Top Drawer – “Song of a Sinner” (1969)
This long slice of atmospheric psychedelia comes from a midwest obscure band that made one self-pressed album, Solid Oak. No more than 500 copies were pressed, but it has since been re-released on CD.
This epic song features lots of intense guitar work from John Baker and is featured on the recent psych compilation Forge Your Own Chains, put out by Now Again Records…
The Band – “Northern Lights – Southern Cross” (1975)
A Dec. 7, 1975 LA Times review by Robert Hilburn…
For the Band Fans, the Long Wait Is Finally Over
If even some of its most ardent supporters have tended to worry about the future of the Band in recent years, the group itself has certainly done little to alleviate the concern. Except for the Moondog Matinee oldies collection, the Band — once widely heralded as America’s premier rock unit — hasn’t released a new studio album in more than four years.
True, the Band backed Bob Dylan on Planet Waves and drew rave reviews of its own when it toured with Dylan last year. It also upstaged Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young so badly — in an artistic sense — last year at the Oakland Stadium that it was a wonder CSNY didn’t call it quits on the spot.
But mostly the Band — which has moved its personal and professional base from Woodstock to Malibu — has been in what appeared to be semi-retirement, leaving others — chiefly the Allman Brothers, Steely Dan and the Eagles — to contend for the American leadership in rock. Read the rest of this entry »
Paul Conley – “Moby Grape Just Can’t Catch a Break” (2007)
Taken from the NPR website, Dec. 21, 2007, an article on 1960s shoulda-been legends Moby Grape…
Mention the name Moby Grape to a roomful of rock critics, and you’ll hear nothing but praise for the 1960s San Francisco rock band. But aside from fans and critics, few people today have ever heard of Moby Grape. Why? Bad advice, bad breaks and bad behavior are three short reasons. Now that a label is trying to right these wrongs by reissuing the group’s first five records, old problems still stand in the way.
The name Moby Grape comes from an absurdist punch line: What’s big, purple and swims in the ocean? But the band that influenced groups ranging from Led Zeppelin to The Pretenders was no joke. Neither was its 1967 debut, according to Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke.
“It’s one of the few rock ‘n’ roll albums of any era that you can say, ‘That is a perfect debut album.’ The songwriting on it is memorable — you take those songs with you wherever you go. The triple-guitar orchestration… it’s not just power chords. Everyone is playing melodies and counter-melodies and rhythms. Very funky, also very country, very punk, very surf. And they Read the rest of this entry »
The Beat Patrol 