Recreation ~ Belgium

Don't Open. 1970 Triangle / Recreation. 1970 Bellaphon

***Music or Not Music reissued by Musea (Dec 2022)

UMR reviews

Priority: 2

6/11/09 (new entry); 12/15/22

Maajun ~ France ***REISSUED***

Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde. 1971 Pop Music / Vogue

***Reissued by SouffleContinu in Dec 2022

UMR review

Priority: 1

6/6/09 (new entry); 12/2/22 (complete)

Dakila ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Dakila. 1972 Epic

***Reissued by Guerssen Nov 2022

UMR review

Priority: 1

11/21/09; 11/29/22 (complete)

Memoriance ~ France

Et Apres. 1976 Europa

L'Ecume Des Jours. 1979 Philips

***L'Ecume des Jours reissued by Musea Nov 2022

Relatively well known French progressive rock band, who are similar to other groups of the era like Atoll, Pentacle, Carpe Diem, Pulsar and even Shylock. There's a slight psychedelic air on the debut, whereas the second is a full blown concept album. 

Priority: 1

8/24/09; 11/19/22

Wolfgang Duren ~ Germany ***REISSUED***

Eyeless Dreams. 1980 WPL

***Reissued by Made in Germany Nov 2022

Back in the 1980s, there used to be a really cool store here in Dallas called The Record Gallery that stocked all sorts of European imports, with a strong slant towards the avant garde. Electronic music was one of the specialties of the owner (who now lives in Portland and still sells on ebay). It was here that I discovered bands like Ashra, Heldon and many others. Oh, and he sold original art paintings as well - thus the name of the store.

I remember seeing Wolfgang Düren's sole album back then, but there was just too much for me to still discover, and this one looked a bit synth-poppy to be honest. But it's nothing of the sort. Mike sent this along as he thought I'd enjoy it, and as usual he was right.

Eyeless Dreams is a solid entry for those into 1970s Berlin School sounds. Sequencers and synthesizer solos are the order of the day. Lots of Klaus Schulze, some Adelbert von Deyen and even a little Kraftwerk. Since I'm fond of the genre, this is an easy one for me to recommend.

Priority: 3

12/7/11 (new entry); 9/29/12; 11/15/22 (complete)

Granicus ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Granicus. 1973 RCA

***Reissued by Hellion (2022)

UMR review

Priority: 1

A real under the radar reissue. I'm just now seeing it (3/30/25). Hellion is a completely legit concern out of Germany and Brazil, the latter is where this comes from. Granicus reformed and has released new material on this label, hence their reissue is here as well. Has many archival bonus tracks too. I plan on hunting it down.

4/15/11 (new entry); 11/15/22 (complete)

Sanctuary ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Sanctuary. 1971 Veritas

***Reissued by Sundazed Sep 2022

Kansas based progressive rock group, with remnants of psych, somewhat typical of the US rock scene of 1971. They take the unusual course of covering Yes' Time and a Word, plus an Edgar Winter Group composition stretched to 20 minutes. Some folky bits and lots of mellotron for fans of the style. 

Priority: 3

7/2/10 (new entry); 9/2/22 (complete)

This Oneness ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Surprize. 1975 Oz

***Reissued by the band in a 3 CD set with two unreleased albums Nov 2022 

UMR review

Priority: 2

5/22/10; 8/13/22 (complete)

Tullio de Piscopo ~ Italy ***REISSUED***

Tullio de Piscopo Revolt Group - Sotto e 'ncoppa. 1975 Carosello

Tullio de Piscopo Vol. 2. 1976 Carosello

***Both reissued by New Platform Aug 2022

De Piscopo is a well known jazz percussionist (to this day), who ventured into progressive fusion in the mid 1970s. First he played with The New Trolls, then he released these two fusion albums with some excellent Fender Rhodes, sax and guitar action. De Piscopo reminds me most of Toni Esposito's albums from the same era. Sotto e 'ncoppa features Sante Palumbo who was also on the Sway album. Vol. 2 is more diverse, mixing in period disco, acoustic folk, tight fusion, and rock versions of traditional Italian sing-a-longs. I felt this was the stronger of the two releases. Thanks to Midwest Mike! 

Priority: 3

9/28/09 (new entry); 8/6/22 (complete)

Jukka Hauru ~ Finland ***REISSUED***

Information. 1972 Finnlevy

Episode. 1975 Love

***Information reissued by Lipposen Levy Ja Kasetti in 2021

***Episode reissued by Lipposen Levy Ja Kasetti in 2022

UMR review page

Episode is quite a bit different than Information, and moves towards the center of the Euro fusion movement. But it's a really good example of the style, with tight playing and Hauru proves to be once again quite adept with the electric six stringer. As an aside, Jukka Linkola plays keyboards here, and he as well fronted a fine fusion album.

Priority: 2

3/25/11 (new entry); 8/3/22 (complete)

Kebnekaise ~ Sweden ***REISSUED***

Ljus Från Afrika. 1976 Silence
Elefanten. 1977 Silence
Vi Drar Vidare. 1978 Mercury

***Reissued by Japan Arcangelo, Jul 2022.

Vi Drar Vidare still hasn't been reissued, but for purposes of this list I'm considering this complete.

UMR reviews

Priority: 2

12/4/10 (new entry); 7/15/22 (complete)

Ole G. Nilssen ~ Norway ***REISSUED***

Ole G. Nilssen - World of Dreams. 1976 Apollo 

***Reissued by Norske Album Classics 2022 

Future Solaris member Nilssen put out this one incredibly obscure album before he himself disappeared into the ether. I've had this one on a curiosity list for well over 10 years, and finally in 2009 I had a chance to hear it, due to a good friend of this site. So was it worth the effort? Rarely is the answer yes in these cases, and World of Dreams is no exception, but this is a mighty fine album for certain. Light years better than the subpar Solaris Misty Morning album. At its core, World of Dreams is a soft rock vocal album. But there are long sections dedicated to instrumentals, and its these sections that are clearly progressive rock influenced, with 1970s era instrumentation. Like a lot of soft rock, the songwriting is better than average, and Nilssen possesses a fine voice, and so the combination is highly appealing, even if not consistent. One I'm glad I finally heard. 

Priority: none

3/24/10 (new entry); 5/4/22 (complete)

St. Helena ~ Norway ***REISSUED***

St. Helena - Hello Friend 1974 (1992 Colours) 

***Reissued by Norske Album Classics in Mar 2022

St. Helena play a very complex progressive sound akin to the UK scene at the time. Matches closest with the band Gracious! on their debut. I also hear parallels to another classic Norway band, Junipher Greene, especially from their Friendship album. Unfortunately the album is under 25 minutes, but it's time well spent. Only an archive LP exists, from the late great Colours label. Would be nice to pair this with the archival Hades album, that is also under 25 minutes. 

Priority: 3

5/19/10; 5/4/22 (complete)

Blow Out ~ Norway ***REISSUED***

Blow Out. 1977 Compendium 

***Reissued by Norske Album Classics May 2022

An excellent example of the late 70's all-things fusion era. Typical with no surprises, but superbly executed and is worth seeking out. Highlights include some fuzz bass and exquisite electric lead guitar.

Priority: 3

6/17/10 (new entry); 5/4/22 (complete)

Dionysos ~ Canada ***REISSUED***

Le Grande Jeu. 1970 Jupiter

UMR review

Le Prince Croule. 1972 Zodiaque

Priority: 2

7/3/09 (new entry); 4/8/22 (complete)

Ragnarok ~ New Zealand ***REISSUED***

Ragnarok. 1975 Revolution
Nooks. 1976 Polydor

***Debut reissued by Frenzy in 2022.

***Nooks was reissued long ago in Japan. It's legit but from vinyl. Need a better reissue.

UMR review

Priority: 3

10/25/10 (new entry); 3/11/22 (complete)

Cruciferius ~ France ***REISSUED***

Cruciferius - A Nice Way of Life. 1970 Barclay

***Reissued by Musea in 2022.

Like a lot of people, I was drawn to this title due to the Magma connection, in particular one Bernard Paganotti. I had a chance to hear this album in the late 80s, and it didn't sound anything like Magma. Therefore it isn't any good! What? Ah, the impetuousness of youth! Recently I had the opportunity to hear the album in full for the first time objectively. And what you find is a band with similar influences to Magma at this time. A mix of jazz, pop, and psych exploring the boundaries of rock during this era. It's not a common sound for France, though one can find similarities in groups such as Alice, Eden Rose, Frantz, Iris,and yes, even Magma's sprawling LP double set. And their side group Univeria Zekt. 

Priority: 3

5/4/15 (new entry); 3/16/22 (complete)

Motiffe ~ England ***REISSUED***

Motiffe. 1972 Derby

***Reissued by Seelie Court 2021 

UMR review

4/11/10 (new entry); 3/5/22 (complete)

Priority: 3

Wolfgang Bock ~ Germany ***REISSUED***

Cycles. 1980 Telefunken

***Reissued by Made in Germany Mar 2022

Electronic music with real drums. If you love Klaus Schulze's Moondawn, you will love this. One of the best in the electronic style. Some of his later albums are on CD, but not this one, his debut. 

Priority: 2

9/19/09 (new entry); 3/5/22 (complete)

Circus ~ Switzerland ***REISSUED***

Circus - s/t. 1976 Zyt.
Circus - Movin' On. 1977 Zyt. (the 1990 CD on Decoder is long deleted)
Circus - All-Star Band Live. 1978 Zyt.
Circus - Tearless Fearless and Evenless. 1980 Illuminatus.

*** All reissued by Belle Antique Jan 2022. Movin' On was originally reissued in 1990.

Oops. I had intended on adding Circus at the beginning of the blog when I was publishing my already-established Priority 1's. Then came the announcement from the German label Sireena that they were going to reissue the debut album (which has sadly fallen through), and I put the entry on hold. And then I forgot about it! So this entry is long overdue.

UMR review

My review for Gnosis (dated 2006) for the debut stated: "The Swiss quartet Circus is as diverse as the country itself. Though based in the Germanic city of Basle, Circus does not recall any band that is typically known as Krautrock. And their instrumentation is highly unusual, featuring only flute, bass, drums/percussion and vocals with occasional saxophone and acoustic guitar. With such a stripped down line-up one would expect a more minimal recording, but in fact Circus have quite the full sound. Much of this has to with bandleader Marco Cerletti’s bass gymnastics. Through pedals and effects, he obtains guitar and organ like textures, while also maintaining that wonderful “woody” bass sound that can often drive a recording. Of course, the dedicated flute player helps immensely in the melody and solo department. Though most known for their second album “Movin’ On”, arguably Switzerland’s finest progressive rock moment, this debut is not one to overlook. More subdued than its successor, it nonetheless packs a wallop, through dynamic change, when you least expect it. Again, easy comparisons are tough with Circus, but UK stalwarts Van der Graaf Generator come to mind in the vocal department (courtesy of Roland Frei), and the constant counterpoint allows us to pull out the Gentle Giant credit card. There’s also a sophisticated chamber music feel throughout."

As mentioned above, "Movin' On" is widely considered their masterpiece, and I concur. The legit CD on Decoder (1990) is criminally out of print, and this album is often bootlegged, as demand remains high. "All Star Band-Live" is pretty much a jam session, and completely moves away from the intricate and delicate compositions of the first two albums. It's a huge disappointment from my perspective. The final album is a very good comeback, though Circus are beginning to incorporate some AOR influences. Perhaps the best comparison here would be the Swiss band Flame Dream at the time of "Out in the Dark".

My notes for Tearless, Fearless, and Even Less: "Fearless, Tearless and Even Less is the 4th album from Circus. It's 1980, so the band predictably began to move toward the center and play a kind of proggy AOR that is often more found in North America. The highlight here being 'Leave It or Love It'. That would be Side 1. It would seem that Side 2 is dedicated to their progressive rock side considering the two long tracks. And it is, except they lack the dynamism of Circus' past, and turn in a Pink Floyd-ish snoozer. I preferred the AOR side honestly. A good album, but one hopes for better from Circus.". This one is a Priority 3.

Priority: 1 (for Movin' On)

11/26/10 (new entry); 1/25/22 (complete)