23-12-07 - 30-12-07

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Purple Overdose - 2004 - Painting The Air

Based in Greece, Purple Overdose were one of the great psychedelic bands of the past several years. Though disbanded for a couple years now, their manager, Stefanos Panagiotakis, enthusiastically pursued making available this vinyl only collection of rarities and unreleased tracks. The songs on Painting The Air were originally recorded in 1989 with the intention of comprising their second album, slated to be titled Magic Forest. Five of the songs later ended up, in different forms, on what ultimately became their second album, Indigo.

Long time Purple Overdose fans will be pleased to know that two of the tracks are unreleased. "Painting The Air" is classic Purple Overdose 60's inspired psychedelia, a heady mixture of trippy song and acidic instrumental. And "Still Ill" is a special treat, being one of the first ever recorded Purple Overdose songs, and featuring a guitar/bass/drums trio version of the band. It has the trademark Purple Overdose sound, but has more of a down ‘n dirty garage-psych feel, and includes an ultra trippy jam section. Excellent! "Sail On Your Wings" originally appeared on the volume 3 CD of the fanzine The Thing in 1996, and was later included on the CD version of The Salmon's Trip Live. This track is a real highlight, featuring Purple Overdose at their most cosmic, with swirling guitars, a luscious 60's organ sound and a mind expanding atmospheric vibe. "2008 Old View" is the B side of the bands only 7" single, and is an intense song with more classic 60's organ melody and cool shimmering trip guitars.

Those who own the album Indigo will of course recognize the 5 songs that appeared on that album - "Moonlight Sunshine", "Cosmic Ladder", "Rain Without Storm", "Golden Eyes" and "Magic Forest". Diehard fans with a taste for historical perspective will enjoy hearing these earlier versions of the songs. Most have a rawer sound and feel than the Indigo versions, which in some cases has a special charm of its own, having a cool trippy flower power vibe. I particularly liked the version of "Cosmic Ladder" on this collection, which has much more of a garagey sound than what's heard on Indigo, and we get some really tasty screaming guitar lines. And though similar to one other, the versions of "Golden Eyes" and "Magic Forest" are each lengthy tracks that take off into jams that are worth hearing side by side.

In summary, Painting The Air is a real treat for fans of this sadly defunct band. And as most of their albums were vinyl only releases that are long out of print there are likely many of you out there who have never had the opportunity to hear any of these songs. Here's your chance.

From Aural Innovations #29 (October 2004)

@320k with covers

Enjoy!!!
rapidshare.com/files/Purple_Overdose_-_Painting_The_Air.part1.rar
rapidshare.com/files/Purple_Overdose_-_Painting_The_Air.part2.rar
mirror link for part 2 :
http://www.sendspace.com/file/cwkagh

V.A. - A Perfumed Garden Vols 1-3

A Perfumed Garden Vols 1-3

A Perfumed Garden, collects some of the rare U.K. mod-psych 45s for 3 LP's which should blow the flowery mynds of all Chocolate Soup/Electric Sugar Cub fan-addicts.

Track Lists :
Vol 1 ~ Vol 2 ~ Vol 3



Out of Print for some time, no serious Psych-Collector should be without these.
Ripped from my own Original CD's with Lame 3.97,
at 256 kbit/s. Artwork included !
(Cover, Back, Inlet)

Each Volume Separately :
MegaUpload : Vol. 1 ~ Vol. 2 ~ Vol. 3

Alternate Links (All 3 Vols in 4 Parts) :
RapidShare : Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4
Mirror Links
SendSpace : Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4


Enjoy !!!

Thanks SKULL(y)76 for the rip, tag & upload of this compilation !!!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Unknown Passage (Greece) - 2001 - Tales From Prison

If you're into the no fuss raw-garage /psychedelic side of the American sixties in the spirit of Syd Barrett and Rocky Erickson you'll be overblown by this gem. “Tales From Prison” is their first release consisting of 7 tracks and including a magical rework of Lucifer Sam (Pink Floyd) and White Rabbit (Great Society / Jefferson Airplane) blended into a single track. Expect to be blown away by this prodigiously talented band!

@ 320k covers inside
rapidshare.com/files/Unknown_Passage_-_2001_-_Tales_from_prison__Greece_.rar

Enjoy!

Green Bullfrog - The Green Bullfrog Sessions

I wasn't actually sure where to classify this. Most tracks are in the Northern Soul vein, yet personnel hails from other genres. Anyway....

Fans of Ritchie Blackmore would probably know this album. It was recorded in 1970 in De Lane Lea studios, London, and it allegedly began as a session jam. Ritchie Blackmore, Albert Lee, Big Jim Sullivan & Tony Ashton are among the musicians. It was produced by Derek Lawrence and engineered by Martin Birch. The tracks are mostly in the Northern Soul style, as I mention above, and production quality is fairly good. The musicians are in a loose form and Blackmore doesn't really sound very decent, since he manages to overindulge in those fast-and-tedious riffs as well as tremolo bar abuse. I, personally, prefer soul music played by musicians who have an actual understanding of the particular groove. And the musicians in this album don't have it, in my opinion. Simply because their actual genre is quite different.
I bought the particular album in green vinyl (1991 reissue) and it contains some extra tracks from the vaults. Rip is in 224kbps and I have also scanned all the notes from the sleeve.

Get It Here :
MediaFire : http://www.mediafire.com/?cnerdnmzylx
or
RapidShare : rapidshare.com/files/The_Green_Bullfrog_Sessions.rar

Thursday, December 27, 2007

The Mops - 1968 - Psychedelic Sounds In Japan

The Mops - 1968 - Psychedelic Sounds In Japan

A buzzing, hard-hitting batch of pychedelic rock from Japan's The Mops -- featuring some groovy, echoey tunes penned by the group and sung in their native language -- plus a nice choice of passionate covers! The sound is a little bit like Love in their early rawness -- and the Mops obviously have a great feel for psychedelia at its fuzziest and most tuneful. Great stuff!

Tracks :
1. Asamade Matenai
2. San Franciscan Night
3. I Am Just A Mops
4. Inside Looking Out
5. The Letter
6. Blind Bird
7. Somebody To Love
8. Bera Yo Isoge
9. White Rabbit
10. Asahi Yo Saraba
11. Light My Fire
12. Kienai Omoi

Personnel :
Hiromitu Suzuki - vocals
Masaru Hoshi - lead guitar, vocals
Tarou Miyuki - guitar
Kaoru Murakami - bass
Mikiharu Suzuki - drums

Bio ~by Keith Cahoon :
The Mops are one of Japan’s best know “group sounds” bands, particularly noted for their psychedelic period. The group was founded in 1966 by high school friends Mikiharu Suzuki (drums), Taro Miyuki (guitar), Masaru Hoshi (lead guitar) and Kaoru Murakami (bass), playing mostly instrumental rock ala the fabulously popular Ventures. Suzuki’s older brother Hiromitsu joined in later and became the group’s main vocalist, sharing the job with Hoshi.

The Mops started playing clubs and discos early on, but did not immediately distinguish themselves. In the summer of 1967 their manager visited San Francisco, and was very excited about the hippie movement that was booming there. He brought a copy of a Jefferson Airplane album back with him to Japan, which he impressed the Mops with. The band became enthusiastic about the new sounds, and singer Hiromitsu Suzuki especially became a big fan of Animals singer Eric Burdon. In what seems a fairly commercially driven decision, the Mops, prodded by their manager, became a “psychedelic band”, and signed with JVC Records. In November 1967 they released “Asamade Matenai”, which went to #38.

The Mops album of April 1968 Psychedelic Sound in Japan, was full of flower power flourishes, including cosmic artwork, ethnic clothing, fuzz guitars and sitar playing. It included covers of the Airplane’s hits “Someone To Love” and “White Rabbit”, the Doors' “Light My Fire”, the Animals' “San Franciscan Nights” and “Inside Looking Out”, as well as the Mops theme song “I Am Just A Mops” (which later became a cult favorite after being included on the obscurities album Nuggets 2). To complete the band’s hippie vibe, at their album release party they passed out banana peels to journalists.

Much was made of the band being Japan’s first psychedelic band, and they are sometimes credited as pioneering new studio effects, or at least introducing them to Japan. The band also performed with lighting effects, and sometimes blindfolded, supposedly to simulate the influence of drugs. Despite being widely considered a psychedelic band, their original songs were more garage band sounding. Also while most GS bands were playing love songs, the Mops had a song called “Blind Bird”, which contained the lyrics “please kill me”, which led to the song being left off some re-issues (but included on the obscurities collection Boulders #7). In 1969 Murakami quit the band and Miyuki took over bass duties.

After just one album with JVC, the group switched to Toshiba/EMI, where they changed their sound to more of a blues rock sound, it seems trying to change with the times. While not as warmly recalled, the band did moderately well after their psychedelic period. Their biggest hit was in 1971, “Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask)", which they recorded as a joke, but which became a novelty hit. Their hard rock number “Goiken Muyo (No Excuse)" charted in 1971, and the following year they did well with “Tadoritsuitara Itsumo Amefuri”, which was written for them by popular folk singer Takuro Yoshida. Before finally breaking up in May 1974, the Mops released a total of eight albums on Toshiba/EMI, a long career compared to most of the GS bands. Hoshi continued in the music business as an arranger, and Hiromitsu Suzuki became a TV “talento”. Mikiharu Suzuki today runs a major artist management company.

The Mops, however remain best remembered for their landmark psychedelic first album.

Get It Here :
RapidShare or SendSpace

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The Pretty Things - 1968 - S.F. Sorrow

The Pretty Things - 1968 - S.F. Sorrow

A late 60s masterpiece from The Pretty Things -- beautifully baroque west coast psyche pop, done in a style that links together the headier LA sound of Love with some of the more concept-driven work of the UK scene at the time! There's an undeniable power in the record -- an energy that was years ahead of its time, and which has led to the album's rediscovery by a host of new generations. At some points, the instrumentation is simple guitar-based rock -- but at others, it's topped off by just the right use of strings, larger orchestrations, and bits borrowed from Indian music!

Tracks :
1 S.F. Sorrow Is Born
2 Bracelets Of Fingers
3 She Says Good Morning
4 Private Sorrow
5 Ballon Burning
6 Death
7 Baron Saturday
8 Journey
9 I See You
10 Well Of Destiny
11 Trust
12 Old Man Going
13 Loneliest Person
14 Defecting Grey (Bonus_Acetate Recording)
15 Defecting Grey (Bonus)
16 Mr.Evasion (Bonus)
17 Talkin' About The Good Times (Bonus)
18 Walking Through My Dreams (Bonus)
19 She Says Good Morning (Bonus_Live 1969)
20 Alexander (Bonus_Live 1969)

[This reissue adds four valuable songs from their 1967-1968 singles ("Defecting Grey," "Mr. Evasion," "Talkin' About the Good Times," and "Walking Through My Dreams"). This version of "Defecting Grey" is the original, long, uncut five-minute rendition, and not of trivial importance; it's superior to the shorter one used on the official single.] ~ Bruce Eder & Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

One of the first rock concept albums, S.F. Sorrow was based on a short story by singer-guitarist Phil May. The album is structured as a song cycle, telling the story of the main character, Sebastian F. Sorrow, from birth through love, war, tragedy, madness, and the disillusionment of old age.

The album is now generally acknowledged as having been an influence on The Who's Pete Townshend in his writing of Tommy (1969).

The songs were recorded over several months during 1967 at EMI's famous Abbey Road Studios in London, during the same period when The Beatles and Pink Floyd were recording Sgt Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn respectively.

Working with noted EMI staff producer Norman "Hurricane" Smith (who had engineered the earlier Beatles recordings) and house engineer Peter Mew, the group experimented with the latest sound technology, including the Mellotron and early electronic tone generators, often employing gadgets and techniques devised on the spot by Abbey Road's technicians.

Phil May has emphatically stated that Smith was the only person at EMI who was fully supportive of the project, and that his technical expertise was invaluable to the effects and sounds on the album; May once even referred to Smith as a "sixth member" of the band. This attitude was in marked contrast to Pink Floyd's unhappiness with Smith. No need to say more about one of the best albums ever recorded !

Get it here :
RapidShare
Part 1 : rapidshare.com/files/Pretty_Things_SF_Sorrow.part1.rar
Part 2 : rapidshare.com/files/Pretty_Things_SF_Sorrow.part2.rar
or
SendSpace
Part 1 : www.sendspace.com/file/1onn8y
Part 2 : www.sendspace.com/file/12p5zv

Marry Christmas to All of You !

Monday, December 24, 2007

Link Wray - 1964 - The Swan Demos

I bought this vinyl album a few years ago, for a very small price. It contains alternative takes and out-takes of otherwise known tunes by that great surf-axeman, Link Wray. I lent the album to a friend who inconsiderately left it in his car one very hot summer's day and, subsequently, the vinyl got warped and so did my mind. Luckily, I had managed to rip the record before it became redundant. The original vinyl had no cover, as it came in a simple black cardboard sleeve. Thus, I scanned the vinyl tag. Encoding quality is very high and, apart from a few clicks and pops, you'll be able to enjoy this great album. Try to locate the vinyl (there has been no CD reissue of this) and if you find two copies, please let me know!!!

Get It Here :
MediaFire : www.mediafire.com/?9cnvfyz23gc
or
RapidShare : rapidshare.com/files/Link_Wray.rar

Enjoy !

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Prúdy - 1969 - Zvoňte, Zvonky

Prúdy - 1969 - Zvoňte, Zvonky

Tracks :
1. Zvonky, zvoňte (Let The Rings Ring)
2. Pred výkladom s hračkami (In Front Of The Toy Shop Window)
3. Balada o smutnom Jánovi (Ballad Of Sad John)
4. Jesenné litánie (Autumn Litanies)
5. Strašidlo (Bugaboo)
6. Keď odchádza kapela (When A Band Ends)
7. Poď so mnou (Come With Me)
8. Možno, že ma rada máš (You May Love Me)
9. Možno (Maybe)
10. S rukami vo vreckách (With Their Hand In Their Pockets)
11. Dám ti lampu (I'll Give You A Lamp)
12. Ćierna ruža (Black Rose)

The debut album of Prúdy, a Slovak band, who had previously recorded a couple of songs for radio and this is a collection of them. Considered by many to be the best album of Slovak pop music, it contains nowdays' classic Slovak hits such as Čierna ruža, Zvonky zvoňte, Možno or Pred výkladom s hračkami.

http://rapidshare.com/files/76882123/zvonte_zvonky.rar

Posted by Porculus

The Sun Blindness - 2007 - Like Pearly Clouds

The Sun Blindness - 2007 - Like Pearly Clouds

Tracks :
1. Our Glassy Selves
2. Everything Is Imminent
3. Flash in the Cosmic Pan
4. A Crack In The Concrete (For D. Crosby)
5. Jeremy Stares Into The Sun
6. It's Only 3 am
7. A Trip In A Painted World
8. Right Where You Are Sitting Now
9. Sleep Inside
10. Everything Comes Right
11. Panta Rhei'
12. Lazy Livin'

A delightfully lush, druggy & dreamy neo-psychedelic affair is this one. These guys hail from somewhere in Australia and they really have come up with something unique here for their first album. A strange mixture of LSD-era Beach Boys, J.K & Co, Byrds & perhaps the softer side of Spacemen 3.... songs such as "It's Only 3am" and " Everything Is Imminent" really have a warm, beautiful atmosphere to them. Lots of backwards guitars, strange percussion, echoed harmonies and a New Tweedy Bros cover. This is one of my favorite releases of the year.

Shared w/ Permission.... Enjoy!

Get It Here :
http://rapidshare.com/files/77789145/TSB_-_LPC-__07.rar

If you like the album you can visit band's myspace
http://www.myspace.com/thesunblindness
for instructions how to purchase a copy !

Posted by DangerDuck23

Astral Projection - 1968 - The Astral Scene

A straight reissue of a 1968 album originally issued on Metromedia, The Astral Scene is one of those weirdly compelling pop albums that could have only emanated from the Age of Aquarius. A conceptual undertaking meant to reveal the wondrous cycle of the telepathic phenomenon of astral projection. The album somehow manages to communicate the complex precepts of astral experience in lay terms and remain deliciously frothy pop at the softest, most easy-listening end of the spectrum. It works the same sonic conceit as the Fifth Dimension (only in lily-white, soul-lite mode) or the stable of bands (the Association, Ballroom, Sagittarius, and Millennium) produced or helmed by Curt Boettcher, only without the countercultural credibility and legitimately trippy factor. That's because the album, as with dozens of similar efforts from the era, is really a quasi-exploitive cash-in project. Essentially a studio creation conceived and written by Bernice Ross and Lor Crane, who did not take part in the actual recording (although the latter co-produced). The playing was done by ace sessionmen (Al Gorgoni, Hugh McCracken, Frank Owens, Buddy Saltzman, etc.), and then the music overlaid with delicate strings, and a brass and woodwind section. In a sense, it entirely missed the thrust of the decade's more original and exploratory music that it meant to exploit. But in another cosmically ironic sense, it captures the heady era far more vibrantly than those more important artists, partly because the music of the Astral Projection is nowhere near as timeless as the music of those artists. And partly because the explosive creativity of the era filtered in weird and wonderful ways even down to the eternally unhip music business types responsible for this album, giving them carte blanche to experiment with the money formula, but not too much, thereby resulting in this odd hybrid of commercially minded but ultimately uncommercial music. Like most such efforts, it is wildly uneven and only intermittently successful, containing too much lightweight material and unbearably twee sentiment to take serious, but then that partial failure to execute its pretensions is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of such masterworks, and especially this one. Still, The Astral Scene is largely soft-pop ambience. Songs are scarely present (and as a result it's difficult to single out particular successes), which stands to reason since it is more studio exercise than artistic inspiration. Nevertheless, it has moments of pure delight that bring the '60s experience back in full technicolor.
~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide

Track list;
01 - The Sunshine Seekers
02 - Plant Your Seed
03 - The Airways of Imagination
04 - The Happening People
05 - Accordian Pleated Mind
06 - Dreams, Shadows and Illusions
07 - Whatta We Gotta Loose
08 - Something To Believe In
09 - Today I Saw The Sunrise
10 - The Astral Scene

[192k]

Style; Psychedelic Pop