Pop / Rock

Summit: Life’s A Dream

The Rouse brothers from Detroit were in the other Shaggs (on Capitol) before making this record with Summit in 1981. Some songs have Chicago horn sound (Don’t Know Why) while others lope along pleasantly (Dancin’ In The Wind). “Dancin’ In The Wind” [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “Don’t Know Why” [Audio clip: view […]

Zing

In case you were wondering, yes there is in fact an anti-abortion pro-abstinence dreamy indie-pop LP from 1985. And, yes, it is called Zing. And yes, it does feature a song called “Planned Barrenhood”. And yes, the jacket was stuffed full of “educational” material. And yes, there is a long ass mostly incoherent liner note rant on […]

Asher – S/T

Love the b&w emblem on this one, made to be converted into a jacket patch. Hard Rock 4 song 12″ EP out of Ohio fronted by a female lead singer on Zipperleg Records. Stays pretty much within the conventions of the era  (1984) although the last song veers into something resembling power pop (bottom clip). […]

Past And Present – First Time Out

This is a UK private press LP recorded at Rook Studios in the town of Stourport On Severn. It was released in 1979 and is all cover songs of varying genres. I guess this band was a local outfit which played pubs/clubs, maybe weddings and the like. The musicianship is fairly good throughout, comfortably handling […]

Judy and Johnny – First Time All Over Again

Well, their threads are awesome. And there’s something special about their music, I can’t put my finger on it. Johnny Carroll made some celebrated rockabilly recordings when he was younger. And I read that Judy Lindsey used to be a model. I’m glad they got together. “Lady” [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “Knowing […]

Friday Knights – You’re Not A Song, You’re An Album

Here is a pretty unique private press record from Hialeah, Florida of all places (although the band seem to have come from  Hollywood, just a bit further up the coast). At first sight I thought this would be a souvenir from a Medieval themed diner or lounge (a la Orlando’s Medieval Times) but  I’m glad […]

Ginger Hobby Horse & Friends: S/T (RA records 1970)

Another local (Devon) release G.H.H were a lounge band with pretensions of Blood Sweat & Tears. Perhaps not the best introduction, so allow me to lay the boot in a little further. The choice of covers on this LP in parts is enough to put a man off music. There is a light within this […]

Kim Choo Ja – Why Doesn’t He Come?/Is It Real?

Kim Choo Ja enjoyed a very successful career in Korean music after bursting onto the scene in the late 1960s, musically she was associated with Shin Jung Hyun on her earlier LPs but this LP is slightly after that. Although much of this album has a more gentle & orchestrated feel there is enough lo-fi/garagey […]

You & The Parting – You

This 1975 LP was released on the Korean label Jigu (Earth) and is an example from the poppier side of Korean psych (or vice versa). There are three really strong uptempo tracks and the others tend to be a bit too light and pop based or just too slow. The bass playing is pretty solid […]

Velvet Crest- Things We Said Today / Something Tells Me

This Ohio band existed in various incarnations throughout the late 60s/early 70s, and released a handful of singles.  The a-side here is a Beatles cover, quite reminiscent of Vanilla Fudge’s ominous version of “Eleanor Rigby”.  The b-side is a more uptempo original.  More info about the group can be found at: http://www.buckeyebeat.com/velvetcrest.html “Things We Said […]

Mountain Angel Band – Angel Food

Admirable and overlooked xian rural/hard rock lp on the Sonrise label from 1978, favorably reviewed in Ken Scott’s ‘Archivist’. The standout track here is “Suffering Servant”, a stellar piece of moody, heavy rock with psych tendencies and strong, searing guitar tone. “No Sir” carries along in a similar vein, its melodic phrasing evocative of some […]

Frank Michael Rizzo – Time Is Your Answer b/w Honey Road

After finding two Rizzo acetates in some random box at WFMU, a certain psych mafioso told me he believed Rizzo had access to a lathe and was cutting custom oddities throughout the 70s. Whatever the case, Rizzo captures the perfect basemental weirdness permeating the American underground (think Vyto B, Higney, Stone Harbour, Heitkotter et al.) […]

Kris Kelly – Nothing Short About Me

Once in a generation, a hesher dwarf LP exceeds all expectations and soars to new heights. “Nothing Short About Me” [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “Ain’t Gonna Pay My Ticket” [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Various Artists – Loxene Golden Disc

These were a series of LP compilations featuring the finalists for the Loxene (shampoo) Golden Disc award (think of it as a all New Zealand version of a Grammy award or Eurovision). As overall listens they are patchy at best but there are some interesting things contained on most of the LPs. The two tracks […]

Brothers Reborn – Brothers Reborn

This appears to be a fairly obscure release from the Kent label. Two brothers, Raphael and Ramon Velez front a loungey/soul band in this set of mostly original tunes with a few covers thrown in. The band is really tight throughout with great bass and drum work and the horn section is blazing. Recorded at […]

Windwords – Shootin’ The Breeze

Excellent and relatively obscure rural tinged folk/rock out of Cleveland, OH. from 1979. Windwords was a duo of multi-instrumentalists Doug McWilliams and David W. Arberman. This record has a great vibe throughout and is a really cohesive listen from start to finish. It was limited to 1000 copies as a private press upon release and […]

Jerry Rooth – But You’ll Try…Again b/w But You Loved Me Anyway

Jerry Rooth’s Higney-produced single is further evidence that Higney’s sonic philosophy was no accident. All the classic shimmers present are: muted drums, rough, desperate vocals, and the wonderfully inexplicable audio-temporal mixing that made Attic Demonstration such a classic. “But You’ll Try…Again” strays from Higney’s downer-rock and dives into a strange brew of hard-rock, power-pop, and […]

Billy Earl – The World of Billy Earl

Floridian country rocker Billy Earl offers up a one-tracker with “Ninety Nine Thump”. While poor Billy was out lookin’ for lovin’, the session axeman worked his mediocre magic with limp fuzz riffs and fake (read: wah pedal) lion’s roar for added intrigue.  Awesomely tepid.[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Denise and the Jaguars – Accompagnandotti/Gone

I just thought this is a charming 45 and as of yet it doesn’t yield results on the Google. Pressed in italy and arranged by one Gioriano Baldassari.  It appears to be an Italian backing group with an English singer. Probably some lounge act, as this private record is signed by the whole bunch. Gone […]

The Krug Bros – The Memories Remain

Private press soft rock LP out of Wisconsin from 1981. Side A is all originals while Side B sees the brothers covering a bunch of songs from the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young & the Beatles among others. Loren & Leon Krug look like twins, but I’m not sure about that. The cover of […]

Young Approach: More Love Around

“The young approach to music is here.  We choose love as our theme.  We sing, we write, we play and live it.  It’s in our every scheme.  Of all that we have experienced, love is the best we’ve found.  Now we pass it on to you, so there’s more love around.”  If ever there was […]

Various Artists: Night Club 68

Released on the Czech Supraphon label, “Night Club 68” features not only a way cool mod pop art LP cover, but a nice sampling of the groovy young sounds from hip Prague nightspots. Pavel Sedlacek opens the proceedings by covering a couple of UK beat pop hits — his version of The Move’s “Flowers In […]

Various Artists – Haus Musik

Here is a German compilation LP from 1991. It was the first release on the Hausmusik label and was limited to maybe 200 copies, all numbered on the front cover. The covers are all handpainted and handcut with different cut locations giving views of different pictures. It comes with no less than seven inserts and […]

Warren Kime – Children of Time

Warren Kime may be best known to record collectors for his trio of Brass Impact LPs on the Command label released in the mid-to-late 60’s. An excellent overview of his career and how these LPs came to be can be found here: http://www.spaceagepop.com/kime.htm. There’s one LP the Space Age Pop overview missed, though, as his […]