Sweetwater - Melon (us 1971)

Sweetwater - Melon (us 1971)

Warner Reprise still had faith in the band and gave them another chance so they released "Melon", an album described by some people as a blend between Jethro Tull, Santana and Jefferson Airplane, but the time had passed and they were not so advanced in 1971 as in 1968 and without Nansi they were unable to regain their lost audience, so they disbanded after a short tour.
~ Iván Melgar Morey - Perú (progarchives.com).

Personnel on this album:
* Nancy Nevins (lead female vocals, acoustic guitar),
* Fred Herrera (bass, vocals),
* Alex Del Zoppo (piano, keyboards, harmonica, vocals),
* Albert B. Moore (flute, vocals),
* August Burns (cello),
* Elpidio Cobian (conga, percussion),
* Alan Malarowitz (drums on tracks: 04 & 10),
with:
* Ricky Fataar [courtesy Brother Records] (drums on all other tracks).

Tracklisting:
01. Get It When You Can (Alex Del Zoppo) - 3:42
02. Don't Forget (Nancy Nevins) - 3:00
03. It Ain't Easy (Albert Moore) - 3:20
04. I'm Happy Today (Alex Del Zoppo) - 4:17
05. Rejoice... The Smile Of Man (Fred Herrera) - 4:53
06. Take It From The Splice, Boys (Fred Herrera) - 6:48
07. Naturally (Alex Del Zoppo) - 3:35
08. Don't Give A Hoot (Albert Moore) - 2:22
09. Faith (August Burns) - 0:38
10. Join The Band (Alex Del Zoppo) - 5:30

Review:
That old cliché "you can't tell a book by its cover" may have been true for the Guess Who's Road Food LP, a repulsive album jacket and inner sleeve housing a gem like "Star Baby," but the lesser-known Sweetwater beat the Guess Who to the punch by three years with a watermelon on the front of the Melon LP, and its remains on the back. The music inside is unsettling, but not without merit; Fred Herrera's "Rejoice...The Smile of Man" plays like a less annoying "White Bird" two years after It's a Beautiful Day unleashed that FM staple. Herrera goes off key, but that adds to the charm. Nansi Nevins does not come up with a "White Rabbit" with "Don't Forget," but still manages to sound like Grace Slick on her songwriting contribution. It's the Jefferson Airplane's "Lather" by way of H.P Lovecraft. "Take It From the Splice, Boys" is Jethro Tull meets Santana while predicting the dawn of the Electric Light Orchestra, that mix not flowing well into the countryish "Naturally," which could be Nick Gravenites' version of Big Brother & the Holding Company. Flute, cello, conga, and acoustic guitar should all combine to make for a delicious musical feast, but there are only glimpses of possibilities on Melon, an album that is disjointed, and in desperate need of a song that can raise it to the next level. Wiley Brooks' production is clear and precise, and the feel of the band isn't bad at all; it's just that when they step up to the plate, they hit a few foul balls, and on some tunes, like "Don't Give a Hoot," they simply strike out. "Join the Band" is a real strange one; The Monkees did this much better with "Listen to the Band," the punk vocals mixed with an off-key gospel chorus is certainly interesting, and somewhat amusing, to the point where it could be slipped into a radio show and listeners might say "what the heck was that"? As a novelty, it is wonderful, but after repeated listenings its charm would wear off and you may find yourself looking to hear Mike Nesmith's song again. Alex Del Zoppo's "Get It When You Can" is not as direct as Janis Joplin's "Get It While You Can," which came the year before, its preachy vibe not as much fun as Joplin's tour-de-force lecture. He fares better copping Lou Reed's "Cool It Down" from the Velvet Underground's Loaded LP on "I'm Happy Today." The band puts everything but the kitchen sink into this album, and the telling turntable spindle on the plate with seeds and melon crusts imagery by photographer Annette Del Zoppo kind of sums it up. Just when a song like "It Ain't Easy" makes you want to hit "reject," an intriguing musical passage makes the curiosity factor kick in. An odd presentation for sure, and deserving of some kind of recognition --exactly how much is the question.
 ~ Joe Viglione, Rovi.
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In 1995 they were invited for Woodstock II and reunited without Albert Moore, Alan Malarowitz and August Burns who had already died neither Elpidio Cobian who despite their efforts was impossible to find.

One more album (Live at Last 2002) has been released since then and a movie about the band filmed for the 30th anniversary of Woodstock.

I'm sure that if it wasn't for Nansi Nevins accident, SWEETWATER would have kept evolving and probably be considered one of the early icons of USA Prog, but despite that destiny didn't allowed them to reach this status they deserve a place in Prog Archives.
 ~ Iván Melgar Morey - Perú (progarchives.com).

More info:
http://www.sweetwaterfan.com/

Download Links:
Normal version :
http://www.mirrorcreator.com/files/1BF5LFZU/Sweetwater_-_Melon__us_1971_.rar_links

Shorter version :
http://mir.cr/1BF5LFZU

...and also...

Sweetwater - Melon (us 1971).rar (53.06 MB)
http://www.multiupload.com/0CEJ97G856
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Sweetwater - Just For You (us 1970)

Sweetwater - Just for You (us 1970)

Formed 1968, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Sweetwater was a rock band originally from Los Angeles. They were the act scheduled to play first at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, although due to problems within the band, solo folksinger Richie Havens became the first performer. Sweetwater performed next, becoming the first band to play the festival.

Members:
* Albert Moore (flute),
* Alan Malarowitz (drums),
* August Burns (cello),
* Elpidio Cobian [aka Pete] (conga),
* Nancy Nevins (lead vocals),
* Alex Del Zoppo (keyboards),
* Fred Herrera (bass),
* Joe Bruley (guitar),
* Mike Williams (drums),
* Henry Arias (percussion).

Tracks:
A1. Just for You 8:35
A2. Day Song 2:12
A3. Windlace 4:35
B1. Compared to What 5:49
B2. Song for Romeo 2:35
B3. Without Me 4:13
B4. Look Out 3:19

Biography:
An unusual rock group in both the size of their lineup (which numbered eight), the instrumentation employed, and the eclectic scope of their material, Sweetwater didn't quite get the first-class songs or breaks necessary to make them widely known. Lead singer Nansi Nevins was backed not just by conventional guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, but also flute (Albert Moore), conga (Elpidio Cobian), and cello (August Burns). Their self-titled debut album was the kind of release that could have only been the product of the late '60s, with the music flying off in all directions, and a major label willing to put it out. Sweetwater blended Californian psychedelia with jazzy keyboards and a classical bent, especially in the flute and cello, but did not cohere into a readily identifiable aesthetic, or write exceptional songs, although they were okay. Perhaps Reprise was willing to give such a hard to market and classify band a shot, figuring that in the midst of psychedelic rock scaling the charts that would have seemed unimaginably weird just a couple of years before, who knew what would sell now? Sweetwater was formed from a group of friends that jammed at coffeehouses in Los Angeles in the mid '60s. Harvey Gerst, who had written a Byrds song with Roger McGuinn ("It Won't Be Wrong"), was an unofficial member of sorts, sometimes acting as road manager and playing guitar. For their debut album they were produced by Dave Hassinger, who had worked, as recording engineer and producer, with the Rolling Stones, Electric Prunes, and the Grateful Dead. In the late '60s they opened for a lot of big-time acts, and played a bunch of festivals without breaking into the headliner ranks. In fact, they were the very first band to take the stage at Woodstock.
In December 1969, twenty year old Nansi Nevins was in a serious car accident in which she suffered severe brain trauma and damaged her vocal cords, putting her in a coma for weeks and necessitating physical therapy for years. Although she had recorded a couple of tracks on their second Reprise album, she was unable to rejoin the band, which had to stop touring and lost any career momentum it had developed. Producer Richard Perry tried working with them, but that didn't pan out well, although the second album was completed with other members of the band taking lead vocals. A more folk-oriented production, Melon, was their third and last album in 1971; they broke up in the summer of that year. The surviving trio of Nevins, keyboardist Alex Del Zoppo and bassist Fred Herrera reunited Sweetwater in 1997, and two years later -- to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Woodstock -- cable network VH1 produced and broadcast a film about the group, with Felicity co-star Amy Jo Johnson cast as Nansi Nevins; the picture sparked a considerable resurgence of interest in the group, and that same year Rhino released Cycles, a limited-edition retrospective of their work for Reprise.
~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi.
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Review:
The recording of Sweetwater's second album was hindered by Nanci Nevins' injuries in a serious car accident, which for a time rendered her incapable of performing with the band, although she does sing on much of Just for You. A more serious problem was an overall lack of strength or focus to the material, which covers a lot of bases of 1969-1970 album oriented rock without staking a markedly identifiable patch of its own. The eight-minute title track is indicative of the band's strengths and weaknesses, as the song mixes Latin-influenced percussive grooves, gospel, jazzy flute and violin, and a dreamy Nevins-sung opening passage without really arriving anywhere in particular. At times the music's loose flow is a little similar to the Californian hippie rock of It's a Beautiful Day, especially when Sweetwater uses violin. But it's not as good as even that erratic standard, and the sole non-original manages to make Gene McDaniels' classic soul protest song "Compared to What" over into a blandly strained soul-rocker. A couple of briefer, gentle Nevins-led interludes ("Song for Romeo" and "Day Song") that go into more sparsely arranged, poetic singer/songwriter territory outshine the more ambitious, jam-prone surroundings.
~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi.

Read more:
http://www.answers.com/topic/just-for-you-rock-album-1#ixzz197XxWoGh

You can find their 1st album here:
http://tyme-machine.blogspot.com/2009/02/sweetwater-sweetwater-us-1968.html

Download Link:
Sweetwater - Just For You (us 1970).rarSweetwater - Just For You (us 1970).rar (75.15 MB)
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Sweetwater - Sweetwater (us 1968)

Sweetwater - Sweetwater (us 1968)

Formed 1968, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Members:
* Albert Moore (flute) ,
* Alan Malarowitz (drums),
* August Burns (cello),
* Elpidio Cobian [aka Pete] (conga) ,
* Nancy Nevins (lead vocals) ,
* Alex Del Zoppo (keyboards) ,
* Fred Herrera (bass) ,
* Joe Bruley (guitar) ,
* Mike Williams (drums) ,
* Henry Arias (percussion) .

Tracklisting:
01. Motherless Child 5:09
02. Here We Go Again 2:34
03. For Pete's Sake 2:53
04. Come Take a Walk 3:51
05. What's Wrong 4:04
06. In a Rainbow 3:18
07. My Crystal Spider 3:57
08. Rondeau 1:19
09. Two Worlds 3:59
10. Through an Old Storybook 2:35
11. Why Oh Why 3:01

In the late 60’s the USA Psychedelic/Proto Prog movement was full of great artists ahead of their time but the band that pioneered the fusion of Rock, Classical, Folk and Jazz was a modest group of kids from Los Angeles called SWEETWATER.They didn’t just limited to hiring a Symphony Orchestra to enhance the music, instead they were one of the first USA bands to include Cello, flute and Congas to the usual rock instruments, having a lineup of eight official members (plus guests), something pretty unusual for 1968.
It’s unclear if they joined in 1967 or 1968, but due to the excellent voice of Nansi Nevins plus the absolutely innovative and eclectic blend of influences in their music they were immediately recruited by Warner Reprise and released their self titled debut album “Sweetwater”.
This LP was ahead of their time, the killer keyboards of Alex Delzoppo were efficiently backgrounded by the unusual (for that moment) flute of Albert Moore, Cello by August Burns and Conga of the amazing Elpidio Cobian plus the usual instruments of a Rock band.
They toured with and/ or shared the bill with every major act of the time, including: Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Cream, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother & The Holding Co. w/ Janis Joplin, C S N & Y, the Who, Frank Zappa, Jefferson Airplane, Chicago, Chuck Berry, Spirit, the Allman Bros., E.L.P., Joe Cocker, War, Linda Rondstadt, Santana, Joan Baez, Beach Boys, Steve Miller, Chambers Bros., and many others.The group performed on all major network television shows (Red Skelton, Steve Allen, Playboy After Dark, Hollywood Palace, American Bandstand, Etc.), and at all major national rock venues and pop festivals of the time including WOODSTOCK, where they were the first band to play.In December of 1969 their lead vocalist, Nancy Nevins, was hit by a drunken driver, suffering nearly fatal injuries including a severely damaged vocal cord. Awaiting her recovery, the band continued to gather fans with their exciting performances while releasing two more albums on Warner/ Reprise, “Just For You” and “Melon”. However, Nancy's prolonged recovery as well as other pressures forced them to eventually disband.
~ internet source.
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Sweetwater was a rock band originally from Los Angeles. They were the act scheduled to play first at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, although due to problems within the band, solo folksinger Richie Havens became the first performer. Sweetwater performed next, becoming the first band to play the festival.Sweetwater were early developers of the psychedelic rock/fusion style that was popularized by Jefferson Airplane to be regarded as the archetype "60s Sound". In 1968-69, the band often toured with The Doors. They were also one of the opening acts for Eric Burdon & The Animals in 1968. One of their best-known recordings is a version of the traditional folk song "Motherless Child".The original members of the band were Nancy Nevins (lead vocals/guitar), August Burns (cello), Albert Moore (flute/backing vocals), Alan Malarowitz (drums), Elpidio Cobian (conga drums), Alex Del Zoppo (keyboards) and Fred Herrera (bass).Three days after Sweetwater performed on The Red Skelton Show (December 1969), singer Nancy "Nansi" Nevins was severely injured in a car accident, which stopped the progress of the band. Due to the accident, Nancy experienced brain damage for a number of years following the collision, and permanent damage to one of her vocal cords.The group reunited for Woodstock '94 in 1994 with three original members - Nevins, Herrera and Del Zoppo. August Burns died in the 80s, Alan Malarowitz was killed in a car crash near 1981, Albert Moore died of pneumonia in 1994. Elpedio Cobian works as a film statist. In 1999, the story of the band was depicted in a VH1 TV-movie called Sweetwater: A True Rock Story. Amy Jo Johnson portrayed Nancy Nevins, while Michelle Phillips portrayed a much older Nancy.
~ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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