The group were founded in Sheen in 2004 by best friends, Rob Symmons, formerly guitarist of original UK punk band, Subway Sect, and Rob Green (who appeared with a later version of Subway Sect) and they remain the core songwriting team and driving force behind The Fallen Leaves sound and vision. The Fallen Leaves operate within a strict set of self-imposed rules, including no jeans, no t-shirts, no cover versions - punk rock for gentlemen. They believe in the DIY Punk ethos - Song, Sound and Performance are all, simple songs for complex people, though they ask you to remember that simple and easy are not the same thing, The Fallen Leaves are a Group, not a band and The Fallen Leaves play 'shows', never gigs!

"An expertly-researched, densely detailed, and likely definitive bio ... The book that finally tells the full story of the music and madness that was the relatively brief--but era-defining--lifespan of the Mamas and the Papas."--Houston Press

"Given the personal lives of these singers, Scott Shea's book might qualify for the horror genre rather than history or biography. But then there's the music--which was startling, distinctive, and unforgettable. For a generation, these songs have served as monuments to major moments in life. All the Leaves Are Brown is a hard read for its sorrow, but rewarding for its insights into the art of a unique and profoundly influential band."-- Mike Aquilina, songwriter, TV host, and co-author of Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth

"Scott Shea takes us on the wild ride that was The Mamas & The Papas with terrific detail, refreshing honesty, and perhaps best of all, a true love of their music. All the Leaves Are Brown had me from page one."--Sheila Weller, author of New York Times bestseller Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation

"The Mamas & The Papas' story is wilder than any work of fiction and Scott Shea is the first author to tell it objectively and in full. This is a book I could not put down."--Bill Flanagan, author of Fifty in Reverse: A Novel

Drawing on previously published memoirs of band members and new interviews with those who knew them, radio producer Shea crafts an impersonal but intriguing compilation of the accounts, song development, and relationship entanglements that led to the fast rise and extraordinary fall of the Mamas & the Papas. The book primarily focuses on John Phillips, from his troubled childhood as the son of an abusive, alcohol-addicted parent, to his complicated first marriage and his attempts to become a serious folk musician. Then Phillips met aspiring model Michelle Gilliam, and their relationship became the catalyst for his best-known songs, "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday." Phillips soon brought Cass Elliot into the group, along with tenor Dennis Doherty. As a band, the Mamas & the Papas recorded five albums, with 10 hits, in the 1960s. Drugs, affairs, jealousies as Mama Cass becomes the breakout star, and an embarrassing set as the closing act for Phillips's Monterey International Pop Festival soon led to the band's demise. VERDICT Shea's matter-of-fact journalistic style prevents sensationalism from overtaking this study of the Mamas & the Papas' powerful influence and importance.

Could it be that the world is finally ready for the tempestuous folk-rock opera that is "All the Leaves are Gone?" In 2004, only the truly informed and forward-thinking heads "got" this mini masterpiece. Critics scratched their heads and usually resorted to comparisons of past artists, like ol Grace Slick and her Great Jefferson Society, Fairport Convention (but which era? SURELY Judy Dyble's early reign?), and at best, Shirley Collins. A few fans attempted to connect the record to even more obscure "freak folk/rock" like Mellow Candle, Fear Itself, or Trees. "All the Leaves are Gone" was made by unique personalities not concerned with influences or copying any bygone era. Surely, some things are in our DNA or even early childhood, as Josephine Foster's roots in opera manifest themselves as much as any other influence in this organic song cycle. Sure, guitarist Brian Goodman may have heard Richard Thompson before, but his alchemical and molten guitar spray is purely his own, in tunings and intervals still not meant for normal humans to understand, mostly because his 2004 guts were poured into every sublime note (I think even Brian himself never even understood how good he was). That fiery emotion is also in every nuance of Foster's songs--like life, there's disquieting, jagged moments of unease, and there's calm both before and after the storm. There are moments of utter gentleness along the journey---because yes, every concept album should be a voyage, and this is one everyone should take. - Steve Krakow

TRACK LISTING

Well-Heeled Men
The Most Loved One
All The Leaves Are Gone
Nana, Deathknell
Silly Song
Jailbird (Hero Of The Sorrow)
Worried And Sorry
Who Will Feel Bitter At The Days End?
John Ave
Seen From The Gray Train
Don't Wait Mary Jane
(You Are Worth) A Million Dollars

A delicate collection of songs for meditation on spiritual struggle, The Leaves Fall is a window into the parallel reality of Justin Carter. Centered on his intimate vocals, pointed with hints of Arthur Russell and John Martyn; the eight tracks are buttressed by warm acoustic guitars, vibraphones, organs and flourished with modern production. They are familiar but distant, like ghosts living in the present. Carter grew up in a country house in rural North Carolina, a place with a pecan tree and abandoned train tracks in the front yard. On long car rides from home to his dadʼs work as a school teacher, his ears were filled with the prog of Yes, the vocals of Al Jarreau and the complexity of Christopher Parkeningʼs take on Bach. It was his father, who himself has moonlighted as a guitar player and songwriter for nearly 50 years, that taught Carter to sing and play in his early teens.

The Leaves Fall was written on and off over the course of about five years, a secret to most. Carter is more familiar, alongside Eamon Harkin, as co-founder of popular New York parties Mister Saturday Night and Mister Sunday, and their label offshoot, Mister Saturday Night Records. As the Mister thrived, his songwriting continued to tick along in the background, days and weeks stolen here and there to write and record in various locations – from remote studios in the Catskills to basements in Venice Beach.

The album features Jason Lindner, pianist on Bowie's final masterpiece, Blackstar; cello from Archie Pelago's Greg Heffernan; and programming by LIES Records and The Trilogy Tapes producer Marcos Cabral. It was mixed by Benjamin Tierney, who also worked his magic on Kamasi Washington's The Epic. It finds its context in the world of Planetarium, a new listening session established by Carter and his Mister Saturday Night DJ partner, Eamon Harkin, where live music is mixed amongst hours of records to create an immersive, communal listening experience focused on quality hi-fi sound in non-traditional spaces; the album will presented in this manner when toured.

“Nothing makes me happier than to see people letting go. My ambition in all my creative work is to make moments where that can happen. As a DJ, I use othersʼ music to create those moments, but itʼs always been in me to make my own music for that purpose. After twenty-five years of writing music for myself, it makes me really happy to have something to share with others.” - Justin Carter

TRACK LISTING

1. Great Destroyer
2. Infinite Pieces
3. Know It All
4. With The Old Breed
5. The Island
6. What Can You Tell Your Children About Hope?
7. Leaves
8. A Presence

USM and Island Records now complete the Back To Black Nick Drake vinyl reissues set with this lovingly represented new press of his debut album.

Originally released in 1969 'Five Leaves Left' was largely overlooked by critics and music fans at the time - a fate that was to befall his subsequent two studio albums. Unfortunately, Nick Drake didn't live to see his reputation as one of the finest singersongwriters Britain has ever produced develop. Nevertheless, 'Five Leaves Left' is now widely regarded as one of the most significant debut albums of all time.

TRACK LISTING

1. Time Has Told Me
2. River Man
3. Three Hours
4. Way To Blue
5. Day Is Done
6.  ' Cello Song
7. Thoughts Of Mary Jane
8. Man In A Shed
9. Fruit Tree
10. Saturday Sun

Now available on black vinyl. Third single released from their breakthrough album in 2002.

This 1970 debut is surely one of the most accomplished in pop history, marking the young singer songwriter out as more than another folkie. Jazzy instrumentation and sweeping string arrangements give the record a sumptuous feel that is undermined by the brooding melancholy of "Fruit Tree", "Way To Blue" and the haunting, magisterial "River Man". A classic that has reached such disparate souls as Elliott Smith, Paul Weller, Terry Callier and Gilles Peterson.

TRACK LISTING

Time Has Told Me 3:56
River Man 4:28
Three Hours 6:01
Day Is Done 2:22
Way To Blue 3:05
'Cello Song 3:58
The Thoughts Of Mary Jane 3:12
Man In A Shed 3:49
Fruit Tree 4:42
Saturday Sun 4:00

Debut English language album from Cardiff's Big Leaves. They meld folk, psyche-pop, Beach Boys-esque harmonies and glam-ish rock to create gorgeously skewed pop songs. For fans of early Supergrass and Super Furry Animals.

Second single from Icelandic five piece Leaves. Another great single, with similar guitar sounds to their previous single, but a much bigger, more anthemic song.