TheCellarTapes

Gilberto Gil - Frevo Rasgado
(1968)



Tracks



Some call him the pure definition of World Music, others call him thee individual who drove the Tropicalia movement forward with his unrivalled fusion of Samba, Classical and Rock n Roll, whatever the case, there is no doubting the mans musical ability and more importantly the threat he posed with his talents to the powers that be in the Brazilian government.

Gilberto Gil made his musical beginnings in the fifties, but did not release a solo album until 1967, by this stage the Tropicalia movement was in its infancy but very much a happening thing. Men like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were really only just starting to push the boundaries of musical endeavour in 67, but by 68 the authorities could be left in little doubt that the noises coming from Brazilian youth were slightly disconcerting to say the least.

A string of landmark albums from Brazil came one after another between 67 and 69, we have already covered Os Mutantes’ debut in 68 and I am sure there will be yet more mentions in the coming months from the cellar of other efforts, but it is to Gilberto Gil’s second release, Frevo Rasgado, that we turn to today, arguably one of the best World music albums of all time and a serious contender for one of the greatest pieces of work ever released full stop.

Joyous, exciting, exuberant, raucous and boardering on the Psychedelic, this album begins with the title track; Frevo Rasgado I guarantee from the very first notes will instantly make you feel good about life. Its vibe is unquestionably Brazilian, but please have no fear, this is not over the top Rio carnival time, the Samba elements are hidden behind a very controlled Brass and Horn section, creating a rather excellent opener, which sets you up nicely for the rest of the album.



Backed by Os Mutantes on a couple of tracks, Gil injects these songs with an energy and life which is very difficult to compare with any artist on the planet at that time or since. For example Pega a Voga, Cabeludo and Domingo No Parque, these songs really do go places, indeed a triumph for the Tropicalia movement, they are so jolly and cheerful, marvellous stuff.

All that said, the elements going into Gil’s writing throughout this album is not unique to Brazil or even for that matter to Western music in the late sixties, but Gil’s major achievement with this release must surely be to have raised the bar for mixing classical elements into modern music, even dare I say it as a result giving George Martin a run for his money. An example of this is Track Four; Marginália II has so many elements going on with it that each individual listen of this song provides something new each time.

Ultimately Gil would find himself exiled for a few years by the Brazilian government in the late sixties, a victim of the power of his own music. But instead of being a bad thing, he found himself in England rubbing shoulders with the likes of Pink Floyd, opening the door for a whole new chapter in his musical development. And now after helping depose of a Government, he himself dabbles in politics, even becoming a Minister, all things considered, a truly remarkable man.

TheCellarTapes

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
(1967)



Tracks

1 Astronomy Domine 4:12
2 Lucifer Sam 3:07
3 Matilda Mother 3:08
4 Flaming 2:46
5 Pow R. Toc H. 4:26
6 Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk 3:05
7 Interstellar Overdrive 9:41
8 The Gnome 2:13
9 Chapter 24 3:42
10 The Scarecrow 2:11
11 Bike 3:21

Pink Floyd were formed in London in 1965, the darlings of the UFO Club, they were at the forefront of the emerging Psychedelic movement coming out of England during the post Beat period. A group of talented musicians, they were led by a charismatic guitarist from Cambridge called Syd Barrett.

On the back of the success of the single, Arnold Layne, in 1967 the band cut their first LP, and as it turns out the only Pink Floyd album to fully include Syd Barrett in its conception and creation. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn was released on EMI during that magical Summer of 1967 and is now heralded in the same bracket as Sgt Pepper as a game changer, an album that changed the nature of music forever, this despite the album appearing on paper to be not very accessible at all.

That said this album is obviously something special, mixing whimsical and fairytale like lyrics with the avant-garde and space rock, creating a sound quite clearly new and dynamic. The album begins with Astronomy Domine, surely one of the most fascinating songs to come out of 1967, it literally has everything you can ask for if you’re a connoisseur of space rock or Psychedelia in general.



Following this staggering opener, the album moves to Lucifer Sam, a surprising song for Pink Floyd. The descending riff is actually more akin to Swinging London than it is to Underground London, but Syd Barrett’s eerie voice takes the song back into the vibe of the album as a whole.

Track three on this album actually is my favourite song from the LP; Matilda Mother is a song performed by keyboardist Richard Wright. It is naturally a beautiful song, spooky and fairytale like and arranged flawlessly to create a masterpiece if ever there was one. Roger Waters has a chance to shine on this album too, taking the album from fairytale and the space age to the realms of West Coast, with Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk.

But this album at the end of the day is tilted in favour of the talents of Syd Barrett, songs like the marvelous The Gnome and the closer, the bizarre Bike, a song so silly and off the wall that there was really only one person on the planet in 67 who could have written it, sheer Barrett, sheer brilliance.



A remarkable album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is considered by many to be the holy grail of British Psychedelia, a staggering creation from a band on top form. In later years the band would lose their leader but still re-emerge as the figureheads of the Progressive Rock era. Barrett would go on to attempt to launch a solo career but sadly his demons would catch up with him in the end. But the fact remains, in 1967 Barrett and Pink Floyd created something quite wonderful, a must for us all.

TheCellarTapes

Q65 - Revolution
(1966)



Tracks



Formed in The Hague in 1965, Q65 were a five piece blues act like no other. For those of you not aware of the best band ever to come out of Holland, Q65 were basically the providers of the filthiest blues this side of the Atlantic in the sixties, England included. They could be described as the Dutch Yardbirds, but I think that description is such an injustice that I now refer to The Yardbirds as the English Q65 instead.

Q65 were Wim Bieler on grouchy vocals and brash harmonica, Frank Nuyens on guitar, Peter Vink on bass, Joop Roelofs on the other guitar and Jay Baar on drums, you must promise me that you will remember their names because in 1966 they released their debut on Decca; Revolution was nothing short of the best downtrodden and grimy Blues outing of the decade and quite possibly of all time.



This journey of proper music begins with The Life I Live, a number with a hint of vocals from the heart but still with the riffs coming out of the guitar that fit the bill for the rest of the album. Bieler really does tug on the heart strings with this song, you can hear the torment in his voice, yet strangely despite all these feelings brought on from the music, the whole song remains low key, a point I will come back to later.

The superbly titled I Got Nightmares follows the opener; this number differs slightly from the grimy blues more akin to the rest of the album as it actually borders on US Garage-Psyche more than anything else, and track four, Mr Pitiful, actually involves a Saxophone of all things, so this band is far from a one trick pony. But back to the blues, track five is a cover of I’m a Man; I don’t recall ever hearing a bad version of this classic number, and Q65 don’t let us down here either.

Also far from letting us down is track eight; Down in the Bottom is a brilliant song, like The Sonics, Q65 attack their songs with a good old fashioned shelling, however there is an air of subtlety about the Q65 sound, a bit like Skip James backed by a cannon, if that’s a good analogy. That said, there is nothing subtle about Spoonful, what a song and what a vocal, proper grit!



The album is rounded off nicely with a tremendous 13 minute cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's Bring It on Home, a stunning rampage of music. As with all these forgotten gems, it has been subject to a reissue over the years, with the latest offering providing 18 songs, not bad really.

Sadly this would prove to be the bands only album release in the 1960’s, the band was sent into a spiral after their lead singer was drafted into the Dutch army. But enough of the history lesson, what we have here is a proper hidden gem from the continent, pure unadulterated filth from a band who must surely deserve your attention sooner rather than later.

TheCellarTapes

Various Artists - A Christmas Gift For You from Phil Spector
(1963)



Tracks

1. White Christmas - Darlene Love
2. Frosty The Snowman - The Ronettes
3. The Bells of St. Mary's - Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans
4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Crystals
5. Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes
6. Marshmallow World - Darlene Love
7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Ronettes
8. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - The Crystals
9. Winter Wonderland - Darlene Love
10. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - The Crystals
11. Christmas - Baby Please Come Home - Darlene Love
12. Here Comes Santa Claus - Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans
13. Silent Night - Phil Spector & Artists

Born Harvey Phillip Spector, in the Bronx area of New York, it could be said that Phil Spector has Christmas in his blood being born on the 26th of December an all. Released in November 1963 on the ABKCO record label, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector quickly became the benchmark for what a Christmas album should all be about, being arguably the greatest Christmas record ever released. In the 45 years since its release, this title has never looked like being removed from this album further proving the genius of the man behind the record.

Phil Spector's musical legacy will always be The Wall of Sound. It has become a rather cliché term over the years, however it cannot be understated what Spector has brought to the table. His ability to put layer upon layer of sounds on top of each other in a seemingly flawless fashion, created a level of depth to music not heard until the age of digital and computer generated fakery, but with a Spector record we have the real thing.

And the real thing with this Record is the raw power of it, combined with the warmth of the glow that fills the room whenever it is played. Contained within are tracks by four of Spector's preferred artists from 1963. Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, The Ronettes, The Crystals and of course the great Darlene Love. All of the tracks are arranged and produced by Phil Spector.



Darlene Love's contribution are by far the strongest efforts on the album, her version of White Christmas is track one on this album, and what a start it is, her voice combined with the depth of the music proves to be irresistible. This way of creating powerful music is not exclusive to Darlene Love obviously; that spirit also runs from track 2 right through to Bob B Soxx's version of Here Comes Santa Claus on track 12. The final track features Phil Spector sharing his views of the album with a version of Silent Night playing in the background, despite my poor description of this song, this is actually rather sweet and nice, and is a fitting ending to an all round belting album.

Phil Spector's aim with this album was to attempt to redefine the Christmas song and he succeeded incredibly. His treatment of great classic songs, some of which over 50 years old at the time of recording, combined with four of the best acts from the US of the time, creates an instantly memorable album. These songs have define Christmas for every generation since, with each one being poppy, catchy but still beautifully maintaining a strong spirit of Christmas, which in my view makes it a must for any house and not just for December.

Merry Christmas fans of The Cellar Tapes and enjoy!

TheCellarTapes

The Human Beinz - Nobody But Me
(1968)



Tracks



Hailing from Youngstown, The Human Beingz (formerly known as The Premiers) were an Ohio four piece established in 1964. After releasing a couple of singles on minor labels in the area throughout 1966, they quickly earned a reputation locally for some excellent onstage performances, so much so that they caught the attentions of major label Capitol, who indeed signed them up in 1967. In September of 1967, the band due to a contract error dropped the “G” from their name, and released their national debut 45; The Isley Brothers’ song Nobody But Me by The Human Beinz even now remains a significant release, arguably bigger than the band itself, reaching number 8 in the US.

Following the success of this release, an album of the same name was sanctioned and recorded. Despite being on cloud nine after the success of the single, Nobody But Me the LP by The Human Beinz has to this day remained overshadowed by the title track, but in my opinion the album has a few more gems lurking beneath the surface which makes the album as a whole certainly well worth a look.

Let us start at the beginning, the title track has become somewhat of a monster, a smash hit back in 1968, revived on the Nuggets reissue of 98, and in modern times making celebrated appearances in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. To be fair it is as close to Garage perfection that you can get, from the opening dose of controlled feedback, right through to the catchiness and the foot tappiness of the whole thing, all things considered this is probably the one song from Nuggets which has reached the furthest with the general public.



With the mightiness of the opener, it is understandably difficult to match this opening achievement, but there are other moments of goodness on offer with this LP. Track 4 is a very understated but brilliant song; Flower Grave goes in a different direction from the opening track, it is closer placed to Psychedelia than it is to Garage. That said the fifth song on this LP, Dance on Through, is a lovely and thoughtful song, sounding a lot closer to Garage counterparts The Standells or The Seeds, but with a touch more sensitivity, certainly one for doting couples.

More Garage doses occur with track six; Turn On Your Light was actually The Human Beinz second single with Capitol. It is safe to say that this release was a slight disappointment, not quite reaching the heights of the previous release. It was however a surprising hit in Japan, a country who remain rather fond of this group. The album ends with a bit of Baroque n Roll with the gorgeous Serenade to Sarah, which borders on Scott Walker meets Sopwith Camel, not too bad a mix in all honesty.

What The Human Beinz were looking for with this release was a variety of sounds, not completely breaking away from the formula that gave them their mega hit record, but at the same time making the effort to try and create a marvellous and diverse collection of songs, something which I reckon they have indeed achieved here. Rightfully a must for collectors, I think this album should be looked at again with a clearer mind now the dust has nearly settled from their debut 45 from 1967, a quite surprising record.

TheCellarTapes

Pencil this into your musical diaries gang

Thursday 2nd July
Retro Bar, Manchester
FREE ADMISSION

Yes Dear Friends,

For one night only, Doktor Mandrake will be reforming for an evening of marvellous musical endeavour.

On The Bill

The DN5
The DN5 on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Mr International & The Getaway Gang
Mr International and The Getaway Gang on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

And of course Doktor Mandrake
Doktor Mandrake on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

There will also be DJ sets from yours truly, playing belting sixties Garage Punk, Psyche and R&B goodness, as well as Amigo Phil, co-organiser of the wonderful homage punk festival, Strummercamp.

Host for the Evening will be Marv (of Ben and Marv fame)

This quite possibly could be a good evening.

TheCellarTapes

The Idle Race - The Birthday Party
(1968)



Tracks

1 Skeleton and the Roundabout 2:16
2 Happy Birthday 3:16
3 Birthday 2:09
4 I Like My Toys 1:45
5 Morning Sunshine 2:45
6 Follow Me, Follow 2:45
7 Sitting in My Tree 2:50
8 On With the Show 2:20
9 Lucky Man Lynne 2:35
10 Mrs. Ward 2:10
11 Pie in the Sky 2:23
12 The Lady Who Said She Could Fly 2:17
13 End of the Road 2:05

It has often been said on The Cellar Tapes radio show that when it came to the music scenes of the 1960’s, the talent coming from the Birmingham area of Great Britain was something quite remarkable, easily competing with the scenes of Liverpool and London if not more so. One such band who added to this wonderful Birmingham scene were The Idle Race; formed from the ashes of The Nightriders, as with most Birmingham bands, the personnel of the group altered a number of times in the mid sixties until they settled with a line-up headed by Jeff Lynne.

Signed to Liberty in 1967, The Idle Race released their first single in the UK in the October of that year; The Impostors of Life’s Magazine/ Sitting In My Tree was rightfully very well received by musical critics but unfortunately suffered from low record sales. Despite this initial setback, Liberty stayed strong and yet more singles by The Idle Race emerged throughout 1968, right up to the debut LP release, and what a marvellous debut it was.



The Birthday Party by The Idle Race was released in October 1968 on Liberty; this is yet another fine example of the standard of Psychedelia being produced from Britain during the 67/68 wonder years, quite easily up there with the some of the best albums of the period as well, yet like with so many other masterpieces, it remains to this day overlooked. It was recorded at the Advision Studios in London, 13 tracks in all including the initial singles as well as some brilliant new stuff, at just over 30 minutes it is most definitely a must have.

The album begins with the bands second UK single; The Skeleton & The Roundabout, not totally what this album is about but certainly a good place to start, it is such a fabulously jolly and upbeat piece of Psychedelia, you as the listener will instantly fall in love with The Idle Race after one listen of this opening track, I have no doubt.

In contrast, the third track on this LP is a lot more moody but yet remains an absolute corker; The Birthday starts with a bit of brass and is followed with some sorrowful vocals from Lynne in a classic 1920’s gramophone style. The mood of this song from there on in remains downbeat, but throughout remains gorgeous. Another pretty and moody song is Morning Sunshine, a song which I am very fond of at the moment, and the gramophone style continues on the brilliant anti war song, the cracking Mrs Ward.



Normal service resumes with I Like My Toys, with The Idle Race serving up some marvellous Toy Town Pyschedelia, this song is about a 30 year old man who is obsessed with toys and certainly has a hint of The Teenage Opera about it. More Pop efforts arrive with Sitting In My Tree and not forgetting the best upbeat song on the album, Lucky Man; the tale of a man who has many negative things occur to him in one day, an ambitious and amusing song, its written and produced wonderfully resulting in a very addictive gem.

So all in all a fine debut, stunningly creative and quirky, this is one of the best examples of Psychedelic Pop you could ever want to own, as well as having some beautiful numbers rolled in, combining brilliantly inventive song writing with excellent production, its an album that you cannot go wrong with. As for The Idle Race, well two more strong albums would follow this excellent debut and of course you already know about Jeff Lynne.....

Reviewing aside, seriously, buy this!

TheCellarTapes

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
(1965)



Tracks

1 Like a Rolling Stone 6:13
2 Tombstone Blues 6:00
3 It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry 4:09
4 From a Buick 6 3:19
5 Ballad of a Thin Man 5:58
6 Queen Jane Approximately 5:31
7 Highway 61 Revisited 3:30
8 Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues 5:32
9 Desolation Row 11:22

Bob Dylan rolled into 1965 with a boot filled with amps, wires and a new sense of vigour and purpose. In March of 1965 he released the first of his “plugged in” albums, called Bringing It All Back Home, bold in its approach the reception to this album was mixed with Dylan obviously making the decision to expand his musical repertoire, but with songs like Mr Tambourine Man and Its All Over Baby Blue, this venture into the electrical world was still a toe in the water when compared to the follow up.

Released on Columbia in August 1965 and produced on the whole by Bob Johnston, Highway 61 Revisited was the sixth album from Bob Dylan and firmly established Dylan’s credentials as a song writing genius. Contained within are just a mere nine tracks, it must be said that that is pretty sparse for a 1965 album granted, but the listener is far from being short changed here with this album, quite the reverse in fact. Barring a couple of three minute songs, the tracks on this release are quite truly epic in their outlook and delivery.



The album begins with what is now one of Dylan’s greatest moments from this period; Like a Rolling Stone is the ultimate tale of a fall from grace, with Dylan snarling his way through the song directing his resentment towards some poor unfortunate woman or other. Seriously I’m not aware of what this woman did in her time, but I’m sure she never deserved a six minute rant being aimed at her by one of mankind’s greatest ever lyricists, that aside this song is tremendous, but you already knew that.

There are of course other wonderful numbers to be found here, let’s start with Tombstone Blues, like the opener it is a true epic and does seem to go on forever, but this is not a problem because there is definitely something being said in this song. Dylan on this album in general just appears to be able to write and write and write, streaming off verse after verse of content which is of interest and something to behold. But also on this song he is joined by a filthy bluesy lead guitar, wonderful stuff.

Probably the most ambitious and fixating marathon song on this album is the much celebrated Ballad of a Thin Man. This song goes in and out of being my favourite Dylan song of all time; it is just so dark and ominous in its feel that you cannot help but be perplexed by it, and I am not alone; Many scholars have tried to establish who the desperate character of Mr Jones is that Dylan sings about in this “ballad”, demonstrating the power and imagery being portrayed by Dylan in this song, so intensely that it has created its own mythology and wonder.



Bucking the trend for long numbers is From a Buick 6 and the title track, the better of these two is of course Highway 61 Revisited. Lyrically it is brilliant and musically it is probably his most upbeat number from 1965. But this album is really about the lengthy song, and they don’t get any longer than the closing track; Desolation Row at over eleven minutes it is so long you can actually feel yourself getting older as you listen, but of course with the aging process comes wisdom, and this song is such a beautiful and worthwhile experience its well worth a full on listen every once in a while.

From this album, Dylan went into 1966 and released Blonde on Blonde, another step forward, but Highway 61 Revisited certainly serves up its own progression in Dylan’s career. Here Dylan is certainly at his literacy best, streaming off verse after verse of unrivalled imagination and depiction, yes the songs on the whole are long, but they really need to be, this is not a typical album, it’s more an experience. Easily a Must.

TheCellarTapes

Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - Open
(1967)



Tracks

1 In and Out 3:06
2 Isola Natale 5:27
3 Black Cat 3:23
4 Lament for Miss Baker 2:37
5 Goodbye Jungle Telegraph 6:12
6 Tramp 4:04
7 Why (Am I Treated So Bad) 3:33
8 A Kind of Love In 2:32
9 Break It Up 3:00
10 Season of the Witch 7:51

Brought together out of the remnants of Steampacket, a rhythm and blues outfit whose other members included Rod Stewart and Long John Baldry; Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity would go on to become the ultimate proponents of Psychedelic Jazz. Their finest moment together would come in 1967, with the release of their debut, entitled Open; it really is a unique piece of 1967’s London this one.

Open begins with a sawing noise (as in a man cutting wood), which than goes into some marvellous lounge action, this is Brian Auger and The Trinity, perfect instrumental stuff with a brass section thrown in, In and Out is followed with another Auger instrumental, Isola Natale is again another loungesque tune which is just fabulous and well worth the money alone.

But this album really kicks in by track three; Black Cat begins with a cuckoo clock followed by Auger screaming in a count in, and BANG! We’re off! This song is by far my favourite from this album and is just staggering stuff, perhaps one of the best songs from the sixties. I’m not really sure how I can even begin to do this song justice by just using boring old words, but let’s just say that after one listen you may need some help to pick up your chin from the floor, glorious, wonderful and magnificent all rolled into one.

We’re kind of brought down to earth by a lovely solo piano instrumental from Auger on Lament for Miss Baker, this is lovely sweet stuff but probably only goes to demonstrate how truly strange and odd this album is at times, for from here it goes into the six minute progressive exotic jazz rampage of Goodbye Jungle Telegraph. From track three to the end of this song, you will be sure to sit there believing you may have bought some funky, jazzy compilation, but alas not, you have merely bought an album like no other.



But what of Julie Driscoll? Well for the flip side she finally makes her entrance, and what an entrance it is ladies and gentlemen; Tramp, the first of these tracks is just proper mod and is very impressive, her voice is belting and with a backing band like Brian Auger and The Trinity, you just know that they must have been very happy with themselves back when this album was being made, all boxes are ticked here. This is reaffirmed with Why (Am I Treated So Bad), the electric A Kind of Love In, and the fabulous Break It In.

The original album finishes with a pleasurable 8 minute beastie, a cover of Season of The Witch, which is nice! But in later years Open has been subject to a reissue, with modern versions of this album we have the wonderful inclusion of some of the belting singles from this fine act during 67 and 68. The finest and probably best known is This Wheels on Fire, this Bob Dylan cover reached number five back in the day.



For me there is little doubt, combining all the best bits of Psychedelia with the Avant-Garde whilst mixing in Jazz with R&B, what Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity have done is make the ultimate popular jazz album. Firstly if you’re new to jazz, this is a perfect place to start, but with all the other elements rolled in, if you’re just a music lover in general, you will not be going too far wrong in purchasing this marvellous record.