HAPPY HOLIDAYS

As usual I have to work all I can get during Christmas and New Year (need the extra money), so I'm taking a short break from posting and see You next time 2017. Wishing You Happy Holidays wherever You are with lots of good music and many remarkable finds. Kindly /Erik

LAURA NYRO/NEW YORK TENDABERRY S 63510 (-69) UK

For background check post on her previous album "Eli And The Thirteenth Confession". For me this was a lot harder to get into. Backing is sparser, placing her very special voice more in the centre. Her vocal expression may be an aquired taste for some and can take some time to level with, but once you're there it's a perfect fit to the message. The whole atmosphere here is dark and melancholy. I get the impression of a lonely troubled girl sharing both her doubts and search for love, totally open with her heart on the sleeve. So personal, for better or worse, it's like you have to know and accept the person to understand the record...or maybe you get to know her just by listening. Refreshing in a way hearing an album this far from calculating and commercial hooks. Like she didn't care about sales or success, only wanted to get it out. Have to admit that for me one or two lighter tunes would have made the album more balanced and thus easier to take in, but you can't argue with art and that's what I get here - a piece of art so special and self-contained reviews seems pointess. Favorite tracks - "Gibsom Street", "Captain Saint Lucifer" and "Captain For Dark Mornings". Premiere US on Columbia (KCS 9737). 2002 CD on Columbia (508069 2) came with two bonus tracks. First UK had label as shown here, heavy vinyl, SBPG matrixes and thin matt fold/out cover. (FÄV*)

GENESIS/WIND AND WUTHERING CDS 4005 (-76) UK

Continuing the "Trick Of The Tail" post. After my personal disappoinment with that otherwise so popular and praised LP it took a while before I got to this follow-up, thinking it would entail the same lack of connection on my part. I needn't have worried. Besides having all the positive features of the former, it's also far more emotional and inviting. Sounds like they'd already past the post-Gabriel test with flying colors and now could pipe down and let the inspiration flow without having to prove anything. The only track I could be without is "Wut Gorilla?" (doesn't fit in), but the rest works wonders for me. Pondering about what makes this so much better to my ears I find the answer in the small details. Like the build up to the mid piano part in "One For The Vine" setting it off so gracefully, the simple guitar figures accompaning the refrain in " Your Own Special Way", or the deep bass in "Blood On The Rooftops". Small things maybe, but small things constitute all big pictures and the attention to details is what separates the truly great from the merely good. Issued and reissued on all possible medias all over the world through the years. First US on ATCO (SD 36-144). Premiere UK had label as shown here and thin structured cover with glossy lyric/credid inner. (CÄX*) (GYÄ*)

GENESIS/A TRICK OF THE TAIL CDS 4001 (-76) UK

After Peter Gabriel left the band set out to prove they could manage well without him and this first album as a quartet showed they did. Released to critical acclaim with big sales, reaching #3 in UK and #31 in US, it has also remained one of the band's most popular. And with the mix of complicated prog figures and commercially catchy parts I should be in love, but I'm not. In fact this was the first Genesis album I didn't truly connect with (not counting the "From Genesis To Revelation" debute which I never liked). It doesn't make sense. All the right elements are there for me - well written songs including both experimenting and good melodies topped with Phil Collins pleasant vocals. Production and arrangements meticulous and audio superb, but I can't get inside. At the time just thought I missed Gabriel, but since their next LP - "Wind And Wuthering" - immediately asked me in and embraced the shit out of me it can't be that either. I just have to accept this is a very good album loved by most other fans, but I'm not invited to the party. If I still have to pick favorites - title song and "Dance On A Vulcano". Issued and reissued on all possible medias all over the world through the years. First US on ATCO (SD 36-129). Premiere UK had label as shown here and matt fold/out cover with picture inner. (CÄX*) (GYÄ*)

GOLDEN POPS SML 1027 (-68) UK MONO + STEREO

First Deram sampler, containing numbers from the label's early years. As released in "stereo" only you'd expect at least some rare two-channel cuts to appear, but no. Insted you get a mix mix. Ten Years After "Portable People" and the two Move tracks are mono, "Whiter Shade Of Pale" fake stereo and the rest true stereo. Six of the tracks were previously 45 only and here for the first time on UK LP - TYA "Portable People", Move "I Can Hear The Grass Grow" and "Night Of Fear", Procol Harum "Whiter Shade Of Pale", Flower Pot Men "Let's Go To San Fransisco" and Johnny Howard Orchestra "Bonnie And Clyde". Back then budget samplers was it if you couldn't afford to buy all hit singles. Today probably less rewarding in a computerized context with CD.s and downloads, but you do get the original audio - natural and analogically direct in a way no modern methods could mimic - and that's gotta be worth something. This was a UK only issue, also exported. First came with label as shown here and laminated cover. (SÄM*) (DÄRR*)

PETER, PAUL AND MARY/A SONG WILL RISE W 1589 (-65) US MONO

A combo I never listened closely to as a teen in the sixties. I wanted my music pushy and boundary-breaking and this was way too soft for me. Girlfriends dug it and for some reason it was also approved by many of the communist youth groups I went in and out of back then, so they were played a lot at gatherings and parties. This is one of the albums I remember, both from courting and communions. Thought it would be fun to listen again and see if I like it better fifty years later. And actually at large it's not that far from the UK folk stuff I fancy today. The acoustic backing including double bass, the vocal style and even part of the song choices are about the same. "The Cuckoo" and "Gilgarra Mountain" (Whiskey In The Jar) are British traditionals and others folk standards on both sides of the Atlantic. "Monday Morning" became a huge hit in Sweden and still loved as "Balladen Om Fredrik Åkare Och Den Söta Fröken Cecilia Lind", translated and first performed here by singer/songwriter Cornelis Vreeswijk. All the above make me feel at home and even if still a little too soft for my taste the lines are open and I will come back for more. Issued on vinyl all over the world in the sixties. First UK came with same label, number and cover design. US CD on Warner Bros. (9 26225-2) Premiere US had label as shown here and glossy cover. (YZÄ*) (ÖXCÅ*)

THE HOLLIES/THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOLLIES PMC 7176 (-78) UK MONO + STEREO

How much can you expect from a band compilation issued around ten years after the fact? I guess anticipations differ, but in my world this is near bloody perfect and could be used as a role model for how it should be done. I get twenty single B-sides from one of my favorite sixties bands, all carrying original mixes - four stereo and sixteen mono - with very good audio. Each track has info on relating A-side, release date and 45 record number. Rear cover also has deeper insights to some of the songs by renowned music journalist Mick Houghton. The package quality is more than sufficient - on the black silver Parlophone label with a mono number, hosted in a fully laminated Garrod & Lofthouse sleeve. One might think a compilation of flip sides would convey less important stuff than a Greatest Hits and here maybe so, but not by much. It's a well corresponding blend of garage r&b, intelligent pop and psych and pretty much the same ride, just from the back seat this time. Such an amount of goodies I'm having a hard time picking favorites, but maybe these for now - "Signs That Will Never Change", "So Lonely", "All The World Is Love", "Do The Best You Can" and "Nobody". Released in UK only. 1990 reissues on See For Miles Records on vinyl (SEE 302) and CD (SEECD 302) both came with two bonus tracks. First had label as shown here and thin fully laminated cover. (HÖLY*) (PÖX*) (PÖP*)

GROUNDHOGS/THANK CHRIST FOR THE BOMB LBS 83295 (-70) UK

An album all accomplished fans of white blues seems to have an opinion about and most of them very positive. It has a well known history and is often mentioned as a cruisal point in the band's carreer - where the more traditional blues developed to incorporate elements of prog and hard rock and lyrics dealing with political or social issues. Many white blues bands at the time changed their agendas to hard rock and/or prog and seldom looked back. What's special with this is - though loud and heavy with repetitive riffs, howling solos and sometimes odd swings it's still just blues and nothing else. All centered around Tony McPhee's songwriting, guitars and vocals with bassist Pete Cruickshank and drummer Ken Pustelnick so precisely adaptive they come out like one stable organism. Audio is absolutely tophole - loud and cheeky, yet clear and natural. This doesn't take you by the hand and gently place you in the listening chair. Instead the power will press you down and force you to sit put till it's over. I usually don't like being pushed, but in this case don't mind at all. Favorite tracks - "Strange Town", "Thank Christ For the Bomb" and "Rich Man, Poor Man". 1970 releases on Liberty in US, Canada, downunder and a couple of European countries. UK 2014 CD on Parlophone (ERLP-2003). Premiere UK had label as shown here and structured fold/out cover. (XLÄ*)

STAIRCASE TO NOWHERE KIRI 070 (-86) UK MONO + STEREO

The twelfth of twenty Bam Caruso samplers (Rubble 1-20), each including some of the oddest sixties recordings from mostly long forgotten UK psych, freak beat and mental bands. This is no exception. If you're a serious genre and/or label collector East Of Eden "Nothern Hemisphere" and World Of Oz "Like A Tear" might be on original albums in your collection, but the rest were non-LP - here six Deram A:s and eight B:s - and I guess very few of us can count in all of those. Musically maybe not to everyone's taste, but for rooters like me who prefer the inventive and unrestrained and also value historical aspects it's heaven. A few exemples: Timebox "Gone Is The Sad Man" - dreamy piece from the band that later developed into Patto. Warm Sounds "Night Is A-Comin'/Smeta Murgaty - both sides of their last single, weird melodic with psych guitars, just before they merged with Hapshash & The Coloured Coat. Bulldog Breed's "Portcullis Gate" - stylewise close to the "Made In England" album, but far from the members later work with T2 or Asgard. Denny Laine "Catherine's Wheel" - orchestrated and melodic B-side with high-pitched vocals also including Viv Prince on drums, recorded somewhere between Laine's Moody Blues and Wings assignments. I could go on digging deeper and flaunting all numbers, but that would take a novel and we don't want that. You get the idea - to me it combines the very rare with the very good and comes highly recommended. All cuts are true mixes - "Northern Hemisphere", "Like A Tear" and "Gone Is The Sad Man" stereo, the rest mono. Released in UK only. Nineties reissue on Past & Present Records (PAPRLP 012). Don't know of any CD issues. First had label as shown here, laminated cover and picture/info inner including the band's discographies. (SÄM*) (ÖGÄ*)

KARL GERHARD/EN KARL GERHARD-CAVALCADE R-LP-1000 (-55) SWEDEN

My collecting isn't just about the music I heard in my teens - pop/rock/psych/prog and related. I also enjoy finding all kinds of early LP.s and then especially well-endowed oddities like this. The artist Karl Gerhard (1891-1964) has a story far too long for this media. Following is a seriously abridged version. From debute 1919 up to his death he was one of the main characters in Swedish show-biz as actor, author, songwriter, theater manager and performer in around thirty popular stage shows, known for his intelligent, funny and often mean lyrics. In spite of the elegant and even snobbish appearance his heart was to the left and he loved making fun of the upper classes and the political establishment. A known anti-fascist and during World War II one of his shows - "Den Ökända Hästen Från Troja" (The Notorious Horse From Troy) - was banned and put down by the Swedish authorities because of its sharp edge against Hitler, as they were afraid it could lead to an invasion. This 2x10 inch has studio re-recordings of eighteen of his most loved songs, performed as vocal with piano backing. To my knowledge it was one of the very first Swedish pressed LP. It's also one of the first double albums anywhere not being a compilation or from a live performance, but containing studio recordings made especially for the release. Sold in an edition of 1000 numbered and signed copies on a label created for the occation. Sleeve seems to have been made by a book manufacturer with its thick hard binding, structured black/gold spine and brown paper pockets for the records and lyric booklet instead of pages inside. Totally irresistable and a feast for all senses. (SCÄ*) (CCÖ*) (NYFÖ*) (MÖRS*)

JUNE TABOR/ASHES AND DIAMONDS 12TS 360 (-77) UK

For background also check post on her "A Cut Above" album. This was its closest predecessor and since issued three years earlier you'd expect them to differ a lot due to the long time span inbetween. And there are a few dissimilarities. The instrumental support here is less sparse - one cut even has a drum/bass backing - and the wistfulness isn't as overwhelming. Some of the numbers are actually positive and humorous, reminding of what she did with Maddy Prior on "Silly Sisters". But more important - that darkish, unbridled and (dare I say) sexy voice is already here setting the tone for the whole record, giving it an enticing quality making me wanna return for yet another spin. "A Cut Above" has always been my June Tabor favorite, so perfect for autumn moods. This has its fair share of melancholy moments too, but can also bring a smile. Both high quality folk music LP:s and which to prefer just a matter of state of mind. Favorite tracks - "Streets Of Forbes", "Now I'm Easy" and "Flowers Of The Forrest". Originally released in UK only. US 1991 CD on Green Linnet (GLCD 3063). Not sure if this first matrix vinyl was pressed over a longer period on various label designs and in that case how early this particular one is. However the audio is top notch, natural and touching, so it's good either way. It came in a thin, fully laminated cover. (FÄV*) (BRYF*) (QÖP*) (JÖB*)