Bloodrock - Bloodrock 2 (1970)

Year: October 1970 (CD 1995)
Label: Repertoire Records (Germany), REP 4335-WY
Style: Hard Rock
Country: Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. (1969–1975)
Time: 42:52
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 279 Mb

Bah. Just when Bloodrock established themselves as a mighty grim band, with imagery of death and suffering and nasty angry riffs all around, they suddenly make a 180% turn and establish themselves as a happy shinin' Southern-hard rock band totally in the Grand Funk vein! What the heck, some of this stuff sounds even much more like Styx than GFR; don't you hear the shadow of Dennis DeYoung rising as the band happily coo 'Lucky in the m-o-o-o-o-o-orning!'
Yeah, yeah, I know, this is where you're gonna find 'D.O.A.', their eight-minute major epic and arguably their best-known song of all. It's about a guy dying after a plane crash or something and it's absolutely sickening - not because of the actual music, which, I gotta say, is pretty boring, but because of the totally sick lyrics. I hate that nasty gory stuff. As far as frightening epics go anyway, this is absolutely nothing compared to 'Sister Morphine' or even certain Black Sabbath numbers; it's long, it's monotonous - after the second verse, even the imposing opposition of the quiet organ-based verses and the pompous 'I remember!' chorus starts to feel more predictable than a baby's diaper - and it doesn't even have a good guitar solo. It's not entirely bad, though, mainly just overlong, and after all, the number of alcohol-related casulaties in 1971 did drop 14% after the release of the song. Yeah, just a curious tidbit I picked from the Bloodrock site. See, Bloodrock were saving the precious lives of American youth long before Lynyrd Skynyrd became the first geniuses to warn the world of the danger of drugs, handguns, racism and flying planes instead of riding trucks. Talk about originality.
Anyway, 'D.O.A.' is really an anomaly on the album. The other seven songs are just fast/mid-tempo funny rockers about all kinds of fancy posh crap. Maybe the record company were trying to model their pets along the lines of Mark Farner and his Christian thugs. Maybe they wanted to try that department themselves. The problem is, who the heck wants a happy Texan hard rock band? What the world needed was MORE EVIL ROCK! Instead, we get stupid sissy crap like 'Lucky In The Morning' and happy dinky voices chanting 'I couldn't live without you' on 'Cheater'. Or a pseudo-soulful ballad like 'Sable And Pearl', for no apparent reason interrupted at times by 'aggressive' bits of chaotic riffage and Rutledge screaming 'teach me how to love you' in his best impression of a paranoic which isn't really that good. They should have hired Ozzy Osbourne for that.
The good news is that the riffs, occasionally, are still good. Actually, they're always good; they're just used in a bad way. In the previous review, I rambled on about how hard it is to actually make a good riff; here, let me go on with this rambling some more and state how hard it is to actually match a good riff with a suitable atmosphere. These riffs should all be matched with angry moods and red-hot solos (preferrably cool lyrics too, but that's a bit too much to demand from a Texan redneck, I guess) - instead, they're all matched with a good-time atmosphere and TOTAL, I mean, ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN' TOTAL inoffensiveness. They could have sung that stuff with Frank Sinatra for all I care.
I single out 'Cheater' as an interesting track; it's at least multi-part, and it occasionally works. I'm also slightly partial to the two rock'n'rolling numbers in the middle, 'Children's Heritage' and 'Dier Not A Lover', if only because they easily demonstrate how tight an outfit Bloodrock actually were - their six-pack unit rolls along like an unstoppable machine, which is not something I'd say of, well, Steppenwolf, for instance. Absolutely the best of the load, though, is 'Fancy Space Odyssey' that closes the album. I can't figure what the hell the song is about, except that the lyrics seem to be whiny and depressive, however, the main riff is unbeatable, kind of like a 'Day Tripper' unexpectedly gone in the reverse direction midway through. It all amounts to one heck of a silly simplistic listening experience, but it's pretty cool anyway and should never be expected to be taken seriously in the first place.
But in general, I'm just a bit stumped by the album, especially considering they'd soon be going back to the 'evil' direction of the first album. It's an obvious anomaly in the catalog, and by all means, I could easily peg this down as a 'sellout' album. Oh, except 'D.O.A.', of course. They sure didn't sell out with 'D.O.A.'. But here's the rub: they made an obviously commercial smooth album and it ended up forgotten and spat out. All except the only song on which they didn't artistically compromise. Logically speaking, this is an overt demonstration of how true objective artistic value triumphs over time.
Say, reviewing these Bloodrock albums really pushes me forward in terms of dangerous generalizations and metaphysical hypotheses. So how about this one: the blood dripping from the album cover in front of the members is supposed to represent the death agony of the hedonistic-democratic-post-industrial values of contemporary America and the ultimate crash of Western Civilization as a whole. In fact, 'D.O.A.' = 'Death Over America', 'Sable And Pearl' is an obvious hint at the merciless exploitation of the resources of third world countries, 'Lucky In The Morning' is, of course, a concealed ode to the people of the East, and titles like 'Fallin' and 'Dier Not A Lover' speak for themselves. Isn't it time the FBI were investigating Bloodrock members already?
(starling.rinet.ru/music/blood.htm)

01. Lucky In The Morning (05:46)
02. Cheater (06:48)
03. Sable And Pearl (04:56)
04. Fallin' (04:03)
05. Children's Heritage (03:32)
06. Dier Not A Lover (04:08)
07. D.O.A. (08:26)
08. Fancy Space Odyssey (05:10)

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The Yardbirds - Eric Clapton & The Yardbirds (2002)

Year: 1963-1965 (CD 2002)
Label: Retro Gold Records (????), RETR0009
Style: Blues Rock, Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 56:37
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 315 Mb

The Yardbirds were a British blues/r'n'b/pop/rock/psych band of the mid-'60s that have become best known for jet-starting the careers of Armageddon's Keith Relf and Box Of Frogs' Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty. Unfortunately their back catalog is an impossible-to-traverse pile of not-quite-interchangeable compilations. See, they only recorded two actual studio albums while they were around. Most of their hits were non-LP singles, their most famous album wasn't a real album at all, and all their songs have been re-packaged into compilations along with slightly rare live tracks and outtakes about a goddamned billion times over the years. Oh! And then two of them had the "NADS" to reunite as "The Yardbirds" and release a third studio album like fifty years later! Is it any wonder they were never as big as The Boetles?

Although you'd be denying yourself a number of terrific songs by not picking up a compilation or two, here is a quick guide to the band's official, non-compilation discography:

Eric Clapton = Five Live Yardbirds

Jeff Beck = Roger The Engineer (also known as The Yardbirds, and released in the U.S. - minus two tracks - as Over Under Sideways Down)

Jimmy Page = Little Games

John "Gypie" Mayo = Birdland

But see, none of these three official albums (forget Birdland - forever if possible) include ANY of these Yardbirds classics: "Evil Hearted You," "Still I'm Sad," "For Your Love," "I'm A Man (awesome rave-up studio version)," "Heart Full Of Soul," "Train Kept A-Rollin'," "I Ain't Got You," "Shapes Of Things," "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago," "Think About It," "Mr. You're A Better Man Than I," "A Certain Girl," "Boom Boom," "I Wish You Would," "Ha Ha Said The Clown," "Goodnight Sweet Josephine," "I'm Not Talking," "Ten Little Indians," and "You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover" - AMONG OTHERS. Isn't that just fuckin' stupid? So essentially you can own the band's entire LP discography and still have the least complete Yardbirds collection in Historybooks.

So below are my reviews of these four 'official' albums, plus a few compilations I've picked up over the years. As many might tell you, The Yardbirds were a great singles band with tons of awesome recordings, but they never quite made the transition to 'important LP artists,' for some reason. Poor management maybe? Lack of concrete direction? Dearth of interest in the non-singles market? Not sure. You do the research; I'll sit here and make fun of Eric Clapton!

(markprindle.com/yardbirds.htm) (Mark Prindle)

01. For Your Love (02:32)
02. Boom Boom (02:26)
03. A Certain Girl (02:20)
04. I'm A Man (02:40)
05. Talkin' Bout You (01:57)
06. Highway 69 (03:19)
07. My Little Cabin (03:45)
08. Got To Hurry (02:36)
09. Putty (In Your Hands) (02:20)
10. Louise (03:43)
11. Five Long Years (05:09)
12. Smokestack Lighting (06:49)
13. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (02:49)
14. Got Love If You Want It (02:39)
15. She's So Respectable (05:31)
16. I Wish You Would (05:53)

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The Yardbirds - Having A Rave Up (1965)

Year: 15 November 1965 (CD 2004, Unofficial Release)
Label: SomeWax Recordings (Russia), SW337-2
Style: Blues Rock, Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 48:00
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 282 Mb

The Yardbirds, 1960s British musical group best known for their inventive conversion of rhythm and blues into rock. The original members were singer Keith Relf (b. March 22, 1943, Richmond, Surrey, England—d. May 14, 1976, London), guitarist Eric Clapton (original name Eric Patrick Clapp; b. March 30, 1945, Ripley, Surrey), bassist Chris Dreja (b. November 11, 1946, London), drummer Jim McCarty (b. July 25, 1943, Liverpool, Merseyside), bassist Paul Samwell-Smith (b. May 8, 1943, London), and guitarist Anthony (“Top”) Topham (b. July 3, 1947, Southall, Middlesex). Later members were Jeff Beck (b. June 24, 1944, Wallington, Surrey) and Jimmy Page (b. January 9, 1944, Heston, Middlesex).
The Yardbirds, who produced three of Britain’s most influential rock guitarists, followed in the footsteps of the Rolling Stones on the western London rhythm-and-blues circuit in 1963–64, their early repertoire consisting almost exclusively of cover versions of songs by artists who recorded for the Chess and Vee Jay record labels. With Clapton as lead guitarist, the band created the “rave-up,” accelerating their playing until it transformed into white noise. Employing distortion and reverb (a succession of echoes that blend into one another to create sonic space), Clapton’s successor, Beck, pushed later hits like “Shapes of Things” (1966) into the realm of psychedelic rock. Page, later the leader of one of the most successful heavy metal–hard rock groups of the 1970s, Led Zeppelin, initially joined the Yardbirds as a replacement for bassist Samwell-Smith. Switching to guitar, Page joined Beck as the band’s colead guitarist—though the two played together on only one single, the visionary “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” (1966), before the band’s short-lived final lineup dissolved in 1968. The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
(britannica.com/topic/The-Yardbirds) (Jon Savage)

01. Heart Full of Soul (02:27)
02. Mr. You Are a Better Man Than I (03:17)
03. Evil Hearted You (02:23)
04. Still I'm Sad (02:57)
05. Jeff's Blues (Take 2) (03:06)
06. Like Jimmy Reed Again (03:06)
07. Chris' Number (02:39)
08. Pounds and Stomps (02:29)
09. Shapes of Things (02:35)
10. I'm a Man (02:36)
11. The Train Kept A-Rollin' (03:25)
12. Here 'Tis (04:04)
13. Steeled Blues (02:36)
14. New York City Blues (04:19)
15. What Do You Want (Take 4) (03:10)
16. Stroll On (02:43)

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Twenty Sixty Six And Then - Reflections (Compilation) (1972)

Year: 1971-1972 (CD 1994)
Label: Second Battle (Germany), SB 025
Style: Progressive Rock, Hard Rock, Rock
Country: Germany
Time: 73:02
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 462 Mb

TWENTY SIXTY SIX AND THEN are: Geff Harrison on lead vocals, Gagey Mrozeck on guitars, Dieter Bauer on bass, Konstatin Bommarius on drums and Steve Robinson with Veit Marvos both sharing duties on organ, electric piano, vibes, synthesizer, mellotron and vocals (the name '2066 & THEN' comes from adding an extra thousand to the number 1066, year of the historical battle of Hastings). Their heavy progressive style has been compared to that of DEEP PURPLE, VANILLA FUDGE and IRON BUTTERFLY. After releasing their first album, individual members got involved in different projects that never really stood the test of time, so 'Reflections on the Future' is their only legacy, and a fine one at that.
Their dramatic organ-drenched, complex music sometimes dons symphonic elements, but the band isn't afraid to dive into some heavy guitar/organ jamming either, featuring elements of jazz, some high-octane rhythmic parts and quick changes, mixed with weird psychedelic electronic effects - the hoarse vocals, however, perhaps better suited to conventional hard rock, may take some getting used to.
Their record company (Second Battle) re-released the album in 1991 under the name 'Reflections on the Past'. Considered a collectors item, it also contains unreleased masters and some bonus practice sessions from an early rehearsal session in 1991. In 1994, the cd 'Reflections!' came out, compiling tracks from both, plus some which had been considered for a second album that never materialized. A combination of poor sales and a ruined German economy at the time sadly forced the premature death of this fine German band, only months after the release of their first album.
If you enjoy ELP, The NICE and JETHRO TULL or some of the bands mentioned above, do check out this Germanic prog band. Some killer material awaits you.
(progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1042) (Lise (Hibou), Canada)
(Compilation, Limited Edition of 1000 copies, Remastered, Digipak.)

01. At my home (07:58)
02. Autumn (09:06)
03. Butterking (07:17)
04. Reflections on the future (15:48)
05. The Way That I Feel Today (11:11)
06. Spring (13:02)
07. I Wanna Stay (03:59)
08. Time Can't Take It Away (04:38)

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Blue Oyster Cult - On Your Feet Or On Your Knees (Live) (1975)

Year: February 27, 1975 (CD October 25, 1990)
Label: Columbia Records (U.S.), CGK 33371
Style: Rock, Hard Rock
Country: New York, U.S.
Time: 76:03
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 441 Mb

Blue Oyster Cult is sometimes referred to as the first heavy metal band; the group is even credited by some with coining the term "heavy metal" (note the early use of the unpronounced umlaut in a band's name [over the O]). The New York-based ensemble formed in the late 1960s, originally as an alternative to the slick corporate rock of the era. After releasing several acclaimed albums during the 1970s, Blue Oyster Cult's popularity began to wane, their music seemingly eclipsed by younger, more bombastic heavy metal acts.
Beginning in the 1980s, a series of personnel changes and contractual difficulties conspired to keep Blue Oyster Cult from releasing new material, but a boost from novelist Stephen King in the the early 1990s helped put the band back in the public eye. King wanted to use Blue Oyster Cult's biggest hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," on the soundtrack for a television version of one his books. The band's label, however, refused to comply with King's request. So a deal was struck with another label to re-record the Cult's biggest hits. The result was the 1994 release Cult Classic, which contained the original, analog-recorded songs remastered with digital technology. Reviewing the compilation for Rolling Stone, Matt Diehl noted, "At their best, BOC create distinctive hard rock that betrays a bitter core, couching perverse, apocalyptic lyrics in deceptively catchy compositions."
Blue Oyster Cult's origins stretch back to late-1960s Long Island, New York. Two of the members, drummer Albert Bouchard and guitarist Donald Roeser, were students at Clarkson College of Technology. They became members of a cover band called The Disciples. Bouchard also began playing in an act called The Lost and Found, where he met future Blue Oyster Cult vocalist Eric Bloom. The Disciples changed their name to The Travesty, and Bouchard and Roeser tried unsuccessfully to relocate the band to New York City.
Bouchard then headed to Chicago, where he met poet, performance artist, and future punk singer Patti Smith. Meanwhile, Roeser became friends with Sandy Pearlman, then a writer for the influential rock magazine Crawdaddy. Roeser also befriended Richard Meltzer. When Bouchard returned from Chicago he formed Soft White Underbelly. Pearlman and Meltzer served as a management/production team and wrote songs for the band, which had also thought of calling itself "Cow."
(Full version: musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000191/Blue-Oyster-Cult.html)

01. The Subhuman (07:29)
02. Harvester Of Eyes (04:58)
03. Hot Rails To Hell (05:29)
04. The Red & The Black (04:33)
05. Seven Screaming Dizbusters (08:49)
06. Buck's Boogie (07:06)
07. Last Days Of May (04:37)
08. Cities On Flame (04:05)
09. Me 262 (08:18)
      Bonus Tracks:
10. Before The Kiss (A Redcap) (05:12)
11. Maserati GT (I Ain't Got You) (09:02)
12. Born To Be Wild (06:21)

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Sonny Boy Williamson and The Yardbirds - Live at the Crawdaddy Club (1966)

Year: January 7, 1966 (Recorded    December 8, 1963) (CD 1999)
Label: Repertoire Recordings (Germany), Rep 4776-WY
Style: Blues, Chicago Blues
Country: Tennessee, U.S. / London, England
Time: 60:26
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 193 Mb

Sonny Boy Williamson & the Yardbirds is a live album by Chicago blues veteran Sonny Boy Williamson II backed by English rock band the Yardbirds. It was recorded at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Surrey on December 8, 1963. However, the performances were not released until early 1966, after a string of Top 40 hits by the Yardbirds.
Williamson sings and/or plays the harmonica on all of the songs. Although they are in a supporting role, the album also presents some of the earliest recordings by the Yardbirds, whose members included Eric Clapton on lead guitar. Numerous reissues have appeared over the years, sometimes with additional tracks recorded around the same time.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Boy_Williamson_and_the_Yardbirds)

01. Bye Bye Bird (02:47)
02. Mister Downchild (04:15)
03. 23 Hours Too Long (05:19)
04. Out Of The Water Coast (03:15)
05. Baby Don't Worry (04:39)
06. Pontiac Blues (04:01)
07. Take It Easy Baby (version one) (04:19)
08. I Don't Care No More (03:17)
09. Do The Weston (04:13)
    Bonus Tracks:
10. The River Rhine (bonus track) (05:18)
11. A Lost Care (bonus track) (02:08)
12. Western Arizona (bonus track) (03:02)
13. Take It Easy Baby (version two) (05:40)
14. Slow Walk (bonus track) (01:06)
15. Highway 69 (bonus track) (03:13)
16. Hey Little Cabin (bonus track) (03:46)

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Akira Kajiyama and Joe Lynn Turner (Japan Edition) - Fire Without Flame (2005) CD

Year: 7 December 2005 (Japan), May 2006 (Europe), (CD December 7, 2005)
Label: Yamaha Music (Japan), YCCY-10013
Style: Hard Rock, Rock
Country: Yamaguchi, Japan / New Jersey, U.S.
Time: 53:04
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 405 Mb

Guitarist Akira Kajiyama and singer Joe Lynn Turner have composed, played, and recorded music together several times before now. Most of these occasions have been to make Lynn Turner solo albums like Under Cover 2 (’99), Holy Man (’00), and Slam (’01). Kajiyama also played with Lynn Turner on the HTP live album Live In Tokyo (‘02).
Fire Without Flame could very well have been a new solo album from Joe. It sounds like one. However, this time around the release is just as much Akira Kajiyama’s child. Kajiyama has, as well as sharing the song writing task, played all the instruments on the album plus was in charge of the production.
Having said this; in a sense this album could have been promoted as Kajiyama’s solo album with Lynn Turner as a hired singer. However, by putting both their names on the cover, they may very well sell a few more copies. Joe Lynn Turner has, over the years, profited a lot from whomever he’s been working with, rather than from his own name alone. Face it, as a member of Rainbow, Deep Purple, or Yngwie Malmsteen’s band, he never had the hottest name in any of the line-ups.
However, Fire Without Flame is the first heard from Joe Lynn Turner since the release of last year’s critically acclaimed (deservingly so) solo release, The Usual Suspects. Unfortunately, one has to admit that this new release doesn’t add anything new to his more than 30-year long career as a singer. By all means, the songs are all very well-performed, Joe can sing, and the multi-instrumentalist Akira sure can play. Still, it all sounds like a whole lot of what you’ve heard before.
Despite this, some variation is provided throughout the album. Some Blues and Metal material, some ballads … but most of all, you get Melodic Hard Rock that’s a little bit too stuck in the past. Especially the keyboard arrangements sound from time to time embarrisingly 80ish, and the lyrics are a long row of cliches.
Track three, "Survival,” sounds a lot like a leftover from Blackmore’s Stranger In Us All sessions. How uninteresting isn’t that? Track four, "Heart Against Heart,” sounds uncomfortably close to an attempt on making another "Love Conquers All” (Deep Purple – Slaves And Masters). "End Of The Line” is one of the album’s strongest moments, strong riff, chorus, bridge, and all, but could just as well have been on any of the two HTP studio albums.
Joe Lynn Turner and Akira Kajiyama sound very motivated, though, and Fire Without Flame might be a necessary stepping stone for the both of them to point out their future paths. At least this should be an important move for Akira; to have his own name on the cover. His CV will be strengthened from this, and for Lynn Turner -– he has once again proved that a partnership with him will mean a spotlight shared.
Highlights: "End Of The Line," "Bad Feeling," and "License To Kill."
(metalexpressradio.com/2015/09/06/akira-kajiyama-joe-lynn-turner-fire-without-flame) (September 6, 2015)

01. One Day Away (04:08)
02. Fire Without Flame (04:18)
03. Carnival Of Souls (03:43)
04. Heart Against Herart (06:57)
05. End Of The Line (04:44)
06. Forever Changed (05:56)
07. Bad Feeling (04:58)
08. Looking For Trouble (04:27)
09. Down And Dirty (04:34)
10. License To Kill (04:49)
11. Slow Burn (04:26)

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UB40 - Rat In The Kitchen [Vinyl Rip] (1986)

Year: 1986 (LP 1986)
Label: Melodia Records (USSR), C60 25593 008
Style: Reggae, Pop
Country: England
Time: 43:09
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 298 Mb

Rat in the Kitchen is the seventh album by UB40, released in July 1986. This album contained two UK hits, "Sing Our Own Song" (UK No. 5 in 1986) and "Rat in Mi Kitchen" (UK No. 12 in 1987). The album itself reached 8 in the UK album charts in 1986 staying in the charts for twenty weeks. The album provoked a positive reception from critics.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_in_the_Kitchen)

In the U.K., UB40 were major stars, and this album was their sixth Top Ten hit, featuring the singles "Sing Your Own Song," "All I Want to Do," and "Rat in Mi Kitchen." In the U.S., the group remained a developing act with a modest following, but they were only able to score a hit by covering a previous hit like "I Got You, Babe." Rat in the Kitchen did nothing to change that, although it was, as usual, a tuneful collection of reggae.
(allmusic.com/album/rat-in-the-kitchen-mw0000192273)

01. A1 All I Want To Do (05:32)
02. A2 You Could Meet Somebody (04:51)
03. A3 Tell It Like It Is (03:35)
04. A4 The Elevator (03:26)
05. A5 Watchdogs (04:15)
06. B1 Rat In The Kitchen (07:00)
07. B2 Looking Down At My Reflection (03:26)
08. B3 Don't Blame Me (03:37)
09. B4 Sing Our Own Song (07:24)

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Amazing Blondel - England (1972) CD

Year: 1972, (CD 1995)
Label: Si-Wan Records (South Korea), SRMC 0041
Style: Folk, Folk Rock
Country: England
Time: 34:57
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 199 Mb

Amazing Blondel's fourth album is a gorgeous evocation of the England that seems to exist in so many of the land's loveliest folk songs, a peaceful world of picturesque farming folk, doughty fishermen, immortal sunsets, and halcyon summers. Just six songs convey this impression, all dominated by the side-long three-piece suite "The Paintings," which places into words and gentle orchestrations the impressions conjured by the imagery of "Seascape," "Landscape," and "Afterglow." Described by the band itself as "three pastoral settings for voices, flute, guitars and orchestra," it's an incredibly ambitious piece, but never so much that it loses sight of its intrinsic romance. Played alongside Roy Harper's "One of Those Days in England," it could set even the sternest expatriate's thoughts winging homewards. The shorter songs are less entrancing, with "A Spring Air" coming so close to TV ad theme territory that one can almost see the spring lambs bouncing through fields of freshly laundered shirts and sheets. The chanted "Cantus Firmus to Counterpoint," however, is a stirringly churchical piece, with just a hint of "We Three Kings of Orient Are" floating around the melody, while "Sinfonia for Guitar and Strings" is as well executed as its title suggests it ought to be. The finest moment, however, has to be the Gothic organ-led "Lament to the Earl of Bottesford Beck," whose own country churchyard tones take listeners straight back to the start of the album, and another 20 minutes spent with "The Paintings."
(allmusic.com/album/england-mw0000084719)

01. The Paintings 1. Seascape (06:13)
02. The Paintings 2. Landscape (07:41)
03. The Paintings 3. Afterglow (03:41)
04. A Spring Air (03:43)
05. Cantus Firmus To Counterpoint (03:24)
06. Sinfonia For Guitar And Strings (from the suite 'For My Ladys Delight') (03:13)
07. Dolor Dulcis (Sweet Sorrow) (03:29)
08. Lament To The Earl Of Bottesford Beck (03:30)

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Pretty Things - S. F. Sorrow (Japan Edition) (1968) CD

Year: December 1968, (CD Jun 27, 2007)
Label: Victor Records (Japan), VICP-63814
Style: Rock Opera, Psichedelia, Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 67:46
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 408 Mb

I'm not getting into the discussion over whether S. F. Sorrow kicks the shit out of Tommy or whether Tommy bashes the chitlins out of S. F. Sorrow. It's clear that, since S. F. Sorrow came out first, Townshend was heavily influenced by the storyline and the concept in general; however, if you hear misguided rants about how S. F. Sorrow has no pretentions and no bombast as opposed to Pete's overbloated project, don't you go around believing it - this is an equally mystical and convoluted tale, with a plot that's even harder to guess, especially if you haven't read the story it is supposed to accompany, and while the subject matter of Sorrow is a wee bit more grounded (after all, the protagonist does have to deal with a lot of ordinary life problems before having his magical dream about Baron Saturday), the overall message is even less clear than that of Tommy. And that's all I'm gonna say. Draw your conclusions yourself after you've heard this.
But one thing's for certain - hear this you must, as it's undoubtedly the Great Lost Psychedelic album of the Sixties. The Pretties are really one unjustly forgotten band: having achieved no success with their gritty blend of R'n'B and having effectively reinvented themselves as one of swinging London's coolest psycho outfits, they achieved even less success. R'n'B fans naturally thought they were betrayed, and as for the new breed of hippies and loony Tolkienists, they didn't want no aliens, being perfectly happy when entertained by the likes of Barrett's Pink Floyd, Marc Bolan and the Soft Machine. As a result, S. F. Sorrow bypassed the public eye completely, and it's a shame.
(full version: starling.rinet.ru/music/pretty.htm#Sorrow)

01. S.F. Sorrow Is Born (03:08)
02. Bracelets Of Fingers (03:39)
03. She Says Good Morning (03:19)
04. Private Sorrow (03:50)
05. Balloon Burning (03:47)
06. Death (03:05)
07. Baron Saturday (03:58)
08. The Journey (02:46)
09. I See You (03:56)
10. Well Of Destiny (01:45)
11. Trust (02:45)
12. Old Man Going (03:07)
13. Loneliest Person (01:26)
14. Defecting Grey (Bonus) (05:10)
15. Defecting Grey (Bonus Single A) (04:28)
16. Mr. Evasion (Bonus Single B) (03:28)
17. Talkin' About The Good Times (Bonus) (03:43)
18. Walking Through My Dreams (Bonus) (03:36)
19. She Says Good Morning (Bonus Live 1969) (03:44)
20. Alexander (Bonus Live 1969) (02:57)

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