The Day After The Sabbath 57 Speedball Morning
password: tdats
TDATS 57 is another selection of English language rock and psych weirdities from my searches.
Blackhorse were a very obscure Florida-based band and open up the compilation with a full frontal assault of gritty southern-tinged hard rock, which takes us nicely on to more southern flavor with the Skynyrdian riffs of Swampgas who made one album, in 1972 according to the sources. "The Accent" were a one-single 60s band that showed some great proto-progressive song-writing for Red Sky At Night and Bullet is reputedly one of the founding names of bloggers favourite Hard Stuff (see Vol.2) whos early recordings also came under the name of Daemon. As Hard Stuff they recorded two quirky and heavy rock/prog albums, they were an obscure supergroup as such, including John Du Cann and Paul Hammond formerly of Atomic Rooster, and John Gustafson, formerly of Quatermass. Texass Twilighters come in with another short sharp 60s psych single, and Patto was a progressive blues-rock band formed in England in 1970 by vocalist Mike Patto with a lineup taken from 60s psych band Timebox, consisting of vocalist Patto, drummer John Halsey, guitarist and vibraphone player Ollie Halsall, and bassist Clive Griffiths.
John Fitch & Associates Stoned Out Of It offers a great mix of funk and psychedelic soul. Best known for his work with Ducks Deluxe and Tyla Gang, Sean Tyler also played with Help Yourself and Joan Jett. His reputation as an influence on punk is evident with the attitude-filled performance in this comps namesake Speedball Morning. Surrey, UKs The Factory (aka Souvenir Badge Factory) are next with their mod-pop single Try a little sunshine which has a great juxtaposition between angelic vocals and heavy fuzz guitar in an instantly likable mix. There is very little history on Facedancers, the only clue is the liner notes saying they recorded in NYC, which is a shame as Let the music set you free could well have been an anthem for disaffected youth.
Take a listen to Feathered Fish from The Sons of Adam and you may be very surprised to hear it was recorded in 1966, its hard rock structure is quite evident, this could be somewhat explained by their very early appearance of the forward-thinking Randy Holden (see Vol.2) who, after playing with Blue Cheer, would later record his solo opus Population II with a bank of 16 (some say more) 200W Sunn Amps.
Thunder was a duo, consisting of David Alley and Whitey Thomas. For their only album release, they got a little help from some friends. Like Bloodrocks Randy Reeder (see vol 1), guitarist Bugs Henderson and, John Nitzinger (Nitzinger being a particular favourite of mine - see Vol 3). John playing guitar, bass and writing about half the album. Californias Kingdom created a decent garage rock album in 1970 and Waiting, Hesitating demonstrates some insistent catchy riffing. The Stereo Shoestring made a great job of re-constructing The Pretty Things Defecting Grey, adding even more fuzz, for On The Road South. The compilation ends on a recent find for me while formulating a Southern Rock comp. Ann Arbor, MIs Brownville Station made a lot of hard / southern / boogie rock albums during the 70s and are mostly famous for their cover of "Smokin in the Boys Room" but their lesser-known tracks revealed a keen and quirky sense of humour, like 1977s The Martian Boogie.
Track List:
01. Blackhorse - Fox Huntin (1979)
02. Swampgas - Potato Strut (1972)
03. The Accent - Red Sky At Night (1967)
04. Bullet - Fortunes Told (1970)
05. The Twilighters - Nothing Can Bring Me Down (1967)
06. Patto - Loud Green Song (1972)
07. John Fitch & Associates - Stoned Out Of It (1969)
08. Tyla Gang - Speedball Morning (1975)
09. The Factory - Try a Little Sunshine (1969)
10. Facedancers - Let the Music Set You Free (1972)
11. The Sons of Adam (feat. Randy Holden) - Feathered Fish (1966)
12. Thunder - Kings X (1974)
13. Kingdom - Waiting, Hesitating (1970)
14. The Stereo Shoestring - On The Road South (1968)
15. Brownsville Station - The Martian Boogie (1977)
Thanks for listening! Rich
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