Mainhorse - Selftitled (Mycket Bra Album UK 1971)

220:- (24-Bit Limited Remaster Edition. Rekommenderas varmt.)

Created in 1968 by Swiss keyboard player Patrick Moraz, the progressive rock quartet Mainhorse, which also featured the talents of guitarist/violinist/vocalist Peter Lockett, drummer Bryson Graham, and bassist/cellist/vocalist Jean Ristori, released their eponymous lone record on Polydor in 1970. The album failed to garner much success outside of the art rock scene and the group split up, with Graham joining Spooky Tooth and Gary Wright, and Moraz landing a job with Yes and eventually starting a successful solo career.

The history of MAINHORSE started in '68 but unfortunately, it's not very well documented. The prime mover was Patrick MORAZ, a very talented, Swiss born keyboardplayer. Other members of MAINHORSE were Peter Lockett (lead guitar, violin and vocals), Jean Ristori (bass, cello and vocals) and Bryson Graham (drums and percussion). In 1970 the band signed a contract with Polydor, a year later their eponymous debut-album was released. It remained unnoticed and when success failed MAINHORSE disbanded soon. Drummer Bryson Graham went to play with GARY WRIGHT and SPOOKY TOOTH. In '74 Patrick MORAZ founded REFUGEE and replaced RICK WAKEMAN in YES and in The Eighties he joined THE MOODY BLUES.

The album "Mainhorse" opens with (how original) the song "Introduction": fluent 'heavy progressive' with floods of Hammond organ and fiery electric guitarplay, the sound has echoes from ATOMIC ROOSTER, THE NICE and early DEEP PURPLE. The following "Passing Years" is a slow, bluesy like song with mellow organ and a bit melancholic vocals. Then again 'heavy prog' with swirling organ and biting electric guitar in "Such a beautiful day", the climate evokes THE NICE and QUATERMASS. In "Pale sky" a wailing violin and howling electric guitar colour a bluesy atmosphere, topped by strong Hammond play and dynamic drums. This song features halfway a jam with violin, guitars, electric piano, experimental sounds and a hypnotizing rhythm-section, to end with a sensitive electric guitarsolo and loads of Hammond. Next is "Basia", an up-tempo and catchy song with strong organ - and electric guitarplay, a pumping bass and cheerful vocals, halfway MAINHORSE surprises with a swinging electric pianosolo. 

The track "More tea vicar" contains subtle changes of rhythm, from soft jazzy to fluent heavy prog with a classical sounding organ (like EKSEPTION), assorted percussion like glockenspiel and fiery electric guitar. The final composition "God" (almost 10 minutes) is the most alternating and dynamic one with many changes of climate with Patrick MORAZ on organ and the 'Klavio-synthesizer' and strong electric guitarwork, it sounds like a blend of THE NICE and ATOMIC ROOSTER. In my opinion this album deserves a second change, it's not very original but sounds powerful and exciting with good compositions. And, most important, this album contains the first impressive steps from Patrick MORAZ as a keyboard-wizard.

01. Introduction
02. Passing Years
03. Such a Beautiful Day
04. Pale Sky
05. Basia
06. More Tea Vicar
07. God

Principal Edwards - Round One (Last Album UK 1974)

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270:- (24-Bit Limited Remaster Edition, utgången utgåva.)

Principal Edwards Magic Theatre was a 14-member communal performance art collective in the United Kingdom made up of musicians, poets, dancers, and sound and lighting technicians.

The collective was originally formed at the University of Exeter in the late 1960s and then was later based at farmhouse in Kettering, Northamptonshire. The group was signed to John Peel's Dandelion Records and their single, The Ballad of a Big Girl Now, was released in 1969. Following the single was the release (under the same label) of two albums - Soundtrack and The Asmoto Running Band - the second of which was produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.

The sometimes whimsical, sometimes epic (verging on progressive rock) writing style of guitarist Root Cartwright was paired with the eclectic lyrical contributions of David Jones, Gillian Hadley and Monica Nettles, and was performed by vocalist Vivienne McAuliffe. The violin and recorders of Bindy Bourquin were another key element of the group's trademark sound.

Later, with a smaller nucleus (including new bassist Richard Jones from Climax Blues Band) and a name-change to, simply, Principal Edwards, they recorded a few new singles and a third album called Round One for Deram Records. Most of the Deram recordings were also produced by Nick Mason.

Since the 1970s, members' fortunes have varied greatly. Singer Martin Stellman directed Denzil Washington in For Queen and Country, David Jones ran a community centre, and Root Cartwright became a gardener and photographic artist. Bindy Bourquin and Richard Jones married and both went into teaching. Jones plays in two bands: The Climax Ceilidh Band and Meridian.

Jeremy Ensor toured (as sound engineer/tour manager) with the likes of Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, and Greenslade (co-producing two of their LPs) and then worked as an A&R man for CBS and Phonogram Records. He currently lives in North London and is an IT consultant.

Chris Runciman is still on the road as a tour manager/production manager and sound and lights engineer for Jackson Browne, Steve Earle, and James Taylor. He has recently been working as a technical consultant to Sir George Martin on the island of Montserrat.

Les Adey was the lighting technician for Genesis.

Serious illness and breakdowns have befallen some of the other former members, and dancer John McMahon Hill and the angelic-voiced Vivienne McAuliffe are both deceased.

01. Average Chap
02. Halibut Rock
03. Milk & Honeyland
04. The Whizzmore Kid
05. Juggernaut
06. Dear Mrs. O'Reilly
07. Triplets
08. The Rise Of The Glass White Gangster

Produced by Nick Mason
Recorded De Lane Lea studios Wembley

Dee Clark - You're Looking Good (Superb R&B US 1960)

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320:- (24-Bit Limited Remaster Edition. Superb amerikansk R&B från 1960, utgången utgåva.)

Dee Clark's third album is a fine collection of 11 songs, some strong originals like the infectious "Kangaroo Hop" and "Gloria" interspersed with covers of standards by Jimmy Reed ("Baby What Do You Want Me to Do"), Ray Charles ("What I Say"), etc. The overall sound is a mix of R&B ballads — some of them, such as "I Just Can't Help Myself," displaying '50s doo wop elements — alternating with hard-rocking rhythm numbers, drawn from various sessions and some earlier single releases. As a balladeer, Clark sounded uncannily like a young Clyde McPhatter, while his harder songs probe a distinctly tougher side to that same voice, and both sides work well in the context of this album.

Though largely unknown among contemporary audiences, Dee Clark was one of the most successful R&B singers of the late '50s and early '60s, his resonant, expressive tenor gracing classics like "Raindrops" and "(Hey) Little Girl." Delecta Clark was born in Blytheville, Arkansas on November 7, 1938; from the age of three, he grew up on Chicago's West Side, in 1952 joining with schoolmates Sammy McGrier and Ronnie Strong in the Hambone Kids. A fad that required performers to slap their thighs, chests, and other parts of the body in emulation of what's now known as a Bo Diddley beat, the Hambone Kids were popular long enough for the teenage trio to collaborate with Red Saunders & His Orchestra for a single, also titled "Hambone," issued on Okeh in 1952. The record was a minor hit, but in 1953 Clark moved on, assuming lead duties with the Chicago vocal group the Goldentones — when local DJ Herb "The Kool Gent" Kent took over their management, he rechristened his charges the Kool Gents, landing them a recording deal with Chicago's Vee-Jay label. The group issued its debut single "This Is the Night" in early 1956, followed that summer by "I Just Can't Help Myself." (As the Delegates, they also released "The Convention," a novelty record inspired by that year's presidential election.)

After one final Vee-Jay session yielding 1957's "Mother's Son," the label's general manager Ewart Abner convinced Clark to go solo — his debut "Gloria" was, in fact, a Kool Gents recording, although only Clark's name appeared on the label. He struggled to forge his own style, mimicking Clyde McPhatter on the follow-up "Seven Nights" and aping Little Richard on 1958's "Oh, Little Girl." Neither charted, but when Little Richard himself abruptly quit performing to enter Bible college, his booking agent hired Clark to fulfill his remaining live dates; he ultimately spent five months on the road with Richard's backing band the Upsetters, also enlisting the group for studio dates. Clark officially came into his own with late 1958's "Nobody But You" — a luminous, uptempo love song ideally matched to his deeply affecting vocals, the single reached number 21 on the pop charts and number three on the R&B charts, creating the template for the remainder of his Vee-Jay output. Its 1959 follow-up "Just Keep It Up (And See What Happens)" was an even bigger pop hit, reaching the number 18 spot (although going only as high as number nine on the R&B rankings), and with the Bo Diddley-inspired rocker "(Hey) Little Girl" Clark solidified his popularity, reaching number 20 pop and number two R&B during a 15-week run on the charts.

In 1960 Clark notched three more consecutive pop chart entries: the Top 40 hit "How About That," "(Crazy Little Mama) At My Back Door," and "You're Looking Good." The streak continued in 1961 with "Your Friends," which reached number 34 on the national pop charts and proved an even bigger hit in his hometown Chicago market. Inspired by the inclement weather that plagued a road trip back from New York City, the follow-up "Raindrops" was both Clark's biggest hit and his creative apex — a vividly cinematic virtuoso performance that reached number two on the Billboard pop chart, its sophisticated sound anticipated the R&B genre's coming evolution into soul. But Clark never again recaptured its success either in the studio or on the charts: none of his next three singles — "Don't Walk Away from Me," 1962's "You Are Like the Wind," and "Dance On, Little Girl" — even charted. "I'm Going Back to School" was a renaissance of sorts, cracking the R&B Top 20, but in 1963 Clark again stumbled, and after three successive singles ("I'm a Soldier Boy," "How Is He Treating You?" and "Walking My Dog") failing to chart, he left Vee-Jay, signing with Ewart Abner's new label Constellation for the dance record "Crossfire Time," which squeaked onto the Billboard Hot 100 at number 92 — his final U.S. chart appearance.

Clark's Constellation tenure is a study in frustration — between 1964 and 1966, he released eight singles for the label, none of which charted. (Some were nevertheless excellent, in particular the Bob Gaudio-penned "Come Closer," "Warm Summer Breeze," and "T.C.B.") In the wake of "Old Fashion Love," issued in mid-1966, Constellation folded and Clark spent the remainder of his career hopscotching from label to label, never again releasing more than one single on any given imprint — these efforts include 1967's "In These Very Tender Moments" (Columbia), 1968's "Nobody But You" (Wand), 1970s "24 Hours of Loneliness" (Liberty) and the self-explanatory "Raindrops '73," which appeared on the Warner subsidiary Rocky. Throughout this period he lived in almost as many cities, making a living by headlining local lounges and nightclubs during extended stays in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Orlando. Although 1975's Chelsea label release "Ride a Wild Horse" enjoyed chart success in the U.K., the single was Clark's last — he continued touring relentlessly during the decade-plus to follow, the grind no doubt contributing greatly to the massive heart attack that ended his life on December 7, 1990 at the age of only 52.

01. You're Looking Good Carter, Oliver 2:08
02. Wondering Clark, Nash 2:37
03. Kangaroo Hop Clark 2:21
04. I Just Can't Help Myself Blackwell 2:27
05. Little Red Riding Hood Clark 2:22
06. Gloria Clark 2:29
07. Come to California Diamond 2:19
08. Baby What You Want Me to Do Reed 2:58
09. 24 Boyfriends Clark, Twigs 2:05
10. Just Like a Fool Clark 2:17
11. What I Say Charles 4:35
+ Bonus Tracks

James Brown & His Famous Flames - Tour the U.S.A. (US 1962)

240:- (24-Bit Limited Remaster Edition, utgången utgåva sedan 2007.)

Killer early work by James Brown -- one of the best pre-funk albums on King, and really stuffed with great obscure numbers! The "tour" part is a bit of a misnomer -- as the album only features studio work, not live tracks -- but it is a great excuse for the record to have a cool cover with James in front of a map of the USA!

Tracks are a mix of instrumentals and hard soul numbers -- all very raw and rootsy, much more in the early style of James' best R&B work. Titles include "Sticky", "Cross Firing", "Choo Choo Locomotion", "Doin The Limbo", "Joggin Along", "I've Got Money", "Like A Baby", and "Three Hearts In A Tangle".

01. Mashed Potatoes U.S.A.
02. Choo-Choo Loco-Motion
03. Three Hearts In A Tangle
04. Doin' The Limbo
05. I Don't Care
06. Joggin' Along
07. I've Got Money
08. Sticky
09. Like A Baby
10. Every Beat Of My Heart
11. In The Wee Wee Hours (Of The Nite)
12. Cross Firing
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