John's Children - Smashed Blocked! (1968 - basicly)

The only reason most people have ever even heard of this band is because Mark Bolan was briefly a member. Which is to bad realy, because the future Mr. T-Rex only released one song with the band ("Desdamona", not on this album), before leaving the band to once again continue on with out him. What ever most of John's Children's better songs didn't need Bolan's squabbly munchkin voice.

The band was more like a hare-kiri Who. Or, better yet this is what I whished The Who sounded like if more of their meterial was up to "My Generation" standards.

Ok so thay sound like a lot of other British Mod-Psych bands like Tomorow or The Smoke. The few songs with Bolen in the mix are a bit more hippy-dippy-ish, but don't get me wrong their still good, especialy "Mustang Ford" which could have been a Bo Didley cover had I known better.


A good point of reference is the bands manager, Simon Napier-Bell who also briefly managed The Yardbirds. Napier-Bell even got Jeff Beck to play a little guitar solo on the single "But She's Mine." There are some week points (the track "Strange Affai" is an unlistenable toss-off that sounds like the theme song to "Are You Being Served"), but there are more than enough stone-cold killers. The track "Smashed Blocked" is as good as its name implies: swirling psychedilick chreschendos, dreamy breakdowns, jagged-amphedimine proto-punk. "Remember Thomas A'Beckett" features dizzying drum fills, and primitive "oh-ah"'s and a violen-bow-against-the-guitar riff that is reminiscent of The Creations "Makin' Time" guitar solo.

Oh, and they all wore white from head to toe. Pretty cool, huh?

Btw, I've got a few 7" with alternative versions, and other songs not on this album. I'll post them when I can.

- overview by Denez


Tracklist:

1. Smashed Blocked
2. Just What You Want - Just What You'll Get
3. Strange Affair
4. But She's Mine
5. Hippy Gumbo
6. Jagged Time Lapse
7. Midsummer Night's Scene (alternative version)
8. Not The Sort Of Girl You Take To Bed
9. Mustang Ford
10. The Love I Thought I'd Found
11. Remember Thomas A'Beckett
12. Come And Play With Me In The Garden (Inst)
13. Daddy Rolling Stone (BBC)
14. Hot Rod Mama (BBC)
15. Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith (BBC)
16. Jagged Time Lapse (BBC)
17. Sally Was An Angel (Inst)

128 kbps, ripped from Vinyl.

Get it Here.

Listen to it Here.

The Electric Banana - Blows Your Mind (recordings from around 1967- 1969)

If you didnt' know it by now, The Pretty things were one of the best unsung bands from the 1960's. And by 1960's, I mean the whole damn decade. Their first singles were recorded in 1964 along the same time as the early Rolling Stones meterial. The Rolling Stones mention is appropriat because lead guitarist Dick Taylor playeyd in an early incarnation of the Stones. This early Pretty Things meterial is very R&B based like the Stones stuff, but the Pretties make the Stones seem like a bunch of goody-two-shoes compaired. Phile May on vacals takes a similar Jaggers vocal attack but kicks the raunch up to that of a spoiled 15 year old. Dick Taylor, Brian Pendleton, and John Stacks all ripped up Bo Diddley and Jimmy Reed covers, with Viv Prince on drums out Keith Moon-ing Keith Moon.

Not to get to much into the bands early days, their later meterial was highlighed by the album S F Sorrow which was recored in Abby Road Studios around the same time as Sgt. Peppers and Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It's also unquestionably on par with either of thouse albums.

But back to this album. Here's what I wrote in the Wikipedia article on The Pretty Things:

The band also managed to make some extra cash by recording a number of songs for the DeWolfe Music Library that eventually were featured in several low-budget films during the 60's and early 70's. Some of these films include 1969's What's Good For the Goose and 1969's Haunted House of Horror and even a couple of soft porn films. Not intended for official release, these songs were later compiled on to records and released under the alias Electric Banana: 1967's Electric Banana, 1968's More Electric Banana, 1969's Even More Electric Banana, 1970's Hot Licks, and 1978's Return of the Electric Banana. The initial releases featured one side of vocal and one side of instrumental tracks. Subsequent releases of these albums generally keep the true identity of the band secret.

So, Here's the Track list. Most of it is S F Sorrow era sounding, with all the non-Pretty Things and instramentals cut out.



Tracklist

1. Alexander
2. It'll Never Be Me
3. I Love You
4. Gray Skies
5. What's Good For The Goose
6. If I Needed Somebody
7. Street Girl
8. Blow Your Mind
9. Eagle's Son
10. I See You
11. Love, Dance And Sing
12. Danger Signs
13. Walking Down The Street
14. A Thousand Ages From The Sun
15. Rave Up

128 kbps, ripped from CD

http://rapidshare.de/files/11133851/lectricBanana.rar.html

and
Buy it here

The Beatles - Appleton Brand Apples (bootleg)

Don't actually have any info on this because its a bootleg recording. Most of the songs are from the "Get Back" sessions, and are of various qualities. It seems they were recorded early in the session because not all the songs lyrics are fully compleated. One song, Suzy Parker, I've never heard before. Listen for John Lennon off the cuff "don't dig no Pakistanis takein' all the money" right before breaking in to "Get Back." Kinda gives new meaning to the song.

- overview by Denez

Tracklist

1. Get Back (take one)
2. Don't Let Me Down (first take)
3. Two of Us
4. Don't Let Me Down (second take)
5. Suzy Parker
6. I've Got A Feeling
7. Get Back (take two

128 kbps, ripped from vinyl

http://rapidshare.de/files/11037491/Appleton.rar.html

Bang - Bang (1972)

Formed in 1970, this band from Philadelphia rocked just as hard as Black Sabbath was over in England or as Blue Cheer did over in in San Francisco. Ok so perhaps they were a bit more neanderthal but you've got to give these boys some credit for jumping on the heavy-as-hell chromatic blues riff band wagon sooner than most every one else. Just listen to the opening riffs to "Future Shock" or "Lions, Christians" for prime examples of late 60's/early 70's slabs of mutant proto-metal beef. Frank Gilcken plays his guitar like it was a rhythm instrument, hammering out palm mutes between enormous two note riffs. Frank Ferrara on bass in nearly in audable, so I can only asume he's playing the exact same dumb-as-bricks chord progression as the other Frank. Ferrara voice is a bit higher in regester, often sounding a bit like Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourn.

And much like thouse two obvious influence, Bang has a few numbers where they take things down a notch or two. "Last Will and Testament" sounds alot like one of thous folky-er numbers that Tony Iommi seemed to love to put on most every Sabbath album.

All in all you'd be hard pressed to find anything that falls so squarly into the proto-metal genere that is not one of the above mentioned bands. Bang is severaly overrated, and this album shows it. If anyone has heard any of there other albums let me know. The bands website, lists one album before this one that's labled as unrealesd. Boy would I like to get my grubby paws on that! It also mentions them haveing reformed!

- overview by Denez


Tracklist:

1. Lions, Christians
2. The Queen
3. Last Will
4. Come With Me
5. Our Home
6. Future Shock
7. Questions
8. Redman

128 kbps, ripped from vinyl

http://rapidshare.de/files/10896245/Bang.rar.html