Mr. Big – Lean Into It (1991)

Lean into It is the second studio album by the American rock supergroup Mr. Big, released in 1991. The band’s breakthrough release, Lean into It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 charts, while the single “To Be with You” became the band’s first and only song to hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single, “Just Take My Heart”, was another Top 40 hit, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.Lean into It is the second studio album by the American rock supergroup Mr. Big, released in 1991. The band’s breakthrough release, Lean into It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 charts, while the single “To Be with You” became the band’s first and only song to hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single, “Just Take My Heart”, was another Top 40 hit, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The cover image is a picture from the Montparnasse train accident that occurred on October 22, 1895 in Gare Montparnasse station in Paris, France.
The “CDFF” prefix of the Jeff Paris-penned “Lucky This Time”, is the song “Addicted to That Rush” from the band’s 1989 eponymous debut album, played at a higher playback speed; hence the “CDFF” for “Compact Disc Fast Forward”. (by wikipedia)

On its sophomore album, Mr. Big has covered all the hard-rock bases in search of a hit. There are lively, gutsy tunes like ”Never Say Never,” a mellow, radio-friendly number in ”CDFF — Lucky This Time,” and the weepily romantic ”Just Take My Heart.” And since the quartet sports two virtuoso players — guitarist Paul Gilbert and bassist Billy Sheehan — there’s a lot of instrumental fanciness sprinkled throughout. On ”Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy,” the two even play their instruments with cordless drills in harmony (”Don’t try this at home, kids,” the lyric sheet warns). Lean Into It was released last March, but none of these tricks was able to keep it on the charts until the recent release of the single ”To Be With You.” This simple little ballad features acoustic guitar and hand-clap percussion, and is by far the best song on the album. So much for formulas and fretwork, eh, boys? (by ew.com; February 14, 1992)

Personnel:
Paul Gilbert (guitar, background vocals)
Eric Martin (vocals, guitar)
Billy Sheehan (bass, background vocals)
Pat Torpey (drums, percussion, background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song) (Sheehan/Gilbert/Pessis/Martin/Torpey) 3.56
02. Alive And Kickin’ (Gilbert/Martin/Pessis/Sheehan/Torpey 5.29
03. Green-Tinted Sixties Mind (Gilbert) 3.30
04. CDFF-Lucky This Time” (Paris) 4.14
05. Voodoo Kiss (Martin/Pessis) 4.05
06. Never Say Never (Martin/Vallance) 3.49
07. Just Take My Heart (Martin/Pessis) 4.25
08. My Kinda Woman (Gilbert/Martin/Sheehan) 4.12
09. A Little Too Loose (Gilbert) 5.21
10. Road To Ruin (Torpey/Paris/Gilbert/Sheehan) 3.59
11. To Be With You (Martin/Grahame) 3.28

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The singles from this album:

Various Artists – Mindrocker Volume 4 (1982)

Mindrocker is an extensive series of compilation albums that was circulated through Line Records and then Impact Records in the 1980s. The complete series compacted nearly 200 songs of rare, and obscure material primarily from American garage and psychedelic rock musical artists that were originally recorded in the 1960s, and previously made available to only a handful of collectors. It was organized by record producer Hans-Hermann Pohle, named after a single by California band, Fenwyck, and initially distributed in Germany. The first volume was released in 1981 and by 1986 the thirteenth and final installment of the series was issued.

Initially, Mindrocker was comparable to the popularity and specialization of the Pebbles series, however, with the ready availability of most of its material via digital means or specified anthologies, the series has not managed to endure as long as other relatable collections. Nonetheless, during its original run, Mindrocker was pivotal to the revival of garage rock. Most of the volumes were arranged to a certain region or record label, though some pieces of the series hold no such pattern. (by wikipedia)

And this is the story of the great Line Records Label:

Back in 1979.
Several major labels had just squeezed out the Punk movement and its followers such as New Wave, when a new small independent record company based in Hamburg made a bold step back into the future: LINE RECORDS.
Virtually nobody still cared about the music of the glorious 60s and 70s then – except Uwe Tessnow, a former A&R rep of Kinney Music and Teldec Records.
Surprise releases by almost forgotten rock stars such as Mitch Ryder and Roger Chapman made their way into the shops and were sold by the vanload immediately.
The news was spread almost overnight, and many musicians got in touch with LINE to find a new platform for their products nobody else was interested in.

A highly attractive artist roster took shape almost by itself, the term “re-release” was (re)born and has become a substantial part of the international recording industry since.
Highly acclaimed (but almost forgotten) artists from America and Great Britain were back in the biz, critics’ darlings got their second chance, lost vinyl rarities were available once again, unknown bands and soloists made their marks on LINE.
Uwe Tessnow signed contracts, acquired rights, the so-called “small label with the scale-paper” had fulfilled groundbreaking, pioneering work – fans and collectors cheered alike.

LINE also set a new standard in extracting valuable material from foreign label catalogues:
LINE got the meat out of cult labels such as BOMP and Star-Club, and took over product from newly established indies from the likes of Stiff, Albion, Beserkley among others for the German market.
There seemed to be a niche for everything: Rock and Rock’n’Roll; R&B and Soul; Blues and Pubrock; 60s Garage Rock, Punk and New Wave. Promoting sound from the past and present, LINE had finally arrived.

Furtheron the label set even more new standards – sometimes with a twinkle in the eye: Uwe Tessnow offered coloured vinyl, double LPs with only three sides housed in normal one-album sleeves, 10-inch promo items, special cassette editions – LINE paved the way once more, got imitated but was hardly conquered.

In the mid-80s, comprehensive parts of the label’s catalogue were transferred onto the new compact disc format.
It was the starting shot for special compilation series as well, making LINE a forerunner once again: Rock File, Pop File, and the Backline series – presenting the US pop history from the 40s to the mid-50s – have become legendary projects since, got copied by many competitors but are still a distinctive part of the label’s catalogue.

These days Uwe Tessnow is marketing classical music (core theme: rare opera recordings) – with his pop job expertly done and left behind.
Without his bold reanimation strategy at times when nobody cared, the international rock scene would have been much poorer.

Rock and pop re-issues these days are still a significant part of the record business.
The crucial pattern has got a name: LINE.

The Moving Sidewalks (pre-ZZ Top)

And this is volume 4 of this series … What a great compilation … lot´s of very rare stuff including The Moving Sidewalks (pre-ZZ Top), a rare Johnny Winter song (taken rom a single by Pacemaker Records) and bands like The Scotty McKay Quintet or The Bad Roads (had vever heard of them). You´ll find more informations on the backcover of this LP.

This entry is dedicated to all music maniacs like me !

More compilations like this will come !

Tracklist:

The Moving Sidewalks:
01. 99th Floor (Gibbons) 2.13
02. What Are You Going To Do (Gibbons) 2.24
03. Need Me (Gibbons) 2.10
04. Every Night A New Surprise (Ames) 2.54

The Great Believers:
05. Comin’ Up Fast (Boynton/Winter) 2.37

The Scotty McKay Quintet:
06. he Train Kept A Rollin’ (Kay/Mann/Bradshaw) 2.20

A-440:
07. Torture (Clark/Romano/Sartie) 2.00

Johnny Winter:
08. Birds Can’t Row Boats (Winter) 2.58

The Things:
09. I Don’t Believe It (Things) 3.04

The Stoics:
10. Enough Of What I Need (Marechal/Quillian/Ash) 2.15

The Pandas:
11. Walk (Bellams/Kelso) 2.28

The Bad Roads:
12. Blue Girl (Bad Roads) 2.07

The Stoics:
13. Hate (Ash) 2.43

Satori:
14.  Time Machine (Warkentin) 1.39

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Elton John – Live In Australia With The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1987)

Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, released in 1987, is the twenty-sixth official album release for Elton John. It is a live album recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 14 December 1986 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

The concert, recorded on 14 December 1986, was the last of a series of concerts done throughout the last two months of 1986. The concerts consisted of two sets: the first was limited to John and his 14-piece band, including backing vocalists and the Onward International horn section, and his flamboyant stage dress, featuring Mohawk and Tina Turner wigs and some outlandish eye wear; the second featured John, the band and the 88-piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, with him dressed as Mozart.

John’s band was essentially the lineup used on Leather Jackets, which he was touring behind at the time, including Jody Linscott and special guest Ray Cooper, both of whom played percussion.

James Newton Howard, who was at the time an up-and-coming film composer in Hollywood, joined John to conduct and write larger, augmented charts of not only his own previous work on “Tonight,” but also Paul Buckmaster’s original arrangements, since the music was to be played by 88 musicians, instead of the smaller studio orchestra for which the compositions were originally designed. He also wrote brand new full orchestra parts for songs such as “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”, which previously only had horn arrangements.

The album features most of the songs recorded in the second half of the show, excluding “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”, “Carla/Etude”, “Cold as Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)” and “Slow Rivers”, which was sung by John alone (John dueted “Slow Rivers” with Cliff Richard on Leather Jackets).

John’s live sound engineer, Clive Franks, handled the recording of the band (assisted by Keith Walker and Dennis Fox), while album producer Gus Dudgeon supervised recording of the orchestra by Leon Minervini and Nic Jeremy. Dudgeon took the tapes back to Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands for mixing with engineer Graham Dickson, who had also worked on Leather Jackets.

This concert was the last to feature Elton’s legendary stage costumes, which he had featured in his shows since the early 1970s. It was also his last show before undergoing throat surgery in January 1987. Despite being completely successful, the surgery prevented Elton from singing at all for several months and from touring for 18 months. The surgery also permanently reduced his range from tenor to baritone. (by wikipedia)

The late ’80s were wrought with equal measures of tremendous professional popularity and personal crisis for Elton John. As he would reveal later, this inspired double-LP live collection released in 1987 captures the artist at one of the best and worst times of his life. In fact, John cites the emotionally charged “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” as triggering what would become a “severe mental breakdown,” the results of nearly a decade of substance-fueled decadence. On top of it all and perhaps most tellingly is John’s tattered voice. So dire was the situation that literally within weeks of the concert he would undergo a surgical procedure that could have easily ended his career had it failed.

Perhaps the ultimate irony is that at this precise moment John was launching his re-association with MCA Records via this live career retrospective, which was simultaneously broadcast throughout the entire globe. Keeping all of that in mind, Elton John once again proved himself as a consummate showman, performing at the peak of his abilities. John’s comparatively small combo is augmented on these tracks by the 88-piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under the direction of onetime bandmate James Newton Howard. There are a few surprisingly strong readings of early sides such as “60 Years On,” “I Need You to Turn To,” “The Greatest Discovery,” and an edgy and soulful version of “The King Must Die.” Other unexpected detours into John’s catalog include the intimate desperation of “Tonight” from Blue Moves (1976) and “Have Mercy on the Criminal” from Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973). There are also the hits and enthusiast favorites “Tiny Dancer,” “Your Song,” “Candle in the Wind” (which was issued as a single and topped pop music charts worldwide), the previously mentioned “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” The companion home video includes a few additional performances, such as the thoroughly inspiring “One Horse Town.” While not entirely essential, Live in Australia is at its core an adeptly executed concert package. (by Lindsay Planer)

Dot expect anything from the booklet … one of the simplest booklets I ever saw from a rock star like Elton John.

Personnel:
Ray Cooper (percussion)
Elton John (piano, vocals)
Jody Linscott (percussion)
Davey Johnstone – guitars
David Paton – bass guitar
Charlie Morgan – drums
Fred Mandel – keyboards, synthesizers
+
background vocals:
Alan Carvell – Gordon Neville – Shirley Lewis
+
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted James Newton Howard

Tracklist:
01. Sixty Years On 5.41
02. I Need You To Turn To 3.14
03. The Greatest Discovery 4.09
04. Tonight 5.58
05. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word 3.58
06. The King Must Die 5.21
07. Take Me To The Pilot 4.22
08. Tiny Dancer 7.46
09. Have Mercy On The Criminal 5.50
10. Madman Across The Water 6.38
11. Candle In The Wind 4.10
12. Burn Down The Mission 5.49
13. Your Song 4.04
14. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me 6.06

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

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Linkin Park – Minutes To Midnight (2007)

Minutes to Midnight is the third studio album by American rock band Linkin Park, released on May 14, 2007, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin. Minutes to Midnight was the band’s follow-up album to Meteora (2003) and features a shift in the group’s musical direction. For the band, the album marks a beginning of deviation from their signature nu metal sound. Minutes to Midnight takes its title from the Doomsday Clock.

Linkin Park started work on their third studio album in 2003, taking a break to tour in support of Meteora in 2004. In this time period, the band formed numerous side projects; Mike Shinoda formed his hip hop side project Fort Minor, while Chester Bennington formed Dead by Sunrise, causing the album to be shelved temporarily. The band returned to work on the record afterward, taking on a different musical direction than the 2003 sessions while working with producer Rick Rubin. The album’s completion was delayed several times for unknown reasons. Eventually, “What I’ve Done” was chosen as the album’s lead single in April 2007, with the album seeing release in North America on May 15, 2007.

The album debuted at number one in the US Billboard 200 and in 15 other countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, the album had the biggest first week sales of 2007 at the time, with 623,000 albums sold, going on to be certified triple platinum in the United States. It was also certified double platinum in New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, and Australia and certified platinum in Canada, France, Switzerland and in the UK. Despite its commercial success, Minutes to Midnight received mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone magazine named it the twenty-fifth best album of 2007. It has sold more than 3 million copies in the USA and 20 million copies worldwide. It was ranked number 154 on Billboard’s Hot 200 Albums of the Decade.

In an interview, lead singer Chester Bennington explained that the album is “a mix of punk, classic rock, and hip-hop standards” and that “Rick has brought more of a stripped down, classic-rock and hip-hop kind of feel.”

In another interview, Bennington stated: “This time around, Mike Shinoda is singing a lot more. It may seem like he’s not on the record, but he’s doing a lot of the harmonies. He also sings a couple of songs alone. We’re presenting ourselves in a different way.” (by wikipedia)

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t — that was the conundrum facing Linkin Park when it came time to deliver Minutes to Midnight, their third album. It had been four years since their last, 2003’s Meteora, which itself was essentially a continuation of the rap-rock of their 2000 debut, Hybrid Theory, the blockbuster that was one of the biggest rock hits of the new millennium.

On that album, Linkin Park sounded tense and nervous, they sounded wiry — rap-rock without the maliciousness that pulsed through mock-rockers like Limp Bizkit. Linkin Park seemed to come by their alienation honestly, plus they had hooks and a visceral power that connected with millions of listeners, many of whom who were satisfied by the familiarity of Meteora. They may have been able to give their fans more of the same on their sophomore effort, but Linkin Park couldn’t do the same thing on their third record: they would seem like one-trick ponies, so they’d be better off to acknowledge their advancing age and try to mature, or broaden their sonic palette.

Yet like many other hard rockers, they were the kind of band whose audience either didn’t want change or outgrew the group — and considering that it had been a full seven years between Hybrid Theory and Minutes to Midnight, many fans who were on the verge of getting their driver’s license in 2000 were now leaving college and, along with it, adolescent angst. (by wikipedia)

So, Linkin Park decided to embrace the inevitable and jumped headfirst into maturity on Minutes to Midnight, which meant that poor Mike Shinoda was effectively benched, rapping on just two songs. In many ways, it seems like even the guitarists were benched this time around, since Minutes to Midnight doesn’t really rock, it broods. Apart from a handful of ringers — “Given Up,” the Shinoda-fueled “Bleed It Out,” easily the best, most visceral track here — this is quiet, atmospheric stuff, dabbling with electronic textures that were cutting edge in 1996 but sound passé now.

Also sounding passé are the tortured musings of lead singer Chester Bennington, who still is tormented by love, loss, family, any number of items that sound convincing coming from a man in his early twenties, but not so much so when the thirties are approaching rapidly. And yet the way Bennington and his mates, shepherded by producer Rick Rubin, try to sound mature isn’t always convincing, either, possibly because it sounds like a skate punk uncomfortably trying on his big brother’s suit. They have the chops to rock, and when they deign to do so on Minutes to Midnight they sound comfortable, they sound right, but too often they run away from this core strength. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Chester Bennington (vocals, guitar on 06. + 13.)
Rob Bourdon (drums, percussion)
Brad Delson (guitar)
Dave “Phoenix” Farrell (bass, background vocals)
Joseph Hahn (turntables, sampling, programming)
Mike Shinoda (guitar, vocals, keyboards)
+
Matt Funes (viola on 03., 05., 07., 12, . 13.)
Oscar Hidalgo (bass on 03., 05., 07., 12, . 13.)
+
Charlie Bisharat – Mario DeLeon – Armen Garabedian – Julian Hallmark – Gerry Hilera –Songa Lee-Kitto – Natalie Leggett – Josefina Vergara – Sara Parkins – violin

+
cello on on 03., 05., 07., 12, . 13.:
Larry Corbett – Suzie Katayama

Tracklist:
01. Wake” 1:40
02. Given Up 3:09
03. eave Out All The Rest 3:17
04. Bleed It Out 2:44
05. Shadow Of The Day 4:49
06. What I’ve Done 3:25
07. Hands Held High 3:53
08. No More Sorrow 3:41
09. Valentine’s Day 3:16
10. In Between 3:16
11. In Pieces 3:38
12. The Little Things Give You Away 6.23
+
13. No Roads Left 3:55
14. What I’ve Done (Distorted Remix) 3:46
15. Given Up (Third Encore Session) 3.08

Music: Chester Bennington – Rob Bourdon – Brad Delson – Dave “Phoenix” Farrell – Joseph Hahn – Mike Shinoda
Lyrics: Mike Shinoda + Chester Bennington

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Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington died by hanging, the Los Angeles County coroner has confirmed.
Chester Bennington: five of his best Linkin Park performances

The 41-year-old was found by an employee on Thursday in the bedroom of his house and while a note has not been found, the death is being treated as a suspected suicide. An autopsy is pending.

Bennington had spoken about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as depression. “My whole life, I’ve just felt a little off,” he said in an interview earlier this year with Music Choice. “I find myself getting into these patterns of behaviour or thought – especially when I’m stuck up here [in my head]; I like to say that, ‘This is like a bad neighbourhood, and I should not go walking alone.’”

 

Rosie Vela – Zazu (1986)

Zazu (1986) is the debut (and, to date, only) album released by American model and singer-songwriter Rosie Vela. The album was produced by Gary Katz, best known for his work in that capacity with Steely Dan, and many of the songs feature Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen on keyboards and Walter Becker on guitar. Also noteworthy is that Tony Levin plays Chapman stick on the songs “Tonto” and “Zazu”.

Despite receiving positive reviews and the single “Magic Smile” reaching #29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, Zazu was a commercial failure in Vela’s native United States. However it was more successful in Europe, notably in the United Kingdom where it reached #20 on the national albums chart and earned a Silver disc. The single “Magic Smile” was also a UK Top 30 hit. The CD album has been out of print in North America and Europe since the early 1990s but was rereleased in the UK by Cherry Red Records in 2011.

In addition to “Magic Smile”, two other tracks (“Interlude” and “Fool’s Paradise”) were also released as singles.

Vela recorded a second album entitled Sun Across the Altar, but the album remains unreleased. (by wikipedia)

When fashion model Rosie Vela branched out into singing and songwriting with her debut album Zazu, skeptics suspected that she was just another pretty face who was trying to get by on her looks. But truth be told, Zazu is a solid pop/rock effort that could be described as an interesting combination of Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan. Vela doesn’t have a great voice — her voice is small and thin, but like jazz great Chet Baker, she demonstrates that you don’t have to have a fantastic vocal range to be expressive and deliver a meaningful album.

Favoring a relaxed, cool-toned style of singing, Vela also demonstrates that she’s a talented songwriter — in fact, she wrote most of the songs herself. Mitchell and Steely Dan are obviously major influences, and the strong Steely Dan influence isn’t surprising when you consider that Zazu was produced by Gary Katz (who is best known for his work with that group) and that former Dan members Donald Fagen (keyboards) and Walter Becker (guitar) play on many of the songs. Vela showed a lot of promise on this album, which wasn’t the big seller it should have been. (by Alex Henderson)

Personnel:
Walter Becker (guitar, synthesizer)
Michael Been (guitar)
Jimmy Bralower (drums, percussion)
Rick Derringer (guitar)
Donald Fagen (synthesizer)
Larry Fast (synthesizer)
Jerry Haslip (bass)
Yogi Horton (drums)
Jim Keltner (drums)
Tony Levin (chapman stick)
Neil Stubenhaus (bass)
Chat Vela (drums)
Rosie Vela (vocals, synthesizer)
Aaron Zigman (synthesizer)
+
background vocals:
Joy Askew – Jenny Peters – Rosie Vela

Tracklist:
01. Fool’s Paradise (Vela) 3.55
02. Magic Smile (Vela) 4.22
03. Interlude (Vela) 4.00
04. Tonto (Vela) 5.33
05. Sunday (Vela) 4.25
06. Taxi (Vela) 3.25
07. 2nd Emotion (Vela/Doddy/Jeb Guthrie/Jock Guthrie) 4.42
08. Boxs (Vela) 3.51
09. Zazu (Vela) 4.41

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This is another item of the great greygoose collection !

After Tea – National Disaster (1968)

After Tea was founded in 1967 by Hans van Eijck (organ), Ray Fenwick (guitar) and Polle Eduard (bass/vocals) – all ex-members of the Tee Set – with drummer Martin Hage (ex-Don’t). The group produced three moderate hits in 1967-1968: “Not Just A Flower In Your Hair”, “We Will Be There After Tea” and “Snowflakes on Amsterdam”, all in a psychedelic pop style.

Ray Fenwick left shortly after the recordings of the first LP, “National Disaster” (his work permit had expired) and returned to England to join the Spencer Davis Group. He was replaced by ex-Just Colours guitarist Ferry Lever.

In the Spring of 1968, Polle Eduard was arrested for possession of marijuana and incarcerated for a few months. His temporary replacements were singer Frans Krassenburg (ex-Golden Earrings) and bass player Henk Smitskamp (ex-Motions, to Livin’ Blues). In the Summer of that year, the band scored a surprise hit under the pseudonym De Martinos with “Moest dat nou?” (recorded as a joke).

Martin Hage left later that year, replaced temporarily by Pierre van der Linden (later to Focus, Trace) and then permanently by Ilja Gort (ex-IQ 150).

Early 1969, the most important songwriter in the band, Hans van Eijck, left to rejoin the Tee Set. He was replaced by German keyboard player Uli Grün (ex-Boots). The group then switched to a more rock-oriented sound. Yet in 1970, Ferry Lever left (also to join the Tee Set) and was not replaced. The band continued as a three-piece for some time, but in 1971 After Tea finally folded. Polle Eduard and Uli Grün were then joined by guitarist Frank van der Kloot and drummer Shel Schellekens, calling themselves Drama. They scored a Top 20 hit with “Mary’s Mama” which they subsequently refused to play live (as the whole thing was a concoction by producer Peter Koelewijn). However, in 1975, Polle Eduard, Ferry Lever and Ilja Gort reunited once more to record the single “Mexico” under the After Tea moniker. Polle Eduard continued his career as a songwriter by penning a few hits for Nico Haak and subsequently recorded an album of Dutch songs one year later, in 1976. Polle continued playing solo and in bands like The Rest (with Hans Vermeulen of Sandy Coast).

Ilja Gort worked as a producer for Basart Records before making a fortune composing music for commercials like the famous Nescafe tune. He now owns a vineyard in France producing his La Tulipe wines.

After his stint with the Tee Set, Hans van Eijck concentrated on writing music for TV and became a successful record producer (Danny de Munck, Marco Borsato). Ferry Lever became a music teacher and a session player. He still plays in the band of singer Rob de Nijs. (by Alex Gitlin)

Based on the success of their debut 45, Decca management wasted no time rushing the group into the studio to record an album. Produced by Bert Schouten, 1967’s “National Disaster” offered up a an entertaining blend of mid-1960s freakbeat, pop, psych, and rock influences. Largely written by van Eijck and Fenwick the song titles pretty much told you what was going on. If tracks like the earlier single ‘Not Just a Flower In Your Hair’, ‘ In the Land of the Bubble Gum Tree’ and ‘The Time Is Nigh’ weren’t a reflection of the age of love, peace and lots of illicit substances, I don’t know what was. Sure it was hopelessly dated (probably within a matter of months of being released), but hearing a lyric like ‘throw away your LSD’ (off of ‘The Time Is Nigh’) had to make you laugh. Equally good were the band’s occasional stabs at blue-eyed soul (‘National Disaster’), and more conventional rock (‘Long Ago’). Hard to believe, but in spite of van Eijck’s heavily accented vocals, the combination of trippy studio effects (phasing, offbeat tempos, etc.) and some surprisingly strong material made for an album that stood up well against better know UK and US competitors.  (by badcatrecords.com)

In other words: This is a pretty good pop-psychedelic album from the Sixties … one of these forgotten pearls of this wonderful decade !

And “(We Will Be There) After Tea” is a classic song from the Sixties !

Personnel:
Polle Eduard (organ, bass, vocals)
Hans van Eijck (guitar, keyboards, vocals)
Ray Fenwick (guitar, vocals)
Martin Hage (drums, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Gotta Get You In My Garden Girl (v.Eijck) 2.53
02. A Lot To Do (v.Eijck) 2.04
03. Not Just A Flower In Your Hair (v.Eijck) 2.41
04. In The Land Of The Bubble Gum Tree (v.Eijck(Fenwick) 2.13
05. I’ll Push You For An Answer (v.Eijck) 2.10
06. Don’t Waste Your Love On Me (v.Eijck/Langenbach) 1.27
07. National Disaster (Renwick) 2.04
08. Long Ago (v.Eijck) 4.00
09. The Time Is Nigh (v.Eijck/Fenwick) 3.27
10. Play That Record (v.Eijck) 4.44
11. Been A Sad Day  (Fenwick) 2.53
12. It’s Too Late (v.Eijck) 2.29
+
13. (We Will Be There) After Tea (v.Eijck(Fenwick) 3.02
14. Lemon Coloured Honey Tree (v.Eijck(Fenwick) 3.49

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Punk – The Original – Nr. 14 (May June 1978)

Punk Magazine was a fanzine started by cartoonist John Holmstrom (b. 1954) and Legs McNeil (b. 1956) in 1976 that showcased the New York punk rock scene. The term “punk” was previously used by Creem Magazine to describe the kind of music that was developing parallel to the excessive arena rock bands that developed following the late 1960’s. Punk Magazine came out just as The Velvet Underground, MC5, and Iggy & The Stooges had broken up but just in time for The Ramones, The Dictators, and Television.

Using photographs taken by staff photographers Roberta Bayley and Bob Gruen among others, the magazine’s layout was like a comic book, with panels overlaid with text bubbles. After fifteen issues, the publication came to an end in 1979. John Holmstrom would go on to publish several other underground comic magazines including Stop! and Comical Funnies and was a regular contributor to High Times.

The John Holmstrom & Punk Magazine Lot contains an entire run of the original Punk Magazine as well as the D.O.A. Film Book and the revived Punk issues of the 2000s. Also included is a complete run of Stop! and Comical Funnies, Holmstrom’s comic-focused publications and S.V.A. publications that he contributed too. This lot also contains an original ticket and poster to the Punk Magazine Awards in 1978 that were overshadowed by the death of Nancy Spungen, allegedly, at the hands of Sid Vicious just a few nights prior.

And here´s one of the last issues of this short-lived Punk magazine.

Punk was never a favorite sound for me … but Punk is without any doubts an important part of the history of music. So, this magazine can or must be a part of this crazy little blog …

Enjoy the very special design of this era …

Believe it … or not: in this issue you´ll find an articale about The Bay City Rollers !

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The backcover of this issue