Thursday, June 27, 2013

AUM (psych rock, soul / USA)

One of the great lesser-known San Francisco bands, AUM was a classic rock power trio, inspired by the likes of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream, and led by the talented multi-instrumentalist and singer Wayne Ceballos. The band was first brought to the attention of Bill Graham by San Francisco's premier photographer, Jim Marshall. With one album under their belts in the early days of 1969, the band was slotted for one of Graham's "Sounds of the City" live auditions, commonly held on Tuesday nights at the Fillmore West. On their first night performing, however, AUM veritably knocked the audience off their feet, earning three encores and the longest standing ovation in the history of those auditions.They soon became a popular opening act during 1969, and always put on a high-energy set.

1 I Need You 5:30
2 Little Brown Hen 3:33
3 A Little Help From You 13:39
4 Bye Bye Baby 10:40

This set, recorded at the Avalon Ballroom on a bill with The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Grateful Dead, is no exception. Opening the set with an unreleased track, "I Need You," Wayne Ceballos immediately cuts loose and commands the audience's attention. The remainder of the set includes a hot live take on "Little Brown Hen" and a highly improvised jam on "Bye Bye Baby" - two tracks from their Fillmore Records release Resurrection, - in addition to a 13-minute exploration on "A Little Help From You," a track featured on their debut album, Bluesvibes.
Writing about this particular night, influential music critic Ralph J. Gleason is quoted as saying "AUM came on and broke it up with a wild, swinging set. There is no getting around it; this is an exciting group with the same kind of turn-on going for it that Santana had when they first appeared."


Members:

Wayne Ceballos - guitar, organ, lead vocals, harmonica 
Ken Newell - bass, vocals 
Larry Martin - drums, vocals


A Little Help From You: https://youtu.be/T8lcq0fKL5c  :





Little Brown Hen: https://youtu.be/vFJdnubeWXA :




Aum -  Resurrection (full album, 1969): https://youtu.be/iZhkQb9tU5E :










Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Jim Morrison - interviews (The Lost Tapes)

Interview with Jim Morrison's father and sister:





Nico Icon and Jim Morrison:


FSU College:


Jim Morrison playing piano (Rare Clip):


Jim plays piano:




Tony Thomas & Jim Morrison 1970 Interview:
(Tony Thomas from the CBC interviews Jim Morrison 
Los Angeles, California
May 27, 1970

In May 1970, while awaiting the Simon & Schuster publication of The Lords & The New Creatures, and attracted by the chance to talk intelligently about something other than the music scene, Jim Morrison agreed to a "literary" interview with Tony Thomas of the
Canadian Broadcasting Company. The interview took place at The Doors office in Los Angeles on May 27, 1970 and was partially aired on radio in Canada, but was never published.)







JIM MORRISON SPEAKS! THE LOST INTERVIEW - Jim Morrison  

Part 1:




Part 2:




Part 3:



Part 4:





Part 5:




Part 6:



Friday, June 7, 2013

Sun (jazz, prog rock / Australia)

Originally from Wollongong, a town on the South Coast of NSW Keith Shadwick, Gary Norwell, Henry Correy, Ian Smith and blues guitarist Allan Vander Linden formed a blues band called King Biscuit which play the universities and nightclub circuit in Sydney in 1968-71. King Biscuit played predominantly the music of Muddy Waters, BB King, Howlin Wolf, Sunnyland Slim,Buddy Guy and other urban Chicago blues musician as well as covers of psychedelic rock and soul songs of the late 60s.

King Biscuit changed its name to Sun with the departure of Vander Linden. Sun evolved into a jazz rock band that played the wine bars and many other major venues in Sydney, Australia during the early 1970s. Sun's repertoire in live performances was a strange mixture of psychedelic rock and blues and music strongly inspired by John Coltrane, Archie Shepp and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. All these styles were played with varying degrees of success but with much enthusiasm and peer interest. Their rise to attention was largely due the fact that they were one of the first jazz-rock groups in Australia, challenging musical moulds of the day and garnering critical acclaim from the arts world. As a result they were featured on ABC TV's arts show GTK.

Sun 1972, their only commercial recording, which featured all original material by the band and one past member, and was released by the Australian subsidiary of RCA Records and produced by jazz entrepreneur Horst Liepolt, who later moved to New York and founded the famous Sweet Basil nightclub. The LP was financially unsuccessful yet.

After Ian Smith left the band, Renee Geyer was the singer for twelve months of the band's existence and performed on the album. Starlee Ford took Geyer"s place in the band and under the influence of Shadwick and Norwell the band explored the outer limits of free improvisation, retaining a strong blues connection as well. Starlee Ford's extraoardinary vocal range and openness to all styles of music proved to be a great crowd pleaser. George Almanza left the band and talented keyboardist and guitarist/ songwriter Tony Slavich joined the band. Slavich went on to perform with leading rock band in Australia. Norwell and Shadwick left the band shortly after citing a difference in musical direction. Sun continued for a couple of years with Correy , Ford, Slavich and drummer Ian McLennan. This lineup played a more progrock style and toured Australia extensively but Sun finally folded as an entity after a couple more years.

Keith Shadwick, one of the founding members, went on to record his album Free Time which was released on Candid Records just prior to his death in 2008. The proceeds from the Free Time album are donated to cancer research at Barts Hospital in London. Keith Shadwick's "Free Time" album was launched at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London five days after Keith's death. Young lions of the London jazz scene jammed into the night as a tribute to Shadwick. The "Free Time" album consists of Shadwick on piano and reeds playing his own compositions and features Robert Lucky, and Justin Mcoy on bass guitar with some incendiary drumming by original partner Gary Norwell. Shadwick's music on this album continues the adventurous tradition of the Sun live gigs. The label candidrecords.com.uk have sold out the first pressing of "Free Time".

Sun Bass player Henry Correy has released several successful blues albums. Guitarist Chris Sonnenberg returned to the USA in 1973 and continues to be musically active. Pianist George Almanza had a distinguished career in music and died some years ago.

Many talented musicians played in Sun during the bands brief existence, notably Ian Smith from Thirroul in NSW, who contributed a song to the Sun album, and well known Sydney singer Steve Philipson. Singer-songwriter Richard Clapton had a six-week stint as lead vocalist in early 1973, followed by Starlee Ford, a singer who appeared in the original Australian production of the rock musical Hair and made a major contribution as Geyer's permanent replacement. Pianist Victor Nicholson replaced Almanza before being replaced himself by Tony Slavich Renee Geyer went on to become a figure in the popular music scene.


Members:

Ian Smith: vocals
Starlee Ford: vocals
Tony Slavich: guitar, keyboard
Ian McLennan: drums
Victor Nicholson: piano
Justin Mcoy: bass 
Richard Clapton: lead vocals
Keith Shadwick: tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet  
Chris Sonnenberg: lead guitar  
George Almanza: piano  
Renée Geyer: lead vocals 
Henry Correy: bass 
Gary Norwell: drums



Message:


Discography:

Sun 1972




Source: YouTube


Monday, June 3, 2013

Mercury Rev (psych rock, neo-psychedelia, alternative rock / USA)

Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker (vocals), Jonathan Donahue (vocals, guitars), Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a. "Grasshopper" (guitars, clarinet), Suzanne Thorpe (flute), Dave Fridmann (bass) and Jimy Chambers (drums).

Years active: 1989–present

History:

The first years with David Baker:
With their early records, Mercury Rev offered experimental, psychedelic rock, which gradually shifted to a melodic, ornate sound. Mercury Rev is often compared to The Flaming Lips, and in fact share close ties: soon after the band's formation, Donahue also joined the Flaming Lips as second guitarist and appeared on two of their albums; and since the 1990 album "In a Priest Driven Ambulance", Dave Fridmann has co-produced every Flaming Lips studio album to date except 1993's Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.
Despite considerable critical acclaim, their early releases never gave Mercury Rev more than cult popularity, though they appeared on the smaller second stage at some 1993 "Lollapalooza" stops. Baker left after their second record, "Boces" (1993), citing musical and personal disputes; he later recorded an album as Shady. With his departure, the thematically darker and musically experimental features of the band began to disappear.

Transitional period:
The band's first post-Baker album, "See You on the Other Side" (1995), found them in transition. The album was varied: Like the first releases, it still featured a sprawling psychedelic opening track and noise rock numbers like Young Man's Stride (for which a music video released), but also more melodic songs, such as "Sudden Ray of Hope".
The same year the group also recorded and released the album "Paralyzed Mind Of The Archangel Void" under the moniker "Harmony Rockets". This album features a single forty minutes track of mostly instrumental psychedelic improvised music. It was rated four and half stars, out of five, by AllMusic. The group performed it again in the Don't Look Back concert series in 2009.

Wide critical and commercial success:
The 1998 release of the acclaimed "Deserter's Songs" (which featured appearances by Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band) made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars. In the UK, NME magazine made Deserter's Songs their Album of the Year. Donahue's earnest, high-pitched vocals and concentration on relatively concise, melodic songs gave the band's material an entirely new feel and much increased popularity (Deserter's Songs spawned three UK Top 40 singles).
"All Is Dream" was issued in 2001. It included, "The Dark is Rising," which reached No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart.

Later years:

Mercury Rev's "The Secret Migration" was released on January 24, 2005. This was followed up in 2006, by a compilation album, The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006 and the film soundtrack album Hello Blackbird. More recently, the band released a pair of albums on September 29, 2008: Snowflake Midnight, and a free MP3 album of instrumentals, Strange Attractor.


Members:

Jonathan Donahue - vocals and guitar
Grasshopper (Sean Mackowiak) - guitar
Jeff Mercel - drums and keyboards
Carlos Anthony Molina - bass

Jason Miranda - drums
Dave Fridman - bass

Past members:

David Baker
Suzanne Thorpe
Jimy Chambers
Justin Russo
Jason Russo
Adam Snyder

Paul Dillon


People are so unpredictable:





The Dark is Rising:






Discography:

Albums:

Yerself Is Steam (1991) (1999)
Boces (1993)
See You on the Other Side (1995)
Deserter's Songs (1998)
All Is Dream (2001)
The Secret Migration (2005)
Snowflake Midnight (2008)

Strange Attractor (2008)

Compilation albums/Soundtracks:

2006 - The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006 (compilation)
2006 - Hello Blackbird (soundtrack voor de film Bye Bye Blackbird)

2006 - Back to Mine (compilation)




Saturday, June 1, 2013

Ginger Baker's Air Force (jazz-rock fusion / UK)

Ginger Baker's Air Force were a jazz-rock fusion band comprising Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on organ and vocals, Ric Grech on violin and bass, Jeanette Jacobs on vocals, Denny Laine on guitar and vocals, Phil Seamen on drums, Alan White on drums, Chris Wood on tenor sax and flute, Graham Bond on alto sax, Harold McNair on tenor sax and flute, and Remi Kabaka on percussion. Their first live shows, at Birmingham Town Hall in 1969 and the Royal Albert Hall, in 1970, also included Jeanette Jacobs and Eleanor Barooshian (both former members of girl group The Cake).

The band released two albums, both in 1970: Ginger Baker's Air Force and Ginger Baker's Air Force 2. The second album involved substantially different personnel from the first, with Ginger Baker and Graham Bond being the primary constants between albums.
Ginger Baker's Air Force also played a set at Wembley Stadium on 19 April 1970, during the start of the World Cup Rally, which went from London to Mexico City.

Years Active: 1969 - 1970

Members: 

Graham Bond
Peter 'Ginger' Baker
Denny Laine
Harold McNair
Eleanor Barooshian
Jeanette Jacobs
Chris Wood
Phil Seamen
Remi Kabaka
Rick Grech
Steve Winwood
Aliki Ashman
Bud Beadle
Colin Gibson
Diane Stewart-Bond (as Diane Stewart)
Kenneth Craddock
Anthony "Rebop" Kwaku Baah
Neemoi (Speedy) Acquaye

Steve Gregory


Ginger Baker jams with Nigerian Afro-Rock artistes in Lagos, Nigeria in 1971.

They include: Johnny Haastrup, Joni Haastrup Tee Mac, Tunde Kuboye, Laolu Akins & The Lijadu Sisters. Segun Bucknor & The Sweet Things also featured. Perfomed song, 'Coming back home,' written by Tunde Kuboye. :






Discography 

Ginger Baker's Air Force (1970)

Ginger Baker's Air Force 2 (1970)