Sukellusvene, Finland

Sukellusvene - Vesi- Ja Lintumusiikkia. 1979 Love.

Very nice fusion album. Primary instruments are sax, synthesizer and guitar. Sounds much more like an album from 1973/74 than anything as late as 1979. More of a gritty edge, and one track sounds like a lost organ freaky fusion number that would've shown up on the German MPS label (and naturally my favorite track). Another anachronism is the use of the wah wah pedal as a rhythm component. Not a totally breathtaking release, but executed perfectly for the 70s jazz fusion sound. Overall the album recalls early Weather Report and Bill Connors era Return to Forever. File next to the Jupu Group album. Band translates to "Submarine" and the album to "Water- And Bird Music".

Priority: 3

Gutura, France

Gutura - Des Etres Au Cerveau Apparent. 1980 Sterne.

Anguished fast paced instrumental post-punk music with distorted lead guitar and a chanting manic female voice who blurts out nonsensical wordless sounds. Very French. What I mean by that is France is the only possible country an album like this could've come out in 1980 (today, Japan would have to be considered a candidate). Closest band that sounds similar is Noa, another French band of course, though Gutura are definitely more harsh - in terms of rock music anyway. In reality, Gutura are one of a kind. Great cover.

Priority: 3

Hydrus, Italy

Hydrus - Midnight in Space. 1978 PDU.

Hydrus is one of the 3 indigenous electronic albums on the PDU label along with Eletriktus and Robert Cacciapaglia's "Sonanze". (As an aside, PDU were most known to collectors for their Italian pressings of the German Cosmic Courier clan). Of these, Hydrus is the only one that remains without a CD reissue. Hydrus could have been named Hybrid, as they mix spacey, non sequencer based electronic music with tiny hints of disco. Lovely wordless female vocals adds an exotic atmosphere. Not a bad record at all, though they should've let loose a bit more as the electronics get a bit static after while.

Priority: none

Izvir, Slovenia

Izvir - s/t. 1977 RTV.

Of all the obscure former Yugoslavian progressive rock albums, I think Izvir remains the most elusive. Starts out in spacey psychedelic territory ala Igra Staklenih Perli, but oddly enough abandons that sound altogether after about 4 minutes and opts for a funky fusion direction. Somewhere between mid 70s Santana (notable in the song craft, guitar and organ sounds) and “Dunajska Legenda” era Fermata, you’ll find the music of Izvir. This one is a grower, as the disco era melodies hold a certain nostalgic pull. Lots of clavinet, almost defining the funky sounds within.

Priority: 3

Jupu Group, Finland

Jupu Group - Ahmoo! 1975 Hi-Hat.

Heavy instrumental progressive fusion with guitar/violin/electric piano/Moog interplay. There is one boring drum solo to sit through. Typical mid 70s fusion, that was all the rage at the time. Similar to other European acts like Pumpkin, Pop Workshop, Energy, Ex Ovo Pro - and of course the forebearers of the movement: Return To Forever and Weather Report.

Priority: none (though many folks I know rate this one much higher than myself)

Joachim Kuhn, Germany

Joachim Kuhn - Cinemascope. 1974 MPS.

Talented jazz and fusion keyboardist who had many albums through the 60s and 70s (and beyond). "Cinemascope" is probably the rarest from this time frame, and the one that is most aligned with this website's focus. A very strong fusion effort, with Toto Blanke lighting it up on guitar. Features a brilliant gatefold cover that would make for a gorgeous Japanese mini-LP! Followup album "Hip Elegy" has been reissued by parent label MPS, so perhaps "Cinemascope" isn't far behind.

Priority: 3

Lubat / Louiss / Engel Group, France

Lubat / Louiss / Engel Group - Live at Montreux. 1972 Les Disques Pierre Cardin.

Jazz and rock veterans join up for an underground freak session at Montreux, just the kind of happening that was all the rage in 1972. Shame that the jazz purists put this type of radical invention into an early grave, but from about 1969-1974 or so, Pandora's Box was opened for all to see, warts and all. LLE can be classified along with similarly minded collectives such as Association P.C., Wolfgang Dauner's Et Cetera, Fourth Way and Exmagma. This is highly inventive fusion, but not flashy or chops heavy. Not all of it works, but they're going for broke, and sometimes it's fun to hear creativeness being made up as they go along. And who knew that Pierre Cardin was so hip? Sure beats his line of lime green raincoats...

Priority: None

Mythos, Germany

Mythos - Quasar. 1980 Sky.
Mythos - Grand Prix. 1981 Sky.

Mythos' first 4 albums were reissued by Spalax over 15 years ago, and many have been repressed more than once (most notable is Captain Trip's outstanding mini-LP reissue of the debut). But these latter two have never seen the light of day in the digital age. Mythos' first two releases are classics in the Krautrock/electronic rock genre, but the next two albums were pretty mundane straight ahead hard rockers. Which is why I didn't think these latter efforts would amount to much (and, truth be told, "Grand Prix" didn't). "Quasar" is definitely a creative effort, with quirky electronics and fast paced mechanical (and some real) drums. Stefan Kaske still sings in his ridiculous out of tune low voice, but is sporadic and fortunately buried in the mix. Some really great synthesizer work here, plus it's nice to see Kaske not abandon the flute, and he puts the instrument through many effects to achieve a cool sound. Innovative effort, unlike any other album really. Like a New Wave / Berlin School / Krautrock album. I personally think it's their best album after "Dreamlab". "Grand Prix" picks up where "Quasar" left off and dives completely into the "man machine" early 80s synth pop New Wave racket. 'Robot Secret Agents' is downright hysterical, with Kaske's poor attempt at a British accent. What saves the album from a total disaster, is that Kaske flat out refuses to put away the flute, and its presence here is completely at odds with the rest of the material. Fortunately, that is.

Priority: None

Nuit Caline A La Villa Mon Reve, Belgium

Nuit Caline A La Villa Mon Reve - Juillet 1977. 1977 International Bestseller Company / IBC.

Large collective from the south of Belgium that sounds to me like many of the albums coming out of Quebec during this time. Very much a communal affair, with many ideas and a general uplifting mood. Violin, female vocals and acoustic guitar dominate, with many other instruments providing some color. Another nice album on the excellent IBC label. For fans of Connivence, Le Temps and L'Engoulevent.

Priority: 3

News: Wooden Hill Records to reissue Dear Mr. Time

According to a contributor on Progressive Ears, Dear Mr. Time's excellent "Grandfather" album is to be reissued by the end of the year on Wooden Hlll, Tenth Planet's subsidiary label. This is excellent news and one of our Priority 3's (maybe even Priority 2).

Osiris, Japan

Osiris - In the Mist of Time. 1980 private.

One man band fancies himself as a Richard Pinhas virtuoso, complete with dark synthesizer runs and ominous guitar journeys. However, there are those annoying late 1970s and early 1980s cheesy synth tones, that in turn bog down a promising album. Especially when considering the wonderful mad bursts of fuzz guitar that come out of nowhere. Worth a few listens, but not essential. Fans of artists like Ilitch would certainly benefit from a CD reissue, and that would be the target audience.

Rateyourmusic lists many more titles than this by Osiris, but "In the Mist of Time" is the only I've ever seen in catalogs (and I owned the vinyl for about 10 years as well).

Priority: None

Update: Italian box sets are out

Earlier in the month we had been a bit dismayed by the fact that the only way to buy the new Sensations Fix CDs, is to buy the box sets with 5 other releases, most of which have been already reissued (many times).

Well, the good news is that the box sets are only $45 each. At that price point, they make more sense, especially considering that all of these have been newly remastered. They do come with sleeve inserts, as suspected, so they aren't something one would sell or buy individually.

Pyranha, Switzerland

Pyranha - s/t. 1972 Epsilon.

Pyranha's sole album sounds like a lost recording from the Futura label. There's quite a bit of psychotic ranting in French over studio effects, vibes, guitar and percussion. Also some organ and electric piano driven rock sessions. Album opener is even a bit funky. Only misstep is the second song on side 1 ('Time 13'), a misguided improvisation that seems to serve no purpose whatsover. Unfortunately it's also the longest track at nearly 13 minutes long. Had that track just been merely average, and not so obtrusive, I think I would've considered this as a Priority 3. A fascinating listen though.

Priority: none

Round House, Germany

Round House - 'Scuse Me. 1972 Harvest.
Round House - Down to Earth. 1973 Harvest.

German group who obviously spent a lot of time with their Chicago Transit Authority album collection. And they do a pretty convincing job with their variation of the horn rock sound. Some good grooves and they tend to veer towards the jazzy side, always a plus in this genre. Much better, I feel, than the more known Brain label horn groups like Emergency and Creative Rock. While the debut is solid, followup album "Down to Earth" is quite a bit more adventurous and includes a near side long suite similar to Chicago's 'A Girl from Buchanon', but overall less pop oriented. Both albums lack consistency, but there's plenty of great stuff here, especially considering the fiery Terry Kath inspired wah wah guitar.

Note that Rateyourmusic lists the group as from Zurich, Switzerland. I haven't found any other evidence of that, other than a brief mention in a record sale. I'll leave as Germany for now.

Priority: 3

Hermann Szobel, USA

Hermann Szobel - Szobel. 1976 Arista.

An album that is complex as all get out by 18 year old prodigy pianist. Album has a distinct avant progressive flavor to it, though I suspect there's no intention of going for that sound per se. Instrumental Frank Zappa is an obvious influence here, with some tight wind charts, and I'm betting that Szobel may have heard a Henry Cow album or two. Arista started as a "progressive" label, much like Virgin did, but by 1978 they were already hopelessly signing commercial slop. Szobel's sole album remains as one of the most obscure on the label. He's pretty much disappeared into the ether, though there have been rumors of a reissue in the past.

Priority: 3