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Buffalo
Mother's Choice
Catalogue Number: AVSCD020

The final 2 Buffalo albums have long been unjustly underrated when compared to the 1,2,3 punch of dead forever…,Volcanic Rock and Only Want You For Your Body. Management’s decision to sack “uncontrollable” original guitarist John Baxter and pursue a more commercial direction was also borne of the frustration of the constant grind of the road, declining record sales and no support from radio or TV. It was probably a mistake; Buffalo never really recovered from the change in dynamic, and the next 2 years saw a revolving door of replacement guitarists. However, to write this period off is also a mistake. Both albums contain terrific tracks that can sit proudly amongst any of Buffalo ’s earlier classics.

The band wanted to call the album Songs For The Frustrated Houswife or Thieves, Punks, Rip-Offs & Liars but were overruled by their record company!

Norm Roue (Band Of Light) joined as a second guitarist (much to the surprise of John Baxter), but before the twin guitars of Roue and Baxter could gel, Baxter was sacked. With the line-up of Dave Tice, bass player Peter Wells, drummer Jimmy Economou and slide guitarist Norm Roue in place, the early months of 1975 found the band working in new guitarist Karl Taylor. The band’s sound changed immediately, with a more rock’n’roll edge dominating. As Tice recalls, “The change in the Buffalo sound was completely down to the change in line up. That whole organic approach where John came from, that worked for us at the time whereas Karl Taylor and Chris Turner, a bit later on, were formalised in their playing. They were both very formally educated players, much more traditional in their approach. The idea of getting into a rehearsal room with Karl or Chris and just jamming for a few hours, and saying ‘that was good, let’s take that and work with it’, all that was out the window. The later albums featured songs that one or the other brought into the studio as reasonably completed ideas or songs. Prior to that the songs were built out of whatever we had in our heads at the time. The dynamic had changed.”

“Norm Roue was different again, more like John in a way. Different style of playing obviously, in particular with his slide playing, but he was uncontrollable in his own way. He was such a fantastic slide player but unfortunately he couldn’t stick around for terribly long. Norm was very much a free spirit; things could happen while he played. Norm was one of the few guitar players I’ve been on stage with and I’ve got that ‘electric shock’ from which you get when something touches you. It’s that feeling of ‘oh my god, what was that?’ Norm was one of those players, and John could do that to me too.”

The album kicks off strongly enough with ‘Long Time Gone’ and ‘Honey Babe’, with ‘Little Queenie’ and ‘Lucky’ keeping up the pace. We’ve included the non-album single B-sides here as bonus tracks, a cover of the Bobby Troup ripper ‘Girl Can’t Help It’ and the Tice/Taylor-penned ‘On My Way’ which help round out the whole album. ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’ b/w ‘Essukay’ (Vertigo 6037 902) slipped out as a single during April but went by completely unnoticed. Overall, the stripped-down rock’n’roll sound on display is certainly accessible and energetic, with the band coming on like some of those London pub-rock bands, such as Dr Feelgood and Ducks Deluxe, simultaneously hitting their straps over in the UK. Buffalo music circa 1975/76 had that same retro feel while sounding entirely contemporary.

Because Roue had already left the band, he was nowhere to be seen in the band photo on the inner gatefold sleeve. Likewise, he was only credited on the album with “Special thanks to NORM ROUE: Slide guitar on all tracks except ‘Taste It Don’t Waste It’ and ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’”. Just as the album came out, the band suffered further guitar-player mishaps with Taylor leaving, intent on getting his solo career underway. In the meantime, Buffalo had recruited Chris Turner (ex-Younger Brothers, Drain) as their newest lead guitarist. Turner had a wealth of experience under his belt, having started his career back in England during the mid-60s, as a contemporary of the likes of David Bowie and Steve Marriott. He was a very accomplished player and helped guide the band through its final year together. With his arrival, Buffalo began playing the likes of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Star Star’ and ‘Sweet Virginia’, alongside the usual Chuck Berry numbers, in their live shows. He and Stead never really gelled as a guitar team, with Stead leaving soon after (although he did contribute the likes of the ultra-commercial ‘Rollin’’ to the final Buffalo album Average Rock’n’Roller).

Buffalo
Average Rock 'N' Roller
Catalogue Number: AVSCD021

The final 2 Buffalo albums have long been unjustly underrated when compared to the 1,2,3 punch of dead forever…,Volcanic Rock and Only Want You For Your Body. Management’s decision to sack “uncontrollable” original guitarist John Baxter and pursue a more commercial direction was also borne of the frustration of the constant grind of the road, declining record sales and no support from radio or TV. It was probably a mistake; Buffalo never really recovered from the change in dynamic, and the next 2 years saw a revolving door of replacement guitarists. However, to write this period off is also a mistake. Both albums contain terrific tracks that can sit proudly amongst any of Buffalo ’s earlier classics.

The year 1976 was a make-or-break one for Buffalo. As one of the more established bands on the Australian rock scene there were high hopes for the future; however, their fourth album, Mother’s Choice had failed to ignite a commercial spark and it was time to move on. In fact, because Mother’s Choice featured the previous line-up it was all the more reason for the current members to distance themselves from its presence. For the current line-up – long-term members Dave Tice (vocals), Peter Wells (bass) and Jimmy Economou (drums) plus new guitarists Colin Stead and Chris Turner – it was simply a case of starting afresh and getting back into the studio as soon as possible in order to compete with the other big guns on the scene.

When the London-born Turner joined Buffalo in March, he already had a wealth of experience under his belt, having started his career back in England during the mid ‘60s as a contemporary of the likes of David Bowie, Peter Frampton, Steve Marriott and John Mayall. He was a very accomplished player and helped guide the band through its final year together. Turner explains. “I was asked up for a jam with them one night at Chequers (very late and very drunk). Pete and Dave came around next day: ‘We’re going to Melbourne tomorrow to do Expo, do you wanna come n’ play?’. I guess that was it – I was in Buffalo.

The first thing the new line-up did was to record ‘Rollin’’ and ‘Hotel Ladies’ as a single. Issued in August ‘Rollin’ – in particular was an enticing effort, a loping slice of country-soul replete with Tice’s heavily echoed vocals, a sing-a-long chorus, hand-claps and female backing vocals: perfectly suited for radio airplay. There are no two ways about it, Buffalo was a commercial entity by then yet the radio networks still refused to give their singles a spin! ‘Hotel Ladies’ on the flipside, with its slow-burning build up and rousing, guitar-heavy climax, held promise for an interesting album to come. “My brief from the management was to sort ‘em out and make a commercial record,” Turner declares. “I think I did achieve this but we did lose a bit of the band’s musical freedom. Dave and Jimmy were into it but Pete hated it”. So it was around this time that Wells quit the band. He went on to form one of the most revered Australian hard rock bands of all time: Rose Tattoo.

This left Tice, Economou and Turner to continue on with new bass player Ross Sims, and over the next couple of months they found time to complete work on their fifth album. Unfortunately it was a last gasp effort on the band’s part, because within a month Tice had left the line-up, and indeed the country, to join British band Count Bishops as “guest” lead singer.The connection for Tice was original Buffalo drummer Paul Balbi, who had been a member of the Count Bishops since 1975. The band had grown out of the same English pub rock scene that had given rise to the likes of Dr. Feelgood, Ducks Deluxe, Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and Eddie and the Hot Rods. Tice appeared on the band’s self-titled debut LP in late 1977. It was a minor classic of the pub rock genre with Tice’s growling vocals well suited to the tough R&B flavoured sounds on offer. Tice also appeared on Bishops Live in 1978. The band almost fell apart in 1979 with the death of guitarist Zenon de Fleur, but managed to issue a third album on Chiswick, Cross Cuts, before breaking up. Tice returned to Australia in the early 1980s.

In the meantime, Turner was hopeful of keeping the Buffalo name alive with the release of ‘Sailor’ b/w ‘Average Rock ‘n’ Roller’ as a single in May (Vertigo 6037 905) and the album Average Rock ‘n’ Roller in June (Vertigo 6357 104), but that ultimately proved to be impossible. There was little interest in the Buffalo name by that stage and reviews of the LP were lukewarm. By the time Dave got the offer from England it was all over.

To wrap this up, mention should be made of the two bonus tracks included on this release: Tice’s solo single issued in March 1976, ‘I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party’ b/w ‘Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller’. Obviously, at some point it was decided that Tice should step out temporarily as a solo artist. The single was recorded utilising session players and seems that Tice wasn’t enamoured with its release. Nevertheless, it provides a nice coda on which to close the entire story of one of Australia’s classic bands: BUFFALO !!

Lobby Loyde
Beyond Morgia The Labyrinths Of Klimster
Catalogue Number: AVSCD022

Beyond Morgia The Labyrinths Of Klimster is the legendary, previously unreleased 1976 Space Rock album and the soundtrack to an imaginary film.

In June 1976, Lobby Loyde was at a critical juncture in his career; he stood at the metaphorical musical crossroads where a number of pathways lay ahead of him yet nothing was certain. He had already established himself as one of Australia ’s legendary guitarists and rock personalities, having toured and recorded relentlessly with The Purple Hearts, The Wild Cherries, The Aztecs, Coloured Balls and Southern Electric. Yet where was he to go from here? With his faith in Australian music at low-ebb, he’d already decided to travel to London to check out the scene over there. One final order of business he had to complete before his departure in early July was to record a new album. Lobby had written the music for a Space Rock concept album which he wanted to record as the instrumental soundtrack for a proposed Sci-Fi film, all of which was based on his unpublished novel called Beyond Morgia: The Labyrinths Of Klimster.

Beyond Morgia was recorded at Armstrong Studios one weekend in June 1976, with the guys from Southern Electric on hand. With the studio’s tape operator Tony Cohen promoted to engineer and mixer, the session was recorded on the Saturday and then overdubbed and mixed on the Sunday. Loyde emerged with the mixed master tapes but for a whole raft of reasons (including his move to the UK ) the album never eventuated. In fact, Lobby burned the manuscript the day before he left for the UK “ In a fit of pique one night after I’d written this thing, I just threw the whole lot on the fire, ‘whompf!!’. I don’t know why. I’m a crazy bastard sometimes; I just got fed up one day… The tapes went missing for many years, presumed lost forever but they recently surfaced.

The album itself is an incredibly eclectic and diverse assortment of music: vast swathes of glacial keyboard notes with Loyde’s unique, soaring psych-rock guitar work to the fore. It is classic Space Rock, beginning with a brooding Electronic pulse (think early Tangerine Dream circa Electronic Meditation and Alpha Centauri), before building to a climactic guitar crescendo that echoes Pink Floyd at their most spacious and futuristic (think Ummagumma and Meddle - with just a hint of Hawkwind’s wind-tunnelling space explorations from Space Ritual). On top of that are Loyde’s classical music influences, in particular his great love of Wagner and Beethoven, which come out in much of the music.

Finally seeing the light of day – 31 years after it was recorded – Beyond Morgia The Labyrinths Of Klimster is a worthy addition to the diverse catalogue of the great Lobby Loyde.

Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs
Live plus The Havoc Singles
Catalogue Number: AVSCD023

On Sunday June 13 1971 , the Aztecs, Chain, Daddy Cool, Wild Cherries, La De Da’s, Healing Force and Lotus were the line-up for a concert at the Melbourne Town Hall . Taking advantage of such a big occasion, the Aztecs decided to record their set for a live LP and TV special - complete with a 30 foot inflatable starfish type creature that deflated too early and had to be held up by various roadies and friends so the band could keep playing!

The resultant LP Aztecs Live (also know as Live At Melbourne Town Hall) captures the band on the brink of becoming the biggest band in Australia , and a rare document of the Thorpe, Matthews, Morgan and Wheeler line-up. Our deluxe reissue of this album is augmented by the 6 A & B sides of the Aztecs’ singles for the Havoc label – including ‘The Dawn Song’ and the monster hit (and all-time Aussie classic) ‘Most People I Know Think That I’m Crazy’. Plus, as an additional bonus, a never before available track: ‘Long Live Rock ‘N Roll’, live from the Rosebud Outdoor Festival in 1972.

Billy Thorpe, Lobby Loyde, Gil Matthews, Warren Morgan and Paul Wheeler were all interviewed in February 2007 for the liner notes (possibly Billy Thorpe’s last recorded interview before his shock death on the 28 th. Of February). The CD is packaged in a 6 panel digipak, digitally remastered by Gil Matthews, with liner notes by Ted Lethborg. The 24 page booklet is full of great quotes and many rare images from the Live Aztecs TV special.

$25

Spectrum
Milesago
Catalogue Number: AVSCD033

Spectrum's second album Milesago is one of the key Australian releases of the Seventies, and a progressive rock milestone. The double album was originally released on EMI’s Harvest Records imprint (home to artists such as Pink Floyd, Kevin Ayers, The Move and Deep Purple) – and you couldn’t find a more appropriate label for such spaced-out progressive psych!

With its striking Ian McCausland cover art restored, Milesago is presented here as a deluxe 8 panel digi-pak 2CD set. The album was remastered in 2008 by Gil Matthews and is augmented with 7 bonus tracks: 2 from the 1972 Sunbury festival - a 20+ minute ‘Some Good Advice’ (!) and a live version of their classic single ‘I’ll Be Gone’, 2 single edits, a non-LP B-side, an excerpt from the Australian film Dalmas, rounded off with an advertisement for Camel cigarettes! The liner notes from noted Australian rock writer Ian McFarlane include a new interview with Mike Rudd and are packaged in a 24 page booklet filled with many rare photos.

$25