Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: Keith Relf was best known as the frontman of The Yardbirds, but in 1966 he also released his first solo single 'Mr Zero'. Demon Records are heralding 60 years of The Yardbirds by launching a new series of 7" singles which go deep into the story of the iconic British blues rock band. American folk artist Bob Lind wrote the song, and Paul Samwell-Smith produced it, resulting in a baroque gem fronted by Relf's haunting vocal. The B side was written by Relf himself, and features Yardbirds main man Jeff Beck on guitar as well as Rick Jones.

Review: 'The Essential Radio Birdman' compiles the most integral, anthemic and hard hitting of the Sydney proto-punk n' roll heroes' definitive first three albums (long out of print and costly to accumulate), and delivers them on newly pressed wax.

Underrated and ahead of their time, the writing partnership of Michigan born guitarist Deniz Tek and vocalist Rob Younger, led to a spree of surf rock leaning cynical, witty barrages that not only still stand the test of time, but deserve a major reappraisal with regards to the extent of their influence.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Rail Band are one of the most legendary bands in Malian musical history, and like all great legends their greatest moment was fleeting. This incredibly heavy, soulful and hard-grooving record was released in 1973, when the official orchestra of the Malian State Railway decided to enter the studio and lay down their potent blend of Western funk and surf, Mande tradition and Afro-Cuban percussion. The band was led by trumpet and sax player Tidiani Kone and Djelimady Tounkara on guitar, but in the iteration captured on this album they also featured future stars Salif Keita and Mory Kante on vocals. Shortly after, Keita and Kante eloped to embark on hugely successful solo careers, but for a brief moment in 1973 one of the greatest African guitar bands of all time created a perfect storm of West African storytelling and smoking hot grooves.

Review: It could not get much more late-1960s into early-1970s folk rock if it tried. Band name: Rainbird. Album title: Maiden Flight. General vibe: somewhere between a psychedelic ultraworld, late night blues basement and trip to a remote island to join an off-grid community. Painting quite a vivid picture there, admittedly, this 1971 rarity proves exactly why contemporary musicians can try to emulate this era but will never truly recreate it. Simply put, it's impossible to commit in the same way today. Rant and questionable point aside, Rainbird's uncovered gem is an epic masterpiece in no uncertain terms. From the wistful croonerdom of 'Stormdance (Part 1)' and its Wurlitzer powered chaotic seizure follow up l ('Stormdance (Part 2)'), to the lead guitar solo mastery of 'Man On the Mountain' and the quiet, reflective journeyman stuff on 'Sailboat', it manages to include every totem of this scene, without sounding cliched.

Review: Red Dirt was a UK psychedelic prog rock group from the early 1970s. Band members included Dave Richardson, Ken Giles, Steve Howden and Steve Jackson and strangely, only released one album that is self-titled Red Dirt. The album has hit cult status many moons ago though and is considered one of the holy grails of UK progressive rock. The album is highly regarded for its raw sound and strong songwriting as well as the recording technics that were creatively used during the use of their studio time. This edition also pulls from Red Dirt II which was a previously unreleased rock and blues album recorded during the same time. So, here you get the bulk of what the band recorded during their time. Not only will progressive rock fans enjoy this but also blues rock and classic rock fans alike. Getting this piece of vinyl is like getting a piece of rock history. Act quickly! This comes on red vinyl complete with insert that chronicles the project.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Bending and creasing to the bottom right corner of the outer sleeve, product in perfect working order***

Review: With its title paying homage to the seminal 1969 King Crimson album In the Court of the Crimson King, the debut full-length from Finnish doom metal maestros Reverend Bizarre has become a quintessential cornerstone of the movement in the two decades since its initial release. Clocking in at a mammoth 74 minutes with epic cuts such as 'Sodoma Sunrise' running over 13 minutes as well as the gargantuan 21 minute closer 'Cirith Ungol', this is Black Sabbath worship interspliced with moments of macabre grandiosity which have become staples of 21st century psychedelic doom revival. While the group would disband after only three LPs before working on a myriad of later projects together, In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend still serves as not only an iconic debut, but a perfect entry point into the doomsphere.

Review: You can always count on Wah Wah to unearth the rarest of gems and give them the ceremonial release they deserve. Randy Rice originally released To Anyone Who's Ever Laughed At Someone Else in 1974 as a private press recording printed in an edition of just 500. As is the way with such cult records, it's slowly permeated music culture thanks to the haunting beauty and idiosyncratic nature of the songs until a critical mass of appreciation inspires a reissue such as this. Remastered with a light touch, this subtly surreal offering takes classic 70s Americana into unique zones, with Rice's fragile songwriting and singing binding the record together as a heart-rending listen which is poised to charm a whole new audience.

Review: Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo vocalist-guitarist Ripley Johnson seems like the kind of guy who's never going to get boring. Having seduced pretty much everyone in earshot with a unique brand of psychedelic country music, earning the kind of cult following that gets you booked for the equally cult, sorely-missed, and utterly legendary All Tomorrow's Parties festival (RIP), he's continued to explore the possibilities and prospects of that sound.

Garden Party is the fourth LP under his Rose City Band project, and is gorgeous and alluring as ever. Apparently Johnson was inspired by long summer days and nights spent on verandas kicking back and enjoying balmy temperatures, and that feeling emanates from the tracks here. A beautiful collection of crooning guitars within lackadaisical arrangements, capable of transporting you to warmer, slower places.

Review: Rose City Band is a solo project of Ripley Johnson, who is known for his work in Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo. 'Garden Party' is the fourth album of the project. Thematically, it deals with the summer months and what Johnson has taken to calling 'porch music', two words which conjure a wealth of relaxing mental images. From 'Chasing Rainbows' to 'El Rio', Johnson creates lush, rich psychedelic rock soundscapes with a country influence, sure to excite road-trippers just as much as they are to sate veranda-loungers alike.

Review: Rose City Band is a solo project of Ripley Johnson, who is known for his work in Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo. 'Garden Party' is the fourth album of the project. Thematically, it deals with the summer months and what Johnson has taken to calling 'porch music', two words which conjure a wealth of relaxing mental images. From 'Chasing Rainbows' to 'El Rio', Johnson creates lush, rich psychedelic rock soundscapes with a country influence, sure to excite road-trippers just as much as they are to sate veranda-loungers alike.

Review: Fans of The Grateful Dead listen up: you should have been taking note of Rose City Band before now. Don't worry, though, this self-titled from a blues-tipped troupe - who clearly understand the joys of psychedelia - is the outfit's debut. As such while you've missed a bit, there's hopefully far more to come. When it comes to outfits like Rose City Band it's easy to simply reel off a list of people the pack have elements of, partly because accurate definitions don't come easy when there are shades of garage rock, tripped out roll, and even some hallucinogenic take on country and western swoon at play. And that's just on the appropriately titled "Wandering Feeling". You could well nod to Moon Duo, Little Feat and the aforementioned Dead, alongside Cosmic Americana, of course. References aside, RCB rank among the finest making this fare, so prepare to get lost in a kaleidoscopic road trip.

Review: Perfeitamente, Justamente Quando Cheguei is one of those cult Latin albums from the Brazilian fusion heyday of the 70s as it mixes up psych-folk and MPB in unique ways. The artwork alone is worth the cover price if you ask us but the music also stands up from Rubinho E Mauro Assumpcao, who released just this one album which has since become incredibly hard to find, even in the country itself. Swaggering samba rhythms, funky rhythms and carefree vocals (about what we have no idea) all make it a richly rewarding listening experience.

Review: If you're looking for online evidence that Rust even existed then prepare for at least three Google searches. These guys aren't the rock band from Helsinki, Finland, that formed in 2001. Nor are they the mid-1980s classic rock covers outfit. The fact those other two groups used the same name speaks volumes about how little known this Rust are, which is criminal when you start getting to grips with this record.

British psychedelic rock at its finest, Come With Me was originally recorded back in 1969, and those in the know regard it as something of a lost mini-classic. From the off, it feels like you're spiralling down into a wormhole, surrounded by the colour of sound. From thereon in, we launch into the kind of cacophonous, blues-tinged guitar solo-filled, rhythmically infectious stuff that really should have earned this lot a chapter in the pantheons.