#uk garage rock

[johnkatsmc5]

The Creation  "We Are Paintermen " 1967 UK Psych,Mod,Beat,Freakbeat

The Creation had surprisingly little success, given the quality of these mid-60s sides. Fans of the early mod-styled Who will find The Creation in the same league, with the brashness of their guitar-and-drums comparing favorably to immortal singles like "I Can't Explain" and "I Can See for Miles." One need look no further than "Making Time," which lent its punchy intro and Daltrey-esque vocal to the film "Rushmore." No surprise that the Creation had such a gutsy recorded sound, given that Shel Talmy produced. The instrumental "Sylvette," which borrows its melodic center from "Too Many Fish in the Ocean" is another raving winner. This is the ultimate shoulda-been band, with great vocals, powerful guitars and drums, and catchy in-band songwriting. They played garage mod, psych-heavy rock and highly electrified folk with both muscle and melody, and compared well with their contemporaries. One can only assume they were doomed by a confluence of inadequate distribution (they were on the indie Hit Ton label in the UK), line-up changes, and management that couldn't sustain commercial velocity. Listening to their catalog it's nearly impossible to imagine this band wasn't a huge, chart-topping success. Repertoire's CD reproduces the band's sole LP (tracks 1-12) and adds a dozen extras for good measure - all mono. This is an excellent single-disc introduction to the band's short catalog (Edsel's "How Does it Feel to Feel?" is another great single disc view). The Retroactive label has issued a complete 2-CD set ("Making Time" and "Biff Bang Pow") that may be too much for some, but once you get a taste, you're likely to want everything they recorded.....~ First released in 1967, this looks to be the Creation's only full-length lp of all new songs. Guess the rest I've seen are compilations. Here, you get the album's twelve 'original' tunes, plus twelve bonus tracks of completely different songs. Very nice! Songs that's sure to keep this CD reissue in my current rotation stack for sometime are "Making Time", the awesome "Through My Eyes", Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone", "Can I Join Your Band", The Leave's "Hey Joe", "Biff Bang Pow", "I Am The Walker" and "Sweet Helen". Should draw in fans of The Action, early Who, Outsiders, Q 65 and Skip Bifferty. Essential British psychedelia. Need I say more? Most highly recommended.......~ One of the best freakbeat/garage/mod albums from the 60s. Every track is a winner in my book. If you like The Who’s early days, The Move, Small Faces, etc. check this out ASAP. I always considered this album My Generation’s little brother......AnywayM111.....~ The impact The Creation had on mod Britain is obviously incalculable to someone who did not live then. Therefore, my review is only of the recorded tracks present on this “album” and not of the band’s importance on the UK scene at the time (which by all accounts was quite formidable). The album starts off with a bar band version of “Cool Jerk” that plays as boring as it sounds. However, throughout the album Eddie Phillips’ guitar playing is the main attraction. It’s a slick, raunchy and raucously fuzzy tone that Phillips uses to great effect on key tracks “Making Time” and “Through My Eyes”. It is worth noting that Phillips was the first popular rock guitarist to use a violin bow on an electric guitar (this had a great influence on an impressionable Jimmy Page). The remainder of the album however is largely unmemorable. I think the reason the rest of the album is so unmemorable is because Phillips never found a truly effective writing partner and also because his songwriting did not have enough depth to sustain itself. I was surprised to learn that “Painter Man” was the groups highest charting single, as I did not find it to be one of their strongest works. Yet, while the song does have a certain charm to it, its off the cuffs spirit is unfortunately reflective of the only way the band could ever really find, and never duplicate, success. When you have a song that is as commercial as the public, beware of the crushing reality of its fickleness.....13thfloor990.....~ The Creation were an English rock band, formed in 1966. Their best-known songs are "Making Time", which was one of the first rock songs to feature a guitar played with a bow, and "Painter Man", which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1966, and reached No. 8 in the German chart in April 1967. It was later covered by Boney M in 1979, and reached the No. 10 position in the UK chart. "Making Time" was used in the movie Rushmore. Creation biographer Sean Egan defined their style as "a unique hybrid of pop, rock, psychedelia and the avant garde." Most of the members of what would eventually become Creation were initially members of The Mark Four, a British beat group based in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. By late 1963 The Mark Four was a quintet consisting of Kenny Pickett (vocals), Eddie Phillips (guitars), Mick "Spud" Thompson (rhythm guitars), John Dalton (bass), and Jack Jones (drums). This line-up played regularly in the UK and in Germany before issuing two non-charting singles for Philips’ Mercury Records, "Rock Around The Clock" and "Try It Baby" in 1964. Dalton then left the band, later joining The Kinks as a replacement for Pete Quaife, and was replaced by new bassist Tony Cooke. Around the same time, Thompson left the band and was not replaced. This Mark Four line-up issued two further non-charting singles: "Hurt Me If You Will" (Decca, August 1965) and "Work All Day (Sleep All Night)" (Fontana, February 1966). In April 1966, the group signed a management deal with Tony Stratton-Smith. He promptly suggested replacing Cooke with new bassist Bob Garner (previously of the Tony Sheridan Band), and a name change. The band took him up on both suggestions: it was Pickett who came up with the name The Creation, based on a reference he found in a book of Russian poetry. Initial success (1966) The band's style, produced by Shel Talmy, was, at this point, loud pop art, similar to early records by The Who.[4] Their first single, "Making Time", was a Pickett/Phillips original featuring Phillips playing his electric guitar with a violin bow (He was reputedly the first guitarist to use this technique). Released in June 1966 on Talmy's own label, Planet (distributed in the UK by Philips and in the US by Jay-Gee), it reached No. 49 on the UK chart. Almost immediately thereafter, The Creation suffered another line-up change when Jack Jones was fired and replaced by new drummer Dave Preston. However, the band was unsatisfied with Preston's live work, and in less than three weeks Jones was asked back and rejoined the group. Their next single, October 1966's "Painter Man", became their biggest hit, reaching No. 36 UK and the top 10 in Germany. The Creation took their pop art experimentation slightly further when, during live performances of "Painter Man," Pickett would spray-paint a canvas during their concerts before a member of the road crew would set fire to the artwork on stage. The Bob Garner era (1967) "Painter Man" was the last single issued by the original line-up, and their last single to chart in the UK. In early 1967, the band brought in Kim Gardner as their new bassist, and former bassist Bob Garner moved into the lead vocal slot in February 1967, leaving Kenny Pickett out of the group, at least for the time being. This line-up issued its first single in June 1967 ("If I Stay Too Long" b/w "Nightmares"). Unsuccessful in the UK, the song did well in Germany, as did a German only follow-up single ("Tom Tom"). Their commercial momentum in Germany was strong enough for a Creation album called We Are Paintermen to be issued in mid 1967 for the German and continental European market, compiled from previously issued singles and several newly recorded songs. By this time, the band's sound had developed into a more typically mid-1960s psychedelic rock sound, which has been retroactively described as freakbeat. Also during late 1966 and 1967, four Creation singles were issued in the United States, without commercial success: "Making Time" b/w "Try And Stop Me" and "Painter Man" b/w "Biff Bang Pow" on US Planet (distributed by Jay-Gee/Jubilee), and "If I Stay Too Long" b/w "Nightmares" and "How Does It Feel To Feel" b/w "Life Is Just Beginning" on US Decca. The band remained popular in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The single "Life Is Just Beginning" was released in the UK towards the end of 1967, but almost immediately afterwards guitarist Eddie Phillps announced his departure. He was replaced for several European tour dates by guitarist Tony Ollard, but within a matter of weeks, vocalist Bob Garner also quit the group and by February 1968, The Creation had officially ceased to exist. Pickett returns, band breaks up (1968) However, demand was still strong in continental Europe for Creation records and live shows, and almost immediately after the band had disbanded drummer Jack Jones formed a new Creation line-up, bringing back Kenny Pickett as singer. Kim Gardner returned as bass player (after a stint in Santa Barbara Machine Head) and brought in his old bandmate from The Birds, Ronnie Wood on guitar. This line-up debuted with the single "Midway Down", released in the UK and Germany in April 1968. However this Creation line-up splintered almost immediately, and by June, the band was no more. Two posthumous follow-up singles: "Bony Moronie" and "For All That I Am" were German only releases, appearing later in 1968. Despite their early demise and lack of hits, The Creation posthumously became highly influential, acknowledged as an inspiration by Paul Weller, Ride, Pete Townshend, The Sex Pistols and others. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin imitated Phillips’ use of the violin bow, while Alan McGee named his massively successful record label Creation after them. Egan asserted, “only the Velvet Underground spring to mind as a band who profoundly affected fellow artists while remaining a secret from the wider public.” Post-Creation careers Eddie Phillips became bass player in P.P. Arnold's backing band during the late 1960s. He left the music business for a time in the 1970s, but by 1980 was collaborating again with Kenny Pickett as a songwriter. The two wrote the 1980 hit single "Teacher Teacher" for Rockpile. Kenny Pickett continued as songwriter for the Creation's American producer, Shel Talmy, and issued some solo recordings in the 1970s and 1980s. He later sang with The Kennedy Express. In 1970 he co-wrote Clive Dunn's Number One hit Grandad (song), with session musician Herbie Flowers. Ronnie Wood joined the Jeff Beck Group, and later The Faces and The Rolling Stones. Kim Gardner co-formed Ashton, Gardner & Dyke and was later a member of Badger. Bob Garner played in Warrington bands Magoos and Golliwog, who changed their name to Smiley for a single in 1972: "Penelope" (written by Kenny Pickett) b/w "I Know What I Want" (written by Garner). He later participated in various Creation reunions. Jack Jones became a cabaret singer. Mick Avory was the drummer for the Kinks from 1964 to 1984. Reformations (1980s – present) The Creation re-formed in the mid-1980s with Phillips, Pickett, Dalton, and Mick Avory (drums, ex-Kinks). In 1987, they released a single on Jet Records ("A Spirit Called Love" b/w a new version of "Making Time") to minimal attention. This line-up also recorded material for a new album in a more contemporary rock style (such as new wave), but this project was never completed (or even titled). The reformed band continued to tour, with various line-up changes, capitalising on their cult notoriety with the underground mod and garage rock audiences. In 1994, the original line-up (consisting of Phillips, Pickett, Garner and Jones) got together to record the album Power Surge, issued in 1996 on UK indie label Creation Records, which had been named in honour of the group.The 1990s band Ride, who had excursioned with The Creation in 1994, then recorded the song "How Does It Feel to Feel?" on their album, Carnival of Light. Some years earlier The Godfathers, another UK alternative rock band of the time, had also included a cover of the song on their 1991 album Unreal world, so that the tune "How Does It Feel to Feel?" became quite popular in the 1990s in the UK indie scene. Pickett died on January 10, 1997, but the group continued for a time with Garner as lead vocalist. The band performed in the United States for the first time in 2001. In 2004, Cherry Red Records released Psychedelic Rose, made up of nine songs from the group's abandoned 1987/88 sessions including the tracks previously issued on the 1987 single, augmented by two spoken-word recollections of The Creation's history; the few reviews of the album were almost uniformly negative. Garner and Jones both exited the band sometime in the early 2000s; Garner died on July 16, 2016. The only original member left in the current line-up is Phillips. The most recent Creation touring line-up consists of Eddie Phillips (lead guitar, vocals), Simon Tourle (lead vocals), Tony Barber (bass), and Kevin Mann (drums)........~ The back cover of Our Music Is Red with Purple Flashes: The Story of the Creation, Sean Egan’s definitive 2004 biography of the British group, calls the Creation “the greatest band you never heard of.” That’s probably not precisely the case these days: Most people at least know the Creation, if not by name, then by the sound of their debut single, “Making Time,” a whirling, Who-influenced anthem that famously soundtracked the opening montage of Wes Anderson’s Rushmore. Eddie Phillip’s dive-bomb guitar, moaning and lurching over a tightly flailing beat, must have sounded out of this world even within the rapidly shifting musical landscape of 1966 British pop. It still sounds wild today. Phillips’ famous technique of rubbing a violin bow across the strings of his overdriven guitar resulted in an exhilarating, textural drone that would simultaneously rumble and squeal. The trick’s since been appropriated by everyone from Jimmy Page to Sigur Rós, but those old Creation records are where it’s best deployed. Which is why it’s a bit surprising that it’s taken so long for the Creation’s lone album, 1967’s We Are Paintermen, to have been given a proper reissue. (In the past dozen years or so, pirated copies have made their way to record-store shelves, but their sound quality has been as dubious as their provenance.) Initially only released in Germany and Denmark—not even in the band’s UK homeland—Paintermen has always been a bit of a hodgepodge, collecting the group’s fantastic early singles with some lame covers of songs like “Hey Joe” and “Like a Rolling Stone” (the latter of which doesn’t even have the correct chord progression). But Numero Group’s new reissue of the album, released April 20 on gaudy pink vinyl, is a welcome follow-up to Action Painting, the comprehensive two-CD anthology Numero released last year. (An abbreviated 20-track version of that collection also made its way to vinyl.) Despite the filler, We Are Paintermen is a fantastic introduction to the band, neglecting only two essential Creation tracks (“How Does It Feel to Feel” and “Life Is Just Beginning”) and including most of their landmarks: “Making Time” and its excellent B-side “Try and Stop Me” are here, as is the just-as-incredible follow-up single, “Painterman” backed with “Biff, Bang, Pow.” Reputedly cut by producer Shel Talmy from the original master tapes—although, crucially, the word “analog” does not appear on the hype sticker, suggesting a digital intermediary—the songs appear in punchy, animated mono, as they were first heard in 1966 and 1967. (And they are in mono, despite it saying "stereo" on the LP cover. It’s actually a little difficult to determine if the original German/Danish LP was released in mono or stereo—it was probably a mix of both—but rest assured the majority of Paintermen’s tunes sound better in mono anyway.) The Creation’s story is a convoluted one, with departing and returning band members, stray tracks, latter-day reunions, and a confusing discography. With Action Painting and now this superbly presented replica of We Are Paintermen, Numero Group is setting straight the historical record of this fantastic band. Now you can at least say you've heard of them......~ Credits

Bass – Bob Garner Drums – Jack Jones Lead Guitar – Eddie Phillips Vocals – Kenny Pickett Tracklist

Cool Jerk 2:13 Making Time 2:53 Through My Eyes 2:58 Like A Rolling Stone 2:53 Can I Join Your Band 2:55 Tom Tom 2:54 Try And Stop Me 2:23 If I Stay Too Long 3:15 Biff, Bang, Bow 2:21 Nightmares 3:05 Hey Joe 3:02 Painterman 2:48

[johnkatsmc5]

The Deviants "Disposable” 1968 + "The Deviants" 1969 UK  Psych Rock,Garage,Proto Punk

Although the two nations’ social climates were significantly different, British youth culture of the late ’60s provided the same fertile environment for the blending of radical politics, recreational drug use and rock’n’roll as America did. If the Deviants were less incendiary (both in outlook and sound) than the MC5, the loose London group was every bit as subversive, and played a crucial historical role by transmuting into the Pink Fairies and launching the genealogical and stylistic process that, alongside Hawkwind and a few other hippie hordes, kept the countercultural spirit alive in British rock’n’roll through the early ’70s. In a very real sense, the Deviants — singly and collectively — played a not insignificant role in godfathering the punk era. Founded and fronted by singer/writer Mick Farren, the Social Deviants — later just the Deviants — made three bizarre albums in two years before caving in, as such chemically polluted anti-authoritarian enterprises were wont to do, leaving behind such anthems as “Let’s Loot the Supermarket,” “Slum Lord” (both on the goodnaturedly weird Disposable) and “The People Suite” (“We are the people who pervert your children…we are beyond rehabilitation…”) and “Metamorphosis Exploration” (from the harder-rocking and spacier #3). After the Deviants folded in 1969, Farren recorded a solo album with a short-lived Pink Fairies that featured drummer/singer Twink (John Alder, a veteran of the Pretty Things who had a momentary band with Syd Barrett that actually performed in public in 1972). When the first Pink Fairies fell apart, Twink assembled a second version with the other three ex-Deviants and recorded Never Never Land, performing two songs from it on an apocalyptic side of Revelations, the Glastonbury Fayre festival live triple-album: a terse “Do It” (later covered by Rollins Band) and 20 minutes of “Uncle Harry’s Last Freak-Out.” Twink then flew the coop, leaving Duncan Sanderson (bass/vocals), Paul Rudolph (guitar/vocals) and Russell Hunter (drums) to carry the Fairies flag. Despite a fair measure of artistic confusion and the lack of a real vocalist, What a Bunch of Sweeties is an offbeat and occasionally exciting, but now totally dated, guitar-rock (plus drum solo) record. Things really got good, however, when Rudolph was replaced by Larry Wallis (a veteran of both the jazzy Blodwyn Pig and the nearly metal UFO). With Wallis singing, playing ingenious guitar and doing nearly all the songwriting (in one case, collaborating with Farren), the resulting Kings of Oblivion is absolutely amazing, a thunderous jolt of electricity with monumental melodies and bizarre sideways lyrics like “I Wish I Was a Girl,” the drugged-out “When’s the Fun Begin?” and “City Kids.” Still brilliant sounding after two decades, Kings is a widely unknown masterpiece that stands on its own but also set the stage for Motörhead, which Wallis and Hawkwind refugee Lemmy initially formed in 1975. Flashback is a compilation of studio tracks from the band’s first three albums; although not released until ’82, Live at the Roundhouse (which includes renditions of “City Kids,” “Uncle Harry’s Last Freak-Out” and “Waiting for the Man,” among others) was recorded in 1975 by a Fairies reunion that featured Twink, Rudolph, Wallis, Hunter and Sanderson. The Deviants and Pink Fairies names have been used for various one-offs over the years: Human Garbage, for instance, is a 1984 live recording by Farren, Wallis and Sanderson. The ’77 Mick Farren & the Deviants EP is a raunchy-sounding 7-inch that includes a fun new version of “Let’s Loot the Supermarket” and three other tracks, produced by Wallis and performed with Rudolph and guitarist Andy Colqhoun (then of Warsaw Pakt). Colqhoun and Wallis — as well as Twink, Hunter and Sanderson — are all on the recent Fairies reunion album, Kill ‘Em & Eat ‘Em. Although there’s no problem with the straightforward rock music, the quintet’s attempt to recapture and reglamorize the past in songs like “Taking LSD” and “White Girls on Amphetamine” is a serious drag. As one step in Twink’s late-’80s reactivation, he cut the inexcusably dull You Need a Fairy Godmother mini-album live in a Chicago club, blandly backed — on a far-ranging selection of career oldies (including the Pretty Things’ “Alexander,” the Pink Fairies’ “Do It” and a 1978 solo tune, “Psychedelic Punkaroo”) and one terrible newie (“Seize the Time”) — by Plasticland. Brad Warner of Dimentia 13 guests on one of the seven tracks; Twink plays drums on another, leaving lead vocals to P-land’s Glenn Rehse.[Ira Robbins].....~ "Όταν έγινε θόρυβος ότι οι the Deviants θα ηχογραφούσαν ένα LP ήλπιζα ότι θα ήταν καλό, αλλά φοβόμουν ότι όχι και τόσο καλό...ήταν δυνατοί, ενθουσιώδεις, επαναλαμβανόμενοι και όχι πολύ καλοί" - John Peel, από τις εσωτερικές σημειώσεις του άλμπουμ Ptooff! (1967) Αυτό δεν είναι το είδος μίας επιδοκιμασίας που μία ανερχόμενη μπάντα ελπίζει όταν η μεγαλύτερη undergroumd rock προσωπικότητα του ραδιοφώνου στην Αγγλία γράφει τις εσωτερικές σημειώσεις για το ντεμπούτο άλμπουμ τους. Αλλά ανάμεσα στον χρόνο που ο Peel (που μέχρι τον θάνατό του το 2004, ήταν παρεμπιπτόντως ο κορυφαίος underground rock ραδιοφωνικός παραγωγός στην Αγγλία) είδε πρώτα τους the Deviants στο θρυλικό Marquee του Λονδίνου, και στον χρόνο που το Ptooff! κυκλοφόρησε συνέβη ένα μικρό θαύμα. Το ατημέλητο underground σχήμα ήταν μόνο ελάχιστα επαρκείς παίκτες. Είχαν μόνο δουλέψει απλά μία χούφτα δικούς τους τόνους. Αλλά είχαν καταφέρει να συνδυάσουν τις αγρίως διαφορετικές επιρροές τους-Frank Zappa, the Who, Charles Mingus, the Velvet Underground, the Fugs και ακόμα περισσότερους-σε ένα άλμπουμ που ξεπέρασε τους περιορισμούς του γκρουπ και έγινε κάτι σαν μικρό αριστούργημα. Ήταν ψυχεδελική μουσική, blues-rock, avant-rock, proto-punk ή απλά κωμωδία; Όλα τα παραπάνω σε κάποιες στιγμές και τίποτα από τα παραπάνω όλο τον καιρό. Ότι πρόσφερε το Ptooff! ήταν ένας συνδυασμός "ταξιδιού" υπό την επήρεια LSD και μίας ταινίας τρόμου. Η κούρσα του LSD πήγαινε διαμέσου εκνευριστικών επαναλαμβανόμενων μεταλλικών σφυριών, ωραιότατων flower-power μπαλάντων, σοβαρής ποίησης και κολάζ ήχων που παρέπεμπαν σε Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley και στην νυχτερινή ζωή του παλλόμενου τότε Λονδίνου. Οι Deviants μπορεί να ήταν ευθυγραμμισμένοι με το χίπικο/underground κίνημα. Όμως, αν αυτό ήταν flower-power και free love, δινόταν με μία γκριμάτσα, που δεν είχε την απαραίτητη υπομονή για ένα ανέμελο πέταγμα έξω από την πραγματικότητα και με μία αναρχική ενέργεια που έβλεπε μιά δεκαετία γεμάτη μπροστά. Στο punk. Το στήριγμα του γκρουπ ήταν ο lead singer Mick Farren, ένας πρώην μαθητής σε art school, όταν η μπάντα σχηματίστηκε το 1966. Η Αγγλική R&B εισβολή από σχήματα που τα μέλη τους είχαν κοινό παρελθόν, όπως οι Rolling Stones και οι Pretty Things, ήταν η κληρονομιά των Deviants. To γκρουπ που αρχικά λεγόταν the Social Deviants, σύμφωνα με τον Farren "προσπαθούσε να το εξελίξει ταυτόχρονα σε πιό τρελή και πιό ευφυή κατεύθυνση. Eπειδή δεν μπορούσαμε να ξοδεύουμε την ώρα μας ανακυκλώνοντας τους παλιούς τόνους του Jimmy Reed. Υπήρχε μία ακριβής "χαρούμενη" άποψη σε όλο αυτό". Για έμπνευση οι Deviants κοίταζαν προς την ριζικά μη εμπορική μουσική από μπάντες της Νέας Υόρκης, όπως οι the Fugs και οι the Velvet Underground. Οι σχετικά πρωτόγονες επιδεξιότητες στα όργανα από αυτά τα γκρουπ δεν ήταν μειονέκτημα στα μάτια των Deviants. Οι ίδιοι δεν μπορούσαν να παίξουν τόσο καλά με συμβατικούς όρους. Και σε κάθε περίπτωση τα περιορισμένα οικονομικά τους σήμαιναν ότι τα PA's ηχεία και τέτοια, ήταν λίγο περισσότερο από ευσεβείς πόθοι. "Προσπαθούσαμε να αναμίξουμε τα πάντα σε κάτι που θα έκανε αίσθηση χωρίς πολλά χρήματα", σημειώνει ο Farren. "Οι the Fugs είχαν συγκεκριμένο είδος προσέγγισης jug band που ταίριαζε στο εισόδημά μας τότε". Διαμέσου του Joe Boyd (ο παραγωγός στην συνέντευξη της Beverley Martyn σε προηγούμενο άρθρο), ενός Αμερικανού με βάση το Λονδίνο, ο οποίος έκανε παραγωγή και έστηνε σόου για underground γκρουπ, όπως οι Pink Floyd, πέρασαν στην κατοχή των Deviants μερικές πρώιμες ακυκλοφόρητες κόπιες χωρίς ντραμς των the Velvet Underground. O Farren άρχισε να σκέφτεται ότι θα ονειρευόταν την ύπαρξη αυτών των ηχογραφήσεων πριν ακριβώς αυτές βγούν στην επιφάνεια ως ο πρώτος δίσκος των Velvets το 1995. Μέχρι που διασκεύασαν και μία ακυκλοφόρητη σύνθεση του Lou Reed από εκεί ("Prominent Men"). Οι the Deviants πάλευαν την μίξη της avant-garde με την στοιχειώδη rock και ακούγοντας σποραδικά τα demos των Velvets των "Venus in Furs" και "All Tomorrow's Parties", ο Farren αισθάνθηκε ότι οι Velvet Underground έρχονταν σε ένα "παρόμοιο είδος σύνθεσης". Οι Deviants δεν θα είχαν την ευκαιρία να παραπέμψουν το όραμά τους σε βινύλλιο μέχρι τα τέλη του 1967. Ένας πλούσιος γνωστός της μπάντας κληρονόμησε ολόκληρο θησαυρό όταν ο πατέρας του αυτοκτόνησε. Ευγενικά τους μετέφερε μερικές χιλιάδες λίρες ή κάτι τέτοιο και οι Deviants βρήκαν τα χρήματα για τα session που σαν αποτέλεσμα είχαν το Ptooff!. Τα αποτελέσματα ήταν δύσκολο να συγκριθούν με πολλά άλλα είτε στο Λονδίνο, είτε στην underground Aμερικανική σκηνή, με την πιθανή εξαίρεση των αρχικών άλμπουμ του Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention. Αυτό ήταν ιδιαιτέρως εμφανές στα πιό μακροσκελή και πιό φιλόδοξα κομμάτια που ήταν σουίτες με πολλά μέρη και που αντιπαρέβαλλαν επιδέξια blues-rock, παραμόρφωση κιθάρας, ποίηση και σάτιρα. Η σάτιρα ήταν καταφανής στο "Garbage" με υπερβολικές αναγούλες και μιμήσεις εμετού . Το "Deviation Street" ήταν ένα εννιάλεπτο κολάζ του παλλόμενου Λονδίνου, περνώντας από κλισέ blues-rock και R&B αλα Pretty Things σε κοινό που ουρλιάζει, μαστουρωμένους σε πάρτυ, χαροποιώντας τον μυστικισμό του σιτάρ και τις χλευαστικές παρατηρήσεις του Farren για τους πράκτορες της CIA και τους χίπυς. Η κοινωνική κριτική/σάτιρα έγινε ιδιαίτερα βίαιη στο "Nothing Man", όπου καταστροφικά εφέ στα κρουστά, χορωδίες με αχνά ουρλιαχτά και απόκοσμοι χειρισμοί στην ηχογράφηση, παρείχαν το υπόβαθρο για την λεκτική επίθεση του Farren στον σύγχρονο Nothing Man. Ο Nothing Man μοιάζει να είναι ένα σύμβολο όλου αυτού για το οποίο οι Deviants ήταν νευριασμένοι, ανίκανος γιά κάθε αίσθημα εκτός του μίσους, ικανός να σκέφτεται αλλά όχι να αισθάνεται. Πολλά από τα credits για τα ασυνήθιστα εφέ σε αυτό το κομμάτι αποδίδονται σε ένα φίλο της μπάντας τον J. Henry Moore, ο οποίος είχε μαθητεύσει στον John Cage. Ο Μoore θα χρησιμοποιούσε ασυνήθιστα τοποθετημένα μαγνητόφωνα για να καταστρώσει τα εφέ της musique concrete, τα οποία (ξανά, πέρα από τις αρχικές δουλειές του Zappa) σπανίως είχαν ακουστεί στη rock. O Farren παραδέχεται ότι αυτός ο τύπος της εφευρετικότητας ήταν αδύνατον να αναπαραχθεί επιτυχώς στην σκηνή. Για να δομήσουν τα μακριά πειραματικά κομμάτια στο στούντιο, η μπάντα έπρεπε να βγάλει τα καλύτερα αποσπάσματα 45 δευτερολέπτων από ότι θα μπορούσαν να παρουσιάσουν live και "να τα κάνουμε κολάζ με πολύ ακόμα υλικό. Πράγμα πολύ άβολο για να γίνει live. Εννοώ ακόμα και ο Zappa είχε προβλήματα να κάνει πράγματα σαν κι αυτά. Θέλαμε να κάνουμε λίγο από εδώ, λίγο από εκεί να βάλουμε backing vocals εκεί που αλήθεια δεν θα μπορούσαμε να αναπαράγουμε ποτέ σε live. Αλλά ως ηχογράφηση στην ολότητά της, έπεσε ακριβώς". Ο καλύτερος εκπρόσωπος του πώς οι Deviants θα ακούγονταν live ίσως είναι το "I'm Coming Home", που παντρεύει ένα επίμονα επαναλαμβανόμενο hard rock riff με τα λάγνα φωνητικά του Farren. Ο Farren συγκρίνει το κομμάτι με το παρόμοιο σε "κοπάνημα" "Sister Ray" των Velvets, επειδή "το μεγάλο πράγμα για μας ήταν το αλα "Sister Ray" ατελείωτο, μονότονο κιθαριστικό κοπάνημα. Ήμασταν μία από τις πρώτες μπάντες που το κάναμε. Μετά γύρω στον ένα χρόνο αργότερα ακούσαμε τον πρώτο δίσκο των the Stooges, το "Kick Out the Jams" των MC5 και σκεφθήκαμε, 'ω, αδελφά πνεύματα'. Αλλά με τίποτα δεν ήμασταν τόσο ζόρικοι, τσιτωμένοι και ενωμένοι όσο οι MC5. Οι Stooges έκαναν ότι κάναμε live σε δίσκο". Αν και το Ptooff! περιείχε μόνο επτά κομμάτια, κάλυπτε ακόμα περισσότερο έδαφος με δυό όμορφα μελωδικές, ακουστικές μπαλάντες, μία από τις οποίες ("Bun") ήταν ένα Ισπανικό κλασσικό ορχηστρικό με κιθάρα. Ο Farren ρίχνει τις ευθύνες γι'αυτά στον Cord Rees, κιθαρίστα με σύντομο πέρασμα από τους Deviants, "πάντα τα αισθανόμουν σαν μαλθακά προς το χειρότερο είδος τραγουδιών του Donovan ή της απόκοσμης χίπικης νοοτροπίας των the Incredible String Band στο κοινό". Τα αισθήματά του παρέμειναν ίδια. Όταν το Ptooff! επανεκδόθηκε σε CD στην Αμερική ο Farren έσβησε αυτά τα δύο κομμάτια, καθώς και το blues-rock "Charlie". Με εξώφυλλο εμπνευσμένο από pop-art κόμικ του Roy Lichtenstein το Ptooff! έκανε γρήγορη δουλειά, με πολλές από τις πωλήσεις να έρχονται από το underground κύκλωμα και τα μαγαζιά με πόστερ. Για όλη την underground αξιοπιστία του, υπήρχαν ελάχιστες άλλες indie κυκλοφορίες στην ψυχεδελική σκηνή του Λονδίνου. "Είναι κρίμα που δεν υπήρχαν περισσότερες indie δισκογραφικές τότε, επειδή υπήρχε πολύ υλικό. Η μόνη αξίωση για δόξα που είχαν οι Deviants, είναι ότι καταφέραμε να επιμείνουμε και πράγματι να βάλουμε κάποιο από το υλικό μας στο βινύλλιο. Επειδή υπάρχουν άλλες μπάντες όπως οι the Brothers Grimm και οι the Giant Sun Troll και ένας ολόκληρος κατάλογος από τέτοιες μπάντες που βλέπεις σε πόστερ. Όμως ποτέ στην πραγματικότητα δεν ηχογράφησαν. Και πίσω σε εκείνες τις μέρες δεν έγραφαν τα σόου, επειδή δεν υπήρχε η τεχνολογία. Έτσι πολύ από το υλικό χάθηκε. Ευτυχώς εμείς όχι. Αυτό ήταν ένα απίστευτα τυχερό γεγονός, αλλιώς θα ήμασταν μόνο ένα όνομα σε ένα πόστερ". Εκ των υστέρων ο Farren αισθάνεται ότι οι original Deviants μπορεί να είχαν παίξει όλα τους τα χαρτιά με το Ptooff! "Βυθιστήκαμε στο Freak Out (των the Mothers of Invention) και στις τεχνικές κατακερματισμού. Όλο αυτό χτίστηκε στον πρώτο δίσκο, που νομίζω εξάντλησε πολλές ιδέες και πολύ πνεύμα. Οι επακόλουθοι δίσκοι ήταν πολύ περισσότερο ότι κάναμε στο δρόμο. Όπως διαπιστώνω εκ των υστέρων, είμαι αυτο-υποτιμημένος και ας πούμε ότι υπάρχει περισσότερη τύχη από κρίση. Αλλά νομίζω ότι είχαμε κάτι, ένα είδος πνεύματος περιπέτειας, που έχεις μόνο όταν στην πραγματικότητα δεν γνωρίζεις αν υπάρχουν κάποιοι κανόνες να σπάσεις". Πριν την διάλυσή τους στα τέλη του '60 οι Deviants θα έφτιαχναν ακόμα δύο άλμπουμ. Προσπαθώ να προσεγγίσω το θέμα διακριτικά καθώς το Disposable (1968) βρήκε την μπάντα να πηγαίνει σε πιό straight rock κατεύθυνση. Ο κιθαρίστας Paul Rudolph έγραψε το περισσότερο από το υλικό χωρίς ο Farren να συνεισφέρει. Αλλά αν και δυό κομμάτια πλησιάζουν το είδος της με κιθάρα προσανατολισμένης ψυχεδέλειας που αναγνωρίστηκε με τους Yardbirds στις μέρες τους με τον Jimmy Page, οι Deviants δεν είχαν τα straight rock κομμάτια για να συναγωνιστούν σε αυτό το παιχνίδι με επιτυχία. Ο Farren αισθάνεται το ίδιο και μας λέει: "Στο πρώτο άλμπουμ, δεν ξέραμε αλήθεια αρκετά για να φοβόμαστε από αυτό που προσπαθούσαμε να κάνουμε" θεωρεί. "Στο δεύτερο μάθαμε λίγο περισσότερα που ήταν αρκετά για να γίνει το κακό. Μία από τα ίδια ταιριάζει στον τρίτο". Υπήρχαν ακόμα μερικές καλές στιγμές για να έχουν στη διαδρομή. Παίρνοντας τα ρίσκα τους τόσο στην σκηνή όσο και στο στούντιο, οι Deviants έπαιξαν σε καθιστικές διαμαρτυρίες και σε άλλα πολιτικά γεγονότα στην Ευρώπη που μερικές φορές εξελίχτηκαν σε εξεγέρσεις. Οι φωτιές και τα πυροτεχνήματα συχνά άφηναν την σκηνή ένα χάλι. Ακόμα και οι χίπυς θα έβρισκαν το γκρουπ δύσκολο για να το χειριστούν. "Υπήρχε ένα συγκεκριμένο είδος παραξενιάς αλα Beefheart & the Magic Band γύρω από τους Deviants που στ'αλήθεια προκαλούσε σύγχιση στους ανθρώπους. Θα ήταν εκεί με τις χάντρες και τα κουδούνια τους και δεν θα καταλάβαιναν γιατί τους γρυλίζαμε και βάζαμε φωτιές. Όλο αυτό το σκηνικό με τον καπνό και τον χαμό-νόμιζαν ότι ήταν επιθετικό". Ούτε ότι ήταν ιδιαίτερα αγαπητοί στις Αγγλικές επαρχίες, όπου τα μακριά μαλλιά ήταν σταθερά μία πρόσκληση να αμφισβητήσεις την ανδροπρέπεια κάποιου. Ανοίγοντας για τους νεοσύστατους Led Zeppelin, "Παίζαμε στο Δημαρχείο του Exeter και όλα τα παιδιά της επαρχίας ήρθαν. Μερικά κορίτσια μας παρακολουθούσαν στεκόμενα μπροστά-μπροστά και τα αγόρια τους είπαν 'Γιατί κοιτάτε αυτές τις αδερφάρες;' Άρχισε το ξύλο, μπήκαν οι μπάτσοι και τρέξαμε πίσω στα καμαρίνια ανοίγοντας τον δρόμο με κλοτσιές και μπουνιές-κάποιοι roadies προσπαθούσαν να βγάλουν από το δρόμο μας ένα μπάτσο. Φυσικά "πολεμούσαμε" με βάσεις μικροφώνων. Ο Plant και ο Page γελούσαν με την ψυχή τους, λέγοντας, 'Θεέ μου θα ήσασταν αλήθεια φρικτοί μουσικοί'. Και συνέχισαν αυτοί με την ίδια ακριβώς υποδοχή. Είναι δύσκολο να αντιληφθεί κανείς πόσο λίγο χρόνο έπαιρνε να προσβάλεις κάποιον πίσω στο 1968". Οι Deviants παρέμειναν άγνωστοι στην Αμερική, αν και ο Seymour Stein της Sire έγινε φαν και κανόνισε το Ptooff! να κυκλοφορήσει στην Αμερική. Ειρωνικά ήταν η μοναδική τους περιοδεία στην Αμερική που αποδείχτηκε μοιραία για τους original Deviants. Μετά από μερικές άγριες εμφανίσεις ο Farren εγκατέλειψε το γκρουπ. Όταν ο Stein πήρε χαμπάρι για την αναχώρηση του Farren απέσυρε την υποστήριξη της περιοδείας που είχε σαν αποτέλεσμα το τέλος της μπάντας. Εκ των υστέρων ο Farren εύχεται οι Deviants να είχαν αφοσιωθεί στις εμφανίσεις τους γύρω από την Νέα Υόρκη, περιοχές που πίστευε ότι ήταν πιό πιθανόν να έχουν την εκτίμηση του κοινού. Ο Farren συνέχισε για να κάνει ένα σόλο άλμπουμ (Mona, The Carnivorous Circus (1970). Οι υπόλοιποι Deviants μεταλλάχτηκαν στους Pink Fairies στα 70'ς (με περιστασιακά την συνεισφορά του Farren). O Farren επανενεργοποίησε τους the Deviants για ένα σικάτο EP στην new wave προσανατολισμένη Stiff (δισκογραφική) στα τέλη του '70, δίνοντας πανκ σάτιρες όπως τα "Screwed Up" και "Let's Loot the Supermarket" με άγριο χιούμορ. "Ήταν ένας τρόπος να φέρνω ανθρώπους στο στούντιο μαζί μου, αλλά ήταν με δική μου χρέωση παρά με δική τους" επισημαίνει ο Farren. "Έτσι έπρεπε να αφήσουν τις φιλονικίες τους στην είσοδο. Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα καλύτερο όπως το να παίρνεις ένα τσούρμο μουσικούς που δεν τα πάνε καλά μεταξύ τους και να τους βάζεις στο στούντιο, όπου δεν είναι υπεύθυνοι παρά μόνο να κάνουν ότι τους ζητείται". Εκείνες τις μέρες ο Farren είναι πολύ περισσότερο γνωστός σαν συγγραφέας παρά σαν μουσικός. Θα είχε στ'αλήθεια να γράψει από τις μέρες των the Deviants και μετά την διάλυσή τους έκανε όνομα σαν κριτικός της rock, δουλεύοντας σε βιβλία γύρω από τον Elvis Presley και την έκρηξη της Beat music και συνεισφέροντας στο Trouser Press, το κορυφαίο new wave περιοδικό στην Αμερική. Στα 1980 ζούσε στην Αμερική και είχε ξεκινήσει μία σειρά από επιτυχημένες νουβέλες επιστημονικής φαντασίας. Προσωρινά εργαζόταν επίσης ως σεναριογράφος στο Λος Άντζελες. Δύο πρότζεκτ περιελάμβαναν μία αντιμετώπιση της ιστορίας της ζωής του Che Guevara και μία φανταστική μελέτη μίας από τις Αγγλικές rock μπάντες στα τέλη του '60 (όχι ωστόσο βασισμένη στους the Deviants). Επίσης περιοδικά ηχογραφούσε και παρουσίαζε με νέες versions των the Deviants, με το δηκτικό, ένρινο στυλ και την ποιητική του παρουσίαση, ακόμα άθικτα. Αν και σχετικά ελάχιστοι άνθρωποι άκουσαν για τους the Deviants, o Farren νομίζει ότι "σίγουρα το πνεύμα του ότι έκαναν οι the Deviants μεταφραζόταν απόλυτα σε ανθρώπους όπως ο Jones και ο Strummer και ο Rotten. O McLaren βασικά στις πρώτες μέρες των Pistols συνήθιζε το ίδιο είδος παράστασης, που χρησιμοποιούσα 8-9-10 χρόνια πιό πριν. Όταν η Patti (Smith) πρωτοπήγε με τον Lenny (Kaye), αυτός ήταν αλήθεια ο διαπλαστικός μας ήχος, εκτός του ότι η Patti ήταν πολύ περισσότερο αμήχανα ποιητική. Οι Ramones και οι Pistols έπαιζαν πολύ μικρότερα κομμάτια, επειδή εμείς κρατάγαμε αυτό το thrash πράγμα που παίζαμε για 20 λεπτά. Και δεν το παίζαμε και τόσο γρήγορα. Αλλά πέρα από αυτό ήταν το ίδιο ηλεκτρικό ξυράφι". Η μέρα της αναγνώρισης για το Ptooff! ωστόσο ίσως είναι εδώ τριγύρω. "Συνεχίζω να παίρνω αυτά τα περιοδικά στο γραμματοκιβώτιο, όπου παραπέμπουν σε lo-fi industrial music από μπάντες που δεν έχω ακούσει ποτέ. Αλλά μοιάζει σαν να χτυπάει μία ευαίσθητη χορδή στην σημερινή νεολαία, πράγμα εκπληκτικό". Χαχανίζει με περηφάνεια ανακατεμένη με αμηχανία. "Είναι επίσης πολύ ικανοποιητικό. Μετά από όλα αυτά τα χρόνια, το καταραμένο πράγμα αρχίζει να κάνει αίσθηση σε κάποιους". Το ουσιαστικό άλμπουμ των the Deviants είναι ένα τσίρκο, από 60'ς underground rock στυλ, που αποδόθηκαν με πανκ άποψη και αδιάκοπη φαντασία που δεν συμβαδίζει με τις στοιχειώδεις δεξιότητες της μπάντας. Αν σταθεί δυνατόν προσπαθείστε να βρείτε τον δίσκο με το original πόστερ. Η επανέκδοση στα μέσα του '90 είναι μία μειωμένη έκδοση που δεν περιέχει τα πιό soft κομμάτια, δύο από τα οποία αντίθετα με την άποψη του Farren είναι μελωδικοί ψυχεδελικοί διαλογισμοί που προσθέτουν αρκετά στην ποικιλία του δίσκου......apotis4stis5......~ The Deviants "Disposable 1968 In the late '60s, the Deviants were something like the British equivalent to the Fugs, with touches of the Mothers of Invention and the British R&B-based rock of the Yardbirds and the Pretty Things. Their roots were not so much in the British Invasion as the psychedelic underground that began to take shape in London in 1966-1967. Not much more than amateurs when they began playing, they squeezed every last ounce of skill and imagination out of their limited instrumental and compositional resources on their debut, Ptooff!, which combined savage social commentary, overheated sexual lust, psychedelic jamming, blues riffs, and pretty acoustic ballads -- all in the space of seven songs. Their subsequent '60s albums had plenty of outrage, but not nearly as strong material as the debut. Lead singer Mick Farren recorded a solo album near the end of the decade, and went on to become a respected rock critic. He intermittently performed and recorded as a solo artist and with re-formed versions of the Deviants. Plenty of psychedelic groups of the late '60s embraced a sunny outlook of peace, flowers, and consciousness expansion, but some took a harder line on upending the straight society they sought to replace, and like their spiritual brethren the MC5, the Deviants (under the first-among-equals leadership of writer Mick Farren) saw their music as a vehicle for a Total Assault On The Culture. The only trouble with this was the Deviants' ideas were often a lot more exciting than their music, and while they created a sonic approximation of the rage and defiance behind the Freak Culture on their debut album, Ptooff!, their second LP, Disposable, lacks focus or direction and sounds like the work of addled would-be revolutionaries who aren't sure jut what they're fighting against this morning. Farren has claimed that he and his bandmates were flying on speed during most of the recording of Disposable, but there isn't much energy (artificial or otherwise) in these performances, and many of the tunes collapse into meandering jams performed by musicians who lack the chops or focus to make them into anything more. There are a few exceptions — a wacky mutation of "Surfing Bird" and "Wipe Out" called "Pappa-Oo-Mao-Mao," the defiant "Slum Lord," and "Somewhere to Go," the only extended jam on the LP that manages to actually find a groove and move. But "Normality Jam" feels at least twice as long as its 4:24 running time, "Let's Loot the Supermarket" appears to have been recorded by people who lack the ambition to put on their shoes, let alone liberate needed supplies, and short tracks like "Sparrows and Wires" and "Sidney B. Goode" play like comic sketches without punch lines. Disposable is fascinating as a document of the U.K.'s anarchist hippie scene and where it went both right and wrong, but as entertainment, you're a lot better off listening to Ptooff!. Or looting a supermarket. .....~ Digitally remastered edition of the legendary UK band's 1968 album. Founded by legendary counter-culture figure Mick Farren and Russell Hunter and inspired by the Fugs, The Deviants were first of the anarchic groups to emerge from the Ladbroke Grove area of London. Two years before Hawkwind burst on to the underground scene, The Deviants were preaching revolution and creating their own form of musical anarchy. Disposable was the band's second album and featured the legendary 'Let's Loot the Supermarket'. a musical signpost that would point the direction The Deviants' offspring, the Pink Fairies.13 tracks. Esoteric. 2009......~ Disposable is another esoteric reissue which continues along the lines of their first release, ptooff! the zappa/stooges/fugs influences are still prevelant among the songs on this cd. the songs were written, performed and recorded during a marathon methedrine binge by the band. the band expanded their sound by adding keyboards to the mix. pete brown (of battered ornament fame) and dick heckstall-smith were other guests on this cd. the politcally vocal band continued along the punk, grunge, avant garde line with their music. if you never heard the deviants and are into early zappa and the stooges, you will thoroughly enjoy disposable and their first release ptooff! released in 1968 the music still stands up today......~ Originally released in 1968, as this was their follow-up to their debut 'Ptooff' lp (see my review) and nearly as good. 'Disposable' simply continues the feat of showing off Mick Farren's off beat sense of humor. With cuts like "Sparrows And Wires", "Let's Loot The Supermarket", the notable "Slum Lord" and "Normality", I personally thought that 'Disposable' was a true keeper. Line-up: Farren - vocals, Duncan Sanderson - bass, Sid Bishop - guitar and Russell Hunter - drums. Another outstanding late '60's UK piece of psychedelia to fully take in.......~ By the time the second album came out, The Deviants were feeling professional and, according to Farren, “stopped pioneering and became another lousy band. It was a reason to get depressed, although at the same time some of the concerts were really satisfying. " During this period, "The Deviants" regularly performed not only in clubs, but also in numerous student strikes, and often came into confrontation with the police. Farren thought it should be, but the rest wanted to play rock and roll and become the second Led Zeppelin, especially the new guitarist Paul Rudolph, whose constant clashes with Farren became one of the reasons for the collapse of the group ......~ The Deviants, also known as The Social Deviants, was an English psychedelic band founded by Mick Farren in 1967. Farren described the sound of The Deviants as “teeth-grinding, psychedelic rock.” The band formed out of the UK Underground, which was Great Britain’s correlation to the hippie counterculture movement that was developing in the United States at the same time. The band’s album, Disposable, was released in 1968. Their music is considered to be the British equivalent to The Fugs from New York, and from what I’ve heard so far with Disposable, I like them much better than The Fugs. To me, they really don’t sound that much alike. I didn’t quite know what to expect from Disposable, but was pleasantly surprised by this well developed, enjoyable record. The first song, Somewhere To Go, starts of with an infectious bass beat that got me interested right away. After the intro, that seems like they we talking about being young and in The Underground, or British counterculture, the song takes a garage rock turn, It is a great song with a killer psychedelic guitar solo, and I find myself wondering how I never heard of these guys until just recently. Great opening number. Sparrows and Wires seems like filler at first, but it grew on me within the context of the record as a whole. It isn’t as much a song as it is a spoken word explanation, short and to the point, then on to the next tune. Jamie’s Song is a slow moving psychedelic trip, pure psychedelic rock. ou’ve Got To Hold On is a great psychedelic song from start to finish, and is my favorite song on the album. Awesome lyrics, with killer guitar work makes this song so awesome! I find it hard to believe that The Deviants were not more popular than they were, as I think they have some of the best music of the psychedelic era. Fire In The City is a song featuring sax, and it’s meaning seems to be about the turbulent times that was the norm in the late sixties, both in the United Kingdom and in the States. The smooth sax solo in the middle of the tune is well done and the song as a whole is mellow but packs a lyrical punch if listened to with the sixties counterculture in mind. Let’s Loot The Supermarket is a partially incoherent ramble about seemingly nothing but a bunch of acid induced people hanging out on a street corner somewhere to stoned to stand. Ya know, a typical sixties type infusion of fun, drugs and at times, boredom. A funny song not meant to make any serious political statement, just a bit of fluff in the middle of the record. Not one of my favorite songs on the album, but acceptable. If Pappa Oo Mao Mao sounds familiar, it should, as it is a cover of the 1962 Rivington’s piece Papa Oom Mow Mow, originally an incoherent do wop number. However, it seems to me that the spelling of the titled was altered from the original, referring to China’s communist leader Mao Tse-tung. The song was made into a statement against the communist Chinese regime, to me it seems pretty apparent. Good way to turn a funny, nonsensical tune into a political one. Normality Jam is an great psychedelic instrumental piece with a funky drum beat and awesome guitars throughout. One of the best pieces of music on the record.Guaranteed To Bleed is a slower, more mature song, with great keyboards. Sidney B. Goode is a short instrumental that emulates Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry. It is a good attempt at making the song sound like Berry’s original, but giving it a bit of a psychedelic spin. Last Man is an eerie sounding spoken word piece that closes out the record. This ends a very entertaining record, with little filler, and a good representation of the British sound from The Uk Underground, the counterculture movement from across the pond. Good stuff!........~ Talk today about Britain's psychedelic psyxties, and it's the light whimsy of Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, the gentle introspection of the village green Kinks, Sgt. Pepper, and "My White Bicycle" which hog the headlines. People have forgotten there was an underbelly as well, a seething mass of discontent and rancor which would eventually produce the likes of Hawkwind, the Pink Fairies, and the Edgar Broughton Band. It was a damned sight more heartfelt, too, but the more some fete the lite-psych practitioners of the modern age, the further their reality will recede. Fronted by journalist/author/wild child Mick Farren, the Deviants spawned that reality. Over the years, three ex-members would become Pink Fairies; for subsequent reunions, sundry ex-Fairies would become honorary Deviants. And though only Russell Hunter is present on Ptooff!, still you can hear the groundwork being laid. the Pink Fairies might well have been the most perfect British band of the early '70s, and the Deviants were their dysfunctional parents. In truth, Ptooff! sounds nowhere near as frightening today as it was the first (or even 21st) time out; too many reissues, most of them now as scarce as the original independently released disc, have dulled its effect, and besides, the group's own subsequent albums make this one look like a puppy dog. But the deranged psilocybic rewrite of "Gloria" which opens the album, "I'm Coming Home," still sets a frightening scene, a world in which Top 40 pop itself is horribly skewed, and the sound of the Deviants grinding out their misshapen R&B classics is the last sound you will hear. Move on to "Garbage," and though the Deviants' debt to both period Zappa and Fugs is unmistakable, still there's a purity to the paranoia. Ptoof! was conceived at a time when there genuinely was a generation gap, and hippies were a legitimate target for any right-wing bully boy with a policeman's hat and a truncheon. IT and Oz, the two underground magazines which did most to support the Deviants (Farren wrote for both), were both publicly busted during the band's lifespan, and that fear permeates this disc; fear, and vicious defiance. It would be two years, and two more albums, before the Deviants finally published their manifesto in all its lusty glory -- "we are the people who pervert your children" -- during their eponymous third album's "People Suite." But already, the intention was there. by Dave Thompson .....~ The first and only single that The Deviants cut in the sixties, this pairing was taken off their highly uneven, amusing and at times terrifying album, “Disposable.” And it acts as a succinct overview of that album: the A-side featuring lead vocalist Mick Farren bellowing, braying and screaming his lyrics of twisted drug revelations while an equally screaming and blistering fuzz guitar gets turned in by Sid Bishop. The guitar solo is by far one of his most unbridled: a churning, splintery mass of sharpened noise, and it’s every bit as good as his racket making on their debut album, “PTOOFF!.” Since that point, personnel had shifted as several roadies joined on vocals as well as a three-man rhythm section: Russell Hunter on drums with Sandy Sanderson and Mac McDonnell on bass -- sometimes simultaneously. From the moment Hunter’s drums bursts in to drive the thing down all the way to the end as awesomely-bad-for-the-fuck-of-it harmonica wailing flies overhead, a head-creasing, sideways/backwards/every-which-way near constant guitar sprays with over-sustaining, over-fuzzed out ferocious power. It screams and screams along as Farren is straining at the leash of his sanity, which is soon fraying into the slightest of threads as his lyrics are, at best, discernable with ever other line. More by its reckless display of bottled anger uncorked than anything approaching musicianship, “You’ve Got To Hold On” is an explosive punk track and its undyingly recklessness and incorrigible extremities were (and still are) astonishingly ahead of their time. “Let’s Loot The Supermarket” is a methedrine-ravaged, brain-damaged, Dylan-banged piano and acoustic guitar accompanied sing-a-long with an undeniable aura of cracked and chewed lips, greasy hair of a crowded studio fogged in with compressed B.O. It’s a total “revolution for the hell of it” anthem, and they’d be singing it over burning trash cans in Powis Square if the empire ever fell. But here in the studio, Farren can barely sing by the middle section, fumbling over the lyrics and distracted by the backing vocal entourage of roadies and musicians, who are hardly helping matters. Everybody is completely ragged from their time spent speeding and waiting around during playback for 48 hours. They’re out of tune, out of time, out of their minds and couldn’t care less. You wouldn’t, either. Pretty soon, infectious laughter kicks in (and the ass of) the overall resigned feel of the piece, and soon the entire studio is laughing like Bedlam inmates. You’ll start laughing, yourself. A bittersweet harmonica blows into the coda over half-assed handclaps and more laughter. You can almost see them struggling to remain standing (According to legend, even engineer Andy Johns couldn’t control things in the studio, because he too was spiked with enough methedrine to kill an elephant.) by The Seth Man, March 2001....~ In the States, there were John Sinclair and MC5, and in good old England, much less famous, but no less energetic Deviants with Mick Farren lit up. Farren is a notable anarchist, countercultural demolitionist and boozer. He scribbled articles in music magazines, where he expounded his ideas, very close to punk ones (this is the 60s, by the way), and in his free time from literary labors he fought against the norms of public morality as the leader of this, um, musical group. Disposable is the band's second album (three in total). Musically it is a very American-sounding psychedelic garage. The atmosphere on the album is, let's say, relaxed. Those. the fight against norms takes place in a warm, friendly environment. Energetic, deeply social compositions like "Pappa-Oo-Mao-Mao" and joyful choral chants about the end of civilization "Let 'c_sensible for a friendly and cohesive brainwashing on the Mick Farren theme.....~ Credits Bass – Duncan Sanderson (tracks: A1, A4, B1, B2, B4, B5), M J McDonnell (tracks: A1, B2, B4) Drums – Russ Hunter* (tracks: A3 to B2, B4, B5) Guitar – Sid Bishop (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B4 to B6) Harmonica – M J McDonnell (tracks: A4, A6, B3) Organ – Tony Ferguson (tracks: A1, B5, B7) Piano – Dennis Hughes (tracks: A6, B2, B5) Vocals – Mick Farren (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1 to B3, B7) McDonnell* (tracks: B4), Farren* (tracks: A1, A3 to A6, B2, B3, B7), Hunter* (tracks: A3, A4, B4), Bishop* (tracks: A2, A4, B2, B6), Sparkes* (tracks: A2), Ferguson* (tracks: B5) Tracklist

1 Somewhere To Go 7:23 2 Sparrows And Wires 0:52 3 Jamies Song 3:35 4 You've Got To Hold On 3:53 5 Fire In The City Arranged By – Tony Ferguson 3:01 6 Let's Loot The Supermarket 2:34 7 Pappa-Oo-Mao-Mao 2:33 8 Slum Lord 2:15 9 Blind Joe Mcturks Last Session 1:20 10 Normality Jam 4:22 11 Guaranteed To Bleed Arranged By [Brass] – Dick Heckstall-Smith 3:46 12 Sidney B. Goode 0:54 13 Last Man 5:44

The Deviants "The Deviants" 1969 In the late '60s, the Deviants were something like the British equivalent to the Fugs, with touches of the Mothers of Invention and the British R&B-based rock of the Yardbirds and the Pretty Things. Their roots were not so much in the British Invasion as the psychedelic underground that began to take shape in London in 1966-1967. Not much more than amateurs when they began playing, they squeezed every last ounce of skill and imagination out of their limited instrumental and compositional resources on their debut, Ptooff!, which combined savage social commentary, overheated sexual lust, psychedelic jamming, blues riffs, and pretty acoustic ballads -- all in the space of seven songs. Their subsequent '60s albums had plenty of outrage, but not nearly as strong material as the debut. Lead singer Mick Farren recorded a solo album near the end of the decade, and went on to become a respected rock critic. He intermittently performed and recorded as a solo artist and with re-formed versions of the Deviants. by Richie Unterberger ....~ The third and, for the time being, final Deviants album is also, according to frontman Mick Farren, the record that they should never have made. Writing in his 2001 autobiography, Give the Anarchist a Cigarette, Farren observes that even the album's title encapsulated the group's state of mind -- "so creatively tapped out we couldn't even come up with a snappy name for the damned record." He is being harsh. While The Deviants, No. 3 is still a fascinating glimpse into the state of the British underground in 1969. A few of the songs are indeed as unrehearsed (and certainly undeveloped) as Farren has since complained -- "Death of a Dream Machine" is little more than a jingle, when it ought to be a masterpiece. But it's also a considerably more coherent album than the group's speed-freak monster mash reputation might allow you to expect, and it doesn't even sound that horribly dated. At its most seething, "Billy the Monster," the sinister Zappa-esque chant with which the album opens, captures the archetypal hippie-freak. Then, skip over the somewhat Airplane-y "Broken Biscuits" and "First Line," and you reach "The People's Suite" -- and what could be more brilliant than a suite that lasts just two and a half minutes? "We are the people who pervert your children, lead them astray from the lessons you taught them": Again, Zappa hangs heavy over the proceedings, but if the tabloids of the day ever needed to have their worst fears confirmed, the Deviants were pleased to oblige. Musically, The Deviants, No. 3 hangs in a void somewhere between the early Edgar Broughton Band, with whom they enjoyed the wildest rivalry, and the incipient Pink Fairies, to which all the members bar Farren soon fled. Culturally, however, it is a brutal reminder of that moment when the '60s dream teetered on the brink of the precipice, and the planet went to hell in a handcart around it. by Dave Thompson.....~ The Deviants were the closest thing the ‘60s British rock scene had to The Mothers of Invention, with a Stooges-like fondness for fuzz guitar freakouts thrown in. And playing the Frank Zappa role as lyricist, singer, and provocateur was Mick Farren, one of the most intriguing figures to emerge from the UK underground. Farren actually had a much longer and distinguished career as a writer than he did as a musician…he penned a total of 23 novels and 11 works of non-fiction, all of them redolent of his unique sensibility (his 1976 article “The Titanic Sails at Dawn” for New Musical Express predicted the rise of punk rock). And on the music side, he never did anything that wasn’t extreme, collaborating with Lemmy of Hawkwind and Motörhead and Wayne Kramer of the MC5 among others residing on the cutting and bleeding edge of rock and roll. 1969’s Deviants III was the third and last record he cut with his band The Deviants (the other members went on to form Pink Fairies); despite the strains in the band and Farren’s later panning of its quality, it’s regarded in some quarters as a masterpiece, capturing the dark side of the end of the ‘60s with such songs as “Billy the Monster” and “The People’s Suite.” Our reissue features the rare gatefold art that came out on the Sire label in the States, with a black and white “nun’s habit” vinyl pressing limited to 1000 copies. Farren collapsed while playing on stage with a re-formed (but not reformed!) version of The Deviants in 2013 and died soon thereafter…a fitting way for the unrepentant radical to go. R.I.P. Mick Farren.....~ This is a fun album to listen to. But at the same time it's a bit dark and bizarre. Musically the album is a mix of psychedelic rock with some garage and blues rock styles. This third album by The Deviants isn't as raw as their first two albums but this one has some clear garage rock/proto-punk influences as well. The A-side includes just pretty short tracks which are all pretty good. The B-side is a bit more loose but the album closer "Metamorphosis Exploration" is once again very nice. Overall I'd say that I enjoy this album just about as much as I enjoy their previous record Disposable. I like both of these albums more than I like their famous debut Ptooff!....CooperBolan ......~ With a name like The Deviants and an album cover featuring a nun licking a popsicle you know you're in good hands and so it was. This final Deviants album featured the debut of Paul Rudolph on guitar. Here he's a bit tentative as is the band and it makes for a compelling mix. Frontman Mick Farren didn't really do much on this album which is probably why he became unhappy and the band tossed him during a disastrous American tour and soon thereafter morphed into The Pink Fairies of legendary renown. The jokes mostly fall flat and the hard rock is mostly muted and not particularly scintillating but the song structures can amuse and Metalmorphosis at the end is a 9 minute epic where Rudolph really lets loose with the kind of vibe he'd soon be spewing all over the Pink Fairies records as well as Twink's solo Lp. Essential stuff for reprobates and mugwumps like you....and me.....zenbabaloo ....~ The third and, for the time being, final Deviants album is also, according to frontman Mick Farren, the record that they should never have made. Writing in his 2001 autobiography, Give the Anarchist a Cigarette, Farren observes that even the album's title encapsulated the group's state of mind -- "so creatively tapped out we couldn't even come up with a snappy name for the damned record." He is being harsh. While The Deviants, No. 3 can in no way be compared to either of its predecessors, or to Farren's own magnificent solo album Mona, it is still a fascinating glimpse into the state of the British underground in 1969. A few of the songs are indeed as unrehearsed (and certainly undeveloped) as Farren has since complained -- "Death of a Dream Machine" is little more than a jingle, when it ought to be a masterpiece. But it's also a considerably more coherent album than the group's speed-freak monster mash reputation might allow you to expect, and it doesn't even sound that horribly dated. At its most seething, "Billy the Monster," the sinister Zappa-esque chant with which the album opens, captures the archetypal hippie-freak. Then, skip over the somewhat Airplane-y "Broken Biscuits" and "First Line," and you reach "The People's Suite" -- and what could be more brilliant than a suite that lasts just two and a half minutes? "We are the people who pervert your children, lead them astray from the lessons you taught them": Again, Zappa hangs heavy over the proceedings, but if the tabloids of the day ever needed to have their worst fears confirmed, the Deviants were pleased to oblige. Musically, The Deviants, No. 3 hangs in a void somewhere between the early Edgar Broughton Band, with whom they enjoyed the wildest rivalry, and the incipient Pink Fairies, to which all the members bar Farren soon fled. Culturally, however, it is a brutal reminder of that moment when the '60s dream teetered on the brink of the precipice, and the planet went to hell in a handcart around it.....by Dave Thompson.....~ Deviant rhymes with interesting and attractive. It's normal, it's our (perverse) human nature that wants that. Anything that is not standard, anything that goes beyond the ordinary and the codes of conduct dictated by parents and religions arouses our curiosity. And attracts us like a magnet, a siren song, a Pandora's box, an Adam's apple, a jar of honey. It's up to us to think a little before going there, so as not to be in trouble! As for the third eponymous Deviants album, we must not think about it. You have to open it and listen to it. The nun who sucks her ice cream with her eyes and her devilish makeup is not mean. She's here for the form. She is not going to jump on us (like the little rascal on the back of the cover which is found at her feet with the same treat in her mouth). It is there to remind us that rock was considered deviant since its birth in the 1950s and its explosion in the 1960s. Obviously wrong. The Deviants' third album, a UK garage band led by journalist / singer / producer Mick Farren released in 1969 is a little bombshell. A concentrate of psychedelic rock, punk and new wave rock before its time !! Ice cream doesn't have just one flavor. It is sour, bitter, sweet, melodious. With climbs and descents, folk nuggets, skaters and other mouth-watering curiosities. The electric guitar is king on this album. His solos remind me of Television's debut album, Marquee Moon (guitarists' paradise). Its raw side to MC5 and other US garage bands. There is a certain dose of psychedelia, but we are not in Tibet with sitars and opium. Just enough to remind us that we are in the 60s. The voice takes a back seat for once, it is an accompanying instrument. Like the bass and the drums, it contributes to the general adrenaline rush. In short, you have understood it, you have to be (a little) deviant in your life!.....~

A can of soup has written history, excelling in popularity ratings with Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Madonna (both). All damn true! The Andy from the Eurasian steppe as hair combines them of all colors ... to the Mona Lisa and Monroe; a touch of scarlet lipstick to the austere Mao and voila, here is the sly despot you don't expect. Pop Art is the art of society as society is 'poppartica'. And enough with these epic paintings of runaway horses and brave warriors with swords stretched out towards sacrifice, towards freedom ... Mamma mia, che pipponi. You want to put televisions, washing machines, magazines, refrigerators and cans, yes, cans of the 'PorcaCola' which in terms of expressiveness are easy to win even with the Mona Lisa. In this multicolored universe devoted to provocation, the Deviants have been buzzing since their origins with the onomatopoeic debut 'Ptooff!' and, after the illustrative amnesia (or mania of protagonism) of 'Disposable', with the third and last, homonymous 'The Deviants'. A nun. A child under the nun (back cover). A popsicle in the baby's mouth. A popsicle in the nun's mouth. Having established that the first impulse aroused is not to prostrate in prayer, I ask myself: 'Why not the usual Swedish lolita?' Is the year '69 a coincidence or does it have a subtle congruence with the theme? The winking and allusive gaze of the 'tunicata' leaves no way out. Not even Mick Farren 's grave voice in his manly baritone leaves no way out as he utters that 'BILLYYY' ... douff. Only the voices that respond to him in the tone of 'The Monster' dissociate themselves from this embrace of images and sounds, with the scrotum tightened by the microphone wire. It all sounds unspeakably cool & sexy. I imagine beautiful ebony-skinned women moving their curves to the rhythm, in a sensual dance that ... that ... and none of that, Mick simply advises Billy to be careful along his path. Such a persuasive bass deserved a very different plot, also because it was not just a little info. Sanderson beats Hunter five and the wands bang and swing in the air, drawing new bodies and new fantasies that punctually break, this time against a couple of 'broken cookies' . In the meantime the icicle is melting but the nun does not change her expression. "First Line (Seven the Row)". Same script and same morgana. Hunter beats and Rudolph gets lost in his guitar raids , among the pentatonic scales used to escape the spirit of the Stooges or head against, with the rudder out of control. Three two one. Impact! No, no impact, more false alarms. The march is visibly reduced near "The People Suite" which opens with an assonance to the 'scarecrow' of the dazed Syd. Only the Rosa ones were missing! Yet another blunder, because slowly that the "Devianti # 3" penetrates the very black furrows, blacker than .. blacker than ... black as .. the dress of the pious licker on the cover, the parents flock to the edge of the record of Tommy, once aboard Jefferson's airplane, the Italian-American uncle Frank, with the inseparable Lou and John. Stuff to roll your eyes and alert your ears. Indeed neither. That's enough to curb an incurable and runaway fantasy. The Deviants are really good, no doubt about it. A handful of notes and riffs are enough to take off; and for those who suffer from vertigo like me it is better to stay grounded. Indeed, now that I think about it, live realism, romanticism, classicism. Fuck the colored washing machines, the refrigerators, the Mona Lisa, the rainbow 'PorcaCola' and the canned beans. And the banana , right? As? Already done?....debaser........~ Credits Backing Vocals – David Goodman Bass, Vocals – Duncan Sanderson Guitar, Vocals – Paul Rudolph Lead Vocals – Tony Wigens (tracks: A3) Organ – Tony Ferguson Percussion, Vocals – Russell Hunter Vocals – Jennifer Ashworth Tracklist 

Billy The Monster 3:23 Broken Biscuits 2:09 First Line 2:43 The People's Suite 2:24 Ramblin B(l)ack Transit Blues 5:32 Death Of A Dream Machine 2:45 Playtime 3:06 Black George Does It With His Mouth 1:20 Junior Narco Rangers 0:15 People Of The City 1:27 Metamorphosis Exploration 8:49

Discography

Singles 1968 - The Deviants - "You've Got To Hold On" / "Let's Loot The Supermarket" (Stable Records)[5] 1976 – Mick Farren – "Play With Fire" / "Lost Johnny" (Ork records) 1977 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – Screwed Up EP (Stiff Records) 1978 – Mick Farren – "Half Price Drinks" (Logo Records) 1978 – Mick Farren – "Broken Statue" / "It's All In The Picture" (Logo records) 1987 – Wayne Kramer & Mick Farren – Who Shot You Dutch? 199? – Lunar Malice – "Gunfire In The Night" / "Touched By The Fire" Albums 1967 – The Deviants – Ptooff! (Impresario/Decca Records) 1968 – The Deviants – Disposable (Stable Records) 1969 – The Deviants – The Deviants 3 (Transatlantic Records) 1970 – Mick Farren – Mona – The Carnivorous Circus (Transatlantic Records) 1978 – Mick Farren – Vampires Stole My Lunch Money (Logo Records) 1984 – The Deviants – Human Garbage – live (Psycho Records) 1991 – Wayne Kramer – Death Tongue (Progressive Records) 1993 – Tijuana Bible – Gringo Madness 1995 – Mick Farren and Jack Lancaster – The Deathray Tapes (Alive Records) 1996 – Deviants IXVI – Eating Jello With a Heated Fork (Alive Records) 1999 – The Deviants – Barbarian Princes – Live In Japan 2002 – The Deviants – Dr. Crow (Track Records) 2004 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – Taste The Blue – live (Captain Trip Records, Japan) 2005 – Mick Farren – To The Masterlock – live (Captain Trip Records, Japan) 2013 – Mick Farren and Andy Colquhoun - Black Vinyl Dress Compilations 1996 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – Fragments of Broken Probes 1996 – The Social Deviants – Garbage (Alive Records) 1999 – The Deviants – The Deviants Have Left The Planet 2000 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – This CD Is Condemned (Alive Records) 2001 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – On Your Knees, Earthlings (Alive Records)

[johnkatsmc5]

Mick Farren "People Call You Crazy... The Story Of Mick Farren" 2003 CD Compilation UK Garage  Psych Rock,Proto Punk

Total of nineteen tracks, pretty much aimed toward the completists. I mean most (if not all) of us old school Deviant / Mick Farren fans ALREADY have these cuts on other CD's. Here, you get tunes off the first three 'proper' Deviants albums like "Slum Lord", "Rambling Black Transit Blues", the awesome rocker "Garbage" and "I'm Coming Home" (off of 'Ptooff') as well as some decent Farren solo material like "Half Price Drinks", "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and possibly his best ever - "Mona". Nonetheless, still a good pick....Mike Reed....~ While many British rock bands were turning to love, peace and harmony in ’67, Farren’s Deviants were heading into bleaker proto-punk territory with MC5-style garage psychedelia. This package features tracks from the band’s defiant debut Ptooff! (one of the first independently made and distributed British rock albums, selling 10,000 copies before Decca picked it up), ’68’s methadone-fuelled Disposable, and their ’69 swan song, No 3. When the band split later that year (the remnants mutating into The Pink Fairies), Farren went on to be a solo artist, the editor of anti-establishment publication IT, and producer of the comic Nasty Tales.....~ The story of Mick Farren? If only that were true. But one of the most ferociously determined careers of the past four decades has twisted down far too many alleyways for a single disc to sum it up. There's nothing here from either the Ork days or the Stiff EP (although there is a live version of the killer "Screwed Up"), while the latter years of the re-formed Deviants and sundry Farren spin-off projects are also absent. Look back at the two Total Energy comps that appeared during 2000-2001, and the same story was told with a lot more precision by either. That said, what People Call You Crazy does, it does well. All three original Deviants albums are represented with undeniable highlights -- the Zappa-esque "Billy the Monster" and a superbly subversive rampage through "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" included. The solo Carnivorous Circus drops in that drooling rendition of "Mona" that makes every other version of the song sound anaemic, while Farren's most commercial album ever, 1978's Vampires Stole My Lunch Money, delivers both "I Want a Drink" and "Half Price Drinks," by way of light relief. Meanwhile, 1999's The Deviants Have Left the Planet turns in a seething version of Dylan's "It's Alright Ma," another of Farren's most priceless cover versions. Neither does the album lack the sense of occasion that the best of Farren's work takes for granted. Rocker, poet, and author, Farren is to the underground all that Patti Smith could have been to the mainstream, a voice of furious dissent that's as likely to veer off into a screaming tone poem as cut loose with a sharp riff rocker. Ten minutes of "Dogpoet" and isolated blasts elsewhere all lift the listener out of the seat with their ferocity -- a talent that too few other performers have ever dared employ, and the reason, perhaps, why there are so many vast gaps in Farren's recorded time scale. People were usually too scared to sign him. It's the memory of that fear that makes this collection so enjoyable -- and so infuriating as well. There've been Mick Farren compilations in the past; no doubt there'll be more in the future. But not one of them tells the story, no matter how adamant this set's subtitle sounds. This is just the highlights of a couple of chapters -- the full tale would take up a box set. So where is it?....by Dave Thompson....~ Farren is, of course, a unique character. Anarchist, journalist, musician, even science fiction writer. Something like 60s Malcolm McLaren. This compilation contains fragments of the Deviants' first, second , third albums, Farren's two solo albums (Mona, 1971 and Vampire Stole My Lunch Money, 1978), plus some strange late material (sorry, no additional information). I understand that the idea of ​​mixing up Farren's already strange and very colorful recordings without chronological order is quite consistent with the anarchic spirit of his work, but in such a mess, one of the most important components of Mick's "music" is lost, namely the spirit of the times, which was always very good at capturing each of his albums. It remains to perceive only the "songs" in their pure form, but torn out of the album context, they lose great. Once again you think - there are ideologists, and there are musicians. Successful combinations of these two properties are very rare. Here Lennon with his "Sometime In New York City" is perhaps a rare exception for me......~ In the early sixties, Mick Farren came to London and joined the International Times, an underground weekly known as IT. In a team of ex-beatniks, proto-hippies, literary avant-garde, anarchists and revolutionaries, Farren brings something new. him, the underground was a logical extension of rock'n'roll rebellion and considered Elvis or Gene Vincent equal to William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. At the same time, he was a vocalist in the band The Social Deviants. Under that name they played with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, 1967, in Alexandra Palace. Not very technically perfect for the band from the late sixties, borrowing, delicately, wit from Zappa, played ‘rough’n’ready’ garage rock featured on their three albums: ‘PTOOFF’ (1967), ‘Disposable’ (1968) and ‘Deviants 3’ Farren is the founder of Phun City, a pioneering free pop festival featuring MC 5, White Panther, Edgar Broughton and Mungo Jerry. He also helped his friends from Hawkwind and Pink Fairies (ex-Deviants) appear at the Isle Of Wight Festival. In 1970, IT collapsed in 1973, so Farren wrote for a soft porn magazine for a while before accepting NME's offer, along with several other colleagues from underground journalism (Charles Shaar Murray, Nick Kent ...). NME troops in rivalry with Melody Maker. In 1980 he moved to America where he devoted himself to SF writing. He published 23 short stories in the style of Michael Moorcock, JG Ballard and Jim Thompson. In 2001 he wrote entertaining memoirs 'Give The Anarchist A Cigarette'. As a musician, he released two albums after the breakup of the Deviants. After these albums, he sporadically made music, collaborating with Wayne Kramer, Jack Lancaster and the reformed Deviants. Mick Farren passed away on July 27, 2013 on stage, performing with Deviants at London’s Borderline Club. .....~ important figure in the British rock scene at the turn of the 60's and 70's. Chrentenham-born Farren began his career in the early 1960s on the London r & b scene. He founded the psychedelic band Social Deviants , later simply called Deviants. He played guitar with her for three years and sang. After three major psychedelic albums, he leaves the band during the American tour and returns to London, where he records solo album 1 in London's Sound Techniques. The recording, combining rhythm and blues inspiration with a psychotic sound, was made with a circle of friendly musicians, some of whom became the basis of the later Pink Fairies . For example, Twink - voc, perc; Pete Robinson - piano, org; John Gustafson - bs (ex Atomic Rooster ); Steve Hammond - gt, voc; Shagrat The Vargant - voc, perc; Paul Buckmaster - cello; Raul - conga. The record was produced by Farren himself. The album begins and ends with the song Monadivided "illogically" into two parts. The second takeover on the thirteen song album is Summertime Blues from the repertoire of Eddy Cochran. Other pieces, such as Carnivorous Circus pt. 1 + 2, In My Window Box or Observe The Ravens are Farren's work. A little later, he became a founding member of the legendary Pink Fairies, from which, however, he left before making his debut album and embarked on a career as a rock journalist. He wrote for the New Musical Express and edited the It magazine. He also worked in the field of science-fiction literature and also wrote humorous short stories. In the mid-1970s, he also collaborated as a lyricist with Motorheadhis friend Lemmy Kilminster. He did not return to the music scene until 1977, when he recorded the EP Screwed Up for the then pub / punk rock brand Stiff , which contains, among other things, a remake of a song from the Deviants Let´s Loot the Supermarket workshop . His second solo album Vampires Stole My Lunch Moneyit was full of rock & roll hedonism. The album opens with a not exactly successful cover version of Zappov's Trouble Coming Every Day. Other songs are dedicated to the crazy actor Bel Lugosi (the first film representative of Dracula) and booze (apparently autobiographical influences). Mostly it's a shallow pop with a bit of rock´n ´roll without much viability, and the listener wonders in vain why this record was created at all. The studio line-up is also strange - besides Farren there are Wilko Johnson - gt (ex Dr. Feelgood, Ian Dury And The Blockheads ), singer Sonja Kristina (ex Curved Air ), Chrissie Hynde - boss and singer Pretenders , Alan Powell - drums (ex Deviants, Hawkwind, Michael Moorcock, Robert Calvert Band), Will Stallibras - harmonica, Andy Calquhoun - bs (ex Warsaw Pact ) or Larry Wallis ( Motorhead ). The record failed in its time, but it is still sought after by collectors. Farren returned to the scene once again in 1984, when he teamed up with Wayne Kramer (ex MC5 ), Larry Wallis (ex Pink Fairies ) and Duncan Sanderson to record the concert album Human Garbage under the name Deviants . Kramer and Farren met during the realization of the so-called rhythm & blues musical about the gangster Dutch Schultz, from which some pieces were released in 1987 on the EP Who Shot You Dutch? Then Farren disappeared from the scene and resigned from the music show business. In 1993, he read literary texts with minimal musical accompaniment on the concept CD Gringo Madness . Also, Deathray Tapes is a spoken word recording made live in June 1995 in Santa Monica with guitarist Jack Lancaster. The CD contains futuristic poetry full of anger, such as An Evil Dream Came Down, Gunfire in the Night, Mephis Psychosis , etc. Musical accompaniment provided by Jack Lancaster - gt, violin, trumpet, sax; Wayne Kramer - gt; Andy Colquhoun - gt and Brad Dourif - voc. An interesting compilation of Fragments Of Broken Probes containing 16 compositions from the period with Deviants from 1968/69. There is also a Lost Johnny- psycho-cybernetic sci-fi written with Lemmy Kilminster ( Hawkwind, Sam Gopal, Motorhead ), or songs from the hard-to-find rare single Play With Fire , a live version of Half Price Drinks , or Broken Statue . These pre-punk recordings full of screaming psychotic guitars and rhythmic fights are definitely worth listening to, and Farren with Deviants is in the best shape here. The second compilation of People Call You Crazy is full of 19 songs, including a great version of Dylan's It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) or Zappov's crazy Billy The Monster , or the amazing ten-minute Dog Poet. The CD is a great selection of the few recordings Farren has made on albums; it is such a musically / poetic underground that even Patti Smith puts it in his pocket. Mick Farren is undoubtedly a unique original artist who holds the banner of the British underground proudly raised to this day......~ Personnel 

*Mick Farren – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano *Sid Bishop – Guitar, Sitar *Cord Rees – Bass, Spanish Guitar *Russell Russell Hunter – Drums, Vocals *Duncan Sanderson, Stephen Sparkes, Ashworth - Vocals *Paul Rudolph – Guitar, Vocals *M J McDonnell - Bass, Vocals *Dennis Hughes - Organ *Tony Ferguson - Organ *John Gustavson – Bass *Peter Robinson - Organ, Piano *Steve Hammond - Guitar, Vocals *Alan Powell – Drums *Larry Wallis - Guitar, Bass *Andy Colquhoun - Guitar, Bass Tracklist 

1 Slum Lord 2:20 2 I Want A Drink 1:46 3 The Junior Narco Rangers (If We Gotta Get Raleigh From Chicago, We're Gonna) 0:29 4 Aztec Calendar 4:25 5 Billy The Monster 3:27 6 Garbage 5:38 7 Half Price Drinks 3:36 8 Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow 2:35 9 But Charlie It's Still Moving 1:02 10 People Call You Crazy 2:51 11 Who Needs The Egg? 3:17 12 It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) 4:52 13 Rambling B(l)ack Transit Blues 5:17 14 Somewhere To Go 7:24 15 I'm Coming Home 5:59 16 Drunk In The Morning 4:09 17 Mona (The Whole Trip) 7:30 18 Dogpoet 9:42 19 Screwed Up (Live) 2:18 Discography

Singles 1968 - The Deviants - "You've Got To Hold On" / "Let's Loot The Supermarket" (Stable Records)[5] 1976 – Mick Farren – "Play With Fire" / "Lost Johnny" (Ork records) 1977 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – Screwed Up EP (Stiff Records) 1978 – Mick Farren – "Half Price Drinks" (Logo Records) 1978 – Mick Farren – "Broken Statue" / "It's All In The Picture" (Logo records) 1987 – Wayne Kramer & Mick Farren – Who Shot You Dutch? 199? – Lunar Malice – "Gunfire In The Night" / "Touched By The Fire" Albums 1967 – The Deviants – Ptooff! (Impresario/Decca Records) 1968 – The Deviants – Disposable (Stable Records) 1969 – The Deviants – The Deviants 3 (Transatlantic Records) 1970 – Mick Farren – Mona – The Carnivorous Circus (Transatlantic Records) 1978 – Mick Farren – Vampires Stole My Lunch Money (Logo Records) 1984 – The Deviants – Human Garbage – live (Psycho Records) 1991 – Wayne Kramer – Death Tongue (Progressive Records) 1993 – Tijuana Bible – Gringo Madness 1995 – Mick Farren and Jack Lancaster – The Deathray Tapes (Alive Records) 1996 – Deviants IXVI – Eating Jello With a Heated Fork (Alive Records) 1999 – The Deviants – Barbarian Princes – Live In Japan 2002 – The Deviants – Dr. Crow (Track Records) 2004 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – Taste The Blue – live (Captain Trip Records, Japan) 2005 – Mick Farren – To The Masterlock – live (Captain Trip Records, Japan) 2013 – Mick Farren and Andy Colquhoun - Black Vinyl Dress Compilations 1996 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – Fragments of Broken Probes 1996 – The Social Deviants – Garbage (Alive Records) 1999 – The Deviants – The Deviants Have Left The Planet 2000 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – This CD Is Condemned (Alive Records) 2001 – Mick Farren and The Deviants – On Your Knees, Earthlings (Alive Records)

[johnkatsmc5]

The Montanas  "You've Got To Be Loved" 1997 CD Compilation of singles 1965-71  UK Beat,Pop Rock,Psych Garage

I never imagined the Montanas hits would ever be brought together on a CD compilation, but here they are in all their glory! Not a whole lot of national chart success here, but actually TWO of their singles were big hits on both Chicago hit music stations in 1968. "You've Got To Be Loved" was their lone Billboard charting hit (reaching #58), however it got lots of airplay in Chicago and reached #11 and #19 (respectively) on legendary rock powerhouses WLS and WCFL in March of '68. They did even better in Chi-town with "Run To Me" (#8 on WLS and #9 on WCFL in November of '68), and this one barely "bubbled under" on Billboard (but squeaked onto Cash Box's chart for two weeks, peaking at #96). About the only thing missing is the US-only single "I'm Gonna Change" (with "A Step In The Right Direction" on the b-side; this particular song sounds like it would have been a perfect fit on the Barbarella soundtrack), but the well-written notes explained that the master for this particular track was nowhere to be found in the Pye Records vaults. The notes also mention their 1970 Decca single, "Let's Get a Little Sentimental" (backed with "Hey Diddle Diddle") and it would have been nice to have those here as well. One further Independence side, "Heaven Help You" ("Round About" appeared as the b-side) is also missing here. So what if the rest of the country wasn't clued in on the Montanas' winning pop songs, they are catchy and irresistible as all-get-out, and the b-sides were pretty darn good as well! So stop what you're doing right now and seek this one out!!!....by....Raymond C. Ruether.....~ Virtually unknown UK garage band - apparently, this is notably their first official CD release ever put out. As they have had literally - stack(s) of 7' 45 singles out back in their day. Tracks I definitely got the most out of were the (outstanding) "That's Where Happiness Began" - almost worth the price of admission alone, the catchy "Ciao Baby", "Take My Hand", the radio-friendly title cut "You've Got To Be Loved", the awesome "A Step In The Right Direction", "You're Making A Big Mistake" (sort of maybe reminds me of the Partridge Family), "Hold On", "Tear Drops" and both versions of the instrumental and re-mix version of "Difference Of Opinion". Recommended for fans of The Sorrows, Episode Six, Pretty Things and the Easybeats.....by Mike Reed....~ Rock'n'roll band from Wolverhampton (West Midlands, England), which has not released a single LP in its entire career. They performed beautiful songs stylized as Searchers and Fortunes. They sounded on local radio stations, but did not hit the hits. And therefore their company “Pye Records” did not hurry with LP. But, strangely, overseas (in California) the guys were very popular and got into the charts. Eh, they used to know about their popularity in America ... but no one told them about it. Tired of unsuccessful attempts to break out into people, bass guitarist Terry Rowley and vocalist Johnny Jones in the spring of 1969 left the band and later organized the well-known band “Trapeze”. On this disc - a compilation of all the creativity of the group, including a number of never published songs and demos.....~ Personnel (all times): 

Bill (William) Hayward – lead guitar Graham Crewe – drums (left in 1967) Ralph Oakley – bass (left in 1965) Johnny Jones — vocals Terry Rowley – bass & keyboards (joined in 1965) Jake Elcock — bass (joined in 1967) Graham Hollis — drums (joined in 1967) Ian “Sludge” Lees – vocals (joined in 1969) George Davis – keyboards (joined in 1970) Tracklist 01. All That Is Mine Can Be Yours 02. How Can I Tell 03. That's When Happiness Began 04. Goodbye Little Girl 05. Ciao Baby 06. Anyone There 07. Take My Hand 08. Top Hat 09. You've Got To Be Loved 10. Difference Of Opinion - -. (1997 Remix) 11. Step In The Right Direction 12. Someday 13. You're Making A Big Mistake 14. Run To Me 15. Roundabout 16. Mystery 17. Let's Ride 18. I Need To Fly 19. Hold On 20. Sammy 21. Teardrops 22. You've Got Me Wrong Girl 23. One Thing Or The Other - -. (Version 1) 24. One Thing Or The Other - -. (Version 2) 25. Hold - -. (Instrumental) 26. Difference Of Opinion - -. (Instrumental)

[johnkatsmc5]

Various “Psychedelic Schlemiels Vol. 1-3: Lost Sounds From The British Psych Scene 1966-1970″ UK, Garage Psych Rock

full musify

https://musify.club/release/psychedelic-schlemiels-vol-1-2007-1553010

https://musify.club/release/psychedelic-schlemiels-vol-3-2009-1553012

https://musify.club/release/psychedelic-schlemiels-4-more-lost-sounds-from-the-britpsych-scene-196-2010-1025749

https://musify.club/release/psychedelic-schlemiels-vol-2-2008-1553011

First in a series of four CD's put out by the Wooden Hill label in the UK, notably some of the lost / forgotten / discarded psych tunes from 1966-1969. Contributions here that I got the most out of were the West Coast Consortium and their two catchy numbers "Elastic Band" and "Ginny Stop", the obscure Peanut Rubble with the soulful "Broken Man" and "Willow Tree" and the well-received pop-psychedelic Phoenix with "Brave New Sights" and the creative "Live For The Sun". Also got something good out of the one cut from Urban - sort of maybe reminds me of The Byrds, the off-the-radar obscure artist known as Thor with "You're My Cream" [didn't realize there are a number of artists out there who go by the same name], the light-weight pop-psych Haverson Apricot with "Wax Candle" and the -extremely dated- yet very trippy Barnaby Rudge's "In The Sunset". Highly recommended..... Mike Reed....~

2007 - Psychedelic Schlemiels: Lost sounds from the Britpsych scene 1966-1969

c01. West Coast Consortium - Elastic Band // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 7/1967) 02. Peanut Rubble - Broken Man // Chesham, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 03. So On And So Forth - Sweet Wine // Burnley, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967) 04. Those Fadin' Colours - Try Me On For Size // New Addington, U.K. (recorded 5/22/1967) 05. Urban - When My Train Comes In // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 06. The Phoenix - Brave New Sights // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 8/1967) 07. Herbal Remedy - I (Who Have Nothing) // Welwyn Garden City, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967) 08. Peanut Rubble - Willow Tree // Chesham, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 09. The Object - Blue Skies And Green Green Grass // U.K. (recorded 1966) 10. So On And So Forth - (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone // Burnley, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967) 11. West Coast Consortium - Ginny Stop // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 7/1967) 12. The Phoenix - Live For The Sun // U.K. (recorded 8/1968) 13. Those Fadin' Colours - Blow Up // New Addington, U.K. (recorded 5/22/1967) 14. Harverson Apricot - Wax Candle // Swansea, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967) 15. Thor - You're My Cream // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967) 16. Peanut Rubble - Just A Dream // Chesham, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 17. Alfie Shepherd - Floating On A Dream // York, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 18. Barnaby Rudge - In The Sunset // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 19. The Carnaby - I Don't Deserve A Girl Like You // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 3/1967) 20. Sounds Around - Two People // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967)

2008 - Psychedelic Schlemiels 2: More lost sounds from the Britpsych scene 1967-1969 

01. Cellophane Cloud - Morning Dew // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 02. Sweet Marriage - Childplay // Manchester, U.K. (released 7/1969) 03. Varsity Rag - Gypsy Girl // Wolverhampton, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 11/21/1967) 04. The Loot - She's A Winner (demo) // Andover, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 05. Sweet Marriage - Desiree // Manchester, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 06. Cellophane Cloud - Sitting In The Sun // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 07. Forever Changes - Pink Eyes // Bedfordshire, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 08. Cellophane Cloud - New, New Minglewood Blues // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 09. Opal Butterfly - Wind-Up Toys // Oxfordshire, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 10. Sweet Marriage - Bitter Wind // Manchester, U.K. (released 7/1969) 11. The Intruders - As He Sees Them // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 12. The Loot - Save Me (demo) // Andover, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 13. The Young Blood - Soda Water Party // Birmingham, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1/1968) 14. Sweet Marriage - Death Of Elizabeth // Manchester, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 8/1969) 15. Cellophane Cloud - Love Me (Tonight) // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 16. Opal Butterfly - I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night // Oxfordshire, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 17. Forever Changes - Out Of My Mind // Bedfordshire, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 18. The Intruders - I Can Hear The Grass Grow // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 19. Cellophane Cloud - Who Is The Man (Death) // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 20. Sweet Marriage - Live And Let Live // Manchester, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 8/1969) 21. The Loot - She's A Winner // Andover, U.K. (released 10/1968)

2009 - Psychedelic Schlemiels 3: More lost sounds from the Britpsych scene 1967-1970 

01. Serendipity - Round & Around // Tunbridge Wells, U.K. (recorded 1969) 02. The Mirror - Music Ground // Bath, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 03. Jade Hexagram - Crushed Purple // Cwmbran, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 04. Carley Hill Blues Band - Sunshine Help Me // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 05. The Outside Toilet - I Got A Line On You // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1970) 06. Airbus - Alias Oliver Dream // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1970) 07. The Montanas - Together // Wolverhampton, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 08. The Mirror - Sunshine Train // Bath, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 09. Jade Hexagram - Phantom Eye // Cwmbran, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1968) 10. Schadel - Shadow Man // Australia (unreleased, recorded 3/1968) 11. Airbus - I'm About To Lose My Mind // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1970) 12. The Warm Sounds - Someone // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967) 13. Des James - Little Games // U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1967) 14. Carley Hill Blues Band - Come On Up // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 15. The Mirror - Mr. Papermaker // Bath, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 16. The Outside Toilet - Legend Of A Mind // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1970) 17. Airbus - I Think I'll Stay // London, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1970) 18. Carley Hill Blues Band - Summertime // Oxford, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 19. The Mirror - Pretty Patterns // Bath, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969) 20. Serendipity - Castles (full version) // Tunbridge Wells, U.K. (unreleased, recorded 1969)

[johnkatsmc5]

The Cheaters  "Sweat It Out" 1982 UK Garage Rock

full vk

https://vk.com/wall312142499_10396

Nice choice and admirable attempt at covering a classic but, as with most covers, if you can’t improve on it or make it your own then some things should be best left unsaid. Probably went for the radio air play slot as this song’s a perennial, and no doubt has charted numerous times under various guises. “Oh Happy Day” is also in the same bag as a gospel flavoured chart topper from the same time; (now I’ve got the “Hari Krishna” song and “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” popping in my head. Better move on apace before I get stuck in some 70’s musical vortex...). The track's got a nice bit of "gob horn" playing on it. Reminds me, you could often hear Frannie Eubanks walking round Hulme playing his mouth organ and it echoing round the crescents; great instrument to play and a sweet sound.Michael Woods the historian from Benchill also used to play in R'n B bands round the town. B side of above is "Diplomat" and as it says on the reverse of the cover, from an album "Sweat It Out"; recorded at Revolution Studios, Cheadle Hulme....~ Credits Bass – Neil Brockbank Composed By – Norman Greenbaum (tracks: C1) Drums [Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Tom Toms, Cymbals] – Stewart "Scott" Burnett Guitar – Coss Vocals, Harmonica [Harps], Guitar [Rhythm Guitar] – Mick Brophy Tracklist A1 21st Century A2 Underground A3 Car A4 Drugs A5 Bad Luck A6 Just Can't Stop Me B1 From The Hip B2 Diplomat B3 Have You Seen My Baby B4 Last Night B5 Talk Talk B6 More Hip B7 Struggle

[johnkatsmc5]

Black Market Karma "The Sixth Time Around" 2015  UK Psych Garage Rock

full vk

https://vk.com/wall312142499_10168

psychedelic sounds from London.. Black Market Karma are a psychedelic band from London. Their music covers a range of textures and sounds, taking influence from the 1960's psychedeIic and garage movements, with bands such as The Velvet Underground, The Beatles (Revolver, Magical Mystery Tour) to the neo psychedelic music of the 80's & 90's with bands like Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3, Brian Jonestown Massacre etc. ....~   Wow, sometimes a pair of months seems like a long time to stay away from UK psych, is when I hear albums like Black Market Karma’s “The Sixth Time Around” when I wonder why I ever left at all. Remembering back when I started give my definitive personal touch to wearethelastbeatniks and was snatching up everything psych in sight and throwing it on the blog, Black Market Karma was one project that really stuck out for me. Their 2011 first EP “All That I’ve Made” seemed to hit that perfect sweet spot of weird, shoegazy, lo-fi psych music before waves of other bands latched onto the sound and drove it into my brain. Listening to those four tracks even now dredges up a lot of odd feelings, really good feelings. Wow, the past. Supersonic Mark is a really cool guy. He runs the London-based label Flower Power Records and I got to know him through those first releases that he did with Black Market Karma. Since then Supersonic has kept me up to date with everything the label has done. So, last week he popped up out as of nowhere to let dropped his sixth Black Market Karma full length in the form of “The Sixth Time Around “. If you don´t known BMK yet , they lists things like The Velvet Underground, The Beatles to the neo psychedelic music of the 80’s & 90’s like Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3, Brian Jonestown Massacre. as his influences. After hearing his work a few times,I’d say that they are all pretty obvious indeed, although I didn’t really heard much Jesus & Mary Chain or My Bloody Valentine off the bat,I did however hear a ton of VU, Spacemen and BJM. So, The Sixth Time Around is a rather cerebral product that incorporate elements of garage,shoegaze, and psychedelia into their grimness, marking as one of the best unexpected comeback of 2015. They start minimal percussive-looping down nicely,along with intense guitar-drone that glides along Stan breathy hushed vocal style. On the third part is where the VU element comes into play proving that BMK can take on just about any role they are presented with,and do it with confidence. From there their music is all over the map,mysterious and inventive, goes anywhere from minimal psych bumps on When The Sound Comes Slow to free-folk campfire vibes on Fourth Time Around naturally . Maybe much of their charm comes from somewhere amongst the treble-soaked echoes and washes,with a grainy atmosphere swamping the songs. You know , for downloads of band stuff simply just have to register in Flower Power Records and will have everything for free, ” Supersonic” Mark will take care of it …Black Market Karma....~ Tracklist 1 The First Time Around 5:57 2 Timed Response 5:17 3 Coming Down and About 2:59 4 The Second Time Around 2:00 5 Jokerjam 6:14 6 When the Sound Comes Slow 6:13 7 The Third Time Around 3:29 8 Shakey Greetings 5:37 9 Mule Kick 6:01 10 The Fourth Time Around 1:51 11 Wherever You’d Like 4:40 12 At Either End (The Twin) 5:37 13 The Fifth Time Around 2:36 14 Always Everywhere 5:16 15 The Noise in Your Head 5:17 16 The Sixth Time Around 8:10

[johnkatsmc5]

Cherry Choke ‎ "A Night In The Arms Of Venus" 2011 UK Psych Garage Rock

full

https://vk.com/wall312142499_7543

https://cherrychoke.bandcamp.com/album/a-night-in-the-arms-of-venus

Cherry Choke, this is the new band around Mathew Bethancourt, who is also playing with Josiah, The Beginning and The Kings Of Frog Island. Violent psychedelic rock, it sounds as if Blue Cheer and MC5 make it under itself while the Jimi Hendrix Experience from the bar watching. In other words, guitars with cheap fuzz devices distorted, plus unbridled vocals with a lot of soul plus heavy Gibson bass grooves .............. I think the correct online term used to describe A Night in the Arms of Venus would be OMG! For those who don’t know, Cherry Choke is one of the many projects past and present from the very talented Mathew Bethancourt. Mathew has been/is in Josiah and Kings of the Frog Island among many others. Cherry Choke owes their sound to back in a simpler time in music going back to the garage rock days of the 1960’s. Mix in a little bit of heavy psych and psychedelics and there you go. A Night in the Arms of Venus starts off with a very basic sound that beckons back to the early 60’s. It reminds me of early material by The Who’s My Generation and even bits of A Quick One. This album seems a lot heavier on the psychedelia than their self titled debut. The tunes are fast paced, offer a lot of great guitar riffs and is quite the throw back to a much simpler time in music. An album I was waiting for, this did not disappoint one bit. I was quite happy to hear it as I’ve grown fond of all of Mr. Bethancourt’s past work. He seems to be able to do a good job at making all his projects sound completely different despite his voice being the same across all his projects. The album is out now on Elektrohasch Records. ............ The full title of Cherry Choke’s second album is A Night in the Arms of Venus Leads to a Lifetime on Mercury, and it’s a saying taken from the fact that mercury used to be used as a treatment for syphilis. Venus, then, is a prostitute giving you the disease. The vaguely evocative sexuality and antiqueness of the line perfectly suits the sophomore outing from the British threesome, who made their debut on Elektrohasch Schallplatten with a self-titled in 2009 (review here). A Night in the Arms of Venus, for short, collects nine vinyl-minded retro rockers the swing of which will be welcome to anyone on Graveyard’s trail, but Cherry Choke are rawer, more garage-sounding, injecting a Stooges wiriness into heavy blues grooves and ‘60s proto-psych pop. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Mat Bethancourt (of Josiah, The Kings of Frog Island and Dexter Jones Circus Orchestra), they are a classically-directed power trio and the songs follow purposefully simple structures, Dan Lockton’s drums coming on with a casual uptempo swagger and open feel that reminds some of Blue Cheer’s early bombast, but on the whole, these songs are more melodically aware than were the San Franciscan progenitors of the genre. Bethancourt made his bones as a fuzz rocker in Josiah, but if that’s to be the object of search here, it’s found more on Gregg Hunt’s bass, which pushes the uptempo “Winchester Geese” over the line of psych rock and heavy psych rock. The guitars are cleaner in a classic combo-amp fashion and well-suited to the mod vibe of the tracks. And the songs, for their part, are built on catchy choruses and steady execution. They feel natural and retro but not posturing or chic for the sake of being chic. A Night in the Arms of Venus varies in mood and tempo but keeps a consistent aesthetic nonetheless, even as the later “Silver Crossed My Mind” veers into backwards guitar and mellotron psychedelia, departing from the straightforward 45rpm-single-ready songwriting of “The Day She Came to Play” or the Hunt-penned “Blue Mass,” which directly precedes following side B opener and album highlight “Evol,” on which Bethancourt layers acoustic and electric guitar to ecstatic effect. It is the guitarist’s construction acumen all over A Night in the Arms of Venus, but Hunt and Lockton make for more than an enriching presence in the rhythm section, fueling a freakout of their own to contrast Bethancourt’s calmer approach on “I Need Not Know Redemption” or playing off the Who-style grandiosity of opener “Crying out Loud” with solo-worthy runs and fills later in the song. Hunt’s contributions make some of these cuts stand out, and that’s as much the case with “Crying out Loud” as it is with the more extended closer “Splinters,” which tops seven minutes and finds Bethancourt answering back with a bit of fuzzy warmth of his own while Lockton foreshadows the jam to come as he keeps time on his toms amid sub-swirl channel-pans in the guitar leads and a forward focus that seems impossible given the seemingly unhinged aesthetic in which Cherry Choke are working. They do, it’s worth noting, bring “Splinters” back around to its chorus after ranging into a jam that probably wasn’t as improvised as it sounds, Bethancourt eventually layering in his guitar for a statelier feeling and Lockton’s constant kick drum reminding listeners that yes, there’s still a song happening here, until the quick rest lets Hunt move the track into its finale. One gets the impression that seeing Cherry Choke play “Splinters” on any given night could be a different experience based on whatever they feel like doing in that stretch that particular evening, and that goes for side A closer “Domino” as well, which is the longest cut on A Night in the Arms of Venus at nine-minutes flat and delves even further into jamming that’s more psych in mood than tonal heft. A pivotal difference between the two songs lies in Lockton’s performance, which keeps the same snare beat even as Bethancourt layers wah tracks on top of each other and Hunt deftly runs up and down his fretboard on fills that only end when the guitars drop out and he moves in to set the stage for the jam’s next movement. The drums remain constant when Bethancourt reintroduces the final verse and chorus, and, fittingly, they end the track on their own. That sort of adaptability on the part of Lockton proves a tremendous strength to Cherry Choke on the whole, as only two songs earlier on “The Day She Came to Play,” it felt like any given measure was likely to find him somewhere else on his toms and snare, no less suited to the mood of the song, which is hazier and set in part by watery effects on Bethancourt’s vocals and the solid groove of Hunt’s bass. One could easily read A Night in the Arms of Venus as a performance album, driven by the individual strengths of its players in their instrumental roles, but to look at it that way undercuts the value of Cherry Choke’s chemistry and particularly of Bethancourt’s songwriting, which varies in approach but not quality as the record plays out. Whether it’s the subtly more spaced-out second half or the hook-laden first, Cherry Choke are expanding their reach not through conscious genre transcending, but through organically maturing as a band. As a result, a song like “I Need Not Know Redemption” is able to so effectively balance its moodier atmosphere with its uptempo push. It’s Hunt, Bethancourt and Lockton being tight, but it’s also what they’re doing with that tightness that makes A Night in the Arms of Venus the engaging listen it is. Its breadth is deceptive, and at first these might just sound like decent garage rocking tracks, but there’s a complexity of mood at work below the surface that, coupled with the band’s natural penchant for structure and creative drive, enriches the experience and proves that just because a song sounds easy doesn’t mean it actually is. Recommended for anyone who wants a little sass in their rock and roll.....The Obelisk review.............. The second album from Cherry Choke "A night in the arms of Venus... leads to a lifetime on Mercury" released by Elektrohasch September 2011. Marching on into the shadows of late-60's psychedelia and flourishing. This concept album follows the journey of a hard living Victorian gent with an eye for the syphilitic ladies of the night through to his final Mercury ridden twisted end. ..... It's time again for dirty, fuzzy rock! With Cherry Choke from Leicester (UK), Elektrohasch records (Color Haze, Rotor, etc.) have brought garage rocker under the roof, which revive the sound of a long past era. Cherry Choke, this is the new band around Mathew Bethancourt, who is also playing with Josiah, The Beginning and The Kings Of Frog Island. Violent psychedelic rock, it sounds as if Blue Cheer and MC5 make it under themselves while the Jimi Hendrix Experience watching from the bar. In other words: guitars with cheap fuzz devices distorted, plus unbridled vocals with a lot of soul plus heavy Gibson bass grooves and a hard-hitting drumming drum à la Keith Moon - finished is the Powertrio! In 2009, the self-titled album debut, a bizarre piece of heavy psych, followed in England, Belgium and Germany, among others. with Color Haze. The second album of Cherry Choke 'A night in the arms of Venus' (more details on the possibilities of the studio and experimenting with new song structures, while the live concerts offer unbridled energy, volume and raw garages skirt!................ The monicker Cherry Choke is another reality that sees the figure of Matt Bethancourt (Josiah and King Of Frog Island) as the leader, the world in which this musician, assisted by Greg Hunt and Dan Lockton, makes us immerse is retro, that vintage heavy / psych as referring to the sound of Jimi Hendrix, the Blue Cheer, the Cream and something of Hawkwind, that late-sixties that influenced remarkably not to mention the evolution of rock and psychedelics, which is " A Night In The Arm Of Venus ". Acid guitars, pedals in the Effects Department are in constant "mode on", as well as the voice that is sometimes deliberately distorted and distant, add bass rhythms that vibrate, pulsate with a steady consistency, and battery drums to say the least adrenaline and you will get an hallucinogen from the powerful but extravagant ones. It is a continuous escalation of energetic and inebriating sensations that tramples from the songs such as "Crying Out Loud", "Winchester Geese" and "Evol", both dynamic and instinctive in "Splinters", more ethereal and "trip" than those contained in voluptuous and fascinating episodes such as "Dominoes" and "Silver Crossed My Minds", the journeys in which the mind needs to be lost, to be lulled while the physicist waves in harmony with the sound waves, the second is "spiced" by a sweet little aftertaste and even echoes of floydian memory come to mind, all this is much more than pleasing. The music perfectly frames what I understand is a concept album dominated by a prostitute of the Victorian era, Cherry Choke syphilitic, which at times was cured by mercury doses, mercury chloride did not produce any improvement , on the contrary, it poisoned the patient by causing symptoms similar to those of the pathology itself, a journey involuntarily directed towards the same hell? We are faced with a highly derivative work, if not even a tribute to what was in that historical period of rock, "A Night In The Arm Of Venus" is therefore recommended to anyone who loves or loved viscerally those years, to those who follow the thrilling scene of today and generally to those who love good music. There is not a single note that sounds out of place in the work of Cherry Choke, another monicker that over time could become a certainty of buying. Tracklist 1 Crying Out Loud 3:37 2 The Day She Came To Play 5:12 3 Winchester Geese 3:34 4 Domino 9:00 5 Evol 4:42 6 Blue Mass 4:01 7 Silver Crossed My Mind 3:34 8 I Need Not Know Redemption 4:42 9 Splinters 7:16