Virgin's Dream - The X-Tapes (1971) (Krautrock rarity - only 300 pressed)

Review by Unicorn:

Here is an ultra-rare record from a german band that sounds very different from the kraut fraction or the symphonic proggers. In their time the Virgins had cult-status in Western Germany because of their incredibly energetic live performances, nowadays they are totally forgotten, mainly due to the fact that they never released an official record (the band split up at the beginning of 1972 - just at the time when a first LP by a major record company was in planning). Everything from them that survived were some demo recordings (mostly live) that i had saved for about 30 years on a cassette-tape. Even Rolf Trenkler, former bandleader and songwriter, did not possess a single recording of his youth sins. In 1999 i gave the tape to him and he overworked and denoised it as good as it was possible. From the result a private pressing of 300 CD´s was made as a giveaway to friends; it was never sold officially. The music is quite unique, i couldn´t name another band that sounds like them. There are melodious songparts reminiscent of the wonderful UK band "Cressida" changing with very energetic and driving parts a bit in the style of early "Soft Machine" and Mr.Trenkler´s guitarplaying reminds me a lot of John Cippolina from "Quicksilver Messenger Service". Overall the music could best be described as acid-psych of complex nature, with lots of sudden tempo and rhythm changes. The sound quality still is quite limited, nevertheless the record is a real collector´s item. If you are into sixties "Underground" stuff, don´t miss it. This is another "Garden of Delights" exclusive, you won´t find it elsewhere.

Tracklist :

1 Wake Up 1:21
2 Evening Star 3:21
3 Der Blaue Kapuzinermönch 17:19
4 Rainy day In June 9:20
5 The Well 11:34
6 El Dorado 3:44
7 The Galant Knight 3:34
8 I Am One Of Those 4:52

Comments and mp3 files were kindly contributed by Unicorn. Special thanks!

http://rapidshare.com/files/6287741/VDTXT.rar

Victoria - Victoria (1971)

Local New Jersey demo-release (200 made in 1971) from Victoria, a band and album beyond rare, fantastic, conceptual psych-beauty. Sometimes dreamy, sometimes totally wild underground-psych, this release features female vocals, titanic horns and distorted guitars. Sweet tunes turn into dark psych-power. Totally stoned. This amazing album was first released on the Seven Little Indians label (before it became Shadoks Music) eight or nine years ago as a limited-edition with a red velvet cover and golden engraved artwork. A 500-copy limited-edition CD, also in red velvet, was sold out in a few months. Besides Jungle, this album is a famous Little Indian release. If you like Moby Grape you should check this one out. The album has remained unreleased until a few years ago.TOTALLY STONED! -forcedexposure.com-
Brand new CD reissue of this very obscure (200 made, only 5-6 copies known to be in the hands of collectors) New Jersey demo recording (1969-71) from three guys and one girl intent on surfing the same kind of electronically enhanced harmony waves generated by United States Of America, C.A. Quintet, even early Velvets. Beautifully baked atmosphere here - on first listen Alex described it as almost doo-wop in its lunar/swoon quotient - that compares with early Paisley Underground moves from Opal and Rainy Day crossed with wild, testifying brass, high arcs of unison vox ala Jefferson Airplane and blats of black fuzz. Recommended. -volcanictongue.com-
Personnel incl: SHARON BARTON A MAUREEN DEIDELBAUM A GREG RUBAN A CHERYL SIMPSON A
ALBUMS: 1(A) VICTORIA (No label) 1971 R5 2(A) KINGS, QUEENS & JOKERS (No label) 197? R5
NB: (1) was a demo album issued in a plain white jacket. (2) is an alternate pressing of (1), with the title shown rubber-stamped on the front of the sleeve. (2) contains fewer tracks than (1). (1) reissued in Germany (Little Indians #7) 1997, in a red velveteen jacket with gold foil embossed print, and on CD by the same label with several previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Rare local New Jersey private press, with an "odd" sound created by this largely female group and featuring horns prominently on several tracks. Two hundred copies of the album were pressed in 1971, and Ruban distributed a quantity of them through Europe while on a motorcycle trip in the early seventies.
Victoria may be connected in some manner to Dirty Martha.
One track, Ride A Rainbow has also resurfaced on Love, Peace And Poetry, Vol. 1 (LP & CD).
(Clark Faville / Max Waller)

http://rapidshare.com/files/3440937/VV.part1.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/3436532/VV.part2.rar

Meic Stevens - Rain In The Leaves (1967-1970)

This haunting collection proves once and for all why Meic Stevens is so often called 'the Welsh Bob Dylan'. As well as gathering for the first time the ultra-rare EPs he recorded between 1967 and 1970 (Mike Stevens, Rhif 2, Mwg and Meic Stevens), the package comes complete with both sides of his 1965 debut single, detailed sleevenotes, rare photographs and an introduction by the man himself, making it an essential purchase for all fans of acid folk and psychedelia.-Sunbeam Records-
"A legendary folksinger who's been called 'the Welsh Dylan', in the late 60s he recorded a series of ultra-rare Welsh-language psych-folk EPs." - The Tapestry Of Delights
"The psych-folk singer and guitarist is often referred to as the Welsh Dylan, and compared favourably with fellow astral-travellers like Syd Barrett. He continues to perform in Wales, where he is treated as a national hero" - (allmusic.com)

Track list

1. Did I Dream?
2. I Saw A Field
3. Yr Eryr a'r Golomen (The Eagle And The Dove)
4. Ble Mae'r Bore? (Where's The Morning?)
5. Ond Dof Yn Ôl (But I Shall Return)
6. Tryweryn
7. Cân Walter (Walter's Song)
8. Hwiangerdd Mihangel (Michael's Lullaby)
9. Glaw yn y Dail (Rain In The Leaves)
10. Lan a Lawr (Up And Down)
11. Mwg (Smoke)
12. Rhedaf i'r Mynydd (I Run To The Mountain
13. Myfi yw'r Dechreuad (I Am The Beginning)
14. Tyrd i Lawr i'r Ogof (Come Down Through The Cave)
15. Mynd i Bala ar y Cwch Banana (Going To Bala On The Banana Boat)
16. Nid y Fi yw'r Un i Ofyn Pam (Not For Me To Ask The Reason Why)
17. Mae Gennyf i Gariad (I've Got A Love)
18. Dim Ond Heddiw Ddoe ac Fory (Only Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow)19. Cân Mamgu (Grandmother's Song)

Bitrate 320

http://rapidshare.com/files/6625834/MSRITL.part1.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/6626220/MSRITL.part2.rar

Rain in the Leaves

Susan Christie - Paint A Lady (1970 )

Previously unreleased Psychedelic Folk album from 1970 by Susan Christie, a Philly based sophomore folk singer who had one novelty hit for a major label in the late '60s. This album, which featured her psychedelic take on Country standards and hand crafted tales of inner-city solitude backed by a Folk-Funk rhythm section, was not considered commercially viable and shelved...until now! Uber-legend John Hill produced the album which features 8 tracks including a 12 minute 'drugsploitation' epic called 'Yesterday - Where's My Mind' featuring Susan flipping vocal styles between Janis Joplin and Margo Guryan. Finders Keepers. 2006.

1. Rainy Day
2. Paint a Lady
3. For the Love of a Soldier
4. Ghost Riders in the Sky
5. Yesterday Where's My Mind
6. Echo in My Mind
7. When Love Comes
8. No One Can Hear You Cry

http://rapidshare.com/files/6619657/SCPAL.rar

Paint a Lady [UK-Import]

Ruthann Friedman - Constant Companion (1969)

Ruthann Friedman’s chief claim to fame is having written The Association’s 1967 hit “Windy.” Less well known, however, is Constant Companion , her sole solo album recorded for Reprise in 1969. Water’s reissue of the album seems timed to follow the success of other recently-rediscovered female singer-songwriters (Vashti Bunyan, Judee Sill) and the resurgence of ’60s-inspired folk in general. Constant Companion, however, is no mere nostalgia trip, nor is its re-release a case of opportunistic bandwagoning. While Friedman’s music will undoubtedly be grouped with that of Bunyan and her present-day heirs (Devendra Banhart, for one), she has little in common with them. Contrary to what her song titles (“Piper’s Call,” “Fairy Prince Rainbow Man”) might suggest, she doesn’t indulge in idyllic flower-power folk. While Constant Companion doesn’t immediately elicit comparison to any particular artist, it is perhaps closest in spirit to the first two albums of Friedman’s Reprise labelmate Joni Mitchell. Like Mitchell, Friedman is a skilled guitarist and gifted songwriter, attributes that separate her from the era’s horde of would-be folkies. She possesses a deep, powerful voice, and her impressive vocal control suggests that she may have been classically trained. In other words, she’s no amateur dilettante who got lucky enough to record a one-shot album, but rather a fully mature and practiced artist. The songs on Constant Companion cover a range of styles, from Simon and Garfunkel style folk (“People”) and Mitchell-inspired psychedelic ruminations (“Fairy Prince Rainbow Man,” “Danny”) to jazz-inflected pop (“Morning Becomes You”). The arrangements are sparse, consisting solely of Friedman’s acoustic guitar and voice, with the exception of lead guitar by Peter Kaukonen (brother of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna’s Jorma, and creator of Constant Companion’s cover art). Friedman’s wide stylistic range suggests that the suits at Reprise may have been a little too eager to force her into the role of “the next Joni”; several of her songs cry out for further orchestration (the fingerstyle guitar intro to “Looking Back Over Your Shoulder” being one case in point). While they work as acoustic compositions, they may have benefited from more complex arrangements, as does the post-album single “Carry On (Glittering Dancer),” a quirky track that indulges in Van Dyke Parks-style baroque orchestrations (apparently Parks and Friedman were briefly an item, and he executive produced the track.) Given the fact that Friedman hasn’t recorded anything since, Constant Companion can hardly help but evoke imaginings of what might have been had she stayed in the business longer. As it stands, though, the album is a fine effort, and its rescue from the archives is certainly to be applauded. -Dusted-

Track Title

1. Topsy-Turvy Moon
2. Piper's Call
3. Fairy Prince Rainbow Man
4. Too Late To Be Mourning
5. Ringing Bells
6. Looking Back Over Your Shoulder
7. People
8. Morning Becomes You
9. Peaceable Kingdom
10. No Time
11. Danny
12. Look Up To The Sun
13. Carry On (Glittering Dancer)* *Bonus Track Length

Line Up and Credits

Ruthann Friedman - Vocals, Guitar Peter Kaukonen - Improv Electric Guitar on Morning Becomes You Van Dyke Parks - Executive Producer [Carry On (Glittering Dancer)] Ed Thrasher - Art Direction (Original Release)

Bitrate 320

Link removed as requested by the artist

Constant Companion

Judee Sill - Judee Sill (1971)

Judee Sill was a true original. A singer-songwriter with a wealth of influences and a fascination with religion, she referred to her work as "country-cult-baroque." She was the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, and, along with Joni Mitchell and Carole King, exemplified the breezy "Laurel Canyon Sound" of the early '70s. Sill scored moderate hits with "Lady-O" (originally written for The Turtles) and "Jesus Was A Cross Maker" and released two albums -- 1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food -- before suffering chronic pain and eventually dying of a drug overdose at age 35.
Sill grew up in Oakland, California, and began playing piano at age three. A troubled family life and brushes with the law landed her in reform school, where, as church organist, she developed the gospel style that would characterize her future recordings. After a stint in college and three down-and-out years of addiction, she cleaned up and began work on her dream of becoming a songwriter. She spent a short time penning songs for The Turtles' production company before signing her own deal with Asylum.
For her self-titled debut, Sill gathered a production team that included Jim Pons and John Beck of The Leaves, as well as engineer/producer Henry Lewy, known for his work with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Leonard Cohen. Her guitar playing provides the foundation for most of the songs, joined by various combinations of pedal steel, strings, and brass. "Jesus Was A Cross Maker," built on a bed of Sill's gospel-flavored piano, was produced by Graham Nash and crafted as a single. Rich with cosmic imagery and ambiguously spiritual lyrics, the songs on Judee Sill often blur the line between the earthly and the divine.

Bitrate 320

http://rapidshare.com/files/6625815/JSJS.rar

Robin Scott - Woman From The Warm Grass (1969)

Beautiful folk-rock album with psychedelic touches.Thoughtful, earnest, acoustic guitar-led folk ballads. Backing on the album came from psychedelic legends Mighty Baby. With vinyl copies changing hands for hundreds of pounds, it's finally available on CD, showing itself to be a lost gem of British acid folk.

Robin Scott's 1969 album Woman from the Warm Grass was very much in the mold of many British folk-ground artists of the time who were gingerly making the transition to a folk-rock sound. In fact, in material and presentation, Scott was fairly similar in feel to a few other artists that producer Sandy Roberton worked with, including Al Jones, Keith Christmas, and Shelagh McDonald. Scott's vocals and songs were earnest and verbose, with the reflective fragile moodiness (and yearning, sometimes florid romanticism) found in many British folk/folk-rock singer/songwriters of the era, from Al Stewart and Donovan on down. As artists in this genre go, Scott's pleasant and reasonably interesting, though not distinguished. He and Roberton do vary the arrangements, sometimes opting for just solo acoustic guitar and voice, at others using full rock backing from the band Mighty Baby. Generally, the unplugged tracks work better; "The Sound of Rain," with subdued orchestration backing the acoustic guitar, has the sort of narrative-oriented mystical acid folk pioneered by Donovan, while "Song of the Sun" has the poetic wordy gray melancholy very particular to this period of British folk. So there's a lot here for listeners who dig this particular micro-style in general, with the notable exception of an overwhelmingly strong vocal or songwriting individuality, though Scott's likable enough. [The 2006 CD reissue on Sunbeam adds a nice bonus cut from a BBC session, "Tattoed Lady," that doesn't appear on the original album in any form. This track has lead singing by Scott's girlfriend of the time, Penny Lamb (with Scott on guitar and vocal harmonies), and a slightly brighter, poppier, and more melodic feel than the material that had been recorded for the LP.] ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide


1. The Sailor
2. Song of the Sun
3. The Sound of Rain
4. Penelope
5. The Day Begins
6. Woman From The Warm Grass
7. I Am Your Suitcase Lover
8. Mara's Supper
9. Point Of Leaving
10. The Purple Cadger
11. Tattooed Lady [Bonus Track]

Download selected tracks 2, 3, 4

http://rapidshare.de/files/25905546/Robin_Scott_-_Woman_From_The_Warm_Grass__1969_.rar