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0:00/3:56
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You Made Me Cry 3:300:00/3:30
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Summer Love 4:020:00/4:02
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0:00/4:46
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0:00/5:15
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If You See Kaye 4:520:00/4:52
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I Come From Chicago 4:040:00/4:04
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Stay Away 3:230:00/3:23
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0:00/5:04
"The Ice Cream Man Review" (2023)
CD: The Ice Cream Man Review
CD cover of the Classic Rock & Blues album, "The Ice Cream Man Review".
PLEASE READ THE NOTES BELOW ABOUT THIS ALBUM: “The Ice Cream Man Review”.
Chet's has re-released his newest album, "The Ice Cream Man Review".
This album is filled with classic rock, blues and new rock songs that gives honor to good 'ole rock 'n' roll. Check it out at YouTube, iTUNES, Pandora and Spotify!
Also, ALL the tracks that you can buy at this site are HD WAV 44/24 files....i.e., they are the highest quality.....so pick out a few songs and add them to your personal music library.
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NOTES ABOUT THIS ALBUM: “The Ice Cream Man Review”.
First of all, “The Ice Cream Man Review”, is filled with RE-RECORDED versions of some of the songs that were featured on the first band tape from The Chosen Few, “Raw ‘N’ Roll" (see review below) produced in 1964. It is dedicated to the memory of Thomas O. Peck, Jeffrey Weinstein, Wayne Welch, Lee Keating and Bill Bradley.
What inspired Chet to get that old tape and have it digitized so he could use the “old tracks” as reference for the final tracks of the “new recordings”, was from a request from a dear friend who was suffering from ALS.
Sadly, his friend was fading fast.
Chet asked his friend if there was anything he could do for him, since their relationship covered their lives since high school and they and their families and children had grown up together. His friend, who could barely talk said, “I would love to hear the ‘old songs’, again." Chet saw it as a “last wish”, and embarked on a quest to get the old tape, get it cedarized and digitized so he could use the old songs as references to re-record them for his dear friend. It was a massive and time-intensive project. But, Chet worked night and day for several weeks to set-up the production schedule, record the songs, mix them and master them, design the artwork and set up the distribution networks. But, MOSTLY, Chet wanted to get the songs done and be able to hand his life-long friend a CD to enjoy.
Chet was able to get all this done in time.. Once he had the first CD finished, he hurried over to give it to his friend, who was very weak, but strong enough to embrace the CD and give Chet a mischievous smile that said, “Thank you”. Within a week or so, his friend had passed away.
So, this album was, is and will forever be, a true labor of love for a friend.
Finally, these songs were all written in the early and mid 1960's by Chet who was in his VERY early teens at the time. So, they maintain a certain innocent playfulness and mischievous, youthful projection that mirrored the bands of the day like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Zombies, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Jan & Dean, The Troggs, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry and many other bands and artists.
At the same time, Chet “LOVED” the blues. His first album purchase (which he still has) was a Jimmy Reed album. But he loved Howlin' Wolf, BB King, Muddy Waters, The Paul Butterfield Band, Otis Spahn, Robert Johnson and all the blues masters, so you will hear some of Chet's very first original blues-infused songs on this album. His tracks, “I Come From Chicago” and “I'm The Ice Cream Man”, are classics written in the early 1960's.
We hope you enjoy this journey back to the 1960's rock ‘n’ roll and blues. And that you can “feel the love” that went into producing this album, basically, by himself.
Copyrights (Various years) by Chet Nichols. All Rights Reserved. Cover design and photos by Chet Nichols
All Lyrics and Music by Chet Nichols
All song copyrights by Chester Nichols, Jr (ASCAP) and Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
All Global Rights Reserved
Produced, arranged and recorded by Chet Nichols for Magic Garage Music (ASCAP) & Magic Garage Records
All Instrumentation & Vocal Performances by Chet Nichols
Cover and CD Design by Chet Nichols
Recorded at The Magic Garage Studio. USA
CONTACT: MagicGarageMusic@protonmail.com
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Record Review; “Raw ‘n’ Roll”
Forget "Ten Years After" with Alvin Lee, how about "Forty Three Years After with
The Chosen Few"!
Chicagoland's Quintessential Mid-Sixties Rock Band
Like discovering a diamond in the rough, Musician Extraodinare Chet Nichols
unearthed a long thought lost 1964 taping of his band The Chosen Few. Thanks to
Chet's perseverance, he had it re-lobotimized, cleaned up and digitized, reproduced
and packaged. Considering the primitive conditions under which it was recorded on
1/2 inch tap, as well as it's forty three years of entombment in a long lost music
graveyard, the sonic clarity and quality remained intact! Chet must have employed a
kitchen magician, the ghost of Houdini, and a clone of George Martin, the producer
of The Beatles, to bring this baby back to life. (Actually it was Chet's buddy and
David Crosby producer, Stephen Barncard who helped to “bake the tape” and digitize it for Chet).
Thank the Music Gods for miracles.
What we have before us now folks, is the only known recording of one the hottest
mid-sixities bands to grace the Chicagoland area and The North Shore. This band
had a following that always backed the venues where they played. In spite of the
young age of the members of the band (17-18), they displayed a sense of musical
professionalism, far beyond their years. Additionally, their vocal talents were top
notch, and balanced in true harmony. They played the various covers of that era,
that ran from The Beach Boys to The Stones to The Beatles, and on and on.
With Tom Peck on bass, Jeff Weinstein on rhythm guitar, Chet Nichols on lead
guitar and lead vocals, and Wayne Welch on drums, they were a together group with
a very tight sound. The biggest surprise of the group was Chet Nichols's song writing
ability, which led him to a long and highly successful career as a highly acclaimed
performing artist, proficient song writer and well noted author. Chet's self-penned
songs on this CD are well written, highly evolved and perfectly vocalized and were a
highly positive harbinger of things to come for him in his music career. Having seen
this band blast out their many great songs on many occasions in those music filled
years, I now have a piece of music history that I had longed for many a year.
Anyone from that era needs this CD for their music collector. In addition, anyone who
has ever lived or went to High School in the Chicago area, the North Shore, Wilmette,
Winnetka, Kenilworth, Evanston and Highland Park, etc, is required to have this
album. It's too bad that we don't have any more of the music that The Chosen Few
played. However, this sonic taste of that time is like a whole musical feast! Chet, many
thanks for giving us a piece of the past that we had longed for such a long time. It is
a true Mid-West Musical Masterpiece!.
.......GW, Marquette, MI
Background Notes About
The Chosen Few
The Chosen Few was an important rock ’n roll
“basement band” based on the North Shore of
Chicago in the early 1960s. Basement band?
Well, they practiced in basements. All of the
initial band members attended New Trier High
School, a school that has spawned many great
creative artists, musicians, actors and
producers. The North Shore was a hot spot for
developing rock’n roll bands and artists in the
area. The Chosen Few began playing together
in the Fall of 1963. The co-founders were Chet
Nichols, who played lead guitar and sang lead
vocals, and Phil Hagenah, who initially played
guitar. A friend of Phil’s, Tom Peck, was
begging to join the band, so Chet and Phil
taught Tom to play bass and Phil graciously
moved to the drums. Mark Springer joined to
play rhythm guitar. Like many bands, there
were changes in personnel until the final
nucleus was solidified. Along the way they
added Wayne Welch on drums and vocals and
Jeff Weinstein on rhythm guitar and vocals.
Phil Hagenah, went on to be a very successful
film producer and Mark Springer went on to be
a singer in The New Christie Minstrels.
They were one of the “house bands” at the
famous Winnetka rock ’n roll nightclub,
The Rolling Stone. What set the band apart
from other bands was the fact that they played
originals penned by Chet Nichols and mixed
them in with danceable cover songs. Chet’s
songs were influenced by The Beatles,
The Kinks, The Beach Boys and The Rolling
Stones. He wrote songs that people still
remember today; “You Made Me Cry”,
“Million Dollar Sandbox”,“Stay Away”,
“Over and Over”, “Summer Love” and
“If You See Kaye”, to name a few..............
They played together until the summer of 1967,
when college and the Armed Services finally
split the band up for good. Tom Peck headed
to Boston and lived there for several years until
migrating to San Diego, where he lived as a
free-lance writer and cared for his mother until
June 2005 when he passed away. Jeff
Weinstein moved to Colorado and played in
bands in the Boulder area until he passed
away in the 1980’s from complications of
diabetes. Wayne Welch went into the Army
and took his basic training near Oklahoma
City where Chet first attended college. Wayne
now lived in Bonanza,Oregon and his band,
"The Usual Suspects" played in the Klamath Falls,
Oregon area, until his passing. Wayne has two sons, T.J., a bank
executive in Illinois and Bob, an artist. Chet
transferred to Kansas University and was
“discovered” as a solo artist at “The Vanguard”,
an infamous coffee house in Kansas City, MO
which was a famous coffee house on the 1960's coffee house national
tour. This led him into a long-running solo career as
a performer, recording artist, singer, songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist, actor, writer, designer and
composer that is still going strong. Chet has
produced 50 CDs of material that runs from
Outside Folk Rock to Americana to Alternative
Country to Blues to jazz to New Age/World Fusion Instrumental
compositions.
Chet thought he had lost this tape, but found it
in a box of old tapes stored in his garage in
December of 2006, He turned to his old friend
and respected San Francisco producer, Stephen
Barncard, to salvage the tape and digitize it. The
tape was recorded on a 1/2 machine and is
in mono. It was engineered and recorded by
Bill Bradley in his 3-story house in Wilmette
one Saturday afternoon. Bill went on to being
one of the best engineers in the music business,
eventually working at Universal Studios. Bill now lives in Nashville.
The original tape was filled with distortion and a raw feel to this tape
because the pre-amps on the mixing board were
not built for loud drums and amplifiers and The
Chosen Few played loud AND fast. But the vocals
are clear and out front. This CD is un-cut and
un-edited. It is an honor to be able to bring to
you this little gem of the history of an important
band that was part of such a vibrant and exciting
time of emerging music in the 1960’s........
We want to send out very special thanks of
appreciation to Stephen Barncard, Greg Welch,
Susan Peck MacDonald and Mrs. Peck for
their time, enthusiasm and contributions to this
production. Their help has truly enriched
this project.
Also thanks to Mr. Hagenah, Mr. and Mrs. Peck
and Mrs. Nichols for letting the band practice in
their basements, drink cokes and empty the ice
boxes of food. Also, thanks to Mrs. Bradley for
letting us trample her beautiful home in East
Wilmette on one fateful Saturday afternoon.
This CD is dedicated to the memory of
Tom Peck, Jeff Weinstein, Wayne Welch,
Leo Keating and Bill Bradley.
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All Lyrics and Music by Chet Nichols
All song copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP) and Magic Garage Music (ASCAP)
All Global Rights Reserved
Produced, arranged and recorded by Chet Nichols for Magic Garage Music (ASCAP) & Magic Garage Records
All Instrumentation & Vocal Performances by Chet Nichols
Cover and CD Design by Chet Nichols
CONTACT: MagicGarageMusic@protonmail.com
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NOTES ABOUT THIS ALBUM:
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Song Chartings, Awards & Acknowledgements:
1. "Ice Cream Man" - #1 Blues, #1 Chicago Blues, #1 Rural Blues
2. "If You See Kaye" - "Best Song Award at Broadjam, July, 2016", #1 Rock, #1 Rock Production, #1 Male Vocal, #1 Earth, North America, USA, Illinois
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SONG AND ALBUM REVIEWS:
Review for the song, "I Come From Chicago".
"I was just listening to your wonderful song, "I Come From Chicago" TERRIFIC BLUES tune!!
Is that you vocalizing on the composition?? Is that you playing that Killer guitar??
Is that you writing that incredible song?? If so...U is a genius...Ma Main Man!!!
Great feel and story line!! If there is a movie being made about the Blues..... .this would be perfect!!
Super Job Sir!!!
M & A Corey
Peace out...."
November 2022
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Contact Us: MagicGarageMusic@protonmail.com
Website Designed and Produced by Chet Nichols for Magic Garage Productions and Zero Axis Creative Labs.
All Rights Reserved.