Bad Company - Straight Shooter [Japanese Ed.] (1975)

Year: March 28, 1975 (CD March 7, 2007)
Label: Warner Music Inc. (Japan), WPCR-12543
Style: Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 38:46
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 272 Mb

Charts: UK #3, AUS #8, CAN #3, FRA #3, GER #47, NDL #19, NOR #6, NZ #13, US #3. CAN & UK: Gold; US: 3x Platinum.
"Where Bad Company was stark, minimalist hard rock, Straight Shooter bears lots of different, vibrant colours: acoustic guitars are used for light and shade, guitars are channelled through chorus pedals, pianos and organs alternate with the occasional wash of strings, and the entire thing feels bigger and bolder than before." (AllMusic)
"Forsaking the constant thunder-thudding drone motif of ’74 in favour of a more textured approach, the group uses subdued acoustic guitar and tight vocal harmonies during most of the verses, saving the harsh electrical shocks for the head-slamming choruses. It’s a relatively simple 'calm before the storm' setup, but Bad Company milks it for all its effectiveness." (Rolling Stone)
"This rocks even more consistently than Bad Co., but to argue that it epitomizes hard rock as a style is not only to overlook its deliberate speed but to believe in one's (usually male) heart that Paul Rodgers is the ideal rock singer. You hear that a lot; what it seems to mean is that he doesn't shriek when he gets to the loud parts. Rodgers's power is no more interesting than Tom Jones's, and Jones is twice as subtle. If hard rock doesn't have more to offer, it's not worth arguing about." (Robert Christgau)

01. Good Lovin' Gone Bad (03:37)
02. Feel Like Makin' Love (05:16)
03. Weep No More (04:02)
04. Shooting Star (06:19)
05. Deal With The Preacher (05:04)
06. Wild Fire Women (04:35)
07. Anna (03:45)
08. Call On Me (06:05)

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Bad Company - Bad Company (1974)

Year: May 24, 1974 (CD 2000)
Label: Swan Song (Germany), 7567-92441-2
Style: Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 34:51
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 231 Mb

Charts: UK #3, AUS #6, CAN #1, GER #45, NOR #17, NZ #27, US #1. UK: Gold; US: 5x Platinum.
Any man who lacks the testicles to award a perfect ten to the first Bad Company album might as well start wearing a little nametag that says "pansy." This is essential redneck rock; take it from me - I grew up in Georgia. Yeeeeee-hooooo! These songs - simple, mindless, macho statements of sexual longing and rebellion for the hell of it - will continue to flood classic rock stations until the end of the 27th century because they were made for classic rock radio. No frills. No cleverness. Just distorted guitar, bass, drums, and a white guy with a fantastic, underbearing voice kickin' it home without putting too much thought into it.
The hits? "Can't Get Enough," "Rock Steady," "Ready For Love," "Bad Company," and "Movin' On," dark and light, dumb and dumber, and they all, every one, make you wanna whip your penis out and shake it around like a man would. Plus, they show their tender sensitive side with the two should-have-been-hits "Seagull" and "Don't Let Me Down." And yeah, "The Way I Choose" kinda sucks, but still - a TEN, goddammit, a TEN. An essential '70s pre-punk document.
(markprindle.com/badcoa.htm#bad)

01. Can't Get Enough (04:16)
02. Rock Steady (03:47)
03. Ready For Love (05:02)
04. Don't Let Me Down (04:21)
05. Bad Company (04:50)
06. The Way I Choose (05:05)
07. Movin' On (03:24)
08. Seagull (04:02)

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Ten Years After - Stonedhenge [4 bonus tracks] (1969)

Year: 7 February 1969 (CD 2002)
Label: Deram Records (Germany), 8828982
Style: Blues Rock, Classic Rock
Country: Nottingham, England
Time: 62:28
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 327 Mb

Alvin Lee’s diciples of steel are well known for their heavy, row sound live as evidenced in “Goin’ Home” performed at Woodstock ’69. Although when listening to this album the careful explorer would notice half of the tunes are semi acoustic, even so avant-garde, they precede what’s on the cornerstone jazz-rock platter, M. Davis — ‘Bitches Brew’, released that same year. So rocker Lee’s still a non recognized trailblazer, leading the symbiosis of both genres at that time. “I Can’t Live Without Lydia” is a classic jazz piano piece dominated by the skilful fingers of Chick Churchill, echoing ragtime. “Woman Trouble” sees Lee in a Wes Montgomery mould thus long ahead of what John McLaughlin could express with Mahavishnu the next year. It’s emphasized by the duelling guitar vs J. Smith’s blend of electric organ chords.
“Skoobly-Oobly-Doobob” is a scat vocalizing piece preceding what Bobby McFerrin would symbolize almost a decade after (an unexpected reference to the band’s name surfaced). “Hear me Calling” & “A Sad Song” are standard old blues numbers, having nothing in common with what Hendrix & Clapton were doing in that same period. “Three Blind Mice” is a 0:58 purely percussion piece seeing what Airto Moreira would be best known for in the time to come. Almost a half of “No Title” is quite experimental, at times colored with moments of Lee’s rock guitar. “Faro” is also a guitar-bass nouveau tune. In the end only “Going to Try” & train imitating closer “Speed Kills” (co-written by Lee & Little Steven respected Mike Vernon — he’s the LP producer), can be viewed as typical rock tracks.
It should be noted it hit the UK Top 10 albums which makes it the 1st avant-garde work to do so. Imagine that nowadays! I’ll conclude with the wishful — rock critics give Alvin Lee & co a chance!
(headheritage.co.uk/unsung/reviews/ten-years-after-stonedhenge)

01. Going To Try (04:51)
02. I Can't Live Without Lydia (01:23)
03. Woman Trouble (04:37)
04. Skoobly-Oobly-Doobob (01:42)
05. Hear Me Calling (05:44)
06. A Sad Song (03:23)
07. Three Blind Mice (00:58)
08. No Title (08:12)
09. Faro (01:11)
10. Speed Kills (03:41)
11. Hear Me Calling (Single Version) (Bonus) (03:46)
12. Women Trouble (US Version) (Bonus) (04:51)
13. I'm Going Home (Single Version) (Bonus) (03:39)
14. Boogie On (Bonus) (14:26)

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Ten Years After - Ten Years After [6 bonus tracks] (1967)

Year: 27 October 1967 (CD 2002)
Label: Deram Record (UK), 8828972
Style: Blues Rock, Classic Rock, Hard Rock
Country: Nottingham, England
Time: 63:40
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 369 Mb

Ten Years After actually started out as more of a fast jazz band: Leo Lyons was certainly a jazz bass player, and Alvin's fast'n'furious playing really fitted the jazz pattern much more than standard R'n'B. The track that opens their first album, McLeod's 'I Want To Know', really says it all: magnificent, entertaining, swift, funny guitar lines, a jazz rhythm and Alvin's nasal vocals quickly set the scene for an absolutely self-assured, tight and very raw bunch of covers and 'originals'. And I do mean these quotes: Alvin's contributions to this album are just standard blues melodies set to a different set of, often misogynistic, lyrics. In fact, the only problem the record suffers from is an obvious lack of songwriting skills. Besides that, the production is somewhat lame: the engineers, including future Elton John starmaker Gus Dudgeon, were probably told not to bother very much with this 'experimental' band. So it ends up sounding like a lot of this stuff was recorded with just a hand-held tape recorder, and the production is just as muddy and dizzy as the album cover. All the better: this really gives the effect of a raw, young, happy, energetic and powerful band letting go - unlike the later, much more polished records.
Some of the numbers are just extended bluesfests, and not very exciting at that. 'Spoonful', for instance, was done far more convincingly by Cream, and this particular version suffers horrendously because of muddy, 'undermixed' vocals and because they really overdid the instrumental bit - after all, Alvin Lee is no Eric Clapton when it comes to constructing a slow, calculated blues solo on record. Moreover, the main riff to the song, its usual main attraction, is for some strange reason donated to Mr Churchill who plays it on an organ and thus misses all the heavy bombast that was such a great fun on Cream's version. And the famous cover of Willie Dixon's 'Help Me', the band's most essential stage favourite from the album, does pick up steam near the end, but in the middle it's just a lengthy marathon of rather average soloing. I mean, Alvin does the 'tension build-up' bit rather well, steadily going from modest, self-contained licks to an all-out guitar hell, but ten minutes of tension build-up are a bit too much even for good-natured Blues Tolerators like me.
(full version: starlingdb.org/music/tenyears.htm#After)

01. I Want To Know (02:11)
02. I Can't Keep From Crying, Sometimes (05:24)
03. Adventures of A Young Organ (02:34)
04. Spoonful (06:05)
05. Losing The Dogs (03:03)
06. Feel It For Me (02:40)
07. Love Until I Die (02:06)
08. Don't Want You Woman (02:37)
09. Help Me (09:51)
10. Portable People (bonus track) (02:17)
11. The Sounds (bonus track) (04:29)
12. Rock Your Mama (bonus track) (03:00)
13. Spider In My Web (bonus track) (07:13)
14. Hold Me Tight (bonus track) (02:18)
15. Woodchoppers Ball (bonus track) (07:44)

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Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)

Year: 18 September 1970 (CD Dec 1986)
Label: Castle Communications PLC (France), NELCD 6003
Style: Hard Rock
Country: Birmingham, England
Time: 60:40
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 378 Mb

Charts: UK #1, AUS #4, CAN #20, FIN #4, GER #2, NL #1, NOR #5, SWE #6, SWI #48, US #12. AUS & GER: Gold; CAN & UK: Platinum; US: 4x Platinum.
From a moonlit thicket, a soldier wielding a scimitar and a pointy shield approaches, his eyes bulging with terror beneath a bright white helmet. He wears pink leggings and an outlandish orange blazer, an outfit that becomes, in Marcus Keef’s clumsy long-exposure photograph, a garish streak of glowing neon across the midnight scene. These were meant to be “War Pigs,” autocratic henchmen Black Sabbath lampooned during their second album’s bellicose opener and its intended title. From a distance, they look like an errant splotch of paint across a sheet of construction paper; up close, they just look absurd.
Still, in all its grainy ignominy, Paranoid’s cover is one of the most transformative moments in the early history of Black Sabbath and, by extension, heavy metal. In 1970, Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut did something few were expecting—it sold very well, charting both at their home in the UK and in the United States. Their label, Vertigo, soon dispatched Black Sabbath back to the studio to record a follow-up, stretching their already-indulgent impulses into eight-minute songs about war and heroin and the glory of the guitar. When they needed one more tune, the band headed to the bar while guitarist Tony Iommi stayed behind and spent a few minutes writing a simple riff that chugged, paused, and kept prowling, like a predator always in search of its next meal. They recorded the song in a flash and called it “Paranoid,” the fulfillment of a legal obligation.
Vertigo didn’t hear filler; it heard a hit, a trouncing three-minute assault by a young band that still favored excessive jams. Six months after releasing Black Sabbath, they issued the song as Black Sabbath’s second single and demanded that the album’s title be changed from War Pigs to Paranoid. They wanted to remind potential customers of the song they’d seen four long-haired weirdos headbang to on “Top of the Pops” while avoiding the nasty business of saying something controversial in an era already fraught with civil unrest. But in the sprint to get the record into stores, Vertigo never bothered to commission an image that fit the new name. The soldier simply stands there, an embarrassment in neon. After nearly 50 years, bassist and songwriter Geezer Butler (and most everyone else) still hates it: “The cover was bad enough when the album was going to be War Pigs, but when it was Paranoid it didn’t even make sense.”
The label was right about “Paranoid,” at least. Propelled by its lead single, Paranoid was the only Black Sabbath album to top the British charts for the next four decades. In the U.S., where it nearly broke into the Top 10 mere months after the band’s small stateside debut, it has gone platinum four times. Record labels realized that heaviness and spookiness could sell and that Led Zeppelin, Sabbath’s favorite band, were just the beginning. In ceding to Vertigo’s commercial instincts about “Paranoid,” both as a single and album title, Black Sabbath helped launch heavy metal not just as a genre but also as a veritable industry.
(full version: classicrockreview.wordpress.com/?s=Black+Sabbath+%281970%29)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. War Pigs (07:56)
02. Paranoid (02:49)
03. Planet Caravan (04:25)
04. Iron Man (05:55)
05. Electric Funeral (04:49)
06. Hand Of Doom (07:07)
07. Rat Salad (02:30)
08. Fairies Wear Boots (06:14)
09. Wicked World (Live. bonus track) (18:51)

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Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)

Year: 13 February 1970 (CD Dec 1986)
Label: Castle Communications PLC (France), NELCD 6002
Style: Hard Rock
Country: Birmingham, England
Time: 41:25
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 276 Mb

Charts: UK #8, AUS #8, CAN #29, FIN #13, GER #8, NL #6, US #23. UK & CAN: Gold; US: Platinum.
Listening to Black Sabbath’s self-titled 1970 album is a lesson in heavy metal history. Though bands such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple influenced the formation of the genre, Black Sabbath is often considered the first true heavy metal band, perhaps because they were the first to devote their focus to the darker themes that became an often controversial element of metal. Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin also has been quoted as saying he thought Black Sabbath was the first true heavy metal band. Living in an impoverished English town where career choices for most were limited to factory worker or criminal, the boys of Black Sabbath could not relate to the idealistic hippie music that was popular when the band formed in 1968, considering themselves a blues band. Guitarist Toni Iomi observed the lines that formed at the local movie theater whenever it showed horror films and remarked that if people were so willing to pay to be scared, perhaps they should try playing evil-sounding music. With that in mind, they took their name from a Boris Karloff film.
The title track exemplified Sabbath’s goal of capturing horror in music. It began with atmospheric sounds of heavy rain, thunder, and a single, tolling bell. Then Iomi played a slow, ominous riff based on the “devil’s tritone,” an interval notoriously avoided in medieval music because its dissonance evoked a sense of evil—perfect for Sabbath’s purposes. Though speedy, seemingly effortless shredding has become nearly synonymous with heavy metal, the slogging pace of this formative song was truly heavy, creating a feeling of immense weight and pressure intensified by the dread-soaked vocals of Ozzy Osbourne in his prime. The story of being dragged to hell by a figure in black was not conveyed so much by the lyrics as by the despair in Osbourne’s voice when he moaned, “Oh no, no, please God help me.” The song was haunting in a way that most listeners in 1970 had no idea how to process. This dire sound eventually became the primary influence of the doom metal subgenre in the early 1980s.
“The Wizard” opened with evidence of Black Sabbath’s blues roots in the form of a forlorn harmonica, soon backed up by bassist Geezer Butler and the real star of the song, drummer Bill Ward. The simple, repetitive melody taken in turns by Osbourne’s vocals and harmonica required little focus from the listener, freeing them to be carried along by Ward’s varied, jazz-influenced rhythms.
(full version: classicrockreview.wordpress.com/?s=Black+Sabbath+%281970%29)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Black Sabbath (06:22)
02. The Wizard (04:24)
03. Behind The Wall Of Sleep (03:37)
04. N.I.B. (06:08)
05. Evil Woman (03:24)
06. Sleeping Village (10:44)
07. Warning (03:34)
08. Tomorrows Dream (Live. bonus track) (03:09)

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Budgie - Squawk [4 bonus tracks] (1972)

Year: 1 September 1972 (CD 2004)
Label: Noteworthy Productions (UK), NP3
Style: Hard Rock
Country: Cardiff, Wales
Time: 52:29
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 305 Mb

This band really stand out in the 70s crowd. They move like no other, they rock like no other, and they feel the music like no other. There is some really great soul put into their music by each and every one of the three members. The music screams at me, or better put, SQUAWKS at me. Though I haven't listened to all of their albums, I can't imagine them going bad, if they keep their style. Pain medicine is weak compared to the abilities of this band. They rock like the wind, and roll like the sea. They jam like the earth , and prog like the inner flame inside all of us.
Burke Shelley is one of the highlights of the album. It roars like the throat of a monstrous whale. It rams the music forward into stardom. And it fills in perfectly where it is needed in the music. Everything epic or moving in this album would be disintegrated if the bass was taken out. His voice is as eerie as the wind whistling upon the nooks and crannies of a mountain. His voice is as a flute. Strong and tremendous, but very pleasant to hear indeed. He keeps attacking the song with his voice as if every breathe he speaks he were actually eating the song up, grokking the music. His voice is soft cheese to my ears, and his bass is a fine donut.
Tony Bourge adds a drop of whiskey to the music with his drowning guitar. His passion show fruitfully, and he truly is a beast. Let alone the solos- in which would take any other rock band of the era at least a week to figure out. It takes you places in the mind's eye. It jams with the infernal light of ingenuity. The guitar and bass truly act as brothers throughout the entire album, so well that you would think it was one guitar on one really fat neck.
Ray Philips is a true drummer. He knows where to put the beats. And his drums are a true backbone to this music. THe drums are bloodbrothers with the bass completely. They work so well together.
GO listen to this album right now it rules queef.
(sputnikmusic.com/review/44385/Budgie-Squawk/)

01. Whiskey River (03:22)
02. Rocking Man (05:24)
03. Rolling Home Again (01:43)
04. Make Me Happy (02:37)
05. Hot As A Docker's Armpit (05:52)
06. Drug Store Woman (03:14)
07. Bottled (01:50)
08. Young Is A World (08:07)
09. Stranded (06:21)
10. Whiskey River (A-side single version) (Bonus track) (02:39)
11. Stranded (Alternate mix) (Bonus track) (06:18)
12. Whiskey River (2003 version) (Bonus track) (03:19)
13. Rolling Home Again (2004 version) (Bonus track) (01:38)

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Budgie - Budgie [4 bonus tracks] (1971)

Year: 30 July 1971 (CD 2004)
Label: Noteworthy Productions (UK), NP2
Style: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Country: Cardiff, Wales
Time: 55:16
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 356 Mb

Throughout the 70s, the unfashionable Budgie were as oddball as their name. Although specialising in heads-down, no-nonsense riffage, their albums all included acoustic interludes and softer songs which, by accident or design, made everything else sound even heavier. Additionally, they wrote the most ridiculous song titles ever. (Don’t waste your time looking for a better trio than You’re The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk, In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter’s Hand, and their debut’s Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman).
Frontman Burke Shelley (hair and bass, a template for Maiden’s Steve Harris, aviator spectacles rarely copied) sang in a higher-than-average register but better than Geddy Lee, with whom he is often unfairly compared. Alongside him the band’s other unique selling point was Tony Bourge, an exceptional guitarist of many stripes but seemingly happiest inventing riffs that have inspired everyone from nascent NWOBHM heroes to Josh Homme.
Lovingly covered by Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth and Soundgarden, these three Cardiff scruffbags riffed as hard as any band in metal’s early years. Perhaps their cerebral eccentricity, silly name and stylistic versatility mitigated against worldwide megastardom, but for generations Budgie have remained Cymru’s most universally respected rock band.
The debut album, released in June 1971 has become something of a classic. As AllMusic say, “For those seriously interested in metal’s development, bombastic treasures like Homicidal Suicidal, and Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman are essential listening.”
(classicrockreview.wordpress.com/2021/10/14/budgie-budgie-1971-album-of-the-week-club-review-2018/)

01. Guts (04:21)
02. Everything In My Heart (00:52)
03. The Author (06:27)
04. Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman (08:39)
05. Rape Of The Locks (06:12)
06. All Night Petrol (05:57)
07. You And I (01:41)
08. Homicidal Suicidal (06:41)
09. Crash Course In Brain Surgery (Alternate mix) (Bonus track) (02:36)
10. Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman (Single edit) (Bonus track) (04:08)
11. Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman (2003 version) (Bonus track) (03:44)
12. Guts (2003 version) (Bonus track) (03:53)

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UFO - UFO 2 (Flying - One Hour Space Rock) (1971)

Year: October 1971 (CD 2008)
Label: Repertoire Records (Germany), REP 5108
Style: Hard Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 62:54
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 421 Mb

Who would have thought old Phil Mogg, Pete Way and Co. would be responsible for one the greatest psychedelic long players ever released?, but yes folks this record called “UFO 2/Flying” is a head trip of the highest order that every space rock freak MUST own!!!
UFO started out in 1968 and were at one time known as The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, they later called themselves Acid finally settling on UFO which was a tribute to the legendary UK nightclub. The group cut their teeth playing covers by people like The Yardbirds, Kinks, John Lennon and The Small Faces among others, somehow they got the attention of Equals guitarist Eddy Grant who was branching out into production and talent procurement, Grant invited the group to record at Orange Studios and the group managed to land a recording deal with the tiny Beacon imprint. A debut album “UFO 1” was issued in 1970 to little fanfare ( though it has been reported UK DJ Jon Peel thought highly of the group.)
The record we are talking about here was the group’s second and their last for Beacon, it was known as “UFO 2/Flying/One Hour Space Rock” and it was issued in 1971.
This is one monster of a Rock album that will appeal to fans of Free, Ash Ra Tempel, Blue Cheer, Taste, The Pink Fairies and many others, simply speaking it’s awesome!!
Side One starts off “Silver Bird” which sounds just like Free circa 1969, Phil Mogg shows himself to be a gritty, convincing singer while guitarist Mick Bolton plays some blistering solos in the Paul Kossoff/Rory Gallagher vein, the group’s rhythm section of Pete Way ( Bass ) and Andy Parker ( drums ) is a powerhouse, the song starts out slow but soon takes flight pummelling the listener along the way with relentless power. “Star Storm” is in a whole different bag it begins with some lethal wah-wah guitar by Bolton then briefly touches down into a blues rock stomp ala Free/Taste, then the thing slows down to a crawl and slowly shifts into a guitar freakout that reminds me of the mid-section of The James Gang’s “The Bomber” and also the guitar solo section of The Jeff Beck Group’s “Rice Pudding”, then it’s off to Ash Ra Tempel land for awhile and then back again, the whole piece clocks in at over 18 minutes!!, Mick Bolton’s guitar playing on this number is stunning!!. The first side ends with a Groundhogs style raveup called “Prince Kajuku” that is absolutely fierce!, Mogg’s vocals are sensational whlie Bolton blasts away like T.S. McPhee’s kid brother, Pete Way also plays brilliantly on this one.
Side Two starts off in a different direction with “The Coming Of Prince Kajuku” this is an incredibly pretty guitar instrumental that echoes of Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and Danny Kirwan’s playing on the “Then Play On” album, then all of a sudden the song erupts into a Pete Townshend/Eddie Phillips Pop Art Afterflash! WOW!!!
“Flying” takes up the rest of the record, this one is a lengthy blues downer track that sounds like the group are suffering from a group hangover in the beginning the song then comes to life and turns into a pulverizing dose of Acid Rock. The record ends just under 60 minutes leaving you completely drained, in fact after playing this thing I need a bit of a comedown so I’m gonna go listen to The Four Preps “On Campus” album and then some Kingston Trio!, “UFO 2” has that kind of effect on people!!
(https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/reviews/ufo-ufo-2-flying)

01. Silver Bird (06:53)
02. Star Storm (18:53)
03. Prince Kajuku (03:55)
04. The Coming Of Prince Kajuku (03:43)
05. Flying (26:31)
06. Galactic Love (Single A-side) (Bonus track) (02:57)

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UFO - UFO 1 (1970)

Year: October 1970 (CD 2008)
Label: Repertoire Records (Germany), REP 5107
Style: Hard Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 39:02
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 254 Mb

Before UFO ever snaffued Michael Schenker from the Scorpions, leaving the band to temporarily fold until their rebirth with Uli Jon Roth, the British heavy guitar rock band were four young musicians full of vigor and eager to play loud.
Vocalist Phil Mogg, guitarist Mick Bolton, bassist Pete Way, and drummer Andy Parker released their debut in 1970. Not entirely confident in writing their own material, the album included covers by Eddie Cochrane ("C'mon Everybody"), the blues classic covered earlier by the Yardbirds, "Who Do You Love", and the sentimental postwar-themed tune "(Come Away) Melinda" which appear on Uriah Heep's debut in the same year. And though "Follow You Home" is credited to Way, the "You Really Got Me" similarities prompted another band member to reflect years later "He wanted to sound like the Kinks".
The construct of the album is fairly simple: heavy blues and heavy psychedelic music, loud guitar distortion for most songs and frequent wah-wah pedal, bass mixed loudly on some tracks, especially "(Come Away) Melinda", and busy psychedelic-style drumming. Phil Mogg's vocals have a good heavy blues edge to them but hadn't matured into a distinct style yet. A cursory listen and this album sounds like a typical contemporary American heavy guitar rock album in spite of the band's British nationality.
I've said that the album's basic construct is simple but that does not mean that there isn't variety or any surprises. In particular, the bluesy "Who Do You Love" features some heavy psych guitar similar to the best of Iron Butterfly's free form solos of the sixties. "Timothy" is a very heavy guitar rocker and it's my pick for most metal song off the album. "Evil", as you would expect, also is pretty heavy and musically reminds me of Sainte Anthony's Fyre. It's interesting to look over the album history and read that the band wanted to cover an Eddie Cochrane tune but not "Summertime Blues" because "everyone had done it". I say interesting because their version of "C'mon Everybody" has the same heavy galloping bass and loud distortion approach as Blue Cheer's cover of "Summertime Blues". Admittedly, Blue Cheer are heavier but not by that much. UFO still leave The Who trampled in the dust when it comes to heavy covers of Eddie Cochrane.
Other songs on the album have their charm points when it comes to the music and guitar. There's no real pop chart single and no acoustic work or sappy love songs. No matter how a song begins you can expect some raucous guitar and vigorous rhythm work. The only true weak point that strikes me is the song writing. It hasn't matured yet. Neither has the band's sound but they make up for their greeness with energy and drive. The next album would venture into lengthy space rock compositions (two tracks taking up 45 minutes!) and then the new UFO with Schenker would come to be.
For a very raw album with simple production and loud guitar, this is not a bad little effort to pick up.
(metalmusicarchives.com/album/ufo/ufo-1)

01. Unidentified Flying Object (02:18)
02. Boogie (04:16)
03. C'mon Everybody (03:11)
04. Shake It About (03:46)
05. (Come Away) Melinda (05:05)
06. Timothy (03:28)
07. Follow You Home (02:13)
08. Treacle People (03:23)
09. Who Do You Love (07:49)
10. Evil (03:27)

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Nazareth - Exercises (1972)

Year: July 1972 (CD 1990)
Label: Castle Classics (UK), CLACD220
Style: Hard Rock, Folk-Hard Rock
Country: Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Time: 35:01
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 229 Mb

Exercises indeed. This album is the weirdest anomaly in the entire Nazareth catalog (at least, the entire Seventies Nazareth catalog), as there's nary a heavy rocker to be found anywhere. Even hardcore Naz fans sometimes raise an eyebrow here, but I say swell. If anybody were going to accuse me of "always expecting something from a band and then condemning them when they try and make something different", here's a good chance to disprove this accusation. This is the most untypical, anomalous, chronologically displaced, genre-irrelevant Nazareth record ever; and yet, it is one of their best, even if it's nowhere near as perfect as the debut album.
What happened here is that Nazareth tried going in a far softer, laid-back direction. This stuff is not exactly "soft rock", because it doesn't have that safe, homey feel most soft rock creations have, but it completely lacks the band's traditional mountaineer grittiness. Orchestrated ballads, country-western tunes, Scottish ballads, conventional folksey ditties... not a heavy metal tune in sight. Well, only one, maybe, which is the band's hilarious bluesy rocker 'Woke Up This Morning'; but it's essentially a novelty tune, continuing the line of 'Fat Man' from the last album. It kicks some ass, to be sure, but its biggest attraction by far are the lyrics ('woke up this morning, my dog was dead/Someone disliked him and shot him through the head/Woke up this morning, my cat had died/I know I'll miss her, sat down and cried' and so on). The melody is kinda trite, awesome guitar solos though.
(full version: starlingdb.org/music/nazareth.htm)

01. I Will Not Be Led (03:08)
02. Cat's Eye, Apple Pie (03:07)
03. In My Time (03:28)
04. Woke Up This Morning (03:10)
05. Called Her Name (04:33)
06. Fool About You (02:50)
07. Love Now You're Gone (02:29)
08. Madelaine (05:59)
09. Sad Song (02:17)
10. 1962 (Glencoe Massacre) (03:55)

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Nazareth - Nazareth (1971)

Year: 12 November 1971 (CD 1988)
Label: A&M Records (US), CD 3169
Style: Hard Rock
Country: Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Time: 40:04
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 238 Mb

Aye, that's a five stars out of five all right. For some reason, nearly every heavy metal band that ever pioneered the movement back on the Sixties/Seventies border, used to have its first album as its finest hour (stupid critics don't seem to realise that, of course, but hey, it's their personal problem). Think Led Zep I (glorious!), Deep Purple In Rock (not that band's first record, but the first serious Mark II studio effort), Paranoid (well, it was Sabbath's second effort, but it came out the same year as the first), and yes, Nazareth's self-titled album.
You know my scepticism towards heavy metal as a genre, but even I have to admit that this is one helluva record; easily the second best "heavy" release of 1971, barely nudged out by Zoso and only because that one had a mightier share of instant classics. On the other hand, Nazareth is more consistent; you'll find nothing like the stupid self-indulgence of 'Four Sticks' or the lame ear-shredding harmonies of 'Misty Mountain Hop' on here. So, assuming that very few souls in this world still remember the Scottish lads' innocent debut, I might just as well give you a short run-down.
Freshly descended from the snowy mountains of Scotland, Nazareth seem to have absorbed the heavy sound quite seriously; there's no reason to doubt their having worn out their copies of Led Zep's, Black Sabbath's and even Uriah Heep's records from the previous year. But Nazareth adds an important series of elements that are enough to completely distinguish their effort from that of their predecessors. First, there is a very strong folk influence throughout; and unlike Led Zep, these guys actually understand what folk is all about. Maybe Edinburgh was a good place to soak in these influences; in any case, a song like 'I Had A Dream', even if it might seem 'mushy' on first listen, is actually an excellent and moving acoustic gem, graced by tasty harmonium and very Winwood-like vocals from Mr McCafferty (in fact, you could easily mistake this song for a Traffic number! A good Traffic number at that!) Likewise, 'Country Girl' is adorable - it has nothing to do with Neil Young's song of the same name, but it is somewhat similar to Neil's balladeering style, and dang catchy and pleasant at that.
(full version: starlingdb.org/music/nazareth.htm)

01. Witchdoctor Woman (04:09)
02. Dear John (03:47)
03. Empty Arms, Empty Heart (03:14)
04. I Had A Dream (03:24)
05. Red Light Lady (06:02)
06. Fat Man (03:25)
07. Country Girl (04:06)
08. Morning Dew (07:09)
09. King Is Dead (04:45)

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Uriah Heep - Salisbury (1971)

Year: January 1971 (CD 1987)
Label: Bronze Records (Germany), 258 295
Style: Hard Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 39:16
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 211 Mb

Charts: AUS #19, GER #31, US #103, FIN #3, JPN #47.
The second album from perennially underrated British rockers Uriah Heep is a bit of an unfortunate one. It’s not Salisbury’s fault that it’s wedged between two of the band’s acclaimed classics, but stuck there it is, and so it can’t help but feel slightly inferior to them. Whether you prefer Very ‘Eavy... Very ‘Umble or Look At Yourself, you will like it better than Salisbury - a shame, as fans of the band will doubtless be aware, as it has more than enough to make it worthy of your time. More firmly in the Prog zone than before, it features a sixteen minute epic on one side, and streamlined the songwriting on the other to somewhat avoid the high drama of previous epics like Gypsy (as much as I like that classic tune, I can’t fault their decision) in favour of solid, heavy, rock songs that still stand with the best nearly forty years later.
For what it’s worth, you can partially blame Salisbury’s less-than-brilliance on keyboardist Ken Hensley getting the majority of writing credits this time around. Don’t be put off, however, as it’s hard not to be pleasantly overwhelmed by the falsetto overload that greets you on opener Bird Of Prey’s arrival, the band heavy as ever and more than capable of setting into a captivating rock groove behind vocalist David Byron, although it’s not the greatest opening track ever. In some ways, I’d have preferred following track The Park to open the album, starting off as it does with gentle acoustic guitars and very soft organs, building into a rather gorgeous ballad with a great bit of proggy keyboard action partway through. Time To Live is where things really kick off, guitar and organs backing a gloriously upbeat performance from Byron with a great solo from guitarist Mick Box. It’s annoyingly short, just under four minutes long when it could have gone on for another ten, but is followed by the great Lady In Black, which has a melancholic feel aided by the extended, and awesome, group wailing.
Everything throughout is very melodic and laid-back, with little of the stomp that fans of the band’s debut will expect, although the soloing that kicks off the excellent High Priestess (my personal favourite track from this album) makes up for it. The main attraction is, of course, the flamboyant sixteen-minute title track, which features a twenty-four piece orchestra and sounds more like the soundtrack to a Pink Panther film than you’d expect. It’s quite surprising how buried the band are beneath the orchestra (it takes about ten minutes to get a guitar solo) yet you don’t find yourself minding, but be forewarned that the non-band instruments do dominate for most of it, and those of a less classic cinematic mindset may find themselves bored, the sillies - experienced proggers should love it if they let it carry them along.
Annoyingly, there are substantial tracklisting differences between the usual and US versions of this album, the Americans not just getting some rather Metal artwork, but also High Priestess at the start of the album instead of Bird Of Prey and inserting Simon The Bullet Freak before the title track. If you come from my side of the pond, be sure to check the latter track out, as it’s a good one. Finally, stepping back and considering all in its whole, it’s hard to sum Salisbury up. Bear with me; I find that the more I listen to this band, the easier it gets to appreciate them. It’s certainly not a simple matter to churn out quality rock n’roll, and that the ‘Heep were doing it so expertly just two years into their career says a lot for them. Rock bands from the 70s are, of course, far more numerous than the Sabbath/Purple/Priest triumvirate that Metalheads typically worship, and although some names forgotten are best left that way, I can’t imagine many devotees of the decade would say the same for Uriah Heep. This is definitely worth hearing, but ultimately not worth hunting down unless you’re going through the ‘Heep discography as I am. Detract 15 from the score given if you are skipping around.
(metalreviews.com/reviews/album/6359)
Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Bird Of Prey (04:21)
02. The Park (05:47)
03. Time To Live (04:08)
04. Lady In Black (04:51)
05. High Priestess (03:46)
06. Salisbury (16:22)

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Uriah Heep - ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble [3 bonus tracks] (1970)

Year: 19 June 1970 (CD 1996)
Label: Essential! Records (UK), ESSENT 316
Style: Hard Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 50:47
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 311 Mb

Charts: AUS #15, CAN #84, GER #22, US #186, FIN #14, JPN #41.
Originally this album was released in 1970 but it sounds as fresh as it is possible to sound 52 years on. Opening with the fantastic “Gypsy”, a song that has probably the most words written about of any Heep so no real need to add anything further here other than to say that the word and term classic is very apt. A proto-metal forerunner.    “Walking In Your Shadow” is a riff driven tour-de-force that flows like a raging river.
“Come Away Melinda” is a total change of pace and atmosphere, showcasing the band’s ability to switch gears and moods at will, something that has served them well ever since this album’s original release five decades ago.  It is a cover version of the popular Tim Rose track but it sounds like it would sit easier in The Eagles back catalogue. “Lucy Blues” has a slowbeat strut and confidence that is difficult to achieve is such a melancholic track.  “Dreammare” picks back up the hard rock vibe of the opening two tracks with some extra vocal bluster.
“Real Turned On” goes full-on boogie blues rock with truck-drivin’ riffs that Status Quo would later make their trademark.  A belter of a track that demands to be played loud with beer in hand.  Mid-tempo groove rocker “I’ll Keep On Trying” is the penultimate that echoes early Deep Purple that contains a soaring and fizzing solo from Mick Box.  To finish things off we have “Wake Up (Set Your Sights)” which is a progressive light rock track that lends itself perfectly to David Bryson’s operatic and powerful vocals back by a Jazz-swing drumming style from Alex Napier.
(maximumvolumemusic.com/review-uriah-heep-very-eavy-very-umble-salisbury-picture-discs-2022/)

01. Gypsy (06:37)
02. Walking In Your Shadow (04:30)
03. Come Away Melinda (03:49)
04. Lucy Blues (05:10)
05. Dreammare (04:40)
06. Real Turned On (03:39)
07. I'll Keep On Trying (05:27)
08. Wake Up (Set Your Sights) (06:28)
09. Gypsy (Single Version) (02:57)
10. Come Away Melinda (Previously Unreleased) (03:42)
11. Born In A Trunk (Previously Unreleased) (03:45)

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The Who - A Quick One [Japanese Ed. Mono] (1966)

Year: 9 December 1966 (UK), April 1967 (US) (CD Sep 1, 1994)
Label: Polydor Records (Japan), POCP-2331
Style: Mod, Beat, Psychedelic Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 32:43
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 213 Mb

Charts: UK #4, AUS #163, CAN #13, NOR #19, US #67.
A Quick One is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. In the United States, where the song "Happy Jack" was a top 40 hit, the album was released in April 1967 under the title Happy Jack with a slightly altered track listing.
Unlike other albums by the Who, where guitarist Pete Townshend was the primary or sole songwriter, A Quick One features significant songwriting contributions from all band members, with lead vocalist Roger Daltrey contributing one song, and bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon each contributing two. The album also included a cover of the Holland-Dozier-Holland song "Heat Wave" and ends with a musical suite titled "A Quick One, While He's Away", which served as an inspiration for later rock operas that the Who would become known for.
The Who's second studio album departs from the R&B emphasis of their debut. Part of the marketing push for the album was a requirement that each band member should write at least two of the songs on it, though Roger Daltrey only wrote one ("See My Way"), so this is the Who album least dominated by Pete Townshend's songwriting.
"Boris the Spider" was written after John Entwistle had been out drinking with the Rolling Stones' bassist Bill Wyman. They were making up funny names for animals when Entwistle came up with the song. "Boris the Spider" quickly became Entwistle's most popular song, still performed decades later: in later years he often wore a spider necklace, and would have a spider web design inlaid on the body of his custom-made Alembic bass guitar (the latter is pictured on the cover of Entwistle's 1981 solo studio album Too Late the Hero).
(full version: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Quick_One)

01. Run Run Run (02:37)
02. Boris The Spider (02:39)
03. I Need You (02:29)
04. Whiskey Man (03:03)
05. Heatwave (02:04)
06. Cobwebs And Strange (02:36)
07. Don't Look Away (02:54)
08. See My Way (01:58)
09. So Sad About Us (03:09)
10. A Quick One, While He's Away (09:09)

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The Kinks - Face To Face (1966)

Year: 28 October 1966 (CD Dec 18, 1989)
Label: Castle Records (France), CLACD 158
Style: Rock, Garage Pop
Country: London, England
Time: 38:19
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 238 Mb

Charts: UK #12, GER #12, NOR #9, US #135.
The album marked a shift from the hard-driving style of beat music that had catapulted the group to international acclaim in 1964, instead drawing heavily from baroque pop and music hall. It is their first album consisting entirely of Ray Davies compositions, and has also been regarded by critics as one of rock's first concept albums. Davies' blossoming songwriting style became increasingly observational and satirical, commenting on English culture, social class and the music industry.
Despite containing the hit single, "Sunny Afternoon", the album's initial reception was lukewarm in both the UK and US compared to the Kinks' previous LPs, charting at No. 12 and No. 135, respectively. Face to Face eventually earned retrospective critical acclaim, recognized as a pivotal record of the psychedelic era and an important milestone in the Kinks' evolution. The album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_to_Face_(The_Kinks_album))

01. Party Line (02:35)
02. Rosy Won’t You Please Come Home (02:30)
03. Dandy (02:10)
04. Too Much on My Mind (02:27)
05. Session Man (02:08)
06. Rainy Day in June (03:13)
07. House in the Country (03:00)
08. Holiday in Waikiki (02:45)
09. Most Exclusive Residence for Sale (02:51)
10. Fancy (02:28)
11. Little Miss Queen of Darkness (03:16)
12. You’re Lookin’ Fine (02:47)
13. Sunny Afternoon (03:35)
14. I’ll Remember (02:26)

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The Fugs - The Fugs (Second Album) [Japanese Ed.] (1966)

Year: March 1966 (CD Jul 27, 2011)
Label: Bird Song (Japan), HYCA-2046
Style: Garage Rock, Folk Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Country: New York City, U.S.
Time: 72:50
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 277 Mb

The Fugs is the second studio album album by American rock band the Fugs. The album charted number 95 on Billboard's "Top Pop Albums" chart. The album was re-released on CD in 1993 as The Fugs Second Album on the Fantasy label with five additional tracks: two live performances and three tracks recorded for Atlantic in 1967 for an album that was never released. In its review of the re-release, AllMusic finds them "very ahead of their time lyrically" and compares them to the punk band Dead Kennedys, both lyrically and in their shared "weakness for crude humor". In 2003, David Bowie included it in a list of 25 of his favourite albums, "Confessions of a Vinyl Junkie".
After the release of their first album on Folkways Records, The Fugs signed a contract allowing ESP-Disk to publish its material in exchange for usage of an Off-Broadway theater as practice space and what Fugs' frontman Ed Sanders describes as "one of the lower percentages in the history of western civilization. While finding the contract binding and disadvantageous in many ways, The Fugs were pleased with the opportunity to work with and at the studio of Richard Alderson, who allowed them to experiment with his state-of-the-art equipment. The album was produced over a four-week period through January and February 1966 at the same time that the band was performing weekly at the Astor Place Playhouse and making television appearances with David Susskind and Les Crane. The band's controversial lyrics and stage antics allegedly attracted the attention of the FBI and New York City fire and building inspectors and eventually resulted in their being banned from Astor Place Playhouse. According to Sanders, the FBI's final report of its investigation of the band concluded that "The Fugs is a group of musicians who perform in NYC. They are considered to be beatniks and free thinkers, i.e., free love, free use of narcotics, etc. .... it is recommended that this case be placed in a closed status since the recording is not considered to be obscene." Sanders jokes that "If we'd only known about this, we could have put a disclaimer on the record, 'Ruled NOT obscene by the FBI!'"
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fugs_(album))

01. Frenzy (02:07)
02. I Want To Know (02:02)
03. Skin Flowers (02:24)
04. Group Grope (03:44)
05. Coming Down (03:50)
06. Dirty Old Man (02:53)
07. Kill For Peace (02:10)
08. Morning Morning (02:10)
09. Doin' All Right (02:40)
10. Virgin Forest (11:19)
11. I Want To Know (Live From Players Theater On MacDougal Street) (02:39)
12. Mutant Stomp (Live From Players Theater On MacDougal Street) (02:59)
13. Carpe Diem (From 'Thrown Off Atlantic') (03:41)
14. Wide, Wide River (From 'Thrown Off Atlantic') (02:52)
15. Nameless Voices Crying For Kindness (From 'Thrown Off Atlantic') (02:53)
16. Nothing (The Full Fugs Version Recorded For Folkways 1965) (05:30)
17. Community Breast NADA (05:18)
18. Players Theater NADA-DADA (03:21)
19. GARNCHT (At The Filmore East, 31 May 1968) (04:45)
20. Nothing (From The Psychedelic Supermarket, Boston 1968) (03:24)

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The Sonics - Boom (1966)

Year: February 1966 (CD 2007)
Label: Big Beat Records (UK), CDHP 023
Style: Garage Rock
Country: Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Time: 31:23
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 133 Mb

The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspirations to the White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, Nirvana, The Hives, and other musical artists.
The band performed several early rock standards such as "Louie, Louie", and "Skinny Minnie" as well as original compositions like "Strychnine", "Psycho", and "The Witch". Their catalogue is generally based around simple chord progressions, often performed with a speed and tonal aggression that was novel for the time, making the band a notable influence on later punk rock bands, such as the Stooges and the Cramps.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sonics#Studio_albums)

01. Cinderella (02:42)
02. Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (02:27)
03. Skinny Minny (02:13)
04. Let The Good Times Roll (02:01)
05. Don't You Just Know It (02:51)
06. Jenny Jenny (02:19)
07. He's Waitin' (02:41)
08. Louie Louie (02:55)
09. Since I Fell For You (04:00)
10. Hitch Hike (02:44)
11. It's Allright (02:12)
12. Shot Down (02:13)

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Small Faces - Small Faces (1966)

Year: 6 May 1966 (CD 1988)
Label: London Records (West Germany), 820 572-2
Style: R&B, Garage Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 44:05
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 234 Mb

Small Faces is the debut album of Small Faces, released in May 1966 by Decca Records. It includes the hit singles "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" and "Sha-La-La-La-Lee". The album was well received by music critics and was popular with the public, rising to number 3 on the UK album chart remaining at the top for several weeks. It also reached number 8 in Finland.
In 1966, Small Faces became the eleventh biggest selling artists of the year.
In 1962, Muddy Waters recorded "You Need Love", written for him by peer Willie Dixon. "You Need Loving" is a veiled cover of "You Need Love". Small Faces were never sued by Dixon, even though "You Need Loving" only credits Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott as writers. Guitarist Jimmy Page (initially of The Yardbirds and later of Led Zeppelin fame) has claimed to have been disappointed when, after coming up with a wicked guitar riff and requesting Robert Plant pen some lyrics, the singer returned with those of "You Need Loving", a tune Plant, a big Small Faces fan, had, according to Small Faces singer Steve Marriott in early '70s Canadian rock newspaper Beetle, said he had longed to record. Thus, "You Need Loving" became the basis for lyrics of Led Zeppelin's hit song "Whole Lotta Love" in 1969.
Three of the tracks had been released prior to the album. These are the two aforementioned singles, "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" and "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", along with the track "It's Too Late", which was issued as the B-side of "I've Got Mine", the group's second single, released in 1965. The band's fourth single, "Hey Girl", was released around the same time as the album; ultimately it was not included and can instead be found on their 1967 compilation album From the Beginning.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Faces_(1966_album))
Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Shake (02:55)
02. Come On Children (04:21)
03. You Better Believe It (02:22)
04. It's Too Late (02:40)
05. One Night Stand (01:51)
06. What'cha Gonna Do About It (01:59)
07. Sorry She's Mine (02:50)
08. Own Up Time (01:49)
09. You Need Loving (04:00)
10. Don't Stop What You Are Doing (01:55)
11. E Too D (03:05)
12. Sha La La La Lee (02:56)
13. What's A-Matter Baby (02:58)
14. I've Got Mine (02:55)
15. Grow Your Own (02:20)
16. Almost Grown (03:02)

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Question Mark And The Mysterians - 96 Tears [4 Bonus Tracks] (1966)

Year: November 1966 (CD ????)
Label: Anthology Records (Italy), ANT 30.11
Style: Garage Rock
Country: Bay City and Saginaw, Michigan, U.S.
Time: 39:22
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 378 Mb

96 Tears is the debut studio album by the American garage rock band ? and the Mysterians, released in 1966. It peaked at number 66 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. The single "96 Tears" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 29, prior to release of the album. The album and the single "96 Tears" were both on the charts for fifteen weeks, while the single "I Need Somebody" was on the charts for ten weeks.
First pressings had a misprinted Side 2 label listing the last track as "Tears" instead of "96 Tears". The album also incorrectly shows David Graham as composer for "Stormy Monday".
The band recorded the songs "96 Tears" and "Midnight Hour" on April 15, 1966 at Art Schiell's Recording Studio in Bay City, Michigan, for the small Pa-Go-Go label, which released the single in April, 1966. After getting extensive regional airplay in Michigan and Ontario, Neil Bogart, president of Cameo-Parkway Records purchased the rights to the record for national distribution. After replacing bassist Fernando Aguilar with Frank Lugo, the band went into the studio to record the remainder of the songs for their debut album released in November, 1966. The album was an immediate success and quickly shot up the charts before the end of the year. A second single, "I Need Somebody" was released in conjunction with the album.
Allen Klein and ABKCO Records acquired the Cameo-Parkway catalog in 1967, and refused to license the ? and the Mysterians records for release on CD. In July, 1997, the band reunited and rerecorded the album for the Collectables Records label. In 2011, ABKCO released the original recordings.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/96_Tears_(album))

01. I Need Somebody (02:17)
02. Stormy Monday (02:30)
03. You're Telling Me Lies (02:32)
04. Ten O'clock (02:14)
05. Set Aside (03:03)
06. Up Side (02:53)
07. '8' Teen (02:49)
08. Don't Tease Me (01:40)
09. Don't Break This Heart Of Mine (01:54)
10. Why Me (01:39)
11. Midnight Hour (02:36)
12. 96 Tears (02:59)
13. Do Something To Me (02:36)
14. Love Me Baby (03:01)
15. Ain't It A Shame (02:19)
16. Turn Around Baby (02:10)

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Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out! (1985)

Year: June 27, 1966 (CD 1987)
Label: Zappa Records (Europe), CD ZAP 1
Style: Experimental Rock, Avant-Garde
Country: Pomona, California, U.S.
Time: 60:31
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 378 Mb

Freak Out! is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of guitarist/bandleader Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture and the nascent freak scene of Los Angeles. It was the second rock music double album ever released, following Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde just one week earlier, as well as the first double debut album by a rock artist. In the UK, the album was originally released as an edited single disc.
The album was produced by Tom Wilson, who signed the Mothers, formerly a bar band called the Soul Giants. Zappa said many years later that Wilson signed the band to a record deal under the impression that they were a white blues band. The album features Zappa on vocals and guitar, along with lead vocalist/tambourine player Ray Collins, bass player/vocalist Roy Estrada, drummer/vocalist Jimmy Carl Black and guitar player Elliot Ingber, along with appearances from several session musicians.
The band's original repertoire consisted of rhythm and blues covers, but after Zappa joined the band his original compositions came to the fore and their name was changed to the Mothers. The musical content of Freak Out! ranges from rhythm and blues, doo-wop, and standard blues-influenced rock to orchestral arrangements and avant-garde sound collages. Although the album was initially poorly received in the United States, it was a success in Europe. It gained a cult following in America, where it continued to sell in substantial quantities until it was discontinued in the early 1970s. The album went back in print in 1985, as part of Zappa's Old Masters Box One box set, with the first CD release of the album following in 1987.
In 1999, the album was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it among the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_Out!)

01. Hungry Freaks, Daddy (03:29)
02. I Ain't Got No Heart (02:35)
03. Who Are the Brain Police? (03:33)
04. Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder (03:41)
05. Motherly Love (02:45)
06. How Could I Be Such A Fool? (02:13)
07. Wowie Zowie (02:53)
08. You Didn't Try To Call Me (03:18)
09. Any Way The Wind Blows (02:55)
10. I'm Not Satisfied (02:38)
11. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here (03:38)
12. Trouble Every Day (05:50)
13. Help, I'm A Rock (08:39)
14. The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet (12:19)

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The Byrds - Fifth Dimension [6 bonus tracks] (1966)

Year: July 18, 1966 (CD 1996)
Label: Columbia Records (Europe), COL 483707 2
Style: Folk Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Country: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Time: 62:21
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 343 Mb

Charts: US #24, UK #27.
The best known song on the album is the hit single "Eight Miles High", an early excursion into psychedelic rock. Musically, the song was a fusion of John Coltrane-influenced guitar playing—courtesy of lead guitarist Jim McGuinn—and raga-based musical structure and vocals, inspired by the Indian classical music of Ravi Shankar. Written mostly by Clark in November 1965, while the Byrds were on tour in the U.S., the song was pivotal in transmuting folk rock into the new musical forms of psychedelia and raga rock. Regardless of its innovative qualities, however, many radio stations in the U.S. banned the record, believing the title to be a reference to recreational drug use. Although the song's lyrics actually pertained to the approximate cruising altitude of commercial airliners, and the group's first visit to London during their 1965 English tour, both Clark and rhythm guitarist David Crosby later admitted that the song was at least partly inspired by their own drug use.
The album also included the McGuinn-penned songs "5D (Fifth Dimension)" and "Mr. Spaceman", with the latter being an early foray into country rock and a semi-serious meditation on the existence of alien life. In spite of its tongue-in-cheek lyrics, both McGuinn and Crosby were serious about the possibility of communicating with extraterrestrial lifeforms via the medium of radio broadcast. McGuinn in particular felt that if the song was played on radio there was a possibility that extraterrestrials might intercept the broadcasts and make contact. However, in later years McGuinn realized that this would've been impossible since AM radio waves disperse too rapidly in space.
"5D (Fifth Dimension)", on the other hand, was an abstract attempt to explain Einstein's theory of relativity, which was misconstrued by many as being a song about an LSD trip. In particular, Variety magazine targeted "5D (Fifth Dimension)" shortly after its release as a single, claiming that it was one of a recent spate of pop songs to include veiled drug references in its lyrics. This resulted in some radio stations in America refusing to play the song. The organ arrangement on "5D (Fifth Dimension)" was played by Van Dyke Parks.
(full version: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Dimension_(album))

01. 5D (Fifth Dimension) (02:36)
02. Wild Mountain Thyme (02:33)
03. Mr. Spaceman (02:12)
04. I See You (02:41)
05. What's Happening?!?! (02:38)
06. I Come And Stand At Every Door (03:06)
07. Eight Miles High (03:37)
08. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go) (02:20)
09. Captain Soul (02:56)
10. John Riley (03:00)
11. 2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song) (02:21)

Bonus Tracks:
12. Why [bonus] [single version] (03:02)
13. I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider) [bonus] (02:46)
14. Psychodrama City [bonus] (03:26)
15. Eight Miles High [bonus] [alternate-RCA studios version] (03:22)
16. Why [bonus] [alternate-RCA Studios version] (02:43)
17. John Riley [bonus] [instrumental version 1] (16:53)

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The Animals - Animalism [11 bonus tracks] (1966)

Year: 13 May 1966 (CD 2014)

Label: Flawed Gems (Sweden), GEM 127

Style: Rock, R&B, Blues

Country: Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Time: 76:53

Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz

Size: 417 Mb

No white singer of the British beat boom sounded blacker than the Animals’ Eric Burdon, and no English band of the era deserved to sing the blues more. The Animals, who came from the northern industrial city of Newcastle, signed some of the worst record and management deals this side of Jimmy Reed, seeing little coin for their hits. Adding insult to robbery, British albums by the 1964-66 R&B incarnation of the band were cut up by MGM in America into slapdash packages like Animalization, a mess of ’66 singles and tracks from the British Animalisms.

But an import CD reissue of Animalisms combines the two, and the result is essential British Invasion fire, a visceral portrait of a beleaguered band (founding organist Alan Price was gone; drummer John Steel was about to split) in its fighting prime. Burdon’s voice is as hard and dark as Jack Johnson’s fist, a weapon of plantation sorrow in “Gin House Blues” and kicking-mule joy in John Lee Hooker’s “Maudie.” The early blues singer Ma Rainey was a tough old bird, yet even she would have been impressed with how the Animals hijack her signature tune “See See Rider”: Dave Rowberry’s runaround organ lick; Hilton Valentine’s drunken-wasp guitar outbursts; Burdon’s orgasmic barks and howls, especially his electrifying “Yeeow!” just before Valentine’s solo.

The Animals were not prolific or accomplished writers. But as interpreters, they were fearless in attack and astute in the dynamics of swing. Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” becomes rent-party punk; “Don’t Bring Me Down,” a song of bittersweet dismay written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, is turned into a seesaw ride between the creeping evil of the organ paired with Valentine’s throaty fuzz in the verses and Burdon’s crucifixion cry in the chorus. And for guys who had no firsthand experience of chain-gang life, the Animals’ reading of the prison lament “Inside Looking Out” is vividly brutal. Burdon wails like he’s being horsewhipped; Steel, Rowberry and bassist Chas Chandler throb underneath him with war-dance brawn; Valentine’s guitar is tense with neurotic treble. For those four minutes, the Animals never sounded more like real animals – vicious, hungry, desperate.

The Animalisms reissue comes with a notable bonus: all four tracks from a one-sided independent EP that the pre-fame Animals cut in 1963 as the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo. The songs are all blues standards, including an early stab at Hooker’s “Boom Boom.” But there is original muscle there, and Burdon’s voice is honest and strong – solid proof that the blues is a white man’s music, too.

(rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/animalisms-97363)

01. All Night Long (02:49)

02. Shake (03:15)

03. The Other Side Of This Life (03:30)

04. Rock Me Baby (05:25)

05. Lucille (02:21)

06. Smokestack Lightning (05:13)

07. Hey Gyp (03:48)

08. Hit The Road Jack (03:20)

09. Outcast (02:38)

10. Louisiana Blues (02:42)

11. That's All I Am To You (02:11)

12. Going Down Slow (06:24)

Bonus Tracks:

13. C.C. Rider (Live In Germany, Jan 1967) (03:55)

14. A Love Like Yours (Live In Germany, Jan 1967) (02:59)

15. Shake, Rattle And Roll (Live In Germany, Jan 1967) (03:05)

16. Tobacco Road (Live In Germany, Jan 1967) (04:20)

17. Roadrunner (Live In Germany, Jan 1967) (02:49)

18. When I Was Young (BBC Sessions, 30th Jan 1967) (03:02)

19. A Love Like Yours (BBC Sessions, 30th Jan 1967) (02:43)

20. Connection (BBC Sessions, 30th Jan 1967) (02:24)

21. It's All Meat (BBC Sessions, 15th Aug 1967) (02:08)

22. San Franciscan Nights (BBC Sessions, 15th Aug 1967) (03:02)

23. All Night Long (BBC Sessions, 15th Aug 1967) (02:39)

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The Butterfield Blues Band - East-West Live [Live] (1966)

Year: 1966 (CD 1996)
Label: Winner Records (US), WINNER 447
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Blues Rock, Instrumental
Country: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Time: 56:47
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 222 Mb

Rock & roll prophets without honor, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band -- in its original incarnation with ace guitarist Mike Bloomfield -- made its greatest musical strides from 1965 to 1967, caught in the matrix of the Top 40 pop revolution and the quantum leap of psychedelia. But in that time, the mighty Butterfield lineup with Bloomfield and second guitarist Elvin Bishop laid the cornerstone for blues rock and then upped the ante by incorporating extended improvisation influenced by modal jazz and Indian classical music.
The best example of that vision and fiery virtuosity is the 1966 album "East-West"; on the 13-minute title track, the Butterfield band combined elements of John Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, the Yardbirds and the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" into an audacious, spiraling jam. Tales of the group's high-voltage live explorations of "East-West" have circulated for years; the three takes on "East-West Live," recorded onstage in clubland low-fi and collated by Butterfield keyboard player Mark Naftalin, confirm the legend. The performances -- one from early 1967 and two from 1966 -- bristle with the excitement of a band sailing headfirst into uncharted waters.
Bloomfield, who died in 1981, is the unquestioned star of the record. Lacing bluesy lines through Eastern-flavored permutations, he sets up a series of rough-hewed melodies that form a road map for the rest of the band, particularly the passionate blowing of Butterfield on harmonica. Bloomfield may not have played with the gutsy finesse of Eric Clapton or the sonic invention of Jimi Hendrix, but he was a bold musician with both facility and imagination.
The 1966 tapes mix the spark of discovery with the hesitancy of the new. By the time of the 1967 recording -- a 28-minute monster recorded just before Bloomfield quit the group to form the Electric Flag -- the Butterfield band had mastered the tune and its potential, adding new motifs in a suitelike form. You can hear the genesis of the jam aesthetic that stretches from the early Allman Brothers Band to Blues Traveler and beyond. One of the finest archival projects of the year, "East-West Live" fills in a crucial gap in the histories of a great American band, an underappreciated instrumentalist and even rock itself (RS748).
(bluespower.com/447rev.htm)

01. East-West Live Version 1 (12:41)
02. East-West Live Version 2 (15:59)
03. East-West Live Version 3 (28:06)

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