Sunday, April 30, 2006

Albrecht D - Endless Music (1974)

B.M.A.R A01-03albrecht/d. / endless music / stuttgart 73/74 germanyperforming: albrecht/d. (tabla, cymbal, stringinstruments), bernd jaiser (background vocal), grit backer (voc), axel knipschild (background music), thomas niggl (fl)cover: one-color print, part of the issue two-color print on grey cardboard.
no: there is not too much information on albrecht/d. to be found on the net. when you google for him: you will mostly find albrecht dürer: and of course there is a connection: as an instant performance and as a contribution to the albrecht dürer jubilee in 1971 dietrich albrecht changed his real name officially to albrecht/d.a/d. was born in 1944,lives in stuttgart/germany since 1958and acts like an artist since 1966.he worked and performed with beuys, throbbing gristle, vostell, paik, saree and many more.he invented permanent instant performance.he saved raoul hausmann from being forgotten.his work includes:mail art: endless music: processed copies: exhibitions: installations: concerts: stamps:art into society: instant life / love / death: kinky beaux arts: abstract energy: violence permanent:in 1979 he was part of the stuttgart punk & art posse:the young common time punks hated him for being an artist:but he inspired a lot of thee art core noise explorers.

cosey fanni tutti, genesis p-orridge & chris carter in 1974/1975 were c.o.u.m. transmutating into throbbing gristle.albrecht/d. lived and performed with them in their death factory in London.

More info at Albrecht D home page


Included into highly acclaimed NWW list

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Abwarts - Beirut, Holiday Inn (1982)

Classic staff form this cult NDW band. More information at Abwarts home page
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Sperm - Shh! (1970)

Sperm was the biggest name of Helsinki underground, having in its line-up among all Mattijuhani Koponen, P.Y. Hiltunen, Antero Helander, J.O. Mallander, Markus Heikkerц and the musical primus motor Pekka Airaksinen. The group arranged happenings, performances and concerts (with appropriate psychedelic light shows); and managed to cause some debate and public outrage at the time in Finland. Sperm created their experimental compositions using only various guitar effects and tape manipulations; the results of which could these days be called "ambient noise". Taken from FinnScene

Included into highly acclaimed NWW list

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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Gnags - Pa Vej (1973)

Great album by Danish band

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November - En Ny Tid är Här... (1970) & 2:a November(1971)

Reissue of November's legendary first two albums on one compact disc. These guys are known for serving up top notch killer Swedish heavy progressive blues power rock.

En Ny Tid Ar Har - Classic debut album by this Swedish power blues rock trio from 1970 who later also gave birth to the amazing Saga. Lots of ripping guitar work inspired by Cream, Led Zep, Sabbath etc. Songs are sung in a characteristic Swedish rock style. One of the best Scandinavian heavy progressive rock albums.
2:a - Second album by this Swedish heavy rock band released in 1971. More power filled blues rock produced by Geog Wadenius (Made In Sweden). A greater range of music is on offer compared to their debut release and this is overall a heavier affair but with some softer piano sections and melancholic vocals. Great band.



Freak Emporium

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Franco Battiato - Pollution (1972)

This is probably the most “easy and accessible” album of Franco Battiato’s “prog period”…

The first side of this LP is a kind of “suite” with all the tracks bound to each other… “Il silenzio del rumore” (The silence of the noise) begins with the echoes of a waltz in “Strauss style”, then comes Battiato’s recitative voice “… Ti sei mai chiesto / Quale funzione hai? = … Have you ever been wondering / What is your function?”… Then a “percussive” rhythm guitar and a church organ lead to the sonic explosion of “31 dicembre 1999 – ore 9”… Then the keyboards introduce the theme of “Areknames”, that goes on with strange vocals and “experimental” lyrics (written in “reverse style”: for example Areknames = Se mancherà)… On “Beta” you have sound effects and recitative vocals that lead to a “mystical mood” while a piano play some notes of the previous theme “Areknames”… The conclusion of “Beta” is a philosophical question on an orchestral carpet: “Dentro di me vivono la mia identica vita dei microrganismi che non sanno di appartenere al mio corpo... / Io a quale corpo appartengo? = Inside of me live my identical life some micro organisms that do not know that they belong to my body… / Me, what body do I belong to ?”.

On the second side you have three more experimental tracks : the interesting “Plancton” with a kind of “space tarantella finale”, the less interesting “Pollution” and the final weak instrumental “Ti sei mai chiesto che funzione hai?”… In the whole I think that this album is an excellent addition to any prog collection! By Andrea Parentin Prog Archives


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Franco Battiato - Fetus (1971)

An internationally known artist, Franco Battiato has been everything in his long career, from beat singer to avantgarde performer, producer, contemporary music composer.
His beginnings lay in the mid 60's, with many singles released with no particular success, the first two under his real name of Francesco. He had left the native Sicily (he was born in Jonia, near Catania in 1945) moving to Milan around 1965.

In 1970 after his collaboration with Osage Tribe (that he quit before their only album Arrowhead) he had a record deal with Bla Bla, releasing his first solo album in 1972.
Fetus, housed in a outrageous cover (reproducing a foetus) was definitely a prog album, but a very original one, with a minimalist sound mainly based on the use of a VCS3 synth, unusual lyrics, complex arrangements. Two tracks, Energia and Una cellula were also released as single. Italian Prog

Franco Battiato is one of Italy's biggest pop stars. From just hearing that you might think he's just the kind of guy to appear on the Eurovision Song Contest. Not at all, not particularly his '70s material, like this one, Fetus, from 1972. This album has one of the more disturbing covers I have seen, this is definately the kind of album cover that would outrage the likes of Operation Rescue, the Army of God, or Neal Horsley. At this point, Battiato was exploring the world of avant garde electronic music on the VCS-3 synthesizer with the prog rock sound of the day. I just notice how much this album resembles Le Orme with an avant garde bent. Battiato's vocals even sound just like Aldo Tagliapietra, and some of the acoustic passages resemble Le Orme's acoustic-oriented material. But of course, while Le Orme's Toni Pagliuca did often include a bunch of bizarre electronic effects off his synths (like on Contrappunti or Felona e Sorona), it's nothing on the scale that Battiato had done on Fetus. The title track simply blows me away, just as Battiato starts really cooking on his synths, it suddenly stops. "Cariocinesi" features some American-style violin work (reminding me of Don "Sugarcane" Harris, of Don & Dewey and Frank Zappa fame), and it's only the Italian vocals that reveal that this is hardly American. "Energia" starts off with the recurring theme of the title track, with the sounds of kids and babies this time, but then the main song gets a bit cheesy, so it's not one of my favorite pieces here. "Meccanica" is another of the album's high points, with reminders of PFM, and perhaps a little of ELP, before you hear Bach (the same melody Procol Harum used for their classic hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale") and an excert of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It's strange how Franco Battiato became quite famous, especially with an album like Fetus (but then you have remember what he was doing in the '80s and '90s was a lot more mainstream and commercial). So if you like prog with an avant garde electronic bent, you're sure to enjoy this. By Proghead72


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Sunday, April 23, 2006

Cool places to spent the evening at

Dear Friends!

Let me again recommend you some great blogs:

Spsychedelictrip

Prog Not Frog

Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll

White Noise

Enjoy! Happy Easter!

Good Day,
Lisa

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Abus Dangereux - Le Quatrieme Mouvement (1980)

Great French Zeuhl Band


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Ferris - Ferris (1971)

This is a progressive rock trio from Finland, originally released in 1971. Their album comprised bluesy progressive rock with electric guitar and organ to the fore and sung in English. Their sound is typical of the Scandinavian stuff of the time being somewhat influenced by that Nordic folk sound, but also they had a heavy blues base to their music. The main instrument used is the Hammond organ, as there is lot's of manic playing. There is also some nice guitar.

Help with better artwork will be appreciated!

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Thursday, April 20, 2006

La Bamboche - Née De La Lune (1980)

La Bamboche was founded by a bagpipe wizard Jean Blanchard in early 70s. As it was pointed out in Wikipedia, La Bamboche was one of the most important bands revitalized the folk tradition of the Central France.

Here's the review in French:"Après 3 années de tournée avec la formation dite « électrique » La Bamboche enregistre son deuxième album. Le groupe a changé, Pierre « Tiboum » Guignon remplace Bernard « Beps » Chauchat. Cet enregistrement comprend essentiellement les compositions des membres du groupe. « La Bourrée infernale » reste le morceau emblématique de La Bamboche à cette époque. Plus tard, Michel Poncet (contrebasse) remplacera Jacques Boisset et Michel Di Napoli rejoindra le groupe. La vielle à roue présente sur la pochette est celle d’Évelyne Girardon (luthier Jean-Luc Bleton)Épuisé" Taken from Compagnie Beline


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La Bamboche - La Saison Des Amours (1978)

Although their earlier and mostly acoustic earlier album on Hexagone (not on CD) are their best, this 1978 album recorded for Ballon Noir and produced by Gabriel Yacoub (Malicorne) is a fine collection of traditional songs and tunes. Most of the songs are performed by Evelyne Beline Girardon - a decent, if not particularly compelling, vocalist. Instrumentals and arrangements feature violin, accordion, bagpipes, dulcimer, acoustic & electric guitars, bass, drums, hurdy gurdy and more. (FS) Folk Music Of The British Isles & Europe


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Frenchies - Lola-Cola (1974)

What we have here is basically a French version of The Stooges, but also with a touch of NY Dolls, Silverhead, Pandora and KISS. The English lyrics are quite weird, and sometimes don't even make any sense! And some of the arrangements are a little plodding. But when the band gets down to it, they rock - they rock HARD! Glenn Baxter

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Monday, April 17, 2006

The Captain Has Arrived!!!

My Friends!

Let me introduce you new player in the blogging world - The Captain's Trip Music For The Nations! Incredibly cool start - please visit him & thank him.

Take care,
Lisa

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Flamen Dialis - Symptome - Dei (1978-79)

After releasing a 45 in England in 1971 as the Yecta Plus Band (a trio, with guitars, vocals, and keyboards) Didier Le Gallic (keyboards, drums) formed Flamen Dialis (a designation, from ancient Roman times, of the highest priest of Jupiter) in 1976. Flamen Dialis recorded a 7" that was released in 1978 (in their first formation, Flamen Dialis were T. Tanguy: pianos & vocals; D. Le Gallic: guitars and percussion; L. Le Clech: vocals, and B.B. L'Helgouach, chants). The basic components for their following masterpiece are evident on this short release.
For their 1979 LP Symptome Dei, Flamen Dialis added a number of players, vocalists, and instruments, and the band's sound became much richer and dense. The music developed an otherworldly atmosphere. The combination of child-like melodies composed around sequences of unearthly themes and solemn chanting, whispers, and injections of flute, bombarde (an ancient twin-reed instrument, precursor of the oboe) and vibraphone weave a sound that is both disquieting and dreamy.
Yet with the next breath, the atmosphere can turn both heavy and strangely familiar. Layers of Mellotron and airy keyboard sonorities further underscore the music's dramatic tensions. Elements of this recording call to mind Franco Battiato's Fetus and Pollution and the vocal exercises share similarities with the French group Magma, although Flamen Dialis are certainly unique for their impressionist cosmic music and a powerful dramatic intensity.
The group's first 45 is included as the bonus tracks on our CD reissue. These two releases represent the group's entire body of work. MIO Records

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Madrigal - School Of Time (1977)

French band playing pop progressive rock in the vein of 10cc & Barclay James Harvest.

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Friday, April 14, 2006

Fusion Orchestra - Skeleton In Armour (1973)

A short-lived progressive hard rock outfit. The album is now quite sought-after. Except When My Momma's Not At Home, which is essentially a mainstream rock 'n' rollin' piece with a brass arrangement, the remaining tracks, Sonata In Z, Have I Left The Gas On?, A Skeleton In Armour and Talk To The Man In The Sky are superb, especially the first two. Sophisticated compositions with astonishing and strong female vocals, superb manic guitar leads, powerful drumming, electric piano, flute and harmonica solos make this recommended listening. Tapestry Of Delights

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Asgard - In The Realm Of Asgard (1972)

Very little is known of English band ASGARD except that they were one of the first bands to be signed by MOODY BLUES label Threshold. The name 'Asgard', taken from ancient North European mythology, means 'castle of the gods'. Perhaps because of its Tolkien-esque resonance, it seems to be a popular one among progsters as it is shared by two other bands, one a 70's French folk outfit and the other a '90's Italian neo-prog group. English ASGARD consist of guitarist/vocalist Rod Harrison (ex-PLEASE and psych-pop band BULLDOG BREED), vocalist James Smith and drummer Ian Snow (who both later went on to join STONEHOUSE CREEK), vocalist Ted Bartlett, bassist Dave Cook and violinist Peter Orgil.
They released a 45 in 1972 containing 4 tracks, and then a year later Threshold produced their one and only LP, entitled "In the Realm of Asgard". Rather mainstream, the album is made up of 8 relatively short tracks and could be described as a cross between early 70's MOODY BLUES and the warm, flowing symphonic prog of FANTASY, with vocals faintly reminiscent of Dennis deYoung (STYX). The LP has lately been remastered and issued in cd format in Japan.
Of some interest to those who enjoy early 70's MOODY BLUES, circa "Every Good Boy Deserve Favour". Lise (HIBOU), CANADA ProgArchives

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Weekends at EZHEVIKA

Hello My Friends!

Had to be off-blogging for several days. Need to work & search the globe for more rarities for you ;)

During my travels I've met Mr. Matty Groves - great folk/prog specialist (he agreed to share some of his albums - great news!)

According to Mr. Pow recommendations I'll present to your attention one of the most unique bands from the Eastern Block.

If you'd like to participate in Ezhevika Archives send me your thoughts to ezhevika.secrets@yahoo.com

Due to work reasons most of new albums will appear here around weekends - with few on working days sometimes - so stay tuned!

Now is the time for new discoveries! Enjoy!

Good day,
Lisa

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

The Rationals - Temptation 'Bout To Get Me (1968)

The Rationals emerged in the mid-'60s out of Ann Arbor, in matching uniforms, to score with a succession of 45 singles for A-Square. On this album they are captured live in the Fall of 1968 at the Grande Ballroom, during their post-mod period.
"Holy fuckin' MOLY! An absolutely SMOKING live set from Detroit's Rationals, recorded at the Grande Ballroom in October, 1968, while opening for the MC5. The first time I heard this CD, it had me up against the opposite wall, clutching my chest in gasping, wide-eyed, Fred Sanford-ish disbelief; 'Elizabeth... I'm comin to see you!' This is an absolutely fantastic portrait of the best band ever to come outta Detroit forging their own very unique blend of firey white-boy soul and urban psychedelia. Scott Morgan's unbelievably soulful, larynx-shredding lead vocals and Steve Correll's genius punky-funk guitar duke it out for the spotlight throughout the disc, creating an almost angry tension on some tracks, and putting a very unique high-energy spin on chestnuts like Screamin Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," and Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle." The level of freneticism is taken down a bit on "Ha-Ha," a gorgeous piece of acoustic folk-soul featuring Morgan on flute (not at all dissimilar to Autumn Stone-period Small Faces), and a cover of the Knight Brothers1965 soul hit "Temptation "Bout to Get Me," both tracks to surface the following year on the bands self-titled LP for Crewe. My favorite track, though, has got to be "The Instrumental," an absolutely MANIC jam piece that sounds like one of those boring Grateful Dead jams on about 20 pounds of amyl nitrate. The band sustains an absolutely amazing intensity level throughout the performance -- great stuff, great great stuff. To paraphrase John Lennon, 'we shoulda been there.' "- Gary Pig Gold / Dead Flowers
Only digital snobs will turn their noses up at the raw sound 'cos the gig is fiery and loose and tautly-wound and lysergically freeform, all at the same time. - Goldmine
If you like the MC5 live, or The Stooges, you'll dig this! - Bad Trip

Total Energy Records
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Sandy Coast - Shipwreck (1969)

At last a reissue of very hard to get UK only album from one of Hollands finest Progressive Psych band from the late 60's/early 70's. Chock full of ambitious rock music with nice extended guitar jams throughout. Contains 4 bonus tracks including their rare take on "Eleanor Rigby. Originally released on PAGE ONE. Freak Emporium

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The Ceyleib People - Tanyet (1967)

Ry Cooder's Ceyleib People are arguably one of the more innovative groups of the late 60s. Taking the loping blues romp of Captain Beefheart and filtering it through Indian music, the group created a very short album, what would be an EP now, of two 10-11 minute parts. For 1967, this is definitely hippy experimental music, hopping from guitar riffs to sitar drones to mellotron rambling and back without regard for convention. It's almost as if there was an intent to fuse the influences of Ravi Shankar with those of the old blues legends, except that rarely is there any true juxtaposition of both styles, instead one will start out and then give way to another, segment by segment. It's as if someone gave a studio the masters for several Ravi Shankar and Captain Beefheart albums, asked them to splice them together, and then left, only to have the engineer play a joke by adding parts of Days of Future Passed in as well. Overall, it's a pretty successful experiment especially considering its age. The reissue of the album gives you two new versions of the two pieces, "Aton" and "Aton II," supposedly processed, but not really sounding all that much different from the first two. While this might not have been so impressive had it been from a few years later, its presence in 1967 is quite prescient. Mike McLatchey Gnosis 2000

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Saturday, April 08, 2006

Mind Doctors - On The Threshold Of Reality (1976)

UK mid seventies drug fuelled Wicked Lady spin off band from around the period of "Axemen Cometh". This is even heavier. Instrumental acid fuzz guitar freakouts with doom laden backing.Wicked stuff indeed and deserves to be put on a higher recognition than it already is. Freak Emporium

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Sweet Smoke - Darkness To Light (1971)

Although everybody agrees that SWEET SMOKE is of an international nature, they were formed in NYC, but were most popular in Germany and Benelux. Their music is one of the most loosely arranged happy-hippy-rock, very "jammy" as well as being very jazz-tinged also. Their average tune was 20 min long with the notable exception of their second studio album where shorter tracks (some were still 12 or 13 min long) are more common and they recorded all of them in Conny Plank's studio Germany. Their short career will end with a live album (recently re-released with extra tracks) but very worthy of them since it was new non-studio material.Highly recommended to people who love good time happy music, very danceable but very suited for more intimate moments with your partner too, especially if you are to light up a doobie. Hugues Chantraine ProgArchives
Great '70s psychy / jazzy / folky / West Coast styled Europe based US commune band who interweave Eastern flavoured spiritual lyrics into some wonderful tunes. Electric guitars, sitars, percussion and great harmonies... A wonderful, happy, uplifting album... Freak Emporium
The underrated "Darkness To Light" is SWEET SMOKE's last studio album. This one has some shorter tracks but I think it's closer to progressive rock genre than their first. The music is more diverse, complex and thoughtfully composed. However, in some parts it still ratains the jazz-rock elemnts from their first album. Their typical sudden changes in mood and rhythm are also presented. I welcome the addition of piano and string instruments. I also like the singing and occasional beatlesque choir parts. The hippie imagery in the music and on the coverart is even more prominent than before. This is also notable in the epic track "Kundalini" which begins in Indo-fusion style: a crowd singing a mantra (a few people are out of tune but I think it was intentional), ethnic percussion, instrumental improvisations, scat singing... It's slowly proceeding in more "conventional" jazz-rock. The ending is a crazy jazz counterpoint between guitar, piano, sax, bas and drums. Trully stunning! "Show Me the War" is thoughtfully arranged and spiced with some dissonance. The title track has some awesome trippy and jazzy things going on. In the end they freak out... Other tracks are nice and simple songs with folky flute and a few intelligent twists. I'm not a "flower power" follower but there is something magical about this album that makes it one of my favorites. An underrated prog gem! by terramystic (Matej Luketic) ProgArchives

Photos were take from Brian Currin's Sweet Smoke page

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Eric Burdon & The Animals - Fuck Me!!! I Thought He Was Dead!

Produced by John Sterling and Snuffy Walden - recorded live in Germany and the USA. Vocals: Eric Burdon. Guitars: Snuffy Walden, John Sterling. Bass: Terry Wilson, Kim Kesterson. Keyboards: Ronnie Barron, Bobby Martin, Terry Ryan. Harmonica: Bobby Martin. Drums: Tony Braunagel, George Suranovich. Tracks 1-9 are from a performance at The Metropole (Berlin) recording tracks for the soundtrack of the movie "Comeback" released in 1983. Track 10 from a Monday night in 1971 at The Whisky (California) with Jimmy Witherspoon and John Sterling's band TOVARISH. This album was also released as a CD in the USA in 1999 (One Way Records OW 35132) and has been re-released by Thunderbolt in 2001 as part of a 2CD issue titled "Live At The Roxy / Greatest Hits Alive".

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Stray - Suicide (1972)

Suicide’ was the second album by England’s Stray, following hot on the heels of the debut from earlier the same year, and already significantly evolved from the sound and style of that first record (see my separate review), and with better production (which may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on where you stand). Opinions vary on which of the first three is their best, obviously being entirely subjective, with some going for the self-titled debut (that’s me with my hand up), some for this one, and many (who are probably more into the proggy side of things and less into the rawer, heavier stuff) settling on ‘Saturday Morning Pictures’ which came the next year. All have their virtues. Indeed, ‘Suicide’ contains some of their best and heaviest songs (though perhaps not as raw and unleashed overall as on ‘Stray’), but it falls second to the debut in my estimation due to not being as consistently great, sagging in a couple of the softer parts. Regardless, it’s still one hell of an album and most bands never get as good as this.To flesh out the sound palette a bit more, guitarist Del Bromham here also plays organ, electric piano, harpsichord and mellotron (though not at the same time of course), whilst singer Steve Gadd also plays bells and other percussion. ‘Suicide’ was recorded in Olympic Studios in 30 hours.‘Son Of The Father’ (5:46) begins the album as a slow martial lament, with ghostly distant wind of very quiet drum washes (unless I’m just hearing things) and acoustic strumming, before kicking into a jubilant up-tempo fuzz riff verse/chorus bit and going through numerous highly charged metal riff changes tempered by washes of taped strings on the mellotron. All instrumental by now, the middle section is a fuzz bass and mellotron driven death dirge to a funeral procession that grows all discordant and clashing before grinding a death-defying groove into a sudden mellow respite, reprising the opening of the track and also the verse/chorus/riff/mellotron bit, charging to a classy ending. The lyrics, by the way, concern multiple generations of men going off to war and (often) death.‘Nature’s Way’ (3:28) is a gutsy fuzzed heavy riff-rocker more reminiscent of the first Stray album, with balls the size of pumpkins and a complex middle section more akin to manic gusto Italian dudes Osage Tribe, though not quite as good. Wicked stuff all the same.‘Where Do Our Children Belong’ (3:37) is one of the soft songs, but not really bad or anything, as with the occasional softer bits on the debut album. It’s all lazily paced acoustic guitar (or perhaps just quiet electric), nice harmonies, and totally appropriate bass and drums, picking up strength for a bit of a swell a minute before the end, but never breaking out into anything you would call rock. Actually a pretty nice track, something I didn’t think when I first heard the album, disappointed at a lull in the onslaught.‘Jericho’ (4:53) remedies that, with timely arrival of kinda dramatic, hard charged ever-changing riff sequences with urgent lyrics, sliding beyond belief into a tumbling dervish of chiselling guitar as the walls of Jericho “tumble to the groooouuuuund!” from the sheer power of loud music. It’s a complex, tight beast of a song that tears along at manic pace for ages without letting up except for an almost mediaeval atmospheric rock dirge in the middle that climbs to a growling climax before doing it all again. This one’s a contender for the best song on the album, if you need one pointed out to you, the other being ‘Suicide’ (below). It could have been a hit single, at least in my demented imagination, because it’s damn catchy and brilliantly constructed, despite being such a frantic heavy rocker that might have been a bit too overboard for most radio stations of the time. John Peel probably would have played it, though. No idea what he thought of Stray, though, or if he ever did play any of their stuff.‘Run Mister Run’ (3:53) rides a hard, funky bass riff and almost southern rock guitar, complete with stomping drums and cowbell, before a series of gut punches ensue for the chorus, and there’s a great jumping jam in the middle and end as well. They sound very much like an American band of the period here, but I can’t put my finger on anyone it specifically reminds me of. Maybe Mountain meets the James Gang?‘Dearest Eloise’ (2:27) is a fairly soppy love song, soft all the way through, with wet strings and much flowery balladry and muzak all round. Probably the only thing that really stops me rating this as an overall great album. At least it doesn’t last long – maybe snack break time?‘Do You Miss Me’ (6:26) runs at a jumpy pace, almost with a late 60’s American jazzy psych/pop/soul feel, with staggered delivery of the breathless vocals “Do you... Miss me...” (not as crap as it sounds) ... until nearly 2 minutes in, when the song switches into some heavy downer riffing before picking up speed again and galloping into a fast and hard boogie jam. After another run through the lyrics there’s a similar jam again (no downer riffing this time, sorry) but less hard rockin’ and maybe sounding more like Ten Years After for a while, until the end of the track.‘Suicide’ (7:37) closes the album as its heaviest moment, weighty, (cock)rock-hard demon riffing sounding very much like Zior circa ‘Every Inch A Man’ – in other words, pretty damn cool! The lyrics are sung in mad, growling, howling desperation from the perspective of a black man who’s about to blow his own brains out with a shotgun. Not a party track, then. But apart from the downer subject matter, this mother rocks like a beast straight from the pits, swinging into an out of control (and teasingly brief) breakneck heavy-ass thrash metal middle section that is surely some of the truest (and best) metal recorded by anyone at this point in time. Even Sabbath didn’t get this hardcore until ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ and perhaps ‘Vol. 4’ (not knocking the Sabs of course, who made many more consistently excellent albums than Stray did before starting to fade in talent and inspiration), but even then, never this fast and jugular. Much of the remainder of the track is instrumental heavy structured jamming, which doesn’t again reach the peaks of that middle section headcrusher but still rocks with more sturdiness and enthusiasm than most folks can muster. Reviewed by achuma, 29/03/2006 at Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage

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Kestrel - Kestrel (1975)

Kestrel released their album of smooth, polished and song-based mid-70's symphonic progressive rock in 1975, and then vanished completely. Not an unknown fate for many bands from the same period, but it was perhaps a bit odder with Kestrel than other groups, as their highly professional and accessible music still should have had great commercial appeal in 1975. All the songs on "Kestrel" were written by guitarist Dave Black, with the exception of "End of the Affair" that was penned by keyboardist John Cook. The songs can be, to be honest, a bit hard to distinguish from each other at first, but repeated listens will quickly solve that problem. "The Acrobat" is one of the strongest tracks, and also very representative for Kestrel's style. Cook provides a backdrop of string-synths, organ and Mellotron underneath the bright and uplifting vocal melodies of Tom Knowles. Cook also adds clavinet and el-piano to the instrumental passage, making sure to give the arrangements the needed degree of variety. "Wind Cloud" is a lush ballad, but "I Believe In You" goes back to the style of "The Acrobat" again. Already here it becomes apparent that the band's sound was extremely defined, and it would have been interesting to see how they would have developed it if they had stayed around long enough for another record. "Last Request" strays away from the formula a bit by having a laid-back, piano-dominated verse with a more powerful and dramatic bridge leading up to the chorus that again is unmistakeable Kestrel. They successfully attempt some slightly more complex structures in "In the War" that is far darker than the rest of the album. "Take it Away" takes the band back on "safe" ground again, although it's probably the weakest song. Cook delivers his only song on the album with "End of the Affair", a good progressive ballad with some nice melodies. The first part of "August Carol" is yet another ultra-typical Kestrel-sounding song, but climaxes into a majestic Mellotron-theme to die for, and brings a superb finale to this forgotten minor classic. Vintageprog

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Friday, April 07, 2006

EZHEVIKA THOUGHTS

Hello My Friends!

The new weekend is coming - great.

First: I'll post two Stray albums - "Suicide" & "Move It" - they were requested in the relevant comments. So writing small comment could be useful ;)

Second: If you wish to share some of your prog/psych/garage... favourities - feel free to contact me & I'll post them with all respect & credits to the uploader (please rare & hardly to find staff). Attention: please no links without password matching your user name as all leeched links will be ignored!

Third: Please don't bother yourself writing password complaints in the comments - everything was discussed & settled plenty of times here ;)

Fourth: If each of you for all albums downloaded will buy at least one CD monthly - this will support the whole thing & provide us with great music in the future.

Enjoy the music & your Friday beer!

Take care,
Lisa

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Lazy Smoke - Corridor Of Faces (1968)

Drifting melodic Beatlesque psych. like if "Rubber Soul" had all the "Sgt. Pepper's..." studio tricks and Lennon handled all the vocals. backwards guitar, floating vocals, churchy organ, and haunting lyrics about romance and regret. The two surviving members released an album of newly recorded acidic folk in 1996 on the Pondicherry label, titled "Pictures In The Smoke". [RM] Acid Archives
Legendary Beatles like psychedelia from Massachusetts. Haunting vocals, backwards guitar (and drums), feedback and various other studio trickery combine in a pot-pourri of inventive psych songwriting and musicianship. Freak Emporium

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Steel Mill - Green Eyed God (1971)



Steel Mill are one of the most mysterious groups to have existed (or not!). The sleeve-notes of the CD re-release of their one and only album detail how the author tried in vain to track down some historical information about the band. All roads were however dead-ends, to the extent that even the British Musicians Union has no record of the any of the band members. The band released two singles in 1971, followed by one album. “Green eyed god” in 1975. Quite why there was such a gap in between is not clear. Their debut single, also called "Green eyed god", now changes hands for princely sums. The version of that track included here is considerably longer than the single, but it would have been good to have the single edit as a bonus track. In this case, less really is more. The track “Green eyed god” is a superb mix of styles, starting with a gentle flute solo similar to some of Focus’ early work. A brief vocal section is introduced over the flute, before all hell breaks loose as the track becomes a rocking guitar piece. The album version simply toys around with these themes more, the single version being more concise and hard hitting. (The producer of the album does recall that the flute parts for this track were recorded in the toilet to get the right effect!)The other single released by Steel Mill is included here as a bonus track, having been inexplicably left off the original album. “Get on the line” is a more orthodox pop rock track, with a highly infectious chorus. Alan Freeman (enlightened UK DJ) rightly described the track at the time as having a “mighty sound”, The remainder of the album is in truth generally fairly average guitar and flute driven rock (but not particularly Jethro Tull like). "Summer's child" is a fine if naïve soft ballad, with some nice flute. "Mijo and the laying of the witch" has shades of Audience to it when John Challenger, the "wind instrumentalist" of the group, adds sax. Iron Butterfly's "In-a-gadda-da-vida" is another good reference point. ProgArchives


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The Motions - Impressions Of Wonderful (1965-1967)



The Motions from The Hague were one of the bigger groups of the 1960s Dutch beat explosion. They were formed out of the remnants of Ritchie Clark and the Ricochets in 1964 and went on to become hitmakers for the next several years in the '60s. The Motions were much loved abroad, even in the USA. The Walker Brothers even recorded a song The Motions had written and helped in the production of the group's second LP; The Motions were also brought to the USA in 1968 and presented to the public as one of the world's top hit-making pop groups! The single, "Freedom", reached high in the American charts.

Although the group disbanded in 1971, the most imporant members have met each other again and again in new groups such as Crossroad, Greenhorn, Jupiter and Galaxy Lin.

From 1964 till 1967, the line-up remained the same: Rudy Bennett (i.r.l. Ruud van de Berg - vocals, earlier as Ritchie Clark and the Ricochets), Robbie van Leeuwen (guitar, ex-Atmospheres & Ricochets, later the founder of both Shocking Blue and Galaxy Lin), Henk Smitskamp (bass, ex-Willy & Giants, later to Livin' Blues) & Sieb Warner (drums, ex-Ricochets, later to Golden Earrings).

In 1967, Robbie left to form Shocking Blue and was replaced by Leo Bennink (ex-Mack); Henk was replaced by Gerard Romeyn (ex-Tee-Set, later with Nico Haak, Image), who, in turn, was replaced by Paul van Melzen (ex-Haigs, later in the Mailer McKenzie Band) after just six months. The last line-up of the group (up 'til 1971) was: Rudy, Leo, Jan Vennik (sax, flute & organ, ex-Jayjays, later to Rob Hoeke & Ekseption), Han Cooper (organ, bass & vocals, ex-Bobby Green Selection, later with Leo, to Fisher & Friends) and Bobby Green (drums, ex-Bobby Green Selection, also to Fisher & Friends).

After the breakup, Rudy Bennett, Bobby Green & Gerard Romeyn all released solo singles. Alex Giltin

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Fusioon - Minorisa (1975)

This is a Spanish quartet from Barcelona featuring Manuel Camp (piano and keyboards), Jordi Camp (bass), Santi Arisa (drums) and Marti Brunet (electric guitars and synthesizers). In the first half of the Seventies FUSIOON released three albums entitled "Fusioon I" (1972), "Fusioon II" (1974) and "Minorisa" (1975).The first album FUSIOON contains arrangements from ‘traditionals’. It sounds like a tasteful stew with classical, folk, jazz and symphonic elements. The songs has echoes from KING CRIMSON (Fripperian guitar), FOCUS (flute) and Le ORME/EKSEPTION/ELP (Hammond organ) but the musical ideas are great and the musicians play strong with many surprising breaks and exciting solos and interplay. The highlight is “Danza del molinero” (Manual de Falla) with sparkling piano, a tight rhythm-section, an Andalusian sounding violin, fiery electric guitar and powerful Hammond waves, culminating in a grand finale. The second LP II has a more symphonic sound, especially the Keith EMERSON-like Hammond, Moog - and pianoplay is very prominent but I can also trace GENTLE GIANT (guitar/piano interplay and some vocal harmonies). An alternating and interesting album .Their best effort is the third record entitled “Minorisa”, containing three long tracks. The first two are an amazing blend of KING CRIMSON, GENTLE GIANT, ELP and even TANGERINE DREAM (flute-Mellotron like the “Phaedra”-era) with lots of captivating musical moments, lush keyboards and strong interplay (guitar, keyboards, flute, bass). The third song is a maverick: a kind of sound collage, very electronic like TANGERINE DREAM, SYNERGY and Klaus SCHULZE with flute Mellotron, all kind of synthesizer sounds and fat Moog runs, a bit weird end of this good album. Erik Neutebum
The music featured on "Minorisa" is some of the most original keyboard-based prog that I've heard. FUSIOON's music is somewhat impossible to describe, but I can tell you that the album is made up of 3 long tracks. The first two tracks feature energetic, and playful, interaction between the guitarist and keyboardist. The listener will find a great mixture of symphonic and Spanish influences where the closest comparison that comes to my mind is Le ORME from Italy. My only complaint here is that the last track doesn't fit the atmosphere of the album. This track is basically an 8-minute analog electronic exploration. If the band had written just one more track similar to the first two tracks, this album would have been a masterpiece. Alas, expect 30-minutes of intense prog and 8-minutes of electronic noodling. Steve Hegede ProgArchives

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Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Fusioon - Fusioon 2 (1974)

Fusioon's recordings are amongst the most exciting offerings in Spanish prog history. Thier second slbum 'Fusioon 2' comprises a stunning combination of delightful melodies and counterpoints, clever interplaying, delicate dissonances, and even some electronic avant- garde stuff which adds an interesting air of weirdness to the overall musical product. It is clear that the band is pretty much into traditional classical music (in Fact, they quote Tchaikovsky somewhere in track 3), as well as contemporary chamber (such as Bartok), jazz, and Catalonian folk: hece, it should come as no susrprise that all these varied elements are essential to their own prog sound. At times, Fusioon sounds a bit reminiscent of Gentle Giant, Return to Forever, and in a slightly manner, of Zappa; yet, they manage to create a particular sound of their own. The band's repertoire is basically instrumental: the occasional choral arrangements (performed by the band members themselves) are included for playful purposes, mainly. ""Farsa del Buen Vivir" is a nice tune, catchy but not simplistic, which serves as a good opener. It is in the following numbers that Fusioon's skill and inventiveness shines in full splendour. Contraste" and "Diálogos" comprise plenty of dissonant passages, synth textures, and jazz-fusinonesque flavours; on the other hand, "Tritons" and "Concerto Grosso" are structured on a symphonic basis, still containing some occasional avant-garde adornments and surprising counterpoints. Fusioon works immaculately as a well-oiled ensemble: maybe this is the main reason why 'Fusion 2' is such a recommendable album. By César Inca Mendoza Loyola
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The Jody Grind - One Step On (1969)

A very daring, progressive, experi mental, jazz influenced group, typical of the period, dominated by the powerful keyboard work of Tim Hinkley.Bernie Holland was later with Hummingbird, Humblebums, Stealer's Wheel, Joan Armatrading and many others. Pete Gavin has also played with Al Stewart, Long John Baldry and Albert Lee.
Tim Hinkley, over the last 30 years, has had a very rich, illustrious career, which includes Joan Armatrading, Beckett, Graham Bell, Boxer, Roger Chapman & Shortlist, David Coverdale, Dr. Feelgood, Chris Farlowe & Thunderbirds, Peter French, Mike Heron's Reputation, Humble Pie, Alexis Korner, Albert Lee, Henry McCullough, Snafu, Al Stewart, Thin Lizzy, Streetwalkers, Vinegar Joe, Whitesnake, Steve York's Carmelo Pardalis, and his own all-star band, Hinkley's Heroes.And finally, Louis Cennamo has played with Colosseum, Renaissance, Steamhammer, Illusion and Armageddon. Alex Gitlin, October 2000
A UK early '70s underground favourite. The band are perhaps unfairly better known for their second album 'Far Canal', but this is an excellent set of Hammond organ dominated songs which comes complete with a bonus version of the 'Paint It Black' single. Freak Emporium

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Jamul - Jamul (1970)

The album, though being issued on the small Lizard label, may be not so obscure, but the band surely is. Named after a small town somewhere out in the back country near San Diego, there is almost no information available on this outfit. They are: Steve Williams, Bob Desnoyers, Ron Armstrong and John Fergus. Their music is mostly heavy blues rock with extremely powerful vocals. Best songs are "Tobacco Road" with a strong guitar solo and thundering blues harp, "Ramblin Man" (not the Allman Brothers' song) and the apocalyptic "Valley Thunder". Their cover of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash' is a bit lame, although it has a good progressive Guitar solo. There are 2 or 3 other songs, that seem to be mere fillers. But still - this is better than some of the 100-dollar-records you see for sale. - Originally came with a set of stamps depicting the musicians. seifke
Killer late '60s US heavy hippy rock album issued in 1970 with a down-and-wasted vibe. Great guitar throughout with a superb version of "Tobacco Road", plus loads of originals. The band were involved with Steppenwolf's management and the sound is similar to the early years of that band as well as other heavy acid rock bands such as Yesterday's Children and Frantic. Great album and worth checking out. Freak Emporium

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Sunday, April 02, 2006

Zauber - Il Sogno (1978)

Zauber, from Turin, only released an album in the 70's but their career lasted until late 90's with many more CD releases.
A dreamy, relaxed album, this contains 7 tracks with acoustic guitar, keyboards and flute in evidence, in a soft style not far from Pierrot Lunaire. Liliana Bodini's voice is rather thin but gives the music an original atmosphere. Some tracks, like Dietro le colline have good symphonic inspired keyboard playing.
In 1981 keyboardist Oscar Giordanino joined the group, an experienced musician from the jazz scene. Founder members Liliana Bodini and Mauro Cavagliato, with his brother Massimo on drums, have kept Zauber alive until the 90's with new CD releases. Italian Prog

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Neighb'rhood Childr'n - Long Years In Space (1967-68)

Highly sought after US '60s San Fran psych band who made one awesome album of 'Airplane like psych. This single CD contains all of their one and only album together with loads and loads of killer outtakes, loads of killer fuzz and keyboard dominated gems. This really is a must have. Freak Emporium
Marinated in influences as mind-splintering as the mushroom folk/rock blast of the Jefferson Airplane as well as the feel-good pristine pop of the Turtles, the Neighb'rhood Childr'n's one album trades hands these days for sums usually mentioned in ransom notes. We've added a dozen unreleased brownies, spun gold from the original session tapes, and Prof. Jud has squeezed the band's legend from vocalist Dyan Hoffman and guitarist Ric Bolz in this addition to the Dazed's acclaimed and essential Quakes From The Eureka State series.
Thirty seconds of ‘Feeling Zero’ is enough to bring on a rush of psychedelic pleasure. Fuzz guitar, swirling organ, a delicious melody that straddles the past and the future, a manic acidic solo—it’s a San Francisco gem. And we haven’t even heard from second lead vocalist Dyan Hoffman yet: on ‘Long Years In Space,’ she proves to be a dead ringer for Grace Slick, with the same carefully controlled power and harmonic sense. When Hoffman and Rick Bolz lock tonsils on ‘Changes Brought To Me,’ it could be a lost tape from the Surrealistic Pillow sessions” - Record Collector

Available from Sundazed

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Mountain Bus - Sundance (1971)

Reissue of the rare and great 1971 album by this Chicago band. Psychedelic country tinged rock, that has drawn comparisons with Grateful Dead, possibly for their own blissed out version of "I Know You Rider". Long jamming tracks with great spacey mid sections and liquid, twin lead guitar work...Freak Emporium
Tremendous early 70's psych out of Chicago with an obvious Grateful Dead influence. Starts out strong and gets stronger, with some really high quality space jams towards the end of the record. This band's version of "I Know You Rider" is perhaps the best version I've ever heard, blowing away versions by The Dead and Hot Tuna. Gorgeous vocal harmonies and searing leads make this the standout cut for sure. It makes the hair on my arms stand up! This album was recently reissued on Gear Fab records in compact disc format, and it sounds really good. There are quite a few bonus live tracks tacked on to here that I could really do without, as the vocals are mixed way low and the whole thing has kind of a murky sound, but the proper studio album comes highly recommended. chadkelsey

Gear Fab

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Saturday, April 01, 2006

Atila - Intencion (1976)

Excellent 70’s Spanish symphonic progressive rock album with a powerful progressive musical prowess. “Intencion” is very reminiscent at times of Pink Floyd (Meddle era) with great guitar soloing and a ton of great keyboard work (Hammond and moog). The songs on this album are very much inspired and this is an essential album to have in your collection. Although not a dominating factor and in fact vocals are used only in the first track, with them being sung in native tongue and being very well done. The album also features a female choir in sections which also works to perfection of the album. The keyboard work on this album is quite crunchy actually and really brings out different atmospheres throughout the album. The album features 1 epic track, the 16-minute "El Principio Del Fin" which offers a little bit of almost everything from Hendrix guitar soloing to more symphonic. Loserboy

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Bloque - El Hijo Del Alba (1980)

A Spanish Progressive band with a few albums out. BLOQUE blend synth and Spanish vocals with electric and acoustic guitar (lots of electric) in a wide variety of styles. They were strongly influenced by the jazz, flamenco, and hard rock.
Their third album, El Hijo del Alba ('son of the sunrise') has a more 'progressive' sound on its first side, but the flip has more of the duelling guitars you can hear on their first two releases. There seems to be an actual string section (and some brass) on several tracks, particularly the linked parts of El Silencio de las Esferas, although opener Poemas de Soledad features considerable quantities of string synth and some murky Mellotron choir. Planet Mellotron

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