1970s

PETE ATKIN
Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger
Driving Through Mythical America
Both Edsel CDs
www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk
Pete Atkin had been a member of Cambridge Footlights with the now infamous Clive James. DJ Kenny Everett was a huge fan and tried to push the geeky singer towards the big time but music so thoughtful and enigmatic was just too far from the hit parade, prog rock or even singer songwiters to catch on with anyone other than the critics who adored his singular approach.
Although Australian, James’ broad range of subjects topped off by his incisive lyrical wit was the perfect adage to Atkin’s quintessentially English voice. Just like Kevin Ayers, Syd Barret, David Bowie and the wonderful Barry Booth (who had Monty Python’s Michael Palin and Terry Jones doing for him what James did for Atkin) there was no doubting the singer’s origin.
Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger (1970) and Driving Through Mythical America (’71) musically traversed acoustic folk-tinged accompaniments, baroque orchestration, music hall, and on the second, a cool rock backing (performed by members of Blue Mink and a whole host of top players including Chris Spedding). ‘Sunlight Grate’ (from Driving Through Mystical America) has that same carnivalesque tone as Tim Buckley’s early work or the immense narrative landscape of the Gibb brothers’ most haunting pieces. For an artist who considered himself unfashionable these tunes have a suitably timeless cool about them.
This brilliant partnership’s remaining LPs from ’73-75 are also available on Edsel. Each CD is packed with informative track-by-track notes by the protagonists themselves, press quotes and pics.
Jon ‘Mojo’Mills

CHRIS DARROW
Chris Darrow/Under My Own Disguise
Everloving CD
www.everloving.com
Throughout the vibrant history of Southern California country-rock, folk, psychedelic, surf and world music, journeyman multi-instrumentalist Darrow has cast an invigorating presence since the mid-60s. In addition to co-founding the Los Angeles-based Kaleidoscope group and stints in The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and The Corvettes (Linda Ronstadt’s back-up coterie), Darrow has also recorded and toured with the diverse likes of James Taylor, John Fahey, Sonny & Cher and Gene Vincent.
This 22 track objet d’art CD/LP project reprises Darrow’s trail-blazing, delightfully eclectic pair of early ’70s United Artist solo albums. As a songwriter he has a crafty way with a phrase (try ‘Albuquerque Rainbow’, ‘We Don’t Talk Of Loving Anymore’ and the chamber music-framed ‘That’s What It’s Like To Be Alone’ for starters) but his covers are well chosen as well as they veer from The Ink Spots’ ‘Java Jive’ to Hoagy Carmichael’s atmospheric ‘Hong Kong Blues’. Heady stuff.
Gary von Tersch

DR. STRANGELY STRANGE
Kip Of The Serenes
Hux CD
www.huxrecords.com
The Dublin based Strangelys made two albums – this one in 1969 for Island and a second, Heavy Petting, for Vertigo in ’70. Signed to Joe Boyd’s production company Witchseason, it would be easy to write them off as also-rans in the less than crowded field of hippy folk minstrels. However assuming you like psychedelic, quirky and cryptic whimsy, served up on a bed of earnest abandon, then this hits all the right bongos. Your preference for either of their albums hinges entirely upon which album you hear first but both have a great deal to deal to offer.
The debut, remastered for the first time at the correct speed, with four bonus tracks and a huge 32 page booklet, is closer to the sound of the early Incredibles acoustic period, occasionally veering off at a tangent into realms even their peers would fail to fully explore.
Richard Allen

DUST
Dust
Hard Attack
Both Repertoire CDs
www.repertoirerecords.com
Marky Ramone (previously Marc Bell) drummed for this early ’70s power trio that released two very fine LPs on Kama Sutra – clearly these routes into the industry were kept-under-lock-and-key in 1976. Although a far cry from stripped-down attack of The Ramones, Dust did possess much of the high-energy rock ’n’ roll that drove proto-punks like The MC5 (check out ‘Love Me Hard’ on the debut).
If Dust (’71) clearly owed a few too many debts to Sabbath, Zep and their UK ilk the follow-up Hard Attack (’72) is a far more original and varied record. ‘Pull Away/So Many Times’ has an almost Quicksilver Messenger Service circa ‘Pride Of Man’ feel about it. While in general the heavier stakes are pushed further on this record, ‘Thusly Spoken’ sees the interjection of strings, harmony vocals and epic piano whilst ‘I Been Thinkin’’ and ‘How Many Horses’ show they could do country-rock as well as any of the LA crowd.
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

GARY FARR
Take Something With You
Sunbeam 2-CD
www.sunbeamrecords.com
If you haven’t had the chance to actually hear it yet, I’m pretty sure you’ve been seeing this album being mentioned numerous times alongside either The Action or the Marmalade label. Produced by Reg King, and with the musical backing mostly provided by his former bandmates-just-about-to-morph-into-Mighty-Baby, Take Something With You is a result of Gary Farr’s progression from a rhythm’n’ blues combo frontman to a singer-songwriter, ready to take a more adventurous musical trip. The album is most usually being described as an eclectic set of acid folk ballads, which it really is (‘Green’ being a stand out), in spite of the almost too conventional opening pair of Byrds-like folk rock (‘Don’t Know Why You Bother Child’) and Dylan-ish blues (‘The Vicar And The Pope’). Besides the inclusion of two non-LP single sides, there’s a second CD of pre-album demos, of which it’s only the first one (‘A Little Piece Of Her’) that deviates from the general concept, being much closer to The Action’s blue-eyed soul.
Goran Obradovic

LEE HAZLEWOOD
Movin’ On
Ace CD
www.acerecords.co.uk
The first CD reissue of Hazlewood’s 1977 album, which is the second-to-last record he made in Sweden and something he did shortly before going into a two decade recording hiatus. The album is a bit of a hodgepodge of cover versions, re-recordings of tracks that appeared on earlier records, and a couple of songs written by a guy named Joe Nixon – an aspiring LA singer-songwriter who was a Hazlewood crony at the time. Most of the material has the signature Hazlewood sound – that foggy lounge feel that is something like a glass of scotch with a cloud of marijuana smoke around it. But just when you get relaxed and think you know what’s coming, you are hit with the disco drumming on ‘I’ve Got To Be Moving,’ the bombastic guitar on ‘Let’s Burn Down The Cornfield,’ and the jokey novelty moment, ‘Kung Fu You.’ Someone just turning on to the wonder of Lee Hazlewood will want to start with the albums Cowboy In Sweden or Requiem For An Almost Lady, or some of the Nancy & Lee material. But for those of us already well under the spell, this odd and rare record is a must have.
Brian Greene

PAUL HIBBETS
Childhood Dream
Erebus CD
For those who like their albums liturgic rather than lysergic, comes this Xian treat from the early ’70s. There’s a jammy west-coast love-in type feel to most of the songs with a fair few flakes of fuzz sprinkled here and there to add a hit of heavy flavour.
There’s no messianic vibe like D R Hooker or cultish weirdness like The Concrete Rubber Band for those listeners looking for the full-on Jesus trip, instead a pleasing, dreamy organ-led richness to all the songs and the odd Biblical quotation shoehorned awkwardly into the lyrics. Some country and folk moves are present and correct and it all hangs together nicely.
The stand out track is ‘Love God’s Little Children’, with a surprise monster fuzz riff punching out the middle of the song. A couple of the songs are a little lame in the mainstream yawn-a-thon tradition but overall the quality is strong. I’d rate this as about one third killer, equal to the best Xian albums out there. The remainder is strong and the whole thing is very worthy of rediscovery.
Austin Matthews

THE KAPLAN BROTHERS
Nightbird
Erebus CD
The Kaplan Brothers were a fraternal hotel lobby act that put out three albums in the mid-70s in a deluded attempt to crack the big time. The most famous of these, Nightbird, is a one of a kind lounge-prog fusion wig-out that just about succeeds despite the gigantic wealth of factors against it.
The brothers have a few musical peccadilloes that make their sound quite unlike anything you’ve heard before; the frequently tasteless and utterly indiscriminate use of the mellotron can only be commended, though the same can’t be said for the irritating whistling that poops over several tracks. All the vocals are rendered in a baritone crooner style that will doubtless annoy some of you, though their cheesiness adds to the overall appeal for me.
The whole album has a morbid downbeat tone that works pretty well and I’m guessing there’s some grand prog concept linking all the songs together but I’m damned if I could work out what it was.
Great stuff – I’d go as far as to say this is the lounge-prog reissue of the year!
Austin Matthews

LINDISFARNE
Lindisfarne At The BBC (The Charisma Years 1971-1973)
Virgin 2-CD
It’s easy to forget from this remove just how fiercely loved Lindisfarne were in their early ’70s day of hey. A galvanic, communal and celebratory live act – not least on the now inconceivable “Six Bob Tour” alongside label mates Genesis and Van Der Graaf Generator – they also won the coveted Best British Single of 1972 award from Melody Maker for the gorgeous ‘Lady Eleanor’, and would spend 56 weeks on the album chart with Fog On The Tyne.
This two-CD set of BBC radio sessions and In Concert appearances showcases the band’s strengths to perfection: that folksy, beery bonhomie, the rootsy warmth generated by intermingled mandolin, harmonica and acoustic guitar, and above all the stirring, heartfelt songs of Alan Hull – a man of integrity often referred to, not unreasonably, as the Newcastle John Lennon.
How worthy are those songs? There are five versions of ‘Lady Eleanor’ and three versions of ‘Fog On The Tyne’ here, and you’ll greet each and every one like an old friend. Taken in tandem with crowd-creaming gems like ‘We Can Swing Together’, ‘Meet Me On The Corner’ and ‘No Time To Lose’, they constitute one hell of a good night out – or indeed in.
Marco Rossi

CAROLINE PEYTON
Mock Up
Intuition
Numero CDs
www.numerogroup.com
Fresh from her appearance on the excellent Numero compilation of obscure female singer-songwriters Ladies Of The Canyon, Caroline Peyton now gets two of her ’7os albums reissued by that same label. Mock Up and Intuition benefit from the deluxe treatment – remastered sound, bonus tracks, in-depth sleeve notes and even video footage.
Mock Up is a mixed bag of rhythmic pop, mildly freeform piano, occasional vocal yelps and – less fortunately – those snooze-worthy singer-songwriter jazz experiments that seemed de rigour after ’75. However, for an album released in ’72, it’s interestingly ahead of its time and is worth persevering with, if you can handle Peyton’s obvious and occasionally grating plagiarism of Joni Mitchell’s vocal trills.
1977’s Intuition is far less odd and seems to be a stab at commercial success by Peyton. While this generally results in boring rock-tinged MOR, anticipating something like Tori Amos, the one exception is the ingenious falsetto pop of ‘Party Line’.
Jeanette Leech

RODRIGUEZ
Coming From Reality
Light In The Attic
www.lightintheattic.net
Hot on the heels of the universally acclaimed reissue of Rodriguez’s 1969 debut Cold Fact comes its ’71 follow-up. Cold Fact’s daring mix of homespun Greenwich Village folk and FM-friendly pop nous more than deserved those accolades and fans will be happy to hear that Coming From Reality is its natural extension and almost certainly just as good.
Rodriguez’s aim to cut “the perfect pop album” took him to London where the crack session dudes of the day provided suitably lofty musical support. These are ear-poppingly vibrant and verbose odes to lost love and urban decay; character vignettes inhabited by barflies and low-lifes delivered in a style that flits between mid-60s Dylan, Jose Feliciano and early James Taylor but sounds completely unlike any of them. Just listen to those sweet, sweet melodies, adorned with heart-breaking string quartet arrangements, funky beats, latin percussion and Rod’s warm, economic acoustic guitar work.
It’s almost too much to hear a record like this out of the blue. I found myself unable to get on with what I was supposed to be doing or even hold a thought for most of these 50 minutes in Rodriguez’s company. If I had to single out any tracks I’d plump for the startlingly beautiful ‘Sandrevan Lullaby/Lifestyles’ and the grin-inducingly happy ‘Halfway Up The Stairs’. ‘It Started Out So Nice’ is possibly the greatest hit movie theme that never was.
Better start clearing some more space in the trophy cabinet, boys.
Andy Morten

STARRY EYED & LAUGHING
All Their Best
Broadside
www.cherryred.co.uk
They were both perfect and wrong in every way. Starry Eyed & Laughing inhabited that mid-70s post-Glam, pre-punk netherworld like strangers in a strange land. They cut their chops as part of the thriving pub rock scene of the day but singled themselves out with their amphetamine-paced blasts of ’60s flavoured folk-pop – all 12-string Rickenbacker and three-part harmonies.
By the time their self-titled debut appeared on CBS in ’75 they’d already survived one potentially disastrous attempt to be marketed as the new Byrds and honed their firebrand urban powerpop to distinction. ‘Going Down’ is without doubt the finest three minutes of pop music recorded in that gloomiest of pop years and I can only implore anyone who counts themselves as a pop fan to invest in a copy of this song forthwith.
That said, there’s plenty to enjoy on this remastered 20-track pass through SE&L’s two studio albums with no less than three Byrds covers added for your pleasure. Points deducted for lack of liner notes.
Andy Morten

SWEET
Action: The Sweet Anthology
Shout! Factory CD
www.shoutfactory.com
Sweet was formed in 1968 but enjoyed little commercial success until bubblegum songwriters Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn took them under their wing. Around ’75 the band went through the first in a series of stylistic transformations, adopting a glitter and bombast-heavy, androgynous stage image. Later musical direction shifts had them composing their own songs for their unique brand of arena rock and experimenting with powerpop and prog-rock as well.
This definitive 32 track compilation, brightly remastered from the original tapes, features all their US and UK hits, cue ‘Funny Funny’, ‘Little Willy’, ‘Co-Co’, ‘Blockbuster’ (their first chart-topper), ‘Ballroom Blitz’ and ‘Fox On The Run’. The synthesizer-enhanced ‘Action’, the ELO-like ‘Love Is Like Oxygen’ (their final worldwide top 10 single) and their lusty homage to the US West Coast, ‘California Nights’, are also here.
Gary von Tersch

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Electric Asylum
Past & Present CD
Freakrock is a newly coined term that aims to describe the weird stew of hard-rock/prog/psych/ glam that bubbled around in the early ’70s. Collected here are 20 obscure gems that still manage to defy categorisation.
The Mighty ‘Em’s ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ is tremendous fun and exemplifies everything that’s good about this stuff, with its spook cheese synth effects, hard riffs and ridiculous lyrics. Other winners include the proto-terrace-glam-sci-fi of Galahad’s ‘Rocket Summer’ and the title track from The Grumbleweeds underrated psych curio, A Teknikolor Dream.
Worth the admission price alone is J C Heavy’s ‘Is This Really Me?’, an incredible one of a kind female-led psych-metal freak-out. The A-side of this single (also included) is no slouch either.
There’s nary a duff track to be found here and great artwork and sleeve-notes complete the overall package. It’s time to quit your psych silo or your blues bolt hole and get freaky!
Austin Matthews