Various Artists – That´s Underground – The Rock Machine Turns You On (1968)

During the Sixties, “underground music” became very popuilar all over the world.

So many record companies decided to release sampler to push this exciting sound.

That’s Underground, The Rock Machine Turns You On (original 1968 CBS pressing), is one of the most treasured records not only for featuring some big names of the era but because of its spectacular psychedelic splatter multicoloured vinyl. Made before they became fashionable and they hardly get more coloured than this.

The West German album has on the rear sleeve the familiar words “The Rock Machine Turns You On” (not the same compilation as the UK, Dutch and French albums The Rock Machine Turns You On above). The West German records are on distinctive “psychedelic” multicoloured vinyl, but both records shown have orange CBS labels. The rear sleeve shows pictures of other contemporary CBS releases.

This album was for many people a very important album:

“This must have been the first colored vinyl I saw in my life. Not only the splashing colors blew my mind, but also the music heard on this album must have blown the brains out of the 16 year old boy I was then. Still love each and every track on this album.” (Leonard)

“Blown my mind just looking at it. It sure is one hell of a production, the vinyl and song selection all look great. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen or heard of this before but then looked it up and found it was only issued in Germany, Italy and South Africa. Surely, it deserved a much wider release and I can see why it would have been a totally mind-bending experience to a youngster in the 60’s. 50 years on and it’s freaking me out right now.” (Lee Wrecker)

Alternate front + back cover from South Africa

This LP was  reissued of released in Germany by Repertoire in 2005 under licence from Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Germany) GmbH. It dates the original release as 1970 (!) …

I´m sure, that this compilation was for many, many people a very important part of their life … you can call it … a soundrack of their youth …

Tracklist:
01. The Electric Flag: Killing Floor (Burnett) 4.14
02. Spirit: Mechanical World (Andes/Ferguson) 5.19
03. The Chambers Brothers: Time Has Come Today (J. Chambers/W. Chambers) 4.53
04. Leonard Cohen: Suzanne (Cohen) 3.49
05. Moby Grape: Can’t Be So Bad (Miller)
06. Big Brother And The Holding Company: Piece Of My Heart (Ragovoy/Berns) 4.15
07. The United States Of America: Hard Coming Love (Moskowitz/Byrd) 4.44
08. Blood, Sweat And Tears: My Days Are Numbered (Kooper) 3.19
09. Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (Dylan) 3.28
10. Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Steve Stills: You Don’t Love Me (Cobb) 4.08

Many fantastic colors … 

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I got this sampler from Mr. Sleeve … thank you very much !!!

Electric Flag – A Long Time Comin’ (1968)

A Long Time Comin’ is the first album by American rock band the Electric Flag, released in 1968. The album has a mix of musical styles, including soul along with blues and rock, with a horn section.

It opens with an updated take on the Howlin’ Wolf blues classic “Killing Floor” and includes an adaptation of Sticks McGhee’s “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee” titled “Wine”. The album also contains “Groovin’ Is Easy” and “Over-Lovin’ You”, which had been released as a single in 1967.

 

It is widely seen as an ambitious debut album by music critics. The album was somewhat of a failure in the charts, much to the disappointment of Bloomfield, who had worked hard on the album.[citation needed] His disappointment was worsened by the success of the Al Kooper directed Super Session, which, featuring Bloomfield, charted much higher than A Long Time Comin’ despite only being recorded over a period of two days.

Writer Jeff Tamarkin says “ex Butterfield Band guitarist Mike Bloomfield, drummer Buddy Miles, and others put this soul-rock band together in 1967. This debut is a testament to their ability to catch fire and keep on burnin’.” That The Electric Flag do so well — they appeared at the Monterey International Pop Festival with the Blues Project, Paul Butterfield, and Janis Joplin, and all these groups had some musical connection to each other beyond that pivotal festival. A Long Time Comin’ is the “new soul” described appropriately enough by the late critic Lillian Roxon, and tunes like “She Should Have Just” and “Over-Lovin’ You” lean more towards the soul side than the pop so many radio listeners were attuned to back then. Nick Gravenites was too much of a purist to ride his blues on the Top 40 the way Felix Cavaliere gave us “Groovin’,” so Janis Joplin’s eventual replacement in Big Brother & the Holding Company, Gravenites, and this crew pour out “Groovin’ Is Easy” on this disc. It’s a classy production, intellectual ideas with lots of musical changes, a subdued version of what Joplin herself would give us on I Got Dem Ole Kozmic Blues Again, Mama two years later, with some of that album written by vocalist Gravenites.

Though launched after Al Kooper’s the Blues Project, A Long Time Comin’ itself influenced bands who would go on to sell more records. In the traditional “Wine,” it is proclaimed “you know Janis Joplin, she’ll tell you all about that wine, baby.” As good as the album is, though, the material is pretty much composed by Mike Bloomfield and Barry Goldberg, when they’re not covering Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” and adding spoken-word news broadcasts to the mix. More contributions by Buddy Miles and Gravenites in the songwriting department would have been welcome here. The extended CD version has four additional tracks, Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny” and “Mystery,” both which appear on the self-titled Electric Flag outing which followed this LP, as well as other material which shows up on Old Glory: The Best of Electric Flag, released in 2000. “Sittin’ in Circles” opens like the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm,” the keyboards as well as the sound effects, and a hook of “hey little girl” which would resurface as the title of a Nick Gravenites tune on the aforementioned follow-up disc, where Gravenites and Miles did pick up the songwriting slack, Bloomfield having wandered off to Super Session with the Blues Project’s Al Kooper. Amazing stuff all in all, which could eventually comprise a boxed set of experimental blues rock from the mid- to late sixties. Either version of this recording, original vinyl or extended CD, is fun listening and a revelation. (by Joe Viglione)

Tracklist:
Mike Bloomfield (guitar, vocals)
Barry Goldberg (keyboards)
Harvey Brooks (bass)
Marcus Doubleday (trumpet)
Michael Fonfara (keyboards)
Stemsy Hunter (saxophone)
Nick Gravenites (vocals, guitar)
Buddy Miles (drums, vocals)
Herb Rich (organ, vocals, saxophone, guitar)
Peter Strazza (saxophone)
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Paul Beaver (keyboards, synthesizer)
John Court (percussion, vocals)
Joe Church (Percussion)
Cass Elliot (vocals on 02.)
Richie Havens (percussion, sitar)
Sivuca – guitar, percussion
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strings:
Leo Daruczek – Charles McCracken – Bobby Notkoff – Julius Held

Tracklist;
01. Killing Floor (Burnett) 4.11
02. Groovin’ Is Easy (Gravenites) 3.06
03. Over-Lovin’ You (Bloomfield/Goldberg) 2.21
04. Should Have Just (Polte) 5.03
05. Wine (Traditional) 3.15
06. Texas (Bloomfield/Miles) 4.49
07. Sittin´ In Circles (Goldberg) 3.54
08. You Don’t Realize (Bloomfield) 4.56
09. Another Country (Polte) 8.47
10. Easy Rider (Bloomfield) 0.53
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11. Sunny (Hebb) 4.02
12. Mystery (Miles) 2.56
13. Look Into My Eyes (Brooks/Miles) 3.07

 

 

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