Lodestone review by Aaron M
Now Playing: Music Emporium
Topic: Addition

LODESTONE ( )
Main Street 1974 (no label LD 101)
This generic-looking private press looks like the work of stoned hippies, and maybe it is, but the music is straightforward rock and roll with a definite 50s influence. Lyrics are dopey (the title track is about boozing up girls and trying to get them into the back seat) and though vocals are weak this is way closer to pop than hard rock. “If You Want My Love” goes all out to be catchy, with lead and rhythm riffs, a poppy verse and harmony-laden chorus. It’s too wimpy to be power pop and not competent enough to be soft rock, but it has a bargain basement charm that makes me wonder if it’s better like this than it would be if a “good” band did a version of it. Other songs are gutter blues, upbeat (but never hard) rock, and more pop, never forgetting that 50s base, and mercifully keeping the only ballad to a mere 1:30. Songs speed up and slow down randomly. This is a really weird record, not good by any objective standard, but they seem to be having a great time and they stay obviously true to who they are. As a result, it’s oddly enjoyable and rather unpredictable. [AM]

Victoria (NJ) + Nickels & Dimes
Now Playing: Magi "Win Or Lose"
Topic: Minor change or comment

VICTORIA (NJ)
The Acid Archives book entry mentions unreleased pre-Victoria recordings by a band called Nickels & Dimes, which included Victoria leader Greg Ruban. These recordings are now out on a retrospective Nickels & Dimes release from Distortions in the US. Oddly, the review of the release in the new Ugly Things (#31) makes no mention of Victoria, nor is the connection stated in the PR for the album.

Acid Archives cover
Now Playing: Dryewater

Nomadds PS
Now Playing: Quicksilver "Mona" Fillmore East June '68
Topic: Minor change or comment

NOMADDS (IL)
After a recent e-mail from one of the members of the Nomadds, whose excellent '65 beat LP I've written about at length, I should point out that the band generally do not share the view that the album was as strongly Brit-beat/Merseybeat-influenced as my Nomadd writings have suggested. Some of the material pre-dates the earliest Brit wave (Spring '64) altogether. What it is, is probably a case of shared influences, with the Everly Bros and Buddy Holly among them, between the Illinois band and the Liverpool bands. Just for the record...

Too Smooth album review by Aaron M
Topic: New review

TOO SMOOTH (Tiger Lily)
One of the rarest and most sought-after Tiger Lily albums is this cool southern rock album, which treads the line between major label competence and garage-band ambience.  Lyrics are druggy, guitars are swampy, and, in most cases, the vocals are appealingly snotty.  The songs with a more harmony-oriented approach are less distinctive, but they shift from soft to loud, soft to heavy, at the drop of a hat and nothing here is wimpy at all.  There’s plenty of lead guitar everywhere, peaking with a killer solo on “You Say When”.  This record has a definite 70s feel to it, but doesn’t really sound like any particular band I can think of.  I would guess fans of bands like J. Teal or Nitzinger and would like it more than, say, Allman Brothers or Outlaws fans, since songs are compact, not overly bluesy and have no country influence.  This isn’t as good as the very best Tiger Lily albums, but it’s quite solid, surely better than the vast majority of private press rarities and is a heck of a find for genre fans. [AM]