Gold, USA

Gold - No Class What So Ever. 1980 Alpha

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2

The Bob Bath Band, USA

The Bob Bath Band - Traces of Illusion. 1984 RPC

moved to UMR

Priority: 3

Sideline, Germany

Sideline - Sidesteps. 1979 private

Moved to UMR

Priority: 3

Circles, Germany *** REISSUED ***

Circles - s/t. 1983 Einhorn
Circles - More Circles. 1984 Einhorn
Circles - Third Cycle. 1987 Einhorn

*** Mental Experience (Spain) has reissued the first 2, and Bureau B has issued an archival release. *** No word about Third Cycle, though I'm considering this band as closed for now.

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2

Synthesis, France

Synthesis - s/t. 1971 Fabulous

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2

Eight Day Clock, Australia

Eight Day Clock - Clockwork. 1975 RCA

moved to UMR

Priority: none

Sponge, Scotland

Sponge - Foam Spins (One).1989 Alternate Media Tapes. Cassette

Let's get back to the AC's rarities' pile here. He tees this one up as follows: "Scottish space-rock band. This was recorded live in Edinburgh throughout 1987. They spend a lot of time messing around with free-form spacey electronics, but when they finally get around to kicking out the jams, they do muster up a pretty intense Hawkwind-meets-Ash Ra Tempel type of sound. Released a bunch of hopelessly obscure cassettes in the late 80s, but this is the only one I've heard. Sound quality isn't great, but I suppose that's to be expected. Yet another interesting piece to the forgotten UK festival/space-rock puzzle".

Ultima Thule, the long standing mail order shop, and publishers of the excellent Audion Magazine, adds this review for Discogs: "Sponge were amongst a family of bands/musicians from Edinburgh in the late 1980's. They played a brand of space-rock that stepped on from classic Hawkwind, especially so on this tape of live improv/jams, fleshed-out with copious amounts of synths/electronics. Strangely many of their releases were cassette only on the Birmingham Alternate Media Tapes or American Audiophile Tapes, and thus they are extremely rare nowadays. The only problem with this tape is the cruddy quality, someone did something seriously wrong with the mix, although the music is brilliant, if you tweak your bass and treble controls!"

And perhaps the oddest aspect of all is that they have at least 6 albums all released between 1988 and 1989 (?!), and this supposedly is the last one. So from an obscurity perspective, Sponge would have to be considered in the same league as Rancid Poultry, another band that the AC helped fill the CDRWL's collection on, and we covered at length a couple of years ago. How a group could be so prolific,and yet completely unknown until now, is definitely a mystery. But the UK Festival scene certainly produced a lot of interesting material out of its primordial stew. It's like discovering entirely new organisms out of the Amazon rain forests. As we mentioned in an earlier post, Head Duster continues to educate us about some of the truly rare bands from the scene. Our good friend Spacefreak also saw many of these bands back then, and has provided valuable information to us regarding the scene. Perhaps they knew Sponge?

There's over an hour of improvised space rock on here, and like most of these type of live outings, the album itself could have used a good edit. It's like having to eat spoonfuls of the spinach, broccoli, carrots, peas, potatoes, rice, beans all before actually getting to the meat. As mentioned by both gentlemen above, the sound quality is of bootleg standard.  I'd say Sponge relates closest to AMA, another long form improvisational space rock band - though AMA didn't possess synthesizers or  saxophone. And I'm also reminded of the Milwaukee collective F/i, at their most loose and reckless jam mode. If you're a fan of space rock, this is one you'll want to hear. When they get "in the zone", there's some pretty good ripping going on here. But it's not really anything that needs to be pressed on CD.

Priority: none

Indiscreet, Germany

Indiscreet - Difficult to Contribute Silence. 1985 Nabel.

Perhaps the great irony of this post is that it's the next entry from He Who Must Not Be Named. If anything HWMNBN is discreet. So discreet in fact, he tells me of fantastical tales of providing only the finest young ladies for oil rich sheik's in Dubai. I dunno, sounds far fetched to me but...

Indiscreet are a German band who are clearly a product of the middle 80s, when no one, and I mean absolutely no one, was going 1970s retro. Everyone had to have a modern, cold, and clinical sound. Belew-era King Crimson is of course the blueprint here. But I was reminded perhaps even more of Michigan's Inserts, especially in the sense of open space the band operates in. This has more of a jazz angle rather than rock, and is on the margins of the scope of the list. Some of the alto and soprano sax playing here is as annoying as it can possibly get. A lot of the free improvisational stuff on here does not work, and is truly dull, if not downright teeth gnashing. Indiscreet are at their best in full ensemble mode, especially when the violin is present.

(Our friend Tristan Stefan just alerted me that this album has been posted on Prog Not Frog this past June. I'd received this CD-R earlier in the year from HWMNBN, and didn't realize it had been posted since then. So you all can hear it as well, presuming the link is still active. Enjoy!)

Priority: none

Garuda, Indonesia

Garuda - s/t. 1976 EMI (England)

So here's out third submission from He Who Must Not Be Named. Now, he alleges he got this LP directly from his "best bud" Suharto (you know you're an important dude when you only have one name. And you're even more important when you can't name that name...). When did HWMNBN get this album? When he supposedly was supporting the ambassador representing France in the late 1970s. You know, I'm calling bullsh*t right there. But... maybe?

So my first thought here is: Selamat datang di disko  

Oh go on, look it up. You know you want to know what it means.

Done?

Right?

He Who Must Not says this: "There's a great story behind my travels to Indonesia... Composer Tony Campo is from there, Bali in fact.  His bio is featured briefly on the back of the record.  I take it he became a session bassist in the UK and did quite a few library records, often in collaboration with others.  His style is jazz-funk, as befitting the music of Bali which is very dance-oriented.  It's obvious that this album, which is named after the semi-mythical eagle-winged deity that is Indonesia's national symbol, is his masterpiece, the second side is called Suite No. 2 and is his attempt at creating a kind of jazz-funk symphony, you'll see what I mean when you hear it.  Note that the famed Frank Ricotti plays vibes and percussion on this record." 

In fact, had their been no second side, then I would wonder why it was sent to me in the first place. I mean, I actually like disco instrumentals, but it's not exactly the purpose of the list. But Side 2, while never quite losing those fat beats, takes on a whole new dimension. There's truly a depth found here that is uncommon in both funk and even in pure jazz. If you want to begin your dig for this album, you better like tight horn charts. With long fuzz guitar solos. And echoed Fender and vibes. I just happen to embrace said concept, hence I rate this:

Priority: 3

Amuthon, Germany

Amuthon - Wirklichkeit. 1982 private.

So here's the second entry from He Who Must Not Be Named. I had personal interest in this, as this showed up on ebay from a dealer with a bunch of rare Krautrock rarities last year. I won a couple of the auctions (on items I already knew), but there were quite a few I never heard of. Some clearly were out of my interest area. This one's description was somewhat appealing, but who knows right? And then HWMNBN shows up with this one in virtual hand. Cool. On this title, he also provides some insights:

"What a cover!!  some kind of unusually creepy everyman has a key that will unlock the mind... In terms of music, it's a very hard rock style with almost the polished british heavy metal sound from the late seventies (like granmax or americans legend from the fjords), not like the old rough krautrock sound from the early seventies. In fact at the start of track 1 I thought I heard influences from Led Zep's Song Remains the Same (the song that is, not the live album), although the minute the singer opens his voice the track does lose a lot of its allure. With titles like god, reality, you'd think this was a philosophical treatise exploring Kant, and maybe it is, I can't make out any of the lyrics. Oddly they switch between german and english.  A very impressive, albeit rough, outing totally uncharacteristic of German bands."

Well he certainly has a point about the vocalist, as he comes across as a Teutonic Arthur Brown. You can almost here the translation "Feuer!".... "Hölle Feuer!". Of course we must correct our presumably European friend (he mentioned something about watching over the Holy Grail in Provence. I mean, I'm calling bullsh*t right there. But you know... maybe?). Obviously Granmax is from the great Midwest (Missouri), rather than England. But let's not be pedantic, but get down to the meaning of what he's saying. Yes, good old fashioned American hard rock is a very astute observation.

Not only is the album half German and half English, but some of it is recorded live and some in the studio. Talk about "cobbling something together" for a release. There was quite a few of these private semi-progressive "Deutschrock" albums from the early 80s, and Amuthon fit squarely in the middle. A little Anyone's Daughter, 1980s era Grobschnitt and Novalis, Wintauge, Profil, Grim Reaper, and, oh, about 100 more obscurities few have heard and even fewer care about. It's certainly good, and non offensive German rock musik. Worth a spin, but no need for a CD reissue as far as I'm concerned.

Priority: none

Musikalische Gruppenimprovisation, Germany

Musikalische Gruppenimprovisation - s/t. 1974 private.

Names like Musikalische Gruppenimprovisation tend to be a magnet for the CDRWL. Especially bands with that name and coming from the Year 1974. And with a personnel pedigree that includes Broselmaschine, Kollektiv, and Annexus Quam. All favorites of the CDRWL. Oh the mind wanders... What kind of psychedelic treat is in store for me?

This album comes courtesy of the Lolly Pope, who was a regular contributor to the Roots and Traces Blog.  He is the same gentleman that turned the CDRWL onto the wonderful Cosmic Circus album awhile back (now reissued by Garden of Delights) and a few other choice items. Just a mere few days after making his personal recommendation to me, he left this mortal coil. I had no idea until recently. Like so many in the blogosphere, I did not know Werner personally, He was one of the many friendly, yet anonymous, faces that would offer their expertise to my blog, for which I'm eternally grateful. So I dedicate this post to Werner 'Allen' Voran. Here is the Lolly Pope's writeup:

"Another Kraut, not a Krautrock rarity. An experimental LP recorded in Germany 1971 to 1973, released 1974. Some say MUSICAL GROUP IMPROVISATION is the great lost third ANNEXUS QUAM album, but we also have members of KOLLEKTIV and BRÖSELMASCHINE here... ..among other very seriously improvising musicians from very different backgrounds. Together they demonstrate how it should be done. Jamming without illicit drugs! (In the daylight anyway...). Produced for the use at secondary schools and universities by The Study Group Musik North-Rhine Westphalia, on authority of The Ministry Of Work, Health And Social Affairs, Düsseldorf. A CD-reissue of this rare artefact is long overdue, but the mastertapes seem to be lost, and it took us half a lifetime to find a mint vinyl copy. 

01-Improvisation Nr.1
instrumente: synthesizer, sopransaxophon und querflöte mit elektronik, e-piano, e-gitarre, schlagzeug
freie improvisation
02-Improvisation Nr.2
instrumente: e-gitarre, synthesizer, orgel, sitar, sruitbox, stimme, piano, superstring, kongas
improvisation nach einer grafik
03-Improvisation Nr. 3
instrumente: stimmen und hände
improvisation nach einem projizierten dia eines surrealistischen bildes. das bild diente als stimmungsrahmen für die improvisation
04-Improvisation Nr. 4
instrumente: kunstoffschlauch,stimme, flasche, konzertgitarre, chimtas, tabla, marokkanische trommeln, pfeifen mit dem mund
improvisation nach einem projizierten landschaftsdia
05-Improvisation Nr.5
instrumente: bratsche, querflöte, konzertgitarre, aufblasbare tabla
freie improvisation
06-Improvisation Nr. 6
instrumente: posaune, konzertgitarre, bratsche, schlagzeug
freie improvisation
07-Improvisation Nr.7
instrumente: stimmen, cello, tabla, dickmilchbechergeige, spiralfedergong, schlitztrommel, flexaton, flöte
improvisation im freien mit hunde-hecheln und vogel-gezwitscher
08-Improvisation Nr.8
instrumente: konga, shanai, tabla, posaune, maultrommel, konzertgitarre, schellen, bratsche, präpariertes piano
freie improvisation
09-Improvisation Nr.9
instrumente: richak, sitar, bratsche, tabla, ektara
improvisation nach einem projizierten landschaftsdia
10-Improvisation Nr.10
instrumente: piano, stimmen
freie improvisation

(TITLE: MUSIKALISCHE GRUPPENIMPROVISATION - Katalog-Nr.: TST 78426, RESCO HT 30152 - No label name. Manufactured by Telefunken)

Musicians:

PETER and MARITA BURSCH (BRÖSELMASCHINE)
KLAUS DAPPER (KOLLEKTIV, BRÖSELMASCHINE,GLATTER WAHNSINN)
JÜRGEN HAVIX (KOLLEKTIV)
HARALD KLEMM, HANS KÄMPER, GABRIELE and PETER WERNER (ANNEXUS QUAM)
Plus:
KARL GODEJOHANN -WERNER SCHERMEIER - JOHANNES HOBBING - EDWIN STILLER - ANKE and GERHARD LISKEN - MARGRET BREUKELGEN - MARGRET CONZELMANN - BRIGITTE GÖBEL - MICHAEL GOEDECKE - ROLAND GRÄBE -JOHANNES HOBBING - EGON HUNEKE - GERLINDE PAULUS - WILHELM SCHULZ - UWE NIEPEL 

The sessions, or weekend workshops, were led and co-ordinated by Harald Klemm between 1971 and 1973. The improvisations were either totally free, or inspired by shown paintings and projected colour slides of landscapes. Nr.7 is an outdoor recording wiih panting dogs and chirping birds. An all instrumental album, except for some ethereal, non-verbal femal voices. A certain affinity to the second album of Annexus Quam is obvious, but there also are moments that remind of a less aggressive, more disciplined Limbus, a less classically trained Between, Popol Vuh without the religious ambitions and a lot more."

I think his reference to Limbus 3/4 is spot on. Though there is at least one direct reference to Soft Machine's "Third". Very much a product of its age. This is for those who truly love the avant garde. Nothing fake about this - the real deal in both atmosphere and sense of exploration. A bit "outside" for me, but an absolute must for fans of radical frei musik.

Priority: none

Rantz, USA

Rantz - s/t. 1982 private

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2

Nucleus, Canada

Nucleus - s/t. 1969 Mainstream (USA)

moved to UMR

Priority: 1

Frank Pisani, USA

Frank Pisani - Sky. 1977 Dellwood.

Time to get The AC into the mix. And here's his first entry for the 2013 CDRWL Rarity Series. It was born out of a conversation based on my initial release of the Midwest progressive rock list I published this summer.

Dellwood is one of a handful of "tax scam" labels that proliferated in the USA during the late 1970s, which as we discussed before, was basically an IRS loophole that was exploited (of course it was) for a few years before being finally sealed up (which created new loopholes - akin to trying to trap water in your hand). I have other insights on this topic, via the legit CD reissue of Zoldar and Clark on my UMR site. Zoldar and Clark, incidentally, was also on the dubious Dellwood label.

So who the heck is Frank Pisani? No idea. Just some schmuck from Chicago we are lead to believe. It's presumed to be the same Frank Pisani that has (had) a music and comedy act. But in 1977 he wasn't clowning about, but rather getting down to the serious business of releasing commercially accessible music for FM radio. BUT, in what seems to be a unique 1970s Midwest American trait, he was throwing in plenty of complicated progressive ideas and measures. As if to ensure to himself that, at the very least - YES - I am a serious musician. For that alone, Frank, the record companies will ignore you. Duh. As Dave Stewart of National Health (and other groups of course) once famously said about music executives: "We don't want music to get in the way of a Top 10 hit!" And so a desolate Frank sent in his tapes through some esteemed and academic music magazine like Creem or Circus, had his demos pressed up for a tax dodge label, and received absolutely nothing in return. And he probably never even knew the album came out. In fact, it's entirely possible he will learn right here on the CDRWL - some 35+ years later. It's actually happened before...

If you blindfolded me, and then asked me to name the time and place - I'd say Midwest 1977. Seriously. Such a bulls-eye for the entire insane genre. As I state in the premise for the list: "In the 1970s, within the American Midwest and Ontario, there existed a fascinating subculture that was distinctly their own - and this phenomena was sharply expressed in the music of the region. It was here in the early 1970s that unmitigated FM radio ruled supreme, and countless Baby Boomers checked in each night to hear some of the wild music coming from Europe during this time (especially in England). Yes and ELP were an enormous influence in the region, as was the relatively obscure Gentle Giant. Certainly Genesis and Van Der Graaf Generator had their disciples as well."

Jamming Hammond, loud electric guitar, high energy rhythms, rough and bluesy but-oh-so-sincere vocals, and.... cowbell. Yea, there's a little too much crooning at times, and there's that always present party-time Grand Funk Railroad sound, but that only adds to the vibe. Man, this is just a heck of a lot of fun. Probably ties closest to the Canadian band Dillinger, though I hear serious references to classic Kansas as well. And how about that cover? The marketing department worked overtime on that obviously. "Here's a sheet of Engineering Graphics paper. Make it work." Ya know, minimum wage didn't get you much in 1977 either.

Obviously, I'm a fanboy for this stuff, so take my fanaticism with a grain of salt. But I want to see this on CD anyway (uh, I mean legit there pirate boy - don't want a bootleg of a bootleg - dig?). Probably would move 10 copies, including free promos. And people wonder why I don't get into this business...

Priority: 2

Trilogy, England

Trilogy - Arctic Life (EP). 1982 private cassette.

This entry comes courtesy of our friend Head Duster who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the UK Festival scene of the 1980s (and was obviously a regular patron of the events). His website is a goldmine for those of us looking for rare cassettes from that scene. Most of the music falls outside of what we focus on here at the CDRWL (primarily dance/techno/reggae/punk/experimental), but it's a fascinating read all the same. And I make sure to visit the blog monthly. We'll have a full Oroonies feature eventually (I have only a couple of albums up now), and I owe him for most of the material I'll be presenting.

So it's odd that I'm introducing his site via a music group that has nothing to do with the Festival scene. Rather, Trilogy were part of a slightly earlier movement known as the New Wave of British Progressive Rock. As you all know, the CDRWL is a big fan of that genre - perhaps because it was the first one I personally grew up with in regards to progressive music. I was already a veteran of the NWOBHM scene, and that was where I cut my teeth on collecting rare imports as a young high school lad. As I was beginning to learn about 70's progressive music, it was refreshing to know that new bands were emerging in that style. Not only that,  but I did manage to get to London for a week in 1984, which helped solidify my position. So I do tend to be nostalgic about it all.

Trilogy were, as you might suspect, a trio that also happened to feature quite a bit of keyboards. When the keyboards are active, I am reminded indeed of many of the bands from the early 80s period such as Twelfth Night and Pallas. But the guitarist plays a double neck guitar - and you have to know exactly where I'm going here. Correct... Rush. As in "Moving Pictures" Rush. Tightly wound, non-sprawling Rush. And I love it. Rush meets Pendragon? OK  - works for me! Obviously the production quality is lacking, but it's a homemade cassette - what can you possibly expect?

The cassette is a 4 track EP, so of course that alone doesn't warrant a CD. But if they have other studio material, or soundboard live stuff - then it surely would be of interest to many I think. Heck, if Tamarisk can do it, then any other obscurity from that time and place can! Perhaps they could reform for a full effort as well? Why not - they probably haven't been asked to do so in nearly 30 years.

Priority: 3

Red Summer, England

Red Summer - Release. 1982 Rimshot

So let's start our 2013 rarities session here - a nice modest release to get things going. This one came as a recommendation from our friend Tristan Stefan over at ProgNotFrog, where he also posted the album for awhile (not sure if it's still up). Tristan has also provided an insightful review, so it's worth clicking the link above for that alone.

I think Tristan's reference to Mike Oldfield is very much spot on, especially considering he still had one masterwork left in him, with the brilliant "Amarok" still 8 years away from Red Summer's album. And there are some parallels to that future work here. There's also some twee Anthony Phillips styled moments interspersed throughout on the shorter numbers.

Though Red Summer are a duo, they manage to pack in quite a few ideas per track. And it's just this setup that also reminded me of Jade Warrior's "Horizen" album, also from the 1980s. Jade Warrior always managed to feature a big sound from a small lineup. And there is that distinct world music edge that pops up now and again, further solidifying the comparison.

Perhaps most startling is the opening title track, that had me at first thinking I may have the wrong disc in the changer. Why? Well, it sounded so very French, that's why. Like a long lost Richard Pinhas tape circa "L'Ethique". There's also some of that good ole fashioned handmade, basement styled NDW electronik German sound prevalent as well. Unusually loud and psychedelic guitars pop out of nowhere on "Release", and are completely incongruous with most anything else going on in England during this era.

Fascinating album that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Priority: 3

Many rarities on the way!

We start TOMORROW. I've managed to publish a solid backlog of daily entries taking us into early October (it helped that I took a couple of days off of work to do this) with a few more to hear. Tentatively scheduling mid October for our BIG announcement (see below). Not all of the albums were great (or even good), in my opinion of course, but that's to be expected. But I do think they are all interesting at least - and many are heavily sought after. We will either enhance or demystify their reputation. Some of the albums have been posted to the blogosphere already, while others were passed to me in secret by hooded figures via hidden cathedrals. And one of the albums you will be able to hear IN FULL (or rather 7 of 8 tracks), as we will be able to point to you where it is on the internet. The album itself has been shared by a band member. It's buried because no one knows what the album is! And we will bring it to light soon. You won't want to miss it.  Thanks again to all the contributors that made the 2013 CDRWL Rarities Exposition possible. I hope you enjoy reading about them as well!

-----

Just a quick note to let you all know that I do have some rarities that have come through the door within the last year. I have yet to hear them myself, but advanced word says they are worthy of our attention. I got off to a bit of a false start with the Humus album in early June, but then redirected my attention onto another music project for the summer - mainly listening to CDs that are in my collection that I haven't heard in forever (examples: Drama - s/t (France) 17 years since last heard; debut album by the Polish band Lizard - 16 years since I last pulled it from the shelf. And dozens more). I think that's going to be my summer routine going forward.

We've been the fortunate recipient of many great looking rare items as sent in by the now legendary The AC, as well as wonderful contributions from Tristan Stefan and SF. And we have a new contributor - someone who is cloaked in mystery. A dark shrouded figure who we don't even know actually. Someone we will refer to as He Who Must Not Be Named.

And we're sitting on one major gem in this pile. One that we first heard last year via The AC, but we sat on it as we worked behind the scenes for a CD reissue. Perhaps the rarest US progressive album ever made. And it's a killer. This is not hype I assure you. A jaw dropper. Better than even the Ginga Rale Band, Rob Thomsett, and Phase that we discovered last year. It's almost too good to be true. But it IS real. And no one knows about it. That's going to be the cherry on the top of this year's discoveries.

I'm targeting a start date around September 14th or sometime after. So check back then. Of course, I will continue to share news as it comes in.

In the meantime, I'm also sitting on a huge backlog of ready-to-go entries for Unencumbered Music Reviews and Under the Radar. I plan on getting those out this weekend - so there should be daily postings on both those sites for days to come.

News: Exciting announcements coming from the Lion label camp!

December 8, 2013 update: The Vanay albums have been released!

We've recently heard from Vincent, who runs the CDRWL's favorite US based reissue label: Lion Productions. While not all of Lion's releases intersect with the CDRWL's personal interests, this latest set of news either touches the circle, or is a complete bullseye.

I think the most exciting news is that the Laurence Vanay albums are imminent! As in the October / November time frame. The LPs may come a month or two later depending on pressing plant priorities. Vincent states: "Loads of bonus tracks on both CD versions, almost doubling the original length of the albums. The LP versions will be exact replicas (without bonus tracks)." And the big surprise here is that we can also expect reissues of her mythical, and previously unreleased, "Les Soleils de la Vie" and "La Petite Fenetre" albums! What will not be reissued is her "Magic Slows" album, since Ms Thibault isn't very fond of it herself. And fellow Gnosis explorer Lev from Russia has already demystified the contents of the album, thus categorizing the omission as "no loss".

We've also been told that we may see Probe 10 as early as December of this year, or early 2014. So that's also very exciting news for the CDRWL.

With that, let's move onto Lion's three new releases that I think many of you will be interested in. I haven't personally heard any of them to date. The T2 is what amounts to the second post-"It'll All Work Out in Boomland" archival set of releases. Lion was involved with the first set as well which were called "T2" or "Fantasy". Those recordings were from 1970, and this latest batch constitute their 1971 to 1972 output (obviously). And, yes, this has already been issued on LP. This will be its debut on CD.

Tin House is a 1971 hard rock album from Florida that is highly rated in some circles. Based on the reviews I've read, it sounds like something I need to hear. Might as well just start with the Lion CD!

The Guy Skornik is another album that looks intriguing.  Not too many albums will reference Wahkevitch, Berger, Gainesbourg, and Manset in the same paragraph. I've also read comparisons to Popera Cosmic! The promo sheet says: "Digipack CD + 28 page booklet. Between 1970 and 1973, EMI/Path released several ambitious and progressive pop albums, including 'La Mort Dorion' (Grard Manset), 'Puzzle' (Michel Berger), 'Hathor' (Igor Wakvitch), and 'Pour Pauwels' by Guy Skornik. Skornik was a mystic explorer, psychonaut, and gifted musician, who was immersed in the metaphysical revolutions of his time. He presented television reports, laced with elements of Eastern mysticism, on LSD experiences. And then there was Skornik's album, 'Pour Pauwells', inspired by the revolutionary writings of Louis Pauwells, one-time counterculture hero and disciple of esoteric spiritualist G. I. Gurdjieff. Guy was brought to the public's attention for the first time in the beginning of 1970 with the release of a magnificent LP on the Path-label. Skornik tried, and succeeded perfectly, to do with his music what Louis Pauwels did with his huge best-seller 'The Morning Of The Magicians'. This is one of a handful of classic French progressive pop concept albums released in the early 1970's, together with Serge Gainsbourgs 'Melody Nelson' and the titles mentioned above. Features arrangements by Ivan Jullien (Franoise Hardy, Johnny Hallyday, Quincy Jones and Elton John). Licensed from Parlophone. Limited to 500 copies."

Lots to look forward to here!