Avel Nevez ~ France

La Belle de Josselin. 1978 Arfolk

Service Compris. 1979 Arfolk

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/31/11 (new entry)

News: Laser's Edge launches new reissue label!!

This is some news I've been sitting on for some time (well over a year). I think it's a fantastic idea, and I'm backing the project 100% for what Ken is doing here. And knowing Ken's tastes, you can rest assured many of the albums I have in this list will at least be considered. This is truly exciting news. The US has long been dormant for reissues, and it would be nice to have our own Garden of Delights and Long Hair. And I'm pretty sure Ken will consider albums from all over the world.

Here's the announcement from Ken plus an opportunity to name the label!

"I've had an idea in the back of my head for a number of years that I am finally bringing to fruition.

Many years ago I recognized that there are many great progressive albums that I've become familiar with that deserve attention but because they are obscure they don't stand much of a chance in the market as a full blown reissue.

So here's the deal…I am going to launch a new reissue label. The focus of the label will be on music from the 70s and 80s that has never been on CD before. The scope of the label will be anything that piques my interest that falls under the broad umbrella of progressive music. It could be symphonic rock, fusion, kosmigroov, electronic - its pretty much wide open.

The guidelines for the label will be as follows:

1. We will only work with original master tapes
2. Bob Katz will handle all mastering
3. Detailed liner notes and photos (whenever possible)
4. Packaging will feature Stoughton Printing mini-lp sleeves
5. Original artwork
6. The edition size will be limited to either 500 or 1000 copies depending on the title. We will specify the edition size at publication and not go beyond that regardless of the demand.

I have other ideas I'd like to implement if possible when we are ready to launch.

We already have settled on our first two releases (titles to be announced as soon as the ink is dry on the contracts).

Oh yeah…one other thing. They will be relatively expensive. Because of the costs involved with manufacturing such a small quantity these releases are going to be premium priced. They will only be available from select retailers and will not go through our normal distribution channels.

So here's the thing…I'm lousy at coming up with names for a label. If I had any flair for it I wouldn't have thought up "The Laser's Edge" 23 year ago.

I am launching a contest to name our new reissue label. The winner will receive gratis copies of our first four releases.

The rules are pretty simple. In the interest of transparency I would like all entries to be posted online on our forum. The winner will be notified by email on Monday, April 18th. Post as many as you like. Humorous submissions are OK but it won't bring home the bacon. Please include your email address somewhere in your post so we can contact you in the crazy chance you actually win.

I will be judge, jury, and executioner. If we don't receive any reasonable entries I reserve the right to thumb my nose at you.

Good luck!

Ken Golden

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/lasers-edge/674611-new-lasers-edge-label-contest-launch.html "

Polestar 1 ~ USA

Flying Thru the Universe. 1980 Rascal Records

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/30/11 (new entry)

Proteus ~ USA

Infinite Change. 1981 Proteus International Records.

Proteus are a Chicago based fusion group, not too far in style from another Windy City favorite that we recently featured: Streetdancer. The highlight is the constant and fiery guitar work, and the compositions are more geared towards progressive rock than slick fusion. Side 1 is flat out awesome, whereas the other side begins to add the dreaded funky chicken components that were all too common for the era. Still, we're never too far away from another blazing guitar solo, and all is right again. An excellent album that is a must for fusion and instrumental progressive rock fans.

Priority: 2

3/29/11 (new entry)

Pat Cool ~ Netherlands

Daybreak. 1973 Delta

UMR review

Priority: 3

3/27/11 (new entry)

Other Music ~ USA

Prime Numbers. 1980 Nth Degree
Incidents Out of Context. 1983 Flying Fish

UMR review

Priority: 3

3/26/11 (new entry)

News: Esoteric Mar-May 2011 releases

As usual, Esoteric has a fine batch of releases coming up. Most of these have been done prior, but as most of you already know, the Esoteric reissue is almost always an upgrade and is considered the definitive version. I've slowly been upgrading my own collection as needed.

The one thing that caught my eye is the unreleased Cologne concert by Tangerine Dream (on the Zeit reissue). I'm going to guess it's the 1972 concert known in the bootleg world as "Cologne WDR-Sendesaal". Does anyone know for sure? All live Tangerine Dream concerts before 1976 interest me, since they were entirely improvised and each features unique material.

Also worth noting that their version of "Poland" is the original full 2 LP set (and hopefully more), not the truncated one CD version (the Castle version chops off about 5-7 minutes from the original). I believe this is the first time it's been released as a double CD. This is the album that I began to lose interest with T Dream, but nostalgia is pulling me in, and I'll probably get this version myself. I sold the 2 LP set 20 years ago.

I'm also looking at their version of the German Armaggedon that came out on CD from Kuckuck a long time ago.

Here's the announcement in full (I did a small amount of editing):

"March:

VDGG-A grounding in Numbers(new studio album)
Tony Williams Lifetime-Emergency
Tony Williams Lifetime-Turn it Over
Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Strangelands (the lost album)
Illusion-Illusion
Illusion-Out of the Mist
Ray Thomas-Hopes and Fears (single edition)
Ray Thomas-From Mighty Oaks (single edition)
Armaggedon-s/t (Krautrock) --not to be confused with the English Armageddon which we also have on Esoteric
Tangerine Dream--Ride on the Ray 2CD slipcased (1980-1987)
Tangerine Dream-Sunrise in The Third system--2Cd slipcased (1970-1973)

April is as follows

Vangelis---L'apocalypse des Animaux (digipack , remastered by Vangelis)
Vangelis--Opera Suvage (digipack, remastered by Vangelis)
Jack Bruce-A question of Time (one of Jacks personal favourites and featuring GUEST MUSICIANS GINGER BAKER, TONY WILLIAMS, ALLAN HOLDSWORTH, BERNIE WORRELL, VERNON REID & ALBERT COLLINS
Tempest --Tempest
Tempest--Living in Fear (rather excellent quite heavy jazz rock with Jon Hiseman and crew)
Home--Home
Home-Pause for a Hoarse Horse
(I rather like the early Home albums--different from the Alchemist they are more comparable to an early Man around 1970/1971)
Dave Brock--Earthed to the Ground--1st solo album from 1984 for the HAWKs front man.

We had originally announced La Fete Sauvage alongside the other 2 Vangelis albums but this has been put on hold temporarily whilst some issues are sorted out on this particular title.

May is as follows

Tangerine Dream--Zeit, deluxe 2 CD of this classic with a bonus unreleased live concert from Cologne and restores the double album in full. (please note there will also be a huge expanded edition of this in early June with the deluxe 2CD a vinyl album with the resoted insert, postcards and a large book) This will retail around the £50 mark , so if you are a huge TD fan, you may want to wait till full details of this are announced.

Tangerine Dream-Poland, deluxe 2CD of this classic from 1984. Full unedited version.

Manticore Anthology set--Envelopes of Yesterday. 2Cd set This will include tracks from ELP and Greg Lake and other acts we have not reissued such as Thee Image and Hanson as well as PFM, Banco, pete Sinfield etc.

Hawkwind_Distant Horizons

Isotope-Isotope
Isotope-Illusion (getting confusing with all the releases we have named Illsion)
Isotope--Deep End
(again classic strong jazz rock) with Gary Boyle

Gary Brooker - Lead Me to the Water----- Fine second solo album from the Procol Harum front man , the record was a fine effort which featured a host of Brookerâs friends as guests including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Phil Collins, Albert Lee. 2 bonus tracks. "

Cosmology ~ USA

Cosmology. 1977 Vanguard

Following from my comment about the Vanguard label on the Flying Island entry, I did listen to The Open Window and Cosmology. The former I put in the main list, but this one is worth a separate entry I think.

Looking at the cover, you'd think this was an album from 1970. Those sideburns alone point to another era. Maybe they were friends with the English band First Aid, another anachronistic wonder from 1977. And musically it also points to a 1970 heritage. Produced by Collin Walcott (and he guests on sitar for one track), Cosmology is primarily an old fashioned horn rock album, though rooted in jazz fusion rather than pop rock. The lovely female vocals somewhat reminded me of both Quebec's Contraction and France's Cortex. But this isn't going to be on any hipsters A-list anytime soon. These guys are squares. But I found the myriad of styles at play here entirely refreshing - and completely unique. You'll see folks trying hard to get this one lumped in with the late 70s funk crowd, but good luck with that. I don't hear it myself. If any of this sounds good to you, pick this one up.

Priority: 3

3/24/11 (new entry)

Flying Island ~ USA ~Connecticut

Flying Island. 1975 Vanguard
Another Kind of Space. 1976 Vanguard

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/23/11 (new entry)

Connivence ~ Canada

Connivence. 1977 Kebec
Connivence II. 1979 Kebec
Connivence III. 1984 Amplitude

Connivence were a large collective from rural Quebec, who practically define the folk rock influenced progressive rock scene from this rich cultural region. The concept of Connivence is more akin to the original Amon Duul, in terms of structure - not music, in that various musicians participate on the recordings. So there isn't a lot of cohesion between the first two releases, but they still have that unique Quebecois folk rock quality like you would find on albums by L'Engoulevent, Breche, Etoifilan, and of course the forefathers of the movement: Harmonium. The female vocals occasionally call to mind the excellent Contraction. The large ensemble approach, and general uplifting tone, also remind me of Belgium's Nuit Caline A La Villa Mon Reve and France's Synthesis.

By the third album, Connivence appears to have given up their amateur status and gone pro. The album is clearly a product of the early 80s, with a slick production and more synthesized sounds now penetrate. Gone is the folky flavor of the first two albums. Still, the album is better than this may imply, and the songs are well crafted, and they haven't lost their progressive rock edge. Maybe a point down from the first two, but only slightly, and certainly a more consistent effort. It has a poor reputation, but I think that has more to do with it being so different than the first two - and the 80's gloss doesn't help.

Priority: 3

3/22/11 (new entry)

News: Archival release by Fox (post Day Blindness) coming soon

It's been kind of slow on the news front this year (though I'm sitting on some great news from various labels that I'm bursting to share, but have been sworn to secrecy by all parties). As an aside, the Soleil Zeuhl albums we mentioned last year just came out (though no word yet on Bringolf's "Vision").

Anyway, onto the news. I saw this in the latest Clearspot newsletter. Looks like it could be interesting. Day Blindness should have been better than it was, and this looks more jam oriented which could be excellent. I guess we'll see. It's coming out on RD Records by the end of April.

Label says: "An unreleased album from this post "DAY BLINDNESS" band, recorded in 1969/70. This album is a heavy bluesy psychedelic masterpiece of the highest order. It is virtually the second "DAY BLINDNESS" album with slight personal changes, but musically in a more heavy psychedelic direction. The lead guitarist Gary Pihl is well known today for being the guitar player of BOSTON. Here he plays an amazing psychedelic guitar and it reminds us in parts of the mighty MARIANI's "Perpetuum Mobile" album. Superb bass guitar by Johnny V. Vernazza and crazy drums by Roy Garcia, who later went to play with the legendary band GOLD (of Rockadelic Records fame!). Only one 45 single was ever released of those fantastic sessions on "Studio 10", and the single is mega rare these days. A treasure lost at the time which we are very pleased to present to you today!!! CD FEATURES 2 Long (20 Minutes!!!) Bonus Tracks" (I had no idea until now that the current Boston guitarist came from Day Blindness.)

Another Roadside Attraction ~ Canada

Another Roadside Attraction. 1979 private

Another Roadside Attraction are yet another late 1970's band that has that "Midwest progressive rock" sound that I'm quite fond of, and is littered throughout these pages. They feature the unusual lineup of two keyboardists, a drummer, and a vocalist. The songs themselves have that slight FM radio slant that makes me a bit nostalgic. But the instrumental sections are right out of the classic ELP playbook. In fact, this album reminds me most of Morgan's The Sleeper Awakes and The Trip's Time of Change. Like those albums, hyper active acoustic piano drives the compositions forward. Synthesizers tend to be the solo instrument of choice. The LP itself has the look and feel of your typical US private press and features neat cover art.

Priority: 2

3/21/11 (new entry)

Axis ~ Greece

Axis. 1973 Riviera

They two earlier releases that I need to revisit.

Axis is as eclectic an album as you'll find from the early 70s. In some ways, it mirrors Aphrodite's Child's classic 666 album, with its mix of song oriented pop psych and long complex instrumental journeys. Axis begins as a straight up hard rock album and moves over to Canterbury jazz rock and then onto free jazz. Side 2 is similar, though they add a symphonic rock angle as well. The keyboards on Axis are splendid featuring anything from fuzz overloaded organ to jazzy electric piano to layers upon layers of mellotron. The album features two bona fide monster tracks: 'Materializing the Unlimited' and 'The Planet Vavoura'. If the whole album were like these two songs, it would probably be in my Top 10 ever.

Features an awesome psyched out gatefold cover. 

Priority: 2

3/20/11 (new entry)

Guns & Butter ~ USA

Guns & Butter. 1972 Cotillion

Boston based Guns & Butter may be the best example, from the early 70s United States scene that is, of the UK progressive rock movement as headed by the Dawn, Neon and Transatlantic labels. Even the vocals have a certain English affected smoothness to them. The lead instruments are primarily guitar, violin, and saxophone (with some additional flute), and the compositions are very complex yet compact. There's a distinct psychedelic aura around this, and it sounds more like a 1969/70 release than anything from 1972. I'm most reminded of the first two East of Eden albums, though I also hear bands like Diabolus and Raw Material creeping in. Side 1 is magnificent, while Side 2 is merely great (though it features the best song on the album 'Lady Grey').

Priority: 1

3/17/11 (new entry)

Hunk Ai, Denmark

Hunk Ai. 1986 Olufsen

UMR review

Priority: none

3/16/11 (new entry)

Accion Rock Band ~ Spain

Acción Rock Band. 1981 Universitas Editorial

One of the great benefits to collecting progressive rock albums is the album covers themselves. Italy, Germany, England, The Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries all excelled at creating imaginative cover art in the 1970s. For my money, Spain is the best of them all. My favorite covers are by an artist called Puebla, who painted the Gotic Escenes album, and the first two Vega albums. But the list goes on for wonderful Spanish covers: Medina Azahara, Mezquita, Bloque, Iceberg, Tabletom, Ibio, Granada, Iman Califato Indipendiente, etc... Each of the prior bands have at least one amazing cover, if not more than one. Acción Rock Band is clearly in the Hall of Fame among those.

Oh sorry, what was that? You were asking about the music? Ah yes, the music... of course! The music... Did I mention the album cover?

The Acción Rock Band is a fairly typical early 80s album that ranges from pop rock with synthesizers to a mundane hard rock sound. There's some nice riffing which also points to a proto-metal background. Overall the album reminds me of the non-classic, latter day albums by Medina Azahara, Ñu, Mezquita, or any of the albums by Baron Rojo. So definitely not typical CDRWL fare, but worthy of inclusion due to heritage and album art. 

The AC offers these accurate insights "Musically, nothing too special. Melodic, mostly laid-back song oriented stuff with a few minor prog moves and a bunch of period synthesizer sounds to help give it some charm. But, get a load of that cover! In my opinion, this thing's right up there Metamorfosis, Jara, etc. The other somewhat interesting thing about this band is that they hailed from the province of Extremadura, which I believe is a somewhat obscure area* of interior Spain, near the Portuguese border. Pretty far removed from all of the major scene activity in Spain."

Priority: none

*-See comments. Somebody got all worked up about that!

3/15/11 (new entry)

Zebulon ~ Germany

Zebulon. 1980 Pollux

What we have here is the type of album we wish all private symphonic rock albums to be. Not long ago, we featured a band called Profil and their album For You. Zebulon reminded me of that album, though this is much more keyboard driven than the purely guitar oriented Profil. Zebulon has a positive energy, with many hooks and changes, and plenty of fiery solos. At any one time while listening to this, I was reminded of other German bands such as Tonic, Trilogy, Rousseau, Prosper, and maybe even the first Amenophis album. Probably the only weakness is the choice of keyboards / synthesizers that are employed - generally of the cheap and tinny variety. It's a small complaint with music this good. 

The AC comments "This one is straight-up excellent instrumental prog, with a few fusion touches thrown in for good measure. I really enjoy this album, and it seems almost totally unknown." 

Priority: 2

3/14/11 (new entry)

Kennlisch ~ France

Kënnlisch. 1976 Le Kiosque d'Orphee

Terms like "haunting folk" and "folk psych" are two of the most overused in the music collecting business. There was a time in the early 90s that I was truly excited to hear the albums that these collectors described ("enchanting", "mystical", "from the mists of time","shrouded in mystery"). Until I did. Most of the albums in this field are purely folk, with maybe a few minutes of electric instrumentation. And much of it is drinking around the campfire music, hardly the dark / mystical imagery that they would have you believe. With that in mind...

Kënnlisch is haunting folk personified.

The group is made up of two members, the Macherey brothers, and it's Philippe who makes this album very interesting. He plays electric guitar, harmonium, and Moog. The latter element in particular makes this one far more interesting to me. And the harmonium recalls Windy Corner at their best. Though the location of the recordings is in Paris, I would suspect the band is Alsatian. I say that because there is a distinct German quality at play here. There are sparse vocals in French, but they're sung more forcefully. As well, the brief narration sounded Germanic to me (though still in French). The downside of the album is a few tracks are simply Jean-Francois strumming his acoustic guitar. I could see doing that for one song tops, but with about 30-35% of the album like this, it begins to drag a bit.

If there's a hot commodity in the collector world right now, it's psychedelic folk. This one is actually close to living up to its name.

Priority: none

***Reissued on LP by Wah Wah (2021)

3/13/11 (new entry)

Lacrima ~ Germany

Lacrima. 1981 Wilaton

UMR review

Priority: none

3/12/11 (new entry)

Passenger ~ England

Jail Notes. 1977 Mulbery Strangler

***3/31/25 note: I'm still of the mind this album is a bunch of hooey. But we'll let the data speak for itself.

This one has been on my curiosity list for a long time, ever since first seeing it in one of those Pokora books. After hearing it, you have to wonder why records like this get hyped. Personally, I think people all the time incorrectly use the word hype and over-hype. Generally I see folks use it when they disagree with an accepted standard viewpoint. "Anglagard's Hybris is over hyped!!" That's not hype, that's a difference of opinion. Hype is described as to intensify (advertising, promotion, or publicity) by ingenious or questionable claims, methods, etc... or a swindle, deception, or trick. When I think of hype, I think of the New York Times gushing over a new restaurant that charges $200 a plate and closes in two months because everyone hated it. In the music world, hype can simply be described as: Passenger.

Of course, it's easy to understand why a dealer would do this. The record is genuinely rare*. It just doesn't happen to be any good. I'm sure someone out there will say it is awesome, and maybe even mean it. But if you're a fan of progressive rock, or underground sounds, then there's a really good chance you won't like this. Especially at the prices this album is likely to fetch in the open market. Why? Because it's just plain three minute-a-track rock. The kind of album that was dime a dozen in the 1970's and now rightfully will cost you 25 cents at your local record fair. Which is why I say it's HYPED.

The AC, as always, nails it by stating "I had heard this was supposed to be some sort of prog album, maybe even in the Canterbury vein. But that was obviously nonsense, as this sounds more like anachronistic soft-psych and folky rural rock, as heard on many a crappy Acid Archives type of album from the US private press scene."

*- Continuing on from above, I have to admit to being a little more than suspicious about this album (though the pressed in 100 copies is probably authentic). Maybe it's a genuine 1970's article, but there are some clues here that state otherwise. The AC kindly provided detailed photos. Strictly limited to 100 copies. Why do that? From what I understand, there was a specific tax law in the UK on why you would want to press an album in only 99 copies - like the Holyground albums for example (that's based on memory, so I may be entirely wrong here about the tax thing). Then there's the two cover songs that struck me as odd. First is 'Elizabeth Reid', which is a cover of The Allman Brothers Band 'In Memory of Elizabeth Reed'. Awfully sloppy on the spelling and truncation don't you think? I guess I'm supposed to buy that they were so stoned, they didn't notice? Or that they didn't want to have to pay the rights to cover it? Hmmm... But the one that really caught my attention is 'Indian Summer'. This track is the cover of the namesake band's 'From the Film of the Same Name', one of my all-time favorite early 70s UK progressive rock instrumentals. That's how I noticed it. But seriously? Calling the track 'Indian Summer'? And who the heck would cover Indian Summer in the 1970s anyway? They were always obscure. I could see someone doing that in the 1990s or 2000's. And I'm starting to wonder now if this wasn't put together by some psych collectors. Some other oddities on the back cover. It says "File under Amazing". That's not a 1970's way of stating things. That's more of our own era. A wink-wink type of thing. And how about "This record is not mono; if in doubt consult your dealer". In 1977?? That was a 1960's issue. I dunno - I could be way off base here. So if anyone knows any different, for certain rather than rumor - then please comment away. It's just a bit weird that's all.

In conclusion, the Passenger album isn't terrible. Not in the same way as that awful Mongrel album that is also HYPED. The Indian Summer cover was nicely done for example. A couple of the other songs were well penned I thought, like the opener. 

Priority: none

3/11/11 (new entry)

Ptolomy Psycon ~ England

Loose Capacitor (EP). 1971 Hollick & Taylor

Ptolomy Psycon practically defines the raw UK underground of the early 1970s. I suppose the 99 count Holyground albums, or the hyper rare Dark album can give you an indication of the recording quality. But the music is definitely influenced by the upcoming progressive rock movement, especially Hawkwind, Steel Mill, Jethro Tull, and King Crimson. 

The AC also offers: "Ptolomy Psycon has lots of that UK psychy proto-prog flavor. The band were from the Birmingham area, and were supposedly all students in the same school (around 16-17 years old, I think). In fact, all the "orchestral" stuff you'll hear on this was apparently done by their school band, who they hired to play on the recording!"

Hopefully they recorded more than the 22 minutes found here, as this is a really good example of the early 70s UK deep underground scene.

Priority: 3

***Reissued on LP by Record Collector (2018)

3/10/11 (new entry)

Steps ~ England

Steps. 1977 EMI

Steps seems to be a popular word in the jazz fusion world. We just recently featured an album called Steps by Sangi. There's the Japanese fusion group Side Steps, and of course John Coltrane's jazz classic Giant Steps. And then there's the Australian fusion group Stepps (of Waltz for Tiger Joe fame).

This is one of many AC contributions to the CDRWL. La Discographie du Rock Francais describes the album as "This English trio (keyboards, sax, drums), helped along by a bassist on this album, plays a solely instrumental music in the same vein as SOFT MACHINE on Fourth. This record reveals a brilliant, united and gifted line up, made up of individuals full of talent such as drummer Roy DODDS with his fine and nuanced style, saxophonist Steve MULLIGAN and keyboardist Steve FRANKLIN. All of them are greatly inspired during their interventions or in the construction and development of the themes. This album is essential for those who love Fourth and that kind of cold, and at the same time inflamed, jazz rock which was played by RATLEDGE, DEAN and others."

The AC says "One interesting thing is that Hanny Rowe of Gong plays bass on about half of the tracks. Also, it comes in a really cool gatefold sleeve with very weird artwork. Musically, I'd say they were heavily influence by mid-70s Soft Machine. The second side features some slightly more original ideas, with a couple of moody synth-driven pieces." I agree, this one had a bit of an edge, moving closer to my personal target zone. And where that angst shows up most is in the drumming, which is very active and drives the music forward in an exciting way. Make no mistake, this is late 70's fusion - the ever present lead soprano sax guarantees that. But it's a good example of the style, and I think the fusion heads out there would go nuts over this one.

Priority: 3

At the time of this entry, Steps was an unknown on the internet. Today you can find details about the album on Discogs.

3/9/11 (new entry)

Juma ~ Japan

Aqua Cosmos. 1981 D. D. (MC)

He has six other cassettes as well not reissued.

Juma marries two hopelessly obscure objects for rare music collectors: 1980s do-it-yourself electronic music and the Japanese cassette underground.

On the former point, the music world was teeming with Klaus Schulze wannabees. For anyone who subscribed to Eurock back then, or even the early Audion magazine issues, you'd remember the vast amount of bedroom synthesizer masters. Drop juice on your synthesizer while the tapes are running, and you have an instant masterpiece.

On the latter point about the Japanese cassette underground - well let's just say that the UK Festival cassette culture is downright Best Buy buck bin stuff compared to this scene. It's hard enough to find major label albums out of Japan, much less the privately traded cassettes going in and out of the Tokyo record shops.

The AC describes the album as thus "They apparently released many tapes, and had some of their stuff distributed through Eurock at the time. I've heard a couple of other ones, but I thought they were kind of amateurish and meandering. This one struck me as pretty good, though. I thought you might like it since you expressed your fondness for Berlin school stuff, and this is definitely in that vein. Actually, partly due to the type of synths he was probably using (Japanese stuff like Korg MS-20s and Roland System 100s, which were cheap back then compared to the classic American gear) what it really sounds like is that Pneuma "Psychabuse" CD of archival material from the same period. Also maybe a little similar to Osiris." To the AC's latter point, the best track for me utilized quite a bit of electric guitar soloing (it rambles on, but it's still cool) which did indeed remind me of Osiris' In the Mist of Time, an album I once owned years ago - but ultimately sold and we featured awhile back. Anyway, I definitely did appreciate this album. Anyone who really likes the first Pythagoras album from The Netherlands would do well to seek this out as well.

Priority: none

***There exists a 2xLP compilation of six tapes from Bitter Lake (2019), a Brooklyn based label that specializes in the Japanese underground.

3/8/11 (new entry)

News: Karma releases archival Mermaid

I don't know much about this one, but saw it in the Shiny Beast update this morning, and it looked like it could be cool. RYM shows that it was released in 2008, but with a more elaborate title. I don't know if it actually did come out then though. I haven't seen it anyway.

Karma Records says this about it: "History: After Burning Red Ivanhoe had stopped, Karsten Vogel (saxophone, keyboards) felt something new should happen. The first fusions bands appeared on the international scene, - inspired by this Karsten Vogel would make a band with direction towards a more modern sound. In the end this resulted in Secret Oyster, but before that Mermaid was put to sea. In many ways Mermaid was a perfect band: A mix between two famous Danish bands: Young Flowers, from where Peter Ingemann (bass, vocal) and Ken Gudmann (drms) was recruited, and Burnin Red Ivanhoe: Karsten Vogel and Ole Fick (guit, voc).

However the fortune was not in favor for the band. Their debut concert was hampered by bad acoustics, nerves and Karsten Vogel’s 40 degrees fever. Also the times had changed, not yet to fusion-power-rock but towards political correct rock.
After this start, the band took off for a longer tour in Norway. This tour was indeed very successful, and the band, now with drummer Claus Sarup, fulfilled every expectations.

Back to Denmark: Again it was difficult to maneuver through the musical landscape. The medias was prefixed on other things. After a few concerts, the band was stopped in Nov. 1974. Only one year after the start.

Now, more than 30 years later, Karsten Vogel found some tapes. Some was recorded by Denmark's Radio (in Denmark), some was private recordings (from Norway). These tapes present the first “Supergroup” in Denmark and the material is outstanding. Later followed Secret Oyster, but that’s another story."

Sangi ~ Italy

Sangi. 1978 Sun

The Sangi album is a very pleasant fusion album, with a noticeable late 70s cruise ship / tropical feel. Exquisitely played and produced. As the AC says "I think part of the appeal of this one is the excellent sound quality, especially for such an obscure small label release. I doubt anyone could make an album that has quite this kind of production nowadays." And it's true. For such a small label private production, the rich full sound here is amazing.

He goes on to mention "You might hear this and think "just another funky fusion album", but to me it just sounds SO good. Anyway, musically it's nothing original as I said, but I just think the execution and presentation are perfect, which really makes it for me." 

Finally, the AC notes "The other interesting thing is that there's a cameo appearance by Lucio Fabbri of PFM."

----

Sangi is a pseudonym for Maurizio Sangineto.

Priority: 3

3/7/11 (new entry)

Ixt Adux ~ USA

Brainstorm. 1982 Madame X

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/6/11 (new entry)

News: Muck Grohbian's debut album to come out on Long Hair

I suppose it was inevitable, as Long Hair has already reissued many archival Aera albums, that they would also take on leader Muck Grohbian's rare debut album "Muckefuck". I learned this while inspecting the Aera Bavarian Radio CD's, also by Long Hair (they state to look for the Groh album in the Spring of 2011).

4/25/11 update: Looks like the album will be released in May of 2011. Here's what the label has to say: "Originally released in 1979, these recordings show the first solo efforts by formerly Aera leader, guitar player and composer Muck Groh. But in fact this album wasn't a solo album but could be described at the third Aera album of Aera's first decade line-up. All those great musicians like sax player Klaus Kreuzeder, drummer Wolfgang Teske, violinist Christoph Krieger and a lot of guest musicians like Alto Pappert (formerly Kraan) and Aeras second decade musicians like Matz Steinke on bass and Limbus on percussions contributed to this great album. The first 4 titles on the CD (formerly A-Side of the album) are in the tradition of the second album "Hand und Fuß". "Psychochinese im Stanzwerk" reminds to Amon Düül's Deutsch-Nepal. For the first time Muck Groh uses vocals in his compositions in a folky style and "Blinde Kuh" reminds a little bit to the early German new wave bands like Spliff or Nina Hagen Band. All in all this album shows many facets of Muck Grohs composer abilities and convinces with its clever arrangements. CD comes with comprehensive booklet with rare and unseen photos and there are 8 bonus tracks taken from a concert from 1981. "

Aera ~ Germany

Too Much. 1981 Spiegelei
Akataki. 1982 Spiegelei

Muck Groh - Muckefuck. 1979 Erlkonig. ***Reissued by Long Hair Mar 2011

Aera's last album is also one of their best and compares favorably with other excellent early 80s German fusion albums like Embryo's Zack Gluck and Kontrast's sole work. Band has contacted me to explain that they've reissued all the Aera albums from their house label (Erlkonig - first 4), but that the last two albums (including Too Much) are owned by a corporation. Speaking of Too Much - this would have to be considered Aera's weakest and most commercial effort. The funky chicken component is pretty high here. Still, the album has its merits, including some nice atmospheric bits that belie its popstar ambition.

Priority: 2

10/11/10 (new entry); 3/5/11

Yves et Alain Lorentz ~ France

Espaces 2. 1978 Arc en Ciel

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/5/11 (new entry)

Pugh's Place ~ Netherlands

West One. 1971 Decca

Live. 1972 Universe
Pugh's Place / Children of Jubal / Rick and Dave - Child in Time. 1974 Universe

West One is a fairly substandard rock album for the era, with a particularly bad cover of The Beatles' 'Ride My Car'. Still, not all is a loss, and there's some mighty fine flute, guitar, and organ work here. Perhaps even best, is the driving bassist, who keeps the whole thing hopping along. But the songs, and especially the vocals, aren't up to snuff. Should have been much better and can only be considered a disappointment given the obvious talent. A bootleg exists for this title.

Much better is the Child in Time album, supposedly performed by "The Group". It's a thinly disguised moniker for Pugh's Place - as why else have their biography on the back cover? The album itself is definitely a cash-in job. Side 1 is two cover tracks, one by The Beatles, and the other is Deep Purple's namesake track. Pugh's Place perform both of these, and they're pretty decent covers, with some unique arrangements and added woodwinds.

But the real reason to consider this album is Side 2 and the original material by Children of Jubal and Rick & Dave. The latter are two musicians from the United States - one on guitar, the other on keys - and their one short track is quite good. But best of all is Children of Jubal, whose two tracks dominate the second side. They're very much from the jazz influenced progressive rock school - a style that was immensely popular in England at this time. It would be great to know if this band had more recordings hiding in a basement somewhere. Based on the material here, they would be a favorite group of mine.

Overall, a nice curio piece that would make good bonus tracks elsewhere. But if they could find more Children of Jubal material, then this would skyrocket to a Priority 1.

Priority: 3 (for Child in Time)

***West One reissued on LP by Music on Vinyl (2021)

3/2/11 (new entry)

Streetdancer ~ USA

Streetdancer. 1974 Future

Rising. 1977 Dharma

UMR review

Priority: 2 (for Rising)

3/1/11 (new entry)