 genre: real clear uk beat
state: uk
quality: lossless (ape, cue, log, cover)
time: 39:30 size: 148 mb
Tapestry of Delights (thank our Prophet - great Vernon Joynson):
This was one of Merseyside's very first rock groups who formed in Wallasey in 1961. Some members had previously been in an even earlier combo, Bob Evans and The Five Shillings. Still fronted by Evans, they used nicknames (though 'Mushy' Cooper was the only one to survive the passage of time) and lived up to their name by turning up to gigs in a hearse, black frock coats, embalmers' trousers and black top hats.
Before the end of 1961, a kidney ailment forced Evans to leave and Bugs Pemberton was his replacement. The next few months were spent building up a good live reputation playing powerful covers of US soul, R&B and rock'n'roll hits. Their most popular song seems to have been an obscure pounding dance number, originally recorded by Nat Kendrick and The Swans called Mashed Potatoes.
Early in 1962, Cooper left to join Faron's Flamingoes and a certain Jackie Lomax came on board from another Wallasey group, Dee and The Dynamites. They sometimes backed Beryl Marsden and a black vocal group, The Chants, who did lots of Coasters songs.
After McManus left to join The Renegades, they had their first of a series of spells in Hamburg. They were also signed by Pye but none of their three 45s really captured their exciting live sound on disc, although Just A Little Bit was a minor hit. They were mostly cover versions. Stupidity was a Soloman Burke song.
They later abbreviated their name to The 'Takers, but despite an appearance on 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' failed to achieve a breakthrough.
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 genre: heavy psych, proto heavy rpi
state: italy
quality: lossless (flac, cue, log, covers)
time: 47:13 size: 312 mb
ItalianProg:
For contractual reasons, the musicians from Nuova Idea. But surely the mastermind behind them was composer Gian Piero Reverberi, who was also the producer of Le Orme and wrote most of the tracks on these albums under the nickname Ninety.
Like Planetarium, Blue Phantom or Fourth Sensation these were Italian groups whose members were never listed on the covers.
The Underground Set were often thought to be an English group, their first album having been issued in many European countries. It's interesting to notice that the group has been mentioned as English in Vernon Joynson's Tapestry of Delight book.
But in an interview with Paolo Siani on the Italian Musikbox magazine, the drummer was one of the first to reveal that the musicians playing on this band's two albums were in fact Nuova Idea, as Radio Records (the label on which the first album and the singles appeared) was distributed by their label Ariston at the time.
Mainly instrumental, with just some choral vocal parts, the albums are typical of a late 60's organ-led psychy pop sound and some tracks were used as TV film themes.
The Psycheground LP from 1971 is similar, featuring five instrumental tracks that show the inspiration of the british 60's rhythm & blues.
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 genre: garage, psych
state: new zealand
quality: lossless (flac, cue, log, covers)
time: 37:33 size: 204 mb
Dreams Fantasies & Nightmares:
This Auckland band evolved out of the Underground Blues Band, which had formed in 1965. The name change came in 1966 and The Underdogs signed to Zodiac Records at the tail end of '66.
They quickly established a reputation as a wild live act and in Harvey Mann had one of the best blues guitarists in New Zealand. After the release of their debut 45 See Saw they appeared on the national T.V. pop show 'C'mon!'. Soon after Mann departed to The Brew. Lou Rawnsley replaced him and his fuzzy guitar line was a characteristic of their follow-up, a cover of John Mayall's Sitting In The Rain. Apart from being a huge local hit the single made the National Top 20.
In 1967, their hot reputation as a live band earned them a slot on the touring version of the 'C'mon! Show' when the frequently brought the house down. At the end of the year they decided to relocate to Wellington, which led to the departure of Neil Edwards to Le Frame. He was replaced by former Breakaways' member Dave Orams, who in turn gave way to ex-Bitter End man George Barris. The move to Wellington proved a bad one 'cos they found it hard to get work. In early 1968 they disintegrated. Neil Edwards also did a stint with Human Instinct and then Headband.
That's not the end of the story, however, later that year Murray Grindlay and Harvey Mann (both in The Brew) decided to reform the band in Auckland. Doug Thomas had also been in The Breakaways. Rawnsley designed the cover for their album then left. His replacement was Chaz Burke-Kennedy, but their cover of Frank Zappa's You Can Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance had to be retitled There Will Come A Time to satisfy the censors, but it didn't sell well and conflict over musical direction (or lack of it) saw the band in limbo again. There was one further brief reformation in the late seventies.
Murray Grindlay went on to play in several other bands and write jingles. Neil Edwards still works the pub circuit. Harvey Mann moved to Australia. Doug Thomas runs a successful stereo importing business.
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 genre: psych, folk
state: us
quality: lossless (flac, cue, log, covers)
time: 38:57 size: 229 mb
SolidBooyMusic:
Under Milkwood's sole, and rare, album is -- like so many obscure late-'60s psychedelic records -- a pretty aimless, scattershot effort that tries to cover too much ground and ends up running aground, though there are hints of good ideas from time to time. Heavily derivative of bigger and better California acid rock bands, it stumbles hardest the heavier it tries to get, some of the songs coming close to drowning in overwrought bluesy improvisational passages. Weirdly, they devote equal or greater attention to bittersweet, acoustic-flavored folk-rock -- equally derivative as their hard rock flights, probably, but much more pleasant on the ear. The female vocals, and occasionally the male-female harmonies, are heavily indebted to Jefferson Airplane in particular, and also at times to the much lesser known (at the time) Fairport Convention, who coincidentally or not were also on A&M. Yet the pretty folky songs -- "Changing Seasons" and "Lost Youth," for instance -- aren't so pretty or outstanding that they demand a hearing by Airplane or Fairport fans, and while the occasional classical melodics (on "Parade") and jazzy saxophone add unexpected spices, they're not so imaginative or well-integrated to be worthy of high praise.
First legit issue of this good-to-pretty-good-to-almost-great underground rock album from 1970 (previously bootlegged as just "Milkwood" by the ever-doomed Fanny organization). "Reissue of a fantastic Californian psych-based only released in 1969 as test pressing (was planned to be released on A&M label but never came out); it had this real 'west coast' guitar-sound like Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, some folkrock passages ala Fairport Convention but also some exotic hippie atmospheres ala Traffic Sound; great alternate male/female vocals not unlike Balin/Slick but also crystal vocal passages ala Sandy Denny.
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