D. Beaver ~ USA

Combinations. 1973 TMI

UMR review

Priority: 3

9/29/10 (new entry)

Melody ~ France

Come Fly With Me. 1976 Pole
Yesterlife. 1977 Vogue

UMR reviews

Priority: 2

9/28/10

Soffgruppen ~ Sweden

Greatest Sits (aka Soffgruppen). 1975 Nacksving

Splendid emotional heavy jazz rock album with trumpet, electric piano, organ and fuzz guitar highlighting the accent instruments. Musically sits somewhere between Ibis (Sweden), Berits Halsband, and the French school of 1970s underground rock.

Priority: 3

9/26/10

Master Cylinder ~ USA

Elsewhere. 1981 Inner City

UMR review

Priority: 2

9/25/10

Anamorphose ~ France

Palimpseste. 1986 private

UMR review

Priority: 3

9/24/10 (new entry)

Mendoza ~ Sweden

Mendoza. 1972 CBS

Despite sporting a cover of a very mean looking mustachioed dude with a dangling cigarette and sunglasses - and who would presumably be the band's namesake - Mendoza are in reality a 6 piece band made up of names like Arne Gustafsson, Lennart Palmefors, and Björn Larsson. The evidence is before the court, and methinks these Swedish lads were cashing in on the Santana concept. Ya think? I guess if they went by LARSSON or OLSON it wouldn't have the same impact now would it? No matter, because if this was the second coming of Abraxas, I could use any rationalization I felt like to justify my praise. But, alas, it's not. Though the opening instrumental is a smoker that held quite a bit of promise. For the most part, Mendoza sound like a typical American band, playing typical early 1970s American roots rock. Naturally enough, the guitar work is the highlight, not surprising given the genre.

Priority: none

9/23/10

Greg Sneddon ~ Australia

Mind Stroll. 1975 Mushroom

Well done symphonic progressive rock from multi-instrumentalist Sneddon. Nice keyboard work in particular. Reminds me of other Australian artists of the day like Mario Millo (Epic III and leader of Sebastian Hardie) and Chris Neal's Winds of Isis. There's a certain commercial slant found here, which is not uncommon for progressive rock artists operating in Australasia. 

Priority: 3

9/21/10

News: Audio Archives to release Second Sign

I don't know anything about this release, but it certainly looks intriguing. Nice to see Audio Archives back doing what they do best - finding unreleased obscurities. Here is the label's description:

"A previously unreleased progressive rock album recorded at Escape Studios in Kent during the mid 70s. Female vocalist Irene Menasche sounds as impressive as Spirogyra's Barbara Gaskin or Pauline Filby of Narnia, bands to which some of the material is comparable. The tour de force here, 'Golden Age', is a nine minute prog-rock epic, full of stunning harmonies, great guitar solos, wonderful Hammond organ and gripping time changes. Imagine classic Fruupp laced with sublime female vocals and you get the picture. Comes with full band history detailing the interesting tale behind this forgotten gem."

I'll be curious what the reviews say!

6/5/11 update: Well I finally heard this myself. The above description is utter crap. There's no Fruupp within 500 miles of this. This is a poorly recorded demo of a below average folk rock album with out of place basement hard rock attempts. The 9 minute 'Golden Age' is pretty decent as is the 5 minute 'Mad River' (the only two tracks that sound pretty good), but the rest is a total waste of time.

Masala Dosa ~ Denmark

Masala Dosa 77. 1977 Kong Pære

Like just about every 1970s Danish band, Masala Dosa maintain a rural rock foundation. The songs on Side 1 are pretty weak, but are saved by some very fine guitar solos. Side 2 is primarily instrumental and considerably the better half. Again, the guitar sections here are nothing short of phenomenal. In this way, Masala Dosa are more a throwback to the early 70s works by Culpeper's Orchard, Midnight Sun, and Day of Phoenix. Despite the Indian name, there's sparse reference to Indian culture save a little sitar. 

Priority: 3

9/20/10

Ananga Ranga ~ Portugal

Regresso Às Origens. 1979 Metro-Som
Privado. 1980 Metro-Som

Jazz rock ensemble that reminds me some of Tantra, but perhaps more influenced by the bigger names of the day like Passport and Weather Report. First album has violin which definitely adds points. Privado begins to introduce funk, which probably wasn't the best idea. 

Priority: 3

***Both reissued by World Record on LP in 2024

9/19/10

Amish ~ Canada

Amish. 1972 Sussex

UMR review

Priority: 2

9/17/10

Aquila ~ England

Aquila. 1970 RCA

UMR review

Priority: 2

9/16/10 (new entry)

Patrice Meyer ~ France

Racines Croisees. 1983 Music'Al
Dromadaire Viennois. 1986 FMR

Two solid instrumental albums from guitarist Patrice Meyer, who recruited some famous Canterbury names like Pip Pyle, Hugh Hopper, and Didier Malherbe (from Gong) to participate on the latter solo effort. Dromadaire Viennois has some Zeuhl bass and is the more interesting of the two albums. When Meyer plugs in, he can be quite kinetic. Both albums are rooted in jazz, and possess a tranquil side to offset the more energetic pieces. Not essential, but very good for the era, especially the latter album.

Priority: 3

9/15/10

News: Soleil Zeuhl to reissue Noa, second Strave albums

Back in early August, we found out that Soleil Zeuhl was to reissue the first Serge Bringolf Strave album. Thanks to a tip from Achim, owner Alain had also announced two other reissues (on the avant progressive yahoo group board) for his great Zeuhl influenced label: Noa and Strave's second album "Vision" (which I think is the best of his three albums). Both of these are slotted for early 2011.

We covered Noa here and Strave here.

Excellent news. Thanks Alain for the great work you do!

UMR review of Vision here

Noa ~ France ***REISSUED***

Noa. 1980 private

***Reissued by Soleil Zeuhl Mar 2011

UMR review

Priority: 3

1/31/10; 9/14/10 (complete)

Might of Coincidence ~ Switzerland

The Birth of Might of Coincidence. 1971 Entropia

Might of Coincidence play a typical acid folk prog in the trippy German tradition similar to Emtidi’s Saat or especially Amon Duul’s Paradieswarts Duul. Tranced female / male vocals over tablas, wood flute, and electric / acoustic guitar. Most of the tracks sound similar, except the last one which is considerably more cosmic and experimental. A whole album of that I think would’ve resulted in a better experience. 

Priority: 3

9/12/10

Subversion ~ France

Subversion. 1976 Pole

Certainly the most obscure album on the experimental Pole label. Featuring a crude black and white cover, it's exactly the sort of album you would expect to find on the FLVM label a few years later. This pre-Falstaff outfit mixed complex progressive rock in the Memoriance / Pulsar vein, along with jazz rock sections and some introspective folky moments. Not much cohesion, but they did well with each style they attempted. Very different from anything else on the label, except maybe Emergency Exit. And like that band, Subversion was also not repressed by Tapioca later in the decade, adding to its obscurity.

Priority: 3

***Reissued on LP by Replica (2021)

9/11/10

Sixty Nine ~ Germany

Circle of the Crayfish. 1973 Philips
Live! 1974 Philips

UMR review

Priority: 3

***Both albums reissued on LP by Long Hair (2018)

9/10/10

Mars Everywhere ~ USA

Industrial Sabotage. 1980 Random Radar

Live & Unrehearsed. 1988 Galactus (MC)

Visitor Parking. 1989 Audiofile (MC)

Random Radar was the ancestor to the popular Cuneiform Records label. They had some interesting acts, but none were more intriguing than Mars Everywhere's Industrial Sabotage. The music here is a cross between, Canterbury (due to The Muffins influence), space rock, avant prog, and free rock. Gets a little loose and annoying in places, but when they catch a groove, the fireworks are undeniable. Some brilliant guitar work, and it's just this space rock element that becomes the album's ace in the hole. 

I have not heard the cassettes to date.

Priority: 3

9/9/10

Booth Davis and Lowe ~ USA

Prototype. 1978 Titicaca

Booth, Davis and Lowe are from Arizona, but sound like they're from the great Midwest (Albatross, Ethos, Surprise, etc...). Classic Yes is the obvious starting point, but like many bands of their era, BD&L made a concentrated effort for radio airplay, mixing in some tame but charming AOR songs. A mixed bag, but very much a product of the American underground.

Priority: 3

9/8/10

Alpha Omega ~ Australia

Alpha Omega. 1976 Clear Light of Jupiter

Steven Maxwell, most known for his group Cybotron, also plays synthesizers for this most interesting fusion group. Perhaps Cybotron's Colossus is a good reference, mixing in saxophone lead rock with electronic sequences. Alpha Omega is more rooted in jazz, however, which includes some free blow sax and shredding guitar solos. It's an odd combination. Passport's Infiniti Machine is also similar to this, though for certain more tame. 

Priority: 3

9/7/10

Arc ~ France

Maquette. 1980 Le Kiosque d'Orphee / Game

Maquette is an earnest attempt to recreate the Ange / Mona Lisa style of dramatic French language progressive rock. Similar to other such efforts like Elohim's Le Mana Perdu (1983), Trefle (1979), or Elixir's Sabbat (1987). It's a distinctly French form of rock, and for what it is, it's pretty good. Don't expect Ange though.

Priority: 3

9/6/10

ES ~ Germany

Wham Bang. 1979 Fran

UMR review

Priority: 3

9/5/10

Miklagard ~ Sweden

Miklagard. 1979 Edge

Miklagard's sole album is bread and butter keyboard trio prog rock, with nice leads (some fat analog, some thin cheesy), and the always pleasant sound of Swedish vocals. 

Priority: 3

9/4/10

Sunday ~ England

Sunday. 1972 Bellaphon

Sunday's sole album is a mix of organ rock, hard rock, and progressive. Another UK band whose only release was in Germany (like Diabolus, Odin). Good record and an even better album cover.

Priority: 3

9/3/10

Sicher ~ Switzerland

Sicher. 1981 private

There was a major boom in private progressive albums from Switzerland in the late 70s and early 80s. Not sure why that's the case, but here's another one worth your consideration. Featuring two flute players, and possessing a strong affinity for classical music, Sicher put out a better than average progressive album when compared to many of their peers. Some semblance to Eloiteron. 

Priority: 3

9/2/10

Puzzle ~ France

Puzzle. 1983 private

A well executed psychedelic guitar driven album, released at a time when very little of this style was available on the market. Perhaps only Cincinnati's Ra Can Row could be called out during this era. There are some really sizzling guitar freakouts here. And actually a few well-thought out melodies, which is not something inherent within the genre. But Puzzle has one fatal flaw. And it's the only thing keeping me raving about it: The dreaded drum machine. Had they employed a real drummer, I would enthuse more about it. Naturally enough, the keyboards are all 1980's era synthesizers too, though the guitar fortunately remains the focus. A fine album overall.

Priority: 3

9/1/10