CROW - 1972 - DAVID WAGNER - d/b/a CROW

Even with the huge success of their second single 'Evil Woman’ (it sold upwards of 600,000 copies in it’s first year, and was covered on the first “Black Sabbath” LP), Crow made fateful choices that killed their career in record time. “Atlantic almost signed us," said Dave Wagner. "We had Atlantic on one line and Amaret on the other. Amaret was decided upon because (managers) Traut and Golden felt we'd get buried with the Atlantic. In a matter of months, it turned out to be the biggest mistake we ever made." Between late 1969 and early 1971, Crow either opened for or headlined with Jefferson Airplane, Three Dog Night, Steve Miller Band, Steppenwolf, Eric Burdon & War, Janis Joplin (three separate times) and Iron Butterfly. The group was working more than ever, but seemed to be enjoying it less. “We were becoming more and more disillusioned with Amaret by the day," said Wagner. "We fought with them over our artistic direction. We had some really good material for what was to be our fourth album all ready. But they turned it all down saying it wasn't commercial enough, or it wasn't this or that." Elektra Records were very interested in the group, but Amaret wouldn't let them out of their contract, unless they wouldn’t use the name Crow. And Elektra didn't want Crow without their name. In the closing months of 1971, Dave Wagner, feeling there was absolutely no way out of the band’s financial and managerial mess, left the group. In 1972, Amaret released a “Best Of Crow” (Amaret AST 5012) as a sort of epitaph to a this unique band. That same year, Amaret was sold to MGM records. A deal was worked out with MGM for Dave Wagner to release a solo album. "They sent me a list of material to choose from, about twenty songs,” Wagner said. “One of the songs they insisted I re-record was a Micky Newbury tune we had done as Crow called 'Mobile Blues.' I worked with some top-notch musicians. Basically, MGM was fulfilling its obligatory contract to get the album (“Dave Wagner, d/b/a Crow”) out. They had no interest in really backing the project." And so, the album and Crow’s career, came to a quiet end.

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Sweathog - 1971 - ST (Southern Rock) CBS/Columbia 30601

Sweathog was a San Francisco-based quartet whose sound was fairly far removed from the music normally associated with that city. They were a powerful ensemble instrumentally, keyboardist/singer Lenny Lee (aka Lenny Lee Goldsmith), guitarist/singer Bob Jones, bassist/singer Dave Johnson, and drummer Frosty (aka Barry Smith, aka Bartholomew Smith) all top players in their field — Frosty had played with Lee Michaels on his third and fourth albums, while Jones had played on Harvey Mandel's Cristo Redentor and Righteous in the late '60s, and Goldsmith was an ex-member of the Five Americans. They were not bad as singers, either, with Goldsmith handling the leads. Their music was a mix of Southern-style soul, early-'70s funk, and blues, all wrapped around a virtuoso rock sound. The group was signed to Columbia Records at the time of that label's fixation on West Coast acts, under Clive Davis's regime — they were always looking for another Big Brother & the Holding Company, or something to take the place of that act on their roster. The group's self-titled debut album passed mostly without a musical trace, without an AM radio hit to drive sales, though its cover image of bare buttocks was censored in various countries. In 1972, they seemed to hit paydirt with their single "Hallelujah," a driving piece of explosive Southern-fried rock & roll with a soul edge that was a killer showcase for all four players (especially Frosty). It got to number 33 on the national charts, but that relatively modest performance doesn't indicate how popular it was on the radio, where it got airplay closer to that of a Top 20 hit. The song got the album (also titled Hallelujah) into stores, at least, but it never sold in huge numbers, despite a respectable promotion effort and a lot of exposure for the band, touring behind Black Sabbath, among other top acts of the period. They broke up in 1973, and Goldsmith later played on Martha Reeves' first post-Motown solo album before joining Stoneground.

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Felix Pappalardi - 1979 - Don't Worry Ma

1939 - 1983"Don't worry, Ma."
Felix Pappalardi is best known as the producer of the blues rock trio Cream. He was also known as the bassist in early American hard rock act "Mountain."
Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, on December 20th, 1939. He attended the university of Michigan, where he studied classical music. On returning to New York he became a part of the folk music scene in Greenwich Village, eventually moving into production.
It was his work with Cream in the late sixties that would really make Pappalardi's name. He walked in on the band during a recording session and was impressed. The next day he brought the band a song called "Strange Brew" written by him, and Gail Collins, his wife. He became their producer, and worked on all their records from that time. Strange Brew was one of Cream's first big hits. As well as producing he would contribute music (it is him blowing that trumpet in "Pressed Rat and Warthog").
After Cream broke up Pappalardi formed the hard rock band, "Mountain." He was forced to take a step back from performing in the late seventies, because Mountain's extraordinary volume had partially damaged his hearing. He continued to produce, however, and also recorded an album with "Creation." In 1979 Pappalardi finally released his first Solo Album, "Don't worry, Ma."
Felix Pappalardi was shot in the neck by his wife Gail Collins on the 17th of April, 1983, and died. He was 43. He had been having an affair with a younger woman, and his wife knew this. But she denied murder. Felix was "showing her how to use the gun" when it went off. A jury supported this claim, and Collins was sentenced to four years imprisonment for "criminally negligent homicide." After serving her sentence, Collins disappeared.

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J.D. Blackfoot - 1975 - Southbound and Gone

J.D. Blackfoot is a Native American-themed artist who was actually born Benjamin Franklin Van Dervort in Cleveland. The frontman for an Ohio band called the Ebb Tides (as Benny Van), he re-formed the group under his most famous name around 1969 and recorded a single for Mercury called "Who's Nuts Alfred." An album, The Ultimate Prophecy, followed soon after and found the group dabbling in acid rock and folk/country-rock. The group soon melted away after the LP's lack of success — though it's still prized in prog/psych circles — and Blackfoot went on to record the mid-'70s albums The Song of Crazy Horse and Southbound and Gone for Fantasy Records.He retired from music in the '70s, but returned in 1988 with a new company, Sisapa Records, which signed and recorded Marshall Tucker, Paul Cotton (Poco), and Crazy Horse, as well as Blackfoot himself on the 1991 album Tokala (a sequel to The Song of Crazy Horse). A popular artist in New Zealand, to where he often traveled for performing and recording, Blackfoot continued releasing albums during the '90s, including 1997's Ohio Dream EP and 1998's Footprints. In 2000, he issued Co-Dependent Dysfunctional You, and the career compilation Ultimate Years followed in 2002. Yellowhand appeared in 2005.

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Felix Pappalardi & Creation - 1975 - Paul Butterfield

Felix Pappalardi was most famous as the producer of Cream and the bassist for one of the first American hard rock acts, Mountain; sadly, he's also remembered for the tragic shooting that claimed his life at age 43. Pappalardi was born December 20, 1939, in the Bronx and studied classical music at the University of Michigan; upon returning to New York, he was unable to find work as a conductor and soon drifted into the Greenwich Village folk scene. He soon made a name for himself as a skilled arranger, and from there moved into record production, initially concentrating on folk and folk-rock acts like Tim Hardin, the Youngbloods, Joan Baez, Richard & Mimi Farina, Ian & Sylvia, and Fred Neil. However, it was Pappalardi's late-'60s work with the psychedelic blues-rock outfit Cream — beginning with their second album, Disraeli Gears — that really established his reputation; Pappalardi sometimes contributed additional instrumentation for his imaginative studio arrangements and he and wife, Gail Collins, co-wrote "Strange Brew" with Eric Clapton.In 1968, Pappalardi was asked to produce an Atlantic Records band called the Vagrants, which featured a young guitarist named Leslie West. The following year, he produced West's solo album Mountain; after Cream disbanded, Pappalardi and West formed the hard rock band Mountain, whose hit single "Mississippi Queen" remains a staple of classic rock radio. Mountain broke up in 1972, reunited in 1974, and disbanded again in 1975; afterwards, Pappalardi was forced to, for the most part, retire from performing due to partial hearing loss caused by Mountain's extreme volume. However, he was able to return to production, and also recorded an album with the Japanese hard rock outfit Creation, who had opened for Mountain on their Japanese tours; Felix Pappalardi & Creation was released on A&M in 1976. In 1979, Pappalardi released his first proper solo album, Don't Worry, Ma, which reflected his growing interest in funk, jazz fusion, and reggae, and featured a large supporting cast, including bassist Chuck Rainey and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie.On the night of April 17, 1983, tragedy struck: Pappalardi was shot once in the neck by his wife, Gail Collins, and killed. He had been involved in a long-standing affair with a younger woman, of which Collins had knowledge; however, a jury supported Collins' claim that the shooting was accidental, occurring while Pappalardi was showing her how to use the gun. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide rather than the far more serious charge of second-degree murder; sentenced to four years, Collins quietly disappeared afterward.

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Bugsy - 1969 - ST "Charley Maugh" Butterfield Blues Band

Primeiro Album Solo do Baixista / Vocalista da banda de Paul Butterfield

Blues Pop Psych

DOT Records DLP 25917 - 1969

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Mason Proffit - 1971 - Last Night I had The Strangest Dream - Country Rock

Though this album sank without a trace when it was released, time has been kind to Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream, and it is now hailed as a work of genius. Justifiably so, since every track is proof of a band with wonderful instincts for melody and how to frame a musical idea. Mason Proffit was an ensemble that played a blend of music that was more country than rock, with occasional folk and blues influences to make things interesting. Though a few of their songs were straightforward love songs and celebrations of country virtues, many were uncommonly sophisticated for 1971. The song "Jewel" is a pure tearjerker, a sad tale of a young black woman who is used and abandoned by a wealthy white man. The tragic story is set to a weeping steel guitar and is sung in a voice that sounds anguished, and it is a marvelously affecting track. The title track and "Eugene Pratt" are noteworthy for their gentle insistence that something is wrong with the society in which we live, and something should be done about it immediately. Other bands were experimenting with country-rock but never achieved this subtlety and grace, and there was a whole genre of protest music which lacked those same two attributes. The fact that both were in the same package, but were ignored at the time that they were released, is just a darn shame. This band's catalog cries out for a re-evaluation and re-release, starting with this album. ~ Richard Foss, All Music Guide

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Miguel Cantilo y Grupo Sur - 1972 - ST (Kubero Diaz)

Argentinian Miguel Cantilo joined a hippie commune in the fall of 1972. There he wrote many songs together with Kubero Diaz (La Cofradia de la Flor Solar), incredible hard-psychedelia and a slight folk flavor at times. This is an absolute must for any psychedelic rock fan with overwhelming dual guitar, and no doubt it's one of the best Argentinian records of the '70s.

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