Rock International

CLASSIC ERA MANASSAS - LIVE BROADCAST FROM THE WEST COAST When Manassas took the stage on 7th October 1973, on the final night of their Winterland engagement that year, they had no idea it would turn out to be one of their last performances. Playing a wealth of material from their debut double album, a few choice numbers from their second record, and with some choice surprises in store, it would turn out to be one of the group s most memorable shows. The first set kicks off with a fully electric performance containing side one of their debut, performed in sequence. Both Stills and Al Perkins, who plays an impressive second lead guitar, as well as pedal steel, provide the bulk of the solos, and by this point in time they had become quite adept at complimenting each other. Chris Hillman then leads the group into a fine rendition of The Byrds' hit So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star , providing an unexpected but delightful conclusion to this 18-minute sequence. Johnny's Garden provides some lighter relief with its laidback folk-rock vibe before they conclude this first set with the smouldering blues cut Go Back Home , a standout track from Stills' first solo record. At this point, Chris Hillman and Al Perkins take control and begin the country and bluegrass portion of the show. Sandwiched between two Burrito Brothers standards ( Six Days On The Road and You're Still On My Mind ) are three impressive numbers, including an early version of Hillman's Safe At Home , soon to be recorded with the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. Stills also shines during this section on lovely versions of Fallen Eagle and Hide It So Deep , both also from the first Manassas album. Following an intermission, Manassas kick their second electric set off with the Latin-flavoured rocker Pensamiento , one of the standout tracks from their recently released second album, followed by a rousing rendition of 49 Bye-Byes . Considerably different than its CS&N LP incarnation, this segues directly into an impressive percussion solo by Joe Lala and then concludes with a passage of the Buffalo Springfield classic, For What It s Worth . Following introductions of the band members, Chris Hillman delivers a smoking rendition of Lies , another highlight from the sophomore album. David Crosby joins in on electric guitar for the final section of the show as the group sinks their collective teeth into The Treasure , which evolves into a bluesy groove, washed in Stills' fierce electric slide guitar, which then rips into Carry On . This is a smoking conclusion to the set that leaves the Winterland audience up on their feet and clamouring for more. Stills eventually obliges, returning to the stage with his acoustic for a solo reading of Daylight Again , a number totally new to the audience at the time, which segues directly into Find The Of Freedom . During the latter song, the entire band, as well as Crosby and Nash return to the stage and join Stills in an a cappella singalong to send the enraptured audience on its way. Record Label: Left Field Media Style: Folk Rock

MID-1970s BROADCAST RECORDING OF SANTANA AT THEIR MOST EXPERIMENTAL Having made a major breakthrough following their legendary performance at Woodstock, Santana released a string of wildly successful albums, and by the mid-1970s were undertaking a period of experimentation. Broadening their horizons from the scorching brand of Latin rock with which they made their name, the group began to incorporate more jazz and funk influences into their sound. This trend was first apparent on Welcome, released on 9th November 1973. Keyboard player and vocalist Greg Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon had left to form Journey, and were replaced by Tom Coster on keys and Leon Thomas on vocals. The 73 album also included contributions from leading fusion guitarist John McLaughlin, as well as from John Coltrane s widow, Alice Coltrane. Bandleader Carlos Santana would return the favour by appearing on LPs of his two guests, 1973 s Love Devotion Surrender and 1974 s Illuminations respectively. The avantgarde sounds on Welcome were difficult for some fans to grasp, but the record still reached a respectable No. 25 on the Billboard albums chart, eventually going Gold. Welcome was followed in 1974 by the magnificent live album Lotus, recorded at the Koseinenkin Hall in Osaka, Japan across the 3rd and 4th July 1973. This in turn was succeeded by Borboletta in October 1974, which brought further new ideas into the fray as Carlos took a more of a minimalist approach with his guitar, favouring percussion, saxophone and keyboards to set the mood. Further line-up changes also occurred, most notably when keyboardist and vocalist Leon Patillo joined the group. The album outperformed its predecessor, reaching No. 20 on the Billboard chart and also achieving Gold in the US and Silver in the UK. The release of Borboletta was followed by extensive touring in the US and Japan throughout 1974 and 1975. The recording featured on this CD is taken from the group s performance at the Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on 25th May 1975. Broadcast in excellent audio quality over FM radio, the set features a wide range of Santana classics - including Black Magic Woman , Oye Como Va and Incident At Neshabur - as well as the previously unreleased Time Waits For No One . With the band on top form, this release remains an essential addition to any Santana collection and a glorious example of Santana live in the mid-1970s. Record Label: Zip City Style: Rock

THE BELMONT MALL STUDIO SESSION - CLASSIC FM RADIO BROADCAST FROM HIS 1980s PEAK In 1975, Mellencamp finally found someone receptive to his music and image in Tony DeFries of MainMan Management. DeFries insisted that Mellencamp's first album, Chestnut Street Incident, a collection of covers and a handful of originals, be released under the stage name Johnny Cougar, suggesting that the bumpy German name "Mellencamp" was too hard to market. Mellencamp reluctantly agreed, but the album was a complete failure, selling only 12,000 copies. He then signed onto the tiny Riva Records label and released 1978's A Biography. The record wasn't released in the United States, but it yielded a hit in Australia with I Need a Lover. Riva Records added the track to Mellencamp's next album released in the US, 1979's John Cougar, where the song became a No. 28 single in late 1979. In 1980, Mellencamp returned with the Steve Cropper-produced Nothin' Matters and What If It Did, which yielded two Top 40 singles This Time (No. 27) and Ain't Even Done With the Night (No. 17). In 1982, he released his breakthrough album, American Fool, which contained the singles Hurts So Good, an uptempo rock tune that spent four weeks at No. 2 and 16 weeks in the Top 10, and Jack & Diane, which was a No. 1 hit for four weeks. In 1985, Mellencamp released Scarecrow, which peaked at No. 2 and spawned five Top 40 singles; it was the first album he recorded at his own recording studio, jokingly dubbed "Belmont Mall," located in Belmont, Indiana and built in 1984. Mellencamp's next LP, 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee, was also recorded at Belmont and in the wake of the recording came the fascinating studio session contained on this CD. The performance was recorded in the very same studio on 10th July 1987, just after work on the album concluded but a month prior to its general release, and broadcast on the nationally syndicated radio show Timothy West s Rockstars Radio. Record Label: Hobo Style: Rock

FRANK ZAPPA - CLASSIC BROADCAST FROM THE 1980 EUROPEAN TOUR As 1980 began, Frank Zappa had been off the road for nine months, and hadn t played a gig in America since November 78. He spent February and March rehearsing a band that dispensed with keyboardist Peter Wolf, but saw the return of guitarists Ray White and Ike Willis, pianist Tommy Mars and bassist Arthur Barrow. David Logeman was bought in on drums, replacing Vinnie Colaiuta. Starting with a gig at the Seattle Center Arena on 25th March, the Zappa band spent much of 1980 on the road. They played 26 shows in the US between late March and early May, then, after a 10-day break, they set off for Europe for another 34 dates. The show featured on this CD was recorded for live FM broadcast at Munich s Olympiahalle on 3rd July, the group s final European date and the end of a 15 date run in Germany - at the time home to Zappa s most fervent fan base. Transmitted too, via live sync, across the USA, this dynamic performance remains one of Zappa s finest gigs of the era. Released here for the first time on CD in superb remastered stereo quality, this release will prove a delight for Zappa fans worldwide. Record Label: Sonic Boom Style: Rock

In early 1968 David Bowie enrolled in actor, teacher and choreographer Lindsay Kemp s dance class at the London Dance Centre. Bowie later claimed it was during this tenure that his interest in image really blossomed. Studying the dramatic arts under Kemp, Bowie became immersed in the creation of personae to present to the world. In July 69 he had his first hit single with Space Oddity , and his second, self-titled album was released in November. A year on came The Man Who Sold The World, and Hunky Dory followed in December 1971. Three months later, in February 1972, came the launch of the Ziggy Stardust Tour, at the Toby Jug in Tolworth, Surrey, and the rest, as they say, is history. But in less than three years of intense activity, Bowie had gone from being a glorified song-and-dance-man with a penchant for the tunes of early 60s comedy crooner Anthony Newley to becoming the most flamboyant, creative and dynamic rock star on the planet. This film uncovers the full story of these years and by tracing events from even further back, when David was still named Jones and a member of any number of UK Beat groups, to the release of the The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars in June 72, it reveals one of the most fascinating pre-fame periods in the history of contemporary music. With the use of rare and seldom-seen archive film, exclusive interviews, contributions from his closest confidantes and comment from the most knowledgeable writers and music historians, this film is the best document yet to emerge on the early years of David Bowie and is destined to become the standard work on the subject. Record Label: Smokin Style: Rock

With already several critically acclaimed albums, Italy-based ADIMIRON has in a short time become one of the most promising acts in the European metal scene. Constantly promoting their own name through Europe, North America and Russia supporting dozens of bands in several international tours. ADIMIRON incite this atmosphere on their new full-length album, Et Liber Eris, totally designed in analogue mode. The band's self-awareness has pushed them to create a work purely uninhibited by any outside influences and literally in its own sphere. Fueled by primitive emotions, the eight tracks lead the listener into the darkest depths of the human consciousness, evoking memories, unspoken thoughts that connect us inextricably with the intangible. Musically, the band creates an impressive progressive texture that hits the senses: wide variety of vocals register mixed with an incredible work of guitars, increasingly interwind to create atmospheres and dissonances, guide the listener into this sonic maze. The result is a coherent and layered work, which represent a picture of a band in perfect focus. Et Liber Eris evolves the musical research already started in the previous releases (Timelapse, K2), bringing a complex and solid production made up of great elegant and heavy moments. The extreme soul of the band comes out, but dissolved in a completely changing scenario. An album highly variegated and enjoyable until the last note. Abandon yourself, disconnect from the chaos and enjoy 'Et Liber Eris'. Record Label: Indie Recordings Style: Metal

A long kept secret of lost classics, John Wonderling’s debut LP was ill fated from the start, despite boasting a deep bench of session players. Wonderling made his mark as the writer of “Midway Down,” a song made famous by The Creation. Though, The Creation don’t always find themselves in constant conversation these days either (see their much needed retrospective on Numero this year) they raised Wonderling’s profile at the time and he released a single version of “Midway Down” backed with “Man Of Straw”. What truly halted Wonderling’s momentum was taking the next five years to craft Day Breaks, an album of subtle beauty, but slightly faded psychedelic pop for its release in 1973. The single was the last independent release on Loma Records, which was then absorbed into Warner Brothers. His album would wind up on Paramount. The shift to major label should have seemed like a blessing, but the label simply didn’t know what to do with Wonderling. He’d languish and most of the records printed would disappear, with as few as 10 copies being reportedly making their way to distribution. As such this has become a pricey collector’s property. The record shouldn’t have been as hard a sell as it’s often described. Though songs like “Man Of Straw” seem a bit past the mark, the rest of the album delves into the kind of wistful ballads that wound up making legends (albeit not always in their time) of artists from Nick Drake to Gene Clark. Wonderling, too should be higher up the ranks of lost songwriters and it seems that this reissue from Flashback is aiming to make that so. Though only on CD for now, the new issue rounds up the entirety of Day Breaks along with the A and B-side versions of “Midway Down” and “Man Of Straw” with a couple of unreleased demos. This is an all too brief, but truly wonderful album finding a new life Record Label: Red River Exports Style: Rock

Artist: Despite Exile Label: LIFEFORCE RECORDS

Artist: BEVIS FROND Label: Fire America

Artist: BEVIS FROND Label: Fire America

VOLUME 2! This recording was made during a Frank Zappa-performance at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, in October 1975. The setlist included numbers dating back to the 1960s ('Lonely Little Girl', 'Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance') as well as songs from the then-yet-to-be-released 'Bongo Fury' and 'Zoot Allures' albums. Record Label: Parachute Style: Rock

VOLUME 1! This recording was made during a Frank Zappa-performance at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, in October 1975. The setlist included numbers dating back to the 1960s ('Lonely Little Girl', 'Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance') as well as songs from the then-yet-to-be-released 'Bongo Fury' and 'Zoot Allures' albums. Record Label: Parachute Style: Rock

Artist: COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH / BYRDS / MOBY GRAPE Label: Go Bop

Artist: Ronnie Fauss Label: Normaltown Records

Artist: LEE HAZLEWOOD Label: Light in the Attic

Artist: Hoops Label: Fat Possum

Artist: Nickelback Label: BMG Rights Management (US) LLC

Artist: Bethlehem Steel Label: Exploding In Sound

Artist: RICKIE LEE JONES Label: Mobile Fidelity