Iron Cross - Everybody Rock On/ All Of The Time

May 2016 - Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About May 2016, Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .

Label: Spark

Year of Release: 1974

We've encountered Iron Cross once already on this blog, in the form of their gruff, masculine cover of "A Little Bit O' Soul". This, then, is their "other" flop single, and when this proved equally unsuccessful they disappeared never to pester the record racks again.

A shame, actually, because from the limited evidence we have they actually sound like one of the more interesting Glam Rock bands of the era. Producing self-penned material that sounded convincing and sharp, the A-side here "Everybody Rock On" is perhaps the most straight ahead piece of tinsel, consisting of the usual foot-stomping chants. Nonetheless, it's well constructed and could have been a hit under the right circumstances.

It's the flip - which is commercially available, unfortunately, meaning I can't upload it in full here - which fascinates me most, though. "All Of The Time" is a piece of angst-ridden seventies rock with a yearning quality which is almost haunting. This isn't heavy-handed stuff, and shows a group capable of writing intricate songs which went far beyond the usual thudding glam cliches. Taking traces of early ELO as well as hard rock and glam, if this was left to rot on a flip side, you have to wonder what else they had up their sleeves.

The band apparently hailed from Staffordshire and consisted of Dave Hill (not that Dave Hill, obviously), Alan Saunders, John Isaacs, Alan Wallbanks, Graham Collier and Mark Lovatt. More than that, I do not know - get in touch if you have any further details.

Label: Spark

Year of Release: 1974

We've encountered Iron Cross once already on this blog, in the form of their gruff, masculine cover of "A Little Bit O' Soul". This, then, is their "other" flop single, and when this proved equally unsuccessful they disappeared never to pester the record racks again.

A shame, actually, because from the limited evidence we have they actually sound like one of the more interesting Glam Rock bands of the era. Producing self-penned material that sounded convincing and sharp, the A-side here "Everybody Rock On" is perhaps the most straight ahead piece of tinsel, consisting of the usual foot-stomping chants. Nonetheless, it's well constructed and could have been a hit under the right circumstances.

It's the flip - which is commercially available, unfortunately, meaning I can't upload it in full here - which fascinates me most, though. "All Of The Time" is a piece of angst-ridden seventies rock with a yearning quality which is almost haunting. This isn't heavy-handed stuff, and shows a group capable of writing intricate songs which went far beyond the usual thudding glam cliches. Taking traces of early ELO as well as hard rock and glam, if this was left to rot on a flip side, you have to wonder what else they had up their sleeves.

The band apparently hailed from Staffordshire and consisted of Dave Hill (not that Dave Hill, obviously), Alan Saunders, John Isaacs, Alan Wallbanks, Graham Collier and Mark Lovatt. More than that, I do not know - get in touch if you have any further details.

Kris Ife - Give and Take/ Sands Of Time

May 2016 - Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About May 2016, Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .

Label: Music Factory

Year of Release: 1968

Pop music history is littered with people who were relatively successful for about six months before losing relevance. Often their career's decline from mid-table chart finishers to niche fanbase performers is gentle - they might suffer the ignominy of the occasional "What Exactly Is Kate Nash Doing These Days?" styled article, but they're still able to maintain a gentle media presence.

Others just disappear from the gaze of the mainstream press without explanation. Kris Ife was one example - as a member of The Quiet Five in the mid-sixties, he managed a couple of well-received singles which just about charted, "When The Morning Sun Dries The Dew" and "Homeward Bound". When he jumped off that particular ship to forge a solo career, it would seem that record companies invested a great deal of faith in him building on those foundations - MGM financed three singles in total (including this one on their short-lived Music Factory subsidiary) and Parlophone two. United Artists gave him a third crack of the whip in the late seventies.

Despite the promise, as a solo performer he never really seemed to shift units, and by the mid-seventies his recorded output dried up. That's not to say that he didn't leave a very firm mark on music history in the process, mind - his version of "Hush" was popular in clubs and was the one that members of Deep Purple heard in a Manchester nightclub before deciding to record it themselves. Without him, maybe Kula Shaker would have been denied an extra top five hit... and far beyond "Hush", his Mark Wirtz produced single "Imagination" is one of the more unreasonably ignored bits of lost British psychedelia.

His version of Jimmy Cliff's "Give and Take" is also firm, driving and an arguable case for the "Borderline Northern Soul" files. It adds urgency to the track and a particularly forceful brass section, and the only thing stopping it from being a great record (as opposed to a good one) is the slightly over-considered production. To have been a proper barnstormer, I sense this one needs a bit more roughness - as it stands, it has a slight cabaret edge it could do with losing.

Kris carried on recording until his untimely death in November 2013, his last release being a CD of skiffle songs with The Beaver Street Hat Band.

Label: Music Factory

Year of Release: 1968

Pop music history is littered with people who were relatively successful for about six months before losing relevance. Often their career's decline from mid-table chart finishers to niche fanbase performers is gentle - they might suffer the ignominy of the occasional "What Exactly Is Kate Nash Doing These Days?" styled article, but they're still able to maintain a gentle media presence.

Others just disappear from the gaze of the mainstream press without explanation. Kris Ife was one example - as a member of The Quiet Five in the mid-sixties, he managed a couple of well-received singles which just about charted, "When The Morning Sun Dries The Dew" and "Homeward Bound". When he jumped off that particular ship to forge a solo career, it would seem that record companies invested a great deal of faith in him building on those foundations - MGM financed three singles in total (including this one on their short-lived Music Factory subsidiary) and Parlophone two. United Artists gave him a third crack of the whip in the late seventies.

Despite the promise, as a solo performer he never really seemed to shift units, and by the mid-seventies his recorded output dried up. That's not to say that he didn't leave a very firm mark on music history in the process, mind - his version of "Hush" was popular in clubs and was the one that members of Deep Purple heard in a Manchester nightclub before deciding to record it themselves. Without him, maybe Kula Shaker would have been denied an extra top five hit... and far beyond "Hush", his Mark Wirtz produced single "Imagination" is one of the more unreasonably ignored bits of lost British psychedelia.

His version of Jimmy Cliff's "Give and Take" is also firm, driving and an arguable case for the "Borderline Northern Soul" files. It adds urgency to the track and a particularly forceful brass section, and the only thing stopping it from being a great record (as opposed to a good one) is the slightly over-considered production. To have been a proper barnstormer, I sense this one needs a bit more roughness - as it stands, it has a slight cabaret edge it could do with losing.

Kris carried on recording until his untimely death in November 2013, his last release being a CD of skiffle songs with The Beaver Street Hat Band.

Reupload - Randy Sparks - Hazy Sunshine/ And I Love You

May 2016 - Hola Music Lovers, Music іѕ а form оf art thаt involves organized аnd audible sounds аnd silence. It іѕ nоrmаllу expressed іn terms оf pitch (which includes melody аnd harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo аnd meter), аnd thе quality оf sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, аnd texture). Music mау аlѕо involve complex generative forms іn time thrоugh thе construction оf patterns аnd combinations оf natural stimuli, principally sound. Music mау bе uѕеd fоr artistic оr aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, оr ceremonial purposes. Thе definition оf whаt constitutes music varies ассоrdіng tо culture аnd social context.This Blog tell About May 2016, Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. .

Label: MGM
Year of Release: 1971

Randy Sparks is a man whose career has been better appreciated in the USA than it has on European shores.  Back there, he had enormous success with his folk ensemble The New Christy Minstrels, a cheery bunch of rootsy individuals who epitomise the more commercial, rustic, family friendly, feel good nature of American folk alongside such other contenders as the Serendipity Singers (though in fairness, The New Christy Minstrels were somewhat more earnest).  Such was their commercial breakthrough in the early sixties that they have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Top that, Nick Drake.

Sparks' solo career is spoken about less, but in fact some of the early seventies moments are rather hippy-ish in their feel and not at all unlikable.  "Hazy Sunshine" in particular sums up the mood of flower power a fair few years too late, but is still a pleasant and tranquil listen.  "Nothing is black, nothing is white... If you don't believe in grey, go away" he demands, before informing the listener that new times are a-dawning.  I seem to say this at least once a month on this blog, but had he issued this single a few years before its actual release date he might have been in with a shot at the Billboard Charts, but the fact remains that such references were beginning to seem a bit passé by the early seventies.  As it stands, what we're left with is a pleasant piece of memorabilia which does make the summer seem like an altogether better place to relax in.

I would like to apologise for the pops and clicks present in the mp3s below, but erasing them only had the effect of deadening the acoustic production of the songs on both sides - and on reflection, I decided that an undoctored version of the rather scuffed up single I had was the better option.

Label: MGM
Year of Release: 1971

Randy Sparks is a man whose career has been better appreciated in the USA than it has on European shores.  Back there, he had enormous success with his folk ensemble The New Christy Minstrels, a cheery bunch of rootsy individuals who epitomise the more commercial, rustic, family friendly, feel good nature of American folk alongside such other contenders as the Serendipity Singers (though in fairness, The New Christy Minstrels were somewhat more earnest).  Such was their commercial breakthrough in the early sixties that they have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Top that, Nick Drake.

Sparks' solo career is spoken about less, but in fact some of the early seventies moments are rather hippy-ish in their feel and not at all unlikable.  "Hazy Sunshine" in particular sums up the mood of flower power a fair few years too late, but is still a pleasant and tranquil listen.  "Nothing is black, nothing is white... If you don't believe in grey, go away" he demands, before informing the listener that new times are a-dawning.  I seem to say this at least once a month on this blog, but had he issued this single a few years before its actual release date he might have been in with a shot at the Billboard Charts, but the fact remains that such references were beginning to seem a bit passé by the early seventies.  As it stands, what we're left with is a pleasant piece of memorabilia which does make the summer seem like an altogether better place to relax in.

I would like to apologise for the pops and clicks present in the mp3s below, but erasing them only had the effect of deadening the acoustic production of the songs on both sides - and on reflection, I decided that an undoctored version of the rather scuffed up single I had was the better option.