W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Shower Scene from Psycho - Exploding Hits MLP (1986)

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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.
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The music scene in Australia in the late 70's and early 80's was to 'make a large generalization' divided into 'city sounds'. Perth 'Power Pop - The Stems', Brisbane - ' Folk/Pop - Go-Betweens', Sydney 'Rock - too many to mention' and Melbourne 'Art Sound'.
Shower Scene from Psycho fills this niche like a hand in a glove. If you have never heard of these guys, it's hard to describe their music! Some facts they played in the early 80's around Melbourne and hung around with The Boy's Next Door...... discovered playing in a gay bar in St Kilda.
Known for their deconstruction of pop hits such as The Seekers "Georgy Girl" , The Masters Apprentices "Turn Up Your Radio" and Hendrix's "Purple Haze". Shower Scene combined elements of satire, electronic experimentation and rock guitar. The band actually alienated as many listeners as it attracted them.
This Mini LP shows them doing abstract covers of some well known songs. Really, you just have to listen to it...... I guarantee you have never heard anything like this. This WOCK posting certainly fits the Weird and Crazy categories this month!
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Band members:
Vocals, Keyboards - Simon Grounds;
Guitar and Feeedback - Jack Bloom.
Bass Casio and Drum machine - Tim Costigan.
Hmm.... you say, but isn't that a female voice I can hear in all of these songs? That was a very common impression that people had when they first heard their stuff. That’s something that worked really well, that almost inhuman thing they used to be able to get with the singing. It was hard to pin down where it’s coming from. They used to do some quite radical vocal effects as well. Their first B-side, ‘Why Me?’, was pushing the voice to that chipmunk level and singing in a kind of imaginary language. If you thought Split Enz had a crazy stage act, then you need to see these guy's in action.
For more info on this crazy band, see this website
This Rip was taken from the 12" MLP at 192kps and also includes a mp4 video clip of Shower Scene from Psycho doing their take on "Georgy Girl".
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Shower Scene from Psycho (58Mb) REPOST
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Captain Beyond - Swedish Rock Festival (1999) VG SB

(U.S 1971-79, 1998-2000)
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Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since June 6, 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, having featured southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to death metal legends like Obituary. The first version of the festival was held in Olofström, with nine bands performing. The next five years, the festival was held in Karlshamn, but this was changed in 1998. Since then the festival has been held in Norje, outside Sölvesborg. When the festival first began in 1992, it featured nine relatively unknown bands and it only lasted one day. The next year the festival was expanded to two days and more bands were added to the line-up. From 1993 to 2002, the festival would last two days; over those years it would also begin to feature bigger name acts. In 2000 the festival was expanded to three days but it returned to two days the following year. From 2003 to 2006, the festival lasted three days and had by then featured some of the biggest acts in metal and rock. From 2007 the festival has been expanded to four days and will feature approximately 120 different bands/artists.

Captain Beyond played their first gig in 20 years at this festival. Their astonishing debut was released in 1972, with tracks like "Dancing Madly Backwards" and "Mesmerization Eclipse". Then with Rod Evans on vocals (Deep Purple's first singer). "Sufficiently Breathless" came 1973 and the third and last album, "Dawn Explosion" came 1977 and two years later the band split up. By the end of 1998 guitarist Rhino and drummer Caldwell decided to put Captain Beyond together again and hired Jimi Interval on vocals, Dan Frye on keyboards and Jeff Artabasy on bass. A new album was scheduled to be released by fall of 1999 (but didn't appear until 2000 when they released a 4 track EP) accompanied with a tour that is supposed to reach Sweden in September or October. The highlight was "Mesmerization Eclipse" that was heard for the second time of the day, after the cover by another band 'Lotus' who also played at the same concert.
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Sweden Rock Festival 1999 - Line Up
Budgie, Canned Heat, Captain Beyond, Dave Hole, David Lee Roth, Dare, Deep Purple, Dio, Entombed, Freak Kitchen, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, LA Doors, Lions Share, Lok, Lotus + special guest Brian Robertson, Manowar, Mercyful Fate feat. King Diamond, Motörhead, MSG, Scorpions, The Quill, U.D.O.
(For more details see this website)
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The rip provided was taken from Flacs and converted to 320kps mp3's.
It includes full album artwork along with photo's of the concert (mostly taken by Patrick Wikström). The recording is very good although it does lack some bass at times.
It is also unique in that it contains the full set list from this Swedish concert, unlike other bootlegs which are missing the last 4 tracks.
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Gig Details
Time: 5.34 p.m. - 6.46 p.m. (78 min)
Tracklist:
01. Voyages of Past Travellers - Distant Sun
02. Dancing Madly Backwards - Armworth - Myopic void
03. Breath of fire (part I) - Thousand days of yesterdays (intro)
04. Frozen Over
05. Sufficiently Breathless
06. Everything's A Circle
07. Raging River Of Fear
08. Fantasy (with some technical problems)
09. Starglow Energy - Thousand Days Of Yesterday
10. Mesmerization Eclipse
Encore: 6.48 p.m. - 6.54 p.m.
11. Oblivion

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Members:
Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt - Lead Guitars
Bobby Caldwell - Drums
Jimi Interval - Lead Vocals
Jeff Artabasy - Bass Guitar
Dan Frye - Keyboards
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Captain Beyond Live (171Mb) New Link 06/03/2016
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Embryo - We Keep On (1973) + 2 Bonus Tracks

(German 1969 - Present)
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Embryo are a brilliant German band that began in the late 60’s, creatively flourished throughout the 70’s and are still making great music today. While contemporaries the Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk pioneered electronic rock and Can were content exploring the avant garde fringe elements, Embryo favored a jazzy form of space rock with very strong elements of world music.
Embryo is centered around multi-instrumentalist Christian Burchard. Embryo was founded in 1969, after Burchard had played in several jazz combos and allegedly had spent a short time in Amon Düül II.
A multitude of musicians have played together with Burchard in Embryo and there are probably not two Embryo albums that have the same line-up. Nevertheless, several musicians stayed with Burchard for quite a long time. Roman Bunka and Edgar Hoffman were two excellent multi-instrumentalists who both stayed with the band for most of the 70s and the 80s and they have showed up every now and then in the 90s. The last decade, Jens Pollheide (bass, flute) and percussionist Lothar Stahl have been regular members of Embryo. From time to time members from other German bands showed up to play on one or a few albums: Chris Karrer (Amon Düül), Dieter Miekautsch (Missus Beastly), Robert Detrée and Peter Michael Hamel (Between), Sigi Schwab (Et Cetera/Wofgang Dauner) and jazz musician Charlie Mariano are a few examples. In addition, Embryo has played constantly with musicians from outside Europe, especially musicians from Asia and Africa.. Most of them are completely unknown to me, but most of them appear to be outstanding musicians on their ethnic instruments. The continuous changes in the band line up and the wide range of musical styles probably typify the musical restlessness of Burchard.
Although the band started as a Krautrock outfit, it was clear within a few albums that Burchard had a genuine interest in combining jazz (rock) and a large variety of ethnic music styles. Throughout the 70s, the jazz and ethnic influences were often embedded in a jazz rock/fusion format, while in the mid and late 80s the band often focused on purely ethnic music, especially from Africa. During the 90s, Embryo developed more or less into an "ethnic jazz" band, trying to combine and absorb all kinds of ethnic influences, but rarely restricting themselves to a strict compositional format and, as such, always allowing ample room for spontaneous musical interaction. Surprisingly, Embryo still exits after 30 years and the band still play many concerts and festivals, especially throughout Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa.
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In 1973, Embryo released an excellent album entitled 'We Keep On' which is a mixture of rock, ethnic music and jazz. 'We Keep On' is often regarded as Embryo’s masterpiece, an overwhelming LP mining West African rhythms that reach deep into unexplored regions of your mind. Burchard’s vocals are strange and unconventional in an almost proto new-wave way. The first song, "Abdul Malek", sounds like nothing I have ever heard before and should really appeal to psych fans (take note of the acoustic raga riffs) even though this is a 1973 release. "Don’t Come Tomorrow" is another good trancey song with understated mellotron, piano, vibes, and interesting bamboo flute courtesy of Charlie Mariano.
The LP is divided evenly between instrumentals and vocal tracks (there are 6 songs in total and 2 extra on the recent reissue by Disconforme). The 12 minute "No Place to Go" is one of Embryo's heaviest tracks: it is an odd concoction of heavy rock guitar riffing and more jazzy excursions with excellent solos on saxophone by Mariano. The guitar playing here recalls Dzyan and Mahavishnu Orchestra. An excellent 70s jazz rock piece. On "Hackbrett Dance" four musical cultures come together: the nagasuram (an Indian oboe) is supported by African percussion. The Bavarian hackbrett (a dulcimer like instrument) and Latin American stylings on the marimba are featured beside the usual rock instruments. Flute and Saz tap into something new and totally original.
The nine-minute "Ehna, Ehna, A Bu Lele" combines African ethnic music with typical 70s jazz rock. (Note that the CD release includes two great bonus tracks in the same style as the album, "Ticket to India" and "Flute, Saz and Marimba") and have been included in the post.
In 1975, Miles Davis had this to say about Embryo, “That German hippy group where Mal Waldron used to play; they are doing interesting things. You know, man? They are good musicians, just playing good shit!” This was the ultimate compliment coming from a jazz master and a good enough reason to check out this great, lost album.
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In the same year as this albums release, Embryo played at the 'The Thirteenth National Jazz , Blues and Rock Festival in the UK (Reading, August 1973) and were the opening band at the three day festival. As reported by one concert goer Nick Black (see Reading Festival website):
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'Weather was fine, the whole place fenced, regulated, homogenised, and I remember John Peel playing with breathless wonder the just released stones single "Angie". I went with a friend who was paranoid about being caught smoking substances in public. When I lit up, he scuttled like a crab about twenty feet forward. Oh, another thing. in a bizarre way I think the first band on (Embryo), a now forgotten German group were by far and away the best there! They announced in heavy Germanic tones "Ve haf just come bak from living in Morocco" and played what I guess would sound very much like world music nowadays. They were met by silence and me, noisily clapping'.
.The rip was taken from CD at 192kps and includes full album artwork. If you like listening to Santana, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Nova or even Australia's very own MacKenzie Theory, then you are really going to enjoy this brilliant jazz rock masterpiece.
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Track Listing
01 - Abdul Malek
02 - Don`t Come Tomorrow
03 - Ethna, Ethna, Abu Lele
04 - Hackbrett-Dance
05 - No Place To Go
06 - Flute and Saz
[Bonus Tracks]
07 - Ticket To India
08 - Flute, Saz and Marimba
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Band Members:
Christian Burchard - drums, percussion, vocals, marimba, vibes, Hackbrett,mellotrone
Roman Bunka - guitar, saz, vocals, percussion, electric bass on "Don't Come Tomorrow"
Dieter Miekautsch - fender rhodes piano, piano, bass-piano on Hohner Clavinet
Charlie Mariano - soprano and alto sax, flute, nagasuram, bamboo flute
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.Embryo link (89Mb) New Link 8/10/2014
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Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come - Time Captives Live in Manchester (1973-04-24) Ex SB

(UK 1970-73)
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Lock up your daughters, the weirdos are back.
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"I'd like you to meet Ace Bentley, our new drummer," said Arthur Brown. Ace sat immobile between Arthur's knees. Slick and black, he says nothing, but he's a neat little fellow: he'll slip from a tango to a slow rock beat in a split second, keeps perfect time throughout and never has volume problems.
A Rhythm Ace drumming machine may not be the most soulful of instruments, but in the context of Kingdom Come's latest mutation it seems to fit perfectly well. "We got rid of our last drummer through mutual admiration," says Arthur.
Since I last saw them, at the Rainbow with Alice Cooper, they've been through two stage acts. Changeable people: "The last one was much more balanced in terms of the situations it had, with a lot more humour in it. This one we're doing now is a lot more simple. Actually, not having a drummer has pushed the music forward a long way."
Though it isn't exactly a matter of compensating for the lack of a live drummer, Andy Dalby explains: "The thing at the moment is that we've all got something to do - we've all got a job to do when we're playing, whereas before there was always someone who didn't actually need to be doing anything, but who did it anyway."

Arthur: "It's just a completely different music. It's not like having an electronic drummer, it's just like having a different percussion instrument and in order to use that concept the music obviously changes. For one thing, with Ace you can go in a tenth of a second from a rock beat through a tango to something else, adding claves and everything. There's so much more you can get into than with a drummer."

Andy: "You can't really compare them. It's like having a metronome instead of a drummer - we're not trying to make it sound like a drummer. We can get a better sound whenever we're on stage too - it's much better because everything's much quieter and you can actually hear what's going on. You don't have that acoustic problem of having to play as loud as the drums to get over before you start playing the music. It's a bit like being in a studio - you can control it."

Last time I say them, their stage act was pretty flamboyant too - complete with crucifixion and strange creatures like The Brain. "There's a lot more concentration now," says Arthur. "A lot less movement in certain parts and we're letting the lighting and the music speak for itself a lot more, rather than centering the stage act around characters doing things on stage. Rather than having a big personality thing, it's moved more into just the quality of the music and the lights, letting that do to the audience what in the old style we might have tried to do ourselves. [Steve Peacock, Sounds (17-6-1972)]

Live Stage Show Reviews:I have had a copy of 'Journey' ever since it was first released back in 1973. I also had the pleasure of seeing Arthur Browns Kingdom Come in Manchester in 1973.
Arthur's voice was at it's most powerful , with some nice guitar riffs provided by Andy Dalby and the Keyboards catered for by Victor Perraino with Phil Shutt on Bass. I have fond memories of seeing Arthur being placed inside a giant hypodermic syringe on the stage at Manchester Free Trade Hall......ah!! Happy days.......If my memory serves me right the single "Spirit Of Joy" also charted in the UK and I recall hearing it played on the Tony Blackburn Show [S Frost Nullgrad of Manchester, England]

Such diverse elements as Mr. Brain (a small and lumpy grey matter severely dented by the education system), a boat, a human telephone, the Pope, traffic lights, a giant test tube, backdrops and the gauze screen, all contribute to Kingdom Come's weird and wonderful stage show. The show at the Rainbow on Friday seemed to be structured as a series of surrealistic sensations rather than any kind of unified story or message, and with the group's gold facial make-up it's a bit like a cross between Dr. Who and Dr. No. As always, with any group Arthur Brown's been involved in, a performance is not so much a concert as a constant barrage of music, ideas and visuals.

At the moment, the music seems to be losing out a little. After some inspired moments early on, there was an awful lot of numbers that just sounded like another heavy metal cliché, while Arthur did amazing things with his voice and legs in front. He remains one of the most perfect pieces of human mixed media in existence. His voice, with its huge range, is as powerful as ever and his strange style of movements make sure that Kingdom Come don't need a Stacia for their silver machine. But I found their music rather too machine-like, and it was a relief when a real drummer was included in addition to the drum machine for the encore. "Triangles", "Soothing music to send you off to sleep." Arthur called it, but it didn't stay that way for long. If Kingdom Come were a little less predictable musically and a little more predictable visually, I think there would have been more satisfaction and less puzzlement on my part. The audience seemed happy enough though, especially after Arthur had slid down the front of the stage to boogie enthusiastically with a Kingdom Comer in the aisle [see godofhellfire ]

I believe Arthur was the first musician to use a drum machine live on stage, well ahead of his time. OK, the technology was limited, but it adds a unique character to the music. I can't imagine Time Captives any other way! You may be surprised to know that Arthur is still touring (saw him not long ago). He usually plays in a trio. The other two musicians play acoustic guitar, violin, dulcimer, bass pedals and theramin. For rhythms, Arthur uses his foot and a 7-foot staff! During Time Captives, there is an approximation of the Bentley Rhythm Ace, but I have recently been trying to help him track down a vintage Rhythm Ace, as he wants the authentic sound where required. You should go and see him. Although he does a few old favourites, he is still capable of surprises, theatre and humour. I guarantee his voice will blow you away [by Frank Gilbert]

I saw Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come perform the whole Journey album at the Elizabethan Barn in Tunbridge Wells in 1973. It was a most amazing gig and such a brilliant atmosphere, it did seem, however that Arthur Brown was totally off his head (mind you, so were some of us in the audience) but he played the Bentley drum machine on a stand, and his performance totally freaked us out. I had been into electronic music before this but Journey was something else. I still play the album fairly regularly and it still brings back memories of that night! [by Howard Keegan]

This rip of their 1973 Manchester concert, was taken from tape at 320kps and includes full album artwork (thanks to the original uploader LiborioFriki) This is an excellent live recording of Arthur Brown's Kindom Come, captured at the height of their popularity in the 70's.

Track Listing
CD1
01. Time Captives
02. Conception
03. We Want Your Brain
04. Come Alive
05. City Melody
06. Captain (Telephone)
07. Gypsy
CD2
01. City Melody - reprise
02. Superficial Roadblocks
03. Lost Time
04. Corpora Super Celestial
05. Spirit Of Joy
06. Irish Potatoes
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Band Members
Arthur Brown: Bentley drum machine, lead vocals
Andy Dalby: Guitar, vocals
Victor Peraino: Mellotron, ARP 2600 and VCS-3 synthesizers, theramin, piano, percussion, vocals Phil Shutt: Bass, percussion, vocals

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Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come Live (179Mb) New Link 16/12/2023

Shane Howard - River (1990) + Bonus Track

(Australian 1975-Present)
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Shane Howard is a well respected and influential Australian songwriter, both as a solo artist and from his early years as part of the band Goanna. His songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Ireland’s Mary Black and Australia’s John Farnham and Troy Cassar-Daley. He has devoted much of his working life to working with Aboriginal musicians, as well as touring Ireland and forging Irish-Australian connections. He has worked as music producer for numerous artists, including the Pigram Brothers, Street Warriors, Mary Black and Archie Roach, as well as the Jimmy Chi musical Corrugation Road. A recipient of an Australia Council Fellowship, Shane is also patron of the Spirit of Eureka Committee and a founding member of the Tarerer Gunditj Project Association, (a group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people committed to cultural and environmental restoration in southwest Victoria). [extract from blackarmband]
In 1976, while enrolled at the Geelong Teachers College, Shane started recruiting people for a new folk-rock band. Originally known as the 'Ectoplasmic Manifestation', the group later shortened the name to 'The Goanna Band', their songlists filled with Bob Dylan and Little Feat covers. The band performed up and down the Great Ocean Road, playing pubs and hotels and any place with a stage and an audience. In May 1980, on a doctor's advice, Shane took a month's hiatus from 'The Goanna Band' and travelled to Ayers Rock (Uluru).
In his own words:
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"I had come from this beautiful inspiring aboriginal tradition, and the contrast between that and this harsh reality of conflict with western world 300 kilometers away, it marked me for all time. I saw an incredible injustice that needed to be dealt with. And also, I realized that this country that I grew up in, that I thought was my country, it wasn't. I had to reassess my whole relationship with the land and the landscape, and understand that we had come from somewhere else, and we had disempowered a whole race of people when we arrived" —Shane Howard
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On the way back to Melbourne and a reunion with the group (who shortened their name to simply 'Goanna'), Howard began working on a song called "Stand Yr Ground." But a new set of lyrics were pouring out of his pen - lyrics that didn't match the folk-rock music that had been Goanna's stock in trade. He put "Stand Yr Ground" aside, and began developing a different, rougher melody for the new lyrics. By the time Howard arrived back in Melbourne, he had a new song for the group to record, based upon his experiences at Uluru, "Solid Rock." The Goanna Band later became the opening act on James Taylor's Australian tour, which eventually led to a record deal with WEA (Warner Bros.' Australian affiliate) in February, 1982.
In 1982 Shane's massive anthem, "Solid Rock" from the album 'Spirit of Place', recorded with his band, Goanna, was one of the first mainstream pop songs to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights in Australia.

In 1987, Shane returned to the pop world, this time as a solo artist. His first solo album, Back to the Track, a self-produced record with his own Big Heart Band, was a classic collection of Australian music, both white and aboriginal.
BMG Records signed Shane as a solo recording artist and released his next album, River, in 1990, which in my opinion is his best solo release.
In 1993, Shane made his first tour to Ireland, and Irish star Mary Black's recording of Shane's song, "Flesh & Blood" was a Top 5 hit there.
Shane Howard has spent many years working, writing, performing, touring with, and producing Aboriginal musicians throughout Australia and in 2000 he was awarded a Fellowship by the Music Fund of the Australia Council in acknowledgement of his contribution to Australian musical life. [extract from wikipedia]

For more information about Shane Howard, see his website where you can read about his latest release 'Goanna Dreaming'.

.The 'River' rip was taken from CD (no longer available) at 320kps and includes full album artwork and lyric sheet. As a bonus, I have included the single "Let The Franklin Flow" which was recorded by Shane under the alias ' Gordon Franklin and the Wilderness Ensemble' in 1983 (ripped from my 45). My favourite tracks on this album are "Walk On Fire", "If The Well Runs Dry" and "Love Is A River", but I can highly recommend the whole album for those of you who enjoyed the music of Goanna, from the 70's.
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Track Listing
01 - Walk On Fire
02 - Heart Of The Country
03 - If The Well Runs Dry
04 - Love Is a River
05 - Here And Now
06 - No Giving Up
07 - Gabrielle
08 - Without You
09 - Land Of Broken Hearts
10 - Your Love
11 - Let The Franklin Flow (Bonus track)
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Band Members:
Shane Howard (Guitar, Keyboards and Lead Vocals)
Jo Imbrol (Bass)
Mark Punch (Guitar, Vocals)
Mark Moffatt (Guitar)
Kirk Lange (Slide Guitar)
Marcia Howard (Keyboards, Vocals)
Ricky Fataar (Drums
Tim Reeves (Percussion)
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Shane Howard Link (99Mb) New Link 05/05/2020
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Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - Second Wind (1972)

(UK 1963 - Present)
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Brian Auger was raised in London, where he took up the keyboards as a child and began to hear jazz by way of the American Armed Forces Network and an older brother's record collection. By his teens, he was playing piano in clubs, and by 1962 he had formed the Brian Auger Trio with bass player Rick Laird and drummer Phil Knorra.
In 1964, he won first place in the categories of "New Star" and "Jazz Piano" in a reader's poll in the Melody Maker music paper, but the same year he abandoned jazz for a more R&B-oriented approach and expanded his group to include John McLaughlin (guitar) and Glen Hughes (baritone saxophone) as the Brian Auger Trinity.

This group split up at the end of 1964, and Auger moved over to Hammond B-3 organ, teaming with bass player Rick Brown and drummer Mickey Waller. After a few singles, he recorded his first LP on a session organized to spotlight blues singer Sonny Boy Williamson that featured his group, saxophonists Joe Harriott and Alan Skidmore, and guitarist Jimmy Page; it was Don't Send Me No Flowers, released in 1968.
By mid-1965, Auger's band had grown to include guitarist Vic Briggs and vocalists Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, and Julie Driscoll, and was renamed Steampacket. More a loosely organized musical revue than a group, Steampacket lasted a year before Stewart and Baldry left and the band split. Auger retained Driscoll and brought in bass player Dave Ambrose and drummer Clive Thacker to form a unit that was billed as Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity.

.Their first album 'Open', was released in 1967 on Marmalade Records (owned by Auger's manager, Giorgio Gomelsky), but they didn't attract attention on record until the release of their single, "This Wheel's on Fire," (music and lyrics by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko) in the spring of 1968, which preceded the appearance of the song on the Band's Music from Big Pink album. The disc hit the top five in the U.K., after which Open belatedly reached the British charts.
Auger and the Trinity recorded the instrumental album Definitely What! (1968) without Driscoll, then brought her back for the double-LP, Streetnoise (1968), which reached the U.S. charts on Atco Records shortly after a singles compilation, Jools & Brian, gave them their American debut on Capitol in 1969. Driscoll quit during a U.S. tour, but the Trinity stayed together long enough to record Befour (1970), which charted in the U.S. on RCA Records, before disbanding in July 1970.

Auger put together a new band to play less commercial jazz-rock and facetiously called it the 'Oblivion Express', since he didn't think it would last; instead, it became his perennial band name. The initial unit was a quartet filled out by guitarist Jim Mullen, bass player Barry Dean, and drummer Robbie McIntosh. Their initial LP, Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, was released in 1971, followed later the same year by A Better Land, but their first U.S. chart LP was 'Second Wind' in June 1972, the album that marked the debut of singer Alex Ligertwood with the band.
Personnel changes occurred frequently, but the Oblivion Express continued to figure in the U.S. charts consistently over the next several years with Closer to It! (August 1973), Straight Ahead (March 1974), Live Oblivion, Vol. 1 (December 1974), Reinforcements (October 1975), and Live Oblivion, Vol. 2 (March 1976).
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Meanwhile, Auger had moved to the U.S. in 1975, eventually settling in the San Francisco Bay area. In the face of declining sales, he switched to Warner Bros. Records for Happiness Heartaches, which charted in February 1977. Encore, released in April 1978, was a live reunion with Julie Tippetts (née Driscoll) that marked the end of Auger's association with major record labels, after which he dissolved the Oblivion Express and recorded less often.
In 1990, he teamed up with former Animals singer Eric Burdon, and the two toured together during the next four years, releasing Access All Areas together in 1993. In 1995, Auger put together a new Oblivion Express. As of 2000, the lineup consisted of his daughter, Savannah, on vocals, Chris Clermont on guitar, Dan Lutz on bass, and his son Karma on drums. This group issued the album Voices of Other Times on Miramar Records one week before Auger's 61st
birthday. For more info and the latest news on Brian Auger see his website [biography thanks to William Ruhlmann © 2010 Rovi Corporation].
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The first time I heard 'Second Wind' was in the early 70's and I was simply blown away. My brother had taped a copy from one of his mates and he would play it in his car while we would hit the local surf beaches. My brother would surf and I'd sit in the car and listen to this amazing music!
Nearly 40 years later, I'm still listening to the same album and getting blown away the same old way. 'Second Wind" is a combination of Jazz, Rock and pop music mixed in different songs. You've got to hear it to believe it. This was Brian Auger's third release with his new band called 'Oblivion Express'.
Auger on Organ, Jim Mullen on Guitar, and Barry Dean on Bass; accompanied on vocal by Alex Ligertwood for this single release who delivered a spectacular sound, adding an excellent touch to all 6 tracks of this album. If you are into Rock, Jazz and fusion this album will be a rare find and a real treat.
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The rip included here was taken from a reissued CD at 320kps and includes full album artwork with photos of the Oblivion Express in 1972-3
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Track Listing
01 - Truth
02 - Don't Look Away
03 - Somebody Helps Us
04 - Freedom Jazz Dance
05 - Just You Just Me
06 - Second Wind
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Band Members:
Brain Auger (Organ, Electric Piano, Piano)
Jim Mullen (Guitar)
Barry Dean (Bass)
Robbie McIntosh (Drums, Percussion)
Alex Ligertwood (Vocals, Tambourine)
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Brian Auger Link (74Mb) New Link 06/05/2020
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ACDC - Back In Melbourne (Melbourne Myer Music Bowl 1981)

(Australian 1973-Present)
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I was fortunate enough to see ACDC in concert, at a time when they were just starting to gain International recognition for the release of their 'Back In Black' album. Up until this stage, ACDC had been regarded by Australians as a great local band but nothing really more - they made regular appearances on Countdown and appeared in local pop magazines such as RAM and Juke.
However, the band's resurrection (after the death of Bon Scott) with Brian Johnson fronting the band on lead vocals was something that no one really expected to take off - and take off it did !

ACDC never sounded better and I can remember being totally blown away by their incredible stage presence and the massive wall of sound which they produced when I saw them play at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, on Sat 28th Feb, 1981.
Although I was situated on the grass at the very back of the Music Bowl, it's slopping elevation and great acoustics mean't that I was able to see and hear them play as if I was in one of the front row seats.
One stage prop that everyone was waiting to see (and hear) was the huge bell that they used at the start of "Hells Bells" and I still get chills down the back of my neck when I hear it on my stereo system - except that the stage version was 10 times better.
I'm afraid a lot of the memories I have about this concert have been lost over the past 29 years, but I distinctly remember feeling somewhat uncomfortable amongst the local sharpies and bikers that made up a large portion of the audience.
I didn't witness any of the fights or riots (that were later reported in the newspapers) but have to admit that the sound levels were loud for an outdoor concert. The newspapers reported that there were complaints made by staff at the Prince Henry Hospital in St.Kilda Road (located some 3 kms away) that the noise had caused great distress for their patients. This was the last time that the Myer Music Bowl was used as a venue for rock concerts for almost 10 years.

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I.have managed to source (thanks to acdc.bootlegs.com) a number of newspaper articles published in the Age Newspaper at the time - which cover the controversy relating to their two concerts (held on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th February, 1981)
I have included these in this posting - some very interesting reading !
One in particular is a response made by Brian Johnson to the bad media reports which were being circulated by the newspapers at the time. To read this article, select the image below to enlarge (taken from The Age March 5th 1981)
 
There are a considerable number of bootlegs available for this concert : aka 'Back At Home', 'Live In Melbourne', 'Myer Music Bowl - Melbourne' to name but a few (audience and soundboard recordings)
However, the rip I am providing here is considered to be one of the best (based on the rating given by acdc.bootlegs.com)
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The original flacs have been converted to 256kps mp3's and full album artwork is included (along with alternative covers from other releases)
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Track Listing
01 - Hells Bells
02 - Shot Down in Flames
03 - Sin City
04 - Back in Black
05 - Bad Boy Boogie
06 - The Jack
07 - What Do You Do for Money Honey
08 - Highway to Hell
09 - High Voltage
10 - Whole Lotta Rosie
11 - Rocker
2 - You Shook Me All Night Long
13 - Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution
14 - TNT
15 - Let There Be Rock
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Band Members:
Brian Johnson – lead vocals
Angus Young – lead guitar
Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals
Phil Rudd – drums, percussion
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AC/DC Link (142Mb) Link Fixed 29/10/2015
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