viernes, 26 de julio de 2013

THE FRAYS - 90 Wardour Street [UK 1965]


In 1964 The Sneekers, released a 45 on the Columbia label Bald Headed Woman which was produced by Shel Talmy, and it was The Sneekers that The Who (as The High Numbers) had played with at the start of their run of Tuesday nights at the Marquee Club, which would become the stuff of Maximum R&B legend.
In 1965 they changed their name to The Frays and recorded an LP that was never issued. However, the holy grail of British Rhythm and Blues survived on one single acetate. With the exception of the song titles the only other information on the disc labels were the words, “The Frays, Marquee Club”.
At the time the recording was made The Frays were Brian Howard on vocals and harmonica, Johnny Patto on guitar, Clive Howse on bass and Barry Gilford on drums. They recorded the 12-track album presented here at the Marquee Studios, which were situated behind the club. It secured a deal with Decca Records. The Frays’ first release for the label was Walk On backed with the stunning group original Keep Me Covered, both of which are included here.

The Frays

miércoles, 24 de julio de 2013

NIKKI SUDDEN & THE JACOBITES - Texas [UK 1986]


English singer-songwriter and guitarist, born 19 July 1956 in London, England, UK and died 26 March 2006 in New York, USA.
Together with his brother, Epic Soundtracks, Nikki Sudden formed what was to become Swell Maps, releasing 4 singles and 2 albums on Rough Trade (UK) between 1977 and their break up in 1980. All these releases hit #1 in the UK Independent Charts. Swell Maps are remembered, particularly by similarly minded US based bands such as Sonic Youth, as pioneering exponents of the 'DIY Punk' school.
Sudden then began a solo career making two albums 'Waiting On Egypt' and 'The Bible Belt' before joining up with Birmingham guitarist, Dave Kusworth. The pair formed the Jacobites in 1983, going on to make two albums, 'Jacobites' and 'Robespierre’s Velvet Basement', the latter reaching No. 1 in the German Independent Charts. This tied in with their first German tour which lead to Sudden relocating there.
When the Jacobites split in 1986, Sudden returned to his solo career with Creation Records, releasing five solo albums over the next five years: 'Texas', 'Dead Men Tell No Tales', 'Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc' (with Rowland S. Howard), 'Groove' and a compilation, 'Back To The Coast'. 


Nikki

lunes, 15 de julio de 2013

THE UNTAMED YOUTH - Since You Went Away [USA 1998] single

The Untamed Youth were a mid-1980s garage rock group from Columbia, MO, led by Deke Dickerson, who is best known as the frontman for Deke Dickerson & the Eccofonics. The Untamed Youth first performed in Columbia at local club The Blue Note in January 1987, and quickly started playing locations throughout the United States between the years 1988–1993. The group disbanded in August 1993, but later reformed for a European tour in 1996 and to record two studio albums for both the Estrus and Norton labels in 1997 and 1998 respectively. The Youth were primarily a surf/frat rock band known for their wild stage antics such as spraying the audience with cans of beer and for their self-deprecating sense of humor (most notably to be found on their last album for Norton, 'Youth Runs Wild'). All this, while holding a true reverence for their influences… ”the gods whose grooves they hammer home are the stars on a hundred forgotten 45's, their sacred texts 'Surfin Hearse and 'Go Go Ferrari'. They're best live, but their Nineties LPs 'Some Kinda Fun' and More Gone Gassers (Norton) surge with power; do not run other appliances when playing these in your home”. While their live shows were generally hard-edged, their albums are notably well-produced and arranged particularly their early Norton work, which was produced by Billy Miller of Norton Records and Andy Shernoff of The Dictators. These early Norton albums “capture(d) the supercharged atmosphere created whenever the Untamed Youth filled a teen club or tavern”. Despite considerable local success and strong critical acclaim (including album reviews in Goldmine, Alternative Press, and Maximum Rock & Roll), the band followed many of their garage rock brethren into obscurity due to the (at the time) limited appeal of 1960’s retro music. However, as has often been the case with bands of this genre, the Youth gradually acquired a cult status as is evidenced by their reuniting recently for festivals in both the U.S. and Europe. The band's first albums, "Some Kinda Fun" and "More Gone Gassers" are now highly sought after collector’s items on vinyl.

Youth

sábado, 6 de julio de 2013

RUNNING STREAM - same [ITA 1985]


1985 fantastic album Italy (Trieste) garage psychedelic band.

Running Stream.

viernes, 5 de julio de 2013

THE STEPPES - Harps & Hammers [USA 1990] Voxx Records



If you are an alternative/sixties rock fan than this album should be a blessing. The songs range from dark ,haunting melodies to upbeat and heavy sixties style garage rock without ever resorting to tacky lyrics or boring sound-alike melodies.The songs are diverse and well crafted,each one sounding unlike the other.This was the Steppes final album and also their best,although there wasn't a bad album in their entire cataloge.Definatly a band worth tracking down. 

The Steppes