Saturday, January 26, 2008

Sapphire Thinkers - From Within - Hobbit Records - `70





YES ! i brought the FUZZ , ACID & FLOWERS BACK !
hold on tight....
just found this gem the other day .. i am assuming this puppy is pretty scarce.
i have certainly never seen it. i might sell it , so i thought i would share it 1st. hope you kids enjoy this one ! My fave trax : please understand , title track & theres a woman
very nice west coast sunshine psych out of LA with all the right ingredients — organ, fuzz, flute, male/female vocals, cool harmonies, etc. recorded by sandy lehmann-haupt, an original merry prankster and sound man on the Pranksters' bus. Quality from start to finish. and yes, those are mushrooms on the cover.
more ....
Other than Vernon Joynson's entry in Fuzz, Acid and Flowers and his very similar summary of the album in "Flashback", used in the sleeve notes for the CD re-issue, there is very little information on this excellent band and their work. Joynson's summary from the sleeve notes was as follows "...similar to Jefferson Airplane and Peanut Butter Conspiracy...based in LA, they were probably Californian. The album contains some pleasant vocal arrangements/harmonies and nice touches of acid and fuzz guitar and is recommended". I couldn't agree more. If it's light and breezy West Coast psych inflected pop you're looking for, then this band make all the right moves. In addition to melodies and male/female vocal harmonies to rival The Mamas & The Papas, and a groovieness in the vein of Ultimate Spinach, there's a few more things that really stand out on the album for me. These are the technically brilliant snappy keyboard backing on most tracks, the stunning lead guitar breaks that really lift several of the tracks, and the sprinkling of flute over the album. The standout tracks are the title track "From Within" and the amazing "I Got To You" which is contains the best harmony work on the album and some beautifully introspective guitar pieces. Yet another talented bunch of musicians that never received the attention they deserved.



Saphhire Thinkers - From Within - Hobbit Records - `70
*includes high rez front/back cover scans ! MP3 @ 320kbps


1. MELANCHOLY BABY 2:11
2. I FEEL A BIT STRANGE 2:42
3. GET ALONG BOY 1:57
4. BLUES ON YOU 3:03
5. FROM WITHIN 3:23
6. I GOT TO YOU 2:45
1. NOT ANOTHER NIGHT : 2:51
2. LET HER COME IN 2:17
3. PLEASE UNDERSTAND : 2:56
4. BLIND WITH A BORROWED LIGHT 2:30
5. THERE'S A WOMAN 2:40
6. DOIN' ALRIGHT 4:47



DOWNLOAD -- here --


Friday, January 18, 2008

Cityboy - The Day the Earth Caught Fire - `79 - Atlantic





hey ~

ok , as promised , here is the other cityboy LP i have.
this one is probably more consistantly better than the debut.
i really love the title track , the ballads & the closing suite , ambition. enjoy kids !
"all trax from wax" - transferred by akashaman - 2008


aka`


amazon review : [ By Klaus Nrskov (Copenhagen Denmark) ]

The truly amazing thing about City Boy is their vocals. Apart from the even more amazing Sweet and Queen, City Boy is just about the best when it comes to vocal harmonies and multi-layered singing. This record and "Book Early" prove this point wihtout a doubt and with three really strong voices in the band (Broughton, Mason and Ward)their options on the vocal side were numerous - and they knew how to make use of them ... big time.
Also the songwriting is notably strong. Again you will have to start with the same to releases. "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" and "Book Early" are quite simply among the best pop/rock albums of the late seventies. And some of the songs could be regarded as classics. But this was the time of punk and new wave and everybody was looking somewhere else at the time. Simplicity and agression reigned and was preferred to classic qualities such as the above mentioned. And later - when City Boy released "Head are Rolling" - the New Wave of British Heavy Metal had hit the world and what we wanted was twin-guitars and quite different vocal aproaches.
Just the same City Boy was an excellent band and far more interesting than bands of the same genre such as Supertramp, Camel or even contemporary Genesis. All bands that did far better and whos legacy stand much stronger today. I truly find this unfair. City Boy were excellent and should be praised for their fantastic vocal-work and strong songs. They build this on top of a more than decent musicianship. I find this record to be marginally better and more consistent than "Book Early", but really you need to get them both.
This would naturally lead to this record. "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" was the last record with all of the three voices in the band. Broughton left after this record. And it is their best record - chiefly because it is so consistent yet versatile and because the songwriting and musicianship is slightly matured compared to "Book Early". Stand out tracks are the titletrack, "Machines" and the suite-like "Ambition" which are essentially four rather different tracks melted together in a way that works ok, but really you should listen to the four parts as four songs - as a concept it doesn't really work - not for me anyway. If you prefere the more edgy songs of City Boy you might think that the three tracks closing side one on the original LP are one too many to stay awake but at the end of the day they are all strong and melodic tracks.
City Boy never got anywhere, really. Which is quite a shame since they were one of the most interesting bands outside punk during the late seventies. Their vocal work are spectacular and a number of their songs truly stand out - even at this day and age. If you want to buy your way into City Boy, you should start here and go on to "Book Early".
City Boy is a an interesting band who deserved to do better than they did. And if you like complex composing in a compact song-format and in a distinctively seventies ambience ... well, don't hesitate. !

Cityboy - the day the earth caught fire - `79 - atlantic :
MP3 @ 320 kbps - 100 MB -
includes high rez cover scans & lyrix

  • 1. The Day The Earth Caught
  • 2. Its Only The End Of The W
  • 3. Interrupted Melody
  • 4. Modern Love Affair
  • 5. New York Times
  • 6. Up In The Eighties
  • 7. Machines
  • 8. Ambition

A. Ambition
B. me & my tarot
C. rev-on (the crunch)
D. the end (came easy)


DOWNLOAD : -- here --

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Spooky - shock of pleasure [ classic IV cover ]


kelley - lead singer / shock of pleasure


hey all

here is a cover of "spooky" , by the classic IV , redone by my friends band [ shock of pleasure ] i help produce.
was wanting to get some feedback on it ..
let me know what you guys think , either way , thanks alot !

aka`

DOWNLOAD -- here --

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Cityboy - s/t - `76 Mercury Debut





i dunno how i managed to grow up without this lp -- i find it 30 yrs later ! oh well , better late than never eh : this is a nice grower. not sure how this fell through the cracks:
ha , speaking of some of it reminds me of crack the sky , maybe meets kansas. its really good , let me know what you think ~ IF YOU GUYS DIG THIS , I ALSO HAVE "THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE"..
oh ya , & this one was produced by "mutt" lange , back when he was "robert john" !
:)

my fave tracks here are "5,000 years" , thats the epic here eh ? also love "greatest story ever told" & "haymaking time" !

enjoy ~

aka


Studio Album, released in 1976
Track Listings

1. (Moonlight) Shake My Head And Leave (4:25)
2. Deadly Delicious (4:37)
3. Surgery Hours (Doctor Doctor) (3:01)
4. Sunset Boulevard (6:14)
5. Oddball Dance (5:01)
6. 5000 Years / Don't Know Can't Tell (8:38)
7. The Hap-Ki-Do Kid (3:10)
8. The Greatest Story Ever Told (4:46)
9. Haymaking Time (5:30)


Total Time: 45:22
Line-up/Musicians

- Steve Broughton / guitar, vocals
- Chris Dunn / bass, acoustic guitar
- Roger Kent / drums
- Lol Mason / lead vocals
- Mike Slamer / acoustic & electric guitars
- Max Thomas / keyboards


Cityboy - Mercury - `76 - MP3 @ 320 kbps

download -- here --