Air Mail

Chad & Jeremy - Sing For You (1965) {Ember–Air Mail Japan, AIRAC-1315, Paper Sleeve rel 2007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 237 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 108 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 55 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 2007 Ember Records / Air Mail Recordings Japan | AIRAC-1315
Rock / Pop / Psychedelic / Baroque Pop / British Invasion

Generally relegated to footnote status, folk/rock duo (heavier on the folk) Chad & Jeremy nonetheless managed a certain level of influence among a group of navel-gazing sensitive types who couldn’t totally commit to either the Beatles or Stones camps. And yet they still managed to make something of a splash riding the crest of a wave that was the British Invasion. At a time when it seemed every artist was copping the sound of the Beatles and/or Stones, Chad & Jeremy remained (relatively) committed to their folk origins. The trouble with this was their particular brand of folk was slowly falling out of favor following the arrival of Bob Dylan.

Soft Machine - Alive & Well, Recorded In Paris (1977) {2CD Air Mail Japan MiniLP Blu-spec CD AIRAC-1669~70 rel 2012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 636 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 224 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 530 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1977, 2012 Air Mail Recordings Japan / Soft Machine | AIRAC-1669/70
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Canterbury Scene / Art Rock

Album release from The Soft Machine featuring footage of the band's concert in Paris in 1977. Originally released in 1978. Features cardboard sleeve and remastering. Includes a Japanese obi and a description. On the band's first live album, 1978's Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris, Soft Machine's personnel changes continue, with Steve Cooke replacing Roy Babbington on bass, and violinist Ric Saunders joining since the 1976 studio album Softs, as guitarist John Etheridge, keyboardist Karl Jenkins, and drummer John Marshall remain in place. (Since this is the group's first album not to feature any participation from an original member of Soft Machine, a name change might have been ethically, if not commercially, advisable.) Like Softs, Alive & Well is largely a vehicle for the compositions of Jenkins, who wrote nine of 11 tracks.

Tony McPhee - The Two Sides Of Tony (T.S.) McPhee (1973) {Air Mail Archive Japan AIRAC-1072, Cardboard Sleeve rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 232 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 92 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 53 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973, 2004 WWA Records / Air Mail Archive Japan | AIRAC-1072
Rock / Blues Rock / Psychedelic Rock

Aptly titled, Two Sides of Tony McPhee not only explores McPhee's conceptions about love, relationships, religion, and aging, but the album is divided up musically, showcasing his talent as both a guitarist and a keyboard player. After displaying his keenness for composing a concept album with Split, a piece that he recorded with his band the Groundhogs based on the complexities of schizophrenia, McPhee decided to record an album that was more exclusive and personal. The result was Two Sides of Tony McPhee, with McPhee playing an acoustic and electric guitar for the first four tracks, then switching to three different synthesizers and an electric piano for side two, a lengthy spoken poem entitled "The Hunt."

Soft Machine - Bundles (1975) {Air Mail Japan MiniLP Blu-spec CD AIRAC-1667 rel 2012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 259 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 320 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1975, 2012 Air Mail Recordings Japan / Harvest / Soft Machine | AIRAC-1667
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Canterbury Scene / Art Rock

Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Soft Machine featuring the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD format (compatible with standard CD players) and 2012 24-bit remastering. The cardboard sleeve faithfully replicates the UK LP. Includes a booklet written in English and an inner bag. Part of a three-album Soft Machine Blu-spec CD cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring albums "Bundles," "Softs," and "Alive And Well Recorded In Paris." In the extensive discography of Soft Machine, albums from the band's mid- to late-'70s jazz-rock fusion period are generally afforded the least respect. Fans all have their favorite LPs representing a particular "classic" lineup – as well as opinions about other albums signifying that Soft Machine's best days were behind them. Some feel it was all over when Robert Wyatt left after Fourth (or stopped singing after Third), and it's probably even possible to find somebody somewhere who lost interest when Hugh Hopper replaced Kevin Ayers after Volume One.

Soft Machine - Softs (1976) {Air Mail Japan MiniLP Blu-spec CD AIRAC-1668 rel 2012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 299 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 106 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 376 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1976, 2012 Air Mail Recordings Japan / Soft Machine | AIRAC-1668
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Canterbury Scene / Art Rock

Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Soft Machine featuring the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD format (compatible with standard CD players) and 2012 24-bit remastering. The cardboard sleeve faithfully replicates the UK LP. Includes a booklet written in English. Part of a three-album Soft Machine Blu-spec CD cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring albums "Bundles," "Softs," and "Alive And Well Recorded In Paris." At this point in the band's history, Soft Machine might be considered an example of Theseus' paradox, akin to the original axe that George Washington used to cut down the cherry tree – original except that the head had been replaced three times and the handle twice. On Softs, Mike Ratledge, the only remaining original bandmember present on Bundles, the group's preceding Harvest LP, was relegated to guest status, contributing synthesizer to only two tracks, "Song of Aeolus" and "Ban-Ban Caliban."

Rich and melodic mid-70s rock. Strong tunes with lots of harmony. Benefits from repeated playing. Polydor in the UK were churning out loads of stuff like this in the mid-70s - like Easy Street. Recommended if you like ELO, late 70s BJH, Pilot etc.

This was the band's comeback album after a fairly dire patch in the mid-'70s. The fact is, Back and Fourth (originally issued by Polygram) isn't really that good a record, lacking the imagination and spirit of experimentation that highlighted their early albums for Charisma…

Fickle Pickle was an early- '70s band that was part of the Morgan Studios orbit, along with such bands as Orange Bicycle and the Smoke. Indeed, much of Fickle Pickle's lineup was filled out by ex-members of both of those bands, including Geoff Gill, Cliff Wade (a member of the short-lived early- '70s version of the Smoke), and Will Malone, plus ex-Jude member Steve Howden, with Denny Beckerman occasionally augmenting their lineup…

Lindisfarne barely command more than a footnote in most rock reference books. During the early '70s, however, Lindisfarne were one of the hottest folk-based rock bands in England, with chart placements on two of their albums that rivaled Jethro Tull, and had them proclaimed one of the most important groups of the decade…