W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Happy Birthday Lisa (Michael Jackson)

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

My first WOCK on Vinyl posting is also dedicated to Michael Jackson, who tragically passed away this week at the tender age of 50. May he now find true peace in his final resting place.
Michael Jackson made a cameo appearance in an episode of the Simpsons called "Stark Raveing Dad" and wrote/sings a birthday song for Lisa called "Happy Birthday Lisa"

Lisa wakes Bart up and reminds him that her birthday is coming up and that he neglects or forgets her birthday every year. Bart promises to get her the best present ever. Meanwhile, Bart washes his red hat with the white laundry, and Homer has no choice but to wear a pink shirt to work. As a result, Mr. Burns suspects Homer of being a "free thinking anarchist" and has him detained. Dr. Marvin Monroe administers a 20-question quiz that Homer has Bart fill out. The results cause Homer to be sent to a mental institution, resembling the institution from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, where he shares a cell with 'the big white guy who thinks he's the little black guy'. In his cell Homer meets a big white man who claims to be Michael Jackson and speaking with the artist's distinctive voice. Homer, who astonishingly enough has never even heard of the artist, believes him instantly.

Marge comes to visit Homer and convinces his doctors that Bart is the primary cause of Homer's problems. Homer gets an official certificate that says he is not insane and Michael reveals that he is only in the hospital voluntarily. Homer calls and tells Bart that he is bringing Michael Jackson to stay for a few days. Against Homer's wishes, Bart lets the word out and all of Springfield turns out to see Michael Jackson. All the town's excitement is deflated when the fake Michael is revealed by Homer.

Lisa is upset when she realizes that Bart has yet again failed to acknowledge her birthday, due to finding out that Michael was coming. After hearing Lisa writing an angry letter to Bart, Michael convinces Bart to let him help. Together they write and perform a song specifically for Lisa's birthday called "Happy Birthday Lisa". Lisa is thrilled and hugs her brother, saying that he has given her the best present ever. Suddenly, Michael reveals that he is Leon Kompowsky, a brick-layer from Paterson, New Jersey. He explains that he does his Michael voice due to the fact he felt angry for the majority of his life and that he earned people's respect when he did the vocal impersonation. With his confidence renewed after composing a good song, he soon bids farewell to the Simpsons, singing Lisa's birthday song to himself as he strolls off down the road.

For your pleasure, I am including both the YouTube video clip and the 320kps MP3.

Happy Birthday Lisa Link (9Mb) New Link  12/11/2024

Chain - Live (1970 / Live Again (1972)

(Australian 1968 - 1974, and beyond)
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Chain are an Australian blues band formed in Melbourne as The Chain in late 1968 with a lineup including guitarist, vocalist Phil Manning; they are sometimes known as Matt Taylor's Chain after lead singer-songwriter and harmonica player, Matt Taylor. The band was named by Australian Blues Singer, Wendy Saddington, after the song "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin.

Their January 1971 single "Black 'n Blue", which became their only top twenty hit, was recorded by Chain line-up of Manning, Taylor, drummer Barry Harvey and bass guitarist Barry Sullivan. The related album, Toward the Blues followed in September and peaked in the top ten albums chart.
Chain had various line-ups until July 1974, they separated for several years then reformed in 1982 for a one-off concert and more permanently from 1983–1986. Further line-up changes occurred with some forms called Matt Taylor's Chain, from 1998 Chain members are Harvey, Manning, Taylor and Dirk Du Bois on bass guitar. Both Manning and Taylor have also had separate solo careers. In 2005 Chain released, Sweet Honey and continued touring irregularly; on 3 May 2009, they performed at the Cairns Blues Festival.

There is a stark contrast between both of these live albums. The first Live album, was recorded, rather primitively, at Sydney's Caesar's Palace Disco and resulted in a raw, basic slab of hard blues. It features more instrumental work by band members and at times could be mistaken for a jazz album. Note: Don't be confused - "Black and White" is not their hit single "Black 'n Blue" with a typo, but is still a good track anyhow with a strong jazz feel highlighting some great keyboard work by Warren Morgan interplaying with Phil Manning's guitar licks.

In 1972, the Morgan, Manning, Harvey, Sullivan and Mason line-up recorded a live-in-the-studio sequel to Chain Live, a collection of seamless heavy blues jamstitled Chain Live Again. While neither the critical nor sales success of its predecessor, and while perhaps not as cohesive as the first live album, Live Again showed the band stretching out and trading off each other, building the momentum of the jams with a more organic and progressive feel. Yet, typically for Chain, they disbanded soon after the sessions; and due to various setbacks the album didn’t appear until later in the year. For a more extensive history of chain, see milesago

Both Live albums have been ripped from Vinyl at 256kbs and include full album artwork.

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Tracklisting

(Live)

01-The World Is Waiting

02-Black and White

03-Pilgrimage

04-Gertrude Street Blues

05-Chaser

(Live Again)

01-Take Your Time

02-Pig's Blues

03-Seventeen

04-The World Is A Rocky Impression

05-Mr. President

06-Leaving

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Band Members:

Phil Manning (Guitar/Vocals)

Barry Sullivan (Bass)

Glyn Mason (Guitar/Vocals)

Warren Morgan (Electric Piano)

Barry Harvey (Drums)

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Chain Live (88Mb) Sorry, album just released by Aztec Records. Please support our local artists

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Chain Live Again (77Mb) New Link 31/07/2014

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Robin Trower - Guitar Bandit (1973) Bootleg

(U.K 1973 - Present)
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When I bought 'Guitar Bandit' (aka Live At The Record Plant) it was the late 70's and some of the record stands at the Victoria Market (Melbourne) would have a couple of bins of these type of boots by various artists. A lot of Zeppelin, Springsteen, Hendrix and Deep Purple, and every once in a while a gem like this one. These boots came in a plain white cardboard sleeve with an insert slid in between the plastic wrap and sleeve. Remembers? I played the crap out of this for years, but my copy still has its shrink wrap attached in one piece. Recorded Live at Record Plant Studios, Sausalito, California, this is an excellent sounding FM broadcast of Trower after the release of 'Twice Removed From Yesterday' but before 'Bridge Of Sighs' on the Amazing Kornyphone Records label. Like most of the boots produced in the 70's it lacks bass but the recording itself is crystal clear.

Trower first formed a group in 1962 that came to be known as The Paramounts, later including fellow Southend High School pupil Gary Brooker. The Paramounts disbanded in 1966 to pursue individual projects. Trower then joined Brooker's new band Procol Harum in 1967, with whom he remained until 1972. After going solo in 1973 (replaced in Procol Harum by Dave Ball), he found the individual identity and style that have brought him acclaim to this day.
Before launching his own eponymous band, he joined singer Frankie Miller, bass player James Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude. Although this outfit played some well-received gigs, it did not record and soon split up.
Trower retained Dewar as a bassist, who took on lead vocals as well, and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973.
Perhaps Trower's most famous album and my personal favourite is

'Bridge of Sighs' (1974). This album, along with his first and third solo albums, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organist Matthew Fisher. Despite differences, Trower's early power trio work was noted for its Hendrix influences.

One other thing that attracted me to Trower's earlier albums are their distinctive album covers, the creative work of Funky Paul Olsen. I was lucky enough to see Trower play at Festival Hall, in Melbourne in 1975, when he toured Australia with his 'For Earth Below' show. The one thing that struck me the most at the time was how easy he made his guitar work look, yet was able to reproduce his album solos flawlessly.

In 1977, feeling he had already proven himself as a performer, Trower ventured into new musical realms, as demonstrated by the release of the 'In City Dreams' album. The 1978 release of 'Caravan to Midnight' was in a different style from the rest of his earlier work, symbolising a change in direction for him.

In the early 1980s, Trower teamed up with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and his previous drummers Lordan and Isidore, for two albums, 'BLT' (Bruce, Lordan, Trower) and 'Truce' (Trower, Bruce, Isidore). To be honest, this is not my favourite era in the Trower evolution and feel that he seemed to loose direction with his music
Trower's album, 'Living Out of Time' (2003), featured the return of veteran band mates Dave Bronze on bass, vocalist Davey Pattison (formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma) and Pete Thompson on drums - the same lineup as the mid 1980s albums Passion and Take What You Need.
In 2007, Robin released a third recording with Jack Bruce, 'Seven Moons', featuring Gary Husband on drums. Trower toured the United States and Canada in the summer and autumn of 2006. A 2008 world tour began in Ft. Pierce, Florida on 16 January 2008. Joining Davey Pattison and Pete Thompson was Glenn Letsch (formerly of Gamma) playing bass (Extract from Wikipedia). Trower's latest release (2009) is called 'What Lies Beneath' and stands to be another classic. Well worth a listen!

The Guitar Bandit rip included here was taken from Vinyl at 320kbs.

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Track Listing:

01 - The Fool And Me

02 - Twice Removed From Yesterday

03 - Lady Love

04 - Daydream

05 - Day Of The Eagle

06 - I Can't Wait Much Longer

07 - Man Of The World

08 - Sinner's Song

09 - A Little Bit Of Sympathy

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Band Members:

Robin Trower: guitar/ vocals

James Dewar: bass/ vocals

Reg Isodore: drums/ vocals

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Robin Trower Link (94Mb) REPOST
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Jimi Hendrix - Guitar Hero (Bootleg, Ex SB)

(U.K 1967-1970)
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Note: This is NOT the inferior Jimi Hendrix / Jim Morrison bootleg (Scene Club, New York City, NY 18.03.68) with same name (aka Woke Up In The Morning And Found Myself Dead / Uranus Rock / Sunshine Of Your Love / Skyhigh )

In the 1970s, there was an endless supply of Jimi-Hendrix bootlegs to choose from. Hendrix died in 1970, but long after his death, bootleggers continued to thrill collectors by unearthing all kinds of live recordings, rehearsals, demos, and broadcasts. Unfortunately, many of those 1970s bootlegs weren't exactly known for their great sound quality -- some of them sounded terrible. But poor sound isn't a problem on 'Guitar Hero', one of the 1970s bootlegs that focuses on Hendrix's performances for the BBC's Top Gear program in 1967. The sound quality is excellent, as are the performances.

Jimi Hendrix 'Guitar Hero' 12 inch vinyl bootleg, was made in the USA and released in 1978 by K&S Records, catalog number 011. It's a recording from the BBC, London, Top Gear, October 17, 1967 and October 26, 1967. Top Gear was the name of John Peel's late-night program on Radio One in 1967. Guitar Hero includes the Jimi Hendrix Experience's second BBC session of the season, a three-track cracker which paired them with Rhythm 'n' Bluesman and radio announcer Alexis Korner. The session featured live renditions of "Driving South," Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl Out Of Your Window," and that legendary version of "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man," truncated when Jimi broke a guitar string.

Fronting the trailblazing Jimi Hendrix Experience -- Hendrix on lead vocals and guitar, Noel Redding on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums -- Hendrix is in superb form on original songs (which include "Foxy Lady," "Spanish Castle Magic," "Little Miss Lover," "Wait Until Tomorrow," and "Stone Free") as well as inspired covers of the Beatles' "Day Tripper," Bob Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window," Leiber & Stoller's "Hound Dog," and Willie Dixon's "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man." If you're going to do a cover, it's important to bring something fresh and original to the song -- otherwise, what's the point? And Hendrix puts his own spin on all of the rock and blues songs that he embraces, making them harder and heavier. Hendrix's guitar playing is quite metallic for 1967 -- he was arguably the first heavy metal artist, and his innovations helped pave the way for everyone from Steve Vai to Robin Trower. Guitar Hero is a first-rate bootleg that collectors were thrilled to get their hands on in the late '70s.

When I first played this album I was totally blown away - it sounded as good as any of his official releases and the album artwork and record label are first rate. It has obviously been taken from the original masters used by the BBC in their broadcasts, and these tracks have more recently appeared on the "BBC Sessions CD" released in 1998.

This rip has been taken from Vinyl at 320 kbs and full album artwork is included. NB: This bootleg was also released under the title of 'Primal Keys' (see cover below)
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Track Listing

01 - Radio One Theme

02 - Experiencing The Blues

03 - Can You Please Crawl out Your Window

04 - I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man

05 - Driving South

06 - Spanish Castle Magic

07 - Day Tripper

08 - Wait until Tomorrow

09 - Stone Free

10 - Foxy Lady

11 - Little Miss Lover

12 - Burning of the Midnight Lamp

13 - Hound Dog

14 - Hey Joe

15 - Getting My Heart Back Again

Band Members:

Jimi Hendrix (Guitar, Lead Vocals)

Noel Redding (Bass, Vocals)

Mitch Mitchell (Drums)

Guitar Hero Link (109Mb) New Link 23/12/2023

Carson - Blown / On The Air (1972/73)

(Australian 1970-73)

Carson's career was relatively short -- almost exactly three years - but in that time the "Kings of Boogie" built a reputation as a powerful live act, and they were one of the most popular Australian blues bands of the early 70s. Together with Bulldog, Chain, The Aztecs, Company Caine and Pirana, Carson was part of the stable of acts handled by Consolidated Rock, the Melbourne agency founded by young entrepreneur Michael Gudinski. Carson was also an important stepping stone for several of its members, including singer Broderick Smith, and the group's original keyboard player John Capek.

The original four-piece lineup formed in in January 1970. Guitarist "Sleepy" Greg Lawrie (ex-The Creatures, Chocolate) was already considered one of the best slide players in the country; John Capek was ex-Leo De Castro and Friends; Ian "Fingers" Ferguson's career had started way back in 1961 with Shepparton rockers Tony & The Shantels, and completing the lineup was drummer Tony Lunt.
The group was originally called The Carson County Band, but they had dropped the "...County Band" part of the name by the end of 1970 because they were being mistakenly tagged as country rock group, and only their first single came out under that name. They were strongly influenced by Chicago blues, and by the emerging "boogie" style being popularised by bands like Canned Heat and, later, ZZ Top.
(According to Who's Who of Australian Rock, Paul Lever and Tony Enery were also members during this year, but details of their role in the band are not known at this stage.)

Their first single was 'On The Highway' / 'Resting Place', issued on the Rebel label around May 1970; at about the same time Lawrie and Capek got together with Matt Taylor, Tim Piper and Yuk Harrison from Genesis, plus Trevor Courtney (ex-Chants R&B, Cam-Pact) in a one-off recording project called The Meating. The single they recorded together, 'Bad Luck Feeling' / 'Back Home' was released on Rebel in August 1970.

John Capek left Carson in late 1970 or early 1971, moving on to King Harvest, Flite and Hannagan. To replace him, Carson recruited singer and harp player Broderick Smith, formerly of Adderly Smith Blues Band and Sundown, and second guitarist Ian "Willy" Winter (ex-Brothers Grimm, Five Just Men, Pigface).

A previously unpublished shot of Carson ca. 1971, performing at Melbourne's Thumpin' Tum disco, probably taken not long after Brod Smith joined. (Photo by Harley Parker.)

The new lineup recorded a single for the Havoc label, 'Travelling South' / 'Moonshine', which was issued in August 1971. Meanwhile, Ian Ferguson left in July to join Island, and he was replaced by ex-Chain bassist Barry "Big Goose" Sullivan. Sullivan left after about three months to join Flite so he was replaced by Garry Clarke (ex-King Harvest). In November they added a new keyboard player, Mal Logan (ex-Healing Force), and they also augmented the band even further for concerts, adding a three-piece horn section. Ian Winter left in March 1972 when he was invited to join Daddy Cool as second guitarist, but after Daddy Cool split in August he returned to Carson. Brod Smith also branched out during the year -- Carson's manager, Rhett Walker (who was also the program manager for Melbourne radio station 3AK) decided that Smith could be promoted as a solo artist (along similar lines to Rod Stewart's parallel solo career with his work with The Faces). Broderick cut two Singles for the Image label, and all four sides of which were written and produced by Brian Cadd.

Sometime during this period, Broderick was also called in to sing on the soundtrack to Albie Falzon's surfing movie Morning Of The Earth. Oddly enough, the track he appeared on, First Things First, was actually by Tamam Shud. Singer Lindsay Bjerre was having voice problems when they cut the song, so the original vocal was done by lead guitarist Tim Gaze. However, producer G. Wayne Thomas was evidently not satisfied with the result so he erased Tim's vocal, and he brought in Broderick Smith to lay down a new track. Although this has previously been reported as having been done without the Shud's knowledge or permission, recent information from Brod himself contradicts this.
This is at odds with Lindsay Bjerre's claim that Tamam Shud didn't find out about the substitution until the night of the film's premiere, later in the year, and they were understandably furious about it. (Bjerre acknowledged, however, that Brod's vocal was a good effort in its own right, despite the circumstances.)
By September 1972 Carson had signed with EMI's Harvest imprint. Their first single for the label, Boogie, Parts I & II gave them their first taste of chart success in September, going to #30 nationally, and it is now widely regarded as one of the classics Australian rock Singles of that period.


They followed up in November with their very successful debut album, Blown, produced by Rod Coe (former bass player with Freshwater and Country Radio). Its memorable cover was another fine design by Melbourne artist Ian McCausland. Blown fared even better than the single, reaching #14 nationally in December. Meanwhile, Havoc took advantage in on Carson's new prominence by reissuing 'Travelling South' the same month. Late in the year Carson expanded yet again, when sax player Mal Capewell (ex-Dr Kandy's Third Eye, Company Caine, Dada, Graham Bond's Holy Magick) joined the touring lineup. In January 1973 they appeared at the second Sunbury Festival over the Australia Day long weekend; their set was recorded and the song 'Friday Night Groove' was included on Mushroom's inaugural release, the ambitious triple-album The Great Australian Rock Festival: Sunbury 1973 (April 1973). Unfortunately, Sunbury was to be Carson's last major performance: Winter and Logan left just afterwards and in February it was announced that Carson had split up. Their final record was On The Air, the full recording of their Sunbury set, which was released in April 1973. (Extract from Milesago)

This rip was taken from a CD pressing at 320kbs and includes full Album Artwork.

Track Listing
01. Dingo
02. Laid-back Feel
03. Dust My Broom
04. Hey Joe
05. Boogie
06. Sunbury Jam
07. Rock'n'roll Games
08. Better Times Will Come About
09. Sunday in the City
10. Banana Power
11. Boogie
12. Let Me Sleep
13. Up In Queensland

Band Members:
John Capek (keyboards, vocals) 1970
Mal Capewell (sax) 1972-73
Gary Clarke (bass) 1971-73
Tony Enery (piano) 1970
Ian "Fingers" Ferguson (bass, vocals) 1970-71
'Sleepy' Greg Lawrie (guitar, slide guitar, dobro) 1970-73
Paul Lever (guitar. vocals, hamonica) 1970
Mal Logan (kbds) 1971-73
Tony Lunt (drums) 1970-73
Broderick Smith (vocals, harmonica) 1971-73
Barry Sullivan (bass) 1971
Ian "Willy" Winter (guitar) 1971-72

Carson On The Air / Blown (120Mb)

Badger One - Live (1973)

(U.K 1972-1974)

Recorded 'live' at London's Rainbow Theatre in 1973, "One Live Badger" introduces one of the most interesting bands to emerge in the early 70's. Composed of former Yes keyboard man Tony Kaye, guitarist Brian Parrish (ex-Parrish & Gurvitz), former Ashton, Gardner & Dyke drummer Roy Dyke, and bassist David Foster. Badger promise much on the evidence of this first album which is full of fiery, dynamic playing, crisp vocal work (both lead and harmony) and excellent songs, mostly written by the whole group.The decision to make Badger's first album a 'live' one came about after a series of intensive rehearsals. Scheduled to appear in concert with Yes at the Rainbow, the band's early enthusiasm and vigour could only suitably be captured through a 'live' recording. Produced by 'Yes' Jon Anderson, Badger and Geoffrey Haslam, it's a triumph, combining the raucous, stomping atmosphere induced by Badger's music with precision and technical expertise, qualities possessed in no small measure by the group.

Most of the songs have a religious theme but stay well shy of being preachy. This is not complex progressive, but it is a very nice album with lots of energy, power, and emotion. It has recently been reissued on CD and sports the great cover work by Roger Dean. Formed in mid-'72, Badger was the idea of Tony Kaye and David Foster. Tony and David had been acquainted while the former had been a Yes member, David Foster helping to write (with Jon Anderson) two tracks for the bands second album, "Time And A Word". At the same time Tony and David had also got together to make an album of David's other songs. Never released, they began work on re-mixing it following Tony's decision to leave Yes.It was at this point in time that the decision came to form a group. Within a short time they had recruited Roy Dyke (who first made his name with Brian Epstein's protege Remo Four) who had just split with Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. The search for a guitarist halted soon, too, when Roy recommended Brian Parrish, whose work with Parrish & Gurvitz had attracted much critical acclaim, but little public reaction.
Their second album "White Lady", has Jackie Lomax taking center stage and was a shift from their progressive sound to a more soulful sound - a big disappointment in my opinion compared to their debut Live album, which I highly recommend. To read more, see the official badger website Badger

This rip was taken from a CD pressing at 320kbs and includes full Album Artwork

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Track Listing:
01. Wheel of Fortune 7:50
02. Fountain 7:22
03. Wind of Change 7:17
04. River 6:49
05. The Preacher 3:59
06. On the Way Home 7:39

Band Members:
Tony Kaye (Keyboards and Vocals)
David Foster (Bass and Lead Vocals)
Brian Parrish (Guitar)
Ron Dyke (Drums)

Badger Link (85Mb) Link Fixed 15/07/2013
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Truth And Janey - Erupts (Live 1976)

(U.S 1969 - 1976)

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Taking their name from the seminal Jeff Beck Group album and formed sometime in late ‘69 in a small city in Iowa , vocalist/guitarist Billy Janey, vocalist/bassist Steven Bock, and drummer Denis Bunce (original percussionist John Fillingsworth lasted less than a year) began penning original material, recorded a pair of singles in 1972/1973, and then evolved into Truth and Janey when informed that another band already held rights to the Truth moniker before them. Arduous roadwork in the neighboring states kept the band busy in years to come, but the absence of a major record deal eventually drove them to finance their own album — a fierce and bluesy hard rocker to be entitled 'No Rest for the Wicked' — at a studio in nearby Ames. They released this through a local independent label, and its 1,000-unit pressing quickly sold out among their dedicated fans in the region — but that was it. With no apparent career-advancing prospects in their near future, Truth and Janey disbanded the following year, with main man Janey turning to blues and adding a "Lee" to his name before recording several albums throughout the '80s and '90s.
However, the Truth and Janey sound is probably captured best on this live record. It's a mix of classic rock, psychedelic guitar rock reminiscent of Hendrix, and the progressive structures of a band like Budgie. Lots of jammy parts, some of them heavier than others of course. Some of it reminds me of the same kind of deep blues rooted 'Cream' material. Nice and heavy, but soulful and tastefully done. This Truth and Janey album shows that some things never change … even in almost 30 years. This masterful live recording from April 8, 1976 at the Col. Ballroom in Davenport, Iowa showcases why bands today should be paying homage to Truth and Janey. They were laying down the heavy, slugging it out on the circuit, rolling off riff after riff, tasteful extended solo after solo… doing things their way, while thumbing their noses to the era of disco. Sonically, this is the best kind of band sponsored live release. It sounds like a bootleg from an audience member, but a bootleg done off the soundboard after slipping the soundman a twenty. It’s clear, but it’s raw. Instruments are all at discernable levels, and vocals are spot on, but there’s a rough quality here that allows the listener to be taken back 28 years and dropped dead center in front of Bill Janey lighting up his stratocaster. I mean, if you like ‘live’ recordings that make you feel as if you were at the show, this one’s for you.
Musically, they take all the influences of the day (Hendrix, Cream, Captain Beyond, etc.) and manage to create their own sound and unique songs. Bill Janey is a guitarist extraordinaire. Steve Bock’s bass playing would turn lesser players’ fingers into pretzel knots. Dennis Bunce keeps time like a Rolex without the pretentiousness. Furthermore, I catch Marc Bolan/T. Rex warble in Janey’s vocals which is a plus in my book. All in all, an excellent live recording that engages the listener as close to the live experience as possible. If you like the obscure and enjoy digging into the past, then you will enjoy this (extract from ChrisGoesRock)
This rip was taken from a CD pressing at 256kbs and includes Album Artwork

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Track Listing:

01. No Rest for the Wicked

02. Birth of the Heart

03. Universal Light

04. A Child

05. Building Walls

06. Tunnel of Tomorrow

07. The Light

08. One Down One to Go

09. White Bread

10. My Mind

11. As I Am

12. Ain’t No Tellin

13. Hard Road

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Band Members
Bill Janey – Guitars, Vocals
Steve Bock – Bass, Vocals
Denis Bunce – Drums, Vocals

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Truth and Janey Link (134Mb) REPOST

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Budgie - Live At The Marquee, London (1974) Bootleg

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

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Late 1967 in Cardiff, Burke Shelley (bass/lead vocals) met up with Ray Phillips (drums) and guitarist Tony Bourge to form Budgie establishing a substantial following within the South Wales college and club circuit. After a journalist commented Budgie's sound was more akin to a 'Six Ton' Budgie, their name became as heavyweight as their delivery. In 1970, Roger Bain was impressed by their raw energy and promise and through his publishing company 'Hummingbird Productions', Dave Howels from MCA signed the band. 

Budgie were now back as Budgie with a five album deal. (Budgie On Stage In Cardiff - 1971) Many claim The MCA albums were arguably their finest work, with openers Budgie and Squawk providing the backbone of heavy riffs and melodic interludes which was to characterise the bands' style. Shelley's high-pitched vocals were first aired on the charmingly titled single 'Crash Course In Brain Surgery'. Their sense of humour was often reflected in their song titles, 'Hot As A Docker's Armpit' proving Budgie didn't take life too seriously. 1973's Never Turn Your Back On A Friend with its Roger Dean designed gatefold sleeve boasted some classic moments, from the thoughtful 11 minute epic 'Parents' to the blistering 'Breadfan', to be covered some 20 years later by Metallica. For me, this album is a classic in Budgie's catalogue, and I was so taken with it that I actually purchased 2 copies (one to play and the other to keep for prosperity !)

(Shelley, Bourge and Boot On Stage - 1974)

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Ray Phillips departed in late '73. Pete Boot was brought in quickly to honour a Spanish touring schedule and record 'In For The Kill', Budgie's first LP to chart. Once Steve Williams on Drums stepped in, Budgie were once again in full flight. In 1975 they provided their fans with the astounding Bandolier, considered by many to be the pinnacle of their achievement. With additional Welsh guitarist .Myf Issacs touring with the band, their stage sound was also fuller.

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Retrospectively a bad decision, their management elected to take a deal offered by A&M rather than re-sign with MCA. The more melodic 'If I Were Britannia I'd Waive The Rules' followed, but it didn't chart. In 1977 Budgie re-located to Canada to crack the North American market and 'Impeckable' became their most mainstream effort. In 1978 after the 'Hide Your Pussy' tour and Tony Bourge quit. Back in Britain Budgie enlisted Rob Kendrick (ex-Trapeze) and flew out to Texas, a trip paid for by Don Smith who would later produce their final album. In 1979 John Thomas replaced Rob on Guitar. An ex-George Hatcher player, "JT" injected the band with a new lease of life. Signing to RCA, their momentum was accelerated by the birth of NWOBHM which lead many younger rock fans to discover their back catalogue. In the next 3 years, Budgie released an EP, 3 albums (Power Supply / Nightflight / Deliver Us From Evil), headlined the

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Reading Festival and took Poland by storm. Incredibly, 1983 saw the band without a record deal and without a live album to encapsulate their stage delivery. They soldiered on until our last gig in 1988 with Jim Simpson (ex-UFO), Williams having departed in late '86. Interest in Budgie continued as Iron Maiden, Soundgarden and Metallica covered songs and all their LPs became available on CD. In 1995, Shelley re-formed Budgie with Thomas and Robert 'Congo' Jones (ex-Love Sculpture) to headline the San Antonio music festival in front of 25,000 screaming Texans. Again, thanks to promoter Bill Lee, they returned to Texas in 1996 for another one-off show to celebrate 25 years since their first album. A lavish double CD anthology, An Ecstacy Of Fumbling came out in 1996. Via New Millennium Communications, a double live CD We Came, We Saw featuring the entire Reading Festival Performances from 1980 and 1982 was released. To be fair, this material should have come out as a live album at the time of their popularity in the early 80's. 1997 and 1998 was a period of inactivity touring wise, and many fans thought Burke had called it a day once more. However, Heavier Than Air was released, a double CD of rare live recordings spanning their career from 1972 to 1978. It gave fans the first official release of live guitar work by the hugely popular Tony Bourge. .

Thanks to promotion from Ray Cordell and Alan Howard and management from Paul Cox, Letchworth 1999 and featured their first UK live performance in 11 years and the return of Steve Williams on drums. This was a warm-up show for the annual rock festival held in Sweden, with Budgie headlining on 12th June 1999.

The 80's classic reformed line-up then played San Antonio for the 3rd time in April 2000. Tragedy then struck with John Thomas suffering a cerebral aneurysm in June 2000. For a period, no one knew whether he would ever play guitar again. For those fans who were aware of John's illness, his return to the stage at the Legends of Welsh Rock was an emotional one. Budgie headlined this gig in Wales in September 2001. JT, whilst not back to 100% top form, played a great show considering the treatment and recuperation he'd gone through. At the start of 2002, Burke Shelley was in the mood to get back on the road once more and to engage the band into some serious touring. Andy Hart, a Birmingham based guitarist well known to JT was enlisted to replace JT. In 2002, Burke, Steve and Andy played over 30 dates, two of these being in the States. The show at San Antonio on 2nd August was recorded and released as a live CD entitled Life In San Antonio in November 2002. Due to commitments outside of Budgie, Andy Hart left the band in Feb 2003 to be replaced by Simon Lees who toured the US, Sweden, Holland, Poland and the UK with Budgie and also played on, and co wrote, much of the bands first studio album in over twenty years entitled 'You're All Living In Cuckoo Land.' Simon suddenly left in July 2007 and was replaced by guitarist Craig Goldy (axeman for Ronnie James Dio). If all goes well, I will be sitting in the front row during one of their Australian 09' concerts in November.

. Bootleg recordings of Budgie are rare - in particular those with the Budgie MkII lineup (featuring Pete Boot on drums) This audience recording is excellent for the era in which it was made and the concert captures Budgie while it was still developing songs for it's next album, 'In For The Kill'. In particular, Hammer and Tongs is still very much in it's infancy - just a very basic 12 bar riff. 'Breadfan' and 'Parents' are the standout tracks for me, but hey - aren't they everyone's favorites! Judas Priest make a guest appearance at the end of the concert, as they were touring with Budgie at the time. This rip was taken from cassette at 320kbs and includes some artwork. Recorded at the Marquee, London 11-2-197. The three bonus tracks are in mp3 format also, but only 160kps.

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Track Listing

01. Introductions

02. Breadfan

03. Hammer and Tongs

04. You're The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk

05. Parents 06. Zoom Club

07. Running From My Soul

08. Rocking Man

09. The Stumble (Instrumental)

10. Running From My Soul (reprise, jam with Judas Priest)

[Bonus Tracks]

11. Rape of the locks (Rare Live 1973)

12. Rocking Man (Rare Live 1973)

13. Young is a world (Rare Live 1973)

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Band Members

Burke Shelley (Bass, Vocals)

Tony Bourge (Guitar, Vocals)

Pete Boot (Drums)

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Budgie Link (172Mb) New Link 25/12/2022

Lee Michaels - Space And First Takes (1972)

(United States 1967-75)

Michaels started playing music in Southern California, where he was in a band with future members of Moby Grape, the Turtles, and Canned Heat. He first joined Barbata in the Strangers, a group led by Joel Scott Hill, before moving to San Francisco. In 1967, he signed a contract with A&M Records, releasing his debut, Carnival Of Life, later that year. As a session musician, he'd play with Jimi Hendrix, amongst others.

Michaels' choice of the Hammond organ as his primary instrument was unusual for the time, as was his bare-bones stage and studio accompaniment: usually just a single drummer, most often a musician known as 'Frosty' (Bartholomew Eugene Smith-Frost) member of the band 'Sweathog' or with Joel Larson of 'The Grass Roots'. This unorthodox approach attracted a following in San Francisco, and some critical notice, but Michaels did not achieve real commercial success until the release of his fifth album (Fifth), which produced a surprise U.S. Top 10 hit (#6 in the fall of 1971), "Do You Know What I Mean," and a Top 40 follow-up, a cover version of the Motown standard, "Can I Get A Witness".

I'll bet it surprised Lee Michaels when 'Space and First Takes', released in 1972, never took off commercially. This album followed his successful "Fifth", and Lee put together a hard rock delight. The album only consists of four songs, neatly divided into a short and an extended piece on each side of the vinyl. The late 1960's spawned the era of the opus, with many pioneering bands offering long-winded exposes, such as Iron Butterfly's 'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida' and the Chambers Brothers 'Time Has Come Today'. This phenomenon so gripped the times that many bands took Top 40 hits and expanded them into lengthy show topping excursions, such as The Byrds take on 'Eight Miles High', and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's epic 'Carry On'. So in 1971 it's no surprise that an aspiring artist like Lee Michaels would take a cue from everything happening around him, and produce his own extended works.

The instrumental variations on the basic themes are intriguing and deserving of the vinyl they displaced. In fact, for avid fans of lengthy guitar jams, the performances offered by Lee Michaels and former Paul Revere and the Raiders lead guitarist Drake Levin are nothing short of exquisite. They are hard rocking and varied, making the approximate quarter hour devoted to each tune a rewarding investment. The two shorter numbers are also strong guitar based compositions, the best being side two's 'Hold On To Freedom', which would appear as the opener on his 1973 album 'Live'. The live version is actually superior, as it is delivered on Michael's cherished and familiar B3 Hammond organ with great weight and energy. The studio version offered here is good, but the song is much better tendered on the B3 than guitar. If there is any explanation for why this album essentially became Lee Michael's swan song, it would have to be the lyrics. While Lee could at times be a compelling lyricist, he could also come up with some of the most mundane or confusing of lyrics. He offers a pertinent example of each on this disc. 'First Names', the extended piece offered on side one, delivers trite thoughts such as "First names, running around my brain. First names, they all sound the same". Sometimes I think Lee actually wrote songs, including his hit, "Do You Know What I Mean?" as Ecclesiastical statements on the meaninglessness of it all. On the other side of the coin, and the other side of the vinyl, we have the title track, the last extended piece. I'm really not sure what Lee is talking about in 'Space and First Takes', though it does seem to have to do with the musician's studio experiences. As on most of Lee's albums, however, the lyrics are certainly secondary to the instrumental prowess and captivating guitar performances churning throughout.

Michaels ultimately lost much of his hearing from his famous habit of walking out at the beginning of perfomances and running his hand across the dials on the huge amplifiers that ran to his organ. In the 1970's he was getting paid $20,000 a performance, an enormous amount for the day. Michaels finally dropped out of the music scene and moved to Hawaii in 1976.

The Lee Michaels catalog contains four albums that I consider essential to any musical collection, 'Live', 'Barrel', 'Fifth', and this release - his best in my opinion. I've always been attracted to extended guitar jams, and these make the half-hour listening time fly by swiftly, effortlessly, and with great aural gratification. So do yourself a favour, have a listen to 'Space and First Takes' and enjoy this psychedelic extravaganza from the early 70's.
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This rip was taken from a vinyl pressing in FLAC format and includes full Album artwork and label scans.
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.Track Listing

01. Own Special Way (As Long As)

02. First Names

03. Hold Onto Freedom

04. Space And First Takes

Band Members:

Lee Michaels: Organ, Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals

Joel Christie: Bass

Keith Knudsen: Drums

Drake Levin: Guitar

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Lee Michaels FLACs Link  (250Mb)