape box à la the Velvet Underground's Peel Slowly and See, while the front has the group sitting in a mini-mountain of unspooled recording tape.
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TRAFFIC - THE LOW SPARK OF THE HIGH HEELED BOYS (ISLAND 1971) Japan cardboard sleeve SHM-CD + 1bonus

Despite not even charting in the band's native England, this album became a platinum-selling American hit on the basis of three enduring FM radio staples--the expansive, jazzy 12 minute title track, and the more straight forward funk of the R&B charmers "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" and "Rock & Roll Stew." Those disparate tracks perfectly underscore Traffic's rich musical appeal and its restless, sometimes problematic creative and interpersonal relationships. With now thrice-departed Dave Mason out of the mix and percussionists Jim Gordon and Reebop Kwaku Baah participating in the studio for the first time, the band's innate musicality truly takes wing. Winwood's familiar vocal phrasings nearly take a backseat to his fluid, dramatic guitar work on "Rock & Roll Stew Roll" and "Many a Mile to Freedom," while the Tull-ish, folk-madrigal sensibilities of "Hidden Treasure" and "Rainmaker" are further punctuated by Chris Wood's deft flute and woodwind flourishes.
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YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT (COLUMBIA 1968) Japan cardboard sleeve remastered

This soundtrack to a bizarre film from 1968 is an underground classic. The project was spearheaded by John Simon and Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary). Notables making appearances include Tiny Tim (backed by members of The Band, who are uncredited), Hamsa El Din, Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield and The Electric Flag.
You Are What You Eat is one of the few late '60s artifacts which has remained underground in the wake of numerous exploitive revisitations by the pop media usually dispensed in the form of nostalgia. The 1968 cinematic release is a pseudo-documentary dealing with the identity crisis facing the concurrent youth movement as seen through the eyes of its participants. Musically, these include Tiny Tim, Barry McGuire, Peter Yarrow, Hamza el Din, and producer John Simon. The soundtrack, like the film itself, is presented as an unrelenting montage of images. They both feature an editing style reminiscent of the musique concrete compositions found on Frank Zappa's Lumpy Gravy. The music and dialogue on the album likewise hang together much in the same pastiche that the Monkees designed for the soundtrack to their film Head. In other words, an aural onslaught presented à la "theatre of the mind." The disc kicks off with the inimitable pipes of the late great William Roscoe Mercer, better known to New York City radio listeners simply as ROSKO
The distinguished contribution of the Electric Flag's "Freakout" should likewise not be missed. It is a fast hurdy-gurdy blues jam featuring sizzling lead guitar riffs from Michael Bloomfield.
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HOLLYWOOD PERSUADERS - DRUMS A GO-GO (ORIGINAL SOUND 1965) Japan cardboard sleeve remastered

By popular demand Original Sound Records presents this album. DRUMS A GO GO..
The EXCITING FRESH approach of DRUMS & RHYTHM in the foreground.
DRUMS A GO GO was recorded at Original Sound Studios in Hollywood on their exclusive high fidelity,
super stereo,ten track tape machine, which is the invention of the electronic wizard-leader of
The Hollywood Persuaders-Paul Buff,who also wrote many of the compositions contained in this album.
This album makes slow parties "come alive"-and- "live" parties go into orbit...HAVE FUN!
...ORIGINAL LINER NOTES.
.................................
A young FRANK ZAPPA wrote and played on “Grunion Run” (the highlight of the bonus tracks), and he was the engineer/producer for a couple of other songs in this LP.
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THE ROAD TO SALINA - SOUNDTRACK (MOTORS 1970) Remastered reissue

This is a fantastic bizarre soundtrack from Georges Lautner's 1970 mystery-drama La Route de Salina (AKA Road to Salina) featuring songs and music from popular French singer Christophe and French/American/British band 'Clinic' (consisting of Philip Brigham, Phil Trainer and Alan Reeves)
The music is very interesting - Pop tunes interspersed with 60s beat-style instrumentals. An album that becomes more interesting the more you listen to it.
The real gem here is a haunting morriconesque prog nugget with a wordless female vocals choir named "Sunny road to Salina"
One of the most rare French LPs to day.

1. The Girl From Salina.........Christophe
2. Sunshine On You..............Clinic
3. Mississippi..................Clinic
4. If All The City's Watching...Clinic
5. Serenity.....................Clinic
6. The Girl From Salina.........Christophe
7. Cold Water...................Christophe
8. That's Nothing...............Christophe
9. The Road To Salina (Génér.)..Clinic
10. Sunny Road To Salina........Christophe
11. The Chase...................Clinic
12. The Girl From Salina........Christophe
13. Jacqueline..................Clinic
14. Green Dreams................Christophe
15. Red Mountain................Christophe
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DEMON FUZZ - AFREAKA! (DAWN 1971) Japan cardboard sleeve remastered + bonus

This is the great classic long lost British psychedelic funk album by Demon Fuzz.
Demon Fuzz would have been very successful. Sadly, however, the only real success they enjoyed is the fact that many club DJs now use their samples frequently. Although the band played most of the British underground festivals in the early seventies, Demon Fuzz were simply too way-out to make a significant impact on the college crowd and as a result they broke up after 18 months on the scene. Released in 1971 the band’s only album, the extraordinary Afreaka!, demonstrates their excellence in playing psychedelic soul, dub-heavy funk, progressive rock, Afro-jazz and black acid rock. Demon Fuzz these days are amongst the most bootlegged and sampled bands from the early 70s British underground. This re-release, which includes the stunning and rare EP that at the time was released along with the album, tells the band’s full story.
DONT MISS IT!!!!!!!!!
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PROCOL HARUM - BROKEN BARRICADES (CHRYSALIS 1971) Japan cardboard sleeve JVC K2-HD mastering

1971's "Broken Barricades" is Procol Harum's fifth album, with pianist vocalist Gary Brooker & company putting aside the Hammond organ and going even more in a hard rocking direction than on their previous album, "Home" (though "Barricades" still has a pair of softer numbers). The results are awesome, as "Broken Barricades" is yet another winner from this great British band. The album's best-known song, "Simple Sister," remains an all-time Harum favorite, a classic rocker that the band still perform in concert to this day. Other great rockers include guitarist Robin Trower's "Memorial Drive," "Power Failure" (featuring an awesome drum solo by B.J. Wilson), the great rollicking fun of "Playmate Of The Mouth" and Trower's album finale, "Poor Mohammed." The classical-flavored title song is very lovely. "Luskus Delph," despite bizarre lyrics by Keith Reid, also has great power (only an outstanding singer like Gary Brooker could sing a line like "Make me split like chicken fat" and make it sound like poetry), and Trower's "Song For A Dreamer" has a very spacey, mystical feel to it. The performances by Brooker, Trower, Wilson, and bassist Chris Copping are excellent, and the songs are consistently solid from beginning to end.
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STRING CHEESE (WOODEN NICKEL 1970)

Originally released on Wooden Nickel (WNS 1001) in 1971, its a lost gem of a rare beauty. Based in Chicago, the band produced a mellow fusion of West Coast style songs, female vocals, flowing guitar leads and electric violin that has led them to be compared to It’s A Beautiful Day. Despite being released in countries including the UK and France, the album didn’t connect commercially and has languished in undeserved obscurity ever since...A true masterpiece in its kind....

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IRON BUTTERFLY - BALL (ATCO 1969) Japan cardboard sleeve remastered

Following the huge success of their second record, In A Gadda Da Vida, Iron Butterfly scored a second straight Top Five album with Ball. While it didn't have any acid rock freak-out to compare with the epic "In A Gadda Da Vida," Ball was a more ambitious album, as the group had to do with shorter, more melodic songs. Like any Iron Butterfly album, the quality of the material is wildly inconsistent, yet cut for cut, Ball is a more consistent album than their two previous records, as the group trimmed away some of the acid rock excesses of their earlier records while retaining their brutally loud trademark heavy guitars.
About this version: It's maybe the best version out there and a true collector's item...
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ASHKAN - IN FROM THE COLD (DECCA 1969) Japan cardboard sleeve remastered

Ashkan's In from the Cold was the first album released on Decca's progressive Nova label. Co-produced by Peter Sherter and Ian Sippin, much of the album bares an uncanny resemblance to early Spooky Tooth. Propelled by Bailey's hoarse vocal growl and the band's penchant for screaming guitars, this comparison is reinforced on tracks such as "Going Home", "Take These Chains" and "Out Of Us Two". Elsewhere, Bailey sounds like Joe Cocker on "Practically Never Happens", while Bob Weston's "Slightly Country" sounds like it was stolen from the early Steve Winwood and Traffic catalogue. With the exception of the pedestrian blues number, "Backlash Blues", but including the extended "Darkness", the album, is worth hearing. "Practically Never Happens" got a further airing on Broken Dreams, Vol. 6 (LP).
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