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Four great overlooked LPs of the 60s.
Rock and roll and rare vinyl expert Bob Boyer retrospectively reviews
four of the great albums from the swinging sixties from both sides
of the Atlantic. Bob is a much-respected authority on the history
of rock and roll and fronts a TV progamme entitled 'Talk and Roll'
as well as his record store Sunset Records in Massachusetts.
This article is the intellectual property of www.retrosellers.com
and cannot be reproduced without express permission.
BRIAN AUGER & JULIE DRISCOLL & THE TRINITY: OPEN (1968)
Does it get any cooler than Bri & Jule? I don’t think
so. Along with Clive Thacker (drums), and Dave Ambrose (bass), Open
is a four star mod-soul union. Open’s first track is the ultra-cool
jazz/pop instrumental 'In and out' which showcases Auger’s
soulful keyboard playing. It’s followed by another instrumental
featuring Auger, 'Isola Natale'. Julie enters the picture on the
sixth track, the Otis Redding/Carla Thomas classic, 'Tramp'. Other
Jule highlights include 'Why (am I treated so bad) ', 'Break it
up', and finishes with the LP’s tour-de-force, a cover of Donovan’s
much recorded,'Season of the witch'. Auger’s Hammond organ
work and Driscoll’s soulfully cool vocals make 'Season of the
witch' a bona fide classic. Far superior to Dono’s original
version.
'Open' is out of print on LP (somebody PLEASE re-issue this on
vinyl!), but still available on CD. Sadly the CD doesn’t have
any bonus tracks. That would have been ace!
THE BEE GEES: FIRST (1967) Atco Records (U.S.A.)
The Aussie/Brits debut disc. The one featuring the slightly dodgy
Klaus Voorman LP cover artwork. At least in the U.S.
This wonderful album is best described as Sgt. Pepper without the
hallucinogenics. From the quaint 'Turn of the century', through
the Taxmanesque, 'In my own time', to the She’s leaving home
somberness of 'New York mining disaster 1941', a great piece of
mid 60’s pop rock. Includes the worldwide smashes: 'To love
somebody', 'I can’t see nobody' , and of course, 'New York
mining disaster 1941'. A truly ageless piece of work. Reissued on
CD in the mid 90s.
SANDY BULL: INVENTIONS (1964) Vanguard Records 1965
The late Sandy Bull (died 2001 of cancer) was to acoustic guitar
what Ravi Shankar was to the sitar. Fans and critics rave about
The Beatles turning the world onto psychedelia with 'Tomorrow never
knows' in 1966, but it was Sandy Bull got the ball rolling back
in 1963 with his first instrumental release, Fantasia (Vanguard),
and this superior follow up from 1965. Bull was all over the musical
spectrum with Inventions. Inventions starts out with the hypnotic
20 minute composition 'Blend 2', right into two classical pieces
from Bach, then a Brazilian flavored piece, finishing with Chuck
Berry’s classic, 'Memphis, Tennessee' on a reverb saturated
electric guitar. Sandy Bull plays a wide variety of instruments
on Inventions including acoustic & electric guitar, an oud,
and bass. He was accompanied by the late jazz drummer Billy Higgins
who also passed away in 2001.
Sandy went through a long-standing heroin addiction but did manage
to get straight and was able to release several more LPs over the
years. Inventions is not on CD, but tracks from the LP can be found
on a Sandy Bull 'best of' CD and the Inventions vinyl pressing was
re-issued in Italy 2 years ago.
GRASSROOTS: WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU (DUNHILL 1965)
Initially a studio band via songwriters Jeff Barri and P.F.Sloan,
the first LP from Grassroots was part Barri & Sloan and part
Californian group Fulton Steamboat who were hired to be The Grassroots
but quit due to creative differences soon after. Where were you
when I needed you is a folk pop/rock delight! The title track was
a minor hit Stateside (later covered on a b-side by the 80s, Bangles),
the LP also includes clever cover versions of such well known hits
as 'I am a rock' (Simon & Garfunkel), 'You babe' (The Turtles),
'You didn’t have to be so nice' (Lovin’ Spoonful), (the
Stones) 'Tell me' as well as folk rock’s 60s 'guv' Bob Dylan’s
'Ballad of a thin man'. Original Barri/Sloan songs include 'Lollipop
Train', 'I’ve got no more to say', 'Look out girl', 'Only the
lonely', and 'Ain’t that lovin’ you baby'.
The CD reissue (Varese Serabande) also includes covers of 'Eve
of destruction' (written by Sloan), 'These are bad times' (Paul
Revere & The Raiders), 'Hitch Hike' (Marvin Gaye), and 'You’’ve
got to hide your love away' (Beatles) Highly recommended on CD or
LP. Shame about the LP’s cover though. It is a double exposure
shot of a farm barn and a wooden chair. What were they thinking?!
Copyright Bob Boyer 2002
Many thanks to Bob Boyer.
Sunset Records,
1232 Wilbur Ave.
Somerset, Ma 02725
USA
Tel: 508 678 3441
Sunset Records provides a large selection of retrospective vinyl
records and can also help with locating rare items. The shop is
expertly managed by Bob Boyer who can be seen on local cable TV
hosting 'Talk And Roll'.
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