Keef Hartley Band - Halfbreed (1969)

Year: March 1969 (CD 2008)
Label: Esoteric Recordings (Europe), ECLEC 2050
Style: Blues Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Plungington, England (8 April 1944 - 26 November 2011)
Time: 50:48
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 296 Mb

Trk. 1a) “Sacked (Introducing Hearts and Flowers)” (Arranged by Keef Hartley) In this mock-up of a cringe-making phone call, John Mayall rings up Keef to say “I’ve got a bit of bad news for you….” and terminates his position with the Bluesbreakers, whereupon there’s
1b) a very short snatch of the old tune by Moses Theodore-Tobani which was so famously used to accompany all the sad bits in the silent movies, and a few disjointed noises before
1c) “Confusion Theme.” Credited to Hartley and Cruickshank, this minute-long instrumental opens with tom-toms, followed by a solo guitar improvisation on an eastern scale. A menacing, funky riff develops behind the guitar, before it all fades out. I’d love to have heard more, but instead we get
1d) “The Halfbreed.” Softly plucked guitar and a roll of toms lead into this compelling 12 bar instrumental. Credited to Harley, Cruickshank and Dines, the sequence is similar to Ben Tucker’s “Comin’ Home Baby” recorded first by the Dave Bailey Quintet in 1961, then shortly after by Herbie Mann, and in vocal form by Mel Torme. There’s Hammond riffing, and lead guitar with a somewhat Santana-like flavour, smooth and overdriven but with bite and some very strong vibrato. I see “Spit” pictured with a Gibson SG, and that sounds about right to these ears. Stabbing brass punctuates, drums rattle, and a very moody organ solo follows. Keef subtly runs through different rhythmic patterns without upsetting the flow, taking a turn round the tom-toms during the final guitar solo, then bringing the beat onto the snare as the brass returns and the piece fades. Very enjoyable.
Trk. 2) “Born to Die” is credited to Dines, Hartley, Thain, and Fiona Hewitson – Miller Anderson writing under his wife’s name for contractual reasons. Hymnal Hammond and thoughtful guitar open this slow Blues, which benefits from a chord sequence differing from the usual straight twelve. Anderson’s voice is at once strong, expressive and questioning as he bewails his situation. Tuneful guitar fills which are drenched in reverb during the verses give way to a very lyrical and understated solo from ‘Spit,’ which over the course of four rounds, slowly escalates to a fiery pitch. The band sympathetically builds up with him, but never dominates, and the sounds are rich and warm. Everything drops down to a whisper for the last verse, then another chromatic turnaround on the outro swells to a powerful climax with pounding percussion, as the track slowly fades. Ten minutes of Blues heaven.
(full version: https://earlyblues.org/british-blues-classic-albums-halfbreed/)

01. Confusion Theme - The Halfbreed (07:56)
02. Born To Die (10:01)
03. Sinnin' For You (05:53)
04. Leavin' Trunk (05:57)
05. Just To Cry (06:21)
06. Too Much Thinking (05:32)
07. Too Much To Take (05:37)
08. Leave It 'Til The Morning (03:27)

UploadyIo     FreedlInk

All my files:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads     KatFile

Chicken Shack - Goodbye Chicken Shack [Live] (1974)

Year: Recording: October 26, 1973 (CD Feb 28, 2013)
Label: Esoteric Recordings (UK), ECLEC2379
Style: Rock, Blues Rock
Country: Birmingham, England
Time: 48:53
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 267 Mb

Chicken Shack evolved from a Stourbridge based band called "Sounds Of Blue" who were performing in the West Midlands area by 1964. Early members included lead guitarist/vocalist Stan Webb, vocalist/pianist Christine Perfect, bass guitarist Andy Silvester, and saxophonist Chris Wood. The group made their name during the "British blues revival" of the late 1960s.
Talented guitarist Stan Webb is regarded by many as one of the great un-sung heroes of British blues music. He was born in Fulham, London on February 3, 1946 and moved to Kidderminster with his parents after leaving school. He started playing guitar during the "skiffle" craze of the late 1950s and formed his first group in 1962 called "The Strangers Dance Band" with whom he played instrumental versions of the hits of the day at pubs and youth clubs.
Stan Webb began to earn money in his first professional band called "Shades Five". Like many local groups at the time, they found regular bookings on Joe and Mary Regan's famous West Midlands circuit of venues. He recalled in an interview; "Shades Five was my first crack at being a professional musician working for Mrs Regan in Birmingham doing the Old Hill Plaza, the Plaza in Handsworth, and The Brumbeat Cavern. If you didn't do those, you weren't anyone!"
A record shop in Birmingham on Hurst Street changed Stan's outlook on music. He recalled; "I started hearing all the blues stuff at this record shop called 'The Diskery' that was wonderful. Went up there on a Saturday, they had all these American records playing, covers all over the ceiling. And that's when I first got 'Freddie King Sings'. I took it home and listened and thought, I don't believe this!"
It was local blues singer David Yeates who convinced Stan Webb to join his group called "The Sounds Of Blue". By this time, Webb was heavily influenced by American blues and R&B music. The Sounds of Blue line-up included Andy Silvester on rhythm guitar and saxophonist Chris Wood who lived in nearby Cradley Heath.
Chris Wood had attended Stourbridge Art College in 1963 and learned to play the flute before later graduating to saxophone. By March 1964, he was performing with Sounds Of Blue although he left the following year before they went over to Germany as Chicken Shack. Chris Wood then joined Jim Simpson's jazz influenced band called "The Kansas City Seven" (see Locomotive) and later became a founding member of the highly acclaimed and internationally successful Traffic.
(full version: brumbeat.net/chickens.htm)

01. Everyday I Have The Blues (05:41)
02. Thrill Is Gone (05:42)
03. Going Down (05:56)
04. You Take Me Down (05:17)
05. Webb's Boogie (06:13)
06. You're Mean (06:23)
07. Poor Boy (07:55)
08. Webb's Guitar Shuffle (03:13)
09. Tutti Frutti (02:28)

UploadyIo     DailyUploads     TurboBit

All my files:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads     KatFile

The Flock - Truth - The Columbia Recordings 1969-1970 [2CD] (2017)

Year: 1969-1970 (CD 2017)
Label: Esoteric Recordings (Europe), ECLEC 22606
Style: Jazz Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Time: 65:30, 65:19
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 410, 436 Mb

The Flock was an American, Chicago-based jazz rock band, that released two albums on Columbia Records in 1969 (The Flock) and 1970 (Dinosaur Swamps). The Flock did not achieve the commercial success of other Columbia jazz-rock groups of the era such as Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears, but were recognized for featuring a violin prominently in their music. The violinist, Jerry Goodman, went on to become a member of Mahavishnu Orchestra and a solo artist. They also received some exposure with their release of a cover of The Kinks' "Tired Of Waiting For You" as a single in April 1970.
The Flock had three early singles on Destination Records and one on USA Records, local Chicago labels, recorded between 1966 and 1968. Goodman was not in this line-up but worked as a roadie with the band. All four singles, "Can't You See (That I Really Love Her)", "Are You The Kind", "Take Me Back" and "What Would You Do If The Sun Died?" are available on CD.
The promising first album was further into jazz fusion than either Chicago or Blood Sweat & Tears, influenced by Miles Davis' Bitches Brew album, in which Webb participated, but whose performance was not recorded. The first album was produced by Grammy Award winning producer of jazz and classical albums for Columbia Records John McClure. with liner notes written from the audience at Whisky a Go Go by John Mayall, on July 9, 1969. The band went back into the studio and recorded a second album entitled Dinosaur Swamps, (with Jon Gerber replacing Tom Webb) featuring the hit, "Big Bird." They began work on a third studio album, provisionally titled Flock Rock, but rumours at the time had Columbia Records' Clive Davis raiding The Flock and recruiting Goodman for the Mahavishnu Orchestra project. Glickstein's remembrance of the event was, according to the sleevenotes with The Flock compilation CD Truth, slightly more matter-of-fact: "In reality the band members started going in different musical directions. You know. That old song."
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flock_(band))

01. Introduction (04:53)
02. Clown (07:45)
03. I Am the Tall Tree (05:34)
04. Tired of Waiting (04:39)
05. Store Bought - Store Thought (07:00)
06. Truth (15:24)
07. What Would You Do If the Sun Died? (02:48)
08. Lollipops And Rainbows (04:05)
09. Tired of Waiting (Single Version) (02:42)
10. Store Bought - Store Thought (Single Version) (02:44)
11. Clown (Part One) (03:12)
12. Clown (Part Two) (04:38)

01. Green Slice (02:03)
02. Big Bird (05:50)
03. Hornschmeyer's Island (07:25)
04. Lighthouse (05:18)
05. Crabfoot (08:14)
06. Mermaid (04:53)
07. Uranian Sircus (07:13)
08. Chanja (02:38)
09. Atlantians Truckin’ Home (04:50)
10. Afrika (04:34)
11. Just Do It (06:35)
12. Mermaid (Single Version) (02:49)
13. Crabfoot (Single Version) (02:49)

CD1:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads

CD2:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads

All my files:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads     KatFile

Deke Leonard (Man) - Kamikaze (1974)

Year: 1974 (CD 2015)
Label: Esoteric Recordings (UK), ECLEC 2480
Style: Rock, Progressive Rock, Country Rock
Country: Llanelli, South Wales (18 December 1944 – 31 January 2017)
Time: 67:11
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 425 Mb

Having released his debut solo album Iceberg in 1973, Deke Leonard formed a band of the same name to tour it. Original bassist Paul Burton was replaced by Martin Ace by the time Kamikaze was recorded, in typical fashion in between live dates promoting the first album. Another of Deke’s narratives describes the cover shoot. The tale involves searching for big cats, Jumbo jets, and being drenched to achieve the desired photographic intent, and so another chapter in Deke’s life on the road is written…
This record, not surprisingly, sounds more like a band than Iceberg, although oddly it is not as immediate as its predecessor. Kamikaze again features Deke’s penchant for good time rockers, kicking off with Jay Hawk Special. The addition of fiddle player Byron Berline on the initially bluesy Sharpened Claws playing a rumbustious jig’n’reel in the second half of the song lends it a downhome countrified feel, and as the song ends Byron’s fiddle carries on, a lone hoedown after everyone has gone home.
Deke’s vocal on the Quo-like rocker In Search Of Sarah And Twenty Six Horses bears an uncanny resemblance to Noddy Holder, something I had not considered before, but the resemblance is definitely there. You would think from the title that this song was inspired by a CS&N styled drug-fuelled haze, but the straight ahead nature of the music puts paid to that theory. Deke explains further in a convoluted tale involving a girl called Sarah Cheesewright and a book entitled Portrait Of The Artist And 26 Horses, another example of his way with a story. You’ll just have to buy the CD to find out more!
(theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2015/05/06/deke-leonard-iceberg-kamikaze/)

01. Cool Summer Rain (00:31)
02. Jayhawk Special (04:17)
03. Sharpened Claws (07:20)
04. Taking The Easy Way Out (05:28)
05. The Black Gates Of Death (04:42)
06. Stacia (01:04)
07. Broken Glass And Lime Juice (05:36)
08. April The Third (03:51)
09. Louisiana Hoedown (02:54)
10. In Search Of Sarah And Twenty-Six Horses (06:47)
11. The Devil's Gloves (05:16)
12. She's A Cow [single B-side] [bonus track] (03:34)
13. California Silks And Satins [bonus track] (07:57)
14. Joyful Soul [bonus track] (03:27)
15. Steel Painting Man [bonus track] (04:20)

UploadyIo     DailyUploads

All my files:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads     KatFile

Deke Leonard (Man) - Iceberg (1973)

Year: 1973 (CD 2015)
Label: Esoteric Recordings (UK), ECLEC 2479
Style: Rock, Pub Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Llanelli, South Wales (18 December 1944 – 31 January 2017)
Time: 73:23
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 483 Mb

Roger Arnold "Deke" Leonard (18 December 1944 – 31 January 2017) was a Welsh rock musician, "serving a life sentence in the music business". Best known as a member of the progressive rock band Man, which he joined and left several times, and for fronting his own rock and roll band Iceberg, which he formed and disbanded several times, he was also an author, raconteur and television panelist.

Leonard was born in Llanelli, South Wales. He formed his first band, Lucifer and the Corncrackers, with Mike Rees (vocals), Geoff Griffiths (drums) and Clive "Wes" Reynolds (bass), in 1962, whilst still at Llanelli Grammar School, taking his stage name from "Deke" Rivers, the character played by Elvis Presley in his second film Loving You. Leonard left school to work for a building contractor, which he left to avoid being fired, so became a full-time musician.

The Corncrackers ran their own club, the "L" Club, featuring themselves and other local musicians, whilst also playing support to acts such as Johnny Kidd & The Pirates and The Hollies at a rival venue. When Rees left they continued as a trio; Keith Hodge then replaced Griffiths, but when Reynolds left to join the South Wales band The Jets, The Corncrackers broke up.

Leonard also joined The Jets, on keyboards, but preferred playing guitar, so reformed The Corncrackers with additional guitarist Brian Breeze, before replacing Vic Oakley as bass player in The Blackjacks, with whom he toured US bases in Europe. On his return, he rejoined The Jets, with Tony "Plum" Hollis on vocals, Martin Ace (bass) and Beau Adams (drums). There were other bands named The Jets on the circuit, so they changed their name to The Smokeless Zone and took residencies in Germany, including one at Hamburg's Top Ten Club where Tony Sheridan played with them. Adams was replaced by Terry Williams, but after more European residencies, they disbanded.

When Breeze left the Corncrackers, Leonard rejoined, playing London residences and recording demos for EMI & CBS. When Hodge left, Terry Williams joined on drums and Martin Ace as a multi-instrumentalist. The band changed its style to psychedelia and its name to Dream; not sure what a "freak-out" was, they invented their own with shaving foam and confetti.

In November 1968, Leonard joined The Bystanders, to replace Vic Oakley (again), just as the band changed their musical direction, from close harmony pop to a psychedelic/American west coast style, and their name to Man.

(worddisk.com/wiki/Deke_Leonard/)

01. Razorblade And Rattlesnake (06:02)

02. I Just Can't Win (02:42)

03. Lisa (03:54)

04. Nothing Is Happening (04:33)

05. Looking For A Man (03:50)

06. A Hard Way To Live (03:27)

07. Broken Ovation (05:28)

08. Jesse (04:08)

09. Ten Thousand Takers (03:06)

10. The Ghost Of Musket Flat (02:48)

11. Crosby (Second Class Citizen Blues) (01:53)

12. 7171 551 (05:29)

13. Diamond Road (03:48)

14. Turning In Circles (03:34)

15. The Aching Is So Sweet (04:50)

16. Nothing Is Happening (03:50)

17. The Four Corners Of Hell (06:01)

18. Afterburner Boogie (03:52)

UploadyIo     DailyUploads

All my files:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads     KatFile

Rare Bird - Rare Bird (1969)

Year: 1969 (CD 2007)
Label: Esoteric Recordings (UK), ECLEC 2001
Style: Art Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: England
Time: 44:42
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 274 Mb

Rare Bird were an English progressive rock band, formed in 1969. They released five studio albums between 1969 and 1974. In the UK, the single "Sympathy" reached number 27 in February 1970, selling an estimated one million globally. The band was notable for its organ-driven sound, utilising two keyboardists and no guitar in its original line-up.
In August 1968, organist Graham Field formed a group called Lunch and banded together with keyboardist David Kaffinetti. The group was short-lived and the two members began looking for a rhythm section for a new project.
By late 1969, they had found singer and bassist Steve Gould and drummer Mark Ashton. Former members of the pop-psych band Fruit Machine Gould and Chris Randall had originally joined as guitarist and bassist respectively, but Field and Kaffinetti envisioned a band without guitar so they asked Randall to leave and convinced Gould to take up bass and vocals. Before joining the band, Randall and Gould had written a song called "To the Memory of Two Brave Dogs" which would be included as the opening track to their debut album under the name "Iceberg", for which Randall would receive no credit.
Now that the band had established a stable line-up, they recorded a demo which attracted the attention of Tony Stratton Smith. As the band still had no name, Ashton and Smith came up with Rare Bird. Shortly after, Rare Bird became one of the first bands signed to Charisma Records, along with Van der Graaf Generator and the Nice.
Within a matter of weeks, the band had begun recording their eponymous debut album, Rare Bird, released in November 1969. According to Ashton, the album was recorded over the course of just a few days at Trident Studios, using a Hammond B3 organ, an electric piano, a Gibson bass and a Ludwig drum kit. From Rare Bird, the single "Sympathy" was released, which reached No. 1 in Italy and France, and is estimated to have sold 500,000 copies in France and between one and three million globally. It became their only UK hit single, reaching No.27 and staying on the chart for 8 weeks.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Bird)

01. Iceberg (06:56)
02. Times (03:24)
03. You Went Away (04:39)
04. Melanie (03:28)
05. Beautiful Scarlet (05:43)
06. Sympathy (02:44)
07. Natures Fruit (02:36)
08. Bird On A Wing (04:17)
09. God Of War (05:30)
10. Devil's High Concern (02:47)
11. Sympathy (02:34)

UploadyIo     DailyUploads

All my files:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads     KatFile

Love Sculpture - Blues Helping (1968)

Year: October 1968 (CD 2008)
Label: Esoteric Recordings (Europe), ECLEC 2015
Style: Rock, Blues Rock
Country: Cardiff, Wales
Time: 52:32
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 320 Mb

Love Sculpture were founded in Cardiff in 1966 by former members of the Human Beans. The band mostly performed blues standards, slightly revved-up, but still close to the originals. Their debut album Blues Helping included the songs "Summertime" and "Wang Dang Doodle". They are best known for their 1968 novelty hit in the UK Singles Chart, a high-speed cover version of the classical piece "Sabre Dance" by Aram Khachaturian, released on the Parlophone label (R 5744), which reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1968. The recording was inspired by Keith Emerson's classical rearrangements. "Sabre Dance" became a hit after receiving air play by British DJ John Peel, who was so impressed that he played it twice in one programme. In December 1968, UK music magazine NME reported that Love Sculpture had signed a US recording contract with London Records, guaranteeing ?250,000.
The band were also given an invitation to perform "Sabre Dance" live on the German Beat-Club television programme of Radio Bremen, being broadcast in monochrome at that time. Second album Forms and Feelings followed, including the aforementioned "Sabre Dance", and additional songs including , "In The Land of the Few", "Farandole", "People People", "Seagull (West Coast Oil Tragedy)", written by Paul Korda, and the equally fast cover of Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me". The US version of the album also featured a recording of "Mars" from Gustav Holst's The Planets, but Holst's estate refused to license the tune for the UK version. They recorded for BBC Radio 1's John Peel sessions in 1968 (twice) and 1969. In 1970 Mickey Gee joined the band as a second guitarist, and Terry Williams replaced Rob Jones on drums.
Love Sculpture split up in 1970 after a US tour, having recorded just the two albums. Edmunds went on to solo number one hit success with "I Hear You Knocking" later in 1970, and collaborated heavily with ex-Brinsley Schwarz bassist Nick Lowe, eventually forming the band Rockpile with him and Terry Williams.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Sculpture)

01. The Stumble (03:03)
02. Three O'Clock Blues (05:08)
03. I Believe To My Soul (03:47)
04. So Unkind (02:56)
05. Summertime (04:02)
06. On The Road Again (03:35)
07. Don't Answer The Door (06:02)
08. Wang Dang Doodle (03:31)
09. Come Back Baby (02:45)
10. Shake Your Hips (03:19)
11. Blues Helping (03:46)
12. Morning Dew (Take Me For A Walk) (02:52)
13. It's A Wonder (02:41)
14. River To Another Day (02:36)
15. Brand New Woman (02:21)

UploadyIo     DailyUploads

All my files:     UploadyIo     DailyUploads     KatFile