3.22.2008

The Roulettes: Stakes and Chips (British Invasion, 1963-66)

BAND INFO (am)

An underrated British quartet made up of John Rogan (bass), Russ Ballard (lead guitar), Peter Thorpe (rhythm guitar), and Bob Henrit (drums), the Roulettes featured future Argent alumnus Russ Ballard on lead guitar. They were originally formed as a backing band for vocalist Adam Faith, who enjoyed a massively successful light rock & roll career in the early '60s in England. Beginning in 1963 with the start of the rock & roll explosion coming out of Liverpool, the group was somewhat reorganized, and their and Faith's work together became much more assertive; the result was Faith's last big hit, "The First Time," in August of 1963. The group began recording on their own for EMI in late 1963 and revealed themselves as an above-average group, fully competitive on a musical level with acts like the Searchers and the Hollies. Their records, though fewer in number, display many of the same virtues found on the better-known work of the Beatles and the Searchers, including soaring harmonies behind strong lead vocals, crisp guitar playing, and a good ear for memorable hooks. Ballard and Henrit also appeared on "Concrete and Clay," a major hit for the acoustic rock outfit Unit Four Plus Two, but the Roulettes' own records stubbornly failed to make the charts. By 1965, they'd split with Adam Faith, but the concentration on their own careers didn't change the inexplicably lackluster performance of their records. The group soldiered on through 1967 without any chart success, playing shows on the European continent, where any good British rock band could still earn a decent living. Finally, Ballard and Henrit joined Unit Four Plus Two, while Thorpe and Rogan left the music business. Following the breakup of Unit Four Plus Two in 1968, Ballard and Henrit hooked up with Rod Argent and Chris White, late of the Zombies, and formed Argent, a quartet that, for a brief time in the early 1970s, enjoyed some of the chart success that had eluded the Roulettes throughout their history.



Buy this album

ALBUM REVIEW

The definitive Roulettes collection, 22 songs covering the group's entire recorded history, with more highlights than one would expect to find. "Bad Time," "I'll Remember Tonight" (which is more familiar to Americans in its cover version by the Mugwumps), "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," and "I Hope He Breaks Your Heart" are priceless, and most of the rest isn't far behind. The sound is excellent, and the notes are entertaining and wonderfully detailed.

MORE INFO

The Roulettes, from Hertfordshire, were formed in 1963 as a backing band for the early 60's pop idol Adam Faith when he decided to jump onto the beat music bandwagon.
They began recording in their own right late in '63. None of their own records hit the charts, but they did have four chart entries with Faith.
Bass guitarist Rodgers was killed in a car accident and his place was taken by John "Mod" Rogan. They split with Faith in 1965 and the group broke up in 1967 without achieving the success that their talents undoubtably warranted.
Ballard and Henrit joined a late line-up of Unit 4+2 before re-surfacicing during the 70's in the prog-rock band Argent, led by ex-Zombie Rod Argent.


NEW LINK: SSSSSHHHHAAAKKKKEEEEE ! ! ! !

NOT TO TOUCH THIS LINKS (DOWN HERE)/ NO USAR ESTOS LINKS DE ACA ABAJO
LINK FOR PASSWORD: BRITISH DUDES ROCK ! (sory, this wont happen no more!)
LINK ALBUM:
SSSSSHHHHHAAAAAKKKKEEEEEEE ! ! ! !

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Either I am doing something very wrong or this password 'roulboul' is not working.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

this Password is not correct.

roulboul

Please help.

Mike

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The Bomber said...

WITH THE NEW LINK, NEW PASSWORD:

cz

(sory for the troubles)

Anonymous said...

Hey man if you have problems with links better thing to do is to stop put links.Now if you have problems with your head,please consult the Dr;it seems you have one on your blogg.

The Bomber said...

Jajaja you are right my friend...it s just ... i was trying to bring`em back to life...cause i didnt have the other computer to rip the vinyls and cds, so i tried to use this old links if anyone could find the password...cause they weren`t hard..i mean they were the title of the album mixed with the word mza, jajajaj henry found out one password ! ! i think it was one of the garagebeat66 ... i think i ll go to the dr , but for other troubles...jejeje...sory again for the missunderstending...

Anonymous said...

HELLO i'm sorry but i don't understand
what is the password :roulboul
or cz ???
Please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you and bye
THIERRY (France)

Anonymous said...

Jajaja,yo no te voy a mandar al Dr. pero si te voy a preguntar cual es el password...Gracias

Anonymous said...

Ma chi cazo le ha inventate le password dei File rar ?
La risposta is blowin in the wind...
Jefferson

Anonymous said...

The password, the password the password the password the password the password the password the password the password the password the password
WAKE UP POCHOLA!!!!!!!!!!!

YAMILA DIAZ

Anonymous said...

Ma la vogliamo mettere questa password o no, Maremma Maiala ?

Stefan J

The Bomber said...

THE PASSWORD IS

cz

Anonymous said...

Si "cz" como cazzo !!!!
Es mas facil ganar alla "Roulette" que abrir esto file rar !!
Necesito que contactar un hacker por resolver esto mistero Senor Cazorla..
Disculpe Poncho te quero muy bien y tu blog es fantastico perĂ²...

Conchita Alonzo

Anonymous said...

CZ CZ CZ CZ CZ
Funziona Funziona Halleluijah !!!!!!!!!!

Simon House

Frank M. Young said...

this link is bad. Album won't unzip. C'est la vie...

Georgie Hirezola said...

thnxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anonymous said...

Quite tricky to download - but it's definetly worth it

Anonymous said...

wouldn't it be better if the person who is responsible for the file, wrote down the password, instead of talking in riddles.

Anonymous said...

dead link - fuck off!

Anonymous said...

Dead Link - lame posting of link & password - NO THANKS - I'll get it somewhere else.