3PM, USA

3PM - Better Late Than Never. 1981 Ostinato

Moved to UMR

Priority: 3

The Fents, USA

The Fents - s/t. 1979 private (EP).
The Fents - First Offense. 1982 VIP (later on the Not Yachting label).

When I first got together with my good friend Jeff in the late 1980s, we did what any two fanatical music fans do: Bring new tunes over to discover. By that time I had a pretty decent collection of rare progressive rock LPs from Italy, Germany, France, Scandinavia, etc... and Jeff possessed a lot from the US, England and Japan. And Jeff was also way ahead of the curve when it came to fusion. I wasn't as keen on the sounds of the 1980s back then, so some of the obscurities he brought over were lost on me. The Fents "First Offense" was one of those albums. A couple of years ago, Midwest Mike sent me a pile of CD-R's and this was included amongst them. That reignited my interest.

A few weeks ago, Jeff and I finally managed to get together again (we're lucky if we see each other once a year these days) for a day of food, beer, wine and of course music. And this time, I was hell bent on picking up one of his extra Fents LPs.

There's no question that "First Offense" is of 1982 vintage, especially after taking in the opening track. Funky slap bass, synthesizers and slick production qualities are laid out early and offer a somewhat dubious beginning. Perhaps a First Offense indeed. But The Fents were far more interesting than that, and as the album unfolds, a sophisticated blend of instrumental jazz and rock emerges, with complicated rhythms, smoking solos, and grittier sounds. The band themselves were influenced by some of the leading fusion artists of the day like Bruford, Holdsworth and the Dixie Dregs, and those artists' fingerprints are all over this.

Perhaps even more surprising on this visit with Jeff was his rediscovery of the very rare first EP. This album contains 4 songs, and a decidedly rougher edge - more akin to the progressive rock meets fusion bands of the late 70s. A CD that contains both of these albums would be ideal. The Fents finished their career with the 1987 album "The Other Side", which I understand was pressed on CD at the time of release.

Of interest to modern progressive rock fans, keyboardist Adam Holzman now occasionally plays with none other than Steven Wilson.

I'm having no luck finding the first EP's cover online. Obviously a rare artifact. I'll see if I can get Jeff to scan his in.

The second cover I have posted here is the original pressing of "First Offense", and is from a current ebay auction.

Priority: 3

Children of One, USA

Children of One - s/t. 1970 Real.

A real oversight here on my part. I just recently picked up the original LP from a good friend that some of you may remember as Mystery Poster. And as I went to update my description, I discovered it wasn't here! It's only in the main list. So with much delay, here is its debut in the CDRWL.

Children of One is not really a rock album, but as psychedelic as any album I’ve come across. Meditative, Eastern influenced acoustic jazz with flute, female voice, sitar, hand percussion, cello, piano and other instruments. Otherworldly and deeply peaceful. Has THAT vibe that reeks of the real underground, a certain something that is found more frequently in the Krautrock genre (the atmosphere of Dom’s “Edge of Time” comes to mind in parts, though musically quite different). Also hear some of Algarnas Tradgard's classic 1972 album minus the psychedelic rock jams. Children of One were from one of the many hippie communes that existed in upstate New York during that time. A wonderful album.

Worth noting that in the dead wax, a date is listed as 1-2-70, which would seem to refute the more popular assertion of 1969. Also, the original vinyl is not a good pressing as my copy is visibly mint, but still very noisy (we'll try to give it one more clean just in case...)

There is a CD on Akarma, but like many of their obscure USA based releases, it looks of dubious origin, with no details surrounding the original LP.

Priority: 2

Micah, USA-New York ***REISSUED***

I'm Only One Man. 1971 Sterling Award

***Reissued by Shadoks 2013

Moved to UMR

Priority: 1

8/22/09 (new entry); 4/17/12 (complete)

News: Micah "I'm Only One Man" to be reissued this summer!!

Thanks to a tip from Gnosis Mike (to distinguish from Midwest Mike...), we learned that Shadoks of Germany will be reissuing this most magnificent progressive hard rock album.

Only a couple of years ago, the band was completely shrouded in mystery. Now they have a Facebook page with a complete history. The page is filled with photos, band comments, etc... Hopefully most of these will find their way into the reissue.

And even more great info published here on April 25th (thanks to ProgCzar for the heads up!)

We should expect a reissue this summer. My guess is Shadoks, as is their custom, will lead with the LP and follow with a CD later, but hopefully they'll do both at the same time.

Check out the awesome promo video. For me, Micah's music is the definition of BAD ASS. They exude early 70's coolness.

Here's our original feature of the album. Another Priority 2 (borderline 1) to scratch off the list! Great news all around.

News: Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes - No. 2 to be reissued (sort of)

I say "sort of" because like the Sensations Fix albums recently, you have to buy it as part of a box set.

Looks like Mercury Records will release a CD box set of the first 4 Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes albums. It's priced at 15 Euros, so if you missed out on the Mantra (also licensed to Si-Wan) issues many years ago, this would seem to be a must pick up at a very cheap price.

http://www.amazon.fr/4-Albums-Originaux-Ribeiro-Catherine/dp/B007FHLTOW

While this is certainly going to be received as good news for many, it is completely frustrating for those of us who already have those Mantra / Si-Wan albums. Why?

Because they didn't start the series with the Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis album (1969), but rather the Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - No. 2 album (1970) (which was the first Alpes album. Staying with me here?). And of course the + 2 Bis and the No. 2 album are the only ones not on CD up until this point.

So to obtain No. 2 on CD (which IMO is the best of the Ribeiro albums) - we'll have to repurchase the other 3 again. The price point is such that it's not that big a deal, but it's a shame they didn't at least put the + 2 Bis album in there as well.

Here is our Ribeiro entry

News: Arabiand Rock, a new archival label from Spain

Well, not actually new, as they launched their first title in 2010. But thanks to a tip from the AC, maybe we can shine a brighter light on this obscure initiative. Arabiand Rock seems like the kind of label I love to follow. Their focus is on the the scene commonly known as Rock Andaluz. That is, bands like Medina Azahara, Mezquita, Iman Califato Independiente, Cai, Formas, etc... I love that scene (as does the AC), and so it's exciting to know there may be plenty of studio tapes out there of unreleased bands.

To date, they've reissued CDs by Khorus, Expresion and Mantra. You can read (in Spanish) more from the label as well as hear samples of the latter two. Expresion sounds like a more raw hard rock band whereas Mantra has the classic progressive sound of the region. Khorus has taken on more of an English progressive sound ala Camel. No samples for Khorus on the label website, but the AC has provided the following link from Soundcloud. Their website is chock full of obscure and known bands from the region, so it seems there may be a new well to draw excitement from. We'll see.

News: Aztec Music goes belly-up

This is the first bit of bad news I've had to report in awhile: Aztec Music of Australia has had to call it a day (credit goes to Chris for first alerting me). That's really a shame, as they were by far the best ever CD reissue label from downunda. There's still so much great music to be reissued from there. They were currently working on 2 CD Reissue Wishlisters with Jackie Orszaczky and Steven Maxwell von Braund. They also never got around to the second Dragon (New Zealand) or second Mackenzie Theory albums. And years ago they announced the Pirana albums, but eventually removed them from consideration. It's not an easy business to be pressing CDs, especially in this digital age. All the more reason to continue supporting those that keep up the good fight.

Speaking of which, I'm going to be pretty much out of pocket all of April. I have a pretty wicked convention show/ training schedule for the entire month. Work has really picked up, which is ultimately good news even though it has a negative impact on my hobbies. Maybe when (if?) I ever retire I'll be able to focus more. That's many years away I'm afraid to say....

I'll try to keep up with news items though.