YAYS & NAYS “Yays &
Nays” - LP - GROO021LP
Monster rare USA private pressing
from 1968, rated with 6 stars in the Hans Pokora 3001 book
. The Yays & Nays were a groovy, hip group comprised of
three guys and three girls . This is a trulyunique sounding
album, full of creative songwriting and vocal arrangements
and a style that defies any cathegorization. There’s
som fab garage folk-rock on it (the opening track “Gotta
keep travelling” is really astounding!), and also some
tracks in a bizarre crooner-lounge "Incredible Strange
Music" vein. Reissued for the first time, in collaboration
with band members, and with original artwork.
BAOBAS - ST - (ANTHOLOGY) GROOCR 0018lp
Finally the long waited reeisue of the
most important band of garage 60's in Brazil. OS BAOBÁS.
The original LP, together with The Beat Boys Lp, is today
one of the most wanted records for the garage collectors.
Unfortunely the original album have a problem in the sound.
None of the pressed LP's have a good sound. Now we put together
all the singles with the original album along with remastered
sound. The singles included track like Bye Bye My Darling
Goodbye, Down Down Down and the powerful cover of the Stones,
Paint In Black (Pintada de Preto).
Os Baobás were one of the most
important bands in São Paulo’s garage rock scene
of the sixties, but they have remained in obscurity until
now, despite their not so limited discography.
The band is best remembered for having
included Liminha (later on a Mutantes member and a producer)
in its line- up and having played with Caetano Veloso, replacing
the Beat Boys. But their most valuable treasure is the series
of singles they recorded between 1966 and 1968.
The LP brings the complete discography,
photos, singles covers and a bio in the back of the LP.
BEAT BOYS- ST - (ANTHOLOGY)
GROOCR 0019lp
Along with Os Mutantes, the Beat Boys represented the most
radical element in Brazilian rock: their name, clothes, hair—and
intense fuzz guitar raves—were all fierce indicators
of a rebel spirit, and this in a dangerous time for such self-
expression.
Here is the simple truth: The Beat Boys
were at the very epicenter of the cultural revolution that
convulsed Brazil during the late 1960’s, that movement
of rupture, that bringing together of electricity and avant-
garde erudition that has come to be known as “Tropicália.”
They backed Caetano Veloso and Gilberto
Gil for their defining moments as artists—both live,
and in the studio on tracks which became the opening Tropicalist
salvo (a rare EP). So, what were this group of Argentine rock
musicians doing in the forefront of all things outrageous
in Brazil?
More to the point, why is it that very
few people, even among the Brazilian music cognoscenti, have
ever heard of them? One explanation must be the fact that
the band were essentially outsiders to the Brazilian music
scene.
As unlikely as it was for them to penetrate the inner circles
of Brazilian elite musicians (it was unlikely), it was even
more unlikely that they would remain there once their closest
friends, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, were exiled from
Brazil.This disc includes the Beat Boys entire output under
their own name: their sole album—an exercise in what
one might call “controlled Tropicália”,
laden with torrid psychedelic moments (released by RCA Victor
in 1968), as well as a rare singles track from the same year.
A 20- page booklet includes lyrics, and an exploration of
the Beat Boys’ fascinating story.“Caetano called
the Beat Boys, an Argentinean group settled in São
Paulo who had been inspired by the Beatles, to accompany him
in ‘Alegria, Alegria.’ That, in fact marked the
beginning of the Tropicalista thing.'' —Gilberto Gil
LOS BLUE CAPS - ANTHOLOGY
LP
In 1965 borns in Asunción of Paraguay Los Blue Caps,
group which reached the highest levels of popularity in Buenos
Aires, Argentina where they established for over a decade. They
recorded a dozen of albums, published throughout Latin America,
for example: Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, among others.
Their first three discs are certainly the best of his career:
"Dejame mirarte" (1969), "Cuando te miro"
(1970), "Sensacional eres tu" (1971), have a dozen
of hits in singles and compilations of this time. The band break
out at the end of 1977 and some of its members begins with new
projects projects, for example Anibal Riveros joined other groups,
and in 1978 founded Blue Caps record label. Rolando Percy then
formed his own group Los Big Ben.PORTUGUESE GARAGE DAYS
- COLLECTION
THE SEA-DERS - LP-500 COPIES
-NUMBERED
tarting in 1965 many groups began to borrow elements of Eastern
music to add a little mystery and exotica to their sound. Some
of the more prominent examples of this trend include the Kinks’
“See My Friends,” the Beatles’ “Norwegian
Wood,” the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High,”
the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” and the
Hollies’ “Stop, Stop, Stop. "
Less known than the aforementioned acts, but acknowledged in
some circles as masters of the form were the Cedars. Only, for
them it wasn’t a case of flirting with foreign culture—they
tapped right into the source in their own backyard.
Formed in Beirut, Lebanon,
around 1964, they were originally known as the Top 5. By 1966
they’d become the Sea-ders with Albert Haddad on lead
guitar, Joe Shehadeh on rhythm, Raymond Azoury on bass and Zad
Tarmush on drums; all four band members sang. Their first 45,
“Thanks A Lot” b/w “Better Loved,” was
released in Lebanon in 1966 on the Symbol label. The A-side
in particular was really strong, propelled by Haddad’s
spellbinding double-picked Eastern motif and Azoury’s
unusual pulsating bassline. It quickly became a smash hit in
Lebanon, selling around 10,000 copies and topping the charts.
Shortly afterwards, Decca Records made contact with the group
and offered them a record deal in the UK. The group relocated
to London, and in 1967 Decca released “Thanks A Lot”
b/w “Undecidedly” as their first British single.
The flipside was another excellent Middle Eastern flavored beat
number, which had been recorded in Lebanon at the same session
as the A-side. The record got some airplay on the pirate stations,
but failed to break into the charts.
Nevertheless,
Decca went ahead with an EP release, featuring the three previously
released tracks along with the fine “Cause I Do Care.”
Apparently the record had a very limited pressing as
it’s now very rare.
By 1968 the Sea-ders had become the Cedars. Their next single
paired two of their strongest original songs to date, “For
Your Information” and “Hide If You Want to Hide.”
For the recording session the group was teamed with producer
Tony Clarke, who also worked with the Tremeloes. This time they
employed an authentic Middle Eastern instrument, a bouzouki.
Played in tandem with an electric lead guitar, the acoustic
bouzouki gave the record a highly unique and appealing flavor.
Unfortunately, despite the high quality and originality of both
the material and the production, the record again went nowhere.
Much to the group’s
disappointment, their producer turned to outside songwriters
for their third and final British single, “I Like the
Way” (written by Richie Cordell) and “I Don’t
Know Why.” Nevertheless the Cedars infused the songs with
their own Eastern-derived sound to pleasing effect. When this
single failed to click, Decca not only dropped the group, but
also presented them with a huge bill for studio time. Defeated
and nearly destitute, the four Cedars headed home to Beirut,
leaving their prized musical equipment behind. The
story didn’t end there, though—not quite anyway.
The following year, 1969, “For Your Information”
was released in Turkey, where it became a huge hit, going
on to be covered by several Turkish artists. The Cedars, though,
had by now gone their separate ways. Fortunately, their eight-song
recorded legacy remains to remind the world of their uniquely
exotic sound. Thanks a lot for that.
Mike Stax
Ugly Things Magazine
JOAQUIM COSTA
ROCK'N'ROLL- 7" - 500 COPIES
A seriously primitive artefact
this from the late (very recently deceased) Joaquim Costa,
Portugal’s longest serving rabble rousing son of rock’n’roll.Costa
has been tearing it up since way back in the 1950s but never
had himself a hit, or got himself any kind of slick record
deal. He was at the tail end of last year, at age 72, still
a self-confessed rock’n’roll addict who dug the
old, and the (relatively) new, citing The Cramps and Hasil
Adkins among his faves. “If you want to know who I am,
I am a rebel and a Rockabilly freak. I’ll follow rockabilly
till I die” he says. Well, he did just that!
Here we have a crazy 5 track EP where
1959 renditions of ‘Rip It Up’ and ‘Tutti
Frutti’ share space with three equally raw and enthralling
pieces from 1978, including my fave ‘Baby Sixteen Rock’
and the cool ‘Shake Shake My Baby’. Man, this
stuff is positively No-Fi, and great trashy fun at that, as
Costa makes a right royal racket on his amped-up acoustic
axe. Has a nice little gatefold insert too chock-fulla pics
and all the gen in both Portuguese and English.
THE RHYTHM CHECKERS
WILD RAW EURO BEAT - LP - 500 COPIES
The Rhythm Checkers were an exceptional
beat group playing a raw mixture of rhythm and blues and rock
and roll with a wild garage attitude. Maybe we can call them
the european Sonics. Formed by musicians native from France,
Germany and Holland with Roland “Bouboule” Bauer
(vocal), the regretted Robby Sterheim (lead guitar) Eddy Van
Nelfen (rhythm guitar), Kurth Horbach (bass) later replaced
by Dany Gentner and Norbert Holweck (drums), they set the
stage on fire during their shows in France between the years
1966 and 1967.
It is in Strasbourg where The Rhythm Checkers release their
first EP with their powerful composition « Cause i need
you » which is a real classic of European garage- rock.
Their second EP is a unique document of their stage savageness
thanks to these recordings captured live when they opened
for Chuck Berry in Paris on February 1967, it’s amazing
how these guys made it live....they make my wig jump listening
on record, I can’t imagine what could I do if I were
there!!!!
The eight mythical tracks of their
two rare records are present on this LP, and as bonus, both
sides of their single recorded in 1972 during the reformation
of the group under the name of Checkers in the prog pop style
of the time. The record comes with an insert with all the
history and never published photos of the band, both in English
and French. Limited release of
500 copies only!
THE PEACE
BLACK POWER - LP - 500 COPIES
The Peace were an obscure band
from Copperbelt, Zambia. According to some rumours, they were
in fact a band from the Zambian Air Force...Before they became
THE PEACE the band was called The Boyfriends, a popular local
band featuring Ted Makombe and Emmanuel Chanda from another
legendary band from Zambia, THE WITCH.
Recorded at Malachite Studios, Chingola,
in the mid 70s, “Black Power” is one of the rarest
psych- rock records ever released in Africa. Killer afro-
psychedelic- rock sound, the missing piece from the weird
and amazing African afro- rock 70s puzzle along with other
rare as hell records like The Witch, Amanaz and Question Mark.
Limited, first time ever reissue with only 500 copies. |
