| Sunshine
Pop and Psych Pop & Rock Albums from the 60's & early 70's |
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The
Will-O-Bees Greatest Hits - The who's what? We couldn't resist
calling this The Will-O-Bees Greatest Hits because frankly (in our opinion)
at least 10 of the 12 sides the group recorded between 1966 and 1969
were definitely chart-worthy, if not hit-worthy. Indeed, they only had
one chart record which could barely be called a hit since it peaked
at #95, and the loss was ours. Including their 'hit', It's Not Easy,
the group recorded versions of four terrific Barry Mann & Cynthia
Weil songs including two excellent versions of Mama Cass songs (that
may have come first). The group was in the mold of Peter, Paul &
Mary only somewhat, shall we diplomatically say, hipper? That put them
closer in category to The Mamas & Papas and that similarity is evoked
in the production of a few of the tracks. One track, If You're Ready
is pure Garage. Another track, Looking Glass is horn driven Sunshine
Psych so if you think you'll be getting all folk, guess again. Average
condition of vinyl was VG+. All tracks are mono and audio cleaned. To
see the complete track listing and liner notes, click
here. $16.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
| Sort
of Proudly Presents The Cuff Links |
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Chris and Peter Allen - Chris and Peter Allen's Album #1 - Before
he honestly loved us and went to Rio in the 70's Peter Allen along with
partner Chris Allen (real name Chris Bell) recorded as The Allen Brothers
and then as Chris and Peter Allen. Their 1968 album on Mercury is here
on CD for the first time. The album includes terrific sunshine pop originals
like the Kasha - Hirschhorn penned 10 Below, the marvelous Chris Montez-esque
Just Friends along with sunshiney covers of a variety of material like
the then current Next Plane To London and a zesty rendition of A Man
And A Woman. Of interest are two somewhat out there medleys. The first
un-aptly called Medley #2 is a psychedelic sunshine combo of (friends
of Judy, take note) We're Off To See The Wizard and Puff (no pun intended)
The Magic Dragon. It's entrancingly enchanting - a slice of teeney bopper
fag heaven on acid a'la 1968. The second un-aptly titled is Medley #1
which is the rain medley. Actually this would've been a terrific Nino
and April-esque (or Nino and Nino if you will) version of Come Rain
Or Come Shine but for some odd reason they seem to have almost belatedly
decided to slap The Rain, The Park and Other Things into the middle...complete
with a different time signature. Even though it doesn't make much sense
other than the rain theme, we don't love it any less. For bonus tracks
we've included two sides of a single from 1966. Condition of vinyl before
transfer was VG++ for the stereo album and mono single sides as well.
Beautifully audio cleaned. To see complete track listings and the original
liner notes by Johnny Carson, click
here. $16.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
| The
Hobbits - A Collection - Here are the first two of The Hobbits
exemplary Psychedelic Sunshine albums, Down To Middle Earth and Men
And Doors The Hobbits Communicate, on one CD plus one Hobbits and four
solo Jimmy Curtiss bonus tracks. There is little more to say lest this
brief description turn into an epic extolling the brilliance (for the
most part) of these sadly uncelebrated albums. Both albums were VG++
stereo. Four of the five bonus tracks were VG++ mono and the fifth VG++
stereo. All beautifully audio cleaned. To see the track listing and
production credits, click here.
$18.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
The Hardy Boys - Both - Here are both albums by the REAL band
that played the music behind the animated TV series The Hardy Boys that
aired from 1969 to 1971. Do not fear, this isn't bubblegum (not that
bubblegum is something to fear) - but this is too sophisticated. Though
tracks like Namby Pamby on the first album, Here Come The Hardy Boys
may seem to easily fall into the bubblegum category, as a whole this
is essentially sunshine pop. The sound becomes a bit more rock and rolly
on the second album, Wheels but everything qualifies delightfully as
sunshine especially through some exquisite tracks like Where Would I
Be and I Hear The Grass Singin', the latter co-written by pop goddess
Ellie Greenwich. Condition of vinyl before transfer is as follows: Here
Come The Hardy Boys NM; Wheels VG+. Beautifully audio cleaned. Both
albums are stereo. To see complete track listings, click
here. $18.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
| The
Lonesome Rhodes - Sandy & Donna - Country Sunshine! The
original 1967 album by Sandy & Donna is pop and folk flavored country
and vice versa. Several of the bonus tracks tend more toward just plain
Sunshine folk/pop. The album opens with a cover of Tom Paxton's The
Last Thing On My Mind followed by a cover of the folk standard I Can't
Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree and while they are great renditions, it's
up hill from there. It's almost as though as though the powers that
be didn't trust that Sandy's original material was strong enough to
open the record. Sandra Rhodes wrote all but two of the rest of the
songs on the disc and her writing is strong, sensitive and, well, incredible.
She went on to be a very successful songwriter and wrote Conway Twitty's
Country #1 The Clown in the 70's. But we are going all tangential...there
are two additional covers, one being an odd yet perfect choice, Boyce
and Hart's I Wanna Be Free. The final cover is a beautiful version of
Blowin' In The Wind. Let's talk about some of Sandy's songs now. They
are in varied styles. Songs like Fully Prepared and Make Like The Wind
are set firmly in in country (the girls hailed from Memphis) while Love
Is is pure coffee house girl folk. Your Overpowerin' Love is rock tinged
folk/pop. Bonus tracks The Day Love Comes and The Delight Of My Day
are firmly entrenched in Sunshine. Sandra's writing has depth, intelligence
and is above all, melodic. While the production is gentler, the girls'
singing and harmonies may bring to mind 2 of Clubs. Condition of vinyl
before transfer, LP VG++ and the singles ranged from VG+ to Near Mint.
All 17 tracks have been beautifully audio cleaned. $17.00 includes
shipping in the continental USA. |
Phluph - PSYCHED OUT TO THE MAX! - There is little we can say
about Phluph's amazing eponymous 1967 album, other than to cite a review
that calls it "a minor psychedelic gem" (to read the full,
insightful and highly accurate review by melodylaughter, click
here. We will parrot the sentiments of melodylaughter when he calls
the keyboardist a genius to which we add he is a virtuoso. Indeed the
musicianship of the whole band is a cut WAY above many of their peers.
Another Day is an opus masterfully completed in under 5 minutes (the
single version retains the 'opus' quality and clocks in at under 3).
If there is a sort of dorkiness about the album, it is assuaged by the
musicianship and the tightness of the songwriting. If one's hokey alarm
is sounded by the song Doctor Mind, need we remind you that if in hands
other than Brian Wilson's, Good Vibrations would have been the essence
of corn pone? We've included the mono/edited single versions of Doctor
Mind and Another Day as bonus tracks. Audio cleaned. Condition of vinyl
before transfer was VG++. The album is stereo and the singles are mono.
$15.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
| The
Collage - Another stellar lost treasure. This terrific boy/girl
band released just one album in 1968. Though unique unto themselves,
this is another example of the vast influence that the Mamas & Papas
had on the era. Their sound goes from the easy listening border of soft
sunshine pop as on cuts like Driftin' to top 40 and album radio ready
tracks like My Mind's At Ease. The band and/or the producer were visionary
by selecting the Curt Boettcher co-composition Would You Like To Go?
and the Roger Nichols penned Can I Go?. We found an additional non-LP
single, a cover of Nilsson's The Story Of Rock And Roll and included
it as a bonus track. This one is for fans of Queen Anne's Lace and The
Sugar Shoppe and an absolute MUST for fans of The Free Design.
The original 10 song stereo LP was VG++ as was the bonus single track
which is mono. All beautifully audio cleaned. To see the track listing
and production credits, click here.
$16.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
Jamme - Produced by John Phillips! - This awesome LP by brother
duo Keith & Don Adey is a must for Sunshine & Psych Pop fans.
Also, fans of the Beatlesesque will crave this. On several tracks they
sound almost like John Lennon. Produced by legendary artist/songwriter/producer
John Phillips of The Mamas & Papas in 1970, songs include Poor Widow,
the spectacular Strawberry Jam Man, Scarborough Rose and Matthew O'Grady.
Audio cleaned STEREO. Condition of vinyl beofre transfer was NM-. $15.00
includes shipping in the lower 48. |
| The
Split Level - Divided We Stand - One wonders why this band
came and went with nary a whisper. Perhaps they were too exquisite -
and fun - and intelligent - to get anyone's attention. Sort of like
Pentangle meets Peter, Paul & Mary cum Mamas and Papas
- with sparkles of humor in just the right places...anyone have a better
analogy? The group sort of follows the natural evolution from Greenwich
Village coffee house folk into the realm of Baroque Sunshine. Confused
yet? Anyway, the songs are amazing and eclectic in styles from folk
to soft rock, some peppered with Gregorian-esque and raga flavors. Yet
despite the array of flavors, they all sound like they belong together.
The driving, hook laden pop songs include Hangin' Out, Right Track and
You Can't Go, certainly worthy of top 40-dom circa 1969. In fact, all
of the songs are hook laden. The scathing anti-war Speculator, the serio-comic
editorial on the state of pop music, Equipment and the eerily etherial
and way ahead of its time Looking At The Rose Through World Colored
Glasses vibes out as almost pre-Thompson Twins. The songs are all original
except Margo Guryan's stunning Think Of Rain. The group sings beautifully
together with a high production value. The original 13 song Near Mint
LP is stereo and we've audio cleaned it. $15.00 includes shipping in
the lower 48. |
Queen Anne's Lace - The original soft Sunshine Pop album released
in 1969 on Coral Records with two bonus tracks gleaned from their additional
single on Mona-Lee Records. The album contains the obligatory Beatles,
Bacharach - David & Paul Simon versions which, while marvelous,
are not the gems of this package. In the liner notes Anne Phillips name
is touted again and again as a talented writer, arranger, producer yet
there are only very few of her co-compositions on the album and they
are far and above the star attractions. There are also two songs written
by someone named Peter Cofield that sent up our 'hokey alert' signals
and have not aged well in space that would have been better occupied
by more of Ms. Phillips songs. Still, all-in-all an extremely satisfying
Sunshine Pop experience that we are proud to present. To see complete
track listing and liner notes, click
here. Condition of vinyl before transfer: Album: NM-; Single: VG+.
Album tracks are stereo, bonus tracks are mono. $16.00 includes shipping
in the lower 48. |
| Wichita
Fall - Life Is But A Dream - You will be amazed. We weren't
familiar with this band at all until it was brought to our attention
by one of our favorite visitors and boy are we glad. The four man ensemble
Wichita Fall's Imperial album was released in 1969. This Jimmy Webb-esque
concept album brimming with horns, winds and strings was masterfully
arranged and conducted by the highly respected yet underrated super
maestro Artie Butler whose other credits include arranging, conducting
or playing for The Tokens, The Monkees, Janis Ian, Tiny Tim, Stan Getz,
Boyce & Hart, Bobby Sherman and MANY more! The concept of the album
could be called 'a tribute to the times of the day' and the music is
just as moving as the concept. The original 13 song stereo LP has all
it's original segues, is stereo and we've audio cleaned it. Don't pass
this one by. $15.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
The
Sugar Shoppe - AT LAST!!! The Sugar Shoppe's original Capital
LP on CD along with two bonus tracks from their Epic single of Laura
Nyro's Save The Country b/w Easy To Be Hard (from Hair). This group
was among the best of the Mamas and Papas/5th Dimension inspired boy/girl
vocal groups of the era. The album is excellent with songs written by
Donovan, Tony Hatch & Jackie Trent and Bobbie Gentry with several
exemplary songs written by the group's mastermind Peter Mann with a
couple co-written by group members Laurie Hood and Victor Garber (who
went on to Broadway and Hollywood success). Exquisitely audio cleaned.
Album tracks are stereo, single bonuses are mono. $16.00 includes shipping
in the lower 48. |
| The
Merchants Of Dream - Strange Night Voyage - Another of those
marvelous concept 'pop operettas' that abounded in the wake of Jimmy
Webb's beautiful balloon that landed in the yard that went on &
on. This Strange Night Voyage is a big fat psych sunshine tribute to
Peter Pan with nods to Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard Of Oz. The
conception of this album is co-credited to George "Shadow"
Morton. Fans of Wichita Fall will definitely want to take this
trip...and vice-versa. Condition of vinyl before transfer was VG+ stereo.
Audio cleaned. $15.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
Tim Hollier - Message To A Harlequin - Tim Hollier's 1969
solo debut is a stunning example of Sunshine infused power folk Baroque/Singer
Songwriter ...or something. Shades of Moody Blues, Balladeering Bee
Gees and Peter Sarstedt (whom he had played for). Whatever you want
to call it, it's gorgeous. Though seven of the tracks are now available
on a Tim Hollier anthology, here you can have the entire stereo album
intact. Condition of vinyl before transfer was Near Mint. $15.00 includes
shipping in the lower 48. |
| Peggy Lipton - Not only was she a gorgeous, sultry flower child but she could act! And not only could she act, but she could sing - really. Yes, and she could also write and well hold a candle to her idols Laura Nyro and Carole King (who she tributized here a couple of years before Carole released her Tapestry album with her own version of Natural Woman). So Peggy Lipton was visionary as well! This is her debut album from late 1968 with two bonus tracks that were singles in 1970. We're so excited about this disc that we can't help turning this description into a mini review. As mentioned previously, this album tributizes her idols Laura Nyro and Carole King. All of the non-original songs were written by Laura or Carole (with either Goffin or Stern). The choices are exemplary. She chose Stoney End two years before Streisand took it to the top ten. She also chose two other great yet rarely covered Nyro songs, Flim Flam Man and Lu. For her Carole King songs (aside from her excellent version of the well worn Natural Woman) Peggy scores big points not only for choosing It Might As Well Rain Until September but for the lustrous ballad interpretation... possibly producer Lou Adler's idea. Another wonderful and obscure Carole King song is Lady Of The Lake. And Peggy's own compositions exemplified by Let Me Pass By and San Francisco Glide show her to have an evocative lyrical and melodic inspiration to rival her idols. Peggy's voice is lilting and soulful and her writing has the quiet depth she exuded on screen. No wonder she and Quincy matched up. To see the full track listing, click here. The album was Near Mint as was one of the singles. The final single was VG+. Beautifully audio cleaned. $16 includes shipping USPS in the continental USA. |
Punch - We don't know much about this fabulous foursome except
their first names...and we don't even know which name belongs to who!
It seems this group was poised for some big time success with a first
album released on A&M in 1971 followed by a label change to Bell
in '72. The best they did was bubble under the hot 100 with one of the
lesser tunes on the album. But let's not talk about the lesser. Let's
talk about the more-er. The album opens with a scintillating rendition
of Paul Simon's Why Don't You Write Me that absolutely foretells the
coming of ABBA. They also do a gorgeous cover of Lennon & McCartney's
Blackbird. And not to be biased, they come across with a rockin' version
of George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Among the remaining
original songs there are a couple more covers including a scrumptous,
sumptuous rendition of Lesley Duncan's Love Song which on its own merit,
makes this album a veritible must. The last song on the album is a another
pre-ABBA-esque song, a rousing anthem called Open Highway. But WAIT!
There's more! We included a bonus track from 1972, the beautiful Barry
Mann penned I Heard You Singing Your Song which was done by the Partridge
Family in one of their episodes. All produced by Bones Howe. Audio cleaned
STEREO. Condition of vinyl before transfer: Album: VG; Single: NM. $16.00
includes shipping in the lower 48. |
| Lally
Stott - Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep - Lally who? Well, one day
we were moved to see who did the original version of Chirpy Chirpy,
Cheep Cheep. Was it Mac and Katie Kissoon or Middle of the Road? Neither!
It was Lally Stott. Yes, THE Lally Stott. This prompted us
to pick up the single which was so terrific we sought out the LP. Here
is the full 1971 album - an enchanting, at times odd and always unique,
sunny pop gem that few seem to know or care about. The cheerful and
peculiar vibe of Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep finds it's way into several
other tracks. Other tracks almost evoke John or Julian Lennon at their
most introspective and some tracks will evoke a sense of Marmalade or
Sweet...and on & on. We've included the rockin' non-LP B side of
the single for good measure. Condition of vinyl before transfer: LP
was VG+ stereo and the bonus single was VG++ mono. $16.00 includes shipping
in the lower 48. |
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No
Altoids These - They're The REAL Thing! The Peppermint Rainbow and The Peppermint Trolley Company |
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| Mercy
- Love Can Make You Happy - The surprisingly delightful LP
by Mercy includes their mega smash Love (Can Make You Happy). Also featured
are some tracks that one might fear would make this a "cover album".
But this idea is foiled when one hears the original turns the group
and its arrangers take on standards. For example a lovely choral version
of Sounds Of Silence and a vocal version of Love Is Blue with not a
word sung, only ahh ahhs and doo doos. Other covers include respectable
renditions of Forever (the 2nd single), Never My Love and Come Softly
To Me, a somewhat cheesey version of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and a psychedelicized
version of Aquarius. Add to these a couple of delicious originals; Heard
You Went Away and Walking By and you've got another good addition for
easy breezy Sunshine collections. UPDATED!: We came
across a third a non-LP single called Hello Baby and have added it to
the disc. Condition of vinyl before transfer was VG++. Beautifully audio
cleaned. The 12 LP tracks are stereo and the single is mono. $15.00
includes shipping USPS in continental USA. |
2
of Clubs - 9 X 2 of Clubs - In Cincinnati in 1966 & 67
two girls, Linda Parrish and Patti Valentine recorded a grand total
of 9 terrific tracks and at last, they're together on one disc for the
first time. Their first single is a classic cover of Heart, the one
& only garage track recorded by Petula Clark. Not only is it a cover
of a Petula Clark song, it was co-written by the one & only Pet
herself. Many think 2 of Clubs' version outshines Pet's outstanding
rendition. The flip-side, My First Heart Break is another outstanding
track co-written by Linda who wrote or co-wrote all of their wonderful
flip-sides. Among the tracks is the chart single Walk Tall (Billboard
#92) written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, which was performed by
Sandra Dee in the 1967 film "Doctor, You've Got To Be Kidding".
Other tracks include Let Me Walk With You written by Barry Mann &
Cynthia Weil and an uncommon version of the Barry - Greenwich - Spector
classic River Deep - Mountain High. 2 of Clubs land somewhere between
Post Coffee House Girl Folk and Garage, Psych and Sunshine Pop/Rock
making theirs a sound unique to them. Condition of vinyl before transfer
was Mint to VG+. Beautifully audio cleaned. Mono. $16.00 includes shipping
USPS in continental USA. |
Smith - Minus-Plus - The group called Smith's second
and as yet unavailable album also includes the fab bonus track of female
lead singer Gayle McCormick's solo rendition of "You've Really
Got A Hold On Me". Here is yet another great example of a wailing
female rock/blues vocalist who did it without all that raspy Joplinesque
screaming (see Lottie Golden above). Though the male leads are great,
one wonders why Gayle was not singing lead on all the album tracks as
she was responsible for their hit. Beautifully co-produced by Joel Sill
& Steve Barri, one of the male lead vocalists sounds almost exactly
like Stephen Stills and the instrumentation and production of those
tracks sound like they could have come from Stephen's first two solo
albums. Other male lead tracks are reminiscent of Three Dog Night. Condition
of vinyl before transfer was NM-. Beautifully audio cleaned. All tracks
are stereo. $16.00 includes shipping USPS in continental USA. |
| Sally Field - Star of The Flying Nun - YIPES!! - Okay, so you were wondering when this was going to come out on CD. We were getting tired of holding our breath so here it is as a vinyl transfer. The liner notes by then editor of 16 Magazine declared that Sally's singing career was off to a flying start. Thud. As a vocalist, Sally lands somewhere between Nancy Sinatra and Patty Duke - if a bit more melodious than either - but nevermind - just one listen will have hypoglycemics on a sugar high for over a week. Supported by the Bob Mitchell (Children's) Choir, Sally delivers the 13 original and 4 bonus ultra-sunshiney inspirational and Christian songs the only way you would want to hear them. This is perfect for parents longing to instill something of worth into their kids before rap ensnares them into the devil's army. It's also a must for bubblegumsters and sunshinesters. Two of the bonus tracks are with fellow sisters Madeleine Sherwood & Marge Redmond! LP tracks are STEREO - sorry, the bonuses are mono. Condition of vinyl before transfer was Near Mint. Beautifully audio cleaned. $17.00 includes shipping in the lower 48. |
Sun - Inquire Within - A REAL CD! Our graphic artist is also a singer and songwriter and if you're into stuff like The Golden Lost consider this The Golden Found. This CD was released on Air Mail Recordings in Japan under the title of one of the songs, "It's A Smiley Face World" which received a coveted John Lennon Songwriting Contest award. Brilliantly produced by Daniel Wise (James Taylor, Marie Frank, Joan Osborne and dozens more). The vibe is 60's. All orders come with a bonus track, Sun's delicious cover of The Beatles' "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" recorded for Bullseye Records' Beatles tribute. $15.00 includes shipping USPS in continental USA. Also available as digital downloads at CD Baby (no bonus track), click here. |
A
reminder: Except where noted these CD-R's were recorded from
vinyl and have NOT been remastered from original tapes. The recordings
that have been audio cleaned or have had a degree of digital noise
reduction are noted in the description. Prices are subject to change.
For more information: contact us
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