Crow Crow Music 1969

As virtuoso musicians and members of Sam Gopal's Dream, Andy Clark and Mick Hutchinson were well known to regulars at legendary London clubs such as UFO and Middle Earth when they decided to branch out as a duo. Recorded in two intense overnight sessions in May 1969, A=MH2 is a scorching blend of jazz, raga, blues, and psychedelia that has long been regarded one of the key recordings to have emerged from the UK psychedelic underground. It's presented here as a single LP with two CDs: one of A=MH2, the other containing their March 1969 recording debut, a previously unreleased collection of acid blues that features some equally stunning musicianship. The sleeve comes complete with a large-format eight-page booklet containing detailed notes and previously unpublished photos, making it the most comprehensive edition of this groundbreaking music ever assembled.

Minneapolis blues-rock quintet Crow was formed in 1967 by frontman Dave Wagner, guitarist Dick Wiegand, his bassist brother Larry, and keyboardist Kink Middlemist. Originally dubbed South 40, they added former Castaways drummer Denny Craswell to the lineup prior to recording their 1969 debut LP, Crow Music, for the Amaret label; the single "Evil Woman Don't You Play Your Games with Me" cracked the U.S. Top 20, even though its distinctive horn arrangement was overdubbed against the band's wishes. Crow by Crow followed in 1970, although the single "Cottage Cheese" failed to attract much attention. In the wake of 1971's Mosaic, Crow disbanded, although Wagner resurfaced in 1973 with a solo LP, David Wagner D/B/A Crow.

This two-disc anthology assembled by Mike Patton is, after the spaghetti Western soundtracks and themes, essential Morricone. Never has his music from the strange films he scored in the 1960s and '70s been showcased in such an original and powerful way. Patton has looked closely into the experimental nature of the maestro and found plenty here to offer as well as to crow about. Many of the scores he chose from would be known only to cineastes of minor and obscure Italian films. Yet, Patton understood that Morricone loved his own process and treated crime and exploitation flicks like L'Anticristo and Forza G with the same delightful sense of adventure that he approached The Godfather and The Mission with. Here, all manner of strangeness is on offer: from psychedelic guitars and tripped-out wordless vocals to sitars, layers and layers of percussion, acid-drenched strings, an Echoplexed celeste, toy pianos, psychotic operatic voices in chorus, and more.

Leo Kottke - 6- and 12-String Guitar (1969) {Takoma TSA-6503-6 rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks) +CUE+LOG -> 228 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 2004 Takoma / Fantasy | TSA-6503-6
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

Leo Kottke's wide-release debut came about after he sent a cassette to John Fahey's Takoma label. Not surprisingly, it recalls Fahey's work in a number of respects: the synthesis of numerous influences from blues, pop, classical, and folk styles, the weirdly titled instrumentals, even the tongue-in-cheek liner notes. Kottke's brand of virtuosity, however, is more soothing and easy on the ear than Fahey's. It's far from sappy, though, the rich and resonant picking intimating some underlying restlessness, like peaceful open fields after a storm. Establishing much of the territory Kottke was to explore throughout his career, this release was also one of his most popular, eventually selling over 500,000 copies.

Near the Beginning is an excellent title for this self-produced Vanilla Fudge recording. The fourth of five albums recorded during 1967, 1968, and 1969, the band themselves worked to get closer to what made them very special. What made them special was their treatment of other people's material…