Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Bill: Yes and don't forget the impact on our parents as well. "Those guys with the long hair won't be remembered like Benny Goodman!"

That's really a good point Peter. The cool thing about the British Invasion is it was coming to us from another country. When you think about it, it could have happened with American bands but it was Ed spotting the Beatles in England and then brining them to the US to be viewed coast-to-coast by untold millions. Then the flood of groups from England that followed. Interesting how it got started but regardless, it was fun and still is isn't it?

Yeah the British invasion was something we shall never see again I believe anyway, it changed my life.
But it did happen to the whole world with American bands: rock n roll: Elvis, jazz: Louis Armstrong and blues: Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters etc. and all the rest all originated here and migrated all over the world, they just changed it and gave us back what we made and sometimes ignored. American blues and jazz artists and even some rock n roll artists make better livings abroad than they do here, and are better appreciated, we ignore our own. The Beatles adored early rock n roll, country and blues and got at least the beginnings of their ideas from it.

Then theres songs like "A Girl Called Sandoz" which was about the drug company that made whatever drug Eric Burton was taking at the time. I like that song a lot, just cause its so heavy, but my taste lies more towards the early Animals stuff.

That's the song I was trying to remember, the one with the fuzzed out bass, that's a great song. I have it on a home made cassette tape and never knew it was Sandoz. I think they were the only company that made or was licensed to make LSD. What album is that one on, "Love Is"?

From MOJO Special Limited Edition-PSYCHEDELIC....

Eric Burdon, February 2005

"The first time I did LSD was at a James Brown concert in Paris, when I'd flown over for a weekend with Georgie Fame and Brian Jones.

It was an incredible experience. I can still remember all my acid trips like they were yesterday-the good ones and bad ones. This one started when I got into a taxi. Things started to change.... the taxi driver had a collection of 45 records and this small record player that worked in the car-that was unheard of. He was asking me what I wanted to hear, I threw something obscure, Joe Tex, at him, and he played it. Then the inside of the taxi started moving, like something out of Harry Potter.

Next thing, I walked into a room where a James Brown press conference was supposed to be, but the room was empty. I found this door in the floor, walked through it down a spiral staircase, deep underground, and below it was packed with press people. James Brown was sitting on a throne with a crown on his head. The whole press corps moved aside, like the parting of the Red Sea, and, like Moses, I walked down the aisle. There was James-all in gold and ermine-I got down on my knee and kissed his ring..........

And he say's, "Get this motherf@#*er out of here." Amaizingly, some of this was filmed, some was photographed, so some of this happened. I'm still trying to figure out what was real, what was surreal."

I'm not sure what album it was on as I just had their greatest hits tape, and later cd. Eric Burton played at the local blues festival a couple years back, but I had to work so couldn't see it unfortunately.

After reading that stuff you posted, I'm glad I've never tried any drugs!..Sheesh!

Greg, I caught his act at the Portland Blues Festival that you missed. He has lost a bit of his energy, angst and voice but can still belt them out with the best of those still traveling and playing at 60+!

Great article Karl!

You lucky devil Ron! I would have loved to see him. How are you doing on finding someone to work on your old '55 Bassman? I would have thought you would have been happy with Opie because he has tons of experience with stuff like that. We'd all love to see you at the jam again sometime. Two weeks ago, one of the founders of Sunn amps was there which was really cool!

I have checked around and as far as I can see "A Girl Named Sandoz" was originally released only on the back of the 45 "When I was Young"

It came on their greatest hits stuff too, but of course that was after the fact that those were released.

Greg, Been playin the bassman quite a bit. After the first few times it warmed up, crackling stopped, so I'm holding off doing any work until it acts up. I'll make it down again sometime this summer. Too much happenin' these days.

Hey Ron, glad to hear that its working ok. The crackling was probably some worn out and dried up caps, or bad plate load resistors on the preamp tubes. Play it at least once a week and it is better for it than letting it sit. If those caps have never been replaced, then I hope they don't fail on you. The electrolytic caps don't last forever, and often only last 10 years or so. When they go they take transformers with them! You may open the amp and look at the big electrolytic caps and make sure there is no bubbling on the positive end of the cap. If they are bubbling, they are on their way to failure. If you aren't comfortable doing that yourself inside the amp, I'd do it no charge. Just let me know! Wouldn't want anything to happen to a prize like that!

I'd love to see you at the jam whenever you can make it.

Old power tubes will crackle also, especially after they warm up.