No comments about Another String Of Hot Hits.

1 comments about Ready Sect Go!.

1. Another joint effort between The Downliners Sect and Thee Headcoats results in a slamming, molten slab of vinyl guaranteed to get you out of your comfy chair on the first tune. I haven't heard drumming like this since Keith Moon passed away. If you like garage rock of any form, this is the real deal here. Forget the cute outfits and hairdos on the new bands, put on your Headcoat and venture into the storm!

No comments about Purple and Other Colours.

No comments about CROCODILE ROCK/ELDERBERRY WINE.

No comments about Nobody's Perfect.

No comments about N'écoute Pas Ton Coeur.

No comments about Listen People EP.

No comments about Shouts Across The Street.

1 comments about Vol. 1: Smokestack Lightning.

1. This is a compilation of the first two Yardbirds albums (For Your Love, Having a Rave Up) plus live tracks, some of which were included in the Five Live Yardbirds album, which was never released in the U.S. Listening to this album will show you where the heavy metal bands got their licks. There is plenty of Clapton (two live versions of Smokestack Lightning for example) but even more of Jeff Beck, the great lost guitarist of the British invasion. Listening to this album shows you how far Beck was ahead of his times. Listen to "I ain't done wrong" and see how far the Yardbirds were ahead of the pop groups and remember the competition of the times such as Herman's Hermits and the Dave Clark Five. Anyone who appreciates good guitar licks should own this one.

5 comments about Summer of Love, Vol. 1: Tune In (Good Time & Love Vibrations).

1. This is only a so-so compilation. It does contain a few real, original tracks. But it also has some lame remakes and some songs that were never on the charts in 1967, or any other time. Those who can remember 1967 will find this unsatisfactory.



2. This 1992 Rhino compilation will, of course, appeal greatly to those who simply loved the "flower-power" music that prevailed in the late 1960s. However, it was also a boon to collectors of hit singles since, while also containing some tracks that were (and still are) available on any number of such volumes (i.e., tracks 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 to 11, 14 and 16), also contained a fair number that are as hard to find today as they were when this was first released.
   
   These include: Friend And Lover's summer 1968 # 10 Billboard Pop Hot 100 hit, Reach Out Of The Darkness, one of just two hits for the husband-and-wife duo of Jim and Cathy Post on the Verve Forecast label; Get Together by The Youngbloods, a minor # 62 Hot 100 in the fall of 1967 on RCA Victor, but revived in summer 1969 when used as the theme for the National Conference Of Cbristians And Jews, at which time it soared to # 5; Love Is All Around, the last North American hit for the British group The Troggs, a # 7 in early 1968 on the Fontana label; Groovy Summertime, one of just two minor hits for The Love Generation (# 74 in summer 1957 on Imperial); Sunshine Girl, the only hit for The Parade, and a # 20 in May 1967 on A&N; and one of The Hollies' lesser hits, King Midas In Reverse, a # 51 Hot 100 in November 1967 on Epic.
   
   The sound reproduction is excellent on all tracks, and with the insert you get six pages of detailed background notes written by noted music critic Barry Alfonso, along with pictures of Marcia Strassman, Scott McKenzie, Friend & Lover, The 5th Dimension, Spanky & Our Gang, The Association, The Box Tops, and The Hollies.



3. This collection pulls together many of the great songs from this very short time of musical history. This particular volume, though, is the best of the set. I did not get the others due to the tracks they include.



4. There are songs on this CD which will take you right back to the days of Flower Power, peace signs, Love In's and chemical alteration (smile). I was disappointed in a few of the tunes included - not what I would call TOP 40 at all - obsure ones. There were though, enough to get me to purchase it. I simply burned it to my computer, and deleted the few that just didn't reach me. So - if you have a hankering for remembering these days (which I will always have - and not the chemical alteration phase - just the memories of living for something larger than yourself)... buy it.



5. For some, the summer of 1967 was a special moment in time. Briefly, optimism and idealism combined with youthful enthusiasm to create a feeling than change was happening all around and that anything was possible. Songs from this collection fairly represent some of the feeling of that time.
   
   For those who lived through that brief moment, this music will likely take you back. It is pleasant nostalgia, just before violence and drug commerce made all of that change into an ugly thing. The songs are light and hopeful. For those who are interested in that time, a listen to the music from then is revealing. However, these songs are, for the most part, pretty light weight. Some are quite forgetable, and a few have aged so poorly as to make one cringe to hear them now (Eric Burdon's "trans-love airways" for example).
   
   So this is a collection for those who want a pleasant spin down memory lane or who just want to examine that moment in the past. Others may wonder why anyone would listen to this simple stuff. Musical style has grown and progressed way past these pleasant numbers now.