The Beach Boys: Made In California (6 CD Box Set) out on 2nd September

The Beach Boys have opened their archives for a new career-spanning, six-CD collection titled Made In California, capping the legendary band’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. Made In California features more than seven and a half hours of music, including more than 60 previously unreleased tracks.  The deluxe set is presented in a high school annual-inspired hardbound book with personal recollections from the band’s members, replicated classic artwork and memorabilia, photos from the band’s archive, and handwritten yearbook-style inscriptions from Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks.

Produced by The Beach Boys and The SMiLE Sessions’ GRAMMY® Award-winning team of Mark Linett, Alan Boyd, and Dennis Wolfe, Made In California chronologically charts the 50-year career of America’s Band, from their earliest demos to their most recent recordings.  With huge hits and rare gems including never-before-released original songs, home demos, alternate takes and mixes, and live concert, television and radio performances, the set showcases the breadth and diversity of The Beach Boys’ recorded catalogue and illustrates the band’s unique and evocative West Coast story.

Made In California’s memorabilia includes Brian Wilson’s 1959 high school essay titled “My Philosophy,” which is reproduced in the collection’s book in its original handwritten form (the original is currently on display in The GRAMMY Museum’s yearlong Beach Boys exhibit celebrating the band’s 50-year career).

Made In California’s previously unreleased and long sought-after recordings include “Goin’ To The Beach,” “California Feelin’,” “Soul Searchin’,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” and “You’re Still A Mystery,” among others.  The set also debuts 17 unreleased live recordings, and features a special ‘From The Vaults’ disc of rarities selected by the band and the producers with longtime Beach Boys fans in mind.

One of the most iconic bands in popular music history and America’s first pop band to reach the 50 year milestone, The Beach Boys have performed and recorded the world’s favourite soundtrack to summer since 1961.

The Wicked Whispers - Voodoo Moon

Gently sinister psych-pop vibes from Liverpool quintet.

Liverpool's Wicked Whispers have released a follow up to previous 7” “Dandelion Eyes” (Read my review here). It's called “Voodoo Moon” and is perhaps an even more accomplished and refined affair building on their softly sinister psych sound. Authentically 60s, Farfisa organ underpins the gentle yet unsettling track, not unlike the work of Jacco Gardner. Think the Coral at their finest, or a smoother take on The Seeds' garage sound.

Flipside “Nightbird” is a more energised track which recalls early Doors, lysergically tinged and propelled by rolling bass guitar and snappy drums. Complete with guitar and sax wig-out at the end. Things bode well for a debut album.

Recorded at the legendary Toe-Rag studio, the single is out now on Electone Records. Get with it kids!

Bronco Bullfrog - Clarifoil

Bronco Bullfrog's ode to the vinyl packaging of yesteryear.

We live in an age when the music you buy is mostly packaged in one of either two ways – as a no frills but accessible download where the best you can hope for is a pdf booklet. Or there's deluxe vinyl versions that you need to take out a mortgage for, whose prices are pumped up by the inclusion of postcards, badges and other pieces of paraphernalia. These items are usually limited so therefore end up sitting on shelves, never getting played in fear of price-dropping damages.

It wasn't always this way though. And Bronco Bullfrog are one band who know about such matters. The newly reformed three piece have just released a single that sings the praises of clarifoil. If you don't know what that is take a trip to your local charity shop and take a look at the old vinyl LPs. Chances are one or two of them will be coated in a moisture-proof plastic coating. It may have aged slightly, cracked or bubbled up in places but you'll get the idea. As seen on a whole host of 60s vinyl releases from Matthew & Son, to Decca Eps and The Kinks on Pye. (You can learn all this and more from the wry, knowing, funny lyrics!)

Musically it's a retro-fused powerpop affair, packed with plenty of harmonies and “oooh-oooh-oohs” in all the right places. The flipside is pretty neat too - “Never Been To California” takes a wistful look at all the cliches and assumptions us lesser-travelled Limeys have about the sunshine state. Regret never sounded so funny or so much fun. The two tracks sound like songs Pete Townshend might have penned for The Who Sell Out, full of humour and good vibes. Buy with confidence!

Out now in glorious mono on State Records. (Limited to 500 copies on 7")

The Greek Theatre - Lost Out At Sea

Sun-drenched sadness and staring-at-the-sea introspection. Swedish duo, Sven Fröberg and Frederick Persson, release their stunning debut LP.

Every now and again an album comes along that's out of step with any current fashions yet is all the more convincing because of it. This self-released debut LP from The Greek Theatre is one such album. Musically it's folksy, west coast soft-rock embellished with woodwind and pedal steel, pitched emotionally at that place that's both happy and sad at the same time.

This is music that has a hazy, sun-drenched sadness to it. Texturally soft yet with enough quiet inventiveness to be genuinely moving, this is mood music of the highest order. The album opens with a soft shuffle beat fading in over the sound of waves gently lapping. It's this referencing of the sea that's returned to time and time again lending the whole album a trapped-in-paradise introspection.

The Greek Theatre are Sven Fröberg and Frederick Persson, who along with several musician friends (including Posie Ken Stringfellow), have crafted a beautifully organic debut LP. The album was recorded in a rustic Swedish wood cabin over the summer of 2009. It must have been a very productive time and space as the pair have already written the songs that promise to be on their next three albums, after which they say, The Greek Theatre will cease to exist. They've hinted at the next album being more rooted in the Brit-folk of Pentangle, Fairport Convention and Nick Drake.

If you want comparisons for this album however there's the obvious Cali-trilogy of Brian Wilson/Love/The Byrds (or more specifically David Crosby solo), along with the folk-rock of fellow Swedes, The Amazing. There are also parallels with the baroque pop/rock of Eric Matthews. But don't go expecting The Greek Theatre to be soundalikes, these comparisons are not the full picture. Although their music is influenced by such alumni, it has a heart and soul all of it's own. This is music infused with an effortless depth that rewards more with each listen. It's an album I'll no doubt return to time after time while eagerly awaiting the next instalment. 

Click over the jump for a track by track preview of the album.

The Young Sinclairs - Engineer Man 7"

Virginian Anglophiles' jangle pop classic gets a 7” release courtesy of Market Square Records.

Though the track has been around for some time now, dating back to Feel Bad, their self-released debut LP from 2007, the glorious powerpop classic that is 'Engineer Man' is now available on a 7” single thanks to garage aficionado Paul Messis, the man behind Market Square Records. With a nod to Pete Townshend's third person songwriting, The Byrds' fok-rock jangle and a whole host of latter day Paisley Underground bands, lead Sinclair Samuel J Lunsford has crafted a mini pop-opera perfectly suited to the 7” format. Like an out-take from The Who Sells Out, the A-side brims with spirited energy, melodic twists and turns and exquisite harmonies. Flip it over and you'll be no less disappointed, B-side 'Problems' takes a more personal, melancholic stance. Less immediate maybe but after a couple of listens its heartfelt lyrics will carry a deep resonance for anyone who's ever taken time to do a little soul searching. It's those Who comparisons that stand out most, right down to the Keith Moon-like fills. In a fairer world this would right now be giving Daft Punk serious competition for that smash summer single crown, as it is we can keep it as our secret.

'Engineer Man' is out now on Market Square Records. (Limited to 300 copies).

Marc Bolan at The BBC - 6CD Box Set

 

Comprehensive career overview spanning from John's Children to right up to T.Rex in '77, contains several unreleased tracks.


Celebrate Summer indeed! This August sees the release of a 6CD box set of Marc Bolan's session recordings and interviews for the BBC. You'd have to be a real sourpuss with a dislike of classic pop music to not like the records Marc Bolan made with Tyrannosaurus Rex and T.Rex. From the folksy beginnings and on into the brash 'n bluesy classic Glam period. Even on into the later years where an influence of contemporary American soul crept in, you have to admit the guy could write and record great pop music. What joy then to hear that Universal Music have put together this set featuring pretty much everything he recorded for the nation's favourite station Radio One. Sessions for Saturday Club, John Peel's Top Gear, and In Concert are included along with sets recorded for Peter Powell, Dave Lee Travis, Bob Harris and "Diddy" David Hamilton.

For a more detailed description of what the set contains, click over the jump for the full press release.

Beau - Twelve Strings To The Beau

Lost album from Peel favourite finally gets released. Fourteen tracks of post-Dylan, literary folk.

We all love a lost album story don't we, usually those featuring shelved classics such as The Beach Boys' Smile or Dylan & The Band's Basement Tapes. Though not as well known as those artists, singer-songwriter Beau occupies a pretty hip position within the parameters of Brit-folk, as having recorded the very first release on John Peel's Dandelion label. This 7” single, '1917 Revolution', was followed by two well-received albums for Dandelion.

A third album was recorded at Tractor Sound Studios in Heywood Lancashire. Before Beau could secure a release for this album real life intervened, prompting promotion at work and the relocation of his family. The recordings were shelved, perhaps not forgotten about, but certainly not listened to.

Fast forward 38 years to the digital age and a random blog post about Beau sees connections and deals made. The “lost” third album gets a release courtesy of The Sound Of Salvation label. Featuring simply Beau's singular voice and trademark twelve-string acoustic guitar, the music lies somewhere in Dylan's long shadow. Traditional folk song forms with a sometimes political, sometimes introspective bent it owes much his Bobness' Another Side Of album.

Though very much a product of its era, it's aged pretty well. There's a Donovan-esque naïvety on some tracks that today's smug smart arses might scoff at but that's part of its charm. And the sparse arrangements let you soak up the lyrics, which what the record is really about. Wordy, literate, informative and as beneficial as a slow release pill. Subject matter is diverse, ranging from colonialism, war, industrial action as well as the problems of Leeds' drainage system. There's also room for a love song or two. Give it a listen on a relaxed, balmy summer evening with a glass of something nice and it will all make sense. Beau is still making music so go catch him at a gig if you get the chance.

Click here for Beau's website.

Click here for The Sounds Of Salvation website.

Fuchsia - The Girl From Kandahar (Free Track Stream!)

Progressive Folk Rockers Fuchsia release their first record for 40 years next month (June 10th) and have just announced a free track stream for the song Girl From Kandahar. Talking of the track, band leader Tony Durrant said;

“I wandered past a news agents and something caught my eye in the window, a photo of a girl. But something about the photo, something I could not quite process, drew my attention to it. Something not quite right. As I got closer I noticed the 'Time Magazine' header, and then I suddenly drew back, as I saw what had caught my attention. It was this beautiful dark haired Afghani girl, who stared out proudly, but there was something strange about her, something I could not put my finger on. I moved closer to the shop window. Then I realised in shock what was wrong... where her nose should have been was a dark crater, a hole, a shadow . She was this poor girl who had defied what parental and tribal convention had decreed, much to the chagrin of her parents. And that was where the Taliban stepped in, slashing off her nose and her ears as a warning to others.

So there it was. The girl from Kandahar. What must life be like for a young girl like that? Where do you go? Who to talk to? What possesses people to do this sort of thing? And so the song tells the story of the innocent girl trapped in a system where there seems little hope of escape. How thin is this veneer of humanity and we all shy at the horrors of what people are capable of..”

Click here to listen to Fuchsia's The Girl From Kandahar.

Bananas Magazine - Issue #7 Out Now!

Get inky! Latest issue of New York 'zine will fulfill all your garage, punk & psych needs.


One of the most endearing facts about the garage rock scene is that although it's small, it's a dedicated, supportive, global community. The latest issue of Bananas Magazine is evidence of that. Issue #7 of the New York based garage 'zine has features on Spain's Purple Weekend Festival, Germany's Screaming Apple record label, Russian and Italian garage scenes, along with an excellent interview with Belgian artist Robin Renard.

There's also interviews with The Eeries (Philadelphia), The Othermen (NYC), The Thunderbeats (Moscow), Le Kid & Les Marinelli (Montreal), The High Learys (Perth), and The Mentalettes (all over the place). If that's not enough check out the vinyl-heavy reviews section for all that's hot in the garage punk scene right now.

Perhaps my favourite feature though is Todd's Tabs, a guitar tutorial which in this issue fittingly centres on '60s Swiss garage legends The Sevens. Hell, it makes me want to go and dust down my old Teisco right now!

Bananas Magazine is free where available, though if you can't find one in your local store just pay for the postage and order online from their website. Year old issues are available to read online too, whaddya waitin' for?!

www.bananasmag.com

Paul Messis - Case Closed

Garage folk for the disenfranchised. Second album from West Sussex based songwriter.

Fifty years after Jagger's dissatisfaction it appears there's still plenty of reasons for today's young man to feel distanced from wider mainstream society. Paul Messis' second album Case Closed is a case in point. Across the album's twelve tracks Messis lets the listener into his worldview, expressing, loneliness, alienation, disdain for society's hypocrisy, along with a defiant yearning for a freer, kinder, more open-minded world.

Messis has as much contempt for the mores of the modern world as he has for modern production values. Like his previous releases, Case Closed sounds like it it was recorded in the mid '60s, with Messis striving for and achieving a convincing take on his beloved Minnesota garage and Sunset Strip folk rock.

Messis sets his stall out from the off, “I Hate The World Around Me” has a stinging lyrical attack coupled with a frantic pace. It's the album's gentler, more melodic moments that work best though. “A Matter Of Opinion” and “The Tables Have Turned” being the strongest tunes, the latter further enhanced by a biting fuzz guitar solo.

Part Byrds' jangle, part Americans imitating the Stones circa 1965, and part C86 feyness, the resulting album is not your average garage rock re-hash, mainly due to Messis' abilities as an introspective singer songwriter. Though not a great vocalist, (a couple of vocal re-takes wouldn't have hurt), you do believe in him, there's a sincerity in his voice and lyrics which wins you over.

Once again the authentic attention to detail that State Records are getting a reputation for is present. Not only does the album have an impressively varied array of guitar tones, the limited LP version is on 180gram vinyl with a front-laminated flipback sleeve. Nice!

www.paulmessis.moonfruit.com

www.staterecs.com