JOKERS WILD - Liquid Giraffe [USA garage hard psych 1967-69] Shadoks Music 159

Heavy underground rock with great composed songs, fuzz guitars, speedy drums and tight bass lines.

If you think The Litter is the one you should listen to Jokers Wild.

Demo 6 songs

YA HO WA 13 - Ya Ho Wa 13 [USA 1974]

Ya Ho Wha 13 a.k.a. Ya Ho Wa 13 were formed in 1969 in the Los Angeles area by one of the most eccentric freaks of the time, a middle-aged beatnik called Jim Baker who believed himself a god and went by the nickname of Father Yod. Their extreme psychedelic sound, that employed tribal drums and distorted guitars in a deliberately childish manner (all unrehearsed live and with no overdubs, editing or design), was the ultimate product of the hippie era.

The band (tighly related to Father Yod' religious cult, the "Source", and to a vegetarian restaurant located in Hollywood) frequently changed name to The Savage Sons of Yahowha, Yodship, Fire Water Air, Spirit of 76, but the key players were always the same (Djin Aquarian on guitar, Octavious Aquarian on drums, Sunflower Aquarian on bass, and occasionally Sky Saxon of the Seeds).

Ya Ho Wa

BILL NELSON - Northern Dream [UK 1971]

Recorded on rudimentary equipment at Holyground studios in Wakefield in 1971. One of the first truly independently produced albums to be released in Britain, the album featured wonderful compositions such as Everyone’s Hero, End of the Seasons, Love’s a Way and Smiles . Championed by John Peel, the album paved the way for Bill’s future career with his bands Be Bop Deluxe and Red Noise and for his highly regarded solo career.

Bill

Mushroom - Cream of Mushroom [1998]

MUSHROOM are a music collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area, known for an ever-changing lineup of rotating players. Alec Palao (bass), multi-instrumentalist Erik Pearson and drummer Patrick O'Hearn aka Pat Thomas shape the band's core since the beginning in the late 1990s. In collaboration with Graham Connah (keyboards), Tim Plowman (guitar) and Kurt Statham (bass) the first album 'Alive And In Full Bloom' was recorded around 1997/98 and released by Inbetweens Records. 

'Never make the same album twice' - this seems to be the band's motto up to now. So their huge musical output is basically derived from improvisational sessions comprising a thrilling blend of styles in total. Where acid psych folk is the fundament, they often combine this with jazzy respectively canterbury moments reminiscent to Gong/Daevid Allen and Miles Davis. Mostly provided with a trippy atmosphere the albums can be considered as really special. The rich instrumentation includes diverse ethno percussion instruments. Due to the band's experimental attitude they are even sometimes classified as a krautrock outfit. 

Appearing one year later 'Analog Hi-Fi Surprise' is frequently considered as their discog highlight. MUSHROOM's latest production 'Naked, Stoned & Stabbed' was released by UK label 4Zero Records. Ned Doherty (bass), Matt Cunitz (keyboards), Dave Brandt (percussion) and Josh Pollock (guitar, electronics) are additionally aboard this time to produce another relaxed album holding a great deal of improvisation. 

MUSHROOM are worth remarking if you like to enjoy psych music which is presented off the beaten path.

MUSHROOM

Billy - One Way Jesus [1971]

Big strides forward as Billy’s bunch aims more for a low-tech garage band sound with Southern leanings ala Mylon’s We Believe. Mostly self-composed this time, the centerpiece being side two’s epic 17-minute ‘One Way Theme’, an ambitious piece with progressive overtones and Tommy flourishes that begins and ends with Chicago’s intro to ‘Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?’. That track affords Billy opportunity for heavier skin pounding, not to mention some decent sections of guitar jamming and fuzz action. More raw fuzz can be found on the opening basement rocker ‘He’ll Show You Love’ and a soulful cover of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ (the Joe Cocker version, with lyric changes). Also some quieter songs, including ‘Reflections (The Ballad Of Billy Blackwood)’. Female backup singers helping him out here and there. Incredibly cheap-o cover photo of Billy in big yard pointing finger up. (The Archivist, 4th edition by Ken Scott).

Billy

SPOONER Every Corner Dance [1982]

Although obscure and overlooked during their tenure together, the late-'70s/early-'80s rock band Spooner became best-known years later as the launching pad for guitarist Duke Erikson and drummer Butch Vig of Garbage fame. The group (which also included members Dave Benton on guitar and vocals, Joel Tappero on bass, and Jeff Walker on keyboards) hailed from Madison, WI, and issued a total of three recordings -- 1978's The Fugitive Dance and Wildest Dreams, plus 1982's Every Corner Dance -- before splitting up. Erikson and Vig decided to stick together, launching another largely ignored outfit in the late '80s, Fire Town, which lasted for a pair of releases. Vig concentrated on producing alt-rock artists for the early part of the '90s (overseeing such classics as Nirvana's landmark Nevermind, Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Siamese Dream, plus Sonic Youth's Dirty, among others). But eventually, he re-teamed with Erikson and the duo hooked up with singer Shirley Manson and bassist Steve Marker to launch the successful alt-pop outfit Garbage in the mid-'90s. Years after disbanding, a two-for-one release was issued, which included the group's second and third releases together, expectedly titled Wildest Dreams/Every Corner Dance.

Spooner