Never have heard of them Gary, is their catalogue in print on CD? If so, which albums are worth picking up?
Most of their stuff is now in print in Canada. I picked up "12 Gauge Goddo", a hits package. That covers it for me! Due to my proximity to Canada over the last few years I've picked up many CD's by Canadian artists that only seem to be in print in Canada; Trooper, Max Webster, Lee Aaron, David Wilcox (NOT the folk guy!), Honeymoon Suite, Helix, Big Sugar, etc.
A lot of their stuff is on CD but I don't have them all. I'm afraid to get some of them (but I will eventually) because the same people who did the Klaatu remaster of 347EST did the Goddo collection. Greg Goddovich was in Fludd, left and formed Goddo - a Canadian power trio. Funny, but I've met people who thought Goddo was a Christian band. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Greg G. also wrote an autobiography of his Rock and Roll days, called "Travels With My Amp" all about what people wanted to read about: Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. I've got one fairly decent GH CD. I'll post it's name later when I get home! Has classics like "Carol, Kiss My Whip" (sung to Carol Pope - remember her?), "C*ck On", etc. Guess you had to be living in Eastern Canada in the mid '70's to fully appreciate it!
SAome of the Goddo albums are now available through a relatively new label called Bullseye. This label also released the two Brave Belt (precursor to Bachman-Turner Overdrive) albums as a two disc set. Another interesting re-issue label that puts out some obscure stuff is Unidisc. Their specialty has traditionally been dance and disco, but their catalog now includes all the Walter Rossi albums, The Hunt, Lynx most of the Stampeders. Speaking of Fludd they also did Cock On. The Unidisc stuff is almost never in the stores here in Vancouver though. Can't understand why. I get them through www.spindlerecords.com or www.newworldcds.com
Do you have anything from Bullseye? I only have one: Klaatu / 347EST. It's horribly compressed, super narrow sound stage. Avoid it if compression, etc. bothers you. Just a word of advice!
Gary, No, I haven't bought anything from Bullseye. I have been thinking about the Brave Belt release, I can get it retail for about $25 on sale. Your impressions have me worried, though. I've got the Klaatu on CD but I think it's on Capitol. Sounds OK but it's been years since I've spun it. Maybe tonight.... Have you got any of the Unidisc or Pacemaker stuff ? Some are OK, some are so-so. Have yet to pick up any of the Solid Gold re-issues (Chilliwack, Headpins, Pukka Orchestra, Toronto) I also hear that EMI is releasing classic Canadian rock albums through their website only, not at retail. I took a quick look, prices high and have no idea about the quality of sound and packaging. Luba Zappacosta Streeheart - Drugstore Dancer are among the artists. Any feedback on these ?
I remember a thread on these at one point. Someone said a couple of those releases are obviously mastered from vinyl.
Mastered from vinyl ??!! That's inexcusable considering these CD's are coming from the company that released them initially. They, if anybody, should have access to the master tapes. That's why we need forums like this. To weed out the crap and enable us to put our hard earned money towards something worthwhile.
Pukka Orchestra did a great cover version of the Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson song, Listen To The Radio in around 1985. I just recently retrieved from storage my vinyl copy of Goodo - if indeed it is lonely at the top WHO CARES it's lonely at the bottom to, Polydor 2424 902, from 1978. (Also available on: 8 track and musicassette.) This original album features the infamous Oh Carol (Kiss My Whip). A reference to Carol Pope of the Toronto band Rough Trade. The Klaatu catalogue got an overdue remastering recently. On the band's official Web site they are raving about the new remasters. They said they are better than the original CDs. I haven't bought any yet. http://www.klaatu.org/klaatufr.html Here's the band's press release from Oct. 2001. At this point in time, there is one Klaatu CD that is available with the band's authorization. Bullseye Records released the first album, 3:47 EST (also known simply as "Klaatu") on October 23rd, 2001 with completely remastered sound (done with the input of the band themselves) as well as restored artwork. This is the best sounding release of this album, INCLUDING the original vinyl release. Absolutely stunning quality! There are also a couple of CDs available without the band's authorization. These are releases that are authorized by Capitol Records US and based on tapes obtained from Capitol Records. The problem is that Capitol Records doesn't have the "ORIGINAL" masters for the albums. BGO Records in the UK has a 2-for-1 of the first two albums. It's not a very good reissue, although perhaps one of the best to date before the Bullseye Records / Klaatu collaboration. Collector's Choice Music in the US has a 2-for-1 of the first two albums. It's attrocious sounding. Absolutely horrid. Further releases are scheduled from Bullseye Records, including "Hope" in 2002, a box set of the band's 5 albums all remastered, plus rare releases and previously unreleased tracks and live recordings, then Sir Army Suit and Endangered Species will get the single disc release treatment. Bullseye releases can be purchased through the following means: For 3:47 EST: If you want to order by credit card you can do so from All Indie Music at: http://www.allindiemusic.com/Template.asp?ID=126 I have the Brave Belt 2 CD set. It sounds nice. Two bonus tracks include a never before released Brave Belt version of Shakin' All Over.
Hi! Sorry, don't have any Unidisc or Pacemaker stuff. Careful with that Klaatu advertised from Bullseye! That's the compressed, five foot soundstage remaster. That 'raving review' is pretty old, too. It seems to have been done BEFORE the release! If you keep searching that site, you'll notice that the second album, Hope, was to be released early this year. It's not out yet. Wonder why? Yea, sure, Klaatu 347EST ~ Bullseye ~ is the first version from the original master tapes but they just killed the sound quality. Don't believe me? Try it! I could not listen to the whole CD through. Yes, I thought it was *that* bad. It was just as compressed as the last Ozzy CD that I bought. The Solid Gold re-issues (Chilliwack is still to come out, I think - in the Fall?), Headpins, Pukka Orchestra and Toronto have all been Sonic Solutions No-Noised. It's on the back, outside of the package if you read the fine print. Still, I've never seen these on CD before and I think - since my albums are either dead or non existant - I'll have to break down and buy them. What this country needs is a good five cent cigar. No, wait - wrong country - that's the USA. Teddy Roosevelt, I think. Did you know that's when Teddy Bears started? Talk about "off topic"!!!! What Canada needs is it's own Steve Hoffman clone! Yea, that's it! I wonder if Steve has any brothers or sisters???
There are two Chilliwacl albums out on Solid Gold. "Wanna Be a Star" came out some time last year and "Opus X" recently. Both are on the shelves out here. I will look closer at the graphics next time. I did see 24 bit mentioned but didn't noticed anything about No Noise Sonic Solutions. The second Chilliwack album (the self titled 2 record set originally on A&M) has been released by a label called Red Fox. I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a Solid Gold CD to check out the sound
