Rock & Indie 392 Items

Before Uriah Heep there was Fat Toe, and before Fat Toe there was The Gods, who recorded this risqué hard prog album, Orgasm, as Head Machine. Singer/keyboardist/guitarist Ken Hensley takes centre stage under the alias Ken Leslie, his lyrics alluding to the undeniable allure of human coitus and aspects of its management, the climax eventually coming in audible groans, though the guitar really drives most of the songs forward, with stereo panning. Produced by David Paramour, who had worked with Garnett Mimms and The Nocturnes, it was recorded in late 1969 and released in small number by Major Minor; this reissue spins at 45 RPM for improved fidelity.

Limited to 2000 copies.

There is little doubt that John Lee Hooker was one of the most commercially successful blues artists that ever lived. He rose above his contemporaries with worldwide hit records and a particularly long series of albums, and a career that lasted for over sixty years. He was always prolific and attracted other artists to collaborate with him without ever losing his own highly distinctive style. One of the real and lasting strengths of "That's My Story" as an album is in its immediacy. Orrin Keepnews knew just how to use studio microphone placement to make the listener feel right in the middle of the session. Nothing extraneous is used to move John Lee away from you, making it evident that the producer's original intention with the album has certainly been fulfilled. No wonder that this laid-back work, so quickly recorded, has stood the test of time as one of John Lee Hooker's most revered records.

Del Shannon did not fit the typical teen-idol mould other pop singers of the early Sixties were shoehorned into. Although he certainly had the required good looks, his songs had a brooding intensity to them, with recurring themes of loss and rejection that didn't sit well with the typical pop-star image of the time. In many respects he was similar to the UK's John Leyton and did a lot to pave the way for the British Invasion and the huge expansion to the boundaries of what could be considered pop music.

Reissue for the 1969 live album for Quicksilver Messenger Service, recorded live in 1968 at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

Originally released in late 1968, La Conferencia Secreta del Toto’s Bar was Los Shaker’s psychedelic masterpiece. Inspired by Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - a milestone that would change the face of pop music forever back in 1967 – Los Shakers created a fundamental album in the history of South American rock music, a seminal record for many artists to come, full of pleasant surprises, magic sounds and sense of humour. It offers a complex fusion of styles, with elements from both rock and jazz, plus the use of exotic instruments like the bandoneon–widely used in tango music but unprecedented until then in pop/rock adventures. It all makes the last album by Los Shakers an essential, innovative record for any collector and aficionado. Sounding as fresh and original today as it did back in the late sixties, here’s the first ever vinyl reissue.

Originally released in 1966, Shakers For You was the second LP by Los Shakers, the legendary beat/pop band from Uruguay. An album clearly influenced by Help!, Rubber Soul and Revolver, but showing a band that were more than mere copycats, offering some revolutionary compositions and influences such as bossa-nova. The songs on Shakers For You take us through incredible musical mixtures that, while keeping a strong early/mid Beatles feel, give us clues of what would come later in pop music with psychedelia just around the corner. This is the first ever vinyl reissue of one of the greatest beat LPs from the 1960s.

Once The Shain´s had disbanded a new project was born, St Thomas Pepper Smelter. Recorded in 1969, with practically the same band members as The Shain´s, the band explored darker and psychedelic sounds with covers from Vanilla Fudge, Cream, Hendrix and Music Machine, as well as various amazing songs of their own. This album was to be the transition towards their new projects more progressive and 70s style than before and lead to Gerardo Manuel y Humo!

Wah Wah is proud to release the first ever legit vinyl reissue from master tape of New Zealand's legendary Underdogs' first LP from 1968. Lovers of John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers (note the Eric Clapton tribute paid on the sleeve of this album) will love this album. The Underdogs formed in 1964 and shared the scene with other greats from the country like The La De Da's, The Action (NZ band, not to be confused with the UK mod godfathers) and The Pleazers. They spread the rhythm and blues word from their native Auckland through several 45s on the Zodiac label and went through a series of line-up changes prior to the release of their fabulous first long player. The Underdogs Blues Band LP was recorded by Murray Grindlay on vocals, Lou Rawnsley on guitars, Neil Edwards on bass and Tony Walton on drums, and shows the group’s appreciation for Mayall's combo - just like The Bluesbreakers' Crusade LP the Underdogs open their album with a cover of Albert King's "Oh, Pretty Woman," one of three "Bluesbreakers" songs covered on the LP. On this first long player the band storm into a world of guitar led rave-ups a la Yardbirds, organ blues grinders and even give a sight to what's to come next with some incipient heavier sounds a la Cream.

This is a 500 copies only reissue, housed in its original artwork in a vintage styled backflaps sleeve and insert

Motor City legends Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels set unsurpassed standards for balls-out American white-boy R&B. Under the aegis of crack producer Bob Crewe, the Wheels shot to fame, propelled by Ryder\'s sweat-soaked soulful vocals, the piercing, mile-a-minute guitar sting of Jim McCarty, and the piledriver drum attack of Johnny Bee. Attacking rock and R&B with a startling, head-on frenzy, the group created a rock-n-soul dynasty still without equal.

In 1969, Locksley Hall, a psychedelic band from Washington, recorded a full album at Audio Recorders in Seattle produced by Sonics Engineer Kearney Barton and long time Northwest guitarist Ned Neltner (Mark Five, Gas Company…).
Never released at the time, this is a great example of West Coast styled psychedelia / acid-rock, featuring female vocals, prominent organ, hard guitar, excellent songs…

The story of Japanese psychedelic band Apryl Fool and their eponymous debut album is simply extraordinary. It was the vehicle by which bassist Haroumi Hosono first came to prominence, years before he became known as the “Godfather of Japanese electronica” as the founding member and leader of Yellow Magic Orchestra, though this musical titan had work released prior to the group’s 1968 founding, such as the song “The Sea Of Summer Day,” recorded with Yuko Okuyama and released by King Records the year before. Drummer Takashi “Rei” Matsumoto was a Beatles maniac that had covered songs by Them and Sam & Dave in his earlier group, Burns, while pioneering prog-rock keyboardist Hiroyoshi Yanagida and guitarists Chu Kosaka and Eiji Kikuchi had all been part of a group called The Floral, formed in 1967 through the Japanese wing of the official fan club of The Monkees (whom they supported during a Japanese tour enacted in October 1968). In September 1969, Apryl Fool played behind musical theatre group Tokyo Kid Brothers, the recording issued in minute quantity as the Love & Banana EP, issued on Columbia Japan’s Musicolor subsidiary; Apryl Fool’s own LP, also issued on Musicolor that year, had extended spacey psychedelic freak jams in the form of “Tanger” and “Pledging My Time,” marathon blues-rock tracks such as “April Blues” and “Honky Tonk Jam,” with the employed English sounding fairly credible, though both parts of epic opus “The Last Mother Land” feature Japanese lyrics. Of course, the day that the LP was actually released is reportedly the day that Apryl Fool announced their termination, giving this scarce release another level of legend for connoisseurs.

The Wynder K. Frog story evolves around Mick Weaver. After he switched from piano to organ he joined a band named The Chapters that would soon be renamed Wynder K. Frog and perform material from James Brown's Flames, Booker T. and The MGs or even songs learned through Georgie Fame's recordings and Graham Bond's repertoire. Wynder K. Frog moved to London and became regulars in the city's R&B scene playing at Swingin' London's clubs like the Tiles or The Marquee. A contract with Island Records was secured and -under the wings of producers like Chris Blackwell, Guy Stevens, Jimmy Miller or Gus Dudgeon- Wynder K Frog, a name that would eventually be used as a pseudonym for Weaver more than a proper band name, did some some amazing Hammond organ-ized recordings and issued in three LPs and a bunch of cool 45s.

At the end of the 1960s, Weaver would quit the "band scene" to become one of the most in demand session musicians and throughout his career he'd be heard backing names such as Eric Burdon, Roger Chapman, Dave Gilmour, Keef Hartley, Alexis Korner, Ralph McTell, Taj Mahal or Otis Rush a.o, but his LPs as Wynder K Frog are classic Hammond sound from the 1960s UK and will appeal to those into Brian Auger, Graham Bond, The Artwoods, Zoot Money, Jimmy McGriff, Booker T. & The MGs and the likes.

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN
Released at the end of the summer of 1968, and with a host of session musicians that included the brass section of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, producer Gus Dudgeon helped Weaver / Wynder K Frog to improve the results obtained on the debut LP and get one step closer to the live action. The formula was more or less the same, instrumental hammond a go go covers of hits from the era, including The Rolling Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash", a funked up version of the classic Tommy Tucker blues number "Hi Heel Sneakers", an exploding cover of "Tequila" or the standard "Green Door", but it also included the sensational Weaver-penned "Harpsichord Shuffle".

The Wynder K. Frog story evolves around Mick Weaver. After he switched from piano to organ he joined a band named The Chapters that would soon be renamed Wynder K. Frog and perform material from James Brown's Flames, Booker T. and The MGs or even songs learned through Georgie Fame's recordings and Graham Bond's repertoire. Wynder K. Frog moved to London and became regulars in the city's R&B scene playing at Swingin' London's clubs like the Tiles or The Marquee. A contract with Island Records was secured and -under the wings of producers like Chris Blackwell, Guy Stevens, Jimmy Miller or Gus Dudgeon- Wynder K Frog, a name that would eventually be used as a pseudonym for Weaver more than a proper band name, did some some amazing Hammond organ-ized recordings and issued in three LPs and a bunch of cool 45s.

At the end of the 1960s, Weaver would quit the "band scene" to become one of the most in demand session musicians and throughout his career he'd be heard backing names such as Eric Burdon, Roger Chapman, Dave Gilmour, Keef Hartley, Alexis Korner, Ralph McTell, Taj Mahal or Otis Rush a.o, but his LPs as Wynder K Frog are classic Hammond sound from the 1960s UK and will appeal to those into Brian Auger, Graham Bond, The Artwoods, Zoot Money, Jimmy McGriff, Booker T. & The MGs and the likes.

SUNSHINE SUPER FROG
Recorded mostly in 1966 and issued in 1967, Wynder K Frog's first LP came out of sessions produced by Chris Blackwell, Jimmy Miller and Syd Dale. Weaver was assuming more and more the identity of Wynder K Frog and was backed by session musicians rather than by his live band. It consisted in organ led instrumental covers of songs from the Island catalogue, some built over rejected backing tracks for other artists of the label like Jimmy Cliff, Jackie Edwards and Owen Gray and some new recordings of hits like Spencer Davis Group's "Somebody Help Me", plus some covers of american R&B hits by the likes of Sam & Dave, Willie Mitchell or Wilson Pickett. The end result gave an idea of the Wynder K Frog sound, resulting in a top mix of dance club go-go sounds, perfect for any allnighter at the Tiles or any Swingin' London venue of the 1960s. First ever vinyl reissue. Limited edition to 500 copies only. Bonus tracks not on the original LP. Remastered sound. Insert with liner notes by Nick Rossi and photos. Beautifully housed in three back-flapped 1960s UK style picture sleeve

‘O’Seis’ are the core members of the mighty and legendary ‘Os Mutantes’ – namely Rita Lee and brothers Arnaldo and Sérgio Baptista, accompanied here by Raphael Vilardi, Maria ‘Mogguy’ Malheiros and Luiz Pastura. The record features anthemic, heavyweight, psychedelic rock on ‘Suicida’ b/w deeper, tripped-out MPB-folk on ‘Apocalipse’. Both tracks were written by Rita Lee, assisted by Tobe and Vilardi respectively. The term ‘holy grail’ is a little overused these days perhaps, but this definitely is one. Originally pressed and released by the band themselves in 1966, apparently only a handful of copies are known to exist (sources/numbers vary). The record has changed hands for up to a staggering $5000! Ouch.
Official Mr Bongo reissue. Licensed courtesy of Warner Music UK LTD.

The most elusive Edigsa 7" gets its first ever vinyl reissue on Wah Wah. An unsung moody garage folk-rock act, Brenner's Folk where the embryonic Pic-Nic (of "Cállate niña" fame) and featured a very young Jordi 'Toti' Soler right after he had gone through Els Xerracs (who also had released an EP on Edigsa), drummer Jordi Barangé (also from Els Xerracs) and brothers Vytas and Haakon Brenner. The Brenner brothers were born in Germany but grew up in Venezuela, where their family had emigrated after the devastation of World War II. The Brenner family would return several years later to establish in Europe, first in Italy and later in Barcelona. The new band started to rehearse under the name of The Vytas Brenner Quartet, and their main influences came from american modern folk acts like Peter Paul and Mary or The Mamas & The Papas, a.o. Not long after they started rehearsing, a very young Jeanette joined them thus becoming Brenner's Folk. Edigsa approached them and offered a contract for the recording of their only EP, sung in catalan and issued in 1966. A showcase of their folk and folk rock influences, the Brenner's Folk 7" is a lo fi garagey jewel that has become an elusive piece due to the importance that its band members would gather in years to come. Toti Soler became the biggest master of guitar, he went to psychedelic and progressive / jazz rock with Om prior to trading in his electric for a Spanish guitar and pioneering instrumental flamenco jazz rock fussion sound on his early solo albums. He is still active nowadays, he is one the biggest Catalan geniuses of modern guitar. The Brenner brothers returned to Venezuela where Vytas became a big solo act, recording the sought after LPs "La Ofrenda de Vytas" and "Hermanos" with his brother Haakon on production duties. Vytas continued a solo carrer that would last until his premature death in 2004 at only 57 due to a heart attack. Jeanette, of course, went on to lead the successful Pic-Nic along with Toti Soler and later enjoyed a successful solo career in the 1970s and 1980s, plus a come back in the early 2000s.

The 4 original Catalan sung tunes will appeal to lovers of Catalan sixties aborigen sounds, Euro & Nederbiet or American teen moody folk rock garage a la Rising Storm, Dovers, Nightcrawlers, Tormentors and the likes.

A facsimile reproduction of this mega rare EP, originally released on Edigsa in 1966, coming with remastered sound and an insert with lyrics, photos and notes.

It happened in 1967... ‚The Summer of Love’ may date back 50 years, but ’Tages – Studio’ will remain a timeless classic. Every household should get its copy!!!
Tages (pronounced "tah-guess") are universally known as the best sixties pop band from Sweden. They struck it big early, hitting the Swedish #1 with Sleep Little Girl in 1964! Their efforts in the psychedelic era would be their last. ’Studio’ should sit comfortably next to other masterpieces of the year 1967, a few notches closer to ’Odessey & Oracle’ than ’Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
Thanks to the tape cuts, orchestration, harmonies, and studio tricks, it sounds like the guys got their hands on a copy of Brian Wilson's then yet unreleased ’Smile’ tapes. Certainly, anybody willing to spend enough time exploring all the rabbit holes in the Beatles’ catalog owes themselves a trip through this marvelous record
Have You Seen Your Brother Lately
The album opener, Have You Seen Your Brother Lately, proves how apt the name ’Studio’ is for such a creatively produced statement. Few won't be sold within the first few seconds, hearing a looping string quartet surrender to a commanding rhythm highlighted by pounding drums and boxy plucked bass lines. Delicate touches of grand piano and kazoo bust open the door to an album rife with auditory treats and excellent craftmanship. Vocals are good, reminding of an edgier Colin Blunstone, with plenty of fine backup parts.
’Studio’ comes across of rather diverse nature. It's My Life, the second track growls out dark guitar distortions straight from the Move arsenal under workout vocal leads. The drums stand out, consistently providing ahead-of-their-time, vicious beats.
Tunes are often loaded with orchestration like the soft ballad, People Without Faces, and bouncier brass marches like What's The Time and She's Having A Baby Now. Tasteful psychedelic treatments abound in backwards guitar leads, weird stomp boxes, and sound effects sprinkled throughout the record.
First time on DVD, ever
The accompanying previously unreleased DVD of ’Dalamania’ was produced by Swedish national TV, SVT and shows the Tages on the height of their psychedelic career. This little piece of rock history appears to be such a thing as the Swedish version of the UK Beatles movie, ’Magical Mystery Tour’. Since its original broadcast in 1968, ’Dalamania’ has remained unnoticed on the shelfs of SVT. First time on DVD, ever.
An album like ’Studio’ should have propelled the Tages to the top 500 lists, worldwide, rather than remain a Swedish Rock ’n’ Roll footnote. Members of the Tages would form Blond in 1969 a band that disbanded in 1970.
1-LP (Gatefold sleeve) with 8-page booklet 25x25 cms) plus bonus DVD in cardboard sleeve (DVD5, b&w, 30 mns, English, 4:3, NTSC, region: 0)

incl. 'flute thing' sampled by Beastie Boys for 'flute loop'

Shine On Brightly is the second studio album by English rock band Procol Harum. The title of the epic "In Held 'Twas in I" is an acrostic, taking the first word from the first movement as well as the first word from a verse later in the movement as well as the first word from each of the three successive movements as shown in the track listing.

Procol Harum is the eponymous debut studio album by the English rock band Procol Harum. Originally released in 1967 it now celebrates its 50th year anniversary.

Breezy Sunshine-Pop / Soft-Rock / Psych-Pop from California, 1970, featuring Peter Clark a.k.a Chet DeMilo.

Crystal clear recording, awesome vocal harmonies, superb musicianship, bossa & blue-eyed-soul-jazz touches,folk-rock moves…

In 1969 Chet Demilo was appearing at Donkin's Inn, Marina Del Rey, where he met Arnie Marcus and Ray Hames, who together were to become part of an incredible slice of history. Donkin's became the hottest and most famous destination in Southern California for the next seven years, and Chet was the magnet that started the new singles scene in Los Angeles with Marina Del Rey as ground zero.

Arnie sat in on bongos with Chet from time to time, and Ray, who was managing an apartment complex that housed 200 flight attendants, just happened to have a unit available!! Chet moved in, and he and Ray started working on songs together. Chet suggested forming a vocal group with Arnie and SST was born. For three months they practiced the intricate vocal harmonies and in early 1970 cut the album, "Soft Soul Transition". A thousand records were pressed, and an album release party was held at Donkins where SST gave their one and only performance that night!

There was interest in the project at Burt Bacharach's Blue Seas Music, but it was not to be and SST faded away...until more than 20 years later when the SST album was discovered by a new generation of DJs and collectors looking for cool and groovy sounds from the 60s-70s.

„Hot Rats“, originally released 1969, is Zappa’s second album. It‘s considered to be one of the first Jazzrock albums ever and mostly contains instrumental compositions except from one track.