RUMPLESTILTSKIN – RUMPLESTILTSKIN – 1970 (UK) hard rock

Early UK five piece of vocals, guitar, bass, organ and drums. Bluesy rock like Savoy Brown, May Blitz, Rare Earth, John Mayall, etc. The bassist was well known session man Herbie Flowers who was also bassist for Sky. The vocalist is Peter Lee Stirling who has several albums from the early to mid-60s released under his own name. The first album is good bluesy rock with longish organ and guitar solos but nothing particularly progressive about it.

Peter Lee Stirling (vocals)
Alan Hawkshaw (keyboards)
Alan Parker (guitar)
Clem Cattini (drums)
Herbie Flowers (bass)
1 Make Me Make You
2 Poor Billy Brown
3 Knock in My Door
4 No One to Turn To
5 Mr. Joe (Witness for the Defence)
6 Pate de foie gras
7 Rumplestiltskin
8 Squadron Leader Johnson

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RUMPLESTILTSKIN – BLACK MAGICIAN – 1971 (UK) hard rock

Second German only LP of excellent funky prog by UK session/library heroes Alan Hawkshaw, Clem Cattini and Herbie Flowers amongst others. Has Peter Lee Sterling on vocals and Shel Talmy producing.

Peter Lee Stirling (vocals)
Alan Hawkshaw (keyboards)
Alan Parker (guitar)
Clem Cattini (drums)
Herbie Flowers (bass)1 Lord Of The Heaven And The Earth
2 Can't You Feel It
3 Evil Woman
4 I Am The Last Man
5 Lonliness Is What My Life's All About
6 Trough My Looking Glass
7 Black Magician's Daughter
8 I'm So Afraid I'll Leave Unsaid
9 I Am Alone
10 I've Had Enough Of The Army
11 Wimoweh

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CONNEXION – CONNEXION – 1975 (CAN) hard rock

A French Canadian band from Montreal, Quebec, whose album features some tasty guitar work, although the lyrics are sung in French. All 11 tracks are group compositions and they can certainly write a decent song.

MICHEL BARBIER bs
SALVATORE 'TOTO' SCIORTINO drms, perc
EMIDIO 'PEANUT' VERRILLO gtr, vcls
RICHARD VEZINA gtr 1 Pas besoin de personne
2 Un employа
3 Moi je crois en toi
4 Tout cela pour nous
5 Tu m'as eu
6 Elle ne veut plus de moi
7 J'ai pas le temps
8 Comprendre
9 Fais-moi sourire
10 Le vieux du coin
11 Faut pas l’cher

Thanx to Chris

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EPITAPH – RETURN TO REALITY – 1979 (GER) hard rock

Epitaph are a German-British band who play British styled hardrock with nice double lead guitars. Although being no typical Krautrock band, they were and still are a desired live act. After the excellent third Album "Outside The Law" from 1974, which has a similar quality than the first Wishbone Ash albums, their music turned more commercial.

Jackson, Cliff (lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals)
Glass, Heinz (guitar)
Janssen, Luitjen (bass)
Karch, Michael (keyboards)
Randow, Fritz (drums)1 Set Your Spirit Free 3:38
2 Stranger 5:03
3 We Can Get Together 7:40
4 Summer Sky 3:40
6 On the Road 5:32
7 Return to Reality 7:13
8 Spread Your Wings 6:07
7 Return to Reality (live) 8:09

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STREETWALKERS – RED CARD – 1976 (UK) hard rock

Punk rock made the Streetwalkers seem like old farts, but Red Card proved (upcoming metaphor overuse intended) that they still had an ace up their sleeve. From the groove-heavy "Roll up, Roll Up" to the ferocious "Run for Cover," this is the first and last great gasp from this band. In fact, had it come a few years earlier, it could have been included along with some of the better work by Chapman and Whitney's previous band, Family. The highlight, perhaps the best reason to search out this record, is a cover of Otis Blackwell's "Daddy Rollin' Stone," which Roger Chapman absolutely sings the living sh*t out of. It's an exhilarating moment and proof positive that he has one of the great voices in rock & roll.

Roger Chapman (vocals)
John "Charlie" Whitney (guitar, vocals)
Bob Tench (guitar)
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (drums)
Phil Chen (bass)
1 Run For Cover 5:46
2 Me An' Me Horse A' Me Rum 4:03
3 Hole In Your Pocket 3:44
4 Between Us 3:47
5 Daddy Rolling Stone 3:11
6 Roll Up Roll Up 3:27
7 Crazy Charade 5:27
8 Shotgun Messiah 4:48
9 Decadence Code 6:38

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SILBERBART – 4 TIMES SOUND RAZING – 1971 (GER) krautrock/hard rock

Working within the dynamics of a typical power rock trio, the early-'70s Krautrock band Silberbart take the genre much further into creative realms on their only album. It's got all the aspects of any good heavy metal band, screaming guitar solos and bone-shredding rhythms, as well as screamed high-pitched vocals, but they throw in a lot more improvisation and some curve balls as well, maybe coming off like a heavier version of the three-piece Guru Guru of that same era. The improvisational chops give Silberbart a jazzy limberness that one doesn't find in your typical plodding heavy metal dinosaur, even as they turn up the psychedelic quotient into overdrive. On the longest track, "Brain Brain," the group begins with a slow gloomy riff and falsetto vocals until about three minutes in when abruptly everything explodes violently as the drugs suddenly kick in. Then it's an intense roller coaster ride through heavy psychedelic noise blasts and abstract free-form soundscapes of scraping guitar and clattering rhythm. The other three tracks are only slightly less intense and unusual on this dark hard rock masterpiece.

Hajo Teschner (guitar, vocals)
Werner Klug (bass),
Peter Behrens (drums)
1 Chub Chub Cherry 4:23
2 Brain Brain 16:16
3 God 10:07
4 Head Tear of the Drunken Sun 12:00

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SPIRIT OF JOHN MORGAN – 1969 (UK) heavy psych

Although released in 1971, the debut self-titled album by Spirit of John Morgan was actually recorded two years earlier, before the spirit of the '60s dissipated into the excesses of the '70s. But even back in 1969, the British quartet were already fish out of water, gasping for R&B in a Technicolor age of psychedelia. So they created their own, an entire album's worth of strong, shadowed, R&B numbers underlit by magnificent musicianship and powerful rhythms. The set opener, a menacing cover of Graham Bond's "I Want You," is a case in point, stalker-like in its intensity, with John Morgan's organ conjuring up a phantom of the opera from which there is no escape. However, Morgan's phenomenal finger skills are best showcased on a cover of Meade "Lux" Lewis' "Honky Tonk Train Blues," a fabulously masterful piano boogie woogie, as is his equally extraordinary adaptation of Albert Ammons' "Shout for Joy." And Morgan is just as skilled on the organ, as is evidenced on the band's take on Big John Patton's "The Yodel." As astounding as the covers are, the quartet offered up their own numbers that are of equal quality. "Orpheus and None for Ye," is a particular standout, a dark, driving number that initially calls to mind the Spencer Davis Group before diving into the heart of the jungle, while Don Whitaker's guitar licks like flames around the piece. It is the set's final number, however, the ten-minute epic "Yorkshire Blues" that is the heart of the album. Delta blues brought to the English north, where the band convincingly make the case that life is just as tough up mill as it is down in the fields of the Deep South.

John Morgan (organ, piano, vocals)
Mick Walter (drums, percussion, vocals)
Don "Fagin" Whitaker (lead guitar, vocals)
Phil Shutt [Phil Curtis] (bass)
1 I Want You
2 Honky Tonk Train Blues
3 She's Gone
4 Orpheus and None for Ye
5 The Yodel
6 Shout For Joy
7 Ride On
8 Yorkshire Blues

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DANNY KIRWAN – SECOND CHAPTER – 1975 (UK) blues rock

The first solo album from Fleetwood Mac singer/songwriter Daniel David Kirwan has the future producer for Human League and Buzzcocks, Martin Rushent, utilizing those skills here, as well as engineering. The sound is crystal clear, and a feather in the cap for Rushent as well as Kirwan. It starts off with an uncharacteristic "Ram Jam City," which has more Lindsey Buckingham sounds than one would expect, especially since the two guitarists come from two different musical worlds. "Odds and Ends" is more lighthearted, the kind of music Paul McCartney toyed with on The White Album's "Rocky Raccoon." What Second Chapter immediately sets forth is the importance of Kirwan as a pop artist, and how, despite Fleetwood Mac's success after he left, his sounds could still have been beneficial to that supergroup. "Hot Summers Day" is a fine example of that, a beautiful song that could offset Buckingham's gritty ramblings. It would have made a nice counterpoint as Stevie Nicks complemented Christine McVie's tunes with her adventures, bringing an important change of pace to that popular band's hits. The jacket looks like a dusty old family album-style book holding Kirwan's Second Chapter. And the music reflects that old-world feel in titles like "Skip a Dee Doo" and "Falling in Love with You." Three of the best songs on this excellent outing are "Love Can Always Bring You Happiness," "Second Chapter," and a sleepy and beautiful number called "Silver Streams." Kirwan's tune is haunting as well with its lilting "all you need is love to show you the way from here" chorus. As on a follow-up album, he tends to sound a little like the group America, the vocals with that same America tone and warmth. They very well could have covered "Silver Stream" or "Cascades," the album's final track. This material was crafted right in the middle of America's run of hits, and maybe they should have replaced Dan Peek with Dan D. Kirwan? The artist's three solo discs cut in the '70s make for a very pleasant and thought-provoking listening experience, and that this collection is so good only shows he kicked his departure from the big band off with a vengeance.

1 Ram Jam City 2:48
2 Odds and Ends 2:31
3 Hot Summer's Day 2:40
4 Mary Jane 2:54
5 Skip a Dee Doo 2:39
6 Love Can Always Bring You Happiness 3:12
7 Second Chapter 3:24
8 Lovely Days 2:26
9 Falling in Love With You 2:16
10 Silver Streams 3:27
11 Cascades 3:10

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PETE TOWNSHEND – WHO CAME FIRST – 1972 (UK) heavy psych

Pete Townshend's first solo album was a homespun, charming forum for low-key, personal songs that weren't deemed suitable for the Who, as well as spiritual paeans (direct and indirect) to his spiritual guru Meher Baba. Who fans will be immediately attracted by the presence of a couple of songs from the aborted Who concept album Lifehouse (much of which ended up on Who's Next), "Pure & Easy" and "Let's See Action." The Who did eventually release their own versions of both those songs. But Townshend's own versions aren't the highlights of this record, which shows a folkier and gentler side to the Who's chief muse than his albums with the group. "Sheraton Gibson" is a neat tune about rock & roll road life, and "Time Is Passing" takes very subtle inspiration from Baba. Most of the rest of the album contains some of the most unusual pieces Townshend has released: his acoustic cover of Jim Reeves' "There's a Heartache Following Me" (recorded because it was one of Baba's favorite tunes), "Evolution" (which is actually pretty much a solo track by his buddy Ronnie Lane of the Faces), "Parvardigar" (adapted from Baba's Universal Prayer), and "Content" (a philosophical poem by Maud Kennedy that Townshend put to music). The 1993 reissue of this LP for compact disc fleshes out the program considerably with six previously unreleased tracks, including Townshend's demo of the Who single "The Seeker." The other bonus cuts are by no means filler; meditative and melancholy originals, they're just as strong as the tracks on the original release.
1 Pure and Easy 5:33
2 Evolution 3:45
3 Forever's No Time at All 3:09
4 Nothing Is Everything (Let's See Action) 6:15
5 Time Is Passing 3:28
6 There's a Heartache Following Me 3:23
7 Sheraton Gibson 2:38
8 Content 2:56
9 Parvardigar 6:50
10 His Hands (Instrumental) 2:08
11 The Seeker 4:37
12 Day of Silence 2:52
13 Sleeping Dog 2:57
14 The Love Man 5:01
15 Lantern Cabin (Instrumental) 4:11
Bonus Tracks
16 Mary Jane 2:38
17 I Always Say 5:47
18 Begin the Beguine 4:49

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PEGGY’S LEG – GRINILLA – 1973 (IRL) heavy psych

Peggy's Leg's only album, Grinilla, heard by hardly anyone when it was issued in 1973, is a well-played but limp crossover between folk-rock, progressive rock, and late-hippie rock. Most of the six songs here are on the long side, a couple getting to the ten-minute mark, and these tend to be multisectioned works with tempo changes, kind of like a folkier Yes without a keyboard player or strong riffs. Unfortunately, the lyrics are often of the utopian, shallow sort that people who can't stand hippies love to poke fun at. It's not that the sentiments are objectionable; it's more that the way they're presented is naïve and somewhat artless. Apropos of nothing, the record closes with a faithfully unimaginative cover of Love Sculpture's arrangement of "Sabre Dance," which would have easily rated as the best (if most atypical) track of the album had it not been such an unnecessary close copy of the Love Sculpture version. The 2001 CD reissue on Kissing Spell adds an 11-minute, live hard rock instrumental bonus track that's not much of a bonus, with substandard sound and a far-too-long drum solo.

Jimi Slevin (guitar)
Don Harris (drums)
Jimmy Gibson (guitar, vocals)
Vincent Duffy (bass)
Eric Bell (guitar)
Martin Biseneiks (keyboards)
John Brady (bass)1 History Tells
2 Think For Yourself
3 Variations for Huxley
4 Into The Nightmare
5 Just Another Journey
6 Sabre Dance
7 Son of Grinilla [bonus track]

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HORSLIPS – HAPPY TO MEET, SORRY TO PART – 1972 (IRL) folk rock

Get ready for the ride of your life through Irish folk-rock styles. The opening track of the group's debut album, with its pipes, button accordion, and percussion, could pass for any Chieftains record, but then the electricity kicks in on "Hall of Mirrors," and the rest is melodic rock, not so much folk-rock as folkish rock, recalling early Genesis. John Fean sounds like he's playing folk melodies even as he plays runs on his electric guitar on "The Clergy's Lamentation," and the group follows this with an anthem-like piece of Gaelic rock ("An Bratach Ban") with a dance-like instrumental break. "Bon Istgh Ag Ol" is probably the best track on the album, and "Hall of Mirrors" and "Furniture" remained in their stage act for years, the latter, with its superb middle section -- favorably recalling Steve Howe's playing with Yes on their early albums -- transformed into a 15-minute epic. And just when you think you've got them pegged as a progressive folk-rock outfit, they deliver the exquisitely languid, almost impressionistic "The Shamrock Shore" and the playful "Dance for Yer Daddy," which sounds like the Chieftains with vocals until Fean's electric guitar kicks in. And Fean's playing on "The Musical Priest," by itself, is worth the price of the album.

- Eamonn Carr / drums, vocals
- Barry Devlin / bass, vocals
- John Fean / banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, vocals
- Jim Lockhart / organ, flute, piano, violin, celeste, harpsichord, keyboards, Uillean pipes, pipe organ, tin whistle
- Charles O'Connor / fiddle, mandolin, violin, concertina, Northumbrian smallpipes
1. Happy to Meet (0:48)
2. Hall of Mirrors (5:29)
3. The Clergy's Lamentation (4:39)
4. An Bratach Bán (2:04)
5. The Shamrock Shore (4:34)
6. Flower Amang Them All (2:04)
7. Bím Istigh Ag Ól (3:43)
8. Furniture (5:13)
9. Ace and Deuce (3:35)
10. Dance to Yer Daddy (4:37)
11. Scalloway Ripoff (1:54)
12. The Musical Priest (4:33)
13. Sorry to Part (1:32)

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HORSLIPS – THE TAIN – 1973 (IRL) folk rock

The most ambitious and successful of their early albums, Horslips' most progressive creation, and maybe the most successful rock concept album ever done. The Tain is rock put into the service of epic storytelling (or is it the other way around?), based on the Irish saga Tain Bo Cuailgne ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley"), part of the Ulster Cycle of Heroic Tales. It tells of war and carnage brought about over the possession of a white bull, inspired by events estimated to have taken place around 500 B.C. This is a long way from Chuck Berry or Little Richard, but it does rock hard, and unlike a lot of progressive rock, The Tain displays considerable tension and momentum. Some listeners will detect modest similarities to Jethro Tull's work (especially on "Charolais"), but there's a lot less meandering here than there is on any Tull album, the flute playing is better, and the material moves forward in a fairly nimble fashion. It would be easy to praise John Fean's guitar, but Jim Lockhart's flute is just as impressive, Charles O'Connor's violin playing is gorgeous, and Eamonn Carr's drumming is dazzling. And the vocals are quite good too, sweet but earthy and honest, and not self-consciously profound -- these boys had ambition, but they weren't full of themselves or too given to pretensions.

- Eamon Carr / drums, percussion
- Barry Devlin / bass, vocals
- John Fean / guitar, vocals
- Jim Lockhart / flute, keyboards
- Charles O'Connor / vocal, fiddle, mandolin
1. Setanta (1:53)
2. Maeve's Court (1:41)
3. Charolais (4:03)
4. The March (part 1) (1:07)
5. The March (part 2) (0:26)
6. You Can't Fool The Beast (3:40)
7. Dearg Doom (3:05)
8. Ferdia's Song (2:43)
9. Gae Bolga (1:23)
10. Cu Chulainn's Lament (3:03)
11. Faster Than The Hound (5:37)
12. The Silver Spear (2:01)
13. More Than You Can Chew (3:15)
14. The Morrigan's Dream (3:25)
15. Time To Kill (5:00)

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RUFUS ZUPHALL – WEIS DER TEUFEL – 1969 (GER) krautrock

This obscure German group worked in the same folk/hard rock hybrid mold as early Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig, and certainly displays affectations toward the sound of those two groups, if also deriving influence from Pentangle's signature sound of the dual-guitar picking of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. Stating these obvious frames of reference isn't to say that this reissue doesn't have a few original and unique moments, and some inspired post-British folk revival guitar playing make it quite a treasure from the German '70s underground of the kind that the Little Wing label seems dedicated to turning up. While the sound quality of the reissue is excellent, it is sadly lacking in information and artwork -- appearing in a simple black-and-white CD case without any information is a bit of a letdown.

- Klaus Gülden / flute
- Helmut Lieblang / bass
- Günter Krause / guitar
- Udo Dahmen / drums
1. Walpurgisnacht (3:00)
2. Knight Of 3rd Degree (7:32)
3. Spanferkel (2:20)
4. Freitag (7:14)
5. Weiß der Teufel (17:09)
1. Walpurgisnacht (3:00)
2. Knight Of 3rd Degree (7:32)
3. Spanferkel (2:20)
4. Freitag (7:14)
5. Weiß der Teufel (17:09)
bonus tracks Farewell! Live Aachen 1972
6. 900 Miles
7. I Put A Spell On You
8. See See Rider
9. Avalon Suite
10. Summertime
11. Prickel Pit

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GAA – AUF DER BAHN ZUM URANUS – 1974 (GER) space rock/krautrock

This Krautrock obscurity, originally selling only 300 copies, showcases a group that starts with Pink Floydian space rock, adds congas, searing psychedelic guitar solos, and Teutonic angst, and, on top of that, unlike many of their fellow Germans, they sing in their native tongue. Fortunately for the non-German, they also go for long instrumental solos, with soaring organ tones and both electric and acoustic guitar, with plenty of energy. One can hear Gaa's creative vision shine through, especially on tracks like "Uranus," with its menacing vocals and slow buildup to insanity, and the upbeat "Gaa."

- Werner Frey / guitar, vocals
- Stefan Dorr / drums, vocals
- Werner Jungmann / vocals, congas
- Gunter Lackes / organ, piano, vocals
- Peter Bell / bass, flute, vocals
1. Uranus (9:45)
2. Bossa Rustical (4:07)
3. Tanz Mit Dem Mond (7:26)
4. Mutter Erde (6:59)
5. Welt Im Dunkel (7:07)
6. GAA (7:33)

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GAA – ALRAUNES ALPTRAUM – 1975 (GER) space rock/krautrock

The first three tracks from 1975 are from an aborted second album, and the last four were recorded about a decade later with some of Gaa's members and others. The first three are classic Gaa, similar to the Uranus material, though with better fidelity, less rough around the edges. The track "Morgendammerung," an instrumental, even stretches further out from Gaa's rock trappings. It starts with a ticking noise and slowly building keyboard tones, moves to a jazzier middle section, and then getts even more funky with a rolling bass riff and odd percussion noises. The newer tracks, recorded one per year between 1984 and 1987, are far more conventional rock & roll; "Tabbert" is excruciatingly mainstream, whereas "Du" and "Warum" are a little better, as the group attempts to capture the magic of earlier Gaa, and "Inspektion" even flirts with synth pop. Needless to say, these tracks pail compared to the 1975 stuff.

- Stefan Dörr / drums, backing vocals
- Werner Frey / guitar, lead vocals
- Helmut Heisel / bass
- Günter Lackes / keyboards, backing vocals
1. Autobahn (6:28)
2. Heilende Sonne (3:55)
3. Morgendämmerung (9:52)
4. Tabbert (4:41)
5. Du (5:32)
6. Inspektion (3:55)
7. Warum (6:03)

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BRAINTICKET – CELESTIAL OCEAN – 1974 (GER) space rock/krautrock

Inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Brainticket's Celestial Ocean tells the story of an ancient king traveling on a ship through the afterlife. Brainticket merges modern and ancient musical instruments throughout this album. Synthesizer sounds that could have come from a 20th century sci-fi movie (e.g., Logan's Run) are mixed with the acoustic sounds of the flute and zither. This sonic juxtaposition adds to the theme of the king traveling from the ancient world through time. The first two tracks, "Egyptian Kings" and "Jardins," are tied together with a common melody and are among the best tracks on Celestial Ocean. On these songs, Brainticket creates a musical landscape of synthesizer and reverbed flute. Joel Vandroogenbroeck delivers his lyrics in a near whisper, while Carole Muriel repeats his words. This call-and-response vocal delivery adds to the bizarre atmosphere created by the music. Although the aural textures on Celestial Ocean are often engaging, many of the songs drift into the realm of self-indulgent noodling. For example, on "To Another Universe" Muriel spouts out numbers and other abstractions over driving percussion and synthesizer bleeps. Other tracks like "Cosmic Wind" boast no obvious melodies, which can also make for a difficult listen. At times, it's hard to take the songs on Celestial Ocean seriously. Like-minded bands from the period, such as Gong, could get away with singing about space ships and other psychedelic themes because their words were tongue in cheek. In contrast, Brainticket's more serious slant on this subject matter can be a bit harder to swallow. Despite these limitations, Celestial Ocean provides an interesting aural journey. Fans of Brainticket or the Krautrock genre will most likely find this album rewarding. However, the casual listener won't miss anything by avoiding this trip.

- Jane Free / vocals, percussion, sounds
- Barney Palm / drums, percussion, vocals, baja
- Joel Vandroogenbroek / keyboards, flute, guitar, vocals
1. Egyptian kings (5:48)
2. Jardins (2:09)
3. Rainbow (2:51)
4. Era of technology (7:30)
5. To another universe (4:55)
6. The space between (3:02)
7. Cosmic wind (5:23)
8. Visions (5:30)

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LOST NATION – PARADISE LOST – 1970 (US) heavy progressive

Don't let the cover of this obscure Detroit album put you off - it depicts the band behind a balustrade on whose lower wall is graffiti on a predominantly ecological theme, but this is no hippie-rock, or back-to-nature concept album. This is serious progressive rock, soundwise somewhere between Uriah Heep and Rare Bird - busy keyboards, strong vocals, neoclassical movements, and some excellent heavy guitar. Not strictly within the main thrust of this book, this quintet merit an entry for including Ron Stults, formerly of revered heavy garage kings The Unrelated Segments. Craig Webb also had a spell in Frijid Pink.

RON STULTS
CRAIG WEBB
L. ZELANKA
A1 Tall Ivory Castle
A2 Rome
A3 Little Boy
A4 Images
B1 Seven Minute Woman
B2 Shadows Within You
B3 She'll Take You
B4 Falling Inside My Mind

Thanx to Fran Solo

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BRAIN AUGER’S OBLIVION EXPRESS – 1970 (UK) progressive rock

The first outing by Brian Auger's jazz-rock ensemble the Oblivion Express, first issued in 1971, is one of the great masterpieces of jazz-rock fusion. Auger, having just disbanded his longtime band the Trinity in 1969, still had plenty of rock and roll in his system. His yearning for the open frontiers of electric jazz was certainly the driving force -- in the same way that it was for Miles Davis on A Tribute to Jack Johnson, and Lifetime was for Tony Williams -- but it was anchored in the visceral application of rock. With guitarist Jim Mullen, bassist Barry Dean, and drummer Robbie McIntosh, Auger charted into the unknown. This album fits like a glove, each tune moving ever forward into the next. From the opening knotty, rhythmic twists in "Dragon Song," to the subterranean counterpoint in "Total Eclipse," to the band's theme song that closes the album with its pumping bass and guitar interludes, and Auger's Lemmy Kilmister-like vocals, Oblivion Express is a classic in its genre. There is a rawness in passion and intent here that is balanced by wondrously imaginative arrangements for rock band instrumentation, and an aesthetic that is disciplined and visionary.

- Brian Auger/ Keyboards
- Jim Mullen/ Guitar
- Barry Dean/ Bass
- Robbie McIntosh / Drums
1. Dragon Song (4:30)
2. Total Eclipse (11:38)
3. The Light (4:24)
4. On the Road (5:28)
5. The Sword (6:36)
6. Oblivion Express (7:45)
7. Dragon Song [Live CD Bonus Track] (5:32)

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BLAST FURNACE – BLAST FURNACE – 1971 (DEN) heavy progressive

Blast Furnace never became a victim of excessive, long instrumental doling like some of their contemporaries. Superb hard-progressive rock with real strong guitar flashes, wild-tough vocals and razor-sharp instrumental breaks balanced between electric guitar, Hammond organ and flute. With Arne W?rgler (pre PAN) bass, cello and Niels Vangkilde guitar, Thor Backhausen organ, flute and Tom Mc Evan lead vocals drums, all later joined CULPEPPER'S ORCHARD.

Tom McEwan (drums, vocals)
Thor Backhausen (organ, piano, flute)
Arne Würgler (bass, cello, vocals)
Niels Vangkilde (guitar)
1 First and Last
2 Ginger Cake
3 Jaywalker
4 B-Major Blast
5 This Time of Year
6 Toytown
7 Man Bites Dog
8 Long Distance
9 Goodbye Mr. Bobo
10 Dr. Night
11 Bye Bye Bobo
Bonus Track
12 Lister Du Omkring Hjorner

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FIELDS – FIELDS – 1971(UK) heavy progressive

A short-lived Band with two former members of KING CRIMSON of some sort(Barry,Mc Culloch)(and ex-RARE BIRDie (Graham Field).
There is also a connection with:M.Mann's Earthband,ELP ,Gordon Haskell and Arthur Brown.
The music can best be described as something between Procol Harem(Not So Good 'title'sic),Emerson,Lake and Palmer(While the Sun Still Shines),Early Renaissance(Three Minstrels)and a lot of:King Crimson of course
One radio-hit on it:'A friend of mine'with a 'Mendelssohn-like organ introduction).
'Feeling Free' and 'A place to lay my head' are outstanding tracks.
This is a very good album....and I forgive them to take so much from previous mentioned bands..... They all were member of them ,they add enough creativity and power ( and don't forget and it's their only album.)

Graham Field (acoustic & electric pianos, organ)
Alan Barry (vocals, classical & electric guitars, bass, Mellotron)
Andy McCulloch (drums, tympani, talking drums)
1 A Friend of Mine 4:23
2 While the Sun Still Shines 3:10
3 Not So Good 3:04
4 Three Minstrels 4:22
5 Slow Susan 3:29
6 Over and Over Again 5:47
7 Feelin' Free 3:09
8 Fair-Haired Lady 2:57
9 A Place to Lay My Head 3:30
10 The Eagle 5:12

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BABY GRANDMOTHERS – BABY GRANDMOTHERS - 1967-1968 (SWE) heavy psych

Monster hardrock trio from Sweden. This cd release features this bands 1968 single and some overkill Heavypsych outtakes.
This band started of as T-Boones but when they started playing at Filips (a Stockholm Psychedelia club) their name was changed to Baby Grandmothers.
They basically did HEAVYPSYCH jams with Stack amps and Cream inspiration, but a helluva alot heavier.
A Finnish cult hippie dude M.A Numminen (Yes clown voice dude, if your a Finn ya know his songs) saw em play and was impressed. So he carted of the band to Finland to record a single "Being is more than life". This turned up later in a shorter version on Mecki Mark Men 1969 Lp "Running in the summernight" (there is also a way cool video for this song, with the band meditating in the forest in way cool hippie gear. A must see!)
This CD is a historic release. It's so rare that most US rarities are everyday stuff.
The music is wild, jaming HEAVYPSYCH that will rock all boats. Josefus and Stonegarden fans will feel home here with ease! Hear "Bergakungen" Mountain king That flattens most things outhere! More need not be said.

Kenny Håkansson (guitar)
Bella Fehrlin [Bengt Linnarsson] (bass)
Pelle Ekman (drums)
1 Somebody Keeps Calling My Name 9:14
2 Being Is More Than Life 5:40
3 Bergakungen 16:19
4 Being Is More Than Life 2 19:44
5 St George's Dragon 7:03
6 St George's Dragon 2 0:57
7 Raw Diamond 1:30

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PACIFIC SOUND – FORGET YOUR DREAM! – 1972 (Switzerland) heavy psych

Cool Hammond drenched trippy LP originally released in 1972 on the Swiss 'Splendid' label, which also
released LP's by other obscure prog/psych bands like 'After Shave' and 'Country Lane'.
The album features great organ and guitar passages as well as some really manic vocals by Chris Meyer, what a freak!
The original pressing of this great LP is almost impossible to find, and if you're lucky enough to find one, be prepared to spend upwards of $1,000 US or more!

Chris Meyer (vocals)
Mark Treuthardt (guitar, bass)
Diego Lecci (drums)
Roger Page (organ, piano)1 Forget Your Dream 2:27
2 Erotic Blues 8:00
3 Drive My Car 2:35
4 Thick Fog 2:34
5 Gily Gily 2:26
6 Ceremony for a Dead 5:22
7 If Your Soul Is Uncultivated 3:37
8 Gates of Hell 5:45
Bonus Tracks
9 The Drug Just Told Me 2:51
10 The Green Eyed Girl 2:44
11 Ballad to Jimi 2:00

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THE MOVE – SHAZAM – 1970 (UK) heavy psych

Compared to the Move's long-gestating 1968 eponymous debut, their 1970 sophomore effort Shazam is unified. It was not culled from sessions from a period of 14 months but instead largely made at one time...but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's any easier to get a handle on the album. The Move changed greatly in the period between their first albums, with original bassist Chris "Ace" Kefford leaving in a cloud of acid in 1968. In his absence, rhythm guitarist Trevor Burton jumped over to bass, beginning an odd period where the group was cutting songs, most penned by Roy Wood but a few written by David Morgan, a fellow Birmingham-based songwriter signed to the publishing company of Move lead singer Carl Wayne. Pulled between these two camps, the Move finally had a true hit single with Wood's gorgeous, watery psychedelic epic "Blackberry Way," not long after Burton left the band and Richard Price was pulled in as his replacement so the band could earn money by touring cabarets in Europe. Here, the band grew muscular and weirder, traits that are showcased on the short-yet-sprawling Shazam. Throwing out the concise constructions and meticulous miniatures of their psychedelic singles, the Move concentrate on heavy progressive rock on Shazam. With the exception of the gentle, string-laden "Beautiful Daughter" -- quite clearly a holdover from previous sessions due to both its sweetness and brevity -- none of the six songs here clock in under five minutes, with two sprawling over seven and "Fields of People" inching toward the 11-minute mark. To what extent this was an intentional experiment or a way of coping with a lack of material is hard to tell; of these six, only the thunderous opener "Hello Susie" truly qualifies as a new Wood original, as "Beautiful Daughter" dates earlier and "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited" itself is a reworked, expanded version of a song from the debut. "Hello Susie" also points the way to the heavy, hooky rock & roll the Move would patent on Message from the Country, and it does feel different than either this new "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited" or the three covers that make up the second side of Shazam. All these four songs are arranged so the band can dabble in color and texture, shifting from guitars as heavy as their Brummie cohorts Black Sabbath to fragile harmonies. It's wildly inventive music and, as pure sound, the Move may never have been better than they are here, as there are more ideas in each of these long, languid jams than most bands have in a career. Once again, the sheer number of ideas can be intimidating upon first listen and there may be so many that some listeners may never get past this rush of invention, but Shazam rewards repeated spins many times over.

Roy Wood (vocals, lead guitar, bass, cello, oboe)
Bev Bevan (drums, vocals)
Rick Price (vocals, bass guitar)
Jeff Lynne (vocals, piano, guitar)1 Hello Suzie 4:51
2 Beautiful Daughter 2:51
3 Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited 7:40
4 Fields of People 10:58
5 Don't Make My Baby Blue 6:02
6 The Last Thing on My Mind 8:09
Bonus Tracks
7 So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star 3:00
8 Stephanie Knows Who 3:03
9 Something Else 2:24
10 I'll Be Me 2:37
11 Sunshine Help Me 5:12
12 Piece of My Heart [previously unissued live EP outtake] 4:03
13 Too Much in Love [previously unissued live EP outtake] 2:27
14 (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher [previously unissued live EP outtake] 3:31
15 Sunshine Help Me [previously unissued live EP outtake] 6:34

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FAT – FOOTLOOSE – 1976 (US) heavy blues

Indie label release by Western Massachusetts' Fat, six years after the first self-titled album was released. Two original members left and were replaced (lead guitar and drums). This is a more polished (slick?) rock-n-roll record than their first album with less adventuresome arrangements and more upbeat and danceable tunes. Newland's vocals are just as strong as ever but his lyrics are less poetic and existential. A solid record. Get it While It's Hot is the highlight, starting side two, a longer high energy song with a great guitar solo. Bistro City is an interesting jazz-funk instrumental song with Newland on flute.

MICHAEL BENSON gtr, vcls
PETER NEWLAND vcls, hrmnca, flute, synth
CHRISTOPHER NEWLAND gtr, vcls
WILLIAM PERRY drms, perc
EDUARDO VATES perc
1 Footloose and Fancy Free
2 Dirty Money
3 Highway Angel
4 Bistro City
5 Down Home Girl
6 Get It While It's Hot
7 (You Make Me) Nervous
8 It Was An Elegant Time
9 Immediate Woman

Tnanx to Chris

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TEAZE – TEAZE – 1975 (CAN) hard rock

Ontario-based Teaze were more popular in Japan during a short tour in 1978 than the band's entire career in their native country. Formed in 1975 by Chuck Price, Mike Kozak, Mark Bradac and Brian Danter, Teaze only released one popular single in Canada, "Sweet Misery" in 1978.

Chuck Price (guitar)
Mike Kozak (drums)
Mark Bradac (guitar)
Brian Danter (vocals, bass)1 Rockin' With the Music
2 Flames Keep Growing
3 Come On, Hold On
4 Believe in Rock 'N Roll
5 Boys Night Out
6 Hot to Trot
7 Dirty Sweet Loving
8 Open My Eyes

Tnanx to Chris

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MARSHALL TUCKER BAND - WHERE WE ALL BELONG – 1974 (US) south rock

Although it runs a little long, Where We All Belong captures the sound of the Marshall Tucker Band coming into its own. Half the tracks are new studio recordings, which are more focused than their previous releases; the other half is a harder-edged, jam-oriented live set. Taken together, they show that the band was progressing musically.
1 This Ol' Cowboy 6:44
2 Low Down Ways 2:59
3 In My Own Way 7:22
4 How Can I Slow Down 3:23
5 Where a Country Boy Belongs 4:34
6 Now She's Gone 4:41
7 Try One More Time 4:51
Live Album
8 Ramblin' 6:30
9 24 Hours at a Time 13:31
10 Everyday (I Have the Blues) 11:51
11 Take the Highway 7:16
12 See You Later, I'm Gone [live bonus track] 3:13

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MARSHALL TUCKER BAND – MARSHALL TUCKER BAND – 1973 (US) south rock

Taking a page from their Capricorn Records labelmates and Southern rock contemporaries the Allman Brothers, the Marshall Tucker Band issued a self-titled debut blending the long and winding psychedelic and jam band scene with an equally languid and otherwise laid-back country-rock flavor. Into the mix they also added a comparatively sophisticated jazz element -- which is particularly prominent throughout their earliest efforts. The incipient septet featured the respective talents of Doug Gray (vocals), Toy Caldwell (guitar/vocals), his brother Tommy Caldwell (bass/vocals), George McCorkle (guitar), Paul Riddle (drums), and Jerry Eubanks (flute/sax/vocals). Their free-spirited brand of Southern rock was a direct contrast to the badass rebel image projected by the Outlaws or Lynyrd Skynyrd. This difference is reflected throughout the 1973 long-player The Marshall Tucker Band. The disc commences with one of the MTB's most revered works, the loose and limber traveling proto-jam "Take the Highway." The improvised instrumental section features some inspired interaction between Toy Caldwell and Eubanks. This also creates a unique synergy of musical styles that is most profoundly exhibited on the subsequent cut, "Can't You See." Caldwell's easygoing acoustic fretwork babbles like a brook against Eubanks lonesome airy flute lines. The remainder of the disc expounds on those themes, including the uptempo freewheelin' "Hillbilly Band." Unlike what the title suggests, the track is actually more akin to the Grateful Dead's "Eyes of the World" than anything from the traditional country or bluegrass genres. "Ramblin'" is an R&B rave-up that leans toward a Memphis style with some classy brass augmentations. The effort concludes on the opposite side of the spectrum with the tranquil gospel rocker "My Jesus Told Me So," offering up Caldwell's fluid guitar work with a sound comparable to that of Dickey Betts. "AB's Song" is an acoustic folk number that would not sound out of place being delivered by John Prine or Steve Goodman. This eponymous effort established the MTB's sound and initiated a five-year (1973-1978) and seven-title run with the definitive Southern rock label, Capricorn Records.

1 Take the Highway
2 Can't You See
3 Losing You
4 Hillbilly Band
5 See You Later, I'm Gone
6 Ramblin'
7 My Jesus Told Me So
8 AB's Song
bonus track
9 Everyday (I Have the Blues) (live)

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MARSHALL TUCKER BAND - CAROLINA DREAMS – 1977 (US) south rock

Released in 1977, Carolina Dreams was a commercial breakthrough for the Marshall Tucker Band in large part due to a pair of hit singles -- "Heard It in a Love Song" and "Fly Like an Eagle." It was also the beginning of their transition from one of Southern rock's preeminent "boogie bands" to a unit that was equally versed in country, rock, blues, folk, pop, and jazz. The easy grace of Doug Gray's voice and Jerry Eubanks' reeds and woodwinds, juxtaposed with the edgy sting of Toy Caldwell's guitars, was a solid combination that is exploited here to its fullest. Paul Hornsby's production accents the ballads and midtempo rockers to fine effect. The band contributed heavily to the compositions on Carolina Dreams, and because Caldwell's singles are so transcendent, the other songs on the set are ratcheted up, as evidenced by the beautiful horn-drenched "I Should Have Never Started Lovin' You" or "Life in a Song," which successfully brought together hard country and Southern R&B in a tight, punchy, and bluesed-out mix. The remastered and expanded edition contains a smoking live version of George McCorkle's "Silverado." It's a bit thin in fidelity, but the performance more than compensates.
1 Fly Like an Eagle 3:03
2 Heard It in a Love Song 4:57
3 I Should Have Never Started Lovin' You 7:10
4 Life in a Song 3:35
5 Desert Skies 6:23
6 Never Trust a Stranger 5:28
7 Tell It to the Devil 6:50
8 Silverado [live/*] 4:28


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MARSHALL TUCKER BAND – A NEW LIFE – 1974 (US) south rock

Perhaps the only reason that New Life isn't quite as memorable as its self-titled predecessor is that the band's debut was just so startling when it appeared. By the time New Life was issued in 1974, to the band's credit, it seemed like the Marshall Tucker Band sound had always been a part of America's rock & roll scene. New Life is earthier than the first album, and country music is less layered over by the trappings of jam-band rock. "Blue Ridge Mountain Sky" is only eclipsed by Dickey Betts' "Ramblin' Man" as the ultimate road song from the period. Likewise, the pedal steel blues of "Too Stubborn" echo an earlier era altogether, as the ghost of Bob Wills comes into Toy Caldwell's songwriting. The whining guitars and lilting woodwinds of the title track bring the jazzier elements in the band's sound to the fore and wind them seamlessly into a swirling, pastoral country music. The Muscle Shoals horns lend a hand on the Allman Brothers' Brothers and Sisters-influenced "Another Cruel Love," and guest Charlie Daniels' fiddle cooks up a bluegrass stew on "24 Hours at a Time." The sound is fantastically balanced and warm, and like its predecessor, this album has dated very well.
1 A New Life
2 Southern Woman
3 Blue Ridge Mountain Sky
4 Too Stubborn
5 Another Cruel Love
6 You Ain't Foolin' Me
7 24 Hours at a Time
8 Fly eagle Fly
bonus track
9 Another Cruel Love (Live)

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ICE – OPUS 1 – 1980 (GER) krautrock/hard rock

ICE is a German Progressive rock trio (Bass-vocals, guitar & drums) that plays a simple and melodic, occasionally bluesy music with great emphasis or somewhat close to PINK FLOYD. Reissued by the Garden Of Delights label, "Opus One" (1980) is a particularly rare album, displaying a music very much influenced by the Seventies.

Hubert Benz (bass, vocals)
Heinz Gerber (guitar, vocals)
Alexander Russ (drums)1 Bad News For The Dolphin
2 To A Fair Young Lady
3 Happy And Free
4 Willie The Pincher
5 Wintertime
6 Intro
7 The Big Sleep
8 Passagaglia
9 Choires Of Bright Beauties
10 Preludium No 1

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VINEGAR – VINEGAR – 1971 (GER) krautrock

Vinegar belongs to the dark chapter of krautrock, next to esoteric stoned rock bands as Paternoster, Sand, Ainigma, Temple...This self title album sounds amteurish but we can find something incredible in the way the musicians want to project rock 'n roll into a heavy- psych-spaced out trip...and it works perfectly despite a certain dose of indulgence in the performance.The general atmosphere is seriously melancholic, desperate, moody and I love it when it's mixed with and intense acid bluesy rock. Missi Solis is a fantastic, beatific rockin' ballad with sad harmonies, lugubrious heavy guitars sequences, intimate organs and acoustic-folk mystery. A very seductive acid / semi improvisational piece. Saw Mills is a strange druggy excentricity with horrible female vocals,fuzzy guitar tones...The second part of the composition is much better with its freaky-energic-kraut-rocking dementia, punctuated by various excellent / crazy instrumental solos. Der Kaiser starts with a calmer acoustic introduction for a violin / guitar duet then it goes on an efficiant, groovy / heavy rock trip (with the silly addition of absolutely painful, misplaced vocals). Fleisch represents the most amazing part of the album with the introduction theme. This composition delivers a haunted / ritual / creepy atmosphere directed by fuzz rockin guitar, pre-gothic keyboards , spectral melancholic voices. A funereal krautrock hymn with a wonderfully spacey vibe. Recommended for krautrock lovers and those who want to take risks.

Wolfgang Grahn (drums)
Bernhard Liesegang (bass, vocals)
Jochen Biemann (guitar)
Dagmar Dormagen (vocals, flute)
Rolf Zwirner (guitar, violin)
Ralf Modrow (organ, vocals)

1 Missi Solis 12:15
2 Sawmill - Teil I 5:22
3 Sawmill - Teil II 5:05
4 Der Kaiser auf der Erbse 7:04
5 Fleisch 7:04

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FROB – FROB – 1976 (GER) krautrock

Frob came from Rheda-Wiedenbrück in the east of Westphalia and played instrumental jazz-rock including progressive elements. Their great ability is demonstrated on their one and only LP which is quite relaxing and unpretentious. It was recorded in winter 1975 / 1976 in Southern France. With Philippe Caillat who then worked as a music teacher (and by now has released quite some jazz records) they had a guitarist of top quality at hand but the other three musicians were his equals in every way. “Frob” (Musikladen ML 002) was released in 1976 in a number of 1000 copies and is graded in “4001 Record Collector Dreams” (Vienna 2003) by Hans Pokora with two units.

Philippe Caillat (guitar)
Peter Schmits (keyboards)
Klaus-Dieter Richter (bass)
Peter Meuffels (drums)1 Wassertropfen 4:55
2 Spaces 6:02
3 Calypso 5:21
4 Spheres 3:49
5 Flash 4:15
6 Lokomotive 4:47
7 Hektik 4:19
8 La Sieste 6:29

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TOMORROW’S GIFT – GOODBYE FUTURE – 1973 (GER) krautrock

On "Goodbye Future", TOMORROW'S GIFT has been reduced to a trio (drums, keys and bass) and also opted for a more improvised progressive sound with harder edged keyboard and bass interplay. Of course the engineering and production were handled by Konrad Plank. "Goodbye Future" is indeed a very varied album and contains a certain strange ZAPPA-esque wierdness throughout. This album contains some simply mind numbing space explorations carrying a certain improvised Canterbury-influenced jazz-rock feel throughout. I would certainly consider this to be classic Krautrock for sure as it carries that underground German prog sound that we have all love. An excellent album full of grand percussion, keyboard and bass interplay.

- Bernd Kiefer / bass
- Manfred Rurup / keyboards
- Gerd Paetzke / drums1 Jazzi Jazzi 2:53
2 Der Geier fliegt vorbei 8:44
3 Allerheiligen 4:34
4 Wienersatz 2:16
5 Naturgemäß 16:47
6 Didden für Dunden 4:04
Bonus Tracks
7 Sound of Which 19:52
8 Indian Rope Man 20:17

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FRED – FRED – 1971 (US) heavy progressive

The Fred album encapsulates the band's 1971-1973 period. Gathering together the 45 and seven unreleased tracks, Joe DeChristopher recounts the history of the band within the lavish heavy-duty gatefold. A brief precis:-
DeChristopher had met Price in 1967 at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. and joined Price's band, Still At Large. Over the next three years the band picked up other students and evolved into Fred. Classmate Gary Rosenberg was the band's No. 1 fan, a college radio DJ and sometime poet - he occasionally performed with them on stage and became their lyricist. He was also their guide to other sounds around, introducing them to the likes of Procol Harum, Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa and The Mahavishnu Orchestra whose songs they would cover.
In 1970 the band graduated (or left) BU and moved into a couple of farms near Lewisburg. They continued to perform at local clubs and schools. The first recordings, which make up the bulk of the LP, were done the following year and their debut 45 was released. In 1973 occasional member Peter Eggers joined the band permanently and marked the end of their formative chapter, with the departure of Gary Rosenberg. The liners announce that later recordings are forthcoming.
There's some fine fuzz solos and acidic leads with occasional wah-wah but despite being tagged as psychedelia elsewhere, there's a strong aura of mellowed, slightly trippy, pastoral rock that's coming from folk roots and gently drifting off in a prog/hippie direction. The violin adds to the non-urban vibe but is more like Curved Air than Mahavishnu.

JOE DeCHRISTOPHER gtr
BO FOX drms
KEN PRICE keyb'ds
MIKE ROBISON bs, gtr, vcls
DAVID ROSE keyb'ds, violin, gtr, vcls
GARY ROSENBERG lyrics, perc
PETER EGGERS drms, piano 1 Four Evenings 6:40
2 Soft Fisherman 6:32
3 Salvation Lady 6:01
4 By the Way 6:46
5 I'll Go On 4:27
6 For Fearless Few 3:47
7 A Love Song 4:37
8 Booking Agant Blues 4:33

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TIME – TIME – 1972 (Yugoslavia) progressive rock

Listening to this album today it may sound dated and old-fashioned, but one should keep in mind the fact that this was the very first LP record of progressive rock in ex-Yugoslavia, released only shortly before the equally important KORNI GRUPA's eponimous debut. Year 1972 marks the real beginning of rock album discography in this country. Thereafter, every next year would see more and more LP records released. "Time" is not a perfect album, production is very basic with some instruments not enough present, but given the overall importance it must be highly rated. The key songs were on the B side of the vynil: "Kralj alkohol", wonderful piano-driven jazz ballad about the sorrowful life of the alcoholics, and epic 10-minute "Za koji zivot treba da se rodim" with philosophical lyrics about a man's role in the life and excellent Hammond and piano exchange. On the A side there are: a strong blues-rock opener "Istina masina", a beautiful acoustic ballad with nice flute melody "Pjesma No. 3" and a jolly instrumental with scat singing "Hegedupa upa", possibly influenced by FOCUS' "Hocus Pocus". The CD re-release 1993 by Croatia Records includes bonus: a popular folk-inspired single "Makedonija" and a power ballad "Da li znas da te volim" from "Time II" album. Highly recommended listening for anyone.

- Brane Lambert Zivkovic / piano, flute, electric piano
- Dado Topic / vocal
- Mario Mavrin / bass
- Ratko Divjak / drums
- Vedran Bozic / guitar, vocal
- Tihomir Pop Asanovic / Hammond organ1 Istina mašina 4:42
2 Pjesma no. 3 5:53
3 Hegedupa upa 4:57
4 Kralj alkohol 7:01
5 Za koji život treba da se rodim 10:03
Bonus Tracks
6 Da li znaš da te volim 6:02
7 Makedonija 4:54

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STORMY SIX – LE IDEE DI OGGI PER – 1969 (IT) progressive rock

Unremarkable 1969 debut release by the Italian group who would much later go into the history books as a participant in the RIO collective. Most of the tracks here are unimaginative acoustic folk pieces with and without drums dominated by generic semi-bombastic Italian male vocals. Somehow this vocal style doesn't seem like a good match for the simple, stripped-down feeling of 60s acoustic folk/folk-pop/folk-rock, but in some spots he gets fairly mellow and in other spots he gets into a personalized Dylanesque style. Since I don't know Italian and the vocals hold no special interest at a musical level, I can only imagine this album being noteworthy to an Italian listener if the lyrics have any merit. I think I read somewhere they were lyrically a left-wing political kind of band even at this early stage. Track 6 is a departure from the other tracks, an uninspired Grateful Dead -style instrumental jam. The final cut is a pleasant mellow track with a string-section layer. Perhaps the most interesting cut is track 9, with drumkit and tiny snippets of electronics in the background, but nothing on this album rises above mediocrity unfortunately.

- Maurizio Masla / vocals
- Franco Fabbri / guitar, vocals
- Luca Piscicelli / guitar, vocals
- Fausto Martinetti / keyboards
- Alberto Santagostino / bass
- Antonio Zanuso / drums1. Fiori per sempre
2. Un'altra come te
3. La sorte più bella del mondo
4. Una più felice di te
5. C'è qualcosa nella vita
6. Schallplattengesellschaftmbh
7. Forse
8. Lui verrà
9. Le stagioni
10. Ramo
11. I tuoi occhi sono tristi
12. Monna Cristina
13. Sotto i portici di marmot

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PIIRPAUKE – PIIRPAUKE – 1975 (FIN) progressive rock

Truly pioneers in the world-music scene, Piirpauke fuse traditional Finnish folk forms with motifs and rhythms from Latin, Caribbean, Arabic, and Asian musical styles. Starting out in the mid-'70s, Piirpauke have remained insistently eclectic, and their range of influences can stretch to encompass Senegalese drumming and Andalucian singing on a single disk.
1 Kuunnousu (The Ascent of the Moon) 3:28
2 Legong 10:49
3 Uusi laulu paimenille (New Song for Shepherds) 5:32
4 Cybele 10:51
5 Konevitsan kirkonkellot (The Church Bells of Konevitsa) 5:08

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PHOENIX – CANTAFABULE – 1975 (Romania) progressive rock

Still not sure whether this album is called Cantofabule (fabulous song) or Cant Of A Bule (as the disc label being called so) or as my Romanian stepsister said Cantafabule, but the track listing is correct. The artwork being similar but monochromic red and carrying the cat # Fanny 100, it is most likely a bootleg, but this was the only way to get to listen (outside the PA’s samples) to a full album. This sextet’s third album is maybe the best appreciated by progheads, but apparently the last one before the fled the Ceaucescu regime.
The original double album was a concept based on some traditional Romanian themes based on adaptation of poets Seban Foarta and Andrei Ujica and inspired on a Dimitri Bolintineanu book called Istoria Ieroglifa (speaking of a “bestiaire” of fantastic mythical creatures), this almost 70 min-long piece is indeed one of the best thing to come from the old Dacian province. If I speak of Dacia (relating it to the Roman Empire times instead of Valachia or Moldavia-Bessarabia), it is because the general feel relates a bit to Italian prog (this is greatly due to the similarity of both languages), but the Timisoara (in Transylvania where the revolt started) group developed a very ambitious project that mixed some medieval folk with hard rock fronted by a fuzzed-out guitar.
The two-parts lengthy opening track Invocatie gives out right away the main dimension of their music, a fairly hard prog dominated by a fuzz-guitar, where all musicians hold their own. Surprising how modern for the day they sounded apparently having a moog synth. During this track, the group moves to different moods and passages including a “folk” one and there is a harpsichord thrown in there too and the track is a very captivating intro. Moving from the Harpsichord/flute piece Unicorn (sung in Old French) to the mediocre beat-rock of the sacred beetle (Scarabeului), the albums moves quickly to another highlight about dolphins (Delfinul), where the group shows the extent of their considerable talent in this folky ballad. Going through the dragon (semi-hard rocking), the snake (with a terrible sounding violin), a special kind of bird (Calandrinon) that’s supposed to accompany you into the underworld (another highlight in my book with superb bass work), the moose and the mongoose, the siren and a few other mythical creatures, the group continues tirelessly (even if you do, partly due to the length and the repetition of tracks that hammer on the same nail and the Romanian singing) until another pure psych-beat-RnR (track 11, a bit of a filler really) breaks the cycle of prog/folk tracks alternating.
The album gets back on track with the splendid Cintic-Lu (hawk) track which definitely seals the fate of the concept as excellent (just short of brilliant), followed by another fabulous Zoomahia (starting with the same electronic sounds that you found on the start of the album, but much longer and sounding like Gong) and the album closing on their fetish Phoenix, rising from the ashes.
Overall this album holds very few flaws (given its communist era background), few fillers and a bunch of superb if inhabitual prog folk tracks, which makes this album a masterpiece of its own. Clearly this album should get the honours from a full remastering and mini-Lp treatment, as it stands in the top 10 of the ex-soviet block.

- Nicolae Covaci / lead guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar, double six, blockflote
- Iosif Kappl / bass, vocals, violin, blockflote
- Mircea Baniciu / vocals, guitar
- Ovidiu Lipan / drums, bongos, tympani, gong, chimes, tambourine
- Gunter Reininger / piano, electric piano, synthesizer, celesta, electronic organ1. Invocatie (10:13)
2. Norocul Inorogului (3:19)
3. Scara Scarabeului (2:20)
4. Definul, Dulce Dulful Nostru (5:49)
5. Uciderea Balaurului (4:35)
6. Stima Casei (2:21)
7. Pasarea Calandrinon (5:50)
8. Filip Si Cerbul (4:30)
9. Vasiliscul Si Aspida (3:55)
10. Sirena (3:45)
11. Pasarea Roc..k And Roll (5:32)
12. Canticlu A Cucuveaualiei (7:07)
13. Zoomahia (6:04)
14. Phoenix (3:44)

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GREENSLADE – SPYGLASS GUEST – 1974 (UK) progressive rock

GREENSLADE’s classic third album, “Spyglass Guest” uniquely features guitars with Andy Roberts and Dave "Clem" Clempson (another former COLOSSEUM bandmate) delivering some six-string action. I personally love the first 4 GREENSLADE albums and find each one different and in many ways unique. “Spyglass Guest” features the full arsenal of GREENSLADE’s keyboards (organs, synths, Mellotron, Calvinet, Glockenspiel, Harmoniums and Tubular Bells) with Lawson’s keys and vocals, McCulloch’s drums and percussion and Tony Reeves last album (bass). Overall feel of the album is English prog rock in character with some great instrumental work.

- Dave Greenslade / keyboards (1,4,5,7,8)
- Tony Reeves / bass guitar (1,2,4,5,7,8)
- Andrew McCulloch / drums, percussion
- Clem Clemson / electric guitar (2,4)
- Dave Lawson / keyboards (all except 1)
- Jeremy Ensor / recorder Rainon 3
- Andy Roberts / acoustic guitar on 4
- Graham Smith / violin on 5
- Gregg Jackman / recorder church noise on 51 Spirit of the Dance 5:08
2 Little red Fry-up 5:11
3 Rainbow 4:20
4 Siam Seesaw 4:43
5 Joie de vivre 8:25
6 Red Light 2:47
7 Melancolic Race 4:15
8 Theme for an Imaginary Western 3:51

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GREENSLADE – GREENSLADE – 1973 (UK) progressive rock

Not long after the disintegration of Colosseum, Greenslade was born, with their inaugural self-titled album whetting the appetites of progressive rock fans worldwide. Dave Greenslade used the group to showcase his illustrious keyboard intricacies alongside Tony Reeves' bass guitar, Andrew McCulloch's predominant percussion work, and Dave Lawson's vocals, all of which made Greenslade a quintessential prog album. The attention almost never veers from David Greenslade's beautiful organ texturing, alternating between hard and delicate patterns while defining the album's pure progressive sound. Reeves' bass riffs are spatial and thorough, complimenting the keyboard runs when needed while falling in behind the music at the proper times. Although the three instrumental pieces ("An English Western," "Melange," and "Sundance") aim the spotlight straight at Greenslade, the vocal tracks are just as worthy. The lyrics are of a simple nature, unlike Yes' brand of fantastical poetry, and they adhere perfectly to the instruments, especially on the sincere "What Are You Doin' to Me." For this project and the rest of Greenslade's albums, Dave Greenslade exchanges the jazz-infused stylishness of his Colosseum days for the complexities of a progressive rock realm, and his transition ends up being faultless. Bedside Manners carries on with the same rich, keyboard-led sound, while another member from Colosseum, guitarist Dave Clempson, joins on for 1974's Spyglass Guest, in which the electronics were noticeably toned down.

- Dave Greenslade / keyboards
- Dave Lawson / keyboards, vocals
- Andy McCulloch / drums, percussion
- Tony Reeves / bass guitar, double bass1 Feathered Friends 6:48
2 An English Western 3:29
3 Drowning Man 5:52
4 Temple Song 7:31
5 Melange 4:46
6 What Are You Doin' to Me 8:46
7 Sundance 3:34

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GREENSLADE - BEDSIDE MANNERS ARE EXTRA – 1973 (UK) progressive rock

After the demise of COLOSSEUM in ‘71, keyboard player Dave Greenslade founded his own band GREENSLADE, featuring Tony Reeves (bass), Dave Lawson (keyboards, clarinet, flute) and Andrew McCulloch (drums), he had left KING CRIMSON. In ’73 Greenslade released “Bedside Manner Are Extra”, in my opinion their masterwork. It’s an an excellent blend of classic, jazz, rock, blues and symphonic rock with elaborate compositions and inventive and exciting dual-keyboardplay by Greenslade and Lawson. The omnipresence of the Mellotron is very pleasant with majestic waves of the violin-Mellotron (like early KING CRIMSON) and glorious eruptions of sumptuous choir-Mellotron. In comparison with the ‘progrock-dinosaurs’ ELP and YES, GREENSLADE played more varied styles, the songs were shorter and it lacked the usual ‘progrock self-indulgence’ (like ELP and Yes), no endless soloing. Highlight is the splendid build-up track “Drum Folk” featuring halfway a short drumsolo and some Mellotron, the climax is a bluesy, very moving Hammond organ solo, goose bumps! GREENSLADE is a band to discover and they deserve more appreciation by the progrock aficionados.

- Dave Greenslade / keyboards
- Andy McCulloch / drums & percussions
- Tony Reeves / bass
- Dave Lawson / keyboards
1 Bedside Manners Are Extra 6:23
2 Pilgrims Progress 7:05
3 Time to Dream 4:51
4 Drum Folk 8:53
5 Sunkissed You’re Not 6:36
6 Chalkhill 5:28

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