The Troggs - Cellophane (Page One - 1967)

The Troggs - Cellophane

The Troggs (Reg Presley, Chris Britton, Pete Staples, Ronnie Bond) have a true garage rock name and the reputation to be one of the first punk rock band ever. They had it all 10 years before the punk revolution: the stupid name begining with "the", raw, basic and lubricious rock'n'roll songs but were still dressed like your average British Invasion pop band with stupid Joan Of Arc style haircuts. Cellophane had the reputation to be record hard to find but not that good, even if one of The Troggs best song, Love Is All Around, is included. Influenced by the psychedelic sound of their London peers, The Troggs didn't really convinced psych specialists with Cellophane even if I find personnaly the album really good. On the reedition I posted, you'll find interesting bonus tracks: 8 single only sides and 2 singles released by Ronnie Bond and Reg Presley while trying to go solo.

New York Noise - Dance Music From The New York Underground 1978-1982 (Soul Jazz Records - 2003)

New York Noise

Released in the middle of the punk funk revival, the first volume of the New York Noise serie is probably the best compilation ever devoted to resurrect New York forgotten underground heroes of the 80's. Often imitated but never matched, Soul Jazz genius gathers tracks everybody must possess. From the seminal Optimo, by Liquid Liquid, a song James Murphy listened really a lot, to Baby Dee by Konk, a mix between electro and Manu Dibango, from the proto techno of Material to the noisy sound of Glenn Branca, from the afro disco of Dinosaur L created by Arthur Russell to the amazing sisters of ESG, all those artists were announcing the Yk music scene twenty years before. A compilation that made me immediately forget all the shitty acts that emerged in the 80's (remember Dire Straits?) and disgusted me from this decade.

Dolly Parton - Coat Of Many Colors (RCA - 1971)

Dolly Parton - Coat Of Many Colors

After a Neil Young post that nobody read, nothing beats a country music one. But country music of the best kind, not that shitty shiny redneck Nashville shit. Coat Of Many Colors made of Dolly Parton a superstar and an American icon for pretty good reasons. Its 12 songs are just beautifully written with a raw country pop twist in the production similar to Johnny Cash. Dolly has that raucous twist in her voice, a raucous twist of a woman that, despite her young age (she was around 25 at the time and had already more of ten years in the music biz under her belt) saw her share of shit happening before music kept her out of abusive poverty. Country music is here only sugar put over wounds of the Deliverance kind. Rock'n'roll.

Neil Young - After The Gold Rush (Reprise - 1970)

Classic... Beautiful... Neo folksters would cut and chew their balls to release such an album.

? And The Mysterians - The Best Of ? And The Mysterians (Abkco - 2005)

? And The Mysterians - The Best Of ? And The Mysterians

This is not a real best of as this compilation gathers ? And The Mysterians two LP's released by Chicago based label Cameo Parkway, 96 Tears and Action, the non-LP single Do Something To Me/Love Me Baby (Cherry July) and two unreleased versions of Midnight Hour and 96 Tears. 96 Tears (69 with the numbers turned around) was ? And The Mysterians moment of glory, their legacy to rock'n'roll 60's circus. This piece of efficiency and minimalism has the best organ (Farfisa, Thomas Organ or Vox Continental, the debate has never been completely settled even if the inner notes plead for Thomas Organ) riff ever written for a rock song, equal with Light My Fire. ? And The Mysterians released the two albums here compiled after this masterpiece and then vanished into obscurity, letting fans mourning their raw fuzzy bluesy garage sound and their shades wearing crazy leader, Rudy Martinez.

Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (EMI - 1967)

Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd always represented what I always hated about rock: a prententious stadium rock band for my old folks, racking in money on their past moments of glory. But I must recognize those guys broke boundaries with The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. As the only real Pink Floyd album composed with Syd Barrett, it's a weird and freaky piece like I rarely heard. Even the popiest moment always dissolve in echoes, distortions and LSD induced experimentations. In fact, it's the equivalent of crashing in while being sober a party where everybody's stoned. It's hard to get in but it's a real mental experience. The version I've posted is the stereo one, included in the 2007 3-CD Deluxe Edition.

The Pretty Things - The Pretty Things (Fontana - 1965)

The Pretty Things - The Pretty Things

All right, all right, I know: another bunch of hairy 60's white boys. Coming just after a post about The Walker Brothers, this can seem a bit too much. But in fact, The Pretty Things had absolutely nothing in common with the Walker boys, except talent. No fucking orchestrated pop here but only the expression of pure bluesy juvenile savagery. You realise something is wrong immediately with the first track, Roadrunner of what is their first LP, The Pretty Things. At first you think "oh no, again, little sloans going from art school trying to play like the bluesmen they grew up on". But suddendly, from the guitar to the voice, everything goes into the red. And calling a song Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut 3 years before 1968 is a the proof of their intuitive ability to feel the air of the time. From the beginning to the end of this album recorded in only 48 hours, you feel an emergency and an energy that set tup how garage or punk would sound like for the years to come. The kind of sound that Jack White still spend his time chasing nowadays.For the little story, those Brits were Rolling Stones acquaintances and get rid of their producer after only half an hour of recording session. Seminal band, seminal record.

The Walker Brothers - After The Lights Go Out - The Best Of 1965-1967 (Phonogram - 1990)

The Walker Brothers - After The Lights Go Out - The Best Of 1965-1967

The Walker Brothers were not brothers. They didn't called Walker and were not related to any Texas Ranger. They had Brit Beat Invasion style haircuts but were Americans and became living legends in the UK. They dressed like popstar but sang sophisticated and orchestrated songs that Frank Sinatra would have not rejected for a Las Vegas show. Scott Walker sang them with an attitude, a strength and a voice so deep and cavernous that it clearly inspired David Bowie, David Sylvian or Neil Hannon. They finally split up in 1978 undermined by Scott Walker solo career, troubles and ego. This very good compilation contains all their noteworthy titles from their best period, among which three absolute masterpiece: Make It easy On Yourself, penned by the pair Baccharach/David, The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore and I Can't Let It happen To You, a nice psychedelic number.

Psych Funk 101 - 1968-1975 - A Global Psychedelic Funk Curriculum (Now Again - 2009)

Psych Funk 101

Once again, Egon is at the control for a trip around the psychedelic nuggets from his huge record collection. Coming from the 4 corners of the earth, from Turkey (Husnu Ozkartal Orkestrasi) to Nigeria (Kukumbas), from South Korea (Kim Sun) to Iran (Mehr Pooya), passing by Lebanon, (Wadih Essafi) Italy (The Group, Armando Sciascia) or Russia (George Garaninan With The Melodiya Jazz Ensemble), this collection of 14 unknown 60's and 70's bands, selected for their talent to mix their native original musical roots with the innovation of American and British psychedelic funk (?) of the same era, will fill with enthusiasm even the most bored looking gentrified western city inhabitant. Fuzzy, funky, moogy, devilish psyche mayhem that changes from punk funk, krautrock or cosmic disco but is in fact not that far away from it...

Sitar Beat ! - Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. 1 (Guerillas Reissues - 2006)

Sitar Beat! - Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. 1

The first volume of the CD version of this famous breakbeat serie is more a producer or DJ tool than a proper compilation. Most of the tracks are exhumed from Bollywood soundtracks of the 70's but are edited: vocal parts are cut and the emphasis is put on the beats and the fuzzy funky psychedelic sitar heavy instrumentation. Amidst the like of Indian music moguls Sapan Jagmohan, Kalyanji Anandji, R.D. Burnan or Usha Khanna, Bollywood style curiosities from Klaus Doldinger, Serge Gainsbourg or Michel Colombier can be found. Volume 2 will be posted soon, I promess.

The Lovin' Spoonful - Daydream (Kama Sutra - 1966)

The name of the label on the cover is pretty cool. And the music on this record too. Hailing from New-York, The Lovin' Spoonful were brilliant musicians, able to rivalize with the greatest of their times. Their lead single, Daydream and its trademark whistle, may have been too much heard, even in commercials, it stays nonetheless infectious. The rest of the album reach the same level, one feet in country and blues, clearly influenced by Sun Records, and the other one on the other side of the ocean in (Swingin') London and the British (Beat) Invasion. The best songs on the albums are two samplable beautiful gems, Didn't Want To Have To Do It and You Didn't Have To Be So Nice that will both make a gorilla drop its tear.

Link in the comments.

Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas - Tropicalia Psychedelic Masterpieces - 1967-1976 (Tropicalia In Furs Records - 2010)

Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas - Tropicalia Psychedelic Masterpieces - 1967-1976

Egon is my new hero, as it is the second post in row I write about a compilation produced by the man. This time, with the help of Joel Stones, they explore the brazilian psychedelic scene from 1967 to 1976, avoiding to select any title that sound... brazilian. No bossa nova or samba roots here: except the portuguese lyrics, those ultra rare excellent raw psychedelic songs could have been produced anywhere in the US or England at the same time. Brazilian music aficionados will be disapointed but funky fuzzy rare groove diggers will appreciate the originality of the selection. In the rich liner notes, Joel Stones precize that most of the artists here featured only released one or two 7" before vanishing into obscurity.

Forge You Own Chains - Heavy Psychedelic Ballads And Dirges - 1968-1974 (Now Again - 2009)

Forge Your Own Chains Heavy - Psychedelic Ballads And Dirges 1968-1974

I wanted to keep this one relatively secret and only post it in a couple of years. But it's just impossible. Forge Your Own Chains is so good that I couldn'it wait to to share it with the rest of the world. It's one of the only compilation on the market where the artists featured go by the names of Ana Y Jaime, Kourosh Yaghmaei or Shadrack Chameleon. Egon, who created this compilation of rare 60's and 70's psychedelia from all over the world , is a true magician with golden ears. This time I don't want to be hypocrite: download the compilation, listen to it and if you like it then BUY IT. It's only worth the price of two beer in most Western countries but will stay with you for the reste of your miserable life.

State Of Micky And Tommy (Magic Records - 2008)

State Of Micky And Tommy

Born in England, Micky Jones and Tommy Brown left their country for France in the mid 60's, looking for a success that was denied to them at home. They became quickly adopted by the cream of the crop of French pop singers that were trying to modernize their sound copying the British Invasion artists. They probably saved Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Halliday careers, crafting them irresistable beat songs. Micky and Tommy became reknowned songwriter and session musicians in France but never really succeed as perfomers despite numerous EP's released under several monikers: Micky & Tommy, The Blackburds, Nimrod or The J&B. From pop to R&B or psyche, they followed every trends but staid in the shadow. Micky finally left France the US where he created Foreigner. This compilation, released in France, gather all their French period EP's and singles as well as their contributions to a couple of soundtracks.

Scott McKenzie - The Voice Of Scott McKenzie (CBS - 1967)

Scott McKenzie - The Voice Of Scott McKenzie

Scott McKenzie is a one hit wonder. His hit was in fact so big it became boomers generational anthem, San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flower In Your Hair). Millions of people bought the single but nobody gave a shit about Scott's album when it went out. Pretty sad, The Voice Of Scott McKenzie being not a that bad pop folk album even if Scott had the charisma of a potato and a limited tone range. The major curiosity on it, for French pop connoisseurs, is his cover of Michel Polnareff's hit La Poupée Qui fait Non, issued as No, No, No, No, No.

Funky Nassau - The Compass Point Story (1980-1986) (Strut - 2008)

Funky Nassau - The Compass Point Story (1980-1986)

From my point of view, the 80's were an absolute musical nightmare. Can you imagine what it was being a teenager with Phil Collins and Dire Straits representing rock'n'roll. The disco-reggae-punk produced at Chris Blackwell's Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas with the cream of the crop of jamaican session musicians (Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Mikey Chung, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson) coupled with two european mercenaries (Barry Reynolds and Wally Badarou) was completely unknown in the small village of the Alps where I grew up. When I realise what I missed, I wish I could time travel to trade my shitty tapes (yes, in the 80's, music was listened on tapes played on strange machines called tape players) against Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads or Ian Dury scorchers here included. Well better late than never...

Ananda Shankar - Ananda Shankar And His Music ( Fallout - 1975)

Ananda Shankar - Ananda Shankar And His Music

The success of my Donovan post makes me believe that psyche fans wander around the internet. Don't look further, I offer you another absolute jewel, not less than Ananda Shankar stellar 1975 psych-funk masterpiece, celebrated for its two dancefloor stormers, Streets Of Calcutta and Dancing Drums, Ananda Shankar And His Music. Only released in India, this record was famous for being pretty rare in its original vinyl form but has been since largely reedited. Excellent from its very first note to the last, it blends perfectly traditionnal Indian instruments with Western influences without sounding like world music cheesy crap. Maybe because Ananda Shankar was a true Indian and not a little white rocker looking for a declining inspiration by digging in the East.

Donovan - A Gift From A Flower To A Garden (EPIC - 1967)

I'm not that much into 70's folk and pop (I leave that to my folks and their friends in fact). But when I played this record it just went... whaouh! This music is so good... and sounds like a good Beck album but made in 1967. What really surprised me is that Donovan has more a reputation for churning out hits than breaking the mould of flower power pop with a vision and a sound that will pass the test of time. Despite its Middle Age inspiration that can be scary at first glance, A Gift From A Flower To A Garden benefits plainly of a well crafted and rich instrumentation that goes beyond the traditionnal borders (a few songs have a strong jazzy feeling) and will bring peace and happiness even within the most hardcore heads.

Donovan - A Gift From A Flower To A Garden

Ebony Bones - Bone Of My Bones (PIAS - 2009)

Pour tout vous dire, je n'avais plus trop envie de continuer ce blog. Avec beaucoup de travail et peu de lecteurs, l'intérêt du truc finit toujours par se tarir. On se dit à quoi bon, bientôt je vais passer plus de temps à écrire sur la musique qu'à en écouter voire à en faire. On se dit aussi, ouh là, si j'en arrive à ne plus avoir envie de faire mon blog, c'est que la dépression guette. Et puis, comme souvent, il suffit d'écouter un bon disque et c'est reparti comme en 14: il faut absolument que je parle de ce truc! Pour Ebony Bones, c'est ce que l'on appelle une hype méritée. Ebony Bones a été encouragée à des débuts par Felix Buxton des Basement Jaxx et sa musique ressemble d'ailleurs à du Basement Jaxx mais en plus punk funk, comme une synthèse réussie de toute la musique produite Outre-Manche depuis 30 ans. Je n'en dirais pas plus, vous savez déjà tout le reste...

Ebony Bones - The Muzik

Well, I don't have that much original to say about it. It is just the kind of album that make you want to continue your blog, just to talk about it, even if everybody does.

X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents (EMI - 1978)

X-Ray Spex, un des groupes séminaux de la scène keupon britannique. Créé autour de deux gamines de 18 ans, Poly Styrene et Laura Logic, X-Ray Spex balança ses bombinettes à la face du monde durant deux années et explosa en plein vol en 1979 après seulement un album et 5 singles, laminé par les excès et les tournées. Pour la petite histoire, Poly Styrene finit par échouer dans une communauté Hare Krishna. Reste de cette aventure une pochette mythique, quelques concepts toujours d'actualité (sur la base de revendications féministes et de critiques acerbes de l'aliénation générée par la société de consommation), la voix rageuse de Poly Styrene et son appareil dentaire, le saxo de Laura Logic (vite remplacée d'ailleurs), qui vient perturber tous les morceaux, même les plus énervés, et une poignée de morceaux qui tiennent encore la route. C'est d'ailleurs surtout lorsque le combo lève un peu le pied (Warrior In Woolworths, Plastic Bag, la ballade synthétique Germ Free Adolescents) que l'on se dit que l'on tenait là un vrai potentiel, un peu arty d'ailleurs, maheureusement inexploité.

X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents

X-Ray Spex is a seminal punk band created around two 18 years old girls, Poly Styrene and Ana Logic. They split up after one album, Germfree Adolescents and 5 singles. Their legacy is a mythic album cover and a handfull of scathing punk songs.