Scroll down for reviews on reissues of releases from The Unspoken Word, Mystic Astrologies Crystal Band, Churchills, Autosalvage, Rotary Connection, Gandalf and The Growing Concern

The Rugbys
Hot Cargo

(Collectables)

1969, 1997
www.therugbys.com

Best known for their 1969 hit “You, I”, this Louisville, Kentucky based group made some excellent recordings in the relatively short period they played together. Prior to “You, I”, the group released two garagey singles: the Sir Douglas Quintet cover “Walking the Streets” on the local Top Dog label, and “Till the Day I Die” which was released nationally on Smash records. In late 1968/early 1969 The Rugbys signed with Shelby Singleton’s Nashville-based Amazon label, a division of his SSS International company. Released in mid-1969, the group’s debut release for Amazon “You, I” quickly took off and eventually entered the national top 30, peaking at #24. The song was an immediately appealing heavy rock/pop tune in the style of the groups like The Amboy Dukes, Blue Cheer, and Steppenwolf.

The group did some package tours around the eastern half of the US, and even appeared on the Cleveland-based syndicated TV show “Upbeat” to promote their hit. Unfortunately though, it was their only chart entry. The Rugbys’ only album Hot Cargo was the first LP released on Amazon records, and showed off the group’s ability to write and perform not only catchy rock songs, but more sophisticated and experimental material as well. Examples of the latter are the interesting “King and Queen of the World”, and the failed follow-up to “You, I”, “Wendegahl the Warlock.” Both these songs featured some fine progressive style organ work. Many of the other tracks on the album were similar to their hit…catchy heavy rock. Particularly excellent examples of this style were “Juditha Gina”, “The Light”, “Lines of Thought”, and the enduring pop classic “Stay With Me”. The group were clearly very capable musicians, and the album features some excellent lead guitar, keyboards, and bass playing throughout. Overall the album is quite good, with almost every song excellent in its own way.

Collectables records recently reissued the album on CD as a 2-fer alongside the lone LP by a group called Lazarus as The Rugbys Meet Lazarus. Lazarus also recorded for Amazon records, and an early member of The Rugbys, Jim McNicol, founded the group. The Lazarus album is musically less interesting than the Rugbys’ album, being more in the hippie pop/rock vein, but it’s still worth a spin. Lazarus even covered the Rugbys’ song “Stay With Me”. Get this CD if you get the chance…the Rugbys album is great, and the Lazarus album isn’t bad either. Believe it or not, the Rugbys still play together and they even have a website.

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The Unspoken Word
Tuesday, April 19th

(Ascot)

1968

Rumored to have been from Long Island, New York, this largely unknown group recorded this, their first album for the United Artists subsidiary Ascot in 1968. The group’s style is best described as sophisticated folk rock with touches of psychedelia. The ten songs which make up the album are all group originals written by Gene Stashuk, occasionally with other members of the band. The album’s opening song, “Anniversary of My Mind”, features some excellent guitar work, surreal lyrics, and a compelling eastern drone sound likely provided by a tamboura. “For the World” closes with a heartbeat which leads into the next song, “Waking Up”, which again features some great bass and guitar work and the excellent lead vocals of Dede Puma. Other album highlights include “Moving Day”, “After the Before”, and the beautiful “Flock of Birds”.

Largely, it’s the excellent instrumentation and arrangement of the music which make it so appealing. This combined with fine original material makes for a very enjoyable listening experience. The entire album has a very special mood and atmosphere, best described as the expression of lament and disillusion. The album captures the mood of a person trying in vain to smile while inside they are feeling deep pain. This mood was possibly best expressed by one of the lyrics from “Moving Day”: “When mother died, I sat and cried…for days that had passed us by, days when I’d told her lies”. Possibly intended as a concept album of sorts, a common theme throughout the album is that of childhood and the disillusion of growing up. Nearly every song touches upon this theme.

Also notable is the group’s use of the recurring melody of “Anniversary of My Mind”. The last song on each side of the LP ends with a short variation of the original song, using the same kind of effect employed by UK group Family with the “Variation on a Theme of…” songs from their first album. The Unspoken Word album is excellent overall and is characterized by some fine up-front bass work and pleasant male and female vocal harmonies. The group went on to record a second LP, this time for Atco records, which is reputedly more in a mainstream rock style than their debut and thus disappointing in comparison. Yet to be reissued either on CD or vinyl, Tuesday, April 19th is beginning to be recognized by collectors as a classic work of psychedelia and hopefully will soon gain the attention of reissue labels. Sundazed, are you listening?

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The Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band
Featuring Steve Hoffman and Clip Out Put On Book

(Drop Out)

1967, 1968, 1991

This Los Angeles area pop group recorded two interesting albums for Gene Norman’s Carole label in 1967 and 1968. The first, The Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band Featuring Steve Hoffman was a pleasant collection of flower pop ditties highlighted by the sitar-led “Factory Endeavour” and the A-side to their only single, “Flowers Never Cry”. The Second album Clip Out Put On Book was a slightly more progressive effort which showed the band to be receptive to the changing face of psychedelic rock, while remaining true to their pop sensibilities.

Both albums are very pleasant and enjoyable, and consist entirely of Steve Hoffman originals. Some of the best of these include “The M.A.C.B. Theme”, “Yesterday Girl”, “It’s Strange”, and “Authors”. The group’s recordings are surprisingly well produced and arranged, and benefit greatly from the group’s perceived eagerness to create new sounds within the standard pop format. A particularly notable example of this eagerness to create new sounds is the group’s use of a variety of exotic musical instruments. These include sitar, hammer dulcimer, harpsichord, harp, bongos, distorted guitar, and several instruments completely unidentifiable by this reviewer as well as tape loops and other effects.

Musically, the group always seems ready to try something new. Both these albums are featured in their entirety on a CD from Drop Out records entitled Flowers Never Cry. If you have an appreciation for well-produced pop, this CD is for you. It can even be recommend to psych heads because of the group’s great musical experimentation and variety. It’s time you checked this group out.

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Churchill’s
S/T

(Hed-Arzi)

1968, 1992

Although Israel isn’t known for having had much of a psychedelic scene, with a band like Churchill’s around, it’s difficult to understand why not. Based in Tel-Aviv, Churchill’s grew out of a mostly traditional Israeli folk background. By 1968 however, the group had solidified somewhat and had aligned themselves with the current style of western pop music. Their debut single “Too Much in Love to Hear” was a likeable pop song which became a sizeable hit in Israel, though it lacked the heavy psychedelic influence which would dominate their album.

That album, also released in 1968, contained songs which had been featured in the soundtracks of two Israeli films: “A Woman’s Case” and “The Dress”. The album’s opening track, “Open Up Your Eyes” immediately lets the listener know what can be expected from the rest of the album. The song opens with a frantic scream followed by some ensuing chaos which develops into a sharp, fast paced psychedelic rock song. This is the style of much of the album. “When You’re Gone” is an excellent love lament which opens with a compelling fuzz guitar riff. “So Alone Today” is a bizarre song which features one track played forwards and one played backwards and has some other strange effects, as does its following track, “Debka”. Bubbling bong water can even be heard in the latter song.

The standout track on the album however is “Subsequent Final”, a beautiful, melodic, and relaxing number which lasts over six minutes and featured a very strong Middle Eastern influence. The Churchill’s album is quite good, and very interesting for its blending of psychedelic rock, underground, and Middle Eastern styles. After the release of this album, the group briefly dabbled in classical/rock fusion, producing a very rare EP called Churchill Sebastian Bach with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra.

Following this the group returned to a basic rock format, but gave up their previous psychedelic sound (which by 1970 had become passé) for a more conventional hard rock style. Their next single, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Living Loving” firmly established their new sound. The group’s last release as Churchill’s was an unexceptional hard rock version of the Beatles B-side “She’s a Woman”.

Having already achieved some success while playing in Europe, the group then decided to relocate to England, where they recorded an album called Junkies, Monkeys, And Donkeys under their new name, Jericho Jones. After another album, released in late 1971/early 1972 and credited simply to Jericho, the group dissolved. Some of the group’s members returned to Israel, some to mainland Europe, and some stayed in England.

The CD reissue of the Churchill’s album is available only as an Israeli import, but is not too difficult to obtain. In addition to the complete original album, it features both sides of the “Living Loving” and “She’s a Woman” singles and is recommended to connoisseurs of underground psychedelic rock.

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Autosalvage
S/T

(Acadia)

1968, 2001

Rumored to have been discovered by Frank Zappa while he was visiting New York, Autosalvage was a unique group with a unique musical style. They were also known for featuring Skip Boone, the brother of Lovin’ Spoonful bassist Steve Boone. Fans of psychedelic rock music have for a long time known of their sole album, which was released on RCA records in 1968. However, because of relatively scanty reissues (the best probably being the late ‘80s vinyl reissue on Edsel), few people have actually had the opportunity to hear the album.

Opening with an unusual spoken introduction about woodland paths in Switzerland, the album’s first track “Auto Salvage” was an interesting song which lasted nearly six minutes and featured some bizarre lyrics and excellent electric guitar work. Indeed, the same can be said for the entire album. Some particularly notable songs are “Rampant Generalities”, which was propelled by an ever-varying guitar riff, “Ancestral Wants”, “Land Of Their Dreams”, and “Medley: The Great Brain Robbery/Glimpses Of The Next World’s World”. Clearly the group had its own style. The music sometimes seems very unstructured.

In this way, the writing style is similar to the complex mixture of structured phrases and changing directions in the music of Love’s classic Forever Changes album. However, the two group’s musical styles are still very different. The Autosalvage album is, above all, interesting. Although the individual songs aren’t particularly memorable, the album as a whole has a flowing continuity which is enduring. This combined with the group’s obvious consciousness to avoid conventional pop formats, and some excellent and innovative guitar work, makes this album well worth a spin.

After the album failed to establish the group, Autosalvage broke up. Skip Boone and Darius Davenport backed the trio Bear on their 1969 Verve album Greetings, Children Of Paradise, which is quite good. Finally reissued legitimately on CD from the UK label Acadia, the Autosalvage album is at last widely available for interested listeners.

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Rotary Connection
S/T

(MCA-Chess)

1968, 1996

This album is easily one of the most eclectic records to have emerged from the late 60s. That’s no small claim, considering that particular time period was probably the most abundant both in bizarreness and in sheer number of records released. The Rotary Connection was a studio group assembled and masterminded by Marshall Chess, son of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess. During the 50s and 60s, Chess Records made a name for itself by releasing million seller after million seller by the likes of legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Fontella Bass. The leading label for blues and soul, Chess truly earned its reputation for making artful, well produced albums.

By the late 60s, Chess was doing so well that it decided to try its hand at the new alternative rock genre. This led to the creation of a subsidiary label, Cadet Concept, to be run by Marshall Chess. In addition to the UK group The Status Quo, one of the first groups on Cadet Concept was The Rotary Connection. Marshall Chess created this group from members of existing bands and musicians specifically chosen by him for the project. One singer who was specifically chosen was Minnie Ripperton, a Chicago native who possessed a legendary five-octave voice and would later achieve stardom in her own right. The rather large group of musicians which was assembled soon began recording an album.

Consisting mostly of cover versions of then current hits, the quality that makes the album special is that the new versions are so fully and ingeniously detached from the originals. Some are so different, in fact, that they are almost unrecognizable. Their version of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” includes none of the lyric verses from the original. Instead it consists simply of instrumental verses linked by choruses of “How does it feel…to be on your own”? etc. On “Soul Man”, they completely dissect the Sam And Dave original, creating an almost baroque sound on what was once a simple soul song. Their slow cover of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Didn’t Want to Have to Do It” is simply beautiful, and is liberally endowed with sometimes jarring electronic effects.

Similarly, a theremin is prominently featured in their version of “Ruby Tuesday”. This song in particular is exceptional. Featuring soft organ, quiet verses and loud refrains, and even some Latin lyrics, clearly this song was created with all stops in the “out” position. The rest of the album was, on the whole, no less interesting. One of the original tunes, “Turn Me On” was an excellent song featuring a great bass line, sitar, and some stratosphere-breaking vocals by Minnie Ripperton. The album also featured interesting short compositions with titles like “Rapid Transit” and “Black Noise” which served as segues between the main songs. Clearly the album was a masterwork of production and arrangement.

Scarcely before had such a level of artistry been heard on an alternative rock album. This proved once and for all that many of the black blues/soul producers were easily as talented as the often more widely acknowledged white pop producers like Bob Dorough, Alan Lorber, or Gary Usher. When released as a single, “Ruby Tuesday” received a lot of airplay in the Midwest (particularly on the new underground FM stations) and became an underground hit in several markets, including Chicago and Cleveland. The album also sold well, especially in the Midwest. Although some have criticized it for being “pretentious” or “overproduced”, the consciously subversive quality of the album immediately dismisses any such claims. Following this album, a “real” Rotary Connection was formed to attempt to repeat the success of the first record.

They went on to release five more albums (the last as “The New Rotary Connection”) between 1968 and 1971. Sadly, the albums became less and less interesting with every new one released. Likely this is due to the remaining somewhat fragile nature of the “group” and the fact that the formula for success employed on the first album was largely forgotten for its successors. Nonetheless, that first album remains a vision: a powerful, subversive, and stunning work. Pick up the excellent CD reissue from MCA-Chess. This is a CD which should be in the collection of every psychedelic connoisseur. You owe it to yourself to check this album out.

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Gandalf
S/T

(See For Miles)

1969, 1991
www.petersando.com

Once a total mystery, Gandalf’s story has finally been unearthed, thanks largely to group leader Peter Sando’s efforts and cooperation. Although much has already been said about this group and their sole album, there remain a few details to be told before their entire history can be understood. Gandalf were first known as The Rahgoos, a New York group who played at many of the city’s leading nightspots before being discovered by songwriters Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon. Bonner and Gordon had made a name for themselves for writing several hit songs for top groups like The Turtles.

The pair introduced the Rahgoos to producers Koppelman and Rubin, who got the group a contract with Capitol Records. At the insistence of Koppelman and Rubin, the group changed their name to Gandalf, and soon began recording an album. The release of the resulting album was delayed due to contractual disagreements between Koppelman and Rubin and Capitol, but eventually released in early 1969. The Gandalf album was an excellent mix of influences, all liked together by the group’s own unique sound. This sound managed to harmoniously blend compositions by Tim Hardin, Bonner and Gordon, as well as two Peter Sando originals with freshly revisited versions of the old classics “Golden Earrings”, “Scarlet Ribbons”, and “Nature Boy”.

This was clearly unique, considering that the mentality of most psychedelic groups was that only with new material could new sounds be explored. Gandalf managed to forge their new sound within the framework of older material as well as newer with consistently excellent results. This is certainly a large part of what makes Gandalf a special record and group. Also a major contributing factor to this is the fine instrumentation and arrangement of Gandalf’s music. Compelling keyboard work and some occasionally stunning guitar playing, combined with the consistently excellent lead vocals of Peter Sando show the group to be not only talented, but focused as well. The vocals are particularly notable. An exchodette or echo box is used on Sando’s smooth voice to great affect throughout the album.

These echoed vocals are largely responsible for creating the strong mood present on the album. This mood can best be described as a casual melodrama which somehow manages to remain completely unpretentious. Peter Sando’s vocals and their resultant mood can be found not only on the Gandalf album, but also on two singles on RCA credited to “The Barracuda.” The first of these, “Dance at St. Francis” actually became a minor chart hit, reaching #113 in the Billboard charts. When asked by the reviewer about his involvement in these RCA singles, Sando explained,

"The Gandalf LP was cut (I Think) late '67, early ’68. It was held up in record company bullshit as is documented on my website. We had doubts that it would ever even be released. Gandalf broke up before the LP was released in Jan. 1969. In the interim, Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon asked me to sing on some RCA 45’s that they were working on. Hence, I played guitar and sang lead on “Dance at St. Francis.” It actually went into the nineties on the Cashbox charts and received major airplay in some cities. I think if the arranger didn’t break the rhythm in the bridge, it would’ve been a hit. We also did a follow up called “Julie, the Song I Sing is For You" that also featured Dave Bauer (Gandalf Drummer)”.

Indeed, “Dance at St. Francis” was a fine song, employing many of the same techniques used on the Gandalf album. This is doubtlessly due to the fact that not only was the song written by Bonner and Gordon, but also it was produced by Koppelman and Rubin. The Gandalf album has in recent years become widely admired by fans of psychedelic pop. Its reputation is clearly deserved. If you aren’t yet acquainted with this record and this group, you have yet to hear what is surely one of the finest albums in the annals of late 60s pop.

Peter Sando remains involved in music, and has recently released an album of his own music entitled Creatures of Habit. In addition to this and running his own website, Peter has recently been interviewed for an article in the garage/psych zine Ugly Things. (Quote and used with permission of Peter Sando)

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The Growing Concern
S/T

(Golden Reborn Classics)

1968, 1996

Although formed primarily as a jazz label, Mainstream Records released a number of interesting psychedelic albums in the late 60s. Some of the better of these include Bohemian Vendetta, The Jelly Bean Bandits, Orient Express, and The Growing Concern. Although virtually nothing is known of the members of the Growing Concern, their only album is an enjoyable piece of west coast psychedelic pop. The opening track “Hard, Hard Year” is perhaps the best on the album. The song opens with some melodic guitar work, which is joined first by bass, and second by some excellent keyboards. The song also featured beautiful female vocal harmonies from group members Bonnie MacDonald and Mary Garstki. This song largely set the style for the remainder of the album.

“Edge of Time” featured some excellent lead guitar work, as did “Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled.” “A Boy I Once Knew Well” was a folky lament which again featured fine vocal harmonies, keyboards, and guitar work. The group’s version of “Mister You’re a Better Man Than I” was done in a similar style, and is an interesting take on the Yardbirds original. The group also covered Steve Stills’ “Sit Down, I Think I Love You”, based on the Buffalo Springfield original rather than the more baroque hit version by The Mojo Men. The entire album is characterized by fine male and female vocal harmonies, excellent keyboard playing, and occasionally fine guitar work.

Overall, The Growing Concern album is a quite good blend of folk rock, pop, and psychedelia. The CD reissue is from the German label Golden Reborn Classics, and benefits from rather good sound quality. Well worth a spin.

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