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Friday, July 31, 2009

Solar Plexus, Sweden





Solar Plexus - s/t. 1972 Odeon
Solar Plexus - Solar Plexus 2. 1973 Odeon
Solar Plexus - Det Är Inte Båten Som Gungar - Det Är Havet Som Rör Sig. 1974 EMI-Harvest
Solar Plexus - Hellre Gycklare Än Hycklare (Sweden) 1975 EMI-Harvest

The self titled album is two LPs of groovy jazz psych. Organ, electric piano (with lots of effects applied), guitar, bass and active drumming. Primarily instrumental, though with a few Swedish vocals that add a joyful disposition to the mix. Even some elements of Bacharachian pop lounge, and when combined with the Swedish vocals, makes for an interesting smorgasbord. Side 3 is a long suite for classical orchestra and jazz rock, and is definitely the weakest portion of the album. The idea is good, but it's poorly executed, with long stretches of noodling/down time. But the other 3 sides are exemplary, and thus a Tier 1 album that is in definite need of a CD reissue.

I feel that "Solar Plexus 2" is a huge drop off in quality from the first. Sounds as if they wanted to be the Swedish equivalent of Blood Sweat and Tears, but without the horn section. Plenty of lounge, gospel and pop tinged tracks with only one interesting instrumental towards the end of the album. Disappointing considering the strength of the debut.

Det Är Inte Båten Som Gungar - Det Är Havet Som Rör Sig moved to UMR

I haven't heard the 4th album, but have been advised it's the weakest of the bunch.

Priority: 2 (based on the strength of the first album)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Tabletom, Spain



Tabletom - Mezclalina. 1980 RCA

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2


Wednesday, July 29, 2009

David Stoughton, USA


David Stoughton - Transformer. 1968 Elektra.

Way ahead of its time experimental psychedelic album. As adventurous as they come for such an early date, I was reminded of other experimental US artists from the same era like The United States of America, Friendsound, Music Emporium, Tim Buckley, Fifty Foot Hose and The Beat of the Earth. Female vocals, trumpet, guitar, sound collages, and much more. Pure genius.

Priority: 2

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Tonic, Germany ***REISSUED***


Tonic - This Way. 1980 Peak.

***Reissued by Golden Core 2024  

For the late date, this has a remarkably sophisticated sound – similar more to the classic early 1970s Italian prog scene, than anything typically associated with German rock. Complete with choir mellotron, organ, bells, speedy guitar solos, flute, sax and complex meters. When the vocals kick in, I'm reminded of Grobschnitt's "Rockpommel's Land" era. There's also a review on the excellent Planet Mellotron site for this very interesting one off.

Thanks goes to Midwest Mike for turning me onto this title years ago.

Priority: 2

Monday, July 27, 2009

Verto, France



Verto - Krig Volubilis. 1976 Pole
Verto - Reel 1936. 1978 Fleur

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2 (based on the strength of Krig Volubilis)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Tomorrow's Gift, Germany


Tomorrow's Gift - Goodbye Future. 1973 Aamok

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Satin Whale, Germany ***REISSUED***



Satin Whale - Desert Places. 1974 Brain.

***All their albums reissued by Made in Germany 2023 (finally!)  

Now that the first two Thirsty Moon albums along with the Kollektiv debut are out on the Long Hair label, that leaves only Satin Whale's debut as the last GREAT Brain album not yet reissued legit on CD. There are other worthy green color Brain albums not on CD as well, but "Desert Places" is the best of the remaining lot IMO. The band's other (and lesser) catalog is out, but this heavy organ / guitar interplay albums remains elusive. Maybe Long Hair will tackle this one as well? Or SPV? Anyone?

Priority: 1

For fun, I've added the 1979 "Rock On Brain" cover. This is the only case I can think of where the Rock On cover is better than the original.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Pantha, Australia

Pantha - Doway Do Doway Do. 1975 Wizard

Moved to UMR

Priority: 1

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Third Eye, Germany-Netherlands



Third Eye - s/t. 1976 Ring
Third Eye - Connexion. 1977 Ring *** Reissued by Sonorama in 2013 ***

Moved to UMR

Priority: 3

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

News: Jun Fukamachi 21st Century Band to be reissued on Sony

Look for a September 9th release from Sony of Japan. Our entry from the original wishlist is below:

Jun Fukamachi 21st Century Band - Rokuyu (Japan) 1975 Toshiba. Keyboardist Fukamachi made many fusion albums throughout the late 1970s. Supposedly this is his best and most progressive oriented album. Parts are great heavy fusion with smoking electric guitar, and one could see a band like Kenso getting wind of this prior to launching their career. One track is a pretty mundane, standard 70s jazz, that would later be known as "smooth jazz". Side 2 is more varied and includes some experimental bits, electronic rock (mellotron, el. piano, synths, rock drums) and blistering heavy fusion. Pretty cool record.

Ocarinah, France


Ocarinah - Premiere Vision de L'Etrange. 1978 Calypsia

Moved to UMR

Priority: 1

Monday, July 20, 2009

Nattura, Iceland ***REISSUED***


Náttúra - Magic Key. 1972 private

***Reissued by Belle Antique (Japan) in 2020

moved to UMR

Priority: 1

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Chris Hinze Combination, Netherlands






Chris Hinze Combination - Stoned Flute. 1970 Columbia.
Chris Hinze Combination - Live at Montreux. 1971 Columbia.
Chris Hinze Combination - Who Can See the Shadow of the Sun. 1972 Columbia.
Chris Hinze Combination - Mission Suite. 1973 MPS/BASF.
Chris Hinze Combination - Sister Slick. 1974 Columbia.

Dutch flautist Chris Hinze was far more than just your usual jazz flute player. Especially on "Mission Suite" where he combines jazz and progressive rock very effectively. "Stoned Flute" and "Live at Montreux" are more steeped in the jazz tradition, but aren't standard by any means. "Who Can See the Shadow of the Sun" is a bit looser than the others during this period, and will appeal most to those into "out" jazz. "Sister Slick" is probably Hinze's heaviest album, with Philip Catherine on guitar, and is a good representation of the harder edged fusion style. His later 70s work strayed towards fuzak, and aren't featured here. Interesting to note that his other work from the early Seventies, 1972's "Virgin Sacrifice", has been reissued on CD. I'm sure it earned a CD imprint (on his own label) since it foreshadowed his future work as a new age artist. It's very different from his other albums during the early 70s.

Priority: 1 (based on the strength of Mission Suite).

Friday, July 17, 2009

Images, France


Images - s/t. 1977 Voxigrave.

The first side is pleasant folk, with acoustic guitars and flute, and sparse vocals sung in a soft French tone. Side 2 rocks out with the addition of electric guitar, bass, keys and drums. Plenty of progressive meter changes, and comparisons to bands like Memoriance or Pentacle wouldn't be out of place. A splendid little album that very few know about, but is not to be missed! Comes in a plain white cover with an Images sticker as seen here. Also has a nice insert with baby pictures of all 5 band members.They also participate on a second album (that I once owned) that is avant garde, and a bit out of scope for this list.

Priority: 2

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Tribu, Mexico


Tribu - Cuauhtemoc Agulia Solar. 1987 Pentagrama.

Tribu have a lot more albums than this, in fact Gnosis lists 10 of them, many without any ratings. Finding any info about Tribu has proven to be a challenge. The above album is the only one I've known about for years, and remains the only one I've heard. Tribu collaborated quite a bit with Jorge Reyes during this period.

Sometimes the album is known as "Fusion Etno-Rock" as it's stated that way on the cover, but that was to inform the buyer of the style of music. "Cuauhtemoc Agulia Solar" is a fusion of pre-Hispanic indigenous tribal music and modern day rock. Most of it is the former, but there are some supreme examples of the latter, with wonderful fuzzed out guitars and synth soloing. On these pieces, I'm most reminded of the Arco Iris album I recently listed, as well as Lula Cortes & Ze Remalho's "Paebiru" album. Had it been more fusion and less indigenous, I'd probably have rated this a Priority 2 or 3. I'll go with a no priority, but it's borderline, and fans of ancient world music in general will love this album.

Priority: none

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Claude Engel, France


Claude Engel - s/t. 1972 CBS.

Engel is most known to fans of underground rock as the first guitarist for Magma. He also played in Troc, Univeria Zekt, Lubat / Louiss / Engel Group, and many other notable groups in the early 1970s. This album starts as a relatively generic singer-songwriter piece (as the LP cover suggests), but gradually evolves into an innovative guitar fronted rock album. Plenty of guitar soloing and, on one track, has some intriguing wordless voice. A little bit of funky business too. He has a few other solo albums, that I have not heard.

Decent album, but not anything overly special.

Priority: None

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Gamma, Netherlands



Gamma - s/t (aka Alpha). 1973 private
Gamma - Darts. 1974 Pandora

Moved to UMR

Priority: 2 (for Darts)

Monday, July 13, 2009

Graced Lightning, USA



Graced Lightning - The Graced Lightning Side. 1975 private.

An exceptionally well done instrumental progressive rock album by this obscure group from Chicago. Recorded only to one side of the LP, there are 3 tracks totaling 18 minutes. And not a moment wasted. Excellent keyboards/piano, coupled with inventive guitar solos. At times the music is very complex. Doesn't sound like anyone really, except maybe Virginia's Polyphony from a few years prior. Would make an excellent reissue with another group who had a short album - like Bounty maybe?

More data from an ebay dealer: "We purchased this copy new from Gary Gand at his store circa 1975. Per Gary only about 100 copies were pressed in '75 for demonstration purposes. It was not 'distributed' per se, copies were only given away or sold out of his store." 

More info here about the band.

Priority: 2 (if there were more than 18 minutes of the same quality, this would be an easy Priority 1)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Dear Mr. Time, England *** REISSUED ***


Dear Mr. Time - Grandfather. 1970 Square.

A really nice big budget sounding album on a relatively small label. Somewhere between Moody Blues and the Dawn/Neon stable of bands - Czar comes to mind as well. There is at least one bootleg.

Priority: 2

*** Reissued by Wooden Hill, January 2010 ***

Friday, July 10, 2009

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Arco Iris, Argentina


Arco Iris - Agitor Lucens V. 1974 Music Hall

This is a new entry into the CD Reissue Wishlist, and comes as quite a surprise for me. I always thought of Arco Iris as a new age / Andes Mountain hybrid from the 1980s. Then I was told their 1970's albums were different, so I got ahold of "Los Elementales" (which is on CD), a highly rated fusion album from 1977. But while I thought it was good, it wasn't anything really that different or special.

But "Agitor Lucens V" IS quite a bit different. "Agitor Lucens V" appears to be unique in their canon. This is one of the best things I've heard in the last couple of years. It's a mite inconsistent, which is part of its charm I think. In some ways, this is Argentina's version of the Lula Cortes and Ze Remalho "Paeribu" album. And when you find out that their spiritual guide was a gorgeous babe / former fashion model, then you know these guys were tuned into something special.

So before I go much further, please read the following from Gerald. Especially the Biography section as well as the review for this album.

If that doesn't spark your interest, I'm not sure anything else I say will.

Many of their albums are on CD, but this one unfortunately has been avoided.

Priority: 1

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Beat of the Earth, USA



The Beat of the Earth - s/t. 1967 Radish.
The Beat of the Earth - Our Standard Three Minute Tune. 1994 Radish (recorded in 1967).

One of the most extraordinary early recordings you'll ever hear. Maybe the best aural document we have of the free wheeling Southern Californian culture of 1966 and 1967. This is one continuous track, broken up by the sides of the record. Non stop percussion, acoustic and electric guitar (a fuzzy surf sound), sitars, an ancient organ, and droning vocals. One of the most drugged out albums I've ever heard, except the bandleader (Phil Pearlman) was apparently anti-drugs! Maybe if the Velvet Underground had more of that Californian sunshine, they'd sound like this.

A legit LP was reissued by the band itself at the same time they unearthed the archival "Our Standard Three Minute Tune", which is very similar in sound and structure to the album proper. Neither of these have been issued legit on CD. Watch for bootlegs.

Priority: 2

5/10/2011 update: Added Our Standard Three Minute Tune.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

A.R. & Machines - Achim Reichel, Germany ***REISSUED***






A.R. & Machines - Echo. 1972 Polydor double LP
A.R. & Machines - 3. 1973 Zebra (Reichel's label for Polydor) xxx Turns out there is a reissue on the Spectrum label from 1996. Obviously very rare and needs a new reissue!
A.R. & Machines - IV. 1974 Zebra
Achim Reichel - Autovision. 1974 Zebra xxx Turns out there is a reissue on the Spectrum label from 1996. Obviously very rare and needs a new reissue!
Achim Reichel - Erholung. 1975 Brain

*** Sept 2017 update: All albums reissued in late 2017 as part of a 10 CD set on Warner/BMG

Moved to UMR

Priority: 1

Monday, July 6, 2009

Avalanche, Netherlands *** REISSUED ***


Avalanche - Perseverance Kills Our Game. 1979 Starlet

*** Reissued by Guerssen Jan 2015 ***

Moved to UMR

Priority: 1

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Bwana, Nicaragua


Bwana - s/t. 1972 Caytronics.

You can practically count the number of great progressive / psych albums from Nicaragua on one finger. And here it is. But their sole representative isn't only good, it's nothing short of amazing. I suppose it comes as no surprise that the major influence here is Santana. In particular the first two albums. The organ tones are not as heavy (I don't think it's a Hammond either) and the guitarist doesn't have near the chops as Carlos (though he's no slouch either). And while vocals exist on Bwana, they aren't key to the sound. And when it's time to get indigenous, they naturally raise the sounds of pre-Colombian South America versus Mexico. So at this point you may be thinking we have a watered down version of "Abraxas", but that's not the case at all. Where Bwana gains ground is in their use of percussion, which is more varied and is also a feature rather than an accent. There's also a tribal voodoo element going on throughout, making me wish I knew of other groups coming out of Nicaragua during this era. Six long tracks, totalling over 45 minutes, and not a dud amongst them.

For years it was presumed Bwana were from Colombia, but some of the members of the band have resurfaced and it turns out they were from Nicaragua. Some band members still live there - while others are in the United States now.

A couple of bootlegs exist, though it appears some labels are looking to do a legit issue.

The original cover art is pretty tacky, though I doubt it was meant to be offensive, given the time and place. It would be nice, however, if new cover art was added (similar to the original, but dubious, Acid Symposium CD).

Priority: 1

Saturday, July 4, 2009

News: Dragon - Universal Radio out now on Aztec!


Aztec Records, the high quality Australian concern, has reissued Dragon's debut album "Universal Radio" from 1974. It will be the usual high quality Aztec product, with a 6 panel design, bonus tracks and a 24 page history. This is the first legit CD of this album, and was issued on July 2nd.

Dragon were a New Zealand progressive rock band that found pop success in Australia with their 3rd album.

Look for the followup "Scented Gardens for the Blind" later this year.

As well, back in March, Aztec reissued the debut album from Madderlake called "Butterfly Farm" (1973), thus completing their discography with "Still Point" reissued not long ago.

March 2011 update: Still waiting on Scented Gardens for the Blind!

Coley, England


Coley - Goodbye Brains. 1972 private.

A very crazy, and creative, horn rock band with a strong jazzy progressive feel. Some great wah wah fuzz guitar and fuzz bass which plays well against the trumpet/flugelhorn and saxophone. Some weird narration and flute passages. Much more complex than your average horn rock band - in the McLuhan and Probe 10 higher echelon of the genre. There's a couple of missteps like the country rock song and the final narrative piece, but overall this one is a winner and would love to see on CD.

Another one for Esoteric to reissue. Thanks to Mystery Poster for turning me onto this one!

Priority: 2

Friday, July 3, 2009

News: Long Hair and Garden of Delights recent archival releases





We hadn't focused on archival releases so much here at the CD Reissue Wish List, though we will going forward, as this is an exciting market. And the high quality German labels Long Hair and Garden of Delights have recently put out some very intriguing looking items. Two have just come out in the last week, and two were put out by Long Hair in the last couple of months. I'll use their descriptions. They sure do sound great! (The latter two are available from our friends at Wayside and Lasercd - and I would suspect Syn-phonic to have soon).

Papa Zoot Band - Last Concert. 1978 Germany. (Long Hair)

"Great lost band from Frankfurt, Germany. In 1973/1974 Papa Zoot Band played all over Germany, mainly in clubs but also on festivals (German Pop Meeting 1st and 2nd February 1974 in Essen, Grugahalle). Lutz Sommer guitar, Robby Matthes bass, voc, Reinhard "Tammy" Grohe organ(Ex-Nosferatu !) and Christian Engel drums, voc. played mainly long tracks, very melodic but also with a sense of drama comparable to Nektar, Eloy, Jane or Pink Floyd. Outstanding 20 minutes title "Fly away" could be a long track by Pink Floyd of the Meddle/Wish you were here/Animals-era without being an imitation. The other two long tracks "I Wish" (9 minutes) and "Friendship or Love" (11 minutes) also show throughout fantastic guitar and organ work (as you know it from "Nosferatu" album). Unbelievable that Papa Zoot Band never made an album. 4 Years after they called it a day, Papa Zoot Band played in early 1978 a sole reunion concert at there basic venue "Sinkkasten" in Frankfurt. This concert, which had the same playlist as their performance on German Pop Meeting 1974, proved again, that their music never lost its magic. This great performance was taped from the soundboard and has a superb sound quality. As bonus tracks there are two cover versions of great Eric Burdon song "When I was Young" in a 9 minutes psychedelic version and the classic "Tobacco Road" with former bandleader and great singer Ernst Nadler (nickname: Papa Zoot) who left Papa Zoot Band in early 1973. CD comes with comprehensive booklet, photos from their performance at the German Pop Meeting, 1974 (a. o. with Guru Guru, Kraan, Nektar, Eloy). Digitally remastered. Secret tip and a must have for all lovers of the genre."

Tetragon - Stretch. 1971 Germany. (Garden of Delights)

"Tetragon, successor of Trikolon, were founded in Osnabrück (Lower Saxony) in the spring of 1971. They released their first and only LP, "Nature", in that very year. It came out as CD on Musea in 1995. At the end of 1971, Tetragon recorded in a Hamburg studio five long tracks in their well-proven style for their second LP, the release of which, however, failed. Fortunately, the master tape has survived until the present day, so that now, 38 years past schedule, the work is released on CD. Three of the five songs have been written by the band itself, one by Eddie Harris ("Listen here") and one by John McLaughlin ("Dragon song"). The two latter ones had already been worked on by Brian Auger. Especially remarkable are Hendrik Schaper's exceptional play on keyboards and Jürgen Jaehner's hot guitar play. The other two, however, are their equals in skill and talent. "

The following two were released in May and June:

Puppenhaus - Jazz macht Spazz, SWF-Session. 1973-1974 Germany (Long Hair)

"No progressive rock music fan should be misled by the album title "Jazz macht Spazz", a bowdlerization of "jazz makes fun", this is progressive jazz-rock at its best. Büdi Siebert (flutes and saxes), Herbert Binder (gt), Frank Fischer (bass), later with Release Music Orchestra, Thomas Rabenschlag (keys) and drummer Bea Maier (later with Zomby Woof and Moira), all well trained on the instruments, played a varied, inventive, melodic and often furious kind of music with lots of Krautrock magic influenced by Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Soft Machine and Weather Report. 5 titles on this CD were recorded at German radio station SWF, 2 titles are live recordings (taped from the soundboard), all in all 77 minutes of great flute and sax playing, furious and lyrical guitar and bass work, hypnotic rhythm patterns and perfect keyboard sounds. Hard to believe, that Puppenhaus never recorded an album. In 1980 Büdi Siebert with friends recorded an album under the name "Herrgottsax", which also will be released in the next month on Long Hair. Digitally remastered from original master tapes. CD comes with comprehensive booklet, band story by the musicians, many photos and especially with a wonderful cover based on a painting by drummer Bea Maier. Highly recommended."

Cannabis India - SWF Session. 1973 Germany. (Long Hair)

"Another forgotten pearl from the vaults of radio station SWF, Germany. Like Coupla Prog or other delights from the early 70ies who never made an album, Cannabis India, founded 1971 in the region of Düsseldorf, show their great talent playing their own compositions influenced by groups like The Nice or ELP Bandleader and organ-player Oliver Petry studied piano from the early age of seven. When he heard Keith Emerson for the first time he changed his instrument and played organ with great enthusiasm. Together with drummer Rüdiger Braune (in the 80ies with Gianna Nannini) and furious bass-player Dirk Fleck Cannabis India run through their pieces with infernal speed but also with a sense of drama. Nearly 12minutes epic "Lapis" and 11 minutes adaption of Beethovens 9th show what for Cannabis India music was all about. CD comes with 2 bonus tracks from follow-up band Universe. Digitally remastered from original master tapes and bandstory. Don't miss it!"

March 2011 update: After having bought all 4, personally I thought the Tetragon and the Puppenhaus were excellent, whereas the Cannabis India and Papa Zoot Band were good, but not essential.