Paradox ~ USA

Modern Madness. 1977 Magna Glide

UMR review

Priority: 1

3/20/14 (new entry)

The AC's notes: ""The label this is on, Magna Glide, has an interesting history. It was the project of Kasenetz & Katz, the well-known duo who had been behind much of the "bubblegum" pop of the preceding era, such as the 1910 Fruitgum Company, before hitting it big once again with Ram Jam and their annoyingly ubiquitous "Black Betty". They apparently took some of their earnings and invested them into a high-tech recording studio on Long Island, which opened in the mid 70s, where most of this label's output was recorded and produced. It all seems to have started out legitimately, producing a few singles that found some minor chart success, but when the tax scam train came rollin' into town, they apparently couldn't resist. On the positive side, it seems that they actually made some effort in signing and recording real local artists, and the packaging is generally quite cool. But the print runs, distribution and promotion seem to have been pretty much non-existent, even by tax scam standards. As a result, this entire enterprise has been basically unknown to collectors until just the last couple of years, after a few of the label's releases were finally dug up in the local NYC/tri-state area. The roster consists of the usual random grab-bag of tax scam wackiness, but none are as strange and obscure as the Paradox LP.

So, what about the music then? First off, the band was an instrumental power trio (guitar/bass/drums, no vocals, no keys, except for some minor use of string synth on one track). It's a bit hard to put your finger on, but the best description I can come up with is a mixture of trippy instrumental guitar psych/prog and thunderously heavy power trio hard rock/metal, all infused with a stoned, freaky vibe. I can only imagine the epic fog bank of pot smoke that must have descended on the studio when this was being recorded. On one hand, some of this material almost reminds me of the farthest-out end of the early 70s UK and US prog/psych power trio spectrum. On the other hand, there are sections here that are just incredibly heavy for the time, with a crushing guitar tone and fast, aggressive riffing that was very unusual for 1976-1977. A couple of the more extended cuts even have something of a proto epic metal feel to them, while many of the the trippier, spacier passages feature an eastern-tinged psych guitar style that's quite hypnotic. Somehow, this album is simultaneously anachronistic and way ahead of its time, so I'm going to assume that it was actually the work of time travelers. Very mysterious..."

Jon & John, USA

Jon & John - s/t. 1974 Trilogy

Jon & John, from Rochester NY, is yet another amazing find from the AC, and it's one of those albums - it's got a special vibe that transcends the normal expectations of a particular genre. In this case, that genre would be "psych folk". As you have read from me countless times over the years, I feel that most albums in this space are pure folk with very mild rock or psychedelic characteristics. But that's not the situation with Jon & John.

I'll let The AC take it from here, and I'll add a small bit of commentary at the end. "Interesting little album, that's mainly a folky singer-songwriter type of affair. However, that doesn't tell the whole story, as there are two tracks in particular that are full-on progressive rock in the Yes vein, with synths, tricky rhythms, etc. The rest of the material is also of surprisingly high quality, which might be explained by the somewhat unusual history of this duo that I've been able to dig up. It seems that Jon & John were actually Jon Elias and John Petersen, who must have recorded this when they were mere teenagers at a music school they were attending in Rochester, New York. A few years later they actually collaborated again to pen the iconic original MTV theme (the guitar riff with the astronaut standing on the moon), and both went on to have very successful careers in the film/television and commercial music industry. Jon Elias even produced "Union" for Yes! Anyway, while this isn't a lost classic by any means, it is probably worth grabbing if you happen to see it."

I'm going to take this one step further than The AC, in a rare display of slight dissension. I would say it is indeed a lost classic. I loved the mystical vibe and the high quality songwriting from the off. And the two progressive rock tracks he calls out are truly sublime. There's some wonderful flute playing throughout as well. Three minutes into this album and I was reminded of one of my favorite albums of all-time in the progressive folk space: Madden & Harris* of Australia. The compositions have a similar high quality about them. If Jon & John had employed a mellotron, then the comparison I think would be more obvious. A wonderful album that surely would benefit from a CD reissue.

Priority: 2 (borderline 1)

* - Vinyl only collectors will be glad to know that our old friend Guerssen will be reissuing the Madden and Harris on LP for the first time. I own the Vicious Sloth CD from 20 years ago, and since originals are off-the-charts rare, I'll most assuredly buy this LP.

Flight (Indiana), USA

Flight - Take a Long Look. 1974 Airborne / QCA

This is the CDRWL's second band to be featured who chose the name Flight, and is not related to the much more common Florida based band.

QCA (Queen City Albums), from Cincinnati (naturally enough, since Cincy is known as the "Queen City"), is like Rite Records or RPC in that they were a custom pressing plant. Their main raison d'etre was to press demo albums to shop around for a label deal. Which explains why many of these type of albums are extremely scarce and usually have poor sound. Due to the label being from Cincinnati, everyone just presumed the band was from there as well. However there has been at least one former ebay auction where the dealer stated they were most assuredly from Fort Wayne, Indiana - the same town that Ethos were from!

This is another goldmine discovery from the master digger himself: The AC. Let's get his perspective first: "While this is technically a "midwestern prog" album, it came out on the earlier side of that whole scene, and tends to be a little smoother and more song-oriented than much of the region's output. There are some attempts at more adventurous instrumental sections, but it never really gets too complex. The organ work is nice (though the few synth lines are quite crude), but the guitar is generally relegated to a background role, and the production is somewhat muffled throughout. In general, I'd say that they were heavily influenced by the simpler, more melodic side of the early British progressive movement, rather than the hyper-complex Yes/Gentle Giant styling that many of their compatriots ended up going for. To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed by this at first, and it does kind of just plod along at times. However, it did grow on me quite a bit after a while, and is a likable effort overall."

Not surprisingly, I concur with The AC's findings. Even though it's Midwestern by locale, musically it reminds me of the more song-oriented UK underground circa 1971. Bands like Still Life or Noir came to mind, though certainly not as compelling as those. It's slow moving, with organ as the dominant instrument. The songs are well crafted though, and the band most certainly had talent. It would have been interesting to hear what they could have come up with had they the proper financial support and appropriate studio time. As stated earlier, the album is definitely a demo, and possesses a muddy sound.

"Take a Long Look" is not a good choice for a reissue - unless the band wants to reform and expound upon these ideas further. Or there's a studio tape hiding in the closet. Definitely worth hearing, though, if you get the chance.

Priority: none

Mosaic, USA

Mosaic - s/t. 1978 LMI

Here's another fine entry from the ever enterprising AC. Like Touch and Ocean, Mosaic is one of those band names that has been used dozens of times, so finding info about them can be difficult without any other clues. LMI was a jazz/soul label from Malibu, founded by Lee Magid, who apparently was a famous producer and manager for some big name soul and blues artists back in the day.

This Mosaic were from Peoria, Illinois, and have that sweet jazz funk sound with an exotic bent that we so often find from this era. Perhaps Embryo's "Apo Calypso" or even the Ville Emard Blues Band can provide some context. Lovely female vocals, Fender Rhodes, sax, percussion, and guitar (note the instrumental setup on the cover). Guaranteed to put a smile on your face for the start of the weekend.

The AC affords us this fine backdrop: "Really nice fusion platter from this obscure Illinois-based group. It's instantly appealing and highly melodic, but there's some hidden depth here too, with interesting compositions full of great (but not flashy) unison playing, a wide instrumental palette and lots of rhythmic variety. Some sublime female vocals on one track and a surprisingly top-notch production job round out the package. Unfortunately the last track is a duff vocal number, but that's not nearly enough to spoil what's an otherwise uniformly strong outing. This one's always been a bit of a pain to find, but it's well worth the hunt for genre fans."

Priority: 3

Buchenfeld, Germany

Buchenfeld - s/t. 1982 private

Here's another deep dive find from the ever amazing AC. This is an album I'd only heard about from our good friend Lev, and he stated it was worth seeking out. And I have to agree.

As soon as the needle drops, it's clear we have landed in Basementopolis. This is some real primitive stuff right here. Primarily instrumental, with a slightly amplified guitar leading the charge. There are a few off-key vocals, and even some woodwinds, and there's a jazzy undertone throughout. As stated, we are talking raw material here, and I don't mean the UK band either. You can expect the sounds of Kaputter Hamster (whose guitarist is named Peter Buchfeld, hmmm) and Dorian Gray as played by Crystalaugur. However, Buchenfeld have a genuine positive disposition, which separates this from the typical dour German mood - at least for this type of music. Not a bad record all things considered, and worth finding a copy for a listen. I suspect this was a demo not ready for prime time, so it's probably not a good prospect for a reissue, unless they have a stash of studio quality material sitting around.

Priority: none

Sun, Japan

Sun - Yume No Michi. 1978 private

This title's been bouncing around my e-mail for over two years now, but I hadn't connected the dots on various conversation about it. And recently The AC sent over a copy for me to check out.

In some ways, this album foretells the future of Japanese progressive rock as we find in the 1980s. There's a large scale bombastic "concept album" feel to the proceedings. A proto-Teru's Symphonia as it were. And, as we hear more typically from South Asia, there's quite a bit of lounge crooning in addition to the choirs, string quartets, and - of course - a couple of full blown instrumental progressive rock numbers to keep the collectors salivating. This album is seriously rare, and it's not too bad actually. Probably better suited for a compilation of rare Japanese gems though, than as a straight reissue.

The AC gives us even more in-depth insights, as well as who is behind the work: "Now this is an odd one. Based on the cover, one would think that the band's name is Sun and the album is entitled "Yume No Michi" (road of dreams), but looking inside the sleeve reveals that this is actually a sort of conceptual work composed and produced by an Osaka studio collective called Labo Nash, with the assistance of a rock band named Virgin House and a local youth choir. It's a strange hodgepodge of styles, mainly consisting of light folky soft-rock (or what is generally referred to in Japan as "kissa rock") with girls' choir vocals, and some slick pomp/AOR style pieces. There's also some typical 70s rock, a string quartet piece, and even one lengthy prog/hard rock track that's not too bad, but not really good either. Despite being such an obscure release, the whole thing is very slickly produced, sounding like some big-budget major label American AOR album. A real head-scratcher, to be sure, but not very musically interesting. Quite rare (perhaps 100 or 200 pressed), but not worth the money."

Priority: none

Neuron, USA

Neuron - For What We Are. 1980 Erect

Here's one that would have been part of the CD-R revisit project, but I recently bought a mint LP copy from our good friend Midwest Mike, so that accelerated its feature.

The main reason I didn't give the Chicago based Neuron its own post in the first place, is because the album is on the margins of the list. While the music does fit squarely in the "classic Midwest prog" sound that I've featured extensively over the years, Neuron most assuredly are on the AOR side of the fence. All considered though, it's still a very good album, with a fine combination of radio friendly numbers, Latin rock, and progressive rock. Perhaps similar to Ethos' more commercially oriented efforts. The obscure Boston band Hot Flash would have to be considered another reference.

Priority: 3

Patchwork ~ France

Patchwork - Ouvertures. 1978 Cobra

UMR review

Priority: 3

News: Aztec Records of Australia is back!

So this one is complicated. I thought that Aztec had become Sandman Records. Of course that would seem logical if you follow this link. Ever since Sandman came onto the scene, I've made it a point to check their website every once in awhile to see if they're going to dip back into Australia's progressive past. To date, it appears they have been reluctant to do so. I thought the story ended there.

Until yesterday...

Then our good friend Achim in Germany tells us that the Steve Maxwell von Braund album "Monster Planet" has finally been reissued on Aztec. Huh? So I went over to Sandman, but didn't see it. Then I followed the link Achim provided us. And, well.... there it is.... on Aztec Records. Huh? I then asked a long time friend of the CDRWL as to what is going on. Apparently this Aztec was bought out by Gryphon Music. And apparently they refuse to export their product outside of Australia (wholesale that is). OH GREAT. You can order it online of course, and it does appear the price includes postage, but I'm not entirely sure of that. I'm going to sit tight and watch what transpires here. For those who don't want to wait, then you can purchase this on CD from the label direct. We first announced this reissue well over two years ago! In addition to the CD label, Aztec started a sub label called Dual Planet (according to the comments section, Dual Planet is a separate entity from Aztec), Dual Planet have they've released Monster Planet on LP as well as the official/unofficial "bootleg" album Sunday Night at the Total Theatre (on both LP and CD). I guess that leaves only Cybotron's debut as the only album missing a CD reissue.

In additional reissue news from the resuscitated Aztec, look for Company Caine's 1971 debut "A Product of a Broken Reality" as well as the Ayers Rock "Big Red Rock" album to come soon. I haven't heard either, though the latter was originally licensed in the US. Looks like a good one that I'll have to investigate.

Welcome back Aztec!

Tantor, Argentina

Tantor - s/t. 1979 Philips

This is another one from the CD-R revisit project. I didn't have this title listed prior, because I thought it had been reissued already, but it turns out that the only press (along with their second, and less lauded 1982 followup "Magico y Natural") is dubious at best. So if nothing else, we're calling for a better reissue!

Tantor, from Argentina, were yet another band from this era to tackle the fusion genre with alacrity. Tight and energetic fusion is the order of the day, with 1979 period instruments dominating the sounds. Tantor are exactly what I'd imagine Crucis to sound like had they released an album in 1979.

Priority: 3

Peter Wale ~ South Africa

The Memoirs of Hakeford Wart (Goodbye Cape Town... and Good Riddance). 1972 private

UMR review

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Strawberry Rain (2019)

The AC's notes: "Peter Wale is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Cape Town, South Africa. He was the leader of a band called Wakeford Hart who were active in the local underground rock scene around 1970. After that band dissolved, he seems to have gathered a new group of musicians to help him perform under his own name. However, he quickly became disillusioned with the state of affairs (both musically and politically) in South Africa, and decided he was going to pack up and set off for South America as a crew member on a yacht. But before that, he decided to give one more concert with his group in early 1972, almost as a sort of protest event. Shortly afterwards, he selected a handful of tracks from the performance and privately pressed around 300 or 400 copies of this LP, to be sold around Cape Town on a fairly informal basis shortly before he left. Apparently he didn't make too much headway with this, and very few were sold or have survived to the present day. Fast forward to 2010, and Peter Wale, now married and living in the Seattle area, receives word from a gentleman back in South Africa that the original master tapes of the 1972 concert have been discovered. Astonished by this news (his own lone copy of LP hadn't even survived the trip overseas), he set about remastering the tapes, recently making them available for purchase as a handmade CD-R set. Unfortunately the set doesn't replicate the cool original LP cover (the back of which features a hilarious Monty Python-esque history of Wakeford Hart and its untimely demise), but it does include lyrics and liner-notes.

Now that we have that bit of (rather remarkable) backstory out of the way, let's talk about the music. The original LP was a selection of 4 songs (at around 40 minutes) from the concert tapes, but the entire show actually ran for about 90 minutes over the course of 14 individual tracks, so there's plenty to digest here. I'd tend to describe it as a mixture of psychedelic, progressive and folk rock. Song-oriented, but with plenty of room given for extended instrumental jamming. There's a kind of easy, natural flow to the whole set, and Peter Wale is a fine songwriter. Instrumentally, it's dominated by acoustic piano and fantastic liquid electric guitar work (with plenty of fuzz and wah-wah) over a solid rhythm section. And if you happen to like flute in a rock setting, you'll be in heaven here, as the band featured a dedicated flautist, fluttering and echoing all over the place in decidedly trippy fashion. The vocals (both male and female) are also very good. He did a great job with the remastering as well. The sound is crystal clear and is a marked improvement over the original LP. As mentioned, it's quite a lengthy set, and there are a couple of brief sing-songy tracks and some audience banter that could be edited out, but overall this material is remarkably strong. I'd even go as far as to say that this is amongst the very best that the classic early 70s South African psych/prog scene had to offer, which makes it all the more unfortunate that it's remained buried and undiscovered for so long. This would seem to be a no-brainer reissue project for one of the current crop of psych-oriented labels out there, especially since albums from "exotic" locals in Africa, Asia and South America seem to be all the rage with many of them."

2/14/14 (new entry)

Bedjabetch, France

Bedjabetch – Subrepticement. 1979 AWA

I've got quite a few new albums to report on here. Mainly from the CD-R revisit project, but also a couple of new LP purchases. I also have one major CD reissue announcement / new to the CDRWL pairing (like with the Phase) coming up from The AC, but I'm always a few days behind it seems.

This one, however, I thought was already in the list. This listing is born out of a conversation with Gnosis Mike, and he asked me which label did the CD come out on, since I didn't have it in the list. "It's there, Mike..." "Oh no.... not again!". I've had the LP for over a decade now. But somehow I managed to leave it out of the CDRWL, and it wasn't in my RYM listings either. Not sure how I could have missed it in two places. At least I had the Gnosis rating.... Not to say it's an amazing find, but it certainly is worthy of a CD reissue.

Subrepticement is a fine instrumental fusion album from France with excellent sax charts and kinetic electric guitar leads. File next to your Spheroe albums. It's definitely representative of the time and place, but one could do worse than French progressive rock fusion from 1979!

Priority: 3

News: Lazarus to be reissued on CD from Shadoks

Lazarus' sole work is one of those mythical albums that was only whispered about amongst the cognoscenti. On the tiny Rex Records label from 1973, the Austrian band escaped everyone's radar until last year when it was announced that Digatone, and later Shadoks, was going to reissue it on vinyl. This is one of those albums I was just about to listen to, but never did. So now I don't have worry about spending big $ on the reissue LP, as Shadoks has already come through with a CD. Since their CDs are made here in the US, it'll be readily available and affordable. I'm looking forward to hearing it!

News: Friendsound reissued on CD by Real Gone!

I saw this one come through the wire yesterday, and I ordered it immediately. As such, I will be featuring it in Unencumbered Music Reviews soon as well.

As you can see, this is a 2 CD set that also includes the band that precedes Friendsound, and that would be Brotherhood and their two albums. I haven't heard these myself, and they look to be a bit outside of what I normally listen to. But for a few extra bucks, I'll hear two new-to-me albums plus obtain one of America's most experimental psych records on CD to supplement my LP copy. As well as what appears to be a great reissue all around. Our feature for Friendsound is here. And if we look carefully at the label description, we'll notice the band is known as Friend Sound - two words. The original LP gives us a mixed message on that front. The spine is two words, but everywhere else (label, back liner notes, track titles) indicate it is one word. So it appears there will need to be some discography adjustments applied on the various sites out there.

We haven't run into the Real Gone label prior, but they have been around for over 20 years, and appear to have quite an extensive collection of reissues under their belt. So it's good news that they've entered our realm as well!

The label's description is as follows:

• Brotherhood Is the Band that Bassist Phil "Fang" Volk, Guitarist Drake "The Kid" Levin and Drummer Mike "Smitty" Smith Formed After Leaving Paul Revere &
  the Raiders
  
• The Complete Recordings Includes All Three Albums They Recorded for RCA, None of Which Have Ever Been on CD
• Friend Sound/Joyride Is One of the Most Experimental Albums Released by a Mainstream Rock Group in the Late '60s
• 2-CD Package Includes a Thorough Band History Written by Bill Kopp and Drawn from Extensive Research and Interviews with Phil "Fang" Volk
• Added Photos
• Remastered by Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in NY

Right at the height of popularity for Paul Revere and the Raiders, the band’s core power trio of Phil “Fang” Volk (bass), Drake “The Kid” Levin (guitar) and Mike “Smitty” Smith (drums) left to pursue their own more ambitious musical goals. Subsequent lawsuits and a run of bad luck meant that the first, self-titled album by their new band, Brotherhood, would be delayed, and received little notice at the time. Yet, by mixing a wealth of socially-conscious original numbers with hard-rocking reinterpretations of tunes by the Mamas and the Papas and Joe South, Brotherhood was a band brimming with promise. Between 1968 and 1969 the band released two more albums, one under their own name, the other a third, wildly experimental record (Friend Sound / Joyride) that drew upon Cage, Zappa and Stockhausen (and acid) for its influences. Bringing together music that has been out of print for over 40 years and never available on CD until now, Brotherhood: The Complete Recordings includes all three albums the group cut for RCA on two CDs, plus a definitive history of the band by Bill Kopp, based on extensive research and a lengthy interview with Phil Volk, who contributes a note of his own. Remastered by Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in NYC…one of the great lost bands of the late ‘60s!"

Friendsound ~ USA ***REISSUED***

Joyride. 1969 RCA

***Reissued by Real Gone. Jan 2014

UMR review

Priority: 3

12/28/09; 2/4/14 (complete)

Andre Fertier / Clivage ~ France

Clivage - Regina Astris. 1977 Gratte-Ciel
Clivage - Mixtus Orbis. 1978 Gratte-Ciel

UMR reviews

Priority: 2

Wavemaker, England

Wavemaker - Where are we Captain? 1975 Polydor
Wavemaker - New Atlantis. 1977 Polydor

As I was buying a handful of LPs from a certain dealer recently, I noticed he had both albums by Wavemaker. Now most assuredly I must have run into this name numerous times in my past. But having "wave" in the name of an electronically oriented group is like putting the word "heavy" on a metal band (or "jester" in a prog band. Oh wait...). There's Wavemaker, Waveshape, Wavestar (Wave Ball, Microwave....). Well anywayve, because of this, I just flat out missed these until now. No one has ever recommended these albums to me in person or for me to cover on this site. After some careful research, it seemed "New Atlantis" was best left alone. But "Where are We Captain?" was getting high marks indeed. Well the price was right, and I asked him to throw it into the pile.

Wavemaker are an instrumental group made up of two keyboard players dedicated to synthesizers, with guests on percussion and tympani. This is definitely not a Berlin School sequencer fest ala Tangerine Dream, nor a rock based drum-fueled electronic album along the lines of Klaus Schulze's "Moondawn" or Wolfgang Bock's "Cycles". It is, in fact, a progressive rock instrumental album - but all played on big... fat... analog... synthesizers. Works for me. Some truly wonderful sound textures are created by these massive beasts of wires. And the music is most certainly composed, with care given to both melody and complexity. It's nice to find a good album amongst the more common stock every once awhile. Like Guns and Butter in that way (referencing availability not musical style).

Priority: 3 (for "Where are We Captain?")

Wild Havana, Netherlands ***REISSUED***

Wild Havana - s/t. 1977 private

*** Reissued by P-Vine (Japan) September 2018 ***

I was originally going to have a 2014 Rarities Session, similar to last year's expose. But as I look at my future work schedule for the next 6 months, I don't think that's going to be a feasible project. So rather than batch them all up for daily postings, I will just pepper them in here and there as I get to hear them. This will be in parallel to the CD-R revisit project. I'll try to remember to identify which is which. I have quite a bit of new CD-R's sitting here, and we'll see how it goes. I do have a couple entries baked and ready to go.  Both of these are albums I bought on LP in the last couple of months.

We'll start with Wild Havana. This title was originally sent in via CD-R from our good friend SF late last year. And then I saw he was selling the LP - so I bought it!

Perhaps not surprising given the band name of Wild Havana, an overt drug themed album cover photo, and coming from The Netherlands -- but this is one strange album for certain. Blindfold me, ask for time and place, absolutely I would have felt confident to claim it comes from the late 1970s French scene or maybe even Germany from the same time. But never Dutch. Though one could imagine this album as one of many possible directions Group 1850 could have taken after "Polyandri". The music is all instrumental, very psychedelic, loose, peaceful, and free. One caveat is the heavy use of 70s era electronic percussion that may turn off some potential listeners. I find them charming, given the historical context. Loads of synthesizer sounds, fuzz guitar, various flutes, electric piano, and acoustic guitar (this element in particular reminds me of the French artists of the day like Michel Moulinie or Christian Boule). Perhaps the only album where I've heard wah-wah electric mandolin(?!). There's a South American indigenous undertone throughout (perhaps giving the band an authentic double entendre to work with). Wild Havana finds itself somewhere in the same musical space as the two aforementioned artists, "East West" era Richard Pinhas, Orexis, and Ose. A good one, that is still quite unknown.

Priority: 3

News: Gregor Cürten / Anselm Rogmans (Planes) reissued on CD

As indicated in the Troc reissue blurb, here is news that is actually TWO years old, but I just now got wind of it. The Gregor Cürten / Anselm Rogmans "Planes" has been reissued by a UK label called Entr'Acte, who do not normally reissue albums. It took me a bit to obtain this CD, but after finally receiving it, I'm kind of glad they aren't in the reissue market. Their CDs come in a silver foil bag, with perfunctory information printed on the front regarding the release. I think the idea is to then go to their website and print out the front and back covers, and other relevant artwork. Hence the label name (interact - get it?). Yea, no thanks on that approach. You guys can stop reissuing albums at any time. It might be fine for new CDs, but that's not the way to do reissues. On the plus side, the sound is great and it is absolutely legit. So bravo to them for that at least.  This album was first presented to me as Planes - I'll Remember the Landscape on Your Face. I'll be featuring on the UMR soon as well.

Special thanks to reader Eric for alerting me of this reissue!

Worth mentioning that my friends Achim and Eric disagree with me regarding the packaging. So I think it's only fair to mention in the label's defense!

Euphoria, USA

Euphoria - Lost in Trance. 1973 Rainbow Records

Next one up from the CD-R revisit project. This is a title I have a long history with, but still don't own it in any form.

I'm pretty certain the band put this out on CD (or at least authorized a private press). In 2006, when I was doing my initial research for the CDRWL on the title, it seemed to be available. Now I can't even find a trace that it exists - except for one review on Amazon where he goes on to say the issue is horrible, and that the bootleg is way better. Ugh. So I think, if nothing else, we're calling for a much better reissue!

Euphoria's sole work is an excellent sophisticated hard rock album from Milwaukee (a few years ago, they resurfaced and had relocated to the state of Washington - but that seems to have fizzled). Great songwriting with solid lead guitar. A slight progressive rock undertone can be heard in their arrangements. In some ways, this album predates some of the hard, heavy, and mean private press albums of the late 70s. Has that Midwest attitude and vibe. Wonderful album for fans of the genre (like me).

I remember when Rich from Rockadelic first found this album/band in 1988. Rockadelic never reissued the album (it was actually before their label started), but it would have fit perfectly on the imprint. 

As noted above, watch out for pirate editions.

Priority: 2

News: Troc reissued on CD

Ironically the first news item for 2014 is probably old news, but I'm just now seeing it for the first time via Ken's updates. The label is a large French publishing company called Frémeaux & Associés, who we've not run into before. I never did get around to featuring this title, but it was in the main list.

Label says: "In the tradition of Miles Davis, Weather Report and others taking jazz to new shores in the early Seventies, “Troc” was a legendary yet short-lived quintet whose only album was issued in 1972 – a rough diamond from the seams of jazz/ rock and other hallucinatory experiments… Drummer André Ceccarelli recently reformed the group to record “Troc 2011” for Universal and its success leads to this Frémeaux reissue of the band’s epic first album — now available for the first time on CD — together with two bonus titles recorded at that same historic session."

I have another news item that is actually two years old, but I'm still trying to secure one ahead of the announcement. And I have a couple of CD-R revisits that I came across last night that will probably find its way on here starting tomorrow.

CD Reissue Wish List 2004

Many of you will remember that we revisited, last year at this time, an old list I had cobbled together for discussion on rec.music.progressive in the summer of 1996. Today, we're going to go through what was on my website January 24, 2004. This list is courtesy of archive.org and is a snapshot of what you would have found going to thomashayes.com and my CD Reissue Wish List. Back then, I had separate pages for News (which I have preserved and you can see via the labels on your right such as 2003-2005 News), one for the Primary List (what you see below), and one for Bootlegs. I gave up the latter for a few reasons: 1) I didn't want to get into Legal trouble. 2) I was inadvertently giving these pirates more press than they deserved. And 3) I couldn't keep up with them. Especially then, when boots were more rampant, and perhaps more accepted.

I think if anything else, the one positive aspect the CDRWL has accomplished, is to call out the importance of a high quality legitimate reissue. And I found that a lot of you agree with me that it's crucial to do reissues the right way. I've never been on a crusade and I'm not condemning anyone. I do this for selfish reasons... I don't want to buy cheap illegitimate bootlegs - and now I refuse to. I did that too willingly in the 90's only to regret it later when a high quality reissue came out forcing me to yet buy another copy, and having a worthless pirate edition on my hands to resell back into the marketplace. I still have a few of those in my collection from back then - but that number has dwindled to maybe under 20 now. It was once at least 4 times that.

OK, so let's address the list. At this point in 2004, it was still strictly a list with no info or descriptions of the recordings. In fact, I'm sure the original list that went up in 2003 would look similar, as I didn't focus too much on it back then. The CDRWL was still in its infancy, and it pretty much stayed this way until about late 2006 or so, when I was able to start fleshing out the descriptions. You'll still see on my early blog entries back in 2009 and 2010 only a skeleton of information. It's just a matter of having time to put a few quality words down for each. As well, I think it's worth stating that this was still my personal wishlist at this point, rather than a compendium of prog/psych/fusion/electronic rarities not on CD.

You'll notice all sorts of gaps below (Thirsty Moon, Satin Whale, Kraftwerk, Rainbow Theatre, etc...) and that's because I also had an "avoid bootleg" list as mentioned above. I didn't incorporate those into the below exercise, as it would have been too much work. Many of those bootlegs have since been reissued (like Thirsty Moon and Rainbow Theatre's albums), and many unfortunately have not. Maybe I'll review that list next year and see the progress.

Since I did something similar to last year, I'm not going to repeat the data on items I covered then, unless there's new info to share. So what I will do is state: See (or In) last year's list. This will give you incentive to look at that one too! :-) I'll note which ones have been reissued to save you the step.

The link to last year's list is HERE.

It's worth repeating that the 1996 list was thrown together for discussion, and wasn't really that comprehensive. In some ways, the below was also thrown together too without going through each entry thoroughly. And then of course, there were plenty of reissues between 1996 and 2004. There's quite a bit of crossover with the 1996 list, but also both of these have major gaps that I hope I've filled in the last few years.

(Just as a point of clarification, since one of my readers brought this to my attention: The list below is the 2004 list, as it was at the time, with newly added comments. It's not the updated full 2014 list. For that, you can always look at the main list, which I try to update as much as possible.)

A.R. and Machines - Echo (Germany)
A.R. and Machines - IV (Germany)
--- So we start with the complicated one! The debut "Die Grune Reise" had a very obscure reissue from Polydor at this point, that I knew about but didn't own. This was before the excellent 2007 Tangram CD that I bought immediately. By the time of this list, I had learned of another very obscure reissue on Spectrum for both AR3 and Autovision. Those things are so rare and obscure, that I now just have them in the CDRWL as entries that need reissue (but probably why they aren't listed here). Echo and IV have never been reissued, nor has Erholung. I have no idea why I left off the latter. Reichel announced a couple of years ago he was going to reissue all of these like "Die Grune Reise", but it's obviously not come to pass. I have no idea why. These are fantastic albums that would sell well. Unfortunately there are numerous boots out there - so watch out!

Abacus - s/t (Germany)
Abacus - Just a Day's Journey Away (Germany)
--- These still need legit reissues, as does Midway. The third album "Everything You Need" has been reissued. To be honest, the only one I care about is the splendid debut.

Aera - Humanum Est (Germany)
Aera - Hand und Fuss (Germany)
Aera - Akataki (Germany)
Aera - Turkis (Germany)
--- Hand und Fuss was reissued along with Humanum Est on the house label Erlkoenig in 2004 (probably right after this list). They also reissued the excellent Live along with Turkis. The lackluster Too Much and the very good Akataki remain unissued, and this is because they were on Speigelei, which is owned by a major label. I have Much Groh listed below.

AFT/Automatic Fine Tuning - s/t (England)
---Still in the CDRWL as a Priority 1! I called this album out specifically as an oversight on last year's list. I loved this album since the day I bought it in 1985. So that's how I knew the '96 list was hastily drawn up.

Airlord - Clockwork Revenge (New Zealand)
---See last year's list

Aku Aku - Humanquake (Czech Republic)
--- Turns out this album had already come out on CD on the Guerilla label. It's obscure though (I guess so is the LP which I own).

Alcatraz - Live: Trockeneis zum Frühstück (Germany)
Alcatraz - No. 4 (Germany)
---Both of these are still in the CDRWL along with the second album

Anna Sjalve Tredje - Tussilago Fanfara (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Another Roadside Attraction - s/t (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Aquarelle - s/t (Canada)
---Both Aquarelle albums were reissued by Belle Antique in 2010, though the sound isn't very good.

Artcane - Odyssee (France)
---See last year's list

Archimedes Badkar - s/t (Sweden)
Archimedes Badkar - II (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL. Watch for bootlegs!

Association P.C. - Earwax (Germany)
Association P.C. - Sun Rotation (Germany)
Association P.C. - Erna Morena (Germany)
Association P.C. - Mama Kuku (Germany)
Association P.C. - Rock Around the Cock (Germany)
---Mama Kuku received a quality reissue from the Promising label in 2008. The rest are still in the CDRWL.

Astre - Foresight (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Asturcon - s/t (Spain)
---Perhaps unbelievably, this one received a legit CD reissue in 2004 from Doblon, a label I never heard from again.

Atman - Duchy Przodkow Mieszkaja w Drzewach (Poland)
---This one is in the main list. I need to feature it at some point.

Autumn Beeze - Hostbris (Sweden)
---The band reissued this as a CD-R and download but nothing in a durable format. That's too bad. Still in the CDRWL.

Avalanche - Perseverance Kills Our Game (Netherlands)
---See last year's list.

Avel Nevez - Servis Compris (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Baba Yaga - Collage (Germany)
Baba Yaga - Cycle (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Gerardo Batiz - Harlequin (Mexico)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Berits Halsband - s/t (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL. Priority 1!

Between - Contemplation (Germany)
---Reissued by Intuition in 2007

Bevis Frond - Bevis Through the Looking Glass (England)
---Reissued by Rubric in 2005

Bi Kyo Ran - Fairy Tale: Live Volume 1 (Japan)
---Looks like I removed this one even though I can't find a reissue. OK - will add back soon!

Black Sun Ensemble - s/t (Restless version) (USA)
---Well... it would appear I did the same thing here. WTH? So I will add it back! Now the first album from 1985 has been reissued on CD - just not the 1988 one. I really like this album, so it's odd I would have left it out. Oversight I guess.

Toto Blanke - Spider's Dance (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Wolfgang Bock - Cycles (Germany)
--- See last year's list

Bounty - s/t (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Brave New World - Impressions on Reading Aldous Huxley (Germany)
---See last year's list. Lots of bootlegs still.

Cai - Mas Alla de Nuestras Mentes Diminutas (Spain)
---This one did get self-released by the band, but has been universally panned as a crappy effort. So I've left in the CDRWL.

Cal - s/t (Spain)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Chakra - s/t (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Champignons - Premiere Capsule (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Chemical - s/t (England)
---Still in the CDRWL. In the main list only.

Cherokee Mist - Anthem of the Moon (England)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Chou Parot - Live (Scotland)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Cincinnato - s/t (Italy)
---Reissued by AMS in 2006

Circus - s/t (Switzerland)
Circus - Tearless, Fearless and Evenless (Switzerland)
--- And of course most folks would like to see "Movin' On" reissued again. The Decoder CD from 1990 is legit, and I do own it myself. But I've added into the CDRWL as many people missed out on it the first time.

Coma - Financial Tycoon (Denmark)
Coma - Amoc (Denmark)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Combo FH - Veci (Czech Republic)
---Reissued by Indies Happy Trails in 2008

Robert Connolly - Plateau (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Connivence - s/t (Canada)
Connivence - II (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Contraction - s/t (Canada)
Contraction - La Bourse ou la Vie (Canada)
---Both reissued by ProgQuebec in 2005.

Crossfire - s/t (Australia)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Cultural Noise - Aphorisms Insane (Austria)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Cybotron - s/t (Australia)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Cybotron - Implosion (Australia)
---Now this title did get reissued by Aztec in 2006. And Colossus was reissued years ago by Inak.

Dakila - s/t (Philippines)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Wolfgang Dauner - Rischkas Soul (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Wolfgang Dauner + Et Cetera - Et Cetera (aka Lady Blue) (Germany)
---This title was reissued by Long Hair in 2008.

Wolfgang Dauner + Et Cetera - Knirsch (Germany)
---This title was reissued by HGBS in 2010.

Wolfgang Dauner + Et Cetera - Live (Germany)
---And this one is still in the CDRWL.

Den Za Den - s/t (Yugoslavia)
---Still in the CDRWL. I now have it listed properly as from Macedonia.

Dennis - Hyperthalamus (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Franck Dervieux - Dimension M (Canada)
---See last year's list. This is the first title we've come across now (if reading top to bottom) that was reissued after being in both lists!

Dialect - s/t (Brazil)
---Still in the CDRWL. It sits in the main list only. They re-recorded the album in 2008, but the original remains unissued.

Docmec - Objet Non Identifie (Switzerland)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Dr. Dopo Jam - Crusin' at Midnite (Denmark)
---Still in the CDRWL. I should have listed Fat Dogs and Danishmen as well, since only a boot exists. Entree was reissued years ago by Karma.

Alain Eckert Quartet - s/t (France)
---This was just reissued in 2013 by Soleil Zeuhl. And the CD is fantastic with 31 minutes of live material that absolutely blows the doors off the original studio recording. It's a must!

Eden - s/t (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Edition Speciale - Aliquante (France)
Edition Speciale - Horizon Digital (France)
---Both reissued by Musea (2004 and 2007 respectively)

Eiderstellaire - s/t (France) K001 album
---Despite what "EVERYBODY" said, this was finally reissued by Soleil Zeuhl in 2011. I never believed the naysayers. You know what's funny? The same people who stomped all over threads insisting this would never get reissued, are the SAME PEOPLE saying the SAME THING about other albums on this list. Do they ever learn anything? Just shut up would ya?

Elektrikus - Electronic Mind Waves (Italy)
---Reissued by AMS in 2007.

Ellufant - s/t (Release Concert) (Netherlands)
---See last year's list.

Emergency Exit - Sortie de Secours (France)
---See last year's list.

Emma Myldenburger - MS (Germany)
Emma Myldenburger - Tour de Trance (Germany)
---Both reissued by Garden of Delights in 2006.

Energy - s/t (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL.

L'Engoulevent - I'ile ou Vivent les Loups (Canada)
---Reissued by ProgQuebec in 2006.

Eskaton - Fiction (France)
---See last year's list (reissued!)

Ex Ovo Pro - European Spassvogel (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL. Along with their second album.

Ex Vitae - Mandarine (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Ezra Winston - Myth of the Chrysavides (Italy)
---Still in the CDRWL. I really can't believe this album never came out on CD.

Facedancers - s/t (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Franco Falsini - Cold Nose (Italy)
---See last year's list (sort of reissued)

Falstaff - Prononcez (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Fantasia - s/t (Finland)
---See last year's list (reissued!)

First Aid - Nostradamus (England)
---See last year's list.

Flaming Bess - Verlorene Welt (Germany)
---This had been reissued in 2003, but I had missed it at the time.

Flowers - From Pussies to Death in 10,000 Years of Freakout (Japan)
---This is a bootleg in of itself and should not have been in the list.

Flying Island - s/t (USA)
Flying Island - Another Kind of Space (USA)
---Both still in the CDRWL

Fondation - Sans Etiquette (France) cassette release
---Still in the CDRWL.

Formas - Largos Suenos (Spain)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Galie - 1986 (Mexico)
---In last year's list

Good God - s/t (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

The Michael Gordon Philharmonic - s/t (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Muck Groh - Muckefuck (Germany)
---Reissued by Long Hair in 2011.

Le Groupe X - Frrrrrigidaire (Italy)
Le Groupe X - Out, Off (Italy)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Guns and Butter - s/t (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL. Priority 1!

Guruh Gipsy - s/t (Indonesia)
---Still in the CDRWL. Reissued on LP by Shadoks in 2006.

Gutura - Des Etres Au Cerveau Apparent (France)
---In last year's list

Jukka Hauru - Information (Finland)
Jukka Hauru - Episode (Finland)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Heaven - s/t (USA) 1970 album
---Still in the CDRWL.

Chris Hinze Combination - Stoned Flute (Netherlands)
Chris Hinze Combination - Mission Suite (Netherlands)
Chris Hinze Combination - Who Can See the Shadow of the Sun (Netherlands)
Chris Hinze Combination - Sister Slick (Netherlands)
---Still in the CDRWL.Yep, all of them.

Humanist Advent Concept - Invasion (Canada)
---Both HAC albums were reissued by Long Hair in 2008.

Humus - Whispering Galleries (Mexico)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Hunk Ai - s/t (Denmark)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Hydravion - s/t (France)
Hydravion - Stratos Airlines (France)
---In last year's list

Hydrus - Midnight in Space (Italy)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Ibis - s/t (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL. Priority 1!

Ibliss - Supernova (Germany)
---Reissued by Garden of Delights in 2009.

Igra Staklenih Perli - Vrt Svetlosti (Yugoslavia)
---This was reissued along with the debut (which I probably had in the "bootleg" section at the time) on PGP in 2007

Igra Staklenih Perli - Inner Flow (Yugoslavia)
Igra Staklenih Perli - Soft Explosion Live (Yugoslavia)
Igra Staklenih Perli - Drives (Yugoslavia)
---All these archival releases from Serbia are still in the CDRWL.

Images - s/t (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Inserts - Out of the Box (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

It's My Head - s/t (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Ixt Adux - Brainstorm (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Jessica - s/t (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Joy Unlimited - Schmetterling (Germany)
Joy Unlimited - Minne (Germany)
---These have been reissued by Garden of Delights in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Reflections, which I didn't have here at the time, was reissued by GoD in 2007.

Katamaran - s/t (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL. All 3 titles.

Charles Kazcynski - Lumiere de la Nuit (Canada)
---See last year's list (reissued!)

Kebnekaise - Elefanten (Sweden)
---In last year's list.

Kennedy - Twinkling NASA (Japan)
---This just came out on CD in 2013 on King!

Klockwork Orange - s/t (Austria)
---One of the major pleasant surprises was the reissue of this title by Digatone in 2013. Belle Antique followed with a Japanese mini-LP if you weren't interested in the double LP.

Komintern - Le Bal du Rat Mort (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Kontrast - s/t (Germany)
---Reissued by Cosmic  Egg in 2008.
 
Anders Koppel - Aftenlandet and Regnbuefuglen (Denmark)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Kracq - Circumvision (Belgium)
---In last year's list (reissued!)

Kvartetten Som Sprangde - Kattvalls (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL. Received a legit LP reissue from Subliminal Sounds in 2013, but no CD yet.

L.S. Bearforce - s/t (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Pascal Languirand - Minos (Canada)
Pascal Languirand - De Harmonia Universalia (Canada)
Pascal Languirand - Vivre Ici Maintenant (Canada)
---There's a compilation of the first 2 that came out in 1993, which I don't own, but I think it's incomplete. Still in the CDRWL.

Laura - s/t (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Lethe - s/t (Netherlands)
---Still in the CDRWL. Priority 1!

Claude Leveillee - Black Sun (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Mingo Lewis - Flight Never Ending (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL. There were rumors it might come out, but nothing surfaced.

Loch Ness - s/t (Mexico)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Yves et Alain Lorentz - Espaces 2 (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Ma Banlieue Flasque - s/t (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Michel Madore - Le Komuso a Cordes (Canada)
Michel Madore - La Chambre Nuptiale (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL. The first album has been thrown out there as a possibility for ProgQuebec, but they haven't executed on it yet.

Mahagon - s/t (Czech Republic)
---Reissued by Indies Happy Trails in 2008.

Maneige - s/t (Canada)
Maneige - Les Porches (Canada)
---These much requested albums finally came out on ProgQuebec in 2007

Marakesh - s/t (Netherlands)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Alain Markusfeld - Le Desert Noir (France)
Alain Markusfeld - Platock (France)
---Funny that I didn't even know about the first two, and much better, albums at the time (or maybe they were in the bootleg list? Ah yes - that's where they were!). All of the Markusfeld's are still in the CDRWL.

Memoriance - Et Apres (France)
Memoriance - L'Ecume Des Jours (France)
---Both still in the CDRWL.

Metabolisme - Tempus Fugit (France)
---Reissued by Musea in 2005

Metabolist - Hansten Klork (England)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Mirror - Daybreak (Netherlands)
---In last year's list

Missus Beastly - Dr. Aftershave and the Mixed Pickles (Germany)
Missus Beastly - Spaceguerilla (Germany)
---The first one received a reissue from Garden of Delights in 2011. "Spaceguerilla" was scheduled on GoD for last year, then for certain in 2013. Looks like 2014 now...

Moira - Crazy Countdown (Germany)
Moira - s/t (aka Reise Nach Ixtlan) (Germany)
---Both still in the CDRWL.

Moolah - Woe Ye Demons Possessed (USA)
---Tough one here. The EM label of Japan supposedly reissued this legit in 2005. In recent years, I've heard that isn't the case. I bought it at the time, and I'm clinging on the hope that it is legit. Fortunately I have the original LP just in case.

Morse Code - Procreation (Canada)
---Reissued by ProgQuebec in 2007.

Michel Moulinie - Chrysalide (France)
---Still in the CDRWL. Priority 1!

Munju - High Speed Kindergarten (Germany)
Munju - Moon You (Germany)
Munju - Le Perfectionniste (Germany)
Munju - Brot + Spiele (Germany)
---All of these remain in the CDRWL. Band says masters are lost and they proceeded to throw them up on their website for free download. Seems that is the final state. Too bad. 

Nishin - Dai Dai (Japan)
---In last year's list.

Noa - s/t (France)
---Reissued by Soleil Zeuhl in 2011.

Nova Express - Space Khmer (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Nuance - Il est une Legende (France)
---In last year's list.

Ocarinah - Premiere Vision de L'etrange (France)
---In last year's list. Priority 1!

October - s/t (USA)
October - After the Fall (USA)
---In last year's list

Octopus - The Boat of Thoughts (Germany)
---Reissued by Sireena in 2009.

Oniris - L'Homme Volier (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

The Oroonies - Of Hoof and Horn (England)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Het Pandorra Ensemble - III (Netherlands)
---In last year's list (reissued!)

Pantha - Dowaydo Dowaydo (Australia)
---Still in the CDRWL. Priority 1!

Pinguin - Der Grosse Rote Vogel (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Plat du Jour - s/t (France)
---Still in the CDRWL. Priority 1!

Polestar - Flying Through the Universe (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Prisma - s/t (Netherlands)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Project Tyme - Clockwyse (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Proteus - Infinite Change (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Psi - Horizonte (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Psynkopat - Har Vi Nagen Stil (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Public Foot the Roman - s/t (England)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Pughs Place & Others - Child in Time (Netherlands)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Quad - s/t (England)
Quad - 2 (England)
---Quad 2 is still in the CDRWL but the first one did get reissued by Lion (USA) in 2005.

Quasar - Nebular Trajectory (Australia)
Quasar - Man Coda (Australia)
--- Both still in the CDRWL.

Ra Can Row - s/t (USA)
---In last year's list

Radio Noisz Ensemble - Yniverse (Germany)
---Reissued by Garden of Delights in 2009.

Radiomobel - Gudang Garam (Sweden)
---Reissued by Transubstans in 2006.

Rialzu - s/t (Corsica)
---Reissued by Musea in 2008.

Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis - s/t (France)
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - No. 2 (France)
---Technically "No. 2" has been reissued legit, but in a crappy box set. The first one has never been reissued.

Claudio Rocchi - Essenza (Italy)
---One of the very few Italian albums still in the CDRWL.

Il Rovescio Della Medaglia - ..Giudizio Avrai (Italy)
---Ha! And here's another. Though this was an archival release from 1988. Not quite the same.

Saino- s/t (France)
---In last year's list

Saisai-Koubou - s/t (Japan)
---In last year's list

Scapa Flow - Uuteen Aikaan (Finland)
---Reissued by Rocket in 2010.

Gunther Schickert - Samtvogel (Germany)
---Finally reissued by Important in 2013!

Secret Oyster - Sea Son (Denmark)
---I only listed this title, but The Laser's Edge famously reissued them all in 2006/2007.

Sensations Fix - s/t (Italy)
Sensations Fix - Portable Madness (Italy)
Sensations Fix - Finest Finger (Italy)
---All of these are available legit via box sets, but none have been done the right way.

Sepi Kuu - Rannan Usvassa (Finland)
---See last year's list. Priority 1!

Seventh Seal - s/t (Japan)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Lourivale Silvestre - Fiction Musicale (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Sirius - Running to Paradise (Germany)
---In last year's list. 

Skywhale - The World at Mind's End (England)
---Reissued in 2006 by the band!

Solar Plexus - s/t (Sweden)
Solar Plexus - Solar Plexus 2 (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Strave - Vision (France)
---Reissued by Soleil Zeuhl  in 2012.

Streetdancer - Rising (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Super Freego - Pourquoi es-tu si Mechant? (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Tabletom - Mezclalina (Spain)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Terraced Garden - Melody and Menace (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Thomas Flinter - s/t (Netherlands)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Tomorrow's Gift - Goodbye Future (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL. Watch out for boots!

Tonic - This Way (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Tortilla Flat - Fur Ein 3/4 Stundchen (Germany)
---In last year's list. Priority 1!

Touch - Traumwerk 1 (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL. Band technically should be listed as TOuCH.

True Myth - s/t (Canada)
---Reissued by Belle Antique in 2010. I never did hear this reissue after getting burned by the Aquarelle's. I still have the LP of course.

Tyll - Sexphonie (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Uludag - Mau Mau (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Ungava - s/t (Canada)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Daniel Vega - La Noche que Preced a la Batalla (Spain)
---Reissued by Fonomusic in 2005.

Verto - Krig Volubilis (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Viola Crayola - s/t (USA)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Steven Maxwell Von Braund - Monster Planet (Australia)
---Still in the CDRWL. Was announced to be reissued by Aztec before they went under. The label has since been renamed to Sandman with new owners. And to date, they seem to have little interest in Australia's progressive past. Hopefully they'll reconsider.

Von Zamla - No Make Up! (Sweden)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Vos Voisons - s/t (Canada)
---Reissued by ProgQuebec in 2011.

Yezda Urfa - Boris (USA)
---Reissued by Syn-Phonic in 2004, after a decade of waiting for the artwork ;-)

Ys - Madame la Frontiere (France)
---Still in the CDRWL.

Zartong - s/t (Armenia)
---In last year's list.

Zyma - Brave New World (Germany)
---Still in the CDRWL. Been on Garden of Delights Coming Soon list for a number of years now. I still hope they'll do it!

Whoa! That was exhausting. Well, I hope it was an entertaining retrospective. It's nice to see that many of these albums were reissued. And hopefully more to come!

Happy New Year! It's the CDRWL 11th Birthday!

Has it been that long? Well the website, in one form or another, has been alive since early 2003. I don't remember the exact date I launched it, but it was in January. So I've just kept the tradition of Happy New Year and..... Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday for the CDRWL.

So what trends did we see in 2013? I think the continued rise of the revival of the LP is the number #1 story. We saw quite a few albums this year in the CDRWL receiving an LP reissue for the first time, but not yet a CD. These include Charlies, Kvartetten som Sprangde, Resan, and Mad Curry. And of course, some new bands are releasing LPs first, and CD second - maybe skipping them altogether. Then again, I've seen groups release albums only on cassette. Now that's just silly IMO. What's next? 8 Track tape? Reel-to-Reel? 78's? 16's? Though the calls by some folks that the CD - or any physical medium - is going to be extinct in our immediate future is nearsighted at best. As a long time collector, it's exactly these down times in an industry that creates the future rarities. Those who kept buying LPs in the 90s are doing quite well today with their investments (and that includes me). And I don't think we're even at that stage yet - say where the LP was in 1995. CDs are still the predominant format for releasing music. The commoditized popular music industry may go download only, but really who cares about them anyway? I have plenty of LPs worth about 5 cents now too - all of them items I could buy at my local K-Mart growing up in the 1970s. And owning download files is about as gratifying as owning a famous painting.... as a .jpg file. And the thought that no one will actually pay for recorded music going forward is crazy. I've heard the argument that live shows,  T-shirts, and beer mugs is where the revenue stream will come from, but that's not going to cut it. For the type of music we collect (and that's a broad base), physical assets will still be in demand. The totals may have shrunk, but they're not going away. And when the current (younger than me that is) crowd that has dumped their CDs - because they thought it was really cool they could fit 30 shelves worth onto their MP3 player - start to get nostalgic about their old CD collection - they'll be back in the market looking to repurchase. And then there will be no supply. And then what happens? Prices go up. Neat how that works. OK, Economics 101 is over...

As for the CDRWL, I expect we'll keep the pace of 2013. I'll probably have one to two Rarities Sessions, which is now almost entirely dependent on my generous donors to the site. We should have one starting pretty quickly here - and maybe we'll have another one later in the year. As well, I will be continuing the CD-R revisit project (I'm doing a lot of replacing with CDs or LPs - or deleting them altogether). This project goes beyond the CDRWL, but as albums come up that should get their own post, I will be sure to add them as I go. I expect this to be a multi-year project. And of course I'll be adding relevant News items as I have years prior. We saw a slight downturn in the number of announcements this year, but nothing overly significant in my mind.

And my next post, which I will share tomorrow, will be a similar exercise to last year's popular anniversary post: A revisit of an old CD Reissue Wish List and where are they now?

Trust, France

Trust - Le Mutant. 1970 Philips

Another one from the CD-R revisit pile...

"Le Mutant" is basically a French pop rock album, with a distinct British proto-prog feel where The Beatles have to be considered an obvious influence here, despite it all being sung in French. Similar to countrymen Iris and M.O.T.U.S. in that same way. Not as adventurous as the first two albums from Alain Markusfeld, for example. Speaking of which, it is rumored that both Markusfeld (guitar) and Jacky Chalard (bass) play on this (though uncredited). Non-essential fluff for the most part, but a good one to hear for specialists. This Trust is not related to the French hard rock group of the same name that later supplied Iron Maiden with its drummers.

Priority: none

News: Latest announcements from Lion Productions

I haven't heard any of these, but they look interesting enough to call out. And we know Lion will do a top notch job on them! Presumably, if you've been following my blog, you know the Laurence Vanay's are available now. LP's are on their way early next year as well. Don't miss those gems! As well, Probe 10 looks like a February 2014 release - can't wait for that one!

OK, onto the latest batch, with descriptions provided by the label:

The CASE "Blackwood" LP edition—catalogue number: (LION LP-119); UPC: 778578311919; CD edition—catalogue number: (LION 659); UPC: 778578065928: Blackwood. The title alone is portentous, at the very least semi-evil sounding. Fear not, there are no devils, demons, or witches lurking in these woods. Instead we have a heretofore almost completely unknown and rarely spoken of album of nine original tracks, self-released on the legendary RPC Records label by a group of self-motivated teens from Pennsylvania. Luckily for lovers of musical mayhem, the Case got access to their school music room and a four-track recorder over a Christmas break in 1971. A rock-solid, hard-driving rhythm section lays down the necessary underpinning for moody organ and beautifully-toned guitar. There is sheer joy at play here, a kind of rock 'n' roll exuberance—with ample raw talent and wicked riffing—which shines through on every cut. Terrific raw, primitive album, simultaneously loose and intense, like the Velvet Underground at their best. • American primitive album recorded in 1971 by very advanced high-schoolers during their Christmas vacation, self-released on the legendary RPC Records label • Color insert includes notes by the band + rare photos • Both formats limited to 500 copies

FUSIÓN "Top Soul" (LION 673); UPC: 778578067328: Impossible to find jazz/soul/funk monster by Fusión, issued in Chile in 1975 by ALBA (ALD-041)—a fulsome combination of funk, electric jazz, and soul, with Latin roots. Bassist Enrique Luna had lived and studied art in New York, and knew first-hand the last, avant-garde years of John Coltrane, and Miles Davis’ mutation from hard bop trendsetter into an electric jazz pioneer; Matias Pizarro had appeared on the scene in the mid-60s as a young pianist of outstanding technical ability and advanced ideas. Together they formed a band around a core of Peruvian musicians, with soloists including David Estánovich (tenor sax) and Lautaro Rosas (guitar), plus a rhythm trio of Mario Lecaros (electric piano, former Village Trio), and Orlando Avendaño (drums), with guest appearances by trumpeter Daniel Lencina, and young percussionist Santiago Salas (Santa y su gente). Censorship during the Chilean military regime meant heavy restrictions on the artists in the local jazz/soul/funk scene. Thus the Fusión album was pressed in a very limited quantity, and never legally re-issued—until now! Comes with a bi-lingual booklet which explores the story of Fusión in the context of the rich Chilean rock music scene.

SANTA Y SU GENTE (SANTA & HIS PEOPLE) (LION 674); UPC: 778578067427: In the 1970's in Chile, recording anything was complicated. The state-owned IRT label was administered by the military. Domestic releases gave way to an invasion of foreign music. Recitals or concerts were impossible—at most a group could hope for one appearance on television, or a very low-key event—this was the reality of the music world after the coup. Yet a few groups had the good fortune to overcome the prevailing censorship: this was the case with Santa y su Gente (Santa and his People). Santiago Salas was a percussionist stepped in jazz. It was he who assembled a band with musicians of the caliber of Lautaro Rosas and Mario Lecaros. The latter was a powerful musician, who would appear in other jazz fusion projects in those difficult years, and then leave Chile together to do an impressive job abroad with his group Comet. The one and only album of Santa y su Gente, “Urgente,” was released by RCA/IRT/Alba in 1974. This album is very rare, and therefore not very well known; but it contains all you can ask for: a Latin Afro-jazz fusion, half salsa and half Afro, with something powerful to say. Highly recommended. Comes with a bi-lingual booklet which explores the story of Santa y su Gente in the context of the rich Chilean rock music scene.

Montoro, Spain

Montoro - Esencia. 1991 Perfil-Divucsa.

And yet another CD-R revisit. This album would be at the tail end of the LP only era, before CDs became de rigueur. 20 years later, LP only releases are back in fashion. Who would have thunk?

Montoro's sole album is a good example of Flamenco Rock, past the 1970's glory days of course. The spiritual successor to Triana's “Sombra y Luz” as it were. Make no mistake, this album is as commercial as it is progressive. But it features fine lead guitar, excellent Arabian vocals, and thoughtful compositions. Much better than contemporary Medina Azahara, for example. Worth hearing, though not exemplary by any means.

Priority: none

Plebb ~ Sweden

Yes It Isn't It. 1979 private

UMR review

Priority: 2

***Reissued on LP by Sommor (Jun 2021).

12/17/13 (new entry)

The Bigroup ~ England

Big Hammer. 1971 Peer International

UMR review

Priority: 2

12/16/13 (new entry)

Beyond ~ USA

Music and Beyond. 1980 Tuhlottesound

The music is a mixture of classic hard edged arena rock and all-out complex progressive rock. A little heavier than the usual Midwest progressive rock sound that we've featured extensively with a small to non-existent keyboard presence, but in reality Beyond were under the same influence as other groups from the region. Converse to tradition, Side 2 is the more commercial oriented part of the album, and it leaves one with a slightly bitter taste at the end (which is why I think the album never resonated with me prior). The complex songs do recall Astre, another Tulsa based group. Some fantastic acid guitar throughout, with some fuzz bass, and even some jazzy tuned percussion. A very cool relic from America's heartland.

Generally you'll read the group is from Texas (mainly due to an error in the Acid Archives book). But actually they're from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the management of the group is from Coffeyville, Kansas (on the border with Oklahoma). Purple Peak Jeff met the drummer years ago and confirmed the data. So I suspect various members are from the NE OK, SE KS area.

---12/15/13

OK, I now have the vinyl of this. The record is officially on the Tuhlottesound label (one word) and is based in Copan, Oklahoma - which is north of Bartlesville, Oklahoma near Coffeyville, Kansas as stated above. The album was further mastered in Dallas in 1980 so that would be the final release date.

Priority: 3

7/21/11 (new entry); 12/15/13 (update)

Second Coming, USA

Second Coming - The Second Coming. 1970 Mercury

Another one from the CD-R revisit pile, though in this case, I went ahead and bought the vinyl afterward (it's not an expensive record for those of you in the market for one). The cover above is that copy, since there really wasn't good scan out there. Comes in a nice gatefold. There's also a UK press with a different cover (and considerably more expensive).

Second Coming are an old school horn rock band originally on Mercury Records (also the label behind the even better horn rock band Aura). I’m probably one of the world’s biggest horn rock fans, but it’s rare to find albums in this style with any kind of consistency. And Second Coming are no exception. They’ll mix a brilliant 7 piece instrumental with simplistic blues and pop music. Their arrangements were a little tighter than most, and they actually allowed their guitar player to go in frenzied Terry Kath mode, which is what kept the early Chicago albums interesting (and kept them rooted in the underground). Second Coming take this inconsistency even a bit further, and have brilliant moments within each track - along with the ordinary. For example, the staccato trumpet and drum corps bit on 'Requiem for a Rainy Day' is about as good as it gets. 'Landlubber' and the 11 minute progressive oriented 'Jeremiah Crane' also have much to recommend with some fiery guitar solos, and wonderful brass charts. But the boozy woozy numbers 'Take Me Home' and 'Roundhouse' are wretched in comparison, though the latter features a fine bluesy guitar solo at least. Tracks like "Requiem.." and 'It's Over' most certainly had major hit potential, but it wasn't meant to be I guess. A very talented band, that time has forgotten. Worth seeking out for fans of the style.

Priority: 3