The Amazing Charlatans

Last updated
The Amazing Charlatans
The Amazing Charlatans.jpg
Compilation album by
ReleasedSeptember 1996
RecordedAugust 1965 – early 1968
Genre Folk rock, psychedelic rock
Length67:29
Label Big Beat

The Amazing Charlatans is a compilation album by the American psychedelic rock band the Charlatans that was released in 1996 by Big Beat Records. [1] The album is a collection of demos, tracks that appeared on singles, and previously unreleased sessions that the band recorded between August 1965 and early 1968, at a variety of different San Francisco studios. [2]

All but three of the tracks featured on the album were previously unreleased, although a number of them had appeared on unofficial or bootleg albums over the years. [1] [2] The tracks on the album that had been officially released before were "The Shadow Knows" and "32–20", which had both been issued on a 1966 single, [2] "Codine Blues", which had first appeared as "Codine" on the 1985 Rhino Records' compilation, Nuggets, Volume 7: Early San Francisco , [3] and "Number One", which had appeared on the 1986 compilation, The Autumn Records Story.

The tracks on the album originate from four recording dates: an August 1965 demo session for Autumn Records, a recording session for Kama Sutra Records in early 1966, a July 1967 demo session, and an early 1968 studio session. [2] The final track on the album is a radio commercial for Groom N' Clean hair preparation, recorded in November 1966. [2] It features the band playing their signature song, "Alabama Bound", with alternate lyrics outlining the merits of Groom N' Clean. [2]

Track listing

  1. "Codine Blues" (Buffy Sainte-Marie) – 2:22
  2. "Alabama Bound" (traditional, arranged Mike Ferguson, Dan Hicks, George Hunter, Richard Olsen, Mike Wilhelm) – 6:24
  3. "I Always Wanted a Girl Like You" (George Hunter, Richard Olsen) – 1:31
  4. "I Saw Her" (traditional, arranged Mike Ferguson, Dan Hicks, George Hunter, Richard Olsen, Mike Wilhelm) – 2:06
  5. "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away" (Dan Hicks) – 2:22
  6. "32–20" (Robert Johnson) – 2:27
  7. "We're Not on the Same Trip" (Dan Hicks) – 3:12
  8. "Walkin'" (George Hunter, Richard Olsen) – 3:08
  9. "Sweet Sue, Just You" (Will Harris, Victor Young) – 3:40
  10. "East Virginia" (traditional, arranged Patrick Gogerty, Dan Hicks, George Hunter, Richard Olsen, Mike Wilhelm, Terry Wilson) – 1:40
  11. "The Shadow Knows" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:14
  12. "I Got Mine" (Dan Hicks) – 2:27
  13. "Steppin' in Society" (Alex Gerber, Harry Akst) – 1:14
  14. "Devil Got My Man" (Skip James) – 2:46
  15. "By Hook or by Crook" (Dan Hicks) – 2:24
  16. "'Long Come a Viper" (Dan Hicks) – 2:41
  17. "Sidetrack" (traditional, arranged Mike Ferguson, Dan Hicks, Lynne Hughes, George Hunter, Richard Olsen, Mike Wilhelm) – 2:26
  18. "Alabama Bound" (traditional, arranged Mike Ferguson, Dan Hicks, George Hunter, Richard Olsen, Mike Wilhelm) – 2:45
  19. "Number One" (Mike Wilhelm) – 4:15
  20. "Baby Won't You Tell Me" (John Hammond) – 3:41
  21. "Jack of Diamonds" (traditional, arranged Mike Ferguson, Dan Hicks, George Hunter, Richard Olsen, Mike Wilhelm) – 4:49
  22. "The Blues Ain't Nothin'" (Mike Wilhelm) – 4:58
  23. "Groom N' Clean Ad" (traditional, arranged Mike Ferguson, Dan Hicks, George Hunter, Richard Olsen, Mike Wilhelm) – 0:40

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Charlatans (American band)</span> American folk/psychedelic rock band

The Charlatans were an American folk rock and psychedelic rock band that played a role in the development of the San Francisco Haight-Ashbury music scene during the 1960s. They are often cited by critics as being the first group to play in the style that became known as the San Francisco Sound.

<i>Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968</i> 1972 compilation album by various artists

Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era is a compilation album of American psychedelic and garage rock singles that were released during the mid-to-late 1960s. It was created by Lenny Kaye, who was a writer and clerk at the Village Oldies record shop in New York. He would later become the lead guitarist for the Patti Smith Group. Kaye produced Nuggets under the supervision of Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman. Kaye conceived the project as a series of roughly eight LP installments focusing on different US regions, but Elektra convinced him that one double album would be more commercially viable. It was released on LP by Elektra in 1972 with liner notes by Kaye that contained one of the first uses of the term "punk rock". It was reissued with a new cover design by Sire Records in 1976. In the 1980s, Rhino Records issued Nuggets in a series of fifteen installments, and in 1998 as a 4-cd box set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Music Machine</span> American rock band formed in 1966

The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a characteristically dark and rebellious image reflected in an untamed musical approach. Sometimes it made use of distorted guitar lines and hallucinogenic organ parts, punctuated by Bonniwell's distinctively throaty vocals. Although they managed to attain national chart success only briefly with two singles, the Music Machine is today considered by many critics to be one of the groundbreaking acts of the 1960s. Their style is now recognized as a pioneering force in proto-punk; yet within a relatively short period of time, they began to employ more complex lyrical and instrumental arrangements that went beyond the typical garage band format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Matthews</span> English musician

Iain Matthews is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthews Southern Comfort, which had a UK number one in 1970 with Joni Mitchell's song "Woodstock". In 1979 his recording of Terence Boylan's "Shake It" reached No. 13 on the US charts.

<i>Heart of Stone</i> (Cher album) 1989 studio album by Cher

Heart of Stone is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on June 19, 1989 by Geffen Records. As of January 1991, the album has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. The album was supported by her 1989-1990 Heart of Stone Tour.

Frank Infante is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the new wave band Blondie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Hicks</span> American musician

Taylor Reuben Hicks is an American singer who won the fifth season of American Idol in May 2006. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released two independent albums. Upon winning Idol, he was signed to Arista Records, under which his self-titled major label debut was released on December 12, 2006.

<i>The Arista Years</i> (Grateful Dead album) 1996 compilation album by Grateful Dead

The Arista Years is a compilation album that chronicles the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums during their time with Arista Records. The album was released on two-CD and two cassette tapes on October 15, 1996. It contains tracks from Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go to Heaven, Reckoning, Dead Set, In the Dark, Built to Last, and Without a Net. The set does not contain any new or expanded recordings. A media outlet sampler, Selections from the Arista Years, was released by Arista in January 1997.

<i>Selections from the Arista Years</i> 1997 compilation album by Grateful Dead

Selections from the Arista Years is a compilation album that chronicles the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums during their time with Arista Records. This is a one-CD sampler sent to radio stations, record stores, and print media outlets by Arista to promote The Arista Years, which had come out several months earlier. As with The Arista Years, the album contains tracks from Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go to Heaven, In the Dark, and Built to Last, and does not contain any new or expanded recordings.

<i>Als Big Deal – Unclaimed Freight</i> 1975 compilation album by Al Kooper

Al's Big Deal – Unclaimed Freight is a compilation album by American musician Al Kooper. It was released as a double-LP in 1975.

Michael Ray Wilhelm was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the influential Bay Area band the Charlatans, who have been widely credited as starting the Haight-Ashbury psychedelic scene during the 1960s. He later played with the bands Loose Gravel and the Flamin' Groovies.

<i>Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970</i> 2007 box set by Various Artists

Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970 is the fourth Nuggets box set released by Rhino Records. It was released in 2007 and packaged as an 8 1/2 x 11" 120 page hardcover book, the first 73 pages of which were made up mostly of vintage photographs. The compilation focuses on San Francisco Sound bands. Its title is derived from the first line of "Get Together," two versions of which open and close the four-disc set.

<i>A Session with Chet Atkins</i> 1954 studio album by Chet Atkins

A Session with Chet Atkins is the third studio album recorded by American guitarist Chet Atkins. It features Atkins introducing standard pop and jazz melded with country sensibilities. The liner notes state this is the first use of a celeste on a country record. The musicians include Homer and Jethro in the rhythm section. Atkins uses his new EchoSonic amplifier for the first time on his recordings.

<i>The Charlatans</i> (1969 album) 1969 studio album by The Charlatans

The Charlatans is the self-titled debut album by the San Francisco psychedelic rock band the Charlatans, and was released by Philips Records in 1969.

<i>The World of Cecil Taylor</i> 1961 studio album by Cecil Taylor

The World of Cecil Taylor is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded for the Candid label in October 1960. The album features performances by Taylor with Archie Shepp, Buell Neidlinger and Denis Charles. Alternate takes from these sessions were released on Air in 1987. A 1971 reissue of the original album on the Barnaby label was also titled Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Daily Flash</span>

The Daily Flash are an American folk rock and psychedelic band founded in 1965, active until 1968 and reformed in 2002. originally based in Seattle and later in Los Angeles. The group was composed of guitarist/singer Steve Lalor, lead guitarist Doug Hastings, bass player/singer Don MacAllister and drummer Jon Keliehor. According to Mike Stax, they "had become a major force in the growing Seattle underground scene by 1965." Their sound, which incorporated elements of folk music and jazz as well as rock stood in contrast to the garage rock sound typical of the Pacific Northwest at the time, anticipating the sound that came to be identified with San Francisco.

"Cod'ine" is a contemporary folk song by singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. Considered one of the earliest anti-drug songs, Sainte-Marie wrote the piece after becoming addicted to codeine which she had been given for a bronchial infection. She recorded it for her debut album, It's My Way! (1964).

<i>30 Trips Around the Sun</i> 2015 live album by Grateful Dead

30 Trips Around the Sun is an 80-CD live album, packaged as a box set, by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Announced for the celebration of their 50th anniversary, it consists of 30 complete, previously unreleased concerts, with one show per year from 1966 through 1995. Comprising 73 hours of music, the box set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies. It was released on October 7, 2015.

<i>Nuggets, Volume 7: Early San Francisco</i> 1985 compilation album

Nuggets, Volume 7: Early San Francisco is a compilation album featuring American psychedelic rock and folk rock musical artists from San Francisco, and their recordings prior to the Summer of Love. It is the seventh installment of the Nuggets series and was released on Rhino Records in 1985.

Tribute to George Adams is an album by New York Unit, consisting of pianist John Hicks, drummer Tatsuya Nakamura, bassists Santi Debriano or Richard Davis, and a variety of tenor saxophonists, including George Adams himself. It was recorded in 1991 and 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Amazing Charlatans review". AllMusic . Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Palao, Alec (1996). The Amazing Charlatans (CD booklet). The Charlatans. Big Beat Records.
  3. "Nuggets Volume 7: Early San Francisco album information". Deaddisc.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.