Thursday, January 4, 2007

Tin Tin - Astral Taxi - `71 - Atco




hey all :

i give to you one of my fave psych pop lp`s i own. along with thier debut this is some really great stuff in the vein of early bee gees. maurice in fact produced & co-produced this stuff !
"i took a holiday" is my fave track here , one of the lovliest tracks i know of ~
these lp`s are super hard to find , i will get to thier debut next , with the infamous "toast & marmalade for tea" !
check out the last track on this "is that the way" for what i consider part II of "toast" , with the same crazy piano sound.
there is alot of variety on this lp , but most of it is very soft & flowing. you can tell this is from wax , but i cleaned it up rather nicely i think , let me know how it sounds !
enjoy `

all trax from wax , transferred by da` shaman - 2007

REVIEW:
Astral Taxi is an excellent second album from keyboard player Steve Kipner, guitarist Steve Groves, and their group, Tin Tin, whose 1971 Top 20 hit "Toast and Marmalade for Tea" actually sounded like a sequel to Marmalade's 1970 Top Ten hit "Reflections of My Life." The Scottish Marmalade was often confused with the Bee Gees, though Tin Tin had more reason to be -- not only did they really sound like the brothers Gibb, they shared the same manager in Robert Stigwood, the same record label in Atco, and Maurice Gibb was executive producer on this follow-up to their debut, Gibb having more hands-on involvement with the first disc. Both the title track, "Astral Taxi," and the second song, "Ships on the Starboard," would have been perfect on a Paul Kantner solo disc. Consider Aztec Two-Step in outer space. Steve Grove's "Our Destiny," on the other hand, is an orchestrated progressive rock instrumental. A heady philosophical essay accompanies the song credit, though the bandmembers don't get the same courtesy. Gerry Shury did the orchestral arrangements, Geoff Bridgeford is most likely on drums, and Johnny Vallins is probably part of the ensemble as well, but the lack of information on who is playing what is distressing for such a great recording and eventual historical artifact. Vallins contributes his songwriting skills to "Ships on the Starboard," "The Cavalry's Coming," and "Benny the Wonderdog." The songwriter also wrote the 1978 number one hit for Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late," along with Kipner's father, Nat Kipner. Steve Kipner and Steve Groves craft a poppy Moody Blues-type number in "Tomorrow Today" along with their producer, Billy Lawrie. Lawrie also co-wrote the final track, "Is That the Way," with the duo, its very Beatlesque elegance being one of the LP's many highlights. Astral Taxi is an enigmatic album for sure, but it works on every level. The more rocking "Jenny B." has horns and guitar battling it out toward the end, a departure from the rest of the music. This 1971 album has three of the guys on the cover photo (as well as on the inside gatefold), but none of their names accompany the faces. They weren't the Bee Gees just yet, nor were they going to be that visible, but when you add up Steve Kipner's Australian hit along with his smash songs for Olivia Newton-John and Chicago in the mid-'80s and include the Tin Tin composition written by Steve Groves, this band -- who was pretty much written off as a one-hit wonder/Bee Gees clone -- turns out to have had immense depth. "I Took a Holiday" will delight fans of the Bee Gees' song "Holiday"; it has their vocal style, charm, and string arrangements. Astral Taxi is a very pleasant album which should be a collectors' item within pop circles.

  • TIN TIN - ASTRAL TAXI - 1971 - ATCO RECORDS - 68 MB - 320 kbps
  • includes high rez front cover scan

  • 1. Astral Taxi
  • 2. Ships On The Starboard
  • 3. Our Destiny
  • 4. Tomorrow Today
  • 5. Jenny B
  • 6. I Took A Holiday
  • 7. Tag Around
  • 8. Set Sail For England
  • 9. The Cavalry's Coming
  • 10. Benny The Wonder Dog
  • 11. Is That The Way


download -- here @ rapidshare

& . . . . . . -- here @ sendspace

27 comments:

Oz Music said...

Thanks for this Shaman - what a superb LP.

Can I ask a favour if you still have the album handy? If you are going to post their other LP soon - and that will be great thanks! - could you also post with it a scan of the back cover of the Astral Taxi LP? I'm curious to read all the details of this superb piece of psych pop.

Thanks again
Oz

akashaman said...

hey OZ
ya this LP really gets to me. there is a bit of info on the inside that i could scan for ya , np. i`ll just include it in the zip file.
the back only has the song titles.
will get to the other by tomorrow ~
& it`s a bit better actually , :)
aka`

Oz Music said...

Thanks a lot - that'll be great!

mocho said...

this is a good one .thanks aka .

Anonymous said...

WOW! Great album!! Thanks!!!

akashaman said...

hold on to your salamanders , i`ll get the DEBUT up today ~

:)

aka`

tilted2oneside said...

Wow I had never heard of these guys before - thanks for turning me on to this

Rainbow Demon said...

I just want to say:
Thanks for the music.

I'll share it on the airwaves with our listeners.

Great Blog.
Peace,
=RD=

Anonymous said...

Sorry, that mediafire never works with me! Any hosting does, but not this!
I know 'Astral Taxi' very well, but it's been a long time since the LP got lost. I want to hear 'Set Sails for England' or 'Jenny B' so much!
But mediafire.com doesn't work with my browser, and some of my friends complain about it, too!
Sorry - sorry - is there a chance to upload it on any other hosting? Maybe it's asking too much but... what can I do??

Still hoping, Michael R, Moscow

alvega said...

Thanks.
On a footnote: I never had any problem (i couldn't solve...) downloading from any host when the file was actually there, but perhaps that's just me....

Anonymous said...

On a footnote: Alvega, if you're so smart, then tell us WHY MediaFire behave like this (blank pages)with hundreds of people. Then we'll know that IT'S JUST YOU, not that you're simply lucky w/your soft or location or whatever...
Me, I tried illegal ways, they ALMOST worked but finaly not. Open our eyes dude!

Anonymous said...

MAN, WE'VE WON!!! I mean this crowd that was devoid of pleasure of marmalade tin-tinnin' all night long! Captain, you finally turned a real sympathetic man after all - and *THANK YOU VERY MUCH*, from the deep jungles of my soul (& I've had some real shamanic experience...)
I didn't check first Tin Tin & Marmalade yet, but i'm sure you'll do he same - and we'll sing songs (like JENNY B) in your praise!

Me, I'm tryin' to update my info files for String Driven Thing, they'll be presented w/the sound files. I have to shovel tons of info, it'll take a day more or two. Then I'll be ready to give it all (disocgraphies, reviews, pictures etc.etc.) to anyone interested. Also, I bought some DARK, TRACTOR & THE WAY WE LIVE discs. Never met 'em on blogs. Can upload 'em - again for just anybody who cares.

Hey man, thak you again, best wishes from Moscow, capital of dearly fuckin' Russia,
Michael R

Unknown said...

Aka, man is this a polished gem! Thank you... The one is worth every moment spent declicking. I liked a couple of early BeeGees tracks like Odessa and Idea but if you picked up the albums they were mostly mush. These guys were the real deal.

Anonymous said...

Hi Akasaman,

Many thanks your share of this Australian group's nice music.


Macaenese5354

Anonymous said...

the first tin tin record is super!

This one is even better!

I had never even seen a copy of this one, so i am thrilled to hear it now!!

It is a fantastic record!!
Thanks so much!

Big Ern xxx

akashaman said...

yo big ern ~
you know this LP rules. the best there ever was , is & will be.
turn it up loud & proud my man.

aka`

akashaman said...

btw , whats up in fuckin` moscow , Michael R ???
holla at ya boy ~!

aka`

Rumtoad said...

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought this when I was 12, for like .50 cents american. IT RULED>>> and now i get to hear it again!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for making these available. I'm embarrased to admit that I remember when they first came out. I had the debut disc on a very early cassette and "Taxi" on vinyl. It'll be nice to have something digital.

Anonymous said...

Thank you SO MUCH for posting these Tin Tin albums online... I loved them when I was growing up and now I found them again. What a treat.

I've been looking for them for a while and I can across you site on a search. Boy, this make my week.

Isn't music amazing... communication of the world.

Anonymous said...

Great to see you all love Tin Tin Have you guys heard Steve & Stevie (Pre Tin Tin) I will upload it if you want, in fact just give me some time and I will see you all soon

akashaman said...

you talkin bout "steve & stevie" ? yup ,i got it , but i am sure others would luv it , thanks !'


aka`

Anonymous said...

Steve And Stevie pre Tin Tin 1968
http://rapidshare.com/files/141671679/SS_1968.rar.html

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this link. A great album, which I still have on the original vinyl - which is unfortunately, almost unlistenable now. I wish I had treated my earliest LPs better, but when you're 13........

Sozza23 said...

Thanks so much for posting this album, I have been hunting record shops for "years" looking for this along with their debut. Great to see like minded people out there.

Anonymous said...

Hi

I've the one of the original masters of the Steve and Stevie LP. In the LP cover with the Black and white photos. I was a friend of Nat Kipner when he was in London and also knew both Stevie Kipner and Steve Groves.

The album has been played infrequently. Is anyone interested?

genegenie

Mariano said...

The link for download of this file is break.