Dickens ~ France

Royal Incarnation. 1969 President

One of the rare examples of French psychedelic music. The best songs on the album are sung in French, a language that was still not common for rock music during this period. The atmospheric parts, with the wordless voices, recalls similar era Pink Floyd, and is a highly unusual sound for Continental Europe at this time. About the half the album is English sung punk psych, which was more akin to what was going on in America (Lollipop Shoppe comes to mind here). Judging by the cover, one would presume a psych exploitation album, but it's nothing of the sort. A very rare album, and a good one for archivists to search for.

Priority: 3

1/31/11 (new entry)

Ivory ~ USA

Ivory. 1973 Playboy

UMR review

Priority: 3

1/30/11 (new entry)

Projections ~ USA

Projections. 1981 Projectile

North Carolina's Projections is the kind of album that I would normally leave in the main list as a reference, but wouldn't necessarily give it a feature post. Why? Well I'm no fusion nut (though I love the edgier side of the genre as is obvious from the many postings here), and this one is pretty typical for the era in which it was released. However, it does feature none other than Dregs man T Lavitz on about half the album as a guest on keyboards (what else?). It's definitely a nice instrumental jazz fusion - slightly complex, with a smooth soft texture. Not Love Boat smooth like Buki-Yamaz, but ya know, I could see these guys headlining a Vegas club...

Priority: none

1/29/11 (new entry)

Frank Robson ~ England ~ Finland

Robson. 1974 Blue Master Special

British born Robson is most known as the original vocalist for Tasavallan Presidentti (and Blues Section prior to that), and he appeared on their first two albums. Not surprisingly, he brings the same blues rock styled vocals to his first solo album. The album itself could have been a Tasavallan Presidentti release, being an eclectic affair mixing horn rock, jazz, blues, progressive and plain old rock and roll. The prominent use of horns adds a unique dimension and raises the quality a couple of points. Other than a heavy reliance on a Mini-Moog, the album sounds older, more akin to a 1970 release.

Priority: 3

***Reissued on LP by Svart (2018)

1/28/11 (new entry)

Canelle ~ France

Canelle. 1978 Editions Pluriel

When listening to this album, I had every intention of listing it as a group from Canada. It has that particular sound that reminds me of a 1970s Quebecois release, as found on the Disques Le Tamanoir label for example. Groups such as L'Engoulevent and Breche come to mind here. As well, I hear traces of Harmonium's debut and even some Connivence. Overall I'd categorize it mainly as French folk music with a pop rock edge. So not exactly the usual CDRWL fare, but the primary reason for inclusion is the keyboard work - plenty of Moog solos that are a wonderful contrast to the otherwise serene pop music. I suppose you could also call out Yes here, when they're in their most simplistic happy sappy mood. Also, I quite liked the melodies. While not a high priority release (there are a couple of trips to the barn you'll have to endure), I still think many of you would probably like to track this one down for a few listens.

Thanks again goes to Midwest Mike for this one.

Priority: 3

1/27/11 (new entry)

Buki-Yamaz ~ Denmark

Buki-Yamaz. 1975 Hookfarm
Segundo. 1976 Stuk

UMR review

Priority: 3

1/26/11 (new entry)

Message ~ USA

It'll Be Awhile. 1981 Black Gold

UMR review

Priority: 1

1/25/11 (new entry)

News: Shadow Kingdom releases Cassle CD

This one is definitely on the margins of what we typically cover here, but the description is highly appealing to me. The late 70s and early 80s were an exciting time for hard rock and early experiments with heavy metal. And there were a few bands from then that stretched the norms of the style (Rush being a major influence on this point), like Manilla Road, Sacred Blade, Savatage and even the more known groups like Iron Maiden. Shadow Kingdom is the label behind the archival Manilla Road "After Midnight Live" (1979 recordings) released last year that I didn't feature, but probably should have.

I've attached the original EP "Midnight Fantasy (Shape)" (top photo) as well as the new CD cover. I haven't heard any of their material. The below description comes from Shiny Beast:

"Formed in the late '70s its not a surprise that Cassle has inherited those influences, in particular Deep Purple, Rush, and Judas Priest. Also since their original EP wasn't released until 1983, they definitely have a lot of Iron Maiden and Saxon in their sound as well. I don't think Id call Cassle a metal band though (even though their pictures look like they are). They are probably more of a Progressive Rock band with '80s metal influences. This is some unique music, very off-beat, dreamy, and moody with strange vocals. Their career was very short lived and some of the unreleased songs on here are arguably just as strong as the original EP if not better. This is basically a collection of all their essential material with an nice thick booklet for your enjoyment."

Modern Music Band ~ Sweden

Modern Music Band. 1972 Spark

Not long ago we featured a 1970 Swedish group called Opus III & Friends, and I stated that they reminded me of a horn rock band, except that they didn't have horns. And here we have another band like that, except they do feature them... horns that is. And much more, fully utilizing the 8 piece band here (trumpet, trombone, organ, flute, sax, guitar, bass, drums). This is a very fine example of the style, with good melodies and female vocals sung in Swedish. I believe all are originals, except one cover of Chicago's 'Make Me Smile' (and an excellent rendition it is). For Swedish horn rock, I found this to be much more preferable than Splash's Ut På Vischan. 

Priority: 2

1/24/11 (new entry)

Hausmusik ~ Germany

Ear Mail. 1980 Transmitter (MC)

UMR review

Priority: 3

1/23/11 (new entry)

Schäggi Bädsch ~ Germany

Plankton. 1983 Schneeball

UMR review

Priority: 3

1/22/11 (new entry)

Bizarre Ko.Ko.Ko. ~ Austria

00 Time. 1984 Synoptik

Regular readers of the CDRWL know that I'm quite fond of the Berlin School of sequencer based electronic music. And that's where Bizarre Ko.Ko.Ko. fits in perfectly. In fact, this is version 2.0 of Cultural Noise, an LP from my collection that we fawned over way back when. This isn't that dissimilar from Cultural Noise, though it's clearly moving away from the Tangerine Dream influence, and adding an overall darker mood. Mellotron, guitar and sequencers are all present, especially early on. It begins to deconstruct towards the end, making it sound more like an early Klaus Schulze effort (think Cyborg). Really a fine effort and a must hear for EM fans.

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Wah Wah (2022)

1/21/11 (new entry)

Nova Express ~ Germany

Space Khmer. 1987 Syndicate

UMR review

Priority: 2

1/19/11 (new entry)

Mads Vinding Group ~ Denmark

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

UMR review

Priority: 3

1/18/11 (new entry)

Eden ~ Canada

Eden. 1978 Disques Total

UMR review

Priority: 2

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

1/17/11 (new entry)

Robert Connolly ~ Canada

Plateau. 1978 Tube

UMR review

Priority: 2

1/15/11 (new entry)

Airlord ~ New Zealand

Clockwork Revenge. 1977 Infiniti

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

Priority: 2

1/14/11 (new entry)

News: Garden of Delights adds Missus Beastly albums to Coming Soon List

(Updated 6/23/11)

Good news here and thanks to the tip-off from an anonymous reader. We had mentioned in the Missus Beastly entry, that "According to the liner notes of the 1974 Misses Beastly album, Garden of Delights states that the German label Funfundvierzig were to reissue both of these albums imminently. However, it appears that label has since gone inactive, and so these two remain sadly unissued. Hopefully GoD picks up these titles, and many more from the great Schneeball label." Well now it looks like that will happen! .... Eventually....

We all know that just because Garden of Delights announces something, doesn't mean it's going to happen anytime soon. I think the Sunbirds albums have been on there for a decade - without exaggeration. But the good news is they EVENTUALLY do get around to reissuing the album in question, and that's what is important. Now sometimes, GoD won't even announce an album - and, BAM, there it is. Or they turn around a pre-announcement quickly. So who knows?

Looks take a look at their latest list (Thors Hammer is their non-German reissue label). My comments after each entry.

Auf GARDEN OF DELIGHTS / on GARDEN OF DELIGHTS:

BRACHMANN & LUMMER: Brachmann & Lummer (1973) --- Don't know anything about this one. (See comment section for John and Lev's observation on this album).

COSMIC CIRCUS: Wiesbaden 1972 --- This is certainly archival, but not sure what it entails. Froese used to call the Kosmische Kourier label a "Cosmic Circus" and he didn't mean that in a good way. (Please see comments for more information regarding this release. It sounds fantastic. Thanks to The Lolly Pope!)

DHOPE: Musical exhibitions (1980) --- A very rare album that I've also seen a 1976 date appended to. I've never heard it and it's been on my curiosity list for a long time.

EMBRYO: Bad heads and bad cats (1976) --- Reissued legally by Disconforme, and that's the version I have (though it is long OOP and deserves a new reissue in any case). They did a very good job, though used the same history for each release. GoD is typically more thorough.

EMBRYO: Live (1977) --- Strange as it may seem, this one has never been reissued before.

EMBRYO: Apo-calypso (1978) Same situation as Bad Heads / Disconforme.

EMBRYO: Umsonst und draußen – Vlotho 1977 --- Very exciting to know that the whole concert is available. Some of these shows were awesome. One can only hope some of the other groups also recorded their whole show. My full breakdown of these concerts can be found here.

FLUTE & VOICE: Imaginations of light (1971) --- The band themselves reissued this about 15 years ago. Musically not so interesting for me, but features a great cover, so would be better for their new LP reissue line. But it's not on there strangely enough.

FLUTE & VOICE: Hello rabbit (1973) --- Second album was released by the band on CD 15 years ago as well.

LINDWURM: Erinnerungen an Klaus (1976) --- I'm only familiar with their 1980 album "Im Windschatten". I think this is an archival release, but not 100% sure (Lev has provided some valuable detail regarding this release). Featured here.

*** MISSUS BEASTLY: Dr. Aftershave and the mixed-pickles (1976) *** Reissued!!

MISSUS BEASTLY: Space guerilla (1978) --- Both of these are great, and is the inspiration for this post. *** Coming soon!

xxx RONTHEO: Rontheo (1976) --- I'm not a fan of this folky album. xxx Removed from consideration (OK with me!)

xxx SECOND MOVEMENT: Blind man’s mirror (1976) --- Decent hard symph rock. Not too excited about this one either. xxx Removed from consideration (OK with me!)

*** SUNBIRDS: Sunbirds (1971) *** Reissued!!

SUNBIRDS: Zagara (1972) --- For me, the most anticipated reissues for sometime. The first album is sublime. Featured here. *** Coming soon!

ZYMA: Brave new world (1979) --- Another excellent symphonic rock album. Even traces of early Zao can be heard. Featured here.


Auf THORS HAMMER:

BLUE SUN: Blue Sun ‘73
F. G. EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY: Hope (1980)
*** FOTHERINGAY: Essen 1970. *** Reissued.

None of these three are too exciting for me personally, but no matter what, I'm a huge supporter of Garden of Delights. They're the gold standard of reissues as far as I'm concerned.

Keep going guys!!!

6/23/11 news: In addition to the above updates, GoD has added one new title that I was unfamiliar with:

Franz de Byl & Heiner Hohnhaus - s/t (1970).

Lev says this on RYM: "Looking at the artwork, one can expect a radical avant-garde album, that would take the edgy German agit-rock formula further into realms yet uninhabited. Dreams, dreams. This is in fact a harmless acoustic record, falling squarely in the German singer-songwriter camp (think Krohn & Micus or Meichsner & Fertig). Not bad for what it is (a few tracks suggest acid-folk), but leave your great expectations at the door." Sounds out of my interest area as well, but GoD's audience base is quite diverse, so I'm sure this will do well - especially back in Germany.

I wish they'd put Pancake's "No Illusions" back on the list (it fell off within the last year)!

Ys ~ France

Madame la Frontiere. 1976 Philips

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

Priority: 3

1/13/11 (new entry)

Schtung ~ New Zealand

Schtüng. 1977 Polydor

For the first three tracks, these New Zealanders make other goofball acts like Dr. Dopo Jam and even Storm (Sweden) sound like Univers Zero by comparison. But everything changes on 'Au Revoir', a stunning moody instrumental that provides amazing contrast to what has taken place before. The band doesn't look back again, though they never get close to this brilliant piece. All of Side 2 is a pleasant, almost Canterburyish, piece of light jazz prog.

Priority: none

1/12/11 (new entry)

Schakta ~ Switzerland

Tales. 1980 G+F Records

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

Priority: none

1/11/11 (new entry)

Quasar ~ Australia

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

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

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

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

Priority: 2

1/10/11 (new entry)

Public Foot the Roman ~ England

Public Foot the Roman. 1973 EMI/Capitol

UMR review

Priority: 3

1/9/11 (new entry)

Project Tyme ~ USA

Clockwyze. 1985 private

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

Priority: 3

1/8/11 (new entry)

Prisma ~ Netherlands

Prisma. 1980 private

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

Priority: 3

1/7/11 (new entry)

Laurent Petitgirard ~ France

Suite Epique. 1972 LAlberti

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

Priority: 3

***Reissued on LP by Superfly (2021)

1/6/11 (new entry)

News: Esoteric's Feb and Mar 2011 Schedule

Nice to see the first Cluster album being remastered. Interesting batch. I'm curious if the Delerium anthology is all unreleased or not.

February
City of Angels--Jon Anderson
Baker Gurvitz Army--s/t
Baker Gurvitz Army-Elysian Fields
Baker Gurvitz Army-Hearts on Fire
Pierre Moerlens Gong-Leave it Open
Pierre Moerlens Gong-Live
Dog Soldier--Dog Soldier (keef Hartley and Miller Anderson)
Box of Frogs-s/t--
CLASSIC 1983 ALBUM BY YARDBIRDS' CHRIS DREJA, PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH, JIM McCARTY AND GUITARIST AND VOCALIST JOHN FIDDLER.
• FEATURING JEFF BECK & RORY GALLAGHER
• WITH TWO BONUS TRACKS

Box of Frogs-Strangelands
CLASSIC 1985 ALBUM BY YARDBIRDS' CHRIS DREJA, PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH, JIM McCARTY AND GUITARIST AND VOCALIST JOHN FIDDLER.
• FEATURING JIMMY PAGE, STEVE HACKETT, IAN DURY, GRAHAM PARKER & ROGER CHAPMAN
• WITH ONE BONUS TRACK

Delerium Records 3 Cd anthology--Last Daze of the Underground
(this also features the short version of Porcupine Trees Radioactive Toy--unavailable elsewhere) Beautifully packaged in clamshell box . Anyone wanting tracklisting you can email me at esotericarts@btconnect.com but should be up for presale in around 10 days.


March

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR -

"A Grounding in Numbers"

TANGERINE DREAM -

"Sunrise in the Third System - The Early Years 1970 - 1973" - 2CD anthology
"Ride on the Ray - An anthology 1980 - 1987" - 2CD anthology

CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN -

"Strangelands" - The "Lost" album

CLUSTER - (Excellent classic Kraut / Electronic Rock)

"Cluster"
"Cluster II"

TONY WILLIAMS' LIFETIME - (with Jack Bruce, John McLaughlin etc)

Emergency
Turn it Over

ARMAGEDDON:

Armageddon (Reactive)this is the krautrock band --not the Armageddon with keith Relf that is also available on Esoteric. (ed: Should be spelled Armaggedon, which also distinguishes it from the UK band)


Januarys titles are all at manufacture and will be on time. These are

Utopia--POV
Utopia-Oblivion (CD and DVD (NTSC region free)
Utopia- Redux92 Live in japan Japan (CD and DVD-NTSC Region free)
Graham Bond-Mighty Grahame Bond
Graham Bond-Love is the Law
Gilgamesh-Gilgamesh
Skin Alley-Big Brother is watching You--2 CD anthology of the CBS recordings (no ommissions)
Skin Alley--Two Quid Deal
Brainbox-Brainbox (jan Akkerman and Kaz Lux)--Excellent Dutch rock with 11 bonus tracks.
Murphy Blend--First Loss (Reactive)

Omnibus ~ USA ~ New Jersey

Omnibus. 1970 United Artists

UMR review 

Priority: 2

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

1/5/11 (new entry)

Ojas ~ USA

Seven Levels of Man. 1978 private; 1979 Unity

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

Priority: none

1/4/11 (new entry)

Oblique ~ Netherlands ***ISSUED***

Oblique. 1985 CBS

One of many obscurities that I had received in my cassette tape trading days. I didn't even realize I had this until digging through the tape drawer recently. An interesting mix of Berlin School electronics, new age, and instrumental rock with electric guitar and sax. Not too bad, though pretty typical of the era. Worth seeking out though.

(2/1/11 update: According to one of our readers, this came out on CD originally in 1985. I'm sure it's as rare as the LP, but very interesting all the same. Thanks for the tip!)

Priority: none

1/3/11 (issue complete)

Jean-Pierre Massiera & Bernard Torelli ~ France

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

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

Priority: none

1/2/11 (new entry)

Kravetz ~ Germany

Kravetz. 1972 Vertigo; 8 Days in April: The Hamburg Scene. 1974 Fontana

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

Priority: 2

1/1/11 (new entry)