The Fat Angel Sings

The Electric Prunes came together in Southern California during 1966 and soon became regarded as one of the seminal US psychedelic groups, thanks to the hit singles ‘I Had Too Much (To Dream Last Night)’ and ‘Get Me To The World On Time’.

Through their various incarnations, the Electric Prunes recorded five albums for the Reprise label between 1967 and 1969 with legendary producer Dave Hassinger helping to create their unique and distinctive psychedelic sound.

Featuring the first CD issue of the mono mix of the ‘Mass In F Minor’, the collection also compiles the original dedicated mono 45 mixes, plus rare cuts, early demos, and extended takes, as well as the legendary live recording of the band captured in Stockholm during their European tour in late 1967, all lovingly remastered by Alec Palao.

Under the direction of composer and arranger David Axelrod, the Prunes helped pioneer the Religious Rock genre with the ‘Mass In F Minor’ and ‘Release Of An Oath’ LPs.
This collection brings together their entire output for the very first time, including stereo and mono versions of their first three albums. Aside from their two bona fide hits — “I Had Too Much (To Dream Last Night)” and “Get Me To The World On Time” I never really paid much attention to The Electric Prunes. But maybe it’s time to give them a closer look. And obviously, there’s never been a better time.

The new six-disc anthology “Then Came The Dawn – Complete Recordings 1966-1969” collects the band’s entire output, along with rarities, live tapes and demos. And even a cursory spin makes it clear they should be regarded as more than two-hit wonders. Tracks like “Train For Tomorrow, Try Me On For Size” and the magnificently titled “Are You Lovin’ Me More (But Enjoying It Less)” are hits that should have been, while plenty of other cuts find the group bouncing between garage-rock, psychedelia, paisley-pop and even folk and jazz. Maybe that lack of focus was one of their problems — that and the fact that they really, really overused that signature tremolo effect. Plus, evolving into a grandiosely overblown religious rock band probably didn’t help them either. At least, that’s where they lost me. But even if “Then Came The Dawn” ultimately taught me how much Electric Prunes is too much, it certainly enlightened me about the band. To complement these unique psychedelic sounds the box set includes a comprehensive history of the group by Gray Newell, featuring in-depth recollections from original vocalist James Lowe, and from key member of the later incarnation of the band, Richard Whetstone, making this the definitive Electric Prunes’ collection.

An extensive 6CD box set devoted to one of the key innovators of the ‘60s psychedelic sound featuring their entire output, rarities and demos.

Recorded live in Paris – nine urgent Dinosaur Jr classics performed at arguably the band’s 90s peak as a live outfit. At the head of this joyous sound was J Mascis, putting his drawling vocals through the mic, and guitar that echoed Neil Young and his contemporaries, while stalwarts Lou Barlow and Murph laid the table, retaining that solid backline.

Paris played host to the band on the 2nd March 1993 and, for the first time, “The Black Session“, having been remastered from the original tapes, are offered for your delectation. It starts with ‘Quest’ from the band’s 1985 album “Dinosaur”, but the second track is a real treat as these grunge heavyweights present their take on The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’ and this works, perhaps even better than Smith’s drawl, contentious I know,.

A rather polite audience signifies the next track and in juxtaposition ‘Lung’ begins. Taken from 1987’s “You’re Living All Over Me” and by this point, a recognisable track, as Mascis sings “…No way to collapse the lung, raise the doubt in everyone…”, with his stern guitar and familiar riff, you can’t but love this number. Performed live, it is even more adorable, with its swooping guitar and Murph’s drums.

The master of ceremonies introduces what follows and I wish I’d paid more attention during my French lessons, as the band launch into the recognisable ‘Freak Scene’, and if you’re unsure, I have to ask, where have you been? The penultimate track on side 1, shows just how raw and loved this band is, from a show recorded at Maison de la Radio, Studio 105 in Paris, 1993 – a fan favourite session that has been remastered from the original tapes. It sounds as fresh as the day it was recorded.

Side 2 commences with ‘Drawerings’ and is an opportunity to bathe in Mascis’ New England vocal drawl and his guitar playing eloquence. At times, pinpoint accurate, while others are as sprawled as the greatest modern art. As Jimi Hendrix once sang, it has to be “experienced”, both guitar and vocal. As ‘Budge’ signifies the penultimate track, this steam train rattles on, its riff sounding like the horn at the front of the engine. Then it’s left to ‘Thumb’ to ride until the end of the rails, as it’s clear this performance will soon draw the drapes. A track that was first released in February 1991, this is as near to perfect as a number is going to get. Starting with a brief ride on the phaser pedal, the man at the helm tonight playfully strides in at the end of the first verse singing “…why can’t you move without a goal…” and as we’re left to consider this question, as he sings “…There never really is a good time…”, as I decide that the message is just to swim in this sea of sound. I would now consider Mascis and co. to be the godfathers of the scene. The music is rich and this performance displays the band at their 90s peak. Only 9 tracks, but I would encourage anyone to immerse themselves in these 41 minutes of sounds and in the process feel the energy of one of the best bands grunge had to offer.

Produced in conjunction with the band and INA, France. A companion piece to 2022’s best-selling ‘Seventytwohundredseconds’ MTV EP.

High Tide featured the intense guitar playing of Tony Hill, the violin and keyboard skills of Simon House (later to join the Third Ear Band and then Hawkwind), bassist Pete Pavli and drummer Roger Hadden. Signing to Liberty Records soon after formation, the band recorded ‘Sea Shanties’ at Olympic studios, an album featuring some of the heaviest gothic progressive rock recorded at that time. This stunning album is now regarded as a true classic of its time notable for including the violin as a rock instrument. The cover artwork was drawn by Paul Whitehead..

 On “Sea Shanties“, there’s nothing fey and flowery in Hill’s bleak lyrics or his doomy Jim Morrison-like delivery, and psychedelia’s melodic whimsy is supplanted by a physicality more in line with the visceral heft of metal progenitors…High Tide weren’t a power trio, though, and it was the interplay of Hill’s guitar with Simon House’s violin that created the band’s unique signature. Showing that rock violin needn’t be a marginal adornment, House whips up an aggressive edge that rivals the guitar… High Tide had the muscularity of a no-nonsense proto-metal band, but they also ventured into prog territory with changing time signatures and tempos, soft-hard dynamics, multi-part arrangements, and even some ornate faux-Baroque interludes… Far from the collection of nautical ditties its name suggests, “Sea Shanties” is an overlooked gem encapsulating the shifting musical currents in late-’60s British rock.

This official gatefold LP vinyl edition fully restores the original LP artwork, has been remastered from the original Liberty master tapes and has been cut at Abbey Road studios.

Though it met with a scathing review in Melody Maker, reviews in the underground press were universally positive, and sales were just enough to convince Liberty to give the green light to a second album

Extensive box set exploring Cranes’ output on the Dedicated label, 1989-1997. Includes albums, b-sides, remixes, rarities and live recordings. Curated in association with cranes founder and vocalist Alison Shaw. Artwork by 4ad graphic design legend Chris Bigg.

Formed in 1986 by siblings Alison and Jim Shaw, Cranes remain one of the most distinctive bands of the late 1980s and 1990s, their ever-mutating sound defying categorisation and existing outside of the zeitgeist. Their recorded output during their initial ten-year incarnation is collected together here for the first time, from the raw 1989 mini album “Self-Non-Self” (originally released on Bite Back!) through to the sophisticated 1997 epic “Population Four”.

Curated and overseen by singer Alison Shaw on behalf of the band, and resplendent in artwork by 4AD legend Chris Bigg (with detailed liner notes and discographic information), “Collected Works Vol 1” serves as timely reminder of Cranes’ magnificence as they evolved from stark, noisy soundscapes to bolder, more elaborate instrumentation and arrangements. With hints of ethereal rock, dream pop, shoegaze, industrial and neo- classical, theirs was a sound truly like no other.

A must for fans and a perfect all-in-one deep dive for the curious, “Collected Works Vol 1” is an emotionally charged time capsule showcasing one of the finest bands of the 1990s.

Bruce Springsteen will release a project called “Tracks II: The Lost Albums” the singer announced on social media Wednesday morning. No further information was provided, but the first volume of “Tracks” was  4-CD, 66-song collection of unreleased material from across his career that was issued in 1998.

The video accompanying the announcement, which is soundtracked by instrumental music, shows studio paperwork dated from 1993 (the session for his Oscar-winning song “Streets of Philadelphia”) and 1997 and includes the tagline, “What was lost has now been found.” It also includes the date April 3rd, 2025 — tomorrow — but it’s unclear whether the album, or merely more information, will be unveiled on that day.

“TRACKS II: THE LOST ALBUMS are seven unreleased Bruce Springsteen albums recorded between 1983-2018. With 82 new songs, The Lost Albums completes chapters of Springsteen’s extensive trajectory, while offering a valuable insight into his life and work as an artist. ‘The Lost Albums” were complete records, some of them included until they were mixed and not published’, says Springsteen. ‘I’m glad that you finally have the opportunity to listen to them. I hope you enjoy them.’

From the lo-fi exploration of LA Garage Sessions ’83, which serves as a crucial link between “Nebraska” and “Born in the U.S.A.”, to the drum and synthesizer sounds of Streets of Philadelphia Sessions, The Lost Albums offers a context without precedent for Springsteen’s 35 prolific years of composition and home recording. “The ability to record at home whenever I wanted allowed me to go in a wide variety of different musical directions,” Springsteen explained. Throughout the album, this sonic experiment takes the form of film soundtracks (for a film that is never seen) in “Faithless”, country combos with pedal steel in Somewhere North of Nashville, frontier stories richly woven in Inyo, mid-sixth-century noir music with orchestra in Twilight Hours and E Street’s favourite rock in “Perfect World“. “The Lost Albums” are available in a limited edition of a nine LP and seven CDs, including the original packaging of each unreleased album, with a hardcover book bound on a 100-page canvas with photos from a few common archives, notes on each lost album by essayist Erik Flannigan and a personal introduction about Springsteen’s own project.”

Springsteen, who launches a European tour next month, teased the album earlier in the week, and his fan network immediately sprung into action, some not only accurately guessing what the project is, but also what might be on it.

Not surprisingly, the most popular guess was the full-band version of his “Nebraska” album, which Springsteen recorded but then abandoned in 1981 and ’82, electing instead to release his solo demos, as he felt they had a spirit and rawness that the band didn’t or couldn’t capture. With the biopic of the making of that album — “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” starring Jeremy Allen White — slated for release later this year, it seems likely that at least some of those songs will be on the collection.

Springsteen has released multiple archival collections since the first “Tracks” dropped nearly 27 years ago, including expanded anniversary editions of his classic albums “Born to Run,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “The River,” as well as dozens of live recordings available on his website.

The first volume of “Tracks” spanned 1972-1995 but featured just five post-1990 recordings, so it seems likely that the bulk of the material from this new edition will be from the past 30 years. However, Vol. 1 featured just one “Nebraska” outtake, a glaring omission that has tantalized fans for decades.

Springsteen said in 2017, “We’ve made many more records than we released. Why didn’t we release those records? I didn’t think they were essential. I might have thought they were good, I might have had fun making them, and we’ve released plenty of that music [on archival collections over the years]. But over my entire work life, I felt like I released what was essential at a certain moment, and what I got in return was a very sharp definition of who I was, what I want to do, what I was singing about. And I still basically judge what I’m doing by the same set of rules.”

A 20-track, single CD / 2LP highlights release called “Selections From The Lost Albums Track” will also be available. “Tracks II: The Lost Albums” will be released by Sony on 27th June 2025.

As a member of Big in Japan, The Slits and, most famously, Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Creatures, ‘Budgie’ became one of the era-defining drummers in the much-mythologised post punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Growing up in working class St Helens in the 1960s, Peter Clarke lost his mum as a young boy and it’s her ‘absence’ that haunts the pages of this book. Disenchanted with art school inLiverpool, Peter became Budgie and befriended the likes of Jayne Casey, Holly Johnson, Pete Burns, Bill Drummond and other luminaires of the legendary Eric’s’ Club, before taking off for London and the big city heat of punk. Budgie’s unique technique and musical sensitivity endeared him to the all-female group The Slits, who asked him to play on their debut album “Cut”. Subsequent touring with former members of the Sex Pistols and others from the post punk aristocracy firmly established Budgie’s reputation for innovation.

 “When in 1973 Pink Floyd said ‘I’ll see you on the dark side of the Moon’, they didn’t realise that Hawkwind had been there, done that and bought the spacesuit a full two years previously. Released in October 1971, “In Search Of Space” the second studio album from Hawkwind, touched down a little over a year after the Hawks’ self-titled debut, and it’s light years ahead of that fledgling far-out fandango.

“This three-disc set includes the original album mix remastered, new stereo mixes, and a Blu-ray disc in 5.1 surround sound. (The big bonus is the inclusion of pamphlet The Hawkwind Log, available only with the earliest vinyl copies.)”

Bass player John A Harrison left just after recording the first album, replaced by Thomas Crimble who in turn was replaced by Dave Anderson from Amon Düül II for this album, and who in turn would be gone before its release. Electronics player Dik Mik Davies had also temporarily left so the band’s live sound engineer Del Dettmar was pulled in as a replacement, whilst Huw Lloyd-Langton had departed after a bad LSD experience at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Recorded in 1971, the album was Hawkwind’s first true masterwork, featuring such classic tracks as ‘You Shouldn’t Do That’, ‘Master of the Universe’ and ‘We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago’. “You Shouldn’t Do That” is an extended piece they had been playing live from Crimble’s time in the band and he asserts he should have received a writer’s credit for the central bass line on which this is based. It was recorded for a BBC Maida Vale session on 19 May 1971 for the Sounds of the 70s show, a bootleg version of the session can be found on The Text of Festival. It was the encore for the “Space Ritual” show but omitted from that album, later appearing in 1976 on the compilation album “Roadhawks”. It has been part of the live set at various times throughout their career,

“We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago” is a twelve string guitar number with a band jam in the middle section and its lyrics bemoan the direction of society. A new acoustic version of “We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago” was included on “The Road to Utopia” produced and arranged by Mike Batt with additional orchestrations.

“Adjust Me” is a band improvisation. “Children of the Sun” is an acoustic guitar number, although after the vocal passage the repeated heavy riff is augmented by electric guitars and bass. The bonus track “Seven by Seven”, originally the b-side to “Silver Machine”, uses the riff from late 1960s English psychedelic band Leviathan’s “Flames”.

‘In Search Of Space’ saw Hawkwind fully realise their unique brand of Space Rock and was greeted with acclaim upon its release in October 1971 and was the band’s first Top 20 hit. The record was subsequently and deservedly hailed as one of the Greatest Hundred British Rock albums of all time by Classic Rock magazine.

With their brilliant synthesis of folk and country, baroque and roll, San Francisco’s Beau Brummels made a major and lasting contribution to the lexicon of American popular music in the mid-1960s. ‘Turn Around: The Complete Recordings 1964-1970’ is the exhaustive overview of their legacy has so long deserved; presenting the band’s classic Autumn and Warner Brothers recordings in definitive fashion.

Boasting the stellar songcraft of Ron Elliott and the unique voice of Sal Valentino, the Brummels were amongst the first American units to respond to the British Invasion with innovation rather than imitation. The group remained popular and influential in the US long after their 1965 chart successes with ‘Laugh, Laugh’ and ‘Just A Little’, and once the act had devolved to the duo of Valentino and Elliott in 1967, the Beau Brummels moved to the forefront of Warner Brothers’ late 1960s pop renaissance with the albums ‘Triangle’ and ‘Bradley’s Barn’, the latter a visionary country-rock masterpiece.

Assembled, annotated and mastered by longtime Brummels’ aficionado Alec Palao, this major refurbishment of The Beau Brummels’ catalogue leaves no stone unturned. The original stereo album masters are accompanied by a comprehensive assortment of out- takes, alternate mixes and 45 RPM versions, and are further enhanced by rarities and unreleased demos drawn from the band’s own archives.

All the members of the Brummels also contribute to the instructive and heavily-illustrated history of the recordings, housed in a deluxe, handsomely appointed booklet art directed and designed by Steve Stanley.

“I do like this record. Despite their tremendously loser name, this group from America is pretty good. They have a sound of their own added to by Byrd-like guitar playing and Everly Brothers voices. In a funny way, it’s rather sexy.”

Although Penny Valentine’s verdict on The Beau Brummels’s “Don’t Talk to Strangers” edges towards damning the single with faint praise, it was positive and homed in on an important aspect of the San Francisco band – their Everly Brothers’s resonance. Readers of her Disc Weekly reviews column that mid-November in 1965 will have been well-aware of America’s decisive response to the wave of British bands clogging up their charts. It was an influential reaction: The Byrds impacted on The Beatles.

With their brilliant synthesis of folk and country, baroque and roll, San Francisco’s Beau Brummels made a major and lasting contribution to the lexicon of American popular music in the mid-1960s.

Recorded at Rockfield and Olympic studios in September and October 1972, the legendary album followed on the success of the band’s hit single ‘Silver Machine’ and was their first to feature Lemmy Kilmister on bass and vocals and Simon King on drums. Featuring such classic tracks as ‘Brainstorm’, ‘Space is Deep’, ‘Lord of Light’, ‘Down Through the Night’ and ‘Time We Left This World Today’, the album reached the UK Top 20 upon its release in November 1972.

The 2CD – This new edition set comprises 2CDs featuring a new remaster of the original album, along with superb new stereo mixes by Stephen W Tayler, including three session out-takes and new mixes of the single tracks ‘Urban Guerrilla’ and ‘Brainbox Pollution’. The release also has an illustrated booklet with new essay.

The 2LP and 2LP+set – This new edition has been remastered from the original master tapes, has been cut at Abbey Road Studios and is a facsimile of the original 1972 LP release with inner bag and poster. The release also includes a remastered facsimile bonus seven-inch picture sleeve single of the rare German 1972 single release of ‘Lord of Light’ b/w ‘Born to Go” (live)’.

3CD/2 Bluray – This limited edition deluxe boxed set comprises three CDs featuring a new remaster of the original album, along with superb new stereo mixes by Stephen W Tayler, including three session out-takes and new mixes of the single tracks ‘Urban Guerrilla’ and ‘Brainbox Pollution’. Also included is a stunning new mix of Hawkwind’s performance at the Greasy Truckers Party at the Roundhouse on 13th February 1972.

The set also includes two region-free Blu-Ray discs which feature Stephen W Tayler’s stunning new 5.1 Surround Sound mixes of “Doremi Fasol Latido” and bonus tracks and the complete live Greasy Truckers Party performance. An additional bonus feature is the 1973 promotional film of ‘Urban Guerrilla’

The set is completed with a 68-page illustrated book with new essay and a reproduction poster initially included with the first pressing of album in November 1972 making this boxed set the definitive release of this legendary album.