Graham Parker - Howlin' Wind (Great debut album 1976)

For most intents and purposes, Graham Parker emerged fully formed on his debut album, Howlin' Wind. Sounding like the bastard offspring of Mick Jagger and Van Morrison, Parker sneers his way through a set of stunningly literate pub rockers. Instead of blindly sticking to the traditions of rock & roll, Parker invigorates them with cynicism and anger, turning his songs into distinctively original works. "Back to Schooldays" may be reconstituted rockabilly, "White Honey" may recall Morrison's white R&B bounce, and "Howlin' Wind" is a cross of Van's more mystical moments and the Band, but the songs themselves are original and terrific. Similarly, producer Nick Lowe gives the album a tough, spare feeling, which makes Parker and the Rumour sound like one of the best bar bands you've ever heard. Howlin' Wind remains a thoroughly invigorating fusion of rock tradition, singer/songwriter skill, and punk spirit, making it one of the classic debuts of all time.

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Bow Street Runners - Bow Street Runners (US Psychedelia 1970)

Sounding like a blend of Jefferson Airplane and the Doors, Bow Street Runners was a Fayetteville, North Carolina-based psychedelic band who released one eponymous album in limited quantities on B.T. Puppy Records in 1970. While the group was ignored at the time, Bow Street Runners became a collectible item among psychedelic aficionados during the '80s and '90s.

Flushed from Fayetteville, North Carolina-where they thought they could remain comfortably obscure-by our release of their only album, the Runners have recently re-surfaced. Issued in ultra-limited quantity by B.T. Puppy in 1970-and now changing hands for sums more familiar to NASDAQ-this is an other-worldly blend of sweet female blotter acid harmonies, hypnotic Farfisa and high-octane fuzz guitar histrionics.

01. Electric Star
02. Watch
03. American Talking Blues
04. Leaving Grit America
05. Another Face
06. Eating From A Plastic Hand
07. Rock Fish Blues
08. Push It Through
09. Spunky Monkey
10. Steve's Jam

Post by CGR

Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session (Beautiful Alternative Country-Rock 1987)

Who says you can't make a great record in one day -- or night, as the case may be? The Trinity Session was recorded in one night using one microphone, a DAT recorder, and the wonderful acoustics of the Holy Trinity in Toronto. Interestingly, it's the album that broke the Cowboy Junkies in the United States for their version of "Sweet Jane," which included the lost verse. It's far from the best cut here, though. There are other covers, such as Margo Timmins' a cappella read of the traditional "Mining for Gold," a heroin-slow version of Hank Williams' classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Dreaming My Dreams With You" (canonized by Waylon Jennings), and a radical take of the Patsy Cline classic "Walkin' After Midnight" that closes the disc. Those few who had heard the band's previous album, Whites Off Earth Now!!, were aware that, along with Low, the Cowboy Junkies were the only band at the time capable of playing slower than Neil Young and Crazy Horse -- and without the ear-threatening volume. The Timmins family -- Margo, guitarist and songwriter Michael, drummer Peter, and backing vocalist and guitarist John -- along with bassist Alan Anton and a few pals playing pedal steel, accordion, and harmonica, paced everything to crawl.

That said, it works in that every song has its own texture, slowly and deliberately unfolding from blues and country and drones. An example is the Michael and Margo song "I Don't Get It," ushered in with a few drawling guitar lines, a spooky harmonica, and brushed drums. Margo Timmins doesn't have a large range and doesn't need it as she scratches each song's surface like an itch until it bleeds its truth. This is also true on "Misguided Angel," another original where the verses become nearly a round alternating between her voice and Michael's snaky spare guitar lines to fill an almost unimaginable space. The Williams tune becomes a dirge in the Cowboys' hands. It's a funeral song, or an elegy for one who has dragged herself so far into the oblivion of isolation that there is no place left to go but home. Michael's guitar moves around the changes as bassist Anton plays them; he colors the space allowing for Margo to fill the melodic space spot-on, yet stretching each syllable out to the breaking point. For most, this was the Cowboy Junkies' debut -- Whites Off Earth Now!! was re-released in the States a few years later -- and it established them firmly in the forefront of the "alternative" scene with radio and MTV. As an album, it's still remarkable at how timeless it sounds, and its beauty is -- in stark contrast to its presentation -- voluminous and rich, perhaps even eternal.

AMG Review by Thom Jurek

Siloah - Sukram Gurk (Kraut-Rock 1972)

Siloah was an almost completely different band when they recorded Sukram Gurk, their second and final album. On the record, released in 1972, the group turns up the volume a couple notches as the acoustic guitars are traded in, and the group is pared down to an electric three-piece of organ, bass, and drums, with an extra percussionist thrown in. The record is darker and edgier than the earlier album, but at the same time, it is not a complete about-face, as Siloah retains their unpolished sound, amateurish playing, and loose improvisational feel, with long instrumental jamming and bare-bone riffs. The record opens with the garage-band attack of "Milk Blue Mind," with vocal chorus caterwauling "Mother, I'm dying," before the piece drifts into long improvisations, more energetic vocal screams and wails, and even a drum solo. Except for some more rough vocals on "Feast of the Pickpockets," the rest of the record is instrumental, though no less effective, whether the mid-paced "Magic carpet Ride" or the slowly building organ grind that begins "Feast of the Pickpockets," or the avant-funk of "Stony," with its thundering drums and driving bassline. The bonus track, "She Is on My Mind," done a year later by a couple members of Siloah with a couple members of Os Mundi, sounds like a wretched attempt at a commercial pop song, and not at all up the standards of the material on the CD, and does neither Siloah nor Os Mundi any justice.

AMG Review by Rolf Semprebon

Paladin - Charge! (Great Hard Rock 1972 - bonus tracks)

A good progressive/hard rock outfit, their first album was recorded live
in the studio and their strength was really as a live act. Lou Stonebridge
went on to play for McGuinness Flint. Joe Jammer also recorded as a solo artist.

Paladin may only have ever released two albums, but their second 'Charge'
is an absolute classic of early 70ís prog. There are many different styles and
sounds on the album, yet the whole is nothing less than a coherent masterpiece.

The Roger Dean sleeve may not be an absolute guarantee of quality,
but Paladin sit well with their peers such as Yes, Uriah Heep, Asia, etc.,
whom Dean graced with his artwork.

There are four feature tracks on the album. The opening "Give me your hand"
sets the tone, with rich organ and guitar backing a strong vocal for a fine
piece of melodic hard rock. "Good lord" is a slightly softer but still upbeat
song with some excellent guitar work by Derek Foley. It leads into the album's best track,
the wonderfully atmospheric "Mix your mind with the moonbeams".
The multi-tracked vocals and trippy lyrics are pure early 70's
("Let the cosmic light diffuse itself, in all its magic ways").
The track is awash in keyboard layers, and chiming guitars.
This is PENDRAGON years before Pendragon existed! Also included is an
all too rare Hammond organ solo, similar to the one on URIAH HEEP's "July Morning".

The closing track "Watching the world pass by" has everything in about 9 minutes.
It starts with some interesting keyboard moods, before breaking into an almost
funky harmonica led wall of sound backed piece. About midway, we suddenly
lurch into a barn dance, before a superb guitar solo of some length brings
the album to its climactic conclusion.

The album is rounded out by three shorter tracks. "Well we might" is an almost SLADE
(yes Slade!) like rocker with some great guitar and some very effective stop go interludes.
"Anyway" is a melotron backed ballad which contrasts superbly with the
generally upbeat nature of the album. This track appears to have been a
late addition to the original LP, as it appears on a sticky label added
to the track listing. "Get one together" is the only dip,
being a pretty nondescript instrumental.

"Charge" is a truly superb album, very much of its time,
but still highly enjoyable. The band were destined to split before
recording any further albums, but at least they went out on a high.


01.Give Me Your Hand
02.Well We Might
03.Get On Together
04.Anyway
05.Good Lord
06.Mix Your Mind with the Moonbeams
07.Watching the World Pass By
08.Give me Love to you (Bonus)
09.Sweet Sweet Music (Bonus)
10.Any Way (Variation - Bonus)
11.Sweet Sweet Music (Variation - Bonus)
12.Well we Might (Variation - Bonus)
13.Fill up your Heart (Instrumental - Bonus)
14.Bad Times (Instrumental - Bonus)

Post by CGR

Sapphire Thinkers - From Within (1968 Fine Fuzzy Californian Psychedelia)

Excellent 1968 Californian band who with their mix of male and female vocalists and fuzz lead guitar bear comparisons with Yankee Dollar or Peanut Butter Conspiracy.
If anything this band are better than those acts and their album features some excellent harmonies and nice trippy touches - in particular the Doors like keyboards and backward effects.
Other than Vernon Joynson's entry in Fuzz, Acid and Flowers and his very similar summary of the album in "Flashback", used in the sleeve notes for the CD re-issue, there is very little information on this excellent band and their work. Joynson's summary from the sleeve notes was as follows " ...similar to Jefferson Airplane and Peanut Butter Conspiracy...based in LA, they were probably Californian. The album contains some pleasant vocal arrangements/harmonies and nice touches of acid and fuzz guitar and is recommended". I couldn't agree more. If it's light and breezy West Coast psych inflected pop you're looking for, then this band make all the right moves. In addition to melodies and male/female vocal harmonies to rival The Mamas & The Papas, and a groovieness in the vein of Ultimate Spinach, there's a few more things that really stand out on the album for me. These are the technically brilliant snappy keyboard backing on most tracks, the stunning lead guitar breaks that really lift several of the tracks, and the sprinkling of flute over the album.
The standout tracks are the title track "From Within" and the amazing "I Got To You" which is contains the best harmony work on the album and some beautifully introspective guitar pieces. Yet another talented bunch of musicians that never received the attention they deserved.

1. Melancholy Baby
2. I Feel A Bit Strange,
3. Get Along Boy
4. Blues On You
5. From Within
6. I Got To You
7. Not Another Night
8. Let Her Come In
9. Please Understand
10.Blind With A Borrowed Light
11.There's A Woman
12.Doin' Alright

Post by CGR

Paul Kossoff - Back Street Crawler (Great Blues-Rock 1973)

Back Street Crawler, despite being Paul Kossoff's first post-Free album, contains contributions from all members of that band. "Molten Gold," the most accessible song on the album, features the talent of Free vocalist Paul Rodgers, and is an overlooked shoulda-been hit. Otherwise, the album is highlighted by Kossoff's blues- and rock-based guitar. "Time Away" is a haunting, atmospheric instrumental duet with avant folk-jazz guitarist/singer John Martyn that originally registered 18 minutes in length. The full version was eventually released on the Free box set Songs of Yesterday, but here is edited down significantly in favor of the 17-minute A-side track "Tuesday Morning," a more upbeat but less interesting choice. Regardless of this fault, this is one of those albums that deserves a place in the pantheon of classic rock.

AMG Review by Rob Caldwell

Barclay James Harvest - Baby James Harvest (Great Art-Rock 1972)

"Baby" is all right, I guess, as out of all the early period BJH records this one's the most seriously flawed. Said to be rushed over the course of four weeks, it also featured the band members working separately (Wolstenholme was in London recording the orchestra part while the rest of the band were recording everything else in the States), and this probably was a major factor adding to the album's lifelessness. Of course, maybe they had just temporarily run out of their minor hooks and tiny ideas. Like, totally. Overall, the sound is pretty depressed and tired, and this is obvious from the very first track, 'Crazy (Over You)', with its tired riffs (as usual, monotonous ones but also pretty devoid of energy, tired solos, tired vocals and tired lyrics. It just doesn't seem to particularly go anywhere except for pointing out the fact that the band was tired. Well - I gotcha. Next time, try some Prozak. The bulk of the album is completely eaten up by two 'epics' this time around, a bad sign even before actually hearing the numbers, as their best album of that period didn't include even a single ultra-lengthy epic. Lees' Summer Soldier' is a stately bore that could have been moderately nice for two minutes; for some reason, it goes on for more than ten. I appreciate the boys writing a harsh anti-war epic, with soldiers marching and shouting 'kill!' and all, but I don't feel the melody. Maybe it's just a subjective feeling of my own, but there's no hook I'm aware of. Just a lot of mid-tempo acoustic rhythms, a strained wah-wah lead tone and prophetic lyrics with not a single interesting twist of the vocals. I hate that kind of crap when it's done by a band like Kansas, but turns out Kansas weren't the first to invent the "completely wasted time epic" genre. (Of course, there was also Van Der Graaf Generator, but at least you could actually ponder over Pawn Hearts trying to guess its mysterious message; here, the message is as clear as water). Even worse is 'Moonwater', though. If that's the kind of stuff for which Wolstenholme travelled to London, I wish somebody'd hijacked his plane on the way. Seven and a half minutes of a pure orchestral composition with a few vocal lines thrown in for good measure. And ALL of that composition sounds like the prelude to a Hollywood musical, something like that. Where's the sense of measure that so far has not eluded these guys? Down the drain it goes. I don't want to even talk about that shit, it's so painful to realize that the very thing that had once been the saving grace of these guys - amazingly economic and up-to-the-point use of their orchestration - has now turned against them due to just one silly member's 'ambitions'. Aaaarggh. So the day is only saved by the remaining fifteen minutes of music, without which the album would have been an absolute disaster. 'Delph Town Mom' is one more try at an upbeat uplifting folksy hymn, and a successful one. It reminds me of Elton John a lot, maybe because the vocals sound Elton Johnish and the piano is very prominent, but it sounds like good Elton John. There's also 'Thank You', a somewhat corny, but effective pop-rocker, introduced by a distorted riff not unlike the one used in CCR's 'Up Around The Bend' and all drenched in that unbeatable Britpop essence that somehow adds taste and dignity to even the weakest songs when applied with knowledge of the subject. But, of course, the absolute winner, and one of the absolutely best Barclay James Harvest songs ever, hell, maybe THE best pop song of 1972, is the ballad 'One Hundred Thousand Smiles Out'. Has it got an undeniable BJH identity? Heh. It's about 50% McCartney, 25% The Move, and 25% Elton John with extra points going to the Bee Gees. That probably means it GOT an undeniable BJH identity. But forget about abstract generalizations, the bare fact is - this is a gorgeous, absolutely breathtaking ballad, devoted to the perennial subject of space travel (you may be pretty sure the boys spent a long time studying Honky Chateau what with all the subtle Elton John influences on here). See, even the subject is not original. Nothing is. Just the actual hook, although I believe the line where Lees sings 'can you hear me down below?' is borrowed directly out of some Roy Wood number, just can't remember which one exactly. Whatever, the vocals do their job so beautifully I just love the song, and urge everybody to hear it. The good news is that since Baby James Harvest is usually available packaged together with its predecessor, you actually get it for free when you purchase the band's best early album! Ha! Then just be sure to program out the two hideous 'epic' perversions and enjoy a solid fifty minutes of vintage Harvest, spraying it down with some first-class Barclay. And the James? Don't forget the James!

http://starling.rinet.ru/music/barclay.htm

Martha Veléz - Fiends & Angels (Blues-Rock 1969)

Martha Velez only issued five albums in her recording career of the 1960s & 1970s. But she has a cult fan following and her albums feature a host of guest musicians. Recorded in 1969, Fiends & Angels is making its worldwide CD debut & features Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Brian Auger, Christine McVie, Jim Capaldi, Mitch Mitchell and the list goes on.
38 minutes approximately. Good warm sound. How could you go wrong with Clapton,Webb(of Chicken Shack)and Kossoff on guitar? Add to that Jack Bruce on bass,Brian Auger on organ,Christine McVie on keyboards,Jim Capaldi(Traffic)and Mitch Mitchell on drums,plus the rhythm section from Chicken Shack,the great Duster Bennett on harmonica,and the cream of session horn players at the time-it added up,hopefully,to some good music.
Combining several originals with a number of well-known tracks made this a great if unknown album. Velez's voice is similar to Bonnie Bramlett(of Delaney and Bonnie)with just a touch of Julie Driscoll. As was mentioned previously,the sound is straight out of the late sixties-a slight blending of instruments and voice that makes for a good,naturally warm sound. This is an advantage,for Velez's voice could easily sound harsh and cold in a digitally stark remastered version. As expected,the quality of the backing band is great and helps place this album above the average run of the mill release. On various tracks its easy to hear which guitarist is playing,and while there are no long solos,the arrangements are just fine.
It's a shame this album was not more well-known upon it's release,but with so many other albums,by so many great groups during this era,Velez's album was here and gone. Hopefully,it's release on cd may rectify this oversight-because this album is a prime example of the music recorded in an era of much great music. It's good to hear it again,and isn't that the mark of good music?

http://www.amazon.com/Fiends-Angels-Martha-Velez/dp/B0015I2Q0S

Greg Sage - Straight Ahead (Wipers' frontman solo album 1985)

Finally, the Wipers' incredible frontman finds a new label to release his records, and in this case, he tries a solo outing instead of convening a fourth Wipers album to go with the three stunning ones they did from 1980-1983. Side one is Wipers-type guitar songs from an uncharacteristic folky approach, and fans will likely lap them up with the same joy that they did the output of Is This Real?, Youth of America, and Over the Edge, which every fan needs. This is what we expect from Sage, in terms of his characteristically involved guitar playing pegged to more simple riffs, a formula that still works so well for him. Side two, though, now that's a totally different kettle of fish, one no one could have expected. How to describe it? Let's call it all strange-echo-soundtrack experiences/insights on the human race. There are no drums; it's almost like a soothing but spacey guitar orchestra, the man testing the outer limits of the moods a mere six strings can manage without other sounds' interference. It all adds up to another interesting look into a true and obvious talent. Get his Wipers LP too, though, you need everything this man does.

AMG Review by Jack Rabid

Barclay James Harvest - Barclay James Harvest (Superb debut album 1970 - plus bonus tracks)

Barclay James Harvest's sensibly titled debut album was one of the unsung classics of the late '60s, a post-psychedelic pop album that posits a peculiar collision between the Bee Gees' vision of classic grandeur and the heftier sounds leaking out of the rock underground. Add Norman Smith's epic production and one cannot help thinking that if the Pretty Things had ever looked elsewhere for their follow-up to S.F. Sorrow, Barclay James Harvest could have handed it to them on a plate. The opening "Taking Some Time On" is absolutely phenomenal, churning and riffing on the one hand, positively hymnal on the other -- and poised, during its chorus, to plunge into a virtual dry run for R.E.M.'s "Talk About the Weather." Elsewhere, "When the World Was Woken" is unmistakably daubed in a whiter shade of Procol Harum, while the 12-minute closer, "Dark Now My Sky," is simply spellbinding. Barclay James Harvest ranks among the finest albums of the entire early prog boom.

AMG Review by Dave Thompson

Lemon Fog - The Psychedelic Sound Of Summer (1968 Fine US Psychedelia)

The Lemon Fog were a Houston-based quintet that had the distinction of being the first rock act signed to Ray McGinnis' Orbit Records label. They started out in the spring of 1963 as the Bar Eights, formed by Fillmore High School classmates Danny Ogg and Terry Horde, with Timmy Thorpe on bass, and Dale VanDeloo on saxophone and vocals. They were a Rip Chords-type surf band, with a few pop-soul numbers mixed into their sets. The group got a few coffee bar gigs and a sock hop or two to play before they broke up when VanDeloo supposedly attacked Ogg with a mike stand during an argument. Enter Chris Lyons, who was recruiting musicians at Clem's Music in Houston for a new band he was forming. Danny Ogg showed up at the store, and Lyons asked him to join -- Ogg agreed on condition that Timmy Thorpe, who had just gotten laid off from work, play bass. Lyons agreed, and by that weekend, the Pla-Boys, as they were known, were playing their first gig, at St. Regis College for the Arts. It was there that they were seen and heard by Ted Eubanks, an avant-garde composer on Houston's mod scene, who caught The Pla-Boys' act, which consisted mostly of covers of such garage greats as Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs and ? and the Mysterians. Eubanks liked the way they played more than what they played, and immediately approached them after the show. The band liked his suggestions, and he began putting original numbers into the group's sets. He also changed their image from clean-cut, matching suits to psychedelic, including beads. In a matter of weeks in 1965, they went from being the Pla-Boys to the Lemon Fog, who quickly became recognized as one of the more formidable bands in Houston.

The group's lineup soon shifted as Timmy Thorpe was dropped and Danny Ogg moved to bass, with Terry Horde taking over the lead guitar spot. They won a local battle of the bands, and, with help from producer-songrwriter Jimmy Duncan, were approached by Orbit Records with the offer of a recording contract. Only three singles were ever issued on the group by Orbit, although they recorded many hours' worth of demos under Eubanks' direction -- he handled most of the songwriting, alternating with Duncan. The best of these was "The Living Eye Theme," also known as "The Lemon Fog," which reached number eight on the regional and local charts in the Houston area. The group was a major draw there and in the Houston area, and made many television appearances promoting their singles.

Their sound, initially typical garage band-dance material, had advanced by leaps and bounds. Some of their songs resembled the folk-rock of the Byrds or the Beau Brummels, while their playing was closer in spirit to the complexity of Moby Grape, with lots of unexpected twists in the guitar and organ parts, and interesting harmonies. Personality conflicts eventually doomed the band, despite some extraordinary music to their credit. Egos clashed, and the use of drugs hampered the talents of one member, and in 1970, Eubanks was cutting records as a solo artist, which heralded the group's disintegration.

AMG Review by Bruce Eder

Original post by Rockasteria & Phrock

Love Exchange - The Love Exchange (1969 Sunshine Psychedelia from Los Angeles)

The Love Exchange's only album is an obscure also-ran psychedelic effort, though it's not poor. "Swallow the Sun," their most familiar tune due to its appearance on some '60s anthologies, is the standout on this assortment of rudimentary trippy garage-psych explorations. The minor-key yet poppy melodic progressions, leaning on snaky guitar lines and organ, are typical of much 1966-1968 California hippie rock. The tunes, however (often written by producer Larry Goldberg), are derivative and the lyrics self-conscious in their incense-tuous air. The production sometimes verges on the hasty and crude; Bonnie Blunt's voice, usually the focal point, is deserving of better material and arrangements. The folk-rock quotient comes to the fore on two of the better tunes, the appropriately melancholy and ghostly "Ballad of a Sad Man" (written by bassist Mike Joyce) and "Nothing at All," on which Blunt cedes the lead vocal position to one of the guys. The latter song, in fact, has a garage folk-rock air (and unrefined production) that leads one to suspect that it may have been cut earlier than most or all of the other tracks on the record. The 2001 Sundazed reissue has three previously unissued cuts (including a couple of awful quasi-showtune ditties) and three alternate takes of songs from the LP.

AMG Review by Richie Unterberger

Original post by Rockasteria & Phrock

Walkabouts - Train Leaves at Eight (Superb Alternative collection of covers 2001)

The Walkabouts' second collection of covers comes with a quite definite theme, a musical tour of Europe, ranging from Greece in the South all the way up to Norway. And it's most definitely a journey, one which suits the darker, more introspective, and very literate nature of this Seattle band. But the ground covered is more than geographic; not many bands could move from Greek icon Mikis Theodorakis to Krautrockers Neu! on the same record. But the Walkabouts, whose career has largely happened in Europe, handle it with aplomb, throwing up plenty of changes in arrangements and working hard to penetrate to the core of a song, even the enigmatic "Solex in a Slipshod Style," on the face of it an odd choice, coming from Dutch sampling queen Solex. A few of the writers might be familiar to Americans, like Jacques Brel and Scott Walker, but the majority of the names will be unknown -- a good thing, since the music can be judged on the interpretation, not the original version. A few famous friends, like R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Los Lobos sax man Steve Berlin add contributions, but it's the band who make it special, with Carla Torgerson's velvety voice caressing the lyrics while Chris Eckman worries his way into others. It might not be the most relaxing journey on offer, but it's one of the most rewarding, a night train across a Europe, not only through the countries, but also the hearts, minds, and souls.

AMG Review by Chris Nickson

Procol Harum - A & B: The Singles (Great compilation of all the PH singles)

Although Procol Harum owed their career to their initial single, "A Whiter Shade of Pale," they were never really a singles band. Annotator Chris Welch notes that the group was not a one-hit wonder, but it might be called a three-hit wonder by tossing in "Homburg" and "Conquistador" (four, if "Pandora's Box," a U.K. Top 20, is included). For the most part, Procol Harum were known for their LPs, so the idea of organizing a compilation around singles that happen to have been excerpted from those LPs, largely without the band's say-so, in one country or another, is a curious one. But A&B: The Singles, a three-CD set running just under three and three-quarter hours, manages to include most of Procol Harum's better tracks along with rarities that will intrigue fans. Of course, there are the non-LP B-sides, such as "Lime Street Blues," "Good Captain Clack," "Long Gone Geek," "Drunk Again," "Backgammon," and "Into the Flood." Then, there are foreign curios, including "Shine on Brightly" sung in Italian ("Il Tuo Diamante") and a French single with "Adagio di Albinoni" on one side and "Blue Danube" on the other. Getting into hair-splitting territory, there are singles that represent alternate takes ("Quite Rightly So," "In the Wee Small Hours of Sixpence"); that have been remixed ("As Strong as Samson Is"); that have been edited for single release; or that are in mono because that's how they were released as singles. The average fan may lose interest at this level of obscurity, but the more fanatic will be engaged. And that's who this collection is aimed at: Procol Harum aficionados who have already bought most of these tracks umpteen times, but not all of them, and not necessarily in these exact forms. For those fans, this album is a godsend; for others, it will seem redundant.

Disc one:
1. A whiter shade of pale
2. Lime Street blues
3. Homeburg
4. Good Captain Clack
5. Il tuo diamente
6. Fortuna (Repent Walpurgis)
7. Quite rightly so
8. In the wee small hours of sixpence
9. Quite rightly so (alternate)
10. Rambling on
11. In the wee small hours of sixpence (alternate)
12. A salty dog
13. Long gone geek
14. The devil came from Kansas
15. Boredom
16. Whisky train (single edit)
17. Broken barricades
18. Power failure

Disc two:
1. Simple sister
2. Song for a dreamer
3. Homburg
4. Conquistador
5. Conquistador (live)
6. Luskus Delph (live)
7. A salty dog (live)
8. All this and more (live)
9. Robert's box (single edit)
10. A rum tale
11. Grand Hotel (single edit)
12. Bringing home the bacon
13. Fires (which burnt brightly)
14. A souvenir of London
15. Toujours l'amour
16. Nothing but the truth
17. Drunk again
18. Beyond the pale
19. Fresh fruit

Disc three:
1. Pandora's box
2. The piper's tune
3. The final thrust (single edit)
4. Taking the time
5. As strong as Sampson (remix)
6. The unquiet zone
7. Adagio di Albinoni
8. The blue Danube (live)
9. Wizard man
10. Backgammon
11. Something magic
12. All our dreams are sold
13. The truth won't fade away
14. A dream in ev'ry home (edit)
15. (You can't) turn back the page
16. One more time
17. Perpetual motion
18. Learn to fly
19. Into the flood

AMG Review by William Ruhlmann

Plan 9 - Keep Your Cool & Read the Rules (1985)

Keep Your Cool covers lots of stylistic ground, including the film noir ambience of "Street of Painted Lips" sung by DeMarco, an unclassifiable rollicking instrumental ("King 9 Will Not Return") and various stripes of '60s rock, running the stylistic gamut from Spirit to Steppenwolf. Although some are a little undeveloped, the band's songs are solid; the two covers are righteously arcane.
Tracklist:
01 - That's Life
02 - Poor Boy
03 - The Beast Was An Old Tale
04 - For Hillary
05 - Machines
06 - Face In The Box
07 - 11th Hour
08 - Street Of Painted Lips
09 - King Nine Will Not Return
10 - Keep Your Cool
11 - Hot Day

Plan 9

Vampyros Lesbos - Sexadelic Dance Party (Beautiful Funky/Psychy/Jazzy Soundtrack 1969)

"Vampyros Lesbos: Sexadelic Dance Party" is a total trip. As the CD's liner notes explain, this disc contains music from the soundtracks of three films made by Jess Franco in 1970. The music was conducted and composed by Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab. The 14 tracks have such intriguing titles as "The Lions and the Cucumber," "Necronomania," and "The Six Wisdoms of Aspasia."

The liner notes describes the genre of this music as "acid jazz-pop," which is probably as good a description as any. The music combines ebullient horns, weird vocal effects, exotic Eastern-sounding instrumental effects, and other elements into a truly unique blend. This CD is often sensuous and often playful, and has bewitchingly sinister aspects as well.

But ultimately, the music is a lot of fun. If you're seeking musical accompaniment for an orgy, a Satanic ritual, an avant-garde fashion show, or a late 60's/early 70s theme party, check out "Vampyros Lesbos."

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - A Better Land (Great Art-Rock 1971)

Whereas Brian Auger had taken the lion's share of composing responsibility on the deft, labyrinthine, jazz-rock debut album by the Oblivion Express, guitarist Jim Mullen steps up to the plate in a big way here, writing or co-writing seven of A Better Land's nine tracks, and arranging "Marai's Wedding," a traditional tune. Auger wrote just one, "Tomorrow City," and co-wrote two with Mullen. The feel and vibe of the record is almost a mirror image of its predecessor from earlier in 1971. Mullen composed on the guitar, therefore, the languid, sparer approach to harmony is everywhere apparent. But it's the songs themselves, with their lush use of acoustic guitars, country music melodies, and early rock tropes, such as on "Dawn of Another Day," the Band-inspired "Trouble," and the ethereal melody of "Women of the Seasons." There is also a pair of tracks here written with future AWB boss Alan Gorrie. The lilting jazz in the lead is countered with infectious pop hooks. On the Auger tunes, "Fill Your Head With Laughter," and "Tomorrow City," R&B is at their hearts. A Better Land is one of the more enduring pop records from the era, with its ultra-sophisticated compositioning and arrangement skills. It's as if the Oblivion Express wanted to reveal themselves as capable of anything, which, of course, they were. This is a fantastic place to start any Brian Auger collection.

AMG Review by Thom Jurek

Art Of Lovin' - Art Of Lovin' (1968 East Coast Psychedelia)

A Massachusetts outfit whose album is full of interesting and quite imaginative pop/folk-rock, obscure enough to have been reissued. Apart from a cover of Tim Hardin's Hang On To A Dream, all the songs were penned by Paul Applebaum. It's certainly worth hearing.

01.Paul's Circus
02.What The Young Minds Say
03.You've Got The Power
04.Take A Ride
05.Good Times
06.Daily Prayer
07.The First Time
08.You'll Walk Away
09.(How Can we) Hang On To A Dream
10.State Of Mind

Post by CGR

Carol Of Harvest - Carol Of Harvest (Prog-Psych from Germany 1978)

One of the many German bands to release a single album on a private label and watch it grow into a collector's dream. Carol of Harvest played a dreamy blend of Progressive Rock and Folk with female vocals that might be compared with Mellow Candle and early Clannad mixed with Jane, Pentangle and Renaissance. The music has the added edge of long arrangements with Moog synth and acid guitar solos, and in reality has little to do with Krautrock.
Information on the band members is very hard to find, helping to shroud this hard to find album with an air of mystery.

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2099

Stavros Logaridis - Akritas (Prog-Rock from Greece 1973)

Few music and musicians from Greece have propulsated progressive rock greatly and with resonance, not to mention originally (and none so extensively). Along with the monumental APHRODITE'S CHILD (with whose conceptual merge they're actually far from identifying) and with AXIS or SOCRATES (with whom they match better), AKRITAS is strongly recommended for its lasting vintage sound up to an exciting mix of impressions. Definitely hidden from the amateur eye (also, given the music, against it) and exceptionally regarded, although exactly inside the level and the story of Greek passionate prog, the band made a tasteful effort.

AKRITAS formed in the late moments of 1972, being made of vocalist, guitarist and bassist Stavros Logaridis, former member of POLL, drummer Giorgos Tsoupakis and keyboardist Aris Tasoulis, former member of BOURBOULIA. Their praised effort came later in 1973, crediting a collaboration with guitarist Dimos Papachristou, and also benefiting of greek magic lyrics from Kostas Ferris. After that, the magic vanished.

The impressions that do exist, regarding influences and prog touches, can be mixed, going still on a refined blend of swirling progressive, psychedelic (or psycho-space), symphonic rock archetipes (with sufficient melodic moments, of a mediterranean breeze), Canterbury, jazz-rock improvisations and several other intimately approached nuances - to which we can still add the traditional and the conceptual opening towards, simply put, riveting rock. Except the already mentioned relations with the greek prog minds of the period, the influences also stretch towards ELP (the rythms are said to meat the expectations of none other than Carl PALMER), AMON DUUL II, light OSSANA, SPRING, ARCADIUM, or, more peculiarly, GENTLE GIANT, FRANK ZAPPA, DR. Z, GRACIOUS. There's an uncomparable Italian symph fluency to be considered, more closely in the lines of BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO.

Akritas is not only a full portrait of the band's passion, creativity and standards, but also gains itself the price of admission towards a sort of prog rock killer mood (with demanding bits, here and there). Drawn as a concept of particular obscurity and experimentality, judging the multi-instrumental complexity, it saves some space though for the vocal originality and emotiveness. Mixing the sound of psych-(s)paced guitar play, baroque organs, pianistic tunes, driving drumming, art vocalizing and sound high effect, the material can be an uncomparable stigma or a curiosly scaled revelation. A varied project, therefore, with entairtaing parts for the deep listening soul and with the tricks that make it entirely artistic, perhaps only missing the classic recognition. The organ and keyboard work is especially appreciable for its special technique of Mellotron and Moog, while the guitar holds the traditional sonority.

There is one note about another album having been made by the band, in an uncertain year, still the source is singular and the 1973 album's relevance remains highest.

AKRITAS, with a more or less epocal recording, tell the story of traditional music, ambitious playing, rock-filling versatileness and lyrism, having the mix of at least three prog movements and pleasing with a connectivity that goes from the simplest (music play) to the most ambitious patterns. A bit of a one-off success, that laments the short living of the group.

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2824

Frank Tovey - Tyranny and the Hired Hand (Great Alternative Folk 1989)

In 1989, Fad Gadget changed musical tactics in his criticism of industrialization, recording a mostly acoustic album of protest and labor songs Tyranny and the Hired Hand including such standards as "Sixteen Tons."














Track Listing
31 Depression Blues
Hard Times in the Cotton Mill
John Henry/Let Your Hammer Ring
The Blantyre Explosion
Money Cravin' Folks
All I Got Is Gone
Midwife Song
Sam Hall
Dark as a Dungeon
Men of Good Fortune
Sixteen Tons
North Country Blues
Buffalo Skinners
Black Lung Song
Pastures of Plenty
Joe Hill

Delirium - Dolce Acqua (1971 Italian Hippy-Psych)

DELIRIUM's "Dolce Acqua" is a wild concaution of Jazz, Prog, World and Psychedelic influences yet always retains that Characteristically 70's Italian influence. Musically this album explores a wide range of impressions with some great flute, piano and percussive passages... lots of gentle syncopation. Vocals are deep and full of emotion. Songs are quite rhythmic and heavily centered on a the melodic aspect... even some orchestration. This album unveils many highs for this music lover with its wide spectrum of bright and bouncy colors and sounds. Although 70's sounding throughout, "Dolce Acqua" leans much more on the Jazz-prog arena than many of the heavy Ital-Prog albums of its era and most certainly that of their second album. One of the most remarkable aspects of this album for me lies in its sound reproduction which comes to life in the CD re-mastered version. Sonically this album offers great wide speaker separation and clear definition making the performers sound as if they are in your living room. Might be one of the best recorded albums of 1971... Captivating and then some!!- Ivano Fossati / lead vocals, acoustic & electric flute, acoustic guitar, recorder, harmonica - Marcello Reale / bass, vocals
- Peppino Di Santo / drums, percussion, timpani, vocals
- Ettore Vigo / piano, organ, electric piano, celesta, vibraphone, cembalo, prepared piano, harmonium
- Mimmo Di Martino / acoustic guitar, vocals

http://orexisofdeath.blogspot.com/2009/01/delirium-dolce-acqua-1971-it.html

Mick Farren - Vampires Stole My Lunch Money (British Punk 1978)

One of the key albums made on the periphery of the late-1970s punk explosion, Deviants frontman Mick Farren's return to raw rock, following most of a decade spent in journalism, was less a timely resurrection than it was a vicious reminder that none of this new noise was actually very new. He'd been doing exactly the same stuff a decade before, and would still be doing it two decades hence. In the 1960s, after all, the Deviants depicted the underside of the peace and love rhetoric by asking just one simple question: what will happen if the revolution succeeds? In the 2000s, they pinpoint the formless agitation which has sucked the optimism out of everything. And in the 1970s, Farren solo snagged the tabloid nihilism which now dominated the punk scene, and played it up for all it was worth. Vampires was released hot on the heels of one of the most glorious singles of the era, the seething teen riot anthem "Let's Loot the Supermarket Again Like We Did Last Summer"; indeed, combine that one track with the best bits of Vampires and there's probably no better illustration of Farren's (continued) ability to press the pulse of the period. Possibly unintentionally, and now certainly unbelievably, Vampires marks the closest Farren has ever strayed towards becoming a true commercial proposition. He opens the album with a Frank Zappa cover, rather than a mutated approximation of what he thought the Mothers should sound like -- at the height of Britain's late 70s culture wars, "Trouble Coming Every Day" had been screaming out for reinvention, but Farren did more than that. Shortened and sharpened, stripped of weary cynicism and imbibed instead with apocalyptic foreboding, it became the statement of intent and detente which the punks had been trying to elucidate all along, and proved that all the latest generation were really doing was mainstreaming the imagery of the radicals of ten years before. In truth, the remainder of Vampires cannot live up to such an incendiary beginning; in its favor, it doesn't even try. With the exception of the remarkably prescient "Bela Lugosi," dedicated to the man who would, a year hence, be subpoenaed by Bauhaus to create the gothic movement, Vampires plays a hard-drinking, beautifully wasted game, living up to a dissolute image which may or may not have been Farren's personal modus operandi at the time, but certainly summed up his public persona. "Half Price Drinks," "I Want a Drink," "Drunk in the Morning" -- there's a definite conceptual angle here, and a rewarding game of spot the rock star, too, as Farren ropes in Chrissie Hynde, Wilco Johnson, Curved Air's Sonja Kristina, Pink Fairy, Larry Wallis, and sundry past and future Deviants to add to the dyspeptic ambience. It's probably the least essential album in Farren's canon, distilling his dark visions into bite sized morsels of fairly catchy poppy songs. But it is also the most enjoyable; a rolling, boiling, sassy swagger which makes only one persistent demand on the listeners. They have to buy the next round.

AMG Review by Dave Thompson

Iggy Pop - The Idiot (Classic album 1977)

In 1976, the Stooges had been gone for two years, and Iggy Pop had developed a notorious reputation as one of rock & roll's most spectacular waste cases. After a self-imposed stay in a mental hospital, a significantly more functional Iggy was desperate to prove he could hold down a career in music, and he was given another chance by his longtime ally, David Bowie. Bowie co-wrote a batch of new songs with Iggy, put together a band, and produced The Idiot, which took Iggy in a new direction decidedly different from the guitar-fueled proto-punk of the Stooges. Musically, The Idiot is of a piece with the impressionistic music of Bowie's "Berlin Period" (such as Heroes and Low), with it's fragmented guitar figures, ominous basslines, and discordant, high-relief keyboard parts. Iggy's new music was cerebral and inward-looking, where his early work had been a glorious call to the id, and Iggy was in more subdued form than with the Stooges, with his voice sinking into a world-weary baritone that was a decided contrast to the harsh, defiant cry heard on "Search and Destroy." Iggy was exploring new territory as a lyricist, and his songs on The Idiot are self-referential and poetic in a way that his work had rarely been in the past; for the most part the results are impressive, especially "Dum Dum Boys," a paean to the glory days of his former band, and "Nightclubbing," a call to the joys of decadence. The Idiot introduced the world to a very different Iggy Pop, and if the results surprised anyone expecting a replay of the assault of Raw Power, it also made it clear that Iggy was older, wiser, and still had plenty to say; it's a flawed but powerful and emotionally absorbing work.

AMG Review by Mark Deming