Download Spirit - First Album (1968)

Spirit - First Album

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Spirit 1968 (Full Album Download)

Spirit's self-titled debut album is one whose multifarious experimentalism owes a lot to the contemporary successes of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It marked the humble beginnings and grand aspirations of its eponymous authors. While the mindset required to produce Spirit was ubiquitous, the endeavour itself was far from clichéd. The eclecticism of Randy California's writing coupled Barrett's psychotropism with Morrison's West Coast bohemianism; and although the result proved somewhat inaccessible to the masses, it made the project ripe for underground FM airtime. The band would later curtail its psychedelia, focusing on a broader array of genres.

This release was published first by Ode records in 1968. It has since been reprinted by Sony–repackaged in compact-disc form and remastered from original analogue tapes. (Wikipedia)

1. "Fresh-Garbage" 3:11
2. "Uncle Jack" 2:44
3. "Mechanical World" Andes, Ferguson 5:15
4. "Taurus" California 2:37
5. "Girl in Your Eye" 3:15
6. "Straight Arrow" 2:50
7. "Topanga Windows" 3:36
8. "Gramophone Man" Andes, California, Cassidy, Ferguson, Locke 3:49
9. "Water Woman" 2:11
10. "The Great Canyon Fire in General" 2:46
11. "Elijah" Locke 10:42
12. "Veruska †" California 2:50
13. "Free Spirit †" Locke 4:27
14. "If I Had a Woman †" California 3:11
15. "Elijah (Alternate Take) †" Locke 9:42

* † - Tracks specific to the 1996 reissue

Album Download Link;

 Download on Mediafire - Spirit (1968)

Crosby Stills Nash and Young Rare Demos

Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) are a folk rock supergroup made up of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, also known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) when joined by occasional fourth member Neil Young. They are noted for their intricate vocal harmonies, often tumultuous interpersonal relationships, political activism, and lasting influence on music and culture. All four members of CSNY have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, though Young's multiple inductions were for work not involving the group.

Here are some demos made by various combinations of these four amazingly talented artists.

Almost Cut My Hair (1969 - David Crosby)

Long Time Gone (1968 - David Crosby and Stephen Stills)

Music is Love (1970 David Crosby, Neil Young and Graham Nash)

Deja Vu (1969 David Crosby)

Marrakesh Express (1969 - Crosby, Stills and Nash)


Be Yourself (1971 - Graham Nash)

Chicago (1970 - Graham Nash)

Sleep Song (1969 - Graham Nash)


Love the One You are With (1970 - Graham Nash)

You don't have to Cry (1968 - Graham Nash)

Singing Call (1970 - Graham Nash)

My Love is a Gentle Thing (1968 - Graham Nash)

Initially formed by the trio of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, the genesis of the group lies in two 1960s rock bands, The Byrds and The Hollies, and the demise of a third, Buffalo Springfield. Friction existed between David Crosby and his bandmates in the Byrds, and he was dismissed from the Byrds in the autumn of 1967.

By early 1968, Buffalo Springfield had also disintegrated over personal issues, and after aiding in putting together the band’s final album, Stephen Stills found himself unemployed by the summer. He and Crosby began meeting informally and jamming, the results of one encounter in Florida on Crosby’s schooner being the song “Wooden Ships,” composed in collaboration with another guest, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane.

Graham Nash had been introduced to Crosby when the Byrds had toured the UK in 1966, and when the Hollies ventured to California in 1968, Nash resumed his acquaintance with Crosby.

At a party in July 1968 at Cass Elliot's house, Nash asked Stills and Crosby to repeat their performance of a new song by Stills, “You Don't Have To Cry,” with Nash improvising a second harmony part. The vocals gelled, and the three realized that they had a unique vocal chemistry.

Creatively frustrated with the Hollies, Nash decided to quit and throw his lot in with Crosby and Stills. After failing an audition with the Beatles' Apple Records, they were signed to Atlantic Records by Ahmet Ertegün, who had been a fan of Buffalo Springfield and was disappointed by that band's demise

From the outset, given their respective band histories, the trio decided not to be locked into a group structure, using their surnames as identification to ensure independence and a guarantee against the band simply continuing without one of them, as had both the Byrds and the Hollies after the departures of Crosby and Nash. Their record contract with Atlantic reflected this, positioning CSN with a unique flexibility unheard of for an untested group. The trio also picked up a unique management team in Elliot Roberts and David Geffen, who had engineered their situation with Atlantic and would help to consolidate clout for the group in the industry.

Roberts kept the band focused and dealt with egos, while Geffen handled the business deals, since, in Crosby’s words, they needed a shark and Geffen was it. Roberts and Geffen would play key roles in securing the band’s success during the early years.

When it was announced that the band was forming, they ran into a slight contractual problem. Nash was already signed to Epic Records, the North American distributor of records by the Hollies, while Crosby and Stills were signed to Atlantic. In order to resolve this problem, Geffen engineered a deal whereby Nash was essentially traded to Atlantic for the rights to Richie Furay's band Poco; Furay was signed to Atlantic as a result of his membership in Buffalo Springfield.

Initial success

The trio's first album, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, was released in May 1969 and was an immediate hit, spawning two Top 40 hit singles and receiving key airplay on the new FM radio format. With the exception of drummer Dallas Taylor, Stills had handled the lion's share of the instrumental parts himself, which left the band in need of additional personnel to be able to tour, now a necessity given the debut album’s commercial impact.


Retaining Taylor, the band decided initially to hire a keyboard player. Stills at one point approached Steve Winwood who was already occupied with newly formed group Blind Faith. Atlantic label head Ahmet Ertegün suggested Canadian singer/songwriter Neil Young, also managed by Elliot Roberts, as a fairly obvious choice. Initial reservations were held by Stills and Nash, Stills owing to his history with Young in Buffalo Springfield, and Nash, due to his personal unfamiliarity with Young. But after several meetings, the trio expanded to a quartet with Young a full partner. The terms of the contract allowed Young full freedom to maintain a parallel career with his new back-up band, Crazy Horse.

Family - Music in a Dolls House

Music in a Doll's House is the debut album by progressive rock group Family, released in July 1968. The album, co-produced by Dave Mason of Traffic , features a number of complex musical arrangements contributing to its ambitious psychedelic sound.

The Beatles had originally intended to use the title A Doll's House for the album they were recording during 1968. The release of Family's similarly titled debut then prompted them to adopt the minimalist title The Beatles for what is now more commonly referred to as The White Album due to its plain white sleeve.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE ALBUM - MUSIC IN A DOLLS HOUSE

"Old Songs, New Songs" features a cameo from the Tubby Hayes group.

This album was initially issued in the US using the UK import and sold in the US as a domestic album (with an extra piece of cardboard to stiffen up the sleeve). Around the time the second album was issued in the US, US pressings of this album started to appear.

In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #30 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".

All tracks credited to John Whitney, Roger Chapman and Family unless noted.
Side one

1. "The Chase" – 2:16
2. "Mellowing Grey" – 2:48
3. "Never Like This" – 2:20 (Dave Mason)
4. "Me My Friend" – 2:00
5. "Variation on a theme of Hey Mr. Policeman" – 0:25
6. "Winter" – 2:26
7. "Old Songs New Songs" – 4:18
8. "Variation on a theme of The Breeze" – 0:39

Side two

1. "Hey Mr. Policeman" – 3:14
2. "See Through Windows" – 3:44
3. "Variation on a theme of Me My Friend" – 0:22
4. "Peace of Mind" – 2:26
5. "Voyage" – 3:31
6. "The Breeze" – 2:52
7. "3 x Time" – 3:51

Family were an English rock band that formed in Late 1966 and disbanded in October 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explores other genres, incorporating elements of such styles as folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz fusion and basic rock and roll. The band achieved recognition in the United Kingdom, through their albums and appearing at festivals, but were unable to attract the same level of attention in USA.

 

The band's rotating membership throughout its relatively short existence led to a diversity in sound throughout their different albums. Family are also often seen as an unjustly forgotten act,when compared with other bands from the same period and have been described as an "odd band loved by a small but rabid group of fans". (Wikipedia)

Associated bands and acts;
Kevin Ayers, Streetwalkers, Traffic, Blind Faith, King Crimson, Stud, Mogul Thrash, The Animals, The Farinas, The Rocking R's, The Roaring Sixties, Ashton, Gardner & Dyke, Dave Mason, Nicky Hopkins

The Small Faces - Ogdens Nut Gone Flake

 Listen to and Download The Small Faces - Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake 

Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake was a successful concept album by the English rock band Small Faces. Released on 24 May 1968 the LP became a number one hit in the UK Album Charts on 29 June where it remained for a total of six weeks. The album was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The title and the design of the distinctive packaging was a parody of Ogdens' Nut-brown Flake, a brand of tobacco which was produced in Liverpool from 1899.

The A-side is a mix of early heavy rock with "Song of a Baker"; psychedelic cockney knees-up songs "Lazy Sunday" and "Rene", the opening instrumental title track (which resembles their second single "I've Got Mine", which was a total bomb in 1965), and the soul influenced ballad "Afterglow (Of Your Love)".
The B-side is based on an original fairy tale about a boy called Happiness Stan, narrated in his unique ‘Unwinese’ gobbledegook by Stanley Unwin, who picked up modern slang from the band and incorporated it into the surreal narrative.

When Stan looks up in the sky and sees only half the moon, he sets out on a quest to search for the missing half. Along the way he saves a fly from starvation, and in gratitude the insect tells him of someone who can answer his question and also tell him the philosophy of life itself. With his magic power Stan intones, "If all the flies were one fly, what a great enormous fly-follolloper that would bold," and the fly grows to gigantic proportions. Seated on the giant fly's back Stan takes a psychedelic journey to the cave of Mad John the hermit, who explains that the moon's disappearance is only temporary, and demonstrates by pointing out that Stan has spent so long on his quest that the moon is now full again. He then sings Stan a cheerful song about the meaning of life.

Due to the album's complexities, Ogdens' was never performed live, however it was performed as a whole once on the BBC's television programme Colour Me Pop on Friday 21 June 1968. Songs featured were "Song of a Baker", "Happiness Stan", "Rollin' Over", "The Hungry Intruder", "The Journey", "Mad John" and "Happydaystoytown". Although the band mimed to the studio recordings, their microphones were left on to capture little ad libs.

In 2000 Q magazine placed Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake at number 59 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.

Highest UK album chart position: 1968, Number One (for six weeks), and a total of 19 weeks on chart.

Playbox Theatre Company, UK, have performed the whole album as a theatre piece in November 2008. It was directed by Stewart McGill and performed by a young cast with a Small Faces tribute band, and it was narrated by Stanley Unwin's son, John.

On October 10 2010, the world’s first major concert format production of Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is to be staged at London's indigO2 venue, featuring an all-star line up of artists. The show will be promoted by Chas Cole of CMP and produced by John Hellier & Mark Cunningham.

Packaging
The album was originally released on vinyl in a circular novelty package of a metal replica of a giant tobacco tin inside which was a poster created with 5 connected paper circles with pictures of the band members. This proved too expensive and was quickly followed by a paper/card replica with a gatefold cover. Two limited-edition CD releases (including a three-disc deluxe edition in 2006 that included the original mono mix of the album on CD for the first time) went even further by packaging the disc(s) in a circular tin (as the original vinyl release had). However, most CD releases use conventional packaging, superimposing the circular artwork on a square booklet. The award-winning artwork for the album cover was done by Mick Swan who was a product of the sixties art school scene. Any other work by him is unknown but he is known to have worked as a fine arts tutor at Lowestoft F.E. College in 1974.

 

Click on Song Titles to download.

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake"	Marriott, Lane, McLagan, Jones	2:26
2.	"Afterglow (Of Your Love)"	Marriott, Lane	3:31
3.	"Long Agos and Worlds Apart"	McLagan	2:35
4.	"Rene"	Marriott, Lane	4:29
5.	"Song of a Baker"	Marriott, Lane	3:15
6.	"Lazy Sunday"	Marriott, Lane	3:05

Side two (titled "Happiness Stan")
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Happiness Stan"	Marriott, Lane	2:35
2.	"Rollin' Over"	Marriott, Lane	2:50
3.	"The Hungry Intruder"	Marriott, Lane, McLagan	2:15
4.	"The Journey"	Marriott, Lane, McLagan, Jones	4:12
5.	"Mad John"	Marriott, Lane	2:48
6.	"Happy Days Toy Town"	Marriott, Lane, McLagan	4:17

Extra Track! - Tin Soldier

Download Complete Album; Ogden's Nut Gone Flake 

To promote the album Immediate issued an advertisement that parodied The Lord's Prayer. It caused uproar in the British press and outraged readers wrote in and complained.

Small Faces
Which were in the studios
Hallowed by thy name
Thy music come
Thy songs be sung
On this album as they came from your heads
We give you this day our daily bread
Give us thy album in a round cover as we give thee 37/9d.,
Lead us into the record stores.
And deliver us Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
For nice is the music
The sleeve and the story
For ever and ever, Immediate

"We didn't know a thing about the ad. until we saw it in the music papers. And frankly we got the horrors at first. We realise that it could be taken as a serious knock against religion. But on thinking it over, we don't feel it is particularly good or bad. It's just another form of advertising. We're not all that concerned about it. We're more concerned in writing our music and producing our records" - Steve Marriott on the advert for Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake that parodied the Lord's Prayer (Wikipedia)

Download Ten Years After - Undead

Complete Album Download - Undead; Ten Years After

Undead is the second album by Ten Years After, recorded live at the small jazz club, Klook's Kleek, in London, May 1968. This album set out to give listeners a real feel to what it was like to hear Ten Years After. Their eponymous first album was bluesy, but less emotional and passionate, and so the band decided to record the album live. The result was a combination of blues, boogie and the sometimes remarkable jazz playing ability of the band members.

 

The approach of the band on this album remains unique in that it is a rock/blues approach to swing. And swing it does! Although the soloing remains almost exclusively in the pentatonic scale and adheres strictly to a basic 1/IV/V 12 bar blues (with no traditional jazz substitutions), the boys manage to pull off a confident and aggressive post bop feel. This album became the introduction that many aspiring musicians used as a learning tool to explore beyond rock and pop boundaries and into more improvised stylings.

 

Ten Years After; Undead (1968)
Line-up:
Chick Churchill - keyboards
Alvin Lee - guitar, vocals
Leo Lyons - bass
Ric Lee - drums
Joe Gooch - guitar, vocals

Additional Album Info; Original LP on DERAM 1023
Download Tracks;
1. I May Be Wrong But I Won't Be Wrong Always (Alvin Lee)- 9:49
2. At The Woodchopper's Ball (Woody Herman/Joe Bishop)- 7:38
3. Spider In My Web (Alvin Lee)- 7:42
4. Summertime (George Gershwin)/ Shantung Cabbage (Ric Lee)- 5:44
5. I'm Going Home (Alvin Lee)- 6:24


2002 CD Re-release
1. Rock Your Mama - 3:46
2. Spoonful - 6:23
3. I May Be Wrong, But I Won't Be Wrong Always - 9:49
4. Summertime / Shantung Cabbage - 5:44
5. Spider In My Web - 7:43
6. (At the) Woodchopper's Ball - 7:38
7. Standing At The Crossroads - 4:10
8. I Can't Keep From Crying, Sometimes / Extension On One Chord / I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes - 17:04
9. I'm Going Home - 6:24
Download Complete Album  [87MB]

Texas International Pop Festival 1969 - Spoonful - Alvin Lee/Ten Years After

Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition they have had twelve albums enter the US Billboard 200, and are best known for their tracks "I'm Going Home", "Hear Me Calling", "I'd Love To Change the World" and "Love Like a Man".

Woodchoppers Ball

After several years of local success in the Nottingham/Mansfield area as a band known since 1962 as The Jaybirds (its core was formed in late 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats), and later as Ivan Jay and the Jaymen, Ten Years After was founded by Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons. Ivan Jay sang lead vocals from late 1960 to 1962 and was joined by Ric Lee in August 1965, replacing drummer Dave Quickmire, who had replaced Pete Evans in 1962. In 1966 The Jaybirds moved to London, where Chick Churchill joined the group. That November the quartet signed a manager, Chris Wright, and decided to change its name to Blues Trip, Blues Yard (under which they played a show at the Marquee Club supporting the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band), and finally in November 1966, to Ten Years After, (in honor of Elvis Presley, an idol of Lee's whose momentous year in rock, 1956, helps to better explain the band's title).

The group became the first act booked by the soon-to-be Chrysalis Agency. It secured a residency at the Marquee, and received an invitation to play at the Windsor Jazz Festival in 1967. That performance led to a contract with Deram, a subsidiary of Decca – the first band so signed without a hit single. In October, its 1967 self-titled debut album was released.

In 1968, after touring Scandinavia and the United States, Ten Years After released its second album, live Undead, which brought the noteworthy song "I'm Going Home". This was followed in February 1969 by the studio issue Stonedhenge, a British hit, that included another well known track, "Hear Me Calling" (it was released also as a single, and covered in 1972 by the British glam rock rising stars, Slade). In July 1969 the group appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, in the first event to which rock bands were invited. In August, the band performed a breakthrough American appearance at Woodstock; their rendition of "I'm Going Home" featuring Alvin Lee as lead singer, was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and catapulted them to star status.

Ten Years After- Spider in my Web (live audio)

During 1970, Ten Years After released "Love Like a Man", the group's only hit in the UK Singles Chart. This song was on the band's fifth album, Cricklewood Green.The name of the album comes from a friend of the group who lived in Cricklewood, London. He grew a sort of plant which was said to have hallucinogenic effects. The band did not know the name of this plant, so the members called their album Cricklewood Green. It was the first record to be issued with a different playing speed on each side – one a three-minute edit at 45rpm, the other, a nine-minute live version at 33rpm. In August 1970, Ten Years After played the Strawberry Fields Festival near Toronto, and the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

In 1971, the band released the album A Space in Time, which marked a move toward more commercial material. It featured the group's biggest hit, "I'd Love To Change The World". But the band broke up after the 1974 album Positive Vibrations. The members re-united in 1983 to play the Reading Festival,and this performance was later released on CD as The Friday Rock Show Sessions - Live At Reading '83' . In 1988, the members re-united for a few concerts and recorded the album About Time (1989). In 1994, they participated in the Eurowoodstock festival in Budapest.

Alvin Lee has since then mostly played and recorded under his own name. In 2004, the other band members replaced him with Joe Gooch, and recorded the album, Now.Material from the following tour was used for the 2005 double album, Roadworks.[4] Ric Lee is currently in a band called The Breakers, along with Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds). (Wikipedia)

London 1970 - Spider In My Web