Candy (1968)

The second (and arguably most fully realized) album from Texas psychedelic band Fever Tree, Another Time, Another Place (1968) owes less to the sound of roots-based contemporaries like the 13th Floor Elevators, Moving Sidewalks, or the Sir Douglas Quintet and more to heavier West Coast acid rock. One of the most underrated '60s psych bands, Fever Tree comes off like a coincidental midnight meeting of Jim Morrison, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Iron Butterfly, and Jimi Hendrix at the tail end of a drug and whiskey binge. Luckily, however, the group transcends its influences by sheer force of attitude. The material here (mostly written by producers Scott Holtzman and Vivian Holtzman) is of generally pretty high quality, wisely avoiding too much of the drippy "ice cream cones and cosmic smiles" type stuff…

John Handy is one of the unsung greats of modern jazz - as saxophonist, composer/arranger and group leader - especially for the series of four albums he recorded for Columbia between 1965 and 1968. This Mosaic Select is devoted to the three albums he made for the label that featured violin in the instrumentation - Recorded Live At The Monterey Jazz Festival, The 2nd John Handy Album and Projections, plus a live Carnegie Hall performance. Handy's playing, on alto sax in particular, is a wonder with a beautiful "legit" sound, perfect intonation and articulation, and an extraordinary control of the upper register which he uses quite often in building excitement and intensity in his solos. He utilizes all of these extraordinary attributes in frequent lengthy and compelling acappella solos. His unending flow of fresh ideas seemingly devoid of licks is another striking characteristic of his work…

Just as the subtitle says, this six-CD, 158-track collection has "The Complete Hollies April 1963-October 1968". That's everything recorded when singer Allan Clarke, guitarist/singer Tony Hicks, and guitarist/singer Graham Nash, who were the three constants in the band (though drummer Bobby Elliott was there for all but the earliest of these recordings, too). As such, it's a major British Invasion document. Even if it's missing some work postdating Nash's departure in late 1968 which is highly regarded by some fans (including their hits "He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother," "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress," and "The Air That I Breathe"), most fans would agree that the Nash era is by far the band's most significant…

Sonny Stitt & Don Patterson - Legends Of Acid Jazz Vol 2 (1968) {Prestige 00025218521024 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 457 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 171 Mb
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© 1968, 2006 Prestige Records / Fantasy / Universal | 00025218521024
Jazz / Bop / Soul Jazz / Organ / Saxophone

Two-fer CD reissue combines two 1968 sessions, both featuring Stitt and Patterson, that were recorded on consecutive days (September 23-24, 1968), although one was issued under Patterson's name and the other under Stitt's. The first six songs were issued as the Patterson LP Funk You!, on which Patterson leads a date that also has Sonny Stitt and Charles McPherson on saxes and Pat Martino on guitar. The other players get about as much space as Patterson, and as 1960s jazz with organ goes, this is pretty straight-ahead and boppish, rather than soul-jazz (as so much organ jazz from that decade was).

The Litter - $100 Fine (1968) {Arf! Arf! Records AA-078 rel 1999}
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© 1965-68, 1999 Arf! Arf! Records | AA-078
Rock / Garage Rock / Hard Rock / Psychedelic Rock

From Minneapolis, the Litter were one of the finest bands to emerge from the Midwest garage scene. Their debut lp, "Distortions," is considered a classic of the garage/psychedelic movement, with their gloriously fuzzed drenched takes of classics by the Who, Spencer Davis, the Small Faces, and Yardbirds, to name a few. The results gained the Litter exposure, and gave them the confidence to go back to the studio to work on their sophomore effort.

Various Artists - The Complete Stax & Volt Singles 1959-1968 (1991) {9CD Set Reissued 2016 Digitally Remastered}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.64 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.51 Gb
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©1959-68, 1991, 2016 Atlantic / ATCO / Rhino / Warner | 081227954666
R&B / Blues / Soul / Doo Wop / Early Pop / Funk / Soul-Blues / Early R&B

9CD reconfiguration of original Atlantic box set, featuring every A-side the label released during those nine years, as well as several B-sides. The set is a definitive portrait of gritty, deep Southern soul. For any serious soul or rock collector, it's an essential set, since Stax-Volt was not only a musically revolutionary label, its roster was deep with talent, which means much of the music on this collection is first-rate. 11 of these singles charted on Billboard.

This CD not only contains Fever Tree's 1968 self-titled debut long-player, but also an additional seven previously unreleased sides, including a live version of the group's sole charting effort (it reached number 94), "San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native)." The initial incarnation featured Rob Landes (keyboards/woodwind), Dennis Keller (vocals), John Tuttle (percussion), E.E. Wolfe (bass), and Michael Knust (guitar), as well as their patrons Scott Holtzman – who was one of Houston's top pop DJs – and his wife Vivian Holtzman…