...back in around 1975 this cat was looked upon by some sections o' th'anglo music press as th'future o' rock'n roll, along with springsteen he was gonna save th'music that was deemed to be goin or indeed already gone sour with stadium rockers or whack pop clutterin up th'place...nils made four albums with his cool combo grin'n then proceeded to think he could go it alone...this compilation is formed around his A&M period with 3trx from grins last wax'n th'rest his initial solo discs goin up to 1977, hence its chocka full with good grooves...some o' his big hitters actually aint here cos lesser remembered toons have taken their place but its mostly hip-to-trip so its cool...it all kicks off with grins version o' 'beggars day''n his ode to th'glimmer twin(possibly his best ever cut)is here shinin like a beacon at trk#4 followed by 'back it up''n trk15 is 'rocknroll crook', another fine piece o' grist...18 toons in just over an hour makin for a fine peek at this now sideman from aforementioned springsteen, two 'futures' o' rock'n roll for th'price o'one?...

...back in 68 time when most o' these cats were known as th'rockets they had a different, under-appreciated sound from th'usual los angeles hippee combos'n when crazy horse got their groove on they certainly were an anomaly in th'laurel canyon/topanga/hollywood triangle in that they could lay down some drugged grunge rockin without breakin a sweat, effortless grindin down th'seventees earth shoe 'hippees' who couldn't quite get behind this weird bunch o' studio savvy/reefer'n beer heads with th'uncontrolled amp bustin noise they loved to lay on audiences...this second go round suffers from th'loss o'key members danny'n jack'n goes in a country rockin direction which aint necessarily th'bad vibes disaster that coulda resulted from such reckless commerciality...its not as limp'n lifeless as a lotta hollywood cowboy efforts that got thrown out around that time, possibly more like nestlin in th'grin area, which aint surprisin given nils lofgrens tenure with both outfits...some patented neil young screech crops up a coupla times but it must be said it aint as often as could feasibly be desired...one way o' lookin at this work is thats its in th'spirit o' crazy horse'n all that name may imply, 'n could in all honesty need a few spins before a cat can settle in easy with th'groove...

...th'king o'th'underworld launches another assault on th'square denizens o'planet earth by announcin he's bad'n its great to be alive, two thangs cuboids're never sure o'...this is half hour o'sunset strip trance voodoo straight outta th'swamps that permeate o' th'back alleys from th'other side o' th'tracks...always hated by th'music industry for his tendency to make pure rockroll'n make/lose bundles o'bread without seeminly tryin, just comin on in a sheer whirlwind o' fun type madness'n just generally kickin out th'jams...he'd been list'nin to th'stones 'let it bleed' while knockin this out with refined keefisms over purloined riffs from his past'n others...th'musicians're top flight session cats doin afterhours when they got thru doin some laurel canyon snooz-up all day, cuttin some hotcha metherdrine psyched boogey frenzy while kim invokes howlin wolf to utter th'netherworld beatnik poetry...

...it all started out kinda promisin for graham back in th'hinterlands o' th'1970s when in around 76 he was touted as th'future o' rocknroll just as springsteen had a year earlier'n some even tried to persuade th'great unwashed that nils lofgren might fit th'bill as leadin light in th'rockin stakes but it was graham th'brit weeklies lined up for lionisation...he'd had a first class day job in th'guise o' petrol pump attendant which held him in good stead with th'street hoodlum element, th'rowdy public house layabout beatnik who needed a fix o'fresh blood in th'pub rockin circuit...what damaged his flight to th'top was th'advent o' punk in full throtle with th'pistols tearin up th'rule book'n elvis costello comin on with literate weak versions o' th'parker voodoo which was essentially R&b filtered thru a heavy dose o' van th'man 'n warm bitter beer...recorded at two shows done for th'BBC in march77'n again a year later...punchy grooves fulla finger poppin twisterama thats just right when th'heat treatments needed...sits well alongside a goodley dose o' brinsley schwarz who at one time supplied part o' his backin combo...

...straight away this pile up comes on like th'yardbirds on heavy drug prescription, all th'cats flailin away in different direction yet all headin for th'same goal...with th'second trk theres some wiggy voodoo psych from th'sleezy hollywood back alleys that th'alice cooper group would wander lookin for th'right moment to unleash th'new sound they were cookin up...cats who're hep to th'pretties elpee will dig these earlier run thru's'n groove on alices harp playin here'n there thats sounds like somethang from country joes fish's first effort, that lonesome stoned basement sound...th'3 last trx're some kinda rehearsal warm ups that hark back to pre cooper name when they were a garage outfit wailin on stones/music machine/spencer davis type R&B which sound earlier than th'demos...th'prime piece o' grist with this is th'first single (reflected/livin)in mono nestlin at th'end o' th'cool toonage...sound quality fluctuates but overall its acceptable for whats on offer, cos th'original coopers were real yanquee contenders to take anglo psyched out hard'n tripped freakbeatR&B with that avant narcotic touch to a wider audience in th'upcomin decade...an illicit trip into th'dark underbelly o' vietnam drained teenage weird worlds...

...all thangs considered this audience tape has pretty good sound, right down th'front groovin with these anglo cats who're puttin a new spin on th'blooz...th'first toon o' th'set (train kept arollin) is missin so its straight into 'i cant quit you' then dazed'n confused so its full steam on th'first elpee noise...percy says sorry for no new material but th'audience dont seem to mind as everyones diggin this real cool groove, th'latest thang from england...as with all early boots from th'zep theres a sense o'history goin down as well as some vibey heavy rockin...

...th'only elpee to feature jimmy page was seen at th'time as not as good as it coulda been but lookin back its a real nice effort from th'changin times when 67 sike was givin way to a more heavy blooz rock/early proggyness...theres some cool chamber sike with xcellent geetar squeel on th'title trk followed by some groovy patented yardbird R&B, again with some pagey stringbendin over th'top,on th'next trk...third trk (white summer)sees page lookin forward, not to led zep one but th'third folky effort so he's already lookin to inject london folk(bert jansch/davy graham) onto a group scenario...more hard pop follows with then more sike with xotic instrumentation/blooz rockin 'n jimmy whips out th'violin bow a coupla times...dig trk5 with th'funky eastern groove just like eric burden was doin with th'winds o' change elpee...its th'name'n xpectations that made this elpee sound a failure to rock snobs but any layabouts who groove on th'late 60s anglo sike/blooz scene will find lots too enjoy, there was a way forward with this line up but they all wanted 'more' too quickly at th'time, cos with th'bonus cuts that come with this reissue added, show some sorta happy medium coulda been found combinin keith relfs renaissance'n some wigged out zeppo style shreekin, but hindsight does allow a wider vision so this must be seen as it is, a cat must make o'it what they will...

...cheepo cheepo xploito release from their reformation in 1993 with unknown location/date to give it that xtra anonymous feel that hardly anythang comes with nowadays with all th'so called 'information' available so a cat just gets brain mush meltdown...by now its flo 'n eddie/turtles, th'two bein interchangeable when it comes to playin for th'roobes'n this aint no better no worse than layabouts who been diggin them for a few years would imagine though this is turtles hits all th'way...th'main area where this scores is th'last four trx with trk 9 providin a medley o' hits from a live appearance at miss teen u.s.a pageant 1969'n th'end three bein from b.b.c radio 1967 which come complete with th'dj introin them...a small but nice addition to th'folk rock pile most cats got lyin on th'shelf...