White Summer, USA-Michigan ***REISSUED***

White Summer. 1976 private

***Reissued by Out-Sider Nov 2015

Michigan based hard rock and funk. Most of the tracks are under the 3 minute mark, tritely executed, and are scarce worth mentioning. However, there are 3 long pieces (5+, 6+ and 13+) that are absolutely fantastic with great guitar soloing, changes in dynamic and rhythms - not to mention excellent songcraft. 

Priority: none

5/27/10; 11/24/15 (complete)

Minoru Muraoka & New Dimension Group ~ Japan

Lupus. 1974 Victor

UMR review

Priority: 2

11/11/15 (new entry)

I think it's fitting to end the CDRWL blog Version 1.0 with an insanely rare Japanese album as submitted by The AC. I can assure you that I would not know any of these were it not for his incredible research!

His notes were: "Shakuhachi master and band leader Muraoka recorded scores of records over the years, covering all kinds of ground, with a focus on integrating the traditional Japanese shakuchachi flute into modern western-style music. His most interesting period (from a rock/jazz listener's perspective) unsurprisingly coincided with the experimental New Rock boom in Japan circa the early/mid 70s. His most well-known works are from earlier on in this timeframe, when he released albums like "Osorezan" and "Bamboo", which have long been popular with the rare groove/DJ crowd. But after this he developed a darker, more experimental streak, releasing a string of albums with his New Dimension Group where he started to twist and mutate traditional Japanese music to his own ends, leading to fascinating efforts such as "Jigen" (1972) and "So" (1973). However, these were still probably too traditional to catch the ear of many prog/psych listeners. This all changed in 1974, when he unleashed "Lupus", a live concert hall recording (as many of his works were) that takes his earlier concepts and finally goes off the deep end with them. The eponymous side-long first track is an immense piece of hybrid far eastern psych/prog/jazz-rock which, aside from the hypnotically pulsing electric bass, amazingly consists of nothing but traditional Japanese instruments and drums, although you'd scarcely know it. Everything is put through the fuzz/wah blender, creating sounds and textures more reminiscent of electric organ and fuzzed out guitars. It starts out tranquilly, but then builds and builds in intensity, climaxing in a totally frenzied freakout conclusion that will leave your brain in a puddle-like state. Awe inspiring. The second side is unfortunately much more traditional, consisting of three shorter pieces, although the quality is still high. But that first side... Wow. Deserves to be much more well known."

Skeptical Eye ~ Canada

The Devil's Playground. 1984 Puretone

UMR review

Priority: 3

11/10/15 (new entry)

The AC says: "Bizarre homemade Christian prog/psych anachronism out of Belleville, Ontario. You know when a Christian-themed LP has track titles like "Tortured From Inside" that it's probably something beyond the ordinary, and that's certainly the case here. Psych guitar and organ, ineptly performed prog breaks, off key male and female vocals (including a children's choir section that seems to have been done by a group of random local school kids who couldn't sing at all) weird and disturbing sound effects, spacey Pink Floydian sections, and even a weepy ballad and terrible blues rock jam. Yet, it all flows together somehow as a cohesive concept work. I think. I don't really want to know, to be honest. A few keyboard tones aside, the whole thing sounds like it was recorded about a decade earlier. And as far as the amateurism level is concerned, I'll paraphrase myself from the Rhea review I did here a few years back: To put it in Canadian progressive terms, these guys make VIIth Temple sound like Rush in comparison. Very rare, but perhaps that's for the best? Completely demented."

Fractals ~ England

Fractals. 1986 Surface

UMR review

Priority: none

11/9/15 (new entry)

AC's notes: "Obscure little instrumental jazz-rock/fusion offering from the lean years of the genre. The main hook here is that the rhythm section consists of Jerry Soffe and Frank Hockney, formerly of cult favorites Red. Like other releases of its ilk from the mid 80s, there is no attempt whatsoever to hide its all-digital "modernness" (ironically now much more dated than the earlier analog tones), but if you can get past that it's actually a solid album. Sedate jazzy pieces alternate with more driving, progressive-minded tunes, which keeps things interesting. Hard to track down, as it seems this was only distributed in their local Oxford area during the band's relatively brief existence, but worth a look for hardcore genre fans."

Early Times ~ Japan

Second Album. 1976 private

UMR review

Priority: 2

11/8/15 (new entry)

This was the last of The AC's submissions from early 2015. I have not heard from him since. He left as he came - shrouded in mystery. What I most appreciated about The AC was his ability to filter and discern the best of the obscurities. There's tons out there, and many aren't worthy of discussion.We didn't always agree, but we saw eye to eye on music more than most anyone else I've encountered. Thanks again my friend for all the great submissions!

His notes: "Not to be confused with the contemporaneous Early Times String Band (a Japanese 70s folk-rock ensemble that has become slightly better known due to a couple of reissue/archival releases), this incredibly obscure album was the second effort of a local Sapporo based group. Their first is so rare that, while it must exist, has apparently never been glimpsed a single time by even the most hardcore Japanese collectors after all these years. All that aside, what we have here is a very interesting anachronism that sounds more like an underground Japanese take on early 70s British proto-progressive styles than anything else. Even the Monty Python-esque cover art seems to point in that direction. It kicks off with with an extremely cool horn rock-ish affair, featuring vintage organ, electric piano, funky percussion and psych guitar backed by a female chorus to great effect. This is followed by a lengthy proto-prog style guitar/organ led jam that slowly builds in intensity, with some great soloing. The rest of the first side then kind of puts on the breaks, with a couple of slow blues rock pieces that still have a very palpable early 70s UK feel to them. The second side starts with another gradually building instrumental jam, that eventually hits an awesome groove while the soloing breaks out overhead, before slowing down again into a more pensive mood. We then reach the real climax of the album, with the nearly 13 minute long final track. Building slowly once again (a hallmark of theirs, it seems), this starts out in a jazzy/bluesy horn rock mode, then builds in intensity as the soloing picks up and the vocals join in again, ending in a long crescendo of bluesy psych guitar soloing over the horn rock/proto-prog style jamming. Great stuff, and the whole album has a very loose, underground sound and vibe that is just flat out cool."

11/8/15 (new entry)

Love Live Life (& related) ~ Japan

Satsujin Jissho [Ten Chapters of Murder]. 1974 CBS/Sony

Kosuke Ichihara & Love Live Life - Datsu Nippon Minyou - Now Sound '75. 1975 Victor

UMR reviews

Priority: 2

According to a comment from an anonymous reader, Satsujin Jissho has been reissued (1997 Super Fuji). 

The AC has countered the above comment: "This CD doesn't actually exist. It was supposed to come out in 2007 (not 1997), but Sony (who own the rights) killed it off at the last minute. The "Super Fuji Discs" mentioned is a subsidiary of the Japanese record store Disk Union, who sell tons of rare LPs throughout Japan. They were involved in the mastering of the CD, but the whole thing had to be shelved after a while. "

As of 3/4/25, Discogs shows no mention of a CD, so the AC was correct in his retort.

The AC's notes for Kosuke Ichihara & Love Live Life : "The common misconception of Kosuke Ichihara's group seems to be that Love Live Life were a regular, comprehensive band in the Japanese rock scene, a la Flower Travellin' Band and the like, but that's not really the case. Ichihara came from a jazz background, and even the seminal "Love Will Make A Better You" was really more along the lines of the typical "band leader and revolving cast of studio hired guns" scenario that for the most part dominated the output of Japan's New Rock explosion. So it should come as no surprise then that their trail afterwards becomes more diverse and obscure. Most well known in the west is obviously the quirky "Satsujin Jissho", but around the same time there were also entertainingly silly exploitation cash-ins like "Rock In Bacharach", "Rock In X'Mas" and other less notable studio sessions and collaborations. But perhaps the most interesting of this little known latter-day output is "Now Sound '75", an attempt to cross traditional Japanese "minyou" folk songs with the then-rising genre of jazz-rock fusion. This concept had already been done umpteen times by this point in other styles, some of which have been covered on this very blog (Toshio Tanioka, Dosojin, etc.). However, as the title indicates, the difference here is that the "sound"  was very "now", as in funky mid 70s instrumental fusion. The traditional themes are woven in smoothly to create atmosphere in a well-produced set of tunes that would have made a good soundtrack for a classic Japanese cop/detective show. Oddly enough, I'm also reminded a bit of the contemporaneous French fusion sound. Smooth and funky, but with enough atmosphere and instrumental acumen to hold your interest. Recommended to fusion fans, and I'd wager it would also go down a storm with the rare groove crowd. Unfortunately, one of their harder titles to find."

9/30/10 (new entry); 11/7/15 (update)

Rollsplytt ~ Germany

Flappergranny. 1982 private

UMR review

Priority: 3

11/6/15 (new entry)

AC's original notes: "All instrumental prog/fusion with a distinctly early 80s sound, but not in the way that you might expect. It's as if a 1982 British synth-pop band decided to take a break between albums and do a prog side project or something. The copious synths, sax/flute, as well as the guitar and bass lines just have that certain sound, as do the very "bouncy" (for lack of a better word) and straight forward rhythms that propel this lengthy (almost 50 minutes) and well-produced album along. There are some definite fusion touches (mostly of the Weather Report variety), but I'd label it more as "funky synth-driven instrumental prog" than full-fledged jazz-rock, if that makes any sense. It's quite consistent, and has some real period charm, which won me over in the end."

Zthurehz ~ Sweden

Zthürehz. 1981 Sill Y

UMR review

Priority: none

11/4/15 (new entry)

The AC says: "Swedish prog obscurity that's somewhat marred by occasional incursions of early 80s new wave and even some reggae influences. Also perhaps a bit too vocal oriented, at least for my tastes. Unsurprisingly, they fare better on the longer pieces, where they're able to stretch out a little more musically. Some of that typical Scandinavian melancholy also helps the cause, but the general amateurism doesn't. Worth a listen for genre deep divers, but otherwise nothing too special."

Holocausto ~ USA ~ Puerto Rico

Aleluya. 1974 Discos Roka

UMR review

Priority: 3

Naniwaya Tatsumaru & Warner Beatniks, Japan

Naniwaya Tatsumaru & Warner Beatniks - Keiantaiheiki (Yoshitatsu Kyounobori) Rock Roukyoku Rock. 1971 Reprise

Moved to UMR

Priority: None

Tatsuya Takahashi & Tokyo Union Orchestra, Japan

Tatsuya Takahashi & Tokyo Union Orchestra - The Rock Seasons. 1972 Toshiba-Express

Moved to UMR

Priority: None