Sweet Pain - Sweet Pain (1970 us psychedelic west coast with great vocals harmonies & guitars - Wave)

Sweet Pain consisted of Carl Johnson (guitar), Dave Riordan (rhythm guitar, vocals), Bob Spalding (guitar), Frank Demme (bass, vocals), Marty Foltz (drums, percussion), J.C. Phillips (marimba, vocals). The album is a nice example of West Coast rock with fairly sophisticated vocal harmonies and instrumental arrangements.


Sweet Pain formed in California in the late 1960s and were signed to United Artists by record executive Billy Roberts after the group was close to signing with Liberty Records. Guitarist Bob Spaulding was also a session musician, playing back-up guitar for Chuck Berry and Gabor Szabo and bass for Doug Kershaw. In 1974 drummer Marty Foltz drummed for Tim Weisberg, while Carl Johnson and Frank Demme formed the group Rock Rose in the late seventies. (Prairie Prince Minsky)

Tracks Listing

01 Upside Down, Inside Out Woman
02 Chain Up The Devil
03 Pine Canyon Stream
04 Be Myself
05 Joy
06 Berkeley Lady
07 Start Off With You
08 Richard And Me
09 Got To Get Your Hands On It
10 The Lover

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Roky Erickson - Don't Slander Me (1986- great us rock with powerful vocals & guitars - Wave)

Roky (pronounce rock-eeh) Erickson was founding member and lead singer of psychedelic band, Texas’ infamous Thirteenth Floor Elevators. Erickson explored the far reaches of musical and personal extremes. Young musicians like Jerry Garcia, Grace Slick, and Janis Joplin jammed with the influential group. Following a nightmarish '70s mental-hospital stint that had a devastating long-term effect on his mental health, Erickson's subsequent solo work with his group The Aliens revealed a singularly brilliant songwriter and performer whose talent was no less impressive for the fact that he was singing about zombies, vampires and aliens. The demons that abound in Roky's songs are all-too-real reflections of his own troubled psyche, and the combination of the artist's oddly poetic lyrical constructions and his bracing banshee wail makes it clear, as it wasn't always, that he's not kidding! Don’t Slander Me and Gremlins Have Pictures, recorded 1975 -1982, document Roky’s genius.


A truly incredible record!.. powerful lyrics that present as genuine and painfully honest.. A true poet. Roky has an amazing pop sensibility reflected on this release. Almost as if he were channeling Buddy Holly while on a drug induced bender. A dark and powerful pop album.. Roky pulls no punches with these tracks. His unfortunate history of mental illness seems to eliminate any pretense from these recordings.. great vocals,catchy hooks,fantastic musician!.. The creator of psychedelic rock.. a true original and pioneer.(By Junk Rocker)

Tracks List

01- Don't Slander Me

02- Haunt

03- Crazy Crazy Mama

04- Nothing In Return

05- Burn The Flames

06- Bermuda

07- You Drive Me Crazy

08- Can't Be Brought Down

09- Starry Eyes

10- The Damn Thing

11- Hasn't Anyone Told You

12- Realize You're Mine

13- Haunt (Alternate Take)

Credits

Roky Erickson - Lead Vocals, Guitar

Duane Aslaksen - Guitar, Vocals 

Billy Miller - Electric Autoharp

Jack Casady - Bass

Paul Zahl - Drums

André Lewis - Keyboards

Mike Hinton - Guitar 01 & 03

Martin Fierro - Tenor Sax 02

Bill Burgess - Guitar 06

Jeff Sutton - Drums 08 

John Whitelaw - Bass 09

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Mint Tattoo - Mint Tattoo (1969 us rock with ex Blue Cheer) + 6 Tracks live Santa Monica 1968-01-12 - Wave

The Mint Tattoo was born as an offshoot of the legendary 60's proto punk acid band Blue Cheer. Bruce Stephens and Ralph (Burns) Kellogg had played together in Blue Cheer on band's self titled album in 1969, but after that one album, Stevens left the band to pursue other interests. Kellogg stayed on with Blue Cheer until the demise of the band in 1971, but during his tenure with Blue Cheer he reunited with Stevens along with drummer Gregg Thomas to form the band Mint Tattoo. Produced by James William Guercio (Chicago) and engineered by Phil Ramone in New York.


An interesting oddity from 1968. Primarily blues based rock of above average quality, this group has almost progressive ambitions at times. While they don't always measure up, they do go in some fascinating directions. Unusual song structures and lyrical ideas share space with hard rockin' blues. It's no where near the quality of Jeff Beck's Truth, but this album grows on me a little more with each listen (I have an old vinyl copy I picked up second hand). The band obviously needed a little more time to grow, but they fell apart before they really had a chance to establish their sound and direction.
Bruce Stephens' raspy vocals fit the rockers, but can wear thin on some of the other numbers. He's certainly no Steve Marriot. He and keyboardist Burns Kellog show up in Blue Cheer a year later to finish out the New! Improved!! album. Kellog would hang in for a few years and albums, but Stephens would depart before finishing B.C.'s self titled album of late '69, going on to form Pilot. I suppose the songs he did with B.C. can give you a hint at what this disc sounds like, and if you enjoy those you'll probably like this.I like this album, but it falls short of its potential. Interesting artwork and ideas.(By Aron D. Rush)

Mint Tattoo:

Bruce Stephens - Lead vocals, Guitar 

Gregg Thomas - Drums, Percussion

Ralph Kellog - Bass, Keyboards, Vocals

Tracks Listing

01- Sister Bleu

02- Leper's Epitaph

03- Policeman's Ball

04- Littal Lieu Lieu's Revenge

05- Faces of Roses

06- I'm Talking About You

07- Wrong Way Girl

08- Scorpio Woman

09- Mark Of The Beast

10- Moanin'

11- With Love

12- I Hear the Spirits

Live Santa Monica Ca - 1968-01-12 (Very Good Audience)

01. You're Gonna Need Someone 4:06 

02. Desire 4:20

03. Policeman's Ball 4:21

04. Walk On By 5:17

05. What Will You Do 4:18

06. Mark Of The Beast (cut) 1:55

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