Leigh Stephens (ex Blue Cheer) - And A Cast Of Thousands (1971)

Year: 1971 (CD 2004)
Label: Akarma Records (Italy), AK 094
Style: Rock, Soul
Country: San Francisco, California, U.S.
Time: 32:20
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 212 Mb

Rock guitarist Leigh Stephens was a founding member of the power trio Blue Cheer, a hard rock band based in San Francisco, along with bassist/vocalist Dickie Peterson and drummer Paul Whaley. The group was signed to Philips Records and released its debut album, Vincebus Eruptum, in January 1968. Containing a Top 20 revival of Eddie Cochran’s "Summertime Blues," the LP soared to number 11 in the Billboard chart. Less successful was the follow-up, Outsideinside, released in August 1968, which reached the Top 100. In late 1968, Stephens, who later described himself as the only member of Blue Cheer not to be "chemically challenged" (i.e., using drugs), was asked to leave the group after criticizing the behavior of his bandmates. He signed a solo deal with Philips and moved to Great Britain, where he recorded his debut solo album, Red Weather (February 1969). Returning to San Francisco, he formed a new band, Silver Metre, with singer Jack Reynolds on bass, keyboard player Pete Sears, and drummer Mick Waller. The band signed to National General Records and released one self-titled album, which was notable for containing three Elton John/Bernie Taupin songs, two of which, "Country Comforts" and "Now They’ve Found Me" (aka "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun") had not yet appeared on an Elton John album. Silver Metre broke up in November 1970, and Stephens recorded a second solo album, Cast of Thousands (1971) for the British Charisma label. He then formed a new band, Pilot, which featured Waller, guitarist Bruce Stephens (who had been a replacement member of Blue Cheer), bassist Neville Whitehead, and Martin Quittenton. They signed to RCA Victor Records and released a self-titled debut album in 1972, after which Stephens left the group. His next band was called Foxtrot and featured keyboard player George Michalski, bassist/vocalist Gary Richwine, and drummer David Beebe. They signed to Motown Records and recorded an album in 1974, but it was never released. More abortive projects followed during the ’70s and into the 80s, but Stephens did not have another legitimate record release until 1998, when he was a member of a band called Chronic with a "K" also featuring singer/keyboardist Melissa Olsen, bassist Ron Stone, and drummer Ryan Goodpastor that released Ride the Thunder on ChroniCorp Records. In 2004, Stephens self-released his third solo album, High Strung/Low Key.
(ru.motolyrics.com/leigh-stephens.html)

01. The World Famous Soul Transplant (03:30)
02. Medicine Man (03:46)
03. Simple Song (04:48)
04. Handful Of Friends (01:49)
05. Oh Lord (05:32)
06. Jumping Jack Flash (04:47)
07. Sweet Love Of Mine (02:42)
08. Chunk Of Funk (05:24)

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Love - Forever Changes (1967) (double CD)

Year: 1967 (CD 2008)
Label: Rhino Records (Europe), 812279938-4
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Rock
Country: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Time: 42:55, 78:43
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 259, 449 Mb

Love's Forever Changes made only a minor dent on the charts when it was first released in 1967, but years later it became recognized as one of the finest and most haunting albums to come out of the Summer of Love, which doubtless has as much to do with the disc's themes and tone as the music, beautiful as it is. Sharp electric guitars dominated most of Love's first two albums, and they make occasional appearances here on tunes like "A House Is Not a Motel" and "Live and Let Live," but most of Forever Changes is built around interwoven acoustic guitar textures and subtle orchestrations, with strings and horns both reinforcing and punctuating the melodies. The punky edge of Love's early work gave way to a more gentle, contemplative, and organic sound on Forever Changes, but while Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean wrote some of their most enduring songs for the album, the lovely melodies and inspired arrangements can't disguise an air of malaise that permeates the sessions. A certain amount of this reflects the angst of a group undergoing some severe internal strife, but Forever Changes is also an album that heralds the last days of a golden age and anticipates the growing ugliness that would dominate the counterculture in 1968 and 1969; images of violence and war haunt "A House Is Not a Motel," the street scenes of "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hillsdale" reflects a jaded mindset that flower power could not ease, the twin specters of race and international strife rise to the surface of "The Red Telephone," romance becomes cynicism in "Bummer in the Summer," the promise of the psychedelic experience decays into hard drug abuse in "Live and Let Live," and even gentle numbers like "Andmoreagain" and "Old Man" sound elegiac, as if the ghosts of Chicago and Altamont were visible over the horizon as Love looked back to brief moments of warmth. Forever Changes is inarguably Love's masterpiece and an album of enduring beauty, but it's also one of the few major works of its era that saw the dark clouds looming on the cultural horizon, and the result was music that was as prescient as it was compelling.
(www.allmusic.com/album/forever-changes-mw0000193671. AllMusic Review by Mark Deming)

CD1:

01. Alone Again Or (03:16)
02. A House Is Not A Motel (03:31)
03. Andmoreagain (03:18)
04. The Daily Planet (03:30)
05. Old Man (03:02)
06. The Red Telephone (04:50)
07. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale (03:34)
08. Live And Let Live (05:26)
09. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This (03:08)
10. Bummer In The Summer (02:24)
11. You Set The Scene (06:52)

CD2:

01. Alone Again Or (03:15)
02. A House Is Not A Motel (03:35)
03. Andmoreagain (03:25)
04. The Daily Planet (03:40)
05. Old Man (03:08)
06. The Red Telephone (05:23)
07. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale (03:40)
08. Live And Let Live (05:37)
09. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This (03:11)
10. Bummer In The Summer (02:31)
11. You Set The Scene (07:03)
12. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake-Original Mix) (03:21)
13. Hummingbirds (Demo) (02:41)
14. A House Is Not A Motel (Backing Track) (03:11)
15. Andmoreagain (Alternate Electric Backing Track) (03:08)
16. The Red Telephone (Tracking Sessions Highlight) (02:07)
17. Wooly Bully (Outtake) (01:27)
18. Alone Again Or (Mono Single Remix) (02:54)
19. Your Mind And We Belong Together (Tracking Sessions Highlight) (08:16)
20. Your Mind And We Belong Together (04:27)
21. Laughing Stock (02:31)

CD1:       TurboBit          KatFile

CD2:       TurboBit          KatFile

Kevin Ayers - Whatevershebringswesing (1971) CD

Year: 1980 (CD 12 March 2014)
Label: Parlophone Records (Japan), WPCR-15526
Style: Art Rock, Prog Rock
Country: Kent, England (16 August 1944 - 18 February 2013)
Time: 74:22
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 435 Mb

Background:
In 1971, Kevin Ayers started recording what would become his most acclaimed album, Whatevershebringswesing accompanied by members of Gong and his previous backing band The Whole World. Praised by NME, Record Mirror and Rolling Stone, the album realized all the musical aspirations Ayers had harboured since the inception of Soft Machine.
As with most Ayers albums, a collision of disparate styles confronts the listener but in this instance they work to extremely powerful effect. The title track with Mike Oldfield's guitar accompaniment and Robert Wyatt’s wracked harmonies would become a template for Ayers subsequent '70s output.
The album opens with "There Is Loving/Among Us" accompanied by David Bedford's dramatic orchestral arrangement. There follow the vignettes "Margaret" and "Oh My" where Ayers juxtaposes terse lyrics against measured backing. "Song from the Bottom of a Well" marries an explosive arrangement, again featuring Oldfield, to Ayers’ cryptic lyric "This is a song from the bottom of a well / There are things down here / I've got to try and tell". The title track is notable for Oldfield's extended bass solo at the beginning, while "Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes", a flirtation with Ayers' love of early rock and roll, would become a staple of his live set for years to come, a song he would re-record twice that decade.
Many critics and fans have cited Whatevershebringswesing as their favourite Ayers album and it remains to this day a best seller in his catalogue.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatevershebringswesing)

Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was a major influential force in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the pioneering psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely associated with the Canterbury scene. He recorded a series of albums as a solo artist and over the years worked with Brian Eno, Syd Barrett, Bridget St John, John Cale, Elton John, Robert Wyatt, Andy Summers, Mike Oldfield, Nico and Ollie Halsall, among others. After living for many years in Deia, Majorca, he returned to the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s before moving to the south of France. His last album, The Unfairground, was released in 2007. The British rock journalist Nick Kent wrote: "Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett were the two most important people in British pop music. Everything that came after came from them."
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Ayers)

01. There Is Loving / Among Us / There Is Loving (07:22)
02. Margaret (03:20)
03. Oh My (02:59)
04. Song From The Bottom Of A Well (04:37)
05. Whatevershebringswesing (08:13)
06. Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes (03:24)
07. Champagne Cowboy Blues (03:59)
08. Lullaby (02:11)
09. Lunatic's Lament (BBC Bob Harris Session) (bonus track) (04:28)
10. The Oyster And The Flying Fish (BBC Bob Harris Session) (bonus track) (03:01)
11. Butterfly Dance (BBC Bob Harris Session) (bonus track) (03:36)
12. Whatevershebringswesing (BBC Bob Harris Session) (bonus track) (07:45)
13. Falling In Love Again (BBC Bob Harris Session) (bonus track) (03:25)
14. Queen Thing (BBC Bob Harris Session) (bonus track) (00:52)
15. Another Whimsical Song (BBC John Peel Show) (bonus track) (00:22)
16. The Lady Rachel (BBC John Peel Show) (bonus track) (03:52)
17. Stop This Train (Again Doing It) (BBC John Peel Show) (bonus track) (06:11)
18. Didn't Feel Lonely 'Til I Thought Of You (BBC John Pell Show) (bonus track) (04:35)

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Pretty Things - Cross Talk (1980) CD

Year: 1980 (CD 26 April 2006)
Label: Strange Days Records (Japan), POCE 1007
Style: Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 46:40
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 333 Mb

Who would have thought it? Reunited after splitting in the mid-'70s, the Pretty Things return with a new wave album. It's not what anyone might have expected, but it's very far from a disaster. The stop-on-a-dime arrangements and natural power show them to be well-seasoned, and Phil May, with an extremely mannered voice, comes across as a taunting frontman. In fact, you tend to feel that if Thin Lizzy had eased up on the metal, they might have made an album very much like this -- great, catchy songs based in R&B and old rock & roll ("Lost That Girl") -- but with the tongue firmly in cheek (check the Sting imitation on "No Future") while pandering to fashion. But when the results are as good as the jangly "Office Love" or "I'm Calling," you really don't care where the tongue's residing. There's a sense of history about the '50s drums on "Falling Again" that no young bucks could ever match, nor could they come close to the band's overall professionalism or stinging guitar work of Peter Tolson. Any of these ten tracks would have made a great single and by rights should have returned the band to major-name status. But justice is thin on the ground in music and instead it became one of the lost Pretties albums -- a shame, since in its own lighter way, it's every bit as good as their classic albums of a decade earlier. Some reunions don't work; this one just roars.
(allmusic.com. AllMusic Review by Chris Nickson)

Something close to an all-star lineup: May, Waller, Alan, Tolson, Povey and a recussitated Dick Taylor. Co-producer John Astley was Pete Townshend's brother-in-law and had previously worked on Who Are You, and Cross Talk frequently resembles the more popular band, less Townshend's creativity or sythesizer fetish ("I'm Calling" or "Sea of Blue"). They were told old, and too commercial to have gone punk, but at least they chose a direction, which in itself was an improvement. So new wave it was, and Cross Talk fit right in with 1980: lots of electric rhythm guitars, few solos, and Povey's keyboards reduced to flourishes. May's perpetual vocal idiosyncracies make him ideal for the taut rock assembled behind him, even if he does cop Sting at one point ("No Future"). The band really focused on their songs, writing a pile of guitar-led songs that retain the old R&B flavor in parts ("I'm Calling"), and their performances are spraightly ("Edge of the Night," "The Bitter End" or "Office Love" with an odd "no sex" postscript). The songs are mostly May/Tolson, but stairwells above their previous work, and the contemporary production fruitfully boxes in Tolson's guitar lines ("Office Love"). After the confusion in their previous albums, a return to form is a splendid surprise, even if there are a few minor detours (the ballad "She Don't", or the partially tropical "Falling Again"). Cross Talk was new wave geezer rock: shiny, a bit sleezy, energetic and unthreatening. Not a renaissance, but we'll take it.
(jhendrix110.tripod.com/PrettyThings.html)

01. I'm Calling (04:04)
02. Edge of the Night (03:18)
03. Sea of Blue (03:12)
04. Lost That Girl (02:47)
05. Bitter End (03:14)
06. Office Love (04:10)
07. Falling Again (03:18)
08. It's So Hard (03:13)
09. She Don't (04:07)
10. No Future (04:34)
11. Wish Fulfillment (Bonus track) (03:06)
12. Sea About Me (Bonus track) (03:23)
13. The Young Pretenders (Bonus track) (04:10)

TurboBit           KatFile

Blue Cheer - The Beast Is Back (1984) CD

Year: 1984 (CD 1996)
Label: Megaforce Records (U.S.)
Style: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Country: San Francisco, California, U.S.
Time: 37:16
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 261 Mb

The Beast Is Back is the seventh album by a newly reformed Blue Cheer, 13 years after their previous album, Oh! Pleasant Hope (1971). It contains re-recorded versions of some of the band's most popular songs from their late-1960s heyday as well as new material. The album features founding members Dickie Peterson and Paul Whaley. Original guitarist Leigh Stephens did not participate in the reunion.
The Beast Is Back has been released with three different album covers.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beast_Is_Back)

01. Nightmares (05:03)
02. Summertime Blues (03:57) ("Vincebus Eruptum" 1968)
03. Ride with Me (05:25)
04. Girl Next Door (03:39)
05. Babylon (04:12) ("Outsideinside" 1968)
06. Heart of the City (04:19)
07. Out of Focus (03:43) ("Vincebus Eruptum" 1968)
08. Parchment Farm (06:55)

TurboBit           KatFile

Grand Funk Railroad - Live Album (1970) CD

Year: 1970 (CD 26.09.2002)
Label: Capitol Records (Japan), TOCP-67004
Style: Garage, Hard Rock
Country: Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Time: 79:08
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 553 Mb

Every Home Should Have One: Grand Funk Railroad's Live Album.
On July 15, 1973, Grand Funk released the classic We're An American Band. In 2008, Masterplan's Roland Grapow told Classic Rock why he loved the band's 1970 Live Album.
"I heard this album for the first time back in 1971 when my neighbour and I borrowed it from his older brother’s collection. As a 12-year-old schoolboy from Hamburg I was already listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival and Uriah Heep. Further down the line, Slade’s Alive album (1972) was another very important album for me. But Grand Funk Railroad’s incredible mixture of blues, soul and rock just blew me away. It was a very important album in the development of heavy metal.
"By the time I first heard them, Grand Funk had already released On Time (1969), Grand Funk (aka the Red Album, also 1969), Closer To Home (1970) and Survival (1971), so I went out and bought everything, including my own copy of Live Album. Because it was the 70s, bands made two albums a year in those days. Masterplan take two years to make a record, which is way too long.
"Grand Funk had the perfect sound for a power trio As Homer Simpson would famously describe it: ‘[Guitarist/vocalist] Mark Farner’s wild, shirtless lyrics, the bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher and the competent drum woirk of Don Brewer’.
"But seriously, Mark Farner inspired me to become a musician; I started singing and playing guitar after becoming hooked on that album. Their version of The Animals’ Inside Looking Out is great, and their own songs, like Heartbreaker, Paranoid and In Need are still among my all-time favourites.
"Although the critics didn’t like them, and the radio also turned its back, Grand Funk still became enormous in America, selling millions of records. Probably because of that they didn’t play in Europe too often, though I got to see them in Hamburg in 1974. By that time they had added extra musicians. And because it was in a nice, seated venue it felt a bit too stiff. But I was glad that I saw them anyway.
"I always liked Grand Funk best as a three-piece. The bass filled out the spaces a little more than with most trios, and Farner used to play some Hammond organ. They also had quite a distorted sound, which I really liked.
"I never tire of listening to Live Album. The best thing about them was the sheer excitement of their live performance. With the studio work, some of that got lost. On Live Album the singing was wilder, the drumming was more powerful, there was a lot more magic. They did release another concert set, Caught In The Act (1975), but it was done as a four-piece. If you haven’t listened to Grand Funk before, this is the place to start. Especially the remastered version, which has wonderful sound quality."
(www.loudersound.com. By Dave Ling "Classic Rock" January 09, 2008)

01. Introduction (02:27)
02. Are You Ready (03:38)
03. Paranoid (07:19)
05. Heartbreaker (07:10)
06. Words Of Wisdom (00:52)
07. Mean Mistreater (04:53)
08. Mark Say's Alright (05:13)
09. T.N.U.C. (10:54)
10. In Need (Live) (11:30)
10. Inside Looking Out (13:43)
11. Into The Sun (11:26)

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Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (1989) CD

Year: 1989 (CD 1998)
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (US), UDCD 735
Style: Rock, Southern Rock, Roots Rock
Country: Florida, U.S. (October 20 1950 - October 2 2017)
Time: 40:04
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 274 Mb

Tom Petty picks his friends well. Touring behind Bob Dylan in 1986 helped him and his band, the Heartbreakers, make their most spontaneous and feisty record, 1987’s Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough). And his tenure in the Traveling Wilburys let the usually straight-faced Petty loosen up even more: He came up with one of his funniest tunes — "Last Night" — but more important, his performances seemed to gain strength from the relaxed atmosphere. Instead of worrying about writing songs as barbed as Bob Dylan’s, playing guitar as tersely as George Harrison or singing as gloriously as Roy Orbison, Petty just casually leaned forward and played and sang as directly and freely as he could.
Full Moon Fever is another rewarding, low-key side project for Petty. Produced by fellow Wilbury Jeff Lynne, the record is technically Petty’s first solo outing, though all the Heartbreakers except for drummer Stan Lynch make an appearance. What’s more, all the Wilburys save one (Bob Dylan) also show up: Full Moon Fever has the same restless charm and barbed wit as the Wilburys’ LP.
Although Petty and Heartbreaker guitarist-songwriter Mike Campbell earn coproduction credits on the album, it is Lynne who holds sway. The former Electric Light Orchestra leader’s production technique often builds banks of keyboards and backing vocals so high it’s hard to see the song behind them, but on Full Moon Fever there are few of his characteristic excesses. In fact, the broader sound that Lynne brings to these twelve songs (most written by Petty and Lynne) usually fills them out without cluttering them. On songs like the brooding, deliberate rocker "I Won’t Back Down," Lynne adds his trademark layers with a slightly lighter touch than usual; only on the grand-sounding "Love Is a Long Road" do the synthesizers and extra vocals beef up an arrangement with fat instead of muscle.
The opening song, the delicate "Free Fallin’," is not only the standout on Full Moon Fever but also one of the most concise, well-rounded performances of Petty’s career. Over a spiral of acoustic guitars, Petty sings the tale of an abandoning lover. His story is full of internal inconsistencies — if he doesn’t miss her, why is the whole first verse about her? — that serve to underline the character’s misgivings. "I’m free!" Petty cries as he barges into the chorus, holding out some redemption for his narrator. But after a pause, he delivers the dark punch line: He’s not free, he’s merely "free fallin’." Although Lynne’s smooth backing vocals cushion Petty as much as they can, this is one story that holds no happy landing.
"Free Fallin’ " isn’t the only high point on this sprawling album. The hell-bent "Runnin’ Down a Dream," which offers a bruising solo by Campbell, suggests that Petty picked something up from touring with the ferocious Georgia Satellites, and "A Mind With a Heart of Its Own," a pop variation on the Bo Diddley beat, offers up offhand verses absurd and unexpected enough to make even Dylan smile. The barbs reach their peak on "Yer So Bad," which burps up a hilariously understated opening couplet ("My sister got lucky/Married a yuppie"); it’s a track that could have fit on Beatles ’65. "The Apartment Song" — more folk rock, but with a Chuck Berry edge — also engages in some nostalgia, with a drum break swiped wholesale from Buddy Holly’s "Peggy Sue."
Although Full Moon Fever doesn’t sound like a Petty-with-the-Heartbreakers record, there is much on the album to please longtime Petty fans. The chorus of "Depending on You," with its cascading guitar and keyboard parts, is the most overtly Heartbreaker-like, and the hard-earned lullaby "Alright for Now" recalls "It’ll All Work Out," from Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough).
The most inexplicable track is a note-for-note cover of the Byrds’ "Feel a Whole Lot Better" that’s all too obvious — Petty’s voice has always been a ringer for Roger McGuinn’s, and this song is the clear antecedent to Petty’s "Listen to Her Heart." But Petty’s just-as-obvious love for the song steamrolls over most objections.
The whole point of Full Moon Fever, however, is that it makes room for something like "Feel a Whole Lot Better," which would never find a place on a Petty-Heartbreakers record. The album is a chance for Petty to explore, play and maybe fall on his face without having much at stake. After all, he’s already at work on his next effort with the Heartbreakers. So even if Full Moon Fever isn’t Petty’s best record, it sure sounds like it was the most fun to make.
(RollingStone magazine. May 4, 1989 4:00AM ET. By Jimmy Guterman)

01. Free Fallin' (04:17)
02. I Won't Back Down (02:57)
03. Love Is A Long Road (04:07)
04. A Face In The Crowd (03:59)
05. Runnin' Down A Dream (04:24)
06. Feel A Whole Lot Better (H) (00:29)
06. Feel A Whole Lot Better (02:50)
07. Yer So Bad (03:06)
08. Depending On You (02:48)
09. The Apartment Song (02:33)
10. Alright For Now (02:01)
11. A Mind With A Heart Of Its Own (03:30)
12. Zombie Zoo (02:57)

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Kevin Ayers - Joy Of A Toy (1969) CD

Year: 1969 (CD 12.03.2014)
Label: Parlophone Records (Japan), WPCR-15524
Style: Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Kent, England (16 August 1944 - 18 February 2013)
Time: 71:11
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 432 Mb

Founder member of Soft Machine and a key figure in British psychedelic rock.
Kevin Ayers's debut solo album, Joy of a Toy, released in 1969, concluded with a song called All This Crazy Gift of Time. "All my blond and twilight dreams," sang Ayers in his signature, slightly wayward baritone, "all those strangled future schemes, all those glasses drained of wine ..."
In retrospect, it sounds like a statement of intent, though intent is perhaps too strong a word to apply to Ayers, whose singular songwriting talent was matched by a sometimes startling lack of ambition. "I lost it years ago; a long, long time ago," he told one interviewer in 2007, referring to his lack of ego and self-belief. "But, in a way, I don't think I've ever had it."
Ayers, who has been found dead at the age of 68 at his home in the medieval village of Montolieu in south-west France, was one of the great almost-stars of British rock. A founding member of Soft Machine, he was a key figure in the birth of British pastoral psychedelia, and then went on to enjoy cult status as a singer-songwriter in the late 1960s and early 70s. Among his champions were the late John Peel and the influential British rock journalist Nick Kent, who later wrote: "Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett were the two most important people in British pop music. Everything that came after came from them."
Ayers was born in Herne Bay, Kent, the son of the journalist, poet and BBC producer Rowan Ayers, who later originated the BBC2 rock music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test. After his parents divorced and his mother married a civil servant, Ayers spent most of his childhood in Malaysia, where, he would later admit, he discovered a fondness for the slow and easy life.
At 12, he returned to Britain and settled in Canterbury. There, he became a fledgling musician and founder of the "Canterbury sound", an often whimsical English take on American psychedelia that merged jazz, folk, pop and nascent progressive rock.
Ayers's first band was the Wilde Flowers, whose line-up included various future members of Caravan as well as Robert Wyatt and Hugh Hopper, with whom he would go on to form Soft Machine in 1966. Alongside Pink Floyd, Soft Machine played regularly at the UFO club in London, becoming one of the key underground groups of the time.
In 1968, the group toured the US in support of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a brush with rock stardom and relentless gigging that left the laid-back Ayers weary and disillusioned. He sold his Fender bass guitar to Hendrix's sideman Noel Redding, and fled to Ibiza with fellow Soft Machine maverick Daevid Allen. There he wrote the songs that would make up Joy of a Toy. It set the tone for much of what was to follow: Ayers's sonorous voice enunciating songs that ran the gamut from wilfully weird to oddly catchy, the whole not quite transcending the sum of the many varied and musically adventurous parts.
(Full version: www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/20/kevin-ayers)

01. Joy Of A Toy Continued (02:53)
02. Town Feeling (04:50)
03. The Clarietta Rag (03:20)
04. Girl On A Swing (02:49)
05. Song For Insane Times (04:01)
06. Stop This Train (Again Doing It) (06:05)
07. Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her) (02:54)
08. The Lady Rachel (05:17)
09. Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong (05:35)
10. All This Crazy Gift Of Time (03:52)
11. The Lady Rachel - Extended First Mix [bonus track] (06:44)
12. Clarence In Wonderland (BBC Top Gear Session) [bonus track] (04:52)
13. Stop This Train (Again Doing It) (BBC Top Gear Session) [bonus track] (05:47)
14. Why Are We Sleeping (BBC Top Gear Session) [bonus track] (08:52)
15. You Say You Like My Hat (BBC Top Gear Session) [bonus track] (03:12)

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Hawkwind - Hawkwind (1970) CD

Year: 1971
Label: EMI Records (UK & Europe), 7243 5 30028 2 4
Style: Rock, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Country: Ladbroke Grove, London, England
Time: 57:49
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 325 Mb

Hawkwind (and it's various other incarnations) are a space rock band from London, England, active since November 1969. They are acknowledged as one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favor urban and science fiction themes while their general sound has gone through many incarnations and they have incorporated different styles into their music, including hard rock, progressive rock and psychedelic rock. They are also regarded as an influential proto-punk band.
They are best known for the song "Silver Machine" which became a number three UK hit single in 1972, but they scored further hit singles with "Urban Guerrilla" (another Top 40 hit) and "Shot Down in the Night." Twenty-two of their albums charted in the UK from 1971 to 1993. Although many musicians and dancers have come and gone, Dave Brock remains the sole original member.
(riffipedia.fandom.com/wiki/Hawkwind)

01. Hurry On Sundown (05:01)
02. The Reason Is? (03:30)
03. Be Yourself (08:06)
04. Paranoia (Part 1) (01:09)
05. Paranoia (Part 2) (04:09)
06. Seeing It As You Really Are (10:48)
07. Mirror Of Illusion (07:08)
08. Bring It On Home (03:17)
09. Hurry On Sundown [by Hawkwind Zoo] (05:05)
10. Kiss Of The Velvet Whip [by Hawkwind Zoo] (05:27)
11. Cymbaline [by Hawkwind Zoo] (04:04)

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Brand X - Unorthodox Behaviour (1976) CD

Year: 1976 (CD 1996) (Recording: September-October 1975)
Label: Virgin Records (UK), CASCD1117
Style: Jazz Rock, Rock, Jazz
Country: London, England
Time: 41:05
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 220 Mb

The 70’s jazz fusion flavour is audible right away when Nuclear Burn (6:23) begins. You hear and feel that the bass is not played by an ordinary bass player. Percy Jones has his very own sound and he plays quite fast. Guitar and keyboards only accompany him until the chorus (if you can speak of a chorus in an instrumental) when Goodsall (guitar) and Lumley (keyboards) take over the track! Collins’s drum sound is quite different from his Genesis sound. He works the snare and the hi-hat a lot and not so much with the toms. You can hear it here in the opening track what a fantastic and sympathetic drummer he used to be. The track ends in what seems to be a jam, but probably was written like that. You can hear the influence of Pat Metheny and Weather Report. It is jazz, but it is also rock – jazz rock or fusion music.
Euthanasia Waltz (5:42) is much calmer. An acoustic guitar is the dominant instrument before a well-rounded solo on the electric piano comes in and leads the track into a seemingly improvised jam before the track returns to the electric guitar. Phil whirls across the snare and adds highlights on the ride cymbals. The remarkable bass comes in only in the second third of the track and plays a solo. In the end the contemplative initial motive returns on the acoustic guitar.
Born Ugly (8:18) is the second longest track on the album. A very groovy number. It is best described as a session with a structure. The middle part is a bit psychedelic as the band weave a large soundscape with growing intensity. Phil then destroys this calm with his drums. The guitar solo may have been influenced by Indian music; in fact, it even sounds like a sitar in places. The track sounds like a complete improvisation by musicians who already rely blindly on each other on this their first album.
Smacks Of Euphoric Hysteria (4:30) is one of the shorter tracks. It has a slow groove. Phil’s drums are in the front; he plays a number of riffs on the toms. There is an obvious intention to give each musician more or less the same time in the centre spot. The album does not contain any track that is dominated by just one instrument.
The title track is the longest on the record (8:29). It begins quiet and even tentative and builds up a tension that is broken up suddenly by Phil’s drumming. A dialogue develops between the guitar and the keyboards; bass and drums occasionally pop in. Collins and Jones work together marvellously. This is another track that sounds like an improvised jam that all the musicians really enjoy. Some listeners may find the track too long with too many repetitions. The band really let down their hair on this one!
Running On Three is a shorter, fast track in which bass and drums play intriguing roles. The keyboards share the melodic work; a guitar solo rocks the middle bridge. The overall impression is a jazz jam.
The final track of the debut album is called Touch Wood. It begins with some (seemingly) chaotic acoustic guitar over ethereal piano sounds. Half the track passes before something like a structure emerges. A soprano saxophone comes in. The bass is played like a percussive instrument. There are no drums. The only percussion instrument you hear – briefly – is a shaker that oscillates between the left and right speakers. The track fades after 3:04 minutes and leaves the listener with silence.
(Full version: www.genesis-news.com/c-Brand-X-Unorthodox-Behaviour-Album-Review-s742.html)

01. Nuclear Burn (06:23)
02. Euthanasia Waltz (05:42)
03. Born Ugly (08:15)
04. Smacks Of Euphoric Hysteria (04:30)
05. Unorthodox Behaviour (08:29)
06. Running Of Three (04:38)
07. Touch Wood (03:04)

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