BREWER AND SHIPLEY
''WEEDS''
1969
30:57
1 /Lady Like You
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:12
2 /Rise Up (Easy Rider)
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/3:15
3 /Boomerang
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:18
4 /Indian Summer
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:59
5 /All Along the Watchtower
Bob Dylan/3:18
6 /People Love Each Other
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:55
7 /Pig's Head
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:10
8 /Oh, Sweet Lady
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:00
9 /Too Soon Tomorrow
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:53
10 /Witchi-tai-to
Jim Pepper/6:57
Reinol Andino /Congas
Apple Jack /Harmonica
Michael Bloomfield /Guitar
Michael Brewer /Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Shakers, Vibra-Slap
Phil Ford /Tabla
Nick Gravenites /Producer, Vocals
Richard Greene /Violin
Robert Huberman /Bass
Bob Jones /Drums
John Kahn /Bass
Ira Kamin /Keyboards
Mark Naftalin /Keyboards
Fred Olsen /Guitar
Red Rhodes /Guitar (Steel)
Tom Shipley /Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, 12-String Guitar
Nick Hopkins/Piano
REVIEW
By Joe Viglione
Two years before their hit "One Toke Over the Line," Brewer and Shipley released an excellent folk album entitled Weeds, produced by the redoubtable Nick Gravenites, who was soon to become the lead singer of Big Brother & the Holding Company, and who had penned a couple of songs for Janis Joplin's I Got Dem Ole' Kozmic Blues Again, Mama album released the same year as this LP, 1969. With Mike Bloomfield on guitar as well, this is actually part of the Electric Flag backing up Michael Brewer and Tom Shipley, and their almost pensive performance of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is not only fine, but you can actually hear and understand all the words! "Indian Summer" is sublime; it is magical with Richard Greene's fiddle working against the sprinkling piano lines, a real gem among the many in these Weeds. A Native American on horse looking skyward under the words "Our Thanks" is a very subtle thank you to their higher power -- nice indeed. The late Nicky Hopkins is a guest star on keyboards, as is Phil Ford on tabla, and the ten tracks are all accessible, but there is one that is as much a standout as the duo's aforementioned "Indian Summer," that tune being the second cover on Weeds, Jim Pepper's much loved underground classic "Witchi-tai-to." This version is more up-tempo than the original, and dwells on Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" riff to balance the incessant mantra and blending voices. The guitars are very Flamin' Groovies: sparkling, trebley, and pretty. This is music right out of the Velvet Underground's Loaded or 1969 albums, and should be absorbed by that group's obsessive fans, as well as fans of bands like Big Brother & the Holding Company and other purveyors of the West Coast sound. At close to seven minutes it is certainly an anomaly for the label which released the spirited folk/pop of The Lovin' Spoonful. The ten striking black-and-white photos inside the gatefold are as in tune as the pleasant "People Love Each Other," which opens side two. Given the legendary status of the producer and fellow musicians, the choice of material, and their own eventual chart success, Weeds is an often forgotten folk album of fine distinction. Nice insert with lyrics accompanies the vinyl disc.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Huey
California duo Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley began their careers separately on the 1960s Los Angeles folk club circuit before teaming up to write and perform together. Their song "Keeper of the Seven Keys" was recorded by H.P. Lovecraft and also appeared on their 1968 debut, Down in L.A. Their second album, Weeds, featured guest appearances by Jerry Garcia, Mike Bloomfield, and Nicky Hopkins. In 1971, the duo scored a surprise Top Ten hit with "One Toke Over the Line," in spite of radio bans owing to the song's marijuana-oriented lyrics. Following this success, Brewer and Shipley moved to rural Missouri, but their appeal dwindled, and the partnership was dissolved in 1979. Brewer recorded the solo album Beauty Lies in 1983. At the request of a Kansas City radio station, Brewer & Shipley reunited for a concert in 1989 and began touring occasionally. In 1995, the duo released their first album in almost 20 years, Shanghai. Heartland followed two years later.
''WEEDS''
1969
30:57
1 /Lady Like You
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:12
2 /Rise Up (Easy Rider)
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/3:15
3 /Boomerang
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:18
4 /Indian Summer
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:59
5 /All Along the Watchtower
Bob Dylan/3:18
6 /People Love Each Other
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:55
7 /Pig's Head
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:10
8 /Oh, Sweet Lady
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:00
9 /Too Soon Tomorrow
Michael Brewer / Tom Shipley/2:53
10 /Witchi-tai-to
Jim Pepper/6:57
Reinol Andino /Congas
Apple Jack /Harmonica
Michael Bloomfield /Guitar
Michael Brewer /Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Shakers, Vibra-Slap
Phil Ford /Tabla
Nick Gravenites /Producer, Vocals
Richard Greene /Violin
Robert Huberman /Bass
Bob Jones /Drums
John Kahn /Bass
Ira Kamin /Keyboards
Mark Naftalin /Keyboards
Fred Olsen /Guitar
Red Rhodes /Guitar (Steel)
Tom Shipley /Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, 12-String Guitar
Nick Hopkins/Piano
REVIEW
By Joe Viglione
Two years before their hit "One Toke Over the Line," Brewer and Shipley released an excellent folk album entitled Weeds, produced by the redoubtable Nick Gravenites, who was soon to become the lead singer of Big Brother & the Holding Company, and who had penned a couple of songs for Janis Joplin's I Got Dem Ole' Kozmic Blues Again, Mama album released the same year as this LP, 1969. With Mike Bloomfield on guitar as well, this is actually part of the Electric Flag backing up Michael Brewer and Tom Shipley, and their almost pensive performance of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is not only fine, but you can actually hear and understand all the words! "Indian Summer" is sublime; it is magical with Richard Greene's fiddle working against the sprinkling piano lines, a real gem among the many in these Weeds. A Native American on horse looking skyward under the words "Our Thanks" is a very subtle thank you to their higher power -- nice indeed. The late Nicky Hopkins is a guest star on keyboards, as is Phil Ford on tabla, and the ten tracks are all accessible, but there is one that is as much a standout as the duo's aforementioned "Indian Summer," that tune being the second cover on Weeds, Jim Pepper's much loved underground classic "Witchi-tai-to." This version is more up-tempo than the original, and dwells on Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" riff to balance the incessant mantra and blending voices. The guitars are very Flamin' Groovies: sparkling, trebley, and pretty. This is music right out of the Velvet Underground's Loaded or 1969 albums, and should be absorbed by that group's obsessive fans, as well as fans of bands like Big Brother & the Holding Company and other purveyors of the West Coast sound. At close to seven minutes it is certainly an anomaly for the label which released the spirited folk/pop of The Lovin' Spoonful. The ten striking black-and-white photos inside the gatefold are as in tune as the pleasant "People Love Each Other," which opens side two. Given the legendary status of the producer and fellow musicians, the choice of material, and their own eventual chart success, Weeds is an often forgotten folk album of fine distinction. Nice insert with lyrics accompanies the vinyl disc.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Huey
California duo Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley began their careers separately on the 1960s Los Angeles folk club circuit before teaming up to write and perform together. Their song "Keeper of the Seven Keys" was recorded by H.P. Lovecraft and also appeared on their 1968 debut, Down in L.A. Their second album, Weeds, featured guest appearances by Jerry Garcia, Mike Bloomfield, and Nicky Hopkins. In 1971, the duo scored a surprise Top Ten hit with "One Toke Over the Line," in spite of radio bans owing to the song's marijuana-oriented lyrics. Following this success, Brewer and Shipley moved to rural Missouri, but their appeal dwindled, and the partnership was dissolved in 1979. Brewer recorded the solo album Beauty Lies in 1983. At the request of a Kansas City radio station, Brewer & Shipley reunited for a concert in 1989 and began touring occasionally. In 1995, the duo released their first album in almost 20 years, Shanghai. Heartland followed two years later.
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