A1 - The Dinner Party A2 - Mussolini's Exit A3 - Humor Police A4 - You Only Live Twice A5 - Face to Face with a Couple Axes A6 - Well Known Stranger
B1 - Naturally Absolute B2 - Funny Thing Is B3 - Dead Girls B4 - Like That Madri Girl B5 - God Only Be Without You
'By my count, Baroque Primitiva is the sixth album cut by Alvarius B. and is, like its predecessors, a deep swim through mysterious waters. The 11 tracks here were recorded at various sessions over the course of several years and range from "Humor Police" [a track that imagines what Syd Barrett might have sounded like had he been a devotee of rembetika] to a trippily Beatles-damaged version of 'You Only Live Twice' [the sole surviving shard of the aborted Alvarius B. Plays The Bond Songbook project]. Baroque Primitiva is the first long-format telegram from Alvarius B. since he lost his mothership [the Sun City Girls, with whom he employed his slave name, Alan Bishop] and it also feels like his most consistently non-acerbic -- perhaps even most beauty-oriented -- work. The songs often have a meditative pace and are filled with gorgeous lo-fi blends of vocals, guitar, bass and keys. Eyvind Kang guests on several tracks, but the bulk of the material was broadcast direct from the naked soul of Alvarius B., which turns out to be a warmer, sweeter place than you might imagine. The record also marks the return of the equally-legendary Poon Village label, whose productions are always extraordinary in visual terms, and Baroque Primitiva is no exception. The cover's meditative human mandala is a brilliant ocular ode to shifting visions of feminine pulchritude, and is worthy of the best framing job you can afford.' ~ byron coley
sold out : link removed by request : reish forthkommen
latest batch o' stunnin strummers & vision serpent psalms courtesy of the resplendent alvarius b, whose heavy flow is often as psychoactive as his namesake. letras de cancionespsicodélicos y sonidos bonitos. a shimmering creeper, ltd to 300 copies
01. De De De Dum 02. Eagle-wise 03. She Dwindles Her Fingers 04. Purple Boy Gang 05. Nancy 06. Latin Version 07. Marie 08. The Tennis Player 09. French Girls 10. Sounds 11. Adrenaline And Richard 12. She Says To Me 13. An Old Servant 14. Hey Sue 15. We Crossed The Atlantic 16. When Each Descends 17. A Fraying Space 18. Into Elizabeth's Eyes 19. There Was Melancholy 20. Vida 21. A Bird In The Engine 22. Empty
'If any Australian performer of the 60's deserves the description 'cult figure', it's Sydney singer-songwriter-poet Philip 'Pip' Proud [1947-2010]. Among his fans are Ian McFarlane, who likens him to Britain's legendary Syd Barrett and American Tom Rapp (Pearls Before Swine). One of his most ardent champions is Sydney writer-musician David Nichols [The Cannanes], who describes Pip as "Australia's first pop primitive" and hails him as "the greatest Australian singer-songwriter of the 1960s". In the late Sixties Pip was touted as Australia's answer to Bob Dylan, but this was a simplistic comparison. Nichols suggests a commonality with other distinctive solo artists like Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Melanie, Donovan and Sandy Denny, but perhaps more so with some of the 'underground' artists of the last 10-15 years:
"He was, of course, twenty-five years ahead of his time. Listen to Lou Barlow's Sentridoh, or the Folk Implosion's Kidssoundtrack. Listen to other cutting-edge U.S. artists like The Mountain Goats, Beck, Guided By Voices or The Spinanes. Or listen to New Zealand's Alistair Galbraith, such a Proud fan he led off his 1994 Cluster EP with a song called 'Pip Proud'. Then listen to Pip Proud and tell us he doesn't fit so snugly with those sounds it's almost uncanny.'
Pip's style was unique. He wrote strange, plaintive song-poems about modern urban life and love, which he sang in his distinctive high, quavering voice. What made his recordings really stand out was that he accompanied himself by strumming or tapping on the strings of his unamplified electric guitar. Italian music writer Piero Scaruffi describes Pip's songs as
"... bizarre, childish rants of an hallucinated mind, accompanied by an out-of-tune guitar and paced at irregular tempos. The only precedent was the acid-folk music of the Holy Modal Rounders."
Like Syd Barrett, Pip recorded two remarkable solo Albums of original music in the late Sixties -- which now fetch hundreds of dollars apiece on the collectors' market -- and then he more or less disappeared from view. But interest in his remarkable music was kept alive by a dedicated few, and in the mid-1990s his musical career was revived, thanks largely to the efforts of super-fan David Nicholls. We are delighted to report that, since then, Pip has recorded and released several CDs of new music, which have gained international release.
Information about Pip's life and career is scant. What we know so far is that Pip was born in Adelaide and moved to Sydney in his late teens, where he began creating a large body of poetry, songs, novels and plays and also -- like most of his contemporaries -- became involved in the anti-war movement. Ca. 1967 he was 'discovered' by stockbroker and art patron Michael Hobbs, who financed Pip's first recording, the privately-recorded album De Da De Dum. It was released on the Grendel label, and apparently only about fifty copies were pressed, which must qualify it as one of the rarest and most collectible of all Australian recordings of that era.
Fortunately for posterity, Pip's album was heard by Bob Cooley, A&R manager at Phonogram Records [the Australia branch of what later became the Polygram group]. He was impressed by the unqiue qualities of Pip's music and signed him to the Philips label. Pip's first commercial LP was a re-recording of the songs from his debut album, released in 1968 under the title Adrenaline and Richard . It was well-reviewed in Go-Set which led to Pip making a few TV appearances and giving a handful of live performances.'
oldie/goodie. been revisiting this kat's hallucinogenic tone poems of late & wanted to make sure everyone who need knoweth finds out, especially my weird brother badger. say g'day to the australian syd barrett. further
A1. Ive Lost My Faith In Everything But You A2. Swim Brown Dog A3. Like It Used To Be A4. How Could You A5. Left Handed Lover
B1. Evening Is Coming B2. Indoor Outdoor Lovin' B3. I Wonder B4. Still Gone
Guitar, Keyboards - Ron Cornelius Bass - Joe Davis Drums - Paul Distel
'Simply one of the greatest under-the-radar major label folk records ever. Though, in my eyes it's on the same level as the best stuff of the era - period. Massive, haunting, personal - and epically real. A total desert island pick for me. Hard to beat.' ~ joaquim peso
bare-bones, heartbreaking one-off fer ron cornelius, who cut his teeth in the band West & later became an in-demand sesh musician, guesting fer the likes of dylan & lenny cohen in the glory daze of yore. illuminating interview at waxidermy. 320 rips later
A1. Hugo Spellman A2. The Song of the Wanering Aengus A3. De Debil Take De Blue Tail Fly A4. The River Song
B1. London Blues B2. Her Hair Was Long B3. Young Lust B4. Love
Bonus 1. Dream Bonus 2. Where is My Wild Rose
'Hailing from New Zealand, Chris Thompson arrived on the folk guitar scene in the United Kingdom in 1971 and hung out and gigged with Wizz Jones, Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, John Martyn, Derroll Adams and others. A window into time gone by, evoking both a spatial and temporal quality that contemporary music oft seeks to emulate or revive, but will not come our way again.
Herein lies the complete self-titled 1973 Village Thing label album [recorded 1971 – 73]. Shimmering, hypnotic, flowing, psych-tinged, original acoustic folk guitar and vocal. Backed by various friends include Magic Carpet members Keshav Sathe and Clem Alford (providing and Eastern influence), and one cut with Ed Deane, guitarist from the Woods Band.
Only 101 copies were sold and the other 899 destroyed. The original LP was not promoted by the distributor [Transatlantic Records], but was dumped into a river as part of an insurance scam when Transatlantic’s big album of 1972, Pentangle’s 'Reflection', failed to sell.' ~ mythology
by request, some pirty schweet folky schtuff fer a munday eve. incruded are the only two bonus cuts from the Scenesof re-ish worth sharing. a heavy bert jansch influence is evident throughout but the tanpura drones make it quite listenable. nothing mindblowing, but certainly worth a few spins. he has a pleasant enuff singing voice too. 320 drippy hips
A1. Faith To Arise 4:28 A2. Seed Of Memory 5:25 A3. Brave Awakening 6:27 A4. To Be Treated Rite 5:52
B1. Ooh Baby [Make Me Feel So Young] 4:03 B2. The Way You Walk 4:40 B3. The Frame 4:33 B4. Fooling You 7:13
Terry Reid: composer, guitar, vocals Graham Nash: producer, vocal harmonies David Lindley: acoustic/slide guitar and violin Lee Miles: bass Soko Richardson: drums James Gadson: drums [5 & 6] Ben Keith: pedal steel Jesse Ehrlich: cello Al Viola: balalaika Plas Johnson: saxophone Tim Weisberg: flute Joel Bernstein: acoustic guitar [4] Fred Wesley: horn Clifford Solomon: horn Blue Mitchell: horn
'Terry Reid moved to California in the mid-'70s, befriending a number of musicians from those parts & broadening his sound in the process. One result was this album, produced by Graham Nash and featuring David Lindley on acoustic and slide guitars. Seed of Memory isn't as heavy as his earlier work, and not remotely the bold, strident virtuoso rock production of his first LP -- most of it, apart from the vaguely Led Zeppelin-ish 'The Way You Walk,' is fairly laid-back by Reid's standards.
'Ooh Baby' tries for a kind of meld of funk and British blues. But several numbers, like 'Brave Awakening,' with its relaxed beat, high harmonies, and understated backing orchestration, or the ominous acoustic-textured 'To Be Treated Rite,' seem more like outtakes from Nash's Songs for Beginners or his subsequent albums, or one of Neil Young's mid-'70s albums, than they do like the work of one of England's most promising '60s bluesmen.' ~ some lame
first heard this bra many moons ago, rite round this thyme of year. there we was, watchin the devil's rejects [by roberto zombi] when we found ourselves extremely moved by several crosby stills & nash tunes in the soundtrack that we did not know. after a quick search in the engine, we came to find out it was this cat terry reid & thus managed to trace this righteous album, appropriately produced by graham nash who owlso contributes some soaring harmonies. further lore indicates that in the pre-embryonic stages of zep, jimmy page offered reid the lead-singer-slot in the burgeoning band & was turned down by terry who had contractual obligations, but lovingly recommended his mate bobby plant instead. & according to a nina simone interview from the period, reid was the only songwriter from the uk doing anything interesting in the early 70's [citation needed :-] where does that leave us then? with a high quality remaster of a sweet album. i'm pirty partial to side A & this one is worth it for those tunes alone in my humble estimation. 320 fanx to the originilluminator
