The 57 Bus

Devon based Cosmic troubadours Magic Bus mark their 10th anniversary with their fourth album The Earth Years, their first visit to our planet since 2017’s Phillip The Egg…

This set collects the Hollies' first two U.S. albums, 1964’s Here I Go Again and 1965’s Hear! Here!, on a single disc. Both LPs were originally released in the States by Imperial Records, a label founded in 1947 by Lew Chudd, who had sold his rights in the imprint to Liberty Records in 1963. Liberty began leasing material by popular U.K. artists for U.S. distribution that same year, which led to the Hollies' initial single in the American market, a cover version of Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs' 1960 hit “Stay.” Although several of the cuts found here got extensive radio airplay in the U.S. at the time, “Just One Look” and “Here I Go Again” from 1964 and “I’m Alive” and “Look Through Any Window” from 1965 among them, the Hollies didn’t really break through on the continent until a year later in 1966 with the hits “Bus Stop” and “Stop Stop Stop,” and neither of those songs is found here. Aside from the singles, most of the cuts on these two albums are covers of American R&B tunes that are done capably but without a whole lot of originality. The end result is a portrait of a promising band just beginning to come into its own.

A new box set, collecting four albums released between 1983 and 1986, is a fascinating look at the early stages of an underrated UK post-punk act.

Well, it does exactly what it says on the box. The 57 tracks on this 'Magic Bus' compilation run from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, but, with remarkable perspicacity, the compiler has mixed them up very cleverly. The CDs are called 'Turn On', 'Tune In' and 'Drop Out' and the songs on each one reflect, more or less, their monikers. Thus, on CD1 Scott McKenzie rubs shoulders with Barry McGuire, CD2 is full of singer-songwriters; Dylan, Cat Stevens and the like; whilst CD3 rocks it up with Steppenwolf and Cream. What this collection is selling is nostalgia and it does it very, very well. Anyone who grew up through the years in question will remember every one of these songs and probably sing along with them too. It has to be said that there are two major omissions though, there is nothing by either The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Down to licensing presumably. That said, this is an absolutely classic collection that has been selected with extreme care and, dare it be said, love.

Psychedelic wizards ‘Magic Bus’ are pleased to announce their new album ‘The Earth Years’ will be released on June 19th 2020. The Devon, U.K band have been weaving together their own cosmic tapestry for 10 years with sources as diverse as the Canterbury scene, California jam bands, eastern mysticism, and 70’s prog. Golden awards await! for sure!