Blue Cheer - New! Improved! (1969 Acid-Psych)

New!Improved! Blue Cheer is the third album by Blue Cheer, first released in March 1969 on Philips Records. The group's sound was hard to categorise, but was definitely blues-based, psychedelic, and loud. The group underwent several personnel changes after the 1968 release of Outsideinside, and then yet more changes during and after 1969's New! Improved! Blue Cheer (different guitarists on side 1 and 2). After Leigh Stephens was replaced by Randy Holden, formerly of Los Angeles garage rock band The Other Half, in 1968, Blue Cheer's style changed to a more commercial hard rock sound ‡ la Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly. For the fourth album Blue Cheer, Holden, who had left during the third album, was subsequently replaced by Bruce Stephens. Stephens later quit and was replaced by Gary Lee Yoder, who helped complete the album.

Randy Holden is a guitarist best known for his involvement with the West Coast proto-metal group Blue Cheer on their third album, New! Improved! Blue Cheer (1969).

Randy Holden was born on the 2nd of July 1945 in Pennsylvania and grew up on the move. He played in a number of bands including The Iridescents (blues rock), The Fender IV (surf rock) and The Sons of Adam (surf rock/psychedelic rock). While playing in The Sons of Adam Holden opened for the Rolling Stones at their first show at the Long Beach Sports Arena. Holden was heavily influenced by Keith Richard's guitar and amp set up which helped change his own attitude towards equipment and tone.[2] The Sons of Adam (specifically Holden) began experimenting with distortion and feedback which pushed into psycedelic rock. Holden left the band frustrated with the lack of original material.

Holden joined up with The Other Half, a psychedelic garage band from Los Angeles. They recorded one album together before Holden parted ways. He then replaced Leigh Stevens in Blue Cheer and appeared on one side of the album New! Improved! Blue Cheer (1969). Holden toured with Blue Cheer for an entire year before once again parting ways.

Frustrated with lack of control over the bands, Randy formed his own band with drummer Chris Lockheed. At first Lockheed played both drums and keyboard simultaneously, but later decided to stick with just drums. During this time Holden obtained a sponsorship deal with Sunn amplifiers. Through this he received his legendary sixteen 200 Watt amplifiers. His new band was dubbed Population II which was a reference to the fact there were only two members in the band as well as an astronomical term (see metallicity). The band recorded a single album, Population II (1969). Trouble with the release of the album led to Holden going bankrupt, losing all his equipment and quitting music. Population II was eventually released in bootleg forms and official released years later.

After 23 years he began playing music again, reportedly coerced into playing again by a loyal fan. He recorded Guitar God in 1994


01. "When It All Gets Old" (Kellogg) - 3:01
02. "West Coast Child of Sunshine" (Stephens) - 2:41
03. "I Want My Baby Back" (Stephens) - 3:19
04. "Aces 'n' Eights" (Kellogg, Peterson, Stephens) 2:47
05. "As Long as I Live" (Peterson, Stephens) - 2:20
06. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" (Dylan) - 3:16
07. "Peace of Mind" (Holden) - 7:22
08. "Fruit & Icebergs" (Holden) - 6:05
09. "Honey Butter Lover" (Holden) - 1:16

Post by ChrisGoesRock

Bethnal - Crash Landing (British New Wave 1978)

Bethnal was a British rock band formed in London in 1972 and featured George Csapo (vocals, keyboards, violin), Pete Dwoling (drums), Nick Michaels (guitar), and Everton Williams (bass). A straight-ahead rock ensemble (albeit with the unusual addition of violin), Bethnal was mistakenly redefined as a punk group in the mid-'70s. It was an error corrected by listening to their two 1978 albums, the second of which, Crash Landing, was made under the direction of the Who's Pete Townshend. Bethnal failed to find an audience and broke up in 1980.

AMG Review by William Ruhlmann

UFO - Lights Out (Superb British Hard-Rock 1977)

Michael Schenker and Phil Mogg really started to find their groove as a songwriting team with their second album together (and fourth UFO release overall), Force It. In fact, the last remaining folk and space rock tendencies that had stolen much of Phenomenon's thunder are summarily abandoned here, as the group launches itself wholeheartedly toward the hard rock direction that would make them stars. The first step is taken by Schenker, of course, who confidently establishes the aggressive, biting guitar tone that would define all the releases of the band's glory years. "Let It Roll" and "Shoot Shoot" kick off the album in rousing fashion, and while holding them under a microscope might reveal them as rather disposable slabs of hard rock, they would remain concert favorites for the band nonetheless. The punchy single "Love Lost Love" sounds tailor-made for the American market and acoustic ballad "High Flyer" is quite good, despite taking a dip in energy. But things only really start to gell on the album's second half. Schenker and Mogg wheel out their most mature composition yet with the piano-led "Out in the Street," whose softer sections truly highlight Mogg's highly disciplined, understated vocal style and make the guitar player's more restrained soloing all the more memorable. Schenker is soon back in charge, however, on the stuttering riffs and blistering fretboard work of "Mother Mary" and the downright vicious stop-start strut of "This Kids" -- both UFO anthems. One of the band's best albums, Force It will not disappoint lovers of '70s English hard rock.

AMG Review by Eduardo Rivadavia

Plastic Cloud - Plastic Cloud (Great Folk-Psych 1968)

Quite simply, one of the greatest psychedelic albums ever made. This 1968 Canadian release is one hip album, full of catchy melodies and hippie harmonies, as well as some of the most superb (and trippiest) fuzz guitar ever recorded. There is no point singling out a specific track, they are all excellent. Remastered from the tapes; the accompanying twenty-page booklet has all the lyrics, thanks to Don Brewer, the man who wrote them, as well as rare photos and a replica of an original press release that must be seen to be believed.

From Bay Ridges, Ontario, this band made one of the best and most sought-after albums of the psychedelic era. All of the tracks were written by Don Brewer and it's one of the most consistently good Canadian albums of this era. There's lots of fuzz guitar on tracks like Shadows Of Your Mind, Face Behind The Sun and Civilization Machine, whilst Dainty General Rides and Art's A Happy Man are nice soft rock numbers. The pick of the album? The ten minute Eastern-influenced You Don't Care, which is full of lots of lovely fuzz. The album was produced by Jack Boswell and Bill Bessey.

01. Epistle To Paradise - 3.36
02. Shadows Of Your Mind - 4.18
03. Art¥s A Happy Man - 3.12
04. You Don't Care - 10.36
05. Bridge Under The Sky - 4.36
06. Face Behind The Sun - 4.50
07. Dainty General Rides - 4.14
08. Civilization Machine - 8.51

Post by ChrisGoesRock

Oriental Sunshine - Dedicated to the Bird We Love (Very Good Folk-Psych 1970)

Yet another mysterious and long-lost psych-folk album, Dedicated to the Bird We Love, originally released in Norway at the dawn of the '70s and then re-released by Sunbeam in 2006, is a more worthy candidate than most for its status, if not truly a unique artifact. It's a pleasant enough listen which mixes and matches its styles in an easygoing fashion. Thanks in part to the strong quality of Nina Johansen's voice, an obvious comparison point might be the Shocking Blue, but Oriental Sunshine's brief is less fierce, hook-driven hits than a more contemplative ramble. That said, this isn't a spare guitar-and-nothing-else effort either -- opener "Across Your Life" has a surprisingly thick, busy sound deep in the mix, with drums, sitar, keyboards, and more turning into a roiling bed of music at once agitated and strangely serene. This depth becomes a hallmark of the album, as Johansen and Rune Walle's singing steps to the fore with the key melodies while the music unobtrusively fills out the sound. Sometimes the mix does get calmer in overall comparison, as on songs like "Visions," but it provides a gentle variety to the album as a result. Flute and sitar appear often enough to be core to the sound rather than simply window dressing, though admittedly neither are used in strikingly unique fashion -- as with the album as a whole, the result is an enjoyable niche rather than a lost masterpiece flat-out, and once or twice, as with the introduction to "Unless," the effect feels more clichéd than anything else. (The lyrics themselves veer there at points too, but never to the point of distraction.)

AMG Review by Ned Raggett

The Cramps - Off the Bone (1983 Psychobilly Compilation)

This British compilation includes the entirety of the Cramps' first release, the Gravest Hits EP, along with selections from Songs the Lord Taught Us, Psychedelic Jungle, Smell of Female, and a live version of "You Got Good Taste" (shortened here to "Good Taste"). It covers the years 1979-1983, a formative period in the band's long career. Ten of the tracks can also be found on the domestic compilation Bad Music for Bad People, which was released the following year. Although the bulk of the material consists of covers, you can hardly tell (barring an intimacy with any of the originals). Once the Cramps get hold of a song, they always make it their own -- even the more recognizable numbers like "Surfin' Bird," "Lonesome Town," and "Fever." All benefit from Lux Interior's vocal prowess. He's a proto-punk screamer like Screamin' Jay Hawkins or the Sonics' Gerry Roslie on the rockin' numbers, but can caress a ballad like mid-period Elvis when the need arises. None of the songs sound as if they could possibly have been written anytime after the '60s. Alex Chilton produced the first ten tracks, the Cramps the remaining seven. The cover art for ...Off the Bone has varied over the years; the 1987 Illegal edition is rendered -- appropriately enough -- in 3-D.

AMG Review by Kathleen C. Fennessy

Cowboy Junkies - The Caution Horses (1990 Alternative Rock)

With the ethereal voice of Margo Timmins gleaning the lyrics "The phone rings, but I don't answer it/Good news always sleeps till noon" on the opener ("Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning), listeners rest assured -- the Junkies haven't compromised their comfortable, country-twanged, folk-rock style to cater more to the trends of the masses. Mellow, honest, and provocatively reticent at points, their melancholic tone might seem bland to those with more aggressive tastes, or to simply more mainstream palettes, but for those whose tastes float serenely upstream, and for Junkies fans in general, this album is a treat. As usual, brother and lead guitarist Michael Timmins has created narratives that make poetry of everyday observations and anecdotes. Not as rocking as later releases, but offering more originals than earlier ones, this, their third full-length, brings back the mandolin and fiddle playing of Jeff Bird, the accordion stylings of Jaro Czerwinec, and pedal & lap steel guitar from Kim Deschamps -- all of which gracefully complemented the Trinity Sessions recordings. Their arrangements seem simply planned, and it's the combination of such a consistently minimalist quality with Michael Timmins' delicate songwriting that evokes ghost-story moods ("Witches") and sunset-beyond-the-porch-swing moments. Aside from the Neil Young cover "Powderfinger," The Caution Horses marks the Junkies' gradual shift toward more original work, and stands as the calm before the more rocking, commercially successful storm of material that followed. Highlights include "'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel," "Rock and Bird," and "Escape Is Simple."

AMG Review by Deanne Briggs

Arthur Brown - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (Superb Psychedelia 1968)

Though a bit over-the-top, this album was still powerful and surprisingly melodic, and managed to be quite bluesy and soulful even as the band overhauled chestnuts by James Brown and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. "Spontaneous Apple Creation" is a willfully histrionic, atonal song that gives Captain Beefheart a run for his money. Though this one-shot was not (and perhaps could not ever be) repeated, it remains an exhilaratingly reckless slice of psychedelia. The CD reissue includes both mono and stereo versions of five of the songs. Although the mono mixes lack the full-bodied power of the stereo ones, they're marked by some interesting differences, especially in the brief spoken and instrumental links between tracks.

AMG Review by Richie Unterberger

Craig Armstrong - The Space Between Us (Great Trip-Hop 1998)

Craig Armstrong's long history of string arrangements and composing (for U2, Massive Attack, the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack) helps him out on his solo debut album. The Space Between Us is impeccably produced, from the redos of Massive Attack's "Weather Storm" and the music from the balcony scene of Romeo + Juliet to the new ballad "This Love," with vocals by Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser. If there is a problem with the album, it's that the other tracks have that vague feel of a soundtrack or original score that sounds pleasant enough but doesn't make for diverting listening.

AMG Review by John Bush

Edgar Broughton Band - Edgar Broughton Band (Superb Blues-Rock 1971)

The most conventional of the Edgar Broughton Band's first (and best) three albums, 1971's Edgar Broughton Band finds the group dispensing with the no-holds-barred mania and theatricality responsible for such classics as "Out Demons Out," "Up Yours," and "Apache Drop Out" and concentrating instead on more musical endeavors. It's an approach that arguably captures the band at their very best at the same time as revealing them at their ugliest. The two-part epic "For Dr. Spock" conjures images of Gong, as it drifts closer to space rock than the Edgar Broughton Band had hitherto ventured, while "House of Turnabout" certainly restates the group's free-freak credentials with its rumbling percussion and scything guitars, a second cousin to the roars that punctuated Wasa Wasa and Sing Brother Sing. The heart of Edgar Broughton Band, however, lies elsewhere. The lilting chant "Thinking About You," with its spectral reminders of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero," is certainly one of their most rancorous concoctions, while "Evening Over Rooftops" rides an acoustic guitar as pretty as its flowery lyric, but you know there's something rotten squirming just below the surface, even if you can never quite put your finger on it. The pure pop backing vocals, all "sha-la-la" and "doo-be-doo-be-doo," of course, only add to your unease. And, as that is merely the opening number, you can guess what you're in for over the rest of the album long before you actually get it.

AMG Review by Dave Thompson

Eyeless in Gaza - Photographs As Memories (Post-Punk 1981)

With no real songs to speak of, Eyeless in Gaza's debut was inundated with an erratic pop sensibility and a frustrating non-style-over-substance sense of work ethic. Only the occasional success hinted of things to come. The one-two punch of "Speech Rapid Fire" and "John of Patmos" would go on to stand up well against anything the band later released, the former a mangled, melancholic take on '80s synth pop and the latter squealing off in far too many directions to suggest a well-adjusted mindset and using both pre-IDM beat mechanics and structureless Arkestra anti-music to deconstruct the ubiquitous mid-album ballad. [This was later reissued on CD in 2000 with the bonus tracks "Invisibility," "Three Kittens," "Plague of Years," "Others," "Jane Dancing," "Ever Present," and "Avenue With Trees."]

AMG Review by Dean Carlson

10cc - Sheet Music (2nd album Art-Rock 1974)

10cc's second album was the next phase in what guitarist Eric Stewart called the band's "masterplan to control the universe. The Sweet, Slade, and Gary Glitter are all very valuable pop," he proclaimed, "but it's fragile because it's so dependent on a vogue. We don't try to appeal to one audience, or aspire to instant stardom, we're satisfied to move ahead a little at a time as long as we're always moving forward." Sheet Music, perhaps the most widely adventurous album of what would become a wildly adventurous year, would more than justify that claim. "It grips the heart of rock'n'roll like nothing I've heard before," raved Melody Maker, before describing 10cc as "the Beach Boys of "Good Vibrations," the Beatles of "Penny Lane," they're the mischievous kid next door, they're the Marx Brothers, they're Jack and Jill, they're comic cuts characters, and they're sheer brilliance." Stewart certainly agreed -- he told that same paper, 10cc's music was "better than 90% of the sheer unadulterated crap that's in the charts" and, 20 years on, bassist Graham Gouldman continued, "Sheet Music is probably the definitive 10cc album. What it was, our second album wasn't our difficult second album, it was our best second album. It was the best second album we ever did." Three hit singles spun off the record, and most of the other tracks could have followed suit; it says much for Sheet Music's staying power that, no matter how many times the album is reissued, it has never lost its power to delight, excite, and set alight a lousy day.

AMG Review by Dave Thompson

Slade - Sladest (Glam-Rock compilation 1973)

Falling somewhere between the glam of T.Rex and the hard rock of Nazareth, Slade's finest moments came with arena rockers "Cum on Feel the Noize," "Mama Weer All Crazee Now," and "Gudbye t' Jayne," songs specifically written to be strong live numbers that would get kids up off their seats. Sladest is a "best-of" collection that includes all of the material that helped the band sell tons of records and fill arenas in the U.K. in the early '70s. When Slade stray from their successful formula of catchy guitar riffs and big choruses -- with soft rockers like "Coz I Luv You" and "Pouk Hill" -- they tend to fall flat.

AMG Review by Paul Tinelli

Jonathan Richman - It's Time for... Jonathan Richman (1986 Alternative Rock)

Produced by Andy Paley, It's Time for... welcomes back to the fold former Modern Lovers guitarist Asa Brebner, resulting in a fuller and more lively sound than Richman has enjoyed in some time. Taking full advantage of Richman's sax-blowing acumen, the record sports a wistful early rock & roll feel: "Let's Take a Trip" and "Yo Jo Jo" are energetic rave-ups, "This Love of Mine" is a sweet doo wop ballad, and "It's You" is a joyous romantic romp. The highlight is "Corner Store," an impassioned plea against modernization.

AMG Review by Jason Ankeny