The CD Reissue Wish List
Part 1: Excellent albums still not reissued legit on CD. These represent my top wants
Ablution - s/t (Sweden). 1974 CBS. Swedish based large scale jazz rock ensemble, with hot playing from all. Organ, guitar, multiple percussion, piano and, best of all, Bjorn J:Son Lindh freaking out on flute all over this! Has a “Lotus” era Santana vibe going.
Abraxis - s/t (Belgium) 1976 International Bestseller Company / IBC. Formed by members from the band Cos, this album is a cross between flute jazz, Canterbury inspired fusion and 70s funk. Somewhere between Chris Hinze, Cos, Cortex and Herbie Hancock is where you'll find the sound of Abraxis. Flute drives the melody and solo lines, but there's plenty of introspective piano sections as well. Which play nicely against some of the ferocious electric guitar. A nice discovery on the always surprising IBC label.
A.F.T. - Automatic Fine Tuning (England) 1976 Charisma. A personal favorite, though some folks have told me they think it's too jammy. 4 long instrumental tracks with twin guitar.
A.R. & Machines (Achim Reichel) - Echo (Germany) 1972 Polydor double LP.
A.R. & Machines (Achim Reichel) - 3 (Germany) 1973 Zebra (Reichel's label for Polydor)
A.R. & Machines (Achim Reichel) - IV (Germany) 1974 Zebra
A.R. & Machines (Achim Reichel) - Autovision (Germany) 1974 Zebra
A.R. & Machines (Achim Reichel) - Erholung (Germany) 1975 Brain. I don't think there's any question that Achim Reichel has the largest body of important work still not on CD. He began to use sound on sound guitar techniques with "Die Grune Reise" and continued that strain, with different formats, through to the "Erholung" album. From there he went back to a pop singer songwriter style. Reichel is a big star in Germany and he's maintained that he doesn't want these reissued for now. That's a pity. "Die Grune Reise" actually was reissued by Polydor at the dawn of the CD age in the mid 1980s and quickly fell out of print (and was finally reissued again on his own Tangram label in 2007 with the short film of the same name). Otherwise, the only hope of hearing these albums on CD is through a 2 disc compilation. Hardly satisfying. Many of these have been booted - more than once. With "Die Grune Reise" finally getting reissued at the end of 2007, we can only hope the others will get reissued soon as well! Also see the Frankie Dymon Jr entry in Part 2 for a related side project.
Airlord - Clockwork Revenge (New Zealand) 1977 Infiniti. Released in Australia, Airlord are one of the more original late 70s progressive bands. Taking a crazy bent on classic era Genesis.
Amos Key - First Key (Germany) 1973 Aamok. High energy classically based organ prog trio like Trace and ELP. Would expect Garden of Delights to ultimately reissue this.
Anna Sjalve Tredje - Tussilago Fanfara (Sweden) 1977 Silence. Post Algarnas Tradgard and Flasket Brinner. In the Tangerine Dream electronic genre, but with a distinct Swedish twist and some wonderful offbeat space jams. To date, Silence hasn't licensed any of their work out. In time, they put them on CD, but it's been a long time since they've tackled their back catalog. Maybe Mellotronen can talk them into a license or two!
Aquarelle - s/t (Canada) 1978 Atlantic
Aquarelle - Live a Montreux (Canada) 1979 Atlantic. My reviews here: Aquarelle This will probably get covered by ProgQuebec, as they've done a great job of documenting the Quebec scene.
Artcane - Odyssee (France) 1977 Philips. Wonderful major label Crimson styled prog - also some Shylock, Carpe Diem and Memoriance can be heard. Musea has tried to reissue this in the past, but Phonogram appears not interested. No one is going to get rich on this album, so might as well let the hobbyists have their fun!
Atila - Reviure (Spain) 1978 EMI Odeon. Fantastic symphonic space rock.
Aura - s/t (USA) 1971 Mercury. Definitely one of the best horn rock albums. The movement was quite large after Chicago and BS&T became chart toppers (not to mention that Aura were from Chicago as well). However most groups tried too hard for pop stardom, and failed miserably. Or they were blues rock groups that added horns in a feeble attempt to be trendy. But Aura just kicks butt from beginning to end. They never lost focus of the horn charts and they're constantly a feature, rather than a side show for some lame songwriting. In fact, Aura are BRASSY, more than any other album I've ever heard. Also some killer guitar solos ala Terry Kath to sink your teeth into. They aren't progressive in the sense of Brainchild or McLuhan - more like BS&T if they'd amped it up a bit and not been so schmaltzy. Not sure if there's a market for this long forgotten style, but if there is, Aura along with Gas Mask would have to be the first two to get notice for a CD reissue.
Autumn Breeze - Hostbris (Sweden) 1979 private. I probably shouldn't like this album as much as I do. It's very amateurish, but there's a magnetic charm about it. Comparable to the female vocal lead symphonic bands coming out of Germany during this time like Werwolf, Rebekka, Eden and Credemus. The Swedish language adds points too (I love the language in song).
Avalanche - Perseverance Kills Our Game (Netherlands) 1979 Starlet. Perhaps the best album to mix folk with intense krautrock jamming.
Baba Yaga - s/t (Germany) 1974 Phonola
Baba Yaga - Collage (Germany) 1974 Phonola
----my review of the first can be found here (and Mike's review of "Collage" is spot on):
Baba Yaga
The Beat of the Earth - s/t (USA). 1967 Radish. One of the most extraordinary early recordings you'll ever hear. Maybe the best aural document we have of the free wheeling Southern Californian culture of 1966 and 1967. This is one continuous track, broken up by the sides of the record. Non stop percussion, acoustic and electric guitar (a fuzzy surf sound), sitars, an ancient organ, and droning vocals. One of the most drugged out albums I've ever heard, except the bandleader (Phil Pearlman) was anti-drugs! Maybe if the Velvet Underground had more of that Californian sunshine, they'd sound like this. A bootleg exists.
Berits Halsband - s/t (Sweden). 1975 private. At the crossroads of Miles Davis circa "Dark Magus" and Kebnekaise with a good dose of Flasket Brinner. Breathtaking.
Toto Blanke - Spider's Dance (Germany) 1975 Vertigo. Blanke's version of the classic Mahavishnu Orchestra style. Great compositions and amazing guitar. For me, his best work, including the Electric Circus albums.
Wolfgang Bock - Cycles (Germany) 1980 Telefunken. Electronic music with real drums. If you love Klaus Schulze's "Moondawn", you will love this. One of the best in the electronic style.
M. L. Bongers Project - Pacific Prison (Germany) 1978 private. Funny that I'd recently run across the Sirius "Running to Paradise" album prior to hearing the M.L. Bongers Project album for the first time. My revisit of the Sirius album had demonstrated to me that the proliferation of classic early Genesis moves just hasn't aged as well as I'd prefer. M. L. Bongers Project is cut from the same cloth, but I'd found this album more welcoming. One reason for this is the decidely earlier era instrumentation. Not so much a distinction from 1982 to 1978, but rather more like 1973, as the M. L. Bongers Projects definitely sounds like a band from a different period. Such characteristics such as fuzz tone guitar, heavy doses of organ and predominant use of flute add to this perception. Perhaps even more enticing is that "Pacific Prison" gives off the impression that they're just as comfortable operating as a space rock band than as a "Foxtrot" wannabee. I'm not sure I've heard this combination of Hawkwind meets Genesis in the past, which justifies for me at least, consideration that this a tier 1 album. If there's an issue I have with "Pacific Prison", it would be the heavily accented English vocals, a common problem for German bands in those days.
Braen's Machine - Underground (Italy). 1971 Liuto.
Braen's Machine - Temi Ritmici e Dinamici (Italy). 1973 Liuto. "Underground" is simply an amazing find. Take one part instrumental film/library/expoito ala Blue Phantom, The Bigroup and Ugly Custard and complete that with atmospheres that rival the earliest Krautrock scene ala early Guru Guru. Absolutely phenomenal fuzz guitar throughout, with loads of studio effects. The sound on "Temi Ritmici e Dinamici" is a lot more hokey, with goofy electronics and ancient organ. There's also some nice flute passages, but the fuzz is gone here. Would make a good 2 fer 1 CD, as "Underground" is a must. These impossibly rare albums will set you back close to $1K, so a legit CD issue is definitely due.
Brainchild - Healing of the Lunatic Owl (England) 1970 A&M. Japanese CD reissue on A&M is ridiculously out of print. I decided to re-enter this title since it's one of of my favorite albums ever, and the CD is long OOP. Great mix of progressive rock and horn rock. Every track is a winner, and is maybe the single best album in the early Chicago style (even better than CTA themselves).
Brave New World - Impressions on Reading Aldous Huxley (Germany) 1972 Vertigo. Highly creative Krautrock outing unlike any other album.
Tim Buckley - Starsailor (USA) 1970 Elektra. CD defines the term "long out of print". Legendary jazz folk album that many more people than us want reissued. No doubt a legal mess is behind it.
Catastrophe - High Dynamic (France) 1981 private. Catastrophe's sole album reminds me a lot of Missus Beastly circa their brilliant 1974 album. Take away the flute and piano and add a hot guitarist plus a MONSTER Jannick Top like bassist! Frenzied and energetic. A corker.
Chico Magnetic Band - s/t (France) 1970 Vogue. There are a couple of items here that make this album special. One is the heavy handed use of studio trickery (phasing, radical dynamic shifts, backwards tape, etc…), a common trait found amongst early 70s French and German albums. Cynics say it’s to mask the incompetence of the players, but I prefer to believe that a high amount of creativity was applied, and maybe even expected, for the era. Even more important, though, is Chico himself. Chico is the vocalist, and it’s his ranting, raving, screeching, drooling, mumbling that makes this album so REAL. The listener witnesses a man on the edge – a true freakout captured on tape for all time. There are other albums where this can be found, and they’re all favorites of mine: Dawn on Brainticket’s “Cottonwood Hill”, John L. on Ash Ra Tempel’s “Schwingungen’, and Catherine Ribeiro on “No. 2” (really any of her early 70s works). The psychedelics that are applied both externally (music) and internally (individual) allow the artist to apply his or her most creative mind gymnastics. Sure, it’s pure madness, but it sends a chill down my spine especially when paired with raging wah wah guitar solos and a cacophony of tribal percussion. It’s funny today to watch bands try to recreate this same sound. When it’s just the music, they do a good, sometimes great job, but when they try the “I’m crazy, here me rant” - they’re faking it. It was a one time “of the era” event. Everything else is just a simulation, a make-believe-let’s-pretend-we’re-freaked-out-and-nuts. And it sounds artificial. Get the real deal and check out Chico Magnetic Band. Only boots exist unfortunately.
Children of One - s/t (USA) 1969 Real. Not really a rock album, but as psychedelic as any album I've come across. Meditative, Eastern influenced acoustic jazz with flute, female voice, sitar, hand percussion, cello, piano and other instruments. Otherworldly and deeply peaceful. Has THAT vibe that reeks of the real underground, a certain something that is found more frequently in the Krautrock genre (Dom's "Edge of Time" comes to mind in parts). A wonderful album that would certainly benefit from a masters tape CD reissue.
Chou Parot - Live (Scotland) 1979 Klub. About as close to early High Tide as you'll find. Heavy violin / guitar interplay. A real find.
Circus - s/t (Switzerland) 1976 private.
Circus - Movin' On (Switzerland) 1977 private. (CD on Decoder long OOP)
Circus - All-Stars Live (Switzerland) 1978 private.
Circus - Tearless Fearless and Evenless (Switzerland) 1980 Illuminatus. Reviews of the first 2 can be found here: Circus I reluctantly added "All Stars Live". It's been a long time since I heard it, but seemed it was more of a jam session than anything else. Last album was a nice comeback. Only "Movin' On" has been issued legit, and that was a loooong time ago and is forever OOP it seems. There was a rumor that Galileo might do these, but it may just be that - rumor.
Climax - Gusano Mecanico (Bolivia) 1974 private. An extraordinary recent discovery. Mostly instrumental over 6 long tracks with blazing guitar - played avant style ala Pinhas or Fripp at times. Best album I've heard from Bolivia outlasting the also excellent debut by Wara. LP reissue is out on World in Sound, so I suspect they will also cover the CD soon. Great Escher cover would be an excellent candidate for a Japanese mini-LP too!
Code III - Planet of Man (Germany) 1974 Delta Acoustic. Great space rock / electronic effort with Klaus Schulze behind the controls. When Sand's "Golem" was reissued, I held out hope this too would get covered, but apparently the Current 93 guys aren't as much into this scene. A couple of bootlegs exist.
Coley - Goodbye Brains (England) 1972 private. A very crazy, and creative, horn rock band with a strong jazzy progressive feel. Some great wah wah fuzz guitar and fuzz bass which plays well against the trumpet/flugelhorn and saxophone. Some weird narration and flute passages. Much more complex than your average horn rock band - in the McLuhan and Probe 10 higher echelon of the genre. There's a couple of missteps like the country rock song and the final narrative piece, but overall this one is a winner and would love to see on CD.
Coma - Financial Tycoon (Denmark) 1977 private.
Coma - Amoc (Denmark) 1980 private. "Financial Tycoon" is like a direct cross between two of Denmark's finest bands: Dr. Dopo Jam and Secret Oyster. From Dr. Dopo Jam they inherit the obvious Zappa influence, including humorous bits and complex composition style. From Secret Oyster they get the fusion tendencies and instrumental dexterity. Some splendid sax and ripping guitar solos really add spice to the album. I've heard some folks say "Financial Tycoon" is Canterbury influenced, but I can't say I do. Overall, a good one. Not surprisingly, "Amoc" from three years later is much more in the fuzak area, with plenty of soft sax and early digital synth action. All is not a total loss, as there's plenty of rough edged guitar moments and a couple of moodier electric piano driven pieces, with the highlight being the final title track. Easily 2 points lower than the debut. This title would be in "Part 2", but will leave here on the strength of "Financial Tycoon".
Cortex - Le Troupeau Bleu (France) 1975 Disque Esperance. A very fascinating jazz funk record. While not the most sophisticated album you'll ever hear, it absolutely kills with breezy melodies, tribal/funky drumming and the soft/seductive French female vocals. The title track is sublime. Sits somewhere between the Belgian Canterbury Zeuhl group Cos and the more creative efforts of the NYC disco act Chic. Nice driving bass and electric piano. There's a legit LP reissue, and I've seen reference to the CD, but have never actually seen one for sale. So it stays here until then. Second album, also recommended, is available on CD.
Cultural Noise - Aphorisms Insane (Austria) 1980 CBS. Similar to rock era Tangerine Dream ("Force Majeure" primarily). Not really like any other album - few used electronics like this in a typical rock setting.
Cybotron - s/t (Australia) 1976 Clear Light of Jupiter.
Steven Maxwell Von Braund - Monster Planet (Australia). 1975 Clear Light of Jupiter. Aztec has already done "Implosion" (and Inak did "Colossus" years ago), so I suspect these will come along eventually. Both albums have a strong penchant for the mid 70's Tangerine Dream style. The Von Braund album (he's the leader of Cybotron) even uses the same day-glo blue and yellow colors of the Cosmic Courier clan. All good stuff.
Dakila - s/t (Philippines) 1972 Epic. Surprised this didn't get a "gray area" reissue from Akarma (like Chango). Similar type effort - heavily influenced by first 3 albums Santana. I love stuff like this, and the more I can hear, the better.
Wolfgang Dauner - Rischkas Soul (Germany) 1972 Brain
Wolfgang Dauner + Et Cetera - Et Cetera (aka Lady Blue) (Germany) 1971 Global
Wolfgang Dauner + Et Cetera - Knirsch (Germany) 1972 MPS
Wolfgang Dauner + Et Cetera - Live (Germany) 1973 MPS A couple of the Dauner albums from this period have made it to CD, but the above remain elusive. His period of experimenting with out jazz and out rock. Highly successful too. "Et Cetera" and "Rischkas Soul" are the most Krautrock of the bunch.
Dear Mr. Time - Grandfather (England) 1970 Square. A really nice big budget sounding album on a relatively small label. Somewhere between Moody Blues and the Dawn/Neon stable of bands - Czar comes to mind as well. Boots exist.
Den Za Den - s/t (Montenegro) 1977 RTB. Montenegro's best group - a high energy fusion offering with nods to Camel and Fermata.
Dennis - Hyperthalamus (Germany) 1975 Nova. Another hidden Krautrock fusion album that recalls the best Release Music Orchestra or the "M" groups like Munju or Missus Beastly.
Franck Dervieux - Dimension M (Canada) 1971 Columbia. Pre-Contraction and actually a bit more traditionally progressive. I suspect that Prog Quebec will get to this one as well, it's just a matter of time.
Dionysos - Le Grande Jeu (Canada) 1971 Jupiter.
Dionysos - Le Prince Croule (Canada) 1972 Zodiaque. Along with Franck Dervieux, Dionysos' first two albums have to be considered Quebec's most pioneering progressive rock works. They mixed psych, electric blues rock and long track progressive compositions to create some wholly original music. In some cases they seem like a French Uriah Heep, but considerably more experimental. They were one of the first pop groups to sing in French. Their 3rd album, a self-titled release from 1976, is more straight ahead blues rock - and has been reissued on CD. One would suspect that ProgQuebec will do both of these fine albums.
Dragon - Universal Radio (New Zealand) 1974 Vertigo
Dragon - Scented Gardens for the Blind (New Zealand) 1976 Vertigo. One of the premier New Zealand symphonic rock acts. Very similar to other Australasia bands like Sebastian Hardie or Ragnarok. Also Ireland's Fruupp comes to mind as well. Hoping Aztec Records of Australia reaches over for these (3/19/08 update: Guess what? Aztec did just that! Reissue coming soon.).
Eider Stellaire - s/t (France) 1981 K001. A masterpiece in the Zeuhl style.
Eider Stellaire - s/t (France) 1986 K002. The second album is quite a departure and is far more atmospheric. It does have some stellar moments, but also some typical mid 80s thin fuzak that takes it down. Both albums fit comfortably on one CD and that's how it should be reissued I think. Many labels have tried in vain to get these reissued (especially Soleil Zeuhl), but Michel Le Bars has no interest unfortunately.
Eloiteron - Lost Paradise (Switzerland) 1981 private. Much better than average early 80s symphonic album. There were many of these type of private releases in Germany and Switzerland during this period and Eloiteron are one of the best. Trumpet adds a nice touch. Plenty of excellent organ, mellotron and flute as well. Boots exist.
Emergency Exit - Sortie de Secours (France) 1976 Pole. Another great underground album on the legendary Pole label. Maybe even a touch of fusion. No doubt Mio would've done this had they stayed around long enough.
Exil - Fusionen (Germany) 1975 FHZ. If you can imagine the 1975 era Embryo releasing "Embryo's Reise" from 1979, then I think you'd have a good idea of Exil's "Fusionen" release. Amongst the usual rock instrumentation there's lots of violin, electric piano and sax playing Eastern European and Asian influenced jazz rock. Aera's "Hand und Fuss" is another good reference as is an instrumental Emma Myldenberger circa "Tour de Trance". A very fine work.
Franco Falsini - Cold Nose (Italy) see Sensations Fix entry.
Fantasia - s/t (Finland) 1975 Hi-Hat. Fantasia are one of the better unknown symphonic progressive rock acts still without a CD. They have the instrumental dexterity of Finnforest, the songwriting talents of the Swedish band Atlas and even some atmospheres that remind me of, believe it or not, Anglagard.
The Feed-Back - s/t (aka Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza) (Italy) 1970 RCA Italiana. Famous filmscorer Ennio Morricone's jazz / rock / avant garde band. This 1970 album is pretty wiggy for the time and place, and certainly only obtained a major release due to the power of the Morricone brand. And we're all the better for it! In that way, it reminds me of those establishment French personas such as William Sheller (Popera Cosmic), Alain Gorageur and Jean Claude Vannier. You'd be hard pressed to find a more creative rock outing than The Feed-Back, even if you've heard it all on the Futura and Ohr labels. Barely cracks the 27 minute mark, but otherwise an essential album that is likely to appeal to the remains of your addled left brain. Sublime.
Fire - Could You Understand Me (Yugoslavia) 1973 private. Yugoslav group living in The Netherlands. This is one of the most guitar fuzz overload albums you'll ever hear. High energy hard blues rock, with great drumming/bass work and constant fuzz leads. Compares closest to Icecross, but this is more blues based and a bit heavier. Only misstep is a trad blues style number. Final 9 minute
instrumental `Flames' has to be heard to be believed. I feel comfortable going on record as saying this track has the most EVIL and MEAN sounding fuzz in the history of recorded music. Forget Archaia, this is the peak of that sound. God knows where they got those effects, but I wish more bands would use them! If you don't know what evil and mean fuzz is, get a hold of this album. Boots exist unfortunately.
Fireballet - Night on Bald Mountain (USA) 1975 Passport. File along with Ethos as a band many folks want to see a reissue of, beyond the usual collector community. And there's been talk of it for years, even various band members have popped up in chat boards to discuss it. But it's tied up legally somewhere along the chain. One of the best US prog bands to appear on a somewhat major label. (6/13/08 note: Both Fireballet albums are slated to be reissued in 2009! See News section for more detail)
First Aid (aka First + Aid) - Nostradamus (England) 1977 Decca.
Flame Dream - Calatea (Switzerland) 1978 Philips.
Flame Dream - Elements (Switzerland) 1980 Vertigo.
Flame Dream - Out In the Dark (Switzerland) 1981 Vertigo. One of the more known groups on this list, Switzerland's Flame Dream managed to get their albums distributed pretty well around the world. One of the last of the major label progressive bands, debut "Calatea" and "Elements" are both very strong symphonic efforts, both with complex melodies and arrangements. "Out In the Dark" begins to creep slowly into the AOR world, but is still nice enough to consider for reissue. After this, they headed pretty fast into pop irrelevance. Though I'm sure those albums have their fans too.
Flasket Brinner - s/t (Sweden) 1971 Silence. We can hope that Silence will finally get around to this. In the meantime, be sure to get Mellotronen's 4 CD box set which is sublime.
Flying Island - s/t (USA) 1975 Vanguard.
Flying Island - Another Kind of Space (USA) 1976 Vanguard. Superb violin lead fusion albums that somehow missed Comet's Vanguard reissue series.
Fondation - Sans Etiquette (France) 1978 private (only released as a cassette). Fondation are a duo. One side contains long, dark electronic soundscapes (primarily droning organ), with haunting female voice. The other side is more rhythmic with some fine guitar.
Friends - s/t (USA) 1973 Oblivion. Great underground freaky fusion that sounds like a cross between Xhol Caravan and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Features John Abercrombie on guitar. More thoughts here .
Galliard - Strange Pleasure (England) 1969 Deram Nova.
Galliard - New Dawn (England) 1970 Deram. Super horn rock band that was once known as the British Blood Sweat and Tears, though from my perspective, Galliard were more thoughtful in the same way that Brainchild were. Chicago Transit Authority and some of the late 60s UK progressive scene, like Jethro Tull for example, seem to also weigh in. "New Dawn" features a lengthy sitar driven rock raga as well. I haven't heard "Strange Pleasure" yet, but will get to it shortly. Looks like these albums have been booted many times. Hopefully Esoteric will take this one on as well, now that they've done Heaven's "Brass Rock I".
Gas Mask - Their First Album (USA) 1970 Tonsil. The producer
should get everyone's attention: Teo Macero (Miles Davis). As will the trumpet player for some: Enrico Rava. Big names for a completely unknown album. There are some monster tracks on here like 'The I Ching Thing' (a flute driven instrumental masterpiece) and 'Immigration Song' (another incredible instrumental with organ, trumpet, guitar, sax). A must for those who like horn rock, not quite up to the level or as progressive as Brainchild or the first Chicago, but better than most in the genre.
Goliath - s/t (England) 1972 CBS. In the jazzy proto-prog area, with plenty
of great flute, and sassy female vocals. One band that rarely gets mentioned as a comparison,but did come to mind here is Fusion Orchestra. More gritty and less progressive perhaps, but does paint a pretty accurate picture. I also
hear some melody/composition lines that recalled the great Diabolus
album. Affinity is probably the most obvious comparison and when they
really get into jazz mode, Catapilla came to mind.
The Grodeck Whipperjenny - s/t (USA) 1970 People. On James Brown label, and recorded by some of his backup musicians, this is some killer fuzz funk mixed with a proto European prog take on the Jefferson Airplane! Somewhere between Stark Reality and Sandrose. Excellent album! There does exist a bootleg.
Group 1850 - Live (Netherlands) 1973 Orange (1969 concert).
Group 1850 - Polyandri (Netherlands) 1974 Rubber.
Group 1850 - Live on Tour (Netherlands) 1976 Rubber (1973 concert). "Polyandri" is primarily an instrumental album and features an array of sounds from complex prog rock compositions to simple bluesy workouts onto trippy psych organ based excursions similar to their first 2 LP's. Sounds more like a 1970 album rather than 1974. The 2 live albums are very much in the spirit of their studio releases, and feature a lot of original interpretations, making them essential. All of these have been booted.
Guns & Butter - s/t (USA) 1970 Cotillion.
Guruh Gipsy - s/t (Indonesia) 1975 private. Incredible 1975 album with strong Yes overtones combined with the local Gamelan musical tradition. Formed by one of the sons of the royal family! This just came out on LP by Shadoks (first time released on LP - I think this was a cassette only release initially). Would expect a CD to also be issued by them in the next couple of years.
Gutura - Des Etres Au Cerveau Apparent (France) 1980 Sterne. Anguished music with Heldon like distorted lead guitar and a chanting manic female voice. Very French. Closest band I can think of that sounds like this is Noa.
Norman Haines Band - Den of Iniquity (England) 1971 EMI Parlophone. Post Locomotive British rock, from this accomplished keys player. Stylistically very diverse, and it takes awhile to get its sea legs. Enter the 10 minute jam, that truly catches a groove and allows for some splendid guitar soloing over the tranced organ-led rhythms. From here, the band seems more at ease, and the songwriting improves greatly, even if more towards an overt commercial direction. I was reminded of Dave Lawson's work with Web ("I Spider") and Samurai in particular. Not lost is the longish electronic oriented piece with fuzz organ and electric piano. This takes a couple of spins to comprehend, but is post British psych at its best. File next to your Nicholas Greenwood "Cold Cuts" album. Seems an obvious candidate for Esoteric, who has already reissued Locomotive, Web and Samurai. Multiple boots exist.
Chris Hinze Combination - Stoned Flute (Netherlands) 1970 Columbia.
Chris Hinze Combination - Live at Montreux (Netherlands) 1971 Columbia.
Chris Hinze Combination - Mission Suite (Netherlands) 1973 MPS/BASF. Dutch flautist Chris Hinze was far more than just your usual jazz flute player. Especially on "Mission Suite" where he combines jazz and progressive rock very effectively. "Stoned Flute" and "Live at Montreux" are more steeped in the jazz tradition, but aren't standard by any means. I have two others by Hinze from this period, and they're in Part 3 below. Interesting to note that his other work from this period, 1972's "Virgin Sacrifice", has been reissued on CD. I'm sure it earned a CD imprint (on his own label if I remember right, I have it here somewhere) since it foreshadowed his future work as a new age artist. It's very different from his other albums during the early 70s.
George Hirota - Sahasurara (Japan) 1976 King. Fascinating fusion / progressive rock hybrid with indigenous tribal Japanese elements. Lots of flute, chanting vocals, fuzz guitar and a variety of percussion. Very unique album. Definitely in need of a CD reissue. Hirota isn't exactly an unknown (Joji Hirota is what he went by after this), and King Records is still a very active label. Not sure why this one is still sitting in the vaults. And it's a total unknown. Took me nearly 12 years to finally hear it! (and I still need a copy for myself)
Holy Angels - Metaphysics Meditation (Japan) 1994 Prescription Drug (released in 1998). It seems that the English based Prescription Drug label's goal was to be this generation's Kosmische Kouriers. If that's the case, then not only have they met that goal but exceeded. Another winner for the label from these (I suspect) Japanese females. Related to Angels in Heavy Syrup?
Hydravion - s/t (France) 1977 Cobra.
Hydravion - Stratos Airlines (France) 1979 Carrere.
Ibis - s/t (Sweden) 1974 Grammofonverket - Europa Film. Loads of ring
modulator electric piano similar to The Fourth Way or Love Cry Want
and fantastic guitar leads with the occasional Swedish melody. Berits
Halsband is another reference though they don't go for the deep
trance like BH does. A couple of trips to the weeds is the only thing
keeping this from a total monster. Highly recommended.
Ibliss - Supernova (Germany) 1972 Aamok. 4 long tracks of sax and flute lead instrumental jams with some good guitar as well (and a lot of percussion). Not typical of the Krautrock genre, other than a penchant to jam - which take on a trance like structure. More based in jazz than rock, and probably would've been a good fit on a label like MPS. Incredible psychedelic cover would make a great mini-LP candidate. Mentioned on the GoD website as a possible future release.
Id - Where Are We Going? (USA) 1976 Aura. I had forgotten about this title, as I have a CD - except it's not a legit release. Typical the-world-is-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket kind of album - but with loads of mellotron and massively loud acid guitar amongst 4 very long tracks. So it can't be all that bad guys...
Igra Staklenih Perli - s/t (Serbia) 1979 RTB. The Serbian version of 1969 Pink Floyd, only even more trippy! Legit LPs exist of some archival material, but the first 2 remain unissued legit (2/11/08 note: Looks like this and Vrt Svetlosti are on one CD from RTS of Serbia. 6/7/08 note: Still have not seen these myself)
Igra Staklenih Perli - Svet Vrtlosti (Serbia) 1980 RTB.
Igra Staklenih Perli - Soft Explosion Live (Serbia) 1978 / 1993 Kalemegdan.
Igra Staklenih Perli - Inner Flow (Serbia) 1978 / 1993 Kalemegdan.
Igra Staklenih Perli - Drives (Serbia) 1977 / 1994 Kalemegdan. ISP is all about late 60s Pink Floyd. "Vrt Svetlosti" is a more compact affair, though it's still very psychedelic, especially for an album from 1980 (despite the cultural isolation). The other 3 albums are brilliant archives discovered by the German label Kalemegdan. All pre-date their album material. The live album is similar to the debut, whereas the other two feature almost entirely unreleased material. "Drives" is their most freaked out album. These archives were all reissued on LP with excellent sound and covers. Just waiting to be licensed by an enterprising CD label I presume. The Brazilian label Rock Symphony did that with the Tako's, so it's certainly possible.
Jessica - s/t (Germany) 1975 private. Piano driven symphonic rock. One of the few German bands to have an almost Italian sound in places, like Festa Mobile for example. Has a jazzy lounge feel to it with plenty of piano and toned down electric guitar. Also features quite a bit of acoustic guitar. Generally derided for its classical bent, though I would say that sound is represented in small doses here.
George Jinda - Wheel Of Love (France) 1976 Motors. George Jinda is actually
Hungarian, born and raised in Budapest, and (the curtain closes) by
the 1980's he's in the US according to all the bio's I could find.
Probably en route, he found himself in France. And "Wheel of Love"
certainly sounds French! Especially in the bass playing (courtesy of Didier Batard). Some Heldon sequencer/guitar moves, some
flute and sax jazz rock, even some funk. All instrumental and a great
album – lots of ideas and sounds. Features all the members of Speed Limit, who he was also a member of.
Jox - Joxifications (France) 1982 FLVM. A super find from the always surprising FLVM label. Starts off heavily in the French folky bag recalling Troisieme Rive's "Banlieues" or Manu Lannhuel, but after about 5 minutes, the mood changes and the music moves into a primarily instrumental direction. In the end, you come away feeling like you've just heard a French Gryphon circa "Red Queen to Gryphon Three". Just replace the bassoon with an oboe. Other than the last, and short, 3 minute instrumental, the album does not use drums (a primitive drum machine was applied on the last track, for no purpose it seems). The music is driven by piano, acoustic guitar, Moog and best of all, a very rocking bass, that keep the music driving forward. In this way, I'm reminded of Circus' amazing "Movin On'" album. Great, and memorable melodies, also define this album. Musea should dip back into the reissue market with this gem.
Katamaran - s/t (Germany) 1977 Plane Jazz.
Katamaran - Cafe Florian (Germany) 1978 Plane Jazz.
Katamaran - Footprints (Germany) 1980 Plane Jazz. The endless German jazz fusion era of the late 70s and early 80s strikes once again with Katamaran. The debut is more in line with the then current scene (Moira, Kraan, etc..) with hot playing, memorable melodies and tight unison runs. Their 3rd and final album branched into more hardcore jazz (acoustic piano, sax solos, loose structures), while still maintaining a preferable fusion edge. Final track is a sombre flute, acoustic bass, piano and drums piece. "Cafe Florian", the middle album, is the one I heard last. It's more introspective than the RTF flavored debut and the heavy jazz of "Footprints". Stronger flute work here than on the others, and the atmospheres are heavy. All three are different, but essential.
Kebnekaise - Elefanten (Sweden) 1977 Silence.
Kontrast - s/t (Germany) 1982 private. Post Out of Focus group and one of the best Krautrock albums from the 1980s. Ultima Thule has announced its intention to reissue. That was a long time ago, and I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever see it, at least from UT.
Organisation - Tone Float (Germany) 1970 RCA.
Kraftwerk - s/t (Germany) 1971 Philips.
Kraftwerk - II (Germany) 1972 Philips.
Kraftwerk - Ralf and Florian (Germany) 1973 Philips. Other than maybe Tim Buckley, this has to be the most recognized name on this list. The first Kraftwerk and the Organisation album are practically the invention of the term Krautrock as we know it. "II" and "Ralf & Florian" begin down the metronomic man-machine path that made Kraftwerk so famous. These are the experimental albums before they hit the big time. These guys are too powerful to let record execs bully them, so it appears it is they alone who do not want anyone to get their paws on them. Which is why all of these have thrived in the bootleg market. That's a shame.
Kvartetten Som Sprängde - Kattvalls (Sweden) 1973 Gump. A great album for all of us who like the fusion phase of Santana. Wonderful organ and sustain fuzz with a latin jazz feel. Great stuff. boots exist.
L.S. Bearforce - s/t (Germany) 1983 private. As anachronistic as they come. 1983 was the last year anyone would expect a free form freakout guitar jam album, like early Guru Guru and early Ash Ra Tempel. But Lotus Schmidt (the L.S. reference) was a huge fan of albums like "UFO" and "Hinten" and convinced the Guru Guru guys to go in with him on the album.
Pascal Languirand - Minos (Canada) 1978 Kebec.
Pascal Languirand - De Harmonia Universalia (Canada) 1980 Minos.
Pascal Languirand - Vivre Ici Maintenant (Canada) 1981 Minos. Pascal Languirand is sort of the Richard Pinhas of Quebec. A one man show of dark electronics (primarily Moog) and searing electric guitar. He's a bit more cosmic than Heldon, which calls to mind Klaus Schulze. And he often uses wordless voice that reminds me of Franco Falsini. On "Minos" there's also a trippy folk number with French vocals that I find highly appealing in this setting. "De Harmonia Universalia" is quite similar, a bit less foreboding and more cosmic than its predecessor, with no dropoff in overall quality. The trio is completed by "Vivre Ici Maintenant", and again, perhaps surprisingly, there is no noticeable dropoff in the quality. Here, Languirand takes us a bit further East while adding some acoustic percussive elements. Album could be considered an anachronism considering the late date. There is a compilation disc that features some of the music above, but would be nice to see the albums come out in full.
Laura - s/t (France) 1980 private.
Lethe - s/t (Netherlands) 1982 private. post Mirror album.
Light - The Story of Moses (Netherlands) 1972 Barclay (also released on the green Brain label)
Yves et Alain Lorentz - Espaces 2 (France) 1978 private.
Lost Nation - Paradise Lost (USA) 1970 Rare Earth.
Ma Banlieue Flasque - s/t (France) 1979 Celluloid.
Maajun - Vivre La Mort Du Vieux Monde (France) 1971 Vogue. Outstanding early French underground masterpiece. Review here
Duncan Mackay - Chimera (South Africa) 1973 Vertigo.
Mad Curry - s/t (Belgium) 1971 Pirate. A superb album with female vocals that is distinctly European and of that period. Earth and Fire, Sandrose, Julian's Treatment, Fusion Orchestra and Circus 2000 are all good reference points. Fellow Belgians Shampoo as well. Amazing multi fold-out cover is screaming for a Japanese mini-LP reissue.
Michel Madore - Le Komuso a Cordes (Canada) 1976 Barclay.
Michel Madore - La Chambre Nuptial (Canada) 1979 Egg. I'm not as keen on the second album (a mite slow and with a pile of cheesy polyphonic Moogs), but will leave here anyway.
Magdalena - Lanean Sartzen (Spain-Basque) 1981 Iz.
Mahagon - s/t (Czech Republic) 1977 Supraphon.
Alain Markusfeld - Le Monde en Etages (France) 1970 EMI.
Alain Markusfeld - Le Son Tombe Du Ciel (France) 1971 EMI.
Alain Markusfeld - Le Desert Noir (France) 1976 Egg.
Alain Markusfeld - Platock (France) 1977 Egg. "Le Monde en Etages" is a great psych, proto prog type album. Has some of those unique French touches that penetrate most albums from there (vocal styles, weird changes, experimental bits). Not to mention some sublime Hendrix styled guitar. Excellent. "Le Son Tombee Du Ciel" continues in this vein, but even more exploratory and has to be considered an improvement on the first. After 5 years of silence, Markusfeld reinvented his career as primarily a fusion guitarist, but with far more melodicism than that might imply, which I consider a plus. His last couple of albums (not listed) were a bit more fuzak oriented.
McLuhan - Anomaly (USA) 1971 Brunswick (also released on German Bellaphon). A very British sounding, quirky progressive horn rock album by this unknown US group. Fuzz guitar, organ, menacing bass, wailing sax, some narration with twisted lyrics, flute, horn charts ala early Chicago. The soft vocal style and composition structure calls to mind Uriah Heep's "Salisbury" side long piece. Brainchild and Heaven are other good references, without the pop aspirations.
Only missteps are a short ragtime bit and a funk soul sequence that
is off track. One of the band members has contacted me and is looking to hook up with other former members for a possible reissue. So if you were in McLuhan, let me know!
Lloyd McNeill Quartet - Asha (USA) 1969 Asha Record Company.
Lloyd McNeill Quartet - Asha 2: Tanner Suite (USA) 1970 Asha Record Company.
Lloyd McNeill Quartet - Asha 3: Washington Suite (USA) 1970 Asha Record Company. "Asha" is a super jazz flute album, that is very spiritual and psychedelic. I can feel the 1969 Howard University vibe coming through. "Washington Suite", McNeill's third, continues in this path. His albums have a subdued intensity, an understated anger that never quite climax, and is mitigated by frequent displays of beautiful melodicism. I suspect that the McNeill albums will be big growers for me over time. I have "Tanner Suite" here as well, but haven't heard it yet. I should also mention that McNeill has 3 fine albums from 1976 to 1980 that are not on CD as well: Treasures (1976), Tori (1978) and Elegia (1980).
Memoriance - Et Apres (France) 1976 Europa.
Memoriance - L'Ecume Des Jours (France) 1979 Philips.
Metropolis - s/t (Germany) 1974 Pan.
Micah - I'm Only One Man (USA) 1971 Sterling Award. Head and shoulders above most of these hard rock / psych US private pressings from 1971. Long runs of guitar and organ solos, with a great vibe throughout. I love the way the Hammond is played in a choppy manner, as well as the wah wah guitar solos. Just nonstop kickass music, the way you want all of these type of albums to sound, but rarely do. I haven't even seen a bootleg of this album, it's really a rare one. Supposedly from New York, but who knows really? Anyone in the band still alive and care to contact me? I want to know more! Only bummer is that Side 2 is only 11 minutes long.
Miklagard - s/t (Sweden) 1979 private. Pretty much bread and butter keyboard trio prog rock, with nice leads (some fat analog, some thin cheesy), and the always pleasant sound of Swedish vocals. Really surprised this has yet to be reissued. Could see Transsubstans doing it or even Mellotronen.
Mirror - Daybreak (Netherlands) 1976 private. One of the true European rarities that I was fortunate to hear as early as 1992 or so, and then eventually traded my way into an LP copy a few years later. Sometimes it's hard to be objective about big ticket items such as this. On one hand there's a tendency to say it's great, just because it's rare as hens teeth (though the internet has mitigated this effect somewhat). Then, on the other hand, there's the temptation to state all of these rarities are just amateurish wannabees, and the only reason it's a rare private release is because they weren't good enough to sign to a major. Of course, as with most things, the truth is found on a case by case basis, and the generalities rarely apply. With Mirror, knowing full well my sympathies weigh heavily in favor of a positive outcome, and trying to be as objective as possible, I still feel it's a strong album based on merits alone. It certainly isn't a flashy release, and the compositions aren't going to win any Conservatory awards. But what they lack in academic pedigree, they make up for in naive sincerity. Mirror bring that intangible known as atmosphere, that certain something that special recordings possess. Make no mistake, "Daybreak" is seriously flawed, but that's part of its charm. Even in my most cynical musical moments, I find albums like this refreshing. A tier 1 album. Band evolved into Lethe, and even managed to improve on a similar methodology.
Missus Beastly - Dr. Aftershave and the Mixed Pickles (Germany) 1976 April.
Missus Beastly - Spaceguerilla (Germany) 1978 Schneeball.
Moira - Crazy Countdown (Germany) 1977 Schneeball.
Moira - s/t (aka Reise Nach Ixtlan) (Germany) 1984 private. Review of both here: Moira These would be great for a label like Garden of Delights or even Schneeball, which still exists, if they'd get around to reissuing some of their catalog on CD.
Morgen - s/t (USA) 1969 Probe. One of the more known items on this list. Morgen has been booted a few times, but never been treated to a masters tape reissue. Morgen filled his album to the brim with wild fuzz soloing everywhere - one of the most you'll ever hear on a major label release.
Mosaik - No.1 (Germany) 1977 private. Mosaik are yet one more fusion group from Germany. There were so many great bands from that era in Germany, and we’re just now learning about many of them. Kraan and Embryo were the knowns. If you really were into the scene, you may have learned about Missus Beastly, Moira and Munju, possibly even Aera. Through CD reissues, we then learn about bands like Morpheus, Frob and Skyline. And still we find out the surface is just being scratched. Ceddo, Nanu Urwerk, Sun, Syncrises, Surgery and many more keep bubbling up. For my ears, Mosaik is in the top tier of these groups. The guitar work is superb (like Frob) and there’s some really nice melodic sax playing throughout. They’re clearly informed by bands like Soft Machine and Passport, but add their own ingredients. Another group that hopefully Garden of Delights or Long Hair gets to in the near future.
Mother Yod - s/t (England) 1997 Prescription Drug. The first album from the one time experiment/series known as the Prescription Drug label. This one at least gives hints to its 1997 date, with a decidedly post-rock sound mixed with the
overt 70's Krautrock underground aesthetic that all of them possess.
Only duffer track is a short vocal folk piece, which sounds too much
like the duffer vocal folk pieces on REAL Krautrock albums ;-) Heavy
use of analog instruments per recipe, with emphasis on processed keys
and fuzz bass. Electronic percussion sounds more modern, though I
think they're going for the Klaus Schulze 1973 variety of that sound. Neat use of choral voice (not mellotron).
Michel Moulinie - Chrysalide (France) 1977 Crypto.
Munju - High Speed Kindergarten (Germany) 1976 April.
Munju - Moon You (Germany) 1977 Schneeball
Munju - Brot + Spiele (Germany) 1979 Schneeball.
Munju - Le Perfectionniste (Germany) 1982 Exil. Munju's albums can be downloaded from their website. Apparently the tapes are lost. Munju . Concerning "High Speed Kindergarten", the bass work and acoustic in particular stands out. Some nice sax/flute melody work as well. I like their use of rhythm guitar too. (more details on the other releases as I revisit them).
Nanu Urwerk - Irgendwo... Nicht Weit von Hier (Germany) 1978 Tonstudio Biber. Highly creative fusion effort from unknown German band. Flute, trombone and electric piano are the primary instruments with a few nice guitar licks thrown in for good measure. There's also some interesting voices in German. It's hard to pin the tail on the donkey with this one, so easy reference calling is a tough challenge. Certainly an encyclopedic knowledge of the German fusion scene from 1976-1984 helps, and you may want to yell out "Mosaik" or "Surgery" to a puzzled audience. Zappa and Canterbury get cameos as well. Nevertheless, it's an album that needs repeated listenings to fully appreciate, the perfect justification for a much needed reissue.
Nattura - Magic Key (Iceland) 1972 private. Another great album in the Sandrose, Mad Curry, Earth & Fire tradition, with female vocals, lush keyboards and soaring leads. There are boots out there.
Nimbus - Obus (Finland) 1974 Satsunga. More of a hard rock album with a lot of organ out up front. Dig the Finnish vocals, and there's some tie in musically with the first album by Trettioariga Kriget.
Nuance - Il est une Legende (France) 1982 FLVM.
Ocarinah - Premiere Vision de L'Etrange (France) 1978 private. Imagine the first two Clearlight albums as strictly a keyboard trio, with a strong dash of Canterbury ala Egg. One of my favorites. Boots exist.
October - s/t (USA) 1979 private.
October - After the Fall (USA) 1980 private.
Odyssee - White Swan (Germany) 1978 MPA. Way above average German symphonic progressive album. This one has a lot more meat on its bones than most of the somnambulant snoozers coming from there during this time. For one thing, the tempo is faster and they mix in some time changes, to help keep it interesting throughout. Full fledged band sound with a thick production. The thematic sections are well developed, and a melody or two can actually be committed to memory. There's a definite Genesis influence, but not as much as Neuschwanstein, Ivory and Sirius. There's even a little funky business in the bass lines. A good album. As far as I know, this is not related to the Odyssee I have listed in Part 2.
Ohr Musik - s/t (England) 1997 Prescription Drug. Some of the best retro Krautrock ever made. Second album "Friction Burns" is even better, and that's a CD only release (be sure to get!). It's doubtful the 99 copy only LP issues of the Prescription Drug series will ever see the light of day, as the master tapes were purposely destroyed (supposedly). But it's still possible to take from a clean LP and add bonus tracks, etc.. Will be interesting to see.
Oniris - L'Homme Voilier (France) 1979 Barclay. One of those albums that
received a Japanese LP reissue in the early 1980s and has yet to see a CD reissue. Strong ties to Ange, Mona Lisa, Grime, Synopsis, Trefle etc… this is the dramatic French vocal symphonic rock we all know and love. The kind of album you could count on Musea to have reissued in the early 1990s. Not sure why they didn't.
The Oroonies - Of Hoof and Horn (England) 1990 Demi Monde. A fascinating experiment by the Ozric Tentacles guys. Pretty much a dark, mystical folk album with a space rock edge. Too bad they didn't do more of this. Despite the late date, it never did get a CD issue.
Ose - Adonia (France) 1978 Egg. Electronic progressive album with Richard Pinhas guesting on guitar, though not as dark as Heldon. A fine album that has so far escaped reissue. A good one for Soleil Zeuhl or Captain Trip.
Het Pandorra Ensemble - III (Netherlands) 1977 private.
Panta Rei - s/t (Sweden) 1973 Harvest. boots exist.
Pantha - s/t aka Dowaydo Dowaydo (Australia) 1975 Wizard.
Ping Pong - About Time (Italy) 1969 Emiliana.
Pinguin - Der Grosse Rote Vogel (Germany) 1971 Zebra. Flute/electric sax/organ/guitar with complex rhythms and superb vocals in German define this still criminally unknown prog record. Even has one experimental Ohr style Krautrocker. File along with Ikarus, Prof Wolfff, Nosferatu and Murphy Blend. boots exist.
Placebo - Ball of Eyes (Belgium) 1971 CBS.
Placebo - s/t (Belgium) 1973 CBS.
Placebo - 1974 (Belgium) 1974 Harvest. Marc Moulin's three Placebo albums are the "Holy Grail" for the rare groove crowd, a sector of music fans who love that unique 70s style of cool. The beat and the mood of the sound are key. For an album from the 1971 jazz scene, "Ball of Eyes" is remarkably focused, without any experimentation or free jazz moments which were still in vogue during that time. Not edgy like same era Miles Davis, Wolfgang Dauner or even other rare Euro groovers like the Sunbirds. In fact when I first heard it, I was certain it was from 1975 or later. The horn charts are all very well done and they do catch that certain 70s spy groove. It's all a bit too laid back for me to get hugely excited over, but it's wide appeal is undeniable. The 1973 self-titled album continues in the same vein as "Ball of Eyes", though it's definitely more funky and head boppin' than the debut. And the real ear grabber is the superb Moog soloing by Moulin. Strangely, the album finishes in a completely different direction. The next to last track is more towards straight jazz and the closer has more in common with Electronik Musik, than anything one would associate with Placebo. I thought the sophomore effort surpassed the debut, and from what I could tell, many considered it their best. But my vote goes to the 3rd and last album titled "1974". Here the grooves go deeper, the solos more intense, and the ideas are, to a greater degree, unique. I had almost put Placebo in Part 1 on the strength of the self-titled album. With "1974", I must. In all, a two CD, three album comprehensive reissue would be ideal.
Plat du Jour - s/t (France) 1977 Speedball. Super album. Great throbbing bass, fuzz guitars, organ, sax, madcap vocals, deep grooves. And it's so VERY French in sound but with an almost Italian progressive approach to songwriting.
Polyphony - Without Introduction (USA) 1971 Eleventh Hour. Leads the league in bootlegs. One reason for this is apparently the owner of the tapes has disappeared. What a shame. Would love to see this reissued from tapes. Word out says there are some great tracks never issued as well. One of the best from the US.
Probe 10 - There is a Universe (USA) 1975 Blue Universe. Insanely good progressive psych horn rock.
Proyecto A - s/t (Spain) 1971 RCA.
Psynkopat - Har Vi Nagen Stil (Sweden) 1978 Mistlur.
Pughs Place & Others - Child in Time (Netherlands) 1972 private.
Quad - II (England) 1997 Acme Prescription Drug. Their debut LP album has been reissued, but it remains to be seen if any of the limited Drug series will ever see the light of day on CD. An Indian stringed instrument sets the tone (or drone) while tribal drums and acid guitar slowly float the listener away. Lots of mellotron and acoustic guitar. One of the most blissfully tranced Krautrock albums since Dom's "Edge of Time". See also Ohr Musik.
Quarteto 1111 - Onde, Quando, Como, Porquê Cantamos Pessoas Vivas (Portugal) 1975 EMI. I knew this was Jose Cid’s band before going solo, but I always thought they were a pop group with some progressive leanings. And maybe that’s true for their 1970 effort. But this opus would fit smack dab in the middle of the 1973 Italian prog movement. Mellotron galore, with dramatic vocals that would make a band like Delirium or QVL proud. And the melodies are sublime, a rare “certain sound” that is hard to write about, but no one creates music like this anymore. I first heard of this album from an article in an old Marquee from Japan, and someone translated it for me. All these years of searching for it, and it’s still impossible to get ahold of, despite being on a major label. Outstanding. (6/8/08 note: It appears this is out on CD legit! I'm still researching it.)
Quasar - Nebular Trajectory (Australia) 1979 private.
Quasar - Man Coda (Australia) 1980 private.
Ra Can Row - s/t (USA) 1982 private. Before there was the Ozric Tentacles, there was Ra Can Row, a Cincinnati based group who also liked the Hillage-era Gong space jam. An amazing album when it arrived, it's too bad they stopped with only this one album.
Radio Noisz Ensemble - Yniverse (Germany) 1983 private. Now that the Emma Myldenberger's have been reissued, I would expect Garden of Delights to tackle this one soon. Similar folk based genre, but even more in the progressive rock camp.
Ragnarok - s/t (New Zealand) 1975 Polydor. boots exist
Ragnarok - Nooks (New Zealand) 1976 Polydor. Japanese CD long OOP. With Aztec announcing the Dragon reissues, is it possible they'll tackle these two NZ gems as well?
Ragnarok - Fjarilar i Magen (Sweden) 1977 Silence.
Ragnarok - Fata Morgana (Sweden) 1978 Silence. Silence did manage to reissue their debut years ago, but stopped before getting to these two acclaimed classics. boots exist.
Recreation - Don't Open (Belgium) 1971 Bellaphon.
Recreation - Music or Not Music (Belgium) 1972 Bellaphon. The debut by this Belgian trio is a kick – somewhere between the avant space psych of Group 1850, the rigid metronomics of Egg and exploito organ-led covers of classic psych tracks. Great fuzz bass and go-go organ sounds throughout. For “Music or Not Music”, the music takes a decidedly creative turn while adding guitar to the mix. An all-over-the-map type release, totaling 15 tracks, that reminds me some of Aphrodite’s Child’s “666” album, minus the pop songs. The quirkiness and overall demeanor recall some of the earlier work by Supersister. Like the debut, this is entirely instrumental. Both of these would be great to see on CD (there does exist a bootleg). Pseudonym would have done this a few years ago - would love to see a label like Musea tackle it!
Red - s/t (England) 1983 Jigsaw. This was released amongst all the other New Wave of British Progressive Rock albums (now known as Neo Prog). But Red were nothing like IQ, Twelfth Night, Marillion, Haze, etc... nor were they like mid period King Crimson ala their name. Nope, this is a very strong fusion oriented album, with some early 80s keyboard sounds. What separates this album from the pack is the ferocious guitar playing, and the outstanding melodies. I bought this when it came out, and it's still one of my favorites.
Release Music Orchestra - Life (Germany) 1974 Brain.
Release Music Orchestra - Garuda (Germany) 1975 Brain.
Release Music Orchestra - Get the Ball (Germany) 1976 Brain.
Resan - s/t (Sweden) 1973 Epic. A very unusual album indeed, this Resan is. Starts out in a similar terrain to the The Beatles "White Album", before drifting off into a folky flute number ala Träd, Gräs och Stenar. But then the real party starts, with the remainder containing long, energetic, acid guitar driven numbers, some freaky percussion bits, dreamy cosmic pieces and an overall general sense of the psychedelic. Would've been a perfect fit for the Silence label. I could see where this album wouldn't be well received by many, given its eclectic nature, but I found most of it highly appealing. I could see this being an excellent reissue for Transubstans or Mellotronen.
Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis - s/t (France) 1969 Philips. Sublime debut album.
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - No. 2 (France) 1970 Festival. Second album by gorgeous model who is completely anguished in this amazing set of tunes that has as much in common with Ash Ra Tempel as it does with something that could have been on the Futura label. Surprising no one has put this one out yet.
Claudio Rocchi - Essenza (Italy) 1973 Ariston. Some of the Rocchi albums are out on CD, but this, his best IMO, is still elusive. On "Essenza", the first track has phased voices, tablas, droning synthesizers (similar to Battiato's early work) and a little child's voice reciting something in Italian. This reminds me of Picchio dal Pozzo on their debut and sends chills down my spine.
Other tracks have flute, sax, organ, piano and quite a bit of
acoustic guitar strumming. Rocchi sings in a very unique way, though
not that dissimilar from others of his ilk in the 1970's Italian
scene. In fact, parts of this remind me of Sergius Golowin's album
with an obvious stoned vibe (the phasing has a lot to do with this
perception).
Rodan - s/t (USA) 1974 Pandora. Super horn rock album, that absolutely kills on most of the 12 short tracks. There are a couple of bluesy moves and at least one James Brown styled funker, but mostly this just rips from start to finish. The kind of album you wish all horn rockers were. Smoking guitar and great brass charts. The rhythm section never stops. California based group was actually known as MAX, and toured extensively with groups like Malo and Tower of Power. One of the band members has started his own label called Digital Cellars, and there's a real chance this obscurity will be reissued in 2008. Album sports a fantastic drawing on the cover.
Saga - s/t (Sweden) 1974 Harvest. Post November guitar based hard rock. Great fuzzed blues guitar played over jazz, hard rock, folk and progressive styled tunes. Similar in sound to many 70s Swedish groups, though this is a bit more expressive in places. Mellotronen has announced its intention to reissue this.
Satin Whale - Desert Places (Germany) 1974 Brain. Now that Kollektiv is out on Long Hair, that leaves Satin Whale's debut as the last GREAT Brain album not yet reissued legit on CD (there's a boot from the 90s). The band's other (and lesser) catalog is out, but this heavy organ / guitar interplay albums remains elusive. Maybe Long Hair will do this one as well? Or SPV?
Scapa Flow - Uuteen Aikaan (Finland) 1980 Kompass.
Gunther Schickert - Samtvogel (Germany) 1974 private (1975 Brain).
Scope - s/t (Netherlands) 1974 Atlantic.
Scope - II (Netherlands) 1975 Atlantic. Exactly the type of instrumental progressive rock I like. Has a slight jazz edge, and rocks hard. File along with Finch and Secret Oyster.
Sensations Fix - s/t (Italy) 1974 Polydor.
Sensations Fix - Portable Madness. 1975 Polydor.
Franco Falsini - Cold Nose (Italy) 1975 Polydor.
Sensations Fix - Finest Finger (Italy) 1976 Polydor.
Sensations Fix - Boxes Paradise (Italy) 1977 Polydor. How can it be that while most of the Italian progressive scene has been reissued, that most of the Sensations Fix catalog has been ignored? Legal reasons I'm sure. One of the best space rock bands ever and "Portable Madness" is their peak. Along with Achim Reichel, Franco Falsini and troupe are probably the band that is the most requested for a reissue. Mellow was successful in getting out their "Fragments of Light" album, before Phonogram put the kabash on licensing. Until very recently, I didn't even know that Sensations Fix had a self-titled debut album. Apparently it was only a promo and not sold through stores (even though it does sport a unique cover). It's a little more underproduced than the others, but unmistakably has the Sensations Fix space rock sound. Much of the material represents earlier versions of songs that would show up later on "Fragments of Light". I feel there's a distinct downward turn on "Boxes Paradise" and that's as far as I'll go for a reissue. One of my favorite bands from the 1970s. I just hope someone will get these out legit (03/19/08 update: We have word that BTF is working on it!).
Sepi Kuu - Rannan Usvassa (Finland) 1980 Help. An amazing find... intense droning Finnish vocals and searing fuzz guitars with hand percussion. Sounds like the more serious tracks on the Walter Wegmuller "Tarot" album.
Session - Unikuva (Finland) 1974 EMI/Odeon. A strong progressive rock album with loud guitar solos, organ, electric piano, horns and most significant, a fiercely driving bass. In fact the bass playing reminds me quite a bit of Trettioariga Kriget's first album. The occasional happy chorus lines call to mind Haikara circa "Geafar" mixed with a quaint late 60s psychedelic style. Lots of cool vocals in Finnish. And there's more than a nod to Wigwam from their "Fairyport" days. For a major label effort, this has to be considered one of the most obscure. I spent time with some big time Finnish collectors about 15 years ago and pretty much heard every progressive album from the country (I can say that with some authority now that so much time has passed). The Scapa Flow and Sepi Kuu above are but two examples of that experience. Except no one mentioned this title and I have to wonder if they even knew of it then (I'm sure they do now!). Would make a great CD, so more than 10 of us can say we heard this record.
Shampoo - Volume 1 (Belgium) 1971 Motors. boots exist.
Silberbart - 4 Times Sound Razing (Germany) 1971 Philips. 4 long freaked out blues psych tracks similar to early Guru Guru. Not many folks talk this one up, but it's a real winner, and blows away albums like Hairy Chapter, Haze, Light of Darkness, Dies Irae, etc.... Bootlegs exist.
Lourivale Silvestre - Fiction Musicale (France) 1976 Disjuncta.
Sloche - J'Un Oeil (Canada) 1975 RCA.
Sloche - Stadacone (Canada) 1976 RCA. ProgQuebec is still working on getting these much requested classics reissued.
Soffgruppen - Greatest Sits (aka Soffgruppen) (Sweden) 1975 Nacksving. Splendid emotional heavy jazz rock album with trumpet, electric piano, organ and fuzz guitar highlighting the accent instruments. Somewhere between Ibis (Sweden), Berits Halsband and the French school of 1970s underground rock.
Solar Plexus - s/t (Sweden) 1972 Odeon. 2 LPs of groovy jazz psych. Organ, electric piano (with lots of effects applied), guitar, bass, active drumming. Primarily instrumental, though a few Swedish vocals that add a joyful disposition to the mix. Includes a side long suite for classical orchestra and jazz rock. There are many examples of this pairing in the progressive rock space, but not so much in the lava lamp jazz zone. It's hard to maintain quality for four sides, but Solar Plexus, on the debut at least, doesn't let up.
David Stoughton - Transformer (USA) 1968 Elektra. Way ahead of its time experimental psychedelic album. As adventurous as they come for such an early date, I was reminded of groups such as the United States of America, Friendsound, Music Emporium, Fifty Foot Hose and The Beat of the Earth. Female vocals, trumpet, guitar, sound collages, and much more. Pure genius.
Sunbirds - s/t (Germany) 1971 BASF.
Sunbirds - Zagara (Germany) 1972 Polydor. Both are great albums that sound like a cross between Wolfgang Dauner and Chris Hinze, played for the Brain label! Garden of Delights has had these on their “coming soon” list for some time, so hopefully they’ll eventually get around to it, as they’ll be an immediate buy item for me. More thoughts here .
Surgery - Übermorgen (Germany) 1980 private. Yet another unknown German fusion album from the late 70s and early 80s. File along with the "German M" groups like Moira, Mosaik, Munju, Missus Beastly and Morpheus. Some pretty hot psychedelic guitar, especially on the first side. Superb unison melodies with the sax and electric piano. Can get to be a bit breezy on Side 2, though some of it reminded me of Ash Ra's "Correlations" in the guitar work, oddly enough. Top drawer stuff.
Syncrisis - Reflections In Musical Power (Germany) 1981 private.
Syncrisis - Sunny Crisis (Germany) 1982 Inside. Syncrisis were led by guitarist Titus Köstler-Philipp, and his superior technical playing on "Sunny Crisis" is featured throughout. Similar to other German fusion bands at this time like Lindwurm, but with more emphasis on the smoking guitar. I also hear some of the same type of sounds as on the Red album (1983 UK - also featured here in Part 1), which may be the first time I've ever said that. With the technical fast playing on the guitar, one can't help but to compare "Sunny Crisis" to Al Di Meola's best work like "Elegant Gypsy" or "Casino". The debut "Reflections in Musical Power" isn't quite as successful. Here Syncrisis trades in on some jazz fusion cliches like swapping guitar/keys solos, breezy tropical themes and the requisite tedious drum solo. Would be nice to see both of these on the same CD. Köstler-Philipp is still playing today and his latest group is called Dokapi.
Synopsis - Gamme (France) 1981 FLVM. An improvement on their first. In the Mona Lisa, Ange school of French progressive. Very good and surprised this has escaped reissue (especially since the first was reissued). An obvious candidate for Musea.
Tabletom - Mezclalina (Spain) 1980 RCA. Reminds me of the classic first Mezquita album, except instead of a hard rock edge, Tabletom opt for a jazzier sound. They had a few albums after this debut, but I understand they are of less interest, but don't know for certain. Great Dali-esque cover would be perfect for a Japanese mini-LP.
This Oneness - Surprize (USA) 1975 private. Minnesota based group who performed a Mahavishnu styled heavy fusion with Canterbury touches. The song portions are of the Midwest prog variety ala Ethos, Albatross. A good one that Syn-Phonic would have reissued in the 90s. There's a website dedicated to this band now and maybe the band will reissue it! We'll see...
Time - s/t (England) 1975 Buk (BULP 2005). I have the catalog number here so you, the reader, have a slight chance of finding this album (good luck in searching for Time and Buk). What a great album. Very complex for the time and place. Somewhat like Yes' "Relayer" crossed with "Power and the Glory" Gentle Giant (you won't see me use these type of mainstream comparisons much, because they rarely apply - but they do in this case!). And the vocalist reminds me a bit of Yezda Urfa (and the complexity of the music too). I also hear a little Fruupp and Jonesy here too. This is one of the last great major label British albums not on CD (OK, maybe Buk wasn't major, but they were definitely a AAA minor league label).
Tomorrow's Gift - Goodbye Future (Germany) 1973 Aamok. One of the more well-known Krautrock albums without a CD reissue. First album was done by Second Battle almost 15 years ago now! "Goodbye Future" is completely different and is a keyboard centered Canterbury styled album - a little like same period Supersister, especially the Zappa influence. Band evolved into the fusion oriented Release Music Orchestra, who also lack reissues - as does related band Dennis. There's a very convincing boot out there, which even has "bonus tracks", which was also taken from an obscure compilation vinyl. Hopefully Long Hair or Garden of Delights will set the record straight.
Tonic - This Way (Germany) 1980 private. If it weren't for a cassette tape a friend sent me over 10 years ago, I'd still not know this record. One of the most obscure albums in this list, I've never seen an original for sale. There's a cover on rateyourmusic.com, which is the only other reference I've seen. For the late date, this has a remarkably complex sound – similar to the classic Italian prog scene. With choir mellotron, bells, speedy guitar solos, flute, sax and complex meters. The album's Achilles Heel is the vocals, not an uncommon problem for German bands plowing ahead with English.
Tortilla Flat - Fur Ein 3/4 Stundchen (Germany) 1974 private. Extraordinary Canterbury fusion album like the very best of Supersister or Soft Machine. Even better is the unreleased SWF Sessions from 1973 - one of the best recordings I've ever heard period. Long Hair, Garden of Delights, Musea - someone - anyone!
Total Issue - s/t (France) 1971 United Artists. One of the earliest French progressive rock albums. Has that loose jazzy quality that recalls Moving Gelatine Plates with flute and fuzzy guitar leading the way. Not as Canterbury influenced nor as consistent as MGP, but still a very strong early effort. There's also a fair amount of acoustic guitar / flute based SSW material, but arranged in a progressive manner, similar to how the Italians would do. Album is mostly sung in French (a rarity for rock bands in those days), with some English tracks, which are more commercial (but all thankfully short). A natural choice for Musea to reissue.
Ungava - s/t (Canada) 1980 33 Records.
Laurence Vanay - Galaxies (aka Laurence Vanay) (France) 1974 SFP (Societe Francaise de Productions Phonographiques)
Laurence Vanay - Gateway Evening Colours (France) 1975 Galloway (aka "Evening Colours" 1976 CAM). Laurence Vanay is the pseudonym for Jacqueline Thibault, wife of famed French music producer and musician Laurent Thibault. The two albums above are pure genius. Almost all instrumental with gorgeous organ, flute, acoustic/electric guitar. Even a little Zeuhl bass to knock things around. She provides some wordless voice through many of the tracks. And on "Galaxies" occassionally sings in a soft, seductive female manner - all in French of course. If anyone can help me hear her other three albums listed in Part 4 below, I'd be very grateful.
Verto - Krig Volubilis (France) 1976 Pole.
Verto - Reel 1936 (France) 1978 Fleur. Verto is the one man guitar/electronic pseudonym of Jean-Pierre Grasset with multiple guests that seems to be modeled directly after Richard Pinhas and Heldon. And the results are similar, though less structured and more amateurish. If "Krig Volubilis" is Verto's "Electronique Guerilla", then "Reel 1936" is the "Interface" except far more experimental, sometimes to its detriment. Would make a great 2 for 1 CD.
The Viola Crayola - Music: Breathing of Statues (USA) 1974 Fautna. You know, there are great guitar trio albums and then there's San Antonio's Viola Crayola. This jazzy psych freakout jam album is just remarkable and sounds about 15 years ahead of its time in technique. And fortunately it IS of its era soundwise. This thing just rips and shreds and wahwah's until you collapse from exhaustion. The last 2 minute goofball track allows us to see Viola's mentor - Mr. Zappa. If these guys released this in 1991, there'd be a monthly feature in Guitar Player for him. Unfortunately, Tony Viola died tragically later in 1974. Album is only about 29 minutes long. A bootleg exists.
Von Zamla - No Make Up! (Sweden) 1982 Exil. My review here:
Von Zamla
Warm Dust - And It Came to Pass (England) 1970 BASF
Warm Dust - Peace For Our Time (England) 1971 BASF
Warm Dust - s/t (England) 1971 BASF. Warm Dust released 4 albums worth of material in two years (first album was a double). When this band is on, they have some of the finest jazz infused prog rock one can ever hear. Somewhere between Nucleus and If. And there are some really beautiful grooves here. Sometimes they're a bit too diverse for their own good, especially in their feeble attempts at free jazz or straight blues rock numbers. But the good outweighs the bad - especially on the first two albums. Bootlegs exist for all unfortunately.
Womega - A Quick Step (Belgium) 1975 Skruup. Very interesting release. It's an all-over-the-map type album, but all within the confines of what normally constitues progressive rock (rather than the usual kitchen sink that represents all facets of music in general). There's pomp, Canterbury, proto, symphonic, fusion, Zappa. Lots of mellotron and flute, in the most unexpected places. Some parts are more simplistic, giving it a radio friendly sound, and then followed by something entirely difficult and complex. Maybe a little too diverse for its own good, but undeniably too fascinating to call it anything but a Part 1 reissue wishlister!
Yellow Sunshine - s/t (USA) 1973 Gamble. Philadelphia based group recorded one of the best of the Afro psych albums. Strong hard rock edge, that is usually missing in most of these soul-oriented works. In the big leagues with Funkadelic and Mandrill. Band evolved into MFSB, a very fine mid 1970s funk/disco group, that recorded the fantastic 'K-Jee' track, by far the best song on the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack. Gamble is one Kenny Gamble and his label was a part of Epic Records. There is a legit LP reissue, but no CD as of yet.
Zartong - s/t (Armenia) 1979 Dom. Recorded and released in France. Musically similar to Asia Minor, though a bit more traditional and less symphonic (and like Zartong, Asia Minor also immigrated to France - though from Turkey). This is a raucous fuzz filled party album, with great indigenous melodies and some bonafide progressive rock moves as well.
Zog - Do ze Funkie Wiz Me (Netherlands) 1983 Disaster Electronics. Entirely unique album from post Het Pandorra Ensemble guys. While still very much a product of the 1980s (song structures, vocal style), Zog also possesses a strong admiration for 1960s psych and even the early 70s Krautrock pioneers. Some wonderful acid guitar soling belies its 80s heritage. There's also the occassional reference to their fondness for "Red" era King Crimson, featured more prominently in the Pandorra Ensemble days. About the only other album I can think of that sounds like this is Iskander's "Boheme", another oddity from the 80s. Maybe the best way to describe is to call it 1980s psychedelia, and I don't mean neo-psych, if that makes any sense. Over the years, I've come to appreciate Zog's album more and more, perhaps due to its uniqueness. This, Zog's only album, is a live recording. And at 56 minutes, quite a lengthy album for one disc.
Part 2: More possible reissues (most are good albums (a few marginal exceptions), but lower priority)
A Paradise is Born - s/t (Germany) 1978 private. German folky with dual male/female vocals, that sounds more English in execution (and language of course). Parallels to Carol Of Harvest can be found, but without the progressive elements. Some nice electric leads. File next to Stone Angel.
Abacus - s/t (Germany). 1971 Polydor. Here you can find a lot of parallels to another quirky German band: Nine Days Wonder. Like NDW's debut, this album is radically progressive, covering anywhere from Frank Zappa's more complex works to any number of UK outfits. The vocalist is from England, and he writes much of the material, so this album doesn't sound Krautrock at all. This album has been booted at least once unfortunately. Would be nice to see a legit CD! Until now, I'd only heard the band's last 1970s work "Midway" (1973) and it was pretty horrendous. Recently I heard their 2nd effort "Everything You Need", which is quite a drop off from the great first album. All of Side 1 is rural/country rock and is downright terrible. But all is not lost, as the second side is one long suite. Though based again on a rural rock theme, there are plenty of quirky progressive rock moves, that recall the first album. The dramatic difference between the first and second albums reminded me, again, of Nine Days Wonder. The only Abacus album I'm interested in seeing a reissue of is the first!
Abrial Stratageme Group - Mannderly (France) 1977 Sonopresse. Imagine Ange as a hard rock group, or a French Blue Oyster Cult, and you have a pretty good idea of what we're dealing with here. Also reminds me of the Rictus album that's also in this list, though this one is much more professionally done. Vocals are in French and have that psychotic touch that I find highly fascinating. Very heavy guitar sound for the early date. A couple of ballads, and one 8 minute progger round out the contents. Interesting album!
Adam - Eura (Sweden) 1994 Xotic Mind.
Adam - Welcome Back (Sweden) 1995 Xotic Mind. Both solo albums are typical of the Xotic Mind psychedelic aesthetic (S.T. Mikael, The Word of Life). Flute, hand percussion and fuzz guitar is the order of the day. Good stuff, and it would be nice to see the rest of the Xotic Mind catalog reissued by the inheritors - Subliminal Sounds. I haven't heard Entheogens or Stefan, but have copies here (also listed in Part 3).
Aera - Akataki (Germany) 1982 Spiegelei.
Muck Groh - Muckefuck (Germany) 1979 Erlkonig. Aera's last album is also one of their best and compares favorably with other excellent early 80s German fusion albums like Embryo's "Zack Gluck" and Kontrast's sole work. Band has contacted me to explain that they've reissued all the Aera albums from their house label (Erlkonig - first 4), but that the last two albums (including "Too Much" which I haven't heard) are owned by a corporation.
--Muck Groh is the leader of Aera and his first solo album treads a similar path to some of the later Aera albums such as "Live". "Muckefuck" has been rumored to be up for a reissue for the last couple of years now (since it's on Erlkonig, I'm not sure what the hold up is). His second album "Grotesk" has been reissued along with what appears to be an archival recording called "Grotesk 2".
After Life - Cauchemar (France) 1975 Discophon. Reissued on LP by Wah Wah, but no CD as of yet. See my review here:After Life
Agamemnon - Part I & II (Switzerland) 1981 private. Similar to other slow moving German symphonic groups of the day like Waniyetula (known by most folks as Galaxy on LP), Albatros, early Faithful Breath and Indigo. Garden of Delights has been pretty successful in getting these types of albums out. According to the LP, there was supposed to be a Part 3 & 4, but guess they lost interest in ol' Agamemnon.
Air - Teilweise Kacke... ...aber Stereo (Germany). 1973 private. See my review here: Air
Aktuala - s/t (Italy) 1972 Bla-Bla. Artis CD OOP
Aktuala - La Terra (Italy) 1974 Bla-Bla. Artis CD OOP
Aktuala - Tappeto Volante (Italy) 1976 Bla-Bla. Artis CD OOP. All of these were issued by the Italian Artis label in the mid 1990s, but have fallen out of print and are highly collectable. Musically very similar to the Third Ear Band or other ethnic acoustic outfits from the early 1970s.
Aku Aku - Humanquake (Czech Republic) 1991 Pro Art.
Albatross - s/t (USA) 1975 private.
The Albert - s/t (USA) 1970 Perception (plp 4).
The Albert - s/t (USA) 1970 Perception (plp 9). And the award for most confusing discography goes to.... The Albert! Need the catalog number or album cover to know the difference. I've only heard plp 9, but it stood out against most horn rock albums, since it did seem to possess a certain psychedelic vibe in the guitar playing, and in the soulful voice. Worth seeking out.
Alcatraz - Energieprogramm in Rock (Germany) 1978 private.
Alcatraz - Live: Trockeneis zum Frumstruck (Germany) 1980 private.
Alcatraz - No. 4 (Germany) 1982 private.
Alice - Arrêtez le Monde (France) 1971 Polydor. I had totally forgotten about this release. I had it on LP for a few years and finally decided to move it out. It was a difficult decison, mainly because the gatefold cover is so cool - and the feel of it reminds me of Sandrose's sole album. That was well over 10 years ago. So hearing this again was fun. And also reminded me why I did ultimately not hold onto it. It's by no means a bad album, but Alice were a French pop band exploring with orchestrations and other trendy "progressive" ideas. In that way, they remind me of the Italian groups doing similar like Delirium's "Dolce Acqua" or The New Trolls "Concerto Grosso No. 1". When Alice are strictly instrumental, they can be highly fascinating, and utilize a multitude of instruments (even mellotron). But they are pop singer songwriters at heart, and those moments are pretty hard to stomach, unless you're a fan of said style. Would be a great choice for a Japanese mini-LP. Their 1970 pop psych debut album has been reissued prior.
Alpha du Centaure - Contact (France) 1979 Spirals. Imagine if Jimi Hendrix played in front of a jazz rhythm duo. Wild fuzzy wah wah guitar screaming over stand-up bass and scattered jazz drumming. If only the guitarist played that way for the entire duration! That would be some album! There's also some typical jazz guitar and on those cuts, you'll be wishing you had your Grant Green albums handy instead.
Alpha Ralpha - s/t (France) 1979 Wea.
Amish - s/t (Canada) 1972 Sussex (US press). Ontario based group who recorded in Detroit, Amish were primarily a hard rock band with organ and guitar providing the solo leads. Heavily influenced by Uriah Heep and Deep Purple. Truthfully, albums like this were a dime a dozen back in those days, but Amish stands out due to the superb progressive oriented organ work, and I like the way they wah wah riff the rhythm guitar parts. Even some strange psych era interludes that recall bands like Stone Circus or even Strawberry Alarm Clock. They even cover Traffic's 'Dear Mr. Fantasy'. Bassist Mike Gingrich was later a member of the progressive rock group Nightwinds. boots exist.
Amphyrite – s/t (France) 1973 private. Guitar blues rock trio. One guy solos on guitar while the others keep time (sort of). No vocals to get in the way. Or melody either. Sounds more American in its approach. Amber Soundroom did manage to reissue this on LP before going belly up.
Anamorphose - Palimpseste (France) 1986 private. An active jazz rock album. Reminds me some of Abus Dangereux's first album as well as some of Yoch'ko Seffer's 1970s works. Smoking rhythms! I prefer the flute lead material over the much more heavily used soprano sax. Some great use of violin as well. Good album for the date considering the wasteland that was 1986.
Ananga Ranga - Regresso As Origens (Portugal) 1976 Metro-Som.
Ananga Ranga - Privado (Portugal) 1977 Metro-Som. Jazz rock ensemble that reminds me some of Tantra, but perhaps more influenced by the bigger names of the day like Passport and Weather Report. First album has violin which definitely adds points. "Privado" begins to introduce funk, which probably wasn't the best idea. Could see maybe the Spanish label Guersson putting these out. Boots exist.
Another Roadside Attraction - s/t (Canada) 1979 private.
Apartment One - Open House (Netherlands) 1970 Pink Elephant. Straightforward hard psych record. Sounds more like what was happening in the 1960s Dutch scene with albums from Cosmic Dealer, The Outsiders and Q65. Some good fuzz and older organ sounds. Opening track on each side is instrumental, and represents the best material. Also reminds me of the vast boneyard of US post psych albums from 1970 on labels like Paramount, ABC, Epic, Rare Earth and Mercury.
Aquila - s/t (England) 1970 RCA. Sax and flute lead progressive. Echoes of Diabolus (especially) and the debut albums of Gravy Train and Raw Material come to mind. Fine organ solos with nice contrast provided by acoustic guitar. Boots exist.
Archimedes Badkar - s/t (Sweden) 1974 MNW.
Archimedes Badkar - II (Sweden) 1975 MNW.
Arpaderba - L'Aleph (Italy) 1981 Incontro. Instrumental medieval folk rock lead by the former guitarist from Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno and Samadhi. Reminds me of some of the bands coming out of Brittany during this time like Avel Nevez or an instrumental Malicorne. Very nicely played (especially the violin), with just a bit too much gloss in the production to have any impact. Minimum Vital would later take the same approach and apply much more firepower. Still a very worthy piece and a surprising sound to come from Italy.
Association P.C. - Sun Rotation (Germany) 1972 MPS.
Association P.C. - Erna Morena (Germany) 1973 MPS. Guitarist Toto Blanke's experimental jazz rock group (well really it would be drummer Pierre Courbois' band, since he's the P.C.!). Both "Sun Rotation" and "Erna Morena" are more towards "out jazz", with some rock elements, than the "Mama Kuku" album that has just been reissued by SPV. I have two other Association P.C. albums in Section 3 below, which I have yet to hear.
Astre - Foresight (USA) 1981 private. Horrendously underproduced music from Tulsa, OK, but a superbly complex progressive rock album lays behind the mess. A clean recording may take the grime off of this gem.
The Atlantic Ocean - Tranquillity Bay (Sweden) 1969 Love. A mixture of UK styled pop psych and one long progressive instrumental journey that makes up Side 2. Not a bad album at all, and ahead of its time.
Atman - Duchy Przodkow Mieszkaja w Drzewach (Poland) 1999 Hey Joe. LP only release that's as good as their other recordings. Pioneers of the free folk movement.
Aunt Mary - s/t (Norway). 1970 Polydor.
Aunt Mary - Loaded! (Norway). 1971 Polydor. I'm pretty certain "Loaded!" came out on Polygram in the early 1990s as I had a copy (but it's long OOP). Not sure the first album has ever been put out legit. "Janus" on Polygram can still be found. Pretty much typical hard blues rock with a few jazzy moves, similar to many a band from the UK during these times.
Avel Nevez - Servis Compris (France) 1980 Arfolk.
Axis - s/t (Greece) 1973 Riviera (French release).
Azalia Snail - The Cooling System Sessions (USA) 1998 Prescription Drug. Psyched out, low budget, space folk. Plenty of the resident house mellotron + moog, female vocals of course & other sounds, whooshes, phasing. It's a cool album really, though not necessarily inspirational like Quad and Ohr Musik.
Yoshitaka Azuma - Moonlight of Asia (Japan) 1981 Columbia. Early work by future video game composer. Somewhat similar to same period Kitaro, and a precursor to what Motoi Sakuraba would accomplish later in the decade. He also has other albums from this period ("Asian Wind", "Far From Asia"), which I'll guess to be in a similar vein. I've just been advised that his other (3) albums are much more laid back and that "Moonlight of Asia" is the more progressive rock influenced of the bunch. Details for this artist in English are scarce.
Bakery - Momento (Australia) 1972 Astor. One side is an excellent laid back jazzy progressive with some fine soloing. The other side is a mix of hard rock, boogie and rock and roll, all very typical of the Australian rock scene from this time. Some fine organ and guitar work can be heard throughout. Boots exist, though there appears to be a legit LP reissue available.
Banchee – s/t. 1969 Atlantic.
Banchee - Thinkin'. 1971 Polydor. On the debut album, Banchee play a typical jangly “West Coast” psych that’s as much Quicksilver as it is The Byrds. Not to say the album doesn’t have its moments, or forward thinking ideas (jazz, heavy rock, trippy). Definitely worth seeking out for a listen. Banchee re-emerged on "Thinkin'" as an aggressive hard rock group with plenty of great wah wah guitar. There’s even a little of that feel-good Rare Earth or Grand Funk Railroad jam quality. A good mix of ripping Latin styled hard rock and more typical blues rock. Considered a must own by hard rock heads. Boots exist for both.
Jean Baptiste Barriere - Pandemonium: Ville Ouvert (Belgium) 1975 Atem.
Jean Baptiste Barriere - Pandemonium: Non, Jamais l'Esperance (Belgium) 1976 Atem. Bleak and, frankly scary, electronic soundscapes. These albums are about as depressing as any you can find from the 1970s. Makes Univers Zero sound like The Supremes!
John Bassman Group - Filthy Sky (Netherlands) 1971. Ordinary hard blues rock with a couple of great wah wah tracks interspersed. Might appeal to fans of Affinity and Goliath, but not near as meaty as those.
Gerardo Batiz - Harlequin (Mexico) 1982 private.
Peter Baumann - Romance 76 (Germany) 1976 Virgin. CD OOP
Dario Baldan Bembo - Migrazione (Italy) 1977 CIV. Pop oriented keyboard rock. Some proggy moves that actually sounds like a cross between Metamorfosi and early Elton John. I just cracked myself up. Oh man... "Inferno meets Island Girl!". He has a few other albums but I think I'll stop here.
Patrick Bernard - Exil (France) 1981 Gopal. Melodic progressive that features sitar and mellotron amongst the usual instrumentation.
Between - Dharana (Germany) 1974 Wergo. CD OOP
Bi Kyo Ran - Fairy Tale: Live Volume 1 (Japan) 1987 Belle Antique.
The Bigroup - Big Hammer (England) 1971 private. Instrumental psych with flute, guitar and organ. Similar to the Italian groups like Blue Phantom or Fourth Sensation.
BLO (Berkeley Laolu Odumosu) - Chapter One (Nigeria) 1973 private. One of the more famous underground psych albums from Sub-Saharan Africa. Does contain a US psych funk vibe and isn't too far from the works of Fela Kuti, minus the deeper grooves. Shadoks has already done the LP reissue, so expect a CD sometime in the next couple of years.
Blue Morning - s/t (Italy) 1973 Tomorrow. Barely in scope for this list, but generally marketed to fans of progressive music, Blue Morning are really an "out" jazz band with a few rock moments. Closer in style to the more traditional free jazz groups working on the German MPS label, for example. Third track has a nice melody and is carried by a sweet flute line, and easily represents the best composition of the set. Some of the jazz is way too improvisational for me at least. Blue Morning's sole album is ridiculously rare.
Michael Borner's Sun - s/t (Germany) 1981 MBS Music. Borner is a lead guitarist and his band Sun is somewhat dominated by his playing. There's also some "smooth jazz" style sax. The fusion on display here is fairly typical for the era, with a light, sunny tropical sound. Some reggae, funk and fuzak - along with a clear dose of "Borboletta" era Santana (and the only parts that carry any kind of edge). I was reminded of the To Be album on the Brain label, as well as some of the Surgery album. A nice record, but nothing extraordinary. I believe this is a different band from the Sun that released one album in 1980 (and I think THAT Sun is a later incarnation of the group that had one side of music on the "Proton 1" album released on Kerston in the early 1970s).
Bounty - s/t (USA) 1977 H-Arts.
Serge Bringolf - Strave (France) 1980 Omega Studio.
Serge Bringolf - Vision (France) 1981 Omega Studio.
Serge Bringolf - Strave Live (France) 1982 Omega Studio. Bringolf is a jazz drummer heavily influenced by Christian Vander. In the Zeuhl context, his band Strave is more jazz oriented than Magma, though not as creative as Zao. These LPs had pretty good distribution amongst the mail order channels about 15 years ago. Now they seem totally forgotten, which is a shame, as I'm certain there's a new audience waiting to hear these. First album is a 2 LP set.
Tommy Broman - Efter Midnatt (Sweden) 1976 private. "Efter Midnatt" contains nine strong instrumental compositions with Broman providing electric leads (wonderfully affected with wah, fuzz, phasing, etc..), Bjorn J:Son Lindh on flute, and others on electric piano, congas, and whatever else was gathering dust at the studio. The 70s Swedish ensemble Lotus came to mind, however Broman probably caters more to a label exec’s mind of what an instrumental album should sound like, as opposed to the brilliant melody writing of Lotus.
Broselmaschine - Peter Bursch & (Germany) 1976 BASF. Second album and quite a departure from the Pilz acid folk of the debut some 5 years earlier. This one mixes jangly rock tracks with Indian ragas and US barn stompers for an eclectic mix of the term “folk”. I think it’s pretty good actually, but best not to expect anything like the first album.
Brut - s/t (England) 1970 Philips. Blues based horn rock, with a few good guitar leads. Has a gospel tinge to it. For those that like Chelsea Beige or Sod. Nothing to get too excited about here I'm afraid.
Bulbous Creation – You Won’t Remember Dying (USA) 1970 private. Kansas City based wasted psych / hard rock band. Starts out pretty basic, but gets progressively freakier with longer guitar solos. Was released on LP by Rockadelic in the early 90s, but never put on CD strangely enough.
Bull Angus - s/t (USA) 1971 Mercury
Bull Angus - Free For All (USA) 1972 Mercury. Upstate New York group who are quintessentially American in their approach. A mix of hard rock, bar rock and proto prog. One of the best at the style, far more advanced than most groups in this bag.
Burning Candle - s/t (Germany). 1981 private. Keyboard trio with tinny period synthesizers. Some meaty organ too. Pretty good record. Sort of nutty unpredictable like El Shalom and Saffran, but not quite that good. Wouldn't be surprised if Garden of Delights tackled this one.
Cal - s/t (Spain) 1980 Cardisc. Different group than Cai. Another second generation Triana like band, though with a jazzy edge – which puts it in more Tabletom or even Guadalquiver territory. Can be a little ‘Copacabana-ish’ at times, if you know what I mean. Typical dramatic vocals definitely a plus. They display some nice chops here and there as well.
Canamii - Concept (South Africa) 1980 Wea. The Roger Dean cover alone should clue one in. South Africa's most overt symphonic prog album, similar to Yes and other known entities. A bootleg exists.
Cane and Able - s/t (USA) 1972 Epic. I'm always on the lookout for some good Afro-psych, and this is one of the better ones I've heard. Compares favorably to early Mandrill and Funkadelic, and the horns recall James Brown's band at their funkiest. Some great fuzz and wah-wah to be heard here. Boogie-licious.
Carnascalia - s/t (Italy) 1979 Mirto. OOP CD released under name "Pascal Mineri / Giorgio Vivaldi"
Ceddo - s/t (Germany) 1979 Saguitarius.
Ceddo - Aufhören (Germany) 1980 Saguitarius.
Ceddo - Step by Step (Germany) 1983 Saguitarius. Ceddo, on their debut, is very much from the jazz school, but in the same way as Association PC and Electric Circus. Long tracks, the guitar playing gets pretty wiggy, so a real plus there. The bass plays fretless and has that warm 80's jazz sound. The drumming is scattered which is nice. Closest comparison would be Dzyan's "Time Machine" (more jazzy though) or maybe Alpha du Centaure's album (rhythm section not so strictly straight jazz). "Aufhören" is very similar and continues with a mixture of jazz and rock styles. Band features guitarist Jochen Schrumpf (and in fact the band is later known as Jochen Schrumpf's Ceddo), who later went onto the reformed Kollektiv. "Step By Step" begins the journey towards fuzak, with smooth jazz sax, Caribbean steel drums, cocktail-hour Spanish themes and an overall feel of a cruise ship lounge act. Despite all of that, there's still some fine guitar work. In this way, I'm reminded of Santana's 1980s output. They also have, incredibly, two more albums. So much output from such an obscure band.
Certain Lions & Tigers - (El) Soul Condor (Germany) 1970 Polydor / 1974 BASF. Another one of those confusing discography bands. I would say most folks know the group as "Soul Condor" because of the misleading 1974 BASF second press. But the original has the band name as Certain Lions & Tigers. Pretty cool funky horn rock album done by some old Kraut jazzers trying to cash in and "get hip". Some exploito covers, but mainly this kicks major booty. And the playing and production are impeccable, as expected.
Chakra - s/t (USA) 1979 private. boots exist.
Champignons - Premiere Capsule (Canada) 1972 GG. Starts off in a trite go-go 1960s way, with an energetic keyboard driven instrumental number. This is followed by a very slow, depressing and excruciatingly boring 7 minute blues song with French vocals. From track three on Side 1 to the conclusion of the record, it's all aces. The music becomes primarily instrumental while taking on a darker stance. The guitar has that ominous fuzz tone, and there's an underlying jazzy structure lead by the fine flute and sax work. For these excellent tracks I'm reminded of the Eden Rose / Sandrose family out of France, and the relative progression from one to the other. If Champignons were lead by a female vocalist, that would solidify the Sandrose comparison. Boots exist.
Charlee - s/t (Canada) 1972 RCA. It's been often said that Frank Marino copied Jimi Hendrix heavily at the dawn of his career. More than likely, though, he was more influenced by fellow Montreal resident Walter Rossi and his band Charlee. Listen to the first 3 Mahogany Rush albums and compare to Charlee, which was recorded only a year earlier. Many parallels can be found. Frank eventually forged his own style and became one of the all-time great hard rock guitarists. No telling what Rossi could've achieved had he not chosen a career as a session musician. This is a good album, that's unfortunately been booted a couple of times.
Charlies - Buttocks (Finland) 1970. boots exist.
Les Chats Renaissance - Hermaphrodites (France) 1973 Vogue. Yet another JP Massiera project, this one not quite so "wink wink" as some of his other works. Pretty much a straight ahead rock album, with some flute and heavy guitar, and a lot of vocals. Quite a bit of old fashioned 50s rock-n-roll to wade through. Would seem to be a companion piece to the much more progressive oriented Visitors album from the same year. I've had this on CD-R for a number of years (thx Czar), but forgot to add to the wishlist!
Chemical - s/t (England) 1996 Acme.
Cherokee Mist - Anthem of the Moon (England) 1997 Euphoria.
Clicker - s/t (USA) 1973 Hemisphere. Private press rock LP on the Hemisphere
label out of Madison, Wisconsin. First couple of tracks are straight forward early 70's rock all the way, though they feature mellotron on the 2nd track. One of the rare places where I really think they used the instrument as a strings sampler rather than as moody accompaniment. This is followed by an
atmospheric acoustic guitar driven instrumental. Then a Yes-like proggy piece, having that uniquely Midwestern approach (e.g. Starcastle or Albatross). Another rocker and a short quirky instrumental close out Side 1. Side 2 starts with an amalgamation of their prog and rock tendencies. This leads to the 16 minute closer. After a silly 2 minute introductory narrative, we are treated to a surprisingly great jazz rock instrumental, though there's an overlong
and somewhat uninteresting guitar noodle solo section (with no other accompanying instruments).
Combo FH - Veci (Czech Republic) 1980 Panton.
Connexion - s/t. (Canada) 1975 RCA. Quebec based hard rock with French vocals. Usual mix of excellent intense tracks and good time rock n rollers. Not too bad.
Connivence - s/t (Canada) 1977 Kebec.
Connivence - II (Canada) 1979 Kebec.
Connivence - III (Canada) 1984 Amplitude.
Robert Connolly - Plateau (Canada) 1978 Tube. Guitar led (Connolly has a double neck) progressive rock with mellotron and narration. Somewhat like "Power and the Passion" era Eloy. Whoever does the CD should include the goofy comic book as well!
Cool Feet - Burning Desire (Luxembourg) 1976 Pallas. This is one of the most expensive of the many underground albums out there. Regularly fetching 4 figures, it's not too hard to understand why Cool Feet has such a reputation. Blindfolded, you could swear you were listening to some newly unearthed private hard rock album from the US midwest, say Toledo, situated perfectly on the road from Ohio to Michigan. It has that small dive bar vibe, as patroned by Local Number union members. A 4 piece, with dual guitars and a gruff vocalist, Cool Feet pretty much delivers kickass hard rock from start to finish. There are a couple of stinkers to endure, as they gave at least a little lip service to their commercial aspirations. Though for me the big surprise was the early Scorpions influence, primarily from "Fly to the Rainbow" through the "Virgin Killer" albums. Truth be told, there aren't that many continental European hard rock bands in this style (Belgium's Kleptomania and Vacation also came to mind), and certainly less that remind me of primo era Scorps (though without the Uli Roth psychedelic influence unfortunately). Word down at the soup kitchen says that the album was apparently slated for a CD release on Garden of Delights and LP reissue on Amber Soundroom, but one of the members put the kabash on it. There's a built-in audience for this album, and you know who you are.
Coronarias Dans – Breathe (Denmark) 1970.
Coronarias Dans – Visitor (Denmark) 1973 Steeplechase. Coronarias Dans are one of Denmark’s most famous embryonic jazz rock groups. “Breathe” is pretty much straight up jazz, but in a European free style kind of way. The standup bass gets a good workout and, combined with some superb drumming, makes for an interesting work from a purely jazz perspective. By the time of “Visitor” the band is still focused squarely on the jazz aesthetic, but now they’ve added rock guitarist Claus Bohling (from Hurdy Gurdy), and his psychedelic shredding is a much needed boost, and distinguishes “Visitor” from other albums of its ilk. Claus would go on to help form Secret Oyster, and add the same style of guitar to all of their albums as well. Was recently reminded that "Visitor" came out in the mid 90s on CD, but is long OOP.
Cos - Babel (Belgium) 1978 IBC.
Cos - Swiss Chalet (Belgium) 1979 IBC. While Musea has tackled Cos' first two classic Canterbury inspired albums, as well as their final 1982 "Pasiones" release, they have so far neglected Cos' "disco era". For some folks, "Babel" is the pinnacle of their musical achievement. It is a one of a kind album, a mixture of complex Canterbury and Zeuhlish compositions, filtered through the disco mirror ball - fat danceable beats, sweeping strings and Studio 54 debauchery. Closest comparison might be the French group Cortex, though Cos on "Babel" are far more disturbing (in the Univers Zero sense of the term), as well as more disco-ish. And while that doesn't make any sense, I think that's its intrinsic value. I plan on revisiting "Swiss Chalet" soon as well. Not sure if Musea plans on reissuing these. IIRC, you can pay for downloads of these from the band direct.
Cosmos Factory - Black Hole (Japan) 1976 Express. CD OOP
Credemus - s/t (Germany) 1984 private. Had this on LP years ago. Christian symphonic rock with female vocals like Eden or maybe Sweden's Autumn Breeze - though quite not that good.
Crossfire - s/t (Australia) 1975 Harvest. Hot fusion similar to Mackenzie Theory or Mahavishnu Orchestra by extension.
Crystalaugur - Terranaut (USA) 1972 private. Not much is known about this obscurity. The campfire version is these were burned out US GI’s who recorded a psych album in Singapore in the early 70s. Who really knows, and there’s no legit reissue to refer to, so we’ll go with that. As for an album, it would be difficult to get any more simple than this. A basic rhythmic backbone, almost surf rock in texture (especially the guitar leads), sometimes with vocals, sometimes not. It sounds like it was half finished, then possessed by a tax dodge label (in the days when unlimited losses were allowed by the IRS) and released in a small quantity years after it was recorded. Probably the band name and title were made up – which might explain the lack of info. Only for fans of obscure basement recordings (and barely qualifies for even a "Part 2" inclusion).
Cynara - s/t (USA) 1970 Capitol. One of the most interesting groups from the US in the late 1960's was a Boston based bunch called Listening, who released one superb album on the Vanguard label (the reissue was done on Comet/Akarma, who bought the rights to the Vanguard label, but it's a barebones job, and would definitely benefit from a more caring reissue label like Esoteric for example). Cynara is the band that formed from the ashes of Listening. It's an eclectic mix, just as Listening was, but not near as groundbreaking or exciting. One side is pretty much straight ahead organ/guitar rock, while the other side has two long compositions with a jazz piano/organ lounge-like feel throughout. Not a bad find, but yet another US major label album from 1970 that stops short of meeting expectations.
Alessandro de Lucchi - s/t (Italy) 1978 private. Systems style cosmic electronic music similar to maybe Roberto Cacciapaglia's "Sonanze" or Franco Leprino. Stefano Pantaleoni would release a similar album nearly 10 years later. Not much in the way of rhythms or tonal changes. Seems like de Lucchi did what he could with the one synthesizer he was provided. At times it comes across as a sound test record. Will have a limited audience.
Tullio de Piscopo Revolt Group - Sotto e 'ncoppa (Italy) 1975 Carosello.
Tullio de Piscopo - Vol. 2 (Italy) 1977 Carosello. De Piscopo is a well known jazz percussionist (to this day), who ventured into progressive fusion in the mid 1970s. First he played with The New Trolls, then he released these two fusion albums with some excellent Fender Rhodes, sax and guitar action. De Piscopo reminds me most of Toni Esposito's albums from the same era. "Sotto e 'ncoppa" features Sante Palumbo who was also on the Sway album. "Vol. 2" is more diverse, mixing in period disco, acoustic folk, tight fusion, and rock versions of traditional Italian sing-a-longs. I felt this was the stronger of the two releases. Neither of these have been reissued on CD, and aren't even mentioned on Tullio de Picopo's own website.
Deaf - Alpha (Switzerland) 1972 / 1994 Black Rills. Archived recordings from the post After Shave unit. Pretty experimental stuff that fans of Can or even Faust may enjoy. Was never meant to be issued as a proper album, so it's definitely for historic interest only. Came out as an LP, but never on CD. Label is still around, though they haven't reissued anything in years and are pretty much a mail order house now.
Deep Feeling - s/t (England) 1971 Polydor. Not sure what to make of this one. Musically all over the lot - almost a prog take on an easy listening album. Definitely interesting. Some straight blues and rock n roll as well. bootlegs exist.
Deja Vu - Cosmic Zack (Germany) 1977 private. A very obscure release from Germany circa 1977. Typical of many private releases from late 70's Deutschland, Déjà Vu attempt the Novalis style of progressive rock. The primary instrument is electric guitar and is accompanied by electric piano, sax, flute, bass and drums. There are also vocals with a traditional heavy Teutonic accent (some in English, some in German). I often wonder why these bands bothered with the vocals as it only detracts from the compositions. Fortunately, side two eschews the vocals for a more energetic instrumental approach. Musically, the band plays a safe, straightforward and somewhat jazzy (especially side 2) progressive music with some well done guitar/sax work amongst the otherwise mediocre compositions. File along with Credemus, Poseidon, Eden and a host of other well-meaning, but ultimately lacking, German bands from the late 70's/early 80's.
Eric Delaunay - Antagonisme! (France) 1980 Vogue.
Dialect - s/t (Brazil) 1991 Faunus.
Docmec - Objet Non Identifie (Switzerland) 1976 Javeline.
Philippe Doray & Associaux Associés - Ramasse-Miettes Nucléaire (France) 1976 private. Strange and deranged French folky underground. Spoken/mumbled words, some guitars, electronics. Interesting.
Dr. Dopo Jam - Fat Dogs and Danishmen (Denmark) 1974 Zebra.
Dr. Dopo Jam - Crusin' at Midnite (Denmark) 1981 private. Heavily influenced by Frank Zappa, with both the pluses and minuses that go with the name. For "Fat Dogs and Danishmen", the first half is
fairly groan worthy, and it just seems a uniquely American way of
doing things, so these Danes are missing the background to make it
successful. The second half adds in the Euro Fusion element (itself
heavily influenced by Zappa) and is just jaw dropping great. "Crusin' at Midnite" is a surprisingly great album for such a late date. Some really strong guitar, flute, synth and violin soloing + electric piano drives most of the songs. Plus plenty of nice horn charts. And the goofball quotient is mercifully down, though not completely out. There's also a funky edge present (think some of the late 70's Krautrock groups like Aera or To Be maybe). Their debut "Entree" was reissued by Karma, so hopefully they'll finish the discography.
Pascal Duffard - Dieu est Fou (France) 1976 CBS. Two words that go well together are French and wacky. So much so that I actually think Albert Marcouer would say "Pascal Duffard? Yea, now THAT guy is different!". One can hear a distinct flavor of French Pop music of the male vocal variety ala Serge Gainesbourg or Julien Clerc. Combine this with an avant garde mindset (opera, laughing, cries, electronics, etc..) and you have a French Chanson meets Pierrot Lunaire type vibe. Crazy album, that probably if I heard it enough, would grow on me and be in Part 1.
Duty Cycle - Nero (Netherlands) 1976 Mirasound. Duty Cycle plays a standard vocal pop rock with a light jazzy sound. The melodies are lacking and the vocalist isn't up to par. The flute work, however, stands out - especially on the opening instrumental track. Not a good album. Duty Cycle were friends of Marakesh, and their sole album shares the same label.
Frankie Dymon Jr. (Frankie Dymon Jnr) - Let It Out (Germany) 1971 BASF. This is sort of a side project to Achim Reichel's A.R. & Machines circa their "Die Grune Reise" debut. Reichel wrote most of the music and it features the AR&M group. Dymon provides the "poems in words and music". Basically a proto-rap album, and heavily influenced by early 1970's anti-everything street politics. One has to wonder if Gil Scott-Heron didn't get ahold of a copy prior to launching his "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" epic. Naturally, with Reichel at the controls, "Let It Out" is far more freaky. Cool.
Earwacks - Distances (USA) 1981 private. Oddball album that is more 60s in
spirit and mid-70s in sound. Could see this as a pointed retro album
from the late 90s, but have no idea where the inspiration came from
in 1981? Mixture of pop, rock (both decidedly non-80s sounding) and
epic prog (with mellotron, flute and fuzz).
The Alain Eckert Quartet - s/t (France) 1981 private. When I think of the Cuneiform label and terms like avant progressive, the music of the Alain Eckert Quartet is exactly what I expect. Like an earlier version of Forgas Band Phenomena, or a more playful and less serious Univers Zero. Compositionally strong, with a penchant for jazz, though a bit academic, without a strong sense for the groove. A good one for the brain, but lacking a bit in excitement.
Eden - s/t (Canada) 1978 Total. Primarily instrumental progressive similar to other Quebec bands of the day like Maneige and Opus 5.
Eela Craig - Hats of Glass (Austria) 1978 Vertigo. I was recently reminded that this album has never been reissued in full, though the majority of it can be found on Erdenklang's "Symphonic Rock" reissue, which also includes their 1976 album "One Niter" in full.
Egba - s/t (Sweden) 1974 Sonet.
Egba - Jungle Jam (Sweden) 1976 Sonet. Both albums are jazzrock with some fiery guitar and electric piano solos. Some African influences ala Archimedes Badkar's "Tre" can also be found. Similar to Kornet but better IMHO. Somewhere between Return to Forever and an instrumental Mandrill. I haven't heard their later albums.
Electric Mud - s/t (Germany) 1971 Förderturm. Heavy Teutonic psych prog, with German vocals, similar to Necronomicon, Prof Wolfff and Eulenspygel. 4 long tracks, with a distinctly doomy vibe. Album gets better with each listen. Lost Pipedreams reissued this on CD in the early 90s, but it's way OOP. Garden of Delights has picked up most of their back catalog, and probably Electric Mud will get a similar treatment at some point.
Elluffant - s/t (aka "Release Concert") (Netherlands) 1972 private. I think this was some sort of science project where the protagonist built his own pipe organ, and came up with this fuzzy sounding monstrosity that I'm sure Mike Ratledge would've enjoyed playing. With an added drummer, they just jam for two side long sessions. Not bad at all. Bootlegs exist.
Energy - s/t (Sweden) 1974 Harvest. Another post-November group playing in a heavy fusion bag. Heavily influenced by "Inner Mounting Flame" and "Between Nothingness and Eternity" era Mahavishnu Orchestra.
ES - Wham Bang (Germany) 1979 Fran. Now here's a strange bird. ES is made up of former members of Tomorrow's Gift and the Release Music Orchestra. On the surface, "Wham Bang" is a straight ahead pop rock / disco album. And after each track's cringe worthy vocal section finishes, one might expect a short instrumental followed by some more tawdry vocals. Except the instrumentals don't stop and ES begins to introduce a complex fusion sound, as one might find on an earlier RMO release. Everytime I was about to write "Wham Bang" off as a cheap European knockoff, then wham! bang! I'd hear an impressive instrumental bit. Yes, I think the album may have been a conscious satire on the then current music trands.
Eternite - Les Chants de L'Eternite (Canada) 1977 Polydor. Brooding symphonic progressive like Pulsar and maybe Claude Leveillee. Michel Le Francoise is a featured instrumentalist. Some folky commercial oriented music as well. Suspect ProgQuebec will eventually do this one as it's right in their wheelhouse.
Ethos - Ardour (USA) 1976 Capitol. Japanese CD long OOP
Ethos - Open Up (USA) 1977 Capitol. It's not just obscure prog heads like us who want this one - many folks know about Ft. Wayne, Indiana's Ethos - as their albums actually sold quite well in the day. The Japanese CD from the parent label is ridiculously hard to find after falling out . I could see a label like Collectables getting to these.
Ex Ovo Pro - European Spassvogel (Germany) 1976 Amayana.
Ex Ovo Pro - Dance Lunatic (Germany) 1978 Amayana. Both albums are a typical Eurofusion with melodic wind lines (generally supplied by sax with some flute), some good deep grooves and acid-y guitar solos and some standard late 70's CTI fusion. I could see this being the 5th or 6th Secret Oyster album if
that makes sense. At its best, similar to groups like Missus Beastly
or the Canterbury scene. Never gets worse than mid period Aera, without the funky bits.
Ex Vitae - Mandarine (France) 1978 private.
Ezra Winston - Myth of the Chrysavides (Italy) 1987 private.
Facedancers - s/t (USA) 1972 Paramount.
Falstaff - Prononcez (France) 1981 private. Light, easy going, instrumental symphonic rock. A little funk, and a little jazz to spruce things up. Recalls Camel, or more to the point, Rousseau's first two albums.
Firma 33 - Se Först (Germany) 1978 Triangle. Firma 33 primarily play in a commercially oriented rock style with German lyrics, similar to late 70s Novalis. There are some nice fusion moments interspersed throughout, with flute, sax, synth and guitar leading the solo parade. But the vocalist tends to croon, thus diminishing what potential they had.
First International Sex Opera - Anita (Netherlands) 1969 Sexclusief (date uncertain). Despite the band name, and the location of said group, this is decidely NOT erotic in the least bit. The female vocals (more like nagging shrieks, heavy sighs, rollercoaster screams and other irritants) are completely annoying. On this front, the closest comparison would be to Japan's JA Caesar, but without any of the purpose and tension they bring. Musically, FISO is fairly interesting, as the band pretty much play in a loose free rock style with decent guitar and organ leads. My guess is this album was influenced by the Vampyros Lesbos movie/album from Germany, that enjoyed a cult following even back then.
Flaviola e o Bando Do Sol - s/t (Brazil) 1976 Solar. Flaviola is a Recife based group that came from the same batch of freaks who created the Lula Cortes and Ze Remalho masterpiece (and was once one of our Top Reissue wants before Shadoks got their wonderful mitts on it). Though Flaviola is all acoustic, they have many of the same psychotic tendencies of "Paebiru" paradoxically combined with a hippy-dippy, Woodsy-the-Owl, sitting around the campfire style of feel-good folk. Fun.
Fly - Die Fahrt mit dem Gläsernen Ballon (Germany) 1979 Ballong. Primarily instrumental melodic progressive rock similar to many from the time and place like Novalis, Indigo, Minotaurus, etc... Goes at its own pace, with seemingly nowhere to go. Pleasant and soothing.
Flying Tea Cup - s/t (Japan) 1981 private. Typical of the thin sounding, Casio driven progressive rock from the embryonic stages of the Japanese progressive rock renaissance. Well meaning, but ulimately empty. File along with Picaresque of Bremen and Orpheus.
Formas - Largos Suenos (Spain) 1981 Surcosur. One of the many Rock Andaluz albums from Spain during the late 70s and early 80s - which Triana popularized to great success.
4th Cekcion - s/t (USA) 1970 Solar. Houston based horn rock album that has become quite collectable with the psych prog crowd. Unfortunately, like most brass rockers, this one falls short and tried too hard for radio hits.
Fourth Sensation - s/t (Italy) 1970 Ricordi. Typical instrumental psych/blues/jazz rock music, with roller rink organ and half Les Paul era electric leads/half psychedelic fuzz. The kind of music that would be used in the "party sequence" of an old Streets of San Francisco episode. All good fun, though nothing extraordinary like the Braen's Machine "Underground" album.
Fragua - s/t (Spain) 1979 Hispavox. There was an exciting movement from the mid to late 70s in Spain that mixed both rock and flamenco music. Especially popular in the southern reaches of the country, the style became known as Rock Andalucia. Some of the bands mixed in more progressive elements such as Mezquita and the early works of Triana and Medina Azahara. Fragua were more typical of the pop style of the movement. So flamenco mixed with Spanish pop music is what you'll find here, with a couple of more challenging cuts dispersed throughout.
From - 0611 Cat Quarter (Germany) 1971 CBS.
From - Power On! (Germany) 1972 CBS. Solid early 1970s jazz effort with rock overtones. Similar to many of the albums on the MPS label during this era, though a bit more towards traditional jazz than the Wolfgang Dauner's and Association PC's of this world. From is lead by an organist, but saxophone is the primary instrument. Pretty loose in the structure department, which allows room for many individual solos, including the drums. I haven't heard "0611 Cat Quarter" yet, but will leave here for convenience.
Fungus – Premonitions (EP) (England) 1973 private. Interesting British symphonic record with some orchestration. Reminds me a bit of early Queen and even a little Yes. Pre Seventh Wave. EP is about 22 minutes long.
Galie - 1986 (Mexico) 1986 private.
Games - Stargazer (USA) 1977 private. Florida group who pretty much stick to the progressive oriented AOR album formula. Reminds me a lot of the all female UK group Mother Superior, that was reissued on the Audo Archives label a few years back.
Gash - A Young Man's Gash (Germany) 1972 Brain. One of the last good Brain albums not on CD. Side 1 is decent to good hard rock, while Side 2 is a long progressive suite, similar to Nektar maybe.
Gemini - Counterbalance (England) 1981 Airship. A strong album for melody and composition but they get dinged though for period instrumentation. Sounds like their lead synth choice was a Moog Opus 3, or some other early polyphonic synthesizer. And the lack of other lead instrument vehicles like sax, flute, organ, etc… makes this one a bit tougher to sit through, given that it's an
instrumental album and all. Rhythm section is quite good however, not
crisp but precise all the same. And the final long track features quite a bit of electric guitar soloing, adding exactly what they need. Good album and on par with the other Airship label album by Protos.
Gloria's Children - Shatten (Germany) 1978 private. I've had this on LP a couple of times. Nice Christian symphonic rock with female vocals. In the same genre as Eden and Credemus.
Good God - s/t (USA) 1972 Atlantic. Philadelphia based jazz rock band, that sounds more European than American. Heavily indebted to instrumental Zappa, Good God's album sounds like many groups from Germany, Denmark and France. Maybe a little too much unhinged sax work for my liking, but still plenty to enjoy here. They cover Zappa's 'King Kong' and John McLaughlin's 'Dragon Song', both of which perfectly fit their style. It had been years since I sold my LP copy, but this listen demonstrated that the album is better than I remembered. Nice album that a high profile reissue label would benefit from.
Goodthunder - s/t (USA) 1972 Elektra. At its core, Los Angeles (?) based Goodthunder are a good time rock and roll band, with folk and pop trimmings. If that's all they were about, then they certainly wouldn't be in this list! No, Goodthunder weren't content to settle for lowest common denominator music. With a prominent keyboardist in the band, and a wide range of dynamics, timeshifts and colors, Goodthunder somehow managed to create a sophisticated hard rock album. And the guitar is pretty heavy for the era, including some nice riffing, in a proto metal style. Not solid all the way through (there are plenty of straightforward moments here), but the progressive breaks are, especially given the setting, quite surprising - and it's this sort of contrast that makes this album work. I