Music Emporium - Music Emporium (1969)

Music Emporium is the First and Only Album by the American Psychedelic Band Music Emporium.
Bill "Casey" Cosby, an UCLA music major, trained in both Jazz and Classical Music, joined together with another 3 musicians, Guitarist Dave Padwin, Drummer Dora Wahl (a female drummer is not very common, isn't it?) and Bassist Carolyn Lee. Together they formed the Music Emporium in 1968, all of them being expert musicians and playing in the Club circuits for a few years. They meshed a wide variety of musical genres, like Psychedelic and Jazz, but also Classical, Avant-Garde and Rock. The sound is quite similar to what The United States Of America had done a year earlier (1968, this album was released in 1969) and if you liked that, you'll like this one. Cosby would be drafted to the war next year. Another victim of American Imperialism and the Anti-Communist feeling of the age. I don't have any information whether he survived of died on the midst of this horrible war, but Music Emporium died in a way, as they broke up when Cosby had to leave. They could have achieved a lot more. The prices of the original Album are now in the 4 digits, so buying the original is not an option if you are not rich.
Best Tracks - "Nam Myo Renge Kyo", "Velvet Sunsets", "Gentle Thursday", "Sun Never Shines" and "Day of Wrath". I understand the cover-art but i do not enjoy it. That drawing of an old shop is horrible and it does not match the colours of the background.

Music Emporium:
- Bill "Casey" Cosby - Organ, Lead-Vocals.
- Carolyn Lee - Electric and Acoustic Bass, Piano, Organ, Lead-Vocals.
- Dave Padwin - Lead Guitar, Lead-Vocals, Acoustic Bass.
- Dora Wahl - Percussion, Drums.

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Parliament - Osmium (1970)

Osmium is the Debut Album by the American Funk, Psychedelic-Soul Band Parliament.
George Clinton, the Funk legend which together with Sly Stone and James Brown is considered as one of the founders of Funk music, was the leader of both Parliament and Funkadelic. The personnel of Parliament all played in Funkadelic's Debut Album. Later releases of the Album by various Labels in Europe, America and Japan were released with other names like First Thangs and Rhenium, which consists of the same Album but with Bonus tracks or Singles released at the same time the Album was released. Legal problems prevented Parliament to release other Album until 1974, establishing it as a R&B Band contrasting with the Rock Sound of Funkadelic. Invictus Records was the Label which released Osmium.
Best Tracks - "Put Love In Your Life", "Little Ole Country Boy", ""Moonshine Heather", "Oh Lord, Why Lord/Prayer" and "There Is Nothing Before Me But Thang". The Album Cover is pretty funny and interesting. All the members of the Band dressed as Indians, Cowboys and Convicts, in a nice looking waterfall in the middle of a forest. Very good Cover.

Parliament:
- George Clinton - Vocals.
- Fuzzy Haskins - Vocals.
- Calvin Simon - Vocals.
- Grady Thomas - Vocals.
- Ray Davis - Vocals.
- Eddie Hazel - Guitar.
- Tawl Ross - Guitar.
- Billy Bass Nelson - Bass.
- Mickey Atkins - Organ.
- Tiki Fulwood - Drums.

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The Velvet Undeground - The Velvet Undergound (1969)

The Velvet Underground is the Third Album by the American Art-Rock Band The Velvet Underground.
The Velvet Underground follows the calmness of its precedent White Light/White Heat. Lou Reed didn't want to record another Album like that and strictly opposed recording it, considering it a mistake and unnecessary. But other members of the Band were delighted with the new musical direction, Maureen Tucker was full of hope with the new sonority and Doug Yule (who had come to replace the great John Cale) was very happy with the way the recordings went. They had moved from the subsidiary legendary Jazz Label Verve Records to the MGM Records Label. The Album was produced by themselves and distanced a lot from the original Warholian influence. All the re-releases were released by the Verve Records Label.
Best Tracks - "Candy Says", "What Goes On", "Pale Blue Eyes", "Beginning to See the Light", "I'm Set Free", "The Murder Mystery" and "After Hours". The Album cover is quite weak, a photo of Lou Reed on the Guitar and the rest of the band members sitting on the Sofa.

The Velvet Underground:
- Lou Reed – Lead and Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Lead-Vocals.
- Sterling Morrison – Rhythm and Lead Guitar, Back-Vocals.
- Maureen Tucker – Percussion, Lead and Back-Vocals.
- Doug Yule – Bass, Organ, Lead-Vocals.

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C.A. Quintet - Trip Thru Hell (1968)

Trip Thru Hell is the First and Only Album by the American Psychedelic Rock Band C.A. Quintet.
C.A. Quintet started in 1965 as a normal garage band, playing Birthday parties and in Schools when they were only 13\14 years old. Jim and Ken Erwin, the Brothers that remained in the C.A. Quintet since the beginning kept playing more and more professionally and around High School started playing with other very good musicians on the area they lived in. The record label Candy Floss which was owned by Peter Steinberg, a man with no interest in musical creation that only wanted to get rich. Somehow he ended up giving some studio time to them, which they used to record this fantastic Album. It is said that the Album sold very poorly, while that is not true, it sold about 600-700 copies in the zone where they lived, but Steinberg wasn't smart enough to print more copies and sell them to other stores. So the 700 Albums sold were all in only one place and they might have gained a lot more attention if it wasn't for the inefficacy of the Label. The fact that all of the songs have the same theme is a mere coincidence but even that it is so, it is still one of the first examples of a conceptual Album. Each original Album is now worth 1,200 dollars, thanks to the growing admiration that appeared in the years following the release. Each member followed his path, some kept playing with local bands others pursued careers outside the music industry.
Best Tracks - "Trip Thru Hell, Pt. 1", "Cold Spider" and "Smooth as Silk". The Cover was made by Rod Eaton and it matches it's interior. An Insane psychedelic delight.
C.A. Quintet:
- Toni Crocket - Back-Vocals.
- Jim Erwin - Bass, Vocals.
- Rick Johnson - Drums.
- Tom Pohling - Guitar.
- Doug Reynolds - Keyboards, Vocals.
- Ken Erwin - Trumpet, Lead-Vocals.

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The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Keep On Moving (1969)

Keep On Moving is the Fifth Album by the American Blues Rock Band The Butterfield Blues Band.
From the original formation only Paul Butterfield remained on the Band, all the other members had left to pursue other musical experiences or simply to leave the world of music. The 1965 The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was no more in 1969. Following Mike Bloomfield's The Electric Flag musical changes he added a Horn section to Keep On Moving. The same year they played in Woodstock but the video recordings were only released in the latest Official release of Woodstock footage. There were some songs that were released right after the concert. The Chicago Blues that characterised the Band disappeared to give place to a more Soulful sonority, which disappointed some of the more hardcore fans. Paul Butterfield released another Album which would be the last of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he would continue as a Solo musician until his death in 1987 due to an drug-related Heart-Attack. He was 44 years old.
Best Tracks - "Love March", "Morning Sunrise", "Walking by Myself", "Where Did My Baby Go" and "Buddy's Advice". The Cover-Art is a simple picture, but it is still quite interesting and eye-catching.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
- Paul Butterfield - Harmonica, Vocals, Flute.
- Fred Beckmeier - Bass.
- Gene Dinwiddie - Guitar, Keyboards, Tenor Sax, Flute, Back-Vocals.
- Buzz Howard Feiten - Organ, Guitar, French Horn, Back-Vocals.
- Ted Harris - Piano.
- Rod Hicks - Bass, Cello, Back-Vocals.
- Keith Johnson - Trumpet.
- Trevor Lawrence - Baritone Saxophone.
- Steve Madaio - Trumpet.
- Jerry Ragovoy - Piano.
- David Sanborn - Alto Saxophone.
- Phillip Wilson - Drums, Back-Vocals.

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The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out! (1966)

Freak Out! is the Debut Album by the American Jazz Fusion, Experimental Rock Band The Mothers Of Invention.
They formed in 1964 with the name of The Soul Giants, but after a fight between the Guitarist Ray Hunt and the Vocalist Ray Collins, Frank Zappa was called to replace Hunt as a Guitarist. Soon he became the leader of the group and in the Mothers day of that year (May 10, 1964) they changed their name to The Mothers. Motherfuckers was used to describe good musicians at the time, so they used it has an abbreviation of the term. In late 1965 they were playing in a Tavern and Tom Wilson from Verve Records saw them perform a Blues song and thought they were a White Blues Band, like The Blues Project or The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and immediately signed them. After he heard the first song they recorded he realised they weren't what he was expecting but got so impressed that he Phoned New York and got them almost an unlimited budget. Freak Out! is one of the earlier examples of a concept Album, as Frank Zappa put it, "It wasn't as if we had a hit single and we needed to build some filler around it. Each tune had a function within an overall satirical concept.".
Best Tracks - "Hungry Freaks, Daddy", "I Ain't Got No Heart", "Who Are the Brain Police", "How Could I Be Such A Fool", "Any Way The Wind Blows" and "Trouble Every Day". I guess the Cover-Art was quite innovative at the time, but it is quite worn out this days. It is still an awesome Cover, and it really manages to arouse our attention in the Album.

The Mothers Of Invention:
- Frank Zappa – Guitar, Vocals.
- Jimmy Carl Black – Percussion, Drums, Vocals.
- Ray Collins – Harmonica, Cymbals, Tambourine, Vocals, Finger Cymbals.
- Elliot Ingber – Lead & Rhythm Guitar.
- Roy Estrada – Bass, Vocals, Guitarron, Vocals.
- Gene Estes – Percussion.
- Eugene Di Novi – Piano.
- Neil Le Vang – Guitar.
- John Rotella – Clarinet, Sax.
- Carol Kaye - 12-String Guitar.

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