FRANKIE MILLER - Full House [UK rock 1977]

Full House is the fourth studio album by Frankie Miller, released in 1977. It features a mix of Miller originals and covers, including a version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy". The Andy Fraser composition "Be Good to Yourself" was issued as a single, and reached No. 27 the UK singles chart, becoming Miller's first chart hit.

A little more funky than most of his albums but overall, this is another fine batch of songs. Of the five originals here, one was co-written by the man who discovered Miller (Robin Trower) and one of the songs was later covered by Lou Ann Barto.

Full

EASY CHAIR - Easy Chair [USA psychedelic 1968]

Easy Chair consisting of just three tracks and less than 20 minutes of music, the Easy Chair's one-sided demo LP is a legendary westcoast artefact. Recorded as early as April 1968, the sound is surprisingly mature and selfconfident, pointing towards the epic-psychedelic style found on 1970s classics such as Bob Smith, D R Hooker and Garrett Lund. 

Easy Chair

DAN CASAMAJOR - My Family [USA folk 1969]

Very cool period piece that beautifully captures the era of college students just starting to look inward, grow their hair and get into "reefer." Very talented guy doing folk and folk-rock, some tracks acoustic and some with sparse electric backing. Would have been right at home on Vanguard and really does deliver the goods. Rare private pressing in great shape. 

Dig the liner notes:

"Dan Casamajor is a sensitive, twenty year old college student from the quiet Northern California community of Chico. His message is so pure and right you just might take a closer look at your own life. Dan has a way of putting into words all the frustrations and restlessness of the inquiring youth of today - - - the youth that no one seems to be able to figure out."

Dan

CHAD & JEREMY - I Don't Want To Lose You Baby [UK pop baroque psych 1965] 2006 Sundazed

Of the many British Invasion acts that stormed the charts in the wake of the Beatles, Chad & Jeremy  possessed a subtlety and sophistication unmatched among their contemporaries, essentially creating the template for the kind of lush, sensitive folk-pop embraced by followers from Nick Drake to Belle & Sebastian. Chad Stuart (born in Windemere, England, on December 10, 1941) and Jeremy Clyde(born March 22, 1941, in Buckinghamshire, England) met while attending London's Central School of Speech and Drama. 

C&J

ELLIE POP - Ellie Pop [USA psychedelic 1968] 2014 Kismet

Released by the Mainstream label, “Ellie Pop” offered little information on the band in terms of liner notes or performance credits. Here’s what you can tell: 1.) judging by the album cover they were a quartet (or an eight piece if they employed the four pigeons), and 2.) brothers S. and R. Dunn were responsible for penning all 12 tracks. Whoever these guys were, they definitely had a thing for Anglo-pop, tracks such as ‘Some Time Ago’ and ‘Caught In the Rain’ literally dripping with Beatles influences.

To many folks that’s probably the kiss of death and in many cases they’d probably be right, but not in this time around. Exemplified by material such as ‘Seven North Frederick’, ‘Seems I’ve Changed’ and ‘Watcha Gonna Do’ (love the “yeah, yeah, yeahs”), the Dunns avoided the usual clichés turning in a wonderful set that was catchy and commercial, but retained an innovative edge that made ever selection worth hearing. One of the few albums we’ve given a five star rating too.

One word of warning; while the set’s occasionally been billed as psychedelic, in spite of isolated distorted guitars and a few oddball time signatures, to our ears it’s simply too mainstream to be considered anything other than pop. Naturally the album vanished without a trace, followed in short order by the band.

By RedTelephone66

Pop

VVAA - Shapes and Shadows - Psychedelic Pop and Other rare flavours from the chapter one vaults 1968-1972 [UK psychedelic 68-72] Grapefruit Records

The psychedelic era, short-lived as it was, produced some of the most memorable tunes of the late Sixties and early Seventies. It also spewed forth a lot of crap. Basically, if you had a flange or wah-wah pedal on your cheap electric guitar, and some decent harmonies from the bassist and keyboard player, you could churn out a great psychedelic song in about half an hour. The lyrics didn’t have to make sense. As long as you were blowing someone’s mind, or singing about blowing someone’s mind, you were set.

Quality psychedelic music, as seen backwards through the beer goggles of time, is hard to find. Some of the good stuff, largely unheard in the States, can be find on the Cherry Red/Grapefruit compilation album, Shapes & Shadows: Psychedelic Pop and Other Rare Flavours from the Chapter One Vaults 1968 – 1972.

The Chapter One label, started by songwriter Les Reed in 1968, was the home for many psychedelic bands, and a lot of the tracks on this album have been highly-sought by collectors of music from that era. To be sure, there are some standout tracks available here.

Shapes & Shadows

SIMON JONES - Melanie And Me [AUSTRALIA psychedelic rock 1975]

‘Melanie & Me’ was a promotional tool used for a movie shot by director Chris Fitchett in Australia in 1975. Pressed in an edition of 100 copies, it was handed out to people who partook in the film, and who attended the only screening to date in Sydney. Used as the background music for the entire movie, this was actually the second version of the soundtrack, recorded last minute by Simon Jones as Chris wasn’t happy with the original. The result had become one of the most sought after releases from the Aussie scene, and one of the most obscure records from the region as well. Beautiful psychedelic folk rock with a combination of male and female vocals, fuzz guitars and organ solos, this won’t disappoint.

Simon Jones

THE HEAD - Still nothing to do in a town like leatherhead [UK 1979-81] 2008 Detour

Neither really punks nor mods, The Head (1979-82) were “local heroes” not blessed with masses of ability and natural talent. That said, their combination of droll humour and two-fingered Farfisa organ hooks on songs about their hometown, how their girlfriends fancied Billy Idol and how drugs were uncool have a certain amateurish charm. If you remember that Vaultage ’78 sound or Leamington Spa’s The Shapes, then this may appeal. Detour is a fine label, full of love and dedication to its roster of bands from yesteryear, but sadly this is not on a par with previous releases.

HEAD