Rock & Indie Vinyl 299 Items

* Newly Remastered!* Ultra rare 1969 private press psych-folk-rock masterpiece – featuring the legendary Wrecking Crew (Beach Boys, Phil Spector) * Lacquers cut by John Golden Mastering * Plated at Record Technology Inc. (rti) * Includes deep booklet with liner notes by Andria Lisle, rare photos, archival materials and full lyrics (LP: 16-pgs, CD: 48-pgs) In March 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost in the desert. Some think he fell foul of a local family with alleged mafia ties. Some think he was abducted by aliens.

By coincidence – or perhaps not – Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled U.F.O. Released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost, until Seattle’s Light In The Attic Records begun a years-long quest to give it the full release it deserves – and to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance. Only one of those things happened.

For record collectors, some albums are considered impossible to get hold of, records so rare you could sit on eBay for years and not get a sniff of a copy. U.F.O. is one of those albums. A seventh son, Jim Sullivan was a West Coast should-have-been, an Irish-American former high school quarterback whose gift for storytelling earned him cult status in the Malibu bar where he performed nightly. Sullivan was always on the edge of fame; hanging out with movie stars like Harry Dean Stanton, performing on the Jose Feliciano show, even stealing a cameo in the ultimate hippie movie, Easy Rider.

Friend and actor Al Dobbs thought he could change all that, and founded a label – Monnie Records – to release Jim’s album, enlisting the assistance of Phil Spector’s legendary sessioneers The Wrecking Crew to do so. That’s Don Randi, Earl Palmer and Jimmy Bond you can hear, the latter also acting as producer and arranger.

U.F.O. was a different beast to the one-man-and-his-guitar stuff Jim had been doing on stage; instead, it was a fully realised album of scope and imagination, a folk-rock record with its head in the stratosphere. Sullivan’s voice is deep and expressive like Fred Neil with a weathered and worldly Americana sound like Joe South, pop songs that aren’t happy – but filled with despair. The album is punctuated with a string section (that recalls David Axelrod), other times a Wurlitzer piano provides the driving groove (as if Memphis great Jim Dickinson was running the show). U.F.O. is a slice of American pop music filtered from the murky depths of Los Angeles, by way of the deep south.

With no music industry contacts, the record went largely unnoticed, and Jim simply moved on, releasing a further album on the Playboy label in 1972. But by 1975, his marriage breaking up, Jim left, for Nashville and the promise of a new life as a sessioneer in the home of C&W. That’s where it gets hazy.

We know he was stopped by cops for swerving on the highway in Santa Rosa, some 15 hours after setting off. We know he was taken to a local police station, found to be sober, and told to go to the local La Mesa Motel to get some rest, which he did. Some time later, his car was spotted on a ranch belonging to the local Genetti family, who confronted him about his business there. The next day his car was found 26 miles down the road, abandoned. His car and his hotel room contained, among other things, his twelve-string guitar, his wallet, his clothes and several copies of his second album, but no note, and no Jim. It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.

Jim’s family travelled out to join search parties looking for him, the local papers printed missing person stories, but the search proved fruitless. Around the same time, the local sheriff retired and the Genettis moved to Hawaii. Jim’s manager Robert “Buster” Ginter later stated that during the early morning hours of a long evening Jim and Buster were talking about what would you do if they had to disappear. Jim said he’d walk into the desert and never come back.

Tracking down the truth behind Jim’s mystery became an obsession of Light In The Attic’s Matt Sullivan (no relation) when he happened upon a copy of the album and fell in love. He took on a cross country pilgrimage in search of master tapes and truth, and came back with neither, despite hundreds of phone calls, e-mails, letters, faxes, private detectives, telepathy, palm readings and meetings with Jim’s wife, son and producer. Thanks to superb digital mastering techniques, Light In The Attic is still able to present a clean, near perfect copy of Jim’s masterpiece for general consumption for the first time. Enjoy. And remember, beyond the mystery, there’s the music.

Known as ‘the Architect of Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ the flamboyant rhythm and blues extrovert, Little Richard, made an incredible impact with unorthodox piano playing and rasping, shouted vocals, yielding a series of pivotal hits in the mid-1950s, but he abandoned secular music for gospel following a tour of Australia in 1957. Lured back into rock by promoter Don Arden, his UK tour featuring The Beatles as support, Little Richard Is Back was his comeback set for Vee Jay, his voice now deeper and seasoned; the range of covers are tackled with plenty of pep, and original ‘Groovy Little Suzy’ was co-written by Harry Nillson. All hail the King!

"Fictions" (1967) by Los Vidrios Quebrados is released now on vinyl, from the original IRT masters! Los Vidrios Quebrados were pioneers in Chile in adopting psychedelia as a musical aesthetic, due to the influences gathered mainly from British groups. Although they bequeathed only one LP, this one is a permanent reference of research and applause, for having been worked with their own material (without covers, as was the norm of local rock at the time) and combining their electric flight with opinions of social observation. "Fictions" (1967) is one of the most important rock albums made in Chile. The 1966 single "Friend" and "She'll Never Know I'm Blue" gave way the following year to the recording of "Fictions", their only LP, under the RCA Victor and Ues Producciones label. Without merely copying their influences, the songs on the album feature smooth and fine instrumental arrangements by Héctor Sepúlveda (guitar and vocals), who also acted as the album's musical director. Those who were lucky enough to hear them live say that they were much more rock than what we can appreciate on the album. And the music on the "Fictions" album was even more sophisticated than what was being done at the time, there was a musicality that was quite anticipatory, even foreign. If you listen to the harmonies in "Introduction to Life..." or "Concerto in A Minor", they are quite complex compared to what was heard at the time. That's why they also had a place in radio stations more accustomed to playing classical music, like Radio Andrés Bello. There was a certain intellectual taste, something like an "intellectual arrogance", like the quotations to Oscar Wilde in the lyrics of the songs, for example. For the recording of "Fictions", Los Vidrios Quebrados had very little time, as was customary in those days. And despite the technical limitations of the recording studios (two tracks -vocals on one side and all the instruments on the other-, bottle cap tambourines and homemade instruments), when listening to the album, the result is surprising and, considering that in Chile the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was already known, the reception of "Fiction" was quite good. After the success of "Fictions" and with a promising future, Los Vidrios Quebrados decided to go to Europe in 1969, but the idea was rejected by the parents of two of the members, who only saw music as a hobby. Different life choices and musical tastes led months later to the end of the band.

This is one of the first Chilean rock albums recorded in Spanish. "Boots a Go Go" (1966) by Beat 4 is released now on vinyl, from the original IRT masters! Los Beat 4 (Santiago de Chile, 1966) began as the partnership of four childhood friends: brothers Mario and Willy Benitez, Johnny Paniagua and Reinaldo Rhino Gonzalez. Under the influence of the Beatles, the Kinks and the Animals, they formed Los Electrones, a group with which they played at school parties and various meetings, following the style of the New Wave. Around 1966, and after the explosion of the beat rhythm in our country with the arrival of the Beatles, they decided to change their name to Beat 4 and sing in Spanish. In 1967, backed by the wide radio diffusion of their single "Llora conmigo" (a Spanish version of an Italian pop song), they toured throughout the country. The band's second hit came with the jingle "Dame un Bananino", composed to promote a banana-flavored ice cream. The song was released as an EP, was a great success and took them on tour to the main beaches of Chile. They would later replicate the model with the song "Ta ta ta ta", as simple and catchy as the previous one. The Beat 4's career was short but intense and popular. At the beginning of the 70's they had already released four LPs, and since then they began to incorporate their own compositions. When Willy Benítez left the band, Tilo Mandiola replaced him, but soon after, the Beat 4 decided to leave. Willy Benítez entered the theater school of the Catholic University, to later begin a career as a humorist in television programs such as "El festival de la una". Reinaldo Rhino González, vocals (1966 - 1971). Johnny Paniagua, guitar (1966 - 1971). Willy Benítez, bass (1966 - 1971). Mario Benítez, drums (1966 - 1971). Tilo Mandiola, bass (1971).

One of the key albums when talking about psychedelic hard-rock and early proto-metal, originally released in 1969. Featuring the great John Du Cann (The Attack, Atomic Rooster, Hard Stuff…) on guitar plus Mick Hawksworth (Fuzzy Duck, Alvin Lee) on heavy bass plus the powerful drumming of Ian McLane (Neat Change, Ray Owen’s Moon).

Andromeda was formed during the final days of Du Cann’s previous band The Attack, when he decided to go in a full heavier & proggier musical direction. Recruiting his friend/room mate Mick Hawksworth on bass plus drummer Jack McCulloch (of One In A Million, soon to be replaced by Ian McLane), the power-trio was born. After initial interest from John Peel (Dandelion) and Kit Lambert (Track Records), Du Cann decided to go with a major label, RCA, who offered him the chance to self-produce their first album. Recorded at Advision Studios, the impressive Andromeda debut was released in 1969, housed in a sleeve designed by John with photos by Gered Mankowitz. But despite receiving excellent reviews and the band playing lots of gigs (some of them billed above bands like Black Sabbath), RCA didn’t know what to do with such a heavy rock band. Tired of the lack of promotion and support, John accepted an offer to join Atomic Rooster… but that’s another story.

Prog-psych / acid-folk lost classic from 1969 by this short lived London trio. Now lovingly reissued on vinyl with fantastic remastered sound and including insert with rare photos / memorabilia and detailed liner notes by Steve Krakow aka Plastic Crimewave. Named after a Cannonball Adderley track, Synanthesia formed thanks to a Melody Maker ad placed in 1968 by guitarist/vibes/vocalist Dennis Homes, answered by Jim Fraser (who played sax, oboe and flute) and Leslie Cook (an Incredible String Band fan on bongos, violin and mandolin). With their particular blend of folk, jazz and psychedelia, the trio played all the key underground venues and clubs, sometimes alongside top acts like Floyd, King Crimson or Fairport Convention. Their sole album was recorded at Sounds Technique studio in Chelsea (which was where Pink Floyd were recording their albums at the time) and subsequently released by RCA. The cover featured the trio climbed onto a tree at the same park where the Beatles filmed their “Strawberry Field” promo film. Despite the good reviews and the support of DJs like John Peel, the album was considered too far out and psychedelic and eventually flopped, only to be re-discovered several decades later by acid-folk fans and collectors.

Rare Bird are perhaps best remembered for having the distinction of being the first act to be released on Tony Stratton Smith’s gloriously eclectic label Charisma records (also the home of Genesis, THE Nice and VAN DER Graaf Generator to name but a few) and for their excellent 1970 hit single ‘Sympathy’. Like fellow future Charisma stable mates Van Der Graaf Generator, Rare Bird was formed around the principle of keyboard dominated progressive rock which eschewed the use of guitars. In December 1969 their eponymous debut album was released to great critical acclaim.