News: Finchley Boys "Everlasting Tributes" to come out on CD this year!

Recently we featured the Finchley Boys via the CD-R revisit project. A comment appeared on that post this morning from band member Garrett Oostdyck, who brought us this good news: "We really do plan on having a CD release this year (2015) There will be a few never heard tracks. I know the bootleggers don't have them yet as the tapes have been lost for 46 years." 

Great news for hard rock and heavy blues fans! I certainly will be picking one up when available.

Hobo, Croatia

Hobo - s/t. 1975 Jugoton

Another title that came up via the CD-R revisit project.

Hobo's sole work is a commercially oriented rock album that includes some fine violin, Moog, and piano giving it a progressive feel. The almost seven minute 'Srebro' is the highlight, and predates what their neighboring Igra Staklenih Perli were about to embark on, with their own take on the early Pink Floyd psychedelic/cosmic sound. Though sadly, this is the only track of this nature found on the album. The strong presence of violin, and the way the compositions are structured, recalls Kansas at the same juncture. Clearly these bands were operating on a parallel mindset as Hobo could not possibly have known of Kansas at this point in time. Good album all around, with some quality songwriting and progressions found within.

We have to suspect (or hope anyway) that Hobo has some unreleased material that is far more progressive than what is found on this LP. They are far too talented to have been satisfied with the overall commercial approach. One can only hope a CD surfaces with copious bonus material reflecting such.

Priority: 3

Mandrill, USA

Mandrill - Mandrilland. 1974 Polydor. 2LP set
Mandrill - Solid. 1975 United Artists
Mandrill - Beast from the East. 1976 United Artists

Since we're already operating outside the margins of the CDRWL, I thought this would be a good time to sneak in one of my favorite bands: Mandrill. Their first 4 albums (all highly recommended) were reissued on CD in the late 90s by Collectables. These are their next 3 albums, which I dutifully picked up on vinyl over the years (they're relatively easy to find and inexpensive). Each one is slightly lesser than the one before. By the time of We Are One, Mandrill will have transformed into a full blown disco act. Not bad by any means, but that's too far out of bounds for our list.

It has been said that Brooklyn's Mandrill were too progressive rock to be funk and too funk to be progressive rock. And that's just about exactly right. In fact the 2LP sprawling set of Mandrillland may be their peak at the progressive rock style. And on the flip side, Beast From the East is giving off major clues the band is clearly heading for more commercial territory, though there's still some great funk/prog to be heard.

Priority: 2

One St. Stephen, USA

One St. Stephen - s/t. 1975 Owl

In the late 90s, I bought a large collection of CDs and LPs. One of those CDs was One St. Stephen's sole album. But it's an obvious pirate, and unfortunately that's all there is in regards to a CD. There is, however, a legitimate LP reissue. And the artist is very happy with the final product.

The gentleman behind One St. Stephen is Don Patterson, who seems like quite the Renaissance Man. There is a tremendous amount of data about him in the webosphere. I highly recommend the It's Psychedelic Baby interview as the first place to start your research.

Musically the album is influenced by Jim Morrison and The Doors, and is a very anachronistic sound for 1975. Perhaps similar to Phantom's Divine Comedy in that way. I should note that the idea that One St. Stephen sounds like The Doors is hotly contested in some quarters. OK, then...

Priority: 3

Colonna, Italy

Colonna - s/t. 1980 Harmony. Also 1980 Box (Germany)

Another album that probably sits outside the margins of our list. But what a cover, eh? I received this CD-R from Midwest Mike years ago. Worth featuring I think.

Colonna is one Maurizio Colonna, who is today recognized as one of Italy's finest Spanish guitar players. This is his debut album, which naturally enough prominently features Colonna on the acoustic Spanish guitar. His exemplary playing is augmented by vocals, Moog synths, and rock/disco beats. He has many more albums which I've not heard to date. This one sports a pretty cool cover (a flying bull and a spaceship), and I could see this falling prey to the Italian progressive rock collector, though it has no stylistic similarities whatsoever. Well done for what it is. I'll include it here for those Italian prog treasure hunters, so they know what they're getting into. Also worth noting the exceptional supporting cast: Roberto Colombo, Tullio De Piscopo, Mark Harris (Napoli Centrale), Bernardo Lanzetti (PFM, Acqua Fragile) and bassist Ares Tavolazzi (Area).

Priority: none

Charlee, Canada

Charlee - s/t. 1972 RCA

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2

Skywhale, England

Skywhale - The World at Mind's End. 1977 private

moved to UMR

Priority: 2

Steinzeit, Germany

Steinzeit - Geburtstag. 1982 Absurde Geburten

As General Burkhalter might say "Ve-dy IN-TER-REST-ING Klink!". The AC has a wild one for us today.

"Imagine if you took the caterwauling female vocals and general angst of Gutura, but then replaced the atonal no wave guitar scree with some fragmented, twitchy kraut jazz instead. That's about the only description I can come up with for this underground German oddity. Production wise, this sounds like it may have been recorded in the same basement/crawlspace/broom closet that Buchenfeld used. I was kind of fascinated at first, but as time wore on found it increasingly irritating. Interesting, but will most likely have a strictly niche appeal."

I didn't read The AC's notes until the day after, but I can tell you the very first band to enter my mind, and it never left, was France's Gutura, who we've featured in the past here on the CDRWL. I must have been in a good mood, because the production didn't bother me in this case (broom closet lol). Twisty kraut jazz indeed, with spastic yet enunciated yelping from our crazy gal. And some fine mid 70s Crimsonish guitar. Odd album for sure, but one I found quite arresting. I suspect I'm the niche in this case. A good one for my tastes!

Priority: 2

F.G. Experimental Laboratory, Switzerland

F.G. Experimental Laboratory - Hope. 1980 Studio Scafe

When Garden of Delights reissued F.G. Experimental Laboratory's debut album Journey into a Dream back in 2006, I just presumed this title would follow shortly thereafter. So I never featured it. But it doesn't appear GoD has any interest in this title. I can understand why, as it's not exemplary, but it's just as good as the debut IMO. So with that...

F.G. Experimental Laboratory is a one man electronic show from a gentleman named Frédy Guye. Good haunting electronics with some wordless voice is what you can expect to find here. Somewhat akin to Jean-Baptiste Barriere, though not quite as dire as those his two albums can be. Guye should have added more variety to his keyboard selection, to add color and tone to what ultimately sums up to be a fairly monolithic release.

Priority: none

Melofin, USA

Melofin - Ivan Tale. 1984 private

And yet another Midwest Mike submission from the past that came up during the CD-R revisit project. Definitely on the margins of what we cover here, but a good listen nonetheless. 

Melofin's sole album from 1984 is a slow moving, slice-of-life, psychedelic folk album that sounds about 15 years past its expiration date. Mostly vocal driven acoustic music, with occasional electric guitar leads, winds, and synthesizer. Melofin hail from Morgantown, West Virginia and makes one wonder if perhaps the 60s psych movement had just found its way into the Allegheny mountains. Somewhere between old-timey mountain music, Celtic jigs, and CSN&Y singalongs. Recalls some of the low budget English 99-album-count folk albums from 1969/70. About as anachronistic as they come. All the same, worth a few listens for certain. And it features an awesome album cover, which unfortunately does not represent the contents within.

Priority: none

George Gruntz / Piano Conclave, Germany

George Gruntz / Piano Conclave - Palais Anthology. 1975 MPS/BASF.

Here's one Midwest Mike sent me years ago, and it recently popped up on the CD-R revisit project. Definitely worthy of its own post!

Hard hitting fusion from an all-star cast of Europe's finest ivory ticklers of the mid 70s. A mix of funky fusion, Canterbury rock, and straight-up piano jazz. A nice surprise, and not an album one would likely buy if they saw the cover - except noting the marquee names, which is more than impressive: Gordon Beck, Wolfgang Dauner, George Gruntz, Jasper Van't Hof, Joachim Kuhn, Martial Solal, John Lee, Alphonse Mouzon. Yep, pretty ridiculous lineup right there.

Priority: 3

Panama Red, Germany

Panama Red - Limited. 1981 private

I had this one buried in the main list without even a small description, and I remembered little about it. But it just came up during the CD-R revisit project, and the results were favorable, so here is its debut on the CDRWL.

Panama Red were one of those compelling German bands that came around in the late 70s and early 80s. Most were privately released, and mixed straight up 70s FM rock with progressive oriented ideas/meters, and a Latin jazz fusion undertone. What strikes me most about Panama Red is 1) the exemplary guitar work and 2) the high quality of the production. This is no backyard job, that's for sure. File next to Desiree and Blister Chap, a couple of other hard-to-describe German bands of high quality, but yet do not fit easy categorization.

Priority: 3

Orpheus, Canada

Orpheus - s/t. 1979 private
Orpheus - Orpheus 2. 1981 Acapella

Orpheus (1979) moved to UMR

Hmmm... I recall this band. They weren't any good right? What say the AC?

"Deep within the bowels of the "Original CD Reissue Wish List"

Uh-oh. Be very careful when going there AC...

"this Montreal band's eponymous 1979 debut is described simply as "boring fusion" and has a pound sign next to it (better known as a "hashtag" to you young whippersnappers), which I think is CDRWL-speak for "don't bother"". 

I sense a trip to the woodshed. (Covers eyes...)..... peeks.....

"And as much as I love the whole late 70s/early 80s obscure fusion wave, I can't help but agree. Their first LP (despite having a cool cover) IS one of the more forgettable examples of the style."

Whew! He had me worried there for a minute....

"So why am I reviewing this even more obscure followup here? I mean, the generic title, glittering disco ball cover and track titles like "Funk Me Tender" certainly don't imply a significant improvement, right?. But lo and behold, for a miracle has been brought forth before us!"

Oh my, really?

"Disregard the cheesy aesthetics and forget all about their snoozer debut, because this one is nothing short of an outstanding display of instrumental progressive fusion. Tight, energetic and full of twists and turns, this pretty much nails it from start to finish. Great production, as well. Despite being distributed in Canada by Polygram, this seems to have almost totally dropped off the radar over the years. Go forth and seek it out if you're even remotely interested in the style."

LOL. How does he do it? I ask again: How does he do it? Time after time.... after time! It must be a SECRET then....

OK, a bit of fun. But what of these two albums? Well, my description of the first album was hardly fair. It was a placeholder only as a reminder to myself. But since we're here, I did pull that one down for a recent listen, and it was a bit better than I recall. I was hearing a lot of new-to-me fusion at once in the 2009 to 2011 time frame, so only the best albums were catching my ears. This one isn't really anything special, and definitely pales to the followup. But I bumped it up a Gnosis point. It's good, but not essential.

As for this second album, it is definitely a fusion lover's delight. Has that warm slap bass, and patented cheesy synthesizer sound that we know and love. All in complex time signatures, and with some fiery guitar solos thrown on top. Definitely worth a:

Priority: 3