Technicolour Dreaming

Serendipity is a much-touted term, but when it happens, it really makes you realise that everything (in the musical world, anyway) is connected - sorry, I'm getting all mystical here! Quite unintentionally, my serendipitous connection this week is a fellow by the name of Allan Crockford - and he pulls all the strings together by being an original member of The Prisoners, producer of the first album by fellow-Medway scenesters The Dentists, and he's currently writing and performing with The Galileo 7. All bands which I played this week, with The Galileo 7 having just released their new album "Live-O-Graphic", which was recorded in a working lithographic press (in the workshop, not the actual press itself).

I don't normally do reviews, but these "nearly live" tracks are as good as it gets - compared to "really live", that is! A stupendous amount of energy drips from every cut - a touch faster than the originals, but every bit as accomplished. The swirling organ is a highlight, along with the precise vocal harmonies and pounding, volcanic drums and bass powering it all along - if this is "nearly live", then being at an actual performance would obviously be an event that will endure in the memory, for those ever lucky enough to see the band in the flesh (sadly, the Antipodes are a touch far away for me to get to a gig in the UK). This is The Galileo 7 as you've never heard them recorded before - and as fantastic an introduction to their back-catalogue as you could ever hope to own. And so endeth my rave.

Also on the show (phew, I'm out of breath - and words), I featured the first installment of the Mega Dodo Singles Club - 2 limited-edition slices of 7 inch vinyl goodness from The Octopus Syng and The Honey Pot (the former a lovely strawberry-red colour - I do love my coloured vinyl!), complete with a membership card, colour band picture-postcards, download cards, sticker and a tiny bee! And I'm not even going to get started on the "A Seance at Syd's" hardback book and double-CD combo (also from the nice people at Mega Dodo records) - think I might leave that til next week, so I can do it justice - it's just such a lovely thing to behold!
Ok, enough of this ranting - here's the playlist, with some moving pictures.... 

Vibravoid - What You Want  ("Psychedelic Blueprints: An Introspection of the Years 2000-2013" Dusseldorf, Germany 2016)

Robyn Hitchcock - I Want You (She's So Heavy) [Beatles] (7" split single [with Terry Edwards] 2011 UK)

Night Beats - The Other Side  ("Night Beats" 2011 Seattle, Washington USA)

The Octopus Syng - Flaming [Pink Floyd]  (7" single [b-side to "Reverberating Garden No. 7" ] 2016 Finland)

The Honey Pot - Lisa Dreams  (7" single 2016 UK)

The Galileo 7 - Don't Fly Too High  ("Live-O-Graphic" 2016 UK)

King Penguin - Thoughts and Words [Byrds]  ("A Seance at Syd's" 2 x CD and Book 2015 UK)

The Dentists - Burning the Thoughts From My Skin  (7" single [b-side to "Strawberries Are Growing in My Garden (And it's Wintertime)"] 2014 re-issue, The Medway, UK)

The Luck Of Eden Hall - Another High Speed Blowout  ("The Acceleration of Time" LP [to be released 1 June 2016] Chicago USA)
The Paperhead - She is Above Me  (7" single [b-side to "Pictures of Her Demise"] 2012 Nashville USA)

The Dead Skeletons - Psycho Dead  ("Live in Berlin" 2016 Reykjavik, Iceland)

Sproatley Smith - Pixieled ("A Seance at Syd's" 2 x CD and Book 2015 UK)
Beaulieu Porch - The Colour 55 ("A Seance at Syd's" 2 x CD and Book 2015 UK)

Balduin - Everything  ("Choose Balduin" 2011 Switzerland)
Jacco Gardner - Notus  (7" single [b-side to "The End of August"] 2013 Netherlands) 

Graham Day and the Forefathers - 30-60-90  (7"single  [b-side to "Love Me Lies"] 2014 UK)

Beaulieu Porch - Keep On Screaming  ("Beaulieu Porch" 2012 UK)

Chevalier Avante Garde - Young  (7" single 2011 Montreal, Canada)

Dark Ocean Colours - When Both Our Worlds Collide  (digital single 2013 Toledo, Ohio USA)

Torpa - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Theme  (digital single 2013 UK)

Flavor Crystals - Ivan in the Park  ("Three" 2012 Minneapolis, USA)

Forever Pavot - Christophe Colombe  ("Forever Pavot" 7" EP 2014 Paris, France)

Happy Dagger - Waves  ("Happy Dagger" EP 2014 Portland, Oregon USA)

Has A Shadow - Can't Stop the Fall  ("Sky Is Hell Black" 2013 Guadalajara, Mexico) 

MIMICO - Man from Japan  ("MIMICO" 2013 Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
New Electric Ride - Bye Bye (Baton Rouge) ("Balloon Age" 2014 London UK)

Prince Ruperts Drops - This Evening's Arms  ("Run Slow" LP 2014 Brooklyn, New York USA)
Quilt - Open Eyes  ("New Hampshire Freaks" split 10" [with MMOSS] 2013 Boston, USA)

Technicolour Dreaming

It was a bit of an unusual show this week, with the Cat only present for the first hour and the Brat flying solo on the remainder - it's tricky living in the country and coming in each week, but when one of us needs to stay in town for 'medical experiments' [heh heh!] it gets downright complicated due to the single bus home which leaves from the city... and so on and so forth. Suffice to say, we managed to negotiate all the trials and tribulations. The Cat returned to the Cape and the Brat was successfully delivered into his world of pain in the hospital - said illness also being the reason for the lateness & briefness of this spiel. So here is the intro......   Our Band of the Week was the inimitable Roxy Music, a band who should need no introduction though sadly, probably do – unfortunately most people remember the “Avalon” period – so take a look at their film-clips (and it was film in those days!) for a reminder of this innovative group at their peak. Fittingly, early Roxy stalwart, Brian Eno, rounded off the show this week with a track from his debut solo album “Here Come The Warm Jets” replete with a suitably strange clip from 1976, posted a few years back....

.....and here is the playlist plus moving pictures.....

Heaven’s Gateway Drugs – Apropos      (“Apropos” 2014 Indiana, USA)

Cambrian Explosion – Umbra od Mind      (“The Sun EP” 2013 Portland, Oregon, USA)

Money Go Round – Endless Sun       (digital single 2013 Sydney, Australia)

Frantic Chant – Broken Biscuit Head (Mode rocker remix)      (“Ruthless Superman” rarities anthology 2014  Scotland, UK)

Napolleon – Rendez-Vous      (recorded 2014 Indonesia – taken from “Psychedelic Underground Generation : PUG #23” compilation 2014 Belgium)

Mordecai Smyth – Out in the Stars with DSP      (“Trip Inside this House Vol.6” compilation 2013 UK)

Balduin – Mirror, Mirror      (“All in a Dream” LP 2014 Bern, Switzerland)

The Karovas Milkshake – Do you Wanna Eat Me/Godiva      (mp3 2013 Moscow, Russia)

Bronco Bullfrog – Marmalade      (7”single 2014 UK)

Stuart Gray [aka Stu Spasm] – Rays of the Sun     (mp3 2013 Australia/USA – taken from “Trip Inside this House Vol.6” compilation 2013 UK)

Boeing Duveen and the Beautiful Soup – Which Dreamed It      (7”single b-side [to Jabberwocky] 1968 UK)

Cheval Sombre – She Went Walking in the Rain      (“Mad Love” 2013 UK)

Prince Rupert’s Drops – Death March      (“Climbing Light” 2014 New York, USA)

Dave Davies – Susannah’s Still Alive      (7”single 1967 UK)

Sullivan – Hashish Faction      (7”single 1966 France)

the Grease Arrestor – Strange Love      (“What Was, Is” 2014 Sydney)

    ###   “BAND OF THE WEEK”   –   Roxy Music   ###

Roxy Music – Pyjamarama      (7” single 1973 UK)

Roxy Music –The Bob (Medley)      (“Roxy Music” LP 1972 UK)

Roxy Music – Editions of You      (“For Your Pleasure” LP 1973 UK)

Roxy Music – Re-Make/Re-Model     (“Roxy Music” LP 1972 UK)

Elephant Stone – Three Poisons      (“Three Poisons” LP 2014 Montreal, Canada)

the Human Expression – Optical Sound     (7”single 1967 USA)

the State of Mickey and Tommy – I Know What I Would Be      (7” single 1967 UK/France)

Soft Hearted Scientists – Flying Horses      (“The Slow Cyclone”  2014 Wales, UK)

Brian Eno – Driving Me Backwards      (“Here Come the Warm Jets” LP 1974 UK)

Technicolour Dreaming

Alongside some new releases by local Adelaide favourites Slingshot Dragster and the Dunes we also played tracks from the brand new albums from Dodson & Fogg, Ty Segall and White Fence, plus single A-sides from House of Fire and the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘tambourine guy’ Joel Gion, King Penguin’s brilliant Byrds cover from Fruits de Mer’s lavish “7 & 7 Is” singles boxset, which was released this week. We also featured songs by Les Big Byrd, the Chemistry Set, Swiss psychedelecist Balduin and 60’s classics by Gary Walker & the Rain and the Millennium, as well as a previously unreleased track by the Velvet Underground, recorded in 1969 but only released in 1984 on the “VU” album. Last, but certainly not least, we celebrated Beaulieu Porch as our “Band of the Week”. Consisting of the compositions and recordings of Englishman Simon Berry, Beaulieu Porch has released two albums, an anthology and several singles, both vinyl and digital, on his own Tillsammans Records label, all of which he recently made available as free downloads on his bandcamp page. His modern, idiosyncratic take on vintage psychedelia has been hailed in magazines such as “Shindig!” and “Mojo” plus blogs like “The Active Listener” and various “Top 10 Albums of the Year” lists – not bad for a bloke recording alone in his home studio, and we are eagerly awaiting the completion of his new album which he reports is “about halfway there”. In the meantime we strongly advise downloading the back-catalogue – you won’t regret it! – and also checking out his clips on youtube, also made by him at home, a few of which we’ve posted below. So, until next week, it’s “cheerio” from the Cat and the Brat.....

..... and here’s the playlist, with aforementioned vids.....

Prince Rupert’s Drops – Plague Ride         (“Run Slow” LP 2012 New York, USA)

 

the Heart Snatchers – Silk         (“Fall in Toulouse” 2013 Toulouse, France)

Les Big Byrd – Back to Bargarmossen         (“They Worshipped Cats” 2014 Sweden)

the Chemistry Set – Come Kiss Me Vibrate and Smile        (7”single b-side [to Time to Breathe] 2012 UK)

Balduin – A Hope For Loving You         (“Post From Mars” 2014 Switzerland)

Joel Gion – Overthrow        (7”single 2014 USA)

West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – Help, I’m a Rock [Frank Zappa cover]         (“Part One” LP 1967 USA)

Slingshot Dragster – St Duane [Tremolo Beergut cover]         (demo 2014 Adelaide, Australia)

the Dunes – End of the Beginning         (“Bad Lands” EP 2014 Adelaide, Australia)

the Velvet Underground – Ocean         (recorded in 1969, released on “VU” LP 1984 New York, USA)

the Brian Jonestown Massacre – La Façon Dont La Machine Va Vers l'Arrière       (previously unreleased – taken from “Dead Bees Records Label Sampler No 9”  2010 Toulouse, France)

 

House of Fire – The Keeper of the Doors         (7”single 2014 Pennsylvania, USA)

the Millenium – 5 a.m.         (“Begin” LP 1968 USA)

Dodson and Fogg – A Sweet and Strange Surprise         (“In a Strange Slumber” 2014 UK)

  ###    BAND OF THE WEEK  –  Beaulieu Porch    ###

Beaulieu Porch – Laminations are Loaded      (“Beaulieu Porch” 2012 UK)

Beaulieu Porch – The View from Gainsborough      (7”single 2014 UK)

Beaulieu Porch – Greencroft Street      (“Beaulieu Porch” 2012 UK)

Beaulieu Porch – Is      (“We Are Beautiful” 2013 UK)

 

Tony, Caro & John – There Are No Greater Heroes      (“All On The First Day” LP 1972 UK)

White Fence – Wolf Gets Red Faced      (“For The Recently Found Innocent” 2014 California, USA)

Ty Segall – Who’s Producing You?      (“Manipulator” 2014 California, USA)

Gary Walker & the Rain – Magazine Woman      (“Album No. 1” LP 1968 Japan/UK)

King Penguin – She Don’t Care About Time [Byrds cover]      (7”single 2014 UK – taken from “Fruits de Mer label:‘7 and 7 Is’” vinyl 7”singles box-set 2014 UK)

the Myrrors – Mind’s Eye      (“Burning Circles In The Sky” 2008 Tucson, Arizona, USA)