JOHN ENTWISTLE - WHISTLE RYMES (TRACK 1972) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 4 bonus

After making a surprisingly effective debut with Smash Your Head Against the Wall, Who bassist John Entwistle consolidated his solo success with Whistle Rymes. Like its predecessor, this album combines catchy, straightforward, pop-tinged rock with dark, often bitingly sarcastic lyrics; good examples include "Thinking It Over," a witty, waltz-styled tune about a potential suicide having second thoughts while preparing to jump off a building, and "Who Cares," a punchy, piano-driven rocker about a man who deals with the problems of life by refusing to take it seriously. However, Entwistle's finest achievement in this respect is "I Feel Better," a devastatingly sarcastic tune that features the singer putting down an ex-lover by listing all the things all the things he does to get back at her. Viciously witty yet full of emotion, this poison-pen gem ranks up there with Harry Nilsson's "You're Breaking My Heart" as one of rock's ultimate post-breakup songs. Whistle Rymes further benefits from a stylish production job by Entwistle that judiciously adds extra instrumental layers to the album's basic rock style to subtly broaden its sonic palette; for instance, "Thinking It Over" is anchored by a thick synthesizer bassline and "I Wonder" allows Entwistle to indulge his skill with brass instruments by overdubbing himself into a virtual big band brass section. It's also interesting to note that this album features a pre-solo fame Peter Frampton turning in some searing guitar riffs throughout the disc. All in all, Whistle Rymes is an entertaining and consistent rock album that balances energy with ambition. It may be a little too dark and eccentric for the general listener, but is well worth the time for any hardcore Who fan.
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CAROL GRIMES & DELIVERY - FOOLS MEETING (B&C 1970) Korean limited original cover art digipack reissue

Founded in 1966 as Bruno's Blues Band by guitarist Phil Miller, his elder brother, pianist Steve Miller, drummer Pip Pyle and bassist Jack Monck, the band gigged around London for a few years. In 1968, saxophonist Lol Coxhill joined them, and the band's name was changed to Steve Miller's Delivery. In 1969, the band teamed up with blues singer Carol Grimes and bassist Roy Babbington replaced Monck. The resulting line-up recorded and released one album: Fools Meeting. Although Grimes wanted to appear as a band member, the record company released the album under "Carol Grimes and Delivery". In 1971, Pyle left the band to join Gong and was replaced by Laurie Allan (who also later joined Gong). Soon after that, the band broke up.[wiki]
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Delivery was formed during the British blues boom of the late '60s. However, its sound is jazzier and more progressive than most of the music that emanated from that era. Rhythm & blues serves as a springboard for forward-looking tracks like "Blind to Your Light" and "Harry Lucky." Singer Carol Grimes is frequently compared to Janis Joplin. While Grimes has a powerful voice, she does not reach the level of histrionics that were a showcase of Joplin's. It should come as no surprise that Delivery members joined Canterbury related bands upon Delivery's demise. The reissue CD of Fools Meeting features several live bonus tracks, as well as a post-breakup demo recording featuring Caravan bassist Richard Sinclair. That demo session, one of the highlights of the collection, spurred the musicians to form Hatfield and the North. Fools Meeting is an essential part of any Canterbury collection, and should also appeal to progressive jazz fans. Jim Powers [All Music]
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MONTE DUNN & KAREN CRUZ - MONTE DUNN & KAREN CRUZ (CYCLONE 1969)

Though this rare LP isn't notable, it's a nice enough slice of period folk-rock with some country influence; the material on the cusp between the folk-rock and singer/songwriter era. Some cuts, like "Never in My Life," have an understated pop-folk-rock touch with an appealing sense of longing, somewhat haunting melodies, and harmonic blends putting Cruz's clear, high voice against Dunn's slightly contrasting, earthier tones. Cruz scats along in a medieval manner like an American Jacqui McShee at points in "Order to Things." In a different mood, songs like "You Don't Smile Much" burble along with a country hoedown swing, complete with fiddle; "Loving You" has an almost bossa nova sway; "Yellow Cab" has a mid-'60s bluesy New York folk-rock feel, as if it dates from somewhat earlier than the rest of the album; and "So Much Loving" comes closest to a folk-rock-rooted California country-rock sound. The highlight is "Tip of My Mind," in which the harmonies really attain a rich, melancholy pungency. As such folk-rock collectibles go, it's certainly more musically diverse than most, and thus slightly above average within its niche.[allmusic]
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BRIAN AUGER & THE TRINITY - OPEN (MARMALADE 1968) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 4 bonus

From the outgrowth of Steampacket, a band that included not only Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll, but also a young Rod Stewart, came Auger and Driscoll's collective effort that produced two albums. When Driscoll left in 1969 to pursue a solo career, Auger, drummer Clive Thacker, and bassist Dave Ambrose continued as Brian Auger & the Trinity. Open has been unfairly characterized as a kind of groove jazz rip, one that combines Wes Montgomery, Jimmy McGriff, and the rock sensibilities of the psychedelic era. Whatever. There are many tracks here, from deep grooved funky jazz to lilting ballads and greasy blues numbers and the skronky exotica number "Goodbye Jungle Telegraph." Auger may not have been as gifted an organist as Alan Price technically, but he could more than hold his own on the Hammond B-3 (as evidenced by the first two tracks here which are instrumentals, "In And Out" and "Isola Nate"). He was also able to pull more sounds out of the instrument than any of his peers. Auger wasn't much of a vocalist, but he could dig deep and get the emotion out of a song -- especially in a funky number like "Black Cat," which featured a killer though uncredited studio horn section. Driscoll's contributions are all on the second half of the album, beginning with the shuffling choogle of Lowell Fulsom's "Tramp," continuing through a moving reading of Pops Staples' "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)," two Auger originals, and concluding in a reading of Donovan's "Season of the Witch" that single-handedly established her reputation as a vocalist of great interpretative ability and emotional dexterity. Almost eight minutes in length, it is the perfect interplay for the quartet with its dark, smoky swirling energy and extant soul groove, and capos the album on a high note, making it a delightful precursor to the classic Streetnoise which was to follow.[allmusic]
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THE ELECTRIC FLAG - A LONG TIME COMIN' (COLUMBIA 1968) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 4 bonus

BY REQUEST
Writer Jeff Tamarkin says "ex Butterfield Band guitarist Mike Bloomfield, drummer Buddy Miles, and others put this soul-rock band together in 1967. This debut is a testament to their ability to catch fire and keep on burnin'." That The Electric Flag do so well -- they appeared at the Monterey International Pop Festival with the Blues Project, Paul Butterfield, and Janis Joplin, and all these groups had some musical connection to each other beyond that pivotal festival. A Long Time Comin' is the "new soul" described appropriately enough by the late critic Lillian Roxon, and tunes like "She Should Have Just" and "Over-Lovin' You" lean more towards the soul side than the pop so many radio listeners were attuned to back then. Nick Gravenites was too much of a purist to ride his blues on the Top 40 the way Felix Cavaliere gave us "Groovin'," so Janis Joplin's eventual replacement in Big Brother & the Holding Company, Gravenites, and this crew pour out "Groovin' Is Easy" on this disc. It's a classy production, intellectual ideas with lots of musical changes, a subdued version of what Joplin herself would give us on I Got Dem Ole Kozmic Blues Again, Mama two years later, with some of that album written by vocalist Gravenites. Though launched after Al Kooper's the Blues Project, A Long Time Comin' itself influenced bands who would go on to sell more records. In the traditional "Wine," it is proclaimed "you know Janis Joplin, she'll tell you all about that wine, baby." As good as the album is, though, the material is pretty much composed by Mike Bloomfield and Barry Goldberg, when they're not covering Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" and adding spoken-word news broadcasts to the mix."Sittin' in Circles" opens like the Doors' "Riders on the Storm," the keyboards as well as the sound effects, and a hook of "hey little girl" which would resurface as the title of a Nick Gravenites tune on the aforementioned follow-up disc, where Gravenites and Miles did pick up the songwriting slack, Bloomfield having wandered off to Super Session with the Blues Project's Al Kooper. Amazing stuff all in all, which could eventually comprise a boxed set of experimental blues rock from the mid- to late sixties.[allmusic]
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BLOOMFIELD/HAMMOND/DR. JOHN - TRIUMVIRATE (COLUMBIA 1973) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 2 bonus

BY REQUEST
These guys may or may not have gotten together in a cynical attempt to create a roots music supergroup, but their sole album is in fact a lot better than its lack of commercial success might suggest. Each member has a signature specialty--Hammond's in country blues, Bloomfield's at the more modern Chicago variety, with Dr. John the epitome of New Orleans second-line R&B piano--and the material is split accordingly. Hammond, however, is the designated frontman and he's up to the task, although Dr. John's evocatively gruff vocals are missed. Among the highpoints are a sensitive reading of the blues classic "It Hurts Me Too," with terrific horn charts and strong soloing by Bloomfield, and a spooky version of John Lee Hooker's "Groundhog Blues," which has the distinction of being the one song here where all three styles are convincingly meshed.[net]
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JOHN COMPTON'S "APPALOOSA" NEW ALBUM SOON...

I recently received an e-mail from Mr. John Compton member of the great late sixties "APPALOOSA" band, for the promotion of his music -- "Appaloosa" & his personal "To Luna 1972" album -- here in my blog. (see archives)
There are some great news from this legendary band but I guess it's better to read the e-mail below:
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Hello Georgie!
I am writing to thank you for creating a post for my 'To Luna' LP
on your Small Town Pleasures Blog.
My band Appaloosa has reformed and is presently recording our follow-up record.

News:
I have suggested to Raven Records (Australia) that they consider reissuing our Compton & Batteau 'In California'
LP. (Collector's Choice Music recently passed on the reissue suggestion)
Feel free to ask some people to send emails to Raven Records saying "Please reissue Compton & Batteau"
Here are the names and emails to people at Raven Records:

kevin@ravenrecords.com.au
ian@ravenrecords.com.au
peter@ravenrecords.com.au

In closing, please find below rough mixes of two tracks form Appaloosa's forthcoming yet untitled CD:
Bill Elliott who played keyboards on 'Compton & Batteau' and 'To Luna' will be adding his amazing piano parts.
Daivd Reiser will also be adding his great bass playing.
December Rain MP3
I Forgot To Ask Your Name MP3

Thanks again for helping to promote our music.
Keep up the good work!
Best,
John

John Parker Compton aka Appaloosa
Vermont (USA)

Website

WOOZY VIPER (NEW GARAGE-ROCK BAND FROM N.Y.)

I received an e-mail from these guys to listen to their album...
I can say it's a pretty good album & if I can describe it I could say something between early Velvets & Stooges or something like that...I'm sure you 'll like it!
Here is the e-mail:
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"We like your blog.
We are a new band.
We want you to listen to our music."
You can download our debut album for free here:
www.woozyviper.com
Or you can listen on myspace:
www.myspace.com/woozyviper
If you like it tell a friend.
Thank you for your time.
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INFORMATION:
Band name: Woozy Viper
Genre: Rock & Roll
Band members: Luke Meseke, Mitch Meseke
Location: New York City
From: Junction City, Kansas

Album name: Woozy Viper
Release date: 11/30/2009
Album length: 36:29
Track listing:
1. Look Out!
2. Rent
3. Come Over
4. One Of These Days
5. Whoa Baby
6. Dirty Rat
7. Speaking In Tongues
8. Alright
9. King Kong
10. Love Scented Candles
11. The Switchblade Swing
12. It's All Over

Website:
www.woozyviper.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/woozyviper

BRIAN AUGER & THE TRINITY - DEFINITELY WHAT? (MARMALADE 1968) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 3 bonus

Brian Auger was raised in London, where he took up the keyboards as a child and began to hear jazz by way of the American Armed Forces Network and an older brother's record collection. By his teens, he was playing piano in clubs, and by 1962 he had formed the Brian Auger Trio with bass player Rick Laird and drummer Phil Knorra. In 1964, he won first place in the categories of "New Star" and "Jazz Piano" in a reader's poll in the Melody Maker music paper, but the same year he abandoned jazz for a more R&B-oriented approach and expanded his group to include John McLaughlin (guitar) and Glen Hughes (baritone saxophone) as the Brian Auger Trinity. This group split up at the end of 1964, and Auger moved over to Hammond B-3 organ, teaming with bass player Rick Brown and drummer Mickey Waller. After a few singles, he recorded his first LP on a session organized to spotlight blues singer Sonny Boy Williamson that featured his group, saxophonists Joe Harriott and Alan Skidmore, and guitarist Jimmy Page; it was Don't Send Me No Flowers, released in 1968.
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By mid-1965, Auger's band had grown to include guitarist Vic Briggs and vocalists Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, and Julie Driscoll, and was renamed Steampacket. More a loosely organized musical revue than a group, Steampacket lasted a year before Stewart and Baldry left and the band split. Auger retained Driscoll and brought in bass player Dave Ambrose and drummer Clive Thacker to form a unit that was billed as Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity. Their first album, Open, was released in 1967 on Marmalade Records (owned by Auger's manager, Giorgio Gomelsky), but they didn't attract attention on record until the release of their single, "This Wheel's on Fire," in the spring of 1968, which preceded the appearance of the song on the Band's Music from Big Pink album. The disc hit the top five in the U.K., after which Open belatedly reached the British charts. Auger and the Trinity recorded the instrumental album Definitely What! (1968) without Driscoll, then brought her back for the double-LP, Streetnoise (1968), which reached the U.S. charts on Atco Records shortly after a singles compilation, Jools & Brian, gave them their American debut on Capitol in 1969. Driscoll quit during a U.S. tour, but the Trinity stayed together long enough to record Befour (1970), which charted in the U.S. on RCA Records, before disbanding in July 1970...
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BOBBY VINTON - MR. LONELY (EPIC 1964) Jap DSD mastering cardboard sleeve

BY REQUEST
Every era needs its crooner, and in the early '60s, it was Bobby Vinton. Vinton's sentimental balladeering and orchestral, middle-of-the-road arrangements were a throwback to a decade earlier, before rock & roll had found its mass market. If Vinton is sometimes identified with a rock & roll audience, it's only because his music was bought by young listeners for a time, and because he still catches some airplay on oldies stations. What he sang was vocal pop, landing some of the biggest hits of the early '60s with "Roses Are Red (My Love)," "Blue on Blue," "There! I've Said It Again," "Mr. Lonely," and "Blue Velvet," the last of which has become his signature song in the wake of its notorious prominence in David Lynch's Blue Velvet.
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Vinton originally aspired to lead a big band, and made big band versions of contemporary hits on his first recordings in the early '60s. When he began singing, however, he was quickly successful, reaching number one with "Roses Are Red (My Love)" in mid-1962. The syrupy, saccharine arrangements set the mold for his emotional, occasionally mournful hits throughout the early '60s. 1963 was his banner year, as he hit number three with "Blue on Blue," and then topped the charts with "Blue Velvet" and "There! I've Said It Again."
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"There! I've Said It Again" was knocked out of the number one spot by the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand." But the British Invasion, surprisingly, didn't spell commercial death for Vinton, as it did for so many other balladeers and teen idols. Indeed, he had one of his biggest hits (and his final number one), the sobbing "Mr. Lonely," in late 1964.[allmusic]
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DION - RUBY BABY (COLUMBIA 1963) Jap DSD mastering cardboard sleeve

...BY REQUEST
When Dion began recording in the late '50s, it was as the lead singer of a group of friends who sang on Bronx street corners. Billing themselves as Dion & the Belmonts (Dion had released a previous single with the Timberlanes), their first few records were prime Italian-American doo wop; "I Wonder Why" was their biggest hit in this style. His biggest single with the Belmonts was "A Teenager in Love," which pointed the way for the slightly self-pitying, pained odes to adolescence and early adulthood that would characterize much of his solo work.
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Dion went solo in 1960 (the Belmonts did some more doo wop recordings on their own), moving from doo wop to more R&B/pop-oriented tunes with great success. He handled himself with a suave, cocky ease on hits like "The Wanderer," "Runaround Sue," "Lovers Who Wander," "Ruby Baby," and "Donna the Prima Donna," which cast him as either the jilted, misunderstood youngster or the macho lover, capable of handling anything that came his way (on "The Wanderer" especially).
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In 1963, Dion moved from Laurie to the larger Columbia label, an association that started promisingly with a couple of big hits right off the bat, "Ruby Baby" and "Donna the Prima Donna." By the mid-'60s, his heroin habit (which he'd developed as a teenager) was getting the best of him, and he did little recording and performing for about five years. When he did make it into the studio, he was moving in some surprisingly bluesy directions; although much of it was overlooked or unissued at the time, it can be heard on the Bronx Blues reissue CD.[allmusic]
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MC5 - BACK IN THE USA (ATLANTIC 1970) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve

The MC5 had a promising beginning which earned them a cover appearance on Rolling Stone magazine in 1969 even before their debut album was released. They developed a reputation for energetic and polemical live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1968 debut album "Kick Out The Jams". Their initial run was ultimately short-lived, though within just a few years of their dissolution in 1972, the MC5 were often cited as one of the most important American hard rock groups of their era. Their three albums are regarded by many as classics, and their song "Kick Out the Jams" is widely covered.
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While lacking the monumental impact of "Kick Out the Jams", the MC5's second album is in many regards their best and most influential, its lean, edgy sound anticipating the emergence of both the punk and power pop movements to follow later in the decade. Bookended by a pair of telling covers -- Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." -- the disc is as much a look back at rock & roll's origins as it is a push forward into the music's future; given the Five's vaunted revolutionary leanings, for instance, it's both surprising and refreshing to discover the record's emotional centerpiece is a doo wop-inspired ballad, "Let Me Try," that's the most lovely and gentle song in their catalog. The recurring theme which drives Back in the USA is adolescence, its reminiscences alternately fond and embittered -- while cuts like "Tonight," "Teenage Lust," "High School," and "Shakin' Street" celebrate youth in all its rebellious glory, others like "The American Ruse" and "The Human Being Lawnmower" condemn a system which eats its young, filling their heads with lies before sending them off to war. Equally gripping is the record's singular sound -- produced by Jon Landau with an almost complete disregard for the bottom end, Back in the USA captures a live-wire intensity 180 degrees removed from the group's live sound yet perfectly suited to the material at hand, resulting in music which not only salutes the power of rock & roll but also reaffirms it.
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MIKE BLOOMFIELD/AL KOOPER/STEVE STILLS - SUPER SESSION (COLUMBIA 1968) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 4 bonus

BY REQUEST...
"Super Session" grew out of a single nine hour jam in 1968 by guitarists Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield and multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper. Kooper and Bloomfield had both previously worked in support of Bob Dylan, in concert and appearing on his ground-breaking classic, Highway 61 Revisited.
Kooper, fresh from having assembled and recorded the inaugural incarnation of Blood, Sweat & Tears, booked two days of studio time with Bloomfield in May 1968 in Los Angeles. They recruited keyboardist Barry Goldberg and bassist Harvey Brooks, both members of the band that Bloomfield was in the process of leaving, Electric Flag, and well-known session drummer "Fast" Eddie Hoh. On the first day the quintet recorded the first side of the album, tracks one through five of the CD version; the next day, Bloomfield, who was a heroin addict, abruptly disappeared after suffering an attack of what was euphemistically referred to as "chronic insomnia." Kooper hastily called on Stephen Stills to sit in for Bloomfield on what would become the second side of the album, tracks six through nine, including a lengthy cover version of Donovan's "Season of the Witch."
Some overdubbed horns were later added while the album was being mixed, which were eventually subtracted from the bonus tracks on this CD version. The album, which cost just $13,000 to make, was a top-20 hit which garnered a Gold Record award. Kooper forgave Bloomfield, and the two of them made several concert appearances after the album was released. One of these concerts was made into the live album "The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper".
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THE SUMMER SOUNDS - UP DOWN (LAUREL 1969)

Mega rare album from the Dartmouth, Massachusetts fivepiece outfit which was released originally on the Laurel label (Laurel 331098) in 1969.Up-Down is an album of largely self-penned material (only 2 covers, one of which is a strong version of The Spencer Davis Group’s hit, Gimme Some Lovin’) with The Leaves Are Turning Brown, complete with cheesy psych organ and wonderfully earnest vocals, is the stand out track!
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Up-Down is a beat-garage concept album detailing the highs and lows of a summer vocation romance, with, as you would expect, loads of moody teenage angst and lashings of self pity. The songs are all catchy, and there are a couple of good ballads.Summer Sounds was one of the best groups of its genre and consequently a number of the band’s tunes have been comp’d, although this is the first time that this album, with it’s ultra cool cover, has been reissued.
Track Listing: 1. Small World 2. Hard To Please 3. Lonely Beach 4. Gimme Some Lovin’ 5. One Last Kiss 6. The Leaves Are Turning Brown 7. Summer 8. I Love You 9. First Date 10. You Told Me...
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CLIFF RICHARD - DYNAMITE (ODEON 1965) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 6 bonus

Born October 14, 1940, Lucknow, India. Britain's most successful home-grown pop star (though born in India, his parents were British) first came to fame in 1958 with his debut disc "Move It", a rock 'n' roll number in the Elvis Presley mould. However, like Elvis himself, Cliff's output quickly settled down into a string of inoffensive, largely middle-of-the-road recordings, while his squeaky clean, teen-heart-throb image was put to use in a series of exuberant, innocent, and thinly-plotted film musicals including "The Young Ones" (1962) and "Summer Holiday" (1963).
The late '70s saw him surprisingly re-invented as a mildly-heavy rocker, and he finally achieved the US recognition that had eluded him for so long when "Devil Woman" reached the top ten there. In 1979 he released "We Don't Talk Anymore", which became his biggest-selling single worldwide, and more hits followed. In 1983, he marked his 25th anniversary in the business with a retrospective album "Silver" and new material in unusual styles...
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