Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Various - Pop & Blues Festival '70 Live
Originally released as a 2 LP set in 1970, this thing sports what might be one of the worst album covers ever, but is actually an awesome slab of krautrock history! The two Frumpy tracks, I think, have been used as bonus tracks on later editions of their albums, but the tracks by Thrice Mice and Tomorrow's Gift are unique to this, and the other two bands, Beatique In Corporation and Sphinx Tush, never recorded an album. Anyway I found no real info about this album on the net, but the Cosmic Egg CD has this to say:

"Originally a one day event on 19 October 1969 at the Gruga Hall in Essen, that was such a huge success that it was soon followed up by a huge three day international festival held at the Ernst-Merck Hall, Hamburg, and a further two festivals in Essen.

The Hamburg event was held over the Easter weekend in March 1970, it was attended by a reputed 17,000 rock fans. With 22 acts in all, and such talent as Blodwyn Pig, Colosseum, The Nice, Steamhammer, Warm Dust, and others, the then new and mostly unknown German acts also showed their worth, as being every bit as good, if not better. The album documenting the German acts at the March 1970 festival has extraordinary recordings from Tomorrow's Gift, some heavy Frumpy and very Blodwyn Pig inspired Thrice Mice! There are also the two virtually unknown bands: Beatique In Corporation and Sphinx Tush. In all, essential for the Krautrock and prog collector, and the ideal companion to the LOVE AND PEACE festival album" (Crack In The Cosmic Egg)

1. Frumpy - Duty (7:35)
2. Thrice Mice - Vivaldi's Revival (7:12)
3. Beatique In Corporation - Going Straight (3:41)
4. Tomorrow's Gift - Sound Of Which (19:58)
5. Frumpy - Floating (12:14)
6. Beatique In Corporation - Things We Said (5:21)
7. Sphinx Tush - Crashville (4:40)
8. Beatique In Corporation - Sunwave (15:15)

EAC-FLAC-LOG-CUE-SCANS 538 MB

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3

See ya!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Emtidi - Saat (1972)
"An odd duo, of Canadian Dolly Holmes and German Maik Hirschfeldt, Emtidi's roots are most obviously in traditional folk, and the music of Bob Dylan or Donovan, et al., but they were highly original too.

By the time of their debut album Emtidi were no longer a conventional folk duo. Though very lyrical and totally acoustic, they had moved on and developed a style uniquely their own, a trippy folk-based music with an ethereal kind of cosmic edge. It is comparable in its innovation to, say, Pentangle's BASKET OF LIGHT, yet the Teutonic oddness of it all makes for a different experience.

Being in Berlin at the time, they soon caught the attention of enthusiastic Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser who signed them up for his then "new German folk-music label" Pilz. The album SAAT was a truly progressive folk masterpiece, with the beautiful "English" vocals of Dolly Holmes and occasionally the contrastingly Teutonic voice of Maik Hirschfeldt, in a richly textured music featuring multi-guitars, keyboards and electronics, elevated cosmic progressive of a refined and most magical kind, beyond the realms of early Bröselmaschine or Hölderlin, towards Klaus Schulze even!

Relocating to Munich and with an expanded line-up, including Rudi Haunreiter (later of Peter Frohmader's Nekropolis) and others, Emtidi continued with an expanding roster of material for several years, yet unfortunately never got to record any further albums." (Crack In The Cosmic Egg)

1. Walkin' In The Park
2. Träume
3. Touch The Sun
4. Love Time Rain
5. Saat
6. Die Reise

Maik Hirschfeldt - Guitars, Bass, Synthesizer, Flute, Cymbals, Vibes, Drums, Vocals
Dolly Holmes - Organs, Pianos, Mellotron, Spinet, Vocals
Dieter Dierks - Percussion, Bass, Mellotron

NOT MY RIP - Separate FLAC files, Front & Back Covers 220 MB

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3

Bye!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Mon Dyh - Confused Mind (1981)
Confused Mind is the second album from this great band from Germany, who only recorded three albums in the early eighties. I posted their first album, Murderer, back in December last year. I still haven't found any reviews or much information on these guys, but fellow blogger L1K3D33L3R was kind enough to provide a translation of the liner notes from Murderer. More of a fan rave than anything but hey - it's all I have:

"If there is one thing Mon Dyh (MD) were never interested in, it was the zeitgeist.

MD began to play blues rock when that music was cash point poison anywhere in the world. During the mid-seventies nobody wanted hand-made, old-fashioned guitar music, the great acts of the sixties had disbanded or were but a shadow of their former selves, the gods of blues struggled with personal and/or musical problems (or were beyond problems altogether), promising new groups gave up due to commercial failure.

When, in the course of the German New Wave, noncommittal form and content got the upper hand, MD was one of the most active bands in Berlin's "Rock against the Right Wing". They unflinchingly played sophisticated blues rock and left no lyrical doubt about their background, point of view and perspectives.

At a time when in (West) Berlin virtually everyone who could sing three notes or hold a guitar was a promising talent and chased recording contracts, MD were slogging away in (West German) clubs and youth centres, played at noncommercial festivals, charity events and self-organised concerts.

From that time originates the first LP "Murderer", made in a little studio, without "help" of a producer or support by a record company, but with time for experiments and new experiences. Not that it hadn't been tried - you could have papered several studios with the rejection letters of established music businesses - but of necessity became a virtue swiftly: if you have to do everything yourself you have a less alienated relation to the product, and with complete control of that product, up to the point of marketing, freedom prospers - with the exception of freedom from your own pretensions.

However, there were a multitude of people who bought the record although it wasn't available in "normal" record stores. Because of that, the experiment became so successful that production and preproduction costs for the second LP "Confused mind" could be covered just one year later. This time, production took place in a slightly better-equipped studio, but again - and this time with purpose - without producer and with more time than usual.

Zeitgeist advanced without mercy, and eventually, when the demise of the overpraised German New Wave became apparent, when German lyrics no longer guaranteed, albeit short-lived, success, and when not even chauvinists asserted any longer that German language and rock music were a mandatory combination, MD published a record with German lyrics, in a terrific combination of commercial masochism and defiance.

Consequently, "Am Galgen" was distributed with the help of a - small - record company, which turned out to be the main reason for the total commercial failure of the album. Nevertheless, MD's breakup after their third LP cannot be reduced to this flop. "Am Galgen" was, in many respects, already a product of insecurity and angst of stagnation, and neither the unfortunate marketing nor the attempts at a piecemeal or even radical change of the band's live presentation resulted helpful in solving that basic problem.

The reason why MD, over the six years of their existence, stuck together and - within a certain scope - were so successful, is difficult to sum up. Certainly it has to do with the undeviating steadfastness that allowed the band to make the kind of music they thought to be important and appropriate. But that steadfastness would not have been possible to keep up without an audience who very accurately sensed how strongly the musicians felt about their music, and how faithful they were to their fans.

From 1979 to 1983 I witnessed almost every gig of MD, and the enthusiasm and loyalty not only of declared MD fans but of the most diverse audiences have, time and again, surprised and affected me." (Till Schumann)

1. Confused Mind
2. Blues Between The Birth
3. Guardian's Daughter
4. Love Song
5. Who'll Be The Next
6. I Hate 'Ya
7. Involuntary Chase
8. But I Don't Care
9. Record God
10. Sunny Day
11. Heartbeat
12. Confused Mind (single version)

Markus Worbs - Drums
Harald Künemund - Acoustic Guitar
Andreas Pröhl - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Harald Frohloff - Bass

EAC-FLAC-LOG-CUE-SCANS 287MB

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3

See ya

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Eroc - Eroc (1975)
"Eroc 1 is the first solo album from Grobschnitt's drummer and knob-twiddler extraordinaire Eroc, first released in 1975. Also known as Joachim Heinz Ehrig, he later became famous for his hit Wolkenreise from Eroc 3. This first outing is full of electronic effects and musical cut ups which Eroc created for the opulent and fantastic live shows Grobschnitt was famous for. At times sound collages but for the most part beautiful and harmonious instrumental pieces, which technical wizard Eroc turned in to clever gems. This definitive reissue contains many never before released bonus tracks which because of previously existing time restraints of the album format are now finally available." (Amazon.com)

"Eroc (Joachim Heinz Ehrig) started his solo career in 1975 while he was currently the drummer of Grobschnitt. His self titled album can be considered as a cross between Grobschnitt’s typical symphonic amazing music and electronic/synthscapes dominated by numerous original sound manipulations. Despite that he was originally recognised as a drummer, here Eroc is the man behind the machines, controlling solid essays in synth experimentations and electronic collages. His first album is an absolute must in Kraut/electronic genre, very abstract, emotional and a mix of different moods. This album is an opponent worthy of Klaus Schulze’s first realisations in space/ “kosmische” electronic music." (Philippe Blache progarchives.com)

1. Begrüßung
2. Kleine Eva
3. Des Zauberers Traum
4. Toni Moff Mollo
5. Die Musik Vom "Ölberg"
6. Chaotic Reaction
7. Norderland
8. Horrorgoll
9. Sternchen
10. Teenage Love '69
11. Abendfrieden
12. Ostergloingg
13. Andromeda

Musicians:
Eroc (Joachim Heinz Ehrig) - Keyboards, Electronics, Guitar, Drums

Separate FLAC files-Scans 336 MB - not my rip thanks to original uploader

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3__Part 4

See ya

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Fotheringay - Farewell Fotheringay
I got this great sounding bootleg off a torrent site a few years back - thanks to the original releaser.

1. Eppy Moray
2. Gypsy Davey
3. Bold Jack Donahue
4. Lowlands Of Holland
5. The Ballad Of Ned Kelly
6. Banks Of The Nile
7. Nothing More
8. Silver Threads And Golden Needles
9. Peace In The End
10. The Way I Feel
11. Nothing More
12. Wild Mountain Thyme
13. Two Weeks Last Summer
14. Late November
15. Gypsy Davey
16. Nothing More
17. Memphis Tennessee

Tracks 1-6: BBC, Folk On One
Tracks 7-9: BBC, Sound Of The Seventies, May 5, 1970
Tracks 10-12: BBC Radio One, April 2, 1970
Tracks 13-15: Studio Outtakes
Tracks 16-17: Rotterdam Open Air Festival, Summer 1970

Sandy Denny - guitar, piano
Trevor Lucas - guitar
Jerry Donahue - guitar
Pat Donaldson - bass
Gerry Conway - drums

Separate FLAC files, front & back covers, 359 MB

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3__Part 4

Later!

Thursday, April 09, 2009

John Baldry - Everything Stops For Tea (1972)
"Like its companion It Ain't Easy, the second half of Long John Baldry's early-'70s comeback Everything Stops for Tea initially attracted the most attention via its producers, former Baldry sidemen Elton John and Rod Stewart. The two superstars each handled one side apiece and, though neither shines with the same generous idiosyncrasies that saw the earlier LP sparkle, still they power Baldry to some marvelous heights -- most notably the should-have-been-a-hit cover of "Iko Iko," and a glorious "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover." With Baldry's musical tastes now drawing folkier textures into his blues (and eschewing the big ballad pop altogether), it's a varied and oft-times eclectic collection. But the strength of Baldry's performance smooths over any rough edges that might have tripped other singers and, though It Ain't Easy remains the superior of these two albums, this one really isn't that far behind it. (Dave Thompson, All Music Guide)

"Long John Baldry - Everything Stops For Tea was recorded in Jan/Feb 1972 in London, England. Side one was produced by Elton John and side two was produced by Rod Stewart. The record was released in Spring 1972 and Long John Baldry spent the rest of the year touring North America to promote the album. The artwork for the album was by Ron Wood based on the Alice in Wonderland story.

Long John does blistering versions of Willie Dixon's You Can't Judge A Book and Seventh Son. Mother Ain't Dead is a great acoustic folk song that Long John Baldry and Rod Stewart duet on. This was the second time they had ever recorded together as Rod sang on Up Above My Head which was released on United Artists in the UK, 1964. For all the Rod Stewart fans and collectors this will be a great opportunity to pick up a rare Rod Stewart recording seldom heard. Other faves include Iko, Iko, Jubilee Cloud and Hambone. As with the re-release of It Ain't Easy, bonus tracks of unreleased material is also included." (livinblues.com)

1. Intro: Come Back Again
2. Seventh Son
3. Wild Mountain Thyme
4. Iko Iko
5. Jubilee Cloud
6. Everything Stops For Tea
7. You Can't Judge A Book
8. Mother Ain't Dead
9. Hambone
10. Lord Remember Me
11. Armit's Trousers
12. Radio Spot #1
13. Bring My Baby Back To Me (Live)
14. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
15. I'm Just a Rake & Ramblin Boy
16. Radio Spot #2

EAC-FLAC-LOG-CUE-SCANS 365 MB

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3__Part 4

See ya!