Five Man Electrical Band – Five Man Electrical Band (Capitol/Pickwick, Canada, 1969)

Five Man Electrical Band hailed from capital city Ottawa and were originally named The Staccatos in the period comprised between 1963-1969. They achieved national fame with that name releasing interesting singles (“Half Past Midnight” was a Top 10 Hit in 1967) and even recording a split disc with The Guess Who. Later in 1969, they renamed themselves Five Man Electrical Band, noting they were five components. Worldwide fame arrived in 1971 with their seminal single “Signs”.

The record of today is the first they released under his second name and is located in between national and international fame. What is found inside is a delightful set of catchy pop tunes mixed with soft psychedelic elements. They remember a lot bands like Procol Harum, The Beach Boys, early Bee Gees or The Beatles, which is always a nice cover letter.

The hearing experience is very pleasant and is certainly a rotation favorite –I am a sucker of well crafted soft psychedelic pop-. It is in the exquisite harmony voices mixed with the delicious arrangements the album has its staple. The instrumentation includes enjoyable organ and piano, some quality string section, pleasing guitar and soft rhythm section. Anecdotally there are two drummers and they were both brothers.

The repertoire is fantastic. The chain of the four five songs is absolutely outstanding but there’s certainly nothing left in the whole LP. The delicate majestic psychedelia of “Private Train” and “Maple Lane”; the anthem “Half Past Midnight” with its acoustic guitar, marvelous string arrangements and angelic vocals; or the psychedelic excursions of the opening track are just few examples of the high quality found inside.

A delicious proposal for a sunny spring day!

Tracks

A1. Five Man Electrical Band (Les Emmerson)

A2. Last Time I Saw Memphis (Les Emmerson)

A3. Private Train (Les Emmerson)

A4. Half Past Midnight (Les Emmerson)

A5. Black Sheep of the Family (Les Emmerson)

B1. Maple Lane (Les Emmerson)

B2. Fancy Dancin’ Man (Gordon-Bonner)

B3. We Go Together Well (Les Emmerson)

B4. Didn’t Know the Time (Les Emmerson)

B5. Running Back (Les Emmerson)

Personnel

Les Emmerson: Guitar, vocals

Brian Rading: Bass

Ted Gerow: Keyboards (piano, organ)
Rick Belanger: Percussion
Mark Belanger: Drums
Production: Max Hoch and John Gross

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Noel Soto - Alfa y Omega (Polydor, Spain, 1975)

An outstanding effort by the Nador-born though Spanish resident singer/songwriter.

Noel Soto was pioneer in the introduction of the conceptual album in Spain and his second LP, topic of today’s entry, called “Alfa y Omega” is often credited as the first opera rock published in that country.

An unusual and risky project it was –especially for a neophyte in the genre- yet the results are incredible. Thought not selling properly in the release, the album has gained deserved cult status and is considered one of the pinnacles of the progressive pop edited in the Iberian Peninsula.

The musicianship behind this record is praiseworthy. There’s a good dose of majestic organ and mellotron, delightful flutes and great guitar work which match so well with Noel caressing voice. And stunning large instrumentals can be heard here and there, thing that enriches a lot the experience.

The song assortment is very well balanced. There’s absolutely nothing left in the eight tracks that compose the LP but it is so addictive and is so well made you will certainly stand wanting for more. There’s time for progressive instrumentals in the introductory “obertura alfa”, for rocking in “vamos a hacer el amor”, for smoth-jazz vibes in “nos falta comunicación”, some delightful moody pop in “ahora que somos dos” and “tu” or even prophetic progressive experimentations in “misere nobis omega”. References to “Lucy in the sky with diamonds” and to “I can’t get enough (Satisfaction)" can be heard in “flechas en el aire”, which is always a good thing.

I have decided to preserve the original conception of the record consisting in no time separations between cuts, so I fussed all the songs in two major files: side A and side B.   

Man, it’s a shame the author has taken literally the meaning of the album title, not releasing more marvelous material like that!

Tracks

A1. obertura alfa (J.L. de la Fuente; J.L. Izaguirre; L. Forner)

A2. ahora que somos dos (J.L. de la Fuente; J.L. Izaguirre; M.E. Soto)

A3. vamos a hacer el amor (M.E. Soto)

A4. tu (M.E. Soto)

B1. nos falta comunicación (M.E. Soto)

B2. flechas en el aire (M.E. Soto)

B3. sueños de cristal (J.L. de la Fuente; J.L. Izaguirre; M.E. Soto)

B4. miserere nobis omega (J.L. de la Fuente; J.L. Izaguirre; L. Forner; M.E. Soto)

Personnel

Produced by Angel Velázquez; Izaguirre Jr.

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The Underneath - Cosmic Noise (Lost records, USA, 1996?, Limited pressing, copy 604/800)

The Underneath was a heavy space psychedelic band from Dallas, TX formed in the early nineties.

This one is their second album and it’s quite easy to know what is crafted in that monster of LP by just looking at the title and knowing where they came from: a crazy dose of stoner fuzzed-out marshy spatial psychedelia.

The pressing is undoubtedly indie, limited to 800 copies and the cover is hand crafted by spray.

The songs are very dense, atmospheric, loaded with effects where guitar is certainly the protagonist, creating killer multi-layered surrounding effects. Most of the cuts contain muffled and synthesized drugged vocals, with the exception of the last songs of each face (song with no name in the A side and “Space Needle” in the B), which are very experimental yet enjoyable. Almost every track is essential with the exception of “The Pain Won’t Last”, very generic and tiresome in my opinion. “Shivers and Chills” is the most conventional track, containing a catchy easy chord progression riff while “No Words” is very minimalistic and enjoyable. The holy grail is the cosmic blast of a jam “Fifteen”.

Hope you digest this piece of plastic without jamming with demented ectoplasm aliens as a side effect!

Tracks

A1. In a Zone

A2. Her Alien Dream

A3. Freakin' Out

A4. Free My Mind

A5. Get Out of Here

A6.

B1. The Pain Won't Last

B2. Shivers and Chills

B3. No Words

B4. Fifteen

B5. Fly on the Wall

B6. Space Needle

Personnel

No personnel is credited

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Espirituales – The Music Masters, Nueva York (Orlador-Universal, 1970, USA)

Let’s celebrate Easter days with a gorgeous dose of devoted negro-spirituals.

Little information could be found about the group or people under this project; the only credit is for A. Hobbs for being the composer of three originals and the arranger of two tracks; other two songs arrangements are co-credited by Hobbs (the aforementioned?) and Dorsey. Even the band name is not clear. So, more information will be merrily grateful!

The seven tracks of this ten-inch vinyl have soulful vibes (e.g. “I'll wait till my change come” or “I'm working on the building”), dope accelerated gospel (“You've been good to me”) or bluesy rhythms (“Wonderful!”, “Been dipped in the water”) heavenly driven by the keyboards, where the Hammond organ is clearly the protagonist. Black voices are in great shape too, both in choirs (males-females) and in soloists (mainly males), creating addictive passages of question-response. 

So, hope you enjoy this outstanding vitalizing record, just perfect for these dates!

Tracks

A1. Wonderful! (Arr.: A. Hobbs)

A2. You've been good to me (Arr.: Hobbs-Dorsey)

A3. Show me how you want to live (A. Hobbs)

A4. Praise God (Arr.: A. Hobbs)

B1. I'll wait till my change comes (A. Hobbs)

B2. I'm working on the building (Arr.: Hobbs-Dorsey)

B3. Been dipped in the water (A. Hobbs)

Personnel

Arrangements: A. Hobbs; Hobbs and Dorsey

No more personnel is credited 

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Los Guaraguao - Las Casas de Carton (Yare-Suramericana del Disco, Venezuela, 1973)

Los Guaraguao – falcon in aborigine- is a Venezuelan folk group, formed in 1973 in Caracas, framed in the Nueva Canción Latinoamericana movement.  Famous all over Latino America for their extraordinaire protest song “Las casas de carton”, a song that denounced the infrahuman life-conditions of the buildings where poor people lived and still lives today all over the continent.

Critical with their political system, the band adopted the social commitment and activism messages and fused them with great folklore music for being accessible to the citizens. Conspiracy theories popped up when their main songwriter, Alí Primera, was found dead in a car accident in the mid eighties. This led to a major loss for the group, staying inactive during a substantial period, resurfacing in 1996 and being active again since then.

Their first album is the main topic of today’s update. As we said, this was their most famed LP, and despite being projected more than 40 years ago, lyrics still have much effect nowadays. “Perdoname Tio Juan” talks about unequal exchange between developed and underdeveloped countries. “Gaita Margariteña” wonders how can live so many poor people in a country so rich in natural resources, “Que pasa en el mundo” is about difficulties young people find to progress, “No basta rezar” and “Yo pregunto” postulates the activism and union as a complement of passive ways for achieving peace and liberty.

Lyrics are a good reason to like the record but it’s in the fusion with the musical approaches where the record becomes remarkably upgraded: the sadness that evokes the lyrics is cleverly balanced with the festive, warm and mellow acoustic instrumentation. This includes the pleasant 4 string Venezuelan cuatro or the harp (“Gaita Margariteña”), an instrument very popular in Venezuela. There are also good string and horn arrangements in some tracks and enjoyable rhythm section with nice drumming and double bass.

A good proposal for discover the exotic folk world-music rhythms of Venezuela, even though the ones who understand Spanish will enjoy it thoroughly.

Tracks

A1. Casas de Carton (Alí Primera)

A2. Otra Vez (Alí Primera)

A3. Gaita Margariteña (Juan Rojas)

A4. Perdoname Tio Juan (Alí Primera)

A5. Que Pasa en el Mundo (Eduardo Martínez)

B1. Jesus Caminante (José Guerra)

B2. No Basta Rezar (Alí Primera)

B3. Ire Cantando (José Guerra)

B4. Los Estudiantes (Violeta Parra)

B5. Yo Pregunto (Alí Primera)

Personnel

Eduardo Martínez: Soloist and cuatro

Jesus Cordero: Double bass; second voice; chorus

José Guerra: Drums; third voice; chorus

Ricardo Landaeta: Arrangements

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The Dean Davis Company - IInd time Around (ETC Enterprises, USA, 196?)

The Dean Davis Company was an obscure folk-rock group from Colorado, active during the golden era of late sixties/early seventies. Whose brainchild was singer-rhythm guitarist Dean Davis, producing three private pressed records under his name (one as Dean Davies, two as Dean Davis Company) and one other as Winterwood on the odd ETC Enterprises label.

On today’s post we will cover his second LP. A little search in the net has shown me that exist two different covers: the one I own, showing a black and white photo of the four members giving a concert for a peculiar audience of four child mounted on their tricycles (beautiful and peaceful, isn’t it?). The other, consisting on five lines, repeating the disc name each time a row in a black and white descending color scale.

The album has a very nice rural folk period flavor, certainly XIAN, providing an enjoyable listening experience, mostly because of the use of acoustic instrumentation (12 string acoustic guitar!), minimalistic electric guitar arrangements, byrdish suave drumming and beautiful and subtle male/female harmony vocals.  

Songs are mostly covers of seminal folk artists like Phil Ochs, Arlo Guthrie and Buffy St. Marie, imprinting their own identity with the creation of very beautiful atmospheres and passages. There’s also time for two originals: “What the World Needs Now” and “Suzzanne”. The first one consisting a introductory narrative speech and a second part song. But it’s on the terrific “Suzzanne” where the band suns through the clouds. “Old Blue” is also stunning with their combination of musiqued speech and chorus response, so real!

More information about this amazing artisan band will be warmly welcomed! Drop me a line.

Tracks

A1. Highway in the wind (Arlo Guthrie)

A2. Crucifixion (Phil Ochs)

A3. What the World Needs Now

A4. Saint of CSU (Saint of San Walkeen) (John Stewart)

B1. Lazy Morning (Chet Hanson)

B2. Suzzanne

B3. Old Blue (traditional)

B4. Until It's Time for Me to Go (Buffy St. Marie)

Personnel

Lead Guitar: Dave Bigalow

Rhythm Guitar: Dean Davis

Vocals: Paula Streiff, Rich Curran, Dean Davis

Bass: Ed Bigby

Drums: Vince Haffey

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Yellow Sunshine Explosion - Yellow Sunshine Explosion (Love’s Simple Dreams, Germany, 1987)

Today’s update is about getting high with some quality psych-kraut music. You can tell it by the simple look at the handcrafted art cover: fisheye views, garage-psych revival looks, some big cacti, explosions, pink floyd colours…and if this details aren’t evident enough, just look at the label acronym. 

This record has all the ingredients to get hipped about: it’s very spacey, primitive, raucous, dense and loopy, reminding a lot the likes of the Elevators, the Velvets or the criminally obscure masterpiece ‘Troubled’ by The New Creation.  

Featuring extra-cool repetitive guitar riffs and effects, monotonous drums, raw and drugged vocals, flute, rusty moutharp, and also some eastern influences provided by the sitar, the flutes and the tabla. 

Certainly a grower. So be prepared for enjoying this addictive journey to the depths of this acid monster.

Tracks

A1. Ballad of Dan

A2. Sorry

A3. It's not my fault

A4. Yellow Sunshine Explosion

A5. Feminine Animation

B1. Kaleidoscope

B2. Take it Acid is

B3. Sing Ba Ba Ba

B4. Sun my love

B5. Isabelle

All songs written by Bert Schlexer

Personnel

Bert Schlexer: Lead vocals, Bass

Paul Hadley Langley: Harmonika, Flute, Percussion

Thomas Hopl: Drums, Percussion, Tabla

Georg Schulte: electric and acoustic Guitars, Vocals

Gerd Neumann: Sitar and flute on “Take it Acid is”

Hugggy Borkhardt: Organ on “Feminine Animation”

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