Various - The Three Seasons

Mind blown! 3LP set celebrating the flowering of late '60s counter-cultural pop!

It can't have escaped your notice that The Beatles are on sale again. This time to mark the 50^th anniversary of the White Album. Originally released in 1968, a year after the dazzling summer-of-love opus Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and a year before they opted to “get back” to their roots by playing a stripped-down adaptation of rock and roll. Now I love the Beatles as much as I ever did but I've long since concluded that Paul McCartney has had quite enough of my cash over the years and I'm not shelling out a chunk of my wages on the boxed set of the White Album, as good as it may be. I'm sure the 102 takes of 'Sexy Sadie' are illuminating in their own way but I won't be investigating further.

A much better way to celebrate the flowering of late '60s counter-cultural pop is via this latest compilation from Fruits de Mer Records. A triple vinyl set featuring the cream of today's psychedelically inclined grass-roots artists covering their favourite tracks from the late '60s. The set is titled The Three Seasons in reference to the the years 1966, 1967 and 1968. It's from these three momentous years that all the tracks are taken. There are big names covered (The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Small Faces, Love and even Neil Diamond), along with the ever fascinating foot-notes from the era (Touch, Family, Made In Sheffield, Don Shinn and more).

There is so much great stuff here it's difficult to know where to begin. Take a look at the tracklisting below to get an idea of what makes this such an amazing collection. I won't go through every track but they're all worth hearing. Standouts for me include The Locker Room Cowboys excellent take on The Stones' 'We Love You', The Past Tense's version of 'Magic In The Air' (originally by The Attack) and Jay Tausig's take of folk standard 'Let No Man Steal Your Thyme' (included here having been covered by Pentangle in 1968).

Suffice to say this is probably the best compilation I've heard all year, I can't recommend it highly enough. Oh and it also features three '60s legends in The Pretty Things, The Electric Prunes and The Yardbirds. So if fiftieth anniversaries are your thing avoid that White Album deluxe box set and opt for this fabulous collection instead. You will not regret it.

Side 1
1. The Past Tense - Magic In The Air (originally by The Attack : recorded in 1967)
2. LoveyDove - Bedazzled (originally by Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations : 1967)
3. Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder - Amelia Jane (originally by Made In Sheffield : 1967)
4. Jack Ellister - Aquarius (originally by The Zodiac:Cosmic Sounds : 1967)
5. Rob Gould - Granny Takes A Trip (originally by The Purple Gang : 1967)

Side 2
1. Mark McDowell and Friends - Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire (originally by The Small Faces : 1966)
2. Anton Barbeau – Sunshine Superman (originally by Donovan : 1965)
3. The Electric Prunes - 7 and 7 is (originally by Love : 1966)
4. Moonweevil - Child Of The Sky (originally by The Deviants : 1967)
5. Kris Gietkowski - A-Minor Explosion (originally by Don Shinn : 1966)
6. The Yardbirds - Think About It (live in 2016) (originally by The Yardbirds : 1968)

Side 3
1. The Locker Room Cowboys - We Love You (originally by The Rolling Stones : 1967)
2. King Penguin - White Bird (written : 1967, released by It's A Beautiful Day : 1969)
3. Aunt Cynthia's Cabin - Solitary Man (originally by Neil Diamond : 1966)
4. The Luck Of Eden Hall - Reflected (originally by Alice Cooper : 1968)

Side 4
1. The Honey Pot - Kites (written by Hackaday/Pockriss; recorded by The Rooftop Singers / Simon Dupree and the Big Sound : 1967)
2. Cary Grace - 1983 (A Merman I Should Be...) (originally by the Jimi Hendrix Experience : 1968)

Side 5
1. Sidewalk Society - A Saying For Today (originally by The Action : 1968)
2. Jay Tausig - Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (trad. recorded by Anne Briggs : 1963 / Pentangle : 1968)
3. Magic Bus - Tribal Gathering (originally by The Byrds : 1967)
4. Proud Peasant - Down At Circe's Place (originally by Touch : 1968)
5. Icarus Peel - Beck's Bolero (originally by Jeff Beck Group : 1966)

Side 6
1. The Green Ray - Dusty (originally by John Martyn : 1968)
2. Ex-Norwegian - Winter (originally by Family : 1968)
3. Consterdine - Fly (originally by J.K. & Co : 1968)
4. The Gold Needles - The Smell of Incense (originally by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band : 1967)
5. The Pretty Things - Loneliest Person (live at the Half Moon, 2010) (originally by The Pretty Things : 1968)

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

Fruits de Mer - 10th Birthday Glastonbury All-Dayer (May 12th)

A special day of music, beer, fun and new records!

The Fruits de Mer 10^th birthday all-dayer at Glastonbury's King Arthur pub on May 12^th will no doubt be a fantastic day for those lucky enough to attend. It's already sold-out but you may be able to get a ticket from Ebay. Along with the live music there'll be the opportunity to purchase new and limited items from the increasingly collectable label. Completists will be hoping they don't sell out there and then so keep an eye on the FdM website for any left-over stock. Here's a round-up of the new vinyl that will be on sale in the vale...

Tir na nOg – Hall Of Mirrors - lathe-cut 7” (90 copies only)

Could there be a more fitting act to be playing on the mystic Vale of Avalon on a beautiful spring day? Answer – no. Tir na nOg will have this delightful 7” available on the day. It features two tracks – 'Columbine' has lyrics taken from a 1920s fantasy novel Lud-in-the-Mist, and tells the tale of what happens when you eat mind-altering fruit. The other side is a cover of 'Hall Of Mirrors' by Sweeney's Men.

Moonweevil – Vertical Tide - LP + CD (160 copies)

Rob Appleton is the keyboard player in progressive rockers Cranium Pie. Having recently moved to Austria, he's been creating instrumental library music. This thoroughly captivating LP is an extension of that work. Though more “out there” and experimental. A hot one folks! Grab a copy if you can before the price goes through the roof on Discogs.

The Honey Pot / Icarus Peel's Acid Reign – Silver Diamonds/Half Space - lathe-cut 5” single (80 copies)

Both bands playing on the day, and here taking a side each of a split 5” single. The Honey Pot's contribution was specially written for the gig/single and is even more meta in that it celebrates previous FdM events. 'Half Space', the track from Icarus Peel's Acid Reign, is described by Peel as “a bongo freak-out with the potential to be lengthened at some point”. Until then this 5” version will do nicely. It comes housed is a special tin. Perfect for damage limitation at an all-dayer! Floppy hats off to Fruits de Mer once again!

Click here for the Fruits de Mer website

Click here for Tir na nOg

Click here for Moonweevil

Click here for The Honey Pot/Icarus Peel's Acid Reign

Mark McDowell and Friends - Dark Weave

Fifth LP from south-west psych-folk collective. Pastoral folk, drones, subtle electronica and good vibes!

 

I've not been able to post as much on here recently for various reasons. Mainly too busy with work, family commitments and magazine stuff. I'm not complaining as work, family and writing is pretty much my holy trinity for a happy and useful life. I mention this as there have been a few albums and such that I've been sent that deserve my and your attention. Especially this one! I've written briefly about Mark McDowell before, albeit quite some time ago. What I didn't know was that apart from his solo records he also makes music as part of a psych-folk collective called Mark McDowell & Friends. This is their fifth long-player but the first one I've heard so I'm coming in fresh to this as it were.

Dark Weave came out at the end of July and I was able to listen and let it get under my skin before I left for a family holiday in Rhodes. There's something about high summer that always sharpens my emotions and makes me more receptive to music, art, literature etc. You know, all the good stuff. Maybe it's the longer hours of daylight, increased temperatures, more time spent with good people. All these things. Anyhow before I set off on my hols this album was my soundtrack on the daily commute to work. It struck me that despite the use of Indian strings, exotic hand-drums and analogue synth washes and swirls, Dark Weave is an album that could only have come from the British Isles. It simultaneously harks back to the golden era of acid-folk, (when Forest, Comus, Spirogyra and their ilk were the most happening acts around), but also sounds like now. Timeless is not the right word but it certainly taps into and strengthens some kind of tradition that resurfaces every few years and captures the imagination of a new generation. As a kind of nationalism it certainly beats that touted by many of our current political leaders.

So off I go on my holiday to Rhodes in early August. The change of scene, light, temperature and vegetation was a real jolt to the senses. I was struck by how dry, dusty and scrub-like the hills away from the coast were. The geographical distance also made me think about home, where it's not dusty and scrub-like. Where the ground is moist and loamy, damp and full of vegetation. And in my head thoughts kept turning to this record. It seemed to capture this richness that and uniqueness that we quite often lose sight of here.

Apologies to Mark McDowell if this is not like a standard album review. For once I wanted to write in a different way about music and how it can affect us. Suffice to say that Dark Weave has been my favourite album of the Summer and will be getting played over and over as we head into Autumn and Winter. It's that kind of record. Pastoral folk mixed with subtle electronica if you want to place it within genres. But I suggest just listening with open ears, hearts and minds and seeing where it takes you. Music ripe for reflection. 

Mark McDowell + Octopus Syng - The Regal Crabomophone 2014 Annual

Mark McDowell and Octopus Syng go head to head on a split single of neo-psych. Limited 7” colour vinyl pressing with free poster.

The Regal Crabomophone record label is an offshoot of Fruits De Records which specialises in original material.

Mark McDowell is a Breton shirted, modern-day minstrel with an impressive line in soft baroque psych-pop. His track on this single, entitled Girls Of Belvoir, tells of 17^th century witchcraft at a castle in Leicestershire. You don't get that on X-Factor! Folksy and enchanting but with a slightly sinister edge, it's Witchfinder General scored by Vaughan Williams, unsettling and very English.

Finland's Octopus Syng grace the flipside with their eight minute opus Listen With The Moths. Similarly disturbing yet with more of an acid-folk feel, the track builds with its simple guitar motif and drum rolls joined by breathy in-your-ear vocals. The track grows and swells up to its guitar solo climax. “Listen with moths, to take you back home” they sing over and over. Whether this is the best or worst advice for surviving an LSD trip I can't tell you, but it works well enough while drinking a cup of tea.

TRACKLISTING

1 – Mark McDowell – Girls Of Belvoir

2 – Octopus Syng – Listen With The Moths

Click here for Mark McDowell on Reverb Nation.

Click here for Octopus Syng on Facebook.

Click here for the Fruits De Mer Records website.