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In early 1973, Gram Parsons embarked on a tour to promote his recently released first solo album GP. Gram put together a pretty great band, including the then unknown Emmylou Harris as his singing partner.
The shows were somewhat uneven at first, but by midtour the band started to find it's groove. One show stood out to pedal steel player Neil Flanz-The 3rd night at the Bijou Cafe in Philadelphia. Neil felt that this was the best show of the tour and requested a copy of the soundboard recording. He saved it for almost 40 years when it was acquired by Amoeba Music for a future Gram release.
It then disappeared in the Amoeba vault for another 10 years before it was rediscovered when Amoeba moved to a new location in LA. It turns out Neil was right.
This is Gram and Emmylou at their finest. And it's the next to last club date ever of Gram and the Fallen Angels.
A 50-year-old soundboard cassette offers some unique challenges, but thanks to the efforts of some of the world's best archival sound restoration engineers, the beauty and energy of Gram, Emmy and the band shine through. For all of those who never got to experience Gram live, this is the closest we'll ever get to being there. First new Gram solo material in 40 years.
Follow-up to Grapefruit's hugely popular US 1967 anthology 'March Of The Flower Children'. Hit singles, cult classics and tracks from 1968's key albums as the American music scene moved on from the Summer of Love.
While psychedelia had been the dominant musical force in 1967, the scene fragmented the following year. Although many acts remained immersed in garage-punk and psychedelic pop, a growing number of heavily-amplified, blues-based hard rock bands like Blue Cheer, Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly - all of whom enjoyed sizeable hit singles in 1968 - emerged to pave the way for what would develop into heavy metal.
Manufactured pop in the form of bubblegum dominated the singles chart, The Byrds and other easy riders developed a country/rock hybrid, a phalanx of folk-based singer/songwriters came to the fore, while Bob Dylan and his occasional playmates The Band pioneered a more organic, rustic sound that would come to be known as Americana.
Over four hours and 3 CDs, 'Can't Seem To Come Down: The American Sounds Of 1968' weaves together these various strands to provide a fascinating overview of the year. The set encompasses national and regional hit singles, unexpected flops (The Grateful Dead, The Left Banke), subsequently influential mavericks (Velvet Underground, Beefheart, Silver Apples) and vital cuts from many of the year's most keenly-awaited albums (Dylan, The Band, Mothers of Invention, The Byrds, Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, etc).
It also feature a number of hugely collectable one-off singles from young provincial bands, who visited local studios to preserve their sound for posterity before the real world - and possibly the increasing conflict in Vietnam intervened. Including a 48-page booklet filled with biographical details, rare photos and quotes
54 track set focusing on the period of time between 1975-1982 when reggae influenced & inspired punk in the UK.
Featuring key tracks by The Clash, Burning Spear, Generation X, Culture, Public Image Ltd, Steel Pulse, The Specials, Dennis Brown, Ruts, Madness, Black Uhuru and many more.
Plus a selection of obscure gems from the likes of 4th Street Orchestra, African Stone, Basement 5, Electric Guitars, Sir Horatio, Talisman, The Pop Group and Black Symbol. Front cover image from the photo library of legendary photographer Syd Shelton.
28-page fully illustrated booklet containing a foreword sleevenote by Don Letts AKA The Rebel Dread plus notes on each track with relevant sleeve illustrations.
In the words of Don Letts AKA The Rebel Dread: "Looking back, I see it as a turning point, a cultural crossroads when different genres collided, giving birth to something entirely new. It was a celebration of diversity and a rejection of homogeneity. It's impact has it rippled through the years, influencing subsequent generations of musicians and shaping the landscape of alternative music. The fusion of punk and reggae became a blueprint for bands seeking to break free from the constraints of genre. As DJ at The Roxy (the UK's first live punk rock venue) I was lucky enough to sees these ideas blossom to become what we now call the 'punky reggae party' and forty-five years later it's message is still in full effect. "
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