WELLER'S TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK

Artist: THE JAM; Title: ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS/TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK; Label: POLYDOR; Format: 7"; Cat. No.: POSP 350; Year: 1981; Country: UK

First up - wanting to wish all you vinylheads out there - a happy Record Store Day and trusting that you managed to get at least some of what you were after! Onto today's post then!

Focusing today on this 1981 offering from The Jam - which was their first for that particular year and one that gives you two different styles of the band.  First up on the A Side is the Soul-flavoured "Absolute Beginners".  The title cones from Colin McInnes' book of the same (and made into the less than great film - Weller's subsequent group The Style Council contributing 'Have You Ever Had It Blue' to the soundtrack) and it's first to feature the augmented line-up which included the 2 piece horn section.  Weller's intention to build on this line-up into a live soul revue in a vein similar to the one that Stax toured with the 60's and ealy 70's.  And unfortunately scuppered to a large extent by the group's somewhat beligerent fans only wanting to hear the old stuff - rather than embracing something just that little bit different - but good nonetheless!

The flip is that other aspect of The Jam I really love - the psychedelic-tinged "Tales From The Riverbank".  It's the third of these psyche flavoured piece that they did - the 1st being 'In The Cowd' on 'All Mod Cons' in '78, followed in 1980 by 'The Dreams Of Children' - and I suppose you can throw in  'Start' for the same year as well - which makes four!  "Riverbank" is one of those songs that shows the burgeoning influence of Traffic's pastoral psychedelia - as well as Paul Weller evoking childhood memories from the area around Woking(as I seem to remember hearing about at one point).  What I love about the song is the way in builds from Bruce Foxton's opening bass-line followed by Weller's spectral guitar - and that Riverbank in question is as much a state of mind as a physical place.  It's one of those Jam songs that Paul Weller revisited in his solo career - the updated version shortened to "The Riverbank" popping up as the B Side to the 'Brand New Start' single in 1998.

WHEN THE KAFTAN KING GOT FUNKY!

Artist: APHRODITE'S CHILD; Title: IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK; Label: MERCURY; Format: 7"; Cat. No.: 132508 MCF: Year: 1969; Country: FRANCE

Looking today on this post at this 1969 offering from the Greek trio that featured Vangelis alongside the 70's Kaftan King himself - Demis Roussos! And with the recent passing of Mr Roussous though it was time to feature this French 45 of 2 contrasting styles.



The A Side gives you "It's Five O'Clock" - the title track of the group's 2nd LP.  Featuring the unmistakable vocals of the Kaftan Man - it's very much in the style of their big European hit 'Rain And Tears'.  And musicwise there seems to be more than a whiff of Procol Harum's 'White Shade of Pale' about - though most likely sourcing the same classical piece that Gary Brooker & co used for their hit (the name of which eludes me at the moment), and with some Pyche style embellishments along the way as well!



The A Side's great if you like your Demis Roussos style balladry - a genre he very much made his own in the subsequent decade and the reason that Aphrodite's Child ended up splitting.  The B Side's a very different story - and the reason that the record's being featured on the blog at all - and one listen to "Funky Mary" will show that the there was whole other side to this trio of Greeks.  It can probably be best described as Psychedelic Hammond Funk with a bit of Jazz chucked in for good measure!  Not sure who's handling the vocals on this - but it's sure as heck not Demis, possibly Vagellis - or maybe the other bloke who's name I can't remember!  Well worth having a listen too!

SOME PSYCHEDELIC FUNK/SOUL - CHESS CURIO CORNER

Artist: FUJI; Title: REVELATIONS (Pts. 1&2); Label: CADET; Format: 7"; Cat. No.: 5665; Year: 1969; Country: US.

Today's post - 1st in a while as I'm in the process of selling my house and moving down the West Country - is this curio released on Cadet in 1969 by "Revelations" by Fuji.  Which can be best described Pyschedelic Funk - and a bloody good example it is of it too.

Fuji - real name Ellington Jordan - released this gem in '69 backed by one of the 1st black rock band Black Merda - from Hendrix's hometown Seattle and songwise pretty much reflects the state of things in the States in the late 60's in cities like Detroit, which weren't great - especially so if you happened to be black.  It was planned to be part of an album but - as with a lot of these type of projects the album with the great title of 'Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip' was shelved and finally saw the light of day as recently as 2005! Whether this was down to Chess' worries about alienating their traditional fan-base after the realease of Muddy Waters 'Electric Mud' I'm not sure - but it wouldn't surprise me. 

Music-wise does sound a lot like Hendrix then the fact that Fuji was friends with him certainly played a part and showed how much an influence he was having on black music in the late 60's - even influencing the likes of The Temptations and Chess label-mates Rotary Connection.

One other bit of info I did find on Fuji was that he co-wrote Etta James' anthem "I'd Rather Go Blind" - which you'd like to hope is a nice pension plan for him.

Bought this for £8 about 7 years ago - and seen it selling on Discogs for £22, and a DJ Promo copy on Popsike that went for $64.  And having played it again for the first time ages I can see why people'd want to pay that much for it - and it's a great example of that type cross-genre type of music which I'm a bit of a fan of. And as an example of Pyschedelic Funk - then look no further!

Quick thanks to whoever posted the biog info on Fuji on Discogs and Allhiphop.com - as it's always to have an idea of who these poeple are.

SHARON TANDY & THE FLEUR DE LYS - HOLD ON

Artist: Sharon Tandy & The Feur De Lys.  Titles: Stay With Me c/w Hold On.  Label: Atlantic.  Format: 7".  Country: UK.  Cat. No.: 584124.  Year: 1967.


Double header from Sharon Tandy backed by The Fleur De Lys is today's subject.  Released in 1967 on red label Atlantic (via Polydor) the A Side gives you a rather excellent version of the Jerry Ragovay penned "Stay With Me" - and what you get here is possibly the best reading of the song I've heard, and avoids overcooking things - which the Walker Brothers and original Lorraine Ellison version are guilty of.  The flip side is an absolute belter - and the song Sharon Tandy's probably best associated with - "Hold On".  It's absolutely cracking bit of Mod/Freakbeat/Psyche and features some amazing guitar work from Bryn Haworth - the song had previously been done by the Fleur De Lys under their other guise as Rupert's People - and issued as a single on EMI Columbia - DB 8226, and the difference in the lyrics on this version are mainly down to the band playing it from memory on the Sharon Tandy session. A mint copy of this is currently worth around the £50 mark.

The song was an european hit, and then reissued in the UK as the A Side on Atlantic 584219 in 1968 with the classic psyche/freakbeat Julie Driscol flavoured "Daughter Of The Sun" as the flip side.  This is another bit amazing stuff - again check out the Bryn Haworth guitar work.  Valuewise a mint copy of this will set you back around £100.

For further Sharon Tandy - your best bet is the Big Beat compiltation 'You Gotta Believe It's... Sharon Tandy' - which features all above mentioned tracks, and a lot more besides.  And which I seriously recommend checking out!

SOME PYSCHEDELIC NORTHERN SOUL FROM THE CIRCUS

Artist: The Circus.  Title: I'll Always Love You.  Label: Jambee.  Fomat: 7".  Country of Issue: US.  Cat. No.: JP-1007.  Year: 1960s.

Today's post features a hybrid genre I'm a bit of a fan Psychedellic N. Soul - and the choice today has to be the best example I can think of - The Circus' take on "I'll Always Love You", which Jock Mitchell in Scarborough put me onto, and then gave me the record the last time I saw him - thanks and much appreciated.  I reckon this has to have been released around 1966 - though of course it could a year or so either side - but it certainly sounds like it's from '66. The arrangement sticks pretty close The Detroit Spinners original - apart of course from the fuzz guitar solo mid-through, and I did notice that the song's credited to Mickey Stevenson and I Turner - although the latter should be Ivy Jo Hunter.  The only other Pysche/N. Soul crossover I can think of the Seeds' seminal 'Pushin' To Hard'.

The flip side of this Circus offering is "Away From This World" and is more straightforward beat/garage type track.  And apart from the it's penned by Kevin Murphy and produced by Jordan Miller & Morrie Parker- that's pretty much all I've managed to find out about this single, although whether this the same Circus responsible for the full on Pysche/Garage wowness that is 'Bad Seed (You're A Bad Seed)' I'm not sure.  Even a search on the excellent Garagehangover blog draws a blank.  Though of course that's not going to stop from continuing to look - and if anyone out there has any additional info please don't hesitate to get in touch.

DERORAAROBED - A DINOSAUR PALINDROME

Artist: Tyrannosaurus Rex.  Title: Debora.  Label: Old Gold.  Format: 7".  Country of issue: UK.  Cat. No.: OG 9234.  Year: 1982.

1982 reissue of these 2 tunes from Tyrannosaurus Rex - both originally issued in 1968 on the UK golden oldies Old Gold imprint.  The A Side label would lead you to believe that is a reissue of the 1968 single from Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrine-Took - but actually it isn't. What you get here is in fact the LP version from 'Prophets Seers & Sages' - which is the rerecorded and the palindromic retitled "Deboraarobed" - quite appropriate as the track is looped back itself half-way through.  And good bit psyche-folk as good as anything the likes of the Incredible String Band or the original Nirvana produced around this period

The flip side is the 1968 version of "One Inch Rock" - itself rerecorded for the first T.Rex LP.  Though that version is a lot rockier, as by that point Bolan had moved on from the Tolkien inspired pysche-folk of this period to that curious beast now known as Glam Rock.