Timothy Leary - You Can Be Anyone This Time Around (1970)

You Can Be Anyone This Time Around is an Album which Timothy Leary made and organized in 1970.

Timothy Leary was born in Massachusetts in 1920. Soon he entered a Military Academy with whom he had serious problems for breaking the law numerous times (for drinking contests and other assorted stuff) and after going to court and a full year being purposefully ignored by his colleges he was Honorably discharged. He moved to the Alabama University, and he studied continuously until receiving a Ph.D in Psychology by the University Of California. Afterwards he started working as a teacher in that same university, from where he ended up being expelled for being a proponent of Psychoactive drugs between the students. In 1960, after taking some psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico, he stated that he had learned more in those five hours about his conscious and Psychology than 15 years of studying. Upon his return to Harvard he established a research team on Psychoactive Drugs, starting a series of experiments on human beings. Allen Ginsberg (the Beat Poet and a famous underground personality) wanted to take part on the experience and also wanted to expand it, giving it to several people on the counter-culture. Leary was once again fired, and went to live in a mansion where he and a group of several people experienced Psychedelics until LSD was forbidden in 1966. I have not been able to find when this was recorded but it had some of the best musicians participating, for example, Jimi Hendrix, Stephen Stills and John Sebastian.

Best Tracks - "You Can Be Anyone This Time Around", "What Do You Turn On When You Turn On" and "Live And Let Live". You Can Be Anyone This Time Around is truthfully one of the most interesting Albums i've heard in a while, half interesting for its music and half interesting for the speeches that are given. Some of the songs feature short samples of psychedelic acts, like Country Joe & The Fish and also some of the beginning verses of Ginsberg's poem Howl. The Personnel is not complete.

Timothy Leary (You Can Be Anyone This Time Around Personnel):

- Timothy Leary - Voice.

- Jimi Hendrix - Bass.

- Stephen Stills - Guitar.

- John B. Sebastian - Guitar.

- Buddy Miles - Drums.

Download in comments.

Ravi Shankar - The Sounds Of India (1968)

The Sounds Of India is the Sixteenth Album by the Indian Sitar Player Ravi Shankar.

I am seriously not sure how many Albums Ravi has released since he started playing. His first Album was released in 1956 and was called Three Ragas, in the 12 years that separate the Debut from The Sounds Of India, he released a multitude of Albums, some live, some collaborations and of course original LP's. In the Mid-60's he had already influenced Bands like The Byrds and The Beatles to incorporate Indian Sounds to their Music, which led to the widespread use of Sitars and Tablas by numerous Psychedelic Bands of the epoch. George Harrison especially, gained an extraordinary interest in Indian Mysticism and Music after meeting Ravi Shankar, and all The Beatles Albums reflected this interest (Not only Indian Mysticism but also the LSD he was taking and which he as stated as one of the best things he has done). In The Sounds Of India, Ravi tries to present Indian Music to the Western Society, with explanations of how the Rhythms are and which instruments are being used etc. It is considered now one of the most important Albums of the 60's due to it's influence and Historical value.

Best Tracks - "An Introduction To Indian Music", "Dádrá", "Máru-Bihág" and "Sindhi-Bhairavi". It is not only a fantastic and very interesting historical document, but the Music in it, which is quite a lot, is fantastic and full of power. If you are interested in the Sitar and Music from India this is indeed the place to start, there isn't a single dead moment, and numerous musicians were deeply influenced by this Album right here.

Ravi Shankar (The Sounds Of India Personnel):

- Ravi Shankar – Sitar.

- Chatur Lal – Tabla.

- N. C. Mullick – Tambura.

Download in comments.

Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste (1971)

Acquiring The Taste is the Second Album by the British Progressive-Rock Band Gentle Giant.

The core of Gentle Giant were the three Shulman Brothers, from a slum in Glasgow, Scotland. Their father was an Army Musician that ended up becoming a Jazz Trumpeter, with his influence they all became Multi-Instrumentalists. The two younger brothers, Derek and Ray, started their Band and quickly their older brother joined them, forming first The Howling Wolves, then The Road Runners and finally Simon Dupree And The Big Sound. Under that name they managed to get signed to the EMI Label, and released several Singles, none of them charting (Elton John played in some of them apparently) until the Label got fed up with their Soul-Pop sound and forced them towards Psychedelia. This led them to finally have some attention and subsequently made them feel bad by this insincere change of style. To express this feeling they recorded a single, with another name, The Moles. The Moles were speculated to be The Beatles, with Ringo as their Lead-Singer, but everything was set to straight points when Syd Barret told everyone who they were. By 1969 they just got fed-up with this direction and quit, their Band sucked, and each one of them could play Drums better than the Drummer. In 1970 they formed Gentle Giant, the name comes from a medieval story, where a group of minstrels are surprised by Giant.

Best Tracks - "Pantagruel's Nativity", "Edge Of Twilight", "The House, The Street, The Room", "Black Cat" and "Plain Truth". I will leave you with a part of the sleeve notes. So here it is. "... It is our goal to expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of being very unpopular. We have recorded each composition with the one thought - that it should be unique, adventurous and fascinating. It has taken every shred of our combined musical and technical knowledge to achieve this. From the outset we have abandoned all preconceived thoughts of blatant commercialism. Instead we hope to give you something far more substantial and fulfilling. All you need to do is sit back, and acquire the taste".

Gentle Giant:

- Gary Green – 6 And 12 String Guitar, Donkey's Jawbone, Cat Calls, Voice.

- Kerry Minnear – Electric Piano, Organ, Mellotron, Vibraphone, Moog, Piano, Celeste, Clavichord, Harpsichord, Tympani, Xylophone, Maracas, Lead-Vocals.

- Derek Shulman – Alto Saxophone, Clavichord, Cowbell, Lead-Vocals.

- Phil Shulman – Alto And Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Trumpet, Piano, Claves, Maracas, Lead-Vocals.

- Ray Shulman – Bass, Violin, Viola, Electric Violin, Spanish Guitar, Tambourine, 12 String Guitar, Organ Bass Pedals, Skulls, Vocals.

- Martin Smith – Drums, Tambourine, Gongs, Side Drum.

- Paul Cosh – Trumpet, Organ.

- Tony Visconti – Recorder, Bass Drum, Triangle.

- Chris Thomas – Moog Programmer.

Download in comments.

Ramases - Space Hymns (1971)

Space Hymns is the Debut Album by the British Psychedelic Rock Musician Ramases (A.K.A. Martin Raphael).

Space Hymns has become now a legendary Album, and it was very appreciated by the more Hardcore members of the Freak culture. Born Martin Raphael in the late 30's in Sheffield, U.K. Martin was a PT instructor (Physical Training) in the British Army and was involved in a business in Scotland selling heaters. Supposedly one day, Martin had a vision in which the Egyptian God Ramases (a Pharaoh) and in the vision he was told that he was in fact the re-incarnation of that same god. What did Martin do after that you ask? Well what most people would do if they ever had such a vision, he changed his name to Ramases and started playing Music to share the truth with everybody. The next step was to record an Album, but to do so he had first need to find a Label, and so he did, signing to CBS and releasing a Single with his wife, under the name Ramses And Selket, this was around the year of 1968, and they achieved no success. In 1970, Ramases switched Labels, going to Vertigo, where he started recording his Albums, with soon-to-be 10cc Musicians, who were the proprietors of the recording studio, Strawberry Studios.

Best Tracks - "Life Child", "Oh Mister", "Quasar One", "You 're The Only One", "Earth People", "Molecular Delusions" and "Journey To The Inside". This one is a true masterpiece. It has the necessary levels of insanity and musicianship combined and it is more than just a good listen. The Cover-Art is just astonishing, a 6 page fold-out by Roger Dean, with some extremely nice paintings.

Ramases (Space Hymns Personnel)

- Ramases - Vocals.

- Selket - Vocals.
- Eric Stewart - Lead Guitar, Moog Synthesizer.
- Lol Creme - Lead Guitar, Moog Synthesizer.
- Kevin Godley - Drums, Flute.
- Graham Gouldman - Guitar, Bass.
- Martin Raphael - Sitar.

Download in comments.

Gnidrolog - Lady Lake (1972)

Lady Lake is the Second Album by the British Progressive Rock Band Gnidrolog.

In 1969, Twins Colin and Stewart Goldring formed a Progressive Rock Band and started recruiting Musicians, Nigel Pegrum came from Spice (who would eventually evolve into the famous Band Uriah Heep), Peter "Mars" Cowling, John Earle and Charlotte Fendrich. Their hard to pronounce name, Gnidrolog, is a reverse and slightly changed modification of the Twins name, Goldring. I haven't found much information about them, so there is quite an hiatus between the forming and 1972 when they released their Debut and this one Lady Lake, one after the other, and disbanding quickly after, when they were faced with no commercial success. They had the chance to share the stage with such Rock legends as King Crimson, Colosseum, Gentle Giant and Soft Machine. When Gnidrolog was done with the Goldring Twins formed the Punk Band Pork Dukes and Pegrum joined Steeleye Span, a quite different sound from what is shown here. In 1999 they got back together and in the next year, 2000, released the Third Album by the Band. 1999 was also the year that saw the re-edition of the Album on CD Format.

Best Tracks - "I Could Never Be A Soldier", "Ship", "Lady Lake" and "Social Embarrassment". This is much better that i expected, most of the songs are 5 stars, and the fact that instead of using an overload of Keyboards, which most of Progressive Bands used, they focused mostly on Flute (fantastic, and almost comparable to what Ian Anderson did on Jethro Tull) and Saxophone. It is a fantastic Album, definitively worth a listen.

Gnidrolog:

- Stewart Goldring - Lead-Guitar.
- Colin Goldring - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Recorder, Tenor Horn.
- Nigel Pegrum - Percussion, Flute, Oboe.
- John Earle - Soprano, Tenor And Baritone Saxophones, Flute, Vocals.
- Peter Cowling - Bass, Cello.
- Charlotte Fendrich - Piano.

Download in comments.

The Raves - Singles (1967-1968)

This are the 5 out of 6 songs that i was able to dig out from the 3 Singles released by the American Psychedelic Rock Band The Raves.

There are very scarce information about this Band, so the story begins with the Band forming in Brooklyn, New York, in an unknown year, but certainly before April 1967. The Band released 3 45's over the course of two years, not getting any success and disappearing of the Music circuit, without leaving any trace of their existence. Ron Haffkine was their Producer, he was also the Producer of another Band from New York called The Gurus, and also Produced and Managed the Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, later diminished to simply Dr. Hook, a Band which enjoyed quite a deal of commercial success. I managed to find the two first 45's ("Mother Nature/Mister Man" and "Don't Chop Down My Tree/Think Of Your Love") and the A-Side of the Last 45, the one released in 1968 ("Everything's Fire/Sing Children Sing", it seems that Sing Children Sing, is not a part of any compilation so i couldn't discover it).

There isn't a single Photo of the Band, so I'll leave you with a photo from one of the 45's. This is another Technicolor Web Of Sounds find!

I found some info on the name of the Members, it seems that they were called D. and M. Jimenez, if they were related or which instruments did they play I do not know.

Download in comments.

Pentangle - Cruel Sister (1970)

Cruel Sister is the Fourth Album by the British Folk-Rock Band Pentangle.

Released little over a year after their biggest commercial success and probably their best Album, Basket Of Light, Cruel Sister was, quite awkwardly a failure. Unlike their previous Album, this one was completely Folk-based, all the 5 songs being re-works of Traditional songs, giving a much Folker sound to the Album, which is probably one of the reasons why the Album failed. After Basket Of Light the Band got immense attention, appearing 12 times on television, recording songs for Films and TV Shows, and making two tours, one on the UK and another in the United States, getting to play on The Isle Of Wight Festival. It was due, of course, to the way it was recorded and the fact that Jazz played a lead role. This time they chose a known Folk Producer, Bill Leader, to help them with this Album. The B-Side was completely filled by just one song, "Jack Orion" previously worked by Bert Jansch in his Album with the same name, that I have posted some days ago. The Songs are played with Electric Instruments, but they are very calm and the way they are used is pretty simplistic.

Best Tracks - "A Maid That's Deep In Love", "When I Was In My Prime", "Lord Franklin", "Cruel Sister" and "Jack Orion". This is the first Album, where i have chosen all the songs as Best Tracks. I much prefer Basket Of Light than Cruel Sister, but this fact does not make it any worse, it is a fantastic Folk Album, by the fantastic Band that were Pentangle. This is one for the more Folk aficionados.

Pentangle:

- Terry Cox – Drums, Percussion, Dulcitone, Glockenspiel, Vocals.

- Bert Jansch – Acoustic Guitar, Appalachian Dulcimer, Recorder, Concertina, Vocals.

- Jacqui McShee – Vocals.

- John Renbourn – Acoustic And Electric Guitars, Sitar, Recorder, Vocals.

- Danny Thompson – Double Bass.

Download in comments.

Bert Jansch - Jack Orion (1966)

Jack Orion is the Third Solo Album by the Legendary Scottish Guitarist Bert Jansch.

Jack Orion and it's preceder It Don't Bother Me were released in quick succession, one after another. Less than 10 months of difference between both of them. Bert was always a very productive Musicians, especially in the 60's. In Jansch's first Album he played only Original songs, and this contrasts a lot with this one, which is completely composed by Traditional tunes, more to the style of other Folk Recordings of the age. John Renbourn with whom he would play lots of times in the future (releasing a collaboration Album with Jansch the same year of this Album), plays in 4 of the 8 songs of the Album. One of the tracks of this Album is the famous "Blackwaterside", which Jimmy Page stole note after note and released on Led Zeppelin's Album Led Zeppelin I , Bert Jansch and his Label Transatlantic where preparing to take Led Zeppelin into court and they were told that their case was very strong, but when Jansch was told that it would cost him half of the costs to take them into court, he dropped out. Jansch was at the time leaving in London, sharing a flat with Renbourn, and was hanging with such personalities as Davey Graham, Roy Harper and Paul Simon.

Best Tracks - "The Waggoner's Lad", "Jack Orion", "The Gardener", "Nottamun Town", "Henry Martin" and "Blackwaterside". I am sad to say that Bert Jansch lost a struggle against Cancer just 7 days ago. When i heard he had died I decided to listen to more stuff by him, and immediately after knowing that I re-listened to Pentangle's Basket Of Light re-flaming an old spark. I'll be posting some Albums by Jansch and some more by Renbourn and by Pentangle. This is not Jansch's best Album but it is extremely interesting and it has several fantastic tracks.

Bert Jansch (Jack Orion Personnel):

- Bert Jansch - Guitar, Banjo, Vocals.

- John Renbourn - Guitar.

Download in comments.

Spriguns - Revel Weird And Wild (1976)

Revel Weird And Wild is the Second Album by the English Electric Folk Band Spriguns.

Mandy and Mike Morton were a couple that owned a Folk Club in Cambridge, England and that decided to from an Acoustic Duo. Originally their name was Spriguns Of Tolgus, Spriguns from a Pixie from Cornwall and Tolgus from a Tin Mine from the same area. They played mostly Traditional songs from the UK. Gradually, thanks to the Club, they enlisted some musicians and moved to a more Electric Sound much to the style of Steeleye Span, and coincidentally they were spotted by Tim Hart after they released a Self Recorded low quality Tape in 1974. With the help of Tim Hart they managed to release their Debut, full, of course of Traditional songs. There were very few pressings of this Album but it fortunately managed to call the attentions of a big label, Decca Records. In 1976 they were finally able to make a deal with them, and when they did they cut their name short, leaving it simply as Spriguns and changed their Band, adding more Rock musicians, who brought a harder sound. The Album that resulted from this combination was again Produced by Tim Hart, and apart from the Harder sound the songs were mostly original apart from some couple Traditional songs. The Band went to record some more Albums until Mandy Morton decided to go for a Solo career.

Best Tracks - "Trysting Tree", "Outlandish Knight", "Piscie Song", "Lord Lovell" and "Laily Worm". It is a pretty good Album, not fantastic or amazing, but a nice good ole Electric Folk Album in the style of Steeleye Span. The cover is quite hideous, at least i get kinda of freaked out by it, and i surely hate it a lot.

Spriguns:

- Mike Morton - Bass, Vocals.

- Mandy Morton - Vocals, 12 String Guitar, Dulcimer, Bongos.

- Dick Powell - Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals.

- Tom Ling - Electric And Acoustic Violins, Harpsichord, Fiddle.

- Chris Woodcock - Drums.

Download in comments.

Quill - Quill (1970)

Quill is the First and Only Album by the American Psychedelic/Progressive Rock Band Quill.

Quill was founded by two Boston brothers, Jon and Dale Cole. The brothers were managed by Ray Paret and David Jenks of Amphion Management, the biggest management company in town and which helped create a lot of Bands from the town and almost creating a musical atmosphere on the town in which numerous Bands grew up, like The Cars and Aerosmith. With Ray and David they were able to meet some of the best musicians on Boston's circuit and formed Quill. All the members of the Band knew how to play numerous instruments, something that they wisely used to their advantage, for instance in concert where the Band Members would change instruments all the way through it, creating a very interesting sonority. They were chosen to open to numerous Bands, such as The Who, The Kinks, Deep Purple, Sly And The Family Stone, The Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin. On a concert in the beginning of the Summer of 69 they were invited to go and play on the forthcoming Woodstock Concert, without having released one single Album (that same night Jimi Hendrix and Stephen Stills joined the Band and jammed for the night). Quill were also contracted to play for the workers of the Festival and were paid to perform on a series of goodwill concerts to appease the angry locals. Atlantic Records, upon gaining knowledge of their participation, decided to make a record deal with them counting that they would feature in the movie, and so they were signed to Atlantic's Subsidiary, Cotillion. But the rain that was felt during the Festival made it impossible for them to be recorded and so the Label lost interest, although they self-produced their Album and sent it to the Label managing to get it released but not promoted by the Label however. It got some attention but nothing extraordinary, leading to the Band dissolution the same year, in 1970.

Best Tracks - "Thumbnail Screwdriver", "The Tube Exuding", "Yellow Butterfly" and "Shrieking Finally". Quite a nice Album, and a very good example of what the Labels do to some great Bands condemning them to near obscurity, which is sort of disappearing now that it was re-issued on CD. Roger North designed a famous Drum set that is very nourished by several Drummers.

Quill:

- Dan Cole - Guitar, Trombone, Vocals.
- Jon Cole - Bass, Guitar, Vocals.
- Norman Rogers - Guitar, Bass, Cello, Vocals.
- Phil Thayer - Keyboards, Bass, Saxophone, Vocals.
- Roger North - Drums, Percussion, Vocals.

Download in comments

Catapilla - Catapilla (1971)

Catapilla is the First Self-Titled Album by the English Progressive/Jazz Rock Band Catapilla.
Catapilla was formed in December 1970, extremely influenced by two Albums (In The Court Of The Crimson King by King Crimson and Valentyne Suite by Colosseum) released on the previous year of 1969, and which made them fall in love with the growing Progressive Rock movement. Catapilla's sound however was kind of different embracing a much harder and Jazzistic sonority than much other Bands who were also into the Progressive scene. I saw a description on a Site describing them as "The Canterbury Scene on Acid", and I think that it is quite a good way to describe what features on this Album. They were spotted by Black Sabbath's Manager, Patrick Meehan and he quickly offered to produce their first Album. Before starting to record however Lead-Vocalist Jo Meek retired from the music scene, and Anna Meek his sister came to replace him on the same spot. The Debut was released in Late 1971, not achieving much interest from anybody. They went on tour and changed most of their Line-Up during it, however they were rarely headliners. This one is however quite expensive, as it has become a much sought after collector's item.
Best Tracks - "Naked Death", "Tumbleweed" and "Embryonic Fusion". Quite a weird Album, with a very unnusual and characteristic sound. Most of the Vocals are screams but it is quite enjoyable, even though it isn't surely an Album to listen to if you want to relax. This is definitively a must!

Catapilla:
- Anna Meek - Vocals.
- Dave Taylor – Bass.
- Graham Wilson – Guitar.
- Hugh Eaglestone – Saxophone.
- Robert Calvert – Saxophone.
- Thierry Rheinhart – Woodwind.
- Malcolm Frith – Drums.

Download in comments.

John McLaughlin - Extrapolation (1969)

Extrapolation is the Debut Solo Album by the English Jazz Fusion Guitarist John McLaughlin.

John McLaughlin was born in 1942, in Doncaster, England. Since an early age McLaughlin was exposed to music and taught to play the Piano and the Violin (his mother was a Violinist) only picking up the Guitar at the age of 11, influenced by personalities like Django Reinhardt. At the dawn of the 60's, he moved to London where he played with some figures like Alexis Korner and Brian Auger and also The Graham Bond Organisation. He also did one thing that angered him a lot but helped him stay alive, which was playing in Studio Sessions, even though it helped him get a lot of Studio Experience. He was also an active and important Musician in some of the best Miles Davis Albums, including Bitches Brew, which has a track named after him. On January 18th, McLaughlin and three more musicians got together in London's Advision Studios and recorded this Album in a single day, which would later be released the same year. McLaughlin moved to the United States later that year and was received as one of the best Session Musicians available, playing for loads and loads of musicians. McLaughlin and Jimi Hendrix played together once in the 25th March of 1969, for 6 hours straight during the night. There is a recording of this Jam out there but i haven't listened to it yet.

Best Tracks - "Extrapolation", "It's Funny", "Pete The Poet", "Spectrum", "Two For Two" and "Peace Piece". I have been listening to some Jazz Fusion Music lately an many of then feature this man. He was one of the pioneers of the Genre and this Album, although it seems to have been forgotten over the time is a great example of why he is so. Great Album, with 4 great musicians. It is truly great.

John McLaughlin (Extrapolation Personnel):

- John McLaughlin – Guitar.

- Brian Odgers - Bass.

- Tony Oxley – Drums.

- John Surman – Baritone And Soprano Saxophone.

Download in comments.

Mark Fry - Dreaming With Alice (1972)

Dreaming With Alice is the First Album by the English Acid-Folk Musician Mark Fry.

As soon as Mark Fry ended High-School in England in the year of 1970, he moved to Italy to pursue his giant interest in Painting and Arts. With him came his trustworthy friend, the Guitar. Fry however didn't have the ambition of becoming a Musician, even though he wrote numerous songs, he wanted to devote his life to painting, and Music was only a Hobby. The events however led to this Album being recorded in 1972 in the magnificent city of Rome. The Album ended up being released by RCA, but only in Italy, and it faded into almost complete obscurity. In 1973 Fry returned to England were he formed a Band with his old Friend, Ben Grove. It seems that they were in a verge to make a deal with a Label for endless times, but it was never done, leading to Fry deciding to go on a massive trip to Canada for six months and after that descending is was out to California, where he started to try to make it out as a Musician. There he wrote songs, recorded Demos and played every Gig he could. He never did it. In 1977 he quit his Band and the Music world overall, dedicating himself to Painting.

Best Tracks - "The Witch", "Song For Wilde", "A Norman Soldier", "Lute And Flute", "Narrow Streets", "Mandolin Man", "Rethorb Ym No Hcram" and all the "Dreaming With Alice" Verses. Dreaming With Alice is very influenced by the book by Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, of course, it was a book that was very influencing to that generation. Dreaming With Alice is also one of the most amazing Acid-Folk Albums I have ever heard and probably that anyone has ever heard. It is just completely amazing and it hasn't got one single dead or uninteresting moment.

Mark Fry (Dreaming With Alice Personnel):

I do not know if there are other musicians on this Record, because he recorded this in a Home-Studio of some Scottish Musicians, so it is possible that some of them indeed helped with the recording.

Download in comments.