Nova Express, Germany

Space Khmer. 1987 Syndicate

Germany's Nova Express, a common band name derived from William Burroughs' novel title, are a band I first heard about from Freakbeat in the early 1990s. Opening track 'King & Princess' reminds me quite a bit of early Amon Duul II - especially the shorter songs as found on Tanz der Lemming or Carnival in Babylon. This element becomes apparent in the psychedelic guitar work and the heavily accented male vocals. The organ they employ is actually an older vintage than what Amon Duul II used. Throughout the LP, one will also detect some influence from the post punk crowd of the early 80s, which shows in the songwriting. Nova Express goes toe to toe with, and even predates, some of the best UK neo psych bands of the era, such as Sun Dial and The Bevis Frond. Overall, a very good neo psych / neo Krautrock album that time has completely forgot.

Priority: 2

1/19/11 (new entry); 5/4/19

Mads Vinding Group, Denmark

Mads Vinding Group - Danish Design. 1974 Sonet; 1977 Peters International (USA)

There are two solid reasons to chase down this otherwise more typical fusion album: 1) Guitarist Janne Schaffer absolutely blazes on two extraordinary tracks (especially the opener). 2) The really cool album cover. For reason 1), on these two tracks, it sounds more like the Dutch hard hitting instrumental progressive rock of Finch, Bonfire, and Scope. 

Priority: 3

1/18/11 (new entry)

Eden, Canada-Quebec

Eden. 1978 Disques Total

Eden were a keyboard lead quartet from Quebec who play a standard symphonic progressive rock. About half the album features French vocals, whereas the rest is instrumental. While there is a guitarist, his role is primarily subordinate, and the leads are generally created via synthesizer - mostly a String Ensemble, but you'll hear some Moog as well. I didn't discern any organ, Mellotron, or Fender Rhodes. There's nothing extraordinary about this album, other than its remarkable consistency, and every track is excellent in my book except perhaps the classical cover 'Pavane'. 

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Return to Analog (2019).

1/17/11 (new entry); 7/1/18

Robert Connolly, Canada-Ontario

Plateau. 1978 Tube

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: Ontario in the 1970's was an extension of the US Midwest - at least from an economic perspective. And so it comes as no surprise that the music shares similarities. We've waxed on a number of times about this most unique of American made rock music. And I'll be honest, I never viewed Connolly with this lens, until a revisit of the LP a couple of years back. Wham-bam, bullseye! Get your Ethos, Dillinger, Starcastle, and October albums out and compare.

Even though Connolly is standing next to a double neck guitar on the back cover, I believe his true passion is keyboards (and he's loaded with all the fun analog stuff like Mellotron, Mini Moog, and Hammond). The concept is pure 1970's space alien fantasy and comes complete with a goofy comic book (and any righteous CD label MUST reproduce this bad boy). For the album, Connolly put together two entirely different groups, each side represented. Side 1 mixes narration, female vocals, acoustic balladry and all out progressive rock that recalls Eloy's Power and the Passion, but truthfully better. Side 2 is where Connolly hands over the guitar duties as well as brings on a male lead singer - while he focuses entirely on the keys. No question this side is the more traditional progressive rock, though the vocals tend towards the AOR side, typical of the region. Given this new outlook, I'm appreciating Robert Connolly's album more now than ever. It's the time and place.

Priority: 2

1/15/11 (new entry); 7/12/14 (update)

Airlord, New Zealand

Clockwork Revenge. 1977 Infiniti

Airlord are one of the more original late 70s progressive bands. From the unlikely country of New Zealand, Airlord emerged with a pretty crazy bent on classic era Genesis. The vocals are most reminiscent of Gabriel, whereas the guitars play in a more hard rock style, with an occasional blazing solo. The keys (organ, synthesizer, Mellotron) and compositions aren't as elaborate or as complex as classic Genesis, but Clockwork Revenge is a refreshing take on a classic idea. 

Priority: 2

1/14/11 (new entry)

Ys, France

Madame la Frontiere. 1976 Philips

Breton folk rock similar to Malicorne with a couple of progressive rock instrumentals thrown in for good measure. Violin and guitar lead the instrumental work, while vocals and traditional melodies dominate the songwriting. One of the better albums in the style and also features a beautiful crochet cover. 

Priority: 3

1/13/11 (new entry)

Schakta, Switzerland

Tales. 1980 G+F Records

Not as fully developed as most of the private press albums from Switzerland during this time (i.e. Eloiteron, Nautilus, Sicher). Thin sounding and amateurish, with poorly executed vocals. It's a sincere attempt with a few good ideas, but this is strictly hardcore fan material, and not likely to garner much interest from those who haven't heard it. Reminds me of some of the embryonic Japanese sympho groups from the early 80s like Picareque of Bremen, Orpheus, Jankees, etc.... Love the period cover, a great example of cheesy amateurism that works. Thanks to Konny of Black Rills, who sent me a cassette of this title many years ago.

Priority: none

1/11/11 (new entry)

Quasar, Australia

Nebular Trajectory. 1979 ACR (Australian Creative Recording)
Man Coda. 1981 Aija (custom pressed by EMI - compositions are from 1975-1980)

Here's a couple of albums I picked up in the early 2000s on ebay. I wasn't even aware of their existence until then. My recollection was these were space rock albums. In revisiting these LPs in succession, it's obvious that's not the case at all.

In reality they are a fusion band with spacious avant-garde textures highlighted by Frippian sustained guitar leads and plenty of fuzz bass. So a combination of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Starless era King Crimson. And at that point, it hit me who these guys remind me of: SBB. Especially around the time of Nowy Horizont. And when you hear the lengthy fuzz bass solo, that solidifies the comparison - especially when you consider the debut by SBB. 

Man Coda is a bit looser in structure, following on from the title track of Nebular Trajectory which closed that album. As such, it's not quite as excellent as the debut, but both are still highly recommended. 

Priority: 2

1/10/11 (new entry)

Public Foot the Roman, England

Public Foot the Roman. 1973 EMI/Capitol

When I first started collecting progressive rock albums in earnest in the early 1980s, this is one of those "obscure" albums that I was told I must get. To be honest, Public Foot the Roman fell way short of my expectations, and I never understood what all the fuss was about. Some 30+ years later, I may not crown this a classic, but at least it makes more sense to me. I think the problem is the inclusion of standard rock and roll songs - like the opener - which can be greatly off-putting to those of us looking for something more adventurous. And my standards in the early 80s is that all "progressive rock" meant every album would be stood up against Close to the Edge or Selling England by the Pound. Well thousands of obscurities later - not much holds a candle to those albums anyway - IMHO of course.

Now in retrospect, I hear Public Foot the Roman in the way I do bands on the Neon or Dawn labels - albums that were still too far from my radar back then. And when shown in that light, Public Foot the Roman holds up pretty well. The mix of straightforward material with more ambitious jazzy progressions is fairly typical of 1973 England. Maybe not the best representative of said style, but I can now see why folks touted this one back to me then. Certainly better than the dime a dozen Hit Parade pop bands of the day. And its presence on Capitol Records, made it more known here in the US at least - especially when compared to their Dawn label brethren.

Priority: 3

1/9/11 (new entry); 3/11/14 (update)

Project Tyme, USA-Iowa

Clockwyze. 1985 private

A four piece from Iowa, but pressed in Dallas. As such, just like the Ojas album we posted a few days ago, this was a buck bin album in my neck of the woods through to the early 90s. Lead by double neck guitarist Scot Jon Schwestka (mullet is intact and functioning), Project Tyme are mid-80's all the way, with electric drums and warm bass tones. Early 80's Rush seems to be the main inspiration for the compositions. What keeps this from being a laugher, is the guitar work which is quite good actually. Expressive, skillful, energetic and no shred to be found (a common problem in those days). Once you get past the first two tracks, the rest is quite good as it's pretty much all instrumental from there on out. The production is excellent considering it's a homemade job. Neat cover art as well.

Priority: 3

1/8/11 (new entry)

Prisma, Netherlands

Prisma. 1980 private

On the surface, Prisma were a commercial rock band typical of the era. But there's a depth to the musicianship and quality of compositions that belies its superficial tendencies. With that in mind, I'm most reminded of those Canadian FM staples Saga, or perhaps the obscure Indiana group Stencil Forest. Even a slight nod to the great Kestrel, especially in the piano work. Memorable music and a group that probably should've hit the big time with the right breaks. Original LP features a nice die cut triangle cover, supposedly representing a (I guess) prism. 

Priority: 3

1/7/11 (new entry)

Laurent Petitgirard, France

Laurent Petitgirard - Suite Epique. 1972 LAlberti

One of the more interesting instrumental rock albums from early 1970s France is Pop Instrumental de France (issued by Vadim), which was a pseudonym for Laurent Petitgirard. This album represents the follow-up. Perhaps a little less "Le Fun GoGo Pop" and a bit more towards serious jazz rock with classical overtones. For soundtrack fans, Petitgirard is a household name, and he's still scoring films and concertos all these many years later. This is a lovely set of instrumental tunes, perfect for that spring afternoon drive on a winding two lane trek through the mountains. 

Priority: 3

***Reissued on LP by Superfly (2021)

1/6/11 (new entry)

Omnibus, USA-New Jersey

Omnibus. 1970 United Artists

---1/5/11

Omnibus were a band from New Jersey with a strong affinity for the Doors. Perhaps given the later date, Omnibus were more aggressive than Morrison and company, and the organ of choice is the Hammond (instead of a Vox Continental). Plenty of psychedelic fuzz guitar as well. Vocalist does a nice job of emulating Jim Morrison's sonorous tone. File next to the first Dragonwyck album as a good example of post-Doors heavy rock. 

---6/15/23 

Yep - not much to add there. The fuzz guitar is really stinging which is probably the largest separator from the Doors. Another one of those American albums that came around in 1970, about one year too late for its audience. 

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Wah Wah (2018)

1/5/11 (new entry); 6/15/23 (update)

Ojas, USA-Oklahoma

Seven Levels of Man. 1978 private; 1979 Unity

We recently posted on the Earthstar's Salterbarty Tales album, and that reminded me of this title, an electronic oriented album I owned years ago. Since I was based in Dallas-Ft.Worth, and Ojas were just 3-4 hours north in Oklahoma City, this album had pretty good distribution amongst the used record stores in my area (the Unity release). That is to say, it was a regular $1 bin special in the late 1980s and early 90s. These are the albums I keep forgetting to add on here - but they do need inclusion. For fans of sequencer based electronics who enjoy the addition of some acoustic work, Ojas comes recommended. 

Priority: none

1/4/11 (new entry)

Jean-Pierre Massiera & Bernard Torelli, France

Jean-Pierre Massiera & Bernard Torelli - Turn Radio On. 1976 Marcy Music

Well here he is again. Mr. Massiera, the king of arcane underground music. You never know what you'll get with a JP Massiera album, but rest assured it will contain music no one else was doing at the time. He seemed to be the original artist with a keen eye for the ironic. In fact, I think the entire post 1990 Japanese pop scene could be described as similar, whether one was actually clued in on the joke or not. Jean-Pierre Massiera is the original post modernist hipster! Here he joins Mr. Torelli (not sure what his role is, since I've never actually seen an original LP, and it may not tell anyway) in a completely nutty, primarily instrumental (with odd voices and narration) album, that is as much indebted to the late 60s grooving horns jetset scene as it is to Studio 54 era disco. Thanks to my friend MP for this one.

Priority: none

1/2/11 (new entry)

Kravetz, Germany

Kravetz. 1972 Vertigo. A second release appeared as 8 Days in April: The Hamburg Scene. 1974 Fontana.

Kravetz is of course Jean-Jacques Kravetz, keyboardist extraordinaire for Frumpy. At its core, this is a blues rock album, not that dissimilar to Frumpy themselves. But there's long sections given for instrumental work, and almost all of it is astounding. Kravetz puts in a fine performance, especially on organ - some of it moves towards the experimental recalling Xhol on Motherf*ckers & Co. Perhaps a distant cousin to the Brian Auger albums of the same time period. Essential Krautrock.

Priority: 2

1/1/11 (new entry)

Carpineta, Italy

Carpineta. 1978 Mu

---See below for recent news

And as promised yesterday, here is that new Italian discovery from The AC. Of all the countries that have had almost complete reissue coverage in regards to progressive music from the 70s, Italy is most certainly in the lead. Though this one does fit the profile for the few that still remain like Gramigna, Ultima Spiaggia, Arpaderba, Roberto Picchi, Orchestra Njervudarov, and others. All the same, Carpineta up until now, is a complete unknown. And it's fantastic! Much of what I just said is far more detailed in The AC's review below.

For quick reference, I'd say Carpineta tracks closest to Canzoniere del Lazio at the end of their storied career (Morra 1978, Miradas). That is - at their most progressive! Mid 70s Area also deserves a shout out, as well as artists as disparate as Gramigna, Franco Battiato, and even Aktuala. For my tastes, Carpineta surpasses all of them. Yea, it's that good.

OK, enough of my 30,000 ft view. Let's get down to The AC's much more professional reading liner notes: "There's probably no individual progressive rock scene from the classic 1970s era that has been more thoroughly excavated and cataloged than the Italian one. Massive printed tomes and comprehensive web archives are devoted to it, and a multitude of record labels have left practically no stone unturned, reissuing almost the entire back catalog of noteworthy albums, often multiple times over. A quick glance here at the CDRWL will confirm this, showing a relatively paltry selection of Italian LPs, most from the more obscure jazz/fusion oriented corner of the scene. A few well-known items (like Orchestra Njervudarov or Canzoniere Del Lazio) have somehow managed to avoid reissue, but overall it's pretty slim pickings. The continued passionate following (and incredibly high prices of many originals) have necessitated a very active reissue scene, and created a legion of dedicated collectors, both locally and abroad, who over the ensuing decades have dug to the very bottom of the well in hopes of unearthing that one last Italian gem. So it's with great surprise that I offer this particular album up for your inspection, as it does seem to be a genuine specimen of that rarest of birds - a previously undiscovered Italian progressive LP from the 1970s, not (to my knowledge) ever mentioned in any of the standard Italian prog references or encountered by collectors until just the past year or so.

Hailing from the ancient province of Cosenza in southern Italy, Carpineta seem to have been named after a type of tree, although turning the record sleeve over will reveal that each letter of the name seems to stand for something, possibly making it an acronym: "Carpini Abbandono Rabbia Pianti Incontaminazione Nord-africa Emigrazione Trasformazione Abbrazzamuni". Really rolls off the tongue, eh? With a name like that, and being from 1978, you might be able to guess that we're within the realm of that strange and uniquely Italian take on avant-prog and RIO that proliferated (on a relatively minor scale) from the mid 70s through the early 80s, in the wake of the classic early 70s prog scene's demise, rising in tandem with (and sometimes related to) the increasingly popular jazz-rock/fusion movement. But as I'm sure you know, this whole little mini-movement was quite diverse and hard to put a finger on, mixing in elements of progressive rock, jazz/fusion, Italian folk, pop, ethnic/eastern and avant-garde elements in wildly varying combinations. None of these albums really sound alike, even if you can kind of pigeonhole them due to the time, place and politics. Carpineta are no different, in being completely different. Does that even make any sense? In any case, what we have here is a mixture of elements that's not easily summed up. It opens with an abstract piece full of droning reeds (the "zampogna", a characteristic southern Italian bagpipe, is frequently used on this album, although often in a way that almost makes it sound like an eastern instrument), clattering percussion and declamatory vocals. After that we move into avant-prog territory, with varied but cohesive songs featuring elements of prog, jazz-rock, indigenous southern Italian folk and even psychedelic rock. There's a wide instrumental palette here, as aside from the standard progressive rock instrumentation and impassioned Italian vocals (which at times are sung in the local dialect, which seems to be somewhat Greek-influeced, if I'm not mistaken) they utilize various wind instruments, exotic percussion and also indigenous elements like the previously mentioned zampogna, mandolin, etc. However, the two things that really stand out are the electric guitar work and the drumming. The lead guitar is often played in an almost anachronistic psychedelic style, loaded with fuzz and distortion, while the drummer sometimes freaks out in a nervous, twitchy jazz-inflected way, unleashing rapid-fire rolls and fills like Furio Chirico after downing a few too many cappucinnos. This all really comes together on side two, in the manic and appropriately titled "Storie di cose nostre", with vicious lashings of fuzz guitar, hyper-active drumming and angry screaming vocals, creating one of the most relentless tracks you'll ever hear on a 70s prog LP. But naturally this is followed up by a mellow, sunny Italian folk-oriented song. And so it goes. A fascinating album that I've found myself returning to again and again, which certainly deserves to be reissued and discovered by the wider Italian prog fanbase. Hopefully someone in their home area can find these guys and get on the case!

By the way, the "Mu. Co." label was either their own private imprint or a tiny local interest. It has no relation to Mu, the well-known Turin prog/fusion label from the same time period (Zauber, Esagono, etc.)."

Priority: 1

See the comments section where I have a translated version of what's going on. But essentially the band has decided to re-record the album with one bonus track. So the album remains in this list since it hasn't been technically reissued, but the re-recording is most welcomed as well.

3/3/14 (new entry); 9/23/24 (update)

Granmax, USA-Missouri ***REISSUED***

A Ninth Alive. 1976 Panama
Kiss Heaven Goodbye. 1978 Panama

***Both albums reissued by Cult Metal Classics (2024)

Kiss Heaven Goodbye reviewed on UMR

Priority: 2

9/16/24 (reissue complete)

Pinguin, Germany

Der Grosse Rote Vogel. 1972 Zebra

After the psych band Talix released Spuren, they reemerged as Pinguin and issued one fine album in the contemporary Krautrock field. There are six tracks that play as two side long suites. The instrumentation will be familiar to students of the genre: Hammond organ, loud and jamming electric guitar, flute, saxophone, and a thunderous rhythm section. One twist is the vocals are in German, a very unusual move at the time. Period groups such as Nosferatu, Os Mundi, Hanuman, Ikarus, and Xhol Caravan come to mind here. The music belongs as much to progressive rock as it to does to the more atmospheric Krautrock tag, as there's plenty of complexity brought forth. I'm reminded of Inside era Eloy in this way. The second side demonstrates more of the Krautrock experimentalism that we've come to expect. Closer 'Der Traum' is a trippy and jazzy piece with phased vocals. Great album throughout.

Priority: 2

8/15/09 (new entry)

Ixt Adux, USA-California

Brainstorm. 1982 Madame X

Long Beach, California based Ixt Adux were yet another late 70s / early 80s American band that had absolutely no chance of commercial success. Their brand of aggressive and complex King Crimson influenced guitar-based rock (no keyboards here) will remind the listener of Midwest prog groups such as St. Elmo's Fire, October, The Inserts, and Ariel - other hopelessly obscure albums. There's even a little Canterbury undercurrent (but brash and entirely American). The vocalist definitely enjoyed listening to Van der Graaf Generator, and he employs many Hammill-like declarations. The album starts off more towards aggressive hard rock but it's a head fake, and they begin to display their complex nature on A2. There's even some nods to the avant prog genre to be found.

Priority: 2

3/6/11 (new entry)