Archive for September, 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

It can be a real enigma sometimes how some groups make it and others do not. For no apparent reason, a band who have originality, energy and some fine musicians manage to completely bypass any form of recognition or success. Jody Grind are a classic example. Formed in late 1968 by band leader and keyboard player Tim Hinkley, they released two classic albums which immediately sank without trace.

The music of Jody Grind is a sort of melting pot of Deep Purple, Chicago, Uriah Heep, Vanilla Fudge, The Nice and many others. It should be remembered though that Jody Grind are more leaders than followers, their albums predating many of the best known releases of those great bands.

The album opens with a stunning 18 minute suite bearing the album’s title. This four part epic includes a wonderful cover of the Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black, the other three sections being self composed. The driving brass and superb guitar work remind me a little of Uriah Heep’s great Salisbury suite. The track oozes energy and originality, especially when you remember it dates from 1969. The brass sections were actually added after completion of the recording of the album, being arranged by David Palmer (later of Jethro Tull).

The flipside unveils what they were taunting us with: the horn section coming in a full part of their music. Indeed Little Message and Night Today appear as almost full-blown brass rock: while not abusing of them either, this remained quite tasteful and as powerful as when Atomic Rooster used the brass section. The lengthier (almost 7-mins) blues-rock USA is a real pleaser and the highlight of this side of wax, while the closer is a Foghat-like boogie-RnR track, a thinly disguised cover of Johnny B. Goode.

This debut album came out when the adjunction of heavy horn/brass arrangements was obviously the craze, but if Jody Grind’s debut bows to that trend/fad, they do not succumb to it either: their brass section is made of guest musicians and are not part of the group. This first album is a pleasant affair even if at times they could’ve been slightly more concise.

Line-up:
- Tim Hinkley / organ
- Ivan Zagni / guitar
- Barry Wilson / drums
- Louis Cenammo / bass (1d, 2 & 5)

Track List:
01. One Step On – 18:47
– a. In My Mind
– b. Nothing At All
– c. Interaction
– d. Paint It Black
02. Little Message – 4:42
03. Night Today – 5:04
04. U.S.A – 6:40
05. Rock ‘N’ Roll Man – 4:31

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Jody Grind

Trees – On the Shore (1970) (@256)

30 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

In 1970 Trees released their 2nd album with “On The Shore” blending strong elements of progressive, psychedelia and folk. Led by the strong and beautiful voice of Celia Humphris (sounds like a mix of Annie Haslam and Sandy Denny), “On The Shore” delivers a wild contrast of soft 70′s classical avante garde folk rock.

What is truely addictive here is their juxtaposed sounds, blending piano with guitar (acoustic and electric). The longer songs are simply “to die for” with the extended psychedelic jams and fuzzy electric guitar droned solos.

Without a question “On The Shore” is a fabulous and highly eclectic piece of psychy 70s folk.

Line-up:
- Bias Boshell / guitar, vocals
- Unwin Brown / drums, vocals
- Barry Clark / guitar
- David Costa / guitar
- Tony Cox / bass
- Celia Humphris / keyboards, vocals
- Michael Jeffries / harp

Track List:
01. Soldiers Three – 1:51
02. Murdoch – 5:10
03. Polly On The Shore – 6:10
04. Adam’s Toon – 1:12
05. Sally Free And Easy – 10:12
06. Fool – 5:22
07. Geordie – 5:06
08. While The Iron Is Hot – 3:21
09. Little Sadie – 3:11
10. Streets Of Derry – 7:31

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Trees

Black Sabbath – Dehumanizer (1992) (@256)

30 Sep 2008

(Review from wikipedia, amazon, ram.org, metal-archives.com)

While on tour with his own band in August 1990, former Black Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio was joined on stage at the Minneapolis Forum by former Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler to perform “Neon Knights”. Following the show, the two expressed interest in rejoining Black Sabbath. Butler convinced Iommi, who in turn broke up the current lineup, dismissing vocalist Tony Martin and bassist Neil Murray.

Ronnie James Dio and Geezer Butler joined Tony Iommi and Cozy Powell in the fall of 1990 to begin working on the next Black Sabbath release. While rehearsing in November, Powell suffered a broken hip when his horse died, falling on the drummer’s legs. Unable to complete work on the album, Powell was replaced by former drummer Vinny Appice.

The year-long recording process was plagued with problems, primarily stemming from writing tension between Tony Iommi and Ronnie James Dio, as some songs were re-written multiple times. The resulting album, “Dehumanizer” was finally released on June 1992.

“Dehumanizer” is a concept recording dealing with the evils of modern technology, painting a vision of a dystopian future. It is incredibly heavy, dark and powerful. Dio’s angry and powerful vocals and Iommi’s soaring guitar work are nicely complemented by Geezer Butler’s pounding bass and Vinny Appice excellent drum work.

Throughout the entire listen we are treated to a variety of lyrical themes that are quite a departure from Dio’s earlier work with Sabbath. From the futuristic technological tyranny of “Computer God” to the egoistic anthem “I”, we get songs that are poetic, yet still catchy and easy to sing along with in the concert hall. We also get a taste of older Sabbath themes from back when Ozzy was still fronting the band such as the somber introspective song “Too Late”, and the social commentary included on such tracks as “Letters from Earth” and “Sins of the Father”.

The music contained on here is a rather brilliant combination of several eras of Sabbath. “After All (The Dead)” sounds a good deal like “Disturbing the Priest”, while “Buried Alive” has an introductory riff that reminds a good deal of “Zero the Hero”. “TV Crimes” and “Time Machine” could almost pass for faster tracks from the earlier Dio era of Sabbath, although the riffs do contain a darker tinge that keeps them in line with the subject of this album. “Master of Insanity” is definitely similar to some of the darker tracks from the Ozzy era, and contains one hell of an evil sounding bass intro.

Some of the music on here is a bit more original sounding, though still in line with the precedents set on previous efforts. “Too Late” starts off with a sad sounding acoustic guitar intro that sounds a tiny bit like “Odin’s Court” off the last album, only to kick into some rather evil sounding electric guitar riffs that seem more in line with the dark title track to “The Eternal Idol”. “I” has a very blues inspired intro that could pass for Sabbath’s debut album in 1970, though the rest of the song sounds similar to some of Dio’s later solo work.

During the tour of this album, former vocalist Ozzy Osbourne announced his first retirement, and invited Black Sabbath to open for his solo band at the final two shows. The band agreed, aside from vocalist Ronnie James Dio who believed it was humiliating and a harbringer of a reunion. Dio quit the band the night before those shows.

Line-up:
- Ronnie James Dio / vocals
- Tony Iommi / guitars
- Geezer Butler / bass
- Vinny Appice / drums
- Geoff Nicholls / keyboards

Track List:
01. Computer God – 6:15
02. After All (The Dead) – 5:41
03. TV Crimes – 4:02
04. Letters From Earth – 4:17
05. Master Of Insanity – 5:55
06. Time Machine – 4:15
07. Sins Of The Father – 4:46
08. Too Late – 6:55
09. I – 5:13
10. Buried Alive – 4:50

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Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Vinny Appice

Trees – Garden of Jane Delawney (1970) (@256)

29 Sep 2008

4 comments

(Review from amazon, wikipedia, progarchives.com)

Inspired by British folk-rock progenitors Fairport Convention, “Garden Of Jane Delawney” is the first of two albums released by semi-mythical English quintet Trees in 1970.

Nearly every song on the album appears to be a traditional folk song, this is actually only the case for about half of them, the others having been penned for the album by front-man Bias Boshell — featuring his apparent talent for writing songs that sounded like they had existed for hundreds of years as folk songs.

While it’s true to comment that Trees lacked the instrumental dynamism and dexterity of their more famous folk peers, they certainly had something that not even Sandy Denny/Richard Thompson et al could conjure up, namely an extant “other-worldliness”, the fabric of which accounts for the Trees still-ongoing cult appeal.

The two prime examples here are the misty, salty beauty of “The Great Silkie”, a version of the traditional “Great Selkie of Skule Skerry”, derived from the old Orkney Islands myth of the Selkie folk, half-man half-seal beasts who come ashore at night looking for prospective brides. The other is the title-track itself; the song “Garden Of Jane Delawney” is rightly regarded as an ethereal folk classic; a supernatural fairy-tale woven from silk-like threads of harpsichord and acoustic guitar and intoned by singer Celia Humphris with a near-paranormal degree of spectral pathos. The song is the equal of anything in the genre, and the album is worth hearing for this track alone.

If you want to investigate folk-rock this is the best point to start for it has everything to please : a superb female voice , excellent musicianship , quiet pastoral ambiances , long instrumental passages….

Line-up:
- Bias Boshell / guitar, bass, vocals
- Unwin Brown / drums, vocals
- Barry Clarke / guitar
- David Costa / guitar
- Celia Humphris / keyboards, vocals

Track List:
01. Nothing Special – 4:29
02. The Great Silkie – 5:11
03. The Garden Of Jane Delawney – 4:05
04. Lady Margaret – 7:09
05. Glasgerion – 5:15
06. She Moved Thro’ The Fair – 8:04
07. Road – 4:33
08. Epitaph – 3:23
09. Snail’s Lament – 4:39

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Trees

Catapilla – Changes (1972) (@256)

29 Sep 2008

(Review from vintageprog.com, progarchives.com)

The second and last album from Catapilla is even weirder and more experimental than the debut, but actually also better. “Changes” is a very atmospheric piece of music. Their sound is more ethereal and spacey but still a terrific blend of jazz rock/brass rock with an occasional psychedelic edge.

Robert Calvert delivers some of the best and most beautiful sax-playing ever heard on an album — the instrumental “It Could Only Happen to Me”, the last minutes of the 12-minute opener “Reflections” and “Thank Christ for George” are testimony to that. The music seems often to be based on jams, and always dominated by Calvert’s saxophone and Meek’s voice.

Unusual, original, atmospheric and always very beautiful in the more quiet parts.

Line-up:
- Robert Calvert / saxophone
- Bryan Hanson / drums
- Anna Meek / lead vocals
- Ralph Rawlinson / keyboards
- Carl Wassard / bass
- Graham Wilson / guitars

Track List:
01. Reflections – 12:11
02. Charing Cross – 6:44
03. Thank Christ For George – 12:07
04. If Could Only Happen To Me – 6:45

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Catapilla

Black Sabbath – Tyr (1990) (@256)

28 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

“Tyr” is the third album featuring Tony Martin on vocals and second featuring Cozy Powell on drums. While not technically a concept album, some of the album’s lyrical themes are loosely based on Norse mythology. The runes on the cover are taken from the Rok Runestone in Sweden.

This album represents possibly the most dramatic departure from Black Sabbath’s traditional sound, with only traces of it found in the occasional riff. This is one of Sabbath’s heaviest albums and perhaps the most prominently reliant on keyboards by the perennial 5th member, Geoff Nicholls. As a result, much of the music is a lot darker than previous Sabbath works, closely resembling the previous album “Headless Cross” in terms of darkness.

The title track starts off with a soft chant plunges into a heavy mid-paced chug of a song, Powell’s drums crashing all around. ‘The Law Maker’ is faster with a drum intro/guitar solo intro. Tony Martin sounds almost exactly like Dio where Iommi just blazes away come solo time. Martin’s voice soars over an amazing Iommi doom riff in “Jerusalem”. Nicholls complements the guitar with a great keyboard arrangement.

‘The Sabbath Stones’ slows it down but doesn’t relinquish the heaviness. Tony Iommi’s acoustic guitar work really shines within the song, inter-laced between the heavy riffs and more of Powell’s hard skin bashing. What would a Sabbath album be without an intro/instrumental? ‘The Battle Of Tyr’ is more of Nicholls’ showcase and winds right into ‘Odin’s Court’. More acoustic guitar from Iommi on ‘Odin’s Court’ and a sweeping keyboard arrangement/effect. Martin’s voice put right up front and the man sounds extremely strong. ‘Odin’s Court’ slides right into ‘Valhalla’, no pausing. Soaring chorus, Martin hitting the highs with ease and Iommi blazing a smoldering solo.

A slow, almost sad, solo starts off ‘Feels Good To Me’. It’s good, there’s a bluesy quality to it but it still seems out of place after six very strong, very heavy songs. Cozy Powell starts ‘Heaven In Black’ with a thunder drum roll, kicking into the guitar — resulting in a faster, heavier closer.

If you liked the previous two Sabbath albums you should definitely get this one too.

Line-up:
- Tony Martin / Vocals
- Tony Iommi / Guitar
- Geoff Nicholls / Keyboard
- Neil Murray / Bass
- Cozy Powell / Drums

Track List:
01. Anno Mundi – 6:13
02. The Law Maker – 3:54
03. Jerusalem – 4:00
04. The Sabbath Stones – 6:47
05. The Battle Of Tyr1:08
06. Odin’s Court – 2:42
07. Valhalla – 4:42
08. Feels Good To Me – 5:44
09. Heaven In Black – 4:06

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Black Sabbath, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Tony Iommi

Catapilla – Catapilla (1971) (@256)

28 Sep 2008

(Review from vintageprog.com, progarchives.com)

Catapilla were an English band from the early 70′s who released two interesting albums of experimental jazz rock, without symphonic traces as in other bands of the moment such as Affinity, Cressida or Spring. The band had a line-up of six to seven people performing on saxophones, keyboards, bass, guitar, vocals, bass, and drums.

The album opens with the 15-minute “Naked Death”. It features heavy sax-work, powerful vocal-parts with the aggressive, tormented female vocals of Anna Meek, and a long jam in the middle. What really gave Catapilla their distinctive stamp were probably the vocals of Meek and the atmospheric sax-playing.

The highlight on the album is of course the 24-minute “Embryonic Fusion”. An intense blowouts of energetic, saxophone-driven early 70′s jazz-influenced progressive rock. It features great jamming and some structured and strong riffs too.

A good album for anyone who likes saxophone-dominated progressive rock.

Line-up:
- Robert Calvert / saxophone
- Hugh Eaglestone / saxophone
- Malcolm Frith / drums
- Anna Meek / lead vocals
- Thiery Rheinhart / wind instruments
- Dave Taylor / bass
- Graham Wilson / guitars

Track List:
01. Naked Death – 15:42
02. Tumbleweed – 3:58
03. Promieses – 5:43
04. Embryonic Fusion – 24:08

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Catapilla

Black Sabbath – Headless Cross (1989) (@256)

28 Sep 2008

(Review from allmusic)

By the late ’80s everyone had pretty much given up on Black Sabbath…and why not? Guitarist Tony Iommi was the only remaining original member and the band had seen an outrageous number of musicians and frontmen (six overall) slip through its ranks since Ozzy Osbourne’s departure.

So it was quite a shock when singer Tony Martin returned for a second go-round on 1989′s pleasantly surprising Headless Cross. The album also benefited from the arrival of journeyman Cozy Powell — one of the few drummers who’s sound is instantly recognizable. “Headless Cross” is certainly very consistent . Its songs place all emphasis on the almighty riff (from whence all rivers flow), with the drums, bass, keyboards, and voice playing only a supporting role. Morbid monsterpieces, such as the title track and “Kill in the Spirit World”, possess massive power chords but still manage to flow seamlessly into the more radio-friendly, yet still incredibly heavy material like “Devil and Daughter” and “Black Moon”. For sheer malevolent power, “When Death Calls” is one of Iommi’s most stunning compositions ever, while “Nightwing” flips the coin by introducing beautiful acoustic playing and, daringly said, highly poetic lyrics.

For those who feel the need to stray from the Osbourne and Dio classics, there can be no better place to start.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Tony Martin / Vocals
- Laurence Cottle / Bass
- Cozy Powell / Drums
- Geoff Nicholls / Keyboards

Track List:
01. The Gates of Hell – 1:06
02. Headless Cross – 6:29
03. Devil & Daughter – 4:44
04. When Death Calls – 6:55
05. Kill In The Spirit World – 5:11
06. Call Of The Wild – 5:18
07. Black Moon – 4:06
08. Nightwing – 6:35

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Black Sabbath, Cozy Powell, Tony Iommi

Fields (US) – Fields (1969) (@256)

27 Sep 2008

(Review from bad cat)

As a trio, Fields’ (not to be mixed with the UK band with the same name) initial break came when they found a mentor in the form of Mark Slotkin. Slotikin (heir to the Abbey Rents fortune), quickly signed on as the group’s manager and used his connections to help the group get signed to Uni Records.

1969′s cleverly-titled “Fields” is kind of an oddity; especially for a record label that’s best known for a more pop-oriented catalog. With Fortunanto writing most of the six selections (although Burke and Langana contributed material), the album’s overall feel is very blues-rockish.

Comparisons to Cream are most evident in tracks such as the leadoff rocker ‘Elysian Fields’, ‘Take You Home’ and ‘Jump On It’ baring more than a passing resemblance to Clapton and company. Exemplified by tracks such as ‘Bide My Time’, the performances are quite raw.

The bizarre closer ‘Love Is the Word’ takes up the whole second side of the original vinyl. The song offers up a weird blend of rock, psych and soul influences with backing from Motown singer Brenda Holloway (and the Raylettes). Stretched out over nearly 20 minutes, it has to be heard to be believed.

The band apparently toured quite a bit, serving as an opening act for John Mayall and other name groups, but never broke to a wider audience and collapsed within a year.

Line-up:
- Patrick Burke – vocals, bass
- Richard Fortunato – vocals, lead guitar
- Steve Langana – vocals, drums
with
- Brenda Holloway / back vocals (6)

Track List:
01. Elysian Fields – 3:44
02. Bide My Time – 4:39
03. Take You Home – 3:04
04. Jump On You – 3:25
05. Sun Would Set – 5:22
06. Love Is The Word – 18:41

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Black Sabbath – Eternal Idol (1987) (@256)

27 Sep 2008

4 comments

(Review from wikipedia, allmusic)

Black Sabbath began work on new material in October 1986. There was a lot of turmoil, the band changed producers twice. Bassist Dave Spitz quit due to “personal issues”, and ex-Rainbow bassist Bob Daisley was brought in. Daisley re-recorded all of the bass tracks, and wrote the album’s lyrics, but before the album was complete, he left to join Gary Moore’s solo band, taking drummer Eric Singer with him. The new vocalist Ray Gillen abruptly left Black Sabbath to form Blue Murder with John Sykes. The band enlisted Tony Martin to re-record Gillen’s tracks and former ELO drummer Bev Bevan to complete a few percussion overdubs.

The album cover was intended to feature a picture of an Auguste Rodin sculpture from 1889 also called “The Eternal Idol”. However, the album cover actually features two naked models covered in paint and positioned to resemble the piece of art because, legend has it, permission to photograph the actual sculpture could not be secured.

Despite a slight resemblance to former singer Ronnie James Dio, Martin’s powerful voice added new fire to songs like “Hard Life to Love”, “Glory Ride” and “Born to Lose”, which also feature some of Iommi’s heaviest riffs in years. The ever-reliable Geoff Nicholls adds impeccable supporting keyboards throughout, but most notably on “Ancient Warrior” and the fantastically gloomy title track. Finally, even the most skeptical of Sabbath fans will be amazed at the undeniably brilliant riffing of massive opener “The Shining”.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Geoff Nicholls / Keyboards
- Tony Martin / Vocals
- Bob Daisley / Bass
- Eric Singer / Drums
- Bev Bevan / Percussion

Track List:
01. The Shining – 5:58
02. Ancient Warrior – 5:28
03. Hard Life To Love – 5:00
04. Glory Ride – 4:49
05. Born To Lose – 3:43
06. Nightmare – 5:19
07. Scarlet Pimpernel – 2:05
08. Lost Forever – 4:03
09. Eternal Idol – 6:33

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Bev Bevan, Black Sabbath, Bob Daisley, Tony Iommi

Museo Rosenbach – Zarathustra (1973) (@256)

26 Sep 2008

(Review from vintageprog.com)

It’s not hard to understand why this is regarded as one of the main albums of Italian progressive rock. You won’t get a more accomplished and typical Italian progressive rock album than “Zarathustra”.

This is symphonic progressive with a rough edge but without becoming heavy progressive. The arrangements are heavily loaded with mellotron, organ, piano, aggressive guitar and furious drumming – everything played excellent! If you can imagine Semiramis’ “Dedicato a Frazz” with mellotron and hammond added, then you’ll have something that doesn’t sound too far from this album. The compositions are flawless. Very complex with time changes and something happening all the time. You’ll never get a rest here!

The 20-minute title-track features all the things Iaforementioned, and go through an impressive amount of different parts and sections. This is progressive rock at its most complex and…progressive! The three other tracks on the album maintain the same high standard.

If there’s anything to complain about, then it must be the obvious lack of originality. This album won’t give you anything new or any surprises if you already own a bunch of Italian progressive rock albums. But why should you care? This is as good as it can get.

Line-up:
- Giancarlo Golzi / drums, vocals
- Alberto Moreno / bass, pianoforte
- Enzo Merogno / guitar, vocals
- Pit Corradi / Mellotron, Hammond
- Stefano Lupo Galifi / vocals

Track List:
01. Zarathustra – L’ultimo Uomo – 3:51
02. Zarathustra – Il Re Di Ieri – 4:47
03. Zarathustra – Al Di Lŕ Del Bene E Del Male – 2:40
04. Zarathustra – Superuomo – 6:31
05. Zarathustra – Il Tempio Delle Clessidre – 2:54
06. Degli Uomini – 4:04
07. Della Natura – 8:28
08. Dell’eterno Ritorno – 6:18

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Museo Rosenbach

Black Sabbath – Seventh Star (1986) (@256)

26 Sep 2008

(Review from wikipedia, allmusic)

After putting Black Sabbath on hiatus, Iommi started to work on a solo album with keyboardist Geoff Nicholls. enlisted bassist Dave Spitz and drummer Eric Singer, and initially intended to use multiple singers, including Rob Halford of Judas Priest, ex-Deep Purple and Trapeze vocalist Glenn Hughes, and ex-Black Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio. But it was so difficult getting it together and getting releases from their record companies. Glenn Hughes came along to sing on one track and Iommi decided to use him on the whole album.

The band spent the remainder of the year in the studio, recording what would become Seventh Star. Warner Bros. refused to release the album as a Tony Iommi solo release, instead insisting on using the name Black Sabbath.

As this album was not originally intended to be a Black Sabbath record, its sound is drastically different from previous releases. Many of the songs have a very bluesy feel, and it is notably less heavy than its predecessor, Born Again.

With this in mind, one can better appreciate both the record’s un-Sabbath-like songwriting and the participation of journeyman singer Glenn Hughes. Hughes’ incredibly powerful and soulful vocal style was certainly inept for classic Black Sabbath material but here it positively shines, especially on ballads such as “In Memory” and the gorgeous “No Stranger to Love.” Iommi’s riffs and solos are also much more inspired than in recent years, and other highlights include the fiery “In for the Kill”, the brooding title track, and the amazingly catchy “Danger Zone”.

If Iommi could have done “Seventh Star” as a solo album, it probably would have been accepted a lot more.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Glenn Hughes / Vocals
- Dave Spitz / Bass
- Eric Singer / Drums
- Geoff Nicholls / Keyboards

Track List:
01. In For The Kill – 3:43
02. No Stranger To Love – 4:29
03. Turn To Stone – 3:30
04. Sphinx (The Guardian) – 1:11
05. Seventh Star – 5:21
06. Danger Zone – 4:25
07. Heart Like A Wheel – 6:38
08. Angry Heart – 3:07
09. In Memory… – 2:35

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Black Sabbath, Glenn Hughes, Tony Iommi

Leviathan – Leviathan (1974) (@256)

25 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

With their sole, eponymous album, American act Leviathan delivered quite an interesting item for the history of North American progressive rock during its seminal stages.

“Leviathan” album comprises a catalogue of energetic performances and solid melodic ideas. The band displays influences from early British symphonic progressive (Procol Harum, Genesis, even Pink Floyd and Nektar, to a lesser degree) and heavy art-rock (Uriah Heep, early Deep Purple) fluidly fused into a standard American hard rock basic sound, taking this hard rock nucleus to a harder edge than their more stylish compatriots of Kansas.

Even thought there are three musicians on keyboards, dividing duties on Hammond organ, mellotron and piano, it is the guitars that take center stage most of the time, not only because the riffs and harmonies are heavily pronounced in the mix, but also because the solos are almost exclusively left as a guitar responsibility. The organ is the most featured keyboard in the global sound, while the mellotron is used for flourishes and ornaments.

“Leviathan” is a very good album that reveals an interesting, albeit undeveloped vision of art-rock, an effort that should be regarded as a serious attempt at scoring a cornerstone in the early progressive scene of the USA.

Line-up:
- Wain Bradley / bass, guitars, vocals
- Peter Richardson / organ, vocals
- Don Swearingen / piano
- Grady Trimble / guitars
- John Sadler / mellotron
- Shof Beavers / drums

Track List:
01. Arabesque – 6:14
02. Angels – 6:42
03. Endless Dream – 10:06
04. Seagull – 4:58
05. Angel of Death – 4:12
06. Always Need You – 3:26
07. Quicksilver Clay – 7:26

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Black Sabbath – Born Again (1983) (@256)

24 Sep 2008

(Review from wikipedia, amazon)

Left with just two original members, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler began auditioning new singers for the band’s next release. After failed attempts with the likes of Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, Samson’s Nicky Moore, and Lone Star’s John Sloman, the band settled on former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. While the project was not initially set to be called Black Sabbath, the record label strongarmed the band to retain the name. A newly-sober Bill Ward returned on drums entering the studio.

The third incarnation of Sabbath is not a radical departure from the sound of the Ozzy or Dio years. With Tony Iommi’s heavy, gloomy riffs and bluesy solos over Ward and Butler’s solid rhythm section, “Born Again” certainly sounds like a Black Sabbath album. Gillian, however, definitely adds his signature to the band. While Ozzy and Dio certainly have different styles, both singers have a straight-forward delivery and their lyrics deal with similar themes; God, the occult, afterlife, etc. Gillian’s satanic screams and more down-to-earth lyrics concerning hangovers (“Trashed”) and misogyny (“Digital Bitch”) offered a change of pace to the band. Guest Keyboardist Geoff Nicolas peppers the album with synthesizers, giving an 80s touch to the sound of the album. While Nicolas had been present since “Heaven and Hell”, with “Born Again” his presence is more apparent.

“Born Again” opens strong with the thundering “Trashed”, which sounds like a cross between “Neon Knights” and “Paranoid.” The bizarre, eerie instrumental “Stonehenge” acts as a buffer to the sinister, off-beat, mid-tempo “Disturbing the Priest”. Butler’s pounding bass over Nicolas’ dark synthesizers works well here. With its obvious religious theme, “Disturbing the Priest” is probably the most typical Sabbath-like song on the album. “The Dark”, another off-beat eerie instrumental acts as the perfect lead-in to the highly underrated “Zero the Hero” which has the same riff as Guns ‘n’ Roses “Paradise City”. The almost-anthem-like “Digital Bitch” is no less catchy, with its infectious hook and sing-along-chorus. The album slows down considerably for the epic title track “Born Again” which is dark and harrowing and shows Tony Iommi at his bluesy best. “Hot Line” sounds a bit like Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and while not the album’s strongest cut, is still good. The melodic, hard-rocking “Keep it Warm” is effective and makes for a good closer.

After the album, Ian Gillan left for the reunion of Deep Purple. Disillusioned with the band’s revolving lineup, bassist Geezer Butler quit the band. Following Butler’s exit, sole remaining original member Tony Iommi put Black Sabbath on hiatus.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar & Flute
- Geezer Butler / Bass
- Ian Gillan / Vocals
- Bill Ward / Drums
- Geoff Nicholls / Keyboards

Track List:
01. Trashed – 4:15
02. Stonehenge – 1:58
03. Disturbing The Priest – 5:47
04. The Dark – 0:45
05. Zero The Hero – 7:33
06. Digital Bitch – 3:37
07. Born Again – 6:32
08. Hot Line – 4:51
09. Keep It Warm – 5:36

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi

Black Sabbath – Live at Hammersmith Odeon (1982) (@256)

23 Sep 2008

(Review from amazon, allmusic)

As evidenced by their so-so live set, “Live Evil”, a Dio-era Black Sabbath live performance was never truly captured on vinyl — as the aforementioned album was allegedly the victim of far too much knob-twiddling during the mixing stage. As a result, many longtime fans will attest that this lone live document was an album that lacked the spark of Sabbath’s live shows circa 1980 through 1982.

“Live At Hammersmith Odeon” is quite a nice little treat on that account. Recorded during the 1981 Mob Rules tour, this recording takes the best versions of the performed songs from 3 out of the 4 Hammersmith Odeon sold-out concerts (between December 31st, 1981 through January 2nd, 1982) and compiles them seamlessly as one glorious presentation.

The Black Sabbath are on fire throughout — as they launch through a set that is split almost 50/50 between Ozzy-era classics and soon-to-be Dio era classics. Tops on the list here are fine readings of “Neon Knights”, “The Mob Rules”, “N.I.B.”, “Voodoo” and “Children of the Grave”, as well as such rarely played “Mob Rules” nuggets as “Country Girl” and “Slippin’ Away”.

This is a great live album both from a sonic and performance standpoint, a must for Dio-era Sabbath fans.

Line-up:
* Ronnie James Dio – vocals
* Tony Iommi – guitars
* Geezer Butler – bass
* Vinny Appice – drums
* Geoff Nicholls – keyboards

Track List:
01. E5150 – 1:17
02. Neon Knights – 4:37
03. N.I.B – 5:16
04. Children Of The Sea – 6:07
05. Country Girl – 3:53
06. Black Sabbath – 8:24
07. War Pigs – 7:40
08. Slipping Away – 3:18
09. Iron Man – 7:05
10. The Mob Rules – 3:33
11. Heaven And Hell – 14:24
12. Paranoid – 3:21
13. Voodoo – 5:44
14. Children Of The Grave – 5:03

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Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Live, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Vinny Appice

Crack – Si Todo Hiciera Crack (1978) (@256)

23 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This little known band from Spain made a sole album in the late 70’s that sounded more like what Italian bands were doing a few years before. Actually this is not a rare happening since after the end of Franco’s dictatorship, many groups tried to make up for lost time so roughly the Spanish progressive scene was split into symphonic and fusion. The former had to deal with the huge success of Flamenco inspired Triana, which inspired a lot of younger groups while those not willing to follow that route obviously indulged into the early and mid-70’s Italian groups.

“Crack” is one of those groups and their only album certainly draws from Italian inspiration , but there are other folksier ambiances that can make you think of Tull (this is reinforced when the flute makes an appearance) and sometimes in more symphonic moments Genesis and Yes.

The songs are all in Spanish, but again no matter that their meaning is lost if you don’t speak that language. The real magic hear is in the musical arrangements, which are bright, upbeat, and irrepressibly beguiling.

The second side of the record holds the two tracks that make the backbone of the album starting of with Marchando (an almost 8 min track divided in two movement) with abundant flutes and mellotrons providing all the possible dramatic effects to your attention. The 10 min title track is the other standout track, it reminds Yes’ Going For The One album in terms of sonorities ending in a small piano and flute dominated Epilogo reminds a bit of Maneige.

Line-up:
- Alex Cabral / bass
- Alberto Fontaneda / guitar, flute, vocals
- Mento Hevia / keyboards, vocals
- Manolo Jimenez / drums
- Rafael Rodriguez / guitar

Track List:
01. Descenso En El Mahellstrong – 5:27
02. Amantes De La Irrealidad – 6:15
03. Cobarde O Desertor – 4:56
04. Buenos Deseos – 3:54
05. Marchando Una Del Cid (Part 1, 2) – 7:45
06. Si Todo Hiciera Crack – 10:11
07. Epilogo – 2:19

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Black Sabbath – Live Evil (1981-82) (@256)

23 Sep 2008

(Review from allmusic, wikipedia)

Black Sabbath’s first attempt at an official live album was the straw that broke the camel’s back; or rather, it split the band’s second lineup right down the middle. Band tensions were already at an all-time high but when founding members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler accused singer Ronnie James Dio of sneaking into the studio to raise the volume on his vocals, the pint-sized warbler decided it was time to pursue a solo career, taking drummer Vinny Appice with him.

Accusations aside, 1982′s Live Evil benefits from a clear, “in your face” sound, and despite relying heavily on Dio-era material, the album effectively documents Black Sabbath’s tours in the early ’80s. Dio certainly has the vocal chops (if not the same innocent charm) to handle the Ozzy-era classics.

One of the most popular tracks on the album is a near 20-minute long medley that includes “Heaven And Hell” (with its extended break-down section and additional lyrics), “Sign of the Southern Cross”, a guitar solo, and finishing off the ending of “Heaven and Hell”.

Another favourite is an extended War Pigs which featured a drum solo from Appice whose playing more closely resembled John Bonham than original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward’s jazzier style.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Geezer Butler / Bass
- Ronnie James Dio / Vocals
- Vinny Appice / Drums
- Geoff Nicholls / Keyboards

Track List:
01. E5150 – 2:09
02. Neon Knights – 4:28
03. N.I.B – 5:09
04. Children of the Sea – 6:04
05. Voodoo – 5:23
06. Black Sabbath – 8:34
07. War Pigs – 9:17
08. Iron Man – 7:10
09. The Mob Rules – 3:18
10. Heaven and Hell – 11:57
11. The Sign of the Southern Cross / Heaven and Hell (continued) – 7:16
12. Paranoid – 3:25
13. Children of the Grave – 5:02
14. Fluff – 0:43

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Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Live, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Vinny Appice

Craft – Craft (1984) (@256)

22 Sep 2008

Formed by William Gilmour with Martin Russell shortly after both left “Enid”, the pair added percussionist Grant McKay Gilmour and eventually released a short self-titled instrumental album in 1984 based on half the signs of the zodiac.

None of the members of Craft were original members of Enid but clearly the composing partnership of Gilmour and Russell were influenced by that band’s eccentric and highly eclectic style. Craft however present songs with a more consistent tempo, and their sole album is much more textured with brass and percussion than their previous band. Their tone is rather more aggressive but the influence in composition and rhythmic range cannot be denied.

The contrast between the classical keyboards and the fiery electric guitar in the opening track is captivating. The climates fluently changes from mellow to bombastic featuring wonderful classical orchestrations and ARP Pro Solist-like synthesizer flights. “Taurus” is a bit dreamy piece with tender piano play, a soothing bass and soaring keyboards, topped by slow and sensitive electric guitar runs. “Gemini” features a bombastic climate with a propulsive beat and great interplay between the classical sounding keyboards and the harder-edged electric guitar. After a fiery electric guitar solo we hear wonderful orchestral keyboards, perfectly in balance with the guitar, it sounds compelling with a Wagnerian undertone.

“Cancer” has some mellow atmospheres but in general it features a propulsive drum beat with bombastic keyboards and fiery electric guitar, this is the typical Craft sound, a captivating blend of classic (keyboards), symphonic and rock (guitar). “Leo” again has a propulsive drum beat and great sounding keyboards, this time organ and mid-Emerson-like synthesizer flights. The climates changes fluently and the fiery electric guitar is omnipresent, it gives the music an extra dimension. The closer “Virgo” is a short and classical sounding song — very refined and beautiful classical orchestrations.

Rumors of a follow-up circulated for several years, but none was forthcoming. Apparently some work had been done as this edition of the album includes three short bonus tracks from the group.

The band faded away shortly after. Today Gilmour is a moderately well-known chamber, choral and children’s’ composer living in Scotland. Russell went on to provide studio support for numerous prominent artists.

Line-up:
- William Gilmour / keyboards
- Grant McKay Gilmour / drums and percussion
- Martin Russell / bass and keyboards

Track List:
01. Aries – 5:51
02. Taurus – 3:54
03. Gemini – 7:11
04. Cancer – 6:57
05. Leo – 8:36
06. Virgo (Bonus) – 2:28
07. Branislana (Bonus) – 2:36
08. And So To Sleep (Bonus) – 2:09

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Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell (1980) (@256)

22 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com, allmusic, wikipedia)

Many had left Black Sabbath for dead at the dawn of the ’80s, and with good reason — the band’s last few albums were not even close to their early classics, and original singer Ozzy Osbourne had just split from the band.

Sharon Arden, (later Sharon Osbourne) daughter of Black Sabbath’s manager suggested former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio to replace Ozzy Osbourne in 1979. Dio officially joined in June and the band began writing their next album. With a notably different vocal style from Osbourne’s, Dio’s addition to the band marked a change in Black Sabbath’s sound. Dio came in with a different attitude, a different voice and a different musical approach, as far as vocals — Dio would sing across the riff, whereas Ozzy would follow the riff. This gave the band another angle on writing.

Produced by Martin Birch (but not wearing the usual Birch Purple-sound), Black Sabbath’s comeback album is one of the most impressive and influential albums of the 80s, as the group headed a heavy metal revival, with Judas Priest (British Steel) and Motorhead’s ascension to fame as well (Ace Of Spades), just in front of a wave of new groups that will be called New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Having secured Dio on vocals (and bass), the group started rehearsing, with Geoff Nichols on bass (as well), because Geezer Butler was busy in his divorce case. Once the original bassist returned, Geoff Nichols remained with the group but concentrated on whatever keyboards sounds were needed. Dio’s new ideas mixed with Iommi’s writings created the new fresh approach on the album, and the album’s general ambiance is a huge part of its success.

Starting on the hit single Neon Knights (one of Sabbath’s most up-tempoed tracks ever), the group charged heavily on the dramatics, developing to goosebump levels on the longer “Children Of The Sea”, the “Heaven & Hell” title track and “Lonely Is the Word” tracks. With another two shorter tracks like the anthem “Die Young” and the abrupt “Wishing Well”, Heaven & Hell is a stunning metal album. Butler’s usual superb bass playing is still a very important feature.

“Heaven & Hell” certainly became an emblem of a new era for metal music.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Geezer Butler / Bass
- Ronnie James Dio / Vocals
- Bill Ward / Drums
- Geoff Nicholls / Keyboards

Track List:
01. Neon Knights – 3:53
02. Children Of The Sea – 5:34
03. Lady Evil – 4:22
04. Heaven And Hell – 6:55
05. Wishing Well – 4:07
06. Die Young – 4:45
07. Walk Away – 4:25
08. Lonely Is The Word – 5:46

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi

Country Lane – Substratum (1973) (@256)

21 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Swiss bands generally fit well alongside German artists, but Country Lane manages to set themselves apart. Like the others, they are mainly influenced by British artists of the time. However, where most were taking after the likes of ELP, Genesis, and Yes; Country Lane sounds more inspired by Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and psychedelic music. There are even some comparisons made to Nektar and Frank Zappa.

They jam heavy at times, but also keep it melodic. Epic concept is present, as well as humor (in the form of a little vaudeville). The lyrics are sung in English and the accent is very good. Were they rebels? Maybe not, but it is a diversion form the usual mid 70s German progressive.

Line-up:
- Raymond Amey / guitars, synthesizers, vocals
- Olivier Maire / organ, piano, spinet, vocals
- Jean-Francois Donze / drums
- Giancarlo Duella / bass
- Freddy Von Kaenel / rhythm guitar & banjo

Track List:
01. With A Sweet Whistle To My Ears – 6:21
02. It’s Only Your Memory Playing Just The Thought Of A First Love – 2:36
03. Substratum – 1:47
04. In The Morning Sun – 3:26
05. Good Old Time – 2:36
06. Song To Ivan – 7:00
07. Letter To A Friend – 7:39
08. Captain Bloom – 2:39
09. Lilliput’s Safari – 2:16

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Black Sabbath – Never Say Die (1978) (@256)

21 Sep 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

After the tour for “Technical Ecstasy” Ozzy quit the band. Former Fleetwood Mac and Savoy Brown vocalist Dave Walker was brought into rehearsals in October 1977 and the band began working on new songs.

Three days before the band were due to go into the studio, Ozzy wanted to come back to the band. He wouldn’t sing any of the stuff the band had written with the other guy, so it made it very difficult. Black Sabbath went into the studio with basically no songs. They’d write in the morning so they could rehearse and record at night. It was so difficult, like a conveyor belt, because the band couldn’t get time to reflect on stuff. It was very difficult for Iommi to come up with the ideas and putting them together that quick.

The band’s last album of the 70s, “Never Say Die” has it’s own qualities and distinct sound which sets it apart from all previous Black Sabbath albums. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is the instrumental “Breakout” which sounds more like the Stan Kenton Orchestra than the kings of metal. “Air Dance” touches on other jazzy progressions which had lalways been subetly present on even ther heaviest of Sabbath numbers.

The rhythmical “Hard Road” features vocal harmonies by Butler and Iommi for the first time while “Johnny Bade” gets as dark as the band ever were. “Shock Wave” is a straight rocker with some cool wah wahed out guitar.

Don Airey shines with his Hammond organ in “Over to You”. Just like in their previous album, Bill Ward takes over vocals on a single track, “Swinging The Chain”. The pop metal title track “Never Say Die” put the band on the charts for the first time since 1970′s Paranoid.

However tongue-in-cheek “Never Say Die” might be, it is an interesting record which should be taken on it’s own rather than compared to Black Sabbath’s earlier material including the previous “Technical Ecstacy”.

Following the tour of the album, Black Sabbath spent nearly a year working on material for the next album. With pressure from the record label, and frustrations with Osbourne’s lack of ideas coming to a head, Iommi made the decision to fire Ozzy Osbourne in 1979.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Geezer Butler / Bass
- Ozzy Osbourne / Vocals
- Bill Ward / Drums, Vocals (9)
- Don Airey / Keyboards
- John Elstar / Harmonica
- Will Malone / Brass arrangements

Track List:
01. Never Say Die – 3:49
02. Johnny Blade – 6:28
03. Junior’s Eyes – 6:43
04. A Hard Road – 6:06
05. Shock Wave – 5:16
06. Air Dance – 5:18
07. Over To You – 5:24
08. Breakout – 2:35
09. Swinging The Chain – 4:05

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Don Airey, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi

Cervello – Melos (1973) (@256)

20 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Cervello’s music ranges from heavy to spacey to pastoral and includes touches of jazz and classical influences. Instrumentation contains flute, piccolo, sax, acoustic guitar and vibraphones in addition to the usual electric guitars, synths, drums and bass.

Based on a Greek mythology concept, Cervello’s only album clearly has its roots in Van Der Graaf Generator’s first period with complete sections being about as chaotic as the Generator could make it. This is so very evident in the three-part “Trittico” although they still manage to make it sound personal. Although the link to the other King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator influenced band, Osanna was not yet realized (the guitarist/vocalist Rustici will join Osanna later and will also end up in Uno), it is clear that every proghead will put this album right next to Osanna’s Palepoli (easily their best) album in their collection.

There are many good moments on this album but the music tends to stay a bit too wisely conventional (even with their impressive influences) to really arouse you to excitement, but always keeping your attention on the luscious ambiances from crazy saxes and calmer flutes.

Line-up:
- Antonio Spagnolo / 6 & 12 string acoustic guitar, bass, pedal, recorder, vocals
- Giulio D’Ambrosio / electric sax (contralto & tenor), flute, vocals
- Corrado Rustici / guitar, recorder, flute, vibraphone, vocals
- Gianluigi Di Franco / lead vocals, flute, small percussion
- Remigio Esposito / drums, vibraphone

Track List:
01. Canto Del Capro – 6:33
02. Trittico – 7:19
03. Euterpe – 4:31
04. Scinsione (T.R.M.) – 5:43
05. Melos – 4:59
06. Galassia – 5:47
07. Affresco – 1:08

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Black Sabbath – Technical Ecstasy (1976) (@256)

19 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)

“Technical Ecstasy” continues the band’s separation from its signature doom and darkness that had been such a trademark of the band’s early career. While the album’s lyrics deal with topics such as drug dealers, prostitution, and transvestites, the music itself is seldom dark and some tracks are very different from Black Sabbath’s earlier recordings.

Omnipresent keyboard textures definitely give the band a new dimension here and is used to great effect, particularily on on “Rock N`Roll Doctor” where the piano adds to the song’s traditional rock ‘n’ roll feel contrasting with Iommi’s heavy guitar riffing.

If the plodding “All Moving Parts (Stand Still)” which seems to be about corrupt, cross dressing, alcoholic politicians who are into sado masochism appeared on any earlier Sabbath album it would have been received with accolades just the same way the “Hole In The Sky” or “War Pigs” were. The lyrics remind one of subject material Alice Cooper would prefer but it still has dark conotations of earlier Sabbath compositions.

At the same time “Back Street Kids” sounds like an attempt at creating some sort of anthem for kids to identify with much the same way they did with songs from the first two Black Sabbath albums and if listened to carefully one may discover where Heart might have got the main riff for their hit Barracuda off their 1977 Little Queen album.

The catchiest track on the album, “Gypsy”, continues on with traditional Sabbath doom & gloom doctrine with references to a bleak future and features some real headbanging riffing from Iommi and some nice orchestrations and has to be one of the most overlooked Sabbath songs ever.

“Dirty Women” sums up the sentiments within the band using the metaphor of ladies of the night to reflect their need for unconditional escapes from the demands and rigours of their chosen proffession as rock ‘n’ roll stars. It contains all the heaviness Sabbath was all about.

By far not Black Sabbath at the top of their game but “Technical Ecstasy” must be approached cautiously, bearing in mind that this was a band at a stage where fame and fortune and changing trends were having effects on them. The album, without a doubt, contains some very memorable Sabbath material and the imperfections which occur can be easily overlooked.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Geezer Butler / Bass
- Ozzy Osbourne / Vocals
- Bill Ward / Drums
- Gerald Woodruffe / Keyboards

Track List:
01. Back Street Kids – 3:47
02. You Won’t Change Me – 6:42
03. It’s Allright – 4:04
04. Gypsy – 5:14
05. All Moving Parts (Stand Still) – 5:07
06. Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor – 3:30
07. She’s Gone – 4:58
08. Dirty Women – 7:13

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi

Ian Wallace – Happiness With Minimal Side Effects (2003) (@256)

19 Sep 2008

(Review from wikipedia, cdbaby.com, amazon)

Judge a man by the company he keeps, so the saying goes. By those standards, the company Ian Wallace keeps would rank him among the most accomplished and highly regarded drummers of his time. Sought out by acclaimed artists and successful record producers, and a favorite of fellow musicians, Ian Wallace has quietly amassed one of the most impressive musical resumes of the last three decades.

Yet he’s probably most known with his work as a member of King Crimson, in the 1971-72 period. He appeared on the album, “Islands” in 1971, and on the live album, “Earthbound” in 1972, as well as a number of later archival releases.

His sole solo album was released in 2003. The album has sweeping arrangements that groove in odd time signatures with layered melodic harmonies that tell a tale of modern existence.

The music is very crimsonish at times, partikcularly on ‘Too Much Dogma’ and ‘Castaway’. It’s a shame the intro didn’t last longer. There is mellotron aplenty and it could well fit into the ‘Islands’ album. There is some Beatle-ish chorus’s throughout. The latter tracks are like Steely Dan with the funky bass lines.

On August 10, 2006, Wallace was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He chronicled his illness in his online blog in the hope his story would encourage others with similar symptoms to pursue treatment. He died, aged 60, with his wife, Marjorie Pomeroy, at his side.

Line-up:
- Ian Wallace / Percussion, Drums, Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals
with
- John Billings / Bass
- Clive Gregson / Guitar
- Pat Mastelotto / Drums
- Ian McDonald / Flute
- Michael Rhodes / Bass
- Kenny Vaughan / Electric Guitar

Track List:
01. Too Much Dogma
02. Castaway
03. I Can’t Breathe
04. Bad Boy
05. Captain Of Industry
06. The Spotlight
07. Pilgrim’s Progress

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Ian McDonald, Ian Wallace, Pat Mastelotto

Black Sabbath – Past Lives (Live 1970-75) (@256)

18 Sep 2008

(Review from allmusic, amazon)

It’s hard to believe the Black Sabbath of the 70s never officially released a live album at the peak of their initial arena-packing success. There was an unofficial album named “Live at Last” released in 1980, suffering from flat sound and an abrupt ending.

This 18-track double-CD fills the gap, includes all the tracks in “Live at Last” with an additional nine more early, previously unreleased live Sabbath tracks. It has been remastered and remixed to give it the spacy vibe and airy sound it needs.

Recorded at several different points in their career, this live album is a psychedelic journey into the primal sludge of early heavy metal, warts and all. Wrong notes, tempo mistakes, meandering jams, and a stoned Ozzy Osbourne (he proudly admits this fact) may seem like detriments but when paired with music it gives it an endearing urgency that keeps the album interesting.

Black Sabbath plows through these songs like a tank, offering up a wall of grunge that has more in common with the Stooges than the technical hard rock being offered up by the band’s contemporaries at the time. Tony Iommi is the star here, delivering blistering guitar work that is drenched in fuzz and sharp as a sword. Osbourne’s performance is also quite respectable, channeling a venomous stream of angst and rage that seems uncharacteristic when compared to his solo career. But his attitude is a key element, pushing him to steer his voice way out of his given range out of sheer passion during several key moments.

This is an inspired performance that shows what the first half of the 70s Sabbath was at the time — constantly growing and shaping itself through the years.

Line-up:
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Geezer Butler – bass
- Bill Ward – drums

Track List:
CD1
01. Tomorrow’s Dream (3:03)
02. Sweet Leaf (5:26)
03. Killing Yourself to Live (5:29)
04. Cornucopia (3:57)
05. Snowblind (4:46)
06. Children of the Grave (4:33)
07. War Pigs (7:36)
08. Wicked World (18:55)
09. Paranoid (3:14)
CD2
01. Hand of Doom (8:25)
02. Hole in the Sky (4:46)
03. Symptom of the Universe (4:52)
04. Megalomania (9:53)
05. Iron Man (6:25)
06. Black Sabbath (8:23)
07. N.I.B. (5:31)
08. Behind the Wall of Sleep (5:03)
09. Fairies Wear Boots (6:39)

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Live, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi

Atlas – Bla Vardag (1979) (@256)

18 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Beside the original Kaipa, Atlas is probably the most representative 70s Swedish progressive sound. It’s very far from the 90s Scandinavian bands: here, music isn’t nostalgic or depressive; it’s almost fun. Featuring dueling keyboardists Bjorn Ekborn and Erik Bjorn Nielsen, this wholly instrumental album mixes a big, classic-progressive symphonic style with a breezy, fusion jazz feel for something quite unique and refreshing.

“Pa Gata” is the epic on the album is a definate highlight showcasing all the bands brilliance, from the upbeat an jazzy to the cheeky to the sombre to the defiant, it’s really amazing how in looking back the song takes you to so many different places.

Marked with excellent sense of melody and musicians’ professionality, “Bla Vardag” is one and only attempt from this unique band.

Line-up:
- Bjorn Ekborn / organ, piano, synths, clavinet, mellotron, Rhodes
- Erik Bjorn Nielsen / synths, mellotron, Rhodes, organ, piano
- Micke Pinotti / drums
- Uffe Hedlund / bass, bass pedals, guitar
- Janne Persson / guitar, percussion

Track List:
01. Elisabiten – 7:12
02. Pa Gata – 14:10
03. Bla Vardag – 6:56
04. Ganglat – 2:52
05. Den Vita Tranans Vag – 7:18
06. Bjornstorp (Bonus) – 6:17
07. Hemifran (Bonus) – 7:50
08. Sebastian (Bonus) – 4:31

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Black Sabbath – Sabotage (1975) (@256)

17 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Black Sabbath’s sixth studio album relies heavily on keyboards, including synthesisers, played by Gerald Woodruffe. Also present are the English Chamber Choir!

Two epic tracks attract immediate attention. “Megalomania” is a superbly crafted 10 minute piece which focuses on the main theme (or concept) of the album, insanity and mental illness. The track starts as a slow, menacing nightmare with lyrics. About midway, the pace is increased and track transforms into a magnificently pompous orchestrated cacophony. Ozzy sounds positively insane as he vividly describes his nightmares, the stereo effects enhancing the experience.

At over 8 minutes, “The Writ” also has plenty of space for symphonic orchestration and a fine arrangement. The track, which is reportedly aimed at a previous band manager, is full of acidic lyrics such as. The final section includes some excellent soft verses which are counterbalanced by the louder “everything is gonna work out fine” choruses.

These two tracks, which represent just under half the album, are enough reason alone to make “Sabotage” a good album. In fact though, they are supported by a further six fine songs. Like “Megalomania”, “Thrill of it all” sets out as a slow, heavy dirge, but is transformed midway into an upbeat thriller with soaring synths and multi-tracked vocals.

While there are no obvious hit singles, the most commercial track is “Am I Going Insane (Radio)”, which features an irritatingly catchy chorus. The “radio” word in the title does not mean it is a radio edit, there are no other versions. The word apparently is cockney rhyming slang for “mental”, coming from the long gone company Radio Rental.

The oddest track is “Supertzar”, which is nominally an instrumental, but features a choral interlude.

This is a truly superb album which belies any notion that Black Sabbath did not work hard on their releases. There is a level of attention to detail here is combined with some top class song writing. “Sabotage” took considerably longer to record and produce then previous Black Sabbath albums. Over the years, Ozzy Osbourne has often complained in interviews that this album marked the beginning of what he described as Tony Iommi’s studio production obsession.

Line-up:
- Tony Iommi / Lead Guitar
- Geezer Butler / Bass
- Ozzy Osbourne / Vocals
- Bill Ward / Drums
- Gerald Woodruffe / Keyboards

Track List:
01. Hole In The Sky – 3:59
02. Don’t Start (Too Late) – 0:49
03. Symptom Of The Universe – 6:29
04. Megalomania – 9:46
05. The Thrill Of It All – 5:56
06. Supertzar – 3:44
07. Am I Going Insane (Radio) – 4:16
08. The Writ – 8:45

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi

Joni Mitchell – Hejira (1976) (@256)

17 Sep 2008

(Review from allmusic, wikipedia)

Uncompromising and iconoclastic, Joni Mitchell confounded expectations at every turn; restlessly innovative, her music evolved from deeply personal folk stylings into pop, jazz, avant-garde, and even world music, presaging the multicultural experimentation of the 1980s and 1990s by over a decade. Fiercely independent, her work steadfastly resisted the whims of both mainstream audiences and the recording industry.

Her 9th album’s title, Hejira is a transliteration of the Arabic word hijra, which means “journey”, referring specifically to the prophet Muhammad’s and his followers’ escape from Mecca to Medina in 622. The songs on the album were largely written on while she was traveling cross-country by herself with prominent imagery including highways, small towns and snow.

Some vestiges of her old style remain here; “Song for Sharon” utilizes the static, pithy vocal harmonies from Ladies of the Canyon’s “Woodstock”, “Refuge of the Roads” features woodwind touches reminiscent of those in “Barangrill” from For the Roses, and “Coyote” is a fast guitar-strummed number that has precedents as far back as Clouds’ “Chelsea Morning”.

But by and large, this release is the most overtly jazz-oriented of her career up to this point — hip and cool, but never smug or icy. “Blue Motel Room” in particular is a prototypic slow jazz-club combo number, appropriately smooth, smoky and languorous. “Coyote”, “Black Crow” and the title track are by contrast energetically restless fast-tempo selections. The rest of the songs here cleverly explore variants on mid- to slow-tempo approaches. None of these cuts are traditionally tuneful in the manner of Mitchell’s older folk efforts; the effect here is one of subtle rolls and ridges on a green meadow rather than the outgoing beauty of a flower garden.

Mitchell’s verses, many concerned with character portraits, are among the most polished of her career; the most striking of these studies are that of the decrepit Delta crooner of “Furry Sings the Blues” and the ambivalent speaker of “Song to Sharon”, who has difficulty choosing between commitment and freedom. Arrangements are sparse, yet surprisingly varied, the most striking of which is the kaleidoscopically pointillistic one used on “Amelia”. Performances are excellent, with special kudos reserved for Jaco Pastorius’ melodic bass playing on “Refuge of the Roads” and the title cut.

The album has a restless feeling throughout it… The sweet loneliness of solitary travel.

Line-up:
* Joni Mitchell / vocals, acoustic & electric guitars
with
* Larry Carlton / acoustic & electric guitars
* Abe Most / clarinet (5)
* Neil Young / harmonica (3)
* Chuck Findley / horns (9)
* Tom Scott / horns (9)
* Victor Feldman / vibraphone (2)
* Jaco Pastorius / bass (1, 5, 7, 9)
* Max Bennett / bass (3, 6)
* Chuck Domanico / bass (8)
* John Guerin / drums
* Bobbye Hall / percussion

Track List:
01. Coyote – 5:01
02. Amelia – 6:01
03. Furry Sings The Blues – 5:07
04. A Strange Boy – 4:18
05. Hejira – 6:41
06. Song For Sharon – 8:38
07. Black Crow – 4:22
08. Blue Motel Room – 5:04
09. Refuge Of The Roads – 6:38

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Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) (@256)

16 Sep 2008

(Review from allmusic, wikipedia)

With 1973′s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (their fifth masterpiece in four years), Black Sabbath made a concerted effort to raise their creative stakes and dispensed unprecedented attention to the album’s production, arrangements, and even the cover artwork.

While faithful to the band’s signature compositional style and sound, brilliant songs such as the title track, “A National Acrobat,” and “Killing Yourself to Live” also displayed a newfound sense of finesse and maturity. The introduction of keyboards and synthesizers, on the other hand, meets with mixed results. Erstwhile Yes keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman makes a positive contribution to “Sabbra Cadabra”. “Spiral Architect” benefits from its tasteful background orchestration, and the gentle “Fluff” is a truly memorable solo instrumental from guitarist Tony Iommi.

With “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, for the first time in their career, the band began to receive favourable reviews in the mainstream press.

Line-up:
- Ozzy Osbourne / vocals
- Tony Iommi / guitar
- Geezer Butler / bass
- Bill Ward / drums
with
- Rick Wakeman / Keyboards (4,6)

Track List:
01. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath – 5:45
02. A National Acrobat – 6:16
03. Fluff – 4:11
04. Sabbra Cadabra – 5:59
05. Killing Yourself To Live – 5:40
06. Who Are You – 4:11
07. Looking For Today – 5:06
08. Spiral Architect – 5:29

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Rick Wakeman, Tony Iommi

Skryvania – Skryvania (1978) (@256)

16 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Back in the mid 70s, the almost fully instrumental quartet Skryvania came from the union of a bunch of French teenage progressive-heads – still in high school – who wanted to emulate their musical idols: Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd. While doing their first gigs as a progressive cover band, they started to create their own ideas, and by the end of 1977 they had enough original material to fill a long-play.

Their sole album has the classic symphonic rock sound with energetic, complex and changing melodies keeping the beauty sense. The band’s progressive style portrays a feel very much related to that of their compatriots Pulsar, as well as Floyd-influenced German bands such as Eloy and Novalis: the abundant use of hypnotic keyboard layers (on organ and string synth, mostly) creates that impression. On the other hand, Olivier Marina’s guitar leads sounds very influenced by Andy Latimer and Steve Hackett, albeit with a rougher edge: the importance of the guitar presence makes the band’s overall sound lean closer to Mona Lisa and the rockier facet of classic Genesis. The band is decidedly centered on the symphonic trend of prog, with an added touch of spacey psychedelia.

The generous bonus tracks serve up something really tasty. You’ll get to hear these guys try and pull off parts of “Ritual” and “Close to the Edge.” And yes, they do pretty good job!

Humorously, the album cover is supposed to depict the band as the winged creature, driving Yes and Genesis (the rat) from their throne in order to assume their place. These guys did not have a self-esteem problem!

Line-up:
- Henry-Jean Aubin / organ, synthesizers, violin
- Harold Bakobza / organ, synthesizers, violin
- Olivier Marina / guitars, vocals
- Benoit Reeves / drums, percussion
- Alain Yvorra / bass, bass pedals, vocals

Track List:
01. Tristan & Iseult – 11:03
02. Raid – 3:24
03. Le Chateau D’orphee – 7:25
04. Intro – 2:25
05. Epopee – 10:33
06. Final – 5:59
07. Renaissance (Bonus) – 9:05
08. Ritual (Bonus) – 1:17
09. Close To The Edge (Bonus) – 0:59
10. Hairless Heart (Bonus) – 2:14
11. Le Chateau D’orphee (Bonus) – 7:06

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Black Sabbath – Vol 4 (1972) (@256)

15 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

In June 1972, the band reconvened to record what would become their fourth studio album. It was originally titled “Snowblind” after the song of the same name, which deals with cocaine abuse. The record company changed the title at the last minute to Black Sabbath, Vol 4. Nonetheless, controversy wasn`t entirely averted as the band somehow manage to thank the COKE-cola company on the credits inside the gatefold cover on early vinyl editions. Ozzy also manages to whisper the word cocaine at the end of each verse of Snowblind as well.

The opener, ‘Wheels of Confusion’ has a complex and progressive structure, moving from part to part, and with a marvellous outro (‘The Straightener’). It’s an eight minute mini-epic, and signals a much broader (and generally less heavy) sound than the blues previously employed on ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Masters of Reality’. Piano, mellotron and orchestra signalled an intention to widen their music.

“Tomorrow’s Dream” is another stirling classic track but often overlooked on this album but beautifully connected to the whole album’s delivery. It is memorable thanks to its simple structure and progression.

One of Black Sabbath’s spinal tap moments (actually almost 5 minutes of it ) occurs on the ballad “Changes” which, astonishingly, is one of their best known songs that was originally supposedly about drummer Bill Ward’s breakup with his wife. Accompanied by a sombre grand piano and a weeping mellotron Ozzy sounds so down in the dumps that you can almost envisage the tears of wax melting down the base of the candle-abra. At least it’s played in the slack key of C without any black keys to worry about through all the grieving. It makes one wonder how they found time to get so glum amidst all the groupies, endless narcotic supply and nonstop partying. In any case, hardcore Sabbath fans either love it or hate it and it did break some groud showing that tripped out rock stars have feelings as well. Other heavier bands and artists would follow suit, including token ballads on their albums.

‘FX’ is created from echoplexed guitar picking, ‘Supernaut’ has one of the most endearing riffs you’ll hear on this album, ‘Snowblind’ is a pure classic, ‘Laguna Sunrise’ is an almost symphonic piece with Iommi on classical guitar backed with a wistful string arrangement, ‘St. Vitus Dance’ is has an unusual rhythm, and ‘Under The Sun’ is full-on Sabbath at their heaviest – absolutely phenomenal track.

Line-up:
* Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
* Tony Iommi – guitar, keyboards
* Geezer Butler – bass
* Bill Ward – drums

Track List:
01. Wheels Of Confusion – 8:01
02. Tomorrows Dream – 3:11
03. Changes – 4:44
04. FX – 1:43
05. Supernaut – 4:49
06. Snowblind – 5:33
07. Cornucopia – 3:54
08. Laguna Sunrise – 2:55
09. ST.Vitus Dance – 2:29
10. Under The Sun – 5:52

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi

Sindelfingen – Odgipig (1973) (@256)

15 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Although clearly an amateurish record this little record is rather endearing and very enjoyable album with influences ranging from progressive folk to symphonic rock, the whole thing not being afraid to be largely instrumental and is of excellent sound quality. Many influences such as Pentangle (extensive use of the glockenspiel), Genesis (the voice intonations and guitar arpeggios), Yes (the booming bass), Focus (the frequent reprise of classical themes such as Greensleeves or Fur Eloise) are apparent.

The two long tracks on side 1 are easily the highlight and everything hints that these guys should’ve made it big and everyone of the four instrumentalists are all excellent at their respective crafts, however the almost 13 min Perpetual motion hovers a little too much around Classical themes and overstays its welcome just a tad, but it is still a tour-de-force. The title track is closing the album in odd folky fashion but not out of context.

Apparently the small text on the booklet, Sindelfingen was much more than a group as their shows involved dancers, visual artists, light engineers and even a string section (just before folding), making this even more odd that it is completely unknown.

Line-up:
- Richard Manktelow / vocals, guitars
- Mark Letley / bass, guitars
- Roger Thorn / drums & percussion
- Roger Woods / glockenspiel, oscillators
- Matt Letley / drums (7)

Track List:
01. Song For Dawn – 0:54
02. Three Ladies – 8:23
03. Today And Tomorrow – 9:42
04. Mark’s Bach – 1:06
05. Perpetual Motion – 12:39
06. Odgipig – 3:12
07. Birth (Bonus) – 11:57
08. The Undertaker (Bonus) – 2:03
09. Death (Part 1) (Bonus) – 11:33
10. Resurrection (Bonus) – 15:45
11. Epiloge (Bonus) – 2:40

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Black Sabbath – Master of Reality (1971) (@256)

15 Sep 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com, allmusic)

In February 1971, Black Sabbath returned to the studio to begin work on their third album. Following the chart success of Paranoid, the band were afforded more studio time and along with lots of money. The band drowned itself with drugs. It got to the stage where they came up with ideas and forgot them, because they were just so out of it.

For the recording of this album, Tony Iommi decided to de-tune his guitar down three semi-tones (or one and a half steps to C-sharp). This reduced string tension on his injured fingers, thus making the guitar easier for him to play. Geezer Butler also de-tuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. The result was a noticeably “darker” or “sludgier” sound.

Walls of riffs, religious premonitions and the band’s name inscribed in a purple hue forming a flapping banner through an invisible wind against a black backdrop of nothingness came “Master of Reality” in July 1971, just six months after the release of “Paranoid”.

A hacking cough introduces the opening track, Sweet Leaf, an ode to marajuana amidst searing guitar chords as if a soothing narcotic head experience is the only thing on Earth left worth loving. From the onset the heaviness of Master Of Reality cannot be uderstated. Tony Iommi`s slagging, sludging riffs, Geezer Butlers throbbing bass, Bill Ward bashing and thrashing his kit and Ozzy`s flat-line omnicient high pitched cat-strangling moans, combined with stark religious messages set the ambience over this deafening 34 minute excursion into the outer reaches of the twighlight zone.

The religious overtones on “After Forever” and “Lord of This World”‘s heavy and direct manner of their execution leave them open for misinterpretation by armchair satanists. “Children Of The Grave” is a call to arms to fight the evil designs of the powers that be and oddly enough, the scariest track on the album has nothing to do with religion, drugs or Satan at all.

“Into the Void” explores something that was real and pertinent in 1971 : the possibility of an all out nuclear war. And dark celestial images of ICBMs arcing through nocturnal skies towards their helpless ground zero grids hammer forth potential horrors of such an event without leaving much to the immagination.

Amidst all the cacophony and doubt “Master Of Reality” conjures, there emerges a macabre balllad appropriately entitled “Solitude” which contains Iommi’s haunting flute accompanying Ozzy’s mourneful woes. It`s meditative meloncholy is fitting and offers a contrast to the relentless riffing.

Following the “Master of Reality” world tour in 1972, Black Sabbath started to become very fatigued and very tired. They’d been on the road non-stop, year in and year out, constantly touring and recording. “Master of Reality” was kind of like the end of an era and the band decided to take their time with the next album.

Line-up:
* Tony Iommi – Lead Guitar & Keyboards
* Geezer Butler – Bass
* Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
* Bill Ward – Drums

Track List:
01. Sweet Leaf – 5:05
02. After Forever – 5:27
03. Embryo – 5:00
04. Children of the Grave – 0:45
05. Orchid – 1:30
06. Lord of this World – 5:26
07. Solitude – 5:02
08. Into the Void – 6:12

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi

Saecula Saeculorum – Saecula Saeculorum (1976) (@256)

14 Sep 2008

6 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

This short-lived Brazilian band, Saecula Saeculorum delivered an extremely good album, with great musicianship and the combination of symphonic arrangements with great guitar, bass and drums is superb. The violin (played by Marcus Viana, future mastermind behind Sagrado Coracao da Terra) and the virtuosistic piano create rich symphonic textures. The vocals are mellow and beautiful. Their style is very close to folk-progressive, with harmonic violin, solos guitar, piano, bass and drums.

All the songs are great. The lenghty Saecula Saeculorum, with a stunning intro with majestic piano and violin. Great guitar and violin interplay and a good organ and choir passage. Acqua Vitae has a jazzy piano riff and guitar solo in the middle, before a pure classical piano passage. Eu quero ver o Sol has a great piano intro and a superb guitar solo in the middle. Constelaçăo de Aquarius has great piano and violin arrangements. The song is short, but the instrumental arrangement is fantastic. Radio no peito features good playing, beautiful singing and a beautiful piano arrangement in the end of the song.

A pity that the band survived for a short period. This is a symphonic rock masterpiece and one of the best Brazilian progressive rock bands.

Line-up:
- Giacomo Lombardi / piano
- Jose Audisio / guitars
- Bob Walter / drums
- Edson Pla Viegas / bass
- Marcus Viana / violins
- Juninho / bass

Track List:
01. Saecula Saeculorum – 8:05
02. Acqua Vitae – 6:19
03. Eu Quero Ver O Sol – 5:08
04. Constelacao De Aquarius – 3:25
05. Radio No Peito – 5:48

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Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970) (@256)

13 Sep 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

The historic four members of Black Sabbath went to the same Birmingham secondary school but played in two separate groups.

Tony Iommi initially played guitar left-handed. He lost two fingertips of his fretting hand in an industrial work-related accident at the age of 17. This almost convinced him to stop music but his foreman offered him a Django Reinhardt album (who also had limited use of his fretting hand) and this helped Iommi overcoming his handicap. After attempting to learn to play right-handed, Iommi strung his guitars with extra-light strings (using banjo strings, which were a lighter gauge than even the lightest guitar-strings of the time) and wore plastic covers over the two damaged fingers. He fashioned the latter himself, by melting plastic liquid-soap bottles into a ball and then using a soldering iron to make holes into this ball, putting his fingers in while the plastic was still soft enough to be shaped. He then trimmed and sanded away the excess plastic to leave himself with two thimbles, which he then covered with leather, to provide better grip on the strings.

Following the breakup of their previous band in 1968, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward sought to form a heavy blues band. They enlisted bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. The new group also featured slide guitarist Jimmy Phillips and saxophonist Alan “Aker” Clarke but after two gigs these two were dismissed and the band continued as a four-piece with the name “Earth”.

“Earth” played club shows in England, Denmark, and Germany, with sets consisting of cover songs by Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, and Cream; as well as lengthy improvised blues jams. In December 1968. While playing shows in England in 1969, the band discovered they were being mistaken for another English group named “Earth”, and decided to again change their name.

A movie theater across the street from the band’s rehearsal room was showing the 1963 Boris Karloff horror film Black Sabbath. While watching people line up to see the film, bassist Geezer Butler noted that it was “strange that people spend so much money to see scary movies”. Butler wrote a song titled “Black Sabbath” after reading a book by occult writer Dennis Wheatley, and seeing a black-hooded figure standing at the foot of his bed. Making use of the musical tritone, also known as “The Devil’s Interval”, the song’s ominous sound and dark lyrics pushed the band in a darker direction, a stark contrast to the popular music of the late 1960s, which was dominated by flower power, folk music, and hippie culture. Inspired by the new sound, the band changed their name to Black Sabbath in August 1969, and made the decision to focus writing similar material, in an attempt to create the musical equivalent of horror films.

It is difficult to find a more influential album in the heavy metal genre than Black Sabbath’s debut album. Graced with a gloomy old mill filtered photo with a so-called witch, the Brummie quartet went straight for the dark side of rock and their sinister looks sporting large crosses were certainly enhancing intently this image. Recorded and produced (almost inexistently by Rodger Bain) in just two days, this might seem today a real botch job in the light of modern technology, but it is precisely this rough, raw finish that gave this album its aura.

If anything must represent heavy metal, than the eponymous album opener is it: from its thunderstorm and bell intro, to the sinister slow descending riff (based on Gustav Holtz’s Mars piece from The Planets Suite) and Geezer Butler-inspired depressive lyrics, the group cannot help but launch a chain of reaction in everyone.

The following gloomy “Wizard” track is a blues-derived riff-laden song with an unusual pace and the dreamy, almost ambient by their standard, “Wall Of Sleep” with its great slower mid-section are not as much attention-grabbing, but remain quite solid tracks that make this album an all-time classic.

Closing the first side is an epic love song (NIB is not Nativity In Black), starting on a pulsating bass solo, than Iommi’s solid guitar riff takes over accompanying an average Osbourne vocal line, but for some reasons, the whole thing works quite fine and this track remains a classic to this day. Ward’s jazzy drumming throughout the album brings a bit of lightness to his three mate’s overpowering heaviness. Butler’s style is also bringing much air, as he generally shadows Iommi’s riffs (instead of countering or underlining them) and plays much like his inspiration, Cream’s Jack Bruce.

The flipside starts on a rare cover, the groovy bass-ed up Evil woman, which was originally intended as the single. “Sleeping Village” seems like a collage of three pieces, but comes off well in its second half, and might be as close as the band gets to an instrumental on this album. As this track ends in a feedback, the most impressive almost 11-min “Warning” (an Ainsley Dunbar Retaliation cover) starts exactly on that same feedback, and although it might appear as completely indulgent nowadays, it is one of the most Sabbath tune ever. Indeed the track is full of “solo” playing that seem to drag on a bit, especially Iommi’s guitar twangs in the middle section, but it got most future metalheads understanding what Iommi’s modified sound was all about. The closing “Wicked World” is another great Black Sabbath track, getting lost in the shuffle of their first two albums’ abundance of good ideas.

Line-up:
* Tony Iommi – Lead Guitar & Keyboards
* Geezer Butler – Bass
* Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
* Bill Ward – Drums

Track List:
01. Black Sabbath – 6:21
02. The Wizard – 4:24
03. Behind The Wall Of Sleep – 3:37
04. N.I.B. – 6:08
05. Evil Woman – 3:24
06. Sleeping Village – 10:44
07. Warning – 3:31

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Bill Ward, Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, Sakalli's Pick, Tony Iommi

George Thorogood and the Destroyers – George Thorogood and the Destroyers (1977) (@256)

13 Sep 2008

(Review from allmusic)

As a blues-rock guitarist who draws his inspiration from Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, and Chuck Berry; George Thorogood never earned much respect from blues purists.

Originally, Thorogood was a minor-league baseball player but decided to become a musician in 1970 after seeing John Paul Hammond in concert. Three years later, he assembled the Destroyers. Jarringly high-energy bunch whose raucous, slide guitar-stoked, blues-rock takes on blues classics helped land them a contract.

Though their debut album only contains three originals, its basic approach — heavy on Thorogood’s bluesy guitar playing — serves as the prototype for every Destroyers record that followed.

This is like the best bar band you’ve ever heard.

Line-up:
- George Thorogood / Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
- Billy Blough / Bass
- Jeff Simon / Drums
- Ron Smith / Rhythm Guitar

Track List:
01. You Got To Lose – 3:22
02. Madison Blues – 4:33
03. One Bourbon,one Scotch,one Beer – 8:30
04. Kind Hearted Woman – 4:25
05. Can’t Stop Lovin’ – 3:11
06. Ride On Josephine – 4:26
07. Homesick Boy – 3:13
08. John Hardy – 3:29
09. I’ll Change My Style – 4:06
10. Delaware Slide – 7:54

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Far East Family Band – Tenkujin (1977) (@256)

12 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Kitaro left the band (embarking on his soon to be famous solo career), so did Akira Ito. The remaining members brought in a new drummer Yujin Harada, trimming down Far East Family Band to a quartet.

“Tenkujin” proved to be the swansong of the band. After the Klaus Schulze style of electronic experimentations of “Parallel World”, the band went back to the earlier sound, concentrating, once again, on ballads.

The album opens up with a synth experiment called “Descension” before seguing in to the wonderful title track. This piece has vocals in Japanese, with great guitar and spacy synthesizers. “Timeless Phase” is a Floyd-like ballad with more than a passing resemblance to “Dark Side of the Moon”. “Nagare” and “From Far East” are more of the typical ballads found here, with the occasional Japanese influences (koto, shakuhachi). These songs are sung partly in English and in Japanese.

Line-up:
- Fumio Miyashita / vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, Bamboo flute, synthesizer
- Hirohito Fukushima / electric guitar, Koto, vocals
- Yujin Harada / drums, percussion
- Akira Fukakusa / bass

Track List:
01. Decension – 2:05
02. Tenkujin – 5:10
03. Timeless Phrase – 6:51
04. Nagare – 7:28
05. From Far East – 8:42
06. Ascension – 4:11

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Far East Family Band

I Teoremi – I Teoremi (1972) (@256)

12 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This Italian band’s only album was released in 1972. The music in this album is more like Led Zeppelin style hard rock but the overall sound is more progressive due to the imaginative rhythm section. The bass is in front of other instruments in mix and overall sound. All songs are heavy rock pieces. This album shouldn’t be expected to be similar to the symphonic Italian groups.

This edition includes two bonus tracks “Sognare” and “Tutte le Cose”, both similar to the original album tracks. The latter one of the bonus tracks is a cover of Jethro Tull’s “With you there to Help me”, but with Italian vocals.

Line-up:
- Aldo Bellanova / bass
- Mario Schiliro / guitar
- Claudio Mastracci / drum
- Vincenzo Massetti (Lord Enzo) / vocal

Track List:
01. Nuvola Che Copri Il Sole – 5:30
02. Qualcosa D’Irreale – 5:09
03. Il Dialogo D’Un Pazzo – 4:46
04. A Chi Non Sara Piu – 4:47
05. Passi Da Gigante – 4:06
06. Impressione – 7:23
07. Mare Della Tranquillita – 9:00
08. Sognare (Bonus) – 3:48
09. Tutte Le Cose (With You There To Help Me) (Bonus) – 3:49

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Far East Family Band – Parallel World (1976) (@256)

11 Sep 2008

(Review from hippy.com, gnosis2000.net, progarchives.com)

Generally considered as the high point of the band, “Parallel World” focuses on their instrumental cosmic sound with the two keyboard players are featured most prominently

The album starts off with the short “Metempsychosis”, which is basically drummer Shizuo Takasaki’s time to shine, with a bunch of electronic effects in the background. The next piece is “Entering/Times”. It starts off with lots of electronic effects that sound like something Schulze would do, before the rest of the band kicks in, with Fumio Miyashita (who also plays guitar), Akira Ito, and Kitaro giving us some great spacy synthesizers. The occasional wordless voice pops up as well. The next piece is “Kokoro”, which is a Pink Floyd-like ballad, sung in Japanese that’s more typical of their other albums.

The album’s real shining glory is the 30 minute title cut. Here the band goes on a lengthy jam, with the Akira Fukakusa’s bass dominating with tons of killer synths, lots of great spacy string synths and moog. After about halfway through this piece, the bass and drums gives away to straigh-up synth experiments. Somewhere you hear some chanting and references to Zen Buddhism. There are some truly mindblowing use of mellotron that pop up on occasions.

Line-up:
- Fumio Miyashita / guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Hirohito Fukushima / guitar
- Masanori Takahashi (Kitaro) / keyboards
- Akira Ito / keyboards
- Akira Fukakusa / bass
- Shizuo Takasaki / drums

Track List:
01. Metempsychosis – 4:47
02. Entering – Times – 15:54
03. Kokoro – 9:11
04. Parallel World – 30:08

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Far East Family Band, Kitaro

Holy Modal Rounders – 1 & 2 (1964) (@256)

11 Sep 2008

Request of Barbaros.

(Review from allmusic)

The Holy Modal Rounders were almost the very definition of a cult act. This isn’t a case of a group that would be described by such clichés as “if only they got more exposure, they would certainly reach a much wider audience”. Their audience was small because their music was too strange, idiosyncratic, and at times downright dissonant for mainstream listeners to abide. What makes the Rounders unusual in this regard is that they owed primary allegiance to the world of acoustic folk — not one that generates many difficult, arty, and abrasive performers.

The Rounders began recording in the mid-’60s for Prestige as an acoustic duo of Steve Weber and Peter Stampfel. Even at this early stage, they were not for everybody. Although clearly accomplished musicians, and well-versed in folk traditions, they were determined to subvert these with off-kilter execution and strange lyrics that could be surreal, whimsical, or just silly. They outraged folk purists by simply changing melodies and words to suit their tastes on some of their cover versions of old standards; Stampfel once said “I made up new words to it because it was easier than listening to the tape and writing words down”.

Although the Rounders’ first two records are their most “traditional” outings, one has to keep in mind that within the context of the early-’60s acoustic folk scene, they were quite maverick in their approach to old-time music. The second album’s sequencing was altered without the band’s consent before its original release. This double edition includes both albums, the second album resequenced to fit the band’s original intent with two bonus tracks.

The band’s debut has the edge over the follow-up, because of more memorable material, whether the arch wackiness of “Mister Spaceman” or the slightly off-kilter interpretations of old classics like “The Cuckoo.” The guitar and fiddle playing are quite accomplished; what gives this its modern edge are the irreverent, slightly comic vocals, which emphasize actual fun over authenticity.

In their second album mixing up the revered traditional song “Mole in the Ground” with the trippy “Crowley Waltz” was the whole idea! That quibble aside, however, this collection of outside material along the lines of the Stanley Brothers’ “Clinch Mountain Backstep” and Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues” with traditional folk songs (there’s only one original, Steve Weber and Michael Hurley’s fragmentary “Junko Partner”) is nearly as successful as the duo’s even weirder 1964 debut, showing that strangeness and mystery, along with raucous good humor, is at the heart of American folk music.

Track List:
01. Blues in the Bottle – 3:27
02. Give the Fiddler a Dram – 2:35
03. The Cockoo – 3:08
04. Euphoria – 1:34
05. Long John – 2:20
06. Sugar in the Gourd – 1:54
07. Hesitation Blues – 2:22
08. Hey, Hey Baby – 1:22
09. Reuben’s Train – 2:33
10. Mr. Spaceman – 1:56
11. Moving Day – 2:34
12. Better Things for You – 3:14
13. Same Old Man – 1:45
14. Hop High Ladies – 2:04
15. Bound to Lose – 4:18
16. Bully of the Town – 3:04
17. Sail Away, Ladies – 2:41
18. Statesboro Blues – 1:40
19. Clinch Mountain Backstep – 2:05
20. Down the Old Plank Road – 2:06
21. Black Eyed Suzie – 1:40
22. Hot Corn, Cold Corn – 2:13
23. Crowley Waltz – 1:36
24. Fishing Blues – 1:44
25. Junko Partner – 1:10
26. Soldier’s Joy – 3:11
27. Mole in the Ground – 2:50
28. Chevrolet Six – 2:03
29. Flop Eared Mule – 2:18

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Far East Family Band – Nipponjin (1975) (@256)

11 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

“Nipponjin”, with the subtitle of Join Our Mental Phase Sound is the second album from Far East Family Band. Basically these songs are remakes of stuff from “Cave Down to the Earth” and the “Far Out” album.

The album starts off with the title track, which sounds exactly like the original, but with added on synthesizers and Mellotron. The music starts of with spacy electronic effects, synthesizers, and electric sitar. Mellotron is used as well, then the music kicks in to a wonderful ballad, with drug oriented lyrics. After a few minutes, the ballad is over, and kicks in to a wonderful guitar jam. After a couple minutes, the music slows down once again, with the electric sitar once again. Then the song ends with chanting in “Om”, with some chanting in Japanese as well.

The next song, “The Cave” is more the style of Far East Family Band. Most of the music is sung in English, but the more intense passage has Fumio Miyashita singing in Japanese. “Undiscovered Northern Land” sounds like something Klaus Schulze might do, with the big exception of the mellotron and bamboo flute. “Timeless” is one of the more rocking numbers on this album. “The God of Water” is simply an ambient piece, that segues in to the ballad “River of Soul”. Several more pieces segue in to each other, before the final piece, “Mystery of Northern Space”. It is more dramatic than the rest with some strings arrangements.

Line-up:
- Fumio Miyashita / guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Akira Ito / keyboards
- Masanori Takahashi (Kitaro) / keyboards, percussion
- Hirohito Fukushima / guitar, vocals
- Akira Fukakusa / bass
- Shizuo Takasaki / drums

Track List:
01. Nipponjin – 16:52
02. The Cave – 8:32
03. Undiscovered Northern Land – 2:53
04. Timeless – 4:24
05. The God of Water – 2:06
06. River of Soul – 8:23
07. The God of Wind – 2:27
08. Movin’ Lookin’ – 1:35
09. Yamato – 0:47
10. Mystery of Northern Space – 5:56

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Far East Family Band, Kitaro

Far East Family Band – Cave Down to Earth (1974) (@256)

10 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Far East Family Band’s debut album could easily be considered Far Out’s second album as the group had recorded one of the earliest prog album under that name. The sextet, two guitarists and two keyboardists (among which future new age superstars Kitaro, Akira Ito and Myiashita), develop a very interesting and often exciting space rock, which has the intelligence of not over-indulging itself.

The album is a concept album as “The Cave” is arriving onto our planet, and the group is generally celebrating the beauties of nature. Obviously heavily influenced by Floyd (From Atom Heart Mother to Dark Side Of The Moon era), the group lays down some very credible ambiances that even Pink Floyd could’ve pulled off. Of course, the similarities are no accident, because the guitars often sound like Gilmour’s, while some keyboards layers could easily have been from Wright. The album glides smoothly, but not unnoticed, because they are enough delightful moments to make you forgive them for their too-obvious influences. And as if to prove me wrong the closing track, the 11-min Transmigration shows more Moody Blues vocal harmonies over a pedestrian Floyd soundscape, the whole thing underlined by a Mellotron and ending on newborn’s crying before picking up again only to have a siren warn us that the album is over.

This album will draw Klaus Schulze’s attention and he will collaborate with Far East Family Band on their next album (a rehash of the first two albums‘ highlights for the European market) Nipponjin and again on “Parallel World”. In the meantime this album often gets overlooked, but it fully deserves the proghead’s attention, as much as their Far Out release.

Line-up:
- Akira Fukakusa / bass
- Akira Ito / keyboards
- Fumio Miyashita / guitar, keyboards
- Hirohito Fukushima / vocals, guitar
- Masanori Takahashi (Kitaro) / keyboards, percussion
- Shizuo Takasaki / drums

Track List:
01. Undiscovered Northern Land – 2:53
02. Birds Flying To The Cave down to the earth – 4:33
03. The God Of Water – 1:53
04. Saying To The Land – 8:21
05. The God Of Wind – 2:21
06. Moving, Looking, Trying, Jumping in a Maze – 1:40
07. Wa, Wa – 0:48
08. Mystery Of Northern Space – 5:56
09. The Cave Down To the Earth – 8:18
10. Four Minds – 5:54
11. Transmigration – 11:02

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Far East Family Band, Kitaro

Kayak – Coming Up For Air (2008) (@256)

09 Sep 2008

(Review from dprp.net, progarchives.com)

After two concept albums Kayak returns to a song based album in the manner of Night Vision.

The opening simply blows you away. The keyboard melodies of Ton Scherpenzeel is overwhelming. Immediately pulling for attention is the fantastic voice of Cindy Oudshoorn – her singing was great on previous Kayak albums, but on this one she even turns it up a notch.

“Man In The Cocoon” is a short song but it doesn’t feel like that at all and when the song is over, it is hard not to be amazed that so many things can be put within a time frame of barely three minutes. The opening of the song for instance takes only eight seconds, any other band would have stretched it. It’s an aggressive song and heavy for a band like Kayak.

“Freezing” opens the section containing three ballads in a row. Starting very mellow with piano, halfway through this song changes into a somewhat heavy power ballad. The energy level increases on “Selfmade Castle”. A heavy rock song containing plenty of melodies. The title track is the only song that surpasses the time limit of six minutes. It has a Bodin-like circus melody, a typical Kayak song.

Cindy Oudshoorn is the true revelation on this album, she steals the show with her classy and passionate sound.

Line-up:
- Ton Scherpenzeel / keyboards, vocals
- Pim Koopman / drums, vocals, keybaords, guitars
- Cindy Oudshoorn / (lead) vocals
- Edward Reekers / (lead) vocals
- Rob Vunderink / (lead) vocals, electric guitar
- Joost Vergoossen / electric & acoustic guitar
- Jan van Olffen / bass

Track List:
01. Alienation – 3:54
02. Man In The Cocoon – 2:53
03. Time Stand Still – 3:21
04. Freezing – 3:50
05. Medea – 3:47
06. Daughter Of The Moon – 3:41
07. Undecided – 4:09
08. Sad State Of Affairs – 4:22
09. About You Without You – 3:16
10. The Mask And The Mirror – 4:45
11. Selfmade Castle – 3:33
12. What I’m About To Say – 4:24
13. Wonderful Day – 3:41
14. Broken White – 4:22
15. Coming Up For Air – 6:12

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Edward Reekers, Kayak, Ton Scherpenzeel

Far Out – Far Out (1973) (@256)

09 Sep 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This is the first chapter (or prologue) to the Far East Family Band group, one of the Japanese progressive precursors. The album was released under this name, but has the same line-up than Far East Family Band’s debut album.

Just two sidelong tracks on this album, but both are excellent and not holding any lengths or are not indulging in themselves. Both are a bit influenced by Pink’s psychedelic Floyd influences as well as a good dose of early 70’s UK proto-prog sound, but there is an undeniable personal feel as well, lying in an Indian music influence. Definitely lying in the last rays of the hippy culture, this album radiates a contagious happiness much the same way that Sweet Smoke was doing in their short discography.

Definitely worthy of investigation, even essential, especially in regards with the Japanese prog scene, this album deploys its charms to the listener and despite some obvious inspiration that are not concealed enough, the charms are operating an aural seduction to your brains. Recommended for those enjoying the early 70’s pastoral hippy ambiances.

The bonus tracks are all from Far East Family Band’s first official album, just skip them and get the real album.

Line-up:
- Fumio Miyashita / vocal, nihonbue, acoustic guitar, harmonica, moog (custom)
- Eiichi Sayu / lead guitar, hammond organ, chorus
- Kei Ishikawa / vocal, bass guitar, electric sitar
- Manami Arai / drums, nihon-daiko, chorus

Track List:
01. Too Many People – 18:00
02. Nihonjin – 19:53
03. Birds Flying To The Cave (Bonus) – 4:36
04. Saying To The Land (Bonus) – 8:28
05. Moving, Looking, Trynig, Jumping (Bonus) – 1:35
06. Wa Wa (Bonus) – 0:54
07. The Cave Down To The Earth (Bonus) – 8:23
08. Four Minds (Bonus) – 5:57
09. Transmigration (Bonus) – 10:54

Links in comments.

Far East Family Band

Taal – Skymind (2003) (@256)

09 Sep 2008

(Review from progressor.net, progarchives.com)

Taal’s sound incorporates enough ground for just about any fan to find something they’ll enjoy. The great bulk of it consists of symphonic, as can be seen by taking a glance at the instruments present on the album, and progressive metal due to heavy and aggressive guitar/drum combination that’s present throughout the album. Folk, jazz, and a solid helping of circus music get thrown into the array, and the manner in which the final product is formed gives this album an avant feel though not one objectionable enough to throw off even those that have reservations against that genre. The album flawlessly swirls through all these genres without ever sounding forced or jumbled.

If you don’t like what you’re hearing at the moment from this album, just wait twenty seconds, it will be different. It is refreshing to hear an original sound like this from a modern progressive band.

Line-up:
- Anthony Gabard / electric & acoustic guitars
- David Stuart Dosnon / bass
- Loic Bernardeau / acoustic drums & lead vcal
- Igot Polisset / electric & acoustic drums
- Sebastian Constant / keyboards
- Helene Sonnet / Flute & vocal on Blind Child
- Manu Fournier / violin & saxophone
- Gaelle Deblonde / violin
- Manue Bouriaud / viola
- Mehdi Rossignol / cello

Track List:
01. Skymind – 9:53
02. Yellow Garden – 7:38
03. Blind Child – 6:10
04. The Purple Queen’s Lips – 9:48
05. The Egg-Shaped Moon – 9:07
06. Stratus (Including The Little Beatle) – 13:24

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Taal

Kayak – Kayakoustic (Live 2007) (@192)

08 Sep 2008

4 comments

(Review from musicbymail.dk, kayakonline.nl)

The Dutch progressive outfit is back with a live album recorded in Hoogezand-Sappemeer (Nov 23rd 2006, Theater ‘t Kielzog) and Ermelo (Jan 31st 2007, Theater De Dialoog). The concerts are unique, inspiring, energetic and they have a great vibe.

The acoustic set is the essence of this album, only four songs are from the “electrical” second set : ‘Royal Bed Bouncer’, ‘When Hearts Grow Cold’, ‘Act of Despair’ and ‘Chance for a Lifetime’.

Line-up:
- Ton Scherpenzeel / keyboards, back vocals
- Pim Koopman / drums, percussions, back vocals
- Rob Vunderink / guitars, lead and back vocals
- Joost Vergoossen / guitars, back vocals
- Edward Reekers / lead and back vocals, keyboards
- Jan Van Olffen / bass

Track List:
01. See See The Sun – Introduction – 0:40
02. What’s In A Name – 5:45
03. Only You And I Know – 3:26
04. Anne – 4:32
05. Threesome – 1:26
06. Hold Me Forever – 4:13
07. You’re So Bizarre – 3:56
08. Land On The Water – 2:38
09. First Signs Of Spring – 3:48
10. Daughter Or Son – 3:59
11. Want You To Be Mine – 3:54
12. Ivory Dance – 2:55
13. The Fate Of Man – 2:09
14. See See The Sun – 4:52
15. Royal Bed Bouncer – 4:22
16. When Hearts Grow Cold – 4:09
17. Act Of Despair – 4:16
18. Chance For A Lifetime – 4:56

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Edward Reekers, Kayak, Live, Ton Scherpenzeel

Taal – Mister Green (2000) (@256)

08 Sep 2008

(Review from progressor.net, progarchives.com)

Hailing from France, this original band delivers a very creatively composed, diverse, and most importantly of all, progressive sound performed with passion and excellent musicianship. Cleverly mixing symphonic progressive, RIO/Avant and progressive metal; they are a band hard to classify.

Their debut “Mister Green” sets the luxuriant table of a shrewd and innovative musical banquet where only the unexpected is served, as each of the 9 courses on this menu continuously astonish.

The album’s (self-titled) only song (English lyrics written and sung by the drummer) stands in the middle of the track-list, being surrounded by all-instrumental compositions. Most of them range 8 to 15 minutes, while the opener (15-minute Barbituricus), third (13-minute Flat Spectre), and closer (12-minute Super Flat Moon) are especially rich in diverse and highly effective arrangements.

Taal recreates the complexity and enigmatic atmosphere of Anglagard, the energy of a young Dream Theater and the neo-classical approach of Yngwie Malmsteen.

Line-up:
- Anthony Gabard / guitar
- Loďc Bernardeau / drums
- David Dosnon / bass
- David Lucas / vocals
- Sebastien Constand / keyboards

Track List:
01. Barbituricus – 15:18
02. Coornibus – 8:42
03. Flat Spectre – 12:34
04. Ragtime – 2:40
05. No Way ! – 1:24
06. Mister Green – 4:34
07. Mister Grey – 4:33
08. Aspartamus – 7:35
09. Super Flat Moon – 11:06

Links in comments.

Taal

Kayak – Nostradamus (2005) (@256)

07 Sep 2008