Those were great days, when intellectuals as well as rawk’n’rollers would be billed for the same show. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the time also of the big festivals where the major acts would appear on the main stage and you had to saunter off to one of the side stages to see the real goodies/Gods.
This time we’ll start with the bonus track as we have a freebie attached to the whole caboodle.
THE FREEBIE: Many Are Called, But Few Get Up
In 1975 three Americans decided to visit London - legendary guitarist John Cipollina (Quicksilver Messenger Service), equally legendary guitarist Barry “The Fish” Melton (Country Joe & The Fish) and Country Joe McDonald himself.
As the Welsh band MAN knew Cipollina from their spring 1975 US tour where he had turned up unexpectedly at one of their rehearsals and jammed with them, they invited him to guest on shows of their “Maximum Darkness” tour. Consequently, he rehearsed with them for a week and soon was on stage with Micky Jones (g), Deke Leonard (g), Martin Ace (b) and Terry Williams (dr). The gig at London’s Roundhouse was recorded and despite the fact that some of Cipollina’s guitar parts have been erroneously erased, the recording remains a valuable document of Anglo-American Rock music of the 70s.
The rumour
goes that Cipollina had had the complete two-hour show taped by somebody in the
audience and that this recording is part of the hours and hours of live
recordings known as “The Cipollina Tapes”.
Melton and Country Joe also appeared on the same bill as MAN, performing solo and duo acoustic sets.
01. bonus track: STARRY EYED & LAUGHING Miles Away (1973 - from the Alternate Strategy Session)
02. INDIAN SUMMER Emotions Of Men (1971 [Indian Summer])
03. TONTON MACOUTE Natural High Part I/Natural High Part II (1971 [Tonton Macoute])
04. SPRING Golden Fleece (1971 [Spring])
05. CRUSHED BUTLER My Son’s Alive (1971 [unreleased])
06. GROUNDHOGS Promiscuity (1976 [Crosscut Saw])
07. KHAN Hollow Stone (1972 [Space Shanty])
08. CARAVAN Chiefs And Indians (1976 [Blind Dog At St. Dunstans])
09. HATFIELD AND THE NORTH Mumps (1975 [The Rotters’ Club)
10. EGG Wring Out The Ground (Loosely Now) (1974 [The Civil Surface])