…..THE BATCH – The band to which ARNE FOGEL, BARRY THOMAS GOLDBERG and GARY PAULAK belonged from the late 60s into the mid-70s, has just released it’s first new “single” since 1972! Title: “SHOOT A HOLE THROUGH IT”. Hear a sample (and purchase) at CDBABY: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thebatch3 !!!
The Batch – Cover for “TRANSISTOR” CD
Arne Fogel is also a long-time participant in the activities at IRONWEEDS.COM, as a member of the musical group known variously as The Ironweeds, Batch, & The Puddle, which perfomed original music composed by Barry Thomas Goldberg and Gary Paulak. The band became best known as The Batch nearly forty-five years ago, and has consisted of Arne, Barry Thomas Goldberg, Gary Paulak, Jay Lee, and more recently, drummer Scott Homan, replacing former drummer Gary “Whip” Lane. Check out the IRONWEEDS website for info regarding available recordings, downloads, and films by The Batch, The Ironweeds, Barry Thomas Goldberg, Gary Paulak, Jay Lee, Arne Fogel, etc., in various combinations.
“BLUE SKY DAY” and “TRANSISTOR” CDs NOW AVAILABLE FROM CDBABY BY CLICKING THE ABOVE ICONS!
CD: “Blue Sky Day” Reviewed:
Weekend/HIJ/BECCA Records
Band Members: Barry Thomas Goldberg- Guitars, Vocals/Gary Paulak- Lead Guitar, Organ, Piano, Vocals/Arne Fogel- Piano, Organ, Percussion, Vocals/Jay Lee- Bass/Whip Lane- Drums
Track Listing: Mr. Onawalla/Roadside Manner/The Night Is Gone/Trying To Make It/Show It/Pretending/End Of The Road/I Can’t Take It/Crazy/Don’t Be Wrong/Blue Sky Day/Don’t You Turn Away/Amaranth (The Eternal Flower)/Pop And Ice/Daddy’s Coming Home/They All Went Down/You Can Still Be My Woman/Blue Boy/Golden Sun/Hot Summer Nights/Hold Me Now
“…Having spent an inordinate amount of time last winter listening to The Batch’s disc of rarities and early recordings, Transistor, which covered the end of the Sixties, I wasn’t surprised to hear this studio-perfected collection from one of Minnesota’s most overlooked and sadly underrated early garage/psychedelic rock outfits.
As hinted at on Transistor, Goldberg, Paulak, Fogel and the rest eventually fine-tuned their pop-smart, era-relevant sound into a proud, glorious string of early-’70’s singles that match or surpass the best work of like-minded musical souls of the time such as Badfinger, The Move, Buffalo Springfield, and Mike Nesmith.
Stand-out, shoulda-been-hits here include the pop-perfect jangle of “Roadside Manner,” which could be a follow-up to such highway fantasies of the time as “Sweet Hitch-Hiker” or “Chevy Van,” the Pete Ham-inflected reverie “Trying To Make It,” the Springfield-esque “End Of The Road,” the Canned Heat-meets-The Grateful Dead shimmy of “Crazy,” and the gorgeous, keys-laden title track.
This batch of tunes from The Batch includes some of the catchiest, most interesting pop/rock to ever come out of the midwest, let alone the Twin Cities area, and though it’s a serious shame that for whatever reasons the music was overlooked at its inception, we’re lucky Goldberg and his old mates kept these recordings in such fine condition and have risen above any (deserved) feelings of abandonment to share them with today’s better-educated and more open-minded music lovers.
If you haven’t heard this stuff yet, your so-called “encycolopedic knowledge” of Minnesota music is sadly lacking, and if you’re a musical history buff with an endless thirst for more and higher-quality finds, this is your motherlode. A true treasure awaiting the sound-hungry ears of a new generation of pop/rock fans, this collection is available (with spot-on liner notes courtesy of Arne Fogel) at www.ironweeds.com and you can check The Batch out online at www.myspace.com/batch5 Fantastic!!…”
THANKS TO TOM HALLETT AND “ROUND THE DIAL” FOR THE ABOVE WONDERFUL REVIEW OF THE BATCH AND THIS NEW DISC!!!
OUT NOW ON CD: “BLUE SKY DAY” – THE STUDIO RECORDINGS OF THE BATCH, 1970 – 1973 (VOLUME 2 OF “THE LOST MUSIC OF MID-AMERICA). – Available now at stores THE ELECTRIC FETUS and TREEHOUSE RECORDS in Minneapolis, And available online at CDBABY! FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING “THE BATCH” (ARNE FOGEL, BARRY THOMAS GOLDBERG, GARY PAULAK, JAY LEE & WHIP LANE).
…..“THE BATCH – WAIT ‘TIL TOMORROW” is the new title for the special limited “Collector’s Edition” vinyl release of the “TRANSISTOR” CD (see below). This special LP release contains a 4-page insert with bio, lyrics, photos, and a B/W poster. READ A REVIEW OR ORDER HERE!
The original “Transistor” CD, a compilation of the “basement” recordings of THE BATCH (Arne Fogel, BARRY THOMAS GOLDBERG, GARY PAULAK, JAY LEE & WHIP LANE), circa 1968-1971, is available at CD BABY, and also in the Twin Cities at ELECTRIC FETUS in Minneapolis…..
“CANDY FLOSS” – THE LOST MUSIC OF MID-AMERICA!” WAS CHOSEN AS “RUNNER-UP” TO CITY PAGES LIST OF BEST LOCAL CDS OF 2006:
Here is an exciting new compilation of classic 1960s material that fills in a huge gap in the field of Minnesota’s Rock n Roll “Oldies” history, unified by the participation of BARRY THOMAS GOLDBERG, GARY PAULAK, DALE MENTEN, PETER STEINBERG, MICHAEL YONKERS, ARNE FOGEL, STEVE LONGMAN, JAY LEE, and many others, all of whom were just beginning their careers in Twin Cities’ music. The collection displays a variety of sounds and trends of the late 60s, brought to you by the folks at “Candy Floss”, Minnesota’s most prominent, creative, and successful pop music production house of the late 60s. It includes the first authorized CD release of the hit “TWENTY YEARS AGO IN SPEEDY’S KITCHEN”, as well as the very earliest recordings made by the above participants, who were mostly in their teens at the time. The disc is NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE at CDBABY, as well as from Twin Cities’ music stores ELECTRIC FETUS and TREEHOUSE RECORDS, with other retail outlets to be named soon. For more information, go to IRONWEEDS.COM (link in above paragraph).
BRUCE A. BURT
(1950 – 2009)