Crypto, The Netherlands

Crypto - s/t. 1974 Pandora/Negram.

Known as the Dutch Placebo, though I found this more funky and less "cool" than Marc Moulin's outfit. Fairly typical of the era, especially the synth work. The guitar and Rhodes playing is a bit more exceptional, however. Overall a good example of the European instrumental funky fusion sound. File next to Saluki, Pumpkin and Napoli.

Priority: 3

Dr. Dopo Jam, Denmark

Dr. Dopo Jam - Fat Dogs and Danishmen. 1974 Zebra.
Dr. Dopo Jam - Crusin' at Midnite. 1981 private.

Heavily influenced by Frank Zappa, with both the pluses and minuses that go with the name. For "Fat Dogs and Danishmen", the first half is fairly groan worthy, and it just seems a uniquely American way of doing things, so these Danes are missing the cultural background to make it successful. The second half adds in the Euro Fusion element (itself heavily influenced by Zappa) and is just jaw droppingly great. "Crusin' at Midnite" is a surprisingly great album for such a late date. Some really strong guitar, flute, synth and violin soloing + electric piano drives most of the songs. Plus plenty of nice horn charts. And the goofball quotient is mercifully down, though not completely out. There's also a funky edge present (think some of the late 70's Krautrock groups like Aera or To Be maybe). Their debut "Entree" was reissued by Karma, so hopefully they'll finish the discography. Bootlegs exist for Fat Dogs.

Priority: 3

Ex Ovo Pro, Germany

Ex Ovo Pro - European Spassvogel. 1976 Amayana.
Ex Ovo Pro - Dance Lunatic. 1978 Amayana.

Yet another fine German fusion band from the late 1970s. Both albums play a typical Eurofusion with melodic wind lines (generally supplied by sax with some flute), some good deep grooves and acid-y guitar solos and some standard late 70's CTI fusion. I could see this being the 5th or 6th Secret Oyster album if that makes sense. At its best, similar to groups like Missus Beastly or the Canterbury scene.

Priority: 3

Frantz, France

Frantz - Peut Etre Aux Yeux Silence. 1970 CAT.

Interesting French pop psych album, with female vocals/narration, organ, guitar. Not a lot of albums like this coming out of France from this era. If France Gall went underground, I could see this being the result. Fans of Popera Cosmic should check it out. Pretty cool album.

Priority: None

Le Grande Nebuleux, France

Le Grand Nébuleux Et Ses Laveurs De Consciences - Les Pirates du Cortex. 1978 Hocco Mitu.

Interesting and complex jazz rock album with some freer structures. It tends to get a bit shrieky in the sax department and the compositions stray towards the unhinged. But that's not to say their aren't some stellar moments as well. Rhythm section is super tight, and the guitar playing sometimes has an acidic tone, which is more than welcome. Best track, and at complete odds with the rest of the material, is a mellow hand-percussion / flute piece with quirky French voices. Had the album been more composed and less improvised, it would've been a monster. As it stands, it's still quite good.

Priority: none

News: Look for 3rd Jan Dukes de Grey album in March

Well it goes to show that you never know what might turn up. Jan Dukes de Grey's "Mice and Rats in the Loft" is one of my Top 50 albums of all time, so I'm viewing this news with much interest. It's hard to tell exactly what the final result will be, but I'm most curious what they come up with. A different sounding project from 1976-1977 probably isn't going to sound anything like Mice and Rats, as it states below very clearly.

Label says: "Responsible for two of the strangest, most beguiling acid folk albums of the early 1970s, Jan Dukes de Grey have long been a legendary name on the prog/folk/psych collector circuit. When Cherry Tree reissued Sorcerers and the extraordinary Mice And Rats In The Loft on one handy double CD last year (to widespread acclaim, we might add), it seemed to be the final word on the band. However, during conversations with arch-Duke Derek Noy - the band's founder, guitarist, singer and songwriter - it transpired that Jan Dukes had actually gone on to record a third album, Strange Terrain, that had failed to appear at the time, largely due to the emergence of punk and the ensuing Collapse of Western Civilisation As We Know It. And here it is, complete with a handful of bonus tracks cut during the same timeframe (including the novelty single 'Standing In A Little 'Ole', issued under the band's punk-era pseudonym Rip Snorter). Recorded across 1976-77 under a production deal with Pink Floyd (Roger Waters produced and mixed two of the tracks), Strange Terrain reflects Derek Noy's desire to approach each album as a separate project rather than endlessly remake the same record. Dark, sombre and mysterious, Strange Terrain retains the boundless spirit of adventure and idiosyncratic approach to music-making that characterised their earlier albums, and is a vital addition to Jan Dukes de Grey's small but fascinating body of recorded work."

Horselmat, Sweden

Hörselmat - Svenska Löd AB. 1971 private.

One of the rarest albums from Sweden, if not THE rarest. Primarily a jazz funk album with blues overtones, that features none other than Janne Schaffer on guitar. Pressed in a micro quantity of 200 copies. Privately released album in an era when that kind of thing was unheard of. Great production, and some splendid guitar, trumpet, sax and organ work (ESPECIALLY the organ). Opening track is a killer horn rock piece ala primo Chicago. I can see this album being a huge hit with the DJ beatdigger hipster crowd. A little out of scope of our normal fare, but felt its rarity alone was worth its inclusion here.

Priority: none

Fred Israel, USA - Denmark

Fred Israel - Fashions of Moon. 1977 Hookfarm.

Oddball album, with strong smokey jazz sax tendencies, off-kilter vocals, sound collages, sitars, classical piano, mellotron, etc... Zappa once again is an obvious influence here, minus the crisp ensemble work. I even hear some early Cluster at work here, though seriously doubt Isreal was influenced, or even familiar with them. Heady album, though hard to imagine who the intended audience was. Bootlegs exist.

Priority: none

Anders Koppel, Denmark

Anders Koppel - Aftenlandet & Regnbuefuglen. 1977 Demos.

Anders Koppel was the keys player for Savage Rose and this his most known solo album. Parts of it were used for a soundtrack to a film called "Aftenlandet", and the album definitely has a soundtrack flow to it. There's very little cohesion between the tracks, though if each composition is evaluated individually, there's much to admire. An all instrumental album, Koppel was successful in putting together a quintet, giving it more a rock band feel, rather than just a bunch of studio musicians getting together to lay down some incidental music.

Priority: none

Steve Linnegar's Snakeshed, South Africa

Steve Linnegar's Snakeshed - Classic Epics. 1982 AD Records.

Sounds like a late 70s UK rock album, with a few progressive moves, especially on the 13 minute extended piece. Could see fans of England (on Arista) enjoying this one. A perfect candidate for Fresh Music.

Priority: none

Munju, Germany

Munju - High-Speed Kindergarten. 1976 April.
Munju - Moon You. 1977 Schneeball.
Munju - Brot + Spiele. 1979 Schneeball.
Munju - Le Perfectionniste. 1982 Exil.

One of the more known of the great Kraut fusion bands of the late 1970s and an original April/Schneeball label member along with Embryo, Missus Beastly and Real Ax Band. The first two albums are typical of the scene, both containing excellent instrumentals with sax/flute, a creative rhythm section, nice guitar, etc... "Brot + Spiele" adds in some New Wave elements and is highly original. Final album "Le Perfectionniste" is done at a time the band is playing with the Swedish RIO group Von Zamla and both groups took influences from each.

All the masters are apparently lost. To date, the band seems content to offer their music for free as a download, rather than as a proper reissue. Certainly a better deal for those looking to save money, but I would prefer to see a full CD (not CD-R) package with additional bonus tracks, etc... I could see Garden of Delights or Sireena doing a fine job with clean, mint vinyl copies.

Munju's albums can be downloaded by request from the band. Details here from their website.

Priority: 3

Noa, France

Noa - s/t. 1980 private.

Like Gutura, Noa features a histrionic female vocalist, piping the French language and enunciating syllables like another instrument. The music of Noa is of the jazzy Zeuhl variety, with plenty of sax (some shrieking), soaring flute and the expected rhythms of the genre. A pretty experimental record that could have only come out in France during this era (see the Gutura entry for more info on what I mean by that).

Priority: none

Noa, Japan

Noa - Tri-Logic. 1987 Pam.

In the 1980s there were a lot of Japanese progressive bands flying well under the radar (a few examples would be Nishin, Dada, Heretic, Saisai Koubou, Orpheus, Picaresque of Bremen - and many more). Noa would have to be considered in this group of bands. Musically a strong guitar fronted fusion/King Crimson hybrid, with typical 1980s era sounding keys. I've seen one Heldon reference in researching, but I don't hear it myself. Good album and worth seeking out.

Priority: none

Ose, France

Ose - Adonia. 1978 Egg.

Electronic progressive album with Richard Pinhas guesting on guitar, though not as dark as Heldon. A fine album that has so far escaped reissue. A good one for Soleil Zeuhl or Captain Trip.

Priority: 3

Psynkopat, Sweden

Psynkopat - Har Vi Någon Stil. 1978 Mistlur.

Primarily heavy progressive fusion mixed with experimental bits and a dollop of humor. If that sounds familiar, then yes, Psynkopat are indeed influenced by "Waka Jawaka" era Frank Zappa. The highlight of the album is the instrumental work, which remarkably manages to stay focused, with some fiery guitar - again emulating Zappa at his best. The sophomoric goofball elements drag it down considerably though. Other Scandinavian references are Storm (Sweden) and Dr. Dopo Jam (Denmark).

Priority: none

News: Horrific Child's very rare album coming out on Finders Keepers!

Finders Keepers is a London based label that specializes in albums with cult like followings. Mostly in the psych / funk / avant garde realms. For us at the CD RWL, they are most known for their reissue of Jean Claude Vannier's excellent "L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches". And to date, the label has been flirting with what must be considered the ultimate figure of the "cult-like following": JP Massiera. We've covered many of his albums on these pages. And no album from the master has the reputation of his Horrific Child "L'Etrange Monsieur Whinster" opus.

Our description found on the original page: "Horrific Child - L'Etrange Mr. Whinster (France) 1976 Europa. Where would the music world be without Jean-Pierre Massiera? It certainly would be a more dull place without him. Everything he was involved with can only be described as obscure. And now he's the undisputed king of the 1970's Euro oddball chase. And of all the albums he did, Horrific Child remains his most sought after, and arguably most eccentric release ever. The musical realization of a psychotronic B-Movie classic. If this were a movie, it would be on at 3:00 in the morning, on your cities' last standing UHF local station. "L'Etrange Mr. Whinster" defines Massiera's niche in life. Insanely great cover is begging for a Japanese mini-LP release."

The label says: "Part rock album, part experimental album, part imaginary horror soundtrack, L'étrange Monsieur Whinster is a psychedelic pop audio show, flowing naturally from one surprising sequence to the next. Horrific Child was the creation of one Jean-Pierre Massiera, also the composer behind the Les Maledictus Sound project from 1968. Les Maledictus Sound were an inventive, high-brow concoction of lounge-style instrumental mod big band music, with heavy brass, plucky bass and fuzz guitar. Horrific Child is certainly the logical stylistic next step from that record, evidence of the composer's having survived several years beyond the psychedelic era."

It looks like it's coming out on both CD and LP. Rarely do I take the LP reissue option, but I might in this case. Or both. It appears it will have two bonus tracks as well.

Resan, Sweden

Resan - s/t. 1973 Epic.

A very unusual album indeed, this Resan is. Starts out in a similar terrain to the The Beatles "White Album", before drifting off into a folky flute number ala Träd, Gräs och Stenar. But then the real party starts, with the remainder containing long, energetic, acid guitar driven numbers, some freaky percussion bits, dreamy cosmic pieces and an overall general sense of the psychedelic. Would've been a perfect fit for the Silence label. I could see where this album wouldn't be well received by many, given its eclectic nature, but I found most of it interesting at least. I could see this being a reissue for Transubstans or Mellotronen.

Priority: 3

Syncrisis, Germany

Syncrisis - Reflections In Musical Power (Germany) 1981 private.
Syncrisis - Sunny Crisis (Germany) 1982 Inside.

Syncrisis were led by guitarist Titus Köstler-Philipp, and his superior technical playing on "Sunny Crisis" is featured throughout. Similar to other German fusion bands at this time like Lindwurm, but with more emphasis on the smoking guitar. I also hear some of the same type of sounds as on the Red album (1983 UK - also featured on these pages), which may be the first time I've ever said that. With the technical, and fast, playing on the guitar, one can't help but to compare "Sunny Crisis" to Al Di Meola's best work like "Elegant Gypsy" or "Casino". The debut "Reflections in Musical Power" isn't quite as successful. Here Syncrisis trades in on some jazz fusion cliches like swapping guitar/keys solos, breezy tropical themes and the requisite tedious drum solo. Would be nice to see both of these on the same CD. Köstler-Philipp is still playing today and his latest group is called Dokapi.

Priority: none

El Trio (Lapouble / Lew / Cevasco), Argentina

El Trio (Lapouble / Lew / Cevasco) - Todo En Su Medida y Armoniosamente. 1974 Music Hall.

Highly inventive, and primarily instrumental, guitar trio with fuzzy electric and some well placed acoustic bits. The two tracks with female vocals are the highlights, and add to the jazzy psych allure of the material. Like a looser, more improvisational take on the second El Reloj album. Very short album clocking in around 28 minutes.

Priority: 3

Virgin's Dream, Germany

Virgin's Dream - Sophisty. 1980 Elm Records.

A few years ago, I received a package from Rolf Trenkler, former leader of Virgin's Dream. It contained a CD compiled from unreleased demos called "The X-Tapes" and dated primarily from 1972 (and I reviewed it for Gnosis). But there was no mention of this "Sophisty" album (maybe because he wasn't on it)! In fact, I see no similar members between the 2 albums. A similar thing happened with the band Moira, and yet there was a tie-in, just not on album. So this certainly could be the same band. The Krautrock-Musikzirkus website lists them together, as a band from Essen. But the history provided is strictly from "The X-Tapes" era. In any case, I never knew of its existence until a good friend of this site recently provided me with a CDR burn. Virgin's Dream, on "Sophisty" at least, are very much a product of the late 70s and early 80s German fusion scene. Perhaps a bit more tropical, and funky, than most. Comparisons to Michael Borner's Sun or some of Syncrises' work wouldn't be out of line. As usual, the guitar work is exemplary, a trademark of the time and place.

Priority: none

Vildkaktus, Sweden

Vildkaktus - Tidsmaskinen. 1970 MNW.
Vildkaktus - Vindarnas Vagar. 1971 Polydor.
Vildkaktus - Natten. 1973 Ljudspår.

The first two albums are like a Swedish Crosby Stills and Nash, especially around CSN's debut. Which means some jazzy sections, that adds flavor to an otherwise bland dish. Also some peppy Yes-like progressions circa "Time and a Word". Lyrics in Swedish add an exotic vibe (for us English speakers anyway). Nice album cover on "Vindarnas Vagar". A couple of swell albums here. I haven't heard "Natten", but gather it's similar.

Priority: none

Tamarisk, England

Tamarisk - s/t (England) 1982 private. Cassette only release.
Tamarisk - Lost Properties (England) 1984 private. Cassette only release.

Just as I'm trying to get my arms around the UK free festival cassette culture of the mid to late 80's, I'm also digging back into one of my early loves - the original UK neo prog scene of Pallas, Marillion, iQ, Pendragon, LaHost, Twelfth Night, et al... Tamarisk was one I missed from back in the day, but a good friend of this site sent me both of these albums on CD-R, and I was reminded of everything I like about the scene. They're tight, melodic, fast and reasonably complex. The vocalist sounds like every other UK vocalist who spent a wasted youth with his dogeared Genesis albums. The guitar playing, in particular, is well done. And lots of mellotron on "Lost Properties". All in all, very satisfying material. I'm not sure how many EP's and full albums I'm still missing from the NWOBPR scene (not to be confused with NWOBHM), but I'm curious what's still out there to be discovered. (for example, I just found out recently that LaHost's full works were released on CD in 1992. And I was pleasantly surprised by how strong the material was there too.)

Priority: 3

Seedog, Germany

Seedog - We Hope to See You. 1974 Delta Acustic.

On a label most known for two highly regarded avant Krautrock albums - Code III and Sand - Seedog couldn't be more different. This album has a poor reputation, most likely a reaction to the fact its not anywhere near the same style of the two aforementioned bands. It's not Krautrock in the traditional style, yet many of the elements are present: Soaring flute, long tracks and loud guitar solos. It would be passable as an album on Brain, perhaps a companion piece to albums by Cornucopia, Lava and Satin Whale. "We Hope to See You" is song oriented, with way too many vocals in accented English. But its surprisingly listenable with a chugging acoustic guitar driving the generally happy tone of the album. Had Agitation Free added a multitude of vocals after their "Second" album, then I could imagine Seedog coming from that. And, as it turns out, a former Agitation Free member indeed is a member of Seedog. Much better than I expected.

Priority: none

Alain Renaud, France

Alain Renaud - s/t (France) 1975 Disjuncta.
Alain Renaud - Out of Time (France) 1976 Disjuncta.

Alain Renaud played on some of the early Heldon albums, and his sound on these albums (especially the debut) is somewhat similar. The first album features long drifting cosmic pieces of electronics and guitar. Not as menacing or as immediate as Pinhas' works. I've had the first Renaud album since the mid 1980s, so I have a sentimental soft spot for it. "Out of Time" is a completely different affair. Here, Renaud mixes instrumental rock fusion with some vocal oriented tracks (extremely ill advised I must add) that have me coiling in despair. There is one longish electronic piece similar to the debut, that's quite nice. A reissue of the first, with a couple of bonus tracks taken from the second would be ideal.

Priority: none

Pancake, Germany

Pancake - No Illusions. 1979 Blubber Lips.

"No Illusions" is Pancake's third album, and an improvement compared to its two predecessors. Here, Pancake presents a typical German symphonic prog album with female vocals which veers towards the sound of bands like Octopus circa "Boat of Thoughts" or Streetmark's "Eileen". It's my personal favorite of the 3. Garden of Delights has already reissued both "Roxy Elephant" and followup "Out of the Ashes" so I suspect they'll ultimately finish their canon (though it is no longer listed on their future releases section, so maybe they deemed it not worthy?).

Priority: 3