Κυριακή 27 Ιανουαρίου 2008

Goose Creek Symphony - Established (The First Album 1970 US Psychedelic Jam Band Folk Country Rock)

If the Grateful Dead had come from Kentucky instead of San Francisco, they might have sounded much like these guys. "This song might sound kinda strange, but it's got more soul than Home on the Range," they accurately sing in "Talk About Goose Creek and Other Important Places," an eight-minute psychedelic showstopper complete with Beatles-style tape tricks. This album is a fun listen that can suck even a city slicker into a stoned, good-time, backhills vibe.



The Goose Creek Symphony is an American rock band, originally a side project for Richie Hart and the Heart Beats and best known for their 1972 cover of Janis Joplin's song, Mercedes Benz. The band signed to Capitol Records in 1970, and new members were added: Mike McFadden of Superfine Dandelion, Bob Henke, Fred Wise on banjo and fiddle and Paul Spradlin, a guitarist credited as Paul Howard. They continued recorded to 1976, then reformed in 1990. The band has continued touring to popular acclaim


Paul Howard Guitar, Vocals Charles Gearheart Acoustic Guitar Michael McFadden & Paul Spradlin Guitars Bob Henke Guitar Keyboards, Vocals Pat Moore & David Birkett Bass Chris Lockheart Drums Jim Tolles & Fred Wise Fiddle Harold Williams & Randall Bramblett Horns Goose Creek Symphony Producer Steve Forman Horn Arrangements Tim Ramsey Engineer

AMG Biography
by Zac Johnson
Goose Creek Symphony found its roots in the Phoenix, AZ, area originally as a countrified side project for Richie Hart & the Heart Beats. Vocalist and guitarist Charles Gearheart (aka Richie Hart) spent his childhood "up Goose Creek Hollow" in Floyd County, KY, and when he put together his good-time country-rock group, he drew upon his home's rich musical heritage as well as its name. In 1970, Gearheart and a group of local studio musicians assembled a handful of songs and presented them to Capitol Records.




Capitol signed his project, forcing Gearheart to assemble a touring group. Banjo player and fiddler Fred Weisz was brought in to complement existing guitarists Paul Spradlin (listed as "Paul Howard" on the album), Bob Henke ("Williard"), Mike McFadden (following the breakup of his psychedelic group Superfine Dandelion), as well as a rotating cast of bassists and drummers.With a sound very similar to what the Band was doing at the same time, Goose Creek Symphony were rock & rollers who played a very faithful brand of country music, all the while layering rhythms and harmonies along the same lines as Buffalo Springfield and the Grateful Dead.



They released albums through the mid-'70s, with that streak ending in a long hiatus from 1976 to 1990, when the group decided to re-form and record again.Their marriage of earthy instrumentation and easygoing vibes have been able to give the group a certain longevity. Into their third decade, Goose Creek Symphony is drawing strong groups of fans to their summer festival appearances, similar to what the Dead and Jimmy Buffett have known.

Charlie Gearheart today







Goose Creek Symphony has developed their own style of jam-band original Americana music since the mid-'60's. They perform at the Jammin at Hippie Jack's Americana Music Festival in Overton County, TN.


Goose Creek Symphony is considered by many to be one of the most original bands of their time. Major record labels (Capitol & Columbia) of the 60s/early 70s didn't know what to do with a band that played a mixture of rock and roll, folk, jazz and country with an undeniable hillbilly influence, a hippie attitude and a reckless sense of instrumental daring. They used horns and fiddles as well as effects and blended it with psychedelic rock and roll. The true definition of "Cosmic American Music".


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David Bromberg with Jorma Kaukonen at the Vic Theater, Chicago, 1/18/86


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Τρίτη 15 Ιανουαρίου 2008

Babe Ruth - First Base (UK 1972 Heavy Prog.)


BABE RUTH was a band that formed in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, in 1971. Guitarist Alan Shacklock founded this progressive rock band. They had a rhythmic, bluesy, guitar orientated sound capped off by the blistering vocals of Jenny Hahn. Rounded out by Chris Holmes (keyboards and organ), Dave Punshon (piano), Dave Hewitt, (bass) and Dick Powell, (drums) this British band always put on a great live show. Jennie Hahn's raw powerful vocals, and Alan Shacklock's magnificent guitar work made for a true signature sound. With very varied eclectic tastes they covererd song like FRANK ZAPPA's "King Kong", and Curtis Mayfield's "We People Darker Than Blue". They enjoyed moderate commercial success in Britain, Canada, and the States, but were plagued by personnel problems, and lack of radio airplay. When vocalist Jennie Hahn left the band for parts unknown, the band lost direction and never regained its initial success. I became aware of them through Boston progressive radio where their great song "The Mexican" became a minor hit. Their 1972 album "First Base", with its cover art by famed YES artist, Roger Dean, remains one of my most favorite albums to this day. I suggest you give this album a listen, because it is simply one of the best rock albums of all time. Although long gone, BABE RUTH should never be forgotten
Studio Album, released in 1972 LP Harvest SHSP 4022
Track Listings
1. Wells Fargo (6:17)
2. The Runaways (7:27)
3. King Kong (6:44)
4. Black Dog (8:03)
5. The Mexican (5:49)
6. Joker (7:43)

Total Time: 42:03
Line-up/Musicians
Janita Haan / lead vocals - Dave Hewitt / bass- Dick Powell / drums - Dave Punshon / piano- Alan Shacklock / guitar, vocals, organ, percussion


Review by Trotsky
Babe Ruth isn't about symphonic prog, doesn't really stray into the realm of jazz-rock and is light years away from psychedelic spacey stuff. Nah, this is an altogether more primal beast that might just be too "simple" for many proggers. First Base, at least, is all about earthy blues rock with some distinct progressive touches and at least one great soloist. Standing astride it all, however is the immense raw power of lead vocalist Jennie Haan. My abiding memory of Babe Ruth will always be the sheer intensity of Haan's delivery on the opening track Wells Fargo. Over a Zeppelin-esque heavy blues riff, she simply rams an incredibly powerful vocal down our throats in a way that will leave Janis Joplin fans drooling. Factor in some meaty saxophone moments from guest Brent Carter and its easy to see why Wells Fargo is still seen as Babe Ruth's signature tune.Babe Ruth then pulls off a stunning change of pace with its "other" classic tune, The Runaways, an expressive song that starts life as folky ballad with Haan accompanied by oboe and a mass of cellos. Halfway through the drums announce themselves and the band takes off on a laidback instrumental exploration led by Dave Punshon's electric piano. Punshon is probably the unsung hero of a group dominated by guitarist/keyboardist Alan Shacklock's compositions and Haan's vocals, but he lays down a few markers on this album.

The rest of the album builds on that steady mix of powerful Haan vocals, great soloing from Punshon, and to a lesser extent Shacklock, but one does feel that the rhythm players are somewhat stodgy, although it could be argued that the compositions are to blame for this. The Frank Zappa cover King Kong for example, is initially rhythmically dull before some excellent jazzy solos from Punshon and Shacklock push drummer Dick Powell to some explosive playing. Incidentally, the liner notes inform us that King Kong "was recorded straight with no overdubbing or electronic trickery"!Black Dog is a slow-burning bluesy exploration with another passionate turn from Haan, with some fancy blues-jazz solos from Punshon first on electric piano and then on piano, before the lady returns halfway through the song with Shacklock's guitar wailing alongside her. The Mexican is an unusual blues-rock song that takes a totally unlikely detour with a jam based on Ennio Morricone's melody from A Few Dollars More (!!!) and the concluding track Joker is another classic heavy blues tune, riding on Punshon's electric piano while Haan and Shacklock trade lead vocals.This is good clean fun, but I have to say that there are literally hundreds of "proggier" bands out there that will need to be investigated before you try Babe Ruth.


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Δευτέρα 14 Ιανουαρίου 2008

Between - Dharana (1974 Germany Kraut Psych.Indian Cosmic Ambient) Blows Your Mind!!!

In 1970, Peter Michael Hamel founded BETWEEN, an international band specialised in improvisational / « ethnic » rock music. The name Between comes from the fact that Hamel's music is originaly "in-between", always making a combination between "popular music" and "serious music". The classical musician Robert Eliscu (born American), responsible of oboe parts in POPOL VUH can be considered as the major member of the musical tribe next to Peter Michael Hamel. With a small community of six members, BETWEEN recorded its first album “Einstieg” in 1971. It directly announces the musical orientation to come, timeless ethnic rock compositions, mixing together several acoustic instruments (bongo, flute…) to folk and jazz. “And the waters openened” recorded in 1973 carries on improvisations and acoustic exploration, played in a rather “spacey” rock atmosphere, sometimes closed to krautrock, weird flavour. “Dharana” (1974) is seen as a classic album and marks a new step in the launch of “world” music. It contains long epic, acoustic pieces with a few minimalist, oriental accents. “Hesse Between Music” (1975) is a concept album, always improvised, featuring Indian scales and recitation. During and after BETWEEN’s career, the front man Peter Michael Hamel has developed the possibilities of spiritual effects of music on mind thanks to a great variety of solo albums in search of East meets West.

http://www.progarchives.com/

BETWEEN
Personnel:
PETER-MICHAEL HAMEL kb
ROBERT ELISCU oboe, flt
ROBERTO DETREE g, b
COTCH BLACK perc
(JAMES GALWAY flt) A
(ULRICH STRANZ vla) A
CHARLES CAMPBELL perc B


ALBUMS (up to '76):

(A)"Einstieg" (Wergo SM 1001) 1971
(B)"And The Waters Opened" (Vertigo 6360 612) 1973
(B)"Dharana" (Vertigo 6360 619) 1974
(B)"Hesse Between Music" (Electrola 1C 062-29546) 1975

"CONTEMPLATION"(WERGO LABEL SM-1012) RELEASED IN 1977

PETER-MICHAEL HAMEL

Between has to be one of the most international bands of all times! The six members that recorded the debut album Einstieg (1971) came from four different nations. The group were formed in 1970 on the initiative of Peter-Michael Hamel as Between The Chairs, but as this expression has different meanings in German and English, the name was soon shortened to Between. Hamel had studied composition since 1967 and wanted to create a new musical genre (an ambitious man!), between (pun!) all the existing ones. The other German of the band, Ulrich Stranz, had a similar academic background. The American Robert Eliscu came to Germany in the late sixties to play with the Munich and Berlin philharmonic orchestras. Another American citizen, Cotch Black, played tablas and percussion. Roberto Detree was an Argentinean and had played Spanish guitar in classical folk music ensembles in his homeland. He also built musical instruments.
James Galway joined briefly as sixth member before the recording of Einstieg, (released October 1971 on the Wergo label) he was a critically acclaimed musician well known for his classical music recordings. The album included several short tracks, recorded at the Staatliche Musik-hochschule in Munich, plus a 9 1/2 minute avant-garde piece, "Space Ship", recorded in Berlin. Between demonstrated their ability to play different styles (jazz, folk and avant-garde), but did not manage to merge these styles. Most successful was Eliscu's "Katakomben" and Hamel's "Triumphzug Kaiser Maximillian". Those tracks had a dramatic atmosphere with wordless vocals, bongo rhythms, oboe, flute and organ. Also interesting were the tracks grounded on Detree's roots in South-American folk music. The more free-form numbers "Memories" and "Flight Of Ideas" were uninspired improvisations with an ethnic touch, a direction already explored to full effect by Limbus 3 and 4.
Galway and Stranz, both of whom had kept a very low profile on the album, left to concentrate on classical music in 1972. This left more room for Hamel and Eliscu to develop longer tracks and more meditative music. Hamel released his first solo album in 1972 and guested on the first Agitation Free album. Eliscu guested on several Popol Vuh albums.
The second Between album And The Waters Opened (1973) included six tracks. This only had acoustic instruments and included a new member: Charles Campbell. On the whole, it was a better and more homogeneous merging of styles than their first album. It was Between's only release on the legendary "swirl" Vertigo label (the next one had the "spaceship" artwork!). The front cover artwork was quite remarkable: a drawing of a gigantic splash of colours - illustrating the event when the waters opened. Dharana from 1974 was a kind of world music symphony recorded with the aid of the SWF orchestra. This work was based more on improvisation than composition, particularly the 20 minute long title track. Also worth mentioning is Eliscu's beautiful 11 minute piece "Joy... Sadness... Joy". The same year Between also made music to poems by the actor Gerd Westphal Hesse. This resulted in Hesse Between Music, released January 1975. Besides Hesse, who recited his own poems, several guests also appeared on the album, like Al Gromer (sitar, who also recorded with Popol Vuh and Amon Duul II) and Tom van der Geld (vibraphone). Hamel has recorded several solo albums, some containing music reminiscent of Between, but generally more experimental and minimalistic. Eliscu has mostly concentrated on classical music. Between are best remembered for their albums in the period 1973-1975. Their strength was in their more extended tracks, which gave these talented musicians time to express their ideas through the improvisations.


COSMIC DREAMS AT PLAY

This one , is for all of you (Cosmic Jokers of the Universe)

and especially to a Friend... Mr.Gkapageridis

Enjoy & Leave Your Mind Free!

Between_-_1974_Dharana.rar

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Τετάρτη 9 Ιανουαρίου 2008

Jeronimo Brothers with Elias Zaikos - Live At Bolero Club 27/01/06 Litohoro ,Mount Olympus, Greece)

JERONIMO BROTHERS with Elias Zaikos

Recorded Live At Bolero Club , 27 January 2006, Litohoro Town ( In The Foot Of Mount Olympus) Central Greece.
A Great Folk Blues/Psych Greek Band !!! Dont Turn Your Back On Them!

THE JERONIMO BROTHERS is an acoustic band dealing with Contry Folk Blues.
Their Home is the highway (million miles away from sweet home!)Awesome groovie music delights , with pure feelings & rhythms.These pionners of Country folk blues - road music makes you feelin allright!!Over 25 years ago on the road, they seems youngers,than ever! with the gold talent on their mind & fingers.

So, pick it up !and groovie with them!


jim (Mojo) Dimoutsikos: vocals, guitars, percussion

Taso (Commander)Litridis: vocals, guitar, harp, mandolin, banjo

5-string,percussion

Panagiotis(PaBa Slide) Mpantikoudis: vocals, guitar, piano, organ,harmonica

Mario (The JazzHead) Spiliotopoulos:electric & acoustic bass, vocals

Οι JERONIMO BROTHERS είναι μια ακουστική μπάντα που ασχολείται με τα blues το rock και τη soul.
Δημήτρη (Mojo) Δημούτσικο
: φωνή, κιθάρα, κρουστά

Τάσο (Commander) Λυτρίδη : φωνή, κιθάρα, φυσαρμόνικα, κρουστά
Παναγιώτη (PaBa Slide) Μπαντικούδη: φωνή, κιθάρα, πιάνο, φυσαρμόνικα
Μάριο (The Jazz Head) Σπηλιωτόπουλο: μπάσο, φωνητικά

και πολλούς φίλους όπως
Χρήστο (The Freak) Νάτσιο στη φωνή την κιθάρα και τα κρουστά,
Michael Watts στην κιθάρα,
Αντώνη Φραγκουδάκη στη φωνή και τη φυσαρμόνικα,
Νίνα από την Ολλανδία στα φωνητικά κ.α.
Έδρα της μπάντας είναι το Λιτόχωρο Πιερίας κοντά στις κορυφές του Ολύμπου. Μέλη της μπάντας όμως βρίσκονται κυρίως στη Λάρισα και στο Βόλο. Η ομάδα είναι όμως αρκετά ευέλικτη και μπορεί να βρίσκεται ανα πάσα στιγμή μαζί!!!

see pics from the gig

The official Web Site

Hope Enjoy Bloggers
here's the links

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Τρίτη 8 Ιανουαρίου 2008

George Pilali & The Blues Caravan - GodComedy (Greek Rock Underground ,surrealistic lyrics, blues and rembetiko)

Γειά σου ρε Ζόρζ Πιλαλί!
 Ο ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ ΠΙΛΑΛΑΣ, ένας μεγάλος υποτιμημένος της Ελληνικής crossover μουσικής. O Πιλαλί, βαθύς γνώστης των Ελληνικών Blues, αγνοήθηκε από τους ροκάδες σαν υπερβαλλόντως...λαϊκός, και από τους ''λαϊκούς'', σαν τρελλαμένος...ροκάς! Λάτρης -με τα όλα του- του King of the Blues Albert King... 

(Ilan Solomon)




Georges Pilali
Since the beginning of the 80’s Georges Pilali is a mythical figure of the Athenian underground scene. His songs are combination of surrealistic lyrics, blues and rembetiko (music of Greek underground, formed in major cities in the early 20th century).
Georges Pilali was a first musician in Greece who showed that rembetico and blues have followed parallel roads and their combination could be fascinating experience.
He has recorded three (out of print!!) albums, having also participated in the records of other Greek musicians and singers. His latest album “Theokomodia”, 1994, includes the participation of Albanian street musicians, Greek beat poetry and also the great American blues singers Louisiana Red και Big Time Sarah.
His performance includes theatrical elements (from ancient Greek theatre “Karagiozis”- modern theatre of shadow), poetry and music, blended all together with a unique sense of humor. He has successfully appeared in concerts, clubs and festivals in Greece, Canada, USA and France.


During the last years, he cooperates on stage with the veteran of the Greek rock scene Dimitris Poulikakos, the French roman guitarist Philippe "Doudou" Guillerier and the fabulous American guitarist and researcher of world music Bob Brozman.
George Pilali’s group consists of 6 musicians (guitar, santoor, accordion, violin, percussion and acoustic bass).
‘Mr Pilali is a very good and tasteful slide player who is the equal of many more famous musicians. The use of the Greek instruments in blues added new feeling’.
(Bruce Iglauer, Alligator records)
George Pilali: ‘A brilliant and wacky artist of Greek Rembetica music (the blues of Greek culture), George has also a keen interest in traditional American sounds’.
(Bob Brozman)


from the “IRISprojects
With Guests : Louisiana Red & Big Time Sarah part1 @192kbs
part2 @192kbs



" Είχα έναν φίλο πρεζονόμο που μου μαγείρευε τα πιό όμορφα διαστημικά μπισκότα.
SPACE COOKIES γαρνιρισμένα με δραμαμίνη για τα ταξίδια μου!
Κάθε κατεβασιά, κι ένα μικρό ονειρεμένο Challenger.
Μπούκωνα με δαύτα τα καριολίκια και πετσικάρανε τα σαγόνια μου.
Φλασσάρω και μπήγω τις φωνές: "Τυριά ξυπνήστε! Θα σας φαν' οι βλάχοι!  "

Ζωρζ Πιλαλί (κατά κόσμον Γιώργος Πιλάλας)

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Andreas Gomozias & The Drifting Around - Live At Rodon Theater Athens Greece ( Blues Rock)

Here's A Great Guitarist , From The New Generation's Musicians Of Greece.

Recorded Alive At The Legendary Rodon Theater Athens 199x.

Unfortunately his site does not exists for more information.

Andreas has been influenced from legends guitarists like Joe Pass, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Duanne Allman among others.

The only one that i know 'bout Andreas is , he join in a new band named Andreas Gomozias Quartet and another band named Andreas Gomozias & The Country Gentlemen

If Anyone Knows about Andreas(complete informations),please let me know.
Here's The Live Gig, Enjoy!

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