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Four Searchable Rock & Roll Reference Books

Download this, and put the folder anywhere you want, then open the folder and find the HTML file called "library" and make a shortcut to it on your desktop. You now have fully searchable copies of four terrific reference books -

• The Tapestry of Delights: British Beat, R & B, Psychedelic and Progressive Rock 1963 - 1976
  
• Fuzz, Acid & Flowers: American Garage, Psychedelic & Hippie Rock 1964 - 1975
  
• Dreams, Fantasies & Nightmares: Canadian, Australasian & Latin American Rock & Pop 1963 - 1975
• Adrift In The Ether: The Current State Of The British Underground

Anybody who remembers when Tapestry Of Delights and Fuzz, Acid & Flowers were online can tell you that these books are just about too cool. I haven't used those other two books yet, but I'm sure they're just as good. Anyway, you need these books I'm pretty sure!

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Jefferson Airplane Loves You - 3 CD Box Set (1990)

The triple CD (or cassette) box set Jefferson Airplane Loves You came out at a time when major record labels were rushing out deluxe sets of about every meaningful artist of the '60s and '70s. Most of those sets hid self-indulgent, inflated "best of" collections of previously released material with a couple of alternate mixes and live tracks to lure in the fans. Loves You has some general appeal (although slimmer "best of" collections are available and cater better to the casual listener who wants to hear "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love"), but it is clearly aimed at the fan. Disc 1 covers the early years up to the group's second LP Surrealistic Pillow. Early singles by Marty Balin and Grace Slick are included, but the real treat consists of nine live tracks (a total of 43 minutes, a full album's worth!) from a concert in May 1967, 18 months before the group's first live set, Bless Its Pointed Little Head, was recorded. Disc 2 covers the years between After Bathing at Baxter's and Volunteers. It kicks off with a 12-minute alternate version of "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" (a psychedelic peak), a few album tracks that were left off and an early version of Frank Zappa's "Would You Like a Snack" recorded with the Mothers of Invention, along with classic album cuts. Disc 3 culls material from the Volunteers album up to 1972's 30 Seconds over Winterland, racing through the Airplane's weaker late records. The highlights come from the quadraphonic version of the LP Volunteers, which featured very different mixes (even alternate versions in some cases). No repeats (except for "White Rabbit" included in its original version and a live one), great unreleased material and the absence of anything from the group's short-lived late-'80s comeback make this box set a must-have for fans. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide

Scans:
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Disc 1:
Part 1
Part 2
Disc 2:
Part 1
Part 2
Disc 3:
Part 1
Part 2



Cardeilhac - Cardeilhac (1971)

I can't really detect too much prog on this only album by obscure Swiss band Cardeilhac. It's not stunningly original, but it's good old fashioned, straight-ahead rock, obviously influenced by British bands of the period, like maybe Deep Purple, though Cardeilhac is a little more quirky. Good songs, lots of energy, lot of great guitar and organ, and the vocalist does a good job. Like I said, originality may be lacking, but it's not overly derivative and deserves a listen, that's for sure.

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A. R. & Machines - Die Grüne Reise (1971)

As lead guitarist for the beat-era Rattles, Achim Reichel was one of Germany's rock pioneers. Military service drew him from that band, and upon return he continued in the pop world with Wonderland. At the start of the 70's however, his interests in Eastern philosophies coincided with the Progressive music that was then in vogue. Teaming with lyricist Frank Dostal, first up was the psychedelic (and Beatles-esque) Wonderland Band. Recorded with a cast of Hamburg musicians, it gave a glimpse at where Reichel was going. Yet the story really begins in 1971 with The Green Journey, the first album under the moniker A.R. & Machines. Billed as a "soundtrack to the intended motion picture", it certainly is a trip! Reichel recorded the album by himself, adding voice, percussion and electronic effects, with Dostal providing the lyrics. "Machines" refers to the tape recorders that make up Reichel's signature "echo-guitar". He layers guitar line over guitar line to hypnotic effect, and effectively predates just about everyone that came after (Fripp, Gottsching etc.). The album certainly reveals a hippie naiveté of the era, but that should really be seen as its strength: bluesy, mantric and certainly psychedelic, the album is Reichel s own twist on Krautrock. It culminated in the whacked-out "Truth and Probability", where Reichel layers his voice through the tape machines.

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Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye - Tribute To Roky Erickson (1990)

More than a dozen different artists, some famous, some not so much, and some now all but forgotten, assembled for this tribute that was made for the purpose of helping Mr. Erickson financially, due to some legal troubles he was having at the time. It's fun to hear ZZ Top and Jesus and the Mary Chain each give their interpretations of "Reverberation (Doubt)". R.E.M. is on hand for "I Walked With A Zombie", Doug Sahm & Sons do an amazing version of "You're Gonna Miss me", the Butthole Surfers really shake it with "Earthquake", Julian Cope does well with his take on "I Have Always Been Here Before". There are terrific interpretations by some 'lesser' bands like Judybats, Bongwater, Thin White Rope, Sister Double Happiness, and others. Altogether a real nice album. I should note that this is a cassette rip that I made years ago, and the tracks were different from the CD, with non-CD tracks by Angry Samoans and Mighty Lemon Drops. (Bitrate 160)

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Free - Free At Last Stage (Bootleg 1972)

Despite the awful name they gave this thing, this is a real good recording of a performance at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, CA, on April 22, 1972, during Free's Reunion Tour. Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke.

1. The Hunter
2. Fire And Water
3. Ride On A Pony
4. Be My Friend
5. Catch A Train
6. Hold On
7. Little Bit Of Love
8. Mr. Big
9. All Right Now
10. Travellin' Man

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Bayon - Bayon (1977)

Bayon was a band from what was then East Germany, and the music on this album can only be described as beautiful. How to categorize the music? Hell, I dont know - maybe a kind of baroque/folk/ethnic/prog wouldn't be too far off. Composed of two Germans and two guys from Cambodia playing hand drums, violin, cello, acoustic guitar, and some fine electric guitar now and then, these dudes make music that is warm and uplifting. A really nice album.

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Thirsty Moon - You'll Never Come Back (1973)



Always essentially the project of the Drogies brothers, Thirsty Moon came into being in September 1971 as the amalgamation of D.R.P. (Drogies Rock Project) and Shakespears (apparently a jazz-soul band), resulting in a very big group (seven to eight members) performing complex rock that used unusual jazz structures as its base. Obviously influenced by the likes of Colosseum, the Chicago brass-rock scene and earlier German bands like Xhol and Organisation, Thirsty Moon created a music with great dynamics, use of heavy and spacious structures, unconventional songs and arrangements, and above all amazing musicianship. Both their debut and, the curiously titled, YOU'LL NEVER COME BACK offer some of the finest Krautrock. Both tripping out with percussively intensive Krautrock tripping, bizarre songs, and ventures into the cosmos, beyond jazz-fusion, beyond everything. Notably, on the second side of YOU'LL NEVER COME BACK, the feel is very close to Kollektiv. (The Crack In The Cosmic Egg)

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OK then - see you next week!