W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Earth (Pre-Black Sabbath) - The Rebel & Other Rare Demo Tracks (1969)

 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.

"The Rebel" is without a doubt one of the most sought-after Black Sabbath songs ever recorded. Although a small fragment of this very un-Sabbath like song can be heard on 'The Black Sabbath Story Volume 1' video, most fans have never heard this still-unreleased 1969 demo, until now.

"Is it an Earth or Black Sabbath demo? One of the most frequently asked questions about "The Rebel" is whether the song could be considered as an Earth demo. Although the actual acetate credits the recording to Black Sabbath, the song was recorded during a transitional period. It has been alleged in several recent Black Sabbath biographies that the band decided upon changing their name from Earth to Black Sabbath while they were on route to The Star Club in Hamburg in early August 1969. To avoid the inevitable confusion arising from this sudden change, the band performed many prior bookings as Earth. In fact, their final gig as Earth was performed in Kilcaldy, Scotland just one day after recording "The Rebel".

Earth (Pre-Sabbath) 1968

"The recording session for "The Rebel" took place at Trident Studios in St. Anne’s Court in Soho, which was an 8-track facility at the time. Overseeing the session was Gus Dudgeon, who had also worked with the band Locomotive and would later produce albums for Elton John and David Bowie. The band was less than impressed with Gus, who kept using Locomotive as the benchmark for anything they did. It was than that engineer Rodger Bain was offered his first chance to produce a record…and of course the rest is history.

"The band had just returned from a German tour to begin rehearsing. Manager Jim Simpson suggested that they record "The Rebel", a song that was written by Norman Haines. Norman played keyboards in Jim's band Locomotive. Haines also took part in this session, playing organ and piano. Two months later, the band recorded yet another Haines composition called "When I Come Down", which was retitled "When I Came Down" for the Sabbath version. The band weren't pleased with either of these songs, but went along with the sessions so their manager would have something to shop to the record labels. Neither song represented the heavy rock direction they were already formulating or their Earth-y blues based roots."  

Early Sabbath - 1969

So, The Rebel itself provides yet another long missing puzzle piece to the early history of Black Sabbath.  “The Rebel” has remained shrouded in mystery simply because due to Sabbath’s reluctance to a share a moment in time that wasn’t up to their usual standards.  For them, it was simply an experiment, as well as an opportunity to record the band.  Yet the band wasn’t above playing ballads or experimenting on later records (“It’s Alright” or “Changes”, for instance), so “The Rebel” isn’t necessarily that much of a departure within that context.  It just didn’t impart the sort of direction or image the band desired for the launch of their recording career. [Review by Rob Dwyer, 25/11/2006]

Ozzy's voice is interesting on these tracks. His enunciation is pretty poor but there's still that certain plaintive, emotional Ozzy thing encoded into the vocals.

Tony & Geezer are much more subdued than usual on “The Rebel”, where they seem to be laying back and playing more of a supporting role.  On later recordings, their volume went UP and usually often dominated the proceedings – but not here.  Bill Ward isn’t quite as content to melt into the tapestry, adding some additional percussion during the bridge sections.  In addition, Norman Haines provides the piano introduction and additional playing throughout the song.  He isn’t very loud in the mix on the earlier takes, but does get turned up as the sessions progressed.  

When I Came Down" is actually a pretty good song - if they'd recorded it better it could have easily slotted in well on their first album.

Note: There are no COMPLETE versions of the Demo "When I came down" and the 2min version included here is actually a loop that has been spliced together by a fan at some stage. Listen closely. There are only :53 seconds of actual recorded "When I Came Down" material, the rest is just repetition with fade.

I also read somewhere that "Early one morning blues" is in fact a cover of Elmore James' song "Early One Morning" with slightly changed/butchered lyrics. The band playing it on this recording is Sabbath, but it isn't a demo. In fact, it was taped by Alex Wilson on their now-famous concert in Dumfries, Scotland, UK, on November 16th, 1969.

So folks, this month's W.O.C.K on Vinyl post certainly ticks the Obscure box, and what makes it even rarer is that the enclosed files are in lossless format.  So grab em' now, before the Osbournes try to take them down.

Track Listing

Earth (Pre - Black Sabbath)

01 The Rebel *

02 When I Came Down

03 Early One Morning

04 Blue Suede Shoes (Black Sabbath soundcheck

on 5/25/70 at Radio Bremen Studios)

Earth were:

Ozzy Osbourne - vocals

Tony Iommi - guitar

Geezer Butler - bass

Bill Ward - dfrums

Norman Haines – keyboards *

Earth (Pre-Sabbath) Link (70Mb)

REPOST: Can - Tago Mago (1971)

(German 1968–1979, 1986, 1991)
.
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968, with Malcolm Mooney on vocals and David Johnson, an American flautist and electronic composer, who quickly departed the scene. They recorded and privately distributed Monster Movie before Mooney was taken ill and replaced by Kenji 'Damo' Suzuki, who had been discovered by Bassist Holger Czukay busking outside a cafe in Munich. He introduced himself as a member of an experimental rock band and invited Suzuki to join them. That evening, Suzuki performed with the band at the Blow Up club and subsequently became a member of Can.

Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music. Can constructed their music largely through free improvisation and editing, which bassist Holger Czukay referred to as "instant compositions". Their sparse style, based on repeated rhythmic figures and simple harmonies, was employed as basis of long hypnotic improvisations, several of which can be found on this featured album, Tago Mago.

.Tago Mago was recorded in 1971 by Czukay in a castle near Cologne called Schloss Nörvenich. The band were allowed to stay there for a year without paying any rent by the owner, an art collector named Mr. Vohwinkel.
The album was inspired by sorcerer Aleister Crowley which is reflected through the dark sound of the album as well as being named after Isla de Tagomago, an island which features in the Crowley legend. Czukay reflects that the album was "an attempt in achieving a mystery musical world from light to darkness and return". The group has referred to the album as their "magic record" and I personally agree - it is my favourite avante-garde LP.

This was the first of Can's albums to be made from not only regularly recorded music, but combined "in-between-recordings", where Czukay secretly recorded the musicians jamming while waiting for various technical problems to be resolved. Czukay would edit these long, disorganized jams into structured songs. Recording was completed in three months.
Julian Cope wrote in Krautrocksampler that Tago Mago "sounds only like itself, like no-one before or after", and described the lyrics as delving "below into the Unconscious".

Tago Mago finds Can changing to a jazzier and more experimental sound than previous recordings, with longer instrumental interludes and less vocals; this shift was caused by the dramatic difference between Suzuki and the band's more dominant ex-singer Mooney. Can took sonic inspiration from sources as diverse as jazz musicians such as Miles Davis and from electronic avant-garde music.

Tago Mago almost becomes an exception to the "double-album-that-could've-been-a-single" rule. There's a little bit too much experimentation on the second disc to make it, but it's usually interesting and the first disc is an absolute masterpiece.

.

The album opens with what is basically a three song suite of "Paperhouse," "Mushroom," and "Oh Yeah." While the band is uniformly strong, pretty much the entire first LP is a showcase for drummer Jaki Leibezeit. By this point he takes his place as one of the very best drummers in rock. The CD reissue liner notes speak of "Paperhouse" taking off and levitating, and for once this is not hyperbole. Leibezeit along with Karoli's percolating rhythm and some interstellar stabs from Schmidt's keys make the song really take off, glide above the ground, pick up speed, and slam into "Mushroom." 

The groove here is so infectious that the Flaming Lips would pretty much rip off the song wholesale twenty years later on their track "Take Meta Mars." Suzuki mumbles right through these songs glorious, stumbling gleefully through languages and gibberish and ranting about peeing off a bridge in Japanese (at least that how my wife translates it). By "Oh, Yeah," Damo gets the chance to emote backwards and does a damn successful job of it. It doesn't hurt that Holger Czukay and Leibzeit accompany him at their metronomic best as Karoli and Schmmidt provide aural window dressing.

"Halleluwah" (the stand out track in my opinion) takes up the entire second side at almost 19 minutes but never gets boring despite its epic length. Leibezeit manages about the most complicated beat that I imagine you could play in 4/4 time and the song still manages to be the funkiest track that anyone from Germany has ever produced. Our majestic moment her occurs when the beat briefly drops out, with the band shortly plunging back in at full lurch. "Halleluwah" might be a tiny notch below "Mother Sky" from Soundtracks, but being second to that track is still nothing to sneeze at.

"Oh Yeah" and "Halleluhwah" contain the elements that have been referred to as Can's "trademark" sound: "Damo Suzuki's vocals, which shift from soft mumbles to aggressive outbursts without warning; Jaki Liebezeit's mantric drumming; Holger Czukay's production manipulations (e.g. the backwards vocals and opening sound effects on 'Oh Yeah')." Both "Oh Yeah" and "Halleluhwah" emphasize repetitive grooves.

The second LP features Can's more avant-garde efforts, with Roni Sarig, author of The Secret History of Rock calling it "as close as it ever got to avant-garde noise music." There are lots of interesting ideas present but the band's modern compositional tendencies come to the fore and as good as these guys are, they're not Gyorgy Legiti or Steve Reich. "Aumgn" creates some soundscapes that would make for some great music to go along with Captain Kirk and Spock on the exploration of a new styrofoam planet, with lots of oscillated tones and Suzuki's delayed and reverbed mutterings before Leibzeit comes back in on the last few minutes to give another great demonstration of his drumming prowess.

"Peking O" unfortunately drops Leibezeit's drumming, but Suzuki sounds creepier than hell and I love the moment where it sounds like he literally snaps and starts spewing forth high-speed gibberish. In fact the only thing here that resembles a song is the closing "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea," which is sort of like an after dinner mint.
Can's magnum opus may be a little impenetrable at times, but it's worth the effort. If you're new to the band, I'd spend some time with the more immediate first half before delving into the mysterious din of "Amugn" or "Peking O."

The rip was taken from a remastered CD release in FLAC format and includes both the UK/Australian artwork (as depicted above) and the more common orange cover artwork released in the states (see below).

Artwork for CD and Vinyl included along with label scans.

Select photos of the band are also included (sourced from the official Can website spoonrecords with thanks)

NEW IMPROVED RIP !

Track Listing

01 - Paperhouse
02 - Mushroom
03 - Oh Yeah
04 - Halleluhwah
05 - Aumgn
06 - Peking O
07 - Bring Me Coffee Or Tea

.
Band Members:
Damo Suzuki (vocals)
Holger Czukay (bass guitar, sound engineer, electronics)
Michael Karoli (guitar, vocals, violin)
Jaki Liebezeit (drums, percussion)
Irmin Schmidt (keyboards, vocals)

.
Can Link (462Mb)  New Link 26/03/2025
.

Darryl Cotton - Best Seat In The House (1980) + Bonus Single (1979)

(Australian 1965 - 2012)

Darryl Cotton, a product of Adelaide southern coastal suburb Christies Beach where he captained its senior colts football team in 1965, went on to a solo music and television career after the breakup of nationally popular band Zoot.

Cotton, as lead singer, and Beeb Birtles were among the Adelaide original members of Zoot that ended in 1971. Cotton and Birtles formed Darryl and Beeb as a soft rock duo that soon became Frieze, sponsored by a clothing company. Their first recording, with Sparmac, was a cover of the Mann-Weill’s “Feelings”. In 1972, Cotton wrote “Try yourself” under Darryl and Beeb Frieze, followed by the 1972 B. C album. By June, Frieze had disbanded and Cotton issued "Why do little kids have to die" from 1972 B. C. as his debut solo single.

Beeb Birtles and Darryl Cotton - Frieze

Cotton went to the United Kingdom while Birtles joined Mississippi that evolved into Little River Band in 1975. In 1973. Cotton joined United States-based group Friends, with Michael Lloyd and Australian singer-songwriter Steve Kipner. They issued a single, “Gonna have a good time" (a cover of The Easybeats’ "Good times") backed by "Would you laugh", written by Cotton, Lloyd and Kipner. Friends put out a self-titled album before Cotton and Lloyd left to form vocal trio Cotton, Lloyds and Christian, with Chris Christian.

In 1975, the trio issued a self-titled album and the single, "I go to pieces", that reached the Billboard Hot 100. Their second album, Number Two (1976) was followed by the "Crying in the rain" single (1977). Cotton based himself in Los Angeles as a singer and songwriter and performed with Olivia Newton John, The Osmonds, Shaun Cassidy and Cliff Richard. His songwriting credits include work for Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, Englebert Humperdinck and The New Seekers.

In 1978, Cotton returned to Australia, signed with Oz Records and released a single, "Don't let it get to you", also on his solo album 'Best Seat in the House (1980) on EMI Records and produced by Christian.

In 1979, Cotton hosted a TV music series, Summer Rock, on Adelaide's Channel 9, and released solo singles followed, "I don't want to lose you" and "Glamour girl". Cotton also acted on the Australian soap The young doctors for a season and hosted another series of Summer Rock in 1980. Also in 1980, his most successful single, "Same old girl" (written with Christian) reached the top 10 and he won the award for best solo male performance.

TV Weeks Darryl Cotton Album Competition

Cotton formed a backing band, The Charts (later The Divers) that toured pubs and clubs. In 1980-81, Cotton had three more singles but none charted. Cotton appeared in the lead of the 1983 Australian stage production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and released his second solo album, 'It's Rock 'n' Good Fun' in 1984 (see right).

From 1985-89, Cotton was host, with Marie Van Maaren, on Network Ten’s children’s The Early Bird Show, working alonside Marty The Monster.  In 1989, Cotton was awarded the Advance Australia Award for support of many charities and groups. He also sang "Surfin" from the TV’s Pugwall's Summer and released a children's album, Just for Kids (1994).

In 1996, he formed Burns Cotton & Morris with Ronnie Burns and Russell Morris for a self-titled album. When Burns retired in 2000, it became Cotton Keays and Morris (with Jim Keays, ex-The Masters Apprentices), who also released an album.

From 1987, Cotton performed with the Australian Youth Choir and was the patron of the National Institute of Youth Performing Arts Australia. His solo performances were backed by the Darryl Cotton Band that performed at corporate functions. In 2011, Zoot reunited for a short performance cruise out from Miami with Cotton joining Birtles, Rick Brewer and Rick Springfield.

Cotton was still performing with Cotton Keays & Morris in 2012 when he died after being diagnosed with liver cancer. [Bio by Bronwyn Carnegie] 

The Album

The following notes were taken from an interview held with Darryl Cotton by 'Purple Haze's' radio host Mark Naumann, during which Darryl's classic album ‘Best Seat In The House’ was discussed at length. The album is played in its entirety during the interview and includes the hits ‘Same Old Girl’, ‘Don’t Let It Get To You’ and ‘Here Comes Another Heartache. Originally broad cast back in December 2011 – it is available to listen to on Southern FM 88.3 Radio's website 

Album Cover: Darryl's initial idea for the album cover was a picture of a nun (in suspenders) sitting prevocativily on a lounge couch in front of a T.V. After deliberation with his record company the idea was considered too riskee at the time, so he changed it an audience (wearing 3D glasses) in an old movie theatre, located in Sydney.

The infamous 3D Glasses

Album songs: Many of the songs on the album were written by Cotton, or in colaboration with Chris Christian. LRB members David Briggs and Graeham Goble also co-wrote some tracks. Most songs were auto-biographical, usually centered on his love relationships and heartbreaks. In Darryl's own words, most tracks on the album were just another 'heartbreak' song....the album had a typical 70's sound with heavy influences from Pablo Cruise, Hall and Oates and the Beach Boys. Most songs were written while Cotton was in L.A but were recorded in Australia.

Charting position: The album debuted at #98 on the Kent Music Report National Top 100 Albums chart (KMR#306, week commencing (w/c) Mon May 5, 1980) peaking at #56 w/c May 26, 1980 (KMR#309) and dropping out w/c July 14, 1980 (KMR#316) after 10 weeks on the charts. 

Album Promo Shot

Track By Track:

1. Darlin' - A dancey, boppy 70's Synth track with a distict Pablo Cruise / Hall & Oated feel. Chris Christian produced and co-wrote the track with Cotton. In the interview, Darryl admits that he was very much a pop singer at the time.

2. No More Lonely Nights - One of the many 'broken heart' songs on the album. Co-written with David Briggs and featuring other LRB members playing instruments, the song has a distinct Eagles feel about it.

3. What You Gonna Do - Written by Cotton, the song is about essentially about being "Humped and then Dumped". Darryl talks openly about the nightlife whilst in L.A, partying to the early hours of the morning with the ladies, only to have it end in disappointment. The music was influenced by Dave Edmonds and The Beatles.

4. Dance - Written by Cotton, the song was first started in L.A and then finished in Australia. Lyrically, the song was put into the 3rd person, and is about dancing until your heart is broken. Yet another Pablo Cruise - Hall & Oates influenced track with a soul, moody feeling. It was also the B-Side to Cotton's 3rd single "Here Comes Another Heartache".

5. Same Old Girl - Released as a single, this song reached the top 10 Australian Charts and had What You Gonna Do as the B-Side. The single debuted on the Kent Music Report National Top 100 Singles chart at #85 w/c March 31, 1980 (KMR#301) peaking at #6 w/c Jun 2, 1980 (KMR#310) and dropping out w/c Aug 11, 1980 (KMR#320) after 20 weeks on the chart. Written by Cotton & Christian, Darryl states that he always thought the song sounded a bit whimpy at the time, and during his Cotton, Keays, Morris period he sung it with a much tougher sound.

 
The single won Cotton 'Best Male Single' at the 1980 Australian Record Awards, which coincidently was on the 10th Anniversary of his Best Band Single award with Zoot's "Eleanor Rigby"( see above). The film clip was taken at the State Theatre in Sydney, along with the front cover image.

6. I Can't Let Go - Covered by Linda Ronstat, this song was always a favourite of Darryls and always wanted to do his own cover of this Hollies hit.
Russell Hitchcock (from Air Supply) features on backup vocals.

7. Don't Let It Get To You - the first single from the album, this song was written by Cotton and Jamie Dunn (alias Agro) and was released in 1978. Yet another Heartbreak song, the song featured multiple members of LRB backing and Russell Hitchcock on harmonies with Cotton.

In the interview, Darryl explains that Air Supply were just taking off in America at the time and actually asked him if he wanted to join them. But Darryl respectfully declined and in hind sight felt that he made the right decision, as he would never had time to marry and have a family if he had accepted the offer.

8. Somebody Must Have Known - this track was written by Cotton and Goble. Essentially it is about a girlfriend cheating on him and he was the last to find out. But as Darryl says: 'Somebody Must Have Known'. He originally had the idea for the song and a basic melody in mind but just couldn't finish it, so he went and saw his mate, Graeham Goble who helped write the middle eight for him and assisted with its' arrangement.

9. Love Too Strong - Another cover track on the album. Darryl comments that Americans thought he sounded a bit like Cliff Richard and Donny Osmond on this track. An EMI associate of Cotton, John Kerr, suggested to Darryl that he should record this song, because he thought the track had a Roger Voudouris sound about it, and would therefore suit him. Roger Voudouris was big on the charts at the time with his hit "Get Used To It".

10. Here Comes Another Heartache - Co-written with Chris Christian, this track features the late Harvey James (Sherbet) on guitar and Warren Morgan (Chain) on piano. Darryl happily admits that this song was about another love in his life, but this time she is still around. [On 16 July 1977 Darryl Cotton married Cheryl Forehead; the couple had two children].

This track was the 3rd single taken from the album, released in June 1980. The single debuted on the Kent Music Report National Top 100 Singles chart at #98 w/c July 28, 1980 (KMR#318) peaking at #89 w/c Aug 4, 1980 (KMR#319) and dropping out w/c Sep 1, 1980 (KMR#323) after 5 weeks on the chart.

11. Hollywood - the final track on the album, and the shortest; it was written by Cotton and Christian. The song is about Daryl when he came home from the U.S, '"with his tail between his legs" (his own words). But he laughs it off these days saying that coming back to Australia was the best thing that could have happened to him.

This post consists of FLACs ripped from vinyl and includes full album artwork along with label scans (taken from my copy).  The bonus single was provided by Sunshine (thanks mate) and was released in 1979 on OZ Records. Interesting to note that the A-Side "I Don't Wanna Lose You" is a Hall/Oates track.  

Thanks to Shorrock Birtles Goble Website for the newspaper articles and many of the photos included in this post.

Finally, a big shout out to Mark Naumann for his wonderful interview and podcast with Darryl Cotton, recorded back in 2011, only 12 months before Darryl's passing.  So, so sad.

This post is therefore a tribute to one of Australia's best musicians and all round talent. RIP Darryl Cotton

Tracklist:

01 Darlin'

02 (No More) Lonely Nights

03 Whatcha' Gonna Do

04 Dance

05 Same Old Girl

06 I Can't Let Go

07 Don't Let It Get To You

08 Somebody Must Have Known

09 Love Too Strong

10 Here Comes Another Heartache

11 Hollywood

12 I Don't Wanna Lose You (Bonus A-Side Single, 1979)

13 Let The Music Take You Away [Bonus B-Side Single, 1979]

Band Members:

Vocals - Darryl Cotton

Bass - Phil Scorgi, Georgle McArdle, John Young

Guitars - Harvey-James, David Briggs, Beeb Birtles, Rick Formosa, Tommy Emmanuel, Chris Christian

Drums & Percusion - Derek Pellici, Terry Fogg

Piano - Warren Morgan, Dave Alladice, Peter Sullivan, Chris Christian

Synthesiser - Andrew Wilson

Clarinet - Chris Christian

Saxophone - Bill Harrower, Tony Buchanan

Congas - Sunil de Silva

Backing Vocals - Russell Hitchcock, Chris Christian, Adian Campbell, Beeb Birtles, Graeham Goble

Darryl Cotton Link (294Mb)

REPOST: Jimi Hendrix - Last American Concert (30-7-1970) Ex Bootleg

(U.S 1967-1970)
.
(Thursday July 30th 1970. Rainbow Bridge Vibratory Color Sound Experiment, Haleakala Crate, Island Of Maui, Hawaii. Jimi Hendrix was supported by Air)
.
Jimi Hendrix (Cry Of Love) take the stage in the afternoon for the first of their performances. Jimi: "Glad to see you again, I hope everything's alright. Dig, give us about a minute, give us about a minute to set up and, er, yeah we'll forget about tomorrow and yesterday, get into... our own little world for a while, catch up to the wind." Someone offers Jimi something. He replies: "Er, I've had mine actually. Yeah I'd like to get into a thing called "Spanish Castle Magic" and, er, check out everything and see what's happening."

Afterwards: "Yeah, okay... we'd like to do another thing, go into another thing, if... the bass is working. Testing, testing, testing, testing, one, two, three." The crew has to come on stage to adjust the equipment. When they have finished, Jimi continues with "Here Comes Your Lover Man" and "The Land Of The New Rising Sun" and a completely new song, "In From The Storm". Then: "Yeah, thank you very much, thank you. I'd like to tune up one more time, okay? I'd like to do this tune that everybody here knows about, it's a thing called "Message To Love" - everybody knows about that. We'd like to just bathe in it for a second, for always actually." Jimi continues with "Message To Love".
Afterwards he announces: "I'd like to go into one of those other things, do a thing... dedicated to that little girl over there called Hartley, a thing called "Foxy Lady" — look out! Plug your ears, plug your ears, it's gonna be loud!" When the song is over, Jimi says: "Thank you very much, I'd like to do a slow blues right now.

It's a thing about a cat, you know, he gotta leave town because his old lady don't want him around, because, you know, nobody [wants] him in town and all the downs. You know, the cat's all low and everything, but then he's gonna get it together, 'cause he's going down the train station with his little baby and his little pack on his back. Come back and buy the town and maybe the girl does it to him one more time, might even marry her and give a piece to her. It's called "Get My Heart Back Together'" — I don't know whether it's about myself, I don't know." After this blues track, the set continues with "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and "Fire".
"Yeah we'd like to do another one, I think, er, a few of us might remember this one, some of us will never forget it, including me..." Jimi ends the first show with "Purple Haze", then tells the audience: "Thank you, thank you, peace with you man,thank you. We'd like to come back later on and we're bound to get it on again if we can, okay, [unless] anything stops us."

Cry Of Love return for their second performance. Jimi opens the show with another new song, "Dolly Dagger". He slows the song down at the ends and proceeds to play a very melodic version of "Villanova Junction", before continuing the set with "Ezy Ryder". He announces: "I'd like to do a little blues to the sun called "Red House". After this number, Cry of Love continue with "Freedom", "Beginnings" and "Straight Ahead" ending this last song with the introduction to "Land Of The New Rising Sun". After thanking the crowd, Jimi continues with "Land Of The New Rising Sun" and then plays "Keep On Grooving". Mitch plays an extended drum solo and Jimi returns to play "Stone Free". He ends the concert with a few bars of "Hey Joe" before revisiting the solo of' "Stone Free". Jimi says "Thank you very much, good night."
.
Note from Chuck Wein: "Even though the album and video are called 'Rainbow Bridge', it was known as Rainbow Ridge because that's the name of the ridge on which the concert was held." [Transcript from Tony Brown's "Jimi Hendrix Concert Files" 1999, Omnibus Press]
.
Ok - this is my last post for the 2010, and in fact the decade. To celebrate this I have decided to post my most treasured album. I purchased this bootleg in 1978 from Reading Records in Carlton, Melbourne for the pricely sum of $30 (a small fortune for a poor Uni student at the time).

It still has the shrink wrap on it and I reckon I've only played it half a dozen times in the past 32 years. I instead, transfered it to cassette tape and wore out several copies! It really is an awesome stereo recording (a soundboard for sure) and at the time was the best Hendrix 'bootleg' around. I have yet to see this exact bootleg available on any other website, so I am confident that this is the first time it has been posted. There are other bootlegs around with the same name (Last American Concert Vol 1 & 2) but are on different labels and have different track listings and covers. This bootleg was also released under a completely different name and cover design - 'Unknown Wellknown' (see cover above) but was only a mono pressing.

Also note that this Maui concert was not in fact Hendrix's last American Concert as he played at the Honolulu International Centre, Hawaii the following night on August 1st - which was the last time he played on American soil.
This rip has been taken from my 'near mint' condition vinyl copy in glorious FLAC format and I have included full album artwork and a selection of photos taken at the concert by Tony Brown himself.
..
      NEW IMPROVED RIP !

Track Listing
01 - Interview: James Marshall Hendrix
02 - Hey Babe / In From The Storm
03 - Hear My Train A'Comin'
04 - Voodoo Child
05 - Maui Sunset
06 - Foxy Lady
07 - Red House
08 - Easy Rider
09 - Purple Haze . 

Released by Jupiter records, Jupiter S-444, California, US
.
Cry Of Love Members:
Jimi Hendrix (Guitar, Vocals)
Billy Cox (Bass)
Mitch Mitchell (Drums)
.
Last American Concert (221Mb)
New Link 18/03/2025

Deep Purple - BBC 1969-1970 (2021) Bootleg

(U.K 1968 - 1976, 1984 - Present)

After Deep Purple split in 1976, interest in preparing complex reissue projects waned. When the group did reform in 1984 the interest from their old label was on back-catalogue collections and 'Best Of's'. In the absence of anything official, the bootleggers attempted to fill the BBC rarities gap and a number of titles appeared which all contained vintage BBC material. A detailed Deep Purple EMI back-catalogue programme then began which saw some BBC recordings emerge as bonus tracks. Even so, there were sessions which remained unreleased officially, and others assumed to be 'lost'.

The BBC's Transcription Service began back in the thirties to press UK programmes (light and classical music, comedy, drama etc) onto records for the BBC Empire Service, offered to subscribing radio stations abroad. In The sixities, the BBC began adding pop sessions to the mix, firstly on a programme called Pick Of The Pops, then via a new show called Top Of The Pops, both distributed abroad to subscribing stations. The producers of these pop programmes put together selected tracks from recent radio sessions, with DJs like Brian Matthew adding new links and instructions.

Radio 1 presenter Brian Matthew

Participating stations paid the BBC a modest annual fee to air them. At the time the BBC didn't really have a proper active policy for pop music. Many of the session tapes were reused so offten it was only via the transcription department that session tracks survived. The compillers rarely put entire sessions on the discs, but just made a selection - which is why tracks from sessions survive, but not others. And to describe the Transcription programme mix as eclectic is almost to redifine the word: Volume 262 for exampole features Deep Purple, Roger Whittaker, The New Seekers, Lulu, Jethro Tull, Clodagh Rodgers and The Plastic Ono Band together on one 40 minute album!

Researcher Ken Garner discovered that engineers from the Transcription service actually recorded their own live feed alongside that being captured for UK radio. It was these tapes used to make the Top Of The Pops programme, which accounts for the accasional different version or edit of some tracks. The albums themselves were issued on a strict license basius and after a year, the radio stations were under ordrers to return them to London where some were kept but many more were destroyed.

Aside from the discs, fans sometimes managed to record sessions 'off-air', sticking a microphone in front of a radio speaker, As recordings came to light it was possible for collector's to assemble a list of Deep Purple's sessions. Unlike the tapes, the BBC were meticulous in keeping paperwork, so when Garner wrote his definitive 'In Session Tonight' book in 1993, this more or less completed (confirmed) the research.

Although radio in the UK was still resolutely mono, stations abroad were moving over to stereo. Transcriptiuoin engineers (based at Kensington House in Shepherd's Bush since the early sixties) used the session recordings to develop their skills in this area, so while the sessions went out in mono in Britain, some which made it to transcription discs were in stereo. The Transcription albums did also occassionally 'cheat' in an attempt to cover breaking chart singles which the BBC didn't have a session version of. There is one Transcriptioin disc with Strange Kind Of Woman introduced by Brian Matthew as 'live', but which is just the regular single.

Deep Purple BBC Sessions 1968-1970

Deep Purple's original producer Derek Lawrence recollections of the band's early trips to the BBC are understandably hazy. But Derek did recall walking around to the appropriate office at the BBC with a large bunch of red roses and talking the woman into giving them a hearing. This was before they'd even released their debut record and was something of a sharp move, but then Deep Purple did enjoy a number of breaks in those early days. They'd made contact with a businessman, Tony Edwards, wanting to invest in a band and through his financial support found time to audition, rehearse and write.

Derek Lawrence

Through another of Derek's contacts came an approach from a flash new record label in New York seeking a new British cross-over rock/psych/pop band to market in the aftermath of the British invasion. Early monitor mixes impressed and over the next twelve months Deep Purple rode their luck across America with headlining shows. TV appearance and three months of intence gigging at the end of 1968 to support two Billboard top thirty albums and high charting singles. A UK record deal with EMI was also soon in place, again in part thanks to Derek's contacts as an independent producer for the label, but in the UK sales were modest.

Happily though the baand's first BBC session got a positive response from the station. It was BBC policy to assess intial 'pop' sessions via a production panel, whose comments would then decide whether or not the radio station would let them do further work. The panel reported that they found Deep Purple to be a 'Polished commercial group' and cleared the way for further bookings, giving the group an 'Enthusiastic, Unanimous pass'.

At this time Radio One was only just over a year old. Due to Musicians Union restrictions on the number of records which could be played, a number of the DJs on the new station featured In Session recordings by pop bands instead. Deep Purple did six different sessions inside a year for DJs such as Chris Grant, Tony Brandon, Dave Symonds and of course John Peel - who was quite a fan of the early incarnation of the group. And while some of the tracks are a little poppy, many showed just why insiders were so enthusiastic about the potential of the group, and their playing clearly gets more exciting and confident through the sessions. Deep Purple's first line-up did their final BBC session in July 1969 unaware that the rest of the group had already decided to bring in two new members. And with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover in place, Deep Purple were back at the BBC studios just six weeks later for the Mk 2 line-up's Radio 1 debut. The band continued to grace the various studios of the BBC for another year.

Chris Grant's Tasty Pop Sundae, July 1969

Deep Purple Mk1
Session 6 [30.06.1969]
Studio 2, Aeolian Hall
Show Producer: Paul Williams
Aired: 06.07.1969
1. The Painter (Ver 2)
2. I'm So Glad (Ver 1)
3. Hush (Ver 4)

Although Deep Purple had signed replacements for Simper and Evans, the pair had yet to be given their marching orders at the time of this recording. The band looked back to their first album for two of the tracks, performing Hush for the fourth time in session. Here we get the rather camp spoken introduction from Chris Grant ("mmm....boys....!") but there is another surviving albeit poorer quality off-air version fronted by Brian Matthew. Another take of The Painter reveals a much stronger attack to the performance too. Just four days after this session, Deep Purple Mk 1 played their final live concert and the management told Simper and Evans that they were out of the group.
The Aeolian Hall studio was a building that the BBC took on during the war. It was used for all sorts of recordings by the BBC, including rock and pop sessions, before they gave it up in 1975.

Mike Harding's Sounds Of Seventies, April 1970

Deep Purple Mk2
Session 11 [21.04.1970]
Studio 5, Maida Vale
Show Producers: Malcolm Brown,  Mike France, Mike Harding

Aired: 28.04.1970
1. Hard Lovin' Man (Ver 1)
2. Bloodsucker (Ver 1)
Living Wreck (Ver 2)

Mike Harding was the only BBC DJ who produced his own sessions according to Ken Garner. Again saved by the Transcription Serrvice people (Vol 286) with new introductions by Brian Matthew. A suitably heavy set plugging the 'In Rock' album, the band were already gaining a big live following in Europe. Alternate edits of a couple of these tracks do exist, as both transcription and off-air recordings (tweaked for the different uses) have survived. It is in some ways a shame that we lose a little of the music to the DJ voice over too, but this does add a bit of context to the tracks. And besides, when the DJ in question is Brian Matthew, who is to gripe? The original presenter of the session, Mike Harding, also went on to front the BBC in Concert programme.

Sounds Of The Seventies (which had only kicked off at the start of April) was part of a new progressive music strand the BBC introduced on Radio One in March.

BBC Transcription Service, September 1970

Deep Purple Mk2
Session 12 [23.09.1970]
Studio T1, Shepherds Bush
Producer: Unknown
1. Black Night (Ver 1)
2. Grabsplatter (Ver 1)
3. Into The Fire (Ver 1)
4. Child In Time (Ver 2)

This final session was recorded especially for the BBC Transcription Service (Vol 309) for foreign radio stations. It marked the final visit of Deep Purple to the BBC (with the exception of a second In Concert recording in 1972). The session included a short interview with Jon Lord.

The "Glabsplatter" featured here is an instrumental, strangely for a booked session - you might have expected them to record another album track. The title goes way back to Ian Gillan's ramblings in his Episode Six days. Deep Purple later recorded the track in the studio with vocals as "I'm Alone", released on a B-Side. The BBC take of Grabsplatter was first issued on their New Live & Rare EP in October 1980.

This post consists of FLACs freshly ripped from my recently acquired Vinyl (purchased from 'Radiation Records' in Rome while on hols in Europe) and includes limited artwork. The Pink Vinyl is a nice feature with this release, and the colouration is perfect (rare for these type of bootlegs). 

Although these tracks have already been officially released on CD (see cover below), the quality of the recordings on this release is excellent and there isn't any surface noise. My first DP album was 'In Rock' and the track selection on this release is featured heavily. Pity that "Speed King" is missing however.

Interesting note made by Bootlegger: These recordings are in public domain according to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 6-9 "Copyright in broadcasts made for, or first published by BBC, lasts fo 50 years from the end of the year of first publication"

This is another prize addition to my Deep Purple Vinyl collection and I was more than happy to part with the €20.00 to acquire it. Needless to say it was safely tucked away inside the clothing compartment in my suitcase when flying home.    

Track Listing:

Chris Grant's Tasty Pop Sundae, July 1969 *

A1 The Painter

A2 I'm So Glad

A3 Hush

Mike Harding's Sounds Of Seventies, April 1970 **

A4 Hard Lovin' Man

A5 Bloodsucker

A6 Living Wreck

Transcription Service, September 1970 **

B1 Black Night

B2 Grabsplatter

B3 Into The Fire

B4 Child In Time

Deep Purple Mk1 *

Bass – Nick Simper
Drums – Ian Paice
Guitar – Ritchie Blackmore
Keyboards – Jon Lord
Vocals – Rod Evans

Deep Purple Mk2 **

Bass – Roger Glover
Drums – Ian Paice
Guitar – Ritchie Blackmore
Keyboards – Jon Lord
Vocals – Ian Gillan

Deep Purple BBC Link (234Mb)
 

REPOST: Sherbet - Howzat (1976) + Bonus Live Track

(Australian 1969-84)
.
Between 1971 and 1978, Sherbet released 15 albums and 30 singles. Among these were Australian pop classics such as "You've Got The Gun", "Slipstream", "Howzat, "Life", and "Summer Love". Their earlier singles and albums were produced by Festival house producer Richard Batchens, but in 1975, with Batchens increasingly concentrating on Richard Clapton, Sherbet's production was taken on by Richard Lush, the former Abbey Rd alumnus and engineer on many of the The Beatles' later recordings, including the Sgt Pepper's LP. Braithwaite also branched out with a solo career, releasing several singles under his own name -- "Old Sid", "Love Has No Pride", "Afterglow" (a cover of the Small Faces classic) and his solo No.1 hit version of the Cilla Black hit "You're My World".

One of the most celebrated images of the band was created in at the height of their fame in 1974, when the group posed nude -- although discreetly draped in detergent suds -- for a series of photos by renowned photographer Lewis Morley for a feature on the group in the magazine Pol, published in October- November 1974. 

From 1974, lead singer Braithwaite also maintained an active solo career alongside Sherbet, with Sherbet members often playing on Braithwaite's solo singles.
.

Beginning in 1975, Sherbet's records were produced by Richard Lush who had begun his career in the UK as a trainee engineer at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where he helped to engineer a number of Beatles' recordings including Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Porter also began to take an occasional lead vocal on Sherbet singles. His vocals can be heard on "Hollywood Dreaming" and "A Matter of Time".

The high point for Sherbet came in 1976, with the release of their hit single "Howzat". Ironically, this breakthrough came hot on the heels of press predictions that Sherbet's demise was imminent. Just prior to recording the new single and album, founder member Clive Shakespeare left the band.  Shakespeare was finding the growing pressure less and less easy to bear and by 1976 he had decided it was time to quit: Shakespeare was eventually replaced Harvey James (ex Ariel).

The inclusion of Harvey into the band saw their music move towards a heavier feel than anything previously released, and he adds some great guitar licks to nearly every track on the album. Around this same time, bassist Tony Mitchell stepped up to join Porter as Sherbet's new main songwriting team. The Porter/Mitchell duo was responsible for penning "Howzat" (1976), the band's only international hit, and a song which was inspired by the sport of cricket. The song's success lead to an extensive international tour in 1976-77. "Howzat" went to #1 in Australia, and was a Top 10 hit through most of Europe, South Africa, several Asian nations and parts of the Middle East -- but it failed to reach the American Top 40, stopping at #61 in the Billboard Hot 100. As well, while the Howzat album also made #1 in Australia, it failed to chart in the U.S. altogether.
.

For those of you who enjoy a little trivia, you might be interested to know that Sherbet and their hit single "Howzat" were acknowledged by Australia Post in 1998.
Sherbet, AC/DC and the Easybeats were among 12 Australian bands to feature on a set of stamps issued by the Australian post office in 1998. The set of 12 stamps were issued on the 26th May and were withdrawn on the 30th October 1998. The stamps were issued to celebrate the contribution that Australian has made to the Rock and Pop world from the 50's to mid 70's.
.
The rip for this posting includes FLACs taken from CD and contains both CD and LP artwork, along with label scans. As a bonus, I have included a live version of "Howzat' which was taken from their "Caught In The Act - Live" album from 1977. 

          IMPROVED RIP !
.
Track Listing

01 - Howzat
02 - Lady Of The Night
03 - Gimme Love
04 - If I Had My Way
05 - Hollywood Dreaming
06 - Dancer
07 - Blueswalkin'
08 - Motor Of Love
09 - The Swap (You Can Get The Lot)
10 - Can't Find True Love
11 - I'll Be Coming Home
12 - [Bonus Track] Howzat (Live)

Band Members:
Daryl Braithwaite (Lead Vocals, Tambourine)
Harvey James (Guitar, Vocals)
Tony Mitchell (Bass, Vocals)
Alan Sandow (Drums)
Garth Porter (Keyboards, Vocals)
.
Sherbet Link (302Mb) New Link 11/03/2025
.