Freedom to Music
Archive for April, 2007
Yes – Close to the Edge (1972) (@256)
30 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Yes formed in 1968, was well-known and influential mainstream progressive from the 1970′s, and still around in some form ever since.
I know it’s all been said before, but this really is the pinnacle. The title track in particular is pure prog perfection. Wakeman especially never sounded better, but the whole band excels both in terms of composition and performance.
I have heard it said that it was Eddie Offord who took the various pieces Yes were working on, and spliced them together to form the track we all now know so well as “Close to the edge”. If that is true, it is time his vision was recognised properly. The structure of the track stand as an example, followed by many but never surpassed, of how to put together the ultimate prog epic.
“And you and I” is the only track worthy of following Close To The Edge. The power here can be almost overwhelming. By the way, if you have yet to hear the Yessymphonic version, you should do so without delay.
“Siberian Khatru” rounds off the album superbly, being a slightly simpler up tempo number, but with a sting in the tail (fly?).
Anderson is at his most lyrically obscure here, the words being selected because of their sound rather than their meaning. In most cases, this might point to a potential lack of coherence, but in this case more simplistic lyrics would somehow seem trite and unworthy.
This expanded remaster includes the single version of Yes’ interpretation of Simon and Garfunkel’s “America”, an alternative version of “And You And I”, a single(!) version of “Total Mass Retain” (which sounds completely out of place on its own), and a studio run through of “Siberian Khatru”.
Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Chris Squire / bass, vocals
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Steve Howe / guitars, vocals
Track List:
01. Close To The Edge (18:50)
02. And You And I (10:09)
03. Siberian Khatru (8:57)
04. America (Bonus Single Version) (4:12)
05. Total Mass Retain (Bonus Single Version) (3:21)
06. And You and I (Bonus Alternative Version) (10:17)
07. Siberia (Bonus Studio Run-trough of “Siberian Khatru”) (9:19)
Links in comments.
Wishbone Ash – Front Page News (1977) (@256)
30 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
With Laurie Wisefield now firmly installed as the second lead guitarist and sometime vocalist, Wishbone Ash continued to develop the sound and style they had introduced on “New England”.
The opening title track sets the scene for the album in a slightly laid back, mid-paced song. Apart from the delightful vocals, the song features some excellent integral guitar work, which complements the composition rather than dominating it. That laid back atmosphere is repeated in songs such as “Midnight dancer” which changes pace mid- way, the slow wah-wah guitar giving way to an all to rare burst of faster lead guitar duelling. Wisefield assumes lead vocal duty on the Crosby Stills and Nash like “Goodbye baby, hello friend”, another relaxed song with more of a pop basis. The CSN influences appear elsewhere from time to time, perhaps emanating in part from the style of Wisefield’s previous band Home. On the relaxed instrumental “714″, we even have orchestration by Mike Lewis, surely a first for Wishbone Ash.
And so it is that a succession of slightly melancholy mid-paced songs with strong harmonies flows seamlessly on. All the while, bursts of great but all too brief guitar work intrude, but usually they simply serve as a solid basis for the tracks.
The second side is slightly harder, but rarely does the pace reach anything like what might be described as energetic. Songs such as “Right or wrong” have a stronger blues influence, with hints of Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple.
There are no feature tracks on “Front Page News”. This is a straightforward album of ten 4-5 minute songs, consummately performed but with little development. This is a proficient offering packed with pleasant melodies, while undoubtedly standing as the band’s least aggressive release.
Line-up:
- Martin Turner / bass, vocals
- Laurie Wisefield / lead, 12 string & rhythm guitars, vocals
- Andy Powell / lead, rhythym & acoustic guitars, vocals
- Steve Upton / drums
Track List:
01. Front Page News
02. Midnight Dancer
03. Goodbye Baby, Hello Friend
04. Surface To Air
05. 714
06. Come In From The Rain
07. Right Or Wrong
08. Heart Beat
09. The Day I Found Your Love
10. Diamond Jack
Link in comments.
Traffic – When the Eagle Flies (1974) (@192)
29 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
“When the eagle flies” was recorded by Traffic after their creative peak. It has the sound of a band rather going through the motions of making one of several “final” albums. The line up consists of Winwood, Capaldi and Wood, joined by Rosko Gee on bass, the band going on to break up after the promotional tour. All but one of the songs are written by Winwood and Capaldi, the sole exception being the 11 minute “Dream Gerrard”, which Winwood wrote, with Viv Stanshall (Bonzo’s) supplying the lyrics.
After an upbeat opener “Something New” which ironically harks back to the band’s early days, we are quickly into the lengthy, relaxed tones of “Dream Gerrard”. While the song has a rather disjointed feel, with long jazz based improvisations, there is some glorious mellotron which lifts the piece considerably. Yes, it could have been much better, but after a few listens it does begin to reveal its underlying beauty.
For me, “Walking in the Wind” is the best of the bunch. Steve Winwood supplies some superb organ on a track which would have fitted in well on the “John Barleycorn Must Die” album. The strong melody and fine vocal performance set the song apart on the album, and render it one of the band’s finest tracks.
The remaining tracks are rather ordinary, low key affairs, with continuing jazz tinges. The closing title track has some decent organ again, but the meandering melody spoils a decent vocal performance.
In all, a mixed bag of an album, but it does grow with each listen (as a good prog album should). Jim Capaldi’s lyrics are worthy of note, as is Steve Winwood’s vocal and keyboard contribution. A few stronger melodies, and some more dynamic production and this could have been a fine swansong.
Traffic disbanded after the promotional tour of the album.
Line-up:
- Jim Capaldi / drums, keyboards, vocals
- Steve Winwood / guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Chris Wood / flute, saxophone
- Rosko Gee / bass guitar
Track List:
01. Something New (3:16)
02. Dream Gerrard (11:02)
03. Graveyard People (6:05)
04. Walking In The Wind (6:51)
05. Memories Of A Rock’n'Rolla (4:49)
06. Love (3:13)
07. When The Eagle Flies (4:23)
Link in comments.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – One More From The Road (1976) (@256)
29 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com)
Lynyrd Skynyrd released four studio albums prior to the release of this record and they were all outstanding. But as good as they were in the studio, Skynyrd really showed their chops on the road. Shortly after the release of their first record they toured as an opening act for The Who and did the unthinkable by actually blowing them off the stage. One More From The Road was released in late ’76 and it captures all of their power and fury. For the tour they added guitarist Steve Gaines to the mix of Allen Collins and Garry Rossington bringingt back the triple lead guitar attack that made them famous. Bolstered by Artimus Pyle’s drumming, Billy Powell’s boogie-woogie and Leon Wiliknson’s steady bass, the band provides the firm backing for frontman Ronnie Van Zant’s whiskey-soaked vocals. Standout tracks include the powerful “Workin’ For MCA”, the furious “Saturday Night Special”, “Tuesday Gone”, the rollicking “Call Me The Breeze” and of course their two most notable songs, “Sweet Home Alabama” and the flick your lighter on arena rock classic “Free Bird”. This is a remastered deluxe edition that contains additional performances from the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Line-up:
* Ronnie Van Zant – lead vocals
* Gary Rossington – guitar
* Allen Collins – guitar
* Steve Gaines – guitar, backing vocals
* Leon Wilkeson – bass, backing vocals
* Artimus Pyle – drums
* Billy Powell – keyboards
* The Honkettes (JoJo Billingsley, Cassie Gaines, Leslie Hawkins) – backing vocals
Track List:
CD1
01. Workin’ for MCA
02. I Ain’t the One
03. Saturday Night Special
04. Searching
05. Travelin’ Man
06. Simple Man
07. Whiskey Rock-A-Roller
08. The Needle And The Spoon
09. Gimme Back my Bullets
10. Tuesday’s Gone
11. Gimme Three Steps
12. Call Me the Breeze
13. T for Texas
CD2
01. Sweet Home Alabama
02. Crossroads
03. Free Bird
04. Workin’ for MCA (Bonus alternate)
05. I Ain’t the One (Bonus alternate)
06. Searching (Bonus alternate)
07. Gimme Three Steps (Bonus alternate)
08. Call Me the Breeze (Bonus alternate)
09. Sweet Home Alabama (Bonus alternate)
10. Crossroads (Bonus alternate)
11. Free Bird (Bonus alternate)
Links in comments.
Jane – Between Heaven and Hell (1977) (@256)
29 Apr 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
Jane followed up their previous album quite well with “Between Heaven and Hell”. The album had more abrupt chord-changes and didn’t have the same seamless flow as “Fire, Water, Earth & Air”. But that made it on the other hand a more dynamic and varied record that better captured all the different sides of the band. The 20-minute title-track had it all: sinister instrumental-passages with some electronic effects, pleasant Pink Floyd-like vocal-parts, loud heavy-prog riffs, sweeping solo-passages with atmospheric string-synths, and even a gothic choir to make the right gloomy mood. “Twilight” starts as an average hard rock song, but turns quickly into a beautiful and energetic instrumental-part that easily is some of the best that Jane ever recorded. “Voice in the Wind” is a melodic and heavily synth-based song that floats graciously away in its spacey feel. The closing-track “Your Circle” is a very basic and ordinary boogie-rock track, but it’s still kind of funny as it makes such a big contrast to the rest of the album. “Between Heaven and Hell” was yet another proof that Jane was on a winning streak in the late 70′s, as it’s easily among their best albums.
Line-up:
- Klaus Hess / guitars, moog, vocals
- Martin Hesse / bass, vocals
- Peter Panka / drums, percussion, vocals
- Manfred Wieczorke / keyboards, vocals
with
- A. Zchenker / harp
Track List:
01. Between Heaven and Hell (19:47)
02. Twilight (8:14)
03. Voice in the Wind (5:14)
04. Your Circle (3:51)
Link in comments.
Traffic – On the Road (Live 1973) (@320)
28 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
It is hard to criticise this incredible live album negatively at all. For me one of the top progressive live albums to come out of the 70′s. Remember Yessongs, Second’s Out and also Ricochet by Tangerine Dream, On The Road sits proudly up there with these gems and it was a double LP release. The musicians worked brilliantly together with Reebop Kwaku Baah back in the percussive fold. Here we have “jamming” at it’s absolute best. “Glad / Freedom Rider” the opener is 20 minutes of mesmerizing sound. Being live the tracks have been lengthened to accomodate for the apty titled On The Road, “Light Up Or Leave Me Alone” is another great track as is the live version of the much debated “(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired” but for me the highpoint is the seventeen minutes of “Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys”. As I said all the instrument playing is of exceptional quality but Chris Wood’s sax and flute needs a special mention too. Not an album to ignore especially if you are fond of those great 70′s live albums.
Line-up:
- Jim Capaldi / vocals, percussion, drums
- Steve Winwood / vocals, guitar, piano
- Chris Wood / saxophone, flute
- Reebop Kwaku Baah / percussion
- Roger Hawkins / drums
- David Hood / bass
- Barry Beckett / keyboards
Track List:
01. Glad / Freedom Rider (20:49)
02. Tragic Magic (8:30)
03. (Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired (10:20)
04. Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory (6:40)
05. Light Up Or Leave Me Alone (10:30)
06. Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys (17:35)
Link in comments.
New Riders of the Purple Sage – Gypsy Cowboy (1972) (@256)
28 Apr 2007
Request of anonymous.
(Review from amazon.com, wikipedia)
With the New Riders desiring to become more of a self-sufficient group and Garcia needing to focus on his other responsibilities, the musician parted ways with the group in November 1971. Buddy Cage, a seasoned pedal steel player replaced Garcia. The Dawson/Nelson/Cage/Torbert/Dryden line-up is generally considered to be the finest of the group. Thanks to rampant touring and the coattails of the Grateful Dead, with whom they still gigged periodically (both bands shared the same management in this epoch), the New Riders managed to nearly eclipse the parent band in popularity. This was not necessarily a surprise, considering that their sound was far more accessible than was the Dead’s.
Gypsy Cowboy is such a great album, in some ways it is the epitome of the whole cowboy rock or country rock which began with the Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo and which later blossomed and reinvigorated much of the two genres.
This album is consistently good throughout beginning with the soulful Gypsy Cowboy which no-one could imagine to be the first choice of DJs to play on the radio but which sets the tone and standard for the rest of the album to follow.
This band had finally escaped from the shadow of the Grateful Dead although my strongest feeling about this is that it is very close in feel to Garcia’s first album and highlights his own skill with the pedal steel guitar. It is clear too that the songwriting talents of Dawson and Torbet werein some competition with each other producing some very high quality songs indeed.
The standard themes are clearly in evidence, illegal whiskey running and trying to escape the taxman and the finding of gold during the goldrush days testify to the attractions of the cowboy image of individuality and finding your own way in life while the conflicting images of women portrayed in Groupie and Linda as well as She’s No Angel are clearly articulating the contentious dichotomy which they play in men’s lives.
Line-up:
- John Dawson – guitar, vocals
- David Nelson – guitar, dobronis, mandolin, bagpipes, vocals
- Spencer Dryden – drums, percussion, vocals
- Dave Torbert – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Buddy Cage – steel guitar
with
- Richard Greene – violin
- Mark Naftalin – piano
- Jack Schroer – horns
Track List:
01. Gypsy Cowboy (Dave Torbert) – 4:17
02. Whiskey (John Dawson) – 3:33
03. Groupie (Dave Torbert) – 2:40
04. Sutter’s Mill (John Dawson) – 1:52
05. Death and Destruction (John Dawson) – 8:39
06. Linda (John Dawson) – 3:04
07. On My Way Back Home (Dave Torbert) – 3:29
08. Superman (John Dawson) – 3:09
09. She’s No Angel (Wanda Ballman) – 2:51
10. Long Black Veil (Danny Dill/Marijohn Wilkin) – 3:56
11. Sailin’ (John Dawson) – 2:49
Link in comments.
Traffic – Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory (1973) (@224)
28 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
After “Low Sparks of High Heels” album once again, personnel problems wracked the band as Capaldi began a solo career and Grech and Gordon left the band. Following Winwood’s recovery from a long case of peritonitis, Traffic’s sixth studio album Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory was another hit, recorded in 1973 with drummer Roger Hawkins and bassist David Hood taking Gordon and Grech’s former spots.
This album for me represents Traffic at their peak. It was 1973 and progressive music was at an all time high where many progressive bands were receiving similar accolades for their respective musical abilities. Although commonly overlooked as a band this album in retrospect was their finest 40 minutes excluding their incredible live ‘On The Road’ album.The opening title track get’s the band quickly into second and third gear with an almost perfect song. Even better is to follow with the marching ” Roll Right Stones”. Eleven minutes of progressive, jazz, rock fusion at it’s best. These guys knew how to jam and it shows even on the studio albums, and although they had experienced some personnel changes the creative force mainly driven by the late Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood was alive and well on Shoot Out Of The Fantasy Factory.” Tragic Magic” is another great piece of music but for me the climax of the album is the aptly titled, ” ( Sometimes I feel So ) Uninspired” This by all accounts is not one of Traffic’s most popular songs, the reasons are lost to me. Maybe it is because it is downright depressing in nature, but hey that is what the song is about.
Line-up:
* Steve Winwood – vocals, guitar, piano, organ
* Chris Wood – saxophone, flute
* Jim Capaldi – vocals, percussion
* David Hood – bass
* Roger Hawkins – drums
* Reebop Kwaku Baah – percussion
Track List:
01. Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory – 6:05
02. Roll Right Stones – 11:46
03. Evening Blue – 5:19
04. Tragic Magic – 6:43
05. (Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired – 7:19
Link in comments.
Deep Purple – Book of Taliesyn (1968) (@256)
27 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
It was 1968, Deep Purple was far from the success they would achieve in the early seventies. Deep Purple´s first line included Rod Evans and Nick Simper, who would participate in the great Captain Beyond and Warhorse, respectively. The band was trying to pursue a career as a psychedelic/progressive rock band. Led by the classical arrangements made by Jon Lord and Blackmore’s psychedelic guitar, besides the Evans’ lyrics, they made one of the finest progressive rock works from the late sixties, being “Book of Taliesyn” their masterpiece.
The first song is Listen, Learn, Read On, with great guitar and organ riff, along with good drumming by Paice and some spoken lyrics by Evans and a commom psychedelic chorus. There is a cosmic organ interlude and then a great distorted guitar solo. The song is very psychedelic. Some chorus in the vocals and distorted guitar noises.
The second song is Wring That Neck, which has a great organ arrangement, along with good percussion, and bass. There are different organ solos and then an extense and good slow guitar solo. Then alternates guitar and organ solos until the end of this great instrumental.
Next song is a good rocker version to Kentucky Woman, with a very psychedelic feel. Good guitar, organ riff and bass riff, along with a tambourine and good drums, mainly the combination of organ and drums in the chorus. Then a sequence of psychedelic solos, first of the guitar, then of the organ, which is the highlight of the song, a frenetic organ solo with percussion. Then the verse and chorus and some short solos in the end.
The next song is a medley: First part is Exposition, with pompous organ, drum, guitar and bass arrangement. The song is an instrumental with some classical structure. A sequence of variations over a theme, mainly in the organ. The drum orchestra-percussion-like is only impaired by B. J. Thomas from Procol Harum. The second part is a great psychedelic version to the Beatles´ We can Work it Out. This version is very good, with good guitar solo and bass riff in the main verses and a very inspired interpretation in the part “Life is very short” with organ and good singing. There is a short organ solo.
The second side of the original album is much more progressive, while the first one was more psychedelic. The psychedelic influences are evident in this side as the progressive ones are in the first side, but it is almost like a division (not on purpose).
The Shield is has a dark mood, with a great piano and bass riff, and the highlight of the song is the percussive work, including a good percussive solo after a guitar solo, that returns in the middle of the percussive solo. After some soloes, returns the main verse and chorus, and the percussive solo at the end, along with guitar and then another percussive solo with bass.
The next song is the most progressive, Anthem, which is my favourite Deep Purple´s song. The organ intro is very beautiful, along with the acoustic guitar riff and bass riff. Rod Evans singing is very beautiful. The lyrics are sad. In the bridge and chorus there are great drumming and organ chords. Then in the second verse there is a great string arrangement along with the other instruments, which is as beautiful as Beatles orchestral arrangements. After the second chorus, there is an exceptional instrumental interlude, that starts with a very beautiful organ solo, then followed by a single violin solo, then joined by others, progressively. Then the organ starts again with the strings, which accompains the guitar solo. Then returns the song with a great riff and doubled slow guitar solo connecting to the bridge and chorus again, along with the strings. In the end there is a great organ outro like the organ intro until the end.
The last song is Deep Purple´s 10-minute-version to River Deep, Mountain High. The intro is the fantastic to every symphonic progressive rock fan, with beautiful organ and orchestral-like percussion. Then a good bass and organ riff that starts slow and increases the speed, along with the drums and end with a distorted guitar solo that turns to a eastern-like solo with the bass and then the organ and orchestral-like percussion. Some organ solo until everything stops. Then Evans enters with a very pompous singing. Then the song turns to a more psychedelic rocker, with great bass and drums in the verses and a psychedelic chorus, with backing vocal chorus, organ and strong drums. Then alternates verses, chorus and there is a psychedelic guitar solo in the middle. Then the songs continues with chorus till the end.
This album, along with their first (Shades of), the next (eponymous) and the Concert for Group and Orchestra were clearly progressive rock outputs of the best quality from the late sixties.
Line-up:
* Jon Lord – organ, keyboards, vocals
* Ritchie Blackmore – lead guitar
* Ian Paice – drums
* Rod Evans – vocals
* Nick Simper – bass guitar, vocals
Track List:
01. Listen, Learn, Read On – 04:04
02. Wring That Neck – 05:13
03. Kentucky Woman – 04:44
04. Exposition / We Can Work It Out – 07:07
05. Shield – 06:06
06. Anthem – 06:31
07. River Deep, Mountain High – 10:12
Link in comments.
Traffic – 1971-10-14 (Bootleg) (@256)
27 Apr 2007
Traffic
Boston Music Hall
Boston, Massachussetttes
1971-10-14
Line-up:
- Steve Winwood / vocals, guitar, piano, organ
- Jim Capaldi / vocals, percussion
- Rick Grech / violin, bass
- Chris Wood / flute, saxophone
- Jim Gordon / drums
- Reebop Kwaku Baah / percussion
Track List:
01. Medicated Goo
02. Light Up
03. Glad
04. Freedom Rider
05. Hidden Treasure
06. John Barleycorn Must Die
07. Rock ‘n’ Roll Stew
08. Many a Mile to Freedom
09. Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
10. Gimme Some Lovin’
Links in comments.
Fraction – Moon Blood (1971) (@256)
27 Apr 2007
(Info from radioactiverecords.com)
Fraction, with vocalist Jim Beach bearing an uncanny vocal resemblance to Jim Morrison (although he was singing on Sunset Strip long before Morrison took to the stage), were often compared favourably with the Doors, although their quasi-religious message would probably not have found favour with the recently-departed Morrison. Indeed, this rather fine album was once famously described as the album the Doors probably wished they had made! Underpinned by guitarist Don Swanson’s superb Ritchie Blackmore style guitar work, this is an album full of beautiful psychedelia, acid and hard rock, at once emblematic of the era but not dated by its association. The five original compositions are all of the highest quality and the contribution of Beach’s Morrison-esque vocals place a stamp of originality on the recording that endures from beginning to end.
Line-up:
- Jim Beach (Vocals)
- Vic Hemme (Bass)
- Bob Meinel (Guitar)
- Curt Swanson (Percussion)
- Don Swanson (Guitar)
Track List:
01. Sanc-Divided
02. Come Out Of Her
03. Eye Of The Hurricane
04. Sons Come To Birth
05. This Bird
06. Sky High
Link in comments.
Fantasy – Beyond the Beyond (1974) (@192)
26 Apr 2007
Thanks to Valentine for the contribution.
(Review from progarchives.com)
Fantasy’s second album which sadly never really saw the light of day is nothing short of a superb recording. Fantasy blend highly melodic themes with great tempo changes and superb musicianship. They play music inspired with loads of analog keyboards (aka Genesis) and even the odd sprinkle of the ol’ mellotron. Vocals are charismatic with lyrics drawing heavily on fantasy-like themes and imagery. Their music is probably best described as somewhere in the middle of the road between Genesis and Yes. It would be a mistake to also review this album and fail to mention the superb guitar playing throughout, which is much more accentuated than on their debut album. Thanks to the fine folks at Audio Archives for not only doing an excellent job in carefully remastering and repackaging this lost gem but including the 5 bonus tracks (3 old 1970 tracks and 2 demo versions).
Line-up:
- Paul Lawrence / 12 string guitar, lead vocals
- David Read / bass, double bass, vocals
- David Metcalfe / keyboards, clarinet, vocals
- Peter James / lead guitar, vocals
- Jon Webster / drums, vocals
- Geoff Whitehorn / lead guitar on 10-13
- Paul Petley / lead vocals on 10-13
- Brian Chattam / drums on 10-13
Track List:
01. Introduction (2:09)
02. Beyond the Beyond (5:34)
03. Reality (2:56)
04. Alanderie (8:58)
05. Afterthought (5:49)
06. Worried Man (2:53)
07. Just A Dream (3:31)
08. Winter Rose (3:24)
09. Church Clock (3:47)
10. Fire-Fire (Bonus) (6:45)
11. Vacuum (Bonus) (4:06)
12. Alone (Bonus) (4:35)
13. Afterthought (Bonus original version) (7:28)
14. Church Clock (Bonus original version) (3:36)
Link in comments.
Message – From Books and Dreams (1973) (@256)
26 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Originally born as a German-British band, the music of “Message” oscillates between a substantial heavy rock and a nice folk rock articulated around a range of keyboards arrangements.
“From Books and Dreams” is as great as their debut, delivering impressive, extended, mainly instrumental heavy/space rock tracks which can be compared (in some parts) to Nektar’s first album. It is dark and hard-rocking psychedelic. The production makes for a very spacy, dirty and blurry atmosphere that serves the album well.
Line-up:
- Gunther Klinger / drums
- Tom McGuigan / vocals, woodwinds, synthesizers, Mellotron
- Allan Murdoch / guitar
- Horst Stachelhaus / bass
Track List:
01. Sleer (2:51)
02. Dreams And Nightmares (Dreams) (12:45)
03. Turn Over (4:02)
04. Sigh (8:07)
05. Dreams And Nightmares (Nightmares) (13:13)
Link in comments.
Blues Traveler – Save His Soul (1993) (@320)
26 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com, allmusic.com)
Led by John Popper, a rotund singer and harmonica player, the New Jersey quartet captured the open-ended jam mentality of its live shows on its first two studio albums.
On their third album, “Save His Soul”, Blues Traveler tightens up their arrangements and puts more emphasis on songwriting and premeditated parts. While this cuts down on the meandering solos and monotonous rhythm patterns, it forces attention on the hackneyed aphorisms and melody-starved chord changes that pass for the band’s songwriting. On the other hand, they have improved noticeably as players, and bassist Bobby Sheehan shines in particular on the fast and tricky syncopations. While six and 12 strings rule, the true inspiration here is Popper’s delivery on harmonica and other wind instruments, which spits in machine-gun-rapid fire or carries a piercing, emotive melody line with equal ease.
Line-up:
- John Popper – Guitar (Acoustic), Harmonica, Guitar (Electric), Vocals, Guitar (12 String), Irish Whistle, String Arrangements
- Bobby Sheehan – Bass, Guitar (Electric)
- Brendan Hill – Percussion, Drums
- Chan Kinchla – Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (12 String)
Track List:
01. Trina Magna (Popper) – 5:49
02. Love and Greed (Kinchla/Popper) – 4:14
03. Letter From a Friend (Popper/Sheehan) – 4:39
04. Believe Me (Kinchla/Popper) – 3:33
05. Go Outside and Drive (Popper) – 4:50
06. Defense & Desire (Popper/Sheehan) – 3:58
07. Whoops (Popper) – 8:17
08. Manhattan Bridge (Kinchla) – 2:47
09. Love of My Life (Popper/Samaroo) – 5:39
10. NY Prophesie (Kinchla/Popper/Popper) – 4:35
11. Save His Soul (Hill) – 3:12
12. Bullshitter’s Lament (Popper) – 3:28
13. Conquer Me (Popper/Sheehan) – 5:09
14. Fledgling (Popper) – 7:25
Links in comments.
Traffic – Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys (1971) (@320)
26 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com, progarchives.com)
Following the (yet again) departure of Mason, Traffic released a new studio album. “Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys” was a big change from thequiet, largely acoustic flavour of Traffic’s reunion album “John Barleycorn Must Die”. Although the gentle opening track,”Hidden Treasure”, and the meandering, mellow closer, “Rainmaker”, were in keeping with the pastoral vibe of the previous record, sandwiched in between those are several increasingly aggressive and lyrically sour songs about that evergreentopic–life in a rock & roll band.
The venality of the business gets a workout in the 12-minute title track, a slow-building jazz-rock groove that starts with a sense of quiet menace and ends with a pealing, distorted guitar solo, with one of Steve Winwood’s most impassioned and lengthy organ solos at the song’s heart. “Rock & Roll Stew” and Jim Capaldi’s sneering putdown “Light Up or Leave Me Alone” are even more forceful, with only the groovy ecological message of “Manya Mile to Freedom” lightening the mood — even that song rocks harder than anything on “John Barleycorn Must Die”, though.
There is a lot of percussion on this record, provided by Jim Capaldi, Jim Gordon and the African percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah, the latter adding a pinch of exotic spice to the whole.This is a mellow, rather laid-back album, but one which is deceptively easy on the ear, as it needs repeated listens to be really appreciated in full.
Line-up:
- Steve Winwood / vocals, guitar, piano, organ
- Jim Capaldi / vocals, percussion
- Rick Grech / violin, bass
- Chris Wood / flute, saxophone
- Jim Gordon / drums
- Reebop Kwaku Baah / percussion
Track List:
01. Hidden Treasure (4:16)
02. The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys (12:10)
03. Rock & Roll Stew (4:29)
04. Many A Mile To Freedom (7:12)
05. Light Up Or Leave Me Alone (4:53)
06. Rainmaker (7:39)
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Moving Hearts – Moving Hearts (1981) (@256) (VINYL)
25 Apr 2007
Thanks to Panos1 for the contribution.
(Info from wikipedia, taramusic.com)
Moving Hearts formed in 1981 by seven established musicians. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll. How to describe this! It’s really Irish folk fusion. The traditional Irish sound of uilleann pipes, low whistle, reeds, reels and lyricism mixed with the modern urban sound of synths and saxe. And congas thrown in to really internationalise it. What you get is a gentle sound, moving sweetly and never frantically but often with great danceability, occasionally breaking almost into jazz. But incontestably an Irish sound.
The band was organized a cooperative effort, with all profits and costs borne by the seven band members and three members of the road crew. Moving Hearts are known for politicized lyrics in many of their songs, though there were also a number of instrumentals.
This is Moving Hearts’ selftitled debut album with their original line-up.
Line-up:
- Christy Moore (vocals, guitar & bodhran)
- Donal Lunny (bouzouki)
- Declan Sinnott (guitar)
- Davy Spillane (uilleann pipes)
- Keith Donald (alto sax)
- Eoghan O’Neill (bass)
- Brian Calnan (drums)
Track List:
01. Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian roulette
02. Irish Ways and Irish Laws
03. McBride’s
04. Before the Deluge
05. Landlord
06. Category
07. Faithful Departed
08. Lake of Shadows
09. No Time for Love
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Rainbow – Difficult to Cure (1981) (@256)
25 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia, amazon.co.uk)
“Difficult to Cure” was Rainbow’s fifth studio album, marked a further change of Rainbow’s sound to album-oriented-rock (AOR). Blackmore openly stated his liking for Foreigner and erstwhile ex-Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio has referred to this period of Rainbow as “Foreigner Junior”. It is, however, a popular album with many fans, despite it being markedly different to albums which preceded it.
“I Surrender” is the album’s featured single and the group’s bid at FM success. Blackmore’s riffs are less evident and the background vocals and slick production are symbolic of the era. “Spotlight Kid” is a return to rockin’ form, and features wonderful interplay between Blackmore and keyboardist Don Airey. The group’s transformation to AOR is evident in the Billy Squier-sounding “No Release”. “Can’t Happen Here” expresses the sense of paranoia so common in an increasingly technological world. The drumming by new member Bobby Rondinelli’s may more about power than precision, but he is relentless on “Freedom Fighter”.
The crowning instrumental mini-masterpiece “Difficult to Cure” rounds off the album perfectly – this is Blackmore’s tribute to Beethoven, and one of his finest symphonies, the “Ninth”, using the famous tune from the chorus “Ode to Joy”, and is indeed a joy to hear, too! Using the central theme to work round with his amazing soloing, Blackmore excels here, some amazing playing which also includes some great playing from Don Airey.
Line-up:
* Joe Lynn Turner – vocals
* Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
* Don Airey – keyboard
* Roger Glover – bass
* Bobby Rondinelli – drums
Track List:
01. I Surrender (Ballard) – 4:10
02. Spotlight Kid (Blackmore/Glover) – 5:04
03. No Release (Blackmore/Glover/Airey) – 5:42
04. Magic (B.Moran) – 4:15
05. Vielleicht Das Nachste Mal (Maybe Next Time) (Blackmore/Airey) – 3:23
06. Can’t Happen Here (Blackmore/Glover) – 5:09
07. Freedom Fighter (Blackmore/Glover/Turner) – 4:28
08. Midtown Tunnel Vision (Blackmore/Glover/Turner) – 4:44
09. Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth) (Trad. arr. by Blackmore/Glover/Airey) – 5:58
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Traffic – Welcome to the Canteen (1971) (@224)
25 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
Steve Winwood was still contracted to Island for 2 more albums, and the following year, he started work on a solo album, calling in Wood and Capaldi to assist. The Traffic name was quickly resurrected, and the album “John Barleycorn Must Die” released. For many, this is Traffic’s best album. While the title is taken from a traditional folk song, the music is a wonderful blend of prog, jazz, rock, and folk.
Traffic went on to expand its lineup in 1971. Various subsequent line up additions and changes took place, including another return by Mason. They also added Ric Grech (ex-Family, Blind Faith) on bass, drummer Jim Gordon (ex-Derek and the Dominos) and percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah. The live album “Welcome To The Canteen” offers a good summary of their work during this period.
“Welcome to the Canteen” is a surprising live album which recapitulates some of the memorable songs previously released by the band. The record itself sounds great, very energic, sometimes suggesting jazz to folk rock instrumentations. As usual, Steve Winwood engaged himself in the most fruitful side of the performance, conducting voice / organ / guitar parts. In this live session he is perfectly accompanied by Dave Mason’s solid guitar playing. The performance begins with a nervous pop / rock composition followed by the very emotional, sensitive ballad “Sad and Deep as You”, essentially played on acoustic instruments. “Gimme some lovin” which closes the album is a faster, more aggressive rock & roll tune, very efficient. My favourite songs on the record are the guitar folk sounding tune “Shouldn’t have took More…” and the very classic epic tune “Dear Mr Fantasy”. Deeply inspired and musically achieved, this album is more than tolerable.
Line-up:
- Jim Capaldi / vocals, tambourine, percussion
- Jim Gordon / drums
- Rick Grech / bass
- Dave Mason / vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar
- Reebop Kwaku Baah / congas, timbales, bongos
- Steve Winwood / vocals, organ, electric piano, guitar
- Chris Wood / saxophones, flute, electric piano, organ
Track List:
01. Medicated Goo (3:34)
02. Sad and Deep as You (3:48)
03. Forty Thousand Headmen (6:21)
04. Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave (5:39)
05. Dear Mr. Fantasy (10:57)
06. Gimme Some Lovin’ (9:02)
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Camel – Nude (1981) (@256)
24 Apr 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
A new decade and yet a new keyboard-player in Camel, this time named Duncan Mackay. And just when you thought that Camel had joined the other major progressive rock bands of the 70′s in a hopeless search for a commercial and pop-oriented style, they returned with their best, most symphonic and progressive work since “Moonmadness”. And they did it at a time when absolutely nobody had expected it. “Nude” was even a concept-album, and told the true story of a stranded Japanese soldier who stayed in the jungle for 29 years without knowing that the war had ended. “Drafted” is stuffed with great melodies and guitar-themes of the classic Camel-kind, and proved beyond any doubt that the band was back at their best. Then you’re in for a series of lengthy and complex instrumental-passages (about 70% of the album is instrumental) that perfectly captures the drama and atmosphere of the story. “The Snow Goose” is the only other Camel-album that can rival “Nude” when it comes to sweeping, symphonic and atmospheric soundscapes. There’s lots of flute on the quiet parts, and there are even some ethnic rhythms on “Changing Places” to illustrate the jungle. “Reflection” is Latimer at his most magic, and will again make you think of the most beautiful and relaxed parts from “The Snow Goose”. “Lies” is a strong vocal-track that somewhat resembles Pink Floyd, and Mackay delivered an organ-solo to prove that he understood what keyboards a progressive rock band should use, even in the 80′s.
Line-up:
- Andrew Latimer / guitar, vocals, flute, koto, keyboards
- Andy Ward / drums, percussion
- Colin Bass / bass, vocals
- Mel Collins / flute, saxophone
- Duncan Mackay / keyboards
with
- Jan Schelhaas / piano
- Chris Green / cello
- Gasper Green / percussion
- Herbie Flowers / tuba
Track List:
01. City Life (4:41)
02. Nude (0:23)
03. Drafted (4:13)
04. Docks (3:50)
05. Beached (3:32)
06. Landscapes (2:39)
07. Changing Places (4:10)
08. Pomp & Circumstance (2:05)
09. Please Come Home (1:13)
10. Reflections (2:39)
11. Captured (3:12)
12. The Homecoming (2:48)
13. Lies (4:58)
The Last Farewell:
14. The Birthday Cake (0:30)
15. Nude’s Return (3:41)
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Dave Mason – Alone Together (1970) (@256)
24 Apr 2007
(Review from Rolling Stones Magazine, 1970)
Former Traffic member Dave Mason’s Alone Together is a good album — careful, well played, occasionally brilliant and well-conceived but it never breaks its vinyl bonds and soars.
The songwriting talent of Mason remains undiminished on Alone Together, and his easy fluid voice, long in Traffic vocalist Stevie Winwood’s giant shadow, is used to maximum effect.
The music is vintage Mason, veering here and there towards commercialism but never quite getting there, slick but not offensive. Falling in line with the rest of Great Britain, Mason chose old Delaney and Bonnie sidemen for the session, including Leon Russell, Jim Keltner, Carl Radle and Rita Coolidge, plus old Mother Don Preston. Russell, as always, is much in evidence, and his piano (if it is him — the album doesn’t say and we have only internal evidence), particularly on “Sad and Deep As You,” is masterful.
The high point of the album is clearly “Look at You Look at Me,” a song Mason wrote with Trafficker Jim Capaldi, whose tight, urgent drumming on the cut moves the song along with descretion and skill. Mason’s singing is simply superb. The other exceptional cuts are “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave” (Mason is not, between you and me, a great song titlist), which features the best wah-wah guitar since Clapton’s initial exposition on “Tales of Brave Ulysses”; and “World in Changes,” with Mason’s deceptively simple lyrics pulled along by some brilliant organ work.
High commercial potential on the album is represented by “Only You Know and I Know,” which has a rick-ticky rhythm reminiscent of “You Can All Join In.” It’s really a trivial song (like others on the album, particularly “Waitin’ On You” and “Just A Song”), but it will sound great on a tinny AM radio at 60 miles an hour.
But the album is more potential than realization. It is, in a very real sense, flawless, but, as Paul McCartney is beginning to learn, great music is much better than flawless music.
Track List:
01. Only You Know And I Know
02. Can’t Stop Worrying, Can’t Stop Loving
03. Waitin’ On You
04. Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave
05. World In Changes
06. Sad And Deep As You
07. Just A Song
08. Look At You Look At Me
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Blind Faith – Blind Faith (1969) (@256)
23 Apr 2007
(Info from wikipedia, keno.org)
Blind Faith’s beginnings date to mid-1968, with the breakup of Cream. Rock’s original supergroup had become a financial powerhouse, selling millions of records within a few years and raising the group’s (and each member’s) repertoire to international popularity. Despite that success, the band was crumbling from within due to frequent animosity between Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, with Eric Clapton doing his best to mediate. In addition, Clapton had tired of being coerced into playing commercially-driven blues, and hoped to move forward with a new, experimental, less straight-jacketed approach to the genre.
Steve Winwood was facing similar problems in The Spencer Davis Group, where he had been the lead singer for three years while they produced straight-laced blues. Winwood wanted to experiment with the band’s sound by infusing jazz elements, but left due to his musical differences, instead forming a new band — Traffic — in 1967. That band split temporarily in 1969, and Winwood, a good friend of Clapton (they had previously collaborated on a record as “Powerhouse”), started to jam with Clapton in his basement in Surrey, England.
Clapton was pleased with the jam sessions and looked seriously towards starting a trio with Winwood — but they were in need of a drummer. Ginger Baker turned up to sit in with them in 1969, and the band took near-final form. But Clapton questioned letting Baker in the band, because he had promised Jack Bruce that, if they were to work with one another again, they would all three play. Moreover, Clapton didn’t want to reunite with Cream barely nine weeks after the breakup, and also didn’t want to deal with another “Cream-like” superstardom situation. Winwood ultimately persuaded Clapton to finalize Baker’s inclusion in the lineup, arguing that he strengthened their musicianship and that it would be hard to find an equally talented drummer.
By May 1969, Ric Grech, bassist with Family, was invited to join them (leaving Family, mid-tour). They laid down most of their album at Olympic Studios under the supervision of producer Jimmy Miller. Miller provided focus to the band, who often preferred jamming, over the standard commercial 3-5 minute track. By then the group was known collectively as Blind Faith, a slyly cynical reference by Clapton to his outlook on the new group.
The short-lived supergroup produced only one album but this album amazing!
Winwood’s voice just soars on songs like “Had to Cry Today” where Clapton plays some awesome guitar behind him. Clapton’s “Presence of the Lord” is an amazing song, which features Clapton’s leslie-tele sound and Winwood’s amazing voice and piano before it goes into the awesome wah part where Clapton reveals that he still is the God we knew from Cream. Another fantastic song is Buddy Holly’s “Well Allright” with both Clapton and Winwood singing fantastic. The jam at the end is even more awesome with Stevie playing some of his incendiary piano. Winwood seems to be the star of the show on the other songs. “Can’t Find My Way Home” is a beautiful song as is “Sea of Joy”, which is possibly Winwood’s best singing on the album as well as including some of Rick Grech’s fantastic violin work. “Do What you Like” is Baker’s composition and an awesome jam where everybody plays some awesome solos. Clapton and Baker’s jazzy-like solos are huge standouts.
After the album’s tour finished in August, the band returned to England surrounded by rumours of breakup or a possible UK tour. By October, the band had effectively dissolved within a year of its creation.
Thereafter, Clapton stepped out of the spotlight, first to sit in with the Plastic Ono Band and then to tour as a sideman for Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, with whom he had become good friends since Blind Faith’s U.S. tour. This freed him of the limelight that he had considered a plague to both Cream and Blind Faith. After his sideman stint, he took several members from Delaney & etc. to form a new supergroup, Derek and the Dominos.
Unlike Clapton, Ginger Baker had enjoyed his Blind Faith experience and looked to carry on an offshoot of the band in the form of Ginger Baker’s Air Force with both Grech and Winwood. After a few shows together, Winwood left with Grech and went to Island Records to reunite and reform Traffic.
Line-up:
* Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
* Steve Winwood – organ, bass, guitar, piano, keyboard, vocals
* Ginger Baker – percussion, drums
* Ric Grech – bass, violin, vocals
Track List:
01. Had to Cry Today – 8:48
02. Can’t Find My Way Home – 3:16
03. Well…All Right – 4:27
04. Presence of the Lord – 4:50
05. Sea of Joy – 5:22
06. Do What You Like – 15:18
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Bakerloo – Bakerloo (1969) (@256)
23 Apr 2007
(Info from progarchives.com)
Bakerloo originally formed around 1968 under the moniker “Bakerloo Blues Line” in the Birmingham area. The line-up then was Dave ‘Clem’ Clempson on guitar and vocals, Terry Poole on bass and John Hinch on drums. Initially they stuck to a largely blues based set, yet like so many of the innovative acts of the era grew tired of the formula and began to experiment. They attracted Black Sabbath’s future manager Jim Simpson, and attracted a considerable following- enough to win them a slot on John Peel’s BBC Radio 1 show “Top Gear”. However, there was a touch of spinal tap syndrome with drummers as Hinch was replaced with a multitude of players until they finally settled on Keith Baker. They also decided to drop the “Blues Line” and became the shortened Bakerloo, and were put on a package tour called “Big Bear Ffolly” (which inspired Bakerloo’s song of the same name) with other local bands Tea and Symphony, Locomotive (another highly innovative proto prog combo) and Earth, who would of course later evolve into the massively successful Black Sabbath.
They recorded their album prior to getting a record deal under the aegis of legendary, recently deceased producer Gus Dudgeon yet eventually, Simpson secured a deal with the new progressive/underground imprint Harvest Records, which housed the likes of Pink Floyd, Edgar Broughton Band and aforementioned fellow Brummies, Tea and Symphony.
Though the album received very enthusiastic reviews and the band had a sizeable cult following, it sold little. This was a shame, because it remains a genuinely progressive album with blues, jazz, classical and heavy rock meeting head-on, yet seamlessly.
However, internal ructions ripped the band apart anyway and despite some line-up reshuffles, with noted rock drummer Cozy Powell joining the band. That line-up lasted a small amount of time before Jon Hiseman, who had been impressed with Clempson’s guitar prowess, invited him to join the legendary jazz rock combo Colosseum. Keith Baker joined Uriah Heep for their classic “Salisbury” album and Terry Poole turned up on blues/jazz rock innovator Graham Bond’s albums of the era. Clempson, after Colosseum split, went on to work with heavy rockers Humble Pie who were a massive success, and Rough Diamond with ex-Uriah Heep singer David Byron, who were not. Clempson continued to work with a variety of artists. However, the other members seemingly fell off the radar after the 1970s.
Still, Bakerloo’s one and only album is a definite underrated classic and has a lot to offer fans of the genre.
Line-up:
- Dave ‘Clem’ Clempson / guitars, piano, harpsichord, harmonica, vocals
- Terry Poole / bass guitar
- Keith Baker / drums
Track List:
01. Big Bear Ffolly (3:55)
02. Bring It On Home (4:16)
03. Drivin’ Bachwards (2:06)
04. Last Blues (7:04)
05. Gang Bang (6:15)
06. This Worried Feeling (7:03)
07. Son Of Moonshine (14:52)
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Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (1976) (@192)
23 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
On Thin Lizzy’s third album with new guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, Jailbreak, the band perfected their hard-rocking, storytelling, guitar-laden style and were rewarded with worldwide breakthrough success. It also marked the first album where the band finally realized they were a true hard rock band, and put a stop to the soft rock that plagued such albums as 1974′s Night Life. Although vocalist/bassist Phil Lynott was unfairly criticized as being a Bruce Springsteen soundalike at the time, it was on Jailbreak that he came into his own, perfecting his storytelling lyric-writing and becoming a true poet in the process. Songwise, the album was also Lizzy’s first really consistent album; there is simply not a single weak track in the bunch. The hard-rocking war tales of “Emerald” and “Warriors,” the killer boogie of “Angel of the Coast,” the country rocker “Cowboy Song,” and a pair of rock’s greatest anthems, the title track and the perennial radio favorite “The Boys Are Back in Town,” are among Lizzy’s best tracks ever. Add to it such strong album cuts as the Dire Straits-esque ballad “Fight or Fall” plus the heartbroken tales “Running Back” and “Romeo and the Lonely Girl,” and you have one of the finest hard rock albums of all time.
Line-up:
* Phil Lynott – bass, vocals, acoustic guitar
* Scott Gorham – lead guitar, guitars
* Brian Robertson – lead guitar, guitars
* Brian Downey – drums, percussion
Track List:
01. Jailbreak (Lynott) – 4:01
02. Angel from the Coast (Lynott, Robertson) – 3:03
03. Running Back (Lynott) – 3:13
04. Romeo and the Lonely Girl (Lynott) – 3:55
05. Warrior (Gorham, Lynott) – 4:09
06. The Boys Are Back in Town (Lynott) – 4:27
07. Fight or Fall (Lynott) – 3:45
08. Cowboy Song (Downey, Lynott) – 5:16
09. Emerald (Downey, Gorham, Lynott, Robertson) – 4:03
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Traffic – Last Exit (1969) (@320)
23 Apr 2007
(Info from wikipedia)
After their second album was released, the band began touring the U.S. in late 1968. During the tour, Mason was fired and Winwood announced the band’s breakup.
Last Exit, released in May 1969, was a collection of odds and ends put together by Island Records after the initial breakup of the band.
“Just For You” was previously released in February 1968 as a Dave Mason solo B-side. (The A-side was called “Little Woman”.) This was after Mason left Traffic the first time, following Mr. Fantasy. Conveniently for its use on this album, the other members of Traffic backed up Mason on this track.
“Medicated Goo” & “Shanghai Noodle Factory” were the A- and B- sides, respectively, of a December 1968 single. Mason does not appear on these tracks.
“Something’s Got A Hold Of My Toe” is an instrumental and appears to be an outtake not originally intended for release. It is unclear why producer Jimmy Miller (a lyricist elsewhere on the album) gets a co-writing credit on this.
“Withering Tree” was previously released as the B-side to “Feelin’ Alright?” (September 1968). It was most likely recorded while Mason was in the band but he may not actually appear on it.
The two Fillmore West live tracks that make up the second half do not feature Mason.
Line-up:
- Jim Capaldi / drums, vocals
- Dave Mason / guitar, vocals
- Steve Winwood / guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Chris Wood / flute, saxophone
Track List:
01. Just for You (2:18)
02. Shanghai Noodle Factory (5:06)
03. Something’s Got a Hold of My Toe (2:14)
04. Withering Tree (3:04)
05. Medicated Goo (3:36)
06. Feelin’ Good (10:40)
07. Blind Man (7:06)
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Fuzzy Duck – Fuzzy Duck (1971) (@256)
22 Apr 2007
(Review from gepr, progarchives.com)
A delightful combo of four guys who have all been in a string of obscure, short-lived prog/psych groups. Mick Hawksworth (Bass, vocals and oddiments) had been in Andromeda and Five Day Week Straw People. Paul Francis (Drums and misc. percussion) had been in Tucky Buzzard and moved on to Tranquility. Roy Sharland (Organ) had been in a few one-off-single groups, and Grahame White (Guitar and vocals) also played with Andromeda. Finally, White’s replacement after the recording of Fuzzy Duck, Garth Watt Roy (Guitar and Vocals), has been with the Greatest Show on Earth, among others.
Fuzzy Duck’s music is simple : pleasant vocals, a tight rhythm-section, strong guitarwork featuring fiery solos and catchy riffs, floods of Hammond organ.
Aside from their limited issue album, they later recorded a pair of singles before calling it quits on their commercially unsuccessful career. Repertoire Records has re-issued the album on CD with the 3 non-album tracks and a previously unreleased gem by the title of “No Name Face” as bonus tracks. A very nice complete works package.
Line-up:
- Paul Francis / drums
- Mick Hawksworth / bass
- Roy Sharland / organ
- Graham White / lead vocals, guitar
- Garth Watt Roy / guitar, vocals
Track List:
01. Time will be your doctor (5:11)
02. Mrs Prouts (6:48)
03. Just look around you (4:24)
04. Afternoon out (4:59)
05. More than I am (5:33)
06. Country boy (6:04)
07. In out time (6:41)
08. A word from bid D (1:41)
09. Double time woman (Bonus) (3:00)
10. Big brass band (Bonus) (2:58)
11. One more hour (Bonus) (3:59)
12. No name face (Bonus) (3:03)
Links in comments.
Alan Parsons Project – Eye in the Sky (1982) (@256)
22 Apr 2007
(Review from seaoftranquility.org)
Once you hear the familar sounds of Alan Parsons’ fairlight and layered synths from Eric Woolfson & Haydn Bendall on the opening “Sirius”, a classic Alan Parsons Project instrumental piece that became a familiar theme to many sporting events, so begins the popular 1982 release Eye In the Sky.
The title track was a big hit on FM rock radio back when the album was originally released, a lush pop/prog song with Woolfson’s emotional vocals and swirling Wurlitzer, complemented nicely by Ian Bairnson’s tasty guitar work, who is a vastly underrated player. The engaging “Children of the Moon”, which features plenty of proggy keyboards from Woolfson and a soulful vocal from bassist David Patton. Check out the soaring choir and orchestra on this one, as well as some jazzy piccolo trumpet from John Wallace. The layers of vocals on the quirky “Gemini” almost remind of Gentle Giant with a Pink Floyd edge, while the somber yet catchy “Silence and I” is a 7+ minute piece with lush keyboards and orchestra, plus another solid vocal from Woolfson. About mid-way through the song things pick up quite a bit, and it actually turns into a bombastic classical flavored rocker, with a tasty guitar solo from Bairnson to close things out.
“You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned” is a funky rocker, very typical of early 80′s AOR material, littered with tight keyboard work from Parsons, crunchy guitar riffs, and plenty of catchy vocal melodies. The popular “Psychobabble” is a proggy yet funky track with plenty of hooks and classy instrumentation, while “Mammagamma” is a futuristic sounding instrumental not unlike some of the Tangerine Dream output of the same era. Expect loads of synths, delayed guitar riffs, and electronic drum programming on this one. ‘Step By Step” is a fairly generic funk rocker, easily the weakest track on the album, and the closing “Old and Wise” sees the band return to dreamy, orchestral progressive rock, complete with emotional vocals, layers of keys, strings, brass, and reeds. The sax solo from former King Crimson member Mel Collins is especially noteworthy on this one.
Line-up:
* Alan Parsons – keyboards, fairlight programming
* Eric Woolfson – keyboards, vocals
* Andrew Powell – keyboards, orchestral arrangements
* Ian Bairnson – guitar
* Mel Collins – saxophone
* David Paton – bass, vocals
* Stuart Elliott – drums & percussion
* Chris Rainbow – vocals
* Lenny Zakatek – vocals
* Elmer Gantry – vocals
* Colin Blunstone – vocals
Track List:
01. Sirius (1:48)
02. Eye In The Sky (4:33)
03. Children Of The Moon (4:49)
04. Gemini (2:09)
05. Silence And I (7:17)
06. You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned (4:50)
07. Psychobabble (4:50)
08. Mammagamma (3:34)
09. Step By Step (3:52)
10. Old And Wise (4:52)
Link in comments.
Traffic – Traffic (1968) (@320)
21 Apr 2007
(Review from wikipedia, amazon.com)
Friction with Dave Mason led to his departure from the group shortly before the release of Mr. Fantasy. Mason was content to avoid collaboration, a direct contrast with the lyricist/songwriter partnership of Capaldi and Winwood. During the time without Mason, Winwood had to play bass pedals in addition to playing keyboard and singing when the group performed live. The group also had difficulty maintaining a well-rounded repertoire of songs without Mason’s strong songwriting ability. Mason rejoined the group halfway through the sessions of the next album.
Considering that Traffic couldn’t seem to stay intact for more than a few months at a time, the band’s work seems even more remarkable. Recorded in the summer of 1968 and released later that fall, Traffic, the band’s sophomore release, stands as the outfit’s high-water mark and one of the great rock albums of its time.
Clearly, Dave Mason and Steve Winwood had completely different visions for the band, both musically and socially. In fact, Mason had already left the band at the year’s beginning, only to return a few short months later. Mason liked to work alone and favored rooted folk-tinged material; Winwood saw the band as a communal affair and leaned toward progressive jazz-influenced music. Of course, the synthesis of these two approaches is what makes Traffic such a terrific album. There’s not a weak moment across these 10 songs (augmented on this reissue with three mono single mixes). By fusing bits of country and folk, wisps of psychedelia, and elements of jazz and soul, the album managed to both presage and summarize the ambitious developments of rock music during its most creative era.
Line-up:
- Dave Mason / vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica
- Steve Winwood / vocals, guitar, piano, harpsichord, organ, bass
- Jim Capaldi / vocals, drums, percussion
- Chris Wood / flute, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass, percussion, bells
Track List:
01. You Can All Join In
02. Pearly Queen
03. Don’t Be Sad
04. Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
05. Feelin’ Alright
06. Vagabond Virgin
07. Forty Thousand Headmen
08. Cryin’ To Be Heard
09. No Time To Live
10. Means To An End
11. Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush (Bonus)
12. Am I What I Was or Am I What I Am (Bonus)
13. Withering Tree (Bonus)
14. Medicated Goo (Bonus)
15. Shanghai Noodle Factory (Bonus)
Links in comments.
Traffic – Mr Fantasy (1967) (@256)
21 Apr 2007
(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)
Traffic’s distinctive sound, innovative recordings and collaborative songwriting approach influenced many other groups in the progressive rock genre in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Like many other groups of the period, Traffic was heavily influenced by the early recordings of The Band, and they also retreated to a country house (in Berkshire, England) at the beginning of their career in order to write and develop their material before making their live debut.
Winwood, Capaldi, Mason and Wood created an amazing album of seemingly different influences and approach. Psychedelic keyboards, hard guitar solo a la Cream, British folk and music-hall, jazz paranoia and Indian raga with overall Winwood’s soulful voice make an album that can be enjoyed over and over. Mason gives important musical component with his guitar, bass and sitar, offering one of the best raga moments in rock music, “Utterly Simple”, which beats the Fab Four’s “Within You, Without You” by and large in my opinion. Each song has its place on this mature record, but the title track – allegedly drug-influenced imagination – “Dear Mr. Fantasy” (which was to be honoured by such giants as Grateful Dead on their last official live set “Without a Net” in 1989), beautiful flute ballad “No Face, No Name, No Number”, and “Coloured Rain” with distinguished Wood’s saxophone are the highlights. One can notice that the peculiar sound of Traffic, with dominating organ, piano and woodwinds (sax and flute) and with ever diminishing presence of lead guitar and bass guitar, makes it a sort of precursor of the acts like Van der Graaf Generator, albeit coming from different attitude: VDGG were always more avant-garde and “classically” influenced than Traffic, who sticked with R’n'B, folk and jazz scheme. However, Wood’s saxophone at certain moments sounds almost as crazy as Dave Jaxon’s!
This 24 bit remastered reissue, as a bonus, includes all the 12 tracks from the U.S. mono album.
Line-up:
- Steve Winwood / vocals, guitar, piano, harpsichord, organ, bass, percussion
- Dave Mason / vocals, guitar, sitar, tamboura, shakkai, Mellotron, bass
- Chris Wood / vocals, flute, saxophone, organ
- Jim Capaldi / vocals, drums, percussion
Track List:
01. Heaven Is In Your Mind
02. Berkshire Poppies
03. House for Everyone
04. No Face, No Name, No Number
05. Dear Mr. Fantasy
06. Dealer
07. Utterly Simple
08. Coloured Rain
09. Hope I Never Find Me There
10. Giving to You
11. Paper Sun (Bonus)
12. Dealer (Bonus)
13. Coloured Rain (Bonus)
14. Hole In My Shoe (Bonus)
15. No Face, No Name, No Number (Bonus)
16. Heaven Is In Your Mind (Bonus)
17. House For Everyone (Bonus)
18. Berkshire Poppies (Bonus)
19. Giving To You (Bonus)
20. Smiling Phases (Bonus)
21. Dear Mr. Fantasy (Bonus)
22. We’re A Fade You Missed This (Bonus)
Link in comments.
U.K. – U.K. (1978) (@256)
21 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
UK was a short-lived British progressive rock supergroup founded by singer/bassist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford (both King Crimson alumni) with keyboardist/electric violinist Eddie Jobson (late of Roxy Music and Frank Zappa’s band) and guitarist Allan Holdsworth.
This record did not impress me too much when I first bought it, but then it grew on me. It is still something I have to listen to carefully in order to fully appreciate it, which means I can’t put it in the background when I’m doing something else around the house – but the experience gets better and better with each listen. Here, Jobson takes the lion’s share, playing both keyboards and electric violin. The latter gives the album a distinctive quality it shares with Crimson’s 73-74 records – though Jobson’s playing is more atmospheric, evocative and somewhat romantic as well. Surprisingly, though, one of my favourite elements of “U.K.” is Wetton’s singing: his performance in the record’s highlight, the opening, three-part suite “In the Dead of Night/By the Light of Day/Presto Vivace- Reprise”, is nothing short of amazing. As many people on this website already know, I’ve never been a fan of Wetton’s singing with King Crimson (with the notable exception of “Red”), but here he’s at his most emotional. His bass playing is also quite superb and complements Bruford magnificent drumming perfectly – just listen to the closing track, “Mental Medication”, in order to fully appreciate his thick, powerful yet skillful bass lines. Then, Allan Holdsworth needs no introduction: he’s a musician’s musician rather than a shredder.
Line-up:
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion
- Allan Holdsworth / guitars
- Eddie Jobson / keyboards, electric violin
- John Wetton / lead vocals, bass
Track List:
01. In the dead of night (5:38)
02. By the light of day (4:32)
03. Presto Vivace and reprise (2:58)
04. Thirty years (8:05)
05. Alaska (4:45)
06. Time to kill (4:55)
07. Nevermore (8:09)
08. Mental medication (6:12)
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Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On (1969) (@192)
20 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com)
Remember when Fleetwood Mac was still a blues band? Before Buckingham and Nicks came along to water down the group’s sound into a syrupy pop outfit that cranked out one album of lowest common denominator top 40 music after another? For anyone who has never heard the band in the early years, nearer their origins, the experience could come as a shock. There’s a lot to be said for the argument that the band should have changed their name when they took that radical turn into pop music…
But this album is near the beginning, and it’s a joyful experience. The amazing Peter Green (guitar, vocals), the steady rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass), all fresh from some serious schooling in the ranks of the legendary John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, formed Fleetwood Mac in 1967, joined by guitarist Jeremy Spencer, and, just before this set was recorded, guitarist Danny Kirwan. Their first couple of albums were well-received by critics and fans alike in their native UK — with “Then Play On”, the band began to expand their songwriting horizons, while remaining true to their blues roots.
The guitar work from the triumvirate of Green/Spencer/Kirwan is stunning, as are their vocals — each infusing his own compositions with a unique personality, yet fitting into the overall sound of the band at the same time. There are some memorable unbeat, rockin’ tunes here — but what stands out for me after all of these years are the slower, moodier pieces — vocals and instrumentals alike.
Green’s ‘Closing my eyes’, the second track on the album, is one of the most heartfelt expressions of loneliness and despair I’ve ever heard — but it’s not maudlin. He can sing ‘…one day I’ll die — maybe then I’ll be with you’ and it doesn’t come across as trite for even a second. Danny Kirwan contributes three tunes in this laid-back but strongly emotional vein as well: ‘Although the sun is shining’ has an achingly beautiful, unusual chord progression — ‘When you say’ and ‘Like crying’ are gems as well. The instrumentals — Kirwan’s ‘My dream’, Green’s ‘Underway’, are things of beauty, and the two jams ‘Searching for Madge’ and ‘Fighting for Madge’ allow the bandmembers to stretch out a bit in a more upbeat vein.
There are rockers here as well — notably two classics from Peter Green, the classic ‘Oh well’ (presented here in its entirety, it didn’t even appear on the original lp except as a bonus 7″ included in early copies) and the playfully nasty ‘Rattlesnake shake’ (I remember that the ‘underground’ FM station in my home town wouldn’t even play this track — they were SO adventurous).
This is a truly classic recording — from the band’s finest hour. It’s no “Rumours” — and that’s a good thing!
Line-up:
* Peter Green – vocals, guitar, harmonica
* Danny Kirwan – vocals, guitar
* John McVie – bass
* Mick Fleetwood – drums
and
* Jeremy Spencer – piano on “Oh Well” {Pt 2}
* Christine Perfect (McVie) – piano
* Big Walter Horton – harmonica
Track List:
01. Coming Your Way – 3:47
02. Closing My Eyes – 4:50
03. Showbiz Blues – 3:50
04. My Dream – 3:30
05. Underway – 2:51
06. Oh Well – 8:56
07. Although the Sun Is Shining – 2:31
08. Rattlesnake Shake – 3:32
09. Searching for Madge – 6:56
10. Fighting for Madge – 2:45
11. When You Say – 4:22
12. Like Crying – 2:21
13. Before the Beginning – 3:28
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Fairfield Parlour – From Home To Home (1970) (@224)
20 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com)
Fairfield Parlour formed from the ashes of Kaleidoscope – a Pink Floyd influenced psyche band from England. After splitting they simply changed their name and became more folky and “progish” with mellotrons and orchestration. Essentially this really sounds like Syd Barrett joining the Moody Blues- singer/songwriter Peter Daltry seems to have taken Syd Barrett’s quirky lyrics and arrangement style and perhaps even improved upon them after Barrett disappeared into obscurity. This is right on par with early Floyd but especially early Moody Blues- acoustic guitars- a mix nonsensical and reflective endearing lyrics- odd strings and found sounds- trippy percussion and plenty of mellotron and flutes.
Line-up:
- Peter Daltrey / vocals, piano, mellotron, harpsichord, organ, tambourine
- Eddy Pumer / vocals, classical, acoustic twelve string and electric guitars, mellotron, organ, harpsichord
- Steve Clark / bass guitar, flutes
- Dan Bridgeman / vocals, drums, pedal tympany, tubular bells, tambourine, bongos
Track List:
01. Aries
02. In My Box
03. By Your Bedside
04. Soldier Of The Flesh
05. I Will Always Feel The Same
06. Free
07. Emily
08. Chalk On The Wall
09. Glorious House Of Arthur
10. Monkey
11. Sunny Side Circus
12. Drummer Boy Of Shiloh
13. Just Another Day (Bonus)
14. Caraminda (Bonus)
15. I Am All The Animals (Bonus)
16. Song For You (Bonus)
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Iron Butterfly – Metamorphosis (1970) (@256)
19 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com)
With Metamorphosis, Iron Butterfly chose to redefine their sound, presumably to launch themselves out of the sixties and into the seventies. With Doug Ingle at the wheel, the lineup changed to accommodate the new direction and which included Mike Pinera whose straight ahead rock sensibilities are felt throughout the album. Whether it qualified as a genuine Butterfly album is debatable, but, contrary to implacable critics, Metamorphosis was still a solid effort that pointed the way to a successful future if the rest of the original band had chosen to follow Ingle’s prescience. Songs like Best Years of Our Life, Stone Believer, and Easy Rider are prime cuts of early 70s rock that still sound fresh today. The only disputable flaw in this otherwise excellent album is Butterfly Bleu. It’s an aspiring piece that works on its own terms and the best parts of it are stunningly brilliant, but it seems out of place compared to the rest of the album and ultimately weighs it down.
Line-up:
- Larry ‘Rhino’ Rheinhart / guitars
- Mike Pinera / guitars
- Ron Bushy / drums, vocals
- Lee Dorman / bass, vocals
- Doug Ingle / keyboards, vocals
Track List:
01. Free Flight (0:50)
02. New Day (3:20)
03. Shady Lady (3:57)
04. Best Years Of Our Life (4:00)
05. Slower Than Guns (3:50)
06. Stone Believer (4:25)
07. Soldier In Our Town (3:22)
08. Easy Rider (Let The Wind Pay The Way) (3:07)
09. Butterfly Bleu (13:58)
Link in comments.
Page / Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale (1998) (@256)
19 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com, ratedrs)
For all of the acclaim it received, there’s no denying that No Quarter was a tentative reunion for Page & Plant, containing only a handful of new songs that were scattered among many reworked old favorites. Since its supporting tour went well, the duo decided to make their reunion permanent, setting to work on an album of entirely new material. Taking the world music dabblings of No Quarter as a cue, Page & Plant tempered their eclecticism with a healthy dose of their monolithic guitar army, hiring Steve Albini, the indie rock producer notorious for his harsh, brutal recordings, to helm the boards.
Right from the hummable folk-tinged midtempo rocker Shining in the Light, which opens the album, a new vigor is evident in Page and Plant’s performing spirit. The shifting dynamics and inspired arrangements on When the World was Young, Blue Train and Heart in Your Hand demonstrate the compelling power of the duo’s new shared vision. While the music is pretty straightforward, it still bristles with exotic flavors. If you’re tired of the generic hard rock that’s swamping the scene now, Walking into Clarksdale should come as a breath of fresh air. It’s music with an inimitable pedigree.
Track List:
01. Shining in the Light – 4:01
02. When the World Was Young – 6:13
03. Upon a Golden Horse – 3:52
04. Blue Train – 6:45
05. Please Read the Letter – 4:21
06. Most High – 5:36
07. Heart in Your Hand – 3:50
08. Walking into Clarksdale – 5:18
09. Burning Up – 5:21
10. When I Was a Child – 5:45
11. House of Love – 5:35
12. Sons of Freedom – 4:08
Link in comments.
Minimum Vital – Esprit D'Amor (1997) (@256)
19 Apr 2007
Better quality rips are welcome.
(Info from progressiveworld.net, mindawn.com)
Minimum Vital is certainly amongst the most original bands from the Eighties Progressive rock scene: twin brothers Thierry & Jean-Luc Payssan mix art-rock influences from Yes, guitar parts as fluid as Mike Oldfield’s, an amazing virtuosity coming from jazz-rock fusion, many innovations and a deep mark from medieval and southern European traditional musics.
Sonia Nedelic, the lead female vocalist who appears on a Minimum Vital album for the first time, has just the right voice for the music, lilting but not ethereal or breathy. The lead male vocalist is J.B. Ferraci, who also appears for the first time. Both voices blend together well, their timbres closely matched enough that sometimes it sounds like one voice, though much richer than a single voice can be.
Line-up:
- Sonia Nedelec / lead vocals
- Jean-Luc Payssan / guitars, backing vocals
- Thierry Payssan / piano, synths, Hammond, backing vocals
- Eric Rebeyrol / Noguera bass
- Charly Berna / drums
- Jean-Baptiste Ferracci / lead vocals
- Peter Acock, Richard Ducros & Joel Versavaud / saxophones
- Freddy Buson & David Raymond / trumpets
- Jean-Marc Paboeuf / oboe
Track List:
01. Esprit d’Amor (5:35)
02. Brazilian Light (6:43)
03. Modern Trad’ (8:04)
04. L’Invitation (6:55)
05. Les Voyages De Costey (3:56)
06. Song A Cinq (6:37)
07. Danse Pour La Nouvelle Alliance (6:04)
08. Prelude Aux Oiseaux Tristes (1:23)
09. Au Cercle De Pierre, J’Ai Danse… (8:02)
Link in comments.
Page / Plant – No Quarter: Unledded (1994) (@256)
19 Apr 2007
(Info from wikipedia, amazon.com)
Both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant pursued solo careers for more than a decade before reuniting in 1994 for MTV’s hugely popular Unplugged. Music producer Bill Curbishley, who had been managing Plant since the 1980s and who assumed management of Page in 1994, was integral in the reuniting of Page and Plant. Curbishely persuaded the previously-reluctant Plant to work again with Page. That historic session-which led to an international nad new studio album-became New Quarter.
Led Zeppelin always loved to experiment with oriental motifs and now here is Jimmy Page and Robert Plant with an Egyptian Ensemble, Musicians in Marrakech and the London Metropolitan Orchestra. While the music may seem over-orchestrated at times, it is rich in musical themes, foreign and familiar, building on their classic numbers to a stunning climax on Kashmir. Najima Akhtar hits the high notes Robert Plant no longer can, lending a more lilting feel to The Battle of Evermore, but Plant doesn’t disappoint, nor for that matter does Page on this wonderful album.
This CD is *not* the Led Zeppelin of the past. It’s a rare blend of music, specifically delivering Middle Eastern mystique intricately interwoven with Led Zeppelin music.
Track List:
01. Nobody’s Fault But Mine – 4:06
02. Thank You – 5:47
03. No Quarter – 3:45
04. Friends – 4:37
05. Yallah – 4:59
06. City Don’t Cry – 6:08
07. Since I’ve Been Loving You – 7:29
08. The Battle of Evermore – 6:41
09. Wonderful One – 4:57
10. Wah Wah – 3:59
11. That’s the Way – 5:35
12. Gallows Pole – 4:09
13. Four Sticks – 4:52
14. Kashmir – 12:27
Links in comments.
Humble Pie – As Safe As Yesterday (1969) (@192)
19 Apr 2007
(Review from wikipedia, allmusic.com, amazon.com)
Humble Pie initially consisted of Steve Marriott (formerly of The Small Faces; lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist), Peter Frampton (from Herd; lead guitarist), Greg Ridley (from Spooky Tooth; bassist) and Jerry Shirley (from Valkyrie; drummer). Because the members had all previously played in high-profile groups, many viewed Humble Pie as a “supergroup,” although the band was loathe to the term and the expectations that came with it. They started secretly rehearsing at Marriott’s cottage in Moreton, Essex in early 1969. The objective was to hone the act away from media and public scrutiny.
Humble Pie released their debut single “Natural Born Boogie” in July 1969. It was a number five hit in the UK Singles Chart, and was quickly followed by the album, As Safe as Yesterday Is.
As Safe As Yesterday Is, is a visionary blend of hard blues, crushing rock, pastoral folk, and post-mod pop. The sound of the band isn’t just good, it’s quite engaging, as the band bring disparate elements together, letting them bump up against each other, forming a wildly rich blend of hippie folk and deeply sexy blues.
None of the songs sound at all similiar and, even with simple lyrics, manage to blow you away with great instrumentation, which is really what gives this album most of it’s magic. Forget Steve Marriott is even singing words and view his voice as just another instrument. It’s the perfect accompanyment to the other’s playing.
Line-up:
* Steve Marriott – vocals, guitar, keyboards
* Peter Frampton – guitar
* Greg Ridley – bass
* Jerry Shirley – drums
Track List:
01. Desperation
02. Stick Shift
03. Butter Milk Boy
04. Growing Closer
05. As Safe As Yesterday Is
06. Bang
07. Alabama 69
08. Ill Go Alone
09. A Nifty Little Number Like You
10. What You Will
11. Natural Born Boogie (Bonus)
12. Wrist Job (Bonus)
Link in comments.
Led Zeppelin – How The West Was Won (1973) (@192)
18 Apr 2007
For tons and tons of Led Zeppelin bootlegs, don’t forget to check out Zen Archer’s Hammer of The Gods.
(Review from allmusic.com)
For years, Led Zeppelin fans complained that there was one missing item in the group’s catalog: a good live album. It’s not that there weren’t live albums to be had. The Song Remains the Same, of course, was a soundtrack of a live performance, but it was a choppy, uneven performance, lacking the majesty of the group at its peak. BBC Sessions was an excellent, comprehensive double-disc set of their live radio sessions, necessary for any Zeppelin collection (particularly because it contained three songs, all covers, never recorded anywhere else), but some carped that the music suffered from not being taped in front of a large audience, which is how they built their legacy — or, in the parlance of this triple-disc collection of previously unreleased live recordings compiled by Jimmy Page, How the West Was Won. The West in this case is the West Coast of California, since this contains selections from two 1972 concerts in Los Angeles: a show at the LA Forum on June 25, and one two days later at Long Beach Arena. This is the first archival release of live recordings of Zeppelin at their peak and while the wait has been nigh on interminable, the end result is certainly worth the wait. Both of these shows have been heavily bootlegged for years and while those same bootleggers may be frustrated by the sequencing that swaps the two shows interchangeably (they always prefer full shows wherever possible), by picking the best of the two nights, Page has assembled a killer live album that captures the full, majestic sweep of Zeppelin at their glorious peak. And, make no mistake, he tries to shove everything into these three discs — tight, furious blasts of energy; gonzo freak-outs; blues; and rock, a sparkling acoustic set. Like always, the very long numbers — the 25-minute “Dazed and Confused,” the 23-minute “Whole Lotta Love,” the 19-minute “Moby Dick” — are alternately fascinating and indulgent, yet even when they meander, there is a real sense of grandeur, achieving a cinematic scale attempted by few of their peers (certainly no other hard rock or metal band could be this grand; only Queen or David Bowie truly attempted this). But the real power of the band comes through on the shorter songs, where their sound is distilled to its essence. In the studio, Zeppelin was all about subtle colors, textures, and shifts in the arrangement. On-stage, they were similarly epic, but they were looser, wilder, and hit harder; witness how “Black Dog” goes straight for the gut here, while the studio version escalates into a veritable guitar army — it’s the same song, but the song has not remained the same. That’s the case throughout How the West Was Won, where songs that have grown overly familiar through years of play seem fresh and new because of these vigorous, muscular performances. For those who never got to see Zeppelin live, this — or its accompanying two-DVD video set — is as close as they’ll ever get. For those who did see them live, this is a priceless souvenir. For either group, this is absolutely essential, as it is for anybody who really loves hard rock & roll. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Line-up:
- Jimmy Page – Acoustic and electric guitars, producer
- Robert Plant – Vocals and harmonica
- John Paul Jones – Bass guitar, keyboards, and mandolin
- John Bonham – Drums and percussion
Track List:
CD1
01. L.A. Drone (John Paul Jones/Jimmy Page) — 0:14
02. Immigrant Song (Page/Robert Plant) — 3:42
03. Heartbreaker (John Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) — 7:25
04. Black Dog (Jones/Page/Plant) — 5:41
05. Over the Hills and Far Away (Page/Plant) — 5:08
06. Since I’ve Been Loving You (Jones/Page/Plant) — 8:02
07. Stairway to Heaven (Page/Plant) — 9:38
08. Going to California (Page/Plant) — 5:37
09. That’s the Way (Page/Plant) — 5:54
10. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (Jones/Page/Plant) — 4:55
CD2
01. Dazed and Confused (Jake Holmes/Page) — 25:25
* Walter’s Walk (Page/Plant)
* The Crunge (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 15:34
02. What Is and What Should Never Be (Page/Plant) — 4:41
03. Dancing Days (Page/Plant) — 3:42
04. Moby Dick (Bonham/Jones/Page) — 19:20
CD3
01. Whole Lotta Love Medley (Bonham/Willie Dixon/Jones/Page/Plant) — 23:08
* Boogie Chillun (John Lee Hooker) — 3:10
* Let’s Have a Party (Jessie Mae Robinson) — 1:56
* Hello Mary Lou (Gene Pitney) — 2:08
* Going Down Slow (St. Louis Jimmy Oden) — 8:29
02. Rock and Roll (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) — 3:56
03. The Ocean (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) — 4:21
04. Bring It On Home (Dixon/Page/Plant) — 9:30
* Bring It On Back (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant)
Links in comments.
Erlkoenig – Erlkoenig (1973) (@192)
18 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
It’s a hard album to analyse, principally because it is Krautrock at it’s most raw; clearly (early) Pink Floyd inspired, but with snippets of other bands, like the Doors, Amon Duul II and Hawkwind thrown in for a heavy keyboard and guitar-driven outing with more evidence of improvisation than composition, yet a strong coherence to the almost random seeming structures that lends a unique vitality to the music that overrides the underlying simplicity.
“Erlkoenig Impression” begins with a tasty introduction of Mellotron and drums that instantly sparks that Prog Rock feeling. It then dives into one of those riffs that just makes you think “Oh no – what are they thinking!”. It kind of reminds me of the Doors in some ways – but in a very naff way. It’s worth going through, however, as this album just gets better and better. The next quiet section, which reminds me a little of early Genesis paves the way nicely for a high-intensity section reminding me of early Floyd – with maybe a hint of the James Bond theme tune… then a piano driven section – the ideas come rolling and tumbling, but rarely completely tangentially; always making some sort of bizarre sense. We return to the gentle “Genesis” section and back to the “high intensity Bond” section and onwards and backwards to the initial “Doors” section via some nice improve and well orchestrated changeovers.
“Tomorrow” follows this, and we get some vocals for the first time. These are of a reasonable quality and nicely mournful. The keyboards produce some nice classically inspired melodies, and the arrangements are full of doom-laden drama. I get flavours of the Beatles “Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite”, then a wild drum solo is unleashed, seguing gently into a piano driven section with the classically inspired melodies, and some odd but effective chord changes to break it all up. The jump from piano back to organ is a bit startling, but we can make allowances for the cheap production. The return to the vocal section is loose, but inspired.
“Thoughts” is 9 and a half minutes of Krautrock bliss – a nice organ intro feeds into a winding guitar part drenched in wah wah and detuned to perfection. Wonderful Iron Butterfly meets the Doors with an injection of hi engery stuff. Each band member keeps absolutely sensitive to the musical direction, no more and no less. IN other words, no groundbreaking music or virtuosic fireworks – but boy, does it rock!
The structure is a kind of ABC, ABC, ABC, DE, with plenty of organic flow from one section to another and re use of thematic material producing a cohesive whole that feels much shorter than it is.
A wonderful retrospective intro kicks off the next section, which is another piano-driven affair that goes on to work out a Russian-sounding melody fragment, which feeds into a relaxing jazz-influenced section that develops nicely through the pianists’ playing around with the original tune and taking it to some wonderfully introspective levels. This segues into a kind of fanfare, which sets up expectations for a more rocking interlude, but Erlkoenig play with this expectation, teasing expertly, building up, dropping down, then eventually settling into a jazz-influenced groove with “Classical” overtones – a kind of flavour of what Renaissance could have been like if they’d only dropped the silly pretentious Bach and Beethoven quotations. The next section begins with a sitar-sound from the guitar, which creates a subtly different mood and texture, but no less dark and moody.
Side 2 begins even more strongly with “Castrop-Rauxel”; a drums and Hammond crash give way to a rippling Hammond lick, joined by the guitars and stretched out before the very Barrett/Floyd vocal entry. Again, the backing has flavours of the Doors and Iron Butterfly, but Erlkoenig develop it their own way, via a nice funky drum beat reminiscent of Can. The atmosphere is sensitively built towards the next vocal entry.
The overall structure is very simple – but very elongated to the point of obscurity, and subsequently it’s Erlkoenig’s working of the material that grabs the attention rather than the content. And it’s all good. Good enough to be far greater than the sum of its parts – in other words, this is not rock music for the over-analytical, but drift-along progressive psychedelia… it’s Krautrock in its neat form!
We could go on picking and picking at the music, and observe the same kind of constructions at work, the same influences throughout – but that would be to miss out on the overall beauty of the work and the ultimate success of four musicians in bringing their musical minds together and creating something unique and progressive that just gets better and better as it progresses.
The music is badly (cheaply) produced, and the musicians very loose – and right at the very edge of their abilities, but the charm remains throughout, and the ideas flow thick and fast. This is a great addition to any collection of prog rock, and a perfect door into Krautrock that is highly recommended especially to fans of Pink Floyd’s early material, Hawkwind, the Doors, Iron Butterfly and Amon Duul II. There are even moments of Shocking Blue in here among other tasty treats!
Line-up:
- Eckhardt Freynik / keyboards
- Friedrich Krüger / guitar
- Michael Brandes / drums, vocals
- Günter Armbrecht / bass
Track List:
01. Erlkoenig Impression (8:30)
02. Tomorrow (6:02)
03. Thoughts (9:31)
04. Castrop-Rauxel (7:13)
05. Blind alley (8:07)
06. Divertimento (8:40)
07. The lad in the fen (Bonus) (7:28)
08. Love is truth (Bonus) (2:30)
09. Run away (Bonus) (3:10)
10. Monday morning (Bonus) (4:51)
Link in comments.
Focus – Mother Focus (1975) (@256)
18 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com, wikipedia)
Their fifth album Mother Focus, featuring new drummer David Kemper, was released to mostly negative reviews. It’s surely one of the most underrated recordings in their discography. Critics and longtime fans were puzzled by the sudden turn to a light jazz-fusion style in several tracks, while the lack of a potential single soured the music industry’s opinion on the band’s ability to capture a wider audience. The quality of the compositions were still high, but the career of Focus was hampered by changing tastes in the audience away from the progressive music that was in vogue when the band started and the lack of a clear stylistic direction.
I still remember listening to Mother Focus the first time. I was disappointed. No prior Focus album had veered so much into jazz (as most evinced by the Bert Ruiter songs– Bert had never been allowed to contribute as a songwriter previously). I was cranky because Jan Akkerman had none of the berserk wild-abandon guitar solos that riveted me three years previously on “Moving Waves.”
Still, this was Focus and I gave it repeated listens. And you know what? There is some serious gold to be found in this album if you’re willing to take the time to hear it. I refer here primarily to the track “Focus IV,” the lead track on side two of the LP. For my money, this is one of the most sublime pieces of music ever recorded–an ingenious short course in the instrumental and compositional virtuousity that made Focus so special in the first place. Like all of the “Focus” series of themes written by the nonpariel Thijs (rymes with “rice”) Van Leer, it is a moody, stately instrumental, showcasing the band’s smarts in tricky & unexpected ways. On first listen (as I well recall), my reaction was, it’s just muzak–but stick with it. Listen a few times and see whether or not the theme and its several variations don’t insinuate themselves into your brain for the rest of your life. The arrangement is sheer perfection also–it’s all about restraint and giving Van Leer’s elegant composition all the space & air it needs to rock your soul. Everything is perfect here– Akkerman’s oh-so-delicate slide guitar floating over Van Leer’s piano/flute theme, Bert’s always-bedrock bass… I must also give special marks to David Kemper’s absolutely on-the-mark drumming. Over the years I have come to very greatly appreciate his lone stand-out snare drum tap, perfectly on time, totally isolated and separating the initial statement of the theme from the main body of the track. Strange thing to fixate on, but get into the song and see if you don’t catch yourself nodding your head, or clapping your hands to match this uniquely brilliant single-note “drum solo.”
Besides “Focus IV”, the remaining Van Leer/Akkerman compositions show great luster and charm also. “My Sweetheart,” “Bennie Helder,” “Mother Focus,” all are in the classic Focus style and worthy additions to the canon.
Line-up:
- Jan Akkerman / guitars
- Colin Allen / drums (2)
- David Kemper / drums
- Bert Ruiter / basses, vocals (2)
- Thijs van Leer / keyboards, flutes, vocals (1)
Track List:
01. Mother Focus (3:04)
02. I Need a Bathroom (3:05)
03. Bennie Helder (3:32)
04. Soft Vanilla (3:03)
05. Hard Vanilla (2:35)
06. Tropic Bird (2:43)
07. Focus IV (3:58)
08. Someone’s Crying… What! (3:19)
09. All Together… Oh That! (3:42)
10. No Hang Ups (2:56)
11. My Sweetheart (3:36)
12. Father Bach (1:33)
Link in comments.
Led Zeppelin – BBC Sessions (1969-71) (@256)
16 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com, wikipedia)
Frequently bootlegged and now digitally remastered by Jimmy Page, these tapes capture a 25-month (1969 to 1971) arc in which Zep’s sound grew to encompass the speed rush and jazz/blues festival stuff of their 1969 debut, the fully developed folkie musings of “Going to California” (in which Plant vowed to make a hejira right up to Joni Mitchell’s front door), and the band’s modestly popular multilayered epic “Stairway to Heaven”.
This release was widely welcomed by Led Zeppelin fans as the first official live release since The Song Remains the Same in 1976. Others have criticized the decision to edit some of the songs and drop others that were recorded for the BBC. Most notable are one session from 1969 which included the unreleased song “Sunshine Woman,” and large portions of the “Whole Lotta Love” medley from 1971.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – Electric and acoustic guitars
* Robert Plant – Vocals
* John Paul Jones – Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Mandolin
* John Bonham – Drums
Track List:
CD1
01. You Shook Me (Dixon/Lenoir) – 5:14
02. I Can’t Quit You Baby (Dixon) – 4:22
03. Communication Breakdown (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 3:12
04. Dazed and Confused (Page) – 6:39
05. The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair (Bonham/Estes/Jones/Page/Plant) – 3:00
06. What Is and What Should Never Be (Page/Plant) – 4:20
07. Communication Breakdown (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 2:40
08. Travelling Riverside Blues (Johnson/Page/Plant) – 5:12
09. Whole Lotta Love (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 6:09
10. Somethin’ Else (Cochran/Sheeley) – 2:06
11. Communication Breakdown (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 3:05
12. I Can’t Quit You Baby (Dixon) – 6:21
13. You Shook Me (Dixon/Lenoir) – 10:19
14. How Many More Times (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 11:51
CD2
01. Immigrant Song (Page/Plant) – 3:20
02. Heartbreaker (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 5:16
03. Since I’ve Been Loving You (Jones/Page/Plant) – 6:56
04. Black Dog(Jones/Page/Plant) – 5:17
05. Dazed and Confused (Page) – 18:36
06. Stairway to Heaven (Page/Plant) – 8:49
07. Going to California (Page/Plant) – 3:54
08. That’s the Way (Page/Plant) – 5:43
09. Whole Lotta Love (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 13:45
10. Thank You (Page/Plant) – 6:37
Links in comments.
Fantasy – Paint a Picture (1973) (@256)
16 Apr 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
Along with Spring and Cressida, Fantasy was one of the classic bands in the soft, symphonic and melodic vein of early British progressive rock. “Paint…” was unfortunately the only album they managed to get out while they still existed, but in return, the whole album is a true delight! Very beautiful, melodic and atmospheric with great songwriting from the first to the last track. Personally I like the band best when they were at their most mellow, and tracks like “Icy River”, “Gnome Song”, “The Award” and the title-track are among my favourites. “Politely Insane” is probably the best of the more uptempo tracks, with its catchy melody and great brass-arrangement. Both the atmosphere, sound and lyrics of the last track, “Silent Mime”, reminds me actually quite a lot of the title track from Novalis’ “Banished Bridge”. Vocals are soft and pleasant with lots of good harmonies. Arrangements are tasty with lots of atmospheric organ, Mellotron and guitar. Overall, this is classic stuff.
Line-up:
- Paul Lawrence / 12 string guitar, vocals
- David Read / bass, vocals
- David Metcalfe / keyboards, vocals
- Peter James / lead guitar, vocals
- Jon Webster / percussion, vocals
Track List:
01. Paint A Picture (5:24)
02. Circus (6:18)
03. The Award (4:52)
04. Politely Insane (3:27)
05. Widow (2:12)
06. Icy River (5:53)
07. Thank Christ (4:06)
08. Young Man’s Fortune (3:41)
09. Gnome Song (4:19)
10. Silent Mine (4:39)
11. Beyond The Beyond (Bonus) (5:37)
12. Reality (Bonus) (2:58)
13. Alanderie (Bonus) (9:01)
14. Afterthought (Bonus) (5:51)
15. Worried Man (Bonus) (2:56)
16. Just A Dream (Bonus) (3:32)
17. Winter Rose (Bonus) (3:27)
Links in comments.
Birth Control – Live (1974) (@192)
16 Apr 2007
(Info from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
Birth Control was a German krautrock band known for their progressive hard-rock sound and provocative album covers.
Their 1974 live album with progressive styled hard rock cuts with scorching guitar jams certainly gives a good idea of Birth Control’s extensive improvisational skills.
Line-up:
- Peter Föller / bass, vocals, percussion
- Bruno Frenzel / guitar, vocals, percussion
- Zeus B. Held / keyboards, percussion, backing vocals, Alto sax (1), harmonica (5)
- Bernd Noske / drums, percussion, vocals
Track List:
01. The Work is Done (16:50)
02. Back from Hell (15:35)
03. Gamma Ray (20:33)
04. She’s Got Nothing On You (5:35)
05. Long Tall Sally (10:50)
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Led Zeppelin – Coda (1982) (@256)
16 Apr 2007
(Info from wikipedia)
In August 1979, after two warm-up shows in Copenhagen, Led Zeppelin headlined two concerts at the Knebworth music festival, where crowds of close to 120,000 witnessed the return of band. However, Robert Plant was not eager to tour full-time again, and even considered leaving Led Zeppelin. He was persuaded to stay by Peter Grant. A brief, low-key European tour was undertaken in June and July 1980, featuring a stripped-down set without the usual lengthy jams and solos.
On September 24, 1980, John Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming tour of the United States, the band’s first since 1977. Late in the evening the band retired to Page’s house – The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. Benji LeFevre (who had replaced Richard Cole as Led Zeppelin’s tour manager) and John Paul Jones found him dead the next morning. Bonham was 32 years old.
Despite media rumours, the remaining members decided to disband Led Zeppelin after Bonham’s death. They issued a press statement on December 4 1980 confirming that the band would not continue without its irreplaceable drummer. “We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were.”
In 1982 the surviving members of the group released a collection of out-takes from various sessions during Led Zeppelin’s twelve-year career, entitled Coda. The word Coda, meaning the final passage of a musical structure, was therefore chosen as a suitable title. It included two tracks taken from the band’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, one each from the Led Zeppelin III and Houses of the Holy sessions, and three from the In Through the Out Door sessions. It also featured a 1976 John Bonham drum instrumental with electronic effects added by Jimmy Page, called “Bonzo’s Montreux”. In 1993 four bonus tracks were added to the album on the edition, completing this “non-lp” track set.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
* John Bonham – drums
* John Paul Jones – bass, piano, keyboards
* Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
Track List:
01. We’re Gonna Groove (Bethea, King) – 2:40
02. Poor Tom (Page, Plant) – 3:01
03. I Can’t Quit You Baby (Dixon) – 4:17
04. Walter’s Walk (Page, Plant) – 4:31
05. Ozone Baby (Page, Plant) – 3:35
06. Darlene (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) – 5:06
07. Bonzo’s Montreux (Bonham) – 4:17
08. Wearing and Tearing (Page, Plant) – 5:31
09. Baby Come on Home (Bonus) (Berns, Page, Plant) – 4:30
10. Traveling Riverside Blues (Bonus) (Johnson, Page, Plant) – 5:11
11. White Summer/Black Mountain Side (Bonus) (Page) – 8:01
12. Hey Hey What Can I Do (Bonus) (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) – 3:55
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New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Riders of the Purple Sage (1970) (@256)
16 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
Anyone who enjoyed the Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead or American Beauty and wanted more, then or now, should get the New Riders of the Purple Sage’s eponymous release and follow it with the Riders’ next two albums. With Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart in tow, and Jefferson Airplane’s Spencer Dryden playing what drums Hart didn’t, plus Commander Cody at the piano, New Riders of the Purple Sage is some of the most spaced-out country-rock of the period. Even ignoring the big names working with John Dawson, David Nelson, and Dave Torbert, however, this is a good record, crossing swords with the Byrds, the Burrito Brothers, and even Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and holding its own. Maybe a few of the cuts (especially “Henry”) are predictable at times, but mostly, New Riders of the Purple Sage was full of surprises then (the amazingly sweet, brittle guitars, in particular) and has tunes that have held up well: “Portland Woman,” “Whatcha Gonna Do,” “I Don’t Know You,” and “Louisiana Lady,” not to mention the eight leisurely paced minutes of acid-country found in “Dirty Business.”
Line-up:
* Commander Cody – Piano
* John Dawson – Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Vocals
* John Desautels – Drums
* Spencer Dryden – Percussion, Drums, Vocals
* Jerry Garcia – Banjo, Guitar, Pedal Steel, Guitar (Steel)
* Mickey Hart – Percussion, Drums
* David Nelson – Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Mandolin, Guitar (Electric), Vocals
* Dave Torbert – Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Guitar, Vocals
Track List:
01. I Don’t Know You
02. Whatcha Gonna Do
03. Portland Woman
04. Henry
05. Dirty Business
06. Glendale Train
07. Garden of Eden
08. All I Ever Wanted
09. Last Lonely Eagle
10. Louisiana Lady
11. Down in the Boondocks (Bonus Live)
12. Weight (Bonus Live)
13. Superman (Bonus Live)
Links in comments.
Moody Blues – A Question of Balance (1970) (@256)
16 Apr 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
The Moodies entered the ’70s with another strong album. Actually, all the albums they released in their classic period (1967-1972) are good. The album opens with the symphonic energy of “Question”, one of the very best tracks Hayward ever wrote. Ray Thomas also contributed with one of his best tracks ever: “The Tide Rushes In”. John Lodge seemed like always to be in a happier mood than the rest of the band and wrote the energetic “Tortoise and the Hare” and the cheerful and slightly folk-influenced “Minstrel’s Song” for the album. Pinder’s “Melancholic Man” gets a little bit too repetitive. Fortunately, his other contribution “How Is It? (We are Here)” is much better. Another great Moody Blues album. It’s not so much more to say.
Line-up:
- Justin Hayward / guitars, vocals
- John Lodge / bass guitar, vocals
- Michael Pinder / keyboards, vocals
- Ray Thomas / harmonica, flute, vocals
- Graeme Edge / drums, percussion
Track List:
01. Question (5:43)
02. How Is It (We Are Here) (2:44)
03. And The Tide Rushes In (2:57)
04. Don’t You Feel Small (2:37)
05. Tortoise and the Hare (3:19)
06. It’s Up to You (3:11)
07. Minstrel’s Song (4:27)
08. Dawning is the Day (4:21)
09. Melancholy Man (5:45)
10. The Balance (3:28)
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Faust – Faust IV (1974) (@320)
15 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
“Faust IV” manages to be both experimental and engaging, but accessible enough to draw you in, even at its outer limits. This was Faust’s last album of the early period, and their label had insisted they go more commercial. This work is definitely easier on the ear than some of their other work (notable “Faust Tapes” (’73)), but is still exciting. Faust has written this off as not essentially ‘them’ and it is not included in their boxset. Despite their complaints, its still a great album.
The droning “Krautrock” which begins the album, is one of the best pieces of the type of music I have heard, reminiscent of NEU!’s motorik sound. It can drag on the first few listens, but is an excellently crafted piece of drowning, electronic music. It basically sums up Krautrock, as it titles suggests, for me. (When the drums come in at 7:09, yes that late, it is a monumental moment in such a sparse piece, but Faust pulls it off). “The Sad Skinhead” shows Faust’s irrepressible humor, with their attempt at Reggae, with a German spin. (There is no lost irony in the fact that skinheads did in fact like Reggae music and ska despite their racists leanings). The song is very prescient for 1974 of music to come. Without a doubt, “Jennifer”, with its simple, repetitive lyric, throbbing amped up bass-line, cacophonous electronics mid way through and acoustic ‘saloon’ piano closing is the album’s masterpiece. “Just a Second” begins like a standard hard rocker, and knowing Faust, soon turns into more synthesizer play, imitating the sounds of a burbling river before returning to the rock. “Picnic on a Frozen River” starts off with an annoying, though catchy rock melody, before descending into improvisation with excellent Sax work. The band really synergizes on this piece, but it feels incomplete or under worked. “Giggy Smile” shows off Faust’s large folk inflections, and very accessibly for this band. “Lauft…Heisst…” isn’t much of anything, just some synths gathering volume and dying down, it serves as an interlude, or filler, or both, but is definitely overlong at three minutes. “It’s a Bit of Pain” is an unexpected finish to the album, bordering on country music. The french language female vocals bother me in the middle, but that’s just me. It’s a good, tune, with its dreamy, ambling tempo and heavily distorted guitar solo at the end. A quirky finish to an equally quirky album.
Though not as groundbreaking as their earlier work, its a hell of a lot more listenable. Recommended as a good way to ease into Krautrock, before tackling more challenging works like Can or early Tangerine Dream.
Line-up:
- Werner Diermeier / drums
- Hans-Joachim Irmler / organ
- Gunter Wusthoff / synthesizer, saxophone
- Rudolf Sosna / guitar, keyboards
- Jean-Herve Peron / bass
Track List:
01. Krautrock (11:47)
02. The Sad Skinhead (2:43)
03. Jennifer (7:11)
04. Just A Second (Starts Like That!) (3:35)
05. Picnic on a Frozen River (Deuxieme Tableux) (7:45)
06. Giggy Smile (4:28)
07. Lauft… HeiBt Das es Lauft Oder es Kommt Bald… Laüft (3:40)
08. It’s a Bit of a Pain (3:08)
Links in comments.
Atomic Rooster – Death Walks Behind You (1970) (@256)
14 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
This album is (or should be) considered as a landmark and a masterpiece in the hard rock category. With Palmer gone to Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Graham forming his own band , Crane had to restart this band from scratch and conVinced John (Du)Cann formely of psych bands The Attack and Andromeda and Paul Hammond to take the drum seat (since the organ seat was already taken ). The partnership between Cann and Crane was like cat and dog, but they did manage to pull off some classic early heavy metal for almost two albums. Every track here is a gem in its genre and Seven Streets is my fave although the public will remember mostly their outstanding single Tomorrow Night.
Line-up:
- John Cann / acoustic & electric guitars, lead vocals
- Vincent Crane / Hammond organ, piano, backing vocals
- Paul Hammond / drums, percussion
Track List:
01. Death Walks Behind You (7:24)
02. VUG (instrumental) (5:03)
03. Tomorrow Night (4:02)
04. 7 Streets (6:47)
05. Sleeping For Years (5:30)
06. I Can’t Take No More (3:36)
07. Nobody Else (5:04)
08. Gershatzer (instrumental) (8:01)
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Led Zeppelin – In Through the Out Door (1979) (@320)
14 Apr 2007
(Review from wikipedia, allmusic.com)
In 1977, Led Zeppelin embarked on another massive U.S. concert tour. The second Oakland concert would prove be the band’s final live appearance in the United States. After the performance, news came that Plant’s five year old son, Karac, had died from a stomach virus. The rest of the tour was immediately cancelled.
December 1978 saw the group recording again, this time at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Somewhere between Presence and In Through the Out Door; disco, punk, and new wave had overtaken rock & roll, and Led Zeppelin chose to tentatively embrace these pop revolutions, adding synthesizers to the mix and emphasizing John Bonham’s inherent way with a groove.
The album’s opening number, “In the Evening”, with its stomping rhythms and heavy, staggered riffs, suggests that Zeppelin haven’t deviated from their course, but by the time the rolling shuffle of “South Bound Suarez” kicks into gear, it’s apparent that they’ve regained their sense of humor. After “South Bound Suarez” , the group tries a variety of styles, whether it’s an overdriven homage to Bakersfield county called “Hot Dog”, the layered, Latin-tinged percussion and pianos of “Fool in the Rain”, or the slickly seductive ballad “All My Love”. “Carouselambra,” a lurching, self-consciously ambitious synth-driven number, and the slow blues “I’m Gonna Crawl” aren’t quite as impressive as the rest of the album, but overall it is a great record, just not like Zeppelin’s others.
In contrast to previous Led Zeppelin albums, In Through The Out Door features much greater influence on the part of bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones and vocalist Robert Plant, and less from drummer John Bonham and guitarist Jimmy Page (Bonham did not receive writing credits for any of the songs). This was a result of Bonham and Page often not showing up on time at the recording studio, and many of the songs were consequently put together by Plant and Jones during the day, with Page and Bonham adding their parts late at night. In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1998, Page stated : “We both felt that In Through The Out Door was a little soft. I wasn’t really keen on ‘All My Love’. I was a little worried about the chorus. I could just imagine people doing the wave and all of that. And I thought, That’s not us. That’s not us. In its place it was fine, but I wouldn’t have wanted to pursue that direction in the future.”
Line-up:
* Robert Plant – vocals
* John Paul Jones – bass guitar, keyboards
* Jimmy Page – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
* John Bonham – drums
Track List:
01. In the Evening (Jones/Page/Plant) – 6:49
02. South Bound Saurez (Jones/Plant) – 4:12
03. Fool in the Rain (Jones/Page/Plant) – 6:12
04. Hot Dog (Page/Plant) – 3:17
05. Carouselambra (Jones/Page/Plant) – 10:31
06. All My Love (Plant/Jones) – 5:53
07. I’m Gonna Crawl (Page/Plant/Jones) – 5:30
Link in comments.
Univers Zero – Uzed (1984) (@320)
14 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Uzed’s the cornerstone of Univers Zero’s career. Up to now, Univers Zero’s music had been mostly acoustic RIO, developing sinister moods and searching for human’s darker instincts. But with this album, Denis was to change considerably Univers Zero’s direction and this was due in no small part to the friendly competition he maintained with ex-Univers Zero Roger Trigaux, who had formed Present (with Denis holding the drum stool), and pushing each other to explore new musical territories. By now, Daniel Denis was the last remaining original member, Berckmans devoting his effort to Von Zamla. In comes future long time collab Dirk Descheemaeker on winds, Genet on bass and assorted string instruments, Plouvier (another future central figure) on keyboards and Mergen on cello and sax.
This album, as I said above, is the start of a new direction and can be easily seen as a blueprint for all their future album until Implosion. The music had now shifted from the sinister and macabre to the sombre and mysterious ambiances, the eastern influences being much more present (pardon the pun ;-), than previously. One of the most striking results is that the album is generally more melodious than the previous three, which often flirted with dissonance and atonal music. Here, the music has mystic and grandiose aspects not previously developed. The opener Présage is probably my favourite track as the mystery of the mid-eastern dawns (with the cello strongly inducing Arab ambiances) in a yet-asleep harem (see why I think this is their best track? ;-) and the first smell of Green tea as you are heading for the hamam with three beautiful creatures, and the clarinet providing the drama: this almost 10-min track is flawless. The manic Doctor Schwartz is a 100 mph nightmare with Plouvier’s piano providing the base for a haunting cello and clarinet. Wrapping up the first side of this wax slice, is Celeste (with two guest-musicians), a slow-developing almost 7-min track where the piano has the dominant role until the monstrous entrance of the “beast and Delory’s electric guitar (sometimes reminding you of Pinhas or Fripp) is clearly its angry scream. The only flaw I can think of is that the track ends in a fade-out.
Parade is probably where Miriodor took a good deal of their inspiration and the mad breaking noise are extremely disturbing, but the insane beat is not letting you off the hook. Centrepiece Emmanations is one stunning and most convincing track, where Univers Zero is simply taking on the role of a progressive giant group, but if it is not known widely among the progheads, it is mostly because this album was recorded in 1984. Had it been recorded a decade earlier, no doubt that this album would be standing with Magma’s 1001° Centigrade or Henry Cow’s Legend. Denis’s composing powers are simply impressive and his percussions are awesomely inventive, and the oppressive but enthralling ambiances make the almost 16-min track seem too short. In the closing section, the track diverges into electronic delirium, which some twenty years later, Denis will come back to and base his Implosion album around similar themes.
Clearly the album separating the two phases of Univers Zero, this album will serve as a template for Univers Zero albums for two decades to come (including Denis’s two solo albums).
Line-up:
- Daniel Denis / drums, percussion, synthesizer
- Dirk Descheemaeker / soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Christian Genet / bass, balafon, bowed guitar, tapes, whistle
- Andre Mergen / cello, alto sax, voice
- Jean-Luc Plouvier / electric & acoustic pianos, synthesizer, piano strings, percussion
Track List:
01. Presage (9:48)
02. L’Etrange Mixture du Docteur Schwartz (3:52)
03. Celesta (for Chantal) (6:55)
04. Parade (6:37)
05. Emmanations (15:43)
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Led Zeppelin – Song Remains the Same (1976) (@256)
14 Apr 2007
(Info from wikipedia, amazon.co.uk)
Robert Plant’s injuries prevented Led Zeppelin from touring in 1976. Instead, the band finally completed the concert film The Song Remains The Same, and the soundtrack album of the film. It would be the only official live document of the group available in their active career. The recording had taken place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in July 1973, during the Houses of the Holy concert tour.
Long acknowledged as one of the most formidable concert acts on the rock & roll arena circuit, “Song Remains the Same” lets you hear that songs like “Stairway To Heaven” sound wonderful even without the benefit of studio overdubs. Though not perfect, this is an honest documentation of the Led Zeppelin live experience, serving as a reminder that beneath the larger-than-life myths that surrounded the group, Led Zeppelin were simply a powerful blues-influenced rock band who lived for their music.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – Electric guitars, backing vocals
* Robert Plant – Vocals
* John Paul Jones – Bass guitar, keyboards, mellotron
* John Bonham – Drums, percussion
Track List:
CD1
01. Rock and Roll (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 4:03
02. Celebration Day (Jones/Page/Plant) – 3:49
03. The Song Remains the Same (Page/Plant) – 6:00
04. Rain Song (Page/Plant) – 8:25
05. Dazed and Confused (Holmes/Page) – 26:53
CD2
01. No Quarter (Jones/Page/Plant) – 12:30
02. Stairway to Heaven (Page/Plant) – 10:58
03. Moby Dick (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 12:47
04. Whole Lotta Love (Bonham/Dixon/Jones/Page/Plant) – 14:25
Links in comments.
Inti-Illimani – Viva Chile! (1973) (@256)
13 Apr 2007
(Info from delcanton.com, allmusic.com)
Inti-Illimani is a Chilean Nueva Cancion group whose music is inspired mainly by the indigenous cultures of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Argentina. Other sources of influence include European, African and mestizo cultures. The group’s name, literally “Sun-God”, refers to the mountain spirit, or apu, of a mountain near La Paz, Bolivia known locally by the Aymara people as Illimani. Inti-Illimani’s music, featuring the ancient sounds of over 30 wind, string and percussion instruments, has been a prominent symbol of Latin American indigenous peoples for some 35 years. While the political message of Inti-Illimani’s music is not as explicit as that of its early contemporaries like Victor Jara and Ali Primera, the group’s songs were seen as powerful statements in the ’60s and ’70s, at a time when the celebration of Latin Americans’ indigenous roots was associated with the struggle for social and political justice.
Inti-Illimani came into being in the ’60s when a group of engineering students attending Santiago Technical University, one of Chile’s most politicized institutions at the time, discovered they shared a deep interest in the music of indigenous Andean music. In 1968, the band release its first single, a two-song EP titled, “Por La CUT” which was quickly followed by “Voz para el Camino” that same year, and “Si Somos Americanos”, “Canciones de la Revolucion Mexicana” and their first LP, “Inti-Illimani”, in 1969. Appreciation of Inti-Illimani’s music grew quickly and over the next few years they toured internationally and released several more albums.
In 1973, while on tour in Italy, Chile’s democratically-elected socialist president, Salvador Allende, was deposed in a bloody week-long, U.S.-approved coup d’etat that brought the notorious General Augusto Pinochet to power. Victor Jara, perhaps the most well known of the Nueva Cancion artists and a close friend of Inti-Illimani, was brutally tortured and killed in a stadium where some 5,000 other dissidents were slaughtered. Soon after the coup, the military junta outlawed the music of Inti-Illimani and other artists. Several musicians, including the members of Inti-Illimani were banned from Chile. The group spent the next fourteen years in Italy, where. During their period of exile, they released 20 more albums beginning with “Viva Chile”.
Viva Chile was the first of the group’s albums to emerge from a new life as exiles in Rome; so, literally, this spirited music of revolution and rebellion was recorded within a short stroll from the type of hearty lunchtime pasta that is more likely to inspire a siesta. The decisive summarization of thoughts that sometimes occurs as a preamble to dreamland is a nice way to describe the choice of both repertoire and final program sequence. Viva Chile! lays bare the musical roots of this ensemble, in large part a style of folk music from the Andes that has unfortunately become a trifle stereotyped due to overexposure. In the case of Inti-Illimani, the growth from this original starting point has been lush, extending into a challenging form of expression known as nuevo cancion, or new song. Rich emotions and musical surprises bloom almost constantly from these pieces. In combination with politics, as in “Venceremos” or “Cueca de la C.U.T.,” it becomes a garden that any lover of protest songs will want to sit in and meditate. Sniffing along while the military industrial complex is overthrown is hardly the only sweet bouquet provided, however. From the very start of the album, intricate and terrifically mixed percussion breaks provide some of the finest moments. “Cueca de la C.U.T.” is simply amazing, sounding like small drunken men have invaded the speaker box with wooden mallets. Instrumental pieces involving various combinations of stringed instruments such as guitar, tiple, and charango are also part of the program, a style that the group seems to have downplayed in later releases. “Ramis,” “Tatati,” and “Subida” are short and simple treats; “Longuita” utilizes a picking style that sounds like country & western, though it is uncertain what country. “Venceremos” is the big vocal hit, an anthem among anthems, and as is typical in the effective sequencing, it is sandwiched between two of the instrumentals. As mentioned in passing, a distinct Andes style involving pan pipes, known as zampona and a certain kind of repetitive melody has been transformed from obscure ethnic music into ghastly kitsch courtesy of Paul Simon and “El Condor Pasa.” This style is used somewhat heavily as this album begins, then passes away into a kind of distant mist as the program becomes more political. It is truly sad that someone else’s recording career can so jeopardize the experience of understanding a beautiful musical concept, but that’s showbiz. Some listeners will have to toil mightily, hefting aside pounds of prejudice and unfortunate indoctrination in order to truly understand what this group is all about. As hard as that is bound to be, it might be of some assistance to present the following image, complete with the caveat that it is presented only a short time after reading a flattering account of Simon’s sure and knowing ways while collaborating in the studio with a bunch of vintage gospel entertainers. The traditional Indian music utilized by Inti-Illimani is of a much finer vintage than those old Simon & Garfunkel records in the den. The zampona flutes and various drums and rattles, each carefully used to create maximum impact, have an individual and combined intensity, would be literally be described as muy grande in Spanish, that is really way too big for a Paul Simon record — a giant, gleaming zampona being inserted in a place where the sun don’t shine, where the Sun God never visited.
Line-up:
* Horacio Duran Vidal
* Jose Seves Sepulveda
* Jose Miguel Camus Vargas
* Horacio Salinas Alvarez
* Jorge Coulon Larrańaga
* Max Berru Carrion
Track List:
01. La Fiesta De San Benito
02. Longuita
03. Cancion Del Poder Popular
04. Alturas
05. La Segunda Independencia
06. Cueca De La C.U.T. (Central única de trabajadores)
07. Tatati
08. Venceremos (Himno de la Unidad Popular)
09. Ramis
10. “Rin” Del Angelito
11. Subida
12. Simon Bolivar
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H.P. Lovecraft – Dreams In The Witch House (Complete Works 1967-68) (@256)
13 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
Featuring two strong singers (who often sang dual leads), hauntingly hazy arrangements, and imaginative songwriting that drew from pop and folk influences, H.P. Lovecraft was one of the better psychedelic groups of the late ’60s. The band was formed by ex-folky George Edwards in Chicago in 1967. Edwards and keyboardist Dave Michaels, a classically trained singer with a four-octave range, handled the vocals, which echoed Jefferson Airplane’s in their depth and blend of high and low parts. Their self-titled 1967 LP was an impressive debut, featuring strong originals and covers of early compositions by Randy Newman and Fred Neil, as well as one of the first underground FM radio favorites, “White Ship.” The band moved to California the following year; their second and last album, H.P. Lovecraft II, was a much more sprawling and unfocused work, despite some strong moments. A spin-off group, Lovecraft, released a couple LPs in the ’70s that bore little relation to the first incarnation of the band.
Line-up:
* George Edwards – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, guitarron, bass
* Dave Michaels – vocals, organ, piano, harpsichord, clarinet, recorder
* Jerry McGeorge – bass, vocals – later replaced by Jeff Boyan
* Tony Cavallari – lead guitar, vocals
* Michael Tegza – percussion, tympani, vocals, drums
Track List:
H.P.Lovecraft
01. Wayfaring Stranger
02. Let’s Get Together
03. I’ve Been Wrong Before
04. Drifter
05. That’s The Bag I’m In
06. White Ship
07. Country Boy & Bleeker Street
08. Time Machine
09. That’s How Much I Love You Baby (More Or Less)
10. Gloria Patria
H.P.Lovecraft II
11. Spin, Spin, Spin
12. It’s About Time
13. Blue Jack Of Diamonds
14. Electrollentando
15. At The Mountains Of Madness
16. Mobius Trip
17. High Flying Bird
18. Nothing’s Boy
19. Keeper Of The Keys
20. Anyway That You Want Me
21. It’s All Over For You (Bonus)
22. White Ship (Bonus Single Edit)
23. Keeper Of The Keys (Bonus Single Mix)
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Rush – Signals (1982) (@256)
13 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
Signals was the follow-up to the successful Moving Pictures. Stylistically, the album was a continuation of Rush’s foray into the technology-oriented 1980s, through increased use of electronic instrumentation such as keyboards, sequencers, electric violin. Another noticeable change was in terms of song length and lyrical compression; Signals was the end of Rush’s extended instrumentals. The album had eight songs, the longest of which is 6:24.
“Signals” returns to the theme of man’s alienation in a world of machines last heard on “Moving Pictures”. Yet in many ways it is a transitional record, caught between the fiery red of action and the cool blue of reflection. Thematically, it’s the last Rush record to adopt the vantage point of the teenager at the edge of adulthood. “Subdivisions” sets the problem, as the young adult feels the pull of the city from the suburbs, “the timeless old attraction.” From there, a final respite in the unhurried world of youth (“The Analog Kid”) before love beckons (“Chemistry”) and places our hero in the crosshairs of adulthood (“Digital Man”). At first, the young hero looks to be a cog in the big machine (“The Weapon”), but youth is also revealed as the breeding ground for change (“New World Man”). “Losing It” addresses the failed dreams of youth, but “Signals” ends on a high note, with “Countdown” showing how technology can be used for good. In many ways, Rush’s teenage heroes (from “”2112″” through to “Tom Sawyer”) reach maturity on “Signals”. Subsequent albums like “Grace Under Pressure” and “Power Windows” were as apt to see the world through the eyes of an adult. That transformation can be felt in the music as well: synthesizers have steadily crept into the foreground while Alex Lifeson’s guitar eschews the old pyrotechnics for technically precise textures. Geddy Lee’s voice is also more subdued, less likely to reach the emotional heights of a “Tom Sawyer” or “The Spirit of Radio.” Neil Peart, for his part, remains charged, designed to complement Geddy’s bass lines as dual engines of propulsion (heard to best effect on “Digital Man” and “Chemistry”). “Signals” signaled the end of one musical chapter and the start of another.
It’s the last time that Rush played like their lives depended on it; subsequent albums seemed overly analytical, detached. Even when the trio regained some of their former form, it lacked the naturalness of “Signals”, making this for some listeners the last essential Rush album.
Line-up:
- Geddy Lee / basses, bass pedals, synthesizers, vocals
- Alex Lifeson / guitars, bass pedals
- Neil Peart / drums, percussion
+ Ben Mink / violin (7)
Track List:
01. Subdivisions (5:32)
02. The analog kid (4:46)
03. Chemistry (4:56)
04. Digital man (6:20)
05. The weapon (part II of Fear) (6:22)
06. New world man (3:41)
07. Losing it (4:51)
08. Countdown (5:49)
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Led Zeppelin – Presence (1976) (@320)
13 Apr 2007
(Info from wikipedia)
Following their triumphant Earls Court appearances, Led Zeppelin took an unplanned break from touring. In August 1975, Robert Plant and his wife Maureen were involved in a serious car crash whilst on holiday in Rhodes, Greece. Robert suffered a broken ankle and Maureen was very badly injured; a blood transfusion saved her life. Unable to tour, Plant headed to the channel island of Jersey to spend August and September recuperating, with Bonham and Page in tow. The band then reconvened in Malibu, California. It was during this forced hiatus that much of the material for their next album, Presence, was written. The album was recorded within three weeks at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, with Plant in a wheelchair.
Both Page and Plant had planned this album’s recording session as a return to hard rock, much like their debut album, except at a new level of complexity. It marked a change in the Led Zeppelin sound towards more straightforward, guitar-based jams. Whereas their previous albums contain electric hard rock anthems balanced with acoustic ballads and intricate arrangements, Presence was seen to include more simplified riffs. It is Led Zeppelin’s only studio album that features neither acoustic tracks nor keyboards (almost buried in the mix, a lone acoustic guitar can be heard on “Candy Store Rock”).
In contrast to earlier albums which contained several tracks played live at Led Zeppelin concerts, only two tracks from Presence were played in full on stage. “Achilles Last Stand” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” were added to the setlist for the 1977 tour of the United States and stayed through the band’s final concerts in 1980. Some of the guitar solo from “Tea for One” was also incorporated into “Since I’ve Been Loving You” in these shows, but the actual song was never performed live until the Page and Plant tour of Japan in 1996, where it received three airings backed by an orchestra.
Presence is one of Led Zeppelin’s more overlooked albums, languishing in the monstrous shadow of its predecessor, Physical Graffiti. Despite the original criticisms; Jimmy Page has called Presence his favourite album, and “Achilles Last Stand” his favourite Led Zeppelin song. Robert Plant has also stated that he thinks Presence is the album that probably sounds the most “Led Zeppelin” of all their LPs.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – Electric Guitars
* Robert Plant – Vocals and Harmonica
* John Paul Jones – 4,5 and 8 string Bass Guitars.
* John Bonham – Drums and Percussion
Track List:
01. Achilles Last Stand (Page/Plant) – 10:25
02. For Your Life (Page/Plant) – 6:20
03. Royal Orleans (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 2:58
04. Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Page/Plant) – 6:27
05. Candy Store Rock (Page/Plant) – 4:07
06. Hots on for Nowhere (Page/Plant) – 4:43
07. Tea for One (Page/Plant) – 9:27
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Lou Reed – Transformer (1972) (@256)
12 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com)
Over these eleven perfectly crafted tracks, Lou Reed showed us various little panoramas of Andy Warhol and The Factory, transvestitism, New York’s (homosexual) scene, urban decadence, (narcotics) use and more in a wonderful blend of humour and irony and in a brilliantly diverse musical setting. The guitar-driven hard rock of Hangin’ Round and Vicious is balanced by the subdued power of the poetic Perfect Day and the imaginative arrangements of Walk On The Wild side and Goodnight Ladies. Transformer is a literate, intelligent and enduring statement of an era and is one of the few albums of the glam-rock movement that has survived with its artistic integrity intact and that still has something to say today. David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced it with all the expertise they lent to the Ziggy Stardust album. But its varied styles, broader subject matter and feel of personal experience make it a better album than Ziggy Stardust. Unlike on most of Lou Reed’s other albums, there is great melodic variety too.
Line-up:
* Lou Reed – guitar, keyboards, vocals
* Herbie Flowers – bass, tuba
* Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, recorder, backing vocals
* John Halzey – drums
* Ronnie Ross – baritone saxophone
Track List:
01. Vicious – 2:58
02. Andy’s Chest – 3:20
03. Perfect Day – 3:46
04. Hangin’ Round – 3:39
05. Walk on the Wild Side – 4:12
06. Make Up – 2:58
07. Satellite of Love – 3:40
08. Wagon Wheel – 3:19
09. New York Telephone Conversation – 1:31
10. I’m So Free – 3:07
11. Goodnight Ladies – 4:21
12. Hangin’ Round (Acoustic demo) (Bonus) – 3:57
13. Perfect Day (Acoustic demo) (Bonus) – 4:50
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Eloy – Dawn (1976) (@256)
12 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, vintageprog.com)
Dawn represents a new start for Eloy. As the previous band disintegrated due to differences arising from managerial interference, so from the ashes arose a new band with Frank Bornemann as sole survivor of the fall-out. With this influx of new blood and ideas came a new musical direction. Long gone are the extended rock work-outs and solo improvising of yore, to be replaced by carefully orchestrated and structured arrangements – less space-rock and more ‘conventional’ symphonic prog. Guitars and keyboards are more integrated, often merging to form a wall-of-sound not unlike contemporary Genesis, the Hammond now merely one voice among many. Soloing is severely restricted, in some cases almost incidental to the arrangement.
Dawn was another concept-album, and left no doubt that the new line-up was perfect for the symphonic kind of spacey progressive rock that Bornemann now favoured. The lyrics had become more or less impossible to understand, and reminded a lot of Jon Anderson’s lyrics. They even sing “Nous Somme du Soleil” in “Gliding into Light and Knowledge” and the title-track! The music sounded now even spaceier with tons of floating and pleasant keyboards that make a very big and impressive sound. The highlights include “Between the Times”, “Return of the Voice” and the energetic “The Midnight Flight”. Some parts and passages sound maybe a bit too much like each other, and the album as a whole is a little bit messy. But the beautiful arrangements and atmosphere more than makes up for it. “Dawn” is actually one of the most spacey symphonic progressive rock albums I’ve heard, and worth having for just that.
Line-up:
- Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars
- Klaus-Peter Matziol / basses, vocals
- Detlev Schmidtchen / keyboards, mellotron, guitars, vocals
- Jürgen Rosenthal / drums, percussion , voices
- Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Maus
Track List:
01. Awakening
02. Between the Times
03. Sun Song
04. Dance in Doubt and Fear
05. Lost!?? (Introduction)
06. Memory Flash
07. Appearance of the Voice
08. Return of the Voice
09. Lost (The Decision)??
10. Midnight-Flight/The Victory of Mental Force
11. Gliding Into Light and Knowledge
12. Reveil du Soleil/The Dawn
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Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (1975) (@320)
11 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com, wikipedia)
Led Zeppelin returned from a nearly two-year hiatus in 1975 with Physical Graffiti, a sprawling, ambitious double album.
The recording sessions of the eight songs for Physical Graffiti took place in January and February 1974 at Headley Grange in East Hampshire, England. Several of the songs on the album, however, were recorded during the sessions for previous Led Zeppelin albums. The instrumental “Bron-Yr-Aur” was recorded in July 1970 at Island Studios, London, for Led Zeppelin III. “Night Flight” and “Boogie with Stu” were recorded at Headley Grange and “Down by the Seaside” at Island Studios, all for Led Zeppelin IV. “The Rover” and “Black Country Woman” were recorded at the same sessions as “D’yer Mak’er” at Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio in May 1972. “Houses of the Holy” was also recorded in May 1972, but at Olympic Studios. The album Houses of the Holy took its title from this song, despite the decision not to include the song on that album.
Zeppelin treat many of the songs on Physical Graffiti as forays into individual styles, only occasionally synthesizing sounds, notably on the tense, Eastern-influenced “Kashmir.” With John Paul Jones’ galloping keyboard, “Trampled Underfoot” ranks as their funkiest metallic grind, while “Houses of the Holy” is as effervescent as pre-Beatles pop and “Down by the Seaside” is the closest they’ve come to country. Even the heavier blues — the 11-minute “In My Time of Dying,” the tightly wound “Custard Pie,” and the monstrous epic “The Rover” — are subtly shaded, even if they’re thunderously loud. Most of these heavy rockers are isolated on the first album, with the second half of Physical Graffiti sounding a little like a scrap heap of experiments, jams, acoustic workouts, and neo-covers. This may not be as consistent as the first platter, but its quirks are entirely welcome, not just because they encompass the mean, decadent “Sick Again,” but the heartbreaking “Ten Years Gone” and the utterly charming acoustic rock & roll of “Boogie With Stu” and “Black Country Woman.” Yes, some of this could be labeled as filler, but like any great double album, its appeal lies in its great sprawl, since it captures elements of the band’s personality rarely showcased elsewhere — and even at its worst, Physical Graffiti towers above its hard rock peers of the mid-’70s.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Producer
* Robert Plant – Harmonica, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar on “Boogie with Stu”
* John Paul Jones – Bass, Keyboards, Mellotron, Guitar, Mandolin
* John Bonham – Drums, Percussion
Track List:
CD1
01. Custard Pie (Page/Plant) – 4:13
02. The Rover (Page/Plant) – 5:37
03. In My Time of Dying (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 11:05
04. Houses of the Holy (Page/Plant) – 4:02
05. Trampled Under Foot (Page/Plant/Jones) – 5:36
06. Kashmir (Page/Plant/Bonham) – 8:29
CD2
01. In the Light (Page/Plant/Jones) – 8:46
02. Bron-Yr-Aur (Page) – 2:06
03. Down by the Seaside (Page/Plant) – 5:13
04. Ten Years Gone (Page/Plant) – 6:32
05. Night Flight (Jones/Page/Plant) – 3:36
06. The Wanton Song (Page/Plant) – 4:07
07. Boogie with Stu (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant/Stewart/Valens) – 3:53
08. Black Country Woman (Page/Plant) – 4:24
09. Sick Again (Page/Plant) – 4:42
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Dolapdere Big Gang – Local Strangers (2006) (@256)
11 Apr 2007
(Info retrieved from google’s cache)
Dolapdere Big Gang, established in 2004 by a group of eight musicians, reinterpreting previous pop and rock hits with traditional and modern instruments in an alaturka (old Turkish culture) fashion.
Starting with live performances in popular clubs of Istanbul, people spread the word and national TV apperances came after. Their debut album Local Strangers was released in Autumn 2006. It includes covers of all-times hits from Sting, R.E.M., Depeche Mode, Steve Miller Band and many others.
Line-up:
- Emir Yesil / Vocals
- Aykut Sutoglu / Clarinet, Trumpet
- Gokay Sungu / Keyboard
- Irfan Kecebasoglu / Bass
- Yusuf Calkan / Violin
- Mustafa Olgan / Kanun
- Ismail Darici / Percussion
- Memduh Akatay / Percussion
Track List:
01. Englishman In New York – 05:45
02. Smoke On The Water – 05:10
03. Losing My Religion – 04:03
04. It’s Raining Men – 04:11
05. Billie Jean – 05:10
06. Something Got Me Started – 03:16
07. Enjoy The Silence – 03:34
08. Shut Up – 04:56
09. Feel – 04:34
10. Serenade – 04:34
11. La Isla Bonita – 05:01
12. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – 04:45
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Jefferson Airplane – Crown of Creation (1968) (@256)
11 Apr 2007
Jefferson Airplane – Crown of Creation (1968) (@256)
(Review from progarchives.com)
This aptly titled album is really exactly that: the crown of their creation. And the artwork is simply a good explanation of what this music can do to your mind. Actually all these compliments I throw at the airplane are always better than the rockets fired at those flying Vietnam at the time. Because no doubt about it, Jefferson Airplane were depicting sarcastically what some considered the crown of human creation: the a-Bomb. And this sombre (in theme because this bright coloured photo is anything but dark) artwork is also a bit appropriate to describe the apocalyptically stunning beauty of the album’s content.
After their excellent experimental (but sometimes patchy) previous album (resulting in lower sales too), Jefferson Airplane decided to pull themselves together and make a much tighter album, which would turn out to be their master decision. By now the group had bought a huge house close to the Golden Gate Bridge (where the flower-power be-ins where held at the park down the street), where the band chose to live under the same roof and make the band’s headquarters. This resulted in the band becoming even tighter, and does it ever show in this album. Never has the Airplane wrote such an immaculate bunch of songs, even if they returned to the more concise Surrealistic Pillow album rather than creating a son of Baxter’s. This hardly meant that these eternal rebels would be heading down the commercial alley though, and the progressive experimentations would still go on.
Still keeping the raunchy RnR sound that was their rebellious foundation, Jefferson Airplane goes a long way to make delicious-sounding melodies, where Grace Slick is now taking the spotlight, but the other sun is bassist Casady and his bass thunder. Jack Casady was not only one of the three greatest bassist of his time, but his extreme hippy look and demented playing made him one of the fan’s centre of attention on stage. And the lyrics of this group were rarely left behind as they were often humorous: Lather and the age where you are too old (Grace Slick’s partner Spencer Dryden at reached the big three O) and the famous nose-blowing solo, Triad’s call for a ménage-ŕ-trois (Dave Cosby’s song) and its ban and call to boycott from the establishment or the sombre humour Share A Little Joke. But this was not overshadowing the musical twist such as the type-writer percussions, the booming descending bass lines scattered throughout the album, the great acoustic guitar touches of In Time, the oppressive ambiances (Jefferson Airplane did some of the darkest song ever before being finally topped by Univers Zero).
None the least, the way the three singers are meddling in their voices is something spine-chilling, with Grace’s voice almost-literally making love with Balin’s or other times caressing the mike and our ears, they outdid some of the best folk rock duos from across the Atlantic, with Kantner always ready to triple the dose and Kaukonen holding in reserve for Star Track (he was the very worthy lead singer in the offshoot Hot Tuna) and Casady unleashing the thunderous bass behind him with his hollow-bodied Gibson E. Just in case you thought Baxter’s Small Package was an accident, get a load of Chushingura and its electronic experimental diddles (well before a certain German trio) close to “musique concrete”, written by their Dryden drummer! Just remember this is spring 68.
So far I’ve only described the tracks on the first side, but much more is to come! If the opening If You Feel is relatively straightforward, the title track’s gloomy descending vocal line and the frightening lyrics (they are denouncing the fascism of certain authorities) and Casady’s bed of bass lines. Greasy Heart is Grace’s answer to Balin Plastic Lover in the Pillow album, and unfortunately the comparison does not sit well for Marty, whose role will soon decrease in the group. Grace superstar! Her constant acts of provocation were the newspapers of the establishment, which was not realizing this made her even bigger in life. Have I talked of the almost 6-min finale, yet? No? All the better, because this track is the absolute apex of the group!! For the second time in a few month, Robert Kennedy’s dog Pooneil gets national attention (a great close-up picture graces the inner sleeve) a few months before his master’s murder (he was on friendly term with the band). This is the emblematic track that they played on a rooftop downtown Manhattan (filmed by French avant-garde director JL Goddard), a full year before the Beatles would attempt the trick with more success. The song’s apocalyptic atmosphere, certainly convinced the cops to close up shop before the song was over. Again the masterstroke is Casady’s incredible bass, but everyone shines like the sun (or the explosion on the sleeve).
Line-up:
- Marty Balin / guitar, vocals
- Jack Casady / bass
- Spencer Dryden / percussion, organ, vocals
- Paul Kantner / guitar, vocals
- Jorma Kaukonen / guitar, vocals
- Grace Slick / keyboards, vocals
Track List:
01. Lather (2:55)
02. In Time (4:10)
03. Triad (4:50)
04. Star Trek (3:08)
05. Share A Little Joke (3:07)
06. Chushingura (1:16)
07. If You Feel (3:21)
08. Crown Of Creation (2:53)
09. Ice Cream Phoenix (3:02)
10. Greasy Heart (3:19)
11. The House At Pooneil Corners (5:48)
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Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy (1973) (@192)
10 Apr 2007
Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy (1973) (@192)
(Review from allmusic.com, wikipedia)
Led Zeppelin’s fifth album, Houses of the Holy, was released on March 28, 1973. The song “Houses of the Holy” does not appear on its namesake album, even though it was recorded at the same time as other songs on the album; it eventually made its way onto the 1975 album Physical Graffiti. Other songs recorded during the sessions for Houses of the Holy but not appearing on it also include “Walter’s Walk”, “The Rover” and “Black Country Woman”.
Houses of the Holy follows the same basic pattern as Led Zeppelin IV, but the approach is looser and more relaxed. Jimmy Page’s riffs rely on ringing, folky hooks as much as they do on thundering blues-rock, giving the album a lighter, more open atmosphere. It featured further experimentation, with longer tracks and expanded use of synthesisers and mellotron orchestration. While the pseudo-reggae of “D’yer Mak’er” and the affectionate James Brown send-up “The Crunge” suggest that the band was searching for material, they actually contribute to the musical diversity of the album. “The Rain Song” is one of Zep’s finest moments, featuring a soaring string arrangement and a gentle, aching melody. “The Ocean” is just as good, starting with a heavy, funky guitar groove before slamming into an a cappella section and ending with a swinging, doo wop-flavored rave-up. With the exception of the rampaging opening number, “The Song Remains the Same,” the rest of Houses of the Holy is fairly straightforward, ranging from the foreboding “No Quarter” and the strutting hard rock of “Dancing Days” to the epic folk/metal fusion “Over the Hills and Far Away.” Throughout the record, the band’s playing is excellent, making the eclecticism of Page and Robert Plant’s songwriting sound coherent and natural.
Line-up:
* Robert Plant – Vocals, harmonica
* Jimmy Page – Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals, producer
* John Paul Jones – organ, Mellotron, bass guitar, backing vocals, piano, synthesizers, harpsichord
* John Bonham – Drums, backing vocals
Track List:
01. The Song Remains the Same (Page/Plant) – 5:30
02. The Rain Song (Page/Plant) – 7:39
03. Over the Hills and Far Away (Page/Plant) – 4:50
04. The Crunge (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 3:17
05. Dancing Days (Page/Plant) – 3:43
06. D’yer Mak’er (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 4:23
07. No Quarter (Page/Plant/Jones) – 7:00
08. The Ocean (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 4:31
Link in comments.
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV (1971) (@192)
10 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com, wikipedia)
Led Zeppelin’s fourth album was released on November 8, 1971. There was no indication of a title nor band name on the original cover, but on the LP label four symbols were printed. The reason for this was the band’s disdain for the media which labelled them as hyped, so they put out the album with no indication of who they were to prove that the music could sell itself.
Expanding on the breakthroughs of III, Zeppelin fuse their majestic hard rock with a mystical, rural English folk that gives the record an epic scope. Even at its most basic — the muscular, traditionalist “Rock and Roll” — the album has a grand sense of drama, which is only deepened by Robert Plant’s burgeoning obsession with mythology, religion, and the occult. Plant’s mysticism comes to a head on the eerie folk ballad “The Battle of Evermore,” a mandolin-driven song with haunting vocals from Sandy Denny, and on the epic “Stairway to Heaven.” Of all of Zeppelin’s songs, “Stairway to Heaven” is the most famous, and not unjustly. Building from a simple fingerpicked acoustic guitar to a storming torrent of guitar riffs and solos, it encapsulates the entire album in one song. Which, of course, isn’t discounting the rest of the album. “Going to California” is the group’s best folk song, and the rockers are endlessly inventive, whether it’s the complex, multi-layered “Black Dog,” the pounding hippie satire “Misty Mountain Hop,” or the funky riffs of “Four Sticks.” But the closer, “When the Levee Breaks,” is the one song truly equal to “Stairway,” helping give IV the feeling of an epic. An apocalyptic slice of urban blues, “When the Levee Breaks” is as forceful and frightening as Zeppelin ever got, and its seismic rhythms and layered dynamics illustrate why none of their imitators could ever equal them.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, producer, remastering, digital remastering
* Robert Plant – Vocals, harmonica
* John Paul Jones – Synthesizer, bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin, recorders
* John Bonham – Drums
Track List:
01. Black Dog (Page/Plant/Jones) – 4:55
02. Rock and Roll (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) – 3:40
03. The Battle of Evermore (Page/Plant) – 5:38
04. Stairway to Heaven (Page/Plant) – 7:55
05. Misty Mountain Hop (Page/Plant/Jones) – 4:39
06. Four Sticks (Page/Plant) – 4:49
07. Going to California (Page/Plant) – 3:36
08. When the Levee Breaks (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham/Memphis Minnie) – 7:08
Link in comments.
Electric Light Orchestra – El Dorado (1974) (@256)
10 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
Formed in October 1970 by Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan (the remaining members of the 1960s rock group The Move), the band used cellos, violin, horns and woodwinds to give their music a classical sound. This was an idea Roy Wood initially had while with The Move to take rock music in a new direction.
After three studio albums, tensions soon surfaced between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. With most of the media attention focused on Wood, differences in musical direction and a disastrous first live outing followed by an uneven tour of Italy took a toll on the Wood-Lynne friendship. The band went through the first of its many line-up changes as Wood took cellist Hugh McDowell and horn player Bill Hunt with him to form Wizzard.
Despite the music press’s predictions that the band would fold without Wood, who had been the driving force behind the creation of Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne stepped up to lead the band. They identified their own territory, and laid claim to it in the best way possible with what is arguably the best album of their entire career. “Eldorado” (sub-titled “a Symphony by the Electric Light Orchestra”) is a symphonic concept album about “goings on in a dream world”, which fuses bombastic orchestration with supreme melodies, and a notable variety of styles.
One can only speculate what Roy Wood must have thought when he heard “Eldorado”. Undoubtedly it contained everything he had declared Electric Light Orchestra intended to represent when he was one of the project’s main protagonists. Electric Light Orchestra’s early albums, including the one Wood played on, failed to meet the lofty ambitions laid out for them of “picking up where the Beatles left off with “I am the walrus”. With “Eldorado”, they arguably fulfilled that ambition.
Line-up:
* Jeff Lynne – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards
* Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
* Richard Tandy – piano, moog synthesiser, guitar, backing vocals
* Mike de Albuquerque – bass
* Mik Kaminski – violin
* Hugh McDowell – cello
* Mike Edwards – cello
* Peter Forbes-Robertson – spoken word “Eldorado Overture”
Track List:
01. El Dorado Overture (2:12)
02. Can’t Get it Out of My Head (4:26)
03. Boy Blue (5:17)
04. Laredo Tornado (5:26)
05. Poorboy (The Greenwood) (2:56)
06. Mister Kingdom (5:50)
07. Nobody’s Child (3:40)
08. Illusions in ‘G’ Major (2:36)
09. El Dorado (5:20)
10. El Dorado – Finale (1:20)
11. El Dorado (Instrumental Medley) (Bonus)
12. Dark City (Bonus)
Link in comments.
Family – Anyway (1970) (@320)
09 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com)
From one album to the next, you could never be sure what you’d get from these guys — but they never sounded like aynyone else. Anyway was released as 1/2 live & 1/2 studio, but all new material. The live tracks are mostly excellent songs (I could do without “Willow Tree”), well performed, but the recording quality is mediocre. Given the paucity of live Familiy recordings, it’s best not to quibble.
The studio tracks from the original release almost flow together as a suite of the unusual, challenging but very rewarding songs that typified Family. If there is a quintessential Family song in the unreal variety of their work, that song may be the title track of Anyway. The vocal and instrumental backing seem to be going in 2 different directions, both complex, with an unusual rhythm to boot. Yet it does hold together beautifully. Lots of violin (apparently John Weider) touches, a bit of vibes & Roger Chapman alternatively bellowing & crooning.
Line-up:
- Roger Chapman / vocals, percussion
- John ’Charlie’ Whitney / guitars, bass
- John Weider / guitars, violin, bass, percussion
- Robert Townsend / drums, percussion
- John ‘Poli’ Palmer / vibes, piano, flute, percussion
Track List:
01. Good News, Bad News (8:06)
02. Willow Tree (4:39)
03. Holding The Compass (4:28)
04. Strange Band (3:34)
05. Part Of The Load (4:40)
06. Anyway (3:28)
07. Normans (4:21)
08. Lives and Ladies (6:37)
09. Strange Band (Bonus Alternate Version) (2:31)
10. Part of the Load (Bonus Live) (9:44)
11. Lives and Ladies (Bonus Live) (8:04)
Links in comments.
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin III (1970) (@320)
08 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.co.uk, wikipedia)
For the composition of their third album, Led Zeppelin III, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales, in 1970. This would result in a more acoustic sound than previously exhibited by the group (and a song, “Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp”). Strongly influenced by folk and Celtic music, the album revealed a different side of the band’s versatility.
This album is kicked off with Immigrant Song, the fast-paced rocker that would go on to become the most popular song on this album. It’s an excellent song, however, it doesn’t speak for the rest of the album. Being both the first track and the most popular song to emerge from the album, you’d expect the other tracks to be similar in style. Well, the opposite couldn’t be more true. As a whole, this is probably the most different-sounding Led Zeppelin album. The second track is a folksy-styled acoustic track. Although this isn’t what the average person is used to hearing from the band, it’s a solid track nonetheless. It’s followed up by Celebration Day, which uses similar stylings to its predecessor but throws some electric guitars in the mix to keep things interesting. The most underrated track on this entire album would have to be Gallows Pole. If you want an excellent Led Zeppelin track that gives you everything, you’ve come to the right place. Don’t overlook this little gem! The band also tries their hand at some simplistic acoustic-style songs, Tangerine and That’s The Way. The band is generally recognized by fans for its hard rock sound, so it’s easy to overlook the softer stuff – and it’s actually quite good! Two pretty strange songs finish off the album. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp is a another folksy-style track, which sounds like it had some Bob Dylan influence. Hats Off To (Roy) Harper finishes off the album. It’s an old blues song that gets an excellent update. Strange as they may be, these closing songs are still excellent.
The album’s opening track, “Immigrant Song”, was released in November 1970 by Atlantic Records released as a single against the band’s wishes (Atlantic had earlier released an edited version of “Whole Lotta Love” which cut the 5:34 song to 3:10, removing the abstract middle movement). It included their only non-album b-side, “Hey Hey What Can I Do”. Even though the band saw their albums as indivisible, whole listening experiences — and their manager, Peter Grant, maintained an aggressive pro-album stance — some singles were released without their consent. The group also increasingly resisted television appearances, enforcing their preference that their fans hear and see them live in person.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals, banjo
* Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
* John Paul Jones – bass, organ, synths, mandolin, backing vocals
* John Bonham – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Track List:
01. Immigrant Song (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant) – 2:25
02. Friends (Page, Plant) – 3:54
03. Celebration Day (Page, Plant, John Paul Jones) – 3:29
04. Since I’ve Been Loving You (Page, Plant, Jones) – 7:23
05. Out on the Tiles (Page, Plant, John Bonham) – 4:07
06. Gallows Pole (trad. arr. Page, Plant) – 4:56
07. Tangerine (Page) – 3:10
08. That’s the Way (Page, Plant) – 5:37
09. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (Page, Plant, Jones) – 4:16
10. Hats Off to (Roy) Harper (trad.) – 3:42
Link in comments.
Still Life – Still Life (1971) (@256)
08 Apr 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com, progarchives.com)
Still Life arose from the ashes of Coventry outfit “The Peeps”, who became “The Rainbows”. Included in the line up of both those bands was Roye Albrighton, who left before they become Still Life. At the time Albrighton left, The Rainbows were playing some dates in Hamburg. He remained behind there, going on to form Nektar.
Still Life released their first and only album on the Vertigo-label in 1971. Their music was organ-based progressive rock. The organ-player had a warm, atmospheric and very typical progressive sound on his organ, but his playing never went into very virtuosi solo-passages as the songs on the album were more based in strong and structured melodies than instrumental exercises. The opening number “People in Black” was very representative for the album. Good melodies sung with strong vocal-harmonies and with the earlier mentioned organ-sound as the instrumental foundation in the sound. “Don’t Go” is a good ballad and the best example of the band’s vocal-harmonies. “October Witches” is also a great song, but maybe a bit repetitive. The maybe best song on the album is in my opinion the more acoustic-based “Love Song No.6 (I Never Love You Girl)”. A superb song with a great melody and tasty arrangement. “Dreams” is much harder rocking, with a catchy and aggressive chorus. The closing number “Time” is on the other hand mediocre and stands as the weakest song here. But most of the album is a very nice slice of organ-based progressive rock, and is recommended for everyone who just can’t get enough of that early 70′s feel and atmosphere.
Line-up:
- Martin Cure / vocal
- Graham Amos / bass
- Terry Howells / keyboards
- Alan Savage / drums
Track List:
01. People In Black (8:20)
02. Don’t Go (4:37)
03. October Witches (8:05)
04. Love Song No. 6 (6:37)
05. Dreams (7:34)
06. Time (6:26)
Link in comments.
Allman Brothers Band – Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas (1972-75) (@320)
08 Apr 2007
Request of Zdenko Milos.
(Review from allmusic.com, wikipedia)
This double live album was released by Capricorn Records largely as a way of raising money in a hurry, but it fares surprisingly well musically. Released after the group had already dissolved in acrimony, the album did not attract much praise or even attention at the time. The band did not like the selections and the record also inevitably suffered by comparison to their classic 1971 At Fillmore East, generally considered one of the best live albums of all time.
The 1973-1974 Allman Brothers Band featured here is the one that most fans actually saw, since most listeners didn’t discover them or get to their concerts until after the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. Wipe the Windows isn’t a landmark release like the Fillmore tapes — a collection of rock’s greatest guitar albums could be complete without it. But no Allman Brothers Band fan should pass up Wipe the Windows, which is a most solid live album, and, in particular, a better representation of the songs off of Brothers and Sisters and Win, Lose or Draw than the original studio versions. “Southbound,” “Ramblin’ Man,” “Jessica,” and, to a lesser degree, “Wasted Words” come off exceptionally well. This second-generation band, with Dickey Betts as the sole lead guitar and Gregg Allman and Chuck Leavell sharing the keyboards, also performs a preconceived version of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” — they could never spark more fire than the version from the Fillmore, so they transform it into a moodier piece with more space for the keyboards to open up. Compiled from shows in New Orleans, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Oakland, and Watkins Glen (New York).
Line-up:
* Gregg Allman — lead vocals, organ, clavinet, guitar
* Richard Betts — lead vocals, lead guitar, slide guitar
* Chuck Leavell — piano, electric piano, background vocals
* Lamar Williams — electric bass
* Jaimoe — drums, percussion
* Butch Trucks — drums, percussion, tympani
Track List:
01. Introduction by Bill Graham – 1:05
02. Wasted Words (Allman) – 5:10
03. Southbound (Betts) – 6:03
04. Ramblin’ Man (Betts) – 7:09
05. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Betts) – 17:19
06. Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More (Allman) – 5:41
07. Come and Go Blues (Allman) – 5:05
08. Can’t Lose What You Never Had (Waters) – 6:43
09. Don’t Want You No More (Davis, Hardin) – 2:48
10. It’s Not My Cross to Bear (Allman) – 5:23
11. Jessica (Betts) – 9:05
Tracks 2-5 recorded at the Winterland, San Francisco, September 26, 1973.
Track 6 recorded at The Warehouse, New Orleans, December 31, 1972.
Track 7 recorded at the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, July 28, 1973.
Tracks 8-10 recorded at the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium, Bakersfield, California, October 22, 1975.
Track 11 recorded the Oakland Coliseum, October 24, 1975.
Links in comments.
Artwoods – Art Gallery (1966) (@256)
08 Apr 2007
(Review from wikipedia)
The Artwoods were formed in 1963, and over the next two years became an extremely popular live attraction, rivaling groups such as the Animals, although, despite releasing a clutch of singles and an album, their record sales never reflected this popularity. Singer Arthur Wood, from whom the band took their name, was the elder brother of The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood. He had been a vocalist with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated for a short period during 1962, simultaneously fronting his own group, the Art Wood Combo..
When keyboardist Jon Lord and guitarist Derek Griffiths joined from Red Bludd’s Bluesicians they re-christened themselves the Artwoods. Keef Hartley, formerly with Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, joined on drums in ’64 and the band turned professional, secured a residency at London’s 100 Club and gained a recording contract with Decca Records. The Artwoods’ only album was an enjoyable mixture of club-oriented soul, R&B, and jazz with a strong organ spice.
Their early records today stand up well against the work of more successful groups such as the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds or ironically, the Birds, who included Art’s younger brother Ron. But at the time they came out, despite appearances on programs like Ready, Steady, Go! their singles never seemed to connect with the record-buying public. In live performance, on the other hand, it was a different matter. They had a virtuoso lineup, Lord’s piano and organ sound was a great complement to Wood’s singing, Griffith’s guitar work was tastefully flashy, and Keef Hartley was animated as well as powerful, with a big sound on the drums. Club audiences always knew they were good for a great show and the band loved playing live. Ultimately, in fact, the group’s success in touring and their love of playing live may have hurt them.
The group broke up in mid ’67 with Hartley going on to play with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers,Malcolm Pool played with Colosseum and Lord becoming a founder member of Deep Purple.
Line-up:
* Art Wood – vocals
* Derek Griffiths – guitar
* Jon Lord – keyboards
* Malcolm Pool – bass guitar
* Keef Hartley – drums
Track List:
01. Can You Hear Me?
02. Down in the Valley
03. Things Get Better
04. Walk on the Wild Side
05. I Keep Forgettin’
06. I Keep Lookin’
07. One More Heartache
08. Work, Work, Work
09. Be My Lady
10. If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
11. Stop and Think It Over
12. Don’t Cry No More
13. Sweet Mary (Bonus)
14. If I Ever Get My Hands on You (Bonus)
15. Goodbye Sisters (Bonus)
16. She Knows What to Do (Bonus)
17. I Take What I Want (Bonus)
18. I Feel Good (Bonus)
19. What Shall I Do (Bonus)
20. In the Deep End (Bonus)
21. These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ (Bonus)
22. Taste of Honey (Bonus)
23. Our Man Flint (Bonus)
24. Routine (Bonus)
25. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (Bonus)
26. Al’s Party (Bonus)
Links in comments.
Curved Air – Air Conditioning (1970) (@320)
08 Apr 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
Fronted by the excellent female-vocals of Sonja Kristina and the classical influenced violin playing by Darryl Way, Curved Air sounded like no other progressive band. This was their debut-album and it’s also a historical album because it was history’s first LP-sized picture disc! Musically it was also a successful debut stuffed with good material and the classic Curved Air sound. Even their bastardization of Vivaldi makes some quite entertaining listening. The opening track “It Happened Today” shows many sides of Curved Air’s music. A rocking and catchy vocal-part that gets relieved by a beautiful and atmospheric violin part. The instrumental “Rob One” is another fine example of Way’s excellent and emotional playing. Other great tracks include the sinister “Screw”, the light and nice acoustic piece “Blind Man”, the dark “Situations” and “Hide and Seek”. You also get a non-progressive but excellent rock track in “Stretch”. Overall a very good debut-album, but even better things was still to come!
Line-up:
- Sonja Kristina / lead vocal
- Darryl Way / electric violin, vocal
- Francis Monkman / lead guitar, organ, piano, Mellotron, electric Harpsicord, special effects equipement and VCS3 synthesizer
- Robert Martin / bass guitar
- Florian Pilkington-Miksa / drums
Track List:
01. It Happened Today (4:55)
02. Stretch (4:05)
03. Screw (4:03)
04. Blind Man (3:32)
05. Vivaldi (7:26)
06. Hide and Seek (6:15)
07. Propositions (3:04)
08. Rob One (3:22)
09. Situations (6:17)
10. Vivaldi with Cannons (1:35)
Link in comments.
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II (1969) (@320)
08 Apr 2007
(Review from amazon.com, wikipedia)
The immediate success of the first album kick-started the band’s career, especially in the United States. In their first year of existence, Led Zeppelin managed to complete four US and four UK concert tours, as well as find time to release their second album, entitled Led Zeppelin II. Recorded almost entirely on the road at various North American recording studios, the second album was an even greater success.
Led Zeppelin II, for the most part, follows the same blues-based rock stylings of its predecessor, but it throws in just enough new elements to keep things sounding fresh. Whole Lotta Love, a hard and heavy classic rocker that would go on to become one of the band’s biggest hits of all, kicks off the album. When you’re starting an album, the first track should always grab the listener’s attention and hold it – and here the band succeeded beautifully. Several hits emerged from this album including the medley of Heartbreaker and Living Loving Maid (She’s Just A Woman), as well as the classic Ramble On. All of these songs receive classic rock airplay even to this day, and it’s no surprise why – these songs flat out rule. And, of course, the tracks that weren’t hits were no slouches either. What Is And What Should Never Be is an excellent rocker that should have gotten more popularity than it did, and even the frequently-bashed Lemon Song is actually pretty good. The album’s love song, Thank You, is another masterpiece. Moby Dick and Bring It On Home finish the album off, and do a damn good job of it. All in all, another excellent album that doesn’t suffer from that dreaded sophomore jinx.
Following the album’s release Led Zeppelin made several more tours of the United States. They played often, initially in clubs and ballrooms, then in larger auditoriums as their popularity grew. Led Zeppelin concerts could last more than three hours, with expanded, improvised live versions of their song repertoire.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitar, backing vocals, producer
* Robert Plant – Vocals, harmonica
* John Paul Jones – Bass guitar, organ (music), backing vocals
* John Bonham – Drums, backing vocals
Track List:
01. Whole Lotta Love (Bonham/Dixon/Jones/Page/Plant) – 5:34
02. What Is and What Should Never Be (Page/Plant) – 4:46
03. The Lemon Song (Howlin’ Wolf/Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 6:18
04. Thank You (Page/Plant) – 4:47
05. Heartbreaker (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant) – 4:14
06. Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman) (Page/Plant) – 2:38
07. Ramble On (Page/Plant) – 4:24
08. Moby Dick (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 4:21
09. Bring It on Home (Dixon/Page/Plant) – 4:21
Link in comments.
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin I (1969) (@320)
07 Apr 2007
(Review from wikipedia, amazon.com)
The beginnings of Led Zeppelin can be traced back to the English blues-influenced rock band The Yardbirds. The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968. However, they were still committed to perform several concerts in Scandinavia, so McCarty and Relf authorised Page and bassist Chris Dreja to use the Yardbirds name to fulfil the band’s obligations. Page and Dreja began putting a new line-up together. Page’s first choice for lead singer, Terry Reid, declined the offer, but suggested Robert Plant, a Birmingham singer he knew. Plant eventually accepted the position, recommending a drummer, John Bonham from nearby Redditch. When Dreja opted out of the project to become a photographer — he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin’s debut album — Jones, at the suggestion of his wife, contacted Page about the vacant position. Being familiar with Jones’ credentials, Page agreed to bring in Jones as the final piece.
The band completed the Scandinavian tour as “The New Yardbirds”. After some discussion, “Led Zeppelin” was chosen as a new name. Who drummer Keith Moon suggested that they would go over with audiences “like a lead zeppelin” The group deliberately dropped the ‘a’ in Lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, to prevent “thick Americans” from pronouncing it as “leed”.
Shortly after their first tour, the group’s self-titled first album was released on January 12, 1969. Its blend of blues, folk, and eastern influences with distorted amplification made it one of the pivotal records in the creation of heavy metal. The album took about 36 hours of studio time to create (including mixing). Since the band had not yet signed their deal with Atlantic Records, Page and manager Peter Grant paid for the sessions entirely themselves, thus there was no record company money to waste on excessive studio time.
As it turned out, Led Zeppelin’s infamous 1969 debut album was indicative of the decade to come–one that, fittingly, this band helped define with its decadently exaggerated, bowdlerized blues-rock. Pumping up blues classics such as Otis Rush’s “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “How Many More Times” into near-cartoon parodies, the band also hinted at things to come with the manic “Communication Breakdown” and the lumbering set stopper “Dazed and Confused.”
The album’s closer “How Many More Times” was listed as 5 minutes shorter on record sleeve deliberately in order to trick radio stations into playing the song.
Line-up:
* Jimmy Page – Acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitar, backing vocals, producer
* Robert Plant – Vocals, harmonica
* John Paul Jones – Bass guitar, organ, keyboards, backing vocals
* John Bonham – Drums, tympani, backing vocals
Track List:
01. Good Times Bad Times (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 2:46
02. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (Bredon/Page & Plant) – 6:41
03. You Shook Me (Dixon/Lenoir) – 6:28
04. Dazed and Confused (Page) – 6:26
05. Your Time Is Gonna Come (Jones/Page) – 4:34
06. Black Mountain Side (Page) – 2:14
07. Communication Breakdown (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 2:27
08. I Can’t Quit You Baby (Dixon) – 4:42
09. How Many More Times (Bonham/Jones/Page) – 8:28
Link in comments.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Brain Salad Surgery (1973) (@256)
07 Apr 2007
(Review from vintageprog.com)
“Tarkus” may be Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s best track, but their best album is in my opinion “Brain Salad Surgery”. This is just how over the top Emerson, Lake & Palmer could be without falling down on the other side of it like they did later. The album opens with an absolutely beautiful version of the old English hymn “Jerusalem”. Hearing Lake’s wonderful voice against Emerson’s mighty church-organ gives me goosebumps every time. Then you’re in for one of Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s most experimental pieces ever with a version of Ginastera’s “Toccata”. The organ-parts are in the vein of the most aggressive parts from “Tarkus” while the synths and electronic parts is some of the weirdest and most freaked-out playing Emerson ever did. The first self-written track on the album comes in the form of Lake’s magic “Still…You Turn Me On”. This is easily one of his strongest songs ever. Oh, and Peter Sinfield was now the man who wrote the lyrics for the band, making sure that they delivered top-notch stuff in that department too! Unfortunately, you then have to suffer through a few minutes of 100% pure garbage in “Benny the Bouncer”. Sorry, guys, you’re not funny at all so you should better focusing on making good progressive rock instead of pretending to be comedians. And that was just what the boys did on the rest of the album that consisted of the 30-minute “Karn Evil 9″. The piece was so long that they actually had to start it on side 1 and then continue it on the whole of side 2! Only “Tarkus” can rival this masterpiece as Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s best composition ever. This is keyboard-based progressive rock-heaven stuffed with masterful instrumental-passages, strong riffs, themes and melodies all the way through. A stunning masterpiece in the history of progressive rock! But time would show that this was also Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s last classic album.
Line-up:
- Keith Emerson / organ, piano, Harpsichord, accordion, Custom-built Moog synths, Moog polyphonic ensemble, vocals on “Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression – Part 1)”
- Greg Lake / vocals, bass, Zemaitis electric 6-string and 12-string guitars
- Carl Palmer / drums, percussion, percussion synthesizers
Track List:
01. Jerusalem (2:44)
02. Toccata (7:23)
03. Still… You Turn Me On (2:53)
04. Benny The Bouncer (2:21)
05. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression – Part 1) (8:44)
06. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression – Part 2) (4:47)
07. Karn Evil 9 (2nd Impression) (7:07)
08. Karn Evil 9 (3rd Impression) (9:03)
Link in comments.
Uriah Heep – Live At Shepperton '74 (@192)
06 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
The recordings on this album are taken from a Television special that Uriah Heep recorded in 1974. Although the special was never actually broadcast, a number of extracts from it appeared on the now deleted “Easy Livin’, a history of Uriah Heep” video. The performance was never intended for commercial release in any format, but with the ongoing demand for Byron era material by the band, a belated release took place in 1986.
The original album was rather brief, but this was rectified by the remastered version, which incorporates a number of additional tracks from the same performance, plus some other relevant additions. A few of the tracks duplicate the superior versions on the “Live 1973” album, but as these recordings took place around the time of the release of the “Wonderworld” album, tracks from that album and “Sweet Freedom” also appear.
The performance by the band is not one of their best, tempered perhaps by the fact that they were conscious of the need to appeal visually as well as audibly. The recording quality too reflects the fact that it was intended only for television broadcast.
While it is good to hear early live versions of tracks such as “Sweet freedom” and “Stealin’”, only the emotive ballad “The easy road” shines through as anything more than average here. Uriah Heep made one of the best live albums ever. Unfortunately, this wasn’t it!
Line-up:
- David Byron / vocals
- Mick Box / guitar, vocals
- Gary Thain / bass, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, vocals
Track List:
01. Easy Livin’ (4:01)
02. So Tired (3.32)
03. I Won’t Mind (5:54)
04. Sweet Freedom (6:59)
05. Something Or Nothing (3:21)
06. The Easy Road (2:49)
07. Stealin’ (5:26)
08. Love Machine (2:23)
09. Rock ‘N’ Roll Medley (7:45)
10. Out-Takes (5:28)
a) The Easy Road
b) Sleazy Livin’
c) Easy Livin’
11. Stealin’ (6:19)
Link in comments.
Nektar – Journey To The Centre Of The Eye (1971) (@256)
06 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
As much as I enjoy Nektar’s 70s repertoire as a whole, I must admit than their first opus is their best, a stunning piece of psych-oriented symphonic prog that was not to be surpassed or even equalled by their following efforts. The Nektar guys were residents in Germany for a number of years, and maybe this is the factor that explains their notable approaches to krautrock stuff (hence, the Pink Floyd influence through a Teutonic filter), while keeping a very distinctive British sense of melodic textures, already present in Procol Harum, Nice and Moody Blues. This concept album is centered on the narrative about an astronaut’s adventure in his travel to a different universe, in which he learns some peace of mind, but also witnesses the sad nuclear holocaust of Planet Earth. The somber, pessimistic thorough mood is properly conveyed by the agressive guitar riffs, solos and effects, the opressive organ chords and harmonics, the dramatic layers on mellotron, as well as the recurrently affected vocal leads and ensembles: the instrumental ensemble works fluidly and proficiently, with a special mention to Moore’s powerful bass sound, sometimes achieving a co-starring role next to the lead guitar. Generally speaking, the melodic lines are inspired and touching, hence allowing the tracks maintain an even level of intensity and evocative grandeur along as the album goes on. But still you can find some particular highlights: the melancholy beauty of ‘Astronauts Nightmare’, the prog pomp in ‘Burn Out My Eyes’, the emotional climax in the sequence of tracks 10-13, with the Haendelian ‘Countenance’ and the hyperfloydian ‘Warp Oversight’ as the most stunning instrumental sections.
Line-up:
- Roye Albrighton / guitars, vocals
- Mick Brockett / liquid lights
- Allan “Taff” Freeman / Mellotron, pianos, organ, vocals
- Ron Howden / drums, percussion
- Derek “Mo” Moore / Mellotron, bass vocals
- Keith Walters / static slides
Track List:
01. Prelude (1:27)
02. Astronauts Nightmare (6:22)
03. Countenance (3:30)
04. The Nine Lifeless Daughters of the Sun (2:41)
05. Warp Oversight (4:28)
06. The Dream Nebula (2:14)
07. The Dream Nebula Part II (2:25)
08. It’s All in the Mind (3:22)
09. Burn Out My Eyes (7:48)
10. Void of Vision (2:01)
11. Pupil of the Eye (2:46)
12. Look Inside Yourself (0:53)
13. Death of the Mind (2:52)
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Whitesnake – Ready an' Willing (1980) (@256)
06 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com, amazon.com)
Back in 1980, Whitesnake guitarists Bernie Marsden and Mick Moody played big, bluesy guitar riffs and short, sparse solos, Coverdale didn’t yet dye his hair, and the music was raw and powerful.
David Coverdale and company were growing increasingly more consistent and self-assured with each record, and this album’s first half shows great progress over the previous year’s Lovehunter. Opener “Fool for Your Lovin’” was their best single yet, as well as their highest charting; with its clever combination of hit-savy chorus and authentic bluesy resignation, it set the template for subsequent triumphs. Further highlights include the live favorite “Sweet Talker” (given extra bite by Micky Moody’s expert slide guitar), the groove monster of a title track, and a set of memorable ballads in “Blindman” and “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More.”
Line-up:
* David Coverdale – vocals
* Micky Moody – guitars
* Bernie Marsden – guitars
* Jon Lord – keyboards
* Neil Murray – bass
* Ian Paice – drums
Track List:
01. Fool for Your Loving
02. Sweet Talker
03. Ready an’ Willing
04. Carry Your Load
05. Blindman
06. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More
07. Love Man
08. Black and Blue
09. She’s a Woman
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Uriah Heep – Conquest (1980) (@256)
05 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Generally accepted as the low point of the band’s studio career, “Conquest” has little to recommend it even to the most ardent fan. This was to be Ken Hensley’s last album with the band, and it is a real travesty that his parting album should be so poor.
To be fair, the main problem with the album is the vocals of John Lawton’s replacement John Sloman. The ex Lone Star singer has a good voice which fitted in well with the music of that band. Unfortunately, his style did not suit the music of Uriah Heep at all. Hensley soon recognised this, leading to a major personality clash between the two. Hensley thus departed after the album had been released, leaving Mick Box as the only original member.
Lee Kerslake’s replacement Chris Slade (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) makes a much better go of the drums, but it’s doubtful whether he saw his membership of the band as anything other than a temporary appointment.
The songwriting credits are slightly more distributed than on previous albums, although Hensley still manages sole or partial credit on six of the eight tracks. Songs like “Imagination” and Trevor Boulder’s “Fools” would have sounded good if performed by Lawton, but Sloman seems to constantly struggle to identify with them, in fact he seems at times to be completely out of his depth. There are occasional moments of inspiration, such as the synthesiser and guitar interplay on “Out on the street”, and the synth driven ballad “It ain’t easy” (which also suits Sloman’s vocals better), but generally the album lacks inspiration and focus. It seems clear that had the album been made by a previous line up of the band, the songs could have been developed into much stronger pieces (the potential IS there), and the performance too would have been much tighter.
After Hensley’s departure, Sloman’s former band mate in Pulsar, Greg Dechart was brought in on keyboards on a temporary basis. Two of the tracks he recorded with Uriah Heep appear as bonus tracks on the CD remaster of “Conquest”, but they sound nothing like Uriah Heep. The band then effectively split up altogether, founding vocalist David Byron having declined an offer to rejoin Box and Boulder. Box was to pull things together again later on, but the road back would be long and difficult.
Line-up:
- Mick Box / guitars
- John Sloman / lead & backing vocals, piano, percussion
- Chris Slade / Staccato drums, percussion
- Trevor Bolder / bass guitar
- Ken Hensley / obx, vocoder, organ, piano, guitars, backing vocals
Track List:
01. No Return (6:02)
02. Imagination (5:49)
03. Feelings (5:26)
04. Fools (5:03)
05. Carry On (3:57)
06. Won’t Have To Wait Too Long (4:54)
07. Out On The Street (5:57)
08. It Ain’t Easy (5:45)
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Doobie Brothers – Doobie Brothers (1971) (@320)
05 Apr 2007
(Review from classicbands.com, amazon.co.uk)
Modeled roughly on the three-guitar, three-part vocal harmony sound of the San Francisco band Moby Grape, The Doobie Brothers were founded in San Jose, California in 1970. The blending of the folk-style finger-picking of Pat Simmons with the rough-hewn rock licks of Tom Johnston, whose soulful lead vocals gave the band its initial distinctive sound, helped to define what would become known as the California sound of the 70s.
The Doobie Brothers’ debut album, released to a largely uncaring world in 1971, produced no hit singles. This seems strange in retrospect. Listening to the album today, one can hear that the Doobies’ template (albeit sans the ultra-catchy pop hooks) was already pretty much in place. The band’s trademark gospel harmonies are locked in here, as are their shimmering, finger-picked acoustic (and occasional electric) guitars and feel-good post-hippie vibe.
The album’s sedate, almost folk-music feel (check out the concluding acoustic blues, “Chicago”) is also somewhat strange when you consider that the Doobie Brothers had spent the preceding years as thehouse band for the San Jose chapter of the Hell’s Angels. In any case, this is a solid and obviously promising album, with the most rocking cut being a cover of Randy Newman’s “The Beehive State”. Although the album doesn’t near the pop-rock heights the band would refine in later years, it is a solid effort with a dash of country, a dash of boogie, and somefine songwriting.
Line-up:
* Tom Johnston – guitar, harmonica, piano, harp, vocals
* Pat Simmons – guitar, vocals
* Dave Shogren – bass, organ, keyboards, vocals
* John Hartman – drums
Track List:
01. Nobody (Johnston) – 3:42
02. Slippery St. Paul (Simmons, Johnston) – 2:14
03. Greenwood Creek (Johnston) – 3:04
04. It Won’t Be Right (Johnston) – 2:38
05. Travelin’ Man (Johnston) – 4:25
06. Feelin’ Down Farther (Johnston) – 4:20
07. The Master (Johnston) – 3:30
08. Growin’ a Little Each Day (Johnston) – 3:20
09. Beehive State (Randy Newman) – 2:42
10. Closer Every Day (Simmons) – 4:19
11. Chicago (Simmons) – 1:40
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Gong – You (1973) (@224)
05 Apr 2007
Request of John.
(Review from progarchives.com)
“You” is the third and final installment of the “Radio Gnome Invisible” trilogy set and in my humble opinion is Gong’s best work. Anyone out there who love space rock or fusionish jams will definitely love this album. Mostly gone from “You “ is the classic Gong silliness that embodies most of their albums and stands out as their characteristic watermark. Fans of England’s Ozric Tentacles should definitely check out this album as it obviously had an influence on their sound. One of the most intriguing aspects of this album is Gong’s ability to shift abruptly from harmless, sunny-day pop music a la Beatles (the opening two tracks) to an ominous, mystical fury a la Mahavishnu Orchestra (“Master Builder,” and the band’s masterpiece, “A Sprinkling of Clouds”). “You” is for me the perfect mix of Tim Blake’s sea of synthesizers, Didier Malherbe’s sax offset by Steve Hillage’s wild guitar frenzies, Gilli Smythe’s ‘space whispers and the thunderous rhythm section of Howlett and Pierre Moerlen. At the helm remains the zainy yet inspired Daevid Allen who continues to paint his convoluted musical story of Zero the Hero, Octave Doctors, and the Pot-Head Pixies. This is by far Gong’s most instrumental album in their Daevid Allen days, as there is tons of absolutely killer jams. “A Sprinkling of Clouds” is simply one of the best Gong songs I have ever heard, with tons of great, spacy synths, lots of guitar jams, and at the end, killer bamboo flutes. Wow… what else could you ask for ?
Line-up:
- Daevid Allen / vocals, glissando guitar
- Mireille Bauer / percussion
- Tim Blake / Moog & EMS synths, Mellotron
- Steve Hillage / lead guitar
- Mike Howlett / bass guitar
- Didier Malherbe / saxes, flute, vocals
- Benoît Moerlen / percussion
- Pierre Moerlen / drums, percussion
- Gilli Smyth / wee voices, chorus
- Shakti Yoni / poem & space whispers
Track List:
01. Thoughts for Naught (1:30)
02. A P.H.P.’s Advice (1:37)
03. Magick Mother Invocation (2:11)
04. Master Builder (6:09)
05. A Sprinkling of Clouds (8:42)
06. Perfect Mystery (2:25)
07. The Isle of Everywhere (10:21)
08. You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever (11:24)
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Uriah Heep – Fallen Angel (1978) (@256)
05 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
The third and final Uriah Heep album with John Lawton on vocals, and the last for the time being with the long serving Lee Kerslake on drums.
While Ken Hensley still dominates the song writing, the rest of the band also make contributions. Lawton for example wrote 2 tracks, and co-wrote a third. Unfortunately, with Hensley having contributed so much to previous albums, his inspiration appears to be declining rapidly, and the rest of the band do not share his worthy credentials in that field. Understandable as this is, It does make for a somewhat disappointing album. Things would get worse on subsequent output before they got better and taken in context, this is far from being a bummer. The band themselves (Hensley and Box) in the sleeve notes for the 1997 remaster felt that the album was a bit “poppy”, and this a fair description.
Ironically the best track is Lee Kerslake ballad “Come back to me” (co-written with Hensley), written as an anguished plea to his then recently estranged wife. Lawton’s vocals are ideal for the song, which he sings with great passion.
The tracks are all short, the longest being the title track at just over 5 minutes. On “One more night”, Lawton almost carries off an Elvis impersonation, but on most of the tracks, the performance is all too similar and lightweight. In retrospect, it’s all to obvious that the band had taken their eye of the ball, and were drifting away from their roots, into a more commercial area which did not fit well with their strengths. It would be several years until they found their way again.
By the way, the sleeve was a vast improvement from “Innocent victim”, with a rather attractive image of a female warrior who has just vanquished her next meal, in the gatefold cover.
Line-up:
- Mick Box / electric and acoustic guitar
- Trevor Bolder / bass guitar
- John Lawton / lead vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, syn-drums, back-up vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, synthesizer, slide and acoustic guitar, back-up vocals
Track List:
01. Woman Of The Night (4:07)
02. Falling in Love (2:59)
03. One More Night (Last Farewell) (3:35)
04. Put Your Lovin’ On Me (4:08)
05. Come Back To Me (4:22)
06. Whad ‘Ya Say (3:41)
07. Save It (3:33)
08. Love Or Nothing (3:02)
09. I’m Alive (4:18)
10. Fallen Angel (4:51)
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Black Sabbath – Paranoid (1970) (@256)
04 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
Black Sabbath has been so influential in the development of heavy metal rock music as to be a defining force in the style. The group took the blues-rock sound of late ’60s acts like Cream, Blue Cheer, and Vanilla Fudge to its logical conclusion, slowing the tempo, accentuating the bass, and emphasizing screaming guitar solos and howled vocals full of lyrics expressing mental anguish and macabre fantasies. If their predecessors clearly came out of an electrified blues tradition, Black Sabbath took that tradition in a new direction, and in so doing helped give birth to a musical style that continued to attract millions of fans decades later.
Paranoid was not only Black Sabbath’s most popular record, it also stands as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time. Paranoid refined Black Sabbath’s signature sound — crushingly loud, minor-key dirges loosely based on heavy blues-rock — and applied it to a newly consistent set of songs with utterly memorable riffs, most of which now rank as all-time metal classics. Where the extended, multi-sectioned songs on the debut sometimes felt like aimless jams, their counterparts on Paranoid have been given focus and direction, lending an epic drama to now-standards like “War Pigs” and “Iron Man” (which sports one of the most immediately identifiable riffs in metal history). The subject matter is unrelentingly, obsessively dark, covering both supernatural/sci-fi horrors and the real-life traumas of death, war, nuclear annihilation, mental illness, drug hallucinations, and narcotic abuse. Yet Sabbath makes it totally convincing, thanks to the crawling, muddled bleakness and bad-trip depression evoked so frighteningly well by their music. Even the qualities that made critics deplore the album (and the group) for years increase the overall effect — the technical simplicity of Ozzy Osbourne’s vocals and Tony Iommi’s lead guitar vocabulary; the spots when the lyrics sink into melodrama or awkwardness; the lack of subtlety and the infrequent dynamic contrast. Everything adds up to more than the sum of its parts, as though the anxieties behind the music simply demanded that the band achieve catharsis by steamrolling everything in its path, including its own limitations. Monolithic and primally powerful, Paranoid defined the sound and style of heavy metal more than any other record in rock history.
Line-up:
* Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
* Tony Iommi – guitar
* Geezer Butler – bass guitar
* Bill Ward – drums
Track List:
01. War Pigs/Luke’s Wall – 7:57
02. Paranoid – 2:50
03. Planet Caravan – 4:35
04. Iron Man – 5:57
05. Electric Funeral – 4:52
06. Hand of Doom – 7:09
07. Rat Salad – 2:30
08. Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots – 6:16
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Kayak – Eyewitness (1981) (@256)
04 Apr 2007
For Salty Dog, sorry I forgot it :)
(Review from progressiveworld.net)
Originally recorded as a live album containing most of their “hits”, Eyewitness was in fact conceived in the studio! In fact, the band recorded the entire album with a live feel, but without an audience! All of the tracks were recorded in the famous Wisseloord studios in Holland. Later, 200 members of the band’s fanclub were dragged in so their applause could be recorded. The fake audience has not been included on this CD-transfer so what you get here is the “real” sound of the band, how they sounded live without the polished studio treatment.
“Ruthless Queen” remains one of the many highlights in the band’s remarkable career. There’s the funkiness of “Want You To Be Mine” (although I remember having seen Kayak live when I was young (gasp), and hearing that track more in a Uriah Heep fashion) and the driven force of “Chance For A Lifetime” including some superb Moog interventions! There’s an almost disco-feel with “Who’s Fooling Who” before Scherpenzeel can musically show his love for his wife in the instrumental “Irene”, which sounds very much like Camel what with Johan Slager throwing in some cool Latimer chords!
One of the all-time Kayak live favourites, “Starlight Dancer”, is also included here, although it sort of misses what made the studio version so special. Hard and driving is “No Man’s Land” with a versatile Scherpenzeel banging the ivories whilst Slager joins in with some stunning guitar licks. Two interesting bonus tracks have been added here. “Car Enchanter” is a specially recorded version from the Merlin album, recorded for Keystone products. “Ivory Dance ’94″ is a re-recorded instrumental with a nice minimal build-up.
Line-up:
- Edward Reekers / lead vocals
- Peter Scherpenzeel / bass
- Ton Scherpenzeel / keyboards, backing vocals
- Johan Slager / guitars, backing vocals
- Max Werneer / drums, percussion, backing vocals
Track List:
01. Eyewitness (3:21)
02. Periscope Life (4:09)
03. Ruthless Queen (5:05)
04. Want You To Be Mine (4:48)
05. Lyrics (1:59)
06. Chance for a Lifetime (4:22)
07. Who’s Fooling Who (3:44)
08. Irene (3:12)
09. Only You and I Know (3:12)
10. Winning Ways (3:28)
11. Starlight Dancer (4:58)
12. No Man’s Land (5:32)
13. The Car Enchanter (Sikkens Song) (Bonus) (2:36)
14. Ivory Dance (Bonus) (2:51)
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Uriah Heep – Innocent Victim (1977) (@256)
04 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Once you get past the rather grotesque and somewhat inappropriate cover picture, Uriah Heep’s second album with John Lawton on vocals is a pleasant, if rather lightweight offering.
The songs are pretty straightforward, leaning more towards melodic rock than prog. Once again, Hensley favours his synthesiser over the Hammond organ sound which laid the foundations of the band’s early work, creating a more orchestral backing. There are a couple of good ballads in “Choices” which has great power, and the softer “Illusion. “Free me” is a catchy pop tune. It’s not exactly challenging but should have been at least a minor hit in the UK, as it was in several other countries.
“The dance” is almost funky, a style which suits Lawton’s voice far better than it would have Byron’s. Finally, there are a number of more traditional rock tracks such as “Keep on ridin’”, “Flyin’ high” “Free’n'easy” and “Cheat’n'lie”
Ultimately I am left with a feeling that the band’s inspiration, and especially Hensley’s, is drying up rapidly. This is perhaps further evidenced by the fact that non band member Jack Williams wrote two of the songs, and co-wrote a third with Hensley.
Line-up:
- Mick Box / guitars
- John Lawton / vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboard, guitars, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Trevor Bolder / bass
Track List:
01. Keep On Ridin’ (3:41)
02. Flyin’ High (3:18)
03. Roller (4:38)
04. Free ‘N’ Easy (3:02)
05. Illusion (5:02)
06. Free Me (3:35)
07. Cheat ‘N’ Lie (4:50)
08. The Dance (4:49)
09. Choices (5:42)
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Gravy Train – A Ballad of a Peaceful Man (1971) (@256)
03 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Gravy Train’s “A Ballad of a Peaceful Man” is a magnificient work of art and may represent one of the 70′s most impressive albums. Combining delicate prog (aka Jade Warrior and King Crimson’s “In The Court of the Crimson King”) with well timed and thought out harsher explosive moments and extended jams. “A Ballad Of A Peaceful Man” is filled with heavy psychy guitar, loads of delicious analog keyboard parts and a lot of amazing flute playing. One word of caution is that lead vocalist Norman Barrett has a very distinctive heavy sound which I love but may not appeal to everybody out there. I actually think that my love affair with Gravy Train’s music rests somewhere in the cleverness and beauty of the musical contrast these guys deliver.
Line-up:
- Norman Barrett / lead guitar & lead vocals
- Barry Davenport: drums & percussion
- J. D. Hugues / flute, keyboards, saxophone, vocals
- Les Williams / bass & backing vocals
Track List:
01. Alone in Georgia (4:35)
02. (A Ballad of) A Peaceful Man (7:06)
03. Jule’s Delight (6:58)
04. Messenger (5:58)
05. Can Anybody Hear Me (2:59)
06. Old Tin Box (4:45)
07. Won’t Talk About It (3:00)
08. Home Again (3:25)
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Vanilla Fudge – Near the Beginning (1969) (@320)
03 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
Nowadays Vanilla Fudge is a bit forgotten and unknown within the world of progressive rock. It seems that their captivating progressive blend of rock, soul and psychedelia doesn’t appeal to most of the (younger) progheads. But in the second half of the sixties Vanilla Fudge was a highly acclaimed band, both by public and the press. Famous progressive rock acts with their heydays in the seventies like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and even Yes pointed at Vanilla Fudge as an important source of inspiration.
Vanilla Fudge’s fourth album entitled Near the Beginning: everything between soul, rock, blues, classic, symphonic and gospel is in their compositions, loaded with excellent, very Hendrix inspired guitarplay (lots of wah-wah), powerful floods of Hammond organ, strong vocals and a splendid, very dynamic rhythm- section. Side one contains 2 covers (Junior Walker & The All-Stars hit Shotgun and Some Velvet Morning of Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood) and side two contains the 20 minute live track Break Song, the alternating highlight featuring lots of great soli.
Line-up:
- Carmine Appice / drums
- Tim Bogert / bass
- Vince Martell / guitar, lead vocals
- Mark Stein / organ, keyboards
Track List:
01. Shotgun (6:12)
02. Some Velvet Morning (7:28)
03. Where Is Happiness (7:03)
04. Break Song (23:23)
05. Look Of Long (Bonus) (2:49)
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Uriah Heep – Firefly (1977) (@256)
02 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
While the history of Uriah Heep is littered with line up changes, the single most important one in terms of their sound took place between the previous album, “High and Mighty”, and this one. With David Byron having been sacked as lead vocalist, John Lawton (ex Lucifer’s Child) was brought in as his replacement.
In opting for Lawton, the other band members had decided to go for someone with a completely different voice and style, so right from the first few bars of “Firefly” the listener is aware of a fundamental change. Lawton’s voice is deeper and much rougher, with more of a blues/jazz tinge.
John Wetton also left the band before this album was recorded, being replaced by ex Spiders from Mars bassist Trevor Boulder. Boulder has gone on to become one of Heep’s longest servicing members, and is in fact still in the band today.
The music on “Firefly” is generally lighter than previous albums, with Hensley choosing to create an almost orchestral texture with the keyboards, on which the album is built. Yet again, Hensley dominates the song writing, with only one short track “Who needs me” being a rare Kerslake composition. The title track is a very soft but beautiful piece, a million miles from “Easy Livin’”. Even when the band rock, such as on “Been away too long”, it’s not the all out wall of sound of the early days.
When listening to this album, it is necessary to first put aside any preconceptions about the music it will contain. It’s not really a follow up to “High and Mighty” but a new beginning for the band with a new direction and sound. Once that is accepted, it’s actually a very enjoyable album, with strong melodies, and tight musicianship.
Line-up:
- John Lawton / lead vocals
- Mick Box / guitars
- Trevor Bolder / bass guitar
- Lee “The Bear” Kerslake / drums, vocals
- Ken Hensley / keyboards, guitars, vocals
Track List:
01. The Hanging Tree (3:42)
02. Been Away Too Long (5:04)
03. Who Needs Me (3:40)
04. Wise Man (4:44)
05. Do You Know (3:15)
06. Rollin’ On (6:32)
07. Sympathy (4:50)
08. Firefly (6:18)
09. Crime Of Passion (Bonus, Single B-Side) (3:37)
10. Do You Know (3:16) (Bonus, Demo)
11. A Far Better Way (5:50) (Bonus, Outtake)
12. Wise Man (4:48) (Bonus, TV backing track version)
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Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman (1970) (@256)
02 Apr 2007
(Review from allmusic.com, wikipedia)
He began to perform his songs in coffee houses and pubs. Thinking that his Greek name might not be memorable as a stage name – “I couldn’t imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for that Stephen Demetre Georgiou album. And in England, and I was sure in America, they loved animals.” – he started calling himself Cat Stevens, chosen because a girlfriend said he had eyes like a cat.
With two studio albums under his belt, Stevens was living a fast-moving pop-star life and in early 1968 at the age of nineteen, he became very ill with life-threatening tuberculosis. During several months in the hospital and a year of convalescence, Stevens began to question aspects of his life, took up meditation, read about other religions and became a vegetarian. In that time, as part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as 40 songs which were much more introspective than his previous work. Many of those songs were to appear on his albums in years to come.
His first comeback album Mona Bone Jakon was full of references to death, but Tea for the Tillerman was not about dying; it was about living in the modern world while rejecting it in favor of spiritual fulfillment. It began with a statement of purpose, “Where Do the Children Play?,” in which Stevens questioned the value of technology and progress. “Wild World” found the singer being dumped by a girl, but making the novel suggestion that she should stay with him because she was incapable of handling things without him. “Sad Lisa” might have been about the same girl after she tried and failed to make her way; now, she seemed depressed to the point of psychosis. The rest of the album veered between two themes: the conflict between the young and the old, and religion as an answer to life’s questions. Tea for the Tillerman was the story of a young man’s search for spiritual meaning in a soulless class society he found abhorrent. He hadn’t yet reached his destination, but he was confident he was going in the right direction, traveling at his own, unhurried pace. The album’s rejection of contemporary life and its yearning for something more struck a chord with listeners in an era in which traditional verities had been shaken. It didn’t hurt, of course, that Stevens had lost none of his ability to craft a catchy melody; the album may have been full of angst, but it wasn’t hard to sing along to. As a result, Tea for the Tillerman became a big seller and, for the second time in four years, its creator became a star.
Track List:
01. Where Do the Children Play? – 3:52
02. Hard Headed Woman – 3:47
03. Wild World – 3:20
04. Sad Lisa – 3:45
05. Miles from Nowhere – 3:37
06. But I Might Die Tonight – 1:53
07. Longer Boats – 3:12
08. Into White – 3:24
09. On the Road to Find Out – 5:08
10. Father and Son – 3:41
11. Tea for the Tillerman – 1:01
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Van der Graaf Generator – Still Life (1976) (@320)
02 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
When Hammill decides to write a set of lyrics about a reflective subject, he gets really intense, explosive and desperate. That’s because Hammill doesn’t just settle down to merely stating an idea; he needs to expose the process of grasping that idea, consider and reconsider it, then draw conclusions out of it. That is particularly true concerning the lyrics of this masterpiece ‘Still Life’. Their evocative power is enhanced by the melodic lines he composes, as well as his fiery singing style. Having said that, let me say that this album is quite optimistic, not from an easy-going point of view, but regarding a positive attitude Hammill now endorses: this attitude is delivered through the typical Hammill-esque intensity. ‘Pilgrims’ celebrates the power of solidarity, ‘La Rossa’ explicates the joy of a consumated love, and ‘Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End’ is an affirmation of the existence of a meaning to life, though it may be “hidden” or “elusive”, yet it must be recognized by all means. Behind the gloomy portrait of a City of Immortals in the namesake track, lies the need to accept death as an integral part of life: if we denied it and miraclously eventually achieved it, we would be doomed to live pointlessly for ever and ever. Meanwhile, ‘My Room’ is a regretful meditation of a past time spent on fruitless lamentations. Musically speaking, this work signifies a fluid continuation of their previous effort ‘Godbluff’ (also brilliant), though I must say that I find the musicianship tighter and more impressive on this one. The dramatic ambience of ‘Still Life’, the combination of genuine energy and sophisticated complexity in ‘La Rossa’ and the epic splendour of ‘Childhood’s End’ make them absolute highlights of this album, and their whole career as well. The majestic vibe that are displayed in the organ layers for the namesake number are really anthological, while Hammill sings about the lack of meaning for the Immortals’ lives: the final sentences are literally deadly. Also deadly, but at the same time compellingly enthusiastic, is the manifesto of life delivered in the final lyrics of ‘Childlike Faith’. I won’t skip the intimate spirit of ‘Pilgrims’, nor the delicate beauty beneath the languid surface of ‘My Room’: in these two pieces Jackson delivers some of his most inspired sax parts ever.
Line-up:
- Peter Hammill / vocals, guitars, pianos
- Hugh Banton / organs, bass pedals and guitars, mellotron, piano
- Guy Evans / drums and percussion
- David Jackson / saxes, flute
Track List:
01. Pilgrims (7:07)
02. Still Life (7:20)
03. La Rossa (9:47)
04. My Room (Waiting for Wonderland) (8:09)
05. Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End (12:20)
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Uriah Heep – High and Mighty (1976) (@256)
02 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
David Byron’s final album with Uriah Heep came all too soon. The recording of “High and Mighty” was apparently a somewhat piecemeal affair, with only Hensley (who yet again dominates the song writing) and Wetton committed in full to the project. The absence of Gerry Bron as producer for the first time is less apparent than might have been expected, but he was reportedly unimpressed with the results.
The two sides of the LP make an appropriate division between what turned out to be an impressive side one, and a poor side two. Mick Box is largely absent throughout, with Hensley by and large providing both keyboards and guitar.
The opening track, “One way or another” doesn’t even feature Byron’s vocals, with Wetton taking on those duties. Ironically Byron, who was reportedly comfortable with the finished track, played Hammond organ on it instead. It is though an intriguingly successful diversion for the band in a slightly less organised direction. Hensley’s middle 8 restores the more melodic sound, providing a harmonic counterpoint. The track has similarities to “Dreamer” which opened “Sweet Freedom”.
Byron first appears on the beautiful “Weep in silence”, a softer track but highly melodic almost emotional, with Hensley’s keyboards swirling around the pained voice of Byron.
“Midnight”, which closes side one, is a miniature epic in about 6 minutes. In that time it moves from an attention grabbing opening riff, through a number of time changes and brief instrumental breaks, to fade with a reprise of the opening riff. “Midnight” stand proud alongside Hensley’s finest compositions, and would have made a fitting end to the Byron era Uriah Heep. Unfortunately, they continued onto side two of the album, which brings together some of the weakest material recorded by the band while Byron was a member.
Had the entire album been up to the standard of the four tracks on side one, “High and mighty” would have been worthy of it’s name. Unfortunately side two of the album only served to indicate that radical change was needed, and such change was indeed, just around the corner.
Line-up:
- David Byron / vocals
- John Wetton / bass, guitar, Mellotron, electric piano, vocals
- Lee Kerslake / drums, percussion, vocals
- Mick Box / lead guitar, acoustic guitar, 12 string acoustic guitar
- Ken Hensley / organ, piano, Moog synthesizer, tubular bells, electric piano, guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, electric 12 string guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals
Track List:
01. One Way Or Another (4:37)
02. Weep In Silence (5:09)
03. Misty Eyes (4:15)
04. Midnight (5:40)
05. Can’t Keep A Good Band Down (3:40)
06. Woman Of The World (3:10)
07. Footprints In The Snow (3:56)
08. Can’t Stop Singing (3:15)
09. Make A Little Love (3:24)
10. Confession (2:16)
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Aphrodite's Child – 666 (1972) (@256)
01 Apr 2007
(Info from wikipedia)
Aphrodite’s Child was a Greek rock band formed in 1967, by Vangelis Papathanassiou (keyboards); Demis Roussos (bass guitar and vocals), Loukas Sideras (drums and vocals), and Anargyros “Silver” Koulouris (guitar). Papathanassiou and Roussos had already been successful in Greece (playing in the bands Formynx and Idols respectively) while they got together with Sideras and Koulouris to form a new band.
The band began to record their crowning achievement late in 1970: a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelation, entitled 666. Silver Koulouris, having finished his Greek army duty rejoined the band. However, relations between all the band members were not good at the time, and continued to worsen during the album’s creation.
Essentially, 666 was Vangelis’ concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. This did not sit well with the other band members, who wished to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Furthermore, Roussos was being groomed for a solo career, and recorded his first solo single “We shall dance” (with Sideras on drums), and his first solo album On the Greek side of my mind, whereas Vangelis recorded the score for L’apocalypse des Animaux and worked on a single with his girlfriend Vilma Ladopoulou, performing with Koulouris using the pseudonym “Alpha Beta”.
The double LP 666 finally came out in late 1971 but the band had already split. Both Vangelis and Demis Roussos pursued successful solo careers, Roussos as a pop singer and Vangelis as one of the pioneers in New Age music. Koulouris worked with both on occasion. Loukas Sideras pursued a less successful solo career, releasing an album and the single “Rising Sun” after the break-up.
Line-up:
* Vangelis Papathanassiou (keyboards)
* Demis Roussos (bass guitar and vocals)
* Loukas Sideras (drums and vocals)
* Anargyros “Silver” Koulouris (guitar)
Track List:
CD1
01. System – 00:23
02. Babylon – 2:47
03. Loud, Loud, Loud – 2:42
04. The Four Horsemen – 5:53
05. The Lamb – 4:34
06. The Seventh Seal – 1:30
07. Aegian Sea – 5:22
08. Seven Bowls – 1:28
09. The Wakening Beast – 1:11
10. Lament – 2:45
11. The Marching Beast – 2:00
12. The Battle Of The Locusts – 00:56
13. Do It – 1:44
14. Tribulation – 00:32
15. The Beast – 2:26
16. Ofis – 00:14
CD2
01. Seven Trumpets – 00:35
02. Altamont – 4:33
03. The Wedding of the Lamb – 3:38
04. The Capture of the Beast – 2:17
05. Infinity – 5:15
06. Hic and Nunc – 2:55
07. All the Seats Were Occupied – 19:21
08. Break – 2:59
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Rare Earth – Get Ready (1969) (@256)
01 Apr 2007
(Info from rareearth.com, soultracks.com)
Rare Earth first came to the attention of the world as somewhat of an anomaly. Whereas a number of white acts spent the 50s stealing hit blues and soul songs and sanitizing them for pop audiences, Rare Earth largely made a career out of taking hit Motown songs and giving them an even funkier rock sound and doing it as Motown’s first major white act.
Rare Earth was playing bars for several years prior to signing with Motown. Motown music at that time was very strong on the radio so Rare Earth was playing a lot of Motown songs in clubs. Thus the bands roots developed from R&B music. Most people in the beginning thought Rare Earth to be black. Surprise, surprise. The band had been playing an infectious, rocked-out version of the Temptations’ “Get Ready” in clubs for about a year or two prior to recording it. It started out a 3 minute song until one member took a solo and then everyone wanted a solo so over time the song became 21 minutes long. It became the closing song each night and people liked it so much they would stay just to hear it.
The band decided that “Get Ready” would be Rare Earth’s first recording, to be 21 minutes long and to be one whole side of the first album. Motown was leery about doing this but the band insisted because radio was starting to play album cuts which were longer than the normal 3 minute single. “Get Ready” first broke in Washington D.C. in the black market, spread across the country and eventually into the white market. It was a huge hit selling millions of records and remaining on the charts for almost 3 years.
Line-up:
* Gil Bridges (saxophone and vocals)
* Pete Rivera (lead vocals and drums)
* John Persh (bass guitar, trombone and vocals)
* Rod Richards (guitar)
* Edward “Eddie” Guzman (congas, assorted percussive instruments)
* Kenny James (keyboards)
Track List:
01. Magic Key
02. Tobacco Road
03. Feelin’ Alright
04. In Bed
05. Train to Nowhere
06. Get Ready
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