Sunday, March 3, 2013

String Driven Thing - The Early Years (1968-72 uk, lovely psychedelic folk pop)



Collection of songs from 1968 onwards from Scottish folk rockers String Driven Thing. This charts their transition from the three-piece band of Chris Adams (vocals guitar), Pauline Adams (tambourine, vocals) and John Mannion (guitar) to the addition of Grahame Smith on violin and Colin Wilson on bass guitar, which, after John Mannion left, would form the basis of the line-up that signed to Charisma for the two classic albums and the legendary sacking off the Genesis' Foxtrot tour for going down better than the main band (Genesis).

This release fills in the gap between the band forming in 1968 and the four other String Driven Thing CD albums on Ozit-Morpheus Records, "In the Studio '72", "The Machine That Cried", "Suicide Live In Berlin) and Chris Adams' "The Damage").

The Early Years plunders both the LP and the demos to paint a vivid picture of the group's development over that period. Ten tracks are lifted from String Driven the rest are acoustic demos  that leave the story poised on the edge of the band's major-label promotion.
Tracks
1. July Morning - 02:23
2. Say what You Like - 02:38
3. Magic Garden - 03:06
4. Wonderful Places - 03:00
5. I Don't Wanna Wake Up - 02:54
6. City Man - 03:02
7. Another Night in this Old City - 03:05
8. That's My Lady - 02:51
9. Catch as Catch Can - 03:40
10.No More You and I - 02:34
11.Lie Back and Let It Happen - 03:23
12.One of the Lonely People - 04:34
13.Winter Is Coming - 04:14
14.Regent St. Incident - 04:03
15.Jack Diamond - 03:57
16.Argyle St. - 03:55
17.Old Love New Love - 03:27
All song by Chris Adams
Bonus Tracks 13-17

String Driven Thing
*John Mannion - Guitar, Vocals, Bass
*Chris Adams - Guitars, Vocals
*Pauline Adams - Vocals Percussions

String Driven Thing
1972/74  String Driven Thing / Please Mind Your Head
1973  The Machine That Cried (Japan remaster)
1975  Keep Yer 'And On It

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Lazy Smoke - Corridor Of Faces (1967-69 us, floating airy mistdrenched psych)




Rising above any number of recently unearthed late-60s anglo-pop platters, the sole offering from small town Massachuesetts phenomenon Lazy Smoke is a cohesive, solid, classic album in every sense.

While bands like The Beatles and The Left Banke were singing about love, lament and hallucinated travel experiences, the songs on "Corridor Of Faces" get sincerely dark right away.

One of the biggest collectables of the late-80s. This record is good enough that it's become the shorthand everyone uses when describing any 60s record that's remotely hazy.
Tracks
1. All These Years - 3:28
2. How Was Your Day Last Night? - 1:51
3. Come With The Day - 2:49
4. Salty People - 4:39
5. Jackie-Marie - 2:58
6. Under Skys - 4:16
7. Sarah Saturday 2:47
8. There Was A Time - 2:01
9. Am I Wrong? - 3:37
10.How Did You Die? - 3:16
11.I Don't Need The Sun - 1:19
12.Changing The Time - 1:36
13.I Could Fall Asleep - 1:14
14.Wait Till You See - 2:57 
15.Scarecrow - 2:08 
16.All These Years - 2:46
17.Come With The Day - 2:15
18.Salty People - 3:16
19.Jackie-Marie - 2:56
20.There Was A Time - 1:38
21.Sarah Saturday - 2:14
22.Am I Wrong? - 3:24
Tracks 11-22 Unplugged Demos

Lazy Smoke
*John Pollano - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Ralph Mazzotta - Guitar, Vocals
*Bob Door - Bass
*John Villanucci - Piano
*Ray Charron - Drums

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