Rock & Indie 270 Items

All in all the debut album by cultish japanese freak-rockers Flower Travellin’ Band, then called Yuya Uchida & The Flowers. Released in 1969 it features mainly cover songs of influential Western bands such as Cream, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane. It was named number 34 on Bounce's 2009 list of 54 Standard Japanese Rock Albums.

Yes - Yes is the band's acclaimed 1969 debut. Includes "Sweetness" and a cover of The Beatles' song "Every Little Thing"

Limited to 500 copies. Monster rare USA private pressing from 1968, rated with 6 stars in the Hans Pokora 3001 Record Collector's Dreams book. The Yays & Nays were a groovy, hip group (says so on the original LP jacket!) comprised of three guys and three girls. Theirs is a truly unique sounding album, full of creative songwriting and vocal arrangements and a style that defies categorization. There's garage folk-rock-the opening track 'Gotta Keep Traveling' is really astounding!, tracks with vocals in a kind of 'Kicking Against the Pricks"-era Nick Cave-channelling-Tony-Joe-White-meets-Johnny Cash vein, a little country flair, and some cuts of an ''Incredible Strange Music'' type. Weird and wonderful, in it's own peculiar way. Reissued for the first time, in collaboration with band members, and with original artwork.

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".

Due to high demand, Svart Records will release represses of Wigwam's early works on vinyl once again. The Finnish legends in Wigwam are no strangers to fans of Progressive Rock around the world. Their debut album Hard N’ Horny from 1969 and the following Tombstone Valentine from 1970 are a couple of cornerstones among many in their impeccable discography. The previous Svart editions of these absolute classics by the pioneers of early progressive rock date back to 2019, so it was about time to bring back these must-haves to the market.

Hard N’ Horny started the legacy of Wigwam. Album’s A-side is jazzy, early prog-rock by the keyboardist Jukka Gustavson, with an exception on the first track written by the original bass player Mats Huldén. Lots of heavy organ, jazzy piano, and some vocal parts by Gustavson. The B-side is ‘60s psychedelia written by the British-born vocalist Jim Pembroke. It consists of songs about a man called Henry, together forming a mini Rock opera.

Due to high demand, Svart Records will release represses of Wigwam's early works on vinyl once again. The Finnish legends in Wigwam are no strangers to fans of Progressive Rock around the world. Their debut album Hard N’ Horny from 1969 and the following Tombstone Valentine from 1970 are a couple of cornerstones among many in their impeccable discography. The previous Svart editions of these absolute classics by the pioneers of early progressive rock date back to 2019, so it was about time to bring back these must-haves to the market.

Hard N’ Horny started the legacy of Wigwam. Album’s A-side is jazzy, early prog-rock by the keyboardist Jukka Gustavson, with an exception on the first track written by the original bass player Mats Huldén. Lots of heavy organ, jazzy piano, and some vocal parts by Gustavson. The B-side is ‘60s psychedelia written by the British-born vocalist Jim Pembroke. It consists of songs about a man called Henry, together forming a mini Rock opera.

Limited to 100 copies on green vinyl. Only available at hhv.de

Enchanting and sunny 1969 psych folk by San Francisco teenage sisters Wendy & Bonnie Flower. A cult album that would later inspire bands like Stereolab, with dreamy vocal harmonies as the main attraction, laced with Brazilian splashes and soft-rock strains. Pure timeless psychedelic pop perfection, awash in serenity and haunting reverie floating in the ether above airy soundscapes that convey a sophistication that belies the artists' tender age: 15 and 18. Alongside them are top-notch musicians such as guitarist Larry Carlton, drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Randy Sterling and organists/pianists Mike Melvoin and Mike Lang. Originally produced by Gary McFarland, Gábor Szabó and Cal Tjader.

Enchanting and sunny 1969 psych folk by San Francisco teenage sisters Wendy & Bonnie Flower. A cult album that would later inspire bands like Stereolab, with dreamy vocal harmonies as the main attraction, laced with Brazilian splashes and soft-rock strains. Pure timeless psychedelic pop perfection, awash in serenity and haunting reverie floating in the ether above airy soundscapes that convey a sophistication that belies the artists' tender age: 15 and 18. Alongside them are top-notch musicians such as guitarist Larry Carlton, drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Randy Sterling and organists/pianists Mike Melvoin and Mike Lang. Originally produced by Gary McFarland, Gábor Szabó and Cal Tjader.

Velvett Fogg are a psychedelic rock band hailing from Birmingham, England. Active during the late 1960’s, Velvett Fogg were one of the many new bands from the Birmingham underground scene trying to take pop and rock music to a higher level of creativity. They were given a record deal by Pye Records, through which they released their first and only studio album, the self-titled Velvett Fogg. The original package was accompanied by a quote from U.K. disc jockey John Peel, who commented that “there is a lot of good music on this record. Remember Velvett Fogg - you will hear the name again”. Ironically the band broke up shortly after release. The album has since become a much sought after title.

Velvett Fogg is available on black vinyl.

Strictly limited vinyl reissue of the Arizona rock band's only album, originally released on Vault Records in 1968. A relatively obscure masterpiece, combining psych rock with distinctive elements of acid blues and jazz. Wild jams sensibly influenced by the West Coast sound and much closer to the Nuggets manifesto. Rising from the ashes of the folk-rock outfit The Bittersweets in 1967, the Phoenix musicians were born to take you on an endless journey. Drifting from acid rock to melancholic blues, this fuzzed out gem from the earliest days of the Phoenix Valley rock and roll scene stands as one of the rarest and purest slices of mid-'60s psychedelia around.

The second offering from Traffic, October 1968 would be their self titled Album, achieving a strong balance between Dave Mason’s simple and straightforward folk-rock songs and Steve Winwood’s complex and often haunting rock jams would see the album peak in the UK charts at No’9 and No’16 in the US Billboard Chart. Re-Issued individually from the phenomenal 2019 Traffic – The Studio Albums 1967-74 Boxset. Remastered from the original tapes, pressed on 180g heavy weight vinyl and artwork caringly overseen and interpreted, this album is a must for any newcomer or indeed, seasoned Traffic fan.

Why you'll love it...
Townes Van Zandt’s work, as far-reaching and as universal as it has become, begs for possessorship. It’s a love language understood by all who find it, yet one that remains acutely difficult to translate to those who haven’t.



No one understood this better than his earliest fans. It’s perhaps why his first studio album, For the Sake of the Song, remains a point of controversy among anyone who discovered Townes Van Zandt outside of these LP’s grooves. Townes Van Zandt the songwriter was the antithesis of bells and whistles, and so an album with such accoutrements, as this album has in spades, rings false — however unfairly — among purists. Taken in context, though, For the Sake of the Song is a gorgeous study in polarity. Each anchor is an artist from wildly different backgrounds, united under the profound effect of songcraft.

Sir Tom Jones UK No.1 single It’s Not Unusual, first released in 1965, is an international megahit. Written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, the song also made waves in the US reaching No. 10 in the charts paving the way for Sir Tom’s global success. Released for the first time on 7” vinyl since 1965, this limited edition amber record is key to any fans collection.

An acid-folk masterpiece finally revealed ! When two worlds collide here’s where the legacy of Tim Hollier begins, his first album was released on United Artists in 1968 and this long overdue re-issue is a definitive statement of the master genius. Guest on the opening night of a Beckenham folk club run by his friend David Bowie, Hollier recorded ‘Message To A Harlequin’ with the assistance of Donovan arranger John Cameron. Hollier was also a regular on London's folk club circuit for several years alongside the likes of Paul Simon, Al Stewart and Nick Drake. Here’s your chance to finally grab his visionary songwriting.

Led by explosive guitar player Chris (later Christa) Bond, Thunder and Roses was a power-trio from Philly in the best tradition of Cream or the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This is their sole album, originally released in 1969. A cult psychedelic hard-rock classic, including “White Lace and Strange”, famously covered by Nirvana. Thunder and Roses (named after a story from The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology) started to take form when genius 18-years old guitar player Chris Bond and bassist Tom Schaffer met heavy drummer George Emme (previously of The Electric Power House). Rehearsing six days a week the trio gelled quick and soon they were playing memorable shows at venues like Electric Factory and the Trauma. Recorded at Sigma Sound by Joe Tarcia, “King of the Black Sunrise” was released by United Artists in 1969. Dominated by Bond’s outstanding fuzz-wah guitar playing, the album featured seven original songs plus a storming cover of Hendrix’s “Red House”. Sadly, the record label took a wrong decision when refused to release the killer “White Lace and Strange” as a 45 to promote the album, choosing the mockery “Country Life” instead. After Thunder & Roses split, guitar player and main songwriter Chris Bond had a successful career as producer, songwriter, arranger and session musician, working closely with Daryl Hall & John Oates as well as other top artists. Later in his life, Chris eventually transitioned from male to female and changed her name to Christa. She sadly passed away in 2019.

Reissue of the band sole album, originally released in 1968 on Capitol Records. The record is a mixture of light psychedelic pop and folk. The band broke up shortly after failing to achieve commercial success or critical acclaim. The following year Artie Kornfeld, the record engineer of the album, went on to be the music producer of the Woodstock festival in 1969. Debbie Harry went on to join The Stillettos in 1974 and other bands until subsequently achieving success in 1976 fronting the new wave band Blondie.

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

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!

The 1969 follow up to Silver Apple’s debut found the duo digging into the far reaches of their songwriting psyches for a darker and more emotionally charged set of songs. While the debut set the stage for a sound the world had never heard before, Contact is where the Silver Apples began inhabiting that sound with more urgency and experimentation.

Sourced from the original master tapes plus inner sleeve with unseen master tape box photos. Featuring the original controversial artwork with the Silver Apples in the cockpit of a Pan Am jet on the front, and a plane crash with the duo superimposed over it, on the back. The airline sued both Kapp Records & the band, forcing the band to breakup. Their highly influential sound has influenced countless bands from Stereolab, Beastie Boys, Blur and more.

Remastered

The Rolling Stones returned to their blues roots on 1968's Beggars Banquet, which was immediately acclaimed as one of their landmark achievements. A strong, acoustic Delta Blues flavor colors much of the album, particularly "Prodigal Son" and Jagger/Richards' "No Expectations." Basic rock 'n' roll is not forgotten with "Street Fighting Man" and "Sympathy for the Devil." The lyrical bite of the material ensured it's place as one of the best blues-based rock albums of all time. 180-gram vinyl.

One of very few indie label releases on Spin Magazine's list of 100 top counter-cultural music, ahead of legends like Mulatu Astatke, Brigitte Fontaine, Pärson Sound, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra, Harry Partch, and Os Mutantes. Zowie! "In 1965, eight guys from London, Ontario, decided to start a free-improv group — 'free' to the point of building their own instruments, which they decided couldn't be set up to produce specific pitches... Their vocalist, schoolteacher Bill Exley, banged on a cooking pot and bellowed hilariously about stupidity and destruction and Canada. They didn't treat what they were doing as an advanced, visionary form of experimental music, but as a big, stupid, fun, ecstatic noise. By the '90s, noise artists finally recognized NSB as their ancestors — and, almost 50 years after they started, the surviving members of the Nihilist Spasm Band still play every Monday night while their children haunt loft spaces the world over." —Spin

Insect Trust were an American jazz-based rock band that formed in New York in 1967. The members of the band were Nancy Jeffries on vocals, Bill Barth on guitar, Luke Faust - formerly of the Holy Modal Rounders - on guitar, banjo, fiddle, and harmonica, Trevor Koehler on saxophone, and Robert Palmer (1945–1997) on clarinet and alto saxophone. Elvin Jones and Bernard Purdie both drummed with the group at times. Bill Folwell, who had played with Albert Ayler (and later an original member of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo), on bass and trumpet; as well as Warren Gardner on trumpet and clarinet, were part of the band by the time they recorded their second album. The band probably took its name from William S. Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch. The music ranges from surreal folk-rock (in the vein of such local heroes like Holy Modal Rounders and Fugs), to Booker T.-like pop-soul, to flat-out free jazz. Never intended to be a traditional pop act, the Insect Trust should be best remembered for extending rock's boundaries and taking the genre to a much hipper level without resorting to a lot of banal technique.

A vocal band that made it through, the Free Design have been more than an exception in the glittering world of the psychedelic circus. That was the Age of Aquarius in the end, but in the long run the 4-piece had an enormous impact on the younger generation. Released in 1969 “Heaven/earth” is a cornerstone on its own and 30 years later the band had a sort of epiphany, thanks to the spanning interest of artists such as Cornelius, Beck, Stereolab and crate digger master Madlib. By now the Free Design are considered in the same league of The Beach Boys and The Carpenters. Under the influence of the Hi-Lo’s and Peter, Paul and Mary, The Free Design rose through the folk scene of the Greenwich Village coffee houses, achieving national prominence with the enchanting ‘Kites Are Fun’. They would prove to be at least the artistic equals of such popular contemporaries as The Association, The Mamas and the Papas, The Fifth Dimension and Harper’s Bizarre, but without quite matching their commercial success. Rather than be dictated to and diluted by the majors, they chose to commit to the artistic freedom and potential to develop offered them by the producer Enoch Light through his independent set up Project 3 Total Sound.

A vocal band that made it through, the Free Design have been more than an exception in the glittering world of the psychedelic circus. That was the Age of Aquarius in the end, but in the long run the 4-piece had an enormous impact on the younger generation. Released in 1969 “Heaven/earth” is a cornerstone on its own and 30 years later the band had a sort of epiphany, thanks to the spanning interest of artists such as Cornelius, Beck, Stereolab and crate digger master Madlib. By now the Free Design are considered in the same league of The Beach Boys and The Carpenters. Under the influence of the Hi-Lo’s and Peter, Paul and Mary, The Free Design rose through the folk scene of the Greenwich Village coffee houses, achieving national prominence with the enchanting ‘Kites Are Fun’. They would prove to be at least the artistic equals of such popular contemporaries as The Association, The Mamas and the Papas, The Fifth Dimension and Harper’s Bizarre, but without quite matching their commercial success. Rather than be dictated to and diluted by the majors, they chose to commit to the artistic freedom and potential to develop offered them by the producer Enoch Light through his independent set up Project 3 Total Sound.

Released only one year after their psychedelic debut, The Fallen Angels’ sophomore album, It’s A Long Way Down, lays it all out on the line. Unfettered by label interference, The Fallen Angels’ second and final record highlights all the band has to offer. Off-kilter time signatures, experimental soundscapes, and white-hot guitar licks abound across It’s A Long Way Down’s dozen tracks, with lead singer Jack Bryant’s vocals serving as a guiding light through the paisley-patterned tunnel. Album high points like “Poor Old Man” and “Something New You Can Hide In” tease early signs of progressive rock with their weird and winding melodies, and impress with rock-solid instrumentation. An early marvel of psych rock that holds up to this day. Mastered from its original tapes and pressed at RTI on color vinyl, in its original gatefold design.

UK psychedelia moved into prog rock with spices of hard rock in the late sixties, some even coined a new label to describe the strong textures resulting of the mixture of rockier blues sounds, jazz, revolutionized freakbeat and the hardest side of popsike - ‘heavy psych’. Amongst the best works of the era were the two splendid LPs recorded by Welsh band Eyes Of Blue.

The Eyes Of Blue where formed in 1966 and soon won the Melody Maker Beat Contest, a fact that secured them a recording deal with Deram records. The label issued their first 45s, they were good but -due to company pressure- more Blue Eyed Soul or even bubblegum oriented. By the time they released their first LP, on Mercury, their real sound had surfaced, showing influences by some of the coolest bands from the US West Coast like The Doors or Love, and also counted on the help of Graham Bond, who penned some of the most significant tunes on the album. Heavily Hammond organ driven athmospheres taking things one step further than The Nice, guitar pyrotechnics, an excellent vocal work, some eastern influenced guitar raga, a great taste in choosing cover versions and strong songwriting make Crossroads Of Time one of the best progressive LPs from 1968.

First ever legit vinyl reissue, in a limited run of only 500 copies, in remastered sound and featuring an insert with photos and liner notes.

Blisterin’ bleach blonde garage punk from Long Beach’s Emperors!

Previously limited to a handful of singles, this full length LP includes all of their material, including 4 unissued tracks! From the maniacal laughter on “Laughin’ Linda” to their foot-tappin’ cover of the Zombies’ “You Make Me Feel So Good” it’s easy to see why this group of teens were hailed as Long Beach’s favorite group.

Susan Gilmore, an Emperor fan, recollects, “The highlight of the dances were when they played. While attendance was pretty good for other bands, the Emperors packed the place every time. The buzz would start during the week at school. ‘The Emperors are playing this weekend. Are you going to go?’”

The wild teenage sound of the original Emperors is still the greatest. “It's just a lifetime experience,” concluded Randall. “In a way, I felt that we were ahead of our time. The way we played and the way we presented everything on stage, nobody was shy. It was a wonderful experience.”

A new version of the band rebranded as simply Emperor, led by Steve Watts and Randy Budihas, would record for RCA, then Private Stock during the ‘70s. After a 20-year break, The Emperors reformed in 2002 and are still performing and entertaining fans today.

1968 Psychedelic Concept Record Arranged By David Axelrod

A lecture in 60's psych pop (almost power pop with flashes of hard rock) with consistently solid melodical, up-tempo, organ driven songs, soaring vocal harmonies, anthemic choruses. Psyched, poppy & fun. Not an album that you would listen to regularly, but more like an old friend to go back when you are in that 60s mood.

Colored Vinyl