Scarab ~ Finland ***REISSUED***

Scarab. 1983 private

While the early 80s neo prog movement would seem solely the provenance of the UK, and most of the known progenitors are from the area, there were other bands drawing similar conclusions from all over the world. Germany and The Netherlands had a pretty strong scene, where Genesis was the lead influence, going back to the late 70s. But there were also some serious obscurities, whose identity have only surfaced in the internet age (not counting the multitude of tapes). Groups like Nexus Erratic and Tempo e Modo come to mind. You can add Scarab to that short list.

While the cover gives the impression a heavy metal album awaits, the album is very much in the vein of Kyrie Eleison, Ivory, IQ, and, of course, Genesis. It was still early days of the movement, in faraway Finland, so they were more likely to be influenced by the originators than the Marillion's of this world. Violin adds a nice touch, recalling Solstice.

Interesting to read multiple reviews pointing to Kansas. Guessing the violin plays a role in that observation. But I'm rather certain Steve Walsh never sounded like Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins. This isn't brash music in that American way, but rather a more subtle European approach. I realize I'm way too immersed into the sound of the American Midwest prog scene, of which Kansas was the torch bearer, so it's just my filters tend to be oversensitive.

The band evolved into Ageness, a group that I've somehow managed to miss all these years.

Was all set to assign a Priority here, when a little further research shows the album was reissued on CD.

It's a bit hidden, but the album was reissued under the Ageness moniker, though the cover features the original artwork. It also features a full concert from 1983 with what appears all original material not found on the LP. 

***Reissued by the band in 1995.

4/16/26 (new entry)

Flame Dream ~ Switzerland ***REISSUED***

Calatea. 1978 Philips
Elements. 1980 Vertigo. (To be reissued on their own label in 2024!)
Out In the Dark. 1981 Vertigo (To be reissued on their own label in 2024!)

***Calatea has just been reissued by the band in Apr, 2026, so we can now close this group off. Finally. One of the most requested bands to have their albums on CD. It was 17 years ago that we added this to the blog, and I can assure you people were calling for these since the 90s.

---5/30/09

One of the more known groups on this list, Switzerland's Flame Dream managed to get their albums distributed pretty well around the world. I've had all three on LP for years. One of the last of the major label progressive bands, debut Calatea and Elements are both very strong symphonic efforts, both with complex melodies and arrangements. Out In the Dark begins to creep slowly into the AOR world, but is still nice enough to consider for reissue. After this, they headed pretty fast into pop irrelevance. Though I'm sure those albums have their fans too.

Priority: 1

5/30/09 (new entry); 4/10/26 (complete)

Nite People ~ England

P.M. 1970 Page One

There aren't a whole of lot of English rock bands from the late 60s and early 70s that are relatively unknown, but I think Nite People qualifies. It's a band that missed my personal radar all these years, and I'm not exactly new at this. In addition to this LP, Nite People released no less than seven 45s between 1966 and 1970.

OK yea, I can see how this one wasn't offered my way. P.M. is a type of psychedelic blues, of which many British bands had gravitated to from the late 60s on. It's not pure electric blues like Cream, Savoy Brown, or early Fleetwood Mac. Nor does Nite People have a full-time sax or flute player, so that fact also keeps the album from moving in a more progressive direction similar to peers like Raw Material, Hannibal, Aquila, and Diabolus. But in between these bookends, the sound of Nite People emerges. The distorted electric guitar, along with the Hammond organ, adds to the psychedelic aura. Another problem, if we are to call it that, is the album lacks original material. Only two tracks out of ten were penned by the band (A1 and A5). However, their covers are inspired choices, with Sandy Coast's 'North Canadian Paradise' being the most obscure, Curtis Amy's 'Native Land' the most creative, while Frank Zappa's 'Peaches en Regalia' arguably represents the highlight. The latter closes the album giving the impression the album is more progressive rock oriented than it truly is. And you can hear what Nite People would have sounded like with a stronger sax presence.

Page One was an interesting label. Most known for releasing the The Troggs, their best selling album was likely to have been Vanity Fare's Early In The Morning, a very common LP that was pressed everywhere including the States. But the label also released the holy grail An Apple a Day, as well as music from the Dutch beat group Sandy Coast that are highly sought after. P.M. was not only released in the UK, but also in France (with arguably the better cover), Australia, and New Zealand. Despite these multiple pressings, P.M. is another one of Page One's tough scores if in the market for an original.

Discogs does list a CD, but it lacks provenance, and is highly likely not to be licensed. So we'll add this review here.

Priority: 3

4/9/26 (new entry)

Big Amongst Sheep ~ England

Striding Edge. 1980 private (MC)
Terminal Velocity. 1982 Rock Solid
Syndrome. 1983 Rock Solid (MC)

Here's a band I was familiar with way back in the day. They were sold through Lotus Records, a prog rock specialist mail order concern from England, and one of the earliest catalogs I ever received from the genre (1983 / 84 time frame). That's where I learned about bands like Haze, Pendragon, Twelfth Night, Red, and many more from the UK.

Then I completely forgot about Big Amongst Sheep. I mean completely. It was only recently I saw their Terminal Velocity album being sold online, and not for very much. Oh yea, I remember them! Never did hear their albums and don't recall ever having them on a wantlist, which tells me that Lotus Records wasn't hyping them as a prog band (at the very least). I think I might have those old catalogs here somewhere, and see what they originally said.

In researching the album, the data out there is also confusing. RYM says it's Space Rock. Discogs has the LP labeled as Space Rock too. However, same website has the cdr (not CD, hence it's placement on this blog) listed as New Wave, Pop Rock, Synth-Pop, and Power Pop. Truth is, it's all the above. You won't find it in ProgArchives (and yea, it would qualify). Even with Hawkwind's Nik Turner guesting on winds (and his presence is obvious), the album remains somewhat unknown. Given the latter's presence, I'm sure that's why the Space Rock tag was applied, something of a knee jerk reaction. 

Personally I was hoping for music like the great unheralded Body Album or maybe a proto Omnia Opera. No such luck. While listening to it, one can understand why this album has fallen through the cracks. It's certainly not proggy or trippy enough to capture the space rock audience. But it's not tough or snotty enough to appeal to punkers. It lacks hooks, and they hardly are a match for the synth pop stars of the day like Duran Duran or Depeche Mode. They have no feminine tendencies whatsoever. They look like your typical smelly English pub band from the early 80s. I'm more reminded of The Clash but with synthesizers, flute, sax, and more variety.

So what do you do with this album? It's way too arty for their preferred music choice. And yet not near arty enough to crossover to a different audience. All this to say, it's not a bad album at all. I can appreciate an album that sounds unique within expected boundaries. But I can't hear who the target audience may have been. And even for today, it's easy to understand why there's been no revival. The pseudo punky-space rock-power pop album. There's a niche audience for you.

As for their two cassettes, the debut is labeled by Discogs as Experimental and Post Punk. And the latter as Space Rock. RYM abdicated their responsibility on these. Your guess is as good as mine as to what the truth is.

Priority: none

4/8/26 (new entry)

Kevin Fisher ~ USA

The First of Fisher. 1977 P. Pan

From Los Angeles, California, The First of Fisher has drawn some interest in the prog world. According to Discogs, only 75 were made, though who knows how accurate that total is, and what the source of the number is. If there was an interview with Mr. Fisher about this album, I missed it. Based on what I'm reading below, the total is suspect. But it would be fair to presume it was a limited run.

This is one of those lo-fi private pressings that have a built-in audience. My mind wandered over towards the Michael Angelo album, a work released in the same year. The recording is fairly muddy, but that only adds to the allure. It's a mix of classical bombast, low key folk, some sizzling extended guitar soloing, jazz pop, horn rock, and drum solos. The final track is a ripping psych oriented number, with horns, denying its 1977 heritage.

A little detective work finds him on the internet! Here you go. He doesn't talk about this album at all, though he wrote songs for TV, movies, and other artists. He is not an unknown musician, but as a solo artist, he is unknown. We learn elsewhere this was an album made for a high school play. Now we're getting to Tom Nehls and Richie Duvall territory, other high school whiz kids who released all-over-the-place albums. Fisher's album is not as engaging as those two from a progressive rock perspective, though it's still a fun listen.

Priority: 3

4/7/26 (new entry)

Lindwurm (76) ~ Germany ***REISSUED***

Fruhjahr 76: Erinnerungen an Klaus. 1976 private

***Reissued by Garden of Delights Dec 2025

---1/15/11

There are two obscure bands from Germany in the 70s and 80s named Lindwurm. Now why would two groups name themselves after a skin rash? Ahh, it turns out Lindwurm is a type of dragon. Which is obvious from the front cover of course. Not.

So let's talk about the first Lindwurm to market, with their incredibly obscure Fruhjahr 76: Erinnerungen an Klaus (translating to Spring 76: Memories of Klaus). Whoa - this is really deep in the basement hard rock right here. Recently I wrote about another very obscure German band called Florian Geyer. They had a single from 1974 named 'Candle of My Burial / Monday Afternoon' that was incredibly crude. Compared to Lindwurm, that single might as well have been recorded and produced by Alan Parsons at Abbey Road.

It's amateur hour all the way. But there's a certain charm in hard rock music such as this. It's not terrible by any means, and there's some excellent guitar work throughout. But they had a long way to go before they would have entered a proper studio.

As for its rarity, yea this one is the real deal. Looks like my friend Lev missed out on a deal at 7000 Euros. Turns out the only copy in the wilds today is going for 10000 Euros and it's never been for sale on ebay - nor have I ever seen it in a rarities catalog going on some 30 years now. That's a lot of balloons!

Garden of Delights announced their intent to reissue this... oh, when was it? After the fall of the Berlin Wall I think. Not really sure it's worth a reissue to be honest, but for deep dive obscurists it certainly will be the only way 99.999% will have a chance to own it properly/legally.

Priority: 3

---1/15/11

Long time Gnosis friend, and German underground expert, Lev Gankine has provided some fascinating data regarding the first Lindwurm listed:

"I've got interesting news about the first Lindwurm LP. I'm just back from Moscow record fair and believe it or not I have seen the record there, but couldn't buy it because the price was way higher than I could afford. But I held it in my hands for a while and even got to listen to the first track, which is pretty amazing power-trio heavy psychedelic blast! Definitely would like to hear the whole LP one day!

What is also interesting is that I now have a tracklist of the album (meticulously copied from the original cover) as well as other bits of the info that were on the LP - and it appears that this Lindwurm was hardly related to the band that did the "Im Windschatten" record. Although the cover doesn't state clearly who plays what on the "Fruhjahr" LP, there's a list of the musicians, and no one from it is on "Im Windschatten" unless they used pseudonyms. The sound is highly different too, according to the first track at least. So currently it is my understanding that there were two bands called Lindwurm in Germany.

By the way, Klaus who they refer to in the album title, is a deceased friend of the band whose photo graces the back cover, and the album is dedicated to his memory.

Hope this will be interesting for you and for your blog's readers!"

---8/7/12

And Lev has confirmed now that it is indeed a different group! Here is his review: "I suspected this for a long time, but now, after getting hold of a copy of this elusive album, can confirm 100% that this is a different band from the one that recorded "Im Windschatten" 5 years later. This Lindwurm is a basic heavy rock combo, for fans of Grave, Arktis, Kaputter Hamster, Rockport and the likes, and the album is dedicated to a deceased friend of the band (pictured right here on the back cover), which probably explains why they are totally ripping it in terms of energy and dedication - they've put their souls into this thing for sure! Actually, this is what ultimately makes the record listenable and even charming in its own way, because musically it's rather meh - bloozy heavy rock that only get saved by a few extended Hendrixoid guitar jams. The recording is rather crude too, and apparently at least a part of this material was recorded live, because at some point I can clearly hear the unforgettable high-pitched squeal of a microphone that was placed too close to a monitor or something like that."

1/15/11 (new entry); 8/7/12 (update); 3/15/26 (complete)

The Tangerine Zoo ~ USA

The Tangerine Zoo. 1968 Mainstream

Outside Looking In. 1968 Mainstream

***The Tangerine Zoo's first album will be reissued as part of this box set: https://sundazed.com/v-a-journey-to-the-center-of-the-mind-a-mainstream-records-60s-psych-adventure-10-cd-boxed-set-w-book.aspx

No word about the second (and better IMO) album.

UMR review

Priority: 1 (for Outside Looking In)

2/22/25 (new entry); 10/3/25 (update)

Nucleus ~ Canada ***REISSUED***

Nucleus. 1969 Mainstream 

***To be reissued as part of this box set: https://sundazed.com/v-a-journey-to-the-center-of-the-mind-a-mainstream-records-60s-psych-adventure-10-cd-boxed-set-w-book.aspx

UMR review

Priority: 1

9/18/13 (new entry); 10/3/25 (complete)

John Macey ~ USA

Eclipse. 1981 51 West
Meltdown. 1984 G-String

UMR review

Priority: 3

9/15/25 (new entry)

McLuhan ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Anomaly. 1972 Brunswick

***Reissued by Think Like a Key, Jun 2025

UMR review and band history

Priority: 1

5/24/09 (new entry); 6/25/25 (complete)

Skywhale ~ England ***REISSUED***

The World at Mind's End. 1977 private

***Reissued by Belle Antique Jun 2025

UMR review

Priority: 1

***Reissued on LP by PQR-Disques May 2025

7/9/15 (new entry); 6/25/25 (complete)

Mofoya ~ USA

Send a Message. 1979 Kona Gold

On the back cover, the band name is stylized as MoFoYa.

UMR review

Priority: 2

6/16/25 (new entry)

Andromeda ~ Germany

Andromeda. 1979 private
Kaliburr. 1980 private
Andromeda 3. 1981 private

Not to be confused with the more well known band from 1970. Technically the band is known as Androméda.

I've only heard the debut to date.

UMR review

Priority: 3

6/16/25 (new entry)

S.J.C. Powell ~ Australia

Celestial Madness. 1975 Albert Productions

Here's an album that I've had on my curiosity list for decades. I can't remember when or how I'd heard the name, but it never surfaced during the CDRWL heyday despite having it on lists sent to those who were helping me with the site. It's on Albert Productions which is most famous for pressing the original AC/DC albums. Well lookee there, someone posted it on YouTube. Let's dig in.

Stephen Joseph Christopher Powell offers up ten short form vocal tracks and one trippy interlude ('Supernova'). So the prog rock tag is definitely a misnomer here. The music belongs more to the loner folk rock genre, with copious vocals and acoustic guitar being the primary sounds. Powell's vocals are on the airy side, and there is some use of synthesizer giving it that "celestial" feel I suppose. I can certainly hear the appeal as there's a type of collector who will eat this up. Add to that the genuine rarity, and that's how albums like this become sought after worldwide. Not really my bag though.

Apparently Powell went deaf after this recording and that was essentially the end of his career. 

Priority: none

4/17/25 (new entry)

New Jazz Quintet ~ USA

High Energy Design. 1981 E-WEB; 1985 ITI

UMR review

Priority: 2

4/15/25 (new entry)

Satwa ~ Argentina

Danza de Amor. 1983 Raviol

Satwa play a type of commercial rock with period instrumentation. Very much like an American AOR band with ballads and occasional harder edged guitars (think same era Journey) but sung in Spanish. A4 draws on some Yes themes (one chord progression comes straight from 'And You and I') but is slick and very much watered down. Straightforward and rather uninteresting overall. Not neo prog, hard rock, nor jazz fusion, at least as I define those terms.   

Priority: none

11/7/23 (review); 4/13/25 (new entry)

Abakus ~ Austria

Spielzeug. 1981 Atlantis Studio Reutlingen

Not even sure how or where I ended up with this title (probably could say that about most of the albums I've jotted down). Hard rock and prog are the descriptors on Discogs. Hard rock maybe. Prog no - unless having a Hammond organ in 1981 qualifies as such. This is German sung rock, otherwise known as Deutschrock. Apparently they were from Austria. There's some interesting breaks on A3, A4, and B4. The second side is more straightforward overall. Good but inessential album. 

Priority: none

4/13/25 (new entry)

Crazy Dog ~ USA

Crazy Dog. 1979 Scratch-N-Sniff

Crazy Dog were one of hundreds of hard rock bands roaming this fine land. This time we're in St Georges, Delaware, a place in the north part of the state on the way in and out of Wilmington. Hard guitar and synthesizers rule the palette of sounds. This is definitely the hard edged bar n' roll / AOR hybrid music of 1979 America, where every band with one unique riff, a half way decent singer, and a standing invitation to the Local 101. Then made a go at a private press hoping that Capitol or Columbia Records would take notice. Put five promo pictures on the back cover with harmless, friendly poses and hope for the best. 46 years later no one has still noticed except those of us crawling around on the floor looking at the dustiest crates - in the back - hoping to find something like Crazy Dog. Once you hear it, you are transported to that time where the bands that did manage to get one album on a major (and one album only) are just as forgotten. Except they go for five bucks today instead of 50. This isn't the album that has aged well like those that gave the middle finger to the establishment. Crazy Dog were the establishment. It's worth a couple of spins (maybe only one actually). Might want to watch James at 16 or Eight is Enough to prep though.

Priority: none

4/13/25 (new entry)

Help ~ USA

Help. 1971 Decca
Second Coming. 1971 Decca

Help were a band from the Los Angeles area (appears to be near Thousand Oaks), and Second Coming is appropriately their sophomore effort. Right out of the gate we're treated to two upbeat Grand Funk styled burners, with killer wah wah guitar. This is followed by two lengthier tracks, where each also features some great guitar among some more typical "west coast" psychedelic rural songwriting. The even longer 'Dear Lord' uses the time wisely to get in some extended jamming. Jack Merrill really goes for the pedals like early Stray, which is awesome to my ears. Many reviewers call this a Christian album, but it's nothing of the sort, confirmed by at least one band member. Dear Lord is an American colloquialism that is the equivalent to the more modern use of OMG. In this one song you hear can also hear them use the phrase in the generic "answer my prayers" way. No proselytizing here. B2 continues on like A3 and A4. Album closes with the appropriately named 'Power' with perhaps too much "Power to the People" chanting and drum circle hippyisms. Overall a very strong early 70s hard rock album, the fast pacing predicting the late 70s variant of the style.

Priority: 2 (for Second Coming)

1/15/24 (review); 4/8/25 (new entry)

Magi ~ USA ***REISSUED***

1976 Uncle Dirty's Sound Machine

***Reissued by Got Kinda Lost (2021)

From the Elkhart, Indiana area, Magi play a typical brand of Midwest hard edged bar n' roll with occasional guitar jamming. There's definitely a southern tilt to the songwriting. Picking up some early era Styx as well (first four albums), minus the keyboards of course. A3 has some excellent dual guitar work, with complete knucklehead lyrics "Girl I'm only interested in what's below your waist". A4 is a fine instrumental though one would hope for more of a lethal guitar assault. Definitely appreciate the break section though. B1 gives off a whiff of classic Ted Nugent especially the 'Stranglehold' styled solo towards the end. The subject matter certainly would appeal to him as well. B2 is the requisite ballad, because you know, they're sensitive. These guys will try anything to score it would appear.  It's a boring tune BTW.  B4 has a strong finish, but by then it's too late. Seems Magi might have been a killer live act if they let loose for a few minutes. Perhaps a more meaty production coupled with a commitment to original songwriting would have taken this to the first division. Too much crowd pleasing boogie, not enough extended jamming and composition. They had the talent, no question. Solid straightforward hard rock, but inessential I would submit.

Priority: none

4/8/25 (new entry)

Zaharas ~ USA

Livin' Ain't Easy. 1978 Vegas

Huh - starts off with a song named 'Grand Illusion'. You won't be thinking Styx here. Has a nice laid back jam vibe, some Allman Bros. feel. Then a bit of footstompin' Ram Jam on A2. Another nice southern rock solo here. A3 is the mid-side introspective piece, with yet another quality guitar solo. 'Stairway to Heaven' isn't a Zep cover fortunately. The opening riff has a 70s Judas Priest feel to it. And so it goes, subsequent tracks following the guidelines laid out above. Some catalog dealer hyped it like this: "Rare privately issued hardrock blaster; thunderous beat, tortured vocalist, and the ever-present smokin' axework." Umm...noooo. Completely oversells the heaviness. Tortured vocalist? Que? That's not what the band were striving for here. Enjoy what the album gives you which is primarily a straightforward hard rock / southern rock with excellent soulful guitar work.

Priority: 3

1/18/24 (review); 4/7/25 (new entry)

FBC Band ~ USA

Worth a Fortune. 1982 private

From Fort Wayne, Indiana, FBC gives us a tale of two albums. The studio Side 1 is terrific. The classic Midwest mix of hard rock and prog, with organ and synthesizers. Side 2 is live and introduces a much more straightforward hard rock sound complete with sax. Most of the prog has been rubbed out in favor of bar patron pleasers. The guitar work is still quite good and there are some analog synth solos. Would be great if there exists archival material in the vein of Side 1.

Priority: 3

5/3/24 (review); 4/5/25 (new entry)

Pegauro ~ Mexico

Vol. 1. 1982 Cactus

Such an interesting album this one is, coming from 1982 Mexico. The end tracks of each side are exactly what one would expect from an early 70s Italian prog rock album, with constant twists and turns, and an overall excitement and mystery that is rarely captured today. And the rest... (other than the very good 'Precasico')... is pedestrian rock with Spanish vocals. Not terrible mind you, but rather average across the board. This is just the kind of perfect album to be captured on a compilation somewhere. Grab those three tracks and run.

Priority: 3

11/7/17 (review); 3/31/25 (new entry)

Wacholder ~ Germany

Crystal Palace. 1978 private
Gin-Phonic. 1980 private

If one were to stumble upon Wacholder's debut LP for the first time, they may think they'd unearthed some unknown Krautrock classic. With tracks like 'Marokko' and 'Känäbis', could it be the continuation of Agitation Free's Malesch? Ehh... no. In fact it's side 1 that is the more interesting since it's all instrumental. The first three tracks are jazz fusion with a prog rock slant. Nothing too radical, and in fact, it's a bit pedestrian for the era. 'Time of Your Life' is the peak of the entire album, and it's not going to excite much I'm afraid. Side 2 is the where the vocals come in - in the usual out-of-tune English we expect from this time and place. Here Wacholder are going for an Anglo styled progressive rock sound, and overall not too bad, especially on the two fetching titles as mentioned in the prelude. 'Tolstefanz' (named for a district in Germany) however is best skipped over.

Priority: none

7/13/18 (review); 3/31/25 (new entry)

Alain Bellaiche ~ France

Metropolitain. 1974 Asylum
Sea Fluorescent. 1976 Asylum

Sea Fluorescent reissued by SouffleContinu (2020).

Alain Bellaïche's second album Sea Flourescent is a mix of mellow acoustic guitar soundscapes, light jazz fusion, and American styled funk with English lyrics. Not one of the highlights of the mid 70s French jazz rock scene, but not without its moments. Title track is quite nice in a stare-out-the-window kind of way.

I haven't heard the debut yet.

Priority: none

7/13/18 (review); 3/31/25 (new entry)

Giant Step ~ Indonesia ***REISSUED***

Giant On The Move. 1976 SM (MC). There is an LP that is about half of the tape.

***Reissued by Rockpod (2016)

UMR review

They have many other albums that I should investigate. Their debut has also been reissued.

Priority: 2

3/31/25 (new entry)

Richie Duvall and Dog Truck ~ USA

Richie Duvall and Dog Truck. 1973 United Sounds

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/31/25 (new entry)

Golden Dragon ~ USA

Golden Dragon. 1981 private

UMR review

Priority: 3

***Reissued on LP by Subliminal Sounds (Oct 2021)

3/31/25 (new entry)

The Sterling Cooke Force ~ USA

Full Force. 1984 Ebony

UMR review

Priority: 1

They have a second album (Force This) which is essentially hair metal and falls outside the scope of this list.

3/31/25 (new entry)

The RH Factor ~ USA

Cries of the Night. 1988 Tem

UMR review

Priority: 3

They have at least two other albums, one not listed in Discogs, but the bass player has confirmed its existence.

3/31/25 (new entry)

St. John Green ~ USA

St. John Green. 1968 Flick Disc

UMR review

Priority: 3

3/31/25 (new entry)

Juan Marquez ~ Cuba

Pa-Ca. 1972 Hispavox; Marquez. 1972 UA Latino

UMR review

Priority: 2

Marquez has two follow up albums that I don't know about. One has polka in the title. Never a good sign.

3/31/25 (new entry)

Starr ~ USA

Memories Never Die. 1981 private

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/31/25 (new entry)

Sevil ~ Azerbaijan

Sevil. 1978 Melodia

For many years I was on the worldwide prog rock chase. But never once did I run into anything from Azerbaijan. Now Sevil isn't prog, but rather a very interesting jazz meets funk meets mugham, the latter an indigenous form of modal singing. I haven't been exposed to mugham before, so that sounds fascinating on its own - mostly handled by a female vocalist. To my untrained ears, it sounds Arabic, but of course that's not correct, it's just the similarity of scales and passion. The jazz is cool, mostly piano, bass, and drums in improv mode. The funk is the most interesting aspect to my ears. Mostly this element is brought forth by the wah wah rhythm guitar, sounding quite a bit like Isaac Hayes' 'Theme from Shaft'. You begin to wonder how that even came about - especially in the Brezhnev era of the USSR, not known for his tolerance of Western influence. 

Supposedly recorded in 1971, but I cannot find data to support this assertion. That would have been even more strange given how closed the Soviet Union was back then. Originals are a freaking fortune and mostly extinct. The album's obscurity is the same excuse that Firyuza and Gunesh's debut have - it was only released in the local region of the country itself, not throughout the Soviet empire. Perhaps even more bizarre is there does exist an "export" version with liner notes in English. I suspect that the Authorities didn't let this one get too far away. Probably the "art director" for this release suddenly disappeared without notice. No mention of the recording date either. A local Azerbaijan label (Molla Nasreddin) put this album back on the map (reading it's not from the masters). This reissue has already been scooped up from those in the know. There's also a Russian private CD release, that could be legitimate, but who knows. I probably wouldn't seek out either way, but it's fun to own something unique like this. So I might.

Priority: 3

There exists LP and CD reissues, both apparently from vinyl. In this part of the world it's difficult to know what is legit and what isn't. Creating the entry as it certainly fits the purpose of this site.

11/21/23 (review); 3/31/25 (new entry)

Theo Schumann-Formation ~ Germany (DDR)

Tanz in Theo's Beat Bar. 1977 Amiga

If I hadn't personally wandered all over Eastern Europe at various stages from 1990 to 1994, and lived the reality, I could be fooled into thinking the West got the wrong end of the stick. I mean seriously - who wouldn't want to dance at Theo's Beat Bar? I'm so there - a casual foreign observer holding up the darkened wood panel bar, plumes of smoke everywhere, while enjoying multiple steins of awesome nickel beer from a local brewery. And watching hotty frauleins dance wildly in their tight fitting state worker uniforms. Male fantasy overload I'd submit. And who is providing this fanciful soundtrack? Well... none other than Theo Schumann of course! Who is that? I have no idea. Does it matter? Digging those period analog synthesizers, organ, and smooth electric sax. And that rhythm section! Nonstop fills. Miles would approve. This is some groovy ass sh...t. There are some straighter jazz / blues numbers as well. 

The photo of the band on the back is priceless. So square, they're hip. 

Priority: 3

11/7/23 (review); 3/31/25 (new entry)

Alkana ~ USA

Welcome To My Paradise. 1978 Baby Bird

UMR review

Priority: 1

3/31/25

The Young Bros. ~ USA

High Energy Rock. 1978 GDS

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/31/25 (new entry)

Brahman ~ Canada

Brahman. 1971 Mercury

UMR review

Priority: 3

3/30/25 (new entry)

Goliath ~ USA

Hot Rock & Thunder. 1974 Bridges (recorded 1972)

UMR review

Priority: 2

3/30/25 (new entry)

Demian ~ USA (TX)

Demian. 1971 ABC

UMR review

Priority: 2

There are many iffy reissues, but nothing solid.

3/30/25 (new entry)