VARIOUS ARTISTS - British Psychedelic Rock At The BBC 1967-1969 (2LP) - UK Maida Vale / Verne LIMITED Press - LISTEN - VERY RARE

Each of the four thematic parts of 'At The BBC' contains 120 minutes of what I consider superb material recorded live by the individual artists (with only very few overdubs) during several-hour sessions at the Maida Vale studios in London. The BBC employed the best British sound engineers, and as a result almost every band recording there sounded sensational - often better and more dynamic than on their records! Besides, many of them played tracks never released on vinyl or sometimes very surprising covers of other artists' recordings. The sound quality is fantastic - simply perfect! Only in a dozen or so cases (out of nearly 130 recordings) were fragments of slightly poorer, but definitely acceptable, quality used. Note! Almost all the recordings have never before appeared on vinyl, and only a few appeared on CDs, and generally with much poorer sound quality! The vast majority of the tracks came from very rare promotional records intended for foreign radio stations. The tracks on them were enriched with short, emotional introductions by the brilliant DJ Brian Matthew, who genuinely added a special flavour to these recordings! I am a great fan of his! In my opinion the stunning gatefold sleeves, with wonderful late 70s designs by Rodney Matthews, contain every detail about the individual recordings: exact recording dates, apt photographs and the line-ups of all the bands, and even short, one-sentence and really spot-on comments assigned to each track. Believe me - you cannot tear yourself away from these records! Please do not suggest to yourself that they are 'some compilations' or products of inferior quality! Hardly anyone will believe me, but as a great fan (and collector) of recordings from the BBC archives, hand on heart I consider these four titles (and especially "Psychedelic Rock" and "British Rock") the best vinyl reissues of the last 10 or 15 years! AN ABSOLUTE MUST!!! NEW, SEALED. ....................................... The English text below I received from the publisher. It may be hard to read, but with some concentration it is genuinely very helpful! I especially recommend the short comments! ........................ Limited to 500 copies, double black vinyl edition released in beautiful cover with cool pictures and line ups of ALL bands inside the gatefold. This splendid, 120 minute/38 tracks collection (a real labour of love) not only offers an exeptional and often superior renditions of a tracks familiar through the band's original vinyl output, but also a plenty of cracking performances that they never recorded outside the BBC Maida Vale studios. During the 60s and early 70s the BBC was committed to air a substantial amount of live music within its radio broadcasting and as a result, hundreds of popular or less-known British artists were employed to fill that standards. BBC Transcription Service used some of these sessions for promotional-only albums pressed on a weekly basis (supposedly in a quantity of 100 copies) and destined for radio stations all over the world. It was a vinyl LP with yellow-green record labels, housed in a rather plain, yellow sleeve and filled with paper sheets with song titles, time durations and a running order for the show. Most of the tracks included on this release came from long-running 'Top Of The Pops' compilation series (unconnected to the popular TV show) and short-lived 'Pick Up The Pops For Your D.J.’ LP releases, which took radio performances mostly from the prime pop shows of the time like 'Top Gear', 'Saturday Club', 'Sounds Of The Seveties', that aired live and specifically recorded music. All tracks were also adorned with a fresh commentary from (now legendary) DJ Brian Matthew. Aside from BBC promotional discs, in a very few, fully justified cases an unique, home taped, off-air recordings (expertly remastered and restored and marked below as *) were used. The inner gatefold features a band photos and specific line ups. ALMOST ALL TRACKS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ON VINYL!.... SIDE 1: (29:50) 1. Eric Burdon & The Animals - When I Was Young 2.59 (Burdon/Briggs/Weider/McCulloch/Jenkins) Recorded on 30th January 1967. Fuzz-laden and Eastern-styled early psychedelic masterpiece. 2. John's Children - Jagged Time Lapse 2.39 (Hewlett/McClelland) Recorded on 13th June 1967. Exciting Mod/proto Punk band with young Marc Bolan on guitar. 3. The Attack - Come On Up 2.48 (Cavaliere) Recorded on 27th June 1967. Hard-edged The Young Rascals cover exclusive to that BBC session. 4. Tomorrow - Revolution 4.08 (Hopkins) Recorded on 18th September 1967. Excellent 'live in the studio' version with powerful guitar by Steve Howe. 5. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - The Sun Goes Down 2.46 (Harman/Dymond/Davies) Recorded on 15th September 1967. Truly mesmering ultimate psychedelic classic. Originally a single B-side. 6. Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - All Along The Watchtower 3.13 (Dylan) Recorded on 8th December 1967. Very moody and very heavy, early rendition of Bob Dylan song. 7. John's Children - Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith 2.41 (Bolan) Recorded on 13th June 1967. Another track by this 'The Who-like' band. Exclusive to BBC session. 8. Grapefruit - Breaking Up A Dream 3.16 (Alexander) Recorded on 15th January 1968. Unique, 'Beatles-inspired' high-budget track with orchestral backing 9. Elmer Gantry`s Velvet Opera - Somethin' Else 2.47 (Sheeley/B. Cochran) Recorded on 8th December 1967. Exclusive Eddie Cochran cover. Cool bass lines and fine guitar solo. 10. Lemon Tree - William Chalker's Time Machine 2.31 (Kefford) Recorded on 12th March 1968. A kind of spacey and catchy track from the band's only single. SIDE 2: (29:54) 1. John's Children - Hot Rod Mama 3.08 (Bolan) Recorded on 13th June 1967. Final track from the band's only BBC session. Bolan on lead vocal. 2. The Spencer Davis Group - Time Seller 2.47 (Davis/Hardin/Sawyer) Recorded on 18th December 1967. Radio version of a great track released on single by a new line-up. 3. Grapefruit - Trying To Make It Monday 2.55 (Alexander) Recorded on 15th January 1968. Another great, 'Beatles-inspired' song exlusive to this radio session. 4. Mabel Greer's Toyshop - Images Of You And Me* 3.57 (Squire/Bayley) Recorded in March 1968. Chris Squire + Peter Banks. In 4 months the band turned into Yes. 5. The Spencer Davis Group - Taking Out Time 2.39 (Davis/Hardin) Recorded on 17th January 1968. An excellent, upgraded version. Originally from 'Mullberry Bush' album. 6. Mike Stuart Span - Children Of Tomorrow 3.16 (Hobmur/Benmac) Recorded on 7th May 1968. Fantastic radio version of their cult single track. 'The Who' on sterids. 7. Skip Bifferty - Man In Black 2.39 (Bell/Gallagher) Recorded on 9th July 1968. Killer, hard-edged psychedelic Beat. Even better than on 7" version! 8. Marmalade - Hush 2.53 (South) Recorded on 18th September 1968. Very cool, quite heavy cover of the song popularized by Deep Purple. 9. Mike Stuart Span - My White Bicycle 3.17 (Hopkins/Burgess) Recorded on 7th May 1968. An excellent remake of Tomorrow's psychedelic masterpiece. 10. Skip Bifferty - The Hobbit 2.20 (Turnbull) Recorded on 9th July 1968. Tolkien-inspired, dreamy song exclusively recorded at BBC studio. SIDE 3: (29:50) 1. Mike Stuart Span - Through The Looking Glass 4.51 (Hobmur/Benmac) Recorded on 7th May 1968. An excellent, very heavy track with extended, killer guitar work! 2. Koobas - First Cut Is The Deepest 3.32 (Stevens) Recorded on 24th May 1968. A quite heavy but tuneful Cat Stevens cover with cool guitar sounds. 3. Skip Bifferty - Once 2.44 (Bell/Gallagher/Turnbull/Gibson) Recorded on 9th July 1968. Another beautiful and catchy song exclusive to that radio session. 4. The Herd - Purple God 2.53 (Bown) Recorded on 17th September 1968. A much more serious and complex track than their earlier songs. 5. Episode Six - Orange Air* 2.34 (Webb) Recorded on 28th October 1968. An excellent The 5th Dimension cover with Ian Gillan on lead vocal! 6. Locomotive - Mr. Armageddon 3.07 (Haines) Very atmospheric and truly menacing late psych/early prog. Recorded in early December 1968. 7. The Herd - You Don't Love Me 2.28 (Cobb) Recorded on 7th December 1968. A kind of heavy boogie with great guitar work by Peter Frampton! 8. The Glass Menagerie - Putting It Off Till Another Day* 2.42 (Stonebridge/Kendall/Medley/Atkinson) Recorded on 21st January 1969. Very heavy song by forgotten band reminiscent of early Spooky Tooth. 9. Mandrake Paddle Steamer - In My Padded Cell* 3.59 (Briley/Engel) Recorded on 25th March 1969. Another killer early prog band with great organ and guitar work. SIDE 4: (29:55) 1. Locomotive - I Am A Lonesome Hobo 3.30 (Dylan) Recorded in early December 1968. A fantastic Bob Dylan cover! Probably the best song on this album! 2. Juniors Eyes - Hang Loose 3.05 (Wayne) Recorded on 28th October 1968. A little weird, but unique track by that cult heavy psychedelic band. 3. Gun - Take Off 2.52 (Gurvitz) Recorded on 8th November 1968. Heavy, hypnotic, 'Blue Cheer-like' radio version of their album track. 4. Locomotive - Fresh Garbage 3.41 (Ferguson) Recorded in early December 1968. An excellent and almost progressive remake of the classic Spirit track. 5. Mandrake Paddle Steamer - The Ivory Castle Of Solitaire Huske* 2.57 (Briley/Engel) Recorded on 25th March 1969. Another sinister, heavy (but lively) track by this underrated band. 6. Episode Six - Alone Again Or* 2.54 (MacLean) Recorded on 27th January 1969. Superb and truly beautiful Love cover played in early Deep Purple vein. 7. Plastic Penny - Strawberry Fields Forever 3.53 (Lennon/McCartney) Recorded on 17th February 1969. A splendid The Beatles cover exclusive to that radio session 8. Mandrake Paddle Steamer - Cooger And Dark* 4.00 (Briley/Engel) Recorded on 25th March 1969. Heavy, but catchy late psychedelic rock similar to The Open Mind. 9. Pretty Things - Alexander* 3.02 (May/Taylor/Povey/Waller) Recorded on 25th May 1969. Powerful radio version of one of their best psych tracks ever!