Sakre, Spain-Basque

Bizitako Gauzak. 1979 Elkar

I remember buying this album in the early 90s. It was hailed as super-rare (like many of the Basque albums), and I thought I really scored when I scooped it up for $75 (and believe me, that was a fortune for me back then). 30+ years later, it still goes for that - or maybe even a little less. Guess there was plenty of supply after all. No problem though with me. I'd never sell the LP - not with an amazing gatefold cover like that (a blind-folded naked Renaissance chick in her stocking feet, walking a pig - are you kidding me?)! Comes with a high quality insert that translates all the lyrics from Basque to Spanish. Like the Magdalena we featured not long ago, this is one of the few Basque albums not reissued by Lost Vinyl of Spain in the mid 90s.

It can be argued, like with most Basque albums, that Sakre isn't progressive rock at all. It's not terribly complex, or lyrically based in some high minded concept (well, I'm guessing on that last point - I'm hardly fluent in the Basque language). But no matter, as the music is clearly from the Basque underground, and Sakre has a sound of their own. The guitar work here is splendid, highly melodic with a cool acid tone. The rhythm section keeps everything hopping along, and there's a handful of meter changes. Though not as overtly psychedelic as fellow Basques' Lisker, there are some parallels with Sakre in the guitar work. A great album as far as I'm concerned - and one that is easy to listen to.

Priority: 2

2/28/11 (new entry)

Ping Pong, Italy

About Time. 1971 Emiliana

While almost all of the Italian progressive rock albums have been reissued by now, the debut by Ping Pong is still mysteriously missing. Their self-titled second album Ping Pong from 1973, was reissued by Mellow many years ago. 

One reason why Ping Pong's debut may have been ignored in the reissue market, is that it has very little to do with what we consider Italian Progressive Rock. It's sung in English, and the sound has a light jazzy feel, very much what one could find in the UK at this time (anywhere from Tonton Macoute to Nucleus' more accessible efforts). However, I personally think it's an exceptional example of this type of music. The flute in particular seems to foreshadow a signature sound from Italy - found in groups like Osanna, PFM, Delirium, Capitolo 6, Cervello and many others. And I would argue that these flautists' are not influenced by Ian Anderson / Jethro Tull, but rather American and UK jazz. It's a good little album, with a 1960s cool (though very fragile) cover.

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Cinedelic (2021)

2/27/11 (new entry)

Orkiestra Osmego Dnia (Orchestra of the 8th Day), Poland

Muzyka na Koniec. 1982 Savitor. Released in the US as Orchestra of the 8th Day - Music For the End. 1982 Flying Fish.

Poland seems to have cornered the market on moody, organic, ethnic psychedelic music. Osjan/Ossian were the first (though even local pop star Niemen explored a bit in this area). Orchestra of the 8th Day appeared next and years later both Atman and The Magic Carpathians followed this path. Multiple reed and string instruments create an otherworldly landscape. No doubt labeled New Age music in its day, I would be hard pressed to believe that fans of the genre would walk away with anything but being mentally disturbed. This is not soft, meditational and relaxing music. This is truly psychedelic music - not via drugs or overt lyrical references, but rather a timeless ritualistic sound. A very fascinating work.

The band has at least four other albums that I have not heard.

Flying Fish was a very interesting label from Chicago, and I suspect they may have more intriguing (and relevant) titles for the CDRWL. I know about Other Music, which we'll cover here shortly, but that's about it. I know they have a lot of pure folk music that falls outside of our scope.

Priority: 3

2/26/11 (new entry)

Id, USA-Maryland

Where Are We Going. 1977 Aura

Id were a band from the Baltimore area who released only this one obscure album, and disappeared. For many years, it was unclear where they were even from, until recent comments on various websites pointed out Baltimore. Where Are We Going is the album that Terry Brooks and Strange should have released. For those of you that have endured Raw Power, then you know what an exhausting fuzz guitar overload that album is. Id is no different really on that point, but the primary separator is the keyboard work which is all in technicolor mellotron! There's even some decent melodies, especially on the first side. Lyrically it's classic 70s cornball hippy dipster the-world-is-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket kind of thing. There's some narration and phased semi-singing that's so bad it's bad, thus you have to love it anyway. Honestly, I like this album quite a bit. If you can handle nonstop guitar soloing in a space rock setting, then you'll enjoy this as well. And truthfully there wasn't a whole lot of this kind of music on the market in the 1970s. Where Are We Going was recorded in 1975 and copyrighted in 1976. But the label is clear in appending 1977, thus it took two years to hit the market. It definitely sounds more like a 1975 album. 

---

Apparently the bass player is working on reissuing the album.

 

Priority: 2

2/22/11 (new entry)

Jean Luc Hamonet and Algue, France

Mélodie, Mélodie ~ Rock. 1982 Le Kiosque d'Orphée

Man, more damn diacritics and tilde's than you can shake a stick at. Hamonet's sole album (the only one I know of anyway) is a pleasant instrumental romp focusing on our protagonist's guitar and flute work. Some of it is light tropical and breezy as is typical of the era. However, there are some fiery moments to behold, in particular the closer 'Masques' is right out of the Heldon playbook. I sure hope there's more like this sitting in a drawer somewhere. 

Priority: 3

2/21/11 (new entry)

The Michael Gordon Philharmonic, USA

The Michael Gordon Philharmonic. 1987 Neutral

On the Nishin post, I described my catalog trading days of 1991-1997. What came after that? Well, ebay of course. At first, I primarily bought original LPs that I had as a CD or LP reissue. Prices were pretty good back then (not cheap, but reasonable especially when compared against the catalogs of the day). But as the originals starting going through the stratosphere again, I began to focus on obscurities I never heard of. A big portion of this CD Reissue Wish List came courtesy of those experiments. Most paid off - some did not of course. Information was still pretty scarce, much more so than it is today. So sometimes it was purely on the faith of the ebay description. Like this one. And this little gem has to be one of the most obscure I found (though not expensive). 

Michael Gordon is a founding member of Bang on a Can, and also has a few albums under his name. This is the only LP, that I'm aware of, under the Michael Gordon Philharmonic moniker. It's also his first LP. This is the pure definition of what we now call Avant Progressive or what we used to call RIO influenced chamber rock. Gordon is the keyboardist, and you can tell his fondness / training for minimalism. The Philharmonic part is the classically oriented music, but there's a rock backbone, thus pushing the album into our scope. Recommended for fans of The Alain Eckert Quartet, Wittox O'Hara and Chris Lemon. Neat WPA era artwork.

Priority: none

2/20/11 (new entry)

First Aid, England

Nostradamus. 1977 Decca

OK, I've looked all over my LP for evidence. The label says 1976 and the gatefold cover says 1977. It just can't be. It has to be 1971 right? Even the old style Decca label seems ancient. Everything about it looks and sounds from another era. Did Decca have this one sitting in the vaults - perhaps mislabeled, and decide to release it 6 years later? Nostradamus, as you can imagine, is a high minded concept album about the supposed fortune teller. Complete with orchestrations, narration - and long guitar / organ jams. Intertwined with melodic pop songs of course. Right on Brother! If this sounds like something out of the Moody Blues or Salamander playbook, well then, you win first prize in the name-that-band sweepstakes. Of course, given this kind of anachronistic behavior, I think it's great. 

Priority: 2

2/19/11 (new entry)

Circus Underwater, USA-Maryland

Circus Underwater. 1984 Glass Wing

Circus Underwater, from the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC, were a progressive electronic group, heavy on atmosphere and with a good grasp of melody. The acoustics are fantastic, and the Frippian guitar leads are really quite splendid. Perhaps had Circus Underwater considered being a Berlin School electronic group in the Tangerine Dream genre, they may have found success at the time - though their sound wasn't that removed from what Klaus Schulze and other electronic artists of the day were attempting. I've seen dealers sell this as "minimal synth" to great success, but that's an entirely misleading genre tag for this effort.

The album is under 28 minutes (Side 2 is about 12 minutes), so it could technically be considered an EP. The Glass Wing label is from Maryland, while the packaging and pressing are from Phoenix. The production and pressing are exceptional. Features a wonderful stenciled front cover.

Priority: none

***Reissued on LP by Soundway (UK) in 2023.

2/17/11 (new entry)

Saisei-Koubou, Japan

Saisei-Koubou. 1987 LLE Label

This is one I picked up from a well known Japanese dealer at the 1994 ProgFest record convention (of all places). It's a neat personal story, but I won't bore you all with it. I still have the wax paper that came with it which protected the homemade golden seal from the LP plastic sleeve.

A couple of days ago we featured an obscure Japanese group from 1987 (Nishin) who released an album heavily influenced by early 80's Belew era King Crimson. Here's another obscurity from 1987 Japan, also influenced by Crimson. This time we go back to the 1974 Starless and Bible Black era. A heavy psych guitar, woody bass, metallic percussion sound pervades, with some ominous male vocals (in Japanese) and tuneless keyboard sounds overlaid on top. It's a bit under produced and amateurish, but their hearts are in the right place, and frankly no one was doing music like this in the late 1980s. Probably the closest comparison here is the Michigan band Inserts from their first album (which was distributed in Japan, so I have to wonder if this band may have stumbled on the album) - which we featured a long while ago.

The AC adds more info: "It's actually not a private release, but on Pneuma's (Trembling Strain, Takami, etc.) LLE label, which also released the original Lacrymosa EP and a bunch of other underground stuff in the 80s, including those really cool Takami albums. In fact, the drummer in Saisei is the same guy from Lacrymosa, and I think the guitarist was in Golden Avant-Garde, so there's a definite connection with Chihiro S., even though he's not on the album himself." He also states regarding the Act Min Tanaka on the label: "Min Tanaka is a famous butoh dancer, and I remember learning that the band apparently had some kind of association with him, performing in one of his dance studios or something."

Priority: 3

2/13/11 (new entry)

Rozz, Germany

Prüfungsangst. 1980 Telefunken
Eisbrecher. 1981 Telefunken

Rozz were yet another German band playing in what is often called Kraut Fusion (and I have a whole list dedicated to it). Their second and last album, Eisbrecher, is overall a good fusion album, with focus on the guitar work, good melodies, fine production, and excellent playing from all. Does the album have a lasting impact 10 minutes after listening? Well, no. It's all pretty standard stuff for the time and place, without taking any significant chances. But if you haven't heard much in this unique German style, Eisbrecher is good collection filler, especially given how inexpensive original LPs remain. Reference groups include other guitar fronted German fusion bands such as Syncrisis or To Be.

Priority: none

2/12/11 (new entry)

Claude Perraudin, France

Mutation 24. 1977 RCA

Film library musician Claude Perraudin released only this one fully realized instrumental electronic album. Nicely done, with atmospheric wordless voices, acoustic / electric guitars, a pile of synthesizers and real drums. This is old school electronic music, where Perraudin plays all the instruments, lays down tons of tracks and assembles them later. 

Priority: 3

2/11/11 (new entry)

Nishin, Japan

Dai Dai. 1987 Panama

There was a period from 1991-1997 (that is, pre-marriage, haha) that yours truly spent every week at the post office. I was sending records to all corners of the Earth, and thus receiving some back in turn. My wheeler-dealer days as it were. Many of the albums in this list came from back then (though just as many have since been reissued and are not featured here). I can go on and on, but examples are Mirror, Lethe, Marakesh, Avalanche, Mad Curry, Kvartteten Som Sprangde, Saisai Koubou, (everything from Canada), Picaresque of Bremen, Orpheus, Osiris (Japan), Nattura, etc, etc... and many, many more (most I kept, some I sold). I'm forever grateful to those dealers from Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, England, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia, even the good ole' USA. Those dealers that allowed me to sample great music from all over the world. They didn't have to trade with me. They could have insisted on cold hard cash which I didn't really have. But they did anyway, because they too were legitimate music fans, who had an interest in what I had to offer. I only mention this, since 1) I haven't done so before and 2) This Nishin has to be one of the most obscure I ever picked up. Not rare/expensive, but obscure for certain. And from a European dealer no less, not from Japan like you would expect. I thought I'd have to pull out the digital camera, but I found an auction buried in Google with a scanned cover (which is attached). The back cover is cool too, with textured lettering. Comes with a 2 page insert, and I don't think it was release with an obi. Either that, or mine is missing....

Musically there is no doubt of Nishin's influence - that of Adrian Belew-era King Crimson. Specifically the Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair albums. A 4 piece, with dual guitars (one known as a Carimbaguitar, which sounds somewhat like a violin), the lineup is exactly like Fripp's bunch from this time, minus the Stick bass. The production and vocal style are mid 1980s all the way. But there's no doubting the complexity and energy of the music, and the true spirit of progressive rock is alive here. A nice little album, that has few peers in terms of sound and composition.

Priority: 3

2/9/11 (new entry)

Metropolis, Germany

Metropolis. 1974 Pan

Musically, Metropolis' sole album is difficult to pigeonhole. It's a panoptic view of the Krautrock genre. I hear elements of other German groups as diverse as Joy Unlimited, Nine Days Wonder, Pell Mell, Lily, Os Mundi, Eiliff, and Ardo Dombec. Plenty of superb electric / acoustic guitar, organ, mellotron, horns, flute, female & male vocals. Final 9 minute piece 'Ecliptic' is a total monster. Suffice to say, if you're a fan of the early 70s German underground rock scene, then Metropolis is a no-brainer purchase.

Priority: 2

2/8/11 (new entry)

Emergency Exit, France

Sortie de Secours. 1976 Pole

Starting off with an acoustic vocal number almost identical to what is found on the Lourival Silvestre album we just spoke of yesterday, Emergency Exit then veers off into an aggressive progressive rock fusion hybrid, with compressed fuzzy guitars and wobbly bass. Like a cross between Plat du Jour and Coincidence. Overall more like the former. 

Priority: 2

2/6/11 (new entry)

Lourival Silvestre, France

Fiction Musicale. 1976 Disjuncta

A really nice hidden gem on Pinhas' Disjuncta label. And quite a bit different from anything on that label - or any label in fact. Silvestre plays guitar (primarily acoustic but some electric) and, on rare occasion, synthesizer. He also sings using a wordless method. Additional members provide flute and hand percussion. The overall result is haunting yet peaceful. A real underground vibe permeates. It fits the electronic genre, even though it's primarily all acoustic - in that way resembling Popol Vuh (though the music is quite different). A very fine album, that hopefully has more studio quality tracks sitting in the vault, as it's pretty short in length.

Priority: 2

2/5/11 (new entry)

Magdalena, Spain

Lanean Sartzen. 1981 IZ

From my perspective, Magdalena's sole release is the Basque region's most progressive rock album in the traditional sense. As many of us came to find out in the late 1980s and early 90s, the region had dozens of rock albums, mostly sung in the native tongue. The majority of these Basque albums are folk based, and because of that, many fell out of my personal interest area. However a few were exactly what I was seeking, for example Haizea's second album, Lisker, and Sakre. But the best of them all is this little obscurity I picked up in the mid 90s. While the melodies have a traditional folklore feel to them, the compositions are clearly rooted in complex progressive rock. Wonderful fuzz guitar and flute take on the lead instrument chores, whereas the rhythm section keeps the whole thing hopping from one place to another. Often times I was reminded of the Catalan group Gotic as well. A very fine album.

One interesting tidbit here: The album's title on the front cover is Lanean Sartzen, which is Basque for "Work Included". However the title track and the way it is listed on the label is Lanera Sartzen, which translates to "Getting Into Work". Not sure why this is - guessing a miscommunication with the art director...

Priority: 2

There is a private 2008 CD reissue, but it's difficult to determine its validity.

2/4/11 (new entry); 7/7/18

P. F. Flyer, USA-California

P.F. Flyer Play Gianchetta Jazz. 1970 AVG

A short album, not even topping 26 minutes, P.F. Flyer produced this one instrumental psych blues LP. Loads of fuzz guitar and Hammond organ dominate. The AC says about one song: "The track "Rocks Off" in particular would probably make those hipster DJ crate-digger types' heads explode, with the heavy open drum breaks and wild Hendrix-style fuzz/wah guitar." Overall, the AC notes that the music can best be described as accidental library psych.

To explain further the accidental adjective, the AC explains: "They were apparently students at a San Francisco dance studio run by an aspiring choreographer named Anthony Gianchetta, circa '69-'70. He had some ideas about using "hip" rock music for his dance routines, so somehow a group of his pupils got a band together and took up the task. The problem is that they were stoner hippy kids and decided to basically ignore his instructions and jam out this mostly undanceable instrumental psych excursion instead! It seems that everyone was pretty upset with this, but they basically had no choice but to release it as is at that point. It must have been a tiny micro pressing, with most of them probably ending up destroyed or discarded. In any case, it apparently wasn't too big a career setback for Gianchetta, as he seems to still be quite active as a stage choreographer in California to this day, as you will see if you Google his name."

As for the rarity of the album, the AC adds: "It seems like this album has been on almost every collector's want list, but hardly anyone has heard it. Well, there's good reason for that, as there are no more than 10 or 12 copies known to exist. A handful of copies were initially discovered by a local Bay Area record dealer years back, but no others have ever turned up since then."

---

I noticed on Discogs somebody copying this review (from 2018). Oh well.

Priority: 3

2/3/11 (new entry)

Nightwings, Netherlands

Grande Randonnee… en de Reiziger Moet Verder. 1981 Crossroad

Nightwings are that very rare breed of a Netherlands group who actually sing in Dutch. While the album is clearly folk based, there are plenty of progressive rock elements especially in the keyboard department. What Nightwings are to The Netherlands is akin to what the early Anacrusa albums are to Argentina. If that makes sense. It's also one of the rare times when I see the description "folk psych", it actually lives up to the latter part of the name. And while not near enough psych for a freak like me, I think fans of the genre will indeed appreciate this effort.

Another rarity from the Midwest Mike stash!

Priority: none

2/2/11 (new entry)

Landress / Hart Group, USA-California

Dancing Moments. 1981 Shadow Light

According to whatever data I could find, Landress / Hart were a Los Angeles based jazz fusion duo (though a full 4 piece group), one on guitar and the other on keyboards. The latter is the usual smattering of period synthesizers and Rhodes piano. It's all rather pleasant, and played to perfection. The Mrs. joined me for this listening session and thought it to be a very nice instrumental album as well. These guys were definitely pros who deserved more recognition. Recommended for fusion fans.

---9/15/19 update

For the above, I was not exactly hyperventilating the glory of its contents. And yet, shortly thereafter, the album became something of a "holy grail" for collectors. I know it had to be a coincidence - that someone important (an influencer as they say now), whoever that someone was - shared the album with others of a like mind, perhaps reminded by our post. We had reported at the time that it was a "$5 record", because that's what the last auction on ebay had received. Next thing you know, prices on ebay were fetching $500 and more! There's no accounting for the collector mindset. I see today that the price has normalized downward, but hardly back to $5.

In any case, on this revisit the music definitely can hold its own - and I found myself enjoying it more than prior. Still nothing extraordinary, but it would make for a nice reissue, especially given the demand.

Priority: 3

2/1/11 (new entry); 9/15/19

Dickens, France

Royal Incarnation. 1969 President

One of the rare examples of French psychedelic music. The best songs on the album are sung in French, a language that was still not common for rock music during this period. The atmospheric parts, with the wordless voices, recalls similar era Pink Floyd, and is a highly unusual sound for Continental Europe at this time. About the half the album is English sung punk psych, which was more akin to what was going on in America (Lollipop Shoppe comes to mind here). Judging by the cover, one would presume a psych exploitation album, but it's nothing of the sort. A very rare album, and a good one for archivists to search for.

Priority: 3

1/31/11 (new entry)

Ivory, USA-California

Ivory. 1973 Playboy

Here we go again, another album that is about half excellent, half dreadful. Starts out promising enough with a heavy organ rocker that wouldn't be out of place on a Uriah Heep album. This then leads into three tracks that are... well... they're terrible. Anywhere from woman-done-me-wrong blues to ragtime. No redeeming value whatsoever, no matter how you try to rationalize it. So of course, from there on it's prog rock. Get out the organ, Moog, and piano and let's play us some complicated ELP style music shall we? Heck, some of the riffs even recall the Italian interpretation of the English famous trio (think Alphataurus / L'Uovo Colombo here). And so it goes throughout Side 2, complete with an Indian bit with sitar, tablas and the works. Sigh. Any chance there's a full archive of this style sitting in a vault somewhere?

Priority: none

1/30/11 (new entry); 8/4/19

Projections, USA-North Carolina

Projections. 1981 Projectile

North Carolina's Projections is the kind of album that I would normally leave in the main list as a reference, but wouldn't necessarily give it a feature post. Why? Well I'm no fusion nut (though I love the edgier side of the genre as is obvious from the many postings here), and this one is pretty typical for the era in which it was released. However, it does feature none other than Dregs man T Lavitz on about half the album as a guest on keyboards (what else?). It's definitely a nice instrumental jazz fusion - slightly complex, with a smooth soft texture. Not Love Boat smooth like Buki-Yamaz, but ya know, I could see these guys headlining a Vegas club...

Priority: none

1/29/11 (new entry)

Frank Robson, England - Finland

Robson. 1974 Blue Master Special

British born Robson is most known as the original vocalist for Tasavallan Presidentti (and Blues Section prior to that), and he appeared on their first two albums. Not surprisingly, he brings the same blues rock styled vocals to his first solo album. The album itself could have been a Tasavallan Presidentti release, being an eclectic affair mixing horn rock, jazz, blues, progressive and plain old rock and roll. The prominent use of horns adds a unique dimension and raises the quality a couple of points. Other than a heavy reliance on a Mini-Moog, the album sounds older, more akin to a 1970 release.

Priority: 3

***Reissued on LP by Svart (2018)

1/28/11 (new entry)

Canelle, France

Canelle. 1978 Editions Pluriel

When listening to this album, I had every intention of listing it as a group from Canada. It has that particular sound that reminds me of a 1970s Quebecois release, as found on the Disques Le Tamanoir label for example. Groups such as L'Engoulevent and Breche come to mind here. As well, I hear traces of Harmonium's debut and even some Connivence. Overall I'd categorize it mainly as French folk music with a pop rock edge. So not exactly the usual CDRWL fare, but the primary reason for inclusion is the keyboard work - plenty of Moog solos that are a wonderful contrast to the otherwise serene pop music. I suppose you could also call out Yes here, when they're in their most simplistic happy sappy mood. Also, I quite liked the melodies. While not a high priority release (there are a couple of trips to the barn you'll have to endure), I still think many of you would probably like to track this one down for a few listens.

Thanks again goes to Midwest Mike for this one.

Priority: 3

1/27/11 (new entry)

Buki-Yamaz, Denmark

Buki-Yamaz. 1975 Hookfarm
Segundo. 1976 Stuk

Generally I don't go for Danish fusion bands with Spanish album titles, but with Buki-Yamaz, the band has the perfect blend of instrumental dexterity and melodic consciousness. Lots of flute, guitar, and Latin rhythms. Some of it is pretty mellow, and there's a certain cruise ship lounge vibe throughout, that I find somehow appealing in a warped Love Boat sort of way (similar to the Opa from Uruguay we recently reviewed). Hookfarm is the same label responsible for Fred Israel and Drops.

There is a compilation CD (on Music Mecca) that includes a few tracks from all of their albums. But the albums proper have not been reissued in full.

Priority: 3

1/26/11 (new entry)

Message, USA-New Mexico

It'll Be Awhile. 1981 Black Gold

Albuquerque, New Mexico based Message were an excellent example of the progressive hard rock style that had a small niche audience in the late 1970s and early 80s. It's mainly hard rock at the core, but is slightly complex and has a few more ideas than the usual run of the mill bonehead albums of the era. The tracks are mostly compact (with only two going past 6 minutes), so no elaborate themes nor delusions of grandeur here. Think Side 2 of Rush's 2112 as an example. The Texas band False Prophet is another good reference (an archival CD that Shroom put out a few years ago). One can only hope that a full canister of recorded music awaits discovery. A superb album that is still quite unknown.

Priority: 2

1/25/11 (new entry); 7/19/19

Modern Music Band, Sweden

Modern Music Band. 1972 Spark

Not long ago we featured a 1970 Swedish group called Opus III & Friends, and I stated that they reminded me of a horn rock band, except that they didn't have horns. And here we have another band like that, except they do feature them... horns that is. And much more, fully utilizing the 8 piece band here (trumpet, trombone, organ, flute, sax, guitar, bass, drums). This is a very fine example of the style, with good melodies and female vocals sung in Swedish. I believe all are originals, except one cover of Chicago's 'Make Me Smile' (and an excellent rendition it is). For Swedish horn rock, I found this to be much more preferable than Splash's Ut På Vischan. 

Priority: 2

1/24/11 (new entry)

Hausmusik, Germany

Ear Mail. 1980 Transmitter (MC)

Hausmusik features an all-star lineup of Ingo Bischof (Karthago, Guru Guru, Kraan), Butze Fischer (Embryo, Missus Beastly, Moira, Guru Guru), Roland Schaeffer (Fashion Pink, Brainstrom, Guru Guru), Gerald Luciano (Guru Guru, Embryo), and Jan Fride (Kraan, Guru Guru). It would appear Guru Guru is the glue on this one. Given the pedigree, one would think more buzz would surround it.

Ear Mail is a fascinating album that contains a fusion of Eastern/Asiatic music, jazz, and rock. The album is filled with lengthy improvisations that would have benefited from a nice editing, though it's still a pleasant listen. Musically Ear Mail ties closest to the Embryo offshoot group Sadja (yet another cassette only band that time forgot), though there are more rock elements presented here.

It must be said that Ear Mail is not the best recording in the world, and one wonders if it was ever intended for mass release. This was an old AC discovery, one of many great finds he dug up.

As I update this post, the cassette still is not listed in Discogs.

Priority: 3

1/23/11 (new entry); 2/1/20

Schäggi Bädsch , Germany

Plankton. 1983 Schneeball

Schäggi Bädsch are one of those bands that had been around forever before finally recording an album. For certain had they released an album in the 1971 to 1974 time frame it would be hailed as a classic today. By the time they did find time to get into the studio, the magic was lost, and their audience dwindled significantly. Having said that, Schäggi Bädsch's sole debut is a perfect fit for the Schneeball label, as musical elements of label founders Embryo and Missus Beastly both can be found. There's a trace of the ethnicity that the former brings, with a certain jazz rock abandon of the latter. Perhaps Plankton ties closest to Embryo's Zack Gluck or maybe even the post Out of Focus group Kontrast. Interestingly enough, I even caught a glimpse of those wacky Italian progressive rockers Delirium, circa their brilliant second album. Unfortunately they dedicated their longest song 'Waterphone Call' to an aimless improvisation, calling out Henry Cow at their worst, and adding an unrecoverable stain to the proceedings. Still, I think a reissue would do well, especially if there are bonus tracks from their past to be found.

Priority: 3

1/22/11 (new entry); 2/4/20

Bizarre Ko.Ko.Ko., Austria

00 Time. 1984 Synoptik

Regular readers of the CDRWL know that I'm quite fond of the Berlin School of sequencer based electronic music. And that's where Bizarre Ko.Ko.Ko. fits in perfectly. In fact, this is version 2.0 of Cultural Noise, an LP from my collection that we fawned over way back when. This isn't that dissimilar from Cultural Noise, though it's clearly moving away from the Tangerine Dream influence, and adding an overall darker mood. Mellotron, guitar and sequencers are all present, especially early on. It begins to deconstruct towards the end, making it sound more like an early Klaus Schulze effort (think Cyborg). Really a fine effort and a must hear for EM fans.

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Wah Wah (2022)

1/21/11 (new entry)

Schtung, New Zealand

Schtüng. 1977 Polydor

For the first three tracks, these New Zealanders make other goofball acts like Dr. Dopo Jam and even Storm (Sweden) sound like Univers Zero by comparison. But everything changes on 'Au Revoir', a stunning moody instrumental that provides amazing contrast to what has taken place before. The band doesn't look back again, though they never get close to this brilliant piece. All of Side 2 is a pleasant, almost Canterburyish, piece of light jazz prog.

Priority: none

1/12/11 (new entry)