Cheetah - Rock & Roll Women (1981) + Bonus Tracks

 (Australian 1977-1984)

Australian band 'Cheetah' was active between 1977 and 1984. The main members and vocalists were sisters Chrissie Hammond (brown hair) and Lyndsay Hammond (blond hair).

The two sisters were born in England, but grew up in Melbourne. Music seemed to be in their blood. While still in her teens, Chrissie scored the part of Mary Magdalene in Harry M. Miller's second stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and even then entrepreneur Brian de Courcy was guiding her career. Chrissie spent a short period with Air Supply in 1975 before deciding to embark on a solo career. Around the same time Lyndsay split from Skintight, a group she had fronted throughout 1974, '75 and '76.

(L-R) - Chrissie Hammond &
Lyndsay Hammond

Chrissie and Lyndsay joined forces as a duo in January 1977 and began working around Melbourne venues under Brian's management. From mid-1977, they toured almost constantly as the first half of the Norman Gunston Show, and also did vocal back-up work on recordings featuring Stars, TMG, Mark Holden, Jon English, Norman Gunston, Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons, Daryl Braithwaite, Shirley Strachan, Renee Geyer and many other top artists.

Their first single, "Love Ain't Easy To Come By"/"Shake It To The Right", recorded only for demonstration purposes, was unexpectedly issued on Philips later in the year while Brian de Courcy was overseas.

Early in 1978, a concrete recording contract was negotiated with EMI and a second single,"Walking In The Rain"/"Desperado", released in July. The former track, a hit for the Ronettes in 1964, was produced by Ian Meldrum - although both tracks were overseen by Brian. The single gradually gained momentum and entered the charts in October where it peaked at number twelve. The single's success prompted an even heavier schedule and appearances on every television variety and pop show in Australia. 

A follow-up single, "Deeper Than Love"/ "I Believe In You", was marked for release in February 1979.

[Extract from Noel McGrath's 'Australian Encyclopedia of Rock' 1978-79 Yearbook. p11-12]

Appendum: The B-side "I Believe In You" must have been dropped at the last minute and an instrumental version of "Deeper Than Love" substituted instead. As far as I can tell, "I Believe In You" was never officially released, however a video clip of Cheetah performing this song on 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' can be viewed at dailymotion.com

In 1981, Alberts released the LP 'Rock And Roll Women' produced by Vanda & Young, from which their hit single  "Spend The Night" was taken. The album featured songs which were more rock orientated than their earlier single releases, and Cheetah quickly became Australia's favourite chick rock band.

For the album, they used session musicians: Ray Arnott on drums (ex-Cam-Pact, Spectrum, the Dingoes), Leszek Karski on bass guitar (Supercharge), Ian Miller on lead guitar (Chetarca, John Paul Young and the All Stars), Ronnie Peel on rhythm guitar (the Missing Links, Rockwell T. James and the Rhythm Aces, the La De Da's, John Paul Young) and Mike Peters on keyboards.

Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt Cheetah had "turned their attentions to AC/DC-styled hard rock with some success."

Cheetah Rock Chicks

During 1981, for live performances, the Hammond sisters were backed by Mark Evans on bass guitar (ex-AC/DC), Michael Evans on guitar, Martin Fisher on keyboards and saxophone (Swanee, Little Heroes), and John Lalor on drums (Stevie Wright Band, Swanee).

Cheetah toured across Australia, the UK (with Saxon) and Europe including appearances at Roskilde in Holland, the Nuremberg and Wiesbaden Festivals in Germany and a show at the 1982 Reading Festival with Iron Maiden to an audience of 120,000 people. They are often compared to Seattle based Heart, also with two sisters but should not to be confused with The Cheetah Girls.

In mid-1982, Cheetah relocated to the UK. They used various local musicians: Dave Dowell, Martin Dzal, Tom Evans, Ant Glyn, Rod Roche, Eddie Sparrow and Chris West. The group eventually broke up in 1984, for a range of reasons. 

In an interview at metalmaidens.com, Lyndsay explained "It’s a long time ago, but Chrissie and myself were out of contract with the record company and the times had changed. I seem to remember that heavy rock was a bit out of fashion at the time. There was lots of pop music around and video clips seemed to be more important than live shows. Live performances and touring was always our greatest strength and great love.” (Interview by: Toine van Poorten/copyright Metal Maidens-summer 2006)

Australia's answer to the Wilson Sisters

At the time, McFarlane also wrote that the sisters "were the archetypal 1970s sex bombs with big hair. They had tremendous, booming rock voices and were in constant demand as session vocalists." 

After disbanding Chrissie provided vocals for Rick Wakeman (from 1990 to 1998), while Lyndsay issued a solo album, The Raven (1997).

Cheetah reformed in 2006 to perform in the Countdown Spectacular and a subsequent tour of Europe.

In 2007, Lyndsay co-wrote "Higher Than Heaven" with James Blundell, which the latter issued as his country music single. At the APRA Music Awards of 2008, Lyndsay and Blundell were nominated for Country Work of the Year. [some extracts from Wikipedia]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from a CD release (thanks to Tarago) and includes full album artwork for both vinyl and CD media.  Although this 'Bad Reputation' CD release comes with a bonus track "Love You To The Limit" (released as a single in the same year), I am also including their great B-Side single from 1978 "Desperado" (Eagles Cover) as an additional bonus track. Edited artwork also included.

Track List

01. Bang Bang 3:30

02. Suffering Love 3:58

03. Spend The Night 3:55

04. Rock 'n Roll Woman 3:48

05. Scars Of Love 3:44

06. My Man 3:12

07. N.I.T.E. 3:00

08. Come & Get It 4:14

09. Let The Love Begin 3:39

10. I'm Yours 3:52

11. Love You To The Limit (Bonus A-Side Single, 1981) 3:39

12. Desperado (Bonus B-Side Single, 1978) 3:10

Band:

Lyndsay Hammond - Vocals

Chrissie Hammond - Vocals

Ian Miller - Lead Guitar

Ronnie Peel - Rhythm Guitar

Les Karski - Bass

Mike Peters - Keyboards

Ray Arnott - Drums

Cheetah Link (359Mb)

Repost: Frieze - 1972 B.C. + Bonus Tracks

(Australian 1971 - 1972)
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Frieze was a curious side-track in the continuing careers of Beeb Birtles and Darryl Cotton, who came to fame as members of Zoot. After Zoot split in 1971, lead guitarist Rick Springfield launched his solo career and headed off to the United States.

Cotton and Birtles were approached through their management by a Melbourne advertising agency. One of the agency's national accounts was the clothing company, Frieze Brothers' Suits, who wanted to employ a pop group to help promote their products.  Beeb recalls "They wanted Darryl and me to form another group which they wanted to call 'Deep Frieze'. The gimmick was that they wanted every guy in the band to be named after a type of material, meaning cloth material. So obviously Darryl Cotton was fine but they wanted me to call me Terry Lean and I was to have a brother called "Crimp" (as in Terylene and crimplene)."So we're sitting there thinking, hang on, we've already been through "Think Pink - Think ZOOT" and these guys are wanting us to do a similar, if not worse, thing. We promptly told them that to pursue this kind of idea; they would get laughed out of the country. Instead we talked them into doing a duo using just Darryl and myself and calling ourselves Frieze."

Beeb Birtles & Darryl Cotton

With financial backing from the company Frieze, they bought a station wagon, a sound system and a tape recorder, which they used to provide pre-recorded backing for their shows and, of course, they were fitted out with a wardrobe of Frieze suits. They performed mostly in shopping malls, performing songs while male models showed off the latest Frieze suits. They played popular hits of the day including songs by Crosby, Stills & Nash and Young and they also did an Everly Brothers medley. During the latter stages of the group, they drafted in Brisbane band Burke & Wills as their backing group.

Frieze lasted almost exactly one year, from June 1971 to June 1972. Their first single, a cover of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil's "Feelings" ’71, came out on Robie Porter's Sparmac label and managed to scrape into the lower reaches of the Melbourne chart. They were then signed up by the newly established Australian division of Warner Brothers Records. Frieze recorded two singles for Warner which was released during 1972; Frieze's first single for Warner had Darryl's "Try Yourself" on the A-side, backed by one of Beeb's , "You and I". The third and last Frieze single featured two songs by Darryl “Why Do Little Kids Have To Die", backed by "Jimmie and Jessie".

The duo also recorded a full album, titled 1972 B.C. (WS 20006) on Warner Records.. It was produced by Brian Cadd; but the LP did not feature Burke & Wills. Instead, the album line-up included several of the same musicians who had recently worked with Cadd on Russell Morris' acclaimed “Bloodstone” LP, Cadd on keyboards, with guitarist Phil Manning (Chain) and bassist Barry "Big Goose" Sullivan (Chain), drummer Ray Arnott (Spectrum, Mighty Kong), session guitarist Charlie Gould and renowned jazz and session flautist/saxophonist Graham Lyell.

By mid-1972 Birtles had grown tired of act and he told Cotton and manager Jeff Joseph that he was quitting, so the duo split and in July, Cotton left for the USA. Meanwhile, Jean Gair offered Birtles a job answering phones at the AMBO office for $50 a week. It was there that he took the call that changed his life, he answered the phone one day and a voice said, "Yes, I was wondering if you could help me, I'm trying to get in touch with Beeb Birtles?" The voice belonged to musician Graeham Goble, formerly of Adelaide folk-rock group Allison Gros, who wanted Beeb to join his new band Mississippi. Beeb accepted, although Goble wanted him to play guitar rather than bass. The other members of Mississippi reportedly opposed this at first but Goble threatened that he would quit if Birtles wasn't hired. The rest is history. Birtles and Goble formed a successful musical partnership that endured through Mississippi and eventually led to worldwide success with Little River Band.

Darryl Cotton returned to Australia in the late 1970s and moved into TV, becoming a popular children's show host. He later returned to music and gained a successful solo career with several LPs including ‘Best Seat in the House’, which produced his biggest solo hit, ‘Same Old Girl’, that peaked at #6. He had since been part of a trio with his old mates Russell Morris and Jim Keays.
Sadly, Darryl passed away in 2012 aged 62, losing his battle with liver cancer.
In 2017, the S.A. Music Hall of Fame inducted Beeb Birtles and fellow Zoot band mate, Darryl Cotton (posthumously), and their good friend, Barry Smith, of the Town Criers. [extract from Milesago]

The following are two 'Frieze' articles published in the Go-Set Magazine during 1971. 

Acoustic Country Music (Go-Set Mag, October 2, 1971, page 6)
Colin James talks about Frieze

There's a trend happening in Australian music that is interesting, and even exciting to watch. It's something that has happened overseas and has not really come to much. Except perhaps one or two good albums. What it is is musicians leaving their existing groups and forming what they feel are more musically satisfying combinations or groups. To wit, the individual Beatles working on other people's albums, people like Leon Russell and even Bob Dylan got into the act.

It's different to people like Mayall and Clapton who have been in more groups than I can count on all my appendages. Their changes seem to be motivated by self-dissatisfaction in what they're playing, while the recent moves by musicians seem to be positive moves. Moves to gain a new sound.

In all, the moves show a desire by musicians to try and find a progression in music. One thing that is talked about by most musicians, and done by some (listen to Aqualung by Jethro Tull - track 2 to the end, side one) is to include more melodic sounds in electric rock music.

Another thing is forming unlikely combinations. Take Pilgrimage, and who I want to briefly discuss here, Frieze. While most musicians are trying to amplify until they electrocute themselves to death (making Ed Nimmmervoll's Death of Rock prediction doubly true), some people are trying to work out music. Frieze have come under some criticism for accepting a contract by a suit manufacturer, but it is an attempt to free them to do what they want.
Most musicians face starvation, some all the time (even the old Zoot starved every now and then) but what Darryl and Beeb have done is sign a contract that will guarantee that they don't starve while they learn to play music.

Zoot Re-united in 2011

Darryl admits he never really played guitar in Zoot, but says he is spending the next year learning. The direction he will take is uncertain,but as he says, there are so many people around it's hard not to be influenced by someone. Possibly with Frieze it could be Graham Nash of C.S.N & Y fame because both Darryl and Beeb like him, and it could fit in well with the acoustic country sound they are trying to develop.

Both are writing, but their first record was picked from a pile of recording company stock songs that "you might like to do one of these kid". Puzzling, but as they explained, coming from the Zoot they were uncertain of their own ability.

Another thing they are using is tape backings, for two reasons. One. It's expensive to cart around a backing group. Two. They really don't want the hassle of groups for a while. But the tapes make an interesting addition to their soft sound, and enable both voices to be heard.

The only problem with their acoustic sound is that it cuts out quiet a few of the venues they could work (They're already have to put pick-ups on the guitars to be heard in small places) according to Beeb, they're playing the same places that they did in Zoot and a few more.

It will be interesting to see how Frieze progress, but if they are genuine as they seem, it should be well worth it by the end of the year.


Friezed Feelings of Darryl and Beeb (Go-Set mag, October 16, 1971, page 3)
Interviewer: Ian 'Molly' Meldrum

Darryl and Beeb's current single Feelings is hardly selling like hot cakes, and why should it? They don't even particularly like the record themselves.

When the Zoot finally broke up and it was announced that Darryl & Beeb would be going out as a duo many critics like myself expected big things to happen. We're still waiting.

If you judge what they're like from their record, Feelings, you would be excused for thinking they're another poor man's Simon & Garfunkel.The record did absolutely nothing for me and judging from the sales reaction it did little for anyone else, bar Adelaide where it is cirrently No.10

Forgetting the record, what are they like live?
About three weeks ago I happened to stumble across them at a dance in Melbourne and they really surprised me. I must admit I was a bit suspect when they first walked on because I had heard about the taped backings they use instead of a group. I knew that Darryl's voice wasn't exactly crash hot and that his acoustic guitar playing was even more suspect. So with this in mind, I watched and took it all in. They surprised me because Darryl's voice is much clearer and stronger when he takes the lead and sings harmonies with Beeb. His guitar playing is not that bad and coupled together they are very very tight. The taped backing is not even apparent and doesn't seem strange.

But what of the future. Can they expect to carry a name that is a trade name for a clothing manufacture and more important, can they expect to exist on the Australian pop scene by relying on taped backings. The only way to find this out was to have a tete-a-tete with the lads themselves, and so this is what they had to say:

What are the Frieze about?

Darryl: What do you mean - what are we all about? We're a duo, two of us who sing and play acoustic country type music. The name Frieze was chosen because of our tie with the clothing company Frieze Brothers

Surely this has been a hang-up?

Darryl: Not at all. It's been financially rewarding as well as a help in promoting us. With this sort of financial help it allowed both Beeb and I to play the sort of music we'd always wanted to play.

Don't you feel that the taped backings used cause you to lose communication with your audience?

Darryl: You're only judging us on the first bracket that we recorded and played. We've learnt a lot since then and have included six new numbers. They'e far more gutsy and there's more audience involvement in them.

But aren't you, as an act, becoming a little stagnant on stage? Whereas before, especially you Darryl, used to move around a lot. In fact you've almost lost your complete visual act.

Darryl: We don't intend to be a visual act any more

Beeb: You and many others keep comparing us with the Zoot. We're not and don't intend to be the Zoot any more.

I don't think that, but I do think you could be more visual on stage.

Darryl: It all adds up to experience. When we started this duo I'd never played guitar before and therefore before I think of anything else, I have to concentrate on playing guitar. It's the same with Beeb, he's never done as much singing before. But when we get it all together our visual act will become more exciting.

Your current single 'Feelings' is very Simon & Garfunkel. Surely this is bad?

Darryl: It wasn't our choice. It was the record company's. We were virtually ordered to sing that song. We didn't want to sing it that way but they were convinced it was going to be a monster. It's proved otherwise - we almost told them that it would happen that way anyhow. I must say though, that it has sold well in Adelaide and we got an incredible response a couple of weeks ago when we were there.

Do You think there is room for a duo on the Australian pop scene?

Darryl: Yes, definitely, same as there's room for solo artists. With the Frieze there are the two of us doing just a little more than a solo artist.

You couldn't exactly say that solo artists are booming at the moment though.

Darryl: I think work is pretty low everyone throughout Australia at the moment, including groups. We're lucky we have a clothing manufacturer behind us because we don't have to worry about the money angle.

Darryl, I never thought that you had much of a voice in the Zoot but I must admit that I was rather surprised that both of your voices blend well together and individually are very clear.

Darryl: That was one of the frustrations when I was in the Zoot. I knew I wasn't doing a good job with them. I feel much happier now because I'm not screaming and I'm getting a chance to sing properly. Beeb and I have always liked harmonies and now we have a chance to play as we really want to.

Are you surprised that Rick Springfield has done so much since the group broke up?

Darryl: I really expected more
Beeb: I expected a lot more also

Darryl: In the Zoot he was so ambitious and at one stage he said he would even leave us if we didn't do or progress more. But all he's done is release a single and that's as far as it goes. Don't get me wrong. I like the single very much and he's a very talented guy. As far as ourselves are concerned, don't think we're going to rely on taped backings to get us through because after we've finished this next promotion for Frieze we hope to get together with a group and do some work.

Ray Arnott (drummer of the Spectrum) said he'd like to do some work with you - well?

Darryl: We'd love to. Even Doug Parkinson and Phil Manning have mentioned using us from time to time. It'd be great working with guys like that and having four-part harmonies as well.

What will your next record be like?

Beeb: It's got to be more gutsy that's for sure.

Darryl: Yes, but it'll still be along the harmony or country lines.

Beeb: We have about six new songs in the act, so it'll probably be one of them.

Darryl: We're having a few recording hang-ups at the moment but as soon as they're ironed out it'll be much better.

I never realised you did original stuff on stage?

Beeb: We don't and have no desire to perform any on stage unless it's been put down on record first so people can identify with it.

Darryl: Because of the work setup you can't say I'm going to play my numbers and that's that. At the moment we're doing a lot of pubs and just a bit of everything so we can make some money and I'm sure the majority of our audiences wouldn't like to hear something they've never heard before. That's probably why we're not so original, because we're working to a wide range of people.
Beeb: I think a lot of people are getting sick of groups playing their own songs if they haven't put them down on record and the public haven't heard then before.

Darryl: I don't agree wholly on that because I think originality is an important part of anyone's act but you've got to give us a go. After all, we've only been working together like this for the last two and half months.

What do you do apart from your music?

Darryl: Nothing much

Beeb: What do you mean by that?

Nothing personal, just hobbies and that sort of thing

Beeb: Oh, I See. Well I just like listening to records - anything to do with music. There isn't much else I do apart from the personal thing of course

So what can we expect of Frieze over the next six months?

Darryl: We'll be putting down an album and another new single. Maybe it will come off the album. This week we have to do the Frieze promotions which will continue for five weeks. Once we've finished that we don't have to do any more work for them until April of next year. For the rest of the time we'll be recording and touring, hopefully with a band behind us.

Perhaps it would be a good idea over the summer break to do beach dances and get the group together?

Darryl: We're negotiating now to do a whole lot of beach stuff and hopefully we'll be using a couple of musicians with us. We have no gripes and are really happy with the way things are progressing.

Finally, before you go, do you regret the breakup of the Zoot at all?

Beeb: No

Darryl: I miss it, but as I said before I was very frustrated as a vocalist. It was a joke. I knew I Was - but there was nothing I could do about it. With the Frieze it's so much more satisfying.
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The above interview was conducted by Ian 'Molly' Meldrum who I admire greatly. However, I found Molly's approach to this interview to be somewhat negative and pretentious.  He had already prejudged these guys as being nothing special, before even asking his first question.  Some of his questions were just plain rude and I'm surprised Darryl didn't walk out of the interview mid-stream when Molly implied that he couldn't sing or play guitar. Anyhow, you be the judge.
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This post consists of FLAC's ripped from vinyl (thanks to a blog follower) and includes full artwork.  I've also included the bonus tracks "Young Man's Lament" (B-Side Single) and their CSNY cover of "Cinammon Girl" (recorded live on Happening '71).
This album is an important piece of the jigsaw puzzle that helped to form the highly successful  Australian juggernauts 'Little River Band' in the mid 70's 
A big thank you to Woodynet for providing me with the two Go-Set articles, helping to make this a more informative post. Thanks mate !
Interesting to note that their final single "Why Do Little Kids", taken from the LP, was credited only to Darryl Cotton rather than Frieze?

         NEW IMPROVED RIP !
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Track Listing

01 - Friend
02 - Love Is A Feeling
03 - Superman
04 - Jimmy & Jessie
05 - Why Do Little Kids Have To Die
06 - Try Yourself
07 - A Song
08  - You & I
09 - All Because Of You
10 - Jackie Girl
11 - Young Man's Lament (B-Side Single)
12 - Cinammon Girl (Live on Happening '71)

Produced by Brian Cadd

Engineered by John French

Daryl Cotton: guitar, vocals

Beeb Birtles: guitar, vocals
Brian Cadd: keyboards
Phil Manning: electric guitar
Ray Arnott: drums
Barry Sullivan: bass
Charlie Gould: acoustic guitar
Graham Lyell: sax and flute
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Frieze Link (256Mb) 
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Mahavishnu Orchestra - I Love Contemporary Jazz (1986) + Bonus Track

(U.S 1971–1976, 1984–1987)

If the seventies fell flat by its middle years, it was at least ushered in with dynamic promise as evidenced by the music of John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. They were a fire which was sparked by Miles Davis and kindled by the Tony Williams Lifetime.

By the time guitarist John McLaughlin emigrated from England to the United States, he had already become accomplished in the areas of r&b, blues, and rock and roll. He had worked with Georgie Fame and the late Graham Bond in his ground-breaking blues-rock organization. He explored avant-garde jazz with bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist John Surman, and he played rock and roll with Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton.

John McLaughlin

When, in 1969, drummer Tony Williams sent for John Mclaughlin, it was to realize his vision for a musical unit that fused rock and jazz. With McLaughlin and organist Larry Young, The Tony Williams Lifetime created and defined what came to be known as fusion. While exploring jazz-rock with The Lifetime, McLaughlin was also probing a more spatial, rhythmic kind of fusion with Miles Davis on his albums, 'In A Silent Way' and 'Bitches Brew'.

By 1971, McLaughlin, like any creative artist, was ready to shape his own ensemble and through his guru, Sri Chinmay, he took on the name of Mahavishnu and sought the best musicians to carry out his mission of creating a group that would mold all the elements fom his musical past and give birth to a new form of expression - The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Band Members 1971 - 1973

He hired Rick Laird, a soft, spatial jazz-oriented bassist from Ireland and Jan Hammer, an evolving keyboardist from Czechoslovakia. Jerry Goodman, the young violinist from Chicago, was already incorporating jazz into his rock-based group, 'The Flock', and drummer Billy Cobham - through his work with Horace Silver, his own group 'Dreams', and recording with Miles - had the funkiness, the jazziness and the power. 

Albums 1971 - 1975

As evidenced by this collection which includes selections from their three albums, 'The Inner Mounting Flame', 'Birds af Fire' and 'Between Nothingness and Eternity', The Mahavishnu Orchestra created a sound that went inside your gut and turned it around. Despite your religious convictions or lack thereof, the music, McLaughlin's double barrel guitar, Hammer's overwhelming creations on the synthesizer and Cobham's driving and soul-gripping solos were spiritual and represented musical evalution on the highest order.

Band Members 1975

The closeness and intensity of a group of this kind carried naturally from their music to their personal relationships, and, after two years, the five original members went off in different directions to pursue their individual modes af expression. Under the leadership of McLaughlin, 'Apocalypse' and 'Visions of the Emerald Beyond' were recorded with considerably larger groups, and both are represented on this compilation. With this incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, McLaughlin was able to paint a wider pallet of textures and create a greater array of sounds. Noted violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and his bassist Ralphe Armstrong emerged from the Orchestra to begin their own form af Jazz- rock.

Jean-Luc Ponty

McLaughlin disbanded the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1975. Like any evolutionary, he continues to explore a variety of musical paths. He formed the more acoustic Eastern-influenced 'Shakti', the more rhythmic one 'Truth Band', and recently performed in a variety af all-star settings including the 'Trio of Doom' with Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams, and a guitar extravaganza with Paco DeLucia and Larry Coryell.

The collection on this record represents a high-energized powerful time in music, and its repercussions are still being felt and will be felt for a long time to come. Enjoy its timelessness. (Album Liner Notes - Lois Gilbert, NY)

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my pristine vinyl and includes full album artwork for both CD and vinyl media, along with label scans. It should be noted that this album was also released in 1980 under the title 'The Best Of The Mahavishnu Orchestra' (cover is shown below).

To sweeten the deal, I have also decided to include "Cosmic Strut" from their Visions of the Emerald Beyond LP as a bonus track, a personal favourite of mine.

Track List

01 Birds Of Fire 5:42

02 Open Country Joy 3:54

03 Wings Of Karma 6:10

04 Sister Andrea 8:45

05 The Dance Of The Maya 7:15

06 Meeting Of The Spirits 6:49

07 Lila's Dance 5:35

08 Be Happy 3:40

09 Cosmic Strut (Bonus Track)   3:29

Mahavishnu Orchestra members:

John McLaughlin, Vocals (guitar, sitar)

Rick Laird, Ralphe Armstrong (bass)

Bill Cobham, Narada Michael Walden (percussion)

Jan Hammer, Gayle Moran (keyboards)

Gerry Goodman, Jean-Luc Ponty (violin)

Mahavishnu Orchestra Link (305Mb) Updated Link

REPOST: Jimi Hendrix - War Heroes (1972)

(U.S 1967-1970)
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'War Heroes' was the third posthumous Hendrix Studio album to come out under Michael Jeffery's (Hendrix' manager) supervision.
Had it been tough for Eddie Kramer and Mitch Mitchell to complete the 2nd posthumous studio album 'Soundtrack of the film Rainbow Bridge" to a satisfying result, the compiling of 'War Heroes' was what Eddie Kramer called 'scraping the bottom of the barrel'.
With only two recordings that Hendrix had more or less approved during his life ("Izabella" & "Stepping Stone") and two older recordings which had not been released in the States yet ("Highway Chile" & "Stars That Play With Laughing's Sam's Dice" which would eventually turn up on 'Loose Ends' from 1973), Kramer -now fully assisted by John Jansen- once again went through all the tapes in the hopes to find useable pieces of music.
The collection they came up with did indeed not live up to the standard that was set with 'Cry of Love', 'Rainbow Bridge' & the live album 'In the West'. But for a more than average fan, 'War Heroes' does not disappoint. It has a few blistering instrumentals, that Hendrix may not have wanted to be released, but who demonstrate his fine talents on the guitar nonetheless. Only "3 Little Bears" and "Peter Gunn/Catastrophe" are throwaway's.

Apart from the fact that Kramer wanted to offer a glimpse of Hendrix working (and joking around) in the studio, he probably also had another motive for including these. Kramer realized that Michael Jeffrey and Warner Bros. would want him to compile more studio albums, and by using these two tracks he was able to back-up his argument that there simply were no quality studio recordings left in the vaults.
When Kramer delivered 'War Heroes' to Warner Brothers, he also made a silent statement by not delivering any background information on the songs for the sleeve. The gloomy front cover and the unexplained album title (was it supposed to be a link to 'Izabella') only added to the confusion.
The album sold a moderate 180,000 copies, and reached #48 in the US charts.
Together with 'Rainbow Bridge' & "In the West, "'War Heroes' was deleted from Warner's catalogue in 1975, after WB's chief Mo' Ostin decided that Alan Douglas was far more capable of maintaining the quality of Hendrix's posthumous discography than Michael Jeffrey and Eddie Kramer had been. A dumb and unnecessary move from Mo', as history has proven it.

The fact that nearly all Warner executives at the time hated Michael Jeffery (who died in 1973) may have played a role in this decision. The 'Rainbow Bridge' album had been excusively licensed to Warner Brothers, and has been out-of-print in the states ever since, although the German division of Reprise started re-pressing the album on vinyl during the 80's.
Fortunately, 'War Heroes' and 'In the West" remained in print in the rest of the world, thanks to Michael Jeffreys' clever 1967 contracts . Polydor did the CD release of the albums in the eighties in Europe & Japan. It was later re-pressed in Europe (1991/1992) with a different catalogue number and different mastering. The sound had noise reduction and limiting -though not as severe as we know it by today's standards - in order to make the CD louder and cleaner.
The re-presses can only be clearly identified with by its number: 847-262-2
The original West-German 1988 CD (which was mastered from the same digital master as the Japanese P20P and P33P series) doesn't have any of this and is the source used here.

.I purchased my vinyl copy of War Heroes from an import shop in the 70's, as the album was not officially released in Australia until the 80's. It is one of my prize possessions (a German pressing in mint condition) and was the first posthumous Hendrix LP that I bought. Of course, I now have all of them and can boast having 50+ Hendrix LP's in my collection.

Favourite tracks are the instrumentals "Midnight" and "Beginning" (it's riff almost identical to the Stones' "Bitch") which demonstrate Jimi's ability to change key and time signatures at the drop of a hat.

The rip provided was taken from my 'near mint' vinyl  in FLAC format and includes full album artwork for both vinyl and CD media.
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Track Listing
01. Bleeding Heart
Recorded with the Band of Gypsys including Juma Sultan on percussion on 12 December 1969 at the Record Plant Studio in New York City. Overdubs were added on 24 March 1970. Previously played by the Experience as a slow blues (a sublime rendition can be heard on Reprise's 'Concerts'), this version takes a more funky approach. Originally produced by Jimi Hendrix.

02. Highway Chile
Recorded with the Experience on 3 April 1967 at Olympic Studios, London, UK. This song reflected on Hendrix' restless time as a traveling musician on the Chitlin' circuit. In Europe it became the B-side of the "Wind cries Mary' single (released: 5 May 1967 in the UK) and later appeared on the Track/Polydor version of 'Smash hits', but wasn't released in the States until 1972 when 'War heroes' came out. This track only existed in mono until 2000 when EH released a newly made (but disappointing, IMO) stereo mix on the box set. Engineered by Eddie Kramer. Produced by Chas Chandler.

03. Tax free
Recorded on 26 January 1968 at the Olympic Studios, London, UK and Record Plant, NYC, 1 May 1968. This was written by Sweden's Bo Hanssen and Janne Karlsson. Hendrix heard this instrumental while touring Sweden in 1967 and decided to record it. The Experience recorded five basic tracks, the fifth being successful. When production switched to over to the Record Plant Studio in New York, Hendrix worked on the track again there, trying to add some overdubs. The Experience added Tax Free to their set list during early 1968 and continued to play it live until early 1969. A live version can be heard on the now out-of-print "Live at Winterland" album. Originally produced by Jimi Hendrix

04. Peter Gunn / Catastrophe
Recorded mid-summer of 1970 at the Electric Lady Studios, NYC. 'Peter Gunn' was the first song that Jimi learned to play during his Seattle childhood days. 'Catastrophe' is a take-off by Jimi of the song 'Jealousy' popularized by Frankie Laine in late 1951. During the improvisation of 'Catastrophe' Jimi invented his own lyrics. This little ditty was added to the album by Eddie Kramer just to give a little insight into Hendrix's sense of humor, and is without a doubt the weakest selection. Maybe even the weakest Hendrix studio performance ever officially released. Engineered by Eddie Kramer. Originally produced by Jimi Hendrix

05. Stepping Stone
Originally recorded on 18 December 1969 with the Band of Gypsys at the Record Plant, NYC, and Electric Lady Studios, NYC. 1970. This recording was rush-released as a single with 'Izabella' on the B-side (Reprise 0905, Rel: 13/04/70), and quickly withdrawn again. Only a few copies of this single leaked out, making it a ultra-rare item. According to Hendrix: "Some of the copies out there have no low-end on them. I had to go out somewhere and tell the guy to remix it but he didn't. Sure, it matters..." The single contained a mix with Buddy Miles on drums. Jimi -who was still working on the recording- later opted to erase Miles' drums from the multitracks to be replaced by Mitchell's. However, the drums were never fully completed to Hendrix's satisfaction during his life and therefore it's a pity that Kramer and Jansen did not use the original mix with Miles' drums for this album. While being a far more technically skilled drummer than Miles, Mitchell failed to lay down the steady beat that this track really needs. The original mix can be heard on the OOP compilation 'Cornerstones: 1967-1970' and the 2001 EH release 'Voodoo child; The JH Collection'. Engineered by Bob Hughes 1969 at the Record Plant and Eddie Kramer at Electric Land Studios 1970. Originally produced by 'Heaven Research Unlimited' (aka Jimi Hendrix).

06. Midnight
Recorded by the Experience during October 1968 at the TTG studio's, Los Angeles, CA. These October sessions were booked to record the fourth Experience studio album, which never materialized. Later on in early 1969, the group cut a similar instrumental called "Trashman", that was eventually released (with lots of overdubs & editing) on the inferior Alan Douglas' produced 'Midnight Lightning' album from 1975. Engineered by Angel Balestier. Originally produced by Jimi Hendrix.

07. Three Little Bears
Recorded on 2 May 1968 at the Record Plant, NY. Another left-over from the 'Electric Ladyland' sessions. The first half of this extended jam was released on 'War Heroes'. The U.S. lp version had parts of Hendrix' frustrated comments censored by wiping them out or mixing them down very low ("Oh, fuck me" and "stop that shit, stop it"). In 1999, EH released the Jimi Hendrix "Merry Christmas and happy new year" EP, which made "Three Little Bears" available again. The complete extended version is only available on bootlegs - 'The Mixdown Master Tapes Vol 1-3', for example. Originally produced by Jimi Hendrix

08. Beginning
Recorded on 16 June 1970 and on 1 July 1970 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC. This instrumental had previously been known as 'Jam back at the house' and was developed during the Woodstock rehearsal sessions in the summer of 1969. It first appeared as a strongly edited live version on the 'Woodstock 2' triple album in March 1971. It's not very likely that Mitch Mitchell actually composed this track. It seems more likely that Mitchell was given this credit in an attempt to compensate him financially for his tireless dedication over the 1967-1971 period. This version is slightly edited as well, and a complete version can be found on bootlegs (ie Gypsy, Sun and Rainbows: Shokan) Originally produced by Jimi Hendrix.

09. Izabella
Recorded on 28/29 August 1969 at the Hit Factory, NYC, and featured the "Gypsy suns and rainbows" line up with Mitchell being replaced by Miles. It was released first as a B-side on a quickly withdrawn single (see "Stepping Stone" details). However, unlike "Stepping Stone" this recording was not further overdubbed, and appears here in a slightly different mix. The original mix can be heard on EH's 2001 release 'Voodoo child: The JH Collection'. Originally produced by 'Heaven Research Unlimited' (aka Jimi Hendrix)

.Band Members:
Jimi Hendrix (Vocals, Guitar)
Mitch Mitchell (Drums)
Billy Cox (Bass)
* Noel Redding plays bass on Highway Chile, Tax Free and Midnight
+ Buddy Miles plays drums on Izabella

NEW IMPROVED FLAC RIP !

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War Heroes Link (201Mb) New Link 04/05/2025

W.O.C.K on Vinyl: Gerard Kennedy (with Sven Libaek) - Seasons of Love (1972)

  Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

Gerard Kennedy (8 March 1932 – 21 April 2025) was an Australian double Gold Logie award-winning actor.

Kennedy started his career in theatre, before going on to appear in early television series, primarily with Crawford Productions. 

He made a number of guest appearances in Crawford Productions' Homicide, which led to him gaining a role of enemy spy agent Kragg in Hunter. The series followed the adventures of special agent John Hunter tracking down espionage along the eastern coast of Australia.

His popularity in the series soon upstaged that of the show’s title character, John Hunter played by Tony Ward, and Kragg was soon to change sides in support of Hunter. He appeared in 65 episodes during the programme’s run between 1967 and 1969.

Gerard Kennedy (as Kragg) & Tony Ward (as John Hunter)

He shot to fame, however, starring with Ted Hamilton and Terence Donovan in the police procedural Division 4 as Senior Detective Frank Banner, which won him back-to-back Gold Logies. Kennedy also appeared in the cult series Prisoner and in crime series Underbelly and had numerous feature film roles during a career that spanned 50 years in the industry.

Senior Detective Frank Banner (Divison 4)

Later regular television series roles included the ABC's gold rush mini-series Rush in 1974, Tandarra in 1976, Bellbird in 1977, the miniseries Against the Wind in 1978, Skyways from 1979–1981, Golden Pennies in 1985, and The Flying Doctors between 1986 and 1989 (non-consecutive episodes).

Guest TV roles included appearances in Carson's Law, Prisoner, A Country Practice, Blue Heelers, City Homicide, The Saddle Club, and Neighbours. In 2008, he played Graham "The Munster" Kinniburgh in Underbelly and in Fat Tony & Co.

Kennedy's final credit was in the TV series Glitch in 2015.

Kennedy resided in a nursing care facility on the New South Wales, Central Coast, where he died on 21 April 2025, aged 93.

One distinct feature of Kennedy's personna was his deep, gravely, voice which was strangely calming to listen to. And so it was not surprising that someone in the entertainment business talked him into releasing an album of poetry (written by Warwick Randall) accompanied by the jazz music of Sven Libaek (an Australian composer, record producer and musician). The album was released by Festival records in 1972 and titled "Seasons Of Love".

It's not really my cup of tea folks, but I thought I'd bring this to the WOCK table in light of Kennedy's recent passing (Vale Gerard Kennedy), to pay tribute to his stellar and gargantuan acting career —from stage to screen.

As this is a WOCK posting, it ticks a few boxes - both Weird & Obscure; but coincidently it also ticks the K box (thanks Mr Kennedy for all the wonderful T.V entertainment you provided me during my teenage years).  Ripped from vinyl in MP3 (160kbs) format with limited artwork.

Poems:

A1a How Can A Memory Hope To Fade

A1b Undiscovered Fields 2:46

A2 Travel Broadens the Mine  2:42

A3 Drunken Butterfly  0:27

A4 Autumn 2:25

A5 When Sunlight Fades 1:03

A6 The Quiet Time of Reason  4:40

B1 I Am an Island 1:50

B2 Searching 1:25

B3 Four Letter Words  2:33

B4 Children  0:35

B5 Spring 2:52

B6 Your Quiet Smile  0:45

B7 Lonely People 1:28

B8a Waiting For Love

B8b Come Inside 3:24

B9 I Think I'll Build a Wall   0:36

Seasons Of Love Link (109Mb)

REPOST: Budgie - Never Turn Your Back On A Friend (1973) + Bonus Tracks

(U.K 1967-1988, 1995-1996, 1999-2010)

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OK - let's cut to the chase. Budgie are my favourite U.K (Welsh) band and this album is my all time favourite LP by far. I first discovered Budgie while skimming through the records racks at my local K-Mart store back in the early 70's. It was the eye catching album cover (by Rodger Dean) that first caught my attention, and then the photos of the band members found in the inner LP gatefold - in particular the energy and drive depicted by drummer Ray Phillips. I took a punt and made my purchase, then quickly made my way home. Headphones on and the volume cranked up high on my Onkyo stereo, I placed the needle on Side A of the record and layed back on my bed, eyes closed. After a short introductory narative by Sir Winston Churchill, Breadfan's guitar intro came bursting out into my left ear and screamed across to my right, and it was like being hit by a train. The magic of Budgie's music had suddenly entered by life, and I've never been the same since!

.Originally released in 1973 on MCA, Budgie's third record, Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, was another slab of the band's signature plodding metal sound. Although they were never more than a cult band in the Australia, Budgie's popularity flourished in their native England, yet their influence was eventually felt by many notable American bands (Metallica, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains). The mammoth riffs created by guitarist Tony Bourge are definitely on par with Black Sabbath riff master Tony Iommi, while vocalist/bassist Burke Shelley's voice is a cross between David Surkamp (Pavlov's Dog) and early Geddy Lee (Rush). Drummers came and went (this would be original member Ray Phillips' last recording), but you'd never guess there would be a defection soon, judging from the tightness and interplay displayed on this album. One of their best-known tracks, "Breadfan" (later covered by Metallica), kicks off the album with rapid, almost speed metal, however, Budgie deliver it all in true hard rock style, pacing the album nicely with two acoustic songs to break up the heavy metal bluster. I'll even forgive the one minute thirty eight second drum solo at the beginning of the fourth song as it's so short, sharp and heavy.

It's the final epic "Parents", which is a supersonic power rock ballad that elevates you through the stratosphere. A song very similar in structure to "Led Zeppelins" "Stairway To Heaven", Burke Shelley sings of the torment of turning from child to parent, hitting the heart fair and square with Mott who has a few puppies of his own. This song alone makes this album worth hunting down.
The parents tell their children, "Wash your hands & up to bed, mind your manners or you're dead, watch the cars `cos you got school on Monday". Haven't all parents at sometimes spoken in these jumbled spurts of love and warning? The group also became notorious for coming up with profound (yet lighthearted) song titles, such as "In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand" and "You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk."
Though they never reached the dizzy heights of success like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath or Cream; Budgie did leave behind 10 hard rocking studio albums and one live release, along with a strong fan base who always yearned for more 

Recommended to anyone who finds solace in the metal forefathers (Sabbath, Zeppelin, Hendrix, etc.).  The rip included here was taken from CD in FLAC format and includes full album artwork for both vinyl and CD. This album should be played at full volume, as any other volume level is unacceptable !

Please note that this album is no longer available from Budgie's website (Out Of Print)

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Track Listing

01 Breadfan

02 Baby Please Don't Go

03 You Know I'll Always Love You

04 You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk

05 In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand

06 Riding My Nightmare

07 Parents

08 Breadfan (2003 version) Bonus track

09 Parents (2004 Acoustic version) Bonus track

10 Breadfan (Live 1973) Bonus track

11 Breadfan (Aust Vinyl release) Bonus Track

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Band members:

Burke Shelley (Bass, Vocals)

Tony Bourge (Guitar)

Ray Phillips (Drums)

Never Turn Your Back On A Friend (435 Mb)  New Link 28/04/25

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Note: It has been brought to my attention by a blog follower that the Australian vinyl pressing of this album features the introductory narrative spoken by Sir Winston Churchill at the start of Breadfan, which is not included on any of the CD remasters.
Therefore, I am making this track available below to Budgie fans who have the CD but have not heard this version before.   For me, the track would be not be the same without it !
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Breadfan.FLAC

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