Freedom to Music
Archive for December, 2006
Family – Music in a Doll’s House (1968) (@256)
31 Dec 2006
(Review from amazon)
Sometimes you need to go back and experience what was to wonder what could have been. No other debut album from a band can match the force of this one from Family, and for more than 30 years, this work has remained a testimony to what rock music should be about: creative, mind-bending, pulsing, twisting, strange, engaging, and even failing.
The CD is full of gems, but the crowning glory may be “Old Songs, New Songs.” Chappo’s unearthly delivery of the main vocals contrasted with the falsetto of reedman Jim King’s vocal on the chorus could stop traffic. Charlie Whitney offers up one of the coolest wah-wah pedal-powered solos toward the last minute of the song against the rock solid drums of the great Rob Townsend and the bass line of the late Rick Grech.
Be warned, however, if you cut your teeth on what has been on commercial FM radio for the past 20 years, you may experience osmotic shock when listening to Family. Had Family achieved the popularity it so deserved, then maybe today folks would know that the first and best rock band to ever feature violin, saxophone, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals may very well have been Family, not the Dave Matthews Band.
Line-up:
- Roger Chapman / Vocals
- John ‘Charlie’ Whitney / Guitar, Vocals
- Jim King / Saxophone, Flute
- Rick Grech / Bass
- Rob Townsend / Drums
Track List:
01. The Chase (2:14)
02. Mellowing Grey (2:48)
03. Never Like This (2:17)
04. Me My Friend (2:01)
05. Variation On A Theme Of Hey Mr. Policeman (0:23)
06. Winter (2:25)
07. Old Songs, New Songs (4:17)
08. Variation On A Theme Of The Breeze (0:40)
09. Hey Mr. Policeman (3:13)
10. See Through Windows (3:43)
11. Variation On A Theme Of Me And My Friend (0:22)
12. Peace Of Mind (2:21)
13. Voyage(3:35)
14. The Breeze (2:50)
15. 3xTime (3:48)
Link in comments.
Flairck – Gevecht Met de Engel (1979) (@256)
31 Dec 2006
It’s already new year’s eve here (though probably my blog doesn’t think so). So for the new year, here is the request of my Greek neighbor Panos1. Happy new year everyone!
I couldn’t find a decent review for this one but if you liked the previous Flairck post, you shouldn’t miss this.
Track List:
01. Oost-West Express 4:52
02. De Vlinder 7:29
03. Voor Antoinette 2:10
04. De Stoomwals 7:14
05. Gevecht Met de Engel I 8:26
06. Gevecht Met de Engel II 8:34
07. Gevecht Met de Engel III 5:33
Link in comments.
Renaissance – Scheherazade and Other Stories (1975) (@256)
30 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
When somebody asks me about symphonic prog’ I always think of Renaissance and specially of this amazing release, the arrangements, chorus and Annie Haslam’s operatic voice are unique in the musical world and represent by own right what the word symphonic should mean.
Renaissance is a piano and vocals dominated band with elaborated arrangements but sometimes a bit light compared to most of the prog’ bands from the 70’s, not weak but softer and warmer. Using a comparison with sports, if Genesis and ELP are heavyweights that can kill the opponent with the first chord, Renaissance is like a middleweight, who also needs style and elegance to win the fight.
“Song of Scheherezade” a 24 minutes epic based on the 1001 Nights, it’s so impressive that people use to forget the rest of the album, something unfair because this release is well balanced and all the tracks have their own merits.
The album begins with a strange song called “Trip to the Fair” that starts with an impressive 3 minutes piano intro with chorus and light percussion that mixes with talent elements of different musical eras, which is suddenly followed by the wonderful voice of Annie. Maybe the problem with this song is that after the strong opening you expect something more powerful, but the band changes the direction of the song towards a softer and dreamy tune with some jazz chords that create a traveling fair atmosphere, but with the sacrifice of the power that the introduction make the listener expect, a good song but a bit uneven.
The second track (“Vultures Fly High”) has a better balance, starts strong and ends stronger, less symphonic and more rock oriented than the rest of the album but powerful and fast, the band members show they are capable of making good short songs.
Side A (in LP format) ends with “Ocean Gypsy” a softer song where again Annie’s vocals are the highlight, with evident participation of the rest of the members, this song is more predictable than all the other tracks but stronger than the previous because makes clear that Renaissance is a complete band, not only a piano and vocals duet.
Side B is what makes Renaissance a transcendental band, “Song of Scheherezade”, without doubt their most elaborate work, an epic that has everything, solid piano, good orchestra and chorus plus excellent work of all the band, the Arabic atmosphere is perfect and the vocals not exclusively by Annie Haslam are amazing, if you add the spectacular changes and sudden musical explosions you get an unforgettable masterpiece that must be listened before reading any review.
No progressive collection is complete without this album and “Live in the Carnegie Hall” where you can listen a more solid version of “Song of Scheherezade” (if this is possible).
Line-up:
- Jon Camp / bass, pedals, vocals
- Michael Dunford / acoustic guitar, vocals
- Annie Haslam / lead vocals
- Terrence Sullivan / drums, percussion, backing vocals
- John Tout / keyboards, backing vocals
Track List:
01. Trip To The Fair (10:48)
02. The Vultures Fly High (3:07)
03. Ocean Gypsy (7:05)
04. Song Of Scheherazade: (24:52)
Link in comments.
Ufo – Flying (1971) (@224)
29 Dec 2006
(Review from allmusic.com)
The first two albums by UFO featured an odd mix of crisp, focussed songs alternating with meandering electric guitar-led soundscapes. Flying starts off with perhaps their best of the former category, “Silver Bird.” This story of a primitive islander seeing an airplane for the first time begins with a pleasant little acoustic guitar melody and builds into a soaring full-band musical expression of the wonder of flight. The next cut, all 19 minutes of it, conjures up the vaster expanses of space. To complain that “Star Storm” rambles is to miss the point; sometimes Mick Bolton’s guitar is used as a pure sound effect rather than to convey any kind of rhythm or melody, and if you’re patient, then listening can be an enjoyable, even absorbing, experience. The relatively tight instrumental “Prince Kajuku” and the harder rocking “Coming of Prince Kajuku” follow, and are interesting as almost the only songs of this period to remain in the band’s live repertoire for years afterward. The album is capped with the title track, 26 and a half minutes of strange guitar wizardry. “Flying” was the soundtrack to many an acid trip when it first appeared, and to some people it is UFO’s crowning achievement. It’s fairly obvious that if Bolton had stayed at the helm then UFO would have never had the pop fame that they later achieved, but it can be interesting to try to imagine what kind of music they might have made as they grew even more accomplished.
Line-up:
* Phil Mogg / vocals
* Pete Way / bass
* Andy Parker / drums
* Mick Bolton / guitar
Track List:
01. Silver Bird – 6:54
02. Star Storm – 18:54
03. Prince Kajuku – 3:56
04. The Coming of Prince Kajuku – 3:43
05. Flying – 26:30
Link in comments.
Van der Graaf Generator – H to He, Who Am the Only One (1970) (@320)
28 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
1970 was a watershed year for progressive rock. That year saw the newly-born musical form — in the shape of bands like Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, and Gentle Giant — gain strength and conviction, consciously exploring and exploding the “limits” of rock, with a spirit of pure unfettered experimentation. Two pioneering bands who had been key progressive rock players from the genre’s emergence each recorded their third albums late that year: King Crimson’s eclectic Lizard added overt jazz flavours to the mix, and Van Der Graaf Generator’s oddly-titled H To He, Who Am The Only One (the first part of the title refers to the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen to helium in the sun) further expanded the boundaries of progressive in the form of an oftimes dark, and sometimes disturbing masterpiece.
The two albums have more than a passing resemblance: Like Lizard, “H To He” has strong jazz influences, largely expressed through the dynamic sax of David Jackson. In addition, Crimson’s Robert Fripp puts in a guest appearance on the Van Der Graaf album, adding his trademark electric guitar to “The Emperor in His War Room.” Furthermore, both Lizard and “H To He” are prime examples of “difficult” albums that can be initially challenging, but ultimately very rewarding auditory experiences. I was a latecomer to the music of Van Der Graaf Generator, and I admit that it took several listens before this disc really began to “sink its hooks” into me. Yet I soon found that I was no longer playing the disc out of a sense of duty for reviewing purposes, but as a source of musical pleasure. I use the word “pleasure” guardedly, however, because founder and lead singer Peter Hammill’s introspective lyrics are often illustrative of the axiom that “some of the best art arises from pain.”
On the disquieting, almost menacing opener “Killer,” Hammill sings of a monster fish born “on a black day, in a black month, at the black bottom of the sea” that, though “very lonely,” kills all that draw near, then muses that “I’m really rather like you, for I’ve killed all the love I ever had.” Death, loneliness, and the need for love are recurring themes on this brooding work. “House With no Door,” aided by Hugh Banton’s melancholy piano and Jackson’s flute, offers an effective, sadly beautiful portrait of the artist as a tortured man, imprisoned in the cavern of his skull, whose self-made “walls” have shut out the love that he so desperately needs and craves. The aforementioned “Emperor in His War Room” deals, through gruesome imagery, with the wages of a misspent life: “Begging for your life, as the impartial knife sinks in your screaming flesh…. You must pay the price of hate, and that price is your soul.” The next song, “Lost,” is perhaps the album’s strongest (with the final track, it also contains many of the disc’s more up-tempo, heavier moments), and finds Hammill, with a voice that favourably compares to that of Gabriel in its embittered and impassioned delivery, addressing the spectre of a lost love.
Throughout the disc, Hammill’s singing is very strong. Sometimes he almost whispers, sometime he nearly screams and spits out his lines, while at other moments he affects a falsetto that may well have helped shape the later vocal acrobatics of Gentle Giant. Peter Hammill is certainly no boring or undistinguished vocalist! At several junctures, his singing reminds me of Bowie’s during his Man Who Sold The World era, and the final track, the bizarre, science-fictional “Pioneers Over C” has a theme which is reminiscent of Bowie’s “Space Oddity” — that of a lost and lonely spaceman.
As with Lizard, I wouldn’t want to listen to this CD too much; hearing Hammill’s searing depictions of inner pain, self-loathing and regret can be cathartic (he’s likely worse off than you!), but also disturbing. Still, H to He, Who Am The Only One, is a classic recording that is a must for Van der Graaf fans, and essential listening for all who would discover just how wildly experimental, powerful and moving progressive rock could be in its infancy!
Line-up:
- Peter Hammill / lead vocals, acoustic guitar, piano (3)
- Hugh Banton / organs, oscillator, piano, bass (2,5), vocals
- Guy Evans / drums, tympani, percussion
- David Jackson / saxes, flute, vocals
Track List:
01. Killer (8:07)
02. House With No Door (6:03)
03. The Emperor In His War-Room (9:04)
a) The Emperor
b) The Room
04. Lost (11:13)
a) The Dance In Sand And Sea
b) The Dance In The Frost
05. Pioneers Over C. (12:05)
Links in comments.
Atoll – Musiciens – Magiciens (1974) (@192)
27 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
Atoll were a talented French ensemble who very much carried their own symphonic sound blending the finer aspects of French comrades Ange, Pulsar and Mona Lisa. Next to Ange, Atoll were probably the most influential of the French symphonic groups. With this debut album “Musiciens-Magiciens”, Atoll led the way for the others with a wonderful progressively charmed album full of emotion and originality. Their style was very theatrical in nature offering dynamic and melodic arrangements with some great song writing and vocal harmonies. Musically “Musiciens – Magiciens” is directly in the Genesis, Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Ange camp. The album is comprised of 7 tracks of early prog rock with an amazing 11 min epic track “Le Baladin Du Temps” which definitely is in my humble opinion the defining moment on this album. An excellent album full of originality…!
Line-up:
- André Balzer / lead vocals
- Luc Serra / guitars, synthesizer, percussion
- Jan-Luc Thillot / bass
- Michel Taillet / keyboards, percussion
- Alain Gozzo / drums, percussion
Track List:
01. L’hymne Medieval – 3:15
02. Le Baladin Du Temps – 11:11
03. Musiciens-Magiciens – 3:49
04. Au-Dela Des Ecrans De Cristal – 5:32
05. Le Secret Du Mage – 2:59
06. Le Berger – 3:50
07. Je Suis D’ailleurs – 8:04
08. Au-Dela Des Ecrans De Cristal (live) – 4:31
09. Fille De Neige (live) – 6:48
10. Je Fais Un Reve (live) – 3:35
11. Musiciens-Magiciens (live) – 4:40
Link in comments.
Hawkwind – Hawkwind (1970) (@192)
26 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
Grossly underrated debut by one of the big name space rock acts. This is the album with the original recording lineup (Lemmy wasn’t here yet, for one thing, and Dik Mik was still messing with sound generators rather than synthesizers). Huw Lloyd-Langton (pretty Welsh-sounding name) play additional guitar. What’s strange about him is he left after this album only to return in the 1980s and play on many of their albums of that decade (“Levitation”, “Sonic Attack”, “The Church of Hawkwind”, “The Chronicle of the Black Sword”, “The Xenon Codex”).
The album starts off with the blues-y “Hurry On Sundown”, complete with harmonica. This song comes to prove that Dave Brock had previous experience playing in blues bands. After that you get lots of and lots of simply mindblowingly intense guitar jams and psychedelic effects. I can’t see why this album gets slammed on, because the one thing I really like are the jams. The album then closes with “Mirror of Illusion”, the only other vocal cut on this album, which closes off this often maligned album. To me, I enjoy this album a lot because it has that underground psych sound I like so much (even Tangerine Dream was doing something similar on their Electronic Meditation, it too often not too respected by their fans). I don’t know how to recommend this album, but I think it’s incredible regardless what has been said!
Line-up:
- Dave Brock / vocals, acoustic guitars, harmonica, percussion
- John A. Harrison / bass
- Huw Lloyd Langton / lead guitar
- Terry Ollis / drums
- Nik Turner / alto sax, vocals, percussion
- DikMik / electronics
Track List:
01. Hurry On Sundown (4:50)
02. The Reason Is? (3:30)
03. Be Yourself (8:09)
04. Paranoia Part 1 (1:04)
05. Paranoia Part 2 (4:11)
06. Seeing It As You Really Are (10:43)
07. Mirror Of Illusion (6:58)
08. Bring It On Home (Bonus) (3:16)
09. Hurry On Sundown (Bonus) (5:02)
10. Kiss Of The Velvet Whip (Bonus) (5:25)
11. Cymbaline (Bonus) (4:04)
Link in comments.
Rufus Zuphall – Weiss der Teufel (1970) (@256)
25 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
A sensational first album by this very bluesy folk rock band. The music is totally imaginative, mainly instrumental, delivering catchy, dynamic compositions accompanied by psychedelic, possessed flute lines, bluesy rock guitar riffs and progressive arrangements. The general mood tends to be orientated to trippy, acid atmospheres. All the bluesy jams and fancy acoustic guitar sounds are highlighted by eccentric, prominent flute solos. A solid, powerful psych folk rock item dominated by outstanding, funny, effective, epic instrumental sections. This album is a must which can easily convince all fans of prog folk!
Line-up:
- Klaus Gülden / flute
- Helmut Lieblang / bass
- Günter Krause / guitar
- Udo Dahmen / drums
Track List:
01. Walpurgisnacht (3:00)
02. Knight Of 3rd Degree (7:32)
03. Spanferkel (2:20)
04. Freitag (7:14)
05. Weiß der Teufel (17:09)
06. 900 Miles (Bonus Live 1972)
07. I Put A Spell On You (Bonus Live 1972)
08. See See Rider (Bonus Live 1972)
09. Avalon Suite (Bonus Live 1972)
10. Summertime (Bonus Live 1972)
11. Prickel Pit (Bonus Live 1972)
Links in comments.
Vanilla Fudge – Vanilla Fudge (1968) (@256)
24 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
Vanilla Fudge are considered one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, as they placed a huge emphasis on musicianship as much as the vocals, stretching out well beyond the standard 3 minute form prevalent at the time. Their main trademark was their elongated and slowed right down cover versions of hits of the time. We’re not talking ‘Stars on 452 here, as the original versions were completely transformed and rearranged. For a time, this formula was hugely successful inspiring a whole movement of similar bands in the UK, including The Gods, (early) Deep Purple and (very early) Yes. However, Fudge were the first and best of this sub-genre of rock. The sound of all of the heavy prog acts such as Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster and Birth Control effectively starts here too, alongside Iron Butterfly.
The eponymous debut is considered their essential opus. Me, I think the superb ‘Renaissance’ has the edge as it featured predominantly original compositions, but this is obviously still first flight music. ‘Ticket To Ride’ radically re-arranges The Beatles’ original to a sludgy and very heavy tone, with bombastic harmonies, screeching guitar work and howling Hammond organ throughout, with some thunderous rhythmic work from Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert that show why Jeff Beck hired them for his Cream esque project, BBA.
‘People Get Ready’ is a lovely rendition of a classic by The Impressions. Though this has received many a cover, this is one of the best. It starts with a pseudo classical intro with ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’ style guitar and keys alongside militaristic drumming, prior to a very tasteful and quite subtle (surprisingly) take on a standard, with languid harmonies and some laid back organ work, until the band kicks back in with stunning harmonies and a driving bass motif. Although the vocals are typically melodramatic (and predict the likes of Ian Gillan and David Byron), it’s a very nicely worked arrangement.
‘She’s Not There’ sees one proto prog band pay homage to another- The Zombies. However, ‘She’s Not There’ was from The Zombies’ earlier years (which was not prog) and starts out with a burning intro with screeching organs and clattering drums prior to the slowed down, dramatic take on the track with a melodramatic vocal performance and quite ornate musicianship, and a massively grandiose climax, yet the track’s essential, paranoiac qualities are still there, with a tremulous section with fiddly organs that Uriah Heep borrowed for ‘Gypsy’ thrown in.
‘Bang Bang’ is yet another smash hit, as sang by Cher (bet you never thought you’d read that name on the site!). The arrangement is utterly unlike Cher’s though, with some marvellous organ work and some heavy guitar work and, as the title would imply, sledgehammer style percussion. The intro is almost avant garde at times prior to the heavier, slowed down intro to the acoustic splendour of the main song, with some quite fiddly organ and guitar solos thrown in.
‘You Keep Me Hanging On’, a cover of a Supremes hit, will always be the song most identified with Fudge, but not the longer version here. It starts out with a wonderfully progressive introduction, with military drumming, insistent rhythms and sitar like guitar lines plus fluid organ work, until the song kicks in with an on-the-money vocal performance that are accompanied by some excellent harmonies. Even in the single form though, this sounds completely unlike anything else from the time, prior to an outro that recalls the prog splendour of the intro.
‘Take Me For A Little While’ doesn’t deviate hugely from the Motown original, apart from the slower tempo and the bombastic overall sound. But the song’s commerciality remains and shows the soul influence that many of the American proto prog acts had but is rarely ever mentioned.
‘Eleanor Rigby’ is, by contrast, a hugely daring reworking. It starts out with a very unusual quote from ‘Three Blind Mice’ (!), prior to a fiddly organ/guitar introduction that soon the whole band join in on and up the ante, prior to a rapidly speeding up section that King Crimson arguably took note of before the song proper begins, with strident organ and percussion to the fore amongst the total bombast of the vocal arrangement.
All in all, a stunning debut that’s still very consistent- it’s perhaps the most consistent album in their catalogue and its influence can still be heard today. Here is a band on the cusp of prog, leaving no genre unused with classical, jazz, blues, world, folk and soul all thrown into the rock mix.
Line-up:
- Carmine Appice / Drums
- Tim Bogert / Bass
- Vince Martell / Guitar
- Mark Stein Keyboards, / vocals
Track List:
01. Ticket to ride (5:40)
02. People get ready (6:30)
03. She’s not there (4:55)
04. Bang bang (5:20)
05. Illusions of my childhood – Part 1(0:20)
06. You keep me hanging on (7:20)
07. Illusions of my childhood – Part 2 (0:23)
08. Take me for a little while (3:27)
09. Illusions of my childhood – Part 3 (0:22)
10. Eleanor Rigby (8:24)
Link in comments.
Flairck – Variaties op een Dame (1978) (@256)
23 Dec 2006
(Review from wikipedia, gepr)
Flairck is a Dutch musical ensemble formed in the late 1970s around guitar virtuoso Erik Visser. The group has had varying members dependent on the projects undertaken.
The Netherlands has long experienced a variety of musical influences as befits a country of its cultural diversity. Flairck, formed by Erik Visser in 1978, has tapped into this confluence of musical inspirations, bringing with it its own originality. Like its music the name of the band is an original composition, coming from the English work ‘flair’ and the Dutch ‘vlerk’ which means a nimble fingered hand or wing, reflecting the instrumental speed and clarity of the music.
After two years of preparation Flairck released its first album in 1978. The album “Variaties op een Dame” went platinum in the Netherlands and received three major awards including an Edison, which is the Netherlands highest recording award.
Delightful folk-progressive with strong Celtic underpinnings. In this album, the band consists of two acoustic guitars, flute and violin. The highlight for me is the 22-minute title piece, incorporating lengthy, virtuosic cadenzas for pan-flute and violin. Mandolin, mandola, sitar and acoustic bass guitar also add variety to their lively sound.
Line-up:
* Erik Visser – twaalf- en zessnarige gitaar, sitar, mandoline en mandola
* Peter Weekers – dwarsfluit, piccolo, panfluit, bamboefluit
* Judy Schomper – viool, altviool
* Hans Visser – akoestische basgitaar, klassieke gitaar, twaalfsnarige gitaar
with
* Fred Krems – vibrafoon, marimba, klokkenspel, gong, bekkens (6)
Track List:
01. Aoife
02. Voorspel in Sofia
03. April 3rd
04. Oneven Wals
05. Variaties op een Dame
06. Dubbelspel
Link in comments.
Minimum Vital – Sarabandes (1990) (@256)
22 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
This is Minimum Vital’s first official CD recording (their two previous efforts had originally been released on cassette format), and, together with their following one “La Source”, it perfectly epitomizes what the Minimum Vital prog style is all about at its finest hour: melodic symphonic prog with lots of Renaissance and late Mediaeval references, as well as some unmistakable hints of jazz fusion, not unlike early Eclat and early Edhels. Camel and Yes’ softer side are the most featured foreign influences on MV’s overall sound, although it is fair to acknowledge their own originality. The four musicians’ skills are also quite noticeable, especially when it comes to brothers Thierry and Jean-Luc Payssan (on keyboards and guitars, respectively), who are, indeed, the combo’s leaders. “Sarabandes” kicks off with ‘Le Chant du Monde’, a majestic number built on a 6/8 tempo, which portrays a celebratory spirit. A real catchy starter. The enthusiastic mood is soon later retained in ‘Sarabandes No. 1’, which continues to explore the musical heritage from the Renaissance with an added fusionesque touch: the synth solo towards the end is worth a special mention. Sandwiched between these two amazing tracks is ‘Porte sur l’Ete’, a beautiful, serene classical guitar solo piece immaculately delivered by J.-L. Payssan. ‘Cantiga de Santa Maria’ is – despite the archaic connotations of the title – the most modern-sounding number in this album: this is a cantata mediaeval style elegantly delivered over a basis of ethno-pop keyboard layers and loops, with the guitar, drum kit and bass providing additional hues. Bizarre without getting disturbing. ‘Sarabande No. 2’ brings back the colorful ambiences of tracks 1 & 3, with a soft Arabesque twist: the addition of exotic elements allows MV to widen their sonic spectrum and achieve a greater dose of melodic intensity. But the top of intensity is yet to be found in the epic-tinged ‘Hymne et Danse’, the most intricate and diverse track in the album. Here you will find: an amazing piano solo intro that wanders seamlessly through the realms of jazz and the classicist roads of chamber; a majestic main motif that keeps a strong relation to the album’s overall symphonic trait; and, finally, a Gregorian chant in the coda. ‘Danza Vital’ is the most overtly joyful piece in this album: starting with a grandiloquent synth fanfare, the main motif surfaces and goes on constructed over a melodic jazz pop basis. The sense of joy is properly perpetuated in the brief folk-tinged closure ‘Le Bal du Diable’. All in all, “Sarabandes” is one of MV’s most accomplished and prototypical efforts: an excellent prog recording, a must for all symph prog lovers who dig for something refreshing from the 90s.
Line-up:
- Thierry Payssan / keyboards, accordian
- Eric Rebeyrol / bass
- Christophe “Cocof” Godet / drums
- Jean Luc Payssan / guitars, vocals
Track List:
01. Le Chant du Monde (7:37)
02. Porte Sur l’Eté (2:55)
03. Sarabande no. I (6:24)
04. Cantiga de Santa Maria (3:48)
05. Sarabande no. II (7:04)
06. Hymne et Danse (8:52)
07. Danza Vital (7:27)
08. Le Bal du Diable (1:32)
Link in comments.
Ozric Tentacles – Bits Between the Bits (1989) (@256)
21 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
The last of the tentacles :)
This album was to close the chapter in the early cassette-era releases. Roughly the same time as “The Bits Between the Bits”, they released “Pungent Effulgent”, their first proper-label release. “The Bits Between the Bits” were leftover material that never made it on any of their albums from “Erpsongs” to “Pungent Effulgent”. But these aren’t half-ass rejects that should’ve been thrown in the trash, but top quality material that should’ve appeared on those albums in the first place. Because of this, the material is a bit more eclectic than anything they did before.
The opening cut, “Eye of Adia” sounds like something off “Pungent Effulgent”, and in fact was used on that album, as part of one of the cuts. “Sparkling Oasis” is another one of those reggae tunes the band liked doing at this early stage of their career. “Tidal Otherness” in this version, is just a short, ambient piece, with just the main, recognizable theme, and that’s it. The original (off “Erpsongs”) is much longer, which ventured more in to Tangerine Dream-like electronic music. “Symetricum” is a wonderful piece, utilizing Ed’s delayed guitar method, with some great spacy passages. Of course, I could live without Joie’s use of the cheesy Casio CZ-1000 (I should know, I used to own a CZ-101, which is exactly the same thing, but with smaller keys, and was a pretty second-rate synthesizer). “Floating Seeds” is a wonderful ambient piece, with some ethnic influences. Then you have “Wreltch”, which re-appeared on the 1990 reissue of “Pungent Effulgent”, so if you own that album (that is, the Dovetail version or the Snapper version), you know this song already. Great way to close off their cassette-era, as from here on out, they’ll be releasing albums on a proper label, with more great albums to come!
Line-up:
- Ed Wynne / guitar, keyboards
- Steve Everett / sampling
- Joie Hinton / synthesizer, sampling
- Tig (Nick van Gelder) / drums
- Roly Wynne / bass
Track List:
01. Eye of Adia (4:24)
02. Fragmentary Aura (3:09)
03. Sparkling Oasis (4:30)
04. Tidal Otherness (0:59)
05. Secret Names (5:23)
06. Symetricum (4:37)
07. Floating Seeds (5:40)
08. Ozrosis (2:33)
09. Wreltch (8:29)
10. Afterswish (2:41)
11. Koh Phangan (7:09)
12. The Cave of Aeolas (5:52)
13. Puff Puff on a Chuff Chuff (2:13)
14. Health Music (4:45)
Links in comments.
Ozric Tentacles – Sliding Gliding Worlds (1988) (@256)
20 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
Many regard this as their best cassette-era release, but I’m not one of them, as I fell “There is Nothing” and even “The Bits Between the Bits” are better. But of course, this being an Ozric album, it’s full of great stuff, and I never ran across a bad Ozric album. This being originally a privately issued cassette, the cover artwork was still black and white (done by Blim, an anonymous figure responsible for the trippy colorful psychedelic artwork once the band started recording for proper labels). The band also witness the most major linup change at this point, with two major figures coming in. One is the arrival of drummer Merv Pepler. He was obviously responsible for several of Ozrics best albums, and he stayed with the band until 1994 (previous drummer, Nick Van Gilder aka. “Tig” left because he really wasn’t too interested in the music Ozrics played, and you’ll find out once he joined Jamiroquai for a short time from 1992 to ‘94). Another key figure to make his premiere here is John Egan, on flutes (sometimes he goes by his Gaelic name of Eoin Eogan, since if I’m not mistakened, he is Irish). He is still with the band to this day, and he was responsible for giving the band a more ethnic bent, which obviously helped improved on the band’s sound.
“Sliding Gliding Worlds” is quite an accomplishment given it was originally a privately issued cassette the band released themselves. While I though “There is Nothing” was better because it was more energetic and exciting, “Sliding Gliding Worlds” was perhaps a more consistent offering (you don’t get experiments like the original version of “The Eternal Wheel”, for example) and the band was obviously going for a more exotic and ethnic feel. Here you get the original version of “White Rhino Tea” (later re-recorded for Strangeitude). This version has a more ’80s sound (especially the drum machines). “Kick Muck” makes its premiere here as well (exactly the same as “Pungent Effulgent”, but with an ambient experiment tagged at the end, rather than seguing in to “Agog in the Ether”). “The Dusty Pouch” was the album’s only excursion in to reggae, but what makes this really interesting is John’s exotic flute at the end. “Mae Hong Song”, despite the Chinese title, sounds more like Balinesian gamelan. “(Omnidirectional) Bhadra” has more of an Indian feel, no doubt helped by someone named Marcus “Carcus” playing tabla. It’s amazing that in ‘88 any band would combine both digital and analog (since too many bands at that time were too stuck on digital to give a rat’s ass to anything that existed before the Yamaha DX-7). This is some great material, to say the least, and it’s little wonder why the band would get proper label treatment pretty soon after this.
Line-up:
- Ed Wynne / guitar, synthesizer
- Joie Hinton / synts, sampling
- Roly Wynne / bass
- Merv Pepler / drums
- Steve Everett / keyboards
- Paul Hankin / percussion
- Marcus “Carcus” / percussion
- John Egan / flute
Track List:
01. Yaboop (5:29)
02. Soda Water (4:10)
03. The Code for Chickendon (4:59)
04. Guzzard (2:05)
05. The Dusty Pouch (4:22)
06. Sliding and Gliding (4:54)
07. Kick Muck (5:30)
08. It’s a Hup Ho World (6:42)
09. Atmospheric Underslunky (3:33)
10. (Omnidirectional) Bhadra (2:58)
11. Fetch Me the Pongmaster (6:12)
12. Mae Hong Song (3:19)
13. White Rhino Tea (4:05)
14. Loaf Jaw (1:11)
15. The Green Island (3:04)
Links in comments.
Ozric Tentacles – Live Ethereal Cereal (1986) (@256)
19 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
Much maligned live Ozrics album, I think the only reason for that criticism is the sound quality, which isn’t the best, luckily it isn’t that “recorded off someone’s home cassette recorder” quality. I have no problems hearing all the instruments being played. You also have to bear in mind, in 1985 and ‘86, when “Live Ethereal Cereal” was recorded, the band still had no recording contract with a record label, and they already had two cassettes under their belt, with “Tantric Obstacles” and “Erpsongs” that they produced and released themselves. Of course, being an unsigned band at that time, they didn’t have the benefit of top quality digital equipment like a band at that time who was recording for an actual record label.
“Live Ethereal Cereal” consists of performances from four separate shows in England, three of them in Reading (September and December 1985, and February 1986) and one in Glastonbury (October 1985). Given the circumstances, this is a truly amazing and underrated live album. All but two cuts are actually stuff found nowhere else! You get to hear early OZRICS performing some rather raw and exciting stuff, like “Erpriff”, “Tentacular Explosion”, and one of my favorites, “Obstacular Explosion”. Two songs from their then-current cassette releases, “Tantric Obstacles” and “Erpsongs” were represented by “Og-Ha-Be” and “Dots Thots”, both of them arranged a bit differently from the originals, but with the familiar themes still intact. All the wonderful OZRICS stuff can be already found here: totally wild guitar from Ed Wynne, with lots of great spacy synths from both Joie Hinton and Tom Brookes. Roly Wynne (Ed’s brother, sadly now deceased) handled the bass, and Tig (aka Nick Van Gelder) handled the drums. If you bear in mind the technical limitations the band had at the time in the process of recording a live album cassette, you got yourself some amazing performances. Luckily they paired this album with There is Nothing (perhaps their best cassette-era release, in my book, although many say “Sliding Gliding Worlds”) as a 2-for-1 CD set (prior to that, sold separately on CD by Dovetail, and before that, part of the “Vitamin Enhanced Box Set”). Great stuff, if you don’t mind the sound quality!
Line-up:
- Ed Wynne / guitar
- Joie Hinton / synthesizer
- Roly Wynne / bass
- Gavin Griffiths / bass
- Tom Brooks / bubbles
- Paul Hankin / congas
- Tig (Nick van Gelder) / drums
Track List:
01. Erpriff (a) (9:33)
02. Tentacular Explosion (b) (10:07)
03. Stupid Reggae (a) (6:16)
04. Om Riff (b) Gong (4:37)
05. Obstacular Explosion (c) (13:46)
06. Og-Ha-Be (a) (8:38)
07. Dots Thots (d) (4:50)
08. Erpitaph (c) (3:47)
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Beggar’s Opera – Act One (1970) (@256)
18 Dec 2006
A little break from the Ozrics :)
(Review from progarchives.com)
What a mindblowing debut-album this is! The very melodic and harmonic music from this five-piece band is based upon an incredible dynamic and propulsive rhythm-section and splendid, very exciting Hammond organ work, often accompanied by a powerful and fiery electric guitar. The interplay between the musicians is magnificent and the excertions on keyboards and guitar are very compelling, in the spirit of the late Sixties and early Seventies. The vocals are also worth to be mentioned: distinctive with an enthusiastic approach and often a bit cynical undertone but at some moments also warm and plesant. The highlight on this CD is the track “Raymond’s road” featuring awesome guitarsoli (inspired by Hendrix and Page)and exciting work on the Hammond organ in the vein of the best Keith Emerson, including short renditions of known classical pieces from Bach and Grieg. An excellent album that will please every hammond aficionado and fans from the early seventies progrock sound!
Line-up:
- Martin Griffiths / vocals
- Alan Park / organ
- Raymond Wilson / drums
- Ricky Gardiner / lead guitar
- Marshal Erksine / bass guitar
Track List:
01. Poet and Pesant (7:10)
02. Passacaglia (7:04)
03. Memory (3:57)
04. Raymond’s road (11:49)
05. Light Cavalry (11:57)
06. Sarabande (3:32)
07. Think (4:25)
Link in comments.
Ozric Tentacles – There Is Nothing (1986) (@256)
17 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
This was their final album to feature Tig (Nick van Gelder) who later spent a short time with Jamiroquai (although not on the album that featured that hit with the dorky video, “Virtual Insanity”). This is truly Ozrics on their way to more great things to come. The album opens up with “The Sacred Turf”, an intense jam that the band often finds themselves doing on many of their albums, this is pretty typical Ozrics. You have an original of “O-I” which was later re-recorded for “Pungent Effulgent”. Sticks pretty much the same, with a different solo. “Jabular” is one of their more techno-like pieces, but I mean more in an ’80s fashion, not ’90s, like often heard on the albums they did when Rad and Seaweed were in the band (like Curious Corn, Waterfall Cities, and The Hidden Step). “Staring at the Moon” is one of the three reggae type pieces found on this album. “Lull Your Skull” is an interesting one, with some great synth work, and Roly giving us an odd combination of fretless and slap-bass work. As a matter of fact, I feel Roly gives us his best bass work here, showing his abilities on fretless, as well as the standard bass using the slap-bass technique, something he didn’t seem to do on other albums. “Crap Nebula” and “Kola B’Pep”, once again, are more reggae pieces, while “Thrashing Breath Texture” is a more thrashing piece. Not all the pieces on this album work. For example, the original version of “The Eternal Wheel”. It was vastly improved on “Erpland” with actual guitars and drums, this one is little more than a drum machine experiment that seems to little for me, and it’s almost completely unrecognizable. The album closes with the wonderful title track, a cool ambient experiment with ethnic influences (and despite the ethnic influences, just to let you know that John hadn’t even joined the band yet). With the exception of “The Eternal Wheel”, another great Ozric albums, in my book.
Line-up:
- Ed Wynne / guitar, synthesizer
- Joie Hinton / synthesizer, sampling
- Tom Brooks / synthesizers
- Roly Wynne / bass
- Tig (Nick van Gelder) / drums
- Paul Hankin / percussion
Track List:
01. The Sacred Turf (3:14)
02. O-I (4:42)
03. Jabular (3:53)
04. Staring at the Moon (4:52)
05. Airy Area (3:44)
06. Travelling the Great Circle (4:05)
07. Imhotep (12:03)
08. Thrashing Breath Texture (3:31)
09. Crab Nebula (5:39)
10. Lull Your Skull (3:01)
11. Invisible Carpet (5:47)
12. The Eternal Wheel (9:53)
13. Kola B’Pep (6:36)
14. There is Nothing (1:19)
Links in comments.
Ozric Tentacles – Erpsongs (1985) (@256)
16 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
This is the very first release from the Ozrics. As a matter of fact, they weren’t signed to any label. Let’s examine what’s going on: it’s the mid 1980s, the kind of space rock bands like Gong and Hawkwind were doing the decade before is now long out of fashion. Record labels once sympathetic to that kind of music (like Virgin, which Gong recorded for) turned their backs on that kind of music and started including punk and new wave acts on their roster. Ozric Tentacles knew at the time they wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell finding a record label to release their material, so they took matters in to their own hands and released cassettes that were produced and released all by themselves (until the time their reputation spreaded far enough, they would get a record deal, in 1989, that is, but that’s later on).
“Erpsongs” is that first cassette, and for a home made affair, this is quite a decent album. Certainly the production is a bit messed up in places, and it has its share of throwaway filler, but this album proves that they were already making great space rock, with the ever wild guitar work of Ed Wynne, and great spacy synths from Joie Hinton and Tom Brookes. Ed’s not the only one handling guitar here, as Gavin Griffiths is the other guy handing guitar too. Also we get future Jamiroquai drummer Nick Van Gelder (aka. Tig). “Erpsongs” is a wonderful historical item, but things will only get better, that is, their following cassette releases, and their more polished official label releases. If you’re a newcomer, don’t start here, but if you’re a fan, you shouldn’t go without.
Line-up:
- Ed Wynne / guitar
- Gavin Griffiths / guitar
- Joie Hinton / synthesizers
- Tom Brooks / synthesizers
- Roly Wynne / bass
- Tig (Nick van Gelder) / drums
- Paul Hankin / percussion
Track List:
01. Velmwend (4:40)
02. Fast Dots (3:49)
03. Thyroid (5:07)
04. Spiral Mind (3:35)
05. Synth On a Plinth (2:01)
06. Dharma Reggae (4:58)
07. Tidal Otherness (5:41)
08. Erpriff (1:43)
09. Descension (5:04)
10. Misty Gliss (4:35)
11. Dots Thots (4:31)
12. Clock Drops (2:49)
13. Five Jam (6:55)
14. Oddhamshaw (6:18)
Links in comments.
Ozric Tentacles – Tantric Obstacles (1985) (@256)
12 Dec 2006
(Review from progarchives.com)
It’s hard to believe what a different world Ozric Tentacles was back in 1985. Flutist John Egan was not even in the band yet. Future members, such as drummer Rad were barely in their teens at that time (and Rad replacement, Schoo aka Stuart Fisher was around 10 years old then). A future member of Jamiroquai by the name of Nick Van Gelder (Tig) was the drummer. They had two keyboardists, one being Joie Hinton (who stayed with the band until 1994), and Tom Brookes (who left not too long after this album, only to reappear as a guest on “Erpland”), and guitarist Ed Wynne’s brother Roly was the bassist. Also the band was basically in their infancy and released their second cassette, “Tantric Obstacles” in 1985, the same year as “Erpsongs”. Quite an accompilshment, since each cassette at that time equaled to a double LP’s worth of material. This isn’t some cassette released on some label, this was a band doing all by themselves, bought a batch of 90 minute blank tapes, get someone by the name of Blim to do the cover artwork, and photocopy all this stuff. Apparently there was some more fancy artwork for the cassette that never made it to the Dovetail CD reissue (or the more recent CD reissue on Snapper/Recall that also packaged “Erpsongs”). During this time, the band totally forgot to write down song titles, so the song titles you know from these early cassette releases came through the Dovetail reissue (that were sold either as part of the “Vitamin Enhanced” box set or separately, or the songs that were lucky to make it prior on their 1991 compilation “Afterswish”).
The music is a notch above “Erpsongs”. For one thing, the band seemed to be able to correct their mistakes. Still they’re a bit inexperienced with the mixing, so often the drums end up too loud and the bass is a bit buried. The music has improved as well. Songs such as “Shards of Ice”, “Sniffing Dog”, “Atmosphear”, “Ullular Gate” and “Trees of Eternity” prove. Plenty of VCS-3 like synth bubbles and tons of great analog synth sounds (which is a bit odd given this was the ever digitized year known as 1985 where everyone else was toying with Yamaha DX-7s and similar stuff), plus Ed’s tradmark wild guitar. You’ll notice a mostly lack of an ethnic sound, just one excursion in to reggae with “Sorry Style”, but you won’t find any Asian or Middle Eastern styles here (probably because John was not present).
Though stuffed with great material, this is basically a historical item and might not be the best place to start for newcomers, but it’s still very worthwhile.
Line-up:
- Ed Wynne / guitar
- Joie Hinton / synthesizers
- Tom Brooks / synthesizers
- Roly Wynne / bass
- Tig (Nick van Gelder) / drums
- Paul Hankin / percussion
Track List:
01. Og-Ha-Be (4:42)
02. Shards of Ice (3:56)
03. Sniffing Dog (6:33)
04. Music to Gargle At (3:30)
05. Ethereal Cereal (2:15)
06. Atmosphear (4:32)
07. Ullular Gate (4:27)
08. Tentacles of Erpmind (0:39)
09. Trees of Eternity (7:26)
10. Mescalito (4:04)
11. Odhamshaw Style (1:53)
12. Become the Otter (5:00)
13. Gnuthlia (5:26)
14. Sorry Style (3:46)
15. The Aum Shuffle (3:06)
Links in comments.
Ilk-entry
11 Dec 2006
Well, this is the first entry of what I hope will become a wonderful blog of music. 60s70s rock, progressive rock, folk rock and and many other weird-o stuff…