(U.K 1958-2001)
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I'm not certain how many people know this, but George Harrison -along with Paul McCartney, John Lennon and various others - used to be a member of a Merseyside pop group whose act went down well with local teenagers. Later, quite a few of their gramophone records got into the hit parade. George was the readiest of the four to venture beyond pop music through his explorations of Indian culture and, after the group disbanded, the underwriting of Hand Made Films, now a pillar of British cinema. More subtly than John Lennon, he rode out the 1970s as the most self-contained - and oddest - ex-Beatle. Nevertheless, despite a career blighted with stimulant abuse, marital ructions, religious obsession and proven artistic plagiarism, muckrakers would be hard pressed to ravage a distinguished, charitable and humorous middle-aged musician whose character - in contrast to those of John, Paul and Ringo - was rooted in a secure family background.

Following the success of 1989's album, Cloud Nine, fans await George Harrison's next album with more anticipation than at any time since the celebrated All Things Must Pass triple LP of 1970. His growth as a composer was one of the pressures that caused the sundering of The Beatles in that same year, notably when his 'Something' - along with McCartney's 'Yesterday' - emerged as one of the most covered songs of all time.
Harrison's sojourn as a Beatle and its repercussions will always remain central to any consideration of him as a figure in time's fabric. [extract from George Harrison, by Alan Clayson, Sanctuary Publishers, 2003, p11]

George Harrison 1973

George Harrison had been responsible for two three-record albums (All Things Must Pass and Concert for Bangla Desh) in roughly a year's time span, but his next record, 'Living in the Material World' did not appear until the summer of 1973. His third post-Beatle rock album, 'Dark Horse', appeared in 1974, and the album 'Extra Texture' was released to correspond with his 1975 North American tour.

The music world-the material world-that George Harrison toured in 1975 had changed considerably in the nine years since he had last toured with the Beatles. Even the metamorphosis wrought by the phenomenal late 1960s era had come and gone in the meantime. Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin had died in 1970.

In 1976, George started his own label, called 'Dark Horse' after his 1974 album, and released his 'Thirty-Three and a Third' album in November. Capitol and Parlophone responded by releasing the 'Best of George Harrison', a collection of material dating back as far as his early years with the Beatles. George subsequently released three albums on Dark Horse between 1979 and 1982, but retired for five years before coming back with 'Cloud Nine' in January 1988 [extract from The Beatles, by Bill Yenne, Bison Books, 1989 p90-94]

.Volume 3 of Complete Rarities is a less interesting compilation than Volume 2, for most of it is from the famous Carl Perkins TV special, which has been available on several other bootlegs and in a superb quality official home video. But for those who haven't got "When We Was Fab" single and the Carl Perkins special, it's a fantastic CD. For those who have, it still offers some rare cuts from 1974 Long Beach show.

This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my CD copy and includes full album artwork. No surprises here for Beatles fan's - but for those of you who say 'what's all the fuss about' I'm sure you are going to enjoy this compilation Bootleg

Tracklist
01 - For You Blue (Live in Largo, Maryland (not Washington)   
02 - Zig Zag (B-Side to When We Was Fab)   
03 - When We Was Fab (Extended Version with reversed end)    
04 - Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (Carl Perkins And Friends)    
05 - Your True Love (Carl Perkins And Friends)    
06 - The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise (Carl Perkins And Friends)    
07 - Sun Records Medley    
08 - Glad All Over (Carl Perkins And Friends)    
09 - Blue Suede Shoes (Carl Perkins And Friends)    
10 - I Don't Want To Do It (Single Version)    
11 - Dream Away (Alternate Mix)    
12 - In My Life (Live In California 1974)    
13 - Maya Love (Live In California 1974)    
14 - Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (Live In California 1974)    
15 - Dark Horse (Live In California 1974)    
16 - Hari's On Tour (Express) (Live In California 1974)    
17 - Sue Me Sue You Blues (Live In California 1974)    
18 - Who Can See It (Listed as Long Beach California 1974, but it was only played once, in Vancouver...)

Track 1 taken from Live in Largo, Maryland, Dec. 13, 1974 (Live version issued with «Songs By George» book on Feb. 15, 1988)
Track 2 taken from “When We Was Fab” single, B-side
Track 3 taken from “When We Was Fab” 12” single, B-side
Tracks 4 – 9 taken from A Rockabilly Session, Oct. 21, 1985 (George Harrison performing with Carl Perkins, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Dave Edmunds & friends)
Track 10 taken from «Porky's Revenge» soundtrack
Track 11 taken from «Time Bandits» soundtrack
Tracks 12 – 17 taken from Live in Long Beach, California, Nov. 10, 1974
Track 18 taken from Live in Vancouver, Canada, Nov. 2, 1974
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George Harrison Link (55Mb)
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(Australian 1971 - Present)
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When a group of Melbourne university students gathered to share their love of traditional music in 1971, little did they realise that they were establishing a musical ‘institution’.

There had been ‘bush bands’ before, but none that captured the public’s imagination to such an extent that they were able to turn professional.

Having established residencies in Melbourne pubs, the band’s attention quickly turned to Europe where two of their great influences – Fairport Convention and Planxty were leading a folk revival. They wanted to be part of the action, and in 1974 took off to try their luck. While in the United Kingdom, the Bushwackers were befriended by such top-ranked folk acts as the Chieftains, the Dubliners, Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.

Originally a trio featuring Jan Wositsky (vocals, harmonica, banjo, bass and various forms of traditional bush percussion), Dave Isom (guitar, vocals and mandolin) and Bert Kahanoff (largerphone), the Bushwackers attracted large crowds with their early performances in Melbourne.

The Bushwackers - early 1970's

In Australia, they continued to attract enthusiastic crowds to their performances at the Dan O'Connell Hotel in Fitzroy, where they appeared every Friday night from 1977 to 1980.  They released their first single, "When the Rain Tumbles Down in July," in 1973.

Their first 8-10 years were split between extensive tours at ‘home’, and 5 European tours from the band’s base in London. Their energy and musicianship made an instant impact – Melody Maker describing them as taking the UK folk scene “by storm”. Numerous and extensive tours of the UK, Ireland, France, Holland and Germany established them as confirmed club and festival favourites – Cambridge, Rotterdam, Edinburgh …., and their debut LP ‘The Shearers’ Dream’ reached No.1 on the Melody Maker Folk Chart. The combination of traditional instruments, electric guitar and bass and the unique percussive drive of the lagerphone, meant they rocked like no other folk band!

During their home visits, the band began to explore and popularise the neglected area of bush dance.

The Bushwackers - early 1980's

The late 70s and early to mid 80s saw the band’s self-promoted Bush Dance Spectaculars attract 2-3,000 people to Town Halls and major venues throughout Australia. The impact of this dance phenomenon saw a single from their (Gold) ‘Dance Album’ reach the No. 14 on Melbourne’s leading commercial Pop/Rock station!

With the addition of drums in 1980, the Bushies entered musical territory previously unexplored in Australia. This was the decade of the ‘pub rock’ boom, and saw the band sharing stages (and holding their own) with the cream of Aussie rock – The Angels, Men At Work, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil.

The band released two Australian Song Books and two dance books and albums which – to this day, hold sales records. No Aussie school could do without them.

This decade also saw the band ‘adopted’ by country music fans and, on their first visit (1981) to Australia’s largest music event – the 10-day, 4,000 gig Tamworth Country Music Festival, the band was awarded it’s highest honour – A Golden Guitar.?(They’ve returned every year, playing to sell-out crowds).

The band’s constant search and reputation for musical excellence saw them attract some of Australia’s best – drummers Robby Ross (Goanna) and Freddie Strauks (Skyhooks), guitar legends Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Housden (Little River Band), Tim Gaze (Ariel, Rose Tattoo) and bassist Pete Farndon who went on to international fame with The Pretenders.

Bushwackers on stage at the Revesby Worker Club in 1984

In addition to ten albums, the group's music was heard on numerous movie and television soundtracks. In 1984, they announced they were disbanding due to "the costs of keeping the band on the road and the desire to spend more time with families." The group continued to get together for annual reunion tours from 1984 until 1990.

Late in 1993, Roger Corbett (bass, mandolin, harmonica and vocals), who joined the group in 1980, and Dobe Newton (largerphone, whistle, bodhran, bones, spoons and vocals), a member since 1973, re-formed the group. Although they initially called the reorganized band "the Range Rovers", they went back to their original name upon signing a publishing contract with Warner Chappell and a recording contract with ABC/EMI.

After decades of relentless touring, in 1995 the band decided to take a break from the road. The national broadcaster – ABC, marked the occasion with a 1-hour TV special “The Last Dance”. The band continued to record and perform at major festivals/events.

They’ve continued that policy to this day – always being in demand for their unique and powerful stage shows.  The current lineup features Mark Oates (fiddle), Pete Drummond (drums), Tim Gaze (guitar) and Pamela Drysdale (accordion, guitar and vocals).

In 2007, the band realised a long-held dream, traveling to Nashville for the Australian Festival. The combination of Australian songs and subject matter and celtic-influenced music proved just as popular with Americans as it had with European fans 30 years earlier!

How many still-performing bands can boast 25 studio and live albums covering vinyl, cassette, CD and MP3 formats !

This LP was recorded live at the Revesby Workers Club in Sydney in 1984. At that time, the members of the band were Dobe Newton, Roger Corbett, Tommy Emmanuel, Danny Bourke, Tony O'Neill, and Freddy Strauks. Although the LP features only 12 tracks, it contains about one hour of music as there are some extra instrumental segments in some tracks.

The Bushwackers - 1984

This post consists of both FLACs and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my vinyl copy which I found in amongst a 'complete set' of Bushwacker albums, at the local flee market. I picked this album up along with a few other titles for a song (pun intended) and it was obvious from their 'mint condition' that their previous owner had really looked after the collection. I'm normally not attracted to Bush/Folk music, but with the presence of Tommy Emmanuel (on guitar) and Feddy Strauks (on drums) I couldn't resists and am glad I did so - this is a great album.
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Track Listing
01 - Lime Juice Tub
02 - Lazy Harry's
03 - Marijuana Australia
04 - Murrumbidgee (instrumental)
05 - When the Rain Tumbles down in July
06 - And the band played Waltzing Matilda
07 - When Brittania ruled the Waves
08 - Les Darcy
09 - 1-2-3-4
10 - Beneath the Southern Cross
11 - Wall of Death12 - Waltzing Matilda (Queensland version)
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The Band:
Dobe Newton - Lagerphone., Percussion, Vocals
Roger Corbett - Bass, Vocals
Tommy Emmanuel - Guitar, Vocals
Danny Bourke - Fiddle
Tony O'Neill - Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals
Freddy Strauks - Drums, Vocals
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The Bushwackers FLACs (360Mb)
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The Bushwackers MP3's (137Mb)
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(U.S 1967 - 1985)
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An American group, Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show assembled over a gradual period in late '60s around a nucleus of Locorriere and Southerners Sawyer, George Cummings and Francis. Sawyer, an eye-patched, ex-soul singer from Chicksaw, Alabama, and Locorriere, a New Jersey folkie, were vocalist-leaders of the group which played bars and dives around New Jersey area until their "discovery" by  cartoonist / songwriter Shel Silverstein.
Silverstein got them gig of appearing in, and performing soundtrack music for, a Dustin Hoffman movie he had scored, "Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying These Terrible Things About Me?"
This led to CBS recording contract for the band, at that time a five-piece. From their 1972 debut album came U.S. and U.K. hit single with the Silverstein written "Sylvia's Mother". The Hook added Garfat and Elswit to fill out their stage sound and recorded Sloppy Seconds (1972), from which Silverstein's "The Cover Of Rolling Stone" single was an American smash.


Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show were featured on the cover of the March 29 edition of Rolling Stone magazine in 1973, thus gaining a massive plug for their CBS single at the time, "The Cover Of The Rolling Stone", which entered the US Top 10 in its first week. The song was penned by Shel Silverstein, the Playboy writer and cartoonist, who also wrote most of Dr Hook's earlier material.

In fact, all the material on the first two albums was Silverstein composed (among his earlier credits was "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash), and the group returned the compliment by playing back-up on the songwriter's "Freakin' At The Freakers Ball" solo album (1973).
'Belly Up' (1973) introduced Dr Hook's own compositions, but their follow-up 'Fried Face' (not released in U.K.) caused friction between band and label resulting in a switch to Capitol.
Latter day hit singles include their version of Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen" (in U.S.) and "If Not You", and the title cut from "A Little Bit More" (1976). On stage they remained as one of rock's more eccentric attractions.
Founder-member George Cummings (guitar, steel guitar) quit the band in autumn of 1975 suffering nervous problems; and Bob Henke eventually joined in 1976. Ray Sawyer's solo album, released in 1977 had minimum success. [extract from The Illustrated New Musical Express Encyclopedia of Rock by Nick Logan & Bob Woffinden, Salamander Books, 1977. p70]
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Another Dose of Dr. Hook
The last time Dr Hook toured Australia, they fell foul of that old criticism that despite all their oil-stage looniness and zaniness, it was all a well-rehearsed act that was repeated with military precision the next show, and the one after.
American rock critic Lester Bangs summed it up beautifully when he wrote some years back: "They're the most pristine (outgoing) professional imitation of total non-professionalism I've ever seen."
Dr Hook didn't agree. They say there's always enough spontaneity to make each show different.
"One Night," cackles the one-eyed Ray Sawyer, "I knocked my microphone over and it scared me, so I jumped back and, knocked Rick's over, and that scared me so I jumped over and knocked Jay's over, and it scared him and he knocked his over!"
It ended up with the entire band grovelling onstage hunting for the microphones along with roadies, everyone going "quack, quack' like ducks.
"The audience just lapped it up," continues Sawyer, "and that's the way it should be. If something blows or breaks, we don't stop the show and scream for a roadie to come out and fix it. We let it stay broken awhile."
"You can get killed once a night," adds his partner in crime Dennis Locorriere, telling gleefully of the time when Sawyer fell off the stage and broke his leg, and the whole audience got up and cheered because they thought it was part of the act!
Or the time when they almost got banned from completing a European tour because one of their at an open-air festival in Copenhagen, had ended up with the band and audience running around in the nude.
"We were the last act on the show," recalls Ray, "and by that time everybody had been drinking quite a bit. In Scandinavia they don't think that much about takin' their clothes off - the human body is not that restricted. So there were quite a few people there with their clothes off.
"And Dennis made the mistake of saying something like 'Gee, it's really hot' and 'Hey, there's more to look at in the audience than onstage'. And more people started taking their clothes off and yelling at us to take ours off and become one of them. We Would have felt kinda funny if we didn't, so we went ahead and did it. But we wouldn't do it again though."
And then there was that time when King Weirdo himself, Alice Cooper, came up and said 'I saw you guys on the David Frost Show and you've got to be the weirdest band I've ever seen on television!" Dr Hook were freaked out that it could come from someone like him, but they took it as a  compliment anyway.
Originally known as Dr Hook's Medicine Show, they had a huge hit with "Sylvia's Mother" in 1972, followed it up with "Cover of the Rolling Stone" in 1973, and then faded into bankruptcy in 1974.
When they found themselves broke, they didn't disband. They stayed-together, hustled for bread for rented time in a recording studio, started rebuilding again in "Only Sixteen" and "Little Bit More" and found that they became huge in Australia, America, England and many parts of Europe.
"It was confusing, says Dennis."As it is, people are confused about Dr Hook anyway. People wonder,'which one is Dr Hook?' or 'is he wearing that patch 'cos he's got a bad wearing that patch 'cos he's got bad eye or is it a gimmich?' and 'are those slow songs for real or are they a send-up?'
"We're hard to define but it's basically good time music, where people have fun if they can see that you obviously are."

It's been a long time since "Sylvia's Mother" but the song still hangs around them like an albatross. It was back in the days when Dr Hook were more a vehicle for composer Shel Silverstein who wrote most of their stuff. But they know what the audience wants and play along with it. They send it up.
Sometimes on a fine night, Dennis will add extra words to it -

Sylvia's father says
   "Sylvia's pregnant
and you went and made her that way
   Sylvia's father says
   "you mother fucker"
"I'm gonna kill you some day"

And the whole audience roars with delight.
Every time they keep using a four letter word, Dr Hook gets the laughs. That's the role they've created for themselves (Article from JUKE Magazine - May 6, 1978 p7)
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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my trusty vinyl that I purchased back in 77' when I was just starting Uni - Oh such wonderful memories.  Full album artwork and label scans are included as usual.
I've taken the liberty of including their 1976 hit "Only Sixteen" as a bonus track, as it didn't quite make it onto this Best Of Compilation. Also note that this album has also been released under the title of  'The Best Of ' (see cover below).
Track Listing
01 - Sylvia's Mother
02 - Acapulco Goldie
03 - Freakin' At The Freaker's Ball
04 - Makin' It Natural
05 - Penicillin Penny
06 - Cover Of The Rolling Stone
07 - Get My Rocks Off
08 - Carry Me, Carrie
09 - Queen Of The Silver Dollar
10 - Roland The Roadie And Gertrude The Groupie
11 - Only Sixteen (Bonus Single)
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The Band:
Ray Sawyer - vocals, guitar 
Dennis Loconriere - vocals, guitar
Rik Elswit - guitar
Bob 'Willard' Henke - guitar
Billy Francis - keyboards
Lance Garfat - bass
John Wolters - drums
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Dr Hook Revisited Link (87Mb)

(U.K 1964 - Present)
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A true super-showman, (Sir) Elton John has been called "the Liberace of Rock and Roll." Known almost as much for his outrageous stage costumes and sets as he is for his bluesy style on the piano, Elton John was the king of pop music in the mid-1970s, with such #1 hits as "Philadelphia Freedom", "Crocodile Rock", and "Don't Co Breaking My Heart". Though his songs no longer monopolize the radio airwaves as they did before his breakup with songwriter Bernie Taupin, Elton John continues to release albums, singles, and videos and to tour, often playing to sellout crowds. His stage performances remain hugely entertaining, and his talent as a pianist and his gift for melody have ensured him a place in the hearts of fans who enjoy his unique sound.

Reginald Dwight was born in England in 1947 and began playing the piano at the age of four. He became the keyboardist for the R & B band Bluesology, headed by Long John Baldry, and subsequently changed his name to Elton John, taking "Elton" from the band's saxophonist, Elton Dean, and "John" from Baldry. By 1968 Bluesology had been disbanded, and in 1969 Elton released his first hit single, Lady Samantha, from his debut album Empty Sky (he had started writing songs with lyricist Bernie Taupin at this time).

By the summer of 1970 the Elton John Band was formed and, with the release of the album Madman Across the Water, Elton John's career as one of the highest-paid performers in the music world was launched. A truly impressive string of hit singles followed for several years, including Rocket Man, Honky Cat, Crocodile Rock, Daniel, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Bennie and the Jets, Candle in the Wind, and, surprisingly, Lennon and McCartney's Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. Until 1989, Don't Go Breaking My Heart -Elton's duet with Kiki Dee - was probably his best-known single, but the Number 1 hit Sacrifice changed all that. In recent years Elton has teamed up with a variety of other artists, most notably with George Michael in 1991 on Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, releasing an entire album (aptly titled Duets) with an all-star line-up of guest singers in 1993.

Elton John 1970
The line-up made its recording debut on Elton John, released in April 1970. On the evidence of the album, Uni Records claimed the group for America; as the label that had signed Neil Diamond, it clearly recognized a singer-songwriter of promise.
In the wake of this signing, the trio were sent out to the United States for a series of showcase gigs which started with a week at Los Angeles' prestigious Troubadour Club which was celebrating its twentieth anniversary in a blaze of media attention. From the outset, when Leon Russell turned up to take his seat in the front row, it was obvious that there was a buzz about town for this unknown Englishman in his yellow overalls, Donald Duck bib and aluminum boots. Graham Nash, the Beach Boys, Quincy Jones, Gordon Light-foot and others joined the throng as the residency progressed, and the press coverage was nothing short of sensational. Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn's reaction was typical. 'Rejoice,' he said, 'Rock, which has been going through a rather uneventful period lately, has a new star!'
After returning briefly to Britain at the end of his three-week tour, Elton soon found the demand for more American appearances overwhelming. By November 1970 Elton John had sold 250,000 copies in its ascent to the dizzy heights of No. 4, while the soon-to-be-released Tumbleweed Connection would do nearly as well.

The coming year, 1971, would bring a surfeit of record releases: apart from his third and fourth albums, Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across The Water, Elton had scored the film Friends with Paul Buckmaster, while a live radio-show broadcast in the United States by New York's WPLJ-FM radio was released as 17.11.70 (or 11.17.70, depending on which side of the Atlantic it was sold) and reached No. 20 in Britain and 11 in the States without the aid of a hit single.
From being a total unknown, Elton John had released five albums in four years and had become an international star.
Britain had finally caught on to the Elton John phenomenon, and 'Your Song' was lifted into chart contention in early 1971; Elton John itself reached No. 11. Indeed, the rewards had already proved enough for Elton to buy a bungalow on an exclusive private estate in Wentworth which boasted Rod Stewart (an old friend) and Donovan as neighbours. Tumbleweed Connection added to those rewards, becoming his first British Top 10 album. Its No. 6 position was beaten by one place in the Billboard listings, Britain and America in total accord as to the album's excellence. The bulk of this phenomenal success was down to the quality of the songwriting. [extract from Elton John, by Nick St Michael.Bison Books, 1994, p16]

Elton John 1976
1976 was the year in which Elton gave the first overt clues as to his complex sexuality, in a Rolling Stone interview. "There's nothing wrong with going to bed with someone of your own sex," he bravely admitted. Surprisingly, there was little backlash from his fans in Britain, although things-would be different a decade on, when a national newspaper took it upon itself to smear his name. In the United States, however, Elton believed 'it had a chilling effect on people. They didn't really want to know, and were offended.'
Elton now owed Dick James just one more album, which would be a live selection; the resulting Here And There, recorded in London and New York, was a transatlantic Top 10 entry. Although DJM retained the rights to a future Greatest Hits album, all Elton's future releases would now be on Rocket Records, 'home' of band members past and present Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone. Dee Murray meanwhile was touring the States (where he now lived), first with Procol Harum and then with Alice Cooper.
Real success, however, was left to the boss to achieve, and this he did with the assistance of 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart,' a duet performed with Kiki Dee. The song (written by Elton and Bernie under the pseudonyms of Ann Orson and Carte Blanche) would be memorably reprised twice on future occasions: firstly on The Muppet Show, with Miss Piggy taking Dee's place, and again in 1985 on the global stage that took Live Aid to an audience of 1.5 billion people. It was no surprise that the song topped the charts in the United States, but it was pleasing that it became Elton's first British No. 1. Indeed, it became the sound of that particular summer, staying in the top spot for six weeks. His old record company, DJM, would attempt to cash in by reissuing 'Bennie And The Jets,' never before released as a UK A-side. Back in America, Elton reinforced his record-breaking run of live shows by smashing a year-old Rolling Stones house record with seven sellout dates.

Talking of houses, Elton had quit 'Hercules/ his Wokingham home, in early 1976 for 'Woodside,' a mansion in Old Windsor, England, where he would reside into the 1990s. 'I always buy Country Life and have a look at houses for sale,' he would later admit. 'But I've got a nice house, a lot of garden and my little recording studio. It's close to London, it's close to the airport and it's close to Watford.' Despite buying a Los Angeles base in the mid-1970s, Elton had always shunned the idea of becoming a tax exile. 'I belong here,' he said simply.
As so often in previous years, in 1976 Elton planned a record release for the Christmas market. Blue Moves was his first such release for Rocket Records, but the last to be produced by Gus Dudgeon and with Bernie Taupin's words (entirely, at least). Famous friends chipping in on the backing-vocal front included David Crosby, Graham Nash, Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, and Toni Tennille of the Captain and Tennille.

A double album, Blue Moves came clad in a controversial sleeve on which nude men frolicked; indeed, certain critics initially tried to interpret the title as 'Blue Movies.' With regard to the content, parallels with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road were obvious. As frequently happens, the first single was the most successful, and .'Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word' was indeed a classic. The likes of 'Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance)' were hardly in the same class, while 'Cage The Songbird,' a paean to Edith Piaf, begged the inevitable comparison with 'Candle In The Wind.' The general tone of the album was less than optimistic, doubtless due to Bernie Taupin's split with his first wife Maxine. Two of the more cheerful songs were in fact instrumentals, including Elton's Theme From A Non-Existent TV Series.'
The reason behind the split with Gus Dudgeon was, reveals the producer, that 'the challenge had gone,' and he gave an insight into Elton's preferred way of working. 'He'd got to the point where he was going into the studio only five days before the album and writing the whole album in those five days - and writing three or four hits. He did it every time - what more could you ask for?' [extract from Elton John, by Nick St Michael.Bison Books, 1994, p28-29]


This post is a bootleg recording taken from a live recording from the WABC Studios, New York on Nov 17, 1970, with the last three tracks coming from Radio Broadcasts of his 1976 European Tour.  It consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my Australian 'Unauthorised' Banana CD release and is the 2nd volume in a series of four. Other tracks from the WABC Studios recordings were officially released under the title 'Elton John 11-17-70' (see below)
The quality of the recording is clear and dynamic and would rate it as an  8/10.  Full album artwork, along with a concise listing of all Unauthorised releases is provided.  This bootleg captures Elton in his early days when he was still building up his song repertoire and although subtitled 'Rocket Man' this hit was still two years away from being released.
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Track Listing
01 - I Need You To Turn To
02 - Your Song
03 - Country Comfort
04 - Border Song
05 - Indian Sunset
06 - Amoreena
07 - My Father's Gun
o8 - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
09 - Island Girl
10 - Medley: I Got The Whole World In My Hands/Your Song/Daniel
11 - Your Song #2
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Featuring:
Elton John - Piano, Vocals
Nigel Olsson - Drums
Dee Murray - Bass
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Elton John Link (114Mb)
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Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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While growing up as a young boy in Warrnambool, Australia during the 60's, I would religiously watch the T.V series Bonanza on the B&W telly with my brother and we would both aspire to living a life in the wild, wild west with the Cartwright family and fighting off any cattle rustlers and outlaws that might have came mozing by.

Did you like Bonanza and do you like Christmas music? If your answer to both questions is yes, then you'll love this little curio. Presented as a holiday gathering at the Cartwright homestead--The Ponderosa--it starts with Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) welcoming his guests (you the listener included) in to help decorate the x-mas tree. Soon, applejack is flowin', songs are bein' sung, stories of the season are told, and in Ben's case, the need to fend off the attentions of a persistent female neighbor ensue.

Now, Big Hoss (as portrayed by the one of a kind Dan Blocker) couldn't carry a tune if a white guy portraying an evil Mexican bandito holding a pistol to his head insisted on it but kinda like Ringo Starr, by sheer force of personality, he carries off a rousing version of "Deck The Halls" in such a way you feel like your snacking on some mincemeat pie, sipping applejack and stomping your feet in encouragement to the big loveable bear singing in front of the roaring Cartwright hearth.

Little Joe (Michael Landon) does his best Elvis impersonation on "Oh Fir Tree Dear" and imparts a surprisingly moving little memory of his departed mother to Pa (the Cartwright curse strikes down any woman who takes on the Cartwright name) and Adam (Pernell Roberts) humorously tries a little too hard to sound manly on "The New Born King" but there is a sense everyone sincerely had a good time making this.

Lorne Greene had a background in radio and stands out on this album with his Corinthian (Canadian?) leather rich tones imparting by turns some x-mas stories and leading some infectious sing-alongs, like "Christmas Is A Comin' (May God Bless You)". His voice is just tailor made for this medium. Most of the zestier sing-alongs feature the Ken Darby Singers and they help to bring a professional sheen to the fun but mostly amateur vocal stylings of the Bonanza cast regulars. They also make it seem that the Cartwright's have some neighbors who seem unusually gifted vocally and maybe should be spending more time tending their herds and crops and less time singing!

On the evidence of songs like the Landon sung "Santa Got Lost In Texas",  Elvis certainly didn't have anything to fret over and could content himself with more important activities, like his movies and pharmaceuticals. That said, the already mentioned sense of fun is absolutely infectious and surprisingly cohesive. When we, the guests, leave the party singing "Silent Night", the quiet ruminations of Lorne Greene's character Ben, are effectively emotional. As it's put in the liner notes, "Someone begins Silent Night, and we all sing it together, happy to share the words and the tune and the surge of Christmas joy. Only the shadowy ranch house and the big pines and the star sprinkled sky are near enough to hear Ben's quietly spoken words as he stands alone on the wide veranda listening to our carol drift back through the trees."

Like a good episode of it's parent show, your sort of sad it's over so quickly. At just over 29 minutes there's a whole lot of Ponderosa goodness packed in here. No, there's never a dull moment and, hell, what with all the work involved in living on the dangerous Western American frontier and all, you gotta pack your partying into dense, compact little bursts. Burn white hot and get the hell out so you can go ride the fences, brand the steer and get into a knock down drag out at the saloon in Virginia City on the morrow. Good old frontier life.

Pop this on at your next Christmas party and surprise, confuse and confound your guests. For that extra dumbfounded, glazed over expression from your family and friends, make sure you crank Hoss'"Deck The Halls" at maximum volume. Like Hoss KO'ing a sassin' outlaw on the show, his voice will floor your festive, hot buttered rum fueled guests. As those liner notes put it so perfectly, "Christmas On The Ponderosa will delight you in many ways; the happy spirit of the Cartwright's, the joyous songs, the funny, the wise, the tender stories; but, most of all, because you're not merely listening in, You're actually there!" Wonder if Hoss is up for a few shots...... [review by Godwaffle at rateyourmusic.com]
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This Month's WOCK on Vinyl post is a little earlier than normal to catch the festive season and share this nostalgic release with you before Christmas day.
I am very grateful to Ozzie Musicman for making this rip (MP3/320kps) available to me some time ago and so the O in WOCK is for Ozzie and the C is of course for Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone and I hope your Santa stockings are filled with lots of new and wonderful music.
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Track Listing
01 - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing    
02 - Deck The Halls    
03 - The New Born King    
04 - The First Christmas Trees    
05 - Oh Fir Tree Dear    
06 - Christmas Is A-Comin' (May God Bless You)    
07 - O Come, All Ye Faithful    
08 - Jingle Bells    
09 - Santa Got Lost In Texas    
10 - Stuck In The Chimney    
11 - Why We Light Candles On The Christmas Tree    
12 - Merry Christmas Neighbor    
13 - Merry Christmas And Goodnight (Silent Night)
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Christmas On The Ponderosa (56Mb)
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(Australian 1966 - Current)
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Mike McClellan was born in NSW and his first big break came when he won a television talent quest. From there he became a regular on the TV series 'Sound of Music'. At this point, Mike formed his own band called the 'Currency Blues Co' in the mid-sixties.
During the 60's, he trained as a teacher in Armidale and taught in schools in New South Wales before recording his first album for Col Joye's ATA records in 1972, under his own name.

He recorded this debut album with the assistance of respective artists such as Graham Lowndes and Duncan McGuire (Ayers Rock). The album was released in June 1972 and although it received some excellent reviews, nothing much came of it, probably because his record company ATA did nothing to promote it. They did manage to get out a poster three months after it had been released but it received no airplay to speak of. Two singles were lifted from the album  "Some Other Sunrise" and "Suzie, Get Off This Train" but neither made an impression on the charts. In my opinion, ATA should have released "Lonely Man" as a single, as it is clearly the strongest track on the album.  Col didn't like his new material so he left and Mike recorded his next (and all subsequent albums) with EMI Australia.

Mike McClellan On GTK 1972

His second album, 'Ask Any Dancer', was released in England and Europe and in November, 1974 he made the charts with 'Song and Dance Man'. The single was highly acclaimed and was covered by artists in England, America and South Africa.
In 1975, he released a third album on the EMI label entitled 'Until The Song Is Done' but this too made no real impact on the charts as did the single "Carry Me".
In March, 1976 Mike came up with a more aggressive, rock style sound on his 'Coming Up For Air album'. A single, 'Caddie' (inspired by the movie) was lifted from it and its release coincided with his successful tour of Australia with Melanie.
Mike was noted as much for his songwriting as for his singing and his material was recorded overseas by several artists, including Rick Nelson.

A proposed trip to the US following an offer to record in Nashville unfortunately didn't materialise and it wasn't until mid 1977 that Mike surfaced again with an album and a single entitled 'Another Night'.
In September '77 he recorded a live album for EMI which was released in November under the title of An Evening With Mike McClellan - Live.  [extract from Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia Of Rock, Outback Press, 1978. p215-216]

In 1979, he went on to host a television country music show.  In 1982, he toured overseas and his return to Australia in ‘83 marked another change in his career.  Weary of the constant traveling he sought more stability for he and his family.  Mojo, then regarded as the most dynamic ad agency in the country, persuaded him to write for them.  For 2 years he contributed some of the most memorable advertising on television, writing the concepts, words and music for clients such as Australian Airlines, Red Rooster, Channel 9 and growing the already established XXXX and Tooheys campaigns for the agency.  Invigorated by new challenges he and a partner left Mojo and set up their own agency which they called Kazoo.  It grew rapidly over the period from ‘86 to ‘91.  The 2 partners became 3, the staff went from 3 to 30 and the billings through the roof.

Through all the demands on his time he still managed to release a new album in 1990.  The Heartland is considered by many who know his work to be as good as anything he has recorded and marked a return to the EMI label.
He subsequently sold his share holding in Kazoo to re-establish Mike McClellan Pty Ltd and take complete control of his own destiny once more.  He needed the time to write for himself and take advantage of the dramatic changes that had been happening in the communications industry.
1998 marked the release of a single commissioned for Warner Music.  But the three songs it contained were a little different to past McClellan discs.  They were tributes to three great Australian sportsmen, Mark Taylor, the much-admired former Aussie cricket captain, the great Sir Donald Bradman, and David Campese, often called “the Bradman of Rugby.”

Late 2001 saw the release of a comprehensive retrospective of his recording career.  Personally chosen and carefully remastered from the original tapes Time. And Time Again. is a double CD containing 35 of his best songs.  Among them are re-recordings of two from his very first album, a studio version of California Cool that was only ever released as a B side on a single and New York City Blues, a never before released gem that was recorded during the sessions for The Heartland CD but didn’t fit comfortably with the other songs.
Late 2001 also saw the first of what were standout concerts with his old friends Kevin Johnson (who wrote Rock’n Roll I Gave You All The Best Years of My Life) and Doug Ashdown (Winter In America).  A sell out crowd at Sydney’s Basement and a standing ovation said it all – “Their artistic and intelligent acoustic alchemy had a capacity house singing, stamping and tingling beyond the witching hour.  A night indelibly imprinted”, said Glenn A. Baker.
In 2005, in conjunction with Andrew Pattison, who established Melbourne’s premier acoustic venue the Troubadour, he brought to Australia and shared the bill with the wonderful US singer/songwriter Danny O’Keefe.  The concert crowds reinforced his belief that there was still a sizeable, enthusiastic audience in Australia for acoustic music of depth, conviction and real quality.

Mike McClellan Today - Still Playing

Mike was, for 6 years, a senior tutor at the CMAA Country Music Academy in Tamworth and is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Australian International Conservatorium of Music where he taught a course in song writing.  Ironically, after many, many years his original training as a school teacher is being put to good use once again and his song writing workshops have become an important part of his creative life.
2011 saw the release of his first album of new songs in 20 years.  In reviewing it for Country Update Pat Drummond called it "a stunning new CD. In the context of a long and illustrious career this is a very special album.... for one of Australia's most influential country/folk legends."
Mike took to the road again in 2011 playing concerts across the country to standing ovations.  As a performer he just seems to get better with time and it is a tribute to his talent that many in his audiences have been coming to see him sing for well over 40 years.  And now, 40 years after Song and Danceman hit the charts he is releasing a new CD, Dancing In The Rain.  If the initial reaction is any indication this one is even better than the last.
Reviewing one of Mike’s Troubadour performances for the Melbourne Age some years ago journalist Paul Speelman wrote, “McClellan is a national asset”.  His 2011 CD, If only for a moment… only added to his reputation as one of our finest singer songwriters.  The new one, Dancing In The Rain, will surely enhance what is already an exceptional body of work. [extract from Mike's Website]
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This post consists of FLACs and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my rare vinyl copy (I've never seen another copy) and includes full album artwork and label scans.  Mike McClellan has a voice and sound that is similar to Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), Michael Murphy and on occasions, even John Denver.  As song writers go, he is as good as Doug Ashdown, John Williamson and Hans Poulsen. One observation however, is that his track "Playing It By Ear"
sounds a little like Harry Nilsson's megahit "Everybody's Talkin'" and as good as Mike's song sounds, one has to wonder.
As a bonus, I have included several live tracks taken from some early 70's GTK appearances, sourced from Youtube.
If you like this post, then stay tuned - cause' I've got a couple more albums of Mikes to post in the future which you are really going to enjoy.
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Track Listing 
01 - Blues For Ginny
02 - There Is A Place
03 - Love Is A Lady
04 - Country Morning
05 - Will She Come?
06 - Lonely Man
07 - Some Other Sunrise
08 - The Fiddler
09 - Playing It By Ear
10 - Nursery Rhyme
11 - Where Will I Be Tomorrow?
12 - Susie Get Me Off This Train
13 - (Bonus) Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues (GTK) *
14 - (Bonus) Some Other Sunrise (GTK 1971) *
* Sourced from YouTube

Credits:Mike McClellan - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Grahame Lister - Harmony vocals, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar
Red McKelvie - Electric Guitar
Duncan McGuire - Bass Guitar
Warren Daly - Drums
Gillian McIntyre - Violin
John Capek - Piano
Billy Weston - String Arrangements
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Mike McClellan MP3 Link (112Mb)
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Mike McClellan FLAC Link (269Mb)
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(U.K 1960 - Present)
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The 4 Seasons took a "hit sound", put their personal stamp on it and made it look easy — easy to make one hit record after another — easy to reach that coveted top slot reserved for The Big Name.
It is easy if you are Frankie Valli singing first tenor with Bob Gaudio on second tenor with Nick Massi lending a fine bass and Tommy de Vito adding his rich baritone. Cap that combination with song-writing talents, superb musicianship and the exceptional showmanship shared by these four handsome fellows and it IS easy to understand the 4 Seasons' year-round successes.
With barely a breather between hit records for Philips, the 4 Seasons have put their formula to work again and their latest, "Let's Hang On" has fired a shot of excitement straight at its target — the No. 1 chart position.
The 4 Seasons is one of today's few singing groups ignoring the trends and fads that keep coming and going. They have their solid sound — as distinctive a styling as ever sizzled into record sales, and they are staying with it.
"We consider ourselves very fortunate that there seems no need to alter our style," says Bob Gaudio, who has written most of the 4 Seasons' hits.
Unafraid of hard work, the boys never cut a song without first holding a full scale conference — wading through ideas for its arranging and its harmony. Once they have agreed, and often this comes after some heated discussions, the way is clear. It was just such researching, idea exchanging and conferring that resulted in hit discs like "Dawn", "Rag Doll", "Ronnie", in fact all the tracks on this L.P. show the exciting results of this painstaking "behind the scenes" work.
Although they once placed first emphasis on their unique sound, today, the 4 Seasons seriously consider lyrics as well. Titles of their songs must be simple, easy to remember.
At home on the music charts, the 4 Seasons know what their fans want, how they want it and their Philips records are proving that every day.
They are DIFFERENT in an era of sameness. They are ORIGINAL in a time of imitation. [Album Linear Notes]
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Whether you consider them the East Coast answer to The Beach Boys, or rivals to The Beatles (as on a famous Vee-Jay LP compilation), Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons have had a long, illustrious career.  Despite having scored his first hit with the Seasons back in 1962, Valli has hardly slowed his pace over the years, overseeing companies and productions of the 2005 musical Jersey Boys, readying a film version, and recently performing a concert on Broadway with a new line-up of Seasons.

The 4 Seasons are an American rock and pop band that became internationally successful in the 1960s and 1970s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before the Beatles. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. In 1960, the group known as the Four Lovers evolved into the Four Seasons, with Frankie Valli as the lead singer, Bob Gaudio (formerly of the Royal Teens) on keyboards and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on electric bass and bass vocals.

The legal name of the organization is the Four Seasons Partnership, formed by Gaudio and Valli after a failed audition in 1960. While singers, producers, and musicians have come and gone, Gaudio and Valli remain the group's constant (with each owning fifty percent of the act and its assets, including virtually all of its recording catalog). Gaudio no longer plays live, leaving Valli the only member of the group from its inception who is touring as of 2015.

The 4 Seasons (group members 1960–1966) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and joined the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. They are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time, having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide.

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Album Review
Gold Vault of Hits was first released on the Philips label in 1965, with its follow-up 2nd Vault of Hits arriving the next year, in 1966.

Frankie Valli’s shimmering and utterly distinct falsetto soared above the 4 Seasons’ harmonies and rock-and-roll rhythms to create a vibrant and radio-friendly sound. Built on a foundation of doo-wop and traditional pop vocals honed on the mean streets of New Jersey, the 4 Seasons’ catalog contains some of the most enduring songs of all time.  You’ll find a great many of them on both of these wall-to-wall hits compilations.  Gold Vault overlooks the group’s earliest successes, most of which were saved for 2nd Vault compilation: “Sherry” (No. 1, 1962), “Walk Like a Man” (No. 1, 1963), “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (No. 1, 1962), “Candy Girl” (No. 3, 1963), “Marlena” (No. 36, 1963), and so on.  

The 4 Seasons' Gold Vault of Hits collection covered the first two years of their stay at Philips Records, a period nearly as successful as the previous two years spent at Vee Jay Records and covered by that label's 1963 Golden Hits LP. Instead, Gold Vault concentrates on more recent hits: “Dawn (Go Away)” (No. 3, 1964), “Ronnie” (No. 6, 1964), “Rag Doll” (No. 1, 1964), “Save It For Me” (No. 10, 1964), “Big Man in Town” (No. 20, 1964), “Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)” (No. 12, 1964), “Let’s Hang On” (No. 3, 1964).



The group’s track record is even more impressive considering the fact that the British Invasion was in full swing as producers/songwriters Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe created their string of pop masterpieces for The Seasons.  Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell were also major parts of the Seasons’ songwriting family.
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The reason for posting this album on the last day of 2015, is because the album is exactly 50 years old and its release should therefore be celebrated. The 4 Seasons (with Frankie Valli at the helm) have produced some wonderful music for more than half a century and it is only fitting that this blog acknowledges their contribution to the Performing Arts. I came across this album only recently at a local estate sale and was overwhelmed by the collection of records that was held within. Although the collection was not really from my era (mostly 50's and 60's) I did find some gems such as this one, and I will be posting the remainder in the new year. I've ripped the album (which is in pristine condition) to MP3 (320kps) and included full album artwork. As an added bonus, I've included two other major hits by The 4 Seasons (which were not released on the Phillips label), but I'm sure you will know them - "Sherry and "Big Boy's Don't Cry".

Happy New Year everyone!
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Tracklisting
01 - Let's Hang On    
02 - Rag Doll    
03 - Ronnie    
04 - Big Man In Town    
05 - Silence Is Golden    
06 - Bye,Bye Baby (Baby, Goodbye)    
07 - Dawn (Go Away)    
08 - Save It For Me    
09 - Girl Come Running    
10 - Betrayed    
11 - Toy Soldier    
12 - Cry Myself To Sleep
13 - (Bonus) Sherry
14 - (Bonus) Big Girls Don't Cry
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Band members
Frankie Valli (Lead Vocals)
Tommy DeVito (Guitar, Vocals)
Bob Gaudio (Guitar, Keyboards,Vocals)
Nick Massi (Bass, Vocals)
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The 4 Seasons Link (94Mb)
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(Australian 1967 - Present)
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When John Farnham visited his old Master's Apprentices mate 'Glenn Wheatley' in Las Vegas in Late 1980, while LRB was touring, he was decided  that this was the direction he had been seeking. The two old friends talked and John told Glenn he would like him to take over his management. Nothing was decided there, but when Glenn arrived back in Australia, he too had been thinking about the singer. They met again and Glenn told John 'I'd love to manage you, but it's up to you.' He was aware of John's loyalty and he thought John would stay with Danny Finley. 'It was a hard thing for him to tell Danny, "I'm going to try Wheatley". It was a gutsy move. But he came back and said to me, "I want to do it, I want to get contemporary again".

Glenn Wheatley recalls: Before  the  'Uncovered'  album,  the problem was just to keep John earning. 'He wasn't making much then and while we were getting material material together for the album, he was still doing all these silly little jobs and I remember booking him into some place at Surfers - "no probs, we'll supply the house band  - great little band, here are two airfares plus the fee". In fact, it was the absolute pits. It would be the worst show we could have possibly done. The sound was awful and the light man hopeless. I was trying to coordinate the lighting guy and the sound man and John was trying to conduct the orchestra.



The house was less than half full - he had to stop the band and count them in again, they were all over the place - one was playing "Sadie" and   another   was   playing "Raindrops". When he came off, I just looked at him and said, "John, I promise I'll never let you do that again. There has to be a better way". We got the tuxedo and threw it the rubbish bin in the kitchen with all the food slops and said, "That's it. We don't care how tough it gets from here on in, you can't do that again. It's criminal - you can't get up there and do that to yourself. We'll just have to tighten the belt and get stuck into the album".'



A Royal Command performance, televised before the nation in 1980, helped stop the rot. After singing 'Help' even the hard-nosed critics were sitting up and saying what many had forgotten, "This boy can sing". Quality, thought Glenn, was the way to go -quality through putting a proper band behind John. Glenn wanted to break the showbiz image that hung like an albatross round his singer's neck. The Farnham band was formed, but the first couple of outings were


'terrible', recalls Glenn. John still had a gaping credibility problem and many people in the audiences would not take the change of pace and style seriously. But the right key was being played by the third outing and John and the band started to break through; to this day holding the record at Melbourne's Billboard nightclub.'We had them standing in the aisles. He was getting more confident, too. The album went gold and he was on his way back.' [extract from Whispering Jack - The John Farnham Story, by Clark Forbes, Hutchinson Aust, 1989, p104-107]
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This post is a rare soundboard recording (MP3/320kps) taken from one of the many gigs that the John Farnham Band played at the Billboard Nightclub, in Melbourne. Although I frequented this nightclub back in the early 80's I was not lucky enough to be in the audience for any Farnham shows, probably because he still had the stigma attached of being a Cabaret Singer rather than a rock performer - and on reflection, how wrong was I. Recorded at the time when he was working on his 'Uncovered Album', this performance is testament to his ability to re-invent himself and eventually become the performer we all came to love and know as Whispering Jack.  Thanks to the original uploader, Micko (at Midoztouch) for the rip and Artwork.
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Track Listing
01 - Band Intro / Instrumental
02 - Hold The Line
03 - Matilda
04 - She's Everywhere
05 - Infatuation
06 - Ride LIke The Wind
07 - Perfect Imperfection
08 - Cold Wind
09 - Dressed To Kill
10 - Never Did Get Through
11 - Blame It On The Weather
12 - Too Much Too Soon
13 - Help!
14 - Sweet Love
15 - Hollywood Nights
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The John Farnham Band:
John Farnham (Vocals)
Tommy Emmanuel (Guitar)
Sam McNally (Keyboards)
Barry Sullivan (Bass)
David Jones (Drums)
Nikki Nicholls, Mary Bradfield (Backing Vocals)
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John Farnham Band Link (140Mb)
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(Australian 1969 - 1973)
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The Indelible Murtceps
The Indelible Murtceps was the alter-ego of 1970s Australian progressive rock band Spectrum. The name 'murtceps' is 'spectrum' spelled backwards. The Melbourne-based group developed an extensive repertoire of original experimental progressive rock music, intended for performance in a serious concert setting, using a large PA system and light show, as well as on occasion being augmented by Melbourne performance troupe 'The Tribe'. They commonly performed at larger concert halls, so-called 'head' venues like the T.F. Much Ballroom and at rock festivals.

During the early 1970s the Australian rock scene began to change, and the circuit of festivals, large concert and 'head' venues began to dwindle as the scene shifted towards a simpler, heavier and more accessible style, which has become known as "pub rock". Realising that their lengthy and complex material was precluding them from getting bookings on the lucrative local dance and pub circuit, Spectrum created a set of simpler, dancier music, using a reduced stage setup. They re-christened the band as "The Indelible Murtceps" for the purpose, allowing Spectrum to continue on its progressive course while enabling them to supplement their income with the Murtceps gigs.

In late 1972 they recorded the album Warts Up Your Nose, produced by Peter Dawkins. It featured a selection of the songs they performed as Murtceps, most of which featured satirical, scatological and sexual themes; the centrepiece was Mike Rudd's epic 13-minute ode to marijuana, "Some Good Advice". The album was packaged in a brown cardboard cover, intended to evoke the "plain brown wrapper" traditionally associated with pornographic publications. They released one single, "Esmeralda" which (like the song "Rene" by The Small Faces) was a lighthearted ode to a prostitute. They released two singles as Murtceps -- "Esmeralda" / "We Are Indelible" and "Indelible Shuffle" / "Ray's Boogie".  Warts has been recently released on CD by Aztec Records, and can be purchased from their website.

The Warts album was the last to feature original keyboard player Lee Neale. He suffered a nervous breakdown shortly after the album was completed and he left the band in September 1972, to be replaced by Canberra-born John Mills. Neale abandoned the music scene for good and dropped completely out of sight; to this day his former bandmates do not know of his whereabouts or what became of him after leaving Spectrum [extract from wikipedia]
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Spectrum
Line-up: MIKE RUDD  (lead vocals, guitar); MARK KENNEDY (drums); BILL PUTT (bass guitar); LEE NEALE (organ).
Mike (ex-Sons Of A Vegetal Mother) and Bill (ex-Lost Souls) founded Spectrum in April, 1969. They stuck mainly to the Melbourne disco circuit and their early style was very much akin to English band Traffic.
Although they gained almost immediate respect from the pop fraternity, by early 1970 promoters were reluctant to hire them because of their image and original (perhaps a little uncommercial) material. By mid 1970 they were virtually broke and to top it off Mark left the band in August. He was replaced by RAY ARNOTT (ex-Genesis).
The single was followed by their debut album entitled Spectrum Part One. It was lavished with praise by the critics and managed a quick ascension into the LP charts in April '71. Their second single, 'Trust Me'/'Going Home' failed to sell well, although the band was always regarded more as an album band and it was in this area that they gained most of their success.
Despite their popularity their complex music made it difficult to please dance-type audiences and once again it was affecting them financially. So in October '71 they decided to develop the group as two separate entities. The result of this split personality concept was the creation of a new band they called Indelible Murtceps. This gave them the opportunity to continue their progressive style through Spectrum, yet promote a dance-sound through Murtceps.
Late in 1971 they released their second album, Milesago, which made the charts in January, 1972 and was even more successful than Spectrum Part One.

Mike Rudd & Bill Putt

Then in September '72 Lee left the band and his replacement caused a major problem. The situation compounded in March '73 when Ray announced that he was leaving to join Ross Wilson's new group. Bill and Mike decided that the task of re-constructing the unique Murtceps—Spectrum format would be impossible, so they dissolved the band.
Fortunately they had a collection of good tracks in the pipeline, which were released posthumously. They included a single 'Indelible Shuffle' (June '73), an album entitled Testimonial (July '73) and a double LP called Terminal Buzz (December '73) — featuring a live performance recorded at the Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne on April 15, 1973.
Of course Mike and Bill went on to form the legendary Ariel in May, 1973. [extract from Noel McGrath's 'Australian Encyclopaedia Of Rock', Outback Press, 1978. p299-300]

Go Set Mag - Spectrum's Last Concert

Album Review
Although there was an attempt to keep the Spectrum and Indelible Murtceps personae separate, there was inevitably some confusion between the two bands, and so the next album was jointly credited to both entities. There was an attempt to keep a demarcation between the two though, each track being assigned to one name or the other, with clear instrumentation and genre differences. Instead of this diversity being a strength, as it was on Milesago, it becomes jarring. The Murtceps numbers are generally straight-forward boogie numbers (with apparently an ear to the success of Daddy Cool - the guitar riff in "Indelible Shuffle" is very reminiscent of their "Hi Honey Ho"), with keyboards restricted to piano. The Spectrum numbers are ponderous mid-tempo numbers with a fuller range of keyboard sounds (courtesy new member John Mills), including the first use of synthesizers, but little of the fire we used to get from Lee Neale - or from anyone else in the band. The best number on the album is the one Murtceps number to break the genre straightjacket imposed on each identity, "Real Meanie". The best of the Spectrum numbers are "I Think I Even Missed The Station" and Ray Arnott's grooving "It Would Be Nice". "Essay In Paranoia", apparently a stage favourite at the time, is the most overtly proggy in it's multiple sections and use of synthesizer.  [Simon From Progarchives.com]
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This post consists of FLACs and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my prized Vinyl copy, which I have had for ever. My only regret is that I never purchased the Warts Up Your Nose album, but was consoled recently when I was able to purchase the CD release. 
Of course, full album artwork is included plus select photos of the band and label scans.  Although I never had the opportunity to see Spectrum_Indelible Murtceps play live, I did see Ariel many, many times while they gigged on the University circuit and have always thought they were an awesome band.  This album is a classic, and I only hope that Aztec can obtain the rights to release it on CD at some stage.
Thanks to Woodynet at Midoztouch for the Go Set Article featured above.
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Track Listing
A1. Indelible Shuffle (Rudd) (3:44)
A2. It Would be Nice (Arnott) (3:08)
A3. Ray's Boogie (Arnott) (2:19)
A4. Singing the Blues (Rudd) (0:44)
A5. I Think I Missed the Station (Rudd) (6:28)
A6. Hot Rocket (Arnott/Rudd) (3:33)
B1. Real Meanie (Rudd) (4:25)
B2. Who is Bugging You? (Rudd) (4:34)
B3. Essay In Paranoia (Arnott/Rudd) (9:36)
B4. Homesick Valium Blues (Rudd) (4:21)

Line-up:
- Mike Rudd / acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- Bill Putt / bass guitar
- Ray Arnott / drums, percussion, vocals
- John Mills / piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, Optronics 1000 Series synthesizer
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Spectrum_Murtceps FLAC Link (258Mb)
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Spectrum_Murtceps MP3 Link (99Mb)
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(U.K 1964–1982, 1989, 1996 – present)
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During the summer of 1970, Bill Graham presented an extraordinary series of concerts at Tanglewood, the renowned classical music venue located in the scenic Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. In a year plentiful in memorable concerts, these Tanglewood performances truly stand out. Artists like The Who, Miles Davis, Santana, and Chicago all delivered inspired performances, several of which remain career-defining moments to this very day.

The Who's July 7th performance at Tanglewood was certainly one of the most highly anticipated of the three concerts that Graham presented during the 1970 series. Along with the Jefferson Airplane, the Who headlined Graham's one-off 1969 experiment at Tanglewood and the success of  that gig was indeed the inspiration for the 1970 series of concerts. By 1970, The Who were experiencing monumental success, having taken the musical world by storm with Peter Townshend's rock opera, Tommy, the previous year. Not since the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper had a rock album been so perceived as a "work of art," and the momentum of Tommy sustained the group throughout 1969 and 1970. The public and critical reaction to Townshend's rock opera had a profound effect on the group and Townshend in particular, raising the Who's profile to stratospheric proportions.

The group even booked several of their performances of Tommy into the most prestigious classical music venues in Europe and launched their 1970 American tour with two presentations at New York City's renowned Metropolitan Opera House. Although the group's 1970 performances were universally well received, the massive popularity and critical analysis of Tommy inevitably became a double-edged sword. The band was being embraced and criticized by the highbrow classical community as well as rock fans and critics. The new trappings of fame and the relentless media bombardment that now followed the group began to take its toll on Townshend. Partially motivated by anxiety at being perceived on a strictly artistic level, the band issued Live at Leeds, one of the rawest, loudest, most visceral live recordings ever (released seven weeks prior to this show). It was in this mode, balancing between the artistic aspirations of Tommy and the blistering hard rock of their other live repertoire, that the Who embarked on their 1970 American tour. The final night of this tour culminated in this now legendary concert at Tanglewood, where the Who headlined a bill that also included San Francisco's It's A Beautiful Day and Jethro Tull.

In Townshend's own words, the band would have "another bash at it," in terms of Tommy, in addition to introducing some intriguing new material. Unreleased at the time, three of the first five songs of this set ("Heaven And Hell,""Water," and "I Don't Even Know Myself") would appear as non-album b-sides, making their inclusion of particular interest here. The entire performance is quite remarkable and these new multi-track transfers reveal the Tanglewood gig to be a far better performance than any previous bootleg recordings revealed. Often as powerful as the legendary "Live at Leeds" material and generally superior to their Isle Of Wight performance days later, these new recordings will come as a revelation to hardcore fans, providing one of the finest examples of Keith Moon and John Entwistle's live prowess circa 1970 ever recorded.

Following Bill Graham's opening announcements and introductions of the individual band members, the Who launch into one of John Entwistle's most powerful songs, "Heaven And Hell," their standard opener during this era. Released as the b-side of "Summertime Blues" three days after this performance, "Heaven And Hell" is distinctly different from Townshend's writing. Entwistle's atheistic and at times acidic social commentaries, of which this song is a prime example, often relegated his songs to b-sides and non-album tracks. Nonetheless, it's a propulsive opener that provides an interesting contrast to Townshend's more spiritually-oriented writing of this era, while emphasizing the group's strength on stage. It is a clear signpost to where Entwistle would head on his first solo album, 'Smash Your Head Against The Wall', the following year. The oldest original number of the set, the Kinks-like "I Can't Explain," follows in fine form. Unlike his musical peers in the 1964/1965 era, most of whom were still writing love songs (including Lennon and McCartney), this first single by the Who focused on the frustration of being unable to articulate one's feelings and is an excellent example of what made Townshend's writing stand out from the very beginning.


The Who next treat the audience to two new songs back to back—material intended for their next studio EP, a project that was ultimately abandoned. These early live performances of "Water" and "I Don't Even Know Myself" show the band's mastery of dynamic control and reveal new diversity to Townshend's writing. "Water," a bluesy rocker about emptiness on every level, includes remarkable spontaneous jamming for so early in the set and is a perfect vehicle for Daltrey's belligerent vocals. This song wouldn't see the light of day until three years later, when it was issued as the b-side to the Quadrophenia single "5:15." This early live reading is delivered with power and punch and allows the band to stretch out a bit. "I Don't Even Know Myself," humorously introduced by Keith Moon, clearly expresses Townshend's growing frustration and confusion at this point in time. This new song provides another glimpse into his next opus, the ill-fated Lifehouse, which would be abandoned over the course of the following year, providing the songs for Who's Next in the process.

Eventually issued as the b-side of the "Won't Get Fooled Again" single, "I Don't Even Know Myself" is another electrifying performance that also features Daltrey blowing mouth harp early on. The structure of the song features starts-and-stops that truly showcase Keith Moon's ability to be in perpetual motion, yet capable of stopping on a dime. Throughout this set, Keith Moon's double bass drumming is astoundingly complicated, and he plays with a furious intensity that threatens to spin out of control, yet never does. The band's mastery of tension and release is impressive here but even better represented on the next tune, a searing version of Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues." Much like the furious performance on Live At Leeds, this is another vehicle for the group to expel more raw energy before tackling the long haul of Tommy.

At this point, Townshend addresses the Tanglewood audience, explaining that this will be the last gig in America for 1970; the final gig of this tour and the performances of Tommy will soon be retired. Townshend sounds genuinely happy and appreciative, no doubt in part due to the technical excellence of the show itself (i.e., great stage monitor mixes that allow these musicians to clearly hear each other and perform as one). Reflective of the ideas that would soon propel his Lifehouse project, which, at its core, addressed the symbiotic relationship between the group and its audience, Townshend makes a point to include the audience when stating that it's time to "have you and us have another bash at it" in terms of Tommy, which is greeted with exuberant applause. He then introduces Keith Moon as "the conductor of our particular orchestra" who, with the clicks of his drumstick baton, begins humorously assembling the musicians.

The Who On Stage at Tanglewood

The Who's distinctive first note of the "Overture" is a spine-tingling moment, and as the group introduces each of the interlocking Tommy themes in succession, the energy level gets increasingly exhilarating. Despite being the final night of the tour, the group shows little sign of fatigue, and they play as if reborn for this occasion. Toward the end of the "Overture," when Townshend is riffing alone, the recording is so clear one can actually hear the snare on Moon's drum kit vibrating. The excitement level of the audience and concentration level of the musicians is tangible, thanks to a recording that is crisp and well-balanced, revealing the nuances of Townshend's guitar tone and Entwistle's massive bass harmonics, which were rarely captured well during this era.

As the "Overture" gives way to the storyline, both "It's A Boy" and "1921" are well played and harmoniously sung, leading into the first true highlight of theTommy performance—"Amazing Journey" into "Sparks." Here, Entwistle and Moon are equally incredible, both playing with a burning intensity that never falters. "Sparks," a song with a self-explanatory title if there ever was one, is truly volcanic, with Moon playing at a superhuman level, Entwistle utilizing nearly every fret on his bass, and Townshend's wind-milling power chords and abrasive string scraping downright frightening. The ferocity of this performance is astounding, before Townshend eventually softens things down, leading the group to a gentle conclusion. This gives way to the only cover song in the Tommy opus, an urgent reading of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight To The Blind," followed by a hyper kinetic take on "Christmas" that sonically recreates the anxious excitement of a child on Christmas morning, despite its deceptively dark lyrical content.

These songs precede what is quite possibly the greatest live performance of "The Acid Queen" ever. Superior to both the Leeds and Isle of Wight performances, this not only features commanding vocals and spectacular drumming, but also serves as a prime example of Entwistle being the most original musician to ever pick up a bass guitar. The hook-laden "Pinball Wizard" that follows is nearly perfect, and unlike later renditions, still has a vitality that was rarely matched again. In contrast to just a year prior, when Tommy was first unveiled, Roger Daltrey displays remarkable growth as a singer, having become one of the most compelling vocalists in all of rock music.

Differing from the original album sequence, the segue way pieces, "Do You Think It's Alright,""Fiddle About" (in which Entwistle gets his second lead vocal as the wicked Uncle Ernie), "Tommy Can You Hear Me," and "There's A Doctor" are all played in rapid succession. These songs are less consequential, but they delightfully showcase the group's vocal abilities, which are often remarkably harmonious. This sequencing allows the band to perform "Go To The Mirror" and "Smash The Mirror" back to back, which is a great move as it provides the next outstanding sequence in this Tommy performance. "Go To The Mirror," which first introduces the "See Me Feel Me" and "Listening To You" vocal phrases, is met with enthusiastic applause. The entire band is fully engaged again here with Entwistle clearly serving as the propulsion. Without missing a beat, Moon delivers a flourish through his drum kit that next propels the group into "Smash The Mirror," an exercise in ratcheting up the tension level. The brief a cappella "Miracle Cure" is next and in the split second pause following it, one can hear Moon let out a joyous yelp. Townshend immediately slashes into the bone-crunching power chords that kick off "I'm Free," another outstanding performance that gradually releases all the tension built up in "Smash The Mirror."

Before heading into the home stretch, Townshend and Moon share the vocal spotlight on the humorously inviting "Tommy's Holiday Camp" which precedes the group's launch into "We're Not Gonna Take It." Although Daltrey's voice is beginning to show signs of strain here, it's another fine performance filled with rebellious spirit. One can clearly sense that the Who are enjoying this last American performance of Tommy, which finally culminates in an impassioned grand finale of "See Me Feel Me," which, by its end, has the band approaching the musical equivalent of nirvana. Now that it can finally be heard clearly and uninterrupted, this proves to be one of the tightest, more genuinely inspired live performances of Tommy ever committed to tape.

Needless to say, the Tanglewood audience isn't prepared to let this momentous evening end, and the band is still prepared to deliver one last blowout to cap off their final gig in America. Townshend again addresses the audience, ruminating on the tour, stating, "It has been the most enjoyable tour we've ever done in this country." To precede the encore Townshend's final words of the evening include "We'd like to thank you by playing you this song... a song that is very, very right for this particular moment... dedicated directly to you—'My Generation'."
And with those words, the group again explodes into their anthem with energetic exhilaration. Although the song proper is relatively short, it is crackling with raw energy, and the improvisational jam that follows is most impressive. It begins with Townshend and Daltrey reprising several themes from Tommy, which then segues into a truly jaw-dropping barrage of sounds. At times this equals the ferocity of "Sparks" earlier in the show, but it also serves as an exploration of riffs and themes that would be further developed into songs over the course of the following year, most notably "Naked Eye." At one point, Townshend begins playing chord washes with a lovely introspective feel and Entwistle and Moon immediately drop way down, intentionally emphasizing the beauty of Townshend's deeply resonating chords. Just when one may expect them to bring things to a delicate close, Townshend, Entwistle, and Moon launch into yet another pummeling jam that lays waste to all that preceded it.


This extended version of "My Generation" perfectly encapsulates what made Townshend such a unique and brilliant guitar player on stage. There is nothing superfluous in his improvising and the sheer aural power of his wind-milling riffs and power chords fill the empty spaces in a way that resonates deeply. Whether he is playing delicate and ethereal or blazing with heat and raw power (and he is quite capable of peeling off leads of searing intensity), his strength is in the way he enhances the thundering rhythm section of Entwistle and Moon, who consistently fuel his most compelling playing here. Townshend's ability at spontaneously creating distinctive chord riffs and then slamming them home has been copied by many, but rarely ever been equaled. The final minutes of this improvisation includes a surprising turn, as shortly after the seven-minute mark, Townshend spontaneously begins playing the distinctive opening riff to "Cinnamon Girl," Neil Young's new signature rocker with Crazy Horse, which had been released earlier that year. Entwistle and Moon pick up on it, fueling one final blast of fire to this blistering jam, culminating in a barrage of feedback and the final howling notes of the American tour.

Tanglewood Today - Outdoor Music Festival

The fire and passion of the Who in 1970 and the symbiosis that these four musicians achieve here is nothing short of astounding. The Leeds and Isle of Wight recordings will always remain as two of the Who's landmark 1970 recordings, and deservedly so, but thanks to this spectacular new transfer of Bill Graham's recordings, Tanglewood is now equally worthy of attention.  Written by Alan Bershaw [extract from concertvault.com]

Concert Review
I was looking for information on It’s A Beautiful Day when I can across your post.
July 7th, 1970. I was under the shed at Tanglewood – center 3rd section 80 something rows back.
I was 17. And I fell in love with Patty Santos from It’s A Beautiful Day that day. From what I could see through the haze, she had on a velvet purple dress that was so short that all I remember seeing were her legs. That, her long hair, and a neck band. Fantastic set.
Then Jethro Tull came out and brought the house down. They rocked the shed start to finish. They were freakin’ incredible. And they drained all the emotion out of the audience.
So much so that when the Who finally came on and played their first few numbers, the crowd was listless. Townshend was so pissed (I‘m guessing) that the warm up band received greater audience “love”, that he announced something to the effect that “We were never going to play Tommy again, but we are going to do it one last time for you. And then they did the rock opera, and killed the crowd.
What a night. Best concert I ever saw – and I saw a lot of them. [Review by Alex Phakos]
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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from a Japanese Bootleg CD set that I picked up at the local flea market in amongst some other bootleg titles. What a find and at $2 each, I certainly got Tangled Up In Who. The quality of the recording is pretty good (I'll give it an 8/10) and the glossy digipak packaging was an added bonus.  Full album artwork is included as usual.
Note: that tracks 3-10 on CD2 are from other Who concerts, predominantly from Fillmore West, San Francisco in 1969.  Cover incorrectly lists 20 tracks when if fact there are only 18, as shown below. 
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Track Listing
1-1    Intro > Heaven And Hell   
1-2    I Can't Explain   
1-3    Water   
1-4    I Don't Even Know Myself   
1-5    Young Man Blues   
1-6    Overture/It's A Boy   
1-7    1921   
1-8    Amazing Journey   
1-9    Sparks   
1-10    Eyesight To The Blind   
1-11    Acid Queen   
1-12    Pinball Wizard   
1-13    Do You Think It's Alright?   
1-14    Tommy Can You Hear Me?   
1-15    There's A Doctor/Go To The Mirror   
1-16    Smash The Mirror   
1-17    Miracle Cure/I'm Free   
1-18    Tommy's Holiday Camp   
2-1    We're Not Gonna Take It/See Me, Feel Me   
2-2    My Generation   
2-3    Boris The Spider   
2-4    Summertime Blues   
2-5    Shakin' All Over   
2-6    Magic Bus   
2-7    Young Man Blues   
2-8    My Generation   
2-9    Naked Eye   
2-10  Too Much Of Anything
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The Band:
Roger Daltrey - vocals, harmonica, tambourine;
Pete Townshend - guitar, vocals;
John Entwistle - bass, vocals;
Keith Moon - drums, percussion, vocals
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The Who CD1  (162Mb)
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The Who CD2 (165Mb)
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(Australian 1966 - Current)
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Mike McClellan: Strong Roots, new reflection  (Rolling Stone Magazine Feature Article)
A year ago I reviewed Graham Lowndes' excellent album 'Survival's A Song' and in the course of the review I attributed the song "Suzi Get Off This Train" to Graham. I was most embarrassed a couple of days later to hear that Suzi was written, not by Graham but by his friend Mike McClellan. What's more, I was informed, Mike was furious and intended to write and tell me of my error in no uncertain terms. I waited in trepidation.
Many months later much of the force of Mike's anger had dissipated - so much so that he laughed at the mention of the incident, though I did take the chance to apologise and offer a brief defense: how was I to have known that Australia had two brilliant songwriters secreted away in its coffee lounges, struggling to earn $15 a gig?

Well, at last it looks like things are changing for Mike. His current album 'Ask Any Dancer' has been released in the UK, its release looks imminent in the United States and towards the end of June this year he plans to go to England where he will record his next album "Until The Song Is Done". But he is taking it all in his stride: "The reaction from England and America has been very pleasing but I'm trying not to get to optimistic. If it happens,it's great, if it doesn't, I'll just keep going and continue to work at it."

My first encounter with Mike was at a crowded jostling EMI reception where conversation was limited to my shouted apology and Mike's rejoining laughter so it was with some relief that we met a day later in the quiet of the afternoon. Mike, a resident of Sydney, was in the midst of 'doing' Melbourne, from radio station to radio station, but he still acted like a man with time to spare and sat back, relaxed and easy, as our kitten played on his knee and he talked about his past and present, his influences and his future.
"My favourite single of all time came out in the early 60's: "You Can Have Her, I Don't Want Her' by George Hamilton. It was a magnificent single. It flattened me when I first heard it and I flogged it and flogged it"

On balance, however, rock music was a minor influence on the young McClellan. Coming from what he describes as a "very conventional family background" his love of music during his high school years was channeled away from rock and roll into the church choir, school concert productions and musical comedy. If fact during these years he turned his attention to straight drama, winning a scholarship to NIDA in '62. His family however, prevailed on him to postpone his acting career in favour of the relative security of a teachers' training course and in 1963 he wound up at Armidale Teacher's College for what he feels were the two most important years of his life.

"It was my first opportunity to get involved with music away from my home environment. I started playing guitar when I was even playing drums in the college band. I was a shithouse drummer - I had a good sense of rhythm but no technique at all. About that time Peter, Paul and Mary were making an impact and I was really keen on their guitar arrangements. I was also listening avidly to Doc Watson and an incredible 12 string acoustic guitarist and banjo player who was backing the Chad Mitchell Trio then, who turned out to be Jim (roger) McGuinn of the Byrds."

On vacations to Melbourne and Sydney, Mike extended his interest from folk and rock to blues. Those were the days of Trevor Lucas, Martin Wyndam-Reid, Brian Mooney, and most importantly for Mike, Paul Marks. "Paul was a fine guitarist", he says, "the best of his kind in Australia then and he was singing and playing the blues - he was using jazz arrangements and doing his own material as well as songs by Broonzey and others. It was Paul who was responsible for getting me into the blues."

By 1966 after a year's teaching in the country Mike was back in Sydney doing some fancy blues and country picking around the folk clubs. It was about this time that he came together with Graham Lowndes and with a third member, Derek Robinson, they formed the Currency Blues Co, a band they still remember with affection.
"Graham introduced himself one night in Sydney and asked if he could sing with me, he said he sang a bit of blues. Thin little weedy Graham. So I thought of yeah, and said alright, come and have a sing. I started to play and out comes this magnificent voice - I nearly fell off the floor, it was incredible."
Mike continued playing around the clubs and teaching until the end of '69 when he joined the chorus of Barry Crocker's TV Show, Sound Of Music. This rather amazing turn of fortune came about through New Faces.  My wife used to say go New Faces, you can do better than those mugs and I'd say oh no, so she sent my application form and I wound up winning about 1800 bucks which I didn't complain about. The show was a load of rubbish though and I go on to the Sound Of Music because they had to make it
look as if New Faces lead somewhere. When the show folded I went back to teaching."

Since then Mike has been singing and playing solo and he has finally given up teaching, this time for good. In the past few years his songwriting has gone from strength to strength. "My early songs were desperately self-conscious and terrible naive. In the 60's I depended mainly on other material."
He enjoys playing solo, primarily because his first love is the acoustic guitar which would tend to get lost in most electric bands. At present on stage Mike alternates between his sixteen year old Gibson Hummingbird and his two Martins, a D35 and a 1938 017. "I also rather like to be totally in control of a performance. I'm not a very strong singer and my songs work best in live performance with a limited accompaniment."  On record however these difficulties are easily overcome and both Mike's albums make use of accompaniment and orchestrations to further develop his songs.

His first album 'Mike McClellan'  was released in June 1972 and though it received some excellent reviews, nothing much came of it. "The record company ATA did nothing to promote it, although they did manage to get out a poster three months after it had been released but it received no airplay to speak of."  His second album, Ask Any Dancer was released by EMI in September 1974.

Unlike so many musicians, Mike's love of music extends beyond his own work and much of his free timer is spent in listening to and enjoying others, Two Australian musicians who sprang readily to mind as favourites of Mike's were Graham Lowndes: "he's the most electrifying singer I have ever heard" and Jean Lewis: "a fine fine singer". McClellan's name has long been associated in the public's mind with these two musicians as well as others like Margaret Roadknight and Bob Hudson, and I asked him what those musicians had in common.

"Apart from the shows that we have done together, I tend to think of us as survivors of an era that is long past. I think our main bond is that most of us started out in the folk era and through determination and a strong belief in what we are doing, we are still around.  It has been difficult for us all - survival would have been impossible for me if I hadn't had teaching as well as music to support my family. In that way I guess I'm different to the rest: I've got a family, a couple of Kids, a mortgage, I drive a car - I enjoy and in a way - need all the middle class trappings.

The list of overseas favourites could be endless but it includes Dobie Gray, "Drive Away" was the first single I bought in years", David Ackles, Paul and Mentor Williams, Joni Mitchell. Jerry Jeff Walker, Steely Dan (particularly Katy Lied), Randy Newman and most recently Martha Reeves and keyboards player and singer/songwriter Michael O'Martian.

As far as Mike is concerned, things are looking up for the Australian Musician. "No longer do you have to make excuses for Australian records. Our recording facilities are equal to those overseas and so are the cream of our musicians. If we spend the right amount of time and energy we can make a musical product that is as musically polished and valid as anything they can produce in America. I tend to think that the material that we send overseas has got to be not as good but just a little better than the overseas product, since the record company who will make or break it has got to be able to say obviously there is something here and we will spend a lot of money to get an unknown artist off the ground.

To add to his chance of success, Mike signed in February with a new manager Robin Britten, whose management of the Hollies has already proved his value. But if for any reason Mike's assault on the big time fails this time around, after almost 10 years in the business he is not likely to give up now. As he says in "One Man Band " (from his latest album), "...somethin' inside keeps pushin' me on/so I shuffle my blues through a worn out tune/and I carry on".   (Article written by Margaret MacIntryre, Rolling Stone Magazine, May 8, 1975. p43)
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This post consists of FLACS and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my vinyl (ex condition) and includes full album artwork and label scans as per usual. This is a great album and if you liked his first album, then you're gonna love this one. My only criticism  is that the last track "Sail Tonight" wears a little thin after awhile, with the chorus being repeated over and over again for the last 3mins of the song. Although a catchy tune, this repetition spoils what could have been a great single, if he had shortened the chorus by several minutes..

Track Listing:
01 - Carry Me (Until The Song Is Done)             
02 - The Gamble             
03 - Love Survives             
04 - Midnight Flight             
05 - Room Service             
06 - Now The Rodeos Are Gone             
07 - Takin' The Tide             
08 - Lovers Never Wind Up Friends
09 - My Old Guitar And Me             
10 - I Had An Old Dog             
11 - Sail Tonight

The Band:
Bass - Greg Lyons, Tim Partridge, Darcy Wright, Len Barnard
Drums - Doug Gallacher, Russell Dunlop, Len Barnard
Guitar - Mike McClellan, Jim Kelly, Peter Walker
Keyboards - Ian Mason, Judy Bailey
Percussion - John Sangster, Sunil da Silva
Pedal Steel - Ken Kitching
Harmonica - Richard Brooks
Banjo - Paul Trenwith
Mandolin - Graham Lovejoy
Trombone - Ken Herron
Backing Vocals - Brendan Kristen, Julie Amiet, Kristi Lane, Janice Slater, Barry Leef, Pate Aulton & Mike
String & Brass Arrangements - Graham Lyall
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Mike McClellan FLAC Link (290Mb)
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Mike McClellan MP3 Link (119Mb)
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(Australian 1975 - 1984)
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In late 1975, six New Zealand rock musicians wanted to play rock music well, but found that modem music was made up of pomposity and pretentiousness. They decided to break down the artifice by mocking themselves, so they came up with a name they considered low-brow - "Mother Goose" - and took to wearing humiliating costumes. Each member of the band dressed as a distinctive character;


Moving to Australia, the band started playing at Cloudland in Brisbane and at the Playroom on the Gold Coast in Queensland in late 1976. They eventually came to the attention of Mushroom Records who signed them. Their debut album, Stuffed (1977), became Mushroom's fastest selling album, and the first single, Baked Beans was a hit across Australia.


By June 1978, the six original members of Mother Goose and Garry Spry their personal manager had moved to the USA and were living in Hollywood, with their own recording studio and signed to the hugely influential Scotti Brothers Records. After five months of writing and recording demo's they performed a Grand Showcase for the Scotti Brothers to the whole West Coast music industry and blew everyone away. But by staying true to their early Dunedin vision, the band refused to bow to the pressure to conform to the American pop rock culture so they left the Scotti Brothers and moved to New York.

There they signed with entertainment agents "Mecca Artists" and with help of the former The Beatles American manager, Sid Bernstein they quickly became the biggest rock club draw-card in the city, playing residencies at "The Other End", "Trax" and at "The Great Gildersleeves" where members of Kiss and Devo became fans of theirs amongst other well known bands. Contractual battles with the Scotti Brothers, coupled with Mother Goose's refusal to become a Pop rock or Disco Band prevented the band securing a major recording contract on their terms, but they and their audiences had a good time anyway in their six months in New York.

During that time lead guitarist Peter Dickson left the band in February 1979 and returned to Australia and was replaced by New York Guitarist Justin McCarthy who adopted the costume of a toy soldier. McCarthy stayed with the band until they broke up in 1984.
The original Mother Goose line-up reunited for a one-off gig in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 23 March 2007.
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RAM Mag 30th June, 1978

THE YOLKS ON MOTHER GOOSE
(Article By Andrew McMillan, RAM Magazine 30th June, 1978. p32)
A couple of weeks ago. Mother Goose and her manager Gary Spry, boarded a Jumbo and flew north-east for the winter. And as they winged their way across the Pacific bound for America, the Geese knew they had a lot of problems to sort out. The biggest of them was that although they pulled crowds to most of their live shows they couldn't sell records. And the Geese realised it wasn't a problem confined to Australia. If they were to do anything in the States, Mother Goose would have to sell records. But that would be difficult - as their eighteen months in Australia had shown.
Mother Goose arrived in Australia in November 1976 witH $28 in the bank and a primitive P.A system. Their first date was at Brisbane's Cloudland Ballroom, a prestige venue of old, where State receptions for dignitaries like Prince Charles are held in the midst of refined surroundings and tiaras. Mother Goose's first gig was at Cloudland— supporting The Saints.
After six weeks work around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, Mother Goose moved onto Adelaide, then Perth and, when they felt the time was right, they hit Melbourne and scored a recording contract with Mushroom. During their first five months in Australia, the New Zealand band gained fast acceptance because of the live shows which took on the zany effects of the theater, quite divorced from the roots of rock 'n' roll. And people came back for more because - it was - fresh entertainment under the guise of rock 'n' roll? But, as their record sales later showed; few people took the music as any thing, except background wallpaper. And who could blame them? It seemed to take a poor second place to the visual show, ended up as a piece meal collection of styles ranging from hard rock to Glen Miller toons with flashes of disjointed disco in between. Disjointed was the operative word. And basically, the only thing holding it together in any tangible way was the theatrical, visual side of it.

Mother Goose Countdown Promo

So, very soon. Mother Goose became known as a great live band to see, "That's not our fault though," says sailor-capped vocalist Craig Johnston. "We never put more emphasis on our theatrics than our music. But the public do. That's our problem. The result of that problem is that you don't sell as many records as straight bands, so being known as a visual band does cause a lot of problems. It's something we have to live with." And in the next breath, Johnston says. "No matter how many people try to talk us into it, we can't cut out the visuals, because that's what Mother Goose is!"
But the Geese will admit that the visuals make "people very suspicious of the music." Keyboards player Steve Young sums it up like this: "It's like you're selling soap. Because it's very visual, you shouldn't really buy it, it's all a big sham. They think you're tricking them because it's visual."

And that's the problem Mother Goose are up against wherever they go. People like what they see, but often go away thinking it's a cover up for poor music. Which in Mother Goose's case, just ain't true, because as a band they can cut it — or five or ten minutes in every show. The rest of the time? It does seem disjointed mood music for the let's-all-make-idiots-of-ourselves-and-make-the-folks-laugh theatrics.


But even the once entertaining visual side of it gets a bit been-there&een-that after a couple of performances.
Or after just one! As one guest at a press reception held for the band at Chequers in Sydney said, "Well, that was okay. But how many times can a singer jump off-stage and run around the tables like a goon with a rag turtle in his hand?" That was last September, and when I mentioned it to Johnston a couple of days before the band's last performance in Sydney in late May, where he did exactly the same thing, he wasn't impressed. "That's the rationalisation. If we'd just stood there, they probably would've gone away happy. But by the same token, you could say 'well there's only so many times Daryl Brithwaite, can pull his microphone stand out and have it - like that. Or only so many times Status Quo can get down and go. . .' but that's quite acceptable. Why? Why is that more acceptable? You can also say there's only so many times Gene Simmons can poke out his tongue and bite blood capsules, but he does it all the time."
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But somehow, people seem to find those stage mannerisms to be a little less blatant than some dude charging up and down the aisle beating people with a rag turtle three or four times every night.
But, for both Kiss and Mother Goose, the punters come back for more the next time the band hits town. And they rolled up to the Regent Theatre in Sydney to see Mother Goose's farewell performance in late May. But, as noted in last week's Gigging column, the enthusiasm for the show seemed to plummet after the first twenty minutes, because people realised that although the repertoire had changed - and numbers like In The Mood had been dropped, they'd seen the whole damn thing before — last time the Geese hit town.
Earlier this year, the Geese's manager Gary Spry spent some time O/S and negotiated a recording contract with a new company called Atlantic Scotti. When they sign the contract. Mother Goose will become the first band on the label, a side-runner to the Warner Kerb label that sports Debbie Boone and Shaun Cassidy and was set up by Tony Scotti's brother.


One of the first things on Mother Goose's American itinerary is a long discussion with the Atlantic Scotti execs about the problem of not-being-able-to-sell-records-because-people-are-suspicious-of-the-music-because-of-the-visuals-bla-bla. Then, Mother Goose will do some recording and release a single. After that, it's back to the studio to record an album with an American producer interspersed with a few promotional nights in Los Angeles. No doubt we'll be hearing all about that in the future.
But right now, Steve Young is looking for a slogan to sell the band. Their live performances have already sold the band in Oz, but Steve wants more than that. He wants a slogan that will capture the band in one sentence. "It's like a new brand of toothpaste," he says. "You can't just put it out and expect it to sell. You've got to sum it up in a slogan and then, when people truly believe it's a different toothpaste, even though it's the same as the others/then they'll buy it."
Obviously the slogan for their first album didn't do the trick. Mother Goose's Album is "Stuffed" So be silly and buy it.     Obviously too many punters took it seriously.
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This post consists of FLACs and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my prized Vinyl copy which I purchased the first day it became available in the shops.  I had seen Mother Goose perform multiple times at La Trobe University in 1977 and immediately feel in love with their stage act and music. Even though the boys played complete fools while on stage, it was obvious from the quality of their music and overall performance that they were all highly accomplished musicians and as such, acquiring their records was a high priority.  So, in a way, I somewhat disagree with Andrew McMillian's conclusion about their poor record sales and their live shows not translating back onto vinyl. For me, hearing studio renditions of their song repertoire was icing on the cake, and would encourage anyone who hasn't heard these guys to give them a listen.
Full album artwork and label scans are included as usual, along with a copy of the RAM article and select band photos.
As a bonus, I have chosen to include a non-album single which they released not long after Stuffed was released. The B-Side "Ol' Blue" was a  regular  included in their stage act and when it finally became available on record, it was a no brainer.
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Track Listing
01 - Moonshine Lady
02 - Somebody Broke My Heart
03 - Last Of The Fools
04 - (One day, you'll be sorry) Ann-Marie
05 - Land-Ho!
06 - See If I Care
07 - Only You
08 - Only A Phonecall Away
09 - Baked Beans
10 - I Think It's You (Bonus Single)
11 - Ol' Blue (Bonus Single)
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The Band:
Steve Young - Keyboards
Craig Johnston - Vocals
Pete Dickson - Guitars And Vocals
Kevin 'Dwarf' Collings - Guitars
Denis Gibbins - Bass
Marcel Rodeka - Drums  
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Mother Goose FLAC Link (310Mb)
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Mother Goose MP3 Link (133Mb)
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(U.K 1965 - 1969, 1977 - 1978)

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Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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The late Peter Sellers was one of Britain’s major screen comedy stars, his most memorable character being the bungling Inspector Clouseau in the ‘Pink Panther’ films. As a young boy, I just loved watching the Pink Panther and seeing Inspector Clouseau bungle his way through all of the Pink Panther Movies.

Sellers, born on 8 September 1925, first rose to fame in Britain as a member of the Goons, who created an anarchic radio series which ran until 1960. The Goons comprised Peter, along with Spike Milligan, Harry Seacombe and Michael Bentine.

John Lennon was twelve years old when he first heard the Goons and listened avidly to their radio shows until he was sixteen. Their influence was evident in his books 'In His Own Write' and 'A Spaniard In The Works' and in 1973 the New York Times commissioned John to write a review of the recently published book ‘The Goon Show Scripts.’The Goons were also the stars of ‘The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film’, directed by Dick Lester, who went on to direct the Beatles movies.

George Martin originally recorded Sellers, producing an album called ‘Songs For Swinging Sellers,’ which proved to be a talking point between George Martin and the Beatles when he first began recording them.

Martin also produced the singles ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ and ‘Bangers And Mash’, duets between Sellers and Sophia Loren, both of which entered the British charts.

It was Peter who presented the Beatles with their Grammy Award at Twickenham Studios on Wednesday 28 April 1965. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences had given the award for ‘A Hard Days’ Night’ as the ‘Best Performance of a Vocal Group’ for the year 1964. When presenting the Grammy, Sellers referred to it as the ‘Grandma Award.’ The presentation was filmed and a clip appeared on the NBC Grammy Awards programme ‘The Best of Record’ on Tuesday 18 May 1965.

Incidentally, the presentation was made on the studio set of ‘Help!’ and, interestingly, Sellers had originally been offered the script of ‘Help!’ (Obviously under a different title) but turned it down.Sellers appeared as a guest of the Beatles on the Granada television special ‘The Music of Lennon & McCartney’ in which he dressed as Richard III and performed a cod Shakespearian rendition of ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’ His single of the number was issued on Parlophone R 5393 and reached No. 14 in the British charts in December 1965.   [extract from triumphpc.com]

And as the Beatles had paid tribute to Sellers’ comedy, he would return the favor, covering three of their most popular songs as only he could. At the top of the post, see Sellers do a spoken word version of “A Hard Day’s Night” as Lawrence Olivier’s Richard III. And above and below, he gives us several renditions of “She Loves You,” in several different accents, “in the voice of Dr. Strangelove, again with cockney and upper-crusty accents, and finally with an Irish twist. The recordings were all released posthumously between 1981 and 1983 on albums no longer in circulation.”

Peter Sellers & Ringo Starr

There are many more Beatles/Sellers connections. Before taping his “Hard Day’s Night” skit for Granada television special “The Music of Lennon & McCartney,” Sellers had presented the band with a Grammy for the song, which won “Best Performance of a Vocal Group” in 1965. “Incidentally,” writes Mersey Beat’s Bill Harry, “the [Grammy] presentation was made on the studio set of ‘Help!’ and, interestingly, Sellers had originally been offered the script of ‘Help!’ (Obviously under a different title) but turned it down.” Sellers and the Goon Show cast had previously worked with Richard Lester, director of the Beatles films and the John Lennon-starring How I Won the War.

Completists out there may have also heard the recorded conversation between Sellers and the Beatles that appears at the end of a bootleg version of the White Album, which circulated for years under the title The Peter Sellers Tape. That the band and the comedian got along so famously is no great surprise, nor that Sellers had so much fun reworking the rather silly, and infectiously catchy, pop songs of the Beatles’ early career, bringing to them his battery of characters and voices. We’ve saved what may be Sellers’ best Beatles cover for last. Below, hear him—in the voice of a lecturing vicar and with a backing choir—deliver “Help!” as a 45 RPM sermon. [by Josh Jones at openculture.com]
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This Month's WOCK On Vinyl is pretty straight forward - Peter Seller's renditions of these Beatles hits are some of the funniest satirical works that I've heard - especially his ''Third Reight'  interpretation of "She Loves You", portrayed as Dr. Strangelove and his Shakespearian rendition of ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’ portrayed as Richard III.  Now the W definitely standards for Weird, as does the C for Crazy; but I really think the O this month should stand for Outstanding, as this satirical material is simply brilliant.
I do hope you enjoy it too.
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Track Listing
01 - A Hard Day's Night
02 - Can't Buy Me Love
03 - Help
04 - She Loves You (Dr. Strangelove - Single Version)
05 - She Loves You (Dr. Strangelove - LP Version)
06 - She Loves You (Cockney)
07 - She Loves You (Irish)
08 - She Loves You (Chinless Wonder Version)
09 - She Loves You (Twits Version)
10 - Yellow Submarine
11 - Yes It Is
12 - Peter Sellers Talks With The Beatles
13 - Spike Milligan - Yellow Submarine 
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Peter Sellers Link (54Mb)
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(Australian 1979 - Present)
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John Swan, more commonly known as Swanee, was born John Archibold Dixon Swan in 1952 in Glasgow, Scotland. He came to Australia with his family in 1961 and is the only one of his siblings to keep his natural fathers surname. He is the older brother of Jimmy Barnes (Cold Chisel) and the uncle of David Campbell.

Swanee started his musical career as a drummer in the band Happiness before moving on to other bands such as Fraternity, Feather and Cold Chisel. He branched out on his own, under the name Swanee, in 1979, releasing the album “Into The Night”. His first commercial hit was in 1981 with his version of “If I Were A Carpenter” off the album “This Time Is Different” which featured two other hits, “Temporary Heartache” and “Lady What’s Your Name”

In 1983 he released a live album, recorded at the Thredbow Ski Resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia and is the feature of this post.

In 1987 he replaced angry Anderson as lead singer in Paul Christie’s “Party Boys” where he had another hit with “He’s Gonna Step on You Again” and then “Hold Your Head Up”. He left the band around 1989 to again pursue a solo career that still persists today.


Since 1990 Swan's recording career has been less than prolific, producing only two singles that year and an album, Heart and Soul in 1997, although he still maintained a constant live presence.

In 2007 Swan released the album Have a Little Faith (Liberation Records). The project was recorded with Nashville's best, and produced by leading expatriate producer /guitarist Mark Moffatt, now resident in Tennessee. Musician credits feature players who have been session men for Garth Brooks, John Fogerty, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton and Shania Twain among others.

In July 2014, Swanee released the album One Day at a Time (MGM Distribution), which is entirely his work in collaboration with Darren Mullan of Adelaide Recording Studio fame, and Tony Minniecon on 'Rescue Me'. Swanee was also named Senior South Australian of the year [extract from australianmusichistory.com]

This post consists of FLACs and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my 'Specially Priced' vinyl which I purchased back in the early 80's. I think the one thing that really caught my attention when I saw this album in the shops for the first time was the inclusion of the Led Zeppelin Medleys - especially featuring Black Dog and Whole Lotta Love. But there are some other great covers on this album, including Stevie Wright's "Evie" which really tears down the house along with Tin Soldier (Small Faces) and Born To Run (Bruce Springsteen)
Full album artwork for CD (thanks to Deutros) and LP are included along with label scans. Thanks to Greg Noakes for the publicity photos of Swanee.
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Track Listing
01 - Talk To Ya Later
 02 - Tin Soldier
03 - Lady What's Your Name
04 - Born To Run
05 - Led Zeppelin Medley 1
       (Rock N Roll, Stairway To Heaven, Whole Lotta Love)
06 - Led Zeppelin Medley 2
     (Black Dog, Rock N Roll)
07 - Mathew
08 - Evie Parts 1,2 and 3
09 - Motor Down
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Swanee were:John Swan (Lead Vocals)
Dennis Wilson (Guitar, Vocals)
Phil Screen (Drums)
Coz Russo (Keyboards)
John Srango (Bass)
Mark Tinson (Guitar, Vocals)
Taya (Backing Vocals & Keyboards)
..
Swanee FLAC Link (288Mb)
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Swanee MP3 Link (116Mb)
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(Australian 1968–1992)
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Peter Allen was born on Feb 10, 1942 in a little town in the hills of N.S.W. He learnt piano from an early age and was playing at the local pub by the time he was ten. Peter left school in his mid-teens and decided to further his career in Sydney. It was there that he met Chris Bell and they joined forces as the Allen Brothers.  After releasing several records and becoming TV regulars, they set out for the Orient where they met Judy Garland. Judy enticed the duo to the US where Peter met her daughter, Liza Minnelli. The couple subsequently became engaged late in 1964. They were married in 1967. However, the relationship became strained as Liza became a star and Peter's career seemed to stagnate.

Finally, in 1970, the couple broke up and so too did the Allen Brothers. From this point, Peter began to nurture his talent for song-writing. He moved to Greenwich Village where he gradually developed a cult for his bizarre stage antics in the small clubs in the area.
As his popularity in cabaret began to increase, Peter directed his songwriting talents to expatriate Australians, Olivia Newton-John and Helen Reddy.

It was for Olivia that he wrote the dual Grammy Award winning song, "I Honestly Love You" in 1974. He returned to Australia in September 1975 as the opening act for Helen's show in Sydney.
Meanwhile, in the US, Peter was beginning to attract bigger audiences and had moved into bigger clubs. In 1976, Dee Anthony (Peter Frampton's manager), took over his affairs and things began to happen. Peter teamed up with composer, Carol Bayer Sager. He also recorded "I Go To Rio".
Although the single eventually topped the Australian charts, it was not until that amazing film clip of the song was shown on the pop show Countdown, that it received any airplay. By the time Peter arrived back in Australia in September 1977, the record had made number one and he was met with a tumultuous reception right throughout his tour.

'Rio' was followed hotly by his best selling album, Taught By Experts, and another single, 'The More I See You'. The next release by Peter was a double live album recorded at clubs in both Los Angeles and New York, entitled 'It Is Time For Peter Allen', which hit the shops in October 1977. [extract from Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia of Rock, Outback Press, 1978. p 12-13]

He was the only Australian to win an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe, and wrote some of our most iconic songs before dying in 1992 at 48-years-of-age. Born in Tenterfield, his song "Tenterfield Saddler" continues to be a classic song that thrust Tenterfield into the limelight after its release. The Tenterfield Saddlery was made famous by Peter Allen's tribute to his past, and grandfather George Woolnough in the 'Tenterfield Saddler'.

However it is much more than just a song. For 50 years (from 1908 - 1960), this quaint blue-granite saddlery on High Street was a key meeting place in town. Saddler George Woolnough plied his trade, listening, undisturbed by the chatter and opinions of those who wandered in. One famous customer was Banjo Patterson.

Since 1860, the building has been used as a bank, private residence, and saddlery. Classified by the National Trust and in original condition - the old ceilings wear 130 years of tobacco stains, wooden floors are patched in places with scraps of leather, and visitors can see the working conditions of 100 years ago first hand.
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More than ninety years after those words about Tenterfield were written, the first man ever to dance with New York's famed Rockettes found himself once again in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This time he was crouched inside a giant champagne glass prop waiting for the orchestra down beat to start his dinner show. The solo performance awaiting him would doubtless be demanding, but the man himself was intrepid, the man was a tank. But it was also true that the 1980s for Peter Allen had started in triumph then ended in calamity, testing him personally to the limit. He had buried in the past few years more friends, colleagues and lovers than he likely had the heart to dwell on. He had also seen his dream of a Peter Allen Broadway musical soar into a fantasy of goodwill and imminent triumph, then splatter into the reality of scornful reviews and a sniping, vengeful press. The worm had turned and now the song and dance man's most valuable resource, his energy, was beginning to ebb. The uninvited visitor illness was quietly creeping up on him.

Tenterfield Saddlery Today

The performer nonetheless had his vast experience and pronounced native cunning to fall back on. Once Peter's show was humming along he would pad it out by talking and telling gags instead of singing. He would tell the audience the same story he had always told them, the story of his childhood, 'Out in the bush, chasing kangaroos, eating koala bears for lunch.' This was Peter Allen's image, his show-business insurance and it made simple commonsense to maintain it. 'Never interfere with the legend, never correct it,' his former mother-in-law Judy Garland had decreed, and the bush bou-levardier was not about to. Not that he expected to be genuinely understood, not in his racket. Truth was far too complex a matter for legend and Peter Allen had too many incongruous and opposing qualities to be understood; it was one of his strengths that this gregarious, guarded, self-contained man had never expected to be understood. So Peter Allen would joke his way around the Broadway flop and tell them about the folksy Australian town he came from, Tenterfield.

The fact that Peter had never actually stayed on in Tenterfield would not be mentioned because it would only confuse the issue. Peter Allen, real name Peter Woolnough, had in fact grown up in Armidale. But Armidale had been almost (but not quite) sophisticated for an Australian country town, and what was the value of that to legend? Best to talk about this little kid dancing in the never-never land of the Tenterfield bush, hoofing and tapping and queening it up while his grandfather made saddles; destiny's tot rejecting the family business because he 'didn't want to work in leather,' as he put it. As for the other town, Armidale, it just wasn't funny, and didn't sound right in a lyric. More to the point, though, Armidale was cursed by memory and blighted by personal ruin. So Peter Alien was the boy from Tenterfield and that was that for the purpose of myth. [extract from Peter Allen The Boy From Oz by Stephen Maclean, Ranmsom House Aust, 1996. p3-4]
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This post consists of FLACs and MP3's (320kps) ripped from my trusty vinyl that has had a spin or two on my turntable - especially after watching the recent T.V mini series 'Not The Boy Next Door' and reading Stephen Maclean's biography 'The Boy From Oz'.  One can't help but be in awe of what Allen achieved as an Australian artist and how talented a musicianand songwriter he was. This album should not be missed and you'll not hear one pop or click in this recording. Full album artwork and label scans are included as usual. Note that this album was originally released in 1972 by Metromedia in Italy & US, catalog number KMD 1056 with a different cover (see right)
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Track Listing
01 - Tenterfield Saddler
02 - More Than I Like You
03 - The Same Way I Came In
04 - Good To See You Up There
05 - I Can Tell A Lie
06 - Just Ask Me I Been There
07 - Cocoon08 - Harbour
09 - Somebody Beautiful Just Undid Me
10 - The Other Side
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Peter Allen FACs Link (212Mb)
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Peter Allen MP3's Link (91Mb)
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(U.S  1964–2013)
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New York born, Lou Reed was leader of that city's seminal Velvet Underground until their disintegration amid apathy end of 1970. The Velvets had never achieved the attention their work warranted, and Reedwas to claim that all the mistakes of his solo career were born out of this frustration, of a lust for some kind of success and for recognition of his former group's importance.
Either way, the Velvets split left Reed drifting in and out of music circles for a year - he worked for a spell with his father's accountancy firm in Freeport, Long Island - before RCA proffered a solo contract at the suggestion of New York writer and producer Richard Robinson. Interested in what was coming out of Britain, and with Reed having every reason to be disenchanted with New York, the pair traveled to London December 1971 to work on Reed's eponymous solo debut using an oddly mixed line-up which included Steve Howe, Rick Wake-man and Clem Cattini.
The result was less than satisfactory, but Reed persisted with British studios and players -though he did axe Robinson virtually at the point his producer was packing for return to London studios. This probably had less to do with Robinson as the fact that David Bowie, nascent androgynous hero of British rock, had shown interest in producing Reed himself; Bowie's work and attitudes owing a large debt to Reed and Velvets.
The result of this coupling was Transformer, which appeared late 1972 and spilled forth a whole closet-full of twilight zone characters on a public whose appetite for this "daring" new turn in rock had been whetted by the likes of Reed disciples Bowie and Roxy Music - It mattered not to them that the figures and scenarios of Reed's former (Velvets) work had been reduced to cartoon proportions, or that Reed was parodying Reed (as he would on each successive album) - this was what his new audience wanted to hear, and it had undeniable commercialism.
It even yielded a smash hit in Walk On The Wild Side, though how the single got played on BBC Radio 1 remains a mystery -presumably nobody there knew what "giving head" meant. Nonetheless, there was Reed in 1973 with the success he craved - a hit album and single in America and' Britain. [extract from The Illustrated New Musical Express Encyclopedia of Rock, by Nick Logan & Bob Woffinden, Salamander Books, 1977. p191-192]
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This post features Lou Reed performing at Ultrasonic Recording Studios in Hempstead, NY on 26th December 1972 with his band - The Tots - recording live for radio. Recorded just a month after the release of Transformer, it is a great show, featuring great stereo quality, with the band really delivering driving versions of some Velvet Underground numbers and Lou’s early solo work, including "Walk On The Wild Side", "Vicious" and "Berlin"– the track that would title his next release six months later. This is the show that every Lou Reed fan would love to see. It’s got minimal attitude, lots of great songs (including a generous smattering of hits) and FM quality sound.  I really love the fact that ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ had only been out for a little over a month. the crowd loved the ‘giving head’ line!
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The post itself consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my AMCOS CD along with associated artwork, including covers for equivalent bootleg releases such as 'Hero & Heroine' by Swingin' Pig, 'Streets of Berlin' and 'Sweet Jane'. Quality of the recording is damn good (9/10)  and this is one bootleg that you can't afford to miss.

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Track Listing
01. Vicious
02. Waiting For The Man
03. Sweet Jane
04. Walk On the Wild Side
05. Walk And Talk It
06. Berlin
07. Rock 'N' Roll
08. Satellite Of Love
09. I'm So Free
10. Heroin
11. White Light/White Heat 

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Lou Reed And The Tots:
Lou Reed - Vocal / Guitar
Vinny Laporta - Guitar
Eddie Reynolds - Guitar
Bobby Resigno - Bass
Scottie Clark - Drums

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Lou Reed Link (132Mb)
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(Australian 1971 – Present)
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Think of Bowie channeling Sinatra, fronting Blood, Sweat & Tears (playing Chicago covers) and you might get an idea of what Jeff Duff is like (that quote from Aztec Music who has reissue Jeff’s band Kush first two albums on CD).
Born in 1950 this eccentric singer with his jazz – rock style band Kush released a great version of McArther Park. With the break up of Kush in 1975, Duff went solo and went to the U.K. The British accepted his style but he caused a stir with the mainstream media. In ’88 Duff returned to Oz to play Secta in the film “Sons Of Steel”. Later that year he formed the Jeff Duff Orchestra, an all girl group of classically trained musicians. In ’89 Jeff Duff Orchestra recorded “Walk On The Wild side” for the second time, this time on the Captain Vimto label where it became a hit. I think it’s very different than the original Lou Reed version… see what you think. [extract from Ozzie Musicman]
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America born Jeff Duff (aka Duffo) possesses an excellent tenor voice which seems more suited to opera, but he has succeeded in recording in the rock medium. As lead singer of the Chicago / Blood, Sweat And Tears - influenced big band Kush (1971-77), Jeff secured plenty of attention with his antics and bizarre choice of costume. The band, limited by its size, could only work the large venues and cabarets, and despite the huge effort to maintain the band, managed to record two albums and have two Top 40 singles. Upon its demise, Jeff formed his own group and toured with a lively and varied show, which failed to relate to confused, conservative audiences. Jeff moved to the UK in 1978 where he recorded and performed as 'Duffo', releasing several albums, touring Europe and having sporadic chart success in Holland and Italy. He also recorded under the names Ivor Biggin and Jupiter Jones. It was somewhat surprising to see him return to Australia to indifferent audiences in 1988, when he performed as a jazz singer with his Jeff Duff Orchestra, an experimental outfit, and is the focus of this post.  His signature song remains Lou Reed’s "Walk On The Wild Side", which he has recorded at least three times. The Jeff Duff Orchestra album featured some reworking of older material, ‘Pilot’ and the excellent ‘Killing This Affair’. Jeff appeared as 'Secta' in the Australian science Fiction movie 'Sons of Steel', released in 1989, featuring Duff single, 'Here Come the Freaks', which is also included on the album featured here. [Extract from All Music.com]
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Jeff Duff returns with some classical insight
(Rolling Stone #431 May 1989 p22  by Samantha Trenoweth)
The former Kush singer returns from the wild side with an all-girl orchestra and a new approach to
the pop.
IT'S SIX O'CLOCK ON A Friday evening in the middle of Kings Cross. A tall, thin man, dressed in white on white, is standing by an iron grille, waving. Jeff Duff has decided to meet me on die pavement because the doorbell to his bedsit doesn't work. A woman walks past in the highest shoes imaginable, the brightest of lipsticks and the shortest of skirts. "I used to look just like that," quips Duff recalling his Seventies past.
Back in the early Seventies Duff sang with a jazz rock band from Melbourne called Kush and began to indulge his cabaret fantasies that had more than a touch of camp. Kush recorded two albums; 'Snow White and the Eight Straights' and 'Nah, Tellus Wh't Kush Means, Yer Great Sausage'. Duff was not unfamiliar with wearing lingerie or bananas on his head.

Jeff Duff Orchestra On "The Money or the Gun"

These days Jeff Duff looks, you might almost say, elegant. What's more, he looks pretty well unmistakably male. Upstairs, in the tiniest of rooms he offers pumpkin seeds, a copy of the Jeff Duff Orchestra's live album and a single rose. Not, one suspects, in the spirit of payola but rather because he likes roses and likes making friends. Mr Duff calls forth all sorts of Victorian expressions like "delightful", "charming" - and he is all of these things and also talented.
"Do you like my view?" he enquirers, throwing open a window to reveal a huge exhaust fan and a brick wall. "It's hot very pleasant but it's typical of the rock & roll lifestyle. Bob Dylan probably had the equivalent in Greenwich Village... and I tend to be a bit more productive and creative when I'm living in squalor."
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Jeff left Australia in 1978 after the break-up of Kush, spent ten years in Europe, changed his name to Duffo and made some interesting records which sold quite respectably. In the two years since his return to Australia he has had some chart success with a version of Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" and assembled the Jeff Duff Orchestra with a line-up that is, aside from Duff himself and the drummer, all women.
"We're combining a bit of the pop culture with some classical insight" he explains. "We've had a battle with venues. They sort of flip out. After they've seen us it's okay but our agent has trouble' convincing them that there's this girl orchestra with a singer and they have violins and no guitars.
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"Also we have this tendency to write songs which are very melodic. You know, they're not four-on-the-floor so people can dance their butts off. Still, it's interesting seeing the way people approach our music on the dance floor. A lot of them end up embracing one another, whether they be male and male, female and female or whatever... which is a good thing, I guess, instead of banging their heads against the wall. Once people get to see us they do seem to like it. It's not that 'we're trying to be different, it's just the way we are."
Jeff Duff still takes his music very seriously — and his ambition to be one of the world's great singers. Similarly his writing which revolves around a fascinating blend of the mundane, the tragic, the fantastic and the absurd. The current crop of songs on the Orchestra's debut,show a new depth to his dry humour.
"You've got to get the sexual scandal connotations into the article," he adds finally with a smile, ever the showman. "Now, who did I sleep with last night? No, it was just me and the teddys on the pillow."
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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from vinyl and includes full album artwork for CD.  If you followed Jeff while he was fronting Kush, then you'll appreciate how he has taken his musical style to a new level on this album. His reworks of "Macarthur Park" and "Walk On The Wild Side" demonstrate his musical prowess, as do all the tracks on this album. I have also chosen to include as a bonus track, a recording of "Stairway To Heaven" which he made on the ABC show "The Money or the Gun" back in 1990.
This album is not to be missed.
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Track Listing  
01 - Pilot   
02 - Hurt Me Tenderly   
03 - Nastassia   
04 - Dwarfs   
05 - Macarthur Park   
06 - Walk On The Wildside   
07 - Venice   
08 - Killing This Affair   
09 - New Boy   
10 - Freaks
11 - (Bonus) Stairway To Heaven *
* From the TV series "The Money or the Gun"

Band Members:
Jeff Duff (Vocals)
Freny Ardeshir (Keyboard, Backing Vocals)
Sally Cooper (Bass)
Helen Lutz (Violin)
Linda Patching (Violin)
Phillip Edwards (Drums)
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Jeff Duff Link (116Mb)
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(Irish 1976 - Present)
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The cover says "Live In Seattle" but as far as I can find out (see U2 Gigs), U2 didn't play Seattle on their Zoo TV tour. Because this is an Australian bootleg, and "Dirty Day" was only first played during the Australasian section of the Zoo TV tour, I'm thinking that this recording is from one of their Zoomerang concerts. In fact, I reckon it is from their 2nd Sydney Concert held on 27th November, 1993 due to the similar track listing and because this particular concert was recorded and released on Video: Zoo TV: Live from Sydney., making it easy pickings for the bootleggers
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One interesting side note is this show is infamous as being the only U2 concert to be missed by a member of the band. Adam Clayton was so severely hung over that he could not take the stage, and the show could not be postponed as it was a necessary rehearsal for the videotaping of the next night's concert (which, as well as being recorded for official video release, was also to be broadcast live). Adam's bass technician, Stuart Morgan, filled in on the bass, and Bono informed the crowd that Adam was "sick".
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The following is an extract taken from 'U2: The Rolling Stone Files' by editors of Rolling Stone magazine, Sidgwick & Jackson Publishers, 1994. p215-216, where Bono discusses the changes that they had made to their setlist during the later stages of the Zooropa '93 concerts.

The U2 MANAGEMENT crew, friends and hangers-on pile on a bus that will travel from Sydney Football Stadium to a 5 star Hotel in Sydney, about a half-hour trip. It's about 1:30 A.M., the 2nd show ended a few hours ago, and only four shows remain until the end of the Australasian leg of Zooropa '93. It feels like the last week of school.
Bottles of wine are being passed around and someone shouts for music. Someone else pops a cassette in the deck. Over the speakers comes the fanfare that begins "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car," on Zooropa. An instant collective drunken groan: "Oh, nooooo!"

The Zoo TV show, which starts out so explosively, fades out on a far more ambiguous, introspective note. A desperately searching "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" is followed by an equally desperate, equally searching "Love Is Blindness." Then comes Bono's eerie, falsetto rendering of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love.""Elvis is still in the building," Bono says softly, as U2 exits the building and Elvis' own version of the song comes up on the PA. Through all this Bono is dressed as the devil.
What's the meaning of all that Elvis business at the end of the show?

THE EDGE: Well, we wanted to move away from the well-established and longstanding tradition of ending on "40" [laughs]. It seemed like the only way to make sure we didn't have to.
Really, who else but Elvis could have made that possible? You have to call in the big guns, it always comes down to that.
I think at this stage, yeah. People still start singing "40" at the end of the set. I guess it'll be a while before we can lay that one to rest. People come to the shows who have seen U2 before, and you're constantly having to deal with their expectations as opposed to what you're trying to do. I know there are a lot of people who come away disappointed from the Zooropa show because we didn't play "Sunday Bloody Sunday" or whatever other old song they wanted to hear.
But you dose the set proper with "Pride." How does a song as emotionally direct as that fit in with all the irony and media chicanery in the rest of the show?
At the beginning we weren't sure if that was going to work. I think it does work. It may be a bit of a jump to go from something as ironic as Bono as MacPhisto or the Hy and yet pull off "Pride," complete with Martin Luther King on the video screen. But it comes at a part of the concert where to make a connection like that is important. Amid the uncertainty there are certain ideas that are so powerful and so right that you can hold onto them no matter how screwed up everything else is.

"Everybody wants a long life. Longevity has its place. But I don't care about that now. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land!"( Passage spoken by Martin Luther King on the videowall during 1/2 V version of "Pride")
There's a really theatrical element to that MacPhisto character.
BONO: The cabaret aspect ... I was called by a tabloid photographer, who said, "You know, the fellow you do in the fin-ah-lay" [laughs]. I thought, "Oh, wow."
It's great, your singing an Elvis song in the fin-ah-lay, too.
For me, MacPhisto is sort of sad, bad, not so funny but might be. It's like taking the rock jerk that the Fly is and—if you're going to play him—take him to his logical conclusion, which is when he's fat and playing Las Vegas. It's a bookend to the funky and fucked-up swagger of the Fly.
It's rather poignant. Also, whoever he is now—Jesus or whoever—Elvis once was the devil.
The "devil's music"—that was the thing, wasn't it? The beat. The sadness of that last song, though, that child's voice, that falsetto as the song ends, is the most poignant moment of the show, because, in among all those fucked-up qualities, there's just that little childlike voice. That voice to me is the cover of Boy. If you study those films of Elvis—and I have—there were some very powerful moments as he was in decline. Maybe more powerful than when he was the svelte pop hero.
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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my Grapefruit Bootleg CD and includes full album artwork per usual. I've also included some other artwork associated with an alternative release of this amazing concert - Zoomerang Live Down Under & the first half of the concert which was released under the title of 'Mysterious Ways' by the same Australian bootlegger.
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Track Listing
01 - Dirty day
02 - Bad - You've got to hide your love away -All I want is you
03 - Bullet the blue sky
04 - Running to stand still
05 - Where the streets have no name
06 - Pride (in the name of love)
07 - I still haven't found what I'm looking for
08 - Stand by me
09 - Desire
10 - Help! - Ultra violet (light my way)
11 - Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
12 - Lemon
13 - With or without you
14 - Live is blindness
15 - Can't help falling in love
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U2 Lemo Link (172Mb)
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Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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'Stairways to Heaven' is one of the wackiest albums ever released. Every song on here is "Stairway to Heaven," but all performed in very different styles. To even get a grasp on the range of styles contained within, is almost mind-boggling. For instance, Rolf Harris, best known for his novelty Australian hit "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," essentially re-does that song with the lyrics for "Stairway to Heaven" as the basis. John Paul Young puts in a straightforward ballroom rendition, mirror balls and all! Other versions include a B-52's cover band, an Elvis impersonator, a Doors tribute band, and two Beatles groups (one early period, one late) all doing the cut in the styles of those groups. There is even a crooner-style rendition (watch out, Pat Boone, you've got competition) and a classically tinged operatic. The liner notes on this one, with their fabricated tale of the making of the album, are even hilarious (preface by Gary Hill)
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These 13 cover versions are not so much a tribute to the Led Zep song but a wooden dagger driven through its heart by tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. Once you listen through all 13 tracks, the song has been well-n-truly killed. You'll be waking in a cold sweat at night with nightmares of a dystopic Orwellian world where the only song is "Stairway". The original won't ever sound the same again.

The concept comes from Australian TV compere Andrew Denton. Every week on his early 90s tonight show "The Money Or The Gun" a different artist would come on and slaughter "Stairway" in a different style. This album compiles some of the more memorable. Not only do you get Rolf singing it "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" style, you also get: John Paul Young singing it "Love Is In The Air" style; The Rock Lobsters (B52s cover band) singing it "Rock Lobster" style; The Beatnix

These tracks are by no means an exhaustive collection, there were  more versions from what I recall (after seeing all of them played back-to-back on late night music show Rage). Lamentably, one of my favourites, the Castanet Club's "toora loora loora lie" sea shanty version is missing. And a great opportunity was missed not to kick it off with the Hard-Ons own demolition of the song (from their Yummy album) where, after trying (and failing) to pick the opening guitar piece, guitarist Blackie swears and smashes his guitar instead. I guess putting Rolf Harris, Barry Crocker and the Hard-Ons on the same album would have been just a tad too surreal.
(Beatles cover band) singing it "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" style; Elvis impersonator Neil Pepper superbly singing it "Viva Las Vegas" style; Barry "Neighbours" Crocker singing it Barry Crocker style; and Doors cover band The Australian Doors Show singing it "When The Music's Over" style, sounding as though this song was always supposed to be done by Jim Morrison! The one that had Radio One listeners the most up in arms in 1995 when it broke through in the UK was the version by actor Leonard Teale. His droll poetic recitation of the lyrics, sounding like a smooth-talking used car salesman, was just too much for some to bear -- the BBC's switchboard was jammed by complaints from irate Led Zep fans!
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So this month's WOCK on Vinyl not only pays tribute to the truly Wacky and Korny of all releases, but may also bring you closer to Heaven, 13 times over. Ripped from CD, this post consists of MP3's (320kps) and full album artwork
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Artist Listing
01 - Kate Ceberano And The Ministry Of Fun 
02 - John Paul Young
03 - Pardon Me Boys
04 - Rolf Harris
05 - The Australian Doors Show
06 - Sandra Hahn And Michael Turkic
07 - Robyn Dunn
08 - Neil Pepper (Elvis)
09 - The Rock Lobsters
10 - The Beatnix
11 - Vegemite Reggae
12 - Leonard Teale
13 - Barry Crocker & The Doug Anthony Allstars 
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Stairways To Heaven Link (85Mb)
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