Games ~ USA

Stargazer. 1977 Cascade Court

Los Angeles based group who pretty much stick to the progressive oriented AOR album formula, like their Midwest brethren to the north. The music also recalls the all female UK group Mother Superior, which was reissued on the Audio Archives label a few years back. And, on my last listen, I picked up a whiff of classic Alan Parsons Project. Overall, a mix of complex progressive and more pop oriented material

Priority: 3

11/30/10

The Facedancers ~ USA

The Facedancers. 1972 Paramount

UMR review

Priority: 2

11/29/10 (new entry)

Den Za Den ~ Macedonia

Den Za Den. 1980 RTV Ljubljana

Funny, as the data I had on this was it was released in 1977 and from Montenegro. I have no idea where I got that notion, as I cannot find any reference for either. In studying my LP copy there is no mention of the date, and the album was released by the Slovenian branch of the various state labels. But plenty of internet references clearly point Den Za Den as being from Macedonia, and many of them also call out a similar sound to that country's most known group: Leb I Sol.

Personally I don't hear it so much, as Den Za Den are way more fiery, with a stronger melodic sense. Still there's no denying the late 70's fusion sound. What separates Den Za Den from the pack is the exceptional guitarist, the distinct melodies, and perhaps best of all, the insane drumming along the lines of Arti + Mestieri. I'm a sucker for active drummers, so I naturally rate this one higher than other fusion albums of the era. Maybe Slovakia's Fermata is the closest comparison amongst the usual suspects like Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report. Like most East Euro LP's, the sound quality is extremely muddy. Experience has shown the master tapes are well preserved, so a CD reissue is likely to raise the rating another point. This one desperately could use a reissue.

Priority: 1

11/27/10

Celluloid ~ USA

Neptune. 1983 Wax Museum Art Corps
Mercury. 1983 Cindicate

Celluloid is the non de plume of Chuck Minuto. Neptune is entirely performed on mellotron and thus sounds like a mellotron sampler album, especially considering the number of tapes used. Mercury is slightly more diverse, but still heavily focused on the mellotron. Unless you can't get enough of the instrument, these albums are hard to recommend. Even more strange is these were released in the early 80s, when everyone was ditching the heavy analog equipment. 

Priority: none

***There exists a cdr comp of both albums. Not sure how legit it is.

11/25/10

News: BTF releases Garybaldi archive album

If nothing else, what an absolutely AMAZING cover. Wow, I wish all new releases took the time and effort to put out something like this. Time to put away the Photoshop tools I think, and get back to real paintings such as this.

This cover of course is an homage to what I consider one of the top 10 LP covers of all-time: The triple fold out of "Nuda". One of my prized possessions.

Garybaldi - Note Perdute

"An amazing collection of rarities for one of the most important bands of Italian 70′s prog-rock: Garybaldi. This anthology contains a track that was meant to be included in their Gleemen debut, some live and alternate versions recorded between 1969 and 1998, and an amazing gem, three live tracks recorded during the Naples Be-In festival of 1973, one of the very few testimonies of those legendary festivals, as in those times no one used to record gigs in Italy! The CD version of this release also includes a special DVD documentary dedicated to Garybaldi with some amazing interviews and vintage videos. Also a vinyl version for collectors will be released.
The artwork has been entirely conceived by Matteo Guarnaccia, one of the most important psychedelic painters in Italy: inspired by the famous “Nuda” cover art, he draw a marvellous triple gatefold artwork.

This record will be celebrate in 4 different releases:
1) Triple gatefold LP with 180g black vinyl and a 25x60cm poster with vintage pics of Garybaldi/Gleemen.
2) Triple gatefold LP with multicolor vinyl, a 25x60cm poster with vintage pics of Garybaldi/Gleemen, a special glossy deluxe transparent 60x90cm maxiposter with 24 original comic cartoons drawn by Matteo Guarnaccia, numbered and autographed by the artist himself. Limited edition of 100 copies.
3) “Garybaldi-Guarnaccia” box containing: Triple gatefold LP with 180g black vinyl, the two 25x60cm photographic and 60x90cm comic posters, the CD+DVD release and one of the 24 original drawings inclued in the deluxe poster. Limited edition of 24 copies, available only on Matteo Guarnaccia exhibitions.
4) CD+DVD in triple papersleeve format. Contains the CD and the DVD with over one hour of Garybaldy rock-umentary, with interviews of all band members and many vintage videos of the golden age of Italian prog.

Tracklist:
Il volto stanco della gente (unreleased)
Hai messo al rogo M. H. (alternate version)
Harold (live 1998)
Luci buie (Live 1973)
Madre di cose perdute (Live 1973)
Sette? (Live 1973)
Passaminabirra (unreleased, live)"

News: BTF releases a new archival discovery: Le Vite Parallele

BTF has a few exciting looking items on the horizon (including a new album by Nuova Era, one of my favorite Italian bands of the late 80s and early 90s).

This one looks to be an embryonic work, and a missing link as it were from the Italian beat scene to the progressive one. Unlike in the US or England, the Italian progressive rock scene just seemed to "wake up" one day, and there it was. No doubt there were other bands / recordings like this one (going off the notes below of course). Looks like a great discovery! Also, really interesting story about the first Formula 3 album cover (one of the all-time great covers on an otherwise mundane beat styled album).

"Le Vite Parallele are a sensational discovery, since we are dealing with a concept album, recorded in Milan between 1969 and 1970 and never published until now!
Formed by singer Enzo Maolucci and recorded in the famous "Basilica" of Mina, arranged by Nando De Luca (the one of "Azzurro"!) and nearly released by Sandro Colombini, boss of the famous "Numero Uno " label, this work is also remarkable for the wonderful cover made by Tullio Rolandi: when Alberto Radius saw the sketches, he immediately contacted him, and that is how the artwork of the famous "Dies Irae" of Formula Tre was created.
This record is a remarkable document because it comes in a moment in time when Italian prog records could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Even more surprising that it is a concept album! Musically it is strongly focused on melodies, with relatively short tracks, but baroque arrangements and a use of keyboards that predicts the symphonic prog scene, that would be developed shortly thereafter by the big ones.
So this is a fundamental step to understand evolution of Italian prog in its beginnings and it is still unbelievable how such a fundamental piece of work has been left in oblivion for all these years.
Limited edition of 500 copies, deluxe papersleeve containing a large poster showing the history of the band and all the wonderful graphic sketches made in 1970.

1 STREGA D’APRILE
2 IL BUCO NEL MURO
3 SUI BALZI ROSSI
4 PER MIKE McCOY
5 IN QUESTA SELVA
6 CROCE PESANTE
7 PER DEOLA
8 I DABI LAMA LINDE
9 LA VECCHIA E LA STORIA
10 SCIMMIE NUDE
11 CALCI IN FACCIA
12 DI ERIKA
13 LE MELE D’ORO"

Bounty ~ USA

Bounty. 1977 H-Arts

UMR review

Priority: 2

11/24/10 (new entry)

After Life ~ France

Cauchemar. 1975 Discophon

UMR review

Priority: none

***Reissued on LP by Wah Wah (2005)

11/23/10 (new entry)

Alpha du Centaure ~ France

Contact. 1979 Spirals

Imagine if Jimi Hendrix played in front of a jazz rhythm duo. Wild fuzzy wah wah guitar screaming over stand-up bass and scattered jazz drumming. If only the guitarist played that way for the entire duration - that would be some album! There's also some typical jazz guitar and on those cuts, you'll be wishing you had your Grant Green albums handy instead. 

Priority: 3

11/22/10

Brèche ~ Canada

Carapace et Chair Tendre. 1979 La Tamanoir

Uplifting progressive folk rock with a multitude of acoustic instruments like guitar, flute, violin. Recalls other similarly minded Quebec groups like Connivence, Harmonium, Les Karrik, and label mates L'Engoulevant. Maybe Malicorne as well from the mother country.

Priority: 3

11/5/10

Crossfire ~ Australia

Crossfire. 1975 Harvest

With the soprano sax, and occasional hard guitar lead, Crossfire brings to mind the German group Aera, or maybe a slightly less rocking Secret Oyster. Fellow Australians Mackenzie Theory could almost be sited as a reference, though trading the violin in for soprano sax. All instrumental save the last track (and the vocals proved to not be a good idea). 

Crossfire went on to release at least seven (?) further albums starting in 1978, presumably even more fusion oriented than their debut. I have not heard any of these to date.

Priority: 2

11/4/10

News: First 3 Lighthouse albums due to be reissued

Well known (at least by the standards of this site) Canadian horn rockers Lighthouse, are set to have their first 3 albums put on CD by a label called Bandiera Music. I cannot find any info about the label, which is usually a red flag. However it is being distributed by a reputable company that does not deal in boots, and the description adamantly insists they are from the original RCA master tapes. So for now we'll presume they are legit. I suspect more data will come out about these releases over time. I think they will do well in the reissue market, as Lighthouse had a couple of radio hits in the early 70s.

Dizzy Bats ~ Switzerland

The Light and the Dark. 1974 Swiss Records

One of many records to be compared to an "x Placebo" where x = country of execution. In this case we supposedly have the Swiss Placebo (though I thought Lost Peace was closer in style). Still a pleasant bit of instrumental jazz funk with funky bass, sax, flute, etc... - speaking of which, there are a couple of flute driven numbers that do indeed recall Marc Moulin's bunch.

Priority: 3

11/3/10

Mitglieder der Berliner Philharmoniker ~ Germany ***REISSUED***

Mitglieder der Berliner Philharmoniker - Einstein in Eden. 1981 Polydor.

***8/22/24 note: Until now I thought the group and title were Einstein in Eden, Apparently it was performed by a classical collective and it has been reissued on CD by Polydor with no date attributed.

Interesting album that is truly symphonic rock - as in a symphonic band plays rock music. Side 1 is the more interesting piece that mixes epic classical soundtrack with electronic music. I could see fans of Art Zoyd appreciating this aspect of the group. Side 2 has more of a rock feel, with big fat beats approaching disco, that gets awfully close to Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band - and genuine hokum ensues. Eventually they get back to their senses and close the album similar to how it started. But the stains are already on the carpet. Hard to get out.

Priority: none

11/2/10 (complete)

Fourth Sensation ~ Italy

Fourth Sensation. 1970 Ricordi

UMR review

***Reissued by Cinedelic on LP (2017).

Priority: 3

11/1/10

Grim Reaper ~ Germany

We Were All Fools. 1979 Brutkasten

Brutkasten is sort of Germany's DIY label, similar to France's FLVM, England's multitude of 99 only releases, and America's 1970s tax dodge loophole labels (Guiness, Dellwood). There was no consistency to what was on Brutkasten, and one can find anything from acid folk rock (Carol of Harvest), Genesis inspired symphonic (Sirius), basement hard rock (Black Spirit, P205) and onto German pop and schlager music. Grim Reaper fits the mold perfectly. The music is sort of an American inspired hard rock, but with some old sounding organs recalling other German bands like Air or Erlkoenig. The production is pure amateur basement. Not a whole lot to latch onto here, except there are some nice melodic guitar leads that seem to imply that Grim Reaper did at least possess some talent, if not a lot of imagination. There's some nice Moog work here and there as well.

Priority: 3

10/31/10

Lougarou / Garolou ~ Canada ***REISSUED***

Lougarou. 1976 London
Garolou. 1978 London

UMR review

***Both albums were reissued back in 1991 by Justin Time as part of two album compilations (with slight omissions - see comments). 

Priority: none

10/30/10 (new entry / complete)

News: For Example - SWF Sessions from Long Hair

Long Hair continues to raid the vaults for interesting recordings that never were released. This one looks to be in the realm of Round House, Creative Rock and Emergency. As you all know, the CDRWL really likes horn rock, so this could be a winner!

For Example - SWF session 1973 / Cancelled 1972 (Germany)

Label says: "For Example is an another band from the SWF-broadcast vaults, with their recording they did in 1973. The band, founded in the late sixties, consisted of students of various study fields. In the beginning they played under the name "Frida III" cover versions of sixties hits, but after they had been taken on for 2 productions by the State Theatre Tübingen, they changed their music style, added three wind players with jazz experience and formed "For Example". At first they played pieces of their favourite bands "Chicago" and Blood, Sweat and Tears", but their repertoire also comprised soul numbers with horn sections. Step by step they added self composed titles and found their own music style, still influenced by their favourites. Still unsigned they were invited to the legendary 2nd German Rock Festival on Burg Herzberg in summer 1971, where all leading German groups, from "Frumpy" to "Guru Guru" got together and the big audience were impressed by For Example. In 1972 For Example fought in vain for the release of an album on CBS records. A demo tape had been produced at the Jankowski Studio in Stuttgart, but after a change of the management, CBS was not further interested to release the recordings. That's why the band called these titles "Cancelled". The SWF broadcast invited them in 1973 to do a recording session of 4 titles. This is the chance to listen to a long forgotten band. CD comes with comprehensive booklet, band history and photos. Don't miss it."

Nuance ~ France

Il est une Legende. 1982 FLVM

UMR review 

Nuance have three later albums that I haven't heard.

Priority: 2

10/28/10

Orange Power ~ Austria

Orange Power. 1977 Philips

Intriguing progressive rock album from Austria. Patterned after the early 1970s UK scene, primarily the Neon, Dawn, and Vertigo label styles, rather than the Big 3. Varied, as those British bands were, but pleasant throughout. Even the vocals in English aren't as heavily accented as usual. Not an easy one to typecast. Would make for an interesting reissue. 

Orange Power have many more albums in the sound library / incidental music area.

Priority: 3

10/27/10

News: Esoteric's Jan and Feb 2011 schedule

The two that caught my eye here are Murphy Blend and Armaggedon, which continues Esoteric's replacements / upgrades of the Kuckuck / Ohrwaschl reissues of the early 90s. I never did upgrade my old Audio Archive reissue of the first Skin Alley, so I may also go for their new issue (they had previously done them under their old imprint of Eclectic). That's presuming the Anthology below covers that.

January

Utopia--Oblivion plus Live DVD
Utopia--Live Japan Redux 92 plus DVD
Graham Bond--Love is the Law
Graham Bond-The Mighty Graham Bond
Brainbox--Brainbox (Jan Akkermans Pre-Focus band)
Gilgamesh--Gilgamesh
Skin Alley--2 CD anthology
Skin Alley--Two Quid Deal
Various artists---Delerium Records 3Cd anthology clamshell box (I will announce what is on this in a couple of weeks )
Murphy Blend-First Loss

February
Jon Anderson-City of Angels
Baker Gurvitz Army--s/t
Baker Gurvitz Army-Elysian Encounter
Pierre Moerlens Gong--Leave it Open
Pierre Moerlens Gong--Live
Dog Soldier --Dog Soldier (keef hartley band)
Box of Frogs--s/t
Box of Frogs--Starnge Land
(basically members of the Yardbirds with varying guests Jimmy page, John Fiddler, Jeff beck, steve Hackett, Rory Gallager and Ian Dury)
Utopia---POV
Armageddon_Armageddon
(not the one we have already released but the German band on Kukuck)

Psopho ~ Belgium

Sheer Profundity. 1982 New Sound

UMR review

Priority: 3

10/26/10 (new entry)

News: Made in Germany reissues Epitaph's "Outside the Law"

I saw this announcement awhile back, but since it had already been reissued legit (from Repertoire), I wasn't sure it was worth posting on. Now that I'm seeing how much more expanded this issue is, I think many of you will be interested.

Label's notes: "Recorded in November 1973 at the Omega studios in Chicago, Outside the Law is undoubtedly still the definitive Epitaph album. The sound engineer was Dave "Grape" Purple, who won the 1971 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording on Isaac Hayes' Theme from Shaft. The recording of Outside the Law was completed in just 5 days, with very few overdubs, and the final mix was done by Ed Cody at the United Technique studio on Chicago's South Side.
So how does a German rock band get to be recorded by studios and engineers who built their reputations on black music - and produce such a brilliant album?

In early summer 1972, Epitaph did a mind-blowing rock festival gig at Berlin's Waldbühne stadium. Also present that day was Gary Pollack, head of Billingsgate Records, who stopped Cliff Jackson on the way to the dressing room with the announcement that "in six weeks you guys will be doing a US tour". Knowing that no German rock bands had ever toured or recorded in the USA before, Cliff and the guys were somewhat sceptical about the project. But sure enough, Epitaph landed at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in August 1972 for a successful twenty-day tour.
Returning on a cloud of euphoria to the band residence near Visselhovede in northern Germany (plenty of poets, painters, animals, and ladies, but no heating, no bath, and only an outside toilet) work commenced on a new album. The demo was recorded two months later at the Windrose Studio in Hamburg and then sent over to Gary Pollack, who invited the band to come back to Chicago to do the full recording of Outside the Law.
While Billingsgate was preparing the release of the album, Epitaph spent their time gigging around the Chicago area.
It was around this time that Irving Azoff, then managing Joe Walsh, wanted to take Epitaph under his wing. The band met up with him for two days to try and work out a deal, but the German manager they already had developed some seriously cold feet. Bearing in mind that their manager, Werner Kuhls, did not speak a word of English, it was hard to comprehend just which of Azoff's propositions he was objecting to. The net result was that Epitaph couldn't get out of the contract with Kuhls, and Kuhls was dreaming of hitting the big time. Ordered back to Germany for a Europe-wide tour, it was soon clear that Kuhls was no Azoff. The tour turned out to be fronting for Status Quo, and one festival gig. Azoff went on to represent such artists as The Eagles, Jewel, Van Halen, Neil Diamond, Steely Dan, Guns N' Roses, and Christina Aguilera, to name but a few.
Werner Kuhls went on to be a concert promoter and publisher of the German version of Rolling Stone. Now without a manager, Epitaph hoped for success with Billingsgate.

When they returned to the US for their third tour in late 1974, it soon became clear that despite excellent sales of the album, Billingsgate was in dire straits and unable to finance a proper promotional tour. Two months of sporadic gigs later, the guys returned to Germany.
When Billingsgate was finally declared officially bankrupt, the band was afraid it might get stuck with some of the debt, so officially split up in January 1975. Klaus, Bernie and new drummer Panzer Lehmann played with various German bands, while Cliff headed off in the direction of Kathmandu.

Having shaken off the disappointment of the Billingsgate episode, the band members got together once again later that year to lay down some tracks in Dortmund. The tapes were lost.
The band continued in various line-ups throughout the eighties, producing a number of albums.

Following a suggestion from Rudolf Schenke of the Scorpions, Jim McGillivray and Cliff Jackson got the band together again for the now legendary Live at the Brewery concert in 2000. Sometime later, Cliff was sorting out his cellar, and found the Lost Tapes. Epitaph fans now have the chance a selection of these Lost Tapes which have been added here as bonus tracks. And the twenty-five year wait has been well worthwhile.

Story by Alistair A. Tarwid

TRACKLISTING:

REFLEXION (Cliff Jackson) 5:17
WOMAN (Cliff Jackson/Bernd Kolbe) 4:18
BIG CITY (Cliff Jackson) 5:53
IN YOUR EYES (Cliff Jackson) 2:50
OUTSIDE THE LAW (Cliff Jackson/Klaus Walz) 6:05
TEQUILA SHUFFLE (Bernd Kolbe/Cliff Jackson/Klaus Walz) 4:59
FRESH AIR (Cliff Jackson/Bernd Kolbe/Klaus Walz) 9:01

BONUS-TRACKS
TAKEN FROM THE NEVER BEFORE
RELEASED RECORDINGS ‚THE LOST TAPES' (1974)
TRAIN TO THE CITY (Cliff Jackson/Bernd Kolbe) 4:03
WASTED SO MUCH TIME (Cliff Jackson/Bernd Kolbe) 3:00
KIND OF A MAN (Cliff Jackson/Bernd Kolbe) 4:54

EXTRA BONUS
LIVE - TRACKS
RECORDED LIVE AT THE BREWERY, UNNA
(2000, THE REUNION CONCERT)
WOMAN (Cliff Jackson/Bernd Kolbe) 5:53
OUTSIDE THE LAW (Cliff Jackson/Klaus Walz) 7:53
JIMS THING (Jim McGillivray) 2:49
BIG CITY (Cliff Jackson) 6:32
ALL TRACKS PUBLISHED BY RUDOLF SLEZAK MUSIKVERLAG GMBH
EXCEPT TRAIN TO THE CITY, WASTED SO MUCH TIME AND KIND OF
A MAN PUBLISHED BY M2 MUSIC MUSIKVERLAG DIRK OSTERHAUS "

News: Grannie album to come out on Wooden Hill

About once a year we learn of one new CD reissue from Wooden Hill, Tenth Planet's sub-label for more progressive albums. Last year it was the wonderful Dear Mr. Time. This year it's Grannie, a pretty raw hard rock album from 1971 that was reissued by Shadoks on LP a few years ago. Wooden Hill do quality reissues and I'm sure we'll learn about the full history of the band. Thanks to Eric at Glorydaze Music for the heads up!

Label says: "One of the least heard, but most beguiling albums to emerge from the British progressive rock era, the sole, self-titled LP by East London band Grannie was recorded at a demo studio in late 1971 and then issued on vinyl in a total pressing of just 99 copies. Feverishly sought-after by genre aficionados since its belated discovery in the early 1990s (Record Collector magazine recently included it in their list of the 100 Most Valuable Records of All Time), Grannie now gains its first-ever official reissue. With quotes from drummer John Clark and keyboardist John Stevenson that tell the story of both band and album for the first time, this is the definitive release of one of the most valuable jewels of the early 1970s British progressive rock scene."

(12/22/10 update: I just listened to this album for the first time in a long while, and it's more progressive than I remembered, especially the last track. I have not heard the Wooden Hill CD version however. And if you view the comments, there's a dispute concerning the legality of it. I'm not choosing sides here. Wooden Hill has proven to be a reliable label in the past, and I do know it can be tough to unravel all the contracts/contacts/tapes, etc.., especially 40 years later. But I will continue to publish the comments. I just hope it gets resolved to the satisfaction of all.)

Super Freego ~ France

Pourquoi es-tu si Mechant? 1982 RCA

UMR review

Priority: 2

10/24/10 (new entry)

Thomas Flinter ~ Netherlands

Thomas Flinter. 1978 Munich
For a Fugitive. 1984 Boni

Thomas Flinter, named after a medieval troubadour, is another fine Dutch instrumental progressive rock band. There are a couple of vocals tracks that bookend this release. The opener seems to be a slight try for a radio hit, though at over seven minutes - complete with complex instrumental sections - seems like an odd choice. The vocalist sings in a heavily affected baritone style and it frankly sounds goofy. The final track is a traditional, heavily rearranged, and features chorus vocals. Musically it reminds me of early 70's Focus, though vocally it's closer to Gentle Giant. And, after the opener, I have to say I'm surprised by how good the vocals are here. Otherwise the album is a very fine instrumental rock album similar to Lady Lake or even some Finch, especially from Galleons of Passion. An excellent album. 

For a Fugitive has way too much 80s gloss and lacks teeth. But compositionally it's pretty well done for what it is.

Priority: 2 (for the debut)

10/23/10

News: Tamarisk albums coming soon?

According to a post from one of the band members on the NWOBPR Yahoo Group, it appears we may be getting the Tamarisk cassettes and other archive material on CD. No release date or anything, but great news for classic early 80s UK "neo prog" fans (like me).

We featured them way back when.

News: Sireena to reissue 2nd and 3rd Octopus albums

Since we just received a comment regarding "An Ocean of Rocks" (as in it's too bad it hasn't been reissued), I thought it would be worth mentioning that it and the 3rd (not an album I've heard anyone clamoring for) are indeed coming out soon (scheduled for next February) on Sireena, the same label that released "A Boat of Thoughts" in 2009.

And while I'm here, might as well let everyone know that Sireena's issue of the Curt Cress Clan was delayed multiple times, but that it did finally get released this month.

Vega ~ Spain

Jara. 1979 Movieplay
Sol de Oscuridad. 1981 Movieplay

UMR review for Sol de Oscuridad

In the early 90's Fonomusic released most of the classic Movieplay progressive rock albums on CD (terrible bare bones packaging, but legit all the same). But curiously the Vega's were ignored. Then in the early 2000's, Fonomusic was back - this time with much more elaborate tri-fold digi-pak's and better sound. And they picked up Vega's debut Andaluza while they were at it. But curiously, again, these two Vega albums were left behind. 

Jara is a fine flamenco fusion album - not aggressive rock as with other Andalusian bands such as Medina Azahara, Mezquita, and Triana - more of a refined cocktail sound. Twelve string acoustic flamenco guitars and rhythms combined with Rhodes, flute, and a lightly amplified electric guitar define the sound of Vega. Both Andaluza and Jara feature remarkable paintings, two of the finest that ever have graced LPs. Oh, this is Tomas Vega, not to be confused with Daniel Vega, who also put out a nice progressive fusion album (which has been reissued).

Priority: 3

10/22/10

Vacation ~ Belgium

Resurrection of Vacation. 1971 Majestic

Standard issue guitar fronted blues rock in the Cream / Blue Cheer tradition, all very typical of the day. Sound is quite raw, supposedly a live recording, though I suspect the crowd noise was added later (I'm a bit suspicious of the delirious crowd, as if Vacation were the Beatles). Guitarist is a cut above the rest. Opening track is a fast paced instrumental, and not in step with the rest of the album. Reminds me of another Belgian group called Kleptomania. Fans of American garage music may take a shine to this, like Saint Anthony's Fyre for example. Other guideposts include France's Amphyrite and Quebec's Ellison.

Priority: none

10/21/10

Ungava ~ Canada

Ungava. 1977 36 Records

UMR review

Priority: 1

Reissued on LP by Return to Analog (2020).

10/20/10

Sapo ~ USA

Sapo. 1974 Bell

UMR review

Priority: 2

There's some gray area reissues out there but nothing definitive.

10/18/10 (new entry)

News: Great news for Aera fans: TWO archival live CDs to be released by Long Hair!

Wow - today is a big day if you're an Aera fan. And, if we're to interpret the Long Hair announcement, a huge day for Krautrock fans in general. We've already been spoiled with the SWF sessions. Now we have a whole new radio company to play with: The Bavarian Broadcast Corporation.

Look for release dates from the middle to end of November.


The Bavarian Broadcast (BR) Recordings Vol.1 1975

"Besides the SWF (German south-west broadcast) series with German bands of the Krautrock era,Long Hair start a new series with recordings form the vaults of Bavarian Broadcast Corporation (located in Munich). Volume 1 of the series is dedicated to Aera, one of Germany´s finest bands of this time and well known because of their albums "Humanum Est" and "Hand und Fuss" (vinyl version re-released on Long Hair, LHC43 and LHC44). On January 9,1975 Aera with the line-up (same as on "Humanum Est") Muck Groh, guitar, Klaus Kreuzeder, sax and flute, Dieter Bauer, bass and drummer Wolfgang Teske, performed in an extraordinary setting-St. George´s Church in Freising, district of Munich. The idea of the concert was to open the church for contemporary music and to give the musicians the chance to interpret the Roman Catholic liturgy, the "Holy Mass", with their music. Aera went a long with the five components of the holy mass and played two titles of their up coming album "Humanum Est" and another three titles that were not included on any album. The titles presented during the second part of the concert were earlier versions of titles that were later released on the album "Hand und Fuss". Aera played more than 75 minutes. All titles were digitally remastered from original master tape. Booklets contains story and a review of the concert and rare photos. Highly recommended!"

Well that certain sounds like an instant buy!


The Bavarian Broadcast (BR) Recordings Vol.2 1977-1979

"Volume 2 of the Bavarian broadcast series present further recordings of Area, for once from the period 1977-1979. Five live tracks from 2 concerts and four tracks recorded in Bavarian Broadcast Corporation owned studio "Franken" "at Nuremberg". Aera played a lively jazz-rock dominated by soloist and sax and flute player Klaus Kreuzeder, based on powerful and clever keyboard playing all held together by amazing bass player Matz Steinke and drummer Lutz Oldemeier (of Missus Beastly-fame) and lots of percussions. Aera were in a very good shape and gave their best. Highlights are the 17 minutes long version of "Dracula´s Frühstück" and nearly 10 minutes version of "You need some speed". All titles were digitally remastered from the original tapes. Booklets contains the history of the recordings and rare photos. Highly recommended!"

Awesome. This is in addition to the already great Mechelwind archive release earlier in the year.

News: Long Hair releases another intriguing looking SWF Session: Minus Two

*** First Published July 26, 2010 ***

Long Hair does it again! The SWF vaults seem endless, and Long Hair once again presents us with a very interesting looking archival release.

Looks like I got way out in front of this one, so thought I'd repost it with today's date.

We now have a release time frame - look for it next week some time (~October 25). And we also now have an album cover to show.

Here's the label blurb (updated as well):

"Minus Two - SWF Session 1972. This is another truly gem from the SWF broadcast vaults recorded in 1972. Minus Two founded in early 1971 in Mannheim (hometown of Nine Days Wonder) by organ player Günter Kühlwein (guest musician on Dzyan's 1. Album) and drummer Walter Helbig (also played with Nine Days Wonder and AERA) played a powerful progressive music sound sometimes with a certain sense of drama, melted classical influences with blues-rock and slightly jazzy hints. Early "Hardin & York playing" comes to mind, but Minus Two always showed their own imagination of progressive rock. All titles are self-penned and prove the musicians high level abilities playing their instruments and there are only organ and drums. Believe us, you don't miss any other instruments! This is a very complete sound by perfect trained musicians. CD contains 3 long tracks and short opener "Sticks & Keys" from the SWF vaults plus one bonus track. All titles were remastered from original master tapes. Booklet contains band history with a lot of photos. Don't miss this limited edition! Highly recommended."

Sounds to me like Sixty-Nine or Twogether. Should prove to be interesting!

Pao Com Manteiga ~ Brazil

Pão com Manteiga. 1976 Continental

Band name translates to "Bread and Butter" in Portuguese, so good luck in finding info on this obscure album. The most surprising aspect is the date, as it sounds more like a flower power psych album from 1968, which were pretty typical in South America back then. It's an interesting listen though. The Brazilian group Spectrum comes to mind here.

Priority: none

***Reissued on LP by Polysom (2019)

10/17/10

Octopus 4 ~ France

Confluents. 1969 RCA

Psych exploitation album coming from France (and also released in Canada). Not that far in sound from albums by Popera Cosmic and Jean Le Fennec. Probably closer to the former, though not as groundbreaking or experimental. Some wicked fuzz moments will make you sit up on occasion, but otherwise a pretty harmless 30 minute ride.

Priority: none

10/16/10

News: Rise Above Relics to reissue Steel Mill

Nice to see Lee Dorrian's Rise Above label back in the reissue game. They got off to a great start in 2006, but have since been silent until now.

I don't have Steel Mill in the CDRWL, along with many other British albums that received the CD treatment in the 1990s. The debate is long on what is legit or not, and I'm not getting into any legal arguments, because I don't have all the data. I'll only note the known and accepted boots (for example, Diabolus, Aquila, Hannibal, etc...). But there was a circle of labels starting with Repertoire, and leading to TRC, Green Tree - and later Akarma - that reissued scores of albums in the most basic format as possible. So legality aside, higher quality reissues are needed for many of these albums. It should be noted that later, for their part, Repertoire started to put out much better quality reissues with liner notes and bonus tracks (their initial Brain releases were particularly good).

But as with Long Hair's Nosferatu reissue, if I see an album that is now getting the royal treatment, I'm going to call it out. Esoteric has generally been at the forefront of this quality movement, though they typically are dealing with the bigger names (and we've been noting their more obscure albums here).

So, back to Steel Mill. Rise Above's reissue has been renamed (perhaps wisely so), and features new artwork. Not sure that was needed, but it does help distinguish the product from a marketing perspective. This looks like an excellent reissue, and it will feature no less than 9 bonus tracks. On a music level, I think Steel Mill is a fine example of the UK early 70s progressive hard rock sound, known in many circles as proto-prog - a fave genre of yours truly.

Incidentally, I own the Japanese mini on the Airmail label. Airmail's MO is to just put fancy packing on already existing CDs. So while I do like the pretty (as they say), and will most likely keep it, I absolutely plan on buying the Rise Above version to supplement.

Here's the label info:

Jewels of the Forest (Green eyed God plus)

"Steel Mill are one of the most enigmatic bands from the original British progressive rock boom of the early 70s.Despite scoring a continental hit with their highly acclaimed 1971 debut single Green Eyed God, it took four years before their record company gave the cult classic full-length album of the same title a UK release in 1975. Having been released in Germany in 1972, it still remains a mystery why it took so long to come out in their home country. Of course, by 1975 the band had long since vanished and the music scene had changed dramatically. Nowadays Green Eyed God is a major rarity, having been bootlegged endlessly and has fetched in excess of £1,200 for a mint UK copy. For years, collectors and experts of the period alike, have been perplexed by the lack of knowledge and information regarding this fantastic band. Finally the story is told with this detailed release, containing in-depth sleeves notes, many unseen photographs and a plethora of never heard before tracks."

Release date set for November.

Nexus Erratic ~ Switzerland

Inverse. 1983 Turicaphon

UMR review

Priority: 2

10/15/10

Francesco Cabiati ~ Italy

Mirage. 1979 Mu

UMR review

Priority: none

10/14/10

Banchee ~ USA

Banchee. 1969 Atlantic

Thinkin'. 1971 Polydor

UMR reviews

Priority: 1

10/12/10 (new entry)