The Kingsbury Manx - Pelz Komet - The Best Of The Kingsbury Manx (2013)

The Kingsbury Manx emerged in 1999 from the same North Carolina indie rock scene that spawned the Archers Of Loaf and Superchunk before them. Band members Ken Stephenson (guitar/vocals), Bill Taylor (guitar/vocals), Ryan Richardson (drums/vocals), and Scott Myers (bass/keyboards) attended middle school together in Greensboro before going separate ways during their college years. Stephenson and Myers enrolled in creative writing studies at Wilmington while Taylor and Richardson both landed at UNC, Chapel Hill, but during visits back home, the quartet began writing and recording music for a demo. Their break came when Overcoat Recordings owner (and former Thrill Jockey employee) Howard Greynolds heard the tape and agreed to fund their debut. 'The Kingsbury Manx' was released by the label in 1999 to so little fanfare that it ended up creating a small amount of mystery. Managing to stay independent from any particular scene, the band cultivated a sound simultaneously derivative and original, with influences from such timeless artists as early Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, and The Byrds, but they were handled with such loving care and attention to detail that they were rendered largely insignificant. The album became one of the underground indie successes of 2000, landing in the year-end polls of NME (Top 50) and Magnet ("Ten Great Albums Buried in 2000"), and a short tour of the U.S. followed in support of Elliott Smith. 'Let You Down' followed in 2001, with it's Japanese issue including two bonus tracks in 'Dirt And Grime' and 'My Shaky Hand'. Their next release was an EP entitled 'Afternoon Owls', which arrived in late 2003, and the band toured in support of it with The Sea And Cake. Additional shows with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci coincided with the release of the band's third album, 'Aztec Discipline', later that year, and this was the first to include new band members Paul Finn on keyboards and bassist/drummer Clarque Blomquist, who took over from the departing Stephenson and Myers. In 2004, The Kingsbury Manx started working on tunes for their next album at their practice space (Pine Manor) in Chapel Hill, travelling up to Michigan to record the songs at the Key Club studios, and in early 2005 they left longtime label Overcoat Recordings to sign with local North Carolina label Yep Roc Records. The band took the Key Club tapes to Chicago, where Wilco member Mikael Jorgensen mixed the album, and the result was their 2005 release, 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South'. After taking a long break, the band returned in 2009 with the simpler, folkier 'Ascenseur Ouvert!', which was released on Finn's Odessa label, and working at a leisurely pace again, their sixth record, 'Bronze Age', came out in 2013. The band never officially broke up, but just drifted apart as they grew older, and so as an introduction to one of my favourite band's of the early-to-mid 00's, here is a collection of some of their best work. 

Track listing

01 And What Fallout! (from 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South' 2005)
02 Pageant Square (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)
03 Pelz Komet (from 'Aztec Discipline' 2003)
04 Glass Eye (from 'Bronze Age' 2013)
05 Grape To Grain (from 'Aztec Discipline' 2003)
06 Walk On Water (from 'Ascenseur Ouvert!' 2009)
07 Piss Diary (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)
08 Custer's Last (from 'Bronze Age' 2013)
09 Well, Whatever (from 'Ascenseur Ouvert!' 2009)
10 Whether Or Not It Matters (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)
11 Greenland (from 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South' 2005)
12 Courtyard Waltz (from 'Let You Down' 2001)
13 Harness And Wheel (from 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South' 2005)
14 Rustic Stairs (from 'Let You Down' 2001)
15 Half Man (from the 'Afternoon Owls' EP 2003)
16 How Cruel (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)

Blondie Chaplin - The Fragile Thread (2001)

Terrence William "Blondie" Chaplin was born on 7 July 1951, in Durban, South Africa, and both Chaplin and drummer Ricky Fataar were members of Durban-based rock band the Flames, which they joined at ages 13 and 9, respectively. Their 1968 album 'Soulfire' produced a hit in South Africa, with the band's cover of 'For Your Precious Love' being No. 1 on white South African radio for thirteen weeks. Beach Boy Carl Wilson heard the Flames while the band was performing in London, and he signed them to the Beach Boys' Brother Records label, and produced their album 'The Flame' (changed from Flames, to avoid confusion with the Famous Flames who were backup singers with James Brown), which featured soulful rock-pop songs in the vein of the Beach Boys and Badfinger. Chaplin, along with Fataar, joined the Beach Boys when original drummer Dennis Wilson suffered a hand injury that left him unable to play the drums for almost two years. For the Beach Boys, it was a period in which long-time member Bruce Johnston had departed the band, and one-time leader Brian Wilson's participation in the group was very limited. As a result, Chaplin and Fataar joined as full-fledged members and not merely as backing musicians. Chaplin sang lead on various Beach Boys songs from two studio albums, 'Carl And The Passions – "So Tough"' and 'Holland', and plays on the live album 'The Beach Boys In Concert', and 'Sail On, Sailor' from 'Holland' is considered his signature song. 

Chaplin left the group in 1973 after a dispute with the Beach Boys' management, and Fataar left the following year. Following his time with the Beach Boys, Chaplin recorded a self-titled album, released on Asylum Records in 1977, and he also performed on Rick Danko's self-titled début album, as well as producing David Johansen's third solo album 'Here Comes The Night', on which he played guitar and sang backing vocals, and co-authored seven tracks. During the 1980's, he toured as guitarist and vocalist with a band featuring Rick Danko and Paul Butterfield, as well as contributing a tune as songwriter on Butterfield's last studio album in 1986, 'The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again'. His own solo discography has been fairly sparse, with only three albums appearing between 1977 and 2023, but in 2001 it was announced that his new solo album was nearing completion, with the title being 'The Fragile Thread'. The performing credits included Anton Fig on drums and Keith Lentin on bass, as well as guest appearances from Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Chuck Leavell, and Morris Goldberg. Two songs were mentioned in particular, with 'Don't Ask Me' featuring a haunting pipe melody, and 'Stop The Rain' being a medium tempo driving song with great drumming, but in end the album was shelved, and it was to be a further five years before he released the 'Between Us' album in 2006, with 'The Fragile Thread' remaining unreleased.  

Track listing

01 Don't Ask 
02 Where I Should Always Be
03 Buteh Hey! 
04 When I'm Walking 
05 We Hurt 
06 Fish Out Of Water
07 52 Letters 
08 Cry For Help 
09 You Got The Magic 
10 Stop The Rain 
11 Semolina 
12 When We Break 
13 Love You 'Til I Die 
14 Follow Your Heart 

The cover is based on the painting 'A Fragile Thread' by Catherine Sperling Dreyer.

The Final Solution - Misty Mind (1966)

Earth Mother And The Final Solution, later shortened to The Final Solution, were formed in 1965, and featured Ernie Fosselius on lead guitar, John Yager on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, John Chance on drums, and Bob Knickerbocker on bass guitar. Regarding the group's potentially offensive name, which have been taken as a reference to Nazo Germany's genocide of the Jews in World War Two, the band insisted it referred to the phrase "There is no final solution", a cryptic but otherwise meaningless statement, and music historian Alec Palao later explained "With their solidly middle-class backgrounds, none of the group had any idea of the slogan's implications". Stylistically, the band bore the closest similarity to the Great Society, with raga rock influences and minor-keyed melodies, although in other aspects they made a concerted effort to remain apart from their San Franciscan contemporaries, performing downbeat material penned by Fosselius and Knickerbocker, and dressing in a way that did not exhibit the hippie vibe of the city. They opened for several bands in San Francisco, in venues such as the Matrix and the Fillmore Auditorium ,throughout 1965 and 1966, completing approximately 50 live performances during their existence, and they were also the house band at the Red Dog Saloon for a month in 1966. 

Despite never recording during their existence, The Final Solution have gained the attention of fans of psychedelic rock after a bootleg circulated of a 1966 gig at The Matrix, which was later officially released by High Moon Records. This performance was almost not recorded as the group was a last-minute replacement for The Great Society, who had been forced to cancel the gig, and Peter Abram was running his tape deck that night and so captured a dynamic set that shows the band's diversity and musical chops. Rehearsal tapes have also surfaced of some of their songs, but despite recording demos for Mainstream Records in San Francisco, the band never managed to secure a recording contract, despite their live set showing that they were the equal of many other SF bands of the time. Had they managed to get a label interested, and laid down some of their songs in 1966, then their debut album could have sounded very much like this mix of live and rehearsal takes of some of their songs. As the guitar was buried so far in the mix at the rehearsals (and on 'Blacklist') that you could hardly hear it, I've brought it to the front so that we can clearly hear the acid-fried guitar solos.  

Track listing

01 If You Want
02 Tell Me Again
03 Just Like Gold
04 So Long Goodbye
05 The Time Is Here And Now
06 Bleeding Roses
07 You Say That You Love Me
08 Misty Mind
09 Nothing To Fear
10 Backlash

The Delines - The Drowning Life (2023)

Now that my recent post of 'The Best Of The Delines' has been up for a few weeks, I'm hoping that I've introduced the band to a raft of new fans, and so for them, as well as people who already knew of this superb group, here is a collection of their rare singles, b-sides and bonus tracks from throughout their career. 

Track listing

01 Walking Alone (b-side of 'The Oil Rigs At Night' 2014)
02 Slim And Margy (b-side of 'The Oil Rigs At Night' 2014)
03 What One Bottle Can Do (from the 'Colfax Bonus Tracks' EP 2014)
04 Eight Floors Up (single 2019)
05 Wait For Me (b-side of 'Eight Floors Up')
06 A Room On The 10th Floor (single 2019)
07 The Drowning Life (b-side of 'A Room On The 10th Floor')
08 Myrna And McCaughey (b-side of 'Little Earl' 2021)
09 The Movies (from 'The Imperial Sessions' EP 2019)
10 I Missed You So Bad I Thought My Heart Would Stop (from 'The Imperial Sessions' EP 2019)
11 Roll Back My Life (Version No. 2) (from 'The Imperial Sessions' EP 2019)
12 Pretty Perdita (flexi-disc included with Southwest Review magazine 2022)
13 The Golden State (from 'The Lost Duets' 2022)
14 My Blood Bleeds The Darkest Blue (from 'The Lost Duets' 2022)
15 Christmas In Atlantis (single 2023)
16 Waiting On A Bus Out Of Dallas (b-side of 'Christmas In Atlantis')
17 San Leandro Lament (b-side of 'Christmas In Atlantis')

Barry White - White Gold (1970)

Barry White was born Barry Eugene Carter on 12 September 1944, in Galveston, Texas, and grew up listening to his mother's classical music collection, first taking up the piano to emulate what he heard on the records. He attended Jacob A. Riis High School, an all-boys academy in southeast Los Angeles, and when he was 13 or 14 his his voice suddenly deepened almost overnight, which was something of a shock for his mother. At aged 16 he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires (equivalent to about $320,000 now), and while in jail he listened to Elvis Presley singing 'It's Now or Never' on the radio, an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life. After his release from jail, White left gang life and began a musical career at the beginning of the 1960's in singing groups. His first release was 'Too Far to Turn Around' in 1960 as part of the Upfronts, before working for various small independent labels in Los Angeles. He also recorded several singles with The Atlantics (for the Rampart and Faro labels) and The Majestics (for the Linda and Jordan labels). In 1965 he released one side of a split single with The Essence, under his birth name of Gene Carter, and he also produced 'Feel Aw Right' by the Bel Cantos, released on Downey Records, and the label also released his debut solo single, 'Man Ain't Nothin''/'I Don't Need It', under the name Lee Barry in 1966. 

In the mid-'60s, Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records hired him as an A&R man for his new Bronco Records imprint, and White started working with the label's artists, including Viola Wills and The Bobby Fuller Four, as a songwriter, session musician, and arranger. He discovered singer Felice Taylor and arranged her song 'I Feel Love Comin' On', and Bronco also issued one of White's first singles under his new name, 1967's 'All In The Run Of A Day'. In 1969, he was signed by Forward Records of Los Angeles, a division of Transcontinental Entertainment Corporation, as a producer, and as one final parting shot he released a cover of 'In The Ghetto' under the name Gene West in 1970. Two years later, White got his big break producing a girl group he had discovered called Love Unlimited, and after honing their talents for two years, they were signed to  Uni Records, and music industry businessman Larry Nunes helped to finance their album. After it was recorded, Nunes took the recording to Russ Regan, who was the head of the Uni label owned by MCA, and the resulting record, 1972's 'From A Girl's Point of View We Give to You... Love Unlimited', became the first of White's string of long-titled albums and singles. From this point his career took off, with a strings of hit singles and albums under his own name, as well as with Love Unlimited, and the Love Unlimited Orchestra, but everyone has to start somewhere, and this post charts Barry White's early years in the music industry up until that big break.  

Track listing

01 Too Far To Turn Around (The Upfronts 1960)
02 Married Jive (The Upfronts 1960)
03 Boo-Hoo-Hoo (The Atlantics 1961)
04 Remember The Night (The Atlantics 1962)
05 Flame Of Love (The Atlantics 1962)
06 Home On The Range (The Atlantics 1963)
07 Let Me Call You Sweetheart (The Atlantics 1963)
08 Strange World (The Majestics 1963) 
09 Everything Is Gonna Be Alright (The Majestics 1963)
10 It Took Time (It Took You) (The Upfronts 1963)
11 Baby, For Your Love (The Upfronts 1963)
12 Tracy (All I Have Is You) (Barry White And The Atlantics 1964)
13 Ring Around My Rosie (as Gene Carter 1965)
14 Man Ain't Nothin' (as Lee Barry 1966)
15 I Don't Need It (as Lee Barry 1966)
16 All In The Run Of A Day (as Barry White 1967)
17 Don't Take Your Love From Me (as Barry White 1967)
18 In The Ghetto (as Gene West 1970)
19 Little Girl (as Gene West 1970)

The Cooper Temple Clause - Not Quite Enough (2007)

The Cooper Temple Clause were an English alternative rock band, formed in Wokingham, Berkshire in 1998 by Ben Gautrey (vocals), Tom Bellamy (guitar, synthesizer, bass), Daniel Fisher (guitar, bass), Jon Harper (drums), and Didz Hammond (bass). Naming themselves after the Cowper-Temple clause, which was inserted into the Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), and which was a compromise on the nature of religious education in the state elementary schools set up in England and Wales by the Act. During many of their early interviews, the band would make up various stories related to the origin of their name to wind up the journalists. After signing to Morning Records in 2001, and releasing two EPs, the band's debut album, 'See This Through And Leave', was released on 11 February 2002, spawning three singles in 'Let's Kill Music', the double-A side 'Film-Maker // Been Training Dogs', and 'Who Needs Enemies?'. The album was  well received by critics and reached number 27 in the UK Albums Chart. Nineteen months after 'See This Through And Leave', the band released their second album, 'Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose', in 2003, which saw the band record for the first time at their own studios Bleak House, and which had a different style, increasingly incorporating electronic sounds into tracks. 

Its two singles, 'Promises, Promises' and 'Blind Pilots', gave the band international recognition, with 'Promises, Promises' reaching number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. The album was hailed by fans and critics alike, and reached number 5 in the UK Albums Chart, the highest position the band would ever achieve. In September 2005, bassist Didz Hammond left the band to join ex-Libertine Carl Barât in the band Dirty Pretty Things, although he did play on a couple of tracks for the band's next album before he left. After many setbacks, including a change in record label, and the loss of Hammond, the band's third album was significantly delayed, and was finally released on 22 January 2007. 'Make This Your Own' included the singles 'Damage', 'Homo Sapiens', 'Waiting Game' and 'Head', and it saw Fisher and Bellamy having a greater role in vocals, as well as featuring fewer electronic influences than the previous album. In late April 2007 the band announced they had split up, following Fisher's decision to leave, and this led to the cancellation of proposed appearances at Underworld and Dingwalls as part of the Camden Crawl. During their decade together they released many exclusive tracks as the b-sides to their singles, and this album collects them all in one place for you remember and re-assess an under-rated, but none-the-less innovative, indie rock band.  

Track listing

Disc I - 2001
01 Devil Walks In The Sand (Acoustic) (promo 7" single 2001)
02 Girl Ink Age (b-side of 'Let's Kill MUsic' 2001)
03 My Darling (Nasty Angel) (b-side of 'Let's Kill MUsic' 2001)
04 Safe Enough Distance Away (b-side of 'Film-Maker' 2001)
05 Screwdriver Song (b-side of 'Film-Maker' 2001)
06 The Devil Walks In The Sand (from 'The Hardware' EP 2001)
07 Solitude (from 'The Hardware' EP 2001)
08 Way Out West (from 'The Hardware' EP 2001)
09 Sister Soul (from 'The Hardware' EP 2001)
10 I'll Still Write (from 'The Warfare' EP 2001)
11 Mansell (from 'The Warfare' EP 2001)

Disc II - 2002-2003
01 Before The Moor (from 'Who Needs Enemies' 2002)
02 One Quick Fix (from 'Who Needs Enemies' 2002)
03 Lapitu (Bedtime Story) (from 'Who Needs Enemies' 2002)
04 Not Quite Enough (from 'Who Needs Enemies' 2002)
05 Jesus, You Smoke Too (from 'Who Needs Enemies' 2002)
06 Our Eyes Are Bright (b-side of 'Promises Promises' 2002)
07 On.Off.On (b-side of 'Promises Promises' 2003)
08 I Know (b-side of 'Promises Promises' 2003)
09 Resident Writer (b-side of 'Promises Promises' 2003)
10 Habit Of A Lifetime (b-side of 'Blind Pilots' 2003)
11 Derelict (b-side of 'Blind Pilots' 2003)
12 I Want You To Think I Could Be (b-side of 'Blind Pilots' 2003)

Disc III - 2006-2007
01 Haunted By You (b-side of 'Homo Sapiens' 2006)
02 Pins And Needles (b-side of 'Homo Sapiens' 2006)
03 The Clan (b-side of 'Homo Sapiens' 2006)
04 Talking To Pylons (b-side of 'Homo Sapiens' 2006)
05 Last Line Of Defence (b-side of 'Waiting Game' 2007)
06 Pulling Shapes (b-side of 'Waiting Game' 2007)
07 For The Last Time (b-side of 'Waiting Game' 2007)
08 Sleeping In A Different Room (from the 'Head' EP 2007)
09 Zoology (from the 'Head' EP 2007)
10 Theme From Mayhem (from the 'Head' EP 2007)

The Popguns - A Way To Convince You (2023)

The Popguns were formed in 1986 in Brighton, East Sussex, by vocalist Wendy Morgan, guitarists Simon Pickles and Greg Dixon plus bassist Pat Walkington, and were joined by Shaun Charman, the former drummer for The Wedding Present in 1988. Their first release, 'Where Do You Go?', came in the form of a split flexi disc with How Many Beans Make Five?, given away free with an issue of a local fanzine in 1988. After signing to Medium Cool Records, they released the single 'Landslide' in 1989, which reached number 20 on the UK Indie Chart, and made it to No. 46 on DJ John Peel's Festive Fifty list for that year. Midnight Music picked up the band from Medium Cool in 1989, and the singles 'Waiting For The Winter' that same year, and 1990's 'Someone You Love' both featured on their debut album for the label, 'Eugenie', with every track on the album being included on those three singles. In 1991, the single 'Still A World Away' preceded second album 'Snog', which was followed by the EPs 'XXX' and 'Crazy', finishing off a busy year for the band. Charman then left the group, leaving them on a brief hiatus which saw them lose a significant amount of their media coverage, and it was three years before they reappeared with the 'Star' single on new label, 3rd Stone, who followed that with their third album, 'Love Junky' in 1995. 

The final release of their early years was the 1996 compilation 'A Plus de Cent' on Tall Poppy Records, including the French language version of their last single, 'Harley Davidson'. After another lengthy break, 2012 saw the band resume live performances with six gigs in that year and a further two in 2013, and at least four new songs were included in these performances, three of which later turned up on a three-track 7" single, 'Lovejunky', released in late 2014. A new album, 'Pop Fiction', followed on yet another label, Matinée Recordings, with the 'Still Waiting For The Winter' single being taken from it. The band have continued to tour and record new material, and in 2017 they released 'So Long' as a taster for their new album 'Sugar Kisses', and they've continued to record singles and EPs since then, with the 'Carrying The Fire' EP appearing in 2019, and the 'Popism' single being released as recently as 2023. This post collects together all the non-album singles and b-sides recorded by this under-rated 1990's indie-pop group, right through to their re-emergence in the 2000's and beyond.   

Track listing

Disc I - 1988-1994
01 Where Do You Go (split flexi disc with How Many Beans Make Five 1988)
02 I'm Spoiling Everything (b-side of 'Still A World Away' 1991)
03 A Way To Convince You (b-side of 'Still A World Away' 1991)
04 Living In Sin (from the 'XXX' EP 1991)
05 Can't Ignore The Rain (from the 'XXX' EP 1991)
06 Really Gone (from the 'XXX' EP 1991)
07 Crazy (single 1991)
08 Gesture (b-side of 'Crazy')
09 Stay Alive (b-side of 'Star' 1994)
10 Daybreak (b-side of 'Get Out' 1994)
11 What Are You Waiting For (b-side of 'Get Out' 1994)
12 Can I Kick It? (b-side of 'Get Out' 1994)

Disc II - 1996-2023
01 Harley Davidson (single 1996)
02 Crushed (previously unreleased 1996)
03 So Amazing (previously unreleased 1996)
04 Long Way To Fall (b-side of 'Lovejunky' 2014)
05 Home Late (b-side of 'Lovejunky' 2014)
06 Red White And Blue (single 2014)
07 BN3 (from the 'Still Waiting For The Winter' EP 2015)
08 Why You Fell In Love With Me (from the 'Still Waiting For The Winter' EP 2015)
09 Diane's Song (from the 'Still Waiting For The Winter' EP 2015)
10 Beat Me Up (from the 'C88 Demos' EP 2017)
11 12 Days Of Christmas (from the WIAIWYA Christmas advent calendar album '24' 2021)
12 Caesar (from the 'Popism' EP 2023)
13 Dirty London (from the 'Popism' EP 2023)
14 Red Cocoon (from the 'Popism' EP 2023)
15 Indie Rock Goddess (from the 'Popism' EP 2023)

Thanks to jman for the suggestion.

LovHer - To Know Her Is To LovHer (2002)

LovHer was an American R&B girl group, and was the first female group on the Def Soul label. The group was formed in 1999 by Sisqó, lead singer of R&B group Dru Hill, who wanted to put together a girl group that would present a raw, "street" appeal. Like Dru Hill, LovHer's members are known by hip hop nicknames: Talia "Chinky" Burgess, Marthea "Buttah" Jackson, Samerrah "Serenade" Terrell, and Kienji Hakeem. In 1999, LovHer made their first appearance in Sisqó's 'Got to Get It' music video, and performed vocals on his 1999 album 'Unleash The Dragon', and its follow-up, 2001's 'Return Of Dragon'. In 2002, their song 'How It's Gonna Be' was released as a single from the 2001 'Rush Hour 2' soundtrack, peaking at number 60 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and the group was nominated for the Soul Train Lady of Soul award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist. After a second single, 'Girlfriend', failed to repeat the success of the first one, the group was dropped by Def Soul, and the album that they'd recorded was eventually shelved. In 2007, Kienji left the group, and after a brief attempt at continuing as a trio, the remaining members of the group split up. As so often happened in the late 90's and early 2000's, labels only had an eye on the dollar, and if a group wasn't instantly successful then they were unceremoniously dumped, and fine albums like this one were destined never to be heard...until now.   

Track listing

01 Intro 
02 How It's Gonna Be
03 Your Man 
04 Girls Gonna Do
05 Girlfriend (Interlude) 
06 Girlfriend 
07 Love 
08 Do You Know Me 
09 Don't Leave
10 I Don't Want Your Man 
11 What Could've Been 
12 Commitment
13 Club (Interlude)
14 You Don't Know Me (feat. Sisqo)
15 Happy Days
16 Black Butterfly

Television - Double Exposure (1975)

Television's roots can be traced to the teenage friendship between Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell, who met at Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware, from which they ran away. Both moved to New York, separately, in the early 1970s, aspiring to be poets, and when they re-connected they formed their first group together, The Neon Boys. Consisting of Verlaine on guitar and vocals, Hell on bass and vocals and Billy Ficca on drums, the group lasted from late 1972 to 11 March 1973, during which time they did some recording, with a 7-inch record featuring 'That's All I Know (Right Now)' and 'Love Comes In Spurts' being released in 1980, following the success of their next band. Renaming themselves Television, the group reformed on 12 March 1973, recruiting Richard Lloyd as a second guitarist, and after a year of rehearsals they played their first gig at the Townhouse Theater on 2 March 1974. Their new name was devised by Hell, and was a pun on 'tell a vision', as well as a reference to reclaiming the dominant media of the era. Their manager, Terry Ork, persuaded CBGB owner Hilly Kristal to give the band a regular gig at his club, and after playing several times at CBGBs in early 1974, they performed at Max's Kansas City and other clubs, returning to CBGBs in January 1975, where they established a significant cult following. 

Richard Williams, Island Records' A&R rep in London at the time, and keen to find something new, spotted Television, and demo sessions were arranged for December at Good Vibrations studios. The idea was to produce rough demos that he could take back to London in order to convince the company that they were worth signing, and to strengthen his case he took along Brian Eno, as he was also intrigued by the scene evolving in New York. They all spent two days recording and one day mixing five of Verlaine's songs, but none of Hell's, which in retrospect  could have been a sign that he would soon be out of the band. Back in London, however, very few people at the company showed a positive response to the demos, and so they were put to one side, although they were later bootlegged. Initially, song-writing was split almost equally between Hell and Verlaine, with Lloyd being an infrequent contributor as well, but friction began to develop as Verlaine, Lloyd, and Ficca became increasingly confident and adept with both instruments and composition, while Hell remained defiantly untrained in his approach. Verlaine, feeling that Hell's frenzied onstage demeanour was upstaging his songs, reportedly told him to "stop jumping around" during their gigs, and occasionally refused to play Hell's songs, such as 'Blank Generation', in concert. 

This conflict, as well as one of Hell's songs being picked up by Island Records, led him to leave the group and take some of his songs with him. He co-founded the Heartbreakers in 1975 with former New York Dolls Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan, and then later formed his own group, Richard Hell And The Voidoids. Fred Smith, briefly of Blondie, replaced Hell as bassist, and in two hours on 19 August 1975, Television cut a handful of demos on an infirm TEAC 4-track owned by Jay Dee Daugherty, drummer for Patti Smith's group, including two tracks that never made it to their debut album. 'Little Johnny Jewel' from the sessions was pressed up as a single, split over two sides of a 7", and was released on Ork Records in September 1975, and less than a year later they'd signed a deal with Elektra Records, and were recording their debut long-player, the classic 'Marquee Moon'. To hear how they got there, listen to these early demos, and see that the band was pretty much fully formed up to two years before that first album was released. 

Track listing

01 Prove It
02 Friction
03 Venus De Milo
04 Double Exposure
05 Marquee Moon
06 Hard On Love
07 Friction 
08 Careful
09 Prove It
10 Fire Engine
11 Little Johnny Jewel

Wobbler - Leprechaun Behind The Door (2012)

Like Airbag, who I've already championed in the blog, Wobbler are a neo-progressive rock band from Norway, comprising Kristian Karl Hultgren on bass, bass clarinet, and bass recorder, Lars Fredrik Frøislie on keyboards, Martin Nordrum Kneppen on drums, percussion, and recorder, Morten Andreas Eriksen on lead guitar, mandolin, and tambourine, and Tony Johannessen on lead vocals. They formed near Hønefoss, Norway, in early 1999, with a desire to recreate some of the musical expressions of the early 1970's, especially in the use of the instruments of that time and the compositions of the progressive rock scene from 1969 to 1974. Bands like PFM, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Yes, Museo Rosenbach, ELP and so on were highly influential on the group, and in a few months the basic ideas were in place for what they wanted their music to sound like. There was then a pause from 2001 to around 2003, when a demo of two of those 1999 songs was recorded at Frøislie's studio, and put out on the internet. Wobbler ended up signing a record deal with the American record label The Laser's Edge, and by now, Frøislie's vintage keyboard collection had grown, and the recording of their debut album 'Hinterland' began in June 2004. 

They did not use any MIDI, and only pre-1975 instruments were applied, including Mellotron, Hammond organ, Minimoog, Rhodes piano, clavinet, ARP, piano and harpsichord, and after eight months of studio work the album was ready, and 'Hinterland' was revealed at NEARfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, during one of their rare live performances in July 2005. 'Afterglow' followed in February 2009, released by their new label Termo Records, and it was this record that introduced me to this superb band, although there were internal changes going on, with original vocalist Johannessen leaving and being replaced by Andreas Wettergreen Strømman Prestmo, who still sings with them today. Their third album 'Rites At Dawn' was released by Termo Records in May 2011, and this prompted another change in personnel, with Geir Marius Bergom Halleland replacing Eriksen on lead guitar. After a long hiatus, their fourth album, 'From Silence To Somewhere', appeared in 2017, and it met with overwhelming acclaim. As of April 2021, it was the top rated album of the entire twenty-first century on the progressive rock database Prog Archives, with an average user rating of 4.35 from over 700 ratings, and the website's thirty-second-highest rated album of all time. 

Although the album's niche genre resulted in limited exposure in some parts of the music press, it received reviews ranging from favourable to rapturous on Angry Metal Guy, The Prog Space, Prog Report, Prog Radar, and Team Rock, while the Norwegian website Evig lyttar ranked it as the best Norwegian album of the year. The band's fifth and most recent album, 'Dwellers Of The Deep', was released in October 2020, and quickly jumped to the top of the Prog Archives 2020 albums chart within two days of its release. Band members Prestmo, Kneppen, and Frøislie have also collaborated with other Norwegian prog artists on the long-running project 'The Chronicles Of Father Robin', which has released three volumes of 'The Songs & Tales Of Airoea' in 2023 and 2024, initially as a crowdfunded box set, and later via individual releases on Karisma Records. As an introduction to the band for anyone who doesn't know them, here are the two 1999 songs that they recorded as demos in 2003, one of which has yet to appear on a studio album, and to flesh out an otherwise rather short record, I've included a track from one of their very infrequent live concerts from 2012.

Track listing

01 Imperial Winter White Dwarf
02 Leprechaun Behind The Door
03 In Taberna

Soulseek update 2

Following my last Soulseek update I've had many people ask for Mega links, and mentioning that they can no longer access my files on Soulseek. Having spent some time on my other laptop, I've found that I can no longer access them either, so I would normally say that there must be something wrong with my uploading, except for the fact I am seeing many downloads every day, including recent posts, and so the issue must be with some people's downloading access. I still have no idea what has happened, but as it is affecting so many people then it must be that something has gone wrong at Soulseek itself, and we can only hope that it fixes itself as quickly as it broke. In the meantime, email me at aiwe2@yahoo.com for the Mega links until it gets itself sorted out.  

pj

Essex Green - Fabulous Day - The Best Of Essex Green (2018)

Essex Green was formed in mid-1997 after four members of the Burlington, Vermont-based indie pop band Guppyboy relocated to Brooklyn, New York to start a project that incorporated psychedelia and cosmic music into its sound Singer/guitarist Chris Ziter, singer/keyboardist Sasha Bell, guitarist Jeff Baron, and bassist Mike Barrett were joined by drummer Tim Barnes, and the group appeared at various New York City clubs before touring the East Coast with Aden and Saturnine. Their first release was an early-1999 split single on Sudden Shame Records with its alt-country alter ego, the Sixth Great Lake. Also in 1999, they were asked by Robert Schneider to be a part of the Elephant Six Collective and recorded a self-titled EP for the label, and then shortly afterwards their debut full-length for Kindercore, 'Everything Is Green'. Bell and Baron also joined the like-minded Brooklyn group The Ladybug Transistor, but their time spent with that band meant less time for Essex Green activities, as did Bell's work on her solo project the Finishing School, whose debut album, 'Destination Girl', came out in 2003. By this time Bell had left The Ladybug Transistor and Baron had downgraded to contributor, which meant more time for the Essex Green. 

The band, now a trio following Barrett and Barnes' exit, signed to Merge Records and began work on their second album, toning down the eclectic psych-pop of their debut recordings in favor of a more relaxed folk-rock approach. 'The Long Goodbye' was released in 2003, and after some time spent touring the world, the band members headed to the Manhattan studio of producer Britt Myers, where they began sessions for their third album. 'Cannibal Sea' cut out any remaining traces of country-rock from their approach, and was released by Merge in early 2006. The band spent a solid year touring behind the record, then hit a snag when Ziter moved to Cincinnati, after which Bell moved to San Francisco and Baron to Pittsburgh. With the three members in different cities and their real lives getting in the way, it took nearly a decade before they worked on music together again. Bell had even stopped playing music entirely for a few years until she moved to Montana and, with the help of some friendly record-store clerks, started playing shows as the Sasha Bell Band. Meanwhile, Ziter and Baron had both moved back to Burlington, and the trio decided the time was right to reunite. They played some shows in 2016 and began seriously working on another album, with the three members trading song ideas across the country. Bell then went to Vermont for some sessions, and a couple of years' work led to their third album, 'Hardly Electronic', a richly arranged slice of chamber pop that was issued by Merge in mid-2018. Nothing more has been heard of them since then, but they've left behind a catalogue of excellent baroque-pop songs, and this album collects some of the best of them for your consideration.  

Track listing

01 Sloane Ranger (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
02 Don't Know Why (You Stay) (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
03 The Late Great Cassiopia (from 'The Long Goodbye' 2003)
04 The Pride (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
05 Janaury Says (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
06 Penny & Jack (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
07 Southern States (from 'The Long Goodbye' 2003)
08 Rabbit (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
09 Our Lady In Havana (from 'The Long Goodbye' 2003)
10 Mrs. Bean (from 'Everything Is Green' 1999)
11 Catatonic (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
12 Primrose (from 'Everything Is Green' 1999)
13 Fabulous Day (from 'The Essex Green' EP 1999)
14 Waikiki (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
15 Rue De Lis (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)

Rhona Bennett - Rhona (2001)

Rhona Lynn Bennett-Simon was born on 10 May 1976 in Chicago, and was raised with her elder sister, former Chicago Force right guard Roz Bennett. She began her musical journey as a child, singing in church choirs in her hometown, most notably with the renowned Soul Children, and at the age of 11 she became background singer at the ETA Creative Arts Theater, where she performed her first major part in a stage production of 'A Christmas Carol'. In 1990, Bennett auditioned to became a Mouseketeer on Disney Channel's revival of 'The Mickey Mouse Club', a variety show presented by 19 dancing and singing teenagers, who acted in skits, appeared in videos, and interviewed celebrities. Following a successful casting, she joined the Mouseketeer roster during the show's fourth season in 1991, with the ensemble at the time featuring several emerging talents, including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez. Encouraged by friends, she decided to try her luck in California as an actress, and was soon appearing in sitcoms such as 'Living Single', 'The Single Guy', and 'Martin'. In late 2000 she signed with Sony Music under producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins' newly founded boutique imprint Darkchild Records, where she was given the title "First Lady Of Darkchild". Jerkins recruited most of his regular collaborators to work alongside Bennett and him on her self-titled debut album, including Robert "Big Bert" Smith, LaShawn Daniels, and his brother Fred Jerkins III. 

The album's first single, 'Satisfied', released in March 2001, became a top five hit on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart the following month, but failed to chart or sell noticeably elsewhere. Following a promotional world trip, further plans to release 'Rhona' were put on hold after a fallout between Sony Music and Darkchild Records, and consequently, the album received a limited Japan-only release, and Bennett was soon dropped from the label. In 2004 she was asked to join R&B girl group En Vogue as a performing member to replace Amanda Cole, after being recommended to the band's mentor Denzel Foster. During her five-year tenure with the band, En Vogue released the album 'Soul Flower' in 2004, and following several years of touring, Bennett left the band amid their 20th Anniversary World Tour in 2008, due to the return of original member Dawn Robinson. Following her departure from En Vogue, Bennett began work on her second solo album, 'The Anticipation Of R&B', under her own label, Tone'n'Rhone Productions. She worked with a variety of musicians on the project, including producers J.Y. Park, Cool Ruckus, Peter Zora, as well as guest vocalists such as Brandy, 40 Glocc and her former En Vogue colleagues Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron. Preceded by the singles 'Range' and 'Letting You Go'. the album was shelved in 2010 due to internal conflicts and insufficient promotion, with a third single, 'Don't Call Me' also eventually being cancelled. 'Rhona' was a perfectly fine album, and didn't deserve to be consigned to a limited one-month release in Japan, so here it is for fans of En Vogue and similar girl groups to enjoy.

Track Listing

01 Satisfied
02 The Best Of Me 
03 Take What Comes To You 
04 The First Time
05 Last Goodbye
06 Time Will Tell 
07 Miss The Way
08 I Will 
09 I Want To Know What Love Is
10 I Look To The Sky
11 The Meaning Of Love