News: Surgery's "Übermorgen" released on Garden of Delights!

Last week we reported on the Sündenfall II reissue. Now we get word that they will also reissue Surgery's "Übermorgen", one of our Priority 3's! It's been on GoD's Coming Soon list for a couple of years, so I'm glad to see it come to fruition.

This is an album that I first heard courtesy of Midwest Mike, sometime in 2007 or so. And we recently featured the album here on the blog.

Surgery, Germany ***REISSUED***

Übermorgen. 1980 Yregrus

Moved to UMR

***Reissued by Garden of Delights, Dec 2010

Priority: 2

7/30/10 (new entry); 12/18/10 (complete)

News: Tangle Edge releases archival "Dropouts"

I saw this a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn't quite sure what it was. Now I've come to find out it's a 3LP / 2CD set of recordings the band did from 1982 and 1983.

While I haven't found any conclusive data to support this, I'm suspecting this is a reissue of their first 1983 cassette "Improvised Drop Outs" (on Mushroom originally, later reissued in 1990 (also on cassette) by Ultima Thule's Aurical label), but with considerably more bonus tracks. Or the remainder of the sessions I suspect.

All the tracks on Improvised Drop Outs are also on Dropouts, but I'm not sure if they're the same versions or not. I have been wanting to hear the Improvised Drop Outs tape for a long time. So it appears I'll have that chance.

More data here and here

That leaves two further cassettes still left to be reissued, both from 1986: "In The Presence of Aphrodite" and "Radio Stroganoff". I haven't heard these either. But I'm a big fan of all their LPs and CDs released starting in 1989 with "In Search of A New Dawn".

BTW, be sure to head over to Wayside or The Laser's Edge, as both are running a fantastic sale on the first two Tangle Edge CDs. Both are excellent albums in the psychedelic space rock field.

News: Transubstans to reissue Taste of Blues

Great news here, and one that Record Heaven had announced over a year ago. I hadn't featured this one in the hopes that the reissue would come out - and here it is! I had the Garageland LP that came out in the 1990s, but it was never reissued on CD until now.

Record Heaven says: "
TASTE OF BLUES
Schizofrenia (CD)
Finally we see the re-issue of this old Swedish underground psychedelic monster. Formed around Claes Ericsson, who would later perform in ASOKA and 70's band LOTUS. The album open with the title track, which is a feast of krautockish voodoo rhytms, and flips over to more bluesy style on the 2nd side. The booklet holds a complete history of the band. Very recommended !! "

My entry from the CDORWL:

Taste of Blues - Schizofrenia (Sweden) 1969 SSR (released only in Denmark). One side is a cool free rock jam, like the best of the Krautrock and Swedish artists like International Harvester. The other side is more traditional electric blues, so the album is indeed schizophrenic. Garageland reissued it on LP in 1992.

Synchro Rhythmic Eclectic Language, France ***REISSUED***

Lambi. 1976 Moshe-Naim

***Reissued by the parent label prior to the CDRWL. I just didn't know about it!

Moved to UMR

12/7/10 (complete)

News: Garden of Delights reissues Sündenfall II

Here's a big time rarity that has been on Garden of Delights Coming Soon list for awhile. I remember seeing this on ebay a few years back and fetching an enormous sum. I haven't heard it, but it definitely sounds intriguing. Should be available in the next couple of weeks.

"SUNDENFALL II from the Kevelaer area at the Lower Rhine played a mixture of folk and jazz, influenced by Jethro Tull. While their predecessors SUNDENFALL exclusively dedicated themselves to jazz, the group included folk after a change in line-up and band name (following the example of Amon Duul II). In 1972, Hubert Schmitz invited the band into his Trepitia film and sound studio in Alpen-Dorfor free recordings, as he wanted to test the newly installed equipment after a recent move into the new location. Thus the recordings were made for the album SUNDENFALL II (Trefiton HS 1017), which was released in a small edition of 200 copies at the end of 1972. Today it is sold at a price of about 500 to 1000 in mint condition. The track "Montpellier", chosen for the sampler on hand, stands out due to the distinctive trumpet play both at the beginning and at the end."

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"

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.

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)

Lougarou / Garolou, Canada ***REISSUED***

Lougarou. 1976 London
Garolou. 1978 London

Garolou moved to UMR

***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."

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)

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.)

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.

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!

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.

News: Audio Archives to release Second Sign

I don't know anything about this release, but it certainly looks intriguing. Nice to see Audio Archives back doing what they do best - finding unreleased obscurities. Here is the label's description:

"A previously unreleased progressive rock album recorded at Escape Studios in Kent during the mid 70s. Female vocalist Irene Menasche sounds as impressive as Spirogyra's Barbara Gaskin or Pauline Filby of Narnia, bands to which some of the material is comparable. The tour de force here, 'Golden Age', is a nine minute prog-rock epic, full of stunning harmonies, great guitar solos, wonderful Hammond organ and gripping time changes. Imagine classic Fruupp laced with sublime female vocals and you get the picture. Comes with full band history detailing the interesting tale behind this forgotten gem."

I'll be curious what the reviews say!

6/5/11 update: Well I finally heard this myself. The above description is utter crap. There's no Fruupp within 500 miles of this. This is a poorly recorded demo of a below average folk rock album with out of place basement hard rock attempts. The 9 minute 'Golden Age' is pretty decent as is the 5 minute 'Mad River' (the only two tracks that sound pretty good), but the rest is a total waste of time.

News: Soleil Zeuhl to reissue Noa, second Strave albums

Back in early August, we found out that Soleil Zeuhl was to reissue the first Serge Bringolf Strave album. Thanks to a tip from Achim, owner Alain had also announced two other reissues (on the avant progressive yahoo group board) for his great Zeuhl influenced label: Noa and Strave's second album "Vision" (which I think is the best of his three albums). Both of these are slotted for early 2011.

We covered Noa here and Strave here.

Excellent news. Thanks Alain for the great work you do!

UMR review of Vision here

Noa, France ***REISSUED***

Noa. 1980 private

***Reissued by Soleil Zeuhl Mar 2011

Moved to UMR

Priority: 3

1/31/10; 9/14/10 (complete)

True Myth, Canada ***REISSUED***

True Myth. 1979 Warner Brothers.

***Reissued by Belle Antique Aug 2010

Much was made at the time of release that True Myth's sole album was the first ever all digital recording from Canada. I guess it's ironic, then, that the album remains unissued in digital format. This is obviously a big budget affair, complete with a thick gatefold cover, lengthy liner notes, and a brilliant production. Musically, even though it's from Canada, it has much in common with the US Midwest prog rock scene of the mid 1970s. Though not that much of a stretch since southern Ontario is an extension of the region. 1979 was a little late for an album like this, and there's the expected obvious commercial AOR moves that can be a bit cringe inducing. But the piano work here is stellar (recalling Italy's Festa Mobile actually). A good album that is generally panned by the progressive rock community. But I have a soft spot for this kind of stuff and recommend it to those who like groups such as Ethos, Styx and Sunblind Lion.

Priority: 2

12/14/09 (new entry); 8/25/10 (complete)

News: Garden of Delights reissues Amphyrite

Released this month on Thors Hammer, GoD's sub-label dedicated to non German albums. Not a major priority for me personally, but an extremely rare album all the same and it makes its debut on CD. My blurb from the CDOWL below:

Amphyrite – s/t (France) 1973 private. Guitar blues rock trio. One guy solos on guitar while the others keep time (sort of). No vocals to get in the way. Or melody either. Sounds more American in its approach. Amber Soundroom did manage to reissue this on LP before going belly up.

Manar, Iceland ***REISSUED***

Mánar. 1971 SG Records

***Reissued by Steinar 1992

Song oriented organ/guitar based rock, typical of the early 70s Scandinavian style. Sometimes recalls bands such as Junipher Greene and Thors Hammer, though Manar are a bit duller than that may imply. Nice flute work. Decent period piece and ranks ahead of other similar Icelandic bands such as Trubrot and Odmenn. 

---

There were two reissues prior to the CDRWL. Nothing to see here...

Priority: none

News: Esoteric to reissue The Dog That Bit People

Not long ago we announced Esoteric's October releases. They had mentioned a couple of more in the pipe, and today we learned the super rare The Dog That Bit People is being reissued. There is a prior legit reissue on the obscure Shoestring label, but those are long sold into collections and impossible to find now.

I never did feature this album separately, but it was in the Original List entry. Below is the excerpt:

The Dog That Bit People - s/t (England) 1971 Parlophone. Standard underground UK rock album, not that dissimilar from what you would find on the Dawn, Neon or Transatlantic labels during this era. Features a slightly down home folk feel combined with some nice organ/mellotron and a few good leads. Not overly progressive, but a well produced rock album all the same. Originals are very expensive. Reissued originally by the Shoestring label in 1994.

The always excellent Planet Mellotron website describes the album as such: "When organist Norman Haines left Locomotive to form The Norman Haines Band (subsequently producing the fab Den of Iniquity), bassist Michael Hincks and drummer Bob Lamb added two guitarist/vocalists and formed The Dog That Bit People. Their sole, eponymous album from '71 is the kind of stylistic mish-mash that usually gets labeled 'progressive' these days, despite having next to nothing in common with the brand leaders. OK, I suppose it's 'progressive' compared to the mainstream pop and rock of the day, but it's not a particularly adventurous album, opening badly with the overly gentle Goodbye Country, while halfway decent proto-prog like Cover Me In Roses is followed by the good-time country-rock of Someone, Somewhere. Closer Reptile Man is the most rocking thing here, with its distorted vocal, but it's a case of too little, too late.

Keith Millar plays Mellotron, with a string part towards the end of opener Goodbye Country, more of the same (endearingly out of tune) on Cover Me In Roses and (in tune this time) Walking. Overall, then, The Dog That Bit People isn't a hidden artifact from the era, just a rather ordinary album with a couple of good points, just scraping three stars, with some welcome Mellotron work."

Interesting to note that Esoteric also reissued their own Eclectic release of Locomotive.

It would seem that The Norman Haines Band won't be too far behind. I can only hope so!

News: Session to be reissued by Rocket Records in ONE WEEK!

Ay-yeee-yooo-yeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

You read it right boys and girls. The super rare Finnish album is coming out on CD from Rocket Records scheduled to be reissued August 18th!! And it's not just rare - but very good. We featured them here.

We're getting word that one US vendor might be able to carry these! Can't say who, but it does offer hope for us folks in the US.

More info here (in Finnish).

Session, Finland ***REISSUED***

Unikuva. 1974 EMI/Odeon

***Reissued by Rocket Records Aug 2010

Moved to UMR

Priority: 1

8/3/09 (new entry); 8/10/10 (complete)

News: Handgjort album to be reissued on Silence

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but just noticed this while researching another Swedish band on the excellent progg.se site.

Apparently there's a new vinyl only label called Psykofon, who it appears has done the impossible - obtained a license from Silence Records, a label notorious to keeping things close to the vest. As you will see in the blurb below, Psykofon take their vinyl very seriously, which is awesome. Once in awhile, I'll buy a well made LP reissue if the originals are impossibly rare (and Handgjort qualifies - otherwise I would pay for the original even if expensive, just not terribly so) and are also one of my favorite albums (not so much in this case I'm afraid).

It's also apparent from the below statement that Silence themselves will reissue the CD. If so, that will be the first reissue from them in many years. Perhaps we can see the first Flasket Brinner in our lifetime! As well as some others like Anna Själv Tredje, Kebnekaise's "Elefanten", etc...

"Handgjort

(Vinyl, Psykofon Records, OBJEKT 1)

(CD, Silence Records, SRSCD 3618)

Handgjort ("Handmade") recorded a legendary album in 1970 released by Silence Records. All covers were hand painted by the band members. The music is moody underground folk with eastern influences. The album sold very poorly and is a serious collectors item today. The original band members were: Marcus Brandelius aka Greg Fitzpatrick, esraj and vocals; Guy Öhrström, acoustic guitar; Stig Arne Karlsson, sitar; Theo Greyerz, tablas.

After over three years of preparation, Psykofon proudly presents Handgjort in an expanded reissue!

Exclusive replica, with handpainted covers by the band members once again! Original album remastered from the master tapes without digitalization! Bonus album recorded live at the festivals at Gärdet 1970 and 1971, all previously unreleased! 25 minutes of exclusive bonus material to the vinyl release. Strictly limited edition of 600 copies done with full cooperation of the band and Silence Records! 16 page booklet telling the complete uncensored story of Handgjort, featuring unique photos and lots of reproductions of original Handgjort hand painted covers!

We at Psykofon feel that this reissue is something very special. The mythical moody mystical cult vibe of the original recordings are well captured here with new original sleeve art by the band members, just like in 1970. This one is for real folks, and will surely blow everyone's mind! This edition is very true to the original in its feeling and the materials chosen for the issue. Featuring entire bonus LP with previously unreleased live material recorded at the Festivals at Gärdet in 1970 and 1971!! LP comes with comprehensive 16 page booklet telling the complete unheard story of this underground band. Handgjort is the first release from Psykofon Records.

New date for release: Tuesday 18 May 2010, 19.00 p.m., at Pet Sounds Bar, Skånegatan, Stockholm, Sweden.

Handgjort will perform live for the first time since 1971!!!

The release is a Psykofon and Silence coproduction.

Please contact us at:

psykofon@gmail.com "

We featured Handgjort last October.

Handgjort, Sweden ***REISSUED***

Handgjort - 1970 Silence

***Reissued by Silence / Psykofon Aug 2010

Almost all instrumental acoustic Eastern world music, similar to the Third Ear Band or Aktuala. More underground and primitive though, reminding me of Furekaaben. Years later, Embryo would produce a more professional variation of this sound on Reise (the non rock pieces that is).

Priority: none 

10/5/09 (new entry); 8/8/10 (complete)

News: Esoteric's October releases

As mentioned before, I'm not very consistent with announcing Esoteric's reissues. For the most part, they release albums already on CD, and thus out of the scope of what I'm doing here. Many times these will be improvements on what was available prior, but maybe not enough for me to call out.

But October's batch caught my eye mainly for the first and third Out of Focus albums (Second, self-titled album, will come out in November). These were reissued by Ohrwaschl (Kuckuk) back in the early days of the CD reissue, and are barebones at best. They are also long OOP, and have been bootlegged in recent years. Just as Ohrwaschl's Nosferatu is now being tackled by Long Hair, I think Esoteric's reissues are going to represent a major upgrade.

Here's the full list:

"October's releases aren't totally finalised as we are waiting for some expected clearances that we would like to pop in there-- but at the moment are as follows

Machiavel-Mechanical Moonbeams
Machiavel-Jester
Out of Focus-Wake Up
Out of Focus-4 letter Monday afternoon (double)
Titus Groan-Titus Groan
Randy California-Kaptain Kopter and the Fabulous Twirlybirds "

News: Soleil Zeuhl to reissue first Strave album

According to a response from Alain on Progressive Ears, Soleil Zeuhl will be reissuing the first Strave album this Fall. He also said to look for other announcements, though no word if the other Strave's are also being reissued.

Great news!

We recently featured Strave in April.

News: Wounded Bird reissues Macondo album

Here's one I've had in the collection for years, but forgot to add to the CD Reissue Wish List. I don't have to worry about that now! Macondo is a fine example of the Latin rock craze of the early 70s, spearheaded by the success of Santana. It's not quite at that level (or even Chango or Dakila for that matter), but still a fine representation of the style.

News: Wolfgang Dauner's Knirsch to be reissued by HGBS Musikproduktion

HGBS Musikproduktion is a label I'm unfamiliar with, but judging by their website it looks like they have quite an operation going. And no better place to be introduced to the label than via an Et Cetera album!

Nobuhisa clarifies for us: "HGBS stands for the MPS founder Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer.

This reissue is done by the same guy behind the Promising music MPS reissue series (apparently rights for some of the MPS titles are not held by Universal but by HGB-S's family and this one is a start of the reissue program on them)."

Thanks again Nobuhisa!

News: Aquarelle's two albums to be reissued by Belle Antique in August

Following the exciting news regarding True Myth, we've also learned that Belle Antique is reissuing both the Aquarelle albums. I've been waiting for ProgQuebec to reissue these, and it could very well be part of their plans, but in the meantime, we do know they'll be coming out in Japan on the mini LP format.

We reviewed Aquarelle for Gnosis in 2006. I hadn't yet featured them here, so they beat me to it!

News: True Myth will be released on Belle Antique in August

Generally Belle Antique licenses from other labels, so not sure if there's a jewel case coming out elsewhere, but for now we at least have our first legitimate reissue of True Myth. One of the great ironies is that True Myth was the first all digital recording in Canada. Yet it had never moved past the LP stage. Not only that, but this will be released as a mini-LP with the exact gatefold cover of the original!

We featured True Myth last December.

News: Garden of Delights latest releases

This batch includes the rare second album by Radio Noisz Ensemble, originally released only as a cassette. Also another archival Guru Guru release, this time a Wiesbaden concert from 1973 (they previously issued one from 1972). And finally, a another reissue of Embryo's "Surfin'", first done by Disconforme over 10 years ago and long out of print.

"The Radio Noisz Ensemble, successor of the folk group Emma Myldenberger, came from the Weinheim an der Bergstrasse area and released its only LP, 'Yniverze' (Ubu Muziek UMS 01), in 1982. It was compared to works of the Third Ear Band, Between, and Tri Atma. 'Odiszee-Parck'(Ubu Muziek UMS 03), appearing only as a small cassette edition, followed in 1983. The music on this album is of a significantly freer style, more unwieldy and harder to digest than its predecessor; less meditative. The CD was drawn from the master tape. The cover motif is the same as the one used for the cassette, the only difference being its coloured design - like the concert poster of a quite similar make - instead of black and white. Once again the oboe is the leading instrument, and also the remaining instrumentation, featuring English horn, zither, double-bass, violin, flutes, etc. is quite unusual."

"Guru Guru played in the Wartburg, a Wiesbaden hall, on September 17th, 1973. It was one of the gigs recorded by Xhol (Caravan) acquaintance Muck Krieger. His recording equipment was then state-of-the-art: an Uher tape recorder CR 124 and two Revox microphones for the stereo sound, the equipment he had used the year before (CD 'Wiesbaden 1972'). The result has turned out satisfactory, although the occasional singing sounds slightly thready and reverberant. That is partly due, however, to the live sound reproduction during the gig. With its 37 minutes, 'Ooga Booga' leaves a lot of space for free improvisation. 'Round Dance' and ;Das Zwickmaschinchen' are from their fifth LP, 'Don't Call Us', which had just been recorded at that time. Thus, Muck Krieger's supply of Guru Guru material has been exhausted. "